Saturday, February 27, 2010

this just in...(as of yesterday anyway)

I'm taking a class to become a group fitness instructor. YAY! I'm super duper excited about it! Who wouldn't want to get paid to work out, right? I start the 20th and it's every Saturday for 6 weeks or so. Although this doesn't officially certify me to be a group fitness instructor, it helps me understand how to teach a class and gives me a chance to teach some "pretend" classes. If I decide I like it (which I think I'll probably decide I love it), I hope to get officially certified!

In other news~
* Jed(Mike's best friend and the best man in our wedding) is arriving tomorrow to visit us.
* I'm changing jobs on Monday...still staying with my current company and working from home, also keeping some of my same responsibilities, but will be able to learn additional technical skills as well!! I'm a firm believer that 'change' is always exciting(even though it take a little while to understand the change) but I'm bummed to be leaving my current team.
* Stuart and I are visiting Nebraska soon.
* Mike is changing shifts at work from District 1(monuments, national mall) to District 3(north DC) ~ He's excited for the change!
* Mike's parents are coming to visit soon also.

Looking forward to all the excitement in the Carpenter household!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Happy Birthday to...

BOULEVARD!!

Today is Boulevard's 5th birthday! It seems like yesterday when Mike got him and he was a ball of fur at 20 pounds, then shot up to 95 lbs practically overnight, and now maintains a healthy 80-85 lbs.
And who had to miss this monumental birthday?? Mike!! Let's see if I get this right ~ Mike worked 10pm last night to 10am today, then had his annual federal physical until 11:30ish, then slept at the police station's "quiet room" to be ready to work 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow. I've been with Mike almost 5 1/2 years and it still amazes me at what a crazy work schedule he has sometimes. But I've learned not to give him too much pity since he'll be off tomorrow morning until Saturday night. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOULEVARD!! We love you!

P.S. Mike said he was going to brush you and give you a bath this week so you better hold him to it!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Attitude

As I take my lunch break today, my mind is racing about all the things I have left that I'd like to get done at work today since my day tomorrow is jam-packed with meetings.
I obtained the following from Hyman's Seafood in Charleston, SC. The restaurant had a bunch of business card size cards that contained a variety of different sayings, motto's, etc. I'm hoping I can keep this one in mind today and every other day! Some of you have probably seen this before ~

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string, we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our ATTITUDES. ~Author of "Attitude" Chuck Swindoll

I think this is worthy of being posted above my desk at work, along with all over my house!
Happy Monday everyone! Back to work I go...with a positive attitude!!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Two things I've learned in my travels...

1.) I eat way too much food ~ Typically I gain about 5 lbs on a week vacation and Mike usually loses 5 lbs. How is that fair?
2.) I don't drink enough water ~ Mike and I headed to the gym last Friday when we got back from Charleston and we both felt really dehydrated! UGH!
Hopefully I'll get better at both of the above for our next travels. On to the vacation...

Charleston, SC was excellent! It was so beautiful and filled with history, obviously. I tried to learn some of this history on the various tours we took but it was SO much! My brain was on history overload. Here's a run-down of our adventures ~ Took a carriage tour, walked and walked and walked, hit some happy hours, went to the "only tea plantation in America," went to the Firefly Vondka distillery and sampled vodka, went to the Irvin House vineyard and sampled wine, ate some of Jason's yummy cooking, visited Fort Moultrie, visited Fort Sumter, and ate "all you can eat shrimp and crab legs. I think that about covers it in a nutshell! Thanks to Beth and Jason for inviting us on the trip. It was great to see you guys!

Well, the snow hit and it hit hard! Schools were off the entire week last week, off today for President's Day, and some are delayed or closed tomorrow. Federal offices were closed Monday-Thursday of last week. It's craziness! The snow was pretty incredible. We were here for the storm on the 5th, left the 7th for Charleston, then the second storm hit on the 10th. I just uncovered my car yesterday from all the snow. Mike started the uncovering on Saturday and I finished it on Sunday. Crazy! I really don't think I've ever seen this much snow in my lifetime. I remember some big storms in the NE when I was younger but I'm not sure I've seen this much snow in such a short time. Compared to the 7.5 inches we received last winter season, 72 inches is quite a shock so far for this season...with more projected before the season is over!

We have some visitors coming over the next month! Jed(Mike's Best Man in our wedding) is coming in a few weeks and Mike's parents are visiting at the end of March. Looking forward to it...but I supposed that means we are due for a deep cleaning of the house. UGH!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Not again!!

16-24 inches of snow projected for this Friday/Saturday...rotten, just absolutely rotten. Maryland does not get snow's like this!! Well, that's what I'm told anyway ~ "The rainfall and snowfall has been above average this fall/winter." Really?? Because I think it's been "above average" since we moved here.
Not looking forward to this stinkin' snow!! Eventually, we're going to live in a place that has one season...SUMMER!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Mike!

Just a quick message to declare Happy Birthday to Mike today! I love you babe!

Since Mike has to work tonight, we did some celebrating on Friday. We went to the DC Auto Show where Mike proceeded to sit in the Chevy Camaro for about 15 minutes. :) I have a bad feeling that owning a Camaro is in our fairly near future(maybe the 2011 model will be a convertible??). After the auto show we headed to Ruth Chris Steakhouse in Baltimore with Tim and Nikki. Mike and I both declared this as the best meal we've had so far in 2010. I had Lobster Bisque Soup, then lobster and a filet, then a chocolate/espresso cake, all with some yummy wine...it was DEEE-licious!!

Mike doesn't have to go to work tonight until 10pm so I think we are headed to Noodles & Co. to utilize Mike's noodlegram birthday coupon. :)

Happy Birthday Mike! Luv u lots and lots!