Has it REALLY been a year?

I found myself on my blog after (apparently) a year's time. How did that happen? Well, 2013 was an interesting year to say the least. I was busy at work the first 5 months of the year due to our deadlines for workpapers and tax workpapers.  In addition, I spent a good amount of the summer working on automating some of these processes so that the department wouldn't get too far behind. I enjoyed these projects as it not only helped me but it will help people save time in the future.

I was also busy getting to know my new church family: Grace Chapel.  I was involved in 3 different bible studies (one that met at the church in a large group, another that met at Kidd Coffee and the last was a group of women that met at church but in a smaller group).  I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone at Grace Chapel.  I have also been getting a lot out of the sermons. The "Remnant" series our pastor, Jeff Greer, has been preaching has really shown that it can take only one person to make a difference for God-they just need to step up and do it! 

Through church and mutual friends, I've also met some great ladies that I can call friends!  I spend a good amount of time with my friend, Annie, who I met when I was dating John 4 years ago. She helped me (along with Corinne) decide to live in West Chester and I am eternally grateful! I love West Chester. Annie lives close by and I come over and help her run Craigslist errands (I'm her body guard). We even went to get a rooster once!

Unfortunately, I received bad news in late November-I was let go from my job. I was truly surprised but God has a plan!  I am currently applying for various positions and tomorrow I have a meeting with a consulting firm to apply for contract accounting work. 

Christmas 2012

Here's Butterscotch with all of her gifts:

Erika with her new scarf, goofing off:

"I'm a ninja!"

Butterscotch

Yesterday, I adopted Butterscotch or Butters for short. Isn't she a cutie?  The drive home went well and getting her settled in went relatively well. She thinks the couch is her spot, but I have showed her otherwise that the doggie bed right in front of the couch is where she goes!

She didn't eat last night or this morning, although I did put a peanut butter filled Kong toy in her crate and she liked that. We'll see whether or not she trusts me enough to eat the regular dog food and make a trip to the potty as well. :)

Visit with Chrystal

This past weekend, I drove to Uniontown, Ohio to visit my friend from childhood, Chrystal Selvey Rutigliano. Uniontown is a suburb of Canton which was a 4 hour drive one way, so originally I wasn't sure if I would make it due to my back issues. But I decided to just do it and drive there.

Thank goodness I thought to buy a few audio books to help time pass! I started the drive at 10am and got there about 2pm. It was so nice to see Chrystal.  She hasn't changed much at all! Her friend, Vivian just moved to her area so she is staying with them and she is a fun woman as well (in the gray).

Dave, Chrystal's brother was there as well, and when us girls went to dinner we took along Yvette, Dave's girlfriend (far right). 

It is hard to believe that 20 years has passed since I was in Chrystal's wedding. Chrystal scrapbooks so we looked at her wedding album-man I look so young in it! It was a nice blast from the past!

RIP Peppi

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted anything. That was mainly due to the fact that they changed the blog format and I was too lazy to learn it!

Today, my sister, Erika's dog, Peppi, died of a brain tumor. It is so sad for their whole family. Rebecca took it the hardest-she is the most sensitive when it comes to that. Of course, some of the kids haven't had the sad feelings set in just yet.  Erika told me that Rebecca wrote a letter to Peppi that told him that he'll be singing puppy praises in heaven. I was tearing up when Erika told me that. Pets are such a blessing in our lives and it especially hurts because they are part of the family.

St. Louis to Cadiz

Monday of President's Day Andrea and I drove down to Cadiz. We got to meet Leiah Joy, Erika and Brian's 5th child! Here's Andrea with her:Erika with her baby girl:Me with Leiah Joy:Andrea's kids had put a few bins together with toys they are too old for and Erika's kids love them!
Kaylen and Rebecca playing with the toys:
I stayed the week in Cadiz while Andrea drove back. She picked me up the next week. While I was there, I went to the basketball games the three older kids were involved in. Here I am with Kaylen, obviously an unhappy camper:
Scotti was also visiting. Scotti is Brian's mom. Here they are sitting in the stands.
Rebecca and I before her basketball game:
Sebastian playing defense in his game (left of center in red jersey). He actually made a basket at the end of the game: very exciting!
Sebastian again:
I was so proud of Rebecca and those other girls. They stopped during play to help a girl up! True sportsmanship:Rebecca during the game:Lauren coming out to cheer for one of the teams:

President's Day in St. Louis

I drove to Radcliff, KY to meet up with my sister, Andrea. We then drove her minivan to St. Louis. When I got there, her son, Garrett, gave me a Valentine's card. It was so sweet! I came to St. Louis to help Andrea and her family organize. Here are the donation boxes after several days of work.

We had the kids clean their room and then one of the days we went into the basement and took out all recyclable materials. It is amazing how much original packaging is a space sucker!

Here's my niece, Talia (16) at the end of the weekend.

To celebrate, Andrea took me and two of her girls out to dinner. We went to Stir Crazy, a stir fry restaurant. Here's the guy frying up my dish:

Here's Olivia (15), Andrea, and Marina (13) at the restaurant:
All of us at our table:

After dinner the four of us went to see the movie, The Vow. I thought it was pretty good. :)