What I've been up to...

A lot, actually! That explains why I haven't been writing many posts lately...I've been craaaaaazy busy!

Here's a quick rundown of everything that's been going on. I will try to include some pictures along the way to make this more interesting:

1) Family - Karl's brother Erik and sister-in-law Erin were visiting the U.S. from Switzerland all last week! It was a very busy week for both Karl and myself in terms of required meetings (it was the week before IU started classes), but luckily we were still able to fit in some great family time and visit with them! They are doing very well and it was great to see them. We had the entire family over to our house for a cookout on Friday night, which was the first time we've had such a large gathering (11 people) at our house. It was a lot of fun and we had some yummmy food. We'll get to see them again at Christmas-time!

Erin and me talking in the living room at our cookout.

Breakfast at the Uptown Cafe on Saturday - Jim, Kurt, me, Karl, Erik, and Erin.

2) Gymnastics Judging - I have wanted to be a gymnastics judge ever since I was competing in the sport. It was something I always said I would do, but never actually did...all it took was filling out a form and signing up to take the test. Last Sunday I drove up to Fishers, IN to take the test to become a Level 5/6 gymnastics judge. I signed up two weeks before the test so I had to do a LOT of cramming. I even made podcasts of myself talking about all of the routines and deductions to help myself study when I was in the car (and learned that my voice can put me to sleep! haha). I won't know the results for at least two weeks (grrrr, frustrating), but I am hopeful that I passed. It was a very difficult test (seriously...there are a lot more deductions, skills, and rules to memorize than anyone can imagine!) but I am cautiously optimistic that I passed. I'll let everyone know when I receive the results. Here's a link to the National Association of Women's Gymnastics Judges (NAWGJ) website for more information if you're interested.

3) School Started - I am teaching two classes this semester at IU - Sport Sales and Sport Public Relations. After week one I am very excited about the remainder of the semester. So far it seems like I have great groups of students and I'm excited to get to know them more. Today one of my former students from 3 years ago at IU came back to campus and was a guest speaker in my Sport Sales class. It was really nice to see him and also to have him speak about his experiences to my students. Hopefully they found it to be helpful as well. He's done some great things since he left IU and I am always so happy for my students when they find success in the sport industry after college.

The beautiful IU campus.

4) A new position - Along with my new job at IU, I also recently took over the role of Undergraduate Coordinator for the Sport Marketing and Management program. It doesn't mean any change in pay, status, or anything like that, but it's a new set of responsibilities and something I'm really excited about. As you have probably gathered from reading my blog over the past few years, I love working with undergraduate students. In this role I'll deal more with admissions issues, working with the undergraduate advisors, answering questions from potential students and their parents, working with the undergraduate student club, etc. I care a great deal about the program and will take this new responsibility very seriously. Wish me luck! :)

Info from the IU Sport Management website.

5) IU Football - Karl and I attended the first IU football game of the season last night! The Hoosiers unveiled the new endzone section of the stadium (the stadium is now a "horseshoe" shape rather than just two separate sides) and defeated the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 19-13. It could be a long season for the Hoosiers...but hey, a win is a win.

The new endzone area in Memorial Stadium.

Karl and me at the game.

6) This weekend - We are going to RELAX!!! It feels like it's been forever since we have been able to sleep in and just have a weekend to unwind and do whatever we want. Our plans right now include working out tomorrow, going to our friend Greg's to see his new house, and going to an IU soccer game on Sunday. :)

That's all for now! As I have said time and time again, I will try to do a better job of updating this regularly. Have a great weekend everyone!