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!

preferred customer card...

as of about two weeks ago, i am the proud owner of a hancock's fabric preferred customer card. i never thought i would want to learn to sew after watching my mom do it growing up (much less hold a preferred customer card from a fabric store!), but i decided in october to buy a sewing machine. my goal was to teach myself to sew over the winter when it was cold outside and we were home over the weekends. so i finally got the sewing machine out of the box and set it up in february.

it was actually jon's suggestion to set it up and start practicing, so he helped me get it going and within a few hours i had made him a small pillow case from one of his pool cover specialists' t-shirts! unfortunately i haven't had time (or i guess made time!) to attempt another small sewing project, but i have been to the fabric store two times and purchased several different pieces of fabric and ribbon for baby blankets! my sister-in-law will be in town next week (and she's an excellent seamstress), so she is going to help me with some sewing skills! in the end, i just want to be able to hem new pants for myself (because they are always too long and i have to pay someone to make them shorter!), and make pillows, baby blankets, and other items for our house or to give as gifts.

i never thought i would enjoy sewing...as a child i just knew that wasn't for me and totally took my mom's sewing skills for granted! i'm sure she is very proud that i'm learning to sew and finally expressing and interest in it! i'm slowly becoming more domesticized (not sure if that's a word!)...baking, then cooking, now sewing! wow, i wonder what's next...learning to enjoy cleaning? learning to enjoy doing laundry? learning to enjoy washing dishes? (notice i wrote "learning to enjoy" because i do all of these things now - some not as much as others thanks to my awesome husband! - but i do not enjoy doing them!) probably not, but who knows what the future will bring! :)

i know it sounds crazy, but it actually snowed in charleston!

last friday night jon and i were sitting at home watching the news as they continued to talk about charleston getting snow....and finally around 7:00, snowflakes began falling from the sky! it was pretty crazy! the meteorologists had been predicting snow for about a week, but i think most people (including me!) just blew it off and thought "i'll believe it when i see it!" up until friday night, there had not been a recorded snow fall since 1989...21 years! within 30 minutes our yard was covered with snow and it just continued coming down! we watched it from the front door/porch in amazement and took lots of pictures! our cable went out around 7:45, so we decided to play scrabble! the lights flickered most of the night, and we thought for sure that we would end up losing power but it never went off for more than a minute! we woke up to a yard, trees, and house covered in snow! we got around 3 inches, but unfortunately it didn't last long on saturday! here are some pictures to prove IT SNOWED IN CHARLESTON!!!

dependency on my cell phone...not a good thing

so today i have decided that i am way too dependent on my cell phone! it started doing crazy things last night, and it's not any better this morning. it's like my connection to the outside world has been cut off completely...although i am sitting in front of a computer all day long! of course this happened on a friday when i am leaving to go out of town! verizon store here i come, as soon as i leave work today!

once i get my phone situation straightened out, katherine, abby, and i will be hitting the road for our girls weekend in greenville! there are lots of fun times to be had and great memories to be made this weekend! happy friday!

rain, rain go away!

it's a nasty rainy day in charleston! i wish i could have stayed home today...curled up in bed or on the couch with a book and/or movie! i'm ready for summer...no more cold weather, just sunshine and warm temps!

today is my adorable nephew, Maddox's 4th birthday! he is having a john deere birthday party tomorrow night to celebrate, and his birthday present is a miniature john deere gator! i'm sure he is going to be ecstatic when he sees it...he loves everything john deere!

3 more days until girls' weekend in greenville!

one of those days...

so yesterday ended up being "one of those days!" to begin the day, i woke up at 8 (way too early for a weekend!) and couldn't go back to sleep! once jon got up, he and i started making breakfast and i made a big mess with the apple juice...i was shaking it before i poured it and the lid was not on it properly! after cleaning up the mess on the floor and the counter, i ended up leaving the kitchen and jon finished our awesome breakfast of sausage, pancakes, and eggs!

around 12 i decided it was time to get off the couch and head to jon's office to do some work. the toilet ended up getting clogged up while i was there (alone!), and once i tracked down the plunger i couldn't make it work!

after i finished working, jon and i headed to costco and the grocery store. when we got home and got everything unloaded, i managed to knock over the plant next to the sink....luckily i caught it before it hit the ground, but not before potting soil fell all over the floor! jon helped me clean up that mess too (what an awesome husband...of course he was making fun of me the whole time)!

after dinner i was baking chocolate chip cookies (maybe this was a sign i didn't need to be baking cookies!), and i managed to drop the spatula (that i had just used to put the cookies on a plate) on the floor...so chocolate chip remnants hit the floor! in the midst of this i put the hot cookie sheet on the counter and then grabbed it with my bare hand to move it....how dumb is that?!

what a day...at least my husband can make me laugh about it all! i must say it was nice to crawl in bed last night and leave yesterday behind!

24...the new season

jon and i are settling in for night one of the two night season premiere of 24...our favorite show! we've been waiting for weeks, and it's only an hour away! it's the important (fun) things in life that make the world go round!

now it's time to enjoy the rest of this sunday evening with my husband...and watch 24!

a weekend of relaxation

jon and i have had a wonderful weekend of relaxation! we celebrated one of our friend's 30th birthday last night, but other than that we have stayed on the couch and watched movies all weekend! i finally got my suitcase unpacked, did some much needed organizing in our office/back bedroom, and started organizing our tax information...then joined jon on the couch with a blanket for the rest of the day! it's been nice to catch up after being on vacation, spending the night in the airport last weekend, and then going back to a busy work week last week! it looks like this week will be even busier for both of us, but at least we will be well rested and ready to face it...i think!

time to celebrate...christmas

this weekend will begin family christmas celebrations for jon and me! my mom, kirk, laura, kate, reese, and anne are all coming in tomorrow for the windmueller christmas celebration! i'm super excited about seeing everyone and all of us being together!

my mom and i are going to do lots of baking tomorrow (i chose to bring desserts for christmas dinner on sunday!), once she arrives. i have a few more errands to run in the morning to finish up some last (well i guess not quite last...that would be if i waited until christmas eve!) minute shopping and then the baking will begin! i love christmas time....

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...

another awesome weeekend ahead...

today is friday...and i love fridays! they usually go by pretty quickly at work, and i always look forward to awesome weekend activities! this weekend is funfilled...a party with friends tonight, the reindeer run with amy in the morning, my work christmas party tomorrow night, slumber party at katherine's tomorrow night (since the guys will be camping), and relaxing on sunday!

21 days until christmas and 23 days until NYC!!!!

birthday celebrations...

today is my 28th birthday...and the celebrating began last night! jon had beautiful fresh flowers for me when i got home from work yesterday and had my (technically it's ours, but it was my birthday present!!!) new camera all ready to go! he studied the manual yesterday and learned all about the cool features it has, so i am ready to snap loads of photographs now! we went to dinner at california dreaming and then watched grey's anatomy! it was an awesome evening of celebrating!

the celebrations have continued today with birthday breakfast bagels at work, lunch with abby, and tonight is dinner with kat, tee, amy, liza, and kris! (jon is going out of town for a bachelor party this weekend, but thankfully i am extremely lucky to be surrounded by amazing friends to celebrate with while he's gone!) i'm super excited, and so far it's been a good day at work...no stress (yet)! tomorrow morning i will begin the day with a walk over the bridge with amy to make up for all of the yummy food i am partaking in today! i love birthday celebrations!

girl time

today was packed full of girl time with amy! jon went to the usc football game with tee, so amy and i went shopping and out to dinner! it has been a lot of fun catching up with amy and having girl time...no boys allowed! :) tomorrow morning she and i are going to walk the ravenel bridge for some much needed exercise...especially after the calzone and peppermint chocolate chip milkshake i had tonight! i love my husband with all my heart, but girl time is definitely necessary in life! much love to all my great girlfriends out there...you are awesome and i'm extremely lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful friends!!!! xoxo

citadel homecoming...and good times!

this weekend was tons of fun! it was full of good times with great friends! saturday was citadel homecoming, so we packed up the necessary tailgating supplies....alcohol, food, radio, and chairs....and headed downtown to the the citadel! the weather was perfect, and there were a lot of friends in town that we don't get to see very often! these were all the ingredients for a perfect weekend!

halloween partying...

so we went to a halloween party last night with all of our friends and partied almost until it was time to turn the clocks back an hour. we had fun getting dressed for the party at our house...bowman, rachel, pat, and amy were all there for the pre party/getting dressed! jon and i were a pimp and hoe...quite impressive costumes for throwing it together in a few days (i thought!). i had a blast hanging out with our friends, and bowman and rachel (aka shrek and fiona) won the costume contest! pictures to come...

unfortunately today is not looking like it's going to be a very productive day! i can't seem to pull myself off the couch to do some work i brought home from the office, and my eyes feel like the need to be held open with toothpicks for any length of time! partying late seems to be kicking my butt anymore! i'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that i'm getting older! :)

another fun weekend down and another one to go next weekend...citadel homecoming weekend...and the fair in between! thursday night we are heading to the fair with amy, dan, stefani, and spencer for some fair food and people watching! i can't wait!

my girls...

i love my girls...those girls being my college roommates, who are like sisters to me! unusual circumstances brought three of us together this weekend, and although the fourth one couldn't make it, we were certainly thinking about her all weekend. i honestly don't know what i would do without the 3 of them...emily, katherine, and abby.

we've been friends since we moved into berry hall (dorm) our freshman year of college in 2000. who knew that we would become inseparable in the next 9 months! we've been through a lot with each other and i know that no matter what, those three girls will always be there for me. unfortunately we don't all live in the same town, but we can pick up quickly where we left off when we get together! i look forward to girls weekends with them from the moment we start planning them!

em, kat, and abby....our lives have gotten busy since we've left college, but i know that no matter what we will always be the bestest of friends! i love hanging out with you and always look forward to seeing or talking to each of you! love you girls to pieces! xoxo

another great weekend...

this weekend has been a fun one...and it's only saturday afternoon! last night we went to a restaurant in mt. pleasant with katherine and nick. it is a whole in the wall seafood place that only locals know about and it was awesome! afterwards we hung out at our house with kat and tee. this morning was a great morning of sleeping in and dunkin donut balls for breakfast (definitely going to the gym tomorrow)! then i decided i was in the mood for a little shopping. i found some good buys at the outlets and finally bought myself a sewing machine!

my goal this fall is to learn how to sew! i want to be able to make pillows and fun stuff for gifts, and i really want to be able to hem my own pants! hopefully next weekend i will have time to begin my sewing adventure!

tonight we are heading to tee and kat's to hang out with friends, eat yummy appetizers, and watch some football! then i believe we are going to hit the town with nick before he heads home tomorrow! it's been a fun weekend so far, and there is still half of it left!

is it friday yet?!

wow, it's been a hell of a last 8 days....at work! my boss is out for the next 6-8 weeks for surgery, so last week and saturday was spent trying to tie up all of the loose ends before she went into surgery yesterday! yesterday was a rough monday, so i'm hoping that it wasn't an indication of the rest of the week! i'm ready for the weekend, so i can relax for more than one day and not think about work!

jon and i had a great sunday together though. we slept in (our favorite thing to do on the weekends!), made breakfast, relaxed, and then decided to go to a movie. it was a wonderful day before the crazy week began!

we've got a lot going on this week...matt (jon's friend who lives in germany) is flying in tonight to stay for a couple of days and nick (jon's old roommate) is coming in on thursday to stay through the weekend. it should be a fun filled rest of the week and weekend...as long as i can keep my head above water in the office!

speaking of which...it's time to get working on these piles sitting on my desk!

a weekend of friends and tailgating

this weekend has been a lot of fun! yesterday morning i met katherine, emily, and andrew at the farmer's market. i haven't seen emily in months, so it was great to spend some time with her and catch up on life! we found some neat things at the farmer's market (ie. homemade pasta, which jon and i will be trying tonight with spaghetti!) and then we headed to cupcake for some treats! unfortunately i ended up with a parking ticket, but i've never had one as long as i've been in charleston so i guess i was way overdue for one!

jon and i headed dowtown yesterday afternoon (after he worked on the bathroom for a while and i baked cookies) for some citadel football tailgating! it was the citadel's first home game this season, and they did awesome....from what we heard on the radio in the parking lot and the news when we got home! we prefer to tailgate during the game rather than going in to watch the game! will and carol brought their rv, so we had an awesome tailgating setup, along with our own restroom...no portalets for us! i'm looking forward to doing it all over again next saturday!

i've got homemade spaghetti sauce on the stove, i'm doing laundry and doing things around the house, and jon is continuing to work on the bathroom...so we are being extremely productive this sunday! tonight we grout the tile in the shower!

here's to another week...but most importantly another fun weekend at the end of it! xoxo

another day at the office...with cake!

it's just another day at the office, but today we are celebrating the boss' birthday with cake! we also celebrated a birthday on tuesday with a really good chocolate cake! i'm not sure what type of cake we will be having this afternoon, but i'm sure it will be tasty!

tomorrow is friday....thank goodness! i'm ready for a fun filled weekend weekend to begin! we are tailgating saturday afternoon/evening for the citadel's first home football game of the season. also, one of my roommates from college, emily, is going to be in town, so i'm looking forward to seeing her and catching up at some point this weekend!

on another note, the guest bathroom is almost finished! we have someone coming to reglaze the tub (from the hideous green from the 1960's to a more modern white!) tomorrow morning, and then all that's left is grouting the tile around the shower and the trim work! i will definitely post pictures once the project is completed!

the new grey's anatomy starts tonight, and it's a 2 hour season premiere! it's going to be a great next few days!