Sedalia-the latest tornado victim

Ugh, I'm getting really, really tired of reports of tornadoes every.single.day. Enough is enough. And Missouri has seen it's fair share, mmmmmkay? The death toll in poor Joplin is now at 125 and still many people unaccounted for.

The latest Missouri city to get hit hard is Sedalia. This one hit home. You see, my dad is from Sedalia and nearly all of his family is still there-aunts, uncles, cousins....and his father. Now, you never hear me talking about these people because, well, we're not close. My dad escaped them many years ago. Yes, I have a grandfather that I don't even know. I know my immediate family doesn't really care that we don't know them, but I'm the sappy one and I sometimes get sad and a little angry that we don't know them. I've reconnected with some of my cousins through Facebook, but still don't really know them. Still, when I heard Sedalia got hit, I was instantly worried about my family members. I think it's safe to say I'm related to at least half of that city. For realsies-hillbillies like to procreate. Just sayin. Anyhoo, there were some tense moments yesterday as my cousin posted that she couldn't reach our grandfather. Now, I don't like him much at all, but I certainly don't want anything bad to happen to him. He is, after all, my grandfather (noticed I didn't say my grandpa-he doesn't deserve that honor). Later in the night she was able to confirm that my aunt had reached another family member in Sedalia and confirmed that our grandfather was safe, as were the rest of my relatives. That made me happy. One of my distant cousins posted pics on Facebook and, the damage was scary looking, I'm so glad no one died.

Then here in St. Louis, we had our own tornado scares last night. I just heard that they evacuated my office building at 4:45. They NEVER do that, so you know this weather was for real. It took me an hour to get home, mostly because my eyes were on the sky, looking for any sort of rotation in those scary looking clouds. When I got home, it was raining so hard that my umbrella was pointless, and there was golf ball sized hail in my yard. But, I'm happy to report, no tornadoes in my neighborhood. There was a report of one nearby, but I didn't hear about any damage. And, just two exits up from me, they were getting four-inch in diameter hail. FOUR inches! Can you even imagine that? Makes me quite grateful I have a garage.

It's raining yet again this morning. Rain I can handle, but if we could get a respite from the tornadoes, that'd be great. Thanks.

Hines Ward FTW!

I must confess, prior to his stint on Dancing With The Stars, I didn't even know who Hines Ward was. I'm not a super huge football fan but when I do watch, it's solely to follow my beloved Rams. However, I AM a DWTS loyalist, so I watched every week. And pretty much from the beginning, Hines Ward was my favorite. One-he's adorable. Two-he seems like a really, truly nice guy who loves his mama. Three-the man can DANCE. And when he does? It's pretty sexy,not gonna lie. I saw him in an interview and he was all embarrassed because women were posting on his Facebook page about how much they love his butt. I was not one of the posters but I gotta say....dude's got a nice ass. For reals.

Anyhoo, he won DWTS this year with partner Kym Johnson (and there are rumors that they may be a couple in real life which would totally be adorable). Yay for him! He is the 2nd football player to win-Emmit Smith did in 2006. Now the only thing on Monday nights to fill the DWTS void is....The Bachelorette. Meh.

See? Adorable.

Ways to help the folks in Joplin, Mo.

The Joplin Red Cross could use some donations. You can contact them at (417) 624-4411 or info@redcross-ozarks.org in order to find out what supplies are most necessary


you can visit www.uwheartmo.org, this is the Heart of Missouri United Way website

you can also text JOPLIN to 864833 to make a $10 donation (this is also for the United Way).

if you want to donate Midwest wide, MO, MN, KS, etc all of which have been affected by these destructive storms, you can visit http://www.redcross.org/Disaster, http://news.uwmidsouth.org/donations-for-flood-relief-2011/, or www.salvationarmyusa.org

A list of major non-profits that operate regularly in Missouri can be found on the National Donations Management Network website. You can also call (800) 427-4626 for further information.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks is in need of blood — particularly type O.

A list of donor sites locations can be found at http://www.cbco.org/?page_id=1651

Cubs weekend wrap up: going from bad to worse

I'm fairly certain that any rational person with even the slightest baseball knowledge didn't expect the Cubs to do much against the Red Sox this weekend. I mean, come on, it's the Cubs. And....they would have been right.

Some of the positives first (there aren't many). This was the first time the Cubs have been to Fenway since the 1918 World Series (that they lost, by the way). 19-EIGHTEEN. That's a long freakin time ago. So...that part was cool. Also cool was the the throwback uniforms they wore on Saturday. Both teams wore the uniforms they wore back in 1918. I just loved that-so, so cool. I'm sorta obsessed with baseball from that time frame. I love to read about it. So this was totally up my alley. Also positive, Saturday's game. It looked like it would be yet another loss, Cubs down 3-1 in the 8th. And then all of a sudden, the Sox started playing like, well, the Cubs. Three errors in the inning.....and the Cubs scored 8 runs. Pretty sweet.

Now the negatives (that FAR outweigh the positives). Friday's loss was just embarrassing. 15-5? Really Cubs? I was really glad I was out of town and focusing on something else because that game probably would have caused me to come unglued. And let us not forget poor Marlon Byrd. Marlon got hit in the eye by a pitch (totally not on purpose, the pitcher and other Red Sox players looked absolutely horrified). I can't even watch the video of it b/c it's horrifying. He initially couldn't see and was writhing in pain. The good news is, while he has several broken facial bones, his eye sight is returning and it appears he will make a full recovery. SO scary. Prayers are with him. Then there was the announcement that Matt Garza has some elbow issue (awesome) and was scratched as the starter for Sunday's game.....meaning there was no starter for Sunday's game. The solution? The James Russell Experiment returned. The game was on TV and I had already accepted the fact that the Cubs would lose before the game even started, but I gotta tell you, James Russell wasn't nearly as horrible as he usually is. Now, he wasn't exactly good, mind you, but the damage could have been much much worse. During that game, Jeff Baker was also injured. If you're counting all the injuries, at this point it's roughly 90% of the team (feels like it anyway). So, for Tuesday's game, I expect the bat boy to be in center field and Crane Kenney (Cubs president) in the bullpen. Seriously, baseball gods? Is it not enough that this team is crappy at full capacity? Is it really necessary to kick them when they're down? God really does hate the Cubs, doesn't He?

Praying for Joplin

As must as I like to poke fun at my state, when something bad happens to any part of it, I hurt for those people. Last night Joplin, Missouri , located in southwest Missouri-near Oklahoma-was essentially flattened by a tornado. The last I heard there were 90 confirmed dead. Last night as I watched the Weather Channel footage, I just sat there with tears in my eyes. The main part of the town is just gone. The hospital was so badly damaged there was concern it may explode due to fires and reports of a gas leak. Even the Weather Channel guy was getting choked up on air. It's just so amazingly sad. I've spent some time in Joplin as my brother went to college there for three years. I know he loved it and is pretty devastated that it's gone. I pray that the missing are found safe and sound and that the death toll doesn't rise any more. Please pray for this community, the devastation is every bit as bad as it was in Alabama a couple of weeks ago. These natural disasters are just heartbreaking.

FFS

If you don't know what the title of this post means, google it.

Yesterday was Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena's 33rd birthday. My request was simple. I wanted him to hit a 7-run homer. Impossible? Maybe. Much needed? YES. As it was, Carlos was only able to hit a 3-run homer for me (thanks anyway, hot stuff!) which was pretty much offset by a hideous error. Not that he was the only one with an error last night, mind you. In fact, the Cubs committed FOUR errors in last night's game. FOUR. And we're talking plays my brother's church softball team could make. It's almost funny....except it's not. Proving no lead is safe when you're the Cubs, for the second night in a row (against the a-hole Reds, no less), they showed you just how epic their fails can be. It's actually sorta impressive. I mean, I've been watching this team for 20+ years and just when I think they can't find another way to F up, they do. The variety of ways in which they F up are amazing. If I was their manager, I would have long ago developed a drinking problem. The only saving grace for me is that I didn't have to watch that pile of poo on TV. I just got to curse at my phone when it provided me with the game update.

You know, I used to look at the Cubs schedule and think "hey they're playing so and so who aren't very good, maybe the Cubs will win". But, folks, a sad reality hit me square in the face today-the CUBS are that bad team that everyone looks forward to playing. At this point, they are going into every series as the underdog (except for maybe against the Astros, but that's about it).

So, as I tend to do, my only focus is now gonna be on the hot players. I do sometimes focus on the game, and can carry on an intelligible conversation about baseball if need be, but the Cubs have nothing to offer...and now neither do I. So expect lots of comments about Carlos Pena's ass.

Toe Thumbs, broken groins and determining whether or not Matt Garza is cool...or batshit crazy.

I knew the Cubs were gonna lose last night the moment Koyie Hill entered the game.

Ok, that's not entirely true-I actually knew the Cubs would lose last night before the game even started because they are the Cubs, but the whole  Koyie Hill thing kinda sealed the deal. Yes, just as things couldn't look much bleaker (is "bleaker" a word?), it looks like the Cubs have now lost their starting catcher as Geo apparently fancied himself a gymnast last night and did the damned splits, causing his groin to break....or something like that. I'm sure Koyie Hill is a nice man, but he is infuriatingly bad at baseball. I'm sure the Cardinals were laughing their asses off as he came up not once, but twice, with a huge opportunity to blow the game wide open. And, like he ALWAYS does, he made an out both times. Stellar Toe Thumbs, stellar.

At least Ryan Theriot got booed. A lot. That truly did my heart some good. And what's up with his long-ish hair? Is he Justin Bieber now? Ya move to St. Louis and ya go all Hollywood on us, huh Riot? HA!

The Cubs can hit. But the Cubs can't score runs. That is a problem. They left a runner on in EVERY.SINGLE.INNING last night. Talk about infuriating. When you do that, you deserve to lose.

Seems our little Star Star is in a bit of a slump, but that Darwin Barney continues to impress! Way to tell everyone that YOU are the 2nd baseman kiddo! And finally, FINALLY, Carlos Pena is starting to hit. The more he hits, the hotter he gets. And Rami was 3 for 4 last night-VERY fun to see because  2010 Rami was NOT fun to see. I find it mind boggling that Alfonso Soriano can make two BRILLIANT catches out in Left...and then fall on his ass and let a ball bounce over his head the next time the ball came his way.

Let's talk about Matt Garza for a minute. He cracks me the hell up. Dude is in the dugout-actually, standing in the dugout-yelling, clapping, cheering on his team mates. I think that's pretty darn awesome, don't you? I love that he's cheering his team mates on. Not only is that a way to impress your team mates, but it's also a way to impress your fan base. Well done, Mr. Garza, well done. Now if we can just do something about your chin pubes.....

Speaking of Matt Garza, he's pitching tonight. Can we get him his first home win already? Geez. I don't know much about this Jake Westbrook guy, but I hope he sucks tonight. Then again, he could give up three trillion hits tonight and it won't matter, because the Cubs love to strand runners EVERY.SINGLE.INNING. Yes, that bears repeating. The game is on ESPN tonight. Fan freakin tastic. At least I won't have to listen to those idiots on Fox Sports Midwest. Good grief.

The Cardinals are coming! The Cardinals are coming!

The Cardinals have invaded Wrigley Field. How do we feel about this?

Here's what I think. The Cubs chance of winning any of the next three games is slim. Today's game with Big Z on the mound may be their best hope. However, he's up against Chris Carpenter who has not yet won a game this season....I'd say he's due. And, given the Cubs inability to score runs, well, you get the picture....

I can't wait to hear the crowds reaction to Ryan "I'm finally on the right side of the rivalry" Theriot. What a Grade A Douchebag. I have a hunch he will get booed...a lot. My only hope is that he sucks so we can feel justified in our hatred. I highly suspect there may be a "accidental" fastball to the thigh or shoulder area of Mr. Theriot. You know, kinda as a "welcome back" present.

The Cardinals are good because Lance "I'm not as fat as I used to be" Berkman has made some sort of resurgence. WTH man? And Albert Pujols is only batting like .220? WTH is going on? And why, after nearly a month, is Tony LaRussa's eye STILL SWOLLEN SHUT?

I'm hoping for a good series but expecting the worst. I'm a realist.

Cleaning up the damage

As y'all recall, parts of the St. Louis area got hit hardcore by a tornado back on Good Friday. Now, miraculously, no one here was killed, unlike the poor folks down South. Nevertheless, the tornado left a LOT of damage behind.

My employer partnered with a local disaster relief group yesterday to offer our assistance with cleanup. They asked for volunteers and I was quick to offer my services. This was no day in the park, I can tell you that much. There were hundreds of volunteers, about 10-12 from my office. We all met at a local church, then were driven in a shuttle bus to our work site. Then dropped off and left to fend for ourselves. Seriously. We worked in one of the Bridgeton neighborhoods (near the airport) that was one of the hardest hit. Shock overcame us as we took stock of the damage. It is truly, TRULY a miracle that no one was killed. So, what did we do? A LOT of manual labor. Cleaning up all the fallen trees from people's yards, scooping up roofing shingles and drywall from crumbled roofs and walls. Cleaning up insulation from the now exposed walls. Throwing away broken items, throwing away boards from broken down decks. We even found someone's pet hamster that had apparently been living outside for the last two weeks (I don't think he was happy to be found as he bit the man that picked him up). We formed a line of probably 100 people to pass along the tree branches, logs, etc while someone kept up the chainsawing. I was hoping to get my hands on a chainsaw, but it was not to be. We DID however, get a wheelbarrow and some shovels so, that was cool. I took a couple of pics to share, these pics don't even begin to show you the true amount of damage. Yesterday is a day I'll never forget. While the work was hard and tiring (I was in bed by 8:30 last night), I am SO glad I did it and would do it again. It was a beautiful thing to see so many people gather together to help total strangers. What was even more amazing was, at one point in the afternoon, a bunch of us looked up at the sky and saw the strangest thing-a rainbow completely circling the sun. I have never seen anything like it, have you? At the risk of sounding too cheezy, it was almost as if God was saying "thanks" and letting us know that everything was going to be ok. Anyway, here are the pics:

Yes, that wall is leaning.

the house with the leaning wall no longer has a roof.....

just some of the damage. We filled SEVERAL of those giant dumpsters

this was in the shuttle bus...me and  my co-worker Brittny. The company we volunteered for provided t-shirts and gloves. The two of us were the only people to choose the pretty flowered gloves.....cute, huh?

Carlos Pena HR Watch 2011: TWO in a row!

WARNING: The use of sarcasm was indeed used in the making of this post.

Whoooooooa! Don't call it a comeback! No really, don't. Carlos Pena, our "power hitting" first baseman, the same Carlos Pena that hadn't hit a homerun all season (well, a month in, anyway), has now hit a homerun TWO DAYS IN A ROW! Holla! Wooooooo! Could this be the spark he needs to become that power hitting first baseman we've expected him to be?  We shall see.

Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me some Carlos Pena...but mostly because I think he's hot. Gotta be honest here. I mean, you should check out the view when he's on first base. Just sayin.

I hope to see him continue to hit the long ball...preferably with runners on. Baby steps Carlos. Baby steps.

FINALLY!

Carlos Pena FINALLY hit a homerun this season!!! Having flirted with the warning track several times this past week, he finally got one through. I hope this sparks him. If he's playing today I'd say odds are good. After all, the opposing pitcher is none other than Theodore Roosevelt Lilly. Now, y'all know I lovesssss me some Ted. But y'all also know that Ted tends to give up a homerun or two....or three. It's part of his charm. So...Teddy Baseball, how bout a little favor for your dedicated fans, huh? PS. my faith in Carlos Pena's hotness has been restored. For now.

And let the suckage begin

DAMN YOU Sports Illustrated! How dare you put our Darlin Starlin on your cover! Everyone knows about the SI Cover Curse, right? Something bad ALWAYS happens. So, Cubs fans, expect our dear boy to break his leg, or suddenly decide he wants to go play in Japan, or completely forget how to hit and become the mediocre player that most of the rest of his team is. SIGH.

MLB's current homerun leader is.........Alfonso Soriano????

The above is very, very true folks. While the Cubs are crappy at best (their starting pitching has been, for the most part, atrocious), 2011 Alfonso Soriano is playing like the 2004 Alfonso Soriano-the one that was the All-Star Game MVP. Raise your hand if you saw that one coming. Liars-NO ONE saw that coming so put your hands down. I'm thrilled for Sori. I would LOVE for him to continue on this tear all season. It's proof that when healthy, he's still an amazing hitter. Sure, you can't blame the last couple of years entirely on injuries, but they certainly didn't help his cause. I'm telling you when he's on, his ability to hit is a thing of beauty. His favorite pitch to hit? Oh, about six inches off the ground-he golfs that baby into the outfield bleachers. It's pretty awesome. I don't know if he can keep going all year (he is, after all, elderly in baseball terms), but he sure has been fun to watch so far.

Speaking of fun to watch, how bout StarDar? AKA Starlin Castro and Darwin Barney. Those two kids are pretty amazing, eh?  I love, love, love watching them. The team may end up in last place, but at least there are a couple of players that will make watching this season worth it.

In other news, I think it is safe to say that the James Russell Experiment and the Carlos Pena Experiment are both busts. Definitely the James Russell Experiment. Dude sucks. The best thing Carlos Pena has going for him at the moment is that he's hot, but unfortunately, hot isn't going to help you win baseball games. It makes me more apt to sit through a game, but that's about all it succeeds in doing.

At this moment in time, I'm not sure if Mike Quade is a smart baseball man or completely bat shit crazy. I'll give it another month and then give you my final answer on that.

"No! Heewi do it!"

Ok, I'm just gonna put this out there-I am not celebrating the fact that Osama Bin Laden is dead. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that someone so evil can't do any more harm, but I think his death is only gonna make things worse. Don't you think his little minions are gonna be pissed that their leader is gone? Don't you think they're gonna do whatever they can to carry out his evil plans? I'm just sayin. I think it's far from over. I'm saying this as my own cousin just got back from over there. He was lucky, he was able to come home to us. But what about the men and women that weren't so lucky?

On to more pleasant topics. This past weekend was weekend #2 of helping out at my sister and brother-in-law's house. Trying to get it ready for them to move in! Part of the challenge is to also keep my niece occupied while everyone is working. I felt guilty yesterday not helping with the manual labor part, but realized, keeping the kiddo happy is just as important. I saw one of the greatest things ever-and that is little Kendall running around her soon-to-be backyard. She was grinning from ear to ear and just having a blast. She was sooooo happy, even when we enlisted her help in picking up all the sweetgum balls in the yard.

Speaking of the kiddos, we finished painting Kendall and 2.0's rooms. Yellow for K and blue for 2.0. I can't wait to see all their stuff in there! My sis is now 24 weeks along and is so cute preggo! We didn't get to see her that much while she was pregnant with K just because they were in Texas, so it's kinda fun now being able to go through this pregnancy with her (minus the back pain and swollen ankles). We are getting very excited about our little guy getting here. He will most likely be born sometime during the week of August 15, so we only have about 15 weeks to go! I'm soooooo excited for him to get here. K was quite attached to her Aunt Heewi this weekend. On Sat she didn't want her mama to give her a bath. She said "no, Heewi do it!". Heewi also had to read her her bedtime story and put her to bed. I, of course, love it, but feel bad when she doesn't want anyone else. Although I am learning that my sis and bro-in-law don't mind the break. HA!

May is gonna be a busy, busy month in our world. Moving all my sis and brother-in-law's stuff into their new house this weekend....next weekend I'll be in Salem to attend my brother's capping ceremony (he's graduating from college this month! Yay!). The next weekend is a big fam roadtrip to Bolivar, Mo for my brother's graduation ceremony and then you have Memorial day weekend where we will be celebrating not only my brother's college graduation, but also my cousin Rachel's high school graduation. Lots of fun stuff!

In other news, the Cubs are not good at baseball. And while he's quite pretty, the Carlos Pena Experiment seems to be failing miserably. At least we have Starlin Castro! No matter how crappy the rest of the team is, watching that kid play is a pleasure to watch. His potential should be frightening to others. That kid can just plain hit. Now, if he could just get the fielding errors in control, he'd be amazing. It's gonna be fun watching him develop into an all-star caliber player. Hell, he may already be there.