New Job, New Home, New Way of Life!

Well, here we go again. While I still work for IU I have switched jobs. I think I have found the perfect job!! It is a great fit with my education, experience, and future hopes & dreams. My new position is Director of Retreats, Client Services, & Special Events for Bradford Woods. Yes, the same Bradford Woods that many of us remember visiting as 5th graders. For those that aren't familiar with Bradford Woods it is an environmental outdoor education center between Martinsville and Mooresville. There are 2,500 acres and a 110 acre lake (with a pair of bald eagles that also live on the property). Riley Children's Foundation is also a partner and Bradford Woods is home to Camp Riley.

With this new job came a move. We are now actually living on property! Yes...we are living in Bradford Woods. This has been a little bit of a transition, especially for some of us (Mark in particular - he is a city boy and really does not enjoy all the bugs & spiders). The home is very small, yet very nice. We are now all settled in and are actually really enjoying it. The best part for me is that I went from an hour commute each way to & from work to a nice 10 minute walk through the woods.

Below are some picture I took when we first moved in. We hadn't really decorated yet. Now it looks much better on the inside and looks more like us. I will have to take some new pictures soon!

Check back soon for more exciting stories from the Woods! I will chronicle some of Mark's (and probably mine) adventures (there are already some good stories about his first encounter with the wild turkeys).

23 Days Until Vacation

Only 23 days left until we leave on vacation...not that I am counting or anything. Things have been so busy at work that I am really needing some time away. Of course, coming back from over a week away is never much fun, but I am sure it will still be worth it. One of the hardest parts about preparing to leave is figuring out what to do with Boris and Zona. Zona is going off to his normal vacation spot, he will be staying with Laura. With her job, her son, and everything else watching both dogs is just a little too much. So, this year we have someone else watching Boris. It is probably good that they get a little vacation from each other.

After taking the adventure by train last year we have decided to go back to the popular "road trip". While some people think we are insane - we really enjoy driving to our destinations. And after driving to Reno a couple of years ago a simple trip to Toronto seems so short. This is our second visit to Toronto, but this time it will be by way of Detroit. We will catch a Red Sox game on our way out of the US. We are very excited about the trip and I have all my shopping planned out. And of course we could not come home without stopping in Canton, OH to the Pro Football Hall of Fame! This should be a fun adventure. I'll share photos when we return!

Happy Easter and Oh How Time Flies!

Oh my!!! It is actually Easter! The last thing I remember is ringing in the new year and it is already three months into the year now. I have come to a shocking conclusion...I have way to much going on these days. I have 6 big events coming up at work (not to mention 7 board meetings and the rest of the day to day stuff), Easter/family celebrations today, I am making barbie clothes for a friend's daughter's birthday, I have been scanning slides into the computer and creating DVDs of them, I am taking a photography class (I am so late on my last assignment), Mark and I have started playing tennins, I am trying to get everything ready for our vacation in 46 days, and I have recently attended 2 baby showers, 1 retirement party, 1 birthday party, 1 makeover/makeup party(I think I am going to be hosting one of those coming up as well). Did I mention that Jared is turning 16 in 18 days!!!! That is just way to much stress!!! Now I think you all understand why I have not been writing anything lately. But I am going to try to do better. Here are a couple of fun pictures to keep you entertained for a while.

It's February Already?!

Oh My!!! I have not writen anything since December 28th? Could this really be true? What happened to January? I looked at my calendar today and for some reason it seems hard to believe that it is February 8th. Only 90 more days until I get to go on vacation!!!!!! The count down begins. I think that I have just been so busy at work that time is flying by.

Well, I decided not to really make any resolutions this year. I guess I did decide to eat healthier so that is kind of one. So far it is paying off as I have now lost 8 pounds. It is hard to notice a difference yet, but soon.....

I have also decided that I need to spend more time on hobbies and visiting friends. With the busy work schedule it has been difficult, but I am trying. I am also taking more photography classes again. Photography has always been fun and relaxing for me. I love nature photography, but I am trying to branch out and learn new things. Let's see how it goes...

New Year's Resolution

So....is anyone going to make some New Year's resolutions this year? I have been thinking about what mine should be. I could always go with the resolution to lose weight again. I have tried it before and it never really works. Or maybe I should spend more time with family. It's a good resolution, however, I should be doing that anyway. I guess I should make a resolution to visit with my friends more. How long has it been since I visited with you? I know...way to long. I think I will also resolve to become involved in an event to raise money and awareness for cancer research or programs for cancer patients. I thought about starting something new in the Martinsville area to raise money for programs at the cancer center there. I think my last resolution should be to get back to work on my master's degree. I had to drop my classes last semester and I still have not registered for the spring semester - I should really get on that! If any of you have more suggestion of resolutions I should make, please let me know (be nice!!!).

Christmas

Well Christmas has come and gone and it is now time to get ready for the new year. There were a few sad moments this year, but overall it was very nice. On Christmas eve I went to dad's house and spent some time with Dallas, Leslie, and their families. I had created a dvd of all the slides that I had scanned into the computer. It was great looking through all the old pictures. I did discover that mom loved taking pictures of Dallas. And the sad part is I still have about 30 more slides of Dallas that I didn't get scanned in. The slide show dvd was such a hit that Leslie took it with her to Uncle Phil's house so the rest of the family could see it on Christmas. Christmas day we spent the morning opening gifts at home and then went off to spend some time with Mark's family. We went to his nephew's house - he has a pool table right as you walk in the door (I'm sure that was supposed to be the formal living room, but a pool table is much better). Mark and Jared enjoyed playing pool and spending time with everyone. Last night we got together with Lesli, Bryan, and Lauren. What a fun evening of pizza and games!!! Only one more Christmas get together left (this weekend).

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful Christmas!!!

Christmas Time is Here Again

Well it is Christmas time again and Mark and I are trying to get into the festive spirit. We even went looking at Christmas lights the other night - of course the mood was ruined as we got flipped off by a little old lady!! And she put some attitude into it. Ok, so I might have swerved a little into her lane as I looked over to see the nice display, but I had at least 4 car lengths between us and she didn't even have to change her path. Apparently she thought I was wanting to play a game of chicken. Merry Christmas!!!


It is always agonizing for us to do Christmas cards. One year we addressed them all but then never made it to the post office. Then there have been the years where we have tried to take a family photo for the card. As you can see by last year's photo, that doesn't always work.

So this year we were still creative with our cards (you'll see them soon) but have spared everyone from our latest family photo. I'm sure Mark, Jared, and the beagles are all thrilled I didn't make them pose for yet another picture. We have even mailed out about 6 cards. I have another 6 that I need to mail tonight. Some I am in search of zip codes for.

You can see the pain that the whole Christmas card issue causes you can only imagine what it is like for us to go shopping. I actually love buying gifts for everyone and often find myself going a little overboard. This year is not as much fun because we are buying a lot of gift cards. It just doesn't seem as much fun. However, for those that have or have been around 15 year old boys you will know this is the best possible gift for them. At least I got to buy a few stocking stuffers. I am really looking forward to Christmas this year - It should be fun!