"Girl's Trip"

First of all, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't really had anything going on blog-worthy to write about.

Last Tuesday, my mom, aunt and I headed to Nashville to spend the night with my cousin, and get our "Girl's Trip" started. We left Wednesday morning and headed off to a little town outside Chattanooga, TN, called Reliance. We usually go once a summer, but this was the first time we've been in two years. We rent a cabin and go white-water rafting. By the time we got to the cabin Wednesday afternoon, and got everything set up and the decorations up, we didn't have time to do anything. So we opened a bottle of wine and played board games and drank well into the evening.

On Thursday, we went hiking and saw the most beautiful waterfall. It was quite a trip down to the bottom of the waterfall, but well worth it. Back at our cabin, my mom and aunt were setting up a fire, and we saw a fox walking around. We were told by the owners of the cabins, that only a month earlier, there had been a bear, and quite often they have deer. But we did not see any of those animals, just the fox a couple of nights.

On Friday, we went white-water rafting on the Hiwassee River. It was very relaxing, because the Hiwassee is not an intense river at all. We each had our own "fun-yak" which is basically an inflatable kayak.

Then on Saturday, we drove to Georgia and went to a winery. All in all, it was a very fun trip. After it was all said and done, we had finished off about 5 bottles of wine, and two bottles of rum. It was a great time, and hopefully we will get to do it again next year.

I will post pictures shortly!

St. Louis

Pictures Galore!

One of the crosses at Bellevue Baptist Church. I tried to make it look abstract, and liked the way it came out.

I took this at Bellevue Baptist Church. I got underneath some trees and just pointed the camera straight up into the sky.

The crosses at Bellevue Baptist Church

Railroad tracks in Bartlett

The Saint Louis Arch

Wonderful Poem

This is a poem I found from one of those forwarded emails. I usually try not to re-send those things, because if they drive me crazy, then I am sure that they drive other people crazy as well. However, being a Christian, and trying to live a good life, and trying to earn my way to heaven, I found this poem that really reflects some thoughts I have been having.

When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,"
Now I'm found and forgiven
When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but,
God believes I am worth it.
When I say...
"I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.
- Maya Angelou

Me - The Photographer

Not only have I been running, biking and working the flower beds, I too have found time to practice photography. I took the camera up to the lake at the front of our neighborhood this afternoon and took 100 or so pictures. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!!

My Husband-The Photographer

Brad did not take all of these pictures. Our friend Scott took some of them. Enjoy!!

::Random::

I have been busy doing new things, and having a blast while doing them. First, Brad talked me into going mountain biking through Shelby Farms one day. It just so happened to be a day just after a pretty hard rain. I had absolutely NO problem riding straight through the mud. It was so much fun, and also cooled me off some. You can't see in the pictures, but I was covered in mud.
I have also been doing some yardwork. Back in November, I planted some Tulip bulbs. They bloomed for about 2-3 weeks in March. Sadly, tulips don't last very long, but they sure are beautiful while in bloom. Check out the ones I planted around my mailbox:

Enduring the 5-K

This morning was my first race ever. I joined my friend Jennifer and ran the Youth Villages 5-K. I didn't register until yesterday (Friday) but had been running all week at Shelby Farms. I ran the Chickasaw Trail,a paved trail that is 2.75 miles long. I only ran on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and it took me nearly an hour to run the trail.

I did not have high hopes for the race since I hadn't run 3 miles yet and it was taking me an hour to complete the Chickasaw Trail. My goal was not only to finish, but to not finish last. I did everything right yesterday: rested, ate carbs and went to bed early. I got up this morning ate ate a small breakfast and went to Jennifer's house. She drove us to the Ridgeway Center, which is where the race took place.

We had a good warm up, and got started at exactly 9:00. I ran for the entire first mile and a half then I had to start walking, but only for a few seconds. I did have to stop periodically throughout the race and walk, but tried not to walk for very long. Jen ended up getting well ahead of me, and I didn't want to hold her back. (She is running a half marathon next weekend).

As I rounded the last two turns, I ran pretty hard. At the last turn, which was also the three mile mark, I saw my husband walking across the street with camera in hand. I then saw Jenn on the sidelines cheering me on. I finished at the 35 minute mark. Jenn then informed me that we were about a minute behind the clock, so I really finished at about 34 minutes.

Not only did I finish with my goal of not being last, but I finished pretty well. I am very proud of myself, and will definitely continue to run. I am entering a 4 mile race next month at the Memphis Zoo. I am hoping to get my endurance up and pick up my pace a little bit by then.


Here is the picture Brad took of me just after the 3 mile mark. He didn't think I would be finishing that quickly, so he didn't see me until after I had passed, so the only shot was one of my backside. (I am the one in the white shirt and black skirt).

::Prayers::

I am feeling the need to ask for prayers. I just found out in an email from Brad that he will not be graduating this summer. He will need to take two classes this fall. The reason we need prayers is that we were both super excited about him finishing school, and starting his career as a high school football coach and a teacher. This was also going to give us the opportunity to start trying for a family. Looks like those plans are on hold for the time being.

For those of you who know me, know how excited I was to be able to start trying for a baby. I am very disappointed and mad (Not at Brad, of course) that this will take even longer than we had thought. I am mad at the University of Memphis who feels that it is necessary to drag out school for people just to squeeze every bit of money out of them.

Please pray that I find the patience that I need to get through the rest of the year, and for Brad to be able to get done with school then.

New Laptop

Friday afternoon, our laptop crashed. This was the same laptop that the internet went out about a month ago. With Brad being almost finished with the semester, he really could not be without a computer, especially since two of his classes are online. So I finally broke down and said that we could go get one. We used part of our income tax return to buy it. I was hoping to use that money to pay down some bills, but I guess we needed this laptop. It is a Dell Studio with a "Midnight Blue" top. It's quite pretty. (Brad said no to a pink laptop).

Since this is a new computer I am on, I don't have any pictures loaded on it yet. I was hoping to add some pictures of Polo and of the tulips that have come up in our front yard by the mailbox.

We have been pretty busy lately, which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging too much. However, I do have a request for you. If you feel so compelled, please pray for a little baby named Stellan. He is the youngest of four children to a lady who's blog I keep up with. I do not know him, or their family, but his story has touched my life. He has been in the hospital going on for three weeks now. He has a life threatening heart condition called SVT, and he is not responding to medicine. You can check out their blog here.

Facebook Frenzy

I haven't been updating my blog as often as I was, and I will tell you who you can blame...Facebook. A couple of weekends ago, Brad was on his Facebook account and I told him to go on and create an account for me. And so begins the frenzy. I have officially become addicted! Logging onto that website is the first thing I do when I get home from work. I am on it off and on all evening every evening. If I could get up earlier, I would probably get on Facebook before work.

It's a good thing that my job blocks Facebook from their server, because I know I would be one of many people getting fired for Facebooking all day instead of teaching these wonderful children. :)

Till next time,

Katy Needs

This is a fun little activity I found on my friend Alexis's Blog. You go to Google and type your name in the search box, along with the word "Needs". For example, I typed in "Katy Needs". You then copy and paste the first ten results that make sense.
Here are my results:

1. Katy needs adjustment- Not sure what I need adjusting.
2. Katy needs volunteers to teach junior achievement- I really could use some help with these kids.
3. Katy needs help-I definitely need help!!
4. Katy needs a nap-I could always take a nap!!
5. Katy needs work- Well, I beg to differ on this one...I don't need work, like the one above said, I need a nap :)
6. Katy needs a pony- Every girl wants a pony. I am not sure what I would do with one, but it would be fun!
7. Katy needs a better system- Not sure about this one.
8. Katy needs a life on Myspace- Definitely not this one...I just recently cancelled my MySpace account.
9. Katy needs a roommate- I don't think Brad would agree with this one.
10. Katy needs a name- I'm sorry, I thought my name was Katy...

Back to the Grind

I started back to work yesterday, and I cannot tell you how hard it has been getting up early. I was really getting used to waking up late, and getting stuff done around the house, and cooking dinner for my dear husband. :) I tried to talk him into letting me be a stay at home mom, but he reminded me that we have no kids, and that I am, in fact, not a mom. I told him that I am a mom to Polo, but he didn't go for that. I then told him I could just be a housewife. However, he still did not go for that idea. Oh well, maybe someday I won't have to work.

I have become motivated by my friends Jan, Kim, and Jennifer to start running. They are all training for a half marathon in April. I began my running on Saturday after I got some new running shoes and decided that if I can find any kind of race coming up in the next few months, then I would like to start training. I can't run very far as of right now, but hopefully, I will be able to increase my distance. It just depends on what my back will allow me to do.

Last night was the season finale of Jon and Kate Plus 8. I absolutely LOVE that show, and in the week leading up to it, there were rumors that they were splitting up, and the preview to the show gave that same feel. I was really nervous about watching it, because I really don't want them to split up. Anyways, I have good news to report....THEY ARE NOT SPLITTING UP!!!

I know this post was really random, and I talked about a lot of different things, I just wanted to get everyone up to date on what is going on with me :)

Spring Fever

This week, I have been on Spring Break from school. It has been a great week, and sadly, has gone by way too fast. I have been a busy little bee, working and cleaning EVERYTHING!!

Monday, my mom and I met up and went shopping. I was looking for things to decorate the ledge in our bathroom. I found one great vase that I got at BoJo's Antique Mall. It is blue and absolutely gorgeous. I also picked up a clear vase that I put some small rocks in along with some brown twigs that stuck out of it. I also got a lantern looking item from Garden Ridge and placed some large pieces of potpourri in it.

Tuesday, Brad (who took off work this week) and I went to Shelby Farms and walked with Polo around Patriot Lake. After that, we went to Lowes and got some plants for a flower bed I have been working on (pictures to come!) along with some top soil. We then made our way back home where I worked on the flower bed and Brad washed both of our cars.

Wednesday, we cleaned out our garage and threw things away that we didn't need, want, or know what it was. We were pretty lazy until Brad went mountain biking with Scott. While they were riding, I went to Jan's house and hung out with some of her friends from work. We then had dinner with Scott and Jan at Chili's.

Thursday, Brad and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Tigers play the first round of the NCAA Tournament. We met up with Gary and Scott and watched the game, which was too close for comfort. When we got home, Brad had homework to do, while I cleaned the house. We then cleaned out the shed in our backyard, and again threw away things that we didn't need, want, or know what it was.

Not sure what tomorrow or the weekend will bring, but honestly, there isn't anything else to clean or organize, or anything, so hopefully, we will be lazy! Although, there are a couple of things that I can think of that need to be taken care of...

Lucky Number 2

The Memphis Tigers have been screwed out of a number 1 seed this year. Being a person who has grown up watching Tiger basketball, and even play basketball in my youth, I find this very concerning. I find this not to be a fair decision when the Tigers had a better record this season than any of the number one seeds. And so begins the madness that is March. For the rest of the month, Brad and I will be camped out in front of any TV that has college basketball on.

Hopefully, the Tigers will be able to go pretty far in the tournament. I am expecting them to make it to at least the Elite 8 or possibly to the Final 4. Last year was such a disappointment for all Tiger fans after losing to Kansas in the Championship Game. I think all Tiger fans are excited about the tournament starting again, but also a little apprehensive.

That's enough about the Tigers, after all, this isn't Brad's sports blog, its MY blog. This weekend has been quite a lazy weekend for me. Since Brad and I cleaned on Friday afternoon, there wasn't anything else to clean. I literally laid around in my pajamas all day yesterday. It was so much fun to do absolutely NOTHING. For those of you who don't know, I started Spring Break on Friday afternoon when school let out, so for the next 7 days there isn't anything that I absolutely have to do!! I am so ready to just relax and get away from work for a week.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun week!

Couples Night and a Few Pictures

Tonight, Brad and I had a few couples over to play games and just hang out. Chad and Jenn came over followed by Lamar and Alexis. We played Phase 10-Twister. It was a really fun game and is a twist (haha you like that?) on the original Phase 10 card game. It took a while to play since there were 6 of us playing. I won't give the play by play details of the game, but I will say that I won the game in the last round. Actually I beat Brad in the last second, because if I hadn't gone out before him, he would have won the game. Brad and I had a really fun time, and hopefully the other two couples had fun also.

Here are a few random pictures:

Polo walking through the snow (March 1)

The lake in our neighborhood the weekend of the Big Snow!

Me giving my "sexy" pose to the camera.

Polo looks a little annoyed that the camera is in his face.