A Year of Gratitude: Lindsey

Last month my Mom was the recipient of the gratitude card. I think I made her day with it, she may or may not have shed a tear! I'm glad I was able to make her feel special with a little card.

This month, for the fourth card, I sent it to my friend Lindsey. Me and Lindsey have been friends f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Way back in kindergarten we used to walk to school together. Told ya, forever! We were friends all throughout school, even though we didn't really hangout with the same crowds. She was a bridesmaid and awesome speech giver at our wedding. And since I've moved to North Carolina she has been the only friend to come visit...sometimes more than once a year!

But really, the reason Lindsey received this months card is because she is a fantastic friend. We always pick up right where we left off. When I'm home she doesn't rely on me to make plans, she'll pick up the phone and say "I'm headed over to pick you up, lets go to lunch." And when she pulls in the driveway she looks at me and says "are we drinking today?" and when I say "yes" she says, "good, cuz if you said no...I was going to suggests brunch so we could have mimosas."

That, right there, ladies and gentlemen.....is a great friend!

Thank you, Lindsey, for being you!

I Went to Boston!

Every year around this time,  I go on vacation. One year it was St. Thomas, then Aruba, Jamaica, and Disney two years in a row. So, this is the first time in a long time that I didn't have a vacation planned. But I had the itch, so on a whim Wednesday morning I purchased tickets and left Thursday morning for Boston!

I was in Boston by 10AM on Thursday. My first stop? To visit my sister and her new puppy! I was so excited to meet Maggie! She was crazy when I first met her, eating my hair, biting my fingers, and playing fetch. She's just so damn cute!

I didn't tell my Dad I was coming up, so next up I had to surprise him! And he was SO surprised! That night Mom made dinner and we had some fun just hanging out around the house.

Friday I visited with my great-grandmother and grandparents. Me and Mom did some shopping. Tried to watch Lincoln (yawn) and did some more shopping. That night me and Michelle went out for dinner. Thank goodness the beer flights were good because it's probably the worst meal I've ever had! I had a good time just catching up with my sister though. During dinner she mentioned that her and her boyfriend, Steve, were both working on Saturday....so I offered to puppy sit!

Soooo...I was up bright and early with the puppy on Saturday. She played rough with Roxy for a few hours - I can't wait to see what they are like with Miley this summer! Maggie was so snuggly with me all day...now I have puppy fever!

"Auntie, she's teasing me! I'm too small to go down the stairs!"

I hungout with my friend, Lindsey, for a few hours on Saturday. Went out to lunch...but I'm not sure if we actually ate anything, we were so busy talking! 

Saturday night I went out with the family for dinner - parents, sister, Steve, cousins, aunt and uncle...the whole family! There was a lot of laughing, food, and beer...we had a good time! I love seeing family when I go home, even if it's just for a quick dinner.

I passed out early Saturday - I had another early flight on Sunday. I wanted to make sure I was home for Easter with Danny. Not that it mattered - we tried finding a fantastic place for Easter dinner...but that didn't work out so well. But we did end up with a delicious pizza and Easter baskets from my Mom!

I had such a great trip home...I'm already counting down the days until we go up for our summer vacation!!

Dear Blog...

I'm sorry I have neglected you!

As you know, the computer broke on Thanksgiving...thanks to a super nasty virus. I tried to fix it, but well, my degree in History doesn't really help in that department. Since then we have been computer free. I blogged from my phone, which resulted in ugly formats and poor blogging. Oh, and to do my 2011 review it took TWO days from the iPhone! Needless to say, blogging has been very frustrating!

The plan was to only use the USO computers. That's where I spent an hour this morning....uploading 30 pictures. Holy smokes that is slow. And, since you know me so well, I am not patient!! I enlisted the help of my uber smart cousin and he helped me and the Hubby pick out a new computer.

I swore up and down we weren't going to buy a computer right away. But I couldn't pass up this deal! So, we are owners of a new laptop. And this time....we will not murder it!

So, dear blog...and blog readers...I'm back! I've missed my religious blogging and reading all of your blogs! I'll be commenting again and, of course, finding new bloggy loves!

To celebrate my return to blogging here are some pictures on events you have missed out on!

Me and Lindsey celebrated Beermas with NC Girls Pint Out!

Kaleb was here for Christmas!

My parents visited us!

Love,
Nicole

2011 in Review

Is it just me or did 2011 fly by? Lucky for me it was a great year! Here are some of my favorite highlights...

January
We rang in the New Year at Duplin Winery.
I was in Katie and Frank's wedding!

February
We went to Disney for our honeymoon!
& I met Bonnie and her gorgeous children!
I had my wisdom teeth YANKED out!

March
I celebrated Mardi Gras with the girls!
We celebrated our 1 year anniversary with fondue!
Danny went to Yuma, me and Miley went to Boston...and Mrs. Gambizzle visited!

April
Me and Mrs. G were Boston tourists.
Jacksonville was hit by a tornado.
I had a tea party with my Roomie to celebrate the Royal Wedding!

May
I celebrated Cinco de Mayo.
And reunited with my Hubby!
We went to an airshow, a comedy show and had a cookout!

June
We went on a river cruise.
Kaleb visited! He got a new bike, went to 2 baseball games, went crabbing, fishing, attempted geocaching and learned how to swim!

July
We started a tradition: Maine with the family!
Had our family pictures taken.
When we were kid free we hangout in Virgina Beach with the Gambizzles...
And survived our second BeerFest with the Colwells!

August
We bought a new (to us!) car.
...and I started driving!
I cut my hair off.
Michelle, Katie and Irene visited us.

September
We celebrated Danny's 29th in Asheville!
We started a new adventure involving NC wine.
Danny went to golf weekend and I surprised Veronica at her bridal shower!
AND I went to the spa with the girls and the fair with my college roommates!

October
For the first time ever, the FRO hosted an event I was interested in!
We ate lots of chili a the ChiliFest!
And we celebrated Halloween with the Colwells!

November
We went to our 2nd USMC ball.
I discovered I can make my own Starbucks.
And Miley turned two!

December
Lindsey visited and we went to Beermas!
I turned the big 2-6!
I went to the winery and a cookie swap.
And Kaleb came down for Christmas vacation!

Birthday Weekend!

I turned 26 on Thursday. And the day was even better because Hubby was promoted and my friend Lindsey came down for a long weekend! And we made sure we celebrated ALL weekend! (My waistline is showing the side effects!)

Lindsey arrived Thursday. We celebrated with lots of girl talk, lunch...and later drinks with Danny.

The fun REALLY started on Friday. The morning started with delicious cappuccinos....and ended with North Carolina Girls Pint Out's BEERmas. This event was held in Durham...scary, scary Durham! Luckily the bar was fun and full of amazing girls. We drank sweet potato beer and won a few raffles! It was so much fun to have a night out!

On our way home Saturday we witnessed a pretty awful motorcycle accident. Luckily the guy lived and hopefully learned his lesson to not drove like a jackass. We relaxed all day Saturday and then went to a local bar with Jen and Dustin. It was a fun, and interesting, night out. I sipped on water while everyone else drank very watered down drinks.

Lindsey and I spent our Sunday watching OWN's marathon about fat people. When it was over we enjoyed Cookout milkshakes. By the end of this weekend we could probably start our own fat show!

This morning I saw Lindsey off and enjoyed some Starbucks with Jacque. I had such a great birthday weekend and am so happy I got to share it with my amazing husband and a great friend!

On a side note - I'm hoping to get to get to the USO to use the computers and do a REAL blog update! Until then, here are some pictures to hold you over!

2010 in Review

Can you believe today is the last day of 2010?

This year flew by.

Here are some highlights of this awesome year!

January

We were in Boston to ring in the New Year!

February

I was living in Cary, NC with Danny's family.

We bought a car. Celebrated Valentines Day at CiCi's Pizza (classy!)

And I went back to Boston to finish planning our wedding!

March

I had an awesome Bridal Shower and Bachellorete Party!

    

We were married on March 13, 2010!

You can read all the wedding posts here! 

After living with Katie for a little bit we were finally able to move into our first apartment!

April

We celebrated our first Easter together.

I got another (hippie) tattoo.

We brought a super cute puppy home!

May

We discovered our favorite restaurant, The Chelsea.

I took some tests for Danny. 

Miley went to the beach for the first time!

 

 Lindsey came to visit! And we saw a comedy show in Wilmington with Breanna.

Miley was spayed....and we went to Ohio!

June

Kaleb visited for two weeks!

We went to Boston for my Uncle's wedding!

And I complained about Call of Duty.

  July

 I complained about my neighbors.

We watched an airshow on the 4th of July in New Bern.

Miley discovered the bathtub.

I hungout with bloggy loves Reina and Jordan!

And the best part of July? My sister came to visit and we saw Paul McCartney in concert! We got tattoos. And we went to Myrtle Beach!

  August

I met three bloggy loves...Amber, Carmen and Allie!

 I bitched about homecomings. 

Me and Danny went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.

We went to Myrtle Beach..AKA The Vacation from Hell.

 September

 Danny turned 28...and I made him lobster.

I cut all my hair off and trashed my wedding dress!

My Mom and Nana visited while Danny went to Pennsylvania to "work."

 

And we went to the Wine Festival!

October

I had a couple Girls Night Outs and met bloggy loves Rachel, Jacque and Jennifer!

My parents came down for a visit!

We went to Beerfest with Carmen and Mike!

We had Katie's Bridal Shower!

  And we went to a Halloween party at Jennifer and Dustin's!

 

November

 An Xbox fell on my head.

We went to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Myrtle Beach!

Danny was on TV!

I went to Boston for my Grandparent's 50th Wedding Anniversary!

We went to Ohio for Thanksgiving.

December

I turned the big 2-5!

And we spent 10 awesome days in Massachusetts for the holiday!

 

That was a little longer than I intended...

but I loved looking at all the pictures!

And I'm crossing my fingers that 2011 is as amazing as 2010 was!

The Myrtle Beach Timeline

What a friggin weekend. I think the best way to talk about our little Myrtle Beach excursion is to give you the timeline.

12:00 - 2:30 We drove down to Myrtle Beach. It's not that far away, but Highway 17 has lights. To me, that's not a highway. Each time we drive down there it gets further and further away.

3:00 We meet up with Danny's step-sister, Stephanie, at the hotel. We wanted to sit by the pool, but it looks like this..

I'm not sure, but I don't think the pool is supposed to be GREEN.

3:00 - 6:fucking30  What turned into a quick catch up, me and Danny being ready for HOURS, has officially turned into the Stephanie fashion show. Things not to do in Myrtle Beach = sit in hotel room.

6:30 We're finally going to dinner. We snap the essential "going out" picture.

7:00 We are sitting, eating, drinking and talking. I can see in Lindsey's eyes that she is already annoyed with Stephanie. She keeps flashing me the "please shut her up" look. My friend, Danielle, from home met up with us!

9:00 Dinner is officially over after Lindsey pounds her last beer in order to get away from Stephanie.

9:30 - 10:00 We walk around Broadway, having a good time!

11:00 - 2:00 We are at my favorite place ever. Drinking and dancing. We meet up with my friend Chad. Stephanie ditches us for a bunch of Mexicans. We randomly meet up with one of Danny's friends who hangs out with us for the rest of the night.We see a girl with no pants on...

2:00 - 3:00 The clubs close. We watch people get arrested and taken out in ambulances. We find Stephanie in front of a random store. We pile in the car because someone says they want Denny's.

3:00 - 3:45 No one can find Denny's. Stephanie is pissed and screaming. Lindsey is getting mad. We pull over. I'm getting screamed at by Lindsey, for reasons I'm still not sure of. Stephanie gets out of the car and walks away. Danny and his friend are out of the car, so I do the same. Lindsey is cussing me out, the three of us just stand there and take it. Stephanie calls and says she's back with the Mexicans and she will meet us at the hotel. We get in the car, in silence and go to the hotel.

3:45 - 4:00 We are in bed. Stephanie calls "Thanks to you guys I lost my fucking wallet in that Mexicans car, you need to come let me in RIGHT NOW." Me and Danny go get her, check Lindsey's car for the wallet. Nothing.

4:00 I'm back in bed and Stephanie is packing. I ask where she is going. No answer. She storms out of the room. Five minutes later, Lindsey goes after her. Ten minutes later, Stephanie kicks us all out of the room and says "This room is under my name, if you don't leave...I'm calling the cops." We grab our stuff...and leave. She calls "appologizes" and tells us to go back. Uh, HELL NO.

4:15 - 5:20 We drive, exhausted. Pull over to nap.

5:40 - 7:40 Drive in horrible fog, exhausted, and the GPS stops working!

7:40 HOME SWEET HOME.

Awful, just awful. I'm not sure why everyone was so pissed and yelling. Stephanie must have found her wallet, last I checked she was in Charleston eating lunch and continuing her roadtrip.

The good  news? Me and Danny bought season 5 of LOST today on base for $30. We've done nothing all day except nap and watch TV. The puppy is at the kennel, probably having way more fun than I had the entire weekend!

The lesson? When you have one for me..let me know.