Day 3

Day 3: Picture of what you did today.

Welcome back for day 3. I would like to start by thanking my lovely readers for their very nice comments and encouragement! I wish I could reward you with pictures of a day full of fun and excitement. However, it's Wednesday. What can I really do with that?

Welcome to my desk! Try not to be too impressed by the double screens. I'm a proposal writer, which basically means I am right here all day with my computer, papers, coffee, and a variety of colored pens. It has days where it's very intense, and it has days where it's pretty slow. Today, was in between, which is why I had a chance to snap pictures in my office (while hoping that no one would walk by as I did it). I spent the day editing, pulling some documents together for submission, and rewriting a business plan. Kind of a strange line up of activities, but that's the daily stuff. I'm thankful for my friends at work that give me little breaks and trips to the office with candy.

After work, Kent and I ventured to Moe's, but I forgot the camera. Oops. Back home, I started looking through a cookbook that my great aunt and uncle gave me as a wedding present. My aunt passed away last year, so I'm glad to have this gift from her with a sweet note on the inside.

In flipping through the book, I came upon a recipe that sounded delicious, and easy to make. Score! I'm passing it along to y'all and hope to make it soon.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz. uncooked rigatoni

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 medium)

1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) container chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Prepare rigatoni according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, spread oil on bottom of baking dish; add onion in a single layer.

3. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl and set aside.

4. Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.

5. Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken, and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella.

6. Bake, covered, at 375 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Make 4-6 servings.

Time for So You Think You Can Dance!

Day 2: Clothing

Day 2: Post a picture of what you wore today.

Well, I can't say that I'm too enthused about today's subject. I don't always like my work clothes, but it's much more fun to buy that fun, cute pair of shorts and summer sandals rather than office apparel. Thus, I leave you with a sad photo of today's work attire. You won't see pants, but fear not, I wore them...standard black.

One new piece of clothing today, or accessory rather. I got some new glasses! I've had the same pair of glasses since 2003, so I figured it was time for an upgrade. I hope you like them because I'll probably make them last for the next 10 years.

PS: All this picture posting is making me feel uncomfortably narcissistic. Sorry. Hopefully tomorrow's topic will improve.

Blogging Assignment

I'm completely stealing this idea from my clever friend Camille, but I liked it so much that I had to. I think I've said before that I like "assignments" for blog posts because it decreases the pressure factor. This seemed like a pretty interesting idea, so here goes.

The challenge is to post a picture everyday for 30 days. Each day has a category of picture to follow, all different.

Day 1: Post a picture of yourself.

Ok, this is me! Albeit, not my day-to-day attire and hairstyle, but the rest of it is there. I remember taking this picture and being completely, entirely, wonderfully happy. I can definitely have my down days where I complain, sweat the small stuff, forget all the amazing blessings I have. But, I always hope that no matter what, this is what I am on the inside and what I strive for. Laughing, joyful, and happy.

That Was Brutal

"It's a hard way to fall. And this ain't the easy way down."

-Ryan Adams

I can't help myself. That game last night was too much for me. Every possession was agonizing, every shot missed felt HUGE. Probably what was most upsetting for me was not that the Celtics lost, but that the Lakers won. I'd picked the Celtics to lose the series they played over a month ago...against Cleveland. I haven't forgotten that they stunk for the second half of the season. They disregarded the regular season, and it really only bit them in the butt once...last night. Had they had home court advantage, there is no way the C's lose that game. But they are responsible for that, they mailed in the regular season (claiming they needed the rest and maybe they're right). What I hope is noted is that the winner of last night's game was going to be remembered as one of the weakest NBA champions in history. Put either of those teams against the '03 Spurs, you think they win? They don't. How bout the Bad Boy Pistons? No. The Bulls of the 90s would have swept both of these teams. Hey, I grew up on the Celtics-Lakers Finals, so I love that these are the two teams, but this was an ugly, sloppy series that, if it had been between the Jazz and Magic would be talked about as the worst in history.

Things that happened last night:

Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo came up small.

I wish it wasn't so, but had any one of them played 20% better, the C's pull that out.

Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, and Ron Artest rescued Kobe Bryant's reputation. They delivered him from what would have been tatooed on the forehead of his career, "crapped himself in the NBA Finals Game 7." I hate Gasol, but he made huge plays for them and got every rebound. And for all the hype about Kobe's closing ability, just remember that the Lakers went to Gasol for every big possession down the stretch. Fisher once again hit the biggest shot of the Finals (no one remembers that he sent a missile through the net to tie the Magic at the end of regulation last year), when he tied up the game in the 4th.

Then Ron Artest, who killed Pierce all night on defense, hit the kind of shot that makes an opposing player feel like they've been stabbed in the chest - a 3 with less than a minute in a one-possession game.

The Celtics got the style of game they wanted, and then they blew it. When the game got tight at the end, the C's shrunk from the moment. That is one of the toughest parts to swallow here. It is one thing if the Lakers had taken this game away. But really what happened was that the Celtics gave it to them. They went scoreless for 7 minutes, they stood around waiting for someone else to make a play, and they never rebounded...not at all. The saddest part is that rebounds are all about heart, and the one thing I felt the Celtics had on the Lakers was their heart. Just a miserable way to lose.

It's a shame you never showed up tonight, Ray. We could have used you.

This version of the Celtics is over. As unlikely as this run was, it would be more unlikely if they got back together and did anything like this again. They're too old, they're now mentally fried, and there's no guarantee that they will have their coach back. It's over. I loved it while it lasted, but this now needs to be a rebuilding project around Rajon Rondo. I'm going to miss this team. They pulled a lot of crap that I didn't like so much, but they were a fun bunch to root for on most days.

Things that didn't happen last night:

The refs costing anyone the game.

And thank goodness because they had been awful for most of the series. But they let them play and decide the game for themselves. I would have liked a call here and there to have been different, but nothing that dramatic. And anyone that mentions the foul shot discrepancy without mentioning how aggressive the Lakers were going to the rim is manipulating the numbers.

Kobe Bryant proving anything.

He didn't start "trusting his teammates." He didn't "let the game come to him." He didn't really affect the game positively for the Lakers beyond hitting three big free throws that were a gift from Joey Crawford (ok, they missed that one, but they were mostly good). Look, it is well documented that I don't like the guy. He's the most selfish athlete on the planet. But I won't say he's not an incredible player. He is. What upsets me is when people say things like, "He's got one more to go until he ties Jordan." Kobe was Shaq's sidekick for three of those, not the other way around. Kobe was Pippen, not Jordan. This would be like saying that Robert Horry is as good as Jordan because he has as many rings. Ludicrous. But the best way to decide where Kobe belongs in this conversation is to ask what would have happened if you switched him out for Jordan last night. Did anyone ever say, "The Bulls won last night despite Jordan's effort." How about Bird? You think he would have played like a mental midget in Game 7 last night? Magic? Nope. The names that come to mind are: Karl Malone, Chris Webber, Jon Starks, Patrick Ewing, and Tracy McGrady.

Kobe's earned the right to a few bad games, I will concede (just not a Game 7). I am not saying he's not a superstar. He's a top ten all time player. He is good enough to win most NBA games by himself. But ranking him ahead of one of those guys in the last paragraph is crazy. It cheapens what they were more than it builds Kobe up. Unfortunately, the stories you will hear coming out of this series will be about the number of his titles, instead of the stinker he layed in a big game. If the Celtics had just delivered the knockout blow when they had the chance, Kobe would take his rightful place in history and we could finally put this foolishness about him and MJ to rest.

All that said, at least our loyal 6 readers don't have to worry about reading anything about basketball for a while. I know I don't want to right now.

The 'what-if' plays

"One bounce, or gust of wind, or malfunctioning headset, or even a piece of dust in a referee's eye can turn a game, and by extension, a season into crap... you never know when that gust of wind will come along and blow away your chance for this feeling again."

I know, I know. Woe is me! My NBA team (a league that not many of my friends care about, and a team that I have no geographical ties to) lost a game they could have won. But this play happened last night, and I was reminded of something. Another of my teams won the championship this year, and had to make a lot of these types of plays. They are the little plays, the ones that can go unnoticed when you win, but stand out when you lose. Here's the play:

As you can see, Rondo missed Pierce who was wide open for a lay-up. Now, this is maddening on several levels. The most basic one is that Rondo has proven to be an incredible basketball visionary who would miss this pass only 1 out of 1,000,000 times. But he missed it this time.

But here is the way that it tortures my mind: What if Rondo makes that pass and Pierce makes the lay-up? There are so many possible outcomes past that. Maybe nothing changes, maybe everything does. But I feel like the game would have swung. Pierce was out of rhythm all game, and sometimes it just takes a simple shot to get you back into it. Also, and more importantly, the game is now tied. The Celtics had fought and clawed to get the game close again, but they never tied or took the lead. For all the talk about mental toughness, I think the Lakers have some, but are as apt to fold as they are to hold leads. Their poise shrinks in a big way if the score is tied, I believe*.

*And with reason, The Lakers, for all the media hype about how they are so much mentally tougher than they used to be, are still the same team that was up 3 with 4 minutes to play in Game 2 and gave up a 11-0 run with the "best closer in the game" (rubbish) going 1-4 with 3 turnovers.

The point I'm making is this: there are big things that separate great teams from regular ones. There are little things that separate great teams from other great teams, and sometimes those little things are controllable and sometimes they aren't (yes, the officials were horrendous last night). Several months ago, I made this point about how fragile Alabama's season was - in the quote above - and how these little things can separate a great championship team from a great team that could have won it all but didn't. I feel like the Celtics are on the other end of this after Game 3.

Know what the worst part is? There are moments like this out there in every single game. And if you let yourself think about it for your team, you'll be tortured too.

Pistol and Grits story

Since he was a puppy, Pistol has always looked up to and deferred to Grits.

I had a free day on Friday, which I had been hoping to fill the morning with by reading about the Celtics heart. Instead I read (and rightly so) about the absence of it. I wasn't in the greatest mood, and when that happens, I like to go and rile up my dogs with some treats - that always makes me laugh.

Now, there are drawbacks to going into my backyard to do this. One is that Pistol (my dog), is a barker. He has some hound in him and it is a soulful, sad bark. He also barks a lot. Basically, any thing that gets his attention (a car passing, a noise in the next yard, and especially the chance that someone is bringing him something to eat), Pistol will bark at it. Like most people, I love my dogs so much that I have become immune to the annoying nature of Pistol's barking. It's not as constant as it was when he was 3 or 4, and I guess he just wore me down. Nevertheless, if you take a treat out to the back yard, count on Pistol barking with excitement.

Grits (my sister's dog), on the other hand, lets Pistol be her mouthpiece most of the time. She is old - going on 14 years old. She limps around with arthritis, she hates being left outside even though right now our garage is like a sauna, and she is basically deaf. Every morning when I go wake the dogs in the garage to take them to the backyard, I find Grits passed out on the floor next to the fan (she snarls at Pistol until he vacates the spot in front of the fan so that she can have it), and she can only hear me if I clap my hands right by her ear. More than once, Dana has thought Grits had passed away to doggy heaven (and no one would be able to blame her either).

So, back to the story. I got a hotdog out of the fridge and gently opened the back door so as not to rouse too much barking right away. Pistol came around the edge of the house, ears perked up, and wagging away. He saw the hotdog, knew it was for him, but didn't bark. This is beyond strange for him. I waited a few moments for Grits to come hobbling around the house too. She never came...oh no.

At this point, Pistol has seen the treat, sat down, begun 'shaking' with the air, and is looking at me incredulously, "Why haven't you given me my tasty treat yet?!" By this point, usually he would have been barking... a lot. And I always interpret it as "Yes! Food! Give! (Pause) Quick! Food! Me!" But he's still being quiet. So, I walked around the egde of the house and saw that Grits was lying in the shade asleep and oblivious to me and Pistol...and the hotdog I had intended to split between the two of them. I took a second to make sure I saw that she was actually alive, and then looked back to Pistol. He looked up at me and still had not barked (a new record for silence from him), but his expression said, "See? If you don't wake her up, I'll get the whole thing. No one has to know. Come on." And then he started pawing the air again (Pistol knows the trick 'Shake' but doesn't care if there's a recipient for the shake. he usually just waves his paw impatiently until you give him the food).

This is Pistol's "you have a treat for me?" face.

So, I gave him the whole thing and let Grits stay asleep. She gets the best of Pistol most of the time because she's smarter, older, and nastier than him. He earned it.

Good boy!