Awesome Mother's Day

Even though I had to work on Mother's Day, it was an awesome one!

All my 'chicks' had checked in by noon. Jennifer called before she went to church with her girls on Sunday morning. Heather and Megan and their families came over at 9 a.m. They brought brunch over (two breakfast casseroles, blueberry muffins, cinnamon rolls, OJ and chocolate milk. That was a special treat. I talked to Erin before I left for town.

The girls all went together and got me a "Grammy" bracelet. For those of you that want to see which one I'm getting, I chose the Vicky bracelet. Can't wait to get it!

On my way into town to tennis I stopped by and visited my mom. She had one of her back muscle spasms and wasn't feeling too great.

Heather's oldest son Jon celebrated is 18th birthday on Saturday. We're all going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.

I'm off to Tulsa on Wednesday. Both of Baylor's tennis teams have advanced to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament so I will go up to cover them.

Later!!!

A break in the action, summer travel

After spending three days last week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) driving back and forth to College Station for Big 12 Tennis Championships, I actually will have a weekend off. Well, at least a weekend with no Baylor stuff. But, alas, there's plenty of stuff to do at the homestead.

I've got a few traveling things coming up. On May 14 & 15 I'll be in Dallas for Big 12 Conference meetings, then on to Tulsa (driving up there) for the NCAA Tennis Tournament. Hopefully I'll be there until the 20th (that means one of the teams are playing in the championship match).
Things slow down a bit after that, that will be my last official Baylor sports obligation for the year.

June 28-July 2 I'll be in Tampa at our annual sports information director's convention.

Then from July 26 - August 10 we will making the first annual "Botts Female Road Trip". I have a personal goal of visiting all 50 states. There are only eight states that I haven't been able to check off: Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin and Alaska. I mentioned to Bruce that I wanted to take a trip this summer and told him I wanted to go to New England, stopping by West Virginia and Maryland. He wasn't interested in going so I enlisted my mom and sisters.

First stop will be West Virginia to visit Jennifer and her family, then on to Ft. Meade, Md., to visit my nephew Reese and his wife Heather. From there we'll make our way east and north with plans on hitting Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine and any state that we pass through on the way to those.

Besides going to the above states, we'd like to take a train into NYC, visit Ellis Island, and eat a real lobster dinner (not at a chain restaurant). Also, I don't think you can go through Baltimore and not drive by Charm City Cakes (they don't allow tours).

If time allows (depending on how much we putz around along the way), we may drive across NY to the Niagara Falls, then go into Canada, down to Michigan and then "swing by" Wisconsin. Not a huge priority but a possibility.

So, I will be able to check off at least five states on my 'yet to visit list", and maybe more.

I know of two trips that I will be making with the Lady Bears next season. We'll be going to Canada in late August to play two exhibition games. Then over Thanksgiving we'll be playing in a tournament in the Virgin Islands. It will be my first visit there.

That's enought gibberish for now.

The mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cup of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes'.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life...'

'The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions. And if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.'

'The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house and your car.' 'The sand is everything else---the small stuff'. If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.' 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with your grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.' 'Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' 'The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Sorry...

I'm sorry that it's been so long between postings. I thought that once basketball was over with I'd have some free time but that hasn't been the case.

We are hosting the Equestrian national championships next week and I've been busy putting together (literally) a 32 page program for the event. Luckily, I had started on it early but still it has been a very labor intensive project. I sent it to the printer today.

Now the next challenge will be hosting the event. This is my first season working with equestrian so I'm a rookie. Hopefully all of my hosting experience from other sports will help me out.

Bruce and I worked outside all weekend, cleaning up limbs, mowing, etc. We were sure feeling our age this weekend! Muscles that I didn't know I had (or forgot that I had) were making their presence felt. I just hope that I was able to stay out of the poison ivy. I have found out since we moved to Texas that I'm highly allergic to it.

I didn't work the Final Four this year and really missed being there. Although if I had worked it, I never would have gotten the Equestrian program finished.

Megan and Ricci's son, Parker, was baptized a couple of weeks ago. Erin, Bobby and the girls came down for it so we all went out to dinner afterward. It was good to get most of us together (Bruce had to work).

That's all for now...hopefully I'll post more often from now on.

I was Tagged

Jennifer tagged me and I enjoyed reading 10 fun facts about her and Erin (Erin tagged Jenn), I decided to accept the challenge.

10 Fun Facts About Julie:

1. I like cold tuna but not hot tuna...I will eat a tuna sandwich but won't touch tuna casserole.

2. God got the Bilyeu women's butts and bellies switched...Our (a lot of us that is, not all) bellies are the shape that our butt should be and vice versa.

3. I am the runt of the family ... I am the shortest of my sisters and all of my girls are taller than me.

4. I passed my drivers test (a loooooooooooooong time ago) on the first try and got a 100.

5. I only will eat cheese if it is melted or very finely shredded...I will eat a grilled cheese sandwich but won't dare eat just a piece of cheese.

6. As a senior citizen...I still love to drink milk. In fact, my husband and I go through three gallons a week.

7. I will go anywhere by myself if I want to go bad enough...Have driven all the way to West Virginia and back solo.

8. I love women's basketball...Not a fan of the men's game, especially the pros.

9. I love to read books...The latest author I'm hooked on is James Patterson. He writes mystery books, the new show on ABC, Women's Murder Club (with Angie Harmon and Rob Estes, two of my faves) is based on a series of his books.

10. Last but not least, I have no fettishes like Jenn and Erin...I will eat meat off a bone (love Buffalo wings and ribs) and it's OK for feet to touch me!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like Albuquerque but geez this is the third time we'll have been there for NCAA Tournament play! We will be playing 'our' alma mater Fresno State in first-round action on Saturday at noon (Albuquerque time) on ESPN2. Those of you in the central Texas and central California area should get the game (or most of it) in its entirety, the rest of you will get snippets of it in what they call 'whip around coverage'. If we beat Fresno State, we'd play again on Monday night but won't know the time until after Saturday games are finished, it's an ESPN thing. If we lose, our season's over. For once, I won't be rooting for the Bulldogs!

As you all know by now...

As you all know by now, Kansas City was a total bust. Can you believe we were up by 16 at half then lost by 15!!!! Neither could the coaches. I think it's just a case of tired legs.

Anyway, now its on to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is Monday on ESPN, 6 p.m. central time. We'll have a watch party at the Ferrell Center. I just hope that we aren't sent to Albuquerque. Nothing against Albuquerque (other than it being hard to type) but we've already been there twice for NCAA play, time to send us somewhere else!!! The days that we play will depend on where we're sent. Games played at Albuquerque, Baton Rouge, Des Moines and Stanford will be on the 22nd and 24th while Bridgeport, College Park, Norfolk and West Lafayette will play on the 23rd and 25th.

I am not going to work the Final Four this year in Tampa. I need a break, plus since I'm doing equestrian this year I'll be busy preparing for the National Championship that we're hosting. Somehow I have to get a 32 page program done and to the printer by April 4.

That's all for now...I'll try to blog more often.