What A Year It's Been!!

Well... our 2008 started off pretty normal. We got our new puppy, Marlee, who has become the light of our lives (of course, she shares that light with our little one, Max). We never expected what would happen halfway through the year. Wow... the last 6 months have been quite a ride!!

Having accepted his new position here in Philly, the last time Troy was at our house in Brandon was in May. I lived there all alone until the end of June when I drove to Nashville to meet Troy, and we embarked on our journey to Philly... our 21 hour journey to Philly. I must say, I did not like being in the truck for 21 hours, and I do not look forward to the next trip that is that long or longer. For a very brief period, we were in downtown Philly, and then we moved to the outskirts (the sketchy outskirts... not really, we live in a really nice area) in Glen Mills. Troy continues to love his job at the airport, trying as it may be sometimes, and I am settling down in my new job and love it more everyday!!

We have ended the year on such a great note. We had a great Christmas together here in Philly and then went to Houston where we continued the festivities. It was a blast!! The girls are growing so much, and it was great to be with Troy's mom, brother, and sister in law. We have such a wonderful little family!

Once again, I apologize for not blogging more often. Things are kinda slow here in our neck of the woods, and my laptop lost a fight with a can of Ginger Ale... so, it's on its way to California for the HP doctors to work their magic! I wont' have any pictures to upload in the next few weeks, but you can guarantee that when it gets back, I'll make up for it!

Troy and I will be attending the Villanova Wildcats basketball game on January 10 courtesy of Todd, Kelley, and the girls! We are so excited!! I'll definitely upload pictures of that when I get my computer back, and I have access to Picasa again.

Thanks to everyone for reading our blog and participating in our little lives. We really appreciate all of your kinds words and wishes as we took this giant leap of faith to the Northeast to start a new chapter. Each of you is a part of the chapter, and we look forward to writing the next one with you.

Happy New Year!!!

What's Been Going On...

Well... obviously, I haven't been quite as on top of things as normal. With the nasty weather, it creates extra drive time, so getting home later leaves little time for play! Plus, my computer is out of commission right now due to a slight run in with a can of Ginger Ale. Oops.... thank goodness for warranties!! haha!!

Things are quite gross in Philly right now. If it's not raining, it's snowing or as the local weather reports "unknown precipitation." Hello... it's either water or some form of ice. Not that hard to determine... one's liquid and one can be semi-solid or solid.

Last week, we ventured out to the Wachovia Center to see the 76ers play the Cavaliers, and let me tell you. The NBA is just as boring in person as it is on the TV... I did get to see Labron James play. That guy is huge! I couldn't believe how quick he was for how big he was... I haven't gotten all of the pictures uploaded to Picasa yet, but I'm working on it. There are a few there now, though. I didn't get many because I left my memory card at home, and my camera doesn't hold many pics in the internal memory. I was so upset, so the ones there are some my friend, Lee, took on her camera.

We are getting ready for Christmas... the tree is all decorated (I need to upload pics of it, too!) and the stockings are hung. We'll be celebrating here in Philly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then we'll head out to MS for the weekend. I can't wait to see my family. Troy hasn't seen them since Mother's Day, so I know they are excited to see him!! We were gonna try and head up to New York sometime to see the Christmas lights at Rockefeller Center. Not sure if we will make it, but we're gonna try.

Here are a few highlights from the basketball game... enjoy, and Merry Christmas!!!

We're Still Kickin...

Kickin' snow, ice, and nasty weather out of the way! Wow... what a roller coaster that old man winter takes you on! It's been tolerable until yesterday when the wind chill was 9 degrees. Let me tell you... I only thought it was cold in Amarillo a few years back for Thanksgiving! I've NEVER felt cold like I am here in Philly.

We had our second snow on Saturday. It was just a dusting, but none-the-less, it was snow, and I wasn't happy to see it. Max and Marlee were happy... Max buried his head in it and had a beard! Too funny!! The magic was gone after the first fall! It's just not cold enough to not turn into ice and water, eventually. When it's not all icy and slushy, it may be a different story.

Nothing much to report other than the weather, which can be found anywhere including the blog!! Ha!! We are all decorate for Christmas. We hope to get to head south sometime, but of course, that will depend on the flights and scheduling. It is nice to have below average temps... it makes it feel like Christmas. Granted, it's not Norman Rockwell with snowmen and warm glowing windows in homes, but it's fun to be all bundled up.

Sorry for the pause in posts... with it being dark when I leave and dark when I get home... it's hard to get motivated to do much!

Merry Christmas! I'll post new pictures soon!!

Oh.. Oh.. Oh.. It's Magic... It's Snow!!

There are many marvels that are among us on this planet, and I must say that winter phenomenons are one of those. How can it be 32 degrees in MS and 32 degrees in PA, and it only snow in one place? Why can a winter wind take your breath away when it's your only source of oxygen and the reason for breathing? Well... I've discovered another one of those wonderful winter marvels... ice sickles!

On my way to work, I take the Schuylkill Expressway which travels below an overpass that is Kelly Drive. Under this bridge were 3... yes, count them... 3 HUGE ice sickles! They were one of the those things that caught my eye and by the time I realized it was ice sickles, I'd already passed them by. They stayed there for a few days (Wednesday and Thursday). My first thought was... "Oh, look... ice sickles!!" My next thought was, "Good grief, those things looked like primitive Eskimo weapons!" They were huge... like I mentioned before... wow... don't want to be under those when the fall!

Yesterday was the first sighting of snow! It started--for me in Bala Cynwyd--around 3:30 PM, and it was really coming down! It was a bit icy and didn't want to stick, but finally, it happened... I got to see my first northeastern snow. I would get so excited when the forecast would predict this winter wonder, but so far, I'd heard stories of snow and hadn't seen it yet.

When we woke up this morning, there was an inch of snow on the ground! The first snow storm of the winter came through our area last night! It was a sight to behold. We got dressed in our winter gear (boots, pj pants, sweatshirts with hoodies, and I was wearing a sweater hat, too), geared up the pups, grabbed the camera, and headed out. The dogs were so funny!

At first they didn't know what to think... Max tried his best to avoid the fluff, but eventually realized that he couldn't. Marlee dived in with all 4 paws. She was so excited to see the snow... of course, it was just because it was new and something she'd never experienced, so we had a great time on our morning outing at 6 AM!!

It snowed very hard until about 10 AM then it tapered off, eventually stopping completely. As we were driving home, we saw the remnants of the snow storm, and there were still icy patches of snow in our town and neighborhood.

Now, we are just watching the weather and staying warm. We definitely enjoyed the snow today. It was beautiful and magical! There are pictures on the Picasa site... Just click the link labeled Troy and Mandy's Photo Journal to the left... below are a few to get you started!

Is It Winter Yet?

Last week, our weather was quite interesting. The highs were in the upper 60s, and on Saturday, we got to 71 degrees. It was supposed to rain, but little did we know, it would pour. We went to Exton, PA to shop for a bit yesterday, and I finally broke down and gave into my frivolous side. I bought the iPhone I've been wanting for a month or so. It's the coolest gadget ever!

This morning we awoke to 18 to 30 MPH wind gusts. I thought the windows were going to shatter when I heard the wind blowing into the side of our building. We bundled up and fought the wintry weather to get some breakfast at Panera Bread and hit Target for a few weekly items. When we got home, we gave the pups a rawhide bone each. Marlee has jaws of steel, so her bones don't last very long, but little Max savors his bones. He's now been working on this bone since about 9:30 this morning!

At one point, Marlee walked over to him, took his bone, and got hers as well. It took Troy and me to get his little bone out of her mouth. Now, she is on a mission to get what is left of his bone, but unfortunately, she can't fit under the couch as well as he can!!

He is being quite the protector... he even took his bone outside to potty, and he brought in another treat. We couldn't let either of them chew on the leaf, but he was pretty funny running around with his rawhide and leaf sticking out of his mouth.

We are gonna end our weekend in the safety of our apartment out of the blustery blasts of the almost winter wind. Enjoy!!

Mr. and Mrs. Santa Paws

I got Max and Marlee Santa and Mrs. Clause hats at Target the other day. On Wednesday, we had a photo session that we alot of fun. I made the mistake of putting the bowl of bones on the floor, and Marlee tried to eat them like food. She had bones sticking out every which way. It was pretty funny. I wasn't able to get them to sit still together, but got individual shots. They didn't mind their hats as much as I would have imagined... Max looks pretty darn cute, if I must say so myself! Enjoy, and I know it's a tad early but... happy holidays from The Blacks! Just for the record... I am really looking forward to Turkey Day! I am going home to see my family. Troy will spend time here with SWA and the pups. Check back for more pics!

Happy Halloween from the Blacks!

This year, we'll be in Houston for the Halloween weekend. We have a sugar high filled weekend planned with Todd, Kelley, the girls, and Troy's parents. I'm sure that Wonder Woman (AKA - Abby) will save the day and make sure all the neighborhood kids will have tons of candy. Our pups will be here in Philly celebrating the holiday with our friend, Lee. I'm sure that they will miss dressing up, but their pet parent of the male gender refuses to let them wear costumes... oh, well... maybe next year!! Happy Halloween!!