my new flash!

jimmy's parents bought me a new flash for my camera! here are my first ever pictures while using it. i discovered that you can purposely take a picture of a moving object with a ghostly like figure following it while using this flash. so i'm going to have to look into that. i tried it briefly by throwing a ball into the air, and it looked kinda cool.


oakley was starstruck by the flash! hehe
look at him just posed in front of his mouse. what a ham!

they also got me the battery grip for the camera. this allows me to take vertical shots easier, bc of the grip (obviously) and the new shutter button. i need to go get two big camera batteries for it. it will also last longer [battery-wise]. :) i need to get those asap! bc that would be sooooo useful for football games!

chagrin falls pep assembly

i had an assignment for the local paper to go get a shot of the foreign exchange students at the pep rally. i always feel awkward going back to my old school to take pictures. especially since, i also coach & substitute teach there. it's stupid, but i feel weird, bc most people don't know that i also work for the paper & i'm afraid that they are like, "why the heck is she here? doesn't she have a life?" haha i'm a tool.

anyway, so they had this pep "assembly" where they did tug-of-wars and a kissing game.

that's my "little" bro #82!

he's such a stud!

the kissing game:

there were about 6 blindfolded freshmen boys. the cheerleaders put lipstick on & kissed one. each boy had to guess which cheerleader kissed him. well for the last kid, obviously a senior football player kissed him. haha! it was pretty funny. the guys all guessed correctly, which was kinda weird. how did they know!?!? everyone thinks they peeked.

i love how the one kid is being dragged. haha. they all put duct tape on their feet to try to get some traction
i think this was the picture that i put in the paper. but i have no recollection.
some staff yanking on the rope!

wait, did i just learn something?

ok. yes. i took AP english junior & senior year of HS, but i can never remember when to use "who" or "whom"

here is a quick lesson:

You might say: Who

You might mean: Whom

Why: It all depends. Do you need a subject or an object?

A subject (who) is the actor of the sentence: "Who left the roller skates on the sidewalk?"

An object (whom) is the acted-upon: "Whom are you calling?"

so, i guess if you can put someone's name there, it's "who" and if not it's "whom"

ex. Kristi left the roller skates on the sidewalk?

not having a great day today. and i still have to coach & play vb.....

i just want to go to bed & start all over again.

obvi

yes. obviously the advertisement that is plastered all over the side wall of my Yahoo mail does NOT realize where i live. it says "singles in CF" and has all of these pictures of sexy women of different nationalities. um...there is only one nationality that lives here: not sexy & white. haha

i got to coach the JV team today and a VERY long scrimmage. i thought we were all gonna die of starvation. we had a great time though. it was fun bonding with some of my old players. and they did really well. we beat a team 64-26. haha

p.s. i have pictures. but they are all on my camera.....and that would require me uploading them.

don't blink

oakley hit a growth spurt. he still seems fairly small to me, but i can tell he is getting bigger. it would be really cool if he stayed this size. also, he is RUINING my furniture! i really have to get him declawed. i can't take this anymore. i don't know how people don't declaw indoor cats. even after trimming his nails, they are still "fabric snaggers."

he has an appt tomo. hopefully i can make the appt for the declawing soon! don don DON!

it's that time of year again...

...you know. when i have too many girls on my vb team and have to find a way to play them all. ugh!

i already told 2 girls that they will not get much playing time, if any at all. and they said, "ok. that sounds good." and what do they do....."hey coach, who am i going in for? hey coach, when do i go in?" NEVER! jk. so of course, i take someone out and put them in. idk why i do that.

then my other dilemma, some of my girls are too busy watching the 7th grade practice, that when a ball comes over they aren't paying attention & it hits the floor or they shank it. um...ok "YOU'RE OUT!" i'm telling them tomo that if i see that, i will just send them over there to watch. we don't need them over here then.

then i have a girl who has never played, and her skills are not quite anywhere near anyone else's on the team. BUT she knows exactly where to be and when people are supposed to switch on the court. ugh! haha but as soon as a ball comes to her, boom-point other side. poor thing. :/

i have about 8-9 really good players, but if you play in the first game, you're not allowed to play in the 2nd game. (stupid rule, but i understand why they have it at the middle school level) so i can only play 6 at one time. well then my other 3 players, i don't want sitting out & subbing. i want them in all the time. so unfortunately they are on the less experienced team. one of the girls was really down today, bc her team couldn't receive a serve if their life depended on it. i told her not to get discouraged and to step up and lead the team. get them pumped.

i think i should give a little pep talk to some of the players on that team tomo b4 practice. and honestly, if i just throw "freeballs" in, both teams can play it out. it's just the serve receive that kills them.

the athletic director let 2 extra girls walk on my team late in try-outs bc they were on vacation. i'm so pissed about that bc i have WAY too many players on my team. i have 4 subs which is ridiculous when you have a team of 9 out of 12 who are really good. i know for sure where i'm going to put one of the subs. but the other subs don't have a spot yet. and i really don't think they ever will.

and like i said, i already told 2 of them that they may never play. so how do i get them to stop bugging me & asking who they are going in for? BC THEY SHOULD NOT BE GOING IN FOR ANYONE! sorry, harsh, but it's the truth.

tomo we are going to play 6 on 6 again. and i will hopefully have a set line-up. our first game is monday.

my kiddies chillin'

Oakley & Daisy

This was the second time that i walked into the kitchen & noticed that my two little animals were sharing a bed. it's so cute. daisy, obviously was laying there & then oakley jumped in after. how could you not want to cuddle with the 2 of them?

i love how daisy is just sitting there like, "ugh..this dang cat is in my bed again." but yet she doesn't get up or growl at him. just puts up with it. uh oh, i hope i didn't rub my "pushoverness" on her.

erin's going away party!

my bff erin moved to Chicago. i'm really excited for her! i have a feeling that chicago is going to be a good fit for her. she is going back to school to become a psychologist, which btw she would be awesome at.

erin and i have been friends since i moved up here from texas in 6th grade. which means we have been friends for 16 years! that's pretty cool! i can't wait to go visit her!

me, michelle (our friend from HS, she was in my wedding), erin (also in my wedding) and lauren

erin, her dad & stepmom

aww...

i checked my email today & got 2 emails from parents of my 8th grade vb players:

[Hi Kristi,

Thank you for all your hard work. Nadia is enjoying herself. We are all looking forward to the season. Let me know if you need anything.

Sylvia]

[Thanks Coach Leffler-

All I hear are great, great things about you- you must be a fantastic coach and mentor for these 8th graders! Thanks so much.

Cheryl]

That was so nice of them. I hope I don't let them down. haha

The Feast 2010

Bea posing for a picture so that i could take a candid shot of this fine young specimen.

woof.

these ladies were funny. i love how the one on the left is looking down.

do you think she is hosed already?

michelle & bea posed for THIS picture so i could get a shot of the crazy looking lady #2. who, by the way, had 2 other crazy looking friends. i didn't realize til after i had already taken this shot. haha

after the feast. michelle & i went to the Improv with Duane & some of his friends.

Eddie Griffin was performing. he was pretty funny until he got all religious & Dr. Phil on us. haha

another great year of the Feast come & gone.

now it's off to the Fest!

i haven't forgotten about you...

...i have pictures to post, but i've been kinda busy & when i do finally sit down to jump on the computer, i don't have my cameras with me to upload. there are a bunch of things that i would love to get done today, but i will hopefully post something.

i wanted to go through my clothes & get rid of stuff i don't wear anymore. i also really should do the laundry & the bills. later today, i have a photo op & after that we are going to the Greek Fest! :)

this morning, jimmy & i went to the pool at 8am to swim a few laps. i thought i was going to die! i am so out of shape!!! haha but i feel so good now! like i actually worked out pretty hard.

ok...mission: get some crap done. in full mode.

i'll be back

West Side Market

Steve's Gyros (yee-roes) were on Man vs. Food

so of course Jimmy HAD to eat there.

apparently, so did everyone else. the line was REALLY long.

but well worth the wait. i don't like gyros, but i tried it & it was good.

i don't understand why these statues are on the freeway, but they are cool

ST's birthday

again... i'm still getting used to my camera

whitney had everyone write a memory of scott on these post-its.

how ironic....it took 27 post-its to make it

his birthday was 08.09.10

8+9+10=27

mmm DQ ice cream cake!

SPECTACULAR!

oakley

vb update

um so yeah...i have five 8th grade players who are taller than me. 2 of which who are over 6'1." we are going to intimidate the shit outta other teams.

5 of the better players came up to me today and asked if they can all play on the same "team." the way middle school vb works is that if you play in the 1st game, you can't play in the 2nd game. but anyone can play in the 3rd game if there is one. well if i put my 6 best players on one team, the other team doesn't have a setter. i'll just have a stacked team and another team with pretty good players but no setters. i tried to get 2 more setters bc it would be best if we ran a 6-2 vs a 5-1. a 6-2 is more at their skill level.

i cannot set. so i wouldn't want to be a setter. but there are girls who really aren't that bad, but they still don't want to set. if you could set, how could you NOT want to be a setter? you get to play EVERY second ball!!! plus you'd be guaranteed a spot on the roster. hehe. i'll make sure i tell them that tomo.

anyway, i can't make someone set if they really don't want to. i also really only have 1 girl who isn't that great, so i feel bad that i have a spot for everyone but her. so i have to try to find something she is good at and get her in to play.

she probably is at an OK level for an 8th grade player, i just have so many great athletes that she doesn't look as good as the rest. oops.

________________________________________________

also in the news!!!!

we finally got HD channels!!!! i am so lame, bc i am sooooooooo excited that we got it in time for football season! now i won't feel bad during our super bowl party.

and so it begins....

well, i should be asleep right now, but if i go to sleep a gym full of 7th & 8th grade volleyball players gets closer. it's not that i'm not looking forward to this year's season, i'm just feeling REALLY lazy. i don't feel like coming up with drills or dealing with any bad attitudes. i don't feel like putting on a smile when all i want to do is curl up on the couch and pass out. and now that i'm typing on the computer, i'm going to have a hard time trying to fall asleep bc of the brightness of the screen. :/ oops.

the 7th grade coach asked me if i had any plans for tomo's tryouts. i said, "nah. i was just planning on wingin' it." i have a feeling that's how the season is going to go. haha. dang, i'm getting lazy in my old age.

7 am is going to come awfully quick.....

tie dying

ok...so we tried our hand at our first ever attempt to tie dye! and the results after unwrapping were awesome!!! but then the kit told us to wash the shirts in hot water. so we did and MOTHER F*CKER! they faded! see these great vibrant colors....yeah.. gone. what the shit?!?! so i went online and ppl said to soak in cold vinegar water b4 rinsing and to wash in cold water! why doesn't the TIE DYE KIT tell you to do that?

oh well. live & learn.

omg! my little brother got his drivers' license!!!

i was really nervous.

feeling nauseous.

hehe

he did it!

more practice.....

i've been practicing with my new camera, but i shouldn't be using the auto settings. and i HATE flash photography. when i'm in the house apparently there isn't enough light. ugh!!!!






i still can't get the pictures to be brighter. i understand the concept: if the shutter is open longer- pictures are brighter, BUT more blurry! if the shutter is open quickly- pictures are sharper but DARK!!!! ugh!!!! i'm so frustrated!

Bond Reception

At Windows on the River

the cake was reallly good (and i'm not a cake person)

as favors, they set up a candy stand

jim, leslie, whitney, & scott

me & carey.

i know i already look drunk or high, but i'm not yet.

i just really suck at getting my picture taken

dan & monica

audra & angela

caroline & me

jimmy & I

probably am tipsy by this point....but could just be that i really

suck at that picture taking thing

andy & i cuttin' a rug

knuckle you up

andy took this..you should have seen him trying to take it.

quite entertaining

awww nicole looks like a princess

the fd picture