Sunday, May 30, 2010
Enjoying our first home
Well, we finally did it- we purchased our first home in Boca raton, FL! It is so nice having a place of our own. We have great plans in store for renovating our home to match our tastes. The greatest thing is the location. We're so close to family and friends now. That will really come in handy when we finally decide to have a family of our own. Pictures to come when we get our new carpet installed on Tuesday. :)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010
What an eventful year. We took on many new challenges and new experiences
Househunting: We've been househunting since July of last year. We placed an offer on a beautiful home in Wellington, FL and backed out when we suddenly realized we wanted to live closer to family. We placed another offer an a short sale in Boca Raton, FL. It'll be so nice to be 10 min or less away from family. Right before Christmas, we received word that our offer was approved and submitted to the bank's closing department. We're getting closer and closer to being in our first home. We've been praying that this sale moves rather quickly and we're able to get out of West Palm Beach as soon as possible
Robbery: Later this year, a very unfortunate event happened to me that really opened my eyes and made me much more aware of my surroundings. I was robbed when leaving a store and going to my car. The man threatened me with a weapon and snatched my purse. It was probably one of the scariest things I've ever been through, but I am just thankful I wasn't hurt. My purse was recovered and returned with nothing missing. Talk about having angels watching over you! I was scared to walk anywhere alone for a long time, but I'm getting stronger and braver everyday.
Getting MBA: I've completed 7 out of 12 of my MBA courses so far. I really have learned a lot about myself and world events in some of my classes. I've met a lot of really great people at school and hope we're able to keep in touch even after classes are complete. I should be completed by Fall 2010.
Engagement Announcements in our family: We had three engagement announcements in our family this year- First came Nicole & Ryan, then Jimmy & Lauren, and lastly Stephanie & Pat. Next year is going to be a busy year with weddings!
Work: Work went really well for me this year. I gave my first operational review presentation to senior management late last year, which was a great learning experience. I was able to participate in testing a new system for the first time and design/test new reports for our team. It's really been a great learning curve and I'm waiting to see what's next. Dale is still in same position on the work crew at Loxahatchee road prison. Daytime hours, weekends off, and holidays off have really been a great blessing, allowing us to spend a lot more time together.
Family moving and coming back: Dale's grandmother moved to SC, but came back this year. Aunt Teresa & Uncle Jimmy moved to Deerfield in addition to Dave & Carolyn moving to Miami and Jason moving to Miami. The more family around, the merrier!
Weight Loss and improved fitness: Right before the holidays, I lost 13 lbs. I really started eating much healthier and started working out with a personal trainer.
New Years Resolutions 2010:
1. Continue to lose more weight. Want to lose 12 more lbs from where I was previously.
2. Work out 3 times a week. More if possible.
3. Try to keep it positive. Even during those times when it seems like nothing is going right, try to look at these events in a positive outlook.
4. Continue to do well in school
5. Complete the purchase of our first home and get settled in
Househunting: We've been househunting since July of last year. We placed an offer on a beautiful home in Wellington, FL and backed out when we suddenly realized we wanted to live closer to family. We placed another offer an a short sale in Boca Raton, FL. It'll be so nice to be 10 min or less away from family. Right before Christmas, we received word that our offer was approved and submitted to the bank's closing department. We're getting closer and closer to being in our first home. We've been praying that this sale moves rather quickly and we're able to get out of West Palm Beach as soon as possible
Robbery: Later this year, a very unfortunate event happened to me that really opened my eyes and made me much more aware of my surroundings. I was robbed when leaving a store and going to my car. The man threatened me with a weapon and snatched my purse. It was probably one of the scariest things I've ever been through, but I am just thankful I wasn't hurt. My purse was recovered and returned with nothing missing. Talk about having angels watching over you! I was scared to walk anywhere alone for a long time, but I'm getting stronger and braver everyday.
Getting MBA: I've completed 7 out of 12 of my MBA courses so far. I really have learned a lot about myself and world events in some of my classes. I've met a lot of really great people at school and hope we're able to keep in touch even after classes are complete. I should be completed by Fall 2010.
Engagement Announcements in our family: We had three engagement announcements in our family this year- First came Nicole & Ryan, then Jimmy & Lauren, and lastly Stephanie & Pat. Next year is going to be a busy year with weddings!
Work: Work went really well for me this year. I gave my first operational review presentation to senior management late last year, which was a great learning experience. I was able to participate in testing a new system for the first time and design/test new reports for our team. It's really been a great learning curve and I'm waiting to see what's next. Dale is still in same position on the work crew at Loxahatchee road prison. Daytime hours, weekends off, and holidays off have really been a great blessing, allowing us to spend a lot more time together.
Family moving and coming back: Dale's grandmother moved to SC, but came back this year. Aunt Teresa & Uncle Jimmy moved to Deerfield in addition to Dave & Carolyn moving to Miami and Jason moving to Miami. The more family around, the merrier!
Weight Loss and improved fitness: Right before the holidays, I lost 13 lbs. I really started eating much healthier and started working out with a personal trainer.
New Years Resolutions 2010:
1. Continue to lose more weight. Want to lose 12 more lbs from where I was previously.
2. Work out 3 times a week. More if possible.
3. Try to keep it positive. Even during those times when it seems like nothing is going right, try to look at these events in a positive outlook.
4. Continue to do well in school
5. Complete the purchase of our first home and get settled in
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Fun adventure at Mai-Kai in Ft Lauderdale
On Saturday, Dale's family, Dale, & I went to Mai-Kai in Ft. Lauderdale to enjoy the wonderful dinner show filled with fire dancers and hawiian dancers. It was an amazing show. Dale & I really enjoyed ourselves. We're thinking about going there again for our anniversary!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Engagement Party for Jimmy & Lauren
It's a little late, but I wanted to share some memories from Jimmy & Lauren's engagement party. The party was at the club house. Lauren's family came down on a cruise and stayed down for a few days. A lot of family from FL came to the party. Lauren's family is very nice. She'll fit into our family just fine. We had a lot of delicious food, followed by great a few drinks, lots of laughter, singing, and dancing.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Summer Goals.
It's been a while since my last blog, but I decided to give a little update before school starts back up again. I decided to take a semester off from school to relax and enjoy the summer a little. It was well needed and well spent. During the summer, I began working on a scrapbook album for a friend, I got back on track with my diet and exercise, and shifted priorities to finding a house. I'm about half way finished with my album.
I've lost 3 1/2 lbs in the last 3 weeks and lost a total of 3 inches so far. I'm taking it slowly with the weight loss, but that's a sure way to keep it off. I've been using a great website called www.sparkpeople.com to journal my food intake and excersise. This website is amazing. It is a whole network of people with similar goals. They give you your own web page, plan your meals for you, give you options for running various reports, etc. I just plan my meals for a week at a time and post it on the fridge so when it gets hectic during the week all I have to do is glance up at the fridge. I'm also tracking how many points I consume using the Weight Watchers method in addition to this. Since I've made the switch to a healthier lifestyle, I have so much more energy, I've been sleeping better at night, and I'm in a much better mood. What a great change!
As for the house hunting, we currently have a contract on a short sale in Wellington, FL. It's a beautiful home in a great neighborhood with A-rated schools. What more could you ask for. The only thing I don't like is it is still about 30 min from family and work. We decided to extend our contract for another month. The good news is the BPO (sort of like an appraisal) was done recently and now at least a negotiator is looking at our offer. So hopefully within the next couple of weeks, the offer will go to the bank. Dale & I are praying our offer is accepted soon. We are anxious to get out of this tiny 1 bedroom apartment and move into our first home.
School starts August 31st, which is not too far around the corner. It's going to be rough juggling everything in addition to getting my masters degree, but I'll get through it. This sacrifice will be well worth it in the end.
This Saturday I'm going to an engagement party for my cousin Jimmy and his new fiance, Lauren. A lot of family will be coming into town. I'm reallly looking forward to seeing everyone again. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures! :)
I've lost 3 1/2 lbs in the last 3 weeks and lost a total of 3 inches so far. I'm taking it slowly with the weight loss, but that's a sure way to keep it off. I've been using a great website called www.sparkpeople.com to journal my food intake and excersise. This website is amazing. It is a whole network of people with similar goals. They give you your own web page, plan your meals for you, give you options for running various reports, etc. I just plan my meals for a week at a time and post it on the fridge so when it gets hectic during the week all I have to do is glance up at the fridge. I'm also tracking how many points I consume using the Weight Watchers method in addition to this. Since I've made the switch to a healthier lifestyle, I have so much more energy, I've been sleeping better at night, and I'm in a much better mood. What a great change!
As for the house hunting, we currently have a contract on a short sale in Wellington, FL. It's a beautiful home in a great neighborhood with A-rated schools. What more could you ask for. The only thing I don't like is it is still about 30 min from family and work. We decided to extend our contract for another month. The good news is the BPO (sort of like an appraisal) was done recently and now at least a negotiator is looking at our offer. So hopefully within the next couple of weeks, the offer will go to the bank. Dale & I are praying our offer is accepted soon. We are anxious to get out of this tiny 1 bedroom apartment and move into our first home.
School starts August 31st, which is not too far around the corner. It's going to be rough juggling everything in addition to getting my masters degree, but I'll get through it. This sacrifice will be well worth it in the end.
This Saturday I'm going to an engagement party for my cousin Jimmy and his new fiance, Lauren. A lot of family will be coming into town. I'm reallly looking forward to seeing everyone again. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures! :)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Mother's Day
Today was a great day. Aunt Teresa invited the family over for a Mother's Day brunch. Pretty much the entire family was there. There was soooo much food! We had eggs, bacon, pancakes, a few quiches, coffee cake, french toast pie, sandwiches, bagels, etc. I was SO stuffed. All the mothers got a special seat at the dining table with champagne and orange juice and a flower. My cousin Michelle is in town for the next week. She brought her little dog Baby Cash on the plane. He was so cute. He burned his feet when walking on the pavement :( It's always nice to see family. We all sat and watch an old video of our family way back in the day. Wow it's amazing how everyone has changed! Here's a few pictures from today :)
House Hunting....First week
Yesterday was our first day for house hunting. We found a couple of really cute townhomes in the Wellington area. We have been looking in that area for a while because the schools are really great. Dale & I really loved the 3rd place we looked at. It was a two-story 3 bedroom 2.5 bath townhome. It needed a little work, but it is being offered at a great price and we just loved the layout of the home. The thing we loved the most was the quiet neighborhood. It just seemed so peaceful. In fact, we even bumped into one of the owners of a different townhome and she said it was very quiet and a nice place to live. We saw a few other townhomes after that, but for some reason that one townhome keeps sticking in our minds. The current owners were also willing to throw in a $2500 decorating bonus to replace the flooring and whatever else we wanted to replace. We definitely want to look at a few more places before making a decision, but this one looks promising :)
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