Madeline's nursery

Whew.... What a freakin relief to have her nursery "done."  Everything had been hung and up for a couple of weeks, but I still had so many piles of stuff everywhere while I was procrastinating on figuring out how I wanted everything organized.  But today, one giant exhale.  It's done.  All of her clothes are washed, everything is put away, and the closet is actually relatively neat (although no photographic evidence.)

I envisioned the nursery to be shabby chic and girly without it being pink throw up.  (This is when I mention, so if baby # 2, (whenever that may be) is a boy, I can make some minor changes and have it work.  This is when John says "can we please get through Baby #1 before you start talking about #2??")  It really turned out as good, if not better than I had imagined.

Furniture: God bless Canton. The dresser and wardrobe were a steal.  Not to mention the wardrobe allows me to have so much more space available in the closet.  The swivel rocking chair was a $30 craigslist find.  I had originally planned on having it recovered, but like having one pop of pink in the room, and again - I can always change my mind and have it recovered later.  The side table was also a craigslist treasure--a table that is actually still sold at PB Kids, for 3x what we paid for it.  The crib - credits go to Yiayia and Papou for that.  Love the vintage Jenny Lind style, it's a perfect fit in the room.

Accessories: God bless Pinterest. I hacked the Shel Silverstein gallery from someone - thank you.  The curtains add just the right touch - thanks Oma and Opa!  The metal "M" - again, score 1 for Canton.  The big white frames with fabric - thank you random Pinterest-er.  The mobile and lampshade - product of a Pinterest-y crafty morning with Oma and Aunt Sally.  The crib bedding was definitely a custom splurge, but justified by the awesome deals we got on everything else, I didn't lose too much sleep over it :)

There are lots of thanks, but the 4 most important:
Barbs: Thank you for your handiness.  Thank you for coming over with your toolkits (yes, people, she has multiple), drilling and helping me make sure everything is level.  The room would definitely not be as precise without you.
Kiley & Sally:  Thank you for putting up with my 5 bajillion texts asking for advice.  I promise at some point, I will be able to make a decision without y'all's input.
John:  Thank you for (within reason) letting me have free reign.  And for pretending to care when I asked for your input.  I love you.

my attempt at the panoramic shot

The 4th Annual 12 Days Of Baseball Movie List

This year marks the fourth consecutive year of us doing this bit. It started as just that, a bit. And in many ways it still is.

But it's also become a ritual of sorts for us, another of the annual rites of passage each year when winter becomes spring: Flowers and plants bloom, pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, John and Mel watching a bunch of baseball movies in a row.

In fact, it's gotten so serious over the years that when I had originally balked a little over going through with it again this year (due to, um, other pressing issues) the reception from my wife was not well. But last night, while watching the odd television viewing combination of the US getting knocked out of the World Baseball Classic/The Bible/Shipping Wars, the 4th annual 12 days of baseball movies list was finally arranged and finalized.

Quick rehash of the premise: There's not really much to it, only that here are the 12 baseball movies we are going to watch, a la "12 Days Of Christmas" style. We are starting at a date 13 days before the start of Opening Day in MLB, and ending with the final movie on the evening before it. (Kind of ruins things that the Rangers open the season in Houston this year, but such is life.) It isn't necessarily in an order of favorites but more in an order of convenience (example: Mel works until 7 Mondays through Wednesdays, so we'd be less susceptible to watching The Ten Commandments on one of those nights and probably more likely to watch Hot Tub Time Machine or something).

Ok, here we go.

3/19 - The Bad News Bears (original)
Billy Bob Thornton did a good enough job during the remake of this, but I thought he came off less like how Morris Buttermaker should be portrayed and more like a version of Bad Santa, heavy drinking and having sex all the time. Give me Walter Matthau.

3/20 - The Sandlot
Come on, say it with me now.

FILM FUN FACT: There were actually two sequels to this movie to come out for some reason: The Sandlot 2, and The Sandlot 3 which was called The Sandlot: Heading Home. That one also starred former 90210 great Luke Perry playing an arrogant Dodgers superstar named Tommy "Santa" Santorelli who gets beaned in the head DURING BATTING PRACTICE and finds himself back in the sandlot he grew up playing baseball in during the 1970's. Seriously, how do you get beaned in the head during batting practice? Is everybody blindfolded?

The kid who played "Squints" in the first one is also in this again. Also apparently so is John Kruk. 

The other point I want to make about this is, I have never seen a movie starring a baseball player whose nickname is "Santa" to be anything other than an unmitigated disaster.

(Editor's note: I just realized how wrong looking that screencap from the part where Squints fakes drowning so he can kiss the lifeguard looks. Sorry. I feel bad about it but not bad enough to change it though.)

3/21 - Pride Of The Yankees
(Insert joke about how you thought John and Mel hated the Yankees.) FILM FUN FACT: As the story goes, the homerun that Babe Ruth hit for the kid in the hospital is said to have gone to center field. But when the ball is hit in the movie, its trajectory is towards right field yet the announcer says it's heading towards center field, so there is clearly no way the ball could have gone to center field and SO YEAH SUCK IT YANKEES!!

3/22 - Angels In The Outfield
Long before Joseph Gordon-Levitt was infiltrating the subconscious dreams within peoples dreams that are within peoples dreams that are within peoples dreams that are also within peoples dreams, he was starring in this. Needless to say he's come a long, long way. 

Mel and her two sisters all have this movie memorized verbatim. They could probably turn the movie on, close their eyes, mute it, and still recite all the dialogue from it word for word. I wasn't that way at first, but after four years of being married and 6 years of knowing her I'm almost the same way as well. 

I've also often thought this movie had the most fake named baseball players in it than any that I've ever seen. To name a few: Whitt Bass. Danny Hemmerling. Triscuitt Messmer. Really? Triscuitt?

Kit "Hit Or Die" Kesey. That's an interesting one, because he didn't die after he strikes out. I wonder what went wrong there. 

Ranch Wilder, and don't forget the two very generic and stereotypically named hispanic players on the team as well: Pablo Garcia and Jose Martinez. Can't leave them out. 

3/23 - Moneyball
A new entry to our list this year, I used to like this movie a lot more until the Rangers crapped all over themselves at the end of last season and allowed the A's to sweep them. I still like it, except now every time I see it a little part of me dies inside knowing what Oakland is capable of. 

3/24 - Baseball: The Tenth Inning
This is a little bit of a curveball (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! LOL LOL!!!!!!) since this a documentary and not a movie. But we'll allow it. 

3/25 - The Rookie
This movie is in the pantheon of movies that I stop down to watch when they're on television even though we already own them along with Animal House, Pure Country, and Major League to name a few. Also, the scene where Dennis Quaid finds out he's making the big leagues and calls home to tell his son Angus T. Jones still gets me every time. 

Plus we always love to watch this and point out the factual inaccuracies when Jimmy Morris shows up at the Ballpark In Arlington for the game and walks right in through the front gate. And NOBODY'S THERE! It's like 5 o'clock in the afternoon with a night game in a few hours and there's not a soul in sight! And not to mention the fact that he's warming up in the wrong bullpen! 

But I still love this movie.  

3/26 - Fever Pitch
What is with the mouth expression that Drew Barrymore is making in that picture? It's always bothered me. 

Anyway, this movie is significant because Jimmy Fallon most accurately represents how we both feel about sports. Also, I think during the first or second year I had Rangers season tickets, I too tried to organize a group of friends who would be interested in going to games with me and did everything but set up a big poster board in my bedroom. The only problem was I had no friends. And the Rangers were terrible. I guess it helps if the team is actually good. 

3/27 - A League Of Their Own
FILM FUN FACT (kinda): Does anybody remember the League Of Their Own TV series that ran on CBS in 1993? It didn't even make it through a full baseball season, lasting from April until only August. If it were to be on right now I know it would have at least two viewers. (Us.)

3/28 - Bull Durham
FILM FUN FACT: The above picture makes me crazy. 

3/29 - Field Of Dreams
Whereas the Kirk Gibson walkoff homerun off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series really thrust my baseball mind into motion, this movie really got my baseball movie watching mind going in that same fashion. And nothing has been the same since. 

Also, if you want to get my Dad to cry, show him this movie. It works every time. 

Also, I've always thought that the way Kevin Costner is standing in this movie poster looks really uncomfortable. 

3/30 - The Natural 
That soundtrack. Few things are greater than the soundtrack to this movie. It pretty much is single-handedly the reason why I went and made a sports playlist on iTunes one day a few years ago. Sure it's gotten gummed down with the likes of AC/DC, Rock and Roll Part II, and other arena rock songs you'd hear at sporting events over the years. But this is what got it all started. 

And on March 21st, 2009, we walked in to our wedding reception to it. At the Ballpark. After Chuck Morgan just announced our names as a newly married couple. 

Pretty. Freaking. Awesome. Still. 

Anyway, there you have it.

I think one of the most exciting parts about this annual yearly ritual of sorts is that soon we'll have another little branch of the family tree to share all of this with.

Screenings will be shown nightly at the Vittas residence unless otherwise noted, so if anybody would like to come and join us one night they are more than welcome to.

Just bring the popcorn.

Ruminations on the Oscars and other things

First and foremost, my lovely wife reminded me that as of today we are roughly T-minus two months and counting until Baby Vittas is scheduled to make her appearance. 

That. 

Is. 

Exciting.

Like, really exciting.

So, the Academy Awards were Sunday, and everybody was happy with that. 

I had a couple thoughts I would like to share even though I/we got tired and went to bed at approximately 9:45 on Sunday night. 

I'm not really what you would consider a film connoisseur or anything of that nature, so I can't really comment on any of the films that were nominated for Best Picture. In fact, of the ones nominated we only saw Les Misérables, which of course I thought was awesome, and I'm sure my Dad agrees. If you asked him I'm sure he'd tell you it was the greatest motion picture ever made. Right up there with, I don't know,  Field of Dreams. Or perhaps 1941. 

(By the way, still can't get over John Travolta butchering the name of the film during his time at the microphone. Stop it. Stop talking. Did your scientology Gods tell you to say it like that? Stop it right now.)

We also saw The Impossible, and it confuses me why it wasn't even nominated for Best Picture yet made me cry more than any movie I can ever remember seeing. Probably Mel too (although she may not want to admit it). 

I thought Seth MacFarlane did an above average job. Could he have been better or funnier? Sure, I guess so. But then we probably all could. 

The problem with hosting the Academy Awards is its become almost a hobby to watch the show and nitpick every little thing that's done, said, or sung instead of sitting there and enjoying the monologue and the rest of the show for the giant waste of time and beating that it usually is. You can blame Twitter  and the internet for that. 

Anne Hathaway won Best Actress for her role in Les Miz, which I thought was very deserving. She played her heart out in that movie. Her version of "I Dreamed A Dream" gets my vote as Biggest Guts Ripping Out Performance Of The Year. 

(Weird, sorry.)

And then we went to bed. Didn't really want to stay up until 11:00 at night. 

Incidentally, I was out walking the dog earlier and was listening to the Les Miz soundtrack when I came across what I consider to be among the greatest three minutes and fifty four seconds in movie soundtrack history. 

(Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the movie, and don't want me to spoil things, don't click the next two links. Pretty much just stop reading now.)

It happens maybe 20 minutes into the film when Hugh Jackman sings "Valjean's Soliloquy." Again, just another gritty and heart-wrenching performance, this time by Hugh, who has a really good voice. Here, Valjean comes to grip with the fact that he's a thief and a horrible person and it's time to change. Very awesome. 

So listen to that, hear the way it ends, and then imagine it seamlessly transitioning (which I know will be hard because you'll probably get bogged down and have to fight through one of YouTube's commercials)...

Into this.

A big, dramatic, swooping scene going from the past into setting up the beginning of the rest of the story. 

Boy let me tell you, when we saw this and I heard those strings and that brass, that right there got me fired up for movie watching. I think I turned to Mel in the theater at TinselTown Grapevine and gave her one of those smiles and all-knowing nods the way we do right somebody hits a clutch three-run double (sports analogy). 

This isn't even mentioning the opening scene of the movie, which has another moment like that as well. 

That goes into "At The End Of The Day", which is an important song itself as well seeing as how it introduces everyone to Fantine and all her wheels-offedness. 

(Okay, you can start reading again).

Anyway, that's enough for now, so I think I'll take my crazy Gene Shalit costume off and wrap this thing up. 

Except I'm not really sure the proper way to end this. 

So. 

........

Um. 

Here's a very stereoptyical picture of a French person. 

Bye for now. 

The One Where I Talk About Josh Hamilton

Vent session commence.

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that this is Josh Hamilton as we know him now.

Not this Josh Hamilton anymore. 

Or this one. 

Or the one that was making Mel and I get misty-eyed seeing him be interviewed on the field after winning the pennant in 2010. 

Sure he still will be all those things in our memories, and those will last a lifetime. And we will pass them on to our daughter one day.

Still, the memory that stands out now is the one of him cutting up and making jokes about how the Rangers "should have put a ring on it" as far as the Rangers' efforts to re-sign him to a contract go. 

So with that said, let's be honest here for a moment. 

That little tidbit that came out today/yesterday about the notion that Arlington isn't a baseball town in and of itself is not really that big a deal to me. All he was doing was answering a question by giving his opinion. No one can, or should, fault the guy for that. Frankly, it's not really that far from the truth, the ENTIRE STATE isn't really a baseball first kind of place. It is, and probably always will be (unless something changes drastically) a football state. D/FW is a Cowboys town regardless of what some stupid poll shows. That's just the way it is. 

So I tend to agree with the fact that yes, Arlington probably isn't a baseball town. It would be cool if it was, but it's not. And yes, Rangers fans are probably a little spoiled by the last couple of years. 

So now that that's cleared up....

Let's take a look back at some of the things Josh Hamilton has had to deal with during the course of his career in Texas. Again, I preface all of this by saying without question that the man is absolutely entitled to his own opinions:

He's had demons come back into his life.

Twice.

He's gotten beaten up. 

And played a role in an incomprehensible tragedy.

And at no point, in my recollection, did fans abandon his side through any of that, yet the guy has the gall to bring up the fact, again, that he was booed a lot last season. 

My favorite comment of that link up above was this:

It’s just like last year, when I got booed after going 2-for-4 in a game, driving in a couple runs, and I struck out the other two times. 

Good. Grief. 

Again.

Please just shut up. 

Hey, you also played like crap for three months.

Hey, you also dropped that ball in Oakland. 

And hey, you also went 0 for 4 in the Wild Card game and saw a grand total of 2 pitches. (I think it was more like 8, but whatever.)

I guess what I'm getting at in all of this is: It is irresponsible and just plain ridiculous of the guy, even if he is just generalizing, to talk this way about the same fans who stood by his side through the trials and tribulations in his life during his five years here. 

Yes, Arlington may not be a baseball town in the same sense that New York, Boston, or Philadelphia are. It's not going to ever be until some World Series titles begin to accumulate here. 

And God help us all if the Cowboys win another Super Bowl before the Rangers win a title.

But here's what Deadspin had to say in regards to the points Josh is trying to make earlier today. 

First, that Rangers fans are bandwagoners and shouldn't have booed him when he struggled because he brought them a pair of pennants. Second, that any true baseball fan won't boo him when he returns in a division rival's uniform, because of the good times they had together. The accuracy of both of these statements is up for debate, but the point is now moot: the surest way to get booed is to publicly say you shouldn't be.

Yes.

There's going to be tough times this season in Arlington and there's a lot of question marks. But this is a better team in the long run without him on it. No question.

End vent session. 

Mic check, 1 2

December 7th, 2011 was the last time either one of us said anything on this blog. That's far too long. What have we done and what has happened in that time? 

Not a lot. 

Well, a few things. 

There was this. We went whitewater rafting during a family reunion in Tennessee over the summer. Had a great time. Kind of had to save some people from drowning. You know, no big deal. (Not pictured: Mel. She is okay though.) But it served as one of many highlights from a memorable week in the Smokey Mountains.

Ow. 

Hit by a red light runner in May. We're all guilty of it, but please don't text and drive. Ever. Because you will hit someone. 

Another season of Rangers baseball came and went down in flames went. It marked an end to the 6th year that we've had season tickets. We'll miss our ballpark friends and can't wait to see them all hopefully again next year: Valet, Fred, Tom, Luther, Vanessa... all of them. 

But if there's one thing I've learned over the course of the year, it's to sort out the trivial, non-important things in life (yes, like sports) and focus on the larger picture. 

Kind of like this large picture.

Our daughter. 

Coming in April. 

Suffice it to say, it's an interesting feeling knowing that something is living and growing inside your wife. But it's an adventure that we're both beyond ecstatic about taking, through good times, bad times, happy, sad, and everything in between. To say we're excited about becoming parents next year would only be putting it mildly.

And if I may be completely serious for one second: 

You hear lots of descriptions of "oh, they're perfect for each other" when talking about certain couples. Everyone of those tales are probably true in their own right. 

But I have a wife who I can't imagine being apart from. I have a wife who makes me laugh more than anyone, makes me care about things more than I ever have before, and who, at the end of the night I still am thankful I get to lay down and go to sleep next to. I can't imagine what life would be like going through this with anyone other than her. 

She really is my rock. 

In writing this, I was looking for the classic, summarization quote to cap this thing off and tie everything up in a nice, neat bow (hey, a Christmas tie-in!) I found a lot of them, but non of them really stuck with me like the following. 

April 27th is still a little bit of a ways off, but this resonated with me in a way that I cannot accurately describe. 

A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future. -- Author Unknown

We look forward finding out what that means.

Merry Christmas, God bless, and we'll be talking to you all more in 2013. 

- John and Mel

Top 5/Bottom 5 Christmas Songs

Another highly debatable list for your enjoyment. This time, with a holiday theme. I hope you all enjoy. 

TOP FIVE

5. Casting Crowns - While You Were Sleeping

Holds the title of being known as the only Christmas song to give me goosebumps. 

4. Vince Guaraldi - Christmastime Is Here

Preferably the instrumental version, I don't like listening to children singing in little kid voice. It kinda ruins the mood for me. 

3. Bruce Springsteen - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Christmas in NYC was always a big event for my sister and I when we were younger, and The Boss brings back old memories of driving around the city doing Christmas-y things. I really think any Christmas song by Bruce is good. He could sing that stupid song about wanting a hippopotamus and make it awesome. 

2. Andy Williams - It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

This, to me, is one of those songs that synonymous with all things Christmas. The busy shopping malls, food, seeing relatives left and right, busy airport holiday travel. Always got me fired up as a kid and still does as an adult. 

1. Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops(?) - Sleigh Ride

Questioned only because I'm not totally sure these are the guys performing the version that I'm thinking about. But whatever the case may be, it's close enough. 

HONORABLE MENTION: This. Yeah, you heard me. 

BOTTOM FIVE

5. Gayla Peevey - I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

Spoiled brat. 

4. Boney M - Christmas Song

OK - obviously I can appreciate the message of the song. But I'm not a fan of Christmas songs being song by women with crazy Jamaican accents and 70's reggae beats. No thanks. 

3. Earth Kitt - Santa Baby

Or Madonna. Or Britney Spears. Or Taylor Swift. Basically any version of this song = instant Christmas kryptonite for me. You harlets. How dare you attempt to sucker in Santa Claus by singing so seductively? You all should be ashamed of yourselv

2. Anything by the freaking Jingle Cats

It's a novelty act. I get it. And I also don't think it's funny or cute. It makes me want to put my fist through the radio. 

1. Lady Gaga - Christmas Tree

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL IS THIS.

The agony of defeat

I don't know which of these two guys I hate more: The one on the left or the one on the right.

(From the classic 1996 film: Swingers)

Mike: How did you get over it man? How long did it take you? 

Rob: I don't know, man. Sometimes it still hurts. I don't know, man. It's like you wake up every day and it hurts a little less, and then you wake up one day and it doesn't hurt at all. And it's like, and this might sound weird, but it's like you almost miss that pain. 

Right now, I yearn  for the day when I wake up and it doesn't hurt at all. I know it's coming eventually, but it still seems like it's a hell of a long way off.