Sunday, October 31, 2010

Posey hits a home run!


ARLINGTON, Texas — Here's a nice story about Texas Rangers fans.

In the eighth inning of Sunday's Game 4, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey(notes) became the youngest backstop since Johnny Bench in 1970 to hit a World Series home run. The blast came off a pitch from reliever Darren O'Day(notes) and the 23-year-old from Lee County, Ga., belted it into the grassy part of the batter's eye in center field. The ball attracted a scrum of running Rangers fans, even though the Rawlings was hit by a player in the wrong uniform. After a jump ball near the camera man (above), someone came away with the souvenir and that appeared to be that.

Only not quite. Somewhere between the homer and talking about the Giants' 4-0 win, Posey must have requested ownership of the ball with its special meaning. And the fan who caught it apparently complied because Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported on Twitter that they coughed it up for a couple of autographed baseballs and a picture with the burgeoning star catcher. Here's his picture of the transaction.

Needless to say, after seeing stories like one fan holding out for $10K for Matt Carson's(notes) first homer or the Happy Youngster wanting a U-Haul worth of stuff for Chris Coghlan's(notes) debut dinger, it's nice to see this one resolved with a nice payoff for each side.

And with knowing how big of a star Posey might grow to be, I can't say that I would've been as agreeable to Posey's request for his souvenir back, even though it means a lot more to him than me.

So give yourself a hand, Texas fan. That was a very cool move.


Original article here

Bumgarner pitches Giants to brink of Series crown

ARLINGTON, Texas – The rookie pitched way beyond his years, sending a shudder through Rangers Ballpark.

Madison Bumgarner dominated for eight innings, Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey homered and the San Francisco Giants put on a fielding clinic in Game 4, beating Texas 4-0 on Sunday night to move within one win of that elusive World Series title.

Dressed in black-and-orange, the Giants were spooky good in taking a 3-1 edge. Bumgarner allowed only three hits and took all the fun out of a festive, Halloween crowd.

Ace Tim Lincecum will try Monday night to deliver the Giants' first championship since they moved to San Francisco in 1958. Now it's up to Cliff Lee to save the Rangers' season in Game 5.

The 21-year-old Bumgarner and closer Brian Wilson helped the Giants become the first team to post two shutouts in a World Series since Baltimore threw three straight to close out the Dodgers in 1966.

Huff's two-run homer in the third gave Bumgarner all the support he needed. Posey added a solo shot in the eighth — Bumgarner and Posey became the first rookie battery to start in the Series since Spec Shea and Yogi Berra for the Yankees in 1947.


Original article found here

Sunday, October 24, 2010

SF Giants are headed for the World Series!

San Francisco beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the NLCS on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

photos courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle
Closer Brian Wilson celebrates with catcher Buster Posey after the final out.

previous next
San Francisco beats the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 o... Michael Macor / The Chronicle

previous next
The Giants celebrate their victory, with Juan Uribe in th... Michael Macor / The Chronicle




Tim Lincecum


Sunday, October 10, 2010

6 habits that keep couples happy

I had a WONDERFUL day today with hubby. Happy things we did today:

1) Had a leisurely morning

this photo courtesy of this website, click here

2) Went to mass:

this photo courtesy of this website, click here

3) Had a buffet lunch at:



this photo courtesy of this website, click here

4) Went to the De Young Museum Tower and enjoyed the SFO scenery


this photo courtesy of this website, click here

photo
this photo courtesy of this website, click here

5) And... went shopping at:

ROSS DRESS FOR LESS at Turkey Creek 11120 Parkside Drive Knoxville, TN 37923 Contacting us:
















Hubby and I really enjoyed our Sunday together even if it was doing very ordinary things. The just a few minutes ago, I came across an article on Yahoo about the "6 habits that keep couples happy" and I can totally relate. Just sharing the article with all of you. For original article by Kimberly Dawn Neumann, click here.

Here's the article below:
****************************
6 habits that keep couples happy
How is it that some couples seem to stay starry-eyed for years, and others let their sizzle, um… fizzle? Well, it appears that successful chemistry sustainers develop healthy coupled-up habits which allow them to keep their love alive and kicking. “People can have a lot of trouble staying close,” says Joyce Catlett, coauthor of Fear of Intimacy. “They get into relationships and think they’re automatically going to know how to make everything work, but figuring out how to stay passionate together is really a skill.” Luckily, they’re skills that anyone can learn. Here are six habits that you’d do well to adopt if you want your date to become your happily-ever-after mate.

Habit #1: Catch romance where you can
“You may start out with chocolates and roses, but the likelihood of being able to sustain that feeling with a busy schedule is pretty unlikely,” says JoAnn Magdoff, Ph.D., a New York City-based psychotherapist. Successful couples learn to build a bubble of romance at unexpected times — during their daily commute, while doing laundry — and in low-impact ways, whether that be a long, lingering smooch or just holding hands. In other words, the next time you hear yourself say “Oh, look, we’ve got 15 minutes to ourselves,” make use of it — that’s what keeps the spark alive.
Habit #2: Fight fair
Believe it or not, learning to fight right is an important part of keeping chemistry alive. Why? Because if you are constantly cutting each other down, it’s hard to feel mutually amorous. “There is no such thing as a relationship without disagreements,” says David Wygant, author of Always Talk to Strangers. “But if there is an understanding that your partner can come to you with any dissension without being attacked, you will have an honest relationship comprised of ‘open discussions’ rather than ‘fights.’” Debra Tobias, who has been happily married for almost 10 years to her husband Steve, agrees. “Steve and I have learned to listen to each other when we’re upset and we admit when we’re wrong,” says Tobias. “We also make a rule of never, ever saying ‘I told you so’ no matter how much we might want to say it.” The result is that their chemistry doesn’t wane because they never let their arguments escalate to a personal level. Focus on the issue at hand instead of throwing verbal punches.

Habit #3: Nurture your separate selves
Going off to your book club when your sweetie’s out golfing isn’t a sign you two are drifting apart. On the contrary, developing individual interests allows for a richer life as a couple. By taking little “couple breaks,” you gain a greater appreciation of the gifts your partner brings to your life and you have more to offer as well. “It’s very attractive to be independent sometimes,” says Magdoff. “You feel better about yourself and you’re less demanding of your partner when you’re together.” After all, taking some personal responsibility for your own well-being relieves the other person of the pressure to “provide” happiness — so go ahead and nurture some solo adventures. That’ll also keep each of you stocked with plenty of adventures to chat about, which also builds your bond.

Habit #4: Take on a project together
Separate interests aside, exploring new ground together is also important since it strengthens your history of shared experiences. Jo Smith and her husband of four years found this out when they committed to running their first 10K together. “We were training together, carbo-loading and hydrating together, running the race together and ultimately succeeding together when we both finished,” says Smith. “It brought a whole new level of closeness to our relationship because of the time we spent learning as a duo during this endeavor.” Couples who take on adventures together get a sense of daring and accomplishment that can really kick up their chemistry!

Habit #5: Don’t let your physical attraction for each other dwindle
No doubt about it, couples with healthy libidos have no problem keeping chemistry cooking. (That whole “couples’ desire for each other naturally fades over time” excuse? Not true.) The trick to injecting more electricity into a lagging love life has to do with trying new things — sure, it can be easy to work on tricks and techniques when you first meet, but people’s preferences can, and do, change over time. “In interviewing people on the topic of physical intimacy, it became clear that the couples who were the most satisfied were also the ones who were open to some experimentation,” says Catlett. This isn’t to say you suddenly have to become a wild thing, though. Even returning to the basics you may have abandoned along the way — lots of kissing and eye contact, for example — can make the usual encounter feel very different… and much more intimate.

Habit #6: Engage in some mutual admiration
In order for chemistry between two people to thrive, there needs to be mutual respect. “It’s about putting yourself in the role of an observer of your partner,” says Magdoff. “Watch them ‘perform’ — I’m not saying they need to do a song and dance for you — just pay attention to the everyday things that remind you why you find them so special.” Then, make it a point to lob compliments their way. “A good exercise is to occasionally create a mental list of the qualities you dig about your partner, and to occasionally share one of your thoughts with the one you love,” says Wygant. Because the reality is, you’ll always want to be around someone who thinks you’re fantastic.

Kimberly Dawn Neumann is a New York City-based writer whose work has appeared in such publications as Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and Fitness.