Penny Schladt

Last Thursday after work John and I drove up to Aunt Brenda's house to see the Schladts before they headed back to Chicago. On their trip to PA they stopped off at a breeder around the Penn State area to pick up their new puppy (Penny) a Goldendoodle (Poodle & Golden Retriever Mix). It is the cutest puppy I've ever seen!

Here are some pics...











Also, just to give some of you an update, John and I are going to try to have another baby. I did want to wait awhile because of what happened a few months ago and get a puppy to keep myself occupied for awhile, but after some discussion we decided to just go for it! Please keep us in your thoughts and hope that everything goes a lot better this time around

OC,MD

Some of you may think I am crazy for saying this, but I am pretty much VACATIONED OUT for this year!! I don't know how John feels but I feel as if I've been away more than home!!



Anyways, at least we have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with our family on most of these getaways!

We took a long weekend from Friday to Monday to Ocean City, MD, our family's old summer stompin' grounds. My mom and I were calculating it and we had gone there every single year from the time I was 2 up until the year my father got sick. We only missed one year and that was because we went to Myrtle Beach, SC.


It was fun and sad at the same time. All I could remember was our whole family being there, me, mom, dad, my brother and his rugrats. Most of this past weekend was reminiscing about all of the summers we all shared down there! My mission this week is to scan in pics of some of those old memories.


So, a few things I thought I would note from this vacation:

1. My mom almost got us arrested for crossing a major intersection when we were not permitted to. She was disapointed for 2 reasons - the first is that she really wants to be arrested by Sean Quinn, not a MD State Trooper. The second is that we actually didn't get arrested or a ticket just a warning slip.

2. I think my mom actually had more fun with John than with me. I took a catnap after being out in the sun all day and woke up to find myself all alone - low and behold they were down the boardwalk once again at the 'ole Sandbar and they actually cleaned the bar out of their Coors Light!






3. Fishtails - No explanation necessary! Didn't make it to Seacrets - but I'm sure that will be our Lewes, DE Rendezvous with Dave & Jen like we did last year!






Bittersweet is how I would describe this vacation. Ocean City will never be the same without my dad and his Scribblers!

Little Jack

Two nights ago John and I had the honor of being visited by our friends Bryan & Max. They just had a little son named Jack William about 2 months ago. He is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen! And, he is a spitting image of his daddy. Not just that "oh, doesn't he look like his dad" or "wow, he has the same eyes as his mom". He seriously looks just like his dad (scary!)

Unfortunately, since I was holding Jack the whole time they were here I don't have any pics of him or Bryan so that you can see for yourself! I just love holding babies, especially when they are that tiny. It is the greatest feeling in the whole world! It's funny though, almost like riding a bike with holding them. At first you're a little shaky then you get more comfortable the more you do it. I will never forget the first time I held my nephew Aiden - I didn't move, I was like a statue because I was afraid of hurting him, or not supporting his head properly. Now it is a piece of cake!
He was so cute but because he had just gotten his (5) - ouch, shots for his 2 month so he was a little cranky when they arrived. Not too bad but just one of those little uncomfortable cries. He would cry a little, then stick his bottom lip out real far, then just stop crying. He must have done this about 5 times and all we could do was keep laughing. It was so funny!

So, just a little congrats to Bryan & Max for bringing this little handsome boy into this world!

Down By The Seashore

Everyone knows John and I LOVE the beach and both for different reasons!
I love the sand, the ocean and sunbathing, John loves the laid back atmosphere, the drinking and the smell of the ocean (one scent he can actually smell!)

This past weekend we went down to my in-laws house in North Wildwood - This is the week that all of their friends get together. We had a great time on Saturday, there was an awesome Bar-B-Que fest going on so we got to hang out there til all the other nerds showed up.

Here are some moments we captured...



Bunch of NERDS!























John eating a mound full of horseradish


















Beautiful Sunset on the Bay

DIET (and 104th post!)

So, I am writing to this blog as a reminder and committment to myself that I am going to start my weight loss/fitness plan on July 16th, 2007. I need to do this as a committment to myself and a reminder that I need to stay on track.

Just a brief history of where I've been:

2003 - Comfortable with my weight, never worked out, wore a size 4 regularly, used to be called "skinny" sometimes wore a size "2"!

2004 - After meeting John and getting comfortable I went up to a size 6, which still looked good on my body!




2005 - Started getting worried about my weight going up, so Erin & I decided to join the gym down the street from our work. I faithfully went everyday and started getting comments from people like, "wow look at how defined your arms & stomach are!"

2006 - After getting engaged and going through a rough time with my dad being ill, working out and eating healthy were not on my priority list. I was slowly trading in my size 4/6 for a 6/8 - yikes! Later this year, I reached a plateau and my weight stabilized (even though I was a size and a half bigger than I wanted to be) thank god, though because our wedding was in September

2007 - Oh, my god! Boy did the weight come. There were a few reasons after thinking about them, the loss of a job, dealing with the death of my father, the other loss John and I had a few months ago that some of you know about, just too much to deal with that ultimately leads to feeling depressed and wanting to fix it with food.

Also, I was thinking about some other factors that I think may have had an influence: After being a vegetarian for 7 years, I started eating poultry because John and I were trying to get pregnant so I thought it would be better for the baby. Also, I quit smoking in mid 2005, so that may also have contributed, and the lack of exercise - who wants to work out when you are this stressed?!?




So, now I feel like my life is on a stable road - I got a good job, John's doing good, our house is almost complete, we are starting a family - all these good things and I am having a hard time enjoying them because I hate the way I look and I feel unhealthy.

This is my pledge to myself and to the world that starting today I am doing the following to feel better about myself:

1. Keep a diary of everything that goes into my mouth (believe me once you start tracking it you eat much less!)

2. Start working out 3 times a week to start (no excuses, there is a full service gym 50 feet from my desk - and there is a personal trainer here at my disposal as well, all for FREE)

3. Eat fruits, vegetables, high protein drinks and Cheerios with skim milk only for the first two weeks, then go on a low fat sensible meal plan

4. Do all of this not to look like Nicole Richie, but to feel good about my body and to fit into the entire size 6 wardrobe that is in my closet!

Heat Wave...

The past few days have been awful hot! I thought I was going to keel over on Monday while walking from the office to my car. It was like the air was "thick" and unbreathable. Thank god for air conditioning! They had actually put an "Excessive Heat Warning" in effect. I think we may have hit the 100 degree mark, but it may have hovered around 99.

I know blogging about the weather is BORING...but the more I think about it, the blog is where I get my news! Between people blogging about things going on in their personal life or issues in our society, nothing is so sacred (or boring) that constitutes being left out of the blog! So for you non Northeastern Pennsylvanians out there reading this, here is the weather we have been experiencing over the past few days!

Erin, this one's for you...

Happy 4th of July

We wish everyone a Happy July 4th and hope that everyone had themselve's a good time today










We had a few people over to our house to Bar-B-Que today, including my British counterpart, Claire, who I work with at Mars Drinks. She has been here in the US for a few months now, so I figured she was American enough to enjoy a good 'ole July 4th party :-)





John thought it was kind of funny that someone from England would want to hang out with us in this day - I told him he reads into stuff too much!




We ended up going to the Glenside Parade in the afternoon, almost getting poured on. Unfortunately, after waiting around for the Fireworks for 9pm, it was still raining. I actually think I might hear them now, unless those are the M80's people set off in their driveways. Still pretty damp for some good fireworks.
..

CHICAGO!

This past week I had to go to Chicago for a work trip, so like all of the other "work" trips John and I have been going on, we decided to make it a vacation/work trip!

I flew out last Monday, then John joined me on Wednesday night, but it was more like Thursday morning with his 8 hour delay!

We were in a great hotel, it was in the heart of the city right by lake Michigan.























On Thursday night once my training endedx John and I strolled out on the town and hung out at the House of Blues.

Friday morning we headed out to our cousin's Mis, Greg, Emily & Olivia. They live right outside of the city, so it was convenient to make this a nice family vacation. It was the first time that we had been out to visit them so we were very excited!

Friday afternoon we all went to the Arlington Park Racetrack and we hung out in the picnic area. It was a lovely day and the girls had so much fun taking pictures of the horses &v the track (and us of course!) That evening we sat around the fire back at the house eating pizza and playing games. It was fun watching the girls try to stay awake as long as they could, it was just like Aiden & Riley. In fact, it was so cute when we first got there, they thought we were bringing Aiden & Riley with us because whenever they are in town from Chicagp we are usually with the boys and they are attached to us by the hip.



Saturday we went to a Civil War Encampment in Barrington, IL. The girls had a lot of fun asking questions to all of the people working there about their lifestyle, what they ate & wore and their living arrangements. Saturday night we saw an awesome Fireworke display.



Sunday we all went down to Wrigleyville (pics to follow, had to buy disposable camera) and we hung out around the Stadium. Unfortunately, John and I had to catch our flight at 6pm, so we couldn't go to the game, but it was neat to be hanging out down there at all the little local bars/restaurants. You could even catch a glimpse of the game near the right field corner. And I got to high five a Cub!

We had a great time visiting our family this past weekend and we can't wait to see you guys in a few weeks!