birthday celebrations!

birthday celebrations!

at Hibachi. pics courtesy of Stace, cause both rach & i didn't bring our cameras :(

my birthday was pretty great. my parents, sister & her husband, cousin Bekah, roomie KC, Stace & her hubs Shane & Josh all went to Hibachi. we went back to our apartment for cuppies, and mike & kt joined us via GMail video-chat. here's some pics...

awesome things i got:
a cupcake ceramic tray, cupcake shaped lip glosses and a CHOCOLATE AND BACON bar from my aunt...weird, i know, but if you knew the story...[and my aunt :)]
chocolate from Stace & Shane
Twilight director's notebook, lip gloss & stripey Old Navy pants from Rach & Bri
the complete BBC Masterpiece theater DVD series of Jane Austen books from Mum & Dad
herb garden, flowers & fun purse from Roomie
flowers & a ONE HOUR MASSAGE & 15 MIN REFLEXOLOGY from JOSH!!! eeek [no, not by him though :)] (and he wants to help me with buying a new CD player for my car!!)
money & the BEST CARD EVER from my cousin & aunt

i am highly please when people superimpose Edward and I together...



all in all it was a great birthday and i was so lucky to be able to spend it with the people i did! i'm also excited for celebrating with ALICIA in FLORIDA in FOUR DAYS :)

5 days of 5 / Day 5

5 days of 5i have 5 days before my 25th birthday. i thought i would dedicate each day on my blog to a list of 5 things. this will be a different list each day. each list is going to incorporate things that have shaped me or had an impact in my 25 years.


today i'm going to write about 5 things i'm thankful for.

1. my church
   • where would i be without Grace? it has been a place that has helped me learn, grown, participate and use my spiritual gifts. i have been blessed to be led by Grace leaders for almost all of my life. Grace has a church experience like non-other. you will meet the Holy Spirit there if you attend. the people of the church are amazing, and the church itself is reaching out to the community in awesome ways.
     
     
     
     
2. my friends
   
   • i've already spoken about Alicia. we've been friends for so long, she knows more about me than anyone i think. i'm in the middle with the pink polka dot dress. alicia's on the far right w/ the BRIGHT BLUE SHINY stretch pants :)
     
   • my SKANK's - Staci, Kristen, Nicole & Katie. they are the best friends anyone could ask for. we can always be ourselves, talk about anything, always supportive and helping each other. i am blessed to have them in my life.
     
   • Bethanys - i have two Bethanys in my life that are amazing. they are both "Bethany K's"
   • Bethany that i met when working at Wal-mart about 7 years ago. we may not see each other as much as we used to, but we still can have so much fun together.
     
   • Bethany from work. we've been working together for almost two years now, and it's such a blessing to see her 5 days a week! she is so supportive, awesome to talk to, always giving me godly advice, encouraging and loving me. you are a blessing!!
     
   • i have so many other friends that are amazing to me. friends from church providing me with constant guidance and love, friends from college that went through the most trying times with me, friends from high school that share special bonds, friends i've met through blogging that have been amazing to get to know. you are all important to me.
     
3. my family
   • my parents are the most amazing, loving, supportive parents in the world. i couldn't ask for a better pair. they are also absolutely nuts and hilarious. but i love that about them :)
     
   • my sister is the BEST sister in the world. i can honestly say she's my best friend and i can have more fun with her than anyone. my brother-in-law is amazing and my family is so blessed in having him join our family.
     
   • my cousin Bekah is like a second sister to me. her mother/my aunt is like a second mother. they are so supportive, so fun, and so loving. Bekah is one of the funniest people i know. she is hilarious, will never be embarrassed and loves Jesus and is so inspiring to me.
     
   • my grandparents are amazing. so supportive, always praying, always thinking of others and trusting Jesus.
   • my other cousins, aunts, uncles and extended family are wonderful too.
     
4. Josh
   
   • he's shown up at my door with flowers many times
   • he hides cards for me to find, and gives them to me for no reason
   • he is open about trying new things, and willing to do anything for me
   • he loves me. no matter what i may have done. he forgives me, understands me and cherishes me.
   • he makes me a better person
   • he's insanely talented
   • i am truly blessed God brought him into my life
     
     
     
     
5. God's Love
   
   • But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

also - today is jamie lovely's birthday! go wish her happy 25th at ohhowlovely.net

birthdays!!

happy birthday Danielle!!!

danielle did an awesome blog series - 30 posts - 1 a day til she turned 30. i encourage you to check out the series.

danielle - you are awesome. i am honored to be a part of some of the moments that have shaped your life. thanks for being my mentor :) there is a connection there that can never be erased.

also - thank you for introducing me to ikea. :) it is because of you and our first trip long ago [when on the way home it was dark and you were driving the church van and we thought it would be funny to turn off the headlights in the dark, tiny, wooded road we were on...only to end up drifting into a ditch...], that my room is filled with awesome ikea-ness.

love you!!!

5 days of 5 / Day 4

5 days of 5
i have 5 days before my 25th birthday. i thought i would dedicate each day on my blog to a list of 5 things. this will be a different list each day. each list is going to incorporate things that have shaped me or had an impact in my 25 years.



today i'm going to write about 5 things i want to do in my life - goals or dreams...

1. travel around Europe.
   
   i want to see architecture, a different way of life, different styles & cultures...
   
   

   
   
   
2. own a piece of Knoll furniture.
   
   i know this seems silly, but ever since i saw Knoll furniture i wanted to own a piece. Knoll is one of those companies that "founded" interior design. architects & designers that designed pieces for Knoll are well-known and admired in our industry.
   
   

   
   
   
3. go back to school.
   
   this is something i would like to do, but i'm not sure if it's feasible. i would love to get my masters in business or interior architecture. i would also like to teach someday, work at a big company, or own my own business. yeah...who knows.
   
   
4. renovate a home or design my own
   
   i have always dreamed of doing this. i'm always envisioning how to remodel houses to modernize them or make them flow better. i hope one day i can make my ideas materialize!

   
   
   
5. have a family.
   
   my family is so important to me and i have so many amazing memories growing up. i'm not ready to start that phase of my life yet, but i'm excited for that time to come and to create memories for my own children.
   
   

   

House image from Hunter Homes, Inc.

5 days of 5 / Day 3

5 days of 5
i have 5 days before my 25th birthday. i thought i would dedicate each day on my blog to a list of 5 things. this will be a different list each day. each list is going to incorporate things that have shaped me or had an impact in my 25 years.


today i'm going to write about 5 things you may not know about me.

1. i was born in England. so was my sister. i lived there for 1 1/2 years before we moved to Erie. despite this and living with a Liverpudlian father for 25 years, i cannot do an English accent to save my life.
   
   
   
   
   
2. i still have both sets of grandparents. my dad's parents live in an assisted living home in Wales. i've seen them for several weeks 4 or 5 times in my life. my mum's parents live in Erie. i don't see them as much as i should.
   
   
   
   
   
3. i have been in 5 weddings. at the end of this year it will be 7. at the end of my life i have the possibility of 10+ weddings. i was first a flower girl in my mum's cousin's, was a bridesmaid in Martina's in 2003, Bethany's in 2004, maid of honor in my sister's in 2004, bridesmaid in Staci's in 2007 and will be a bridesmaid in Katie & Nikkie's this year.
   
   
   
   
   
4. parts of me long for a bigger city and a "bigger" job...one with more structure, more employees, more opportunity for moving up, bigger clients...pretty much a complete one-eighty to what my life is like now.
   
5. i am a Christian. if you don't know this, it's probably because i don't talk much about this aspect of my life on my blog. hopefully if you know me well, or even a little, you know this. by Christian i mean:
• i love Jesus.
  
• i love my church.
• i love the Bible.
• i love leading worship.
• i love working with kids and teaching them about Jesus and how much God loves us.
• i believe God's love for us is unfathomable.
• i believe the Holy Spirit is real and active.
• i believe exciting things are happening in my life because of Him.

i need to scan in other pictures to fulfill this post...it may not happen any time soon...

5 days of 5 / Day 2

5 days of 5
i have 5 days before my 25th birthday. i thought i would dedicate each day on my blog to a list of 5 things. this will be a different list each day. each list is going to incorporate things that have shaped me or had an impact in my 25 years.


today i'm going to write about 5 things i'm excited about or looking forward to.
these go in order from what's happening first to what's happening someday...

1. birthday celebrations on Friday at Hibachi with my family and some friends.
2. visiting Alicia in FLORIDA NEXT WEEK!!!!!!! seriously, i'm super uber excited about this. Alicia & i have known each other since we were 2 years old. we have been friends for so long, gone through so many things together...and though we are separated by many miles and busy lives, we can always pick up where we have left off. she is the craziest, best improv singer, best dancer and most loyal friend. she moved to Florida over 4 years ago and this is my first time visiting her down there.
   
   
   
   
   
3. new iPhone software coming out!! ok, this one is silly and material, but i am still excited about it! copy/paste people!!! come ON!!!!!
   
4. Katie & Nikkie's WEDDINGS!!!!!!! [and all the other fun that goes along with it: planning, parties, trips, showers, receptions, cake...] i love these girls!!
   
   
   
   
   
5. being an aunt. note: this is last, and isn't happening anytime SOON, but i'm still as sure as heck looking forward to it when it does :) :)

5 days of 5 / Day 1

5 days of 5
i have 5 days before my 25th birthday. i thought i would dedicate each day on my blog to a list of 5 things. this will be a different list each day. each list is going to incorporate things that have shaped me or had an impact in my 25 years.


today i'm going to write about 5 favorite things.



Sport: Volleyball
i've been playing for about 11 years. i played in high school, on a club team in college, league teams in Erie and coached for 4 years.
Food: Chocolate
um, yeah. if you know me, you know this.
Movie: Pride & Prejudice
BBC Series & 2-Hour version. both are amazing. currently watching the series with Josh.
TV Show: The Office
i don't watch many shows, but The Office is the only one i will make sure i see.
Animal: Cat
um, i love them. that's all.

the BF

josh was nice enough to pose for me so i could practice using the new flash he bought me for valentine's day...

*new flash*new flash*new flash*new flash*new flash*new flash*new flash*

i like to take pictures of him because he's so darn cute.



also, i thought it was appropriate, since this post is all about Josh, to show a few pics Rach took on Christmas Day that i hadn't posted before.

my Christmas present from Josh

St Patty's Day - Celebrating with Food

Roomie and i celebrated St. Patty's Day by making potato soup [is that even irish??] and green & white chocolate chip cookies. i then proceeded to get a pain in my side and fall asleep at 730.

anyway, the soup turned out really good. we meant to follow a recipe...but...then changed our minds and did our own thing.

we started with sauteing onion in butter. after they browned a bit, we added chopped celery. after this cooked a bit, we added flour to make the roue. then we added milk. i'm not sure how much.



we cut 5 potatoes [1 large, 4 smaller] into chunks and boiled. when they were almost done, we threw the carrots in with them.



here's the soup after adding the milk. after it got to a boil and the potatoes were mostly tender, we strained the potatoes and carrots and added them to the pot. we put the top on and let cook for probably ten minutes, with occasional stirring. we also added parsley, salt & pepper at this time.




the cookies!



the sauce definitely thickened up, and it tasted awesome. we topped with shredded cheddar.



Kristen also made a Reuben. i did not eat this.

anyway, that's it for the soup. i'm excited to have leftovers for lunch!!


also, i have to get my license renewed...i was planning on doing this today, but of course i don't want to now. i have until March 28th and no Saturdays besides March 28th to get this done. the DMV in Erie is 30 minutes from my work [2 minutes from my parents house]. i'm going to have to take an extra long lunch at some point or just go the 28th...

go green!

happy st patrick's day!

Google, you rock.



roomie & i celebrated st patty's day with some friends on Saturday night.
you can see her post w/ pics here.


we plan on celebrating later with some Irish food and American Idol.