Birthdays and Big News!

First for the birthdays: Ben turned 25 on November 7th and I turned 25 on November 30th. Ben's birthday was a lot of fun, two of his college friends came down to celebrate the weekend after. We went out on the town in ATL and showed them a good time at some of the bars/clubs. He even got to have mint-chocolate ice cream cake! Then we went home for Thanksgiving, quite a long ride in the car- 11 hours with the puppies, but they did really well. We had a great time at home visiting with family and friends and having a wonderful Thanksgiving meal cooked by my sister (great job Lauren). Then we came back here to celebrate my birthday, I had to work so it wasn't too extravagant, but we went out to dinner and had a lovely evening at home...

Now for the big news! Ben got a job in Portland, Oregon! That's right, we are moving to Portland, Oregon sometime around the middle to late January. It is a biosafety specialist position at Oregon Health and Science University. After he applied to this job and went through the whole interview process, I had a feeling that this would be the one that he would land. Although, I do not want to move any further away from Pennsylvania, I know that if we live in Oregon for a little while and get Ben's career started, we can then look for jobs much closer to PA and move there long term. So for everyone who is thinking we are crazy, this move will only be for a little while :o)

I posted some pictures from our birthdays and Thanksgiving on Facebook. Sorry I haven't posted for so long, obviously we have been extremely busy lately. But since we have so many new things now, I will be sure to post more often.

We are traveling home to PA for Christmas for almost a week, so I hope to see a lot of you then. We can't wait to be home for the Christmas holiday! Love you all.

Halloween in ATL

Everyone has been anxiously awaiting these Halloween pictures! Well here they are :o) I am very proud of the paint job I did with Ben's face and hair, I am not the artist so this was quite a feat for me, as was my own makeup. Enjoy!

The warm fall season

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) we have nothing too exciting to post about! It is still in the high 70's, low 80's here in GA even at the end of October. Ben and I are itching for some cooler weather. We did get into the Halloween spirit and went to a haunted house, against my better judgement, but Ben loved it and it was a nice way to spend a Friday evening in the end of October.

This upcoming weekend, a group of us are heading to our usual happy hour location, a small brewery down the street from us for a Halloween "Hops and Hogs" bash. There will be a pig roast, locally brewed beer, other yummy food, and costumes! Ben is being a ghoulish skeleton topped off with a painted face, spray painted hair, and an outfit to go with it. I am breaking out the witches costume again and bought a girlie hat to go with it. We are excited to dress up again this year, since last year just wasn't the same without it! Unfortunately, we don't get any trick-or-treat-ers in our neighborhood, but at least we get to have some fun with our friends. So there will be pictures to follow! Stay tuned :o)

Love and miss you all.

Visit to PA and a friend's wedding

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from this last weekend. I used my mom's camera and uploaded them at home, so if you want to see some shots, check out my facebook page. This past weekend was a great three days. I got to see a few great friends, and have a blast at Erica and Adam Burkholder's wedding. Everything went without a hitch and it was a beautiful fall day.

Not only did I get to spend time with them but I also got to visit with Jamie and her new baby boy, as well as my family. We all ate lunch together at Lio's (nothing beats a Lio's sub) and watched the Steelers' game on Sunday. Lio's lunch is a tradition when I go home because in the south, they do not have subs at pizza places, and when you go to a sub shop- it isn't the same, it's more like a hoagie. So... Lio's is a must when in Harrisburg. Being up north was a temperature shock to me, I was not prepared for the cooler weather! But it seemed to follow me back, because I am sitting here with the windows open in a tee shirt and sweat pants (it had been in the 80's until now). So I am welcoming the cooler weather!

Ben and I do not have too much planned until Thanksgiving. We will most likely check out at least one haunted house pretty soon here. If any of you know Ben, you know he LOVES celebrating Halloween :o) In two weeks, we plan on heading to a friends house that boarders Piedmont park and sit on his porch and listen to The Eagles play around the corner. Nothing like hanging out with your friends in the cool autumn weather.

All is good down here, miss and love you all. <3

Visitors!!

Hello again from down south. We have had a very good past two weeks. Two weeks ago, my mom came down to visit for a long weekend. Everything went as planned and we had a ton of fun. Many giggle fits, bottles of wine, and just relaxing with the dogs! We made it to the first kick-off game of the GT football season. It was our first tailgate, and it went rather well. Then we went to a movie, went out to eat, and just lounged around the rest of the weekend. It was a very good visit.

Then last weekend my dad and Brenda came down for the first time since I moved down. They had a lot to see, but we managed to show them much of Atlanta. We went to a very good BBQ joint, hung out in Buckhead, Midtown, and showed them the Chattahoochee rive (no floating because the water was very chilly). They got to spend time with the pups and see our little world down here in GA. I am very glad that they made the trip and got to hang out with us.

Now we have a couple quiet weekends until I fly home to PA to be in a friend's wedding. It will be a short weekend filled with rehersals, weddings, and get-togethers. I think it might be cooling off a little bit down here, and when I say that, I mean that it isn't above 95 degrees every day :o) Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures when my dad and Brenda were down, but here are a couple from my mom's visit. I will try to take more pictures- I know, I've been slacking. :o)

Tailgaiting


First home game of the season, Go Jackets!

Busy Busy Busy

My apologies for not posting in so long. I did think about posting, but with a little push from my sister, it made me get back on quicker. We have had very busy weekends here! Our friend Sean Talbott came to visit for a weekend, then the weekend after, Mr. Smith came down, and last weekend we had a concert to go to! Not only did we have visitors but we were kept quite busy during those times! We went to shoot the hooch on more that one occasion, went to two Braves' games, and a Jackson Browne concert at Chastain Park Ampitheater. Then this past weekend Ben and I treated ourselves to a Sheryl Crow concert!! Ben purchased those tickets as a surprise to me, 4th row, center stage! She rocked out, playing new and old stuff. Her encore totally took the show with all old stuff and a tribute to Michael Jackson by singing "I want you back". We have been thoroughly enjoying Atlanta, and sticking out the incredible heat and humidity.

This upcoming weekend I am going to a PAM (physical agent modalities) class that will get me certified to use things like ultra sound, electrical stimulation, and many more here in the state of GA. The only downside is that it is ALL day Saturday and Sunday, but I know it will be worth it. Then my mom is coming to visit the weekend after that, and the weekend after THAT my dad and Brenda are coming! Whew... here we go again... But I love it :o)

I apologize that there aren't any new pictures, we just haven't taken any! I promise to try harder to take more these upcoming weekends. Please send me messages and keep me updated with your lives- Miss and love you all.

Stone Harbor, NJ

This past week we spent our time driving to and from PA, and most of the week at Stone Harbor, NJ. I have vacationed there since I was born, and ironically, Ben and his family have vacationed there for most of his life as well. It is probably our favorite place to be. Not only do we both have history there, but that is where Ben proposed to me! The drive to and from PA/GA was rough, but well worth it. We took both of our puppies to my mother's house and she doggie-sat for us the whole week. She loved them, and they loved her! It also gave us peace of mind knowing that they were well taken care of. It gave us a chance to really enjoy our vacation.

We spent our days on the beach, our nights eating fabulous food and walking around to the different shops. Tuesday night, Ben's dad treated us to a Phillies game. It was great to be back in the sea of red and Philly lovers. We loved spending time with Ben's family, and his extended family was there too- so it was one big get together! I desperately needed some R&R (not that I got that much sleep because we exercised every morning) but just to get away was exactly what I needed. I feel refreshed, like my batteries have been recharged. I only wish that we could spend more time there and live closer. Not only did we spend time at the beach, but I got to see my family too the day before and after vacationing, so it was very nice to see everyone- even if it was only a little taste :o).

Now it is back to the grind of city, a bit overwhelming, but just taking one day at a time. We have busy weekends coming up, Ben is visiting a college friend in UNC in two weeks and then comes a month of weekend visitors! We love visitors, so anyone who wants to join in- feel free! Enjoy some pictures below of our vacation, a place that is very close to our hearts. (more are on facebook)

Miss and love you all!



Our spot- we have 4 different pictures, from 4 different years all at this same spot, need I say more? :0)





A night in town (96th street and 3rd Avenue)


Enjoying the Jersey beach


Our house for the week, on 96th Street and 2nd Avenue