Traditions past down...

When I was a kid, we had a Santa rug that my Mom would place in front of our fireplace. Our dog would lie on it and then we kids would sit on it and wait for Santa to come down the chimney.
So I inherited the rug. Now, it sits in front of my fireplace. We don't have a dog and my kids are too big to sit on it and wait for Santa, but it is a great reminder of past Christmas's with my 4 sisters and Mom and Dad.
Sending Christmas love to Linda, Debi and Peggy. :-)(and remembering Sara, Mom and Dad)

decorating our tree

We buy new ornaments every year, so our tree is pretty crowded after 24 years of marriage... :-) The girls take turns putting the angle on top of the tree. They have to sign the box so we won't forget whose turn it is. :-) This year it was Chelsea's turn!

more Christmas traditions

Christmas cookies!! We love to decorate our cookies. :-)

Christmas traditions

My family is VERY tradition oriented when it comes to Christmas. EVERYTHING has to be done "right" or my girls (and Nigel) get very upset! It gets a little hard with Kirsten being away at school. In the past couple of years she has come home the weekend before finals and we had a chance to put up our tree. Well, this year she is waiting to come home after her finals are over. That means we put up our tree "late". So, Chelsea, Nigel and I picked out the tree without Kirsten this year.... I have mixed emotions about this. My baby is growing up and maybe next year won't even be able to be with us at Christmas!!! :-( Anyway, we got the tree and put lights on it, but we are waiting until she gets home to put the ornaments on. That seemed like a good compromise - since I wanted the tree up sooner. If it was up to me, I would put it up at Thanksgiving and leave it up until after New Years Day. I've never done that before. Does a real tree last that long? Does anyone know???? Would my kids revolt/complain because "that's not how we always do it!"

Dancing in PE

What a blast! All week we have been dancing in PE. The boys and girls together - eewwww! Cooties!!!! :-)We started off with line dancing - pretty easy, not too hard, and there is no touching... :-)
Next came Cotten-eyed Joe - had to touch each other with this one!!! :-0! They did a pretty good job too. There are A LOT of kids that have no rhythm though. That is just sad.
Wednesday we learned a basic Swing Dance. I think they really liked this one - at least the girls did. The music is more upbeat, more fun.
The kids learned Tango and Waltz on Friday. Our school PR person came in and took pictures. Then the yearbook lady came in and took more pictures. So there will be a few pictures published somewhere. :-)
I think most of the kids really had a great time. Of course there are always a few that don't like it, but that happens with any activity: basketball, volleyball, weight lifting, etc...

Here is a picture of me and Coach Schenkel showing off for the kids...

Our refrigerator died...

...so last night, Nigel and I went "Fridge shopping" at Lowes! After two hours we finally decided on the best one AND decided to go ahead and buy a new dishwasher to match. Now, our dishwasher is still in working order, but the screws are starting to fall out and we thought this would be a good time to update it. We bought one that is supposed to be super quiet. We'll see what that means...
Hopefully, next year we can update our stove and microwave to match also. We keep thinking ahead to the day we will sell our house and move on to our next adventure.... :-)

ice baths - the best thing ever!

It has been one month and I am still running! Yay for me! :-) I have learned that I really like running when it is cold - well maybe I should say cool. Like 45 to 50 degrees is an awesome temperature for running. This morning it is in the 30's and I think I will wait until it warms up some before venturing out. :-)
Our workout has changed a bit. On Thursday's we are running stairs instead of hills. I had my first 'stair workout' two days ago. We 'run' (ha) up 24 stories, resting every 6th floor - or in my case - every 3 or 4 floors!!!! As I finally made it to the top floor on my 'first trip up' I was feeling pretty proud of myself and was pretty psyched to get back down so I could try it again. I got down to the 22 floor and got the biggest cramp in my right calf!!! ARG!!!! My buddy I was running with stopped and helped me stretch it out and then we started down again... I got about 3 steps and it cramped again - OW!!! So I told him to continue and I would stretch it some more. So I stretched, went down a couple more stairs - OW!!!!!!!!! What the heck??? This is really painful!!! So I kind of limped down to floor 21 and stretched some more. This thing was NOT going away! So, my pride being hurt also, I made the decision to go down on the elevator - guess what? The doors were locked on floor 21. I would have to hobble down to 20, so that is what I did. By this time my leg was really hurting. I could stretch it out, but as soon as I stepped down a stair, that was it - CRAMP! I made it to floor 20 - locked door. One more time I hobbled down the stairs to floor 19 - still locked door. ARG!! I was beginning to think I would have to ask for help pretty soon. By this time my left leg was starting to 'complain to me' also. Finally at floor 17 I found the door unlocked, found the elevator and made it down to the basement! My running buddy was a little worried about me. After reassuring him that I was OK, he started up on his second trip. Our coach, Mark, had to really stretch me out or I don't think I could have walked out to my car. After he stretched the calf I felt like I could limp out to the car. Just a little embarrassing....
Just to make sure nothing was 'really wrong' with my leg I decided to stop by my school on the way home. We were having a basketball game and I knew our athletic trainer would be there. She took a look at my leg and told me I had a small tear in the muscle, then proceded to put my leg in an ice bath! OMG!!! That was really cold. My leg went numb which is a good thing! :-) It did feel better after that. She gave me some stretching excercises to do and told me to stay on flat surfaces for a few days. Are you kidding? I don't think I could have stepped up - or down anything!!!
So, here it is two days later and my leg feels pretty good. It doesn't even hurt! I guess that ice bath really did the trick! I recommend it to everyone who has a cramp in the future!
I'm still feeling good about my decision to start running with this group. I have met some interesting people and now have people to run with and to keep me motivated. Mark is a good coach, although I don't know how he remembers everyone's name! I don't think I could do that! hahaha!
Happy running everyone!

Chelsea and Rudolph...

My family LOVES Christmas. Chelsea is especially joyful this year about the upcoming holiday. She loves the lights, the music, and the fact that everyone walks around with a smile on their face (well, most of the time). They have already started playing Christmas music on the radio - Chelsea is in Heaven! ;-)
The other day we were listening to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.
Chelsea, "Mom the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph."
I said, "oh?".
Chelsea, "they were just 'using' Rudolph. They are so mean!"
So I said, "yes, but when Rudolph came through for them in a tight spot they were happy and admired him."
Chelsea, "oh no, Mom, they 'used' him! It's like when there is a kid at school who is not popular, then he/she becomes a famous singer. All of a sudden the other kids want to be their friend after they treated them so badly!"
I said, "Well that's an interesting view point, but don't you think the other reindeer decided that Rudolph was probably an OK reindeer after all? Can't they change their opinion?"
Chelsea,"no Mom, they are just really mean reindeer. I don't like 'the other reindeer'."
Something for all of us to think about this holiday season.... :-)

The week in review

This has been a pretty good week.
I ran twice this week - on Monday we ran around the 'parking lot' again. This time I did 3 1/2 miles and ran about 15 mins of that. On Thursday we ran the "mother of all hills". I'm not so sure about that, but the hills were long and somewhat steep. We walked/jogged about 1 mile to the neighborhood with the hills. Then went through the "hill circuit" twice. Then another walk back to the parking lot. It was a total of 1 hour and 40 min. I was definitely tired after all that!! I have no idea where I was, I just followed everyone else. It seems like a very nice neighborhood. There were no street lights, so I couldn't really tell... I'll have to drive around and see if I can find it in the daylight! I felt pretty good running last night. I am a little sore today, but not as bad as I thought. :-) More running tomorrow! The goal is to run about 20 minutes with walking in between.

Tomorrow we have our 2nd swim meet of the season. This time it is a "B" format meet. That includes the 500 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 back, 100 IM, 100 breast, and the 400 free relay. More new experiences for the new swimmers. We're at the Bartlett Rec Center this time - so closer to home. Chelsea is going with me to be my 'recorder'. I really think she just wants to flirt with the cute boys on my team... :-)

What I am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to: The Eagles Concert on Sunday night! :-)!!! Are you jealous????? :-)

Gas prices

Unreal gas prices!!! I paid $1.67 for gas (with my Schnucks card) the other day. A total of $27.75 to fill up my tank!!! That is amazing considering I paid $70.00 just a couple of months ago....

third day of running

I have followed through on my committment this week - three days of running! :-) I ran Thursday at school during my planning period. 10 bouts of 1 min running, 1 min walking with a 5 min walk at the beginning for warm up and 5 min at the end.
Today I ran 12 bouts - this time 1min 15sec run and 1 min walk. So a little more running today. I actually walked a little more than 1 min between runs just because I could. I decided I'm not going to kill myself. I have plenty of time to keep going. I don't have to be in a hurry to get to my goal.... I'm trying to be very sensible and not set myself up for failure.
I'll go run with my "group" on Monday night again and see what is next in store for me. It's supposed to rain on Monday so I'll have to be a little more motivated to run in the rain and cold.... :-(

Another exciting event this week - our first swim meet of the season! It was a good one. Both the boys and girls got second place! I had two kids qualify for STATE and we had 32 County qualifying times! The new swimmers were very nervous, but swam very well. We had been out of the water for almost two weeks due to a broken heater in the pool, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But they came through with flying colors! The "veteran swimmers" stepped up and helped out a lot!!!! Our next meet is a week from today at the Bartlett Rec Center - so close to home. :-)

It's a beautiful weekend here - lots of colors on the trees and the weather is finally turning colder! YAY!

Alone or in a group...

There have been times in my life when I have been able to set a goal and reach it - by myself, all on my own, just working at it steadily each day. I started myself on a running program 8 years ago after watching other people race in the Tulsa Run. It's a 15K race through downtown and along the river in Tulsa. I always wished I could do that too. So after years of 'wishing' I decided to make it happen. I followed a running program that I found on line - someone recommended it to me. I really liked it - and it worked! I ran my first 5K at the end of May in 2000. That was a great accomplishment. I don't think there is anything more satisfying than achieving a goal you set out to do! I really felt like I could do anything! So my next goal was to train for the Tulsa Run. I trained 4 days a week that summer and fall. On Sunday mornings before church I would run with a Tulsa Run Training Group. I remember on one of those mornings I decided to just try and keep up with all the 'fast' runners and just go as long as I could. I was amazed that I could run at a 10min mile pace!!! I went 6 miles that day (although I did slow down towards the end...). It was then that I realized I could go 9 miles (15K). It wasn't really that much further! I entered the Tulsa Zoo Run in September which was 10K. That was my first experience at running "K's" instead of "miles" so it took me awhile to figure out my splits - I was so used to using the 1/4 mile markers along the river running path. My vivid memory of that Zoo race was all the kids that were running. It was a race that benefitted Tulsa Public Schools so lots of PE kids running for their school. I ended up running with a couple of middle school kids and we were just encouraging each other to finish without walking!!! :-) I was really glad I had someone to encourage - that kept me going!!! Anyway, the big day came for the Tulsa Run. What a rush that whole thing was!! There were so many people - unbeleivable! All along the route there were people cheering, music playing, entertainment in front of peoples houses. It was kind of like running through a party!:-) The very beat part of the race was having Nigel, Kirsten and Chelsea cheer for me at the beginning, the middle and the end of the race. They drove all over the place to do that! :-) I can still recall that great feeling of finishing. I have a picture of me at the finish of my race! After that, I trained again for all three of those same races the next year. It wasn't quite as exciting as the first year, but pretty close! My sister Debi and her husband Hartley came and ran the race with me! That made it double the fun!!! :-)

There are other times in my life when I need to have help accomplishing a goal. This is one of those times.... I have joined a running class that has a coach. I went to my first session last night. It was dark (thanks to the time change), but not too cold. We train on Mondays and Thursdays at Shelby Farms in the parking lots that surround the "Agri-center" building. Our coach, Mark, has plotted out a one mile course around two of the parking lots. It was a very interesting first session. He actually "taught" us how to run - the correct form (head up, shoulders back, swing arms with elbows behind your back), "talking technique" (I have to be able to say "When I eat, I will make healthy choice, When I eat, I will make healthy choices" without gasping for breath),pacing oursleves, etc... We walked/ran a total of 3 miles, although only about a mile of that was actually running. Lots of walking breaks in between. Mark says the goal is to increase gradually to let my body adapt to what I am demading it to do. My commitment is to go to "class" two days a week and then run around my neighborhood on a third day (either Saturday or Sunday). He says there is not really any bad weather days, only bad clothing days. :-)

My personal goal is to get back into running shape and then continue to train, with the ultimate goal of losing weight! To what extent (race?) I'm not sure. I just know that training with a group will help me accomplish my goals this time around. Mark says he can get us ready for a marathon if we want. Again, I'm not sure.... My sister, Debi, is such an inspiration in this area. She has become the master at setting unbelievable goals and then reaching them (2 ironman triathlons this year!!!). So maybe by next December I will be ready to tackle the Memphis Marathon or the 1/2 marathon. They hold it every year the first Saturday in December. Who knows? If I follow through with this goal maybe Debi and Hartley will come and run with me?
I will keep you posted on my progress in this area.

Nov 1st

Today would have been my Mom's 82nd birthday. As my sister reminds me: "She has been gone a staggering 14 years (I can't believe it has been that long). Before she got sick at the young age of 45, she was athletic, a golfer, a tennis player, a leader in the Girl Scouts. She raised 5 daughters. I use to be amazed at the thought that she used a whole loaf of bread to make our lunches. My mom was one of the strongest, most persistent people I have ever met."

I was 15 when my mom was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis. She eventually passed away from complications from that disease. I was 37. I watched her struggle at times with her health, but she always seemed to have such a positive outlook that nothing would deter her from living a full life. She spent the last few years of her life in a wheel chair, but could still draw a smile from all those that knew her. Her grand kids loved to 'ride with grandma on her wheel chair'. :-) She didn't like having all the health problems, but that didn't seem to discourage her. She just kept on going.... kind of like the energizer bunny. :-) That was my mom. I hope I am 1/2 the woman she was.

A quiet day at home...

I have a bad cold - thanks to Nigel. He had it last week and now it's my turn. I'm hoping Chelsea will escape it! I felt so bad yesterday I had to leave school early. I came home and slept for about 2 hours! It's one of those colds that make my sinuses hurt! UGH!!
So I decided to take one more day off of school, so I am at home relaxing and doing laundry. :-)I made Chelsea get up on her own today and catch the bus. I usually take her to school on Fridays. She is pretty good at getting herself up and out the door!

We have not had swim practice all week. The heater went out last week. We swam 3 days in freezing cold water, but the weather was very warm still, so it wasn't too bad. But this week the weather turned cold - high 30's low 40's at night! So we have been doing dryland training and running this week. It looks like the heater will be fixed on Monday so we should be able to get into the water on Tuesday. Which is a really good thing because our first meet is on Thursday!!!!! The new kids will be a little lost since we have not had chance to work on turns or starts, but it should be a good meet anyway. The veteran swimmers are looking forward to this! It's at times like these that I wish we had our own pool at school..... Maybe someday.....

October in Tennessee

I like where I live this time of the year. I love how the trees change color and the weather finally cools off - low 50's high 70's. I guess the only thing that I don't like is all the leaves we have to rake! hahaha. Those of you that have been to my house know what I am talking about! We have lived here for 4 1/2 years now and only last year did we discover an amazing thing....the city picks up leaves for us!!!!! So now all we have to do is blow them into a pile at the end of our driveway and once a week or so the city sends a truck around to suck them all up. No more bags, no more rakes (well, we still rake some), no more dirty hands, and a whole lot less time!!!! YAY!
We finally got some grass to grow where we had our pool up. That will help keep the soil in check when it starts raining more...
I think we will have to mow one more time this year, which is nice. :-)

At school, the students have been playing flag football. It is quite fun to watch the girls figure out how to throw and catch. :-) Of course, being girls, they have to discuss each play in detail before it happens. This makes for lots of standing and waiting. So last week I had them create plays and name them so when we play this week, that should speed things up a bit....I hope.

On the Volleyball front - our Varsity team continues on toward their bid for a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP! Last week they placed 2nd at the Regional tournament. That gave them the right to host a "Sub State" game at our gym yesterday. They beat Ensworth 3 -1 so now advance to the STATE Tournament on Wednesday. It is a double elimination tournament so they will play on Wed and again Thurs for sure. They need to win one of those games to keep playing! Go Eagles!!!!

Swim team is going strong. Some of our soccer girls have finally made it to practice - their season has ended. We are only waiting for cross country to finish then we will have our whole team! :-) I took some pictures before they put the bubble up.

And here are some of my team members:


We are a great group of mostly dedicated kids that are sometimes kind of whacky!:-) I love it! Swimming is such an individual sport until you go to the meets and have teammates cheering you on! And the relays - well, let's just say the kids live for the relays! I know some of you former swimmers out there know what I am talking about... :-)

A few days without Nigel

My hubby is in Dallas for a couple of days. It is so quiet around here. Chelsea is upstairs working on homework and I'm sitting here in front of the computer, playing games. What a life... :-)
Chelsea cooked dinner for us tonight. It was VERY GOOD. Tator Tot casserole -mmmm!And she even cleaned up afterwards! Life is good... :-)

Swim season has really started now - it's been 2 weeks and we've had 7 practices. Today was the last day in the outdoors. On Saturday they put up the bubble. It's kind of sad in a way. The weather is definitely weird around here. Yesterday was a beautiful day - sunny, about 82 degrees. I had to put on sunscreen, shorts, flip flops and loved waling up and down the pool deck. Today a front came through - drizzle, windy, 55 degrees. I had on sweat pants, sweat shirt and an umbrella! Not quite as fun on the pool deck... hahaha. So now on Tuesday, we'll be "inside".

It is our fall break this weekend. The students have tomorrow and Monday off. We, the teachers, have to go to an in-service day for the whole diocese. It's one of those long boring speaker/workshop/mass that will last 1/2 of the day. But then I will have the afternoon off! YAY!!! Then we all have Monday off!
My days off will begin with taking Chelsea to school at 6:30am! UGH!!!Then Monday I get to go to the dentist! Bleh.... I'm not too fond of going.... :-(

So that's it for a while. Time for some TV and relaxing.... ahhhhhh.....

A great day!

Today was absolutely beautiful! Highs in the mid-70s and not a cloud in the sky! Luckily, our school let out at 11:45 today, so I got to enjoy the afternoon outside! The school where I teach has a large fund raiser every year and tonight is the night, so we had to vacate the building so the parents could decorate. We were all so dissappointed - NOT!!!
I decided to go to Shelby Farms, which is a local park located about 5 miles from my school. I walked/jogged on the 3 mile trail there. It was fantastic. Not too many people around, lots of birds, turtles, squirrels and even buffalo - yes, buffalo. There is a herd that grazes there. There were a few people playing frisbee golf, a couple people passed me on bikes, and I even saw a few fishermen in one of the many ponds/lakes in the park.

Here is some information from the website:

Shelby Farms is the one of the largest urban parks in the United States. At approximately 4500 acres it is five times larger than New York City's famed Central Park. Originally Shelby Farms was a working penal farm dedicated to the rehabilitation of prisoners. In the 1960's its role as a penal farm ceased and a decade later the Shelby County Commission approved a plan for recreational use of the lands.

Today park visitors enjoy walking, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding and even inline skating. With plenty of open areas visitors can put down their blankets and watch kites floating on air or kayaks and small sailboats gliding across Patriot Lake. The Lucius E. Burch Jr. State Natural Area comprises approximately 700 acres of wetlands and hardwood forest located in the southern portion of Shelby Farms. Covered pavilions and picnic areas dot the Farms and there are public rooms available to groups in the Visitors Center.

Each month Shelby Farms Park hosts community events. One of the biggest is the annual 4th of July Star Spangled Celebration. Additional information on Shelby Farms can be found at the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy web site at www.shelbyfarmspark.org

The best part was just being alone with my thoughts and really doing something for me. I guess that sounds a little selfish, but sometimes you have to just take care of yourself, so you can be of use to others! I partake in exercise at school, but somehow it is not the same. I did find it difficult to jog with this extra 12 pounds I'm carrying around!!!! UGH!!! Hopefully, I can find the time to do this more often after Volleyball season is over. (Tuesday!)

trip to Evansville

It was 'family weekend' at the University of Evansville this weekend. Chelsea and I (along with Chelsea's bff, Danielle) drove 5 hours to visit Kirsten. We were all dissappointed that Nigel would not come. "I just saw her a couple of weeks ago, why would I want to spend 5 hours in a car to see her again? Has she changed that much in a few weeks? Besides, she will be home in 2 weeks for her fall break." Such a practical outlook on life.... :-(
The girls and I had fun visiting and seeing Kirsten's new living arrangement. It is a perfect set up for her. She has her own room, shares a bathroom with one other roommate, has a nice small kitchen and a living room for all 4 of them to congregate. They have set up a roommate night out, and also a game night. Looks like loads of fun! I think the best part of the whole situation for Kirsten is living right across the street from all the frat houses!!!! :-) So many boys to choose from..... :-) hahaha
It was a long drive both ways, but worth every minute of it. Chelsea and Danielle spent 5 hours both ways on their cell phones, comparing messages and pictures and generally laughing the whole time! It definitely kept me entertained!

Now it's back to school and the last two weeks of my volleyball season. The freshmen finish on Oct 8th. The varsity will continue to play through the playoffs and hopefully find their way to the State Tournament!!! Go Eagles!

I held tryouts for swimming on Friday and will have another one on Monday. There are two or three swimmers in the group! I will probably end up with about 30 swimmers all together. That's alot for a 4 lane pool, but it's all good.... :-)

Summer really is over....

I am draining my pool. :-(
You all know how much I like swimming. I think I was born in a pool! Well, last night I decided it was time to take the thing down, so I started the draining process. I actually hadn't been in it in about a month. But, it's still sad to know it will be another 8 months or so until I get to put it back up.

Here is a picture if you haven't been lucky enough to see it in person. :-)



That is Chelsea sunning herself in our awesome pool!!!


BUT --- all is not lost!!! It's swim season at SBA! We have had preseason conditioning for about 2 weeks now. Our regular season starts on Oct 8 - that's the day after our last 9th grade volleyball game. One of the best things about this swim team is the facility where we practice. It is a fitness center about a mile from our school. They have an outdoor pool which is heated. So for about 3 weeks we get to swim outdoors!!! It's great fun except when it is raining. I walk up and down the side of the pool with my umbrella and my feet get soaked! Sometime around the end of October they put the 'bubble' up over the pool and it becomes an indoor pool! This is really interesting to me. Swimming in a bubble. I'm sure my sister Debi could find some kind of psychological meaning to this...
Anyway, the water is warm and I walk up and down the side of the pool, still getting my feet soaked - this time from the splashed water. And when it is cold outside, the condensation that forms on the inside of the bubble makes it 'rain' inside! The kids love to bang on the sides of the bubble and watch the water fall from the top into the pool. Cheap thrills! Then when it gets REALLY cold, we get FOG inside. So much fog that it is hard to see the end of the pool - 25 yards away. That's when I really have to walk up and down the side of the pool. I have to be able to see the swimmers!!
The last interesting thing about this facility is the lack of lights. In December and January, it starts to get dark about 4:30pm around here. Well, we practice until 5:00. There are three small lights inside this bubble making it very difficult for my 52 year old eyes to see everything. I'm hoping this year they will add a few more lights to the area. I'm not holding my breath on that one.....
I don't have any pictures yet, but when I do I will share them.

Ahhh, swimming...... you gotta love it!

More Volleyball news

Saturday was a fantastic day for my freshmen team. We hosted a tournament with 8other teams, and won the whole thing! My team was in pool play with 5 teams and the other pool had 4 teams. We beat Southwind, then beat Germantown, then beat Arlington (that's Chelsea's school!) and finally played St Agnes. Well, in pool play St Agnes beat us in two games. We just could not put the ball away on them. They dug everything. And then we made some really bad serving errors! Our passing was great, but serving and hitting errors just did us in. The girls didn't know how to take a loss - since that was our first one!
We rebounded and won the first playoff match against Collierville. Then came the Championship game against - St Agnes. This time we put some great runs together. Allison served 14 points in a row to put us in front!!!!! Which lead us to win the first game. The second game was back and forth and St Agnes came out on top. So that lead us to the third game. It was a real "nail biter" with many ties. We ended up winning 17 - 15!
The girls were so thrilled! You would have thought they just won an Olympic Gold Medal or something! It was a really fun day! I was there for 12 hours, but it was all worth it in the end. :-)
So now the team is 10 - 1! What a great season so far!!!!

More Volleyball magic

Once again I will brag about my freshmen volleyball team. They are great! We won 2 more games this week - that makes us 5 - 0! That gives us good confidence heading into this weekend's tournament. We are hosting 8 other teams at SBA on Saturday. There is a VERY GOOD chance we will win the whole thing. That is the goal anyway...
I'll let you know how it goes!

I love my Dallas Cowboys!

It's another football season! Yay! Time to kick back on Sundays and watch my Dallas Cowboys have another great season! This year they have a new player - Felix Jones. He is a graduate of Booker T Washington High School in Tulsa where I used to teach. I used to watch him run the football when he was a freshman. It's hard to believe he's old enough to be a pro player!!! So watch for him to make a big impact in Dallas.

My volleyball team

I coach the girls' 9th grade volleyball team at SBA. This year's team is really very talented. There are 12 girls on the team and they all have the ability to play anytime I ask. It's hard to decide who to play and when. It's really a nice problem to have.
Tonight was their 3rd straight victory. It was a little 'rough' as we had to play 3 games in order to be successful. I have one player - Allison - who is cool as a cucumber. She seems to play very well under stress. She's the one we go to when we are behind. She kind of takes over when no one else seems to be doing anything right. Tonight we were in the 3rd game of the match when she began serving. 8 straight serves - and she could place them anywhere on the court she wanted. What a great talent to have. Pretty amazing as a freshman!
So I'm pretty pumped about our team! :-)

Tomorrow I get to travel with the varsity team to Chattanooga to a tournament. I will miss one day of school (yay!) and get back very late on Saturday, but we should have a great time. I'm looking forward watching the 'big girls' do their thing. It's very refreshing being part of such a successful program!
GO EAGLES!!!

My baby is growing up

Chelsea amazes me. Somehow, somewhere, she has decided to grow up! She is starting her 4th week of high school - a pretty scary step in most of our lives. And yet, she has tackled it with grace, humor, and a sense of responsibility! She undertakes her mound of homework without much complaining. She wakes herself up in the morning at 4:45am to get dressed and do her hair and makeup. She has a smile on her face when I get up an hour later to make her breakfast. It's truly amazing! This is the same daughter I had to drag out of bed last year at 7:00am, who would mumble something at me at the breakfast table and I would have to shout to hurry up or she would miss the bus! This is the same daughter who would forget just about everything unless I reminded her a bunch of times... :-), let alone get her homework done. She is the daughter who would be "lost in space" most days and not very responsible. What happened? Did I miss something?
I guess my baby is growing up.....

Monday - a great holiday to do nothing

I am just sitting here watching a little TV. What a way to spend an day off of school. I should be working on lesson plans, but it is just too easy to do nothing.

I am forever envious of my older sister, Debi. She seems to be able to motivate herself to work out/train for her triathlons. I am quite proud of her accomplishments, but at the same time I kick myself for not getting with the 'program' and get moving. One thing about being a PE teacher - I get to move with me kids in class. If I didn't do that, I think I would weigh a million pounds!!!
Just so you know, Debi, you are very inspirational to me. Keep up the great work!

I was hoping to lay out in the pool today. You know, the last time before summer really ends. However, the clouds are out today so not a great day for tanning... Very sad about that....

So here I sit with my computer and the TV.....

It will be a busy one this week at school:
Tuesday, VB practice then "meet the teachers" night at school.
Wednesday, Middle School swim league meeting, then VB practice - the parents are coming to practice to learn how to keep score. That should be interesting!
Thursday, game with Bolton 9th graders. I hope they are better than 'beginners'.
Friday, I go with the Varsity team to Chattanooga for a weekend tournament.

So, only a 3 day week for me at school!!! YAY!

morphing pictures

I found this great web site (thanks Debi) that morphs a picture of yourself onto another picture. These pictures happen to be from different decades of yearbooks! What a laugh I had the other night morphing pictures of me - and then Nigel! It was great! My favorite was the one of me from the 1950's. I look just like my MOM!

Then I morphed Nigel's pictue into the same 1950's picture and guess what? He looks just like his MOM!!!!

What a riot!!!!!

So here's another one where I look like my sister Debi.

So now you know how I spend my Friday nights! It is great to laugh so much! Very healthy! :-)

Everyone else is doing it....

... so I guess I should too. I don't want to be left out!!!
I'm great at starting things, not so good at keeping it up, so we'll see how long this one lasts.

It's Saturday morning. Chelsea's alarm went off at 4:50AM and of course, she is not here to turn it off. Nigel had to get up. He was not a happy camper! He goes straight back to sleep and I lay there tossing and turning. So at 6:15 I got up. UGH!!! What a way to start a long weekend. Maybe by Monday my body will decide it's OK to sleep in a little.

That's it for now.