The Holidays!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I've totally forgotten about posting anything on here. I haven't done too much that is interesting except take on a homeless person. My friend and bridesmaid, Lauren, is moving in with us this weekend. It will be tight living conditions for awhile with her, her dog-Tucker, Onyx, Steve and I in a 2 bedroom apartment. At least our lease ends in March so if it's too tight we can always go somewhere else. Her plan is to move to Charlotte soon so hopefully she'll be able to do that with the horrible economy.

The only recent pictures I have are of one night when Steve and I went to Bridges in Fairfax to meet up with some friends and I have a few pictures from the employee reunion party and a few at my friend Jess' wedding which was last weekend. She looked beautiful as usual and the wedding was a good time. The only thing is that now that her wedding is over, I'm feeling the pressure of ours creeping closer. Next Tuesday will be our 5 month out mark. Yikes! I also just found out that my dress is in and I'm going this Saturday to try it on and pay the balance. Well, mom is paying the balance and seeing it in person for the first time. We are also in our last steps of booking vendors. We chose to do a ice cream wedding cake which should be surpriseingly cheaper than a normal cake and we have to drop off the deposit for the florist and checkout some hotels to book and I need to finally decide on the bridesmaids dresses. Hopefully, it will all come together and look nice and turn out great but I definitely don't feel ready for it yet.

Thanksgiving was a BUSY weekend to say the least. We had an employee reunion party at Brion's Grille on Wednesday night, Thanksgiving at Aunt Susie's on Thursday and left from there to got o Fredericksburg until Saturday, had another Thanksgiving feast there and then left early Saturday morning to go to Jess' wedding. By Sunday, I was exhausted. Kim bought me my first wedding present on Black Friday. I had pointed out a Kitchen Aid that I wanted and they went out shopping at 3:30am and picked it up for me. Crazy! I'm totally excited to use it. Aunt Susie's was a good time with 12 cats, 12 people and 3 dogs. She cooked more food than I had seen someone cook in my life and it was all delicious.

So, here are some pictures...

Bridges with Theresa and Nicole

Nisa and Steve right before our camera broke

Dave and I at the Employee Reunion Party 3 days before his wedding

Kristen and I


Brion and Kristen



Old school reunion picture

Stevie and I


Kristen and Steve


Some wedding pictures


Alicia and I


Lauren and I

Lisa and Peter

Gangsta group pic (soon to be roomies!)

Home for the Weekend For Once

This past weekend was great because for once things have slowed down and we got to stay in town and we didn't ahve any major plans that we had to stick to.

Friday, Steve and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary and we went to Ruth's Chris where we indulged in 8 ounces of filet and 5 or 6 jumbe shrimp, scallops and crabmeat with bernaisse sauce and a bottle of wine. It might have beent he best meal I've ever had. And, one of the most expensive. Good thing I have Steve to treat me! I'm only sad that we didn't get a picture taken of us that night. I'm on a picture kick.

Saturday, we finally got the chance to take my car to the Toyota dealership to get an oil change, we took Onyx to the vet to catch her up on all of her shots and we met my dad and his friend and Kristen at Brion's for lunch. After that, we went home and relaxed and then met Kristen and Jose and her soccer friends up at Ned Devine's in Centreville to celbrate Jose's birthday. My other friends, Nisa, Kara, Mike and some others went there too just by chance so we all had a good time. Some pictures are below. Sunday, we hung around the house and at night I met Tiffany, Mike Haley and Trish at Bungalow Billiards to watch one of the football games that was on and then we went home. So, I'm back at work today trying to make it through another long week.

Awww, Steve and I


Steve lookin' good

Nisa, Marcus, Mike and Kara

Kristen and I (I really like this one)

Girl picture

It's Been Awhile

It has been a long time since my last blog and a lot has happened. As a follow-up to my last blog, Adam came and went (I will post pictures below), Steve's 10 year high school reunion came and went (pictures below), I went to Sarah's dad's visitation (I forget what they are actually called when it is a viewing but the body is cremated), I went horseback riding with my friend Lisa (but I don't have pictures of that), we went to Raleigh to visit Kim, Doug and my neices (no pictures), Halloween came and went (pictures below) and my grandfather passed away (pictures of funeral below). I also have to say that I've gotten much better at taking more pictures of events recently.

Having Adam in town was a good time. We just hung out around the apartment and had friends over, Steve and I went to his reunion the Saturday that Adam was in town and we all watched football on Sunday at O'Toole's and our place. The reunion was an okay time. I'm not big on reunions and I think that will be the last one that Steve and I attend. We went to mine last year and his this year and now I think I'm all set with them and don't need to go to anymore.

Horseback riding was a lot more fun than I had originally thought. Not feeling that well in the morning since Adam was in town and we were all up late the night before, I wasn't in the mood to go anymore but I forced myself. Not only was I not feeling great, it was also football Sunday and I was missing the 1pm games. But, being the good friend that I am, I didn't back out on the plans and I met them all the way in Maryland. I'm really glad that I went though because it had been so long since I was on a horse and I think everyone had a good time. Once I got home, I rushed to O'Toole's to meet up with Steve, Adam and a few of my friends.

The weekend after Adam was in town, Steve and I made a quick trip to Raleigh. We got there late Friday night after work and came back Sunday early evening. We hung out with my neices. I got them some late birthday presents and we played with them all with them. We went to dinner without the kids one night and played Apples to Apples when we got home. I won 2 games and Doug won one. He was very proud of himself for getting the final win of the night.

Once we got back home from Raleigh I got a call from Kim saying that my grandfather had died. He was suffering a lot and although in his mind he probably wasn't ready to go, his body was. We ended up making a trip to New Jersey that Wednesday for the funeral. The good news was that I got to see some people I hadn't seen in awhile but unfortunately it wasn't under the best circumstances. I also learned a lot about my grandpop that I never knew before and coincidentally the Phillies won the night before the funeral and a Phillies hat was appropriately placed in the casket. I also learned that he had filled out his McCain absentee vote the night before he died. Way to make us proud!

We got back on Friday which was Halloween and went to Ray's (Steve's brother) to pick up Onyx and eat a smorgasbord of hamburgers, hotdogs, macaroni and cheese and plenty of other food. Donna (his sister) had brought her husband, kids and their puppy, Reese, too and there neighbors also came by.

Saturday, was Steve and my 2 year anniversary and we had to go to a Halloween party at Brion's Grille that a bunch of our friends were at. It was a good time! Steve dresses up as white trash (and did a very good job of it) and I couldn't find a costume last minute so I used my old scrubs and bought a Fisher Price doctor kit and went as a nurse. The next day was spent recovering and watching football and making french dip sandwiches from the Crockpot (a recipe I stole from Kim that is awesome!). And, now, I am back at work and wondering why this day is absolutely dragging.

Tonight, we are going to watch the Steelers lose to the Redskins, tomorrow we are voting (for McCain!), Wednesday we have to meet with a DJ, Thursday we are going to dinner for Steve's friend, Matt's birthday at Rio Grande and Friday we finally start another weekend!

Jason, Sam and Steve

Sam, Adam and Jason making fun of a picture of Steve on Adam's camera phone

Onyx - Adam's co-worker since he was working from our apartment for two days

Steve and I at his 10 year reunion

Steve and Drew

Samar, Meghan and I

Steve and I busting a move

Steve and my Halloween costumes (a redneck and a nurse)

Funny shot...

Lauren, JC and Steve

Lauren, Kara, Kathleen and I

Kristen and I

Steve and Tiffany

Lauren and I (my soon to be roomie!)

Lots of bad news and a few good things!

Not much has happened in the past two weeks since my last post except for a lot of bad news. My grandfather is not doing well and my mom has been visiting him and my grandmother to help take care of them. They are now having hospice come to help (which I think is a great idea). It stinks that I have no vacation and can't get up there to help but at least she doesn't work so she can be there.

On another sad note, my old co-worker, Sarah's, father just died last Thursday. Some of my other co-workers and I stopped by her parents house on Saturday afternoon with coolers of drinks, celebrity magazines and cards and sat with her for about an hour. I plan on going to the viewing tomorrow but will probably miss the funeral on Wednesday.

On ANOTHER sad note, I got a call this morning from Tiffany and our friend Mike Hayes just had a heart attack either this morning or last night. He is currently in surgery to have a stint put in place and to see if he'll need any other surgeries. Hopefully, this all will go well for him. It's kind of scary to think that I'm at the age where heart atacks, although rare, are possible.

And, finally, on an EXCITING note, Steve's friend, Adam from Atlanta is visiting us this weekend. We'll pick him up from the airport on Thursday and he leaves on Monday. Steve and I will be going to his 10 year high school reunion on Saturday and most likely staying in a hotel in Springfield. And, Sunday, I'm planning on going horseback riding with my friend, Lisa, and some other people. I'm excited for that but not excited to miss out on some of the football games that day. Oh well, there's always highlights if anything that exciting happens.

And, on another good note, we got access to the website which holds our engagement pictures. I like a lot of them and don't like a lot of them but we have a lot to choose from and we already have our Save the Dates designed thanks to Steve. One day this week or next, we'll have to go into his office and print them all out to get them sent out by 2 weeks from now.

So, that's about it as far as anything new. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pictures up here from when Adam visits this weekend.

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings

It always seems like when we have a busy weekend, most of the busyness is always falling on the same day or time frame. This weekend was definitely one of those. Friday we had nothing to do, so we ended up meeting Nate (Steve's friend), Kristen and Jose up at Coastal Flat's. We ran into some old friends, Nate and Boone and stayed up there for a little while and then went back to our apartment where Nate came back and we played the Wii for hours.

Saturday is where all the time juggling went and I didn't manage it too successfully. We were supposed to go to Grandma Charlotte's house and help with yard work and then I needed to get a bridal shower present for Jessica and rush to her shower in Leesburg at a winery. There was also some Bull Run Beer Festival and my boss had a Liberian prenuptual cookout. It ended up raining so many of the things didn't seem like they were going to happen. The Bull Run plan was definitely off and I had already decided that I wouldn't be able to make it to my boss' party. We were supposed to be at his grandma's house by 9am but we didn't make it until 10am and got right to work. We finished up that by 12pm and I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond where I thought my friend was registered but it turned out that she wasn't so I had to face the dreaded mall on a Saturday afternoon. After running around while Steve and Onyx sat in the car waiting for me in the mall I ended up leaving Williams and Sonoma with a bar shaker and a bottle opener which cost me about $80. That place is expensive! I decided that by the time I took a shower and tried to find this winery out in Leesburg, the party would be over. So, I watched the season premier of Grey's Anatomy that I DVR'd and took a nap and then met my friends at the bar next to our apartment. Steve stayed home (wisely) and slept.

Sunday, we went to my boss' wedding. It was very interesting to say the least. Cathy (her boss), Steve, Cathy's husband and I were easily the only white people there. It was fun though and cool to see other cultural wedding traditions. We went to the reception and left pretty early because we all had to work the next morning.

Nothing much has been happening this week. We met with our wedding officiant last night and liked him. We pretty much design your own ceremony with him. He gave us a packet and we pick out the parts and readings that we want included. I actually just emailed him to officially reserve him for our date.

Tonight, we are meeting one last time briefly with the photographer that we like so that she can include the album that we like in our wedding package. And, I emailed our wedding planner to go ahead and book the ceremony muscians.

So now, we have the following officially booked (or at least lined up):

*Ceremony & Reception Venue

*Photographer

*Officiant

*Ceremony Musicians

*My dress

We still need to book these pretty quickly:

*Reception Band or DJ

*Flowers

*Cake

*Transportation

*Bridesmaids Dresses

*Tuxes

Other than that, I think the rest is minor details like decorations, hair and makeup, etc...

I feel like I'm accomplishing things....and draining my wallet.

Here are some photos from my boss, Facia's wedding (we didn't take many and these aren't even from my camera):

This is my boss' boss, Cathy and her husband Bob:

Steve and I:

Facia (my boss):

Their first dance:

The butterfly release that the did (but it's a great picture of the head dresses they wore there):

More Wedding Stuff and Finally a Weekend!

Nothing much new going on. We met with another photographer from Dolphin Dance Photography and she was EXPENSIVE. She was about $1600 more than the last one we met with and I didn't think her stuff was as good of quality and her packages didn't include as much I didn't think. I think we have decided to go with Cynthia and hopefully we can do our engagement session in the next couple of weeks. This weekend we have a lot of things to do and unfortunately they all fall during Saturday day so I can't do everything I want to do. Tonight, I am running errands after work and then Tiffany and I will probably go to David's Bridal and check out their bridesmaid dresses. If I don't like any there, then I'm settling on the original ones from Bobbie's Bridal in some shade of green. Tomorrow, Steve and I have to go to Grandma Charlotte's house and help with yard work at about 9am and hopefully we'll be done in time for me to make it to my friend, Jessica's, bridal shower which is at a winery in Leesburg. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and Steve is supposed to be going to Bull Run for some beer fest. My boss is also having her Liberian cookout pre-wedding thing which we won't be able to make it to but it will still be unfortunate if it rains all day. And, finally, Sunday afternoon we'll be attending my boss' wedding in Maryland. So, by the time next week starts Ill probably be tired from the weekend and ready for another one. But, hopefully I'll have some new pictures to post!

Say Cheese!

Steve and I met with our first potential photographer last night and it went really, really well. I learned a lot about the different types of albums, what is included and costs. Her name is Cynthia Kirsch and we went to her home and she had everything laid out on the table that we could look through. She had a solid plan in case she had an emergency that day which made us feel good but she also said that she had never missed an event. I liked the quality of her work and her style and she lets us have a second photographer for free since our wedding planner is Stacey. And, I think her personality is good for me to have to get along with for an entire day. So, we are meeting another photographer tonight all the way in Dumfries and we're cancelling the third meeting with a last photogrpaher because I think we already want Cynthia and will have something to compare her to tonight.

After meeting with Cynthia, we went home and I cooked Chicken caesar salads (Steve's new favorite!) and watched the Jets/Chargers game and slowly watched me lose my work football pool for the week since the Jets got killed. Grrrrrr...

Wedding Planning Craziness

Now that vacation is over, we are going to have to seriously get our butts in gear with the wedding planning. Especially since there are only 7 and a half months left until May 9th. I can't believe it's that close already and I haven't really booked anything yet. We are meeting with a photogrpaher tonight, another one tomorrow and eventually a third one and picking between the three. Once we book one, we'll have to get an engagement session done ASAP. We are also meeting with an officiant next Tuesday and I think I'll like him so hopefully we can just go ahead and book him by next week. He's very laid back and thinks that everyone has their own beliefs and practices and doesn't put pressure on people to go by what he believes. I like that. The next thing I have to start looking into which has to start this week is looking at bands or DJs. I'm leaning towards a DJ but I've been going back and forth. A DJ is way cheaper so unless I find a band that I really like, I might just stick with the DJ. Other than that, nothing is new.

Steve and I went to dinner with Tiffany at Outback on Friday and then to the lake from Saturday to Sunday. I bought some fall work clothes at Kohl's and a few "fall" smelling candles. I love them! And, I love this cooler fall weather. I'm just not quite ready for winter weather and I know it'll be here in about a month. We barely get any spring or fall, just lot sof heat and then freezing weather.

I Wanna Go Back!

We are back from California after almost a week of vacation (for me) and sun and relaxing. We went to my friend, Lauren's, birthday dinner at the Gaylord National Hotel just across the bridge in Maryland on Friday night and left early so we didn't miss our flight. So, we left EARLY Saturday morning and jetted off to Long Beach Airport which is probably the tiniest airport I've ever seen. We met up with my old roomie, Megan, who drove up from San Diego. We went to the bar waiting for the hotel to let us check in to our ENORMOUS Conference King Suite and then went to the pool and then back to the hotel bar where we waited to have our other friend, Ryan, pick us up and drive us to downtown Fullerton area. We ended up staying there for about 2 hours until the jet lag hit us and went back to the hotel and passed out.

Sunday, I slept in and we met up with Steve's boss, Mike and his wife for drinks at the hotel bar since they arrived that day. They had a welcome reception that evening from 5:30-8:30 where people got rowdy. They had an open bar and DJ so I had to show everyone my dance skills when "I Like Big Butts" came on. After that, we headed to the inside bar and I quickly made my exit to bed.

Monday, I woke up feeling less than 100% and since Steve had to work, I slept in and then went to the pool. It was hot! The restaurant inside didn't open until 2pm so I waited until then and grabbed food there later. At night, we went to Outback with Mike and his wife, Karen, and Steve's other co-worker, Andy. We were all tired after dinner so I think we all went right to bed after dinner.

Tuesday, I felt better than ever so Karen and I went to the outdoor shopping mall called The Block and they had prety much just teeny bopper stores and we quickly made a trip around, bought a couple things and then ate lunch at a restaurant there. We got back and we had a group function that night and went to Knott's Berry Farm on charter buses where they closed the park down for us and kept a few rides open. Steve and I went on a couple rides and then found his co-workers and went to the make-shift casino where we played with fake money.

Wednesday, I went to the pool again for a few hours and then ate at the restaurant and took a long, much need nap until Steve got off of work. We went down to the downstairs bar and ate and then went back to bed so we could make our early flight home.

We ended up getting home at about 9:30pm last night and I could not fall asleep because I was still on California time and I think had gotten too much sleep. So, I'm back to work today and back to wedding planning again. That break was definitely needed though.

We're going to the lake tomorrow overnight and then football on Sunday! I'm still first place in Steve's boy league for fantasy football but I haven't won a game yet for my work pool.

Below, are some pictures from California from the first night. Unfortunately, I didn't get around to taking any other pictures from any other night. I'm getting really bad a remembering to take pictures!

Steve after spending the day at the pool with Megan and I catching up and talking about celebrity gossip. I kind of don't blame him.

Me deciding that I wasn't going to get ready until after we ate at the hotel restaurant but we ended up not ever getting ready before going out!

A weird picture of me and a decent one of Steve before going to downtown Fullerton.

Me, Ryan, Megan and Steve at a bar in dowtown Fullerton. Fun night and good seeing them again!

Pretend Children...Hmmm...

So, as usual being bored at work I go on wedding websites and read people's posts and ideas to get my own ideas. One poster on Wedding by Color used the website http://www.makemebabies.com/ where you can put in a picture of you with a celebrity, friends or your boyfriend and see what they think your kids will look like. I posted the pictures below. So, from these pictures I figure that my daughter is cute but may have a wonky eye like Dannielynn and I think they shouldn't have put the hat on the boy. Overall though, they are pretty cute.

Only 1 More Day!

Clearly I can't wait to get out of Northern Virginia and my office for a week. I'm excited to see Megan and hang out with Steve, his boss and meet his boss' wife and to have no responsibilities and take my mind off wedding stuff for a few days. I made an appointment to meet with the officiant that we may use for September 30th. I spoke with him today on the phone and he sounded like he'll be just my style so that is a relief and he is available on our day. I've looked online for ceremony musicians that may play traditional and contemporary songs but I am having a HARD time locating any good ones online. I don't know how people ever planned weddings without the Internet way back when. The Internet makes it way easier to pre-screen people so you don't waste nearly as much time.

Steve and I met met my dad at his apartment to pick up a check for the deposit for our venue and we ended up eating at the Italian restaurant downstairs from his apartment. We talked about some details and logistics for the wedding and I left feeling better about our plan. Other than all this, nothing is new in our lives. I just have to get through one more day of work and then I'm off!

2 More Days Until Vacay!!

So, we have two days left until Steve and I leave for California for his IT convention. This trip will be purely vacation for me....thank GOD! I haven't had a vacation in such a long time where I get to sit and do absolutely NOTHING. We leave on Saturday morning and my old roomie, Megan, is supposed to be driving up from San Diego to hang out with us that day, Sunday night is the welcome reception and Tuesday night is the "night out" with the rest of the group there where we take a bus to Knott's Berry Farm and it brings us back at 1am to the hotel. Other than those things, I plan on going to the gym in the mornings and then sitting by the pool and finally getting a tan in the afternoons. I can't wait! I'll need to work of all the sugar I ate today at my boss' office bridal shower that we threw for her. I ate a lot of creme puffs, Hershey kisses and cake so I have my work cut out for me to fit into my dress by December for my first fitting. Steve and I are going to Arlington to pick up a check from my dad for the deposit for the ceremony and reception site! It's the first booking that we've done and we're now officially less than 8 months out from the big day. We did meet with Stacey last night and decided that I need to concentrate on now booking either a band or DJ and ceremony musicians. She is also setting us up with appointments to meet with 2 photographers that we liked when we get back from California.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

As unhappy as I am that it's only Tuesday, I am really excited that once this week is over, we are going to California! It is a business trip for Steve and I hopefully will be laying by the pool all day every day drinking Margarita's or something. This week is super busy for me though so I'm hoping it makes it pass quickly. Yesterday, I was supposed to get a wedding shower present for my boss for her office shower that is tomorrow. It turned out that her boss and I are splitting a present and she picked it up last night so I narrowly escaped that one. I ended up getting home and going running with Onyx and cooking Weight Watcher meatloaf and then we looked at possible photographers for the wedding. We are meeting with Stacey, my wedding planner, tonight and I have a feeling that she is going to be on my butt about turning in our deposit for the ceremony and reception site and booking a photographer and musicians for the ceremony and either a band or DJ for the reception. That's a lot of work to pick out all that AND a LOT of money! And, as a side note, the wedding is exactly 8 months from today! It sounds like a lot of time but if you think about it in paychecks, it's only 16 more. Yikes!
My running partner, Onyx. This was taken at Steve's moms house in the backyard when we filled up a baby pool that his brother, Ray, bought for her and she LOVES it!


Another one in the pool



Steve and Onyx playing catch. Onyx would run and get the ball and then jump in the pool and do that over and over again. So cute!

The weekend is here!

I love weekends. I especially love staying home the weekend following going out of town. Not that I have anything too interesting going on and we are about to have Hurricane Hannah coming our way tonight through tomorrow. Tonight, I am going to try to go running when I get home from work, then Steve and I are going to stock up on groceries and maybe try to clean the apartment a little. Onyx's hair has taken over our apartment and everywhere you look there is a coating of black hair. Yuck. Tomorrow, I am FINALLY applying for my passport so if I need to take off at a moment's notice, I'll have it ;-) Hopefully, after that, I'll be motivated enough to go shopping and by my boss' wedding shower present and my co-worker's baby shower present. Sunday, we are going to the Bridal Showcase which should be interesting and fun and then I am going to my co-worker, Chassity's, baby shower. I hope I get ideas from this Showcase thing so I can get my butt in gear to book things. Booking things just feels so final and like I can't change it so I get scared to finally put the money down. So, there's a lot going on but nothing too exciting. I am most excited to see how I do in my fantasy football league and my office football pool. I'm going to win something this year!

New Beginnings...

A new blog, a new location, a new last name, and hopefully a new body by May 9th, 2009 ...

Since Steve and I are starting out a new life together (officially on May 9th, 2009) I figured now would be as good a time as any to start a blog page so people can keep updated on what we're up to. Especially since we are hoping to make a move to Charlotte, NC sometime around next summer. We visited Charlotte the weekend of August 13th and then again last weekend to check out the northern and southern areas to figure out which specific areas we sould like to live. We are interested in new construction and obviously are finding MUCH cheaper prices for what you get down there. Last weekend, a bunch of our friends went down as well for the Tech/ECU game (Tech lost) and my friend Lauren rented a boat that we all took out on Lake Norman for th enice Labor Day weather. They do something really cool on Lake Norman where hundreds of boats go to the "Sandbar" and "link up" to each other and just hang out, drink beers, listen to music and swim all day. I'm already getting antsy to get out of here!

As excited as I am about moving, I having really grasped my soon to be last name yet (Dennis). Hmmm.... Steve has already mentioned a new nickname for me as "Jenn Denn". I'm not fond of it yet. Maybe it will grow on me??? I got so used to Stetson and I'm having issues of parting with it. I'm also not the type to hyphenate so I'm going to have to get used to Dennis. Not that I don't like the last name Dennis, I just don't like it with my first name....yet.

So, that takes care of all of my "new" things mentioned in the title of this first post except for my new body. I've been on and off doing Weight Watchers for the past year and I've lost up to 20 pounds and gained up to 5 pounds back and back and forth. I'm now starting fresh again and am back to my initial 20 pounds down weight. I'm hoping to lose another 20 in the next couple months before I get fitted for my wedding dress and before we go to Steve's 10 year high school reunion. Here's hoping!

Most of the girls at Bar Charlotte

Girl picture at Buckhead Saloon

JC and Steve looking pimp!



Link up at Lake Norman! Just an idea of it but there were WAY more boats than this picture shows.

Lauren and I (I think on our walk back to the hotel)