My Best Friend's Wedding

Over this long Columbus Day weekend, I was lucky enough to celebrate one of my favorite couples as they officially became Mr. & Mrs. Jenny was the very first friend I made at Virginia Tech. We met on the first day of classes, at our very first class. We clicked right away and were best friends ever since. We lived together for 3 years in Blacksburg and became like sisters (although she already has 2 awesome sisters!) To this day, we continue to refer to each other as soulmates because of our chance meeting at our very first college class, and the similarities between the two of us.

On Thursday, I headed up to North Beach, Maryland. We had lunch with some of Jenny's family members and other bridal party members and then lounged at the Inn at Herrington on the Bay before the rehearsal festivities that evening. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. We practiced the ceremony and then headed to a tented area for crabs and BBQ. It was a great way to kick-off Jenny's wedding!

The Bridal Party

Jenny, the beautiful bride

Bethany, another VT roommate, and Andy

Friday morning, the girls woke up early and headed into town to get our hair done, which was quite an experience in and of itself! We have many stories from that trip to the hair salon :) After our appointments, we headed back to the Inn to hang with the bride in her suite as she got ready. It was a pretty low-key, relaxed morning of wedding prep. Around 3pm, we got in the limo and headed to the ceremony site for Jenny & Kirk's first reveal. We took lots of pre-ceremony pictures and then got ready for the big show!

Herrington on the Bay

Beautiful Bride and her dad

Bridal Party

Soulmates

The Saulitis'

The Friedman's cutting the cake

VT Roomies

Bethany lived with Jenny and I sophomore year

Julie & Amy

Carly, yet another Hokie roommate

 Jenny was a beautiful bride and the fall weather was absolutely perfect for a wedding on the water. I couldn't have picked a better husband for Jenny... he is the perfect match for her, as she is for him. I am so excited to officially call them the Friedman's! Congratulations Jenny & Kirk, and thank you for letting me be a part of your big day!

Virginia Tech vs Clemson

Nothing like a little family rivalry. My beloved Hokies and Andy's beloved Tigers met in Blacksburg last weekend so we took a little road trip down south to watch the game. This is the 3rd time we have played each other since Andy and I have been together. Virginia Tech won the first two match-ups. Unfortunately for me, the Tigers finally took one from us this time around.

We headed down to Blacksburg Friday after work and got to head downtown and visit with friends for a little bit. Saturday morning we started our tailgate at 10am. The weather was a mix of sun and clouds, but it was COLD! We were lucky enough to meet up with a lot of my Hokie friends and even some of Andy's Clemson friends and tailgate altogether. We had a blast hanging out before the game. I was sad that my Hokies did not give us a great game that evening, but the weekend was still a great time for all of us and it was nice to get back down to Blacksburg for some fabulous fall football! Go Hokies!

10 Year Anniversary of September 11th

 10 years ago, I was a senior at Annandale High School. It was a morning like any other for the beginning of a new school year. The sun was shining, not a cloud was in the sky. I was headed to my athletic training class and heard the word spread in the hallways that something had happened to one of the twin towers in New York. As soon as I got into class, our teacher turned the TV on CNN and we watched to see what was happening. It was a morning of confusion, fear, sadness, anger, and helplessness. I vividly recall watching the 2nd plane hit the second tower live. We all wondered, was that a replay of the first? What was happening? There can't have been another plane that accidentally flew into a building. Later the reports came in about the plane crashing into the Pentagon, and the plane crashing in Pennsylvania. The word 'terrorism' reigned through the halls. No school work got done that day. We were all glued to the TV screens in every classroom. My fellow students were comforting each other, hugging in hallways, supporting friends trying to reach their parents via phone who worked in the Pentagon. After school, a bunch of my neighborhood friends came over to my parents house. We wanted to do something. But what can you do at a time so desperate? We decided we would all go together to donate blood, but when we arrived, they turned us away, saying they had an influx and to come back another time. So we decided to drive past the Pentagon that night. I will never forget the images of the black charred building, the smoke still lingering in the air, and the eerie quiet that permeated Washington D.C.  I remember it like it was yesterday.

I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't personally know anyone lost on that tragic day. But that didn't stop me from crying, or missing them, or feeling pain and anguish. Even today. I have spent much of today brought to tears. I woke up this morning and re-watched the coverage from that September morning 10 years ago. I've seen countless commercial dedications, and tributes at sports events. I have been moved to tears for those families who were torn apart that day. The hardest part for me is how unfathomable it is for people in this world to have so much hatred that they could prepare, initiate and carry out such a despicable plan. And how those people sleep at night.

My wish for the future is that every child will get to live in a world where acts of terror and hatred do not exist. I think of my kindergarten students who were not even born on 9/11/2001. They are so blissfully unaware of how horrific that day was and is for so many Americans. I can only pray that those brave soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and all of the people who choose, everyday, to stand up and protect our country and our freedom, are successful. My gratitude for the people who defend this country can never be put into words. Tonight, I think especially of the innocent lives lost that day, the families who will forever be affected, the brave men and women who worked to save lives and sacrificed their own safety in the process, and the solders who fight each and everyday to keep our great nation safe. God Bless America.

New Addiction

A few weeks ago, I began to notice friends and co-workers posting and discussing this thing called "pinterest". Of course I was curious, so I joined to see what all the fuss was about. What a mistake!

Pinterest is a networking site where you can build your own virtual pinboards. I've only been a member for about a week and I have 5 pinboards already! Addicted.

Pinterest is such a simple concept- I wish I had thought of it! During my wedding planning days, I used to google images of floral arrangements, table settings, dresses, color schemes... the works! Back in those "old days", I simply saved the images I liked to a folder on my computer's desktop. When I was decorating my house a few years ago, I would save images to another folder for decor inspiration. Well, pinterest is just another way of saving your favorite inspirational images! I totally could have invented this! :)

I am definitely enjoying finding pictures of fall decor, classroom crafts, home style, and yummy foods! I have gotten some great ideas and am definitely a huge fan of pinterest! Join so I can see what images YOU find inspiring! :)

Jenny's Bachelorette

Last weekend, I got to celebrate one of my best friends from Virginia Tech's bachelorette party! The original plan was to head to Ocean City for the weekend and party with the beautiful bride-to-be, but Hurricane Isabel changed that plan. Instead, we relocated to downtown Washington D.C. We checked into the Dupont Hotel for the weekend and enjoyed some delicious meals out, some fabulous cocktails, and some great quality time with new and old friends :)

Girls Pregaming in the hotel

Out in Dupont with the Bride

Jenny and her two fabulous sisters

Jenny & I enjoying the bottomless Bellini bar

Room decor

Cake my mom made for Jenny

Beautiful Bride-to-be

Cutting the cake

Great weekend! Cheers to Jenny!

Thanks for being such a fabulous bachelorette Jenny! I know I am so looking forward to October when you and Kirk officially become Mr & Mrs!

Current Obsessions

Archer Farms trail mixes! You can find these delicious salty & sweet treats at Target and are fairly inexpensive. I've tried the Monster Mix, Caramel Chews Mix, and the Black & White Mix. They are ALL yummy, but I think the Caramel Chew is my favorite... although my next buy will be the Smores Mix. Mmmm!

I've been spending A LOT of my "summer vacation" learning on the go to become a volleyball coach. I've spent many hours working at conditioning with the girls at the high school I will be coaching at in the fall, worked at a high school sponsored camp for a week, and I even made the trip down to Chapel Hill, NC to attend the team camp at UNC for 4 days. I had the opportunity to watch other coaches in action and get back into volleyball mode. I even got to sleep in a dorm (yuck!) I am hoping all these hours put in will only help as when the official season begins with tryouts on Monday!

Summertime means my FAVORITE reality show! I have watched many, many, many seasons of big brother and am ALWAYS addicted! The best part? It's on 3 nights a week because there are so few new shows on in the summer months! I got Andy into the show a few years ago, so it had become one of our favorite evening activities to do together during the summertime. My favorite people this season are 2 returning guests from a previous season, Jeff and Jordan. We are hoping Jeff wins the game this summer since Jordan already won her season previously!

Summer Reads

Here's a few items I have recently purchased and enjoyed on my fabulous Kindle this summer. I absolutely LOVE the Kindle and love reading for pleasure during the summer months even more! Check some of these out if you haven't yet:

 The Hunger Games Trilogy was FASCINATING! I wasn't quite sold on the book's summary, but one of my best friend's who teaches middle school assured me that I would love them and be addicted despite the strange premise. I highly recommend reading the series- even though the description sounds a little sci-fi. I could not put these books down and was so sad when I finished the 3rd and final book! Definitely a must read before the movies come out that are already in production!

 Another must read before the movie comes out! Another best friend recommended this book to me and I was not disappointed. It started off a little slow, but it turned out to be a great read about life in the South during the 50's and 60's. I am definitely looking forward to this movie as well!

A fun summer beach read. I read this by the pool and beach in the Bahamas. It was a light, easy book. I enjoyed it enough to check out a few other books by Elin Hilderbrand.

Really enjoyed this one! It had a little more of a dark side to it than Barefoot, but it was another great easy summer read. This story chronicled the lives of 4 different couples who had a long history and were best friends. One night, one of the couples goes out on their boat and never returns. Many secrets and twists and turns then take place, revealing the true bonds between this group of lifelong friends. I enjoyed this one!

This was the last Hilderbrand book I read so far, and it was also pretty entertaining. Also a little more twisted than Barefoot, as it shared the story of 3 best friends who go out for an annual night swim on Nantucket Island on Labor Day weekend where they feast lavishly, drink, and share their deepest darkest secrets. But one summer, one of the ladies goes missing in the water. From there, their secrets become secrets no more and all of their lives change forever. Another good, easy pool read.

 

 I am currently in the process of finishing this book. It's a cute read. Definitely makes you laugh out loud at the things the author portrays dogs as thinking of humans and the world we live in. This story follows 1 dog throughout his multiple experiences as a dog. It definitely confirms the idea that a dog is a man's best friend. A sweet read, although I will admit I did cry a few times throughout. This is a short book and a quick read that will make you laugh a little and cry a little.

I am hoping to finish at least 1 more book before my summer comes to an end and school begins again. Any suggestions?!