To a year the will be happy and new!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can't believe it is already 2012! It is currently 7:18 am and I have already been up since 5:30; thanks to the bootcamp that I participate in.

I began InTENsity Fitness in May of last year. It has been 7 months and what a difference it has made.  Two days a week I wake up and.....wait for it.... work out.  This is has been something quite new for me, considering that I really never 'worked out' before.  It was always just dance.  This bootcamp has been so good for me.  It has been challenging and beneficial, while I haven't dropped a ton of weight, I have lost quite a few inches and have found my clothes from college are fitting again. (thank goodness!)  It has not only been a physical exercise, but a mental one as well.  I discovered that exercising is just as much as about pushing yourself physically as it is mentally.  I challenge everyone this year to actually put forth some effort to working out.  Even if all you can do is 2 days a week.  Any small step will be very beneficial to your health!

We celebrated our New Years with good friends again this year!  I love that we all get together to celebrate another year of being friends and I hope we continue this tradition for many years!



Here is my and my hubby on new years!

I hope you all have a very happy and blessed New Years!!

xoxo,

carrie

one year recap....

So it has officially been another year, that I have neglected blogging.  I find it difficult to upload pictures and that is my favorite part about blogs! 

Well, lets see a recap of the past year.... not too much is different, peanut and dolly are a LOT bigger and our house is still coming together.  Perhaps one of these days it will get finished.... however I find that my design style for the house is constantly changing, perhaps that is why every room looks a little different.  Is that an okay thing?  I guess we will find out when it is all finished.

Below is a photo of a chair that I purchased for $35 at an antique store.  While the chair is not an antique I had a plan in mind for this little gem! (Excuse the hideous UofL lamp, a purchase I had to make for my husband!)

The new chair.... was it reupholstered?....nah... a Surefit slip cover! I thought it turned out pretty nice!
(I bought it through Overstock.com and it was only $60!)


We also invested into some new hardwood floors for the hallway.

We also re-did the landscaping during our "staycation" that we took in August. Two days worth of work and the once crazy jungle turned into something a little more simplistic!

Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary in September!  We enjoyed a nice dinner at Gary's on Spring a great restaurant if you are looking for a new place to dine.  Then we headed to Actors Theater of Louisville to see Dracula!  We finished off the evening with champagne and the top tier to our wedding cake! (It actually was pretty good, a little dry, but the icing was great!)

Overall it has been a super busy year, filled with lots of changes, good times with friends and of course a lot of involvement in sports.  It should hopefully be soon the next time you hear from me!

until then I will be dreaming about the new kitchen I want for my home :)

xo

Carrie

Little Red Corvette, well little red HHR......

I can't believe it, but Chris and I have a new car! Hooray!!  Saturday we went car shopping, we weren't necessarily planning on getting a new car then, but we found her in all her red glory!  We decided on an HHR, we weren't really ready for the payment of a large SUV, so we decided this was a nice compromise, and I must say we were like two kids in a candy shop! Neither of us has ever had a car this nice and this new.... however it has been difficult deciding who's car it is going to be, right now we are sharing it during the week.  I like because it is UofL red, that perhaps it will be Chris'...... but I think it's only fair that the woman gets to drive the new car and her husband drives the junker (and boy does that car make funky noises!)  I haven't quite taken a picture of it yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to upload it!

It was a big weekend for the two of us a new car, a win for the basketball team that Chris coaches and the beginning of the volleyball season (we play in a rec league).  I am a horrible volleyball player, mainly because I have never played sports before, I'll just say it, I suck! My husband on the other hand is very athletic and shows me up every time.  At least he has taught me how to serve now, I scored a point off my serve, once. bahaha.  At least I don't have to wear those little black shorts, that would be even funnier......


Being married has been quite and adjustment for the two of us. Constant changes, getting used to each other, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I think I've learned a lot about myself in these last few months more than anything.  And as silly as it sounds, I think that I am officially satisfied with who I am. I like where I am and what God is doing in my life.  One thing is for sure, we need to find a church that we both like.  Since Chris was raised Catholic and me Non-denominational, it has been difficult for us to find a church that we both feel comfortable in. We are trying out new churches, however any suggestions would be welcome :)


This last week I traveled to the wonderful Nashville,TN for some training with work.  I have been to Nashville before and it is tons of fun, and of course I couldn't resist to share the batman building!!



I have also been playing on this new app on my iPhone that I love.  It is called Color Splash.  You upload photos on to it and then it turns them gray.  You get to add color wherever you want. It is fun to do with flowers.  I did a few from my wedding that I thought turned out pretty cool.  It is slightly addicting and sometimes I find myself doing it in class.  I know I should be listening, but really it is fun!

Well that is all for now, my favorite Wednesday night shows are beginning. Modern Family, is my favorite!

all my love,

Carrie

new year, new times

Well about hmm a few days before Christmas my car started making some really funky noises. I wasn't sure what the deal was so I took it in to get looked at. Turns out my poor little cavalier had some major issues. I had broken every hanger underneath my car, and my catalytic converter needed to be replaced as well as having two bad wheel barrings. I was given the estimate of $1700 to fix my poor little chevy. I began to turn on the water works in the middle of Ken Towerys. haha. Needless to say we fixed the necessary things and are now in the market for a new car. The funny part is; is that Chris' car is way worse so we are trading in his car for a new one. We haven't quite decided who gets the new car, but I have a feeling that I will still be driving my cavalier for the next year and he will be driving the new car. We are currently looking in the Chevy HHR for our new family vehicle, and with the body style a little reminiscent of a station wagon (which I have already owned 2) it is perfect for our family.

These past few weeks and been quite crazy; with pipes busting, cars breaking and the holidays I don't know that I was able to find some time for myself. Except for Saturday, new years day, I didn't shower laid around in my pj's and watch Friday Night Lights all day long (a netflix guilty pleasure of mine and my hubby's) I have to say it was one great new years day relaxing with my girls. (Peanut and dolly). Also, today I finally got rid of my 'dear santa' nail polish color and went for a nice purple color called 'meet beet'. Chris and I set out our budget for 2011, hopefully it will turn out to be the year of savings, as long as things in our housing quit breaking!

This week I will be traveling to Nashville for work. The center of all that is country music, I am excited to go out and enjoy a little bit of the south. Which means I need to get started on that nasty pile of laundry sitting in the corner of our bedroom. Otherwise, I will have nothing to wear!

We will commence our car searching on Saturday wish us luck, this can be frustrating, but in a good way.

love and peace,

Carrie S.

Peanut and Dolly

So Chris and I are fortunate enough to own two adorable little puppies. Two female Australian Shepherd puppies. (cross between the miniature and standard size) They are 4 and half months old and we have had them for about 2 and half months. They are unbelievably adorable, cute, cuddly and fun, BUT they do destroy A LOT! The eat lots of things such as the following:

socks
shoes
underwear
internet cords x2
lamp cords
Joseph from my nativity set
Xbox controllers
remotes
anything paper
and really anything that falls on the floor is fair game!

While being the mom of these two adorable little girls is fun, it is also tiring. They wake up at 6 every morning (sometimes at 3!) and they are ready to play! It is funny how I was so used to my schedule and now I have to get used to the 'girls' schedule. We are crate training them, and this works especially well when we are at work. They have yet to have an accident in their kennel! Accidents while outside their kennel unfortunately happen more often then we would like. We have a bell at the back door that Peanut as learned how to ring to let us know that she has to go potty. Dolly on the other had hasn't learned this. We have tried positive reinforcement form the get-go, but Dolly hasn't quite learned. Anyone know how long it actually takes for them to learn how to go potty outside? We have never used potty pads, so they have never ever been trained to even go inside the house. I guess since it is winter now, it is too cold to go outside. Thank goodness we have hard floor throughout the whole house except for or living room and a couple of rugs, because I would have nasty carpet otherwise!

Chris and I have been trying to work on consistency, but his work schedule is always crazy, it can be hard for them to get used to one certain schedule. I hope they can adapt soon :) Other than their accidents, they are the sweetest puppies around. Chris is hoping they will get bigger because he doesn't want small dogs.

We just have to take it one day at a time!

Recently I purchased a new devotional by Beth Moore, it is a study of the apostle Paul. I'm only on day 5, but so far it is really good. It starts when Paul was Saul and takes you all the way through to his adulthood. It is amazing to think how God can use the most unsuspecting people for His will. In fact that is was the message a church this morning. Allowing God to use you for his purposes will always top what you have planned for your life. I just hope I can learn to listen a little better and really see what it is that he has planned for my life.

Well it is time to grab a quick snack before I head off to Chris' basketball game (he coaches)!

Take care.

Carrie

New life!

Well, it has successfully been a year since I last posted on here! What a year it has been! I have moved back from DC and I am working at a University here in Louisville, and recently got married. My husband and I just adopted two new puppies and are having and interesting time training them, right now they are sleeping :). We just bought a house in April and right now I should re-painting our kitchen cabinets! We have a lot of work to do on this house, and well I think the addition of two new puppies my put this on hold. We have no furniture in our living room, we are hoping to shop for that tomorrow. I still need to write the thank you notes from the wedding, I am going to get thank you cards today! I will need to document all the changes we have made, they haven't been too extensive, but painting rooms, ripping up carpet. Thank goodness we have pretty decent hardwood floors underneath all the carpet! I told my husband that I have to have a couch and end tables in our living room by the end of the month, we have our work cut out for us. Of course money makes the world go round and money also decorates our house. Unfortunately we don't have an abundance so it will be sometime before this place even feels like it is finished, sometimes I feel like I am camping out! Buying and older home allowed us to live in a good area, but a 50 year-old-home does have it's problems. Hopefully we can get them all fixed relatively quickly!! Well, I do need to paint those cabinets, I will post the finished product only six more doors to paint and the island, oh and of course hard ware! We are slowly getting there!

xoxo

Carrie

First week on the Hill!

So far I am really enjoying my internship! I am learning a lot and everyone I work with is incredibly nice and helpful. Last weekend, I got to enjoy seeing the Holocaust Memorial Museum. I had already seen this memorial when I came to DC in 8th grade, but I must say, it did not make as much of an impact on me as it did this past visit. I think this memorial is something that every American, yet every human being should see. This memorial was honest, respectful and enlightening. It unfortunately opened my eyes to kind of hatred that humans can have for one another.

Besides seeing the museum I also walked up and down the Mall with some friends and enjoyed the sites. Then on Saturday evening I went out with some friends.

So far I love living at this place. EVERYONE is so friendly and welcoming and I have already made some really good friends. I am still getting used to waking up at 6:30 in the morning and actually functioning. However this means my bedtime is well 10:00. I am so thankful for this internship and all the friends that I am making here in Washington, God has once again blessed me beyond anything I could ask for. Not to mention blessing me with a wonderfully supportive family, who just sent me a care package today! I was so excited!
Anyway, it is bedtime now. Thanks for all the love and support!

All my love,

Carrie