Arizona, Here We Come!

And we're off! The 2015 season is officially underway! I am so fortunate to be able to spend the first week in Arizona with DJ and enjoy some warmer weather.  Although we aren't on the same flight, I am looking forward to spending the week with our baseball friends and my hubby exploring a new city! 

Here's to hoping this season is the best one yet!

Last year's visit to AZ can be found here.

Snow Day #7

We are now on snow day #7 here in Norfolk, VA.  Working at a school has it perks, I must say, but I am a little over snow days.  I managed to get almost everything checked off of the Pre Spring Training checklist, made an Easter wreath that I will show y'all sometime soon, and enjoyed lots of time with my family and pups! 

As we pack and run last minute errands before we head out to AZ tomorrow, here are some picture of the fun we had these last few days with D.J. at home!

 

 We made a pretty awesome snowman that was bigger than me!

Mom and Dad with the pups!

And a big Happy 2nd Birthday to this amazing pup.  We seriously lucked out with how good of a dog Stryker has been.  He is so low maintenance, is perfect with kids, loves to play with other dogs, and is the best snuggler in the bed.  

Off Season #3 Complete

Wow, what an off season it's been. It still amazes me that this is now our third off season and we are going into the third full season of minor league baseball.  Lots has happened this off season - from weddings to trips to everything in between - it's been busy, but it's been GREAT!

Since September, the Indians have switched High A Affiliates from the Carolina Mudcats to the Lynchburg Hillcats.  So if D.J. starts at the same level he finished with last season, he will be in Lynchburg, VA. Yes - it would be cool to be in the same state as my husband, but quite frankly, I would much prefer Raleigh.  It's closer and the route you take is much simpler to get to Raleigh than it is to Lynchburg.  Oh well - it is what it is! If he starts on the next level up, he will play in Akron, OH and the closest team he will travel to during the season is in Richmond, VA. We are praying for Akron, but will be thankful to be with Lynchburg as well!

This offseaon was jam packed.  Every weekend it seemed like we had some type of event going on.
Although busy, we managed to get a lot of things checked off the honey-do long term list.  We finished the guest room and are halfway thru with the quarter round project on the house. We both stayed extremely busy with coaching JV Basketball and the Varsity Cheering squad. Now that both of those are finished, I am excited for what this season has to offer!

Spring training officially starts on March 9, but D.J. and I are heading out to AZ for the week on Saturday to enjoy some warm weather and for him to prepare for the season. Baseball season brings lots of exciting things like warmer weather, boys in uniform, and amazing baseball friends that I cannot wait to reconnect with this season!

Here's to the start of Spring Training and the next seven months of baseball! Bring it on!

Workout Essentials

I've never been the girl that gets done up to go to the gym.  I'm more of a natural, baggy t-shirt, norts
kinda girl.  But since it's been colder and I have been doing more hot yoga, workout pants have become more of my go-to for the gym.  I know a lot of you are into fitness and I wanted to share with you some of my workout essentials. 

 There's something about having a nice pair of pants and cute tank to wear at yoga that makes a girl feel sexy while working out.  Since investing in a pair of lululemon pants, I truly see the value and the difference than a simple cotton yoga pant.  The pants are better with the sweat and make running long distances more bearable on the inside of the thighs, if you have soccer player legs like me!

So for me, I would suggest splurging on a nice pair of pants and save money on the sports bras.  My go-to sports bra, and the only type I have in my drawer, is the C9 Seamless sports bra from Target. The are $16.99 and can get them on sale for $13.99 if you look at the right time. They are perfect for me and I love the way they fit my body.

These Zella pants are calling my name. I also love a good pair of Lululemon pants.  As I am training for my 10K in March, I have been wearing pants every time I go for a long run.  The just feel better on my legs.  I typically wear an old t-shirt, but when I like to get all fancy and feel good, I love a nice sleek tank like this one. And water is essential, so a nice, durable water bottle is key! 

What are some of your essentials you have to have? Fill me in on the cool stuff I am missing in my workout! 

Home Tour: Guest Room

Welcome to the guest room! When we moved into our home, we knew that we wanted at least one guest room.  With D.J's family coming in town often and our friends that visit from out of town it was necessary.  Thanks to a sweet family I babysit for, we received the bed and two tables for a babysitting trade :) They also threw in the quilt and bed skirt! Without their help, this room would not look as good as it does today.  We decided to push the two tall tables together to use as a mini dresser.

We left them the wifi password and some delicious smelling candles. 

 

I found these fun pillows at TJ Maxx and they add the perfect touch to this room.

 

The nightside table is something I would like to change sometime soon.  It's a little wobbly and not exactly what I pictured for this room, but it does the job for now! 

 Things that still need to be done in this room are curtains, rug, and some wall art. However, these panels make it hard to hang stuff on the wall.  Any suggestions on hanging pictures/art on wood panel walls is appreciated! 

Curtain Patterns: 5 Favorites

Owning a house is a work in progress, and one of those progress items is curtains in the living room.  We finally got the curtain rod up and now I'm just waiting to find the right curtains.  Trying to decide if I go the route of getting some fabric and having them made into curtains or the traditional curtain route.  Let me know what you all think of these options! To see more of the furniture in our living room, check out this post.  

All of these options are from the fabulous U-Fab store in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA.  

 

This option would match our couches perfectly.  Just not sure if it's too much with the carpet we have.  

 A nice neutral to lighten up the room.  Would look great with the walls.

A nice floral pattern with a light yellow to bring out some yellow in the carpet.

Love the design and I think would add a lot to the room.

 

Love this pattern, but afraid it will darken the room.

Feedback and thoughts are much appreciated for this indecisive mind!

Pre Spring Training Checklist

Even though I don't travel with D.J. during the season, it's still a pretty busy time of packing and checking things off the honey-do list before he leaves for the season. With less than two weeks till we head out to AZ, the list of things that need to be finished before we leave is looking a little daunting.  Thanks to the snow days, we were able to get the curtain rod up in the living room, but no curtains yet.  The list won't take long, but the items on the list are things that I either need help with or things I don't like to do.

1. Give Stryker a bath.
2. Wash the sheets and the duvet cover.
3. Replace the light bulbs that are out in the dining room.
4. Buy enough air filters to last me the rest of the season.
5. Put down the quarter round in the house.
6. Deep clean the bathrooms one final time.
7. Dig out the baseball bins in the attic.

Hello 5 day weekend!

Valentine's Day Weekend was just how we like it to be.  Relaxing and memorable.  Friday night I had to work late after the basketball game for our annual Faculty Appreciation Night.  It's always great to let the teachers and staff know how much we appreciate their dedication to Collegiate and the party is always a good time.  We headed over to Cuddy Sharks, a little hole in the wall dive, for a few beers with my parents and my old babysitter, Lisa and her husband Drew who were in town for the long weekend.  Needless to say, we arrived a little too late in the night and the rest of the gang were done in! Good thing DJ and I came so we could drive them home! Saturday I started the morning off with a 3.5 mile run in preparation for my 10k at the end of March! DJ got me a manicure and pedicure so I had a nice relaxing spa day before our early dinner at Chicks.  After dinner we went bowling with the family and this chick was actually pretty good! Sunday we renewed our Costco membership (of so fun!), had DJ's basketball party and watched some movies.

Thanks to President's day, we already had Monday off, but then the storm hit.  If you remember last year, we got hit with 10+ inches of snow in two weeks.  This storm wasn't as big as last year, but enough to be out of school for at least two days! We are now on snow day #2 and counting.  The roads are crazy icy and the snow isn't even fun to play in.  Couldn't even make a snow angel. But it has been pretty to look at!

You can see here that when DJ was on the ground, he didn't even sink into the snow! 

After we realized the snow wasn't going to be as fun as it looked, we decided to make a fun game out of the hard snow - ice putt putt! We made a whole course and everything! It was awesome and really a great way to make a fun use of the hard snow we couldn't play in!

 I think this photo says it all - ball, snow, and family is all this pup needs to be happy in life!!

Happy Heart Day

Happy Valentine's Day lovers! I hope you all have a fabulous day kissing and hugging the ones you love most! 

XOXO

How I was Convinced to Coach Cheering

I started cheering when I was in 7th grade.  I wasn't a crazy tumbler or the flyer, but I had strong legs and could get almost anybody up in a stunt as the base.  Throughout my years in high school at Norfolk Collegiate, the cheering program continued to grow.  We cheered at every home basketball game, spent countless hours in the gym and excelled at competitions around the state. 

See that crazy lady in the front being dramatic with her legs wide open?! Yea, that was me!

When I came back to work at Norfolk Collegiate, I had no intention of coaching a sport.  However, my first year back, I was the middle school volleyball coach and loved it.  It was a little time consuming because I had to leave work early to be in the gym by 3:15, but overall worth it.  I coached again this year and I love being able to see the improvements in each young lady as they continue to grow and mature.  

When two young ladies approached me in November about being the Varsity Cheering coach the first thought through my head was "where in the world would I find the time to coach cheering!?" I had seen the team last year, and I was not impressed.  The program had completely fell to the ground and there were 6 cheerleaders on the  team.  The two girls kept asking me about it and I decided that if they could get 10 cheerleaders committed to being on the team this year, then I would be the coach.

Well guess what?? They found over 10 people. So I became the coach.  At first I was a little stressed about the amount of time I Was spending at the school.  They practice from 4:30-6pm every day and when there are home games they cheer both varsity boys' and girls' basketball.  I quickly found myself being sucked into the love of the sport again and wanting to make them better. 

The difference between last years team and this years team is unbelievable.  They wouldn't even stand a chance to compare to the team before them.  We are doing stunts that I never imagined doing when I first started.  Fulls, twist cradles, baskets.  It's not expert level, but its for sure more than beginner! We got new uniforms, have been granted some gym time, and even had a lock in at the school a few weekends back!

Along with myself as a first time cheer coach, I also convinced another alumnus of the school, Brittany to coach the middle school team.  These girls are the future of our program and I am confident that with Brittany as their coach, they will be ready for JV or Varsity when that time comes!

Cheering has allowed me to get to know these students on a much more personal level.  They trust me and respect my decisions as well as respect each other.  We have been working hard this year on halftime routines in hopes that next year we will be ready to take the mats in a competition!

With the teams strong leadership skills, we were able to host a clinic for students interested in cheering in grades 4 and 5.  The turnout was great and look how cute they looked in their uniforms!!

Overall, cheering has been such a blessing and I am so honored to coach such an amazing group of young women and men.  I can't wait to continue to see the program grow over the years and I hope that one day we are as strong as it was when I was here! 

Be on the lookout for a vlog in the next few weeks with their halftime routine - it's pretty awesome if I do so say myself :)

GO OAKS!

Weekend Recap

On Friday night after the basketball games at the school, we drove up to visit my in-laws for the weekend. We got in around 11 p.m. and I literally went straight for our bed.  I was beat and I knew we had a long day in the morning.

Saturday morning, we went to see Myla play soccer at 9 a.m. in Fredericksburg and grabbed some brunch at Cracker Barrel afterwards.  She was so cute out there playing with the cones and doing the obstacle courses.  Soccer at 19 months is pretty hilarious!

It was the whole gang at the field house - Brian and Amy's family, James, Stef and Jayden, Brians mom and grandma and D.J., Sandra, Dennis and I.  Needless to say, I think Myla had the biggest fan section!

 

It was a challenge to get Jayden to take a good picture, but these two are the best we got!

 Even Bryce was happy to be there...until we cut into his eating time!

 

 After brunch, we went to Funland to let the kids run around.  And the adults! It was a beautiful day outside so we all took our turn in the batting cage.  Even Dennis, my FIL got some swings in! Jayden wanted to ride some of the "roller coasters" inside and since he needed someone to ride with him, the closest adult to kid-size got that privileged. Yep, that's me.  It was actually pretty fun and I was extremely dizzy.

We got home around 2 and the boys played some basketball while I snuggled on Bryce.  D.J. got his favorite meal and we had delcious shrimp and pineapple.  While we were eating, the sun was setting and I couldn't help but snap some pretty crazy photos.  God is so great to provide us with this beautiful scenery.

How beautiful are those photos?! And one more for good measures...

I fell asleep on the couch watching Fury, but it was a great night with family.

Sunday moring Amy and Myla came by for brekfast and to say bye to D.J. one last time. We hit the road around 12 to head home.  I had a hot yoga date at 4 pm with a friend so I needed to get back for that.

Here's to another amazing week focusing on solid work, workouts, and healthy eating! Only 3 weeks left before we head to AZ to kickoff the 3rd baseball season! 

5 on Friday - Valentines Day Wants

Normally, D.J. and I are not Valentines Day gift givers, but if for some reason he wanted to get me something, these five would be pretty awesome!

one. eyefi camera card

This little gadget is the smartest thing ever made.  Ok, maybe a little dramatic there, but seriously how cool is this?! Right after you take a photo, it goes to your phone and you can upload a quality photo without having to download all the picture?!

two. spa day
I am in dire need of a mani/pedi.

three. TWO HEARTS gift basket from Lush

Love a good bath bomb and this basket looks like it has some pretty awesome goodies in it!

four. Just Cupcakes
Don't these oreo cupcakes look amazing?! If you are a Norfolk/VB resident, you must stop by this amazing bakery to get a cupcake! They are the best!

five. flowers
Everyone loves a good bouquet of flower.  And to get me in the spring mood, these would be perfect