i won! and i am sore!

Friday night we celebrated Jay's 29th birthday (jay is the guy behind the girl in the white jacket). Jen baked a cake and had ice cream with a signing candle on it...i missed that part. i was buying the coolest pair of Jordan basketball shoes ever for only $39.99....and needed to do it before the sale ended, so i missed signing to Jay. But, afterwards we all headed to the bowling alley for some competitive bowling! we made teams of 4. there also was gift cards available (thanks to ben) for the winning team. I guess ben has a multitude of gift cards in his sock drawer to random places and i am not sure why he doesn't use them. but, who cares; cuz my team won. ben was very upset.............see picture not only was ben upset about his team getting stomped on...but he also lost a game to me. we had a little side thing going and ben lost. ok- to be fair he only lost 1 out of the 3 games we played, but the 2nd game was by far the best game ever- cuz i beat ben and that doesnt happen very often. the guy seems to win at every thing, so when he loses - ya gotta rub it in!

since my week was insane and i felt like i could sleep for a year i decided to just let my body sleep til it was done sleeping. so....i woke up at 7:00 a.m. -YEAH...THAT'S NOT SLEEPING IN- cuz i had to pee, but thank goodness i was able to go back to sleep til 8:10 -NOT SURE THAT IS SLEEPING IN EITHER. than, i decided i missed my parents and the country side so i got in my car and headed north. dad was going to be splitting wood all day and i just felt bad thinking that he had to do all that work by himself. plus, dad has a rough back and shoulder (he has had surgery on both) so i thought i'd take my young-body and my full of fire attitude and go help the man split wood. so, i arrived at 10:00 and split wood til 1:00- than took a lunch break and was back at it til 4:30. my wrist and arms are all scratched up from lifting human sized pieces of wood. my knees and shins are bruised from wood falling them and using them to prop up the human sized wood....seriously! but, i got a great work out in and hopefully prevented dad from over using his back. we bonded and laughed and grunted and sweat. totally reminded me of my younger years when splitting wood was one of our many chores. one summer i think we split 40 cords of wood....an insane amount in other words! spent the night and attented church with the family. it was a a short trip, but a good one.

peeps from grad school

Scott, me, Alissa and Catie (left to right) all went out to celebrate THE END of one of the worst 8 weeks of grad class ever! ok, by 'worst' i mean- way to much work...way to many textbooks (5 of them)...way to may assignments...way to much stress...and not enough application. Scott and Alissa (she is the one in the light shirt) have been my school pals since the our first class way back in spring of 07. these two bring a much needed 'FUN' to class for me. Scott is super into sports, a college tennis coach, a husband, a dad, is super smart, knows how to have a good time and is a well rounded dude. He makes me smile and laugh often and has some pretty fun stories. Allissa is a fire ball, full of life and energy and is a youngster (26). She is a first grade teacher, planning her summer wedding and often surprises me at what comes out of her mouth (oh the stories...). Scott, Alissa and I have pretty much done every group assignment and activity together...so we have spent sometime outside of classes getting to know one another- and i love it! this is one thing that makes grad school doable ...good peeps! Catie has been in our class the whole time as well, and finally decided she'd join us for a outing after class. She is hilarious. She also is a youngster (26), currently looking for a teaching job, always wants to be done with class early, and has made some professors a little upset at her! She seemed to fit right in with our little click.
Anyways- it was fa un way to celebrate the END of a very long 8 weeks. Thanks friends for a good time, fun stories, loads of laughs and your devotion to being a good teacher! sweet-

the past 72 hours.

so the past 72 hours (3 days...) has been a whirl wind and i thought i'd just share my schedule with you all out there that think you have a bad schedule. compare it and let me know.....:)

Monday Morning:
5:15- alarm went off, i pushed snooze once. had to be at work by 6:15ish to get some lesson plans written, cuz I had no idea what i was going to teach.
6:20-2:30- work
2:30-3:00- ran home to grap my basketball bag, fix my face and hair, grap my bible and some dinner
3:30-4:30- basketball team pictures (thus the fixing my face and hair)
4:30-6:45- practice
7:00-9:00- bible study, and i forgot my dinner sitting on my table at home, thank goodness for Anna and her homemade chicken noddle soup.
9:00-10:30- needed to hang out with jenny for a spell....she needed me, and i missed her.
11:00-5:45a.m. - sleep

Tuesday
5:45- alarm went off, i pushed the snooze once
7:00-12:45- work
1:00-1:40- during my prep hour at work, i got a quick workout in at the club. ( i got hit on....that was fun)
1:50-2:30- quick shower and a quick get ready for conferences
2:30-7:30- parent teacher conferences....i had 15 parents show up, so i actually got a lot done. papers corrected, room cleaned, some grad school work done, some emails sent, and a couple chapters read in a book i so wanted to read
7:00-9:45- basketball practice. yeah, i was late to practice. and man practice was late- and i was crabby. my post players got a verbal lashing for not boxing out...i was so tired!!!!
10:15-10:30- just wanted to sit on my new couch for a short spell...and i watched friends.
10:30-5:45- sleep

Wednesday
6:00- alarm went off...no snooze
7:00-2:00- work
2:00-3:00-quick run at the club
3:30-6:30- basketball practice
7:00-8:45- grad school study group...we have a presentation to give tomorrow night and we needed to prepare- nothing like waiting til the last minute.
9:00- got home...currently just finished up my last touches on my portion of the presentation, and am sitting here forcing my eyes to stay open while i blog.
10:15-5:45- sleep, and i cant push the snooze tomorrow. i have a meeting at 6:45.

i've been at home mostly just to sleep nd that makes me sad cuz i love my new couches so much!!!! i cant wait for tomorrow night to get here. class should be done close to 7...and than i get to spend the rest of the evening at HOME> yes!!!!

what to say....

i have so many things i could blog about. funny how there are times in life when i barely have anything going on and nothing to share, and than bam....all of the sudden, i could write 2 blogs every day cuz so much is happening. the main reason i haven't had time to share my thoughts is cuz of this ...see picture of table- yeah, my table is 'messed' with a project for grad school that has been consuming my time, energy and mind. i actually took the day off from work on Tuesday to get some of it done. This is what life has mainly been for me for the past 2 weeks. but...TONIGHT AT 4:30 THAT ALL CHANGES. no matter what is left unfinished the project will be handed in- done! no more thinking, writing, or pulling my hair out....done-done-done. cuz it's MEA weekend, i am actually sitting in that chair right now doing last minute touch ups and of course 'putting off' one last assignment. but it is only 9a.m., so i have some time. Also on Tuesday i had 2 fantastic men come over and help me move the old out so the new can come in. Jay-bird and scoobs (Justin) came over quick like to take my old couch and chair out. so since Tuesday afternoon i've had NO furniture in my living room, which is good cuz than i go right to the CHAIR in my kitchen and work on my project - no temptation to watch TV. anyways; my old blue couch...i was thinking about that couch as the guys lifted, turned and wiggled it out of the house. that couch is 20+ yrs old. it was in my parents basement and used and abused by me, my brothers and all our visitors from 1984-1995. from my parents basement it went to my first apartment while i was in college and got abused by me, my roommates and their boyfriends. yeah- never my boyfriends!!!! after 2 years of that it went back to VenhuizenVille to spend a short lived year in my older brothers basement. but it missed me to much and came back when i moved to an apartment in Elk River. here it stayed for another 2 years and was abused mostly by my students that came over to watch movies and eat my food. nice! than- it moved to Fridley. i, and 3 other girls, rented a town house together...but low and behold the couch would not fit in the living room, so off it went back to ma and pas house. it stayed there for a spell....3 years i think. but, than i moved AGAIN...this time to my current home in Brooklyn Park where i have lived for almost 4 years....thus the old blue couch has had a very lively life. from 1984-2008: i'd say it's time for retirement! the cushions dont stay on it anymore, the bottom of it is falling out and it has many stains. but...i am sad! it has been a fantastic couch. super comfy- one of the best places in the world to take a nap. anyways...if you want this beauty, you can sure have it. it is currently in my garage...i am sure it's sad, and cold!!! :)
HOLY BUCKETS THE NEW COUCHES ARE HERE. and man do they take up a lot of space! but i LOVE THEM. sorry blue couch.

the last thing that i have been wanting to share is about basketball - of course! i decided after taking a year off (last year), which was heaven...that i missed it to much and am currently back in the saddle coaching. We had our first practice yesterday and it was good. it was familiar. and it was fun to be back with Linda and Krissie. I missed them! and the girls are super on fire to play hard core ball...which makes coaching so fun. of course, i am very worried about what life is going to look like for me the next 5 month. balance is going to be the key. i dont want to give up my on workout schedule and or my the relationships i have formed in the past year, but have so many things going on: teaching full time, grad school, coaching, church, workouts, social life: come on- where does the list end? ...so it will be a balancing act for sure. i was dreading it (practice) a little the beginning of this week, but am no longer. yesterday was fun. and i am pumped to do it daily. the bummer is that i have grad class every Thursday night and will miss practice every week...but, i guess thats the balancing act i was referencing, right? Linda did devo's last night and i was challenged- i missed being challenged by her! maybe i will share what she challenged me with in a different blog, this one is getting way to long.

out-

2008 School Picture

place your orders....i only have a few to give away! I'd say this picture is REALLY blue. lots and lots of blue. but i guess- it's just a school picture. it will do! :) out-

I CAN'T WAIT.....

OH MY, OH MY...I CANT WAIT TIL IT GETS HERE. LAST WEEKEND ON MY WAY HOME FROM FAIRMONT I STOPPED AT A FURNITURE OUTLET STORE AND FOUND THIS (see pic). I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT, BUT WASN'T SURE I SHOULD GET IT. ON BIG PURCHASES LIKE THIS I NEEDED ANOTHER OPINION. SO TODAY, AFTER A SUPER DUPER BIRTHDAY MEAL (for my dad) AT THE TIMBERLODGE- MOM, DAD AND I HEADED SOUTH TO SHOKAPEE TO RE-VISIT THE COUCH AND CHAIR I FELL IN LOVE WITH. OF COURSE- MOM MADE US WALK THOUGH THE WHOLE STORE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING ELSE THEY HAD TO OFFER. WE SPENT ABOUT AN HOUR WALKING AND SITTING AND LAYING ON RANDOM COUCHES AND CHAIRS UNTIL FINALLY I TOLD MOM I WANTED TO GO BACK AND SIT ON 'THE ONE'. WE SAT AND TALKED ABOUT IF IT WOULD FIT IN MY HOUSE, THE COLOR, THE PRICE...AND SO ON. THAN JIM CAME...THE SALES DUDE. BEFORE HE CAME I WAS PRETTY SURE I WAS GOING TO GET IT. BUT THAN- JIM TOLD US THERE WAS A 15% OFF SALE AND FREE FINANCING FOR THE FIRST 6 MONTHS. SUPER COOL. AFTER WE FIGURED WHAT MY MONTHLY PAYMENT WOULD BE I SORT OF GAVE A LITTLE UNSURE LOOK AND JIM STEPPED UP AND OFFERED ME A WHOLE YEAR OF FREE FINANCING- SO...I TOOK THE DEAL. I CANT WAIT FOR IT TO GET HERE. IT MAY TAKE UP TO 2 WEEKS TO GET READY FOR ME AND MY HOUSE- BUT THATS OK CUZ I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET RID OF MY CURRENT COUCH AND CHAIR. ANY TAKES? DAD LOVED THEM AND MOM LIKED THEM...SHE JUST REALLY WANTED ME TO LOOK OTHER PLACES FIRST...BUT ME- ONCE I FIND SOMETHING I LIKE I HIGHLY DOUBT I'D FIND ANYTHING ELSE THAT COMPARS. SO I PURCHASED A COUCH, A CHAIR AND A HALF (thats what they call it), AND A OTTOMAN- PLUS 6 PILLOWS. I ALSO AM HAVING IT SHIPPED, GOT A 5 YEAR WARRANTY, AND AM GETTING THEM SPRAYED SO THEY DON'T FADE. TOTAL...I SPENT $1541.89. YEAH- THAT'S A LOT OF MONEY. BUT I AM SO EXCITED. CANT WAIT TO GET THEM IN MY HOUSE, RE-ARRANGE MY LIVING ROOM AND THAN HAVE FRIENDS OVER TO SHARE IN THEIR COMFORT. I TOOK THE COUCH FROM MY PARENTS BASEMENT (which was 6 years old already) AND HAVE HAD IT EVER SINCE...SO THAT MAKES MY OLD COUCH ALMOST 20 YEARS OLD, I'D SAY IT'S ABOUT TIME I SPENT SOME HARD EARNED MONEY ON A COMFY COUCH. I CANT WAIT!!!!! this is the chair and a half....it's about a 1/2 foot shorter than a love seat. love it!!!!