"It's the Holiday Season...."

Wait. It is?  I thought it was Halloween.  (Or Thanksgiving?)

Somehow, in the last couple of weeks, my husband has successfully brainwashed me into accepting that the holidays are coming and that they are the most wonderful time of the year.

I've never been a fan of the holidays.  Too much stress.  Joey, however, has been December's #1 fan his entire life. 

Last weekend, I grudgingly accepted that we were going to go down the Christmas aisle in Walmart.  Next thing I knew I was gleefully tossing red and green sparkly ornaments and other Christmas crap into my cart.
[I DID, however, put my foot down on getting out the decorations until after Thanksgiving and I thought he was going to throw a tantrum right there in front of the little Christmas houses that light up and sing songs...]

The other morning, I saw a friend's Facebook post that 97.1 was going to start playing Christmas music at 8am.  I switched over around 8:05, just in time for the Disney-style countdown and the celebration with the song "Sleigh Ride"....

After this weekend's performance of "A Christmas Carol", I'm actually looking forward to bringing out the Nutcracker Army and the other decorations that have slowly started creeping up from the basement.

So, now that I'm no longer in denial about the holidays, (and actually pretty excited about them!) here's a quick list of all the fun things we are going to be doing this season:

"A Christmas Carol" at Ford's Theater

ICE at the Gaylord National Hotel

Bull Run Festival of Lights

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Engagement Party for my brother and his fiancee

Family Christmas Parties

...and maybe a few other things that aren't booked/set in stone.

Happy Holiday Season to All!  Let the fun begin!

~SG

Where Lincoln's Legacy Lives

Sunday we went to see "A Christmas Carol" at Ford's Theatre in downtown DC.  Just in case you aren't a History Major or Minor (like Joey and me), I'll remind you that Ford's Theatre is the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot in 1865.  He was carried to a boarding house across the street where he died the following morning.

Joey got us the tickets as a ploy to get me into the holiday spirit.  He is a huge fan of the holidays and it's definitely rubbed off a little on me too.  Initially I was more geeked out about getting to go to Ford's Theatre though. I'd been there once before for a middle school field trip, and didn't remember much else. 

We arrived early, so we were able to tour the Petersen House and see where Lincoln died and visit the museum to learn more about what happened in the moments following the assassination.  While I know this might not be of interest to all, we did learn some interesting facts, such as President Lincoln remains the tallest US President at 6'4.  He was so tall, that they had to lay him diagonally in the tiny bed.  The doorknobs, banister, etc in the house were much lower to the ground.  People were much smaller in the 1860's. 

I did take a few pictures. Creepy? Yes. But history is awesome, and those who don't learn from it are doomed to repeat it.

Plaque on the outside wall

The bed where Lincoln died.  Surrounded by bullet proof glass.

Creepy to think about, but really cool too.

After touring the house and the museum, we headed over to the theatre for the show.  I am not lying when I say we had the best seats in the house.  The theatre is very small, so the best seats are actually on the second level, right in the middle.  And that's where we were!  When the volunteer showed us our seat, she whispered "You've got the best seats in the house!"  We were thrilled especially because Joey booked the tickets himself, and only about a week ago. 
From our seats, we had a clear view of the entire stage and theatre.  You can see the Presidential Box over to the right in the picture below.  This is where actor John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln.  It is shrouded in flags in memoriam and closed to the public.  The furniture is all preserved from that night.  We also learned that the theatre stayed closed for 100 years after the incident and did not re-open as a historical site until the 1960s.

Presidential Box

Our view of the stage

The show itself?  It was wonderful!!!  The singing and acting was superb and I would absolutely recommend seeing this show if you are in the DC area!  It's great for all ages, although it is a ghost story, so keep that in mind if you have little ones who are easliy spooked.

Afterwards, we made our way around the block to Gordon Biersch for some dinner and then headed home to the pins.

Bier

Next up?? Thanksgiving!

~SG

Yet Another Weekend Round Up

I feel like all I ever do is write about what I did on the weekends. Maybe that's what happens when you are an adult?  The week is just too busy to do anything fun anymore :(

Oh well. I hope when my future children look back and read this blog they can at least know that I wasn't a total loser and had somewhat of a social life at one point...

This weekend started out like the last.  Joey went hunting at the property and I got Chik-Fil-A for dinner.   Me and the pins had a relaxing Friday night and went to bed early after watching a Duck Dynasty marathon and having a glass of wine.

Saturday, I ran a 1 miler with some girlfriends.  I wrote more about it on my other blog, but I wanted to share this pic of me and A Love in our fireman hats!!

After the run, I went to Maryland to visit my friend Gage and her family. I didn't take any pictures, but their new house is freaking GORGEOUS and has an amazing view.  They fed me dinner and we enjoyed some frozen cocktails before I headed back across the river. 

Sunday, Joey got home (sans deer, thank goodness) and we watched our teams play in a head to head match up.  Of course, the pins had to dress up too. 

The dogs loved the warmer weather and were in and out all day long.  One time, I came inside to find Joey gone and this playing on the computer:

Sometimes I wonder what I've really done....

Monday we had the day off from work for the Veteran's Day holiday observation.  We went to Walmart and got a few essentials which, I am embarassed to say I was QUITE excited about.  New vacuum cleaner, new "dust buster" (mini hand vac) and a few Christmas essentials.  This is the first time I've ever bought Christmas ANYTHING in November.  What is he doing to me?!?

We had planned to see a movie, but we decided not to at the last minute and went to lunch at Red Robin instead.

My lunch date

The rest of the day was spent at home, cleaning and putting away laundry.  There was a slight incident with the neighbor.  I don't want to write much about it in case it turns into a legal issue.  He's dumping leaves in our yard. He's wrong about the property lines.  That's about all I'm going to say ;)

I hope everyone has a great day/week!

~SG

Halloween....A Little Late

So, major fail, I forgot to post pictures from our little Halloween party a couple weeks ago.  I was proud of the way it all came together.  It was a small gathering, mostly just a few close friends who wanted to wear their costumes but not go downtown (which can truly be a nightmare). 

Here's a few pics of the decor:

Chips, Cupcakes/Cookies, and goodie bags for Scariest and Funniest costumes

Drink Station

Dining room

Spidery webs

Check out Oogie Boogie in the corner there!

Aaand just for fun, some picture of the crowd:

Sons of Anarchy

A whole bunch of crazy people

Duck Dynasty, and Mrs Incredible

Whoopee Cusion, Hot Dog, and "hot" firefighter

Jackie totally won for best makeup.

Hope everybody is gearing up for a GREAT weekend!!!

~SG

Remember Remember

The 6th of November!
I'm putting my voting crap on my blog so that people only read it because they want to, not because it shows up on their news feed.  There is no political discussion to follow, and there never will be on this blog.

PSA: Go vote!

Trivia: It's been said that Mickey Mouse gets over 20,000 votes per year as a write-in candidate.

I waited 1 hour, 46 minutes for this sticker :)
PS: Check the manicure ;)

Enjoyed my first peppermint mocha of the season, and got a free bracelet!

Finally, whoever wins, I ask that we all remember to respect the new President.  Whether or not we voted for him, we need to remember that he is now the Commander in Chief and deserves our utmost respect.

~SG

First Weekend in November

I'm pretty sure I say this every month, but I just can't believe another summer has flown by and here we are smack dab in the middle of Fall.  Thanksgiving is the next holiday! Time really flies when you are an adult :-/

This weekend was pretty much the opening of hunting season (not counting bow season), and Joey was off to the property.  I was left alone to fend for myself with the Pins!

Friday night I headed off to the historic Rockledge Mansion in Occoquan for the dance company fundraiser.  While getting ready, I took a "selfie" to show Joey what dress I decided on.  I don't like posting these, but I thought this one was extra funny because you can see Chloe in the corner, and if you follow her gaze... you'll see what she is so eagerly awaiting.  (PS this is in the guest bedroom... need to get a full length mirror!)

From there, I headed over to the fundraiser, which was a masquerade ball!  I also took some pictures inside the mansion, because Joey and I have always wondered what it would look like.

Masquerade!

Doorways were SO short in the late 1700s!

Creepy Fireplace/servant quarters

I did find out that the mansion is haunted (duh).  Apparently there is a friendly confederate soldier and also some villagers that walk through the ballroom on their way to collect water from the river.  I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, although that last picture has kind of a haze on it, doesn't it?!

Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to spend time with my friend Teresa and her family, and my friend, Shirin.  Teresa flew in from Colorado where her husband is stationed for the USMC Marathon last weekend.  She ran it in 3:30 (!!!!) and then got stranded here because of the hurricane.  Her husband had to be here for business this weekend, so the whole family reunited, and Shirin and I got to spend some time with Resa before they went back to CO.

Late Saturday, I got word that Joey (finally) shot a buck at the property. It's his biggest one yet.  He also got to see a bear with two cubs, which he said was awesome.  I know there might be some people who don't like hunting, so I made the pic black and white to take the edge off.  It should also be noted that he was wearing his "Choot Em" tee shirt....

Sunday was spent running too many miles and eating too much fast food. 

Another great weekend in the books.

~SG

Stone Harbor, NJ

Good news!! The house survived :)

My Mom recieved this picture last night:

There was minimal damage to the house. It looks like the water came up a couple feet, but as you can see, the house is off the ground by several feet as well.  There was some wind damage and the little awning over the side door is now gone.

Bad news?  Per the Satellite pictures, the fishing pier did not make it.

You can see many, many pictures of the fishing pier at this post and this post.

Hopefully it will be re-built by the time we get there next summer!

~SG