Love my Family!

This weekend I got to go back to Maryland to celebrate my cousin's 3rd birthday!! He could not be any cuter - I went to wake him up from his nap with his Momma and he asked, "Is the party here?!" Just love him so much!! I also got to see my little Riley, who I obviously adore, and my pregnant cousin Carly!! I had not seen Carly's bump before - so cool!! Here are some pictures from the event!

A Little Game of Tag

Lizzy Lou tagged me, so I get to answer some questions for her and then tag someone else! Here are her questions:

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?


I really want to go to the countryside of England and pretend I am in one of my old novels. I just want to walk around, read, and relax. Most people would do these things on a beach or something, but I do not enjoy being hot, so I think this would be more peaceful. I think this would actually be a great vacation to take by myself - just me, a book, some biscuits and green land!


2. How may children do you want? Do you want them close in age or further apart?

I want to have two children (a boy and a girl, of course). I would like them to be pretty close, two or three grades in school apart at most. I wonder, how many people answer this because of how they grew up? I had brother who is 16 months older than I am. Well, I still have a brother (my attempts to kill him in high school were unsuccessful).

3. What would your favorite date night look like?

This is a hard one - I think I would like to get dressed up and go see Phantom of the Opera in the city. On the way home, we would stop and get McDonalds fries and McFlurries!

4. What do people say is your best physical feature?

Depends on gender and race it seems. Most people, however, say my smile because I usually don't hold back with it. I think some people smile and don't really light up. I think they don't "smile with their eyes" as my girl Tyra Banks tells the models to do.
 
I'm going to tag Kirsten at Soaking up the Sunnyside and Carol at Knee Deep in Mommahood with these questions:
 
1. What is your most disgusting habit that brings you joy?
2. Who was your biggest celebrity crush in middle school / high school?
3. If you could change your name, what would you want it to be?
4. What are your plans for the next 5 years?

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am extra thankful because my husband and I bought a house this week!! Well, we signed an Agreement of Sale - that counts, right? And really, we didn't buy an existing house. We bought a lot where they are going to build our home!!! Here is a picture of us on the lot!!! We should have our lovely new home sometime in March!!! I feel so thankful because it wasn't too long ago that I was without a job, so to now have a brand new home on the way feels crazy! We will get weekly pictures and updates as they build, so stay tuned!

Paris, Day 2

Our first morning in Paris was great - we walked across the street to a bistro (which I learned is Russian for "quick") and got omelets avec fromage y jambon (cheese and ham). I actually ordered mine in french which was exciting because I haven't studied french since high school, which sadly seems really far away at this point. After our breakfast we decided to take the metro to the Eiffel Tower. The metro was the easiest system I have ever seen - we never got lost!! The only downside, most of the cars do not have air condition, just windows which were not always open. When you combine that with the fact that many people do not wear deodorant and you can see how sometimes it could be unpleasant. But, it got us where we wanted to go.

If you ever go to the Eiffel Tower, do not speak English to whomever you are traveling with. Get a plan together before you get to the bottom then do not speak. There are all these Middle Eastern/African people who will ask you if you speak English then show you a piece of paper that has a sob story about needing money to get their family bank from smugglers and all kinds of crazy things. There are also TONS of people selling really cheap little replicas and sometimes they are more aggressive. It was very odd and I wish I had prepared myself for it before getting there.

Anyway, the line to ride the elevator was REALLY long, like 3-4 hours long, so we decided to take the stairs (shockingly, no line for that!). So we started walking and I was doing ok then my whole body started shaking. It sounds so dramatic but I think I was having a panic attack. I am not scared of heights but I am scared of falling down stairs, especially bleachers). Well the stairs were those metal ones that you can see through and the railing was like the thickness of a dime. So I was having a breakdown but I just started counting to each step, up to 8, then I would start over. This made me concentrate on something other than falling, but my body was still shaking which is the oddest feeling. Mentally you know it is silly but you cannot control your legs going to mush.

We made it to the first platform, took some pictures and got some water. I thought it would have been cooler all the way up there but we were still warm from the climb. I was actually able to get back on the stairs and make it to the second platform to get some more pictures. There was another HUGE line for the elevator to the tippy top but we decided we didn't want to waste our day on that. We already had greats pics and the experience so we rode the elevator down - which was gross because they PACK the people in there. Ick.

After that we walked down the lawns on one side of the Eiffel Tower. This was really one of the greatest moments of my life. Craig actually let me hold his hand for a few seconds and I just remember feeling so excited because it finally hit me that we were in Paris! I just couldn't believe what a nice day it was, how pretty it was and how in tune I felt with the Hubs. We took a bunch of silly pictures as we walked further and further away, which only added to my excitement. I will never forget how giddy I was that day!

From there we walked to the section of Paris called Les Invalides. There we saw Napoleon's Tomb and the Museum of the Army. The tomb was crazy - but that is too be expected for Napoleon. The museum was very thorough - we saw many, many uniforms and guns. It was cool though because my paternal grandfather was a fighter pilot in WWII - I think he flew something like 50 missions over Europe - and they had a lot of different things that he would have used or seen.

We are lunch at the cafeteria there. We just wanted something sugary because we were hot, so we got chocolate chip cookies, cokes and fruit!  From there we went back to the hotel for a nap (we were still adjusting to the time difference). After our nap we walked around and found a cafe that had chicken breasts and fries - not an easy find I might add!!! Oh, and no one seems to eat in Paris before 9pm. The first night we went to a restaurant and ordered cokes and never got menus. It was around 6. We realized no one else was eating!! Just smoking and drinking!! From then on we didn't eat before 8pm.

We enjoyed our dinner then went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up. Every hour, for a few minutes, the lights sparkle and flicker. It was so awesome!! The camera was acting funny that night so we the pics aren't the best, but we have the memories!! There were also a bride and groom there taking pictures and it just reminded me how wonderful my own wedding day was!!!

So Day 2 (really our first full day) was a huge success!!!

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am doing something you probably shouldn't do and saying that I am thankful for ME, MYSELF and I. I had a challenging day at work trying to write a brief and I just struggled for hours trying to think of what to write and how to argue for my position. Finally, at around 4:30 something finally clicked and I was able to write it up and send it out before the 5 o'clock deadline. I take a lot of pride in working hard and my ability to come up with solutions to problems. I called my Mom earlier in the day saying I just didn't think I could do it and she reminded me that I always come up with something. And she was right - and my boss even liked it! So I am thankful that I stuck with it and kept spinning my wheels, and thankful that I have and use these abilities that God blessed me with! So maybe it is really that I am thankful for God's gifts? That sounds better at least! In celebration, here is a picture dedicated to meeeeeeeeee!!! Oh, and I'm also thankful for the bread in this picture - couldn't have made it through the trip without it!

Aaahhh, Paris!

So I got back from Paris this weekend and I am still recovering - we had such a wonderful, but tiring time. I think I will slowly blog about the trip because I have way too many pictures for one post!

We left Philadelphia around 6pm and flew to London, which took almost 7 hours. Luckily, we got to the airport early and upgraded our tickets - woohoo! I occupied myself on the flight with the British newspaper that had really great sudoku's and other games in the "Coffee Break" section. They also had individual screens in the seats so we watched Clash of the Titans. It wasn't quite as good as I hoped it would be, but it kept me busy. I think I loved the plane food more than anyone else on that plane!! I love eating and I love not having to cook, so I was very pleased with my chicken, salad, roll and dessert! We got to Paris around 9:30 Paris time, which felt like 3:30 in the morning to us.

As soon as we got off the plane I was immediately overwhelmed. I knew people didn't speak English but I just didn't realize that everything would be in French!! We ended up getting on the wrong bus and went way across town to the other airport. It cost forty euros and they tried to make me pay again to get on the the correct bus but I somehow found the manager and convinved him, with a small lie, that it wasn't my fault. Two and a half hours later we arrived at our hotel.

For Europe, I suppose the room was great. But for this American, it was quite small. My knees touched the wall when I sat on the toilet!!! They also, apparently, don't believe in plastic shower curtains there, because there was only this piece of fabric, kind of like a sheet, blocking the water from getting on the floor. Obviously, I flooded the thing a couple of times.

Even though they say not to, we HAD to go to sleep. I was feeling so sick by that time from being up all night, so we took a long nap! When we woke up I wanted pizza BAD, and luckily, there was an italian place called Cafe Caesar across from our hotel. We got individual pizzas then walked a few steps up the street to the Arc de Triomphe. It was getting dark when we got there so we decided to wait around to see it once the lights went on and boy am I glad we did. It was such a beautiful and magical site - the colors were just amazing. I did the touristy thing and went to the middle of the street to get my picture taken and it was so worth it. I had to beat out a group of Asian tourists to get that spot so I'm proud of myself!!

The moments in these pictures were my favorite of the trip. I felt so alive and in love and happy to have this life in these moments. I know I'll never forget being there that night!!!

Love Her!

Today I got to spend time with my wonderful niece Riley!!! She is a joy to be around! We went to Janie and Jack and Auntie Mer Mer bought her two new outfits! She is going to look fabulous, I can't wait to see her in them! Tonight we had a birthday dinner for my momma and Riley wore a little dress my mom made for her!! I am so sore from holding her - babies really work strange muscles man! Here are a few pictures of me with little Riley!