tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56652445303365819772024-02-18T22:40:40.380-08:00C is For...healthy living, style, travel, design, lifestlyeCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-55941285301306292022010-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:002010-02-10T11:02:56.081-08:00Cranky<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I was looking back at my previous list of great things that happened to me last year and I really am so lucky. So why is it that I am so cranky? Is it because it is February and I HATE February? Probably. It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that Brian is gone and I am SICK of him being gone. Not to mention there is a chance he will be stuck in the stupid snowstorm on the East coast. I am also a little frustrated with what I am working on for our business mostly because I have no idea what I am doing half the time and thus starts the vicious circle where I want to just quit but when I quit then I feel guilty and feeling guilty makes me CRANKY!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I think Oprah would tell me to get out my gratitude journal (I don't have one). So maybe I will just jot down a few great things that I am so lucky to have...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">wonderful husband, lovely house, good food to eat, nice friends, fun family, enough money to keep us comfortable, warm clothes, an upcoming trip to Maui for my brother's wedding</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">ahhh...feeling a bit better already. Maybe Oprah has something with that gratitude journal...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqD3jyOEGGj5ZRSn0MJmfAQIvHSIONbaU0xuiv6ZUH7VRcq5yJjD2Gu16npB7iAwP6BUPkggk6pdZJzmIBtrqaybxmXIdN_amC71NaC6lgTCtEwHjBaI129Fbp30BoaP1Hhu7-4_sMP2M/s1600-h/Maui+2006+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqD3jyOEGGj5ZRSn0MJmfAQIvHSIONbaU0xuiv6ZUH7VRcq5yJjD2Gu16npB7iAwP6BUPkggk6pdZJzmIBtrqaybxmXIdN_amC71NaC6lgTCtEwHjBaI129Fbp30BoaP1Hhu7-4_sMP2M/s320/Maui+2006+011.jpg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqD3jyOEGGj5ZRSn0MJmfAQIvHSIONbaU0xuiv6ZUH7VRcq5yJjD2Gu16npB7iAwP6BUPkggk6pdZJzmIBtrqaybxmXIdN_amC71NaC6lgTCtEwHjBaI129Fbp30BoaP1Hhu7-4_sMP2M/s1600-h/Maui+2006+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuo_PKCEuIKLlWiVpHI0w0YlvZZz0_okvuJTgQ6JQUHYmNQYDHBy8BKRbODdOnYJqbvkGZGzVS3fMnZgyjDLSuYIIM9nlOL1vEsl80g8k5aCxYnDjLELOHl_eUO1huoQc76QQnxmCqbg/s1600-h/DSC00611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMuo_PKCEuIKLlWiVpHI0w0YlvZZz0_okvuJTgQ6JQUHYmNQYDHBy8BKRbODdOnYJqbvkGZGzVS3fMnZgyjDLSuYIIM9nlOL1vEsl80g8k5aCxYnDjLELOHl_eUO1huoQc76QQnxmCqbg/s320/DSC00611.JPG" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(pics from our last trip to Maui)</span></div>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-45660244190012915562010-02-09T09:18:00.000-08:002010-02-09T09:19:21.500-08:00#5<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm going to finally wrap up this list with the 5th awesome thing I did in 2009. I am sure there are way more super cool things that happened but I don't want to drag this out any longer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So, the last thing I (we) did in 2009 was:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Bought our first house!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNm7n2LXkJjSVIAHvjpYTY0DndRtHfER7zb5iI7229VKfkl7il63q3HbblhyenPp4wEwrmbmy-lHNWRO0VIhUz4gPxsCNqaxPO5Zr11f_5vVscX25xq3G9YNBILqMOccu5lA-OJbo7l8/s1600-h/DSC02579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNm7n2LXkJjSVIAHvjpYTY0DndRtHfER7zb5iI7229VKfkl7il63q3HbblhyenPp4wEwrmbmy-lHNWRO0VIhUz4gPxsCNqaxPO5Zr11f_5vVscX25xq3G9YNBILqMOccu5lA-OJbo7l8/s320/DSC02579.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After living in Chicago and London, Brian and I made the decision to move back to Kansas City to be near my family. My family isn't moving or going anywhere and we wanted to be close to one of our parents for when we start our family.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I love our house. It is 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths and has a three car garage even though we only have one car (very scandalous for a driving city like KC!) My other favorite things about the house are that it is new but our back yard has woods and tons of trees and many of the rooms are high up in them. It also has an (unfinished) basement that has 16 ft ceilings that has tons of potential. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We miss city living but also feel very fortunate to be able to afford such a great house!</span>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-65092958793852060142010-02-03T15:45:00.000-08:002010-02-03T15:46:06.147-08:00#4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The next thing that was awesome in 2009 was our honeymoon. After our wedding in April, Brian and I had made the decision that we would move back to the US from London for professional and personal reasons. Because of this, we decided to wait to take our honeymoon until June and we would take our 3.5 week trip on our way back to the states. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We started with a train trip back to Paris to meet up with some of our friends from Chicago who aslo happened to be on their honeymoon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH4FRuPFQkWBUJEWStK251RNd8_dho7IG-sY2im8V_EbPgzg9uXZPcymMpDb76DJZ12QPea-Teb3Uxc0aSNAsySxOW5paE7-m7iFehXxy6Lsx89oTlc5ohzhOaSmi_RuadcUsHFHTAsg/s1600-h/DSC01941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXH4FRuPFQkWBUJEWStK251RNd8_dho7IG-sY2im8V_EbPgzg9uXZPcymMpDb76DJZ12QPea-Teb3Uxc0aSNAsySxOW5paE7-m7iFehXxy6Lsx89oTlc5ohzhOaSmi_RuadcUsHFHTAsg/s320/DSC01941.JPG" /></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(Me in the catacombs in Paris...creepy)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Then we moved on to Venice because in all our travels of Italy we had neither been to Venice. Venice was also cool because my husband is 1/4 Italian and we got to go to dinner with a cousin who is Venetian. We had a wonderful meal that I don't think we could have achieved speaking English.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMMRSe-htsfPVtRNcCg_yNme2yHXZZmBhvxpHyQWmMjgN6DtYIolVM4rBFBbsv6eCm0Z9UymGLK_WsFo1iVWpZvyEwL1issBdDeox_v_OL_OUemvFabLrB_lCaeQeteoqfc2OPgrjgRg/s1600-h/DSC01986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMMRSe-htsfPVtRNcCg_yNme2yHXZZmBhvxpHyQWmMjgN6DtYIolVM4rBFBbsv6eCm0Z9UymGLK_WsFo1iVWpZvyEwL1issBdDeox_v_OL_OUemvFabLrB_lCaeQeteoqfc2OPgrjgRg/s320/DSC01986.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We then went to Positano on the Amalfi coast. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We stayed in this charming small hotel where they served us a delicious breakfast every morning on our balcony overlooking the ocean. We also visited Capri and saw the famous Blue Grotto.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqjY8UpSUKXWJEWi0BsXFHuTDL3lUm6HSL7HndNTF52Gqiqwy3gT4TpFJ6-I_SpjCvP4oEsiJBBviU_83jl9RaTU7HoMuW5gXuZfxA1CCbKJF16RfP1gvInT39JOmmNABUN-yN3NeVd0/s1600-h/DSC02080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqjY8UpSUKXWJEWi0BsXFHuTDL3lUm6HSL7HndNTF52Gqiqwy3gT4TpFJ6-I_SpjCvP4oEsiJBBviU_83jl9RaTU7HoMuW5gXuZfxA1CCbKJF16RfP1gvInT39JOmmNABUN-yN3NeVd0/s320/DSC02080.JPG" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">From here we went to the Greek Isles. We only made it to Naxos and Samos because we really didn't enjoy the ferries that much and wanted to spend more of our time relaxing on the beach and less time boating to the other islands. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OYhKHk8K7NW_3NL4ciax_j1lxUJWv3AKMUs1jTCGhQ0eJscWyzOEB4UlFefLfYlaa-mNUgf-RbvshTpAyHVousVnBzImw402C5PsntY44JqzGiPs74QeSJFIlXzj0IY_tQHXiAWWY6w/s1600-h/DSC02237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2OYhKHk8K7NW_3NL4ciax_j1lxUJWv3AKMUs1jTCGhQ0eJscWyzOEB4UlFefLfYlaa-mNUgf-RbvshTpAyHVousVnBzImw402C5PsntY44JqzGiPs74QeSJFIlXzj0IY_tQHXiAWWY6w/s320/DSC02237.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6JKQBOQqv8b9v_mAkbu0vhWyOwcW26Ks1MYNLHSio8IFeDLSIFNBUo5OLhT-0A1lbgjI4t37J6iu4gHV-_sy3okBFRxiW40Uw8UPt2h68VgOjzf17urv4xjReloATy6nk4McTtG8JVE/s1600-h/DSC02311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN6JKQBOQqv8b9v_mAkbu0vhWyOwcW26Ks1MYNLHSio8IFeDLSIFNBUo5OLhT-0A1lbgjI4t37J6iu4gHV-_sy3okBFRxiW40Uw8UPt2h68VgOjzf17urv4xjReloATy6nk4McTtG8JVE/s320/DSC02311.JPG" /></span></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We ended our trip in Ephesus, Turkey. This was such a unique place to visit and is such an important part of history. We loved the food and sightseeing in Turkey.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGd68kU0eRpjeGLIWE5QYe7WumUh9E35I998XmQmn-zglmqlgOjKf8kxFl2Ip9GASxtGeAq99sbukKe08yOy5LaHEvgZpUivCMV_c-3R2wH9MQI4UNLTA21P9RUSW397Uigwc4WDgLfg/s1600-h/DSC02386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGd68kU0eRpjeGLIWE5QYe7WumUh9E35I998XmQmn-zglmqlgOjKf8kxFl2Ip9GASxtGeAq99sbukKe08yOy5LaHEvgZpUivCMV_c-3R2wH9MQI4UNLTA21P9RUSW397Uigwc4WDgLfg/s320/DSC02386.JPG" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">At this point we were pretty ready to head home. We had shipped all our things back to KC weeks earlier and were pretty sick of wearing the same clothes. (It looks like Brian has only two shirts in these pictures, but I am pretty sure he had at least three :)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">This was such an amazing trip and again, I truly believe that travel teaches you volumes about yourself and your relationship. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-64155999735222581382010-02-02T16:46:00.000-08:002010-02-02T16:46:46.523-08:00Rookie Mistake<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So I wanted to start this blog as part of a new year's resolution type thing. And I do actually hope someone reads it. So what do I do? I go 5 whole days without posting or even looking at it. When I finally do I realize:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">a. I won a contest from one of my FAVORITE blogs - </span><a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Cup of Jo</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">b. Due to said contest winning I actually have comments!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I literally feel like I won the lottery right now. Not only did a win something I really loved from </span><a href="http://www.pyrrha.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Pyrrah</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> I had several people read my blog. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So now I feel both super excited and a bit sheepish for being a lazy blogger. Sheesh... </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">But thank you </span><a href="http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Joanna</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> and the few others who looked at my blog. I now vow to do better!</span>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-65143512700272405412010-02-02T12:32:00.000-08:002010-02-02T12:42:07.851-08:00I stink at this + awesome thing #3<div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Ugh, it is so hard for me to post regularly. Here's hoping I get better at this...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Anyway, awesome thing I did in 2009 #3 is</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Married this guy:</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hAGg__aYoohloN_yoWG92o_uqm1r_vBCYfXFNslYbl4MZZKyGPSTzbifhSNAb9uSvM_HB0rTIArZW7wM9GAmbJGRnPqCivwdYpqb4qUAEy7_sWJ36_nSxWSebUscMbjBqtGzFGZ1BSw/s1600-h/DSC01034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1hAGg__aYoohloN_yoWG92o_uqm1r_vBCYfXFNslYbl4MZZKyGPSTzbifhSNAb9uSvM_HB0rTIArZW7wM9GAmbJGRnPqCivwdYpqb4qUAEy7_sWJ36_nSxWSebUscMbjBqtGzFGZ1BSw/s320/DSC01034.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433747716465994482" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(Brian driving our stuff from Chicago to KC before we moved to London. Wearing his Indiana Jones hat, natch)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">It is hard for me to put into words how lucky I am to have my husband. He is the smartest, funniest, kindest person I know. We have more fun than I thought was possible and we laugh all the time. He brings me a sense of peace that I am so thankful for and didn't realize I would ever have in my life. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We got married on April 25, 2009. It was everything I could hope for - meaningful, beautiful and fun. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7p2ebnvVTopDWew-MpetyuG-LJFprPM2myMTBITu9FWdwlgwd8lFTqcJ7iQdMeAncXp9B7nKCNLg9KuenQucyFYUxWpv9ikOIYcdM6KVqwmgtjs0v_0mA9cuxUVt9sQQ-67KwRLsgodY/s1600-h/IMG_4732.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7p2ebnvVTopDWew-MpetyuG-LJFprPM2myMTBITu9FWdwlgwd8lFTqcJ7iQdMeAncXp9B7nKCNLg9KuenQucyFYUxWpv9ikOIYcdM6KVqwmgtjs0v_0mA9cuxUVt9sQQ-67KwRLsgodY/s320/IMG_4732.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433747162635746018" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW33roHENWlBOH25KmWO8gmem21MAyGe7ORLX9OjQulZS6CRvy9uQqGR-2-iCAyBbGND5Nn3ImZqLfE8mIQZIGAwO6cxQgC5kvJ7vxC_03YGdFjcfAhLvik0d4aCQi3_8oyyJm-RsajNE/s1600-h/IMG_4721.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW33roHENWlBOH25KmWO8gmem21MAyGe7ORLX9OjQulZS6CRvy9uQqGR-2-iCAyBbGND5Nn3ImZqLfE8mIQZIGAwO6cxQgC5kvJ7vxC_03YGdFjcfAhLvik0d4aCQi3_8oyyJm-RsajNE/s320/IMG_4721.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433747150826088818" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I am pretty sure that marrying Brian was the most awesome thing I did in 2009 and one of the most awesome things I have done in my whole life.</span></div>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-46645298714375355502010-01-22T06:32:00.000-08:002010-01-22T06:43:38.348-08:002009 Awesomeness #2<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Awesome thing I did in 2009 #2:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Traveled!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">We went to Paris (twice!)</span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6a9RfUEXbkJgmy0-6QODwlS2DcIBkxy7TdgBKpzJhitR8aNNJ7qMQ8e1b22Mtq8JwwAXikPexDpGpVKN4exrM4lfWaJT9S6eDn5jJUi5W8UcP-BUbYwAtm2tS2MZMUKpPiIlwGF40Nrk/s1600-h/DSC01806.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6a9RfUEXbkJgmy0-6QODwlS2DcIBkxy7TdgBKpzJhitR8aNNJ7qMQ8e1b22Mtq8JwwAXikPexDpGpVKN4exrM4lfWaJT9S6eDn5jJUi5W8UcP-BUbYwAtm2tS2MZMUKpPiIlwGF40Nrk/s320/DSC01806.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429573722885435490" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Cap D'Ail and Monaco in the South of France:</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZMepeUKN6bHXmGVGRPe0QNMxp0W2bW8pYq1c8HqgLI_hUhW0ymFDdxdooDYI0m_KYQzRwL8Vsdfz9mnteJz03qhtINF_1vU2aeU-MgknQzq-l4JWDOJJIwC9KrmC9d26fbNtWD-rp6k/s1600-h/DSC01262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZMepeUKN6bHXmGVGRPe0QNMxp0W2bW8pYq1c8HqgLI_hUhW0ymFDdxdooDYI0m_KYQzRwL8Vsdfz9mnteJz03qhtINF_1vU2aeU-MgknQzq-l4JWDOJJIwC9KrmC9d26fbNtWD-rp6k/s320/DSC01262.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429573705462581714" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Norway (to see the Northern Lights - amazing):</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gNaqu_oUWMMQwAnavgGx16XBG2gt5owmfs5Zz94vYvLG5_zYul1nhCB0X5BPanLp-N6EC-yC9gVq1fuk6quHdEDc9SbqPEdHurGYXJHwHeWoD-38-es05uJer4l8A9ZDK-LIwCBRHjg/s1600-h/DSC01609.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2gNaqu_oUWMMQwAnavgGx16XBG2gt5owmfs5Zz94vYvLG5_zYul1nhCB0X5BPanLp-N6EC-yC9gVq1fuk6quHdEDc9SbqPEdHurGYXJHwHeWoD-38-es05uJer4l8A9ZDK-LIwCBRHjg/s320/DSC01609.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429573697544391394" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">All over Switzerland:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7Cn6IJxYk2GU6bNjsCVBWNrZ6J6hUV_PCOT3nkY1DgkrJaI9g6Y5ECy7GYhMTnbNmoiT_yyBFJzhq0oRarvY8VPHomPxKtiYr75wjr-lfcQPZNsGEZfKyE4ediZFVI4rtZquZLohyphenhyphenyY/s1600-h/DSC01410.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7Cn6IJxYk2GU6bNjsCVBWNrZ6J6hUV_PCOT3nkY1DgkrJaI9g6Y5ECy7GYhMTnbNmoiT_yyBFJzhq0oRarvY8VPHomPxKtiYr75wjr-lfcQPZNsGEZfKyE4ediZFVI4rtZquZLohyphenhyphenyY/s320/DSC01410.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429573689494143138" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Brussels:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgZrGd26DxvIGnjzjM19Sb1AaIM68xwSL1BjK8dtvsB5QzU2NHvH_jw8Z54FI4oqbqqB6wI0UuKYfwjWAQA9_wfsvvLgDQYmt7MsBIEWP3rxkbVre8BcWZFHa3nYBmRR3UflLTskFe98/s1600-h/DSC01106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgZrGd26DxvIGnjzjM19Sb1AaIM68xwSL1BjK8dtvsB5QzU2NHvH_jw8Z54FI4oqbqqB6wI0UuKYfwjWAQA9_wfsvvLgDQYmt7MsBIEWP3rxkbVre8BcWZFHa3nYBmRR3UflLTskFe98/s320/DSC01106.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429572469729992130" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">The year living in London was amazing for travel. I wouldn't trade that part for anything. You learn so much about yourself and your relationship when you travel. You learn how you handles stress and deal with unfamiliar places and languages. You also learn how to much better experience and appreciate the space you live in.</span></div>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5665244530336581977.post-43107658788963268642010-01-20T06:54:00.000-08:002010-01-20T07:05:38.008-08:00First post is the hardest? + Awesome thing I did in 2009 #1<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I have always really wanted to have my own blog. I love blogs and have many favorites that I read daily. But who wants to read a blog written by ME? I have decided I don't really care - this year, I will be a blogger. If no one reads, oh-well.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">So, how to start my new and sure-to-be-awesome blog?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">I am thinking countdown...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Countdown of awesome things I did in 2009 (yes, yes I know it is already Jan. 20th - whatever)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">So, the first awesome thing I did in 2009 (and 2008 to be honest) is:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">Lived in London</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRmTz47Y0oIXdw3B1cAdWtiO0QV6cPdi3aLUWbmKhncAVMDIKNfybWXY151x4neqV-SXH48hjlmGYEotkRRsdzSyoPLWQ6ghs0wCwPvrdP4YSHv878QAPdveLJR1aoT0OwXM_2E0yJxM/s1600-h/DSC01086.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRmTz47Y0oIXdw3B1cAdWtiO0QV6cPdi3aLUWbmKhncAVMDIKNfybWXY151x4neqV-SXH48hjlmGYEotkRRsdzSyoPLWQ6ghs0wCwPvrdP4YSHv878QAPdveLJR1aoT0OwXM_2E0yJxM/s320/DSC01086.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428836949806904658" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">(Me at Borough Market in London.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';">In July 2008 my fiance and I moved from Chicago to London to work and have a great life experience. We had both always wanted to live abroad and we made it happen! It was different, scary, hard, fun, life changing and amazing in so many ways.</span></span></div><div><br /></div>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512498862056914523noreply@blogger.com3