February is Winding Down...

February has been an incredibly busy month and March only looks to get busier. But here's a recap of last week:

• I got my Babloat equipment in and have really dressed up the tennis shop nicely.
• I also got Sunglasses in, too. Now all we need is some sun!
• Lessons every where are going very well.
• I've been stringing racquets like crazy.
• Sadly, one of my favorite home school families (The Knaupps) moved away.
• The Pine Forest Gran Prix had bad weather but was completed on time.
• Monica and I drove to Houston or Clear Lake nearly every day last week.

Here's what's coming up:

• I have a Sci Fi Saturday Tennis Social this Saturday.
• I'm starting a new singles league next week.
• We have a Spring Break Camp here at Columbia Lakes.
• We have a Spring Open Tournament here at Columbia Lakes.
• I have a Gran Prix Tournament at Raveneaux.
• I'm starting a new adult and junior beginner program after Spring Break.

And I don't even want to begin to think about April...!

That's the update.... More tomorrow! -Coach Sam

Kitty Update

Our kittys really like living in the country... We installed a kitty door for Hobbes and Gabriel so they can come and go as they please and Peepers lives at the tennis shop. She loves all the attention she gets, and the members really love her, too.. I'd say we have three happy, well adjusted kitties on our hands...!

Today I have a short morning here and then I head to League City for my afternoon lessons. I'll be home late this evening and then I'm going to try to parctice a little tennis with Connor before bed time...

That's about it.... I got up early and have had a fairly productive day so far... Tomorrow there is a high school tournament at my club and I have lessons in Nassau Bay, too so it will be a long next few days for me... More later...

Coach Sam

The Day After Valentines....

Here's a more recent photo of Monica and Elijah taken in January. (Yesterday's photo was from early December.) Both Monica and I have been working out and eating a more healthy balanced diet since moving to Columbia Lakes and we're both starting to lose a considerable amount of weight....!

That being said, we splurged a little last night for our Valentine's date. Monica, Elijah and I enjoyed a very nice evening in Houston at Kanomwan, our favorite Thai restaurant. -That's one cuisine you can't get out in the country.... But we don't mind the drive... As I said, we had a great meal and then we went to Johnny Carinos in Pearland on the way home for our dessert. All in all, it was a good day. -I enjoyed a very nice date with my wife and baby. We arrived home last night around 11 PM. (very late for me...) I went to bed promptly...!

Today I've to keep my nose to the grind stone... I have to work on a bunch of stuff... First of all I need to finalize the Gran Prix folder for Pine Forest and get their t-shirts ready for Monica to deliver later today. Then I have a private lesson at the club at 9 AM, then I have the rest of the morning to work on a club newsletter and string racquets... I have 9 racquets to work on...

And I have lessons this afternoon from 3 to 8:30 PM... So wow... Busy day, huh...?

That's about it... Gotta Run... Bye for now.... SC

My Valentines...!

Here's a photo of my sweet wife and baby inspecting one of Elijah's Christmas presents.

Monica and I are going to celebrate Valentines day by going to dinner at Kanomwan, our favorite thai restaurant. Prior to that it will be another busy day. I'm already up early trying to get a good head start on my day. So far it's going well. I was sound asleep by 10:15 last night so I was able to get up at 4 this morning with no trouble.

I desperately want to keep my journals updated and am trying to make that a priority.

I'm trying to not open my email in the evening any more. When I get home in the evening after work it's time to quit working. I want that last hour and a half or so of my day to be quality family time. Email can wait until the next morning, right...? And get this, it's 5:15 AM... I've been awake for over an hour and I still haven't checked my email yet... I don't need that distraction right now... There will be plenty of time for that through out the day.

Ah... my day... How is that going to unfold...? Well, I need to get the first match times for Pine Forest posted before 8 AM. I need to prepare a tennis report for Columbia Lakes. I have a private lesson at 11 AM... The at some point today I need to go to Galveston and pick up some t-shirts for the Gran Prix this weekend. I don't have any lessons tonight.... (in honor of Valentines Day) It should be a good day of getting a lot of stuff done....

Since my last post there's nothing remarkable that's occurred. I went to a tennis conference this past weekend... It was pretty good. I've been really busy with the HPTA Junior Gran Prix circuit. I'm still trying to get caught up on every thing...

This morning Elijah awakened at 5:15 AM... I've been watching him so Monica can get a little more rest. That's thrown off my day a little this morning, but not too much... It's a joy to get to spend a little quality time with my son any time. And if I can help out my sweet wife too, all the better...!

I've got to take Connor to school in a few monutes and then dive back into my day... I hope to update Elijah's and Connor's photo blogs a little later today, too... Until next time... Bye for now...

Coach Sam

The Weekly Report

Busy... I've just been too busy... I spent last weekend working a tournament in Clear Lake. Then first part of last week was spent wrapping up the tournament and of course, my regular lessons schedule. Wednesday It rained and I took it easy and relaxed a little. But Thursday and Friday I was very sick with a sore throat and spent much of my time in bed just not feeling good.

Saturday was a very busy day with morning lessons, unexpected afternoon guests, and working on Connor's new basket ball goal.

Sunday was a flurry of activity. I got up at 7 AM and started some yard work and house work. Monica and I watched Dr Charles Stanley's Sunday morning broadcast. Then we finished working on the basket ball goal, finished working in the yard and cleaning the garage, Then we spent the afternoon and most of the evening in Houston. We worked on our yard and also spent a little time sprucing the inside up...!

Afterwards we did some shopping followed by a delicious dinner then followed by more shopping...!

I bought a couple of new books to read. Now I have enough books to last me a long time. I've got four that I'm reading right now. And at the pace I'm currently at I may not finish them for several years!

Now, something kinda wierd and scary happened when we got home last night. We found both our back doors to the backyard patio wide open. And we know they were locked when we left. Nothing was taken (That we know of so far) but we called the sherriff's department and they came out to investigate.

We're seriously thinking of having a security system installed this week, and adding some deadbolts to make the doors more secure.

This week will be another blur, but I'm going to do the best I can with my time management. So hopefully there will be another post in the next day or so...

The rest of the day today I ahve lessons this morning from 9 to 10:30 AM. Then I have to come home and help Monica get ready for her ladies group bible study. She's preparing the meal for over 20 ladies today. I've got a couple of racquets to string and lots of work to do on the computer... Lots of data processing!

That's about it for now... More later... Coach Sam