So a lot has happened in the last year...actually it has been over a year since I posted something on here.  I guess I just got sick of posting stuff:) 

Where to begin...Well I guess I should start by saying I understand the second child syndrom a little better now.  When my first nephew was born I posted pictures and when he was born and how much he wieghed and the whole nine yards.  Well I have a second nephew now and no he isn't a newborn.  Jonathan Edward was born March 7th at 6:57pm he was 7lbs 9oz and  20.5".  3 months after the fact I am blogging about it.  So sad!! 

 

In other news I turned 30 and yes I feel old...I definitly take longer to recover after a softball game than I used to and I go to bed way earlier than I used to!!  So if that is being old then I guess I am there:)  One reason for my early bedtime is that I get up and work out before work.  I know me working out...hasn't happened in a while.  Back in the fall the ladies in my office and I started a jar and did a biggest loser contest.  For every lb lost you had to put a quarter in the jar.  Winner takes the jar at the end of the biggest loser season.  Well it ended up only 2 of us actually ended up doing it and we split the jar at the end.  One day before we started they were guessing who would last the longest and one of them said nobody would finish.  They actually said I wouldn't last 2 weeks.  Well that was enough motavation for me.  Besides the fact that the winner gets to keep the money:)  So last Oct I changed the way I ate and started working out.  I started by biking and lifting some weights 5 days a week.  That continued for about 5 months until it got nice enough to run outside.  I know the word run and Gail never go in the same sentence at least not long distances.  I mean that is why I was a goalkeeper:)  Now I run 2 miles 3 times a week and do some fun exercise ball exercises and I have lost 57lbs.  I feel great and I actually like running.  I am not to the love stage yet and I don't know that I will ever get to that but it is at least enjoyable:)

 

I am getting ready to move.  I have lived in my current apartment for 3 years which is the longest I have stayed in one place.  So I am a bit sad to be leaving it.  Heather just bought a house and I will be renting a room from her.  !!  We are getting ready to start on the painting and updating a few rooms this weekend and next week.  She is moving in next weekend and I am moving in shortly after that.  I will post pictures later.  We went through and did before pictures last night.  Anyway it should be an adventure and will give me something to blog about as the renovations start!!

 

I hope you enjoy the update...I will post some before and after pics of my weight lose!

 

I went to the Dr today...no more crutches!!  That is the good news, the bad news is that he doesn't see any signs of healing...I don't know how in 8wks there is absolutely no sign of healing but I saw the X-ray and it looked the same as when I did it.   I am walking in my boot which is hard but better than crutches!!  I had two almost spills during this last week of snow and ice but managed to stay upright. 

As for the rest of life...I have two more busy weeks of work and then I head home to PA for a week and a couple days!!  I am excited for Christmas.  Usually our family tells each other what we want for Christmas and we usually get it...so no surpises.  This year I came up with gifts for everyone on my list on my own so nobody knows what they are getting.  I don't know if they like not knowing but I sure like letting them wondering.  I know what I am getting...but I like giving gifts way more than getting them!!

 

We got our first snow of the year!!  Usually I am very excited for the first snow however when you are on crutches it isn't as exciting!!  I am hoping that when I go back to the Dr on Tuesday that I can get rid of the crutches!! 

So...I am about to turn 29 and up until now I haven't had any serious injuries!  Yes 7 years of playing soccer 5 years of coaching, and a lifetime of playing softball, football, basketball, tennis and just doing all kinds of contact sports and nothing serious.  Which I guess you could say is a blessing...but you would think that doing a simple little soccer trick that I have done so many times without any problems wouldn't be the end to my perfect injury free life.  However I am pushing 30 and I guess the old bones and lack of conditioning has caught up with me.  Friday night I was playing with Payton and I was doing a little flip with the ball, keep in mind the ball was a little under inflated and I was in the living room.  Well I somehow managed to roll my ankle and break my foot.  Apparently there is a very strong ligament attatched to the outside of your foot that when your ankle rolls it puts pressure on the bone and can break it.  So I am now on crutches and in an aircast for the next three weeks:(  I am completely helpless...Do you know how frustrating it is to not be able to carry a glass of water from the kitchen to the living room.  Anyway that is about all that is happening here I am a cripple for at least the next three weeks.

I love fall. It is my favorite time of year!!  I love being outside in shorts and a t-shirt or putting on a hoody if I wan to because it isn't hot but it isn't cold either...it is perfect!!  

Now the update on life in Marion...

I miss soccer.  I don't miss being gone all weekend or going to practice everyday but I do miss the game!!  I am still getting used to the fact that most people at IWU don't go to the game to watch it they go to socialize.   Sitting on the fans sideline is probably the hardest part!!  Watching the girls play and seeing things that I could tell them to help them...how to score on the keeper or get by that last defender or stop the opposing forward or helping the keepers warm up and telling them to do this or that better or that they made an incredible save.  You know the stuff that fans just can't do!!    

As  for the rest of life things are going well.  Payton will be a year old in about a month.  I can't believe how big he is getting!!  He is into everything walking all over the place breaking things and spilling things:) 

 

I would also like to express my deepest thoughts of sympathy for all of you Notre Dame and Michigan fans...I mean can Michigan fans really be all that excited about shutting out ND?  I mean they did get their first win but against a team that is 0-3 and hasn't scored an offensive TD!

 

 

Okay so it isn't all my fault that I haven't been able to post anything.  The school got a new web blocker and for some reason my blog was blocked so I couldn't update it.  So I appealed it and at least for now it is working. 

 

So since my last post I have been to New York City and home.  NYC was fun...We stayed on the NJ side and took the ferry back and forth to the city.  We got there on a Friday night a little later than we had planned becuase we got a flat tire just inside NJ.  Saturday we got up and went to the city and walked around.  We went to Ground Zero, Rockefeller Plaza, and Times Square.  We ate lunch at a place called Roxie's Deli...We split a cheese steak and Heather's parents split one as well and we ended up with a lunch bill of $85.00.  So we headed back to the hotel to rest up for dinner and the show.  The show was Awesome!!  I wish I could explain how cool it was but I don't even know how to explain it.  If you go to broadway definitly go see Lion King!!  

 

Sunday was the Yankee game.  We took the Yankee Clipper to the game which was pretty cool.  We got to go around the bottom part of the city and up the other side so we got  to see the Statue of Liberty on the way. When we got there they told Heather's Mom she couldn't take her backpack in...they said there was a bowling alley across the street where she could put it in a locker.  So Heather and I went in and her parents went to find the bowling alley.  On the way she asked a police man if there was anywhere they could put the bag so that it wouldn't cause a problem or get stolen...he told them to watch where he put it and it would be there after the game.  So he walked over to a trash can and put it underneath it and when the game was over and we were on our way back to get on the boat...the bag was right where they left it.  I'm definitly not a Yankees fan but being at Yankee stadium is a great experience.  We got to see about 6 pitchers in the first 8 innings. They were down 8-2 by the third inning and ended up losing 11-5. 

 

On the way back from NYC we stopped at the Little League complex and museum and Kristy and Doug picked me up and I went home for the rest of the week.  I did a little golfing and got to see my grandparents.  That was the good part.  Wed night I got sick and spent the next day and a half sleeping. 

 

We just got done with VBS this past week so the last two weeks have been planning and getting ready for it and then spending the next 5 days with a bunch of preschoolers and kindergartners.  It was fun but I am glad it is over.

 

I will try to update more often now that I got unblocked and can actually use this my blog.

  

So I am updating this because I was reading Raleigh's blog this morning and one of her wishes was for her friends to update their blogs...

Rals I hope this will do:)

 

I got to go home for Mother's Day.  It was a last minute decision but it was worth it.  I miss the mountians!!  I don't dislike Indiana but there is something comforting about not being able to see for miles and miles.  Becky was also home for the weekend so it was good to hangout with her and her family as well as my Grandparents and my Mom. 

 

We had our first church softball game last week and another game tonight.  We lost our first game to College Church.  They are the best team in the league...they have a couple coaches and a bunch of old athletes from the WU on their team so they are pretty good.  Hopefully we can win tonight!! 

 

Payton is learning to crawl...he sometimes does a face plant which is pretty entertaining!  I'm thinking by about July he will be all over the place and Kristy and Doug will have their hands full!!

 

 

After having off the last two days I am back to work.  The best part is that I am only working half a day tomorrow and taking Monday off as well.  I don't know how much snow we actually ended up with...around a foot I guess I don't know how you measure snow when it is blowing all over.  I have a lot of shoveling to do when I get home tonight.  The spot where I park my car is covered with about knee high drifts and all the snow from the street that the snow plow pushed into my spot.  It will be fun to get out and do something though...sitting inside for two days is okay but I wouldn't choose to do it very often.  I did get some reading done...this will come as a surprise for some of you...I started reading Pretense, which is a Lori Wick book with about 700 pages,  a couple months ago.  It has been very slow going since football season was in full swing and the shows I watch were all new I spent a lot of time watching TV.  So yesterday I got a good start on it and I am getting to the point where I don't really want to stop reading it until I finish it.  Who knew I would like reading enough to say I don't want to stop until I am done:)

Rals thanks for the ideas on what do in a snow storm!!  I definitly took a few naps!!  Well since I am back to work...I should probablly get to it!

Okay, so maybe it's not that bad...but IWU closed for the first time ever!!  So I didn't have to work today and I have been really bored. Which is why I'm writing on my blog. Any suggestions on things to do during a snow storm?

Juan is amazing and made it through huge drifts. He's resting right now by the gym.

Well I need to find something for dinner.

 

The Colts won!!  I don't know that I actually watched much of the game.  I "watched" the game with Jamie, Adam, and Ellie, Doug, Kristy, and Payton, and Heather.  We all went over to Kristy and Doug's and the game was on but there were two pretty cute kids there and so I spent a lot of time watching Ellie play and holding Payton.  I didn't realize how much of the game I actually missed until I went home and was watching the post game stuff and they were showing great passes and touchdowns that I didn't remember seeing.  It was a fun night and I guess I really didn't care who won the game so I got distracted by the 2 cute kids in the room a lot more often than if the Eagles would have been playing:)

 

So Indiana is a frozen tundra these days.  Juan has had a lot of trouble adjusting to the cold. As much as I like winter...if there isn't any snow what is the point of the cold...I think I should live some place warmer or maybe Colorado because at least they have snow!!

I haven't posted anything lately...there just isn't much going on.  Payton is growing and starting to make fun noises and smile a lot!  So he is getting to the fun stage.  Ellie is there!  The other night I was visiting Jamie and Adam and I taught her how to blow on the window and draw:)  So the one window in their apartment might be a little smeared:) 

Work is going well and other than spoiling Payton I am not doing a whole lot of anything.  So that is all for now...I will try and update more often than once every couple of months...

 

I have been trying to add something for a while but I haven't been able to add.  I don't know what is going on I tried to add a cool slide show on Sept 11th but I only managed to add the title September 11 three times.  Who knows if this is even going to work.  I wrote a list the other day of things I love and thought I would share them with you...

My quick list of things I love…

Mountains                                    Camp Fires                            MWS

Chocolate & Peanut Butter         Weekends                                                      Driving

Taking Naps                                   Listening to Music                                       Road Trips

Fall                                                    Watching football                                       Playing any sport

Cuddling                                           Silence                                                          Listening to people

Playing with kids                           Warm-up pants                                              Sunsets

Helping people                                 Cleaning                                         Watching movies…Musicals, Old Disney

Being on my Grandparents farm                                                            Smell of fresh cut grass

Reading Lori Wick books                         Tea

Exciting news...I have a new job!!  Yes just one job!!!!!  A full time with benefits job!!!!  I will still be doing a few sessions a week with the keepers and will be going to all the games that I can.  My official title is Textbook Distribution Clerk in the APS Dept at IWU.  I pack and ship books for online classes and deliver books for class starts to places in Indiana I have never heard of. 

It has been a bit tough getting used to a new schedule.  I am not used to working 8 hours in a row.  With my other jobs I worked 3 here and 2 there and then maybe 6 on the road driving computers and then clean for 2 hours.  It has been nice getting done at 5 and being done for the day!! 

 

One more thing...If you don't leave a comment  then how am I supposed to know that you read it.  I got in trouble for an entry that said...Heather and Raleigh are the only two people who read this.  I got an email not a comment on my blog so not my fault that I think that there is only 2 people who read this. 

 

 

I just got back from a great vacation.  I went to Smith Mt Lake in Virginia with Heather and her family.  We had a house on the lake.  So we spent our time boating, fishing, swimming, and eating.  A whole lot of eating!!  Heathers sister-in-law kept us well fed.  Oh yeah and did I mention they have MOUNTAINS in Virginia.  It was a great change from the vast wasteland I call home.

 

We have come to the conclusion that Heather and I are better at cleaning the lake of junk then we are of actually fishing.  We started out fishing with worms...our first clue that this was not a good idea should have been the left over worms in the fridge from the people who had rented the house the week before.  It wasn't!!  We spent the first night fishing with the worms and we didn't catch anything...Well we didn't catch any fish.  We donated a lot of hooks and fishing line to the bottom of the lake.  So a change in bait was the next idea. So we got some minnows for our next outing.  Heathers brother and his wife caught two very nice fish.  Meanwhile Heather and I  only managed  to catch a rope, a boat fender, and a broken fishing rod.  We also pulled up a few trees.  Our last night of fishing was the most productive at least for me.   I caught what I think was a bass that was about 16 inches long. 

 

I also won the cannon ball contest...I was the only contestant so it was a pretty easy victory.  We  also rented a canoe while we were there and have mastered that.  Well we can at least get from one point to another without tipping it! 

 

I would have to say the most entertaining part of the trip was...Harley.  Harley is a weiner dog.  This dog has a life jacket that must be worn in the water at all times.  It is the funniest thing you will see on a dog.  Just a thought... if humans can keep their head above the water by doing a little thing called...doggie paddle don't you think a dog could do that to.  To the Allen family...know that I am just kidding and if you ever read this I had a blast!!

 

I am leaving for PA tomorrow night for my last bit of enjoyment before preseason starts up and I am back to working 4 jobs. :(