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!