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!