forgiveness.

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgivenss without love"


Forgiveness has been weighing very heavy on my mind here lately in many areas of my life...and while I have alot of various opinions on it...whose to say what is right and what is wrong?  Do you have to forgive AND forget?  Or is just forgiving acceptable?  How are you supposed to erase a memory or emotion just because you agreed to forgive someone?  I feel like never thinking about something that clearly hurt or upset or "burned" you EVER again just because you agreed to forgive....is kinda crazy....maybe even impossible.  

Well short post today....but I will leave you with a picture of one of my many happy places....with some of my best friends and one of the funnest groups I know.  And believe me, after 2 full days of TAKS and 2 more to go....I want need this happy place.

Floatin down the Guad....aaahhh heaven. 

begging for relief.

I have been tempted to blog many, many times the past few late nights/early early mornings....buuuutttt I decided against it because I didn't want to wake my sleeping husband and/or daughter.  I guess I had much rather toss and turn in the dark begging for relief from the extreme pain and discomfort in my lower back and legs.  The past few weeks have literally been a living nightmare for me....and probably everyone else that has to be around me, especially my poor husband and mother.  As some of you may know, I have a herniated disc in my lower back...L2 to be exact.  It seemed to be under control and causing minimal daily pain during the few months leading up to the wedding, so per my doctors orders, I slowly stopped taking my medicine, which works as a nerve blocker.  When the pain came back around March, I made an appointment and he put me back on my medicine and prescribed a higher dosage of pain medicine.  Well....April is here (and almost gone) and the pain has only managed to get worse.  Why exactly is this a living nightmare you ask....? Because I am sure everybody lives with some discomfort here and there....and I am sure there are people worse off than I am.  But the problem I am having is not being able to participate in 3 things that I love with a passion due to back pain....
First, working out--now don't get me wrong, I can go work out, and if I am careful, there is minimal pain at the time....but the next day is a whole another story.  I have tried every class and activity under the sun and there doesn't seem to be too much that doesn't flare up the problem within 24 hours.  Second is spotting.  My back pain is making it difficult impossible to spot without pain or fear that I will injure it even more.  The doctor has obviously asked me to stop spotting until my appointment next week, but sometimes that is a very difficult thing to do as a gymnastics coach.  It's hard to remind yourself to stay on the side lines all the time...when you just want to jump in and be there for your athletes.  Last but not least....SLEEPING.  The more I do the previous two, the less I sleep....and even then, some nights I still don't sleep without tossing, turning and waking up every hour.  Now at this point you may be wondering why I don't just take a pain pill and stop whining....or you may have stopped reading due to complete lack of interest....either way....this is my blog, take it or leave it.  Back to my pain pills...apparently they bring on massive migraines.  So while sleeping through the night is UH-mazing, waking up puking/nauseated with a pounding headache and extreme sensitivity to light and noises....is not so uh-mazing.  Such a dilemma, I know.  I am hoping Dr. Kay and his injections can give me some relief....soon!


And speaking of injury related topics...if you are on my fantasy team and reading this....TAKE CAREFUL NOTES:

You need to get well and stay well....5 players on the DL 3 weeks in is NOT. OK.  Joe Mauer....is weakness in the legs SERIOUSLY your problem? COME ON...you make millions, you and your "weak" legs suck it up and earn your pay.  Feliz, Martinez and Longoria....please hurry back.  Phill Hughes...I don't care when you come back, I traded you.

Next up....photos from my newest obsession, PAINTING WITH A TWIST!  SO SO SO much fun!  My mom and I went to our first session Saturday night while Gerad and his groomsmen, plus our dads, plus a few other friends were at the Ranger game.  We painted a red cross with scrolls and I cannot say that I am 100% happy...but it was still ALOT of fun!

I am going this Saturday with Mindi and have already scheduled one in May with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law....pictures of those paintings to come!

Just because I am picture happy...I snapped this on Ella's 4 month old birthday....I hope you enjoy looking at this cutie as much as I do....

This was her helping mom get ready for work....she really is the absolute sweetest puppy you will find.

Weeelllll....even though I haven't blogged about the activity that has been dominating our life time...I will be saving that for next time...it is a whole another blog.  Trust me.

spending on the brain.

So Thursday, Friday and Saturday OFFICIALLY concluded the 2010/2011 Gymnastics season.  And while my girls did not qualify for the state competition....our Saginaw Rough Rider men did...and TOTALLY ROCKED IT!  Here is a picture of the boys with their 3rd place trophy...

The boys, and their coach, deserved this HUGE HUGE honor more than I can even say....they worked their bottoms off all year and had to go up against some REALLY tough teams, with really great gymnasts.  Along with placing 3rd in the state, 4 of the boys also qualified for event finals.  It was just so much fun watching them be SO successful at such a huge competition and I am already fired up for next season!

Today Gerad and I went on our 3rd house hunting trip of our search....well my third, his second....but whose counting??  On our first search we found two amazing houses, in the same addition.  The second trip was spent with the realtor and my mom only, due to Gerad being out of town on business, and we found 3 more amazing houses...and lots of no's.  Today we took Gerad back to see those three and what do you know, one of them had produced 4 offers between Wednesday and today....and one of the first houses was also sold....it was a bummer, but nothing we will lose sleep over.  We have narrowed it down to four houses and both agree on our top 2.....EXCITINGGGGGG.  And while I know the process is nowhere close to over, it still leaves me feeling like we have found the perfect house in SUCH a short time....is that normal?  How long does the average person look?  It also leaves me feeling very annoyed at our apartment on a daily basis....and even more annoyed at myself because I am a TERRIBLE saver.................. but an AMAZING shopper and spender.  I am not sure that is good qualities....buuuttt luckily I married a man who is not as amazing of a spender (which is usually the case right?) 

So I am going to try and get out my shopping needs/wants/urges on my blog instead of getting out my our debit card.  Here is what I am currently wanting....

Hudson's ^

Seven's ^ 

So I love my love love my white flared leg denim jeans....but now I need skinny's.  So the question is....Hudson's or Seven's?  And a more important question....will my husband let me have them? :)
Next on the list...Michael Kors, you have my heart with these.

I have had my eye on these since February and I didn't indulge then, but I can't lie, everytime I get dressed and pick out an outfit that these NEED to be in...it gets harder.  And lastly....I need new denim shorts....these are what I am loving now, but of course, they do not have them at the NorthEast Nordy's, so maybe I will find something similar....

So that people...is what I need want from Nordy's......Gerad, take notes, I am handing you a direct link to the perfect gifts, you know, just in case you need to butter me up with a gift or two....

alive and well.

I am a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad blogger.  Forgive me?

Our gymnastics season ended last Thursday night after the regional meet and since then I have had not one reason not to blog, other than the fact I have been enjoying leaving school before the sun is down and playing catch up to all the tasks I let go due to the strenous season schedule. For example...thank you cards from the wedding.  These little beauties have been going out in batches, and the last batch...well, it went out quite some time ago.  My sincere apologies.

So, my girls finished 3rd at our district meet, which qualified them to continue on to regionals.  Here is a picture of my babies high schoolers after districts! 

They truly are THE best team a coach could ask for, and I could not feel more blessed after finishing my first year as a Varsity coach.  They are such an amazing group of girls, with huge hearts and great personalities. 

Such a fun season...I was sad it ended Thursday, but their region is THE toughest in the state and only the top 3 qualify.  They ended up placing 9th out of the 19 teams there, so I was pleased with their effort and overall improvement on the season.  I am already looking forward to next season.....after I finish recovering from this one :)

In other news, Gerad and I have a new little darling in our household.  We picked her up the Saturday after we got home from our honeymoon and she couldn't be more precious...

This is Ella, our tiny teacup maltese....and she is every bit as beautiful as the picture shows.  We have had her for over a month though, and still can't figure out some of her odd habits....nor can she figure out this whole potty training thing.  We want her to pee...where?  On a potty pad or outside?! Anyways....we are working on that.  And as you can tell, Kinsler (our male cat) and her get along beautifully.....

But seriously....he is PRETTY good with her considering most of the time she is nibbling biting on his ears or tail.  Also, I am not sure who of you guys have pets with tearing problems....but if so, and you haven't tried Angel Eyes....go buy a bottle IMMEDIATELY.  This. stuff. is. phenomenal.
This next picture was literally taken RIGHT after her first grooming appointment....(yes, I am going there with before and after pictures)

This picture, the after, was taken tonight...just now.  Please excuse the no bow/crazy/"I just got done playing hard with daddy" hair.  But it was also taken after 2 and a half weeks on Angel Eyes and over a week since her last bath....

And now...you too can be a believer!  They have Angel Eyes for cats and dogs....and while it's a little on the pricey side, it's totally worth it to keep that beautiful white face tear-stained free!  My mom recently started my her older maltese, Chloe, on it and she has had the same amazing results.  And this is after 5 years of trying different tear stain removal products with no such luck.  Anyways, I will wrap up this marketing campaign blog on that note.