(the rest of) 2010 in pictures

We went to the zoo and decided to never have children. At least none of the 20,000 who where there that day.

We went to a Phillies game.

The girls amused ourselves with ice cream.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Jeremy graduated from Georgia Tech in May.

Next stop, Montgomery. The twins love Minnie and PawPaw.

A little fishin' fun with Uncle Corey.

College friends

Laura got married and had a georgeous Southern summer wedding!

Corey swinging me around the dance floor.

The newlyweds, Laura and Charlie Holt.

A mini vacation to Amish country in July. We stayed at a farmhouse dating back to the 1700s. It also had an amazing clawfoot whirlpool tub that I plan to have in my next bathroom, if I win the lottery.

4th of July in front of Independence Hall. This is where it all began, folks!

Beautiful Lake George in September.

We rented a boat and spent all day on the lake. We now want a boat.

I drove about 30 seconds for the photo opp. I had much more fun as a passenger.

In a little gazebo at a house near Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Presidents used to stay at this house or something. At least that is what the plaque said.

The entrance to a beautiful garden on the grounds of Fort Ticonderoga. The picture does not capture how magical this place was.

A canon at Fort Ticonderoga, looking out on Lake Champlain.

NYC with the sibblings in October.

One year of marriage on October 24th. I don't look very happy about it, but I am!

Camping with Ben and Toni in October. This is a pic of the boys, Corey, Ben and Berlin.

I made Ben stop the car. I felt like "that person" but it was too beautiful to pass up.

Toni and I by the non-existant fire.

We went off-trail to find this spot, but it was beautiful. All we had to do was climb on my hands and knees up a mountain. No big deal.

A dinner in December.

The table is set...

Daddy does the honors on his first trip to our new home!

Kinda an akward picture, but I like it.

CALIFORNIA in December-- WHO WILL MOVE THERE WITH ME?

The Pacific, it was beautiful. The guy who took this picture was throwing a ball way out in the ocean and his dog, who was a retired rescure dog, was amazing and finding the ball every time. Just a day in the life of a CA resident. "Hey, I'm going to run down the street and play fetch with the dog...in the Pacific ocean."

The first mission in San Deigo, where JJ and Jess got married.

At the reception with our buddies for the weekend, Brandon and Brittney.

Decorating the tree with Amanda and Ray on Christmas Eve!

Dudly, Jeremy and Ami's dog.

I got to see my best friends after Christmas, Lindsey, Laura and Jenah. Lindsey and Jenah both had new baby boys for me to meet. All of the kids were adorable. I also got to see Laura, but don't have a picture. I do wish I had a picture of her and Charlie playing a Wii dance game, it was hilarious!

2010 family beach trip.

Lily and I rode the carosuel in Panama City.

Goodbye 2010, it was a great year!

I'll leave you with a little video from Lake George.

A New Year

Hi my name is Jackie and I have a neglected blog.

But, not to worry! A new year is here and I am henceforth committed to updating this baby regularly. And I mean like once a week. Really.

And to start....a view from the Loewe's Hotel where our National Sales Conference was held. I never thought I would find myself prancing around a high rise building of a big city in a business suit and actually belong there. I guess there are occasional perks to the most annoying of jobs.

Goodnight all, and come back soon. Up next, a pictorial tour of the last 9 months of my blog hiatus!

Gardening brings life to Philadelphia row home

Plants don't really like me that much. Before Corey left for a few weeks in March, he said his little goodbyes to our current house plants, knowing that it may be the last time he saw them alive and healthy.

But when spring burst into Philadelphia in early April, I had the itch to really conquer my feeling of gardening inadequacy. With the masterful (and hilarious) help of Lindsay Reilly, I actually planted a plant. Did have have to ask her a million questions? Yes. Could my gardening instincts be any less natural? Probably not. But at the end of the day I had beautiful window boxes, herbs, vegetables and flowers and a good many laughs under my sleeve. Good weather, good friends, a little dirt, a pitcher of pink lemonade -- a perfect gardening day.

The Process










The Result

Snowy Day

It's the second biggest snowfall in Philly history, during the second snowiest winter in Philly history. And it took something this big to slow me down? That says a lot about our lives recently. We have been running at break neck speed. It's a wonder our necks did not actually break. Between closing on our house, moving, working, starting new jobs, traveling, keeping up a social life, and trying to be the perfect twenty-something...we got lost in the shuffle.

If I wasn't filling my time with something, I was behind. So rush to Target, you know, you can't have an empty living room even during your first week in a house. And, I need to cook. I haven't cooked anything new in so long; does that make me a bad person? Wait, I've got to print our wedding picture and can't forget that I need to make that vision and dental appointment. Uh oh, my nails look horrible and I don't have anything new to wear to work but what about those friends I haven't called in weeks?

And then it snowed.

And it kept snowing.

And I couldn't go anywhere.

And I had the best day I've had in a while.

You know you are on the wrong course when it takes a snow drift blocking you doorway to keep from rushing out of it. So yesterday I slowed down. I disengaged from turbo mode and just took my time. I did a little cooking, and a little reading. I took a long shower and shaved my legs like a woman who has some time on her hands. Not like usual where my main concern is that I won't look like a cave woman in a work skirt. I recharged my battery an vowed to slow down in the future. Ahhh, deep breath.

I loaded some pictures from our attempt to dig out today. I would like to make a formal apology to Southern car. She doesn't deserve this, but is handling the situation well.

Enjoy.