Here we go round the Mulberry Bush....

So we are getting chubby together. So.... we are now officially exercising and eating better together. The husband finally seems to be ready to take it seriously. He's been more aware of his calories (and protruding belly) and seems to be ready to "do this". It was kind of fun doing our old people stretches and exercises together tonight and feeling like we can do this together. I did it alone, but without his willingness to live and eat the same lifestyle, I just gained it all back. It was too easy to eat out together and let him baby me with all these treats, etc. No can do. Sometimes, but not so much.
My hip is still bothering me, but it's going to do that whether I exercise or not and I can't wait any longer to start exercising again, so we're just going for it. Sunday was so beautiful that it inspired both of us. We were going to go play some pinochle with my mom and dad but dad got called out on the ambulance. We did enjoy a beautiful, lazy Sunday with just each other anyway. Kind of weird not seeing the kids, but it was still nice. We even went for a drive and scoped out some potential houses and crossed some off of our favorites list.
With spring arrives a new sense of hope and things to come. We are both ready to move into a bigger house and have a place for the grandkids to really play. Patience.... I know. We are headed to Seattle next week and we're hoping for good weather so we can drive. I'm looking forward to seeing my best friend while we're up there and maybe even go snowmobiling with them up at their cabin if the roads are good.
Oh, and I must mention that I got to see Jac this weekend-- a former player. She is one of those kids that I became very close with and she's married now and soon to be headed into her final year of college. I loved visiting with her, catching up, and just seeing her grow into the wonderful adult I always knew she would be. I just love her and it helped fill my cup. Another thing that fills my cup is watching Daisha play in her basketball games and all the little cousins hanging out while she plays. And this Saturday she is getting baptized. What a special day. Tomorrow we go pick out her dress and I just can't believe she's that old already.
So many blessings and I get to share each step with my forever love. :) I'm a lucky girl.

Basketball, Blah Weather, and a New Doo

Well, the month is almost over finally and I will try to get back on track with my blog. What a slacker! Our varsity team made it to state. (Hooray!) We ended up bringing home the Consolation trophy for the state and it's the first trophy Meridian's had since the early '80's so it was quite the big deal. I just love the whole state experience and even though we didn't get to watch as many of the other teams as we usually do, it's something the husband and I both really enjoy being a part of. In fact we talked about how when we get too old to coach we'll be one of those host families (true story) that hosts a team. I would so spoil them.

I also love eating the cinnamon roasted almonds, drinking way too much chocolate milk, and visiting with Deb and Moose every year. Deb and I always fall right back into where we left when I was her assistant. It's hard to believe she was my coach in high school because now she just feels like one of my closest friends. Perhaps that's because she was very young when she was my coach. At any rate, we always have fun with them.

Then of course there's always the thrill of the games. And wouldn't you know it that it'd come down to Eagle v. Meridian again for the trophy. Repeat. We both get in the car-- one wearing blue and one wearing green. We part at the door. One comes home a winner-- one... not a winner. Repeat. Eagle goes down. Meridian wins! (crowd noise). And now I drive awkwardly home after school wondering what to do with myself. Okay, well, not completely true. Thursday night auction.... I'm Back! American Idol... I'm back! Grandkids.... I'm still here. :) We had Maddy and Daisha over last weekend and Maddy is such a giggler (until papa tells her she has to go night night). Mommy, daddy, mommy daddy. Too funny. Did I mention Daisha is playing basketball! :) :) :) Had her first game last Saturday and yes, even made a basket. She has quite a cheering section as well. With her dad and Papa as her coach, it could get intense. Well, as intense as a 2nd grader can get. :) Bradley Bean also had his first birthday and Jeremy BBQ'd for that and Bradley loved his cake.

Mandy is still pregnant, which is good since she gave us a little scare about having the baby too soon. She went to the doctor Wednesday and the boys came to school with me for a little while. That was entertaining. :) Then they MADE me take them to Krispy Kremes (I just realized I've never spelled that). The baby is still measuring a little small which is VERY odd considering she births giants. Keep them in your prayers.

Jason just happens to be going to the same conference in Seattle that the husband and I are going to so we will all get to be in Seattle at the same time. I'm pretty excited about that trip! I'm also excited about my new haircut. I always get it cut and sometimes highlighted as soon as basketball is over and the ponytail is no longer my most popular hairdo.

I'm ready for spring. I'm ready to be in a bigger house where I can put all my stuff away. I'm ready to just feel more sunshine pretty much. Tomorrow is Friday and I am so thankful. Primary Activity Saturday. Daisha's bball Saturday. March is next week! Hooray! May the whisperings of spring fill your heart with anticipation and the new month bring you new blessings! Don't beware the Ides of March! WElcome March! (Yes, I'm in the middle of Julius Caesar presentations). :)

Why is February so long when it's so short?

February is always one of the longest months of the year for me. It's the time of year when we have all crashed from our holiday highs and we eat too many chocolate hearts and we are so tired of cold weather. Spring Fever!
Now that I've vented...
The team I am assisting with made it to state. yeah! Big week next week then basketball is over. Well high school basketball. The husband and our oldest son are coaching the oldest granddaughter's YBA team. I simply cannot believe I have a grandchild old enough to FINALLY play. Grandpa said they made her cry though so I am nervous. It was nothing serious (they told her to box out)but needless to say, crying made both men uncomfortable. I secretly smiled (well it's not secret anymore) not because she cried-- that made me sad-- but because they always make a big deal out of it when one of my players cry. Plus neither one of them like drama. :) Then we went to Jason's game tonight and he coaches boys (high school age) and one of his players cried. Okay boys.... I do not want to hear about me anymore!
Jason's boys won and are headed into districts. Good job j-bob. I can hardly wait to see the granddaughter play (and the boys coach) this next weekend too. And hopefully we are bringing home some hardware for the team I'm with.
On an non-basketball note I decided that I needed to stop waiting for the hubby (and my hip to heal) to start exercising again. I tried to get him to go shoot around with me this morning but he drug his feet so I decided to go in the other room and just do the 20 min. workout that I used to do almost every day last year. Then I decided he needed to do it too. The coach in my took over and I whipped him into shape. I clearly told him we were doing three sets and after the first one he was asking for a timeout to get a drink etc. and I said, "Nope! Not till we're done!" He acted like he was dying but honestly we're talking very low impact stuff-- not PX90 or anything remotely close to that. Then I told him we were going to clean the house real fast (that burns calories too). And.... I said, "no pop today" and he did everything I asked him to. He was a wee bit grouchy this evening but I bet he sleeps well tonight and I felt a lot better after doing the exercises.
Rellie and Kayson came to spend the night and we watched Maddi and Abbi Jo while Jason and Anne went to Stake Conference, so it's been a full but blessed day, but tomorrow we will rest.

Checking in

I will return to being funny or reflective after the basketball season is over. The goal is to end at state. It has been an interesting experience/journey as always and having another grandbaby on the way is another "soon to be" journey we are awaiting as well. Sickness, pregnancy, work, weird weather, and a small house. Is it summer yet? I love summer. This is random, but reflects my current schedule/state of mind. I love my family and I'm looking forward to both Seattle and Italy. That's all for now folks.

It's the thought that counts.... or is it?

Well the crazy nails didn't help us beat them. In fact, we played terrible. All three teams had a bad night. It happens. At least I tried something new. And I enjoyed the activity. I give 100% at every game. I expect players to do the same. Their 100% has different results based on their ability, but I only get upset when someone doesn't give 100%. I take that back, I also get upset when they make excuses for not giving 100%. That said, sometimes it's one of those nights when you just go "okay, the kids who don't get to play a lot.... you're on". If the top kids are getting beat and the game gets out of reach in the 4th, you have to let them (the bench kids) play. It makes the score uglier sometimes, but at least they get to play. What a rollercoaster this game has been in my life. You have to take the dips with the high rises though. It makes you keep working at the game and yourself. :) Monday's a new day and the scoreboard starts over for the next game. Thank goodness! And my nails will be plain again. :)

A New Year! A fun team bonding activity for basketball

We are already putting together our trip to Italy. I know it's still seven months away, but you have to get your passports six months in advance and figure out if you're going to go with a tour or on your own and where you want to visit while you're there, etc. We have had fun looking at all of our options and realizing that we will be there before we know it. Turning 50 this summer will be so much easier knowing that we are able to enjoy the fruits of our labors these past 50 years.

Christmas break was wonderful. We had days of crazy busyness and days of nothingness (relaxation). I have returned to school with new energy and ambition and ideas. We are also planning a trip to Seattle in March and we are combining business with pleasure as we attend a conference and new technology for the classroom. There are devices and software applications that are breaking edge and we will have the opportunity (together) to try some of these out and learn about them for each of our school districts. At the same time we will make some evening time to visit my best friend from high school. She and her husband live in Seattle. Plus, we'll have some "us" time. I am very excited for that trip as well.

Basketball has been a rollercoaster, but our varsity program is really doing well. I believe we are in 2nd place now. We've won about 6 in a row I believe. We have a game tonight, so I am excited to see how all of our teams do. Our JV team had a great team bonding activity last night. Good thing... we play the number one, undefeated team tonight. We almost had them last time, so we're going for it (as always). I dreamed up this crazy activity that I thought they might think was a little "corny" but they already know I'm a little "out there" anyway, so I thought I'd try it. I called it "because I love you". Most girls, no... all girls have insecurities. We also get caught up in our stats and wins and losses and at this point in the season we can start thinking that we're on our own islands if we're not careful. So, I thought we needed to know that through this journey called a season, we have grown close together and that the life lessons are as important as the trophies or even absence of trophies. It's my job to make this a journey they will cherish, win or lose, and I have been doing things to create memories, but I've never done this one before, so I was a little apprehensive.

So... here's what we did: I had them each bring a bottle of fingernail polish. Yes, fingernail polish. We went out in a large hallway (for ventilation purposes) and I have 11 players, but one just left for a national cow convention, yes, cow convention. Anyway, I became the #11 person since she was gone. This actually worked out even better in hindsight. That means we each paint one fingernail on each player (because you don't paint your own). As you paint your "special color" on their nail you must tell them "I love you because....." and they fill in the rest. The conversations I heard as I joined in were very touching and very needed. I saw girls tearing up and I even teared up as they said "Coach, I love you because..." I even had some insecurities dispelled because of what followed the word because. We are all loving by nature (especially when we know we are loved back) and I watched the smiles grow and the laughter get louder as we finished. Not only were nails crazy funny, but the we felt better on the inside as we headed to practice.

Before the nail activity I also did another activity. It was a "normal" one that has been done before, but I adapted it for basketball. I had 10 brown lunch sacks with a heart and different number on the front. Inside each bag was a small bag of valentine hearts-- the hard ones. One bag though had a 6 pack of lip glosses in it plus the hearts. They each picked a bag and I began reading a "left-right" story that I wrote and each time they heard the word "left" or "right" they had to pass their bag that way in the circle. Most people know this gift activity. The story was about having heart and the heart of a champion. When they ended, I asked them about the bag that was different. Some were afraid it was bad because it was different, some wanted it more because they thought it was better. We talked about trusting, following my instructions/coaching anyway, and about hidden rewards. Then we ate pizza, then we did the nails.

At the end of practice I always ask my captains to talk. One of my captains said that already, even at practice, when she looked at her crazy nails that she remembered what each person had said to her and it made her feel better and made her want to work harder for her team. Now we'll see if our crazy nails help us knock of #1 tonight of if they just make us smile. Either way, a larger victory was won last night. I need to remember that as a coach.

I also was SO grateful to have my son Jeremy (and Daisha and Tucker) come to practice to help out last night. Just having him there made me feel less tired and also gave me the opportunity to do post/guard splits and do some much-needed work with my posts. Thank you Jer!

Spontaneous Road Trip- Christmas Day

Christmas Day was very nice. An old(er) person's definition of nice.
#1- We slept in. No late night wrapping or early morning unwrapping.
#2- We had a nice quiet breakfast together as sweethearts.
#3- We visited each child's house and delivered each grandchild's special bag from Mem and Papa. No gifts to wrap and no messes to clean. We left while the children were still smiling.
#4- After visiting all the children, we went to my mom and dad's for dinner.
#5- We got to see two of my nephews (one will soon leave for Germany)
#6- We got to see my brother again and some family friends
#7- We decided to go see Greg's mom too, so we headed to Utah and surprised her. Boy was she surprised when she opened the door.
#8- We got to see Greg's stepbrothers and sisters
#9- His mom and stepdad cooked us a very nice breakfast the next morning
#10- We all went to an early movie together (We Bought a Zoo) and it was good!
#11- On the way home we shopped at 4 DI's, saw some beautiful country and got some great books for Jeremy.
It was a nice Christmas and a fun spur of the moment trip. I love my sweetie.

Christmas Program 2011

Some highlights of the day/night included the following:
- Walking in to the church and finding it all decorated very nicely already (Thank you Mandy and Russ. Thank you sweetie for helping them with the set up too). I was off getting the food (which I bought prepared instead of cooking this year (thank you Costco).
- Having a picture slide show that I didn't have to prepare and that had great music and much fancier transitions than I would have done)- thank you Jeremy and Stacy
- Having Anne and her family (and Jason) take care of the singing so we could keep the spirit of Christmas in the building (it would have left if I had done the singing)
- Having Rellie sing and the rest of the grandkids (when they could get the microphone away from Rellie)
- Watching Kayson scatter when Santa arrived!
- Having Greg be Grinch
- Having Jeremy, Jason, and Bob (my brother) be the three wisemen
My brother found out when he walked in from doing guard duty at Gowen Field and I said, "You're a wiseman" (smile, smile). What a good sport. And one of my favorite lines in the play I narrated.... I said, "And the wisemen rejoiced." There was a long pause as I waited for the wisemen to respond accordingly (as it was all unrehearsed). Then Jeremy says, "Woohoo" (such profound Biblical terms). :) Love you Jer!
- Having Greg's Dad and Trish there
- Having my mom and dad there
- Having Bob and Jackie and their little crew there
- Having Anne's family join us (and share of both their spirit and talents)
- Having Becky and Daisha in the Who up-dos
- Having Kayla, Travis, and Casey surprise us by being there (good surprise)
- Having all of my children and grandchildren there
- Having Stacy play Santa

Having a wonderful, unforgettable evening with my family, celebrating the birth of Christ.