April in the ATL

Aren't our little puppies adorable!? Ben had them under the commands of sit and stay. They couldn't be getting along any better. They play together, sleep together, and sit by the window and watch together. We officially took down her crate today because we haven't used it in over a week. She got fixed last Friday and was a little woozy the first two days but now she back to normal. We have to take her back to the vet's office sometime this week to get her stitches out. We have been taking both of them to happy hour at ABC Brewery and hang out outside and they get lots of attention :o)

This work week was typical for both of us and this weekend is time for relaxation! Next weekend I have to work Sunday because the following week the Smith family is coming for Ben's graduation! We are both very excited to see everyone and show them around.

In addition to a normal work week, we got to see the Phillies play the Braves! And... the Phillies won! We had club level seats, which we would get again, we had a great view and the fans up there were a nicer to us outcasts :o) We are taking Flat Stanley around with us, so he came to the game as well! Flat Stanley is a project that a lot of elementary school children have, he is a cut out of a boy and travels in the mail to places far away from home. Ben's cousin Jake made him and we are showing him around Atlanta. We are having lots of fun with him.



The weather has been great, lots of pollen, and a few thunderstorms but it is almsot pool season and we are very excited for that. It's getting warmer down here in ATL, spring has officially sprung :o)

Happy Easter!

It is much different celebrating Easter down here in GA. For one, the weather is MUCH warmer- it feels about mid-high 80s and is sunny. I also didn't get to go to church for the first Easter, in I don't know how long. Instead, I watched it online. The past 4 or 5 weeks I have watched a church service online every sunday at 11:00. It is a church that Ben's mom heard of from her church at home, so she took me, and I loved it. The only problem is that it takes so long to fight traffic and what not, since it is in the heart of Buckhead. So I choose to watch it online instead, same service, but less time and more convenient. Ben and I decided to make peanut butter eggs from scratch, boy did they turn out yummy! I also made a ham for Ben and I for dinner, it turned out ok, nothing like a homemade meal made from the ones you love. I miss my family terribly today, but know that it will only make it that much better when I do see them.

Ben loves his job and is fitting in very well. He comes home happy every day, and is starting to take more independence in his duties. I just finished working toward my certification to use modalities (heat, ice, electrical stimulation, ultrasound etc) to promote healing. So, overall- everything is going well!

Love and miss you all, enjoy some more pictures below :o)







in the process of making our eggs!


The finished product... mmm

1st week with Annabelle

The first week went very smoothly with Annabelle! The first night was a piece of cake, but the second was another story. She started crying at 2:00am and then again at 3:45am, this time crying for an hour and 45 minutes!! At that point, since I wasn't sleeping anyway, I decided to get up and let her out. The next night she fell asleep and woke at about 5:00am at which time I tried a pointer a co-worker of mine gave me. I went in the office, told her "No!" and waited for her to be quite, then said "good girl" after a few hits on the top of her crate, she got the idea (she is a very quick learner). And the rest is history, if she starts whimpering (normally about 15 minutes before my alarm goes off) we go in and tell her "no" and she is quiet until we come and get her. The potty training is a piece of cake, she doesn't tell us when she has to go, but she goes the same time we take Wrigley and she is fine! She also has the hang of walking on the leash already :o) Next, are the commands sit and stay. So wish us luck and I'll be sure to update you about how it is going! Her and Wrigley play together all the time, snuggle, and truly enjoy each other's company. Here are some pictures to enjoy :o)


Making lovies at eachother :o)


They did this all on their own in the morning before Ben went to work


zonked out


snoozing after dinner

Paint and a new puppy!

I apologize for not posting for almost two weeks, but once you read all that we have done, you will understand why I couldn't post! We had a wonderful weekend visit from Ben's parents and his brother Brad. It is always fantastic to have visitors down here. Once they left we went into full swing of getting back to business. The next day we went to look at a puppy, Wrigley needs a play partner more than anything, it was a brother and sister (named Jack and Jill). They were abandonded on the side of a road and picked up and brought to a rescue foster home. They are a Corgi Jack Russell Terrier mix (aka Cojack). We immediately liked Jill over Jack and decided to get her! But before bringing her home, we desperately needed to paint our condo. We decided on brown alpaca for the living room, and a deep brown for the bottom of the chair rail in the dinning room. Last, we chose lemon grass for the office. It turned out great! Here are some pictures to show you the transformation:












Then we had a week to prepare for our puppy. We decided on the name Annabelle. We picked up all our supplies through out the week and picked her up Saturday morning. Her and Wrigley met for a second time when we picked her up and played in their yard before returning home. She was a little tense at first on the car ride home but then relaxed in my lap. Her and Wrigley couldn't be playing better, she lets him make the calls and is already learning good behaviors from him. She hasn't chewed anything other than toys yet, and only had two tiny piddle accidents (only because she couldn't hold it anymore) and finished when we took her outside. She is a quick learner and napped for an hour in our room on her pillow after the 6am feeding and bathroom break. She quietly wimpered for less than 5 minutes last night after being put in her crate for the night. Hopefully things will continue to go smoothly today and the rest of the week, I will keep you updated! Oh, she is 5 months (we're making her birthday the same as mine) and weighs 15lbs :o) Here are some pictures of her first day with us:

most of them are of them playing... go figure :o)





checking things out...



sleeping next to momma



nothing but puppy pudge



cuddling :o)

Home Grown Roots

We had a great weekend at the Hershey Spa! I sucessfully got to Hbg and back to Atl with no problems with my flights. Saturday I got to see my grandma and grandpa Chokran at lunch and spend some time with my mom. Then Saturday night I saw my dad and Brenda and had a wonderful dinner and watched the Olympics. Saturday night we celebrated Melissa's birthday at The Winner's Circle and finally got to refresh my line dancing skills- so much fun! Sunday it was nothing but relaxation at the spa with a rain shower, sea soak, lunch, and my very first massage! Then it was chicken encheladas at Lauren and Jeff's! Before I knew it, I was back on my way to Atl. I miss my small hometown already...

The Smith family will be arriving Friday night for a fun filled weekend! We are going to a GT basketball game, can't wait! Of course I have to work Saturday before the game, and our handy-man will be finishing our tile in our sunroom on Friday, so I hope he is gone by the time they get to our house. Talk about close timing!

Another packed weekend, here I come!

Mom's Birthday Weekend!

This Friday night I hope to be catching a plane to PA for mom's birthday! We have a day planned at the Hershey Spa- my first massage ever!! But a threatening snow storm is looming around the corner... We all hope that my flight goes off as scheduled and doesn't put an wrench in our plans. I'm very excited to be able to spend time at home and with my family as well as at the spa. Ironically, it is one of my good friend's birthday as well- so we are going out Saturday night to the Winner's Circle to line dance (soooo much fun!). But again, I hope the snow doesn't keep all that from happening. Even if I do have to stay in GA, I will get to spend a great weekend with my boys. It feels weird leaving both of them for 3 days, I know they will be fine, but the weekends are our time to relax and spend time with one another.

Then next weekend Ben's mom, dad, and brother are coming to visit to see a GT basketball game. We are both very excited to have them here, we miss our family and friends and love visitors ;o). We are ashamed to say that we haven't made it to a basketball game yet at GT- horrible, we know, so we are excited to finally get to one! This will also be Brad's first time to ATL so we are excited to show him our place and the city as well.

As you can see, we will be quite busy these upcoming weeks so I'll try to post when I can. We are also having a handy-man fix our bathroom ceiling (a leak made a whole from the unit above us) and paint (woo hoo!) AND put tile in our screened in porch! So we are busy bee's here and can't wait for it all to be done- thanks to our wonderful landlords- Ben's parents :o)

Miss and love you all!

The mom's visit to pick a wedding dress!

Ben's mom and my mom came down on a last minute notice to come see wedding dresses with me. A few weeks ago, Ben and I went on a whim to check out this one place that I have been eyeing up- well it ended up that I found 3 dresses that I absolutely loved. So I called our mothers and they decided to come down and help me decide on one.

So before the actual appointment on Saturday, we enjoyed some time together (they arrived Thursday afternoon)! We had lots of yummy things to eat, went shopping, and went to see "Young Frankenstein" at The Fabulous Fox Theatre! It was a great show, and our mothers loved it! We are really glad that we went and got to show them a bit of historic Atlanta.

Then the big day came and we went to the bridal store and they had my 3 dresses pulled, and I tried each one on for our mothers. As soon as I put my dress on for our mothers- my face lit up and I knew right away- that was my dress! It was the greatest feeling in the world. And an even better feeling was when my "helper" stood in front of me (veil and all) and asked "Is this your dress?" and I replied "Yes! This is my dress!" my mother then replied "HA, she said yes to the dress!". If any of you know the show on TLC "Say Yes to the Dress" it is about picking out your wedding dress. That night I had a bit of doubt- but that quickly went away when I remembered how I felt in it.

Then Sunday and Monday we relaxed with Wrigley and Ben and enjoyed a day at the Georgia Aquarium- which was away cool. Having them leave is always sad, but I know that I will get to see them at the end of the month for my mom's birthday.

Check out the pictures below!



Ben decided to make this incredible chocolate bunt cake... yummmmm



Wrigley sitting with his Oma



Mom and I at the Georgia Aquarium!



The incredible tunnel at the aquarium- I could have stood there for hours...



The largest saltwater aquarium in the world, the glass was 2 feet thick, and it would take 15 months to fill it with a garden hose... it was HUGE!! (and way cool)