Mya the Lizard Slayer

Last night I watched a baby lizard make its way around our ceiling from one end to the other. It was dark and our house is white so the baby lizards "pop" against the background which makes them easy to pick out. Usually when we see them and they are low enough on the wall we have grown accustomed to catching them in a glass and putting them outside. But this one was happy and fancy free to just walk along the high ceiling. So I would glance up from my book every so often and look at Greg and say Lizzy has made it to the other side, or where is he now? It was cute and lizards crawling around our place (the baby ones anyways) don't creep me out quite as much as it used to when we first moved down, and is nothing compared to a RAT!

Well, when we went to bed the baby was still up high and we said good night and thought it would make it's way back to where ever it came from. But Mya had other plans. Apparently according to Greg's report shortly after he let her out of the room this morning he saw her in the corner chewing on it. Oh our innocent little puppy, and the poor baby lizard. Don't let her fool you she is a lizard killer and I think she was proud of it. I promise we feed her. Silly Booger.

She has her 4th obedience class tonight, lets see if they say anything about table manners. (such as dont eat the other guests)

Sniffle, cough, & hack

A few new friends have come into my life, sniffle, cough, and hack! I started feeling the sniffles last Friday, then the sore throat came along, soon to be followed by one of the yuckiest sounding coughs ever. It basically kept me in bed all day Sunday, until I had to be full of drugs so I could go to work in the evening. I am running on 15 days straight of work and no days off, not that I am complaining because this is what preseason is all about. But my body is deciding to reject me and everyone around me is having fun pointing out the fact that I am sick. As if I did not already know. Do they want me to walk around with a smile on in the midst of this grossness. I am happy I mustered the strength to take a shower today, let alone come to work and not be complaining. I just am being. I am here, I am doing my job, and I look forward to going to bed. What more could they ask for. A smile...not happening today I don't think. I could barely chew at lunch and breath at the same time. I think smiling may kill me.

PS- Happy Birthday Karen, I hope your in better condition than me today!

The eye of the storm

This morning I awoke to Mya pulling back the curtain in our bedroom. Seemed she wanted to see what was going on outside. We had been in a tropical storm warning, and not long after 5am the storm had made land on the west coast. Where we were on the east side of the state was getting hammered with rain and lightening around 6am, and we had been getting rained on since 10am Monday morning. I quickly checked my phone to see if coach had called me because I was supposed to report to work for an early morning practice, but no message. So I got my raincoat on and grabbed my umbrella and headed into the storm (after getting dressed of course). It was raining hard! not very safe driving conditions but basically just a very heavy rain, lots of lightening, and windy, very windy. Not too different from any other storm except for the fact that it was so continual.

All that driving and risking my life to get to work only to learn the girls practice was cancelled (no surprise to me, no one ever calls the athletic trainer) and the parking lot was now a lake and my shoes and socks were soon squishy. I waited for the ladies to come in at 8 entranced by the radar and the eye of the storm which was slowly making its was from south west of my location moving in a north east direction. The e-mails came flooding in from PBA administrators telling us all to get to work yet at the same time don't risk our lives to make it to work (a little to late for me). The the AD sent out messages to the coaches that all practices indoor and outdoor are to be cancelled. So that means I get to go home. Thank you Fay. I need to catch up on some sleep.

This was/is my first tropical storm...how exciting.

The Florida Ic

So far so good with preseason. We had a practice this morning and we have 2 more later today. Well, when I say we I mean them. I just sit and watch, but honestly I do not know what is worse. Sweating like someone with a hyperactive gland problem just watching them workout or sweating during a working out. 2 days ago I wore a grey shirt, and managed to have that thing sweated through by the time practice was over (a reminder, I was just walking and sitting). The next day I chose a navy shirt which was equally as sweaty but not as detectable yet twice as hot (not to mention I had lots of sun block on and I was quite sticky). Today I thought a white top would solve all my problems. I also used a different sun block in an attempt to not feel as utterly disgusting between practices. I managed to stand in the line of shade cast by the lone palm tree on the field. But when I am in my sweaty mess and feeling like I just want to sit in the AC and take a shower my real work begins, getting girls treated, recording injuries, running around making sure everyone has what they need in a short time so that they can make it out the door and get to lunch in time. So, now I rest in anticipation for this to begin all over in a couple hours, only to be outside longer this afternoon, add more sweat and sunblock to my layer of the Florida iciness, run home afterward get a shower in before I need to be back here again to get the girls ready for their evening conditioning.

Oh I just LOVE PRESEASON.

Olympic mania

Sheesh I am pooped. Didn't they know that it would be opening week of PBA athletics when they planned the Olympic games. They are so inconsiderate. I love the Olympic games, the level of competition, the strange "sports", the bringing together of the World. It kinda gives me warm fuzzies. But staying up till 12 ever night is beginning to take its toll. I have been spending my days out at practice in the hot sun, getting paperwork imputed on our AMAZING new computer program, keeping the athletes healthy through their 3 workouts per day, all while trying to figure out when I might find a chance to eat and be able to get home to see my hunny and my baby.

Volleyball is currently playing on the TV in the athletic training room and I am waiting for my athletes to start trickling in for the afternoon practice. I am just thinking that I could really use a nap but I wont take one, because when I get home it will be time for the Olympics to start and it will take every ounce of my energy to stay awake and watch the excitement.

Rattus Rattus

Greg and I were having a nice evening enjoying some olympic swimming when Mya looked to the kitchen and began barking. We both glanced in the direction of her bark only to sea A HUGE RAT climb from on top the refrigerator onto the cupboards and scurry away. Up until that time I would have never thought there would be a possibility of a rat getting into our place. Aparently it has been feeding for some time on the hambuger buns we had been keeping on top of the fridge.

After getting the heeby geebies, dry heaving a few times, and repeating in my head the image of this long tail and big furry body in our home Greg and I discover on a chair and with flashlight in hand a huge hole by the upper windows that allows perfect access for the little rat colony (made up of HUGE RATS)into our home. Outraged and utterly discusted we head to walmart in search of rat poison and traps.

Once we have all the sticky traps set and the poison in place on top of the cupboards where Mya wont get them we try and calm ourselves as we watch the US swim relay kick France's butt! Shortly after however, not more than 15 minutes since we have set the sticky trap we hear a scuffle. As we look at each other in fear of having to remove whatever may be stuck up there we hear more scuffles and screaches. Greg gets his leather gloves on and I am holding the garbage can (well I put it on the table and ran away when the screaching became more threatening and gross). Greg put the baby rat (still the size of what would be considered a big mouse in MI) in the bucket and took it out to the trash. So not only do we have one HUGE rat this rat has babies and who knows how many more are in the wall just waiting to come out and feast.

After all this excitement it is safe to say I will look at the movie Ratatouille a little differently. Rattus Rattus (the roof rat) are NOT cute, and they are even more not cute when they are eating your buns and scurrying in your walls!



We have terminix coming this evening with a good plan of attack! Watch out rats... your going down. Need I just say it, EW and gross!!!!

Hard at work

August has begun and I am hard at work as you can tell from the fact that I am Blogging :). The athletes do not report until next Tuesday and that is the point at which I will fall off the face of the planet, eyeball deep in sweat, blisters, ice bags, and tired hot athletes. 2-a-days are nothing but craziness and conditioning.

I do feel blessed that I get to work with a fun group of ladies who are all going to be a part of a bible study. We will be reading the book "The Lies Women Believe." so far it is really good I suggest any woman read this book.



Beth, Me, Jen, Kimmy, Staci, and Karem at Boomers.



This is the "white team" about to go into battle of laser tag. We dominated by the way, "Blue team" had no chance.

Please send up some prayer for Greg, he has applied to a position at PBA in the department of admissions. He needs a change from the rich folks on the island, and PBA is a great place to work, and would be a good chance of pace for him.