Is this really the same dog?

Ryan and I love to take pictures of our beautiful Vizsla, Foxxy. I think we take so many pictures of her b/c we don't have any children yet... at least that is what I tell myself. Enjoy!

When she was just a little pup

She loves the park!

It looks like she wants to eat them but, really she just wants to snuggle


She can beg

She likes the Redskins... sometimes


She likes to run really fast


She plays cards


She sleeps under the covers


She watches the snow


She loves the beach!


She is kinda cute right?

WOAH! What is that?!?!

Another Day in the Office...

For those who don't know, my life pretty much revolves around a pool. As far back as I can remember, everyday of the summer was spent at the pool, and from the age 11 - 19 at LEAST 5 days a week (and most days, twice a day) I was at a pool for practice or a swim meet. I started teaching swim lessons when I was 11, almost 12, and haven't stopped since then.

A little over a year ago I started coaching kids 12-18 on a swim team. You would think after so many years I would be sick of the water. Crazy enough, I still love it. Yea, I hate getting wet sometimes for lessons, but I LOVE the children I teach. Yes, I can spend 40 hours at a pool in 3 days for a swim meet but, it is sooo worth it to see the look on my kids faces when they make a goal time or qualify for finals. Even though the hours are crazy and there are days I could pull my hair out, I love my job!

Head coach ,Ken, and I waiting for our relays to start

*Photo by Melissa Albers

A perfect example is the swim meet I coached this past weekend. I had 3 of my kids qualify to swim in Maryland States. Out of those 3 kids, 11 team records were broken and all three made it back to swim in finals in at least one event. And even more exciting...

Michael Phelps swam in this meet.

*Photo by Brian Kim

And what could be more exciting than that?

He broke an American record in the 200 Fly

The previous record was 1:39.72. As you can see he swam in lane 4 and and swam a 1:39.65.

So, not only was I on cloud nine that my kids were swimming AMAZING, we all had the chance to watch the most amazing swimmer of our time break another record.

This weekend I have another swim meet with the rest of my group. I am sure more records will be broken and even more goal times will be reached.

I love my job

Oh how times change...

I remember when I was little, the Toys are Us or JCPenny catalog would come in the mail and my brother, sisters and I would circle all the toys we couldn't live without. When I was 8 I could NOT live with out the Go Go my Walkin Pup. It was a white dog with a pink leash that was set on a pair of wheels. When you pushed the button on the leash it would roll around as if it was walking.

Now that I am kinda a grown up I am just as excited when the Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond catalogs come in the mail/email. Ry and I could spend all day in Home Depot or Lowe's coming up with new home projects. Our latest project... a new refrigerator/freezer and dishwasher. I felt the same joy when the new appliances arrived at the condo a few days ago as when I opened the Walkin Pup on Christmas morning (but hopefully I will enjoy them a little longer than the white fuzzy pooch)

A little over a week ago our refrigerator decided to stop running so, Ry and I had to go through the trouble finding an acceptable replacement. Let me tell you, there is almost a ridiculous amount of choices. From the standard freezer on top, fridge on the bottom to the double door freezer/fridge and finally the fridge on top and the freezer on the bottom. Once you decide the model you then have to choose a color and size. It is like trying to decide what type of coffee to order at a Starbucks!Our old fridge... plain and boring

Ry and I measured the size of our old refrigerator and figured we could find one that matched pretty easily... we were wrong. Just about EVERY model we looked at was about 1.5 inches too big. Luckily the only thing stopping us from buying a new fridge was a set of cabinets that were empty. After a few calls to some pretty crafty folks (thanks Uncle Kevin and dad!!!) Ry's confidence was built up enough to attempt to take the cabinets out himself. It was actually a whole lot easier to take them out than we thought. Just a few screws held the cabinets up. Piece of cake.My handy man :)

Now we had to try and match the color of our walls. The space behind the cabinets was white and marked up from installing the old cabinets. Luckily, Ry had taken a few days off of work earlier so he had plenty of time to find the paint and make the wall look beautiful.

Time for the fun part: picking the appliances out! Best Buy was having a sale: Buy 2 get 10% off, buy 3 get 20% off, buy 4 or more and get 30% off. We decided to just stick with buying 2 appliances to get the 10% off. We desperately wanted a new dishwasher (notice I said wanted but not needed) our old one was soooo loud we had to run it when we left the condo. We ended up buying a new fridge/freezer and a dishwasher and we LOVE them!

We decided to go with the fridge on top and freezer on the bottom after reading a bunch of reviews and talking to people with the different models. Everyone I talked to said they either love the fridge on top or wanted the fridge on top. That was easy. Now what color and size? Obviously we would want the biggest size for the buck and the color we decided on was..... black.

We have only had them a few days now but we both LOVE the new appliances! The refrigerator is so much bigger than our old one and our dishwasher is amazing! The best thing so far is that Ry is actually helping with the dishes :) I just wonder how long it will last...New HUGE fridge

Fridge decorations

Goodbye Fridge

Over the weekend our refrigerator took its last living breath. Almost everything in the fridge is gone... including our wedding cake. I am heartbroken. I had the whole night of our one year anniversary planned out from the candles and flowers to the dinner and dessert. Well, what I thought would be the dessert. We had the most beautiful and delicious cake ever and now I have no idea what to do. I guess Ry and I could try to eat it now but it just isn't the same.


Other than losing our wedding cake, I am pretty excited to buy a new fridge. We went looking yesterday for a new one but it seems over the last 14 years ALL of the refrigerators are about 2 inches bigger. Two inches doesn't sound like it would be a problem except for when it is about 1 inch too big to fit. So, Ry and I are going to try our first ever home improvement on our own. We will try and pull out the cabinets right above our old refrigerator. If it works then we are able to buy just about any one that we want (and can afford). If not, then we are very limited to what we can buy. Hopefully it is as easy as it sounds.

4 Years

Here is a picture of Ryan and I on February 18, 2006 on our first "date". Some days it feels like we have only been together only for a few months and other days it feels like so much longer (in a good way though!) We have done so much together it is hard to figure out how we fit it all into only four years! Here are a few highlights of the best years ever:

He tried to impress me with a Harley. Guess it worked

On top of the Empire State Building


We both ate a Gorilla Split in Ocean City (2 bananas, 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings, 1/4 can whipped cream and 4 cherries). Once you finish your name goes up on the wall. Mine is up there twice, Ry's... only once.


First family picture with the Bambushka (aka Foxxy)


Our first race together


This is right before our car was stranded on a sheet of ice in Western Maryland. We thought we would be stuck there for days...


Muddy Buddy


We bought a condo in Naptown

We went to a wedding in New Orleans.


We drove from Texas all the way to Maryland and we both lived to tell the tail


Ocean City for my birthday. I love the beach in the winter!


He proposed to me in the BVIs on Sandy Kay


We discovered our Super Pup! Or Super (ridiculous) Pup


Engagement Pictures with Shelby Leigh


Hiking :)


We said "I do"

"Iceburg Straight Ahead"

I have a feeling we will be seeing these HUGE piles of snow for at least the next 3 months.

I Blame This Guy

Look at him. Doesn't he look so cute, so innocent?

NO!! He is a scardy-cat! Who is scared of their own shadow?!?!

February 2nd was Groundhog day and when did we first hear of the "Snowpocalypse of 2010"? I don't remember exactly BUT it was right around Groundhog day. The sucker saw his own shadow, ran into his little hole and now we have 6 more weeks of winter. Therefore, he deserves it all! All 30+ inches of snow, BOTH blizzard warnings we have had in less than one week, and the responsibility of paralyzing Maryland (and half of the East Coast). Now, if I were him, I wouldn't show my face to anyone under the age of 18 until at least 4th of July. Those kids will be in school for half of the summer!

Snowpocalypse Part I (Feb 5-6th):

When I first heard we would be getting 20-40 inches of snow I thought someone was exaggerating a little bit. But then, everyone got 20-40 inches of snow. Where I measured, it was only 24 inches but there were drifts of 30+"! It would have been wonderful IF:

1. Ryan was home with me
2. I didn't have a swim meet that weekend
3. It wasn't so close to the end of the swim season
4. I had a sled

Because the snow started mid Friday, Ryan still had to go to work. Luckily, he was able to get off 2 hours early but, he didn't make it all the way home that night. Just as he promised, he called me right when he hopped into his car to let me know he was on his way. About an hour and a half later my phone rang. Ryan had only made it about half way home since he called (we only live about 25 miles away from where he started). Luckily, the half way point is my parent's house. He told me he was going to stay at my parent's house until the storm had passed and the roads were somewhat cleared.

So, Ryan stayed with my parents, my brother and my sister for 2 nights. He enjoyed their GINORMOUS TV, my mom's spaghetti, and love from Honey Bear (she was nice enough to let Ry sleep on her couch).

Honey Bear and HER couch

Now, I was smart enough to know that there was a possibility that Ry wouldn't be able to come home so, my other sister, Alicia, decided to move in for a few days (or a week) to keep me company. Once the blizzard stopped Ry ventured the rest of the way home. The roads and highways were a mess but, he made it home! He was home for a whole 2 days before "Snowpocalypes" Part II hit. I will get to Part II in a few days, but for now, enjoy a few pics from Part I!

Right outside our condo

Foxxy investigating the snow... and yes, that is the TOP of the picnic table!

Foxxy and her new friend, Lady, who LOVES to roll around in the snow!

She loves her ball!

When Ry finally made it home