Heaven!

Here I sit, on my parents couch, watching TV, while dad sleeps in his chair and Izzy sleeps on my leg...ahh...gotta love it! Since I have been here, I haven't done too much, but thats the idea right?! Mom and I ran errands and went to the BEST grocery store ever on Sunday, she even skipped church to take AJ and I to breakfast! Shhh...don't tell the big guy :)

Then yesterday, I started back into my running routine which was tough, but much needed and I felt good once I was done. Then Dad and I headed over to the club to lay out at the pool, which was awesome, and AJ even met us over there when he got off work! The day was finished off with a BLT pizza from Happy Joes and a relaxing night at home with mom and dad.

Today, I got up early and went for another run, even longer today than yesterday! Whoop whoop! It seems to be getting easier each day, hopefully that continues... :) Then I took the bro to Coon's favorite hometown restaurant, the one and only GANZOS...and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I think I'll take Izzy to the dog park this afternoon and then I am meeting up with Janelle this evening!

All in all, it has been a fun-filled week at home so far, with only more good times to come! I'll keep everyone posted on my daily happenings, because I'm sure thats EXACTLY what y'all wanna read right?!

Everyone keep your fingers crossed for Eric who is off in Philly for the next two days trying to sell some Spray Pavers....c'mon honey - show me the money!!! :) Then he is headed my way to spend the holiday weekend here with moi!

Vote!

You should see a choice on the left side of the blog screen that has to do with an online survey. I created the survey to vote for my new car's name, since everyone had such super ideas! So, if you would like your vote to count, you can click on the name you prefer, or add in your own. I will wait until the end of the week and count up our tallies!! More to come later...

I am headed to the pool! :)

Ahhhh...Summer!

Found this joke online, and couldn't pass it up...

Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, "I bet you don't know what day this is." "Of course I do," he indignantly answered, going out the door on his way to the office. At 10 a.m., the doorbell rang, and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box containing a dozen long-stemmed red roses. At 1 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two pound box of her favorite chocolates arrived. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress. The woman couldn't wait for her husband to come home. "First the flowers, then the candy, and then the dress!" she exclaimed. "I've never spent a more wonderful Groundhog day in my whole life!"

Ahahahahahaha!!!!! Funny eh?

So, just a piece of info to everyone, my husband has started following in my mom's footsteps and has started researching and developing our family trees on Ancestry.com...and as I was sitting next to him last night with my mom on speaker phone, and him on this website talking about Josiah, Wilbur, Hattie, Benjamin Franklin, etc, etc....I couldn't help but laugh to myself. And while I got quite the kick out of it, I know my mom and Eric thoroughly enjoyed themselves with the "research"!

On the other hand, while Eric is busy researching our roots, I am planning a trip to the pool! I have been productive for the last three days, and it's time to relax again. Before any of you even think it...I DESERVE my summer and its NOT long enough, no matter what anyone thinks! :) Once I get back from my short trip to Nashville and my nice long week in heaven (a.k.a Iowa - that ones for you Sarah)...I will begin to get back into the swing of things and start to be productive again. I'll be officially back at school in ONE month!

Not to worry though because we still have lots of fun stuff to look forward to for the next couple months. We are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary on July 9th, Coon and Sarah are coming down the weekend of July 10th, I graduate and do my first triathlon (bike pending) on August 9th, AND we head down to the REDNECK RIVIERA for Labor Day for our annual Coon-Baker Vacay!!!

But for now, Izzy and I will veg out, I'll head to the pool, read a book, finish up a research paper and just relax....It's one of those perks of being a teacher! Hope ya'll have a fabulous Thursday and for those of you at work, try not to work TOO hard, its SUMMER :)

Summer? What Summer?

OK, seriously? THREE full days of standards training this week? How in the world can you spend three full days learning about new standards? Hmm....I guess my pool time will have to wait until AFTER 3:30 this week! :) Although, you know how you go to trainings and meetings and you always have that ONE person who never shuts up? Well, we have one of those in our group this week and she NEVER stops talking. I truly wonder why she didn't volunteer to teach the damn class herself! I started keeping a tally sheet to keep track of how often she talked (as a way to entertain myself really) and would you believe she talked 21 times in ONE hour? I KNOW....we could have been done with the training an hour before we were if she would have just shut her yapper!

On another note, our dog....crazy thing that she is! The last two nights she has exhausted herself to the point that it takes her an hour to stop panting! And for what you say? BIRDIES!!!!! Eric and I decided tonight that if, god forbid, our "normal" neighbors were to see her flailing in the air at the bird feeders that they would think that she (and us) were a little lulu....

I know, I know...the dog is not the only indicator that we are, in fact, a little weird. But our neighbors don't know that yet! That reminds me that I need to get started baking those cookies....thanks mom!

Oh, ya know that the venza is kind of a "ruby red" color; maybe Beula would be an appropriate name...I'll run it by the name nazi, also known as my husband... :) Have a good Monday everyone!

Weekend Warriors

Well, so much for weekends to be a time to rest and relax...we have been busy, busy, busy this weekend! We have mowed the grass, both the front and the back, and if you know what we are having to mow, you know it is quite the task! Eric spent his Saturday finally planting some azaleas that we have had for about a month, and picked weeds like no one has ever done before! We even put the new car to work and picked up some much needed mulch for the flower beds....and if you thought that was enough, you are mistaken, because Eric even cleaned out the garage today so that we had some more room for the cars! WHEW!

Of course, I just sat in the house and twiddled my thumbs...JUST KIDDING! I helped too! I was the one that mowed most of the yard! :) I will say though that it is nice to get some things done on the weekend, and it sure is nice to have the hubs home...especially since everyday is a weekend for me these days! Can I get a whoop whoop for summer? Well...I don't get a whoop whoop from Eric either... no biggie! :) I do have to go to an all day standards training though for the next two days, so I will have to do SOMETHING constructive!

Oh, just a side note to Coon...Eric won't let me put up the pictures of our tattoos, but if anyone is interested, just let me know! They really are priceless!

I have been trying to convince Eric that he needs to start adding to the blog, because I am already struggling to keep up, but it may take some more coaxing. Hopefully you will see a post from him soon!

I will end this little post with a picture of the new car WITH air conditioning that we have spent the weekend enjoying! Hope you like it!

Me and Beatrice

OH, I almost forgot! I need to enlist the help of our faithful readers (don't know why I made that plural, I am pretty sure Coon is the only one who actually reads this!). Even though, I am a car naming expert (self-proclaimed, of course); my dear husband does not like the name "Beatrice" for my beautiful Venza...SO if anyone has any ideas of a better name, or thinks the name I came up with is superb, send me a note! I will consider changing it if no one likes the name...I said CONSIDER... :) Love y'all! Thanks for reading :)

Au Revior Bessy

As most of you probably know, Bessy (my Chevy Blazer) means quite a lot to me, a very special lady in my heart for sure! :) Well, some sad news for Bessy is that she will be going to a new home in the next couple of hours and will be leaving me behind...The good part about that is that she has lived a good life with me and has always been there for me in good times and bad, while she will be missed terribly, we both will move on!

In her place, Beatrice will be entering my life, which I am very excited about! Beatrice has big shoes to fill so I hope she steps up to the plate! For now though Bessy, I say good-bye! I will miss you, and in your honor, I have made up a little tune....

Izzy and Bessy - favorite past time

Oooooooohhhhh, once there was a blazer,
Her name was Bessy Lou
She drives me round and round,
AND through and through, and through....
She drove through lots of snow,
in Iowa and more
She took me down to Tennessee
No matter how she wore....
She was so great to me,
She could have carried a tree....
Oh, Bessy.....my sweet Bessy....
You were so great to MEEEE......

Well Hello There!

Hello All! I am starting this blog so friends and family can keep tabs on us since we live so far away from everyone. Hopefully this summer will give me the time to get our blog started so we can keep it up throughout the years! So, since this is our first post, I will catch everyone up on our happenings! :)


So first off, I (Courtney) just finished my fourth year of teaching and my first year at my new school. It is the best place to teach and I have made some great, lifelong friends there. I am teaching 2nd grade at Battle Academy which is located in downtown Chattanooga, right across the street from the Chattanooga Choo Choo (insert song tune here). Eric just passed the five year mark at Roadtec which brought us to Chattanooga in the first place. He is still the Marketing Manager there and really loves his job. It has been a great place for him to work for and has allowed him to visit many great places and given both of us some great experiences.

Eric has visited most of the states in the U.S. and has gone to Canada, Mexico, China, and even Russia since he started working there. I am still holding out for the Paris and Australia trips though and think I have found luggage big enough for me to fit in! :) We have been able to go to a couple Tennessee Vols games and we have even ventured down to Alabama for a Crimson Tide game! Lots of fun for those of us who are big college football fans. Don't worry, our hearts are still with our Cyclones!

We have just celebrated our third year with our dog, Izzy, who we adopted for my birthday three years ago. She is our "baby" who we wouldn't trade for anything! You will see many pictures of her on this blog.

Eric and I have both taken up running over the last year, and while he is definately better at it and much more dedicated, I am trucking along! He just ran his first half-marathon with our friend Ryan aka "Coon" and has run some 5k's and the 5 mile Turkey Trot in Davenport last year. I have run some 5ks and the Turkey Trot as well, but no half-marathon for me (no matter what Coon says! :) We are both training for the Bix right now and then I am training for my first triathon in Chattanooga on August 9th.

The same day as my first tri will be the day I graduate from grad school! Whoop whoop! It only took me 2 1/2 years and LOTS of money, but it is just about over! I had my last class last night and I have a research paper that I need to finish up! Then I may just be a normal person for once and might be able to relax every so often and just "hang" with the hubs and the pooch! I can't wait and I am sure Eric and Izzy are excited too! :)

Oh, one more thing, just have to do some shout outs to some fabulous people in our lives: Our friends Coon and Sarah who live in Nashville, if it weren't for ya'll and our "Coon-Baker Travel Adventures" I may not have survived living so far from my family and I know Eric is very appreciative for ya'll and your friendship! We definitely look forward to future visits and a lifelong friendship for us, and Wrig's and Iz! :)

Also, my family who has shown so much support for us even though we live so far. Welcoming us into your home whenever we want, hugs when we need them, and taking the time to visit us whenever you can. Words cannot express how much we love you and appreciate everything you have done for all three of us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Alrighty then, most posts won't be so sappy and I will try to update as often as I can! Enjoy! :)