Thanksgiving

I can not believe December is starting tomorrow. Where did the year go? We definitely have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. This year as a whole was given a HUGE thanks!!!! Me getting a job, buying Scott a new car, buying our first home....the list goes on...

This year we stayed in Florida for Thanksgiving and enjoyed our new home. It was just us 2. We were going back and forth about going north for the holiday (since we knew we weren't going anywhere for xmas). Then when the house was bought we decided we were going to stay and enjoy it. We were excited to have a holiday at the new house. That is until the day before....when I broke and it finally hit me that we weren't going to be seeing family over the holiday. OMG I cried all the way home from work....I had all these people in the office talking about how they were going to be seeing family and having a BIG holiday celebration. That is what we are use to...having 15-20 people with so much love and laughs. All I could think about was how boring ours was going to be. I came home to a big hug from Scott and a beer and stopped crying.

Thanksgiving came we make a great dinner...Turkey, gravy, twice baked sweet potatoes, cheesy potatoes, avocado and mango salsa, and brie. We watched the parade and football. At one point I looked at Scott and said I finally have a place on the couch without 7 others on top of me (I do like that though). In the evening we headed to a friends house for desert and to watch more football.

I can't say I didn't like the day - just the 2 of us. At the same time I can't say I liked the day - just the 2 of us. It was just different. I do know I had a great day and missed all the family time.

Limited to the Couch

It has been almost a month since the last time I blogged. This whole moving, unpacking, painting ….and everything else that goes with a house takes up a lot of time.

I have a feeling this blog is going to be all over the place….Where do I start????

With great help from my mom we have our front room painted and new carpet throughout the whole house. Scott and I went back and fourth about getting new carpet…we bit the pullet and could not be happier. The house is really starting to feel like our home. We have everything out of the apt except the adirondack chairs (which will be coming soon). In between hanging out with my mom, work, and normal daily chores we have slowly been going through boxes. We have a trash pile, keep pile, and garage sale pile. Yep we are thinking a garage sale is in the Spring calendar (which is getting more and more full as we speak).

In the middle of all this we got a great visitor – my mom. She was a great help. Between painting and being here when the carpet came we did do some fun stuff. We got to spend one day shopping, one day at St. Augustine, and quality time together. Thanks mom for all your help!!!!

I have been stuck to the couch since Wednesday…I had sinus surgery and nurse Scott had kept a good eye on me. I have been sleeping and relaxing for the past few days. Let’s cross our fingers that when I go in on Monday the doc says everything went well.

I am hoping to have some new pics of the house up soon….we still feel like we have so much to do.

I know there has been so much more going on here but time flies when you are having fun making a house your home J (wow that was lame)

the BIG move

Scott is finally home :) After being in Idaho for 13 days Scott "surprised" me on Tuesday night. Or he thought it was a surprise....I had to work late on Tuesday and was in bed almost asleep around midnight. Then all of a sudden I heard the front door knob jiggling....next thing I know I was on my feet ready to fight someone. All of a sudden I hear "SURPRISE!!!!" I started shaking and crying and told him to never do that again. Scott was a bit confused and said he didn't really see the surprise going the way it did....maybe he shouldn't surprise me at midnight again :)

Wednesday the MOVE started.....

Scott spend Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday moving. He had help from a good friend, Chris. They got most of the apt moved to the house!!! Saturday we made one trip to get the kitchen stuff and have about one more trip to do in the future. Now it is getting things organized and making it HOME!!!

Friday evening we had a girls night and boys night. We met at a friends house....the girls stayed there and carved pumpkins, chatted, and drank spiked apple cider. The boys went for craw-fish and wings and then out on the town. It was nice to get out for a few hours and not think about moving or packing/unpacking.

Saturday we went to the apartment and packed up the kitchen and did some laundry. We are hoping to have everything out of the apartment this week.

Sunday we went to the Orlando Home Show...our Realtor had a few extra tickets and sent them to us. It wasn't has helpful has we thought it was going to be but we did get some help on carpet (our big project). We are looking to re carpet the house soon. We then went to Lowes and Home Depot to price check carpet. The rest of Sunday was spent unpacking and organizing the house. We pretty much have the kitchen, our room, and both bathrooms done (that's what I think now anyways...hahaha).

It was a very productive weekend...I am now ready for a LONG work week...I am going to be working next weekend....

Another Monday...

I have officially decided there are not enough hours in the day and I am getting old....hahaha!

I have been getting ready for the "big" move this weekend. The plan is to move into the house this weekend :) I could not be more excited since I have been going back and forth on a every other day basis. (It sounded easier than it is). Needless to say its been a long few weeks....

Scott has been in Idaho for 11 days now and we just got the word he will be home Wedn!!!!

So I have been doing everything I can to have the apt packed and the house ready... and I am sure most of you can guess I am stressing out and putting WAY too much into both things. As Scott, my mom and my dad have told me several times it doesn't all have to be done today. Let's be honest though that is just ME...it should have been done yesterday!!!

I have lists everywhere...I have stuff everywhere....Living at 2 places is the WORST idea by far! I don't recommend it to anyone. I have however accomplished a ton:

- Cable is working at the house
- Carpets got cleaned and we have decided we are getting new carpet in the TV room and front room.
- TV room is painted and ready for new carpet and furniture
- Apt is half packed....its a bit overwhelming and hard to know where to start

While working on all of this there have been some crazy things:

- Washier machine at the apt broke and I couldn't to any laundry for a over a week (didn't realized the washier was so valuable until I didn't have it). I have been using a beach towel to try off because the shower towels are all dirty....hahaha
- I got rear ended last week...I have come to the conclusion that the worst drivers are men and people in FL. This was my second rear ending in about 4 months. I am fine and their are minor damages to the car. I am getting the car appraised and taking it in hopefully today and/or tomorrow.
- I got a ticket at the accident for not having my car insurance with me....YES we have car insurance but we just changed it because of the house. So now I have to go in and take care of that....which should be fine tomorrow :)

Oh yeah and I have still been working and doing my daily things....I really need to start listening and realizing I don't have to have everything done today!!!

Did I mention I am more than ready for Scott to be home :)

I will start posting pics when we have everything in the house and we are not sleeping on the futon mattress on the floor...hahaha!!

Our First House

It has been a whirlwind the past week for us. I had to make myself sit down for a few minutes to fill everyone in…as if most of you have not heard….

WE OWN A HOUSE

I am sitting in the local coffee shop writing this because we have yet to move in and don’t have much at the house right now. We do however spend as much time as we can and love it.

Long story short….

Some of you know we started our house hunt about 6 months ago thinking we would take advantage of the $8000 credit. After searching for awhile we decided to put the search on hold and wait till I got a job. July 7^th I started my job and July 8^th Scott started his own house search…haha :)

Mid August we decided it was time for us to really start our hunt again and start it fresh – new realtor and all. Which was by far the best thing we could have done. This time we had a realtor team (husband and wife) and they went above and beyond for us. Even offering to go to the bank with my when Scott was out of town.

We found “the one” (felt like I was wedding dress shopping again)! 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1800 square feet, conservation lot (wooded/government land behind our grass line that will not be built on), 2 car garage, mud room (I was told in FL you call them laundry rooms), community pool, front porch and everything we could imagine.

We put our offer in, it got accepted and we shut our mouths - telling our parents and not many more. We decided we didn’t want to jinx it. The house was bank owned which means that at any time in the process the bank could have called it off. We didn’t want to get our hopes up just in case – Scott wouldn’t even let me talk paint colors, décor, nothing. He was pretty funny about it.

Last Wednesday (omg its been over a week already) we sat at the closing table for about 2 hours signing a book of papers. Then walked out owning a house!!!!!!!!!

So, last weekend I spent deep cleaning from top to bottom and Scott spent doing “manly” chores. We got our butts whooped on Saturday – we were in bed by 9. Sunday we were both really sad that we had to leave to go back to the apt. We were ready to move in then.

We spent a few nights there through the week finishing up some projects.

This weekend is a list of some more chores…..the cable guy is coming out (we get free cable in our neighborhood) and we are getting the carpets cleaned for sure. Then we get to decided were we want to go from there.

We are so excited to make this our home and have so many ideas of what we want to do.

In the midst of all this house stuff Scott had a Birthday!!! We did spend some time celebrating!!!

We will continue to keep you all updated on what we do with the house and how we make it ours :)

Weekend Outside

Last weekend we spent mostly outside and had a great time...

Saturday we had a nice date day in Tampa. We decided to spend the day on the west side of Florida. We drove around Tampa and took in the city. We then spent the afternoon at Ybor City - Little Havana and/or Cigar City. This is the oldest cigar city in the country. Back in the day it is where Cuban's would come and roll/sell cigars. Scott of course got a hand rolled cigar! While there we found the Tampa Bay Brewing Company and of course stopped :) The beer was good too!! We really enjoyed walking around the city and taking in the history. We are already planning for the next time we head that way - we have to check out Cigar City Brewery!

That night we went to the Kings of Leon concert. There is a venue in Tampa that is similar to Pine Knob - outside, lawn area. So we packed our blanket and enjoyed the concert on a gorgeous night. We got home around 2 am. I know we are wild...hahaha

Sunday was a packed day of a mix of things. We first headed to a local spring with a co-worker of mine and her friends. There are several natural springs around us and the water is 73 degrees all year around. It was the first time I had been to one. Scott joked on our way there about how it was a hillbilly swimming pool....haha! No comment on my end ;) We packed a lunch and hung out in the spring for a bit.

The rest of Sunday was spent getting some much needed stuff done and organized.

This week has been going by way to slow and I am ready for the weekend. I am really wishing I could get some cider and donuts down here too.

Work has been crazy...classes start in a few weeks so we have to get all the last minute students ready to go! Still loving my job :) Scott has also been very busy with work. His travel schedule this month has been wild. He does have a birthday around the corner though...

Boy's Weekend

Last week I had the pleasure of returning to the Midwest for a boys weekend in Milwaukee, WI. We went to a Brewers/Cubs game and Miller Park is an impressive ballpark. The Astor hotel that we stayed at was very enjoyable and historic. And of course there may have been a few trips to the vast quantity of drinking establishments Milwaukee has to offer.

I am an Engineer and like to list items out…..and that’s why……I can up with……Top FOURTEEN things I learned on a 4 day trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin….

1. Asking the locals what to do in Milwaukee, all said you can drink, you can go to a Brewers game to drink, and/or go to another bar and drink.

2. No matter where you go in the Big Ten school states everyone can agree on their deep hatred for the OH-IO State Buckeyes.

3. It is always best to enjoy a Michigan football victory with your close mates. GO BLUE.

4. Most men don’t know how to properly light a charcoal grill.

5. Orlando’s rap game is a little behind hood rich Milwaukee so I learned all about “Teach me how to DOUGIE”.

6. It takes 3 police officers to take down the great northern white buffalo and the noise it produced pierces the ears. It also takes only one “anonymous” person to start the “tase her” chant and pretty soon you have the whole crowd going.

7. The German Hofbrau House actually thinks it is a good idea to let inebriated, 20 something’s use a 20lb Hammer, racing to see who can hit an antique nail into a stump fastest.

8. People have different sleeping needs and schedules. Some choose to sleep in and some choose to sleep standing up, leaning against a wall, in a bar with a LOUD live band.

9. People retire from the evening activities earlier than others, but its generally frowned upon by the hotel staff to pass out on the hotel lobby couch for 2 hrs.

10. You can always make something awkward with a stare.

11. I have the scary distinction of being the “grown up” of the group.

12. Ordering 100 proof liquor as a night capper generally leads to ordering pizza and then passing out before the delivery is made.

13. If you can’t “arise” for the occasion you can use a head butt to get out of the situation.

14. You can always go out with good friends, but if things get weird you always need to remember to say “Alabama”.

I will sum it up with help from Mr. Bob Lupton,

‎"If you think about it, your favorite memories, the most important moments in your life, were you alone? Life's better with company." - Mr. Bob Lupton

I had a great time with everyone and was cheerful to share memories with good friends. I thank my wonderful wife for sending me and glad she is soooo understanding.

Roll Tide,

Scott

Deep Breathes!!!

I finally had a day to sit down and do nothing :) September has been going fast...and is going to continue to fly by!!!

We have been busy working on some very exciting news and will be blogging about it in the next few weeks...can't jinx anything now :)

We had a nice relaxing Labor Day! Saturday we ran around town getting things done. Sunday we spent a great day at the beach with friends. We got a group of friends and we all headed to the National Seashore. It is a national park that is north of the shuttle launch and south of Daytona. It was a great day in the sun. Then Monday I went into work and made some extra $ and Scott relaxed at the apt :)

Scott got his birthday present from me this weekend. He got a guys weekend in Milwaukee. He is getting to spend quality time with his buddy's!!!

So, Friday night I had a girls night with some friends - went to dinner and a wine bar. The rest of the weekend has been relaxing, watching chick flicks and getting some much needed stuff done.

Scott has been traveling a bit more with work. He was gone last week and has 2 more trips this month. He has been working on a project in Mississippi and diving a lot. He works so hard :)

I am still really liking my new job :)

Weather - still hot and humid.....

Keep your fingers crossed and we will have some exciting news posted in the next few weeks!!!!!!!!!

House Hunting

The hunt is on again for us for a house. We started a hunt a few months back but it was not successful. We didn't really have a good realtor last go around. So, this time we received and reference and am very happy with our choice. She is so in depth about everything and tells us details about every step. So far so good :)

We have been out looking the past two weekends and have seen some pretty nice houses. Let's keep our fingers crossed this week....

House hunting has really taken up most of our time lately.

Last weekend Scott went out "Buggin" (lobster hunting) with a friend. They had fun...he caught two but they were both too small :( We are really hoping for a lobster dinner sometime soon here!!!

Today we spent a nice relaxing day at the apt. The weather has been kind of up and down here...between rain, sun, humid....the nights however are starting to drop in humidity which is so nice.

Here is a picture from when Nicole and family were here...

Summer....Visitors :)

We have been fun busy!

This past weekend we got a fun visitor.....Andrew!!!!!

He came down on Thurs and stayed till Monday. Scott and I had Friday off while he was here and we had a blast! Scott and Andrew found an Adidas "super" outlet in a parking lot they found to be the best thing ever....they actually went to it twice.

Friday we went to Universal and saw the new Harry Potter stuff. It was by far the coolest thing ever. We had a blast and were amazed at the whole thing. Saturday we went to the beach and ate some sea food. The waves were really small the boys were sad and didn't get to surf. The weather however was nice and hot.

Sunday we went to St. Petersburg to see the Rays play. They beat the Orioles!!!!

The weekend was so fun and I might need a vacation from it...haha!! Of course saying bye was way too hard but it as so good to see Andrew :)

The humidity is still ridiculous and the temps are still in the 100s but it is mid Aug and things should be cooling down soon....or so I tell myself!

Everything is going well down here for us :)

About time.....

So it has been busy busy over on our end!

Work has been great for me. I really like my job!! I have finally got my regular schedule and am getting use to it. I am "recruiting" students to go to school and helping them through the process. I am getting to help people go back to school everyday...Can't get much better :)

Along with all the happy stuff I have been kind of crabby getting use to this schedule and working long hours getting use to everything...Poor Scott! Last week when I came home from work Scott was so funny and said "I am going to blame this crabbiness on your eating schedule changing." haha. I love him :)

2 weeks ago I went to Minnesota for some corporate training. It was nice to get away from the humidity for awhile. I got to go to the Mall of America and learn a ton about work and the school.

I got my first paycheck and went straight for a pedicure. It was the first one in like a year! I had to apologized before they even started working on them (my feet). Needless to say my feet are looking better....I am going to need another one soon though....hahaha :)

Scott has been busy at work as well. He has been doing a lot of field work. He is in Mississippi right now doing some diving.

Did I mention it is GREAT having 2 incomes...haha :)

Our weekends are spent a little different now that we are both working. We relax and get stuff done around the apt. We still get to the beach and have fun but we have a few more chores to get done. We actually have to go grocery shopping on Sundays too...where before I would get a lot of stuff done on the weekdays so we didn't have to worry about it on weekends.

This past weekend we got to spend some time at the beach. Nicole (Scott's cousin) and her family came down this weekend and we went to the beach with them on Sunday. We had so much fun with them and it was great seeing them. The little girls were so cute too. They couldn't have been more excited to be at the beach playing in the sand.

Other than that we are just going with the flow. In the next few weeks here we are going to get on the house hunting wagon again. Both of us are ready to have a house and some storage space!

This weekend we don't have much planned. Scott gets home on Friday!! I am going to work Saturday so I can hang with Andrew Friday next week.

I am so excited for next weekend when Andrew is here :)

I do have to share a funny story too....We were at our pool on Saturday and Scott looks at me and goes why do you have lighting bolts on your thighs. I of course said thanks for pointing out my stretch marks. His response (so serious) "Sorry I thought you were like Harry Potter or something. Maybe you have special powers." I fell out of my chair laughing. I looked at him and was like "seriously you thought I was like Harry Potter?" His response back "Yeah you know how he has a lighting bolt on his forehead?" REALLY??? I about died laughing so hard!!!

I WIN!!!!!

Scott has been a bit of a pouty pants the past few days....First the World Cup is over. We got together with some friends on Sunday to watch the final game of the World Cup and watched Spain win. Scott now has to wait another 4 years for it to come around. He has however found other soccer games on TV already.

The second reason Scott is a pouty pants is that I kicked his butt in our fantasy league. Our final standings were Kym 3rd place....Scott 9th place!!! Believe me I will never let him live this down. I actually got a "I am not inviting you and Andrew in my fantasy leagues anymore" on our way home. (Andrew got 4th). Needless to say I won $10 and he got me letting me know I beat him daily:)

I also spent time on Saturday updating my work wardrobe. Having the outlet mall this close is a bit dangerous (sometimes). I ended up getting a few new outfits for a GREAT price. They don't joke around with sales there :)

I have officially gotten through the first week of work and learning something new everyday! It is still going to take some time getting use to the both of us working. Everyday when we get home I tell Scott I still can't believe I have a job :) He just looks at me and tells me I deserve it for working so hard to get it :)

I am headed to Minnesota next week for some work training. Minus the fact that Scott doesn't get to go with I am excited to check another state off my list and check out Minneapolis.

First Day of Work!

Today was the first day of my new job! It was a good - typical first day...meeting people, HR stuff, training. I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of the same thing for the next two weeks. Like any job there is a lot to learn and a lot to remember. I am still really excited and can't wait for that first pay check :)

Last week I took a "vacation" and got things done around the apt and spent some time at the beach. I had the week off from everything and took full advantage of it. It was nice to relax but still know I was starting a new career in a few days!

This weekend Scott and I took GREAT advantage of the 3 days off. Friday we went and saw Eclipse (which Scott was so excited about). I thought it was really good. We (I mean Scott) then spent the rest of the night watching Soccer.

Saturday we got up early to take our cars to get the windows tinted....FINALLY!!! We are both enjoying our cars being a bit cooler when we get in them. We then met up with some friends and watched the Germany vs Argentina soccer game at a local German restaurant. After the game we decided to head to New Symerna Beach for a bit. It was a full day of dodging rain pockets but doing a lot.

Sunday we got up early again and headed to Animal Kingdom. It was a quick stop but we are so glad we decided to go. We got to see a 4 week old baby elephant, a month old rhino, and 4 month old gorilla. I tried to take the rhino home but they wouldn't let me :(

In the afternoon we had a potluck BBQ with some friends.

At night we went back to Disney....Magic Kingdom this time though. The park was closed due to being at capacity but we were allowed in because we have season passes. At that point we were questioning our decision to go to the park for the fireworks. The fireworks were by far the BEST fireworks we have EVER seen. The show was over the castle and the other end of Main Street (where as the normal show is just over the castle), and the finally was 360 degrees around. It was just amazing and at the end we both look at each other saying we were happy we fought the crowd for it!

It was such an awesome way to spend my favorite holiday - 4th of July!

Monday we really did nothing and it was great :)

Here is a picture of us a few weekends ago at the USA game. I still can't believe Scott left the apt wearing the same thing as me...haha!

Is it over yet???

The world cup has taken over our lives. Here is a typical day in the Baker house....Scott get's up and goes to work....while at work the soccer games get TiVoed.....when Scott gets home he plops on the couch and watches ALL 3 games that played that day. I can do 1 game but 3....

I am not a fan of having a TV in the bedroom but I caved last week....I couldn't take watching that much soccer ALL night long...haha. It will be leaving the room promptly after the final game on July 11th. Scott thinks its funny that I lasted that long watching that much soccer and didn't put it in there sooner.

I did however have entertainment for a few days :) My friend Sarah (use to work with her) came to visit Wednesday - Sunday. I had a great time with her. Thursday we went to Aquatica, the Sea World water park. It was so clean and such a fun day. Friday we hung by the pool and went bridesmaid dress shopping for me!!! I am still picking between two but will hopefully have it ordered in the next few days!!! Saturday the 3 of us hit the beach. I do have to say it was a perfect beach day. It was nice and hot but there was still a breeze so we weren't sweating too bad. Sunday we went to the outlets and shopped. It was a nice relaxing few days and of course it was great to see her!

Other than that time is taken up by soccer at night and on the weekends. I asked Scott yesterday if he wanted to go to Disney this weekend and he responded "I am only available after 4 on the weekends until July 11th. So anything after that should be ok." hahahaha :)

The best part is that we are in a fantasy league with friends and Scott often gets frustrated because I am often ahead of him....meaning I have better picks then he does....haha. While he spent about a week making his picks, I spent about a half hour. I guess we will see who comes out on top though :)

My last day of work is Friday and I am still smiles and sooo excited about my new career :)

1 Year....already

Neither Scott nor I can believe it have been one year since our wedding....all last week we kept saying what were you doing at this time last year :)

To celebrate our anniversary we spent the weekend at a wonderful resort (Tradewinds Island Grand) in St. Pete Beach. It is west of Tampa and St. Petersburg on the gulf. The resort was way more than we could ask for...5 pools, paddle boats, cabanas on the beach, room over looking the gulf and of course fruity cocktails.

We started our weekend with a 2 hour drive to the beach. We ended up stopping for dinner at a local spot on a canal where we both had fabulous meals. Scott had blackened red snapper and I had lightly breaded shrimp and scallops.

















Here was our view while we were eating dinner

We then headed to the resort...checked in and hit the beach/pool (where we stopped for our first fruity cocktail). We were just in time to see the sunset which was just perfect.

View from our room

Sunset on the beach

Saturday we were up and to the beach. We got a cabana and the relaxation continued. We also decided to rent a paddle board which is a over sized surf board that you stand on and paddle. It was so fun and quite the work out. This may be a purchase in the future for us (I can actually stand up on it unlike surfing).




















Of course we took a lunch break around 2:00 to watch the USA vs England game. We were not the only people who decided to take a late lunch. We then headed back to the beach till the evening. We went to Crabby Bills for dinner. Neither of us were happy with our meals :(

Sunday we got up, got our cabana and then went paddle boating. The resort has a little stream where you could paddle boat through. We got about half way through and were bored so we turned around...hahaha. We then had another relaxing day at the beach and packed up and headed home mid day.

The weekend was more than relaxing and a wonderful way to celebrate our first year together :)

We also had another reason to celebrate............I got a JOB!!!!! A real JOB. We are both so excited!! I start on July 6th! I am going to be an Admissions Rep at a college. I will get to help students apply to college and help them through the whole college experience!

Tre and Sarah Visit

We had such a wonderful weekend with Tre and Sarah. They flew in and headed to the Cocoa on Wednesday. We ended up heading there Thursday evening and spending the night and hanging out on the beach during the day on Friday.

The boys took the surf boards out to catch a wave. We are still trying to decide if they just chatted out there......

Friday night we headed downtown Orlando to show them the night life. We went to a great Mexican tequila/taco bar for dinner and they hit the town. Scott of course had to show Tre Corona's, the cigar bar he loves.

We went to a few other bars and had a great time!


Saturday we just hung around the apt and the pool. The boys even "grilled" up a yummy lunch for us :)

We had a great weekend spending time with Tre and Sarah and showing them Orlando. Of course it was hard saying bye on Sunday when we had to drop them at the airport :(

We are now looking forward to this weekend and our 1 Year Anniversary. I still can't believe it has been a year already....

...oh yeah and the World Cup starts....

World Cup.......................

9 days 11 hours 39 mins till the greatest sporting event in the world.....

Really Scott....

I of course have to first comment on Scott's last post....hahahaha!!!! Oh does he make me laugh. He takes me to watch ONE soccer game and all of a sudden he thinks I am a fan. Please :) There is no way I said that quote either....baseball is still better and more exciting than soccer will ever be!

As you can all tell though he is VERY excited for the World Cup to start. The best thing about the post though was he was so proud that he did it and it took me a few days to see it...haha :)

I finally got my rental car last Wednesday! WHOO WHOO!!! It is going to take about 2 weeks to fix my poor car. The insurance companies finally figured things out and my car will be as good as new :)

Scott and I had a wonderful long weekend...

Friday started the weekend....I got called off of work from Williams-Sonoma :( Scott was out in the field inspecting signs.

That night we went out downtown with some friends to watch the Magic game. Unfortunately they lost but we had a blast. Orlando had several HUGE screen t.v.s throughout the city for everyone one the watch. We ended up going to Wall Street which is a "street" that is shut down all the time with several bars and a huge outdoor street turned into a patio.

Saturday it thunder-stormed almost all day. I had to work during the day and Scott went to watch soccer with a friend. In the evening we went downtown to enjoy some music. Orlando has an outdoor amphitheater and they have a FREE summer concert series that started Saturday and goes through September. I am guessing we will be taking advantage of this often :) Music, outdoors, and free!!

Sunday we stayed in....we were planning on going to the beach but it was suppose to rain again all day. We decided to stay home and relax. Of course it didn't rain one drop but it was over cast.

Monday started with waiting and hanging on the couch. I was on call for work which means I have to call in and see if they need me to come in. Well I did not have to go in so we decided to head to the beach. It was a beautiful day!

Half way through the day I turned to Scott and was like I still can't believe this is our life and that we can come to the beach whenever we want. We truly are so lucky!

We are really excited for June and all that is to come this month. Tre and Sarah will be here Wednesday and we can not wait to see and spend time with them :)

World Cup

14 days 11 hours 34 mins till the greatest sporting event in the world.....

In other related soccer notes the Bi-Polar Bears we able to defy all odds and win the Thursday night loser bracket playoffs. Technically getting 5th place the team received a nice Adidas ball and a team picture with the world cup trophy. Two games back to back with no subs was a challenge but victory had to be met with a 2-0 win in the Final.

Despite the need for lids on beer glasses Scott has turn Kym into a soccer watching fan. She is excited for the World Cup and to watch the games at varies locations in Orlando. One being the Harp and Celt where we went for the Champions League Final. It was a rowdy, electric crowd and has only started to lay the ground work for the World Cup watching. I believe I remember a direct quote from Kym after viewing the match, " Wow that was a lot of fun. Watching soccer is exciting in a bar with beer and fellow fans. I cant believe I ever liked Baseball/Softball. Soccer is sooooo much better."

Oh wait.......

14 days 11 hours 24 mins till the greatest sporting event in the world.....

Cheers,

SB, KB

oh monday's.....

So we have been a little pre-occupied over here....

I will start with the good stuff....

Last weekend was a blast for us!

Saturday we decided to go downtown to the Florida International Beer Fest. It was put on by the same people who did the beer fest we went to last month. Apparently they put one on every month or two (we won't complain). This one was a ton more people but way better food. It also had live entertainment. We are thinking they need a bigger venue next year though...a bit over crowded. The beer was yummy like always and the Oberon booth was the first one to run out.

Sunday we took advantage of our Disney passes and went to Hollywood Studios. We finally went on the Tower of Terror which was really fun. I was kind of nervous I might puke but I was all good. We ended up going on it twice thanks to fast passes.

They also have this cool area at the park all about animation. One part of it is you get to learn how to draw different Disney characters. We have gone to it before and drew Donald. This time we got to learn how to draw Eeyore. We had so much fun we went through again. This time the teacher said the character was going to be a surprise and we would find out as we started drawing. Well....we drew one circle and Scott yelled out Donald Duck and well....there went that surprise for the little kids. hahaha. Another person later yelled out Daffy Duck...the teacher was not too happy. haha!


Then Monday can around.....I got rear ended :( I am fine but my car is not :( Needless to say I have been on the phone a lot this week trying to get this all figured out. Of course the other person was a tourist with a rental car. We are thankful however I was not hurt and will be getting the car fixed soon.

Scott has been working in the field most of this week. He has his soccer playoffs tonight....cross your fingers for the team.

the TAN is coming back :)

I would like to take a few seconds to let everyone know that the weather here has been WONDERFUL!!!! Mid-to-High 80s, sunny, very low humidity....makes me smile :) This past week has really just made me love where I live!

Scott and I of course have started to take advantage of the nice weather. This past weekend we went to Epcot and the beach.

I had to work Saturday morning/afternoon so when I got out of work we decided to head to Epcot for the evening. It was a great night to walk around and enjoy the park. Epcot is having its International Flower and Garden Festival right now so it is decorated amazing. The flowers were just beautiful.
On Sunday we decided to head to Cocoa Beach and enjoy the day. Scott unfortunately could not bring his surfboard because there were NO waves. He says "its like a lake". Fortunate for me though we got to hang out on the beach together though :) Usually when he brings his board it is me reading by myself and him in the water the whole time. It was a nice change having him reading and laying out too.

Oh yes and on the way to the beach we had to stop to get "off road" pics of the Jeep. Scott has joined a forum for Patriots and needed a pic to show off. haha :) There are spots on the said of the road where people camp or fish so we took some new pics there...


Another new adventure I am taking on is trying to become a runner....hahaha...between the weddings coming up and just wanting to lose weight and get fit I thought why not. I have decided I am going to "train" for a 5k. Apparently running season is over which means there are not that many races in the summer, so I have all summer to train and become a runner. I will keep you all updated on how long this fad lasts for me :) I started about a week ago and have ran everyday. It is not so bad right now because hours are down at both jobs so we will see how it goes when things pick up...

Other than that we are looking forward to June....which we realized it going to be one busy month for us and we get visitors :)

Where did the weekend go?

This weekend flew by for us.....

Saturday was a nice day on the lake watching a Pro Wakeboarding competition.


Saturday night we went to the Titans game. They are Orlando's pro lax team. It was the first round of the playoffs and they won!!!!

Sunday we hung out at the apt and I had to work in the evening.

The weekend was short and sweet :) It's on to another week of work.

Summer has officially started here....it was about 93 all weekend and sunny.

Surprise......

This past weekend was a whirl wind of fun!!! Scott and I had such a great time in Michigan with all our family and friends :) It was the first time we were back since our wedding....crazy....

We flew in Thursday night and had my dad pick us up from the airport. He helped us pull a great one over on my mom. She had no idea we were coming in town and was soooo surprised we were there. We actually heard "I can't believe you are here" quite a few times. It was great to see her reaction because she is tough to a get anything past. I really wish we could have video taped it.

Friday we got to go visit with Mary and see here Bachelorette pad. Which of course was decorated so cute. Mom also put together a quick Happy Hour so we could visit with family friends and see everyone.

Saturday we headed to Michigan State to see Andrew. I gave in and purchased a MSU sweatshirt....haha. Scott's parents also came and met us to watch the baseball game. We watched the Spartan's whip on the Illini :) (sorry Katie) After the game we got a wonderful tour of Andrew's dorm room and wow are those smaller than I remember. We all had some lunch and Scott and I headed to Howell.
Saturday night was filled with friends, laughter, excitement, and oh course beer. It was soooo great to see everyone. Scott had so much fun he didn't crawl into bed till about 4 AM. It was also fun to celebrate friends engagements - Julie/Josh and Crystal/Brian!!! We are so excited for both of them! I also received the honor of getting asked to be in Crystal and Brian's wedding which I couldn't be more excited for :)

Sunday we spent hanging with Scott's parents. It was a nice relaxing day watching the Red Wings (as Scott said we are in Michigan we HAVE to watch the Wings). I slept through it due to the fact I have a cold and was not feeling well (and no I did not drink too much the night before).

Naturally I brought my camera but didn't take any pics :( Good thing mom was there to take a few:)

Flying back Monday was a bittersweet. So sad to be leaving friends and family but seeing the sun, warm weather, and being home in nice (I am crying writing this). We really do miss you guys and are thankful to have you all in our lives :)

We are also excited because Brian and Jade set wedding dates too!!! Love is totally in the air :)

Now on to wedding diets, dress finding, and plane ticket booking :)

Easter Weekend

We had a nice relaxing Easter Weekend...

Friday I picked up some beers for happy hour until Scott got home from work :) We then headed to dinner at a new Mexican restaurant that we found. It was by far the best "authentic" Mexican restaurant we have found down here yet. Along with the tasty food they also had delicious homemade Sangria and Margaritas. We will for sure be heading back to San Jose's!!

Saturday I had to work so Scott hung around the Apt getting stuff done. We then spent the evening watching the Spartan's lose :( After the game we colored eggs :)

Easter Sunday was a nice relaxing lazy day! I forgot to make Easter Brunch reservation so we decided to get up early and go to breakfast at one of our favorite places. (We hadn't been there since I use to visit Scott. It was usually the place we would stop at on the way to the airport.) After breakfast we headed to church. The rest of the day was spent by the pool and the 85 degree weather. We then made a surf n' turf dinner (steak and crab legs).

We also had to turn the air conditioning ON....

*Hope everyone got their Oberon and welcome to (professional) baseball season*

Round 2

We had a few round 2s this weekend....Patriot and camping....

Friday started off with me going to the Tigers vs Braves baseball game. A friend and I went to the game at Disney's Wide World of Sports. The game was sold out and there were tons of Tigers fans. The Braves play their spring season at the Disney facility. It was 80 and the sun was glowing...prefect baseball weather :) It was great seeing Damon play for a real team too :)

Saturday started with us packing up my car for a weekend at the beach. We decided that we were going to stop by a Jeep dealership on our way out to take a look at a Patriot. A few hours later we left the dealership with a NEW burnt orange Jeep Patriot. Scott was sad to say bye to the Mountaineer (again) and I am happy he is in a safe car. After a trip back and forth to the apt and trading in Scott's old car we were on our way to the beach.

We headed to Vero Beach to meet up with some friends and camp. Due to our camping trip in August Scott tried to make this trip the best camping ever :) So we set up camp and the boys started a fire. The bonfire really reminded me of MI (people don't have bonfires here like they do up there). We even got to teach our native FL friends how to make s'mores. It was the first time they had every made them. I do have to say the weather/temperature was way cooler this trip and the mosquitoes aren't out in full force yet :) We did however forget pillows...oops


We were suppose to get up Sunday and head to West Palm Beach because Scott was suppose to go "looking for bugs" (lobster hunting). Well due to storms and wind the dive trip was canceled :( So instead we all went to the beach for a bit and headed to lunch at one of our favorite "beach shacks" Dakine Deago Insane Burrito. It is this really cool little beachy burrito place.

Scott was quite disappointed he did not get to "bug" but the weekend was wonderful. I am still up in the air about this whole camping thing...one night is not bad but any longer we are going to have to work on that...haha!

The rainy season has started...the humidity is coming back....summer is right around the corner...

Weekend Off

I finally had 2 days off in a row from both jobs :) and it was on a weekend :)

On Saturday Scott and I went to the East Orlando Beer Festival. The weather was prefect (a nice 80 with the sun out all day) and the beer was great. We got to try some of our favorites (Orberon) and some new stuff. I have found a new liking to Ciders as well. We both got a little red which means the tans are on their way back :)

Scott finds it very "cool" to wear his Bell's soccer jersey when we go to different beer things. So naturally he had to wear it to the festival and as usual people came up to him saying how "cool" he is for having it. He has decided that Bell's should pay him because he is helping to advertise for them. I think it is just funny...it is a conversation started to say the least though!


Today we have been laying low. Scott is going out of town AGAIN for work so he is getting ready for that. He will be in Miami (which he is not too fond of) doing a dive all week. The one thing he does like about the ocean dives is that there is a lot more wild life for him to see. I am still questioning this whole work thing....hahaha :)

We are both back to the grind tomorrow...

Hope everyone is doing well...we miss you all!

Way TOO Long

It has been way too long since the last blog...which means we have been VERY busy in the last 2-3 months. So we are going to rewind and start where we left off....

Christmas....Christmas was wonderful! My parents and brother came down for a week to spend the holiday with us. We went to Disney (of course) and spent x-mas day on the beach. It was great to be spending time with them :) We couldn't have asked for better weather either! It was a bit different having it sunny and warm for x-mas though...not in a bad way though. I was really excited to cook our first holiday meal which we did x-mas eve. Here are some pics.
For New Years we went to dinner and out with some friends. Scott had his first Tranny experience too. The bar we ended up going to had a tranny mc. To this day he still does not believe me that it was a man dressed as a woman.

2010 has been busy and eventful so far....

I now have 2 part time jobs. I am still with Williams Sonoma which is during the day and starting in January I started a night job doing inventory for stores. Needless to say there are a lot of days when I don't get much sleep and some days when Scott and I don't see each other but on the bright side I am keeping busy and making money.

The big adventure we are on right now though is finding a home. We are in the midst of house hunting. So far it has been tons of fun, exciting, and kind of scary. We have spent any free time looking at houses.

The weekend before we went to Charleston Scott's parents were able to come down to visit for the weekend. We went to Disney and Scott took them to see the Manatee's (I had to work :( and I gave up on those guys...after trying to see them 3 times and it not working out I am thinking it is not meant to be). The three of them also got to head to the beach and get some sun.

We recently went on a mini vacation weekend to Charleston, SC. On our way there we stopped in St. Augustine. It is the oldest city in the country and was est. in 1565. It holds the Fountain of Youth - which we did not find. We both loved the city and will be planning on going back again soon. I had to have Scott put a time limit on our stop because there is so much to see there.
Then off to Charleston
Scott had his annual work conference and I got to go along again this year. Friday I spent the day exploring Charleston while Scott was in class/work. Saturday he worked half the day and the other half we spent in the city. We went to a great lunch at a little southern place called Poogans Porch - I had fried green tomatoes benedict, grits and biscuits and Scott had a crab cake omelet and biscuits. We also took a tour of Ft. Sumter which was great. After that we decided we are officially use to the southern weather. We were both bundled up in hoodies and coats and still freezing. I of course liked the old churches and cemeteries throughout the city and Scott liked the bridge.
We were then lucky enough to have Beave and his girlfriend come to visit us during their spring break. We went to Disney and the beach. It was great to see them and had a great time!

Besides all of that nothing is going on here...hahaha!! We are enjoying 2010 so far :) The weather is starting to get nice here (80 today) and I can hear the beach calling our names in the future here. I am so ready to be back at the beach and soaking up the sun!