Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to everyone! We had a fantastic time in Nashville with the kids and my parents. Grams and Papa ROCK!! We flew out early in the morning of the 26th, and we quickly adapted to "Grams World" which entitles you to desert after lunch! (Chris was amazed at desert after lunch!). We had taco soup, honey baked ham, Ho Ho Pie (Uncle Mark's fav - sorry Mark!), and peanut butter/chocolate fudge (Amy's personal fav). We had a great time playing with the Wii. Thursday, Mike went to visit a client, and we all went to see the Parthenon in Nashville (Athens of the South) and drove around downtown. We were trying to decide whether to continue driving, and Chris said, "We can always look it up on Google Earth which is just as good." The Parthenon is amazing to see, and I hadn't been there in a long time. The Athena statue inside was pretty amazing. It is 41 feet tall! On Friday, we made Christmas cookies and saw a movie (the girls saw Water Horse and the boys saw I am Legend). Water Horse was really cute. That night, we went to dinner at a Mexican place.

Saturday, we hung out, played Wii, and had a great time. Mississippi State played UCF anbd won!! Woo Hoo! Go SEC! Sunday, we all went to Opryland Hotel to view the Christmas decorations. Well, that was the goal anyway. The boys wanted to go see Ice (thankfully I didn't go as even Mike was cold in there!). While Mike, Chris, and Michael went to see Ice, Grams, Papa, Morgan, Katie, and I went to the mall. The girls were drawn to every webkinz and little kinz that was in the mall, and their Christmas money was burning holes in their pockets. Grams bought them one webkinz (they were only 12.99 for a Big kinz and 9.99 for a Little Kinz which is a DEAL), but they then proceeded to get many more. We finally convinced them to stop buying them. After arriving home, Mike, Chris, and I went to Best Buy with a detour through Macy's (poor Chris was so patient in getting to Best Buy). We found TravelPro suitcases for $59 AND we had a coupon for 15% off! What a deal.

Monday, Mike drove the kids to Dalton where their uncle picked them up. Morgan, Grams, and I went shopping. :) Then, my first boss called, and I went to see him. It was wonderful to catch up with him and to see his wife and son. He was a great mentor to me and certainly kept me out of a lot of trouble. That night, we went to dinner at Pie in the Sky Pizza. Ahhhh....pizza. I love pizza. Then, Mike and I went downtown for New Year's Eve. We planned to go to Tootsie's, but you had to have a reservation before 10. So, we went to Legend's. The band was fun, and I was amazed that it was non-smoking. Apparently, Tennessee passed a non-smoking ordinance, but then they left it optional (seems like it was already optional so that seems weird). Anyway, Legend's is now smoke-free. Odd. The Kentucky fans were there after the game, and they kept saying C-A-T-S, Cats, Cats, Cats as a cheer. It was cute, but the bands didn't play Rocky Top like they usually do because the Kentucky people were booing. I did meet a couple from Land O Lakes. Too funny.

Mike and I were about to leave, and my friend Street called. We love Street, and it was so great to see him and Breezy. We went back to Tootsie's. Finally, we left and had to do the traditional drive through White Castle on the way home. Unfortunately, I apparently had too much to drink and was hungover ALLLLLLLLL day on Tuesday. I also didn't realize that the Outback Bowl started at 10 Central instead of 11, so I was showering when it began. My Vols pulled it out (FINALLY won a bowl game again) and did their part for the SEC (7-2 so far proving that the SEC is best). I barely survived enough to watch the first half of the Georgia-Hawaii game (man did Georgia dominate that one - SEC, SEC, SEC!).

Wednesday was a good day back at work. Mike and I watched Biggest Loser. I felt bad for the girl in the green team. Her dad didn't want to be there, and she did. She worked SO hard, but she had the lowest weight loss of the girls. I don't like the purple girls. They are annoying, so I would rather them go home. Mike and I tried the new Zumba CD's I got for Christmas. I really like it! It will take me a while to get all of the moves down, but most of it is pretty straightforward. I gained 3 pounds in Nashville, but I lost it all already in 1 day - must have been mainly water. I think I am finally over my chest cold, so hopefully I can get back into my running this week.

Happy New Year - Looking Great in 08!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

We had a FANTASTIC Christmas. The kids got the things they wanted so badly - biggest hits - Morgan - Wii, Michael - Laptop, Katie - Laptop, Chris - CASH. :) Mike and Amy also made out like bandits with Santa's pack. :) The kids woke at 8am sharp (we told them they needed to wait until at least 8). They rushed downstairs and ripped through the presents so fast it was a blur. Michael, Chris, and Mike made us omelets for breakfast in their new omelet maker. They were delicious. For several hours, we played on the Wii. I have to admit, I was skeptical. I LOVE IT. It is amazing. We played it for hours. We picked our our "Miis", and we played mainly the sports games. Morgan and I played (if you can call mainly failing playing) Dance, Dance Revolution. We loved it, but we have a long way to go to be good at it. :) Abhijeet and Mark came over for dinner and more Wii play. I think Mark liked the massage chair more than the Wii, but we had fun playing.

We are heading to Grams and Papa's tomorrow morning bright and early, so I am signing off. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

We had a fantastic Christmas Eve. After work, Mike, the kids, Krishan, Abhijeet, and Mark went to see National Treasure 2. It was really good. In fact, I liked it better than the first one. Krishan thought there weren't enough clues to solve in the second one, but I really liked the story better I guess.

After the movie, we went through a Carrollwood neighborhood to see the Christmas luminaries. It was just beginning. They were pretty, but we couldn't figure out why they used brown bags instead of white ones. The white ones would have been spectacular. After the luminaries, we went to Idlewild Baptist Church for Christmas Eve. I haven't been to a Baptist church in a LONG time, and it was somewhat nice to go to a new place. It is ENORMOUS. I had heard it was big, but even the street going to it (a private road I guess) is huge. The santuary has 3 levels. It was very nice. However, it loses some of the personal feeling and I like being able to actually see the minister's face without seeing a jumbotron. It was a really nice service though, and he dedicated it to the miliary, police, and firefighters who are protecting our peace. He spoke about peace through Christ the Prince of Peace. It was a nice message. The kids had a story abou St. Nicholas. It was all about feeling good about giving and not just about receiving. I was glad that they had that message for my kids to hear and remember. :) Several times, the minister seemed finished and then he would put his stuff back down and begin again with what seemed like the same thing but phrased a little differently. That is when I remembered the number one reason why I am a Methodist. In Methodist churches, they know how to start and stop a service on time and still deliver their message. It made me think of my old minister who used to end his sermons with "We will finish here so we can beat the Baptists to the restaurants." I always got a big kick out of that. :) Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing the church, loved the message, glad the kids could see it. Then, we all lit the candles and the huge church was glowing. It was SO beautiful. We were in the balcony, so we could see it all. There was a Soldier's Silent Night poem set to music and then everyone sang Silent Night. It was very, very nice.

We came home and had dinner. The kids FINALLY got to open their one Christmas Eve present. Morgan opened her DS Game Catz. Katie got High School Musical 2 on DVD (the EXENDED version). Michael got Ratatouille, and Chris got Pro Street. We played Apples to Apples and made chocolate chip cookies (3 points EACH - I had 2). It was a really nice day.

Christmas in Florida

This Florida weather just doesn't really feel like Christmas. As many benefits as there are to living in the warm weather, I would not say Christmas is one of them. It is really hard to get that "Christmas feeling" with 80 degree temps. Not that I am really complaining, but it is just weird. I went shopping yesterday to wrap up my shopping. I was actually very surprised as the stores weren't even bad. I went in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Toys R Us, Walreens, and Target. Whew! I don't usually like to shop, but this kind of shopping is actually fun to me. I LOVE having the new stores in Wesley Chapel. It is so nice to drive 4.3 miles and be in the parking lot of these stores instead of driving 30 minutes. :)

Today, Mike and the boys made Taco Soup. I debated going to the doctor as I am still struggling with this stupid cough and chest cold. So much for stopping smoking having an effect. I thought it was supposed to be easier to shake these stupid coughs if you didn't smoke? Not that there aren't other benefits to not smoking and I will not ever let myself go back, but I am saddened that it didn't help the cough. :( Mike got the kids a gingerbread house to make. Obviously, I was the only one who remembers doing this last year. After they drove him crazy to eat it, he told them to eat it or he was going to break it. Smart kids. They ate it.

I decided that maybe avoiding exercise wasn't helping the stupid cough, so I asked the kids if they wanted to go ride bikes. We went for about 5 miles in about 38 minutes. On one turn through the neighborhood, this kid was playing with a skaeboard and it went flying in front of Katie's bike. Chris yelled a warning, but it didn't register with me until I saw the skateboard going next to her tire. She did a good job of reacting and turned sharply onto the sidewalk. She almost hit the electrical post and then swerved and almost hit a mailbox. I thought for sure that we were on our way to the ER. Thankfully, she reacted well. Later in the ride, she ran over something plastic and it made a loud noise and it went flying in the air. Of course, I nearly had a heart attack again. I think Katie just administered her version of a stress test.

After the ride, Morgan, Katie, and I went for a walk. We went a little over 2 miles in 50 minutes. They thought that was fast. :) It was fun though, and we enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights as they started to turn on. This one house in our neighborhood always has the best decorations. They have an amazing haunted house at Halloween, and at Christmas they have several blown up things, the grinch, and several others. Of course, they also have a lot of lights. Morgan keeps asking for snow in Nashville. Of course, I checked the weather and it looks like it will be in the 60's during the day most days. I think after all of us leave except for Morgan it MIGHT snow a little. I certainly hope it does. :)

I have to work tomorrow. At Bond, we either get the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve off. We don't get both. We do usually get to leave around 2:00. Mike thinks this is the worst thing in the world and asked what it was like to work at a third world company. Apparently, he has forgotten that I moved to Tampa and took this job for him. Of course, I would much rather have both off, but I did come from the hospital and before that the theater. Both of those jobs require you to work every other holiday at a minimum. So, give me your opinions. Is it that odd to have to work Christmas Eve?

Feeling Icky

I am still not feeling well. I was going to go to the doctor, but I had to go pick up a package for Mike. I got lost, and it took almost 2 hours. Morgan finished practice early, so I was very late to pick her up. The urgent care was closed. :( Hopefully, I will make it there tomorrow. This is such a busy time of year. I so need some down time!

We did our holiday lunch today at work, and we did the "White Elephant" or whatever name you call it. It is where everyone brings a gift and then draws a number. One by one people pick a present in order. Of course, the catch is that you can steal another present that has already been opened and each present can be stolen 3 times. We had relatively little stealing until the end. When there was ONE present left, we had stealing going on for about 10 minutes. I had a picture frame, and then I had picture frame coasters. Those were stolen, and I ended up with the movie "Sneakers." I have seen it, but it has been a long time. I can't wait to see it again (sorry Diane!)

Holiday Parties and Ears Pierced

The Youth Gold team had its holiday party. They had a fantastic time making earrings and decorating cookies. They did a secret santa gift exchange, and I am the lucky parent of a child with perfume and fragrant body lotion. She decided to try it in my car yesterday, so you now need a gas mask to ride in my car. :) Their gift from the coaches were wildcat pants as shown in the team picture. :) Of course, while we are there, Morgan is the ONLY kid who can't wear the earrings they made because she is the only one without her ears pierced. So, I finally break and decide that she can get them pierced.

Little Alexis also wanted hers pierced, so off we went to the Piercing Pagoda at Citrus Park Mall 10 days before Christmas. :) We had an entourage of Alexis K, Christina, Victoria, Coach Kelly, and Uncle Mark. Of course Denise, Mike, and I were there as the crazy parents. Kelly was our consultant. She was great at comparing the marks on the ears to make sure they were even. She held Alexis' hand, and she was so adorable as little silent tears came down. Morgan was next. I held her hand, but she was very stoic and didn't flinch or cry. I was shocked. I love how they say they are going to do it on 3, but then they really do it on 1 and 2. :) No chance to chicken out or move. :) Morgan is thrilled, and I have to admit she looks adorable with the earrings. I didn't make it to 12, but at least she made it to 9+. :)

Mara and Kraig had a holiday party at their house later in the night. There was a festive crew. Kraig was manning the Margarita machine. It was HOT. I am pretty sure I need one. :) Later in the night, Chris and Andrea (the girls coaches from Cheer Champs) came over. It was so wonderful to see them as the girls really miss them a lot. We tried to gang up on Chris to get him to come to the Wildcats, but I am not sure if we made any progress. :) Andrea is happily coaching in Brandon, so we didn't have any luck with her. The girls showed off their tumbling outside, and it was fun to watch them get so excited to show off their progress. The coaches really have an amazing impact on the kids in ways that are much greater than cheer and tumbling. They help them with goals, confidence, believing you can do it with hard work, positive attitude, and just having fun.

I was having my 2 point drinks of Bacardi and Diet Coke, and I must have had a few more than I thought. :) My purse left in great condtion, so it was immediately better than the last holiday party I attended. :) Thanks Mara and Kraig!!

Mini Gold Party

Tonight, the Mini Gold team had their Christmas party at Pump it up! Here are some pics from there. They decided to collect toys for needy children instead of doing a gift exchange. It was really nice.