Today it snowed somewhere between 2 and 3 inches. While this is nothing compared to what we got around this time last year with the 20+ inches, but we enjoyed it none the less.
I took some videos of Josh because I didn't feel like getting my camera out so I used my cell phone.
We went over to my mom's house to decorate sugar cookies and then to Target to pick up some last minute Christmas items and then Josh took a nap. When he woke up he was ready to sled. Now I am officially ready for Christmas.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
A Car Crash Story-Happy Thanksgiving!
Before Patric went to work on Wednesday, November 24 he was telling me about a coworker of his that got into a car crash that totaled her car. I spoke about how much that sucked...but apparently I forgot to knock on wood.
I missed a call from Patric at 930 that morning. Patric doesn't leave work until about 930 every morning (even though he is supposed to be at work at 930...) but he must have left around 920 that day. I wondered why he had called me and thought, "well maybe he just wanted to tell me he loved me" (cause, yes people, sometimes he calls right after he leaves to tell me he loves me). Unfortunately, that was NOT the case this morning. I actually had plans to hang out with my friend Valerie that morning, so I had a reason to get up and shower since I said I could be at her house between 10 and 1030. I called Patric back and he told me that he was in a car accident but that he couldn't talk because the police had just arrived.
I can tell you I didn't worry about him. Obviously, if he could call me, and he sounded ok, that he was ok. He called me after the police left and told me that was rear ended on Minnieville. He was stopped waiting to turn left (or make a u-turn) and the other driver came speeding up to him and looked down to get her coffee (at least that is her story...) and slammed right into Patric going about 45 mph. Thank the heavens above Patric looked in his rear view mirror and saw that she was not slowing down and decided to try to avoid her. He wasn't successful, but it could have been MUCH worse. She did hit him on the right back side of the car.
Patric came home because the car was making some noise, the muffler was hanging off etc. He had to take my car to work. Can you imagine going to work after that? My husband is so dedicated! I hope his boss understands that!
So, of course, this being the day before Thanksgiving, we didn't have much time to process everything. Poor Patric doesn't complain much of pain, and he said that his back and neck was hurting quite a bit. It wasn't until Saturday that I thought, oh crap, the car could be totaled! It was a 2002 Hyundai Elantra...with 106k miles on it. Not a very valuable car to many, but it was to us because it was paid off and had been paid off for 2.5 years! We were starting to have weird issues with it, like it not starting for some reason every now and then. We were researching what to do with that and he had three belts that needed to be replaced. THANK GOODNESS WE DIDN'T DO IT!
Sunday, a person from the insurance came to see the car and as we suspected, the car was totaled. We had to immediately start thinking about what we were going to do about a car. Would we buy a smaller car again for Patric to commute to and from work? Would we buy a bigger car for our family to grow into? Let me tell you, for me, this was the hardest decision to make in a long time! I was constantly thinking about cars and researching. I had never thought about buying a big car at this point in my life...since I only have one kid. During the olympics, we saw ads for the Kia Sorento (of course they had Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba so Josh loved to watch those commercials) and thought that it could be a possibility. So after poor Patric had a long day of work on Monday, in which he said he felt weird all day and foggy, we went over to the Kia dealership to try it out. The Kia has a lot of cool features. I knew I didn't want to get a 5 seater car. To me, what is the point of getting a bigger one if it is only 5 seats? The Matrix has 5 seats...we could just get another one of those. We would have to get the top of the line Sorento to get the 7 seater.
Tuesday--I went to drive a 2008 Honda Pilot after I did some work. I brought my stepdad Charlie with me. I liked driving the Pilot. Josh just happened to leave his toy horse at the dealership so I had to go back anyway and Patric went with me and test drove it that night.
We weren't rushing into a purchase, so we walked away. Next night, we went to a Miller Toyota and test drove a Highlander. I did like how the Highlander drove, but felt it was kind of small. (Why do I need a big car? The highlander would be VERY suitable for the size of my family right now!)
We walked away from there as well. By Wednesday night I am exhausted from thinking about cars. I spent most of three days researching these cars. Read a MILLION reviews. Surveyed facebook...the works! Then I turned it back on Patric. I said, what if we just go with a small car?? I made Patric make the ultimate decision (which I have been doing a lot lately, I am tired of making all of the decisions and am putting my trust into my husband)...because somewhere in my head I knew we should get the big car...but I didn't want to be the only one thinking that. Patric spent Wednesday night researching small cars (or at least prices.) We know what type of car we would get..so he wanted to see prices.
Thursday night, I woke up and asked him what he thought. Patric said he felt we should go with the 2008 Honda Pilot. I won't go into the details of why he came to this decision, but we were both on the same page, so we did it! I do have to say, I was quite the haggler on this one. I made Patric deal with most of the negotiating...but I was the final STING to the dealership. My mom heard some of my negotiating and was all thumbs up. She even told me she was proud of me! She said the dealership might think that because I am pretty and blond (and then she corrected herself...since I do NOT have blond hair right now...but in her mind I will always have blond hair) that I wouldn't be able to handle myself. I do have to say that the only reason I suddenly got a backbone in this is that the salesman I test drove the car with the second time (not our original sales person) told me that there was probably still room to come down on the price. Little did the manager there know that. He thought everything was set and I was just making the final decision on the car and then we were going to start the paperwork. HA! The second salesman also got me new mats (the other ones were NASTY)...he saw them and was like, ew gross, we will get you some new ones. He also updated the safety inspection, shined up the car and tires, filled up more of the tank, contacted the previous owner of the car for the headrests because they were missing. Seriously, this guy is AWESOME.
We had an overall good experience at Hendrick Honda. I had to be pretty mean to the finance manager initially, so when we went in to sign papers I joked around with him a lot. I said, you got to see my brutal side, now you can see that I can actually be nice. He gave us a few breaks when we finally got it all going and we are happy with our decision.
This morning when I was thinking about the car, it sunk in. I was no longer going to have my baby every day to drive. I have been driving my Toyota Matrix since July of 2004. I NEVER wanted to get rid of the car, and while it isn't gone...Patric gets to take it to work now everyday. I know I should be ecstatic about driving the Pilot, but it is a bit intimidating. I will get used to it (as everyone keeps telling me) and all will be well. The car payment is going to suck. It was nice not to have one for awhile....but alas, we tend to get hit back into debt one way or another. We are just blessed that we are able to pay for the things that come our way...one way or the other.
Here are some pictures -
This picture shows you that the frame of the car was bent...there shouldn't be a space between the black part and the metal.
And the new car, equipped with our Christmas tree we bought tonight.
So there it is...the story of Patric's car accident and our ventures of buying our new(well new to us) car!
I missed a call from Patric at 930 that morning. Patric doesn't leave work until about 930 every morning (even though he is supposed to be at work at 930...) but he must have left around 920 that day. I wondered why he had called me and thought, "well maybe he just wanted to tell me he loved me" (cause, yes people, sometimes he calls right after he leaves to tell me he loves me). Unfortunately, that was NOT the case this morning. I actually had plans to hang out with my friend Valerie that morning, so I had a reason to get up and shower since I said I could be at her house between 10 and 1030. I called Patric back and he told me that he was in a car accident but that he couldn't talk because the police had just arrived.
I can tell you I didn't worry about him. Obviously, if he could call me, and he sounded ok, that he was ok. He called me after the police left and told me that was rear ended on Minnieville. He was stopped waiting to turn left (or make a u-turn) and the other driver came speeding up to him and looked down to get her coffee (at least that is her story...) and slammed right into Patric going about 45 mph. Thank the heavens above Patric looked in his rear view mirror and saw that she was not slowing down and decided to try to avoid her. He wasn't successful, but it could have been MUCH worse. She did hit him on the right back side of the car.
Patric came home because the car was making some noise, the muffler was hanging off etc. He had to take my car to work. Can you imagine going to work after that? My husband is so dedicated! I hope his boss understands that!
So, of course, this being the day before Thanksgiving, we didn't have much time to process everything. Poor Patric doesn't complain much of pain, and he said that his back and neck was hurting quite a bit. It wasn't until Saturday that I thought, oh crap, the car could be totaled! It was a 2002 Hyundai Elantra...with 106k miles on it. Not a very valuable car to many, but it was to us because it was paid off and had been paid off for 2.5 years! We were starting to have weird issues with it, like it not starting for some reason every now and then. We were researching what to do with that and he had three belts that needed to be replaced. THANK GOODNESS WE DIDN'T DO IT!
Sunday, a person from the insurance came to see the car and as we suspected, the car was totaled. We had to immediately start thinking about what we were going to do about a car. Would we buy a smaller car again for Patric to commute to and from work? Would we buy a bigger car for our family to grow into? Let me tell you, for me, this was the hardest decision to make in a long time! I was constantly thinking about cars and researching. I had never thought about buying a big car at this point in my life...since I only have one kid. During the olympics, we saw ads for the Kia Sorento (of course they had Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba so Josh loved to watch those commercials) and thought that it could be a possibility. So after poor Patric had a long day of work on Monday, in which he said he felt weird all day and foggy, we went over to the Kia dealership to try it out. The Kia has a lot of cool features. I knew I didn't want to get a 5 seater car. To me, what is the point of getting a bigger one if it is only 5 seats? The Matrix has 5 seats...we could just get another one of those. We would have to get the top of the line Sorento to get the 7 seater.
Tuesday--I went to drive a 2008 Honda Pilot after I did some work. I brought my stepdad Charlie with me. I liked driving the Pilot. Josh just happened to leave his toy horse at the dealership so I had to go back anyway and Patric went with me and test drove it that night.
We weren't rushing into a purchase, so we walked away. Next night, we went to a Miller Toyota and test drove a Highlander. I did like how the Highlander drove, but felt it was kind of small. (Why do I need a big car? The highlander would be VERY suitable for the size of my family right now!)
We walked away from there as well. By Wednesday night I am exhausted from thinking about cars. I spent most of three days researching these cars. Read a MILLION reviews. Surveyed facebook...the works! Then I turned it back on Patric. I said, what if we just go with a small car?? I made Patric make the ultimate decision (which I have been doing a lot lately, I am tired of making all of the decisions and am putting my trust into my husband)...because somewhere in my head I knew we should get the big car...but I didn't want to be the only one thinking that. Patric spent Wednesday night researching small cars (or at least prices.) We know what type of car we would get..so he wanted to see prices.
Thursday night, I woke up and asked him what he thought. Patric said he felt we should go with the 2008 Honda Pilot. I won't go into the details of why he came to this decision, but we were both on the same page, so we did it! I do have to say, I was quite the haggler on this one. I made Patric deal with most of the negotiating...but I was the final STING to the dealership. My mom heard some of my negotiating and was all thumbs up. She even told me she was proud of me! She said the dealership might think that because I am pretty and blond (and then she corrected herself...since I do NOT have blond hair right now...but in her mind I will always have blond hair) that I wouldn't be able to handle myself. I do have to say that the only reason I suddenly got a backbone in this is that the salesman I test drove the car with the second time (not our original sales person) told me that there was probably still room to come down on the price. Little did the manager there know that. He thought everything was set and I was just making the final decision on the car and then we were going to start the paperwork. HA! The second salesman also got me new mats (the other ones were NASTY)...he saw them and was like, ew gross, we will get you some new ones. He also updated the safety inspection, shined up the car and tires, filled up more of the tank, contacted the previous owner of the car for the headrests because they were missing. Seriously, this guy is AWESOME.
We had an overall good experience at Hendrick Honda. I had to be pretty mean to the finance manager initially, so when we went in to sign papers I joked around with him a lot. I said, you got to see my brutal side, now you can see that I can actually be nice. He gave us a few breaks when we finally got it all going and we are happy with our decision.
This morning when I was thinking about the car, it sunk in. I was no longer going to have my baby every day to drive. I have been driving my Toyota Matrix since July of 2004. I NEVER wanted to get rid of the car, and while it isn't gone...Patric gets to take it to work now everyday. I know I should be ecstatic about driving the Pilot, but it is a bit intimidating. I will get used to it (as everyone keeps telling me) and all will be well. The car payment is going to suck. It was nice not to have one for awhile....but alas, we tend to get hit back into debt one way or another. We are just blessed that we are able to pay for the things that come our way...one way or the other.
Here are some pictures -
This picture shows you that the frame of the car was bent...there shouldn't be a space between the black part and the metal.
And the new car, equipped with our Christmas tree we bought tonight.So there it is...the story of Patric's car accident and our ventures of buying our new(well new to us) car!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
My pics!
It is no surprise that trying for a baby is tough on a marriage. After going through almost two years of wanting/trying for a baby...Patric and I had hit a brick wall. We weren't talking, and if we were, we were yelling. In an effort to rekindle the flame between us, I asked a photographer I knew if she could take pictures of our family (I posed it as family pics for Patric...but I had ulterior motives). I asked Channon from Urban Chic Portraits (www.urbanchicportraits.com) if she could make people look like they were in love in pictures. She laughed at my comment, but I was serious. Patric and I had never had any romantic pictures taken of us (except for our wedding day). I wasn't one of those girls that would take a million pictures with her boyfriends when we are dating...quite frankly because I didn't want the evidence when I inevitably broke up with them....so there are not many pictures of Patric and I together before we were married...and after we were married we didn't think to take them either.
I warn you...these pictures are flaming hot! I won't be putting them around our house...but it will be a nice surprise for Patric for Christmas. (Hopefully he won't read this before then...he isn't very good at reading our(my) blog anyway!) We obviously have family shots as well, but even inthose Patric couldn't resist me! haha. The weekend we got pictures taken was the beginning of an upward movement in the right direction for our marriage. I must say, these last 2 months have been the best we have had in a LONG time...maybe even the best EVER!
So without further delay--our steaming hot photos!
I absolutely LOVE this one!
So thanks to Channon and thanks to my hot husband for agreeing to get "family" shots done!
I warn you...these pictures are flaming hot! I won't be putting them around our house...but it will be a nice surprise for Patric for Christmas. (Hopefully he won't read this before then...he isn't very good at reading our(my) blog anyway!) We obviously have family shots as well, but even inthose Patric couldn't resist me! haha. The weekend we got pictures taken was the beginning of an upward movement in the right direction for our marriage. I must say, these last 2 months have been the best we have had in a LONG time...maybe even the best EVER!
So without further delay--our steaming hot photos!
I absolutely LOVE this one!
So thanks to Channon and thanks to my hot husband for agreeing to get "family" shots done!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Pictures of new bed!
I took pictures of the new bed, and then I forgot to post them! It has been a week now since we have had the bed. Every morning I actually want to stay in bed instead of wanting to get out. I sleep so well! I want to work in bed, watch tv in bed, just stay in bed all day long!
Here are some pictures!
Josh was pretty excited about the bed as well.
He was really cute that day with his toys. That is Woody driving a police paddywagon. I love that his imagination is working! It really makes me happy when he plays with his toys. Its the little things!
Patric didn't really want me to post pictures of our bedroom, since it is not complete, but I wanted to show the bed! You can see behind it the wall where our mirror used to be. My side of the bed has all the books and journals and Patric has clothes. Looks can be deceiving, because I don't really read THAT much...though I have read most of the books on my table. We have many plans for our bedroom, but they are on hold until we can move out my desk and scrapbooking stuff back into my office.
Here are some pictures!
Josh was pretty excited about the bed as well.
He was really cute that day with his toys. That is Woody driving a police paddywagon. I love that his imagination is working! It really makes me happy when he plays with his toys. Its the little things!
Patric didn't really want me to post pictures of our bedroom, since it is not complete, but I wanted to show the bed! You can see behind it the wall where our mirror used to be. My side of the bed has all the books and journals and Patric has clothes. Looks can be deceiving, because I don't really read THAT much...though I have read most of the books on my table. We have many plans for our bedroom, but they are on hold until we can move out my desk and scrapbooking stuff back into my office.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Christmas came early!
So--
Patric and I have been sleeping TERRIBLY for a very long time. When I wake up in the morning and my back still hurts from the day before, it is a bit discouraging. I am only 27 but I feel like my body is already starting to fail me! Patric and I went to four different stores today and decided on Mattress Discounters for our mattress. It will be delivered on Tuesday. I am very excited, though a little anxiety ridden. We do have 24 month interest free financing, but I wanted to wait until February to get the bed (after we had paid off our credit card)...but then I was like, February is SO long away...and so many painful mornings before then.
We bought a king sized bed, so we had to also buy a king sized bed frame. We have been eyeing an entire bedroom at Ikea for a very long time. I already bought the same paint color they have listed on the wall. So we have bought our first piece of our bedroom set tonight. Ikea in Woodbridge didn't have the entire frame, of course, so we drove up to College Park, Md to get the frame. It was very scary driving home with the head board on the top of the matrix, but we got home safely, thank the Lord.
Patric and I have never bought our own bed and we are using mismatched furniture as well for our bedroom, but perhaps this is just another change that we need to make for our relationship. We won't be able to buy all the pieces at once, but we are definitely working on our bedroom next in our house. We have lived here 2.5 years and have not done anything to our bedroom. We have also been married 6.5 years and have never bought a bed or matching furniture. We did buy a frame and two side tables but I am using a dresser that my mom used in her children's nursery ( I think it was even David's nursery) so it is like 43 years old! I like the dresser and it will go into Josh's room when we buy a new dresser, but it is time for Patric and I to have our dream bedroom.
So much for being debt free! At least this debt is interest free!
Oh--I forgot to mention, while I was vacuuming on Friday my vacuum started shaking and smelling really bad. I suspect it is a belt problem, but I am just sick of the thing anyway...so we headed to Home Depot with our 12 month interest free coupon and bought a dyson dc-33. I am so excited to use it tomorrow! It will NOT take 12 months to pay off the home depot card, I just like the option of interest free, pay off as long as you want!
Patric and I have been sleeping TERRIBLY for a very long time. When I wake up in the morning and my back still hurts from the day before, it is a bit discouraging. I am only 27 but I feel like my body is already starting to fail me! Patric and I went to four different stores today and decided on Mattress Discounters for our mattress. It will be delivered on Tuesday. I am very excited, though a little anxiety ridden. We do have 24 month interest free financing, but I wanted to wait until February to get the bed (after we had paid off our credit card)...but then I was like, February is SO long away...and so many painful mornings before then.
We bought a king sized bed, so we had to also buy a king sized bed frame. We have been eyeing an entire bedroom at Ikea for a very long time. I already bought the same paint color they have listed on the wall. So we have bought our first piece of our bedroom set tonight. Ikea in Woodbridge didn't have the entire frame, of course, so we drove up to College Park, Md to get the frame. It was very scary driving home with the head board on the top of the matrix, but we got home safely, thank the Lord.
Patric and I have never bought our own bed and we are using mismatched furniture as well for our bedroom, but perhaps this is just another change that we need to make for our relationship. We won't be able to buy all the pieces at once, but we are definitely working on our bedroom next in our house. We have lived here 2.5 years and have not done anything to our bedroom. We have also been married 6.5 years and have never bought a bed or matching furniture. We did buy a frame and two side tables but I am using a dresser that my mom used in her children's nursery ( I think it was even David's nursery) so it is like 43 years old! I like the dresser and it will go into Josh's room when we buy a new dresser, but it is time for Patric and I to have our dream bedroom.
So much for being debt free! At least this debt is interest free!
Oh--I forgot to mention, while I was vacuuming on Friday my vacuum started shaking and smelling really bad. I suspect it is a belt problem, but I am just sick of the thing anyway...so we headed to Home Depot with our 12 month interest free coupon and bought a dyson dc-33. I am so excited to use it tomorrow! It will NOT take 12 months to pay off the home depot card, I just like the option of interest free, pay off as long as you want!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Business
So for the past two months, I have not had A LOT of work...but luckily Kami and Brad's rent has been a blessing to have because of this. I guess my thoughts to let them move in were not without merit. When people say how great Patric and I are for letting someone live with us, I remind them that we are not so great because they are paying rent, and how much of a blessing it is to us that they are. We are the ones that are lucky!
But, I think my days of less work are coming to a close. When Scott left Marcher Consultants, my work load diminished a lot. I wonder if it is because they knew I was so closely tied with Scott there? Or that I have refused to travel all the time because my goal is to be with Josh. Maybe my convictions have actually paid off!
I saw an ad on craigslist for a tax prep company looking for seasonal tax preparers. I have always felt that I needed a mentor or at least more experience in this aspect of the business. I have bookkeeping and analysis down, but actual taxes is my weak point. Sure, I can pass a test and get the license process, but I do not have the number of tax returns walking through my door that maybe I should? I haven't really pushed that aspect of my business, I guess because there is more liability involved. I did get a few new tax clients this year from my advertisement in the Montclairion, using craigslist and somehow on the internet. But then I got busy with doing consulting work in Arlington and didn't focus too much on the tax side of my business.
Long story short - I will be doing consulting work with this tax prep company. They will also give me more experience when it comes to representation work, which is another aspect of my license that I haven't used too much. I am proud to say that I got the state of VA off of my client's back, about his sales tax returns for the last 5 years. Also--the owners of the tax prep company are EA's, so they appreciate my license, where CPAs think they are gods or something and maybe laugh at an EA license? Remember, EAs are ALWAYS tax "experts", CPAs do not always do taxes...but they have the exposure...there are only 48,000 EAs in the US.
Even better, the owners of the tax prep company own preschools and daycare centers! And I can put Josh into their preschool while I am working in their office....for FREE! I will only put him in during the preschool hours in the morning, but it will be great for him to be around other kids he doesn't know and I am sure he will have so much fun! What a blessing right?
And then...I am on my way to Liese's sealing and I get an email for Tony, the company I did consulting work for in Arlington. His wife just happens to have a company that has bookkeeping needs and he thought of me because I am just so fabulous. We are working on that still, but I think that will be another client for me.
Plus-I have a new client I am working with that Scott has given me. He is out of Herndon, and I am still a bit shaky on how this one will turn out, but he is a new company and if we can talk some sense into him early on, I think he could be successful! He has some personal financial issues to work out, but he seems to have some big contracts professionally.
And Patric and I are doing great. The weather is changing...the house is cooler again...but we have plenty of firewood thanks to Butch, so we can make lots of fires. That was a day for Patric...on his way home the tire popped off of Charlie's trailer and Brad had to come rescue him. Needless to say, Patric was gone from 9:00am - 8:30pm...and we wanted to spend some time together that day...HA! Our time is always limited together...this weekend is littered with meetings...BLAH! One day we will be able to go on a date again....thank goodness for that weekend!
So life is pretty good right now. I can't complain. We are 2 months away from eliminating our credit card debt as well. I can't WAIT!
But, I think my days of less work are coming to a close. When Scott left Marcher Consultants, my work load diminished a lot. I wonder if it is because they knew I was so closely tied with Scott there? Or that I have refused to travel all the time because my goal is to be with Josh. Maybe my convictions have actually paid off!
I saw an ad on craigslist for a tax prep company looking for seasonal tax preparers. I have always felt that I needed a mentor or at least more experience in this aspect of the business. I have bookkeeping and analysis down, but actual taxes is my weak point. Sure, I can pass a test and get the license process, but I do not have the number of tax returns walking through my door that maybe I should? I haven't really pushed that aspect of my business, I guess because there is more liability involved. I did get a few new tax clients this year from my advertisement in the Montclairion, using craigslist and somehow on the internet. But then I got busy with doing consulting work in Arlington and didn't focus too much on the tax side of my business.
Long story short - I will be doing consulting work with this tax prep company. They will also give me more experience when it comes to representation work, which is another aspect of my license that I haven't used too much. I am proud to say that I got the state of VA off of my client's back, about his sales tax returns for the last 5 years. Also--the owners of the tax prep company are EA's, so they appreciate my license, where CPAs think they are gods or something and maybe laugh at an EA license? Remember, EAs are ALWAYS tax "experts", CPAs do not always do taxes...but they have the exposure...there are only 48,000 EAs in the US.
Even better, the owners of the tax prep company own preschools and daycare centers! And I can put Josh into their preschool while I am working in their office....for FREE! I will only put him in during the preschool hours in the morning, but it will be great for him to be around other kids he doesn't know and I am sure he will have so much fun! What a blessing right?
And then...I am on my way to Liese's sealing and I get an email for Tony, the company I did consulting work for in Arlington. His wife just happens to have a company that has bookkeeping needs and he thought of me because I am just so fabulous. We are working on that still, but I think that will be another client for me.
Plus-I have a new client I am working with that Scott has given me. He is out of Herndon, and I am still a bit shaky on how this one will turn out, but he is a new company and if we can talk some sense into him early on, I think he could be successful! He has some personal financial issues to work out, but he seems to have some big contracts professionally.
And Patric and I are doing great. The weather is changing...the house is cooler again...but we have plenty of firewood thanks to Butch, so we can make lots of fires. That was a day for Patric...on his way home the tire popped off of Charlie's trailer and Brad had to come rescue him. Needless to say, Patric was gone from 9:00am - 8:30pm...and we wanted to spend some time together that day...HA! Our time is always limited together...this weekend is littered with meetings...BLAH! One day we will be able to go on a date again....thank goodness for that weekend!
So life is pretty good right now. I can't complain. We are 2 months away from eliminating our credit card debt as well. I can't WAIT!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Halloween!
So I have definitely moved on to thoughts of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I would be remiss if I did not post pictures of Halloween. We took Josh around the neighborhood with our friends the Terry's and the Near's. Josh, Ella and Brendan had a TON of fun!
Here are some pictures--
Everett, Ella, Josh and Brendan
Probably the only picture of Josh smiling of the night.
Best buddies!
Future married couple...if they can survive living together now, they should have NO problem in about 20 years...
Looks like Ella and Josh are more enthusiastic then Brendan...looks can be deceiving! Brendan was a CHAMP at succoring people into giving him more candy!
Patric decided to dress up this year as well. He tried to get me to, but {un}luckily for me the fan wasn't working. DARN!
They ran up to each house this way, and knocked or rang the doorbell, about a million times. I am sure our neighbors love us!
Poor Sis. Russell's worst nightmares came true when two of her nursery kids showed up at her door!
Carrying on the tradition I had when I was a kid, I pulled out all of Josh's candy and sorted it..and promptly put the good stuff in a bag he isn't allowed to eat. He got a full sized 3 Muskateer!!
So that was our Halloween adventure. I am definitely ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas now!!
Here are some pictures--
Everett, Ella, Josh and Brendan
Probably the only picture of Josh smiling of the night.
Best buddies!
Future married couple...if they can survive living together now, they should have NO problem in about 20 years...
Looks like Ella and Josh are more enthusiastic then Brendan...looks can be deceiving! Brendan was a CHAMP at succoring people into giving him more candy!
Patric decided to dress up this year as well. He tried to get me to, but {un}luckily for me the fan wasn't working. DARN!
They ran up to each house this way, and knocked or rang the doorbell, about a million times. I am sure our neighbors love us!
Poor Sis. Russell's worst nightmares came true when two of her nursery kids showed up at her door!
Carrying on the tradition I had when I was a kid, I pulled out all of Josh's candy and sorted it..and promptly put the good stuff in a bag he isn't allowed to eat. He got a full sized 3 Muskateer!!So that was our Halloween adventure. I am definitely ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas now!!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Pumpkin Carving!
This year I bought two pumpkins. Usually, I like to keep the pumpkins through Thanksgiving because they are nice decorations to have all Fall...I REALLY like to spread out that $4.00 I spent on a pumpkin...but this year, Patric and I decided that Josh might appreciate carving pumpkins. I went out and bought one of those pumpkin carving sets that comes with a bunch of patterns. Josh picked out the haunted house and I picked out the owl. Poor Patric didn't get to make a choice, and he got to do most of the work.
First Patric opened up the pumpkins. (Side story--While Patric was on his mission, the first time he encountered a pumpkin, his companion opened the pumpkin and had Patric put his hand inside of it with his eyes closed. He passed that onto Josh.) And then Josh and him scooped out all the pumpkin guts. I had to man the camera...of course...
Josh got pretty bored with it while we were carving them out...and now I remember why I don't really like carving pumpkins! My arms were tired! He did like to play with the guts a bit.
(Side note--my camera has been acting funny lately...the camera won't take pictures in auto focus mode and sometimes in manual focus it doesn't take pictures in focus...ugh! But I was playing with other functions and found a black and white function!)
He is zoned out.
Im sure I stopped his fun...hence the scowl.
Not the greatest picture of my owl, but Patric's house turned out pretty good!
So there is the fun of pumpkin carving for 2010.
First Patric opened up the pumpkins. (Side story--While Patric was on his mission, the first time he encountered a pumpkin, his companion opened the pumpkin and had Patric put his hand inside of it with his eyes closed. He passed that onto Josh.) And then Josh and him scooped out all the pumpkin guts. I had to man the camera...of course...
Josh got pretty bored with it while we were carving them out...and now I remember why I don't really like carving pumpkins! My arms were tired! He did like to play with the guts a bit.
(Side note--my camera has been acting funny lately...the camera won't take pictures in auto focus mode and sometimes in manual focus it doesn't take pictures in focus...ugh! But I was playing with other functions and found a black and white function!)
He is zoned out.
Im sure I stopped his fun...hence the scowl.
Not the greatest picture of my owl, but Patric's house turned out pretty good!So there is the fun of pumpkin carving for 2010.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Our Weekend Get - A - Way!
So we are back from our vacation, sad to say! We had a REALLY good time. The cabin was small but had all of our needs...a jacuzzi in the living room next to the fireplace...what more do you need? Patric and I are thinking of installing a jacuzzi in our family room...don't mind us in the corner bathing when you come over...
On Friday we arrived around 6:30, so we got our keys and Patric and I went into the cabin. Patric bought the romantic package, so there was music playing and the coffee table was decorated with rose petals and rocks. There was a bouquet of flowers, chocolates and sparkling apple cider. I am usually not a fan of apple cider, but it was delicious! We had some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner...thanks to my mom, and relaxed for the rest of the evening in the jacuzzi and talked about stuff we never talked about. It was nice!
Saturday morning we woke up and decided we wanted to explore a little bit. I knew I wanted to do some type of hiking, so we went to this place called Crabtree Falls. It was a two mile hike up to the top of the falls so we did it. It was nice to be in the wilderness and enjoy nature. When we got to the top of the falls it was BEAUTIFUL! There were also about a million lady bugs flying around. I have NEVER been around so many ladybugs. After we got our fill of the mountains we hiked back down and decided we should go out to lunch instead of dinner because it was already 2. The first place we wanted to go wasn't open so we went to another place. The food was ok but it was pricey. There was a line to get into the bathroom and Patric was like, "isn't that the guy from your tv show?" I looked and was like, "hey it's Mouth! (or Marvin) from One Tree Hill!". I didn't want to bother him though, so I didn't say anything to him. After we ate, we went back to the cabin to relax. I read my book "The Hunger Games" and Patric played on his phone. He decided to collect some firewood as well, and that night we filled up the jacuzzi again, I started the fire and we watched a movie.
Sunday morning, we decided we wanted to go to Monticello in Charlottesville, on our way home from Royal Oaks. I LOVE Monticello. I want a garden like Thomas Jefferson had! He had SO many different vegetables! Patric promised me that once he gets the water problem fixed in the house that I can start my vegetable garden. I am going to have to read up a bit on what I want to grow and how to do it!
It was such a nice trip. I am sad that it is over. The cabin had problems with those stupid stinkbugs! We probably killed like 100 of them while we were there...but it was perfect other than that!
Josh was also AWESOME for my mom, which I am very grateful for. He even napped for like three hours for her! Why doesn't he nap that long for me? We may plan a disney cruise sometime in the future to take with my mom and charlie.
Here are some pictures!
We got to enjoy the falls with some of the Amish. They didn't make it all the way to the top of the hike though.
Someone was kind enough to take our picture at the first falls before the hike.
These pictures do not give the beauty of the place justice!
One of my favorite parts.
Where's Sasha? I don't generally want to climb out somewhere to get a picture taken...so I MUST have been relaxed this weekend.
Found another couple along the hike that was willing to take our picture.
The view from the top. I know that they are not as impressive as the mountains in the west, but I think they are BEAUTIFUL!
People were so friendly and volunteering to take pictures of us!
Seriously!
My awesome fire roaring, the jacuzzi filling up...and a movie ready to watch! I wish I could do this every night!
Patric took about a hundred pictures of me at this window. This building was in the gardens. I told Patric I want a building like this in my garden to just enjoy my flowers and plants...of course, I need A LOT more land to actually need a building like this.
People are friendly in Charlottesville too because someone volunteered to take a picture of us. This is probably my favorite of the weekend. I actually adjusted the camera before she took the shot, so I knew how zoomed in it would be.
A small portion on Thomas Jefferson's garden. He had 1000 yards of just garden!
Another part of his garden...which overlooks the city below.
The Monticello. We didn't get to see the upstairs, but I LOVED the architecture that Thomas Jefferson designed. It is actually a three story house, but the style back when he built is was just one story, so he made it look one story from the outside. He didn't like to waste time or space...sounds like me! Thomas Jefferson was an incredible man and I am happy I got to see his house with my incredible man.
So that's that!
On Friday we arrived around 6:30, so we got our keys and Patric and I went into the cabin. Patric bought the romantic package, so there was music playing and the coffee table was decorated with rose petals and rocks. There was a bouquet of flowers, chocolates and sparkling apple cider. I am usually not a fan of apple cider, but it was delicious! We had some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner...thanks to my mom, and relaxed for the rest of the evening in the jacuzzi and talked about stuff we never talked about. It was nice!
Saturday morning we woke up and decided we wanted to explore a little bit. I knew I wanted to do some type of hiking, so we went to this place called Crabtree Falls. It was a two mile hike up to the top of the falls so we did it. It was nice to be in the wilderness and enjoy nature. When we got to the top of the falls it was BEAUTIFUL! There were also about a million lady bugs flying around. I have NEVER been around so many ladybugs. After we got our fill of the mountains we hiked back down and decided we should go out to lunch instead of dinner because it was already 2. The first place we wanted to go wasn't open so we went to another place. The food was ok but it was pricey. There was a line to get into the bathroom and Patric was like, "isn't that the guy from your tv show?" I looked and was like, "hey it's Mouth! (or Marvin) from One Tree Hill!". I didn't want to bother him though, so I didn't say anything to him. After we ate, we went back to the cabin to relax. I read my book "The Hunger Games" and Patric played on his phone. He decided to collect some firewood as well, and that night we filled up the jacuzzi again, I started the fire and we watched a movie.
Sunday morning, we decided we wanted to go to Monticello in Charlottesville, on our way home from Royal Oaks. I LOVE Monticello. I want a garden like Thomas Jefferson had! He had SO many different vegetables! Patric promised me that once he gets the water problem fixed in the house that I can start my vegetable garden. I am going to have to read up a bit on what I want to grow and how to do it!
It was such a nice trip. I am sad that it is over. The cabin had problems with those stupid stinkbugs! We probably killed like 100 of them while we were there...but it was perfect other than that!
Josh was also AWESOME for my mom, which I am very grateful for. He even napped for like three hours for her! Why doesn't he nap that long for me? We may plan a disney cruise sometime in the future to take with my mom and charlie.
Here are some pictures!
We got to enjoy the falls with some of the Amish. They didn't make it all the way to the top of the hike though.
Someone was kind enough to take our picture at the first falls before the hike.
These pictures do not give the beauty of the place justice!
One of my favorite parts.
Where's Sasha? I don't generally want to climb out somewhere to get a picture taken...so I MUST have been relaxed this weekend.
Found another couple along the hike that was willing to take our picture.
The view from the top. I know that they are not as impressive as the mountains in the west, but I think they are BEAUTIFUL!
People were so friendly and volunteering to take pictures of us!
Seriously!
My awesome fire roaring, the jacuzzi filling up...and a movie ready to watch! I wish I could do this every night!
Patric took about a hundred pictures of me at this window. This building was in the gardens. I told Patric I want a building like this in my garden to just enjoy my flowers and plants...of course, I need A LOT more land to actually need a building like this.
People are friendly in Charlottesville too because someone volunteered to take a picture of us. This is probably my favorite of the weekend. I actually adjusted the camera before she took the shot, so I knew how zoomed in it would be.
A small portion on Thomas Jefferson's garden. He had 1000 yards of just garden!
Another part of his garden...which overlooks the city below.
The Monticello. We didn't get to see the upstairs, but I LOVED the architecture that Thomas Jefferson designed. It is actually a three story house, but the style back when he built is was just one story, so he made it look one story from the outside. He didn't like to waste time or space...sounds like me! Thomas Jefferson was an incredible man and I am happy I got to see his house with my incredible man.So that's that!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thinking about you!
Thank you for being my wife...you are wonderful. I love you....you are the best...looking forward to our trip.
miss you
This was an email I got from my husband today. Perhaps he is finally catching on after 6.5 years of marriage!
I REALLY can't wait for our trip! Just need to pack a few things and get out of town. We leave around 3pm tomorrow and will hopefully get to the cabins around 5:30. We don't really have much planned...maybe a hike..mostly we are just going to enjoy each other. Will we even know how to do that anymore?
This was an email I got from my husband today. Perhaps he is finally catching on after 6.5 years of marriage!
I REALLY can't wait for our trip! Just need to pack a few things and get out of town. We leave around 3pm tomorrow and will hopefully get to the cabins around 5:30. We don't really have much planned...maybe a hike..mostly we are just going to enjoy each other. Will we even know how to do that anymore?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
P is for Pumpkin!
So I have scrapbooked yet again! I am on a roll! I guess I finally have some time (which could be a bad thing) to do this type of thing! I have wanted to scrapbook so many pictures of Josh, and these are from when he was 19 months old! The kid is 3.5 now....tells you how busy I have been these past two years!
Anyway--I took another lay out from www.thescrappiest.blogspot.com because why would I even use my brain to think about a lay out?? It is SO nice to have Liz's website because I don't waste hours just thinking how to put everything on my page. I am getting faster at scrapbooking because of this, so thanks Liz for your blog! I hope you get many more followers because you are one talented lady!
Here is the page I did! We took Josh to Belvedere Plantation that year to pick out his pumpkin. I did use a picture from a different day in the middle, but I loved all the pumpkins behind him, even if he wouldn't smile for the camera (the little punk). That day I took him up to a nursery in Fairfax and the kids played around with their pumpkin display for free.
I also did a new hairstyle today that I am pretty proud of! I don't play around too much with my hair, but today I was feeling like I wanted to do a new style. I have to sing in church today and so I wanted to look nice. I am singing in a quartet and we are singing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Hopefully we don't choke and it sounds good!
Here is my hair!
Well I better go eat some lunch and get going to church!
Anyway--I took another lay out from www.thescrappiest.blogspot.com because why would I even use my brain to think about a lay out?? It is SO nice to have Liz's website because I don't waste hours just thinking how to put everything on my page. I am getting faster at scrapbooking because of this, so thanks Liz for your blog! I hope you get many more followers because you are one talented lady!
Here is the page I did! We took Josh to Belvedere Plantation that year to pick out his pumpkin. I did use a picture from a different day in the middle, but I loved all the pumpkins behind him, even if he wouldn't smile for the camera (the little punk). That day I took him up to a nursery in Fairfax and the kids played around with their pumpkin display for free.
I also did a new hairstyle today that I am pretty proud of! I don't play around too much with my hair, but today I was feeling like I wanted to do a new style. I have to sing in church today and so I wanted to look nice. I am singing in a quartet and we are singing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Hopefully we don't choke and it sounds good!Here is my hair!
Well I better go eat some lunch and get going to church!
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