#beblessedlovelies

Hi. I'm hearing crickets as I type. I don't think anyone still checks in around here and why would you? I've been off living life. I haven't even visited this blog since last December. I must admit, it still feels like home though...



I look at the "about me" over there on the left hand side and some things have changed. I'm 30 now! (Gulp) I don't eat ice anymore because because I am a grown up : ) A woman has just been hired to coach in the NFL! Amazon Prime Day was a total let down. Charleigh keeps growing. She turned 3 1/2 last week. Greg keeps getting funnier, as do I... Ha! We'll be celebrating 6 years of marriage this fall. We got to visit New Orleans and Cleveland this year and will visit California and Missouri in late summer. Never stop adventuring!


Enough about me though, the real reason I stopped by today is to remember a friend. I never met this friend, but I knew a lot about her. Back when I was a regular blogger, I absolutely loved writing about my life and reading about others! I started reading Leslie's blog early on in 2009. http://www.blondeambitionblog.com/ 



She loved all things fashion and was pretty dang funny. I read about her marriage and the birth of her beautiful baby girls, Caroline and Ainsley, just like thousands of other did. I read about her family life and adventures. I read about her neighbors with the SUPER bright Christmas lights on 24/7 and laughed. I read that her heart wasn't working properly towards the beginning of the year. I read her last post on 7.17.15 about setbacks and surgical options, but those options didn't happen. Unexpectedly, Leslie passed away on Monday. It is tragic. I can't help but think of her little girls and my own Charleigh and what if it was me? Loved ones have set up a Go Fund Me page in her memory for the girl's college fund. Please help if you can. http://www.gofundme.com/d53bgd5p8s



She was a beautiful person inside and out. Her writing was charismatic and inviting. I'm sure her girls will know how much she loved them. Send good thoughts to her brave husband and her grieving family. Remember life is short. Hug your loved ones today.



Float on...

Thankgiving Weekend!

What a weekend!

What a weekend! Mom and Rod’s surprise trip to Baltimore was just so… surprising! Greg and I got to go out to dinner and a movie for our anniversary date. We ate Mexican food and saw Gone Girl. The movie was similar to the book, surprises at every turn. I really loved the unpredictability of the book/movie. It was nice to have our own time.

Saturday, Charleigh stayed and played with Mema and Grandpa while Greg and I went to my football game. It was very cold here and we figured it would be best for Ms. Char to stay warm inside. We won our playoff game that morning and got to play in the championship game that afternoon! We WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!! We will be featured on the league’s website and will get to go to a “champions” party! Sweet!

After a day of football, mom and Rod took us to Little Italy! We had some delicious pasta and salad. The thing that I love most about Little Italy, besides the food, is that all of the restaurants are very family friendly. The servers come over to talk to Charleigh and make sure her dinner comes out quickly. It’s thoughtful. We then went home and got one very tired girl put to bed and played some cards. We always play Spades when we are together. Mom and Rod kicked our butts. Don’t tell them, but we were just being polite letting our guests win…

My mom let me in on the family secret and taught me how to make her famous mashed potatoes! Turns out there really is no secret, you just have to be patient and take your time. Who knew?!

I’m thankful to have a loving and supporting mom. I’m thankful she married a man who will drive her 8 hours on a whim to see her family. Selflessness is a wonderful trait. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Float on...

5 Years

I get to celebrate 5 years of marriage today. How about that? I can still remember details of that day perfectly and how it was the most beautiful day in November you’ve ever seen. Greg and I make a good team. He’s the cutest boy I’ve ever met and one of the funniest. He is that kind of funny where he just is funny without trying. Although sometimes he makes me want to pull my hair out... I’m sure he would say the same about yours truly : )

My mom called me yesterday while I was at work. She said I'll see you, Greg, and Charleigh tomrrow... I was so confused. She said "Oh, Rod and I are coming tomorrow. We thought you might need a free babysitter!" So we just got the biggest surprise ever. It's completely out of the blue and shocking because she lives about 500 miles away. She continues to be the best mom of all time. And Rod is pretty cool too!

So for this Thanksgiving season, I randomly volunteered to make a blueberry pie. Have I ever made a pie, any pie for that matter, in my life? Nope. My boss was telling me it was easy and you just pie a pre-made crust, grab some canned filling, yadda, yadda, yadda, but I'm not half assing this one. I am going to make crust from scratch. I've started hunting recipes for filling. It will be quit the adventure! We are having a "pie potluck" at my work.

The many faces of a pizza date.

Hi there. Look at that long hair. We've never taken Charleigh for a haircut, and if her love of Rapunzel continues, we may never. Ha! Last night was just a normal Tuesday until we decided to have a pizza date (one of her favorite things ever!) There is a local place around us that serves New York style pizza by the slice. It’s pretty awesome. They are very friendly and will cut up C’s slice in small bites for her.

 

As you can see above, she was a happy camper! Float on...

Happy Veteran's Day, Rudi and Ben

The best godparents in the world also happened to serve our country. Thank you to them. Thank you to all Veterans each and every day.

 

Float on...

Good morning. We are getting in to mid-November! Can you believe it? About a week and a half ago my car got hit. I was driving home from Charleigh's school and a woman just didn't see us. I was not at fault. She scrapped up my car pretty good so it has been in the shop the past week. Guess what I've been driving... a sweet gold, shiny mini van! HA! That has been...interesting.

The weekend was great. We visited the park both Saturday and Sunday. I played in my playoff football game and my team advanced! We play next weekend, and if we win that game, we immediately play in the championship game! Woo hoo!

Thanksgiving is in a few weeks. Christmas is less than a few months away. It's the season folks. The hustle. The bustle. It's all happening as we speak. Our sweet Charleigh is understanding holidays more and more. During our trick or treating adventure, after visting each house, she would say, "can we go to another house?!" That girl would have probably trick or treated all night if we had let her. These next few months are going to be so fun with her.

Float on...