B-Team Blogger Post #2: Top 5 Baseball HOF Snubs

While Chelsea is still sick, I've decided to diversify the type of topics covered in her blog. Since the latest selections of Maddux, Glavine, Larussa, and Cox, the baseball Hall of Fame is a topic that has been on my mind a few times recently. As you may notice, I've chosen to exclude any names associated with steroids or HGH.

5. Craig Biggio- I'm no Astros fan, but Biggio was a great, throwback baseball player. He would've been one of the best in any era. We're talking about a guy that had over 3,000 career hits and 291 home runs while playing catcher, second base, and center field at a high quality level. This last year was only his second on the ballot, and he only missed induction by 2 votes, so it's likely that Biggio will be elected next year. Otherwise, he would've been much higher on the list.

4. Tim Raines- Raines was a fantastic lead-off hitter that just happened to play in the same era as the greatest lead-off hitter in baseball history: Rickey Henderson. Tim Raines had an on-base percentage of .385 for his career and ranks 5th all-time in stolen bases. Just because he was overshadowed by Henderson during his playing career doesn't mean that it should hurt his chances for Cooperstown.

3. Mike Piazza- Admittedly, Mike Piazza's defensive skills were far from elite, but his offensive weapons were historically potent. He is possibly hurt by playing in the steroid era, but no real accusations have ever been made. In reality, it's criminal that arguably the best-hitting catcher in baseball history would be left of the ballot. His 427 home runs and lifetime .308 batting average, as a catcher, should easily be reason enough.

2. Jack Morris- If Morris ever gets into Cooperstown, and he likely will, it won't be through the Baseball Writers of America ballot. After 14 years, 2014 was his last year to be eligible. Jack deserves to be in the hall for two reasons: his consistency and World Series performances. He tied the record for 14 consecutive opening day starts. That means, for 14 years straight, Morris was considered the "ace" on his staff and healthy enough to make his first start. He also made 5 all-star appearances, 4 World Series titles, and one World Series MVP. That's quite a bit of hardware.

1. Pete Rose- In case you didn't already know, Pete Rose is kind of a sketchy individual. He has been accused of, and admitted to, illegally betting on baseball, tax evasion, and forcefully shoving an MLB umpire during an argument. However, he also might be the greatest player, outside of Babe Ruth, to ever touch a baseball. He is the all-time Major League leader in hits and won 3 World Series titles, 1 MVP award, 2 Golden Gloves, and made 17(!) All-Star appearances. He did all of this without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs. So, Major League baseball is in a bit of a conundrum. One of the very best players in the history of the game can never be enshrined in its Hall of Fame because he's currently serving a lifetime ban for illegal gambling. My case for his pardon is based on the history of two other great players: Ty Cobb and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Ty Cobb was actually quite similar to the player in question. Like Rose, he was known for his tenacity, hitting ability, and hustle. Off the field, Cobb had his own issues. He infamously climbed into the stands one day to physically attack a heckler who happened to only have one hand. "Shoeless" Joe, on the other hand, was known to be a good guy, both on the field and off. However, he was caught up in a gambling scandal with several players on his team, resulting in a thrown World Series. Like Rose, Jackson was given a "lifetime" ban, but it was eventually lifted. In fact, both Cobb and Jackson can be found enshrined at Cooperstown. In short, I think it's time for "Charlie Hustle" to join them.

P.S. Just in case this post wasn't the manliest thing ever written on Chelsea's blog, here's a little something to push it over the top.

Sick Wife=B-Team Blogger

Well, the deadly combination of flu season and the notoriously poor sanitation habits of children has finally caught up with Chelsea. In case the title didn't give it away, this is Chelsea's husband.Because she is in the middle of this month-long challenge, my talents as second-string blogger have been requested. I've never felt more like Rudy. Or Ollie in Hoosiers. Or Howie in The Benchwarmers. I think you get the idea. Anyway, expect a few blogs from the B-team over the next couple of days!

Ri ng Day 14

Yep, that gross, swollen, raw finger is mine. I think the dry weather irritated my finger and when I tried to take my ring off, it made it even worse. Basically I didn't really have a choice but to get my ring cut off. I was talking about it at church when one of our church members, who happens to be a paramedic, overheard and informed us he has a ring saw. It looks like this:



Basically, he saved me hours of trying to talk to someone at Samuels who knew what to do or pay so much money to have a doctor tell me I need to get it sawed off.

The moral of the story: complain loud enough and someone will help you.

Rise and Shine

This morning, I was awoken by my husband getting out of the shower. And by this morning, I mean at 2am. He got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and I guess figured it was time to get ready for work. He realized half way through that a) I was still sleeping and b) it was really dark outside.

I used to do this all the time in high school. I would wake up in the middle of the night and get all the way through my morning routine-makeup and all only to realize that I have several hours before I should be awake.

Historically, people slept differently than we do today. It's called sleep segment. They would go to sleep when the sun went down (around 8pm) and sleep until midnight. They would be awake for a couple of hours and then go back to sleep until around 6am). Apparently, this was very common up until the 1800s when electricity came about. Here are some bible verses that people used in their articles:

But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron (Judges 16:3).

At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! (Ruth 3:8)

At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules (Psalm 119:62).

Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning (Mark 13:35).

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25).

These articles go into more detail:

BBC News
Polyphasic Society
Cranach, the blog of veith

Awkward Day 13

Today we had our pictures made for the church directory. I think the last time I had a church directory picture taken was around ten years ago. One year, my family posed with a yellow color scheme. I was playing with pencil shavings and got them all over my shirt right as we were supposed to be heading out the door. Another year, my mom decided we all needed to wear hats.

This year, being the first time I was in charge of what we were wearing, was a lot more pressure than I would like to admit. I clearly over-think things. Yesterday, I spent way too long trying to find a shirt that was semi-flattering. After thinking I found it, Aaron decided to let me know he was wearing a suit. Ugh, I got something too casual. After all that work, we just decided to wear clothes we already had. Today I spent a stinking long time on my hair and makeup. Than I spent too long deciding whether or not I should wear a scarf. The answer ended up being 'no.'

I tried to convince Aaron to make our pictures awkward, but he wouldn't let us. So, here is a few from awkwardfamilyphotos.com to make up for it.




The caption on this said "she got the benefit of having both a little brother and a big brother."

They're at the dentist

This post is really a reflection for me than anything else. Then again, isn't that what blogs are for?

Because today is MLK day,the students had the day off and the teachers went to a Schlechty training. The Schlechty center helps schools become more focused on student engagement.

Today we really focused on how model mindsets gets in our way. For example, we read a story about how a flock of sheep had always had wolves attack them. Their ancestors told them that this is how it had always been and this is how it would always be. Eventually, the sheep got together and realized that maybe there was a solution to their problem. So they reflected on when the wolves attacked (when there is a drought) and eventually discovered that the wolves were going under the fence that went through the river. The sheep built a dam and solved that problem.

The point is, we can't let preconceived notions get in the way. Whatever the problem is, we need to examine it and look at what we can control.

We also did other activities where some of the teachers taught others what they do in their classroom. We then made posters reflecting the sheep story.

Then, we did a team building exercise where we wrote one truth and one lie and everyone had to guess who the statements belonged to and which ones were lies. It was a fun way to learn interesting things about other teachers. Some of our teachers didn't return after lunch, so we just kept saying they were at the dentist.

This post will make you sound more cultured

Because I don't have students to teach tomorrow, you will be my students.

1. Spell "socks" out loud. You just said "It is what it is" in Spanish. (Eso sí que es).

2. Say "Rise up lights" out loud. You just said "razor-blades" with an Australian accent.

3. Now say "boots and cats" over and over. You are now beat boxing.

4. Say "beer can" with a British accent. You really just said "bacon" in a Jamaican accent.

5. And just because I need a fifth one, say "Emma Chizit," and you just said "how much is it" with an Australian accent.


Here is a website to help you learn to do a variety of accents.

The Beast that Stole my Soul Day 12

This shoe was found outside with the sole missing. My dog likes to take things outside. I don't really understand this. Is it normal? How does one stop this behavior? I have seen her try to take her bed outside but a wicker basket doesn't exactly fit through a doggy door. My parents dog,Keeper, likes to take dirty socks and cuddle with them. She did this to Aaron the first time I brought him home. I guess that means she approves? Lucy doesn't have a specific thing she likes to take outside, basically anything she can get her mouth around.

Maybe she is saying something about my housekeeping....

Here is a forum about people with dogs that have the same quirky behavior.

click me!

Here is an article with a list of advice from a dog trainer I might try...

no, click me!

Breaking the law on date night day 11

On Friday, Aaron and I were planning on visiting one of our church members who was put into the nursing home not too long ago; however, I was up at the school pretty late trying to get grades finished, so we ran out of time and decided to go the next day.

We decided since we were planning on traveling to Brownfield, we might as well go to Lubbock and make it a date night.

Obviously this picture was not taken by me on my camera phone. My poor husband is the one who gets to edit all of these blogs (which have been several a day) so I decided he deserves a break. No pictures were taken. We went to Cheddars, had amazing timing and beat the crowd, and had very delicious food off the lighter side of the menu.

Afterwards, we went to the mall to see a movie. We were so busy trying to sneak food in, we forgot to get our tickets checked. One of the guys working there stopped us and I thought we were busted. Nope! We just forgot to show him our tickets. My heart came back into my chest. As you can tell, we don't break the rules very often.

The Forgotten Room

Do you ever have dreams that just stick with you? I usually remember my dreams, but this particular one stuck with me all day.

I was commissioned to go to outer space because I was a scientist and they needed my expertise (thanks Gravity and Big Bang Theory). A group of lady scientists were in the rocket and it went off, but it didn't make it all the way. Instead, it landed in the ocean.

I was in the bathroom of my parents house playing with a nail in the wall, being a little depressed that I didn't make it to outer space. I managed to keep moving the nail until there was a giant hole. I look through the hole and there is this room. The hole turns into a door so I went into the room. It had a fireplace, a couch, a refrigerator, a pool table and a ping-pong table. My dad acted like he didn't know this room existed but in my mind, I knew he did. When I looked out the window, the house was in a neighborhood (my parents house is in the country) and we were right next to the Pflugerville park where a lot of people were riding their bikes.

Dreams have always fascinated me. They are your body's way of working things out. I looked up my dream and both the improvement of the house and gazing out the window signify me wanting to improve as a person. I hope that is always true. I do know that when I was a kid, I always thought it would be cool to find secret passages in my house.

Analog Man Day 10

If you were at my place of employment around 6:30 tonight, you would have heard two women yelling, "NOOOOOOOOO!"

That's right, folks. It is the quarterly "teacher vs. computer" face off. Our students had a half day so the teachers could get the second nine weeks report cards out. Because we do standard based checklists instead of grades, it takes us longer than average to input all of the information. In our case, around seven hours.

I finished my roster's grades around six and I went to help my co-teacher finish her's. She was in the final stage of the battle,the last of the subjects, reading.

That is not a small feat, my friends.

We just finished inputting all of the (I am going to say this because I can't think of a different word) grades in the biggest section. She clicked "save" but it was not fast enough. The slow computer timed out and all of our work was in vain.

Technology won. We went home. Defeated.

Fried Pickles Day 7

"Did you just take a picture of me for your blog?"
"....no"

I lied.

On Monday and Tuesday, I started going to a Zumba class that was held at my school for teachers, staff, and family. I thought I was doing pretty good because I was keeping up alright. I wasn't perfect but I wasn't dying. Thursday, I thought I would go to a different class. The Zumba instructors on Monday and Tuesday class also help with it. Come to find out, Monday and Tuesday has been modified because all of us are new at this.

Thursday kicked my tail. I still had fun and I am still going to go back, but I didn't keep up with it as much as I did on Monday and Tuesday. Instructors kept coming over to my section because we needed extra help in keeping up. I am glad there is a mirror in there because I have never been known for my graceful body movements. Also, I am going to need a bigger water bottle.

After Zumba we went to small group where I ate a lot of fried foods and ice cream cake. I am going to lose soooo much weight!

Aware Wolf

Did you know the word lunatic comes from luna, the Latin word for moon? All around the world, people believe that the moon has a connection to people's physiology: a high rise of emergency room visits, birth rates, crazy students, and turning into wolves. Some think it has to do with the gravitational pull the moon has on our body. One article even suggests different things to do for each phase of the moon. Of course, that is only if you are into that "holistic" stuff.

Basically, a bunch of studies on all of these believes came up short, except for werewolves. You will never disprove werewolves.

I don't think these researchers stepped foot in a classroom during a full moon. I didn't discover the effects of one until I became a teacher assistant and eventually a teacher. I had my appraisal for school on Wednesday, and my students were bonkers.

I am glad it is Friday.



Don't worry Jacob Black, I won't plagiarize:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/births-full-moon4.htm
http://www.livescience.com/7899-moon-myths-truth-lunar-effects.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2377915/A-moon-DOES-affect-sleep--inner-caveman.html

Take a Deep Breath

I'm taking on this challenge of blogging every day for a whole month, or in my case, a couple of times a day for the next week to catch up. The website I signed up with suggests what to write. Today, I will talk about how I relax.

These are the usual's: taking a bath while watching TV and giving my feet a bath while watching TV. There is a theme here...

Lately, I found a new way to relax. Online shopping!



Luvocracy has a lot of unique items. The more things you 'love,-++' the more suggestions they give you. It is like a combination of Etsy and Pinterest. You can also 'trust' other people's interests.



This is also a fun place to shop. The items are even more unique. If you like whimsical items, this is the place to go.

At the Ballet (6)

Our class went to see the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. They put on a show specifically to introduce classical music to students. My kids were the best behaved group! I was so proud of them. They were very quiet and only looked around when other groups were talking. Most importantly, they were very proud of themselves. They were in awe of the whole experience. Some of them even asked if the railings were made of gold.

It reminds me of when I was about their age, our music teacher would take us to "The Nutcracker." That was also kid friendly- teaching us when to clap and all the orchestral instruments. I loved dressing up and watching the beautiful ballerinas dance. To me, that was magic.

Making Richard Simmons Proud

Day 6



Zumba is offered at our school a couple of days a week, and I decided to go. I had a great time, only needing to stop a couple of times.

There wasn't a lot of us, so my plans on hiding in the back were foiled. That's alright. I never claimed to be coordinated.


I am hoping I won't be feeling it too much in the morning.

Starting the Year off with a Lucy (1-5)

365 days of pictures, take two!

Day 1



I'm starting the second year off strong with a "nothing happened today so here is Lucy doing something" token picture. In this picture she is contemplating how to get a toy that was carelessly thrown onto an unreachable shelf.

Day 2



My sweet husband bought me a foot spa. He truly knows the way to this teacher's heart.

Day 3



We spent Friday night eating low-calorie pizzas and watching Netflix...by candlelight because we are classy like that.

Day 4



I am not much of a shopper for myself, but I could spend hours shopping for the house. I was way too excited about this rug for our kitchen sink and Lucy welcomed it to the family by playing with it outside.

Day 5



I am so thankful that we decided to have cheat days for our diet. Today we really cheated with chicken-fried steak, and I loved every bite.

Ode to the Lollipop of Blue

Ode to the blue gourmet lollipop: you didn't stand a chance.
Your fate was sealed as you fell from the unsteady tray made to be a companion to the TV.
The beastly monster with long hair, beady eyes, and claws had you in her sight.
The keepers of the monster paid attention to "things of more importance" than a candy sentenced to death.
A fate not wished on one's enemy, you were torn to pieces.
Let this be a warning: those who belong to the creatures with two legs.
The beast will attack if you are within her reach.
She will show you no mercy.

Day 365

Day 365



Last Tuesday, we finally took down Christmas. I always have a hard time putting it away, and this year seemed extra hard. I don't know if it was because I was admitting winter break is over, or if it was because Christmas was a little hard for my family. I have had five family members in the hospital all within a week. I live eight hours away from everybody, so I wasn't able to see any of them. Although it was an emotional roller coaster this holiday, I am thankful for all the support and prayers from my friends and church family.

We have started a tradition of sawing off the bottom of our Christmas tree to keep as a memory token. It has been a tradition of my family to go to a Christmas tree farm to cut down a tree. I was so excited that not only was my husband not allergic to Christmas trees,but he also was really into it. So now, I get to carry the tradition on to my new little family. We didn't get to go to a farm this year because it was too cold every time we had time, so we got one from our local grocery store.

I want to write a Christmas memory on the back of the stump, but I haven't decided. Maybe it will be about how Aaron and I stuffed our tree in the front seat of our car, or maybe we will mention all of the family members in the hospital. I think it is important to remember the difficult times in our lives, as well as the good.

Can anyone answer how long you can keep Christmas decorations up without being considered trashy?

Ultimate Blog Challenge

I have decided to participate in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. You are supposed to have 31 blog posts at the end of the month, and because it is already the 12th, I will be posting a couple of times a day.

This also means that I will continue doing the 365 days of blogging but now I will do one picture every day-starting tomorrow.

I am one of those weirdos who likes change, so I am hoping this challenge will be good for me.

By the end of this month I would like to have written 31 more posts (including this one), explore my creative side, be a better blogger, and get more readers/ followers.

So far, I have three followers and I know that is mainly because everyone who reads it checks on Facebook, but it would be nice to spread my readers to those who I am not friends with.

Most importantly
, I am hoping this challenge will be fun and a great stress reliever!

Tweet Revenge (358-364)

I made it a whole year....almost! I am off one day. I guess tomorrow I will devote a whole blog to one day.

Day 358



Happy New Year! Aaron and I celebrated by drinking sparkling white grape juice, eating chex-mix and not watching the ball drop. We tried to watch a New Years celebration on the one channel our antennae picks up, but the music annoyed us, so we switched to a movie. May our year be as exciting as how we reigned it in.

Day 359



We did the obligatory black-eyed-peas on the first day of the year. I have to admit, I can't make them like my aunt. My cousin's birthday is January 1st so we always had the tradition of going to my aunts to have a New Years day/ birthday party. Happy birthday Casi and the world!

Day 360



I have tried green tea before and didn't like it. In attempt to be healthier, I thought I would give it the good college try again, and I really like it! One girl on Youtube said to drink it three times a day but that is a lot of green tea. Any advice for this noob who is a new to eating healthy?

Day 361



Aaron and I had a date day where we went shopping in Brownfield, ate at Subway, and watched movies at home. As Aaron predicted, Subway was super busy.

Day 362



I honestly should post this picture every day because all I did this week was watch Youtube and it was wonderful! I have been following a family who has been doing a daily vlog for five years and this is their final year. I watched his videos a couple of years ago but decided to start over.

Day 363



We had our first choir meeting of the new year, and then I went home to savor the last precious hours of my break.

Day 364



"Hey, honey, could you take a shovel and throw out the giant dead bird Lucy was playing with? But first, can you take a picture of it because I forgot to take a picture for my blog," is the greeting my husband got when he came home today.