Third time's a charm...

…Right? I have given this whole blog thing a try twice already. Each time, I have managed to keep up with the blog for a couple of months, then I fade away into the darkness not to be heard from for months. Four months, to be specific, is the length of my latest hiatus.  I have thought about writing many times since then, but for various reasons, I have not. So here I am again, trying to maintain this blog for the third time. Wish me luck!

Since it is obvious that I have not been writing during these past four months, I thought I’d fill you in on what I have been doing.  April was a busy month at work so a great deal of my time was devoted to that. During my down time, one of my good friends visited, the hubs and I visited with friends, and spent my birthday weekend in Philly and New York. He took me to see Wicked on Broadway! The show was just as amazing and spectacular as everyone has described it.

May was rather uneventful as my husband started his new job and it was my last full month of school, so we were both pretty consumed with work. We did find time to attend a wine festival and hike up Old Rag Mountain. I loved getting back to nature and the hike was just the right amount of strenuous. Unfortunately it was an extremely foggy day so we did not get the gorgeous views one would normally find on top. Guess that means we’ll just have to hike it again later!

June marked the ending of the school year – finally! While I enjoy my job most days, by the end of the school year, I am ready for the much-needed summer break. I ushered in the summer with a trip to Rehoboth Beach with a few of my ladies. It was a fantastic weekend – as college friends and sorority sisters, we reminisced about the old days while making new memories. At the end of the month, another one of my college friends [and sorority sister] came to visit for the weekend. We went out like we did in college, visited a vineyard for some wine tasting, and went to a country concert [Chris Young, Lee Brice, and Brad Paisley – Lee Brice is my fave!].  In between those two wonderful weekends, I came down with an awful summer cold that had me down for the count for a whole week. [Go figure, I work with kids all year and don’t get sick, but the second I’m away from them, I get rocked with the worst cold I have had in years.]

July was a jam packed month. We had a 4^th of July barbecue, visit from my husband’s family, attended the wedding of one of our closest friends, and made a trip to western PA to visit my family. Scattered between those two were local get-togethers with friends in the area. 

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom: Cherry Blossoms in DC, Rehoboth Beach, Virginia Wine Festival, Cherry Blossom petals blanketing the ground, Sunset at a country concert, Wicked on Broadway, Foggy hike up Old Rag Mountain, DC United game, Super moon, Vineyard in Loudoun County, VA, Junior's cheesecakes in Brooklyn, and Western PA

While the summer has been extremely busy, I still feel like I have let much of it go to waste. I think this is because most of the fun happens between Friday and Monday. During the rest of the week, I have checked a few to-do’s off of my home list, learned to cook a few new dishes, hung out with my pups, and spent plenty of time relaxing.

Now, my summer is coming to an end and I only have one more week before work obligations take over. I am determined to make it count!

It's 2013!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a fabulous new year's eve with people you hold dear to your heart - I know I did. I was back in Philadelphia - the city that continuously calls me home - with some of my best friends and my husband; what more could a girl want? 

View of the Philly skyline from the Vine St. Expressway

While our night out on the town was a blast, I have come to the conclusion that I am over the club/bar scene for NYE and would much rather spend the evening at an intimate house party with close friends/family. I think that's how I'll be spending my new year's eves from here on out.

Cheers!
Alli J

Whirlwind

Decmber has been nothing short of a whirlwind, and once again, I have let my blog fall to the wayside. December rolled in and it was time to organize and sort everything we own in preparation for our big move. In that same time, I finished my student teaching and master's program - woo hoo! I am extremely excited to be able to spend some time working before beginning any classes again.

Then, it was time to move. Because the husband was leaving the military, we were able to use their moving services for the majority of our things. However, the movers came about two weeks before we were leaving so there was plenty of stuff to pack into two vehicles. The drive was long but rather beautiful, and I used Christmas music and some other "belt it out" type songs to pass the time. 

After my 3 am arrival in northern Virginia, I pulled the car into the garage, got the dogs settled in the condo, and slept all day. The next few days were filled with unpacking and trying to find a place for everything. [we still have lots of unpacking/organizing left to do - our garage is a mess and no longer fits a car inside of it] I was also able to fit in an evening out in Annapolis with a very dear friend of mine - and what a lovely evening it was. All of that fun had to come to a halt as we packed up the car once again and headed to western PA for Christmas.

We spent five days with my family for the holidays. The days were filled with laughter, warmth, food, drinks, snow, and lots of love. A very merry Christmas it was!

Kings and I continued our travels as we headed to Lancaster, PA to say farewell to a friend who is moving to Japan. We enjoyed a night of remembering old and creating new memories with friends from college.

After all of the excitement, I've returned home [my new home] for a day and a half, only to head off to Philly for NYE festivities. 

Like I said, this month has been a complete whirlwind, but I am proud to say that I have found myself smiling and laughing often, and delighting in the simple things in life.