exit, pursued by bear

most awesome thing ever.

Jeremy just sent me this link: Cooler on wheels:

As the senior member and de facto bullpen leader, Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen is always trying to make the bullpen better. He was the one who purchased the large industrial fans mounted on each side of the bullpen bench. This year, he has outfitted their usual ice chest with an unusual upgrade.

“My job as the rookie is to carry the drinks out in the cooler, so [Isringhausen] said I got to make sure I’m out there in style,” says rookie reliever Kyle McClellan, who has been driving the cooler out to the bullpen before every home game.

{photo and text from Pictures on STLToday's Blog Zone}

This is why pitchers are always the most awesome players on the team -- they always have the best sense of humor and are usually super goofy. Seriously -- look how cool this thing is:

I think my favorite part, though, is the action shots -- vrooom!!

bachelorette bash!

My darling MOH, who I have praised here before, posted some lovely pics on her blog of the bachelorette party invitations she designed for me. Seriously, she constantly outdoes herself -- there are truly no limits to her creativity. Since I can't get enough of them -- I'll post them again here :o)

{front of invite with awesome pixelated bride & groom. A grommet at the top allows the invite to be "swung" open}

{first interior page}

{third page, with all the details}

Diana and my other MOH Elizabeth hosted my fab bachelorette party a few weeks ago. I had a blast. Dinner, drinks and gaming at Dave and Busters? Clearly my friends know me well. It was also a great chance for all of my different "groups" of friends to meet -- I've been blessed with some truly great friendships, so it was wonderful to see everyone in one place!

After we managed to accrue some 5,250+ little D&B coupons which I was forced to cash in for a HUGE (read: bigger than me) stuffed elephant -- a few of us went and had a mini-sleepover at a hotel. Then, as luck would have it -- I was able to score some baseball tickets for me and Elizabeth to go see our beloved Cardinals. Since she flew in from New York for bachelorette co-hosting duties and festivities, I figured it was the least I could do to thank her. But I truly owe them both, big time. They went above and beyond.

I cannot tell you how much fun I had -- it was a perfect weekend :o)

curses!

Have you ever had a really great, unique idea that you're very proud of ... then you start seeing it everywhere because apparently EVERYONE simultaneously also had the same great idea? That has been happening to me a lot lately -- does that mean that I have really generic taste? Or just really great ideas? ;o)

I never got around to posting "Part 2" of my catalog round-up -- mainly because I was planning on featuring these fantastic cufflinks prominently. Then I started seeing them pop up in magazines and online ... everyone had the same great idea that I had: these cufflinks would make perfect gifts for any baseball-loving groomsmen (or groom!)

{photo from red envelope}

I'm confused as to why the cufflinks from Busch Stadium would be gray ... as we've always had red seats (save for the spendy traditional green ones right behind homeplate). Presumably these were salvaged from Old Busch? I'm clearly missing something.

So to those who got there before me: I salute you. Well played. Well played indeed ;o)

Derby time.

From Bostonist:

We have a confession to make: we didn't pay a lot of attention to last night's Home Run Derby. Our tolerance for Chris Berman yelling "back back back" is low. Our desire to see kayakers crashing into each other in San Francisco Bay was present, but not overwhelming. And without Papi, what's the point?

Heh. We actually did catch most of the Home Run Derby last night ... well, up until Pujols was eliminated. I maintain that his failure is due to my sheer (largely unfounded) hatred that I direct towards him at all times.

Tho' to be honest, most of the home run derby players are pretty obnoxious about the whole thing. C'mon! Get out there and hit some damn balls -- it's like pulling teeth getting players to join. I love how Pujols "agreed to participate." How generous of him.

Idiot. Don't you tip your hat at me mister!! (Cute kid though!)

Do people pay money to watch this thing played out from the stands? Huh.

Berman was in rare form. Not that I would really know, but hey -- I can still be annoyed.

Can't believe we missed out on this drinking game!