GO DUCKS!!!!

The Oregon Ducks are playing for the BCS National Championship!! I'm so excited! Well, actually, I'm more excited for my husband. He went to Oregon. He bleeds yellow and green. He's been acting like he is 10 since last Saturday. His excitement in watching his favorite team has been a nerve racking experience but one that I am enjoying. I have learned a lot about the ducks and their history. I know that this is the first time they have been on the national radar. It cracks me up that ESPN has the duck in their commercials. I enjoy Herbstreit cracking up every time he sees Corso but that duck hat on. Over the last five years I have been converting over to the green and yellow. And yes it is easy to be fan when the team is winning.

Ooohh... but I've seen the pain as well. I have witnessed the Ducks losing the Civil War game. I rooted (for the Trojans) as they demolished my husband's team. I was at the 2010 Rose Bowl game when Oregon got embarrassed. I also witnessed the tragic event that came on my husband's most special. In 2007, just hours after Craig proposed to me, Dennis Dixon went down. In 2007, the Ducks were having an amazing year. Dixon was probably going to win the Heisman. But on that faithful day he went down. Craig has been suffering since he became a student in 1994. I am thrilled that he gets to experience his team play for a title. He loves his ducks. And I'm getting to the point where I can say that I love my ducks too.

Happy Birthday Craig!

My wonderful husband turns 36 today. Yep, he's a Halloween baby. Which explains so much. :) He is not a fan of the birthdays but this was a pretty good weekend for him. The Oregon ducks put a hurt on the USC Trojans. We were there and even though we were definitely in the minority, we had a great time. It was probably more stressful for Craig but when the Ducks get a W he is happy. We then spent all day today with family. Craig's niece and nephew were in town for the first time so ALL the family came down to see them and to celebrate Craig's birthday. While he hates celebrating birthdays, I love them. It is a chance to celebrate what you've done during your lifetime and appreciate the experiences and the journey along the way. Even though it is his birthday, I spent sometime thinking about how our life decisions lead us to each other. If I didn't attend UCI we would have never met. If he was never interested in athletic training our paths would not have crossed. I am so lucky to have this wonderful man stand by my side through thick and thin. While we are still newlyweds ( I think) we have shared so much together and I look forward to the many birthdays we will share together. Love you husband!! And Happy Birthday!!

I Love Triathlons!

I think I have found a new sport to love. Triathlons!! Last spring, I signed up for two triathlons. I have always wanted to participate in one and since the season is almost over I decided to enter into 2. I raced in the Long Beach Sprint Tri which was a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and a 3 mile run. The swim was easy with no waves in Long Beach. I really hurt between the bike and the run, but finished with a time of 1:27. I was hoping to be under 1:40. I was really excited. I finished 16th in my age group. I had 4 weeks between the two races. The second tri was called Day at the Beach and was held in Hermosa Beach. This one was also a sprint, but the swim was a little shorter and the bike was a little longer. The waves in Hermosa were coming in about 6-8 feet high. I loved it, but I know others had a hard time. I defintely struggle on the bike. I am not very comfortable on the bike. I cannot even reach down to grab my water bottle. I have to wear a camel pack to make sure I get all my fluids and stay hydrated. And last is the run. The first 1/2 mile sucks!! My legs just felt like heavy weights, but after the first mile it gets easier. For this tri, I decided to enter into a weight division. For men, there are two weight divisions called Clydesdale and Thunder Thighs. For women, there is a weight division called Athena. You have to weigh more than 145lbs. I figure I have a better shot at finishing well in this division than in my age group. Most of the triathletes have a running background and less than 5% body fat. I cannot compete against those skinny bitches (j/k) so I figure I would compete against women my own size. I did awesome!! I finished in 1:45!! AND.... I WON my division!!! I was so excited!! This makes me want to train harder and enter more. Unfortunately, the triathlon season is ending. There is one in December that I'm thinking about completing, but I'm already looking up races for the 2011 season. I cannot wait!!

Goodbye 27.... hello 28.

I know I'm almost a month late, but I've been busy. I would like to take the time to say goodbye to year #27. It brought a lot of memories. I began and finished my 3rd of year teaching which I absolutely love. I had an amazing Hawaiian vacation for Thanksgiving and I got to watch my sister turn 21 (Finally!!). I went back to school to earn my master's in educational administration. Only one more year of that. I went to Oregon twice to watch a football game and a basketball game. I'm quickly turning into a Duck's fan and I absolutely loved Eugene. I finished 3rd at the weight loss challenge at work and took an active role as part of Savanna's Medical Academy team. My jv girl's water polo team finished 2nd in league and the swim team finished first!! I watched my first class of freshmen graduate from high school. I don't think I'll ever forget those girls. I finally finished BTSA and I was a chaperone at prom. That was fun! I took advantage of my Disneyland pass and went all the time and I also chaperoned Grad Nite which was at D-land. Not sure if I'll do that again. I also celebrated my first year of marriage with Craig. A nice, relaxing trip to Santa Barbara. I also ran my fastest half marathon in 2 hours and 11minutes. Craig and I bought new windows, stucco and paint for our house. It looks great!! I flew to Texas to watch my best friend get her masters from Texas Tech. I saw another friend get married too. The year of #27 has been great. A lot of memories. I'm excited to see what the 28th year of my life will bring. :)

Texas!

Last weekend I went to Lubbock, Texas to watch my friend, Nicole graduate. After two long years in this town, Nicole is earning her master's degree. Woo-hoo!! Lubbock is an interesting place. It was not as small as I was expecting. I completely imagined the scene from Cars where there is only one stop light and a couple of stores. Lubbock is a very cute city with freeways, Targets, Walmarts, and same tasty delights I don't think can be found in other places. There is a frozen custard place called Sheridan's. It is like a Cold Stone where you choose what you want but it tastes so much better!! Delicious! I had smores, but there were also the flavors of cotton candy, fruit, caramel. shortcake, cupcake, a flavor called wedding cake, pie flavors and so much more.

Yummy!



Lubbock was a neat place. The people there a really friendly. Texans sure love God, but they also love their guns which makes me laugh a little bit. The food here is absolutely delicious. I set out to eat either ribs or steak. I went with the steak and was not disappointed. Anyhow, back to the main reason for this trip, my friend Nicole. She left SoCal for two years and even though I sadly missed her she got her master's degree! Woo-hoo!! Now off into the working world. So proud of her!

One Year

I cannot believe how fast time passes. Craig and I have been married for one year! Does that still make us newlyweds? Guess I'll have to change the name of this blog. We spent an amazing weekend in Santa Barbara. I found this cute little cottage just a couple blocks away from State Street. We got a massage, explored State Street, went whale watching, walked around Stearns Wharf, but most of all we relaxed. A perfect weekend to celebrate a perfect first year of marriage.

Club 33!!!

So on March 28th, Craig and I were invited to have dinner at Disney's Club 33. For those of you that don't know, google it. It's Disney's private restaurant located in New Orleans Square above the Blue Bayou and Cafe Orleans. My cousin got hooked up for her birthday and we were invited. Oh my goodness, it was amazing!! Great service, food, and view of the square. The restrooms were super fancy and I'm pretty sure we could have eaten off the floor. The food was absolutely delicious, along with the wine, and oh, the dessert. It should surprise no one that I ordered the chocolate trio. There was a small dark chocolate piece, a scoop of caramel chocolate mousse, and then a miniature molten lava cake. All three were soooo yummy!!

One of the highlights of the evening was going out onto the balcony. We got to look down onto New Orleans Square and just people watch. It's funny because before I knew about Club 33, I thought that the buildings were just decor. In high school I learned about Club 33 and put it on my large list of things to do in my life. It feels good crossing off a number on the Bucket List. I do not think I could ever forget this experience. I love Disneyland and even though in the big scheme of things it's just a restaurant, it is a part of Disney that I will always cherish.



Such an amazing evening!!

February/March

The past couple of months have been crazy. February finished up a long girl's water polo season. My JV girls took 2nd place in league and also took 2nd in the Western Frosh/Soph tournament. February was also busy with Seal Beach Volleyball Club. I am coaching the 14-3s team which are mostly 7th graders with beginner level skills. They seem to get better every tournament. However, they are frustrating to coach at time. These teenagers! It's hard to tell if they care or not. Oh well, as long as they get better, right? I've also been fairly busy with my master's class. A lot of writing to do and my 6-hour Thursday night class is very draining at times. I have also been trying to live a bit more healthier. At Savanna HS, the staff has started a weight loss program. To date, I have lost 10lbs and we finish in 3 weeks. The winner gets about $300, so I'm excited!! The part that I'm most proud of is that I'm not even dieting. It's just eating better and exercise.

March brought on swim season and more volleyball. Swim has been crazy so far. I have a ton of new JV swimmers. I have 24 JV girls and they get better and better every practice. I had about 6 that could hardly swim and now they are dropping times like crazy. Yesterday, was our massive Savanna Invite. There were 18 schools and over 1,500 swimmers. By far the longest day of the swim season. However, this year it went by fast. Starting at 6am, we finished all events and clean-up by 7:30. That is some sort of record I'm sure. Last year we were still cleaning up around 10pm. Blah! The meet ended on a positive note for us. Our boys varsity 400 freestyle relay swam an automatic time for CIF!! They've been so close for about 3 weeks and they finally got it!! Very exciting!

April is looking to busy as well. There is wedding to go to, KROQ's April Foolishness, Spring Break, more master's classes, my mom's 61st, but the thing I'm looking forward to the most is that Craig and I will be celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary!! Yeah!! We're planning a weekend trip up to Santa Barbara. One thing at a time though. I need to survive this next week of work and then Spring Break!

JV Polo Rocks

This past weekend, my JV water polo team took 2nd place at the Western Tournament. A very difficult tournament for my girls with a lot of close games. Ended up losing in the finals 3-4. Played very well. Now getting ready for a league championship!!

January 2010

This year is off to a busy start. We spent the first day of the new year at the Rose Bowl game with Todd and Tracy. It was a great experience and a ton of fun, well.. except Oregon lost. :( My sister turned 21 in December and I had a great time taking her to 2nd street in Long Beach. These were my old stomping grounds and it was great to share it with her. Plus, it felt like a high school reunion. Good to see old friends. This month has been tremendously busy with water polo. My jv girls are currently in 2nd place in league. They improve everyday and continue to surprise me. My 14-year old volleyball team is also doing well. They had their first tournament in January. They played very well against much weaker teams. We have a tournament this weekend which should be more challenging.
At Savanna High School, my Earth Science students had a plate tectonic project. The projects I received were great! The best that I've had in my past 3 years. Here are some pictures:








Pepsi + Mentos Eruption



Baking Soda + Vinegar Eruption

I've also began my 2nd semester of my master's program. Crazy!! Lots of work to do.
And finally... what I feel was the highlight of the month, was our trip to Oregon. Craig and I flew back up there to watch an Oregon basketball game. This is the last year that the Ducks will be playing in Mac Court which is the 3rd oldest basketball stadium in the country. What a sight to see!! Most stadiums have seating where the higher your seat is, the further away from the court you are as well. Not Mac Court. The seats are stacked on top of each other. If you are in the top section you are literally looking down on the basketball court. What a great view.



What's next for February??