We're moving back to the sunshine state!

I guess this is as good a time as any to share with everyone [officially] that we'll be moving back to Florida in May of this year!

After my graduation (May 15th, but who's counting??  Oh yeah, ME!), Aaron and I are planning to pack up and head back to our home state.  This is the new city we'll call home:

Jacksonville, Florida

While we love it up here in the DC area, it was time to make the big jump back to the sunshine state.  We'll miss a lot about this region!  Particularly...

DC and all the fun stuff it has to offer! 

Spring! (Which, unfortunately, has not arrived yet.)

Free stuff to do on the weekends (like seeing non-lady-like pandas at the zoo).

Being in the beautiful capital city of the USA!

Georgetown Cupcake.  WAHHHH

Our wonderful wonderful (did I put wonderful already?) friends!!! 

Our church home!

Wegman's.  Our beloved grocery store...

Fall colors.

When winter is pretty.

There's so much we'll miss.  I just don't have the space to give a picture shout-out to all of the reasons we're proud to call DC/Northern Virginia home.  There are some things I won't miss much.  This pretty much sums it up:

Snow in March.  And prolonged bouts of cold weather in general.  And digging out my car.  And wearing socks for 5 months straight (not the same ones).  And being pale.  And having a vitamin D deficiency.

Things in Florida that are calling our name:

Sunshine.  And a high of 86.  Yes, please. (Although I'm sure I'll be over the heat by June)

My sistas!  And the BEACH while we're at it. 

My parents!

Aaron's parents!

My favorite brother and sister-in-law!

And our favorite new niece, Kaitlyn Marie!

Annnd the Florida State Seminoles being 2.5 hours away!

We'll update everyone once we figure out the exact whereabouts of our new digs, but for now, just wanted to share the news!  (And while I realize the timing of my post... no, this isn't an April Fools joke...)  Have a happy day!!

Old Rag

This weekend we went on a little outdoor adventure.  On Saturday morning, we head (headed?) out to Old Rag mountain in the Shenandoah region.  Aaron and I had hiked it before, but this time around we recruited some friends to join us.

Albeit a very cold (and early) morning, we braved the trail in just about 6 hours (including our stop to eat lunch near the top of the mountain).  If you're in the Virginia area and you don't mind a little outdoor challenge, I'd definitely recommend this hike!  Go early, though, unless you want to be hiking with a big crowd!

Here are some pics from this weekend's adventure:

Todd, Aaron, and Stephen.  They look ready to go, I would say.

Me and Caroline.  Ready to enjoy a much-needed post-comps outdoor workout.

A little ways up at one of the lookouts.

Caroline enjoying the scenery of the Shenandoah Valley.

Love this stairway on the trail.

I like this one.  He looks pretty legit, right?

Caroline's official "scare grandma" picture of the day.

Yours truly standing on top of the state of Virginia.

Aaron made it up to the summit of the summit.

All 3 guys posing for a pic at the summit. 

Me and the boo.  

That's all, folks!  Shoulda got a good picture of what came after the hike.  A nice hearty meal at The Apple House.  Where we stocked up on some homemade doughnuts, Virginia ham sandwiches, and Virginia wine!  Yum, yum, and yum.  Hope you had a nice weekend, too!  Oh, and if you're in FL and want to send some warmth our way, we'd appreciate it.  Cherry Blossom Festival in the 30s and 40s is not making for the most pleasant of spring times...

A little weekend fun

Hello there!

All this talk of Spring Break is giving me some serious "secondyearitis" (a more rare, more concerning condition than the well-known seniorits).  People are laying out at the beach in my home state (I know this because of the never-ending Facebook statuses), others are going to the west coast, europe, and all over.  And I was a little bit bitter and had to stay in town to continue my internship work, write a paper, and catch up on school work.

SO.  My wonderful husband helped to be shake my mood and we took off for Baltimore Inner Harbor.  We were actually booked to go to a FamilyLife marriage conference there, but we needed a little free time/fun time instead.  So we took ourselves up on the non-refundable Friday night stay at the Hyatt Regency and the refundable registration fee from the conference.  Totally the best marriage conference we've ever not been to.  We had a blast enjoying time with one another.

We spent a really chill time walking and eating and dancing our way through the harbor, so I'll just leave you with some of the pictures.  It was really beautiful there!

A beautiful view of the aquarium and the harbor.

An old power plant that is now a Hard Rock and a Barnes & Noble (sorry for the shadow).

Camden Yards.  Where the Orioles play.

Dragon paddle boats.

The two of us outside "Power Plant Live", the restaurant/bar district of Baltimore where had a blast and danced the night away.

The star stamps we got from the bar/dance club we went to.  Felt a little like an 18 year old and 3 days of scrubbing still hasn't gotten entirely rid of it. 

Me at the national cathedral (in DC, not Baltimore).  We stopped there on the way home.  It's gorgeous!

That's all folks!  On the upcoming agenda, we have: a hiking trip in the Shenandoah!  Caleb coming to visit! A little getaway to Philly for our anniversary!  A secret mission to Jacksonville, Florida! and GRADUATION!  Laissez les bons temps rouler! (That's french for "let the good times roll")

5 weeks of grad school and counting...

She's at it again.

I'd like to tell you about my day today.

Everything can be explained in one picture.  Here it is:

Ahhh, productivity.  

Siiike.  

Today was one of 3 full days I had staked out to work on my paper. But this day just got the best of me.  As in, I slept 'til 9 am, watched the Today Show, ate a real breakfast, went to the gym, cleaned, ate again, made some cookies...After all, it is technically my spring break.  I say technically because I've been working at the high school where I intern for the past 2 days because their spring break isn't until April.  When I will "technically" have another spring break.  1/2 spring break + 1/2 spring break ≠ 1 full spring break.

But, on the bright side, graduation is less than 2 months away [squeals with excitement].

Oh and yes, I've struck again and redesigned our blog.  But that was a part of yesterday's procrastination.  

Maybe it's because this was the weather forecast [squeals with excitement again]:

That's all from me.  The weather above calls.  And so does Zoe's Kitchen.  Nothing like a little Greek food on St. Patty's Day.  

Cheerio.

Hello, blog-world, nice to see you again!

I call this post: "things I'm excited about now that comps are over and I am able to redirect my energy towards having a zest for life again".

Thing I'm excited about #1: Reading whatever I want.  On this week's reading list I have Pioneer Woman's new love-story novel and mindless magazines on fashion and useless celeb gossip.  I didn't pick up the Clinical Management of Fluency or my Pediatric Language text all week.  It was beautiful.

Thing I'm excited about #2: Completing #1 on a rainy, gloomy day.  I love rainy days.  Especially the kind that afford you time to stay inside and curl up on the couch to read, nap, or daydream.  I miss the frequent thunderstorm-y afternoons in Florida.

The view from my bedroom window today.  

Thing I'm excited about #3: Time spent with great friends.  Now that I have re-acquired my social life, Aaron and I have been able to spend some quality time going out to lunch, having drinks, and just plain hanging with the friends we are so blessed to have.  And they all seem to still like me after being M.I.A. for the past 2 months.

Thing I'm excited about #4:  Completing #3 with friends who are visiting from out of town.  Megan and Joel came to DC from Ann Arbor, Michigan to visit Megan's family, and we got a chance to visit with them, too!  We had a fun lunch date at Uncle Julio's and got to catch up over some good quesadillas and with even better conversation!  Miss you guys but so glad we had a chance to catch up!

My dear friend Megan and moi.  College buddies.  Or most intense female Florida State football fans ever, if wish to be more accurate.

The Boss Family :)

Thing I'm excited about #5: Our sweet new ride!  After a whirlwind of a week - and to make a long story short - Aaron and I made our first new-car purchase together.  It was certainly a fun experience, and I was proud of our combined negotiation skills!  We said good-bye to my lovely 99' Toyota (Sydney the Solara) to make a sweet deal on our new Hyundai (Sadie the Sonata).

Saying adios to my trusty Solara :(

And hola to our new Sonata!

Interior, for those who are curious.

Sadie must still be said using a lateral lisp, of course.  In honor of the late Sydney the Solara.

And lastly but really first and foremost on the list of things that excite us...

#6:  Our new little niece or nephew!! In July, A.J. and Lianne will be welcoming into the world the newest member of our family.  Yahooooo for babies!!! (well, baby.)  We can't wait to meet our little walnut!!

That's all for now...lot's of fun stuff going on and more to come!  It's good to be back!

♥ ♥ ♥

Can I getta whomp whomp

This fingerprint-y computer, mug, and a stack of papers, books, and binders (not shown to improve morale) has been/will be my life for the next couple of weeks.  Don't be mad at me for not blogging, but I assure you that nothing too terribly exciting is going on in the world of Wilson.  Comprehensive exams in t-minus 2 weeks.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day :)

Love, us.

Positively scrumptious.

So the countdown begins.  Three weeks until my BIG TEST for grad school (more affectionately known as comps).  Feel free to start praying now if you haven't already.

But, in other news, I'd like to share, however briefly, about a new recipe I tried recently.  It's not for the faint of heart.

It all began here on Facebook.  

(This is what I get for perusing my news feed...)

Then I switched over to gmail to make this happen right away...  

(I guess considering Hallie's reply, she was feeling much better after wisdom teeth surgery!)

Then we ended up here with this deliciousness...

You must try it.  You must.  I mean my 2 favorite cookies in 1.  Why didn't I think of this??

Better go easy on them though, considering the Girl Scouts are out.  Here's the recipe if you want it:  

http://bunsinmyoven.com/2011/01/19/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/ 

Enjoy your Friday!