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Congratulations Colton & Biff! They are headed to the NCAA FCS playoffs for the first time in who knows how long to make a run at a D1-AA national championship.

They had a selection show party at the alumni center on Sunday evening and all of the news stations were there trying to capture footage of the team and coaches when the announcement came. How excited everyone was to hear that we would be hosting the first round and that the Cal Poly mustangs were going to be our first opponents. Too bad that excitement was so short lived. ESPNU announced the pairings wrong! We, in fact, have to travel to San Luis Obispo to play them at their place...

But it's still ok. Football has had a record breaking season so far this year--I think they have a great chance to continue that with a first round W! Good luck Wildcats!

turkey time

Mmm...this time of year is the best! Homemade Grandma Rhea rolls, spinach casserole, yams--with lots and lots of brown sugar and marshmallows, mashed potatoes with a divot in the center to place your corn in, turkey, and pumpkin pie (made ONLY from Libby's pumpkin mix of course)...how delightful. Well only if you don't coach a collegiate sport.

You see, I can't remember the last time that I had Thanksgiving with my family. For some reason, the Big Sky Conference thinks it's best to play the conference tournament over Thanksgiving weekend. Why you ask? Umm...it must be the cheap airfare (at $417 each which includes flying only to Boise on the way back and then having our Weber State bus pick us up and drive us the additional five hours home). Couldn't be. Then maybe it is because they like to make sure that all of the Big Sky Conference employees have to give up their time with their families too? Who knows! But it stinks.

Now on the other hand, I am SOOO happy to be playing this weekend. It is my livelihood. It is how I pay the bills. I actually get paid to be around a sport I love! It is how I am able to spend the majority of the day buying jeans, shoes, and other non-necessary items online. Or how I'm able to blog. Or go to the dentist in the middle of the day. Or how I can come into the office whenever I feel it is appropriate--to make up for all of the Saturdays and Sundays that I spend working or traveling. But, it is also something that I love to do. For the most part, I love the girls that I'm around on a daily basis--don't get me wrong, there are days when I swear that I am going to quit and go into something that pays more or allows me to explore the world as I please between the months of August and December. But overall, I do love my job. It is the perfect balance between working hard and hardly working!

And that's why I will be spending my Thanksgiving day in an airplane headed to Portland, Oregon. And in the gym at practice from 12:00-1:00pm that day. And why I will be eating turkey (minus the homemade rolls, spinach casserole, and pie) in the Black Angus Steakhouse in Vancouver, Washington. And why I will go to bed praying that we will play like we are capable of so that we can put together 2 days of good enough volleyball that will give us all something to be thankful for--and a ring to prove it!

11.19.76 was how long ago?

What does turning 32 years old mean?

It means this:

Dentist visit at 7am


Basics workout at 9am

Flu shot at noon

Lunch at 1pm



Practice at 2:30pm

These at 6:30pm

at

Followed by (only yummier)

and presents!

Turns out that getting old is not so bad afterall...

Psuedomyns Tag

1. ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Maddie Highlander

2. GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Heavenly Hash Ballet

3. NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Brown Dog

4. SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Ann St. Anthony

5. STAR WARS NAME (the first three letters of your last name, first two of your first name): Leome

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Water

7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Jack Dee

8. HUSSY NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Aqua Di Gio Chocolate

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Baxter Boise

10. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Summer Lilly

11. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now):
Strawberry Socks

12. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Cereal Aspen

Tag, you are it!

oh boy

Grandma Virginia McFarland. She sat posted in her recliner, with the remote on hand, smiling at each and every individual in the room. She would take turns asking each of them a question and upon receiving the answer, would mutter a marvelous "oh boy"! Everyone who has spent time with her has surely been the recipient of that phrase & as a result, has probably used those same words themselves at one time or another. I love to say it and I'm not even one of her grandchildren!

Grandma Mac passed away this afternoon at her home in West Weber. I'm sure she is excited to return to Heavenly Father and to her son & husband who are waiting for her there.

But we will miss her here too.

A few of the highlighted moments that I will remember:

• Her silly laugh when she thought something you did or said was stupid.
• Her nose spray.
• Her purse and bottled water with the lipstick on it.
• The time she thought that Christi's dog was a cat.
• The time she told Colton she wished she could poke him in the butt with a knife.
• The time she asked if John Swan was a Mexican.
• Her "killer" mouse traps.
• Her concern about having her nails and makeup done. (Reminds me of my Grandma Jeb)
• Her love for cookies and milk.
• The way she would always chide Colton after asking if I was his wife.
• Her spelling skills--RESERVOIR is a word that no one in that family should ever forget.
• Her love for the Utah Jazz.
• Answering the remote and changing the channels with the phone.
• Calling me honey.
• Kissing on the lips.

I know that some of these things are a result of her memory going bad, but through all of these things, you could still tell how much she loved her family and appreciated visiting with them. And I appreciated all of these things because she reminded me so much of my own grandparents. We all love you G Mac...May the "oh boy" live on forever!

big weekend

My oh my, I've got alot of catching up to do! So here goes:

• Thursday, Karlee had a little accident. She decided she wanted to test Tyra when she was told not to touch the stove because it would burn her. Turns out Tyra was right. Karlee has a third degree burn that covers her entire palm. They've taken her daily to change the dressings and get it re-bandaged and today she met with a hand specialist so that they could utilize their expertise in the healing process.

OUCH! Now if this were me, I'd be screaming bloody murder and demanding high doses of pain killers. But she's a trooper and is doing really well!

• Friday, I went to Orem to recruit the high school state tournament and came home in time for practice, a thorough cleaning session in my room, and the One Republic Concert. I felt like a loser because I was going by myself, but fortunately for me, The Birch family was there to keep give me some good company. The concert was great and I thought they were as good live as they sound on their CD. Props to Darin Osborne for the sweet free tickets!

• Saturday, the WSU football team claimed the Big Sky Championship by defeating Idaho State 59-27 in Pocatello. What a way to celebrate a birthday Biff! Weber State accounted for 2000 of the 5616 fans that were there, and Colton got to deliver the pre-game speech--with about 2 minutes notice from Mac Daddy. I'm sure it was inspirational and clean...right babe? Speaking of Coach Mac, he got hauled to the hospital in the 4th quarter because he was having trouble breathing and having chest pains. Another 4 years??? Mmm...Meanwhile, we were busy at home hosting Sacramento State--and BEATING them in four. So as of today, we are tied for 5th place and still get a chance to play two of the teams that are ahead of us in the remaining two weeks of the regular season.
  

Anyway, it was quite an exciting weekend! And to top it all off, I had a butt-kicking, throw-up inducing Basics workout this morning. For the record, I hate running...SER.I.OUS.LY!!

size matters

So I'm proud to say that I've been going strong with my BASICS plan for the last 2 1/2 months. I feel so much better now that I've been working out consistently. I can see that I've replaced some fat with muscle. So it really must be working, right?

Well tell that to my pants please. Because I have put on about 11 lbs from where I was last fall (granted I was in a deep, dark depression and suffering from anorexia), but I can't fit into those pants anymore without splitting them open. Oh, they still fit my waist, but my butt and thighs are busting out at the seams! Can someone please make some pants that will fit over my thighs that will also fit my waist at the same time? There must be people out there who suffer from this dilemna the same way I do.

Because this is what I feel like:











It's almost depressing. It's almost enough to make me quit working out altogether. But not quite. I love how good I feel every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10am when I've completed Joel's workout. But I love my skinny jeans too and I don't want to waste all of those clothes in my closet. So can we please find a happy medium?!

too good too be true

Why is it that when my life finally seems perfect, I get this overwhelming feeling inside that something is about to happen that will screw things all up?

Maybe cuz it always does...