Red and Pink Week {2013}

Willow joined me for some RED and PINK fun this week!!

 

 

The Fusion girls got their first taste of RED and PINK! 

They did a lovely job, if you ask me!!

XALT. lol! I guess Black's the new RED and PINK for most of these girls!

Love this girl and her enthusiasm for theme outfits!!

To Kill a Mockingbird starring a Fusion student as Jem.

He rocked it!!

The entire play was amazing though!

I seriously feel blessed that we live in a town that loves theater!

It's one of my faves!!

 

Chase's sister gave me this scarf and it's too cute.

"Thank you" if you're reading!! 

Oh! Winter Jam, how you wear me out!

You provided some good entertainment and

quality time with TSM students so...

I'll let it slide this time!

But seriously, the one day it snows in NC! C'MON!!

 

MY VALENTINE~THIS CREATIVE BEING

Alycia over at the Crowley Party and a few other bloggers are hosting a Valentines Blogger Party!!

Of course, with my love of Valentine's Day and parties I could not pass up such a fun opportunity.  I emailed my name and blog info in and I was randomly matched with Sam from this creative being.  

WOW!! What an amazing lady?! Not only is she a clever blogger but a mom of FOUR, a wife, an artist, and a journal-er.  Well it's actually JournalArt! Sam's art is inspired and inspiring.  She has taught art in the school system and loved sharing her knowledge with youngsters because art is so important to pass on. Even though she has a passion for visual art, it doesn't take long to see that she's no stranger to literary art as well.  I started my blog with the intention of posting book reviews and having dialogue with others about books and literature so I was so excited to learn that Sam loves words too!! I look forward to continuing to read her blog and seeing her perspective of the world.

I'm awful with pictures of items so I decided to have Chase record this! Oh my! Afterward I regretted that decision. Toward the end of the video I get a crazy case of the blinks so be warned.  Also, Thank you Chase for being a good sport!

 

The journal excited me so much because it was a way of Sam passing on a little bit of herself to me...who knows maybe this bad-stick-figure-artist will give journal art a go!!

SAM, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LOVED EVERY GIFT AND CAN'T WAIT TO TRY IT ALL!

everyone, make sure to visit this creative being sometime soon!

p.s. I hope you're all wearing some red and pink this week!

spread the love

Roses are Red, Families are True Blue

This weekend we met my family in southern Ohio at my Grandma's house. 

It was SO good to see them for the first time since Christmas. 

We saw everyone...not only my family but Grandma, Aunt, and Cousins. Talk about fun!!

We ended up seeing Chase's sister and her husband too! 

They were amazing hosts and terrific company.

 

This is awful but since I didn't blog a lot in the Fall, I have an introduction to make... 

My little nephew!! He's so sweet!! 

If you couldn't tell WE LOVE BEING AUNTIES!!

 

He has grown way too much already but he just gets cuter and cuter!

Now he's making little baby noises and smiling but he's still small enough to like being held. 

For the first time in four years my sister and I saw each other during RED & PINK week!! 

(We're Valentine's Day enthusiasts so we wear red or pink all week!) 

Our mom and sister-in-law joined us this year!! 

It was amazing to start off the week actually being together.

There isn't a lot of face time for the fellas in these pictures

but much love to my dad, brother, and Chase too!!

Eats of the Week

Chase, so generously, offered to make brownies for a Superbowl party. As we were getting ready to leave he said, "we're never buying Aldi brownies again. Brownies are supposed to be flaky on top and these are fluffy like a cake. I even tried to flatten them down with my oven mitt!"
Having more faith in Aldi brand than my husband's cooking I asked, "well did you make the cake that was in the cabinet?" Checking the cabinet we found the brownie box quietly untouched!! LOL!!
He made one delicious cake...even though his heart was set in brownies, poor fella.

P.S. I love how loyal he is...still sporting the Brown's gear!

Monday at work we had a SOUPerbowl party. Over the past three years this has become one of my favorite school days. I always get to see some different faces when we potluck. It's nice to see how some of the other teachers are doing and chat with them. Plus these ladies know a thing or two about soup! I tried the Taco Soup and a Cream Cheese Chicken Chili. Our wonderful PTA made the goodies...red velvet cupcakes-yum!!

After mastering self-control over my Sweet Frog addiction by not going at all in January I have returned to fro-yo. It will have to be on a more limited basis than before...but gosh it's just so good! I shared Sweet Frog with two friends from church who also are amazing volunteers at Xalt!! We had a blast be-bopping along to some Jamie Grace and chatting about life.

Times with friends and good food cannot be beat!

Improv Class

Chase and I attended our first improv class on Sunday with the Charlotte Comedy Theater. Taking these classes has been Chase's dream since he moved down to NC in 2009. We have been to a few shows of the improv team and enjoy it every time. So here we go trying it out for ourselves!!

We car picnicked to make sure we made it there on time! lol!

The class was surprisingly big, 19 people were there.  Everyone was over 18, of course, but acting like kids on a playground...perfect for Chase and I, that's how we act every Wednesday night at Fusion.  We played some super fun warm-ups including one called Samurai.  

Samurai

The "it" person had to run to someone and slice them with their fake sword, the victim screamed in agony while drawing their sword upward in defense.  However, while their sword was up the people on either side of them swung devastating blows to that same victims mid section.  The victim then became the "it" person and started the cycle all over again.  Did I mention each person had to scream war cries the whole time? Sounds like a fun student ministry game, if you ask me!!

This first class had the emphasis of knowing that we do not have to try to be funny, just simply be yourself and funny will come! I liked that about it. 

We also learned A LOT about teamwork: 

• being there for one another 
• taking one for the team (looking stupid for several minutes or simply saying "the")
• playing off another teammate's idea or character 

The trainer talked about how when you learn improv, you retrain your brain to use the left and right sides at the same time.  How cool?! While looking like crazy people we are becoming smarter!! AH!

Let me know if you've ever done a class or club similar to this.

Tell me about your experience. 

Recreating Pumpkin Show

Envying everyone's Pumpkin Show Facebook status's then driving with an Adele CD in is a bad combination. It made me sad! So I got to thinking and Chase was so sweet about deciding to spend our evening recreating the greatest free show on earth!!

The pumpkin patch was our obvious first stop. A local church sets out tons of pumpkins in their front yard and sells them as a fundraiser for their mission trip. Willow helped us pick out the perfect pumpkin, not too big, not too small, pretty rounded but not perfectly.

For a fair-like dinner we went to Uncle Bucks where fried food can be found everyday. The next time you're there try the bunless burger with 'mashed taters.' delish!!
The closest thing to the large variety of sweets the pumpkin show has to offer was Sweet Frog, our local froyo shop. Too bad they didn't have pumpkin flavored froyo.

That night we had plans to attend the downtown ghost walk. The tour goes through the historical district, tales of the cities history as well as particular individuals history were shared by our guide who is a local pastor. Our group was bigger than average which made the experience of walking city streets hemmed in by a crowd of people even more authentic for our purpose.

Recreating the Pumpkin Show was a complete success. The Pumpkin Show is a must see so visit Ohio in the Fall and make sure to go the third week of October! If you ever find yourself pinning for some hometown traditions think outside the gourd and recreate.

Partners

Chase and I started running fairly consistently in the mid summer.  At first we had some bad experiences working out together which had nothing to do with me being slow and whiny.

I, like most girls, have a hard time working out without a partner. I thought what better workout partner than my main man, my partner for life.  Well...our ideas about working out, our pace, and our attitudes are totally different which caused a few humorous and probably overly dramatic tiffs.

I mean, you know, when you are out of shape and you run a mile or two it's not a great time to be asked "are you ok?" "why are you breathing like that?" On the other hand, trying to get into shape with a partner who runs the pace of the tortoise from the good ole story The Tortoise and the Hare, could be challenging. In my defense the tortoise does end up winning!!
 
I think you get the picture, we had a rocky start.  Through this workout war we've compromised, negotiated, cheated, encouraged each other, and become better partners. It took some time, a few trial and errors, several apologies (ugh that darn pride'll get you every time), and time management but I think we've found a good routine for ourselves.

Here's to being ready for the Color Run and the Tough Mudder (just Chase)!!

Today we enjoyed a nice soggy run through a local park.

Computer Fail

This Fall I'll be taking online classes toward a Master's in Counseling. My first week of class just ended Sunday. That afternoon I needed to turn in an article review and do a timed quiz so I turned on the computer and opened the Internet to find it wasn't connecting.

Oh No!!!!

This had never been a problem before, of course the time it acts up is the day of a deadline. Isn't that just how it seems to go? No fear though...my terrific husband came to the rescue and stayed on the phone for over an hour working everything out!! I love that guy!

Favorite Things

July's Favorite Things  

This romper I bought from Marshall's last summer for my sister-in-laws' rehearsal dinner.  Happy One year Anniversary!!!

That seashell wall paper is also...GONE!!!

Spending the mission trip and just everyday time with Xalt students! If you aren't already involved in a church whether it's attending the main service or a small group, give it a shot! It just might brighten your life!

$10 floral wedges from The Shoe Department

The midnight premier of The Dark Knight Rises and all of the conversations  since then dissecting it with the ultimate Batman fan aka my husband!! If you have a question about the trilogy he's seriously the person to ask.

The dance for Sunday's So You Think You Can Dance message about Career {video to come} and the super fun ladies who joined in, the guys are pretty cool too (and amazingly talented) I just don't have a picture of them.

Our one day visit to Virginia!! {that's a post in and of itself...more to come}

Thanks to Dancing with Ashley for the link up!!

 

Breakfast for Dinner

Who can resist french toast for dinner? 

Definitely NOT us!!

Last night after swimming a few laps 

we cooked up some french toast.

Swimming for exercise and french toast for dinner...

probably cancel each other out but oh well!

My legs were jello but my stomach was full of goodness!!

 

There is just something about breakfast food 

during a relaxing weekend

that puts the icing on the cake! 

Maybe it's because growing up and still when I travel home

we eat an amazing weekend breakfast

or just the word "SYRUP" (say it to yourself a few times)

Weird, huh?

What I do know is I love breakfast foods!

They remind me to stop and smell the rose shaped pancakes.

What do you do to top off your weekend?

Summer Vaca

Having the summers off allows me to spend time with the Xalt students!

And I love it!!

There's been Sweet Frog dates

late night Taco Bell

(with no worry of being out too late)

Summer Lunch Crew

(we pick a restaurant and eat lunch together)

sand volleyball

and more dance rehearsal...!!!

Having the summer off also means spending Monday with Chase.

Last Sunday night, we went camping.

Willow even got to come along. 

I don't think she loved it but 

it may grow on her.

For dinner we cooked potatoes in the fire

then roasted...bacon.

That was a first

but it tasted good!

 

Between all of that, I spent time with the puppster

and worked around the house.

I even finished the 5th Harry Potter Book! 

My last Les Lit was ages ago...eek!
Speaking of Willow, she's spending a few weeks with our parents
so hopefully there won't be any damages to report. 

Fiesta~ing

Cinco De Mayo...what an awesome weekend for a party or better yet a birthday!

We kicked off my husband's birthday weekend by going to a show put on by the Charlotte Comedy Theater. If you are ever looking for a laugh in the Charlotte area they have shows Friday through Sunday, all improv comedy. It's located in The Music Factory area which includes a music hall that actually used to be a factory! How cool is that?! To see what a Charlotte improv show is all about click here.

Does he look 25 or what?

The best birthday present: SLEEPING IN, followed by "Oats and Toast" (Chase's fave and only breakfast option), then relaxing on the couch for a while before taking the dog to let off some energy.

That evening, we went to Sticky Fingers...D-licious!!
We actually went there for the first time on Valentine's Day.
Everything tasted just as yummy as the first time! If you want to go there for a birthday, they do give a free bread pudding served with ice cream. I had never heard of bread pudding before but we liked it.

Some friends invited us over to swim that night. Night swimming in a heated pool is so peaceful plus we had a great view of the Super Moon.

Well if you have a birthday coming up or just want to go on a date, try a few of those ideas, Chase enjoyed them for his bday (at least I hope so). Also, let me know some of your fave bday traditions. 

NYC: Brooklyn to Central Park!

Spending 20 hours in line didn't stop us from making the most of New York for the rest of Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday we had a late brunch with my friends from Brooklyn, who I stayed with while I interned at Miller Evangelical Church a few summers ago.  We had a great visit with them!  

Chase and I took the subway headed back to Manhattan, our first stop was Ground Zero.  We walked around a church that is right across the street from the site, inside there were stations all around calling the passerby's to remember, pray, and honor those who lost their lives.  From there we walked toward Wall St. where we passed the famous bull.  Once we entered the Port area, where tourists go to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we joined a crowd of spectators watching four men break dance and putting on a show.  One of the guys jump/flipped over 6 people...woah! All of that was on our way to the Staten Island Ferry which is free and provides a great view of Liberty, herself.  This also gave us a chance to sit and relax our legs while taking in the view.  

We turned into tourist robots, after that.  We haggled in Chinatown, ate Italian in Little Italy, and even (I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this) got a caricature of us done!! Chase is playing a banjo shaped instrument with six strings and I look like I'm singing down at the smoke filled jazz club. LOL!

(INSERT SNL experience...again The Chase Place is where it's at)

Saturday turned into a late late night and Sunday had to be early in order to feel any sense of accomplishment.  Central Park started off our morning, we walked about half way through it until we reached this beauty given to the U.S. by Egypt in the 1800's.  A plaque beneath it quotes the hieroglyphics, that are still visible in the stone.  

 Every person in our generation has an urge to walk the steps of Kevin, from Home Alone, through F.A.O Schwarz.  Highlights from the immaculate toy store:

Insane Lego Talent!

The BIG Piano

The Trump Tower, Tiffany's (including a lady getting her picture taken while eating breakfast), and  Magnolia Bakery (featured in The Devil Wear's Prada) were all part of the scenic route back to our hotel.  We did all of this with plenty of time to spare before check out! Holla!!