Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…these are a few of my favorite things

Oprah has her favorite things, right? A show packed with tons of stuff given away and her loud voice.

Well, it’s about damn time Lipgloss & Baseball did our (my, it’s just me) favorite things issue!

*insert Oprah’s booming voice*

LAAAAAADIES AND GENTLEMENNNNN LIPGLOSS & BASEBALL'S FAAAAAVORITE THINGS!!!

Now, before y’all get stoked thinking you get everything I present on here I need to warn you…that ain’t happening, yo! The best I can offer you are some booze filled cupcakes and a mix CD of my favorite music (which may include an Adam Lambert and/or David Cook song).



My 2010 Season Tickets


This Twins book that Ari (from NJ) sent me (and my Ryan Star wallpaper)


David Cook (and his hot guitarist). David Cook is in Ethiopia right now working with an organization for the Idol Gives Back event this year. You can only guess how much I fangirl him now.


The Herb Garden! I have my very own scent that they created for me (Baseball & Lipgloss). You should check her stuff out and especially MY scent :)
http://www.herbgardencreations.com/

Baseball and Lipgloss - Created by a friend who wanted a fragrance that reminded her of sitting in the stands at the Twins games. Newly cut grass, candy, beer, crackerjacks and fresh air. *HG Exclusive*


Beer.


Pittsburgh, the Pirates, PNC Field


My giant foam finger!


Lucy! (celebrating her first game and first birthday)


Lucy, again. Bless her sassy little heart. She's not a fan of baseball...yet.


The Monday Night Happy Hour Crew

Zeppelin the Dog!

#34

Margaritas

Tailgating (and Bloody marys)

Boxed Wine (proof is in the avi someone made me)

Booze-filled cupcakes

Photos: Target Field from the eyes of a four year old & her (totally cool) auntie

Target Field Open House – March 21, 2010

(heat view map - kinda groovy)

“Because We Said So” is not an answer.

We interrupt this blog so I can stand on my soapbox and say my piece. Don't you worry, the next one will be full of pre-season stuff, cup o noodles & a youtube video of a coworker dancing drunk to Outkast's "Hey Ya".

Well, it appears the hottest of hot topics is at a full boil. I may as well dip my feet in since I do have feelings and opinions on this subject. First off, if you are not aware of the shenanigans regarding MLB launching a new line of female-centric baseball clothing via Victoria’s Secret then get yourselves over to Metsgrrl and read her blog (and you better damn well comment too!)

45% OF THE TOTAL FANBASE

So, now that you’ve read that can I bitch for a moment?

Oh, I may as well warn you that right now I have this ridiculous song in my head…hey sister, go sister, soul sister…

Funny how this topic and these feelings can be skewed. I, for one, am not a fan of finally getting some women’s MLB attire and publicity via Victoria’s Secret. I don’t like it. I don’t think I am asking for much here… I want regular, plain, simple, basic styles for females. Delmon Young numbered shirt? Hardy? Hudson? Something just simple? Hell, if I want a quirky saying or a funky color or logo I’ll just make it my own damned self. I am not above (or below) whipping out puffy paint or utilizing Café Press.

The issue here is simple: The big cheeses at MLB/Marketing/Press/Customer Relations/ Ect are not listening. Instead of saying, “hey, thanks for your suggestion” they respond in a very defensive manner. Yo, you don’t gots to be stonewalling me, MLB. I stonewall my own self. Cater to fans. Cater to the season ticket holders. Cater to the participants, bloggers, tweeters, subscribers. Cater to me!

I told you it was simple.

And since I am on a ranting rage today I decided to type up an open letter to MLB.

Dear @MLB,

I love that you guys totally support Alyssa Milano. She’s an awesome female baseball fan! However, I would appreciate if you would stop using her and the new Victoria’s Secret MLB line as the answer to the “why don’t you have more female-friendly gear?” question. Because honestly? Alyssa Milano and I don’t have the same taste in clothing. It would be like if men’s clothing would be designed by Kramer (of Seinfeld) or James Bond. Would you reaaaaally be comfortable sitting in a stadium wearing hounds tooth or a tuxedo?

Why don’t YOU (the men at @MLB) wear some of this stuff that you are touting and let’s see how practical/comfortable/prideful you feel with it on. Okay? I double-dog-dare you. BECAUSE I sure the hell wear men’s clothing…t-shirts, hats, bracelets, Twins logo socks. That sounds ridiculous right? That’s kind of my point. It is ridiculous. I don’t want pink shoved down my throat. I have an aversion to it…blame my red hair coloring. I don’t want “Mrs. ” t-shirts. I definitely don’t want knock-off Swarovski crystal baseball jewelry (accented with pink gemstones). It’s tacky, not tasteful. How about something that’s fitted, with team colors, an altered logo, less boxy, tasteful t-shirt? Seriously. I will take one awesome t-shirt over an amazon.com shop full of the swill you try to sell us.

-Jen

DISLAIMER: the pink gear and accessories that are used on Mother’s Day and for Breast Cancer awareness are 100% awesome and acceptable.

2nd DISCLAIMER: I am completely irrational and if you don’t know that by now then you have grossly misjudged my personality. I am the gal who hate dolphins, suburbs and deer…if those aren’t irrational hatred/fears than what is?

Well she was an American girl, raised on promises

New blog to check out
The illustrious Metsgrrl has launched new blog called All Down the Line: Baseball Roadtripping. She has some great views of different stadiums and a list of new places she’s checking out this year.
Follow along: http://www.alldowntheline.com

Countdown, yo!
2 days until St. Patrick’s Day and the World’s Lamest St. Paddy’s Day Parade (the Minneapolis one is sad but I am very loyal to it)
6 days until I go to the Target Field Open House (and I get to aquiant myself with my new seat)
19 Days until the Exhibition game at Target Field

Cupcakes & Baseball
So awesome to hang with some baseball peeps this weekend. Sarah (of Oh, It’s Those Girls) deserves major kudos for motivating all of us to get together. Unfortunately there were two separate events (and one of them was in some town called Apple Valley) so there was a giant riff in the Baseball Space Time Continuum. It was a kind of obvious riff, like the big elephant in the room. Not gonna lie, the idea of Sarah, cupcakes & an event near the “cities” was the leading factor in choosing how I chose. Oh, and I didn’t even know about the other event so…yeah…Anyways, I made my booze filled cupcakes and attempted a new recipe of Red Velvet cupcakes filled with vanilla vodka pudding & cream cheese frosting. I am not a fan of red velvet but I am a fan of cream cheese frosting.


I bake around booze.


Anyone want to lick these clean? I totally stained my hands bright red. Fancy.


Red Velvet cupcake filled with vanilla vodka pudding and topped with cream cheese frosting
Chocolate cupcake filled with Bailey's pudding and topped with a ganache of sorts
Pineapple Upside down cupcake with rum soaked pineapple and cherries.


Blogs with Balls
http://blogswithballs.com/

Who’s going?

A taste of Minnesota
This past week I went to the Riverview Wine Bar and Café. Any good Southsider (south Minneapolis, yo) knows of the Riverview Movie theater (city’s best popcorn and $2 movies) but maybe you don’t know about the Riverview Wine Bar & Café. The Wine Bar’s menu has five pages of wine and one page of food. I happen to heartily approve of that ratio of booze to food. Anyways, the food is pretty amazing and I always recommend checking out the specials written on the chalkboard. The Roasted Winter Vegetable Pizza was a winner and you can never go wrong with baked brie. Connected to the Wine Bar is the Riverview Café. They have a display of drool-worthy desserts in the glass case along with pre-made sandwiches. My favorite part is getting coffee beans. I am somewhat of a coffee snob and strive to find great blends that are fresh and unique. Anodyne Café has the 42nd Street Blend and Riverview Café has the Riverview Blend. I highly recommend it, along with the fact it cost $12.60 for a bursting full bag of ground beans.

Music of the Day
Ah, Tom Petty. Nothing puts me in a better mood than riding around in my jeep with the sunroof open and Tom Petty blasting through my speakers. I was lucky enough to see him in concert…two years ago and I happen to be lucky enough to get to see him again this summer. Since baseball is the all-American sport I am going post American Girl, a song that I am unable to not sing along with.

Tom Petty – American Girl

I get knocked down but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down

He drinks a whiskey drink.
He drinks a vodka drink.
He drinks a lager drink.
He drinks a cider drink.
He sings songs that remind of the good times.
He sings songs that remind me of the better time.

Firstly, be impressed that those lyrics were typed completely from memory. Secondly, be glad you don’t sit by me today and have to hear me humming them all day long.

So, we’ve been dealt a couple “less than thrilling” bits of information. So…Joe Nathan may be out for the year. So…Joe Mauer and his agent haven’t announced any signings. So…Lucy asked about women’s “monthly cycles” and I panicked and told her to ask her mom! So…kind of sucks and is a little awkward right now BUT there are still plenty of things to look forward to:

Top 10 Things to Cheer Me Up (mostly baseball related)
10. Seeing Orlando Hudson (or O-Dog as he likes to be called) and JJ Hardy in Twins Spring Training gear.
9. Beer
8. Not too long until I am playing hooky from work on a beautiful summer day and going to catch a day game.
7. Taco Bell has now added Shrimp to their menu of questionable meats. Why is this a cheer-me-up? Well, think about it…Taco Bell has shrimp. You gotta be shaking your head and smiling.
6. Um…I love David Cook? I mean, it’s kind of obvious at this point.
5. I can count backwards from 10, proof is in the pudding.
4. I bought single-game tickets for the Fourth of July weekend and hope to spend it spazzing/drinking/cheering/sunburnt with Sarah (of Oh, Those Girls notoriety.)
3. Beer
2. Baseball Blogger/Tweeter Meet-up is this Saturday! More details here.
1. The exhibition games are just around the corner, literally. I better pick rush-delivery on that Twins Snuggie.

BONUS:
I find that this Fill in Your Own Garbage Pail Kids Name card pretty apropos for my crankiness. Try it…it’ll help.


#20
This very blog that you are reading right at this moment made it in the Newsbobber.com Top 60 Minnesota Baseball Blogs. I placed a very respectable #20. If that doesn’t get me an invite to some events, what will? I better get my Betsey Johnson prom dress out and ready for the red carpet!

Funny Ha Ha
If you need a laugh and further proof of why I fangirl Sarah (of Oh, It’s THOSE Girls) please read her latest blog entry. It made me laugh out loud and then have to read snippets to my co-workers.

David Aardsma Is My Spirit Guide

Cute Photo of the Day

Meet Gabriel! His mama is Ames (my baseball partner in crime)! He came home all the way from Ethiopia on Friday and I got to welcome him at the airport. Can’t wait to take him to his first game!

***Please note that I was going to do a filler-blog post about Cup O Noodles and baseball but due to this already lengthy post I am postponing it until next time.

Baseball and Music – greatest thing together since Peanut Butter & Chocolate…or Vodka and Everything

I get to fangirl my two favorite things in one spot - Baseball and Music!
For those who are not familiar with the band The Hold Steady, let me introduce you to their lead singer Craig Finn. Craig Finn is a Minnesota boy who moved to New York and sings in one of my Top 50 bands! (Also, that Harry Potter actor guy named them as one of his favorite bands too…so if you are into that kind of stuff maybe that will rock your boat.) He just happens to be one of the biggest Minnesota Twins fans in the world! When asking for some topic ideas earlier today @Desilove jumped right in with the suggestion of Craig Finn. The singer is often found sporting Twins gear whilst rocking out on stage…especially in rivalry locations – Chicago, New York, ect.

Sometimes it is hard to be a Minnesota Twins fan:
· Minnesota Nice can only stretch so far before I take my hoop earrings out at start with the BitchSox (White Sox), Ligers (Detroit Tigers) & Stankees (you can probably figure this one out) references.
· Having the Pohlad’s hold the purse strings.
· Being called a small market team in that tone of voice that makes me want to say “Hulk Angry” and then turn green and giant and start stomping on buildings.

BUT it will never be as hard as being a Minnesota Twins fan in Yankees territory!

Articles:
ESPN: Chat with musician Craig Finn

Some gems from his Q&A with ESPN

Eric in Hartford, Conn
As a long-time Braves fan, I demand to know when Craig is going to denounce Kent Hrbek’s reprehensible conduct in the 1991 World Series. Ron Grant deserves justice!

Craig Finn
Watch that play in slow motion! See if it looks like Kent pulled him of the bag. If you still think that, you are watching with Braves eyes. When are the Braves going to apologize for Jane Fonda being in the dugout?

Kevin (NYC)
I know you are a big Twins fan, but living in Brooklyn now, do you have a favorite New York team? (and I‘d hope if you do, it’s not the Yankees)Craig Finn
New York Mets. I can see them most nights on TV. I was happy to see Santana land there instead of the Yankees or Red Sox. They are just a fun team to watch. A good friend of ours has season tickets so we go sometimes.

Nate P. (St. Paul MN)
If fate turned out differently and you were a baseball player instead of a musician, what would your batter-up music be?

Craig Finn
I think Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy! It’s a pretty good riff! It’s not super powerful but it would be great for a singles hitter.

Sporting News – Interview: The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn Talks About Baseball, The Twins And More

Keep your eyes and ears open for the release of their new album, Heaven is Whenever, coming out in May 2010