This is what tennis looks like at 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Twenty minutes later, it looks mostly the same but with a big sweaty forehead and no Creighton jacket. An hour or so after that? Envision a 7-6 victory by my teammate and me over the other 2 IT guys working in my office. And after all was said and done, I had 3 words to describe this match: Best. Game. EVER. (Oh wait, 4 more: Never. Saw. That. Coming.)

Let's just say I've always had a strong sense of intuition, as evidenced by my suspicious stare at this poor, unsuspecting Santa Claus who never stood a chance.

Flashing back to 1989, this precious photo displays Grandma, me, and Mom sporting "VIP" (Very Italian Person) t-shirts that we purchased at a local shop in Bradford, Pennsylvania, during the Festa Italiana. Bittersweet in so many ways, this photo captures a rare moment in time where Mom and I were able to visit Grandma before she passed to celebrate a small piece of our heritage - Grandma actually has German and French roots and I am 50% British.  But at that moment in time we were "Very Italian Persons" and nobody was going to argue with that.

Technically, this weekend was our own personal Homecoming with the youngest peep returning home for a visit after being away to college for a solid month and a half, the longest time away ever.  And although he only spent about 48 hours back at home, we enjoyed every single minute of it. From the big hug/smile he greeted me with Friday night to the "Pump You Up" Schwarzenegger quips while weightlifting in the home gym, I was reminded of why I have missed that guy so much.  Even this photobomb on the road back to campus made me melt just a little bit more. And now, on a Sunday night, the nest is all empty once again.  Who knew this whole new-life-chapter thing was going to be so rollercoaster-ish?

I really don't know exactly how my #CsmITTennisTeam and I slugged through a 6-3 set over lunch today in what felt like 100 degree temps, but the experience was nothing short of MAGICAL with all of us bonding and enjoying the camaraderie. And not only did my doubles partner and I win the set, but I managed to even out my farmer's tan in the process, probably the winningest part of all.

Yes, the cat actually tried to tag along with me to work today.  Plan foiled.

After listening to an extremely disappointing first half of the Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois football game, this is me escaping to the US Post Office where I mailed a care package of goodies to my eldest college peep, the non-Husker student. Unfortunately, I returned to experience an equally disappointing second half and must find some way to forget the fact that my other college peep, the actual Husker, is probably feeling even more down due to his choice of becoming a season ticket holder this year.

The tennis equipment build-up that first started with the fancy Wilson hopper continues on with new canisters of tennis balls, a most welcome treat - because we REALLY need to replace the old flat tennis balls we've been smacking around the court over the past several months. Things just. got. real.

Just when I thought that weekly Friday match with the #CSMITTennisTeam had satisfied my tennis craving, I find myself saturated with US Open finals over the weekend, first with the women on Saturday and next with the men Sunday. *Woo-wee!* THAT is the way to spend a weekend, and now thanks to Sloane Stephens and Raphael Nadal, I'm starting the week feeling completely inspired to rock the planet... or maybe just a little piece of it.

What better way to enjoy an end-of-summer Friday than with a tennis match amongst fellow IT'ers? And what better way to use our employee health benefit, or work day wellness time, than by working out during company (college) time? Oh, and then there's the added icing-on-the-cake of working on the tan in the process, let's not forget that. *cha-ching*