Visit to My Gym!

Gabi and I went to My Gym today! I think that I was more excited than she was! ha! We had fun and she did good for it being her first time. It was great to be back into a My Gym!

It is time for a CELEBRATION!

Yay! I think that I found a church tonight! It was a church that was very similar to my church in AZ, LifeChurch.tv. Very fun, loud, energetic, and Christ-centered. It was great! And, the pastor knows my pastor from LC.tv....in fact, Pastor Craig is actually coming to speak to this church in just a couple of months! I am so excited! This church seems to have similar programs for the kids and members too and I am looking forward to meeting people and getting plugged in! It is called Celebration Church and this is definitely something to celebrate! I was so sad to leave AZ and my church family but I know that God brought me here for a reason, and I am thrilled for what He has in store here in Jax.

Boys, Beach and Boardwalk

It is a beautiful weekend here in Jax and Scott and I decided to head down to the beach to see a Sandcastle contest that was taking place today. Unfortunately, we must have parked too far because we ended up in the wrong vicinity of the contest, but we enjoyed the sun and beach anyway. We only took the two big dogs since it would have been quite entertaining to take all four. Plus, Graham would have gotten overheated and Sebastian would have been all over the place! We saw a little bit of a surfing competition, some not-so-flattering swim wear, and some oh-so-yummy eye candy! Gotta love the beach!

Milestone

We all have certain days that are significant to us. It could be a day that we celebrate, remember, or grieve. There are days that we all look forward to and days that we wish to forget. Today is one of those significant days, it is my 5 year divorce anniversary. It is not something to pity or praise, it is just a fact. And, it is a crazy fact to think that 5 years has already gone by.

Reflection on…Divorce.

What do you do
when your dreams seem to fade,
when the sky turns from blue
to a deep shade of gray.

It is easy to become bitter
as disappointments come to light
two people who vowed to be one
contending who is wrong and who is right.

Emotions are hard to deal with
And the wound stings so bad
As you deal with adjusting
to hopes that you once had.

But the heart has a way of healing
As you live one day at a time
Laughing becomes much easier
And words come out a little more kind.

We cannot go back and change
Regrets and hurts from our past
But we can learn a lot about ourselves
And pray for a new love that will last.

I am blessed with friends and family
who showed their love and support to me
and a loving God up in heaven
for his faithfulness, grace, and mercy.

Who knows what the future holds
in this year or another five
But ‘for better or for worse’
I am truly thankful for my life.

Stephanie Martin

Yay!! I saw MYMO today!!!!

Obviously these two pictures are very different so I have two different things to share today!

1. The first picture is of my house that I own in KC. My renter emailed it to me to show me the beautiful flowers that are blooming on the tree in the front. It is so pretty! It definitely looks as if Spring has arrived in the Midwest, and I hope for all of you in the Midwest, that you have more than just a few days or weeks of Spring!

2. This is MYMO, the My Gym monkey! I painted him at the My Gym Children's Fitness Center in AZ when I worked there. I loved my job at My Gym and came to love the program and the company as well. I was super thrilled today when I learned that there is a My Gym here in Jax, AND there is another one opening up near me soon. My Gym is such an awesome place...great for a child's physical development, self-esteem, and socialization. It has to be a great place, I am still promoting it and I don't even work there anymore! I am hoping to get Gabriella signed up for classes soon! Have I told you how excited I am about this revelation??!!! I tell ya, if you have kiddos anywhere from 6 weeks old to 12 years old, find a MY GYM in your area and check it out today!!!!! (www.my-gym.com)

Same ol', same ol'...............

SO, things are becoming more routine and mundane around here. We all have our own set schedules and have succumbed to having a "family calendar" plastered on the refrigerator to keep track of of everyone. Scottie and I found a family calendar designed especially for kids at the local Staples, complete with stickers and all. We probably will not be using our "Teacher Conference" or "Football Camp" stickers, but we are having fun with it nonetheless.


The 'kids' are all doing good. Mr. Maverick even joined in on some crazy run-around-the-house fun the other day with his cousins. We were all in shock watching the madness. It was as if he had come across a bottle of Ritalin or something. Part of us wanted to calm them all down, but on the other hand, we enjoyed the entertainment and get-up-and-go that Mave was indulging in for the moment.


We have just finished Season 4 of Sex and the City and we are counting down the days until the BIG (pun intended) movie premiere. Other than that, we are all just working to keep afloat down here in the Sunshine State. Hope all's well in ya'alls neck of the woods!

Home Projects

In preparation for the big upcoming graduation party and to add a little landscaping to the house, Scott and Joshua did a little redecoration to their backyard! They bought a patio set and Joshua built a retaining wall and filled it with nice plants and shrubs. It turned out so amazing! He did a really great job on it all (Scott and I helped a tiny bit by moving cement blocks and making some trips to Home Depot but other than that, I have to be real honest here and say that we really cannot take a whole lot of credit for the craftmanship). We did all enjoy eating dinner outside on the back patio tonight though. It has been a really nice weekend weather-wise.


We also got together with our neighbors again last night. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them again! Scottie and I grew up on a cul-de-sac and it is nice living on one again. You don't have to worry about a lot of traffic coming up and down the street to mess any activities up! We grabbed lawn chairs, food, and drinks and played games and chatted until late. I went to bed with a few bug bites but other than that, we had a great time!

Nanny notes

Well, I got through my first week of watching Gaby and it was wonderful! She is so fun to be around and she has such a cute personality. She actually started taking her first steps this week! How exciting! It wont be long before she is going to be running circles around me!

Movie Review

If you are looking at going to the movies this weekend, I would recommend seeing the movie 21! Here is my personal review:

One teacher, 5 students, 2 nerds, and Las Vegas. 'Roll' all of those elements into one and you have a great drama, drama, drama. Ben is a college student who is trying to get into Harvard Medical School but due to the overwhelming price tag that goes along with acceptance, Ben finds himself resigning from his $8 job promotion and stepping into the secret life of counting cards in Vegas. The stakes are high and as the ball starts rolling, it begins to spiral out of control.

I give it a 4.75 out of 5 stars!

(the .25 is due to the fact that Matthew McConaughey was not in it shirtless)

Happy Tax Day!

Quote for the day:

"Most of us don't realize how much we have to be thankful for until we have to pay taxes on it."

(And, as I was mailing off my tax forms today I thought....good golly.....I have A LOT to be thankful for then!!!!)

The world is smaller than we think.....

I have to say that I have been amazed at the people that I have run into and talked to who have some sort of a connection to my home in AZ, KC or even to STL. So, here is another crazy story and another crazy meeting here in Jax. This evening I was working at the YMCA and had to sub a Boot Camp class. There were only a couple of girls in the class and as soon as one of the girls introduced herself, I just KNEW that I knew her!

As many of you know my brother and I are super close. Since my brother has lived in FL for 8 years, I have gotten to know many of his friends out here. I have met a lot of his friends over the years and have even stayed in contact with a couple of them personally as I have moved all over the place. Well, the one girl in the class tonight happened to be a friend of my brothers that I had met about 4 years ago while I was here in FL visiting. My brother went to college with her and they are good friends but unfortunately, have not seen each other in ages......he has been crazy busy with work and she got married a couple of years ago. Life happens right?! Anyway, it was so wild to see her again and to have that meeting happen at the local YMCA!

Scott got a call from his friend afterwards and told him about our run-in with each other! He was shocked and I have to admit that I was a little happy because she told him that I kicked her butt in the Boot Camp class! Hopefully we will all get together soon to catch up more!

Lazy Day Sunday

Today is one of those 'catch-up' days. Getting things done with work and housework that we didn't have time to get done over the week. And, of course as we are all hanging out and getting stuff done, the 'boys' want to be right in the action. And, sometimes that means right in the middle of the action as you can see in these pictures. I took some quick pics as three of the boys were NOT helping much as Scott was trying to work on his computer. And, if you are wondering where Mr. Maverick was, he was actually sitting right beside me as I took the picture! He prefers to watch and observe the other crazy dogs......haha!

Neighborhood Watch

Tonight was such a blast! Scott and Joshua live in a brand-new neighborhood (there are still houses being built) and there are a couple of houses across the street that are owned by other young couples. We had talked about getting together one weekend but it just hadn't happened yet....until tonight! There were 10 of us total and we all met up in the cul-de-sac and headed to the neighborhood Chili's. We had so much fun getting to know one another as we all told stories and laughed...you would never have known that we all had just met! We decided to extend the evening and ended up going over to Brandon and Stephanie's house (YES, you read that right....it was very wierd for me too when I heard their names!) to play Catch-Phrase. I always thought that it would be fun to live in a subdivision where the neighbors got along and hung out on a regular basis! We had a super great time and we all agreed that we will be getting together again real soon! (I will have to take some pictures at our next event!)

No snow here!

To all of my Midwest friends and family....I hate to rub it in (sorry...it is just so easy to do) but I just wanted to post what we did this afternoon as you all are getting snow flurries (what is up with that???!!!) Scott and I went to the pool with our friend, Robyn. It was hot out but the pool was very refreshing. It has been a little gloomy here recently so it is nice to see the sun out again. After all, this IS the Sunshine State!

Cheerleader Land!

One of my very dear friends, Francesca, was in Florida this past week for her stepdaughters college cheerleading competition. Cesca and I met 8 years ago when I was living in KC and we have been friends ever since. She is super sweet and I was thrilled to know that she was going to be in Daytona Beach for a few days, which is about an hour away from where I am living now. We met up last night for dinner and it was so great to see her and Mike! Daytona Beach was very nice, but VERY crowded with high school and college kids! Not only was the cheerleading competition going on...it is also Spring Break! Craziness!

I drug Joshua along with me to Daytona so I would have company on the way down and back. It is a good thing that I did too because we got caught up in construction on the way back and sat on the highway for quite awhile! So, as always, Joshua provided entertainment with his singing, dancing, and yelling out the window to the people who waited until the VERY last minute to merge.

A little piece of heaven........

Is she ADORABLE or what???!!!!! This is Gabriella, the little girl that I am now a nanny for Monday-Friday mornings. It is nice because I get my 'kid-fix' in the mornings and then I have the afternoons, evenings, and weekends to work on my business and teaching aerobics. She is super sweet and I am excited to have met her and her mom here in Jax. I started the nanny gig this past Thursday so next week will be my first full week with her!

Gabriella is 10 months old...just a couple months younger than my nephew "my little bug" Hudson. I have been sad that I have missed so much with Hudson so it will be fun to watch Gabriella as she grows and reaches her own milestones.

Meet and Greet in Jax

Well, even though I have been quite homesick from AZ, God has been putting very nice people in place for me to meet. I have been teaching and working at the YMCA for a few weeks now and everyone has been very welcoming. It has a great community feel to it and is very family oriented, unlike the big "look-at-my-big-muscles" gyms that are out there (And, after 10 years of teaching I happen to know that there are A LOT of these particular gyms out there!) I also started attending a Women's Bible Study tonight and the ladies all seem really wonderful. I am excited for the Study and to get to know them all better!

Hair by Josh

Box of hair dye.......$9.99

Olive Garden take-out......$35.00

cookies for dessert......$2.49

A night in with the boys......Priceless.

Mom and Mave time

"This morning I got to go to the beach! I had so much fun walking on the sand next to mom and fetching the ball in the water. It wasn't very sunny out but I wanted to put on mom's shades anyway because I thought that they made me look cool. The waves were really high and I had a lot of fun. Hopefully we will get to go back to the beach soon."

-Maverick

Three Amigos, and a lot of rain.

Well, Scottie is back home! Yeah! He is extremely exhausted though from his trip to and from Asia and we have decided that this will be a lazy day. It is rainy and gloomy outside...the perfect weather to just stay INSIDE and not do anything. It has actually been raining quite a bit this week. Someone told me at the gym this morning that FL hasn't had this much rain in a long while. I must have an unintentional rain dance in my steps or something. When I first moved out to AZ, they had been without rain for about 138 days (some crazy record like that). The first week I moved there, guess what? It RAINED....a lot! Now, there has been tons of rain down here and I have to figure out what my secret is because I want it to STOP! No more rain please!!

Wait a minute.....

.....I never thought that a MAN would actually get pregnant and have a baby before I ever did! I know that life isn't always fair...but are you kidding me???!!!!!!!!

Lesson for today

Definition for HUMID:

hu-mid (hyoo mid); 1) containing or characterized by a high amount of water or water vapor in the atmosphere. May cause difficulty in breathing and a sticky or muggy feeling. 2) Florida.

We miss you Scott!!!!!!

Joshua and I have been drinking cosmos, eating donuts, watching old episodes of Sex and the City, and taking occasional walks (to hopefully walk off the cosmos and donuts) while we wait around for Scott to get home. We miss you Scott!!!!! Just TWO more days!

Now that I live in FL with my brother I am fortunate to see him all the time and since he has been gone to Asia for the past week, it has been wierd!!!! I am working a little more now which is good for my sanity (and everyone else's I am sure). I am used to having an insane schedule so any down time is quite hard and awkward for me. I worked some hours at the Y this week and ended up teaching three aerobic classes yesterday (I am feeling it). I have also been hired as a part-time nanny which I am super excited about. I start next week. I will be watching a 10 month-old little girl named Gabriella. I met her and her mom today. She is so cute and will be a great 'kid-fix' for me!

We are still working on the business but it is slow-growing at this point. It is just a matter of my name and information getting passed around and getting some card orders and rooms to paint here in the area. If only I could run into some celebrities like John Travolta and Kelly Preston. I hear they have a house somewhere in FL. I would paint a room of theirs for FREE and in return they would just have to tell people!

So, anyone out there friends with John and Kelly? Haha! (you think I'm kidding.....)

SUNS....but in baseball form

So, I found out that even though I am not living in Phx anymore, I can still cheer the SUNS on here in Jacksonville. To my surprise, Jax actually has a minor league baseball team known as none other than....the Jacksonville SUNS. I realize that nothing can compare to a good ol' fashion PHX SUNS Basketball game, but I guess that this will have to do for the meantime. ;)

Oh, and the picture. Two of my girlfriends and I went to the PHX SUNS game on Valentine's Day. Our shirts were handmade by Stephanie's sweat shop and if you cannot read them, I will
let you in on the fun..."Love Sucks, Basketball Rocks." GO SUNS! (And, go DBacks too! Gotta love a home-opener win!)

News!

Yeah, so, I have done my time in FL but it is time to move on to New York. Yep, just wanted to let everyone know that I am moving yet again. I will email more details once I get everything figured out.

And, before y'all have heart attacks and swap me with emails and calls......April Fool's!
(I just figured that this might be the only believable joke since I am known to move often and usually have a different address every 6 months.)

Hope your day is fun and prank-free!

There is a first for everything....

I have been teaching aerobic classes for over 10 years. I have seen and been through it all....harrassing members, me falling off the step, the stereo shutting down on me, just to name a few....but I can honestly say that last night was a first.

I visited this gym in the area because I am trying to find another gym to teach at. It is a nice big club and they provide lots of toys to use in classes which is always fun. However, this is the first gym that I have EVER taught at that has a MASCOT. Yes, that's right, someone who dresses up.....in a gorilla costume. Last night a GORILLA came into the class that I was taking and was jumping on the trampoline right alongside us.

I wish I had my camera on me.