Long But Fun Day

We got up early this morning and drove to Dayton to watch the Cincinnati Reds play the Florida Marlins in their final spring training game. My brother wanted to get there early so we could watch batting practice (it was supposed to start at 11:30). We got there around 10:15, parked and walked to the stadium. We made it to the stadium just as the rain started coming down. Luckily there was a overhang to stand under, or we would have been soaked. We got there 10 minutes too late to see the Reds players arrive (we heard most of them didn't sign autographs anyway). We did get to watch the Marlins arrive. There were probably around 30 of us on each side of the barriers to watch them walk in (luckily the rain had stopped for a few minutes). I've never gone to a game early enough to watch players get off of the buses, so I was surprised that they were dressed really nice in suites. Most of them walked past us like we weren't there (I wasn't seeking autographs anyway since I didn't have anything to write on) but I just wanted to see what they looked like. I don't really know much about the Marlins players. A few players signed just a couple of autographs. Dontrelle Willis signed about 10, but Miguel Cabrera stayed out there and signed every single autograph for anyone asking, and he took the time to take pictures with people. I remember thinking "now that's a really nice guy". He could have easily been like the rest of the players, but he wasn't. So, I rooted for him every time he got up to bat. LOL! I like to root for the good guys. We saw the singer of the National Anthem arrive (Gran Bel Fisher - he's this month's Yahoo Music "Who's Next? User's Choice" artist and will be featured on the upcoming Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack). We probably could have asked him to take a picture with all of us and get his autograph since he was just walking around, but we didn't bother him. Before the gates opened, it poured down rain again (lucky us). It wasn't just rain either, it was kinda cold. No doubt I'll probably be sick from it. Anyway, when we did make it inside, we stood and waited for the rain to stop, then took our seats (never did get to see them have batting practice due to the rain). We got bored with sitting, so we walked around the stadium and took pictures of some of the players warming up on the field. Finally the game started.

I didn't go prepared well enough for today. I took a 2 point bar with me, but didn't think about how long we were going to be there (we were there for 4 hours before the game even started). I was starving. If you've ever been to a game, you know there aren't any choices unless you want water or diet soda. The smells got to me (they had pizza, burgers, cheese steak, sausages, hot dogs, giant pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, ice cream, and other junk). I can't lie about it, I looked around to see what might be the most filling and least damaging to my points, but in the end I got a hot dog and diet soda (it was the cheapest). Then I had a few handfuls of popcorn and about 2 handfuls of peanuts (the kind with the shell on). I'm really not sure how many points I had in total, but I just went ahead and marked off my flex points for the week. We did walk quite a bit so maybe that will help some. I'm mad at myself for not being more prepared, but I'm not going to let it throw me off. It's just one day. Tomorrow I go back to doing what I usually do for food (eat at home) and have more control over my points.

We stayed for all of the game except the last inning. The Reds were getting creamed anyway with a score of 6-2. We left the stadium and walked next door to a cute little bar called Southern Belle and played some pool before heading home (I can officially say I've been in a bar now. LOL). It was a lot of fun. I haven't played pool since I was probably 17-18 years old. Rick and I were a team, and my brother and sister-in-law were a team (my sister-in-law is pretty good). They beat us the first game, then Rick and I won games 2-6, and they won the 7th game (we would have won if I hadn't listened to Rick and done what I wanted to do - which I proved after I missed the shot he wanted me to take). LOL! I always make the mistake of listening to him. He does that to me on the golf course too. I'll be ready to swing, and he'll run over and say "hey you know if you do it this way it will be better". Then I take the shot, it sucks and I say I'm going to stop listening to him. It's an endless cycle. LOL! I just need to start trusting myself. I know what to do, now just let me do it! It may not always go according to my plan, but at least if I mess up, I know it's my fault and have nobody to blame by myself. His constant coaching throws my concentration off too. Sometimes I want to say "be quiet and just concentrate on what YOU need to do". LOL!

Ok, I can see this is getting pretty long. I wanted to share my day since I don't get to do fun things like this very often. :) I'm really tired, so I'll probably be heading to bed in the next hour or so. Thanks for listening. Goodnight!