Glorious afternoon

Sunny day, jumping fish, singing birds, playing squirrels, swimming ducks, laughing children, comfy jeans, bare feet, bare face, sonic drink, happy heart, blessed life, God's grace.

Excuse the poor quality of the photo, but I am pleased to say that our bike accessories arrived via UPS this evening! Josh assembled the lights immediately so that we could take a night ride around the island!

Simply Enjoying!

We are settling in to our new home very well!  There are only a few boxes remaining to be unpacked and we have made a "home" of our new place!  We have water, electricity, cable/internet, and we are finally receiving mail to our new address....what more could you ask for?!  To beat that, I now do laundry within our home instead of paying $4 in quarters per load at the hotel coin machines!  While I still miss the fresh fruit and coffee each morning, I don't miss the hotel laundry system (although I was extremely grateful for it at the time). 

It's really hard to believe we've already been in our new place for over a week!  The time sure is flying.  The month in the hotel was a great experience and I enjoyed it so much, however we are loving our new place!  Including the extended hotel stay, we stayed 39 of the previous 42 nights in some hotel prior to moving into our current condo.  That's pretty crazy!  Looking back at it all, everything is quite a blur......hard to explain, but for those of you who have done this before I'm sure you know what I mean!  Our suitcases are ready for a break for sure!

Thursday evening we made "the grocery run" -- you know, the [slightly dreaded and also expensive] big trip to the grocery when you first move somewhere.  Not only do you have to think of some meal ideas, it's a grocery trip to replace the regular things that are usually just in your fridge -- like mayo, mustard, milk, and other perishables that we couldn't pack with us. That also brings me to the funny point of mentioning that we had to purchase a broom!  Seriously, we don't know what we were thinking on moving day last month.  We had THREE regular size brooms and somehow we didn't get here with even one of them.  The dust pan was packed and so was the MASSIVE PUSH BROOM, but no regular broom.....whatever, we were exhausted!  So in our Kentucky storage unit there must be three brooms that we will have back in our possession someday.  The trip to Walmart was a pricey one but we are in a pretty good shape and have enjoyed using the kitchen again!

Apparently I was out of practice because while making sweet tea I managed to dump the measuring cup of sugar ONTO THE HOT BURNER instead of in the pot.  Hot sugar makes a bit of a sticky mess.  Glad I broke the new stove top in well!

Thankfully later that Friday evening my domestic side redeemed itself with these easy-peasy mini pizzas (after all, I better start back to cooking in a simple way)!  My husband was thrilled, which was awesome because these babies couldn't get any simpler!  Assemble and bake english muffins, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperonis, a side of marinara.....dinner is served!

Along the domestic lines, I want to mention that we do not have a microwave.  It was the only appliance that didn't come with the condo.  We had full intentions of purchasing one to use, however since being here I have decided to wait on that purchase.  Of course there are times that I think in my head "I'll just microwave that" and then quickly remember we don't have one.  Buuuuuuut.....I kind of like it.  "Like it" as in the feeling that I am not tempted to use it, I'm not settling for some faux version of cooking, and I'm not short-cutting the kitchen experience.  And to be honest, I really haven't missed it!  I have enjoyed stirring my soup on the stove top and reheating spaghetti in the toaster oven (no joke, it worked beautifully).  Just this afternoon I even warmed a tad bit of oil in a covered pan, opened up a bag of microwave popcorn and poured the kernels in the pan, placed the lid on, and watched the popcorn pop to perfection!  It not only worked, but it was fun!  I feel like this is a healthier family option.....any one else out there living without a microwave by choice? 

 

And speaking of not-so-healthy......these fried gator tail bites with "swamp sauce."  Can I get a "yum?!"  YUM!  They were delish and the perfect appetizer for Saturday's date night at Hammett's Landing!

Josh with his crab cake sandwich!  It also was super yummy!

And I ordered a tuna burger with a cucumber wasabi sauce (yumminess!) and sweet potato fries!  

 

We shared this gorgeous dessert!  Banana white chocolate won-tons.....YES, PLEASE!!

Enjoying date night after a full day of playing outside!  We rode our bikes and played at the park with friends for a really fun afternoon.  Less than two hours after this date-night pic, I fell asleep on the couch while the tunes of Boyz II Men were playing a concert on our island.  I had every intention of bike riding downtown later that evening.....needless to say, I was good for nothing!

Then after an amazing church service on Sunday, I enjoyed my first experience riding my bike by myself downtown to the Publix grocery store where I purchased our dinner items.  When I left the condo it was daylight and because I spent quite a bit of time at the grocery chatting with strangers, it was dark when I was leaving.  Fortunately the roads are not too busy and I did return safe with my groceries in tow (I learned next time to wear a backpack if biking), however my sweet husband was worried and had already placed an online order for a set of safety lights for my bike!  :) 

Last night we rode bikes together to have pizza at Orlando's, but we made sure to return by dusk since we're waiting on those bike lights to arrive.

Which brings me to tonight.....super simple, and completely amazing!  We had some leftovers so I quickly prepared those things in containers, threw in some paper goods, our picnic blanket and a football....and off we headed to Smythe Park where we enjoyed a picnic and throwing football together!

 Tonight's picnic was in this little area.....completely surrounded by the lake and beautiful trees!  It is really just perfect!  I wish I could capture it completely on film - gorgeous!

So happy together!

Our yummy fried chicken dinner!

 The sun was setting and the clouds were vibrantly pink and purple!  Perfect evening!

We are loving Charleston and especially where we live on Daniel Island!  With all of the parks and amenities, I am happy to stay on the island as much as possible....it really is great!

With love from Charleston!

The Joys of January!

I thought that January was supposed to be a slooooow month that's full of lots of "nothing."  

However, January has been a busy month for Family P!  

We started off celebrating the new year in not-so-warm-and-sunny Florida.  Although the temperatures were less than desirable, we had a great vacation and also celebrated two amazing years of marriage!

Mr. & Mrs. P on Vaca in Florida......the first time I've ever worn a North Face jacket on the beach!

We returned home to even colder temperatures, but enjoyed celebrating Papa's 81st Birthday.

Papa and Mom on his Birthday!

We also had a great time getting back together with my LBG Class for a social at Mariah's.

A few members from the great LBG Class of "09!

Then a snow came that nearly closed down Bowling Green!  Just kidding, but that's how we react to the Winter weather around here.  And I'm a perfect example -- I believe the world should stop til Spring!

Our snow-covered home

Then we celebrated MLK weekend (although I was the only one who actually had a work holiday on that Monday) in Banner Elk, North Carolina as we skiied Sugar Mountain.  Mom, Daddy, Keeton, Jason, Josh and I traveled together and had a great time -- with lots of yummy food too!

 

*Excuse the hodge-podge of pictures.....I did a terrible thing when I was "playing" with my new camera.  Long story short, I managed to delete a good portion of pictures from our ski trip and Josh's birthday.  Only my friend LL could realize the true severity of this situation and how my heart has a missing piece.  Grrrr!

And after the ski trip, we returned for Mr.P's Birthday the next day!  I had a great birthday idea for him, but weeks before his birthday he instructed that I better not even think about doing a party.  (This is sad news for someone who loves to plan such occasions)  However, considering that my man isn't into the party scene so much, I decided since it was his birthday we would do something more low-key.  I still had some element of surprise involved because he thought it would just be us doing dinner with our parents and brothers....but to his surprise, I did extend the invitation just a bit to more family.  Everyone had a great time, including the birthday boy himself!

My Mr. P with other Mr. P's -- his Dad & brother!

A local family was led to do something for the Haiti Disaster Relief, so I was pleased to get to be a part of their benefit event.  Since I work at the American Red Cross, I represented the chapter and the funds earned that are sent to Haiti.  The event was an evening of concerts featuring popular local bands.  The event raised over $13,000!  What a great way to have fun and support a worthy cause.  God bless the people in Haiti - I pray for their recovery!

Some of the ARC ladies working the tickets/contributions table prior to the concert. 

"Skip Bond & The Fugitives" was the last band performance of the night and the lead singer wearing this kilt earned $500 toward the Haiti Relief Benefit Fund!  Men of all ages will fall for a dare! :)

Unfortunately, my weekend plans did not include the sisterhood reunion in Lexington of many of my sorority sisters.  :(  I was so sad to miss this gathering but I definitely look forward to our next scheduled time together -- I plan to be there 100% -- it's not fun to miss out!

We did have a little delivery arrive at the bike shop that we picked up.....our new mountain bikes!  I know this picture appears upside-down, but it's actually the bikes hanging from hooks in the garage ceiling. (I failed to get a picture before they were hung.)  We took them for a quick spin, but it's so cold outside so we couldn't do it long.  We are looking forward to hitting the road (perhaps the neighborhood for starters) and burning some calories.

Our bikes stored in our garage.  Josh and Daddy hung the hooks and now the bikes fit perfectly!

Speaking of "burning calories," Family P has gained weight since "two became one."  EEK!  It came on slowly, so at first it wasn't a big deal.  However, we're both ready to take charge of our health and we're encouraging each other.  I've started back to going to the gym in the mornings before work.  Just a few days in and I'm already seeing a bit of improvement in my energy, alertness, and overall well-being.  Hopefully this trend continues and I don't burn-out as I previously have done.  I'm just thankful to have become concerned while it's still manageable.  It appears that I have gained about 8-9 pounds since we were married two years ago.  That might not seem like much over that amount of time, but it's bad news bears as far as I'm concerned.  Feel free to offer advice, tips, and encouragement!  I really don't have a bad diet, but my job requires so much sitting.....and I am certain that is exactly what has led to my gain.  I am doing cardio and strength training at the gym.  I'm no expert at all, just doing what seems right.  I feel like a "plan" would be great -- like a written workout of how many minutes for cardio, how many sets and reps, etc.  I need to do some more research in this area -- if you happen to know a good resource to share, I would appreciate it.  I know I could hire a personal trainer, but that is not something we plan to spend money on right now.  Mr. P also began his plan of action which also includes cardio and strength training.  This is not a New Years resolution, rather a decision that was important to make for ourselves.

I made this picture of the three remaining cupcakes left from Josh's birthday dinner.  For fun, I stacked them up and took a picture and then I tossed them in the garbage!  I'm not one for wasting food, but it was a smart decision to rid them of our home to help support our new health, fitness and nutrition goals.  If only it were always that easy to get rid of excess fat!  :)

Cupcake tower

The rest of this week and weekend remain fairly busy for us and the weather is calling for a big snow.  Oh geez.....I better join the rest of BG in stocking the pantry with lots of canned foods!  (Really.....I so need to do a grocery trip!)

Wishing you a blessed week!