Shopping Secrets and #RE2PECT

As a Red Sox fan, I hate all things Yankee. Seriously. Hate it. With one exception: Derek Jeter. 

Jeter, you will be missed. As much as it hurts me to say that, you will be missed. Quick...I have to compensate for leading off this blog with a picture of a YANKEE...

okay. I feel better. phew. 

Sorry. It's hard for a die hahd Sawx girl to talk about anyone who plays in pinstripes, even if he is completely respectable and an asset to the game. 

Speaking of baseball, despite my opinion that the All-Star game (hereafter abbreviated ASG) is completely overrated and ridiculous, it's still baseball and I'm still gonna watch. Also speaking of baseball, I'm finally going to a game this season! Yay! 

No, the Red Sox aren't playing. I'm going to see the Nats and Brewers. I have never seen the Brewers play before so this should be fun. I like Nat's Park too. You can take the metro right to it and there is something fun about riding on public transportation when everyone is going to same place and it's a fun place. It gives you a sense of camaraderie. 

Moving on from sports to my other love, shoes. I have a secret for you ladies, especially if you have a size 7.5 or smaller foot. The BEST place to get cute shoes at a low price is Dress Barn Women. Some Dress Barns are combined, misses sizes and women's sizes, but some are separate. So Dress Barn Women sells the plus size clothes. Most of the women who shop there , many of them are very tall, which means their foot size is larger. So that means all their clearance shoes are size 6, 6.5, 7, and 7.5 with a handful of larger sizes. When my mom said she was thinking about going there today because she had a coupon my response was this:

And good thing too. Ten minutes later, I was walking out of the store with a pair of green flats studded with gold squares and a pair of subtle cowboy booties. My total? $16.00.

That's right. TWO pairs of shoes for $16.00. That's $8.00 a pair. You can't really beat that. And to top it off, Dress Barn actually sells nice, fairly comfortable shoes. So remember this ladies: if you have tiny feet, check the clearance shoes at the plus size stores. And I'm actually pretty sure the opposite works too. 

So if I don't blog again until I get back, sorry. I'm just...

I really need to lay off the coffee. And the gifs. :/ 

Peace :)

Geek Chic Caballero

If you haven't already noticed, I'm a bit of a nerd. 

Yep. Nerd. But there are levels of nerd, okay? I own ONE Princess Leia costume that I made for Halloween and might wear another Halloween so I didn't get rid of it. And while some people may enjoy wearing costumes like that other places...me, not so much. But I do like to show off my favorite fandoms in a more...subtle way. Let me tell you, between Etsy and Amazon, you can rock some really nerdy stuff without anyone (other than fellow nerds) noticing. 

For example, I own the following pieces of jewelry: 

 




A pendent with a quote from Lord of the Rings, a Mockingjay pendent, a ring with a quote from Hamlet, and I also own a ring that says "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" (not pictured). When I wear these particular items, the Mockingjay for example, I get every comment from "cute necklace" to "is that from the Hunger Games?" to "Oh my gosh! Where did you get a Mockingjay necklace?" (answer: amazon).

These pieces express some of my personality, and are great conversation starters with fellow nerds. But even if someone doesn't know that my necklace has a quote form Tolkien, they ask "where did you get it? I love that! And that quote is nice!" and you can expose someone to classic (like Lord of the Rings) or tell them that Etsy has all kinds of wonderful things based on classic literature like this. Seriously, it does. You want a Jane Austen pendent? Done. They even have Once Upon a Time based items (for all you Oncers out there!) 

So if you want some truly unique (or nerdy, or both) items, skip your traditional jewelry places and check out www.etsy.com and www.amazon.com. You'll be amazed at what you find! 

Moving right along. I told you all I would review Isabel Allende's Zorro. I finished it last night, and, well...

Let me start off by saying that it is a very well-written book and a good story. But if you are looking for the stories like we used to watch on the old black and white Zorro on the Disney channel...not so much. One, it's a lot more focused on racism, the rights of Indians (as they are called in the story), the rights of women and the rights of slaves. Yeah. It's also more of a prequel. How did Zorro become Zorro? Who was his mother? His father? See, Zorro chronology is difficult because the creator of Zorro didn't always pay attention to canon and continuity. This story attempts to tie them all together, from the original serial all the way up to the Banderas movies. I almost wish the title wasn't "Zorro" because he doesn't show up very much or for very long. It's a lot about Diego de La Vega, Bernardo, and the two of them growing up. It was a good book but I think I prefer the original and other more swashbuckling stories. I didn't really care about the whole Napoleon took over Spain and then he lost it political drama, I wanted Diego to go back to California and fight the evil there. He did, but it was in like the last...5 chapters of the book or so. I missed the snarky Zorro (and equally, though much more subtly snarky, Diego). Good book, but as for Zorro, your best bet is the Guy Williams Disney version. 

 

So tomorrow I have an interview for a possible real, grown-up job (yay!) but this is a little bit how I feel: 

But I think (or at least I hope) I will do okay. If I could only find something to wear...

That's it for me! Enjoy the Home Run Derby tonight and the All-Star game tomorrow :) 

Adios.

Relevantly Irrelevant

The MLB All-Star game is upon us!!!! Cue the excitement! Cue the music! Break out the beer and snacks!

Or not. 

Can we just discuss how completely ridiculous and irrelevant this game is? But because it's got post-season implications, it is actually relevant? Forgetting that fact that the players are voted their by the FANS who are by their very definition BIASED (and despite what any of them say, they are all huge homers ), this game is useless! I am not a fan of the All-Star game because in EVERY. OTHER. SPORT. the all-star game is an exhibition. It's fun. It means nothing.

But no. Baseball has to make this game "relevant". So now we sit through an exhibition game and have to care because whichever side wins gets HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE for the World Series. Which if anyone is counting, the NL is winning 43-39 all time in All-Star games but in the last 20 years, it's 13-6 in favor of the AL with 1 tie. 

I'm sorry. The team with the best record should get home field advantage, AL or NL. That's how they do NBA, NHL...and the NFL playoffs do the same thing (NFL has only one game at a neutral site for the championship, thus it is hard to compare it to baseball). 

Will I watch? Probably. It's hard not to when you are a sports fan and there is LITERALLY nothing else on. And I don't watch a whole lot of TV anymore (gee, thanks grad school!) so many times, especially in the summer, sports are the only reason to turn on the tube.

The interwebs on the other hand...

So I tried, really tried, to hold off on watching Emma Approved. I mean, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries were like my biggest form of procrastination the whole time I was getting my Master's degree. I was actually glad it was over before student teaching. And I refused to start Emma Approved until I graduated and got a job. Well, still no job but I did start (and catch up on) Emma Approved the other day and can I just say: It is FANTASTIC! 


Not only because of these two: 

Emma Woodhouse and Alex Knightley played by Joanna Sotomura and Brent Bailey

But because they are adorable. See exhibits A, and B: 

It also doesn't hurt that Emma is one of my all time favorite novels with my hands down favorite leading man, ever. He's always been one of my favorites. I love Jonny Lee Miller in the 2009 Masterpiece Classic Emma. He's the long-suffering, sensible best friend who is adorably awkward. Bailey's Knightley is less awkward, more adorable, and is subsequently dubbed "Snarky Knightley" during the show by Emma because he is. Very snarky. Adorably snarky. I LOVE it. I didn't think it was possible, but I believe I like Mr. Knightley even more now... 

So yeah. I guess check out the All Star game and DEFINITELY check out Emma Approved and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (if you haven't already)

Also, starting something new: book of the week. I'm reading Zorro by Isabel Allende. 

I've read the original (Curse of Capistrano by Johnston McCulley) and loved the Disney series (the one that came out in 1957. I loved watching the reruns of that as a kid) and the movies. So far the book is a bit...off beat. Not bad, but the narrator definitely has an agenda, which I don't mind but I haven't really gotten to any action yet. I'll keep you posted. 

Adios!

Sox Blank Jays, Yanks halt the Clinch

Okay. So all we needed was a Yankees loss after Dice, Oki and Paps combined to shut out the Jays. But it was the last game to ever be played at Yankee stadium, did you really think they were going to lose?

Nope.

Lets honor the House That Ruth Built after the Sox Traded Him For Goodness-Knows-Why with the top 5 Red Sox moments at Yankee Stadium (in no particular order)

1. 10/19/2004 ALCS Game 6: The Bloody Sock. Schill pitches great, giving up only 1 run in 7 innings.

2. 10/17/2004 ALCS Game 4: Papi's 2-run shot in the 12th to win the game and keep the Sox alive.

3. 10/20/2004 ALCS Game 7: Sox cruise by the Yanks 10-3 and go on to win their first World Series in 86 years.

4. 4/14/1967 Rookie Billy Rohr kicks off his Major League career and the "Impossible Dream" season by coming within one out of a no-hitter. A soft grounder blew the no-hitter, but the Sox still got the shut-out.

5. 7/16/2008 All-Star Game. J.D. Drew became MVP of the game going 2-4 and hitting the game-tying home run in the 7th. The game went 15 innings, and featured 8 Red Sox players and the skipper, Terry Francona. A long game, but a great send off for the stadium. :)

That's all I got. I'm going to bed. Bring on the Indians.

The AL East, The All-Stars and the Rays, Oh My!

Sorry for the long hiatus...I was on vacay during the all-star break, but I'm back with notes and ready to go.

O's game first. We lost. Moving on. O's again, but this time, we weren't planning on losing. Wake pitched great, and Youk, fresh from the last strikeout to lose the game Friday, was angry. When is Youk not angry? He is always fired up. Anyway, its the 3rd inning, bases loaded, here comes Youkilis. I was sitting on the couch with my neighbors dog (I live with people who think its okay to have a cookout when the Sox are on TV. eh) and I looked at the dog and I said "I think Youk's gonna hit one hard." Sure enough, Grand Slam for Kevin. Yay.

Manny and J.D. hit solos....that was just a really bad inning for the O's. I remember thinking towards the end there: wait a minute. Pedroia and Ellsbury have already hit this inning...like I said, bad inning for the O's. And because it's an AL East game, they keep updating us on the Rays scores.

Speaking of the Rays, they've lost seven in a row going into the break. Seven. Now, for older teams, that doesn't worry me too much. But for the Rays...well, they're pitching will keep them in it, maybe, but it all depends on whether or not they let this slump affect them, shatter their confidence. They were on top for three weeks or so, and they couldn't hold it. Whether that's over confidence on their part, bad luck, or just some nerves, I don't know. I don't see the Sox giving the East up any time soon, and I don't think the Rays are going to go on a tear again, because as good as they are at home, they are that bad on the road. Unless the Jekyll and Hyde thing can be sorted out, they may fall out of the Wild Card race. Notice, I said "may". Its baseball, anything can happen.

Okay, so the O's fell to the Sox 12-1. I just think they had Liz's number.

On to the next game. The nail biter. I mean, not really, but really. Dice-K threw an enormous number of pitches (scary) walked five (really scary) and four hits (really, really scary) yet somehow, it was scoreless. Paps looked a little sloppy on the save, but thanks to a diving catch by Pedroia and a few other good plays, he notched his 100th save. Nice. And with this win and the Rays loss, the Sox pull a half game ahead of the Rays just in time for the All-Star break.



So, the All-Stars. Okay, in Paps defense, he really didn't mean that he thought he should close instead of Mariano Rivera. That was not what he said. What he said is exactly what every back-up was thinking: "I don't care if [name] is the best [position] in baseball, I want to start at [position]." Duh, people. And New York fans, you can hurl all the insults you want at the boys, they expect it, but leave the pregnant ladies alone, okay. That's just wrong. I wouldn't say a bad word to a pregnant woman that would seem threatening, even if she was covered in Yankees gear. So heckle the players, heckle the other fans, but leave the future mommies alone.

Now on to the All-Star game. There were a ton of Sox playing, which is wonderful, and I gotta say, listening to an interview by Tek, I understand so much more why he is so respected by EVERYBODY. (Except maybe A-Rod. They may still have some beef) That is the most humble, intelligent player ever. He was so honored to be there, and I don't care how bad he hits, you can not ask for a better captain or catcher. The oh-so-classy NY fans booed Tito and the other Sox. Surprised? I think Yaz and Fisk should have been on that field for the opening ceremony, but its the Yanks, what do you expect. This is what made me happy to watch the final All-Star game in Yankee Stadium:

Count 'em: 16. Yep. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Now really, onto the game. I think Tito did a good job, they all played, they looked like they were having a good time, and hey, the AL won. Again. After 15 innings. And in almost every one, either side had a chance to put the game away for good. It was a weird game. I was in bed, watching it, thinking, I can drift off to sleep to the post-game, it'll be here soon. (That was in the 11th inning)

You gotta love JD Drew in this game. He comes in, gets on base 4 out of 5 times, one of those was the game-tying 2-run homer. Combine that with good defense, he was an obvious choice for MVP. I mean, really, who else would you pick? Longoria? Its not even close. So congrats to JD.

In other news, Che-Hsuan Lin, a previously-unknown defensive replacement in the All-Star Futures game from Class A Greenville, was the MVP of that game. The Sox signed him, and are hopeful that with some work, the slugger and stellar defensive player will work his way up onto the Fenway roster, which is all that Lin wants to do. He wants to play for the Sox. I love a guy like that. So, the Sox come in with the most All-Stars for the AL, they get the MVP, and then the farm system gets the Futures MVP. Yep. That's exactly the way I wanted Yankee stadium to be sent off. Actually, had it been Drew instead of Young who hit the game-winner, that would have been great.


I should not go on hiatus, the blogs get really long. Well, here's to a strong second half.

In final, closing, seriously, the last bit of news...

I'm trying to be Governor of VA for Red Sox Nation. Its truly my passion, and I would love to do it, so anyone interested, you can endorse me, Sara Hannon, at RedSox.com, my email is: hannonse@gmail.com.

Thanks. See you in the second half! :)

And The Hits Go On

After a few games one-hit wonder one run squeaks, the Sox let it all go for Wednesday's game against the Twins. Final score? 18-5. Score in the first inning? 0-3. Yeah. We all got worried, and then, it was like someone flipped a switch.

Tek got some great hits. Maybe he's coming out of his slump to go on a hot streak. (Being a catcher myself, it is really hard to concentrate on anything but catching, so working out of a batting slump along with being a game manager...its really, really hard. So I've been rooting for him) The best part? His hits were RBI singles.


And if that weren't enough, Jacoby got 4 hits, Manny, Youk and Casey got three (including Youk hitting a homer) The Sox had 23 hits, 10 for extra bases. Jeez.

And this wasn't the Mariners we were beating here, its the Twins. The Twins who came to Fenway winning 19 of their last 25 games. Why can't we play like this against Tampa Bay? Maybe we can now. Maybe it won't matter, if the Rays continue the slump they are on. The Sox are 1.5 games back on the Rays, hanging around and making things difficult for the young team.

Congrats to the All-Stars. I think Mikey should be at third, but that's a rant for another day...and Cheers to the Nation for giving J.D. Drew one of the biggest voting boosts in the history of the All-Star game. Nice. We've got seven, eight if you count the skipper, I think that's a fitting way to end the days of Yankee Stadium - filling it with Red Sox players. :)

This may sound terrible, but I need Evan Longoria to suck it up from now on and I need Jacoby to have the season of his life from now on. I want him to win Rookie of the Year, but as long as everyone is in love with Longoria, that's not going to happen. I'm not saying this out of spite for the Rays, I want Jacoby to be the Rookie of the Year, and anyone who stands in the way of that goal is the enemy.

Clay Buchholz is back after his stint in the minors, and since he had such a strong few games in Pawtucket, spending that time to work on his mechanics, we'll be getting a really good pitcher back who can take out the O's.

Final thoughts: Manny is always going to be Manny. It's how life is. But this? I feel like we could have a highlight reel of Manny's antics and never mention how good a slugger he is. I mean, you have the catch, give a fan a high five, and still get the double play highlight, his often confused base-running, or this:

Manny has climbed into the Monster before. But the cell phone? Oh well, its just Manny being Manny.

Rock the All-Star Vote

Yankees got crushed. Sox won a heart-stopping-last-minute victory against the D-Backs. If only the stupid Rays had lost, my life would be complete. They're still a game back, but...eh. All I gotta say is we have to play sharp on the 30th.

Without Tek's RBI last night, I don't know where we'd be, but hopefully this can rally the Sox into getting their offensive mojo back. I mean, how cool would it be to get Papi back swinging hard and combining that with an already hot offense?

Good news all around: Youk is fine. He played last night, and they think he may be able to get in the batters box tonight. Papi is going to take a few shots off the tee (the baseball kind) today, which is always good. Schill's surgery went well, and he hopes to pitch again (yay!)

Also, congrats to Chris Smith on his first Major League W.

Alright, Transplanters and Homeboys alike, listen up: GET GOING ON THE ALL-STAR VOTING! We've slowed down and now Tek is out of first and some of our leads are dwindling. AND a YANKEE has the most votes! This is not allowable. Get online and vote 25 times! It's tedious, but I tell you what, it takes like, five minutes max to get all 25 in, so is it really that hard?

Vote HERE for our boys.

There are so many of us, we can really control this voting, but we gotta vote! Come on, how much would the Yanks hate us if the All-Star game played in their stomping grounds featured mostly Sox players?????????

What are you waiting for? VOTE!