A Day in Destin

So I am back on the road and this time my travels have taken me to the sunshine state...Pensacola to be exact...to see my sister and friends for the New Year. We spent Saturday in Destin by starting off our morning with breakfast at The Donut Hole. Yummy!


We then to the Silver Sands Outlet Mall and did a little shopping and lots of walking.



From there we drove down Old 98 Highway and stopped at the beach. There is just something about the beach....toes in the sand and hearing the sounds of the waves crash on the shore...it's so peaceful...sunshine or no sunshine, it's one of my favorite places to be.



After our little stop at the beach, we headed to do more shopping at the Destin Commons and also caught the matinee of "PS. I Love You"...an excellent chick flick. Soon as the movie let out, we headed to Milton to have dinner with Erin and Robert at the infamous Texas Roadhouse. Good food and great conversations! The best way to end the day.

Christmas With My Family

So another Christmas has already come and gone, but I wanted to share a couple pictures from my time at home with my family. I pray that you were able to take time out of the hustle & bustle of the season to enjoy quality time with those that are closest to you.

My family on Christmas Eve:Amy, Dad, Mom, Me, Holly & Elaysha

All of the grandkids with our Grandma and Grandpa Quirey:
(back row): Holly, Hannah, Amy, Tiffany, Terah & Hannah
(front row): Elaysha, Grandma & Grandpa
Holly and I at our parents house on Christmas Eve.
Amy and I at our grandparents house on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Morning...I need my coffee ASAP!
Elaysha loved her giftcard to Limited Too and her Extended Version DVD of High School Musical 2
I enjoyed playing with her toys!

AND

My dad...Well that's a wrap!

Christmas with Friends

Thought I would post a couple pictures from my Christmas celebration with my friends Michael, Caron and Tam. This marks the 3rd year now that we have all gotten together to celebrate Christmas and our friendships.

These friends are the first people I met when I moved to Nashville and really they are like my family. Their friendship is the best gift I could ever ask for!

Caron and Michael by there sweet little tree.

My gift from Caron and Michael...a lifetime supply of every cold remedy known to man! It was the best gift ever especially since I have a cold that won't go away and trust me, I have already put it to good use.

And I also got a gift certificate to Victoria Secrets so I can by pj's to lounge in while I'm sick.
Caron and I in our Christmas sweaters. I am especially thankful for Caron and her friendship through the years. She's like the older sister that I never had!

"Love ya Longtime"

Good Times with Family

Christmas is just around the corner and I am having a great time back in Indiana with my family despite the fact that I am still battling this stubborn cold that will not go away. Yesterday morning I drove up from Nashville with Amy following me home. We unpacked and Amy and I spent the better part of the day finishing up some Christmas shopping and pampering ourselves with our favorite hairdresser, Julie. There is nothing like a great haircut and color. We did a couple more errands in the afternoon including a quick trip to the mall. Whew! Our cousin Tiffany came over for dinner with our family and we ate a delicious dinner from Pizza King. I puffy heart Pizza King. I had planned on going to see the late showing of the new movie "P.S. I Love You" with my sisters and Tiffany but I felt so bad that I ended up going to bed instead. Seriously, this cold can go away now!
This morning it was great to be back at Heritage Baptist Church. This is the church that my family has attended for as long as I can remember. My parents met at this church and it's all they have ever known. Afterwards, we had an impromptu rehearsal for a quartet performance at the Christmas Eve Candlelight service. I grew up singing in this church and am looking forward to singing there again. (Just another reason why this cold needs to go away!) After church, our family enjoyed a delicious cooked meal while watching the Indianapolis Colts game. My mom and I ventured out to do a couple quick errands and stopped for Starbucks and had great conversation. I am so thankful for my mom...she always has a listening ear and encouraging smile.
So I'm just vegging out at home right now and blogging while Amy and Elaysha have tickle wars in the living room. It's funny how ones laughter can be so contagious! Tonight I am getting together with my friend Tammy to celebrate birthdays and Christmas. I haven't seen her in a little over a year so I am excited to see her.
Good times!

This is due when??

This will be short, sweet and to the point as I clearly have lots to be doing...Especially because yesterday at 1:30 pm, one of our partners emails me a RFP for a new medical office building that is due on Friday the 28th...of December that is. My reaction (inside my head of course)..."Excuse me, what??" Who puts out a RFP (Request for Proposal) at Christmas time and only gives one 10 days (if you count the weekend and the holidays) to complete it? And because I am who I am, it will be completed in time and it will be GREAT! I'm just saying.....
Tis the season...to be busy!

Weekend Fun

Well I'm thankful to say that I think I am finally over the sickness that lingered for almost a full 7 days. Here's hoping that it's all the sickness that I'll have this winter. Friday was another long day at work and I was still not feeling well. I went home, did nothing and was in bed by 8:30 pm. But after a good 11 hours of sleep, I woke up feeling much better on Saturday. The weather was reminiscent of last weekend in Louisville (cold and rainy) so it was the perfect morning to lounge around and be lazy.

Saturday night was Jen's "un-birthday" party at a fairly new restaurant/bar called Agave. Despite the dreary weather, we had a good turnout. It was a great time of hanging out with friends, enjoying great cocktails and Mexican appetizers. We got about half the space on the heated patio and entertained ourselves for 4 hours. By 11 pm, the crowd was growing restless and the bar was over-crowded so some decided to continue to the party at The Stage, a favorite honky tonk. I unfortunately was having my usual "tummy issues" and decided to call it a night. Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that a good time was had by all and that Jen had a wonderful birthday week. Here are a couple of pictures from that night:

Me, Amy & Jen

Jen, Cathryn and Michelle

Sabrina, Jen and Paul

Because I was not feeling well, I had already decided on Saturday night that I would probably skip church on Sunday to get rest, but clearly it was intended that I go. I was awake (without an alarm) in plenty of time to go to Sunday School and church. To my delight, I walked outside to the tiniest flakes of snow falling from the sky. Ahh...I love winter! Anyways, It was great to be in Sunday School as it had been 3 weeks since I was in town to attend and good to share this special season with friends. William Guice spoke in church following "The Perfect Gift" teaching series with a message of HOPE. Hope, a desire anticipated by expectation, a promise of something to come...this little word,in all it's meaning, can be a boost of encouragement....something to maybe even get someone through another day. In a world where often times it seems that there is no hope, it was very refreshing to see a glimpse of Heavenly Hope.

"Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD. " Psa. 31:24

My friend "Crazy" Amy and I spent Sunday evening celebrating Christmas. I was very proud of myself for accomplishing a Hashbrown casserole to go along with our pot roast, green beans and yummy yeast rolls. It was quite the little dinner spread. We enjoyed a great bottle of wine from Arrington Vineyards, exchanged gifts and baked chocolate chip cookie for dessert while we watched a holiday movie. It was another perfect way to end the weekend.

Back from the dead....i think...

On Tuesday I quickly went from bad to worse and by the end of the day was home and in bed...I was pathetic and miserable. Thankfully, I took a proactive approach to getting over whatever I had and went to the doctor on Tuesday morning. Don't you just love it when your illness gives someone else a good laugh? That's exactly what happened when the doctor took a looksy at my throat. She suspected strep even though the test was negative so being the good doctor that she is, she went ahead and prescribed a decongestant for my head cold and the good ole' ZPack for the sore throat/should it turn out to be strep. "Don't get the Zpack filled unless you still feel bad by the weekend", she said. I thought to myself "Why would I have to wait till the weekend to see if I feel better? I don't have time to be sick". Well Ifelt so bad by the end of the day, that I went ahead and got it filled and began the course of treatments immediately. I stayed home yesterday from work to "rest" and am back in the office today.

How do I feel? Well not 100%, that's for sure. I haven't really gotten a good night's rest since...well Friday night, so that's not helping me feel better. And although I'm excited about my sore throat being a thing of the past, I still feel tired and a little like my head is in a haze. Thankfully, I don't have alot planned for this weekend so hopefully I can get some rest. I do have a birthday party planned for my bestest friend Jen on Saturday night which hopefully will go off without a hitch because anytime they predict "snow" in TN people tend to freak out. We shall see. And Sunday I am supposed to do Christmas with my friend, Crazy Amy so that will be fun and probably low key. Like I said, there is literally no time to be sick right now...

Everything is foggy...

No...not outside but in my head. Seems that my weekend excursions and the weather change/temperature swings of 20 degrees has taken it's toll on my body :-( So today I can hardly breathe and everything seems foggy. Maybe it's God's way of telling me to chill out for a while but I mean it's December the 11th and there is absolutely NO time to be sick.

Oh well, while I managed to post pictures and give a brief run down of our time at the Louisville Slugger Museum, my road trip warrior (Alabama Jen) did a wonderful job of blogging about our traveling adventures...see Jen's Blog. It's a must read!

Well that is all that I have got for today. Must sleep now (well that might be tricky because I'm at work) but nevertheless....

Louisville Slugger Museum

We spent the better part of Saturday in downtown Louisville checking out the Louisville Slugger Museum. Baseball has always been a popular sport in my family so I thoroughly enjoyed checking out the museum and taking the factory tour. Highlights included, the history of the baseball bat, the best tour guide ever...Bob, watching a 90 mph baseball fly, buying a personalized baseball bat for a friend, and hanging out with my friends while doing all the above.
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

The main entrance to the Louisville Slugger Museum

Jen and I sitting in original bleacher seats from Wrigley Field

Trying to steal first base....yeah, right.

The team baseball bats from the 2007 World Series

Just hanging out in the baseball glove.

The entire gang hanging out at the museum

On the Road Again

So yesterday afternoon, AL Jen & I headed north out of Nashville and ended in Louisville, KY. No, we didn't just take a random trip north...we came to KY with a purpose...to see our friend Robert and the other guys from Hundredfold play at FireFall, a conference for today's youth.
And of course a road trip wouldn't been great without sharing stories, listening to great music and creating new memories. Like our road trip mascot, Grubby. See, to me, one can not travel without snacks and those snacks that make a road trip complete to me would be, Goldfish crackers, BlowPops and gummy worms. So as I went to grab the first gummy to eat, he somehow slipped out of my hand and was no where to be found. "Gummy Down", I exclaimed through obnoxious laughter. Well, turns out he was just hanging out in a cup holder so Jen took the picture below and we deemed him our road trip mascot: NIIICE!

And that was just the first evening here....we are out the door this morning to see the sights of Louisville. I'm sure many more fun stories and photos are just around the corner.

This week is already over?

It's not very often you'll find me saying, "It's already Friday?". Where in the world did this week go? I knew on Monday it was going to be a busy week but I feel like I went to bed on Monday and woke up this morning and it was Friday. Whew! And even though it's been a busy week, it's been probably one of the best weeks I've had lately.
I managed to stay productive at work and get everything that needs to be done, DONE! I completed my weekly "holiday" gym goal of 3 nights spent working out, attended Bible Study, had dinner with an old friend and still managed to have some "alone" time. It was just a good week. Today is likely to fly by just as fast as this week has been. I came into work at 6:30 am this morning to get a jump start on a couple things due today and I am also leaving early for my little weekend roadtrip to Louisville, KY. Should be a great weekend and if you know me at all, be prepared to see pics and read all about it.

Tennessee Titans

Here are just a couple pictures from my first NFL game:

A view of LP Field as we walked to the stadium from downtown.

The Tennessee Titans

Myself and Jen trying to stay dry & warm all while enjoying the game.

Lunchtime Errands...

So I decided since the weather wasn't terrible bad outside that I would multi-task given the busy time of year and do a little shopping on my lunch break. As I was emailing my friend the details I thought this would make a great little blog. SO here's a couple observations I made over my errands:

• How can one store have so many birthday card options? Mind you I had to buy a birthday card for my grandmother (which was pretty easy) in comparison to the 3 friend birthdays I have this month. I mean who can make a decision (I'm beginning to sound like my mother “I can’t decide…blah blah blah”) so I bought like 5 cards. They are all so much fun! Guess it never hurts to have extra birthday cards on hand.
• Then there is the decision about what Christmas cards to buy? I have started a tradition when it comes to my Christmas cards. For the past 3 years now, I have sent out black and white photo/winterscape scene Christmas cards and each year, I hold one back for myself, frame it and use it for decor in my home. Last year while in Chicago, I found a great photographed card of a wintry scene on Michigan Avenue. My intention this year was to find a black and white photo from Tennessee but I can’t find anything even online that I remotely like. So since I was at Hallmark, I settled for a variety pack, color photo/winter scene although I’m only 75% happy with my decision to settle. We should never "settle" even if it's over something as silly as card selection. BUT it’s Dec 5th. These cards have to be written and mailed. Maybe this is why people have converted to doing holiday newsletters...less stress? Perhaps now that I’ve bought cards, the ones I really want will be discovered? One can only hope...
• While at Hallmark, I saw these already monogrammed wine bags that I wanted to give as a gift to a family member. However, I was told that they do not make them in the letter “Q”. The clerk looked at me puzzled like, "Does your last name start with a “Q”?" No, but it's a family name and I don't understand how a letter from the alphabet can just be left out? Is that Alphabet discrimination? There has to be other last names that start with Q besides Quirey, what about Quinley, Quinn, Quail, Quick... OK say maybe there are not a lot of last names that begin with Q but now they have foiled my gift idea. :-( Maybe I can find some comfort in knowing that if your last name begins with an I, V or Z, you won't have a wine gift bag either.

Oh well...I guess I can just throw out my favorite holiday saying "TIS THE SEASON"

Away in a Manager

So in attempts to connect with some of the girls from my Sunday School class, I decided to participate in a small 6 week study called "Preparing Your Hearts for Advent". I mean, what better way to start the holiday season, than with a study of the Christmas Story. Six weeks is not a long time to commit, my good friend Amy would be there and it won't require much "homework". Well the study is rather in-depth and it does require a good couple hours of "homework" each week but this look at the Christmas Story has been so much more than just the birth of Christ and quite frankly, I am left speechless. We are 4 weeks into our study and have dissected passages from the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke. The author of this book has asked many thought-provoking questions that have stirred my soul. We have looked back into stories from the Old Testament, studied the genealogy of Mary & Joseph and have read the many prophecies that were filled by the birth of the Messiah.

The verse that has resonated the most with me is found in Luke 1:37:

"For with God nothing will be impossible."

This is the last sentence the angel of the Lord told Mary after having just delivered "news" that would change her life as she knew it. For me, this sentence is encouraging and gives me hope. I do know that with GOD anything is possible. Yet, how many times do I try to master-mind or control my own plans? Why do I worry about the small details when ultimately God has everything in the palm of His Hand?

Whew...I wasn't expecting to share all that and to think I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee. Anyways, I pray for Peace, Hope & Love for you during this Christmas season. Blessings to you all. And to all...a good night!

O Christmas Tree

So on top of an already great weekend, yesterday Jen and I went to get our Christmas tree and I have to say that in all my years of going to get a real tree, this was probably one of the best experiences I have ever had. We went to Home Depot on a mission to find a specific type of Christmas lights and were pleasantly surprised to find that they sell Christmas trees too. Taylor, our new Home Depot friend, was so patient with us as we inspected several trees before finding "the one", Fraser. (we named him after his family namesake,the Fraser Firs) Taylor took care of all the preparations for us to take Fraser home and it was a flawless transition. Here is a picture of Jen with Fraser:

Once we got Fraser settled into his new surroundings, we broke out all the Christmas decorations, played the Christmas music and decorated the home. I also learned that this was my roommates first live Christmas tree ever so it was a great "first" to be a part of and I couldn't help but capture the moment.

Here we are stringing the lights and hanging the ornaments

Our Christmas display in the living room...

Jen, Fraser & Me

After we got the house all decorated and stuff put away, we decided to watch one of our favorite holiday movies "Serendipity". I even baked some delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies. YUMMY! I don't know what it is about this time of year that just makes everything seem warm and cozy but I LOVE IT!

Good Times....

So I have to say that I had probably one of the busiest, yet most fun weekends I have had in a while. My friend Alabama Jen came into town on Friday night. Friday, itself, was probably one of the busiest days I have experienced at my job thus far not to mention I left there at 4:30 only to drive over to Pottery Barn Kids and work in the holiday retail setting that night with my best friend Caron. It made for a long day but it was so much fun.
Saturday after sleeping in, I took AL Jen to Percy Warner Park and introduced her to some hiking and the majestic stairs. I hope she doesn't hate me too much because those stairs (ancient stairs carved out of the side of a steep hill) are brutal to climb but she persevered with the best of them and never once complained. (I can't wait to hear her version :-) Needless to say we worked up an appetite, so we got cleaned up and drove to historic downtown Franklin. I took her to McCreary's Irish Pub, a favorite of mine and we finished lunch just in time to watch the Christmas Parade on Main Street and walked in some of the shops. It was a perfect relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Jen was working the Stevie Wonder concert at the Sommet Center that night so I dropped her off early and then my roommate and I enjoyed the concert that evening from the best seats in the house (4th row, center stage on the floor....VIP seating for sure). We even had a country celeb sitting right behind us. I mean, it was the best way to end an already perfect day.
And it just keeps on getting better...I won tickets at work on Friday to the Titans Game yesterday so I attended my first ever NFL game...club seats at the 50 yard line. What a way to watch my first game?!? I have pictures to post from the game but my computer was not cooperative last night at home, so I'll have to post them later.
Like I said, it was a weekend full of good times!

Procrastinating....

So i am sitting here writing on my blog when my "to-do-list" for this day is staring me down. I'll get to it in good time....
Today I woke up to a great frost. By great, I mean the car was covered in a thick frost and the grass looked like it was covered by white snow. Aaah...I love this time of year. All my friends from the south think I'm cuckoo but I can't help it. I still think it's cold outside and trust me the words "Brrr" do come out of my mouth but there is nothing like that winter quiet and crisp cold breeze in the air, especially late at night or early in the morning.
More and more Christmas lights are being put up every day and I am looking forward to doing the same this weekend. I broke out all my holiday cd's and am enjoying the great variety that I have. I was talking to a friend last night and I can hardly believe that Christmas is only 27 days away. I have already bought a couple Christmas presents but have hardly made a dent in my Christmas list.
This really is the most wonderful time of the year......

Pictures from Thanksgiving Trip...

The Girls on Thanksgiving Day
The "early" birthday girl
Elaysha loves her Aunt Amy
Sweet E
Me and Mom (whoa...i'm way too cheesey)

Lots to be thankful for....

I can hardly believe that it's already Monday and I'm back to work after a wonderful holiday weekend. Here are a couple highlights from my Thanksgiving weekend back in Indiana and things that I am thankful for:

• I had safe and uneventful travels to and from Indiana.
• I got to spend plenty of quality time with all the family.
• I am thankful for good health and that I was able to "enjoy" a Thanksgiving Day 5k race with my dad. AND I finally ran a 5k under 30 minutes. YIPPEE.
• Thanksgiving day was filled with great food, football, desserts galore, games, naps, movies and leftovers.
• I managed to sleep in this Black Friday but was still able to get some great deals, thanks to my sisters who were out and about at 5 am.
• For all you football lovers, there were some pretty exciting games to watch over the weekend. I now feel pretty comfortable with the rulings for multiple overtimes.
• Thanksgiving ends and Christmas begins...this has to be one of my favorite times of year. I've already broke out my little collection of holiday music and I pray that my roommate can tolerate it for another 5 weeks. HA!

My lists could go on and on as I feel incredibly blessed by all that God has given to me.

First taste o' turkey...

So today was our Thanksgiving luncheon at work and I have one word....DELICIOUS! We used the same the same caterer as last year and once again, it did not disappoint. We had your traditional feast of turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, rolls and for dessert, we had pumpkin cream cheese pie and a red velvet cake. The only thing I thought that could have been better was more quantity. I ordered for 33 people and well it didn't seem like we had enough. I mean everyone got a plate but the boys could have easily had 2 or 3 plate fulls. The good news is that since we did not have an excess of leftovers, I did not eat myself into a coma! Yeah :-)

Another "alone" filled weekend...

I enjoyed a wonderful weekend of nothing. Well it wasn't all nothing but it was very relaxing at times. Friday night I actually worked past 6 pm because of a big proposal deadline that is due tomorrow. Needless to say, I was in need of fun so I met up with a couple friends from Sunday school class at Dan McGuinness in Cool Springs. It must be the Irish in my blood because I am really enjoying all these Irish pubs in Nashvegas. Who knew?? The food and fellowship was needed after a rather yucky afternoon at work. They even had live Irish music which I enjoyed listening to and the crowd participation was excellent. Good times!
My sister Amy came in town later that night.. We got up somewhat early on Saturday and had breakfast and then she headed home to IN. I had nothing planned and the place to myself so I cleaned, cleaned and yep, cleaned some more. Mix in a little break every couple of hours to snack and catch up on some shows online and then throw in some more closet/storage organization. It was the perfect day with plenty of "alone" time.
Sunday was church and then I actually didn't feel all that great in the afternoon. I canceled my plans to see live music on Sunday night knowing that rest was needed as there is NO time to be sick this week. I talked to a couple friends & the family via phone, finished up my Bible study for tomorrow and took a little nap. I think the rest helped as I feel much better today!

Random Ramblings

So last night when I was driving home I saw an apartment home completely decorated for Christmas...I'm talking multi-colored strings of lights on every inch of their sliding glass doors and patio. Can't people wait till after Thanksgiving??
Today makes the 4th day in a row that I literally have had to roll myself out of bed. I am so exhausted and it doesn't seem to be making a difference if I go to bed earlier or not. WHY am I so tired? Maybe it's because I went at warp speed all last weekend watching the boys and had little time to recoup before starting another work week. Its not like I'm waking up throughout the night and having trouble sleeping. My head hits the pillow and I'm down for the count. The sleep time is good just not long enough. I am so happy that tomorrow is Friday because my first priority for this weekend is SLEEP!

Back in the saddle again...

No, I did not join the local Equestrian club. I went to a spinning class at the YMCA last night. It's really not all that big of a deal except that I haven't been to a spin class in the last 5 months and I'm feeling a little "saddle" sore this morning. Ouch!
I used to attend spin class twice a week because I found a great instructor on Monday nights and Wednesday nights, but I spent all summer building up my running and training for the October half marathon so spinning took a back seat (although I must say it's a great form of cross training for runners). Anywho, I survived last nights class and this morning I'm not as sore as I thought I'd be...well...with the exception of my bum!
Oh, the price we pay to get in shape...

Pass the Cheer

To my sheer delight when I went to Starbucks on Friday morning, I was greeted by the infamous holiday cup. Whenever I see the annual Starbucks holiday cup, I know that the Christmas season is finally upon us. I anticipate each November, when the first sighting will occur and what the theme will be. In case you have yet to see the cup, this years theme is called "Pass the Cheer" which basically could be called a Cup O' Blessing. Each cup has different ideas or suggestions of how to bless someone else. My cup's little paragraph suggested to hold the door for someone who had their arms full of packages, or pay the toll for the vehicle behind you. What a great way to spread the cheer to others during this holiday season than by giving.

Final adventures in babysitting...

Well I managed to survive the final day and a half of babysitting. Everyone was well behaved when we ventured into society and saw The Bee Movie and ate dinner on Saturday night. After protest from both boys about how boring church was, I decided that was a battle I would not take on, so we stayed home on Sunday morning. We all slept in which was nice and then after breakfast, we went exploring in the woods around their home, climbed the sycamore tree and played in their tree house (a.k.a. swing set/jungle gym). We had lunch and then the parents returned and I was back to my house by 2pm. I am so happy to be back to the single life.

After unpacking and making a quick trip to the grocery store, my friend Amy picked me up and we went to a cookout with our core group of friends from our Singles Sunday School Class. I enjoyed a great glass of wine and basked in good adult conversations. The fellowship was sweet and the food was delicious. We even made s'mores over the fire pit :-) It was the perfect way to end the day.

Control Freak

So I tend to be a bit of a control freak but try being "in control" when you are running a house of 3 kids and 4 animals. Just when I think I'm in control...WHAM...something happens and I find myself on my knees, humbled and thanking GOD for always being in control.
Last night was pretty uneventful at the house. Who knew that making dinner could be such a chore...especially when you have kids that are so particular about what they eat. I was a picky eater as a kid (and some would still say I'm pretty picky) so I understand a little bit better how frustrating it must have been for my mom to make dinner each night while trying to make something that everyone would like/eat. I made a casserole that their mom had already prepared in advance along with green beans only to find out that neither one of them liked it. Their choice of words to describe how much they didn't like it was hilarious. So we found other dinner options for them and I enjoyed the Poppy Chicken Casserole and green beans. Yummy! The boys of course enjoyed staying up late because it was a Friday night but everyone was in bed by 10:15 and that included me. I could barely keep my eyes open so I didn't even attempt to read a book. I also made sure that the bedroom door was shut so I didn't have any nighttime distractions from the animals. YEAH!
So here we are on Saturday afternoon, it's been a pretty low key Saturday. The boys of course have been playing their video games and we also took a much needed break outside for some fresh air. I played a game of h-o-r-s-e with the older one and got beat of course (and not on purpose...i mean who wants to get beat by an 11 year old). I also pushed the 9 year old on the swing set until I thought my arm was going to fall off and helped create a tight-rope line with the 11 year old for an attempt that he could walk across. Fun times! This afternoon, I am going to take them to see The Bee Movie and then out to dinner. And I'm even feeling really adventurous and will attempt to get us all to the 11:00 service tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

From single girl to working mother of 3...

Yep...that's right...I am now a mother of 3 boys...well that is until Sunday afternoon. I am staying with one of our partner's boys while him and his wife are out of town for the extended weekend. The seventeen year old is pretty self-sufficient but the 11 and 9 year old are plenty to handle. My adventures started yesterday when I picked them up from school after work. About half way home, the youngest starts to complain of a belly ache. Instantly, I am thinking "please don't throw up in my car...OH NO". He manages to be the good little boy that he is and waits till we get home to get sick. I believe that perhaps he was just car sick because he seemed much better after he got sick and was ready for me to watch him play his Nintendo game. I had a small battle to win about dinner options as one wanted to eat out and one was not feeling well again so we compromised and ordered pizza. The little one got sick again, so I had to get him taken care of. So while the older enjoyed his pizza dinner and watched Nickelodeon, I played the full on part of "mom" and took care of the sick one and got him to bed. By this time, it's 8 o'clock and time to get the other one in bed...it is of course a school night and there is a bedtime of 8:30 to observe. At 8:40, I was able to sit down with a cold piece of pizza and watch the last 20 minutes of Grey's Anatomy. Mission Accomplished.
This morning began at 5:15 which is about an hour earlier than I normally start my day; however with 2 kids to get up, feed and ready for school, I knew that I had to be up and ready for work before they woke up at 6 or I would be the one not ready for the day. It felt crazy at moments and thankfully the oldest helped manage breakfast of the little ones, while I took care of the animals (oh yeah...they have 2 cats and 2 dogs too). The littlest one seemed to be feeling much better...yeah...and we got everything accomplished this morning and were out the door by 7:00 :-) After dropping the boys off at school, I made a much needed stop at Starbucks and then got to the office at 8:00. Another mission accomplished...that's 2 for 2 so far.....

Running in a storm...

No, I'm not trying to make this great analogy. I was determined to run outside, despite the early sunset and the storms that were looming on the horizon. Since the darkening skies were approaching I thought I would do the safe thing and run in the business park that I work in...just get in a 3-4 mile run. How safe can it be when those dark skies hold thunder and lightning...probably not that safe. It was a little windy but no rain. I think trying to out run a storm despite maybe not being the wisest decision sure did make for great speedwork. Or perhaps the fear of being struck down by lightning was all the motivation I needed to run fast. The storms were moving much faster than I had anticipated and i barely got in 2 miles before I decided that I still valued my life and the safest place to be was inside. It was still pretty awesome and yet scary to be in the midst of the storm.

I'm changing my middle name.....

To Clumsy. I wanted to make sure this name change was appropriate so I checked out Websters dictionary and it says that clumsy is defined as "lacking grace or skill, as in using one's hands or feet; awkward". Well after you read what happened to me this week, you'll agree with the name change.
On Tuesday, while retrieving a glass of water for a consultant, I managed to smash (and I'm not talking about closing the cabinet door and pinching my finger...I mean smashed) my pinkie finger in one of the kitchen doors. It was hard to not scream expletives as I instantly had that throbbing sensation and a great indention right across my pinkie nail/fingertip. I took a moment to compose myself, delivered the glass of water to our guest and then grabbed a cold ice cub to soothe the indented fingertip.
But this little incident just set the stage for what happened last night. I had worked late at the office last night and I was cleaning up my desk to leave. I thought I'd make a quick trip to throw away my recyclable materials in the workroom. I rounded the corner at a brisk pace when my right foot (in heels i might add) hit a spot of newly waxed floor and I glided across the mail room catching myself just shy of our cabinets on the other side. I use the term "glide" as in I felt like I was suddenly skating on ice across the workroom. I wish I could watch the playback as I'm sure it would be HI-larious to watch especially since I am not an ice skater and our workroom is not an open ice rink. A large piece of casework (something like a work island) sits in the middle of the room and yep...you guessed it...I did not clear the casework but more or less ricocheted off it. I somehow manged to keep my balance so I didn't wipe out completely but I sure banged up my right foot thanks to the pointy corner of the casework.
So by Websters definition, I think I clearly cover the basis of lacking grace & skill with regards to both my hands and feet and it obviously would have been awkward for anyone to witness.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

Jen and I came upon Boba Fett and a Storm Trooper while strolling around Pumpkinfest on Saturday and I couldn't resist taking a picture with them.

Allow me to be a dork for just a moment longer, but I loved Star Wars as a kid. I guess you could say that I was a tomboy growing up because I played with my Star Wars action figures (that's right...I had Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia) with the neighbor boy Ryan...and he was so cool because he had the Millennium Falcon. Aah...the good ole' days.

Taking some "Terah Time"...

So this past weekend I claimed much needed "terah time" and by that I mean I left the whole weekend open with no prior commitments (even told some people "no" to their plans which is hard for me to do) and did whatever I felt like doing, whenever I wanted to. Needless to say it was a wonderful weekend. All of my closest friends know how important "terah time" or what my roommate Tracy called "alone time" is for me. Don't get me wrong, I love being around people and am definitely an extrovert but if I don't get a good dose of "alone" time...well I get rather cranky and that's no fun for anyone.

I already blogged about how fun Friday night was. Saturday I actually slept in, something that I haven't got to do in a while...I made a pot of coffee and finished watching "You've Got Mail". Took my good ole' time getting ready and then headed to historic downtown Franklin for their annual Pumpkinfest. I met up with Jen for lunch at my favorite Irish pub and then we strolled around downtown Franklin, stopping in a couple shops, checking out a couple arts/crafts booths and adoring the swarms of little costumed kiddies. I also took time to sit amongst the kids and painted a pumpkin. It was the best way to spend a Saturday...so relaxing!

Sunday was filled with Sunday School & then another great service of worship and the 2nd teaching from this series entitled "Stuff". About 10 of us grabbed lunch at Chili's afterwards and then Amy and I made a quick stop at the Target before I headed back to Bellevue. I managed to do some multi-tasking and talked to my family in IN while driving home and then took a big fat napa! I was so re-engergized from my nap, that I did the annual season swapping of the clothes. I think I really am becoming a little more "southern" each year I live in TN as I felt a little sad putting away all my summer clothes. Anyways, I got out all my sweaters, cleaned my closet, tidied up my room a bit, checked my email, wrote 5 letters to various friends and called it a day.

All in all it really was the best weekend I've had in quite some time and I'm just reminded that it's important to take some "alone" time every once in a while. It's like milk...it does a body good!

Frist Friday

So I finally made it to Frist Friday and it was such a great time. The Frist is the museum in downtown Nashville and every year from April to October they throw a lawn party on the last Friday of each month. It's a great place to mingle and network with other young business professionals. They have live music outside, hors d'oeuvres, drinks and you have access to all museum exhibits. Tonight's was especially fun because it was the last one for the season, it's Halloween weekend and they had one of the best bands in town playing. I met up with Jen and some other people from work.

I walked through the current exhibit: The Société Anonyme: Modernism for America presents highlights of European and American art dating primarily from 1920 to 1940 by major artists including Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Joseph Stella, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Fernand Leger, Piet Mondrian, Kurt Schwitters, and Joseph Albers. The nearly 200 objects in this exhibition, in the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery, were once held by the legendary Société Anonyme, America’s first “experimental museum” for modern art. It was a very interesting collection.

Jen and I enjoying the crisp fall air at Frist Friday

Guilty Pleasures

Pumpkin Carving Friday

Today was our annual pumpkin carving contest at work. Here are a couple of picture of my favorite pumpkins and some of the gang from work.