Catch up...

Last Friday one of Garet's best friends, Scott, came to visit from D.C. Scott and his girlfriend got here Friday night. We ended up going downtown to hang out for a while. Scott and Garet have been friends since elementary school! He was one of Garet's best men at our wedding (yes, Garet had 2 best men). This was his second time being here so he'd already seen the area, but it was neat to show his girlfriend around. She couldn't believe the "traffic" here! Garet was driving them to our house from the airport around 5:00, ya know during "rush hour" and she kept asking where everyone was!

Saturday we went to some stores and Scott bought a Wii Fit. It was $50 cheaper here than in D.C. So we, of course, hooked that up! That is a really fun game (exercise)! We got stuck playing all the balance games. These pictures don't do it justice, but everyone was flailing their arms all over the place trying to balance!

Here is Garet:


Here is Scott... I think he was skiing:


Here is me on the balance board:

I hate to toot my own horn but I really kicked butt on the ski jump :) OH and my Wii age was 28, compared to the boys being in their 40's!

So we took them out to Bridgestreet for some food and shopping and a movie. It is so nice out there. We took it easy on Sunday since we all had to wake up early Monday morning. Their plane took off at around 8 a.m. Here is Garet and Scott:

We had a good weekend with them!

Just an update on my sweet pup: After being at the vet ALL day yesterday they *think* she has a fungal disease. They are doing a blood test now to see what type of fungal disease. They were shocked because it isn't common around here.... So she's on medicine right now, and other than an occasional cough she seems to be doing pretty okay. We just can't get her excited or she will start hacking - If anyone knows my dog they know as soon as someone walks in the door she gets VERY excited! So it is pretty difficult to keep her calm :)

Sick...

No, not me...
Poor sweet Suzi is sick =(

Over the weekend, while Garet's friend was here (which I'll have to tell about later), Suzi started coughing. It was a horrible sounding cough - pretty much like a gag. We took her to the vet Monday morning and, of course, she didn't cough while she was there... so they just based their diagnosis on what we described to them. They said it sounded like she had reverse sneezing. From the symptoms at that time, it did sound like that...

Well last night after Garet and I got home from work, she started again. This time it didn't go away and it turned into just rapid breathing. She was having to hold her head up real high just to breathe. It freaked me out. So Garet and I decided to take her on in to the emergency vet.

After x-ray's and a few blood tests (and a lot of money!) they said Suzi had pneumonia. They sent us home with some pills and said we need to get her back to our normal vet today. We got home at about midnight - Suzi woke me up at about 1:30 just pacing because she couldn't get to sleep since she was breathing so hard. So I got up and rubbed her till she fell asleep, got back into bed around 3 a.m. then woke up at 6. Then do you know what I did???

walked right into my door frame.
yep.
right in the middle of my face.
so, now my nose has a bruise on it - right in the middle.

I'll give an update about Suzi after her appointment today. Poor pup!

The weekends here...

This week has flown by for me! I think it is because I have been super busy at work - time always flies by when you have a lot to do! I would so much rather be busy than bored at work :)

Anyway - last weekend Garet took me to Decatur and Athens (the area he is now over) and we drove around just to see the area. I had never been. Athens is really cute, really small, but cute. There were some really neat stores downtown there. Decatur is right on the the water, so that was pretty. We haven't put much more thought into moving - yet. Right now Garet is able to do a lot of his work from home, or the office (which is here in Huntsville), so it's all working right now.

Last night we had a dinner out in Decatur at the country club. It was nice - but when you are driving back home at 9:30 at night, you realize how far of a drive it is!

Today Garet has a friend coming into town. He has been here once before, but this will be the first time since we've lived in our house. I know Garet is excited to see him and hang out. I've been bad about taking pictures but I'm sure I will have some to post after this weekend!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Photo fun...

A little over a week ago I got Photoshop - it is a computer program for pictures. I have been playing with it NON-STOP! If you think I'm kidding, just ask Garet! There is SOOO much you can do with this program! I am so excited about it! :) Here are some pictures that I've played around with...

Before

After - notice the pole is missing

Before

After - I just figured out layers, this was just a random background I used.

Before:

After

I have been pretty much obsessed with figuring out all I can do with this program!

Moving recap...

With Garet taking this new position, we are now considering the possibility of moving. I really don't mind moving - don't get me wrong, I hate packing and loading/unloading, the stuff like that, but to MOVE from one place to another just isn't that big of a deal to me. I love our house now, but it is just a house. I love the area we live in, but there are a million other areas just like it around the U.S. I love that our backyard has a fence for Suzi, but many houses have fenced backyards. I got to thinking about this because as we have brought up the possibility to some people, they say, "but you JUST moved!", or "but you just built your house!" Thinking of all this got me to think of all the "moves" Garet and I have made. So just to recap them, here we go:

First of all, Garet and I met at college. We both had apartments in Charlotte, so we'll make that our starting point. (1) Charlotte.

(2) St. John - Garet swept me off my feet after college and off we went to da Islands mon! We packed some of our stuff and shipped the rest to the little island of St. John in the Caribbean. We moved to a small one room house that was literally on the side of a mountain. Here we are in our house:
Here is the house from the road, the house was down a really steep hill. That was always fun when you had your hands full with groceries!

The house was named "Tucked Away" can you see why? This picture was taken at the bottom of our hill. You can barely see the screened porch! (it is in the middle of the mountain)

(3) Charlotte - I don't know if this would really be considered a "move" but I'm counting it. We moved back to the states after about a year and crashed with my parents for a few weeks. Here is a picture of our MESS!!

(4) Wilmington Apartment - Garet was going to go to grad school, so off we moved to the beach of North Carolina. We moved into a nice apartment. Here is our living room - we had a temporary bed set up in there. This was right after we moved in.

Here I am in the kitchen.

(5) Wilmington House - so we bought a house in Wilmington. I really loved that house. So cute! We thought we would be there longer than we ended up being there. We actually still own this house - we have it rented right now.

Garet and I in our backyard. The lady before us REALLY new her flowers/plants! The backyard was gorgeous!

Oh and, of course, that is where we got Miss. Suzi.

(6) Huntsville Rental - so by this point when we said, "we're moving again!" nobody was really surprised. When we said "we are traveling around the south to pick where we want to live" people kinda shrugged and said, "have fun!" After living in the Islands, I don't think we surprised anyone anymore. After 2 weeks of "traveling" we found Huntsville, AL. Here we moved into this TINY place.

This was the living room/dining room... it was really small. But it served it's purpose.
Once again - Suzi :) -can you tell I love my dog!
(7) Last but not least! Huntsville House - so we decided to build a house. After a few months of building we moved into the house we currently live in.

Here we are last summer in our backyard:

That sums it up... we've moved 7 times within the last [approximately] 6 years. Good times :) One of these days we'll find a place to stay for awhile... or maybe not...

With all that said, we haven't put our house on the market or anything, but I can see the drive getting really tiring for Garet. So, I'll keep you updated if or when we do sale!

New year... New position...

Garet has accepted the District Executive position of Limestone/Morgan County with the Boy Scouts of America! It is what he is doing now, just of a different county, and it will be by himself! We are very excited! It is a great promotion for him! It may mean that we would have to move to be in the district. The only thing that would worry me about that is selling our current house! The area is around an hour away from where we live now. Here is a map showing Huntsville (where we live) and Decatur (where we would move). So... unfortunately we would be a little bit further away from our family, but we would be closer to the airport - hint, hint :)

TGIF! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Rainy week...

I am sick of rain! I can't wait for there to be clear skies again! I found this picture that we took a few days ago...
this was the sunrise from our front door. God sure does paint a pretty picture!

So we don't really have too much going on this week. Garet and I had a wonderful weekend - we almost felt retired because we were off work for 4 days in a row! It was GREAT! :) Garet is in Birmingham for work today and tomorrow, so it's just us girls at the house.

I am not big on making New Year Resolutions - but Garet and I did start going to a gym again. Go Us! They actually opened up a gym right down the road from us. It is so nice to have somewhere close by! I went yesterday after work, you know how most gyms are PACKED at 5:00??? well there were 3 people in there when I got there. I am not kidding! Three. That's it! I jammed to my new iPod and didn't have to worry about waiting for machines! I am somewhat sore today... I don't know if it is from the gym, or if I just have Nintendinitis from the Wii. You think I'm kidding, but we played Trivial Pursuit with some friends and that really exists!

Also, for the new year, my work as decided to let us go at 4:30 instead of 5:00 Monday-Thursday, then at 4:00 on Fridays. That is soooo nice! It is amazing what a difference 30 minutes can make! It is actually still light outside when I leave now!

This is random, but Garet and I just got a Furminator. If you don't know what it is and you have a dog (or cat) you MUST invest!!! Suzi is a shedder, for sure, and this takes sooo much hair off her! It is truly amazing!

Well, tonight I plan on going home, throwing on some sweats, curling up on the couch, and watching The Biggest Loser. The rain is supposed to stop tonight, we'll see...

Wii...

We are loving the Wii! On Christmas day, right after we opened it, Garet had it all hooked up on my parents t.v. and we started playing. Here is some of us while we were in Charlotte...

Garet playing tennis

My dad really got into it too!

Me and my dad

Garet brought to my attention that our t.v. doesn't have the outlets to hook up the Wii here at our house. First let me say, Garet has been wanting to get a new t.v. for over a month or so now - so, anyway, he was telling me that we couldn't play at our house since we wouldn't be able to hook it up to our t.v. Our t.v. is pretty old, it is the kind that has the big 'ole back to it, not like the new ones that are flat - but it still works well. I pointed out that we could just get an adapter... not the same thing...

So, guess what our first purchase of the new year was?
A television
I haven't got a picture yet, but I admit I really like it, and it IS nice to have a big screen to play the Wii on :)

Friends in Charlotte...

We tried to catch up with as many of our friends in Charlotte as we could, but we still didn't get to them all! It is so hard when we're only in town for a few days to see everyone. I got to have lunch with Andrea and Laurie on Christmas Eve. I met Laurie in middle school and Andrea in 9th grade.

Christmas Eve night at the church service we went to, I got to catch up with my friend Marsha. Marsha has been my best friend since we were 5 years old! She has been engaged for about a year now, and I FINALLY got to meet her fiance! It was so great to see her!



On Friday, the day after Christmas Garet and I made our rounds. We stopped by to see my friend Cayce first. She lives in downtown Charlotte really close to the Panthers stadium. I met Cayce in college, we both worked at a resturant - the same one I met Garet at. So she has known Garet and I since we first started dating!



Then we traveled to Christy's apartment. Christy is one of my best friends! We have been through so much together - we met in the 9th grade. It was soo good to see her and catch up some!


Last, we went and had dinner with one of Garet's good friends, Justin and his wife Jessica. They got married this past August. It was a nice dinner - and, of course, Garet had to take a picture!

It was so great to see all of our friends! We love Huntsville, but I only wish it was closer!!

Hope everyone has a happy, safe New Year's!!!

A Charlotte Christmas...

We really had such a great Christmas! It was soo great to see ALL of my family, and many of our friends! We got to Charlotte early on Tuesday (like 2 a.m.) We went right to sleep. Tuesday when we got up, we went to visit my cousins and then we went to see my brother's house, and meet his dog, Macy.

Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I got to have lunch with a couple of my friends. Then we went to a Christmas Eve service at church. It was soo nice! I saw a lot of people that I knew - it is always neat to get back "home" and see people that I haven't seen in YEARS!

Christmas Day we woke up and made a big breakfast. My brother, Eric and his girlfriend, Kailey came over, and so did my uncle, Ray. Here is Eric, Kailey, and us:


We all ate, and opened presents. We got lots of fun stuff! Garet and I got a Wii - I didn't even know I wanted one, but man it is tons of fun! :) We also got an iPod, clothes, shoes, and other great things. Suzi got a toy, which she has already destroyed. Garet and I not only got presents for everyone, but we also brought.... take a guess..... here's a hint:


POPCORN! Yep, everyone got some popcorn too! If you aren't aware, the Boy Scouts sell popcorn, therefore, we have tons of it!

After playing Wii all morning, we went over to one of my aunts houses. Most of my family lives close, so everyone gets together on Christmas and Thanksgiving. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here is me with a few of my cousins:


I pretty much stand out in my family - the blond.

We left there and got back to my parents house. I snagged my brother for a quick picture:


My parents and Garet and I all hung out talking and playing with our new stuff. Christmas Day always flies by! Both Garet and my dad got a hat in their stockings, so here is mom and me trying them on:
I love seeing my family! I wish I had gotten more pictures! I will have to post tomorrow of some of the friends we got to catch up with!

Christmas...

We had a wonderful Christmas! We are still in Charlotte, but I wanted to post a few pictures. I will tell more about it later. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!!

Suzi in her Santa hat

Garet and me

My parents

My brother, Eric, his girlfriend, Kailey, and their dogs, Biscuit and Macy

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! We're off to Charlotte!

Cookies...

Yesterday I made the best cookies EVER! I got them from Pillsbury - they are called Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Seriously they are the.best.cookies.ever! You have definitely gotta make them! :)

This weekend has been jammed packed - and we're still going! We had our Sunday School Christmas party Friday night. It was really fun, it is always great to see everyone outside of church on Sundays. We played Dirty Santa - and Garet and I walked away with a blender! Nice!

Yesterday I cleaned ALL morning. Suzi went to get bathed at PetSmart - and they brushed her teeth! I'm not even kidding! Oh and they gave her perfume?!? Really? She smelled like vanilla. That afternoon we volunteered by wrapping gifts for people at a store down the street. I wasn't feeling too great, so afterwards we came back and relaxed the rest of the night. Except I made cookies!

Today, after church we got to work on laundry and packing. I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow! We are having a couple over to watch the football game tonight, so we are just making sure everything is ready to go tomorrow. I am going to come home from work, and hopefully, jump in the car and GO!

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Suzi's Christmas...

We aren't the only ones getting presents early, we went ahead and gave Suzi her Christmas present too. We got her a new bed, her old one was getting pretty gross! She loves it!

This week has pretty much flown by (thank goodness!) Work has been busy enough, and when I get home I just fall on the couch! I have been so tired lately for some reason! I think I need some sun in my life! It has been so gross and rainy and gloomy - I think when the sun comes out I will feel more energized! :)

Our weekend is looking fairly busy. Suzi has a Petsmart appointment for a bath tomorrow morning, then we are volunteering with our church to wrap some gifts tomorrow afternoon. I like wrapping presents, but Garet on the other hand.... let's just say he will probably be cutting the tape for people!

We are so excited for our Christmas trip to Charlotte! I can't wait to catch up with friends and, of course, see my WHOLE family! My aunt and uncle and cousins from Texas are going to get to come up too! I haven't blogged about it, but my youngest cousin in Texas is sick so they haven't been able to travel in a few years, so this is truly a blessing!

My mind is trying to figure out when and what to pack and when I am going to clean the house! I like to have a clean house when we get back from a trip, so that will probably be what I do on Sunday! Fun stuff! Garet and I finally got around to taking a Christmas picture last week. Here is an outtake:

Gotta love that dog! I was trying to figure out our camera. Since it is new, I don't know where everything is yet. So I thought it was on the timer so I could run and jump in the picture, but obviously it wasn't :)

TGIF!!!

Santa's Elf's...

I know this went around last year at Christmas, but I just think it is hilarious!!
If you want to see The Beane Family dancing around CLICK HERE!

Pretty weekend...

This weekend was great! We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful sunrise!

It rained a lot towards the end of last week, so it was nice to have a clear day!


I did some shopping Saturday and now I am pretty sure I am finished with all my Christmas shopping! Yay! I got started early this year, so I never got stressed about it. The stores were packed though! I still can't believe it is almost Christmas! These days are just flying by!

Saturday night we had a fire! I have mentioned before that Suzi and I compete over the spot in front of the fire... well... we have reached a compromise...
She makes a great pillow :)

This is my last full week of work this year!

Sleeping Beauty...

What a sweet pup - she looks so innocent when she's sleeping :)

Christmas is comin'...

I really got into the Christmas season this weekend! On Saturday Garet and I got our Christmas tree. Guess where the tree came from?? BOONE, North Carolina! Even though I'm not from Boone, I visited friends there often enough, and it is only 2 hours from my parents. It's a little piece of home :) That night I had my work Christmas party at the Von Braun Center.

Garet actually went skiing with some friends today. I went to church, and man was I glad I did! They were doing a "Christmas Sunday" and the choir did an amazing job singing. I love our church! I have told many people, I do not like Christmas music - but I feel the need to clarify... I do not like the songs that they overplay on the radio 24/7, you know, the ones about hippopotamuses and two front teeth... but I really enjoy the ones about Jesus, and the true meaning of Christmas, and today I was NOT dissappointed! It was a great way to start the morning!

I finished putting up all our decorations. We gave Suzi a trial period with our Christmas tree... we weren't sure how she would do with a big "toy" in our living room (she loves to chew on sticks/branches/trees). She seems to not care at all - sooo I went ahead and decorated it.

When Garet and I lived in St. John, he gave me this decoration:
It is my surfing santa! I love it!! Too funny! Here is our tree and fireplace:

This weekend, of course, went by too fast! I am thinking that the days will fly by until it is Christmas and time for me to go see my family, I am so excited!