Thursday, January 31, 2008

Important news from the life of Veronica Ray.

I don't know if many of you know this, but recently I (Veronica Ray) started conditioning for softball. Just your basic running a mile 3 days a week, ab work, lunges down the football field, the usual. Well this week, tryouts started. On Monday we did throwing, and we ran some, but that was it. The same thing happen on Tuesday. I decided on Tuesday that if I hadn't done conditioning, my arm would have fallen off. I do realize that this story is Pretty boring, but I'm getting to the good part. Well on Wednesday, be threw, ran and batted a little. The 7-8th graders weren't done yet so the 10th-12th graders had to do timed sprints. They were lovely. Ha Ha not. Today (Thursday) we threw and batted. I did pretty well. Alot of mine were grounders, but at least I hit the ball. So the last girl was batting and she hit a pop fly. A girl went to catch it, but it bounced off her glove and smacked the girl behind her in the face. I heard a thunk, but the girl covered her face and there was a ball coming so I went to try to catch...I missed, but that's not the point. When I turned back around, the girl's hand wasn't on her face anymore, just a bunch of blood. I turned to my friend and said,"I don't do well with blood." So I turned around and started collecting the balls that we had missed. I come back to the group around this girl (her name is Carli) and Mrs. Brown, the coach, is helping her take her shirt off to put on her eyebrow, which is now dripping blood. Not just you random little spirts, it's pouring blood. As the rest of the group follows Carli and Mrs. Brown back to the dug I run around the field and collected the rest of the balls, because I wanted to give Carli her space. Antoher coach tells us to sit on the bleachers and to wait. As soon as I sit down, all i hear is the girl, whose glove it bounced off, telling the story again. Except I don't hear the same story I just told you. Instead all i hear is "I did this, I did that, blah, blah, blah." This is one of my biggest pet peeves, when someone takes someone elses story and makes it about them. GRR!!! It just makes me really angry. I do realize that I've probably done this before, but I really try not to. This girl was getting on my last nerve. I almost, almost turned and said something to her, but I held my tongue. You should be proud. One other thing you should be proud of......

I.....MADE THE SOFTBALL TEAM!!!!!!!!! I only made JV, but I'm really excited because I've never played softball before!!! AHHHH!!!!!!! I'm still trying to believe it. Well all that just for these past 3 sentences. Well that's the impotant news. EEEKKKK!!!!

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Random Stuff

Here are some random things that are running through my head at the moment. Hold on tight...this is actually what went through my mind in about a 60 second span.
  1. English graduates from the Defense Language Institute at the end of February. Yeah Enggy!!
  2. SO many of my friends are having or just had a baby. I love my children, but I am SO glad I am not having a baby right now. I am too old.
  3. My children fight a lot.
  4. My mom is awsome!
  5. My mom is a good cook.
  6. I hate to cook.
  7. I haven't lost anymore weight and I need to get on it!
  8. Veronica fell down some stairs yesterday and hurt her bum.
  9. How will her bum effect her tryouts tomorrow?
  10. Tomorrow is Monday.
  11. Ugh! Tomorrow is Monday!
  12. I need to start thinking about our move back to Minnesota.
  13. Darn it! Tomorrow is Monday and I don't want to go to work.
  14. I really wish I didn't have to work.
  15. It seems like English has been gone for a long time and it hasn't even been a month yet.
  16. Should I go to school?
  17. I don't think that they have classes for professional greeters.
  18. Is there such a job as a professional greeter. If so I think I would be good at it.
  19. Why do people in Minnesota call it Duck, Duck, Grey Duck instead of the real name Duck, Duck, Goose?
  20. What is a grey duck?
  21. I don't want to answer the door.
  22. Thankfully the door wasn't for me because I wasn't going to get up and go to it.
  23. Am I starting to get grumpy?
  24. Why, I think that I am!
  25. Poor kids.

Well that was the conversation that I was having with myself. Pretty sad isn't it.

Here is another little point. My hair is falling out. I use to have very think hair, but now it isn't so thick. Now don't tell me that the average person looses between 50 and 150 hairs a day. I know this. If that was all that I was loosing I wouldn't care. I am talking handfulls several times a day, plus ones that I find all over my clothes, the furniture, the bed, etc. Way more than 150 hairs per day. It is so weird. The thing is that I have always wanted to wear a really long haired wig...so if my hair does fall out that is what I am going to get. I can take it off to style it, wash and dry it, and then put it back on. Not like having long hair that is stuck to your head. I am not a long hair person because I can't style it, but if I could put it on one of those form things then I could fix it and then slip it on.

There was something else that was going on here, but I can't remember what it was. I guess this is just one of those nights where my brain isn't exactly working properly.

I hope you all have a great week ahead.

Ebby Ray

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Rainy Saturday Morning

I no longer have writer's block. So here goes!!

It is rainy and cold outside this morning. A perfect day to sleep in and stay under the covers even after you wake up. Which is exactly what I did this morning. I slept until about 9:30 and just stayed all bundled up until about 10. It was nice. Also, have you ever really paid attention to the thoughts that float through your head when you are laying in bed groggy and foggy? Mine are incredibly silly and random. I need to write some of them down and share them sometime for a good laugh.

Just a little update on the family: Veronica is trying out for softball this week. She has been doing conditioning for the past couple of weeks. Each day she comes home with a new body-part pain to share with us. She is pretty excited.

Hunter is trying out for track. He informed us the other day that he wants to run long distances. So the grandparents hooked him up in the shoe department and he tries out on Monday.You go boy! I wish I had that desire in me. I just never have. Give me a bike, I can ride for hours. Give me a pool or the ocean, I can swim and play for hours. I just don't like to run.

I have a show at House of Blues tonight. Then, tomorrow is David Copperfield. Unfortunately I won't be able to write too much about that. I have to sign a confidentiality agreement. So if I publish a blog entry about it they'll send government agents from the MSA- Magical Secrets Agency and you'll never here from me again. They will make me "disappear."

One more thing. When the group U2 comes out with something new, in my life, it is cause for celebration. I love and enjoy music. It is a huge part of my life, obviously. But I don't get too excited over that many things pertaining to musicins or music groups...except U2. With that said, U2 is coming out with a movie called U23D. Here is a link to the website. Check out the trailer. http://www.u23dmovie.com/ It is a concert footage movie filmed in digital 3D and is supposed to be ground breaking in the movie industry. I loooked it up online and it is coming to my area on Feb. 15 I can't wait. I will be one of those dweebs in line out front of the movie theater like you see at Lord of the Rings or Star wars movies. I can hardly wait.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Writer's Block!!

I cannot think of a thing to write. I really want to say "HI!" and give you guys an update.........but I got nothin'.

Anyway, maybe you could leave me some ideas in the comments section.

Since I don't have anything to write I will leave you with someone else's words.

"When you look at yourself from a universal standpoint, something inside always reminds or informs you that there are bigger and better things to worry about."
-
Albert Einstein, The World as I See It.

Have a stellar day!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Ice Ice Baby

We are sitting here as a family listening to Ice, Ice, Baby by Vanilla Ice. It is sad that Veronica and Ronnie can sing the whole song and the rest of us can sign 1/2 of it. I can't even believe that I am admitting that we are listening to this song. Word to ya motha!

I was going to title this, "Ebby gets the dunce cap today," but Ice, Ice, Baby was better. Ooooo now we are listening to "Wanna Be" (tell me what you want, what you really really want) by the Spice Girls. Boy are we dorks. We know the words to this, too. We even know the dance to both of these songs.

Ok, back to Ebby wearing the dunce cap...if we had one. A week and three days ago I was rear ended while in the exit driveway of Coles school. $2,600 worth of damage. Well I got my car back this past Tuesday. Lovely new lift gate and bumper. Perfect matching paint job. Beautiful work the boby shop did. No hastles from the insurance company. Nice man that hit me. Told the insurance company right away that it was his fault.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I was running an errand for work. Parked my car. Did errand. Got back in my car. Put the car in reverse. Backed up. Backed up into a concrete pillar. No more perfect looking bumper. Hence the dunce cap.

I have never in my 23 years as a driver been rear-ended by another car or hit a post of any kind. As a matter of fact I have only been in three accidents. Two I was a passenger and one when I was 16 and I was the driver (my mom still doesn't believe me about the black truck that seemed to force me off the road.) I have only had one speeding ticket in 22 years. Ok...I have been pulled over...a couple of times...but I have only been issued one speeding ticket.

Backing into a concrete pillar within three days of recieving perfectly repaired bumper and liftgate= Ebby wearing a dunce cap.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

To the arctic north and back

Ronnie and I were in Rochester, MN this past weekend. He went up for work and I was flown in by some people that love me. Don't ask me who because I won't tell you. And if you by chance know who, please don't leave a comment letting everyone else know.

We got up at 3:00 a.m. on Friday to make it to Wilmington, NC in time for our 7:00 am flight. The flight was a little bumpy, but the one from Philly to Minn was ok since we both got our own row of seats. Ronnie slept the whole time and I took a short nap. We got into Rochester and made our first stop at Caribou. Then I asked our Chauffeur, Don, to drive us by the church. So many things have changed (wall color, furniture, office arrangements, coffee shop being built, etc.) that I couldn't wait until Sunday to see it all. It was great seeing most of the staff and getting lots of hugs.

After seeing the church we asked our driver, Don, to take us to Becky's house. After we dismissed Don for the day we hung out with Becky for a while just visiting and catching up. Then around 4:00 Sarah C. came to pick us up to take us to their house. We stayed the weekend at Sarah and John C. house. They have a beautiful house with a bedroom and bath in the basement which is where we hibernated. (Just to let you all know Don is one of Ronnie's new bosses at the church. I like giving him a hard time.)

After John C. came home from work we headed to the CCC staff Christmas party. What a good time it was. While standing in line to get my buffet dinner I was looking out the window and saw that it had started to snow. I had really hoped it would snow while we were there! It was beautiful. Ronnie and I were on one of the teams for the Family Feud game. We didn't win, but we were on the winning team for the music trivia game. Of course we did good with Ronnie on our team. Then we had a good laugh during the white elephant game. I sat beside our Senior Pastor who got the best gift of the night. It was a pair of FTL men's briefs with a wooden handle attached to the top. Then written on the front were the words "brief case." We had the best time with that all night. After the party a group of us headed to Chipotle for chips and dip and fellowship. By this time I was getting cross-eyed from being so tired.

Saturday morning Ronnie slept in and I went out for breakfast with my friend, Lisa M. I ate way too much but boy was it good. Lisa, Heather and I use to get together once a week to pray. When she prayed for our breakfast I got teary-eyed. Listening to her pray was a sweet sweet sound.

After breakfast we met with Pastor Steve and his wife Lori for coffee (hot chocolate for me) and snacks. Our visit went way too fast and before we knew it Ronnie needed to be taken to the church for worship practice. Pastor Steve and Lori dropped me back off at Sarah and John's house. I got ready for church and then it was off to the races again. After church I went out to eat with Missy E. We had so much fun laughing and gabbing. We came pretty close to closing the restaurant. I think we were one of two or three tables when we finally left. I got home and crashed! Ronnie had been out to eat with Don (our driver), Becky and Sarah C. so he also had a good evening.

Sunday morning it was off to church. I loved seeing all the children that I worked with. They have all grown so much. And there were some new ones that had been born since I left. It was a great feeling to have most of the children remember who I was and come running to give me a hug. They all call me Miss Ebby.

Sunday after church we headed over to the Jensen's house. The Ganz were over, too, and we had a great time eating lunch, visiting, catching up and just laughing all afternoon. Jennifer, Heidi and I went to the movies and saw "Juno". As sarcastic as all three of us can be this was the perfect movie for us. We laughed through the whole thing (I don't normally laugh in movies). The best part of our movie time was Heidi running into the wall. That had Jennifer and I laughing for a good 5 minutes. When we left for the movie Ronnie left to go back to church for worship practice again. He led the worship team and spoke to the singles group on Sunday night.

After we returned from the movie it was time to watch some football and.....eat. That seemed to be the theme for the weekend....food and eating while visiting. We also were entertained by the children who were having a good time wrestling with Wayne J. My cheeks hurt by the time it was time to leave. Heidi G. took me back to John and Sarah's house and we of course sat in the driveway getting in a few more minutes of visiting.

We left Monday morning at 7:00 am to get to the cities for our 10:00 am flight. The flight back was good. We both slept. Coming home was great even though I came home sick. Sarah C. tried to help me with my sore throat, but I still got sick after returning home. My mom said that the kids were good while we were gone. I am not sure that I believe her. I try to trick her into letting it slip that they did something wrong, but so far she hasn't fallen for it. Maybe they were good!?

We had a great time in Rochester. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone. I got to see and hug so many people. I got to eat and gain 5 pounds, but it was well worth it. There is nothing like visiting with a friend or friends while eating. It seems comfortable when you put the two together. Sorry no pictures. All you would have seen anyway was me shoving food into my mouth.

Thank you everyone in Rochester for a great trip and to my mom for watching the kids. I had a great time! John and Sarah were wonderful hosts. Don was a good driver.

Every time Ronnie would return from Rochester I would hear about how he was spoiled by everyone. This time he was busy with so many different things and I was the one spoiled.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Weather Update...



South Carolina is currently experiencing record high temperatures. Today's temp is in the low to mid 70's. Gosh...this is rough. Here is what it looks like at the beach today.

Seriously folks, it is gorgeous here today.

Tomorrow I will be in Minnesota. So I plan on enjoying this weather today.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

I got my hairs did

Yesterday I went to use one of my Christmas presents. My lovely uncle-in-law gave me a trip to the hair salon to have my hair cut and colored. Two hours later I have 6 inches of my hair cut off and I went darker. I decided to heck with the magazines. Dark is what I was born with and if it makes me look older and harsher then so be it.

I have also decided that I will keep my hair shoulder length or above. It is just much easier to deal with. Besides I don't have good hair for long hair...if that makes any sense. Here is a before picture of Ronnie and I at the beach on Christmas day and then an after picture of my new hair did.
Before
After

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Spartan Cheerleaders - School begins

Weekend OFF!! Trivia at bottom.

We have been going about 100 MPH for a couple of weeks now. We have decided to put the brakes on and put the transmission in Park for the weekend. The kids keep asking if they/we can go do something and this weekend the answer is, "Nope."



Last night, Hunter had a little gathering at our house. It was...loud. There were about six seventh graders. We bought junk food and soda. We popped popcorn, thinking that they would all sit down and enjoy a couple of movies. There was no sitting and our TV does not go loud enough to rise above the din of six pre-teens.



I stayed down stairs with them all as I promised the parents there would be supervision. I cleaned the kitchen from top to bottm for the first 1.5 hours. Thank God for my new mp3 player. It did a pretty good job of drowning out the chaos. Then Veronica and I listened to songs and watched old SNL Spartan Cheeleader skits. If you haven't seen them in a while check this one out below. They are so funny.

Hope you have an awesome weekend.

Here is some trivia: True or false, Twins' fingerprints are identical.