45 - 15 !!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday the Gators ended their regular season with the game against Florida State. The game was at 3:30 and it was raining like crazy in Tallahassee where the game was played. That didn't matter to my Gators!! They won 45 to 15 against FSU. It's always great to beat FSU!!! This Saturday will be the SEC Championship game in Atlanta against Alabama. It looks like the winner of our game on Saturday will be headed to the National Championship game so.....GOOOOO GATORS!!!!!!!

Other than that, Libby finally came home this afternoon!!!! I picked her up at 3:30 and it was great to have her back home. We put up her Christmas tree in her room and watched some Christmas movies. Then it was time for dinner, a shower, and bed. I can't believe that tomorrow it's time for her to go back to school and for me to go back to work. I really enjoyed my brief four day vacation and wish it could have lasted just a bit longer!!

Day after Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone had as nice of a Thanksgiving as I did! Yesterday morning I got up to cook a dessert that I was taking to Thanksgiving and then at about 12:15pm we finally headed over to Ryan's parent's house for Thanksgiving. There were 14 of us there enjoying lunch together. The food was absolutely amazing!!! I hate WAY more than I intended but I just couldn't help it. The food was yummy!! After lunch we chatted with family, played ping pong, and badmitton. Too soon it was time for us to leave because I was leaving to go to Jacksonville for the night. I went to spend the night with Debs and I got there about 7:30pm or so. We spent some time working on stuff for her wedding (favors and centerpieces) and then we got out all of the sales ads and marked what items we were looking for, where they were, the store hours, and the easiest driving routes. I went to bed about 1:00am and at 4:30am it was time to get right back up and head out for our day after Thanksgiving shopping!! On our way to our first store (Wal-Mart) we found a Starbucks that was open...it was 4:45am!!!!!! We got some coffee (which was soooo necessary at that point!!) and went in to throw some elbows in Wal-Mart. :-) We ended up not having to throw elbows - but not only does it take time to make the plan of attack the night before but it also takes some planning inside the store. We needed a cart for our purchases so we'd find a spot for Debs to stand with the cart and I'd weave and swerve in and out of the crowds and search for the deals that we were there for. Um, hello, they had Hannah Montana dolls and High School Musical dolls for $5 each. That was worth getting up at 4:30am all by itself!!! We were out shopping from 4:45am until about 1:15pm and that is when we finally made it back to her house for a brief break.

It was time to leave again at 1:40pm because we had a 2:00pm appointment at David's Bridal to order my dress for her wedding. We got the dress ordered and it will be in sometime in January!

After that we went back to her house and I left at about 2:45pm to head back to Gainesville. That was a llllooooonnnngggg hour and a half drive back when I was going on just three and a half hours of sleep and shopping all day!!!

Gobble gobble!!!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

It has been a busy few days! On Thursday I volunteered in Libby's class from 7:30 until noon. I went home and started taking all of our Christmas decorations out. I went back to pick up Libby at 1:30pm and we came straight back home and started decorating for Christmas! :-) Our ornaments included the cute little snowflake above. :-) Libby is with her dad from Friday, November 21st through Sunday, November 30th for her Thanksgiving break. :-( I normally would decorate for Christmas the day before Thanksgiving but since Libby was going to be gone for so long we decorated on Thursday so that we could do it together.

Thursday is usually my one day of the week to take care of dinner but Ryan called Thursday afternoon to say that he was taking care of dinner. That was a relief because I was in a sea of Christmas decorations and really didn't have the time to stop and make dinner, anyway. He came home with turkey and all the usual Thanksgiving food so the three of us were able to have Thanskgiving together before Libby left. It was such a sweet surprise by him! I was very happy that he gave me the opportunity to share Thanksgiving with Libby!!!

Friday night we had dinner at Ryan's parents house because his grandmother is visiting for the week. We'll be going back there on Thursday for Thanksgiving with Ryan's parents, his grandmother, his aunt and uncle, and Ryan's brother, his wife, and their children.

Last night I went to dinner with my friends Karen and Kristina. Kristina went on a cruise in September with her boyfriend and thier families. Well, being the sneaky little thing that she is, Kristina and Billy decided to get married on the cruise and have it be a surprise for thier families. So, she went on the cruise and came back married!! She had a bridal shower on November 1st but that was the weekend that Karen and I were out of town for our Girls Weekend so since we weren't able to go to her shower we went to dinner with her last night. We went out for sushi and I have a very weak stomach so I turned a little green looking over the menu but I found something that didn't sound too scary (grilled chicken roll). :-)

C.O.L.D!!!!!!!

Today was cold! This morning when Libby and I left to take her to school (and for me to go to work) it was 28 degrees!!!!! Yes, I said TWENTY-EIGHT degrees. Um, this is Florida...in November. And 28 degrees. That never happens!! Libby has never had to wear a heavy jacket, hat, and gloves before in November! Don't get me wrong - I really love it! It makes it so much easier to get into the spirit of the holidays when it's cold outside rather than 80 degrees outside. It's just weird, that's all. Weird and cold. Did I mention that it was 28 degrees in Florida in November???? :-) I had to start my car early this morning to thaw the ice that was on the windshield and after I made Libby's breakfast and packed her lunch I made us some hot chocolate to take with us. Unfortunately, the weather won't stay here but it will stay cool for another few days and I'm going to enjoy every single second of it!!

Tea - with a Chinese twist! :-)

So, Karen recently discovered that there was a Chinese restaurant in Gainesville that has tea time! Since we all love going to the tea room this seemed like something that we just had to try out - especially since drinking tea originated in China. So, we went this afternoon and while it was totally different from our usual English tea time experience it was still pretty good! Most of the tea on the menu was green tea (which I've tried really hard to like but sorry, I just can't stand it) but there were a few other options. I chose to have cinnamon tea and Karen got her favorite - chai tea. The food was vegetable spring rolls, crab rangoon, a bowl of soup, tea sandwiches (where were WAY different from our usual English tea sandwiches!!), fruit, and fruit curd, cream puffs, and cheesecake bites. The spring rolls, crab rangoon, and soup were all very good. The tea sandwich was okay. The fresh fruit was good - but how can you mess up fresh strawberries, kiwi, and mango? :-) The fruit was served in these great little ice bowls...Karen's was in the shape of a boat and mine was in the shape of a leaf - how did they know that I adore autumn leaves???? There was a Chinese fruit in there (lychee) and that I would not suggest eating...I didn't like it at all!) :-)

Now that leads me to the fruit curd. Ahhh, the fruit curd. Our waitress brought it out to our table and said something (but she had a VERY thick Chinese accent and honestly I only understood about three words that she said the entire time that we were there). So, she brought out the bowl of what we later learned was fruit curd. Neither Karen nor I had any idea what it was for. Karen was pretty sure the waitress said something about it being for tea so we both put a little scoop in our tea but it never dissolved. Plus, it was a pretty big bowl of stuff for it to be for our tiny little sake cups that we had for our tea. Eventually when no one was watching we both fished out the curd from our tea cups and put it back in the bowl. :-) We finally asked another waitress who spoke English a little more clearly and she told us it was fruit curd. We both tried a bite once we found out it was supposed to be eaten :-) but it was just gross. It was like biting in to a very cold boiled egg but with a weird taste to it. Just strange.

The atmosphere of the place was nice so overall it was a really good experience. For my birthday I had intended that when we all went to celebrate my special day that we'd all go to Strawberry Tea Room (which is where we normally always go for tea - and it's my favorite!!) but instead I now want us all to go to the Chinese Tea Room so that everyone else can experience it, as well. So, January 24th we'll have a party of about 8 heading back there to see if it is just as good the second time we are there! :-)

After the tea room we came back to my place and watched the Gators destroy South Carolina in football. 56 - 6!!!!! Haa!! I love beating the snot out of Steve Spurrier. :-)

Another lost tooth!!!

So, daily Libby checks her teeth to see which ones may be loose. Her two top teeth have been a little wiggly for the past week and on Tuesday a bottom tooth started being wiggly. Yesterday that sucker was really wiggly. Today when I picked up her up from daycare she opened her mouth and her tooth was all crazy and poking almost sideways. I nearly threw up! :-) I knew that the sucker had to come out but just the thought of it made me light headed. Her tooth was so wiggly that she could barely speak because every time she'd open her mouth her tooth would move and it would pinch her lip and she said it was really hurting. She couldn't eat anything (not even bread!!) so I knew I had to do something. I had this elaborate plan on the way home that I'd put some ice on it and then I'd give her some pain medication and then I'd wait for Ryan to pull it out. :-) We got home and she couldn't wait any longer. She was in serious pain and crying. As soon as we got home she went to the kitchen and got a paper towel and said that it was time to pull her tooth. I started freaking out and I got another paper towel and wet it and told her to go in to the bathroom. She sat down and I squatted in front of her and looked at her tooth and stood up and told her that I just couldn't do it. She looks up at me and said, "You can do it, Mommy!" Oh geez. I slowly took the paper towel and put it over her tooth and without any amount pressure at all I lifted my hand with the paper towel and her tooth was in the paper towel!! After I was sure that I wasn't going to throw up I was very excited. She immediately stood up and said, "It doesn't hurt any more!" and she walked over and started eating immediately. :-) After that she told me that I really was a doctor. :-) I know that as her mom I am supposed to be able to handle all that stuff but I can't! I just hope that she never has anything worse than a loose tooth or I may end up passed out on the floor! :-)

Tennis lessons...

Today was day #3 of our little four day vacation. This morning after breakfast we went to the tennis courts and Ryan gave Libby her first tennis lesson. She did pretty well for a first timer while I played ball girl the whole time. :-)

The rest of the day was spent at home hanging out and tonight Ryan and I just finished watching The Strangers. Please excuse the way I say this but it is truly the only way to describe that movie...it was f***ed up!!!!

42 - 14 !!!!!

It's Sunday evening and I'm half way through my little mini vacation already! School is out on Monday (I think it's a teacher work day or something) and then of course we are off on Tuesday for Veteran's Day. Yesterday morning Libby and I went to Target. Debs saw online that exclusively at Target there were Pumpkin Spice Kisses this fall. Are you kidding me???? Pumpkin Spice Kisses?????? Oh yeah...I'm there!! So, we went to Target and looked but they didn't have any...they only had out Christmas candy. I LOVE Christmas but I've never been so sad to see Chrismtas!!!! :-( It's still fall - can't they carry fall candy AND Christmas candy at least until Thanksgiving???? Ugh. So, we went home without any Pumpkin Spice Kisses. :-(

After that we just hung out at home and then last night my wonderful Gators traveled to Nashville to play Vanderbilt. Whew, the Gators walked all over Vandy!!! The final score was 42-14!!! Karen came over to watch the game and Libby fell asleep pretty early in the game. It was fun to get and chat and watch the Gators dominate yet another game! :-)

This morning we woke up and Ryan made breakfast and then we went to a local park that has a hockey rink (in-line skating hockey, obviously!!) :-) and he played hockey while Libby and I played at the park. After he finished playing hockey he came over and played with us at the park for a while and then we came home.

Tomorrow the plan is to go play tennis after breakfast. Ryan used to be a tennis instructor and Libby has been wanting to learn how to play for a while so we'll see how that goes tomorrow. :-)

I voted!

Today was the big day and I did the responsible thing and got out there and voted! Libby has been talking about the elections a lot in school recently and I wanted to leave this morning at 7:00am and go by and vote while she was with me so that she could see the process. However, we didn't actually leave here until 7:20am so I had to drive by my polling precint and take her to school and then I went back and voted. I walked straight in with no lines, got my ballot, voted and that was all done within 5 minutes. I then had to stand in line for 10 minutes to turn in my ballot to the scanning station where the votes were being collected. The scanner kept jamming (hey, it's Florida so something had to happen with the votes!) and once I made it through the 10 minute line I got my sticker and I was done! 15 minutes and it was all over. I really was expecting a nasty line when I got there so it was sort of anticlimatic that it was all over in 15 minutes. :-)

Girls weekend

Well my fun weekend is now over and it's time to start getting ready to get back to real life tomorrow. To take you through my whole weekend I last left off saying that Ryan and I were about to watch the movie The Happening on Halloween night. Oh....my.....gosh - that was the WORST movie I've ever seen. It was ridiculously bad! Please, if you haven't seen it yet don't waste your time. Life is short so please don't waste even one second on that movie! Saturday morning Karen and I decided to go to the Micanopy Fall Festival. I never like that anywhere near as much as I like the McIntosh Fall Festival that we all went to two weeks ago but I still have to go to the Micanopy Fall Festival every year. It's much smaller than the McIntosh one but it's still mandatory for me to go to this one. :-) We spent some time there and then it was time to pick up our friend Tara and to make our way to Palm Coast to meet up with Debs who was coming from Jacksonville to start our Fabulous Fall Girls Weekend. We met Debs at the Tea Room at 1:30 in Palm Coast. I had never been to Palm Coast before so everything that I planned was all from looking at stuff online and hoping that the pictures of everything did justice to the places. We got to Tea Room at 1:30 and the setting was nice but the food didn't quite work out so well. Oh well, it was another Tea Room experience to add to our list and now we have several more things to add to our list of things that Debs and I won't do in our Tea Room that we open we turn 50 years old!! From the Tea Room we headed to our hotel room to get checked in. The original plan was to watch the Gator football game at a sports bar nearby but instead we watched it in our room. My wonderful Gators played the Georgia Bulldogs and beat the snot out of them! The final score was 49 - 10!!!! So, I think it goes without saying that we enjoyed the game!! The game was over a little after 7:00pm and we headed to a restaurant that was nearby for dinner. The four of our walked in decked out in our Gator gear and we had several "Go Gators" and "bet you girls are happy" comments while we were having dinner. :-) After dinner we headed back to the room to hang out for the rest of the night. Sunday morning we woke up and took our time waking up, taking showers, and having breakfast at the hotel. We left the hotel and went to Washington Oaks State Garden and walked around for some time. It was very pretty and peaceful. From there we left and had lunch together. Well, it was lunch time but we all actually ordered breafast and I had some incredibly delicious banana pancakes!! We took our time eating and when we were finished we did a little shopping and then it was time to say bye to Debs and to head back to Gainesville. It's nice to be back home and unpacked and relaxing on the couch with Ryan while Libby is sleeping soundly upstairs in her room. I just realized that I never finished that load of laundry that I mentioned on Friday night so it looks like I know what I'll be finishing up tonight before I go to bed! :-)