Callin' Baton Rouge

Even though we had just spent the weekend in South Louisiana visiting my family, on a whim we decided to do it again the following one too (June 1st).  LSU was named as a host site for the first round of NCAA Baseball Championships, and Alex's alma mater, UNC-Wilmington, was selected as one of the four teams to play in the Baton Rouge regional.  Alex scrambled to snag two tickets (under covering, chair-backs, AWESOME seats!) for all UNCW games, and we peeled out of town early Friday afternoon for what shaped up to be another long weekend in the south.

As luck would have it, my brother held on to his Baton Rouge apartment for a few extra days, so Alex and I borrowed a second air mattress (ours is twin-sized) and camped out on the floor of the apartment for the weekend.  Austin had tickets to all the games through his LSU student ticketing program, which meant he spent the entire weekend at the park and we had quite a bit more wiggle room in our schedule.  Throw in monsoon-like rains, and we were primed for several nights of after-midnight baseball.  It was crazy/exciting/awesome.

Friday night, we ended up killing time with beer, food, and a visit from my friend Dawn at Walk-On's  (rated #1 Sports Bar in America - check it out!) near the stadium.  Our game didn't start until 9:15 p.m., and we were in it for the long haul!

Saturday, we met my birthday twin, Kim (college friend turned internship roommate who now lives in Boise, ID), and her husband and 18 month old daughter for lunch at Mellow Mushroom.  I hadn't seen the Peters Family since our wedding 2.5 years ago, and Alex had never really gotten to know them outside of the very first time he met them (in New Orleans exactly 1 year to the day before we were married).  I also enjoyed meeting little Eliana for the first time.

With rain on the horizon, Alex and I killed more time by walking around the Mall of Louisiana and resisting the urge to shop too hard.  We did come across these adorable Louisiana-themed tees at a little boutique.

This one is my favorite - I used to use the word "envie" in a sentence almost daily. :)

Anyway, baseball.  UNCW played very well.  They beat Tulane 10-1 at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, then lost to LSU 0-2 at 2:15 a.m. the following morning.  Sunday, we were primed for third day of midnight baseball but the NCAA pulled the game an hour before it started and after 10,000 LSU fans had sat through 2 hours of the second UNCW/Tulane game (which UNCW won 8-2).  On Monday, LSU pulled out another 2-0 win against UNCW, which ended our long weekend in the "Red Stick."

No, I didn't color my hair recently...not quite sure where the "goth" look comes from.

I had to be back in Baton Rouge for work on Tuesday/Wednesday, so we decided to drive the hour and a half to my parents' for a night instead of spending 3.5 hours in the car going back to Monroe, and returning again the following day. My daddy and Nanna had just finished peeling 100 pounds of fresh shrimp, so we were able to indulge in a special treat of FRESH fried shrimp for dinner that evening.  It was a lovely treat to be back in Cajun Country, even if for a short time.

...And if you haven't totally fallen in love with Louisiana by now, I might be worried about you.  ;)

-Lauren

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 10)

Today I'm linking up for the first time with our new host of 7 Quick Takes, Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum!

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Baseball Weekend #1 was a looooooooooong one.  I think my rear end was actually sore from sitting on a hard chair for such a long period of time.  My scoreboard skills were definitely rusty in the first game, but things got a little better by game #5 for the weekend.  And of course, my cupcakes were "the talk of the town," as they say.  I'm thinking it's much more reasonable to plan on one batch of sweets for the weekend, rather than something new every game...it is Lent, after all.  ;)

--- 2 ---

Early this week I was supposed to travel to south Louisiana for the State Livestock Show (for work).  However, I was realllllllllllly dreading the trip because the university Alex works for was closed for Mardi Gras and I really thought it was super unfair that he would get days off at home while I had to go freeze my butt off at the smelly old barn.  The weather also called for some pretty sketchy wintery stuff, that may or may not have included snow at some point.  Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled when the lady I planned to carpool with decided we shouldn't chance it and we cancelled our plans.  Then, since I had already planned to be out of the office on Monday and Tuesday, I decided to just take the days off instead...so Alex and I actually got to spend an unexpected "weekend" at home together.  Three cheers...amen!

It's the best we can do in north Louisiana. 

--- 3 ---

The Carnival season is over, Mardi Gras has passed, and Lent is here.  I have to give mad props to my friend Jen for this post on why Louisiana is awesome...in particular, at this time of the year.  And if you haven't read Jen's story yet, take a few minutes to check it out.  She and I were college roommates (we actually shared a room, not just living space...though we did that too at some point) and we have followed along with each other's blogging journeys since the very beginning.

--- 4 ---

Speaking of Lent, I'm not all about public posts regarding voluntary sacrifices, BUT I am doing something that may be worth noting for the sake of others who read this blog.  What I mean to say is that I have decided to give up Facebook, indefinitely.  Alex has already deactivated his account, and I may do the same eventually.  At this point, I still need access to the page for various reasons, but I am being diligent about only signing on with a purpose in mind, and signing out as soon as possible.  What this means for you, readers, is that your best way to contact me is via e-mail.  As for my reasons and such, I'm not ready to talk about that here on the blog just yet, so that's all I have to say about that. Oh, and this related link could also be worthy of reading.  (Granted I have a public blog, but you get the idea.)

Courtesy of Kendra

--- 5 ---

And in the interest of sharing (what I think is) another interesting idea for voluntary Lenten sacrifices, Alex and I plan to borrow Rosie's paper chain concept.  Back when I wrote my 20 in 14 list, I really wanted to do a better job of praying more intentionally, for specific people and things.  As you'll see when I (finally) address that item on the list, I never got into the habit even though I really wanted to.  SO, this Lent we will be adding specific intentions to our daily prayers, and this paper chain will be the tangible indicator of how well we're doing.  Can't wait to see how it goes!

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P.S. I had every intention of sharing a post with actual content on Wednesday, but then I realized it was Ash Wednesday and figured we were better left reverently absent (can that be a thing?) than sharing about light-hearted, fun things.  :)  Coming soon though...lots of fun new stuff (including MY 200th POST!!).  I may or may not have 3-4 posts/week planned through the end of March.  Now, who's going to take bets on whether it actually happens?!

--- 7 ---

It's looking to be a gross weekend.  From Friday to Saturday, the temperature will climb 13 degrees, then drop 25 on Sunday, and finish off (if you call it that) with a high at the ripe ole 28 degree mark.  Once again, they're even talking about the possibility of icy, sticky, white stuff...maybe.  I definitely wouldn't bet on too much excitement - we do live in Louisiana, after all.

Whiplash, anyone?

Stay warm, ya'll!
-Lauren

For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain't the Lyceum!

How Baseball Ruined Valentine's Day

I'm no stranger to whining about our ridiculous work schedules here on the blog, so it seems only fitting to write about giving up Valentine's Day for the sake of collegiate baseball.  Plus, Sarah at Venus Trapped in Mars challenged me to create a post that combined sports + Valentine's Day.  I figure I give her enough crap by trolling her "sports for girls" posts - it's time for me to (wo)man up and play along too.

Did you know...NCAA Baseball opening day for every team starts on the same day - usually the second Friday of February. The season is a grind of 56 regular season games that runs until the middle of May. After that for the fortunate ones, there are conference tournaments, NCAA regionals, NCAA super regionals, and the NCAA college world series....which basically means no life for 4 months, got it.  (Okay, I may or may not have added the last part for dramatic effect.)

With those kinda stats (thanks, Husband Dear) I think I deserve a few minutes to whine, yes?

So what's a girl to do?  Well, Alex is the bestest of all (duh!), so we celebrated early with a nice dinner on Thursday night.  He pointed out how at least I'm "lucky" he's still in town for Vday...he could be on the road traveling for away games.  Okay fine, Husband...fine!

Anyway... I'm kind of known around the local press box community for my cupcakes.  Cupcakes, you say?  Yes, cupcakes.  (Nevermind they're always out of a box...cupcakes! ...Pretty sure as long as it's edible, the press box people will swoon.)

What better way to bow down to the baseball inevitable than to make team-color-cupcakes?!  (And on Saturday, pink/red cupcakes...then maybe Mardi Gras colors on Sunday?  Yes, I think so.)

You win, baseball...you win.

So instead of inhaling a huge box of chocolate hearts, admiring beautiful red roses, or gorging on fine wine and delicious seafood...this girl will be pressing buttons on the scoreboard as ULM hosts the Warhawk Classic (4 teams, 6 games...a whole lotta baseball) all.weekend.long.  At least I don't have to work the other 13 sporting events on campus this weekend.  Geesh, people.

And if you're looking for some true romance (obviously you won't find that with me on the baseball field), check out the story of this lovely couple.  Married for over 40 years, the husband writes a love letter to his wife EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.NO.MATTER.WHAT.  Now that's the kind of love that makes this world go round.  #swoon

For others in the romantic mood, I encourage you to link up with Sarah as she hosts her annual You're Sweet but I Prefer Chocolate link-up...

...OR, her weekly Fan Friday link-up if you're instead feeling sporty.

Thanks, Sarah, for hosting (and letting me bug you on the regular)!

Happy Valentine's, everyone!
-Lauren

P.S.  Please excuse the poor quality photos; it is what it is and I have no excuses today.

I got this.

Not too long ago, I wrote about crossing off Goal #10 on my 20 in 14 list.  We recently closed out the last home series for the year and while I am looking forward to a more normal schedule for Alex, I am a little sad to say goodbye to the 2014 baseball season.  With these goodbyes also come well wishes for a few graduate assistants who will be moving on to bigger and better things, and eventually some hellos to new faces, too.

In the last couple of weekends, I convinced Alex to start teaching me how to score the game.  Yeah, I've been running the scoreboard all season (sometimes with better efforts than others), but I decided to up the ante and try to learn the language a little better, if you will.  I wanted RBI, 6-3 (1), FF9, Base on Balls, and L7 to be more than just jibberish in a room filled with some foreign language.

So, how'd it go?  Eh....I picked up a few terms, understand scoring a little better, and could probably read a score-book if necessary.  Can I enter the information in StatCrew (statistical program for athletics) or calculate earned versus unearned runs?  ...Doubtful.  BUT, I can tell you if the call was KS (strike-out swinging) or KL (strike-out looking)...on a good day at least.  AND, I might even be able to say if it was P5 or P6 before the beat writer for the local paper looks it up.

Mhm, yep.  I got this.

Alex seems to think I'll be continuing my studies with one-on-one tutoring during major league games this summer.  I might just take him up on that offer...

I mean, it's never to early to be prepped and ready to go for 2015, right???

I can just see it now...he'll print out the score sheet, and I'll heat the popcorn.  It will be a match made in Heaven.

-Lauren

Just a Little R&R

By now, most of you know Alex and I dated long distance (across states/time zones) for two years before we were married in December 2012.  As husband and wife, it was incredibly refreshing to finally be living in the same state, town, and even the same house.  The weeks or months apart were grueling, but good practice in patience and selflessness, priming us for our roles as husband and wife (in more ways than one).

Almost a year and a half into our marriage, we still find ourselves experiencing periods of time that greatly resemble that season of long-distance dating.  The way our work schedules shake out, one or both of us is away overnight at least once a month, and in some seasons, two weeks out of the month.  We're lucky that those two week months are never consecutive days, but four or five nights is not unheard of.  February-June and August-December are especially tough...which, if you do the math, are 9 of 12 months out of the year.  Yuck.

I really do love baseball season, but literally every weekend from February to June is occupied with Alex's work, and thus we are not able to visit friends/family, or even spend a weekend relaxing around the house.  As much as I groan about it, I am reminded of the toll this grueling schedule takes on Alex, and try not to give him such a hard time about the yard needing mowing or broken appliances (re: garage door) needing to be fixed.  He really does make an effort to do everything in his power to be totally present with me when we do find those rare moments together.

This weekend, Alex had to travel with the team to Jonseboro, AR, for a three game series against Arkansas State.  Last year, I joined him for Easter weekend at UALR in Little Rock, and this time around I was able to make the trip once again.  Most couples would have taken advantage of the opportunity to explore all things touristy in a new town, but that plan just wasn't for us this time.

What were we excited about?  Watching TV in bed.  Really?  Yes, really.  To quote a good friend's mother, "Nothing good ever happens in a bedroom with a television," and I agree.  So, staying in a hotel room with a television in front of the TV was a real treat for us.  Even more so, being confined to the space of four walls with one another for three days...that was a real treat for us.  (Not like that.  Get your mind out of the gutter, people.)  

source

We did get out and about a little, enjoying a few restaurants that don't happen to be in Monroe, and even doing some shopping.  No significant purchases were made, but it was incredible to be together...and discussing plans for our summer garden or home projects while we were at it were just an added bonus.  So as we head out on that 5 hour drive south this afternoon, I can honestly say I feel truly refreshed and re-energized about the sacred relationship between my husband and I.

Alex says this is his "I don't feel well" face.

As for everyone else, I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend.  Now...go eat a chocolate bunny.  :)
-Lauren

#10 - Volunteering

[We're more than a quarter into 2014 now, so I figure it's time to get cracking on addressing some of my goals for the year.  Several from my 20 in 14 list are in-progress, but there are a couple I can write more about at this point.  Stay tuned for additional posts as I tackle the items on my list.]

Volunteering is one of those hobbies (if you will) that I consider "my thing."  Growing up as an active member of my parish 4-H program, being in 4-H and volunteering kinda became my "sport."  What I mean is that once I realized dance/gymnastics/baton were not my forte, I took up civic engagement as a fulfilling pastime.

At some point in high school or college, I announced that I wanted to be a career volunteer, knowing that possibility was unlikely to ever be a reality.  After graduate school, however, I landed what I thought was my dream job - Volunteer Coordinator - for a nonprofit organization that I wholeheartedly believed in.  I recruited, trained, supported, evaluated, and recognized teenagers and young adults who were interested in working with individuals with disabilities in the outdoor camp setting.

It was great.  I loved working with teens who were enthusiastic and passionate about the cause, and I found it very rewarding to watch them grow and evolve personally and professionally throughout the year.  I felt like I made a difference by helping to transform the program from one that focused on serving the "clientele" (for lack of a better word) to one that embraced the opportunity to be that catalyst for developing these young adults into informed and engaged citizens.

But, then I had to move.  More specifically, I got married and moved back to my home state, leaving behind an organization and position that I truly enjoyed and considered family.  I was blessed to be offered a position working with the 4-H program there, which seemed on paper to be a natural fit.  But, somehow, that feeling of "career volunteer" turned into just plain old "work."  For the sake of public access, I'll refrain from elaborating there.

Looking to fill that void and hoping to make this new city feel more like home, I decided I needed to find a way to volunteer again.  When I added 'volunteering' to my list of goals for 2014, I had full intentions of becoming a Saturday volunteer with the local humane society for cats.  Alex and I adopted two kittens from there last year, and it seems like a fun organization to get involved with.  However, ya'll know what happens when you tell God your plans...

Okay, so nothing major happened, but I sort of fell into a different volunteer opportunity that just so happens to be a more natural fit, at the moment anyway.  If you don't know much about our lifestyle in the moment, let me just say it's very inconsistent.  Our work schedules vary tremendously (especially Alex's), and we often work nights/weekends.  This makes it tough for us to feel like we have much time together to lead a "regular" life...you know, the kind where you have friends over to barbecue, maintain a backyard garden, or go on weekend trips as a couple...

So, when we realized the Marketing Intern responsible for assigning students to work at baseball games left off a student for the score board, I eagerly asked if I could do it.  I'm not a sports person by any means, but with baseball, I can hang!  I'd even gotten a bit of practice in the fall for some intersquad games, so I knew I could pick up the hang of things if I had the chance.

The game-day staff agreed to let me man the scoreboard for the first weekend, and well, that was back in February...it's now April and here I am still running the scoreboard.  Every now and again I can't make it due to work and such, but a kind intern guy generally fills in for me when that happens.  It's really been fun to have a purpose for being in the pressbox during the games, and I've also found it easier to get to know many of the people Alex works with.  I'm not just some imaginary figure ("the wife"), but instead I feel like a part of the athletic department community.

...And every once in a while, I get to be experience something really cool, like this:

A gorgeous rainbow framed the field after yesterday's storms.

or this:

Click here to read the full story from CBSSports.com.
And here for another story on Coach Black.

To date, I've volunteered for at least 15 games, figuring at least 3 hours each, so a total of nearly 50 hours.  Not too shabby!

A bit wordy, I know, but there you have it!  I can say I've crossed another thing off my list!

-Lauren

Tour de Louisiane

Sorry it's been almost a week since I've posted.  It was a busy week, and I've also been fighting the crud, so blogging hasn't been a huge priority.  Here I am trying to manage one more post before the months is over!

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Last weekend was actually really fun.  Between Thursday and Sunday, I traveled to almost every corner of the state, and was able to enjoy time with family, friends, and coworkers along the way.  It was really relaxing and quite refreshing.

I completed my third (of 3) new agent trainings, which means I "graduated" from the program and I suppose I'm technically not a "new" agent anymore.  Of the 24 people who attended this training, 12 of us were on our last rotation, which means the group is going to be smaller without our "class."  It was actually a really fun training with lots of hands-on activities, which gave me several new ideas for working with youth.  It will be fun to implement some of the new ideas.

101 ways to teach a lesson using paper airplanes.

After my overnight stay in Pollock (Alexandria area), I headed home on Friday night to visit my family.  Daddy cooked some delicious Sammy's steaks, and Nanna came over to visit too.  It was certainly a short visit, but a sweet one.  I squeezed in a haircut in Lafayette on my way out of town, so now I'm sporting a new "do," too.

I made my way down to Thibodaux on Saturday, where I met Alex for the last few innings of their baseball game versus some team from the midwest (it's not important so I don't remember).  I SO enjoyed driving through campus at my alma mater (Nicholls State) for the first time in over two years.  We made a pitt stop at Rouses on our way to Luling for the night, and ended up buying seven (yes SEVEN) king cakes.  Okay, so four of them were for an upcoming meeting (per request of the coordinator), one was for a coworker, one for us, and one for Alex's parents.  Still, seven king cakes.  Mmmm.

As the weekend trend went, our overnight stay with my college roommate and her husband/toddler, was short but fun.  She's pregnant again (high risk), so when our tentative plans to check out a Mardi Gras parade fell through, we were perfectly content to spend the evening eating in and watching 90s Nickelodeon shows via Amazon Prime.  Any time with friends is time well spent.  :)

Sunday's afternoon back in Thibodaux was (thankfully) cut short due to a rain out of their noon game.  With a 4.5 hour drive back to Monroe ahead of us, we certainly appreciated the opportunity to get on the road threeish hours earlier than anticipated. Heck, we even made it home early enough to go grocery shopping on the way and didn't feel totally exhausted by the time we arrived.

My little "tour" added a total of more than 650 miles on the CajunYota, and included visits to almost every major city in the state (Monroe, Alexandria, Lafayette, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge).  Only the Northwest and extreme Southwest corners (Shreveport and Lake Charles, respectively) were left out.  Even after living in five other states over the course of five years, I'm still just as much in love with my home state as I ever was.  There really is no other place like it.

And in case you didn't know, Mardi Gras is only four days away...so go find yourself a king cake and INDULGE!

Happy Weekend!
-Lauren

Beezballs Are Out!

Beezballs is my silly word for baseball. I also have silly words for basketball and football, however, I digress. Baseball season is over!!! Can I get an allelujah??!? Wahoo!!!

I'd like to say the team went out with a bang, but the only bang was the metaphorical bang from self-inflicted gunshots aimed at our heads due to the miserable scores and hotter-than-hades temperatures in the press box this past weekend. Let me explain. Thurssday, the guys went down with a respectable 4-5 loss against the Cajuns. Friday and Saturday brought out the worst of the worst with resounding 4-12 and 1-12 losses, respectively. To make matters worse, the compressor in the air/conditioner for the press box went out on Friday afternoon, so even the coolest light-weight clothing didn't help the 88 degree indoor temperature (plus humidity, of course). This was even with the windows open. I'm fairly certain it felt better outside given the slight chance for an occasional breeze there.

Regardless, sports are out for the summer, and FINALLY the Edwards home can return to a normal schedule. I'm thrilled to have my husband around for more than two days a week now. We have a lot of DVR to catch up on, and even more recipes to try, places to visit, and honey-do lists to tackle.

I should admit that baseball is actually my favorite sport for Alex to cover, so generally I am pretty accepting or tolerant of the schedule. It's just sooo long, and travel takes up a great deal of time. Football on the other hand...don't get me started on that! You won't find this girl within a mile of the stadium come August. That's all I have to say about that!

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I'm trying to work on writing more frequent, less lenghty posts. Ya'll keep me accountable (especially on the frequency issue), okay folks??

Sayonara,
Lauren