Jamie Noel is Livin' the Single Life

EASTER (or a Perfect Long Weekend in STL)

2010-04-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend in Saint Louis was terrific! Some of the most fun I have had in awhile! Great people, activities, and celebration of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us.

Here's a summary of what we did:

A fun, yet packed-full-of-people, visit to the Saint Louis Zoo.
Shish kabobs on the grill! Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (in the rain, lol)!
Cheap room at Hyatt Regency at the Arch - not so cheap or convenient parking! :P
Chris' Pancake House = yummy buckwheat pancakes
Easter egg hunts @ Tower Grove Park and St. John's Church
U.S. Grant's Historical Site (since Grant's Farm wasn't open for the season yet)
Easter service at The Journey - great music and sermon!
Babysitting, Burritos, Basketball, and Banter
Easter service at St. John's Episcopal Church - great traditional service and baptism!
Potluck dinner at St. John's = fabulous desserts
Playtime at McDonald Park
Chicken fajitas with all the toppings! Easter candy!
Interesting and fun convos with Greenville College students (current and former)
City Museum!!!

My fave pics from the weekend:

Easter in St. Louis

2010-04-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for this Easter weekend! I am going to St. Louis to see the Malones! My parents are also coming from Kansas, so it will be a terrific weekend. The Fithians and Malones - (mostly) together again. :) I will be sure to take lots of pictures of the fun times and share them next week. Here's what I'm happy for today:
Hoorah for short work weeks (this week and next)!
Hoorah for the freedom to travel!
Hoorah for weekends with family and friends!
Hoorah for Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross for my sins and for your sins!

"He is risen!"

"He is risen indeed!"

HAPPY EASTER

The Joys of Cooking

2010-03-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Goin' to keep on blogging while I'm still motivated... :)

One of the things I have learned to enjoy the most about living in my own apartment is...

COOKING!

When I graduated from high school, my mom gave me a book of recipes with all of our family favorites. Throughout college, I didn't have much use for it because the dorm kitchen was not very user-friendly (okay, it was usually nasty). I would have loved to have had a place to cook during college; I avoided the cafeteria (except for breakfast!) like the plague. Anyway, since moving into my own place 22 months ago, I have been working my way through the recipes. Every time I try to make something for the first time, I make numerous calls to my mom. The questions I ask her are quite hilarious. I'm sure my mom wonders how I can cook at all! One of the first things I made was my favorite - Mexican Chicken - for my 25th birthday party. I invited my friends over for dinner and game night, and I made the food. (Everyone thought this was stupid: why not make someone else cook on your birthday?!) I must have made 10 calls to my mom while trying to prepare the food, even after watching her make it over 100 times at home! Thankfully, the Mexican chicken, queso, and guacamole all turned out fantastically, and everyone loved it!

Since that night, I have tried my hand at making green bean casserole, chili, Grandma's (AKA tater tot) casserole, Nancy's hamburger bean casserole, pizza casserole, and taco lasagna. I also found a great homemade mac & cheese recipe online! In the dessert category, I have made 7-layer cookies, microwave chocolate "oat"rageous snack cake (my fave!), peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, candy cookies, puppy chow, and dirt cake. Everything has turned out pretty great. I have yet to make ham rolls, baked potatoes, and peas (my brother's favorite) or spaghetti with meatballs (my dad's favorite).

Tonight I made my first "Seaworthy Casserole" (AKA tuna noodle casserole). It was mighty tasty, especially with crescent rolls. I only made ONE call to my mom, but I probably asked five questions. :) Hey, I'm making progress!

As you may have noticed, a lot of the recipes in my book are for casseroles. I really like casseroles. I like the way all of the flavors mix together. I'm definitely NOT one of those "my food CANNOT touch on my plate" people. I like eating steak and potatoes or chicken and rice, but I prefer a good 'ole casserole! This is probably why Mexican food (lots of yummy, mixed-up flavors) is my favorite, followed closely by supreme pizza.

Do you have any great (and fairly easy) recipes that you'd like to share? Would you like to try any of the "Fithian Family Favorites"? ;) I'll gladly share... we don't have any secret recipes!

BcT

2010-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to share about my current favorite obsession: BcT or Bootcamp Tulsa! I must be crazy to enjoy getting up before 5am twice a week (and 7am on Saturday) to work out, but it is truly my most favorite time of day. Why do I love it?

I love getting an amazing workout without having to think about it or plan it.

I love Coach Mark's coaching - always motivating us to do more and go harder.

I love the mix of cardio and strength training.

I love that we do different things and use different equipment every. single. day.

I love the team, "let's do this together" atmosphere.

I love Coach Mark's random "history" facts and bootcamp axioms.

(i.e. "Do you know what they used to do in Ancient Egypt? Jumping Jacks!"

and "Kicking your neighbor is a bootcamp sign of affection!")

I love that it's outside, and it's okay to get dirty, muddy, and sweaty.

I love pushing and cheering on my "teammates".

I love how my body feels and how I look.

I love the fun and encouraging group of women who share in this craziness!

If you live in the Tulsa area, you should check it out! Bootcamp Tulsa was created by my former strength coach at ORU. He is a terrific guy, and he has hired some great Bootcamp Coaches. I can honestly say that if I wasn't doing BcT, I probably wouldn't be working out at all. I just can't motivate myself to consistently work out on my own. I'm very thankful for BcT!

Again?

2010-03-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, its been nearly a year since I actually posted on my blog! At this point, I'm trying to decide if I should try blogging again or just give it up for good. I would say in general that the main reason why I haven't blogged is because I don't really have much to share. I lead a rather boring life. I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, but never feel like I have anything "blog-worthy" to write about. I do enjoy writing though, and I know my blog could be an outlet for my more creative side.

So anyway, after contemplating for a few agonizing hours (sarcasm), I decided to try blogging again. =) I even came up with a list of blog subjects, since writing about my every-day life would not be very exciting or newsworthy. A lot of these subjects are in the "top 10" genre, such as: Top 10 Favorite Vacations/Trips and Top 10 Favorite Foods. Therefore, I guess one of the goals of my blog is to learn more about myself and why I like or don't like certain things. This blog will definitely be less about the actual events that occur in my life and more about my thoughts, memories, and ideas. I was going to add "feelings" to that list, but um, I'm not sure how much I'll share my feelings. I'm just not the "feelings sharing" type.

That's it for today. I'll leave you with a few recent pictues of my kitties. They are fun!

Oh, and if you want to encourage me on my new-found enthusiasm for blogging, that would be great too!

Spring Update

2009-03-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

I'm at work this morning, but I have nothing to do... so I thought I would update my blog for once. The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity - mostly just lots and lots of basketball games! All three Bishop Kelley girls teams - varsity, jv, and sophomore - had great seasons. I was very impressed with how hard the girls worked this year and how much they improved. The varsity finished with a 19-8 record and a trip to the Oklahoma State 5-A Basketball Tournament. We lost in the state quarterfinals by 6 points, but it was a close game throughout. This is the first time the Bishop Kelley girls basketball team has qualified for state in 4 years. We have already set our sights on winning that State Championship next year!

We had spring break last week, and I went to Boston to visit my brother Jordan and his fiancee Jen. I had never been to Boston before, so it was a great new experience - not to mention the quality time I had with Jordan and Jen! Jordan and Jen live just a few walking minutes from the Prudential Center in downtown Boston, so everything was within easy walking or subway distance. Jordan works at the Top of the Hub on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Center, so we had dinner up there one night (while Jordan worked). We also walked around the 50th-floor Skywalk Observatory, so I could see all the sights in Boston. Boston has a Tall Girls Shop!!! so I forced Jordan to go there with me, so I could pick out some new pants for work. Jordan does a fabulous job of giving his opinion on clothes! We ate sushi one night, and we also had a great Italian dinner at Lucia on the North End. I had such a fun time and was so thankful that I got a chance to know Jen better and spend time with my bro. I was very sad that I had to come back to Tulsa. :(

Now, its back into the swing of things here at work. I don't have a lot going on right now in the business office, but I'm sure things will pick up as we start to wind down the school year and start to prepare for next fall. I'm pretty sure I'm going to help coach BK volleyball next year, so I will have additional camps and responsibilities this summer. I'm already trying to get everything scheduled and mapped out for the summer. I'm really sad that I won't be lifeguarding this summer (for the first time in 9 years!), but there's just not enough time.

The kitties are living large! They still like to snuggle with me and sleep on my lap and play, play, play! They are quite the jumpers - they like to hang out on top of my kitchen cabinets. I am soooooooooo glad I have them. They aren't too much trouble, and I love coming home to them. They have gotten to be scardy-cats around other people though, which is a habit I'm going to have to break. Maybe an Easter trip to see the "grandparents" (haha Mom and Dad) will help.

Well, I guess that's about it as far as updates go... I hope you're enjoying this year's March Madness! I'll be cheering on my Jayhawks tonight and hoping that my bracket picks win. On a side note, I think the UConn women are pretty much unstoppable - if you want to watch good basketball, you should watch them play on Sunday and Tuesday.

TGIF!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hellooooooooooooo!

Well, I have successfully put off blogging for almost 3 months! Boo! But now, its a new year, and I am determined to be a more regular blogger. I have tried numerous times over the years to start a journal to record my daily life events (just like my Mom) :), but that never seems to last longer than a week or 2. So, here's another attempt... I'm sure my posts will still be sporadic, but I am going to try!

The biggest change in my life over the past several months is that I no longer live alone! That's right, I have 2 furry roommates. They are 2 adorable male kitties, who go by the names of Mowgli and Mayan. Mowgli - from the Jungle Book - because the Jungle Book took place in India (where I traveled with Athletes in Action) and I love the name. Mayan - after the Riviera Maya in Mexico (my all-time favorite vacay place) - because Maya sounded too feminine for a male cat. Here's a picture of my cuddily roommates; Mowgli is the grey tabby and Mayan is the orange tabby.

Cats are perfect apartment companions - especially for someone like me who isn't around most of the day. Every day, I look forward to getting home to play with them and to let them sleep on my lap. I took them with me to Kansas for a week over Christmas, and my parents loved them. They are very playful and funny, but they also don't mind being held and loved on. I think I have officially become a cat lover!

I hope your 2009 has gotten off to a great start, and I hope you will be reading more on my blog this year!!

ST. LOUIS

2008-10-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

I spent this past weekend in St. Louis with the Malones: Rodney, Gina, Will, EJ, Michael, and Yuri! I had a great time seeing everyone (dogs included), playing with the kids (of course!), eating fabulous Thai food (for the first time), getting smoked at Tiger Woods wii golf (thanks, EJ and Michael), watching Mexican league futbol (Rodney tried to hurt people, lol), and drinking tea from Paraguay. I did not so much enjoy watching football - as both the Sooners and Broncos lost - even though the corned beef hash was yummy and meeting new people was fun.

Here are some pics of the ADORABLE children - I don't think I took very many pictures of anyone else. ;)

I think that pretty much sums up my weekend. I'm already planning my next visit and wishing I just lived in St. Louis!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Blocked! and Sushi!!

2008-09-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, they have blocked blogspot at work (because it is a "social network"), so now I have to keep up with everyone's activities (including blogging about my own) at home. Boo!! I never have free time at home! Reading other people's blogs gave me a quick break from the mundate, and now I have one less thing to look forward to at work. :( I am not happy about this!

Anyway, on a happier note: I went out for sushi last Friday night with my friend Alicia! Now, I'm sure you have an opinion about sushi - I used to think sushi sounded disgusting. However, after I started to like seafood a lot more (remember, I'm from Kansas - no oceans), I was willing to try sushi. It turns out that it is REALLY GOOD and I LOVE IT. Of course, its kind of expensive, so I've only been out for sushi about 4 times. In Tulsa, the best place to eat sushi is In the Raw, and my favorite thing to get is the Keaton Roll with shrimp, cream cheese, avocado, and spicy sauce, in soy paper (its green). I also like the Tempura Roll with deep-fried shrimp, avocado, and cucumber. This visit I also ordered the Candy Roll with shrimp, snow crab, avocado, and spicy sauce rolled in sesame seeds. YUM! Alicia and I shared the sushi on the left and couldn't finish it all.

To finish this post, I'll leave you with a recent picture of me and my friend Jessica. I mentioned Jess a few weeks ago because I went to Kansas City for her baby shower. She and her husband, Luke, had their little baby girl, Ella Grace, on September 12. She is an adorable, healthy baby, and I can't wait to meet her in person!

Have a great week everybody!

And eat some sushi!!!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

2008-09-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me! Always busy trying to juggle all of my jobs and responsibilities! It has been several weeks since I've posted, so I thought I would update you on my life. The most exciting news is that I have another job! In addition to my full time job at Bishop Kelley (working in the business office and coaching basketball), I am teaching a GRAD accounting class at ORU! This class meets every Monday night for 2.5 hours, and we have had 4 weeks of classes already. I am absolutely LOVING it! While I definitely knew that teaching would be in my future, I never dreamed I would be teaching this year, especially at the college level, and a grad class at that. I have definitely had my anxious moments, but mostly it has been a great experience. I have a small class of 14 students which allows for lots of open discussion and group learning. I also have a great "mentor" teacher who is teaching the same class at the same time. Normally, he would be teaching all of the grad accounting students, but the enrollment was too high for one class, so ORU brought me on board literally at the last minute. I thank God for this awesome opportunity and for giving me the courage to pursue it. :)

Let's see... what else is going on? Well, I'm currently driving my parents' car. My car had been acting weird on sudden stops, so I left it in McPherson last weekend to get checked out. It is getting fixed and should be fine in a few days. Also, while home in Mac, my parents and I went to the Kansas State Fair, which is a long-standing Fithian family tradition. The weather was cool and damp, but we had fun anyway. We saw the butter sculpture, bought honey sticks, ate at Krehbel's, watched Ron Diamond the hypnotist, and rode on the Ye Olde Mill ride. All in all, a very fun day!

On a final note, I am really enjoying the cooler fall weather! This whole week is supposed to be super nice and I am looking forward to spending some evenings outside... or inside with my patio door open. Another reason I'm glad to see the start of fall: FOOTBALL SEASON!!! GO BRONCOS!!!

What are you looking forward to in the months to come?

Recent Events

2008-08-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

WARNING: BORING POST AHEAD

Okay, my only reason for writing this post is so that I can remember the highlights of what I did during the past week or so.

Tuesday, July 29: Guest Free Day at the MeadowBrook Pool - complete with a blow-up water slide, clowns, temporary tattoos, and games. Basically, madness for 5 hours.

Sunday, August 3: Trip to Kansas City to see Jessica (a former ORU basketball teammate) and Luke Spencer-Gardner and attend Jessica's baby shower. They're expecting their first baby - Ella Grace - on September 7.

Monday, August 4: Shopping in KC and lunch at Spin Neapolitan Pizza with Jessica before driving back to Tulsa. Jessica tipped me off to the deliciousness of Blue Chip Cookies! Fabulous!! We also had our "end-of-summer" MeadowBrook lifeguard dinner at Hideaway Pizza, which is probably my favorite restaurant. I LOVE pizza!

Friday, August 8: My first official work day at Bishop Kelley. I sold parking permits and yearbooks to all the students - hectic, hectic morning!

I think that's pretty much it. Other than that I just worked at the pool, took care of a golden retriever puppy, babysat, and taught swim lessons. Exciting stuff I know! School starts at Bishop Kelley on Monday and my parents are coming to visit next weekend, so good times are in the future.

Weekend in Omaha

2008-07-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

I spent this past weekend in Omaha, Nebraska at Creighton University. We (that is, the head coach, the other assitant coach, and I) took our Bishop Kelley varsity basketball team to team camp. We left at 4 am on Friday (yes, that is EARLY) and drove the school's big bus north to Omaha. It took about 8 hours, but we stopped numerous times for breakfast, lunch, and bathroom breaks. Really it wasn't a bad drive, and we got to the campus in plenty of time for our first game.

The fun started as soon as we arrived on campus! The first eventful situation occurred when our bus stalled out while we were going uphill towards our dorm. It just stopped and wouldn't go forward. Every time our coach took his foot off the brake, we just slid backwards! Not a good situation! If we kept going backwards we would eventually slide into a busy intersection. We had no idea what to do. So our coach did the only thing possible: he turned off the bus and restarted it and wouldn't you know it, as soon as he pushed the accelerator, we made it up the hill! Thank God!!

We played 3 games on Friday afternoon/evening and played fairly well, especially since we have only had 3 short practices with the girls since taking over the program. On Saturday, we played 6 games, including a game against one of the top teams in Nebraska and one of the top teams in Iowa. We lost both those games, but only by a little. We also found out that the bus had an electrical short or something and had reverted to "limp" mode, which is why it stopped working! The repair shop would not be able to repair it over the weekend, so we had to find alternate return plans. Oh the joys of traveling on a school bus!

Finally, Saturday afternoon brought about one of the scariest incidents that has occurred in all the years I have been a lifeguard. I received a voicemail from the lifeguard I had left in charge while I was gone. All she said was, "Jamie, please call me as soon as possible," and I could definitely tell she was crying. After getting a hold of her and talking to both her and my boss at the country club, I learned that a 2-year old boy had slipped into the pool unnoticed by his parents and my lifeguards. They (the boy's father and my lifeguards) pulled him out approximately 20 seconds later, and he was not breathing. One of my lifeguards grabbed the breathing mask and was going to start rescue breathing, but his mother started in first. After his mother (a nurse) tried to give him 3 breaths, he started coughing, and began breathing on his own. In the meantime, my other lifeguard called 9-1-1 and alerted the general manager. I don't know the details of what happened next, but I do know that the boy ended up being fine. Of course my lifeguards were very shaken (especially the one I left in charge because she reacts to bad situations much in the same way I do - blaming herself and constantly thinking how it could have been prevented), and I felt bad that I wasn't there to at least offer comfort and counseling. I did have several conversations with both lifeguards throughout the evening to make sure they were okay, to assure them that they did what they were supposed to do, and that regardless of what happened before, they DID save a life. Wow, the things I have learned to do on this job! I'm glad God was watching over this situation!

So, back to basketball... we played 2 more games on Sunday morning and the girls were exhausted! We rented a 15-passenger van and a Chrysler Pacifica to drive back to Tulsa. I got to drive the Pacifica all the way home! Wahoo! I love driving long distances, but I found out that driving is way more fun when you're actually with other people (that's a rarity for me). We ended up with a record of 8-3 during the weekend and all of our losses were close. We came from behind to win one of the Sunday games, which showed me that the girls have a never-say-die attitude. I also got to know the girls and the other assistant coach a lot better. We assigned the girls' roommates and told them to interview each other and learn 10 new facts about the other person. On the way home we stopped at Chili's for "linner" (lunch-dinner), and all of the girls shared what they had learned about their roommate. I also got to spend a great deal of time listening to the girls in my car talk (we had 2 different groups of 3) and learned some more things about those girls and the school. We finally got back to Tulsa at 8:15 Sunday night.

Overall, it was a fast-paced and super-fun weekend (except for the pool incident)! I had been looking forward to this weekend for several weeks, and it was as much fun as I expected it would be! Now, it is back to the real world (i.e. swim lessons, pool managing, and no basketball :( ) for a few weeks. Now more than ever I can't wait for the pool season to be over, but alas, it doesn't close for over a month yet.

Thanks for reading about my long and eventful weekend! I'll try to keep it shorter next time...

RICH

2008-07-20T20:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight at our college-age Bible Study we watched a short video called "Rich." The speaker/pastor in the video started out by talking about a popular bumper sticker that he had seen recently - "God Bless America." Then he proceded to talk about how God HAS blessed America, and he gave many statistics and examples of how rich Americans really are compared to the rest of the world. One statistic that stuck out in my head is that only 8% of the people in the world have a car (and my family has 5 cars for 4 people).
Obviously this is not new information by any means, but it definetely caused some intense reflection tonight on my part. For starters, I went to India on a basketball missions trip 2 years ago, and so I have seen extreme poverty up close. I remember thinking while I was there that I really have too much stuff and that I should reduce my spending on such frivilous things - I mean look at how many clothes I have in my closet! Then use that money to support missions and projects for poor countries. After I returned, I remembered these thoughts for, oh, about 2 weeks before I again became bombarded and consumed with wanting and buying material goods. How easy it is to forget, which is why it was good to be reminded by the video tonight.
While our group was discussing the video, our leader asked everyone, "Have you ever been to a country that is poor?" Many of us in the group had, but some people had not. Then our leader mentioned that everyone should go at some point because it changes your perspective on your life and on your "need" for more stuff. Short-term mission trips is something I have actually been thinking about a lot lately; mostly because 5 members of my Athletes in Action India team are on their way to another 2-week basketball trip in North Africa. I really wanted to go with them, but couldn't clear my schedule. I do hope to play on another basketball missions team in the next year or 2. Anyway, more than that, I REALLY want my parents and my brother to go on a short-term overseas missions trip. They do not currently have "bad" perspectives on life, but I think ministering to people and experiencing a foreign culture would help them grow so much. I have never talked to them about this directly, but now feel like I should.
Back to the beginning point of this post: I know I live in a materialistic society and have much more than 90% of the world could ever dream of having, but I need God to continue to show me how to use my (His) time, my (His) talents, and my (His) money to further His kingdom. I realize that this should be my daily prayer and that I need to ask Him to help me keep a proper perspective.

I know that the 2 people who read my posts have both been on year/2 years overseas "mission" trips. What are your thoughts? :)

Pee-Wee Camp Pics

2008-07-16T20:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, here's some pics from today's Pee-Wee Camp!

A few of my girls. They were the taggers for a crowd-pleasing game of Car Lot.

Playing Basketball Musical Chairs with paper instead of chairs. Each girl has her own ball and must make a basket (when the music stops) before claiming a piece of paper. It's fun!!

My team this week - The Dynamites!

The Bad Butterflies - The girls pick out their own team names!! This one is about the strangest yet.

The Dolphins - aka the adorable younger girls.

I had a terrific time at camp today, and I think it is because of the following reasons:

1) I stopped for some QuikTrip French Vanilla Cappuccino on the way to camp!

2) I decided to be enthusiastic and goofy all day (instead of grouchy)

3) I changed the "bathroom policy" - the girls can now only go on breaks (except for emergencies)

4) God reminded me why He has given me the gifts to work with children and play/coach basketball

Tomorrow is the last day! It will go by fast because we have an "Awards Ceremony" for the last half an hour. The girls show off their new skill to parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. I'm expecting a huge crowd because we have so many girls. Hopefully, I won't be too nervous to talk in front of everyone!

I've got to finish my player evaluations, so I'll call it a night on the computer!

~ Jamie ~

P.S. Erin, thank you for the comments! I'm glad one person is reading my posts. lol! I really appreciate the teacher "story" - I don't think I've heard that before but it is certainly true!! I honestly can't understand how you elementary teachers do it. So many of my friends teach elementary, and all of you guys are amazing!

Pee-Wee Camp

2008-07-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

This week I am teaching basketball to 38 5-8 year old girls (with 3 helpers of course)! Whoa!! This is my second summer to direct ORU's "Pee-Wee" Basketball Camps, but this group is by far the biggest I've had. I generally love working with kids and still enjoy babysitting even though I'm 24, but keeping a smile on my face during these first two days of camp has been difficult. Some of the girls listen and follow directions well, but many others do not. Further more, they ask to go to the bathroom all the time, which is extremely disrupting! I mean, really, how many times do you need to use the bathroom in 4 hours (with 2 breaks to boot)?!?!

Pee-Wee camp has always been fun because we play lots of games, such as Car Lot, Basketball Musical Chairs, Queen of the Court, and Dribble Freeze Tag, which means I get to act like a kid again! It is just hard this time to get all 38 girls to do the same thing at once - without complaints. I feel like I'm counting heads and making sure everyone is in one piece more than I'm playing the games.

We have two days of camp left, and I have resolved to have a better attitude and more enthusiasm. Nobody likes a grumpy coach! I really enjoy having the opportunity to work with kids and share about God and His love for them (that's why I'm so thankful I went to a Christian university). I need to remember to ask God for strength and energy and for a reminder about why I'm really out on the court - to be a Christian role model for these young girls!

Anyway, I know this was kind of a random post, but I needed to get the frustration off my chest, and I needed to take a second to remember why I love working Pee-Wee Camp in the first place! Thanks for listening! Have a great week!

P.S. I'll try to post a few pics from camp tomorrow. The girls are adorable!

Getting Started

2008-07-02T20:15:00.001-07:00

I've wanted to start a blog for a while now but didn't feel like I had a whole lot to share. I still don't really have a lot to say, but I like to write and I would like to post some thoughts and life events every now and again. So here goes...

This summer I am managing the pool at MeadowBrook Country Club where I have lifeguarded the past 4 summers. It is a fun job, and I am learning a ton about management! I am responsible for maintaining both of our pools, which is by far the toughest part of my job. The equipment is old and has a tendency to stop working at all the wrong times! lol However, the pool members and my lifeguards are good people and make my job interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable. I am responsible for scheduling and making sure everyone is happy (the club manager, the members, and my lifeguards). I also teach swimming lessons at the club, and its such a great feeling to see kids learn and become stronger swimmers. This is probably my favorite part of my job. Well, besides my fantastic tan (just kidding)!!!

This fall I will be coaching varsity and jv basketball and working in the business office at Bishop Kelley High School, a private Catholic high school here in Tulsa. I have already been working with my basketball girls for over a month, and I absolutely LOVE it! Coaching is definitely a calling on my life - I love investing my time and energy in kids of all ages.

I think that's about it as far as updating on what's going on in my life. I am trying to become more active in my church (Cedar Ridge Christian Church) and have found a college Bible study group (we also play water volleyball every week!). I just try to stay as busy at possible! :)