Condo!

Hey everyone! Casey and I still have a lot of work to do, but I thought I'd share some photos of the condo business so far.

This is after settlement. Me opening the door... me doing a "we own it dance" around the living room... Casey opening our first day gift bag... and the cats were "helping" me pack.

Taping before we can paint. We got started the night of settlement.

Painting the master bedroom. Shaking the paint... opening the paint... stirring the paint... painting with the paint! It's a tropical oasis! :)

Paint extraordinaires... that'd be us.

Painting the master bathroom. Casey made me paint behind the toilet and it was hard to do. Can you hear me whining? haha. And the mushy heart is where the mirror goes.

Moving day! Casey driving the U-Haul.

Word

So Danny is doing better. He was in the hospital for a while because he went to go home one day and he stood up and his blood bag filled with blood instantly, two times, and then he passed out. So they kept him for another day, and tried to send him home, but he wanted to stay because the NBA play offs were on tv and he doesn't have cable at joshs. So I think he goes back into surgery next week. They had to do an emergency surgery and a blood transfusion at some point last week because things just were good. But now he is back at joshs...blood bag and all...and is in great need of a sponge bath!! haha. Just thought i'd keep everyone posted (Well-mostly DJ, because he knows him!) hope all is well with the family!!

I'M A HOMEOWNER!

YAYYYY!!!!

Casey and I closed on our condo yesterday and I'm so excited! I mean, it's a huge money commitment, but it's SO worth it. We went and got our keys last night after settlement and immediately (well, after I did a little dance in the living room, haha) started taping so we can paint this weekend. We don't actually get to move all of our big stuff until Monday, but that's okay because it gives us time to paint and let it dry before we start moving stuff in.

I can't wait for everyone who is able to come down and visit us. We are going to have a second bedroom now and we'll also have a sleeper sofa, so there is plenty of room.

I hope everyone is doing wonderfully! I'll post with pictures later... especially after the painting begins! :)

Love love,
Christie

The test : part one

So today I went to the DMV with mom to take the written part of my driving test... and guess what.. I PASSED. anyways I will be going back on may 6 at 8 AM to take the driving portion. fun fun. let's all hope I pass.
so that's that.. thought I'd tell you guys. anyways I should have my license by the next time i'm up. yay!

the naked gun part 5

ok some newer pics from yours truley. these are pics of the my gun. we just entered a period where the shipyard comes on board and repairs or refurbishes them, so they are doing my gun. this is what it looks like when the weather shield is taken off

Chaos in VA.

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been blogging much... or at all really. Life is a little hectic right now, as you all can probably imagine, with the wedding planning and getting ready to move. This craziness is evident in the picture below- which are what you see when you walk through the front door of our apartment right now. It's a little overwhelming at the moment, but I'm excited to get everything packed up and into our new place. I can't wait until after Thursday when I can share photos of our new place and painting and such, but I thought I'd check in and give an example of why I haven't been able to get myself on here to blog! I miss everyone lots and CANNOT WAIT to be home Memorial Day weekend. I'll post more later after we've moved and settled in a bit. I can't wait for that either!

And also, if those of you who feel comfortable doing so could send up prayers regarding the following, that would be wonderful. My friend Stephanie's Aunt Beth (and guess what? Her husbands name is- you guessed it- Jim), who has never really had health problems, suddenly started having headaches and was getting nauseous a few weeks ago and finally went to the hospital. Well, she ended up needing several surgeries on her brain and is now on life support. I don't know a lot of details, but I guess they (the doctors) aren't really sure what is going on and they have been going back and forth on taking her off life support. Please just pray for peace and for courage for Stephanie and her family as they go through this tough and scary time. I'm also praying for a miracle recovery, but because that is probably unlikely, I just pray that they will know that what happens is supposed to happen and to feel grateful for the time they had with her. Although I know what it feels like to lose an aunt, I can't imagine having something come up so suddenly and be so drastic.

Since that is really sad, I'll share something cute- a picture of Stephanie's kitty Rufio, who we kitty-sat last weekend while she spent time at the hospital. Rufio is named after the skunky-haired kid in Hook, for those of you who have seen it. He hisses at everything even though he's not really mad. And because I love Casey, I didn't warn him that Rufio likes to get in the shower with you and therefore Casey didn't shut the bathroom door and Rufio tried to jump in while Casey was showering. Ha! My lady kitties enjoyed flirting with him while he was here and I'm glad I could help Stephanie out, even though it was something small.

Love and miss you all bunches! MUAH!!!!!
**Christie**

ammo offload

here are some pics from the ammo offload.




first is the missle. sorry, this is the canister that holds the missile. they are so brittle that they have to be in these canisters so they wont get damaged. and i can tell you right now it is freaking huge.

then is me and another person handling a torpedo canister those are heavy as hell but luckly for us that is why we use cranes

Roller Blading

So, Girl Scouts went to the roller rink during vacation. Ruth tried roller skates, but didn't like them. Then she saw other girls wearing roller blades. We asked, okay so she asked, the attendant if they had any she could use. With a smile, she found Hannah and asked her to take her around the rink. She only went once, but this was the last corner, and she was still happy. :)

ITS ME!!

So, hello alll.... I haven't been posting in a while, but i've been checking up on everyone on mikes stupid blackberry. Nothing really is new with me...um...I got Leonard neutered.

That's him the day after at our house because he had to stay seperated from Otis for the first day....He was up in that little nook when I went to school and when I came home he was still there....He's so silly. I love him. And today I brought Otis to the rabies clinic with mom. the line was HUGE. Filled with lots of dogs and drool and pee and cats...it kind of reminded me of a methadone clinic. Whatever. lol. Then I brought Britney up there to get her rabies and distemper shots also...she had a blast!

So yeah...other than that...I've been working alot and going to lots of River City Rebels concerts...Danny is actually in middle of trying to get a kidney stone removed...its the size of a golf ball and they tried taking it out yesterday but he was bleeding so much so they couldnt. It's gross...he has like a blood bag and everything that is leeking bloody nastyness through a tube in his back. Ew.

OH! I will hopefully (!) start doing volunteer work at HeadRest soon...in my attempts at becomming a substance abuse counsiler. I can go to a school next summer in New Jersey for five days that focuses on working with inmates with substance abuse problems. And if I get my bachelors in phychology then I can go to a school in chicago that is just for dealing with inmates that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. but Lets not get a head of ourselves here....lol. I'm nervous about being a "grown-up" Thats all- hope everyone is doing superb!

Summertime!

Hey everyone! I don't really have anything to post, but since mother was so insistent, I figured I would put something. I just got a new camera, so I will be taking lots of pictures and will post more frequently with life-y things. As for now, I am nearing the end of my college career very quickly, which is exciting and scary and sad and happy all at the same time. I have one week of classes left and then finals and then I graduate May 10! AAAHHHH!!! I kind of can't wait, but I've also been getting a lot closer to my friends and leaving them will be hard, but thankfully I think most of us will be around the same area so hopefully I will still be able to see a lot of them. Anyway, mumsy wanted me to post pictures from last weekend so I will, even though it seems she has already shared them with most everyone. I went to Shenandoah National Park with my...um...friend of the boy kind. Well, anyway, it was beautiful out and the views were amazing. So here are a few pictures.ooh pretty!

me being intrepid

me and robert

So that is my most recent adventure and I shall post more as I have more. There is lots going on as it is the end of the year and there are department parties and pretty weather and things like that. Anyhoo, I love you all and hope that you are doing well and that I will see more about everyone on the bloggy poo. LOVE LOVE!

Wild Life

First, a call to Christie and Karen--you guys! Time to post something. I know how busy you both are with moving soon and the final weeks of college. Karen--you KNOW people would love to see photos of the Shenandoah Valley. Christie--just a little something would be nice. Folks check every day for new posts.

Same goes for the rest! Summer is coming and it's going to get busier than ever! Let's hear what people are up to.

That said, I don't have anything to say. LOL! So I'm posting photos that I took in my backyard earlier this spring. The Barred Owl came as a birthday gift on March 26. The turkeys traveled through and scavanged for a couple of weeks. It was really cool to see Mr. Turkey strut his stuff a few days ago. They have now gone on to other feeding grounds. Soon I will be able to bore you with pictures of gold finches and rose-breasted grosbeaks. At least, I hope so!

ITS A BOY!!!!

So on the 15th i found out that i am having a little boy. At first i was alittle shocked because everyone filled my head with its a girl but after seeing him for a minute i was really happy. Nate was so happy he said he almost fell to the ground lol. We really are very happy i just want to hold it but the doctor said the baby is like gumby right now so that kinda made me want to keep it in there till he is ready to come out. if i knew how to post a picture i would i have one where he is sucking his thumb and he is the cutest thing ever!! also to add to nates and my plans we also found a trailer well its like a double wide and its 2 bedrooms and very spacious so we just needed a co signer and we have one so it is looking very good!! hopefully we will be in by the 1st of next month!! well thats all for now when i find out more i will let everyone know!! love you all!!!!

Flowers for Mom

(These are really in my yard.)

And any one else that is missing a bit of spring. :)

Johnny jump-ups that I planted on Saturday in my flower garden.

I love their little faces; they remind me of Mammie,

and also living on Prospect Street. I would get so mad

when the ones in the sidewalk would get mowed over.

Dad would tell me they were weeds,

and I would insist they were not.

What I know now is that the mowing "dead headed" them,

and that is why they kept coming back. :)

Our lilacs are budding out. I know you cannot see it very

well in this photo, but there is a flower in progress in this bud.

It was a surprise for us, as we thought we would have

a few more years before the shoots

Scott gave us would flower.

And what is spring with out the first dandelion?

Ruth pulled each bloom up in fear of her dad
mowing over the "weeds"....
Sound familiar? :)


Happy spring everyone!

hey there!!

just a quick word from me...... hmmmmm ........have i ever had a quick word? ....

well anyway, i'm just popping in to say to all of you!
i saw crocus' YELLOW ones blooming on 110 yesterday!! Spring must be coming!!!

i am just ducky fine. So is Scott. we miss you all.

It only seems like yesterday when you were all just little bitty kids hanging around and we would have done ANYTHING to make you go away so the ADULTS could talk in peace and now i want you all back to be noisy and laughing and picking on each other. (Can you hear the violins?)

Well, back to the salt mines!

Love to all,
God's Peace,
Grama

So good to hear from you all!

Thanks Karen for lighting a fire under everyone! It's great to hear from you all! I spent the weekend with Christie and Karen.

I don't know why I didn't end up with a photo of Christie but I do have a couple to share of Karen and me. We went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC and took a paddle boat ride around the Tidal Basin. I sure wish that paddling would have off-set the fabulous dinner we had at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Christie has some beautiful ideas for the wedding. I'm not ruining them by telling all about it here. It was fun to spend time with her and work on the creative ideas for the tables and playing with some incredible roses.

Oh, and here's a video of our paddle boat experience. You know how Karen wants to be in the movies..........

And then there were two...

So, froiday night Will came over and asked what i was doing over the weekend. My answer was obviously why?. Well as it turns out his boss needs help and atleast temporarily (I think this is more on my part than anything because of my already being employed with ASI) I am working for Nieman's Gardens in Voluntown. We are trans-planting, cleaning out and filling greenhouses, and other such things at this point, but I just thought I'd come on and shre the new job thing.

Legion

well i have some new news. the other day i was feeling like an old fart, so i decided to join an old fart organization. i am now a new member of the american legion. huh.... never saw that coming

Mammies shiner!

Well, Mammie was kind enough to let me take a few pictures of her shiner! As you can see, it's a doosie! She is sticking her tongue out at me so she isn't feeling too bad!

Nothing to exciting!

Well, although I don't feel like I have been doing much, I have been busy so I must be doing something! At work at 7 leave around 4:50 go to Canaan until 5-5:30 (a couple days this week until 7) then home to whip up a healthy meal, excercise and fit a very little bit of cleaning in. In addition to that we are still doing fundraisers for project grad (spagetti dinner tonight so I am whipping up some Gramma Sweetens sauce) and also busy with Lioness fundraisers. At least in March. The board from the Lioness called me the other night and asked me take a position for next year, which I did. Jim thought that was pretty funny, just what I need....another thing to do! But they don't meet during the summer so it shouldn't be too bad. what with "empty nest" potentially coming to the Rice family I better find something to do!
I hope everyone is well and happy. I am off to see Mammie and her broken nose, I guess it isn't pretty. :( poor thing!

It's finally happening!

Just to let you all know,

DJ will be graduating on June 20^th.

Party on…

June 21^st.

A more formal invitation will be arriving shortly, but I wanted to let you know the school is

done with playing the “let’s switch the date” game. I hope, anyway.

 

 

to whom it may concern, mostly Mom

I finished my finals! Yippee!

I just submitted my paper on Samuel Huntington, and though it was a long process, I feel like it was worth while. I hope to do something a bit crazy as a result.

I have it in my mind to combine my love of history into a letterbox planting. If you wonder what that is all about, well, ask me and I will tell you. If you want to know more, maybe if you come to Connecticut, this Nut can show you a treasure hunt of a new kind. :)

PS:

Sam, no Harry Potter in this search. You will be safe with me. I promise.

Also, for those that do not know it, I have count them 12 weeks until my college career is over! YAH!

America's Next Top Model

In honor of Sam's addiction that has spread to my house...

In front of the camera, changing her facial expressions,

moving her body, aware of the light, showing off the outfit...

Ruthe,

Southworth Nuts Next Top Model!

Besides, like Karen, I am avoiding a paper that is due.... well past due. :(

WHERE IS EVERYONE?

So, what the heck is with no one posting on here in forever?? I check it ever day hoping I'll be able to read something interesting about someone's life, but I get nothing. Unfortunately, there is so little in my life that is interesting enough to put on here, but I'm going to try and the ball rolling and hope you all follow suit. So, well, um, I just finished my senior project, which involved building three set pieces for the next mainstage show we're doing--She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith. I did a pub sign, which turned out really well, a big picture frame for a portrait another girl painted and a dressing screen. They all look pretty good so that's nice. Um, a few weeks ago we had a Centennial Ball on campus as part of the campus' 100 year anniversary celebration. I went with a bunch of friends and had a blast. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy:

my friend kyle and i danced all night to a great swing band they had

me and some buds lookin' schmancy: mary, me, stone, tali and kyle

So anyway, it was a lot of fun. There was an open bar and lots of food and a really good live band and I didn't have to sneak in with a fake ticket like I thought I was going to.

In addition, since I need to put off writing a paper for a little longer, I went to New York a couple weeks ago for a class, which was amazing. We were there for nine days and saw 14 shows and it was incredible. I met some famous people, like David Hyde Pierce (you know, like from Frasier). My friend Lucia and I saw him in the show Curtains, which was really good and met him afterward and got his autograph. Proof:

WEEEEE

Well, I don't know what else to say so that's it for now. But hopefully everyone will get their acts together and start posting more often. Even if it's not that interesting, I need something to look at while I'm cruising the internet. K, great. LOVE TO ALL!