New week...

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The weekend went well... Saturday was a good day. Sunday I had to work at Columbia Lakes but everything went well there, too. I ran out of energy Sunday night, though and went to bed a little before 9 PM and didn't get to enjoy much family time.

Today will be my toughest, busiest day of the week. I've got most of the day on the court with lessons and camps and racquet stringing. Once July rolls around I'll have a much lighter schedule because I'm taking Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings off. We'll see how my bank account likes that... Hopefully it won't be too bad because my groups are generally a little smaller in July anyway and I'll be adding a few extra privates in the afternoons which will balance out the lost income of the groups.

And pretty soon Baby Elijah will be here... I have to admit I'm getting pretty excited about that...! Wow... A brand new person. A wondrous creation of life...! I really can't believe it.

And it will be the start of a whole new lifestyle for Monica, Connor and I... But one that we embrace whole-heartedly... hmmm..... Yes, any day now... Our due date is July 24 but Monica and I feel that Elijah's going to come out early... There is one aweful reality, though... The day is quickly drawing near when Coach Sam will have to change his first diaper...!

Oh and another exciting event about to occur is that Monica and I are celebrating our 2nd year as a married couple tomorrow. Two years...! Wow... That's pretty neat, too.

Well, I need to dive into my day. It's nearly 5 AM and I want to get on the road early this morning. I still need to update my website, too...!

Bye for now... I'll try to post some photos soon...!

Coach Sam

Friday Afternoon Update

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Hello... I've been too busy to blog again. The past few days have been just a blur... I've had busy days on the court. Plus, I'm trying to workout more and practice and get my game back in order.

Monica's getting closer to having the baby.... We've got about 4 weeks left before the due date which is July 24...! Our 2 year wedding anniversary is June 28... That's just a few days away.... Wow, looking back at my life over the past 24 months there's been an incredible amount of change...

Connor's been struggling a bit with managing his emotions on the tennis court. We're trying to work on that. But I must say his skills are improving at a lightning pace... That's kinda neat. I'm hoping to get him in some tournaments this fall. I'll be looking forward to that. And that's why I've been trying to practice more. I want to start playing again, too.

My strokes are looking good. Very smooth. I just need to keep working on my fitness. I absolutely have to lose some weight. Connor and I went and practiced late last night and I hope we can do that again tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to play a practice set or two. And I may play a bit on Sunday as well. I don't want to publish my weight right now but lets just say that I'm about as heavy as I've ever been... Sigh...

My summer lessons are going well. I can't complain about that. It all started off a little slow but has picked up nicely now. I am going to teach an abbreviated schedule in July and early August until after the baby's born. I'm not teaching on Tuesday or Thursday evenings or Friday afternoons in July. I'll still have pretty full mornings, though.

My mother and father in law are coming to visit in July and will stay through until sometime in August. Then my sis is going to come for a visit after that. July is going to just fly by quicker than you know it. Such are the days of our lives...

I've been having trouble finding time to blog lately. I know I just have to make the time, but early in the mornings is out. I barely have time to write in my prayer journal in the mornings. Then I've been too busy during the day and too tired at night. Hopefully by taking some time off in July I can settle back into a comfortable routine....

I have a funny story to tell but I'm going to close here and will say that story for this weekend's blog. Thanks for keeping up with my journal. Bye for now...

Coach Sam

A Week Off From Blogging

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Hello Dear Friends and Faithful Readers,

Yes, I took a week off from Blogging. I had an incredible amount of work on my plate this past week. Every day and night was a never ending deadline for this or that. I think at one point I had only slept about 6 hours in 3 days...!

Thank God that week is behind me and it won't be so busy any more. I've been taking the past few days to catch up on my sleep and boy have I been sleeping. I've gone to bed at about 9:15 PM the last two nights...

There's quite a bit to report and I'll try to spend more time blogging this week to catch you up on it all. Today looks to be my busiest day this week on the court. I have 9 hours of lessons (all groups). I need to leave here at 6 AM and I won't be heading back this way until 8 PM...!

The air conditioner is still not working in my tennis shop so I have a long hot day before me. Perhaps I'll lose a little weight today. I'm still way over my mark for weight loss. But I'll get there.

That's about it for this morning. Thanks for reading my blog. I'll be back with a tennis camp report this afternoon.

Bye for now... Coach Sam

Sunday Update

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Well, Continuing the Connor Report... Our little hitting session didn't go well, either. Monica came out and joined us. We hit for about 15 minutes against Connor but he was missing a few shots, got frustrated and didn't want to hit any more. So Monica and I hit some for about 10 minutes while Connor sat on the side bench and pouted.

Finally I asked Connor to hit some with me again while his mom rested. We hit for about 5 minutes and he got mad at himself again so we just stopped all together and went home.

I spoke to him later that evening about what happened and he said he was just angry because he wasn't hitting well. I told him that we'd have to work on his emotional control on the tennis court and we left it at that.

We'll just save all the other issues for our family meeting tonight.

In other news.... My beans and cornbread turned out good.... And the yard looks good....

Today I have a Pro Am event at theHouston Metropolitan Racquet Club at 1 PM... That should be fun... I'll be sure to take some photos of that...

Not much else going on today... I need to string a few racquets for tomorrow and hopefully I will wrap up the Woodlands HPTA Gran Prix this evening. Tomorrow is a very full day in West Columbia...!

I'll probably post more later but I'd better close here. I want to watch a church service on TV...

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Coach Sam's Saturday...

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11:23 AM.... I just finished mowing the front and side yards... Now I'm about to tackle the back yard. Connor has been enjoying his game boy for over an hour already this morning. I'll give him another45 minutes then I'm taking the game boy up a little after 12 Noon.

By then he'll definitely have used up his 2 free game time hours that he gets Monday through Saturday. I gave him the option of mowing the yard for extra minutes or allowance and he declined.

Monica called. She thought her class was only going to be 2-3 hours this morning but it's actually going to stretch into the afternoon. That'll give us more time to get house work done...! I want her to come home today and find a nice yard and a clean house... Well, back to work...

signed off: 11:28 AM



2:39 PM....

Monica came home early from her class. We had lunch. We had to make Connor do his chores because he really didn't 'feel like it'. He thinks Saturdays are just for laying around and doing nothing or something...

We had to get on his case for not doing a thorough job on his chores. Sadly that has been our struggle lately. Connor is really trying to test the waters with how much he can get away with. Monica and I are trying to teach him to do his best at all times, but that is a lesson not easily learned in a few conversations.

Monica is resting right now. She's completely worn out with this pregnancy. Right now I'm just taking a break from doing a little more yard work. But I still have several other domestic chores to do today. Several hours woth of work.

The plan this afternoon was to take Connor to go play tennis but I've told him several times already that if he helps me with the chores then we get to go play tennis sooner. But he's just not in to helping out around the house. He's not in to anything but laying around.

No one around here models that soprt of behavior and I'm sure his daddy was always busy doing something productive. Oh well, chances are good that with Connor's current attitude that there won't be any tennis at all this afternoon. I'm not the kind to scream and yell and get angry but I have to admit that I'm burning a little right now. All I can think to do iscontinue to be patient, but I must show Connor that are consequences for his behavior, attitude, and the choices he makes. I'll let you know it turns out... Well, back to work for me. Bye for now.

Signed off 2:49 PM

4:12 PM....

Well, I finished the yard project... And I just started a pot of Pinto Beans. We're going to have one of my all time favorite meals tonight... Red Beans and Cornbread. Ah, actually that's going to be mexican cornbread. Mmmm... I'm looking forward to that!

Well, Connor has pretty much avoided me this afternoon. (in order to get out of helping me do yard work) He's stayed in his bedroom by his own choice. I wasn't going to play tennis with him because I didn't want to reward his poopy behavior. But I've decided to go play tennis with him any way. And I'll use that opportunity to have a good heart to heart talk with him.

He can be very stubborn. But I can be just as patient. Stay tuned for the next Connor report in a few hours.

Signed off ...4:23 PM...

Made it to the weekend....!

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I MADE IT...!

Saturday. No lessons today. No traveling or commuting today. No deadlines today. No tight schedules. No appointments or meetings. Today is pretty much free and clear to do anything I want. Ahh... It feels good to relax.

Of course, I'm going to stay busy doing stuff, but it's different when it's one's own choice. I'm going to blog a lot. I really enjoy writing and have 5 blogs and they will all be updated today. I'll work on my website a bit, too. It's starting to get a lot more hits than ever before so I can't afford to let it get out dated. Plus, websites are one of my favorite hobbies.

Connor is interested in websites, too. I told him I'd help him start building his own personal site this weekend. We'll probably do that this evening. It's still early--- 8:30 AM. Connor probably won't even get up for another hour.

He's had a long week, too. He gets up early and goes to tennis with me most mornings so he's a little worn out from yesterday, for sure. We left at 6 AM and went to Clear Lake for lessons all morning. Then we went to Columbia Lakes for a fun evening event I put together and we didn't get home until nearly mid-night.

We're going to work in the yard this morning and then after lunch go play tennis in the afternoon. I can't believe how much Connor loves his tennis. He reminds me so much of myself when I was his age. I fell in love with tennis when I was 12, too...! It is so very gratifying to have a stepson who shares so many of my interests. I'm actually starting to feel Younger. It's like I'm getting to re-live my childhood and get it right this time...! I was so worried about becoming a parent but I'm starting to relax in my new role a bit now. And I'm blessed to have Connor. He's a great kid to start with....!

Monica is at some kind of birthing class right now. It was supposed to be this afternoon and I was going to attend the class with her but the hospital rescheduled it to early this morning and Monica graciously gave me the morning off in lieu of my long day yesterday (and week).

She wasn't feeling 100% this morning. So I'm going to try to straighten the house up a bit and have a good lunch ready for her when she gets home later this morning. Hopefully she will feel better and just enjoy a relaxing afternoon, too when she gets home.

That's about it. I'll probably be back later. I'm sure I'll be posting some photos later today sometime.

By for now...

Coach Sam

Finally...! A few extra minutes...!

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It's been a rough few days. I've had a tremendous amount of trouble with the tournament data software and I've been awake and working around the clock the past 48 hours....

I've finished my lessons for the day and Connor and I are hanging out relaxing at Diedrich's.

We're about to head to Columbia Lakes for an event there tonight. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in...!

I'll post a full report of this past week tomorrow.

Bye for now...

Sam

No Time To Blog....

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I had planned to get up early this morning and catch up on blogging but I had too restless a night with our cats wanting in and out throughout the night. So, I had to sleep in, There's just no time to blog today. Tomorrow will be tough, too. And Friday will be impossible. Therefore, hopefully Saturday I'll be able to get caught up...!

Please check back again.

Bye for now...

Coach Sam

Time is a valuable commodity

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I seem to be running out of time these days. There have been many matters much more pressing than posting in my blog lately. Sorry to dissapoint all You my loyal readers, but I'm under the gun for time this morning as well. I've got a full day on the road with Connor and Hannah in West Columbia and I need to start packing up right now. I'll be back and post some tomorrow during my afternoon break.

Bye for now...!

Coach Sam

The weekend... Yea...!

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Yesterday was way too busy for me... And I was exhausted by the end of the day. Monica and I slept in this morning until 9 AM and we're getting ready to go to the SETHSA Home School Conference at the Reliant Center... I'll be catching up on projects today...!

I'll try to post a full report and start posting the many photos I have from last week.

Bye For Now...

Coach Sam

Dear Mr Anonymous....

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From time to time I have received 'Anonymous' comments on my blog. Well no more. I just reset my preferences to only allow registered users of Blogspot to comment. I didn't like the tone of the last anonymous comment, and to be quite honest... I've never really EVER appreciated any of the anonymous comments I've received from time to time.

The recent 'anonymous' comment on May 31 regarding Keanu Reeves' ancestry was just plain rude.

From now on if anyone has a comment to make then they can at least sign their screen name alias or otherwise keep their opinions, comments, and bright answers to themselves....!

Only Cowards hide behind the cloak of anonymity, I say...!

So I'm Calling You Out, Mr Anonymous. What You say we settle this Face to Face...? No Body speaks that way to anyone on My Blog, Mister...!

ESPECIALLY TO JUDY!

In the words of the immortal Private First Class Gomer Pyle, USMC:

Shame, Shame, Shame....!

SC

Summer is Here...!

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My summer schedule has caught up with me. Ready or Not, Summer's here. It will take me a bit of adjustment to fine tune my routine to summer hours. I absolutely have to get to bed before 10 PM when possible. I didn't do that last night, consequently I had difficulty bolting out of bed at 4 AM this morning.

I ended up resetting my alarm and laying on the couch from 4:05 until 4:45 in a semi conscious state just praying and dozing off. I had to referee Hannah, Gabriel and Peepers this morning. That was interesting... More about that later.

I've got to prepare to get on the road. I need to awaken Connor. He's spending the day with me today in West Columbia. I've got a good chink of office time this afternoon and I'll log back in and update you on my morning after lunch.

Thanks for keeping up with my journal. I hope you have an awesome day. Until next time, Bye for now...

Coach Sam...5:24 AM