I Should Really............

blog more. But until the 30 pages of research papers, group project, presentation, and exam are over, it won't be happening. Only 2 more weeks to go and how I will get it all done, I have no clue! Until then, pray that I don't go crazy. Here is a picture of my current appearance. Maybe there will be some blogging of the wonderful silver lining of Ally's visit to Ohio...only 2 more days! 

Our First Snow

This past weekend we had a few flurries and then on Tuesday morning we woke up to about 2 or 3 inches of accumulation. Right now it is 27 degrees outside and it's only November. I can't imagine what January and February will feel like!

This weekend's flurries

It didn't stick this weekend but they were some of the biggest flakes I've ever seen!

Very early Tuesday morning

A Late Halloween Post & Some Chaotic House Pictures

Sorry this is so late but I wanted to post some pictures of Forrest and me carving our pumpkin. We bought this pumpkin at church in Cleveland about a week before we left for the Bahamas. We then packed it in my car along with a knife so that we could carve it on Halloween. Here's how it turned out:

Also, here are a few pictures of our house in progress. The first thing we did when we got our keys was start cleaning the walls. We got a powder called Trisodium phosphate (TSP) that you mix with water and roll on the wall. We wiped EVERYTHING down with this stuff. And I mean everything. Then we caulked all of the cracks and around every window and molding. After that we cut and taped all windows and put paper on the floors upstairs to protect them from paint. We also covered the kitchen cabinets and doors. Next came the paint sprayer. We rented one from Sherwin Williams and sprayed primer on the entire house, ceiling, walls, doors, and windows. Basically anything that didn't have paper or carpet over it. We did the primer on a Saturday night and because it smelt so bad we had to get a hotel room! Don't let the Killz bucket fool you. It's not low odor! The next day we returned to Sherwin Williams and bought our wall paint, a low VOC, environmentally friendly, NO ODOR paint! It was wonderful. We then sprayed all of the walls upstairs and downstairs, except the kitchen, bathroom and 3rd bedroom. I'll paint those another color later. The Sunday night before the movers came we ripped up the carpet downstairs and pulled lots of carpet tack. Since then, we've been finishing all of the trim and touching up the walls. There is still a lot to do but I will post the first pictures now and later I will post ones of a more finished product. 

We're Back!

We're back from an amazing honeymoon to the Bahamas! We had a wonderful time and even got a little bit of sun. It was so refreshing to have a relaxing week at the beach and get away from the cold of Ohio. By the way, it snowed here last night! But it was gone by the time the sun came up. We left for our trip on the 18th of October and came back this past Saturday (the 25th). Yesterday and today the movers have been packing our things at the apartment and are now loading up their truck. It is absolute chaos. In a couple of hours I will no longer be a Cleveland resident but by tomorrow afternoon, a homeowner! Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying in a hotel and tomorrow afternoon we close on our home. This weekend we will be working very hard to get the house cleaned up, painted and ready for the movers on Monday, all while Forrest and I try to get caught up on our work from last week. For now, here are a few pictures of our week in the Bahamas. :)

Waiting in the Detroit airport for our 1st plane. Forrest had just surprised me with 1st class plane tickets! :)

Our beautiful beach

More of the beautiful beach which came with tike huts!

More beach

Some of the resort

Where we stayed

Beach

The resort's pool

Waiting for the ferry to take us to Port Lucaya for dinner

Our New Home

It's finally here. After months of not knowing when or where we're moving, we finally know! As of October 29th, we will be closing on a home in the Toledo area. I will post some pictures below so that everyone can see what the house looks like. Keep in mind that it was built in 1929 and needs some work. However, we're very excited to move to a home that we know we'll be in for at least 5 years. If any of you have home fixer upper skills and want to come help, we'd love you have you! :) The house is 3 bedrooms/1.5 baths and is two stories, plus a basement. It is situated in a little town outside of Toledo, a block and a half from the center of the downtown area. Here are some pictures of our future home.

Date Night

This past Saturday, Forrest and I did something we haven't done since we've been married. We went out for sushi! :) We went downtown (Cleveland) to a place called Sushi Rock. It was so good. Definitely a place to visit again. Here are a couple of pictures of us and our dinner.

ABC World News at BGSU

This Just IN.........

On October 7th, Charles Gibson will be anchoring ABC World News from Bowling Green's Campus. I first heard about it this morning on the news and again today in my campus email. They are visiting BGSU as part of ABC News' seven-city bus tour through closely contested election "battleground" states. There is also a presidential debate scheduled that evening in Nashville which Gibson will be co-anchoring from BG. Hopefully you all will be able to watch and maybe see a little of what I see just about everyday. BG is not a large town so this is pretty exciting as you can imagine. Maybe I'll even get to be on tv....who knows?

The Country Jam

Yesterday Forrest, Joe, Dan and I went to WGAR's Country Jam. There was food, great music and lots of people. The lineup for the day was: Lawless, Crystal Shawanda, James Otto, Lady Antebellum, Phil Vassar, Diamond Rio, and Dierks Bentley. Here are some pictures from the day. 

That's right....it's the beginning of September and we're wearing long sleeves and long pants!

Phil Vassar....we were able to get really close. He puts on a great show!

Lady Antebellum....they were great too!

Joe, Forrest, and Dan

Forrest taking a little nap :)

Joe & Dan

ITS OFFICIAL.........

I'm a graduate student! Today was my first day of orientation at Bowling Green State University. I will be there all week becoming oriented and learning my way around. Classes officially start a week from today but my first one isn't until Wednesday. I'm only a little scared because we've already started talking about our thesis and classes haven't even began! Oh dear...I've dreaded this for as long as I knew what a thesis paper was. Who knows what mine will be on but I have been assured that I still have time to figure that out. It feels strange to be on a campus that's not NC State or Meredith but BGSU is beautiful and I'm excited to learn more about the school I'll be attending for the next 2 years. 

Our New TV

As you all know, since Forrest and I have been married, I have been staying at home working on my new job....wife! While I am at home I like to catch up on the news and other various programs while doing the housework. I must admit I mostly enjoy having the TV on just for the noise it provides. This is the main TV we own and it lives in our living room.

Every month we sit down and work through our budget for that particular month. Well, when the electric bill came this month I anxiously opened it, hoping we had done better than last month and immediately put it down and hoped Forrest wouldn't see it for a long time! We had not done better than last month, but far worse and exceeded our electric budget by over $30! Apparently, our big screen TV sucks up all of our energy. Who knew? Well, graciously the Lord has provided me with a wonderfully smart and creative husband. After seeing the bill, he doesn't say a word, but sits there with his mouth wide open. After trying so hard no to laugh at his reaction, he says, "you know, Mom gave me a tv to take to the race track. I wonder if I still have it?" So off he goes to the attic to look. Low and behold he comes back with a huge smile on his face and says "Here it is!" I take a look at the box and cautiously open it. Inside is this:

So we now have a 5 inch black and white tv accompanied with radio and flash light. See Below:
We now own a tv in the kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. Note the handle so that we can take it to any room we want! If it saves money....I'm all for it. So when you think of me watching tv you know exactly what 5 inch, black and white screen I'm watching. :)

Holy Toledo!

Okay, so I was doing some research and found that the phrase "Holy Toledo" refers to Toledo, Spain, not where we're moving. But I thought it was fitting to announce that we are moving! After settling down here for about 2 months, we have felt the Lord calling us to pack up and move to Toledo for Forrest's job. It may not seem like the most desirable place since anywhere in NC seems to be first choice for all of our family and friends. But a position opened there a couple of months ago and around the same time Forrest needed to begin looking for a more permanent position with his company. Toledo was not a location that we were instantly excited about...I even said "Absolutely NOT!" How's that for eating my words? We begin to pray and little by little doors to other positions closed, I found a school to apply to, and our hearts began to change toward the city. We even spent a Saturday driving around and found some great areas and best of all, a Target! It is now a done deal, Forrest has signed on the dotted line and we are waiting for our relocation package to become available. We have no idea when we will start the moving process nor when we will be settled. We do know that there will be a transition period where Forrest will work from Toledo three days out of the week and spend two days in his current office. After spending a few weeks in the city he will then be responsible for finding an office for the company to purchase or lease because he is the only sales engineer for the city at this time. There is interest from the company in adding another person within a year and we are praying that this will be something they are diligent in following through with. We will also be purchasing a house by the end of the year which is very exciting. We have been looking online and twice I have found my tiny dream home and twice they have been sold. :( So we are also praying there will be another affordable home that we love at the time we are ready to buy. There are a lot of things going on right now but we are so excited to see what marvelous things the Lord has in store for us in our new city. 

We were so blessed to travel to NC this past weekend for Jeff and Lindsey's wedding. The wedding was outside and the weather was beautiful. We got to see a lot of college friends at the wedding also. It was just what we needed since it was at our wedding that we last saw any of them. Forrest and I stayed at a little bed and breakfast near by, which was wonderful! Our room was amazing, Ellen & Jerry were so friendly and hospitable and best of all, Ellen cooked a gourmet breakfast on Sunday. We didn't want to leave! Here are some pictures from the wedding.

On the porch of the B&B

The beautiful bride

The happy couple along with the NC State guys

The wedding party waiting to be announced

Cutting the cake

The cutest barn where the food was served and where the wedding party sat

After dancing

Me & Alyse...I miss her :)

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” - Oscar Wilde

This past Saturday, Forrest surprised me with matinee tickets to see the Broadway show Jersey Boys. It is a musical about Fankie Valli & the Four Seasons and won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2006. It is here in Cleveland until this weekend and was a phenomenal show. Below are some pictures of us at the State Theatre in Cleveland's Playhouse Square on Saturday.

The outside of the theatre

The Ohio Theatre is next door

Playhouse Square

Outside getting ready to go in

The lobby of the theatre before they were seating

Forrest and me outside the theatre

The ceiling of the theatre

Fun drink menu at the bar. Note the influence the song names have on the drink name.

Me and Forrest before the play

On Sunday after church, Forrest and I park off-site and as we were walking back to our car we came across this:

This deer was hanging out in the yard by the road. We were about 500 ft from her.

After church we spent the afternoon at the pool. Here are some pictures.