Fall, Fun and Friends

Howdy!!! This is going to be a long one....
This week was full of excitement!!! My lifelong friend, Carrie and her mom Pam stayed with us Thursday and Friday night. They were driving across the country to move Carrie from California to New York. Carrie just accepted a job in New York working for Syracuse University's student exchange program. She is in charge of overseeing the programs in Italy, Spain and England. Carrie grew up in Riverside, California and has lived in Italy off and on for the last 4 years. She speaks fluent Italian and is absolutely brilliant!!!
Here is a photo of me and Carrie in Potter's Woods about 5 minutes from our house...YAY for fall!!!
Sitting on our front porch, rockin' out... I love my Carrie!!!! Our moms have been friends since they were 15.... Carrie was a bridesmaid in my wedding and is one of my dearest friends!!!

Carrie and Pam had never been to Indy, so it only made sense to take them downtown to see the sites. Here is a pic of downtown Indianapolis from the Canal Walk....again another day of blue skies and pleasant weather.
Here is a pic of Carrie and Pam standing near the War Monument in the "Circle." You can see the capitol building in the background.Here is a picture of the Indianapolis capitol building...One of my favorite things about living here is being surrounded with cool architecture. Because Indy is so old, there is a TON of culture.Me and "Grammy" Pammy posing....Pam's son Nick and wife Nadine just had a baby boy this past spring. Ironically, Nick and Ryan had classes together at Cal State San Bernardino over the last few years...Here is a picture of me in front of Lucas Oil Stadium (the new Colts domain). I know JACK about football....but since they are the pride and joy of Indy.....I have decided to "jump on the bandwagon." I even purchased a jersey recently (okay- so I really bought it so I could wear jeans to work on "Blue" Fridays....shhhhhhh!!!).I think the Union Station building in downtown is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city...What do you think???Me and Carrie at the Rockbottom Brewery...I know, we are losers drinking fruity girl drinks at a brewery....CHEERS!!!On Friday night, we went out to the Melting Pot for some fondue fun! We invited our friend April to join us.I LOVE April....she was one of the first friends I made out here. She is my Grey's Anatomy buddy. Now that the season is back on, we are going to watch it together every Thursday night.I'm soooooooo glad Carrie and Pam came to visit!!! I hope they had as much fun as we did! Ryan and I can't wait to visit Carrie in New York in a couple of months! We love you ladies!!! xoOn Saturday, Ryan and I drove down to Bloomington, Indiana.All I have to say about the IU campus is WOW!!!! I have NEVER seen a university like this...breathtaking!!!The campus had an actual forest in the middle of it- makes for an awfully nice place to study for an exam, wouldn't you agree?Here is Ryan posing in front of the clock tower...once Ryan completes his Master's Degree, he should go for a doctorate in Physics and work here!!! I'm just throwin' the idea out there......More GREENERY....Is it just me, or does this building look like a college from a movie set?Look at these Cali kids in Indy....I can't wait to go to the other college campuses. We are going to visit Purdue in October and I REALLY want to take a trip up to South Bend to walk the grounds of Notre Dame before the year's end.We even found some trees that were beginning to turn...
Here is a neighborhood near the college. I LOVE all the trees!!!
The IU vs. Michigan State game was just ending as we were driving through...I was able to snap a quick pic of the stadium through the car window. If you look closely, you can see what is left of the fans, up in the stands.
On Wednesday, we celebrated our 3 year Wedding Annivesary. Here are the flowers Ryan brought home for me...AWWWWWWW!!!!

We headed out to Geist Reservior to have a romantic dinner.
We ate at Bella Vita. It is an Italian Bistro near the marina of Geist Reservoir. We had a table right on the water. We had very pleasant weather and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Here is a picture from our table...if you look closely, you can see some of the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn colors. I bet in a few more weeks, it will be just spectacular.
Last weekend, our friend Steve came over to watch some Colts football!!! Here are Ryan and Steve posing in our driveway.

Steve lives in Broad Ripple (about 20 minutes away). He grew up in MoVal like us. He played baseball at Valley View with Ryan and bartended at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club when I worked there as a server.
Here are some more pics of the BLERBS.....I wasn't joking when I said we hang out with our neighbors every weekend. Here we are enjoying a bonfire at Liz and Eric's house.
Here is a pic of Eric relaxing after a hard game of golf...LOL.
Here is Ryan stuffing his face with potato chips.....hmmmmmmm that doesn't look like South Beach to me???? Okay, so we fell off the wagon for a few days....tomorrow is another day!
Oh and one last thing...HAPPY HAPPY Birthday to our friend Kellie!!! Ryan and I LOVE and MISS you soooooooo much!!!!! We hope you had a fantabulous day!!!!
Until next time....xo

Life is What You Make of It

Greetings!!! I feel like I haven't written in FOREVER!!! I hope everyone is doing well. Ryan and I are doing great! We have both been busy with work, but are embracing every free moment we get to check out our new surroundings.

Below are two pictures of the sunset yesterday...UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
This one is my favorite- It's as if God got out his paintbrush and went to town! Check out the range of colors... On Saturday, September 20th, Ryan and I went to Military Park in Indianapolis to check out:

It was really neat! There were 4 stages with Irish dancers, fiddlers, singers and bands performing. There were also Rugby and Hurling matches going on. Ryan and I walked around and checked out all of the festvities.

CHEERS TO THE BEERS!!!

We also had the opportunity to enjoy the Fountain Trust Pipe Band! They were phenomenal...I love the sound of bagpipes....

There were several booths selling all kinds of Irish food (corned beef, Irish stew, potato soup, Irish beer) and Celtic souviners (jewlery, carvings, artwork, blankets, etc.).This gentleman was making medallions with a machine invented by Leonardo Da Vinci. They also had two tents with canines native to Ireland. Festival goers could come up and pet the dogs and their owners would answer any questions about their beloved animal. Here is Ryan next to a 7 month old Irish Wolfhound.While we were there, I had to REPRESENT (my mother's maiden name was Murray)...



We also found some pretty funny t-shirts....below are 3 of our favorites:


All and all, it was a very relaxing afternoon. As you can tell, we are trying to get in all of our fun-filled outdoor activities before winter comes and we are forced to become homebodies or go out into the snow and turn into human popsicles!!!
We also continue to hang out with our new neighbors a couple of times a week. We really scored in the neighbor department. There are eight of us (4 couples) that are all about the same age and get this....we ALL have the SAME house!!!! HILARIOUS! Anyways, we all hang out together and do what young, penny-pinching married couples do...

Here are Ryan and Zach JAMMING ON THEIR GUITARS...

Me and Liz CHUGGING MUDSLIDES and PLAYING CATCH PHRASE in our pajamas...Sabrina joining in the fun... Eric putting his leg behind his head...I tried to bribe him with a 12 pack of Sierra Nevada...but he wouldn't put both up. He can do it though- Did the guy have some ribs removed or what??? Can any of you do that?
It was our neighbor Brian's birthday last week. We all hung out and had dinner together. But first, his wife Sabrina suprised him with his new "COLTS" themed office.Sabrina rented a projector and she and Liz painted the Colts logo and helmet on the walls. She also framed and hung Colts posters and newspaper articles on the walls. Brian LOVED it!!!

That was such a thoughtful idea, don't you think?

Sabrina calls the 6 of us (me, Ryan, Brian, Liz, Eric and her the "BLERBS"-she took the first initial of each of our names...get it???)

The BLERBS are going to Purdue Homecoming mid -October. We also rented a campsite in Brown County in October as well. By then, the leaves should have turned and the colors should be spectacular.

Oh and one last thing. Happy Anniversary to me and Ryan on Wednesday!

September 24th celebrates 3 years of marriage and 15 years to the day Ryan first asked me to be his girlfriend in the 8th grade! We have been through so much and I thank God everyday for having him in my life.

I love you, Ryan!!!

Since 93', it was MEANT to be!!!

Until next time...xo

Birthdays and Basketball

On September 3rd two very important people in my life celebrated birthdays!!!

My nephew Dylan turned 1:

Happy Birthday Dilly!!! Your Auntie and Uncle love you!!! xo

My husband Ryan turned 28:

Happy Birthday Ryan Lee!!! I love you!!! xo

Ryan and I have both put on weight since moving to Indiana. We decided to take charge and have been trying DESPERATELY to avoid the "MIDWEST SPREAD!" Ryan and I are starting week 4 of the South Beach diet. I have been walking and doing 8 minute abs every night with my neighbors and start a pilates class on Tuesday. Obviously exercise helps, but this is the first time Ryan is actually eating healthy with me, which makes it 100 times better for me in the "will-power" department. We have been very happy with the results, and are almost back to where we would like to be....

So of course with my brilliance, I decided to make Ryan a sugar-free cake for his birthday. How did it turn out??? You be the judge....

Okay, so it was the NASTIEST cake I have ever seen...Moral of the story: On your actual birthday, eat a REAL piece of cake...you only live once!!!

Ryan is the BEST husband! He is such a caring and kind person. I can't believe we have known each other for 16 years...man, the time flies!!! Happy Birthday Ry- here's to many, many more!!!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!!!! Make a Wish... Check out ALL that smoke!
I invited our neighbors Liz, Eric, Brian and Sabrina over to celebrate with us. Of course, I picked up a real cake from the bakery for everyone else to enjoy...

On Friday, Josh McRoberts of the Indiana Pacers came to the elementary school I work at. He and 2 of the Pacemates (Pacer cheerleaders) were passing out Pacer Backbacks to each student in the school.

Here is a picture of me and some students with the Pacer's Mascot...

Here is a picture of Josh McRoberts and the Pacemates passing out backpacks at my school's entrance...


My partner Alissa and I were excited to meet a pro-basketball player...but we were more excited about wearing T-shirts and jeans to work!! In Indiana, I can only wear jeans twice a month on payday Fridays...I have to dress like a banker on all of the other days!!! I miss those teaching days in California, where I wore jeans 99.9 percent of the time.
On Saturday, we drove up to Kokomo, Indiana with our neighbors Liz, Eric, Brian and Sabrina. We had a blast! When we got home, we all went over to Eric and Liz's house to help them paint their living room. We love our neighbors and are becoming fast friends. Here we are...Liz, me and Sabrina....my workout partners!!! Liz relocated here from Chicago and Sabrina was born and raised in Indiana. Both of them graduated from Purdue. Liz is a graphic designer and Sabrina is almost done with her Radiology program. We are all around the same age ...we really lucked out in the neighbor department! I know you are probably sick of these pics...but with a sky like this, I couldn't resist...

Until next time....xo