Slowly getting settled

Today started off as a not so pleasant day. Lets just say I work with a group of pissants. we had 1 coworker call out sick with a stomach bug, and then another called out because she was in the ER after falling down some stairs and landing on her face (the last we heard she was getting facial x-rays and she had lost 3 teeth). So, I arrive at work at 11.....after hitting traffic and worrying that my first patient would beat me to the office (I arrived first), just to hear people griping and moaning. Now, come on...these people are legitimately sick and unable to work, cut them some slack. So, the day is more busy than usual, and patients for some reason didn't know how to show up on time today, no lunch break etc.....I was ready to go home. THe was the best part of my day....i got home and we finally had internet and cable service! YES!!!!! I check my email very regularly, but I was only able to do so at the office (if any of you know what my job is like, there is very little time to sit down, let alone be on the internet), until now. I am so happy to have my inernet back, and Kevin is so happy to have his ESPN back. :-)
As far as the new house. Everything is going well in here. We are slowly getting settled in. We were very fortunate to have the Bradley's come and help with the heavy lifting (thanks, Ronnie, and Ronnie), along with my bro, my best friends dad, and my best friend bro to do the lifting, and then my mom, Pat, Carmen, M, and our 2 nephews here to help in unpacking. We really could not have done it without everyone here, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Now, come back and help unpack more! Just kidding. The unpacking is a slow process, but it is coming along. I promised them that we would have it done by Thanksgiving. (Keep your fingers crossed). We also contacted the pool company to come out, and close the pool for the season. It is just getting too cold to get in the water. We have the gas heater for it, but I am deathly scared of the gas bill trying to heat a pool of that size. Not worth it in my book. Calla is getting settled in. She seems a little unsure of it still, but she has met some new neighborhood friends and misses her old ones. Hopefully I will have more updates later, with more progress. Oh, and we will be sending out cards with our new address and phone number soon! Ta Ta!!

OBX trip

We had our annual OBX trip again. I tell you what. I just love the outerbanks. It is not like myrtle beach, or VA beach, or Ocean City where you go on vacation and it is go go go go go. We go for a vacation...to relax, spend time with friends and enjoy ourselves....and that is exactly what we did. It was another successful year even though Hanna came through and kicked us out 1 day early. The weather was beautiful (until the last day), the house was cozy, and the company was wonderful.We stayed at a different house this year, named Yellowfin, in the Whalehead section of Corolla. This one was larger, but further from the ocean. We also did a 4 wheel drive beach jeep tour and got to see the wild horses. In all the years I have been going there, I never experienced that before. It was amazing. We only saw 1 group of horses, but it was a group of probably around 5-6 horses with one being a young horse. We also went to the lighthouse to do a wine tasting tour. It was hot, but nice because the sun was starting to set on the sound, which was really pretty. We took daily trips down to the ocean, and to tim-buck-two shopping center. Of course we will do this trip again next year. It has become an annual vacation that I don't want to ever give up. The week we went was the best. Definitely a week i recommend to all. We went the week of labor day, so the kids are back in school, the prices drop by at least $1000 for the week, it is less crowded, and we only have to take 4 days of vacation for work (that is a plus for someone like me, who doesn't get a ton of vacation). Below is a pic of the group of us this year (minus the 3 kids...they were in bed!). Thanks all for another great year!

Oh my goodness

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness. So, I did it...I chopped off (well my hairstylist) all my hair to donate it to a company that makes wigs for children with hairloss. In the end, I had about 12 inches taken away. All I can say is, oh my goodness MY HAIR IS SHORT. I can't even put it up in a ponytail. I definately don't like it. I haven't ever had my hair short, so I am NOT used to it. I wish I could just take the hair, make a wig of it for myself and use it. Kevin doesn't think it looks bad. His first reaction was "wow thats short". I told him to be honest....and he said he was when he said he liked it. It is just going to take A LOT of getting used to. Whenever I look in the mirror, I just keep telling myself, you did a good deed, hair grows back, you did a good dead, hair grows back....please grow back fast. Another inch or 2 will be good enough for now. Here is a picture so you can see for yourself......also note that some of the darkness that looks like hair is actually a shadow on the wall...it isn't even to my chin. AAAHHHHH!!!!!

We did it!!!!

Well, I am sure all of you know this already, but the 3rd time WAS a charm.....Kevin and I got our house. We are very excited about it. We actually don't have the keys yet, but we close on the 27th. We aren' t planning on moving in until the 2nd weekend in September, as long as everything goes well before closing.
So, what is the house like....let me tell you. It is in a culdesac (love it) and sits on .25 acres (not as big as we would like, but sufficient for us). IT is a blue-ish color, 3 levels, with a 2 car garage. The mian level of living has the basic half bath, laundry room, living room, dining room, family room and kitchen with a deck off the kitchen. The upstairs has 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths, and the basement has a rec room, unfurnished area, and bathroom with a changing area. Plus, the owners have left us their pool table! Yea!!! The house was built in 82 or 83 (I can't remember), but everything has been updated in the last few years. I mean everything...new roof, new siding, new windows, hardwood floors on the main level, granite in the kitchen, new cabinets, stainless steel appliances. Like I said, everything!!!
We are super excited about it. I will keep everyone updated on it, and lets hope everything goes through up until closing. :-) Speaking of closing, we have limited time, so I better get off here and pack. :-) :-)

Weekend getaway

As you all know, Kevin and I will be celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday. In honor of that, we decided to get away together for the weekend. Originally we were going to go to NYC since (gasp) Kevin has never been there before! Unfortunately, it didn't work out for this weekend, but we plan on doing it some other time. Instead, we took a 3 hour drive up to McHenry, Maryland to a resort called Wisp resort. Wisp is known for it's ski slopes during the winter, but during the summer, they do a lot of outdoor adventure activities. It is located on an amazing lake called Deep Creek Lake. (Those from this area will know it). We had a great weekend together and already want to go back during the winter to ski, and to continue what we were doing this summer. So, Friday we got in later because I had to work, so we didn't have much time for activities. That night we went out to eat at a steak restaurant and just toured the area. Saturday we were going to go fly fishing, but it had rained the night before (a lot) and the water levels were too high to fish. So, we went to the local state park (Swallow Falls) and did some hiking and swimming in the water falls. I learned my balance is not as good as it should be (as I was trying to step from rock to rock in the water, I fell between the two). We both love to hike trails and be around water, so it was a perfect day for us. That night we went to a Santa Fe style restaurant with views of the lake and slopes. Today we did our favorite activity of the weekend. We rented a motor boat for 4 hours and rode around the lake. Kevin did the driving (even though I got a temporary license as well) while I enjoyed the sun and read my book, and unfortunately got a little sunburned. It was well worth it. Kevin kept stopping the boat to jump off and swim around the lake. I have pictures that I will post later this week. The lake is huge, so we didn't even cover all areas in the four hours. A lot of people were tubing, skiing, swimming, etc on the lake. It make Kevin and I want to get a lake house for a summer getaway. However, when we go to the beach we say the same thing about that...we want a beach house. I guess we should get a house here first! :-) So, if anyone is looking f or a weekend getaway, Deep Creek Lake is a nice place to go.

Weekend

Okay, so I said I would post more about the bradley's trip up here over the weekend and that NEVER happened. Partly because we had no time to. Friday night Kevin and I went to a going away get together for a friend from grad school that moved to New Jersey on Sunday. Saturday morning we got up and went blueberry picking (thanks Kev.....he did it all for me since he doesn't eat blueberries and I LOVE them), then we came home and Kev went to work, while I went to a party at my grandmothers place for the afternoon. The party was the usual party with lots of food and entertainment. My cousin, Katie, and I spent time in the moon bounce, but my Nana wouldn't go in! :-) I got home from the party, and changed because we had tickets to see the Lion King on Broadway at the Kennedy Center (an early anniversary gift from my Mom...thanks Mom!). If anyone out there has a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. I saw it 10 years ago with my family in London and loved it, and I loved it even more this time around. Okay, here were are at Sunday. Sunday morning we had to ourselves (thank goodness), but at 12:45 we left to go to National's Park with our friends/neighbors to watch the Nationals play the Astros. The Nationals lost, but it still was a lot of fun going. The ballpark is new this year, and it is amazing! We got home from that game, got in the shower and then my mom came over and we went to see Mama Mia on Broadway at the National Theatre. Also, amazing....it is a lot of fun. From what I see with the movie coming out it is a lot like the play, so definitely see the movie, or the play! So, as you can see, there wasn't much time to blog, or even wipe our asses this past weekend. So, hopefully this weekend I can catch up and write more about their trip up here. Oh, on a side note, it rained all night on Sunday, and we have a leak in our roof right into our living room. There is about a 2 foot by 1 foot hole in our ceiling right now because of it. It is supposed to rain on Saturday, lets hope something is done by then! Ta-Ta for now!!!

medieval times

For a few years now, the Bradley's have been taking an annual vacation up here to the DC area to visit Kevin, Calla, and I. With coming so many times, we are trying to find different activities to do, or places to see. This time around, Kevin and I surprised everyone with a dinner at Medieval times in Maryland. We really thought that all the kids would enjoy it, not to mention we got a great deal on it. (Although they got us later with souvineers and drinks) But really, we saved about 300 bucks overall thanks to my Mom finding a loop hole great deal online. If you are not familiar with this show, it is played around the US (Vegas, Cali, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, Myrtle Beach, Jersery etc.). Right now, they have a deal of kids free with every paying adult! They have a dinner show with horses and knights that shows off skills such as jousting and sword fighting. You get a fairly good meal consiting of soup, garlic bread, chicken, ribs, potato, and an applie tart for dessert. Of course they don't call it what it is, they drop it on your plate calling it dragon, or falcons claw, etc. On a cute side note, Madi (the 6 year old) was afraid to eat the chicken because they told her it was dragon. :-) Overall, I would say it was a successfull suprise and evening. Here are a few pictures. I will be posting more about the trip....that is once I have my father, I mean, my husband off my back about going to bed. BTW...last time I checked i was 28 years old and didn't have a bedtime. :-D So, here are some pics of medieval times.

Sorry for the darkness in the pictures, but you get the idea. more to come over the weekend on other activities!