Jen's 101 Adventure

Annabelle's going to be a big Sister!

2011-11-03T05:54:00.000-07:00

Surprise surprise your pregnant again. Tim and I were pretty shocked to learn that we were expecting a second time. Not that we weren't trying, just that we wanted to wait a few more weeks to start really trying. We heard baby #2 heartbeat for the first time on September 21st. What a wonderful sound to hear. I'm currently 16 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. This pregnancy is much different then the last. I've had morning sickness starting at 5 weeks, although no throwing up, just lots of gagging. We saw the doctor again at 14 weeks, and heard a strong and healthy heartbeat of 149 bpm. This time around my new doctor is being proactive with my care. She's suggested that I received 17p shots for my preterm labor. If you remember back in 2009, the day I was admitted to the hospital, I was put on magnesium sulfate to help lower my blood pressure. I also received one of two steroid shots to mature Annabelle's lungs. Over night my water broke unexpectedly and I started contracting. My doctor is hoping this time around with the help of the 17p shots that this prevent me from going into PTL. Starting at 16 weeks I will receive weekly shots until 36 weeks. I joked with Tim on Tuesday night, one shot down and 19 more to go. Some of the side effects are itchiness and welts around inject site. My nurse Val (love her already) insured me that she would be gentle and she was. I got the shot in my hip, instead of my butt (thank you Val). I never felt the serum go, another positive for Val. So far I haven't had any issues with itchiness or welts, but we are just starting. Next Tuesday, I get my second shot, on the left side and I'm hoping for the same outcome as the first shot.

Our next OB appointment is November 21, and I'll be 18 weeks along. We are hoping to get the referral to have the anatomy scan at this appointment. Stay tuned for results (hoping that baby cooperates during the ultrasound.

An update

2011-08-10T07:44:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is not a baby anymore. It's hard for me to type these words out, but our little girl is growing up. I knew that the baby years would go by fast, but I never thought this fast. Annabelle is now 22 months old, and talking non-stop. You won't believe some of the words that comes out of her mouth. She will repeat everything you say. From Josie, Roscoe, to dog, cat, animals sounds, to describing what she sees outside. I love it. But I also miss holding her, laying her on my chest when she so tiny. Although we still snuggle, but she fights me most nights. "No mama, I big girl!"

Last weekend Tim and I celebrated five years of marriage. We decided to celebrate by staying in a Bed and Breakfast in Kennett Square, PA. This B&B is near Longwood Gardens and about an hour from our house. On Saturday we decided to do the "sip and stay gateway". We toured 4 of the 6 wineries on the tour. Our card does not expire, so we might go back for a day trip in the near future. We relaxed both days, GPSing it to the wineries, and checking out several of the local restaurants in the area.

On Friday, we ventured over to Kennett Square Inn for dinner. Tim got the Chesapeake Steak and I got the surf and turf. My steak was wonderful, but my lobster was over cooked. We got chocolate creme burlee for dessert and that got an A plus in my book, but I would give the overall dinner a C. After dinner we pretty much collapsed and went to bed early.

The next day we got up early, can't help that Annabelle wakes us normally up at 5:00 a.m. on the weekends. We had breakfast downstairs at 8:15. The first morning Gilji fixed us mushroom omelet w/fresh fruit and bacon. Yum. After breakfast we headed out to check out the local PA wineries. We returned late that afternoon, took a 20 minute power nap and then headed to Blue Moon Pub in Kennett Square. We ate upstairs on the rooftop desk, which had a wonderful breeze. We ordered Crab nachos (A plus) for apps. For dinner I had a cheese burger and Tim go BBQ pork burger. Over all it was a yummy evening. We had plans to go back to the room and bring our glasses of wine down to the porch, but we fell asleep early. Ha ha!

Sunday morning came and we greeted with the most amazing cinnamon french toast thanks to our wonderful host Gilja. We left Kennett Square and headed home. Were we processed to clean out the entire house. I left around 3 p.m. to pick up Annabelle and the dogs. Both Tim and I enjoyed our weekend away, but we really missed our little girl.

Check out some of the most recently professional pictures we had taken by our friend Charlene. If your every in need of a local photographer, please email me. I'll pass Charlene contact information along.

What's Miss Annabelle doing now??

2011-04-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog for far to long. We've been busy since Christmas, we also have a growing toddler on our hands. Since Christmas, Annabelle has learned to walk, she is also talking too. Her vocabulary has exploded in the last three months. She use to say about 5 to 10 words, now she talks all the time. Tim and I decided to make a list of all the words that she now says. I'm sure we are leaving a few off. I also like to point out a few months ago I bought some flash cards from Barnes and Noble with a gift card that we received at Christmas. These flash cards have helped out amazingly. I've tried to google them, but I'm not having much luck. I'll just describe them to you all. They are the touch and feel, first words, transportation and color cards. Onward to the list:

Daddy
Mommy: (I'm so happy to announce that finally will say this word on command)
Josie
Roscoe: but it's more like "scoe"
duck
tree
car & truck: are her favorites when we are outside
apple: her first word other then daddy
ball
bath
tomato
baby
sweater: although it's more like weter
cheese
hot dog
dog: which see says doggie
fish
Lily but it sounds ily
up
down

Okay I'm drawing a blank for more. I know there is more. I think everyone has to be a wallflower at my house and you will see. You might even be shocked at how she is. Usually in public it's the quiet, shy Annabelle, but at home, it's a whole other story. Which I'm sure is the case for many children.

It's been a long time...

2011-01-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted. We are already in 2011 and we are having lots of fun. Annabelle is growing like a weed. She just had her 15 month appointment on Friday. And she is up to 22lbs and 31 inches long. She has come a long ways from 4lbs 18.5 inches long. She is mobile now too. She has been walking for about a month now, and some days I look at her and think WOW! You'll be a teenager before I know it. Lets see her vocabulary has exploded too. Here's a list of what she is saying:

Dadda
Momma
Bush
Good
Dog
Bad
Yes
Linda (although I haven't heard her say this!)

Doctor is really impressed with her and wants her to say 1-2 new words a month. Now if we could just get through this winter and onward to spring we all would be doing wonderful. Annabelle is in the thick of flu season. She's been sick a few times, but nothing crazy, thank goodness. Mommy and Daddy are both sick now, so we hope to fight off this cold ASAP!

We are looking forward to several Birthday Parties this upcoming weekend, seeing some old friends home from Germany and and a few play dates too. Visit us soon. Hopefully I'll add some more pictures to the blog.

National Prematurity Awareness Day!

2010-11-17T04:53:00.000-08:00

Today, November 17th is National Prematurity Awareness Day. This day is very special to me, not only because Annabelle was born seven weeks early, but for all of the other babies out there who were born too early. Being a mother of a premature child is difficult enough, not knowing what will happen, but with awareness, things can change and lives can be saved. While our NICU stay was short (praise the Lord), we still had huge out pour of love and support from not only our family and friends, but the March of Dimes too. I remember on one occasion arriving to the NICU without Tim, just wanting to see my baby. Just hoping that she had made progress over night. I would sit by her isolate hoping for her to keep fighting and praying for a speedy recovery. One of the MOD volunteers at Franklin Square, offered to take some pictures of Annabelle and I. It was small, but so meaningful to Tim and I.

Every year, half a million babies in the United States are born too soon, too small and very sick - that's 1 in every 8 babies. Since 1981, the rate of premature birth has risen 30%, and in half the cases it is not understood what went wrong. The March of Dimes is a wonderful organization who helps family in their time of need. Please share your story or check out other stories.

A year ago today my world changed forever...

2010-10-07T10:37:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it's been a year ago since my precious girl was born into this crazy world. Her debut into this world was a crazy ride itself. I was admitted to the hospital on October 6, 2009 with high blood pressure and significant amount of weight gain. After having an U/S to check on the baby, it was confirmed that I had pre-e. A nasty disease that can cause death to both mom and baby if delivery doesn't take place. After a whirlwind of 14 crazy hours of drugs, epi's, lots of pain, Annabelle Renee was born on October 7, 2009 weighing 4lbs 10.5oz and 18.5 inches long. She spent 12 long days in the NICU. I hope to never experience that place again. Yes we made friends with the nurses, doctors and even some preemie parents. It was a scary place, a world of unknown, when any minute your life can be turned upside down. In our case we survived the NICU with lots of love and support from family, friends and care from those at Franklin Square Hospital. Tomorrow she has her 12 month appointment with her doctor, so I'll update everyone with her stats. Happy Birthday Annabelle. Mommy loves you very much.

Here's a few pictures from this morning in her Birthday Girl shirt:

Things that I've learned...

2010-09-07T05:22:00.000-07:00

1. Wearing two hospital gowns is the way to go. Most of you know that hospital gowns open in the back, leaving you feeling a tad bit exposed. So yesterday I put on two, one opening in the back and one opening in the front. Wow, I sleep like a baby last night.

2. Saying Thank you to the nurses, they will let you do almost anything. For instance, I can take a shower every day if I want. I can now walk the halls in my cool outfit. Picture, socks, two gowns, yoga pants, girl with iv stand walking the halls. It's a sight.

3. I liked my old roommate! When I first arrived at the hospital earlier Saturday morning I placed in a room with another patient, who reminded me of my grandmother. We joked, talked about food, or food that we wanted to eat, what was on TV and life in general. She went home yesterday (Monday), I was alone for a few hours and then bam four hours later I have a new roommate. Who does the following things I can't stand: SNORES, COMPLAINS about not being about to reach the remote, SNORES, complains about the IV. Okay, I happen to over hear that she smoked like two packs a day, and so I guess that's why she SNORES. It's highly annoying. I want a new roommate. To bad I can't ask for a new room.

4. Hospital Food is not that bad! I've heard people complaining about the food. The two meals that I've eaten were yummy. Chicken w/gravy and mashed potatoes and french toast and a bowl of fruit. Those were the only two full meals I've had. I've also had several bowls of jello, pudding, chicken broth, beef broth, Italian ice. I can't wait to a crab cake sandwich.

Things we seem to take for grant!

2010-09-06T18:49:00.001-07:00

When your stuck in a bed for days and can't be released your mind tends to think of other things you could be doing, or wish you were doing. Here are some of the things I really wish I was doing these past three days.

1. Showering
2. Eating whatever we want, when ever we want.
3. Hugging your family.
4. Using the restroom alone (not having to take your iv pole in the restroom)
5. Sharing your room
6. EATING PERIOD!

I may add more to this list later.

NOT my idea of a vacation!

2010-09-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone has their ideal vacation planned in their head. Laying on the beach somewhere with a cold drink in their hands, heading to the mountains to hike for miles, road trip to the grandparents house. Our plans for Labor day 2010 weren't set. We talking about going hiking with Annabelle, possible cookout with friends, or just relaxing at home. Well that all changed on Friday night when I woke up with severe back pains. I walked downstairs to inform Tim that we needed to call Aunt Linda and we needed to head to the hospital. Earlier in the day we had visited the local express care in hopes of an answer and were shocked to learn that my liver levels were off the chart. They requested I get a CT scan immediately, which I did. But being that this was a Holiday weekend it didn't look promising for a quick turn around.

Off to the ER we went. After 2 hours in the ER I was admitted to the 2ND floor with gallstone attack. Saturday my day consisted of three MRI scan. The first one I spent an hour on my back, while the machine took pictures of my liver and gallbladder. They shot this dye into my IV line, hoping to get a picture of gallbladder. Well after an hour, my gallbladder decided not to participate in this test. So I was sent back up to my room. You also have to remember that I had not ate since 5:00 pm on Friday night and not had anything to drink since 11:00 p.m. I went back down for a second time for a shorter MRI scan that lasted 30 minutes, but again, the gallbladder didn't want to play. So around 3:00 p I was sent down for the third and finally time and finally the gallbladder made it's present. So I spent a total of 2 hours laying on a cold, metal bed. Finally after several hours of bitching to nurses and doctors I was able to drink my meal down. Doctor B wanted my liver enzymes levels to come down before doing surgery.

Sunday more blood was taken, levels were down to 400, and I was scheduled for another MRI scan on Monday.

Monday morning I had my blood drawn, was taken down to MRI for my 20 minute scan. This scan involved me laying in a tube for 20 minutes holding my breath every few minutes. It wasn't a fun and I really hope to never do it again. After my scan I return to my room where I had ate french toast and a fruit bowl. Then my entire world turned upset down. My blood test came back that my liver levels were working their way to the normal level. I'm at 300 today. Doc B arrived with depressing news, I wasn't going anywhere. A gallstone has lodged itself into my bile duct and before I can have my gallbladder removed I must this stone removed. I seriously lost it in front of the doctor. I've been away from Annabelle for three days and I was missing my little terribly.

Hopefully tomorrow (if they can fit me in) I will have this procedure called endoscope. This where a camera will be put down my throat, and then a dye will be injected into my iv line and then a cathered will be put down the line and remove the gallstone. I should only be in surgery for an hour, put under, and hopefully that will be it, but obviously there could be complications, of panceratis, which obviously would set back my gallbladder surgery. I really like to get out of here as soon as possible.

I could really use some prayers.

Lots going on...

2010-06-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

We've been busy this month. Annabelle and I went to the Baltimore Zoo last Friday. We spent the day with Rachel and Treith and lots of animals. Although most of the time Annabelle just sleep or ate, but she still had fun. We got a few pictures as well. Last Sunday Annabelle tried out her new pool and hopefully this weekend she will be trying it out again. Tomorrow we are heading down to Baltimore the National Aquarium to send a few hours with Nana, Grandpa and Katelyn. On Sunday we will be celebrating Tim's first Father's day.

Last night we finally purchased new shades for the living and kitchen and nice valance. Although I've told Tim that I would like to replace the kitchen counter tops, flooring and cabinets. A girl can dream right??

Here are a few pictures of Annabelle enjoying her summer.

Annabelle's Photoshoot

2010-06-02T04:48:00.000-07:00

For several months I've been debating if I wanted to get Annabelle's pictures professional done. We had plans to have newborn pictures taken of her, but Miss Annabelle had other plans in mind, when she arrived 7 weeks early. So we decided not to have a professional come to our house and just have the Hospital take her pictures a few days before she was going to be released from the NICU. I'm so amazed at how much my precious sweet girl has changed from the tiny preemie to a happy sitting 7 month old. My friend Charlene came to our house a few weeks ago and to take photo's not just of Annabelle, but of Ashlynn too. Ashlynn and Annabelle have been friends before they were even born. Michelle (Ashlynn's mommy) and I have been friends for several years and I was just overjoyed when they announced they were expecting a few months after Tim and I.

Here's the link to Annabelle and Ashlynn's photos.

If anyone is looking for a photographer in the Maryland area, please contact me, I'll be happy to pass Charlene's information along.

We have a sitter!

2010-05-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Not a babysitter but a sitting baby. Annabelle finally has decided to sit. It's so wonderful. I knew she would get it some day soon, but I'm so happy to share another milestone with you all.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

Sorry it's a tad bit fuzzy (taken on a camera phone yesterday)

6 months old

2010-04-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Annabelle turned 6 months old. Tim and I can't believe how much she has changed from that little baby we brought home just six months ago. Tomorrow she has her six month appointment with the doctors. She will be getting her last synasis shot too. I've been very thankful for six shots that she's received to protect her from RSV. I'm also happy that she made it through the flu season with only one cold. Two weeks ago she came down with the sniffles and cough, was just plain miserable for days. Although I didn't mind cuddling with her, but we lost a lot of sleep. We knew something was wrong, when she was waking every 2-3 hours, wanting to eat. But she kicked the cold with lots of cuddling with her favorite person, Daddy.

Check out some of Annabelle's milestones so far:

-Sleeping through the night since she was 3.5 months old.
-Rolls from back to belly
-Rolls belly to back (new accomplishment)
-Smiles and laughs
-Talking non-stop
-puts her hands in her mouth
-puts toys in her mouth
-drops and throws toys
-Sleeps un-swaddled
-Eats rice cereal
-Love sweet potatoes
-Love applesauce
-unsure on green beans
-unsure on squash
-Like carrots
-Likes snap peas
-Like Bananas

Still to try:
-apples
-pears
-peaches
-any so much more.

A splash of color...

2010-03-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Who knew a splash of color could brighten a room up so much. After almost four years of living in our townhouse, our basement has a new color. The old color, Tim would call it smoker white. Although the previous owners nor us have ever smoked in our house, the walls were just plain ugly. We debated for several years, what to paint the walls. Red (for Maryland), purple (for Ravens), yellow to just brighten up the room. But we decided to go with a bright blue. The room will officially turn into Annabelle's play room. We are in the process now trying to located or building some kind of storage unit to host all of Annabelle's toys. I wanted something that has cabinets on the bottom and maybe cubbie holes on the top. Maybe something like this or like this.

Now obviously we aren't going to pay this much $$$, but I like the idea. Plus we have a small space that we are working with. Just getting ideas. If you have any suggestions, please pass them along.

Bitter is the New Black and Hush

2010-03-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

I finally finished reading Bitter is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster. I've talked to several people about this book, all whom seem to love the book. I purchased this book back in May 2009 and finally finished reading it in March 2010. It was very hard to read, I have days or months where I would just put it down and not pick it back up. Not sure if it was the author's writing style or I just wasn't into the topic. The story seem to hit close to home for Tim and I. With Tim being unemployed for three months now, I just can't imagine being laid off for 2 years like Jennifer Lancaster, then her husband also gets laid off. That just scares me to no end. But somehow I make it to the end and I'm happy to had start another book.

I picked up the latest Kate White Book "HUSH". What a great book. I love her murder mystery books. It's one of those books that I just couldn't put down. I finished reading this book in three days. I'm sad it's over, I would if the author could write something weekly.

I'm currently reading "Wonderful You" by Mariah Stewart. Well see how this book progresses.

Some changes

2010-03-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

I've decided to start with my new list today. I'm sick of my old list and it's time for a change. I'll be updating my blog shortly.

In other news... Annabelle is growing nicely. She has come so far from her birth weight of 4lbs 10. At her last appointment this morning she weighted 13lbs 14.5oz at five months. The doctor also told us that they may try and get her another RSV shot for April. We won't know until end of the month if the insurance company approved her. They aren't sure if RSV season will be ending this month or next, so they are highly recommending her.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T12:08:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! 2009 was a great year for Tim and I. We found out in March of 2009 that we were expecting a baby and in October we welcomed Annabelle Renee into this world. Ever since then we have been very busy, trying to keep up with a three month old. I feel like I've neglected my blog in some ways and not in the others. As you have noticed most of my 101 items are almost complete. I have a few thing items that may need to be revised come March 2010. I've decided that whatever I can't finish in the next two months that I will probably just create another 101 list.

My goals for 2010 are as followed:

Read 25 books in one year. Last year I read 36 books, my goal was 50, but I had a few distractions along the way. I'm happy to report that 36 may be a record for me. I started tracking my reads through www.goodreads.com (check the website it, it's a great tool to use).

Starting in the spring (March 20 is the first day of spring this year!) walk the dogs and Annabelle at least twice a week. I hope to get out of the house as much as possible.

Cook dinner at least three times a week for the entire year.

Save money (put at least $100 away each pay period for Annabelle)

Once summer hits: entertain friends and take Annabelle to play dates.

Things I've been up too...

2009-11-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy month with the birth of my daughter, cookie exchanges and just finding time and energy to do things that I love. But last Sunday I attended a cookie exchange with a few friends (about 25 of them). Lisa was so nice to host this cookie exchange at her house. After slave in the kitchen for two days (yes it took me two days, with an newborn at home and tons of phone calls I finally got my cookies done). Tim was very pleased with all the cookies I brought home. 100 cookies or so, plus the two dozen I made for him. After sampling all the cookies I decided that my favorite cookies were the Chocolate Chip Meringues and Gooey Butter Cookies. Tonight I made the Chocolate Chip Meringues. Here is the Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and set aside.

In large metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar while continuing to beat until they hold stiff peaks. Mix in the vanilla and cocoa on low speed, then fold in chocolate chips by hand. Drop small mounds of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart.

Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Turn off oven, and leave the cookies in the oven for 1-2 more hours, or until centers are dry. Remove from pan and store in an airtight container.

Other things that I've been up to while out on maternity... taking care of Annabelle, sleeping a few hours here and there, playing with the baby and when I have time baking. I can't do all my baking without inspiration. I must say that I love google reader. Google reader holds all the blogs that I'm interested in reading in one location, no more bookmarking. Thank you google reader for making my life easy. If you have time to check some cooking blogs, check out Vintage Victual. The blogger is having a give way of some yummy mixes. I wish I had time to blog about my food experiences, but with Miss Annabelle and then starting back to work in a few short weeks, I just don't have time.

Annabelle Renee has arrived...

2009-11-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Sorry this post has taken forever to add, but I've been a very busy mom. Annabelle Renee arrived seven weeks early on October 7, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. weighing 4lbs and 10 oz and 18.5 inches long. Here's the birth story for those that are interested. I woke up on the sixth feeling not right. The day before I received my annual flu shot and I thought maybe the flu shot was making me feel awful. I went to work, feeling quite large and had a feeling that my blood pressure was on the rise. I had my 33 week check up later that day. I was so surprised when the doctor confirmed that I gained 20lbs in two weeks and my blood pressure had skyrocketed. She sent me to the hospital for some testing. She wanted to make sure the baby was okay. I was really upset, being that this was the first appointment that Tim had missed the entire time. I left the doctors office very upset, headed downstairs, finding my coworker (she works in the same office building that my doctor is located in). I started to cry because I was scared. She told me not to worry that she would take me to the hospital. She called the shuttle, but unbeknowest to me, she was having Franklin Square Security pick me and her up and taking us to the Women's Pavilion. I first called Tim and I told him to high tail it to the hospital and secondly I called the dentist office to cancel my appointment.

I arrived at the hospital thinking that I was only getting some blood work and another ultrasound. They decided to admit me due to my weight gain and high blood pressure. My doctor arrived an hour later to assure me that I was in good hands, but they needed to induce me, so I was having this baby in the next two days. I was so scared because I knew that she was too early and that she would be on the small side.

I was admitted at 4:30 p.m. and the doctors started to administer magnesium sulfate to get my blood pressure back on the positive side. I was not ready to have this baby, I didn't have my bags packed, nor did I have a baby book. So thanks to my aunt Linda for picking up clothes for Tim and I and my sister-in-law Rena for coming all the way to the hospital from Anne Arundel County with four or five different baby books. We settled in for the night for a long night of testing and hardly any sleeping. Around 2:00 a.m. I felt some leakage down below and I told the nurse that something was happening. At first she didn't believe me, but later it was confirmed by the house OB's that my water did break. Contractions started a little later and I keep asking for drugs, but I never received any. I didn't realize until a few days later that because of the magnesium sulfate I was unable to receive any good drugs. I did receive an epidural around 9:00 a.m. and I was told to get some rest. Okay, yeah okay, I'll try and rest. I happen to feel one side effect with the epi and that was that my entire body was itching. Tim keep commenting not to scratch my eyelids. Around 3:30 p.m. I thought the epi was wearing off, but I think that was just my body telling me that it was ready for this baby. I progressed pretty fast with pitocin that at 4:oo p.m. I was 100% dilated and ready to push. I thought for sure I was going to have this baby without my doctor (the hospital was so busy) that my nurse told me not to worry that she could deliver Annabelle if Dr. Hesse was not available. Annabelle arrived 30 minutes later with a ton of hair and healthy scream. But because she arrived so early, she was whisk away to the NICU.

She sent 12 days in the NICU, causing havoc to the entire NICU Staff. She drove them crazy because she was so feisty, but because she was feisty, I feel that this brought her home a little early.

Annabelle is currently one month and 2 weeks old and is up to 7lbs. She is still feisty and has her days and nights mixed up, but we still love her, even if we are getting about four hours a sleep a night.

Family Pictures

2009-09-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

Check out some of the new family pictures we took!! Can you tell we are ready for FOOTBALL!
Also if you've been following, I'm currently 30 weeks along. Only a short 10 weeks to go until we finally get to meet our baby girl.

New Vehicle!

2009-09-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

After many months of going back and forth about what to purchase, we finally made a decision. Yesterday we finally got the chance to purchase a new family vehicle. Last month we visited Heritage Honda in Parkville to look at the Honda Pilots, we also checked out Jones Junction, but we found that they didn't have any 2009 Toyota Highlander. We had to drive all the way to Laurel to test drive the Highlander at the Carmax. We weren't very impressed with either Carmax or the Highlander period. Unlike the Pilot the Highlander didn't have a second row bench seat, but this tiny seat that obviously no one will want to sit in. Plus the Highlander was more expensive.

Yesterday morning we started earlier and went Norris Honda in Dundalk to find out that they didn't have any 2010 Honda Pilots and they weren't expecting to get any until mid-October, so we decided to head to Heritage Honda. We arrived around 9:30 and didn't leave there until about noon with a new Charcoal Pilot. It's pretty awesome with tons of room, which we needed with two big 75lb dogs and a little girl on the way, and yes I like being up higher too. I will miss my civic though. She will be with us for another few weeks and then she being sent on her way. My Dad will be taking her.

Check out some of the pictures we took of the new Honda.

What a busy week!

2009-09-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

This week has been awful busy and long for Tim and I. On Sunday night we had dinner with AJ and Michelle in White Marsh at Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse. This place is very similar to Sakura's. I'm really not sure there was much difference. Other then maybe the price. Last Christmas I won a gift card for Kobe's and yes finally I used it in August. Michelle and AJ also got some great news that they will be excepting a baby girl in January. Both Michelle and I are super excited because our little girls will have playmates. Actually Michelle has tons of friends who just just had babies, so I'm sure her little one can even find a few boyfriends down the road. By Monday evening my feet were so swollen from being on my feet to much. Last weekend, we attended a 30Th Surprise Birthday party for Ricky Smith (Stacy- his wife did an awesome job of completely surprising him). Earlier Saturday Aunt Linda and I took a shopping trip to Babiesrus. I promise you that I didn't buy a single thing for Baby A. Sunday I meet up with my mom and her and I went to Babiesrus in Towson, so she could shop for her first grandchild. By Sunday evening my feet were so swollen, that I was hoping people would not notice.

Monday was a rest day for us, other then working. Tuesday we had our 28 week appointment, were I got great news. I passed my 1-hour glucose test and my placenta has corrected itself. We also found out that I'm anemic, so I've been taking iron pills on top of my prenatal. We also are now seeing the doctor every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks.

Wednesday Tim and I toured the maternity ward and were happy to see that we aren't the only one pregnant. The highlight of Tim's night was when 11 couples, that would be 5 pregnant women almost got stuck in a tiny elevator. I was slowly freaking out, but we were lucky enough that the elevator came back down to the main floor and opened. Thank you Lord!

Last night Tim and I are had our first Child birthing class. We both enjoyed the class. Tim learned some massage techniques and I learned some new breathing techniques as well. We have homework for next week. To bring in a sonogram pictures of the baby (which will become our focal point during active labor), we were also asked to put plastic trash bags on all seats in our vehicle, just in case my water breaks in the car. I officially have 11 weeks to go until baby A's due date.

This weekend we have a pretty relaxed weekend in store. We have our first interview with a pedi and then we are running errands and hopefully hanging out with friends. I may even surprise Tim with a few baked dishes. I just gotta find something that looks good.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend.

Pictures of the Nursery

2009-08-27T08:09:00.001-07:00

Please note that the nursery is still a work in progress, but here's a few pictures of what Tim and I have accomplished so far. In the first picture, you'll see the crib with the bedding "Angelica" that we purchased from Babies r us. In the second picture you'll see the new curtains and valance with the 30 year old rocking chair that my parents rocked me in when I was a baby. We also added four white shelves in the room, just to place nic nacs. And no those dinosaurs won't be staying there. They have been put up there, because Josie and Roscoe think those toys are for them.

In the third picture, you'll see the changing table from JCPenny's and the "Miracles come in small packages" decal that I ordered from www.etsy.com. And the last picture is really Tim's handy work at it's best. The baby's room is a tad bit bigger then our full bathroom. He has a very big closet. As one of my friends said "She'll need all that closet space for all the cute little outfits she'll be wearing". Anyway, Tim added the closet orangizer. I'm so proud of him for working so hard on the room. We have a few extra things to add to the room, like the baby's name that will be hanging and a few pictures and decals too.

The Prime Rib

2009-08-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

On Friday night Tim and I went to dinner with Jen and Dan at the Prime Rib in Baltimore (Mt. Vernon area of town). After reading several reviews online and checking out the Baltimore Restaurant week menu, we decided to try the Prime Rib. If your not aware of BRW, twice a year once in the summer and once in the winter Baltimore restaurant host a week of economy friendly meals to the general public. The first year, Tim and I started checking out BRW, there was only about 30 or so restaurant participating, but now there is over 80 restaurants. For lunch you can purchase a 3 course meal for $20.09 and for dinner a three course meal for $30.09.

So on Friday night we arrived at the Prime Rib and decided to have our vehicle valet parked (because there was no street parking in the area and no parking garage in site). We arrived about 20 minutes early and waited in the Bar for Jen and Dan. I wore a skirt and a cute top and Tim dress pants and a button down shirt. Usually this place requires jackets. Well once we arrived, we noticed that the wait staff was wearing tuxes and the men and women were dressed to a T. Um, yeah do you feel under dressed. By the time dinner was over with a younger crowded was in full swing of the place. Tim ordered house salad, the prime rib and creme brulee, I ordered Caesar salad, filet and creme brulee. Jen ordered house salad, salmon and creme brulee and Dan got Caesar salad, prime rib and Key Lime Cheesecake. Yum. We had a great time talking and enjoying ourselves. I think next year, we are going to just check out a place with less of dress code.

It's a girl!!

2009-07-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

Or at least that's what the tech told us. We have an appointment tomorrow with our doctor to go over the results of our ultrasound and to go over my blood lab results too. We are just hoping for some healthy feedback. Tim was super excited to see "our little monkey" move all over the place. She was just to cute. We can't wait to meet her in November. Here are some pictures that the tech gave us.

Vacation Review part 3- Zion Canyon

2009-06-26T06:24:00.000-07:00

After having two wonderful days at the Grand Canyon we headed North to Zion Canyon. We left the Grand Canyon Village, and headed north along the scenic highway. Right before we were leaving the park, I said to Tim. "You know we haven't seen any large animals, just squirrels and rabbits!". Well out of the blue walk these two huge elk. I'm not sure if you've ever seen Elk before, but they were huge. I'm kind of sad, because we didn't have any time to grab our camera's to take some shots. We stopped at a few smaller overlooks before exiting the south rim. One was an old Watch tower and the just another overlook to check out the canyon.

We drove for about 4 hours, through the Indian Reservation until we came to Lake Powell. I thought for sure, we had gone back into time, because it was dry, hot and there was nothing there. Here are some pictures that we took on the road. The first shot is of the road and the emptiness and the second shot is us driving into the mountain (well it looks like it).

We finally arrived at Zion Canyon around 4 p.m. and I was just taken away by the beautiful of this national park. We had to drive through the park, which took us awhile, because we got stuck behind a tour bus and it was driving quite slow. We finally arrived at our hotel the Driftwood Lodge. The second day we decided to take the shuttle into the park, where we stopped at almost every stop before heading in for the night. The best stops of the second day was the Middle and Upper Emerald pools, the weeping rock and Angels Landing, which we didn't attempt, because I was pregnant. Here are a few shots of the Emerald pools and the weeping Rock.

The first set of pictures are from the Emerald pools. Now you must understand there was three trails you could take to all three pools. Tim decided to take the trail to the middle pool and once we left there, he wanted to go to the upper pool. It had to be the hottest day on record at the park, because I roasted and drink almost a one liter of water just that day. Obviously very good for the baby and me, but I did complain a ton and I'm just graceful that Tim didn't kill me.

The second half of the day we spent check out the weeping rock and some other parts of the park. Here is the weeping rock, in these pictures you can't really see the water seeping from the rocks, but it's there. It was a nice relief from the hot weather to just walk under the water.

The last day at the park we decided to take the trail to the Narrows. Again if was so overcast and I wasn't pregnant, we would of different hiked the Narrows. The trail starts off on a paved walk way and ends up walking in the River. The morning we went out there, the water temperature was 45 degrees, just a tad chilly and the forecast was calling for a chance of rain. There was no way we could hike the narrows with the chance of flash flooding. But I did take some pictures of Tim braving the cold water, crossing the narrows and walk almost until I couldn't see him again. I wasn't sure if he decided to go without me or what. The first picture is us walking on the paved trail to the river. Check out the nice rock hanging over. The second picture is of Tim in the river and then third picture is of me in the river.

The last picture is of a deer we spotted on the way back to the shuttle bus. As we were exiting the park heading toward Bryce Canyon, we decided to take one last shot of Zion. We had a great time in Zion and definitely can't wait to return with our children one day.

Vacation Review part 2- The Grand Canyon

2009-06-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm sorry I've been consumed with this pregnancy, daycare searches and reading. Anyway, I've finally decided that I just need to write the review for the second part of our trip.

Before leaving Vegas, we had to return to Rental Car place to pick up a new car because the first one we received was awful. It would not start up on the first try, so obviously there was no way, we wanted to drive that thing into the desert.

We left Vegas around 10:30 a.m. and headed toward the Hoover Dam. About 4.5 years ago Tim and I visited the Hoover Dam with Heather and Milt. It was my first time then and they had just started construction on a new bridge. Well 4.5 years later the bridge has almost been completed. It was pretty awesome to check out. Here are a few pictures!

After leaving the Hoover Dam we traveled about four and half hours until we reached the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We decided to check out one of the overlooks before heading to our room. Here is the first picture of the Grand Canyon that I saw. Breath taking is really an understatement.

We decided to go check into our room, which was a one room cabin at the Maswik Lodge. The cabin supplied us with two beds, a tv, a bathroom and a desk. We were happy to find that this place only cost us $90.00 a night plus taxes. We decided to head to Hermits Road for a few hours of sightseeing. We hiked about mile and half before catching the shuttle for the remaining of the stops. Here are a few pictures of us pictures of on Hermits Road.

The second day of our stay at the Grand Canyon we decided to hike down into the Grand Canyon. We hiked about 45 minutes down into the Canyon and it took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to get back. You have to understand I was about 13 weeks pregnant at the time, so I did struggle getting back up. I had to take breaks ever 10 minutes. Along the way we ran into two donkey tours that were heading to the bottom. Check out this picture to see how close we were to the donkey's.

To be continued...

Furniture Check!

2009-06-25T12:12:00.001-07:00

Tim and I have finally picked out the baby's furniture. We ordered the crib, dresser/changer, conversion rails and mattress from JcPenny's last Friday morning. This afternoon Tim got a call from the Freight company that the Furniture is ready for delivery. It's all working out perfectly, because it's being delivered July 3rd, and both of us have off. Here's a few pictures of the crib and dresser/changer!

Note: Bedding is not what we are using. We haven't decided on bedding yet, waiting to find out the sex.

FYI-Jcpenny's is awesome about price matching. I bought the items last week, via telephone because the day before the prices were current with the catalog I had, but the day I ordered it, they were back to the original price. Well yesterday, while looking for the link, I noticed that the prices were even cheaper, so I called and they will be crediting my card.

We have a date!

2009-06-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had my 16 week appointment with my OB. I can't believe that I'm almost at the half way point of this pregnancy. It just seems like yesterday that we found out that we were having a baby. I loved the appointment yesterday, it was easy, just some gel on the belly and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was 140 bpm. At our 12 week appointment the heartbeat was 150 bpm. I decided to ask the doctor about the lower heart rate and she said, there is nothing to worry about the baby is doing well and your doing all the right things. I only gained one pound since my last appointment and my urine test came back negative, which I was praised for, because it sounded like I was the only person all day with clean urine. Haha! I know the little things that make us happy. I was given paperwork to have more blood drawn. I hate it, but you gotta do it. We also finally got our referral to have the big ultrasound done to found out the sex of the baby. This will be the first picture of baby S that we've seen. Tim and I are both excited to finally find out. I know he is hoping boy and I'm hoping girl. We have names picked out too. Our U/S is scheduled for Monday, June 29th at 4:00. Wish me luck, I'll have to consumer 24 oz of water at least one hour before my appointment and I can't empty my bladder. This will be a challenge, because most of the time I have to go within 30 minutes. Check back on June 30th to found out the results.

Our vacation review!

2009-05-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Vegas around 9:50 a.m. (mountain time) and then preceded to baggage claim and then onward to the car rental location (which is off site from the airport). We spent another hour in line at Avis. Seriously why do company thinks it's okay only to have 3 people working the front desk when there are 20 people standing in line. And we aren't talking about just a 5 minutes talking deal, we are talking about 10 or 15 minutes to get all the paperwork in order. So after waiting for close to an hour (calling Heather/Milt about us arriving, telling them we may be longer. blah blah, we finally got the car, which was a four door Hyundai (piece of crap). We arrived at Harrah's were I was happy to find out that we could check in early. Yeah thank you! We unloaded and then called H/M to tell them we were in the Casino. The first part of Saturday we spent in the casino playing on the slot machines. Saturday evening we meet Chris and Shelly at the Stratosphere for dinner at Top of the World. Awesome view we had of Las Vegas, but the restaurant made me a little uneasy ( I think it was just because I'm pregnant and all). Later that evening we went up to the observation deck to take some pictures (which I promise that I will upload tonight). After dinner and observation deck Tim and I headed back to our room (because it was about 1 a.m. Maryland time.

Sunday we meet everyone up at Ihop for breakfast at 10:00 a.m. which was so late (remember I'm still on East coast time, but I treated myself and the baby to Starbucks coffee that morning! Shh don't tell anyone!). Then after breakfast we headed south first to Treasure Island to pick up our tickets for Sunday's show, then onward to Harrah's to meet up with H/M. C/S decided not to ride with us back through the speed bumps, so they got out of the car and headed to Cesar's Forum shops! We walked the strip (which was so freaking hot! 105 or more!).

Around 4ish we all split from C/S and headed back to the hotel. H/M decided to have dinner with us at Toby's bar and grill in Harrah's. I ordered a hamburger, which was yummy and Tim drank out of a mason jar, which we have a picture of. H/M and us went our separate ways after dinner. We went back to our rooms to get ready for the Cirque show, which was awesome. Although I'm kind of sad that I had to miss part of the show (Okay only 5 minutes because I had to get up to go the bathroom. Thank you baby, oh I should of never drank that much water at Toby's. Oops! After the show Tim and I headed back to Harrah's by then I was exhausted. I went to bed at 9:30, sad I know. Miss C/S call, which I'm sorry about.

On Monday morning Tim and I had to run back to the airport car rental place to exchange our car for something else, because there was no way in hell we would be driving a car that would not start up on the first try to the desert.

Okay, this is the first part of my trip review. I promise to update the rest of my story later. I'll send you the link to my blog. That's where I plan to update the rest of the story at.

We're having a baby! (and a few other changes to my list)

2009-05-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Most of you already know that Tim and I are having a baby, but I'm finally getting around to updating my blog. Tim and I found out on March 14, 2009 that we were expecting. Obviously the day I found out, I thought for sure that my period must be late, so I decide to take a pregnancy test. Wow was I surprised. Obviously Baby S wasn't planned, but we are so thrilled, scared, nervous, excited about bringing a child into this world. At first I was shocked and parts of me are still shocked, but after our first OB appointment on Tuesday, it's finally setting in that, yes we are going to be parents.

Tuesday Tim and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. What an amazing experience. Although at first our little one gave Mommy and Daddy a huge scare. The doctor couldn't find the heartbeat (I was slowly freaking out), but after reassurance from the doctor that this is normal (okay whatever you say doc!). After preforming my exam, the doctor decided let's try again and bam instantly she found the heartbeat. 150 bpm! Our next appointment is scheduled for June 9, where again we will get to hear the heartbeat.

Currently I'm 12 weeks along, so I still debating if I will create a separate family blog to update my family and friends with baby news. Please ignore my face!

As most of you know by viewing my blog... I have completed a fair amount of items on my list. Although some are never going to be accomplished in the next 9 or so months. I have decided to change a few (because well I'm allowed to do that!)

First change #85 Plan European Vacation will now be "Plan our next vacation".

Second change #86 Go on said trip to Europe will now be "Take that vacation"

Third change #101 Get pregnant in London can't happen because we got pregnant at home! LOL

Most of you know that Tim turned 30 on May 8, 2009. Months prior to his Birthday I had keep asking him what he wanted for his Birthday and all I got was just a party. So on May 2, 2009 we hosted a huge party at our house with tons of friends & family. We had tons of food and fun. I really wanted to do something special for him, so I contacted Holly our friend and ask her to make Tim a Birthday cake. I also asked Holly to make Brian a cake too (because he was also turning old. Kidding!). So here are the cakes that Holly made. Tim had a red velvet Redskin cake and Brian peanut chocolate beer mug cake. Both was delicious!

Tower Restaurant in Bel Air

2009-04-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Last night Tim and I meet up with Keith and Ashley and had dinner at the Tower Restaurant in Bel Air. At first we had decided to meet up on Sunday afternoon for lunch at Duclaw's but decided around 10:00 a.m that we should push it back to dinner. So DuClaw's was scraped and Tower was chosen. After record setting temperatures of 92 degrees I was looking forward to a nice air condition restaurant. We meet up Tower at 6:30 and decided to eat outside (what no A/C?). Although the sun was setting it wasn't a bad choice and we really enjoyed our time outdoors with a nice cross wind. So we decided to order an appetizer to share (Crab meat and onion spring dip) which was so disappointing. A thin layer of dip not enough for four hungry individuals. We ordered dinner and our salads arrived. Which was good and nice surprise to have bread with our meal. Our entrees arrived. Tim and Ashley ordered Calamari Linguine, Keith ordered Shrimp Marinara and myself I ordered Chicken Alfredo. I believe everyone was pleased with their order except me. The chicken was so awful (no flavor and so dry) and the sauce wasn't really all that. And after we left I was upset at myself for forgetting the 10% off discount that I had clipped in the paper. Ugh. We could of saved $7.00. All in all I don't think we will be returning to the Tower.

Another one checked off!

2009-04-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

I was just looking over my blog and noticed that I really don't have that much more to check off my blog. Some of my items aren't going to be finished before March 2010, because we just don't have the time or the money to fly to California or Europe. Our big trip to Europe was canceled due to the bad economy and our money situation. We have planned another state side vacation for the 2009 year. We are heading to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon and finally Salt Lake City mid May. Along the way, we plan on seeing Chris/Shelly and Heather/Milt. Chris and Shelly are hoping to meet us in Vegas for a nice weekend of gambling and eating. And at the tail end of our trip we plan on visiting the Gale Family.

Anyway, onto my checked off item. This past Thursday, Tim, Linda and I headed to South Carolina for a little family time. We left around 7:50 a.m. on Thursday morning, hitting a little bit of Ft. Meade traffic and Washington DC traffic too. We stopped oh about 5 times (or so, I kind of lost count after the fourth time. We arrived in Greer, SC around 5:15 p.m. Thursday evening we ate dinner with Sandra and Bill and then stayed up pretty late. Friday we headed to Piedmont, SC to visit some family on my grandfather's side of the family. I'm sure you know that my grandfather was one of thirteen children. All of the children are gone now, but their children's children live on. I met some family that I've never seen before. It was nice to see that everyone was doing so well. Saturday morning Tim and I headed down to Greenville, SC to the Beedy River Park. We had visited this park oh 4 years ago, on our last trip to SC, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the park had grown and new shops had sprung up. We headed north after our short stroll around the park to the Town of Greer. It's tiny, with only about a 1/2 mile of actual shops. We then headed back to Bill and Sandra's house for some reading time in the hammock, were I proceeded to fall asleep. To bad it was only short lived. We headed to my cousin Ryan's house for lunch. At lunch we got to see more family and meet my 4th cousin, Carter, who is only 2 1/2. Cutest little boy and loves to show off for the ladies. Watch out David! Later on that evening we headed over to David's house for a tour of his house, which he is trying to sale. If your in the market, please send me an email. It's this beautiful house on 2 acres of land with tons of growth. To bad we don't live in SC or I might consider.

Later in the evening we headed to LGT (Little Greenville Theater) for a show. My cousin Ryan was part of the play "Leading Lady's". Great show and tons of laughs. I'm going to say this again, Ryan you make a awful pretty lady. LOL!

Sunday Tim and I drove ourselves along with Linda and Sandra to Charlotte, NC so we could catch our flight home to Baltimore. Linda is spending the rest of this week down in SC. I'm jealous, because I want to be on vacation, but alas, we must come back home and go to work. All in all we had a great trip. But don't worry folks in about a month or so we will be heading West for our 10 day vacation.

I may have a few pictures to add to this post, once I find my camera and upload them to the computer.

St. Michaels Review

2009-03-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Tim and I arrived in St. Michael's around 4:30 on Friday afternoon. Only a short hour and half day from Anne Arundel County. We stayed at the George Brooks House on the outskirts of St. Michael's. Our room was incredible, King size bed, with a two person jacuzzi tub right off of the pool and hot tub (although being that it was the off season, no swimming for us.) Each morning we were served this incredible breakfast. Both the owner and the employees were wonderful. Recommended several restaurant's to check out as well.

Friday we decided to have dinner at Town Dock. This place is a high hit with the locals. Every Friday night they have a Seafood Buffet. We decided to do the 3 course meal for $24.99. Our meals included crab bisque, flounder topped with crab imperial and raspberry cheesecake. Tim got crab bisque, salmon and raspberry cheesecake.

After dinner we decided to walk around to burn off the calories. Although by then the all of the shops were closed.

Saturday morning we checked out the Maritime Museum which I highly recommend. Definitely recommend going early. We were able to get a private tour of the boat house (where we got to witness volunteers helping with this years boat project.) Must check out the lighthouse and playing on the Chesapeake Bay building.

After the museum we checked out the St. Michael's winery, which again I have to say arrive early. The winery doesn't open until noon on Saturday's. There we go to taste several flights of wine and some local cheeses. My favorite was the Golleywobbler Red and Tim loved the "Island Belle".

Afterward we did a little bit of window shopping and had a late lunch at Ava's pizza and wine bar. Very yummy and I highly recommend grabbing some pizza and a game at this cute bar.

All in all we had a great time in St. Michael's. I definitely say check it out if you have a few hours to spare.

A wine-o weekend!

2009-02-19T05:37:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we spent most of the day drinking wine with 10 of our closest friends. Back in October I had bid on a few items during the Shoppawlosa that the MD SPCA holds every year. Last year I won a few gift card and the private wine tasting for myself and eleven of my friends at Woodhall Winery in Parkton. The twelve of us decided to rent a limo and enjoy our time at Woodhall. We prepared a beautiful arrangement of fine cheeses, bread, fruit and sampled some awesome wine. After the wine tasting all ten of us rode back to Abingdon, although we did make a pit stop at Wine World.

I'm sure Wine World has shocked to see this big limo pull up outside and several people jump out. Every weekend (Friday-Saturday) Wine World has wine/beer tasting. One of my items was to participate in a wine tasting with Lauren. We did accomplish this on Saturday, along with the entire limo. LOL!

The rest of our weekend is as followed. After arriving home, limo departed (we were quite sad that they day was almost over), we proceeded to entertain our friends. Although the main reason for them to stay over was to sober up, that didn't happen. Okay, I didn't sober up. I'm sure at least one in every party did sober up because they all left.

Sunday Tim and I headed down to Mother's in Federal Hill to meet up with Jay, Lauren, Jen T. and Dan for their bi-annual PJ Brunch. We had a great time. We saw some interesting PJ's. My favorite was Jay's robe (which was really Lauren's robe), he definitely pulled it off.

The rest of Sunday was spent laying in bed. Yes, you read me correctly, we can't party all night along and then get up early for brunch and still have enough energy to function for the rest of the day.

Both Tim and I had off on Monday, so I visited with my Mom, while Tim stayed home and cleaned the house (okay he really didn't do this, but I asked him too) and read, relaxed, and watched TV. All in all it was a great weekend.

Weekend Review!

2009-01-26T06:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Tim and I busied ourselves in home improvement projects. We have been in our house for almost three years and for those three years I have been staring at white walls. So after many months of checking out colors, we finally decided to paint the largest room in the house. The LIVING ROOM! We cleaned out the room last Monday and taped as well. We bought our paint on Wednesday from Lowe's. We ended up going with Churchill Hotel Bronze from Valspar. We also recruited three additional painters to tackle the large job. We started around 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and was finished by 12:30. I have to say we make an awesome team. Thank you Lauren, Mom and Dad for all the help. After pizza and coke was served our three painters left. Tim and I took about an 2 hours nap and then started back painting later that evening. By 8 p.m. I was done. Sunday morning Tim woke up early to do some last minute touch ups. We finally got the room back into working order around 4 p.m.

We enjoyed the room for a few hours and then headed down to Baltimore for dinner with Lauren and Jay. This week in Baltimore is Restaurant week. There are 90 restaurants in the area that are participating. Lunch is $20.09 and a three course dinner starts at $30.09. Last night we decided to try out Pazo which is a Tapas restaurant. We arrived right on time after trying to find a street that map quest swears is a road, when in reality it's a alley way. Thank goodness Tim knows the area, or we would of been lost. The food was plentiful until the main course came. I think I made out with my shrimp. Tim and Lauren's steak was on the same side and poor Jay only received one piece of sausage. All in all it was a good evening to enjoy this experience with friends. Wine and drinks were flowing and the waiter it was just to cute for words. Although I'm still trying to figure out what exactly he was talking about re: dancing.

Later on this week Tim and I are heading to Blue Sea Grill in Baltimore with our friends AJ and Michelle. I'll update my blog with our experience on the last restaurant of choice.

In our family news we just got word from Norma and Mike that Tim's cousin Ryan is getting married November 7 in St. Louis. Congratulations to him and his fiancee Stephanie.

I hope everyone has a great week.

50 Books in a Year

2009-01-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Are you up for the Challenge? Do you think you have what it takes to read 50 books in a year? That's 50 books in 365 days? I know it sounds like a lot, but if this slow poke can read or at least think she can read, anyone can.

I started obviously on January 1 ,2009 and I have successful finished reading one book last night. If you would like to participate, please let me know and I can forward you the spreadsheet that I am using to keep track.

Happy New Year and good luck reading.

102-Complete & Happy New Year

2009-01-05T05:44:00.000-08:00

So I challenged myself to go without Starbucks for one entire month. It was hard for me, because I really crave that stuff. For Christmas I received two gift cards for Starbucks. It was hard not to run off to Starbucks the day I received them. Although I do have to admit that I have used my gifts twice over the weekend.

I'm still going to try and stick to no Starbucks after I use the gift cards up. I want to say I have $23.00 left. Oh and the husband is helping as well.

I know every year people make New Years Resolutions and I feel like by middle January I have already failed. So I am not making any this year. I just decided to work other things through out the year.

These are the things I would like to accomplish this year in no particular order:

1. Get Pregnant
2. Loss weight
3. Maintain a workout routine.
4. Spend more time with Tim.
5. Take more photos.

I've added another item!

2008-12-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

I had to add another item. Maybe I could of gotten rid of one of them, but I just thought this was more fair to myself. I've decided no more Starbucks for a MONTH. I have to try and be good to myself and to my body. Hello have you seen it lately. Miss piggy in the house! Okay really, December is upon on so I thought why not try something new. New exercise routine and new commitment's.

Sunday Brunch-Completed

2008-11-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning Tim and I meet several friends down in Baltimore for Brunch. This would be the first time we had ever been to Little Havana. Although we have passed this place thousands of times on our drive down to Baltimore. Both Tim and I got the Spanish Style Eggs, although Tim got an extra plate of potatoes. Each other us had numerous glasses of Mimosas and Bloody Mary's. I believe the best thing we ate that day was these donuts dipped in Chocolate. You can't say NO to hot donuts dipped in Chocolate. So good!

We left early (around 3:00 p.m.) and arrived home to catch the tail end of the Ravens Game. We destroyed Philly yesterday! Our Ravens are now 7-4. Still in the playoff hunt!

Go Ravens!

I finally did it!

2008-11-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

I finally beat Tim at poker. Okay I have won before, but that was prior to making this list. This past weekend we went to Rohobeth Beach for the weekend to hang out with friends. We played several board games, Wii games and even poker. We started early, around four-ish and probably finished at Eight. By the end I was just so tired of playing that I went all in three times in a row and let Brad win. YUP! I let him win! LOL! Brad only won $20 bucks, but I guess with the economy so crappy beating your friends at Poker and taking their money is better then nothing.

It was an Atlantic City weekend!

2008-10-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

Shannon and I left early from Harford County to head to Atlantic City for Jessica's Bachelorette party. We arrived in Atlantic City after several attempts to find the NJ Expressway. Um yeah don't follow map quest, those directions suck. After several hours in the car, both of us were dire need of a bathroom. We arrived at the Showboat Hotel and Casino just after 1:30. We grabbed some pizza on the boardwalk and then headed down to the casino to gamble. Most of the weekend we spent drinking, sharing stories and even saw some naked men. I can't really upload any pictures to this post, because there is a saying... what happens in Atlantic City stays in Atlantic City. Ha.

I made a few changes...

2008-09-29T07:39:00.001-07:00

I decided to change the look of my blog again. I have a feeling that not that many people are actually reading my blog. At first I thought it would be cool to have a blog with some goals that I'm trying to accomplish. And so far this blog has keep me on my toes and I've accomplished them.

I have decided to change a few goals to more realistic ones, instead of the far fetched ones I previous had on there. For example #53 (Lean to water Ski) was never going to happen. I've deathly afraid of water, hitting my body against water and at high speeds. Back in June Tim and I went boating with some friends and well Tim actually tried to water ski (he did a great job). I was to chicken to even attempt it. I did however trying tubing and loved it. I'm the kind of girl who likes to take things slow. My fear of the water has always been with me. It mainly started when I was a child and just gotten harder for me as an adult. My family was poor so swimming lessons was just not in the cards. My Dad on the other hand thought it was a great idea to just throw your child in the water and they will figure it out. Nope never figured it out. Yes I know how to float, but floating and swimming are two different things. I have gone white water rafting twice, and both times knock on wood have never falling out. People probably think I am crazy, but I would rather not have anyone touch me while I'm in the water. I just feel more comfortable that way.

My new goal for #53 is Visit Rachel and Mike in Tampa, FL. Which did happen two weeks ago. Rachel and I have known each other for 14 years, but not until 2 or 3 years ago became close again. I wish she and Mike lived closer, but right now that's not in the cards for them. Tim and I decided to make it a long weekend and head to FL. Tim had never been to Florida so it was a new experience for him. We landed early in Tampa around 9:00 a.m. and Rachel and Treith picked us up at the airport. Rachel showed us around town. We stopped at MacDill Air force base to check out where Mike works at, their new apartment (which just moved into this weekend) and the beach. The baby wasn't to happy about the big tractor that was plowing the sand, but we did dip our feet into the warm water. Next we proceed to head to this little park in Tampa for Treith to play in the water. The weather in Tampa was extremely warm. So it was nice again to get our feet wet. Rachel drove us around Tampa and surrounding areas. Friday night Mike had to work, so the four of us went to dinner at Apple bees in Tampa.

Saturday we got up and went to Tampa Art Museum which was pretty cool at least for the kids. They had a free day of arts and crafts. Treith and Tim made bookmarks, while I just looked on. We then headed upstairs to check out the art, but was really disappointed that upstairs only contained 10 pieces. After we left the ART Museum we headed toward the mall. We did get lost, but it was fun counting all the strip clubs along the way. Seriously we counted 9. Um yeah so if you ever need to visit Tampa, check it out! LOL! At the mall we decided to cool off and just walk around, we did come to find out that the ART Museum will be opening in a new location next fall in downtown Tampa. So the current location is just temporary. Nice to know that their was more art elsewhere.

After leaving the mall we headed home to pick up Mike and go out to dinner at Cheddars (kind of like Chili's). Food was pretty good, drinks were flowing as well. After dinner we headed to the grocery store and each of us picked up a 6 pack. We went back to the apartment and played Mad Gab. This game was hilarious, def a good game to play when your drunk. Ha ha! Rachel and I kicked butt!

Sunday was not such a great day. I was so hung over and Tim was coming down with a cold that we never got to the beach. I'm sorry Rachel for ruining the plans. I am sure you have already forgiven me!

Our flight didn't leave until 5:35 from Tampa and we arrived home in Baltimore around 7:45 p.m. All in All we had a great weekend with friends. Like most weekends it just goes by to fast.

Other changes that I've made to my blog is... Exercising the dogs. We are going to try to walk them three nights a week at least a mile. With the sun not rising until well after 7 in the morning it's just harder for me to motivate myself to get out of bed. Once the time changes I will be more motivated to get my butt in gear. I promise myself and the dogs I would walk them more.

I think that's it for now. Check back soon for more updates. I promise that in the next few weeks I will have completed a few more items.

Lord help me!!!

2008-09-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have this small problem! Okay probably large problem now. I love books and I have this list in my blog that keeps growing and growing. I found the library to be a great tool to borrowing books, but my problems keep continuing. Instead of reading all the books that I have at home I keep add books to the list. I can't do that! Although at least 2 of the 4 books that I decided to place holds on today, will be a few months out before I actually received them. But seriously I am really trying not to buy another book before I finish reading these!

Okay my little vent is over!

A new update

2008-08-08T05:53:00.001-07:00

If anyone has been to my house you will notice that mine and Tim's book shelve is a tad bit overflowing. Partially my fault and more his fault (ha ha poor Tim). Anyway, on Tuesday night I sat down in front of the bookshelf and decided to put together a list of all the books that have been sitting on bookshelf that need to be read. I've decided that I need to read all of these books before I am allowed to borrow or buy any more books. Tim was amazed that I counted 15 books that I have yet to read. He looked at me with this disgusted look on his face and said NO MORE BOOKS! NO MORE! (which I came to think! NO MORE BOOKS until you finish reading these). Oh and I should comment that I think I even have more books then what I found on the shelf. My friend Megan came over on Sunday to pick up 4 books to read this weekend. Megan came back yesterday and dropped those 4 books off and picked up 6 more. Personally I am just glad that my books are getting read. Although I want to say that the 6 books she picked up I have read all but one of them. And the books you brought back last night I had read all but one. I may need to update my list (as you can see below in the list, once all my books are accounted for!).

Another update, last night our dog Jersey came in. Yes you heard me, DOG Jersey's! Josie now has a Ravens jersey and well Roscoe will be sporting a Redskin Jersey! Roscoe also got himself a Redskin Collar! I did get some nice pictures last night, but you know me I forgot to upload them to the computer, plus the dogs weren't cooperating like I really wanted them to, so they aren't the best pictures. But once the first game starts, they will be sporting their Jersey's for the world to see! I promise I will update my blog with those pictures. Because I know you really want to see them in their adorable Football Jersey!

That's all for now!

#96 Check!

2008-08-01T05:29:00.001-07:00

After many conversations from my boss to take a business class. I finally took that Class. It was paid for by my employer (definitely worth it!). The only draw backs were that I needed to pass the class (which I did!), and that it was two days a week. Okay so those aren't really that bad, but after seven weeks I finally took my final on Tuesday night and passed only missing one question. Now I can relax a little bit easier, hoping that next year around this time, my review, and a raise will be in the forecast. One can only pray right. Until next time!!

Weekend Fun

2008-07-21T05:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend my aunt Linda and her dog Lilly came up on Sunday to hang out with Josie and Roscoe. Tim and I bought Lilly a harness for walking and grabbing her if she got away (which she didn't!). All three dogs enjoyed themselves in the little Gunpowder falls Creek near our house. This was Lilly's first time swimming and she jumped right on it like she born to swimming. Which I guess she is with the Lab in her! Here are a few pictures of our Sunday afternoon.

Decisions, Decisions...

2008-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

What should I do! So after much consideration I've decided that I rather not go back to school at this moment in my life. I think it has to do with my baby clock ticking ever so faster these days. I mean it has been four years since I stepped foot inside a classroom. I know I probably could accomplish my goal of obtaining a master degree, but I really don't want to push off having a child any longer.

Boating, tubing and sunburning oh my...

2008-06-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

Friday Night Tim and I were invited via text message to join our neighbors out on their new boat. Saturday morning I rose early from bed, took a shower and finally setting in on the sofa to read the last few chapters of a book that I had renewed once from the library. Around 8:30 a.m. we receive a call from BJ & Laura to meet them at 9:30 in the front yard. We hurried and packed a bag, applied sunblock and headed to Wawa's to pick up subs and ice for the trip. We arrived at the marina at 10:30 and began our journey out in the water. It was nice, not a ton of boats in the water. We headed over to an area that was less crowded so we could go tubing. We tubed for several hours and then had lunch. Tubed for another few hours, before calling it at day. We were heading back into the marina and noticed how red everyone was. Yup, Tim and I were burnt and so was BJ, but Laura succeed to get a nice fab tan. (She stinks!) I was cursing myself for not bringing the camera so I could take some pictures of Tim and I tubing. Maybe next time. (I am glad to report that I relaxing a tad bit in the water. It does help that I was wearing a life vest while in the water. Which I believe is the law. Not positive, but I believe it is.

Our North Carolina weekender

2008-06-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Tim and I left Severn, MD on Thursday, June 5Th around 8:30 a.m. after dropping Josie and Roscoe off at my parents house. We are really grateful to have parents who will watch our dogs whenever need be. We had decided before heading to NC that we would take our time and make a few stops. Most of the time we are in such a rush to get to our final destination that we never stop and enjoy the area. So we decided take the "BROWN SIGN TOUR". If you have ever been in a car for more then 2 hours you have probably seen the brown historical signs.

Our first stop of the morning wasn't to a historical site, but to a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It was a bad idea to stop for coffee, we ended up having stopped about 6 times during our trip for me to use the bathroom.

Our second stop was in Petersburg, VA at one of the several National Battlefield sites. It was a small walk-around site into the woods, at the end of the "15 minute" walk we found a memorial for the falling soldiers of this battle.

Our third stop of the trip was to the National Battlefield in Petersburg. We decided to walk around the battlefield and took some awesome pictures of some of the cannon's that were used during this battle. Here are some pictures of our stop at the National Battlefield.

After visit to the National battlefield we headed to Salisbury, NC to visit the Epling family. Melinda and Carlin moved to Salisbury, NC from Maryland just over two years ago and we had never gone down to visit. It was a short visit with the family, but it was a good one. Here is a picture of their baby girls. (Carly standing up and Madeline being held.)

Our final stop in NC was to Shelly and Chris' new place in Durham, NC. We spent two nights with Chris and Shelly. We had hoped to visit the Duke Gardens on Saturday, but with the weather not cooperating we decided to check out the National History Museum in Raleigh. This place also had A/C. Here is a shot of Chris inside a tree! At the National History Museum we saw some dinosaur's Chris' favorite exhibit. My favorite was the gems and rocks. (Who would of guessed!).

The rest of the weekend was spent at Shelly and Chris' eating and playing board games. It was a very low key weekend, but something that Tim and I enjoy very much. We were so happy that both DeAdder and Epling family allowed us to come down and visit.

One party down several more to go!

2008-06-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Every year Tim and I have several summer time parties and we invite friends over. Well this year I started our summer time parties off on the early side. I invited over 15 of my closest girlfriends and we ate and drink like it was a Saturday night. Yup, I decided to have a Tastefully Simple party on a Thursday night. Yes, I think afterwards I may been a bad idea to pick a Thursday night, but we still had a good time. For about two hours we stuffed our faces with yummy breads, dips, veggies until it was time to go. My friends were very generous and purchased tons of dips, breads, beverages from Tastefully Simple. We are all still patiently wait our orders in the mail. I may have another party soon to invite everyone back over so we can taste some of the freebies. If you want to purchase some yummy food, check out April's Tastefully Simple website. Once you look, you'll be hooked. www.tastefullysimple.com/web/ahughes1

The next big party we plan on hosting is just two weeks away. We have invited over 40 people and have about 15 confirmations. This time the guys are invited as well.

# 15 Changing

2008-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

I've included another change to my list. #15 I would like to include girl type party. That can be anything from Toy party, Airborne Party, Spa Party, Tastefully Simple party. Is there anyone that objects?? NO ONE! Good, it's changed!

Soccer Game-Check!

2008-05-12T07:27:00.001-07:00

On Thursday May 8, 2008 Tim and I arrived at RFK Stadium in Washington DC to watch DC United play Chicago Fire. Although this was only our second game in about four years it was still a good time. Both of us were praying for good weather. Early in the week, they were calling for thunderstorms beginning on Thursday night. We found our way to the game via Metro Train. It's always a fun commute to DC when you ride Metro. Although it was a weeknight, we were going against traffic and didn't have a bad ride in. Once we arrived at the stadium we were happy to find that our seats were underneath the overhang. Which meant we didn't really need the poncho's. It was exciting to watch the crowd of fans cheer their team on. Although DC loss, Tim really enjoyed his surprise tickets to the game.

45. Go without eating take out food for one whole week.

2008-05-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yup, we were able to accomplish this last week. It was hard, but I am so glad that both Tim and I have decided to try and eat healthier. And eating healthier means eating out less.

It's finally finished!

2008-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

After much Patience's and wondering when our brick patio/ backyard was ever going to get done, it happened. This weekend we borrowed Tim's parents mini-van and got to work. Tim finally had a Friday off to finish up with the trenching and brick laying project. I know he was tired after it was all said and done with, but it does look so much better. Oh and the river rocks that we picked do look pretty amazing I should add. Tim and I hand picked them up myself. LOL! You have to understand that with only having a mini-van and two small cars, it can be difficult trying load anything heavy. I was seriously handpicking rocks on Saturday morning. I am sure it was a sight to see. I promise to post a picture of our finish project later this week. Oh we still need sod thanks to Ms. Josie and her toxic urine! We have no green grass left, it's more less brown or just dirt. That's our next big project!

#19 Wine Tasting at Wine World

2008-04-14T09:18:00.001-07:00

On Saturday evening Tim and I decided to make a stop at Wine World. I was running low on beverages. So as soon as we walked in we noticed the booth with a few bottles of wine. We decided why not. We tried Coyote Run a winery in California. We really liked their "Cha Cha" a mix blend! We were really happy that we finally had done a wine tasting.

Who wants to go with us next time??

Open an Orange ING account.

2008-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

After many months of researching which banks can offer the best rate, Tim and I decided to open an ING account. Our thought were why let our money sit inside our savings account and draw about $1.00 a month when we can draw at least a few more bucks somewhere else. So we have officially started to move our money over to save more. I mean with the today's prices for gas, food and just basic needs, we knew something had to be done. Plus we have decided to put more way for the future.

#76 Have dinner with Meghan and Tristian

2008-03-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon Meghan, Tristian and about 12 other people had dinner last night. We had our first Bel Air Nestie GTG at Chili's. Tristian was the coolest kid there. Okay, he was also the only male there. He had a great time flirting and teasing us ladies. Although I wasn't feeling completely up to par, I still had a great time. This summer we have already decided to stop by and let the dogs play at Meghan's place (in her section of the stream).

A few updates...

2008-02-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

25. Go horseback riding While on vacation in Jamaica Tim and I decided to take a few excursions. One of them was to go horseback riding through a historic mansion and take the horses into the ocean. Okay, so both of her horses didn't really like the water part. They seem to be really scared... The tour guide stated that "Horses sense fear!" Basically thinking that both Tim and I were scared to be on the horse. No we weren't scared at all. My horse was named Fox and Tim's was named Dynamite. Ha ha! If you see the pictures you will noticed that they weren't the healthiest animals, but you gotta remember that Jamaica isn't a rich country either. As you can see from the photos that we were about to get them to go into the water. We rode for about 2 hours, which was definitely long enough for me. Oh and I don't do so well with galloping. Ha ha! My butt hurt the next day and well Tim butt is still hurting.

48. No Internet for an entire week! DONE! YUP! I went without the Internet for one entire week. Okay, yes I was on vacation and no Internet access at the hotel. Yes we could of bought Internet access for $14.95 for one DAY! But who wants to be on the Internet working while on vacation. Plus we didn't bring the laptop with us. Your probably thinking to yourself... your crazy, you went with out for an entire week, did you have withdraws. Ha ha! Thinking back now, I was completely happy without having to think about working or being online. I am mean yes the Internet does help pass the time at work. So it was nice to get a break from it all.

88. Watch sunset with Tim on beach. One evening we decided to head down to the beach to take some sunset pictures. Okay, so not all the pictures turn out great, but they do look better then sunset pictures at home. Plus take a look at some of the pictures we took.

92. Take an exotic excursion. Not sure if you can call this exotic excursion but we did go and see crocodiles on the black River. We also went to the Y.S. Falls to check out their waterfalls. Although I am not as adventurous as Tim, he did decided to jump off a 35 foot cliff into the ocean at Rick's Cafe. A very touristy attraction in Negril. If you check out the above link you can see some of those pictures as well.

That's all I have for now... hopefully soon I can take a few more things off my list.

The new suit

2008-02-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

I promised a picture of the new suit. I really did purchase a new bathing suit. I even purchased four new suits. All three that I received from Victoria Secret were either too small, or just looked really bad on me. I returned one and then another and finally on saturday another. I am waiting for my top to arrive on Wednesday (crossing fingers). But after freaking out about possibly not having a new suit for our trip. Tim and I went out shopping (really for him!) and I found a new suit at Old Navy. I really do like it. It's really cute and it hides some unwanted fat too.

#9 Buy bathing suit for upcoming vacation!

2008-01-28T05:40:00.000-08:00

Yup, I did it. I ended up going online to Victoria secret and purchasing a new bathing suit for our Jamaican Vacation. I probably spent a tad to much. Don't tell Tim! He doesn't know how much I spent. All he knows is that the suit will be delivered on or around February 4th. Once I get the bathing suit in hand I will take a few pictures to prove that! I believe the count down has begun! 19 days until we take off!

Highly unlikely will

2008-01-02T06:01:00.000-08:00

I lost 20 lbs by February 2008. Considering it's now January 2, 2008 and that means I have less then 30 days to get my butt into gear. I will admit that I haven't been working as hard toward this goal. Although as always my New Years Resolution is to lose some weight. So as of Saturday December29, 2007 I have began to work out again. I think I may try and start a execrise blog or something along those lines. I think this may help me with my weight loss goals. Both Tim and I have decided that we would like to loss 5% of our current weight. So for Tim it would be about 11 lbs and for me 8lbs. I could do a goal of 8 lbs.

On 12/29/07- Took pups for 4 mile walk
12/30/07 - Worked out on elliptical for 30 minutes and did 30 minutes worth of sit ups.
12/31/07- Worked out for 30 minutes on elliptical
1/1/08- NO WORK OUT!

I will keep you posted!

Email 3 lost friends-COMPLETE!

2007-12-09T05:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday at work, while I had nothing to do, I decided to email a few friends who I have been neglecting to send emails to. So the first on my list, Bob from my last job. I just updated him on my life and then found out that a person we both use to work with retired. He is enjoying having him gone, but not the ringing phones. The second person was Kathleen another former coworker, whom I've neglected through out the year. I found out that Kathleen and her family are doing great, although they did have a bout with danger and carbon mixode poison. She was having a contractor come in a replace all her smoke and carbon mixode detectors. And the last person I emailed was Melinda. Although I had just spoken to her on Tuesday after I sent her a package for the baby. Yup, Melinda never returned my email, but later on Friday I got two short lived phone calls from her. On the third call I finally answered it (I was at work, not allowed to get personal calls there!). She was calling to tell me her water broke and that she was having the baby. Yup, a new baby was about to make her debut to the world. Miss Madelyn Belle was born on 12/7/07 weighing in at 4 lbs and 4 oz. Although she was 8 weeks early, she is doing wonderful. The doctors are watching her in the NI CU and told Mom and Dad that they could bring her home in 3 to 4 weeks. When I spoke with Melinda I told her maybe she will make an early departure and come home on Christmas. Now wouldn't that be great! Okay, so I've decided to stay in touch with all of these people, so I can be updated on their lives and they can be on mine!

Fondue that!

2007-12-09T04:51:00.000-08:00

So after many months of the fondue book sitting on our book shelve Tim and I decided to make two recipes from the book last night. We even invited Laura and BJ over to dinner. They also have a fondue pot, so we thought we try a dinner of some sort. So Tim and I made Cheddar Cheese and Beer Fondue, BJ and Laura made Crab fondue and for dessert we made Chocolate and butterscotch fondue. All so very yummy. All of us having left overs and feeling very full.

The first part of the evening we did the cheese and crab and then let our belly's have a break. Played "Loaded Questions" which Tim won and then had the chocolate fondue, which we dipped, Granny smith applies, banana's, angel food cake, and marshmallow's.

Here are the recipes for both the Cheese and Chocolate fondues.

Cheddar Cheese and Beer Fondue

60z Monterey Jack Cheese, Shredded
4oz Gruyere Cheese, Shredded
4oz Sharp processed cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup lager beer, at room temperature
1 tsp dry mustard

We add a little bit extra of the Gruyere, Monterrey jack cheese. I would also recommend using less beer, maybe 3/4 cup, because our cheese was a tad bit runny.

Now for the best part. The chocolate fondue:

Chocolate Butterscotch Fondue

8oz chocolate chips
8oz butterscotch chips
2 tbsp half-and-half cream
1 tbsp Kahlua or other liqueur
1/2 cup of chopped nuts

Okay, so we added both 12 oz bag of chocolate and butterscotch. We also had to add more half and half. And instead of cashews, we added pecans. It was delish and we definitely filled our belly's.

Much cheaper then going to the melting pot. So we have decided to do a fondue party in January/ or February with a few more friends and pots. Stay turned for more news!

We have new Trim!

2007-12-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

It's offical! The Trim on our front window has finally been replaced. After a year and half of knowing about it and not doing anything we have finally had the trim replaced and repaired. Tim was home today when the Contractor and his carpenter came by to fix our problem. I am happy to say that it didn't break the bank. Thankfully considering the time of year and all! I will post a picture later tonight when I get home.

We have a new puppy!

2007-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Tim and I went to PA to pick up our new puppy. Roscoe is a six month old 50lb border Collie mix. He has been with us for 3 days now and gets along so great with Josie. Him and Josie run around the house, wrestle with each other and just love each other company. Today is the first day that both dogs will have to be separated for 8 hours. Roscoe is still a puppy and will be spending most of his day sleeping inside his crate. Josie the princess that she is, gets to spend her days sleeping in the kitchen. I can't wait to post some pictures of them in the snow tonight. Although, Roscoe does have a vet visit this evening. Poor guy!

Here are a few pictures with Josie and Roscoe!

Puppy Update!

2007-11-26T09:43:00.000-08:00

We think we may have found ourselves a new puppy. We have working with RAP for a few weeks now, running to Delaware and now PA to meet potential puppies. On Sunday, Tim, Josie and I headed up to Philly to check out Roscoe. Roscoe is a 6 month old, 55lb, Border Collie mix who just loved Josie. They played for a good 45 minutes, before we just had to seperate them to give them both a break. We ended up having a great time and really loved him that we are proceeding with the next step in the process. On Tuesday, Katie a volunteer with RAP will be coming out to do a home visit. We should know within a few days if and when Roscoe will be coming home.

Another one complete!

2007-11-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

It's official I have gone 9 days without coffee. Okay, I did slip this morning and grabbed Starbucks before heading to work. But I had to be here at the butt crack of dawn, so I needed a little bit of jolt. Then again, I think I may have to cut coffee again for the next 2 weeks. I going to keep trying increase each week by another few weeks, until I cut it all together. I will update everyone with my progress.

Coffee, dogs and windows oh my!

2007-11-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

So where should I start! I like to update everyone of my progress to my blog. As for coffee today is day four with no coffee intake. I posted a comment on the Baltimore message board about giving up coffee and I got some great advice from the ladies. First off I am going try and work out every morning, then drink a cold glass of water and eat breakfast and hopefully that would help me my urges for Coffee. For those cold mornings I have substitute my coffee for hot chocolate.

Last Sunday Tim, Josie and I took a trip to Wilmington, DE to check out Sawyer (see previous post for link!). We arrived in Wilmington around 2p.m. and we were able to meet Sawyer for the first time. He was really on the small size. Maybe 30 lbs. Josie is almost 70lbs so it was kind of hilarious watching them play. Sawyer could walk underneath Josie. For the first 30 minutes Josie just smelled her way through the house. I believe about 20 minutes before we decided to leave Josie finally woke up and meet Sawyer. Sawyer and Josie started playing and growling and my heart sank. I knew right there, that Sawyer would not be good match for our family. For one he is small. We wanted a dog that is equal size of Josie give or take some lbs. Plus I felt that the growling was a major problem. Josie doesn't growl, she is the biggest lover we know. So our search continues. We are going to still try and work with this rescue.

As for Friday, December 7Th our front trim on the window will finally be repaired. It's only been about a year and half that we have known about this problem. It's only been about 3 weeks since I contracted a few contractors. And finally I got a reasonable quote. Work should start on the 7Th, unless we get a blizzard in Maryland. Hopefully I will be on my way to checking a few things off my list!

Coffee and dogs!

2007-11-15T11:57:00.000-08:00

COFFEE is an evil evil word! I've been fighting my urges for over 5 years now. I can't exactly tell you when I feel in love with it, but I can tell you that as a child, I hated the smell and taste of instant coffee. Maybe that's the key word here, INSTANT! I hate that stuff! I hate the taste. So bitter. While I was growing up my grandparents drank instant decaf coffee every morning. I never once wanted a sip of their coffee, nor could I stomach being around people who smelled of coffee breath, but now something has changed. I like to pinpoint my addiction to a certain friendship. It all began about 5 or so years ago. I just meet this awesome friend, we will call her Jen! Jen would invite me to Starbucks and bam I became addicted! Yup, instantly addicted to all that sugar and coffee. Well Jen and I don't participate in our weekly visit to Starbucks, but I still have horrible urges for coffee at least twice a week. I swear they have put something in it. I tell my darling husband that there is crack in their coffee. He doesn't believe me! BUT if you ever had Starbucks, you will see and taste the differences between instant, plain, decaf. I would never recommend going to starbucks for a decaf, plain latte. What's the point? Spending $2.00 on a plain coffee when you can buy a can of instant in the local grocery store for $2.00 that will last weeks if you allow it. So I been trying to kick the habit. I swear to myself that this will be the week. I won't go to Starbucks, I am going to cut back, but every week, I find myself at Starbucks ordered my usually, Grande White Mocha! UGH! I wish there was a support group for STARBUCKS USERS! Does anyone have any idea how I can break the habit?? My mid section would thank you! My husband would probably thank you even more. Umm $4.26 each week for a months adds up. It's sad! I am thinking if I could give up Starbucks for a month that I may be able to kick the habit altogether, or at least only purchase it once a month. I could seriously save a lot.

On another note Tim and I in the process of adopting another dog. Sammi are current foster pup is leaving on Sunday. Yes, his parents are coming home from the War. Although I don't they are going to recognize him. He is very fluffy, not so white anymore (Although I swear I been giving him baths everytime we come home from the dog park!). His attitude has changed as well. He is move vocal on walks, he will park at passing dogs. YUP, I think he learned it all from Josie. They are definately rubbing off on each other. Just the other day, I came home from work, Tim already home, dogs out of the kitchen. I found two dogs, racing around the living room. Yes, 10lb Sammi was weaving in and out of Josie's legs. So freaking hillarious! I am serious we never taught him how to do that. He also does this paw thing, same thing that Josie does. Or how about Josie and Sammi fighting for my attention. I am not even awake most mornings. Tim leaves for work at 530 a.m. I am still peacefully sleeping and dogs are fighting for my attention or I should say body warmth. When I do finally get up I find every morning that I have two dogs snuggled up in bed with me. It's quite adorable if you ask me. I love have snuggling dogs near me!

So back to the story at hand. We are in the process of adopting a six month old Lab/beagle mix. Sawyer is his name, and he looks a lot like Josie. Please see Picture of Josie above. Now see link to Sawyer. Please disregard incorrect information. Sawyer has been living with his foster Mom, Lisa for 2 months. He is six months old and neutered. Which is great! So we are hoping that in the next few weeks we will able to go and visit him. I hope that the dogs get along great! I will update you on adoption process.

A few more have been checked off...

2007-10-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

So after a month or so of creating yummy new dinner each week I have completed #46 & #47. Each week I have subjected Tim to eating a few new dinner recipe. At least each time he gave me his honest opinion. I believe his favorite recipes were Creamy chicken alfredo with brocoli and the Baked Ziti. Last friday Chris and Amanda came over and sampled the Baked Ziti. I found out that both of them loved it. It was quite easy to make and I have to say this recipe that I stole from another girls cooking blog online was delish. This recipe will be added to my recipes cards. Ahh the cards that I received from my bridal shower, the cards that I must write on, the cards that are sitting in my living room, with about 30 stakes of paper filled with recipes that need to converted to each card. I must get on that task.

Several weekends ago Tim and I went to see a Maryland game with his brother Steve and wife Rena. The last game that we went to Maryland lost to Virgina in an upsetting comeback victory for VA. We were very disappointed with the team. SERIOUSLY how can one team put up all those points and then blow the lead?? A good question, a question that many football fans ask every week! The last game that we will be attending is the Boston College game on November 10th. Although when Tim and I decided to purchase these tickets we knew it was going to be a good game. Although I think now we realize that this game may be another blow out. Boston College is ranked #2 in the Country. Good for the ACC, but bad for Maryland. Maryland's defensive needs to come to the game willing to play. We have a better QB this year then we have in past years and this kid wants to win. So come on boys, we need you there and we need you to WIN! Okay, there's my words of encouragement for the November 10th game! GO TERPS!

#46 & Continuing I swear...

2007-10-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

I really am continuing my "ONE NEW RECIPE A WEEK". Although I was getting a little nervous because I almost forgot that I needed to make something new last week. The problem that occurred was that last week we didn't go grocery shopping. Well meat non-existent in our house. But by Thursday night Tim and I knew that Saturday was a day to tailgate and watch some football. And I was in charge of dessert. So I found a recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com which seemed easy enough to make the night before. I had a lot of fun making EASY APPLE CRISP! It turned out delish and I even got some raves from my father-in-law. I promise that I am going to email my friends with the recipe. Here is the recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Apple-Crisp/Detail.aspx for those of you that may be interested.

This weeks new recipe is Baked Ziti. I am excited because I love anything pasta. I'll let you know how everything turned out next week. Here is that recipe as well...

Baked Ziti
(Source: Amber's Delectable Delights)

Ingredients:1 box (16 oz) Ziti pasta1 jar spaghetti sauce1/2 lb ground beef1/2 lb pork sausageSalt, black pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes (all to taste)12 oz cottage cheese (or ricotta if you prefer)1/2 cup (4 oz) mozzarella cheese1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese8 slices provolone cheese

Directions:- Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season water with salt, boil pasta till al dente; drain and set aside.- Meanwhile brown sausage and ground beef in skillet and season with desired amounts of salt, black pepper, garlic and red pepper flakes. Drain excess grease away from meats and return back to skillet. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and let simmer until you are ready to assemble the dish.- Place enough sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan so the noodles won't stick. Then assemble the rest of the dish- half of the cooked noodles, all of the cottage cheese, 4 slices of provolone cheese, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, remaining noodles, half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, remaining sauce, remaining cheese.- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let set 10 minutes to cool before serving

#77 Fix front window

2007-10-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

After many months of procastinating on when to send in the paper work to the HOA to fix the front window. Tim and I were cited yesterday to repair our front window trim. The letter stated that we had two weeks to reply to the letter or would be fined $50.00 each day that we didn't response. What a load of crap. Tim and I walk Josie daily around the neighborhood and have noticed a lot of people with rotting window trim. So I guess the whole neighborhood will be repairing their windows this fall. This letter is now pushing us to get to finally get it fixed. All we need is approval from the HOA and then work can begin.

#75 Introduce Josie to Jack! (Completed)

2007-10-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

Late yesterday afternoon I received an email from Megan wanting to know if Josie, Sammi and I went to come up to the dog park and play. Usually I am the plan all girl- way in advance, but I was happy that I finally did something just out of the blue. So I called Megan and we scheduled a time to meet at REBEL dog Park. I arrived home around 4:45, let Josie and Sammi out, changed my clothes. Packed their water bottles, a bowl, and put their harness on. We arrived at the park at the same time as Jack and Jordan. Jack is a yellow lab and his new sister is Jordan, a lab mix. Josie immediately warmed to Jack. Jordan on the other hand she being the timidate girl that she is, was a little standoffish. Sammi enjoyed peeing on everything and exploring the huge park. Jordan was content by checking out the noises coming from afar. The first pictures is of Megan and Jordan. The second picture is of Sammi, Jack and Josie in the distance checking out the new dog. The new dog Caine was a three year old pittie, his daddy decided it was cooler to not pick up his pooh. Even though Signs at the park, ask that you pick up their waste and they even supply a bag for you. Seriously, if you can't pick up after your own animal you shouldn't have one. Oh sorry I just went over on a tangent there, but I seriously feel that this part dog ownership and responsiblity! The last picture is of Jack and Josie playing with one Stick. There were several sticks at the Dog Park, but no they had to play with this one! Josie loves to play TUG-A-WAR! I am sure it was a bigger challenge to play with Jack then with Sammi. Okay, sit back and imagine... Josie (70lb dog) and Sammi (10lb dog) playing TUG-A-WAR with the same rope. Who do you think is going win?? Most of the time it's Josie, but on rare occassions it's SAMMI!

#52 Have game night w/Friends (completed)

2007-10-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

Last friday night Tim and I invited Chris and Amanda over for dinner and game night. We started off the evening with hamburgers and light conversation. Which lead us into two games. The first game was Loaded Questions, which tends to cause people to laugh their heads. Although I think this time around, Amanda and Chris knew each other a little to well and got all of their answer and ours correct, by just randomly guessing. The concept of this game is to guess what the other people wrote, there are no wrong or right answers. Although players are suppose to be honest. With that being said, I am thinking that Amanda and Chris practiced before hand. Kidding. The second game was Taboo... I suck at this game. I really do hate it. I usually over anaylze stuff, but with this game, you don't have time to analyze you just play. Haha. Again Tim and I lost. So it has been decided to have a monthly game night with a few other couples to make our friday night a little less boring!

Another yummy creation!

2007-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

So this week started out like most of the others... work was sucking, no energy and the pantry was low. So on Tuesday I had Tim stop by the store to do my shopping. What a good boy! He called a few times with some questions as to the location of certain items i.e. chicken stock and shortening! On this weeks menu I thought Creamy Chicken Alfredo pasta with brocolli. So last night while Tim was outside cutting our grass I decided to start hashing out my plan for the new recipe of the week. I will say this by far the best recipe! I may have to stop going to the Olive Garden for my alfredo fixes. I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com Please check this recipe out!

Creamy Chicken With Pasta and Broccoli
PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
20 Min
READY IN
35 Min

INGREDIENTS
1 pound uncooked spaghetti
1 pound broccoli florets
1 tablespoon margarine
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into strips
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed and softened
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place spaghetti in the pot, and cook 4 minutes. Mix in the broccoli florets. Continue cooking 4 to 6 minutes, until spaghetti is al dente. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl.
Melt the margarine in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken and onion 5 minutes, until chicken juices run clear and onions are tender.
In a bowl, whisk together the soup, milk, water, and cream cheese until smooth. Stir into the skillet with the chicken and onion, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Toss in the bowl with the spaghetti and broccoli to serve.

Once again I emailed Heather, Rachel and my cousin Sandra with the recipe and my RAVE! The only thing that I might of done differently was start cooking the chicken before the noodles. The noodles were done way before the chicken. Also I added a tad bit more grated parm cheese. I added that to the pasta and broccoli while the sauce was thinken up.

I also found a recipe for Pumpkin cookies on allrecipes, but I have yet to make those! So maybe next week I will make that. You never know what I may try and cook!

#72 Become Redskin Fan for one day! (Completed!)

2007-10-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, October 7, 2007 Tim and I spent the morning driving down to DC to do some tailgating and then watch the Redskin Game. The tickets I purchased from a guy I use to work with at the County. They were awesome seat! End Zone, Row 21, Seats 25 and 26. I decided a few days before the game to get a shirt to wear. Well we headed over to Modell's at Arundel Mills and found the PERFECT SHIRT! It was pink( to support breast cancer!) so I purchased it. I did however get a few rude comments about my shirt. I gave a few dirty looks, but most importantly enjoyed the game with my darling Hubby! Redskin won 34-3, we probably spent over $250.00 for the three and half hours of excitement but it was all worth it. Tonight I will upload the picture of the two of us at the game!

#47 Email friends with new recipes

2007-10-01T08:00:00.001-07:00

Obviously this goal will have to continue for at least one whole month before it's complete. This week I have decided to email Heather, Rachel and my cousin Sandra with my new creations. Once they get an idea of which recipes they like, I would like to hope that they do the same thing in return. Email me new recipes that they have experimented with.

Because I slacked last week... I will be sending out one email with 4 different recipes.

#46 continued...

2007-10-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

So after a horrible week last week, meatloaf was the hit of the week. I did not get a chance to make the chicken enchiladena's until Friday night. I spend a good hour preparing the chicken and cassarole. I personally didn't like it, but Tim said he did. Here is the chicken enchilada recipe...

Chicken Enchilada Casserole II
Submitted By: Anya
*****
Read Reviews (264) Rate/Review this recipe
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Yields: 12 servings "Strata of tortillas, chicken, cheese and a hot salsa-bean-sour cream mixture make a robust entree."

Photo by: MRSKJS
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup diced onion
1 (8 ounce) can chili beans, drained
6 (12 inch) flour tortillas, cut into strips
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and shredded
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix sour cream, salsa, cream of chicken soup, onion and chili beans.
Layer the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1/3 tortilla strips. Top with 1/3 chicken, 1/3 sour cream mixture and 1/3 Cheddar cheese. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.
Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Let stand about 10 minutes, or as long as you can stand it!!! You're done!

The hit of the week was the Meat loaf which I also found on Allrecipes.com. Here is that recipe if your interested!

Easy Meatloaf
Submitted By: Janet Caldwell
*****
Read Reviews (263) Rate/Review this recipe
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings "No-fail meatloaf calls for ground beef, onions, egg, milk, and bread. It is topped with a mix of brown sugar, mustard, and ketchup before baking."

Photo by: SunFlower
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs (I used itlian cheese bread crumbs!)
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/3 cup ketchup
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 5x9 inch loaf pan, OR form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. (It seemed to take about and hour and half!)

I think the only thing we would change next time is the topping for the meat loaf. We didn't care for the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup topping. Next time I will probably use tomato sauce or ketchup.

For this week we have decided on one new dinner recipe and possibly a dessert item...

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

Here is the recipe for that...

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers
1 cup bread crumbs
1 can pineapple rings, drained, 1/4 cup of juice reserved
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 lb lean ground turkey
Teriyaki sauce for basting
Sesame or whole wheat hamburger rolls

In a bowl combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of juice from canned pineapple and the soy sauce. Crumble turkey into bowl and mix well. Shape turkey into four patties. Grill over medium heat 10-15 minutes, brushing occasionally with teriyaki sauce. Towards the end of grilling, add pineapple rings to grill and grill 1-2 minutes per side. Pineapple can also be brushed with the teriyaki sauce - it's good with and without the sauce! Place burgers on buns and top with a slice of grilled pineapple.

And the final expertiment of the week is...

Almost-like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream cheese Muffins

Almost-Like-Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves (I omitted)
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (optional) (I omitted)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
8 oz package cream cheese*
Chopped nuts** (walnuts, pecans) (optional - I made some with pecans and some plain)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients together except cream cheese and nuts. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese in the middle, pressing down. Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!). Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cools, as it is very very hot.

Makes 24 muffins.

*The best cream cheese to use is the cheesecake flavored kind (I used plain). Put the entire tub or brick on a piece of tin foil, and shape it into a long log. Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour. Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife. If the disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This keeps the cream cheese in one big lump, and also lets you push it down into the batter.

**Starbucks uses chopped pumpkin seeds, which are very good if you can find them. I like walnuts, but any kind of nuts work well.

#46-Make one new meal each week...

2007-09-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have offically started to make one new meal each week. This week September 24-September 30 I will make two new dishes. One being meat loaf, which I will take on tonight and the second will be chicken enchilades in the Crockpot. I have found some awesome recipes from my girls on the nest and from Allrecipes.com. I can't wait to dish out the recipes and let everyone know how yummy they are. Oh and Tim will be the taster for all of these new dishes.

# 17, # 32 and #74 Completed

2007-09-12T06:37:00.001-07:00

I've been slacking on updating my list, but here is a short summary that I have been working hard on the LIST! Last week I finally decided to download all my pictures from my laptop (#17) and send them to Shutterfly.com to have them printed. Not only did I want to have the pictures in my hand, but I am going to a Scrapbooking party at the end of the month I wanted to have a few to make a page with. Also I decided to show off my pictures to my mother. She snagged some of the pictures for her own collection. Being the nice daughter that I am, I even had a few wedding pictures printed for her, so she can place around her new place. She will be surprised on September 22nd with a photobook of mine and Tim's wedding. Now with that said... Tim and I also hung all of the wedding frames that we received from our wedding around the house. We also finally decided to decorate the living room. We recieved our last package last night in the mail. A seven piece mirror set that will go over top of the piano.

And for those who think we spend all of our hard work on our house, we don't. We do entertain Josie our puppy. On Saturday, August 25th, Tim and I meet Baxter and his mama up at he Ma & Pa Dog Park for a good hour of running. We mainly spend the time under a tree due to the extreme heat. Josie had fun, it was much better then getting peed on... yes the night before we took her to the dog park and a bunch of dogs came over to meet and greet her, and one just decided to pee on her! NOT COOL! So Josie looked saturday's visit, just a tad bit more!

#2 and # 24 Completed 8/31-9/3/07

2007-09-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Tim and I along with 21 other people traveled up to Ohiopyle, PA for a three day weekend trip to Tall Oaks Campgr0und and to go white water rafting. Tim and I left Linda's house on Friday at 2:50 p.m. and thought "yeah we should arrive around 6 or so!". Well that wasnt the case. Everyone and their mother was on the roads on Friday night. It took us about 4 and half hours to get up to PA, when it should of only taken us 3 and half hours. So you can say we arrived very tired, and agrue with the way the traffic. We had about 30 minutes of light before we would be setting up in the dark. Friday night, I wasn't feeling so well, so we made dinner and kind of just sat around. Saturday we enjoyed most of the day, by eating, sleeping and drinking. There was a beer pong and poker for all.

Sunday morning arrived and everyone was either tired and cold from the nights air. We hurried along, got into our bathing suits and headed for the white water site. We found out later, that Jessica are leader and planner had lied to everyone and told us we had to be at the WWR place at 10, when in reality it was 1030. We arrived at 10:10. So we had twenty minutes to kill. Everyone was really excited about the whole trip. We finally were assigned a raft and were shoed into them by the White Water Adventure staff. We learned how to do a forward paddle and backwards paddle. Our trip began when our leader and tour guide Chris joined our raft. He showed us where to sit with Jon and Jason the biggest headed toward the front. Holly and Beata in the middle and Tim and I are in the back. We carried our raft and paddles to the water edge where we would launch into the water. Yup, that meant walking out in the cold water and hoping in raft. Chris showed us how he wanted us to work together and we did just that. We spend about 5 hours on the water. We had awesome time with a few victims taking a plunge into the water. Tim and I have decided that it would be awesome to do it again, but not at a catogory 5 but at a 3.

# 49 Donate Clothes- Complete

2007-08-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

Early last week I decided to finally finish cleaning out my closets. It was really sad to see me toss some of the clothes that I so cherished through my 20's into the white trash bag. Although I am sure Tim was happy to see that I was scarficing some of my old clothes to make room for new ones. I did however donate my clothes no to the goodwill or Salvation Army, but to a family friend. I have yet to see the smile on the young girl face when she finds out she more clothes go through, but I heard it's priceless! That is my goal to put smiles on people's faces!

#31-Dust Shot Glass Collection!-Complete!

2007-08-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

I know it seems that I am really lazy when I need a list to tell me to dust my own shot glass collection. The problem is that shot glass collection is in one of the other small bedrooms, which I harder ever go into. So finally on Saturday, August 25, 2007 I did just that. Not only did I dust the collection, but I dust the entire house.

#22 Clean out Closet-Complete

2007-08-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to finish cleaning out the closet of old and small clothes. This is probably my 4th bag of clothes that I have pulled from the closet. Tim was impressed because we now have lots of room for this clothes and more "new ones". I have decided to see if anyone's kids want my clothes and if not then I will probably give them to goodwill. Yes I do have a good struck in me to help those less fortunate then me.

#62 & #63 Completed

2007-08-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

So after spent an entire hour swimming through paper after papers on the downstairs desk, we decided to clean off the desk and file all bills/ letters/ and more bills into their appriopriate places. It probably only took us about an hour to get everything in piles and into their folders, but it took us no time to create the piles. (hopefully I can keep the desk cleaned!)

Changing # 24.

2007-08-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have decided to change # 24 to state- Go camping with friends in PA.
(Side note: Only 3 more changes will allowed to be made to the List!)

#100 Update Resume and have friend proofread (Complete)

2007-08-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

After many emails back and forth to Becky I finally got around to emailing my resume to her. She proofread it and made a few changes. Hopefully with that done I will receive more emails stating "PLEASE COME IN FOR INTERVIEW!".

Thanks Becky!

#93 Visit St.Louis Cardinals Stadium (complete)

2007-08-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 6, 2007 Tim and I were able to attend for the first time a baseball game at the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. The Cards were playing the Padres with a smaller crowd then normal due to having the time of the game changed for national TV viewing. Our seats where in the club level of the stadium, which were awesome. We were able to go inside and eat, cool off from the hot temperature and get a few drinks. Here is a picture of Tim and I before the game started.

The Cards put on a great show for us, they ended up scoring 10 runs in one inning, breaking a record of some sort and winning the game 10-3. GO CARDS!

#57 Overcome fears of public speaking (Complete)

2007-08-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 13, 2007 I put into a sticky situation at work where I had to inform incoming patients into one of our properties that the building was closed due to an power outage. At first I was uncomfortable, being that I have been shy for the longest time. But after an hour of speaking to over 20 people, I became comfortable in my own skin. I am just hoping that after a few more "sticky, embrassing situations" I will more likely to speak when needed.

# 3 Visit Grandmother and Grandfather in Law (COMPLETED WEEK OF AUGUST 4-11, 2007) & # 4 Visit Arch in St. Louis.

2007-08-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

Tim and I decided back in March of 2007 that we were going to visit his grandparents in St. Louis, so on Saturday, August 4th we boarded a plane to St. Louis to do just that. We arrived in St. Louis around 1p.m. and picked up our rental car at an off site location. We headed to downtown St. Louis for two nights to celebrate our anniversary. We stayed at the Renanissce Hotel off of 800 Washington Avenue. On the first day we visit the Arch (The gateway to the West!). Also walked around LaCleade's Landing exploring some speciality shops. While we waited for our tour to the top of the arch we did a riverboat tour, which was kind of depressing, but the view of the Arch was amazing. Once inside the Arch we road in a TRAM to top, where we got some more awesome shots of the City.

We spent the rest of the week with Tim's extended family visiting the St. Louis Zoo, Botonical Gardens, Anesheur-Busch Brewery Tour, City Muesum and his even his relatives house in the evening. It was awesome week, which we enjoyed tredemously.

Changing: 93. Visit St. Louis Cardinals wearing O's gear

2007-08-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have decided to modify # 93 because wearing O's gear to Cardinals stadium is just weird, when you think about it. Now if the O's were playing at the stadium, I would be gunho about it, but otherwise I would just feel weird. So # 93 will now state, visit St. Louis Cardinals Stadium.

# 35 & #87 Complete

2007-07-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend were super busy for Tim and I. Tim worked most of the weekend trying to provide some extra dough for our trip to St. Louis! Per a request from my Mother in Law, Norma, we scheduled a fun evening with the group (Rena, Steve, Mike (FIL), Norma (MIL) and Tim and I) at Toby's Dinner theater in Columbia, MD. The play featured "Little Shops of Horrors" and because of where our table was places, both Mike and I were part of the show. I became plant food for Audrey II. It was a fun filled evening, with lots of laugh, and some yummy ice cream!

Later on in the weekend (Sunday) Tim and I visited my unlce and my mother. My uncle invited us out to his house, where we enjoyed steamed crabs, some yummy food and jet skis. Tim and my uncle spend about an hour on the water, while my mother and I caughted up. It was a nice weekend! We returned home on Sunday evening completely exhausted from the weekend travels.

# 5 Buy Curtains for Spare Bedrooms- Complete 7/25/07

2007-07-26T05:37:00.000-07:00

So after being in our townhouse for a year now, we have finally gotten the curtains for the other two bedrooms. We purchased the curtains (one white- for the small room) and (rust- the other spare room) from JcPenny's. Tim worked really hard last night while I entertained the dog. Yup, Josie decided to destroy one of the many stuffed animals that we have left. Within 5 minutes the little pink dinosaur has been destuffed and turned inside out. Yummy, a mess! I may try and post pictures later!

Here are the rooms with the new curtains. The small spare bedroom has another addition as well. A new comforter set. I love Ty Pennington! He rocks!

#70 Send Baby new gift- Complete

2007-07-19T06:18:00.001-07:00

Okay so I didn't really send the baby a new gift, but I did give two gifts away. First gift was for Treith C. Mr. Treith is four months old and we were so happy to finally meet the little man. Tim, Rachel, Treith and I all meet up at starbucks for his first outing with the Shylanski's. Tim took to Treith very well. After purchasing our drinks we headed to my aunt's house in Severn, MD, for some pictures and gift time. We were very happy that we got to spend some quality time with both mom and son.

On Saturday, July 14 we presented our gift to a sleeping Carly, she on the other hand was to worn out from a day of partying. From being dressed up in her little yellow dress to playing with her grandfather. We didn't really get a picture of Mom opening up the gift, but the gift entailed two little onesies and two adorable skirt/shorts.

And by the end of the day of visiting with all the babies, I kind of now have a the baby itch going on. Hehe!

#81-Closing Checking Account!

2007-07-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

I am really late on this one, but back on June 27th I finally closed my credit union account. After 7 months of no activity in the account I finally did. I really hated to even stepping foot inside the credit union. Everytime I go in there to change my name or close out the direct deposit, I seemed to get an ear full of crap. So on Wednesday I finally decided enough is enough. I stood my ground and closed it. For one the account not easily accessible. There are no location in my neck of the woods and I dont like doing cash back at a "Target or Walmart" like the employees suggested I do at the Credit Union. I finally took my money and ran!

2007-07-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

# 30- Completed!

I can't beleive that I actually did someone on the list without having to think about it. On Sunday Tim and I were cleaning up the house after another long weekend of entertaining friends. The house was smelling like crabs and I personally wanted to just sleep all day, but I decided the housework needed to be done. So while Tim cleaning off the sofa's of the horrible "JOSIE HAIR", I decided to clean the bookshelves and just throw away all of mine and Tim's college textbooks. Okay so probably 4 years ago I would of keep them, but seriously what was the point? They were just taking up space? Not because I thought I was going to look at them again. NO NEVER! So they went out yesterday with the trash.

#28-Visit Havre De Grace

2007-07-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

On July 3rd Tim and I went up to Havre De Grace to watch the fireworks with some friends. We arrived around 8 to find no parking. Most of the neighborhoods had no parking signs posted everywhere. By chance we came across this community/health center. We parked there along with 20 other cars. We figured if we get towed, they would all get towed as well. We ventured down to the waterfront to find a very lame traveling cranival set up. We seriously got wiped off by these people. But they were making the money. For 30 tickets it cost us $27.00. All four of us rode two rides each. Most the rides cost between $3.00 and $4.00 dollars. Tim and I rode on the bummer cars. I believe that this older man was just aiming for my car the entire time. Seriously I was wearing a low cut shirt and I swear he was trying to take a peek. After the rides we found our yellow blanket and settled in for some fireworks. For a small town Harve De Grace put on a nice show. After the fireworks we vowed to return to the area for a nice dinner by the water.

#23- Get Professional Masage and Facial-Completed

2007-07-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday (June 30, 2007) my aunt and I enjoyed ourselves at The Spa on the Avenue. We were both look forwarded to our morning at the spa. This was our frist time at this spa. Back oh about 5 years ago, while visiting family in South Carolina, my Cousin Sandy took my aunt and I to the school of massage in Greenville, SC. We enjoyed our $25.00 massages there. A few years ago I gave Linda a gift card for a day spa in Columbia. On Valentine's day this year, my lovely husband gave me a gift card for the Spa at the Avenue. I decided for my aun't birthday that I would get her a gift card. I really wanted to experience the spa with someone. We both had a great massage. I was a little pissed off about my facial. I explained to the girl that I had roseaca, yes a nicely skin condition that makes your face look blotchy and red. The girl taking care of me keep trying to tell me that I didn't have roseaca. "UMM yes I do". Finished result, I left the spa with a red face!
But all in all, Linda and I had a wonderful time being pampered. (Now If I could only figure out how to get my husband to go to spa!! Ladies would you like to give me some advice?)

Completed #11-Buy new Jane Green Book

2007-07-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

I am not completely sure why I am even buying new books, because if you know me, you seen my house. You seen the bookshelf filled with so many books. I should consider becoming a librarian. I seriously spend either to much time reading or in the library. Maybe that will be my next career move!