Late, but as promised...

I said I would post up the rest of the Coaches VS Kids baseball game pictures and here they are in no particular order:

Hearty hand claps at the end of the game.

This kid looked to increase his odds of getting walked by Coach Zeb by decreasing the size of his strike zone.

Saaawwwwinnng batter batter.

One of the kids "takes one for the team." Shouldn't the coaches' team have a little more control on the mound? If i remember right, this wasn't the only kid to "wear it."

After making it to first base this kid hams it up for the camera.

A unique catching stance.

Coach Zeb holds down the old six spot. He borrowed this uni from the Boys & Girls Club especially for this occasion. What a specimen.

The coaches' team runs a little short on time and sends their catcher to the plate still wearing the majority of his gear.

With a little extra protection the catcher feels a little more confident on the base paths.

Coach Zeb steps in to take a few hacks, the boys make sure to give him a few helpful pointers.

Looks like this one has been paying attention during practice.

After a nice hit one of the kids makes his way down the first base line.

Umm...Coach Zeb...you might want to spend a little extra time with this guy.

Damon, determined to get on base and provoke the kids to get him in a pickle, takes a wild swing. He used his speed in the first inning to get safely to first with a base hit bunt.

The kids bring it for a conference on the mound after the coaches put together a rally.

Yosemite Pic of the Week!!!

Just got home and thought I would share a pic with you all. I took over 450 photos in Yosemite so I will be using them in the next few weeks.

FYI

Hey all,

We're going on vacation starting tomorrow. Its a Grant/Hughes/Elkinton/Murray Family vacation - a camping trip @ Yosemite National Park in honor of my Grandpa Grant's 80th birthday. Yosemite is the location of some of my Mom's most cherished childhood memories and family vacations. I'm sure that there will be lots of pictures and good stories by the end of the week.

So let this be fair warning to all, I won't be blogging for a while, but its not due to laziness....for once.

Wallpaper of the week!!

This week you get some choices. If you like hummingbirds then choose photo 1. If you like landscape photo's choose picture 2. Enjoy and thanks for supporting ZebPics.

Photo #1



Photo #2

Zeb being Zeb

Zeb officially has a Associates Degree in General Studies with an emphasis in Computer Science! Congratulations Zeb! We had a great time at his graduation with Stan, Nita, My Dad (Tim) and Damon. We all went out and had a tremendous (more on the word tremendous later) dinner and all around celebration.


p.s. Zeb taught me how to resize the pictures so that I can post them on the blog without giving myself an aneurysm, that will be pretty useful. More baseball pics tomorrow!

Coaches VS. Kids

Zeb's team played their first annual Coaches VS Kids game today & it was a blast. A picture says 1000 words, so I'm busy working on figuring how to upload a slideshow. Stay tuned!!

later: wow. am so aggravated. just spend gazillion hours trying to upload all these huge pictures from the new camera into this slide show....and it posts up these tiny pictures! what!? anyway, i'll fix it tomorrow and put it up in way that allows you to actually see whats going on in the pictures :(

Thursday Morning: Okaaay. Got a few more up. Something has got to change here, I think that these pictures from the new camera are soooo big that they take forever to upload. I can't blog like this!!! Anyway, here are a few more good ones now & I'll keep on throwing up a few more here and there for you guys to check out.

Damon

Coach Zeb talks to the team

The old guys stretch it out

Wallpaper of the week!!

I'm going to start something that we can all take part in. I will post a picture of the week that I have taken for you guys to download and keep as a background for a week. If you don't enjoy the background you can always ask for a replacement. So here you go Week 1: A picture of a unique bird house that had quite a few things going on.

Who needs babies when you have Electronics

Here's a nice story that I don't think I've told before. This year Zeb and I ended up having to pay in for federal taxes. We were a bit perplexed as we definitely had a nice little chunk of our paychecks each month taken out for taxes, all year long. The very nice man (sarcasm) at H&R Block informed us that the reason we were going to have to pay in was because taxes had been taken out of our paychecks all year at the standard "married rate," but we didn't have any of the deductions that would by typical for your average married couple. Like say owning a home or having kids. Well thank you Mr. H&R Block man, but I don't need you pressuring me to have kids, I get it enough from my Mom.

Anyhow, today I decided that for now at least our electronics are the closest thing we have to kids. Both Robinson (the beta fish) and Fenway (the plant) are long gone. Our first born, the TV, however is doing very well. Then there is our middle child, Zeb's Computer. Although, I sort of think of the computer as more of a foster child, or maybe Zeb's illegitimate child? I definetely don't love it as much as I love the rest of our electronics. Then there is our youngest. Our new camera! We've been wanting to get this for a long time and we decided to dedicate our stimulus check toward this purchase. Check it out!

The total package: Canon XSi with an 18-55 mm image stability infrared microprocess mirror recorder (I don't know if thats an actual term, actually I'm fairly certain that at least half of that was bullshit, but thats what Zeb just told me right now, so if that makes no sense and isn't actually the features of a camera lense, forgive me) and also a 55-250 mm ISAF lense, giant cannon camera bag, 2 gig fastspeed memory SD card, 2 batteries, battery charger - and a neck strap - according to Zeb that's all you need to know.

Closer look at the camera.

A look inside the worlds largest camera bag.

One of Zeb's first shots with the new camera.

Me blogging it out:
So we used some fancy features of the camera to capture an image of me "blogging it out" notice the incredible typing that is obviously going on here. Lately whenever we get into a "discussion" about something Zeb likes to use the term "Blog it Out" to make fun of me. For example, say I disagree with something Zeb and Damon are saying they would turn to me and say "Why don't you just blog it out" it's equivalent to saying "Shove it" or "Why don't you stick it where the sun don't shine" Really charming. The term originates from the day that Zeb and Damon were making fun of me for not knowing what "5 Hole" means. Used as a verb the term has also come to mean to take an issue to the blog for unbiased opinions or to be solved. i.e. "Fine, I'm just going to Blog it Out then" I'm working on possibly starting a new feature entitled "Blog it Out" We'll see.

Happy Birthday A-Ross!!!

Even though you hijacked my idea...you still get a birtday post! Happy Birthday!

Pink Berry

Working for a rocket scientist

Top Chef

UO Softball (Yeah Laef! I just googled UO Softball, and this came up!)

California

Tall men who enjoy playing the clarinette and being in the marching band

Introducing...

Phil

Meet Phil. Phil is my Dad's new dog. He's pretty cute; I prefer to call him Phil Hughes, but my Dad kind of ignored me when I do that. Interestingly enough, meeting Phil this past weekend taught me something that I never knew about Zeb. Zeb has some serious psychological issues associated with weiner dogs. Apparently an Aunt & Uncle of his had a pair of Weiner dogs that tormented Zeb in his youth. Well, things didn't go much better with Phil, I'm thinking we need to call in Cesar Milan for some Dog Whisperer intervention.

Phil Hughes

Congratulations! You Did It! World's Best Link!!!

Introducing the newest recipent of the most highly regarded honor that any link can recieve:

Twisted Jules

This blog belongs to Julie, my mom's BFF from way back. She is a talented jewelery designer, one hilarious lady, and just all around "good people."

If you like what you see on her blog, you can check out the rest of her designs at http://twistedjules.etsy.com.

Sausage Links

I am proud of Zeb for the work he does coaching Boys & Girls Club baseball for a number of reasons. For one thing, he has learned his fair share being the husband of an Athletic Trainer. He is very responsible when it comes to injuries and the kids on his team. He always listens to them when they say they are hurting. He never does that guilt trip coach thing where they tell the kids to just toughen up and deal with it. He only lets his pitchers throw fastballs, because he knows that at this age their arms probably aren't ready to handle the stresses of all the various pitches. (He even looked up a position statement on the NATA website to see what it said about what age kids should be allowed to start throwing a curve ball - on his own, I didn't tell him anything) But the other night, when he wrapped a package of frozen sausage links on his sore knee, I couldn't help but think this guy is out of his mind. I won't deny that I've suggested athletes use frozen peas for icing before...but SAUSAGE LINKS!? Hey, whatever works.

I wanted to take a picture when he had them wrapped on his knee, but he refused. So this will have to suffice.

"The Office" FINALE

So I decided to jot down notes again during the finale, this post is going to be kind of a stream of conciousness type format, it will probably be either really annoying, or you'll laugh because you were thinking some of the same things while watching this episode. Here goes nothing...

Headset Joke on Dwight.....awesome, a true Jim & Pam throwback prank....."If the Devil were to explode, what kind of celebration would you have"..........Michael's sock money, first of all ewww, second of all - the lengths that he is going to for the ultimate Toby send off are hilarious...... Phyllis!! Yes, love to see Phyllis get her chance to show up Angela......Okay, looks like Pam is only going to New York for the summer while the show is off air. I approve. Good job writers......"Sell her an elevator pass".........Kevin is "slow in the head", I bet you could go back to past episodes with this premise and it would work, think Kevin's Kool-Aid Face........Toby stop hitting on Pam!!!.....Ryan the Temp sucks........I need songs that will work on 2 levels - "Welcome to Scranton" & "I Love You".............Jim's love pep-talk, aawwww, cute..........Oohhhhh no, i smell a proposal coming. Fireworks!.......I was right!.........Steve Carrell on SNL, that should be funny, note to self, watch SNL this week..........."This is a button" Kevin is killing me, how long can he pull this off?........Captain Brusin'.........Ryan The Temp gets arrested! "The real crime I think, was the beard".........."There is a racoon in the car!" but don't worry because it's not rabid........."Beers In Heaven" & "Total Eclipse of the Fart" it is criminal to provide a reference to these songs and not show us the actual performance........JAN IS KNOCKED UP. as Zeb said..."OH SNAP"........Okay, but I bet it is Hunter's baby.........Yes! I am so on point......."You cheated on me, when I specifically asked you not to?".......Okay, so I was pretty close though. I think it would have been funnier if it were Hunter's......She should have given Michael a shot though.........Jim is so cute and nervous right now..........Noooooo!!!......Oohhh, poor Dwight & Jim. Now I am getting all the foreshadowing of how Jim & Pam had all their first important relationship moments at the office, so it was only right to propose there...and now, damn it! Andy ruined it!.......Poor Pam.....Stanley is KILLING me.......Michael & Jan again? No way, but she did seem a little bit chilled out.......Oh what!? (in reference to Dwight & Angela gettin' it at the Office)

Overall I really enjoyed this episode, for me it seemed like it took almost the whole season to build back up to this episode. Comment away!

Weekend Update

Hey guys, yeah, I'm back. You know, it almost became another long blog sabatical, but I remembered that I had a taken a new picture of Charles and his precious new Cactus, "Francis."

We had a great weekend, my mom, Ford and Charles came and met me for dinner at American Dream Pizza for my mom's birthday last friday. I surprised her with the latex coated tongs that they had been jonesing for; I had previously convinced her that I was having trouble finding them and wasn't sure if they really existed or not. Hehe. Gift giving is better when you completely fake the person out.

Softball is officially over, which is great news, and kind of crappy news all at the same time. I'm excited for it to be over, to finally have weekends and to get a chance to start fresh with my team. On the other hand, the fact that the season is over means that the team had an extraordinarily shitty season - so you know...six one way, a half dozen the other.....when in rome.....

Anyway, back to Charles and his cactus. After dinner on Friday, Charles ended up staying in Corvallis and hanging out with me. Zeb had to work late at Home Depot, so we decided to roll out there and check him out in his new element and also pick up some mother's day presents. The cactus was definitely an impulse buy for Char, but according to him, he's been waiting a long time to name something "Francis", so maybe it was a long time in coming. We spent the rest of the evening discussing the high points of the new Atmosphere CD (Charles actually appreciates my taste in music, which is more than I can say for most of you people!!!) and watching old episodes of "The Dog Whisperer." Bro/Sis bonding at it's finest.

A few random points:

• Gal, they re-run episodes of Gossip Girl on Sunday evenings, so you have no excuse to not be keeping up with "Your Mother."
• Zeb is coaching baseball again, and he has some really great stories. I may be biased, but I think he might be the greatest coach of all time. Move over John Wooden & Joe Paterno. I'm thinking I might run by his practice tomorrow night and take some pictures to share with everyone.
• I hope everyone watching the Bruce clip, if not - all I can say is that there is no hope for you people.
• What the hell? Mariah Carey married Nick Cannon? This seems like a crazy publicity stunt to me, like maybe for that show on VH1...Pop Fiction? We'll see. My realistic side says they'll be divorced in a matter of weeks. But it would be cute if they were like 80 years old and still together!
  
  

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Happy Birthday Moma! Love you!!

I searched long and hard to find the perfect Bruce clip, and for me, this one shows exactly what Bruce is all about! First of all, whenever you get a chance just look at the crowd. They are going nuts begining to end. It is entertainment in itself to see people react to his show, it is impossible not to be rocked. Second, has one man ever single handedly made a tamborine and a saxaphone so damn cool? I don't think so. Clarence Clemens is a legend. Period. Third, when they get the entire arena going, humming that melody, it is contagious. I can hardly explain it, and I'm sure Mom will vouch for me, the only way I can think to put it is that it is totally and completely consuming. Keep you eyes out for the signature Badlands fist pump. This 9 man band keeps tens of thousands of people simultaneously on the edges of their seats....wait...theres not a damn person in their seat...but you get the idea. They make the audience go until they can't go anymore - and then they transition right into the next song. Ahhhh, I wish I could drag each and every person I know to a Springsteen concert, then you would know what I'm talking about.

"The Office" Thursday Night

Most of the time when I watch "The Office" I crack up the entire time, but when it gets to the end and I go to blog about it, I can't remember a damn thing that I thought was funny, usually I can eventually come up with a few comments, but this week I decided to take some quick notes during the episode. The following is what I came up with. My additional comments after the fact are in italics.

• jim's hair (Something about Jim's recent longer 'do is really bothersome to me. Does i mean something? Is it just the product of a new stylist on staff? The little flip-er-roo that has been going on the last few episodes takes the normal disheveled Jim Halpert look and somehow for me crosses the line. Is anyone with me?)
• proposal?! (they alluded to a possible upcoming proposal a little bit last week, but I tried to ignore it. Isn't this moving too fast?! )
• andy's golf pants!! (nothing else needs to be said)
• migraine worker (right at the same level as "colored greens" but I would love to hear Michael's explaination for what a migraine worker actually is)
• "the office" marathon on sunday (yes!)
• dwight & angela alone in the office!!!! (can anyone say...afternoon delight?)
• jim's hair - seriously!!! (still annoyed, and the golf hat this episode is only making it worse)
• andy gets thrown from golf cart into sand trap (totally saw it coming, but loved it all the same)
• game over! (there is always something funny about someone drop kicking a basketball)
• "i would never say this to her face, but she is a wonderful person and a gifted artist" (p.s. Pam really seems to be getting annoyed with Michael's constant demeaning comments)
• andy's blisters, eww (tried to ignore them the first time around, but they are just sooo gross)
• especially awkward michael episode (After making some strides last week in the professional areana, Michael was definitely back to his old ways this week, insecure and looking for constant approval - even from highschoolers)
• new york of philadelphia for pam? philadelphia = philly jim anyone?! (I dont' know if I like where this is going! )
• season finale next week. 1 hour. how did it sneak up on us so quick?

Next Week on "The Office:

GOODBYE, TOBY8/7c TV-PG 05.18.2008

IT'S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE - SPECIAL ONE HOUR SEASON FINALE - OSCAR NOMINEE AMY RYAN ("Gone Baby Gone") GUEST STARS - It's Toby's (Paul Lieberstein) goodbye party at Dunder Mifflin and Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) demands a huge celebration that matches the joy in his heart. Angela (Angela Kinsey), sick of Michael's unreasonable last minute demands, refuses, and Michael turns to Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) to take over the party planning committee. Meanwhile, Dwight (Rainn Wilson) and Meredith (Kate Flannery) haze the new HR woman, Holly (Oscar Nominee Amy Ryan). John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Melora Hardin, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Oscar Nunez, Mindy Kaling, Creed Bratton, and Craig Robinson also star.

Big Fish

My dad caught a big fish yesterday. There's not really a big story about this one, but for some reason I think this big fish is kinda cool. Too bad I don't have patience for fishing, but it does seem like it would be fun to reel one of these guys in. Sometime we should get the whole crew together and go deep sea fishing at the coast. That'd be fun, and if we get bored with the fishing we can always just bullshit each other.

Happy Birthday Greg!!!

Happy Birthday Gregory! Hope you have a great day, this post is dedicated to you and all things Gregory-esqe.

Nick Swisher

Photography Puppies Books
Soccer
Italian Food
CSI
Linus

Elf - The Movie

Where I Want to Be On June 4th

Two Words:

The Roots.

Cuthbert Amphitheater.

Eugene Oregon.

June Fourth.

Now I just need to find someone else who actually wants to go to this....

"The Office" Friday

Night Out:
I was informed by an annoymous source that this episode was less than impressive, and maybe because I wasn't expecting much I ended up really liking it. A Couple of my highlights:

• Toby's awkward hand on Pam's thigh!
• What's up with Jim's shaggy hair?
• Dwight's fixation with Ryan The Temp's dwarfish friend.
• Dwight proves to be a real ladies man - very popular with the women's basketball team at the club.

Toby is moving to Costa Rica?!

Did I Stutter?
This one kept me a little bit perplexed. The Stanley/Michael confrontation made the majority of the episode feel a little bit awkward. Although I will say that I felt proud of Michael for standing up for himself at the end, and I think he did earn just a little bit of Stanley's respect. Jim's hair continues to look oddly disheveled. LOVED Dwight's Emergency Plan chain of command & the fact that somehow Michael manages to stay strong enough and not relinqish control!

Next Week on "The Office"

JOB FAIR 9/8c TV-PG 05.08.2008
Jim (John Krasinski) hits the links with Andy (Ed Helms) and Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) to try and land his biggest client ever. Meanwhile, Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) sets up a booth at a local job fair, which happens to be at Pam's (Jenna Fischer) alma mater, to find "the best and the brightest" for Dunder Mifflin's summer internship. Rainn Wilson, B.J. Novak, Leslie David Baker, Angela Kinsey, Creed Bratton, Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Phyllis Smith and Craig Robinson also star.

I'm Listening To...

Estelle



In the same vein as Joss Stone, Corrine Bailey Rae & Amy Winehouse - Estelle is a the newest edition of British Neo Soul to release in the US. I just got this CD last week, and I am LOVING it. The video above is the live version of the title track to her album "Shine." It isn't even one of the 2 singles released to date, which goes to show the strength of the album from top to bottom. For me this track is one of those that just feels fun, it makes me want to sing really loud and dance around my apartment when no one else is here.