my tv has no sound and I need to tell everyone I know!!

Since I have no sound coming out of my TV, I headed to the internet to calm me down. :) While I'm here, I thought I'd update the blog!

First of all ~ exciting news that I haven't shared yet ~ Mike received the 'Officer of the Month' award for December for his district, which is made up of about 80 officers all together(I think anyway!). Congratulations to my hubby on his award! I haven't seen any proof or certificate but I trust he is telling me the truth, right Mike? :)

Today I had to go to the post office because I've been procrastinating sending some documents that were due to their location by December 31st. (in short, they were documents registering a free trip we got awhile back) I recognize that overnighting a package is not a new service but I took the documents in around 1pm or so and they are being overnighted to California. She said they will be there by 12pm tomorrow. Seriously?? Think about that...less than 24 hours later, my small little envelope will reach it's destination on the other side of the United States? Think about it...that is pretty darn cool. And that's quite the coordination to make sure that envelope is on the plane along with all the other overnight packages. Again, I realize this is not some new service but for some reason I really got to thinking about how awesome that is! Especially when I procrastinate!

Christmas at the Carpenter household was a success...Tim & Nikki came over, we ate, we played a board game, and played wii. Always a good time. We missed our families...but were grateful we didn't get the snow storm the midwest received. It did, however rain most of Christmas Day and into the 26th, which resulted in melting all the snow we had left! The ground is finally dry and we can take the dogs out now without having to wipe their paws off before coming into the house. It's the little things that make me happy!!!

Well ~ Happy New Year to you all! Hope your 2010 is filled with love and new exciting adventures!
P.S. Congrats to my cousin and fellow blogger Janna on the birth of their 5th child, Owen! What a blessing! :)

lots of sun and lots of snow

We're back in the U.S. from Mexico and we were warmly greeted with about 1.5 feet of snow! Lucky us!
Mexico was fantastic! I, personally, did a whole lot of laying around and reading(and probably way too much eating)...spent some time at the spa(which I've never really done before) and hung out with Mike's parents. The resort wasn't crowded at all, which was very nice! We spent some time in Playa Del Carmen and I would definitely recommend Playa over Cancun if you plan to go to that area of Mexico. Mike was able to get his advanced diving certification through Phantom Divers while we were there so he was diving all day Monday and 1/2 day Tuesday. On Tuesday, he encountered some sort of 6 foot shark...YIKES! On Wednesday, Mike and I took an excursion to Selvatica for the 'Extreme Canopy Adventure.' We were able to experience 12 ziplines(and both of us ziplined upside down too!! even "scared of heights" Mike did!) and we swam in a beautiful cenote. Thursday was another lazy day and we got to the Cancun airport around 10:30am on Friday.

Our flight out of Cancun was delayed because Miami was having rain and tornado warnings. We finally left Cancun at 3pm, arrived in Miami, and sprinted to our connecting gate, after going through all the Customs hoopla. I proudly won the race to our gate...Mike may be able to bench 2,000 lbs but I can outrun him any day. :) Luckily our flight into DC was also delayed so we didn't miss it. Then we landed in D.C. to a couple inches of snow, drove home, and woke up to about 7 inches. It snowed all day Saturday with an accumulation of probably 1.5 feet. They finally got our sidewalks scooped this afternoon so I don't have to carry Stuart to the partially clear street anymore for him to do his duty. :)

~Enjoy some photos of our trip ~

(At Selvatica)

(Me ~ ziplining into the cenote)

(All of us ~ 5 beers and nachos for $10! Can't beat that deal!)

(Enjoying some wine on one of the beds by the pool.)

the snow has finally arrived

Maryland has finally received some snow...which I'm sure means the entire east coast will be shutting down for the day. LOL! And with the snow comes Mike and Kirsten turning our furnace on for the first time this winter. We made it to December 5th with no furnace which I'd say is pretty good. Here is a picture of Stuart "enjoying" the snow. (well for 5 minutes anyway) :)

This last Thursday, Mike was able to get me a ticket to the National Christmas Tree Lighting in the Ellipse by the White House. I had a great seat and was able to snap many pictures and record a few videos. Let's see...who was all there? President Obama + family, Vice President Joe Biden + family, Sheryl Crow, Randy Jackson, Jordin Sparks, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus...and many more. It was a great time and the weather was pretty good for it also. It was a bit breezy but could have been worse probably. Here are some photos and a video(sorry for the videography!)

Obama saying goodbye.

The countdown!

a few firsts for us

We've had a few "firsts" over the last month.

1) Mike and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. We had a lot of fun...we spent it with Tim & Nikki at their place. Traditional dinner ~ Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, and a cake...oh and some yummily seasoned popcorn...all very delicious. We played bowling on the Wii and then played Yatzee. It's always a great time with Tim & Nikki...I really look forward to hanging out with them. They'll be coming to our place for Christmas (as long as they don't jet off on a vacation.) :)

(It took us six attempts to get the above picture -- some puppies(and I won't name any names) wouldn't cooperate)

(Mike and Tim seem to be just as uncooperative as the pups - Nik looks beautimous though...Thanks Nikki!)

2) I wore my winter coat for the first time last night. :) I've been getting by with a sweatshirt and scarf but last night on the way to volleyball, I just couldn't take the wind so I bundled up in a sweatshirt, scarf, and my winter coat.

3) Mike and I enjoyed a lovely date night at Iron Bridge Wine company(Mike's first time there) a week or so ago. We went all out with appetizer, entree, dessert, and wine. It was both of our first time eating Foie Gras...very yummy.

As I was telling Kate and Adena at dinner last Saturday...Life is great, but nothing earth-shattering to report. Life is fantastic just the way it is! So thankful for my husband and kids(aka Stuart and Boulevard) during this holiday season.

P.S. Are you still trying to GET ACTIVE?(see previous post) Keep up the good work. I'm still working hard at my "Cross-train to win" competition. Up today is kickboxing and either Cross-Training or Water Aerobics ~ I haven't quite decided.

Are you up for the challenge?

The 'group class' division of our gym is running a couple competitions right now and I am participating in one of them...Cross Train to Win. Very simple really ~ Whoever takes the most group classes between 11/15 and 1/15 wins the pot of money (It was $10 to join the competition). The catch is that you have to take at least 3 different types/genre's of classes each week or you are booted out of the competition. This was my week in summary:
Monday ~ 1 hr Body Sculpt & 1 hr Kickboxing
Tuesday ~ 1 hr Kickboxing
Wednesday ~ 45 min Body Sculpt & 45 min Step
Thursday ~ 1 hr Pilates
Friday ~ Everyone needs a day off, right?
Saturday ~ 1 hr Step
Sunday ~ 1 hr Beach Body Sculpt & 1 hr Step

So I'm off to a good start...hopefully I can maintain it for 2 months. My question to you is: What are you doing to stay active and healthy? I will admit that I probably don't have the best nutrition(although I have gotten A LOT better since living with Mike) but I do enjoy being active and taking on a challenge. My goal earlier this year was to complete a marathon and although I didn't run it, my goal of training for it was met. And my goal over the next two months is to win this competition...I could use some extra money!

I challenge all of you to GET ACTIVE! It doesn't matter if you're 500 lbs or 100 lbs...GET ACTIVE! Set a goal for yourself and after you reach that goal, set the next one...walk for 15 minutes over your lunch break, take a walk with your family every night, join a gym, get a personal trainer, join Jazzercise, find a partner to work out with, ride your bike for 30 minutes a day...just get moving. Start out slow and build up as you achieve your goals. We all hop on and off of the fitness bandwagon(including myself) but I encourage you to jump on and see how it makes you feel...you'll have more energy, you'll feel better about yourself, and maybe you'll lose those extra pounds you've been carrying.

Life is TOO short...do you want to make it even shorter because you're "too busy" to go on a 30 minute walk each day? GET ACTIVE people! Don't wait until 2010...start NOW! That's my challenge for you!

P.S. Mike says that if you're up for the challenge, please don't join our gym. :) Apparently he's anticipating an over crowding of gym equipment after the first of the year. :) (I'm sure he's joking!)

healthy skin

I went to the dermatologist today because I had some weird looking moles that I wanted checked out. The doctor gets to this new "mole"(not really a mole at all but some other type of "growth" she named off) on my knee and she asks me if I've ever had anything frozen off. I say no and she grabs this gun looking thing and proceeds to tell me that it will sting, etc, etc. I say, "You're going to do this now?" She's says yes and that it will just sting a little. :) I have a low tolerance for pain and typically my immediate reaction is tears and panic. If she would have compared my blood pressure when I got to the doctor's office versus at that moment, it definitely would have been elevated. This coming from the girl that cried the first time I had my blood taken out of a vein in my arm when I was 17 or 18.

But I just looked away and it really wasn't so bad...no tears shed. She zapped it a few times, check my entire body for irregular moles/spots, gave me a lecture about tanning in a tanning bed(which I officially swore off after the wedding due to this), zapped it a few more times, and I was on my way. I was in and out in about 15 minutes with no additional irregularities found!

family, family, and more family

I got back to Maryland yesterday to a freshly vacuumed home and a jumping bean of a Stuart.

It's nice to be back in MD but it's always bitter-sweet to leave family and friends.
Speaking of family and friends, I got to see both my dad's family AND mom's family on my trip to NE. Although the gathering together of my mom's family wasn't under the happiest circumstances, it was still fantastic to see them. We also had our annual family fall festival on my dad's side so I was able to see most of them as well. I did spend one evening out with some girlfriends and worked from the Lincoln office on Thursday and Friday so I was able to see some friends too.

While in NE, I also got my Christmas shopping done for my two nieces and two nephews. That was pretty impressive for me...usually I wait until closer to Christmas to do my shopping. But buying in NE saves on shipping costs. ;)

When I got home yesterday I asked Mike, "So can you live without me?" He shrugs his shoulders. I realize that men don't "get it" sometimes so I typically give Mike two chances to provide the "correct" answer. I say, "Let me try that again...did you realize over the last week that you can't live without me?" He says, "Well I can live without you but I wouldn't be happy." BINGO ~ Nice recovery Mike...dang he's good(even if it does take him two tries to get it right)!

Next on our agenda is a trip to Mexico with Mike's parents that Mike booked last week while I was gone. I'm feeling pretty blessed this holiday season...I was been able to see my side of the family last week and get to see Mike's parents in December.

A+ wife / backpacking trip

Not to toot my own horn or anything :) but I earned the "A+ wife award" yesterday!! Mike even said so! It started out that Mike texted me on Sunday that he was hungry for meatloaf. So I thought meatloaf is easy enough that I could do that for his lunch/dinner on Monday. When Mike wakes up at 3:30pm to get ready for work, I'm still at work but meatloaf is quick and easy to throw into the oven. So, he woke up to meatloaf for his lunch before he left for work at 4:30pm.
THEN, yesterday Mike said "We are having a food day at work tomorrow...could you make the pasta salad?" So I made that last night and I decided to throw in an Amaretto Bundt Cake that I've been wanting to make also.
All the above leading to my A+ Wife Award yesterday! YAY! (well I'd like to say I'm an A+ wife every day but Mike may have a different opinion :))

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We survived our overnight back-pack trip last weekend. We arrived on Friday evening to the A.T. It was pretty late, since I worked Friday and it was an hour's drive, but we were able to get in a pretty difficult 4 mile hike before it became too dark. Then we were grateful to get a shelter for the night...it was kind of rainy that night and I don't think I could have survived in a tent, especially if I would have been cold and wet.

We hiked to Annapolis Rock...pretty good view of the colors even though it was pretty foggy and getting dark out.

Here is the shelter we stayed at...whoever thought of the "shelter idea" is a genius! Now if they could install some cots to have a better night sleep, I would be in heaven.

Boulevard came with us and Stuart was boarded at the vet. We tied Boulevard into the shelter with us and he snuggled with Mike all night. At about 1:30am(while I'm trying to get some sleep on the uncomfortable hard floor), Boulevard let out a ferocious growl. My head was in the sleeping bag and I decided to leave it there and hope that whatever was out there would be scared of Boulevard. :) In the morning, Mike said that two hikers came near the shelter which caused Boulevard to growl...I felt kind of bad especially if they were wanting to share the shelter with us but grateful that Boulevard was ready to attack if he had too.

We left around 9am on Saurday morning.

What did I learn from this experience? 1) I need a lighter sleeping bag to carry, 2) I need a sleeping pad and a more supporting "pillow" to achieve a better sleeping experience, 3) I don't think I could survive overnight hiking without Mike.

Can you believe it's November already? I think it's about time to whip out the Christmas music!

October is almost over already

Here's the happenings in October for the Carpenter family ~
Mid-October: We've been in Maryland for a year already...crazy how time flies!
October: It is amazingly beautiful out here during this time so Mike and I have been enjoying riding the motorcycle and enjoying the beauty of Fall.
October 18th: Celebrated our 1 month anniversary...well not really celebrated but recognized due to Mike reminding me. He even had to say "Do you know what today is?" After not catching on right away, he had to follow it up by saying "Remember what happened 30 days ago?" Then I remembered! ;)
October 25th: Marine Corps Marathon - I have been training for this marathon since the end of June or so and I decided about two weeks before the 25th that I wasn't going to run it. Surprisingly, it was a pretty emotional decision. In summary, I went on a 17 mile run about 3 weeks before the marathon and it was incredibly painful physically. I've battled IT Band issues on my left side, which causes pain in your knee, since about one month after I started training. The 17 mile run caused pain in my right side as well so...as a result, I didn't want this to be the end of my running career so I decided, with many tears shed, that I wasn't going to run it. :( I did go and watch and it was AMAZING. 30,000 runners!! Phenomenal experience just to be a spectator!!
October 28th: Stuart's 2-year anniversary of his adoption. He certainly doesn't like to remember his days in the Humane Society as "Tyler." (what a silly name - Stuart is MUCH better!) We are grateful to have him in our family!!
October 30-31: To finish off the month, we are going on an overnight back-packing trip on the A.T. (Appalachian Trail) I've never been on an overnight back-packing experience but I'm excited to use my pack I bought this summer and I'm sure we'll come across many thru-hikers so it'll be fun to hear about their experiences.

I think that about sums it up. Shhhh...I'm off to sneak some of my belongings into Mike's pack without him knowing. :)

girls

Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm madly in love with my husband. If there was only me and one other person left on this earth, I would, hands down, want it to be Mike.

That said, there is something to be said for some quality girl time. Yesterday it was rainy(I think it was the fourth straight day of rain here) and it would have been very easy for me to just lay on the couch all day, read, eat some food, watch TV, etc. But I emerged from my blanket cocoon to go to lunch with two of my close girlfriends. Lunch was followed by a mission of shopping to find some boots for Kate, which was followed by 5 hours of talking and laughing at Adena's place. It's so refreshing to the soul to chat about the normal girl stuff...boys, shopping, perfume, clothes, etc.

It was a great 10-hour Saturday with "the girls."

a great start to my morning *insert sarcasm here*

My typical morning was disrupted today with a spill down the first section of stairs in our townhome. I usually wake up and head downstairs...grab my work laptop on my way to get it fired up(it takes numerous clicks and one restart each morning to get me up and running for the day) as I take the dogs out, start my breakfast, and make my tea. With my work laptop in hand, I head toward the stairs and whoosh...legs fly out from under me, laptop crashes into my face, my work planner flies out of my hands, Stuart bolts downstairs, I thump thump thump down the stairs on my back side, and scream bloody murder.

**Last night was Mike's short night so he got home around 3am and was still sleeping**

Within seconds, Mike was bolted out of bed, threw Boulevard in the bedroom, and was sitting on the stairs next to me asking me if I was ok as I was moaning and groaning and crying. AND...yep I'm ok, my lip was a little swollen and my already "bad back" is a little sore but I'm healthy and alive with no broken bones. :) I proceed to gather up my laptop (by the way...there were no injuries to the laptop either because I never let go of it) :) and head downstairs and poor Stuart is cowering near the front door. I'm guessing he probably thought my screams were directed toward him(because typically when I raise my voice, I'm yelling at him). LOL! But we all survived!

Mike later told me that I probably woke up people 5 blocks away with my screams! Ooops!

snow in Nebraska??

While Nebraska was enduring snow this weekend...we had an 80 degree day on Friday and some 60 degree days on Saturday and Sunday.
Since the weather was projected to be so nice on Friday, I took the day off and Mike and I enjoyed the fabulous weather. We decided to go on a steam train ride out in western Maryland(about 2 hours away) because it was "almost peak" colors out there. The train ride was fun, got to have lunch at the historic Princess Restaurant in Frostburg, and then took the train back. We drove home and then went to dinner and then a movie. We had free tickets to the movie...how else would I have got Mike to go to the theater with me and watch "Couples Retreat." :) The movie was very funny by the way, I recommend it ~ and Mike liked it too.

"something bad happened"

Here is a conversation that happened last night as I called Mike while he was working ~

Mike: "Hey"
Kirsten: "Hi. Something bad happened."
Mike: "What?"
Kirsten, crying and in hysterics: "I threw up in your truck."
Mike, as calm as can be: "You threw up in the truck?"
Kirsten, still crying and sobbing: "I'm sorry."
Mike, still perfectly calm and maybe even laughing: "It's ok."
Kirsten, still in tears: "I didn't mean to and now I feel too sick to go out and clean it up. I'm sorry!"
Mike: "It's ok, we'll just clean it up tomorrow."

Lesson Learned: Throwing up in you husband's truck does not warrant a divorce. :) Whew! :)

P.S. I know you are all concerned about the vomitting episode ~ I'm not really sure what did it. I think it's the combination of run/walking 14 miles yesterday, drinking too much water while I was running, and my running jelly beans weren't sitting very well. It happened on my way home from the run. I feel perfectly fine now.
Now, I need to get out to the truck to clean it up. UGH!

Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter

Before I begin the wedding report, just asking for prayers for the Chase family as my Grandpa Chase passed away this last Wednesday. Even though we are miles apart, Mike and I want to send our love and support to my family and all who have been touched by Bill Chase's life! We love you and this is definitely a difficult time for all of us! Hugs!!

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WEDDING

It was definitely the best day of my life!(hopefully Mike agrees!? :)) There is nothing that went wrong, from my perspective...it was everything we hoped it would be. Every day since the wedding, I find myself daydreaming and always thinking back to the events of September 18, 2009. Here's a summary of events:
* Mike left for Ocean City on Wednesday to obtain our marriage license and spend time with some friends that were already in Ocean City.
* Mom and I left on Thursday morning, picked Emilie up from the airport, and got to OC around 4pm.
* We pretty much spent 2 hours in the hotel lobby greeting people as they arrived to Ocean City. We congregated in the hotel restaurant/bar for the majority of the evening as people continued to arrive. We both went to our rooms around 11pm Thursday night...Mike stayed in his own room and I stayed with Mom.
* I didn't really sleep a wink the entire night. I wasn't really nervous but I kept thinking of everything that had to get done the next day. Around 5:30am, I started not feeling well...as in dry-heaving and nauseous. Mom and I ordered some room service to get some food in my system. Beth popped some popcorn and I munched on that to get more food into my body. I make it sound like I wasn't eating and that's true but it wasn't intentional...Thursday was such a busy day so I didn't think to eat much. I jumped in the shower around 8:15am. We left the room around 9am as I was still extremely nauseous and needing to hurl. Robin(Mike's sister) gave me a pop tart and I think that's what healed me for the day.
* At 9am, we worked on decorating the reception hall -- Thanks to everyone who helped!! It turned out beautiful!
* At 10:30am, we had rehearsal on the beach and at 11:30 we had our bridal party/family lunch on the beach at Seacrets.
* We were done with the lunch by 1:15pm and we had to be ready by 3pm for pictures. The girls took over Mike and my suite and got busy getting ready. Emilie curled my hair and Beth did my makeup. We didn't have much time to get ready but we were ready to go by 3:15pm or so.
* Pictures started in the "Guy's Room" and then the photographer came to the "Girl's Room." Mike and I saw each other for the first time on the hotel beach. Then the bridal party jumped into vehicles and headed to the boardwalk and ocean side beach for more pictures.
* We got back to the hotel around 5:15pm and started family/formal pictures.
* We were done with pics by 6:15, then waited as all the guests arrived. The ceremony was at 6:45pm on the hotel's beach and then the reception was from 7-11pm. The reception was super duper fun and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.
* Mike and I left the reception around 11:15pm while many others kept the celebration going by heading to Seacrets for the remainder of their evening.

It was such an amazing day! It was very busy but it was a perfect day! Our families, bridesmaids, and groomsmen made the day fantastic...everyone was so helpful and I was so grateful that there were so many people willing to help! I know I sent many people on "wild goose chases" and they willingly took the task. It was a blessing to have our family, bridal party, and wedding guests there to celebrate such an amazing day.
Thank you also to those that weren't able to attend the celebration ~ thank you for keeping us in your thoughts, in your prayers, for your cards, gifts, and well-wishes!

I hope all newly-wed couples feel like we do when they get/got married...words really can't describe how amazing life is right now.

Finally, thank you to my fabulous husband! You are truly an amazing person and I'm so excited to continue our life together in marriage forever. I think we said on our honeymoon that are goal is 75 years of marriage, right??...that would make me 103 years old. :) Can't wait for our next honeymoon! Love you Mike!

Hope to post pics soon(if you're on Facebook, you can check some out that our family and friends have posted~when we get ours from the photographer, I'll get some posted)...I will soon provide a run-down of the honeymoon!

love is in the air...

We're off to get married...see some of you in the next few hours and I'll see some of you back here on the blog when all the events are over. I'll have a full report.
77 degrees, partly couldy, 20% chance of rain...I'll TAKE IT!!

5 years

While 9/11 for most across the world brings memories of New York and the acts of terrorism that occurred, it also brings a small celebration to the Hansmeyer/Carpenter household. Yesterday was Mike and my five year anniversary, not to mention 7 more days until we get a new date to celebrate our anniversary. Five years down, many many many more exciting years and adventures to come.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families who lost their loved one's in 9/11!

and the countdown continues...

Only 9 days until the wedding!! The projected temperature on the 18th is 80 degrees and partly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. I would really like that weather on our wedding day ~ let's hope it doesn't change too much.

Happy Wednesday!

fish tank anyone?

I stole this picture from one of my girlfriends but it is too unbelievable not to show others. This is a picture of someone driving down the beltway at 60-65 mph with one of their back doors open and a fish tank hanging out. Each time I look at this picture, I cannot believe...who in their right mind would do this? Not to mention, certainly you would pass some sort of law enforcement on your drive...seriously someone you know has a truck or SUV that you could have borrowed.

In other news, Mike and about 50 guys(ok, that's an exageration...probably 15 guys) went to Atlantic City, NJ for his DC/MD Bachelor party. I'm sure he'll have many stories to tell tomorrow when he gets home.
But, the party starts for me on Saturday morning. I get a second bachelorette party with my DC/MD peeps in Baltimore. I don't have 15 but I have 3 exceptional ladies that I'll be spending the weekend with and I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm getting picked up at 11am on Saturday and brought home by 3pm on Sunday.
Wedding plans are come together nicely. As of tonight, I think everything is ready except some of the perishable items we will have to pick up closer to the wedding date. I'm darn ready to be married to Mike!! I'm also darn ready to not have to think about wedding stuff anymore. And I'm darn ready to see my family and friends!!! Not to mention the week long honeymoon we get to enjoy. I'm so excited for the all the events that will occur in a week and 8 days!! (doesn't that sound better than 2 weeks and 1 day?)

this week in pictures

First of all...2 weeks and 5 days 'til the big day! YAY!

Mike came home from running his errands on Friday with these lovely flowers for ME! Aren't they so pretty?? I love pink and I love my fiance!!

I got off work Thursday and came downstairs to see the Mike had updated our dry-erase calendar with part of the month of September. However, I noticed some interesting tasks(written in black) for the six days leading up to September 18(our wedding day).

10th - New Cell Phone

11th - Cancel Lease

14th - Sell Truck

15th - Close Bank Account

16th - Pack for Boulevard

17th - Leave Country

I told Mike that it was a little bit funny...but not really...and I'll be hiding his passport!! :)

This next picture isn't from this week but a few weeks ago after Brooke and I ran 13.1 miles for one of our long runs...I took my shoe off to reveal this--> kinda gross but too cool not to share. It drained nicely and I got some new running shoes!

I've been complaining about our living room decor(or lack there of) so we hung some pictures. Here is the before-->

Here is the after ~ It's not much but it helps to pull the room together a little bit and it makes me feel better, which is all that matters really.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

oh how I love you dishwasher!

After about 3 weeks of back and forth between us and the office, our dishwasher is finally fixed and in working order!!
Can I also add how much I hate doing the dishes by hand?? Don't get me wrong, I didn't have a dishwasher in my house that I lived in for over a year in NE...however the difference is that I had the counter space to let them(I hate to say it but will) stack up. But in our itsy bitsy townhome now, we have NO counter-space and no room to allow the dirty dishes to stack up. Not to mention, it really irks Mike when there are lots of dirty dishes sitting out. (Me too but him more so)
So we've each been taking our turn to wash the dishes BY HAND!
No longer though...we now have our dishwasher back. I think one of the best things about a dishwasher is that you get to hide all the dirty dishes! Oh how I love thee!

Alrighty, I'm off work but gotta "go back" to get a few more things done. Just thought I'd share my Tuesday joy with all of you!

3 weeks and 3 days away

Well, it sure has been awhile. I wish I could tell you that I've been SO busy that I haven't been able to blog but, though I have been keeping myself busy, I think lazy may better describe my lack of blogging. So here is a run-down of the Hansmeyer/Carpenter household(soon to be ONLY Carpenter household): :)
3 weeks and 3 days away? ~~Yep, wedding is coming fast and we are getting quite excited. My mother will be thrilled to hear that I'm getting all the "little stuff" done that I've been putting off for quite some time now. It's all coming together nicely but my mom is coming the Sunday before our wedding so I'm sure I'll have plenty of tasks to keep her busy.

Since I last blogged, we got our engagement pictures taken and they turned out great. It helped put my mind at ease for our wedding photos...I have full confidence that our wedding photographs will be great and he'll capture all the excitement of the day! If you want to see our engagement pics, then you better join Facebook :) ...I've posted a good sampling out there. Hopefully it'll be in the Lincoln paper soon too.

In early August, we visited New York(a first for both Mike and I) and it was great. We were able to stay just at the south end of Central Park at the Helmsley Park Lane hotel so we had great access to everything. We walked our butts off and also invested in a 48-hour pass for the double decker bus, which is really the way to go if it's your first time in NY. Get to hop on/hop off anywhere and we were able to see Brooklyn, Harlem, lots of Mahattan. It was a great trip...I'd definitely like to go back.

You'd think since June there has certainly been more excitement than that, right? I think just everyday life is excitement right now. I got involved in a Women's indoor vball team which has been great. The girls don't take it too seriously and it's a nice way to keep connected to vball, not to mention it's only a 15 minute drive.

I am still happily involved in the Book and Cook Club. This month's read was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and I just finished it...I recommend it. I have met some great ladies through the book club and am so thankful that I came across the group and took a chance and joined. Have you joined goodreads.com? Well go join and add me as a friend, I'd love to see what you are reading these days. With book club, I have also found a lost love for the library.(I think Mike has too.) I go there at least once a week for books, CD's, or DVD's. Don't really know what we used to do without the library.

Mike is working quite a bit...he's been picking up some overtime opportunities on his days off which is good because he's not one to be "lazy" very often so it keeps him busy.

Besides wedding planning, I've been in full marathon training form. Brooke(Mike's co-workers and my friend :)) and I have been running our long runs together on Sunday mornings...not really sure I'd survive without her.

The pups are great! Stuart is naughty as ever and Boulevard is perfect as ever...(I only put that in because Mike says Blvd is perfect. I would label them Stu=Perfect, Blvd=naughty)

Ok, I said I'd keep this short and I've proven that I'm unable to do that. I'm dedicated to keeping up the blog...now I'm off to read all of the updates that I've missed from all my blogging friends.
Hi to everyone in DC/MD and miss everyone in NE, WY, TX, and everywhere else!!

have you given up on me?

It's been since May 25th since I blogged?!!? How can that be?

I'm back and life is sort of settling down and will soon get busy with all the wedding hooplah.
We visited NE the first two weeks in June and it was AMAZING to see everyone. I think we basically were on the go every night of the entire two weeks and I was also able to work in the Lincoln office so it was great to work in the same state as my co-workers. The two big events of the trip was my 10-year class reunion the first weekend and then the bridal shower and bachelorette/bachelor parties the next weekend. It was very busy but so nice to see everyone! My college roomy and one of my bridesmaids, Mara SURPRISED me by showing up at my bachelorette party.(she lives in Chicago) It was a complete surprise and it was so fantastic to see her.
We made it back to Maryland on a Monday and Emilie was visiting later that week. She first went to NY for her work and then took the train down to Maryland/D.C. It was fun to have her on the east coast and hang out with her.
Marathon training "officially" starts next week so hopefully I'll be spending a good portion of my evenings or early mornings running. I tend to fall off the running wagon periodically but hopefully I'll stay on track. I just need to keep reminding myself that I need to be in shape to run 26 miles in October.
Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

back-up hard drive = critical investment

Well Mike's computer's hard drive crashed! UGH! Not to mention that ALL of our pictures were saved on Mike's computer, BUT our wedding guest list, wedding invite, and a variety of other wedding stuff was on it. BLEH! The good news is that Mike was pretty good at backing up our pictures on CD's up until we moved to Maryland. But our wedding guest list?? Not going to lie...that pretty much stinks. AND we've been so good about recycling and not wasting paper by printing un-necessary stuff, so I never printed a hard copy. So, we are buying a detachable back-up hard drive and we will be backing up once a week from now on!!!

Other than the above drama, life has been without drama! I've been doing quite a bit of running and hiking. Work is going good for Mike...he's enjoying his job. Work is going good for me as well...I'm looking forward to working from the Lincoln office next week.

We are headed to visit Nebraska on May 31st and will be leaving on June 14th. Very excited to see everyone!

Feliz Cumpleanos to me! Happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone else!

Today is my 28th birthday! Let's take a peek at how I'm spending the day.
Besides working today, this is what I have enjoyed:

First of all, I received tons of birthday wishes via email, cards, Facebook messages, gifts, texts, and phone calls! I feel awefully special!! THANKS EVERYONE!! I think I received about 10 e-cards from just one person (not naming names...JEN!)...ok I think it was more like 3 or 4 e-cards from her but they were nice surprises throughout the working day!

Mike and I went out to dinner last Friday --- I was trying to do the "red carpet look over the shoulder" pose...good thing I'm not on the red carpet because I don't think I pull it off. :)
On Friday, Mike got me this yummy giant frosted cookie, which I single handedly finished off by Monday! Yum! I couldn't even wait to get home to try it if you see the small piece on the right side missing?!?

We got our new pans delivered today. Aren't they lovely? Can't wait to use them. Although these weren't a birthday gift, it was still fun to pretend they were a gift as I opened the boxes.

I received these flower bouquet's! I got the bouquet on the right from Mike on Friday and I received the other one today. And the first thing Mike did was sit them next to each and say "Ha, mine's bigger!" :) Sorry Em! :) I love them both!

And I'm finishing up my birthday by watching TV(Mike is at work tonight) and working on this bottle of wine. Not too shabby of a birthday if you ask me.

Thanks again to everyone! It's been a great day!

lots to share

It's been awhile since I've blogged so I thought I'd summarize the latest happenings via pictures.

My mom came and visited over Easter weekend. It was awesome to see her and we did a lot in the short time she was here. Cherry Blossom Festival, Crime & Punishment Museum, Newseum, saw 'Ace of Cakes,' ate good food, and enjoyed each other's company! I picked out and ordered my wedding dress while my mom was here to help...but the picture below is NOT my dress. :) You think I'm going to post my dress for Mike to see? NO WAY! But it does seem like my style, huh? YEAH RIGHT...I don't think so!

Mike and I went to a Nationals baseball game. Even though the Nationals aren't good, it was still fun and they had a fireworks show after the game. The Nats are red so Mike was decked out in his Husker gear and I certainly have enough red shirts to choose from.

Mike, Tim, Nikki, and I went hiking at Great Falls, MD and it was quite a hike. Though it wasn't super long, there were lots of rocks and boulders to tackle. Yes, the picture below was as steep as it looks. This was the most challenging part!

And finally, tonight was my HoCoBoCo(Howard County Books & Cooks) April meetup. We read a great book called "Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven" and everyone made a Chinese food dish.(The book is based in China) That's me in the center of the picture with the grey shirt on.

I think that sums it up! Hope everyone has a great week!

tampa & cherry blossoms

As I sit and drink my Apricot Caramel Torte Green Tea, I thought I'd provide a summary of happenings over the past week from Maryland. I'll try to keep this short.
We went to Tampa, FL last Tuesday through Friday and it was a blast. We went to the beach on Tuesday(got a little too much sun), shopped at the Ellenton outlets all day Wednesday, then went to Ybor City on Thursday and spent some time driving the coast and hanging out at Clearwater Beach. On Thursday it was super windy so laying on the beach, laying in shirts due to the sun on Tuesday, with sand ripping my face off isn't the most fun but we made the best of it. We ate some good food and enjoyed the great weather.
We kenneled the dogs while we were gone and they seemed to do pretty well. The facility is amazing and the dogs are able to be out a lot, not to mention they could run laps in their individual kennels. We thought we'd give Boulevard a break from Stuart so we had them put in separate kennels. The kennel owner said that the only trouble was that Stuart would run the opposite direction when it was time to go back into the kennel...and she said that he's a fast runner. :)
Yesterday, I headed into D.C. via Metro all by myself to watch the Cherry Blossom Festival parade. I got to my Metro stop ok but I get amazingly turned around when I'm downtown. The blocks are about 3 times the size of normal blocks so it took me a while to figure out I was going the wrong way. I finally found Mike(he was working at the parade) and the other USPP officers. Somehow I was able to get to sit in the actual bleachers for the parade...being escorted by a police officer has its perks. The parade was pretty good. They had some GREAT bands, not too many floats, and Alex Trebek was the Grand Marshall so I got to see him too.

Today, I'm doing laundry and cooking Sticky Ham Balls(recipe of my mommy) for dinner. Not going to lie, I don't think I've single handedly done laundry since we moved her. Mike is the laundry man and he needs laundry done a lot more often than I do. I have trained him that we don't need to put our clothes away right away. They usually lay on the spare bed for a couple days before they get placed in closets and drawers.
Ok, I guess "short" turned into long...Have a great day everyone!

"the one"

For all of you who told me, "Oh when you find your wedding dress, you'll just know it's the one," I COMPLETELY disagree. I felt like I had it narrowed down to two dresses. Then I found a couple at another bridal store that I went to try on today before finalizing between the two I had previously picked just in case I like one of the one's I tried on today. And now I have 5 more on my list that could be "the one." Of all the wedding planning, this has definitely been the hardest thing to figure out. AND it's even harder because I get to go try on dresses by myself...I do better when I have opinions so I'm really struggling. Not to mention I'm running out of time so I need to get it ordered...oh...probably a week ago. :) My mom is coming to visit in two weeks so hopefully she will help me make my decision if I still don't have my decision made.

eventful weekend

This weeked was quite an eventful weekend here in Maryland. On Friday night, I had volleyball. We made it to the semi-finals and won that game on Friday. Then we played in the finals right after that game on Friday and WON! We're #1!!! :) As I look at the picture above, I realize I am so pale...I need to get to tanning bed I think.

On Saturday, we took the dogs on a trail walk by historic Savage Mill which is close by where we live. The trail runs next to a river and about half way through the walk, we took the dogs down by the water so they could a drink of water. Stuart got really close to the water and THEN...he started to run into the water. If he wouldn't had been connected to leash so I could pull him back, I wonder how far he would have gone. :)

Last night I went to see Duplicity at a theater in Baltimore with Adena, Jig, and Tiffany. Adena is my Book and Cook Club organizer and Jig and Tiffany I just met last night. Then after the movie we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant called Della Notte. It was absolutely delicious!

Today, I'm taking the dogs to Dogtopia for a free dog gathering. Stuart's(for little dogs) was at 9:30 this morning. He did pretty good. He played a little bit(with the other 15 dogs there) but for the most part he stuck next to my side. After an hour, Stuart was more than ready to leave. He's already zonked out sleeping on the couch. Boulevard's(for big dogs) is at 12:30 and I know he will LOVE it. He probably won't want to leave.

After 3 1/2 weeks of delays...

I am finally closed on the sale of my house.
Enough said!!

Much better than yesterday

I'm not going to lie, yesterday was a really rough day for me...as in feeling homesick for my Nebraska peeps! This was really the first time since I've been here that I felt so homesick. I think it was the fantabulous weather(70 degrees yesterday, 77 degrees today) we had and I just kept imagining what I would be doing in Nebraska. So I thought maybe I would have gone on a run with Stacey, maybe I would have gone to the dog park with Jen, maybe I would have hung out with my family, maybe I would have been playing volleyball, and I KNOW I would have been sitting in a beer garden with either Jen, Kim, Stacey, Emilie(or maybe all of them) last night having a few adult beverages?! I have quite impecable timing because as Mike is about ready to leave for work last night at 4:30pm, I just burst into tears...poor guy! What guy wants to leave his sobbing fiance alone?! Well, actually probably quite a few men would like to do that but I like to think Mike isn't one of them. LOL! I basically felt sorry for myself the rest of the night. :)
So TODAY was much better than yesterday. First of all I slept in until about 10:30am. I'm quite amazed at how patient Stuart is in the morning. He sleeps in bed with us(I know, I know!) and he will lay there patiently until I get out of bed even though I can tell he is wide awake. Then I went WEDDING DRESS shopping! Woo woo! This is something that I've been putting off since I moved here. But low and behold I found four dresses that I love and I think I've now narrowed it down to two. YAY! Then I just got home from the gym(that always make me feel good) and now I'm chillin' in the living room with the puppies.
Anyway...much better day than yesterday! Miss everyone!

TV

I've decided that I think I watch too much TV and I think it's causing me un-needed stress. I am addicted to The Bachelor. Last night was the 2 hour finale and the 1 hour 'after the final rose' show...Yes, I watched 3 hours of the Bachelor last night.
To summarize for all of you that don't watch the show: At the end of the 2 hour finale, Jason(the bachelor) picked Melissa and proposed to her on the show. The taping of the finale occurred about 6 weeks ago. Then the 'after the final rose' show is present day to check in on the happy couple. So, on national television, Jason breaks up with the Melissa(the girl he chose on the finale). Also on the 'after the rose' show, the rejected girl(Molly) comes on and gets to confront Jason and ask him question about why he chose Melissa, etc. So, to make matters worse for Melissa, Jason goes back to Molly and asks for a second chance. WHAT?! Not a very nice guy if you ask me.
All of this resulted in the following:
1. And men wonder why women act crazy sometimes...THEY do it to us. :) Ok, that's not really a fair statement but poor Melissa.
2. Mike was working last night and I was so worked up over the whole thing, I couldn't even fall asleep until super late.
3. I think I need to stop watching the Bachelor.
So...back to my original point. I think watching TV sometimes causes me un-needed stress. Hopefully the TV will remain in the 'off' position more often now.

5-8 inches of snow expected

That much snow is quite unusual for this area however I'm kind of excited for the excitement of snow...I get jealous when hear about all the snowfall in Nebraska. AND since I don't have to drive in it, I'm looking forward to the snowfall.
Since joining the Book Club, I've spent a good amount of time at the library.(well at least more time than I spent at the library in Lincoln) I decided I could save money by not buying the book we read each month and, instead, borrowing it from the library. Today when I was picking up our March book ('Running with Scissors' by Augusten Burroughs), I decided to browse the DVD section. Last summer, I borrowed season 1 of 'Sex and the City' from Kim...low and behold, the library has the series as well. Since Desperate Housewives(I pick some classy shows, don't I?) isn't on tonight and Mike is working, I figured I'd make some brownies and watch the first DVD of season 2...and try not to eat all the brownies...maybe drink a bottle of wine(er...glass of wine) to go with it. :)
Mike has started his regular schedule. He did end up getting the schedule he wanted...he works nights on Sat, Sun, Mon, and every other Tues. The good news for me is that I think volleyball will be switching to Monday in a couple weeks so the shift isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be for spending time with each other. He is on the Icon Protection division/station so his first night of work last night was spent at the Washington Monument. Tonight I believe he is at the Jefferson Memorial for the first half of his shift and on the Mall for the second half.

Happy Birthday Boulevard!

Today is one of our baby's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday Boulevard! We love you!(Even though you do coat everything we own in yellow dog hair!) :)

A few changes will be occurring in our household over the next week or two. Mike will FINALLY be done with field training which means he will be getting a consistent schedule. Yes, you heard me correctly, a consistent schedule! Up until this point, Mike has been changing schedules and stations every two weeks. I know he really wants to work nights on Sat, Sun, Mon, and every other Tues(night pay and Sunday pay) but I secretly hope he gets nights on Wed, Thurs, Fri, and every other Tues, just for the fact that it will work with my schedule better. Which leads to my changes... I will have cheerleading/poms every Wednesday, volleyball practice on Thursday's, and volleyball games on Friday's. So you see why I selfishly want him to work on the same nights I have all of those things...then we can spend time together on his days off.

I had Book & Cook club yesterday and I'm still loving that. One of our March meetups is to go to a restaurant and the chef is going to teach us to make a couple Indian dishes. It's a little pricey so I'm not sure I'm going to go but really want to. I'm also going to see Ani Defranco at the 9:30 Club(http://www.930.com/) in D.C. on March 6th with a few girls. I'm looking forward to it as long as someone else drives me. :)

yuckiness

I slept horrible last night because I've come down with this 'runny nose-scratchy throat-headache-clogged ears-can't breath' yuckiness. I guess the good thing is that it's not the flu or anything, just a yucky cold. THEN after having a horrible night's sleep, I hear Stuart jump off the bed and start gagging like he's going to throw up. He has this weird throw-up thing that happens every so often and he'll gag about 7 times and then throw up.(but it's been discussed with the vet and there is no major concern since it happens so infrequently) Anyway, I launch myself out of bed and grab him and run to the bathroom so he can throw up on the linoleum. Much easier to clean than the carpet. So, I got that all cleaned up, walk down the stairs and another unknown subject(well it had to be Mike or Boulevard...so I'm guessing it was Boulevard) had thrown up twice at the bottom of the stairs. Yuck...I got to clean up two dogs' puke this morning.
So, it's really just been an all around yucky day! Not to mention the snow/sleet/rain stuff that we've been having all day. Thank goodness I don't have to commute to work.
I didn't have any meetings today for work so I didn't have to expose what I have left of a voice to any of the people I work with. I have a meeting packed day tomorrow so hopefully my voice will make it through the entire day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike and I are laying pretty low today...nothing too exciting planned. We went out for dinner last night for Valentine's Day since he has to work early tomorrow morning. We went to the Olive Garden--yummy!
I had my first volleyball 'practice' on Thursday night. It went pretty good. I'm going to start playing on the team next Friday and I'm looking forward to it. I really miss playing with my Nebraska people but it's nice to be playing again.
I have a 5-mile run scheduled for today...and I'm going to run it on the treadmill. There are not consistent sidewalks out here so I'm always afraid I'm going to run out of sidewalk and not know where to go next. I need to map out some routes and then drive them to make sure there is always sidewalk. I'm currently planning on running the Marine Corp half marathon on May 17th...I haven't officially registered yet but hopefully I'll stay on the running wagon so I feel confident enough to regiser.
Hope everyone has a love-filled Valentine's Day!

auto show and stolen car

I took the day off yesterday and we went to the D.C Auto Show...a huge convention center FULL of cars of all different makes and models. The first thing I notice - all the cool cars. The second thing I notice - that there are gorgeous women(in black dresses and stiletto heels) speaking about and trying to sell these cars. The third thing I notice - that the majority of auto show attendees are male. Light bulb goes on...too funny...so they have hot women talking about cars that men typically care about the most?! Unbelievable marketing strategy! Then we even read in the Washington Post an article where they discuss the women so I'm not the only one that noticed. :)
The car show was pretty cool actually. I've never heard "I would love to have this" out of Mike's mouth so many times. AND I never knew that he had such a plethora of auto knowledge.

Well we had some drama last night in our apartment parking lot about 100 feet away from our front door. Yasser(our friend that we were going out with last night) was picking us up and we were walking to the parking lot. Mike, of course, saw the police lights first. I said, "What's happening?"...like Mike is supposed to know more than I do at this point. We get closer and see that it is an un-marked police car right behind a parked car and he is asking us where he is. Like typical cops, Yasser and Mike head over to talk to the police officer as I jump in the truck ready to lock the doors at any moment, hop in the driver's seat and run someone over if needed. :) But I did not need to do this. So, Yasser comes over and let's me know that Mike and him are going to stick around until the officer gets his back-up. He tells me that the car the officer is parked behind is stolen. Finally the officer's back-up arrives(4 additional police cruisers I believe) and a police dog. One at a time, the four people in the stolen car get out of the car and walk back-wards toward the police car, get hand-cuffed, patted down, and put in a police car...this all happening as the police dog(pretty sure it was a shephard) was barking his brains out right behind them as they get out of the car. I'd be scared too, not to mention the 5 guns that are readily available to be used from each of the officers. Mike and Yasser finally came back to truck and we left to enjoy our evening out.
To ease all your concerned minds...the good news here is that it was completely random that this car ended up in our parking lot. The people had no connection to our apartment complex. Furthermore, I think it's probably a good sign that the officer didn't know where he was...that means he doesn't come here often, if ever.
Thank heavens for law enforcement!

Zapper?!?

Lunch time for Kirsten so I log in and catch up on Facebook and the blog. I have a funny story to share...Yesterday Mike and I were in Target picking up a few things after we got done at the gym. I wasn't sure what we were there to get but Mike seemed to know. Anyway, we're are walking past the shampoo/lotion/medicine section and Mike and I had a funny conversation:

Mike said, "We need to get the zapper thing."
Kirsten said, "What does that mean?" The only zapper thing that I am familiar with is the ninetendo wii zapper which he got for Christmas.
Mike said, "You know the zapper thing" and he proceeds to imitate shooting a hand gun(or at least that's what I interpreted it as)
I stared at him indicating I need a little more info...
I said, "Do you mean the gift registry zapper?"
Mike said, "Yes!!"

This is considered a zapper? Well whatever but I'm pretty sure I will need to monitor his zapping or he may just zap the whole store. Yikes!

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is Mike's 27th birthday! This is one of my favorite days of each year because Mike and I are the same age for the next 3 months. If you only knew how much he torments me about how old I am and that I'm older than he is, you would understand why this is one of my favorite days of the year. :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE! Since Mike has to work today, we went out this past Friday to Victoria's Gastro Pub (http://www.victoriagastropub.com/) it was an amazing place to eat. For any future visitors to the our household, we will defnitely need to go there to eat. Very cool place! :)
Besides Mike's very special birthday, today was "happy haircut" day for me. I found an amazing hair place that I will definitely continue to go to. The before pic is above and here is the after pic.

Kirsten's breaking news (hot off the press about 15 minutes ago)

Well, it's 2:30pm here and I need to take a quick break from work to tell everyone my new and exciting news.
As you all know, I've been trying a variety of "methods" for meeting people and getting involved in things since moving out here. So, a month or so ago I was searching for different activities near Laurel and the Boys & Girls Club of Laurel web site popped up. I was searching their web site and they have a Poms group and a Cheerleading group(I'm sure you see where this is going). So, I emailed the "commissioner" of the Poms group because their season is in the spring and offered my volunteer assistance in helping with any of the groups if they need it.
SO.....she called me and we were chatting about everything. Then she asked me if I would be a coach for one of the groups! HELLO...uh...YES I WILL! I'm pretty pumped about it if you can't tell. I'm meeting with her and the other coaches tomorrow morning. YAY!! I will either be with the 5-6 yr olds(ok, that's probably a little scary for me) or the 11-17 yr olds.
I'm SUPER excited about it. YAY!
Ok, back to work!

sympathy for Mike

This is a recap of the Mike's most recent 24 hours. Granted this is the nature of his job and this is what he signed on for and this probably will happen more often than not, but I still want to offer a little bit of sympathy.
Hopefully I'll get everything right...
- Mike got up at 3:15pm on Sunday since he's on nights right now he sleeps during the day
- Mike left for work at 9pm on Sunday(he works an 8 hour day every other week)
- Mike's works from 10pm to 6am
- Mike is in court sometime after 6am - court works differently here(than it does in NE) and you always have to go to court the next working day after the specific incident occurred. In this situation, he had a DUI over the weekend so he had court this morning and then last night they had some call that deemed them to go to court
- Mike receives about 5 texts/calls from Kirsten between 10am-12:30pm - am I a scary fiance? Not at all!...I was just very concerned about him because the last time he had court he was home a lot earlier so I thought the worst. I was close to calling dispatch but decided to hold out for a little while longer in hopes of a call or text.
- Mike texts Kirsten indicating that he was still in court.
- Mike gets home at 2:45pm from court and tells Kirsten to wake him up at 4pm(I'm his alarm clock when he works nights) - I had a meeting from 3:30-4:30 so he then told me to wake him up at 3:30 before my meeting.

- Mike is out of the house at 4:30pm headed back to work...since it's Monday, traffic will be heavy and he has to be there to work from 6pm-6am.

Granted he gets 3 or 4 days off per week due to his 12 hour shifts but 45 minutes of sleep seems a little brutal to me. I know he signed up for these duties AND he probably had similar lack of sleep when working in Lincoln AND this probably won't be the last time it occurs...but it's hard not to feel a little sympathy for him(or anyone in a similar situation).
But it's probably a good thing he's not home tonight because I also have a lot of work to do so I'll be working most of the evening as well.(Lots of Work=Job Security...so I'll try not to complain) I won't, however be functioning on 45 minutes of sleep...I plan to get a good 7-8 hours of sleep in tonight.
Happy Monday!

Hi

I wish I had something exciting to report to all my avid readers... :) But nothing too exciting is happening in our world. Mike did have to work on Inauguration Day and he was able to see Obama on the parade route. I was very jealous!! He did get some pictures of Biden walking during the parade but he said the crowd was crazy when Obama was walking so he couldn't snap any pics.
On Wednesday I decided I couldn't take it anymore being in the house all day so Mike and I went for some drinks with some of his co-workers. It's amazing how much I yearn for social outings since I've been working at home full-time. I appreciate that time and those moments a lot more now!
Last night Mike and I were pretty lazy BUT we did go get some cold stone ice cream. YUMMY!
Mike is back to work tonight and the dogs are fast asleep(we went on a long walk today so I think they are a little worn out). I think I might splurge and go get some take out somewhere. Fast food? Chinese? Pizza? Decisions, decisions. I started reading Twilight a few nights ago so I may spend some time reading tonight too.
Wish tomorrow wasn't Sunday already. :( That means back to work on Monday...bummer!

the biggest loser

Please tell me I'm not the biggest loser for spening about 3 hours on the computer(while watching TV) on a Friday night? Ok, I am I know it! Yeah well...'tis life I guess. Lori just called me an old married lady?!! Yep, I think she's right! :)
Today was the coldest day in DC since 1994...an "arctic blast" as the news called it. The high was 19 degrees but I don't think it reached that. The wind made it quite chilly HOWEVER I'm pretty certain you all in Nebraska wish that 19 degrees was the coldest you'd get.

My January meetup with my Book and Cook Club is on Sunday! YAY! We're are going to someone's place and everyone has to bring some type of Italian dish. I'm assigned an Italian appetizer but have yet to determine what I'm going to take. But the coolest news is the place that we are having it is in MY apartment "campus." It's crazy. Granted my apartment "campus" is quite large but it's definitely in walking distance. Less than a 1/4 of a mile away! So what does this mean? Another friend in close proximity...WAHOO!

Mike is trying to determine when he will be working this weekend for Inauguration. He was on the Detail to work from 6pm(Saturday) to 6am(Sunday) and then 5am(Sunday) to who knows when. Not really sure how he can work in one place until 6am but supposed to be somewhere else by 5am but I'm sure they'll figure it out. BUT the funniest thing is now he has disappeared from the Detail completely. HA! He's not even listed as having the day off or not working...very odd! Did he get fired and no one told him?! :) Well I guess he'll figure it out and hopefully he can get where he's supposed to be in time with all the craziness of traffic.

news headlines

I'm watching the news and two headlines caught my eye and I thought I'd share.

1. Today is January 12th and Baltimore is reporting their 14th homicide. How stinkin' sad!! Can't we just all get along? It's just terrible how much violence there is! Did anyone watch Dr. Phil last week when he had the mother of the Omaha mall shooter on and one of the surviving victims?(I'm not a Dr. Phil watcher but since I was off work, I thought I'd tune in) I used to love watching the news but there is rarely anything positive reported out here near D.C. I just thought of another story from December...an older man(I think in his 80's or older) was attacked as he was walking(get this!) from his car into Church. He had dropped his wife off at the door and was parking the car. WHAT is wrong with people!? Thankfully the man survived and the guy who committed the crime on this older man was caught!!

2. The other story that caught my eye was a water main break in downtown D.C.(We've been having a lot of water main breaks out here lately) I hope that gets resolved before next week for the Inauguration. I think a water main break could cause additional heart ache for the 2 million people coming to see the event. :) For all you crazies travelling to D.C. for the Inauguration, I wish you the best of luck. All I can say is I hope you're staying in the city limits of D.C. and can walk or take the Metro to the event or you may not get into the city. I will be glued to my home for those 2-4 days or so I can avoid any traffic.

sentimental

Bear with me as I be a little sappy and sentimental...
On my way home from my movie tonight(Marley & Me), I was thinking about my fantastic fiance and my fabulous dogs. Then that led me to start thinking about last night when Mike and I went to eat out at Red Lobster(we had a coupon AND a gift card...the best way to eat out), and that further led me to a conversation that Mike and I were having about our wedding. I believe it went something like this...
I said some ridiculous girl comment(typical Kirsten) like "What if you are dissappointed when you see me on our wedding day?"
Mike responded by saying "I will tell you that you look beautiful no matter what you look like."
Hold on...how am I to respond to that?
I said, "First of all, you are correct that you will tell me I look beautiful. Second of all, you will also mean it."
He further said, "Babe, you look beautiful everyday!"
Seriously, he's such the best. He digs himself into holes but so quickly climbs out of that hole. Where did he learn this stuff? Don? :)
I'm so blessed to have Mike and am so excited for him to be my husband!
Told you it was going to be sappy and sentimental.

Nights

I officially do not like Mike being on 12-hour nights. On the nights he works, I NEVER see him.(well I see him for like an hour and that's it) When he was on days, I would work as well and then he would get home sometime before 7pm, stay up for a few hours and then go to bed. Now he sleeps until 3:30pm(while I'm at work) and leaves at 5pm when I'm just getting off work and doesn't get home until 6am the next day. :( I know having 3-4 days off is great but it's no fun on the days he works. I have to resort to talking to the dogs again and they still aren't talking back. :)
Nothing really new here. I joined Facebook last night and it's quite consuming. Today, after about an hour of working, I started to receive tons of emails from Facebook...it was making me crazy. For your non-Facebook peeps, you get an email for any activity on on your Facebook page. I told myself that I can't look at it while I'm at work because 5 minutes will end up turning into an hour...so I started dragging all my facebook emails out of my inbox and into their own folder to deal with later. For those of you that work primarily through your email, you'll feel my pain of my inbox starting to overflow. But I'm all caught up now and I think I'm glad I joined. It'll be a good way to keep in touch with people.
See, this is what happens when Mike isn't around, I sit at the computer all night. :)
Now I'm going to do some online wedding dress shopping.
Ok! That's all I know. Miss you all!

!!Happy New Year!!

We spent our New Year's in Baltimore on the deck of Phillips Seafood at the harbor. Unfortunately, it was very windy so they had to cancel the fireworks. It was a pretty chilly evening but we crowded around the heater so we stayed warm.

Vanessa, Me, and Nicole

Happy New Year!