New Car?

Our car is on its last leg of its life so it is time for us to look for a new one!! We wont be getting a new-new car but a new-er car :) We are hoping to go this weekend and hope to find some good deals. We have two strong options in mind....

# 1. Toyota Matrix.



# 2. Honda Fit.


Any thoughts? We really like the hatchbacks and these two have great MPG. They are also made by some trusted auto makers. I really hope our money comes through because I am not sure our car will make it much longer!!!

Year in Review

2009 was definitely a full year! Right off the bat I started the year by going back to school for my MBA at Piedmont college. It has been challenging at times but I am holding my own in my classes. I have met a lot of really cool people and have learned a lot about business as well. So far the best thing I have learned is how to be a good manager and how to not be a good manager. So far the program has flown by and I should be graduating at the end of July!

This past Spring was a lot of fun! We got 6 inches of snow here in March, which completely shut down the whole state of Georgia. It was really great to have a snow day! We also went on a trip to Boone, NC with a ton of our friends. We spent the weekend in the mountains playing games, shopping, and some had fun on the slopes.


This year Eric and I spent a lot of time outside exploring Georgia. We paddled 40 miles down the Altamaha River, hiked several trails in North Georgia including 40 miles on the Appalachian Trail, camped overnight on the AT, on the river, and at Cumberland Island. A lot of these adventures we shared with our new Friends Kelly & Michelle.


This Summer we also traveled to Charleston, Savannah, Minnesota, and Oregon. The visit to Oregon was bitter-sweet. We flew out there for my Grandmothers funeral and it was hard to say goodbye but it was also a time that we were able to spend with my extended family. We all had a good time remembering my Grandma and Grandpa together.

This Summer I also had a setback in my employment. Because of the "Economy" my manager had to cut my hours in half. This news was devastating at first but Eric and I made it by on what we had until I got a Part-time grad assistantship at my school. I have really enjoyed working at Piedmont and I have met some great people through this job. It has also given me the opportunity to work more on my studies which I cant complain about!

This Fall, Eric and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary. Instead of going away to a B&B in Asheville, SC we stayed home because Eric had the Flu. He was sick for a good seven days and miraculously I didn't catch it from him! Once he got better we took our trip out to Asheville and enjoyed the Fall leaves in the mountains!

This year we were lucky to have our families and Eric's friend Gabe visit a few times. It is always great for us to have visitors from our home in MN! We were also fortunate to go home for Christmas... Since that JUST happened I will spare you the details. ;)



Over the past year Eric and I have also grown close to our new church in Athens. We have made some really good friends in the church and we are excited to meet more as the church is growing. We have learned so much this past year through our Wednesday Bible study and I cant wait to see what we lean this year!

All in all it has been a great year and we have truly been blessed! 2010 holds a lot of good things in store for us: Graduating with an MBA, more traveling (to Costa Rica in March!), more camping & hiking, and growing ever closer to the Lord. We are hoping to buy a car in the near future and we also plan on selling our house in preparation of Eric being done with school in the next year and a half. When I graduate in July I need to find a new job. I do enjoy my work at the hospital but I need a full-time job and I don't think they will have one for me. As the next few months fly by we have a lot of changes coming our way. I know God will provide and that something will work out, but getting to that point is always a little scary!

I hope you had a good 2009 and have many things to look forward to in 2010, Happy (belated) New Years!!

Last night Eric took me to go see Annie at the Fox in Atlanta. We had never been to the Fox and I was blown away at how beautiful it was!

For Annie there were a lot of families there with kids and they were all pretty much asleep when the show ended at 11:30pm. I thought the show was great, it reminded me of my childhood. I used to watch Annie all the time and sing the songs all the time. I loved pretending to be her. My first musical that I went to was Cats. I LOVE the musical Cats. It has great music, great characters and as a kid it had my imagination going wild!

I really hope that we can go back sometime and see a different show. I just love musicals! I am still singing....Its a hard-knock life for us and Easy Street!!!

Back to the grind

Now that I am back to the reality of school and work...I am completely overwhelmed! I have a TON of homework to do over the next 7 weeks and my list of things to do at the hospital has tripled since the holidays. Life sure is busy!! When I am not in class on Monday and Thursday night I have been trying to go to the Gym but sometimes after a long day of work I am very unmotivated to workout. In my spare time I will be studying and I think my social life will be coming to an end.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, I am done with my Masters in 6 months! I am not sure what I will do to occupy my time after I am done with school. I would like to start volunteering somewhere, although I am not sure where. I would also like to take dance classes but I am not sure I want to make a fool of myself. I would also like to not fall into the nightly routine of watching TV and surfing the web when I have a lot of time on my hands.
Right now though, I need to focus and NOT procrastinate (although I think I am procrastinating now) and get ahead of the game. My plan for the weekend is to kick some homework butt!

More pictures from MN

Just in case you wanted more winter wonderland, here are a few more pics I took while in MN...






And some more pics of the fam...

Christmas Part 4

On New Years Eve we got to hang out with our friends from College. It was great to see everyone again and have fun celebrating the new year.! I really cant believe it is 2010!



On New Years day we drove about 3 hours North to a small town on Lake Superior called Castle Danger to visit Eric's Aunt and Uncle. It was pretty cold there but with the proper attire it isnt so bad! ;)


Eric's Aunt and uncle live right on Lake Superior so I took the chance to take some pictures of the beautiful shore line covered in ice from the crashing waves...



While in the Northwoods we spent some time snowshoeing. Snowshoeing is like hiking but you are walking through fresh snow. It is fun to go out with snowshoes because you get to see a lot of untouched snow. Where we went was so beautiful and peaceful. It was a lot of fun and I wish we could do it more often. Where we were walking had a little more than two feet of snow.




We had a great time in Minnesota and it is always hard to leave it, our families, and friends. But after 11 nights, we were ready to return to our own bed, home, and to our cats.

Christmas Part 3

While still in Zimmerman we did some more sledding. Eric made two runs down the hills around his mom's house. I have to say they were really fun going down but a lot of work walking back up them!

We also went on a walk around the property in a little over a foot of snow. It was very hard walking around in that much snow. At one point I decided to make a snow angel. For those of you not familiar with how to make a now angel here are the step by step instructions: 1. Carefully plop your bum down onto the snow and lay back. 2. Spread out your arms and move them up and down across the snow. 3. Spread out your legs and move them in and out.


4. Carefully get up without ruining the snow angel.

Now you know. :)

I think I have shared pictures of the log home before but here is another one from across the pond behind the house.

This is their beautiful fireplace that heats the whole house. It was great for warming up by and getting our boots dry.


Oh and here is a picture of the AMAZING cookies that Becky makes. They are SOOO good. Like I said before, Eric and I made a pact to have only two cookies a day. We ended the limit on New Years Eve and ate a TON of cookies :)

Christmas Part 2

The next few days in MN were spent with my parents. We played more cribbage (I got my mom a board for Christmas) and did some after Christmas shopping to take advantage of some good deals. All I found were a pair of jeans from Ann Taylor Loft for less than $20 and I had a gift card to pay for them! We also saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie which I would recommend. While at my parents place we saw a TON of deer in the back yard...



On the 29th we said goodbye to my parents and headed towards Minneapolis to spend some time on the ice. We made a quick stop by my friend Tara's place of employment to say hello. We spent some time catching up before heading to lunch at Pizza Luce (I forgot how good this place is). After lunch we tried to go to the ice rink on Lake of the Isles but they were cleaning it off so unfortunately it was unavailable. We then headed back to Zimmerman to spend some more time with Eric's family.

Over the next few days we were able to see some of Eric's extended family.

We always have fun with his cousins and aunts and uncles and this time was no exception. We celebrated Cousin Drew's graduation from college with cake and ice cream and a little 500.


Thus ends our 8th day in MN.

Christmas in MN

Here is the story of our Christmas in MN....Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, everyone was opening presets...even the cats got a mouse! We arrived in MN on a snowy night on Wed the 23rd. It was great to see family again and be in beautiful Minnesota. We stayed our first two nights in Zimmerman, MN (about an hour north west of Minneapolis) with Eric's family. On Christmas Eve we did a little sledding, a little wii playing, and a lot of eating. We had a great time sledding with Eric's sister Rachel and catching up with the rest of the fam.

After going to a Christmas Eve Candle Light service we had a delicious halibut dinner and then started opening presents!



We did take a break in between to eat dessert...Rice pudding, YUM! I think it was the best rice pudding Eric has ever made. It was SO good! After opening presents we went to bed and woke up the next morning with more snow on the ground. I think we got about a foot and a half between the time we landed in MN and Christmas morning. After a quick breakfast Eric and I headed to Stillwater, MN to see my parents. It took Eric three times to get down his mom's driveway there was so much snow on it. After a long and slow drive to Stillwater we opened more presents with my family. My parents tree is always very beautiful and I hope someday that mine will also be that pretty!


After opening our gifts, we had a relaxing afternoon reading, playing cribbage, and sleeping. Thus ends our first three days in MN.

Below zero

Happy New Years!!! We are at the end of our trip here in MN and we are experiencing below zero temperatures! After celebrating the new year with friends we drove 3 hours to a small town on the North shore of Lake Superior called Castle Danger. We are here with Eric's sister to visit their Aunt and Uncle. I love visiting them because they are so much fun to be around and we always go on fun adventures.

It is currently eleven below here in Castle Danger and it will drop to nineteen below freezing tonight. Tomorrow the high is negative three and I have to tell you...I am loving it! We are planning on going snow shoeing tomorrow and I know it will be cold but we will be having fun and dressed in several layers of clothing and I know I will stay warm. Even if I don't, I know there is hot tea, coffee, or cider waiting for us when we are done. This is what living in Minnesota is all about! Taking advantage of all the things you can do outdoors even though it is unbelievably cold.

I will admit though... I am ready to be home in our own bed, making our own food, playing with our kittens, and catching up with friends in Athens. I am not looking forward to the flight to Atlanta and then the drive home late Sunday night but once we are home, it will be nice! When we get settled down back in Athens I will blog more about our trip and of course post a lot of pictures. Until then, here is a picture I found of Lake Superior near Castle Danger....