Monday, February 28, 2011

Upward Finale!

Upward is officially over - I say that with a little sadness, and some happiness! We saw God's hand at work in people's lives. We saw Him change and transform adults, kids and families. We saw 5-year-olds learn how to dribble, and make thier first basket! We saw friendships being made. We have build better relationships with families in the community. I could go on and on about the impact this season had in our life and others'....Overall, it was a great season! It was a long road, though. Ha! And this weekend was CRAZY!

Nik pulled into town Thursday night about 10pm. I was still decorating the gym for the Awards Ceremony but made it home by 10:45pm. We stayed up a little late talking about our weeks and going over the plan for Friday and Saturday (or should I say - I was going over the plan...)!

Friday started out bright and early with some major shopping getting ready for Saturday's games.

Pic below of trip to Sam's. I forgot to take a pic of the back seat after a trip to Wal-Mart. It was packed, as well!

We then went to pick up the DVD of the slideshow and get the coaches' giftbags and gifts from the very nice friend who helped make their gift!




Friday afternoon was spent organizing the night and putting the last touches on the decorations.


While I wrote Thank You cards to all coaches, referees and volunteers, Nik was off to Austin to pick up the speaker. Of course, he got caught in traffic and made it back just in time to run home and change clothes with about 15 minutes to spare before the Awards night got started.






The Awards Ceremony was so much fun! We laughed a lot. We had a great time talking to the families and coaches that participated this year. There were lots of hugs. It was sad - we have become like family with everyone involved. I can honestly say I might be a little lonely the next couple of weeks not talking to these people who have stood next to us over the last 8 weeks.

We could not be sad too long - there was work to do! We had to transform our gym back to 'game-ready' for the next morning!



We were beat by the time 9:30pm rolled around. But not to beat to continue celebrating with people over a Chinese Buffet! Ha!

Saturday - Last Game Day! No pictures. Way too busy to take pictures. It was a celebration - all day long! We brought a grill out and had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs (along with our normal concession). We had tables setup outside for people to eat at and hang out. There were a couple of soccer/kickball games happening outside - all the while, inside teams were playing thier last basketball game. Everyone was in good spirits and had a blast!

After the last game ended around 4pm - we pulled all the coaches, parents and referees (who wanted to play) on to the court for one last C.P.R. Game. I do have to say that my cutie husband played great - he made some great shots, had some cool passes and was super smooth when he came down wrong, rolled twice and hit the wall! (no pictures. sorry. but he is okay. only some scrapes - thankful, it was not anything worse).

After a quick shower and change by Nik we bolted out of town to Austin to see Tim Hawkins, live! That is one funny man. We laughed for over an hour, straight.



That was basically our weekend and the end of our Upward Season. I spent Sunday afternoon sleeping. And hope to get one more night of good rest. It is needed!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Too Busy to Post...almost!

Things around here have been very hectic lately. It's not just one thing in particular, but a bunch of things all seem to be happening the same week. Anyone else ever get like that? I almost thought I was too busy to post - but this is a way to recap our days - so, here are some highlights of my week:

Friday: We helped a lady move from one house to another house less than a mile away. She had the largest Uhaul truck and we packed it FULL with only boxes and little furniture (end tables, dining room chairs, etc.). No big furniture. It was crazy how much stuff she had. I did get a good workout from it, though.

Saturday: Spent the day at Upward. Then drove to Georgetown to pick up some stuff that was needed later on this week. We met up with one of Nik's friends (who is also a youth pastor) and his wife, for dinner. We stayed out too late talking and eating yogurt. After we got home, I had to finish a picture slide show for the upcoming Upward Celebration. It was done by 12:30 am and then I was finally off to bed!

Nik, at Upward, as a ref, and setting up a video to be played during halftime:

Sunday: I made apple dumplings for breakfast for my Sunday School Class. Yum. (If you want the recipe, let me know.) After church, I helped Nik get packed and ready to go to a Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. That evening and night I worked for 5 solid hours (with the help of a friend) painting and stamping 24 frames for our Upward gift to the coaches. We are still not done, but this friend volunteered to spend her time this week finishing them for me! (She is my favorite friend this week.)

This is how my kitchen looked Sunday night when I finally made it home. So what did I do? NOTHING. I went straight to bed. Seriously. Don't judge me. I was tired!



Monday: During my lunch break I came home to tackle my mess of a house....and try to clean off my hands from my previous day of crafting...it did not work. What in the world takes off ink from a stamp pad?


I know the above is a kinda creepy, weird picture of my hand. But seriously. THE INK WOULD NOT COME OFF! By the way, do you see the 'r' under my thumb? There is also an 'n' on the other side of my arm....I don't know how I do it! I've always been a little messy.

I obviously need to wrap up this post. I think (from the terrible pictures you are seeing of my dirty house and creepy hand) that this post is going downhill. Fast.

So - Monday night and tonight I cleaned other people homes after work. Apparently, I should spend a little more time on mine! This week I also have an eye appointment, a haircut (ya!), Upwards Ceremony, the last Saturday of Upward, CPR (Coaches, Parents, and  Referees) Basketball Game, and tickets to see the comedian, Tim Hawkins.

Maybe I will take better pics this week / weekend and post them. If anyone is still around to read my blog after this horrible post.

It's obviously past my bedtime. And I apparently feel the need to tell you every detail of my life (since Nik is out of town and he usually gets all the details). Lucky you!

Hope the rest of your week goes well!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Flowers and Dinner

Today when I came home from work I noticed that the Tulips Nik got me for Valentines day were beginning to open up! They are beautiful!


Someone told me that after they die, I could plant the 'bulbs' (whatever that is...) in my yard and I would have Tulips grow! I will see if that actually happens - I may or may not figure out how to do that! 

I am working on my 'green thumb'. It is currently lacking a little green.  It is more yellow-ish, brown. One day I will share a funny story of me and my co-workers working on my 'green thumb'.

Also tonight, I went out to dinner with some ladies from my church. There was 20-25 of us - and we had a great time! I thought about taking a picture, but it can be hard to do with that many people, and conversations going, and orders being taken...you get the picture. We ate at a yummy Italian place and I had sausage pizza. It may sound crazy that I got pizza (I actually like so many things on their menu) but they have the best pizza in Temple. Seriously. So good!

That was my night.

I'm about to log off the computer and spend some time with the cutie husband (when he gets back from putting gas in my car - bonus points for him!). We have not seen much of each other this week. And the weekend will not be any better. So - I better take the time while I can!


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Ramblings

1. I am overwhelmed in this moment with Thankfulness. I have a friend in need (friend A). Friend B of mine does not know Friend A. God used Friend B to minister to Friend A, in a simple but yet great way. I am thankful to Friend B for being open to how God wanted to use them to bless another person, a stranger. I am thankful I serve a God who works in this way.

2. If you followed the above scenario -  you're doing great and can probably follow the rest of my ramblings. If not, you may want to stop reading now...because it might not get any better!

3. All I have these days are bits and pieces of thoughts - not hardly full ones.

4. I wanted to write a wonderful Valentine tribute to my husband and post it on the blog...didn't happen. Neither did a Valentines Day card...or gift for that matter. I did walk in from work and hand him some candy that had been handed to me by co-workers and say 'Happy Valentines Day'. (Second-hand candy - that is what he gets after 8 wonderful years of marriage!). I felt kinda-bad after I saw the beautiful red tulips he brought home for me. He smiled at the candy, ate some and out the door he went to Basketball practice. I did dishes, picked up the house and started some laundray. After Basketball practice we went grocery shopping and have honestly never seen the place so empty! On our way home, Nik did comment that we should always do grocery shopping on Valentines Day! Ha!

5. I am so glad that I have a husband who knows how much I love him - that he can receive second hand candy on Valentines Day and be okay with it!

6. On Saturday, after the basktball games, I mentioned to Nik that it was such a nice day that I felt like going for a hike. He had no desire to go on a hike...he did park in one of the last spaces at Wal-Mart and told me to enjoy my 'hike'. Since that was the only hike I was going on - I made him hold my hand and walk at my slow, leisurly pace!

7. Have you ever had oranges dipped in chocolate? YUM!

And that's the end of my rambling blog post.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Beard or No Beard?

I thought it would be fun to see what people think of Nik's facial hair - Beard or No Beard? That is the question. While Nik was growing out his beard, he received a lot of nicknames (example: The Bearded One and Moses - the two most common). Since he has shaved his beard we both are getting lots of comments (some for the beard, some against)! What do you think?

This is Nik with (short) Beard:

And here are pics of Nik with no Beard. And I say pics because Nik is not the most excited person about having his picture taken. So - I tried to be sneaky. It didn't work.

First shot:

 Second shot - I love the look of concentration on his face for the pizza cutting!

Third shot - lauging at me and asking what I am doing:

Fourth and final shot - This is his "I'm serious - stop taking pictures of me!" face:
Let's just say that I gave up getting a really good front picture of Nik with no beard. This is as good as it gets!

So - Beard or No Beard? Please feel free to comment - I will give the results to Nik to let him know of his Blog support. I know he will be so excited. Just look at that last picture again...! Ha!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Snow Day

We had a Snow Day on Friday! Once Nik and I got ready for the day, I swept off our walkway, and then we headed out for some breakfast.

 Me sweeping the snow off our walkway:

For those of you who 'actually' got some snow last week (more than 2 inches) I know these pictures do not look like anything to you...but when Central Texas gets snow...it's a really big deal!

Driving to breakfast:

I should have taken a pic of our breakfast. It was soooo yummy! We have both been wanting 'Migas Rancheras' for a couple of weeks. But since I work earlier than Nik and we have Upward early Saturday mornings and Nik has to be at church early on Sunday - we have had no chance to go out for breakfast! So it nice to be able to go out and enjoy a hot breakfast together.

After breakfast Nik and I went to my work. I know...it was a snow day...but there were some things that had to be done. I made Nik go with me and we worked with my boss and were done within 2 hours - so, it wasn't that bad. On the way to my work, we found a couple of parking lots and had to have some fun doing donuts in the snow!

Tracks left after our few donuts:

After we finished working, we got a text from some friends that they were sledding in the snow. We stopped by the park where they were and as you can see from the pics, the little snow we got was melting away fast! We did have enough snow to have some fun with a snowball fight.

Do you see Nik below trying to peg a little girl with a snowball? No mercy.

The rest of our snow day was spent watching movies, playing games and eating homemade pizza! It was a pretty fun day.

I can't see the snow here and not think about the fun times we had in NM with the snow. I will never forget one snow day after work, meeting up with everyone to sled down 'cardiac hill'. Even Lety and her dog, Paco, came out for the fun! Good memories.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Unexpected Time Off

Well, the cold finally came our way - and it is cold here! Not nearly as cold as the other 1/3 of the United States...but cold for central Texas.

Because of the cold and ice (in other areas of Texas) we have been having 'rolling blackouts'. Which means, at any given time, our electricity can go out for 15 min to an hour. Then come back on. Annoying. But apparently necessary.

After the 3rd blackout at work today, we were sent home around 11am. It is so fun to have an unexpected afternoon off! Nik came home around 12pm and we got to spend the whole afternoon and night together. Night church was cancelled also, because of the blackouts and the cold. (People in central Texas do not like the cold, do not know how to function in the cold, and will not get out in it unless necessary - so, church was cancelled tonight).

So, our afternoon off was spent together. It was a much needed time of fun - hanging out, eating lunch, talking, watching House and playing 3 games of Hand and Foot! What a great afternoon! We grilled burgers and then I talked Nik into driving me to get a fountain soda. (I have been craving a fountain soda for days now and it was wonderful!) Guess what we are doing now? Nik is laying on the couch watching/listening to Biggest Loser while playing on his IPhone. I am obviously typing this blog sitting next to my cutie husband while....a chocolate cake is in the oven! .

Yum - Chocolate Cake! Who makes chocolate cake at 9pm? Apparently me (but only because I can stay up late tonight because I don't go into work until 10am tomorrow). And also, one of Nik's favorite past times is to eat unhealthy sweets while watching Biggest Loser. Seriously. I don't think he can watch this show with out cake, brownies, ice cream oreos or a blizzard in his hand!

Well I better go frost my cake, eat a (small) piece, cuddle with my cutie husband and watch the movie, Secretariat. I have heard good things about the movie.

I have had the best day today with my unexpected time off!