End of Year Wrap Up

I'm not usually one to write a holiday letter or anything like that, but I figure that so much has happened in the past year that I might as well keep everyone up to date with the good stuff :)

Great things that happened in 2007 (in date order):

-Went backpacking in the desert with only a backpack for each of us. 3 days later we walked out, about 10 pounds lighter, a little tired, but wanting to do it again and again!

-Applied for and accepted a new position at work.

-Went to Connecticut for 3 months to train for my new position.

-While east, travelled to Maine, Boston, Rhode Island and a few other little towns along the way.

-Got engaged in Maine, while camping for the weekend! Realized after the fact, that I was in a dirty tank top, hadn't washed my hair, and was wearing flip flops...guess Scott really loves me for who I am!

-Turned 30...and realized that life is better with age.

-Trained for and ran our first marathon together.

-Moved to a new city with my best friend.



Things to look forward to in 2008:

-Getting married to my soul mate.

-Spending 2 weeks in Thailand (yes, Thailand!) for our honeymoon. Maybe even ride an elephant while there!

-Travel and see new places out east that I never would have if we hadn't moved here.

-Go wherever life takes us.


I hope all our friends and family had a wonderful year and look forward to the year ahead!

Happy 2008 to all!!

Home for the holidays

We've returned, possibly with a little more to us, and feeling refreshed! We were able to visit with friends, family, and had fun with them all! I think I had a little too much fun with the Christmas cookies, but that's what the holidays are for...RIGHT??




Santa had to make a few trips to get to us, but he made it! And boy was he good to us. We got clothes, cookware, a GPS unit, even some stuff for the wedding!



We always like to go home and visit, but with the holidays it's even more special. Everyone was excited to see us...especially Bob!! We all celebrated the holiday, our engagement, and the recent purchase of a new home to Scott's sister and brother in law. We also participated in the annual card tournament. I never thought I'd have fun playing cards for 6 hours, but when you throw some friends in the mix (and maybe a few drinks!) you can have fun doing just about anything!



We got home late last night, but not too late to open the final presents between Scott and me. It was our first official Christmas together and we enjoyed every minute of it!

I admit, I did miss my family...ALL OF YOU! But one thing that really hit home this weekend, is that I have another family out in Oxford. Bob, Mary, Sammy, Syd and Nana...you made me feel more than welcome over the past few days. I never doubted it, but I truly know that I belong. Thanks for making the holidays special this year...in a whole new way!

Let it Snow

For those of you that don't know, the Northeast got hit with 2 big snows last week...one of which was Thursday night. Most people were sent home early on Thursday afternoon, and the city was a mess. Being from Chicago, Scott and I couldn't really figure out what the big fuss was all about. It was just snow...or so we thought! Turned out we got a foot of snow Thursday night and another 8 to 10 inches on Saturday!
We were both getting a little stir crazy, so we thought we'd take advantage of the nice day on Saturday. It was definitely cold, but the sky was clear and there wasn't any wind around. So for a few hours we decided to go snowshoeing. I thought we were going for a leisurely hike, but I was soon mistaken. Scott was almost pulling me by the end of it, but we still had a great time. The view was amazing, and it was nice to get out.

A few things that I realized this weekend:

1. If I can get past the initial 10-15 minutes of cold, I actually like being outside when it's a little chilly.

2. There's a lot of great spots to visit out here...especially if you like the outdoors!

3. If you start out early enough, it's okay to have dinner at 4:30.

Hope all of you were able to enjoy whatever the weather has brought your way!

O' Christmas Tree

Scott and I got are first tree together this weekend. It was kind of a funny experience. We thought we knew where the tree lot was, but somehow couldn't manage to find it. So we started driving around hoping to see one.
We didn't see a lot, but we did see a woman with a tree on top of her car, so we pulled over, rolled down the window and asked her where she got it. We got directions and were on our way.
It didn't take long for us to find our "perfect" tree...which had to have some imperfections to give it some character. A little chubby on one side, a little bald on the other...we loved it!
When we got it home we found a tag on the tree with an interesting story...
Our tree was bought from the Follen Community Church. Turns out in 1832 Dr. Charles Follen, first minister of the church, introduced the Christmas tree custom to America. Kind of funny what you learn when you least expect it.
I hope you all like our tree...we sure do!!

We're baaaack!

Well, we're back in beantown after a nice, long holiday break. It feels like we've been gone longer than we really were, which feels good.
We started our vacation on Thanksgiving with the family and it was great. I think I'm still full from everything I ate. Uncle Jim outdid himself this year and we loved every bit of it.
Since we'll be in Oxford for Christmas Scott and I opened up some of our gifts with mom. Scott got some new clothes which were needed and as you can see I got some new pj's. For those of you that don't know...I LOVE monkeys! Don't think Scott likes these as much as I do, but they are not only cute, they're really comfy. Thanks Mom!!
We also got to catch up with Tim, Dana and Ellie. We always have fun when we get together and this time was no different. The peanut sure is getting big! Scott's convinced she's going to be a rock climber after watching her climb the stairs at dad's. Maybe we'll just have to take her with next time since she fits so well in our bag!

Ok...Scott made me put this on here. What girl doesn't like a little (or a whole lot) of chocolate once in awhile. While in northern Wisconsin we stopped by a homemade candy shop and I just had to get the Bear Paw. Michelle...you'd be proud of me I finished the whole thing!

Between all of that we got so much completed for the wedding. We tasted cakes, chose the dinner menu, ordered invitations and flowers, and booked the photographer. Now it's just the smaller details to work on.

It was great being home catching up with family and friends. It was a little tough to say good-bye, but I guess that just means we'll be back that much sooner.

Homeward Bound

Tonight's one of the biggest going out nights and Scott and I are home...packing. Tomorrow we're heading home to Chicago and we're so excited! I have to admit, I've been a little homesick since we've been in Boston and can't wait to see everyone. Given it's a holiday the whole family will be together which makes it easy for us to catch up with everyone. We'll even get to see the 2 new additions to the family.
Next to seeing everyone, I'm most excited about all the food tomorrow! Mom's pies, grandma's stuffing (Uncle Jim better make it!), and all the other fixins to go along with it. I hope I packed my stretch pants!
After that, we're heading north for a week in the Northwoods of Wisconsin to work on some wedding stuff and hopefully relax a bit.

We hope all our friends and family have a very happy (and full!) Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble!!

Boys will be boys

I don't know why, but I find it funny that every guy I know needs to have some space to himself. Whether it be the basement, the garage, or a closet, they all need it. Well, Scott's no different. So we spent this weekend getting "his" room together. And I have to admit...I kind of like it.
Ok...the reality is that it's really not just his room. The computer's in there along with all our books. Pretty soon the sleeper sofa will be there too. But for Scott it's his place to go to chill. It has his surfboard, skateboard and all his Dr. Seuss collection. There's also a lot of mementos and just little things that mean a lot to him.

If this is what Scott needs to feel more at home, I'm happy to give it to him. Besides, he said the rest of the place is mine!

Busy Bees...

The weekend before Halloween we went to Salem...yes, the same Salem of the Salem witch hunt. While we didn't see any witches, we did see some scary characters...and no, Scott wasn't one of them :)

We were also here to witness the Red Sox win the world series. People are crazy about they're sports here. And I thought Chicago liked there sports! We went to Fenway Park to check out games 2 and 3...even had some friends in town for it.



This last weekend was definitely a great one. Our friends, Kirk and Krupa came to visit and we had a blast. We were so exhausted on Sunday that I just couldn't make a "real" dinner. Good thing we got a care package of Skyline chili from Mary and Bob (Scott's parents for those of you who don't know). It may not have been homemade, but it surely made us feel like we were back home.

Room to Breathe...

We didn't think it was possible to live somewhere smaller than our apartment in Bucktown. Well, we were wrong. Our temporary housing, basically a hotel room, was cozy to say the least, but left something to the imagination. After being cramped up in it for a week , Scott and I had to get out and get some air. It was a great weekend so we decided to find somewhere close and go hiking.
Even though the mapped looked easy enough, the routes weren't exactly well marked. I found it similar to the street system here. I guess we couldn't complain too much though, when you have a view this good.

Don't think we'll be out in our shorts anytime soon, but that won't stop us from checking out our new surroundings.

Split Pea Soup Anyone?

Scott and I moved into our apartment about a week and a half ago...and we love it. Well, almost all of it.

Most landlords paint an apartment white before a new tenant moves in. Not the case for us. Most of it is tolerable...except 2 rooms, the second bedroom and the bathroom.

The second bedroom, is pink. And this is nothing close to being pretty. It's looks like someone poured pepto-bismal on the walls. I think Scott's description was "Dr. Seuss pink". Yuck. So that's on the list of things to do.

The bathroom was even better. It was a cross between split pea soup and avocado. To some this may not sound that bad, but considering this is the smallest room in the whole place and doesn't match the gray tile or mauve tub (what were they thinking?), it had to go. That actually was finished the first weekend we moved in.

But things are coming together nicely. Soon we'll have everything set up and ready for visitors...and we would love to have them.

And mom, you won't even have to bring your own chair.

We're not in Kansas Anymore...

Well, Scott and I have been in Boston now for about a month. And let's just say things are a little different on the east coast. Here's a few the new things we've learned so far...

1. Driving is a whole new game out here. Not only do people not use their turn signal EVER, but they also go a lot slower. It's probably because they don't understand the signs any more than we do. Anyone know what "thickly settled" means? How about "squeeze left"? Yeah, we have no clue either.

2. There is no "r" in the alphabet here. It's changed to an "ah". Bostonians don't drink beer, they drink bee-ah. Students go to Hah-vahd. And my favorite, the city of Worcester is actually pronounced Wuh-stah. We're still trying to get it ourselves.

3. There is no grid system here since Boston is one of the oldest cities in America. That means that a street can actually intersect itself, and you may need to make 3 right turns in order to turn left.

Things may be different (VERY different), but we're having a great time trying to figure it all out. We may make a few detours along the way, but we're getting there!