It's Pay Day!

Every Pay Day is a good day!

Today has been super busy at work. I couldn't even go to our Chamber luncheon today because we were too busy at work. It is ashame because I was getting a check and I think I came in 3rd for this weeks top producers so that usually means a little gift. None of us have ever won so I don't know what happens but hopefully I can get it next week.

I talked to mom and she and dad just left the house a little while ago. They came and checked on Rocky and Rafa since Lucas and I are both going to have a long day today. I am working an event until at least 6:00 but I'm hoping I have time to run home before I go to my tennis match at 7:30. Lucas is playing soccer until 7:30 or 8:00 then maybe he'll come by and watch the rest of my match. We'll see.

Last night we had a surprise. Lucas heard one of his old tennis friends was getting married so he called to congratulate him and found out he was actually in Huntsville visiting relatives. So his friend, Sam, came over to the house last night and had a beer while we caught up. It turns out, Sam is a rising musician and is in the works of getting signed by a record label. Awesome! I checked out his music on myspace and it is really good. Check it out for yourself: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=119556950

Like I said, I have a tennis match tonight at 7:30. If we win this match, we will be in second place. Our captain is trying to get us a wild card to go to state. However, I already signed up with the 4.5 team because I didn't think we would go to state. I am going to be in a predicament if we win and actually get a wild card. I would like to go to state as a 4.0 and win more matches. But I have more friends on the 4.5 team and would probably have a better time with them. I am just going to wait it out and see what happens. There is no point in getting worked up about it now when the future of our 4.0 team is uncertain. But I'm sorta hoping we don't get a wild card so I don't have to make this decision.

The dogs are doing well. We had a little scare yesterday and thought Rafa might be sick. He had a little green mucusy stuff coming out of his eye and his eye was a little swollen. I gave Rafa a bath and poured water over his face and eyes. It seemed to be getting progressively better and this morning he seemed back to his normal self. Mom didn't mention anything about his eye so I guess she didn't see anything out of the ordinary either. Rocky seems to be settling in, too. He seems more at home and at ease around us and Rafa. But I know he is going to be very excited to see his momma and poppa. We are over half way through our baby sitting!

Rocky Comes to Visit

I haven't written since Friday.... partly because I'm still in mourning over the braces but also because we got a new house guest on Saturday morning.... ROCKY!

Chris and Aida are in Bosnia visiting family so we offered to take care of Rocky so he doesn't have to stay in a kennel for so long. We are keeping Rocky Saturday to Saturday. Day 4 of 8..... almost half-way there.

Oh, boy.... this has been quite some time. Rocky is a handful. I am not use to having a big dog around and it changes everything. I am constantly bracing myself afraid that at any minute I'll be tackled to the ground by Rocky. But I do love him. A big problem is Rafa. He constantly wants to play with his cousin Rocky and won't take no for an answer. He'll climb on Rocky's back, hump Rocky's leg (should he even be humping at 3 months?), and eat Rocky's food. We are taking Rocky and Rafa on walks at night. Sunday night was Rafa's first walk. He did reallly well. I thought we'd have to carry him half way through but he just kept on chasing after Rocky the entire time. I have been walking Rocky in the morning right before I go to work. My hope is that this will tire him out and he won't mind being in his crate all day but I know he is excited when we get home and he can run and play in the yard. One nice thing about his crate is that it is a safe haven from Rafa (as long as he is locked in b/c Rafa loves laying in Rocky's crate).

Saturday was the annual Madison County Democratic Reunion. I brought Rafa with me and he played with lots of fellow Democrats (and 2 other Democratic dogs) while I worked the event. I also got some photos to put on the MCD website but I'll share a few with you:



And the best for last. My cute little boy:


Saturday night we went over to Lucas's boss's house. I met Chris and his girlfriend Brittney and some of their coworkers and friends. We had a great time and I really enjoyed meeting them. I hope we get to hang out more. I did get into a pretty heated political debate with one of the guys who was there. I kept trying to get out of it but everyone kept pushing us on. We had to settle our differences afterwards with a drink then take a friendly picture together. You can see here that I still haven't let it go. Also, here is a really good picture of Chris and Brittney.



Sunday was a little yucky outside but we did get a few things accomplished. I did our laundry then we hung up blinds in our living room. Yay! It looks so good.



I have had a busy week so far between Rocky and work and it is only Tuesday. Tomorrow is going to be an exceptionally busy day. We have our Chamber luncheon tomorrow. I have to help work an event for one of our clients from 4 to 6. I have a tennis match at 7:30. Lucas has soccer at 5:30. I might recruit mom to come check on Rafa and Rocky tomorrow afternoon. So mom, if you are reading this, thank you in advance. :)

The countdown begins....

14 Days.... May 9th

No Reason to Smile

Today is another busy day but I'll take time out to catch up the blog. I played doubles with Toy, Debbie, and Jill last night. Then Debbie, Andy, Lucas, and I went to eat dinner at Rosie's.... So Good! We just sat out on the patio and ate and had a margarita... it was very nice. I got home and read a little then we went to sleep.

With what is left of my short day I am going to try to get some more Chamber sponsorships. I looked on the campaign website to make sure some contracts that I had already submitted were turned in and guess what I saw.....


Yep... that's me. I don't know how I feel about having my picture up here. Anyway, I am now about $5000 away from the trip. I can smell the beach! I am going to work hard to get this $5000 but then I am going to try to help Jennifer make it, too. She normally helps all of us but I'll see what I can do.

Now onto the worst news EVER. Well, maybe not ever but it is pretty bad. I am getting braces. I am very upset about this. VERY. I have my appointment at 3:30 today to get the xrays and impressions taken. I should set up the appointment to get them put on, too, so I'll know this afternoon when the humiliation will begin. The dentist guessed that I'll be in braces for about a year. This will be a horrible year... but at least I'll get them on and then be done. I'd rather have braces at 23 than at 30 or 35 with kids.
I'll let you know how it goes... I'm expecting the very worst.

Busy Day

The day has slipped by and no time for posting. Not much new going on... I played tennis last night and won. Mom came to watch and brought our other wicker loveseat for the back porch. Lucas stayed the night in Indiana to help fix some part but it turns out it was fixed by the time he got there this morning so he is back in Huntsville now. I am going to play some doubles with Jill, Debbie, and someone else as soon as I leave work. Busy, busy, busy day at work.

Tomorrow is my dreaded dentist appointment... more on that tomorrow.

Yay, me!

I am now officially addicted to digital scrapbooking after only two days of researching and playing in my spare time. I need a Mac at home so I can do this on my off time but this is freaking amazing! And... I just finished my first page while I've been playing around. I knew with my wedding photos I had too many to decide which ones to use for one page so I went with our engagement photos since I was just playing around. Here is what I came up with...


So more scrapbooking projects in my future! I'm so excited! I've always loved scrapbooking but several things hold me back.

• It is expensive. You need papers, letters, word art, ribbon, accessories..... not to mention the cost of all the other things like binders, cutters, glue, etc.
• It takes up too much room. If you do invest in all of these supplies, where do you put them? I guess now we have an office I could make space but it is so much hassle. And every time you feel like scrapbooking you have to get out all the crap and make a huge mess. This way... no mess.
• Lack of talent. I think I'm pretty good on the computer (better than average, worst than most graphic designers) and in my mind I'm pretty creative. But when I sit down with paper, scissors and glue, the image in my head never quite comes out like I plan in reality. With a computer, however, I can get pretty close

Now, I can buy digital papers, fonts, and extras and I will always have them. Plus, I can change colors on many things and use them again in totally different ways. And even better... I can put these digital creations on here to share with you.

..........

As I was writing this I got a phone call from Lucas. He is in Kentucky right now and was supposed to be on his way back home. As he was leaving, he got a call from his boss to go back to Indiana to fix the same problems they had last week that they were fixing. So now he has to go to Indiana and stay the night there and probably won't be back until late tomorrow night or Friday night. Who knows. I had to help him find a Target so he can go buy clothes, toiletries, and, yes, more steel-toed boots. I think from now on whenever he goes out of town we'll fix him an overnight bag just to be safe. Unbelievable!

Another trip

Lucas just found out he will be going to Kentucky tomorrow for business. Trip #3 in week #4. Incredible!

We got blinds!

Our Neighbors Can't See Through Our Windows Now!!!!

As I mentioned earlier we bought blinds this weekend. While I played tennis last night Lucas hung up the blinds in the family room and eat-in kitchen area. Yea! I am so excited! It brightens up the whole room, too! Take a look...

Next up, we will be installing the blinds in the living room but I think Lucas did a great job of putting these up without any help so quickly! I am grateful! Can't wait to get the living room blinds up and everything hung up (yes, we still have not hung things like pictures, mirrors, etc. in this room).

Also, I played my first 4.5 tennis match last night and won! Go me! The win also solidified our trip to state. I'm excited to go to state. I love these girls! (I guess they are women... but I love them all). Also, we found out we get a group rate at the Marriott for only $95/night so I'm very excited about that, too. We should have a great time!

Pennsylvania ~ VOTE!

Paul Hipp occasionally posts his songs on Huffington Post and I thought I'd post this one to remember the real battle that is being waged while we Democrats are fighting each other in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. Maybe the candidates, volunteers, media, and others will soon realize the importance of issues rather than bashing each other to get ahead in the polls. We should be focusing on what Hillary or Barack will be doing to bring our troops home and start reversing the damage that Bush has done to our country. We all want the same thing so we are we fighting each other and bringing our party down.



To hear more songs from Paul Hipp's new album Blog of War visit www.paulhipp.com.

Oh, and just so we are all clear....

Mission Accomplished

I got almost everything accomplished that I had set out to do this weekend.

Friday night I was home alone and did 6 loads of laundry! Too much! Lucas called at midnight, just as I was getting ready to go to bed and said that he was on his way home. He got home at 4:00 on Saturday morning. Later that morning I was getting ready to go run with Debbie and asked Lucas if he wanted to come with me and he agreed! So we drove over to Debbie's house and the three of us ran to our house (a little over 3 miles). We had some water and took a 5 minute break and then Debbie and I ran back to her house a shorter way (about 2 miles). I hadn't run to get ready for that distance but it all worked out well... I did have to walk half way up this really steep hill towards the end of the run but all in all it was a good run. If I keep it up I should be ready for my 10K.

Lucas and I were going to have a date night but we ended up going to Hartselle. On the way we stopped by Home Depot and got blinds for the living room, family room, and eat-in kitchen area! Although we haven't yet had time to hang them I am super excited to have them. We hung out with Mom and Dad for a little while then when to eat at the Asian Buffet with my parents and grandparents. When we got back to the house, Chris, Aida, and Rocky came over for another sleepover to get Rocky ready for his big stay. I can't believe he'll be here in less than a week!

Sunday I played tennis from 12:00 to 4:00. First, I played some doubles with Amy against Jill and Debbie to get them ready for state. Then, I played some singles and then doubles with Mary Beth, Sarah, and Jennifer. MB, Jennifer, and I were talking about state afterwards and I think MB is going to go and Jennifer is going to stay in our room so we are going to have 5 girls in one room! That is going to make it good for the bill but bad for the shower! We'll work it out and I think we'll have fun. I hope Jennifer isn't too overwhelmed with us b/c we do like to have a good time while we're there. I still haven't asked Joey if I can get off work... I'll miss 2 days of work but it is right after the primary so we should be slow... hopefully no run-offs.

Lucas played soccer at 2:00 on Sunday and scored a goal! I hate that I wasn't there to see it but he was really excited about it. His team won 3-0. Afterwards, we went and had an ice-cream date at Brewsters since we didn't get our date the night before. It was really nice and such a beautiful day to sit outside and eat an ice-cream cone.

(As you can tell by my eyes I am really lovin' that ice-cream... Lucas eats his too fast)

Then we went home and I gave Lucas a haircut. I dread giving him haircuts b/c everything gets so messy but we have an agreement... I cut, Lucas cleans. And I have fun doing it! I never would have thought I would be giving hair cuts. Haha! We went over to Debbie's house. She and Andy had prepared a great meal... steaks, baked potatoes, and best of all GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE! I love green bean casserole! All of that (plus more than there is time to mention) with wine and good company made for a great relaxing night as we sat outside on the back deck. It was a great way to end the weekend.

Work is somewhat slow today. Joey is out of town until Thursday. Right now I am working on getting involved in the Huntsville Young Professionals and trying to test the waters to see if I can apply for Connect Huntsville (a leadership class for young professionals... if I get accepted that will be $1800, hopefully paid by my boss). Also on my list of things to do is to get some more sponsorships for CABO!

Things I need to do this weekend:

1. LAUNDRY
Two weekends ago (after I tell you this story that is going to seem disturbingly long) Lucas and I decided that we would use this antique chest that we have to hold our dirty laundry b/c our white laundry basket just wasn't cutting it. Well, apparently I need something much smaller to hold the laundry b/c if it isn't overflowing I don't do the laundry. Now, this large antique chest is overflowing so guess what I'll be doing tonight... laundry. Oh, yes! The exciting times that are my Friday nights.

2. RUN
This week I signed Lucas and I up for a 10K in approximately one month. I did this as inspiration to train and start running. But I still haven't started. This weekend I will start running and hopefully keep it up throughout the week. I am running with Debbie Saturday morning hopefully 4 or 5 miles... maybe 6 if all goes well. Hopefully this will get me back into the right frame of mind. I really do enjoy running once I've done it but getting my lazy butt out the door is another thing.

3. BUY BLINDS
I am (hopefully) going to leave work a little early to cash that check I got on Wednesday and then it is off to the Home Depot for me. I'll actually probably go tomorrow because I have to go home and measure windows. And who knows... if all goes well I might even hang them this weekend. What a transformation that will be.

4. NOT WORK ON THE HOUSE
Yes, you got that right. My goal was to soon be putting up baseboards and molding but I got some not so inspiring news yesterday. I met the folks from Olsham at our house around 3.... well I was supposed to meet them at 3. I took off work to meet them at 3 but they didn't bother showing up until around 3:45 (that is being generous). All of this to learn that the Cable Lock System that is on our house isn't doing its job so we need more stilts to hold up our chimney/hearth area. This is why we have been noticing doors that do not shut correctly, cracks in walls, and separations of things in weird places. I was somewhat distraught about this news. I am worried that everything that we have done is going to be screwed up. My mom and the guys from Olsham have tried to reassure me that they won't be but I am still cynical about this whole thing. But, in all fairness, the guys said this settling of the house is probably due to the drought so I can't lay all the blame on them. I am hosting a baby shower at the house on June 1st though so I hope getting this done in the middle of May is not going to totally ruin my house immediately preceding the shower.

5. DATE NIGHT
I just got word from Lucas that he will not be coming home tonight. They are repairing some part at Toyota and will probably be working well into the early morning hours fixing it so will just drive back tomorrow. Lucas has offered a date night tomorrow night. So I get to decided what I'd like to do. I must take advantage of this opportunity so hopefully I'll come up with something good. :)

6. TENNIS
More Tennis! I am playing 4 hours of tennis on Sunday. Debbie and Jill are going to seniors state so I asked Amy to come play doubles to give them some practice. Then, I have some singles practice at 2 with 4 of us who are just going to rotate around and maybe end with a few games of doubles. I am glad I'm starting to play more tennis... it is something I really enjoy (now that I am not forced to do it by an evil, ignorant woman)

I am sure there is much more. There always is.... but this is a good start on a fun (except for the laundry), but productive weekend.

Lucas Wakes to the Quake!

So, as I mentioned yesterday Lucas is in Indiana working. He had asked me to set my alarm for 5:15 in the morning and call him to wake him up. So I called this morning (still asleep) and he told me that he had been in an earthquake. Yea, right.... I went back to sleep. Then when I was getting ready this morning I saw something on the news about an earthquake but just caught the end. I thought "surely not"! So when I got to work I looked it up online and sure enough... the earthquake hit around 4:40 this morning. How weird is that? Lucas goes to Indiana for 2 days and there is an earthquake! I can't imagine what it is like... Lucas said in a text message he sent that it shook for quite a while. I'll have to find out more details later but I just couldn't keep from sharing. OMG! I can't believe Lucas was in an earthquake!

(5:36 a.m. Eastern Time, 4:36 a.m. Central Time)

As you can see, Lucas was pretty much on the center of the quake. Here is what the AP wrote about it:

5.4 earthquake rocks Illinois; felt 350 miles away

Posted by Associated Press April 18, 2008 5:37 AM

WEST SALEM, Ill. -- A 5.4 earthquake that appeared to rival the strongest recorded in the region rocked people awake up to 350 miles away early Friday, surprising residents unaccustomed to such a powerful Midwest temblor.

The quake just before 4:37 a.m. was centered 6 miles from West Salem, Ill., and 66 miles from Evansville, Ind. It was felt in such distant cities as Chicago, Cincinnati and Milwaukee, 350 miles north of the epicenter, but there were no early reports of injuries or significant damage....

The quake shook skyscrapers in Chicago's Loop, 240 miles north of the epicenter, and in downtown Indianapolis, about 160 miles northeast of it. Residents of Cincinnati and St. Louis also reported feeling the earth shake....

The quake occurred in the Illinois basin-Ozark dome region that covers parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas and stretches from Indianapolis and St. Louis to Memphis, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The organization's Web site said earthquakes occur irregularly in the area, and that the largest historical earthquake in the region -- also a magnitude 5.4 -- caused damage in southern Illinois in 1968.

Wow! I still can't believe it!

Lucas ~ The Important Business Man

Yesterday at about 4:00 I received an email from Lucas saying he was leaving at 2:00 a.m. this morning to go to Indiana on a business trip. This is only his third full week and this is already his second trip (the first was to Kentucky). Apparently, Toyota (where he is going) has all of these regulations about what he has to wear (no jeans, no watch, steel-toed boots, etc.). So we had to go to Shoe Carnival to buy him some steel-toed boots when we both got home from work yesterday. When I went to get in the car, laying on the seat was his new business card! I realize this may seem trivial for some but getting your first business card is a major deal! I think Lucas was really excited to finally be 'important enough' to have business cards. So I had to take a picture! "Lucas Linares - Quality Engineer"! Haha!
Also, while Rafa and I were waiting for Lucas to get home from work I took a few close up pictures of our furniture.

Can you tell which one is new and which one is old (needing a couple more coats of paint)?

Both new!
Both old!

And here is Rafa with his "why is this lady taking another picture of me" face
I played tennis last night against a lady who is pretty good and beat her 2 and 1. Yea! The best part of all is that I saw Pat (this guy I am trying to get on our mixed team) and he agreed to play on our team!

And Lucas is gone until tomorrow night so I am a bachelorette tonight! I am going to Huntsville Young Professionals' "Rock the Vote" event tonight so hopefully I'll get some good pictures there!

Cabo San Lucas

So, I went to the meeting at lunch today and got my $$$ for the blinds! Yea!! Maybe that will be a weekend project. Also, I found out the place we are staying in Cabo. For those of you who don't know about this deal... I sell about $21,000 in Chamber sponsorships for events throughout the year and in return get a trip for 2 on the yearly trip. Last year it was a cruise to Jamaica and Ocho Rios. It also happens to be during our anniversary. So if I work hard every year I will earn a trip for our anniversary. Pretty cool! Except this year Lucas may not be able to go b/c of work. I'm pretty bummed out about it but if he can't go I'll probably just take Aida (if she can go). This year it is also going to be even better b/c it is at an all inclusive resort so we won't have to pay for anything! Excellent! We spent sooo much money on the cruise (still a good deal since we didn't pay for the trip). Anyway, we are staying at Riu Palace in Cabo San Lucas.... here is a photo!
Ohhh! I'm sooo excited! I'm still about $11,000 short and 10 months away but I can already feel the sun on my skin and the sand in my toes!

Also, I just got the photos from the tournament this past weekend... here are some of the highlights and lowlights.....

What form!!!!

Front Porch Revitalization

Yesterday was such a busy work day! I had a little work but mostly I was organizing my mixed doubles team. The top 2 teams have folded so now my team becomes the top dog and all the good players from the other teams want to play on our team and I have to make room for them. This is what I hate about captaining a team but after this part is over I get to enjoy having one of the best mixed doubles teams this state has probably ever seen! It is going to be a great season.

So Lucas had a match last night. His team played Abbas's team. They were 2 and 2 so whoever won the match last night would go to state. I kind of wanted Lucas's team to win b/c I am going to state with the 4.5 team so we could go together. But then Lucas probably couldn't have gone anyways b/c of work and Abbas will carry a stronger team to state so it is probably best that Lucas's team lost. Lucas lost, too. Which is rare. But he played doubles with a guy who was pretty bad.... or was at least having a bad night (can't say much... I've been there). They won the first set easily but then just as easily lost the next two sets. Rafa came with me to watch him and my mom met us there to watch Lucas, too.

She brought with her the cushions for our front porch furniture. She bought a few flowered ones and then made some striped ones so it looks really neat with two patterns and the colors coordinating. I snapped a few pictures as I was backing out of the driveway this morning. I'll try to take some better ones later. Anyway, in this picture you can see the yard work we did a couple of weeks ago. We ripped out everything in the front flower beds, planted new azaleas, put down liner, installed some edgers, and then put rock down. Rocks are so expensive! You wouldn't think so but they are! Lucas said anytime we go somewhere that has rocks we have to pick up a handful... thats a handful of gold! I'll put some before and afters up... here you go!
This picture was taken before we bought the house with the other guys furniture but you can basically see the disrepair that was our front flower bed.... just unmanaged wild bushes and ugly monkey grass....
And here is the new flower bed with our new furniture (there are still a few of our old chairs mixed in that need a new coat of white paint... that will be done soon) and our new cushions... thanks, mom!
I'm not really sure if you can see the cushions very well b/c of the angle (remember I was backing out of the driveway when I took these shots). I'll try to get some better photos one night or this weekend. I am playing tennis tonight so it will be another rushed night!

I am about to go to a rewards luncheon for this Chamber of Commerce volunteer thing that I do. I should be getting a good check for all of the sponsorships that I've sold and Lucas said I could use that money to buy blinds for the rest of the windows downstairs. Yea! So I'm very excited to go eat a free lunch (which is very exciting next to the lean cuisine that I would eat if I stayed here) and collect my money!!!

Tennis, tennis, tennis.....

I am so sore! This weekend was super busy! After joking about the rain on Friday, the sun came out and I played tennis. I played doubles with Amy against Jeritta and Yvette. They are a very good doubles team and Amy and I had never played together so I was expecting to lose but we played very well together and won! But the rest of the tournament didn't go so well... I guess we finished 3rd. And I lost in the finals of singles. It was soooo windy and I do not play well in adverse conditions. Oh, well. I got some thermometer thing to hang on our back deck for finishing 2nd in singles.

I found out some big tennis news this weekend. There are 3 awesome players who now want to play on our mixed team. The problem is... we already have a full team. But the other 2 teams we played against last year have somewhat disbanded so it is a pretty sure thing that we will go to state. So I am going to send out an email today or tomorrow getting commitments for state.... that way I don't really have to tell people no or kick them off the team out right.

Also, I signed up for the 4.5 team this weekend (a little over half way through the season). I think they have 4 or 5 matches left and I need to play in 2 to be qualified for state. They needed another singles player to take to state so I signed up and now will definitely be going to state. That makes me happy. I was kinda bummed that our team didn't make it to state (note... there is still a very slim chance that my 4.0 team will qualify for state but it is highly unlikely).

Wow! A lot of tennis stuff going on this weekend, huh?

On top of that, we got to hang out with the Ratleys 2 nights this weekend! Friday night we went out to Olivias and Masons to celebrate Troy's graduation. There was a some drama with another couple that night but the 4 of us had a lot of fun despite it. Although Lucas and I got out of there just before closing... I think Chris and Aida ended up playing chauffeur until 3:30 or 4. Sorry!

Saturday night Chris, Aida, and Rocky came over. Aida has worked the past 3 or 4 weekends so 2 nights in a row is very rare and was very fun! They came over and played Phase 10 and Rafa and Rocky played together. We have some cute pictures of that!

Speaking of pictures, I thought I would update with a few pictures of our little Rafa!


Here is a picture of Rafa and Rocky playing:


They were tired from playing so Rocky shared his bed with Rafa while the grown ups played cards:



Awww! Here is Rafa's first bath!


Just like his mom! Rafa and his American Express!


This one is too cute not to post!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What do you think? Am I playing tennis tonight. I don't think so. Today is the start of the HWTA Tennis Tournament that I am playing in this weekend. I was supposed to play my first doubles match at 7:30 tonight but I don't think we're going to get it in. Lucas was sending me text messages from their tornado shelter at work.... while I was sitting here on the top floor of our office building working away. Our office never freaks out about these storms. One day we're all gonna eat our words for making fun of all these people who freak out over rain... but not today. It is just rain people! I was excited to play but I guess I'll hold off for another day. Tomorrow is supposed to be CHILLY! All this rain is bringing in a cold front, so I'll have to bundle up.

Last night I went to the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee meeting. I am going to start attending these monthly meetings. I work on the website and am starting to get more involved and trying to make it better so I should be getting involved in other areas of the organization, too. I joined the Madison County Democratic Women while I was there. David Maker, candidate for 5th Congressional District, was the speaker. He is Parker Griffith's opponent so I wouldn't like him anyways, but bless his heart, he is pitiful. He's a physicist... my dad said this explains it.

Diva Night

So I am new to this blogging thing and didn't take any pictures but last night Debbie invited me to come to Fleet Feet's Diva Night with her. There were so many women there! They had food (a little, anyways), wine, and giveaways. I had a couple of bites of food and a glass of Riesling... I have never had that before and it was delicious. Another white wine so Lucas probably wouldn't like it but it'll definitely be on my list the next time I pick up some wine (as long as it's cheap). I also got a free pair of flip flops and garment bag. Debbie and I both had a bra fitting. The bra that I liked was nice but it was $44. I'm just not at that place where I am going to pay $44 for a sports bra. I probably should, but I'm not going to. I'll stick with my $5 Wal-Mart sports bras for now. And did you know that a sports bra is only supposed to last 45 washings (I wonder if this is true or a gimmick to buy more bras)? Goodness! If that is the case I am much in need of some new ones. I didn't buy anything but Debbie walked out with an armload.

The biggest thing I took away from the night was my excitement to get back running. Before the wedding, I was running 9, 10, 11 miles a day. I'm not saying I'd like to be back there but I would like to get back in the routine of running every morning. So I've decided to sign Lucas and I up for the Cotton Row Run 10K that is coming up next month. This will motivate me to get back out on the road. Mostly I just feel better when I'm running but maybe I'll lose a few pounds in the process, too!

The Linares Family blog

Though past attempts have failed, I am making a committed effort to start blogging on a regular basis. I'm not sure anyone else really cares to read about our personal lives but I find it so fascinating. Lucas is not thrilled about the idea... he is generally a more private person. But I think he'll come around.

Brooke, my former college teammate, has really inspired me. I love reading her blog and seeing what she and her husband are up to, what she's cooking, and how their dog is creating havoc! So I'll make my humble attempt to rise to her blogging prowess. So here's a toast to the new Linares Family blog. May it last more than a month!