2013 Year in Review

So much happens in the course of a year.  I love to throw together a list of some of the major events that occurred so I can look back and remember them.  It feels like a REALLY long time ago that I ran in the Charleston Half Marathon and it was still less than a year ago.  Of course, we did lots of other stuff in 2013, but here are some of the highlights.....

January 2013
Made some resolutions... more on how things went in a later post
Completed the Charleston Half Marathon with a personal best time!
Spent lots of time visiting my niece in the NICU

February 2013
Hosted a Supper Club Super Bowl Party!
Celebrated my niece coming home from the NICU
Celebrated Ryan's 29th Birthday
Got together with friends to start Nooks & Grannies book club
Found some lovely fabric for re-decorating our den

March 2013
Ran in my first 10K - Get To the Green St. Patty's Day Run
Discovered Thursday night jazz at Hunter Gatherer

April 2013
Spent a long weekend at the beach!
Trained & ran in the Heart & Sole 5-miler
"Ran for Boston"
Celebrated my sister & niece at a belated baby shower
Helped with my JWC's Annual Yard Sale
Played Ultimate Frisbee for the first time (my team was awesome!)

May 2013
Served as a guest speaker for a group of nurses state convention
Spent Memorial Day Weekend at the Beach!

June 2013  
Quit Monthly Menu Planning
Began serving as the President for JWC of Lake Murray
Attended Brandon & Mary Kathryn's wedding!
Went Kayaking with friends... got inspired & bought our own kayaks!
It started raining... and it rained and it rained and it rained.  Longest streak of rainy days in history.

July 2013
Celebrated my nephew's 3rd birthday & my niece's Baptism
Ryan started a new job... I went on vacation to the beach
I completed my PHI Pilates Instructor Certification
Hosted Nooks & Grannies book club at my house!

August 2013
Went on a weekend trip to Greenville
Started training for Georgetown Half Marathon
Taught my first Pilates class
Talked about and decided to put our house up for-sale-by-owner....
Were completely shocked when it was under contract in a quick 2 weeks
Packed liked crazy & searched for a new home

September 2013
Quit training for Georgetown Half (too busy moving!)
CLOSED on the Sale of our first home
Shopped and shopped and shopped for a new home
Moved in with my parents
Put a contract on our new home!

October 2013
Completed lots of inspections & paperwork for our new house
CLOSED on the purchase of our new home
Helped to host a baby shower for my college roommate Elizabeth
Attended Heather & Jeff's Wedding

November 2013
Ryan started another new job... a much better fit!
Moved into our new home!
Celebrated 10 years together (we started dating in November 2003)
Made a big long list of things "to-do" for our house & got started working

December 2013
Volunteered at our JWC 2nd Annual Tour of Homes
Celebrated our 4th Anniversary
Celebrated Christmas & New Years with family & friends
Celebrated my 29th Birthday

New Recipes Reviewed

Well, we’re nearly half way into our second month of monthly menu planning, so I thought I should tell you how it’s going, and let you know whether those new recipes were actually worth it!   Also, I found out a few weeks ago that my friend Ginny from my pilates class reads this blog and wonders whether or not I actually cook all the stuff I post about.  And, that made me suddenly realize….. There are actually some people out there reading this that I do know in real life!   

Confession: I stalk lots of people through their blogs.  And I’m guilty of not leaving comments.  This is something I want to get better about.  I hope you’ll leave a comment here (or let me know in real life if you have the opportunity) if you’re reading.  I’d also love to read your blog(if I’m not already lurking)!  

So the answer is… I do use the menu plans to make a grocery list, and generally follow them pretty closely, but it is often hard from week-to-week to follow an exact schedule.  Lots of things get bumped around just to fit in our day-to-day activities, but I’m ok with that.   The main point is, to have food in the house for recipes we like so we don’t end up eating out all the time.   So, on to the recipe review….

New recipes we’ve made so far this year….

Chicken Pot Pie … excellent recipe (ThanksLindsey!)  I will definitely make this again.  Also, I will take my indigestion medicine before-hand because it gave me major heartburn, but I LOVED it, and so did my hubby, so that’s a win-win.  Probably need to get it back on the calendar before the weather gets warm though, cause this is a definite winter comfort food.  

Crockpot Lasagna …. Forgot to put it in the crockpot, so just emailed the ingredients to my husband with modified directions for the oven and he made it (he volunteered).  It was FANTASTIC.  I love Lasagna.  Can’t wait to actually try it in the crockpot though.  Also, don’t think I’ll ever get Ryan to volunteer to make it again, apparently he had no idea how much work goes into Lasagna.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches… oh.my.goodness.  I should’ve known by the frequency that these show up on Leigh’s menu plans that I should’ve made them sooner!  I absolutely love any type of shredded meat in the crockpot (if you’ve read my menus, you already know this), and this was the easiest recipe yet.  We will absolutely eat this again and again.. and again!  

Chicken Enchilada Soup… oh, boy did I flub this one up.  I cannot tell you if I like it or not because I messed up not only the ingredients, but also the instructions.  It was heartbreaking because it was a TON of food, and we ended up wasting it all because it turned out so badly.  I often substitute ingredients in recipes when I don’t have exactly what it called for, and it has never turned out quite this bad.  The only other recipe I remember being this bad was when I mistakenly put Italian tomatoes and peppers in my shredded beef tacos instead of tomatoes and green chiles (that’s the last time I buy store-brand Rotel… the cans for Italian tomatoes looked EXACTLY the same).  If anyone tries this recipe and it turns out good, I’d like to know.  But I think I’m too chicken to try this one again anytime soon! 

2012 in Review

The year 2012 has been an interesting one to say the least, but we made it through, and here are some highlights!

January

Made some resolutions..... check back later this week to see how I did! 

Ryan started taking a Statistics class at our local tech school 

February

Spent a long weekend in NYC with my girlfriends from work

Celebrated Ryan's 28th Birthday

March

Spent lots of time with my girlfriends Leigh & Leigh since they would both be moving soon!

Celebrated my first-day-of-college friend Taylor's Bachelorette Weekend with my first-ever trip to St. Patty's in 5pts

April

Tour-de-food around Columbia before our best friends moved away! 

Celebrated Taylor & Peter's Wedding Weekend in St. Simon's Island, GA

May

Celebrated Mary Elizabeth & Gabe's Wedding Reception after their return from their wedding in Jamaica!

Celebrated my little brother's graduation from Clemson

Celebrated Elizabeth & Billy's Wedding in Charleston

Convinced Ryan's parents to adopt a goldendoodle half-brother of Beaufort's  

June

Spent a few days at our family beach house in North Litchfield, SC

Celebrated my nephew Cooper's 2nd Birthday

July

Spent a little more time at the beach

Visited our friends and my uncle in D.C.  

FINALLY decided to run in my 2nd Half Marathon  

August

Spent a week at Folly Beach and went to the PGA Championship Golf Tournament in Kiawah Island

Celebrated Hilary & Kyle's Wedding (the same day we missed Jessica & Mark's wedding)

Ryan started taking some more classes at USC

Fall 2012 Football Season began with another Thursday season opener for the Gamecocks!

September

Lots of football watching going on!

Continued training for my half-marathon, hitting a few bad runs 

October

Ran my second half-marathon in Georgetown, SC and met my goal of running under 2.5 hours, setting a new PR at 2:26:17

Hosted a pumpkin carving party!  

November

Helped throw a SURPRISE party for my sister's 30th b-day

Visited the local corn maze with some friends from our Sunday School Class

December

My niece Elliott was born December 1st 

Celebrated our 3rd anniversary

Hosted a Favorite Things Christmas Exchange 

Celebrated Christmas and my 28th birthday with family and friends

Ended the year with a few extremely relaxing days at the beach!

Our trip to D.C.

So, as you might have seen in our menu plan, last weekend, we took off for a few days to visit some of our very best friends who recently moved to the Washington, D.C. area.  We had lots of fun visiting our nations' capitol and are so excited that now we have both family (my uncle) and friends to see when we visit!

Leaving S.C. still a long way to go!

We started off the weekend with the long drive on Thursday, got to their place and settled in and caught up on life.  Friday, we started making plans for what to do during our long weekend, including cooking dinner, so we had to hit up their awesome grocery store, Wegman's.  I've never been in a place quite like this store.  Let's be honest, you just have to see it to believe it.  My uncle told me later on in the weekend that they are building a store in his town and in addition to all their full time employees, they are advertising 350 part time positions!  Go Wegman's - putting America back to work!  If you're up the Virginia/Maryland way and need a job, they're hiring!  (However, don't get a job there if you don't want to drool all day over their wonderful food selections!)

Washington Monument by Night

After a trip to the store, we hit the road to catch the Metro, and rode to Georgetown.  We ate dinner at an awesome restaurant, Founding Farmers.  If you're ever in the Georgetown area, I highly suggest putting this place on your tour-de-food!  All of our appetizers and entrees were delicious.  I love this quote from their website, "A collective of American family farmers owns our restaurant. We source our fresh products from family farms, ranches, and fisheries across the United States. We celebrate and share the longstanding connection between farmers — the first to lead the “green” movement — and their historic stewardship of natural resources."  And, wouldn't you believe, one of their hosts was a Clemson grad, and recognized right away that we were from the south.   After dinner, we shopped in Georgetown and then headed back to downtown D.C. where we really enjoyed walking the National Mall at night and took a few pictures at the Washington Monument.  The view of the city lights at nighttime is truly a sight to see!

Ryan & Me in front of the Washington Monument

Saturday, we headed back to town and met my uncle for lunch at Burger, Tap & Shake.  The burgers were rockin' and the milkshake straws as big as your finger helped make enjoying that fabulous shake all the better.  Yum!  Our next stop was the American History Museum.  We only toured a few exhibits, but some of my favorites included the original American Flag that inspired The Star Spangled Banner, and the Transportation in America exhibit.  By-the-way, I'm a little upset that a car produced after I was born, the 1986 Dodge Caravan, is in a museum.  Does that make me old???

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring more monuments, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, The Lincon Memorial (we also checked out the backside overlooking Memorial Bridge and Robert E. Lee's home on Arlington hill), and of course The White House.   We ended our day at The Old Ebbitt Grill, another fabulous meal in the city. 

WWII Memorial - South Carolina Column with view of
Washington Monument & American Flag in the background

Lincoln Memorial

Inside Lincoln Memorial

View of Washington Monument & Capitol from Lincoln Memorial

The White House (back side)

Outside the Whitehouse Gate

Sunday, we attended church with our friends and then had brunch, walked around Olde Town in Alexandria, and did some shopping at the nearby outlet mall, Potomac Mills.  By the time we got around to cooking dinner, we were all deliriously tired from our weekend of fun.  Somehow, not really sure how it came about, we ended up our night watching old re-run DVDs of The Cosby Show.  What a classic!  We have to thank our wonderful hosts and tour guides, Gray and Leigh, their little one A, and of course my Uncle Edwin who met up with us in the city and shared lots of great background info on all of the sights we visited.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we visit again!

In front of the Town Square in Alexandria

Me, Ryan, Gray & Leigh
photo courtesy of the sweetest 5 year old I know! 

To our friends....

Well, probably the few of you who still read this blog know that some of our very best friends are moving away this week.  While we are extremely excited for them to move to a big city, pursue their dreams and God's plan for them in a new place, we are still sad that we won't have them just a hop-skip-and-jump away anymore.  We have been so incredibly blessed to share life with this couple and  our friendship with them means more to us than we could ever describe.  Not often do you find the kind of friends where you never worry about how your house looks and whether or not appetizers are acceptable in place of a meal, where you show up in sweat pants and don't think twice about your appearance.  The guys are always willing to pitch in and share big projects around the house (including helping pack the Uhaul that will carry their stuff away this week), and usually the girls can be found taking in the latest bachelor episodes, figuring out whats to eat, and sharing all the latest happenings. 

During college, Ryan was friends with Gray from involvement with church and their shared interest in politics.  We all hung out and did double dates during college but I didn't REALLY get to know Leigh until after they got married.  (In fact, at one point, Leigh went from blonde to brunette and I thought Gray had a new girlfriend!)   Leigh asked me to join her Bible study group during the summer before we got married, and I cannot believe how much our friendship has grown since that time.  I remember clearly the night that they shared with us their heart for adoption, God's call in their life to bring a child into their family -- I thought they were going to tell us she was pregnant, but an even more beautiful story unfolded.  We have learned from them what it looks like to truly seek out God's will for your life and to be ready and willing to follow it when He unveils something that is known to be a difficult path.  We celebrated lots of ups and downs during their adoption process and it has been our joy to watch them grow as a family since bringing their little boy home.

I will miss our double dates and triple dates, nights by the fire pit, grilling out, tailgating & watching Gamecock sports, screaming over episodes of the bachelor while the boys hang out and shake their heads at us girls.  We'll miss their dog jumping into our laps when we arrive at their house, and the excitement of their little boy greeting us to show us his new favorite toy or a picture he has drawn.  Luckily, their family is still here in SC and we plan to visit them in their new town, too.  (Leigh's mom has already offered me a ride so she won't have to make the drive alone!)  Not to mention, all the silly emails I'm sure we'll continue to exchange on a nearly daily basis.

Now, for tonight, it's off to help them pack to get on their way, and hopefully holding off the tears because this isn't goodbye, it's only seeya later.  Gray & Leigh - we love y'all and know God has great things in store for you, and can't wait to continue to share life together, even at a distance!

First day of Fall 2011

Today is officially the beginning of Fall, so I'd like to share with you a few things I LOVE about this season.... and they are in no particular order because these are the random thoughts of my brain :)

 

1. Soup - so if I'm being honest, I eat soup all times of year, but the best time to eat it is in the fall! Usually I've had a long break from soup (especially the homemade kind) by the time fall rolls around.  To me, there is just nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on the first few crisp days of fall.  A few of my favorites are.... Easy Crockpot Potato Soup,  Taco or Enchilada Soup,  Cheesy Chicken Corn Chowder, and of course some Chili sometimes!

 

2. Football Tailgates - clearly, if you know me, you know I grew up in a family that LOVES football. (Clemson football, to be exact).  However, as a proud graduate of THE University of South Carolina, my blood runs GARNET!  My favorite types of foods are all present at tailgates --- dips, chicken, biscuits, grilled stuff, and of course, DIET COKE!  And the fun times spent with family and friends enjoying food, games, and football talk just can't be beat!  Also, on a random note.... ever wonder what would be a great wedding present?  Tailgate chairs!  Our go-to-gift is a matching set of chairs for the bride & groom.  We usually try and get team-themed chairs if possible & we've had several friends tell us the chairs were their

 "favorite" or "most-used" gift.

 

3. Cool, but not COLD weather - ok, so I HATE cold weather, but I LOVE when it starts to get cool.  If I can sport a sweater without wearing a jacket, or longsleeves with flip-flops, I'm totally down with that.   There's also nothing like riding with the windows down in the car with the seat heater warming up your bottom!

 

4. Dark mornings - I love me some sleep, so hitting that snooze button becomes so much easier when it is still dark in the mornings!  Usually though, if I let it last too long, I have a furry friend all up in my business & licking my face so he can get his breakfast.  See exhibit A: 

 

5. Trips to see friends & visitors - We've already been to Charlotte this fall for Carolina's first game against ECU.   Usually we have lots of friends coming in to town for football games & there is already a girls trip in the works with my college friends in the fall!  Of all our college friends, we are some of the few who still live here in town.  We LOVE hosting anyone coming down (so plan your trip soon), but it is also a great time of year to make our own trips to see all those fun people who've left us behind!

 

6. Preparing for holidays - I'm already thinking up ideas for Christmas gifts, decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas, and just what we'll do for our anniversary this year.  The holiday months always seem to fly by with so much going on, so I'm hoping this year we'll take the time to just enjoy each moment and spend time with family & friends.   Probably as soon as the calendar flips over to October, I'll re-load the Christmas music onto my iPod.  Let's face it, I think we could add about 60 more days to the month of December, and still not have enough time to enjoy all the Christmas tunes. 

 

Happy Fall Y'all!

menu Planning - Week 19.... after a crazy busy weekend

wow, this weekend went by so fast, but it sure was a fun one. i got to go to Charlotte to visit some of my ladies from college. we browsed some shops in the NODA gallery crawl Friday night while we waited on our table at Cabo Fish Taco. We waited a long time and finally sat down for a fantastic dinner and drinks. like everytime we are together, we laughed a lot, and as usual, at the end of dinner, my face was sore from the laughing/smiling. 

we hung out some more, had a visit from our first girlfriend to have a baby and the sweet baby herself, shopped a little, then headed out to freedom park for a relaxing afternoon .... more wine, more laughter, lots of people & dog watching, we even saw two wedding parties and lots of prom-goers having their pictures made. we ended Saturday at a new BBQ restaurant, probably discussing too many personal life details for the comfort of the people at tables around us, but that's how it goes when you're amongst friends, right? after one last drink, we headed back to the house and said our goodbyes before heading to bed. 


a long sunday of mothers' day festivities followed with lunch at ryan's parents, and dinner at my sister's house to celebrate with her and my mom.  


so... here's the simple menu plan for this busy week
5.7.11 - Charlotte girls trip- ate at Midwood Smokehouse (it just opened Friday), and  I would highly recommend it if you're in the Charlotte area
5.8.11 - Grilled Chicken for Mother's Day Meal #1 and Hamburgers & Grilled Corn for Mother's Day Meal #2
5.9.11 - Leftovers!
5.10.11 - Dinner with Gray & Leigh ... last time hanging out before they travel to ETHIOPIA!
5.11.11 - Homemade Calzones & Salad
5.12.11 - Grilling Out
5.13.11 - Date Night OUT!