M.I.A.

Happy New Year!!! Happy New Year?! I can't believe that aside from Jordan's birthday post, I haven't posted on here at all this year. I hope all both of you are recovering from the holidays & are enjoying the normality that January brings. Things around here at the Beth's Blog Bungalow have been pretty busy...

Let's see, since we last met:

Megan came home from college for the break & since her old room is now Michael's office, the poor thing has been sleeping on the couch for a month now. (More on that later...)

Jordan's HS team was in a tournament. First game was a muddy disaster & didn't resemble soccer, more like kick ball with puddles. Made for some great pictures, but ended in a 1-0 loss. Although they played great the rest of the weekend, ultimately that loss kept them out of the finals.

Michael's sister (you know, the organized one) & her family came & stayed with the in-laws over Christmas. We had them over for dinner, so I had a massive cleaning spree... too bad the results don't last very long. As usual, Ben had a great time hanging out with his cousin, Jack!

Christmas Eve/Day spent with Michael's family. Lots of yummy food & loads of laughs with the White Elephant gift exchange & the usual games my MIL organizes. Of course, I took a bazillion pictures, but I feel the time for sharing Christmas pictures has passed...

We finally got the Big Screen TV that Michael's been wanting forever. Of course, the BSTV didn't fit in the 4,000 ton Beautiful Entertainment Center we had our Small Flat Screen TV in in the living room, so we had to move the SFSTV & the BEC into the family room to replace the Heavy Old Fashioned TV & the UEC (Ugly Entertainment Center, for those not in the know), move the HOFTV & the UEC to the garage & get the SFSTV, BEC , DVD, DVR & PS hooked up correctly. Then Michael went to pick out the PEC (Perfect Entertainment Console) & ended up bringing home some SSS (Surround Sound Speakers) too. So, after a 3 day ordeal, a trip to Target for some HDMI cable & a little help from Megan's BF, all of the TVs, ECs, DVDs, DVRs & SSSs, are all in their rightful homes were they will live forever & ever... (just in time to watch Tim Tebow's last Gator game and, just for the record, I think he looks even better in HD!) :)

In the middle of TV Upheaval 2009, we celebrated Christmas with my parents. Had a great time, ate a killer bbq brisket, played Scattergories & watched The Beatles "Hard Day's Night" (Ben's latest obsession is with The Beatles & The Who). Several pictures were taken... alas, too late to share...

Megan scored a pet sitting gig over the break & acquiesced her brother to help her... for a cut in her profits, of course. That Ben has become quite the little entrepreneur... since Santa didn't bring him ipod touch he wanted, he began to raise funds... between his birthday money, some Christmas cash & gift cards, the pet sitting gig & charging his dad by the minute for back rubs, he was finally able to buy his own (just 2 days before we bought Jordan one for her birthday, much to his chagrin). He's now saving for either an electric drumset or a record player,

depending on the day. This is new to us, having a kid who wants to earn/save money. He realizes that his birthday & Christmas are both passed, so no cash gifts for awhile. He's even trying to talk us into firing our lawn guy so he can mow the lawn (too bad for him, we got rid of our lawnmower). Thankfully, car washing & weed pulling are still available & his dad is ALWAYS up for a backrub!

Jordan's club team was in a tournament at D.isney over the New Years' holiday. They played really well & won their group, defeating a fierce local rival in the finals 4-0. (or was it 5-0? I forget, but I DO know it was a pounding & a wonderful way for Jordan to spend her birthday). again.. lots of pictures... so, so, long ago.

On New Year's Day that cold front came through & us Florida folk were COLD COLD COLD until the middle of last week. Comparatively, I know it wasn't that bad, but we are just not prepared for the cold. I live in flip flops & cropped pants or shorts... I had to wear jeans, socks & tennis shoes for 2. weeks. in. a. row! Tragic, I know. I had to wear my ugly (but warm) red coat & gloves to 3 high school soccer games... Ugh. Thankfully, NO pictures of that frightfulness! :)

We got to see Bonnie & Chase, my niece & nephew, for a few hours last week. Chase is almost 11 & is oh so sweet & quiet...unless, you get him started on Star Wars. That kid LOVES Star Wars!!! Bonnie just turned 9 & is a little spitfire! We laughed so hard at her stories when we were with her & then laughed some more retelling them when we got home.

Jordan's high school senior night was this past Friday. We were grateful for the warmer weather & were hoping for a win against our local rival, but we had to settle for a 1-1 tie. It was a fun night though with a big crowd to cheer our girls on. Districts start Wednesday... it's hard to believe that after 6 years (Megan started HS 2 years before Jordan) of high school soccer, it's almost over! The firsts of the "lasts" with our Jordie-Girl, as her senior year marches on.

In my infinite wisdom burgeoning stupidity, I have decided to try to put together a "highlight" video for Jordan's HS team. Another mom used to video tape all the games for the coach a few years back & she put together awesome videos for the girls, but she has moved on. Last year, I was recruited volunteered by my dear husband, to video tape the games for the coach, BUT I knew better than to try to put together a video. While I'm still taping for the coach, another dad was also taping & was going to do a video, but then he got ticked at the coach & we never saw his camera again. So... because it's Jordan's senior year & because this has been such a special team this year...all the girls are really great kids & they get along better than any team I've ever known, I decided to give it a whirl... Now, if I would have known sooner, I could have been

pulling clips the whole season as we went along, I'm now trying to do them all at once. I spent 11 hrs. doing 2 games yesterday. Ugh. Needless to say, you might not see a whole lot of me around these parts, especially since I have NO idea what I'm doing!

Now, the big news!!! The reason Megan is still on our couch rather than back in Gainesville... Our Gator Girl will be Chica de Universidad de Malaga for a semester! Yep. My little girl is leaving in 10 days to study in Malaga, Spain for the spring semester. She will be living in a homestay with Spanish family (and another American girl from North Dakota) in an apartment a block from the beach with a view of the ocean. She will be eating tapas, taking siestas, touring Madrid, Sevilla & Cordoba and (oh yeah!) taking classes en espanol. Tough life, huh? She is so excited & nervous, as I am FOR her!

She'll be celebrating her 20th birthday over there, so I guess it's time to realize she really is an adult. She's done all the leg-work (and loan-work) for this on her own & I'm so proud of her independent spirit for making it happen! I'm sure she will miss her family, her friends & her boyfriend (but most of all her Mommy! haha), but she will undoubtedly have a great time! And of course, I will be stalking her blog & Facebook & calling her multiple times a day on Skype. :) I'm sure she'll have nothing better to do...

Well, I think that about catches me up... I'm realizing that blogging is like exercise, if you do a little every day, it doesn't hurt as badly. I need to do more of both... See you soon (I hope!)