It's A Girl!!!

Today Mr. O and I found out one of our favorite couples is... having a GIRL!!!!!! We are so excited for them and can't wait to become an aunt/uncle again! This will be baby # 2 in the PDS group! Can't wait!!!

Leigh Ann's 2010 Status Review from Facebook!

The Ordan's 2010 Christmas!!!

Our Holiday Card for 2010

Happy Hanukkah!

What if....

I'm having one of those days.....


WHAT IF?!?!?!!?......................


Every have those?

One thing can go differently in our lives and can change your whole outcome.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Home Again Home Again.....

Mr. O and I had an amazing time in New York for Turkey Day. We left AVL around 6pm and got to NYC by 5Am! Only two gas/pee stops! :) We went straight to bed and woke up around 11:30am to start Thanksgiving. We celebrated with Jesse's side of the family - The Benowich's! Beth and Larry are the two sweetest people (Mr. O's father's cousin) and their two girls Gillian and Shari! We had such a blast just catching up, cooking, sampling food, watching other people cook (of course thats me!) and football! THANK GOODNESS THE COWBOYS LOST!

This was Jesse and I's first year not to be with our families at Thanksgiving.... and we loved every minute of it! Of course I missed my mom's special side dishes and seeing our niece Alexandria but we will have many more opportunities ahead of us!

November 25 2010:
Thanksgiving was pretty laid back.... slept, ate, football and I was out by 11pm! Happy Birthday to my sister Jamie!!!!

November 26 2010:
Mr. O and I were off to try Pepe's Pizza in Yonkers! No line, great booth (except for the screaming children to our left) and unbelieveable P-I-Z-Z-A! Broc/Tom/Chz and Bacon/Garlic! We had to stop by some crazy shopping places b/c it is "Black Friday" so we did Best Buy and Old Navy near Ardsley, NY. That evening Gillian, Mr. O and I took the train from Hartsdale to Grand Central! I had never been on a train before... fun! The 40 min ride that cost us 14 a person! We got to the city and Gillian went off to her 10 year reunion and Mr. O and I looked at each other and took off! We enjoyed the city at night walking around and then ate dinner at Palm Too before meeting Gillian back at the train at 11:15PM to get home!

November 27 2010:
We slept in today. I got dressed and ran errands with Gillian before her flight back to AZ. Barnes and Noble, Bagels and a few drug stores! Mr. O packed up the car and we all said our good byes! The Ordans were off to NYC! We paid 31.00 to park our car in the all day! We rushed to Serendipity 3 to put our name on the list for the famous frozen hot chocolate! (they had a 2 hr plus weight). FYI - from 330 - 630 we are following the NCSU vs MD game by phone stats! We went shopping - New York & Co, The Body Shop, Bloomingdales and etc! Finally around 4pm our table was ready at Serendipity 3! We had 2 frozen hot chocolates, chkn nachos, and spuds! The food was okay but the frozen hot chocolate was great!!! Around 5pm we went to Chinatown! Amazing experience! After 2 hours of purchasing knock offs and going into secret hideaway rooms I think I'm set! :) Next stop was Magnolia Bakery which is one of Jesse's favorites! Thank goodness dinner was at 7:45pm! La Tanzis was very good! It gave us a chance to warm up before we hit the streets again! We made it back to the parked car and headed off to The Meadowlands in NJ to our hotel! (You think we were gone for a month with all our stuff.) After unpacking, getting the A/C turned ON (yes I did say ON) we were able to fall asleep looking out to the NYC skyline! The empire state building lit up in orange and red for Thanksgiving colors.....just beautiful.

November 28 2010:
FOOTBALL DAY!! We slept in and then got ready for the NY Giants vs Jaguars football game at 1pm! Jesse's client at GPI gave us 2 suite tickets for the game! The stadium was unbelieveable! So clean and modern! We were in the Lexus club! We had tons of food and drinks, three tvs inside with couches and then 20 leather chairs outside to watch the football game LIVE from the visitor side of the stadium from the 10 yard line!! WOW!! It was so great!!
Our night ended with Tic Tock Diner and then another drive into NYC for diet soda (Randy), Carnegie Deli, and black/white cookies to bring back to NC with us! Ohhh and I bought a Kindle! So excited to start using it!

November 29 2010:
We both have today off so we can drive back to NC. Our goal time to start is 7AM! Wish us luck!

NCSU: 8-3, 2nd in ACC - Atlantic

I'm thinking RED all day today!!! NCSU vs. MD @ 3:30pm!

The Ordans are in New York but at 3:30 you will find us in a bar in the city watching ESPN! This is a huge game today! We win we are off to the ACC Championship game next weekend in Charlotte, NC!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yea!!!!!!!!!!

GO State!!!!!!!!!!

November 20, 2010 - NCSU vs UNC

The weekend is here! F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!

Mr. O and I are off to Charlotte, NC for the weekend! We have some errands to run then meeting the WOLFPACK crew at 11:30 at Hickory Tavern to watch the big football game!! I'm so pumped!

Sunday I'm throwing a birthday brunch for Jamie and Leslie at Village Tavern! There are 12 girls coming and I think it will be a fun time! Yay!

Short weekend.. but only 3 days of work next week! Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

The Holiday Season has Started!!!

There is just something about the temperature getting colder and the air feeling crisper! Turkey dinner is almost on the table and you are surrounded with tons of family, the holiday parties filled with love and laughter among friends/family, and then all the busiest time of the year... Hanukah and Christmas!!!

Party planning with the our girls Gingerbread House/Naughty Santa Chinese Gift Exchange and don't forget the Annual Mother-Daughter Cookie Exchange!

I'm already listening to Christmas music and blasting it each time! People are starting to decorate and the drive home to see the lights is just amazing.

Now is the time to focus on family and friends. To think about what you have and how grateful you are. Mr. O and I are surrounded with so many supportive and special people in our lives. Each day our life gets more settled up here in the mountains and the more confident that this is the place stay for us.

Our Thanksgiving news is pretty exciting!! We are off to ...........

NY

We are so excited to spend Thanksgiving with Jesse's extended family and I get to see my favorite family member... Gillian!! :) So much to do!!! We start this journey next Wednesday night after work and then arrive Thursday AM (Happy Turkey Day) to the Benowich home! We celebrate by eating all day and then I'm sure off to bed early b/c .... BLACK FRIDAY in NYC has got to be so cool!!! A few days of shopping, seeing new parts of the city I haven't been to - SoHo, Meat Packing District, and Brooklyn, trying out the Subway (missed it last time due to the subway strike), making seeing a show and our biggest moment will be the NY GIANTS football game Sunday with 2 box seat tickets and a VIP parking pass!! YES WE ARE EXCITED!!! You can't tell?!?!?!?

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday! Much love from the Mountains!

Lyric's 1st Birthday!!!!

A long but G-R-E-A-T weekend!!! Baby # 3 for Chad and Sara is due in a month so we celebrated with NCSU football game in Winston then a baby shower! Then we continued the drive to Raleigh that night.

Sunday we woke up to a HUGE birthday party! Lyric's theme was "friends and family" with red and white colors (of course!) He had so many friends and tons of toys to play with! He is such a big boy!! I can't believe it was one year ago that he came in to each of our lives and blessed each and every one of us.

I love him so much! Can't wait until he can say "Leigh Ann" :)

Happy Halloween!!!!

This was Alexandria's first Halloween! So Cute! :)

Happy One Year Anniversary!!!!!!

One year later... we made it!!! It has just flown by! I can't believe just one year ago I married my best friend. We spend the entire day yesterday together.. slept in, brunch, hiking off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then a romantic dinner at the Stone House Market.

Cheers to another wonderful year! Muah!

Think Pink

October is one of my favorite months of the year... especially since it is Mr. O and I's anniversary but also b/c of the awareness of breast cancer. I think everyone should remember everyday about cancer but it is nice to know the support you see everywhere during this month.

People are wearing pink, breast cancer walks, ribbons, and even the Asheville newspaper has been pink! Love it!

My mother's best friend, Lisa, has been affected by breast cancer. She has been fighting for almost two years now. Her constant fight and push to beat this makes me smile and stay positive. The strength it takes to take one more step, one more breathe and one more day going forward can take everything out of you but knowing that you want to get there makes all the difference in the world. Stay positive!

Love you Lisa J! :)

PDS Class '00 10 Year Reunion!!!

10 Years!!! Seriously?!?!!?! Gosh we are old! Last weekened Mr. O and I were in Charlotte, NC for Mr. O's 10 year reunion from high school. (Mine is next year.) We had a great pre-party at Paul's house before! All of us got to have time to eat, drink and look at old photo albums thanks to Julianna! The reunion was a little disappointing since we made up half of the reunion! Only about 25 people showed up total through the whole night. Not even ONE teacher came! So after tons of money, years of education, 2 reunions, bites of food, and two drink tickets we have a lifetime of wonderful memories and great friends!

I'm so lucky to say that Mr. O's friends are now my friends and part of our family. We are so lucky to have each of you in our lives! We are looking forward to what is next!

Been awhile.....

It has been way to long.....

Sorry for the delay but there just has been so much going on! My new job, Mr. O looking for a new job, traveling and OMG our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY is so close!

The most of September Mr. O and I spent at the beach... labor day in Myrtle Beach, SC and then a week in Holden, NC with our high school friends! Oh and my niece is now 6 months old! So adorable!

October just started and we have been planning to go see a NC State football game in Raleigh, NC and plan what we were going to do for our one year anniversary trip. We were off to San Francisco, CA and Napa Valley but we decided to wait for that. We are going to spend our anniversary in Asheville, NC which is now our permanent home. Can't wait!!

My CLT girls are coming up at the end of October for a weekend get-a-way! I'm so excited! No one of them have seen my house or my life in AVL.

Thank goodness for HUMP day!!! I'm off to work today and tomorrow and then in CLT for work Fri - Wed! (Yes I travel way too much now).

xoxo from the mountains!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!!!

Our family spent Labor Day weekend at the beach! We had a wonderful time!

Home

I'm finally back in Asheville. :) Here to stay for awhile! Well.. during the week that is! September is a busy month for Mr. O and I. Starting next weekend we are at the beach!!!! We are so excited about our vacation with our PDS friends!

I can't believe it will be September this week!!

Byebye summertime!

What did I sign up for?

Week # 3 in Charlotte....

You know when you have one of those days or weeks where you question everything you are doing? Well I'm there. Why did I take this new job? Why did we stay in Asheville? Why don't we have kids yet? Why can't we save more money? You name it.... it is in my head this morning.

What happened to "no care" days.... you worried about having to get up for school each day, what were you going to eat for lunch and then how you were going to get all your plans packed into the weekend! Real world just isn't like that. Plans? Yeah right.... work ... sleep.... work... sleep.. oh and probably should eat sometime to have energy.

Today starts a very hectic weekend... wish me luck!

Another week in C-Town

I'm back.... in Charlotte that is!

I'm at my parents house tonight... then off to the University area the rest of the week! I'm looking forward to a girls night out on Wed night! I need my Charlotte girl time! :)

I'll be back in Asheville in a week from tomorrow! Hopefully things will slow down a little. I miss my home, my bed, my puppies and my of course Mr. O!

I'll be on the couch with the tv the rest of this sunday... rest and relaxation! Love it!!

Charlotte.. Nah! Asheville... Yes!!!!!!

Home finally!!! Well... just for 48 hours then back to Charlotte for another seven days straight.

Before all I wanted to do was just be in Charlotte but now traveling all the time all I want to do is be in Asheville with my husband and puppies! I miss them so much!

It is def. an overcast Saturday but I'm off to get my nails done and see the ultimate hair stylist Elizabeth E! Then spending the evening with the hubs!

Have a great Saturday!

What is a family?

What is the definition of the word family?

"Family refers to a collection of people, related to each other by marriage, ancestry, adtoption, or affinity, who have a commitment to each other and a unique identity with each other. This collection forms an economic unit. The adults in the collection have varying degress of responsibility for young members that might be a part of the collection" (Bidwell and Vander Mey, 2000).
SOURCE: Dr. Lee Bidwell, Longwood College (http://ryoung001.homestead.com/FamDef.html)

Today's post is a tough one. One thing that completes me is my family. As of 8 months ago I married into another family. There is my family, Mr.O's mom's family and then Mr. O's dad's family. All made up of parents, in-laws, step dads, step kids, sister in laws, brother in laws, and a niece.

Mr. O and I compliment each other very well but our families are very different. We never dealt with family issues until the day he asked me to marry him and it has continued to go down this road since we have said "I do." It has been a daily struggle for myself and our marriage.

I am a people pleaser. I will go over and above for the people I love... I don't expect that everyone should do the same for me but I do feel that respect and being thankful go a long way. I love my family and want them apart of my life as much as possible but I can't seem to find my place in my new extended family.

I know this will be a work in progress to try and be apart of my new family and make it successful but it will have to take all of us to make it work.

Baby Talk

I know... Everyone knows I want to be a mother! I have severe baby fever. Mr. O and I know we want to wait a little longer but it is so hard. Every baby I just want to squeeze, I can't walk by baby clothes without picking something out and I just love to day dream about what Baby O will look like one day! I even have baby themes picked out already for the bedroom! Crazy... yea yea yea! I'm just so excited.

We have names ready!!!! I'm actually really excited about this b/c we had our little girl name for a long time but just couldn't come up with a boy name we agreed on. This helps me settle my baby talk (this is what Mr. O thinks anyways).

Girl - KBO
Boy - RSO

Take a guess! :)

Hopefully next year our dreams will come true!

Ethan Castle Fiss

Please meet little boy Fiss!!! :)

He is the cutest! Our first baby in the group! We are all so excited!

Good Luck Lauren & Matt!

Mom's 55th Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesse and I got to come down last night to celebrate my mom's birthday with the family! We had a cook out and of course went for TCBY!

This woman is one of the most important people in my life.... my best friend!

Love you Mom.. Hope you had the best birthday!
Love always,
Your Daughter!

New Life Approach

I have to say my new job has to be one of the biggest career moves of my life. There is a lot going on and I'm still having to manage to transition out of my old role but I'm just so happy!

I have a new boss, new responsibilities, a new team, and I have unlimited opportunities to succeed! Even Asheville has turned around for Mr. O and I!

The next few years will be exciting for us! I'm looking forward to each day and what else we will be blessed with it :)

Enjoy the weekend!

Break Down Tuesday

I've accepted a new job, I've accepted to take on dual roles while we allow time for transition into my new job, and I've accepted that I will be living in Asheville for more than I ever thought I would.

Now I have to figure out how do I manage my career, my husband, my future family that I want to create with my husband, my friends, and our families! There are so many things I want to do and achieve in my life but sitting here at 28 years old I feel like I have just a few years to make HUGE decisions about how I want the rest of my life to turn out.

Obviously.. this lead to my break down Tuesday. I had a good cry, some great comfort food from the Hubby, a good nights sleep and now its Hump Day! It is always good you can start a new day over! :)

Annual PDS '00 Mountain Retreat

Mr. O and I had a blast this weekend! We headed up to Roaring Gap, NC to meet up with our PD friends! We had cocktail hours, delicious dinners, and free time! The girls and I took a 2.5 hour bike ride down a mountain! So fun! Check it out http://www.vacreepertrail.com.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! :)

L-O-N-G-E-S-T WEEK EVER!

Tomorrow is HUMP DAY!! Thank goodness!

Being in the middle of two jobs is difficult. I'm worn out everyday! Plus my BP is up again and having issues so off to the doctors again!

Looking for to the weekend! We are having our annual PDS mountain retreat! :)

Decison Has Been Made . . .

Mr. O and I will be staying in Asheville!

I know I can't believe I'm saying this. After I received the news I got a new job at TFS and I was interviewing for job in Charlotte... the decision came down to money and Mr. O. I never would have thought that I'd stay that but I think I just made the best career move I could.

We love watching the thunderstorms roll across the mountains from our front porch, cool nights, snow cones, tastee freeze, Ingles, and Leicester Hwy!

Wish us luck! :)

Reese & Kirsten's Wedding

Today Kirsten and Reese got married!!! It was so wonderful to see all of our friends and share in a special day! Best Wishes!!

Decisions Decisions!

Charlotte or Asheville?

After two years of living in Asheville I finally got a job interview in Charlotte! Things went great and I even got called back for a 2nd interview the same day. Also, I put in for a job in Asheville and got it!!! I should have an offer letter on my desk Monday morning.

Decision time... Do I take the promotion at Thermo and commit another year or so to "hippie ville" or make the big move to CLT? I want to be in Charlotte more than anything... my life... my friends... my family are all there! On the other side AVL will be more money.

What do I do??????

4th of July!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!! I had a great one being with my family and friends! The Miller Family came down for a visit and brought along their cousin Travis! Lyric has grown soooo much!!! I can't believe he is 8 months old already! Liz arrived on Sat night! All the girls went to go see The Eclipse - Twilight Saga! SOOOOO GOOD!!! I was so excited about it!

Sunday morning Liz, Jesse, my parents and I packed up the truck and headed to Holden Beach for the Kreisher's annual 4th of July beach bash! "Mini Vegas" is what it was called! We were on the beach all day drinking and playing games! We ended the evening with a wonderful dinner and fireworks on the Intercoastal waterway!

BEACH BEACH BEACH BEACH!

Mr. O and I are off to the beach after work! We are meeting our best friends down there plus little Lyric! Yay! He is such a big boy now! 7 months old!

Myrtle until Sunday then off to Holden Beach for the annual Kreisher 4th of July party! Beer, beach games, sun, and the ocean! Totally pumped!

Happy Weekend!

Too Cute For Words

I think it is time to start doing what I love and get paid for it!!!

I love party planning, tiny details, and decorating! It has been a busy year with weddings, showers and babies! I'm available for ideas, designs and for you to purchase items that I create... diaper cakes, diaper cupcakes, onesie sushi, diaper wreaths, bridal wreath, baby wreath, and etc! You name it and I have an idea for it.

Check me out on Facebook! Business page "Too Cute For Words"

Another Engagement........

Julianna and Matthew are engaged!!!!!

The PDS crew is so excited for you and can't wait to watch what all unfolds the next year! Much love to you both!

Looking forward to another wedding!!

Yay!!!

1st Baby Boy Diaper Cake

A friend asked me to create a diaper cake for her cousin's baby shower this weekend! This time it is a BABY BOY!! This was so much fun! I love being creative I just wish I had more time to do this kind of stuff!

Photography Shoot With Alexandria

Free collage made with Smilebox

Nemo's 1st Car Seat Adventure

After 45 mins of in and out hanging by his lease he figured it out that .... he will have to stay in the car seat!

He is such a big boy now! Love him!