Softball Champions

And you know I had nothing to do with it! Thats right, it was purely social for me until I had to play catcher the last game. Im thinking the point of the catcher is to "Catch" the ball and not let it hit the umpire every time...yeah, pretty sure Im not a good catcher. But oh well...it was fun while it lasted! We loved our team and love our friends! At least I didn't peg anyone this go around with a softball...guess I have learned something in the past 8 yrs since the last time I played softball. We took home the trophy, its quite fabulous, and then celebrated with a little slushy action at 7-11. So until next year...

I Loved Our Week at Sea

Henry talked us into going on a week's cruise. Ok--didn't so much have to talk us into going on a week's vacation. We were thrilled to get to spend the week away and relax with the family. Henry, Hank (Henry III), Sadie, Andrew, and I sailed to sea and it was fabulous. We had a room with a great balcony on the very very back of the ship. We had three rooms next to each other so the partitions between the balconies were able to be opened up for a large balcony. Henry and Hank's balcony wrapped around their room and the back/side of the boat. It was the site of many happy hours that were enjoyed this week.

Weeks agenda:

Sleep in

Eat breakfast

Relax

Lay out

Relax

Eat lunch

Nap

Eat a snack

Happy Hour

Eat Dinner

I loved my desserts!

No self-control.....

.(Something I should work on).

Yep....eating and laying out were pretty much the majority of my week. Oh so very healthy.

We stopped at Jamaica. Andrew fortunately could not sell his blonde wife to the drug lords as he had oh so desired too! haha--ok not really but I know he wishes he could sometimes?!?!? =)

We enjoyed laying out on a Jamaican beach for a few hours while we were there. We also stopped at Grand Caymens and Cozumel where we snorkled. It was so fun and was amazing to be in the water. It felt wonderful to be in the water. It truly was a great trip, so thankful we got to go!

Sadie did some karaoke

It was fabulous. She was a rockstar.

Since people tell me to stop singing when I do sing, usually in the car (hmm..andrew, sister...not to mention any names) I decided to stay away from sining and greatly embarrassing myself in front of everyone I dont know and will never see again.

Me and Sades at dinner.

Most beautiful sunset from our balcony. I will miss this sight.

Morgan Happy Hour.

I will also miss this spot for future happy hours.

Loved this week.

And we are back in full action.

I have been to chicago and back for a girl's weekend--pictures to come! It was absolutely fabulous!!!

Back to work and back to trying to get the house decorated...oh the long never ending project.

Getting Settled

Getting settled....thats pretty much all we have been trying to do lately--get settled and make a house our home. My mom comes in town this weekend for a much needed helping hand. Im excited to shop (oh, I know Andrew is ready for the shopping to come to an end!!), eat good grub, and shop some more! We are close to a stopping point where we get to take a break.

Pictures...coming soon!!

Until then...happy shopping!

Warrior Dash 2010

Andrew and friends after the Warrior Dash

Andrew and his friends recently participated in Warrior Dash. Its a 3.5 mile run but the catch is that you have obstacles every few minutes. You run through mud, crawl through mud, jump over fire, climb over walls...you get the point! By the end..you are completely covered in mud. Honestly, I was disappointed I opted out of it this year. Next year--I will be completing Warrior Dash 2011.

Andrew and Luke before the race

*yes, you wear ANYTHING you want*

no doubt, we saw some interesting constumes

The fire obstacle

The boys after a water rinsing

Love my warrior!

So far...

I have not hit anyone in the back....

Most of you know my history with softball. Its not pretty. For those of you that don't--during a intramural softball game between Chi O and Phi Mu back in the college days (forget when it actually occurred) someone allowed me to be on the Chi O softball team. What were they thinking? Im not quite sure. Well at first I played outfield but then soon became catcher which soon led to me playing no more games. So I wasn't too familiar with the rules of softball at the time...so I had the ball (while was in the catcher position) and thought it would be faster to tag the girl by throwing the ball at her rather than....well I didnt really think of any other option at the time, I guess. So thats what happened. I thought--I can get her out, so I threw the ball...

YIKES! Tagged the poor girl right in the back. WOW! I soon realized thats NOT how the game of softball is played. The whole thing was caught on video, thanks to Mrs Katie Hinson....perhaps you should dig that out???

Well why do I tell the story--well because my sunday school class as LET me be on their co-ed team. Yes, they let me (they didnt know the story at the time otherwise they may of had to rethink their decision). Im not quite the softball player. I had been playing with Andrew's plastic Texas Rangers softball glove that was the size of my pinky. But he went and got me a new one (i was completely happy with my 3rd grade size glove and really didn't want to waste money on a new glove..bc I hardly play). I like to sit on the bench, cheer, and take pictures. I have my batting times (only bc Ill be next in line and have to bat) and then Ill have my ONE inning where I cant say no anymore so I have to go play. I will play right outfield, I think. I pray and pray and keep praying that NO balls will fly my way and that the other team gets 3 outs FAST!

I really do LOVE my team and Im thankful they don't make me play more than I have to (or otherwise we might be on a bag losing streak). I love all the people on it and I look forward to every Thursday night. I love cheering. I love my friends. I love the social aspect of the game. I love getting WhatABurger after the game. Im scared of the softballs.

Newlyweds: 4-0-1

Packing...More Packing...Moving!!

We started the heavy-duty packing today. I am already to be done packing and moved it. We close Friday at 830am and then...the moving starts. We have a moving truck for 5/1/10 so we will move little things in during the next week but wait for all the big stuff.

Right now we are living in disarray, unorganized, messy, boxed up apartment. As you can tell:

Soon to be all organized here:

We cant wait to settle in the house. We went by yesterday and talked with the owners, who actually graduated in the same class as andrew from HP. Small weird! They are so sweet and would have loved to be friends with the wife but they are moving to Australia for 2 years. They were sweet to show us the quirks of the house. We also met a hardwood floor guy and a granite person out there as there is a possibility we might do one of those before we move in later after closing. We also discovered a beautiful hot pink rose bush in the front yard (the one to the left of the driveway) which is now fully in bloom and so pretty. Guess Ill be learning some yard stuff along the way. We are excited for the upcoming closing date and a fun celebration dinner at Bob's on Friday!

The Big Apple

We had an absolute fabulous time in NYC. We did everything: walk, eat fancy meals, eat NY style pizza, drink some cocktails, walk more, went on a search for the best red velvet cupcake, eat more, shopped, went to the MoMA, eat some more, and finally...walked and ate some more! It was wonderful and we were exhausted. We got to see some of Andrew's friends, one who happened to be in NYC from Germany just visiting the east coast with his friend and another one that lives in NYC. We also got to see my good friend Brittany. It was so great to catch up with her since her move to the Big Apple about a year ago.

Here is the picture story of The Search for the Best Red Velvet Cupcake:

Question:

Does anything compare to Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake??

First cupcake place I came across:

Little tiny cupcakes, baked by who other than....Melissa. It was a given, I had to try them!

They were very good little cupcakes, loved them!

Second on the list....

The one and only, famous, Magnolia Bakery

Good but didn't live up to my expectations of the most talked about Magnolia Bakery.

Third....

Crumbs Bakery

The biggest red velvet cupcake I have ever seen! Andrew believes Crumbs wins for the best in NYC (that we have tasted to date).

It definitely won the best one I tasted in NYC but...Sprinkles definitely out-tastes all of them, agreed upon by both tasters, Missy and Andrew!

Glad to know that I have the best red velvet cupcake at my finger tips (D.A.N.G.E.R.O.U.S)

What did we do in between eating cupcakes....haha, lots!!!

When we first arrived on Friday, we checked into our hotel, not to mention we got a nice little upgrade in our room to a suite, so great and a fabulous surprise (always say you are on an anniversary trip)! We then walked down to SoHo area and just wandered and wandered. We stopped for a little happy hour drink....

at this little "Manhattan Bar." Cute and quaint, and small. Fun for our first little stop. We had reservations at a spectacular italian restaurant an hour later so we didn't want to ruin our appetite so we just had a drink and moved on to dinner. Il Mulino. WOW! A very italian experience. Andrew had some fabulous steak and I had, well...a whole fish served to me on a silver platter. Literally. Then then filled it but, wow! I guess I didn't quite understand their Italian/English language and I ordered a whole fish! It was definitely a fun experience and quite the fancy dinner.

Later that night we met up with Andrew's friend Clayton for some drinks and watched the Vols win over Ohio State, I was a proud southern in the north, one of the only!

Saturday and Sunday during the day we explored:

I only thought of one person when I saw this Starry Night, Van Gogh....Rachel Shaub! It was amazing to see some of the original works by Van Gogh, Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock. We definitely did not spend enough time at the MoMA (Modern Museum of Art) to appreciate everything. We did it at the end of the day when we were so so very tired.

This is what we looked like before the MoMa:

Dont judge us, you would look like us too!

Exhausted!

We also went to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Financial District and Ground Zero, 5th Ave and all those fun fancy stores! The fun stores also included a visit to Dylans Candy Bar, the flagship. YUM. Wow! Candy overload. I got Tyler and Ellie some fun candy so hopefully they will enjoy! We had a blast!

We happen to be passing St. Patricks Cathedral when they were starting their Palm Sunday Service.

The empire state building

Saturday night we went to Blue Fin where Brittany works and she waited on us which was great! We loved seeing her and catching up!

We received great service: free champagne and an anniversary dessert! We had a blast! Loved the Big Apple!

We are back and I think still recovering from a fun fun vacation!

Next up: Looking forward to 4/23 which looks like it will include a house, 4/15 which might include Sadie's graduation, 5/30 which might include a fun cruise with the Morgan clan, 6/10 which might include a fun Chicago trip with my favorite girls.....wow spring is full!!! We are excited for all that the spring holds, busy busy!