I Love My Team!

I promise - at some point I'll stop sharing a thousand pictures of my Nationals but it hasn't even been a week since they won the World Series and I just wanted to create a post (honestly for myself) that contained some of my favorite pictures from the past week. I should point out - none of these pictures are actually mine but I love them and want to be able to look back at them.

So - there you have it. The random favorite pictures of the past week and my favorite team - living their best lives. Now, if you need me I'll be over here still wrapping my head around the fact that my Washington Nationals are World Series Champions!

A World Series Parade

Certainly there was more to my weekend than just the World Series Parade but it was the highlight of the weekend and between all the pictures I took and the pictures my Dad also took - I just decided that it would be enough for a weekend review.

We had dinner on Friday night at Regions 117 and it was nothing but delicious - I had one of the new items for Autumn, a warm grain bowl with corn salsa, peppers, avocados, tomatoes, Mexican rice and grilled chicken with a Ranch style dressing. It was divine and I'd eat it again in a heartbeat. I took pictures of all my food... I'll share it at some point, ha-ha! 

Saturday morning we were up and out the door by 8:45 - we stopped and got breakfast on the way and my Dad was sure that we'd be hopping on an empty Metro train when we arrived at Vienna Fairfax but I wasn't so sure... When we arrived at the Metro, we joined the crowd of people waiting to reload their fare cards and my Dad said "well I would have never...."

I should mention - we all loaded onto one Metro train and then they made an announcement that the train coming into the station on the opposite platform would leave the station before the train we were currently on. I've never seen so many people rush to vacate a train in all my life - and we were right at the front, ha-ha! We rode into the city and my Mom and I were endlessly amused by my Dad chatting about the Nationals season with each new person that boarded the train. We emerged into the sunshine in DC and joined the waves of people wearing red toward Constitution Avenue... surrounded by "my people".

The Metro was handing out signs for the Parade emblazoned with "Fight Finished" and I happily accepted one for myself and waved it around as we made our way toward the parade area. I also discovered that there were signs that said "And Now We Dance" as well as "Congrats Champs" and I collected one of each of those as we chose our spots along the parade route. 

The National Gallery celebrating!

I also spent money to purchase a pennant announcing the Nationals as the World Series Champions that I could wave around jubilantly once the parade started. We staked out our spots around 12:30 and settled in to wait for the parade to begin at 2:00. I think we had really good spots but man - as with any situation like this, there were plenty of people who kept shoving their way into our long held spot as if they had some sort of dominance over that square of DC pavement - whatever. Rude people could NOT get me down because I was at a World Series parade!

Shortly after 2:00, the first of the double decker buses filled with Nationals players began to arrive on the scene and I attempted to take the best pictures possible - pennant sat to the wayside in an effort to not take crappy pictures. I should mention - the pictures below were not taken with my cell phone - they were shot by my Dad's very expensive camera and that's why they're infinitely better than what I captured with an iPhone!

Matt Adams & Patrick Corbin

Gerrardo Parra & Adam Eaton... and of course, Baby Shark!

Matt Adams... his beer... and Patrick in his glasses!

Anthony Rendon!

Juan Soto (22), Fernando Rodney (56) & Victor Robles!

Howie Kendrick!

Trea Turner!

Kurt Suzuki... & little Zuk looking unimpressed!

When the bus carrying Max Scherzer appeared on the scene - the crowd went pretty crazy! He was brandishing the WWE belt and waving it around... apparently we missed the point in the parade where he was literally on the roof of the bus. He was - in a word - wild. I think there may have been some alcohol involved in his level of wildness but then again, he's pretty intense all on his own - so who knows? 

Max Scherzer & the belt.

See what I mean? Wild.

Living his best life.

Andrew Stevenson & Yan Gomes... and baby Gomes!

Daniel Hudson!

Brian Dozier - the man can't keep a shirt on...

Wilmer Difo!

The final buses held Mr. National himself - Ryan Zimmerman, alongside manager Davey Martinez and the Commissioner's Trophy - which is a beautiful sight to behold. The World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg was also along for the ride and waved to the crowd as everyone cheered, snapped pictures and screamed "MVP" as he passed!

Ryan Zimmerman, the NL Champion Trophy & Davey Martinez.

The Commissioner's Trophy!

Stephen Strasburg & MASN Dan Kolko!

Davey Martinez! We love you Coach!

Waving to the Crowd!

The parade was honestly something I never thought I'd experience and maybe that sounds like I don't have much faith in my team - but that's not what it was. The World Series just seems like some kind of abstract idea to me... even now, having seen the parade and watched that shining Commissioner's Trophy lofted above the streets of DC - it still seems amazing and unbelievable. Don't get me wrong - I believe it - the Nationals won the World Series. There is no doubt in my mind about that and I could not be more thrilled. 

I think when Saturday was all said and done - even with the chilly temperatures, the crazy crowds, the pushy people, the travel required to get into DC - when it was all said and done, I weirdly felt blessed. I felt so happy to know I live this close to DC, that I have this awesome team to follow; a team made up of men who seem to be genuinely good men that played hard and didn't give up and that I got to join the celebration with at least a million or so other people. 

The rest of the weekend passed so quickly - the whole weekend passed so quickly, honestly - but Sunday was a haze of coffee, church and leftover pizza for lunch. I had a headache and it didn't fully go away until around 3:00. After that, I had more coffee, went grocery shopping, had cereal for dinner, took that ever important bubble bath and did my nails... and all too soon, it was time to start another week! 

October Things!

Anticipations

World Series Parade - As I'm posting this on November 2nd, I'm currently in DC getting ready to witness the World Series parade for my victorious Washington Nationals! This anticipation has been an entire baseball season in the making... even if I never imagined it when the season started.

Thanksgiving in Oklahoma - I'll be spending Thanksgiving out in the wilds of Oklahoma this year, certainly a far cry from the streets of Rome last year! We are going to Oklahoma to stay with my sister and spend a few days seeing the sights...and of course, eating turkey! I went to Oklahoma when I was very young and haven't been back, so this will be a little like my first time seeing this state!

Thanksgiving - Hello! I do love Thanksgiving and turkey and all the wonderful things that go along with it! Especially knowing that after I've filled my belly with turkey, sweet potatoes and pie and watched a little football... all things Christmas are officially a GO!

Books I've Read

I confess that I still haven't read a single book...but I have been reading constantly. I am still so fixed on the fan fiction that I've found online and I am just lapping that stuff up day after day, ha-ha!

Books on the Shelf

I actually cleared quite a few books off my shelf but not because I read them. *sigh* I got rid of a ton of books because they are just taking up so much space and some of them, I am never going to read. So I took them to a used book store and got cash for them! They can make someone else happy!

Can't Miss Movies

I'm not even kidding - I didn't see a single movie this month. Not a single one. However there are a million movies coming out in November that I want to go see: Last Christmas, Midway, Ford V Ferrari, Frozen II... I feel like I'm leaving something out. Oh well, suffice it to say I plan to see plenty of movies in November!

Must See TV

Mr. Robot - The fourth and final season of Mr. Robot premiered on October 6th (my birthday!) and so far I've caught up on the first two episodes and need to watch two more... but I'm intrigued as always! The final season picks up with Elliot battling White Rose as Christmas looms in New York City and the twists and turns that make you think and rethink every scene are as ever present as they were in previous seasons. Who knows how this final season will end?

The World Series - I guess this should really just say that I've been watching post season baseball since the World Series games only started on Tuesday, October 22nd but the past month has seen me watching some of the most intense baseball games of my entire life. Whoosh! And my Washington Nationals won the World Series on Wednesday, October 30th - easily one of the most intense things I've ever watched on television!

Tasty Treats

Oh man! The epic October eats started in the first weekend and never let up! I had the most delicious Maple Sponge Cake at the Queen Elizabeth in Niagara Falls, Ontario - with stunning views of Horseshoe Falls while I ate it! While in Toronto, I had a Nanaimo Bar, not one but TWO Beavertails, Poutine, some of the best Macaroni & Cheese ever and of course - Tim Horton's! 

The Tim Horton's coffee left me wanting but the Timbits (they're donut holes, y'all) were pretty fabulous! En route to Canada I had some divine French Onion Soup at Jean Bonnett Tavern and I've been enjoying the Congo Coffee from Atlas Coffee Club that my little sister signed me up for - as a birthday gift! It may seem pedestrian to some, but I love some Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef and Rangoons from Panda Express... and last but certainly not least - Strite's Donuts! YUM! 

Tunes & Talk

I've been listening to a playlist on Pandora all month that is titled "Thanksgiving Mix" and the tunes are all Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, etc... which is some seriously good music. I'm not sure what makes it a Thanksgiving/Autumn mix but I've been enjoying it.

I've also found a podcast called Catlick and I'll just let the description of the podcast do the talking: Catlick is the lost story of how spies, villains, & midnight vigilantes nearly destroyed the South's grandest city. Catlick is part true crime, part memoir, and part history-teacher-you-wish-you had. Only the first four episodes have dropped so far but it's set in Atlanta and it's engrossing!

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That's the story for October! 

Five on Friday

It's finally Friday ya'll! This week seemed long to me... but that might have been the excitement and stress of the final two games of the World Series and all that, I don't know. The not going to sleep until 1 AM on Thursday morning surely compounded that feeling and being woken up by a rogue pergola at 11:45 on Thursday night was also a reason...

Regardless of all that - it's the weekend! And oh yea, my Washington Nationals are STILL WORLD CHAMPIONS!

One. It's November - The month of thankfulness, turkey and the hectic run up to the Christmas season has arrived. My little sister likes to remind me it's also the month I became a big sister and she's right, so that is also a plus for this month. I cannot believe it's already turkey season once again - I'll be over here trying to soak it all up! Even if I'm maybe... possibly... listening to Christmas music while I do all the soaking!

Two. Road Warriors & Rule Breakers - Just buckle up y'all, because I'm going to be excited about this one for a while! At least until April 2nd of 2020; which is Opening Day at Nationals Park, and then I'll just be excited forever about it... ha-ha! 

The Nationals became the first team in history to secure all four wins needed to become World Series champions on the road and they are only the 7th Wild Card team to win the World Series since the Wild Card era began in 1995. 

The final game of the World Series marked the fifth time in the post season that the Nationals trailed in an elimination game and came back to win. They also took on two 100+ win teams (the Dodgers & the Astros) to secure their title of Champions. This team - they don't know the word quit! Wow!

Three. Weekend Plans - Well, I'm not sure what I'll be getting up to tonight but I do plan to have dinner at Regions 117. It's a local spot (like - in my neighborhood local) and they have a new Autumn menu with some really lovely decorations too! I can't wait to check it out and eat some delicious supper!

Saturday is World Series Parade day in DC and I'll be making my way into the city to join the sea of fans dressed in red to cheer on my beloved Nationals! I still cannot believe that my team won the World Series and I will be attending a World Series parade. A once in a lifetime experience - to be sure!

I'm not sure what I'll get up to on Sunday but I'm contemplating a movie. I'd like to see The Current War & Harriet... and both are playing in the area right now! Who knows - only time shall tell!

Four. Funnies - Y'all know I always have a couple things here and there that made me giggle throughout the week and so I'm sharing them with you today! I didn't miss work yesterday because of the World Series but this did make me smile... so did the four cups of coffee I had at work!

Yes - I am one of those people that jump into the Christmas spirit the minute Halloween ends. No shame in my game! You can be thankful all day long while listening to Christmas music and that is who I am! 

Five. Halloween Things - Last but not least, some snaps from my Halloween! Before the final season of Game of Thrones aired in April/May of this year, my co-workers and I decided that if all three characters we dressed as two years ago: Melisandre, Cersei and Daenerys - died in Season 8, we'd dress as them how they died.

The only one we weren't certain about dying was Dany - but Jon took care of that in the finale and so our costumes were set. It's harder than you might think to figure out how to make a costume that indicates you've been buried under rubble - but I think I did just fine!

I did look pretty funny later in the afternoon when I took off the costume and still had blood and rubble dust smeared all over my face! Oh well! As is our tradition, family friends and their little people came over to have dinner and trick or treat - which was cut short by some strong storms that moved through the area. 

We had plenty of fun making faces, talking to to pup and sorting through the Halloween candy they did manage to collect before they ended the night making "snow angels" in the rug! I mean - I suppose snow will be on the horizon soon too, right?

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That's all I've got for this first day of November! I cannot believe that there are just two short months left of this year - got to soak it all up!