where has 2011 gone?!

so my last blog was 10 months ago...where in the world has this year gone?!

so much has happened in the last 10 months that i don't even know where to begin! here is a quick rundown...

enrolled as a consultant with thirty-one in january...jon and i went to jamaica for (my) work in february (it was awesome!)...worked like crazy from january through march (except for the quick trip to jamaica!)...my best friend had a baby boy in april (theodore tobias mappus iv aka tucker)...my brother and his family came to visit in june...another good friend had a baby boy in june (wallace rudolph bowman aka ace)...my sister and her family came to visit in july...jon and i went on vacation with my brother and sister-in-law in july (an amazing cruise to st. thomas, st. maarten, and nassau...good times had by all!)...jon's brother and his family moved to los angeles in july (can't wait to go visit in november!)...we took a last minute trip to south beach miami (with jon's brother (and business partner) and sister-in-law) for his work in august (so much fun and so relaxing!)...i became a senior consultant for thirty-one at the end of august...we traveled every weekend of september (pawley's island, greenville, atlanta, georgia to see my sister)...and now it's freakin' october already! once again, where in the world has this year gone?!

that sums up this year so far...and there are still many good times and events to come! love my life...and those that surround me!

recovering from the weekend...let the good times roll!

it's monday afternoon around 4:30, and i'm so tired i can barely keep my eyes open at my desk! i would love to blame my lack of energy/sleepiness to the time change, but i think the majority of it has to do with the fact that i stayed out with the girls entirely too late on saturday night and was too wound up to go to bed early last night!

katherine, liza, amy, and i had a blast in hilton head...it was relaxing with plenty of fun! we chilled out in our room after dinner and caught up on the happenings in everyone's life friday night, hit the gym saturday morning, did a little shopping on saturday afternoon, relaxed in our hotel room until we decided it was time for dinner, had a great dinner at wild wings (with lots of good people watching!), headed to a fun bar/dance club, made friends from charleston at the bar, sat by the indoor pool at our hotel room (after changing into our pj's and the girls dragging me out of the room at 3:30 - actually it was 1 hour earlier than that, but the time jumped ahead at 2 in the morning!) and hung out with our new friends, then we got up and hit the road to come home after about 4 hours of sleep! it was an awesome girls weekend away in hilton head...i just wish it had been about 10 degrees warmer!

once i got home jon and i got things done around the house and then were focused on a possible new purchase on ebay for entirely too many hours of the day (don't want to share details yet though - at least not until we find out for sure if it's our's - fingers are crossed)! we were both wound up after all of it and didn't go to bed until after 11.

my brother and his family arrived in charleston today from indiana, so i am super excited about hanging out with them this week! they are staying at the isle of palms, so i'm hoping for some beach time (definitely no bathing suit yet!!!) tomorrow and lots of time with my niece and nephew! i can't wait to see the little munchkins!

i'm loving life right now (except for the fact that i'm so sleepy and still have to head to my other job for the evening!) and enjoying every minute of this amazing journey it involves! let the good times continue to roll...

waking up to another day of this amazing thing called life...

each day i wake up, i'm extremely thankful for all of the gifts god has given me! i think back on my life, and there has definitely been some rough times; i realize that i wouldn't be the person i am today without those rough times though.

i have an amazing husband...i love falling asleep next to him every night and waking up to him every morning...i love the fact that he makes me laugh every single day...i love traveling with him and seeing new sights that neither one of us has seen...i am madly in love with him and everything that he is...thank you, jon, for just being you...i love you, baby!

i have a wonderful family...parents (in laws included), siblings (in laws included) and their husbands/wives, adorable nieces and nephew (only 1 nephew as of right now!), and my extended family (aunts - including aunt 'laine (the one that left this life too early!), uncles, and cousins)! they are all the best family that anyone could ask for! to those that i've grown apart from over time...hopefully one day the fences will be mended! to those that live far away...i'm trying hard to stay in touch with each of you (through facebook, email, etc.) and please know that i think of you often and hope to see each of you at least once this year and each year going forward!

i have the best friends in the world...my college roommates (wow, what great memories we shared during our four years at cofc (the good and the bad!) and continue to share during our girls' weekends!)...i love you girls like crazy and think of you every day! the friends i met after college...i look forward to hanging out with you guys every chance we get! thanks for the great memories we've made so far, and here's to many, many more memories in the future!

much love to my awesome husband, amazing family, and great friends...thank you for all that you bring to my life! :)

on the road again...

in a little while jon and i are hitting the road with katherine and tee to head to litchfield beach for the weekend to hang out with jay, brittany, and will. this is a little bit of a spur of the moment trip which should be a lot of fun! there are always a lot of laughs when jon, jay, brittany, and will get together! (in fact there are moments when i have the thought that i might wet my pants while laughing at them!)

i'm hoping that tomorrow and/or sunday involves shopping in myrtle beach because i have a few more gifts to buy (and a couple things i would like for our new york trip)! the boys are playing in a golf tournament all day on sunday...and the rest of the fun will fall into place as the weekend goes on!

thirty more minutes and then i'm heading out the door and leaving work behind for the weekend...

awesome times with awesome friends and family!

this weekend was so much fun...i hate to see it end, but i guess we have to get back to reality at some point! we got the weekend started friday night with dinner at easterby's! saturday morning i headed down to the farmers market with my mom and saturday afternoon involved lots of fun on the ashley river. we hung out on the dock, philip got the raptor tube to actually fly (something jon and the guys have been working on for several summers!), and we watched the sunset on the dock to end the party on saturday! philip, abby, rachel, bowman, jon, and i headed to dinner at kickin chicken and then went to tee and katherine's for some games! what a great day!

sunday morning we slept in a little and then headed back to the windmueller's for some more fun in the sun! abby and i went tubing on the raptor and then rachel and katherine hopped on for a ride! we relaxed in the sun and had another great day with awesome friends before jon and i headed to pawley's island!

jay, brittany, and will had a condo in pawley's island for the holiday weekend so we hung out with them and liza for the night! i laughed hysterically most of the night as i usually do when we hang out with them! we grabbed some dinner and drinks at carolina wings and then went out on the pier for a little midnight fishing! it was so peaceful on the pier that time of night...and the boys caught a shark (not a huge one, but a 21 inch reef shark!) while we were out there!

we grabbed breakfast this morning before hitting the road back to charleston...and then jon and i collapsed on the couches the rest of the day! it was a busy weekend...but soooooo much fun! we have such awesome friends and family! love you guys! xoxo

still trying to catch up on sleep...

i had an awesome time in myrtle beach this weekend with the girls! we celebrated amy's birthday with burgers, beer, and cupcakes friday night...relaxed by the pool after a morning walk on the beach on saturday...headed out for japanese and hit the bars/clubs at broadway saturday night (followed by a late night papa john's pizza before bed!)...ate krispy kreme doughnuts for breakfast on sunday and stopped by the outlets for a little shopping before heading back to charleston! wow, was it a fun filled weekend, but i collapsed on the couch when i got home sunday afternoon! i still feel like i'm trying to catch up on sleep...and it's wednesday! the other girls got up way earlier than i usually do on the weekends, so i think i missed out on my few extra hours of zzzz's saturday and sunday mornings! oh well, it was definitely worth it! i can't wait for the next girls weekend away in the spring hopefully!

another week is halfway over already...where is the time going?! jon was out of town last night, so i headed to bed early with a book! i'm looking forward to seeing him tonight though and can't wait to spend the weekend working on our guest bathroom remodeling project with him (i'm being serious, not sarcastic actually!)...we are going to be tiling this weekend! i'll post pictures when we are done...i'm super excited about the colors we've picked out for it! xoxo

happy birthday usa!

this weekend consisted of a fun 4th of july celebration with family in myrtle beach! jon and i headed to myrtle beach friday afternoon (after a late lunch/early dinner with anne and kris at moe's on the crosstown!) to spend the weekend with my dad, stepmother, and stepsister and her family! we celebrated anna's (my niece) 4th birthday along with america's birthday this weekend! yesterday was extremely busy and funfilled...breakfast, then the birthday celebration, then the beach, then freestyle music park (and an awesome roller coaster ride along with some smaller roller coaster rides!), then dinner, then back to the park for a really cool fireworks display, and finally sleepy time! it was a busy, but great weekend with family!

an awesome weekend...with awesome friends

this weekend was awesome...we went to dinner and went out friday night when bowman and rachel arrived from savannah! we continued the fun yesterday at folly beach...just like old times! when we first arrived at the beach after getting our snacks and beverages, it was freakin' HOT! we finally felt a breeze after being there for a little while and the water was a perfect temperature for cooling down! we relaxed and played on the beach all day...i love the beach! we cooked dinner last night at our house and played catch phrase...which ended up getting a little brutal, but it was a lot of fun! we woke up this morning to breakfast being cooked by bowman...biscuits and gravy - yummy! it was nice to relax after breakfast and enjoy everyone's company before heading in different directions this afternoon!

now it's life back to normal....laundry, grocery shopping, cooking...all that fun stuff before the week begins! thank goodness for a 4 day work week! now it's time to enjoy the last several hours of the weekend! xoxo

back from vacation in perdido key, fl

jon and i finally arrived home around 9:30 last night after our 9 hour trip home from perdido key, florida. we had an awesome mini vacation/wedding weekend in perdido key....relaxing on the beach, hanging out with friends, and celebrating matt and savina's special day!

jon and i left as soon as we got home from work on wednesday and made it to tallahassee that night. we headed on to perdido key after our first of 3 waffle house meals over the weekend! unfortunately we didn't realize until after our arrival that we changed time zones, so we were 2 hours early for check in! we got some necessities....beer, water, chips, and sunscreen....and headed back to the condo to unload the car. we got to spend the afternoon with matt and some of his german friends before heading to dinner that night! we had a fun dinner at the lulu's in gulf shores, alabama which is owned by jimmy buffett's sister! jay and brittany arrived later that night!

friday morning we headed to breakfast at waffle house (number 2 meal at waffle house) and then met pat back at the condo before heading out on the beach for the day. we had awesome beach weather and spent about 4 hours relaxing and getting some sun before heading to a cookout for the happy couple!

we found a couple of hours on saturday to hit the beach before heading to the wedding! the weather couldn't have been more perfect for their outdoor ceremony and cocktail hour on the dock! the reception was longer than we are used to due to the german traditions incorporated into their special day! we partied until 1 in the morning and had a blast with our new german friends! the weekend was awesome, but it went by way too quickly!

today has been my first day off before starting my new job next tuesday, and it has been a very productive day! now i'm looking forward to my road trip to savannah with stefani to see rachel tomorrow! the girls will be loose in savannah for the day to shop, eat, and enjoy some time together before baby rockers arrives!