Breather...

What a crazy holiday. Wonderful but crazy. We had 5 extra people on our home since the 20th. My Grandma, Katie, Logan, and my parents. We went all over town and had a great Christmas. The things it emphasised to me was 1) we need a bigger kitchen table, 2) a car that can fit more than 5 at a time, 3) never ending supply of TP, 4) don't get annoyed with grandma...she is old and lives alone, 5) there comes a time when traditions must change.

Mya LOVED having the kids here and everyone Loved being around her as usual. The day my family left (27th) just after we managed to get all the bedding washed, the floors swept and mopped it was round two of family fun, with only about 4 hours to ourselves in the mean time. Greg's Parents, Christie, and Tiny drove down from MI and will be with us till the 2nd. This morning I am having Holly's quiet time as I am sitting in on basketball practice until noon welcoming the breather in silence.

Family is great and I am so thankful we can host everyone on the holidays, sometimes it can be stressful having everyone in one house, but all in all I am glad we did it. It was nice having Christmas in our home, with our tree, not having to travel anywhere or pack anything. Christmas in the sunshine was a little odd, it didn't feel much like Christmas but isn't Christmas all about the food, fun, and family anyways? Greg did good this year on the loot, so pictures will be coming I didn't bring it to work with me though so you just get my words.

He's viral, I'm busy!

Greg got hit by something this Saturday. Given his symptoms (body aches, headache, fever, chills, etc...) and all the encounters I have had with my athletes and the flu this year I told him he most likely had the flu and he should stay in bed and away from me (although I have gotten both vaccines). Well, finally by Monday morning he had looked up H1N1 on his iPhone and told me "hey I think I have the flu" After giving him the DUH really?!?!? look I was a good wife and hooked him up with our team General Medical Doctor and made sure he had everything he needed while I went to work. At the Doctors his fever was 101, and he reported that he felt better I can only imagine what it was on Sunday, he was never diagnosed with H1N1, they told him it was a virus and sent him on his way. So again today he is feeling much better but no one wants him back at work, who wants to get sick over Christmas?

Since we have a number of guests checking in at the Hill B&B on Monday I have been spraying Lysol like it is my job. And today I brought all of our bedding to work to use the big washer and dryer in attempts to get all the stray dog hairs off as well as make them fresh and clean for our many guests....Oh, man I have a ton to do before people come over....Busy busy.

Pure JOY

Greg and I surprised our family this weekend in MI, one by one family members were told to go to a location and when they arrived they were surprised and shocked by our familiar faced. Karen, Christie, and Grandma H hugged and clapped. Karen's reaction was in her words "pure joy." Grandma P couldn't drop her purse fast enough to give us both a big hug. My dad looked straight at me 2 times without realizing who I was then his jaw quite literally dropped and I think he was in shock for a good 20 minutes after that. It was a success with the surprises and at least they were happy to see us. I got to go out to Bennigans, Biggby's, and Meijer 3 things I definitely miss. But, by the last day I was in town I think I was starting to get Seasonal Affective Disorder due to the lack of the big gold ball in the sky, so I was ready to head out on Tuesday.

Now, I am home and back to work, and the sun is shinning. It is a uncharacteristically HOT week here and I am preparing and making plans for our Christmas and New Years Guests, while trying to find time to shop and wrap, and make all the gifts I have on my plate. But 'tis the season to be stressed right? I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!

I REALLY HOPE GREG IS GETTING ME A CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS SO I CAN ACTUALLY ENJOY TAKING PICTURES AND PUTTING THEM ON THIS BLOG. I HAVE A FEW PICTURES TO POST BUT I CANT TILL AFTER CHRISTMAS OR THAT WILL SPOIL THE SURPRISE :)

Turkey Day rapidly approaching

Who knows how to roast a turkey? I hope I do, with a little help from the food network, my new roasting pan, and my 12lb turkey in the fridge I hope to do a pretty good job on my first whole turkey. Giada DeLaurentiis (the one Greg says has a big "head") has a recipe on her page that looks delish, and I saw her make it on her show, so I am feeling pretty confident. As T-day draws nearer I am getting nervous because we have us, Jen, Matt, Amanda, Katie, and a student who attends PBA who's parent works at HOPE coming over for dinner, and I really hope I don't mess up the turkey. The star of the show is the turkey! My guess is that we are going to have SO MUCH other food it wouldn't matter if we didn't have a turkey anyways, but I hope it wont have to come to that.

Here's the menu so far...

Appetizer:

Spinach pin wheels

Main dish:

Citrus Turkey

Sides:

corn casserole,

green bean casserole,

sage sausage stuffing,

rolls,

mashed potatoes and gravy,

sweet potato dish.

Dessert:

Pumpkin pie

white chocolate cranberry cookies.

Isabella's Blankie

Here is my latest creation fresh from the dryer. I love all the puckers the washing of the fabric makes. Hopefully they'll love it. I used Amy Butler fabrics, some scraps I had left from other projects and some newly purchased. I made up the simple sawtooth star pattern and went from there, pretty simple, and very girly.

Anyone want a dog?

Mya got a taste for leather last night. Not just any leather. My favorite black flat dress shoes with the cute buckle. I wore them to the basketball game last night so I am sure they had the fresh taste of foot to them too which she just can not get enough of. It has been a while since she has destroyed anything (remember the highlighter incidence) but why does it always have to be my stuff, I wondered where she was for a good hour when I was calling her and she would not come, I just assumed she was in her crate or chewing on one of her MANY MANY bones we got her so she would not destroy random stuff. What can I say she is a chewer. UGgg...so when I noticed the wreckage I called her a "stupid dog" told her to go to her crate and left 20 minutes early for work without realizing it. So I am not sure who got the worse end of the punishment.

Sorry hunny, but I need some new shoes now....

Giving thanks...and sailing.

What are you thankful for? What has God blessed your life with? Since this is the season of "I want" let's not forget what we do have and take for granted.

I had a long conversation with one of my baseball players yesterday and he was asking me a lot about my marriage, then he just blurted out are you happily married...truly happy (these kids get really personal sometimes). It made me glad that I could answer that question honestly and say I am VERY happily married to a man I have been with for over 8 years, a man who strives to live his life as a man of God, and a man who I trust and I know always does his best to be the best husband for me, and someone who I know would eventually make a wonderful father (if it is any reflection on how he treats the dog). But as our 4 year anniversary is coming ever closer I am glad that we have held true to our vows and I really do love him more every day.

Our recent sailing adventure with Eric & Betsy and Matt & Amanda here are just a few of the pictures I had promised a while ago.

I am thankful for them...
and My fellow Michigander friends too!

That is just my short list....But what are you thankful for? How has God blessed your life?

What Thanksgiving

I've decided to skip from the spooky background straight to the Christmas theme. I have started the christmas music and shopping so there is no denying I am in the Christmas swing of things around here. We will be hosting some good friends for Thanksgiving this year, and I will be trying my hand at roasting a turkey in hopes of having something eatable and with plenty of left overs .

Since I am trapped in a perpetual summer down here, I have no real concept of "fall" or any season for that matter. Since, we went to the big Christmas tree lighting festival on Saturday in CityPlace (which was more like a Miami Dolphins festival it was horrible) I am really looking way past Thanksgiving and on to "The most wonderful time of the year." Plus, my name is HOLLY, how could I not love Christmas? Anyone wanna see some very real looking fake snowfal come on down every night in CityPlace 100% chance of snow (it really is realistic, kinda soapy and not fun when standing in it, but it looks real)

Day late dollar short...

Sorry...busy falling off the planet, there is no food in the fridge, and a pile of laundry to do to show for it...

But here is something that is bound to make you smile. Beautiful day right before Halloween. So we took our little lobster to the beach.

"can I be done now?"

She loved her costume and so did all the beach goers.

We finally have our house to ourselves and I am catching up on my crafting, as the Christmas season is creaping ever closer I have the music blaring, and preparing for a fun Thanksgiving with my friends and FL family. I have picked up a few extra Tennis tournaments for some Christmas $$ which is such a blessing but taking up most of my time, I mean who doesn't like to get paid for sitting and watching some of the best Jr tennis players in the country? Ok...until next time.

Woohoo! Holly finally fixed it so that I can post things to this blog! Maybe she won't go changing the name then to something like "Quilts R' Us" or something crazy like that!

So to all of you blog stalkers out ther (you know who you are and we love you all), yes I am still alive!

That's all for now, enjoy the warm temps and sunshine! (we will for you at least!)

Hiatus

Sorry, for the long absence...there has been so much going on! Eric and Betsy were here, Then basketball season officially started, now my Mom is in town... We have a ton of great pictures to share of our sunset cruise, our lobster dog on the beach, and the latest quilt I have been working on for baby Isabella. I will be back, but for now just wait patiently in hopeful anticipation of what is to come....

what kind of fall is this?!

I get to go out to soccer practice today and it is 88* out, but they say it feels like 97*. There is really something wrong with this! It is like 100* out!!!!! It should be like 60*. I am really missing the fall weather today, and dreading practice.

SUPER TARGET

The Long awaited Super Target Right by our house has finally opened up. Not only is it Super and it is a Target, but it has the parking undernieth so they have to think of a way to get all of the carts to the cars, so here is what they did. It was pretty SWEET!

Master of Arts vs. Master of Science

So how do schools decide who gets an MA (Master of Arts) and who gets and MS (Master of Science)? I have my MA. Which I never quite understood, I took plenty of science classes, I wrote my thesis which means that I actually performed research (again requiring science), but my diploma says master of arts.

For those of you who don't know yet Greg is getting his Masters degree in Organizational Leadership at PBA. It is a 2 year program (just like mine) but he has no science classes, and has to write no thesis (lucky) and his degree will be an MS. Not to take anything away from what he will accomplish but I am jealous. I think people find an MS more impressive than an MA and I don't understand what would qualify Organizational Leadership as a science. I think he should get an Master of Organization then people could ask him what his MO was :)

What takes the cake (yes, I said takes the cake) is that the students who graduated the year after me from WMU obtained a MS degree for taking the same classes that I did. I don't get it.

Renaissance Man

Greg has been a busy man. This weekend we were very old married couply-ish. Our friends asked us if we wanted to go out but we were both to busy crafting to want to go anywhere. I am working on yet another baby quilt for Isabella who is to arrive in December (pictures to come, of the quilt that is). Greg was in the garage trying to refinish the coffee table we purchased off of Craigslist when we moved in. It was the perfect size but the table left a lot to be desired. But amazingly after a LOT of sanding (our garage is a mess), some wood fuller, paint, and varnish our table looks brand new. He left the top the knotty pine, and painted the bottom a cream color since he had to fill in some doggy chew marks from the previous owner. I think it looks at least 10 times better than when we got it. He is so handy with most things. We just try to keep him away from the electrical after he almost killed himself trying to rewire the ceiling fans.

Here is the Before picture with a little of the wood filler in the bottom.

Here is it after. I love it, good work Greg. The bottom shelf is a perfect place to store all of Mya's toys and a few quilts.

Rename?

No offence hunny but this blog isn't really about "the Hills" its more about what is on Holly's mind at the time when she happens to be infront of the computer for more than 5 minutes without an athlete interruption. But never is there a time when Greg actually puts finger to keyboard to chime in his thoughts. So, I have been thinking about renaming it, but that is about as far as it has gotten. So I am giving you few people who actually read my ramblings a chance to help me....any thoughts? The Hill's sounds too TV show-ish.

Amy Butler

I am totally in love with Amy Butler fabric and patterns, and just her creativity in general (along with Moda, Heather Bailey, and Michael Miller to name a few) but today I get to go pick up the pattern I ordered to make myself a bag (yes, another bag.) So in my hours of free time that were long gone on August 1st I will start making this.

It looks relatively simple to make, the challenge now will be determining what fabric to use. Here are a couple of Amy Butler prints that I really like.

What a Steal ?!?

Greg and I were at B&N on Saturday morning killing time while the groomer tried to get the orange out of Bo's paw and give her a much needed trim. He wanted to buy a book and I told him to check on Amazon to see if he could get it cheaper online. So he whipped out his handy iPhone and found the book for $8 with shipping, and bought it on the spot. Last night his book arrived, and let's just say it left us wanting more...

That's right he purchased and newly released miniature version of the book....Oops.

Holiday Spirit

Do you ever just have days that seem totally out of your control? Today is one of those days I guess, and I am surprisingly in a good mood amidst it all. Work is work as usual I guess, no one said being a big girl would be easy did they.

I have been missing Fall, missing the cool weather and the leaves changing. It is still HOT and rainy here, but praise the Lord we have not had any real tropical storms this season so far. When the sun is going down there has a been a nice breeze and it is "cool" in the low 80's, but that is no jeans and hoodie weather that I would like right about now. You know that Friday night football game weather. So, Greg and I have been jamming to the holiday tunes already. We have been keeping Pandora on Jim Brickman Holiday. What can I say, in my home growing up Mom started the Christmas music usually after Halloween (Amy Grant "Tender Tennessee Christmas" anyone?), or if you are in your dorm at HOPE with Lauren as your roommate you got accustomed to Celine Deon singing all the Christmas goodies. We don't wait till after Thanksgiving. So I say, why wait till October? What? Is that a stretch?

The Hill Bed and Breakfast

Here at the Hill B&B we offer you a vacation destination like no other. Our B&B is complete your own room with a double bed, your own bathroom and shower, and a delightfully comfortable aerobed, and we have in home laundry. If you expect breakfast at this B&B we can direct you to the nearest Starbucks or IHOP. Don't forget the wake up call done by our very own Mya the Corgi, she pounces, she barks, and licks. We also boast a large swimming pool, work out facilities, and just a few miles from a number of beautiful beaches and shopping destinations. At the Hill B&B you can expect to loose a sock or two is left unattended, so always be on guard.We are filling up fast as we move into the fiscal year so be sure to call in advanced to ensure vacancy.
Here is a little run down of our occupancy at the Hill B&B in case your are looking for a time to come and stay. Greg's parents will be down for the last weekend in September. Eric and Betsy (his girl friend who I have not yet met) will be here October 8-13, exciting. My mom, who I have not seen since last Christmas, is coming Oct 21-28th, we should book a pedicure. So far we have November totally vacant, if you are looking to escape the frigid north. For any of those looking for a delicious Thanksgiving meal, we will be hosting a large group of friends and students who can not be with family over Thanksgiving for a traditional holiday feast. My Mom, Dad, Katie, Logan, and Grandma B are going to be down the week of Christmas, should be fun. Mike, Karen, Christie, and Tiny will be here to help us usher in the new year for the week after Christmas.

On my google search apparently there is a Holly Hill B&B and a Holly Hill Manor, it is weird having cities that share your name....

Fall in a bottle

Thanks to my mother in law I am in love with soap from bath and body works. Each of my 4 sinks at home has its own scent, and now my 2 sinks a work have these special soaps. Yesterday we ran out at work and I had a coupon in my wallet for just such the occasion as I could go back and get more. I came across a new seasonal scent, Spiced Cider. I sit here smelling my hands as I write about the wonders that is Spiced Cider. It smells like my memories of fall in a bottle, apples, hot cider, cinnamon, man its GREAT!!!!! I washed my hands at least 2 times yesterday when I didn't even need to just because I LOVE how that smells. There is my sales pitch, go get it so you too can experience its wonders.

And if you find you dont like it...there is something wrong with you.

Coloring

Mya has been given some freedom since I started going back to work, we have not put her in her crate. She has done great! From time to time we come home and she has managed to chew all the plastic things from the ends of our shoelaces, or chewed up the papers we left by the door headed for the trash, or take all the socks from the holes in the laundry bin and bring them downstairs to chew on. What I saw yesterday when I got home would have to be the funniest by far. She had gotten into daddy's school bag and found his highlighter. A bright orange one. The remnants of the highlighter were scattered in the office and she was hiding in her crate giving me the "don't be mad at me" look. When I coaxed her out I could see her paws, white fir on her chest, and some of the carpet had a nice orange glow.



This morning it apparently did not come out as easily as it went down, and I was left by myself to throw her in the tub for a quick rinse. YUCK! Needless to say she is in her crate today, and we are going to the store to get her some more Nylabones.

Jet Lag

I know it is only an hour differnce but I am pooped today. I spend my LONG weekend in Arkansas with the womens and mens soccer teams. Let me start off by saying I have gotten used city living. There is NOTHING in AR. It was a succesful weekend with each team going home with 2 wins. But all that travel, and staying in hotels, and eating sub sandwitches all the time can be exhausting. I had a great time with the girls, I always loved going on trips so I could get to know the team a little better, and it is so nice to win some games we have a fighting chance this year. So, today I am back at my desk hoping no one shows up for a while since I am in no mood to be chipper that is until my coffee sets in.

Good Laugh

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do, it has a long history with me. It got me through many exam study sessions in college when I needed a good laugh, and last week I had to hunt it down. So here it is.

Lauren, do you remember that video with the two asian boys dancing? Oh man, I would love to find that one!

Good Morning

Did you know the sunrise over a soccer field is quite lovely? Well, I will get to find out again today what that is like. Did you also know that the starbucks by 95 opens at 5am?

PRAISE JESUS, GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!

I need one of those, "this body is fueled by caffiene" shirts. It is so true, I was struggling yesterday morning to stay awake on the field.

Can you hear me NOW!?!?!?

Yes I know I am loud...NEWS FLASH! Every year I get a new round of students who are amazed at my ability to talk over everyone in the room. My mom always said my voice carries, and it really annoys me when people can't "speak up." But yesterday I arrived at my desk and saw a copy of that picture waiting for me. It is very fitting.

Unfortunately, sometimes I think I don't hear well and that is why I talk so loud or feel that the rest of the world speaks so softly.

BOOM, BOOM, POW....

Not only a catchy song, but also what I woke up to this morning. I could have sworn the lightning was right on top of us. A nice stormy morning, one where the dog snuggles up to you, and you just don't want to get out of bed. But alas, here I am at my desk waiting for the WSOC team to come down from breakfast so we can get them ready for practice. Now I am wondering if we are going to attempt to go outside...

Last week was an interesting one. There have been a lot of firsts this preseason. First of all I have the biggest roster I have ever had on a women's soccer team with 30 ladies. Secondly, I spent 3 hours in the ER after riding the ambulance with a student because she got struck with a tire that flew off a boat trailer at her while they were running a 5K on the sidewalks. She was perfectly fine but we had to call 911, these guys pulling the boat got 5 tickets, and the boat, truck and trailer taken. We call her "Goodyear" now. Thirdly, we traveled to Orlando on Saturday for an exhibition game. Never in my life have I been outside in that hard of a rain. It was painful and could not been seen through, I don't know how the girls were playing. I was soaked and that is an understatement. The bus ride home was done in my change of clothes that were in my bag that got wet, my wet bra, and (shhh) commando. It was interesting needless to say.

Only a week and a half of preseason left....

Crafty Lady

I blame my mother for giving me the curse of the craft. I LOVE making stuff. Well only certain things but when I see something in a magazine I always think I could make that! So here are some things I accomplished this summer. *the fabric store loves me*

After Successfully painting the bathroom an orange sorbet color I decided it needed some bold prints, so I stapled fabric to cheap painting canvas. (the walls look pink but they are orange). The toilet is right below this.

This is called a "crazy 9 patch" quilt. It was really fun to make. I used reproduction 30's prints for this "just because I wanted to" quilt. It was fun to go shopping for all this fabric with my birthday gift card (thanks Karen). I just have to top made so fa, still deciding what I want on the back and how I want to quilt it. I am also adding another outside border with the yellow fabric with the blue and white flowers just to make it a bit bigger.

Up close. I wanted to make the back out of the multicolor flower fabric I used to off set the blocks, but the store ran out. Bummer. So instead I got to finishing a quilt I was making for another baby boy, Tyler the AT academic coordinator is having a boy in September. So I did a big log cabin quilt with minky on the back, and cotton and flannel fabrics on the top.It is seriously soft. I used orange thread and did a swirls and loops quilting on it and it turned out awesome if I do say so myself. And I discovered minky witch could possibly be going on all my baby quilts from here on out. My kitchen was needing some valances, so I got creative and made some using kitchen towels. I am kinda using green, orange, and yellow and colors in my kitchen since I have the fiesta ware dishes and they are bright fun colors. kinda cottage feeling in our BIG kitchen. :) Here is the view of living room from the kitchen (we need a rug and to do something with those windows, but I am doing one room at a time.)

Square Grouper

This weekend we went out with some friends to a bar right on the water way called square grouper. It is right on the sand its a pretty cool place. Found a great table sat and chatted the night away.

They light up the seating area with torches it is a really cool effect.

I would have posted some pictures of the other people we were there with but for some reason our pictures turned out the best, it was kinda dark outside...so you get to look at us :)

The following day I got a on a bus with the athletics department and headed to our retreat. Retreat is another word for take you away from your home and lock you in a room where we will discuss many things and give you information overload and then take you bowling and to other things for 3 days. Its a great way to kick off the year, or so some think. This year was actually not as bad as they ahve been in the past. So, I write to you on my break of inputting new athletes and medical records into our data base in preparation for Monday when the students start rolling in.

ANTS!!!!

Due to the lack of anything interesting to talk about except for every day life, which at times I find less than exciting, I am venting about our infestation. Itty bitty creepy crawly ants, the way that only happens in Florida. They come in thousands. The hotter it is outside, the more you find inside. I hate to complain, well actually I like complaining sometimes, but compared to the rats we had at our last place ants are nothing major. It seems though, that we just cant get rid of them. We put out killer, strategically so Mya cant get at it, and they swarm to it. Soon after there are no ants for a few days. Just when we believe we have thwarted them there is a long trail of ants coming from the kitchen sink all the way over to behind the fridge. So, Greg gets out the caulk (sp?) and covers all the cracks he sees them fleeing too and from. We then feel triumphant that we have once again proved our superiority and dominance. That is until this morning when we discover they had gotten into the cupboard and helped themselves to the Cheerios. This victory and defeat has been going on ever since we moved in. They just keep finding new ways in. Once we finally have a handle on passage "A" they are already onto passage "D". It is maddening!

UG...we cant win. Even worse it means I cant leave a dirty dish on the counter over night, let alone a couple hours. Lord knows I am incapable of doing the dishes in a timely manner. I need to work on my housekeeping, better yet I need to train Greg better. Ya I like that idea, looks like I really have my work cut out for me.

I would post a photo, but some things are better left washed down the drain.

Lizard suicide & Heat lightning

Greg and I have been running since he got his new iPhone and realized running with Nike+ could be fun, I have been trying to tell him for a year, but men will be men.  So tonight we went for a stroll on the Lake Trail. We began our run at dusk and there were an unusually large amount of critters out tonight.  Among these were some of the biggest and most annoying dragon flies I have ever seen. Ones that are not afraid of swooping right in front of my face as I was trying to run. I had to swat, dip, or duck, just to avoid being a windshield, I felt like I was playing dodge ball.   More than once I had to jump or stutter step just to avoid reptilian attempt at death by a crushing force.  That force being my foot. Lizard, gecko, whatever they are (I don't know I am from MI) but they were everywhere soaking up the last bits of sunlight for the day.  Whenever we would get near them they would scatter, some would say in an attempt to hide, I call it the lizards attempt at suicide.  I mean Greg wears a size 13 shoe, there is not much chance to avoid that thing. 

When the run was done we sat on the sea wall, stretched and cooled off, and watched the storm to our north.  There was no thunder but a ton of lightning.  It is a cool thing in Florida, Heat lightning.  Lightning that travels cloud to cloud, it is beautiful.  (yes, that is sweat on my shirt…yuck!)

Family, Soccer, and Movies, Oh My.

Starting Sunday Greg's parents and his sisters step son, Keiffer, came down for a few days. I was in the middle of working for the USTA clay court national tournament on Sunday and Monday I had kiddy soccer camps at PBA starting. So just as my slothfulness had no choice but to go away I now found myself extremely busy. Greg was able to take the days off to spend some much needed QT with the fam at the beach and pool, and I was able to wrap up my long days with some relaxing meals and good conversation. Despite my business I am very glad they were able to come for even a short time (if nothing else Karen is much better than Greg at getting the dishes done ;) Thanks, hope Mom posts those pics soon.

Soccer camp should be wrapping up today, and it couldn't be too soon. Kids ages 5-13 all day! I am not a patient person with whinny kids and Coach has been putting me in drillsin 90* + weather. With all this added exertion and added stress by the time 4:00 rolls around I am ready for a shower and a nap. My quads and calves are SO SORE!

Yesterday however right around bed time rather than going to bed we were able to go to a last minute private showing of the Ugly Truth. Greg and I have the ultimate hook up. Essentially we can see movies for free whenever we want. As of late I have been to my first 2 sneak peeks, and last night Greg and I with Dawn and John had the entire theater to ourselves. If you want to see something full of sexual innuendo and laugh a lot while your at it go see The Ugly Truth, if you are in the mood to feel good and leave the theater feeling as if you have accomplished something I HIGHLY recommend seeing Julie & Julia.

However due to the lateness of the show I didn't get to bed until about 1:30am. So as I write to let you know that I have not been hopping on the lazy train again, I am pumping my veins with caffeine and avoiding the children in the gym until I am instructed what we are to do today...

Oh preseason is gonna be rough this year I can already feel it....I am getting old.

I have been very un-slothful this week. So much so in fact I am very sore and tired.

Slothfulness,,,, not one of the fruits of the spirit

One of the seven deadly sins.  Whenever I hear the word to this day I imagine I am sitting on Eric's futon in Phelps Hall watching the movie Seven and having to leave to go to physiology lab quite disturbed.  You know the scene; where the man is laying in the bed being really lazy, almost dead actually, but just enough alive that he is dying of laziness.  Well that is how I am feeling these past couple days.  I mean don't get me wrong I enjoy time off of work.  But when you have no money to spend, no where to go, all your friends are working, it is constantly too hot or too stormy outside to enjoy the summer, you get kinda lazy.  My days have been filled with getting out of bed at the early hour of 10am, and even then I only get up because I have to pee.  Once I have eaten some brunch I usually grab the book I am reading that day and head to Starbucks because it is a small price to pay to feel like I am actually out doing something.  Then when I get back home I take Mya for a walk (The vet said we had a fat bitch, well his words were nicer, but it is fitting in this context)  if it is not pouring by that time.  After said walk is where I usually sit on the couch to cool off in the AC which is cranked to 78* wondering what to do with the rest of my day, granted it is actually only 3:00 and Greg wont be home for another 4 hours or so.     

Oh, the joy of having summers off.  So, I have made a list for tomorrow, and hopefully you guys will get a sneak peak at my latest quilt in progress, as well as see some pictures of our place now that it is semi-moved into. 

12:34:56; 7/8/09

So today (actually yesterday) what made national news?  That at two times the actual time was 123456789 (12:34:56; 7/8/09).  National news?  Not so sure about that, but we will never see that again in our life time.  

When I mentioned it to Greg he also pointed out the fact that at two times today it was 04:05:06; 07/08/09.  hmmm, who knew numbers could be so fun?

4th of July fun & stuff

I don't believe I officially posted pictures of the taggie I made for Will.   So here it is in head dress form, he's so cute, he had to make my blog eventually, now I just need to meet him in person.

For starters this weekend began with me giving into my husbands "needs" and wants.  We got him an iPhone.  He is in love with it and has been spending long hours with it, which is too be expected with such a fun new toy but I am regretfully getting ignored.  I told him Monday he has to start puting it down and at least acknowledge I am there.  I am missing my blackberry. 

We went to John and Dawn's place for the fourth and proceeded to sweat a lot and get eaten by mosquitoes.  Other than that it was fun, played some horse shoes, met some new people (who actually talk more than I do), and we showed John there were ways of starting pit fires that did not involve gasoline.  

Wearing my blue tank top with reflective logo....

John & Dawn

I ate too many s'mores, it had just been so long and they just tasted too good.  

Read any good books lately?

Over the past couple of months I have been reading a lot.  Well, a lot for me which is possibly normal for some, and very little when compared to Jen Farroll my "boss."  

Nora Roberts is now on my list of authors I enjoy thanks to Karen.  Her books are of the romance genre, but without the sex scenes that make you blush, while at the same time they have a magical and mysterious element to them.  So far I can recommend the Sign of 7 trilogy, and The Key trilogy.  

I picked up a James Patterson fiction Sundays at Tiffany's it was a quick read due to the large font, it was ok, but I kinda regret buying it. 

Then on my way to TX I read a fiction novel written by Garth Stein titled The Art of Racing in the Rain. This book was worth every penny I paid for it.  It is written through the voice of the family dog.  He tells the dramatic story of his owner in a way that only a dog could.  If you own a pet this book is perfect.  I would be lying if I said I did not cry on the plane (on more than one occasion, it was kinda embarrassing, I think the lady next to me was getting worried) but it is one that I can recommend and know both genders will enjoy it.

I just finished reading Emily  Griffin's romance novel Something Borrowed.  This one I got from Jen among a large stack of books (she likes the romance novels).  It has a lot of twists and turns, it starts a little slow, but the last few chapters tie everything up nicely. I plan on finishing her next book Something Blue and then finding another genre to get into.  

I am kinda over all the lovey dovey stuff, although Nora Roberts came out with a new trilogy (A Vision In White) that I am having a hard time resisting my curiosity.  It was nice a refreshing to read Steins book, and I enjoy books like The Invisible Wall which is historical and autobiographical.  I look forward to what is next.

What I have in common with Shrek...

Stuck with an annoying ass following me around day to day?  of course not!  I was thinking more along the line of  ear wax production.  As I sat in the doctors office for the 4th time in my life to get my ear flushed due to my "impacted cerumen" I couldn't help but think about Shrek.  I have made it a habit NOT to use Q-tips but sometimes I can't help myself.  Saturday I made the mistake, was deafened instantly, and I knew I was in trouble.  I tried the ear drops that are supposed to break it up but they did not touch it, ran the shower on high right into my ear with no relief, my singing in church was horrible, I was having a hard time hearing people or myself for that matter.  This morning I just could not take it any more and went to the walk in clinic in town, after about an hour and half of waiting, I finally got my hearing back!

This was the first time "the elephant" was used on my ear, usually it is a long stainless steel tube syringe looking thing.  It sounds horrible and is slightly uncomfortable when in use but it is so worth it for the immediate relief of symptoms.  The nurse told me that it is actually a pretty common thing and the people who get it once usually are the people who have to get it multiple times.  I guess I am just one of those people.  I have overactive ear wax glands (or something like that), just like my buddy Shrek.

Remember the Alamo?

Happy Birthday to Holly!  After spending virtually all day in the airport I hopped a cab and met Emily just in time to get to the local baseball game.  I couldn't even tell you who was playing we just sat and caught up, watched a fowl ball make a beer explode into a child's face, and saw at least 5 HUGE carrier planes land behind the diamond at what we assume is an army base. 

My birthday was over and it was time to get to the conference and learn a thing or two.  My first lesson was about friction.  In a matter of 5 minutes my heel had developed the worlds largest blister and it had popped before I even felt any sort of discomfort.  For the rest of my trip it was flip flops and bandaids for me.  OUCH!!!!  The kicker is that those dress shoes were selected because of comfort and the had NEVER given me blisters.  Figures.

I met up with Jen, Emily, and Cooper.  Who each had friends there from undergrad and grad school.  Convention is all about networking and catching up with old friends, and in my case making a few new ones.  One night we went out to a Tex-Mex restaurant to "unwind"  we figured a 60 oz margarita would do the trick.  

You cant leave Texas without getting a picture taken with a cowboy...

Strawberry Mango...

Me, Jen, Schlitz, & Cooper is below

What is funny is that I didn't "remember the Alamo" was in San Antonio until I looked out my hotel window and wondered what all those rocks were...

So needless to say on our last day there Emily and I had to check it out. Yup it has a great history but other than this building it is just a bunch of rocks and it was WAY TOO HOT to spend any great length of time there. The trip was great, I got a ton of free stuff, learned a thing or two, and got to talk athletic trainer for 4 days straight!

Great trip....Stupid MAC

Texas was Great!  The house is getting put together nicely if I do say so myself.  I would post pictures, but I hate to admit that I don't know how to upload my pics on this computer and I am afraid to try.  I will just have to add it to Greg's growing Hunny-Do list.  So, for those of you anxiously awaiting...pictures of all the fun in San Antonio, and of our new home to come. 

Have you ever seen a 60 oz. Margarita?  Oh, you will... (don't worry I shared)

NATA Convention

Who can't wait for convention? This girl! I get to go to San Antonio tomorrow and begin a long weekend full of all that is athletic training. Tings such as freezing cold lecture halls with the most educated speaker talking about MRSA, the shoulder, and adminitration. As well as a show room full of the latest and greatest tape, tables, bags, modalities, rehab equipment and so much more. I love leaving the show room with a bag full of free goodies, which in this case are usually tons of tylenol, tape, and topical samples. Who can forget the Alumni parties with some of my favorite familiar faces? Emily and I have promised not to re-live all the "fun" of Atlanta. Ug, sometimes going to a bar full of old ATC's who like to buy shots for the birthday girl is NOT a good idea!

I love convention, and what I love about it even more this year is that I don't have to pay for it! Pictures and stories to come...

He's a whole day older

Happy Birthday Greg!

For this one day my Hubby is a whole number higher than me. How does it feel to be 26 Greg? Love you babe!

Fish Fry

Greg was the early worm (or squid shall I say) yesterday and headed out on the open water with our friend John and his dad to catch some fish on their boat.  After a long day of being razzed for putting on the sunblock and other dumb things I am sure guys do when they are stranded together on a boat for 6 hours, Greg's amazing balance had paid off and he reportedly had some "beginners luck." He showed up the captain and the guys caught 2 dolphin ("Mahi Mahi" pictured above), 2 grouper, and some others that were thrown back such as trigger fish and grunts.  So the guys decided it would be a great night for a fish fry.  And I would have too agree, the dolphin was delicious!  John's mom has the fish fry thing down, it was a good time, thanks for catching dinner hunny. 

Revelation Song

There is something about the Revelation Song that I love and a rush of pure joy, passion, and utter reverence for the Lord just floods me and no matter where I am.  It just brings tears to my eyes.  We sing it at night of worship, we sing it in church, and I hear it on the radio, but today as I was driving away from Dunkin Donuts (with my Free donut I got for teacher appreciation day) I had to just sit and park and praise GOD with "awestruck wonder".  I love those moments.  

Worthy is the, 

Lamb who was slain

Holy, Holy, is He

Sing a new song, to Him who sits on

Heaven's Mercy Seat

(Chorus)

Holy, Holy, Holy

Is the Lord God Almighty

Who was, and is, and is to come

With all creation I sing:

Praise to the King of Kings! 

You are my everything, 

And I will adore You…! 

Yeah! 

Clothed in rainbows, of living color

Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder

Blessing and honor, strength and

Glory and power be

To You the Only Wise King, 

Yeah...

Filled with wonder, 

Awestruck wonder

At the mention of Your Name

Jesus, Your Name is Power

Breath, and Living Water

Such a marvelous mystery

Yeah... 

Come up lift up His Name

To the King of Kings…

We will adore YOU Lord…

King of heaven and earth

King Jesus, King Jesus

Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya! 

Majesty, awestruck Honor

And Power and Strength and Dominion

To You Lord, 

To the King, to King

To the King of Glory

Self Reflection...

As I was laying in bed last night my mind was RACING!  It was so frustrating I could not sleep I was just thinking about everything and nothing all at the same time.  It got me thinking about what I really want to accomplish this summer,  and along that same thought I was dwelling on those things that I always seem to fall short on in my own life.  I always seem to go back to the same things, and they always circle around, mind, body, spirit, and relationships. 

Mind:

I want to read some more books this summer, both fictional and something that will make me a better me.

Body:

The never ending pursuit of the body that I will never accomplish seems to be a plague in my mind.  I wish I could just love my body as is, but I always see something that can be improved upon.  Working with athletes who are always working out, eating well, and looking fabulous, it is hard to view yourself through the eyes of the Father, as perfect. 

So, that being said, I am trying to make the time to workout beyond running and just get that "I feel good" feeling, not the "I am a lazy pile" feeling.

Spirit:

I hope in my oodles of free time that I will be able to make the time EVERY DAY to pick up my bible and get in the word!  I dabble here and there lately, but I have a desire to really go deep this summer and get in that habit and let that carry me right into next year. 

Relationship:

So thankful that I am getting to see some friends I have not seen in a while this summer, and so sad that I am going to miss out on some awesome things that are happening this summer (sorry Sandy!).  It is hard to make relationships flourish when you are 1500 miles away from someone, and are a horrible phone person!  But I hope to be able to invest in the relationships Greg and I are forming here in FL before I drop off of the face of the planet in August.  It really is crazy to see the people that God is bringing into our lives, people who have strong roots here, those whose family is all over like us, and people who I can just see will be great friends no matter where we may end up. 

Life doesn't slow down just because your not prepared, pounds don't melt off your hips while you sit on the couch, God's plan for your life doesn't change because your too busy or not listening, and people no matter how different need family and family is not just in a name. 

767 Millbrae Ct.

Sorry I have been away for a while.  We've been in the process of trying to get everything together for our lease, I have an ALL DAY staff retreat yesterday, and it has been doing nothing here but storming.  Did I mention I love storms, all the lightning and thunder, and pounding of rain is so awesome, what I don't love is the stream of water that has been forming in my car, I put that one on the hunny do list, but that is for another blog. 

We finally signed the lease today so we officially have our place I showed you a few weeks ago. What a process this has been and just glad that part is all over.  Well, not all over, of course we need to meet with the HOA to make sure we are decent people, and give them some of our money because they say so, don't you love how that works.  But some perks of our new place will be Garage, more storage, a den on the first floor which is perfect for an office, huge kitchen, tile living room and kitchen, full size washer and dryer, bigger pool, we are allowed to pain, and man gated entrance to name a few.  

We bid a fond farewell to the Villas and hello to Cityside on June 10th, so that is a happy birthday to us.

Our new address will be  767 Millbrae Ct. #4, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.

On the porch in my undies

We finally got approved for the townhouse I showed you a picture of a few days ago, so there is some final paperwork to draw up, and the meeting with the HOA, but it is ours and not a moment too soon.

As I was laying in bed on Sunday evening with Mya I started to see a blue and red reflecting off the walls. Not shortly after Greg was telling me to get outside quick, me in my undies, it was all to exciting to get dressed. We were on the porch watching about 15 cop cars and one helocopter get the accused out of a car parked in the middle of the intersection. The cop was speaking over the speakers and Mya was going crazy in the house because she could hear the K9 Cops barking over the speakers. All of this was right on the corner of Community and Haverhill, so we had a front row seat. There were no gun fires and we really don't even know what the people were being stopped for, but that was pretty exciting.

Needless to say Glad we will be living in Cityside.

End of the year...

So, today I had a great experience that helped solidify to me my decision on never becoming a school teacher or one who has to deal with a mass number of children at the same time. To start off my day I found out the 3 people were waiting for me in a meeting that I thought was starting at 12, and they changed the time and forgot to include me in the email. So that got me a little crabby. Then it is the end of the year, and there is not a whole lot going on, and by not a whole lot, I mean I literally have nothing to do. As I was walking back to my office and finding myself in a kinda crabby state I discovered that the Greene Complex was being used today by what seems like 100,000 area schools for their choir and music festival. Which means tons of hallway traffic, the bathrooms are a disaster, parents and kids wandering all over my building making noise and being lost. Wow it was annoying and all I could think to myself is praise God I did not become a school teacher.

So once my meeting was over and I was checking my email for the 20th time to see if we had any news back about our lease agreement I decided to go try out the treadmill upstairs. I don't usually have too much luck with those things, but it has gotten really hot out and as you can see from my Mini I have not logged any miles in a while. So and I sit here in my very sweaty clothes I say goodbye to pretending to work, because I have a book to read and a dog who I am sure would LOVE to join me at Starbucks.

Adult stuff...

I hate adult stuff. I mean being married, having a good job, and being able to do what you want, that is all well and good. But you know what separates kids from adults is simply responsibility. Some responsibilities I love and would not think twice about, but then there are some such as, oh, I don't know paying bills, that just gets to you.

We have found a place we like and are trying to put together a lease agreement with them. I forgot how stress full this could be, and the way the realtor talks about money as if it is just there and coming up with $3600 is like cake, especially when our current landlord and HOA have about $2150 wrapped up until we move out and they decide we are worthy to get our deposits back. So there is an overlap of about oh I don't know $5700. And we are renting! Sheesh!

On the other hand I really like this place, unlike where we are now, it has a garage, a full size washer and dryer, and a huge beautiful kitchen, tile floors (so Mya's hair will be a swiff to clean up), and it is in a man-gated community which is about 5-10 minutes closer to our work. It should be good, I am looking forward to this once all the adult stuff works itself out. Here is a sneak peak...Lets hope we get it.