Striking Odds

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Have you ever looked up the odds of a person playing baseball at the professional level? Let alone the odds of making it to Major League Baseball? WHEW, those numbers are insane. I read that a high school baseball player has about .5% chance of playing pro baseball – and that does not mean making it to the bigs. Of course the percentage of college ballplayers who go on to play pro is much higher (around 10%), but only because the pool of college players is a lot smaller than the pool of high school players. With each level advanced in the minor leagues these men are defying incredible odds, although, some do have better odds than others. I found an interesting article by Mike Rosenbaum from 2012 that looks at percentages of players who make it to MLB based on what round they were drafted in. First round draft picks reach the big leagues at a whopping 66%, and as you might have guessed the percentage drops rapidly from there. Addison was drafted in the 17th round, where only about 11% make it to the show.  Any normal person would look at these numbers and feel defeated just seeing how unlikely it is to fulfill their lifelong dream, but if there is one thing I have learned in this whole baseball process it’s that these athletes are some of the most resilient and determined people on the planet.

Thinking about all these numbers doesn’t scare me one bit, they actually give me hope. Addison has already overcome tremendous odds to get to where he is at this very moment. I can’t even express the amount of pride I have for him every single day he goes out on that field and literally battles to make that childhood dream of his a reality. Only God knows where we are going to land in our baseball journey. Maybe it’s MLB, maybe it’s not. Truthfully it doesn’t even matter, because we will always know that he gave it his all.

Getting to Know the Blogging Baseball Wives: Cooking in Red Socks

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I LOVE FOOD. Cooking it, eating it, looking at it…really everything about it. So does Jamie, which is why I’m so excited for you to get to know her today! Her blog, Cooking in Red Socks, is food centered and absolutely amazing. She features delicious recipes and various places that she’s dined along her baseball journey. All of her posts leave me hungry for more and always feeling inspired to try out a new recipe. She’s also a bride to be, so I love when she gives updates about her upcoming big day…’cause who doesn’t love a wedding?! But seriously, just go check out her blog and you will see what I mean (don’t forget to wipe the drool from your face ;-) )!

I am so pleased to introduce you to the lovely and very talented, Jamie.
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Name: Jamie Neistat (better half of catcher Ryan Lavarnway)

Current Organization: Red Sox- Pawtucket AAA

Years in Baseball: This is my fourth year living this crazy life!

Do you travel with your fiance: We live together in season, but I work where we are living and don’t actually travel on road trips.

How long have you been traveling with him and what are the best/worst things about it: We have lived together for three years; the best part is that we get to explore the country together and I get to be by his side as he makes his baseball dreams come true! The worst thing, packing! Definitely packing.

Tell me a little about YOU: I went to Bucknell University to study Business Management before attending Culinary School in Philadelphia. I love to spend time outside- hiking, running, or enjoying lunch on a sunny day. My favorite hobby, of course, is exploring new foodie things- farmers’ markets, restaurants, food trucks…. I’m up for anything!

Tell me about your blog: I started Cooking in Red Socks at the beginning of 2012 as a way to share my recipes and food stories. Before I knew it, my blog became my best travel buddy. Writing about my experiences makes me get out and explore! It’s such a wonderful excuse to see the places we live and travel to. This past April I also became a blogger for the Cooking Light network, which I am so thrilled to be a part of.

What is your favorite, go to recipe: If it’s late after a game and I don’t feel like really cooking, I always make my quinoa “fried” rice. It’s super healthy and easy to make. Ryan normally eats it for breakfast, too.

What does your cooking “toolkit” consist of: If I could, I would travel with an entire U-Haul of cooking equipment. We do keep a storage unit on the east coast in the off season, so I have a bit more stuff than the average baseball wife. My absolute essentials, though, are good knives, my miniature food processor, a microplane, and a mini cupcake tray (which is weird). I end up using it for so many appetizers and desserts, I can’t imagine not having it with me!

If you haven’t already, go to visit her at www.cookinginredsocks.com !!

Cruelty Free Beauty on a Budget

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It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of animals. I don’t eat them and I love to snuggle with them every chance I get. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I am against the testing of products on animals…especially beauty products. That being said I do my absolute best to research brands before I buy them to determine whether they are cruelty free or not, because it’s not always as easy as looking for the little white bunny on the back of packaging (If you do see that little cruelty free bunny on the packaging, it means that the product you are buying was not tested on animals. Yay!). One of my very favorite resources for determining whether or not a product is “safe” is a website, My Beauty Bunny. On the site there is a huge list of brands that are cruelty free, and it also has indications whether the brands are owned by larger companies who do still test on animals. In the recent past, many companies have lost their cruelty free title in search of more money. You see, in China the products they sell are REQUIRED to be tested on animals. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!  These once applauded companies are ditching their “morals” so they can sell their products in this (sadly enough) rapidly growing market. My Beauty Bunny keeps the public up to date with these companies, because they obviously try to be as discreet about these changes as they possibly can be. Seriously though, it is not one bit necessary to test my favorite lip color or mascara on a sad, scared little bunny rabbit. *Steps down from soapbox.* I’ve tried tons and tons of products, but these are just some of my currently owned items that happen to be cruelty free and budget friendly. This isn’t an all inclusive list by any means!

photo photo45_zps8c85e090.jpgMilani is one of my very favorite drugstore brands, they have quality products that aren’t expensive at all.

1.  Easybrow – probably my favorite product right now (introduced to me by my favorite beauty blogger, Glow of Grace). It makes eyebrow defining super easy, and looks really natural.

2.  Easyliner for Eyes – another staple for my makeup bag. A perfect retractable eye liner pencil.

ELF is probably the biggest rockstar in the cruelty free budget beauty industry. Cheap, kind, and 100% awesome!

3.  Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter – the concealer works great and the highlighter adds just a bit of sparkle.

4.  Eyelid Primer – if I’m wearing eyeshadow, this eyelid primer is a MUST.

5.  High Definition Powder – I don’t use this every day, but is a cheap and fabulous alternative to the Makeup Forever HD Powder (which isn’t cruelty free!!!).

6.  Brightening Eye Color – these aren’t my favorite, because they aren’t very pigmented and take a lot of build intense color. But the colors are pretty, there are a lot to choose from and they are small and travel friendly.

 7.  Makeup Mist & Set – just did your makeup and it’s looking kind of cakey? Give it a mist of this stuff and magic will happen.

NYX is fairly new to me, but I’ve got a few of their products on my wish list for my next trip to ULTA (a trip I am purposely avoiding).

8.  HD Photogenic Concealer – the coverage and blendability of this stuff is perfect. I bought green to try to battle some redness but I haven’t quite figured out how to not look green when I use it. Next time I will just stick to skin tones ;-) .

Physicians Formula has been a part of my beauty routine for YEARS, even before I knew they were cruelty free. So it was great to not have to change at least one staple in my makeup bag.

9.  Mineral Wear Loose Powder – has enough coverage that I will usually wear this alone, no foundation needed!

10. Mineral Airbrushing Bronzer – I love this bronzer. It looks really natural and has SPF 30.

NYC was a last thought addition in here. There are a lot of mixed reviews out there on whether or not they are cruelty free, so that’s probably not a good sign but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt here and add in the one product of theirs I own.

11.  Individual Eyes created for Blue Eyes – these colors are surprisingly pigmented and really make blue eyes pop. They have similar sets for all eye colors.

I wasn’t going to include this but I couldn’t resist. This particular product is definitely not a “budget” buy, but it is made by my favorite makeup brand… Urban Decay!!! photo photo46_zpsf8a6704a.jpg

BONUS!  Naked Palette – so many colors, so little time! There are endless options to mix and match with these shadows and they are all so beautiful on. If you have a little extra to invest in a palette I highly recommend buying one from Urban Decay, because they rock!

I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. My main goal here is for everyone to understand that there is great affordable makeup brands out there that don’t test on animals. If you have makeup in your bag that’s been tested on animals, I’m not going to hold it against you because I do too! But I am consciously making the effort to get away from all of those items because I do not want to support those companies anymore unless they make a change. How about you? Does the testing of your beauty products on animals bother you enough to make a change? What are some of your favorite cruelty free products?

 

***Disclaimer: All of the mentioned products were purchased by myself and these are all my own opinions. I am by no means a beauty blogger or expert, just a girl who appreciates animals and makeup!***

Back in Action

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It’s been a while. Too long really. I’ve been caught up in the new season and a little off on my writing with all the craziness that has been going on in this country of ours as of late. But I’m back! We are currently in Scranton, PA playing for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (AAA). The team has newly renovated stadium that is absolutely beautiful. If you live in the area and haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do so. Addison is doing his usual, super utility thing. Already this season he’s made appearances at 3rd base, 1st base, short stop and right field. That really keeps things exciting for me, never knowing where he might be playing next! The only thing that I haven’t been enjoying here is the cold weather that doesn’t seem to ever want to leave. Yesterday was the first warm day we have had since we’ve been here, but it rained and brought in another little cold front. My fingers are crossed that it just gets warmer and warmer from here.

I’m not sure if it’s typical for AAA baseball, but the team makes some long away trips. They just got back from an eight day road trip and are about to leave again in a few days for a NINE day trip! I didn’t go on the last one and unfortunately I will be staying behind again. So I’ll hopefully get to venture out and explore the area some while I have lots of free time! If anyone has any ideas on how to fill my time, send them my way! I’ll be forever grateful.

I’ll be back soon, promise!

Getting to Know the Blogging Baseball Wives: Glow of Grace

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The baseball community is a tight knit group of people. We live such unique lives that it is actually hard not to connect with those you meet because of the game. Strangely enough, I feel some sort of closeness with “baseball people” I never have even actually met! I’ve been following Rachel’s blog for about a year now and after reading all of her posts and watching all of her videos, I feel like I know her (…and that we are BFFs – she just doesn’t know it!). She has such a fun, spirited personality that comes across so noticeably if you watch just one second of any of her tutorials. To top it off, she is an absolute artist with a make-up brush! I can’t begin tell you how much I have learned from her…I can actually do my make-up now and even feel confident enough to try new products and techniques! But enough about what I think, I’d like you all to meet the very talented – Rachel Weiland!

Jessica McKinley Photography: {Couples} &emdash;

Current organization: Houston Astros

Years in baseball: Drafted in 2008 by the Boston Red Sox and traded to the Houston Astros in December 2011.

Do you travel with your husband? If yes, how long and what are the best/worst things about it? : Yes, but I wasn’t always able to! I worked in Columbus, OH all through our engagement and the first few months of our marriage, and I was only able to visit him one weekend a month if my work schedule permitted. It was so hard to be apart, and eventually I left my job in May 2011 to go on the road with him. I’ve been blessed to be able to travel with him ever since! I love being able to keep our little family (myself, my husband, and our two adorable cats) together all year round. It’s also been a great blessing to be able to support him from the stands, and witness great events, like his major league debut, that I probably would have missed had I still been working. The toughest thing for me has been adjusting to “not knowing”–where we will live tomorrow, what team he will be on, etc. I’m a Type A planner to my core, so I’ve had to learn to roll with the punches and just put everything in God’s hands. He will lead us where He needs us!

Tell me a little about YOU (not the hubby!): I was born and raised in Orange County, California and I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2009 with degrees in Chinese and English. Yes, I said Chinese! I studied abroad in Taiwan, and I speak Chinese fluently, although I’m quite rusty after a couple years of very little practice. I love to sing, and I’ve recently joined our church choir and praise band, which has been incredibly fun! Music was a huge part of my life growing up, so it’s really nice to get back in to it now that I’ve got the time.

Tell me about your blog and why you started it? : Last year was my first Spring Training, and I was looking for things to keep me occupied since I was no longer working. My mom suggested I start a blog and YouTube Channel to share some of my tips, tricks, and ideas for makeup looks. I’ve always loved to write and had a passion for all things beauty, so it made sense to combine the two. And so Glow of Grace was born. However, I wanted to do more than just write about makeup and beauty products because I think beauty truly comes from the inside. My faith is a huge part of my life and who I am, and I wanted that to shine through my words. I think women, and especially young girls, need more role models with good values and morals, so I strive to be a person that people not only look to for beauty advice, but for how to live a life that reflects the grace of God. My interests are also fairly well-rounded, and we are obviously blessed with opportunities to travel all over, so I’ve thrown in some reviews of different places and favorite recipes as well. I’ve actually debated, and continue to debate, whether or not to blog about our baseball life or not. I don’t think my readers and subscribers even know I’m a baseball wife! Sometimes I think it would be helpful for our friends and families to have a place to look for updates, and certainly helpful for me to have an outlet to keep sane, but I’m still undecided. And since my husband is recovering and rehabbing from a shoulder infection, I’ve got another season to make up mind.

Favorite product of the moment: Oh, this is so hard! I have so many! Well, Spring has definitely arrived here in Austin, so I’m going to have to go with my Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Pink Pop. I actually don’t wear a ton of makeup on a daily basis, so I throw on a little mascara, maybe a little eyeliner, and this bright pink lipstick. It makes me feel put together and ready for Spring with very little effort.

Best beauty advice for those baseball ladies (or any ladies) who travel a lot: Invest in a train case! Life on the road means never knowing what kind of storage or lighting your next bathroom will have. A good train case will keep your makeup organized and ready for transport at a moment’s notice. I don’t ever bring my entire makeup collection with me on the road, but it holds enough to keep even makeup junkies like myself satisfied! Plus I find I use more of my collection when I can see it all clearly in front of me. I used to keep everything stored in makeup bags, and I’d always reach for the same few products over and over while the rest of my makeup lay forgotten. My train case is from Sephora and I love it, but I’m sure you can find other options at places like WalMart or on Amazon.

 
Now that you know a little about Rachel, go visit her at www.glowofgrace.com and see how wonderful she is!