 |
our first baby Benjamin James 11 lbs 7 oz Born: 12/15 |
| carrieann on twitter |
#.jpg) |
#.jpg) |
 |
 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
last weekend was great! i came home friday to a vase full of tulips with a note that said "364 days..." :) *happy sigh* :) the flowers are still blooming... i took a photo that i'll have to post later, along with the photos from my parent's trip.
friday and saturday we spent relaxing and watching movies since it was raining, and it was fun! lily got to the vet and back with good results (she's now a solid 81 lbs!), and then sunday we had our first softball game. oy, they put me at catcher, which is good, because i can't screw that up easily :) but it means for two hours i'm squatting up and down... my legs are killing me today! but by the end of the season, i'll have super sized leg muscles :) we wound up losing both games, but the second game was tied for a while, until we gave up a couple runs. so we have potential, and after i got my nerves worked out, i relaxed and had fun meeting all the new people on our team. we're the "argonauts"... the bar we are sponsored by is "The Argonaut". we also have another sponsor, appleton rum, so our shirts say appleton, and we all have red visors to wear that also have the appleton logo. pretty fun! this season will be a good one. then after the game, we went to the sports pub to celebrate with the rest of the teams in the league, and then went off to a dinner with my friends from the dog park. we wound up staying out until 10:30, and had so much fun :) it felt like a mini-vacation, and i'm looking forward to our summer weekends :)
this weekend we have our annual "christmas in april" charity event. last year we helped paint and cleanup/repair an elderly man's house, who is a member of the church but could not afford to do any of it himself. it was fun, and it should be interesting to see what we get to do this year. joe and i are not members of the church that sponsors this event, but joe's coworker is, so joe helps out every year. i tagged along last year and had a great time :) then sunday i have a 10k race, and then another softball game. busy weekend, but should be fun. i can't believe it's almost may!
friday and saturday we spent relaxing and watching movies since it was raining, and it was fun! lily got to the vet and back with good results (she's now a solid 81 lbs!), and then sunday we had our first softball game. oy, they put me at catcher, which is good, because i can't screw that up easily :) but it means for two hours i'm squatting up and down... my legs are killing me today! but by the end of the season, i'll have super sized leg muscles :) we wound up losing both games, but the second game was tied for a while, until we gave up a couple runs. so we have potential, and after i got my nerves worked out, i relaxed and had fun meeting all the new people on our team. we're the "argonauts"... the bar we are sponsored by is "The Argonaut". we also have another sponsor, appleton rum, so our shirts say appleton, and we all have red visors to wear that also have the appleton logo. pretty fun! this season will be a good one. then after the game, we went to the sports pub to celebrate with the rest of the teams in the league, and then went off to a dinner with my friends from the dog park. we wound up staying out until 10:30, and had so much fun :) it felt like a mini-vacation, and i'm looking forward to our summer weekends :)
this weekend we have our annual "christmas in april" charity event. last year we helped paint and cleanup/repair an elderly man's house, who is a member of the church but could not afford to do any of it himself. it was fun, and it should be interesting to see what we get to do this year. joe and i are not members of the church that sponsors this event, but joe's coworker is, so joe helps out every year. i tagged along last year and had a great time :) then sunday i have a 10k race, and then another softball game. busy weekend, but should be fun. i can't believe it's almost may!
| posted at 2:38 PM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
one year from today!! woohoo! these past two months have flown by... we've got so much done already, but my "do-it-yourself" list keeps growing. i'm going to have to start on some of those soon, otherwise i'm worried i won't have enough time to get it all done! but yeah, it's officially one year away :) today's weather is pretty crappy... rain. that makes two out of the last four years of rain on our wedding date, which ups the chances it will rain on our day... but hey, it's an april wedding. we can definitely tie in an "april showers" theme... matching umbrellas anyone? ;) as long as it doesn't create a tornado and we have to cancel our wedding, i'm not worried. we finally made out appointment for our engagment photos: june 18th. so i've got two months to get ready and get a nice outfit to wear. should be plenty of time!
this weekend is pretty tame... lily goes in for a vet visit for her annual heartworm test, and then we have our first softball game. i'm also going to a dinner party with dog park friends, so i'm looking forward to seeing everyone :)
hope everyone has a great weekend!
this weekend is pretty tame... lily goes in for a vet visit for her annual heartworm test, and then we have our first softball game. i'm also going to a dinner party with dog park friends, so i'm looking forward to seeing everyone :)
hope everyone has a great weekend!
| posted at 7:54 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
i've updated the joe-carrie website with new hotel and airport information, for those that are interesetd :) so check it out if you need to book a room or a flight for the wedding :) we're still working on everything, but it's a start!
| posted at 8:51 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
the concert was awesome! i never knew just how many billy joel songs i actually have heard before. it was such a great concert, and joe hurt his throat, he yelled so much :) we stayed out late that night, and then later in the weekend made it over to his aunt's for easter dinner. we got to hang out with his family (he has cousins and an aunt and uncle that live in the dc area), and got to break the engagement news to those who had not heard yet :) it was a great weekend, and i ate way, way too much. but it was worth it! this week i'm petsitting all week for a friend, and i am going to have to skip out on the first softball game of the year. i'm still undecided as to whether or not i should play. i haven't in years, and even when i did, i sucked at it. i get too nervous when the team is really competitive, so i might just play on an as-needed basis. co-ed teams need to have a minimum number of females... so when they are short a player, i could fill in. but really... i think i'm too nervous to play regularly. this weekend is another busy one... saturday lily has a vet appointment, and then sunday is the other softball game, and possibly our engagement pictures thrown in there somewhere. there's also a dinner party with my dog park friends on sunday night that should be a lot of fun... i'm looking forward to catching up with everyone :)
so that's the news lately... nothing major. we blocked off rooms at hotels in the area for our wedding guests, so i have to update our wedding website with that information, and then once we take our engagement photos, i can design the "save the date" cards. we're still working on shuttles for our guests... little by little things are falling into place! i've gotten a lot accomplished, so now i'm just working on the do-it-yourself projects (like designing the invitation, the program, the placecards, table numbers, favors, and out of town bags for the guests). lots to do, and i'll get as much out of the way as i can, as early as i can! i have an idea for them all... so it's just a matter of trying out my idea to see if it's practical.
anyway, our next trip is scheduled for memorial day weekend. we're coming back up to new york for the holiday, and then the following weekend i'm flying into michigan to go dress shopping with my mom and bridesmaids. i only have two times scheduled to do it before my dress needs to be ordered, unless i decide to go out on my own. i'm hoping to get my mom out here for the filene's basement "run of the brides" sale. we have a filene's in DC, and the sale is supposed to be awesome! $1000 gown on sale for $250 :) even if i don't find my gown there, the event itself is notorious, and it will be fun to say i was there :) that's scheduled for the beginning of august... but i need to have a backup plan for my gown in case i really don't find one at the sale. that's 8 months before the wedding date, and they warn you to order your dress 9 months ahead of time (to give it 14 weeks for delivery, and then time for alterations and fittings). so june is the first dress shopping date... so i have til june to drop at least 5 lbs. that's 6 weeks away... definitely doable :) as long as there are no weekends like this past one in the way!
ok, back to work. my job is still super busy, but i'm hanging in there. i have more added responsibility, so i must be doing something right :)
so that's the news lately... nothing major. we blocked off rooms at hotels in the area for our wedding guests, so i have to update our wedding website with that information, and then once we take our engagement photos, i can design the "save the date" cards. we're still working on shuttles for our guests... little by little things are falling into place! i've gotten a lot accomplished, so now i'm just working on the do-it-yourself projects (like designing the invitation, the program, the placecards, table numbers, favors, and out of town bags for the guests). lots to do, and i'll get as much out of the way as i can, as early as i can! i have an idea for them all... so it's just a matter of trying out my idea to see if it's practical.
anyway, our next trip is scheduled for memorial day weekend. we're coming back up to new york for the holiday, and then the following weekend i'm flying into michigan to go dress shopping with my mom and bridesmaids. i only have two times scheduled to do it before my dress needs to be ordered, unless i decide to go out on my own. i'm hoping to get my mom out here for the filene's basement "run of the brides" sale. we have a filene's in DC, and the sale is supposed to be awesome! $1000 gown on sale for $250 :) even if i don't find my gown there, the event itself is notorious, and it will be fun to say i was there :) that's scheduled for the beginning of august... but i need to have a backup plan for my gown in case i really don't find one at the sale. that's 8 months before the wedding date, and they warn you to order your dress 9 months ahead of time (to give it 14 weeks for delivery, and then time for alterations and fittings). so june is the first dress shopping date... so i have til june to drop at least 5 lbs. that's 6 weeks away... definitely doable :) as long as there are no weekends like this past one in the way!
ok, back to work. my job is still super busy, but i'm hanging in there. i have more added responsibility, so i must be doing something right :)
| posted at 8:19 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
i'm signed up to do an arthritis walk... and our team is honor of a lab with athritis :) so i get to bring lily with me! should be a fun morning... but our team needs donations. i spent 10 dollars, so if you have like $1 or $2, it helps :)
http://arlingtonarthritiswalk.kintera.org/bettylou
it's not til may, so i have a few weeks... i hope lily doesn't try to play the whole time with the other dogs!
http://arlingtonarthritiswalk.kintera.org/bettylou
it's not til may, so i have a few weeks... i hope lily doesn't try to play the whole time with the other dogs!
| posted at 10:30 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
so from the advice of my dad, i checked out prices of printers at best buy, and found one that i'm excited about. i don't do a lot of printing, but we don't have one, and i had wanted a scanner, so i got an all-in-one. it's the hp 1510, and it's great! i can't wait to start printing invitation and program templates for the wedding :) i'm doing those myself, and this should help :) plus i can print out more stuff without feeling guilty at work all the time ;)
speaking of work, it's been a little crazy, but it's making time go by fast. wedding planning is going along great... we now have successfully booked the church, reception, photographer, and a day-of coordinator (who is helping me get contracts for the shuttles and the hotel room blocks) :) it's made my life a thousand times easier having her around. i took photos of our church when we went to mass on palm sunday, but i had to be discrete, because i don't think photos are usually allowed. anyway, back to printer fun!
speaking of work, it's been a little crazy, but it's making time go by fast. wedding planning is going along great... we now have successfully booked the church, reception, photographer, and a day-of coordinator (who is helping me get contracts for the shuttles and the hotel room blocks) :) it's made my life a thousand times easier having her around. i took photos of our church when we went to mass on palm sunday, but i had to be discrete, because i don't think photos are usually allowed. anyway, back to printer fun!
| posted at 11:12 PM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
the weekend flew by, and it was fun :) my parents flew in thursday night, and then i took the day off friday to show them around. it rained in the morning, so we headed up to the natural history museum (hope diamond, dinosaurs, etc). we saw most of the exhibits (the hope diamond is gorgeous!), and by noon, the sky had cleared and made for a beautiful afternoon! we walked around town and took lily to the park, and then went out to dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant. if any of you know dc politics, marion barry (dc mayor for life) was eating at a table nearby. that made for a good laugh :) we drove around a little afterwards and went to the white house, and then headed home. saturday it was pouring rain and cold, our only crappy day of weather, so we skipped the parade and cherry blossom street festival, and instead went inside the american history museum. that was neat, and i got to see the real ruby slippers judy garland wore in 'wizard of oz' :) then we took my parents down to the fort to see where our reception was being held, and even in the rain, they seemed happy about the place. then we drove around a little more and wound up back home to order pizza and play cards :) sunday we woke up bright and early to go to church, where we are having our ceremony, and then went to brunch around the corner at the capitol lounge with katie. i love that place :) then it was off to the spy museum, which i had visited before, but it's a neat museum, and i always jump at the chance to go again. spy stuff is fun! then joe cooked us dinner and we relaxed and watched sopranos and big love on hbo :) good thing my parents are fans! monday was their last day in town, so i took a half day from work, and went with joe as he took us on a staff led tour of the capitol building. i'd never been in there, so that was really cool to see inside. then he took off for work, and i led my parents on a walking tour of all the memorials. we visited the monument, the world war ii, the lincoln, roosevelt, jefferson, and korean war memorials. it was quite the day! but the weather was perfect! AND we got to be in the midst of all the crazy demonstrations that were going on for the immigration law on the mall outside. it was by far the most people i had ever seen downtown, ever. we had one last dinner at a restaurant nearby, and then i dropped them off at the airport this morning. phew... it was busy, but i had a great time! they took a lot of pictures, so once my dad downloads them and sends them to me, i'll post them online :)
so now i'm back to work, and trying to get back into a schedule. this weekend joe and i are going to see billy joel in concert, and then i have softball practice on saturday. i need it... i can't remember the last time i threw a softball. then that's it as far as plans go. memorial weekend we're heading back up to new york, and then in june, i'm planning a trip to michigan to go dress shopping with my mom. so april and most of may is free, thank goodness! i need the rest :)
so now i'm back to work, and trying to get back into a schedule. this weekend joe and i are going to see billy joel in concert, and then i have softball practice on saturday. i need it... i can't remember the last time i threw a softball. then that's it as far as plans go. memorial weekend we're heading back up to new york, and then in june, i'm planning a trip to michigan to go dress shopping with my mom. so april and most of may is free, thank goodness! i need the rest :)
| posted at 9:26 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
380 days til i'm mrs. joe! :) i went to weather.com, and they have a wedding section, where you plug in your date and they will give you historical data for the past three years for that date:
www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings
in 2005, it was 75 and rained, 2004 it was 77 and cloudy, and in 2003 it was 68 and cloudy. in two weeks i'll have the data for this year... but most likely it will be in upper 60's/lower 70's and cloudy, which is PERFECT! any photographer will tell you the best photos are ones with an overcast sky. bright light creates too much contrast with shadows... so we're looking good so far :) even if it rains, we can incorporate "april showers" into our theme and get matching umbrellas :)
anyway, parents fly in tonight, so there might not be any updates until their departure tuesday. i'm hoping my legs start to feel better... somehow i strained my hamstrings on both legs, and they have been killing me all day today, and all day yesterday. not the greatest feeling when you have a weekend of walking ahead of you. i have tomorrow off of work, and a half day monday, so i hope the rain eases a little tomorrow and saturday to give us a chance to walk around a bit for the cherry blossom festival. if not, it's supposed to clear up for sunday and monday, so we still have time to get a lot of sights in :) i'm excited, and i hope they have a good time! they are my first visitors since i moved in with joe six months ago. wish us luck!
www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings
in 2005, it was 75 and rained, 2004 it was 77 and cloudy, and in 2003 it was 68 and cloudy. in two weeks i'll have the data for this year... but most likely it will be in upper 60's/lower 70's and cloudy, which is PERFECT! any photographer will tell you the best photos are ones with an overcast sky. bright light creates too much contrast with shadows... so we're looking good so far :) even if it rains, we can incorporate "april showers" into our theme and get matching umbrellas :)
anyway, parents fly in tonight, so there might not be any updates until their departure tuesday. i'm hoping my legs start to feel better... somehow i strained my hamstrings on both legs, and they have been killing me all day today, and all day yesterday. not the greatest feeling when you have a weekend of walking ahead of you. i have tomorrow off of work, and a half day monday, so i hope the rain eases a little tomorrow and saturday to give us a chance to walk around a bit for the cherry blossom festival. if not, it's supposed to clear up for sunday and monday, so we still have time to get a lot of sights in :) i'm excited, and i hope they have a good time! they are my first visitors since i moved in with joe six months ago. wish us luck!
| posted at 10:36 AM ~ comments (1) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
woohoo, i've officially started the race season. i'm signed up for the sallie mae 10k at the end of this month... it's my first one this year. then i'm signing up for the capitol classic 10k in may, and i just signed up for the army 10-miler again! let's hope this time it's really 10 miles and there are no suspicious packages en route :) i'm stoked... i've really needed something to shoot for since my motivation has been waning. i've been running only once a week, and not very hard. my eating is back under control, and i've managed to lose a pound and a half in a week... so adding running back in should help me out :) it's hard to balance the hunger you feel from running hard with restricting your calorie intake to lose weight. it's all in the mind though... i just need that mindset back in order to get a little trimmer before i start trying on dresses. i'm really confident that i can do it. i've done it in the past... for jackie's wedding i dropped 5lbs and a dress size, so that my bridesmaid dress fit nicely. when i bought it, it was a little tough to zip up... but by her wedding two months later, it was loose :) now, there's no way that thing would even come close to zipping now, but i'll get there. maybe not back to that low weight (i was 114 lbs then) but at least back down to 120. i'm only 7 lbs away!
anyway, so i'm hoping to get a small jog in tonight. nothing crazy because my calves are screaming today. i overdid it walking around in bad shoes on sunday, and then i took another long walk with lily yesterday while the guy cleaned our carpets. i'm feeling it today... oy. i really need a new pair of black boots for work. these ones look terrible... all scuffed up and the soles are completely worn out inside. that's what happens when you wear them every day :)
ok, back to work. it's crazy busy here... but at least it makes the time go by faster...
anyway, so i'm hoping to get a small jog in tonight. nothing crazy because my calves are screaming today. i overdid it walking around in bad shoes on sunday, and then i took another long walk with lily yesterday while the guy cleaned our carpets. i'm feeling it today... oy. i really need a new pair of black boots for work. these ones look terrible... all scuffed up and the soles are completely worn out inside. that's what happens when you wear them every day :)
ok, back to work. it's crazy busy here... but at least it makes the time go by faster...
| posted at 8:35 AM ~ comments (0) |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
wow, i couldn't believe what a great weekend we had. friday night we hung out and de-stressed after a busy week. saturday morning we were up bright and early to go visit with a wedding photographer out in virginia. i'm so glad we did, because i love them! it's regeti's photography and they were so great to meet with. the photos were awesome (which i already knew, from viewing their website), and i've only heard rave reviews from other brides i've talked to that have used them for their weddings. so now i'm super excited, and we'll be booking an engagement photo shoot for sometime in may. after that meeting, we came back and started cleaning our apartment for my parent's visit, and then went over to watch the george mason game at a friend's house. crappy game, but we had fun hanging out :) then sunday we woke up to go to church, and then drove down to the potomac river to catch a cruise boat for my company party :) it was a sunday brunch (the food was spectacular) and a two hour sail down the river. the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and it was a warm, sunny day. so, so fun. then we came back and took lily for a walk, to enjoy the weather, and to scout out a place to take our engagement photos. we found an out of the way area near the capitol, that has beautiful trees, and an interesting gazebo with fountains in the middle. should make for an interesting session :)
so for tonight, i found someone to clean our carpets. they are in desperate need of a good cleaning, and someone referred me to a really inexpensive person. they are using a chemical solution, that is quick drying, and really gets out tough spots. i'm really looking forward to that! then tomorrow i'm venturing out to listen to a friend DJ at an open mic night, and then wed i have my first softball practice :) wish me luck, and pray they don't throw me off the team when they see my throwing skills :) then my parents are here thurs-tues... phew! what a week! i took friday and half of monday off though, so it will be fun playing tourist for a weekend :)
then next weekend is the billy joel concert! i can't wait :)
so for tonight, i found someone to clean our carpets. they are in desperate need of a good cleaning, and someone referred me to a really inexpensive person. they are using a chemical solution, that is quick drying, and really gets out tough spots. i'm really looking forward to that! then tomorrow i'm venturing out to listen to a friend DJ at an open mic night, and then wed i have my first softball practice :) wish me luck, and pray they don't throw me off the team when they see my throwing skills :) then my parents are here thurs-tues... phew! what a week! i took friday and half of monday off though, so it will be fun playing tourist for a weekend :)
then next weekend is the billy joel concert! i can't wait :)
| posted at 10:25 AM ~ comments (0) |