I'm back!

Well... it's been a long, long time.  Sorry about that!  I've decided I'd like to continue posting again.  It's a good way to keep people up to date on me and honestly sometimes I like putting my thoughts down or talking about what's been going on with me.

I've also opened up this blog so that anybody can view it.  It used to be password protected.  And honestly, it was because of a few people that I just didn't want to know what's going on with me.  But, I'm going to stop worrying about that. And if you come across this and haven't talked to me in awhile, send me a quick email to say hi!  I'd love to hear from friends or family I haven't talked to in a long time.

So, it's been almost 2 years since I last posted.  What has happened since then?

In December 2009, Dave and I went to Disney with the Hotecks.  We went to "drink around the world" in Epcot, which was a lot of fun.  And stayed in the Boardwalk, which is walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, definitely worth it!

We also tried to get a picture in every country.  I'll have to dig through old pictures, maybe I can add a separate post with the pictures from every country.

In January 2010, I totaled my car in the construction zone on I-76 on my way home.  My back end went out and I hit both sides.  Thank goodness I was ok, just had some black and blue marks and a cut over my eye.  Now our insurance is a lot higher.    But I did get a new car, a Nissan Altima.  I love my car.  (But don't really care for driving so much.  Poor Dave!)

In March 2010, I went to London/Bristol for work.  It was mostly a work trip, but we did some sight seeing in London and I met up with my friend Tammy from middle school/high school.  I'm so glad I got to catch up with her.  And my coworkers were very impressed at how fast she can walk in super high heels, over grates and everything.  LOL.  They still talk about that.

In April 2010, I went with Mandy and Jen to the Jazz Festival in New Orleans.  What an awesome trip (minus some missing Dave!)  It was a very wet weekend and we got used to walking in mud, laying in the sun, and just listening to great music.  I also got to meet a friend who also got married in April 2008, Kristie.  She was so fun and we talked a mile a minute. 

In May, we put our house on the market.  We both hate our commutes and we decided now is the time to try to move if we want to do that.  (BTW, nope, market is waaay too bad.  We ended up taking it off the market and taking advantage of the low mortgage rates by refinancing.)

In August, we made a sibling trip to Savannah, GA.  Megan lives there (beautiful city, I would highly recommend a visit there) so Dave, Allison, and I flew out for the weekend.  It was so fun to get the "kids" together for a weekend.  I'm not sure we've ever been together without the parents. 

In September 2010 Dave and I took a weekend trip to Ohio to visit the Halls of Fame (Football in Canton and Rock and Roll in Cleveland) and we realized Cleveland isn't all THAT bad...  Still not as good as Pittsburgh though.

In October 2010 Dave and I took a trip to Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo.  We went to see the Buffalo Bills play with my cousin Randy and my friend from high school Jill, as well as her husband, Mike.  We also brought back some wine from Niagara on the Lake- and still need to make some ice wine smoothies.  Nom, nom, nom.

In December 2010 I went back to Savannah without Dave for some one-on-one time with my sister, Megan.  Every time I go to Savannah, it rains!!!  So please bring out the sun next time.  We did have fun going on a haunted pub crawl.  You can carry beer out in the streets with you in Savannah, which is pretty unique (same thing in New Orleans- go to Bourbon Street for some great drinking and pick up a hand grenade).

In February 2011, Dave and I went to San Francisco and Napa Valley/Sonoma for wine tastings.  I've always wanted to get out there and Dave acquired a taste for wine (not just the super sweet stuff)!  We brought back two cases worth of wine, all wine that is not available here in PA, especially with the inane liquor laws.  We met up with another friend who got married in April 2008, Alicia, along with her husband Andrew and her newborn daughter, Natalie.  And I love San Francisco, what a great city.  We took public transportation the entire time- I really wish that Pittsburgh had better public transportation.  Also, it happened to be beer week there, which fit in with us just fine!

And that basically brings me back to May 2011!  I went to Arizona (Scottsdale) for work last week.  And we're headed to Toronto and then Muskegon Michigan next week for vacation.