Good times and bad...............

I have a painting my mother made me the 1st year Matt and I got married. In our family, we have held a tradition over the last 30 or more years with a painting just like the one she gave me. Every year, my mother hangs the painting over the fireplace mantle---at the end of the Christmas season, she takes it down, and writes on a small square on the back labeled for that particular year. Good times and bad times can be seen on her squares throughout those 30 years.

Well, ever since she gave it to us, we have carried the tradition in our household. I took my painting down on New Year's Eve and wrote up my little summary of the year. Here's what I came up with:

1)We continue to love our church home, Pinelake. I am lifted up every Sunday from the message. I want to grow closer to God every year that goes by, not just go through the motions. (like the popular Christian song.) I want to grow stronger to walk with Him and have Him lead me where I need to be led. I continue to be overwhelmed on the blessings in my life that He has given me.........good times and bad times.........He has gotten me through.

2)We are thankful to have all of our parent's cancer-free and healthy. This past year, however, has been very hard on my father. He is now officially retired. They are still living in Houston, TX, but looking for homes in Meridian now. Barbara (my stepmother) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and does not seem to be improving. My dad needed to retire to stay by her side full-time. I worry that he is not taking care of himself, but I trust that God will take care of the whole situation in 2010 and things will be ok........through good times and bad.

I am blessed that my grandmother is still with us.She is 98 years old and although every year I write that she is getting weaker, somehow she manages to hold on for another year. For that, we are truly blessed. It is very hard for my mother, who takes care of her all day,(she still lives in her own home, right next to my mom), but I don't think my mother would have it any other way..........she has and will continue to be there for Gram..........good times and bad.

My other grandmother, Edie, sadly passed away this year. We are saddened by this, but know she is in God's hands and much better off now than in the nursing home.

My nieces are all 3 growing like weeds and maturing more every time I see them!! It's crazy to think that Brittany is now 13 and taller than me (and I'm not a short gal ;) She is going to be AWESOME in sports as she gets older (she already is awesome in sports...but I see it really taking her far in life.) Carrie-Grace is a very sweet, truly sincere and very smart girl. Ann-Elise is one-of-a-kind........nothing like her!! BIG personality for sure~~ Love her :) She will start school next year........what will my mother do to occupy her time now?!!!

3) My job at Lincare is still going great.....I am thankful to have a job with all of the jobless people in our society. I am even more thankful to have a job where I can really make a difference as a hands-on dietitian. I think it helps in a way like no other to let my cancer patients know that my own mother went through something similar. They seem to open up with me more because I can empathize with them............through good times and bad.

4)Matt passed his Internal Medicine boards and started his Hematology/Oncology fellowship. He seems to be enjoying the field he chose.......I know he will be a WONDERFUL oncologist!! He will help his patients get through.........good times and bad.

5) We met lots of goals this year with our biggest hobby--triathlon and running. We are continuing to see our times improve, and this is very rewarding! I qualified for NY marathon-----We both ran Memphis marathon together.......I reached a big goal for me with marathon #10 this year :) We signed up for Ironman Canada next year. The commitment of all these months of long, training hours and exhaustion for another full Ironman bring on feelings of excitement and fear! We will get through........or maybe not.......but it will be good times and bad times for sure!

As I wrote on the back of my Christmas painting, I told Matt that the 2010 square that we pencil in next year should be a very eventful year. We should have a pretty firm decision on where we will continue our future together as far as his Hematology/Oncology career is concerned. We will be very close (if not at the time) to begining the phase of a larger family ;) We will have completed Ironman Canada, Matt will be another year closer to finishing and we will have accomplished who know's what by this time next year. Good times and bad, I'm sure...........but that's life.

I am thankful that I learn more about myself every year that goes by. I smile at the thought of filling up a little square of that painting every year. Although we only have 3 squares filled up on our painting, I want to look back on decades and decades of these squares and be content that I have used up that square each year to the best of my ability..................good times and bad times..........because only then can we truly grow. With God's eye on us, I wouldn't have it any other way ;)

A very Merry Christmas ;)

We had a very busy Christmas this year for sure!!! We are so blessed to have such amazing families that love us and care for us both. To say we were on the road quite a bit over a two-day period would be an understatement ;)

Although we want to be able to spend time with every family member and not break any traditions, this Christmas traveling is getting tough!!!! We felt like we neglected all families, because as soon as we got to one home, it seemed like we were already saying good-bye!!!! We literally got there, ate, opened gifts, then left. We were so exhausted by the time we got home Christmas night, that we realized that we have to figure out a better plan next year........although I have no idea what that might be!!!

We even got to visit with my dad and stepmom. We met them at Primo's for breakfast after Christmas and exchanged gifts and talked for a while. They headed back to Houston shortly after.

We ate our fair share of goodies I shall say..........WOW did we ever ;) Ollie even had his fair share of chocolate,


a whole BAG of mini Snickers!!!!!!!!! (wrappers and all...........don't ask :) It was not to our knowledge ;)

So blessed to have my grandmother still with us this Christmas (98 years old!!)

Family Pic!!



All the nieces and me acting silly in our PJ's

Christmas eve before opening gifts-----

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!

It's hard turning 25 ;) heehee ;D Seriously, though, although I'm not getting any younger, I do feel like I am learning more about myself and strengthening my values and goals in life every year that passes.

Matt took me to Walker's for dinner on my birthday-December 22nd. It was awesome!!! We got the portabella fries for an appetizer, I got redfish topped with crabmeat for dinner, some awesome wine, and we split a brownie/ice cream dessert ;) Yummy!!!!!!




Stuffing our faces at Walker's :)



I am getting a little baby-itch stronger than ever lately, but we are trying to hold off until we get a little credit card debt paid off and I can think about not returning to work. Things we are planning for the future include: A LARGER VEHICLE ;) Seriously, we realized on the trip during Christmas that my little Altima won't suffice with two 90 pounds dogs, presents, and the two of us, much less 2-3 children in the future!!!!! So, in the next year or so, that is on the agenda of to-do's...............along with another pretty large to-do............finding out where we will settle down with this new family we plan on starting ;)

Tacky Christmas party ;)

We had our first annual triathlon team party----It's so fun and rewarding to see the team coming together so well for its first year. It's been a time-consuming, but gratifying year as president for Mississippi Heat. We ordered team jerseys, put on the beginner triathlon, helped donate money for Toys for Tots and Operation shoestring this year, and multiple other things for the team.

The party was a wonderful time to get-together and just enjoy each other's company! Melanie and Charlie did a wonderful job at hosting the party!

Here are some fun pics for the night ;)



We raised money to donate 6 bikes to Toys for Tots this Christmas ;)


Andrew,Bill, and wife all decked out and tacky ;)

The Candy Bar.....yum!!

Matt is a little jealous that Trip won the tacky sweater contest ;)

The winners in all our glory......tacky enough for ya ?! :)

Intense conversation (I'm sure triathlon-related) between Matt, Mike, and Robbie

Creativity flowing from my ears............

Jingle bells, broken nails, canvas art and frames. Someone stopppp me from my madness 'fore I go insane........HEY!!!!
(sung to the tune of Jingle Bells, of course ;)

I must say I caught the creative bug this Christmas season. Canvases? Sure. Wooden custom photo frames? Of course. Painted pottery with customized stick families ? Check. Cute, little reindeer truffle pops? Yes please. If I've seen it in a store, I've attempted to copy it. Good for my pocketbook. Not so good for my time management skills ;)

The problem with these cute little crafts is, once I start one, I must create enough for every person in the family that they are going to in order to make sure no one gets left out. That would be embarrassing :( You should see my kitchen table. Seriously. Not pretty. (well, pretty if you think mass chaos piled on top of more mass chaos is beautiful ;)









I think, however, that I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am wrapping up the final canvases tonight and I have a couple more odds and ends to purchase, but I did accomplish my goal of being completely done with Christmas shopping by next week, so I can enjoy everything around me. (I haven't had much time to do that lately----too stressed trying to deal with the "mass chaos table" !!!)

Next week, I am going to have that cup of hot cocoa with mini marshmallows that I purchased 2 weeks ago and haven't had time to open. I am going to sit by the fireplace, listen to Christmas music, make Matt take me Christmas light sightseeing, and not wrap a SINGLE present. High hopes, huh??!! That's the plan.

But, for now, back to the pile of chaos on the table, the Christmas parties, and Christmas party planning, the gift wrapping, the making of Christmas baked goodies.......and don't forget about little Sadie who we are trying to potty train!!!! Lord, help me get through this week ;)

For now, I'll leave you with the 1st Annual Christmas Pub Run from earlier tonight---4 miles of fun-ness ;)

Happy Anniversary to us...................

Yesterday was our anniversary.......3 years has gone by SO fast to me!!! Time flies when you're havin' fun, right? :) I'm so thankful to be married to Matt. He is more than I could have ever asked for, and for those of you that know my whole story, it didn't take long to find that out ;) I am, and will always be, convinced that he was sent from God especially for me :) Just for fun, I am attaching our last 3 years together!

Our first Anniversary---(in New Orleans at GW Fins--the place we ate the night he proposed!)


Our 2nd Anniversary------Mint Restaurant (right after its grand opening last year)


Matt and I, with full bellies----- at Shapley's last night for our 3rd anniversary



We didn't get to leave town because our anniversary fell in the middle of the week, but we did have a very nice dinner last night at Shapleys. This is our favorite restaurant in Jackson, and the reason I found a love for steak. I was always a chicken over steak person; that is, until I tasted a steak from Shapley's ;) Mmmmm.......makes me want another one right now ;) We always leave there waddlin' out ;)

It has been a rather hectic few days since I last blogged; Sadie became more sick, to the point of doing nothing but sleeping. We were so worried about her that we decided to go ahead and take her in to let the vet take a look. They really frightened me Tuesday, to the point of tears when I left there. They told me that they needed to act very aggressively with her; she is so little, and had become very dehyrated from the vomiting/diarrhea. They still have her today, but after 3 bags of IV fluids with glucose, she "has some pep in her step", they told me ;)
I am so relieved; We didn't have a clue it would cost this much, but we are thankful that she will be coming home with us tonight!!!!!

As far as the Blackberry incident, it looks like it might survive the washing----fingers still crossed. I covered it in a dish of uncooked rice, to draw out the moisture. Last night was the first night I tried to turn the phone on; It's still a little damp, but hopefully it will be back to working shape tomorrow ;)

I am going to attempt some heavy Christmas shopping over the next few nights------hope I can get it all done soon and make it out of the shopping centers alive !!!!! Christmas shopping and me don't get along ;)

Training is pretty non-exsistent this week, and I am taking full advantage of it ;) Yesterday, I went for a light run for the first time and a light swim. Might try the bike trainer out tonight............or maybe not ;) The only problem with not training for the next two weeks is that I have to remember to not eat like I am still training.................aka--the way I have eaten every day since Memphis Marathon ;)

NO TRAINING + CHRISTMAS GOODIE INDULGENCES = BADNESS;)

Looking forward to the Christmas special at Pinelake this weekend!!!! Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season!!!

Making Her Grand Debut-----------Sadie Girl ;)

I promised an update on our newest little family member on our last blog post. Well, here she is in all her glory :)



She is only 6 weeks old, but she already has LOTS of personality ;) Ollie doesn't quite know what to think of her yet. He understands that she is smaller than him, but he wants to play with her SO bad and doesn't quite know how ;) He is actually a little scared of her; He DOES let her play with his toys, though, so that is a good sign.

I am a little worried about her right now. The first night we got her home, she cried all night, which is expected. We are crate-training her, so it is hard to hear her crying in the other room and not do anything about her. I think her little system is in shock right now because she has had an upset stomach for the past two days. To top it all off, this morning I was holding her in my lap while I checked my emails; I was getting ready for work and had a load of laundry in the washer. I stuck my phone in my robe while I held her. Suddenly, she started vomiting ALL over my robe; Quickly thinking, I ran to the washing machine, threw my robe in with the other clothes I had just started and went into the other room to tend to her.

Yeah, so I washed my Blackberry. Not good. Not good at all. You never truly appreciate your need for a cell phone until you don't have immediate access to it. I HAVE to have my cell phone at all times due to my job. I am constantly in my car; I don't even have a land line. Needless to say, I panicked. Luckily, Matt has an old cell phone, so I took it to Cellular South and they transferred my number for now. I researched a little bit and read to put a water-logged phone in a bowl of dry rice. The rice tends to soak up all the excess water from the phone. I am not supposed to even put the battery back in the phone for 48 hours. I'm praying that it will work when I try again. I really can't afford to buy a brand new phone during the holidays :(

I did find an interesting item at Petsmart for Sadie, until she gets over this shock of being in a new environment. Check it out!!! Puppy diapers ;) Don't laugh!!!! These things are a God-send at the moment; I don't want her to be restricted right now, because I read that newborn puppies need affection more than anything to keep them well. At least with the diapers, she can walk around us for limited amounts of time without fear of her having an accient all over the place.





Please pray that she will get over this transition quickly. I want her to enjoy her new family and not feel so horrible all the time like she seems to be lately :(