Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training on February 15, 2009, a mere 75 days from today. 

--Tricia--

I love this clip from Scrubs.  It makes me laugh every time I see it.  Maybe I'm weird, but that's ok.  I'm comfortable with that.  Here it is.  "Mercy Flush."  Ha! 


--Tricia--

The office building that I work at is at the tail end of a monster remodeling project.  It has been loud, dusty, smelly and none of the guys working on the building has looked anything like Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover Home Addition, so no eye candy for me.

Oh well.

One of the last walls was knocked down yesterday and someone found two Minneapolis newspapers from April 1958. They were very yellow and creased, but the paper was fine and we have had a hoot reading them the last few days.

The main news was the same depressing stuff that we have now. People getting hurt, car accidents, and other stuff like that.  The most interesting part of these papers were the "Help Wanted" sections.

There was a seperate help wanted section for men and another one for women.  There was one that really made me laugh.

"Waitress wanted: Young and nice looking woman wanted to work lunch and dinner shifts. No experience needed."

Can you imagine that now?? Having an ad that basically states that you shouldn't apply if you are ugly.  I'm pretty sure that would be illegal today.  (As well it should be!)

Another thing that struck me was the comics. Dagwood sat in the same chair in 1958 that he does in 2008 and Elmo was 9 years old then just like he is now.  Beetle Bailey and Mark Trail are the same.

I still get the majority of my news from the newspaper. Oh sure, I scan the internet and watch the news but I love sitting in bed on a weekend morning and reading the paper. Thumbing through it page by page. Looking at the pictures. I'm sure that is because Tricia and I were brought up in a family that read the newspaper every single day and it is a great habit that has stuck with me.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

**Becca**

I've been having a difficult time lately, dealing with problems at work and the start of winter. The worst part for me is how short the days are. It is dark when I leave for work and it is dark as I venture home.  Winter has never been my favorite time of year but this year I'm making a vow to get out and do stuff instead of sitting around being Miss Mopey, because nobody like a mope. Luckily, I have a new friend who LOVES winter (?????) and all the outdoor activites that accompany it, so I'm going to try at embrace it, at least a little bit.

I thought I'd leave you with something I got at work a long time ago that I have taped on the inside of one of kitchen cupboards. Whenever I'm feeling down it always make me feel better.

Daily Reminders:
1.  There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2.  At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3.  The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4.  A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5.  Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6.  You mean the world to someone.
7.  You are special and unique.
8.  Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it. 
10.  When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11.  Always remember the compliments you received. Forgot about the rude remarks. 

**Becca**
 

Justin and Joe each won silver slugger awards, so hooray for them!  Of course, the Cy Young awards have been passed out, as have Rookie of the Year Awards and Manager of the Year Awards.  Ho hum...please forgive my lack of excitement.  I just can't seem to muster any enthusiasm for them. 

Gardy has signed a two year extension, and I think that's good news.  It's not like it comes as a big surprise, but I'm still glad it's official.  Sure, we all second guess his decisions sometimes, but that's part of the fun of being an ardent fan of a team.  I think the guys like playing for him.  I also think his temper tantrums are extremely entertaining. 

Now that the 2008 season is over, can we pretty please with sugar on top declare a moratorium on the whole, "OMG how did the Twins ever survive the season without Hunter and Santana?"  I griped about that once already, I know, but if I read one more article about the Twins with those words in it, I might scream. 

In non-Twins news, Nick Swisher is going to play for the Yankees.  I'm hoping for an entertaining story from Those Girls about how the new Yankee Stadium might just collapse on itself once Swisher walks in.  They are, to put it mildy, NOT fans of his.  I myself am curious to see what he looks like clean-shaven and short-haired. 

In non-news, not baseball-related whatsoever, here's a video of "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.  Becca, Andrea (the sister who thinks baseball is about as exciting as watching paint dry) and I all *heart* this song.  Our musical tastes overlap some, but when all three of us *heart* the same song this much, it's kind of cool for us.


Tricia

This is a major bummer.  I was hoping rehab would do the trick.  I wanted Pat Neshek to be back in 2009 throwing those weird sidearm pitches that confuse the heck out of batters, and sitting 'em down one by one. 

Alas, it's not to be.  Poor Sideshow Pat.  I hope the surgery goes well. 

--Tricia--

Well, there's no baseball news, but apparently there was an election.

We are very pleased (giddy with joy) with the result of the presidential election.  Here is a link to Alright Hamilton! showing photographic evidence that Barack Obama is a White Sox fan.  

Oh well.  Nobody's perfect. 

--Tricia--

There's no baseball until Spring Training, and this is pretty dang funny.