FLORIDA. Part One.

Stephen and I started our journey on Tuesday night by heading down to the ever classy Baymont Detroit Airport hotel. When we went on our honeymoon, we tried out the La Quinta and it was the most disgusting hotel I have ever seen, so we weren't going to let that happen again. The Baymont was definitely a step up. Though the lobby and hallways smelled a little funky, the room was very clean and smelled just fine. We stayed there because they had shuttle service to the airport and free parking for the week. It was alright but the shuttle was not just for our hotel, it was for a few hotels, which was a little inconvenient. Either way, it was a step up and the next time we will do a little better because of it. Anyway, at the crack of 3:50 on Wednesday morning, Stephen and I headed to the airport.

The ride there was smooth except for a certain foreign gentleman who was sitting in front of us SNORING louder than anyone should be able to do. It was like he was snoring into a microphone.... but we got there and it was warm and wonderful and we headed straight to Olivia's for lunch.

The kiddos, big and small, all arrived later that night along with mom and dad. And the entire next day we spent at the pool. It was so fun teaching Ramona to be a little water baby and Miles did not leave the pool stairs for about 6 hours..... intense.

That night we took a boat ride to Downtown Disney and had dinner at home. We were all pretty excited to head to the Magic Kingdom the next day! Stephen, Lily, and I headed to the park right away when it was opening to get in some fun before the babies got there (and I wanted to take pictures). We got to see the Welcome Show, which Liz and I had actually never seen, and it was GREAT! It was absolutely how everyone should start their day at the Magic Kingdom. It gets you excited, you get to see characters, you just get so pumped to go in! We went on a few rides since the lines are short that early; space mountain, buzz lightyear, and the haunted mansion all got ridden. It was a great start

Not the best...

I haven't had the greatest week. I am not usually the person to tell the world (or the five people that read this) about my not so great weeks, but here I am, telling you. It was just long, full of hard work, and Stephen was out of town working, so I was a "single mom" for Sammie. I am been getting in worse and worse of a mood and then I read a blog (http://www.bloglovin.com/m/3488112/445380111/) and Amy posted 7 highs from her week. We always do high/lows at the end of the day at camp and I just never seem to remember the highs like I should OUTSIDE of camp. That is terrible! There are always highs, even when you are in a funk, there are ALWAYS highs. So here are mine from this week.

1. I have gotten ALL of the cuddling that there is to be had from Sammie since I was the only one home.

2. Stephen is working again which should allow me to relax about our finances for a little while.

3. I only have one week left at Biggby's and then Stephen and I are going on VACA!

4. It has been a pretty gorgeous week, weather wise, so lots of walks have been had.

5. I got to be on the phone with Stephen for a good long while last night, which was pretty awesome.


And look, I feel better already. If you are having a bad week, give it a shot! And thanks Amy!!

Singin, Sammie, and Salmon.

Hello again! Life moves on... things have happened. I won't cover them all but I will cover some. First of all, the show ended. It was an amazing show with amazing people and I think we did an amazing job. I miss everyone from the show and I miss singing every day. So, I cannot wait til the fall and getting back to auditioning! Here are a few photos from my people that I miss so much:

Sammie update: still cute!

Now, I have started returning to my adventures in cooking, mostly thanks to Pinterest. Here were some of my adventures.

This was not actually that great. It was a crock pot adventure that turned out pretty bland, which was a bummer. It was basically just chicken cooked in chicken broth with veggies and salt. So, I will refrain from recommending it. But, I learned things along the way. Like, taste things first and add spices.
Next came a tortilla pizza:

I was pretty pleased with this adventure except for using a Mexican Blend of cheese instead of mozzarella . It was just a little too CHEESY. I ended up scraping off a lot of the cheese and really just having tomato sauce, olives and mushrooms. I also prefer pizza with veggies on it, I had just run out of them that day, so it wasn't the most incredible thing I ever ate, but it was a step in the right direction of alternate pizza options. Now, for the creme de la creme of my cooking adventures: SALMON.

Again, got this one from Pinterest. Fillet of Salmon, sprinkle Olive Oil, salt and pepper, put in a cold oven and turn the oven to 400 degrees. In the oven for around 25 minutes and you have a PERFECTLY COOKED salmon. It was flakey and full of flavor! Absolute slam dunk. I served it on a bed of wild rice and salads on the side. It was an awesome meal. I will definitely do that meal again!

I am going to make Florida it's own blog post so check back later for that fun-in-the-sun trip!

Time to catch-up.

Apologies in advance for this will be very long...

So, a few months ago, my computer decided it no longer wished to live and, though I knew this day was coming, I wasn't entirely ready for it. This left Stephens computer as my only option for web browsing, blogging, and editing and frankly, his screen is crap. That is the main reason I have not updated my life via blog in so very long... That and having more than one job and a show....

But here I am and I need to review. Gosh, I don't even remember everything. Lets start with Thanksgiving? It was the in-laws turn to have us on Thanksgiving, so up to the Eichs we went! It was pretty simple. We just spent time with the family and of course had a wonderful wonderful meal! Football was of course watched and Sammie and Ella finally got to meet which was pretty hysterical. Poor Stephen was still working third shifts at the time so he had to work the night before and that same night that we got home so he was not all that entertaining, but I definitely enjoyed myself:-)

Silly me, I forgot to explain my previous posts' title. I auditioned and made it into the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (it's a musical, for those who are supremely confused by that name...). Rehearsals began late October and it was so nice to be singing and acting again!!  We are currently in the middle of our run and it has been a total blast. I love the entire cast and I will be so sad when it is over. I got pretty sick this past week, which of course made for an interesting weekend, but we got through it and I am hoping that I am now on the mend (though, improvement has yet to be seen.) I believe I will be auditioning for another show at the end of February but I won't reveal which until I know whether I am in or not!!

Also happening around the same time was miss Ramona's very first birthday! Here is a little peek into that particular day...

So now, on to Baking and Bonding. There are certain family traditions that I truly hope will never die, and as many of you know, Baking and Bonding is one of those traditions for me. We are older, most of us are married, there are new kids experiencing it (Miles and Ramona), but it still makes me feel like a kid when B + B is coming up. For those that don't know, B + B is a night where my family and our good friends the Ronketto family get together and bake literally hundreds of Christmas-y baked goods. We decorate tons of cookies, make every flavor of chocolate balls, there is fudge, peanut brittle, breads, and my favorite, the Christmas Wreaths. This year, my niece and nephew got to join in the fun so that was some extra excitement! Unfortunately, that was around when my computer was throwing a hissy fit and, though they made it onto Facebook, the photos from that night were otherwise lost.

With rehearsals continuing and work being in abundance for both Stephen and I, not a lot was happening. Sammie saw her first snow, which was precious.

Since then, she has learned that she LOVES SNOW!!! She will eat it, throw it up in the air and catch it, and just really enjoys sprinting through it. It is pretty much adorable.... but lets be serious, SHE is pretty much adorable.

Sammie also very much enjoys sitting like a person and she doesn't think it is weird at all...

On to Christmas! I very much enjoyed decorating our apartment this year. I think I maybe even did it before Thanksgiving (I vaguely remember being judged by my co-workers for that one...) Christmas day was spent with my family( and I mean all 10 of us and 2 dogs), while the NEXT day was spent with Stephens family mostly just eating and doing our awesome puzzle. It was a wonderful weekend full of people, dogs, food, and of course love.

And... Christmas at the Eichs (including the annual Christmas sweatshirts!).

The day was made even more special by the arrival of one little dude that I severely miss...

After Christmas came "show month" which has consisted of a whole lot of singing and dancing and not a lot of picture taking or working or having any time for anything at all....

So, until next time...

"It's my favorite moment of the bee...."

I promise to explain that title later but for now it is a TOTAL life update time!! Get excited! So I am fairly certain this will cover the entire month of October which, despite my unemployment, was very eventful. Lets start way back when... we acquired a small animal by the name of Sammie.

Having Sammie has been the best. Stephen got a job at the GM Proving Grounds that keeps him busy for about 60 hours a week, which has left me a little bit alone at home. Luckily, Sammie is pretty awesome to hang out with. She is pretty hysterical. She is always moving, always playing, and very cuddly. We go for hour long walks every day which are her chance to be a proper hunting dog, which is what she was bred for. Granted, all she really hunts is bugs, which occasionally take her airborn. Either way, we have a lot of fun learning to be "parents," and laughing at all of the stupid things she does (she falls off of things A LOT). Her first bath was also an adventure! Here are so photos from that experience...

In amongst the fun with Sam, we had a few other events... the first of which was the wonderfully hilarious SpringHill Halloween Party. There was some steep competition, a lot of good food, a song by Drew, and a few lumberjacks on hand, making for a really fun night! 

The day after the party, Stephen and I wanted to have a date day because it had been a while since we had a day off together and carving pumpkins is apparently a MUST in his world. Stephen takes it SO SERIOUSLY, it was hysterical... he took probably a half hour to pick out his pumpkin and we had to go to three different stores so he could find a difficult enough design....you get the idea. We had a ton of fun going to a farm, doing a corn maze, getting some cider and donuts, and of course, carving. 

oh, and it took us about an hour and a half to FIND a farm that had everything we wanted to do. Oi.

So that
 completed our date day! Hooray! We had bunches of fun and had some sweet-o jack-o-lanters to prove it (though I am pretty sure we only lit them once...). Oh well. Life went on and I did a few events with SpringHill which took me up north with Liz and Jay for the weekend, which was needed I think. We played a LOT of games (speed Monopoly rules) and ate at all of our favorite places. It was a great weekend...

This was my view when walking Sammie every morning.... frosty, but not too shabby...

So that has been our month for the most part. As far as my "unemployment" has been going, I have been working part time at Greens and part time with camp, which has worked out quite well. I also just found out yesterday that I made it into my first show since school! I will be playing Rona Lisa Peretti in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Avon Players in Rochester. I am so excited to get to do what I love again. It is going to feel SO GOOD! So that is what I will be doing for the next couple of months. And, COMING SOON: Thanksgiving, Baking and Bonding, and CHRISTMAS TIME, which are some of my most favorite things in the world!