It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I love when God blesses me through outwardly bad circumstances. Today is a perfect example of this. My car died on Friday night, which is not actually that unusual for me these days, and I had to completely change my Sunday plans. I missed out on a friend's bridal shower and missed out on church but I ended up having the greatest day anyway.
Mallory was at U.C. Davis all day, at a conference for work so I had the whole house to myself, which is pretty rare. I woke up at 8:30, not because I had to but because I wanted to. Then I took a chair out to our balcony and sat there and read almost all of Acts. I spent probably 10 minutes just sitting there, looking at the trees, feeling the breeze, listening to the birds chirping. I feel like I am incredibly blessed to live here. It feels like waking up at camp everyday. It looks like camp, with all of the trees within the complex, and the smell of dirt and grass and leaves just envelops you when I walk outside. It's a beautiful thing and I got to fully enjoy it this morning, for as long as I wanted.
After that, I made myself waffles with strawberries and walnuts and watched an old black and white movie (The Body Snatcher, with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff).
After that, I got my car towed and got to spend that whole time waiting outside, enjoying pure freedom in time.
After I took care of that, I organized my bathroom, cleaned the house, baked a cake, unpacked from my housesit, paid my bills and balanced my checkbook, and updated my blog.
What an awesome day! It's only 7:15 now and I still have a few hours to do whatever I want. Isn't life gorgeous?

KEVIN FRANDSEN!

So, I've "met" my favorite Giants player, Kevin Frandsen, three times now but the third was absolutely a charm. The first time I met him, my heart practically jumped in my throat and I could hardly spit out "will you sign my ball?". I was getting my dad's baseball autographed for him. The entire time, Kevin was gabbing it up with someone else!
The second time I met him was at Photo Day, when he was hobbling around, looking like his Achilles was really hurting him (he's been out the whole season because of an Achilles rupture).
The third time is a beautiful memory. Mal and I got there early (as usual) and watched the ladies play softball (all the Giants wives/significant others played against those of the A's). After awhile, Mal and I decided to go sit down and we noticed Kevin walking out the practice throwing in the bullpen. No one was even around! This was my chance. I walked over to him and asked if he would sign my hat. Of course, he said sure. No one else was even around so I knew I had to say something.

Here is our conversation:
Me: Kevin, will you sign my hat?
Kevin: Sure.
Me: How are you feeling these days? Getting better?
Kevin: Yeah, I'm doing better.
Me: Do you think you'll be back this season?
Kevin: Yeah, I really hope so.

Thrilling conversation, right? I loved every sweet second of it. My goal all season was to talk to him, for even a moment, and that's exactly what I got, plus a really cool autograph on my Giants hat. The only autograph that matters, in my opinion. ;)

I'm disappointed that it looks like he'll be out all season but at least he's still around. hey, if he's just chilling out, I probably have better chances of meeting him and talking to him again, right?

BEST DAY EVER!