Corn Maze Dayz

Hands down--no questions asked--Fall is certainly my most favorite time of the year. Bittersweet as it is, I always find myself getting most homesick during the months of September and October. Perhaps it's the crisp cool weather, the fact that my favorite color is everywhere (orange), the beautiful array of leaves changing colors before our eyes, or--and I really think this is why--it is because Fall reminds me of family--of apple picking, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, cider drinking fun. Hence, I was excited when I got to travel to Roanoke last weekend, even if it WAS for the H1N1 Vaccine.

After my oh-too-short two day trip home, I convinced mom to come up to Northern Va with me for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday, Justin too was off, and the three of us went to a corn maze/fall festival in The Plains, VA. It was fantastic--and really quenched my thirst for Fall activity that I so look forward to every year.

We enjoyed looking at livestock, going on a hayride around the farmland, watching adorable pumkin-clad kiddies romp in the fields, drinking hot apple cider, eating kettle corn, shopping at quaint Farmer's Market (excellent apples!), and navigating our way through a HUGE corn maze! It was exactly how I would spend everyday if I had it my way! No matter how long I live in Northern Virginia, my heart belongs in the country-- "you can take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can't take the honky tony out of the girl!"

Inappropriate Joking

My husband told me the most fantastic inappropriate joke the other day, and it is totally worth sharing online:

A kindergarten teacher is teaching her class of 5-year-olds how to recognize different foods by taste alone. She has the whole class close their eyes and walks around placing various foods on their tongues. They do excellent with the first several rounds--guessing everything from pineapple to pizza. Then, she walks around and places honey-flavored lifesavers on their tongues. The whole class is puzzled, rolling the candy around inside their mouths and guessing random wrong foods.

"I'll give you a hint," says the teacher, "it's something your mommy calls your daddy at home."

There is a short pause--then one little girl gets it and exclaimes . . .

"Spit it out! Spit it out! Spit it out! They're ASSHOLES!"

I LOVE IT! So, for that very special honey-flavored asshole in your life--share this joke--and say I love you. "I love you, Justin!"

The Many Faces of Maggie Mae

After all this time, I cannot believe I have never paid tribute to my very best friend. So, that being said, I give you-- the many faces of Maggie Mae:

The Regal Face

The Relaxing Face The Brown Eyed Girl Face

The Pouncing Face

The Close Up Face

The Sleepy Face

The I've Had Enough--Stop Taking Pictures of Me Face

The Googly Eyed Face

The Grizzle Face

The I Partied Too Hard Face

Gallagher Wedding

This weekend Justin and I traveled to Philadelphia, PA to celebrate the marriage of our two dear friends Fred and Jill Gallagher. It was such a lovely fall wedding--complete with pumpkins and beautiful, deep autumn colors. Jill looked absolutely stunning in her wedding gown, and Fred looked quite handsome himself. The ceremony was perfect, the food fabulous, and the company unforgetable. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher. We love you both!

Awaiting

Anyone else getting excited? Anyone else think it's been way too long? Anyone else ready to rekindle their obsession? Less than two months to go. --11-20-2009 -- we are all awaiting--
http://www.hulu.com/watch/95474/movie-trailers-the-twilight-saga-new-moon

Almost Famous

We're almost famous! This passed weekend Justin and I traveled home to Roanoke, and the "girls" (mom, Marney, Victoria, and I) went to old Salem Days. More or less as a joke, we let the Roanoke Times "Paparazzi" take a photo of us--and I just found out that it was chosen for the paper today! Hilarious! Unfortunately due to copyright laws, I cannot transfer it to my blog. But, if you're interested, check out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iopaparazzi/3917328129/in/set-72157622362156088/
Gotta love good ole' Roanoke--oh, how I miss you!

Old Friends

Okay, okay, I know, it's been WAY too long since I've posted--but it's been a very busy last week and weekend. However, in this spirit of catching my avid readers up, this post it about celebrating old friends and saying goodbye to them.

On labor day weekend, I drove the 5 hour trip down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to visit my college friend and roommate, Megan. It was so very much worth the drive--not to mention how much it made me appreciate all the times she has driven up to Northern VA to visit Justin and I. What an amazing weekend--I must say, Megan is an excellent host! My first night there we took it easy, having a "girls night in" with Megan's NC friends. This was such an incredible group of girls--I instantly felt comfortable. Kudos to Megs for finding such amazing women in her new hometown--however, we all know they will never compare to her UVa girls--right, Lindsey?

The next day, Megan took me to Old Salem--a tourist area very similar to Colonial Williamsburg. There, we explored the religous society--the single boys home, the tavern, many 18th century home, and the doctor's office (my personal favorite). We had the opportunity to lay in the old-style beds that travelers through Old Salem would have rented for a night's rest. We also explored the original old tavern--complete with 18th Century kegs (haha) and had lunch at the new tavern--still serving traditional meals. My favorite part was exploring the old physican's home. This fella was the doctor, surgeon, phamacist, dentist, and vet for Old Salem during that time period. Talk about a renaissance man!

On Sunday Megan and I went shopping at the outlet mall in Blowing Rock, NC, and spent a quiet night playing UVaopoly--in which I very graciously allowed Megan to beat me--ha! Then, Megan took me to her work at Baptist Hospital to show me her unit and introduce me to her nursing colleagues. What an excellent reunion between old friends--I am much looking forward to our annual Halloween rendez-vous in the near future--you too, Linds!

* * *

This passed week also included a bittersweet "goodbye" to a friend--Brody. Although it was a difficult decison, Justin and I decided to find another home for our 8-month-old Mini Schnauzer. (For those who are wondering, yes, we still have Maggie). Brody was a fabulously cute ball of energy--one that with two people working full time, needed more attention. Brody left us on Tuesday evening--he went to live with a family in Gainesville with several children. We have spoken to his new owner, Henry, a highschool senior, a couple of times--and Brody is doing very well--spending his days at the dog park and getting over his fear of the family's bunny rabbits. As you can see, he was all bark and no bite! We are so thankful that God led us to Henry and that Brody has found a loving home where he is now the center of attention and affection. We will forever love you and miss you good buddy.

80 Years a Blessing

Can you imagine living for 80 years? Well, Justin's Mammaw has done it--and she's done it with so much grace and beauty. This weekend Justin and I took a roadtrip down to Chilhowie, Virginia to celebrate his Mammaw's (grandmother) 80th birthday. The party was a surprise to her--she thought she was just going to the Outback Steakhouse with one daughter--but instead about 50 family and friends gathered at Sharon's beautiful home to celebrate Mammaw's life. When she turned around and saw Justin standing there, her face was just priceless! It was well worth the 10-hour road trip for that moment alone.
During the trip we also got to spend some rare but quality time with Justin's wonderful dad, George. As you can see from the photos, there's no mistaking that Justin is his daddy's boy. We also spent time with lots of Justin's family that we haven't seen since our wedding--over one year ago. Also, I met Justin's half-sister, Carmen, for the first time. It was really neat just relaxing on the couch and chatting with my new sister-in-law. What a great reminder this trip was of how wonderful the country and country people are. Sometimes in our busy lives in the DC Metro area it's easy to forget our roots and to get swept up in the traffic, and noise, and chaos of the city. This weekend, however, we got the opportunity to relax on Sharon's front porch overlooking the pond and horse stables. It was so peaceful--the lull of the country nearly put both of us to sleep. In the end, however, the weekend was really all about Mammaw. So, that being said, Happy 80th Birthday, Mammaw--we love you so much!

Pure Unadulterated Bliss

And just when I thought I wasn't going to have any blogworthy material--we hear, yes my friends, an ice cream truck! After having hotdogs on the grill, Justin went outside to mow the lawn while I started to clean house (ahh, domestic life). When he was finished, we look a moment to just lie down on the floor of the office just to quietly chat.

"Shh, do you hear that?" Justin asks.

"Yeah, it's really high pitched," I reply.

"What are you talking about, it sounds like a ticking," (we're obviously not talking about the same noise at this point)

"No, it's like a dinging," I persist.

* * * s i l e n c e * * * l i s t e n i n g * * * and D I T T O * * *

"ICE CREAM TRUCK!!!"

Quickly, we scamper to our feet. Justin runs out the front door calling beind him "Do you have any cash? Bring cash! Hurry!" I scurry over the dogs' baby gate, grab my wallet, back over the baby gate, and out the front door. There it is--first time in my 23 years of life--a real ice cream truck playing "Pop! Goes the Weasel" in front of my house! Pure unadulterated bliss. The whole day has been worth its while.

Just Grillin'

Today's agenda:

1. Wake up early enough to get ready for work and take care of two doggies singlehandedly.

2. Go to work, weigh babies, measure babies, make babies laugh, make babies cry (more often than not--vaccines hurt), clean up after babies.

3. Celebrate Dottie's 80th birthday with a potluck with my colleagues at Crestwood--this lady is amazing; 80 years young and still working part time in our peds office.

4. Travel 10 mins to our new location and spend the rest of the afternoon cranking out well check ups and school form like it's my job--oh wait, it is. :)

5. Come home to my wonderful husband and two doggies standing on their hind legs to greet me.

6. Have the hubby cook steak kabobs and corn on the grill--yummy! No, we did not marinate or skewer the steak and veggies onto sticks--that, my friends, is why Wegman's exists.

7. Eat dinner with Justin, duel on guitar hero with Justin, watch Hell's Kitchen with Justin, do R-rated things with Justin, settle down to blog as Justin sleeps by my side.

8. Get up tomorrow--and do it all over again! Well, most of it, that is.