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.

JT's 1st Birthday

Saturday Dan & I drove up to West Virginia for JT's birthday party & it was so much fun. Even though it was pouring outside they had a full house. Kristen's family was there from Pittsburgh & a lot of friends & family from WV showed up. JT was passed around to everyone & of course was the center of attention. That little guy is very loved. We all crowded into the living room & watched him open his presents. He got so many clothes! Dan & I got him clothes, 2 books & a toy turtle that can be pushed around the floor. I went on Friday night after work to Target & bought JT some clothes & I was there for an hour just looking at all of the kids stuff; there are so many cute things out there. When I brought everything home & showed Dan what I bought he said, "geez, our kids are going to be very well dressed". Yes they will be!
The best part of the party was watching JT eat his cake; he got it all over him & had the best time getting messy. They had to put him in the tub afterwards to get all of the cake & icing off of him. :o)

Here is a slideshow of the photos I took:

Thankful

Last night when I got home from work I was in a pretty good mood because (a) the work day was over; (b) my shows were on; and (c) tomorrow was Friday. Dan & I arrived home around the same time because he was out shopping for birthday presents for his family. As we were talking about our days & getting dinner ready, I realized that I have a lot to be thankful for these days. So, I thought I'd use this post to list the things that I am thankful for...here it goes...

~ I am thankful for a husband that takes care of me when I am feeling under the weather. On Tuesday when I stayed home from work he brought me 7Up, Vitamin Water and applesauce on his lunch break. He also layed with me until he had to go back to work.

~ I am thankful for our adorable puppy Lexi who greets me every time I come through the door with a toy in her mouth because she's ready to play.

~ I am thankful for my loving family that I get to talk to every day.

~ I am thankful for the nights that Dan & I stand in the kitchen while we get dinner ready & talk about our day & go over all of the things that got on our nerves.

~ I am thankful for my husband surprising me by bringing home a box of my favorite candy, Junior Mints, on days when I am really craving it; i.e. last night.

~ I am thankful that I have a job during these tough times even though I'd rather be unemployed most days.

~ I am thankful for the cute way that my husband talks to Lexi. After he gave me my box of Junior Mints last night he turned to Lexi & said, "I have something for you too Winker...its a kiss!" & then he proceeded to chase her around the house until he caught her to give her a kiss. She was wagging her tail the entire time. :o)

~ I am thankful for our townhouse because without it we would still be living in that cramped apartment in Lansdowne.

~ I am thankful for my husband making me a grilled cheese sandwich last night when he knew that I didn't feel well enough to cook.

~ I am thankful for our nieces and nephew that we get to spoil & just be fun Uncle Dan & Aunt Danielle.

~ I am thankful for the way Lexi falls asleep next to me on the couch at night & then kicks me so I will move over & give her more room; she's very spoiled.

~ I am thankful for my hard working husband that is constantly on the move & has at least 5 different jobs & constantly tells me that he does it all for me.

~ I am thankful for getting to start my day off with a smile because when my alarm goes off at 6:05a.m. during the work week Lexi emerges from under the covers & there is so much static that it causes her fur to stick up everywhere on her face.

Happy Friday everyone!

Cakes & Mistakes

So I was checking my email yesterday & before signing in, I found an article on cake wrecks that Yahoo posted. I clicked on it & started looking through the photos that they posted & thought, "man there are some idiots out there". I cannot believe some of the mistakes that people make while decorating a cake but they did make me laugh so I thought I'd share them with you. Below is a slide show of some that I found online.


If you haven't had enough & want to see more, go over to Jen Yates' blog Cake Wrecks & check out some of her posts. They are pretty funny. Jen also has a book out that is available on Amazon if you're interested; here is a photo of the cover.

Weekend In PA

Well, I would've posted this earlier but when I got home on Monday night after visiting the family, I got the flu. :o( I stayed home from work yesterday because I couldn't get out of bed. I caught whatever was going around in PA.

So anyway, Lexi & I left for my parents house on Saturday morning & arrived around lunch time. I decided to leave on Saturday instead of Friday because of all the traffic, plus I do not see well at night when I drive so that's a little scary when I'm on my own. It was great to see the family because I actually hadn't been home for a few months. I usually like to take a trip up there once a month but its difficult to plan in advance with our schedules. Dan, of course, was not able to join us because he had football and lessons all weekend. I don't think he was too disappointed though because he got to have the house to himself for an entire weekend. When we got to PA, we had our usual greeting, we all gathered in the kitchen catching up & playing with the dogs while I made some lunch. After we got caught up, my brother, my Dad & I played Monopoly. Now if you have ever been to our house you know that there isn't a day that goes by that we don't play a board game. Dan hates playing games so he gets annoyed when we get out Scrabble, Pictionary, Cranium, Trivial Pursuit, etc. He always tries to get out of it but we end up talking him into playing. Ben & I got our asses kicked by Dad & of course he was gloating because he was the weiner, uh, I mean the winner. :o) I did not play so well; at one point I sat in jail for three turns & then paid $50 to get out when I had a get out of jail free card sitting right next to me. Not sure what I was thinking. Dad & Ben thought it was hilarious though. After Monopoly, Ben & I got caught up on our music reviews. We usually have the same taste in music so we sit at the computer & listen to new songs that we think the other one might like; we also get all caught up on any gossip. Ben & I don't usually like talking on the phone so when we get together we're pretty chatty. He also burned me a CD of Michael Buble. Thanks bud!

Saturday night was a night in for us, we ate dinner & watched the Pens game. I fell asleep on the couch while Dad rubbed my feet at 8:30 p.m. I was so tired but I'm a real light weight when it comes to staying up late. I was always the first one to fall asleep at sleep overs & of course my bra was the first one to get frozen every time.

On Sunday we got up and cooked breakfast & then got ready & headed to Morgantown to see a movie. Ben & my Mom saw the chick flick Love Happens while Dad & I chose the sci-fi Surrogates. Our movie was interesting; definitely different and entertaining. I would recommend it if anyone is thinking about seeing it. My Mom & Ben loved Love Happens; they said it was the best movie that Jennifer Aniston has been in so they recommend that one if anyone wants to see it. Sunday night we got another rip roaring game of Monopoly started & this time Mom got in on the action. Dad beat all of us, again. Just a tip, don't play that game with him because he buys everything & then puts a ton of houses on his property & takes all of your money. Mom was getting irritated at him because he kept messing up her money piles (on purpose). :o)

On Monday, until Lexi & I left to come back to VA, we just hung around & visited. Didn't really do a whole lot. It was definitely a nice relaxing weekend; didn't have to worry about work, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. Lexi & I got home around 6:30 p.m. or so & we got to see Dan after his pitching lessons were over at 8:30 p.m. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos this weekend so I apologize that this post is all narrative. This weekend we have Jackson's 1st birthday party so I'll be sure to take lots of photos then. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

The Little Things

Earlier this week my co-worker Valerie brought in a sandwich container with her lunch. I saw it in the kitchen on the counter & asked her where she got it. Dan kept complaining about using plastic bags to put his sandwich in because it gets smashed by the time he gets to eat it & he says it also has a slight taste of plastic from the bag. So lately he's been using aluminum foil to take his sandwiches to school & I've had to buy foil like crazy. Val said she bought it as a joke but decided to use it so she told me to just take it & give it to Dan because he would probably get more use out of it. Thanks Val! I gave it to Dan on Monday night & he was so excited. He's been using it all week & I asked him last night how he likes the container & he said, "its money"; "the best gift of the year". I told Val this morning how excited he is about his sandwich container & she said "wow, it doesn't take a lot to please Dan". That is definitely the truth. I found a photo online of the container so you can see what it looks like. I have never seen such a thing before but it's a great invention.

Now you should all know that in the past & even to this day when Dan takes tupperware to work with leftovers, he ALWAYS forgets to bring them home so I can wash them. We never have tupperware at the house & I always have to end up buying more because by the time he brings them home they are stained, molded & nasty because he does not rinse them out after he's done with them. Gross. Anyway, my point is that now that he got this sandwich container, he brings it home every day & washes it & sets it out on the counter so he can use it for the next day. That just shows how much he likes this thing. Oh the simple things in life that make us happy. =]

Time To Vent

As you can tell from the title of this post & the photo I need to get a few things off my chest. First of all, those of you who know my boss, know that he is a HUGE procrastinator & always waits until the last minute to do everything. He always says "what's the fun in doing things before they're due? If you wait until the last minute that's when the stress & adrenalin kick in, that's the good part". Well, I'm not like that. I hate waiting until the last minute to do everything; I like being prepared. Last month Brian, my boss, got into this funk where he just did not want to do anything; he refused to do work on cases unless there was a deadline that he needed to respond by. That funk has carried over to this month & has gotten progressively worse. Not sure what the problem is but it sure is making my life harder here at the office. I only have so many excuses as to why he hasn't sent a letter out, drafted a pleading, filed a motion, etc. We have so much work to do & it just keeps piling up & no progress is being made. To keep the merriment going, I found out this afternoon that Brian decided to go for a short vacation to Atlanta with his wife because he "needs a break". The first thing that came to my mind was, "a break from what exactly?" I haven't seen him push any substantial paperwork out the door in the last month. So, I had to reschedule all of his meetings on Thursday & Friday & change court appearances to the following Friday, etc. Just add it onto my list! Its not like its already 7 pages long!

On a brighter note, the good thing about this week is that I am going to be visiting my parents for the holiday weekend. Unfortunately Dan is not able to join Lexi & I for our visit because he has football but it will still be fun to see the family & not have to worry about work for a few days.

I am sure I will be blogging about my frustration at least one more time this week so I will just end it here & say...does anyone know of any firms that are hiring? Any information would be helpful.

Not Me! Monday!

It's time for another Not Me! post, enjoy!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



On Thursday night I did NOT get so scared while watching my show The Vampire Diaries that I pulled a blanket over my head so I wouldn't look at the TV. Nope, not me!

I did NOT fall asleep on Friday evening at Bubbles Hair Salon while getting my hair washed & conditioned that the shampooer actually had to wake me up when she was finished. Not me!

I did NOT make Dan burritos when I got home at 9:30 p.m. on Friday because he was starving & refused to make himself something to eat.

I then did NOT get annoyed & yell at Dan because of his EXTREME dieting.

I did NOT buy a Dove chocolate bar in the check out line at Wegman's on Saturday & then proceed to eat it before I got home & then throw the wrapper in the trash can out back so Dan wouldn't find it. Not me! I am not that sneaky.

I did NOT sweat so bad on Saturday at Herndon High School's homecoming football game that I had to take a shower when I got home because my deodorant wore off. Whew!

I did NOT eat an entire taco salad, including the tortilla bowl, at Don Pablo's on Saturday night because I was starving. Nahh, not me!

I absolutely did NOT walk over to Target with Dan after eating an entire taco salad & buy a Big XL box of Junior Mints that cost $2.50. I would NEVER do that.

I did NOT assist Lexi in going potty, again, during our walk on Sunday in front of a group of middle school kids while they passed us & laughed. =[

I did NOT drop my curling iron this morning while getting ready for work & burn my forehead, my left boob & my left big toe before it fell to the bathroom floor because I get ready in my birthday suit.

What have you NOT been up to lately?

Homecoming Fun

Disappointingly the Hornets lost their homecoming game to Langley today - the score was 13 to 28. Dan was not too happy to say the least. The weather on the other hand was beautiful & there was a great turn out; not one seat available in the stands. I ended up meeting my sister-in-law Kelly, our nieces Arden & Skylar & my father-in-law Don at the game. Tom, Kristen & our nephew Jackson were unable to make it to the game. Even though the game didn't turn out like we wanted it to, we still had fun. I took a video of Arden & Skylar goofing around at the field, see below. (The picture isn't that great but I told Arden I would post it).


During the game Arden took my cell phone out of my purse & was playing around with it. Here are some photos she took.

Arden & I:

Kelly & Arden:

Just Arden :o)

Here's one that I took of the girls:


On Friday night Dan told me that if it was raining on Saturday I didn't have to come & stay for the game. He said he wanted me to just come & see the H that he put on the field for Herndon. So to make him happy, I took a picture during the game so everyone can see it. He did a good job, don't you think?


I hope everyone else was able to enjoy the great weather on Saturday like we did. =]

HHS Homecoming

For those of you that do not have any plans on Saturday, October 3rd & are looking for something to do, Herndon High School has their homecoming football game & kick off is at 1:00 p.m.;they will be playing Langley High School. Hopefully the weather will cooperate & we won't have any rain. I will be there along with Dan's brother Tom, Kristen, our nephew Jackson, Dan's sister Kelly and Dan's father Don. There is also a Herndon Homecoming Parade on the morning of the 3rd but I am not sure what time it actually starts. Hope to see you at the field to cheer on the Hornets!

*Don't forget to tune into The Vampire Diaries & Grey's Anatomy tonight. I hope you all have a great fall weekend.