Summer Lovin'

This past week we have been enjoying the outdoors! On Thursday, I accompanied Ryan on a trip to "The Fort" golf course in Indianapolis. It was absolutely beautiful...lots of changes in elevation and SUPER green. We almost forgot we were in the "FLAT" Midwest!!!

Look at this handsome guy...looks almost as good as his golf score ;)Lovely trees...On the green...I love golf courses. I could ride along each and every time and be completely entertained. There is nothing better than taking in the beautiful surroundings.Ryan is a pretty decent golfer. Watching him makes me want to learn. Golf is something we could do together throughout the years-especially since we enjoy the outdoors and like to travel.This golf course is situated next to a National Forest. Sooooo pretty!Being silly! I LOVE my husband!!!Ryan and his golfer pose...LOL Flowers and more trees... Isn't this sunset breathtaking? I'm thinking of enlarging this pic and framing it in our upstairs guest bathroom (which is golf-themed). Of course we had to attempt a sunset shot together... We also frequented the pool a few times this week...Ryan soaking up some rays :) I think I have mentioned before that most subdivisions out here have pools. As you can imagine, our pool is EXTREMELY crowded with kiddos trying to escape the humidity. Every hour, the lifeguard blows his/her whistle and all the kids have to get out-HAHA, so that the adults get the pool to themselves for 15 minutes.Ahhhhhhh...I love summer time! A girl could get used to this...

I love being off with Ryan! This is our first "official" summer off together...

We are still doing South Beach and going to the gym. We have moved on to Phase 2 (Ryan picks and chooses when he wants to comply with the diet...LOL) This is one of our favorite things to enjoy...Blueberries, strawberries, Sugar-Free Jell-O Cheesecake pudding and Sugar-Free Cool Whip! It is REALLY yummy!!!

Finally, we leave you with a short video clip of the lightning we had a few evenings ago. Our county was on "Storm Watch" and had a "Tornado Warning" (don't worry- tornado never happened). I wish I had better video-this bolt was nothing in comparison to other lightning we saw that night...

Until next time...xo

Friends and Rain: A One Year Celebration

It's OFFICIAL!!!! Ryan and I have now lived in Indy an entire year! The time has gone by sooooooooo fast. I remember when we made the decision to move and the assortment of comments we received from friends and family...some said we'd hate it, others said we'd love it. Well the consensus is in--We LOVE Noblesville-it is now home and we are here to stay!!! It was scary to make the move, but well worth it. Sometimes you just have to follow your instincts and take a chance-life is too short not to...
Last week Ryan had class, so we didn't get to do a whole lot, but we did manage to go to the gym, clean out the cars, get some yard work done and organize the house. Sunday was Ryan's last day of class, so we celebrated Sunday night with some bowling...

We went bowling with our friend April and her neighbors Brandon and Jenn. April also brought her friend, Ryan.

It had been soooooooooooooooooooo long since Ryan and I have bowled....in fact, we couldn't even remember the last time we bowled in CA!!!

We had a great time! We had fabulous company! Everyone was super nice, and of course we LOVE our friend, April!!!

Ryan bowled the best game of his life...

Me??? NOT SO MUCH!!!! But I did have fun! Me and April :)

April posing with the Origami dollar bill Ryan made her...I'm telling you, the guy has many talents...LOL

It was so much fun!!! We can't wait to go again. Our neighbors Lisa and Steave want to join a bowling league...Maybe we will be on a team in the near future???The past few days have been VERY rainy. Ryan and I were talking about it, and we actually prefer the overcast...NOT very big fans of the sun! Besides, rain keeps things cool and green. The only real bummer about rain is that our outdoor adventures get postponed. We had planned to go canoeing, but because of the wet weather, went to the movies instead. Here is a pic of us leaving our neighborhood...

We really enjoy the scenery out here. A lot of the land is still undeveloped, so everything is real open and picturesque...

Country road and more rain...Here is a pic of me and my date...Isn't he handsome??? He is really nice too...I think I might marry him someday...heehee :)

Before we went to the movies, we went to McAlister's Deli for lunch...

Here is a pic of Ryan CHEATING on his diet!!!! Carbs, Carbs, Carbs! I swear, one week and he can't hang...Look at the guilt on his face!!! Notice the salad I ordered...4 pounds lost and haven't cheated once- I guess some of us have more will-power than others!

We went to the movies to see "The Hangover." It was a REALLY funny flick...kind of raunchy and definitely not for kids...I'd recommend it for an adult night out.It was still raining when we got home, so we decided to have our neighbors over for Pot-Luck...Sabrina made Pot-Roast, Liz made Lemon Bars (which I sadly could not eat) and Ryan made Chicken Stir-Fry...

More rain-these 2 pics were taken at 9pm....can you believe how light it was outside??? CRAZY!!!

Liz and her baby bump...she is sooooooooooooo adorable!!! Her and Eric are still undecided on a name for their little girl- Any suggestions??? She is due in October. Send them my way and I will pass them along...

Zach and Kristen brought Layne over. Since we have no toys at our house, I had to get creative. Here he is pushing around the decorative shopping cart that goes on our kitchen counter. I filled it with some goodies from our pantry so he'd have something to play with...

All the girls love Ryan... Whether it's California, the Mid-West- it doesn't matter where we go, the guy is a chick magnet...LOL :)

More congregating in the kitchen...

I LOVE all of 3 of these girls. They have been such wonderful friends to me! from left to right: Kristen, Sabrina, Liz and yours truly...

Ryan, Brian and Eric talking shop...

Dinner-time...I wanted to take this picture over because I cut Ryan's head off, but Ryan said no...oh well!

After dinner, Zach and Kristen took Layne home- the rest of us played Game Wave. My best friend Erin bought it for me and Ryan for a Christmas present last year. It has 6 individual remote controls--enough for all of us to play at the same time!

It is pretty fun...we played the 2 trivia games. The 6 of us (Me, Ry, Liz, Eric, Brian and Sabrina) gave ourselves pseudo-names...Can you guess what name belongs to who?

After everyone went home, I spent the evening with my 3 favorite boys!!!
If I have learned anything this past year, it is to follow your heart in ALL aspects...love, career, location. We are the choices we make--Be true to yourself; We only get one go round...make it worthwhile!!!

Until next time...xo

Busy Beavers :)

Hey everyone! This week was our first "official" week off together for summer vacation (Monday was Ryan's last day of work). We got a lot of things done on our "to do list," including dentist and doctor appointments, and with the exception of the metal screw I am getting placed in my jaw on Monday for my dental implant (NOT looking forward to that), we have clean bills of health! This week, we FINALLY joined a gym...

And joined the 21st century, purchasing MP-3 Players (to listen to while we "feel the burn"). Mine of course has all my 80's faves- The Police, The Cure, Duran Duran and some old school rap and hip-hop- TuPac, LL Cool J, Digital Underground...I know, I am dork-o-licious! Ryan's has his alternative faves like Alice N' Chains, Sublime, Rage Against the Machine, Primus and that horrific death-metal music like Slip Knot and Pantera...Yuck!!! What's on your player????

Here is a pic after our first 2 hour workout- we are going to try to be good and go 4 times a week this summer and 3 times a week in the fall when school starts back up...
And what good is a workout plan without healthy eating??? We are starting South Beach again on Sunday. It is the ONLY diet I have EVER found that works without making you feel like you are starving to death! Phase 1 is kind of bland, but Phase 2 isn't too bad....we did it in the fall and had decent results. Of course we have cheated since then and gained some...but not ALL of it back!

We prepped and cut up all our veggies. They are in our Tupperware ready to go!!!! We also stocked up on eggs....I need to hard boil a dozen or so to have on hand.

Low carb isn't my favorite- I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sweets! However, I have found that if I do South Beach a few times a year, I can pretty much eat whatever I want the rest of the time and stay at a consistent weight. I'm SORRY, but I could NEVER eat healthy for the duration of my existence- Life is too short to miss out on all the good food out there!!!!! Once we get down to where we want to be, we will throw in the towel and eat bad again (I'm just being honest)...

On Monday, I went to work with Ryan. It was the last day of school. It was a "non-student" day. While he was turning in grades and finishing up end of the year procedures, I helped him pack up his old classroom, because he will be moving to this classroom in the fall....

Yes folks--Ryan has patiently waited and he will have a BRAND NEW SCIENCE LAB to teach in this upcoming school year!!! He is soooooo excited....this past school year was a pain, as he had to "sign up" to use a lab because he was in a regular classroom. His school (built in 1927) was undergoing MAJOR renovations!!! But not anymore....

He even gets his own storage room to keep all his equipment and chemicals safe and sound :)

He has a KILLER view of Downtown Indianapolis! Can you see the skyline outside the windows? Also, can you see the white track for the Clarion Monorail? It passes by his window as well- reminds us of DisneyLand...heehee :)

Here is a pic of Indianapolis I took after we left Ryan's school... I love the mixture of new and old architecture. There are sooooo many memorials and monuments downtown.

On Monday afternoon, Ryan's staff had their "End-of-the Year Celebration" at Victory Field. It was really fun! Baseball, good food and all you can drink beer for 2 hours. As you can see, we didn't take advantage of that at all!!! In this pic starting clockwise from Ryan- Zach, Marta, Ben, Andrea and Eric.

Me and my guy...I feel like the longer we are together, the more we are starting to look and act like one another-SCARY!!!!

Here is a picture of Marta, Andrea and me. We went to the Indy 500 with them. Marta is Eric's sister and Andrea is Eric's girlfriend. As I've mentioned before, Eric teaches with Ryan.

Ryan relaxing before the start of the game. Oh, and we found out the Indianapolis Indians are affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates in case anyone was curious....

On Friday afternoon, we drove to Indianapolis again to go to our neighbor Sabrina's graduation from Radiology School. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE driving around out here- especially when the trees are full and green. I know we have lived here a year now, but I am still amazed on a daily basis by all the foliage!!!

There's our little "blonde bombshell" in the pink dress....do you see her?

Woo-hoo!!!! You go girl!!!!" Congratulations, Sabrina!!! We love you! xoSabrina and Brian :)

Our other pals Eric and Liz :)

Brookie and Ryan :) On Saturday, we had gorgeous weather so we decided to go to Morse Lake...

We celebrated our last day of "Food Freedom" with brauts, burgers and beer! Ryan also grilled some delicious corn on the cob!!! Here is Ry working his magic...
Yum-Yum :)We brought the doggies too. Here are Sammy, Frodo and Eric and Liz's dog, Lilly.

Here is our neighbor Zach and his son Layne...Eric and Ryan chowin' down...

Liz and Andrea engaging in some conversation...Morse has a Frisbee Golf Course. Here is Eric #1 making his first throw...

Eric #2 taking a turn...

Frisbee golf is pretty cool...it is very similar to golf, except you have to land your disc in a metal basket that stands about 5 feet tall. It has concrete boxes you start at, similar to tee boxes...

Andrea in action :)Uh-oh...looks like Ryan got his disc stuck in the tree!!!The girls relaxing in the shade. The blonde girl in the ponytail is Lisa. She moved in a few weeks ago. She lives 2 doors down from us with her boyfriend, Steave (not a typo- that is how he spells it). She is from Ohio. It seems like at least one spouse from each of of our neighbors relocated to Indy from another state. Liz from Illinois, Brian from Florida, Zach and Lisa from Ohio...weird, huh? Eric, Sabrina and Kristen are our "Homegrown Hoosiers"....LOL

Andrea and yours truly :)We hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Ryan starts an accelerated class again on Monday, but will be finished on the 14th of June. Then no more school for him until the fall!!! HOORAY!

Until next time...xo