thecoghlans

An 80's New Year's Eve

2012-02-12T12:14:00.000-05:00

Dan & I rang in the new with his sister, Aurie, & her husband, Glenn, at the Lansdowne Resort listening to the 80's cover band The Reflex. Since we live so close to Lansdowne & we had Lexi, we decided not to rent a room & just grab a taxi home. Here's us killing some time while we wait for our ride to pick us up for a night of fun! The first thing on our to do list was to eat at the buffet in one of the dining areas at the resort. Dan was super excited about this & when I saw what they were serving, I got pretty excited too. The food was fantastic! I was in love with their salad & fine cheese tray, I couldn't stop eating them. Once we were done stuffing our faces, we made our way to the ball room. We stopped to take a few pics in front of their many decorated trees:

Aurie, Lover & Me

Anxiously waiting for the band to start: Aurie & Me

Glenn & Aurie (just cheesin')

When the band took the stage, they were all decked out in 80's attire. The music was amazing & we would recommend this band to anyone. If they come to your area, buy tickets - you won't regret it.

Dan & I danced most of the night, except for drink refills & potty breaks: (Yes, I forgot to cut the tag out of my sweater).
No idea what we're doing, but we were having a blast!
The ball room was decorated in 80's colors & on each table were noise makers, hats & little snacks.
Having a great time:

Happy 2012!!!

2011 End of Year Dinner

2012-02-11T10:25:00.001-05:00

On December 29th, my office celebrated our end of the year with a trip to National Harbor to see the Merry Madagascar ice show. I had never heard of this before, but apparently it is a big hit with the kiddos, teenagers & adults. I did see the movie Madagascar & thought it was really cute, so I figured I would enjoy myself.

We closed our office at 2:00 p.m. that day & went downstairs to meet our limo which was taking all 12 of us to National Harbor. We did our usual popping of champagne & toasting to a good year once we were all settled inside. We arrived at the tent that was putting on the ice show & after some long lines we put our bright blue parkas on that they provide to everyone because the temperature inside the tent is zero degrees. Sandra Lue wasn't too excited to put on the "germ infested parkas," but quickly warmed up to them once she realized how cold it was inside the ice tent.

Now for some pretty cool pics:

During our walk through all of the beautiful ice sculptures, we reached an ice slide so of course we had to try it: Sandra Lue & I taking our turn.
"That was fun!"

The ice show was such an amazing experience & I’m so glad that David & Nancy came up with the idea of taking us all there; I would’ve never thought of something like that!

We then made our way over to the Gaylord National Hotel for dinner. Since we were a little early, we walked around the shops that they have inside & of course stopped for a pre-dinner drink at a sports bar. We then made our way up to The Old Hickory Steakhouse which was absolutely gorgeous. The food & my margaritas were amazing!

We all had such a wonderful time & I'm glad that we have the opportunity to do fun things like this each year. =]

Shoe of the Month - February

2012-02-01T19:38:00.004-05:00

OMG – I can’t believe it’s already February! Where did January go? Time sure does fly when you’re having so much fun. =]

This month's shoe is probably more practical for the work day, but would still look great dressed down with a pair of jeans. I realized, after sifting through my shoes & organizing them in their nice boxes, that I have a considerable amount of peep toe pumps; that's definitely not a bad thing because they are all super cute, but maybe I need to start "investing" in some close toed shoes as well.

So....here's February: Metallic Peep Toe Pump by Vince Camuto. Click here for further information. A plus - they're on sale!!!

I'm leaning more towards the metallic gold pump, they really are catching my eye. I feel like my taste has improved since I've let gold into my wardrobe. I used to hate gold jewelry/clothing, etc. & now it's one of the first things I'm drawn to. I'm glad that I've broken out of my little shell because there are so many more options now.

Happy February everyone &, of course, happy shoe shopping!

We Have A New Look!

2012-01-24T19:25:00.003-05:00

Well...what do you think?!?! I think it looks great & I'm in love with our new template. I'm also super excited to get moving on some new posts, which will be coming shortly. I have no plans to change our blog design in the near future or in the future so each time you visit us...this is what you'll see. There's great comfort in familiarity. :o)

A special thanks goes out to Designer Blogs for all their help. Be sure to check out their website for all your blogging design needs & sign up to receive their coupons.

Home Improvements :)

2012-01-16T11:30:00.016-05:00

For the months of November & December 2010, Dan & I were on a painting kick that appeared to have no end in sight. For approximately 4 to 5 weekends straight, we painted rooms in our house & it was exhausting. We've now decide that when we start to paint again that we would consult a professional to see how much it would cost. Painting can be rewarding, but it can also be extremely draining.

When we bought our townhouse in February 2008, every wall in the house was white & we left it like that for quite a while until I just couldn't take it anymore. It was plain, bland & kind of depressing if you asked me. I wanted lots & lots of color! Dan needed a little more convincing though; his most common sentence when I would bring home paint samples was, "I just don't see it." I quoted my friend, Sandra Lue, several times by saying, "just work with me here!" Finally, I decided that he won't get the whole picture until I slap up some paint, hang photos & arrange furniture...so that's what I did.

Here are the before, after & current photos: One of the walls in our living room with Behr's Desert Caravan paint.
A view of our downstairs; the contrasting wall is Behr's Caramel Latte paint.
Our fireplace accent wall which is currently Behr's Glazed Pecan will soon be changed to Mocha because the Pecan & Desert Caravan are just too similar.
Another living room shot.
I love how the white doors pop with the Desert Caravan.
Our kitchen cutout view from the dining room, again this is Caramel Latte (Dan loves this color).
Our dining room = my favorite wall in our entire house; Behr's Deep Blue Sea. I'm currently waiting for a painting to go on sale at World Market that will be hung on this wall. We also purchased a bamboo rug & I love the light color paired with the dark floors.
Kitchen shot - Behr's Camel paint. This color also surrounds our blue accent wall in the dining room.
We decided to put a contrasting color (Caramel Latte) inside the window.
Last kitchen photo.
Stairs to the second floor; Behr's Glazed Pecan.
Hallway upstairs; again, love the white doors & trim.
Our Master bedroom; Ralph Lauren's Moss paint.
Master bathroom was also painted with Moss. The before photo is a picture of Dan's current bathroom, but I wanted to show how we use to have the large mirror, etc. I wanted more cabinet space so we added the cabinet on the wall.
My favorite painting that inspired the green bathroom; Dan & I bought it from a local artist at the Herndon Festival several years ago but just didn't have anywhere to hang it - it reminds me of Lexi. =]
We also added new faucets & drains to both our bathrooms on the second floor. You don't even want to know what the old ones looked like.

Our next painting project is Dan's bathroom which I would like to paint blue, but we're going to wait on that for a bit - at least until one of us no longer despises painting. For now, I'm just going to enjoy our house finally looking like a home.

WU Alumni Game

2012-01-15T08:55:00.001-05:00

Several months ago at Waynesburg University, Dan played in their annual alumni game. In previous years he missed several because of his coaching responsibilities at Herndon High School. I was excited to watch him play again & get to see my family for the weekend.

I had to take photos of him pitching. =]

The alumni team that beat the current WU baseball team.
Dan's fourth in from the left.

You kicked ass, babe. You still look great in uniform & you've still got the skills.

Weekend Visitors

2012-01-14T10:46:00.001-05:00

On the weekend of December 9th (I told you I was behind on posts!) my Mom & Grandmother came down for a visit. My Grandmother had flown into Pittsburgh on December 6th & was staying at my parents house for 10 days; my Mom came up with the idea of bringing her down to our house for one of the weekends that she was here because my Grandmother had never seen where we live or been to Virginia. I was super excited about these plans & was so thankful that my Mom had came up with them. Dan & I like our road trips up to my parents house, but there's just something about having family come to visit us for a change - we love it.

My Mom & Grandmother arrived at our house late Friday afternoon, so Dan was able to spend some time with them before I got home from work. That Friday was one of the longest days...ever. Why is that when you have something fun planned the day before always drags on? I wish it was the opposite. Anyway, when I walked through the front door our living room was filled with family & I loved coming home to it. I got lots of hugs & kisses, including from Lexi who seemed to be jealous that I wasn't giving her any attention & started digging at my leg to pick her up. The 4 of us chatted for a bit before we left for our dinner reservations at Sweet Water. Dan & I decided that we wanted to take them to a place that they've never been before, just to change it up. Of course, when we pulled in to park my Mom said excitedly, "are we going to Olive Garden?!" (it was right next door to Sweet Water.) If you know my family then you know that they love the Olive Garden. I then had to disappoint her & tell her no. Once we finished dinner, everyone was glad that we chose to eat where we did because our food was great &, of course, the conversation was even better. =]

On Saturday, we decided to head over to the mall & do some much needed shopping. We also took a few photos: Dan, Grandma & Me
3 generations: Grandma, Mom & Me =]
Lover & Me
Saturday night & Sunday morning consisted of lying around the house & catching up on the latest family news.
We all had a great weekend together & Dan & I were pretty sad to see them go, but we're grateful for the time that we got to spend with them while they were here.

A Belated Wish

2012-01-08T08:46:00.006-05:00

From our family to yours.... We hope that you had...
...a very Merry Christmas...

...& a Happy & fun New Year. May 2012 bring you health, wealth & happiness.

Love,
{thecoghlans}

Shoe Of The Month - January

2012-01-02T18:07:00.004-05:00

I am sooo far behind on posts that it's not even funny. I just realized that I only posted 2 in the month of December! I guess that just goes to show you how busy we've been. Now that the holidays are over, I'm very much looking forward to some down time.

Well...even though I am a day late (due to this crappy cold) I am ready to post the January shoe of the month. =] So now the only question that remains is - are you ready?? I am super excited about this month's pick because it is by one of my favorite celebrities; if you know me, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about. I love her. Several months ago I spotted these boots on her website, but wasn't able to put them in the running because they were a little too pricy if you asked me & I like to think of the shoe of the month as stylish, yet affordable. Now that the boots have gone on sale, it's the perfect timing: The Livia Clapton Grey Ankle Boot by Jessica Simpson. If you want further details, click {here}

I love the elastic panels, the mixed color tones &, of course, the zipper in the back; they're different & I really like different. Who wants to see other women walking around with the exact same shoe/boot as you? I know I don't. These boots also come in acorn & black, which I also love: If you prefer these colors, click {here}

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. Updated posts will follow shortly. In the meantime, go buy a pair of shoes & make your feet happy.

Loving This!

2011-12-07T19:31:00.002-05:00

Domino by Jesse J

Lyrics:

I'm feeling sexy and free
Like glitter's raining on me
Your like a shot of pure gold
I think I'm 'bout to explode

I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm runnin' cause you're takin' me there
Don't you know...you spin me out of control

Ooh ooh ooh

[Chorus]
We can do this all night
Turn this club, skin tight
Baby come on
Pull me like a bass drum
Sparkin' up a rhythm
Baby, come on!

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

Rock my world into the sunlight
Make this dream the best I've ever known
Dirty dancin' in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

Every second is a highlight
When we touch don't ever let me go
Dirty dancin' in the moonlight
Take me down like I'm a domino

You got me loosin' my mind
My heart beats out of time
I'm seein' Hollywood stars
You strum me like a guitar

I can taste the tension like a cloud of smoke in the air
Now I'm breathing like I'm runnin' cause you're taking me there
Don't you know...you spin me out of control.

[Chorus]

Shoe Of The Month - December

2011-12-01T19:53:00.005-05:00

Last month kicked off the beginning of my “shoe of the month” but, unfortunately, November 1st was a day that I really wasn’t thinking clearly because although I posted the photo & link of the shoe, I didn’t actually post a blog about it. Sorry! Chalk it up to one of my many blonde moments.

Alrighty then, now that we are getting to the holidays which are usually filled with lots of family/friend parties, I decided to go a little more party than practical this month. Without further ado, here’s my pick for December: If you’re interested & want to get further details, click here.

I absolutely love these shoes & they are totally going on my MUST HAVE list. I had a pair of similar stilettos, without the t-strap, that I had to pitch last year because they were beyond repair by any expert shoeman - I wore those until they literally fell apart; these shoes are going to take their place. :]

A few days ago I received some interest from a friend of mine who told me that she wanted to nominate a shoe for the shoe of the month & I would just like to reiterate that I love that idea! I am wide open to your thoughts/taste/suggestions. If any of you would like to send me your nominations, feel free to email me, send me a message on Facebook or leave a comment below.

Also, let me know if you have purchased one of the shoes of the month – I would like to hear what you thought about them. I’ve already purchased the November shoe (in camel), which are expected to arrive in about 3 business days (insert excitement here!!!) – I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Happy shopping!

A Sweet Gesture

2011-11-27T08:20:00.001-05:00

After my co-worker/friend, Lisa, gave The DLF her notice, I was offered her position assisting the senior partner of our Firm & our new associate. After taking a weekend to think it over, I accepted the position & Monday, November 21st was my first day assisting my 2 new attorneys. Thankfully, it was only a 2 day work week because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but those 2 days turned out to be the most hectic & crazy days at the office because we were short staffed. I was definitely thankful for my 5 days off after that. =]
Anyway, on Monday morning I arrived in my new office, Lisa's old one, & found these waiting on my desk for me: They were from the senior partner, David & they came with a very nice note. When I said, thank you for the flowers & asked him if he was trying to butter me up; David's response was: "of course I am."

I'm looking forward to this new challenge in my career & am excited to learn more; after all, knowledge is power. I've been told before that David is one of the best teachers & based on my past experiences covering for him while Lisa was out - I understand where that came from.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

See You Soon

2011-11-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

On Friday The DLF girls had to say goodbye to one of their own - Lisa (aka Li) who had worked there for 13 years; she found a job that doesn't require her to have almost a 2 hour commute to work. At first I was extremely upset by this news because I can't imagine the office without her & I'm going to admit that I was selfish & not happy for her & this change. It took me a while to realize that this move will be good for her, will make her happier & that just because she's leaving doesn't mean that I will never see her again. I can now appreciate the 1.5 years that I had with her & I take away so many great working memories. The girls & I each bought her going away presents, which consisted of a lot of photos & frames - now she'll never be able to forget us...even if she wanted to. ;o)
We ended the day on a happy note with some chair races (Sandra Lue's idea & it was a great idea): First up was Li & me:

I realized after watching this video that Li was actually trying to CHEAT by grabbing the back of my chair because she was losing - cheater, cheater, cheater!

Second was Christine & Sandra Lue:

We hope you enjoy your new job & we miss you like crazy. See you soon, sweets.

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave & impossible to forget."

Are We Nuts?!

2011-11-20T12:19:00.004-05:00

If you recall, last month I posted on our blog a post titled Bummed, which was basically 3 activities that I wanted to do/try in order to get into something new & find another way to get in shape & to stay in shape - all 3 of them fell through. Well, I have come up with something else now (I should say Dan did because it was his idea).....a half marathon. Last Wednesday Dan & I signed up for the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 17 & 18, 2012 - thre's no backing out now! There are 4 events taking place that weekend: (1) The Marathon; (2) Anthem 1/2 Marathon; (3) Townebank 8k; & (4) Operation Smile Final Mile. The training program that we found is as follows: And I'm looking forward to training with Dan. Due to our different schedules I'm sure we'll only be able to run with each other once a week, but I'll take it. I'm telling myself that I can do anything I put my mind to; that failure & quitting is not an option & I'm putting my faith in the training program to allow me to finish strong. I'm looking forward to the challenge & trying something I've never done before; I'm not looking to blow everyone else out of the water with a great finish time, but I do want to finish with a decent time. Dan's looking to beat his past run times & to finish better than just decent, so you can guarantee that we won't be running side by side on race day. So to answer my question above - "are we nuts?!" We might just be, but at least we're nuts together. =]
I'm sure Dan & I will be saying this to each other a lot when we arrive on race day & see our competition.

Daughtry Concert

2011-11-19T08:10:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday Dan & I went to see Daughtry at the Patriot Center in Fairfax with Ashley & Katie. We've gone several years in a row & he's so great live that we've already said we're going to go back again next year. Great music & such a great view. =]

Getting ready to leave our house: Dan's got a great rocker face going on here - me, I just look like a dork holding up a peace sign.
LOL!
First song - Renegade {Click here to listen}.
Tried to take our picture, but I had the zoom on.
There we go.
Sporting his man scarf that he wears oh so well.
Ash & Katie
Ash & Me

My favorite song of his at the moment is still the remake of Def Leppard's Photograph, but then again I'm also an 80's girl - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE:

High Five!

2011-11-16T20:17:00.000-05:00

October Wedding

2011-11-13T08:46:00.015-05:00

Last month our friend from college, TR, got married at the Lansdowne Resort to his fiance, Claudia. I was very excited for one of our friends to be married in Virginia because usually we drive up to Pittsburgh in order to attend (most of our college friends are in PA) - it was nice not having to worry about traveling, booking a hotel & finding someone to watch Lexi for the weekend. That weekend we also had company from our friends Jesse, Jenni & Luke, we definitely had a full house. The day of the wedding we had our first snow fall which was crazy & ironically TR & Claudia even said that they had originally planned to get married in January, but moved it because they didn't want to have to worry about snow...spoke too soon! The ceremony, cocktail hour & reception were all held at the resort, which is a beautiful place. I've been there for massages at their spa, but never for a wedding. Here are the photos I took from that day/night.

Ceremony ~

Cocktail hour ~

Luke, the ring bearer
Tera & Brian
Jenni & Me
Dan & Brian
Lovers

Reception ~
Absolutely loved their table settings.
First dance
Jesse (being a dork) & Jenni
Tera & Brian (also being a dork)

Dancing the night away ~

Having a good ole time.

Alright, now are you ready for one of the cutest videos I have ever taken??

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

All Spiffed Up

2011-11-12T09:22:00.002-05:00

If you haven't noticed by now, I've changed a few things around on our blog. I decided to use a different template than the one I was using previously - I was getting tired of the old one & thought a change would be nice. Hopefully it doesn't cause any confusion/frustration to those of you that visit our blog on a regular basis. If it does, please let me know.

We hope you love us just the same as you did before. :P

Enjoy!

Brings Back Memories

2011-11-05T20:23:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I was surfing youtube & found this video of a few maltipoo puppies playing. They look exactly like Lexi did when she was a puppy (same color & everything) - it brought back so many great memories, like the night I picked her up from the airport. I remember her flimsy little tail, her super soft fur & that puppy breath...oh, the puppy breath. :]

Pumpkin Picking

2011-11-05T12:24:00.005-04:00

Dan's pumpkin requirements "a good stem" & "nice & round." This one met the requirements:
Lexi was extremely distracted while Dan was trying to take our picture - thankfully an older woman stood behind him & said, "puppy...here puppy;" got her attention immediately.

Some of our purchases. I fell in love with this mum & had to have it. Unfortunately, while I was potting it at home for the front steps, a big daddy long legs spider came crawling out of it & scared the living crap out of me.

We had such beautiful weather for our pumpkin picking tradition & it's really one of my favorite things that we do each year.

Wishing you...

2011-10-31T11:59:00.002-04:00

...a Happy Halloween!!

We hope you have a spooktacular day!

Dan & I’s night will consist of passing out candy to the kiddos (we get bombarded every year with trick-or-treaters), while Lexi barks her face off because the door bell is ringing every 5 seconds.

Shoe Of The Month

2011-10-26T18:45:00.005-04:00

I have decided to start a “shoe of the month” on our blog, (insert spot light & introductory music – ta-dah!), which will feature a photo of my favorite shoe/one that I have purchased/one that I hope to purchase in the future & the link to its website. A while back Dan put me on a restricted one-pair-a-month shoe purchase, so I don’t have the free reign of purchases that I used to, but that doesn’t have to stop me from browsing! A little part of me understands where he’s coming from – I mean we do have to eat.

Now that Fall is here I’ve been sucked into the bootie craze that’s everywhere. You know the ones I’m talking about with the peep toe, closed toe, rounded toe, pointed toe; the ones that just reach the ankle; the ones with a kitten heel, no heel, stiletto heel, wedged heel...really any kind of bootie. I really need to invest in a black & gray pair for the winter months (Love, stop rolling your eyes).

So as I was typing this post, I decided to share with you my favorite websites to buy shoes. I do prefer to go into the store, try them on & purchase them - there's just something about that new shoe smell that hits you when you open the door...heavenly. Alright, I need to get back on track here - below are my top websites:

1. 6pm.com (if you haven’t heard of this website yet, you’re missing out...free shipping.)
2. victoriassecret.com
3. bodyc.com (their selection is small, but each pair I have ordered from them has been good quality & quite comfortable.)
4. charlotterusse.com (be careful – their heel height is dangerous so be sure to check that first thing.)
5. endless.com (this was recommended by Sandra Lue; their prices are a little high but you also have free shipping, free return shipping & 365 days to return a purchased item – in my opinion that’s well worth it.)
**Don't forget to check out retailmenot.com to look for coupons that you can use on the above websites.**

Check back on November 1st to see the shoe of the month & find out if my shoe taste matches yours. =]

West Virginia Birthdays

2011-10-23T09:40:00.008-04:00

On Sunday, October 9th Dan, Lexi & I drove to his Dad's house to celebrate Jackson & Aurie's birthday. We were excited to see the kids & getting some time to spend with the family...it was such a beautiful day. I took several photos & a couple videos while we were there. Once we ate some lunch, the kids got some energy & a little hyper, including Dan.
Dan implementing the scissor hold on Jackson.

I'm not going to tell you what Dan did here, but if you know him well enough you can probably guess.

Arden & Skylar

This would've been a cute picture had Dan not been in the background being goofy.

Since Jackson started asking to open his presents, we decided to distract him with cake; here's us singing Happy Birthday to him & Aurie:

Kelly & Rylee
Jackson finally getting to open his presents.
Dan & Rylee
Arden practicing her french braiding skills on me - she's pretty good!
Arden & Aurie.
Lexi :]
Don & Rylee (little Bridger is peeking behind the chair).

Skylar asked me to video her practicing her cartwheels & Arden decided to get in on the action [warning: this video contains some baby butt crack & neon green undies]:

My Favorite Things

2011-10-16T14:57:00.005-04:00

~My heated seats on a chilly Fall morning.

- Shoes, lots & lots of shoes.

~ Getting in the car, turning on the radio & hearing one of my favorite songs playing.

- Sleeping in.

~ Relaxing Friday nights.

- Lip gloss.

~ Lexi's playful growl.

- Bubble baths.

- Dan's goofy dance moves just to make me laugh.

~ Chocolate.

- Love stories.

~ Dinner talks with my family on speaker phone.

- Pasta.

~ The feeling after a great workout.

- Margaritas (on the rocks & no salt).

~ Girl talk.

- Surprises.

~ Saturday morning breakfast.

- Fuzzy socks.

~ Birthdays.

- Thursday night TV.

~Freshly painted nails.

~Scarves.

Roller Skating?

2011-10-13T18:38:00.006-04:00

Hell yeah! On September 30th the girls from my office decided to get together for a happy hour after work, but instead of doing our usual Uncle Julio’s happy hour/dinner, I came up with the idea of going roller skating & then going out for drinks/dinner. The only roller rink that was close enough for us to drive to was the Skate N Fun Zone in Manassas, VA, so we decided to go there & then head to Don Pablo’s. This place didn’t allow cameras/cell phones on the actual rink so I only took 2 pictures the entire time we were there: Li getting her skate legs!
Ready to get on the rink & hopefully not break anything.

I had such a great time skating with the girls – so much in fact that I really didn’t want to leave. Unfortunately, they close the rink down from 7pm – 7:30pm to get ready for the “Teen Skate” on Friday nights, so we had to leave. We then made our way to Don Pablo’s. Here we are just having a good ole time: Li & Sandra
Christine & Me

Thankfully not one of us got hurt during our skating fun & no one fell either – although there were a couple scares with a few of us trying to stop & eventually having to skate into the wall in order to do so. I will definitely go again & can’t wait for next time – maybe I’ll have Dan come with me....get ready Love!

Dan's 30th Birthday

2011-10-11T19:46:00.001-04:00

...was on Thursday, August 4th. To celebrate, he went golfing with his Dad, brother-in-law, Glenn, & his brother, Tom. I had arranged a birthday dinner at his favorite restaurant, Don Pablo’s, & invited his best friend, Greg, & Greg’s girlfriend, Amanda, to join us. His birthday present from me was a new Sirius satellite radio for his truck & I baked him his favorite cake: After dinner & drinks, the 4 of us went back to our house & had cake & ice cream.

Since Dan was turning the big 3-0 I thought it was appropriate to have a surprise party. He usually despises his birthday & definitely doesn’t look forward to it each year, but this year he was open to the idea of celebrating & even welcomed turning 30. I coordinated with a bar in Ashburn a little over a month before August to have the party (Ashburn Sports Bar & Grill); I also took him there for dinner several weeks before to make sure he liked it & also liked the food.

We had part of the bar filled with family & friends, including my family who was nice enough to make the trip. Dan was totally surprised & even though I thought he knew exactly what was going on a few weeks before the party, he had absolutely no idea - thankfully. =]

Now on to the photos! Below is a video that I took when Dan walked into the bar & everyone yelled “surprise!”

Unfortunately, I cut the video short just as he was saying “now this is a surprise!” He was so cute & very happy.

I also put together a slideshow due to the amount of photos that I took, friends took & family took. Enjoy!

We all had a great time & of course the birthday boy did too. Throughout the night he made comments to me such as, “this is so nice;” “I’ve never been surprised like this before;” “you did a great job;” “I had no idea!” “Thank you so much.” All of the stress that came with planning this party & trying to keep it a secret was well worth it when I saw the smile on his face as he walked in the door.

Happy Birthday, my love. You deserve only the best & I hope you enjoyed yourself on your special day.

Bummed

2011-10-10T10:56:00.002-04:00

Towards the end of summer I came up with 3 activities that I wanted to do. I figured if one of them didn't pan out then I could just move on to the next. Those 3 activities are: (1) boxing, (2) roller derby, and (3) play in a women's basketball league.

Boxing has been in the back of my mind for a while now, but I just never had enough guts to actually pursue it. I decided to take a kickboxing class at LA Boxing to see if I really enjoyed it & then I could go from there; I went with my friend, Amanda, who also wanted to try it out. The class was a fantastic work out & it totally kicked my ass - I loved it. The whole kicking concept got a little old once my shins started to bruise/become raw, but I loved the boxing. After the class was over & we were stretching, the instructor informed us of their "Amateur Night" & how you can only participate if you're a member of the gym & have been properly trained. That is exactly what I want to do - I'd like to take lessons/be trained how to box & then at the end of my training I want to spar with someone who is of equal talent. After listening to LA Boxing's rates, I realized that my plan may not pan out exactly as I had hoped. The monthly rate was ridiculous & on top of that you had to pay your trainer their hourly rate for individual lessons. I just couldn't justify spending that much money, nor could I afford it for as long as I would need it. At this point I'm still at square one, but I refuse to give up on this idea. Now....on to activity #2.

Roller Derby is offered through our county & it's a one time annual fee to participate; the team is also involved in local community service & sponsors several groups in our area. I came across the website about a week after my whole boxing let down & got pretty excited. After doing some research on the sport, I had decided to sign up for their email list & also planned on attending their "Booty Camp" in October. After a few weeks of searching for gear, i.e. roller skates, pads, helmet, an email was sent by their captain stating that some of the people who are interested in their team may have the wrong idea of their type of roller derby. They don't practice, they don't keep score at their "scrimmages" & they don't incorporate all of the rules of normal roller derby. Basically, if I am looking for a competitive team, I needed to go elsewhere & she listed the website for the DC Rollergirls website. Well, DC is way too far for me to be traveling 3 to 4 nights a week for practices, including games which are also played in Richmond (insert frustration here). I was pretty bummed by this. Now...on to activity #3.

Joining a women's basketball league should be pretty easy, right? Well, apparently I just have no luck with these things. The first website I went to, which was recommended to me, I already missed the cut off to sign up & the others that I went to only allow "team" sign ups, which means you can't sign up as an individual & have them place you on a team - you have to have a minimum of 6 players per team. Unfortunately, I don't know 6 women that would be interested in joining a team, who also know how to play the game & lives in Loudoun County. Ugh! My first thought after striking out at all of the above was...really? You would think that living in a state like Virginia, instead of Pennsylvania, I would have access to a lot more opportunities & be able to make certain things happen.

I'm hoping that within the next month I will be able to inform all of you that one of these activities is being done or I will have other ideas to pursue. Everyone cross your fingers for me!

My Love...

2011-10-08T11:05:00.004-04:00

Journey

2011-09-24T21:51:00.008-04:00

On September 4th Dan & I went to the Journey concert at Jiffy Lube with several of his coaching/teaching buddies. Since tailgaiting is now banned at Jiffy Lube, we went to a pre-concert tailgaiting party & then carpooled over. This was definitely Dan's concert because he loves Journey - they're his favorite band; several days before we were going he started getting ready by singing songs in his high soprano voice & driving me nuts. Here are the photos I took at the concert: Dan & Greg
Playing his air drums & getting into it.
Just singing his heart out.
Larry & Greg - it's getting interesting.
Larry & Dan - having a great time.

From Queen To King

2011-09-24T21:20:00.007-04:00

Several weeks ago Dan & I finally decided to pull the trigger on purchasing a new bed for our master bedroom. We were sleeping in a queen & although we could fit perfectly fine, Dan wasn't sleeping all that well in it. We were hoping that a bigger & more comfortable bed would solve the problem. Since we were moving from a queen to a king, that also meant that we had to purchase a new comforter set, new sheets, new pillows (which I never thought would be a problem until we laid our regular size pillows down & they looked like the size of marshmellows & barely took up any room). Finally...here's a picture of our new bed! Love, love, love this bed & the comforter set.
The first week we had this bed it was very difficult to get up when my alarm went off in the morning - beyond comfortable. As you can see, Lexi very much enjoys it:
Dan's sleeping has definitely improved & I sometimes find myself reaching over in the middle of the night to make sure he's still in the bed because of all the room.

Home Improvement - Shortly after we got our new bed, Dan decided to pull out the remaining leftovers of our hardwood flooring & rip up the carpet on our upstairs landing. When we had Lowe's install our hardwood they left one of our landings still carpeted & one Sunday Dan got bit by the home improvement bug & wanted a "do it yourself" project. A plan that we thought would only take about 1 or 2 hours ended up lasting all day. Workin' hard.
Before (without our white carpet attached).
After!
He did such a great job - I had to give my handy man some props.

Vacation: Day 6

2011-09-24T20:49:00.006-04:00

This is the last post of our vacation - I promise. I feel like it has taken me forever to put our week together, maybe it's because I was sick f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Just as I started to feel better, the sickness would come back & knock me in the ass & of course when you're sick you feel like doing absolutely nothing. So...on to our last day...

After celebrating our anniversary, we made some time to stop by & see our friends from college who live in Pittsburgh & just had their second baby the day before. Here's Dan & I in their hospital room with the new little guy, Beau: It's a shame that Dan only let me hold him for about 2.2 seconds before he wanted him back (*sigh*); what can I say? He loves babies.

When we got back to my parents house we were greeted with a cake that my Mom had baked for us: It was super sweet & so nice of her. We loved it.
We also got to spend some more time with my family before we left for Virginia that Sunday, which means another photo op with me & brother:
Dan & I had such a great time during our week off; we were able to plan some things that we normally don't get to do on a regular basis & the most important thing is that we were able to spend that time together - just the two of us. =]

Vacation: Day 5

2011-08-28T09:50:00.002-04:00

Our day started off with some sleeping in & a homemade breakfast from my Mom. Yummy. As I said in my previous post, today was also our 6 year anniversary. =] It didn't take us very long to get the itch to open the presents we got each other...Dan went first: I had to have my Dad carry it out for me & my Mom helped me somewhat wrap it.
I got him a new grill - he was in dire need. Our other one was falling apart & had been knocked over about 100 times from storms throughout the years. I haven't taken a photo of it all put together yet, I'll be sure to post that later on. Winker's spot during our gift opening.
Dan then told me to go upstairs because there was "gift #1" waiting for me on our bed in the guest room...gift #1? Here's what I found: Love, love, love them - I've been wanting a pair for over a year now & Dan picked these out all by himself; he's got great taste. :D
After hanging out for a little while with my family, Dan & I started getting ready to leave for Pittsburgh (we had booked a hotel at the waterfront & had dinner reservations that evening, althought he wouldn't tell me what restaurant we were eating at). After I got out of the shower & started getting ready, I walked out of the bathroom to find gift #2 sitting on the floor waiting for me. I opened it & found this: Bangles from Express. If you didn't know, I love bangles - I rarely wear any other kind of bracelet.
As we were packing for our overnight trip I also opened gift #3 that Dan left for me on my suitcase - it was a beautiful picture frame that says "home is wherever we are." :)
We made our way to Pittsburgh later that afternoon to check in at our hotel - Lexi was lucky enough to spend the night with Grammie & Grampa. Once we got settled in our room Dan gave me gift #4 which was a contour leopard belt: Love this also & it looks great with my red pumps. I don't wear it as low as this photo shows because it's stretchy in the back so I wear it with my high waisted skirts, again, super cute.
We then got ready for dinner & made our way to The Melting Pot (he finally told me where we were going) & I've been wanting to go there for months. Neither of us have ever been so we were excited to try something new. Thankfully they put us in the back of the restaurant where it was a little more secluded because we were very camera happy during our dinner.

***WARNING: Lots of self-portraits follow - may cause increased waves of nausea or eye rolling...just be prepared.***

Waiting for our appetizers to come...

Enjoying his appetizers. LOL.
We definitely had some steam going on.
Lover cooking our entrees.
We decided to kill some time taking some funny photos while we waited for our dessert to come out:

Der - I was still talking.
Doesn't Dan look like Jim Carrey from In Living Color years ago??? "Let me show you something!!!" LMAO.
I love Dan's fish face - he's really got the eyes working.
Mmmmm.
Who doesn't like a big, hot bowl of chocolate served in front of them???
The best picture of the night - ironically, neither of our marshmellows made it into our mouths.
Photo courtesy of our server.
Our meal was fantastic & we loved everything about it - my favorite part was the dessert, of course. When we left the restaurant we realized that it took us 2 1/2 hours to eat(!!!). Sweet baby Jesus that's a long time to be stuffing our faces.
We ended the night with a walk along the waterfront where they had the fountains going, music playing & the outdoor bars were packed with people. We sat on a bench & watched the boats float by for a little while, until we started yawning...we then realized it was only 9:15 p.m. :o/
Our last photo-op of the evening. Yes, you are all in the clear - no more lovebird pics.
When we got back to the hotel I opened gifts #5 & #6, which were a 3 tiered, sterling silver, leaf necklace & a fuscia dress shirt from Banana Republic. I later realized that Dan got me 6 gifts for our 6 years together. Isn't that just the sweetest thing? I am such a lucky lady. He did so well planning our evening together & to keep me in the dark as to what we were actually doing - he really wanted it to be a surprise & it was. After our anniversary my Mom told me that she helped him wrap all of the gifts & he had picked out the bags/tissue paper/wrapping paper so they would look similiar (white, red & pink with hearts). Dan also told her what he had planned as far as staging them throughout the day - she thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Again, I am such a lucky lady.

To My Lover: We've made it 6 years & still counting...I love our life together & I love getting to share each day & every new experience with my best friend. You are compassionate, funny, loving, supportive, romantic, understanding, sweet & when need be, goofy. You are the one I tell all of my secrets to & share my hopes & dreams with; the one I turn to when I need a laugh during a difficult time; the first person I tell when I have great news. Our past, present & future memories will always be kept close to my heart & I am so thankful that I have you to share this journey with. I love you, my soulmate.

Vacation: Day 4

2011-08-27T15:28:00.003-04:00

This was more of a getting things done kind of day - Dan went golfing with several of his buddies while I went to the gym, packed for our trip to PA & got things cleaned up around the house. We were extremely excited because our 6 year wedding anniversary was the next day & we were going to see my family as well as a few friends from college.

We got on the road around 3:00 p.m. that afternoon & we were PA bound! Lexi was very excited to see Emma, my parents chocolate lab; when we ask her if she's excited to see Emmy she gives us the head tilt with perked ears & her tail starts to wag. =]

Vacation: Day 3

2011-08-25T19:29:00.003-04:00

By the time our third day of vacation rolled around, we were pretty tired from all the heat - it was one of the hottest weeks that we had this summer. We decided to add in some home improvement projects while we were enjoying our wonderfully air conditioned townhouse. For the past several months I've been wanting to paint another accent wall on our second floor & we already had the paint that I wanted to use, it was just finding the time to do it. As soon as I mentioned paint, Dan chimed in that he wanted to paint his man room. I asked him what color he had in mind & he said, "whatever color you pick." I thought that was super sweet of him to say & it instantly made me smile. A few days later when I reminded him of what he said he didn't remember saying it exactly like that - it's funny how that changes isn't it? So we decided to go to Lowe's & see if we could find a color that he liked. We ended up purchasing a blue/gray color called "Man Cave." I really think it was the name that sold him on choosing this color, but I do really like what he picked & I thought it would look great once it was finished. When we got home Dan dropped me off at the house while he ran to the store to pick up groceries for our dinner that evening - we decided to have a crab/shrimp feast. Yummy!! While he was out shopping, I decided to get a head start on taping off the edges of the hallway to his man room...ugh, what a huge pain in the ass. My anal retentiveness was in full gear.
After I had finished the taping & Dan hadn't got home yet, I decided to go ahead & start painting. Here's a before photo: It was very plain & we also didn't have anything hanging on the walls so it was in need of some love.
Coat #1
I had decided during my taping off time that I would leave the ceiling around the light fixture white because the color was so dark that I didn't want it to take away from the actual lighting - it worked out well.

Our little Lexi's spot during our labor of love.
The after photos:
All of his action shots.
It was my idea to hang all of his hats -believe it or not we have more to hang - I'm just glad they're out of our coat closet. It looks cool, huh? We're planning on painting his actual man room a lighter shade of gray - once it's all done I think it'll look really good.
After our long, long, long day of painting, it felt like it took forever, we were starving & so excited for our feast. Here are the photos we took: Shrimp!
Crab legs!
Ready to eat.
Who needs shell crackers when you can use needle nose pliers. ;o)
At one point during our feast I had to tell Dan to "strap the feed bag on & man up" because he was saying that he couldn't eat another bite. After we were all finished, we had no leftovers & we ate 4 lbs. of crab legs & 1 lb. of shrimp. Yes, we were pigs that evening but it was the best dinner I have ever had.

And now to end this post with my favorite picture from that day: I love her. =]

Vacation: Day 2

2011-08-21T11:41:00.008-04:00

Our second day of vacation was a little more relaxing. We slept in & around early afternoon we started packing our beach bag to go to the pool for a little while. When we finally got there it was already sooo hot & definitely not worth laying out & trying to work on my tan. If you were at the pool, you had to be in the water to at least stay somewhat comfortable. After a few hours, we came back home & laid around until we had to start getting ready for the Nats game that evening; they were playing the Marlins.

Once we arrived at the stadium, we instantly hit the concession stands for dinner because we were starving & then we went to find our seats. I'm not sure why this happens to me but any time I'm going to a baseball/football game, I turn into a bottomless pit as soon as my feet pass the entrance gate - my Mom is the same way. If we go together, it's bad news for everyone else. Here are some pictures we took: We ended up with really good seats.
Dan's face when I told him I was hungry again. He went & got me a bag of peanuts.
Having a good ole time.

I had to take a picture of my shoes because I think they're so cute - Dan on the other hand does not. He even made the comment when we were watching the game "wow, I didn't know I invited Jesus to this game" (as he's looking at my shoes). :o/
Guess what?! I really wanted a piece of pizza or nachos, but Dan told me to wait a little bit & see how I felt; I decided to take his advice even though my tummy was having a mind of its own. After a few minutes he went & got me a waffle cone with vanilla ice cream & sprinkles. =]
LOL.
The Nats actually lost this game, but it was still fun to go to the stadium & hang out together.

Vacation: Day 1

2011-08-09T20:27:00.003-04:00

Dan & I's vacation this summer was a little more laid back then prior years. The plans that we had really didn't work out (life is like that sometimes) so we just rolled with it & decided to spend our vacation at home. It was nice to have time off, relax & spend some quality time together. So our first day went as follows:

We took a trip to the National Zoo. =] I have always wanted to go, but finding the time was a little more difficult. We left for D.C. early in the morning on Monday, July 25th, & prepared ourselves for some extremely hot & humid weather. Little did I know, I was nowhere near prepared. Once we got into the zoo & applied our sunblock, I instantly started sweating (sigh). I thought I was dressed for the warm weather wearing a strapless, loose fitting top with jean shorts & flats but it wasn't good enough. Sweat was dripping down my face & into my eyes causing a very uncomfortable burning sensation due to the sunblock that I had applied earlier - "gentle on eyes" my ass Banana Boat! My makeup, that I probably should not have put on, was just melting off of me; I had to borrow Dan's undershirt just to wipe the sweat out of my eyes - obviously he was annoyed by this. I also had the attractive, spotted sweat marks showing through my top in my lower back & stomach areas; Dan even stared at me at one point & said, "are you having hot flashes?" Once I came to the realization that my sweating was only going to get worse, I was able to suck it up & enjoy the day. Here are the pictures we took of the animals & of course ourselves: Gazelle - where's Waldo?
This Cheetah was rolling around & scratching his back before I took this picture - oh I just wanna kiss his sweet face.
Dan sporting my girlie pink Nike bag - Lord knows I wouldn't have been able to carry it, it probably would've slipped right off my back due to my excessive sweating. :o/
Ducks!
I love this one - LOL!
This was one of Dan's favorites - it never moved.
White faced duck - these were weird; you would only see their faces & not their bodies.
As you can see I am extremely excited to be in the air conditioning. =]
Dan said this guy liked me because when I talked to him he followed us around the fence.
We stayed at the flamingos for a while - we couldn't believe how they were sleeping (look in the upper left hand corner - no idea they did that).
The elephant was so cool.
Well hello there!
The monkeys kind of freaked me out...

Oh so cute.
He was looking at Dan.
Waiting out the rain...he rarely takes a serious picture.
Gorillas.

This is what I saw staring at me when I turned a corner - yes, I screamed.
Dear Lord.
Dan & I kept hearing a squeak noise & we finally realized it was this little guy, a prairie dog - he sounded just like one of Lexi's toys.
I told you.

The tiger seemed to have some anxiety problems...he would take a few steps & turn around, back & forth - he was pretty though.
Lions.
We had a great time & we've already talked about going back; hopefully the next time we go it'll be some time in the fall when it's not so damn hot.

New Find!

2011-08-01T20:23:00.011-04:00

I was at Target last month picking up a prescription & while I was waiting I decided to peruse the cosmetic isle, like always, & I came across the new Salon Effects by Sally Hansen. I had seen them advertized on TV & also in People magazine but had never seen them up close & personal...I had really been wanting to try them. Target's selection was limited & there were only 3 options: (1) hot pink; (2) fluorescent yellow, which I really want to try but not sure I can pull it off; & (3) “Misbehaved” which is a trendy pattern. I decided to go with #3 because I’ve never really worn gold polish on my nails & I was in the mood for something different, plus the pattern was super cute. This is the one I chose.

Now I don’t know how you all are after you buy something new, but I cannot wait to try it as soon as I get home; if I buy clothing/shoes I immediately want to wear them the next day or maybe even the same day. So as soon as I got home I started the process....10 minutes later my nails were all done! I didn’t have to hassle with multiple coats & then sit & wait for them to dry while worry about messing them up. The only thing that I was skeptical about was how long they were suppose to last – the instructions said up to 10 days, but since I work in an office setting & type for approximately 8 hours a day/5 days a week, I decided to cut that time in half to be more realistic. Well.....I applied the polish on a Thursday & had a weekend of yard work as well as 5 days of typing & the polish didn’t start to chip until the following Wednesday, equaling 7 days of nicely painted nails.
As I was looking on Sally Hansen's website, I came across a site called All Lacquered Up that wrote a review of Salon Effects - feel free to check it out.

I highly recommend this product & for those of you that don’t type or do yard work for a living I’m sure yours will last a lot longer. A quick tip for you: be sure to seal your remaining strips in a baggie when you store them - they are just like regular nail polish & can dry out pretty quickly...I learned my lesson the hard way. If you decide to try them, let me know what you think! :o)

Breaux Vineyards

2011-07-26T12:25:00.008-04:00

A few weekends ago Dan & I drove up to Hillsboro, VA for a wine festival at Breaux Vineyards with a few friends that we went to college with. This was our first trip to a winery, let alone a wine festival, so we really didn't know what to expect. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised. There was so much going on - food, tents to do a little shopping, wine tasting, tours, etc. It was a very warm day but thankfully they had areas to grab some shade & drinks to stay cool. After we ate some lunch Dan & I decided to go for our wine tasting... & actually found a wine that we both liked, Jennifer's Jambalaya. Unfortunately there were a lot of wines that I didn't like & those ended up being thrown in the grass. I also did a little shopping & bought a thick, silver bangle bracelet that I absolutely love. After some walking around we decided to sit in the shade, enjoy the music & chat: Brian & Tera
TR & Claudia
Us with our tinted lips after drinking our "wine-a-ritas."
We were so glad that we made the trip to the festival & got to catch up with everyone; maybe we'll get to go back again next year. [Photo courtesy of Breaux Vineyards]

Yard Work & A Lot Of Sweat

2011-07-24T09:12:00.029-04:00

This past weekend Dan & I got the home improvement bug & decided to work on our front yard; if you have ever been to our house you know that our yard is extremely small so we really didn’t think it would take too long....several hours later we were finished. Our plan was to plant, mulch, reshape & improve what we already had so we decided to start at Wal-Mart because lets face it, it’s usually cheaper. Plus my Mom recently bought some daisies from there & planted them on the side of their house & they looked great when we went up for the 4th of July; as soon as I saw them I knew I wanted the exact same ones. When we got to Wal-Mart we found their selection of daisies & were immediately disappointed – not in good shape at all. Since I couldn’t get a hold of my Mom to ask for advice, we decided to check out Lowe’s; they had a much better selection of plants, but no daisies. We bought our scalloped, cement dividers from there & also our mulch & top soil. We then went to Home Depot, but still no daisies. Dan had the idea of stopping at two nurseries not far from our house which were also a bust & totally expensive - I couldn’t believe how pricey they were.

On our way back to Wal-Mart I heard from my Mom who told me that the daisies she bought were in bad condition too, but after a week of being planted they were fine, so Dan & I bought 4 of them for the front yard. We also bought 5 Liriope to fill some of the empty space. By the time we got home with all of our purchases, it was about 96 degrees outside & I told Dan that I wanted to wear my bikini to work in the yard. He then said, “where do you think you are, West Virginia?” I instantly laughed & decided to compromise & wear my bikini top & a pair of shorts so I wouldn't embarrass him – I’ve been into tanning this summer because last summer I looked like an albino all year & I hated it (yes, I’ve been wearing my sun block for all of you worriers out there).

So before we could start on our project, we had to unload Dan’s truck – here’s a photo I took of all our purchases: And here are the before photos of our front yard:
It was very plain and didn't have a lot of love.

And here is what it looks like now!

“To the left, to the left” of our front door.
Dan & I decided the other day that we're going to buy another plant to fill in the gap between the other two - not sure what we're going to get though.
I loooove our Euonymus shrubs, which are the green & yellow plants, so much in fact that I found myself hugging them while waiting for Dan to dig holes for planting – he, of course, looked at me very strangely. I can't wait for them to grow bigger so I can shape them more. I'm also extremely excited about filling one of my vases with fresh daisies & having them in the house.
Us admiring our hard work: Lexi was a big help: As a reward we treated ourselves to some mexican food & drinks with friends: [I love this picture of Dan.]
After dinner we walked over to visit the ducks who thought we were bringing them food & started surrounding us: [Look at the one at Dan's 11:00 just staring me down. LOL!]
They quickly left once they realized that we didn't have any food - poor things they were probably starving: We are so very happy with our end result. In fact, since we have finished it Dan gets extremely excited to water the front yard & it’s now part of his daily routine in the evening.

Quick Trip To PA

2011-07-12T20:44:00.011-04:00

On Sunday morning, July 3rd, Dan & I drove up to PA to visit my family. We had planned to drive up on Friday when I got off work, but after receiving some sad news earlier in the week, we needed to stay in VA for part of the weekend.

As we were packing Dan’s truck I had to find a spot to put Lexi’s new car seat & since she gets car sick I couldn’t put it in the back, which only left one other place...in the front seat. After hooking it in I realized what Dan had been complaining about when we first got it – it was huge. There was just enough room for Dan & me to sit on either side of her & in order for me to have both of my arms down at my sides I had to turn slightly diagonal in the seat...for...4...hours. As you can see below, Lexi is quite comfortable: Other than that our drive up wasn’t too bad, we didn’t hit any traffic which was so nice. After we arrived at my parents’ house, we made plans to go to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Washington, PA called Old Mexico. My tacos were fantastic! By the way I’ve been on this beef kick lately & I just can’t get over it. Anyway, when we got home Mom & I got everything ready for us to make s’mores! Now a few weeks ago I had mentioned to Dan that it would be fun for us to make s’mores one night after dinner; he made the comment, “what are we 5?” and my idea was kicked to the curb. :o( Thankfully, my Dad & I have a major sweet tooth so my idea of making them was a big hit. Since we didn’t have a fire pit or fireplace, we made ours on my parents’ grill (Greene County style): Brother
Mom & Me. She said, "sis take our picture like you do." =]
Mom & Dad making their s'mores.
Brother & Sister
Yummy deliciousness!
Dad & Me

For the 4th we had a very relaxing day. My Dad & Dan went golfing that morning & Mom & I laid out in the back yard just a chit chatting away. We had an early dinner because Dan & I had to drive back to VA, but the food my Mom made was great. Any time Dan comes up she makes her famous potato salad, but this time she made her ranch potatoes & they were so freakin’ good. I’ll admit that I had 4 servings of them, but it was a holiday weekend so my indulgence was warranted. This year we didn’t get to see any fireworks, but we were glad that we got to see my family even if it was for a short time.

Happy belated 4th of July!

Our Granny Bernie

2011-07-10T16:13:00.000-04:00

We've lost someone very near & dear to our hearts, Dan's grandmother, Bernie Kleinschmidt aka Granny Bernie. Her funeral service was held last Saturday, July 2nd in Springfield, VA. As I was writing this post, I decided to Google Granny Bernie to see what information would come up. She loved being active & was a participant in the Senior Olympics for as long as I have known her. During the funeral service, family members commented that she was "always in training." After the results I found online, I can see why - she was extremely talented & won several medals. Here are some of the Senior Olympic results that I found:

2007: "The Virginia Silver Stars of Falls Church won the silver medal for competing in the 80+ age group at the National Senior Games held in Louisville, KY: From left: Coach Hess M., Ginny F., Bernie K., Mary B., Josephine S. and Coach Patricia M. (Photo: Courtesy Elizabeth Martin)"

2008: At 82, in the archery recurve competition in Virginia Beach, she placed first.
"In the discus, during the first day of the 2008 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics held in Arlington, Kleinschmidt set a senior record with a throw of 27-feet and 2-inches." I have some great memories of Granny Bernie & I'm glad that I am able to share those with my family & Dan & I's future family. She was a soft spoken woman, but she loved to chat about sports, nature, her family, the weather, her flowers & jewelry. She would laugh at Lexi when she would start her zoomies or when she would run up & lick her hand - she would say, "oh my goodness she's so cute & tiny."
I remember at Thanksgiving, a few years back, when we were all staying in WV at Dan's parents' house & one afternoon she asked me if I wanted to see her collection of clip-on earrings that she had brought with her. She remembered where she had got each pair & who had bought them for her.
During one of our weekend trips to WV, we had picked up Granny Bernie & Dan had the radio on which was playing rap music. I commented that he should turn the station because Granny Bernie probably didn't want to listen to that kind of music & Granny Bernie said, "oh, no it's fine...I like rap music. This is that 50 cent, right?" Yes, it was 50 cent.
She was a great pool player & I remember Dan saying several times that his goal for the weekend was to beat Granny Bernie at pool. Afterwards Granny Bernie came up to me & whispered in my ear, "I beat him" & we gave each other a high five.
She always noticed what kind of eyeshadow I wore & would comment how much she liked it.

We miss you & we shall wait for the day when we can see you again.

"Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear."

New Purchase & Maryland

2011-07-07T18:30:00.010-04:00

As I stated previously, Lexi’s car seat broke one day while we were running errands & after some research on which one to purchase, I finally pulled the trigger & bought one.Here is the online photo of it: I decided to go with the same brand name of her last one (Solve It) because I liked her old one so much. This car seat holds up to 25 lbs. & sits on the seat rather than strapping it to the headrest & hooking it around the back; Dan & I were never able to put Lexi’s old car seat in the back due to those 2 reasons. I decided to get a larger one that she could actually lie down comfortably in but still have it high enough that she is able to see out the window. While I was putting this massive thing together, Dan kept commenting that it was way too big & that I would never get it in the back of Phoebe; he said we should return it several times. After putting it together, I was able to fit it in the back seat so we decided to test it out & take Lexi for a drive. I don’t think she enjoys sitting in the back of the car because she’s so use to sitting in the front seat, but I think she’ll eventually get use to it. We’ve never been able to put her in the back seat during our drives to WV or PA because we take a lot of back, windy roads & she gets car sick...just like me. I'll post a photo of Lexi the next time we take a drive.

On June 25th Dan & I drove to Bethesda, MD to meet up with our friend, Ashley. She had just returned from a trip to Spain & we hadn’t seen her in a few months. Us on our way.
We met at her apartment & decided to go to Uncle Julio’s for dinner (no shock there – Mexican food). :o) It was such a nice day that we decided to sit outside on the patio: Ash & I.
He was thrilled to get his picture taken.
I really don't mind. :o)
Several drinks & several plates of great food later, we dropped Ash off at the Metro so she could meet up with one of her girlfriends & Dan & I made our way back home. It was great catching up with her & it was nice to get out of Northern Virginia for the evening, even if we went to one of our regular restaurants. :o)

Cupcakes!

2011-07-05T18:57:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, June 11th my friend Lisa & I met at the Dulles Town Center for our cupcake class at Cookology. Lisa had
initially brought the idea to me because she had been wanting to take it but her husband, Chip, was not too thrilled about it. Instead of having the spouses go, we decided to have a girls day. Yay! We met at the DTC at Noon so we could grab lunch beforehand; we ate at Vapiano, which I have eaten at before with my Mom, but Lisa had never been; they have great italian food & everything is cooked fresh, right in front of you. After lunch we made our way to class. Here is a photo of us anxiously awaiting class to start:
We made the following cupcakes:

1. Lemon cupcake with cream cheese frosting;
2. Vanilla cupcake with mocha/coffee frosting; and
3. Raspberry cupcake with chocolate ganache.

After looking around at the other people in the class, Li & I realized that our cupcakes were the best ones. What do you think?
YUMMY!

Before I went to class Dan told me to make sure that I brought some cupcakes home so we could have them for dessert that night, he didn't want to me to eat all of them - I did have a raspberry one & it was terrific. :o) When I finally got home & showed him our masterpieces he said, "what the hell?! That's it?" Apparently he thought they were going to be huge cupcakes, not normal size cupcakes. After he dissed them for a while, he finally had one & realized that they were the perfect size & tasted great. *Sigh*

Cookology does offer a cupcake decorating class which Li & I found out about while we were taking this one; we both want to go back & take it, so hopefully we'll get to some time this summer.

Great job on our baking skills, Li - we get a pat on the back. Go Team DownLow! ;o)

"Get In Your Yard"

2011-06-19T11:21:00.003-04:00

This video is very dark & you can't even see Dan, but the glimpses of Lexi doing zoomies in our front yard are just too funny so I had to share it with you. The commentary is also hysterical:

Long Weekend Fun

2011-06-12T10:43:00.001-04:00

Dan & I had a great Memorial Day Weekend, every day of our weekend was filled with friends & family. :o)
On Friday night, after work, Li & I went to happy hour at Uncle Julio's & also ate some dinner. On my way home I got a call that Dan was still at Sweet Water with some friends that he had gone golfing with that afternoon, so I decided to swing by & say hi.
Saturday was another golfing day for Dan so Lexi & I decided to run some errands. We drove around with the top down because it was such a beautiful day & during our last stop, Lexi was in her carseat when I heard this SNAP! & she fell down onto the passenger seat looking terrified; her ears were pulled back & she was just staring at me...well, her carseat broke. :o( We had bought it when she was a puppy so we've had it for a little over 4 years. I'm not sure if it was just wear & tear or if it was because Lexi weighs 10.4 lbs & the maximum weight is 10 lbs. I'm going to go with the wear & tear excuse. So now we have to buy a new one. There's a huge difference when Lexi's riding in the car in her carseat & her sitting on your lap - it makes me extremely nervous. I've been shopping around for a new one for the past week & they are freakin' expensive. I haven't been able to find a good deal like our last one, but I really need to pull the trigger here soon & buy one.
Saturday night we had plans to go to our friends, David & Lauren's house in Herndon, for their crab feast. Dan works with David at HHS & I was lucky enough to meet his wife several months ago at another party they had at their house. I absolutely love them & we have so much fun when we get together; there's never a dull moment. Lauren is an interior designer & extremely talented. I would love to hire her to help me with our townhouse, but unfortunately that's just not doable at this point, so I'm hoping that dream will come true when we purchase our first house. I'm going to cross my fingers until then. So....we went over to D & L's for some yummy crab, alcohol & drinking game fun. Here's a link to Lauren's blog where she posted about the party, Pure Style Home. Be sure to visit her site regularly because she has some great ideas, great taste & giveaways! Oh & yes, their house is absolutely gorgeous! You can actually take a tour & I highly recommend it. D & L have even been hinting to Dan & I about a house on their culdesac that's going to be put on the market sooner than later; they think we should buy it. Our response, "ha! Like we can afford to live in Fairfax County & purchase a fixer upper with a humongous & heavenly back yard....nope, we're gonna die in our townhouse." We can dream though can't we?
Sunday we drove up to WV to spend the day/night at Dan's Dad's house. He was throwing a triple birthday party for Arden, Kelly & Glenn. It was extremely hot that day but thankfully we had a shaded area to go to in order to get out of the sun. After we ate lunch Don surprised everyone with the idea of going fishing in his pond. Of course it was the catch & release kind of fishing which, if you ask me, is the best kind. I steered clear of the activity & just took photos - no fish for me, thank you! Here's the photos I took from that day:
JT & his Daddy.
There are some big freakin' catfish in there!
Skylar having a good ole' time.
Our little sweets getting hot.
Glenn helping Arden reel in her fish.
Father/son time.
The pups playin'.
Skylar & Dan.

Don in his element.
Lex getting some much needed shade.

I asked JT to say "cheese" & he said, "no."
Arden getting hooked up with a worm. Ick.

Sweet face.
Sunday we made our way home to VA. We decided to stop in Harper's Ferry at the Catoctin Popcorn tent. They have some yummy-deliciousness. We tried to limit our purchases & walked away with some kettle corn & sugar/cinnamon covered almonds...OMG! We didn't make it very far before we opened them & started eating. It's very rare for Dan to ask me to take picture of him, he normally doesn't like getting his picture taken, but after he had several handfuls of kettle corn he was in a great mood: Our purchases only lasted one day because someone couldn't keep his hands out of the bags. He later regreted it when he got a stomach ache that night.

We hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend & were able to enjoy the warm weather.

Breaking Dawn: Part 1

2011-06-08T20:40:00.001-04:00

It's getting to that time again! The Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn official movie trailer was released at the MTV Movie Awards. So freakin' excited...can't wait for November 18th...

The Cutest...

2011-06-02T21:19:00.003-04:00

...email I have ever received.

Title: "Who took my lipstick?!"
I have this saved in my "favorites" folder & I've looked at it several times when I'm at a point in my day where I just need a good laugh. This looks like something Lexi would do. :o]

WMZQ Fest

2011-06-02T21:04:00.003-04:00

Alright, I am way behind on this post because I am extremely upset that the photos I took at the concert with my cell phone were deleted. It's a long story & I'm not going to go into all that now because it'll just infuriate me...so...on Saturday, May 21st Dan & I went with my friend, Lisa & her husband, Chip, to the WMZQ Fest at Jiffy Lube Live. This is the concert that I was talking about in earlier posts; we were extremely excited because Jason Aldean was the headliner & we love him. Here is a pic of the 2011 logo with the other singers that were there:
We had nice weather for the concert but it was extremely warm. About 3 days before, Lisa & I found out that there was no tailgating at Jiffy Lube Live & that they only allowed alcohol inside the gates. Here is a link to the article that I read on Friday night about the tailgating ban. We were pretty bummed that this was the new rule; of course there were people that were trying to get around it but some didn't succeed because we actually saw them being kicked out.
Once we got into the gates we walked around for a little bit & decided to buy some drinks. We quickly realized that one of the reasons Jiffy Lube banned tailgating was because they wanted everyone to spend more money on buying alcohol there. The prices were insane! Li & I bought frozen margaritas which were $14.50 & Dan bought a can of beer that was $6.50. Ridiculous. After the shock wore off we decided to go to our seats & I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. You know that feeling you get when you're being taken to your seats & in the back of your mind you're saying, "just keep going...one more row...oh yeah, we're still moving" & then when you finally get there you're so excited because of how close you are? Well, that was totally me. When we actually put our stuff down, Li & I started jumping up & down like crazy; super excited at how close we were!
Here are the photos that Li emailed me which were taken with her iPhone: Walking around in the sun sweating our buns off - after we purchased our JA hats!
Li & Chip
Potty break.
In our seats anxiously awaiting JA.
The JaneDear Girls were the first up; they sing that song Wildflower. They were cute & the lead singer, Susie, plays the heck out of the fiddle. She was amazing. The blonde's name is Danielle, so I obviously like her. :o)
Eric Church took the stage next & he was great. I really enjoyed him & he got totally into his songs. He brought out a water gun & was spraying everyone in the front row; before he left the stage he shook up 2 cans of beer & also sprayed them out into the crowd. I didn't take any video with my cell phone but I found a clip of his song Ain't Killed Me Yet on youtube.
Now we are up to the headliner, JASON ALDEAN! I can't say enough how fantastic he was, even Dan loved him. Here's a video that Li took on her iPhone of JA singing Hicktown:

My favorite quotes of the night:

~ Dan: "Babe, you realize you're not actually meeting Jason Aldean." (After I asked him if I looked alright).
~ Li: "I look like a truck driver in this thing."
~ Li: "He's coming out! He's coming out!" (as she's hitting me in the boob).
~ Dan: "You're right babe, he is sexy."
~ Me: "Can we get another butt shot, please?" Li: "Yes, please?!"
~ Dan: "I gotta get me a pair of those pants!"
~ Li: "He waved at me! He waved at me!"
~ Chip: "How come you're sitting down?" Me: "My feet are burning." Chip: "Isn't it tough to be stylish."
~ Me: "Best concert ever."

Dan & I ended the night with a 1:30 a.m. stop at the Wendy's drive-thru. What is it about fast food after you've had some alcohol & inhaling it after midnight in your car? It tastes absolutely fantastic. :o)

Alumni Game

2011-05-23T19:58:00.007-04:00

On Saturday, May 14 Herndon High School played their alumni game. Thankfully the rain held off & they were able to get a whole game in. The teams were Red & Black, Dan was on the black team. He was excited to play even though he had been having problems with shin splints earlier in the week. He pitched for 4-5 innings & he also hit. In college his head coach would never allow him to hit & any time he would ask if he could, the coach would tell him, "well maybe we can get you in the JV game." Here are some photos I took:

Gettin' ready...
Before the game started I had received a text message from our friend, Ashley; her Mom, Meta, told me to tell Dan to "hit a home run." I did & guess what happened?
He hit a home run! Here he is rounding 3rd base after his hit...I was in such shock that I didn't actually get a photo of him hitting. :o( He sprinted the bases he was so excited. If you ask me, he should've been allowed to hit in college! Dan was 3 for 4 at bat & the Black team kicked the Red teams ass. The final score was 16 to 3 (I think).
Dan did so well & I was so proud of him. Watching him play brought back memories of me cheering him on in college. Oh the good ole days. :o)

Spring Fling Dinner With A Surprise

2011-05-09T19:58:00.019-04:00

This past Saturday was The DLF's Spring Fling Dinner at our boss's house. It was a themed beach/hawaiian dinner so we all had to dress accordingly. Here are the photos I took with my camera: Everyone mingling.

Getting ready to watch the race; LoLa spotted the horses & was jumping at the TV. (Lexi does the same thing!)
Peter & Jen taking their seats.
Nancy getting kisses from her sweet little LoLa.
The DLF girls.
Us.
Li & Me.
After the race was over & several pictures were taken, Nancy made the announcement that the dinner was actually for Sandra & Santiago. SURPRISE soon to be newlyweds!! Here is Nancy giving Sandra her crown & veil.

Loving all the attention. :o)
Dan sporting his manly flower clip.
The Lovebirds.
Dinner was next which was catered by Uncle Julio's (a mexican restaurant in VA which the DLF girls frequent for happy hour & dinner). I only took a couple pics during dinner because I was too busy stuffing my face with all of the yummy deliciousness: Moriah & Adam
Alanna
Dan entertaining LoLa.
After dinner we played the Newlywed Game & I have to say some of the questions they were asked were hard! Here they are going over their answers: After the game, it was present time!

The happy couple with our gift to them. It says "May All Your Dreams Come True" & holds photos; we got it at Pier 1.
Cake!
Lover.
"Chip you are in my personal space, I'm gonna have to drop you!" -Me
Awww, we're lovebirds too.
Li & Me after her 4 margaritas & my 5. :o)
When we finally got home, someone was very excited to see us: She knew immediately that we had cheated on her with LoLa because we got the full body sniffs. We're sorry sweets!

We had a great time with everyone but we can't forget why we all came together in the first place - to Sandra & Santiago: "May your wedding day be filled with love and laughter; may all the days ahead be happy ever after!"

Late Night Visitor

2011-05-09T19:43:00.003-04:00

On Saturday night Dan had fallen asleep on our living room couch while I had passed out in our bed upstairs. When I got up on Sunday morning he told me to look at my camera gallery to see the visitor that he got around 1:30 a.m. As I was turning on my camera I was thinking the worst, i.e. a very large spider, creepy crawly insects with several hundred legs. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when I saw what it was: Well hello there! If you can't tell, he's hanging on the outside of our front storm door. Isn't he cute? You can come back & visit anytime little guy...as long as you don't jump on me.

"Officer Dave"

2011-05-08T11:31:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning I left our house to go to the gym & do some shopping; I came to a stop sign at the end of our street & instead of coming to a complete stop I did a "california roll" & proceeded on my way. As I turned right, I saw a cop car driving towards me. I didn't think much about it but I kept an eye on him in my rear view mirror & watched him do a U-turn, flick on his lights & drive up behind me. Crap! I pulled off the road & got out my driver's license & registration. He got out of his car & walked towards me...

Officer Dave: Hello miss, I'm Officer Dave. Do you know why I pulled you over?
Me: I did a california stop at the stop sign back there?
Officer Dave: That's right & I should know because I used to live in California.
Me: Me too.
Officer Dave: Really?! Where at?
Me: Red Bluff
Officer Dave: Nice - so where are you headed?
Me: The gym
Officer Dave: Oh yeah, which gym?
Me: Gold's Gym
Officer Dave: Gold's Gym off Cascades Parkway?
Me: Yeah.
Officer Dave: I work out there every morning. I'm usually on the treadmill wearing my Marine Corp. gear. Do you ever go in the mornings?
Me: Not usually.
Officer Dave: Is today a cardio day or a lifting day?
Me: Cardio.
Officer Dave: Nice - well let me have your driver's license & registration (handed it to him) & I'll be right back.
Me: OK.
*1 minute later...
Officer Dave: Well you have a +5 driving record (handing everything back to me) & if I were to give you a ticket that would bring you down to a +2 & I really don't want to do that to you.
Me: Oh...
Officer Dave: How long have you been living on Manning?
Me: Uh...
Officer Dave: Just tell me 30 days. Once you move, you only have 30 days to update your driver's license, so just tell me 30 days.
Me: 30 days.
Officer Dave: OK, good. I'm not going to give you a ticket but only on one condition...
Me: Alright?
Officer Dave: When you see me at the gym, you have to come & say "hi."
Me: Yes, sir.
Officer Dave: Have a good workout & a nice weekend.
Me: (Deep breath) Whew!

After my little encounter I started thinking about the movie "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days" & in the beginning of the movie she takes you through "how to get out of a ticket." So here is what I found online:

"The Top 7 Ways To Get Out Of A Ticket" By Brad Iger

7. Be A Comedian. Cops are people too & like other people, they tend to be a little less dickish if the mood of the situation is lightened a bit. So defusing the tension that comes with a confrontation between a cop and who-knows-what with some humor can actually go a long way. Here's one to try, if you have the opportunity to use it:
Cop: I've been waiting for you all day.
Driver: Well, I got here as fast as I could.

6. Lie Like A Rug. It's a good rule of thumb that if you're going to lie to the cops, use a lie that they have no way of proving wrong. It's best in these situations to either play on their sympathies:
"My friend called me from a bar and he sounded like he was going to drive home drunk. I'm going there to pick him up before he tries to leave!"

5. Just The Truth. When the cop pulls you over and asks the obligatory "do you know why I pulled you over?" & it's painfully obvious why he did, playing dumb probably isn't going to win you any points - but being forthright and honest might.

4. Cry. Okay, you've hit rock bottom. You are officially shameless. If you really don't want a ticket and can summon tears upon command, a grown man (or, ever better, a woman) balling uncontrollably at the thought of getting a ticket really has a way of disarming all but the most stern of law enforcement.

3. This Things Busted. If you drive an old beater, the chances that gauges in your car accurately depict what's going on are probably slim. Use that to your advantage.

2. Be A Hot Girl. I dare you to find me a really hot girl who has racked up a massive amount of tickets. I'll let your imagination do the work for the particular methods used in this situation.

1. Show Some Respect. When the cop is asking you questions, look him in the eye and answer the question without fear, but also without arrogance - like you're talking to anyone else. Use the term "officer" & "yes, sir" when you answer him - without a tone of contempt.

Good luck!!

Bridal Shower & Bachelorette Party

2011-05-01T14:10:00.022-04:00

As you know from previous posts, my friend/co-worker, Sandra Lue, is getting married on May 21st. So happy for them!
Bridal Shower - On Saturday the 23rd, I went to her shower which was thrown by her soon to be sister-in-law, Sylvia. She did a great job & we had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures that I took of Sandra opening her presents:

Dan & I's gift to them were these towels (also shown on Sandra's lap in the picture above): Aren't they adorable?! I fell in love with them when she showed me her registry & I just had to get them. We also got her one of the standing towel holders that they registered for.
Bachelorette Party - Last night we went out to Lotus Lounge in D.C. & we all had a blast! So much fun! We planned to meet at the Embassy Suites in D.C., which is where Sandra & a few of her friends were staying for their night out. I didn't stay with them because I have the sweetest husband who drove me to their hotel at 8:00 p.m. & then picked me up at Lotus a little after 2:00 a.m. Yes, I am extremely lucky. Thank you, again, Lover. :o)
So at the hotel we did some pre-gaming shots, ate some snacks & the girls got ready for the night out. I had arrived already dressed so I helped with some fashion decisions. Here are the photos I took at the hotel: The BRIDE TO BE all decked out.
The Bachelorette with her Maid of Honor, Harjeet. Aren't the glasses cute, I brought those for everyone. Unfortunately, they kept coming apart - no wonder they were $2.99 for a pack of 6! Sylvia & I (had a little fun with my photo editor). One of my favorites.
All of us (left to right) - Isha, Mirshad, Harjeet, Sandra, Sylvia & Me. Totally set the timer for 3 shots instead of 1 & had no idea. Picture #3 after we caught on. I had to take a pic of my shoes...love them...but after 4 hours of dancing, I was hurting. Shots! Sandra giving me some leg. :o)
I think it's time to leave for the club...
Our last group shot before we went out.
"All we want to do is dance" -

We got approached several times to join the Bachelor party that was going on 3 tables down from us...they finally got the hint that all we wanted to do was have girl time.

The last thing I am going to say is that I really don't understand men in a club. I have no idea why the "drive by butt grab" is so popular & they can't really think that by doing so they are going to get a girls attention...it only hurts your chances boys, so stop doing it. Alright I'm done venting. Thanks for a wonderful & memorable time ladies! :o)

Man Hands

2011-04-27T19:35:00.002-04:00

Back in January of 2010, I wrote a post titled Easy Lennie, which talks about my "man hands" (as Dan likes to call them) & the several knobs/handles that I have broken in our house. Here is the list from that post: (1) the handle on our downstairs bathroom drawer the day we moved in; (2) the flush knob on all 3 of our bathroom toilets; (3) our dryer start knob; (4) while waiting for the replacement start knob to arrive, I broke the attachment that holds the start knob on & had to replace the entire thing; (5) the lock on our downstairs sliding glass door; (6) one of our kitchen cabinet knobs while putting dishes away; and (7) the towel bar in my bathroom while hanging up my towel. Well...I have another thing to add to this list...(8) a treadmill at Gold's Gym. During my incline sprints tonight, I was at an incline of 7.0 & after I was finished I pushed the down button & the entire thing caved in, slightly. After giving it a few seconds rest, because I thought that would do the trick & I didn't want to accept that I had broken it, I tried to push it again & nothing happened. After several more attempts & nothing happening, I had to go to the front desk & tell them what I did; they had to write an out of order sign to tape on it. The guys that I told were very cool about it & said not to worry, but I still felt terrible. As you have read, this is not the first time that something has broken during my use. I really need to learn to be more gentle.

My other story that I have is when I was helping Dan with his hang nails (or "catches" as he likes to call them) before he left for Myrtle Beach. I was using my cuticle cutter & I was apparently muscling it too much for his taste & he pulled his hand back & yelled, "Alright, rough hands Dani!" I instantly called him a wuss & grabbed his hand to continue, but I'm coming to realize that I am a little too rough. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fix this issue because I really feel like I'm being gentle. I'm going to have to work on this & get back to you...

Easter Photos :o)

2011-04-26T20:26:00.014-04:00

Here are some of the photos I took of our Easter in WV with family: My father-in-law, Don, set up an Easter egg hunt in his basement for the grandkids & here is Jackson with Aunt Kelly helping him look for eggs.
Dan trying to coax Rylee to crawl to her Easter basket.
The little munchkin didn't want to crawl anywhere so we brought her basket to her.
Dan trying to get candy from Jackson.
Us.
Dan holding Rylee & saying things like, "you are a typical girl...you don't want to crawl around & get your pretty dress dirty;" "you know you can come to our baseball games & be our mascot, wouldn't that be fun?" :o)
Spending some time outside; Bridger is on Don's lap (the epitome of a lap dog). :o)
Meyers so excited that Lexi brought some squeak toys.
Guarding his new toy - Lexi likes to share.
As I was loading these photos, I realized that I didn't take one picture of Lexi or our two nieces, Arden & Skylar. :o( I'm not quite sure what happened, but I'm sorry girls! I wish I would've got a picture of you in your pretty dresses. You have to remind me next time...
We hope you enjoyed your Easter, we sure did!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:44:00.002-04:00

We hope you are surrounded by family, friends, love, laughter & may you count your blessings today & always.

"Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life." ~S.D. Gordon

One Year, Already?

2011-04-19T19:11:00.004-04:00

On April 12th I had my one year anniversary with The DLF. :o) I know! I can't believe it's already been one year. It's our Firm's tradition that on your anniversary day the women are given flowers & the men are given bottles of wine. When I got to my desk I found these: They are so pretty & smell amazing. I also took a picture of my card: My flowers are still going strong since I brought them home & just looking at them makes me smile. I'm glad that I have a job that I enjoy going to each morning & the kind of co-workers/friends that make the work day fun. There will be some changes coming in May/June of this year at my office & I will post those soon. In the meantime, I want to say thank you to my DLF girls, I heart you. :o)

It's true what they say you know..."find a job you love & you'll never have to work a day in your life."

Movie Review

2011-04-17T19:41:00.004-04:00

This Saturday I did absolutely nothing but sit on my butt & watch TV; there really wasn't anything to do anyway because it poured down rain all day. I decided to scroll through the On Demand movies & found Burlesque, which is a movie that I have been wanting to see since it came out in theaters last year. When the trailer would come on TV I would tell Dan, "we are going to see that!" He was counting on my forgetfulness so he wouldn't have to see it & of course it worked...totally forgot about.
Anyway, I have always loved Christina Aguilera's music/voice & I remember when her Genie in a Bottle CD came out & after I bought it I would drive around Waynesburg with my windows down & listen to it on repeat. :o) Well I loved this movie, loved, loved, loved it. I haven't been able to say that about a movie since the first time I saw Legally Blonde (yes, one of my all time favorite movies). I'm definitely going to go out & buy Burlesque to add to our movie collection. This movie is a total chick flick & one of those watch with your girlfriends kind of movies because you want the opportunity to drool over Cam Gigandet: Need I say more?
Besides Cher, Christina Aguilera & Cam Gigandet, here are some other actors from the movie: Eric Dane, Julianne Hough, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell & Stanley Tucci (remember him from The Devil Wears Prada? Love him). All I can say now is go rent it...here's the trailer if you need your memory refreshed:

"The Best View on the Sunset Strip"

Lexi vs. The Vacuum

2011-04-17T19:15:00.002-04:00

It's a good thing we have very little carpet in our house...

Men & Their Beer

2011-04-11T19:38:00.004-04:00

Dan went to Wegman's, our local grocery store, on Sunday to do some shopping for the week & when he got home he showed me the Miller Lite Home Draft that he bought for $12: I had never seen one of these before; they are pretty cute once you get them out of the box. They have the functioning of a keg: Needless to say, Dan was so excited about this thing; he was like a five year old on Christmas morning; he was as happy as a squirrel that found a nut...you get the drift. Thankfully, we didn't have any room in our fridge upstairs, so it had to be put in the fridge downstairs. What is it with men & beer? I really don't understand it. I would prefer to drink anything else because I can't stand the taste. Hmmm...now that I think about, maybe it's the same love that I have for margaritas... :o)

Now I'll leave you with 3 quotes that I found:

~"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." -Ernest Hemingway

~"When the wine is in, the wit is out." -Proverb

~"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -Benjamin Franklin

Fact Corrections

2011-04-10T10:26:00.004-04:00

In my "Some Hornet Credit" post the other day, Dan informed me of a few facts that I did not get correct & at this time I would like to fix those. In my previous post I stated that Dan's good friend, Greg, was the head coach of the Herndon Hornets baseball team & that this was his first year with that title. The correction is - this is not Greg's first year as head coach, this is his second year. I also stated that Dan is the pitching coach for the Herndon Hornets & that this was his first year with that title. The correction is - this is his second year as the pitching coach. Last night I asked Dan what their record was so far because I thought that their website was a little behind on games. I stated their record as 4 wins & 0 losses. The correction is - their record is 5 wins & 1 loss.

Alright, so I have fixed all of the misstated facts in my previous post & now I am coming to my own defense. So I was one year off on the coaching titles, does everyone really expect me to be spot on with all of this stuff? In my mind, all of these sports that Dan is involved in run together. The next time I post about the Herndon Hornets, I will check my facts with Dan first.

Beauty-Ful

2011-04-09T09:33:00.008-04:00

Our friends Sandra & Santiago are getting married next month in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Since the big day is getting close, she has been having “wedding brain” as I like to call it. Most of the conversations that we have are about wedding things/stuff but I don't blame her because being engaged & planning a wedding is such a fun time. I remember how my Mom & I were when we were planning Dan & I's wedding. Good Lord, we couldn't talk about anything else. It was such a fun, happy & pain in the ass time in our lives. :o) So back to S & S...they had wanted to buy their invitations & after some shopping around, the invitiations that they wanted were way too expensive so they decided to create their own version of the invitiations they fell in love with. For several weeks, & even to this day, we had several boxed deliveries that contained shiney paper, boxes, ribbon, etc. During that time it was a little difficult to imagine how they would turn out; I understood the concept but things always turn out differently once it is all complete. Well.....earlier this week Sandra brought in the invitations to hand out to everyone in our office! Here are the photos I took: The boxed invitiation
The actual invitiation

Response card
I took another pic of the box & the starfish because I absolutely love them.

When Sandra was explaining the invitiation concept, I told her that I was going to have to frame them because they're going to look so beautiful. I'm still coming up with ideas on what to actually do with it & I have some good ones, I just have to decide on one. Great job you two! They turned out absolutely wonderful & Santiago is right, you should go into business for designing wedding invitations. :o)

Some Hornet Credit

2011-04-09T09:03:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday we met up with our friends Doug & Meta at The Breeze to watch the VCU v. Butler basketball game. While we were visiting, Doug mentioned an article that he read in the Herndon Patch about the Herndon Hornets' win against the South Lakes Seahawks. Dan & I had not read it or even seen it. Doug said he mentioned it because they had interviewed one of Dan's pitchers who threw a great game; Dan is the pitching coach for the Herndon Hornets baseball team & this is his first year with that title. When we got home that evening, Dan looked up the article on his cell phone & when I read it I was so proud of him. Here is the section of the article that mentions Dan:

"Tyler Reif pitched brilliantly for the Hornets for three innings. He struck out three and gave up only one hit—a solo home run in the top of the second to Nick Beaulac for the Seahawks' only run of the game.

“My coach just tells me to go out there, pound the zone, throw some strikes, keep my off-speed down,” Reif said. “It is just good pitch calling from Coach Coghlan. He does a great job with all the pitchers and catchers, keeping us in the game.”

How great, huh?! Dan has been so excited about this year's baseball season because his good friend, Greg, became the head coach this year & he is always talking about what great kids they have on their team. The Herndon Hornets record (per their website) is: 4 wins & 0 losses. If you live in the area & want to check out one of their games, click here for their schedule.

Go Hornets!

Too Sweet

2011-04-03T09:34:00.003-04:00

This past Thursday Dan & I came home from the gym/dinner & Lexi was full of energy. Unfortunately, it was dark, raining & freezing so we weren't able to take her outside. Instead Dan went down in the basement with her & had some play time. It went on for such a long time that I was able to catch a video of it. You'll notice that she stays away from him for most of the time but there are a few times when she walks up to his face because he says, "come here & give me kisses..." :o)

Missing Phoebe

2011-03-30T19:24:00.006-04:00

On Tuesday morning, before work, I dropped Phoebe off at Chantilly Auto Body so she could get a boo boo fixed. Last month, during the horrible wind storms we had, our sweet neighbors were loading their son into his carseat & the wind took their door & pushed it into Phoebe's passenger side, causing a dent & a scratch. The whole thing was a total accident & after some conversations with the insurance company, an estimate & a second opinion later, Phoebe is finally getting fixed. I am currently driving a rental car from Enterprise & I was hoping that they would give me some kind of cool sports car to drive during the repair, but instead I got a KIA Forte...boo! Here are two photos I took with my cell phone:
Obviously, the car isn't bad at all but I was just hoping for something a little more sporty; they never give you what you want.
Today was my first drive into work with the rental & I'm totally missing Phoebe. I get so excited when I get to drive my car because it's just so cute & fun to drive. I miss my seat warmers, my bright pink (fake) flowers that sit in my vase next to my steering wheel & my tiny ass trunk. As I have said before, fellow Beetle drivers are extremely friendly & I feel like I have a connection with them because Beetle's aren't that common of a car, they're not like a Toyota Camry for instance or BMWs in Virginia. While I was waiting at a stop light this morning, a bright blue Beetle pulled up beside me. I instantly smiled & looked at the driver, waiting for that friendl smile/wave; when she saw me she gave me the weirdest look almost saying, "who is this strange woman & why is she grinning at me???" I realized what I was doing & remembered that I was in the rental & had no "connection" whatsoever with this bright blue Beetle. Thankfully the light turned green & I was able to escape my embarrassment. :o(
When I dropped Phoebe off I was told that they estimated a 5 day repair time period. I've been told by several people that waiting for paint to dry on a car can take f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I'm counting down the days until I get to pick Phoebe up. For now, I'm satisfied that I have A car to drive.

Dirt Road Anthem

2011-03-29T20:17:00.003-04:00

This is a country music post so, again, for those of you that aren't country music fans...navigate away.
On Lexi & I's drive home to VA on Monday afternoon, I was lucky enough to catch Jason Aldean's new song Dirt Road Anthem playing on the radio. I absolutely loved it. When Dan got home that night from lessons, I played the song for him & he said he liked it but he'll have to listen to it again because he couldn't quite understand what he was saying. The reason for that is because he's doing a little talking/"rapping" during the song. This album has had its fair share of bad reviews such as, "There are Toby Keith-style odes to patriotism (like "Fly Over States," which is milder than it could have been, again thanks to Aldean's limited range) and a grouping of formulaic "I like beer and pickup trucks, just in case you were wondering" anthems like "Country Boy's World" and "My Kinda Party" that deliver pretty much what they advertise." (Allison Stewart - The Washington Post) "Meanwhile, the version of Colt Ford’s “Dirt Road Anthem” is just awful: if you’re going to include rapping in a country song, at least have rhymes with a little more heft and creativity than “I’m tired of talkin’, man, y’all ain’t listenin’/Them old dirt roads is what y’all missin’." (Juli Thanki - The 9513) The best part about music is that you get to decide what you like & it doesn't really matter what everyone else says. For you fellow country music fans out there, I am sharing the song & lyrics with you here.

Yeah, I'm chillin' on a dirt road,
Laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones.
Smoke rollin' out the window,
An ice cold beer sittin' in the console.
Memory lane up in the headlights,
It's got me reminiscing on them good times.
I'm turning off of real life, drivin' that's right,
I'm hittin' easy street on mud tires.

Back in the day Pott's farm was the place to go.
Load the truck up, hit the dirt road.
Jump the barbwire, spread the word.
Light the bonfire, then call the girls.
The king in the can and the Marlboro man.
Jack'n'Jim were a few good men.
Where ya learned how to kiss and cuss and fight too.
Better watch out for the boys in blue.

And all this small town he said, she said,
Ain't it funny how rumors spread.
Like I know something ya'll don't know,
Man that talk is gettin' old.
Ya better mind your business, man, watch your mouth,
Before I have to knock that loud mouth out.
Im tired of talkin, man, ya'll ain't listenin',
Them old dirt roads is what ya'll missin'.

[Chorus]
I'm chillin' on a dirt road.
Laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones.
Smoke rollin' out the window,
An' ice cold beer sittin' in the console.
Memory lane up in the headlights,
It's got me reminiscing on them good times.
I'm turning off of real life, drivin' that's right,
I'm hittin' easy street on mud tires.

I sit back and think about them good ole days.
The way we were raised, and our southern ways,
And we like cornbread, and biscuits,
And if it's broke round here we fix it.
I can take ya'll where ya need to go,
Down to my hood, back in them woods.

We do it different 'round here, that's right,
But we sure do it good, and we do it all night.
See, if you really wanna know how it feels,
To get off the road with trucks and four wheels,
Jump on in, and man, tell your friends,
We'll raise some hell where the blacktop ends.

[Chorus]
I'm chillin' on a dirt road.
Laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones.
Smoke rollin' out the window,
An' ice cold beer sittin' in the console.
Memory lane up in the headlights,
It's got me reminiscing on them good times.
I'm turning off of real life, driving that's right,
I'm hittin' easy street on mud tires.
Thats right.

[Chorus]
Yeah, I'm chillin' on a dirt road.
Laid back swervin' like I'm George Jones.
Smoke rollin' out the window,
And ice cold beer sittin' in the console.
Memory lane up in the headlights,
It's got me reminiscing on them good times.
I'm turning off of real life, drivin' that's right,
I'm hittin' easy street on mud tires.
Thats right.

Dan & I have been waiting patiently to buy our tickets to see him in concert at Jiffy Lube Live on Saturday, May 21st. I am so freakin' excited!

SURPRISE Visit

2011-03-29T18:55:00.004-04:00

Last week I had coordinated with my Dad a surprise visit to PA for my Mom's birthday; I had taken Monday off from work so I wouldn't have to leave on Sunday afternoon (her actual birthday) & I'm so glad I was able to swing it.

Lexi & I left after I got home from work on Friday night, a little after 6 p.m. Dan was unable to come with us due to baseball practice, lessons/clinicals & school on Monday. We would've loved to have him with us but during baseball season, that's just not possible. During our drive I was anticipating a TON of traffic but surprisingly I didn't hit one ounce of traffic & we made great time. We got to my parents house at 10 p.m. & my Dad met us outside. I let Lexi go into the house first & I heard them yell, "Winker?!"; then I made my way into Ben's room to say, "surprise!" The look on their faces were hysterical & well worth the trip. We didn't get to bed until after midnight because we were visiting & catching up. I was surprised when I realized that I hadn't been home since Christmas & I instantly felt guilty. That's just too long. I used to plan a trip up there once a month; I need to get back on that mindset.

On Saturday my Dad's baseball team had a double header at Bethany College in WV, so we planned on heading up there for a few hours to watch them play. We had some nice, sunny weather that day but the breeze was a bit too chilly for Ben to be sitting outside for several hours. Thankfully, Bethany has a baseball field that makes it easy for you to park your car & watch the game from the parking lot. It was perfect for Ben because he was able to go but not get too cold.

On my Mom's birthday (Sunday), we made plans to go to Morgantown & eat at the Olive Garden for a late lunch/early dinner. Earlier that day she opened her gifts from us. My Dad bought her a gift bag full of new workout clothes, with a little help from me. :o) Dan & I got her a gift card & I also wanted to take her to lunch for a little girl time but unfortunately it didn't work out so we are taking a raincheck. When we got back to the house we rented the movie How Do You Know? on pay per view. Here is the movie poster to help you refresh your memory: My Mom had been wanting to see it & I'm always in the mood for a chick flick. The movie was alright, there were a lot of parts that could've been cut out because it was 2 1/2 hours long; it was entertaining nonetheless.

On Monday we hung around the house & ate lunch together before Lexi & I left to go home. We had a nice, relaxing, fun weekend & I'm so glad I was able to celebrate with her. We hope you enjoyed your day & had a Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

Running Playlist

2011-03-19T09:13:00.005-04:00

This week was my first week back to the gym after my sickness & during my time on the treadmill I started thinking about the songs that I like to listen to while I’m working out. Obviously those fast tempo songs can get you pumped up & keep your legs moving but I’ve found that if I don’t mix it up, I burn out a lot quicker than when I’m listening to a mixture of songs; at least that is my experience. Anyway, I have put together a playlist of some of the songs that I have marked as “favorite” on my Slacker radio stations. If you would like to listen to the song, click the link below:

Jesse J featuring B.O.B. – Price Tag

The Steve Miller Band – Rock 'N Me

Kenny Chesney – Living in Fast Forward *I love when he says, “I’ve still got some miles to go…”

Kenny Loggins - Highway to the Dangerzone

Shinedown – Sound of Madness

Jason Aldean – Texas Was You *I love him.

Britney Spears – Till The World Ends

Brooks & Dunn – She's Not the Cheatin' Kind

Fuel – Sunburn *This song is actually my ringtone at the moment – definitely one of my favorite CDs.

Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel

Jason Aldean - Days Like These *Love

Survivor - Eye of the Tiger *Reminds me of high school basketball season.

Daughtry – What I Meant To Say

John Waite - I Ain't Missin' You

Rhianna - S&M

Alright, I'm heading to the gym...happy working out. :o)

Don Pablo's Disappointment

2011-03-12T04:41:00.002-05:00

As you already know, Dan & I are obsessed (to put it mildly) with Don Pablo's; we go at least once a week. For a while we were ordering the same thing, chicken quesadillas & to quote my co-worker/friend, Lisa, they are "yummy deliciousness." When we went last night, I decided to change it up & order their enchilladas. I had never had theirs before but I had eaten Uncle Julio's enchilladas, many times before, & they were amazing. Dan stuck with the norm & he was smart for doing so. When my plate came out it was one of those bittersweet moments; I was so happy that our food had came because I was starving but once I took a look at the plate I heard myself say, "oh man..." It looked nothing like Uncle Julio's enchilladas & why would they, they're Don Pablo's - not Uncle Julio's. I took two bites & was finished - it was not good. Dan had even taken a bite & he didn't like it. After my two bites, my appetite was gone. When Dan & I got home I started feeling an acid attack coming on so I took one of my pills. Unfortunately, my tummy decided to take over & the next thing I know I'm in a full on acid attack, which honestly hasn't happened in a very long time. I tried all of my tricks from the past but nothing worked. Once it comes to that point it's basically time to suffer & wait it out.....so here I am at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning catching up on my posts & drinking my slightly warm glass of milk. :o( Thankfully this happened on a weekend & I'm not having to be up at all hours of the night & then go to work in the morning. Yes, I'm looking on the bright side of things so I can keep my sleep deprived frustration to a minimum. Don Pablo's - YOU SUCK!

Sickness

2011-03-12T04:12:00.002-05:00

I started coming down with a sore throat last Sunday & by the time I had woken up on Monday morning for work, it was in full swing & making me completely miserable. I decided to suck it up & go to work anyway. By the time I got home that night I was exhausted & went to bed at 7:00 p.m. Unfortunately, that routine continued for 4 days & I didn't get to actually see Dan until Thursday evening. He had even commented earlier in the week, "well I guess I'll see you Saturday," which of course made me laugh. We haven't had a week like this in quite a while & I must say that I hate it. Thankfully those weeks are very few & far inbetween but when you're married to a coach/field maintenance manager/pitching lessons provider/part-time Master's student/magnet for covering school activities, etc. it sort of comes with the territory. Anyway...Wednesday was definitely my worst day out of the week; I still don't know how I made it into work that day. I did get a surprise from my co-worker/friend, Sandra Lue. She brought me in a box of Puffs Plus with Vicks & a bag of Halls strawberry cough drops. Awww, isn't she sweet? I had fallen in love with her Puffs with Vicks earlier in the week so she decided to buy me my own box, probably because I was hoarding hers. I must recommend them though...they are fabulous! I didn't even know they existed & I am never going back to regular kleenex when I have a cold. After having to blow my nose approximately 100 times a day in order to breathe normally, my nose was on FIRE, constantly burning & I also had that very attractive bright red, soreness tint to it; not to mention the wonderful nose dripping effect any time I would look down, bend down or turn my head around too fast.

I am very pleased to say that I do feel better & my sore throat is completely gone. I'm still having some sinus issues but I'm hoping they will clear out by Monday morning. I will now end this post by repeating what I have told my co-workers several times, "if I get sick one more time I'm gonna be pissed..."

Compliment

2011-03-05T09:09:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday Dan & I went to Gold's Gym to get a workout in. I made my way to the treadmills & started my run. About 20 minutes into my workout I felt a tap on my shoulder; I pressed pause & when I turned to my right I saw a petite, blonde woman probably in her mid to late 30's. I pulled my headphones off & our conversation went like this:

Me: Yes, ma'am?
Woman: I'm sorry to interrupt your workout but I had to tell you that you have a beautiful back! (smiling).
Me: Oh, thank you (awkward smile).
Woman: It is so muscular & since you can't see it while you're running, I just thought I'd tell you.
Me: Well thank you, that is very sweet.
Woman: I'm not gay or anything - not that there is anything wrong with that, but I'm not (laughing).
Me: Of course, you're just giving me a nice compliment.
Woman: Exactly (smiling). Well have a great workout!
Me: Thanks, you too (smiling).

After I put my headphones back on & continued with my run, I felt a little odd about what just happened but then I realized that it was such a nice compliment & it made me feel good. I thought it was strange that she would interrupt someone who was not that approachable since I was wearing headphones & running, but I'm glad she did. It makes me feel good to get compliments. I always make sure that when I see someone wearing a pair of amazing shoes, a cute outfit or carrying a super cute bag, I always try to say something to them. So keep this in mind the next time you pass someone wearing, carrying or having something you like, tell them...it always makes someone feel good. :o)

Lexi's Day At The Field

2011-02-26T09:46:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, Dan had to do some work on the baseball field at the high school in order to get ready for baseball practice that was starting that Monday. He came up with the idea of taking Lexi over so she could run around while he worked. I thought it was a great idea since the weather was nice, so that morning while we were there I took a short video of her playing on one of the new turf fields. She had some problems getting the little rubber black beads in her mouth when she would go to grab her ball & then proceeded to hack up a lung to get them out; I don't think she liked it that much but we got to run around for a little while. She looses interest pretty quickly in this video but she still looks cute so I had to share it:

YouTube: Born This Way

2011-02-19T10:34:00.004-05:00

On my way to work yesterday morning I heard this video being played on the morning radio show that I listen to. I made a mental note to look it up when I got home & this little girl is adorable. Her name is Maria & you gotta watch it.

Keywordspeak.com wrote "a 10 year old from Winnipeg, Canada became world wide popular overnight after Lady Gaga told that she was put into tears after hearing Maria's version of her carrier single Born This Way from her just released album.

Lady Gaga tweeted: Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future."

It Grew On Me

2011-02-19T10:25:00.003-05:00

When Cee Lo's "Forget You" song came out on the radio, I absolutely hated it. I thought it was so stupid. My brother even shared the video link with me on Facebook & I still didn't like it. After I saw his performance with Gwyneth Paltrow at the Grammy's I actually like it now. Here is a video of the performance:

*Keep an eye on the puppet that is to Cee Lo's right, he really gets into his dance moves & he cracks me up! Every time I watch him I laugh until my eyes water.

A Treat For Lexi

2011-02-14T19:14:00.011-05:00

While we were out & about this past weekend, Dan wanted to buy Lexi a bone for Valentine's Day. We usually buy her the sticks that she chews on but she really hasn't been liking those lately, so we decided to try a bone. She loves it...

Happy Valentine's Day to our little sweetie.

Weekend(s) In Virginia

2011-02-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Dan & I's nieces, Arden & Skylar, asked to spend a weekend with us in Virginia as their Christmas presents. We have done this before but we had them on the same weekend together & this time they wanted to come separately. Since it was such a big hit before they wanted to continue with it. We gave them each $50 to spend on their shopping trips. Arden's weekend was January 29th & Skylar's was February 5th. Arden chose to go to Tysons Corner mall & Skylar chose the Dulles Town Center mall. Arden had her time at the mall all planned out, she wanted to go to MAC to get a new shade of lip gloss & then go to Sephora to get her makeup done. I had scheduled an "educational" makeup appointment earlier on & her appointment was at 1:00 that day. Here is a photo I took: She really learned a lot & left the appointment knowing that less is more.
During our trip to Tysons, I went into the Guess store where I found the handbag that I had fallen in love with in Barbados over the summer. I ended up coming home with the bag & a big thank you goes out to my Hubby. When we got home Arden took this picture of me, my bag & Lexi: Isn't it pretty? :o)
When we got home & were talking about makeup, we realized that Dan wasn't making a lot of noise & that's because... he had shopped until he dropped. :o)
Skylar's shopping trip was a little less planned out. She knew the stores she wanted to hit at the Dulles Town Center mall but she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to buy. We went to a store called Justice where she found some perfume & a hair brush that she really liked. I was very impressed with her frugalness because she would analyze each item before purchasing to make sure that she really wanted to spend her money on it. Arden didn't do that, if she wanted it, she bought it. Here is a photo I took of Skylar with all of her purchases:
While the girls were here for their weekends, they both chose to eat at The Cheesecake Factory so Dan & I were lucky enough to eat there 2 Saturdays in a row. The three of us after we ate; Arden had asked me to curl her hair for dinner.
Unfortunately during Skylar's dinner, she was having some problems with one of her teeth that was loose; she told us that it was hurting her so we didn't really take any photos. As we were leaving the restaurant I told her that we would get some oragel at the grocery store when we go to buy supplies for sundaes & amazingly enough, there was no more pain once we mentioned sundaes; she was very distracted by what kind of toppings she wanted to get. :o)
While the girls were here we also had movie night. Arden's pick: The Last Exorcism. Skylar's pick: Eclipse.
We had a great time spending the weekend(s) with Arden & Skylar. Here are some of my favorite moments:

Arden's Weekend -
~ Listening to Dan & Arden sing-a-long to Ke$ha during our drive to Tysons.
Perusing the makeup products in MAC & looking over to see Dan’s tortured expression.
~ The makeup artists face at Sephora after Arden showed her what kind of colors she likes to wear, i.e., neon green eye shadow & electric pink lipstick.
~ My new Guess bag!
~ Dan explaining to the makeup artist that men like women that wear less makeup on their faces; “we like more of a natural look.”
~ Arden’s epiphany that more makeup isn’t always better & that “neutral shades make you look more normal.”
~ Watching The Last Exorcism after breakfast on Sunday & Arden telling me, “cover your eyes Danielle, I think something scary is going to happen.” I did what she said. :o)

Skylar's Weekend -
~ The big hug that she gave me when she first got to our house.
~ The lip gloss that she saw & loved at Express but then realized that it was $24 & she put it back.
~ The temperature updates that she gave Dan & I each time she got back in Phoebe, i.e. "the temperature is 36 degrees, it's 1 degree warmer than the last time I told you guys."
~ Brushing Lexi with the makeup brushes that she bought from her shopping trip.
~ Her excitement when she realized that Phoebe has turn signals on the side mirrors & her saying, "oooo pretty!" (& pointing at it).
~ Her explaining the love triangle of Edward, Bella & Jacob to Dan while watching Eclipse.

We love you girls.

A Little Goes A Long Way

2011-02-08T18:38:00.007-05:00

This week I received some information in the mail regarding the ASPCA which is the organization that Dan & I started giving to last year; we donate monthly & I decided to continue with them for the 2011 year. Since college I have donated yearly with a charity/organization of my choice. For several years I donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital & last year was my first year donating to the ASPCA; yes, those sad commercials got to me. I know I'm not the only one. What can I say? It makes me feel good that Dan & I are able to give to others that are in need...whether that be children, adults or those cute furry animals. For those of you that have been thinking about donating to a charity/organization this year but just can't decide, I have provided some links below that you can consider.

Click here to donate.

Click here to donate.

If you have a family member/friend that has suffered or is suffering with a disability you can always donate to that cause:

Click here to visit their website.

Click here to visit their website.

Click here to visit their website.

Obviously these are just to give some ideas, there are tons out there; the great part is that you get to pick who you want to help or not help. You could always take George Costanza's idea & donate to The Human Fund. ;o) (Oh come on! Seinfeld?? Hello?! If you have no idea what I'm taking about then I am very disappointed in you.)

Happy donating everyone. :o)

To Lucas, With Love

2011-02-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

At work last Monday, during our morning meeting, we all found out that Peter (one of the attorney's in our office) & his dog, Lucas, were attacked by a Pit Bull mix while they were taking a walk on Friday night. Apparently the Pit Bull was playing ball with his owner in the tennis courts & one of the gates was left open, so when he saw Lucas walk by he sprinted over to him. After a few sniffs, Lucas started to turn & walk back towards Peter & the Pit Bull lunged & bit Lucas around the neck, shaking him violently & refusing to let go. Poor Lucas was yelping & lying on the cement while Peter was trying everything to get the Pit Bull off of him. There are several other horrible details but I'm not going to share those with you; my stomach was in knots while Peter was telling us exactly what happened & I really don't want to get that sick feeling again. Lucas was taken to the vet & treated for his injuries. I just felt terrible for him because he is one of the sweetest dogs.
On my way home from work last Monday night, I decided to make Lucas a little get well present, so I stopped at Target & bought a container that could be used for treats. When I got home, Lexi & I went to work on baking some homemade doggie treats. I got the recipe from my Mom who made them for Lexi while we were up in PA for Christmas; she gave me several to take home & Lexi loves them. Here is what they looked like on the cookie sheet: I made circles & stars this time.
While the treats were baking in the oven, Lexi was firmly planted in front of the stove & following me back & forth hoping I would drop a few pieces on the ground that she could eat. After the baking was said & done, I ended up feeding her like 5 treats. She was just too cute, I couldn't say no.
As the treats baked, I decorated the container with stickers & here are pictures of each side: The front of the container - "L.U.C.A.S"
"RUFF"
"Treats"
"Good Boy"
The finished product. :o)
After I filled Lexi's treat container & Lucas', I had several treats left so I put 3 to 4 pieces in separate gift baggies & took them to work for all of my co-workers dogs. They were very excited & some even said, "tell Lexi thank you for sharing her treats." :o) Peter was also very appreciative for Lucas' gift & even commented, "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen, it even has his name on it!"
Since the treats were such a big hit with the puppies, I've been asked to share the recipe:

Puppy Poppers
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup flour
*I doubled this recipe & was planning on freezing a bag until I decided to share them. They freeze well & defrost in about 5 mins.

Bake at 400 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 6 mins., turn over & bake otherside for 6 mins.
*My oven cooked these pretty fast so I only had to bake them for 4 mins. on each side, you might want to play around with it.

To Mamba, Tessa, Lola, Cuddles, Mona, Clyde, Princess, Mason, Otto & Ellie - I'm glad you all enjoyed your homemade treats & we promise to share the next batch with you all. :o)

Movie Reviews

2011-01-09T10:52:00.008-05:00

Over the holidays Dan & I watched so many movies. Since I usually post my comments & reviews afterwards, I decided to do them all at once. Here you go...

Love & Other Drugs: Dan & I saw this in the theater the weekend that it came out & it was a good movie. The story was good, but just an FYI, there is ALOT of nudity & sexual content. Dan loved it because of Anne Hathaway & I loved it because of Jake Gyllenhaal...win! Win!

The Town: Dan & I bought this movie for Ben for Christmas; he had never seen it but wanted to. We ended up watching it on Christmas night & it was a good movie; I really liked it. There was a lot of action & swearing but it was one of those movies where you were rooting for the bad guy to make it. The only other movie I have done that with is Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. I thought Ben Affleck did a great job in The Town. *Highly recommended.

Eclipse: My brother had asked me to bring Eclipse up for our Christmas visit because he hadn't seen it yet & instead of Ben watching it with me, my Mom & Dad did. :o) They thought it was a cute movie but they don't really see what the big deal is with the whole Twilight thing. They did see the first 2 with Ben so they knew what was going on. I just love the books & the movies.

Legend of the Guardians: I had never heard of this movie until my brother told me about it. Apparently he had wanted to see it in the theater because it was in 3D but never actually got to watch it. While we were at my parents house for Christmas, we rented it & watched it the morning before Dan & I left to come back home. There were some cute parts in it but I thought the concept was pretty out there. Ben enjoyed it & that's all that really matters.

The Fighter: This was one of Dan's picks & I was not too thrilled about seeing it but I went because there are times when I drag him to the theater & he's not too thrilled about my picks. I actually really enjoyed this movie & Dan absolutely loved it. Any time he is sitting on the edge of his seat with his hands up to his face, he's into it. The story was great & Christian Bale really did an amazing job with his character. *Highly recommended.

The A-Team: We decided to watch this movie on New Year's Eve because there was nothing else on & we were bored. It was actually entertaining & I absolutely love Liam Neeson so when I found out that he was in this movie, I was ready to watch it. We didn't love it & we didn't hate it.

Happy movie watching!

More Seating, Please

2011-01-08T10:27:00.005-05:00

Dan & I have a new addition to our living room, an accent chair! I have been wanting one of these since we bought our living room furniture just before we moved into our townhouse. Unfortunately, our townhouse is pretty small so in order to fit a chair like this in, we had to move some things around. Our first furniture shopping stop was at Ashley Furniture where I found a few chairs that I somewhat liked & could make work in our house but nothing that I just had to have. We then went over to Value City Furniture & just as we were walking out the door, not finding anything that we liked, I spotted this chair: Dan instantly commented, "you like this one?" I gave him a look like you gotta be nuts, yes I love this one! Once I saw the back of the chair it made me love it even more: We had initially wanted a chair with an ottoman because I just love them, but after I saw this chair that idea went right out the window. Before we decided to purchase, Dan & I wanted to take a look at Roomstore's furniture just in case they had something that we liked better; of course they didn't so we went back to Value City & purchased. This past Wednesday was when we picked it up & brought it home. As we were opening the box, Dan had said, "holy crap! This thing grew twice its size!" It looked so much bigger once we got it into the house but, nonetheless, it still fit in its spot. I had been thinking in the back of my mind that we could possibly buy an ottoman if we wanted to but there is no way we have room for it now.

On Thursday night on my way home from work, I called Dan on the house phone & he had answered the phone slightly annoyed. I asked him what was wrong & he said, "nothing I'm just yelling at Winker." I asked him why & he said, "because she keeps getting up on the new chair." I'm not sure why this bothered him because #1 she is a house dog; #2 she never eats any of her food/treats on the furniture; #3 she doesn't shed; #4 she has never chewed furniture; and #5 our couches are still in great shape. When I got home, she greated me at the front door & then jumped up on the chair: She loves it. After dinner we were sitting around watching TV & Dan commented, "Wow babe, that chair really looks good with all of our stuff; I didn't think it would but it does." :o)

End Of Year Dinner

2011-01-06T18:49:00.009-05:00

Like I said in my Perks post at the end of December 2010, The DLF had our end of year dinner on Thursday, December 30th. We had closed the office at 4:45 p.m. so we could leave a few minutes early & just a little after 5:00 p.m., we walked out of our building to a large, black stretch Hummer limo that greeted us: I took this pic with my cell phone, that's Nancy walking in front of me.
We also had the limo driver take a pic of us before we got in: Our office. :o)
Here is all of us inside "sippin' on champagne": The funny part about this photo is just before this was taken, Peter (the attorney sitting beside me) was opening a bottle of champagne & even though he warned everyone that he was opening it, as soon as I heard that loud cork popping sound, I jumped right out of my seat & my champagne goes flying out of my glass! It went all over my right pant leg, all over my purse & all over Cami's jacket. Everyone was laughing, including me, but afterwards I just felt horrible & sticky. I can't believe it scared me that much.
Left to right: David, Nancy, Anne, Alanna, Sandra Lue, Katie, Leesie, Cami, Me, Peter & Adam.
On our way to dinner, no one would tell us where we were going because it was a surprise. We finally realized that we were headed into Georgetown & we pulled up to 1789. We were able to take some photos inside the restaurant before we were seated at our table:
Just the girls.
The attorneys.
Here are the photos that were taken throughout the night with my camera:

After our amazing dinner & dessert, we all got back in the limo & took a drive around D.C. to see the white house, the Christmas tree, etc. We arrived back at the office around 10:15 p.m. Dan had drove me to work that morning so I wouldn't have to drive home & he picked me up when we got back. As soon as I got home, I went upstairs & went to bed. I had such a great time & I'm so thankful to have a job that I enjoy going to each day & working with such wonderful people.

Happy New Year everyone!

Our Christmas Card

2011-01-04T18:47:00.010-05:00

Every year Dan & I send out a Christmas card to friends/family. This year we were delayed in getting them out due to other things going on but we were finally able to take our picture one night after work. We had wanted to take our Christmas photo outside since every year we take it in our house, but that didn't work out this year so we are hoping to do that next year. We all got ready & because I wasn't able to get Lexi's haircut before our photo, I decided to add a bow to her ponytail. She's gotta be festive too!

So we set up the camera & I got the timer ready & we tried a few poses. Here's pose #1: This would have been our picture but there was a glare.
Pose #2: Dan wanted to hold Lexi. Usually the snap works when trying to get Lexi to pay attention, this time it did not.
Distractions, distractions.
Pose #3: Lexi looks scary in this one.
So sweet.
We were getting desperate & tired of smiling so I decided to prop one of her toys up next to the camera & her eyes were glued for 6 full frames... Season's Greetings!

Christmas

2011-01-04T18:47:00.001-05:00

Dan, Lexi & I were in PA for Christmas with my family. My office was closed on Christmas Eve so we left our house at 9:00 a.m. & drove up there. We got there around 2:00 p.m. & Mom was already baking/cooking; the entire house smelled so good. :o) Once we got settled in, I helped Mom in the kitchen with the Christmas cookies that we make every year. Dan even got into the spirit & decorated with me:

Of course he thought his decorations were better than mine, but they weren't. ;o)
Mom & Dad.
Dad & I.
On Christmas morning we got to sleep in & didn't actually get up until 9:00 a.m. Before we opened presents, my Mom had me distract my Dad with a dog walk because she had bought him a recliner for Christmas & wanted to get it set up in the living room before we all went in to open our presents. While Dad, Emma, Lexi & I went for a walk, my Mom & Dan carried the chair down & set it up. When we got back, he finally got to see it: He was so excited; he's been wanting one for years. My parents then wanted Dan to open his big gift: Which was a lawnmower: Since we have lived in our townhouse, we have either borrowed a lawnmower from the high school on the weekends or borrowed our neighbor's to cut our backyard. Now we no longer have to do that! Dan was very excited. We all then started opening our gifts & here's what we got:

Dan: tool box; power screwdriver, movies, clothes, new athletic watch (from me) & 2 new jackets (1 dress down jacket & one dress jacket): This is the one that I got him; it was a little too small so we had to exchange it when we got back to VA.

Me: new set of pots & pans (Rachael Ray); new canisters for our kitchen; Banana Republic sweater (from Dan); earrings & fleece (from my brother); picture frames; & Ugg boots (from Dan).

My parents got Ben a brand new entertainment center & a new flat screen TV for Christmas. After everyone was done opening their presents, we took him into his room where it was just partially set up, without his knowning:
The bad thing about this Christmas was that several things started to go wrong. As soon as I opened our new canisters, things went down hill. My Mom & I were trying to get the styrofoam out of the way so we could take a closer look at the canisters & as I was pulling one out, I broke off the handle on one of the lids. :o( I felt terrible because I saw the look on my Mom's face & she was devastated. Thankfully, it was a clean break & my Dad was able to super glue it & it was good as new. Whew! The luck kept continuing, as my Mom handed Dan the dress jacket from me, she said, "here you go Dano, open your jacket." She instantly covered her mouth & her eyes got real wide. Everyone got quiet & Dan said, "it's OK, I knew I was getting a jacket." We all started laughing. After breakfast, my Mom started to put the turkey in the oven but it was unable to fit due to the pot that it was in & the fact that the ham had to cook in there with it. We had to jerry rig a cheap aluminum container & even though it worked, the turkey took forever to cook & by the time we were ready to eat our dinner, it was no where near ready. We ate just the ham instead. It was very frustrating for my Mom because her Christmas dinner didn't turn out the way she wanted. We all thought it was a great dinner though, even without the turkey. Here's a pic I took of Mom in her cute apron doing her thing in the kitchen: To continue with our luck of the day, while I was setting the table for Christmas dinner, I dropped one of my Mom's white, tall candles that she has had for years & only puts out at Christmas; of course it broke in half & I had to tell her what happened. My Mom had planned to make more cinnamon buns that evening but since everything seemed to be going wrong, she decided to postpone it & make them in the morning; she had a feeling that they would turn out horribly just because of the way the day was going. Now of course, these aren't terrible things, they're just annoying & like my Dad said, "if this is all that goes wrong for us today, we are pretty damn lucky." Here are a few more pics I took before we opened our presents: Dan & Ben
Us (I love this one of Dan). After Christmas dinner, we decided to take a few family photos. Here are the ones that were taken with my camera: "The kids."
With Mom.
With Dad.
Our family of 3 (I love that Dan is holding Lexi's paw).
We later figured out how my Mom's camera timer works & we took our entire family photo with hers. I still need to get a copy of those pics.

We had a wonderful Christmas & were so grateful to spend it in PA; even though my Mom put an extra 10 lbs. on us from all of the food that she made. I have never eaten that much in 4 days, ever. We hope all of you had a Merry Christmas. :o)

Perks

2010-12-28T14:59:00.002-05:00

Since it's the holidays, I wanted to share with you a few of the things that The DLF has been doing.

In one of our Monday morning meetings earlier this month, we were handed information on Artemis House which is a county-sponsored shelter for battered women in Fairfax, VA. We were assigned to a child/mother & we were given $100 to spend on gifts. They made it easy for us because we were given information on the child/mother that we were assigned to, i.e. their age, shoe size, clothing size & their wish lists. I was given a 3 year old boy with the first initial D. I was pretty excited because my nephew, JT, is 2 years old & I love shopping for him. Here's what I got D:

~ 3 shirts
~ 2 pairs of pants
~ Spiderman light up shoes (his info. said he loved Spiderman)
~ a winter coat
~ 1 Spiderman action figure
~ 1 Ironman action figure (this thing was huge)
~ Bolt, the movie

I had a lot of fun shopping & it's always more fun to spend someone elses money. :o) I really hope D was able to enjoy his Christmas & even though I wasn't able to see his face when he opened those presents, at least his Mom was able to.

At the time that we were given our $100, we were given $25 to buy for our office secret santa gift. Instead of buying gifts for everyone in our office, they came up with the idea of setting a limit & only buying 1 gift because there are 11 of us. Even if we were to buy small gifts for everyone, that adds up. The day that our secret santa exchange was scheduled, we also had a cookie bake off. The rules were that everyone in the office had to make their own cookie/bar. Each person would bring theirs in without labeling it & then everyone would vote for their favorite, anonymously. Unfortunately, I was not able to participate in the secret santa/cookie exchange this year but my co-workers saved me one of each cookie & I later brought in my secret santa gift. I had actually wanted to keep my secret santa gift because it was so cute. I had bought a white & glittery silver tablecloth with snowflakes on it, a white bowl with silver edging with snowflakes & 2 bunches of white & silver snowflake ornaments. Yes, it was themed. Maybe next year I'll learn to buy something that I won't want to keep for myself.

The gifts that I got from DLF were a $100 gift card to Elizabeth Arden Spa, a bottle of wine & a nice Christmas bonus. :o) When I had opened my Elizabeth Arden Spa gift card, Sandra Lue said, "now we get to pick a day, go to happy hour & then get a massage!" :o) I love her.

We still have one more event to look forward to & that is our end of the year dinner. Apparently in years past, The DLF has rented a limo that takes all of us out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. Ours is scheduled for this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Everyone is pretty excited because our office is closed this Friday so we get a fancy dinner & a long weekend. :o)

More details will follow.

Expensive Pets

2010-12-28T09:19:00.004-05:00

As I was logging into my email account this morning, I ran across an article by Nancy Keates, "The $20,000 Pet". Since Dan is always saying that Lexi is so expensive & that we should've just had a baby when we were contemplating buying her from the breeder down in South Carolina, of course I had to read it.

"It's no secret that Americans love their pets. But these days, all that love is leading to an unprecedented level of expense for millions of owners, who are only beginning to understand the pet-world concept of sticker shock. Caught up in a wave of new medical options and lured by an increasingly sophisticated cadre of veterinarians, pet owners across the country are forking over thousands -- and even tens of thousands -- of dollars to treat illnesses that would have gone undiagnosed or untreated just a few years ago. And then doing it again if they have to. Of course, pet owners and most vets have the animals' best interest in mind. But that doesn't make it any easier: With health insurance covering the humans in many families, it's not unusual for pet owners to spend far more money on health care for their cats and dogs than for their sons and daughters. According to a report by market-research, Americans spent $20 billion on veterinary bills in 2010 -- an 8.5% increase from a year earlier and more than double the amount spent just a decade ago.

Much of that money is being spent on new medical technology. With some of the advances in human health care spreading to the animal kingdom, pet owners have many more options for treatment -- and many more chances to fork over money to cure their pets or at least prolong their pets' lives. Dogs and cats can have pacemakers implanted at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500, while pets with kidney failure can get a kidney-clearing procedure that runs $20,000 to $25,000 for just the first few weeks. Not long ago a vet would most likely have recommended euthanasia for a cat or dog diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness. Today high-tech procedures and equipment, such as chemotherapy and MRIs -- and yes, CAT scans -- allow for better diagnosis and more-advanced treatment."

After reading this I'm actually thankful for Lexi's sensitive tummy & knocking on wood that we don't have to deal with anything more serious. I do have to say that I would be in the category of paying whatever cost is necessary in order to keep Lexi here with us. For those of you that are interested in reading the entire article, click here.

In Remembrance. . .

2010-12-18T07:55:00.003-05:00

I have been thinking about this post for the last few days & the only way I know how to do it is to speak from the heart..."When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight".

We have lost someone very special, Dan's mother/my mother-in-law, Vicki. Yes, our hearts are broken that we cannot see her loving face & bright smile, but God had his reasons for taking her when he did & at 3:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning, she went peacefully surrounded by family & friends. Grieving comes in all stages & although a piece of us is missing, our memories & stories of her will live forever. I will miss her sweet demeanor, her quirky personality, the love she had for her family/friends, her superb cooking/baking skills, her outlook on life with a twist of science fiction, the sound she made after her first sip of beer, her love for animals, her craftiness & her welcoming arms which she gave me when I became a part of her family. We will see you again but until that day comes, enjoy your time with your Father; he's missed you dearly. We love you.

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that she’ll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she’s left.

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember her and only that she’s gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she’d want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Vicki Lynn Coghlan (1948 - 2010)

Calling All Country Fans Vol. 3

2010-12-03T22:48:00.000-05:00

It's that time again to share some of the country music that I've been listening to. For those of you that are not country fans, this is not the post for you. In past posts, I would add a link that would take you to a website where you could listen to the song; since that takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to put together, I'm just going to add the youtube music videos. Yes, I'm being lazy. Here you go...:o)

Sunny Sweeney - From A Table Away

Thompson Square - Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?

Sara Evans - A Little Bit Stronger

Josh Thompson - Way Out Here

Randy Montana - Ain't Much Left Of Lovin' You ~I love this song; its one of my favorites.

Kenny Chesney - Somewhere With You ~I just heard this song for the first time this morning on my way to work.

Taylor Swift - Back to December ~I have liked every song of hers, just admit it, she's good.

Luke Bryan - Someone Else Calling You Baby

Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party ~What is a country post without some Jason Aldean?! Sorry bud, I know how much you don't like him.

Have a great weekend!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T10:07:00.002-05:00

As you know, I signed up for the Centreville 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning with my co-workers, Sandra & Lisa. Unfortunately, Lisa hurt her back a month or so before race day so she wasn't able to run with us. :o( S & I had a hurt knee & a hurt ankle but we decided to run anyway & just do the best we could; our main goal was to just finish, we weren't really worried about the time. I arrived a few minutes before S & S did so I decided to pick up all of our stuff so they wouldn't have to wait in line, it was totally packed & freezing. It had rained the night before so everything was still wet. After we got our gear on, we walked over to the runners section & waited for the race to start. When we crossed the start line, we were packed in like sardines. From past experience, I figured people would spread out eventually as the race proceeded but we were all pretty close together most of the time; you definitely had to watch out for people cutting in front of you, people stopping to walk that were running in front of you & little kids that were running with their parents; you were basically dodging people the entire time. Thankfully, my ankle did not start to hurt until just before the 3 mile marker; I then started to get that toothache feeling, throbbing, but towards the end of the race, the sharp pains kicked in. It didn't help that I didn't really eat anything before the race so by the 2 mile marker I was hungry. Somewhere in the first mile we lost Santiago so it was just S & I running together. As we approached the finish line, we did pick up our pace a little but with my hunger & ankle pain, it definitely wasn't a sprint. As we crossed, I told S that I felt like I was going to throw up & she said, "I don't know if I'm going to throw up or cry." I started laughing. As we waited for Santiago, we waited by their car & drank some Gatorade & my nausea went away. Once Santiago met up with us, we had tried to go back to the Community Center to get a snack & listen to the awards but it was just a sea of people & we decided to just go home. Here is a photo I took of the two love birds walking back to their car: They were holding hands. :o)

Once the race results were posted online I was able to look up our times. I had worn my watch during the race & tried to keep track of our pace & our time once we crossed the finish line & my watch said: 31:26. I did have some problems starting it once we crossed the start line & I completely forgot to stop it once we crossed the finish line. But here are our times which were tracked by the device that we put on our shoes:

1730 625 Danielle C., F Sterling VA (time) 30:29.72 (pace) 9:49

1724 2099 Sandra L., F Manassas VA (time) 30:28.40 (pace) 9:49

1787 2975 Santiago S., M Manassas VA (time) 30:45.68 (pace) 9:55

After I got home, I packed Lexi & I for our short trip to WV. We left the house at Noon & arrived at my in-laws at 1:45 p.m. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of: Dan, Me, Lexi, Tom, Kristen, Jackson, Rylee, Kelly, Aurie, Glenn, Arden, Skylar, Vicki & Don. We usually have more family members with us but since Dan's Mom has been under the weather for several weeks, we tried to keep it small. In order to keep Vicki out of the kitchen & in rest mode, Don made the decision to have our Thanksgiving dinner catered. While we were hanging out & waiting for dinner to be ready, I gave my camera to Arden & Skylar so they could take pictures. Here is what I ended up with: Dan & Don (he looked very spiffy with his leather vest & matching cowboy boots)
Arden
Me (I have no idea)
Dan playing with JT...
Skylar
Lexi watching JT play
Arden, Lexi & I
Tom & Rylee - caught by surprise
Kelly
JT cheesin' Rylee sporting my bracelet - she loved the sparkles & even tried to eat it Skylar & Kelly Lexi - she was such a good girl during our visit Rylee & I Skylar - LOL Skylar & I
We had a great time seeing the family & getting to spend the holiday together. We hope all of you were surrounded by friends & family & had a Happy Thanksgiving. :o)

Lexi's Birthday Post

2010-11-21T16:54:00.005-05:00

Our pretty girl turned 4 years old on November 17th. Yes, in my last Updates post I said her birthday was on the 8th & I was wrong. I don't know where I got the 8th from but I'm glad I was wrong because I was feeling terrible the last several days for not celebrating by baking her birthday cake. We were able to celebrate today though! On Saturday afternoon Dan & I went to Wegman's & picked up the ingredients for her cake. This morning we took her to Petco so we could get her a toy & they ended up having a deal, 2 for $5, so we got her a red crab (Dan picked that one out) & a monkey that is wearing pj's (my pick). We also looked at some of their coats because she is in need of one this year; I found a cute pink one that has ruffles & zips up the back, no velcro - thank the Lord, but we decided to wait until the weather gets a little colder before we buy one. Here is a photo I took after we cut all the tags off of her toys: She was very excited & even started shaking the crap out of the crab after I took this picture. To our sweet Lexi (aka, Winker, Stink, Frenchie, Lexers): You have the cutest personality & we love you very much. You make us laugh constantly & even though your barking is like a piercing scream, we wouldn't trade you for anything. Your begging, at times, can be very frustrating but the way you pull the tablecloth with your teeth to get our attention is hysterical. You mostly like to beg from Grammie because she loves giving you treats: You usually don't like to get your picture taken but you humor me when I'm in one of my camera happy moods: You love to run around in the snow - but after several minutes your little paws get cold & I have to stuff you in my jacket to keep you warm. One of your favorite things to do is snuggle, you are the epitome of a lap dog & we love that about you. You bring so much joy into our lives that we just wouldn't be the same without you.
Love, Mommy & Daddy

Now that it is dark by the time I get home, Lexi & I have been going down in the basement to have play time. Here is a video I took of us having fun:

Happy Birthday to our Lexipoo!