Monopoly

I must say that I don't think I've ever played Monopoly until last night. I'm at the beach with part of the fam, so my parents, Chris, Julianna, & me set out to play Monopoly last night. I now understand why people say you need all night to play the game. Of course, I was the first one to go bankrupt, and the game still went on until around 2 AM this morning. Fun, fun, fun...

Georgie

Scott & Georgie are at home this week without me. Scott's sister and her family were gracious enough to keep Georgie last week while we were on vacation, so I'm sure Georgie was glad to see Scott today. I miss them very much!

Family Vacation

Before I started the craziness of grad school this summer, we enjoyed a week with the Sullivan family at Folly Beach. Here are a few pics from our trip to the beach.
The weather was beautiful!

We enjoyed many walks to the pier and on the pier.



We enjoyed a day in downtown Charleston and ate dinner at the Charleston Crab House.

Last Day of School!!!

Hardly seems like it was just six weeks ago that Joy headed off for her first day of school. Now, 50 days, 24 trips to Athens, too many tests to count, a couple of papers a project and an oral exam covering more information than any person should be forced to learn, the last day of school has arrived! I think you can tell by the smile on her face that today is a great day.

The hardest part, her oral exam, is already over. She passed it yesterday with flying colors. One more final exam today and she will be DONE. Well, sort of. In an ironic twist of fate, because Joy was not an undergraduate education major and despite her three years of teaching she does not have her teacher's certification. So, even though with her graduate work complete (which is actually a higher level of certification), she has to complete a couple of minor things this fall to get her basic teacher's certification before she can receive her degree. Seems stupid to me, because it is like passing all of the tests to get a driver's license but not being able to do it because you didn't have a learner's permit. But that's just the way it is. It actually works out better for Joy, because now she gets to have two celebrations!

I have been very proud of Joy this summer. She has worked her butt off and sacrificed a lot in order to complete her school work. She's studied longer and harder than I ever would have thought possible, and it has paid off. I'd be remiss not to thank our great friend Wes, who was also completing his graduate work this summer. Wes and Joy have carpooled all summer (saving a little gas money), and studied together every week. Congratulations are in order for both of them!

Way to go babe...I am so proud of you!

Why We Do What We Do...

As Joy finishes up her summer of grad school and we prepare to head to the beach for a little R&R, I thought it would be a great time to share one of my all time favorite comic strips. I actually put this in a frame and gave it to Joy for Christmas a couple of years ago. She displays it proudly on her desk at school!

Click on it for the full size version!

New Links Over There...

In case you haven't noticed, Joy has added some new links to the little "Friends and Family Blogs" widget over there on the right hand side of the blog------>.

These include:

Medcalf Corner
Brad and Carri Medcalf (Brad is my cousin)

Cooler Corner
Abbey and Adam Cooler (Abbey is my cousin/Brad's sister)

The Hensons
Lisa and Brent Henson (Lisa is my cousin)

Cannida Lane
Jennifer and Bobby Cannida (Jennifer is Joy's cousin)

Go check 'em all out, and tell 'em who sent ya!

The Jedi Gym

Since there are so many things about the gym that bug me, I started to give some thought to finding a new one. Doing a little research I found this one that seemed pretty goood...

Maybe not...

Things That Bug Me At The Gym #2

Way back when I first started my marathon training I wrote a post about things that bug me at the gym. Since I was in the gym several days a week, I intended to write about a number of observations that really irritate me at the gym...like having 3 or 4 treadmills out of order. I don't think I ever got past that first post, but now that I'm back in the gym more regularly (training for the Peachtree and considering another marathon run), I am constantly reminded about the little things in the gym that really bug me. So here is #2.

Treadmill racers. I am, by no means, a super fast runner. I'm not sure I'd even consider myself a regular fast runner. But I do try to do a couple of fast workouts each week at the gym in order to build leg strength and speed. It is inevitable that whenever I am doing one of these speedwork sessions, some dude will hop on the treadmill next to me, glance over at my display and then immediately set his treadmill at 0.1 or 0.2 MPH fast than mine.

And of course, as I increase my speed throughout the workout I can see him out of the corner of my eye looking over at my display and increasing his speed about 30 seconds later. Really? Am I supposed to be impressed, or intimidated? As the kids say...whatever. Just do your own thing. I'm not racing you on the treadmill.

Someone has to ruin the curve!

You should already know that Joy is finishing up her grad school work this summer, and she's in Athens four days a week taking four different classes. She has been working really hard and studying a LOT, and as you can see here (click on the photo for the full size version), it is paying off. At least it did on this day!

Just don't ask her what she made on her first test!

Back in Training

With the arrival of the Peachtree Road Race numbers, I figured it was time to get serious again about running and getting ready. I am also giving some serious thought to running the Disney Marathon again next year, and if I do I want to do more than just finish so I'm going to start training now and building mileage.

This morning I rode over to the west side of town...or East Cobb...to put a 9-mile run in with Carlos and Heather. It has been awhile since I've put in a run that long, but it felt pretty good. Carlos and Heather are planning to run a marathon later this year.

I never blogged about it, but I finally did get my Garmin watch, and I love it. It uploads the training information to our computer wirelessly, and the software will plot out the course in Google Maps or Google Earth. Pretty cool. Here's the route we ran this morning...

Peachtree Numbers are Here!

Fourth of July...
Peachtree Street...
55,000 People...
World's Largest 10K Road Race...


We'll be there. Up towards the front. Running with the masses.

Who else is in?

Baby News!

Nope...not us. What were you thinking?

Congrats to Inman and April on the birth of little Houston #2 on Wednesday June 11. Logan weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds-9 ounces, and apparently April's epidural never kicked in. She's a tough one, for sure! Read all about it here.

Congrats, bro!

Call Homeland Security...We've been attacked!

We were at the beach last week with my family (post and pictures coming soon). On our way home, we were the intended victims of an apparent suicide attack by Al Qaenary.

Driving down the highway a saw I streak of yellow flash in front of our car, but I thought it was just a large butterfly. Much to my surprise, when we stopped a little while later I discovered the truth. It was a suicide attack...

They say that sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. I'm just glad that on this day I was the windshield. And no, the cleanup wasn't fun.

Look what I got in the mail!

This is what it says on the back...

"Jury duty is one of the highest duties of citizenship. Your service will give you and opportunity to learn about Gwinnett County's court system and allow you to see the county's trial court operate. While it may require some adjustment of your normal schedule and routine to serve as a juror, the judges hope that any inconvenience will be minimal and they thank you, in advance, for your sacrifice and effort."

I am actually quite excited about it. I was called for Jury Duty a number of years ago when I was in college and actually got to sit on a jury for two days in an assault and robbery case. Some young lady tried to rob another woman at a post office using a toy gun. When the victim realized the gun was not real, she resisted and the perp gave her a beat down. We found her guilty.

I look forward to participating in one of the "highest duties of citizenship."

First Day of School

Just when all of the kids are getting out for summer vacation, Joy is "celebrating" the first day of school! Summer grad school, that is. We made sure that she had all of the required supplies: pencils, paper, scissors, glue...

So for the next six weeks, Joy will be heading up to Athens four days a week. Hopefully, at the end of these six weeks she'll have completed all of her degree requirements and have her Masters Degree in Music Education.

Good luck, sweetheart!