right after Halloween.Twins Blog: Behind The Scenes With The Grounds Crew -
It’s bright. It’s green. And it’s a lot of work. Photographer Carly Danek & I found out what it takes to make Target Field look like the beautiful baseball oasis it is.
Twins Blog: Ellen Extravaganza At Target Field (video) -
Ellen DeGeneres came to Minneapolis to promote her upcoming season on WCCO. She stopped at Target Field for her first-ever professional ball game.. of course the Twins Blog was there!
Twins Blog: Sounds Of The Ballpark (video) -
Photographer Melissa Martz & I followed Dan Edwards, Target Field’s music director, around for a game. You hear a lot more than you think at the ballgame.
Twins Blog: Meeting Joe Mauer’s Biggest Fans (video) -
Photographer Sean Skinner & I went to the taping of Joe Mauer’s latest Kemps commercial. We talked with him and his mom, Teresa, about ice cream, fans and why he didn’t enjoy his favorite treat.
Twins Blog: Looking Ahead To 2012
I’m putting this blog on hiatus (if you can’t tell).
The weather is getting nice out. There are lakes to enjoy, sunshine to soak up and baseball games to attend.
In the mean time, I’ll be blogging for the WCCO Twins Blog. You should check it out, and check it out often. We’ll do a lot of fun stuff throughout the season and share a unique perspective of being a Twins fan.
I may check in here from time to time. But I hope you enjoy your summer!!
Cheers!
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I love Christmas. LOVE. (Now is a good time to mention, I’m Jewish, and very proud of that). However, this is my favorite time of year. Christmas is my second favorite holiday, right after Halloween.
I love how cheerful everyone is this time of year, how beautiful the trees look all lit up with twinkling lights and I love the smell of cookies, cinnamon and chocolate that seems to linger when December rolls around.
Yesterday, I had the day off from work. And I thought I’d spread a little early holiday cheer by baking. (It is, after all, one of my favorite things).
I decided to bake three things. Some pumpkin bread — it got rave reviews from my coworkers the last time I made it. However, this time I opted for the much easier to make box of Pillsbury Pumpkin Spice Bread. And keeping with the “homemade, just not from scratch” theme, I also whipped up a dozen mini cherry chip cupcakes and a square cake too.
About one hour into the process, my kitchen was a mess, but man, my apartment smelled sugarlicious. As the cupcakes baked, I whipped up some frosting and assorted festive sprinkles. Soon enough, they were patiently waiting the trip to the TV station to be enjoyed by my coworkers.
I should also mention, that along with the treats, I also had some holiday gifts for my friends. I sort of pride myself in being an excellent gift giver. I think it’s far more important to get a personal gift, than spend a specific dollar amount.
For instance, two of the photographers I work with were actually excited to receive a portable mug that you can plug into an a/v adapter in a car. It will keep their coffee warm when they drive around in the cold winter months. My fellow producer’s wife is pregnant, so I got him some alcoholic mixers, and her a bottle of sparkling grape juice. A few of the lovely ladies I work with will enjoy some new jewelry picked out with certain outfits they’ve worn in mind this holiday season.
It got a little crazy in my kitchen yesterday.. and much of the mess of dirty mixing bowls and scraps of wrapping paper and scotch tape lie sprinkled on the counter tops. But I think its worth it. The look on my friends & coworkers faces when they receive a gift that’s specially picked out for them… and the enjoyment of a yummy treat is a really great feeling. One that warms your heart, even on a cold, snowy day like today.
Wow. Has it really been 4 months since I’ve logged in on my blog? (and 5 since I’ve actually written a post?)
Every few weeks I get a notification another hundred people clicked through my blog. It amazes me. I often wonder what brought them to my little corner of the Internet.
Which is why I’ve now decided to start putting something here.
I’m going to try logging on every day and posting something. Hopefully it will be informative, inspirational, funny or at least worth your time.
Over the past few months I’ve been busy trying to live my life. The other day I had an eye-opening conversation… it was at one of my favorite bars over live music and beer with a person who’s become a good friend over the last year and a half. It was followed by a nice trip down memory lane in the form of a visit to Kansas City.
The epiphany started Wednesday night. My friend and I were talking about how we were both single living in a great city with great jobs… yet miserable at times. Then he said something that will stay with me for a long time:
Look where we are, right now. We’re out on a Wednesday night - listening to great live music. Yes, we’re single - but there is no one for us to report to but ourselves. We can do what we want, when we want. We live in an amazing city with endless things to do and explore. There’s no reason we should sulk and be miserable. These are the days we’ll look back on and say ‘wow, we had a life to be envious about.’
That’s when I realized, everything in my life that frustrates me right now, is also a blessing. I am able to buy a full season of Twins tickets because I don’t have kids or a mortgage to pay for. I can decide to vacation on a whim because I don’t have someone to travel with or work a schedule around. I can go out late during the week and see the bands or try the restaurants I want to try.
I have a great job and a great opportunity to learn more and push myself harder. This past weekend, I visited Kansas City. I lived there (essentially) for 6 years. Four were in college - two were my first job. On my drive back to the Twin Cities, I realized I’ve changed a lot. Most for the better.
I’m open to more experiences. I’m happier. I feel more grown up and independent. I’m making more decisions because I want to do stuff. I’ve stopped caring so much about what others think. And, finally, it can be good or bad, I’ve started speaking up more often.
Hopefully, I’ll have the strength to continue this exploration of myself through the next year and not fall into old habits. And I promise you, I’ll be honest when I report in on what I’m doing.
If you have any New Year’s resolutions or revelations.. please share them. I think we can all learn from one another.