Bunny Cake Walk

I hadn't been able to see my family since Christmas so this visit was long overdue!  Mom and Dad came out for a quick visit the weekend before Easter and the visit was once again filled with pawn shops and trains!!!  I really don't like being so far from them..I have to be honest..I think they get just a little more gray hair each time I see them; neither seems to be losing any hair..just graying.  But it never fails that Dad will always want to find one more pawn shop to look at so they're also not slowing down any!

Even though our visits are short, I know these quick trips are making lasting memories.  So for Christmas, Clay and I were trying to get my dad a train DVD.  Well to make a long story short, it didnt work out so we gave him a "coupon" to pick one out and then we would order it..you know how parents are with that..they aren't going to ask directly for a gift.  So one evening in Target, instead of coming out with cute shoes or a random home decoration, we found and bought a 4-disc train dvd set that had hours and hours of trains in each season.  This was a huge find!!  We gave it to Dad when they came out and our weekend was filled with scenery and the sound of a train going by (..take that noisy smoky neighbors!!!).  Eventually Mom came up with the ingenious idea of muting but before that, this is Clay dealing with the ongoing train DVD's:

Anyway, we had a good weekend.  I hope I can learn to serve the way my mom does.  I get so tired of doing dishes and cooking food and refilling plates and doing more dishes..and I've only been at it a year.  She silently challenges me to be a better wife and someday mom.  And she happily puts up with train DVD's..for a while anyway..

Here are a few more pictures from our walk around the park..and the kind of creepy bunny cake.  Thanks Mom and Dad for coming out!!!

Business in Milwaukee

In the middle of March I got the opportunity to go to Northwestern Mutual's home office on my very first business trip.  Although exciting at times, flying alone is still a bit of a hassle.  I went out for a 2-day training seminar so decided to save the company some money and not check a bag..that of course meant lugging my carry-on and laptop around.  But besides all that, the trip was great.  I had warm(er) weather, a nice hotel, and informative training sessions!  Enjoy some pics below..

My hotel room..done in pink for just me :)

 View from my hotel window of downtown Milwaukee:

 Inside the atrium of one of the main buildings where I had my training:

 In the same atrium as the above picture, just lower in the room.  There is water in the center circle pool and it was one of those infinity pools (I think thats what they're called??) when the water goes right to the edge or just barely overflows: 

Northwestern's famous columns:

I am blessed to have a good job and to work for a great company, but I have to be honest and say that I still look forward to the day when I get to work out of our home :).



Some Plants and Things

For those of you that got to see 80 plus degree weather in March, we were not included.  Spring has barely sprung up here in Syracuse but Clay and I took it upon ourselves to bring some Spring indoors!  This is when I want a house with a front porch that can have hanging baskets full of flowers and window boxes and a walkway up to that porch lined with little pretty green plants that bloom.  But for now, we will plant what we can living five stories up in the air.

About mid-March we planted our beloved herb garden and flower pot:

Our herbs include parsley, oregano, rosemary, and basil.  We're a little nervous because the seed packets said to plant some of them a foot apart and we planted the seeds about a millimeter apart..and rosemary can get a couple feet tall.  Oops.  Oh well.  We have high hopes for these little guys!

Then, the favors from our wedding were seed packets (with a cute little note too!) so I wanted to be able to plant some of those flowers..the clay pot.  We'll see how everything works out.

To go back a little bit prior to this planting...these may help you understand why we're so anxious for spring:

Winterfest 2011 featuring a real ice castle complete with ice sculptures.  Yip. Ee.

I genuinely hope Spring is coming quicker for you than it has been for us!  We'll let you know how the plants have been growing!

Walking on Snow

So as I've said before, we try to make the most of where we're at..and in Syracuse after having seen a good 150 inches of snow, that means embracing the snow rather than avoiding it.  I say that through clenched teeth because who really embraces the snow after putting up with that much of it?  Well, February 5th, our 8 month anniversary provided the opportunity for us to go snow-shoeing..and I'm not so sure we will ever go again :).

Clay and I had talked about going on a couple different weekends and just hadn't made it happen yet.  So this Saturday was a little warmer (maybe upper 20's low 30's instead of low 20's..let's just make sure we're on the same page with warmer) and the day was open.  A nearby lake, Beaver Lake, offers pretty cheap rentals so we strapped the snow shoes on and we were off!

Two trails were offered for snow-shoeing around the park, and being the young and active people that we are, we opted for the long trail.  So we start off and about ten steps onto the trail, we wondered why we had these random boats strapped to our feet when simply walking on the trail in our boots would have been much easier..but its all for the experience, right?  I think we still could have gotten the experience on the shorter trail..

But, we had a good time..made some fun memories and really enjoyed the scenery.  Our time on the trail reminded me of snowmobile trails--everything seems so calm and right and covered in snow so it all sparkles.  You can't help but appreciate the beauty of Creation when taking a little hike like this.

If we are to go again though, I think I would make sure we were going on a trail that didn't have packed-down snow so that some use of a snow-shoe was actually necessary :)

A Visit with Patty and Stu

Patty and Stu came to visit one weekend in January.  It was kind of a late Christmas celebration but not really.  Last time they came up we had beautiful weather and sunshine and took lots of pictures..and this time...not so much..

The one picture from the weekend just makes me laugh:

We were cold and the snow was blowing, but stopping for a picture was a must!  We made the most of the never-ending snow, and I discovered the cutest quilting shop (they carry Amy Butler!!!) while walking through the snow in Cazenovia.  Let's just say that Patty and Stu got to experience in a weekend what Clay and I put up with all winter. 

Thanks for coming for the visit!  We'll hope for better weather next time..

A Bride'sMaid Dress that Can Be Worn Again...

So, just wanted to give a little shout out to one of my best friends...Emily! for picking out a bridesmaid dress that can in fact be worn again after the wedding!!!

Side note: I intentionally spelled Bride'sMaid the way I did in the title because I wanted to.  I'm still not sure what the correct spelling is but that's how I wanted it in the title..

Clay and I had a fancy-schmancy dinner to go to for work--the Recognition Dinner.  It's basically a dinner where awards are given out to representatives for accomplishments over the past year.  Working in the life insurance industry you learn that people like parties.  The dinner was nice and it's fun for us to be able to get dressed up and not have to pay for anything, but some of these parties are just a tad overdone..that's beside the point though..but for example, this dinner had an after-party attached to it where a local band was hired that does wedding receptions to provide music for dancing and just staying around..like a grown-up prom of sorts I guess.

Anyway, back to my point.  Clay has it easy when it comes time for these dress-up events but I have a bit of a harder time.  But......I had a fabulous bridesmaid dress from a wedding in October that was just waiting to be worn again!  Woohoo!! 

Emily and all her bridesmaids wearing super cute dresses (they're a halter with a wide open back):

Clay and me at the Recognition Dinner:

Just added a cardigan and a belt to give me a waist-line and I was good to go!  The dinner was enjoyable, and Clay and I got a shout-out for getting married during the past year.  It's always fun for me when Clay gets to mix in with my work-life a bit.  I like that my co-workers know who he is and enjoy talking to him when he's at stuff :)

Finally, here are two of my co-workers with me--Candice and Karen:

Praying these girls come to know Jesus...

A Warm and Sunny New Year

Happy New Year 2011!  2010 was a big year for us--lots of weddings (my sister's, two of my best friends from college, and one of clay's best friends from college) including our own, our first year of grown-up jobs, Mom getting sick and getting healthy again, adjusting to life in New York, and just simply continuing to grow up and trust the Lord for His direction--as a married couple.

Even though there were plenty of good things that happened in 2010, I have to say I am definitely ready to move full speed ahead into 2011--what better way to welcome in the New Year than a sunny weekend at the beach in Florida?!?

Clay and I were blessed to spend New Year's (extended) weekend down in Fort Lauderdale with Dian, Clay's godmom.  Our trip was somewhat of a Christmas gift to us, and living in one of the snow capitals of the US, we were more than willing to take her up on her offer!  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful--we got in plenty of beach time and even some tennis time.  Her condo is right on the ocean so we enjoyed waking up to the ocean breeze coming in off the balcony.  Enjoy some pictures from our trip below:

Clay and me on the balcony:

Clay and Dian on the balcony:

 

Dian and me on the balcony: 

A real manatee that was swimming (if you can call it that..they move so slow!) around a restaurant where we were eating: 

That's about it..we were too busy soaking in the sun to take pictures!  Nick and Kristin (Clay's brother and sister-in-law) were there for half the time we were but we didn't take any pictures with them.  Thanks Dian for a great trip :)