Back in the saddle again!

Where did the summer go? This seems to be the question in every teachers' eyes as I walk down the hallways of my school... I long for summer for about 8 months of the year, then it finally gets here, a couple of days later and *poof* it's back to school ads and tax free weekend again! How does that happen?

But somewhere in there I did manage to go to Hilton Head Island with some girl friends, visit Chicago with my parents and also go to the bustling city of Branson, Missouri with my whole family!

The trip to Hilton Head was rather spur of the moment, some of us girls were craving the sand and sleep. We got plenty of both at HHI. It was great, we laid on the beach for 5-6 hours a day, ate, then slept. That is the life, no?

Then there was Chicago (again) because I love it so much. And more so because my parents had never been and I am always raving about it. So I talked them into flying up there for a quick 4 day trip. Just enough time to see the sights and

get a taste of the city. Most of the things we saw I had already visited before, however there were a few new things added in. For one, we went to the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) and there was a new addition there.

They have built a skydeck that juts out from the top floor and is made entirely of glass. So you can walk out and look

straight down to the street in between your feet! I have to say it made me kinda queasy. Check out the picture, we appear to be floating in the sky (and my stomach seemed to agree).

Also note my mom holding on for dear life to my dad (as if that would be a comfort when we went spiraling through the air).

Overall a very fun trip, and also very cram packed with sights!

And the last trip was to Branson with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, mom, and dad.

What is in Branson, Missouri, you might ask? Well, many, many family shows. Such as the all-talented, mind blowingly amazing Dutton Family Show. Imagine the Partridge family meets the Osmond family. Do you have a good visual? Excellent.

We also visited the outdoor mall which housed a huge Bass Pro store. I know, major excitement(although I will let you guess who was most excited). And the mall also had a fun play place and a water/ light show. Pretty cool, but actually very hot because it was over 100 degrees most days. Above, we are at the show (can you see the sweat streaks?) It was good bonding time...

Half Marathons are quite the adventure...

Months and eons ago, I signed up to participate in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon! 13.1 miles of screaming family and friends and sweaty people. So, in on this adventure with me, my partner in craziness, was the BFF Betsy. Being the cheesy teachers that we are, Betsy printed up a training schedule to post on the fridge. And what is a chart without some incentive stickers? That's right, absolutely no fun! I chose from my extensive selection of stickers and we charted our progress through 16 weeks of various length runs. We were rockin' the training, until my ankle turned into a cankle and swelled up like a balloon! Awesome, three weeks out and my ankle won't fit in some of my shoes!?! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Okay, time for a plan of action, ice and compress, then repeat. Two days later, totally walkable. So we venture to Crockett Park for a 9 mile run with our friend Jennifer. Here we go. Feeling good. Not a care in the world (except the sweat rolling down my back and the thirst that doesn't want to be quenched). Then the ankle starts feeling... well uncomfortable. And there it is back, *poof*, cankle.

So there it is, I'm out, maybe of the whole marathon, hobbling mostly and barely containing my frustration. Three weeks of this, and add a little worry with a side of STILL eating everything in sight despite the fact that I am not active, oops.

Race day comes and we are up at 5 trying to get pumped up. Arrive at the race, people everywhere, music blaring (it is the Rock 'n Roll Marathon Series after all), and long port-a-potty lines. Jump into corral 22 and wait it out. Getting nervous, excited, ready to do this!

And, we're off! And we run, and run, and run, (and walk a little) and sweat, and wave at familiar faces, and drink some Cytomax (how DO they name these things?), even try some Gu. (Disclaimer: while Gu serves it's purpose of giving that extra boost of energy, it feels slightly like trying to swallow jelly, yum!) But it did the trick, we made it, finish line in sight. Sprint for the finish. Done and done. Fun experience, very glad to have had this experience, thanks Betsy for the encouragement along the way!

Now, to get my calves to stop screaming at me... this is what happens when muscles sit idle for three weeks. Who'd a thunk?

Welcome to "twenty-ten"!

It is officially the new year and while I am not totally sure what to call this new year, (twenty-ten, two thousand ten, o-ten) it has definitely begun! I always wonder how many people actually celebrate the new year not sleeping? Sleep was looking like the most appealing option to ringing in the new year, but instead I celebrated in the movie theater watching Sherlock Holmes. Not the worst idea ever, just a little anti-climactic. But on January 1, the new year really got rolling. We (Betsy, Brooke and I) decided to go visit our newly-married friends, Laura and Luke. I was super pumped about this little excursion, especially because they live in Atlanta and there is some major shopping to be done in that city! We made a whirl-wind trip down, visited the Coke Museum and walked around in amazement at IKEA.

So, Atlanta was great, as well as good friends... Can't wait to see what else the new year holds!

New Baby Time!!!

Well, we all know the saying, "Saving the best for last", right? And in this case, it is very true... December is the last month of the year and by far my favorite. Not only is it my own birthday (and let's be honest, who DOESN'T love a day about yourself?) but also it is the month of CHRISTMAS! This year, not only did December have these two wonderful events, but God just put the sprinkles on top (I know the saying is really the cherry on top, but I never really cared for any cherries, blah)! Best gift of the year: a new baby girl! My brother and sister-in-law just had their third precious bundle of joy and rightly named her Gloria. She is perfect. And beautiful. And pretty much the best thing since the last niece was born! And I am not biased. At all. Just look at the picture and try to argue.

Not many things are sweeter than a new little baby. I think God actually planned that pretty well, huh?

So this joyous occasion was followed by my birthday celebration a couple weeks later. I have wonderful friends, and thankfully they love to eat pizza too! My birthday just happened to fall on the night of the Ten out of TENN concert at the EXIT IN, so my party was planned for me. We started at Mellow Mushroom where we devoured some pizzas and made a lot of commotion, followed by inhaling some DELICIOUS cupcakes made (homemade, no less) by my amazing roommate, Betsy. It was fabulous. I also received some far-from-disappointing cards that never fail to make me laugh (I have funny friends).

The concert, needless to say, left me speechless! Best concert I can remember going to in a long time, maybe ever! Had some to do with the music and some to do with the fun people that went with me..

Next week after that, we began the Christmas marathon with my mom's side of the family. My mom hosts the annual party now, and while it is a huge feat to prepare and organize that many people, she always does it flawlessly (and I would be saying this, even if I didn't know that she would be reading it... but it never hurts to suck up a little around Christmas time). It was great to see everyone, even if my dad did say I looked like Robin Hood and my belt got made fun of by three out of five uncles. It is to be expected, it is how we show love. Special moment of the night, the big surprise for my Papaw. My Granny had given my mom some old records to get rid of, and being the nosey woman she is (thankfully in this story) she sorted through them before disposing of some... and in the stack she found an old recording of my Papaw playing when he was 17! They played it for everyone, and his response was adorable. Such the humble, quiet Papaw that he is, he just sat smiling that crooked grin that is so "Chester". Love it, such a keepsake that my sweet, impulsive Granny tried to throw away! And since all my mom's siblings were present, we were able to get some great pictures... here is one picture of the whole group... hard to get almost everyone opened-eyed and NOT talking (and if you know my family, you know what I mean)

So, thank you to Gloria Avonlea for starting off the Christmas season right!

Gobble, gobble, chop, chop, punch,punch!

This has been one fun-filled holiday week! I love Thanksgiving holiday break and getting to be with my family and enjoy the end of the fall weather... It has been one of the most restful, relaxing breaks in a while.

I was blessed enough to be off work for three days and decided to spend them at home with the parents. Wednesday night, I got to go to church with them at our

"home church" which has been a looong time coming. However, there weren't many people there, so we joined the kids and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Quite the change of plans.

Thanksgiving morning, woke up early, rushed to the TV with my Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee to

watch the Macy's parade, only to find that I can't turn the TV on. I don't know how. Who needs three remotes anyways? Bummer. But never fear, I asked for help, got it on, and alas... the cable's out. Rats. But it was fixed eventually, and the day was off!

Went to Grandma's and Granddaddy's for lunch. Yummy fried turkey, delicious!!! Had TONS of food, played dress-up with Grace and Gweneth while the boys laid on their bellies and shot at targets in the cold. One visit down, one to go. Off to Granny and Papaw's Thanksgiving celebration! Actually, off to Joe and Becky's in their new house. We had MORE good food and more great visiting. I got to spend some time with my cousins, too!

We entertain ourselves well. And although we did still cause somewhat of a ruckus, it was only contagious laughter.

Then, no Thanksgiving is complete without some Black Friday shopping, right? So mom and I put on our game faces and brave the crowds... at about 11:00ish. Never said we were THAT crazy. We did get some lovely purchases and sufficiently wore ourselves out. Hurried home to catch the last bit of daylight because it was time to go find and cut down a real Christmas tree! Dad and I zipped over to the family property and searched out the perfect tree. Finally, we found it, a true beauty. Drug it out, trimmed it down, got sticky with some sap. And most importantly, began the Christmas season!

And topped off a fun day with possibly the best part of all... I might have gotten a wii for my birthday and I might have asked to have it early, and my mom might have agreed. Amazing! So, the day was wrapped up nicely with pointing and laughing at my family. As any day should be ended, ha!

Very thankful for all of these memories made this Thanksgiving!

Crunchy leaves are a must for this season.

It is completely fall outside, and I am thoroughly enjoying it! Perfect weather to go for a walk, take pictures of beautiful trees and eat outside. I love this season. And likewise, I love fall clothes that go along with it. Cardigans and hoodies, corduroys and "fashion scarves", nothing better!

And not only is the out-of-doors in a beautiful stage right now, but so is life in general. God is so good and faithful! I have definitely felt the lulls of a spiritual journey these past few months, but lately I have had people placed in my life that have shown me God is still involved and actively working. He is teaching me some lessons, too. Not always fun, but I am beginning to see a point to it all.

I seem to have the uncanny ability to over-commit myself in every area. When I get extra time, I agree to do more things thinking I have loads of time. Reality tells me I may never completely break this habit. That said, God is using all of these things I am involved in to stretch me and open my eyes to others who I have chosen to overlook in the past. And conversations with some wonderful people have also reminded me that I have a bigger purpose here on Earth other than myself. I encounter so many people every day who are carrying around all of their troubles, but I rarely stop to listen. So, here are the fall resolutions;

I will make a concentrated effort to reach out to others before my own desires.

I will quit filling up my time with meaningless business.

I will make time for God, most importantly.

So, here's to a wonderful season and another day to love others.

Is Peter Pan really a boy, and if so, why is he always played by a girl???

This year, our school calendar included a fall break which we celebrated last week. A full WEEK off in the middle of the long stretch. It was amazing, it was fabulous, it was spent in Disney World!

Now some people think that Disney is just aimed at the younger audiences, but I beg to differ. We screamed more than any 6 year-old, and were more giddy as well. I think we made the others around us feel our joy... or maybe we just annoyed them. Either way, we LOVED every moment.

Then, back to the real world: report cards and parent-teacher conferences. Possibly the busiest week of the year thus far! And in the middle of all that, I was lucky enough to attend TPAC with my family and see "Little House on the Prairie". It was awesome, much singing and creative dancing. A fun night in all.

And then tonight we celebrated my Dad's 52nd birth year. Pretty big deal! While dinner was nice, I must admit I get the most enjoyment out of simply playing with the girls and talking with the adults at home. Something about being around children makes me think I can still BE one too.

Wrong.

Grace had her little bike still inside and since Brandon had been riding Liz's bike in the house before, I took the liberty to ride Grace's tricycle. Problem is I am a little bit bigger than her. Knees out, elbows pointy, I trucked around the living/ dining room area. Just long enough for my brother to begin chasing me with his Iphone, threatening to put me on You Tube. So I quit. The girls were encouraging me, what's an aunt to do?!?

And of course, before any family gathering is complete, the big brother decides to throw me over his shoulder and spin as fast as he can... good idea after three cheese biscuits?

False.

He had it coming.

Good times and good memories. Now if I can make it through parent conferences tomorrow, this week will be in the bag. The Halloween bag...