School got out, my parents moved in, and then summer started and I hit the ground running. I had a week at home and then headed back to Camp Smile-A-Mile June 5 - 11. I had the same camper again this summer and was amazed at how much she has grown over the past year. We had a great time and, as always, I had a perspective adjustment. How can you not focus on all you have to be thankful for when you are surrounded by CHILDREN who are battling cancer? The week consisted of swimming, dancing, cooking, archery, paintball, basketball, snorkeling, make-overs, and a visit from Aubie and some Auburn football players. The kids had an amazing week and I am blessed to have been a part of it! The above picture is my camper, Darby, and me before the Superhero Dance. I was "SuperCam" and she was "Super Darby".
Friday, July 15, 2011
Camp Smile-A-Mile
School got out, my parents moved in, and then summer started and I hit the ground running. I had a week at home and then headed back to Camp Smile-A-Mile June 5 - 11. I had the same camper again this summer and was amazed at how much she has grown over the past year. We had a great time and, as always, I had a perspective adjustment. How can you not focus on all you have to be thankful for when you are surrounded by CHILDREN who are battling cancer? The week consisted of swimming, dancing, cooking, archery, paintball, basketball, snorkeling, make-overs, and a visit from Aubie and some Auburn football players. The kids had an amazing week and I am blessed to have been a part of it! The above picture is my camper, Darby, and me before the Superhero Dance. I was "SuperCam" and she was "Super Darby".
The House That Built Me
Yes, I do realize that I have not really picked back up my blog as promised and I am going to try and do better. Let me fill you in on what all has been going on. Hmmm... where to begin. Okay, so my last post was about the two 5k's I did in the spring. After that May continued to speed up with Mother's Day, birthdays, dance recitals, end of school year chaos, and helping my parents pack up and move out of their house. To say that May was hectic and exhausting is an understatement.
While trying to get everything wrapped up at school I was also trying to help my parents as much as possible. This was the house I grew up in here in Birmingham. My parents had been there for 20 years. That is 20 years worth of a whole lotta stuff to sort through, throw out, donate, box up, sell, reminisce over, laugh about, etc. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears went into that move (literally). What they kept went into storage and they moved in with me. Interestingly enough we have decided that I actually saw them more when they didn't live with me. (The summer has not slowed down at all.) Oddly enough, after being on the market for over a year, their house ended up selling to one of my childhood friend's brother and his family. I loved that house and the years and years of great memories I have from it. I hope that they will love it as much as we did and have just as many wonderful memories there.
Here are some of my favorite memories from 2616 Southminster Road:
- Family dinner on Sunday nights around the kitchen table
- The freezing swimming pool and the Bobcat that finally dug it up and filled it in :(
- Crowding in the den to watch Auburn football games in the fall
- The hard work that dad put into the yard each year and the way everything looked when it bloomed in the spring.
- Coming home from college on the weekends and looking forward to being in "my bed"
- Standing at the top of the stairs, hidden from view, and asking Ashley if I could borrow her shirt that I already had on
- Spend the night parties with friends
- "The Blizzard of '96" and being stuck inside for days
There were lots of memories throughout that house, but there are so many more memories to create in the years ahead. People asked me if I was sad about my parents selling their house. Honestly, I never really was. Maybe because I have my own home now or maybe because by the time it was all said and done I was exhausted, but I am thankful for my family that I love and know that we will continue to make lots of new memories no matter where "home" is.
While trying to get everything wrapped up at school I was also trying to help my parents as much as possible. This was the house I grew up in here in Birmingham. My parents had been there for 20 years. That is 20 years worth of a whole lotta stuff to sort through, throw out, donate, box up, sell, reminisce over, laugh about, etc. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears went into that move (literally). What they kept went into storage and they moved in with me. Interestingly enough we have decided that I actually saw them more when they didn't live with me. (The summer has not slowed down at all.) Oddly enough, after being on the market for over a year, their house ended up selling to one of my childhood friend's brother and his family. I loved that house and the years and years of great memories I have from it. I hope that they will love it as much as we did and have just as many wonderful memories there.
Here are some of my favorite memories from 2616 Southminster Road:
- Family dinner on Sunday nights around the kitchen table
- The freezing swimming pool and the Bobcat that finally dug it up and filled it in :(
- Crowding in the den to watch Auburn football games in the fall
- The hard work that dad put into the yard each year and the way everything looked when it bloomed in the spring.
- Coming home from college on the weekends and looking forward to being in "my bed"
- Standing at the top of the stairs, hidden from view, and asking Ashley if I could borrow her shirt that I already had on
- Spend the night parties with friends
- "The Blizzard of '96" and being stuck inside for days
There were lots of memories throughout that house, but there are so many more memories to create in the years ahead. People asked me if I was sad about my parents selling their house. Honestly, I never really was. Maybe because I have my own home now or maybe because by the time it was all said and done I was exhausted, but I am thankful for my family that I love and know that we will continue to make lots of new memories no matter where "home" is.
Friday, July 1, 2011
See Merty Run (#3 - Check)
Ok... I'm back. As you all know, one of the things on my list this year was to run a 5K. In January I started doing the "Couch to 5K" running program. I feel as though I did make it off the couch, but not quite to the 5K (seeing as Karli promised I would be able to run 3 miles after my 9 week program with her). My sister and I did a 5K together in April. She found one for us to do together in Auburn on April 16. My 5K was more of a fast-paced walk/burst out in a run for a few minutes at a time. I finished in 42:45. The key words there were "I finished." We had a great time doing this together and it was quite the accomplishment. Now, on my list I said "run a 5K" (my sister kindly pointed out that I kind of screwed myself on the wording), but I am counting this anyway! 
After finishing the first 5K I (stupidly) thought, "Oh, let's do that again!" and so I signed up for another one. So, on May 14 I did the Zoo Run in Birmingham with my friend, Julie. I think I ran approximately one time between these 2 races, so I was pretty nervous about walking/running again. But, I actually ended up doing better and finished in 40:34.
After finishing the first 5K I (stupidly) thought, "Oh, let's do that again!" and so I signed up for another one. So, on May 14 I did the Zoo Run in Birmingham with my friend, Julie. I think I ran approximately one time between these 2 races, so I was pretty nervous about walking/running again. But, I actually ended up doing better and finished in 40:34.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Yes, I am still alive
I do still have a blog. I have not updated this blog in two months. I apologize for the lack of updates, but I have been just a little busy. I have lots to catch you up on. Over these past two months I...
1. ran my first (and second) 5K
2. ended my fifth year of teaching
3. helped my parents move out of their house
4. volunteered again at Camp Smile a Mile
5. fell off the weight loss bandwagon, climbed back on, and then fell off again
I promise to post pictures and stories about each of these things over the next several days. Hope you are all enjoying your summer and staying cool!
1. ran my first (and second) 5K
2. ended my fifth year of teaching
3. helped my parents move out of their house
4. volunteered again at Camp Smile a Mile
5. fell off the weight loss bandwagon, climbed back on, and then fell off again
I promise to post pictures and stories about each of these things over the next several days. Hope you are all enjoying your summer and staying cool!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Am I Missing Something?
I have heard that the junk email you receive is supposed to appeal to you based on the websites you visit, topics you research on Google, etc.
Here are some of the emails I received today:
Asian Singles
Wigs
Bras
Bathroom Remodeling
Horoscopes
Hybrid Car
Olive Garden Rewards
Hmmmm... Am I missing something? Okay, the bras I can kind of understand as I have recently been on the (torturous) hunt for a sports bra. And if you know me at all then the Olive Garden one is understandable. But unless I am planning on shaving my head a la Britney and then taking my Asian boyfriend for a ride in my Smart Car, then I am at a loss.
Here are some of the emails I received today:
Asian Singles
Wigs
Bras
Bathroom Remodeling
Horoscopes
Hybrid Car
Olive Garden Rewards
Hmmmm... Am I missing something? Okay, the bras I can kind of understand as I have recently been on the (torturous) hunt for a sports bra. And if you know me at all then the Olive Garden one is understandable. But unless I am planning on shaving my head a la Britney and then taking my Asian boyfriend for a ride in my Smart Car, then I am at a loss.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Proud
My sister is awesome for so many different reasons, but one recent reason she is awesome is because she completed her first 5K last Saturday. I started this whole Couch to 5K thing and got her to do it, too. She works... and has two kids... and she stuck with this thing and found time 3 days a week to go for her runs when she had all kinds of excuses to get out of doing it. Last Saturday she RAN (not walked, not walked/ran a little) in the Rumpshaker here in Birmingham. This is a 5K that raises money for colon cancer research. There were tons of people there and I was so excited to pick her up and take her down to Sloss Furnace where the race was. Robert brought the girls and my parents came with our good friends the Beasleys, so we were all there at the finish line to cheer for her. She finished in 33:54, which is about an 11 minute mile, which is awesome! I am so stinkin' proud of her and so glad that I got to be there to cheer her on.
#12 - Check
Another thing I wanted to do more of this year is artsy projects. I see things all the time and think to myself, "I could do that (for way cheaper)." Over spring break, I spent a few days with my sweet friend, Myra. We had a staycation where we went to lots of stores in and around Birmingham and just enjoyed spending time together away from school. One of the stores we went to had lots of cute "burlees", which are decorative painted burlap shapes. At one particular store they had crosses, Easter eggs, and Easter bunnies. The large ones there were $40. Of course I immediately told Myra, "We could so do that."... And so we did! We decided to start off with the Easter egg since it was the easiest shape to do. We went to Hobby Lobby to buy burlap and paint. We made a template on poster board and then Myra cut out our eggs and spray painted them to stiffen up the fabric. Last Saturday we got together at her house to put them together. First we drew our design on with pencil. Next we painted them and wrote our words on with a black Sharpie. Then we filled them with plastic grocery bags to add some dimension and hot glued the front and back together. Last we added ribbon to the top so we could hang them on our front door. This was super easy and we each ended up paying around $8. Here is our finished product:
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