go bulldogs!

tonight we are going to the citadel basketball game versus wofford, and i'm so excited! i can't wait to hang out with our friends that we haven't seen in weeks....and see the bulldogs play basketball! they are on something like an 11 game winning streak, so it should be a great game!

as of right now, i'm sitting in my office trying to stay motivated for another few hours. the long hours are getting to me...a little over 40 days to go until april 15th. wow, that seems like a long time!

jon and i had mexican and margaritas with katherine and tee last night, and it was so much fun to catch up on everything from the last few weeks with them! we've been so crazy busy that we haven't gotten any quality time with our friends!

we then went to dan and stefani's house to help them pick out a paint color for the baby's nursery and went through all the great stuff they received at their baby shower! it really helped me get in the mood to plan her baby shower for the end of march...rachel and i are super excited about it! it's the first baby shower for someone in our group of friends, so we are determined to start them off with a bang!

back to work...at least it's gloomy outside and getting ready to storm like crazy here! that makes it a little easier to be at work!

tax season hell

i'm officially in the middle of tax season hell....vacation is definitely over and 11+ hour days and 7 day work weeks are here to stay until april 15th! luckily when i returned to work on monday morning, my desk wasn't nearly as crowded with work as i thought it would be! i'm slowly digging my way through the work i have to do as more comes in each day though!

it's been cold this week (in the 40's), but it looks like it's going to warm up for the weekend! unfortunately i won't get to enjoy the warm weather because i will be working...at least i can see it from my office window though!

right now my life is pretty darn predictable (despite my blog title!)...wake up, go to work, go to the gym, come home, go to bed, and the cycle begins all over again! less than 2 months to go though...pretty soon i will begin the countdown to april 15th!

back to reality...

we arrived back to reality last night about midnight after an absolutely awesome vacation in utah! it was another long day of packing, cleaning up the condo, and traveling! last night also included running through the airport to catch our last flight! we stopped to get a couple drinks and a snack before getting on our flight from houston to charleston, and ended up being there a little too long because the service was terrible. fifteen minutes before our flight was supposed to take off, we begin running from the restaurant to our gate and made it just in time! one last funny memory from our trip!

i was a little sad for our vacation to come to an end, but we had a wonderful time and some amazing experiences while we were there. unfortunately now it's time to unpack, do laundry, and head back to work. i should be going to work today, but i'm still not feeling 100 percent after being sick this week...so the piles that i imagine are on my desk will have to wait until tomorrow. this week is going to be full of late nights and lots of catching up at the office! it will be well worth it though after our awesome vacation at the canyons in park city!

jon took some great pictures from the airplane as we were leaving salt lake city. the one i'm including with this entry is actually looking down on our resort! until next time...

a great vacation...coming to an end!

wow, what a vacation?! this week in park city, utah has been absolutely amazing! the mountains here are gorgeous, the snow on the mountains is beautiful, and the fun we've had here is unforgettable. we've lived it up during the day, relaxed at night, and then started all over again each of the 5 days we've been here.

yesterday was full of adventure...on snowmobiles. what an awesome experience?! we honestly did not know what we were in for...which included crazy fun, amazing views, many times digging our snowmobiles out, and absolute exhaustion by the time we got home. jon and i rode atv's in cabo during our honeymoon, and the snowmobiles were one more amazing adventure! we went with one of the owners of pcs national who is 62, but was more daring and hard core than any of the 4 of us! he did some crazy things while we were out there, and showed us an awesome time! the adventure began with 2 of the snowmobiles breaking down about 15 minutes into it. we had to tow those back to the lodge and get 2 more before continuing. after getting stuck in the 4 feet (yes, that is correct...4 feet!) of snow a couple times and learning to dig out the snowmobile, we were on our way! we went about 15 miles into the mountains and canyons before heading back to the lodge during our 5 hour trek! at one point we couldn't get one snowmobile out before getting another one stuck...it was then that we decided it was probably time to begin the trek back to the lodge. all four of us came back home and collapsed....sound asleep for a couple hours before waking up at 9:30 to eat dinner.

unfortunately i managed to get sick this week (jon the beginning of the week and me at the end!) and by the time we got home from our awesome adventure yesterday i was even worse. i had to forego skiing today because i didn't think i could make it on the slopes with a terrible cough all day! the guys and i headed up the mountain to meet anne for lunch and then the guys headed off for an afternoon of skiing. anne is in her second day of ski school today and is loving it....i hate i had to sit out today, but i guess there is always another time. i now have cute snow bunny ski clothes - thanks to the columbia sportswear outlet in park city - so i will definitely be ready the next time we go on a ski trip.

i guess all good things must come to an end, and that is happening tomorrow for us as we have to board the plane home around noon! this week has been so awesome and amazing....

falling snow in utah

it has been snowing contantly since monday night here...i believe it's slowing down a little now though. anne and i took ski school yesterday in pouring snow which was quite interesting, but we both learned a lot! unfortunately i had to head to the lodge early because my knees were killing me; however, i had an awesome time learning to ski!

the condo we are staying in is perfect for our vacation! it's cozy, yet plenty of space for the 4 of us! we slept in monday after an extremely long traveling day on sunday, explored park city a little bit monday night, and had dinner at an awesome bar - the no name saloon! yesterday we spent the entire day on the slopes and collapsed early last night. this morning we have been relaxing after a pancake breakfast prepared by chefs jon and kris and are getting ready to head into salt lake city. we are planning to tour the pool cover specialists facility today which jon and kris are excited for anne and me to see.

unfortunately i woke up not feeling very well this morning, but i've been popping meds like crazy in an effort to get better! jon was sick the first part of the trip and now me...hopefully i will feel much better before we have to get on a plane to head home on saturday!

time to hit the road to salt lake...xoxo

i'm leaving on a jetplane...

i'm leaving on a jetplane....heading to utah! vacation in park city, utah has finally arrived, and it couldn't have gotten her at a better time! the week ahead is going to be awesome...i'm really excited about learning to ski with anne this week and hopefully we will all make it home without any broken bones!

yesterday turned out to be completely crazy. i got up very early and headed to the hospital to see charles (who is doing much better and looks great after his valve replacement surgery - he still needs many prayers though!) before getting on the road back to charleston. work was extremely frustrating, and jon and i didn't get to make it to the college of charleston/citadel basketball game. jon found out yesterday morning he had strep throat...happy valentine's day, baby....but luckily he caught it before we headed out this morning. when i finally got home from work, jon had an awesome valentine's day gift for me....new pajamas! they are adorable, and i can't wait to wear them! i got my stuff packed for the trip thanks to jon's help with laundry and getting my clothes out and folded for me...he's such an awesome husband! we headed to kris' house to hang out with him and anne and make sure we all got up and out the door at 4 this morning...4 is way too early for me!

we are now sitting in the houston airport waiting for our connecting flight to salt lake city, and then it's on to park city! here's to a week of excitement, learning to ski, and relaxation.....

hope and prayers

this week has been trying at times, but at this point i've at least made it through wednesday...so the weekend is in sight! my cousin seems to be stable right now, although there were some moments of panic earlier in the week. as of today the antibiotic is working, so the biggest hope now is that another piece of the infection does not break off and go to his brain. the neurologist says that he can understand what is being said to him. no matter what, there is going to be a tremendously long road ahead for him....many prayers are going to be needed.

i have almost made it through everything on my desk, which was my goal before leaving for utah. i get so overwhelmed in the beginning, but somehow i always manage to get through the work on my desk!

i am heading to myrtle beach friday night to see charles and my family one more time before boarding the plane to utah on sunday. it will be good to see them again after the ups and downs with him this week. saturday afternoon brings the college of charleston vs. the citadel basketball game, and saturday night may bring an all nighter with kris and anne complete with rock band. our flight is so early sunday morning that we are trying to decide if it's even worth going to bed saturday night. i guess the rest of the week and saturday will determine whether we get some sleep before getting on the plane!

the prayers for charles' improvement continue and are very much needed right now! time for some zzzzzzz's......

good and bad...the weekend

this past weekend was good and bad. bad because my cousin had a stroke friday night and good because jon and i had a great sunday together! my cousin is still in the hospital, but the doctors are optimistic they can treat the infection with antibiotics. there was some concern this morning that he'd had another stroke last night, but they have since determined that the stroke from friday night is an evolving stroke. the piece of infection that broke off from the valve in his heart and went to his brain to cause the stroke is wedged in his brain causing this evolving stroke. when we visited him saturday evening, he definitely did not seem like himself. he looked like he was gazing into space and sadly he did not know who I was by name....but he did know my dad by name. his answers to questions consisted of yes, no, and i don't know. i'm hoping and praying he was very tired saturday from all of the tests and x-rays, and that his memory will slowly return. when i talked to his brother a little while ago, he said his answers this morning to questions have only consisted of the shaking of his head and that he is not using the right side of his body. my prayers have become much greater in number since saturday morning and will continue....

on a happier note, jon and i had an awesome day together yesterday! we went to a movie together...which we haven't done in a very long time (because we usually prefer to watch them at home)! the weather was sunny and in the 70's, so we sat on his parents' dock and enjoyed the breeze and great temperature! then we decided to head downtown to hyman's seafood for all you can eat crab legs and shrimp! he thoroughly enjoyed the crab legs while i enjoyed the cajun shrimp. we ended our day with cookie dough and the end of season 4 of entourage! our sundays usually consist of doing nothing but sitting on the couch and watching movies (and me working more recently), so it was fun to get out of the house after a stressful saturday!

6 days until we board the plane for park city, utah!

importance of family

today i have been reminded of the importance of family...even if there are rifts that have kept you apart. my dad called me at 7:30 this morning to tell me that my cousin had a stroke last night. he called me an hour later to say that the neurologist determined that there is some brain damage, although they are not sure exactly to what extent. my cousin, charles, and i have not been very close over the last 5 years because of differences of opinion; however, as children we were very close and even in high school, i went to prom at his school with a good friend of his. jon and i are getting ready to head to myrtle beach to see him because i have certainly been reminded of how important my family is by the effect this news had on me this morning. it's scary also because he's only 28. please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as the doctors attempt to figure out why this may have happened.

even if you've grown apart from your family due to distance or rifts, always keep them close in your heart!

it's thursday...and almost the weekend!

it's thursday....and almost the weekend! i love thursday....because jon and i have tv night with grey's anatomy and er and because the weekend is only one day away! i don't have any exciting plans this weekend...just working both days! hopefully some fun will find it's way into the weekend though.

i may be cuddling up on the couch with a book or a movie all weekend when i'm not working if the cold weather is still around! when i got to work this morning, the weather online said it was 20 degrees outside...that's freakin' cold! yesterday felt even colder because the wind was blowing like crazy. i ended up cuddling up with a mug of hot chocolate and caramel flavored bailey's last night to watch a movie and more episodes of entourage with jon! that's mine and jon's latest dvd tv series addiction...it is hysterical!

back to work.....