Sunday, August 31, 2014

Church Day

Today I take the Yankees Hat off and reflect on what Sundays are all about...aside from sports. 

Today is Sunday and that also means it's church day. Or at least my version of church day. Sometimes church is just about being still and spending some one on one time with God.

Do you ever wonder what it would look like if Jesus had a twitter account? If He used Instagram or was on facebook? What would His accounts look like? Who would he follow? Who would follow him? I bet you would be surprised. And if you pissed him off, would he click "unfollow" or "unfriend" you? No way. Jesus is awesome and He loves everyone. I'd love to see what his posts would look like. What pictures would he put up for everyone to see? I wonder if he would tag people in a group tailgate photo. Or take a crazy selfie right before he does the ALS ice bucket challenge. And when he added his family members to his profile would he put God alongside Mary and Joseph? You and I, and the entire world would be listed as his brothers and sisters. Wow that would be amazing to see Jesus on social media! He might even bypass Justin Bieber or Katy Perry on twitter. Remember when Ellen broke twitter the day she took the infamous selfie at the Oscars...I can only image what Jesus would do with an epic post or pic. If Jesus were on social media today, what would his selfies look like? What would he use as his twitter avatar or Facebook profile picture? Most importantly, I wonder if I would be in any of his photos and what he would use as a hashtag? And of course...would he have the mighty blue check mark next to his name on twitter to say that he is verified. 

Just a little something to think about. 

Our world is crazy right now, and our schedules are so hectic and stressful. We hardly have time for anything. Including God. Today I made time for Him and I hope you do too. We should all try to be a little more loving, forgiving and understanding. Maybe if Jesus was on social media today we would actually listen to Him. We could all use a good teaching and a dose of unconditional love. I challenge you to take this Sunday and every Sunday to set aside just 5 minutes to breathe, give thanks to God, and realize that there's someone out there who cares. And if you're going through a tough time right now and think that God has abandoned you, I can assure you He has not. The Lord works in mysterious ways and He sometimes uses the strangest people or things to let us know He loves us and is listening. Happy Sunday everyone. I hope your day is blessed and thanks for spending the day in "church" with me. 

The quote for the day... "People who struggle to spend time with God don't have a scheduling problem, they have a love problem". 

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Tailgating

I woke up this morning to a text that said "Get up! Its time to tailgate!!! Meet us at the Jamaican flag"... Ahhhh College game day. Football season is back and when you're in South Bend for their home opener, a message like that is not uncommon. It was sent to me at 8:17AM... Which is also not uncommon for game day, but I didn't get the text till 11am - I'm not an early riser so I was late to the party. The tailgaters start at the crack of dawn in Irish country but this girl didn't hit the campus till 11:30am. And of course... "The Hat" was with me! 

I got ready as fast as I could, threw on my Notre Dame t-shirt, and grabbed my Yankees hat. One of my favorite things about wearing the hat is I never have to worry about what my hair looks like. It was time to get out there and party with the best of em. My breakfast ended up being a pretzel rod and a ginger beer. I was starting off slow. The rest of the group was already annihilated by the time I got there. The music was bumpin, the ND flags were flyin, and there were drinking games and leprechauns all around. My friend made this watermelon concoction which was poured into a giant watermelon. It had a tap on it and everything! It was pretty impressive. The Yankees hat decided to have a drink... Right out of the spout! It was awesome. The sights I saw that day cannot be told on a blog but lets just say, the Yankees hat knows how to keep a secret. What happens in South Bend, stays in South Bend.

I was having so much fun and it's ironic because a recent Harvard study found that South Bend is ranked 3rd for being the most unhappy city in the US... But not today my friends! And certainly not after our big win against Rice 48-17! It was a day of celebration and laughter...speaking of laughter, there was a girl I saw who was digging for cherries in this enormous glass jar with a wooden shish kabob skewer. She dropped a cherry right on her shoe and then picked it up ate it. Then I saw this guy dancing drunk in a group of people and wiped out hard on the pavement and then got right back up like a champ and kept drinking. Who does this kind of stuff? Fighting Irish fans, that's who.

The Yankees hat and I had a great time today at Notre Dame. We might take the day off tomorrow to recover and get some work done for our next big trip. Wait till you hear where we're going next! Check back soon to find out and thanks for reading my blog. 


The quote for the day... "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder" 

Friday, August 29, 2014

The Yankees Hat, Caddyshack and Notre Dame



   
Being the sports lover that I am, and South Bend being my hometown, I thought it would be appropriate to spend some time in Notre Dame country for their home opener against Rice. It's that time of year again...Football season! And even though my Yankees hat is all about baseball, this blog is all about where this hat has been and the stories it has to tell. So last nights experience was interesting enough to make it into my blog today.

I met some friends out at a local bar near the Notre Dame campus where nothing but college drunks surrounded us. It was 2AM so it's not a shocker that everyone was in rare form. The night was going great until this nut job came up to our table and started babbling and making no sense at all. His questions were bizarre and at one point he started to get aggressive and pretty obnoxious. I'll be honest, he was making me nervous. It felt like that firecracker scene from Boogie Nights. I thought for sure someone was gonna end up taking a swing. The guy eventually left and we were all saved by the 3am "lights on you're being kicked out" routine by the bouncers and cops. Ahhhh to be back in "The Bend". When you're in South Bend for a Notre Dame home game it's never a dull moment. 

We all brought the party back to a friends house and after a few Molson's, a round of "What Movie...Whose Line", it was time to kick back and end the night with a movie. There it was! An all time classic, a real beauty...Caddyshack! We had to watch it. The hi light was the massage scene with Chevy chase (Ty Webb) and "Lacy Underall". Sometimes you forget how funny that movie is until you see it again. It was a great way to end the evening. The only thing that would have been better is to have a real massage by a hot guy and sleeping in until 2:00 in the afternoon the next day! Haha a girl can dream right? 

I snapped this photo in the rain today. If you look close you'll see the bar in the back where it all began.



The quote of the day is..."There's No Place Like Home"

Thursday, August 28, 2014

It Just Doesn't Matter - 8/28/14




It Just Doesn't Matter

The Yankees are playing the Detroit Tigers again and boy did I get some responses after my blog post last night "Who wore it better me or Kate Upton". They were all pretty positive so thank you. But Yankees haters and Kate Upton fans all around don't like me right now for what I wrote. Ask me if I care - and I'll ask you a question right back... When was the last time you took a stand for something you believed in? I do it on a daily basis. 

For years I've worked in a male dominated business, played sports my whole life, and some of my best friends are guys so I'm use to being bold, opinionated and have a very strong personality. I'm a tough girl and when I feel passionate about something I speak my mind. Don't get me wrong, I also have a soft side. I'm the most down to earth person you will ever meet and I always give my heart and soul to good causes. I offer help whenever I can, but when you mess with my sports teams, look out! I will never back down from a fight or a challenge. It must run in my family - I helped my brother beat cancer twice so defending the Yankees hat is a cake walk for me. 

We live in a world today where loyalty is gone. Morals are at an all time low. The entire planet seems to be in dismay or crisis. That's why I take my sports so serious. Not only did I grow up playing sports and watching them on TV or if I was lucky enough to go watch a game in person and cheer my team on, it brought me the greatest joy. To this day I find sports to be my relief. Sports take us to that happy place. They lets us escape for a few hours and just enjoy the moment. Whether it's baseball, hockey, football or basketball, or any sport we love and any team we obsess over, it's sometimes just what the doctor ordered. It's an outlet that we all need to make us forget all of our troubles and just enjoy life for the day....unless of course your team loses, then that's when a good beer after the game comes in! 

Let's face it, times are tough these days and we could all use a little escape. So to all my personal haters and to all the Yankees haters out there reading this blog, can you please just see my side of it and let me take a stand for something I love?  If it was your team you'd give me a high five. The Yankees are my favorite team and if someone who is in the spotlight turns their back on them, you're just setting yourself up for disaster - yes I'm talking to you again Kate... I just have to speak my mind because I'm all about respect. This is a team that has given me so much joy over the years the least I could do is defend them. It's time we all stood up for something we love and believe in. I challenge you all to give it a try. It's a great feeling.

And now, back to the game! The Yanks have had it rough for a while but all of a sudden they're turning things around. This could get interesting. The Yankees hat is alive and well! Let's Go Yankees!!! 

My quote for the day is a little different. I'm including a link that I think you will enjoy. I'm still smiling: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6UZvIZAHjlY

This quote comes from Bill Murray in the movie Meatballs... "It Just Doesn't Matter" ... "It Just Doesn't Matter"... "It Just doesn't matter" ... "It Just Doesn't Matter" 

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Follow Lisa on Twitter at @TheLisaVarga

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Who wore it better me or Kate Upton? - 8/27/14





Who wore it better me or Kate Upton?

Oh that's right, Kate Upton has abandoned the Yankees for her boyfriend, Justin Verlander's team the Detroit Tigers. Well fear not Yankees fans, I don't care if I was dating the hottest baseball player on the planet who plays for an opposing team, my love AND HAT will always stay true to the Yankees! I'm loyal. Anyone who knows me knows once I connect with you, I've got your back. Win or lose, good or bad, I'm there showin support. But if you want to pick Kate Upton over me that's fine. I won't cry too hard. Even though she's got millions of followers, dollars, and a career I would kill for, I think the real sports fans know who to pick...The girl who bleeds Yankee blue and who would never turn her back on her team.
Speaking of Bleeding Yankee Blue, that awesome tank top I'm wearing in the photo was a gift from my friends at Bleeding Yankee Blue - or as we like to say in twitter land #BYB. They also have a great blog so check em out sometime: www.bleedingyankeeblue.com They're die hard Yankees fans too. That's how we found each other. You gotta love social media and sports blogs. I hope you're liking mine :)

I'm watching the Yankees play Detroit right now as I'm writing this blog. I cant help but think I'm good luck. Ever since I started writing "If This Yankees Hat Could Talk" the Yanks have been on a winning streak! Coincidence? I think not. Plus I posted some cute pics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook tonight so that probably helped too and is the reason why they're crushing the Tigers. I think that someone should start a #TeamLisa vs #TeamKate campaign in honor of the Yankees and let it be a lesson to Kate and all of the bandwagon jumpers and traitors everywhere who toss their team out with the garbage for a new fling. Pick a team and stick with em! I'm sure Kate is a very nice girl and for the record she's gorgeous not to mention her boobs are twice my size, so I'm sure she still has many fans. But hey, this is what she gets for being a traitor and turning in her Yankees hat for a Tigers hat. "Once a Yankee always a Yankee" Kate.

Well in case you didn't know, "The Hat" and I are back home and it feels good to relax. I didn't want you guys to get bored with just me in a Yankees hat all the time, so I thought I'd throw in a supermodel. Thank you Kate Upton. You're welcome, guys. And ladies...I have a pic for you, too! Didn't want to leave you out. Ok gentlemen, close your eyes, this one is just for the girls...



We have a big trip coming up that I'll tell you about soon. I leave in a week and the hat will be coming with me! You guys are gonna love where we're off to next!!! My Yankees hat is more excited to go there than me. Details coming soon! Be sure to check back.

It's time to go snuggle with my cats now and get back to watching the game. I'm really having fun writing this blog. I hope you guys are staying entertained and liking it as well. Thanks for spending time with me. 

Oh, I almost forgot, here's your quote for the day... "Think positive and positive things will happen."

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Follow Lisa on Twitter: @TheLisaVarga
For more information on Lisa, visit LisaVarga.com

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

I was on stage with the band Train - 8/26/2014



 



I posted a pic on twitter last night. It's a collage of several photos taken during a Train concert. I got to go on stage with them!!! 

Pretty cool right? I learned a very valuable lesson that evening... Don't ever give someone who's had too much to drink your phone to take photos of an epic, once in a lifetime moment!

It was my last night in Boston and I went with a fun group of people to a private concert featuring the band Train. I really like this band. One of my favorite songs is "Meet Virginia" and they performed it great. They were really entertaining too and the lead singer, Pat Monahan, was awesome. They did a lot of different things to include the audience which made it even more fun. The lead singer was taking selfie's with audience members phones. He had random people come up on stage and sing the song "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey with him. And then...the highlight of my night, and probably the highlight of the whole entire trip, the lead singer asked a bunch of girls to come up on stage and help him with a song and wanted us to dance and be sexy. Well of course, yours truly gladly took the spotlight. It was pretty cool being up there amongst rock stars. Truly a night to remember. 

So here's the best part...aka the worst part...before I took the stage, I handed my phone to one of the guys who was in our group and said "here, you gotta take some good pictures of me while I'm up there." We were front and center, about ten feet from the stage, so I thought wow, I'm gonna get some really awesome pics...WRONG!

Not only did he erase one of the videos I took of the band singing my favorite song "Meet Virginia" but about 90% of every photo he took was blurry, terrible, or he missed getting me in the shot completely. I mean come on! Lol. How often do you get to go up on stage with a rock band and be a part of the show. Needless to say, I was really bummed and will never trust a highly intoxicated person with my phone again. But not as bummed as realizing I didn't have my Yankees hat on to add street cred to this fabulous blog. 

So that pretty much wraps up my Boston trip. I actually had a lot of fun and the four day experience was very memorable. And although Red Sox fans everywhere will always hate Yankees fans, I gotta say... The people of Boston were very good to me and the town grew on me. Not the team, I said the town.

And the quote of the day is... "The meaning of life is to give life a meaning."


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Follow Lisa on Twitter: @TheLisaVarga
Follow Beyond the Offseason on Twitter: @theOffseason1
Learn more about Lisa Varga at LisaVarga.com