The Baby

Once upon a time I was the baby of the house. I got all the special attention and was what some might called spoiled. My five older siblings constantly complained about how I got everything I wanted. Despite the arrival of my sweet niece, Taylor, I was still the baby. There was no other baby at 912 and I thought there never would be. Until Molly came along. She came by surprise. She was cute from the beginning but always demanded so much attention. From day 1 she acted like she owned the house. I have never been 100 percent excited about this Molly who would become the new baby who ruled 912. However, I had no choice. She is my parent's pride and joy and she is not going anywhere :)

Really, she isn't so bad. And she is kinda cute. Especially when she plays in the snow....

I Heart Faces: Reflect Wonder

A beautiful old picture of my niece for a fun little photo contest.

Check it out:

Baltimore/US Lacrosse National Convention

Every Janaury US Lacrosse holds their national convention up east. I love to attend this and get new tips and tricks to have for coaching. I have also enjoyed speaking at the convention for the past three years. This year I was the only coach from the area who went, and, although I was bored at times, I really enjoyed the weekend to myself. I left my hotel one time to get Linner at a restaurant in Little Italy. I purchased a Groupon before I went. Genius! I had wine, bread, cheese ravioli appetizer, salad, pasta, and tiramisu for 20 bucks. I ate those left overs all weekend.

Looking toward Baltimore Inner Harbor from my hotel room

Friday night was riveting... I worked out. :)

This is the view from the workout room...Camden Yards.

If you look closely you can see the baseball stadium and the reflection of the fitness room

The sunrise in Baltimore

Beauty

It was a long weekend since I was all alone, but I really enjoyed relaxing and gaining new lacrosse information.

A Snow Day!

It started snowing before 8:00 on Wednesday night. At 8:30 I went to go pick a friend up from the airport and the roads were already pretty bad. As I watched the cancelled schools list grow I suspected I would probably not have to work today. Neither Kirkwood or MoBap had cancelled by the time I went to bed, but when I woke up at 6:00 this morning both were called for the day. I went back to bed for a couple hours while was much needed after fighting cold/allergy junk all week. I bundled up, grabbed my camera, and headed out to do one of my favorite things, take a walk in the snow.

Bundled up and ready to go... it's so much less cold in the right apparel

My parent's..cough...my house :)

The streets weren't yet cleared

Everything was covered with snow

Downtown Kirkwood

Two hours later... I actually wasn't cold, but my face was bright red from windburn and cold.

It was a wonderful way to spend a snow day morning. Yet again I feel lucky to have a job that calls of for snowy weather.

A visit from Tammy and Baby Joe

My sister, Tammy, had a baby on November 27. She was in town for Thanksgiving and her water broke on Black Friday at the mall. Hilarious and totally fun for all of us who wanted to be able to see Joseph at the hospital. I got my Joe fill that week and on one little visit down a couple weeks ago. However, I was thrilled when Tammy called and said she would be coming to St. Louis for a few days. I waited anxiously for Joe to arrive on Sunday night. She finally showed at 12:30 on Monday am.

Sleepy little Joe was in his carseat with his neck all bent to the side :) Tammy and I enjoyed some Canyon Cafe chips and salsa for a bit before heading to bed.

Monday everyone was off for MLK Day so we had a fun day at mom and dad's house.

Some of us were there all day and others came by for dinner. It was a blast with lots of kids and food.

The three young ones holding hands.

The little ones all together! Three babies for three different sisters :)

Dane getting kisses from Molly...either that or trying to escape from the baby gate

Lots of laughs...trying to get Joe to smile

one sleepy little man

Just the boys

Stephanie and Joe both needed some shut-eye

what a sweet little duo- Laney is a great big cousin

Tuesday night I got the opportunity to babysit Joe. Tammy and John dropped him off to enjoy some Bachelor with me and Tom while they went to dinner.

sleeping...okay, maybe I'm pretending

my sweet little man

It's Wednesday and Joe has to go home :( We had a great visit and can't wait for him to return

Seeya next time little guy!

Lovely Saturday Am

This is my last slow Saturday am for a while. Lacrosse season is getting ready to start which means Saturday games and weekends out of town. I took advantage of the slow morning by enjoying a cup of joe and working on a painting project. It's crazy how I have come to cherish simple Saturday mornings like these :)

This mug does make me quite happy in the am...especially since it is from a dear friend who I get to see far to rarely. Cheers to a slow winter weekend.

Winter is something terrible

I really, really hate being cold. Really hate it. Unfortunately, I am often freezing. If my feet get cold I am cold all day. For this very reason I own way too many, cough 7, pairs of Ugg boots. Every year I struggle through the winter once New Years has past. It is so much easier to make it when the excitement of the holidays are around. So, this year I have a couple strategies to help get me through January and February.
One of those is my new ceramic hot tea tumbler. I just recently bought this and some whole tea leaves. I drink about five cups of hot tea a day which A. keeps me warm and B. supplements my terrible coffee habit. I love it... it's kind of cute and hippie too :)
My other trick to keep warm is using my booties nightly. I warm them in the microwave for three minutes before I go to bed. They warm me completely and help me to fall asleep. I'd strongly suggest getting a pair if you are a cold feet person...they are awesome.

Only 7 more weeks until March........blah. I think I can make it.

And so it begins....

It's January. The students have all returned. I'm in my last semester of grad school. Practice starts next week. And everyone keeps asking if I'm excited.

Excited?

I am not sure that is the word I would use. I am anxious. I am overwhelmed. I am apprehensive. I am not sure I would say I am excited. My schedule the next few months is crazy.

This is what my schedule will look like:

Monday practice 6:30-8:00 work 9-3 night class 5-9
Tuesday internship 7:30-10:00 work 10:15-1:30 Practice 1:30-3:30
Wednesday internship 7:30-10:00 work 10:15-1:30 Practice 1:30-3:30
Thursday internship 7:30-10:00 work 10:15-1:30 Practice 1:30-3:30
Friday practice 6:30-8:00 work 9-3

Weekends include agency internship hours, travel for work and fun, and games

This is my schedule until May when I will be going to the internships more.

Is it so bad that I am not really excited at all? There is only one season like this but I just want it to be over. I feel pulled at least three different directions. In better news... more to come on my internships. I think they will both be great opportunities even though every other day I have to answer the question, "Are you trying to get a job?" with "No, I am just trying to get a degree!"

Blues Game

For Christmas this year I gave Tom tickets for the two of us to go to the Blues game. I also painted him a popcorn bowl with the bluenote in the bottom of it. We exchanged gifts at the very beginning of December so we had both been anticipating the game for quite some time. The Blues played the New York Rangers and although they lost 2-1 we had an awesome time. It was so fun seeing the game that close and having food and drinks for free all night. Definitely something I will do again. Not a night to soon be forgotten.

SOO CLOSE!

view of st. louis from the blue note lounge

the ice

in the blue note lounge between periods

Such a fun night to finish off the holiday season.

DISPATCH!!!

I would NEVER go so far as to call myself a music junkie or an avid music fan or even one who knows music. I often listen to songs without a clue as to who I am listening to. However, there is one band that strikes a cord with me unlike any other.

You may recall this entry from last January:

http://katiesfavphotos.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-big-deal.html

I was at the US Lacrosse National Convention and ended up at a breakfast with Brad Corrigan... a band member from my favorite band, Dispatch. I introduced myself, gave him a big hug, and told him how much I love his band.

WELL...today I was bored at work and decided to plan my summer trip to Colorado. We want to plan our trip around something fun out there so I began to search festivals and ended up looking at the the Red Rocks Ampitheater events schedule. OMG Dispatch at Red Rocks on June 4th. My goodness, people, I am so excited. Their last show was in New York in 2007 and that was a reunion show after years off. They are a fabulous band and good people to boot.

SO... In short I am Colorado bound the first week in June and couldn't be more excited about it.

Listen to some Dispatch, specifically Elias... you won't regret it. I may have had two good friends say to me just this month, "Have you ever made a mixed cd without that song on it?" LOVE.

Welcome 2011!

I will be the first to admit I have been a terrible blogger...AGAIN. However, I am giving it one last try in 2011. I am going to make an effort to blog three times a week in the new year. We will see how this goes. I will blog some updates shortly, but, first, my resolutions.

* To blog- day three of the new year and I am off to a good start

*Organize my photos - both print and on my computer

*The Great American Apparel Diet- This should be the most difficult. Tom has decided the two of us should attempt this for 2011. He saw it on the news and directed me to the website: http://www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/

After buying a few items at the JCrew outlet last week I think I am ready. We will see how this goes. I am excited to try and feeling confident in my attempt- even though I LOVE to buy clothes. BUT remember this people: I am a Vegetarian because someone bet me 14 years ago that I couldn't go a week without eating meat. I am competitive and love a good challenge.... I'll keep you posted on this one :)

So, there are the resolutions.

Check back soon for some Christmas updates and other fun festive stuff.