Our Life (during the last month) in Pictures

Rock Band is my new favorite hobby. Even Brian enjoys playing. I say "even" because he's a little shy about his music skills (or lack thereof). Once he warmed up to the idea, we had (and continue to have) all kinds of fun rocking out! You should see my "rocker profile" we created. She's my alter ego complete with tattoos, red go-go boots, and a kickin' leather motorcycle jacket. That's our wonderful roomie, Matt, on the far right pointing to Brian.



We went to NY City to visit an old friend of mine (Will Rogers) and his beautiful bride. While there, Brian and I ate lunch at Carnegie Deli. It was seriously the best cheesecake I have ever put in my mouth!




Of all the times we'd previously been to NY, Brian and I had never walked around Central Park. So this time, we did. It is truly a beautiful place!




We also went to see Ground Zero while in the city, but there wasn't much to see. They had it completely barricaded. The memorial has not been completed either, but it's going to be really nice. We saw a brochure detailing the finished product. I did get a glimpse through one of the fences and I couldn't believe how deep the holes are where the twin towers collapsed. It was breathtaking, and not in a good way.

Happy Belated Father's Day!

My parents traveled to Somerset on June 14th and were here for a week. I'm so thankful that I got to spend Father's Day with my Dad! That's a luxury we don't normally get. After a solid week of attending baseball games, I felt bad that Dad had to endure another day of baseball on Father's Day, but since Brian was pitching, the game was where Dad wanted to be anyway. I think secretly he wanted to eat the ballpark food one more time :) It's not every day that one has access to a jumbo hotdog, a sugary funnel cake, dip n' dots, and a little popcorn with your butter!

If there's one think I'll always remember about my dad, it's that he enjoys good food. (Good thing he's a marathon runner and works all those calories off.) When I was little I would always ask Dad for dessert after dinner because his standard was 3 cookies, while Mom's was always only 2.

While Dad was a stickler for manners and enforced a no whining policy, he did a fabulous job of always making me feel like I was beautiful and loved. In whatever I chose to do, as long as I tried my hardest, it was good enough for him. From my swim meets, to my grades, and even beauty pageants, I never once questioned my dad's high opinion of me. I look at young girls today and wonder why there is so much insecurity, why they try so hard to be something they're not and wonder if it's because they never received the love and support from their fathers that is so desperately needed in order for women to have a healthy self-esteem. As I look back on my up-bringing, I am so thankful for my father's love, support, humor, and grace.

Dad, you were, and still are a wonderful dad! Love you!

Zumba!

I'm on a quest for a fun, high-energy workout video. I need a good cardio DVD to do when a) the treadmill has bored me to tears b) it's raining out and c) when we're on the road and the only place to work out in is a hotel room. I've heard that Zumba is incredibly fun. For those of you that have not heard of it, it's a Latin flavored dance workout. It looks entertaining and I'm hoping it would really get my heart rate up. Has anybody tried this? If so, did you like it? Any other recommendations for fun workout videos? I've looked into The Firm, Hip Hop Abs, and P90X.

BLOG WORTHY

I'm sure many of you have seen this skit before, or some version of it. In fact, I emailed it to a few friends today. However, if you haven't seen it, please take a few minutes to watch it. First time I saw it I was moved to tears. It's what I like to call "blog worthy."

Mom

It's Mother's Day! I'd like to wish my wonderful mom a very, very, very happy Mother's Day! I'm only sorry I couldn't go home to celebrate with her. One of the drawbacks of living in New Jersey for the summer is that I can't go home whenever I like. Maybe if Brian makes it to the big leagues one day I can afford to fly back and forth as much as I'd like!

To simply say that I'm thankful for my mom would be an understatement. She has been such a godly example throughout my life. What more can you ask for than a mom who emulates Christ on a regular basis? What greater lesson is there to be learned than Christ and him glorified? As I've grown older, I've learned to appreciate my mother's wise words, strong spirit and compassionate heart even more. Mothers never stop being mothers, and I'm thankful. I'm looking forward to the day when I'm a mom and can put everything she's taught me into practice. Something tells me it will be a lot harder than it looks!

Mom, I'm forever indebted to you in so many ways. Thank you for loving God and demonstrating his love to others. I love you and hope you have a happy Mother's Day!

Change

I don't know about ya'll, but sometimes I just need a change. This nagging can sometimes be sufficed by simply moving a piece of furniture to a different spot or changing the fabric on a pillow. However, lately I've been contemplating doing something different with my hair.

I'm not a particularly daring person. Therefore, I can't do anything drastic without first having a good idea of what it would look like. Internet to the rescue! I stumbled across a great website called DailyMakeover.com. It is the bomb! I've spent more time than I'd probably like to admit "trying on" different celebrity hairstyles. It's kind of addictive. If you ever want to change your hairstyle and/or hair color, this website is a great resource. And of course, it's free! Check out my results below:






Don't worry, I haven't decided if I'll really do anything like what you see above, but you never know, my need for a little change just might get the best of me :)

Back to the Garden State

In case you haven't heard, Brian is going to play baseball again this summer and recently signed a contract to play for the Somerset Patriots again! Here's the article if you're interested in reading it. We'll be headed up to New Jersey in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to being in a familiar place and reuniting with some friends in New Jersey. However, it's always hard to leave our friends, family, community, church and house in Charlotte!

New Floor

I should have posted this a while back, but just haven't gotten around to it. Not that any of you were on the edge of your seat, waiting with great anticipation for this oh-so-important post about our new kitchen floor :)

Anyway, if you recall I posted a picture of our old floor a few weeks ago. Well, now our floors look like this:





I like them even more than I thought I would! No more white vinyl! Yay!

Birthday Fun!

My birthday was yesterday, March 9, and I had a wonderful day! Brian was so sweet to make the weekend before special too. He called it my "birthday weekend." In celebration, he planned for us to go to the new Olympic Whitewater Park in Charlotte on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful! While there, we paid to ride the "mega zip line." Here we are in our gear, just before climbing 43 feet and zip lining over the water! We both thoroughly enjoyed it.




After walking around some of the trails we were worn out!


So we went home, rested, and drove to the new IKEA store in Charlotte. I had never been to IKEA and it was overwhelmingly large and extensive! I'm going to have to go back there sometime when I have more time and energy.

On Sunday, Brian made me a birthday cake! All by himself! I think he only asked me 4 or 5 questions. That's pretty good for someone who has NEVER baked ANYTHING. I felt so special that he wanted to do that for me. And the cake turned out really well. It was delicious! Brian was meticulous about getting the icing smooth. Here he is working hard:





On Monday, Mom and Dad came up to take us out to dinner for my birthday! We went to Flat Rock Grille which was soooooo yummy. Brian and I have never had a bad (or even mediocre) meal there. Everything has always been outstanding, especially the key lime pie. It is out of this world!

At Flat Rock for my 29th:

Props to My Friend!

Ok, I just had to blog about these adorable dresses my friend Ashley is making! She just started making them, and I'd say she's doing a fabulous job. I've already told her that if I have a baby girl one day, I'm going to pay her to make some of these cute dresses! Check out her blog (it's in the list of "other blogs I follow" on the right).

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today, March 3, 2009 my dad is 64 years old! (I'm sure he's thrilled that I'm sharing this with everyone.) I can hardly believe he's 64, mostly because I don't think he looks a day over 45. I sure hope I inherited his "non-graying" gene!

One thing I love to do when I'm home at Mom and Dad's is look through old pictures. I was doing just that a few weeks ago, when I ran across the photo below. Look at that handsome devil! He must have had to beat the ladies away with a stick.

Dad, I love you so much and hope you've had a wonderful birthday!

Old Floor

As I've mentioned before, Brian and I are slowly but surely "pulling our townhouse together," so to speak. One thing we've always wanted to update is the flooring in the kitchen. Right now the floor is an ugly white vinyl with lots of nicks and scratches. After several trips to Lumber Liquidators, we FINALLY decided on a wood laminate that we'll put down in the kitchen and the foyer. Here's a "before" pic. Hopefully I'll have an "after" pic to share in a few days!



This past summer, I also blogged about a $300 chair I got for $50! I found it up in New Jersey while Mom and Dad were visiting us. I sent the cushions home with Mom so she could make slip covers for them. After this little makeover, I love the way the chair turned out! I feel blessed to have a mother who is willing and able to put her sewing skills to work for me. Thanks Mom!

The before pic is below. Keep in mind the cushions were not on it because Mom had taken them home, but they were big, orange, cheetah print cushions so . . . you can imagine. Let's just say they weren't quite my style.



AFTER:

I'd Like to Introduce You to . . .

Earl and Pearl Adams.

Brian and I went square dancing last Monday night with some friends and it was a blast! We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We really got into it and decided that our stage names would be Earl and Pearl. We even wrote our new names on our name tags, but I quickly realized nobody "got it" and changed mine back to Lindsay. Brian on the other hand, introduced himself the entire night, to everyone, as Earl Adams. I laughed every single time he did it. How can he do that with a straight face?

While we really enjoyed learning how to square dance, I don't think we'll be going back. These people were SERIOUS about their square dancin'. They wanted a 20 week commitment from us. I got the impression that they would then want us to participate or compete in local square dances. We thought we were just in for a few free square dancing lessons, but I think we were wrong! In any case, it was a fun-filled evening. Please notice that we are all demonstrating the "promenade" position in the picture below. Ha ha ha!

Decisions Decisions

It's that time of year again . . . Time to figure out where Brian will play baseball this spring and summer. I share this with you simply to ask for your prayers. Every year this tends to be a tough decision. We evaluate what we think will be the best opportunity and of course pray about where God wants us. The answers aren't always clear, but we trust that if we're surrendered to Him in every way He will not let us make a mistake. And even if we do, he will get us back on track in a flash. I'm so thankful to serve a God that is a dependable leader.

At this point in time we aren't sure what all the options are. Brian could play here in the States again (for an independent team), but playing abroad is probably more likely (Mexico, Italy, Taiwan, etc). We're just waiting to see what doors God opens. Your prayers are much appreciated!

SNOW!!

It snowed in Charlotte yesterday! I love it when it snows enough to take off work. Although I didn't get the entire day off, we did get some play time in with our nephews. The only bummer is that we didn't find a good hill to sled down. Maybe next time! Who knows, maybe it will snow again before winter is over.

6 Years and Counting . . .

Happy anniversary!

Brian and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on January 4th. Unfortunately we weren't together since he's still in the Dominican Republic, but we've decided to celebrate when he gets back. Besides, that little vacation we took to the Sun Village Resort when I was down there was kind of our Christmas/Anniversary presents to each other.

I feel so fortunate to be married to such a wonderful man. I've always admired Brian's character, his quiet strength, his gentleness and love for the Lord, but only over time have I truly begun to understand the depths of these amazing qualities he possesses. My hope is that with each passing year I will learn to love and appreciate Brian more than the one before.

In honor of our anniversary, I thought I'd post some pictures of Brian and I before we got married (aka our "courting years") and then a few from our wedding day. Enjoy!







On our wedding day . . .

Whew!

Wheeeeeeeew Weeeeeeeeeee! The past 12 days have gone by in a flash! My time with Brian in the Dominican was wonderful, but too short. In fact, I was unprepared for how hard it would be to leave him, on Christmas Day at that. But once I got to the airport it was hectic and stressful, so there was no time for tearful goodbyes. Here are a few pictures from my time there.

Cows were everywhere around our hotel!



Here I am hanging out at the hotel pool one afternoon after Brian left for the game.


Brian and I after a game. It was so humid I had to wear a hat to tame my frizzed out hair!


The mountains were pretty! This photo was taken from the back seat of a car when we were on our way to the Sun Village Resort and Spa:


A few pictures from our time at the resort:





This giant lizard, or whatever it was, was made out of bread! The Christmas Eve dinner was delicious!


At the show on Christmas Eve, Brian was dragged up on stage to participate in a dancing competition! It was pretty funny!