Anti-Dog Days of Summer

tbones gameI took the weekend off from my gratitude journal, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a ton of things to be grateful for.

Like most other weekends, I spent all of it with my hubby (shown eyeing me dubiously in the photo at left – I’m famous for my ‘candid camera’ approach to family photography).  We took a break from our home improvement projects to attend my employer’s summer event at the T-bones baseball game Saturday night.

tbones gameA short list of items I’m thankful for from the weekend:

  • free barbecue with free beer (if you drink beer – I had water)
  • free baseball
  • free fireworks
  • unKansas like summer temperatures in the 80s
  • not having to water my lawn (because it’s been raining)

Terry and I enjoyed all of the above, plus a good effort by the T-bones against a team from Fargo, who out hit and out scored them to win by two.  Saw a couple of double plays and a lot of errors that went mysteriously unreported for both teams.  I also enjoyed seeing the blast from baseball days past coaching first base for the T-bones:

tbones game
Frank White #20 coaching 1st for the T-bones

Frank even stopped at the bottom of our section, 109, to sign a few autographs after the game.  Almost made me wish I’d moved down a few rows since most everyone left the game after the seventh inning stretch.

Terry and I stubbornly stayed in our assigned seats until the lights were turned off and the fireworks began, only to discover that you can’t see the fireworks from the stands.  We quickly vacated our section and left through the front gate in time to see most of the fireworks.  We were home before eleven o’clock and I debated staying up to watch the Perseid meteor shower.  I opted for bed.

In hindsight, I should have stayed up as Sunday night/Monday morning, during the peak of the meteor shower, we experienced a vigorous thunderstorm which dumped an inch of rain in less than an hour during my Monday morning commute.  Thankfully, there’s always next year for the Perseids.

Afternoon Delight: Frozen Crumbly Chocolaty Goodness

Mocha Cookie Crumble FrappaccinoFor my first entry in my Gratitude Journal, I want to expound on the joys of frozen mocha cookie crumbly goodness.  For the past couple of months (summertime), this scrumptious treat has been available from Starbucks ~ the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappaccino.  I took the photo (to the right) yesterday afternoon after making a quick stop between the Country Club Plaza and Crown Center.

Yesterday wasn’t particularly hot, but for the third day in a row, I left work with a persistent headache, possibly related to job/project stress or the weather (low pressure system most of the week).  I don’t like to take any medications if I can avoid it, so when I do get a headache, I reach for chocolate or a caffeinated drink.  In this case, I doubled down with a frozen blended mocha cookie beverage.  My headache vanished before I made it halfway to the bottom.

Thus I’m very grateful for the ease with which my headache left and for the incredibly delicious way in which I encouraged its exile.  And also grateful that there are two Starbucks near where I work:  one within walking distance on the Plaza and one on Main Street that I pass twice daily.

No, I don’t give in to temptation and treat myself every day.  Just occasionally … once a month or every other week.  I tried to make up for the extra calories I ingested yesterday by walking Apollo last night.