Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Fine Dining

Sunday evening we celebrated my mom's retirement. She actually retired back in June but with vacations and weddings we never could find a time to celebrate. She chose to go to Ruth Chris steakhouse since none of us had ever been there.

There is one in Downtown Charlotte.

hard to see but this is a pic of part of downtown

All six of us.

mom and dad... don't they look so cute dressed a like?

Hubs and I

I ordered the stuffed chicken and it was delicious! It was stuffed with herb cheese.
Hubs ordered the lamb chops. I tried them for the first time and was impressed.

The best thing was the sweet potato casserole. It wasn't quite as good as momma's but it was still great. I ate the entire thing by myself.

My favorite sister-in-law.
Jeff and Kirsten
Hubs and I at dinner.
mom and dad again
All of the food was so good and our service was great. Hopefully we will go back again sometime to celebrate another special occasion.



Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Discover your inner child

This weekend my brother-in-law brought our niece and nephew to stay with us. Saturday night we got McDonald's and Chinese food and watched Hotel for Dogs. Its a really cute movie if you haven't seen it. Sunday we took them to downtown Charlotte to Discovery Place. I hadn't been since an elementary school field trip. Discovery Place is a hands on science museum for children.
The kids had a great time.

There was a Shipwrecked exhibit which was great because Eli loves pirates.

Can you find me?

Hubs and I taking a quick break.

Eli and I in the train.

Doesn't Hubs look like he is having a blast?

Eli loves his cars.
Lanie at a tracing table.

The cutest captains ever.
Look at that sweet face. The sun was in his eyes.

We had so much fun and can't wait for them to come back and visit.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Writing on the Wall

Saturday morning Hubs and I finally put up one of the wall words that I had gotten. This one says "Live, Laugh, Love" and we decided to put it in our bedroom over the dresser. I am so pleased with the way it turned out.

I got this one from Kohl's for only $5.99. They had some of them 80% off recently.

Hubs got me another one for Christmas last year that we still haven't put up since we're waiting until we have our living room painted.


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Put me in coach

Coaching is a huge part of my life. I spend every afternoon during the fall (volleyball) and the spring (softball) coaching high school girls. Most of you know that I teach at the same high school that I graduated from. During my high school years I played volleyball, basketball, and softball. (My school is extremely small so besides track those were the only girl sports we had. And no, I do not consider cheer leading a sport. I know that it is a lot of work and you need to be in shape to do it)


I love being able to give back to the school and community. I love getting to be connected to the sports I love even though I am too old to play myself.

I love working with teenage girls and try to be a positive role model for them.

And most of all I love the friendship that has developed through coaching. Lindsey and I both started teaching at BCHS the same year and met at the first volleyball practice over the summer. Since then we have been inseparable. She is such a great coach and an even better person.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

To teach is to touch lives

I know that there are a lot of teachers that follow my blog and I was just wanted to say thank you for what you do. When most people hear that I am a teacher the first thing they say is "most be nice to be off at 3" or "how nice to have summers off". These are great perks of the profession; although I have never left school at 3pm. Since I coach I usually don't leave until 6 on practice days and 8 or 9 on game nights. I love my job as a high school special education teacher and cannot imagine doing anything else. I don't teach because I want my summers off or because I don't want to sit behind a desk till 5pm. I chose teaching because I love my students and because I love giving back to a community and school that gave so much to me while I was growing up.
So thank you teachers and administrators for what you do!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Weekend Review

Friday night we had a high school football game. After practice I went with some friends to eat Mexican food; which has become our home game ritual and so far it seems to be a good luck charm. Since Hubs works in the press box I always just meet him at the games. We won and the rain held off so it was a good night.

Saturday Hubs and I decided to browse around for me a new car. We spent all day doing that but ended up not getting anything. There isn't a thing wrong with my SUV and its only 3 years old and paid off so we decided not to jump into another payment unless we found a great deal. We picked up pasta and wings for dinner and watched football.

Sunday morning we went to church and then had our annual Ministry Fair. We ate lunch with my parents and went to Kohls. I got these adorable shoes:



and a leopard print cardigan (you know I love my animal prints!!!). I couldn't find a picture of it on the website. Later we grilled out and I finally watched The Vampire Diaries that I had saved. I enjoyed it and can see myself getting hooked on it. Now I still need to catch up on Glee and The Biggest Loser from last week.

This week is a busy week for us. I have 2 games and a workshop. Hubs will be on a business trip and then this weekend we will head to his hometown for his high school reunion.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Back to the Beginning

Labor Day weekend Hubs and I took a day trip back to our college town. We met while in college 7 years ago through mutual friends. Hubs had a party at his apartment and one of my sorority sisters was dating one of his fraternity brothers. She called me and asked me to go to this party with her. At first I told her no. I had just moved back in after Christmas break and my parents were visiting. After dinner for my mom's birthday my parents left so I decided to go to the party. Another one of my sorority sisters liked Hubs and I guess they know that I have a very flirtatious personality so they told me not to flirt with him in front of her. I took one look at Hubs and told them that they didn't have to worry. Not that there was anything wrong with him but he just didn't look like my type. We ended up talking that night and I realized that he was really cute and funny. Later that week we saw each other again. It continued like that for a few weeks. We had a lot of the same friends so we were thrown together several times a week. We started dating a month later but didn't really get serious about each other until 4 or 5 months later. We were engaged 2 years later and married a year and half after that.



Hubs on the football field.


The wind mill.


The new indoor training center.


Hubs and the home side of the stadium.


Us with "The Rock". That is what our stadium is called.


Me with the new sign.


Welcome to the Rock


We spent many many hours at this bar. They have the best wings and subs. The fraternity house was right behind it so it was really convenient.


The basketball arena.


This is the french onion soup that we had for lunch. It is so delicious. They have to give you scissors to cut the cheese with.

We had such a great time visiting our college town. It holds so many wonderful memories for us. We go back often since it is only an hour and 15 minutes from where we live. We can't wait for some home football games.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall

Goodbye to the ASU beating Michigan picture. It has officially been moved into the guest bedroom along with our other college memorabilia.


I think Hubs shed a tear when it was taken down.


We have replaced it with this mirror from Kirklands.

It is perfect for the room and was a great deal at only $29.99.

Doesn't this look so much better?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Take a Bite

Did anyone watch The Vampire Diaries on the CW last week?
Hubs dvr'd it for me since I had a volleyball game but I haven't watched it yet.

I just found out that the series is based on books by L.J. Smith. Has anyone read these books? If so how, how do they compare to Twilight?

Also, I saw on Amazon that the new Sookie Stackhouse book is coming out in October.


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Cabin Fever

Friday I took a half day off and picked Hubs up from work early. We headed to Knoxville to meet up with one of Hub's customers and his family for dinner. We ate at Puelo's Grill and it was delicious!

Hubs and I on the way to Knoxville.
After dinner we drove to Pigeon Forge to meet my parents. My brother and sister-in-law came up later Friday night.

My dad and I at breakfast Sat. morning.

Hubs and I.

Kirsten and Jeff.

Our cabin in Pigeon Forge. It was so nice with a hot tub and huge whirlpool tubs in two of the bedrooms.

The living room.

Dad, Kirsten, and mom on the front porch.

Hubs and I on Sunday.

Saturday morning we went to breakfast and then rode around looking at all the old cars. There was a huge car show in town and I cannot believe that I didn't get any pictures. Later that afternoon Mom, Kirsten, and I went to the outlets to shop. We met the men for dinner at Smokey Mountain Brewery for dinner and had some more delicious food.

We watched the South Carolina vs. Georgia game Sat. night and made cookies. I was so tired that I went to bed before 10pm. Sunday morning we packed up and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel before heading home.
Mom and I.

We had such a wonderful weekend but it is always nice to be home.