June Rewind

June came and went and of course there were some memorable moments that slipped through a themed blog. I'm all about sharing all the juicy details so I didn't want to leave out these special moments :-)

First off I wanted to share this card I got from my sweet friend Krista...

Krista has been blogging for awhile now and was so thoughtful to give me this encouraging card. Krista is always such a caring friend and this is just one of the many ways that she is always there for me :-) Krista has a great blog, check her out under "My Reads"...Her blog name is "Times New Roman: The Life and Times of Writer, Krista Roman"...She's always posting fun stuff and really does a great job!

At the very beginning of the month, on the 2nd to be exact, my sister Katie hit a new mile-stone and turned the big 3-0! Let me just say it feels good to be the much younger sister in my 20's 8-) haha! To celebrate her special day I crashed her "friends-only" party at Piccolo Forno in Lawrenceville. It's a trendy little BYOB Italian place - super-cute! Because I'm so close with my sister I know all her friends and consider them friends of mine as well so it was so nice seeing some faces that I haven't seen in awhile.

John, Jeff, Ellen, Teddy and Katie

Steph, Rachel, Jodie, Tim and Me








We had a blast! Everyone brought some different wines and we drank and ate the night away. Outside it was STORMING! Piccolo Forno has a ton of oversized windows so it was an interesting backdrop for the dinner. I ordered the Lasagna and it was delish (I still say it's not as good as your recipe though, Katie) We capped off the dinner with a DQ ice cream cake, Katie's favorite! Overall it was a great evening out with great people :-) Happy 30th Birthday Katie!

Steph, Jodie, Ellen, Katie, Me, Jenn and Rachel

Ted & Katie

 Can you tell we're sisters?!








Another memorable event early-on in the month was the bonfire Patrick and I attended. This was at our friends, Jay and Jenn's house. I've blogged about them before. Jenn as always was the "hostest with the mostest"...I don't know how she does it! Every time we go to her house its a stellar experience! I always tell her I want to take classes from her on how to become a good housewife - lol. I mean this woman makes all her own desserts, dressings and even makes homemade jams....I can only hope to get that good with time! I have no pictures from this night but Jenn had homemade guacamole (Chipotle's recipe...how you even get Chipotle's recipe is beyond me!!) and freshly popped pop-corn as appetizers. Then as we all gathered around the fire she brought out trays of ingredients to make different kinds of Moon-Pies! She had ingredients to make Mexican Moon-Pies, Pizza Moon-Pies and Apple Moon-Pies for dessert. It was such a neat idea on her part and really made for a fun night. I truly felt like I was camping...minus having to sleep in a tent (which is a good thing!) Jay and Jenn are such great people, it really has been fun getting to know them :-)

Mid-month Patrick and I became graduates of Financial Peace University! For the past few months we have been learning the ways of famous financial advisor, Dave Ramsey. Our friends Tuff and Mary introduced us to his ways. Every Monday for the past few months a group of us would meet at one of our homes and watch a Dave Ramsey DVD. Each week he covered a different topic from getting out of mountains of debt to accumulating so much money that you can give to those in need freely. I learned a ton from him and have been actively living his advise. I suggest his theories to everyone. His book "Total Money Makeover" is a great read for anyone who wants to get their finances on track. It's amazing to now realize that people who make minimum wage can be millionaires by the time they retire all due to planning and investing. Really cool stuff there!

Sadly when Financial Peace ended our group of friends left for their summers away :-( Tuff and Mary left for Minnesota/Montana and won't be back in Pittsburgh until the end of July. Our friends Tyler and Maggie left for South Carolina/Tennessee and they won't be back until mid July. It's always so sad to say goodbye to friends but I'm sure time will pass quickly.

This brings me to another that I had to say goodbye to…my Bozwell. It was such a tough decision but I know it was the best for both me and for him. It was getting to be too tough to take care of him with work and all the traveling opportunities I’ve had. When Boz exhausted his dog-sitting privileges at my sister Katie’s house I knew I had to find him a new home. It was such a sad day for me and I could tell he was sad as well, but I know I found him a good home with a woman named Jodie. Fortunately she lives just a few streets away from me and is allowing me to visit any time I like. I already passed by his new home once and saw him outside…he looked happy - but chased my car as I drove away! I really do miss him so much but I know ultimately I made the best decision for the both of us. Before he left me, Patrick and I got to spend some time with him and took some last pictures…

 

Because I STILL can't figure out how to post videos (trust me, I've been trying!!) I'm going to send you to YouTube...I posted a quick video of Boz doing his tricks...We call this "The Army Crawl"....check it out at...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpQhJt2udJE

The last bit of "June News" is a biggie....

I am now officially a home owner :-D 

This is my new home! I purchased it on June 28th and I am so very happy for the entire buying process to be finished! For some reason it was a pretty long one for me. The house is located on a great street with a little view of the city from the upper deck. It's in great shape as well! It needs a little loving and I'm so ready to do just that. You know I'll be posting any changes I make as time goes on. I feel so lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity placed in my hands :-) Now there is no doubt in my mind that I am a full-fledged, bona fide adult!!!

June was a memorable month filled with all kinds of coolness...Now my arms are open and ready for all that God has planned for me in July :-)