Chocolate

I'm such a chocolate lover... just don't know how i could ever give it up! Even while pregnant and not having a sweet tooth, i somehow still manage to want chocolate! Help... ha

April Showers...

The good ole saying "April showers bring May flowers" better be true... here near Philly, we've been having 'April' showers since December and i can't wait for the clouds to break so spring can truly arrive! It's not freezing cold anymore but more like cold and damp with frequent rain. Personally, its downright depressing. With winter behind us (as well as my pregnancy sickness) I'm very anxious to enjoy some spring like weather with the hubby and dogs before our newest addition is born. About 8 more weeks to go till the kid arrives:)

Since the holidays - thanksgiving/christmas - we haven't traveled out of town - not even to nearby areas such as DC, Baltimore, the Pocono's, NYC, nowhere. Husband is trying to save his time off for when the kid is born and I have taken to not wanting to travel far. This is odd for us. Normally, once winter breaks, or sometimes before, we are on the highway... to TN, Pittsburgh, maybe to SC, up to NYC... we love traveling, the dogs in tow when we can. Guess the kid is already slowing us down maybe... ? Not sure.

Nelly had a birthday in January - she is 6. Sammy had his in February - he is 7. These numbers start to scare me... my little babies are growing old. Especially with Nelly being purebred Boxer, i don't know that she will live as long. Both are still rowdy, playful, and hyper, not letting their age hold them back from a thing... sammy is still the boss, deciding when and if they will play or sleep. nelly follows his every move, playing when he does, sleeping when he does. She would be lost without him. He loves her equally but doesn't like to show it haha...

Had a visit from my parents in March... so nice to have company... be with family. Husband's parents are nesting over in western PA, admidst lots of family drama, that though entertaining and interesting, i won't be posting here. Upcoming plans? A college friend AHB is coming up next weekend and I can't wait to grab lunch together, gushing and gossiping like the old days. Other friends from central PA will be out in a couple weeks - mini baby shower get together.

Then its onto husbands birthday and our 7th anniversary. yes 7 years. wow. 7. its amazing how fast its gone yet i also feel liks its been longer. I can't imagine life without husband. He's such a part of me, who i am, my being. I love him in ways i can't explain... i feel so utterly thankful. I'm still on the fence on his birthday gift and if we will travel for our anniversary as we usually do. I ask husband, "what is your favorite food, like that you would want for your birthday?" Pizza. 'what?! you want me to take you out for pizza for your birthday?! good grief.' So who knows where we will end up dining!!

Pregnancy

This blog has been wildly abandoned, as I have taken to writing (well mostly complaining) on my pregnancy blog... somehow, pregnancy has taken over my life the past several months. In the beginning, I was determined to continue my travels, even more vigorously than before, and maintain a very social, active existence throughout the entire pregnancy. Yet, battling constant morning sickness makes these goals very difficult to achieve. I did well at first but since our trip to DC, my motivation to keep so active has truly dwindled.

November 17 and 18, My friend C and I went on a trip to Woodstock, NY for a Citizen Cope concert. He came to Philly the month before but we managed to talk one another into a roadtrip to upstate New York. Naturally, on the 17th as I packed my bag, the weather channel chatted in the background... I picked up on "several inches of snow for the catskill area..." What? C had nicely agreed to drive, considering my car is a heap of junk these days (yet a heap of junk I really don't want to fix but would be heartbroken if it died - ironic i know). I ring her up... "Did you hear the prediction?" She hadn't. I fill her in and we debate a bit, should we? shouldn't we? It's probably nothing... but, who knows... it could be bad... hmm.

After much debate and many worthless phone calls to one another, we agree to go, despite the fact we're leaving two hours later than desired. The drive up was great. We used to work together and got to chat most everyday, but these days, at different jobs, our chat time is more limited to emails, phone calls, and the occasional gettogether. We checked into our hotel in Fishkill. Dinner was Japanese and I drooled over C eating sushi as I had to stick to cooked foods. The concert was at the Bearsville Theater. A great show and he performed solo acoustic. Coming back on sunday was more visiting and a beautiful drive through big, luscious, white snowflakes in Jersey. A great trip and nice girl time...

C was surprised at the news I was pregnant... and i have since kept her up to date with all the latest woes of my condition as well as the exciting things like feeling the baby move.

Since our trip to Woodstock, I have done very little in the line of being social. We did travel for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas. I was able to attend our usual NYE get together at T&S's house which is all the way across the street... haha. I hope to improvement my 'socialness' very soon and get back to my old self again. This pregnancy is bringing me down... and i want to get back up again!

More Travel!

The moment we met, we became instant best friends in college. Sometimes you just met those people who the moment you met - you know you are going to be instant, great friends. That's how it was with R. R and I are such similar people it amazes me sometimes. We fret over the same things, act silly in the same ways, and have taken similar paths in life. Our personalities vary and we react differently to some things, but majority of the time, we see eye to eye.

About 6 months ago we planned to attend GWU Homecoming - back to our old university to relive a few great memories and a great excuse to get together. Life has gotten in our way and though we talk often, we haven't seen each other nearly as much as we would like. I flew down to Charlotte on Oct 26, early in the AM, and R picked me up with her little boy. He is the spitting image of her! I got to see her new house in SC, visit with her and her hubby too. We cooked together, played games, talked, gossiped, chatted (this consumed a lot of time ha), etc. The next day we went shopping at our old stomping grounds of gaffney, had a japanese dinner in shelby, and attended the homecoming game in Boiling Springs.

The weekend went way too fast... i couldn't be more grateful for our time together that weekend. for the years of friendship thus far. for the ease of our friendship. thats right - its just easy. We talk, we're honest with each other, we know when to say one of us is being stupid, unfair, or completely unrealistic. we also know when to just listen - thats most important. I can call her when i'm utterly happy! and when i'm unbelievable sad. Again, how great are old friends? Nothing beats them!

Travel

One of the best feelings, the older I get especially, is getting together with old friends. Husband and I have so many friends of all ages and geographically spread apart, but nothing beats the old comfort of friends who have known you longer than most and who you have a bond with unlike most others. Oct 12-14, we went to Washington DC for a weekend jaunt to meet up with Erin and Matt. Erin is one of my old BF's from college. Not just a BF but a roomie and one of my favorite people. After college, we somehow lost touch for a period of time but now, having reconnected, we haven't missed a beat since. Then being together, I was once again reminded of why we became such good friends in the first place. We just mesh well:-)

The trip was great. Stayed in a nice hotel, ate great food, talked and talked some more, toured the sights, did lots of walking, took pictures, and didn't have to get up too horribly early, even though Matt was probably pacing the floors waiting on the rest of us sleepyheads lol. He's the only morning person of the crew. The weekend went way too fast and the Sunday goodbye's came way too soon. We left with promises of making it a yearly tradition, one I feel we will definitely keep! Can't wait to do it again. Until then, we call, leave many long winded voicemails, write lengthy emails, and eventually catch one another sometimes and have a real phone conversation.

Visitors

We rarely have visitors. Not because we don't want them (well most of the time thats not the reason). But because we live where we do - Philadelphia, PA. Most of my family is down south. Husband's family is all in Pittsburgh which is not far but they still don't travel the 5 hour treck often. His folks come once a year. Mine come once a year as well. We love the visits from the parents and hate to see them go. Another reason we don't have visitors often is again - because of where we live. Most of our friends are on average an hour away (philly's a big place) so we end up meeting halfway for lunch, dinner, or drinks. It works and then I don't have to scrub my house silly clean!

My parents came for their yearly visit Oct 5-9. We went shopping, toured Longwood Gardens, ate good food, saw the movie "Into the Wild", and did lots of chatting. That's what me and mom do - chat, talk, visit, and then do it some more. Longwood Garden's are truly beautiful, even in the fall. I was amazed by their organic vegetable gardens! That tour was right up my gardner parents alley.

The movie "Into the Wild" was just what I expected and more. Not only is a great film that I classify as a must see, but the message of the film is powerful. The movie tells the story of Christopher McCandless, a wandering soul who is searching for a greater life. He feels that life is waiting for him in the Alaskan wilderness. This true life story is an amazing and eventful one. I left there reminding myself that material things really hold little to no actual worth. Our happiness stems from our relationships and from love. I vow to be less materialistic. to value my relationships more. invest more time with others. love with my whole heart. stop spending money on pointless things. Again, the film is a must see.

We had dinner one night at Bonefish Grill in Exton, PA. Excellent food there as usual. I ordered one of the specials but regretted not ordering what husband did - the pistachio encrusted trout. That is my favorite dish there and the times I haven't ordered it, I've regretted it! I vow to stop trying new things there and stick with my love - the pistachio encrusted trout.

Parents departed Tuesday morning after I left for work. The treck back to TN is I-81 most of the way... horrible highway and too many trucks. But they had safe travels...

Travel

We've been busy traveling recently and I haven't had time to write. But I'm glad. We love traveling and doing new activities, seeing new areas, and meeting up with old friends.

Sept 21 we went to Connecticut for a long weekend of sight seeing and kayaking. Traffic in NYC was the norm for a friday night - total nightmare. We swore to one another, asking why we didn't go another way. Unfortunately, being stuck on the bridge, we had no option but to stick it out. Thankfully we made it to our dinner destination in Branford, CT. Dinner at Lenny's was amazing! Its a seafood joint down a couple small roads. It's not fancy or expensive and the food is great - so just our style! I had the Broth version of clam chowder and Husband had his usual New England clam chowder. Both were good but Husband's was great. I wish I could have ordered a cup of that but knew if I did, I wouldn't finish my dinner. Husband went with the fish and chips which he said were very good. We both agreed though - I outordered him! I had the Maryland crab cakes which were awesome. The perfect amounts of crab meat with breadcrumbs and perfectly matched spices. I LOVED my food.

We left there and drove up to Windsor, CT, just north of Hartford to stay overnight. Saturday morning we got going fairly early to do sightseeing of little villages and hit up some good new england tag sales. We scored a few good deals but mostly enjoyed seeing all the historic homes. Kayaking was great - so peaceful yet a good upper body workout too! We want to do this more often. The trip home was filled with CT backroads to get a real feel for the state. We loved what we saw and wish for our own center chimney home one day. Its always great to return home to Sammy and Nelly, our little pups. Well they're full grown but still our little ones we saw. Our kids. The four of us make up our family. Our happy little family...