Watts Really Been Going On!

I have been a bad friend and worse blogger. November and December have been a blur as my job has taken off and so have the activities of the holiday season. One activity that has consumed a portion of my time was the Bowling Green Christmas Parade. I was asked a while back to be on the committee and had been going to meetings regularly to help plan and organize. This is the first year in some time that the Town had managed the parade. It is the first time in my lifetime that the parade has been in the evening. We had an overwhelming response. It was great!

Why am I telling you this? Well, Wendy (mom's neighbor and our good friend) and her sisters convinced me, Morgan, and Tyler to help make a church float. This is for the church we grew up in, and where Jared and I got married. They have not participated in recent years, and the church frankly could use some good advertising!

We took on the idea of a float. Morgan and I came up with the idea after Wendy told us she wanted us to do a "Reason for the Season" float. We decided to go with a Happy Birthday Jesus theme and to create a giant paper mache cake. Wow. We worked on it non stop for 3 weeks. We won second place overall and it looked really cute lit up at night. Here are some pics of it! This picture doesn't do it justice for when it was lit up at night. My friends have not posted their pics yet, and I did not want to delay posting any longer!

Witch Party

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but I sort of figured October might be like this. So much has happened since the last post! This post is mostly about the Witches Night Out party that Brooke and her mom hosted on October 2. It was at her mom's house and was a mix of older witches and younger witches! The older witches went way out with their costumes, while the younger witches just wore black dresses. Here is a picture of the dining room...they have the best Halloween decorations!
One very notible thing from this event was that I ate salad!! Brooke had prepared this salad that I make for Jared all the time but never eat it...not sure I even tried it ever, but I was so hungry and it was the first course....and I ate it....and liked it!! It was a spinach based salad..so I am going to try to get more green that way now!



Here is Brooke & I....and the unveiling of my hair cut to my Richmond friends! We had colored ice cubes and it was making the picture turn out funky, thus the reason her hand is over my drink.

Brandy was most excited to get a break from her kids and enjoy some time to relax and have fun with adults!

Here is a picture of all of the younger witches. My picture of the older witches with their cool costumes didn't turn out.

A great time was had by all..it was our last chance to really relax before the madness of October began......and o did it begin...

A King for your Highness!

Well, it is fall! Woohoo...that much closer to Christmas! Not that I am trying to rush it, but I love this time of year. Tonight it is going to dip into the 30's...what?
Anyhow, it seems that with the change of the seasons Jared & I are turning things in our house upside down.
Today, we had our new King mattress delivered. Woohoo. This would typically not be that big of a deal, however, we just paid $3000 for our Queen not even 2 years ago..eeeeekkkkk. Now we have an ultra luxurious mattress in our spare for our visitors! We got a king for a few reasons, but mostly because the old one was so soft that we were sinking all night. Now, I get to find a new duvet, sheets, and all that jazz. We are going to get a new bed as well, but are holding off for a while..you will see why below!
Next, I forgot to write about my recent haircut. I chopped it off. Must be a September thing. Last year this time I cut it a lot too. So far I like it. I will post pics after this weekend.
We are also seriously considering getting a new car. I am now driving half what I was before, and I want a new car. We probably will be getting a Toyota 4 Runner. We have decided for Jared to keep his truck so that he can hunt out of it and we can haul things with it, and to get a "family car" well before we have a family. My hope is that the payment would drop off soon after having kids so we wouldn't be picking up that extra expense. Stay tuned for that.
Lastly, we(I) am looking forward to this weekend. Witches night out on Friday, big 1st bday Saturday and a baby shower Sunday. I will probably blink and it will be Monday...good think I like my job and that I am off next Monday for Columbus Day!!

Beach Post #1

Labor day week we enjoyed a week at Nags Head courtesy of Gary & Joyce. We had a nice house, nice time, but bad weather. We only saw the sun for about 5 hours Wednesday afternoon, and then not again until Friday. We enjoyed it while we could. For me it was a little disappointing given my love for the sun and beach, but it was great for our family. Tucker and Courtney got very close to us during this week. Coco now calls me "Wia-weesh" or something like that....while it is difficult for me to determine whether Tucker is calling me or the fire truck. If I had no association with fire trucks it wouldn't be hard, but that isn't the case!

They quickly figured out which room was ours, and bugged Josh & Brandy to see us whenever they woke up..somedays this was 5am!!! I know I heard Josh say at least twice that Jared & I wouldnt have kids for another 5 years because of that...not true...we really enjoyed it very much and can't wait to go next year!

One last shout out to my friend KP, who this time next week will almost be MRS.LEWIS!!! I hope everything is perfect for you and Matt!! (She is also the inspiration for this blog)

Wastin Away Again in Margaritaville!

So I tried to post this from the beach, but my connection wasnt strong enough to upload the pics....this was our first Jimmy Buffett concert and it was a blast! We got there so early and it wasn't long before I was drowning in Parrot Bay & pineapple!! That doesnt count the 100 jello syringes we had! It was a beautiful day and we really had fun. Yes there were shooters for hooters, and lots of people passed out around Nissan.

Some of the girls.....Jenni was well on her way...and I wasn't far behind!

Of course Eric found some girls....but they swing the other way...he tried to convince us otherwise....but when they started making out...he was busted! Never the less he got them to give him some jello!


Living it up....a rare occasion of neither of us having to drive.

Check out that nice classy tshirt!!! Classy!

So it's September

So now that it is officially September, I dont feel so bad getting ready for fall...and the weather has helped! I know that when I return from vacation life will be a blur and before I know it I will be putting up my Christmas tree!!! I decided to make today a craft day, and here are some pics.

I originally saw this idea in a magazine and decided to give it a try.
I started with 10 cut out faces from Michael's. They had 6 or 8 ideas, so I tried some of theirs and a few of my own.

There are a few more that I still need to do...one with M&M's (orange), one with feathers, one that is black and white, and one with flowers.

The pictures are out of order--still learning this blog thing!



Here is the glitter one!

This one I painted black, and put some cool purple spiders on it!

This one is painted white, then covered in amber jewels!

This one is painted orange, then covered in ribbons. No clue why it is turned the other way.

The End of an Era

Yesterday marked the end of an era for me. I thought it would be solely filled with excitement because for so long I had been looking for something else, but it was all but that. Not that I will miss the job itself, but the people. Sometimes we don't realize how important our work friends are, but many weeks I spent more time with them than with Jared, Brooke, or any of my other friends. Girls, I will definately miss you very much. I hope that these next few months go smoothly for you.
But....in the mean time, I will enjoy the next 2 weeks! This week I am off work with no plans other than to try to get some sun, and spoil Dudley. I am sure Jared has other plans for me, like vacuum, dust, laundry, dinner, and who knows what else. I can probably manage to get some of that accomplished.
Next Saturday, we are looking forward to the Jimmy Buffet concert. Our friends Chip & Jenni have gone for a few years and talk like it is a blast...well this year we are joining them. A group of us are going to the concert and I am sure it will be 5:00 in Manassas around 1:00 next Saturday!
Sunday morning we are leaving for Nags Head...for those who don't know that might be Jared & I's favorite place on earth. We are going with his parents and Josh, Brandy, Courtney & Tucker. It should be fun. We haven't been on vacation with them in 5 or 6 years and are really looking forward to it....NO HURRICANES
After that, I will be starting my new chapter in my career with the Fredericksburg Chamber. I can't wait!

Fire Department is Taking Over My Life!

Sometimes I wonder how I get caught up in so many different things at once...but at least this time I am excited about it and it will be fun. Right now, BGVFD is planning several cool events, the most important being The Wicked Walk happening October 23,24, 29, 30 & 31. We are having a haunted trail that is sure to be the talk of the Town in October...however, this is taking lots of work.....Jared of course is known for being dirty and working outside, so he is a natural fit. He has been trying to help out a few weeknights each week and it will probably be like that through October. I hope everyone will come to the Wicked Walk and get boo'd!
In addition to this we are working on some cool concepts for the Harvest Festival in town (October 17) and also calendar for the new year. If you like the lottery..stay tuned...we have a good deal for you!
But, how could I post on this topic and not mention all of our friends who are also working hard on the trail...and those who are willing to have dinner at the trail just to be supportive!
We got a good report today that Courtney (our niece) doesn't have to go back to the neurologist anymore....and Jared's poison is much much better today, although he is at the trail now.....hopefully there are only trolls under the bridge:)

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time, but didn't think I had anything worthwhile to write about..but since I now am wanting to stay in touch with some "influential" friends..I am starting it up.
This is my last week at Benchmark @ Cap One as I am ditching that terrible commute and heading north to Fredericksburg to work for the Chamber of Commerce starting September 14. Even though I will miss a few Benchmark Buddies dearly (KZ, KP(L), and CM) I can't wait. I needed a change and something more challenging, so hopefully this is it. But in the mean time, I have 2 weeks off and lots to accomplish.
I will also ad that this weekend was fun, but it wasn't the greatest. Jared has probably his worst case ever of poison (ivy we think) and the Dr. didn't give him anything that has seemed to work. He was pretty much on the couch all weekend because his right leg is out of commission. Hopefully today we will finally see some improvement. Dudley thoroughly enjoyed having Jared home Friday, and this morning.