Hellooooo....is anyone alive in here?

My poor little blog....I haven't written in over 6 months! Shame on me! And boy, have alot of things changed! I'll attempt to recap some of the highlights since I last checked in...

Bryan's Job
In November of '08, Bryan made the decision to go into business for himself, and start his own trucking company. He purchased his own truck, hit the ground running, and hasn't looked back ever since. Although this was a scary decision in trying economic times, it has gone extrememly well, and Bryan is loving the rewards of being his own boss. He mostly works in the Southeast region of the country, and is home about 3 days a week. I am so proud of Bryan, and all the hard work he has put in to accomplish this goal. We are both very thankful for this opportunity, and excited to see what doors it will open in the future. Here's a picture of Bryan's rig...

Our House

With Bryan becoming self-employed, this put a major snag in our homebuying plans. Apparently, you need at least 2 years of self employment history and tax returns to qualify for a mortgage. Obviously, we were lacking about 1 year and 11 months...so it just wasn't in the cards for us. Although it was really disappointing at the time, in retrospect, I am so glad that we didn't end up buying at that time. We *did*, however, find a great little lease house, and we absolutely LOVE it! Here's a picture...It's perfect for the two of us...3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a huge corner lot. It's only about 1400 square feet, but it's a great layout and seems alot bigger. I am WAY closer to work now, which is awesome. And we have the greatest neighbors EVER! It's been such a positive change for us. I've done *some* decorating, so I'll try to take some pictures of the interior to share.

MORE TO COME SOON...I SWEAR!

HAPPY belated HALLOWEEN!!

Well, I'm beginning to realize that this blog is very reflective of one of my worst personality traits...PROCRASTINATION! But, hey, better late than never, right? I wanted to share some pics from Halloween. We, of course, had a party in Blue Ridge...we hadn't had one of our infamous soirees since April, so it was long overdue! Lisa and I had alot of fun costume shopping, decorating, and making the tainted witches brew. The party was definitely a success, and it was great catching up with old and new friends. Here are a few pictures...

Our adorable pumpkin that Bryan's sister made!

I'm Dorothy...NOT WENDY!

The Girls

Lisa and Eric

Bryan...after a bit too much witches brew!

They Grow Up So Fast...

So, this post is dedicated to my baby brother, Colin. He turned 18 last week, and I honestly cannot believe that he's an adult. He'll be graduatng high school in May, and that makes me feel SO old. He went to his school's Homecoming a few weeks ago, and came to me the Wednesday before the Friday night football game, and said he "forgot" to order his date's mum....and could I make one for her? Well, I normally *love* doing crafty things like this, but with 2 days notice, and the fact that Colin goes to a school with 2000 students, it was going to be a huge challenge. But, being the wonderful big sister that I am, I did pull through and it turned out really cute. Here's some pics of the final product...

And here's Colin trying on his formal wear a few days before the dance...(none of us knew how to tie the tie, but you get the idea!)

And finally, a picture from Colin's birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory last week.

I can honestly say that Colin is one of the smartest and funniest people I know, and I'm so very proud of the young man he is becoming. I know that he has a very bright future ahead of him. Love ya Colin!

October Happenings...

Ok, so this blogging thing is a little more time consuming than I thought! I will try to do better, but October was an insancly busy month for us! I'll try to recap the highlights.

SAN FRANCISCO

Me, Lisa, and our cousin Kaylan ventured out west to visit our other cousin Karyn, for a fun-filled Girl's Weekend in San Francisco. We got in late on Friday night, grabbed some dinner, and decided to conserve our energy by going to bed at a reasonable hour. Then Saturday, we had brunch, went to Fisherman's Wharf to sight see, and then to a downtown rooftop party to watch a Blue Angels Air Show. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen! We wrapped up the day with dinner and drinks downtown. It was a total blast! Here's a few pictures from Saturday....

Then on Sunday, we accomplished one of my lifelong travel goals, and drove up to California wine country! Napa Valley, to be exact. We went to 3 tastings - a champagne tasting at Domaine Carneros, and then 2 wine tastings at Trefethen and Cakebread (yum!). For those who might not know...I have been known to enjoy a good bottle of wine, and Napa was pure bliss for me. We all had a great time and tasted some delicious wines!

Then Monday, after some last minute souvenier shopping in San Francisco, it was time to fly back to Dallas. All in all, it was a fabulous trip, and a great time catching up with my cousins. We, hopefully, will be making it an annual girl's weekend trip. Next year, Cabo?

Anniversary Recap

So, on Monday of this week, Bryan and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe it's already been a whole year. Time has really flown...but it's been an amazing year.
This past weekend we wanted to do something to celebrate without breaking the bank. We had originally thought about going on a weekend vacation somewhere, but after looking at prices, we decided we'd rather put that money towards our house down payment. So, we didn't have anything special planned, but we ended up taking an impromptu trip to...hold your breath...Frisco. We stayed the night at the Westin Stonebriar and went out for dinner and drinks at La Hacienda Ranch. It was a fun and relaxing evening, and just nice to get out of the house. Here are a few pictures...

Our Hotel

Possibly the most comfortable bed EVER!

View from our balcony...I wish we had brought our suits!

Bryan and his romantic ways...ha!

And then on Monday (our actual anniversary) I cooked a nice dinner and we ate the top tier of our wedding cake. It did not live up to what I had hoped for...but it wasn't terrible either. I think I may have defrosted it wrong...cause it was looking pretty shabby! But, I swear, it tasted much better than it looked. Haha! Oh well, it's tradition...

9/29/07

9/29/08

All in all, it was a wonderful anniversary, and I feel so fortunate to have a husband like Bryan. The last twelve months have been nothing less than blissful, and I look forward to many more happy years together! I'll end this post with one of my favorite pictures from our wedding...

We're Buying a HOUSE!!

So, the time has finally come for us to purchase our first home! We are beyond ecstatic, and have been working toward this goal for a LONG time! We've been extremely cautious about it due to the economy and foreclosure rates. Probably overly cautious due to some of the things I've seen working in mortgage and banking. But, we both feel like the time is right, and we've saved up a nice little chunk to put down. So...we put down a deposit a few weeks ago to build a home in Anna (just north of McKinney). It will look like this...Minus the ugly pink colored brick. It's 1920 square feet, 3 bedroom, and 2 bath. Here is our floorplan... So, right now we are trying to pick out colors for brick, granite, tile, paint, carpet, etc. Which sounds like a fun and simple task, but it has me majorly fretting! Who knew there could be SO many shades of beige!?! Bryan has opted out of this process, and says he'll be happy with "whatever," so all the pressure is on me. I'm sure I'll figure it out though. Once I do, they will break ground, and then construction should take 3-4 months. So we're thinking we'll probably close after the first of the year. We can't wait! It's been great living in Blue Ridge, and I'm sure we'll still spend alot of time out there, but it will be so nice to have our own space.

New Beginnings!!

Well... this is our first of many "bloggings". Since we are constantly on the go and so many new things are happening in our lives, we thought that this would be a great way to keep our family and friends updated!

Here's a little recap of things you may have missed over the last several months...

Carolyn
Many changes on the career front for me this year. I completed real estate school in February of '08, and absolutely loved the experience. I still need to take my state exam and get licensed (before I forget everything I learned!), but I plan to list my license as inactive for the time being. In such an uncertain economy and weak real estate market, I felt that the timing was just not right to become self employed. It is definitely something I hope to pursue in the future, but that venture has been put on hold as of right now.
In March, I was offered a Sales Assistant position for a mortgage company, which is mainly what my professional backround consists of. It was a great learning experience, and I loved my co-workers, however it was 100% commission based, and with the country's current mortgage crisis, it simply did not turn out to be what I had expected.
About that time, a position opened up at my dad's company, and for the sake of stability and helping out the family business, I decided to accept the challenge. I'm really enjoying working with my dad and sister, and I'm hoping that some of my dad's good business sense will rub off on me!


Bryan
Great news on the career front for Bryan. He just started a new job in August that he is absolutely loving. He now works for RB Landscape and Turf and delivers sod to new developments. The best part is....he is HOME EVERY NIGHT! This is huge for us, and something that we have been working on for a long time. It's also very new to us because for basically our entire relationship Bryan has traveled for work more than he has been home. But, it is wonderful, and we are loving being able to do "normal" things like watch TV together during the week. It's definitely a nice change!

Stayed tuned for some exciting news!