Delonzo MJ

As many of you know, I have had the same cat since 6th grade. My mother has definitely taken care of Delonzo more than me, but he was always "my" cat. My dad claims to have hated the cats, but deep down, we know he actually did care for them at least a little (if you doubt this, you should hear the story about Tony and the pickup.) Unfortunately my mom called me this afternoon and said she found Delonzo under the hostas (sp?) this afternoon and he has gone to Kitty Cat Heaven. I had talked to her earlier around lunch and she made the comment that she hadn't seen him all day. I expected the worse because usually he didn't venture too far from the house, much less the screened-in porch. Oddly enough, when I was home in June Mom & I had a conversation about how old Delonzo has gotten and how much longer we thought he would live. He was 13 years old in people years, so I'm not sure if the cat/people conversion is the same as dogs (7 to 1), but if so that makes him 91. Pretty old for a cat if you ask me. Delonzo was never a people person cat. He would come out when we were around, but if company showed up, he was off to his hiding places. While at Doc Tucker's office he always hid behind the refridgerators and cabinets, while Tony would meet people at the front door. Mom said usually when she picked him up to pet him, he would let her do so for a bit and then jump down, but over the past week he has been really cuddly (is that a word?) and would just lay his head down on her shoulder when she would pet him. She did tell Emily and I that she is pretty sure he just crawled under the bushes and died, which made both of us feel better. It will be odd going home and not seeing him sitting on his recliner, but I know he had a great life and we have many stories to tell about him. How many cats do you know that had their own recliner and tv just so he would stay at the new house and quit venturing all the way across town to the old house? I wish I had a picture of him on this computer, but I don't. He was a beautiful cat...white hair with blue eyes (half calico/half siamese) and I will miss him dearly.

Just some background information, for those of you who are wondering where the name Delonzo MJ came from, when we received Delonzo we also got his brother, Captain Shaquille. Obviously basketball has been an important and influential part of our lives. Delonzo is Tim Marshall's middle name, MJ is short for Michael Jordan, Captain is David Robinson's nickname and obviously Shaq is Shaquille O'Neal. Yes, we realize we had two very white cats named after all black people, but I thought naming a cat Bird wasn't the best idea. We also had another cat, after Shaq passed away, Tony Matimbo...named after Tony Williams (Marshall boys' cousin) and once again Tim, Matimbo was his nickname.

Catch Up

Camps are in full swing, so I am usually running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Gymnastics camp started Sunday afternoon and it has been pretty busy since. There is also a boys basketball team camp going on in the Hearnes Fieldhouse, so I have been helping Adam keep Gatorade and water for that as well. Thankfully, I haven't been near as busy as he has. One of our student athletic trainers, Tyler, went to the ER three times yesterday. Yes, three times. The first referral was from Mizzou Arena, a kid fell on some glass or something and had to go get stitches in his hip. The other two have been referred by Adam and me. One kid broke his radius and ulna (both bones in his arm for those who are not medical geniuses..haha!). The last kid we thought broke a bone in his foot, but thankfully he didn't. We probably could have sent another kid who had an awful concussion, but his parents opted to come get him. Tyler started off the day by going to University Orthopedics to have x-rays on two different kids, thankfully those were just sprains as well. Needless to say Adam has been busy. My worst injury has been a few hyperextensions, which are very common in gymnasts.

My trip home to Texas was GREAT! :) Thursday night when I finally got to Lubbock (due to an unexpected plane change and delay) Mom & Dad surprised me by having Robert with them. I was so excited to see all of them. Dad took me out to Cagle's and I must say it was amazing. I miss my wonderful steaks & Mexican food. The picture to the left is of Robert at Cagle's. He really liked the red beans. I am so excited--he's going to be a big brother in September :)Friday I chopped off my hair, it currently doesn't touch my shoulders (see pic of Katie & me below). Friday night was graduation. I can't believe Katie Beth graduated high school. Like I said previously, I feel so old. 7 years ago I walked across the same stage. Saturday was Valerie's wedding. She looked beautiful and everything was perfect. The reception was a blast and it was great to hang out with all my old friends. Sunday I went to the lake with the Adams' boys (Evan, Ewell, & Blake). It was just like old times. Donald told us we were getting old because after about 2 hours of tubing, kneeboarding, and wakeboarding we were all worn out and ready to go home. I'm blaming it on the lack of sleep from the previous nights.

Monday, Mom, Dad, & I went to PawPaw's house. He turned 95 on Sunday, so we went to visit him. The trip there was definitely an adventure. No air conditioning for the first hour, no satellite, no light & fan in the kitchen, no oven, no stove, broken tank pump, planting sweet potatoes, hoeing potatoes, etc... Thanfully Mom & Dad got the air conditioner working rather quickly. Slowly but surely the stove & kitchen light/fan began working again, a few sparks, burnt countertops, and shocks were involved, but success was achieved. Tuesday Dad and I went to Abilene to visit Paul, Laurie, Ashton & Seth. We had a great dinner at Abuelos with them as well as my aunt who drove up to see us.

Thursday I spent in Lubbock catching up with friends. I spent 2 hours at the training room talking to my old boss Buzz and several others, then I went to see Clay & Jeri McGuire. Jeri was one of my best friends growing up and she married Clay who played football at Tech and is now the Special Teams Coach there. They have a precious 3 month old daughter, Jorja McKall, who I got to see for the first time. Catching up with them as well as Jeri's parents, Dan & Susie was great. Afterwards I met up with Stephanie & Jake for dinner and watched the basketball game. Friday I ate lunch with Katie and ran errands for her and her mom. I spent the afternoon chatting with Melissa and was entertained by her kids. They are so cute and there is definitely never a dull moment in her house. That evening Katie and I went to Amarillo to see her dad and eat with her mom & sister. Richard went through surgery great and is doing well from what I hear. He was sore for a few days, but ready to get out of the hospital. Thankfully he got to go home Saturday.

Well I guess that pretty much catches everybody up for the time being. Life is pretty routine right now. 6 am workouts for volleyball Monday-Friday, help with football when they are done, go to camp, go home go to bed. Exciting I know. Volleyball camp starts Thursday and runs through Sunday, then its to wrestling camp for 5 days, go to NATA convention in St. Louis and 4 days of half-day baseball camp.

Meme

Rules of the meme:

1. Post these rules of the game first.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names. Then the tagger goes to the blogs of those who have been tagged & leaves a comment letting new players know they’ve been tagged. The tagger asks them to find the meme and instructions back at his/her blog.

What I was doing 10 years ago:
Well, I was 15, probably finishing up my freshman year of high school

Five things on my ToDo list today:
1. Full Athletic Department Staff Meeting
2. Volleyball Player Knee Rehabs
3. Work on camp stuff
4. Buy stamps so I can mail bills :(
5. Drive to Emily & Kyle's!!

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Pay off college loans
2. Pay off my family's debts
3. Travel
4. Buy a fun expensive car to drive for fun
5. Hire someone to upkeep my PawPaw's land/house so that one day my kids could enjoy it even when he is gone

3 of my bad habits:
1. Worrying about things I can't control
2. Not allowing others to help me when I really need it
3. Putting off studying until the last minute, because I hate doing it

5 places I have lived:
Everyone seems to be listing everywhere they have lived, not just 5 places so here we go
Hamlin -- 16 months
Roby -- 9 months
Tulia -- 2 years
Breckenridge -- 5 years
Tulia -- 9 years
Lubbock -- 4 years
Sunray -- 2 years
Columbia, Missouri -- nearly a year

5jobs I have had:
1. Athletic Trainer
2. Teacher
3. Coach
4. Medical Assistant
5. TTU Men's Basketball Special Projects (student assistant)

I tag Emily (yes I know Melissa tagged her too, but she hasn't done it yet!), Paul, Doug, Jody, and Martha. (What can I say, I don't read many blogs!)

A Fun Filled Week

This past week has been filled with fun. Tuesday afternoon Tara and I headed to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Baseball Tournament. It was an absolute blast. You all know how much I love sports and there was some great baseball played while we were there. We only got to see Wednesday & Thursday's games, but had a great time. I also got to see my buddy Zane, he's an equipment manage at Tech, he's the clipboard guy! :) The Big 12 Equipment Manager's meeting overlaps the tournament and just happens to be in OKC so it was great to catch up with him.

The tournament is held at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. So Tuesday night Tara and I headed down to Bricktown to eat and hang out with Matt & Blake (the baseball trainers). Bricktown is a really cool place. I have a ton of pictures (big surprise huh?), but I'm not gonna put them all on here. If you wanna see them, let me know. Wednesday morning we had the early game. First pitch 9am. We beat Texas in 10 innings, 3-2. Trevor Coleman (who is from Dripping Springs & didn't get recruited by Texas) hit a walk-off single to score Lollis and win the game. Beating Texas is always enjoyable. Wednesday night we went back to watch Oklahoma State & Kansas State play. Matt went to undergrad at K-State & Kyle's cousin, Rebel, plays 1st base for Ok State so we both had interest in the game. KState was victorious over the Cowboys, but it was a good game. Thursday we played the late game at 7:30 vs OU. We lost the game in the bottom of the 9th on a 2 run-game winning double. :( That's the 5th game this year we have lost when leading in the 9th. Unfortunately we lost on Saturday to Texas A&M, 6-2, and didn't make the championship game. We find out Monday morning who and where we play regionals.

Here are some pictures. My camera has this really cool option where you can take all these pictures and then use a program to "stitch" them together, that's how I got the whole field and dugout pics. I decided to do a slideshow of the games because I couldn't pick out just a few to post. I left a ton out of the slideshow as well.

Friday we headed back to Columbia. Saturday was Stephanie & Jacob's wedding (Stephanie was my student who worked volleyball with me this year). She looked absolutely amazing! Their wedding was beautiful and her reception was tons of fun. She starts grad school at Texas Tech on Tuesday, so it was get married on Saturday, head to Lubbock on Sunday. I am so excited that she is getting her Masters in Athletic Training at Tech.

Well that is my short recap of my past week. I have tons more details for anyone interested. I fly home Thursday and I am super exicted. It will be another fun filled weekend. Katie graduates on Friday night (I feel SOOO old). Valerie is getting married on Saturday and then I am going to see my PawPaw (he turns 95 on June 1st--ok now I feel young) and other family sometime after that. Can't wait to get to the greatest place on earth--TEXAS! (Like you had any doubt of what I was talking about)

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!

The title pretty much explains my post. SCHOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER! Well for me it is. Finals are next week, but one of the greatest things about grad school is we don't have finals. I still have to go to work and try to entertain myself for a few hours becuase I don't have any athletes coming in, but it's not too bad. I do have two girls having surgery, but those aren't until the 19th & 21st, so Eric (my supervisor) is going to start their rehabs because I will be in OKC for the Big 12 Baseball Tournament. None of my grades have been posted, but I expect to be getting As in all of them, which means my 4.0 will still be intact.

Thursday night was the GDI Stop Day dance. That always guarantees a fun night and it upheld its reputation. Friday night was Stephanie's bachelorette party. Stephanie was my student athletic trainer with volleyball this year. I absolutely love this girl. She has a busy few weeks in front of her. Bachelorette party this weekend, graduation next weekend, wedding on the 24th, move to Lubbock on the 25th, start school the 27th. Yes, she is moving to Lubbock and I am super excited for her. She got into the master's athletic training program at Tech, so she's there for 2 years. Her & Jake even bought a house 3 blocks from where I lived in Lubbock. Anyways, we started out the night at Houlihan's and then went to the house to wait on the "Booze Cruz." Our first stop was in Centralia at the Saddle Saloon. There was a live band there and we definitely made their night. We were the life of the party and Steph even rode the mechanical bull. After that we headed back to Columbia where we went to the Piano Bar and Tonic. Stephanie had a great time as did the rest of us. I can't wait for her wedding.

One more thing, I know all of you back home in Texas could shoot me for saying this, but I am so sick of rain, I swear that's all it does here lately. It was supposed to be 72 and clear today, but as I type it is thundering outside and I haven't seen the sun in hours. I have seen more rain since July than I did in the first 24 years of my life. Casey kept telling me a few weeks ago, April Showers Bring May Flowers, but those May flowers can't come out because they are drowning in the May Showers.

Well that's all I got for now. Not too long before I get to go back to TEXAS!!! :)

I'm Alive

Yes, I am alive. Just in case some of you had doubts. The past few weeks have been super busy with volleyball and school, mainly because I have procrastinated on things that are due and yes I have known about them all semester, but who really wants to get ahead. Spring volleyball is OVER! I am so excited to have a break. It wasn't that much to do, just very time consuming. We finished spring ball with a trip to Arkansas to scrimmage their team. It was a quick 29 hour round trip, but I got to see some of their campus. From what I saw their campus was very nice. I only got to see the Barnhill Fieldhouse (volleyball & gymnastics) which is basically where all the women's sports are housed and then we ate in the student union. I told Becky I was impressed with what I saw (she is a lifelong Razorback fan) and she asked what I expected....pig farms?!?! The entire city is obsessed with the hog though, I would compare it to Austin and the Longhorn. Anyway, we played well and ended the season on a strong note.

This past weekend my parents were here! It was so great to see them. I got to spend a week at home during spring break, so it hasn't been that long since I have seen them, but Emily & Kyle haven't seen them since Christmas so they decided it was time for a visit. After spending a few days in Illinois, they ventured west to see me. Saturday night Emily, Mom, Dad, Tatum, Tara & I went to see the Blue Man Group. It was a ton of fun. Emily has seen a show in Vegas, as well as the one we saw in St. Louis. The concert was in Mizzou Arena (yes, free tickets are still amazing). We had good seats, great if you compare them to Emily's seats in St. Louis. They definitely put on a great show and had tons of crowd interaction. This particular show was how to be a Megastar 2.1. All the different things they play music on is pretty amazing. The opening act was cool too. He was a dj who was controlling all the music and video we heard and saw, he did some pretty cool things with different movie clips. Here are a few more pictures....you can tell Mom & Dad were having fun.

I only have 3 classes left :) I am so ready to be done with school for the semester. I do still have a 10 page group paper & presentation and a test to go, but that's not too bad. Tara & I are going to the Big 12 Baseball Tournament in Oklahoma City so I am very excited about that, and then I am flying home the end of May for Katie's graduation (I still can't believe she is already graduating) and Valerie's wedding. (Melissa beware, if I get bored, I am coming to play with the kids.) Summer camps are right around the corner and those will keep me VERY busy. I'm in charge of making sure we have athletic trainers at all the camps, and thankfully they have all been covered! YEAH!

Our spring football game was a couple of weekends ago. The weather definitely wasn't the nicest and I wore more clothes to it than the football games I went to in the fall. Anyway, last year I came up for the spring game as well and Harper was only 3 weeks old. We put the eye black stickers on her and took a picture. We did the same thing this year (she's obviosly a year and 2 1/2 weeks old in the picture). I just thought I would share with those who hear about her all the time how much she has grown. She is walking all over the place and a ton of fun. I can't wait til she starts talking and I can teach her all my Texan words :) She also loves to open the coolers and eat ice, the last picture is the huge piece of ice that she is trying to get completely in her mouth at our post-game tailgate.

Being Twenty Something

I am officially a quarter of a century old...that makes it sound much worse than it actually is. Yes, my 25th birthday was yesterday, April 14th. I actually received this "poem" in an email a few years ago, but it seems that everytime I read it, the more it becomes true. Just a few thoughts to ponder if you're at this point, are approaching this, or have already lived through it.

Being Twenty-Something

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now...

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job...and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't.

One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused.

Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One-night-stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.