Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I'm leavin on a Jet Plane!

Tomorrow I head out to Japan and gosh am I nervous! I am nervous for a lot of reasons. Leaving my home country for one. Flying for over 24 hours is another. But the main reason I'm so nervous, or should I say sad, is saying bye to my family. Oh gosh I know that this is going to be the only hard part for me but I really hate that I am moving SO far away. I said bye to Molly and Ben on Sunday and unexpectedly, I got really upset. I don't know why that suddenly came on. I know I'm going to talk to them a lot but it's not the same as living a drives distance away. It makes it kind of hard you know? Don't get me wrong though, I am SO excited to see Mike and officially set up our house. And to have a job...and basically start my life. But the anticipation of it all, the unexpectedness, the foreign reality of what is to come makes it quite difficult for me to swallow. I still feel like I moved back to the states where everyone spoke English and I was able to buy any clothes that I wanted at any of the stores. Now that will all be more of a challenge. I just have to get used to it all I guess. And I am...but I don't think I've ever related to the expression "Bittersweet" until this moment. 

To my many friends that read my blog, can I just say how sorry I am that I didn't have the chance to call you before I left? I know I have the time to type this post but I sort of feel guilty talking on the phone when I only have a couple hours left to spend with my family : ( I will definitely call you when I am in Japan but right now, so much has been going on that I really haven't had the time for a much needed friendly chat. Relating to the subject, let me post my phone number in case you guys ever want to call me: 404-478-4605. This is our home number with an Atlanta area code. I've told you all already that it's a stateside number so please don't be hesitant to call because it won't cost you anymore than it would to call my old number! 

Also new in my life is a NEW BLOG! I really don't like the address that I use now (what the heck does "snippetsfrom2284" mean anyway?) So I've been working on a new blog for the past couple of weeks. There are no posts on it yet but if you have the time, could you please change me over to this address? http://thequinn-tessentiallife.blogspot.com/
Once I get to Japan, which will be Thursday night your time and Friday morning my time, then I will start typing on that one! 

I really will miss you all...and Barnes & Noble, The Cheesecake Factory, and the many glorious malls that surround our country...but I hope to post happy experiences of my next new beginning for you all to read!

xoxo, Bridget

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Tegan

For some of my SHAPE readers, you will know exactly who I'm talking about when I mention The Munns Family. When I was in 7th grade, I became friends with Kirby Munns (Now Kirby Fish : ) and was warmly welcomed into their family. 

Unexpectedly, Kirby's niece Tegan has recently been diagnosed with cancer. To better inform you on her condition and what you guys can do to help this family out, please check out their blog dedicated to Tegan. 

http://teganlyn.blogspot.com

Friday, May 15, 2009

Some Boxes, A Wedding, and Roasted Cat Fur!

Doesn't that title just draw you in??? Well then you must read on to find out what I'm talking about! 

Since coming back from California on Tuesday, I've spent the past three days packing up boxes to ship over to Mike. In total, I've sent over TWENTY of them! Now before you freak, let me just say that these boxes are quite small, about the size of two text books put together. On the first day that I went to the post office, the lady was really nice and told me I could save a lot of money if I packed all my things in the small priority boxes because the aren't charged by their weight. The standard price is $11.95 a box so times that by twenty and it adds up for sure. But, realistically it could have been so much more had I packed large ones and was charged by their weight. The ladies at the post office have be SO nice. They know me by name at this point and keep giving me all of the priority boxes for free! It has made my life so much easier and I'm so grateful that they are being so helpful. I have one last stack of boxes to take to the post office today and that should be it! (Minus the box of Christmas decorations that I'm not sending over right away.) 

Tomorrow morning, my mom and I are getting up early and driving to NY to pick up Molly's wedding dress and alcohol for the wedding. Monday and Tuesday will be spent cleaning the house, picking up programs and dropping off supplies for the reception. Then on Wednesday, our family will start flying in up until Friday. On that day, we'll have the rehearsal, the dinner, and maybe celebrate my birthday in between all of that? (Shout out to my Auntie, it'll be her birthday too!) Then Molly's wedding is on Saturday! I'm SO excited! I've written a pretty unique speech and after the wedding, I will post it for fun so you guys can read it. Unfortunately, there will be no pictures from me for a while : ( Remember when boo-boo schmitty lost her life due to the sunscreen explosion? Welp, my camera did as well. 

Oh and on a side note, Molly's cat Milo is an idiot. I had a candle light in my room and Milo thought it'd be a great idea to stand over the candle and roast his fur! Now he has a black mark under his tummy and when I went to check him to make sure he still wasn't on fire (yikes!) he swatted at me! He hates having his tummy touched, let alone roasted by a small flame : ) So the purpose of lighting this candle was to make my room smell good, but now it smells like burnt cat fur...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Friday, May 8, 2009

Our First Home

As most of you know, for the past six months that we've been married, Mike and I have basically lived out of a suitcase. When we found out we were going to Japan, we did some research and learned that we could live in an apartment or a garden unit. The difference between the apartment and garden unit is that the apt. is in a ten story building and the garden unit is like a town house that has a front and backyard. Both of us really wanted a garden but everyone told us that it was highly unlikely that we'd get one since it's just the two of us. Welp, my husband pulled some strings and we were able to get our garden! I really don't know how he did it actually. 

Below is a video of our new home for the next three years. You guys are seeing it for the first time like me and let me tell you, I got very anxious watching this video. I'm anxious because I really can't wait to get over there but also, seeing all of those boxes...oh man. I am not looking forward to moving in a house full of chaos. I pride myself on being organized and I just want wait to get my hands on this house and make it feel like a home. And yes, there were parts where I cringed watching this video. There's no carpet, only linoleum throughout. Having a washer and dryer exposed in our kitchen like that...yikes! And those ugly brown doors and kitchen cabinets! Oh and the air units! Man, I could just go on and on about all of the little details of the house. But you know what? I am so grateful that we have one. When you don't have one for a while, being offered ANYTHING that closely resembles a place that you can call home will make you happy. I know Mike and I will be happy in this house and I hope you guys come and visit us...after it looks cute I mean! 


Here is the new House!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Bachelorette Weekend

This weekend, Molly and Ben came home for their bachelor/bachelorette parties. We kept Molly's day really low key and had a mom/daughter/sister weekend. In the morning, Molly and I went to get facials and our eyebrows (ok and lips too) waxed. Then the three of us went to the mall where Molly got a make-up trial at the Clinique counter. Let me just say that "Teresa" did a HORRIBLE job on Molly's eye make-up. I mean, every time I looked at Molly, I would crack up laughing. This lady went so crazy with the make-up that she made huge purple circles around the tops and yes, bottoms of her eyes. It looked like someone decked Molly in the face in each eye! Anyway, that experience wasn't extremely helpful but I think I get the idea of how I will do Molly's make-up...no purple circles! Then we went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant so that Molly and I could eat a fully carb-loaded dinner since we were running the Broad Street run the next day. When we left the restaurant, I noticed that my coach bag had a huge black stain all around the bottom. Turns out my aerosol sunscreen container burst inside my purse and completely ruined my $300 baby. I was devastated. I mean, I didn't cry or anything but I only had that purse for a year and a half...it was my first purchase when I got my first paycheck and it was a reward for getting into grad school. Anyway, boo-boo schmitty (that's what I named my purse) will be resting in a quite place until I can find a way to bring her back to life...or bury her for good. Then today, Molly and I got up extremely early and ran 10 miles in the rain through the entire length of Philly. For the first 7 miles, I was feeling pretty great. Then it was like I hit a wall and both of knees were just killing me. I have no idea why. They never bother me when I run on my own. I knew I would finish the race, it just made it that more uncomfortable for me towards the end. We finished at 1:29 which is pretty average. I was hoping to finish at 1:20 but like I said, the pain made me slow down a bit. Now I'm just recovering on the couch and planning out what I'm going to pack for my trip to California! I leave on Tuesday and will be there a week. I am so excited to see my family! 

Friday, May 1, 2009

Welcome to Japan!

Today makes a week that Mike has lived in Japan. The first few days were new and exciting for him and Mike said he couldn't believe how green Japan was. He said he flew over Tokyo before landing at Yokota and he couldn't tell where the city began and ended. Then on Friday, I got a call from Mike at 6 am telling me that he debit card was stolen along with some money from his wallet. He said he was at the gym for two hours and noticed right away that it was gone when he checked his wallet outside. Long story short, the jerk spent over $600 in two hours before Mike called our bank and had them cancel the card. Not exactly a warm welcome to Japan but we're grateful not more was stolen out of his wallet. Can you imagine his ID and pilot's license right in the middle of inprocessing? Anyway, we had to come up with a few ideas for Mike to get cash since that was the only debit card he had and we couldn't figure out where we put his checkbook between all of the boxing/moving that was going on. Everything is fine now and we've been fully refunded for the cash that was taken but I'm really bummed that it had to happen right at that second. Every few days, I'm sending another box in the mail to him with some of our x-mas gifts/wedding gifts or things we've collected since September and each time they're mailed, another $20 is gone. This may be the longest three weeks of my life! 

Friday, April 24, 2009

Will moving ever be easy?

On Wednesday, I had to say bye to Mike at the Raleigh airport. He got on one plane and two hours later, I got on another. Leading up to the day that Mike left was pretty emotional for me because as  you all know, moving isn't easy. There were so many things left to take care of that had to wait until the last minute and it made it overwhelming all at once. Because we've lived out of suitcases for nine months, there were more things to pack than suitcases available. That left me to box and wrap them all up as well as pay lots of money to ship them to an overseas location. And lets not forget that we had no address at the time so we had to send it to Mike's sponsor. I'm sorry if I sound negative. I'm really not. I am just amazed and grateful that we were able to get through that week. 

Now I'm back at home and I haven't heard Mike's voice since he left. To get to Japan, we had to pay out of pocket for a plane ticket to Seattle. Mike left at 6pm on Wednesday and made a connection in Houston. He landed there at 1130 at night and had to recheck his bags at the AMC terminal in the Seattle airport. Then, he had sit at the gate at 3 am and wait to board his next flight which was set to leave at 5 am. THEN, when the military hop took off, it made a pit stop in Anchorage four hours later. Finally, the flight took off for its final destination to Yokota Air Base...which was another seven hours. By this time, it was 10 am on Friday morning Japan time and 9pm east coast time. The poor guy traveled a total of 27 hours! Yay...something I get to look forward to. I waited anxiously to get an email from Mike since we both knew that he couldn't exactly pick up his cell phone to call me. I kept checking my gmail and then I noticed that Mike was online at 11 Thursday night! I quickly im'd him and was so happy to see the sentence, "Oh my gosh! I was just writing you an email!" I talked to him online for about an hour and then we made plans to hook up online again in the morning. Mike told me so many cool things that I was too excited to fall asleep. I had that nervous excited feeling that you get the night before the first day of school. I still feel that way actually! I've got plans to meet up with him again in a half hour so I'm hoping to hear some more cool things about our new foreign home for the next three years. 

Now I'm facing my end of the moving to-do's that are still unchecked on my list. None of it is hard, just overwhelming at times. Molly's wedding is making me a little nervous too as I have to come up with an original MOH speech and help her with last minute details. Oh well, all in good time my friends! 

Monday, April 13, 2009

Family Time

Since I've been home, I've been able to spend a lot of time with both my mom and sister in NJ and NY. On one of our trips to the city, my mom and I went to Kleinfeld's where Mol got her first fitting. Here's a pic of what her dress looked like when she first tried it on. 
Then we walked around the city a little bit and I couldn't resist to take a picture of this cute bulldog waiting for his owner inside the coffee shop ; ) 
My mom got a fancy mocha and it brought back memories of Clemson as you can see! 
On another trip to NY, my mom insisted that I snap a picture of this fancy group of dog walkers that we spotted in Central Park. It's so cool to see how these guys do it! 

After Mike got back from SERE school, we went to our first NHL hockey game where the Philly flyers played against the Florida Panthers. 

We also went to a Phillies baseball game the next day against the Braves but because the Braves lost, Mike was in a bad mood...which is why there are no pictures to post of my "happy" husband.

For the rest of the week, Mike and I kept our schedule pretty simple. My mom took a couple days to spend time with us and we went to play miniature golf. I had never played a game of putt-putt until I met Mike and because of all of my years of having a personal trainer by my side, I've become quite the putter! In fact, I actually beat Mike at this game by one point and made the final challenge hole and won myself another free game. Mike handled his loss much better than I thought! 
After the game, we went to a fun place right by my mom's house called Johnson's Farm. 




On Saturday, Molly hosted Easter brunch at my mom's house since Mike and I were leaving for his parent's on Easter. Ben's parents, Helen and John, came along with his brother Howard and his girlfriend Kelly. We snapped this picture after Mike handed out name tags that he made for everyone to wear since Kelly didn't know any of us yet. Notice how my name is supposed to be an egg but looks like a football and how Molly's is shaped into a short bus...



Here's a close up of the fancy tablescape! I made the place cards. 

Mike and I were having a little too much fun with our chocolate bunnies and were making them do inappropriate things when no one was looking! They look quite innocent in this picture ; ) 
For those of you that have been to my mom's house, you know that her basement has this enormous seating arrangement that we like to call "The Sleeping Couch." Mike surrendered to its temptation after a satisfying meal while I snuggled and sipped my coffee. 

Every Easter, Mike and I like to make each other Easter baskets. They're never fancy but each year, we try to outdo the other by making our baskets have something extra special! This year, I found a camouflage basket and I thought I sealed the deal. However, Mike outdid me by hiding 16 camouflage eggs all over the house. It was fun to search for eggs with my little basket...I can't really remember the last time I did that! For the next couple of weeks, we always enjoy munching on the candy that comes with them. In fact, Mike confessed that last night he woke up in the middle of the night and ate one of my Reester chocolate bunnies! Hmmm, guess they're that good that you have to get up at 2 in the morning?!?!
Now we're at Mike's parent's house relaxing and taking in some more family time before Mike heads off to Japan on the 22nd! I won't be leaving until after Molly's wedding but it will be about a month before I see Mike again so I will be sad to see him go : ( I'm sending Mike with our video camera so that he will post some videos of Yokota and maybe even some of our new house! At this point, the hardest thing is saying bye to our family, not the move itself. We both can't wait to get settled and finally unpack our suitcases that we've lived out of for seven months! While Mike's in Japan, I'll be in NJ training for the Broad Street Run. Then on the 5th, I'm flying to California to spend a week with my family in Huntington Beach! It will be so nice to hang out with my cousins and my grandma! I will see everyone soon after for Mol's wedding but my grandmother is too old to travel so it's important for me to spend time with her before I leave the country for good. Then when I get back to NJ, Molly will probably have a lot of little things for me to do during the two weeks leading up to her wedding. It's going to be a very busy time for everyone but we're all so anxious and can't wait! 
 

Monday, April 6, 2009

April showers bring May flowers!

And the rain continues! But you know what? It is so nice to look at your window and to see the green grass and cherry blossoms budding from the trees. Last Friday, when I entered my last post, I actually got motivated to get off of the couch and go for that dreaded 6 miler. When I got outside and got into my running groove, I was actually having a lot of fun...that is until the worst thunderstorm of the century opened up and I was right in the middle of it! I've run my share of rainy days but oh my gosh, this storm was CRAZY. There were lighting bolts crashing around me and I couldn't see through the veil of hail/rain that was pattering on my face. I was pretty far from home and got so scared that I thought I'd knock on someone's door and ask them to let me in. But then I got scared that the door that I would knock on would belong to a psychopath so I basically just sprinted the rest of the way home...with five pounds of soaked clothes to add on to my journey.

Today was no different as the rain continued, except for that I finally have my sweet husband again! He's done with SERE school and is about 15 lbs lighter! He looks like he did our freshman year of college. It's been so nice having him with me again. He'll be on leave for the next two weeks before he heads off to Japan on the 23rd. I am anxious to hear what he'll say about our new home. In the meantime, Mike and I have some activities scheduled like going to the Flyers hockey game tomorrow and the Phillies vs. the Braves baseball game on Wednesday. He also has to have that coveted Philly cheesesteak while he's here. (I hear they're pretty good...I wouldn't know from personal experience!) Then we're going to go to NYC on Thursday and Friday so that Mike can see central park for the first time and stay the night at the infamous shoe box that we call Molly and Ben's apartment. To end the week, Molly is creating a feastive Easter brunch on Saturday where Ben's family and our family will eat to our hearts content.

Well, I'm off to go make Easter decorations using an idea that I saw from Martha Stewart!

Friday, April 3, 2009

What to do when its raining...

1. Sit on the couch with warm peanut butter and banana toast and a happy cup of hot tea
2. Browse through mom's digital cable
3. Goof around on the internet
4. Anxiously await for talk shows to commence
5. Look at the list of to do's for the day
6. Think about that list
7. Get up and continue to think about list
8. Think about that 6 mile run that is supposed to happen today
9. Decide its too cold and snuggle back under the blankets on the couch
10. Browse through mom's digital cable

I've made it to #3 so far...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Goals

This weekend, I had an epiphany and that was to set goals for myself. I do better when I have I routine or a schedule that I follow on a daily basis. Some may call it OCD...others may call it organized. I kind of sit in between the two interpretations. Looking back on last year, I was at the busiest and most hectic point in my life. I moved to New York City and was adjusting to the stress-packed bustle of existence. I enrolled in graduate school where limitless amounts of paperwork and portfolios loomed over me. I worked 25 hours a week with a very angry boss and 19 happy 4 year olds. I tutored before and after work for 3 hours a day. I went to class for an additional 3 hours. I trained for the Philadelphia marathon. I planned our wedding. And on top of everything else, I shuffled back and forth, making plane connections in between to Mike's home (whether it be Oklahoma or Alabama) and helped him along with his struggles through flight school. It was a CRAZY year...

But yet I think I was at my happiest because I felt proud that I could do so many things and accomplish so much. I could not let myself get overwhelmed and therefore followed a rigourous and demanding routine to get me through each day. I was able to grow more as a professional and as an individual. During that time, I could do the things that I wanted to do and I loved every minute of it. Now, I find that I have an endless amount of time but not enough to make a difference. I am so used to not working or having a demanding schedule that I worry I won't adjust well when that long awaited job does come. I have this yearning to do things that are of value and that are respected.

My mom exemplifies that lifestyle as I have experienced these past two weeks being home. She goes to choir practice once a week with performances on the weekends; she's a girl scout leader; she's a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House; she's a great homework helper to Paul's two young boys....these are all in addition to her 40+ a week job. Above all of that, she still knows how to be a great Mom. Molly is amazing too. Her job is so demanding where she is on her feet all day. She gets up a 5 in the morning and sometimes doesn't get home until late at night! But because of her professionalism, Molly is well respected and all of the top executives personally request her to handle their parties because she does such an amazing job at it. And lets not forget about Mike. His work hours are crazy. Presently speaking, he's out in the woods somewhere eating bark (poor guy) but at least he's doing what he loves. Mike is at the end of the pipeline and is finally going to experience and cherish 9-5 work hours. And then there are my friends, the mothers and the prominent workers. I can't even begin to describe what you must go through but know that you have earned my utmost respect and admiration.

I could go on and on about what my loved ones do for themselves and how they make their world and those around them better to live in. I want to be in that place myself. I do my best with my current situation and shadow my mom with her various activities. I've even been offered the chance to be a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House myself and I am anxious to accept it because I want to do things that are of value. Everyone keeps telling me to cherish this "freedom" that I have because soon I won't have it. But you know, sometimes when it's too quiet, your thoughts overtake the white noise and reveal those goals that have yet to be reached. My goals are do things that make the world a better place like working with children or families of the sick. I want to run again so I started training for the Broad Street 10 mile run in May. I want to cook and clean (silly I know) because it makes me happy to see others happy. After the end of May, I will have new goals because with each new situation comes a new reality.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Back on the east coast!

These past few weeks have been very busy with getting Mike ready for his FINAL phase of training in Washington and last minute paperwork to get ready for our move. Our drive across the country was quite interesting because we actually drove through a very bad snow storm. Memphis, TN got hit pretty bad and we were fortunate enough to get stuck in five hours of traffic trying to find a way out of that mess. We pretty much saw snow the whole way back to NC. 

Here are a few videos of our trip! 


Sometimes I wonder about him...

After four days of driving, Mike and I finally arrived at his parent's house in Fayetteville, NC. It was so nice to see a kitchen again : ) Sparky (the family dog) was happy to see us as were his family...although I think by the end of the week, they were ready for us to move on! Besides staying at home, we also visited the UNC campus where his brother Steve is a junior. I went up twice, Mike went three times. I also visited my dear friend Ari in Wilmington for dinner on Sunday and Mike visited his sister Liz at UNC Pembroke. We celebrated Mike's birthday at a Japanese steakhouse on Monday early since he would still be at his training on his real birthday. Then on Tuesday, we packed up the truck again and headed north to D.C. Mike flew out of there the next morning and I continued on to NJ. Now I'm back at home (still living out of a suitcase) and shuffling between my mom's house and Molly & Ben's place in Brooklyn. I will be here for the next few months but I'm trying to find ways to keep me busy. I was thinking about going out to California to see my relatives and am trying to save some extra money since it will cost a lot for us to move to Japan. I was also thinking of substitute teaching but it takes a while to get all of the paperwork together so who knows if that will be an option. Since getting our wedding photos, I've also be going through all 3000 of them and writing down the numbers so that our photographer will make us a photo album. 

So now I have you caught up on what I've been doing. It's mid-March and I can't believe the school year is almost over...that means I haven't been working for almost a year! But I have a feeling God is going to bless me with a teaching position when we get to Japan and this will make all of my waiting and boredom worthwhile. I already got word from a fellow friend of mine that one of the principals in Japan is considering me for a position because they contacted her for an additional reference! Cross your fingers that everything works out! 

Friday, February 27, 2009

Bye bye Albuquerque!

Today is our last day in Albuquerque and Mike and I are SO ready to be done. Being in a hotel room and living in such tight quarters has gotten so old that I think we may leave tire marks on the pavement on our way out of here! I've called the ambulance TWICE while living here. It's actually funny though because my phone pulls up a menu when I dial 911 which is basically asking me, "Are you sure you want to call this number?" Once was for the accident and another time was for finding a man that was laying face down in parking lot bleeding out of his head! 

But in all honesty, this experience hasn't been as horrible as I may have complained to all of you! There were great things about living here and Mike and I have made so many wonderful memories. We're a stones throw away (I've always wanted to say that!) from some of the best ski resorts and the beautiful mountain views and sunsets have been breathtaking to watch. My health is better living here because the air is so clean and my lung capacity is much stronger! Seriously, our first week here, Mike and I went for a run and I had to stop after ten minutes because I was so winded. I thought I was just out of shape but found out later that it was the altitude that made it so difficult. Now I can run outside with no problem so I may be able to run farther and longer once we're back on the east coast. 


Here's a video of the mountains

Because of our experiences here, moving to Japan will feel like such a luxury. We'll finally have our OWN house (and I don't care how old it is!) As long as it has a kitchen, I will be SO happy! I feel like such a bad wife because I don't cook and you guys know that I love to cook. It will also feel like Christmas because we have so many wedding gifts that are unused (and some even unopened) as well as new furniture still in its packaging. And lets pray that a job will fall into my lap soon after moving there. I've put in all my stuff to teach on base and now I'm just playing the waiting game until someone wants to interview me. Ever since I've graduated from college, I've longed to have my own classroom. My first year of teaching was at a private daycare center and I was the kindergarten teacher. I didn't have any of the benefits that regular teachers have at a public school. I've grown a lot from my experiences there as well as my part-time job at Hollingworth but I feel as though I haven't really applied my training in a real-life setting and I hope Japan offers me that opportunity. 

For the next few days, Mike and I will be on the road (mostly on I-40) driving to Fayetteville, NC to spend time with his family. I will post video and pictures of our road trip later. 

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Wedding Photos

We finally got our wedding photos and I created a website that family and friends can order from here.
I'll include of a few of my favorites...



Monday, February 23, 2009

She's a Winner!

Last week I got a call from Molly telling me that she was a finalist in the Haas Avocado Recipe Contest. To qualify for the contest, Molly had to create her own original recipe using...haas avocados. I really can't remember exactly what she made but I have some great pictures of what the end result looked like! 


So after finding out that she was a finalist (which meant that she would at least receive $500), a few days later she found out that she was the grand prize winner! With the grand prize, Molly has won a free trip to San Francisco valued at $5000 plus $1000 in spending money! Her recipe will also be featured in various magazines! Way to go Molly! You've finally won something! 

Today is also Molly's 27th birthday so Happy Birthday Molly! I love you! 

Monday, February 16, 2009

Our Mini-Honeymoon

For the long weekend, Mike and I took a "mini-honeymoon" to Taos, New Mexico (which happens to be where Julia Roberts lives also!) Taos is a small artsy town nestled between beautiful snow covered mountains. We had an amazing time exploring the town, skiing at Taos Ski Valley and Angel Fire and eating at mom n pop restaurants. Our favorite part of the trip had to be where we stayed. The American Artists Gallery House was a B&B in the center of Taos and was amazing! Neither of us had ever stayed at a B&B before but were so pleased with how wonderful the place was! Charles and LeAn are the owners and they were so fun to see every morning. They cooked us delicious breakfasts and made sure to have chocolate covered strawberries and red velvet cake waiting for us when we got back from a long, cold day of skiing! There were so many happy animals including a feisty peacock named George and a lap cat named Annie. We didn't take any pictures when we were there BUT we took a couple videos!

Here's a clip of Mike skiing down the mountain

Here's George the Peacock eating his breakfast : ) 

Here's a view of the beautiful mountains in Taos. 

And here's where we stayed!

9 Reasons I Love My Husband (plus 1 for luck!)

1. I love that Mike compliments me every single day. I could be wearing my favorite pj pants with holes in them and glasses from high school and he still makes me feel beautiful. 
2. I love that Mike will seal off the shower for me so that no cold air will get in.
3. I love that Mike will randomly say to me, "Do you know that I love you? I have so much fun with you!" 
4. I love that in a crisis, Mike will stay absolutely calm and say "I've got this Bridget" and hold my hand.
5. I love that Mike makes me laugh every single day.
6. I love that Mike is so responsible and wise and thinks about things in every angle before making a decision. Well, it can get annoying at times but that is why I love him!
7. I love that Mike has red hair and freckles! 
8. I love that Mike is great at all sports. I love to watch him play or compete.
9. I love that I've been best friends with Mike since we were 14 years old. 
*10* I love that Mike and I are finally married and with each day brings a new adventure and a deeper understanding of love and commitment. 

Mike & I celebrating spirit week in 10th grade

Mike on his way to work

I love you Mike! 

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Molly & Ben's Shower

Molly & Ben's shower was a huge success! They may have had their suspicions but they had no idea who was coming or what the theme of the party would be! Friends and family from PA, NJ, and NY came to celebrate Ben and Molly's upcoming wedding at Eddie & Michael's house in Philly. Michelle and I had been working on this party since the beginning of December and knew Molly would be a hard person to please because she is so perfect at planning her own parties. Anyway, here is a short clip of them when they first walked into the house. 



Ben & his younger brother Howard

Molly & me
I just liked this picture of my mom
Mol, Michelle (Best friend and bridesmaid who helped plan the party), and me
Here's our beautiful tablescape of the yummy Greek food! You can thank Michelle for that!
My mom and her boyfriend Paul
Mol & Michelle
Ben, Eddie, Molly, & Michael. They were there the ones who so generously opened up their home and let us throw this party! 
Cute cake huh?

I just had to throw in an old photo of us from halloween year ago...
And another one of us at the end of the party.
Michelle & I at the after party at 700 club. I was quite tired by this point!
Well there you go! We had a great time and I'm so excited for their wedding in May : ) 

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Weekend Events

I had the most amazing time with Mike this weekend and we really didn't do anything that grand! On Friday night, we met up with Mike's old flight commander (and now friend) and had a few drinks...Well, I'm being nice when I said Mike had a few but it was Friday and lets just say he had a good time. Surprisingly I did too even though I was the dd! We got in really late that night and weren't able to sleep in because Mike wanted to go skiing again. It was so fun, just the two of us on the mountain most of the time. Mike told me that I was "a very good little skier" which is saying a lot from him because he's great at it. There aren't many physical activities we can do together besides running and skiing so its very fun to create memories like that. Plus, although we look forward to our weekends together, we sort have a routine that involves running a lot of errands. It's so fun to change it up a bit! 

Right now I'm at the airport on my way to my sister's bridal shower! Shhh...it's a surprise! We're actually hosting it for both Molly and Ben and I'm not going to give any details away on this in case she does read it. Although, she is so busy she never has time to but just in case. I will post pictures of it next week. 

Leaving Mike for my four day weekend was not hard but just different. I'm so relieved that I don't have to be in a long distance relationship with him anymore. So when I say different, it's just funny to say bye when we're at the airport cause it's not this long drawn out process. We had a good laugh this morning when he dropped me off because we reminisced on our usual goodbyes. Basically we hug and kiss like thirty times and give each other a long speech about how we'll see each other in a month, how its good that we're going back because we both have a lot to do and it won't be much longer til we live together. Today it was like a slap on the butt and a "c-ya later" kind of good bye. But back to the leaving part...It's good to get away sometimes because we're living in a tiny room and basically on top of each other. He's really excited to have his "guys" weekend. He has plans to go eat at Rhudy's...a good bbq place in abq, ski with the guys for free (military special), and play lots of playstation while I'm away. I don't know how that equates to a guys weekend though cause I let him do those things even when I am around! 

One last thing that has nothing to do with my post is but is good info for you guys is to go see the following movies: The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke and Grand Torino with Clint Eastwood. Both are GREAT movies to see with your spouse and leave you thinking about it for days afterward. I'll be honest and say that neither have a really happy ending, but they are well worth the $10 you'll pay to see it. I highly recommend them both. 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Car Accident

Yesterday afternoon I was in a car accident. I was sitting at a stop light and had about a cars length distance between me and the car in front of me. I left some room in front of me because there was a school bus in the residential neighborhood (to my right--I was on the far right side of the street) that was waiting to turn onto the busy street. Unexpectedly, I was hit from behind while in Mike's truck and the whole truck was surged forward about four feet. Thankfully there wasn't a car close in front otherwise I would have been hit from both ends. Anyway, I immediately turned into the residential neighborhood (where the school bus was still waiting) and parked on the side of the road. I had not a scratch on me and felt fine...just shaken up. I figured the car that hit me would also turn into this neighborhood so that we could wait for the police to arrive. I got out of the car and took a look at the damages. Luckily, there wasn't much done to Mike's truck although I can't say the same for the car that hit me. They were driving a Lincoln town car and their hood was totally crunched. There was steam coming from from the front of the car and their trunk was also open. As I gathered the courage to call 911 (never have  before so it was a scary thing for me to do) I saw that the car that hit me was starting to drive off! They didn't get far before the stop light turned red again. While I was on the phone, I ran after the car and took down their license plate number. Also, a witness started to run after the car as well and knocked on their window and told the driver to pull over. They didn't listen and kept on driving. She ran back to me and told me that the drivers were an elderly couple and that they were both bleeding...not to mention that their air bags were deployed as well. She told me she was going to go after them to get them to pull over. I stayed on the phone and was told to wait for the police to arrive. Ten minutes later, I got a call from the police telling me to meet them three blocks up because they were with the elderly couple that hit me. As you can imagine, I was shaking pretty bad but I was more concerned with this couple. My worries increased when I got to the location as there were two cop cars, two ambulance trucks, and a fire truck. The paramedics were both working on the elderly couple. I was quickly informed that they would be both be okay, that the wife sustained some injuries that required her to go to the hospital, and that they were both 90 years old. The witness was able to get the elderly couple to pull over. She told me that when she got there, the husband got out of the car and wanted to know what happened to his car. She said they both didn't realize what happened to them. I felt totally awful at this point and had no amount of anger towards them. I pictured them as my grandparents and was very worried that minor injuries would turn into something greater. Long story short, I exchanged information with the police and Mike and I are now waiting on an estimate for the damages done to his truck. I am still very worried about this couple and have prayed several times since it happened. I am so lucky that this accident was not any worse,  but considering this was my first (and hopefully only) one, I hope to never experience such a shake up. 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Some Wedding Photos...

Cindy Patrick recently posted some of our wedding photos on her blog so take a look! 

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Skiing & Moving Update!

Last weekend Mike and I went skiing on the Sandia Mountains. It was amazing! We had no idea how close the ski resort was to us (only 30 minutes!) or how big it was going to be! It cost about $100 for the two of us to buy half-day passes as well as rentals but come on, that's a great deal! There were probably 30 trails with PLENTY of snow on them. It was kind of eerie at some parts because there were times when Mike and I had the entire trail to ourselves. Here are two videos that we took with our new flip video mino.


In other news, we got new information for when we will be moving to Japan. Originally, we were told that we would be there by the end of Feb. That would have meant that Mike would have completed the N model training in the middle of Jan and then sent off to survival school right after. However, Mike's training at Kirtland has been relatively slow which pushed his completion date til mid Feb, moving survival school mid march, and moving the big move to mid April! That's a mouthful of mmms huh? To sum it all up, we SHOULD be in Japan by the middle of April. 

Anyway, since September, we have both grown accustomed to the idea of living in Japan but still had our worries and anxiety. We knew it would be hard on our family (and us as well) being so far away. We weren't too excited about the idea of having one tv channel and constantly buying phone cards to make long distance calls. We worried about what we would do with our cars (since we have to sell them both) and the possibility of collecting lots of transformers since we only had American appliances. These weren't things that we talked about often, just little moments of concern when we thought about regarding the upcoming move. 

All that changed last Friday when we got a soft little knock on our door. Quick back story, I made a cheap little sign that said "The Quinn's" on the front of our hotel room door. I had to make our hotel room a little homey alright? 
Anyway, we got a knock on our door from Mike's boss who lives out in Japan as well! (He was there on a business trip.) He saw our sign on the door and knew that "The Quinn's" would be PSCing there soon and wanted to see if we had any questions. Of course, Mike was extremely polite and somewhat nervous meeting him for the first time. Me being bold and friendly, I went right in with the questions and found out some pretty neat stuff. He told us all about the houses and what our home will be like. He talked about the free flights that are offered stateside and around the Pacific on a weekly basis. He knew about all of the schools where I will hopefully get a job and about the local community outside of base. Some really exciting things that he told us was that we would be issued an AMERICAN telephone number! That's right, that means no long distance calls on either end! So when we call you or you call us, it will be like using your cell phone! We will also get 50 US channels on the tv. I don't know what they will be but let me tell you, I would be sad to miss out on The Food Network, TLC, and HGTV. Mike would miss his sports...so this news is great for us! Also, he said that buying cars over there are really inexpensive. If you wanted to buy a top of the line car (used of course) we'd pay at most $3000 for it although most people spend around $500 for a car over there. And lastly, he talked about how the base and work environment will become our family. We are SO excited to move there now...make some friends, get settled, go on vacations. We are done living in the hotel room and are so ready for our "new beginning" which seems to be the common theme in our marriage.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Some Nutrition Tips

So I've gotten a few comments from people saying that they have similar health-related resolutions and I wanted to put down some things that I've found helpful in the past (and present.)

The first thing is CARBS. They are not bad despite what a lot of people may say. The important thing is that you eat whole grain carbohydrates and not the white stuff. Examples of whole grain carbs are wheat bread, wheat pasta (Barilla is a good brand), oatmeal, brown rice, and whole wheat couscous. Anything that says "Enriched wheat flour" is not the same thing as whole grain/whole wheat flour so be sure to read the labels. When eating carbs, try on most days to eat them with your breakfast and lunch but not with dinner. This is because carbs are foods that we use for energy and by the end of the night, we're not using as much--therefore the carbs turn into sugar which then turns into fat in your sleep!

A pet peeve of mine that I see people do quite often (myself included when there are no other options) is to eat processed foods. That means ANYTHING that comes from a package. I know a lot of you are busy and don't have time to cook absolutely everything on your own but its SO important to check and see if that packaged food that you're about to eat contains partially hydrogenated oil. This ingredient is very bad and it quite often means that there's trans fat in that product. When you eat trans fat, it aids in clogging your arteries AND the scariest part is that once its in your body, it will stay there for the rest of your life! It is a chemical and should not be eaten! So again, check your labels!

What else? Oh yeah...artificial sweetners=BAD. These things are found in all kinds of things--splenda, diet sodas, some waters, and low-fat or fat-free yogurt. Any kind of artificial sweetner is a chemical. Just think about it. Is it really healthy to drink a sweet drink that has zero calories knowing that it is a chemical? I know a lot of people that love this stuff. I used to drink diet coke all the time in college. Even now, if I feel a craving and there's a diet soda option, I may drink it. It's okay if you have that stuff everyone once in a while, but having it on a daily basis is not a good thing. I mainly drank diet sodas for their carbonation...such drinks made me feel full. Now if I'm at a restaurant, I always order water with lemon. That's it. If seltzer water is an option, then I'll have that with a lemon and still get my carbonated-full feeling! There are so many natural waters at grocery stores that have natural flavorings in them and are carbonated. Get out there and try them!

I know you guys all know that fruits and vegetables are extremely important. Colorful vegetables are great such as peppers, beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, and leafy greens. Eat lots of berries, apples, clemintines and oranges. Just include them in your diet. That's all I need to say.

The main things I can tell you are: don't diet...don't count calories...and don't weigh yourself. Not right now. When just starting off, get used to your new way of eating. It's overwhelming to exercise and eat healthy. There are days when you will go out to eat and dine at a friends house so you won't have an exact routine of what you should eat everyday. That's good because you're training yourself to making healthier choices outside of the comfort of your own kitchen.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

My (Many) Resolutions

Here's my list of resolutions for 2009:

1. I will stop saying bad words...but lets be honest, it's going to take a while. My plan is to limit my foul mouth to one, maybe two bad words a day and then gradually decrease my allowance until I am not saying any naughty words by the end of the month. I need to focus on replacement words such as "fudge" "shnikey" "geez louise" "gosh darn" (Please feel free to provide any other suggestions)
2. I will floss my teeth everyday. I'm honest when I say that flossing is not my favorite thing to do in life and I'm lucky if I squeeze in a good floss twice a week! My dentist says my teeth are great but that's still not an excuse for not keeping my gums healthy. 
3. I will get back on the wagon with a healthy diet. In college, I was great at making sure I had enough fruits, vegetables, and protein throughout the day. Now that I live in a hotel room and don't have a kitchen...it's hard to maintain that balance. I also need to take my vitamins. 
4. I will exercise 5-6 days a week. Sounds like a lot huh? Well, I have done extensive research on health and fitness throughout my life and I'm going to honest when I say I've sort of fallen off the bandwagon. Before thanksgiving, I worked out everyday at the gym and was very happy with my effort...BUT then I'd go home and eat Oreo cookies so that kind of cancelled my exercise out. Heck, last year I was in grad school and worked 30 hours a week and I STILL had time to train for a marathon. It's almost better when you're busy cause you're less likely to develop this laziness. I will make the effort to alternate cardio and strength training every other day. Research says that you burn more calories and fat when you incorporate strength into your exercise regime rather than just cardio alone. This is because your body burns a lot of fat and calories to repair those torn muscles hours after you have left the gym. That sore feeling is a good feeling in other words : ) 

Okay, I think four resolutions is enough for me to conquer this year. It's official. I've posted it on my blog for all of you to see. I understand that I will not see changes overnight, and may not actually master any of these resolutions until the end of next year. But I've got time. 

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

Mike took me on our first mini-honeymoon in downtown Fayetteville. We stayed at the Hilton and ate at a nice restaurant called Pierro's Italian Bistro. We kept it low key by having a drink with dinner and another at the hotel bar. It was exactly how I wanted to spend my new years...although Molly said we were huge nerds cause we didn't go out! 

Trust me, I've had my share of fun outings for the new year--Celebrating the millennium in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, ringing in 2004 and 2006 at Times Square in NYC, and partying in the year 2007 at Wild Bill's in Atlanta. Here's a group of us at Wild Bill's close to Becky and Casey's one year anniversary. 


Now I'm sitting with Mike while watching Clemson play against Nebraska at the Gator Bowl. I enjoy watching Clemson play...although I'll admit I'm not a huge football fan. Plus, when the Tigers start playing bad, that's when Mike starts to get in a bad mood. I am on pins and needles hoping that they play well, otherwise my day won't be so fun : (