Go Gators!!!.... ???

Okay... before all you Seminoles out there curse the heck out of me... just hear me out for a sec, will ya? This doesn't mean I've disowned my beloved school (Are you insane? I WOULD NEVER EVER DO THAT!!!) I'm a Seminole through and through... Besides, I BLEED GARNET and GOLD, remember? And now that we have a fresh, new batch of coaches, there's HOPE and LIGHT at the end of the tunnel... or should I say next season??? 'Nuff said!

But we can no longer deny that Florida is Good... nay scratch that--they're GREAT! So, they ALMOST lost to the Seminoles last November, but "ALMOST means nothing" as my brother JB said... They truly deserve to win! They were the underdogs; nobody gave them credit and there were a lof of doubts and criticisms. But they took all that negativity and turned it around... and voila! They've got a National Championship! Both in Basketball and Football!!! So, it is their EVERY RIGHT to celebrate all year! (Sorry, Rob, but like I said earlier, if you were in their shoes, you'd do the same too!) And I'm not a Gator-Hater, because I just CANNOT BE ONE... I've known way too many Gators--cousins, friends, high school classmates and co-workers--my whole life! So, to the Florida Gators, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Anyways... We, Seminoles, have a lot to celebrate about as well... YAY for Jimbo Fisher, Rick Trickett, and Lawrence Dawse!!! Now, if we can only find someone to replace Kevin Steele, then we'll be all set! And our basketball team's not too shabby either! (Hey, next game's vs. Virginia Tech here next Wed. @ 7 PM). If you're interested, let me know if you wanna go with us, we can get you free tickets :-)... And our baseball team's definitely going to kick some butt--baseball season starts in 3 weeks!!!

In other news, city-league basketball starts tonight. Kevin and Rob are playing for Syn-Tech Systems--obviously sponsored by Rob's work! That season ends first week of March... and then softball and baseball starts shortly after that for Rob and Spring football for Kevin... So, it looks like we've got a busy Winter/Spring for the boys!

And as for me, I've been busy looking at various types of Granite for our kitchen and bathroom renovations, as well as looking at new kitchen appliances and some landscaping ideas. I've gotten mom (Jana) to redo her kitchen countertops as well :-) She just loves doing this... it's one of her passions! I mean, she's always doing projects around her house and at the beach house--whether it be her garden or repainting the rooms, putting up new wallpaper, etc... I can just imagine her getting really excited about preparing the nursery room when the right time comes :-) She helped Emily with her first nursery room for Jake at their old house and I just LOVED it!!! It's definitely great having mom around with all her expertise in so many areas--cooking, gardening, home renovations, decorating, flowers, event-planning, needle-work, investments, stocks, great novels to read and the list goes on...

So, we're all doing renovations at the same time... We can't really do anything major soon because of our busy schedules... Since I work for the Auditor General, which is under the Florida Senate, January through May are our busiest months because of the Legislative session, which means working some overtime and not taking a lot of vacation. So my next break would be in May :-( Everything slows down around June and July, then gets into high gear again starting August all the way to November for Fiscal Year audits, and then halts for the Holidays and the New Year... and the cycle continues... So, we're looking at this summer to start executing our plans! Can't wait...Lately, the weekends are pretty low-key. The hi-light of our weekend was partying with Pam and family at Macaroni Grill to celebrate her birthday! One of my goals this year is to find time to read more. I used to read a lot but with the hectic wedding plans and getting settled-in, I just didn't have the time to do so. I've accumulated a bunch of novels that I have not read yet, and since Rob will be working overtime this coming 3-day weekend, this will be my chance to get those done :-)