Life changes!

Hello!!!!!!

I am finally back!!! The truly awful thing about taking a month off is I have so much to catch up on and have no idea where to start, so I think I will just make this post simple.

Chris got a job about a month ago!! Right after I came back to D.C. from California! He is working for a defense contracting company out of Alexandria, Virginia, as a project manager. He has been SO busy stepping into the role of not only his new job, but his direct supervisor's, the Deputy Director of the South West division of the company, who had her baby two days into Chris' first week! He has been working his hiney off...but he has been complimented and noticed by the CEO and division directors for doing a great job! I am so proud of him!

In another but similar note, I TOO have a new job...with the same company as Chris! Professional Solutions has hired me as the administrative assistant! It has been going very well so far, I am loving the people I am working with! It has just been a slight bit of a transistion for me to wake up at 6 am! :) I am honeslty dead tired at 10pm every night, which is totally new for me, I am a self proclaimed night owl...but not anymore I guess!

It is wonderful because Chris and I are able to go into work together and have lunch together everyday, so whatever down time we have we are spending together, which is so wonderful.

On top of our new jobs, we found a place to live! We are renting a townhouse in Springfield, VA and are only 20 mins. from work in traffic...which for the D.C. area is amazing! We are really loving our place, it is 3 stories, the upper level has 3 bedrooms, the main level which is the kitchen, dining and living rooms, and has all wood floors which I love, and the lower level which we have made into a game/rec room. We are in an end unit, and we have really nice trees and lawn around our house and in our neighborhood, plus there are tons of running trails! We are really enjoying this area and the house so far. We are still hoping to buy a house, but we had to sign a year lease, so we are having to put the home buying idea on the back burner for right now!

We finally have all of our household goods in one place! We have spent the last couple of weeks trying to unpack and settle in...and hopefully by the end of this weekend we will be done! :)

The other big change in our lives happened yesterday morning, my brother Colt left for a 7 month deployment in Afganistan. We have been blessed because we have been able to spend alot of time with him lately, which I am so happy about! He will be gone until sometime in June, so my heart is hurting right now out of missing him and worry. I know he will come home safe to us though, and I am already in the back of my mind planning his welcome home party at our place for when he gets back! It's a good distraction! :) Please keep him and his fellow Marines, and all of the men and women who are deployed right now in your thoughts and prayers.

So...all of this is why I have been just AWFUL at posting blogs for the last month! I am hoping that things will slow down, at least for a little while, in order for me to catch up more on scrapping! :) I hope all of you have had a wonderful week! I will be posting pictures with my next blog, I just have not uploaded any from my camera!!

Love and hugs to you all!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Jeff and Evan Ashmore!

Happy October everyone!!!!!

My very dear friend Ms. Evan Jessup was married to her PERFECT MATCH, Mr. Jeff Ashmore on Saturday, Oct. 3!

Evan and I have been friends for years, since middle school to be exact, especially from our class trip to Washington D.C. when she, our good friend Melissa Warden (Cheech) and I danced on top of our hotel beds, sang Cher and decided to call ourselves, "Salt, Peppa, and Paparika"! She is the one of the most loving and gracious people you could meet, and one of the best friends a girl could have. Evan has been a constant in my life, even though we have gone months sometimes without talking, I cherish her and her friendship. She has helped me through some dark times, especially in high school, and has ALWAYS been able to make me laugh. I just adore her.

Due to Chris and my current unemployed state, I did not think I was going to be able to fly out to CA to go to her wedding. I called her the night of her bachlorette party, to tell her I wished I was there to celebrate with her. I started crying on the phone, and Chris decided that I was going, even if we really could not afford a flight right now. (He spoils me more than I deserve). So, last weekend I flew to California, for a very quick trip to go to my Evie's wedding!

It of course was fabulous! Some of my very longest and dearest friends were there to celebrate with me, and of course it is always a blast to catch up and spend time with people who have more dirt on you than any one person should! ;) These people are family to me, I just ADORE them and have decided there should be more weddings or functions where we are all present and accounted for because I miss them all the time! ;)


Our classic beauty Ms. Evan



LOOK AT THE RUBY RED HEELS! If you know anything about Evan (and if you watch Friends), she is the BEST parts of Pheobe. Her beautiful spirit and lovely randomness seriously could have been written with Evan as the inspiration! So, when Ev walked down the aisle with her bright RED shoes, all of us were saying "OH THAT IS SO CLASSIC EVAN!" She IS fabulous!

I adore this picture of her and Jeff!!




These two girls, Liz and Darcy are my two oldest friends, I have known them both since I was 4 years old and just love them both to death. I am a blessed girl to have had them in my life for all of these years. Jason is Liz's wonderful boyfriend, who we all just adore too!

The lovely Mrs. Darcy Wylie and I!Darcy has the MOST contagious laugh in the world, and she has ALWAYS cracked me! We were cousins for a short period of time, and I still think of her and her family, as my family! She married her high school sweetheart Ryan Wylie in May!! Again, two people who are just perfect together. I couldn't be happier for her and Ryan. Love them both tons!!!
Lizzy Lee, Jason Hancock and I in the gorgeous Big Creek, Ca mountains! Liz has also been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember. We never seem to get to see each other enough, but I always know she is there, and I hope she knows the same. She and I were inseperable in our younger years, and I have so many dear memories with her. I am so happy for who she is and what she has become in life thus far.

Love these girls!! Christine, Liz and Melissa "Cheech"

The lovely Melissa "Cheech" and I. I have known her has Cheech or "Chi-Chi" since I was in 6th grade, long story for that nickname, and just as silly as it seems! She has a lovely heart and is just a doll. She makes everyone around her laugh and feel at ease. I love this girl and miss her tons!

Caroline "Wang" Anaya and her boyfriend Forrest! (I love this picture of them!)

The stunning bride Evie, Lizzy and I!

This is such a typical picture of me and Liz. She is ALWAYS making me laugh with her stories, and I always look like a goon! (I love how Jason is looking at her! It makes me happy!)

My Crazy Caroline and I! She is one of the funniest and craziest people I know! She is extremely loyal and very loved! I have so many wild stories about our crazy adventures together. She makes me laugh so hard with her randomness, and even the hard/scary times are later funny because of her. Love her to death!

The FABULOUS Mr. and Mrs. Evan and Jeff Ashmore!!!! (I LOVE that he is wearing a yellow napkin as a bib! SERIOUSLY PERFECT FOR EVIE!!) LOVE YOU BOTH!

Jodi Picoult, Paula Deen and Nicholas Sparks OH MY! (D.C. book festival!)

On Sept. 26th Chris and I went to the National Mall to the Washington D.C. annual book festival. I am a huge reader, and am always carrying a book with me, so this was a very exciting day, as there were to be over 60 authors there! When we left in the morning for the event I was running to the metro to make sure I didn't miss anything, and Chris said it is the fastest he has ever seen a bookworm inch along! (Don't let him fool you, he also has a passion for reading!)

At the book festival, there were 3 authors that I did not want to miss. Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks and Paula Deen!

In the past few years I have become a HUGE Jodi Picoult fan. She is the author of many books including, My Sister's Keeper, Salem Falls, Perfect Match, Change of Heart...etc. I have read many of her books, and especially enjoyed "Nineteen Minutes". Chris and I were walking around and checking out booths when all of a sudden I see someone with curly red hair walk by me...I started screaming at Chris "GIVE ME THE CAMERA THAT'S JODI PICOULT!!!!!!" Chris tossed me the camera and I ran up to poor Jodi, jumping up and down like a total dork! She was so gracious, and even though she was running late, she took the time to let me have a picture with her!!!! When she walked away, I could not stop smiling and jumping, which of course led to nonstop jokes at my expense from my loving hubby! ;) I didn't care though...I HAVE A PICTURE WITH JODI PICOULT!!!!!

After we saw Ms. Picoult, we walked over to where Paula Deen was signing books. She only had 5 mins left of book signing, and the line was crazy long, so I just walked up beside her table and took pictures of her, just like about 35 other people, only I was aggressive and got an ok picture of her...I wish I could have had a picture with her, but she was super popular (of course) and busy, but at least I was able to see her!

Chris and I made our way over to the "Fiction and Fantasy" tent where Nicholas Spark was about to start his 30 min. lecture! I LOVE his books, although they ALWAYS make me cry. He has written the books, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle, The Guardian, A Bend in the Road, etc. and my personal favorite, The Wedding. Many of his books have been made into films, and more of them are to be in theaters soon! He was wonderful to listen to, very funny and sincere. He said his biggest challenge is making each book different than the last, he changes up the stories by changing the ages of his characters, because a 15 year old is going to have very different life experiences than a 50 year old. I thought that was a pretty cool way to change up stories! After he was done speaking, I walked out to try and get a picture with him, but he was being bombarded by teens! I was being shy and did not want to bug him (he seems exhausted, but I can't blame him) so I just took pictures "around" him! Yep, I am SO that girl!!!

This picture looks further away than it really was, he was only a few feet away from me, and I was being a very shy bookworm!! ;)

It was rainy and cold, but I was THRILLED because I was able to see the three authors I most wanted to see in person! I would very much recommend for any bookworm who can to go to this event! There WILL be an author there that you know and hopefully you will be able to get a picture or an autograph!!! I am expecting to see my spectacular and lovely friend Ariel at one of these events in the coming years, as I know she will become a published author!!! Loves and hugs from a total bookworm!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!

TODAY IS THIS LITTLE COUGAR'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!



To clarify she actually isn't on the prowl for younger men (29 years of marriage to my dad takes her out of THAT running!) but she is a gorgeous 40 something year old woman! ;)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!

CHEERS to ONE of my favorite people in the world!

One who lets me call her 24/7 to vent, cry or tell stupid blonde moments to

One who has supported me 100% in all of my crazy life adventures

One who has imparted more wisdom and love and hope than anyone else

One who can't tell a joke for the life of her but always seems to have everyone laughing

One who has taught me incredible strength and courage

One who opened my eyes to the world of scrapbooking, which is now special hobby we share

One who taught me how important it is to keep my chin up through bad times

One who taught me to act instead of just dream

One who is "spur"

One who will stay up until 3 am or later to listen, support or help put final touches on a project

One who taught me what kind of wife to be

One who taught me that it is a good thing to "fight like a girl" and stand up for what you believe

One who believes me and supports me when I tell her about my dreams, angels and faith

One who I consider a best friend

One who most of all deserves a margarita and a vacation for her birthday!!!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU KNOW MOM! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Tea Parties, Art Museums and Farmer's Markets

This weekend Chris and I got out in the perfect weather and explored Washington D.C.! On Saturday we hopped on the Metro with intentions to explore the Smithsonian American Art Gallery. When we got off at the Smithsonian stop we walked out into the Capitol Mall and were surprised to see tons of people dressed in red, white and blue with signs. After asking around we realized it was the "9/12 Tea Party". We had seen clips on the news about the rally but I guess we didn't realize it was in the same area as we were going. We checked the tea party out for a while, of course like anything in politics there are some things you agree with and some you do not, but it was amazing to see freedom of speech in play. It is so interesting to be in Washington D.C. with all of the major political issues all around us. We kept expecting to see Forrest Gump and Jenny because it reminded us of the scene in the movie! We did make it to the Art museum but we only got to look at a small sculpture section because the museum was closing...we will just have to go back soon I guess! :)

Today we went to the Eastern Market which is a huge farmers/flea market in D.C. We didn't buy anything, but we saw a ton of eye candy! I was SO excited about all of the fruits and vegetables, especially the baby pumpkins because it means it is almost fall! My favorite season of the year!!! I can not wait fo the leaves to start turning and the pumpkins to be sitting on the front porch of people's houses...I love autumn! So, I guess today was a preview of that! I was also on the hunt for anything unique I could scrapbook with, but there was only one lady with a jar full of buttons, and she wanted $10 for a single scoop! Ice cream is less expensive!! Plus the buttons were only in gray and beige...so pretty bland compared to all of the fabulous colors of the fresh produce! I do plan on going back soon though and buying up some veggies! I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did!

Weekend at Bernies (or Colties)

My brother Colt came "home" to his apartment where Chris and I are staying this weekend. He came home on Sat. night and left at 4 am on Tues. This will probably be the longest we get to see him before he deploys again in Nov. But at least we did get to spend some time with him!
The first night he was home I made him Italian Firehouse Soup, banana pudding and chocolate macaroons. He opened his birthday presents and we watched "Sufer Dude". It was wonderful to have down time with Colt because he is always running around trying to pack as many things into a few hours as possible. It's one of the reasons I love him, but it also makes me dizzy how fast he moves around! ;)

Colt and his presents! He was so excited about his Japanese Swords!

He deserved this!!!!

Colt treated us to a VERY YUMMY brunch buffet on Sunday, at a little place right by his apartment. From there we went to Old Town Alexandria, which is SUCH a fabulous place! It has a million little shops with everything from vintage clothes and funky kitchen gadgets to antiques and a specialty Christmas ornament store! I love going down there, Chris and I have gone a couple of times, but Colt knows some of the "local" places. We stopped at a place called "Union Street Public House" to have appetizers and wine before we went to the movies. Colt really wanted to see Harry Potter on IMAX, but Chris and I have not read the 6th book and didn't want to ruin it. So, we saw Inglorious Bastards. For some reason I have always been interested in WWII movies and that time period, so I liked the movie, although one scene was so intense I started crying...which of course I was made fun of for later! ;)

This is a picture of fabulous Old Town Alexandria! It doesn't come close to showing all of the shops!

On Monday we went to another great breakfast at a place called Bus Boys and Poets in Shirlington, VA. It was amazing, I had the "Neptune Benedict" which was benedict with crab cakes and eggs...who would have thought it would be AMAZING!! :) Our waitress told us about a theater production dress rehearsal of "Dracula" put on by the Synetic Theater that night. So we went back to Colt's apartment, got dressed up and went to that. It was only a run through but it was excellent, we are hoping to be in this area in October at least in order to see the actual production! We then made our way over to Georgetown, to a place called Tombs. They had yummy finger food, plus it was trivia night! Colt, Chris and my team was "The Chicken Strips" because that's what we were eating...originial huh?! We spent about an hour there before walking back to Colt's apartment to have dinner, at 12:30 pm. Colt packed up after dinner and went to bed because he had to be up at 3 am to leave at 4 am. We had such an amazing time with him as usual...and we miss him already!

Dressed up for Dracula and Georgetown!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER BEAR!

TODAY IS THIS GUY'S 27th BIRTHDAY!!

Today is my brother Colt's 27th birthday!! He is pretty much one of my favorite people in the entire world!! I am SO beyond proud of him!! He is currently training for yet ANOTHER deployment with the Marine Corps. so we don't get to have birthday cake with him today...but Chris and I get to celebrate with him this weekend!!!!

He is pretty much the cheese to Chris and my macaroni, the frosting on our ice cream cake, the honey in our chai tea AND the strawberry jam on our pb&j!!!! Yep....we love him THAT much!!!!

OH LAY OH LAY OH LAY OH LAY.....CHEERS WEENIE BOY!

WE LOVE YOU COLT!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!