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Monday, December 31, 2007

Christmas




Chris and I had a wonderful Christmas. We went to visit his family in south Georgia on Saturday. We stayed until Christmas day. We drove back to Atlanta shortly after lunch and celebrated Christmas at our house before heading to my dad's house. We were very blessed and got many wonderful presents.

Chris says his favorite present is a print from his first Triathlon that was signed by Ed. Ed was his Team's hero. Ed is an amazing man and is currently cancer free.

My favorite present was a new camera. I've been wanting a Nikon D40 for a while now and Chris (the most wonderful husband in the world) surprised me with one!

We hope that everyone's Christmas was as wonderful!!!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Lindsay and I should become architects

So, my friend Lindsay brought a gingerbread house kit over yesterday and we decorated it! We had a lot of fun and of course, laughed a lot. Here's a few pictures of our masterpiece!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The bathroom is FINISHED!!!

Chris finally finished the bathroom this past weekend. I'm so impressed with my wonderful and talented husband. I love our bathroom! It feels like I'm in a brand new house when I am in there. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Thanksgiving

We returned last night from a 7 day cruise with Chris's family. We had a wonderful time, but it sure didn't feel like Thanksgiving. We were on a Carnival cruise, which after about a day or so, we all decided that we prefer Royal Carribean. Our ports of call were Cozumel (it rained), Belize (it rained), Roatan Island (Honduras), and Freeport (Bahamas, it rained). Our two days at sea and our day in Honduras were beautiful. We had a lot of fun, in spite of the rain. Chris and I took a Mexican cuisine course in Cozumel and all of the Hartley's did the zip line in the jungle of Belize. I think that overall, everyone enjoyed themselves! Here are a few pics.




Friday, November 2, 2007

Prayer Request

A friend of my brother's and Lindsay's (his girlfriend) lost her 20 year old sister in a car wreck last night. I'm not going to post any more details, because I don't feel that it is my place to do so. But please keep "N,"and her family, in your prayers. God will know who you are praying for. It just hurts my heart.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Still coming along

The bathroom is still a work in progress... Here are a few more pictures. I can't WAIT until it's finished...


New floor

New door

New window

New granite countertop and sink

GATORS WEAR JEAN SHORTS!!!!

We have an annual Georgia/Florida party every year (except last year, both of us were in a play at my old church)... We look forward to the event every year and were VERY excited when UGA beat Florida 42-30! GO DAWGS! Here are a few pictures from our party...

Annual GeorgiaFlorida party 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Update on the bathroom

So, Chris is still working on the bathroom. He has most of the tile finished and he still needs to grout the shower area. We bought a new window to put in it (I can't say I'm all that happy with a window in the shower, but it's there) Now we'll just have an insulated window, so it will remain warmer in the shower when it's cold outside. I AM happy about that. We also bought a new door for the bathroom. Originally there were these very ugly french type doors (I don't know if you can tell in the before pictures.. but they were U-G-L-Y!) Now, we just have a regular 6 panel door. I'm really, really, really hoping that the bathroom is complete by next Saturday. (Next Saturday is our annual Georgia/Florida party...) We will see...

Also, if you are at all curious about my weight loss and exercising goals (and how they are coming), please check out the Journal link (click on the words or there's a Journal link over on the right).

Saturday, October 13, 2007

We're remodeling our bathroom...

We (well, my husband, Chris) are in the process of remodeling our master bathroom. I'm so impressed with his talent. We still have a few things left... tiling the floor, painting, adding a toilet, adding the vanity (Chris built one from scratch), ordering the sink/countertop, and paint. :) But, we have done a lot. We tore out the whole bathroom, including the old tub that we had. We're hoping it will be finished by the end of the month.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Update number 2

So,I'm still out of commission from exercise (BUMMER). I sprained my ankle. Or at least, I think that's what I did. I went to the doctor, he had X-rays done (Just in case), told me how to treat it and sent me on my way (he's always in such a hurry). So, in the meantime, I have to keep it wrapped, which means no fun shoes... in fact, I can only wear my birks. I am supposed to put it up at night (He knows I am a teacher and it is near impossible to stay off of it at school). AND I have to take anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis.

I have been eating better. I lost only a half a pound last week, but it's a start. (Plus, I had gone to a wedding and had a few glasses a wine... which is not so good for a diet). This week, I'm doing well. My weight has been down every morning.

I'm still struggling with my quiet time. It's hard to find the time to actually study the Bible...when there's papers to grade, articles to research, Grey's to watch. :)

Friday, September 28, 2007

"Resolutions" Update

So, I feel very good about my "New Year Resolutions" this week. I have had somewhat of a quiet time and praise time in the mornings. I've been listening to praise music on the way to school and it's just a wonderful time to prepare for the day.

I have made very good eating choices all week. (Well, Thursday is my weigh in day, so Thursday night is my *free* meal). :)

However, I haven't been able to get back to the gym this week. I rode my bicycle on Saturday and all I can decide is that I did something to my ankle then. On Monday, I looked down at my ankle and it was 3 times the size that it normally is... and the more the day went on, it started to hurt. So, I've been nursing a swollen/hurt ankle that I have no idea what is wrong OR how I hurt it. But I figured it would be best to NOT do any exercise, especially since I'm on my feet most of the day.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

New Beginnings

Okay, so normally, you make New Years' Resolutions in January, right? Well, I need to make some life changes and I'm starting tomorrow. (Tomorrow, because it's 9:45 pm). I figure if I announce my changes I want to make here on the blog... maybe I'm apt to stick to them.

Like most newlyweds, I have gained all my weight that I lost before the wedding. Sadness... and now, since I got rid of all of my "pudgey clothes"... I have a limited wardrobe. So, my first order of business is to go back to healthy eating and LOSE weight. I'd like to lose most of it by Thanksgiving (as we're going on a cruise and I'd really like to wear my fun clothes on the cruise).

My second order of business is to continue working out. I started an awesome workout schedule this summer, but since school has started, I'm having a hard time working it in to my schedule again. So... at least workout 3 times a week.

My other "new beginning" is to get back into a better habit of having an actual quiet time. I am really feeling the loss of that in my life and I really need to get back into doing that instead of being so concerned about my email or facebook.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Costa Rica and ... back to school

Costa Rica 2007


So, here are ALL (beware... there's 473 pictures) of our trip to Costa Rica. We stayed in small "suburb" of San Jose, called Cedros (which is in San Pedro). We traveled 40 km (which in the mountains takes 1.5-2 hours) to Gaurcima everyday. We worshiped there and that's the church that we helped. The church is going to receive funds from their government to build a new building to have classes for new mothers and high school drop outs. The drop out rate is very high in CR. We helped the church clean up, paint and prepare to raise the roof and add a second floor to their "Sunday School" building. The Costa Ricans were lovely people with such passion and love for God. We did have a few days off, in which we did a zipline over the canopy (actually 7 different lines... I felt like I was on the Amazing Race) and we did hike to the top of a crater volcano (Poas). It was such a wonderful time. The weather was amazing... needless to say I was very disappointed to come back to such hot weather. I can't wait to return next summer (hopefully earlier in the summer).

School started this week (which most of you know). It seems I'm going to have a wonderful class. Actually, a few of us are switching classes this year. SO, I am teaching math to FOUR classes. And, all classes seem very sweet. I'm very excited about this new plan and am actually looking forward to getting more into the routine (and used to being on my feet all day again)... My feet are KILLING ME! :)

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Quick post...

We made it safely back from Costa Rica. We had a wonderful trip and were definitely blessed by God while we were there. The country is beautiful, people are wonderful and the food is fabulous. Here's a picture to tide ya'll over. We got back Sunday night (10:30) and I started back to school yesterday, so a bit busy. The first picture is a little boy that I just thought was adorable. We passed out sunglasses and glasses last Sunday (7/29). The second picture is our Mission Team plus a few kids, Ivonne and Isaiah, Guido and Sara.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Prayers for Costa Rica

Chris and I leave in the morning for Costa Rica. We are going on a mission trip with a team from our church. We're going to be staying in San Jose and we're not very sure exactly what we're going to be doing.

Our church sends teams to Brazil every year(which Chris and I had the blessing of going to Manaus and the Amazon a few years ago), and we are on the first team to go to Costa Rica.

Please pray for safe travels and safety in whatever we're doing, as well as good health. If you've ever been to a Central America or South American country, you know ... there's not much schedule planning. :)

We arrive the night before I have to go back to school for preplanning... (So keep that in your prayers too).

Thanks!!!

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Update on the house...

So, my wonderful husband FINALLY hung my window treatments. I've had them for a while now ... Now the rooms are almost complete (just need to hang pictures). If you remember (it my be on my old blog) all the updates and painting we've been doing to our house... Here's the latest. Our next big project is the master bathroom. As we begin to work on it, I'll post pictures.
The first two pictures are in the kitchen (in case you can't tell) and the bottom two pictures are in our "family/front" room. In case you're curious... my "new Aunt Cindy" (Sue's, my stepmother, sister) made them... she's awesome if you need some window treatments.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Muddy Buddy???










I had never heard of Muddy Buddy until just recently. For those of you that don't know, it's an event sponsored by REI. You pair up with someone about your size, one starts riding a mountain bike, while the other runs. When you get to an obstacle course, you complete it and then switch (If you were on the bike, you'll now run and vice versa). It's a 6 mile course and at the end, the buddies have to make their way through a mud pit. I have to admit, the mud put looked tres fun! :) Anyway, this is how we spent our Sunday morning. Karen is a friend that participated with Chris. In the middle is a picture of the mud pit BEFORE the race started.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Festival of Flowers



This past Sunday, Chris participated in his second triathalon. He finished in about the same amount of time and did well. It was HOT! He's joined the Peachtree Tri Club and will continue to train. His next event will be in Chattanooga next month.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Whew! What a month!

May went by so fast, but while it was happening it seemed that it would be forever before school was out. We started out the month with a Cinco de Mayo party (the first picture) and ended the month with a birthday bash (well, sort of) for Chris! His birthday was on Memorial Day this year, which was perfect because he LOVES patriotic holidays! Cinco De MayoEveryone hanging out for Memorial Day/Chris's birthdayChris's birthday cake from Cold StoneEveryone eating cake! :)

May kept us busy. I had my grad school class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, ALL month! The end of the school year is always crazy, hectic busy. To add to the craziness I had to move my classroom (I haven't moved in about 4 years) AND I was in charge of all the NEW 5th grade "celebration" activities. We were told we had to change what we've always done, so it was definitely a learning experience... talk about STRESS!

I enjoyed my week off last week, as next week I begin classes full time Monday-Thursday for two weeks. (Then the last two weeks, I have class just at night Monday-Thursday). Let's just say I am going to enjoy my Fridays and am looking forward to July!

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

St. Anthony's Triathalon

St. Anthony's Triathalon

This past weekend, Chris and I traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida for the St. Anthony's Triathalon. Chris participated in the tri with Team in Training, which raises money for Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. There were about 800? participating with TNT and in all, they raised over $2 Million!!!

The triathalon was amazing! I have never been to one or seen anything like it. TNT was also amazing! They are wonderful people who did an amazing thing. They competed in a triathalon for others... They swam a mile, biked 25 miles and ran 6.2 miles. There was one lady on Chris's team who when they started training, she did not know how to swim! AND She did it!!! Each Team had an honored hero. Atlanta's honored hero actually participated in the triathalon. He was amazing. He was the guest speaker at the Pasta Party, prior to the race.

I am so proud of my husband for doing what he did. He finished in 3 hours and 7 minutes. He DID IT and he did it for other people, people who are battling cancer, people... like my mom.

Here are the pictures from the weekend. I hope you enjoy them!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

It's been a year!!!



I can't believe it's been a year!!! God has truly blessed us over the last 365 days. It's flown by. I am looking forward to many more...

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Spring!

Spring


I LOVE SPRING! Here are some photos of our yard (if you click on the photo, the album should come up)! I am soooo proud. As you can see, we have an Oak tree in front of our house and it makes the yard very shady. We didn't have grass last year and we seeded the yard (well, Chris seeded the yard) and now we have grass! The irises were already planted, but I added tulips and crocuses. Mom always had a hard time getting stuff to grow, so I was worried that they wouldn't come up... but they did! Yay!!!

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Sick and Tired

It's official... I have been really sick for a week and somewhat under the weather for 3 weeks! I FINALLY got in to the doctor (why does it take so long???)... and got some medicine, which is helping a bunch. But I still don't have any energy to do the many things I need to do this weekend. I have continued working because if you are a teacher, you know it's more trouble than it's worth to have a substitute. Plus, it's official... I am a math nerd. I was chosen with 6 other teachers at my school to attend the NCTM (national Conference Teachers of Mathematics) conference that is in Atlanta this year. SO, I was actually out of school the past two days learning new strategies for teaching math, seeing many cool products and the technology that they have these days, is AMAZING! So, yes, it is official, I am a math nerd.... A sick and tired math nerd!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

My fabulous husband!!!


My fabulous husband gave me the BEST birthday present ever!!! (Well, in my opinion, anyway). He gave me an official Braves "Sunday" jersey (the red one), that has Andruw Jones's number on the back! He is also fabulous because he has done a TON for me today. I have been sick all day and he has done the laundry, cleaned the kitchen and is currently grocery shopping. I couldn't ask for a better man!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Maybe I should change my title to boring life

Not that my life is boring per se... I just keep reading about fabulous Girls Trips (Amy), kids playing sports, friends having babies... and what am I doing? Going to school... working at a school... and that's about it. :) My life is far from boring, goodness knows, I am SUPER busy. I have completed ONE class (only 9 to go) for my EDS degree, working on the second. And, that takes up a lot of time.

I actually came home early today (left school in order to change my name at the tag office, before my birthday... only to find out I can't change my name until I have paid off my car...). It's weird to not have to rush out the door somewhere (church, class, Bible Study...). So, I think I am going to take advantage of the beautiful Atlanta Spring Weather and go for a walk.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

New Blog

This is my new blog. I changed my name on my email address and of course, couldn't figure out how to move my blog without changing it completely... There is a link to my old blog. Welcome to my new blog!