Merry, Merry Christmas

Wishing you the best Christmas ever!

God bless us, every one...

Love, Bry & Ash

(since we didn't send out a card, this will have to do)

Too Much!

So, things have obviously been a little crazy around here the past month or so. When there are too many things to post about, it always seems to make writing more daunting than fun. Thus, I've been neglecting the blog lately.

But I'm back now and here are a few things that have been going on while I was gone...

• I came down with a bad case of the swine flu. (yuck)
• I survived the dreaded swine flu and got a few days off in bed out of the deal.
• Bryan got a job offer and for a while we thought we would be moving.
• We turned down the job offer and will be staying in Indy for a while longer at least. (Yay)
• My Dell Laptop crashed with all my most important files on it.
• Our new hero (Scott) fixed it for free but we're still switching everything over to the new Mac. (go Apple!)
• We had a wonderful and delicious several days of Thanksgiving with lots of turkey and mashed potatoes.
• With all the craziness, I procrastinated my last packet of writing for my grad school program. (due 8am the Monday after Thanksgiving--yeah right)
• I barely finished said packet, got confused on what time it was due, and turned it in several hours late with much stress and apologizing to my mentor.
• Bryan did end up totaling his car. (my wreck "only" came to a couple thousand dollars of damage)
• We just bought another car today on ebay (very exciting) to replace the sad wreckage that was the much-loved Passat.
• And now it's almost our anniversary (Dec 17th) and Christmas and we're having busy fun buying gifts and making festive plans!

Hope you're having fun with the holidays this year, too!

Love It

A song I can't get out of my head...so pretty.

WHAT?!

So...

Bryan got in a wreck this morning. Ran into someone from behind who had stopped suddenly at a light. As if that isn't frustrating enough, I JUST got my car back from being repaired after my own accident a few weeks ago. I ran into someone from behind who had stopped suddenly to turn into a driveway. Kind of like very not cool deja vu.

Isn't it weird how things like this seem to happen all at once? What's the deal? Life can be so unfair. Of course it can't be that we're bad drivers...

At least no one got hurt either time. Well, besides the cars anyway. Bryan's poor Passat had to be towed away to await it's fate. Sad day.

Aubrey Marie

Here's the little pumpkin I nanny for. Isn't she funny? I thought since she fills up 3 days of my week, then I should show her off a little. We have a pretty good time. Especially now that she's able to move around and stay busy. She definitely knows what she wants and seems to get bored rather quickly. When that happens she's not a very happy camper...probably not a good sign for her poor mom and dad.:)

Five of My (currently) Favorite Things

1. Fall flavors--Pumpkin, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apple cider, gingerbread cookies...

2. Rocking the Roles by Robert Lewis and William Hendricks--This was recommended at the Weekend to Remember conference and though we've only read the first three chapters, I'm really liking it so far.

3. the Canon Rebel that I so desperately want to finally own. (maybe for Christmas?)

4. Ingrid Michaelson and her cd Be OK.

5. My new We The Free dress that Bryan surprised me by secretly buying after I had been admiring it.

Hip-hip-hooray for Marriage

Bryan and I did in fact attend the "Weekend to Remember" Marriage Conference last weekend as Bryan's birthday gift. And I think BOTH of us ended up being very happy that I went out on a limb for his present. It was awesome!

The content was so good, the speakers were so talented and passionate, the things we learned (or re-learned) were so important, and we had so much fun. Probably the most helpful thing is that the sessions get you to start thinking and talking about things that you should have been working through or communicating better but have been ignoring for too long. That led to some discussions between Bryan and I that weren't always fun, but they were essential and ended well.:)

The conference organizers also do a great job making it feel like a getaway for the couples, so there's plenty of time for you to talk one-on-one about the sessions, do a leisurely lunch and Saturday night date, and enjoy the hotel. It really felt like a refreshing retreat for us, both spiritually and relationally.

We talked all the way home about things we have been trying to figure out for a while now, and it was so exciting to see how much clearer it all seemed after taking the time to slow down and get everything back in perspective. I love that.

We would whole-heartedly recommend this conference to anyone. They do them all over the country so check out the Family Life Web site for locations near you. (am I sounding like a commercial yet? No, they did not pay me to say this.):)

Happy Birthday, Babe

Bryan's 26 today!

This incredible guy deserves a happy birthday and so much more for making my life as wonderful as it has been with him for the past 3 years.

September 21st is also the day we got engaged (pretty good first birthday present, huh?), so I thought it fitting to include one of our engagement pictures. Don't we look so happy? Oh, but the great thing is we still are.:)His present from me this year is a surprise trip up to Michigan for the "Weekend to Remember" marriage conference by Family Life this weekend. When I asked him if he was excited, he said it's not exactly something he would have picked out himself but he assured me that he thought it sounded really cool.:) But hey, we're staying in a very fun hotel for a couple of days so it can't be that bad, right?

What do you think? Would you be excited if you got that as a present? Yeah, I'm not sure if it should qualify as a "birthday gift" but I think we'll have a good time together and hopefully learn a lot too.

The Bucket List

So for once, I actually had a couple of things to post about and had to choose between my options! That never happens. I don't think of my life as overly boring, so I'm not sure why this is. Maybe it's exciting but just not always bloggable.:) I think there is a difference.

But on to today's chosen post...

Bryan and I were able to cross something off of our "bucket list" last weekend. Just in case anyone isn't up on their hip lingo, the bucket list is a list of things you want to do before you die (aka before you kick the bucket).

So, last weekend we ran a half marathon. It sounded like a good challenge and a cool bonding thing to train for and do together. And it was. It was Bryan's first half marathon and he did awesome with the training and the race. Thankfully we were still able to finish together. He definitely kept my pace up which was tough but improved my time a lot, so in the end I'm grateful.

But if he does one of these again, he'll be more careful about drinking water. He didn't want to stop at the water stations and ended up getting dehydrated. It was actually pretty creepy. We were standing together after crossing the finish and suddenly I noticed that he started to look really weird and his eyes were kind of rolling back. He sat down and was fine so I didn't have to worry about trying to keep his head from hitting the pavement if he went down. That would not have been a fun way to end the race.

It was the Chicago Half Marathon, so the other great part of the weekend was hanging out in the city. Kait came with us and we had a wonderful time. We stayed in this beautiful historic hotel right across from Grant Park. That was my first time in Grant park and I had no idea how pretty Buckingham Fountain was. If you get the chance, you should walk through that area. Other then that there was of course a lot of shopping on Michigan Avenue, pasta (got to get your carbs the night before) and dashing around trying to get to our Metra train on time.

And this is a funny picture I stole off of the Chicago Half Marathon Web site. That first one has us in it too crossing the finish line. I'm the one with my arms up and Bryan is right beside me. Don't we look so victorious?:)

Labor Day In Michigan City

Bry and I spent last weekend with his family in Michigan City. Of course it went too fast...and of course I spent too much money at the outlet mall.:) But other than that, it was an awesome trip.

We stayed in this adorable little resort named Beachwalk. The picture here isn't our house (I still don't have a camera), but it's one of the houses in the resort that looked a lot like ours and it gives you a good idea of the style of the place. Each house was a different crazy color.

And even though it's still in IN, they actually have a lot of things to do there. A pool, tennis court, kayaks, basketball, nice green lawns for bocce ball, Saturday morning Farmer's Market, the Lake Michigan "beach" right across the road, cute restaurants nearby, huge outlets right around the corner, and several wineries within an hour or so. Sadly, we weren't able to pack everything into the three-day weekend, but we did the best we could. My highlights were probably running on the beach and down the lighthouse pier, buying bread and crazy cheeses (layered brie and gorgonzola rolled in garlic and curry) from this fun French family at the Farmer's Market, and wine tasting on our way to eat lunch at The Stray Dog, a lakeside restaurant with a great name in another cute little town next door (New Buffalo).

And the best part is that it was only three hours away. Crazy.

I hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend as well!

A Smile and a Ribbon

Here's a little ditty I ran across the other day by a two-sister singing act (named Patience and Prudence) from the 1950s. At first I liked it just because it's so cute and old-fashioned sounding, but the more I think about it, the song does makes a pretty good point about what people really notice.

It's amazing how much a smile can make a difference in others and in my own mood. (which I believe has something to do with the happy endorphins that are released when you use your "smile muscles"...seriously) And of course a fun ribbon can help too.:) So keep on smiling everybody!

Completely Uncalled For

OK, I should not be posting this. I'm sure it could be considered inappropriate, racist and mildly offensive...but I can't help it. I apologize profusely in advance. I just thought it was too funny when I read it to keep it from all of you.:)

And now that I have your attention, here's my little joke...(teehee)

In a Perfect World:

• The Germans are the mechanics
  
• The French are the cooks
  
• The Italians are the lovers
  
• The British are the police
  
• And everything is organized by the Swiss
  

In a World of Utter Grief and Chaos:

• The Germans are the police
  
• The French are the mechanics
  
• The Swiss are the lovers
  
• The British are the cooks
  
• And everything is organized by the Italians

Now, where do you think the Americans would be in all of this?:)

Beatles Tribute

My family and I went to Symphony on the Prairie last weekend here in Indy and the theme for the evening was The Beatles. They actually had four guys singing their songs who looked and sounded shockingly similar to the real thing...mop-tops, suits, English accents and all. With the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra behind them and the sun setting on the rolling hills of Conner Prairie as the backdrop, it was a great evening.

It was especially nice to be together with the family after a couple crazy months of summer. (Isn't summer supposed to be more relaxing?) Watching my dad get all excited as he re-lived the old days was pretty fun. He dragged my mom down closer to the stage so they could really "experience" the live music, and though we laughed at first, we all ended up down there by the end of the show. And he was right, the music did sound even better...plus, we got to watch a bunch of crazy Beatles fanatics and fearless dancers let loose to Twist and Shout.:)

Well, the whole wonderful experience has reignited my love of the Beatles. So, in tribute to the World's favorite British band...

Home Again

Yes, I'm really home and have been for a couple of weeks. I've just been too busy re-acclimating to normal life (and our time zone) to think about posting.

Plus, I'm not even sure what I can say about such a great week. I learned so much from my classwork, met a lot of incredible people and still had time left over to get to know Barcelona. I'm so glad I got into this program.

Instead of trying to describe the crazy cool things I got to see, I'm trying to figure out how to post the slideshow I put together. Until then, I guess I'll just put up a few more pictures.

And for all the disappointed fans of our blog, I'll try to get back to posting a little more regularly.

In Love with Barcelona

Sorry for the recent lack of posts. I'm actually in Barcelona right now for part of my masters program. It's been absolutely, out of this world incredible. What an amazing city.

If you haven't been, I suggest you start planning a trip here. There's so much fabulous architecture, history, art, food, scenery and so many cool European people with fun accents. (they even have internet in the hotels so you can keep up with your blog):)

I've already taken an unbelievable amount of pictures and I'm only on day 4 out of 12. But I really can't help it, it's just such a photogenic city.

I have so many I want to show you but here's one of my favorites so far. It's the fountain in Placa de Catalunya, the main city square.

Being a Girl

Poor Bryan. Sometimes I can be so unreasonable.

Take this past weekend for example. We were on a long car ride and Bry gets a craving for ice cream. I lectured him a little bit on how bad ice cream is for you but secretly, deep down, I thought it sounded pretty good too so I didn't put up too much of a fight. Pretty soon, we spotted a Culvers and Bryan happily got his raspberry mixer (fresh raspberries mixed with delicious Culvers custard...pretty much the best combo ever).

Of course, there's no way that I can ignore the ice cream when it's sitting right next to me in the car. What am I supposed to do, stare out the window at another corn field going by? Plus, I don't want Bryan to consume ALL those calories on his own so I'd better help him out, right?

And then, as soon as the cup is empty, I'm instantly annoyed. Why did I just eat all that? (I'm pretty sure I ended up having more than Bry when it was all said and done) And then the unreasonableness begins...

This is all Bryan's fault. It's ludicrous to expect myself to resist the deliciousness if he's going to bring it into the car. Why did he insist on getting ice cream in the first place? He knows how bad it is for you and he practically forced me into eating it! How mean. Especially right before we leave for Florida!

Yep. In my state of annoyance, I quickly and viciously passed the blame onto my poor, unsuspecting husband...the (mostly) innocent party...and let him know for a good five minutes how frustrated I am. Never mind the fact that it was me who had no self control. Thankfully, I think he's mostly used to the ridiculousness of girls by now. From his response, he didn't seem too alarmed anyway. After my tirade, he replied with a smile, "Well, I enjoyed the ice cream."

Is it just me, or is it normal for wives to lose all logic from time to time?

My First Pedicure

I can't believe I'm 22 and had never had a pedicure before last weekend...not even for my wedding. But now that I've experienced one, I may not be able to stay away from the spa. It was pure bliss. A soak in warm water, a scrub, lotion, a massage, and perfectly painted toenails...all while sipping fruited water in a massage chair. Not too bad.

It was a college graduation gift from my MIL, by the way...I would have probably never splurged on my own. But what a great gift. If you're wondering what to buy a sister or friend for their birthday, I recommend the pedicure (or manicure if they're ticklish).

So bring on the summer...my toes are ready!:)

Oh, and those aren't actually my feet in the picture. My nails are now a crazy bronzey orange color. Go big or go home, right?:)

CPA Basketball Tourney 2009

I wanted the title to sound all official because the CPA tourney is pretty much a big deal. On this very night in fact, Bryan's KSM team will find out if they have what it takes to be number one after two brutal back-to-back games against some of the toughest accountants in the city!

Heh heh. OK, so maybe work leagues aren't that big of a deal, but I think they're pretty fun. Especially when they consist of dorky accountants in sweat bands and glasses. Can't you just picture it? It can be very entertaining. Since I couldn't find a picture of a nerdy looking guy in a sweat band, these vintage basketball shoes will have to do.

Of course the highlight of basketball night is watching my super talented husband dominate the court (while looking very non-dorky, I might add).:) Sadly, I'm usually the only cheerleader there to watch the fun since most of the other guys aren't married yet. But that doesn't dampen my spirits! In fact, I think everyone should join a league. Playing sports and getting a good workout with your co-workers seems like a good time to me.

And don't worry, I'll be sure to let you know whether or not KSM ends the night as the reigning champions. I'm sure the suspense would be too much to take otherwise.:)

The Weird Neighbors

OK, so Bryan and I are actually the weird neighbors on the block. Take yesterday for example. Bryan was trying to mow our very overgrown and weedy lawn with a reel mower. Maybe you've seen one...they're those old, vintage looking things that your grandparents probably had laying around and getting rusty in their garage. Well, they still make them and ours is new and quite svelte.:) It runs without gas or oil, is noiseless and provides a pretty decent workout to boot. Even so, Bryan did look a little ridiculous out there. What makes it even worse is that our house is on a busy road, right next to a stop light. Meaning that no one has anything better to do than watch us while they wait for their light to turn green. Poor Bryan said he could feel the eyes on him as he hacked away at our hay field by hand.

But compared to what I was doing yesterday, Bryan looked pretty normal. The deal is that we have these two little evergreen trees in front of our house in pots, and of course they died and turned a bright orange color a few months after we bought them. Because I hate to spend money, I decided to get creative. Hence the reason I was standing in front of our house yesterday, spray painting our trees green (hoping that this time they would actually stay "ever green"). Yes, it felt awkward. And yes people were laughing at me. A guy in a fire truck actually leaned out and yelled, "are you painting those?" I smiled, nodded and gave him a thumbs up. It was pretty funny. He honked back at me and I'm sure it was because he thought it was such a cool idea.:)

So yeah, we usually provide some good neighborhood entertainment. It's fun for now, but I think I'll be ready to move to a less conspicuous location next time around.:)

Lunch, Shopping and...Running

Yes, accountability CAN be fun! For the past 5 weeks, my sister Andria and I have committed to run at least 3 times a week. I know this doesn't sound fun yet but hold on, I'm getting there. At the end of each successfully completed month, we get to plan some kind of reward to do together. Reward #1 was lunch outside on their back porch and shopping at Anthropologie.

I would have taken some pictures of our cute lunch setup but I STILL have not bought the new camera that was supposed to be my Christmas gift and then my Birthday gift in March. I think Ann might post a couple though so check out her blog.

The really cool part is that this accountability thing has actually been working. That's impressive when considering that I have never, in my entire life, been able to figure out a way to get myself to run regularly. Who knew that this was all it would take?

So for those of you that have finally given up in despair at being able to accomplish your unreachable goals, try this method. It's effective and oh so fun...though our husbands might not share our level of enthusiasm about monthly shopping trips.:)

Disclaimer: The picture of the glorious runner above is not me!

The Many Faces of Blogs

Lately, as I've been perusing my favorite blogs, it struck me how different each one is. When you start to pay attention, you realize that there are all kinds of different styles and approaches to blogging. For example, I came up with five different "types" of blogs that we've all encountered.

1. The Bulletin Board: This blogger loves to find inspirational causes or hip products to promote. The blog is usually covered with logos, badges and links to organizations, missions and other blogs...all in support of some fun new trend or commendable cause. A good source of worthwhile info.

2. The Therapy Session: At first glance, this blog is usually a little intimidating. Most posts are long and may not even have a picture (gasp). However, once you wade in they're usually pretty entertaining. The author of these posts holds nothing back and gives their readers a hearty dose of whatever is on their minds. You get confessions, vent-sessions, hopes and dreams, embarrassing stories...you never really know, but you can always expect a real heart-to-heart when you read this one.

3. The Scrapbook: This blog is for those who either ran out of money to buy more Creative Memories paraphernalia or ran out of room in their house for another album. The blog decor is always good and posts are filled with lots of splashy big pictures of baby's first birthday or the family trip to the zoo. It's fun to browse and usually doesn't require much reading. But if a picture is worth a thousand words then there's really not much else that needs to be said.

4. The Devotional: This blog is almost as good as Beth Moore's newest study. You can usually count on some great Bible verses, praise songs (with the lyrics) and thought-provoking discussions. The author of this blog blesses us all with some refreshing substance and convicting challenges.

5. The Journal: The posts on this blog are usually a short overview of the day or a summary of the most recent noteworthy happening in the author's life. They don't go too deep, but they keep you updated on what's going on and usually include a couple of pictures of the more interesting highlights. An informative and easy read.

So, which blog type are you? And which one is most fun to read? Vote on the survey (top right of the blog) for your favorite.

Tax Season #2

Even though it's a bit late, I really must comment on the incredible job that Bryan did during this year's busy season. He worked like a champ and I'm so proud of him. April 15th was last Wednesday, so we've been enjoying life back to its wonderful normal for the past week. We even did a getaway weekend with just the two of us to reconnect and write out our family "mission statements." It was a perfect way to spend the first work-less Saturday we've had since January.

So Babe, thanks for being so cool and working so hard!

Flip Video Fun

I'm loving our new Flip Video. It was especially nice to have in FL since we currently don't have a working camera. Now I wish I had taken more videos of all the cool stuff we did...like the farmer's market, the pool, the harbor, the big band concert, the art fair, bocce ball, fun restaurants with Javon's grandparents (who are in FL for the winter)...but of course I didn't think of it then.

But here are the videos I do have:

I had to include this one because we rode these adorable red bikes everywhere during our week at Marco Island. The island is a pretty small place so we could get to the park, the library, shops, and even to a neigboring fishing village (Goodland). It's like 7 miles away so we had to work up to that bike trip, and it's a good thing we did because we rode back with the wind against us the whole time...no small feat, let me tell you.


This is us after finally arriving, hot and tired, in Goodland. Notice the pitcher of water on the table...our waiter finally just left it there after refilling our glasses for the third or fourth time. So there really isn't much in the town besides this restaurant on the bay and a bunch of fishermen with their little houses and fishing boats. Kind of a cool outing though...especially with the Pina Colada that we splurged on for dessert.


OK, so this proves my point about how little there is to do in Goodland. We resorted to taking videos of the local wildlife...well actually, it was just a few birds. Because the video is so lame, it's actually pretty funny.


And for those of you who love a good sunset, here's one on the beach. Every time I finished taking a video it got even prettier, so it took a few tries...these two are the first and the last one (so you can see the transformation yourself). Even though it was cold and windy, I'm glad we forced ourselves to take a sunset walk on our last night there. We had a great talk huddled under our blanket. That, along with the rest of our glorious week, made for some very good memories.

Away on Holiday

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm with my sister-in-law, Javon, in sunny Florida. We both had a break in our schedules and decided it would be the perfect time to take a trip together to Marco Island. Just because you're done with college doesn't mean you have to be done with spring breaks!

I didn't bring a camera but I'll probably be posting more on our trip when I get back. It's been wonderfully relaxing so far...and I'm already very sunburned. (So it's probably a good thing we're not taking any pictures) :)

Officially Published!

So, I have been told that I need to post about my most recent excitement:

My name has appeared in April's edition of Indianapolis Monthly!:)

It's a little piece of course, about 400 words. But still, so cool! Now you all have to go out and buy the magazine so you can find my article.:) It's called "Dressed for Success," and it's about how the yearly Downtown Condo Tour gives their proceeds to the Indianapolis Public School system for things like uniforms. It's a pretty good read.:)

Hopefully I'll get a few more bylines by the time my internship is over in May...

Birthday Time

Just want everyone to know that I'm officially 22! (as of March 10)

Apparently I'm still at the stage where I'm excited about getting a year older. Wonder how long that will last?

Actually, I think we should always look forward to getting older because as a wise man once said, "Age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories." I think that is a wonderful way to look at it. So for those of you that are trying to ignore the fact that your birthday is coming up, think about everything those years have given you and celebrate instead!:)

Ballet and Cute Old Italian Singers

For Valentine's Day, my darling husband displayed his undying love and devotion by coming with me to Butler's Midwinter Dance Festival. They have an amazing ballet company and it was wonderful. (Thank you Bryan...your self-sacrificial goodness did not go unnoticed) However, we did also hang out and read for a while in an awesome old cafe we found and continued our tradition of making a fun Valentine's Day dinner together, this time with homemade chocolate mousse for dessert that Bryan very much enjoyed...so the day wasn't all horrible for him.:)

But back to the show. My all-time favorite part of the performance was when the dancers broke loose from the restraints of classical ballet and started doing some really great jazzy stuff in vintage red silk dresses. And then of course a couple guys came out snapping their fingers in pin-stripes and fedora hats.:) As fabulous as their moves were, I still think that it may have been the music that made it. I mean, listen to this guy. It's just so cute. And it turns out that he's one of those old Italians dripping with character...I love that country. Here's a picture of him to go with the song.

I think I shall be purchasing a CD of Paolo's very soon...

Happy Presidents Day

I know I already posted earlier, but I found this funny (and highly educational) video. Hehe. I'm not a big fan of rap, but in honor of President's Day I am posting it anyway. (Jen and Ann, I thought you could use this for your boys' history lesson today):)

Updated Honorary Ireland Post

Here are the new and improved photos of our "honeymoon" plus birthday trip to visit Luke in Ireland. (He was doing a rotation there for school). Originally I had posted all the pictures in a long and rather arduous column but then decided to actually go to the work of putting them into a slide show (with some fabulous Irish music to boot). So hopefully they will now be easier and more fun for everyone to look at.:) It was a wonderful place...enjoy!

Photo Tag

Jen was doing a photo tag thing on her blog and it sounded fun. You are supposed to post the 4th picture in your 4th photo folder. However, I only have one photo folder on this computer because it's my laptop, so this is actually the 4th picture in my 1 folder.:)
It's a fun picture though. I think Jenny took it while we were walking out of some quaint little cheese shop in Dublin. I'm not sure why I'm carrying flowers, but it makes it all the more classic...that and the word "bus" painted on the road.:)

I have suddenly realized that I don't think I ever posted any of our Ireland pictures, I think because we went before our blog was born. It was fun to look back through them...there are some pretty good ones. If you would like to see some of them, then by all means let me know and I can do an honorary Ireland trip picture post.:)

Which reminds me...Jenny, I never did get Luke's pictures of our road trip to the coast from you. I still want those! Is there any way you could send them over e-mail?:)

Trip to the Dentist

Just wanted you all to know that Bryan and I officially failed our check-up. We both have five cavities. Yes, that's right. We both have FIVE cavities.

Disgusting isn't it? I don't know how it happened. We do actually brush our teeth. By all accounts, it just doesn't make sense. OK, so we don't floss. But seriously, how many people floss regularly? I guess that's what we get for not going to the dentist for 2 years after getting married and getting kicked off of our parent's dental plan.

Anyway, we'll be going back there a couple more times before this is all over. It's a good thing that we like our new dentist and her very chic office so much. Otherwise this might be a real hassle....

In order to end the post on a more positive note, I should mention that we do get free whitening for being new patients. (Thanks Ann for the referral!) We just have to get all of these cavities taken care of first before we can move on to the fun stuff. How sad.

Well, I should probably go and floss my teeth or something...

Snow Day

Today was a glorious day. I couldn't get my little Jetta out of the driveway so I STAID HOME from work! It is nice to know that there is still such a thing as a snow day, even if I'm not in school anymore.:)

Since I was already awake and dressed for work, I opted to stay up instead of crawling back to bed and sleeping away the rest of the morning. And I am so glad I did. I am proud to say that I managed to get quite a bit done on my day off.

On my super productive day I
+ Took a shower (that's big...I hate showers)
+ Shoveled the drive (unsuccessfully)
+ Did my devotions
+ Made dentist appointments for Bryan and I
+ Set up a time for a chimney sweep to come clean and inspect our chimney
+ Bought tickets to our Valentine's Day entertainment (Butler's Midwinter Dance Festival)
+ Made Bryan's Valentine's Day gift (It's a secret, or I would tell you what it was)
+ Updated my resume and sent it to a potential employer
+ Read a book from front to back cover (The Giver is a pretty quick read, but still)
+ Cleaned the bathroom (also big, I never do that)
+ Sent my busy husband a million fairly pointless e-mails throughout the day
+ Made a fabulous gourmet dinner...of banana pancakes with peanut butter.:) Though in my defense, the peanut butter was the good freshly ground stuff. (Fresh Market is amazing)
+ Stopped by Walgreens and picked up a prescription
+ Went and watched Bryan's KSM basketball game while talking with a friend and stuffing envelopes for a church project
+ Wrote a fascinating new post for the blog :)

I hope you all enjoyed your wintry Thursday as well!

What I'm Doing With Myself Now...

Well, I'm sure you are all wondering what in the world I am doing with all of my time now that I don't have homework, exams or commuting to worry about. Well, I started my internship at Indianapolis Monthly last week. I'm very lucky (and by that I mean blessed) and thankful to be there. It's an extremely cool internship and I can already tell that I will learn a lot. The magazine world is very interesting and pretty fun too. I mean, where else do you get to call up famous people or go try out fun restaurants and have your meal paid for.:) Plus, I'm enjoying the chance to experience working downtown. (The offices are right on the monument circle)

There is only one small downside to the position. It's unpaid...but that's only because it's such great experience that they don't need to pay their interns! Well, that's what I keep telling myself anyway...though it doesn't always stop me from wondering again why on earth I decided to work for free. (And I'm pretty sure Bryan is wondering the same thing) But considering that the economy has crashed and I can't get a paid job anywhere if I wanted to, I guess I'm stuck here for now whether I like it or not. So I'm deciding to like it.:)

I'll let you know if my name is ever going to show up in print!

Glorious Break...

Sorry I've done such a terrible job of posting during Christmas break. I guess I was having too much fun to stop and blog about it.:)

After the rush of Christmas celebrations (I believe Bryan and I had 5 consecutive Christmas dinners at one point), we left for a week in Florida with Chad and Heather and Blair and Natalie. It was our first "couples trip" and I would say it was a success. The weather was perfect, the resort was beautiful, the beach was wonderful, we found some good outlets, and the pools were amazing. We also got to stop by Gainesville and spend the day with Jen and Luke, and later in the week Jenny and Luca came to visit us at the resort. Unfortunately, my camera started malfunctioning on the first day of the trip so I don't have any pictures.

I do have some videos though that we took on the little video recorder that Nick and Javon gave us for Christmas. However, it turned out that most of them are of the little guys so it's not a great representation...

This one is of us tormenting darling little Jude during the Bahler family Christmas. Heh heh.


While we were in Gainesville, we of course had to visit the Florida Gator's Swamp. There were "Do not touch the field" signs all over, but as you can see, that didn't stop Blair and Heather.:)


Bryan running Luca through the cool fountains by our pool. He was a little freaked out by them after that..:)


Here are the guys at one of our favorite spots...the putt putt course at the resort. Luca obviously wasn't too into hitting the ball, but he liked carrying it around with the putter.:)


And one more of Bryan trying to interview Luca at the end of the day...He was so much fun to have around. (And you too Jenny!):)