Are we there yet?

February = No fast food month

2012-02-02T14:49:00.000-05:00

One of my 101 goals was to give up fast food for a month. I'm also trying to be healthier so this seems like a good time to knock out this goal.

For me, this is going to mean any type of food I can get from my car or any type of food that is 'hot and ready' upon walking in. This will also include coffee stops in the morning (although those have almost been eliminated now that we have the Keurig).

So, here's to February! Hopefully this will just be a jumping off point to some long term, necessary, changes.

Close up

2012-02-01T21:47:00.001-05:00

Photo 366 fail

2012-01-31T12:35:00.002-05:00

Well, it was bound to happen. I forgot to take a picture yesterday.

I guess I'm glad it happened on day 30 instead of day 360! I'm going to continue taking pictures and posting them, even if I don't have the perfect year!

New iPad case

2012-01-29T19:17:00.001-05:00

29/366

Zaftigs

2012-01-28T21:43:00.001-05:00

28/366

Kitty prints

2012-01-27T09:24:00.001-05:00

27/366

Bowdoin college

2012-01-26T21:45:00.001-05:00

26/366

Homework

2012-01-25T21:20:00.001-05:00

There's a lot of that going on in our house these days.

50 degrees!

2012-01-24T15:28:00.001-05:00

24/366

Self portrait

2012-01-23T20:52:00.001-05:00

23/366

Icicles in Freeport

2012-01-22T18:42:00.001-05:00

22/366

Sleepy kitty

2012-01-21T19:23:00.001-05:00

21/366

Love Crystal Light Iced Tea

2012-01-20T14:48:00.001-05:00

I seriously buy 12+ containers of this stuff at a time. I'm obsessed.

In some effort to be more interesting with my daily pictures I'm going to start taking pictures of things/products I love in my daily life.

Favorite nail polish

2012-01-19T21:33:00.001-05:00

19/366

Stryker

2012-01-18T20:43:00.001-05:00

18/366

Snowflake

2012-01-17T20:34:00.001-05:00

17/366

Pat made muffins

2012-01-16T20:10:00.001-05:00

He should stay home more often!
16/366

Paw

2012-01-15T20:52:00.001-05:00

15/366

Dinner

2012-01-14T19:25:00.001-05:00

14/366

New tv from my parents

2012-01-13T21:06:00.001-05:00

13/366

Arm rest

2012-01-12T20:11:00.001-05:00

12/366

New bomber hat

2012-01-11T19:58:00.001-05:00

11/366

10 on the 10th

2012-01-10T20:54:00.001-05:00

On the 10th of each month I'm going to try to take a picture each hour for 10 hours and post them. A little snapshot into my (boring) life.

Here we go:

A cup of coffee in my UMaine mug.

The beautiful shells I keep on my windowsill from my trip to Nantucket this summer.

My office.

The book for my photography class was delivered.

I went out on my lunch hour and got a cute Valentine's Day wreath.

A frozen meal for lunch.

The heater under my desk keeping me warm.

My phone that seems permanently glued to my ear.

The calendar that stares me down every day.

Finally leaving work for the day.

Not a very exciting day at all. While at work it was actually hard to find things to take pictures of. Next month the 10th falls on a Friday and it's right before Valentine's Day. Maybe I'll have to think up some type of a theme to make this a little more interesting for the reader.

Dinner

2012-01-09T19:10:00.002-05:00

9/366

Pat requested a beef stew for dinner, so I found a crock pot recipe, here, and made him one. The only change I made was to add some frozen corn and I didn't use the whole onion. I'm really impressed with this recipe (and so is Pat) so we'll definitely be making this again!

Project 366

2012-01-09T14:30:00.001-05:00

Have you been wondering about the daily pictures I've been posting? Probably not, but I'm going to explain them anyway.

I'm taking part in Project 366 at Develop, a really cool site, where you take a picture each day for a year. 2012 happens to be a leap year, hence 366. Ok, I just noticed they're calling it Project 2012. I'm going to stick with 366.

It has been fun so far, although I often find myself scrambling at night trying to think of something remotely interesting to take a picture of. As you can see, I'm not doing very well at it and you'll all probably be very sick of seeing Stryker by the end of the year.

So that's what's going on. I'm posting them in my flickr account here and my pinterest board here in case you don't get enough of them here on the blog.

2012-01-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

Love

Our skating rink

2012-01-07T19:33:00.003-05:00

Stryker

2012-01-06T20:17:00.001-05:00

Picture 6/366.

Wrapping paper organization

2012-01-05T19:41:00.001-05:00

Inspired by a picture I found on pinterest.

Holly

2012-01-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

Love this holly bush outside of my office.

I love a new journal

2012-01-03T14:24:00.001-05:00

Stryker

2012-01-02T15:28:00.001-05:00

Goodbye Christmas decorations.

2012-01-01T13:06:00.001-05:00

See ya in 11 months!

Goodbye 2011!

2011-12-30T16:14:00.002-05:00

For us the biggest event during 2011 was building our front porch. I first posted about it here back in January. I am so thrilled this worked out for us to build this year. I truly feel lit really transformed our house and I couldn't be happier with it. Each time I pull into our driveway I smile. Our builder (Mark Glennie) did a fabulous job and we'll likely work with him again this year to 'beef up' our garage.

I look forward to decorating the porch for the seasons during 2012 and beyond!

What are we looking forward to during 2012?

I want to do more crafting. I have a fabulous craft room that I don't use nearly enough. I also want to try some new mediums to work with (fused glass) and I'm excited about that.

We need to get the landscaping done around the porch. The walkway doesn't line up and the side stairs don't match the granite steps down to the garage anymore. We need to fix that, hopefully in the spring.

I'm also taking a photography class this spring! My husband works for the local community college so I can take classes for free. I figured I might as well take advantage of that. Starting mid-January I'll be in class two nights a week. That should be interesting, I haven't been in a college class in a LONG time! I'm really looking forward to it though.

That might be about it...if I think of anything else noteworthy I'll post about it!

Here's to 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Our tree this year. I love it in this corner of our living room and I'm 99% sure this is where we'll have it each year.

Every year Pat and I go to the tree farm on the hunt for the perfect tree to cut down. We found this one pretty quickly this year and it might be my favorite tree so far. There aren't quite enough lights on it for me as we had some strings that were out and we decided not to replace them this year since we plan on buying LED lights after Christmas. So more lights for next year!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Homemade Vanilla

2011-12-19T21:38:00.001-05:00

It was almost a year ago that I knew I'd be making homemade vanilla extract for this Christmas. That's a long time to wait!

I had originally saved this blog post to go by, but ended up mostly following this one. I bought the vanilla beans at Olive Nation and they were AMAZING. Excellent prices, fast shipping and plump awesome vanilla beans. I will definitely purchase from them the next time I make vanilla!

I basically cut the vanilla beans into a 'V' shape and dropped them into a fifth of vodka. I bought fairly cheap vodka as everything I read said it didn't matter at all. After I was done I just put them in my cupboard for a few months and then bottled them up! I made two fifths of extract, so I have enough to last me and my gift recipients quite a while!

Here are some pictures of the process:

I was amazed how quickly the vodka turned brown. It smells heavenly!

I wrapped a ribbon around the bottle and attached a label to them. I think they look pretty cute!

Lighted glass block Christmas presents

2011-11-27T14:30:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I went to a craft fair with my sister and fell in love with these lighted Christmas presents made out of glass blocks. However, I'm kind of cheap and didn't love the price tag. Always being up for a challenge, I decided to make one for myself.

I'm overall pretty happy with how this turned out. However, I really need some practice making bows!

Cupcake ornaments

2011-11-20T16:39:00.001-05:00

These are only iPhone pictures, so they're not the best. I'll try to get some better shots soon of these adorable (if I do say so myself) cupcake ornaments I made this weekend. I can't wait to make more and send them off to some special people!

Christmas Crafts

2011-11-16T21:13:00.001-05:00

It might be a little early, but I am totally in the mood for Christmas. I have big plans for decorating this year and a lot of it involves being crafty!

I came across a picture of a glass ornament covered in glass jewels in my favorite site, Pinterest, and knew I could make them.

I picked up some glass ornaments at the craft store, got out my glue gun and set to work!

Overall I'm happy how it came out and I'll likely make a couple more. However, this is not an ornament for a weak tree branch and the little silver topper isn't very sturdy so I think having these on a shelf is safer!

In the background of the second picture you can partially see another Christmas craft I'm working on!

You're not a dog!

2011-11-08T20:32:00.001-05:00

How many of us automatically think about food when we think about celebrations? Need to celebrate something? Go out to dinner! Miss your friends? Meet them for happy hour. So much of our lives revolve around food. It's normal, obviously we need to eat. However, I know I need to remind myself every now and then that food should not be a reward. If I could only get it through my skull that food should only be looked at as fuel for your body instead of something to take pleasure in dieting would be a lot easier.

I've been back on the treadmill this week, Monday and Tuesday so far. It has been easier with the time change so it's not pitch black out at 6am now.

There may also be talk of another get together with my internet friends next year with a race as the focal point and I'd like to be able to participate in the 5k if it happens. Even if it doesn't happen, it's a good goal to work towards. I certainly know I could walk a 5k, but it would be great if I could actually jog/run it. We'll see!

Off the wagon

2011-11-03T13:39:00.000-04:00

In all honesty, I've been very terrible about exercising since the Boston trip. For the past two and a half weeks I haven't exercised at all. It has been a combination of a cold, a busy Halloween schedule and being lazy. Really there isn't any valid excuse.

The good news is that I haven't gained any weight back. I am down 12.2 pounds, but I know I need to get back on the treadmill if I want to see any more off (which I do).

In the effort of full disclosure, I'm putting it out there. Trying to hold myself accountable to the internet world. Sometimes you just need that extra kick in the pants to get back on track.

94. Make a travel map

2011-10-19T20:36:00.001-04:00

Remember waaaaay back when I put up my list of 101 things to do? Well we haven't forgotten about it, but we definitely are behind schedule!

However, one thing I wanted to post about was making our travel map.

I've been wanting to make one for years since I saw this post. However, that map just isn't my style so I kind of put it off. Until I saw this post. Pretty much perfect and (I have to admit) I totally copied it.

Without further adieu, here is our map. We clearly need to travel a little more!

We're only putting pins for trips that we've taken together, so business trips etc won't clutter up the map. Also, once we have kids we plan on using a different color pin for trips we'll take with the kiddos.

It was a really fun project and I love having it finished and on the wall (finally). Anyone else made a travel map?

Boston Getaway

2011-10-19T15:10:00.002-04:00

I've disappeared again!

Just when life seems mundane and normal, it gets fun!

This weekend was all about fun. I've mentioned my 'message board friends' on the blog before. They are a bunch of fabulous ladies that I met while planning our wedding. There are a lot that I've been fortunate enough to meet and we live close enough to get together every now and then. But this weekend I was lucky to meet two more awesome friends from Wisconsin and Maryland.

We did a ton of walking, so that was good. But, we also didn't eat that great. All in all, the scale wasn't too mean when I got on it so I'm confident I can get back to my schedule soon.

Tonight I'll be doing my exercising as it was impossible to wake up this morning. After not having to get up early for five days the 6am alarm was just too much. Luckily, I know I have plenty of time this evening to get a walk in.

The other big thing that's going on is it's Halloween season. If you know me and my family, you know that's the most important holiday! My parents go a little crazy with decorating and entertaining, but we really enjoy it. I'm in the process of working out a costume right now, time is running short!

Anyway, hopefully soon I'll be back to regular blogging!

Where have I been?

2011-10-11T20:29:00.001-04:00

Seems I took a little break from blogging.

As a follow up, I did get on the treadmill last Thursday night. Since then I'm back on my morning routine and things are going great.

In fun news, I've got a girls weekend in Boston coming up this weekend that I'm very excited for.

In the meantime, here's a little something to keep you focused!

Nobody's perfect...

2011-10-06T15:29:00.000-04:00

Nobody's perfect, and if they are? I don't want to meet them.

This morning I was awake from about 3:30-6:00am. Right around the time I normally get on the treadmill I fell into a deep sleep. I reset my alarm for 6:30. But I was still sleeping so amazingly I didn't want to get up. So I didn't. I knew that in order to get through the workday today (which is proving to be a struggle) I needed that extra sleep.

I know that one day does not make or break your fitness routine. But I'm going to get on the treadmill when I get home tonight. There's nothing stopping me from exercising tonight, so mentally I feel like I need to do it.

This picture reminds me of my economics classes...

2011-10-05T17:44:00.001-04:00

So true. The greater the effort, the greater the results. I like the visual.

Even when you don't want to...

2011-10-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

I won't lie. I was not planning on working out this morning.

I had a rough night of sleep and at 2am when I was laying in bed awake with sore feet, I convinced myself that I'd just turn off my alarm at 6am and enjoy an extra hour of sleep.

Well, 6am rolled around and I picked up my phone to shut off my alarm. I got out of bed and was already dressed in exercise clothes before I remembered what I told myself in the middle of the night.

I was thiiiiiis close to getting back in bed, but I didn't. I figured I'd start walking and see how I felt. Honestly? I felt fine. I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be in the middle of the night. My feet didn't hurt. I was fine. I walked for 30 minutes and was pretty proud of myself for getting up, even when I really didn't want to.

I think that's the biggest factor. Doing what you know you need to, even when you don't want to.

Lifestyle Change

2011-10-03T12:54:00.001-04:00

I'm finding a lot of inspirational quotes on Pinterest that definitely apply to me. I want to share them to remind myself and to also possibly help and inspire someone else.

Anyone that has ever lost weight on a diet and then gained it back knows that this is true.

In 2004 I lost almost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers. Sadly, I didn't treat it as a lifestyle change, but a diet. Once I was happy with my weight, I gained it all (and more) back.

Why did the program stop working for me? Let me correct that question. Why did I stop working the program?

I believe that for a lot of people Weight Watchers can be a sustainable lifestyle. You eat 'real' food as opposed to 'plan' food. The program teaches healthy living tips and tools. What you can't do is go back to how you were eating before once you're at a happy weight.

That was my mistake...I went back to my prior ways that made me overweight in the first place. This is not to say that you can never have that treat again, you can. In fact, you should...in moderation.

I feel like this time around I'm making the changes that will be sustainable life changes. I'm not looking for the 'get thin quick' plan. I know this isn't going to be quick or easy, but with the proper tools and planning it can be forever.

Making motivation be a habit

2011-10-01T19:05:00.002-04:00

I really like this saying. This is what I'm trying to achieve. Right now I'm operating on motivation. Motivation to look better. Motivation to feel better. Motivation to be stronger. Motivation to lose weight. Motivation to wear those smaller jeans taunting me in my closet.

I need this motivation to become a habit. I'm working on it!

Inspiration

2011-09-30T10:48:00.002-04:00

A week or so ago I saw this on Pinterest** and it really struck me. For so many years now I have been that person on the couch.

I work 50+ hours a week at a desk job. After work, I would go home each night and flop down in front of the TV with my laptop and stay there until it was time for bed. There was

So when I saw this picture I realized that no matter what form of exercise I added to my daily routine it was going to be more than I had been doing.

My routine for the past two weeks has been to get up at 6am and get immediately on the treadmill. I make sure I have my workout clothes and sneakers laid out upstairs before I go to bed so I have no excuses. Although 6am seems so early to me (I don't leave for work until 8am), it's good for me to get up and get motivated. I walk for 30 minutes and then shower and leisurely get ready for work. My goal with getting up so early is that when I'm ready to up my walk time to 45 minutes or an hour I won't have to get up any earlier.

So I figure 30 minutes every day is a heck of a lot more than I was doing before, and that's a good thing.

**Pinterest is an amazing site where you can 'pin' various pictures you find online onto your profile. It's easier than downloading or bookmarking all the neat things you come across daily while browsing. If your interested, you can follow me here!

Goal...and going public

2011-09-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

The saying "fat and happy" really applies to me. I've never been happier in my life. I have an amazing husband and we have a great marriage. I love my house. Even my job isn't terrible these days.

But one thing that really isn't great is I've put on a lot of weight. I've debated about 'going public' with my efforts to lose weight. There are the definite pros (the support). There are also the cons (admitting to everyone you have a problem).

However, the pros outweighed the cons. Not to mention that if you know me 'in real life' then you already know I need to lose weight. Just putting that out there!

So I'm starting to make some life changes. I'm not talking about a diet, because diets don't work. The changes I need to make are true lifestyle changes. A couple of weeks ago we bought a used treadmill and I've been getting up to walk each morning. I've also started paying a lot closer attention to what I eat and tracking it on the livestrong app on my phone.

There are the obvious benefits of looking and feeling better, but I'm also concerned about health risks. I turned 33 this year and I'm not getting any younger. The other major factor is we'd love to have a baby, but it's not healthy for me (or the baby) to get pregnant while I'm this overweight.

So there it is. There's my big dirty secret that I'm ready to change.

For a little bit of inspiration I want to post a picture of me from May of 2007. I wasn't thin here, but I was pretty happy with how I looked. In fact, this was taken in Washington DC, the day after Pat proposed. I was a very happy girl!

I hope you'll join me on my journey!

What's three years?

2011-09-26T20:33:00.000-04:00

What can you say about three years? It seems like yesterday, and yet it seems as though we've been married forever.

I'm having a hard time finding something to write. I've written multiple sentences just now and deleted them. None of them seem just 'right'.

Is three years a long time? Certainly not. Then again...it kind of is. It's not a 'big' anniversary like the first one was, or what I imagine the fifth, tenth etc will be like.

We're definitely not making a big deal of it, but I certainly didn't want it to pass by unrecognized here.

So here's to a very happy third anniversary (tomorrow, 9/27) to my amazing husband. I love you.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

2011-09-06T16:58:00.001-04:00

I love you!

Hello September!

2011-09-05T17:34:00.006-04:00

September is my favorite month of the year. I love the crisp, cool air. I love the smells of fall. I love when the trees change color. I love apples. I love sweaters. I love fairs. I love everything about fall.

This September we'll be working on our new project. Restoring an old 1972 pinball machine. We bought it on Saturday and it's in really great shape, however it didn't do much when we plugged it in. Luckily my father has restored a 1965 machine by the same maufacturer (Gottlieb) so he stopped by this morning to get us started. Sure enough, he got it running for us!

Now, it still needs some rehab and some work, but I'm a lot more confident that we'll be able to get this back in 100% working order. I am so excited, I've always loved pinball (grew up having one) and now we'll have one of our own!

I have an addiction...

2011-08-30T13:09:00.001-04:00

to office supplies.

I was sitting here at work staring at the huge stack of invoices sitting in front of me that needed my approval. I picked up my pen and immediately knew that this just wasn't happening. I needed a new pen.

I think it's the change in the air that makes me want to stock up on new pens and pencils.

I hopped in the car and headed over to Staples where there were tons of mothers and kids stocking up for the school year. Oh how I miss a fresh new notebook to write in.

Anyway, back to office supplies. I'm probably a pen snob, but I'm ok with that. When you sit at a desk all day it's the little things that make the time go by.

I've recently fallen in love with Pentel pens (specifically their EnerGel line). I have them in blue and purple and they are great pens.

Since I love them, I also got their silver and gold pens. They're ok, not as good as the EnerGel line. I was also intrigued by a Sharpie pencil. I love a good pencil and had high hopes for these. They disappointed. My only compliment is that they erase very, very well. If you're not a pencil snob, you may like them.

So now I'm back to work, ready to tackle this stack of invoies with my new silver Pentel pen in hand.

Burlington, Vermont

2011-08-28T20:42:00.002-04:00

When I was in public accounting I had a few clients in Burlington and it was one of my favorite places to go to. I loved the atmosphere and thought it would be a great location to go back and visit when I wasn't working.

This summer has been very busy and Pat and I found ourselves in need of some time away. We debated about where to go and my friend Mary suggested going to Vermont. It was the perfect suggestion and just the right distance away.

So, we both took off a Friday from work and headed up. Burlington didn't disappoint. They were having their annual "Festival of Fools" that weekend so there were a lot of street performers downtown to entertain us. I really enjoyed them. I was also able to go back to my favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes (a must if you're in Burlington). We ate outside on Church Street since it was such a gorgeous night and it couldn't have been more perfect.

The getaway was just what we needed to recharge and Burlington is a city we'll definitely be back to visit.

(Pictures to follow, someday)!

Project Farmer's Porch...complete

2011-08-08T20:38:00.002-04:00

We couldn't be happier with the transformation!

A little side by side comparison. The changes were the new porch (obviously) and a new door and new double upstairs windows. I'm so glad we did all of this.

Here's a better picture of just the 'after':

More updates!

2011-07-25T19:39:00.002-04:00

This is going to be a very picture heavy post (aren't they all lately?). We're almost done, just a little bit of finish work left to do! I am so so so happy with everything. I couldn't be happier with the transformation!

Here the slats have been installed:

The ceiling is also in!

The new door is installed!

The posts are wrapped and the upstairs window is cut out.

Ceiling fan installed

New ceiling lights and house lights

Craft room ready for the double windows

Window is in!

Double windows installed, siding and shutters back on!

Door hardware

Such a transformation!!

Almost done, here's what's left (about two more days):

Two sets of stairs

Banisters

Siding on side of porch roof

Shutters put back on

More updates!

2011-07-18T10:25:00.002-04:00

I am so amazed at the transformation the house has taken on with the addition of the front porch. It seriously feels like a different place to me. We've gone back and forth lately on the upright posts and the railings and I'm not sure we've fully decided on anything, but I know at least these are issues that can be dealt with down the road.

The problem is we don't love the feeling of the white pvc type banisters. We both love the feel of real wood, it's just so much more sturdy and feels 'real'. BUT...I love the look of what banisters. I just feel undecided and I've been very good at making decisions regarding the porch.

Anyway, here are some new pictures:

At this point I think here is what's left:

Finish the decking

Two sets of stairs

Banisters

Put in ceiling

Finish lighting

Install ceiling fan

Replace siding on house

Siding on side of porch roof

Install new front door

Install new double window upstairs

I'm probably missing a few things, but we're SO happy with everything and we've really enjoyed watching it come together!

July 7th update

2011-07-07T20:39:00.001-04:00

I was so shocked when I came home today!!

July 5th progress

2011-07-07T20:37:00.002-04:00

The decking was delivered and we love it!

Making more progress!

July 1st progress

2011-07-07T20:01:00.001-04:00

June 30th progress

2011-07-07T19:58:00.002-04:00

Footings are poured!

2011-06-29T20:49:00.002-04:00

And our permit!

We've decided on the decking color!

2011-06-29T10:26:00.002-04:00

Saturday Pat and I went to look at the colors of the decking for the porch. At first we didn't love any of the samples they had there. We had sort of agreed on one, and then I picked up a catalog of the company's new hardwood line.

We both immediately agreed that the "Brazilian Cherry" was very close to what we envisioned (luckily we have pretty similar taste).

Since they didn't have a sample we didn't want to say yes immediately because pictures don't really reflect what they look like. Our builder dropped off a sample yesterday and we both agreed, that's the one for us.

Here is a picture of what it looks like (on the right with the dog on it). I hope we love it!

Contract is signed!

2011-06-23T10:36:00.004-04:00

We met with our builder last night and signed the contract! He is applying for the permit with the town today and he gave us these drawings. It's starting to feel so real! Hopefully he'll be pouring the footings next Tuesday!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

2011-06-19T09:05:00.002-04:00

I know that everyone probably thinks that they have the best Dad. But I don't think it, I know it. Dad, I love you more than there are words for.

The front porch project has (sort of) begun!

2011-06-09T11:19:00.003-04:00

We're really excited to have the porch, but I was very sad about pulling up our gorgeous walkway. It was one of the features I loved the best about the outside of our house.

The builder is hopefully going to be starting soon. We had to pull up the walkway so he could lay the footings as they'll end up right in the middle of where the walk used to be (8 feet out).

If you look at the top picture of the full house we're also going to make the upstairs windows match. I have no idea why they didn't build it that way, but it seems stupid to me and it has always bugged me.

We're also going to be installing a much larger front door with double 14" sidelights. I am very excited about that as well!

Here is a rough rendition of the door we ordered (should be in sometime next week):

I am so excited and I can't wait to share the progress with you guys!

I'm on my own for the next four days...

2011-05-29T07:22:00.002-04:00

About an hour ago I dropped Pat off at the airport. He's on his way to Austin, TX to accept a teaching award he won. Have I mentioned lately how awesome my husband is? Well, he's pretty awesome.

So sadly I don't have a ton of cool plans for the next four days. I have an audit starting Tuesday that will keep me busy. Really looking forward to that...

Anyway, this is the longest we've been apart since before we were married. I already miss him.

Tomorrow!!

2011-05-26T15:31:00.002-04:00

I'm stupidly excited to see these guys live starting at 5am tomorrow morning!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

2011-05-08T09:34:00.002-04:00

I don't know how I got so lucky to have you for my mother, but I'm incredibly glad for my good luck. Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher, role model and friend. I love you more than words can say.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T09:19:00.001-04:00

Blog Homework!

2011-04-17T20:47:00.002-04:00

I was 'assigned' some blog homework by a friend in order to post more. She wanted each of us on our message board to post something from the weekend on our blogs.

Unfortunately my weekend was spent working. This has been a lot of my life lately and it's tiring. The good news is that in one more week I have an assistant starting that should really take a huge burden off of my shoulders once she's trained.

So, here are a couple pictures of my weekend.

First, this makes me smile. A little photo strip of three of my favorite wedding pictures is taped to one of my monitors.

I love the large windows I have.

And finally, where all the work happens. I love my widescreen monitors, they make all the difference in the world and I know I'd never be able to work with single monitors again. You can see some of our products on the shelf at the left. Oh, and my new glasses on my desk because (according to my eye doctor) I work too much. I agree, I do.

So that's what my weekend was composed of. Super exciting, I know.

This is a really cheap attempt...

2011-03-31T07:24:00.002-04:00

This is a really cheap attempt to get one last post up before the month ends. I have a goal of blogging at least twice a month and I'll screw it up today unless I get something up here. So, this is my half-hearted attempt at a post.

Things that have happened recently:

My amazing Grandmother turned 94!
Pat and I went to a cat show.
My awesome coworker gave her notice at work.
I went to Pittsburgh to see our manufacturing facility.
My friend had her baby, their third girl.
My other friend had her baby shower (due in May).
I've worked a ridiculous number of hours.

I'm in the process of hiring someone to help me out at work so hopefully the hours will go back to somewhat normal in the near future. I'm dreading the training process because the learning curve to this job is long...but it will be good eventually. I'm really going to miss my coworker here though, she's an excellent worker and a good friend.

So that's pretty much it! I'd like to say I'll be blogging more in the near future, but I hate to lie.

Where has the time gone?

2011-03-15T16:41:00.002-04:00

It has been almost a month since I posted! Not that I'm a super-regular blogger or anything, but a month is a long time!

In order to at least get something up here today I'm stealing a post I've seen on quite a few blogs lately...The ABC's of me:

A - Age: 32

B - Bed Size: Queen (hoping for a King when we buy a new bedroom set)

C - Chore you hate: All of them. Dishes especially.

D - Dogs: None, but I can't wait to have one someday.

E - Essential start to your day: Free Beer and Hot Wings (morning radio show).

F - Favorite Color: Pink

G - Gold or Sliver: Silver

H - Height: 5'4"

I - Instruments you play: Flute & Clarinet. I've dabbled in others and I really miss playing in an organized band.

J - Job Title: Chief Financial Officer

K - Kids: None yet, much to the dismay of my parents.

L - Live: In Maine

M - Mom's Name: Laura

N - Nicknames: James, J, Bear

O - Overnight hospital stays: None since I was a baby

P - Pet peeve: Text speak

Q - Quote from a TV Show: "Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion, you know, it just doesn't matter. It's 'moo'" Joey, Friends

R - Right of Left Handed: Right

S - Siblings: One, my older sister Julie

T - Time you wake up: Eh, somewhere between 6 and 7:30.

U - Underwear: Yes, I wear them.

V - Vegetables you dislike: brussel sprouts

W - What makes you run late: Not much, I really like being on time.

X - X-rays you've had: Ankle multiple times. Teeth, again, multiple times.

Y - Yummy food you make: Cake Balls

Z - Zoo, favorite animal: Polar Bears

A few random pictures

2011-02-20T17:55:00.001-05:00

I love getting mail

2011-02-15T19:49:00.003-05:00

When Pat and I got engaged I didn't have a clue about how to plan a wedding. I had heard about The Knot, which is a wedding planning website. I registered and got a few ideas here and there and then I discovered the message boards.

I had never been part of an 'online community' before, but I was excited to find there was a board specific for people getting married in September 2008. Those girls became my lifeline for months and knew every detail about our wedding. They helped me with all of my projects and became a real solid support system.

I am so excited to say that there are a lot of us that are still members of the community and remain in contact each day. I have built some really strong friendships from the message board and it is a integral part of my day.

Some of the ladies I've met in real life and some I hope to one day. I know that no matter what is going on I can turn to them for support, sound advice and some good laughs.

What does all of this have to do with the subject of this post, getting mail? I came home to a package today from one of my "September '08 girls" as I call them. How sweet is my fabulous friend? I can't wait to meet her in real life.

A couple of pictures from our walk yesterday

2011-01-23T19:13:00.003-05:00

Pat and I went snowshoeing down to our pond yesterday. It was pretty cold, so we didn't stay out long, but I like these two pictures. The woodpeckers have really done a number on that tree!

More pictures

2011-01-16T21:01:00.003-05:00

Well, I've failed at the 365 day project. There are just some days that all I do is work and sleep and there are only so many pictures you can take of that, you know?

I did take a few pictures at my Gram's house today. This little squirrel really loved the treats today.

I love this bird landing.

Jan 11 & 12 pictures

2011-01-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

I love love love extreme close up shots.

Major snow today!

Jan 9 & 10 pics

2011-01-11T20:55:00.003-05:00

A calendar I made for my desk using a CD case. I have a feeling this won't be the last one of these I make!

My favorite subject!

Front Porch

2011-01-08T17:50:00.004-05:00

We're in the process of potentially have a front porch built on our house. This afternoon we drove around some developments to try and get a feel of what we liked.

This first one is pretty much what we're looking for. I like the look of the straight roof line vs. the hipped roof below. The only problem with this one is the lattice work. I have a serious hate of lattice.

Hip roof with fancy columns. A little too fancy for us.

Another example of straight lines, although this roof doesn't go all the way to the end of the house. However, it does have these great straight slats on the bottom that I love instead of the lattice.

This is also similar to the doorway that we'll hopefully be upgrading to at the same time. When you add a porch you lose a lot of light so hopefully adding the two sidelights will let a little more in. I like this one.

So, keep your fingers crossed for us that the quotes come in affordable!

Gunny

2011-01-08T17:47:00.000-05:00

Jan 7th picture - my coworker's new puppy came for a visit

Jan 5 & 6 pictures

2011-01-06T21:03:00.002-05:00

My new purse that I turned into a camera bag with some padding.

My husband and I drink way too much Diet Cherry Pepsi. It's seriously an addiction.

Relaxation

2011-01-04T20:43:00.003-05:00

My home away from home

2011-01-03T21:05:00.002-05:00

My Grandmother's "Bagel Tree"

2011-01-02T15:07:00.004-05:00

Breakfast at Sea Dog

2011-01-01T17:12:00.002-05:00

Our delicious breakfast at Sea Dog Brewing Co. After breakfast (that was really lunch) we went to get Pat new glasses and a few odds and ends. I've got my eye on a new laptop, but that wasn't happening today.

I also bought some padding material to turn my new purse into a camera bag and I'll get to that later tonight. All in an effort to always have my camera with me!

Bye bye 2010

2010-12-31T17:43:00.003-05:00

Hello 2011!

This year I am going to TRY to participate in Project 365 and take a picture each day. I'm going to try and post them each day, but lets face it...that's unlikely! Hopefully I'll be able to share with you the highlights (I anticipate a lot of Stryker pictures).

Christmas is where? Here? Already?

2010-12-24T09:35:00.003-05:00

Where did December go? I feel like it was just Thanksgiving and I blinked and here we are at Christmas. I love love love Christmas, always have. When I was a kid there was no way I was sleeping on Christmas Eve. I can remember laying there awake and often asking (way too often) if it was time to get up yet. I would often sneak to the bathroom to peek at the tree and see if Santa had arrived yet, but I never looked at the gifts. Ever since I can remember I've always loved the surprise!

When I was in second grade my teacher, Mrs. Thomas, asked us to write a story about our family traditions for Christmas. I'm not sure if I didn't think mine were good enough or what, but I flat out lied. I wrote this story about how we woke up, held hands and sang carols around the tree. Seriously? I have no idea what I was thinking, but it's been a standing joke in our family for the last 25 years.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and I hope to blog more in 2011. In that regard I am going to *try* and take part in Project 365 to take (and share) a photo every day. My life is pretty boring, so don't expect too much!

Merry Christmas!

What a great early morning on our pond!

2010-12-19T09:25:00.002-05:00

22. Take a Random Road Trip

2010-11-13T20:10:00.002-05:00

Today was certainly a random road trip. We left the house at 8am without a plan. We knew we wanted to spend most of the day on back roads in the middle of nowhere. We did just that. Eleven hours and 425 miles later we were home again. Such a fun day though.

We ended up having lunch in Greenville on Moosehead Lake. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was fun exploring such remote areas of our gorgeous state. Our route:

Halloween recap

2010-11-06T14:45:00.003-04:00

We have such fun on Halloween! My parents turn their entire front yard into a Halloween masterpiece. People from all over make the drive to see it. What's harmless in the daytime turns quite scary at night when the torches and lanterns get lit and the thunder and lightning gets turned on! I need to get the pictures of Halloween night from my Dad (I forgot my camera!), but until then here are a few.

NaNoWriMo

2010-11-03T22:58:00.003-04:00

I'm a little (a lot) behind schedule.

Friends

2010-10-24T19:17:00.003-04:00

My Mother always told me: "The more friends you have, the richer you are." While I understood this as a child, it has been more and more relevant as an adult.

I love my friends.

It seems that all my friends fit into a different niche in my life. I am still very good friends with people that I've known so long I can't remember not knowing them. I also have new friends, that are awesome in their own way.

I guess I just have really come to appreciate all my friends and I feel truly blessed to have so may fabulous people to share my life with.

Creativity

2010-10-11T12:41:00.003-04:00

I've always considered myself a fairly creative person.

When I was kid I would spend countless hours cutting pictures and words out of magazines to make the perfect collage. I once spilled a whole set of paints on my bedroom floor while creating a masterpiece. I'm sure my mother could tell you more horror stories.

Well, as a kid that's great. But as an adult, how do you express your creative side while still managing your professional side? I've struggled with that and I've often found myself missing that side of me.

I'm taking steps to try and merge both worlds. By the end of this weekend I hope to have my craft room totally finished (I've been painting it for about three or four months now). I've always needed a space that was just for me and I'm very much looking forward to having it.

I'm also going to participate in the National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo for short). The concept is that you write like crazy for one solid month with the goal of at least a 50,000 word novel. You don't worry about editing etc, just get the ideas out there. I think it sounds like a ton of fun and I've often thought of writing a book. I guess now is an alright time to try.

I hope with this creativity I can start updating a blog that has long sat dormant. It was a blog I started during wedding planning to show off my projects. Well, who says it has to stay wedding related? I still create things and I still DIY so I'm going to try and get back into that as well.

So many ideas! Now I just need to stop working 60 hours a week.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-09-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

Happy 2nd anniversary to us!

This is inspiring!

2010-09-20T19:34:00.000-04:00

I had tears!

Scotty's getting married!!!

2010-08-28T11:41:00.005-04:00

My "little" cousin Scott (who's well over six feet now) is getting married today and I couldn't be more excited or happier for him!

Here we are when we were so little. Seriously, how cute can you get?

Here is the happy couple at our wedding almost two years ago. To the left is my other "little" cousin, Corey, the groom's younger brother.

I am so happy for them and excited to welcome Autumn to the family! The other super cool thing about their wedding and reception is the location. I kid you not, there is a path from the location to our road. So we're making sure to put some sneakers and flashlights in the car and we plan on walking home tonight! Fun!

(Click picture to enlarge)

Summer in Maine

2010-08-21T19:18:00.008-04:00

This has been one of the absolute best summers in recent memory. Pat and I have been doing our best to soak it all in (despite demanding work schedules).

Today I had the pleasure of introducing Pat to a true love of mine. Sebago Lake. While I didn't technically grow up on this lake, my road did dead end at the lake. We also spent countless days at Cub Cove swimming, many days on the boat fishing and even some overnights at my friend's uncle's house.

Before today I don't think Pat understood my love affair with this lake. He gets it now. He totally gets it.

Today we drove around for three hours on the boat just soaking up each ounce of summer. Breathing in that lake air...I swear it smells different. Dreaming of living on the lake in all of those beautiful houses. Waving at fellow boaters as we passed them. Marveling at the wildlife (a Bald Eagle, Loons and Deer). Reminding ourselves that this is right in our backyard and we are so so so lucky.

Sebago Lake is the deepest lake in the state (316 feet) and is also the water supply for the greater Portland area, so it is incredibly clean and fresh. It's also 45 square miles making it the second largest in the state. I just simply love it.

If you click on the picture it should open up larger so you can see where I grew up and where I live now in relation to this fabulous lake.