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our first baby Benjamin James 11 lbs 7 oz Born: 12/15 |
| carrieann on twitter |
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my friend will ran in the first annual national marathon out here in dc last weekend, while i was in michigan. joe and lily woke up bright and early to meet him along the route, and give him shouts of encouragement and a high five. lily apparently thought running a race sounded like a great idea, so she tried to join him:
then at the last mile of the race, our other friend adam met up with will, and handed him his halloween costume: the burger king! so for the last mile, and to cross the finish line, will was the king! the photos are hilarious, and apparently he was very well received by the crowd at the end. wish i could have been there, but congratulations will! :)
then at the last mile of the race, our other friend adam met up with will, and handed him his halloween costume: the burger king! so for the last mile, and to cross the finish line, will was the king! the photos are hilarious, and apparently he was very well received by the crowd at the end. wish i could have been there, but congratulations will! :)
| posted at 7:35 AM ~ comments (1) |
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last weekend was pretty fun. i wound up hanging out with my dad friday night, and he treated me to burgers and beer :) then saturday i woke up and worked out at fitness usa with my mom and my aunt, the first time i have attempted to do that in WEEKS. it felt great! so i finally made the decision that i am going to wake up in the mornings and at least get a run in, before i go to work, so i don't have excuses when i get too busy in the evenings. the rest of the weekend i spent with my sister and my mom... we went dress shopping for an hour and a half at david's bridal saturday night :) it turns out the dress i really liked was totally the wrong color... so danielle was a trooper and tried on a bunch of different styles that came in colors i did like :) we found one that i think will work, but i need to see it on another bridesmaid to make sure. then i flew home sunday afternoon, and hung out with lily and joe, and watched "march of the penguins" and our hbo sunday shows.
then this morning, i debated for five minutes whether i should just give up my morning workout idea... but in the end, by 5:30, i was out the door, and into the gym, and got in a nice run. i got home in time to shower and eat, and still made it into work by 8:30. i think that's going to work out nicely... i just really need to make sure i get to bed by 11pm, or that morning workout will be hell. but my goal is mon/wed/fri this week, and then try sun/tues/thur next week, to see what works better. i'm usually more motivated monday mornings, so we'll see. i'm trying on dresses in june, so i have two months to drop a few pounds and slim down a little. :) nothing like wedding photos to motivate you :)
anyway, this weekend we are meeting with our photographer, then i have softball practice, and then sunday we are going out to a party with people i work with. it's a company party, and i'm really looking forward to it :) the rest of the time, joe and i are spring cleaning... the weather is finally warming up, and we're supposed to be in the 70's on saturday! warm weather always gets me in a good mood :) no more 40 degree days!! woohoo! spring is here!
then this morning, i debated for five minutes whether i should just give up my morning workout idea... but in the end, by 5:30, i was out the door, and into the gym, and got in a nice run. i got home in time to shower and eat, and still made it into work by 8:30. i think that's going to work out nicely... i just really need to make sure i get to bed by 11pm, or that morning workout will be hell. but my goal is mon/wed/fri this week, and then try sun/tues/thur next week, to see what works better. i'm usually more motivated monday mornings, so we'll see. i'm trying on dresses in june, so i have two months to drop a few pounds and slim down a little. :) nothing like wedding photos to motivate you :)
anyway, this weekend we are meeting with our photographer, then i have softball practice, and then sunday we are going out to a party with people i work with. it's a company party, and i'm really looking forward to it :) the rest of the time, joe and i are spring cleaning... the weather is finally warming up, and we're supposed to be in the 70's on saturday! warm weather always gets me in a good mood :) no more 40 degree days!! woohoo! spring is here!
| posted at 11:24 AM ~ comments (0) |
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well, we made it back safe and sound. the weekend was so great... joe's family made me feel right at home :) there was TONS of wedding talk... as i'm sure there will be for the next few months, until we start making some decisions and getting things taken care of. we wound up playing games and talking a lot, since it snowed a ton, and we wound up getting about 6 inches of snow up there while they taught me how to play "pitch". i didn't take any photos, but lily had a fantastic time running around down by the freezing stream, wading around in it, and then making doggie snow angels :) i was nervous about letting her run around on the lake, since if she broke through the ice and fell in, we would've had to dive in after her. brrrrr. but the stream wasn't frozen over, so she had a grand ole time in that :) we ate a ton of good food, and even got engagement presents from his friends in syracuse! it was really unexpected and so, so sweet of them. we had already received a few congratulatory cards, but this was our first gift :) i didn't even know you did such things! so my apologies to all my friends who were engaged long ago... i had no idea i was supposed to send you something! on the way home, i read the book "marley and me", as it was a gift from joe's grandmother. what a GREAT BOOK! i cried, i laughed, i could totally relate to so many things in that story :)
now we're back, and i'm getting ready for my trip back to michigan this weekend. i fly in friday night, and come back sunday afternoon. short and sweet, and then my parents are visiting two weeks later. so much to do at work this week... time is going to fly by.
anyway, just wanted to say we're back, and a big thank you to joe's family for being so wonderful this weekend :)
now we're back, and i'm getting ready for my trip back to michigan this weekend. i fly in friday night, and come back sunday afternoon. short and sweet, and then my parents are visiting two weeks later. so much to do at work this week... time is going to fly by.
anyway, just wanted to say we're back, and a big thank you to joe's family for being so wonderful this weekend :)
| posted at 6:42 PM ~ comments (2) |
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oh, and i love my haircut. :) i finally found a stylist that doesn't make me cry when i get home and realize how much they chopped off. i'll probably post a photo from our trip this weekend, so you can see it then... even though most people probably won't even be able to tell i got it cut ;)
| posted at 12:17 PM ~ comments (0) |
i need a break. good thing i took friday off, because i need it. things at work are so busy, i'm making mistakes that normally i would have caught. argh. it's frustrating, when you have to rush, and people come at you with more and more projects they need done. i like being busy, but jeez... i need room to breathe. i tried to get one thing non-work related accomplished yesterday, by driving down with joe to the fort to pay our deposit. of course, since i didn't call ahead, we didn't find out til we got there that she wasn't in that day. doh. so i called this morning, and she was having computer trouble, and will get back to me later on, so i can put down the deposit over the phone. *sigh* i'll be glad when we finally check that off our list. i have a meeting with a woman who i'd love to be our day-of coordinator, and i'm scheduling another meeting with the photographer i'd like to book, beginning in april. i'm hoping to put down a deposit on both, to reserve our date, so hopefully by the 2nd week in april, i can check two more things off the list. other than that, i am really looking forward to tomorrow... girls from theknot are having a get together at a local restaurant in clarendon. i'll bring my camera, it should be a fun happy hour with a bunch of excited brides :) one girl is giving me her template from her invitations she made. i posted a photo in the flickr stream... i love those! so i'll have that to bring with me to MI, and hopefully my mom thinks it's a good idea :) i'm still trying to make a timeline of when i need to call and reserve vendors... once i get the list from the fort regarding who to contact for our cake and flower centerpieces, i can figure out styles and designs i like, and get their timeline for how early i need to order them. i'm also making a deadline of when dresses need to be ordered, and from there, schedule a time to go dress shopping this summer with my bridesmaids :) it will be tough, only 3 of the 5 are in michigan. i may be able to drag katie out with me, but only if she wants to meet everyone... otherwise, i'll just take a trip out here with her on our own :)
so new york tomorrow... and then another busy week. i've started weight watchers again, to lose these 10 lbs i gained. i have never done just ww online by itself, so here's hoping i have enough willpower to get through it without going to meetings. i was doing spark people... but i love the ww program more... the points just make more sense to me, and their meal options and recipes are way better. and it helps to know it worked in the past... so all i have to do is follow it, and i'll get there again :) if i have to try on a wedding gown in a few months, i have to make sure i'm ready!
so new york tomorrow... and then another busy week. i've started weight watchers again, to lose these 10 lbs i gained. i have never done just ww online by itself, so here's hoping i have enough willpower to get through it without going to meetings. i was doing spark people... but i love the ww program more... the points just make more sense to me, and their meal options and recipes are way better. and it helps to know it worked in the past... so all i have to do is follow it, and i'll get there again :) if i have to try on a wedding gown in a few months, i have to make sure i'm ready!
| posted at 11:53 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i finally did it. sunday morning, 10am. i'm finally getting my hair cut :) seriously, it's been almost SEVEN MONTHS since i decided i was brave enough to venture out. last time i cut it, was back in august right before i met joe's family for the first time. it was so short i had to wait this long until i felt comfortable having it cut again. that's twice that i let my old stylist cut my hair. each time i'd only ask for an inch or two off, and she'd go crazy. i finally asked around for referrals, and found what sounds like an excellent stylist... now i just hope she doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. i guess having a $65 haircut every six months isn't horrible :) guys who spend $5 to do it every two weeks spend just about that much.
anyway, that's the plan for sunday. wake up, cut hair, go to bridal show with joe. we're hoping to get a good look at limos/shuttles and dj's... hopefully we can start pricing things to make sure we're staying in our budget. three more weeks and we can book the church! we finally have an official date:
april 21, 2007
:) just after easter, and the weather out here will be in the high 60's by then. perfect :)
anyway, that's the plan for sunday. wake up, cut hair, go to bridal show with joe. we're hoping to get a good look at limos/shuttles and dj's... hopefully we can start pricing things to make sure we're staying in our budget. three more weeks and we can book the church! we finally have an official date:
april 21, 2007
:) just after easter, and the weather out here will be in the high 60's by then. perfect :)
| posted at 7:26 AM ~ comments (0) |
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finally up and ready :) i finished it last night:
www.joe-carrie.com
it's password protected, so you'll have to contact me to get access. beware, it's really limited, so if i don't know you personally, i'm not letting you in. i'll try to remember to send out an email with the information, but if i forget, just send me a message and let me know :) it's a site that will have all our wedding information and details on it, with a little background on joe and i. fun stuff :)
anyway, that kept me pretty busy. today is supposed to be 65, and then it's supposed to stay like that all weekend. hooray! no more 40 degree weather! it's all in the upper 50's from here on out :) thank god spring is almost here :)
www.joe-carrie.com
it's password protected, so you'll have to contact me to get access. beware, it's really limited, so if i don't know you personally, i'm not letting you in. i'll try to remember to send out an email with the information, but if i forget, just send me a message and let me know :) it's a site that will have all our wedding information and details on it, with a little background on joe and i. fun stuff :)
anyway, that kept me pretty busy. today is supposed to be 65, and then it's supposed to stay like that all weekend. hooray! no more 40 degree weather! it's all in the upper 50's from here on out :) thank god spring is almost here :)
| posted at 8:28 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i feel like i am getting a lot accomplished... but then the 'to-do' list keeps growing. sometimes i feel like i'm moving backwards.
obligatory wedding update: we have found our reception place, and i will be placing a deposit this saturday for fort mcnair. we're going back and forth on the date... either the weekend right after easter on the 14th, or wait a week, and have it on the 21st. i tried researching which dates flights and hotel rooms would be cheaper, but so far, there's no difference. since i'd prefer it sooner than later, my vote is the 14th... but joe likes the 21st. really, it doesn't matter... and we have til saturday to decide :) i also have narrowed down my photographer list to two people i really like, and one of them is cheaper than i thought i could find for the quality they deliver. i'll make that decision by the end of the month, that way, when we reserve our date in the beginning of april for the church, i'll also reserve the photographer. then that's it for a few months, as far as big decisions go.
in the meantime, lots of trips and visitors coming up :) joe and i are leaving next weekend for a 3 day trip to new york, to visit his family and friends. they haven't seen us since we got engaged, so that will be fun. then the following weekend i'm flying home to michigan to see my family and friends, and discuss more wedding fun :) then my parents are coming to visit, and they will be my second visitors out here since i moved here (john creed, you're still my only visitor so far) :) they're staying for a five day weekend (thurs-mon) and i just found out yesterday that they are arriving just in time for the cherry blossom festival. everyone out here knows what a madhouse it is downtown during that time... but it also means there is a ton of stuff going on, so we should have no problem finding ways to entertain them :) plus it will be beautiful weather, and the trees will be in bloom... perfect time to see dc :) then the following weekend joe and i are going to the billy joel concert... phew! fun packed month ahead :) after that, we will have to settle down and conserve our funds... between the two of us, i'd like to contribute about 30% of the total wedding cost. so lots of cheap easy dinners and no shopping sprees... which isn't hard since we've been pretty good with our funds lately anyway.
another thing i will need to schedule for sometime in may will be our engagement photos. at first i wasn't keen on the idea of paying just for photos of joe and i together... and joe recommended just going to sears and having a simple portrait done. but after i saw some examples from girls who had them done by their wedding photographers, i loved them! i never have photos of just joe and i, and i'd LOVE to get some on the spot he proposed :) then i can use those photos for announcements, save the date cards, and to place in our wedding album. i'm so excited... they should be great.
so this week is pretty mild... busy at work, and then another bridal show on sunday. we're taking it easy this weekend since we partied last weekend, plus we really need to get our house in order. the laundry is done, and the kitchen is clean... but i think lily has started her spring shed-fest, and her hair is everywhere. so a good vacuuming, dusting, doggie-bath, and just general spring cleaning is in order. and a definite trip outside to the park... it's supposed to be 70 degrees on saturday!! :) I CAN'T WAIT! i'm seriously going nuts with this cold weather. enough already!
obligatory wedding update: we have found our reception place, and i will be placing a deposit this saturday for fort mcnair. we're going back and forth on the date... either the weekend right after easter on the 14th, or wait a week, and have it on the 21st. i tried researching which dates flights and hotel rooms would be cheaper, but so far, there's no difference. since i'd prefer it sooner than later, my vote is the 14th... but joe likes the 21st. really, it doesn't matter... and we have til saturday to decide :) i also have narrowed down my photographer list to two people i really like, and one of them is cheaper than i thought i could find for the quality they deliver. i'll make that decision by the end of the month, that way, when we reserve our date in the beginning of april for the church, i'll also reserve the photographer. then that's it for a few months, as far as big decisions go.
in the meantime, lots of trips and visitors coming up :) joe and i are leaving next weekend for a 3 day trip to new york, to visit his family and friends. they haven't seen us since we got engaged, so that will be fun. then the following weekend i'm flying home to michigan to see my family and friends, and discuss more wedding fun :) then my parents are coming to visit, and they will be my second visitors out here since i moved here (john creed, you're still my only visitor so far) :) they're staying for a five day weekend (thurs-mon) and i just found out yesterday that they are arriving just in time for the cherry blossom festival. everyone out here knows what a madhouse it is downtown during that time... but it also means there is a ton of stuff going on, so we should have no problem finding ways to entertain them :) plus it will be beautiful weather, and the trees will be in bloom... perfect time to see dc :) then the following weekend joe and i are going to the billy joel concert... phew! fun packed month ahead :) after that, we will have to settle down and conserve our funds... between the two of us, i'd like to contribute about 30% of the total wedding cost. so lots of cheap easy dinners and no shopping sprees... which isn't hard since we've been pretty good with our funds lately anyway.
another thing i will need to schedule for sometime in may will be our engagement photos. at first i wasn't keen on the idea of paying just for photos of joe and i together... and joe recommended just going to sears and having a simple portrait done. but after i saw some examples from girls who had them done by their wedding photographers, i loved them! i never have photos of just joe and i, and i'd LOVE to get some on the spot he proposed :) then i can use those photos for announcements, save the date cards, and to place in our wedding album. i'm so excited... they should be great.
so this week is pretty mild... busy at work, and then another bridal show on sunday. we're taking it easy this weekend since we partied last weekend, plus we really need to get our house in order. the laundry is done, and the kitchen is clean... but i think lily has started her spring shed-fest, and her hair is everywhere. so a good vacuuming, dusting, doggie-bath, and just general spring cleaning is in order. and a definite trip outside to the park... it's supposed to be 70 degrees on saturday!! :) I CAN'T WAIT! i'm seriously going nuts with this cold weather. enough already!
| posted at 9:21 AM ~ comments (0) |
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i got some photos today from jackie, of her daughter allie at seven months:
so freakin cute! this kid has the best smiles :) i've been getting some good progress done on our new website (for joe and i)... hopefully by the end of the weekend i can send out the link to it. there won't be much up there until we start finalizing plans for the wedding... but i've been posting my ideas for things up there, for receptions, bouquets, etc. most are just ideas at this point. funny enough, the color scheme of the site most likely will be our colors for our wedding... red, gray (silver), black, and white :) so far, finding a photographer has been my toughest decision. all the ones i LOVE are WAY out of my price range. so i'm trying to settle for someone who is less expensive, that i still really admire their work. it's tough. photos to me are so wonderful... if i can find someone to really capture that day... i know i would treasure those things forever.
anyway, that's the story so far. we're going to see a good band tonight, visiting fort mcnair tomorrow, and then taking the rest of the weekend to clean and organize our apartment. it's actually still in pretty good shape, despite how busy we've both been... but could use a good dusting and wipe down of everything. fun, fun.
so freakin cute! this kid has the best smiles :) i've been getting some good progress done on our new website (for joe and i)... hopefully by the end of the weekend i can send out the link to it. there won't be much up there until we start finalizing plans for the wedding... but i've been posting my ideas for things up there, for receptions, bouquets, etc. most are just ideas at this point. funny enough, the color scheme of the site most likely will be our colors for our wedding... red, gray (silver), black, and white :) so far, finding a photographer has been my toughest decision. all the ones i LOVE are WAY out of my price range. so i'm trying to settle for someone who is less expensive, that i still really admire their work. it's tough. photos to me are so wonderful... if i can find someone to really capture that day... i know i would treasure those things forever.
anyway, that's the story so far. we're going to see a good band tonight, visiting fort mcnair tomorrow, and then taking the rest of the weekend to clean and organize our apartment. it's actually still in pretty good shape, despite how busy we've both been... but could use a good dusting and wipe down of everything. fun, fun.
| posted at 9:46 AM ~ comments (0) |
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just had to give super congrats to jason (for those of you that know my friend rachel, it's her husband)... he made the cover of windows it pro :)
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Issues/IssueID/820/Index.html
way to go jason! :)
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Issues/IssueID/820/Index.html
way to go jason! :)
| posted at 7:16 PM ~ comments (0) |
life is pretty good at the moment :) things are busy at work with both joe and i... so when we get down time at home together, we try to just relax and destress a bit. so that hasn't left me much time to put together our 'wedding' website. i finished the design, and i really like it :) now just getting it up there is the problem. but outside of work, things are going really well. joe and i have debated our choices for the wedding location, and were presented with the idea (from both our sides) to have the wedding in DC, followed by two separate parties for us in our hometowns. we actually really liked that idea... both of us have been leaning towards a DC wedding, and now that we know both sides would be comfortable with that, it makes our decision much easier :) we also are still leaning towards an april wedding. we'd have it in march if we could, but unfortunately, the churches out here will not marry anyone during lent. they also will not let us book the church any earlier than 12 months prior to the wedding, so we have another month before we can start reserving things. which is good... gives us time to scout around and make sure we get what we want, and what we can afford. there is a beautiful place that is affordable on one of the forts. the officers club at fort mcnair is right on the potomac river... i've seen photos from other bride's weddings, and it would be perfect! so i'm hoping it all works out to have it there. i'm getting more and more excited as we narrow down our choices.
in other news, i haven't been running. i'm trying to get myself back into that running mode... but i have a feeling i need the warm weather to psych myself up again. i haven't been gaining weight... i've been steadily maintaining since i still try to keep an eye on what i'm eating. but if i have to start trying on wedding dresses soon... i need to get in shape!
other than that, nothing major going on. joe's and my favorite irish band is playing at a nearby bar this weekend, so we might go to see them. other than that, we are both really looking forward to relaxing and getting some things cleaned up around the house. we're also really looking forward to visiting new york in two weeks... i took a day vacation so that we can have three days to visit with his family. should be fun!
in other news, i haven't been running. i'm trying to get myself back into that running mode... but i have a feeling i need the warm weather to psych myself up again. i haven't been gaining weight... i've been steadily maintaining since i still try to keep an eye on what i'm eating. but if i have to start trying on wedding dresses soon... i need to get in shape!
other than that, nothing major going on. joe's and my favorite irish band is playing at a nearby bar this weekend, so we might go to see them. other than that, we are both really looking forward to relaxing and getting some things cleaned up around the house. we're also really looking forward to visiting new york in two weeks... i took a day vacation so that we can have three days to visit with his family. should be fun!
| posted at 9:49 AM ~ comments (0) |