Look out Junior High

Celebrating at Chuy's

Coleman loved the chocolate

He's not my "little" boy anymore!

Sixth grade is done. Coleman is out of middle school and on his way to junior high. Can you believe it? Only two more years until high school. He had such a great sixth grade year. He was on the A Honor Roll the entire year. He scored a perfect 100 on both the math and reading TAKS tests. He ended up getting the Academic Excellence Award. As if that wasn't enough, he also got the award for Best Trumpet Player in the Sablatura band. Most of his friends get money for grades but we have never done that. Don't feel bad for him - his grandparents always give him a card (with some money in side of course). We were so proud this year we decided to go out and celebrate. We let Coleman decide on where he wanted to go. We had a late lunch at Chuy's and then followed it up with desert at the Melting Pot (chocolate fondue). To top the evening off we went to see Land of the Lost. It was a great day for all of us. Now summer is here and he will be busy. Football camp at UofH for this week. Washington DC with my parents the two weeks after that. To Chad's parents in July for another trip. Then Pearland's football camp and school starts all over again. Somewhere in there we will have to squeeze in a birthday - the big 13.

Friends

Over the past month we have reconnected with some friends that were special to us at one time. Our lives lead us in different directions and ultimately different states and we lost touch with each other. It was great to find out that they are doing so well. Just last night a friend of mine that I met here our first year in Pearland but has since returned to Canada called to catch up and say she is coming for a visit next week and would like to get together. Today at work I thought about a great person I worked with in College Station but haven't talked to in years. Naturally, I googled her this evening and discovered she has done great things since I last saw her but I didn't stay in touch to find out. You are probably thinking okay that's nice but why are you writing about this. The reason I am stuck on this issue is that I frequently complain to Chad that I need some friends. I often feel like I am the friendliest person that doesn't have any friends. I am realizing now that I do have friends but I need to make more of an effort to stay in touch with them and keep the relationship going. Yes, we are all busy being moms, dads, coaches, PAs, whatever it is we do but sometimes it is nice to enjoy the company of friends. Chad is definetely my best friend but let's face it, he does not want to go see a chick flick with me. I am committing myself to being a better friend and keeping myself open to making new friends.

Back to the couch

After three weeks on the 5k training program I ended up getting tendonitis in my knees. A week of rest and Ibuprofen took care of it but unfortunately it took the wind out my sails. I haven't been able to motivate myself to get started again. Boy am I glad I didn't buy all those running clothes! If I am extremely honest with myself - I didn't like it anyway. For a long time I have been envious of people I see jogging through our neighborhood or participating in fun runs. I want to like it but I just don't. While I am sure many people don't enjoy exercising, I also know many people who do. It seems like I can be one of those people if I can just find the right fit. I hope so soon or my clothes may not find the right fit!! Until I hit on the thing that I just can't live without doing at least 30-45 minutes 5 days a week, I'm going to start walking again. I know all you strength coaches out there don't think the walking is intense enough - Chad has told me many times - but it has to be better than couch sitting. If anyone has found the perfect exercise let me know.

Chubby Dennis - from couch potato to 5K

I am writing this post to keep me accountable. Now everyone knows (at least the one or two people that actually read this) so I've got to stick with it! This week I started a new program called "From the couch to a 5K". For the past year I have been unable to motivate myself to exercise. I know, I know, I know how good it is for me. I tell patients all day long to exercise. I tell my son to exercise. Yet, I have not been able to get myself to exercise. I'm not exactly sure why because I've always been an active person. My theory of this lack of motivation is that my previous attempts at exercise did not work. That is, I did not lose weight which is what I was trying to accomplish with the exercise. I've tried a one year stint of "body pump" classes at Gold's Gym when we lived in College Station and lost only 3 pounds. I walked 2-3 miles on hilly terrain in Connecticut but didn't shed a pound. When we moved to Houston, I started jogging at least 5 times a week. Chad will attest to the fact that I was faithful to my program and even added the metabolic typing diet but again only lost 3 pounds. Which unfortunately does not add up to a total of 6 pounds because of course I had regained the original 3 that I lost with body pump. Frustrated is an understatement for how I felt. So I just stopped and ended up waffling back and forth with the same three pounds regardless of whether I exercised or not. I enjoy a good walk but had even stopped doing that. Last fall I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started on medication. Correcting my thyroid along with following a yeast free diet has helped me shed 16 pounds. But guess what - I did not exercise one time. So you can imagine how I may not see the benefit in exercise if weight loss is my goal. Over this past week, I decided to change my goal. My goal is now to run a 5K instead of to lose weight. I need something to shoot for! I found this podcast I downloaded to my IPOD (Coleman's hand me down) called "Chubby Jones from the couch to a 5k" and started this week. It is a nine week program and I'm sticking to it. I'll let you know how it goes!!

Off Season Is Over - Yeah!!

Chad finished offseason workouts yesterday. Why does this make me so happy? The alarm won't be going off at 4:30 am anymore - at least not for a little while anyway. He is still training some guys for UofH proday which will take place on 3/28/09. For those of you who don't know about proday, it is a try out for professional football team scouts for the Cougars who have completed college football. Chad has been training these players for specific drills (40 yard run, bench press test, vertical jump, and others) for the last 8 weeks. He has put so much into it this year. Even making DVDs each week of each player doing the drills so they can review it and improve. I have to admit I'm ready for this to be over also because it takes him alot of time in the evenings to sort through all the video and edit for each player. I've seen so many clips that I could give a basic lesson on how to do the 5-10-5 drill. Stop laughing - I am not kidding. Even though this is extra work he really loves it and has alot of pride in his program. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed on ProDay that these guys impress the scouts.

I GOT FLOWERS AT WORK TODAY!! As busy as Chad has been lately, he surprised me at work with some beautiful flowers. I was shocked!! They are actually the same flowers we had in our wedding which really impressed me. Guess what - a total coincidence but that doesn't matter. I am still smiling. He'll get a little smooch tonight!

Finally - Monday nights are free

Coleman has finished his basketball season with 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. He really has fun playing basketball and was not ready for the season to end. I, however, am happy to have Monday nights free from basketball practice. Especially since our favorite show of all time, 24, comes on Monday nights at 8 pm. I know it is terrible to place such importance on a TV show but we don't get out too often. As you recall he started basketball 2 days after football was over so there was really no break. I'm not sure how long our "down time" will last because he wants to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which will probably be at least one night a week. It seems probable that Coleman will try out for basketball next year in junior high which is great because it keeps him in shape. Chad and I hope he decides to go for it. On another note, my son in now taller than me. I knew it was coming but it still feels weird. Every day brings us closer to him being a teenager and so far so good. He has his moments of "undeveloped frontal lobe" behavior but they are few and far between. I hope to add some new pictures soon.

Chad's Favorite New Position

We finally broke down and got a laptop computer. Chad has been wanting one for a while. Apparently walking up the stairs to get on the desktop is just too much of an effort. His argument is that we can take it on trips as most hotels now offer wireless internet access. Also we can use it to watch dvds. I think the real reason behind the purchase is so he can watch TV and go on the internet at the same time. What do you think?

I have to say that I have enjoyed using it as well. And I even got to watch an entire lifetime movie without hearing "are you really watching this?" while he was busy on the laptop. Maybe it is a win-win for all.

A win for the Magic

Coleman's team, the Magic, won their game this Saturday 31-24. Coleman scored 16 points and played aggressively on defense. He seems to be enjoying basketball again this season and may even try out for the junior high team next year. He is number 9 in the clips - one he scores from the free throw line and the other he steals and drives for a lay up. His team's record is 2 - 1 so far with 5 games left to play.

Fun while it lasted

This has been a great month so far. Chad and I have spent more time together in the last 3 weeks than we have in the past 5 months. This is a gift for me; a rare gift for a coach's wife. He actually did not go up to UofH for an entire 2 weeks. We even got to take a little trip last weekend when we went to his friend's wedding in Moss Point, Mississippi. Folks, Moss Point is not a thriving metropolis- in fact, it reminded so much of my home town, Mont Belvieu. I have to say though that the trip was fun!! What does that tell you - that we need to get out more often? First of all, I love weddings. The dresses, the emotion, the memories it stirs up and the possibility of getting to dance make for a perfect date. The reception was fun with good food and perfect dancing music. Unfortunately, Chad does not share my enthusiasm for the dance floor so we did not make it out there. In his defense, we did meet some very interesting people and he was busy talking most of the evening (but give him a tease about it the next time you talk to him - tell him to take his wife dancing). Anyway, thanks Erik and Hayle for the invitation and including us in your big day. Unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end. The off-season workouts will be starting up soon which means seven weeks of getting up before the sun rises. Early to rise means very tired husband falling asleep in the recliner after supper. After so many seasons I know what to expect. It is nice, however, to sometimes get the unexpected - like having this extra time together. It sure was fun while it lasted.

From one merry go round to the next

We are officially off the Christmas go round and now onto the coaching go round. One of my least favorite times of the year is between Christmas and the beginning of off-season football. This may not mean anything to most of you but for a coaches family it holds the potential for a move. This is the magic time of year when coaches are fired, hired, and reshuffled. We have just completed our third season at Houston (which ties a record - we were also at A&M for three years) and there are quite a few reasons I'd like to stay here. Mainly because our son seems to enjoy school and his friends and looks forward to junior high next year. The older he gets the more difficult it becomes to leave. We are close to family which is such a big help to me and I love the occasional shopping trip with my mom (not so easy if we live in another state). Also, we bought a house 8 month ago. Need I remind anyone that the last time we actually owned a house we lived there for 8 months before moving to College Station. It took as almost as long to sell it as we lived in it. Chad is in no danger of losing his job (at least that we know of) and we can just sit back and coast right into another season. In fact, the Coogs even won their bowl game! Yeah! But, and this is a big but, Chad definitely wants to be a head strength coach. And I definitely want that for him. So that means every year around this time he will be looking and putting his name out there and I will be holding my breath! For now I am still internet shopping for home decor and have a huge wish list ready if we stay put for another season.