Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! We've officially reached the end of October and I can hardly believe it myself, where has the time gone? To mark the end of this beautiful month, today we celebrate All Hallow's Eve. Of course it falls on a Sunday this year and so our celebrations are either cut short or rescheduled for another day - if you're anything like us, you celebrated last night in order to have today to recoup ;o)

We attended an annual Halloween celebration last night, and had an amazing time with some awesome friends. Everyone dressed up in their spookiest garb and we enjoyed drinks and appetizers before heading out to the bars. After a long night of dancing and drinking, we finally made our way home in the wee hours of the morning. I'm honestly surprised that I'm even up this early lol But all-in-all it was a great night, and I hope that you all enjoyed yours as well!

Here's a picture of our Halloween get-ups: I went as a black cat, and Bryan went as the Banana from the viral internet video Peanut Butter Jelly Time (also seen on the TV show Family Guy) - yes, my husband is a nerd lol

But in the end, it's not about how much of a nerd your husband is - it's about how much fun you had watching him make a complete fool of himself... and let me tell you, I had a blast ;o)

Others to make an appearance at our Halloween celebration included: a nerd (no, not my husband lol but an actual nerd costume), a 1920's style female gangster, a navy gal, the Boba Fett chicken from Family Guy, a few football players, a friggin scary ass leaf man and his leaf collector, Maverick from Top Gun, The Cat in the Hat, an Easter Bunny and someone else dressed as his carrot, a couple of witches, and a soccer player. Turns out we actually have a pretty creative group of friends haha and we would never have known, had it not been for Halloween.

Tonight we are preparing for trick-or-treaters. This is our first official Halloween in our house (I can't believe we've been home owners for almost a year now - whoa) and so we're not quite sure what to expect, so this should be interesting. We bought a couple big bags of mixed candy just in case, we honestly have no idea how many kids we'll get, but I've already managed to pick out and eat all of my faves since we bought it lol Hopefully the kids don't like strawberry laffy taffy, because we're all out :o)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!

Hiatus

Looking at my blog, I am saddened that it has been over a month since my last post - sigh. But it is with (what I hope will be considered) a good explanation, that you all will forgive me.

I've gone back and forth with how to approach the subject of my whereabouts for the past month, and at this point I figure it would be best to just put it out there or rip the band-aid off if you will.

On September 25th, 2010 I had a miscarriage.

We found out that we were expecting our first child at the end of June, it was wonderful news and we were very excited. The following month went smoothly and my pregnancy seemed to be progressing well, until September 23rd when I noticed that everything wasn't quite so right anymore (trying to not get into too much detail here). We already had our first ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon, so there really wasn't anything that I could do at that point besides try to make it through the rest of the work day.

At our ultrasound, which should have been a happy and joyous event, my worst fears were confirmed - the ultrasound tech told us that the baby had stopped developing almost a week before. Since things had already started happening on their own, we decided to go home and let nature take its course. Again, without getting into too much detail... it was the worst, most painful (physically and emotionally), horrifying experience of my life and I have never felt so incredibly alone. Within a matter of hours and then days, our world had been turned upside down and something that we had been so excited about was suddenly gone and ripped from our life.

The purpose of this post is not to scare anyone or gain pitty from the internet community - I honestly believe that there is a societal stigma against miscarriage and pregnancy loss, heaven forbid we talk openly about such a personal and private thing. The purpose of this post is to raise awareness and let women know that they are not alone. Since having gone through this myself, I have discovered a world of amazingly strong, supportive, and courageous women - who welcomed me, comforted me, and supported me with open arms... no questions asked.

I've also discovered some amazing resources:

October 15th is National Pregnancy/Infant Loss Remembrance Day and considering my my own loss occurred so close to this date, I really felt the need to share my experience and amazing cause with you all here.

It's taken some time, but we are in a better place both physically and emotionally now. We are looking to the future and all of the possibilities, with hopes that someday we will be blessed with the child that we were meant to have, raise and love... someday, someday soon *fingers crossed*

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I know, I know - I've been slacking in my posting lately!

But for fairly good reason, this past Thursday was the first day back-to-school for my high schoolers and as a result things have just been completely hectic!

Just to give you an idea - the room they were originally going to put me in was in a free standing building separate from the main school building, and it was disgusting! When I found out that they were going to put me there, I seriously considered quitting my job... it was that bad! Well on Wednesday (the day before school was scheduled to start) they decided to close that building for the year because it was deemed unsafe for students and staff to be out there, well DUH! I could have told you that! Needless to say, I have been without an actual office or classroom for the past week. Luckily I found out on Friday that my principal has plans to put me in a very nice classroom in the main school building, I even got to see it so that I could start planning for the year - it's very exciting! They are hoping to move my things sometime next week, so hopefully I will be setup in my classroom in the near future!

Aside from that, even the weekends have been hectic.

Last weekend we went camping with friends - my mom and her boyfriend have an RV on a permanent site about an hour south of where we live, they let us use the accommodations for the weekend and we had a blast! We hiked up the creek and waterfall the runs through the campground:

We played cards and board games, cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the fire - it was great!

This weekend is Labor Day Weekend and of course it was no exception to the hecticness. We went to my in-laws for dinner yesterday, and spent the evening with them. Today we're going to the Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY

Tomorrow (actual Labor Day) is probably our only real day to relax, and Bryan needs to go to sleep around 4:30pm because he has to be to work at midnight on Monday night! Yeesh! 

So as you can see, it's been a little crazy around here lately!

Hopefully you've at least enjoyed this "ketchup" day, to see what we've been up to. I hope to get back into the swing of things and regular blog posting in the next couple weeks! Bare with me!

Fall Decor

Received my Fall Pottery Barn catalog in the mail today, and it really got me thinking about the fall decor for our house. Since we closed and moved into our house at the end of last November (yay!!! it's almost our 1 year homeowners anniversary) we didn't really get a chance to decorate for the fall season last year, we just kinda moved in and went straight to winter/x-mas/holiday decor.

So in honor of our first opportunity to decorate our home for the fall season, I have decided to share some of the ideas I am loving this fall, with you guys - my lovely readers!

love the whole look and feel of this pic - wish I had a big porch :o(

LoVe this wreath!!! I've been looking for a great fall wreath for our front door :o)

I've talked in previous posts about how I absolutely love Pottery Barn, but how they can also be quite pricey. I've pulled off PB knock-offs in the past, and am going to attempt it again with some of these fall decor items... so wish me luck and stay tuned to see what I come up with ;o)

Brian & Christine

Even though wedding season is technically winding down, the weddings that we've been invited to and will be attending this year are just beginning. My cousin got married this past weekend, and we attended the wedding on Friday. They had a lovely outdoor ceremony, under a gazebo of a local golf club. Followed by a reception to celebrate the nuptials.

The bride choose a Tiffany Blue and white theme, accented by pops of bright pink/red - very pretty. I love weddings and pictures, so I just thought I would share a few pictures from the event...

the groom (my cousin) waiting for his bride at the alter

here comes the bride

meeting at the alter to become husband and wife

the wedding party, taking some pictures before the reception

sister and mother of the groom (a.k.a. my other cousin and aunt)

seal the deal with a kiss

aren't they cute

blissful newlyweds

first dance

wedding cake

throwing the bouquet

They got really lucky (which is actually quite difficult to do in WNY) and had a simply beautiful day for their outdoor ceremony, the weather was sunny and an amazing 80° so it really was perfect.

It was a lovely wedding - congrats to the happy couple and welcome to the family my new cousin Christine!

Weight Loss - Week 4

In honor of the beginning of pre-season football, we are going to consider this week a bye-week in my weight loss journey ;o) In other words, no loss this week... however, there also was no gain and so I consider maintenance a victory either way :o)

This week's weigh-in was a pleasant surprise, as I was actually preparing myself for a gain. I have been feeling bloated and not good all week long :o( Plus, we ate out a lot more than usual and the physical activity was still minimal.

But my knee is feeling 99% better now, and so I am planning to start a fitness routine next week. There is a lovely little 2.25 mile bike path near our house, that happens to end at a Starbucks :o) So the hubbs and I are going to try walking it at least 3 times a week (weather permitting). So that's 4.5 miles each round trip with a nice lil Starbucks pit-stop halfway through! Wish us luck!

Week 4 ~ Total Weight Loss: - 8lbs

Fall Favorites

I know this may seem a little premature, especially since there are still a few more weeks left in August, but I am very excited for my quickly approaching favorite season - FALL!!! Out of all the seasons (well, really only 1 1/2 seasons if you live in WNY) fall is my absolute favorite and I am sooooooooooo excited for September to be here!!!

Here are just a few of the reasons why I love fall:

Foliage

(pic taken at a local state park)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pastries (cookies, breads, muffins, etc.)

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

Apple Cider - esp. when paired with an old fashioned doughnut

Halloween

Apple Picking

 Warm Apple Pie with a Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream or Cool Whip

Thanksgiving

Most of all, I just love autumn weather - stepping out in that crisp, cool day. It not cold enough for a winter coat and/or snow boots, but not so warm that you find yourself sweating every moment of the day. Fall is just the all around perfect season! What's your favorite season and why???