Ski Trip

Monday morning Dan & I got up early & drove up to Seven Springs for the day. We had actually wanted to stay the night but everything was booked when we tried to schedule online. Driving up for the day is not bad at all because the lift tickets they have let you ski until 7 p.m. so you're basically there the entire day. Dan & I arrived around 10:00 a.m. & bought our tickets, rented our boots, skis & poles & headed out to the lift. For a Monday there were a good bit of people there. I gave him a quick lesson on snow plowing & using his poles before we went on the lift. We got in line to get on the lift & he did very well; didn't fall like most people do the first time trying to get on. We made it up the mountain & went down the "Children's Skill Hill" first to make sure he could get the hang the of things. The first time down he was basically a kamakaazee. His poles were stretched out to his sides, he went straight down without snow plowing & almost hit one of the kids in the Tiny Tots Ski Lesson group. Going back up the ski lift for the second time I told him we were going to practice turning, stopping & snow plowing. We went down the "Skill Hill" again just to make sure he could control himself this time & he did a lot better. No one was almost killed that time. We decided to go down a circle slope which is the easiest of all the slopes they have there. He got better every time he went down; I was very impressed. There were a couple times when I would say "great job babe!" & he would lose his concentration & almost fall but that was only because I was talking to him & distracted him. Around 12:30 p.m. we decided to go into the lobby for some lunch so I told Dan to follow me to the lodge. We took a side exit which was a lot smaller than what he was use to stopping in. When I stopped to take my skiis off I noticed Dan was not right behind me; I looked back & he was lying on the ground with his left ski off & he looked like he was in pain. There was a little kid that was handing him his ski so I went over there & asked him what happened. He said a kid on a snowboard stopped right in front of him & he tried to hurry up & ski around him so he wouldn't hit him but his skiis crossed & he fell on his left side, hitting his head & his shoulder on the ground. The left side of his head was slightly swollen & he couldn't raise his left arm over his head. We took his skiis off & went into the lobby so I could have a ski patrolman paged. They came to check him out & told him that they needed to take him to their headquarters to be examined. They ended up putting a neck brace on him & had him lie on a gurney so he wouldn't walk to the vehicle. It was a little scary the way they were wrapping him up but the EMT assured me that it was only for precautions. We spent the rest of our afternoon at the Ski Patrol headquarters having Dan ice his shoulder & them checking his vitals to make sure he didn't have a concussion. They released him around 3:00 p.m. & we made our way back to my parents house. The day was going well & Dan was doing so great until the snowboarder messed everything up. Dan said on the way home, "if I ever see that kid again I'm going to kill him". I would say I have to agree. I'm hoping he feels a little better today than he did yesterday but I'm pretty sure he's going to be worse; that soreness is going to kick in.
At the end of the day Dan did say we would go back because he did have fun up until the incident. All I have to say is watch out for the snowboarders when you're out skiing, they stop in the middle of the trail & sit down which means you have to ski around them & they fly past you almost like they're going to run into you. I've been skiing since I was 5 & every time I go I have problems with snowboarders. They can suck the fun out of skiing for you.

Family Game Night

Last night after Christmas dinner, we all crowded around the TV to play the DVD game Scene It? which Ben started collecting several years ago but we've never actually got around to playing it. We're more of a Scrabble, Monopoly, Cranium, Taboo type of family. Since we didn't have an even number to separate into teams, Mom & Ben played against Dad, Dan & I. The first round we played the Scene It? TV Edition which Ben is an expert at because no one watches more TV than he does. Him & Mom were leading the entire game until right at the end when the 3 of us caught up & beat 'em. Needless to say Ben wasn't too happy; he is very competitive. Since that game was so much fun we decided to pop in the Scene It? Movie Edition. We used the same teams & the 3 champs won again. We may have another round one of these nights coming up but my favorite game to play with the family is Cranium. I have never laughed so hard while playing that game. Dan has never been much of a game player but after marrying into my family he's gotta get use to it at some point. I think he's gotten better over the years; now he just takes it as it comes. There is some moaning when we all say, "lets play a game!" but for the most part he's a team player once we get started.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas & had as much fun as we did. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Christmas Break - Jump For Joy!

Today is my last day of work & then I am officially on vacation! I am so excited. Now I know how the high school kids feel when they get a week off for Christmas break. I am taking my vacation now because I did not get to take a vacation during the summer; I'm kind of excited that I held off because now I get to enjoy the holidays with my family. As I have said in previous posts, I planned my vacation for the same week that Dan has off of school. Now since we got that huge snow storm, Dan has been off this entire week so he actually gets 2 weeks off for Christmas break. I refuse to be bummed about his long break because at least I am getting a week off. Yes, he did try to rub it in that he did not have to work this week but I am being positive & will not get sucked into a pity party. You're probably wondering how I have time to post this on our blog considering I am leaving tomorrow but I told myself that I needed a break from my long list of to dos & since my boss went out to get some lunch I am seizing the opportunity to have some me time. I have already planned on being here after closing time in case I don't get all of my work done. Like I said, I am staying positive.
While we are up in PA for the holidays, Dan & I have plans to go skiing, visit old friends & spend time with my family. I am soo excited to go skiing. This will be Dan's first time down the slopes so it should be pretty hilarious. He has already said that he will be an excellent skiier & will have no problems because he's got "great hips". We shall see Lover, we shall see. :o)
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. Enjoy the time you spend with your family because I know I will.

Thankful For Neighbors

Dan & I woke up this morning to a TON of snow. Even though Dan's school got cancelled for tomorrow, I have to go into the office or my boss will absolutely kill me. So Dan went out to shovel out our cars & found that several of our neighbors were out helping others. We were so thankful for this because if it was just the two of us working to dig out the cars, it would have taken us forever. Having a team of 7 people with snow shovels really gets the job done. At first I came out with Lexi because she had a little cabin fever & I was just standing around watching everyone; eventually I felt bad so I put Lexi inside & then went back out to help. It was a good work out shoveling all of that snow, I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Dan will probably have to end up taking me to work in the morning even though I can get my car out of my parking spot because the main road was terrible when Dan & I walked around to check things out. I'm not sure how the roads will be tomorrow but I'd rather rely on Dan's F-150 with 4 wheel drive than my Matrix.
Thank you to all of our wonderful neighbors that helped us out today. We are so grateful for your help.

Snow Storm

This morning we woke up to several inches of snow & it is still falling. The news says we're suppose to receive 10 - 12 inches before the storm passes. I'm a little bummed that we can't go out & finish the rest of our Christmas shopping today, I was really looking forward to it. I guess we'll have to wait & see if we'll be able to get out tomorrow. Dan actually did go out this morning to make a trip to Wegman's & he said the roads are terrible; its a good thing he has his truck. On the way back home he stopped & helped a few police officers that were assisting others that got stuck in the snow. As they were pushing a girl up a small hill that was driving an Eclipse Dan said the police officer said, "idiots". I agree. You can't drive a sports car in weather like this, what are people thinking?
Dan & I tried to take Lexi potty this morning & she refused to go out into the several inches of snow so Dan had to clear her a little spot in the yard for her to go. Spoiled rotten! She's not the type of dog that likes to run around & play in the snow. Now you know why we call her Miss Priss. :o) Below is a photo of our back yard where the snow has completely covered the bottom of our fence. If Miss Priss went out there I think she would be completely covered. Today we plan on getting caught up on our cleaning and baking for our gift baskets. I might even wrap some Christmas presents because there is no way I'll have time next week after work. Dan & I are leaving on Christmas Eve to drive up to my parents house & I am so excited. Dan is out of school the week of the 28th so I coordinated my vacation so we would have the same week off. We plan on going skiing while up in PA & visiting our friends from college. Of course I am most excited to spend time with my family. Christmas time is always a fun time at my parents house. We do a lot of family activities together. We're that nerdy family that plays board games together, bakes cookies, watches movies together & listen to Christmas music. I absolutely love my family. :o)

Sound Machine Happiness

I love waking up after a good nights sleep but towards the end of November I started having problems sleeping in complete silence. I would hear every little noise outside & I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. I use to have complete silence for me to fall asleep & now things have changed. I still cannot fall asleep with the TV on but Dan on the other hand has to have the TV on when he's falling asleep. So usually what happens is he watches TV down in his "man room" until he falls asleep & then he gets up & comes to bed. A few months ago when I went over to my neighbors Laura & Evan's she showed me the sound machine that her & Evan use; they also have sound machines in their daughter's room & their son's room. I thought this was a good idea since they take naps during the day & can drown out all of the noise that's going on during the day. I didn't think I would be able to sleep with one...until now. When I started having problems sleeping, I thought about buying one until Dan told me that the alarm clock that he used in college had a sound machine on it & I should try & use that one. Great idea Hubby! So I set it up in our bedroom & the alarm has 3 options for the sound machine: (1) birds; this sounds like thousands of birds chirping together at the same time & actually made me cringe when I heard it so that was out. (2) bubbling brook; this had the sound of trickling water & frogs. The frogs were enormously loud no matter what volume level I set it on so that was out too. (3) ocean; this was my pick. The sound of the waves & the seagulls was completely calming to me & now I have been using the sound machine ever since. The first couple of nights Lexi would bark & get off the bed to check & see what was going on but now she's gotten use to it. Dan has been having problems with the seagulls & can't sleep because he feels like they are "right in his ear". Hopefully he'll be able to get use to it because I don't think I can sleep without it now. I wonder what I'm going to do when we go to my parents house for Christmas? I may have to take it with me.

Sweet Dreams everyone. :o)

Secret Santa Gifts

This year Dan's history department decided to start a Secret Santa gift exchange for Christmas. They are doing it a bit differently though because they are having each person buy 1 gift a week for their person until Christmas. Obviously these gifts are not expensive because one person found 2 packets of instant cocoa in their mailbox the day of the Secret Santa exchange. Now that is a pretty cheap gift wouldn't you agree? This past week Dan found a book in his mailbox from his Secret Santa & he brought it home for me to see. I thought this was hilarious. I had never heard of this book but Dan & I read it on Friday night & we couldn't stop laughing. This is a great gag gift if anyone is looking for one. I even told Dan that we should buy one for my brother because he would think it was hilarious. The only other "poo" book that I know of is the childrens book "Everyone Poops". The first time I found out about that book was in high school when I was a student worker for a kindergarten class at our elementary school. The kids had asked me to read it for story time; great pick don't you think? None of them could stop giggling. So as I was looking online for a picture of the book "What's Your Poo Telling You?", I came across the authors new book which is "What's My Pee Telling Me?" I have not read this one but if its as funny as the other one, I'd like to.

This year my family decided to do Secret Santa instead of buying for everyone. I think this is a great idea. After all, Christmas is not about how many gifts you have under the tree. Dan's family decided to do the same thing this year also. All of us set a limit on what we could buy & I have to say that shopping this year is so much more fun than the previous years. I was always so stressed about what I would get everyone, how many gifts we should buy them & to make sure that no one was favored more than the others. That is a lot of stress. Setting a limit & only buying for a few people lets you use your imagination. I have liked every gift that we have picked out this year & am excited to give the gifts. I hope you all keep in mind what Christmas is really about & not get too wrapped up in the presents. :o)

Shop 'Til You Drop...Literally

Last night Dan & I had a date night at Cheesecake Factory & after dinner we went to the Dulles Town Center mall to do some Christmas shopping. We should be done with all of our shopping but unfortunately we are not. Even after 2 hours of walking up & down the mall, we still have more shopping to do. :o( When I was choosing my outfit to go to dinner I did not plan on walking up & down a mall for 2 hours so I am really suffering today with blisters & sore feet. A little tip from me to you, do not choose stiletto boots when you are planning to go shopping for several hours. Now you would think that would be common knowledge but not for me. One of my favorite sayings is "when all else fails, look cute". Once I started complaining about my feet Dan said he didn't want to hear it because I picked the shoes I was wearing. Again, no sympathy from the Hubby. The boots that I wore last night are similar to these:
Obviously not exactly the same because these are Manolo Blahnik's & completely out of my price range (but aren't they beautiful?).
Anyway, last night was a successful shopping trip because we got some great deals. I was pleasantly surprised. I still need to do some shopping this coming weekend but I'm hoping that will be easy. You know every year I tell myself that I am going to start Christmas shopping early & I end up waiting until the last minute. Man I hate it when I do that. I hope all of you planned better than I did. Happy shopping!

Family + Work = Fun

Since I missed 2 and 1/2 days of work this week because I was sick, I was pretty behind on the every day stuff that I have to get done in the office, i.e. filing, paying bills, organizing, etc. On Friday I stayed at work until 7 trying to get things caught up but since my boss was still there working, he kept interrupting me & wanting help with the things he was working on. When I got home on Friday night I mentioned to Dan that I was going to get up early in the morning & go into the office to do some filing, etc. To my surprise he said he would come with me to help & that we should bring Lexi. I said OK thinking that by morning he would change his mind & want to stay home & relax. My alarm clock went off at 8:00 a.m. & when I went down to take Lexi potty, he was up & asked what time we were leaving to go to the office. He is such a good husband. :o) We left the house at 8:30 a.m. & stayed until 11:00 a.m. Lexi was so well behaved probably because we took 3 of her toys with us & she ran around the office the entire time playing; so very cute. I put Dan to work alphabetizing & copying invoices that we were mailing out. He did very well & was a huge help to me & now I am officially caught up on all of my filing, bill paying & organizing. :o) My boss ended up coming into the office around 10:00 a.m. & was pleased to see that we had brought Lexi with us. He did try to play with her & her toys but she was a little hesitant since this was really the first time that they met. When my boss saw that I brought Dan in to help he commented that what I was making him do was "spousal abuse"; I informed him that volunteering to help does not fall under the category of spousal abuse & he eventually agreed with me. On our way home I realized that 2 hours of work with my little family was definitely more fun than spending 2 hours of work by myself on a Saturday morning. Hopefully I'll be able to have more "bring your family to work days" in the future. =]

Under The Weather

I am at home again today. I haven't got my voice back yet but I'm hoping tomorrow there will be improvement. I'm not sure how much longer I can stay home; I feel like I'm going crazy. It gets pretty boring. There is nothing on TV, I can't call anyone because I don't have a voice & there is only so much straightening & picking up I can do around the house until I have no energy & have to lie down. I hate to say this but I'm actually looking forward to going back to work; saying that will probably come back to bite me in the ass though. Life gets pretty exciting when you're at home sick. Some things that I have done the past 2 days are: (1) drank my weight in cups of hot tea; (2) taken 4 showers to try & feel better; (3) done some laundry; (4) eatin' 2 packages of original graham crackers; (5) ordered Christmas presents online; (6) taken photos of Lexi being cute; (7) spoken to my boss on the phone at least 10 times; (8) organized my shoes in my closet; (9) changed from my Fall purse to my winter purse; & last but not least (10) swept the living room/dining room/kitchen 3 times. Aren't you jealous? I hope everyone is having a more productive week than I am so far.

At Home With Lexi

Since Friday I have been fighting not to lose my voice & this morning when I woke up to go to work, it was gone. My throat has been sore & I do have a cough so hopefully I'm not coming down with strep. Losing my voice could not have come at a worse time because today my boss has a huge brief due by 5:00 today & of course I am not there to help him. I'm sure he is just thrilled! I am already counting how many phone calls I get from him today, right now we are on 4.
So anyway, I am staying home with Lexi for the day & when she realized that I was not getting in the shower & getting ready for work she was very excited. So we are having a girls day at home while Daddy is working. Now I ask you, what does one do when there is nothing on TV & you have seen all of the movies that you own at least 3 times? You take pictures of the house all decorated & some pictures of Lexi.
(Our fire place, of course Lexi gets her own stocking)
(Our first fake tree)
(Our dining room table, small yes, but perfect for us)
(Living in a townhouse you really have to learn how to use all of your space)

(As soon as I moved the couches to take a photo of the tree, Lexi grabbed 2 of her toys & went to play under the tree; how did I get her to look at the camera? I said, "where's Daddy?")
As I am working on this post, Lexi is MIA; I have been calling for her & she hasn't come yet. This usually means she has gotten into something that she's not suppose to so I went to look upstairs & this is what I found:
(Someone got into Mommy's closet but before I took it away I took one more photo)
Happy Monday everyone.

HHS Silent Auction

On Friday night Dan & I went to the Herndon High School Silent Auction that was being held at the Holiday Inn in Chantilly. All of the money was going to the Herndon High School baseball team & the night was a hit. There were so many people that showed up & it was a lot of fun. Dan & I did bid on quite a few things but unfortunately we didn't leave with anything except a large poinsetta that was used for decorations which is behind Lexi in her Christmas photo above. Our friends Doug & Meta met us at the auction & it was so good to see them; we hadn't seen them in a few months. After the auction was over we went to the hotel bar called Bob O's & had some dinner & drinks. Below is a photo that I had Meta take of Dan & I: On Saturday we hung out at home & watched the first snow fall of the year. We got about 2 to 4 inches & I absolutely loved it. I was going to take some photos but I got side tracked while getting out our Christmas decorations & putting up our tree. This year I was so excited to decorate because last year we didn't put a tree up because we were going to be in PA for Christmas & thought it was a waste of time. We bought our first fake tree this year & even though I miss the smell of a real tree in the house, I really do like it. This is the first fake tree I have had. My Mom always had real trees when my brother & I were growing up. I can't wait to see what she decorates her tree like this year, it always looks so great. One of the traditions that I miss is helping my Mom decorate our tree. We still have one tradition that is going strong which is watching the movie While You Were Sleeping on Christmas Eve. That is one of our favorite Christmas movies. :o)
This morning while Dan was cooking a big breakfast, I made the attempt to take Lexi's Christmas photo. I can't even count how many photos I took of her before I got the perfect one. She really doesn't like getting her picture taken so I have to bribe her with either treats, people food or naming her toys in order to get that head to the side look. Dan even tried to help me with a handful of turkey & asking her to "sit". This obviously didn't work because she just stood up on her hind legs & begged for the turkey. I was laughing the entire time. She really didn't know what was going on. Eventually, I ended up with the adorable photo above. Here is one of the photos that did not turn out (can you tell she is smelling the turkey?): This afternoon our neighbor Laura is going to come by to take some Christmas photos of Dan, Lexi & I. We are so thankful that she is coming over to help us because she is busy with 2 babies of her own. I will be sure to post the photos for everyone to see. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. =]

Decorating Weekend

Dan & I will be pulling out our Christmas decorations this weekend to make the inside & the outside of our house a little more festive. I am pretty excited about it because we are putting up lights in the front yard & I have been wanting to do that since we first moved in. I have a ton of Christmas decorations for the inside & we recently got decorations for the outside. I like the simple white light look so don't expect every inch of our townhouse to be lit up in ugly Christmas colors. Dan & I argue about that probably every year because he was raised in a house where they only used colored Christmas lights. I can't stand those; white lights say Christmas to me. One of my biggest pet peeves is driving past a house that has used all colored lights & only some parts of the house are flickering on & off because they used a combination of regular & twinkle lights. Just thinking about it makes me irritated!
Anyway, speaking of decorating, I was searching online this week for some ideas & came across this photo: I think the stairs is a great place to hang your stockings if you don't have a fireplace. Of course our house never looks that neat & put together but its nice to dream. If you are looking for more Christmas decorating ideas, you can hop over to these websites:

~ Martha Stewart
~ Rachael Ray
~ Better Homes & Gardens
~ HGTV

Have fun sprucing up your home for the holidays, I know Dan & I will. :o)

Its Good To Be Home

Dan, Lexi & I had a great Thanksgiving with his family but it's always nice to come back home after being gone for a few days. I know Lexi was very pleased to be at home & back in her routine. I can't wait until we start our own traditions & get to be at our house for some of the holidays.
So like I said in the Thanksgiving Plans post below, Dan went up to his parents house on Wednesday night so he could go hunting with his Dad in the morning on Thanksgiving & the good news about that hunting trip was that they didn't get anything. I was praying on my drive up to WV that they wouldn't. Lexi & I left our house around 11:00 a.m. & drove to Tom & Kristen's house in Inwood, WV. We stayed with them until Saturday afternoon. It was so nice seeing them & getting to spend time with JT; unfortunately he was getting over the flu so he was a little miserable but still adorable. Kristen's dogs played well with Lexi too. When we went over to our in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner Kristen & I left all 3 dogs to roam the house & I was pretty nervous about that because I was afraid of what Lexi would get into. When she's at our house she's fine during the day but at someone else's house...I get a little nervous. Thanksgiving dinner was great. My in-laws always do a good job. The turkey was so good & my favorite part is my mother-in-law's homemade bread. I limited myself to one piece this year & that was difficult because I think I have eaten 5 pieces in one sitting before. Yikes! We ended up getting home around 7:00 p.m. so we were gone for about 5 hours. Thankfully when we walked into Kristen's house there was no mess, none of the dogs were bleeding & everything was in the same spot it was when we left. I'm sure all they did was sleep the entire time we were gone but I still worry about it.
On Friday we didn't do a whole lot just hung around the house & played with JT. We had Kelly over for dinner & invited Aurie, Arden & Skylar over so we could draw names for Secret Santa; that was fun because they brought their puppy Chi Chi who is so cute. Here is a photo that was taken when we first met her. (Her little tail is constantly wagging.)
Friday night we were all party poopers because we fell asleep around 8:00 p.m. Even Dan was tired which is very unusual.
Saturday morning I got up around 8:30 a.m. & went with Kelly, Arden & Skylar to do some Christmas shopping; Kelly also wanted me to go to help her pick out a purse. I didn't buy anything because Dan & I paid off our hardwood floors last week so we promised not to spend any money that was not necessary until our pay checks cleared next week. Thank the Lord that we paid off those floors & they are officially ours now. That was definitely the best money we have ever spent, in my opinion, I love absolutely love them. I'm trying to sweet talk Dan into new countertops for our kitchen but its not going over so well so we will see what happens. Anyway, after our little shopping trip, I went back to Tom & Kristen's, picked up Lexi & headed home.
Saturday night Dan & I went out to eat at Red Robin for dinner; we hadn't been there in quite a while & then we went to Target & picked out a Christmas tree (a fake one obviously) & bought some lights to decorate our front yard. Dan is not excited to put lights up because he says it draws attention to our house & then there is a better chance at someone stealing our decorations. One of the things that he said while we were at Target was "why do you want to decorate the outside? We're decorating the inside & that's where the love is". I just looked at him & smiled.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving like we did!

Thanksgiving Plans

Every year for Thanksgiving Dan, Lexi & I spend it with his family in West Virginia. We started this tradition after we got married to separate the holidays & then Christmas is spent with my family in PA. We usually leave Wednesday night & drive up to his parents house but this year is going to be a bit different. Since Dan hunts Thanksgiving morning with his Dad, his brother Tom & his brother-in-law Glenn at his parents property, he is going to drive up Wednesday night & stay with his parents. Lexi & I are going to wait until Thursday morning & drive up to Tom & Kristen's house where we will be staying. Taking Lexi to Dan's parents house is so stressful because they have 3 big dogs & Lexi is terrified of them. Past Thanksgivings I have had to keep her in the guest room the entire time or keep her on her leash while she's in their house. Finally this year Dan agreed with me that its too stressful to stay at his parents house with Lexi so I'm going to keep Tom & Kristen company Thursday night & then Dan is going to join us on Friday. I'm excited to see everyone & get to spend time with our nieces & nephew. Usually in attendance for Thanksgiving dinner is: Dan's Mom & Dad (of course), sisters Aurie & Kelly, brother Tom, brother-in-law Glenn, nieces Arden & Skylar, sister-in-law Kristen, nephew Jackson, Granny Bernie, Aunt Gerrie & her husband, cousin Katie, Glenn's mother Mary Lou & then Dan & I. So they have a full house. We'll probably be staying in WV until Saturday afternoon & then we're going to come back to Virginia. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving & enjoys spending time with their family. :o)

Weekend Wrap Up

Daughtry: On Thursday night Dan & I went to see Daughtry with our friend Ashley. We met up with Katie, Lindsay, Aubrey & her husband Justin too. When we got to the Patriot Center we obviously did not sit in our assigned seats because they weren't very good, so we snuck down towards the front & ended up getting some great seats & since no one claimed them we were able to stay & watch the concert from there. The opening act was Theory of a Deadman which has a song out on the radio right now, Not Meant To Be; that was the only song I knew that they sang. They were entertaining though. Once Daughtry came out everyone went nuts. They had some great visual effects throughout the show like the lights & they had flames shooting out - it got so hot where we were sitting because it we were right by the stage. Dan was a good sport throughout; he kept yelling "Freebird" in between sets & it would make everyone laugh that was sitting next to us. When the concert was over we started to walk outside & realized that it was absolutely pouring down rain; I mean buckets. Our only choice was to walk/run back to the car because we had parked so we could walk to the Patriot Center. After rolling up my pants & pulling my hair back Dan & I ran all the way back to the car & by the time we got there we were completely soaked. I was laughing the entire time because that is just our luck. Dan kept saying "you're running so slow, come on, pick it up!" My response was "what the hell? I'm running in heels & I've got a big ass purse on my shoulder, give me a break!" We got home around 12:00 p.m. & Lexi was happy to see us. She was probably wondering what was going on since we never go out on a week night. Below is a slide show of the photos I took. Can you tell we had fun? :o)

Lexi's Birthday: As you know, Lexi's 3rd birthday was on the 17th & we weren't able to do a whole lot so on Saturday morning I took her with me to run some errands. I had to go to my office to get Dan & I's movie tickets for Saturday night because I left them there. No one was there so when we walked into the office I took her off her leash & she ran around sniffing everything. I got the tickets & some bottled water & then told Lex that we were ready to go but I couldn't find her anywhere. I went into each office & looked under the desks, etc. The last office I checked was my boss' & I found her sitting in his leather chair looking at me from behind his desk. I was laughing so hard. I wish now that I had taken a picture because it was hilarious. Not sure why she had jumped up there. After our trip to the office I took her to Petsmart to get her a toy for her birthday & some biscuits. It was Adopt A Cat Day at Petsmart in Sterling so the place was packed & there were so many huge dogs that Lexi kept her tail tucked the entire time & kept jumping up at me wanting me to pick her up. The trip to Petsmart wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be but we did get her a new toy. Below is a photo of Lexi with her giraffe that Dan & I got her & her hot dog that my Mom got her for her birthday.
After Lexi & I ran our errands, we went back home & I baked her birthday cake. Below are some photos we took of her.

New Moon: On Saturday night Dan & I went out to dinner at Don Pablo's; they have a great chicken salad. After dinner we went over to see New Moon which I have been waiting to come out in theaters for at least 8 months. I was so excited. The movie was very good, I really liked it. I ended up crying through most of it because I kept remembering all of the book details that were obviously not in the movie. I thought it was pretty sad but that is not going to keep me from buying it on DVD. I can't wait until Eclipse is released, which is the 3rd movie, I heard it was going to be in theaters by June or July next year. If anyone hasn't seen New Moon yet, I recommend seeing it.

Daughtry Here We Come!

If you have been visiting our page regularly, you would have noticed the countdown that I put up on the right side of our page for the Daughtry concert. Finally, it is today! Dan & I are meeting up with our friend Ashley at the Patriot Center tonight & I am so excited! Ashley & I went to see him last year in D.C. & he was great live. This will be Dan's first time seeing him in concert but I know he'll have fun; he likes his music. We're going to be home late tonight & I have to work tomorrow which stinks but I'm sucking it up since its going to be Friday. I'm also going to miss my shows tonight, Vampire Diaries & Grey's Anatomy so I'm a little bummed about that because its a part of my weekly routine but I plan on watching them online tomorrow night after my work out so no one tell me what happens! Happy Thursday everyone & a Happy Thursday it is! :o)

Lexi Turns 3!

I'm using this post to say Happy Birthday to our little Wink. She turns 3 today! I usually have a toy to give her first thing in the morning but I am a little behind this year. I was planning on baking her birthday cake tonight also but I don't have all of the ingredients because I wasn't able to go to the store. So I told Dan that I was going to take her to Petsmart on Saturday to pick out a toy & then we would bake her cake on Saturday so she could have some after dinner. Last year was my first year baking her a cake & she loved it. I found a receipe online which I plan on using each year. If anyone else bakes cakes for their dogs, here is a good receipe:

Peanut Butter Carrot Cake
1 cup flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
Mix flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 8" round cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool. Puree cottage cheese in blender for icing. Decorate with more peanut butter and carrots.

Lexi's 1st birthday was spent at my parents house. Here are a few photos of her with her toy birthday cake & her "I'm the Birthday Girl" shirt.


Her 2nd birthday was during the week & I didn't get her a birthday shirt because she really hates wearing clothes. I did buy her another toy birthday cake but it was so much smaller because I got the "toy" size instead of the standard size; she still loved it.

I'll post some photos next week of her cake & her new toy.

Lunch With The Nikster

On Sunday afternoon I met Nikki, my friend from college, in Arlington for lunch. We had been trying to get together for months but our schedules were never open at the same time. I enjoyed having some girl time since I usually don't get a lot of it now a days. We got caught up on each others lives and people we knew from college & how they are doing. We met at PF Changs which I had been craving for such a long time but Dan refused to go eat there; he's not a huge Chinese food fan. We got to spend about 3 hours together before she had to go into work. Now everyone who knows me knows that I am terrible with directions and I get lost wherever I go. I made it to Arlington fine, followed the directions correctly. On my way home, that was a different story. I got completely turned around & ended up circling PF Changs about 5 times before I realized where my exit was. Geez! I think its time to bite the bullet & get myself a GPS for my car. I think it would work wonders for me.
Sunday night was pretty miserable for Lexi & I. The food that I got at PF Changs did not sit well in my stomach & I was up all night with stomach pains; Lexi has been fighting off some stomach thing too so I'm still giving her chicken & rice to try & help. Her stomach was making noises all night as well as mine; we were just miserable. I didn't feel so well in the morning after being up all night & my stomach pain hadn't subsided so I called in sick on Monday. Lexi & I spent the entire day in bed, listening to The Highway on XM radio & reading The Host by Stephenie Meyer.
Thanks for a great lunch Nik, can't wait to see you again. Love ya!
I'm getting better at the self portraits, don't you think? Our heads are fully intact. =]

What A Stinker

This morning I was fixing Lexi some breakfast, chicken & rice because she has had an upset stomach lately, & I forgot to put the baby lock on the cupboard to the trash can before I went upstairs to take a shower. When I went to get ready for work, Lexi was happily scarfing down her plate. When I got out of the shower I heard her paws on the hardwood floor coming into the bedroom & she stopped in front of the doorway to the bathroom & I noticed she had a baggie in her mouth that she had obviously taken from the trash. She sat down & looked up at me after spitting the baggie out on the floor & I noticed that there was a small piece of chicken (smaller than the size of a dime) left in the baggie. I started laughing immediately & she began to wag her tail. So instead of punishing her for getting into the trash I reached in the baggie & fed her the piece of chicken. She walked away wagging her tail & I went downstairs to clean up the mess that I was sure she made but to my surprise that was the only thing she took out of the trash. She spent the rest of the morning lying on her pillow after I covered her with her blanky. What a little stink!
(I thought this picture was appropriate for this post). =]

Motivation Baby

I am on my second week of the P90X DVDs & I have to say I am feeling 10 times better than I did the first week. I was so sore when I started that it hurt to walk, bend, laugh, basically any kind of movement caused me pain. My moans & complaints to Dan didn't really receive any kind of sympathy because his response was "if you worked out consistently, you wouldn't have to worry about soreness". Even though I hate to say it, he is right. Shhhh, don't tell him I said that. My work out routines seem to vary. I can hit the gym hard for 5 to 6 months & then get so worn out that I take 4 to 5 months off & do absolutely nothing & then when I start back up again I'm starting from scratch & the soreness comes back. I think my problem is that I want to see results fast so in order to get those results, I bust my ass & then I get burned out.
The first time I did the P90X DVDs I did it for 60 days straight; once I hit that 60 day mark I felt so good that I thought, well I can take a few weeks off & it'll be fine. Well, one week turned into two & two turned into three & so on. I have promised myself this time around that I am going to complete the entire 90 days, even if it kills me. This is definitely one of the hardest work outs I have ever done but it worked the first time which is why I am going back to it. Dan, the work out machine, has already completed his second cycle of P90X & knowing him I am sure he will keep going. But I can't dwell on that because every time he loses 10 lbs., I lose 2 lbs. which is VERY frustrating.
So, as I look forward to my Yoga X workout tonight, I can already hear Tony Horton saying, "I know it burns, its suppose to!" Yes it does Tony, YES IT DOES!

Stewart & Pattinson Interview

I am so excited to see New Moon on Saturday, November 21st (I tried buying tickets for opening night but they were all sold out online). I should have realized that I had to buy the tickets a month in advance if I wanted to see it opening night which is what I did for Twilight. My co-worker & I are going to see the movie together so Dan is off the hook this time; he was miserable when we went to see Twilight because of all the girls screaming, you could barely hear the movie.
This morning I was searching the web & found the latest interview of Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson in Bazaar Magazine. If you're interested in reading it, click HERE; you will also be able to see the pictures from their photo shoot. The question still remains if these two are a couple in real life. After reading this interview, I still have no idea whether they are or not. Either way, they look cute together & they have on screen chemistry. I will end this post by quoting my cousin Lissa, "Robert Pattinson is so dreamy". :o) Love you Lis! Wish you were here so we could see the movie together.

Crossoween 2009

Last night Dan & I went to Matt & Liz's Halloween party & it was so much fun. They have a beautiful townhouse that they just moved into. We ended up getting home pretty late because of the beer pong tournament. Someone, & I won't mention any names, got a little sick when we got home so this morning he is recooperating. Below is a slideshow of the photos that I took during the party. I'm only in a few of them because I was the DD last night & made sure we got home safely. Enjoy!


I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Its Fall Ya'll

I usually don't say ya'll in every day conversation but I came up with the title of this post on my way to work this morning & I thought it was cute so I'm rolling with it.
Anyway, so the reason for this post is to say that I FINALLY feel like it is Fall weather. The trees at my office are turning colors & the leaves are starting to shed. Fall has always been my favorite time of year. Since I have a sweet tooth, one of my favorite fall candies are candy corn. This past weekend after Dan, Lexi & I left the pumpkin patch we drove to the grocery store to get a bag of candy corn; it was Dan's idea actually & what a great husband he is to know all of my candy cravings without me even saying anything. Even though we both couldn't keep our hands out of the bag on the ride home & the entire afternoon before dinner, I knew he bought them specifically for me. ;o)

So I will end this post by saying Happy Fall Ya'll.

Music Recommendation

I was online today updating my work playlist on lala (great music website by the way - I highly recommend it) & I found Colbie Caillat's 2009 album, which was released in August 2009, called Breakthrough; I'm late finding it but like I say, better late than never, right? I had bought her Coco CD last year which I still love to listen to when I am really stressed out & on my way home from work. Her music is somehow soothing for me. You may remember the song "Bubbly" which is off of the Coco album & was a very popular song on the radio. After I bought Coco it was stuck in my car CD player for months & Dan even commented that I was wearing the CD out, nope, not yet Lover! I did have some of her songs from the Coco CD as ringtones but you know how those can get old after a while.
One of my favorite songs on her new album is Fallin' For You; if you want to take a listen, head over to Myspace Music. If you like those songs you can head over to her website because you can listen to her Coco CD as well.

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. =]

Pumpkin Picking

Since we have been living in Virginia, Dan & I go to the same garden center to pick our pumpkins which is off of Route 7 & in Leesburg & Lexi comes with us because she is part of the family. Dan usually picks his first; I pick mine & then we get a small one for Lex. It was such great weather today that we decided to take a walk around the garden center & look at the plants, flowers, etc. Dan's first thought was, "why, so we can get another plant that you're going to kill?" I obviously did not think that was funny but it really is true. I have become very partial to fake plants these days because every time I bring a live plant home I end up killing it. The only plant I haven't killed is the "elephant ear" plant (not sure what the actual name is but the leaves look like elephant ears so that's what I call it) that my Mom bought Dan & I when we were living in our apartment in Lansdowne. This plant is unkillable; I have gone over a month without watering it before & it is still growing. So much for inheriting my Mother's green thumb.
Anyway, back to Dan & I's pumpkin picking. I took some photos of our little trip, of course. Now while you are looking through these I would like you to look at Dan's face in all of them because I want to point something out at the end of this post...
Dan searching for his pumpkin which has to have a "great stem":

Mommy with her little punkin:

Lexi:

Daddy & Lex:


Dan & I: (I need to get better at taking self portraits because I am always cutting off Dan's head)

Here's another try:

Miss Priss:

So at the beginning of this post I told you to take a look at Dan's face in each of the photos that I took. Could you sense one emotion in every photo? Well, I could & it is annoyed. It seems that some of the coaches that Dan coaches with at Herndon High School have been checking this blog & using my posts as ammo to make fun of him. Since that started he does not like having his photo taken because he knows that those photos are going to be posted on here & then he will have to hear about it at work. I would just like to say thank you to that group of guys & you know who you are so I do not need to call you out by name. I think the next time we are all together we should have a little talk. Since I started this blog back in July I have gotten nothing put positive comments from friends & family; it seems that Dan is only getting negative responses which was totally not the point. I may need to rethink this whole blog thing if its making the Hubby miserable.

Halloween Party Here We Come!

Earlier this week Dan & I got an Evite from our friends Matt & Liz who are having a Halloween party on the 31st. They bought a house in Bristow, VA so they are having the party there & this will be the first time we are going to see their new place. I am so excited! I love Halloween parties. I'm not so sure Dan shares my enthusiasm for the party because it is a costume party. The last time I got him to dress up was at a Halloween party that my parents had back in PA when we were still in college. My Mom made these great Musketeer costumes years ago (she is very crafty) & even to this day people come by to borrow them for parties. She use to make our costumes every year when we were growing up. So, she talked Dan into wearing one or should I say did not take no for an answer. :o) Here is a photo of the two of us from that party:
My usual plans for Halloween these days consist of buying candy & dressing Lexi up in some kind of costume & then sitting on our front steps to pass out candy to the neighbor kids. Of course there are always the older high school kids that dress up in really scary costumes & Lexi ends up barking at them when they come up to get candy & I close my eyes & tell them to take whatever they want; I hate scary costumes. That costume from Scream still scares the crap out of me.

So anyway, as soon as I RSVP'd to the party I went online to check out some of the costumes. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get something goofy or something that we would have to paint our faces because Dan is a party pooper when it comes to that kind of stuff. I had to stick to something simple, comfortable & not too gay...so here are our costumes for the party!

Dan's - Pirate's First Mate

Mine - Pirate Maiden

So what do you think? Aren't we going to look cute?! :o) I plan on taking lots of photos unless Dan decides to kill me.