Easter Weekend ‘til today

Friday, March 21st we made a last minute decision to go to dinner with Katie & Michael at West Main. It was good and then we headed back to our place to hang out and chat some more. Ryan and Michael watched some bball while Katie and I enjoyed sipping our wine and chatting in the kitchen. We had a good night and then Saturday we slept in which was nice, had lunch at home and headed out to Sam’s Club to pick up a few items we were out of. Saturday night Ryan and I had Katie and Michael over again along with Basil, Kyle and his friend, Warren. Ryan and I cooked the six of us dinner. And we just veged at our place and watched the bball games on our new TV. I am into the games a bit since I entered into another pool this year! That would be awesome if we won!

Easter Sunday, the 23rd of March, Ryan, Kyle (he stayed the night with us) and I woke up early to go to church and then had breakfast at The Nook on the downtown mall. I would totally recommend this place, very reasonable and the food is pretty good. After breakfast the three of us headed home to see Abby and hang out with her. Kyle and I rested that afternoon and I did some laundry too while Ryan put some fertilizer on our grass and then went golfing with some work buddies. Sometime after six in the evening Kyle and I headed over to the Klekamp’s (Katie’s Parents) house for Easter Dinner. Ryan met us there later after his golf outing. And of course we did not leave there hungry. We enjoyed our time with them and owe them some invites to our house. The night came to an end and I took Kyle back to his apartment since he still had a few hours of school work ahead of him and then went to meet Ryan at the house and that concludes our Easter Sunday.

Monday I had off as a holiday for my company. It was nice, but I of course still received many work phone calls since I deal with the management company and Realtors; my days off are not really always off. But I managed to get some more laundry and ironing and cleaning done, so that was good. Then Abby and I worked on some scrapbooking and before we knew it Ryan was home from work and we had to eat dinner quickly and head to the Virginia Game (they are in the CBI tournament). They won thank goodness which means they will be playing tonight, Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

Tuesday, the 25th was my day back to work and I was busy with 2 new contracts and sending in reports etc. It was nice to have things to do and not be overwhelmed but still have some on my plate. After work I did my regular workout routine and then went home to eat leftovers with Ryan and watch our newlyweds’ show which we taped from Sunday. Then Ryan had to head to his softball game, the first one of the year, which they won! Abby and I decided it was too cold to cheer them on, when the weather warms we will be out there again as their dedicated cheer leaders. While he was at softball I scrapbooked some with Abby and then we headed to bed.

This morning I worked at Riverbend for a bit and then headed to Walker Square. Maddie called and we decided to meet up with Joshua James for lunch which was nice. I haven’t seen them in a while. We had great Panini’s at Café Cubano on the downtown mall, again another great place! Joshua James was good and so cute. Every time I see him it makes we want one like him! After lunch I had to head to work, but I showed Maddie the way to a new park which she could walk to downtown. They loved it and Joshua James was in heaven! He is such a good boy, he says, “Kelly hold me” and he always says “yes m ‘am”. He is so sweet! It was nice for Maddie and I to chat a bit too. If Ryan can get me a free ticket I will be going to the bbal game with him again, if not I told him not to spend the money; I can work on my scrapbooking. We will see what happens. I hope everyone is doing well and having a wonderful last week of March.

We have a countdown to Kendra’s Birthday. She will be 25 in 4 days (March 30th)!

ACC Basketball Tournament in Charlotte, NC

Hello again, I guess I will begin where I left off, which was prior to my trip to Charlotte.
Thursday, March 13th, I left straight from work and began driving down to Charlotte, NC to meet Ryan for the ACC tournament. I had a much longer drive than anticipated since I ran into lot of traffic on 81. I was stopped or going maybe 5mph for about an hour or so, so by the time I reached our hotel I was pooped. I went in, showered and got ready for bed and by that time, Ryan had just arrived from downtown. We were placed at a hotel which was nice, but in the outskirts some. The Cavaliers lost, this night, so I unfortunately didn't get to see them play the rest of the weekend.

Friday, the 14th, we went to the VAF breakfast at the Omni downtown and then to the afternoon games were we got to meet Jay and hang out with him for part of the day. I got to see Virginia Tech beat Miami which was nice. Then we went to a an ACC dinner/snack for us since we were meeting NC State folks later on for dinner we didn’t want to eat too much and be too full. After that we went back to the Omni Hotel to see if there was any possibility of switching from our hotel farther out to the Omni downtown. And come to find out they did have a room for us which was great for convenience. So, after many phone conversations, we were able to switch. We then road the Lynx, the new Charlotte transit system (VERY NICE), to the Restaurant which was where we were meeting Ryan’s NC State friends for dinner. We ate at a Japanese Steakhouse, which was so good and then Media and her husband took us to our first hotel to pack up our bags and check-out. Then we packed our car and moved down into the Omni. We literally dropped our bags and then left to go meet Graham at his sweet condo in downtown Charlotte. It was literally two blocks from the Omni, so everything so nice and convenient. We then went out with him, Shooter, Jess and Sarah (who had just come in that night). We had a blast and there are a few pictures to prove it. Then we went back to the hotel before long and headed to bed after a long day.

Saturday, the 15th, we woke up and Ryan and I went on a run outside since the workout room was so small and all the machines were in use. On our way back from the run we got to stop and watch part of their St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which ran just outside the Omni. Before long we went in to grab some breakfast, which became a aggravating. The food took just about an hour to get to us and meanwhile Ryan was dealing with ticket issues and I was trying to book an appointment for a massage at the spa. Since it took so long, Ryan went up to shower and get ready for the games. I asked for our food to go to take up to our rooms so at least Ryan could try and scarf some of it down before he went to do his job. He left for the arena a bit early to deal with the ticket issues he had on hand. Then I got ready and headed to the arena to meet him. We were able to sit in the suite with Jess and Sarah which was very nice! I got to sit first row of the suite to watch my Hokies play UNC and of course they had to lose by 1 point; it was depressing, but at least they tried hard! After the game it was pouring, but I had to head back to the hotel for my massage. I got and there and it was so nice to get that done; I was overdue and hadn’t had one since our honeymoon! Then I came back to the hotel took about a 20 min nap before Ryan walked in the door. I showered quickly and got ready for dinner. Ryan and I went down to the lobby to meet Brian, Brian, Jess and Sarah. We ended up walking out of the hotel and eating at Brixx Pizza which was very good and then we headed to a few bars downtown. We had another great time! After our night we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Sunday, the 16th, we woke up in the AM and got ready, packed and checked-out. Ryan came with me to get my Starbucks and then we left town. We of course stopped at Concord Mills Mall on our way home. We looked around had lunch and bought a couple items. And then Ryan drove me back home. We had Bojangles for dinner of course on our way. Once we got home, we were pooped. We unpacked and got ready for bed. I then met Kyle to pick up our Abby girl; she stayed with him all weekend. She was great and it was so nice to see her. We had a wonderful nights rest!

Now this week has gone by so fast. We haven’t had anything exciting going on other than our normal routine. Kyle may come over tomorrow and be with us for Easter. Other than that I do not believe we have any other plans. Well I hope everyone has a fabulous Easter Weekend! I am off on Monday! YEA!

Hugs and Kisses to everyone!

Well this last weekend, what did we do….

Friday, March 7th Ryan and I just went home after our daily workout, had dinner at home and just stayed in. It was a rainy day and night, so we just spent our time together. Then Saturday, March 8th, Ryan and I slept in with Abby; thank goodness she is such a good sleeper! After waking up, we showered, got dressed and had lunch at home then headed to run a few errands. We went to Lowes and the Harris Teeter to pick up a few items we needed. After getting home we did some cleaning around the house and the got ready to go work out. We did a quick workout and then went home to shower and finish straightening up the house. Then we got ready to go to dinner and out with Katie & Michael. We went to dinner at Orzo and then drinks at Ten and then Shooter took us over to Oxo for some dancing! We had a great time; it had been a while since we went all out.

Sunday, March 9th we definitely slept in after a long night. We had lunch at home and just hung around the house; I did laundry and some more scrapbooking until we had to go to church. After church we had dinner at Christians and then headed to the UVA vs. Maryland Basketball game at JPJ. It was a great last regular season game for Sean Singletary; he also had his jersey retired prior to the game. I have a signed jersey by him (thanks to Ryan), so I am excited to see where he will be playing pro in his future. After the game we headed home to bed.

Monday, March 10th we worked our full day and worked out after work. Ryan then went to pick up Grammie while I was cooking dinner for the 3 of us. Ryan, Grammie and I had dinner at our house. Grammie got to see the house all painted. She liked it and we think she enjoyed herself. Tuesday the 11th was just another normal day. Wednesday the 12th, Ryan left for Charlotte for the ACC tournament. So I was alone last night with Abby. It was quiet and sad and scary without my hubby home with me. I am leaving straight from work today to go be with him in Charlotte for the weekend. I am excited to see him and see part of the tournament as well.

Well have to run, but more to come after our weekend in Charlotte!

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Finally a Picture of our New TV :)

Thursday, the 28th thru Sunday the 2nd of March!

Back to catch up from last week. Last Thursday, I hosted Book Club at our house. It was great. I made chicken burritos and veggie burritos along with chips, salsa and guacamole to munch on. I also bought a few bottles of different wines. It turned out to be a great girl’s night. We all decided on a new book. We picked something different from last month’s reading. We are now reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, we’ll see how I like this one as I am not opposed to trying something new. It is fiction and I usually prefer one’s based on true stories or something you can learn from. While we were all at my place, Ryan went out with a couple of his buddies.

Friday and Saturday Ryan and I just stayed in, did laundry and relaxed. Saturday night Ryan and I were invited by one of our neighbors to see the Temptations play at the Paramount. They were actually VERY good! They played all their great old songs like “My Girl” etc. There is only one original left in the group. But they were all still amazing. After the show, we went to Siips and enjoyed some wine and cheese at the newest Charlottesville Wine Bar.

Sunday, Ryan and I went to church and then tried Brunch at this place downtown called Bluegrass Grill & Bakery. It was extremely good. I totally recommend it! We did have to wait, but it was well worth it! After brunch we headed to Grammie’s/Nuns’ place to visit her. She was in the hospital last week, but now seems to be doing much better. It was nice to chat with her. I think I might be cooking dinner for her early next week. We will see how she is feeling. I want to make sure I don’t veer from her diet restrictions too, so I will have to see what is off limits to be sure she gets the healthy meal. After our visit with her Ryan went to play 9 holes of golf at Spring Creek with Michael and I went home to nap. When Ryan came home we had left over burritos for dinner and watched my shows on our new TV!

This week we are busy working and then Wednesday, UVA plays Duke which we will be attending and then Thursday we are supposed to be having dinner with a donor. And then before we know it, it is Friday again! Well we hope you all have a blessed week! We love you all!

More Info On our Two New Additions

Thanks Meredith for the Comment. Below is some additional info our two new additions

Fifi was born on August 6th, 2005 into a desperately poor family in Lampung. She lives with her parents in Indonesia only in a simple house, earthen floor, bad sanitary without electricity and private bathroom in it. Her father tries hard to earn a living by working as a traditional farmer, but he earns very little that it is impossible to meet the family's needs. Her mother, although resourceful at trying to make the most of the little, cannot do much with her husband's low income. The family's annual income is around US$80.00. It is painfully obvious that the child needs help if she wants to get proper nourishment, clothing and better attention. When we learn of her needs, we are happy to welcome her to our big family. Fifi has fairly good health condition and she makes good progress. Her hobby is playing dolls.

Edwin Javier was born January 9th, 2004. Edwin lives with his father and his mother in Nicaragua. He is responsible for running errands. His father is employed and his mother maintains the home. There are 2 children in the family.

Edwin is not attending school because he is too young. Soccer, playing with cars and playing ball games are his favorite activities. He also attends Bible class regularly. Please remember Edwin in your prayers.

Edwin lives on the plains of Neighborhood Village Venezuela, home to approximately 10,000 residents. Typical Houses are constructed of cement floors, brick walls and corrugated iron roofs. The most commonly spoken language is Spanish.

The regional diet consists of maize, beans, bananas, chicken, guinea pig, fish, bread, cassava, beef, plantains, rice and potatoes. Common health problems in this area include respiratory illnesses; diarrhea and parasites. Half of the adults are unemployed but some work in factories and earn the equivalent of $76 per month. This community has electricity, potable water, sewer and telephone but needs libraries, computer labs, employment opportunities and improved housing.

New Additions to our Family

Today, Ryan and I have each sponsored a child in need from two different organizations. Ryan is sponsoring a Girl named Fifi who is 2 yrs old from Indonesia via the Christian Children’s Fund https://www.christianchildrensfund.org. And I am sponsoring a boy who is 4 yrs old, named Edwin Javier which I believe he is from South America via Compassion http://www.compassion.com . We will be receiving more information via mail on our two children as soon as we get more info I will update you all! We are very excited as I hope we can really help these children!

Catch-Up Time

Hi to all my friends and family. I am so sorry it has been sometime since I have posted anything. Let’s see what has been going on in our lives since our last posting of the Re-Painted Sunroom…

Tuesday, February 12th, Ryan and I voted! Yeah!!! And we got our taxes done! Yea for us!!!

Thursday, February 14th, Valentine’s Day!!! Ryan took me to a nice dinner at Cassis downtown. We enjoyed ourselves and had great conversations; I love it when we take the time to talk to one another! Ryan got a card, some chocolate bon bons and a light for the grill, so he can see the food he’s grilling. I got a nice dark wood jewelry box, and a card with snoopy. Abby likes snoopy, but she cannot have him. He is mine for now and another great pillow to sleep with. Ryan thinks I sleep with enough pillows already but this is a nice soft addition to hold.

Friday, February 15th, we had Katie & Michael over for dinner. We didn’t have anything fancy, just spaghetti with tri-colored noodles and my own sauce, garlic bread and a salad. It was nice to just hang at home with friends. We didn’t go out that night just sat in our living room and chatted for a few hours before they headed back to Gordonsville Gates. Ryan and I hit the bed at a decent hour.

Saturday, February 16th, we woke up at a good hour and got ready to head to Richmond. Our goal was to finish using up all our wedding gift cards we have received and we did accomplish that! We got some more silverware from Macy’s and a few items from Restoration Hardware for our home. We also bought some other little things here and there. Ryan did end up getting a very nice brown pinstripe suite which will match so nicely for Sara’s wedding. The bridesmaid dress I am wearing is a fudge/chocolate brown color, so Ryan and I will hopefully compliment each other. I know I think far ahead, as the wedding is not until September 27th. Oh also, on this day we did bring Abby with us; it was nice out and one of the malls is dog friendly. They have treats in their stores and water bowls scattered throughout the mall. Abby was very well behaved. Then we had Chipotle for dinner and headed back to Charlottesville! We put our things away and hit the bed.

Wednesday thru Friday, February 20th thru 22nd, I got sick at about 2AM and stayed home from work and slept on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday I went into work to play some catch-up and then just took it easy on Friday night. I rested and watched Ryan put a new TV stand together for our new HD LCD TV we were planning on purchasing. We saw it the previous weekend, but waited and didn’t pull the trigger. Then Sam’s in Charlottesville was out of stock this whole week and we were just waiting for it to come in; they kept saying 15 more were on order, but had no date of when they might be received.

Saturday, February 23rd, Ryan of course wanted the TV now, so since Charlottesville still hadn’t received any new ones in, we drove to Richmond spur of the moment. Buying the TV was not as easy as it sounds. It took some time and then of course it didn’t fit in Ryan’s car, so we had to go to Lowes and buy string to make sure the trunk was tied down as far as it could go. We grabbed a late dinner and traveled back to Charlottesville on I-64 with our 47” sticking out of our backside. We arrived home safely where we find Jay taking care of and hanging with Abby. Thank goodness Jay was there because he helped Ryan carry the TV in and then helped him to also set it up.

Sunday, February, 24th, Ryan, Jay and I went to church, then Jay treated us to brunch and we went home to rest up and let our food digest. Next we headed out to pick up Grammie/Nuns and went to the NC State vs. UVA basketball game. After the game we met up with Ken, Krista and the girls. Ryan and I took Grammie/Nuns home as she wasn’t feeling well and preferred to get some rest. Ryan and I then met up with Jay, Ken, Krista and the girls at Applebee’s. Thanks to Ken and Krista we were treated to dinner. Jay, Ryan and I headed home and hung out for a bit then hit the beds. Jay left about the same time Ryan did the next morning for work.

Which brings us to Monday, February, 25th, Ryan and I met with our home inspector. He was great and hopefully some things will be taken care of during our 10 month warranty walk-thru with Ryan Homes which is in mid March. Our home inspector gave us a detailed write-up/summary of items which Ryan Homes will need to take care of prior to our warranty being up and for them to be up to national builder’s standards. This is all to make sure our home lasts as long as possible along with helping for resale value. Just making sure all things are working properly. We’ll see now how our meeting with Ryan Homes will go on March 15th.

Now this finally brings us to today Tuesday, 2/26/08!

Today is Jay’s Birthday, Happy Birthday Jay! Today Comcast came to take a look at our DVR/HD connection to our new TV. We were having some issues getting a picture. Ryan met with the Comcast guy. And now Ryan says it looks great, so I cannot wait to see it when I get home; I am excited about the new TV too (I will take a picture to post tonight). Kyle took our old stand and my old Toshiba for him and his roommates, so getting rid of that was no problem. Thank you Kyle! Tonight we have our first HOA meeting for Cherry Hill and we are interested to see how everything will transpire. It’s difficult being the first to live in a community. Hopefully Cherry Hill will end up being a great neighborhood; we just need more places built and more people to buy.

Enough for now. More blogging on a later date…

Re-Painted Sunroom

Hi All,

I hope everyone has had a great weekend and is having a good week!

On Friday, Ryan and I went out with Katie and Michael. We decided to try something new. We hung out at the corner. We went to our old favorite places. It wasn’t too crowded, so it was perfect night to go. We had some Cajun food too, not bad. Then we went home at a decent time, before all the college folks went out, and hit the bed.

Saturday, Ryan woke up and went to the Wake Forest game which was down in NC. He was gone all day which let me get some things done around the house. I finished re-painting the orange sunroom we didn’t like so much. I painted it a neutral very light brown color; it is not so exciting, but that is Ryan's office area and he likes it so that is all that matters. I personally wish it was a shade darker, but I am NOT painting any room over again. After the painting, I began to go thru all the boxes and miscellaneous stuff Ryan had in that room. I threw away a lot of trash, filed important documents and kept the keep sake items either for scrap booking or just sentimental items which ended up not being much at all. Now it is nice and organized as we gave a lot away and the drawers are clean and neat too! This week we have to hang a couple more pictures in that room.

And then it is time to relax, scrapbook and enjoy our home and my hubby. I do have a ton of scrap booking to catch up on, which I can do while conversing with my hubby or watching TV. It’s the fun part :)

First Weekend of February!

This is the first weekend we could hang out and enjoy each other’s company in a long while. We are finally finished painting every room with the exception of the hallways/stairwells. They will stay white while we take a short break. We have also decided we do not like our orange sunroom on the first floor. We will be re-painting that soon. I plan on working on taping the room this week.

Friday the 1st of February, Ryan and I went to work and did our regular workout routine after work. Then we came home showered, and went to the dumplings place on the downtown mall and had our $3.00 dumplings for dinner while people watching. It was nice to not have anything on the schedule. Afterward we came home, and I worked on organizing some of our files in the sunroom off the kitchen while Ryan played around on the computer. It was great to hang out in the same room together. Not before long, we hit the bed and slept in to about 9:30 on Saturday morning.

Saturday the 2nd, we woke up, showered and got dressed to head to Sam’s and Lowes. At Sam’s we picked up all we needed for our super bowl party on Sunday. And at Lowes we got two gallons of the new paint color to redo the 1st floor sunroom. In between Lowes and Sam’s we had some Chick-fil-A for lunch. After our errands we came home and I finished my filing for better home organization and to make sure we have all we need for our taxes. Then we got ready to leave for Capps’ House. We hung out there for a few hours with our friends. It has been a while since we have all gotten together, so it was nice to chat and catch-up. When we got home later that evening I of course got on my computer and made a sign to put up on the front door, for everyone to make sure they take off their shoes for Sunday’s party (to my surprise the sign was Ryan’s idea). Then we both hit the bed.

Sunday the 3rd, we woke up again around 9:30ish to get ready for church. We went to church and then came home to have lunch. After lunch I started to get things organized and set-up for the big 1st gathering at our house. Ryan vacuumed the entire place and I did some dusting here and there. Then for a quick break Ryan and I headed to Walker Square for a speedy workout since we knew we would be stuffing our faces with junk food most of the evening. Before leaving Walker Square I got some helium balloons to put up on our light post to let people know which home is ours. And I also got our “welcome, please take off your shoes” sign laminated to stick on our front door and keep for future guests. Upon returning from the “Square” I took out the pork tenderloins which had been cooking in the oven for about 4 hours or so that day. While I let them cool, I put an apple pie in the oven and took a shower to be ready for our guests. After the shower, I came down to help Ryan get the tenderloins onto French bread slices for little sandwiches. And as we were setting those up and some other food items, guests began walking in the door. For about the first hour or so we had many neighborhood folks and then most of our local friends came in around game time. We all chatted, gave tours of our home and enjoyed the company. All in all, it was a great turnout; we ended up having about 25 people come in and out throughout the evening. To our surprise there were no spills and a very easy quick clean-up. Ryan was a wonderful husband, host, helper and supporter! Now that we have had our first bang and friends and neighbors know where we live, we hope to continue to have more regular casual gatherings.