When all you have to say is thanks

The great thing about blogging is the distraction it can provide from your every day life.  I don't mean being distracted from your family because that can be a problem, but just daily stress, work, you know the drill.  The thing is, sometimes you have so much "real" life going on, there aren't enough hours in the day to deal with it all and still have the luxury of distractions. 

That's been my life lately.  I'm still reading blogs and trying to do a post here and there, but I find I'm not able to post daily or twice daily like I was doing before.  It's not that I don't want to, but I'm having a hard time coming up with material or witty banter...ok, my previous banter was sometimes witty to me, if not the reader.  Thankfully I'm still getting packages to post about.  Although I've been a bad boy and not mailed out the pic that I promised him yet, I received a package from Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders. 

I was so blown away by the package, I only picked 4 cards to scan.  I'll get the ugly Giant out of the way first. 

Of course, this 2002 Topps Archives Reserve Will Clark is anything but ugly.  That thing is so shiny it puts any chrome card to shame. 

How about a sweet on card Rusty Greer auto.  Those 1996 Fleer cards aren't glossy so they take to a Sharpie like the hot takes to Kate Upton.  Or Erin Andrews. 

U.G.L.Y, your mama says you're UGLY!  That 2005 Donruss Prime Patches Michael Young is the best looking ugly card I've seen in quite a while.  The design is awful, but it has two bat pieces and two different colored jersey pieces.  I know all the relic pieces might be from a piece of lawn furniture in the smoking area of the old Donruss headquarters, but hey, it's still mine! 

Allow me to introduce you to the sweet swing and even sweeter sig of one Mr. Will Clark.  Dennis shocked me with the inclusion of this 1998 Donruss Signature Series auto.  If I ever get around to ranking my favorite cards, I'm sure this one will be in the top 10.  Dennis, thanks for the great cards and your patience!

Boo...hiss! Bring on Spring Training

The only way to wash away the taste of another Giants World Series victory is to get Spring Training under way. 

I need a Twitter account for posts like this. 

Get some of the "Good Old Days"

Ok, I don't know how "good" they were or if Upper Deck was ever "good", but you can get your hands on a load of your favorite teams' Upper Deck cards if you join the Community Gum Break.

These guys are the real deal and you'll always be doing the right thing when you join the Community.

Go get some. 

Look at all the cards I bought!

That's right, you just looked at all the cards from all the packs I've busted in the last month!  Exciting huh?

No, you're computer is not messing up.  I've been pack-free for over a month.  It's refreshing actually.  I haven't been disappointed one single time in the money I spent or the cards I got.  I DID buy three rack packs, but those are for the winners of the SEPTEMBER contest, and I'll be getting those in the mail eventually. 

I didn't set out to go cold turkey on the card aisle, but it did coincide with my flame out about 6 weeks ago.  I can't say I've really missed pulling a bunch of cards I don't want.  I don't know how long this self-imposed buying freeeze will continue either.  I'm inclined to see how long I can hold out. 

The good thing is I can still trade. 

Trading is more fun than opening packs anyway.

You can get sweet cards like this 1973 Topps Jeff Burroughs.  I was only three when these came out so I didn't bust any packs.  It's nice to get these vintage Rangers in trades. 

I also don't have to waste money pulling unwanted relics when I can trade for all the fake Ranger relics I can handle!  Sweet!!! 

The cards I just posted came from my great trading partner Jeremy over at No One's Going to Read This Blog.  You should be reading if you're not. 

Thanks Jeremy!!

I've never been a big fan of fried chicken

Of course, it's not fried chicken that's a problem for me.  In the wake of my doctor revealing I'm pre-

diabetic, I've been trying to eat better.  Trying is the operative word.  I have another month before I go back to get re-checked so I'm hoping so make a serious dent in the weight loss by then.  Until then, I'll just try a steady diet of Rangers cards.  They're all the fun with half the fat.  Or something like that. 

This is a steady diet of cards I received as a part of the last box break held by Kyle over at Just a Bit Outside.  Kyle did a self-examination and opted to give up the hobby in favor of spending more time with his family and I can understand his decision.  I wish him all the best.  I certainly appreciate his final effort in the blogging community and thank him for all the great cards he sent me. 

I think I'll peel this film and I can use this Leaf Steel card to repair something in my house. 

Hey, it's Rusty Greer.  He's one of my favorites.

A little die-cut action, circa 2012 Bowman Platinum. 

Ranger.  Check.  Mini.  Check.  Black Border.  Check.  Rangers in the World Series for a third consecutive year...yea, um no. 

I got a whole stack of these B.A.T. cards.  Very cool, yet a pain to store. 

Nolan Ryan may have been the "No Hit King", but the 2012 Playoff Yankees are the "No Hitting Kings".  I love it.  

The biggest surprise of the package was this cool 1935 Film Partners Evelyn Brent/Randolph Scott mini.  I love these old cards, baseball related or not. 

This one highlights the movie "Home on the Range".  I've never seen it, but I can still appreciate a little vintage cardboard work of art. 

Kyle, thanks for the cards and good luck with your new cardboard free life. 

Now, where was that celery stick? 

A tale of two victors

This will only be interesting to me, but I'm rooting for the Cardinals to repeat as World Series Champs.  I know what you're thinking.  "Hey, you hated the Giants for beating the Rangers in 2010, how come you don't hate the Cardinals for the beating the Rangers in 2011?"  

Well, I do sorta hate the Cardinals for beating the Rangers, but of all the teams left, I want them to win.  I can't root for the Yankees or Giants.  I'm so indifferent about the Tigers it's disturbing.  That leaves the Cards. 

I think it would be great for them to win the Series because that would leave Albert Pujols wishing he'd had a little loyalty to his team and not left to chase a few more dollars.  You don't think Cards fans would throw that in his face do you? 

Speaking of the Giants, I got a great package of cards from Adam over at ARPsmith's Sportscard Obsession. 

He sent over vintage greatness. 

Numbered parallelness. 

Museum quality ink. 

Orange parallels...not to be confused with Orange Julius. 

The swatch that started it all.

Two REAL (or not) swatches from two CLEAN (or not) Rangers legends. 

My very first Toby Harrah auto ( I don't care that it's faded)  If I can, I'm going to get him to re-sign the card.  That would be cool. 

Last, but not least, I got this Justin Bieber card.  It's making the rounds as the "Old Maid" card in trade packages.  So far it's gone from Nachos Grande to Arpsmith to me.  Someone will be "gifted" this card very soon!

Thanks for the great cards! 

Black and Blue



Life can throw you for a loop every now and then.  Last month when I was already in what I'm currently referring to as the "tailspin", I found out I'm pre-diabetic.  While it's not the same as hearing you have diabetes or something worse, it still hit me hard.  The good news is I can head it off and actually come out of this ok as long as I get more active and lose some of this weight I've been carrying around for far too long. 

One of the guys that reached out to me during my absence was Robert from $30 a week habit.  He posted just to let me know he was pulling for me without even knowing what was going on and I have to say it meant a lot. 

During the downtime, Robert sent over some cards and the black and blue theme continued.  The package was loaded with goodness, but two cards stood out over all the rest.  

I love getting Senators cards and I'll have to check, but this may be my first team card and it's great.  It's from 1971 obviously and I think I may have to use it for my header for a few days. 

The blue comes in the form of this 2012 Topps blue parallel of Yu Darvish.  We'll have to wait a while, but I can't wait to see how he does in his 2nd season. 

Robert, thanks for the cards and the shout out!