Hokie Diehard Fears Dissapointment

It's officially here. No, not the Christmas season (although that has somehow rapidly shown up out of nowhere too.) It is approaching the end of another fabulous (stressful, heartwrenching, exciting, depressing, joyful...) college football season. I always get somewhat sad at this point of the season, football season being my absolute favorite time of year. I am also sad to have to say goodbye to so many senior Hokie players who go on to bigger and better. I am particularly proud of the group of seniors this year who have truly handled themselves with class, confidence, and commitment throughout their many years at Virginia Tech. Tyrod Taylor has proven to be a true leader and a great role model. His work ethic and never-give-up attitude has rewarded him ten-fold as he has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I couldn't be more proud to call him a Hokie. I wish nothing but the absolute best for all the senior players and look forward to following some of their careers in the NFL! Thanks for the memories Hokies!

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Okay, now that the niceties are out of the way... I am still a little bitter with the two losses at the beginning of the season (ahem, JMU).  BUT I really can't complain with the amount of heart and pride the Hokies have shown to literally turn around a season that was headed towards disaster and make the ACC Championship game. But Hokies- there is still work to be done! I, along with what I hope is A TON of Hokie diehards, will be making the trek to Charlotte, NC this upcoming weekend to support my Hokies against Florida State in the championship game. 6 hours each way- and you better believe the car will be decked to the nines with magnets and flags (hopefully both on the way there AND on the way back!) I am so looking forward to a fabulous-football-and-fun-filled weekend with my true Hokie diehard friends! But I can't help but be a little nervous. Take a look at why...

Heather's Hokie Road Trips

• Saturday August 28, 2004: Virginia Tech vs #1 USC @ FedEx Field ~ VT 13- USC 24
• Monday January 3, 2005: Sugar Bowl in New Orleans- Virginia Tech vs. #3 Auburn ~ VT 13- AUB 16
• Sunday September 4, 2005: Virginia Tech @ NC State ~ VT 20- NCST 16
• Saturday September 10, 2005: Virginia Tech @ Duke ~ VT 45- Duke 0
• Thursday October 20, 2005: Virginia Tech @ Maryland ~ VT 28- MD 9
• Saturday December 3, 2005: ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville, FL: Virginia Tech vs. FSU ~ VT 22- FSU 27
• Saturday December 30, 2006: Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta: Virginia Tech vs. Georgia ~ VT 24- UGA 31
• Thursday January 3, 2008: Orange Bowl in Miami: Virginia Tech vs. Kansas ~ VT 21- KAN 24
• Saturday September 5, 2009: Chick-Fil-A Kick Off Classic in Atlanta: Virginia Tech vs #5 Alabama ~ VT 24- ALA 34
• Saturday November 14, 2009: Virginia Tech @ Maryland ~ VT 36- MD 9
• Monday September 6, 2010: Virginia Tech vs #3 Boise State @ FedEx Field ~ VT 30- BSU 33

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• See why I'm a little nervous heading to Charlotte?! Sure, there are a slim-few number of wins in there. But then again- look at who we were playing in those games. I plan on spending the next few days hoping and praying that my beloved Hokies can pull out a win in Charlotte this weekend so I can FINALLY back a long drive home with a smile on my face!!! GO HOKIES!
    

A Shutterfly Christmas

My awesome Hokie blogger-friend Ashley posted about a fun giveaway from shutterfly. As some of you might recall, one of my '30 before 30' goals was to send out a photo christmas card. Well- this is the year!

First let me start with how much I LOVE shutterfly! They offer so many great photo products! I have used shutterfly for mannnnny years now to order prints from my digital camera. About a month ago, I even used shutterfly to create our own photo-thank you cards from our wedding! They were a BIG hit and I have gotten lots of compliments on them :) I am so excited about sending out our first holiday photo card together as newlyweds! I have already been perusing shutterfly's great collection lately... but I think (after many visits to shutterfly cards, that I have a favorite! Here she is in all her fun, festive glory...

I love, love, love it! (and Andy even agreed he liked it too!) We would love to include pictures from our wedding and honeymoon to share our fabulous year with all of our friends and family. I am even looking forward to ordering some photo gifts this year with our amazing wedding photos! Hopefully this fabulous giveaway will help us out in getting our holiday season kicked off in shutterfly style!

A Prayer

This morning at school I found out that one of my students was just evicted from her apartment home. She lives with her mom, 2 younger brothers and her first grade sister. Despite the families best efforts to raise money and stay in their home, the complex they were living in evicted them.

It makes me so sad to hear about any family, let alone my own students and families, living in such turmoil right before the holiday season. While the rest of us are busy decorating, buying presents, and getting into the holiday spirit, it is awful to think of those who can only focus on providing the basic necessities of life to their families, such as a home.

While you're busy celebrating the holiday and long weekend with your loved ones, please say a prayer that my student and her family find a way to meet their most basic needs at this time of year. I know I will.

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/11/family-evicted-from-chantilly-apartment-34115.html

Be Thankful

On this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many things. 2010 has been a blessed year and I can only pray that 2011 is as wonderful. Andy and I are celebrating our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds in Waynesboro, Virginia. My amazing aunt and uncle live down there and in all 7+ years of being with me, Andy has never been down there. His family all had their own plans for the holiday this year, so we (eventually) decided it would be a good year to drive down south for the holiday. My mom and dad will also be traveling down to Waynesboro. We are excited for a nice visit to a quiet little town with delicious food and family :)

Here are a few things I am particularly thankful for this year:

My Family

I know I know, everyone says it. But I strongly believe that I am the one who has the best family in the world. My mom and dad are the best people I will ever know. They love me unconditionally, they support me no matter what, they look out for my best interests, and they go out of their way to make me happy. My dog is also smartest and sweetest puppy there ever was :)

My Friends

Nothing puts your true friends to the test like a wedding! I actually already knew it before this year, but my group of friends is a-maz-ing! A lot of us have been friends since elementary school! Can you believe it?! We have literally been through thick and thin together. Throughout the years, we pulled in more friends to our group in middle and high school. But the core of our crew go way back to our childhood years. Not that I am biased or anything, but my group of friends is such a fun-loving, party-hopping, supportive group of people. We all have each others backs. We are all always down for a good night of fun. And we are all always there for each other. This year would not have been nearly as special as it was for me if it had not been for my friends. I truly feel blessed to have such an amazing group of beautiful ladies and handsome men in my life.

Good Health

Almost every single day, I think about how lucky I am to be healthy and fit. And then my next thought is how lucky I am to have all of my loved ones be in reasonably good health. Sure, there are things here and there- afterall, no one is ever in perfect health. But I cannot express how thankful and grateful and lucky I feel for the health that surrounds me and my family. It is all too often I hear about some terrible illness or tragic disease that afflicts someone's family and friends. Everyday, every minute, I am thankful for the health of the people I love most.

My Job

This year has been difficult and challenging and stressful. We had a lot of administrative changes, resource changes, and new school-wide initiatives handed to us this school year. And while I don't necessarily agree with a lot of these changes (not the new admin- they are pretty fabulous!), and I struggle on a daily basis to accomplish all of the things that the county and state ask of me, as well as meet all of the needs of my students, and maintain my sanity at the same time- I love what I do. I love 5 year olds. I love kindergarten. I love the funny things they say and do. The innocence of children literally distracts me everyday from the mindless worries I have outside of the classroom. And with our economy, I am very thankful to be employed as a highly qualified teacher in one of the best school districts in the country.

My Husband (wow that still sounds strange!)

Between wedding planning, wedding festivities, the wedding, and our honeymoon in 2010, this year has been all about Andy :) I feel extremely lucky to have found someone who not only is my best friend, but takes care of me, supports me, and loves me as much as I love him. Andy literally made my dreams come true this year and I could not be more thankful to know that I have him by my side for the rest of our lives. It truly makes me excited to think of the things that await the two of us in the future. 

Be thankful this year! We all have a lot to celebrate! Happy Thanksgiving :)

Sports are Stressful!

At the beginning of this football season, I had high expectations. Or more, the press had high expectations for my football teams. And as hard as I try, it's awfully hard not to get sucked into the hype and dream of big possibilities.

Needles to say, "hype" was about all the pre-season talk has become. The Hokies had an awfully rocky start to the 2010-2011 season, losing two painful heartbreakers. They seem to have come together, gained some more expeirence on defense, and have played with tremendous heart. Tyrod Taylor has really improved as a passer and as an overall mobile quarterback. I am awfully proud of the way he has developed his game and has represented Virginia Tech. I always want good things for the senior class each year- to go out with a great season, ACC title and BCS bowl win. With the way this season started, I counted a lot of those goals out. But these kids have shown a whole lot of heart, dedication, passion, and drive for the past 7 weeks of football. Unfortunately, there are still 3 big games to navigate before those dreams can come true. And with the way this season has rollercoastered, my gut tells me not to count my chickens before they hatch. It's sad that after all these kids have done to turn this season around, I still sit awaiting the other shoe to drop and dissapointment and heartache to set in again. All I can do is yell my heart out and pray that the rest of November goes the Hokies way... I really need it, for my sanity's sake!

The Cowboys. Ugh. Where to even begin. BIG hopes and dreams coming into this season. LOTS of pre-season hype. All it's gotten me is more heartache and frustration than I could have ever imagined. The losing is painful. And by losing, I am talking about throwing away games with 100+ yards in penalties, injuries, and worst of all- an all around lack of heart. They play with no desire. No passion. No pride. These men get paid thousands and millions of dollars to not perform. Ugh ugh ugh. It's been ugly. Redskins fans (and a lot of other fans, to be fair) love to make snide remarks and comments every chance they get. It just seems like they will never get it together for even half a game let alone an entire one. Oh well. I guess I have my Sundays back.

Now, I know not every year can be a winning year. You can't always live up to the hype. But both of these teams in the same season? I have been extremely dissapointed this fall. I can only wish that the Hokies can salvage something from this fall so I don't end up pulling all my hair out (what's left of it since I got it cut anyway) and get this awful knot out of my stomach for good. I want to dream big again!

30 Before 30 OFFICIAL Update

In May 2010, I created this list of 30 things to accomplish before I turn 30. Here is a brief update on my very select few accomplishments in the 6 months since I made these goals. Afterall, I had quite a busy summer this year! Hopefully this will keep me motivated enough to continue working towards my goals... thank goodness for 3 1/2 more years to get them done! :) 

1. Get married! Goal complete! Andy and I officially became 'The Saulitis' on July 31, 2010. It was the most perfect wedding day a girl could have possibly dreamed of!
2. Climb Old Rag mountain
3. Coach a high school sports team, preferably girls soccer or girls volleyball
4. Go camping for a weekend
5. Rent an RV and travel to a Virginia Tech football game
6. Go to Europe for the second time
7. Swim with dolphins
8. Drive across the United States
9. Cut my hair short even though it terrifies me: Done & done! I chopped off about 6-7 inches of my beautiful long, blonde hair in early October. It was cut a little shorter than I had anticipated, but I'm learning to enjoy my new 'look'.
10. Go to Australia and see the koala bears
11. Eat Sushi for the first time: Complete! I went out to celebrate my best friend Lindsay's 27th birthday at a local sushi restaurant and had my first sushi rolls! I'm not sure it will ever be my favorite meal, but there was one kind of roll that was pretty delicious! I'd definitely do it again!
12. Get a dog (or two!) that is me and Andy's pet and not our parents' (although we love you Nittany & Riley!)
13. Watch my friends fall as happily in love as I am and attend their weddings
14. Watch all of the movies currently in my Netflix queue
15. Learn to cook well, not just make dinner
16. Visit Mikaela in Maine and eat a real Maine lobster
17. Go to an NFL Super Bowl 
18. Go to a National Championship Game in college football
19. Run an official 5k
20. Learn how to not kill plants
21. Send a photo Christmas card: In the works. Andy and I are scouring the internet looking for our first official photo christmas card from the newlyweds :)
22. Buy a townhouse or single-family home
23. Save enough money to keep our condo and rent it
24. Buy a new car 
25. Go on a winery tour bus with my best friends
26. Get involved with the Girls On The Run program at the elementary school I work at
27. Give a toast at a special event
28. Continue to take trips with my amazing parents
29. Host a formal family dinner at my home
30. Begin the journey of becoming a mom

That's my progress so far in a quick 6 months. Hopefully I'll pick up the pace and begin to really delve into this list of goals :) Happy goal-getting!

30 Before 30 Goal...

One of my items from my 30 Before 30 post was to send a photo holiday card. Since this was a big year for me and Andy, I figured we might as well make this our first holiday card together! Here are a few of my favorite designs. I am so excited about crossing another item off of my list! I promise to give an update on my 30 Before 30 list soon!

I love that we could do our new monogram on this card and include some beautiful pictures from our wedding and honeymoon, but part of me thinks it isn't "Christmasy" enough.

I LOVE the bright colors and sweet holiday wish, but this would require me limiting my photo card to only ONE picture of us! That sounds daunting!

I like the simple winter color scheme and generic holiday wishes on this card. But again, only ONE wedding picture?! Eek!

I like how the message is in the middle of this card. It breaks up the business of all the pictures, which makes me wonder- is it TOO busy?

Sweet, simple, christmasy... and 3 picture of the Saulitis'! But is there somewhere to include our name?! Hmmm...

 Looks like I will be surfin' the net looking for the perfect holiday card for new family of two :) The choiceless are endless!