Well, it has been a busy and hectic first couple of weeks of the new year. On the family front we had wrestling tournaments, volleyball tournaments and lots of family time. This past weekend we went to Bradford, PA for Abby's first JAVA tournament. It was a new experience for all of us but you know it was really actually a lot of fun. The girls did very well for their first time actually playing together....they went undefeated through the first 3 games then lost one game and went on to the semi finals. They kind of broke apart though during that game. Not sure what happened but I know their coach will get it all straightened out. I have to say one thing and believe me I am not bragging I am just in awe....Abby is an awesome volleyball player...she just has it all and it was so nice to see her playing and playing so well after what the "barbie" doll did to her. Her JAVA coach is absolutely incredulous about what happened and really hopes that I go in to the school and give them a piece of my mind. I feel justified in doing so now after seeing Abby play saturday.
The only draw back about the tournament was the extremely horrible weather we had to deal with. Interstate 86 was 25 mph traffic and absolutely horrible conditions. I am not even sure a plow went through there once! Of course NYS is trying to save some money because our higher authorities don't have a clue how to budget but seriously....at the risk of peoples lives. Come on Governor Patterson....don't be worried about saving people from the evils of sugar while letting them risk their lives on the roadways. Oops....sorry for the political venting.

Andrew Thomas also participated in two wrestling tournaments these past two weeks. He took first place in both which is pretty exciting. I am still not a happy camper when he goes out onto that mat but I am a tad bit more peaceful about it. He has a tournament coming up in couple of weeks and possibly next weekend if he decides to wrestle in that one.

We took Maddie back to school yesterday (yes, we were in the car a lot this weekend....over 400 miles worth!) and I am a bit sad today. I lost my Wii partner!! We had such a great time with her home and I really enjoy her company....she has a spirit about her that just makes me smile. I miss that when she is gone....the house is just a bit too quiet!!

Now onto my scrapping life....I am no longer designing for the site I was previously working for. There were some...how shall I say it......Complications would be a good word I guess....with the site owner. She just seemed to create a very unhealthy situation for me and a few others so we bowed out as quickly as we had the guts to do so and it is honestly the best thing that could have ever happened!! I now design for a wonderful woman Linda from The Shaker Box kit club. She makes the most amazing kits and I am loving working with them. She has reopened her forums as well and lots of my old scrapping buddies that were lost due to unmentionable reasons have now found their way to their way to The Shaker Box and I am so excited to be reunited with old friends that were very dear to my heart. One thing I learned in all of this is that I don't deserve to be treated the way I had been treated. And I learned a lot about friendship and how truly amazing it can be. Look out scrappy world.....there is going to be a brand new bunch of ladies rocking it!! I will keep you all posted as how my new endeavors are going and in the mean time why don't ya come on over to The Shaker Box and take a look around. The forums are just starting and there is a long way to go with them but hey....it is going to be awesome!!