Holy cow it's September, WOW!

August bid fairwell and September has arrived! I cannot express how excited I am knowing that the HOT summer months are over and things are starting to cool down in Virginia. I love seeing the high temps for the next week only reaching into the mid 80's :) It's such a beautiful thing.

Speaking of weather... Mother Nature has not been so kind to Virginia the past several weeks. As you all know from my last post, we had an earthquake in central VA about 2 weeks ago. That was an something I never care to experience again. I was hopeful that the one big earthquake would be the end of it, but apparently we have had almost 20 aftershocks. Most of which I have not felt. We had a 4.3 aftershock on my Birthday (Sept 1). Last week VA also got hit by hurricane Irene. Lucky for us, we got a little rain and a little wind, but that was the extent of our hurricane experience. Some friends closer to the ocean were not so lucky though. I'm thankful our house has been kept safe from Mother Nature!

I celebrated my 28th Birthday on September 1st! It was a bitter-sweet day for me. Although I enjoy having a day to celebrate "me", I have struggled the past few years with the idea of getting older. Everyone tells me they enjoy getting older, I don't. I down right hate it. I'll be honest, I started the day off on quite an emotional note but by the end, it was a perfect day. Here's how it went : Originally I had plans to get together with a couple friends and have dinner...but that pretty much fell through so I decided I would just stay home by myself and be sad. After several minutes of feeling bad for myself I decided to take a shower, get dressed and take myself to a movie like I had originally planned. When I told Paul I was going to be spending the evening alone, he said he would meet me in town when my movie was over and have dinner with me at Buffalo Wild Wings. I left the house and headed to town to see The Help. If you have not seen it already, it is a MUST SEE!!! Wonderful movie :) Well, about 30 minutes into the movie I got a text from Paul saying he had the rest of the night off and he would meet me at BW3 when I was done with the movie. I could not figure out why he had the rest of the night off. When the movie was finished, I haded to BW3 for dinner. Paul told me that his SGT asked him after line-up if he wanted to grab something to eat. Paul explained to him that he was meeting his wife in town b/c it was her birthday. His SGT told him they had plenty of people to work and told him to take the evening off. HOW NICE IS HE!!!!!! After dinner we went to Walmart and ended up in line behind the 1 person in the store who could not count and was trying to get 40ish items through the 20 items or less counter. There was a long line of people behind her. All of us had fewer then 10 items and everyone was getting frustrated. I was puchasing a yard stick and I wont lie... I wanted to smack her with it. I can't stand people like her. What was worse was that I could not stop looking at her.... she had done WAY too much botox... it was nasty! My little sister Emily sent me flowers on my birthday too :) I was not home when they tried to deliver them so I got them the next day. They sure are beautiful!!! The bouquet has roses, lillies, daiseys and sunflowers. It really made me smile when I saw them! Saturday was my big celebration day with Paul. Instead of him buying me a present, I wanted to go shopping to buy some clothes for this fall! Saturday was so much fun too. I loved spending the day with my sweet husband. He did such a great job shopping with me :) My only rule that day was that he was not to act nervous or fidget and he did not do either! We went to Buckle in Shortpump. I love their clothes. Although they are a weeeee bit expensive, I'll have them for several years and can add to my wardrobe over time. I'll post pictures of the thigns I got. We ended the day at Cheesecake Factory. It was so amazingly good. We bought 4 slices of cheesecake, most of which we brought home with us. I think Cheesecake Factory is the place where we will celebrate big occasions. We both love it there!

Most of you also know we are selling our house. Well, trying to sell our house. The market is crap right now so I am not holding my breath. We have decided to lower the price of the house by $8,000. We hope that the drop in price will draw more attention and we will find a buyer. Paul and I have been trying to decide if we want to stay in Virginia after the house sells. Both of are feeling a pull to move out West. We are thinking Wyoming. My oldest brother would like us to at least look at South Dakota where they are.... so I may try to talk Paul into at least looking... but we both feel really really good about Wyoming. It provides a totally different lifestyle that we would both love to have when it comes to raising our children that Virginia does not have. We have been looking at Police Departments, Real Estate, apartments, etc is all of the major Wyoming cities. We get more and more excited about the idea. But first, we have to sell our house. I'll keep you posted!

That's about all I have for now.

Liz

The happenings in the Quillon home :)

Wow, we have had quite a few things happen recently!

First of all, a little over a week ago, Paul and I decided it was time to trade in his Chevy Impala for something that would give us a little bit better mpg and was considered a "good" car. I am a big Toyota fan so we drove to the Toyota Dealership in Charlottesville and found exactly what we were looking for. We purchased a 2009 Toyota Corolla SE. It's silver and we love our new car. When we drove from Missouri to Virginia this past April after the STL airport was hit by the tornado, we go t amazing mpg and it was a comfortable car to ride in. What better test drive can you get then 850 miles of highway, city, flat landscape and mountains?!?!?! We are very happy with our puchase and feel we made the perfect decision for us.

Second of all, we decided to put our house ont he market the middle of July so it's been for sale for about 6 weeks now. Although we have not had anyone show interest as of yet, we are very prayerful and hopeful that something will come of our efforts. I have gone into this with no expectations. If it does not sell by January, we will take it off the market for 6 months and then try again... but if it does sell, I will be thrilled. People are wondering what our next step will be if the house sells.... we really don't know. We have a couple ideas rolling around in our family prayers, so until we feel impressed that the Lord is guiding us in one direction or the other, we will leave those ideas with the Lord :) I have decided to embrace this time in our life and know that "It's all good"

Third of all, as MOST of you already know... Virginia had an earthquake today :) It was a horrible/crazy experience. It terrified me and at one point I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Let me explain why though. We had put Harley outside to go potty and run around for a while before we left for work. Paul and I had been laying on the couch watching tv and not 2 minutes after getting up to start changing into my scrubs, the entire house started to shake. As soon as I realized it was an earthquake, I freaked out because Harley is TERRIFIED of everything and I knew he was outside all alone and probably going into cardiac arrest. I was worried he would try to jump the fence. All of these thoughts were running through my mind and Paul kept telling me he was fine. I was like "No, we have to go to the basement and get him, he's scared". Well... needless to say, he is just fine. He was a little freaked out when we finally let him and I'm sure he has forgiven us for letting him go through such a thing. Everyone at work was safe when I arrived and I am so thankful that Paul's night was not as terrible as I expected it to be when they announced on the radio that our 911 number was not working. I assumed he would be soo busy all night doing damage control.

Well, that's about all I have right now. Paul and I have both worked the last 6 days so I am ready for him to get home so we can go to bed. Although he has the next 4 days off, he is picking up overtime all 4 days and he has to be back at work for a 3 hour shift at 6 am. Not quite sure how he's going to get enough sleep... but the money is good so I'm sure he will work, come home and take a long nap!

I hope this find everyone well!!!

Love,
Us

August

Happy August everyone :)

It's finally here and all I can say is... I HOPE IT BRING'S COOLER WEATHER!!! I was reading a Yahoo News article today regarding the horrible heat wave that has hit the US this summer. They said that there were almost 3,000 heat records set in July alone all over the country. That's up from the 1,400 last year. Believe it or not, a little town in Minnesota was named "The hottest place in US recorded history" for a day. With the heat index (humidity plus the temp) it was 134 outside. I know Virginia has been insane the past month. Although several people we know insist on keeping their homes cool through this heat wave, we keep the house at aprox 80 deg. Yes, it get's warm from time to time so when I'm cleaning or working around the house, I turn it down to 77. Even at 77 though, when I hear the air kick on and I see is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. It stresses me out. The only thing I hate about a warm house is when I'm trying to sleep and my feet get hot. I can't sleep when my feet are hot. Ok, enough about the hot weather :) May August bring us cooler weather so I can open my windows and let the summer funk out of my house!

I finally ran 1 mile last night (well, more like 0.9) but it's close enough so I'm guna go with the 1 mile idea. It was horribly difficult and I am kinda not looking forward to doing it again tonight... but I will never improve if I don't keep working at my goal. So, here in about 4 hours I will hit the pavement and run like the cops are chasing me.

I know I have been behind on posting pictures the past several post's so I promise as soon as my camera is back up and running, I will get some pictures on this thing. I have pictures of our new gutters and I want to get updated pictures our the house posted.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

July in the Quillon home

I know I say this time and time again... but time seems to be moving by too quickly for my taste. Can you believe July is 2 days away from being over? That means that August is 2 days away from knocking on my front door. To me, August is the month when Summer flirts with the idea of tucking itself away until next year and fall flirts with the idea of making it grand arrival. Although the heat has been INSANE this summer, I dread the idea of winter. Fall is a peaceful time for me. Peopel start thinking about their turtlenecks, sweatpants and hot chocolate. It's a slower time. Fall also means my birthday (Sept 1) at which time I will be turning the great 28. Not quite sure how great it actually is... but it's coming regardless if I am ready for it or not.

Paul and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary of July 9th and it was such a great day. We drove to Short Pump, VA for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and totally stuffed ourselves with amazing food. Then we went grocery shopping and came home and relaxed at home for the rest of the evening. We also exchanged gifts. I got Paul a Fossil watch and he got me a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It's red and beautiful :) I was shocked when I saw it and I could not have asked for a better gift. He out-did himself!

Harley's doing great :) We have discovered a few fun things about him this month! He is freaked out by our new yellow exercise ball that we just purchased. He has decided he loves cupcakes.... we do NOT allow him to eat cupcakes. I was laying on the couch and reached over for my cupcake. I picked it up and he jumped on my cupcake and bit the frosting. I could not even be mad b/c it was soooo cute! He loves our eveing run. I know he likes it a lot more then me!

Not much else is going on in our life. We went grocery shopping the other day for the first time in about 3 weeks. We were about to starve to death :) Everything is good in this Quillon home :) We hope all is well with everyone who reads this!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to US!!!!

"Ordinary, No

Really don't think so

Not a love this true

Common destiny

We were meant to be

Me and you"

These are a few lyrics from our wedding song. Me & You by Kenney Chesney.

It is so hard to believe that 1 year ago tomorrow I married my very best friend & the love of my life. People have said to me over the year that our relationship must have moved too quickly, and that it must be hard spending our first year getting to know each other. I don't think it has been as hard as it has been exciting. I have truly loved getting to know Paul. He makes me smile and can make me laugh even when I'm terribly frustrated at one thing or another.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to be Paul's wife. I could not have asked for a better man to call my husband & I try so hard every single day to be worthy of being his wife. I am looking forward to many many many more fun years together.

I often wonder what our 2nd year being married will bring? Will it be the year we sell our house and find something we want to finally call "home"? Will we welcome a baby into our family (No, I'm not pregnant)? I don't know what the Lord has in store for us, but I do know that whatever it may be we will tackle it head on... and together.

Thank you to everyone who has loved and supported us this past year. We both come from such wonderful families and we love them all so much!

Happy Anniversary Paul :) You are everything in my life that is good! You still give me butterflies when you kiss me and the very BEST part of my day is when you walk through our front door and I know you are home and safe with me. My life could not be complete without you! I LOVE YOU!!!

Settling in Virginia...

It has been 1 year since I left my home in Missouri and began my treck to Virginia. This was my 19the move (give or take a move) and it was by far my most important. This move felt so perminant. I was moving to Virginia to get married. Today I have been reflecting on the days leading up to my move. I cannot say I was nervous... but I was anxious. There were so many things I assumed, but a few things I knew for sure. I knew I was moving 850 miles away from my family. I knew I was once again starting over and the only person I had at the end of the day was Paul. I knew I did not have a job and by the time my U-Haul pulled into Palmyra, Va I had apox $100 to my name. I knew I would be spending a lot of time alone since Paul would be back to work and working a ton after the wedding.

I have loved being in Virginia since the moment I crossing the state line July 5, 2010. The state is beautiful and the people here are very friendly. It has a Southern feel that the Midwest is lacking.

My mom and sister were here from Missouri for the past week (That's another Blog!) and having my mom here made me realize how grown up I am starting to feel. I think in some ways, Virginia have brough the "adult" out in me. My life is so stable here. Paul and I both work, we go grocery shopping, he sits down at the start of every month to pay the bills, I cook most of our meals and we spend most of our free time at home. We have such a simple life here. It's a wonderful feeling to have my family here and not feel like the child and have my mom do everything.

Next Saturday is Paul and I's 1 Year Anniversary and I am very excited to celebrate that day with him.

IT'S FINALLY SUMMER :)

Can you believe it's already summer? The year is scooting by so quickly I don't feel like I can keep up from time to time.

So far, Charlottesville has been blessed with fairly mild temps which is GREAT for our electric bill. It's sad when a $68 bill is worth celebrating! But, we are thankful every day that we do not need to run our air conditioning. Most of the people we know are running it about 24 hours a day at this point since we have been in the low 90's the past few weeks. But as for this Quillon home, we run it for a couple hours when I home but as soon as Paul's home and we are ready for bed, off it goes. We sleep with 2 fans going and the window open. So far I think it bugs the dog more then it does us. We are anxious to see how July and August treat us. Hopefully with the rain we are expecting, it will keep the temps low enough to manage without the a/c! Crossing my fingers.

Paul's job is going really well. It's hard to believe he's been there 2 months now. The time has flown for him. Now that the weather is warmer and people are staying out later during the week and weekends, Paul has been having more and more DUI calls that he has to respond to. It typically would not even cross my mind, but he has had to respond to a few calls close to the end of his shift and it ends up making him get home much much later then he typically would. I told him last night that I wanted to make a shift that says "Drinking and driving does not only affect you and your family! When you drink a drive and my husband has to resond to your accidnet, it affects me b/c he does not get hom when he should". That would be my venting shirt :) I think I'll pass on making it! He has really enjoyed having the police car to bring to and from work. I'm glad to see him enjoying his job again. I hope it lasts b/c he has a long long time to work with this department! I'm sure he will really love it.

My job has been going great. Last week was very interesting. I have learned a few very important lessons during my employment years.... there are some people that you run into that will never open their ears long enough to listen to anything other then the voices in their own head. So far I have really loved my residents and the other staff members that I get to work with. I spend about half of my time on the alheimers unit and half of my time on the assisted living unit. I think I fit in well at Rosewood Village. I do my very best to keep busy and keep to myself. You stay out of trouble that way ;) The best part is that I get to (for the most part) make my own schedule. That has been a big blessing because it allows me to be home most of the days Paul has off. I love it!

We went on a "date" this past Tuesday. We went to the dentist and had lunch together. The dentist was not the best, but not the worst. The experience was great. It was not AS painful as either of us thought it would be... but the outcome was not as good. We both have 5 cavities. Paul has go back in a few months to have his filled b/c they are small and it's not critical that they get filled... but as for me...sigh! I have 2 cavities that they are just watching and in 6 months if they feel they need attention, I will have them filled then. But, I have 3 right next to each other that are getting filled on July 11th. 2 are small but while they are up there, they want to get them taken care of. 1 cavity is really bad and they said if it's not taken care of soon, it will be a total root canal which would totally stink. So, July 11th, Paul will take me to the dentist and they will numb me up and drill away. I am NOT looking forward to this. I think I will take my Ipod since I HATE the sound of the drill. They better numb me up good. The dr was shocked that I have not had pain in that tooth. Funny thing is this. It actually huts now that they messed with it.

My mom and sister are coming into town from Missouri on Tuesday. We are planning a trip to Virginia beach, but as of right now, we are only looking at 1 day without rain. It's a big huge bummer since we were planning on spending 3 days at the beach. Hopefully we will be getting 1 good day in and maybe to go Paul's favorite seafood place for dinner on our way home. I know that would make him excited. They will be here until July 5th I believe. Since Paul has to work July 4th, I'm glad I will have someone to watch the fireworks with. Last summer I was about killed by a firework explosion. Let's hope this year is better. Last year was fun though :)

Paul and I's 1 year Anniversary is July 9th and I am so excited to be able to have that day off with him. We are planning a trip to Short Pump (a town near Richmond, Va). We are having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and maybe a movie (I have not mentioned the movie part to him). I ordered his anniversary present on Wednesday. Hopefully it will be here Monday. I am really excited to give Paul his gift. A little nervous too b/c he's very specific when it comes to what he likes/wants and I'm kinda going out on a limb with this idea. I guess we can always take it back if he does not like it.

Paul and I bought a new TV last week. He has been wanting a bigger TV for our livingroom so we finally broke down when we found one on a great deal at Walmart. It's a 55 inch Sanyo. I am still getting use to how big it is. Compared to our 42 in, this this is HUGE! It looks great and I get to say I picked it out :) I pretty much pointed to it as a joke and said, that's the tv you want.

I hope everyone has a great week. This has been quite a long post. Sorry!

Love,
Liz