Pictures...

Here are some pictures of our Hot Air Balloon "ride" and Our second Snow in MA. (Didn't get around to taking pictures of snow #1!!) Got Snow (not much) # 3 yesterday, and expecting MORE today. Still getting used to MA, that is for sure!

 

Our view while we were up... (first picture is where we took off from-  it didn't take long @ all to get pretty high!!)

Looking up into the Balloon:

And, Post Crash... (doesn't it look all sad? :( )

And this was what our house looked like the day we drove to WV for Christmas... (yes, it was still snowing! ) When we got home, all the snow was gone! Crazy, huh!?

Our Exciting Hot Air Balloon Ride.. (well, sort of ride...)

So, Have i got a story for you all. (I will add pictures later, if MH will attach his camera.. my camera wire is @ home...)

So, In May 2006, Hubs (then BF) decided to propose to me in a hot air balloon (my secret dream actually, which he swears he didn't know!). Well, it didn't work out bc of the winds being to high, so he went with his back up route (which was fine). He paid in advance though, so an extra engagement gift (on top of my beautiful ring) was that I would eventually get to go on a hot air balloon ride (a life long dream of mine).

WELL. We have tried to do this 3x now. Once the weather didnt cooperate and we didnt even bother trying, another time we drove all the way to where the place is, (1.5 hrs from my Dads house) to only arrive to a sudden storm coming up and being unable to lift off.

But yesterday takes the cake.

We got there, and we were the only people on this flight, so that was exciting. Weather is cooperating- but i said to DH- I am holding my breath until we are actually IN THE AIR. Well, apparantly I should have kept holding it.

We helped fill the balloon and got in the basket and got going.. I was so excited we were finally doing this! Yay!! This euphoria lasted for about 5 minutes, when the balloon guy goes to add a little more heat (you don't leave it constantly burning, just a little burst every few minutes) and the burner didn't go. No big deal, I thought, I remembered him putting the lighter thingie in the balloon before we took off. Well he sparks it a few times, and NADA.

SRSLY.

So I am watching the guy, thinking, hmm he looks a little panicked. Then He looks around and he is firmly saying, OK, this is a good spot, we are going down. NOW. It is going to be tooo fast, so hold on. Are you holding on? HOLD ON. Ok but it is a good spot. HOLD ON. (Fortunately this all happened very quickly, so we didn't have time to get scared. In fact, I was kind of thinking, OF COURSE this would happen to us!).

We crash landed into a tree, so we were all fine, except for the balloon. It will definitely be an expensive repair. :( It took us nearly an hour to extract the balloon from the tree (the basket itself eventually settled on the ground, so we got out easily).

The guy has never had all the flames go out and not been able to relight before , that was a first in over 800 flights in 10 years. LUCKY US. Maybe I should go play the lottery? LOL. He told us he was worried that we might break some ankles (glad he didnt say that when we were actually falling!!) So we were actually falling a lot faster than I felt like we were. Fast enough that one of his cousins or something saw us when he was dropping his daughter off @ school and thought, WHOA that ain't right... and stopped and helped us get the balloon off. So I guess we were really falling fast!

New News...

So, in case you don't follow me on Twitter, I have some news! I am starting to sell my scarves! Woohoo! It is mostly just for fun.. .but who doesn't mind a wee bit O cash, too?!  To the right I have posted the link to my shop and my new blog, which I will (hopefully) be updating often with updates about me and my shop, what I am knitting, and also other things I've found that are cool on etsy... If I get a good enough following on twitter and etsy, I may try to do a giveaway (not just my items) or something over on that blog... so it is worth checking out!! :) Plus, I'd really appreciate it! 

That's it for now...i wrote a good one yesterday, so i figure this could be a short, shameless plug...

http://cablegal.etsy.com

http://cablegals.blogspot.com

One Year...

Ok, So I am a little late posting my One Year Blog...but we had a busy week!

I can't believe we've been married for a year! It's SO crazy to me.. it feels like yesterday I was freaking out trying to pack up everything to drive to Chesapeake Beach for the wedding. At the same time, it has been SUCH a busy year, it sometimes feels a lot longer than only one...

So, since Oct 27th, 2007:

I have moved 2x (brian only once:)

Lived in 3 states due to those moves.

Spent more time in a hotel than I EVER have in my life. 

Travelled to California and Alabama for the first time (for me)

Saw the Pacific Ocean and Disneyland, LA  and San Diego for the first time!

Travelled to or through the following states: NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, PA, MD, VA, TN, CA, AL, GA, NC, FL, WV-- that is 17!! That is a THIRD of the US. That is insane, by the way!

Went to Mexico for the first time (again, for me...B is much more travelled than i!)

Went to @ least 3 weddings...

Seen like, 10 of our friends have babies! (or get pregnant)!

and that of course, is just the tip of the iceberg... The real stuff, the important stuff... that is too much to ever list! we have grown so much, learned so much about each other.. It hasn't all been fun and games folks! (if you've ever been in any relationship, you would know that! LOL. ) But the good that comes from the fighting always makes it worth it.. Hopefully year two will make us even more patient and loving with each other! God has revealed Himself so much to me through B.. Marriage is definitely a powerful tool of the Holy Spirit... I hope that I will continue to seek God's heart for our marriage in the coming year...even more so than last year! 

I can't wait to see what He brings next year!! 

I am a bad, bad blogger...

But, what can you do!?

TN Travels, Part 2.  well... really, our way home from TN...

On our way home, we stopped to see my dear friend Genelle and her hubby Josh... they happened to be going to Josh's parents for the night the same time we were going to be driving through VA! it 

was great to see them, of course! 

B got to take some pictures in Shenandoah National Park while we were waiting for J &G to arrive in Staunton.

We then tried to do our hot air balloon ride... but it wa

s a bust, again! Maybe Christmas time it will work out...

We stopped by my Dad's for a quick visit, which was awesome! I'm such a daddy's girl... 

Then we continued on to State College, PA, home of B's alma mater...you may have heard of it... PENN STATE!  And, for labor day weekend, Lori and Dustin Butler's wedding! :) We had a blast @ the wedding and in state college... We loved catching up with so many of our wonderful friends-- PSU weddings are like reunions!  B and I met up with our friends Colin and Liz... they had to introduce me to "Nittany":

But the best part (for me!) was getting to meet all the new future Penn State-ers!  I think 4 PSU babies (maybe more, I can't remember!) were born in the 7 weeks before this wedding! So I got to enjoy holding and cooing over all the babies!!

Okay, that's One (mini) post down... I may even post again later today to continue w/ my catch up!

Not a real blog update...

I have spent the morning reading this awesome (but very sad) blog... this family is going through a VERY difficult time right now, and their faith is awesome... I hope to never have to face what they are facing..but if I do, I pray that I will have the faith that Stacy has, the knowledge that He Will Carry Me...

I really encourage you to click on the link and spend sometime reading the past blogs of Stacy, that explain where she, her husband Spencer, and their son, Isaac... 

It is challenging to think that in the face of such sadness that our God IS a good God...that he has a plan for us.. 

I have some friends in MD who went through a similar thing last year. I attended their baby's funeral, and i was struck then, too, how awesome their faith was.

If you want to know more about the God that Stacy & her family are clinging to after reading her blogs, just ask me. 

I will try to post a real update later!

okay okay okay! TN Travels, Part 1!

Alright, I know I have taken for-EVAH to update! But I've had a lot going on! :) After 3 weeks in TN, I had kitties to re-bond with, a house to clean, etc! I will probably post a few updates about our TN travels...

First of all, if you don't get the new blog title, it's because you are seriously un-cool... Just kidding! It's a reference from my most favorite show (anyone know it?!) Friends! It is from an episode in season seven. You can see the clip on Youtube, Here. 

Joey: "all right, Rach. The big question is, "does he like you?" All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point. "

Rachel: "Huh. A moo point?"

Joey: "Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. It's moo. "

Rachel: "Have I been living with him for too long, or did that all just make sense?"

ah, one of my most favorite Friends moments!

Well, we drove down to TN by way of Baltimore, MD to see my favorite niece, Charlotte-O.(and her parents, who happen to be my favorite Brother and Sister in Law!) It was too short of a visit, but it was great to see them again! I miss them lots! I am looking forward to going with them to the Outer Banks in October, where my Dad has rented a Beach house! Woot!

We got to TN, where B went to work learning important stuff about nuclear reactors... don't ask me about it though, cuz i totally don't get it! I am the lucky one, cause I got to play all day everyday with my in laws! :) Ann and I went and had tea at a fancy tea room (owned by a British woman!) and did LOTS of shopping!

I got an early Christmas gift- golf clubs! I am learning to golf (sort of!) and so I got to go to the driving range and try out my new clubs with B and his Dad! Yea!! B and Bruce did play one game one day, and B did really good! :)

We also got to go to the Tennessee Aquarium, which was AWESOME. The day we went the penguins were SO active! They were sooo cute, and of course, reminded me why they are my most favoritest animal! The aquarium has two sides, a river side and an ocean side... it is seriously huge! we did it on two separate days! They also had interactive parts... I got to touch a sting ray and a sturgeon! There was a butterfly sanctuary which was also pretty neat. We also did a boat ride on the TN River, which was cool, but we were hoping to have seen a little more wildlife. (Saw LOTS of blue herons though!)

We had lunch in Georgia with Ann's brother and sister and their spouse's, which was really cool! I had never met Uncle Pat & his wife before, so I was really glad to finally do so!

We also got to eat dinner on the REAL Chattanooga Choo Choo! They had a restaurant in an authentic dining car! It was soo cool, and yummy too!

We also went down to GA to go to the World of Coke. Both B and I had been there before, but the two southerner's (Ann and Bruce) had not! Anyway, since we were there last the world of coke has moved to a completely new location, at the Olympic Park where the 1996 Olympic Opening Ceremonies was held. It was totally different than the last time I had been there! Of course I LOVED it! We also got to eat @ the Varsity, which is near GA Tech (Bruce's Alma Mater) and it is the world's largest drive in restaurant. It was cool! ( and Yummy!). On our way home (after B took pictures @ olympic park @ sunset...) we stopped at a LEDO's!!! For those who don't know....Ledo's Pizza originally opened in College Park, MD and is the greatest pizza in the world! And B and I have been missing it!! It was so good to get it again!

That's a good summary of our 3 weeks. I will post another one about all that we did on our trip home!

You can see all the pic's that I have (so far. i don't have B's), Here. *

*when i originally typed this there were  lots of pictures.. but i entered them wrong, andi am too lazy to enter them again. So just click on the link :)