Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

I was in 9th grade when my Great-grandmother passed away. She was my mother's, mother's, mother (I called her Nan). I had a special bond with her. When I was little, she kept me at her house while my mom went to work. I remember one year she insisted that I get to pick the Christmas tree. She had a special box of coloring books that only I was allowed to color in. And one time, she insisted that the person in a picture that she was looking at was NOT my dad, until I came over and told her that it was my dad. She only believed me! :) I loved Nan so much. She was really the first person I was really close with to pass away. It happened the week before dance team try-outs for the high school team. If you missed any of the workshops, you couldn't try out. My mom said I could stay in Covington with family, instead of going to TX for the funeral. I just couldn't NOT be there to say goodbye though. So, I decided I'd forgo try-outs and instead go to the funeral. Well, it turns out, that after talking to the dance team director, I was going to be excused from missing the first half of workshop. It was going to be a lot of work to catch up with what I missed, but I was willing to give it my all! While in TX, my grandmother gave me one of Nan's rings. It was a beautiful aqua marine stone ring. I was so honored that I was given something so beautiful to always remind me of her.

When I returned home, I had friends get me up to speed on the try-out dances I had not been around to learn. On top of that, I had to learn the remaining routines from the workshop. It was a lot of work, but I kind of put in my mind that I would do it for Nan! I wore the ring everyday. Including try-out day. We were paired up in twos. I happened to be paired with a girl that was on the team the year before...and was one of their best dancers (Tiffany Reiff). I was so nervous! We were all waiting in the hallways until it was our turn. Tiffany and I were actually the 2nd group, out of about 45 groups or so. I was glad to get it over with, but the waiting afterwards was tough. All of a sudden, someone ran in from outside and yelled, its SNOWING! I have to remind you, this was March 12 in Louisiana!!! Snow is unheard of year round, much less in MARCH! All my anxieties were released and we were all running around in our leotards in the snow outside! I kind of felt like it was a message from Nan to just let loose, relax, and have fun!

When it was time for them to announce the new dance team, I held on to my ring. I knew I did all I could do. And to my surprise, I had MADE the team! It was such a magical night for me. It meant the world to me. And I had hoped I made Nan proud.

Fast forward to April 2010. I was wearing the ring for several days. However, it had lost one of the corner diamonds a few years earlier. I still wore it. One day I took the boys to the playground (an after school tradition with the other mom's and kids from Jack's class). I had noticed while sitting with the moms that the stone had fallen out of the ring! I was so upset on the inside, but tried to play it off to the other moms that it's okay, it's just a thing. I did tell them it was my great-grandmother's ring. They insisted on helping me look. My only path was from the rock parking lot to the picnic benches. So, the kids got a kick out of being "explorers" with the moms. It didn't turn up. I was so disappointed, but knew there was nothing I could do. I just put the ring away in my jewelry box and thought, maybe one day I'd replace the stone.

About 3 weeks ago, the boys and I were rushing out the door. Jack was in his room getting his shoes on. He came in the kitchen and said casually, "here Mom, I found a jewel for you." We often have the little art jewels laying around from his projects from school. I put my hand out saying, "thank you Jack." Normally, I show interest, then just throw that kind of stuff away. With me being in a rush, it should have been no different. However, I happened to look at the 'jewel' and it was THE STONE from the ring! I was so excited! And of course, he was SO excited I was SO excited! He was so proud of himself for finding it (even though he didn't know it was from my ring when he found it...but he knew I had lost it several weeks ago)! I asked him where he found it and he said on the ground kind of under his bed. How I missed it each time I vacuumed, I have no clue...but regardless, it was found! I told Jason the next time I talked that we found it!

Yesterday was our 11th anniversary. Jason said we needed to go pick up my gift. We ended up at the jewelry store. His clue to me was that 'on our wedding day, you're supposed to wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.' He had gotten the ring restored, cleaned, and replaced the missing corner stone and aqua marine stone. It was something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! The ring was special as it was, but now it's even more special. And after it's time at the jeweler, it's as beautiful as ever! This picture isn't as crisp as I would have liked it. But I don't have the appropriate lens for such close ups. Still beautiful though!

Drew Brees, A True Saint

When we got word that Drew Brees was coming to the Pensacola Barnes & Noble, it was a no brainer to go meet him. His book just hit the shelves, "Coming Back Stronger."

We were told that the store was going to open at 6am and the signing would be from 10:30-12. So, Jason went there around 5:40am while I stayed home until the boys woke up. When Jason arrived, there were already about 100 or so people in line ahead of him. Some had stayed the night, tailgating, and drinking. Obviously, those without children! :) When I arrived around 7:30, the line had been moved inside...weaving throughout the store. I'm so thankful that we didn't have to wait outside with the boys...because the heat index has been over 100 as early as 8am around here lately! Many of the tailgaters were asleep at the front of the line. :)

It was so fun because the store was playing Mardi Gras music and Saints songs. Everyone was so happy to be there! We had a great time waiting. The boys even didn't seem to mind the wait. I brought a suitcase of matchbox cars, a picnic blanket, and plenty of snacks...so we were set!

Drew was about 30 minutes late...but once he got there, the line went SO FAST! When we got to the front of the line, it was going way faster than I imagined! Our plan was for me to go ahead with the boys, and Jason behind us to snap a picture (they said no stopping the movement of the line for pictures)...so it was a snap and go thing! Jason was holding the books too though...so by the time we walked in front of Drew, Jason was still handing books over. I was looking back noticing he didn't have his camera out...in the meantime, Drew says to me, "Hi, how are you?" I was a bit flustered by the herding action and our unpreparedness, and holding James who was on the verge of a meltdown, that I hadn't even said 'hi'! By the time I tried to respond and say anything of substance, like "thanks!, or congrats, or ANYTHING" we were being herded off. However, Jack had not taken his book from him...so we bought some more time...as we told Jack to go "get your book from Mr. Drew Brees." Thankfully, my Aunt and cousins were behind us, and they were able to snap some pictures as we were clown-acting our way through! :)



The boys were having fun playing under the tables with the cars. Every once in a while we'd take a walk through the store.



This is me telling Jack to walk up and get his book from Mr. Drew Brees. Jack was a bit shy about meeting one of the Saints.



This is Drew smiling at Jack as Jack hesitated getting the book.



Jason, not as flustered as I was!



Aunt Karen got this adorable picture of Drew looking at her and smiling. Love it!

13.1

The most I've run in my life at one time, was 6 miles. I was on an Outward Bound course in North Carolina between my junior and senior years of high school. One of the things we did daily was run the mountain trails every morning. We were working towards the 6 mile trail run at the end of the course. I had never been a runner...and still don't feel like my body is meant to run. But, when I finished that 6 mile run, I felt so good for accomplishing what I never felt was possible. Last year during my triathlon, my weakest event was the running. It was only 4 miles, but I literally thought I was going to die! So, this year, I've decided to make it one of my goals to run a 1/2 marathon. I figured if I concentrated on just one event (running), I could perhaps begin to like it and possibly get better at it. I'm two weeks into the training program now for a 1/2 marathon on October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) in Mandeville, LA. I'm not loving it yet. But I DO love the little baby step accomplishments of my training program. Every Saturday is my long run. It's usually a little bit farther than the week before. These baby steps will hopefully prepare me for 13.1 miles! :)

I've been using an application on my iphone to help me keep track of my distance and accomplishments. I've also been posting my completed runs on FB to help keep me accountable. I need any bit of motivation I can get! :) I'll also keep my logged workouts posted here on my blog.

So far, I've learned that running is a true challenge, but running in the heat, adds even more challenge! So, I've realized there's a trade-off to having to wake up super early to run...and that's no sun! As soon as that sun peaks over those trees, that's it! So, early runs are great (even if I lose sleep). Secondly, this morning I sprayed myself with a spray bottle of water before starting my run. VERY GOOD IDEA! It helped keep me cool to start out my run. I also invested in a running belt that holds water. Jason filled the little water bottles with my GU drink halfway, then froze them for me. Then I just added more right before my run. My drinks stayed icy cold...and melted quick enough to still enjoy it! The thing I need to work on most, is staying well-hydrated before my runs. I think I'd feel better if I could get better at hydration.

If you have any other running tips for me, please add a comment under this post! I'd really appreciate the input! :)

10 Busy Days in Covington

We just got back from several days in Covington. Jason's sister, Jacki got married on July 10th. Since James' birthday was July 2nd, we decided to come in the weekend before the wedding to celebrate his birthday and just spend two weekends and the week in between in Covington. It was action packed from the moment we arrived. We got into town in the mid-afternoon and picked up James' cake and some pizza. Friends and family met us to celebrate. Saturday we spent some time at Jason's Aunt Laurie and Uncle Joe's house with the boys and Potter. They have a great pool and she bought a slip-n-slide for the boys. I even took a go at it (or several go's, I should say)...and boy, was it fun...but I felt it the next day! :) We didn't encourage Potter to get in the pool...but she IS a lab, and just couldn't resist! She remembers Aunt Laurie's house because she spent a few weeks there during one of our moves. She LOVES it there!







Sunday was the 4th of July. We met Uncle Joe and Aunt Laurie at the river to go out on their boat. But unfortunately, the boat didn't start. Instead, we went back to her house for some more pool time and fireworks later in the evening. James was so cute with the poppers. We'd hand him one, then he'd gently place it on the ground, secure his hands over his ears, then STOMP on the popper to make the loud pop!





Monday, the plan was to be on the first tractor of the day at Global Wildlife. It's good to be the first ones out to feed the animals first. This required an early wake-up and to leave by 8:00am, but the Trew family is usually ALWAYS up by no later than 7-7:30. However, after a few action packed days, we were tired. Jason woke up at 7:45, then woke me up. I then realized that Jack and James were still sleeping! I had second-thoughts about whether we should attempt the first tractor, but we decided to be hardcore and woke the boys up and flight-of-the-bumblebee out of there! It ended up being worth it though...because once our safari was about 90% complete, a thunderstorm forced the tractor to be called back in. And because our trip was cut short, they gave us all rain checks to come back again! Yay! The boys had a blast! Aunt Laurie and some of her nieces and brother-in-law joined us! I must say, it was my fourth time to do Global and it just doesn't get old! This time there were lots of babies. I had never gone this time of year, but because spring time is the time babies are born, we got to see so many young with their mommies! We also got to meet Skippy, the baby kangaroo, up close and personal. He is precious!









Tuesday we spend some time getting pictures of our house together for putting it on the rental market. I sure wish it was time for us to come back and live in it. But, we have another 9 years at least. So, until then....

Wednesday we got CLOSING DOCUMENTS in the mail from our Hammock Bay house in Freeport, FL! We have been trying to sell that house for over two years now! It's been a huge stress and seemed as though we were never going to sell it. It seems we've been so close to selling it, on several occasions, only to be let down by another bump in the road. We were even supposed to close the Wednesday before heading to Covington. But yet again, something came up and closing didn't happen. So, when we got the document overnighted to us, we were numb to excitement, because we knew too well that nothing is a done deal until it's a done deal. Regardless, we signed papers, and brought them to be notarized. Then we plopped them back in an overnight envelope to our agent back in Florida. Closing was to be a couple of days later, on Friday. In addition to signing papers to sell our house, we also went and visited a house we could only dream of signing papers for! We visited the Southern Living Idea Home located in Terra Bella in Covington. My favorite parts of the home were the garage apartment, the courtyard, and the glass tile wall in the master bath.







Our good friends Megan and Michael invited us over to their son, Dylan's 1 year birthday dinner. It was the first day we were able to put James down for a nap. It may have been a mistake though...because we ended up having to wake him up...and waking up James usually results in a grumpy James. It took him almost the whole time we were there to warm up...but regardless, we enjoyed the visiting time with friends and little Dylan is just precious! He seemed to enjoy his 1st birthday!



Thursday was the first of the many wedding events to take place! I planned a bachelorette party for Jacki at a place called Corks And Canvas. You and a group of friends go there with wine, cheese, and snacks to paint a picture. Since Jacki's wedding them was the fleur de lis, that's what we painted. The instructor was very good and we all did pretty well, if I don't say so myself. After we finished our masterpieces, we all went out to eat at Friends Coastal Restaurant in Madisonville on the Tchfuncte River. We played a few games I had planned and just enjoyed each other's company.







Friday was the bridal luncheon at N'tini's in Mandeville. It was my first time there. Apparently, the restaurant was open in 3 locations in New Orleans, but all three were destroyed in Katrina. The owners moved to the Northshore and had given up the idea of opening a restaurant again. But, this place became available (the same location where Jason and I went for our engagement party) and the owner decided to give it another shot! The food was outstanding! And the martinis were DELICIOUS! At the price of $1, I had to have two! Of course, this resulted in me needing a nice little nap between the luncheon and the rehearsal dinner! :)





Around 5pm that evening, we got news from our agent that we CLOSED on our house in Florida! With that news, off we went to the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner at the Quail Farm in Abita Springs. It was a very fun evening. We got to visit with Jason's brother, Chris, and his girlfriend, Tami. And Jason's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mike from Dallas. The evening was filled with sweet words about Jacki and Jeff. We had a lovely time! James stayed with Grandpa and T.T. and Jack came with us. He was such a little gentleman. He really was like a little adult never saying he was bored or needing me to get food or drink for him. He just helped himself and visited with all the people. The highlight of his evening was the gift that Jacki got for him for being in the wedding. It was a huge duffle bag with his name embroidered on it! He walked around the last half hour wearing his bag and telling people he was going to bring it with him to college. :)



Saturday was the big day! We all met at the salon mid-day to get our hair done. Then we went back to Jason's parent's house to do make-up and get dressed. The limo picked us up just prior to the start of the wedding. The wedding was at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Covington. It rained earlier in the day while getting ready, but was perfect by the time we left the house for the church. I had the camera earlier in the day, but wasn't able to pass it to Jason for the wedding ceremony. So, I don't have any shots at the wedding. Jacki was beautiful and Jeff was so sweet, holding back tears as she came down the isle. Jack took his job VERY seriously! The flower girl got cold feet, so Jack walked the isle alone. When he got to the end, he did an adorable bow, one arm in front on his belly, the other behind his back. So cute! After the ceremony, we headed to the reception at Vintage Court in Covington. We all had a great time...including the boys!











Sunday morning we ALL slept until 9am! A Trew household record! But, the extra sleep was much needed! Once we got up we packed up our stuff, Potter, and cats, and headed back to Pensacola. It was so nice to get home to our beds once again. We had such a great 10 days! I'm exhausted, but a good exhausted! :)