Highlight Reel

Yeah, yeah... I realize it's been nearly three weeks since my last update.  So, here's the highlight reel...

1.) Randy finally shaved his beard and cut his hair.  Man... that was a long time coming.  He looks so much more handsome without all of that hair covering his face.  And, several people confirmed that he looked better beardless and that he looked younger without it!  Hallelujah!

2.) Basketball season is coming to a close.  Elisan's team is undefeated.  There are 5 very phenomenal 8th grade basketball girls on the team and they have led the team to victory after victory.  Of course, Elisan and her fellow 7th graders get plenty of playing time and they are having a lot of fun.  The 8th grade girls are great role models for the younger girls and I'm so glad that Elisan decided to play basketball again this year.

3.) I mentioned that Elisan had her science fair last month.  She placed 6th out of 35 kids.  Not bad!    Her project was comparing the national brand laundry detergent (TIDE) vs. store brand (HEB) vs. homemade detergent (Borax, Washing Powder and Castille soap) on various stains.  The national brand was the clear winner, while the HEB brand and homemade version results were equal. Interesting stuff!

4.) We all ran our very first 5K race on February 1st in Georgetown.  It's called the Cupid's Chase.  We all ran such different times that we ended up running solo by the end of the race.  I'm so proud of Kyla and Elisan for their hard work!  They did amazing and I think they may have caught the 5K racing bug.

Our results were:

Kyla finished 1st place (out of boys and girls) in her age group 1-10 yrs; Time - 24:51
Elisan finished 2nd place in her age group 11-14 yrs; Time - 27:15
Erica finished 4th place in her age group 40-44 yrs; Time - 28:40
Randy finished 7th in his age group 40-44 yrs; Time - 25:17

5.) I've really been hitting the gym hard lately.  And, I'm still tracking my food and calorie intake.  My weight lifting as really come along and I'm amazed at home my body has "muscle memory" as I'm doing these weight lifting exercises I haven't done in over 18 months.  I've noticed my definition coming back in my arms and legs and it's a nice surprise.

6.) Randy and I just finished booking all of our travel stops for our summer vacation "ROAD TRIP 2014 - CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!"  We are traveling to Yosemite National Park and making stops along the way to Death Valley National Park, Las Vegas, Sequoia National Park & Kings Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.  We'll be making pit stops in Flagstaff and Albuquerque as well.  The driving will definitely be more grueling this time around, with two very long days on the road, but it's all worth it!

I'm so glad that Randy and I decided to do the National Park tours with the girls. This will be our third summer trip in a row to do this kind of trip. They are old enough to remember it, yet young enough to still enjoy it... if that makes sense!  Last thing I want is a teenager in the back seat making the trip miserable for the entire family... and lucky us, Elisan won't be a teenager until after this trip!

And that's about all for now.

Brain Dump (1st ed. 2014)

Y'all, if I had not experienced the relief myself, I wouldn't be a believer.  Because how on earth does a strip of stretchy kinesiology tape (or KT tape) make your muscles feel better?

But, one day Randy brought home a roll of KT tape to use for his plantar's fasciitis (which I also suffer from) and he swore it worked.  So, I tried it out too and it does!  I have been able to run pain free since I began using it.

So, the science fair is today and I'm sad to say that Elisan did not require any help from her mama.  What?  Last year, we worked side-by-side for many hours making sure her project board was interesting and balanced and visually appealing.  But, this year, she refused to let me help or offer my opinion.  That stinks!  I mean, that's great.  I'm glad she's taking initiative.  

Speaking of Elisan... she placed 2nd in area-wide competition for "reasoning" in Math Oympics.  She goes on to regionals next month.  (Last year, she took first place in the regional competition, so she's hoping she can hold on to her title!)

Kyla has become a rainbow loom bracelet making expert.  All weekend long she watched rainbow loom tutorials online and practiced step-by-step with the instructor on making new and fascinating bracelets.  She can now whip out an intricately detailed bracelet in no time. 

Randy told me he'd consider cutting his beard and hair on the first day of Spring.  Y'all, that's 2 months away.  What?!  I'm not sure what's gotten into him, but I'll have to post an updated picture of his bear and hair soon.  He doesn't even look like himself anymore.  It's a little disturbing.

You may have noticed my "budding photographer" button on my blog.  Well, that's because I have decided to offer my photographer services for hire.  This is a huge baby step for me, but I feel good about it.  My rates are really low right now... I already had a friend chastise me about it (hah), but I set the rates low enough so that as I hone my skill/talent, I will have room to raise my rates when the time comes.  I'm excited to see where this road takes me.  In the meantime, check out my website here.

Oh, and an update to my last post about Elisan running track this season.  Well, as it turns out, a little (positive) peer pressure has made her decide to run track this year after all.  There will of course, be soccer conflicts, and soccer is the priority right now since she is the goalie, but I think track is such a fun sport, I'm glad she signed up!

And finally, a bit about what I've been doing at the gym these days... Jumping Rope!  Love it!  I've always been good at jumping rope.  Must of been all of those "Jump Rope for Heart" fundraisers we did every year in elementary school  (Thanks Coach Hammerly).  But, nonetheless, I've really enjoyed adding another layer of cardio to my workouts.  Jumping rope is a full body workout and it takes a lot of endurance.  So what I do is jump rope for one minute and rest for one minute.  I do this for 10-15 minutes.  By the time I'm done, I'm done... literally.

Blog Brain Dump

Y'all.  Clearly I have not been around blog-world lately.

What do I have to say for myself?

Well.  Nothing.

I could tell you how crazy busy I've been and how blogging has not made it on my to-do list.

Instead, rather... I'll give ya a quick summary of all things going on 'round here an then wait another 3 weeks before I post something random on my little piece of real estate.

Soccer is in full swing.  The girls have played in several tournaments these past several weeks and both teams have placed first!  Pretty cool stuff for this mama.

Doesn't Kyla's coach look like Hugh Jackman?

Speaking of soccer... last week, we were at a game in waaay south Austin and sitting on the sidelines on the next field over was Melanie Shankle (or The Big Mama blog, writer of "Sparkly Green Earrings", etc.)  I really wanted to go and say hello, but I lost my nerve.  I'm know... I'm a dork.  Perhaps if Kyla's team plays her daughter's team (which is a real possibility, then maybe I'll work up enough courage to say hi.)

I've been doing a lot of freelance graphic design work for the girls' school.  It's been a lot of fun and I love to volunteer from the comforts of my own home. But, honestly, that has kept me extremely busy and any free time is spent... well, playing Candy Crush.

And if I'm not playing Candy Crush, then I'm watching "Scandal" on Netflix.  LOVE this show.  It has some adult content in it, so it's not appropriate to watch with your kids... or your parents.  But, it's quick paced, fast dialogue which I love and twisty plots.  FUN!

My hair is in desperate need of a cut.   It still has shape and layers, but the longest part is to my waist.  TO. MY. WAIST.  I found out my all time favorite hair stylist moved back to the area and I have been remiss in calling her to set up an appointment.  But, goodness, I definitely need to or else I'll be sitting on my hair in another month or two. 

I'm still bike riding and I found an awesome trail that is 13.50 miles long round trip.  Which is awesome.  However, yesterday just as I was making the 6.5 mile trek back to my car, I got a text that read, "Elisan just threw up at school.  Please come and pick her up."  Um... I'm 6+ miles from my car in the middle of the woods.  Hmmm...  

Needless to say, I hauled butt back to the car (in record time, I might add).

She had taken some allergy meds that didn't sit well on her tummy and ended up tossing her cookies.  In class.  She was mortified.  So, she came home with me and we spend the day contemplating throwing up in class versus having an uncontrollable number 2 accident at school.  We agreed that throwing up was indeed the way to go.

So, Texas A&M is playing Alabama tomorrow.  And as luck will have it, we'll miss parts of it because we'll be heading back home from a San Antonio soccer game.  Randy has already warned us that there will be no looking up scores or game details.  Sigh... he takes out all of the fun for me.  (Somebody text him the score... haha!)

So, that's it.  We're busy.  Busy as a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest.  Yep.

Gig 'em Aggies.

Time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'...

It's already June 10th.  Heck practically June 11th from where I sit.  Did y'all know that?

Goodness, it's been a busy couple of days... Randy's in Taiwan, heading back tomorrow and we've been busy with our summer vacation planning.

But, in the middle of all of that, we've had lots of fun.  Been swimming, biking, running and hitting the local parks.

Randy bought us girls mountain bikes about a month ago and already twice this week, I've loaded the bikes in the back of the van and we've hit the biking trails around town and the nearby town.  LOTS of fun.  I never thought I'd enjoy bike riding so much, but I truly have.

Last weekend, my friend Cyndi and her kids Joey, Suzie and Elizabeth came for a visit!  We were so excited to see them.  Even though, they only live in Houston, we still don't get together but about once a year.  Sad, I know.

Anyway, I've known Cyndi since her oldest was 6 months old, so not only do we go way back, but the kids go way back as well.  What's nice is that their friendship (much like Cyndi's and mine) is seamless and we all pick up where we leave off every time we get together with them.  That's the mark of a true friendship!

Some exciting news on our front... Elisan made the TOP soccer team in her age division.  In two years, she has worked her way up from the third team to the first team.  That is virtually unheard of around here... but I tell you what, she has put forth the work required to make the leap she made and we are incredibly proud of her.  Her new coach is a fellow by the name of Wolfgang Sünholz a former professional soccer player.  (He even played with Pelé, probably the most famous Brazilian footballer of all times, back in the 70's.)

Speaking of Elisan, for posterity sakes, I wanted to publicly commend her for a fabulous school year.  This year, Elisan received the HIGHEST AVERAGE award for 5 of her classes - Math, Science, English/Language Arts, Literature and History.  At one point, they just asked her and another boy to just stay on the stage as they passed out her awards!  Talk about a proud mama moment!

Kyla was in the school's talent show the last day of school.  She was part of a trio of girls who danced and sang on stage!  She was so cute and I'm very proud of her for getting up there and performing.  (She says she suffers from "stage fright".... um, okay?)

And finally, I leave you with this... we had a free weekend morning and I brought the girls out to have their (better late than never) Spring pictures.

My girls are growing up... sniff, sniff.  (And, yes, they are wearing a smidgen of make up.)

Y'all, bear with me...

Seems like every year about this time, I'm compiling a huge blog entry to memorialize a combined 2-3 weeks of busyness.  This year is no different.

So, y'all, bear with me...  Plus, there will be a lot of "Proud Mama Moments" (or PMM for short)

April, our school had their annual Jog-A-Thon.  Such a fun time for the Elementary and Middle School kids.  Elisan and Kyla were amazing... by running NON-STOP for 30 minutes.  PMM for sure!

Next up, Kyla had her "Heroes of the Faith" presentation at school.  She chose Joni Eareckson Tada as her hero.  Joni was in a diving accident at age 18 and broke her back, rendering her paralyzed from the neck down.  Despite it all, she became a world renown painter (painting with a brush in between her teeth) and has a world-wide Christian ministry called "Joni & Friends".   Kyla has been working on this presentation since January, which included research, illustrations, writing, oral presentation and publishing a book regarding her hero.  PMM! (Here's a picture of Kyla giving her presentation, along with a photo of her with her classmates dressed as their hero.

 

This girls' last regular season soccer game was in San Antonio and my brother and his family joined us for the game.  The girls were happy to see them and they both played well that day.

April 30th was our ACAA District Track Meet for area private Christian schools.  It was fun coaching the team again this year, and although the girls did not bring home the first place trophy this year, they did bring home the third place trophy, which in my opinion is still AWESOME!

Discus Girls

 Elisan throwing the discus. As tiny as she is, she did well

in this event... placing 10th out of 21 girls.

Elisan's throw: 33-04

800M girls

This was not a favorite event (800M) for Elisan, but she did

her best and that was all I ever wanted!

Elisan's time: 3:29.51

Elisan and a teammate from Elisan & Kyla's soccer team!

Summer attends one of the local private schools as well.

400M girls

Elisan's time: 1:30.49 

Lining up for the 1600M

PROUD MAMA MOMENT!

Elisan placed 5th place in the mile

with a time of 8:06.24.

Kyla's class went on a field trip to visit the homestead of early Texans dating back to 1850.  It was a nice fun field trip... not overly exhausting... just right!

 I love this picture, not because of Kyla but because of the two

silly boys sitting next to her!

 Here's Kyla climbing a pole to ring the cattle bell.
She was totally going for it,

until the tour guide made her climb down. 

Here's the whole class in front of the home.  

And finally, the Jog-A-Thon "Hummo" Ride is awarded to the kids who raise over $300 for the school's fund raiser.  PMM!

 Third Grade went to Gattiland for Lunch.

Middle Schoolers went to Starbucks for
an afternoon pick-me-up!
(I chaperoned this group and was able to
go along for the ride!)

Just to give you an idea of who busy this month is for us...  Here's what is coming up for this month:

• Award's Chapel (Elementary)
• 6th Grade Drama Presentation
• Awards Night (Middle School)
• Select Soccer Try-outs for both girls
• 2 Soccer Tournaments
• Finals & End of School Parties
• Randy squeezing in an overseas business trip

And once school is out, we have two weeks to recover from school before we hit the road on our family vacation to Yellowstone!  

Whew... makes me tired just thinking about all of it!

Oh, and check this out....

Traffic to my blog has been going crazy these past few weeks because of a simple Teacher Appreciation freebie download I blogged about a couple of years ago.  It's kinda funny how one simple idea took off like it did.  I suppose that's the beauty of Pinterest for you.

Blog Brain Dump

Y'all.  I'm tired. It literally takes every fiber of my being to drag myself out of bed.   As usual, this time of year (mid-April to the end of May) is our busiest season of the year.  And let me tell you... I will be so happy when summer break finally arrives.  I'm tired.  The girls are tired.  Randy is tired.  We're all just tired.

So, yeah...

I am coaching 5th and 6th grade track again this year.  For the record, I love coaching track.  It's so much fun and I truly enjoy seeing these kids find an event they love and do well in.  But, goodness, I'm at the school 4 days a week during their PE times this year and needless to say it's chaotic.  In case you didn't know.... we live quite a ways away from school, so oftentimes I will just stay at the school until it is over because well... the cost of gas is nuts and burning that much gas going back and forth from home to school multiple times a day... it just ain't worth it.  So, my house and laundry are suffering the most these days.  Plus our diets... because we have had to eat a lot on the road, which is YUCK... but you do what ya gotta do.

I have one more full week of track practices before our meet and then, it will be May 1st and that's when the real chaos begins with end of school stuff.

Like I said before... summer can't come soon enough.

And, then there's soccer.  Soccer everyday... soccer on the weekends... soccer games 100 miles away... indoor/outdoor practices...  we are the family that lives and breathes soccer right now.. which is kind of embarrassing.  I mean... we have become the family that most people, "tsk, tsk" about.  Part of me wants to say... just wait 'til your kid is old enough and you are running them around to their various practices, meetings, events, etc.  And, it doesn't just have to be sports related.  It can be orchestra, drama, dance, chess club, Girl Scouts, etc.  Ours just happens to be soccer.  So, hold your "tsk, tsk" for now.

But, y'all, as crazy as our life seems right now, I know looking back on it, perhaps the only thing I wish I would have done differently was NOT complain about it... because truth be told... this is just a season of life and I know I will miss it once it's over.  (Sniff)  Makes me want to have more kids so I can relive it.  (Did I just say that out loud?)

My Elisan has been such a joy lately.  She's becoming so mature and interesting to talk to.  I pray that the joy of these pre-teen years are an indication of what her actual teenage years will be.  She's so easy to get along with, doesn't give us a lick of trouble and is just a true blessing to us.  I am immensely proud of her in every area of her life.  I know there are times when she gets frustrated or feels "wronged", but I pray that these times will build up her inner strength rather than tear her down.

Stepping onto my soapbox... I think a lot of what we are doing at home... no cell phones, no texting, no Facebook, no instagram, no sleepovers, limited television and music influence has made a big difference in how she behaves with us and in public situations.  Now, I realize... as she gets older, we'll have to loosen the reigns a bit and allow her more privileges, but for now... it works for us.  Plus, she's too busy with school and soccer (and too exhausted in the evening) to even think about the stuff her friends are consuming themselves with.  And too busy to spend time with kids who may or may not be the best influence on her (in actions, words and attitude.)

And Kyla Mae... she's just so darn cute and funny and happy... but I will add sassy to the mix.  Kyla is a bit more impressionable and I've seen it affect her this year.  She's glommed onto one particular girl this year, who by all accounts, is a nice enough girl, but who most certainly has "attitude" with a capital "A".  I've had to call Kyla out on several things that she has said or mimicked in direct relationship to this child's behavior and let her know that what she is doing is not acceptable.  Y'all.  This has been hard to do.  Because NEVER have I seen such an influence attach itself to my child.  I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, these two will be separated next year in the 4th grade.  I need to start sending up prayers NOW for this.

In soccer news, Kyla and Elisan are both doing so well.  Randy and I could not be happier with how they both are progressing.  Kyla is definitely talented in all things soccer and has potential to be a great athlete.  Elisan still has to work hard, but I know that her hard work will eventually pay off.

I leave you with this.... Kyla invited her third grade teacher to her soccer game last weekend and SHE CAME.  Miss Hurt has been such a blessing to Kyla this year and we're so blessed to have her a part of our lives.  Miss Hurt is an amazing Christian woman, who is passionate about God and His children.   Her expectations are high and all of her students strive daily to meet or exceed her expectations.  They love her just as much and she loves them.

Whole lotta nuthin'

Ever since my friend (who shall remain nameless) mentioned that my ever popular "Blog Brain Dump" title gave her bathroom imagery, I've been hesitant to use it.  (Use it... the title... not USE IT... the bathroom.)

So,  I have no title other than what you see.  For now, it will do, but I'll be honest... it doesn't speak to me.

Randy's company sent him a FITBIT Ultra about a month ago as a nice little gift.  It's supposed to be a "we're a company that believes in healthy lifestyles" type thingy, which... hey, is pretty cool if you ask me.  Anyway... since Randy is not into wearing a little gadget that tracks his every move, he passed it along to me.

I have to say, I like the FITBIT. It will estimate your burned calories for the day, track your sleep (and sleep pattern  - awake/sleep), track floors climbed, etc.  You can also log your food intake via desktop or app and it will track your caloric intake.  Pretty nifty.  (Calculations are based on your age, weight, height, etc.)

Might be a cool little Christmas present for that hard to buy for person on your list!

Okay, so this is going to seem like a weird little story, but here goes.  So, I was browsing Pinterest the other day and a friend pinned a cute little pup on her Christmas Wish List.  The pup was a white fluffy and he looked remarkably like TJ... only the breed was a Coton De Tulear.  I had never heard of this breed of dog, but couldn't get over the fact that that dog looked so much like TJ.

See, here's the thing... I've always had a sneaking suspicion that TJ was not a true Maltese.  Why?  Well, because his coat is not silky like a Maltese's coat.  Instead, it is cottony and puffy.  Second, Maltese dogs are small and petite averaging between 5-7 lbs.  TJ is a whopping 10lbs.  Still small, but not Maltese small.  Even the vet agreed he was too big to be a Maltese.

We adopted TJ from a family that bought the dog from a lady who claimed that he was Maltese, but they didn't have papers yadda, yadda, yadda... so, it was by word of mouth that he was a Maltese.  I can just hear it now...

"Well, Bubba, whatcha think this here dog is?"
"I don't know Sissy... must be one of those fancy Maltese dogs because of it's white hair, dontcha think?"
"Well, I'll be... you must be right about that. He IS a Maltese dog then."

And so... TJ was declared a Maltese.

But, after researching the Coton De Tulear, we're under the distinct impression that he is NOT a Maltese, but a Coton.  Here's why...

• Coton is the French word for Cotton. Like the name suggests the most conspicuous feature of the Coton De Tulear is its coat, which is cottony or fluffy rather than silky. (White Fluffy Cotton)
• Height:  10-12 inches; Weight:  12-15 pounds (Yep and Yep!)
• Very friendly, gentle, affectionate, and alert. Very attached to its home and master. The Coton makes a great watchdog. (Like he's only the BEST dog in the world!)
• He's related to the Bichon Frise and Maltese but has his own distinct style. (Well, duh...)
• When your doorbell rings, the Coton may bark once, then politely accompany you to the door to greet your guest.  (I could have written this description myself!  This is exactly what TJ does!)
• He likes to "talk" to his people, using his own special language of unique vocalizations, including grunts and growls.   (Yep... he "talks" to us often.) 

And here's some pictures to prove it...
 

I mean... c'mon.  Any one of these dogs could pass for TJ, right?


So, we've decided that TJ is a Coton dog and will henceforth refer to him as such.  Who's gonna dispute it?

Formula One is coming up in less than two weeks.  Unfortunately, BOTH girls have soccer tournaments the SAME. EXACT. WEEKEND. as the race.  Que lastima.  Luckily, it's a three day event with pre-race practice sessions on Friday.  So, we've decided to take the girls out of school so we can at least enjoy some F1 festivities, since we can't attend the actual race.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but we have front row seating in the main grandstand right in front of the finish line and pit crew area.  Should make for a fun and exciting day!

We'll be right here... with ear plugs...

 

That's all for today my friends.  Enjoy this beautiful day that the Lord has made.

Blog Brain Dump Bullet Style

I'm not feeling very wordy today... probably because I'm just too darn tired.

Here goes:

• We celebrated Kyla's birthday on Sunday by bringing her to Sea World.  She rode the "Steel Eel" twice and was standing in line to ride it a third time and opted to get out of line.  She had had enough.  I'm proud of her for going on it at all. 
• We have two more volleyball games left in our season.  The girls are definitely improving and it's been fun... BUT, I'll be glad when it's over because I'm worn out.
• We had Elisan officially tested for gluten sensitivity last week.  She tested negative! Yay!  
• Kyla has begun reading "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder at school.  Lord, help me.
• I have my very first family photo shoot set for this weekend.  Thankfully, the family is the most beautiful family you could ever imagine so I could probably take pictures with my phone and they would turn out amazing.  I'll keep you posted how it goes.
• Look... if you are cutting through parking lots to avoid traffic lights then please realize I'm using you as an example to my kids by telling them that you think you are better than everyone else and that you think your time is more valuable than those around you. And, I'm also telling them that you are a law breaker who is a big 'ol loser and that you are not more important than the rest of us. Just sayin'...
• I love, love, love Kyla's 3rd grade teacher.  I want to be her BFF.  Unfortunately, I'm old enough to be her mom and she'd probably think that's weird.
• Our kids go through phases where they prefer one parent over the other... I'm sure it's something most kids do from time to time.  I'll admit, I'm always a little heart broken when daddy is the favored parent.  But, lately, it's been ME, ME, ME!  Elisan and I have been super tight lately and I'm loving every. single. second. of. it.  It's bliss and I'm soaking it in.
• I have plantar fasciitis which is a fancy way of saying I have heel pain resulting from inflammation of the tendon in my arch. Which makes it hard to run.  Actually it makes it hard to walk, stand, etc.  And, from what I've read, it can be hard to treat.  Great.
• Both girls are doing exceptionally well in soccer this season.  Makes this soccer mama proud.
• I'll be forty in 53 days or 1285 hours or 77127minutes or if you want to get technical...4,627,618seconds... now, 4,627,596 seconds.
• I finished all 8 seasons of Grey's Anatomy a week ago.  I think it took me about 3 months.  That's an insane amount of television to watch... Just sayin'...
• And, I'm just sayin' that I have no more to say.

Summer Fun

The girls and I just got back from visiting our parents.  Every summer, the girls are "lavished" by the grandparents (both sets!) with fun trips, events and cool stuff to do.  This year was no different.

 We took a trip to Galveston.  The girls especially loved the ferry boat... go figure!  The girls also posed in front of Randy's all time favorite store... "Col. Bubbie's Strand Surplus Senter".  They sell military gear.

 Here's a picture of a yellow and black swallowtail butterfly.  Pretty

 The girls spent some time with their cousin Brandon, who is currently living with my folks for the summer while he works at one of the local plants.

And finally, while we were away, I got a call from the orthodontist's office notifying me that Elisan's design for a t-shirt contest WON first place!  The prize??  A Kindle Fire!  She's super excited (as you can imagine!)

Way to go, Elisan!

Blog Brain Dump {... a and sigh of relief...}

I've got a doozie of a story to tell you. It's so weird that Randy and I are still scratching our heads over it.

Saturday morning, I woke up from a really vivid dream. I rolled over and nudged Randy awake and I told him about my dream. I dreamt that he was offered a job in Denmark working for the same company he worked for previously.

(For those of you that don't know, Randy took a job in Denmark over 8 years ago. The job was a temporary assignment and we were there for only 6-7 months, but we have very fond memories of the overall experience.)

Well, Randy called me yesterday morning from work and he said, "Tell me about your dream about a job offer in Denmark again." I told him and then he said, "I just got offered a job in Denmark." (The job was at the same company he worked for previously, but this time, he was offered a manager position.)

As you can imagine, I began freaking out! I mean, who dreams about a job offer in Denmark only for it to come to pass 3 days later?! (And really, 8 years later from the time he first worked there?)

Y'all, I was ready to pack my bags, sell the house and move! I was so excited about the prospect of moving back to Denmark, especially now that the girls are 8 and 10 years old (not 8 weeks and 2 years old) that I could hardly sit still. Randy even seriously considered the job offer, but ultimately, he turned down the position.

I know that moving to Denmark right now is not feasible with our current lifestyle, kids established in school and all of the other things we have going on at the moment. But, don't think for a second I wasn't giddy with excitement. In fact, I'm a little sad that Randy could not accept the offer.

But seriously... the dream foreshadowing the offer? That's very strange. (Anyone have any thoughts about this?!)

So, sigh of relief... my computer is fixed! Apparently, I clicked on a rogue link that inevitably sucked the life out of my computer. What's weird is that I'm pretty good about NOT clicking on random/weird links. Randy thinks the rogue link was disguised as a link from our virus scanner. Clever, no? Those computer hackers are getting too smart for us.

After reformatting the hard drive, I can happily say that my computer is back to normal. And I cannot say enough about having a back up system for your computer. Had it not been for my massive external hard drive... well, let's just say... I would still be in bed right now... grieving.

The moral of the story is... get thyself to an electronic store and buy a big 'ol back up drive and save everything there.

And I leave you with this. Another installment of "Not For The Squimish"!

These photos are from the weekend games. Elisan is number 33. That's my girl!

Blog Brain Dump

So, yeah...It's another blog brain dump. And as I've mentioned before, this is my very favorite kind of update.

Random.

It's my middle name.

Not really.

But, it has the first four letters of Randy's name. Does that count?

So, let's see...

I got a new pair of running shoes. My old Asics were beginning to create problems for me, so it was time to get a new pair. There is nothing I loathe more than spending a lot of money of running shoes. But, it's a necessary evil and in the grand scheme of workout paraphernalia, it's a relatively cost efficient purchase. And, I do keep them for about a year, so that helps ease my thrifty wallet.

This time, I went with Brooks Trance 10's. I know that means nothing to you, but they were the equivalent to the Asics, as far as style, fit, support, etc. And, I got them on sale... yay me.

I ended up buying a wide because I have bunions. And for whatever reason, they must be getting bigger? Is that possible? I mean, I've never really researched bunions, even though I have them and they seem to be getting in the way of my boot wearing this winter. In other words, I'm starting to notice them.

My SIL had bunion surgery two years ago and was on crutches for 3 months as part of the recovery process. Y'all, I can't do anything for three months, much less be on crutches.

So, WIDE shoes it is.

And, all is right again in my shoe world.

Elisan had three soccer games this weekend. Thank goodness, they only lost one of the three games. I just can't take losing games. And double thank goodness we (her parents) haven't ruined her sports experience for her (yet). I'm sure that day is coming. She just likes to play and have fun with her friends. We just like to see them win. Hence, the ruining it part of the process.

But, speaking of sports, the girls began a 6-week volleyball clinic at one of the local area volleyball clubs. Apparently, to have any decent shot at playing high school volleyball, one must begin their volleyball career as early as possible. This was all news to me. When I was in school, if could serve the ball with a modicum of accuracy, you were in. Not so today.

There were 50 girls in Elisan's age group - 5th and 6th grade. And not to cast stones at any one particular group of people... but, it had an odd feel to it. Like competition cheer or something like that. I've never seen so many side pony-tails in all my life... and I'm a fan of the side pony. But, in small doses.

To break it down, I felt as if I was throwing my girls to the "wild" without warning. Randy even noticed the vibe. And that's saying a lot. (It's a whole lot different from the soccer the girls have been playing since they were five years old. You don't see many side ponies in soccer, that's all I'm sayin'.) And YES, I know Texas is the apex of "competition-fill-in-the-blank-here" so it should have been no surprise that there would be a plethora of side ponies and stage moms.

I'm sure that unless we draw attention to the "vibe" they won't notice and before you know it, this too shall pass. Maybe volleyball will pass too. (Don't tell Randy I said that though... he's the volleyball player in the house.)

And that's all I'm gonna say 'bout that.

The long awaited post!

Yea, I know, y'all've been waiting with bated breath for this post. The post that should be entitled... "What the heck I've been doing for the last two weeks or more!"

Let me say, this is the FIRST DAY in a long list of days that we are staying home and NOT going anywhere. School begins next week and we are finally done with everything. Indoor soccer, YMCA Volleyball, 10th birthday party (and party prep...more on that later), traveling, etc. We just needed a DOWN DAY.

This in essence is going to be a big ol blog brain dump. So, skim through the parts you aren't interested in...

Class Reunion
My 20 year high school reunion was two weeks ago. Let me be the first to say that it was awesome seeing people I haven't seen since the last 10 year class reunion (or since high school graduation.) I loved catching up and meeting peoples' families. But, as expected, I mostly visited with people that I was closest to in high school. By 10 p.m., I was ready to go. So much of ME has changed, there isn't much commonality any longer. And that's okay! I didn't expect it and I wasn't disappointed!

All in all, I'm glad I went, it was everything I expected it to be and at times it was MOST entertaining.

And since there was much discussion as to what I would wear to my class reunion, you'll be happy to know that I found the cutest dress at White House Black Market. It's so stinking cute, very flattering and can either be dressed up or dressed down. I wore this dress with some jeweled flip flops for a more casual dressed down look!

And, this dress - Voile Printed Sundress - is now on sale for $60.00! Don't worry, I got it on sale too. Not for $60.... but, close!

Randy & Erica, 8/6/11

10th Birthday Party
Elisan's 10th birthday party was last Friday night. Because we're so much alike, she's been planning this party for over 4 months. She had very specific ideas as to what she wanted to do, how she wanted it to look and who was invited. (I love that about my type-A personality daughter!)
So, I began working on all the party prep stuff at least a month ago... maybe more. Here's how it turned out.

The free PLH digital kit is still available for download here.

This was such an easy party! We served pizza for dinner, then brought the girls down to the neighborhood pool for swimming. After swimming, Randy and I set up a 14 topping Sundae Buffet for ice cream sundaes! The ice cream sundaes were a HUGE hit and I think this may be our new go-to idea for birthday parties. The girls finished up the evening with presents and karaoke. Fun was had by all!

Craft Tutorial

For the party, I also worked on a craft project. I made magnets for the goodie bags using round wooden pieces, Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and the PLH round circles that I designed. The circles can also be used as stickers, tags or cupcake toppers.

This project is pretty self explanatory. My only change in the project would be to use white school glue, rather than a glue stick. I had a few that began pulling away from the wood one they dried completely. The ones I did with the white school glue did not pull away.

Also, in photo 3, on the top row, I'm sanding the paper edges for a smooth finish. Hot glue a magnet on the back and there ya go!

This was a CHEAP, fun and easy craft. A great take-away for the girls and something that will last a long time.

That's all for now folks. I'll leave you with this... a picture of my sweet little guy, TJ. Now, if I can only get him to NOT poop in the upstairs family room. Sigh...

At least he's consistent. And for my sake, at least we can gate off the upstairs!