Big tree, Lil' David

Mine and Navarre's trip home to Baton Rouge was prompted by a comment from Dad..."Lil' David wanted me to tell you he was going to give you some shit if you didn't come home for the Regionals this year." (Read Nicole's post for background...not enough time for me to rehash)

So, the big tree and Lil' David are calling us home.

Am I coming or going?

What day is it and what do I need to bring with me? Two questions I'm constantly asking myself these days....I've been super busy with wedding stuff and trip stuff and photo stuff and a bunch of other stuff...rehearsal and bachelorette party tonight...camera shopping and new office looking and dress picking up and dinner tomorrow...wedding and packing sunday...flights monday...at 6:15 am...with baby girl...ought to be interesting.

Red stripe

I had my belt test for my red stripe last Friday. I passed and am one step closer to my black belt. The test was harder than I expected. Not in the sense that I couldn't execute was what asked of me, but it was physically and mentally draining. The test got moved to May 23rd, but I won't be able to attend that night. So, I tested after class on Friday. After a Friday class (which are usually more intense than Mondays and Wednesdays), it was more difficult to draw up the stamina needed for the test.

I was most impressed with my combinations and my board breaking. I broke 2 boards - one with a sidekick and one with a 360 back kick. Both broke right down the middle and felt as thin as paper as my heel broke through each one. It's all in the accuracy, not necessarily the power. Which is so true for most things in life...it's quality, not quantity that counts. I focused on the exact middle of each board visualizing the break, and before I knew it, my heel was on the other side.

I'm hoping to train a bit during the Portage in the Sportage '08 so that I can test again in the fall. That will be for a red belt. Then a brown, then a black. It's not so much the black belt itself I'm looking forward to, but the path to get there. I look back on my skills as a yellow belt, and I've come such a long way. I want that same feeling looking back at myself as a red stripe.

Homecoming

I think Navarre and I will be coming to Baton Rouge for 8 days!! I'm pretty excited. All those Delta and Continental flights are finally paying off. We'll see everyone soon! I'm hoping she is as good as she was in January on the flights. We'll see.

Happy Birthday, Hudson!

Shelly had the baby yesterday (on Mother's Day!!). Welcome to the world, Hudson...all 9 lbs. and 1 oz. of him! Baby and Mamma are doing well, and I'm hoping to see them today. Congrats to the Curries:)

The star

The real star of the show is Navarre, as we all know, so here are some new pics...

Return of the funky eye

Jamie still has infected eye follicles. The doc cleared him to go back to work, since he's not highly contagious anymore (just a little contagious apparently). The bad news is the virus moved to his right eye too and has left marks on his cornea. These may clear up on their own, or he may need meds to clear it up. Follow up with the doc in 6 weeks to determine that. The Red Planet is much improved though...

Happy Birthday, T-boy!!!

Guess who's another year older......give up, give up...it's T! I hope you have a happy birthday. While I realize that may be difficult to do at your age, well with all the aches and pains you must be having now, but give it a try.

Have a slice of cookie cake and a beer for me...I pity da fool who don't enjoy a beer and chocolate on his birthday.

Funky eye update soon

Jamie has an appt. with the super duper eye doctor this morning at the hospital. I will post pictures and an update after that. Will he go back to work? Will he continue as a stay-at-home Dad? The saga continues....

2 rookies

With 2 rookie goalies it's hard to make it to the conference finals. The Habs are out. They had a great time this year, but no leadership at the goalie position. I think Price realized he was in a big game, and it fell apart.

Now that the Habs are out, it's Geaux Penguins!

April showers...

In April I was busy with showers...for babies and weddings. Shelly & Mike (along with the rest of us) are still waiting on Baby C. Now that she's within a week of the due date, it's got to be any day now!

Jackie's bridal shower was the latest. Here are a couple of pics...it's been almost a week since, but Jamie's eye business and the playoffs have kept me a little distracted. The bridal shower was great, and it was nice to meet some of her soon to be in-laws! Last Saturday was an all-day bake-a-thon since I was in charge of desserts. I have to say the cupcakes were yummy:)

Have you clapped for the dancer?

Molson has these Canadian beer commercials that do a great job of branding what it means to be a Canadian. Their latest commercial shows a series of quintessentially Canadian occurrences in each Canadian's life - I should clarify...male Canadian because God forbid a beer company actually market a beer to women.

As I watch this commercial over and over again as it plays during the NHL playoffs, I realize that I've been here long enough to either have experienced these quintessential Canadian moments in life, or at least can relate to the emotion they convey. I've used my arm as an ice scraper; I've bought someone a beer when I spilled his pint; I've put my coat on a big pile during a party and known it would be there the next day; I haven't grown a beard during playoffs, but I've known a couple of guys that let the rules of grooming go during the playoffs.

What does the American equivalent of this commercial look like....Have you bought the Hummer when you know you can't afford it? Have you floated in the ocean and held your beer up when the waves come? Have you camped out the night before a tailgate just so you can get your spot for GameDay, and you don't even have tickets to the game?

Ok, so maybe this should be a commercial for Dixie or Abita. I'm not sure beer drinkers in Kansas or Idaho would relate.