March and April were jam packed!  There was a Maggie Nelson recital (*oh, and she is pregnant now*), dinner at the Hagen’s (*best creme brulee I’ve ever had*), nephew Zac’s singing recital (*I cried*), went to a seminar at the American Greetings building (*really cool facility but people were let go that day which was wierd*), had lunch with Megan Biddle with Brad visiting, got the keys to Devon and had the first wave of moving, had first dentist appointment in a while, and amidst all of this there was bell practices and church performances.  CRAZINESS!

Then, in April there was Easter and finding a dress/accessories, saw the Hunger Games (*which was ok*), went to a conference in Orlando, and planned for a Bachelorette party/shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Highlights of conference:

1) First day at lunch I met a guy with a Manalorian logo on the back of his iPhone. So I talked nerdy with him.

2) Second day at lunch I met the test manager of the Ubisoft Quebec studios.  So I talked nerdy with him. There was also a guy from the Cleveland area which was funny.

3) Third day the Ubisoft guy remembered me and came to talk to me at a reception!  Then we went to the Universal Citywalk Hard Rock Cafe for dinner! His english was pretty good but with a heavy french accent.  Had a lot of fun and wish I could move to Quebec to work on video games.  Video games and movies are still my passion…

4) Overall, the conference was interesting but there are definitely two types of camps: exploratory vs. automated/standard.  It’s unfortunate because a combination of the two will yield the best results.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bachelorette highlights:

1) I made atkins cheesecake cupcakes! Not the prettiest things I’ve baked but the bride couldn’t eat anything else.

2) Made really cute baskets full of manicure stuff for the bridesmaids and bride.

3) Made a custom cocktail (*have since learned it wasn’t entirely original but I’m still claiming it*) Chambord is my new favorite thing.

4) The next day was the bridal shower. So 4/21 and 4/22 were super wedding heavy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now this weekend is the bachelorette party for another friend but luckily I’m not hosting this one.  The shower is also this weekend but I can’t go to that.  I am however going to the Sabaton concert on Sunday!  Ben and I have been looking forward to this for months!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All through March I was dreading April and now there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s been so busy that Ben and I have hardly focused on ourselves or our fantastic new home.  We need to work on saying no more.  I’m sure there is lots more I forgot here and I wish I had time for more detail. But at least I’m getting some bullet points down.

In my defense though it was super busy (*obviously*). Exciting news is that Ali is doing great in college and is interning at a flower shop, Tyler and Colleen are engaged, and Ben and I bought a house!

BJJ was super fun but a little more of a commitment than I wanted/could handle.  I will always be proud that I tried it though and may go back in the future. 

I will have another chance to talk about Sabaton as Ben and I are going to another concert in April.

Handbells at Christmas time were beautiful.  Unfortunately though, it is looking like we won’t be able to do handbells for the lent/easter season.  We are tapped out of people  

The house part is by far the most exciting! Ben and I looked fairly hard from around Thanksgiving to early January and ended up buying the second house we saw. I’m sure many of my posts will become house centric but that is ok because home-ownership is an adventure by itself!

My gaming has waned which actually makes me really sad.  It just is really hard to balance with work, choir/handbells, keeping a clean home, and sanity.  I’m currently working through Assissan’s Creed Revelations and Skyrim (*which has one of the most beautiful soundtracks I ever heard*).  Ben and I haven’t played Magicka since our Anniversary but I would really like to finish it.

3.  Royal Purple

2. Purple with pink (*I know last year I said it was purple but actually the company has more than one purple so I need to be more descriptive*)

1. True Red

I bought Ben a Skyrim themed hoodie that I know he wanted. It looks so good on him!

The Players:  Steve Henke and Gina Berila (*now engaged!*), Andy and Nicole, Dusty and Sammy, Yost, Ben and me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/24~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday was a big day.  I had an ultrasound (*I’ve been having some tummy troubles*), then went to work, then went home to finish packing, and THEN went to the rendevous location of Steve’s house.  After Yost, Andy and Nicole, and Gina arrived we loaded up Tonka and Andy’s car and were on our way.  Dusty and Sammy weren’t with us yet because they left before us to go to a family reunion in Tennesee and would catch up with us later this trip.  Our first stop was a Cracker Barrel and I thought it was a great first meal to our trip.  Afterward, I took some Dramamine and was pretty much out of it for the rest of the night.  We stopped in Virginia at about 2:30 AM at a Best Western to recharge for the next leg of the trip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/25~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 2 of traveling.  We all managed to be up and about in a good time and were back on the road with McDonald’s in hand by about 10:00 AM!  The scenery was goreous and we tried to take pictures of the mountains but it was a little tricky in a moving vehicle.  One of the MOST excited things was traveling past billboards showcasing yummy peaches, peach ice cream, and peach cobbler!  I wanted to go so bad but Ben said maybe on the way back.  I’m a litlle worried that we won’t make it though because our GPS was acting strange when we got to the Carolinas so I’m not sure we can refind the peach stand.   Anywho, when we were only about an hour away from Myrtle beach we stopped at ANOTHER McDonalds for a snack.  Needless to say we declared no more McDonals for a little while LOL.  Sadly, traffic getting into the beach area was AWFUL and it extended our journey by about 2 hours.  Yuck.

We arrived at the main office for the rental house and they promptly gave us the keys and directions.  The house was easy to find and is nestled at the end of a private drive.  The inside looks like it is from an HGTV episode!  Fantastic country cottage with some modern touches.  Ben and I got the master bedroom (*which we thought was fitting because we were the only married couple here *)  After we unloaded the vehicles, Ben and I went to my parents Holiday Inn hotel to eat and get our 2011 family reunion t-shirts.  They were so happy to see us!

The familly reunion was in Myrtle Beach State Park and it was amazing that it was right in the middle of everything but felt so secluded and quiet.

-Talk about gma

-Talk about boardwalk, beach, pier

-Talk about cousin (Hans, Roger, Jade, Mary)

-Talk about first night on the closed in porch drinking wine and talking with Ben, Gina, Steve, Yost stayed up to 2:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/26~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Successsful yummy breakfast followed by a trip to the beach

-At beach for 3 to 4 hours. Perfect day.  Talked with the girls and read

-Got cleaned up to go to late lunch at Sticky Fingers  REALLY YUMMY

-Went to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert the cake batter really does tast like cake.  Love it!

-Piggly Wiggly adventure for wine, Sunday night snacks, and breakfast fixins

-Watched the Guild sesaon 1 and 2

-Dusty and Sammy arrived

-Went to beach at dusk

-Finished Guild 2 and started Blazing Saddles

-bed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/27~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All caught up and will write about the day after it is over!

-went to local beach shop. bought awesome hat and pirate necklace

-went back to the house and dressed for the beach!

-jumped in the waves for a while and then sat under my fortress

-went back to the house before everyone to get cleaned up and start a midday lunch/snack of pizza bites and spinach dip

-gina and i went to the store while the men went to get meat and liquor. they met up with us at the store

-had amazing burgers and hot dogs for dinner

-the girls watched wedding daze and the boys played cards

-i think guild 3 was watched

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6/28~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-i woke up to drive ben yost adn steve to golf

-went back to bed

-got cleaned up and gina and i went to explore myrtle beach proper.  went to the gay dolphin and landshark

-picked up the boys and went to get liquor (*finally bought that nuvo pink stuff that looks like perfume*)

-went to Badd Kitty for a laugh adn gina and i got sleazy little tank tops

-went to buy steak

-returned to the house to start the bbq chicken for dinner

-watched the guild 4

-gina cleaned kitchen and I tried to make side dishes of rice and carrots

-had piperitas and that nuvo stuff which made for a fun Uno game

-watched a little of Jim Gaffigan before everyone got sleepy and went to bed

(*It is now October 13 and I haven’t finished this entry and I’m mad at myself for letting so much time pass that I forgot more details but i will finish up what i DO remember.*)

6/29

I DO remember that Wednesday was a big day.   We went to Ripley’s Aquarium and I loved it.  They had a really neat exhibit about sharks and I touched a horseshoe crab!  Unfortunately Nicole wasn’t feeling too great so Dusty, Sammy, Andy, and she went back to the house.

The rest of us went to a neat seafood restaurant called Pier 19 because it was on Pier 19.  It was perfect! More local and authentic than a Red Lobster but not so fancy we were underdressed.  Gina and I shared a bottle of wine.  I had delicious stuffed flounder.  After we ate we perused the attached gift shop and then went out on the pier.  It was really windy but a beautiful night.

That night there were fireworks on the beach so after the seafood dinner we walked to an old school ice cream shoppe and then found a good spot on the beach.  My favorite firework was a smilely face that accidentally was exploded upside down. Â

6/30 -

I think this was the day that Gina and I went to get massages and mani/pedi’s at a local spa.  I had never had an hour long Swedish massage before and it was truly amazing.  I was so relaxed and my body felt great.  The masseuse was a really neat older woman who discovered she loved giving massages and making people feel better when she was around 40.  So, a little bit of a late bloomer but somewhat of an icon to me because it is never too late to find and do what you love.  I loved the color I picked for my nails it was OPI Ski Teal You Drop.  (*now I own a very similar color *)

While the women were getting pampered, Yost, Steve, and Ben went for a helicopter ride out over the ocean.  They took some neat pictures!

Friday and Saturday were more quiet and relaxing.  I think Ben and I went on our great watch hunting adventure.  We wanted to go to a Fossil store but it has moved out of the shopping center we were checking so we made some calls and found another one in an up and coming neighborhood.  We both bought watches and wear them almost everyday.

The trip home was long but I DID get to stop at a great peach stand for homemade peach ice cream.  It was truly amazing!

On the way back there was quite a back up going into the tunnels of West Virginia.  Dustin and Andy’s cars were stuck for hours in Virginia.  The best quote of the trip was receiving a text from Dusty saying, “I’M GOING TO NUKE VIRGINIA!”

When we arrived in Cleveland there was a particularly bad lightning storm.  I had never seen that much lightning at once NOR have it somewhat hang in the air for as long as it did.  It was as if someone was breaking the sky and there were stress fractures.

(*Well that is all I can remember but if I ever think of something else I will add it.*)

The End.

Today is the first day of Ben and my third year of marriage.  We had a two year anniversary bonanza this past weekend and had a really nice time.  We never do anything super fancy like dinner and candles so we had a quiet Saturday at home.  Actually the party started on Thursday 10/6.  Ben’s gift for me arrived and he was too excited to wait to give it to me so we exchanged gifts early.  He commissioned me a gorgeous 3 foot square paiting of the Gears of War logo.  He found an artist in California that had done a similar work of art for her boyfriend, an Assassian’s Creed fan.  It was such a surprise and truly stunning! We are currently figuring out how to frame and mount it though…

I bought him an Italian leather walled that had his initials embossed on the inside.  He seems to really like it and immediately switched all his stuff out of the old wallet.  My hope was that everytime he uses it he thinks of me a litle and smiles. (*Granted wedding rings do that too but it never hurts to have even more reminders that one is loved.*)

Friday, we went to Famous Dave’s for dinner.  We hadn’t gone in a while and the laid back comfort atmosphere was what we wanted.  Of course it was delicious and we went home stuffed!  Once we got home I put on comfy clothes so we could watch Star Wars 5.  When I emerged from the bedroom, Ben surprised me by turning our sleeper sofa into a bed so we would have a little nest to watch the movie. The downside though is that we both fell asleep and essentially had a campout in the living room. LOL.  It was a fun idea but we were both sore in the morning and probably won’t do it again.

Saturday was dedicated to playing a new game together, as we hadn’t played anything together in a long time. The game is called Magicka and it is super silly!  We were little wizards running around killing bad guys with spells.  I also worked on a playmat design for our COG store. (*more on that in a different post*)

Sunday I did laundry and played Gears of War 3.  All in all a great time!  I’m definitely excited by what the next years hold.

I love you Ben!

I’ve been at FCE for a little over a month and a half now and things seem to be going well.  I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I can do.  I’ve also learned what interests me and what doesn’t LOL.  We will see what new opportunities arise through this…

Ben just started his job this past week.  The past month has been crazy doing the whole halfway living apart and packing and staying with my parents.  We are finally all moved into the apartment but not even close to being completely unpacked.  Of course it rained on the big moving day but having like all our burly guy friends help made it go a little better.  It is so wonderfully being within like 15 minutes of everyone we care about.  I have many plans for decorating and can’t wait to turn this place into a home.  2 cool things are that we bought a nice big 3d HD tv for the family room and Ben made a cool light for our headboard.  (*there is no overhead light in our bedroom.  the glow doesn’t emit much but it does help with not stubbing toes while turning on lamps.*)

I took off work a little early to fully prepare for the Symphony X concert.  I looked rockin’ and it was great to see Chip and Trevor again.  We went to Famous Dave’s to eat and then headed to Peabody’s.  The lineup for bands ended up being the highest quality of all the concerts I have gone to there.  First was Blackguard, which I talked about for the Epica concert.  They were still awesome and were great openers.  I love how their lead singer pumps people up for other bands and truly “hosts” the evening.  Next was an unknown group to us named Powerglove.  Trevor, Chip, and I were wary because we have heard some really bad bands there before.  The four guys walked out on stage in absolutely over the top costumes like WoW characters.  The drummer wore the band’s name banners on pikes sticking up from behind his back!  They had no vocalist so they focused on really good guitar melodies.  They played video game songs, movie themes, and cartoon themes.  We all loved them and Trevor and I promptly bought their album. Sadly it didn’t have some of the songs we heard live but still turned out great.  Ben really likes them too!  It was so great to finally share one of these concert experiences with him.  I’m glad he had a good time.

Finally my beloved Symphony X took the stage.  The sound balance was a little off at first but they got it worked out.  I really loved seeing them and singing along in the crowd.  When it was over people were shouting for them to do The Odyssey which is a 20 minute song.  I was like there is no way they would play that BUT THEY DID!  It was so fun!  I can’t wait for their new album to come out next month.  Also they are coming back in the fall and I am so totally going!

I’m currently trying to finish up some work at home tonight so I’m to sleepy to re-read this for grammar.    Busy weekend ahead full of doctor’s appointments, magic playing, CSE gatherings, and unpacking.

Monday night, the family huddled in the TV room with a blazing fire.  We all made nests of blankets to keep warm.  It was a chilly and uncomfortable night.  Poor dad was on fire watch and got up roughly every two hours to put more wood on the fire.  The electricity came back on Tuesday morning. We went roughly 26 hours with no heat and the house got down to 47 degrees.  We figured the house would be worse without the fire granted we contained most of the heat into the TV room. Mom hung blankets in the doorways and over windows.

The Tuesday book club was a success as usual and Katie P. told me about her new job opportunity!

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty uneventful.  The people coming for the weekend canceled and Ben and I decided that he should start interviewing.

Thursday night to Friday morning brought a pretty nasty blizzard.  I was really nervous about driving out to Beechwod and then out to Findlay.  I went ahead and canceled on the interview and asked to reschedule to next week.  We rescheduled for March 2nd the following week.  I ate lunch with the parents at The Whistlestop and drove home during a break in the bad weather. Right before I left for Findlay, Katie H. called me to unofficially offer me a job for Forest City!  I was thrilled but didn’t want to make too much of a fuss until I had the actual offer in my hands.

That weekend was filled with video games for Ben and myself.  Lots of Force Unleashed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.

I was sad that I didn’t get the official offer in time to politely cancel my interview at TMW Systems.  So, I did go.  It was an interesting interview and just made me more excited about working at Forest City.  On Thursday I received the official offer and immediately accepted!

By Saturday the 5th, Ben and I were in Rockford for Ali’s 18th birthday!  Ali and I got our tattoos and I absolutely love it.

Ben has an interview with a company in Brunswick on March 10th and I start work on March 14th!  (*So does Katie P. because she got the job!*) Ben’s phone interview with them was like an episode of I Love Lucy because I was trying to make chicken nuggets and tater tots and ended up setting off the smoke detector, burning my thumb, and almost setting a potholder on fire.

With God’s help, we are finally starting a new chapter and are excited by all the possibilities!

Valentine’s weekend was fun and sad.  Poor Ben wasn’t feeling well the whole time. I gave Ben a homebrew kit and he gave me a forever rose like last year.  But this year’s was purple and he said he wanted to make it a tradition! It was so sweet! Maybe I should try to remember to document the colors here every Valentine’s day.

This weekend Ben is having a brew-off for his first batch. I believe Dustin, Tyler, Colleen, and Yost are coming. Should be fun!

Next week is the last Hunger Games book discussion. Look forward to it and seeing the parents.  I will try to update the week after next.

1)  I have an interview on Monday with Marathon.  This would decided where Ben and I call home for at least the next 5 years.

2)  Symphony X is touring!  They are coming to Cleveland in April and I of course already have my ticket.  They seem to tour sporadically so this could be my only shot to see them live.

3)  I found out that Tangled is coming to DVD/Blu-ray in March.  I LOVED this movie and saw it twice in theaters.  It definitely felt more like an old school Disney and is easily my favorite animated Disney movie in the past 10 years or so.  I like Wall-E a lot too but that is CG…

4)  Ben and I are tentatively house hunting in Findlay so that we can move out of the apartment if I get the Marathon gig.

5)  My little sister’s 18th birthday is coming up in March so we can finally get our tattoos.

These are the current exciting things in my life.  I make one more promise; that is to try to write again later this month to record my success or failure at Marathon.

This Christmas season was a long one.  We left for Arkansas on Thursday December 23rd.  We managed to get all the way to Springfield, MO.  The next morning we only had to drive 3 hours to Van Buren.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XMAS Part I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We arrived at around noon on Christmas Eve at Grandma Reed’s.  We had lunch and went to visit Grandpa in the nursing home.  I thought he was in good spirits and even recognized me on his own (*he had a bad infection and some mini-strokes around Thanksgiving*).  That night we went to Aunt Molly’s for dinner and presents.  It was wonderful seeing almost all my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Everyone was in great spirits!  We planned a game that they call Dirty Santa.  I believe it goes by many names to different families but basically there are the same number of presents as players.  Everyone draws a number and that is the order they can choose presents. A player can either choose a present from the gift pile or steal a present from someone who has already chosen a gift.  It is a lot of fun!  (*Unless you really liked the present you picked and it was stolen from you.*)  My poor cousin Jennifer kept getting her gifts stolen!  Ben and I ended up with presents we both liked.  They were full of movie candy date night stuff.  My Uncle Tom helped me keep my gift because he knew I liked it.  LOL!

On Christmas Day we had a yummy breakfast at Grandma’s and then got ready to visit Grandpa before heading over to Aunt Sheila’s for lunch.  Ben and I hung out with Grandpa and made fun of infomercials while Grandma tried to tidy up and stuff.  Grandma took a picture of us that I really hope comes out okay.

Lunch at Sheila’s was yummy.  It was mainly Ed’s side of the family but it was pleasant conversation.  Ben and I felt bad that we had to leave before everything was done but we needed to head to Fayetteville!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XMAS Part II~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as we got to Fayetteville, we were whisked to Aunt Carol’s house for dinner.  We had fun popping Christmas crackers my mom had sent.  I also met my cousin’s latest boyfriend, Anthony; he was nice. On the way home from dinner we traveled to the town square to see the Lights of the Ozarks. Then we all curled up in the sunroom at Grandma’s to open presents and watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I really enjoyed it!

The next morning we woke up early to go to Grandma’s church, St. John.  My grandma, Aunt Joyce, Uncle John, Ben, and I definitely made up like a third of the congregation.  Ben got to hear the cool german pastor that is from Brazil with a fantastic accent!  His sons helped with the music/tech during the service and it was really nice.  When we got home after church we had a mini-birthday party for Uncle John before they left to visit family in Dover.  Aunt Joyce made an amazing German chocolate cake and coconut whipped cream.  She also bought a really fun candle that is a Lotus flower that opens, spins, and plays Happy birthday upon lighting.  Aunt Carol then brought over a triple layer cake with three pies baked inside.  It weighed 10.5 pounds!

Sunday afternoon was full of traveling around Arkansas University’s campus and showing Ben the sites.  We traveled all around Alumni lanes looking for my parents’ names etched in the sidewalk.  Of course they were in the last place we looked but it was neat to see it!  Once we got home I set up a Skype date for Grandma to see dad, mom, and Revan.  Aunt Carol and Uncle Walt got to visit as well.  They all really enjoyed it and it gave me a chance to knit some.  Before going to bed we watched Elf!  Super fun because I hadn’t seen it at all this year!

Monday morning, Ben and I woke up and got ready to leave but stopped to visit Grandpa’s grave first.   It was a little emotional going back for the first time but I’m really glad I did.  Grandma pointed out that the Navy gave Grandpa a footstone for being a veteran.  Also, the Miss Arkansas winner from forever ago has placed her headstone next to Grandpa!  Everyone thinks it’s funny.

As soon as we got back to Grandma’s we loaded up the truck and said our goodbyes.  Time for the journey home!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XMAS Part III~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We made the journey home in one day.  I was absolutely useless because I took Dramamine which was dumb.  We DID manage to make a stop at Blue Springs Cafe for foot high pie though! SCORE!

We only stayed in Findlay one night before leaving the next day to go to my parents.  Revan had been staying with them and apparently had become accustomed to his cushy life because he sort of ignored us.  LOL.  We had a nice little Christmas opening stockings before a roaring fire.

On Wednesday 29th, Ben, mom and I went shopping and got some last minute Christmas gifts.  I wrapped when we got home.

Thursday night was a goodbye dinner for the Deckers at a bar near the airport.  Good food and friends!  They will be missed.

Friday aka New Years Eve was kicked off by going to church, then the neighbors, and then Nate’s house.  We all had a nice time playing Rock Band!  (*In fact since I began this post a couple of weeks ago I stopped writing it because Ben bought me a Rock Band drum set for my birthday.  So this post was delayed because I have been rocking out.*)

New Years Day was kicked off by returning to my parents’ house for breakfast casserole and getting cleaned up before heading to Ben’s Family Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XMAS Part IV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final stage of four Christmases is also the shortest but not the least.  We had really yummy food and had fun watching the nieces attempt to pass out people’s presents.  It was good to see everyone!

We drove home that night and pretty much fell asleep as soon as we got home.  We didn’t do much the rest of the weekend because we were so burnt but we had to start getting ready for the the next weekend which was the LAN Party.

No rest for the weary.