2011 - I’ll Miss You!

2011 has been a very exciting year for me and for many people who are important in my life. I have to say, I think 2011 has been my one of my favorite years in a while. Here are just a few of the highlights!

January: I started my new job in January. So far, I really love it here. I’ve made some great new friends and have really seen my skill set improve.

March: My mom turned the big six-oh in March. Although March was a really tough month (I won’t get into it)…I will try and focus on the good things that happened. I hope I’m as spunky as Mary Sell when I turn 60!

April : One of my good friends, and co-workers, Shelly got married in April. I absolutely love weddings, and I love that I got to celebrate with Shelly!

Shelly and me at her wedding!

May: We finally got around to painting our house in May.  I love how it looks! It’s amazing how a little color can really make a house feel like home.

Clearly I was working hard on painting...

June: The wedding festivities really kicked off for me in June. I had my “Bel Air” bridal shower in late June and it was really fantastic. Everyone who helped put it together did a fabulous job!



Cari, Megan, Me and Hope at my first Bridal Shower

July: In July, my best friend Megan got married. It was amazing to be a part of such a special day for her and her hubby Ray. I’m so happy for them!! Did I mention I love weddings?!

Me and the Lovely Bride!

August: August was really a continuation of all of the wedding festivities. I started the month with a crazy Bachelorette Party in Ocean City, MD. After hitting the beach all day, my girlfriends and I headed out for a night on the town (and on the bus!) Not only did I have an awesome Bachelorette Party, but I also had another Bridal Shower in August. The ladies of St. Mary’s through me a lovely shower!

The ladies at the beach!



I was super tacky!



Cari, Megan, Me, Missy and Hope at my St. Mary's Shower

September: September was really the biggest month for me. After all the planning and activities, I finally tied the knot. Not only did I have the wedding of my dreams, but I got to marry my best friend, Matt. I don’t think it gets much better than that! I have to admit, I was a little sad that my other best girlfriend, Christine wasn’t able to attend my wedding. Her absence tho, was for good reason. At almost the exact same time I was getting married, Christine was giving birth to a beautiful baby boy, Oscar. September really was the best month, EVER! Oh, and I forgot to mention I went on my honeymoon in September. Making the month even better!!

One of my wedding favorites!

December: As many brides do, I decided I needed to lose weight before my wedding. Instead of joining a gym, I decided to start running. Since I started running in the Spring, I have really come a long way. In early December, I completed my first 15k (a little over 9 miles). Although I was pretty wiped when I finished it, I managed to run the entire thing, no walking, in 1 hour 42 minutes. Not too bad for my first really long race! I have since signed up for a half marathon… hopefully it goes well!

Me, Diane and her friend Jen, before the Hot Chocolate 15k!

Like I said, 2011 has been a pretty great year for me. It’s wonderful to see all of the people in my life moving on to such great things. It’s time like this, when I can really be thankful for everything and everyone around me. Happy New Year!!


On Happy Holidays...

Every week I read Post Secret. It’s a blog where people can send ‘post cards’ with an anonymous secret, and the best of the bunch make it on the site. I saw this particular secret, and decided it summed up all my feelings on the “happy holidays” issue…

My Hubby

Matt and I aren’t much on PDA…in fact, we’re pretty much the most unPDA couple I know. I’m just not a fan of putting my business all out there, I mean you know we’re married, so I don’t need to push it in your face or tell you on Facebook that I have the best husband ever. (I’m not knocking people who do it, that’s totally your choice, it’s just not something we do!)

But every once in a while, Matt just needs a shout out, because he is absolutely perfect…for me. Despite the fact that sometimes he drives me crazy (I’m sure it’s a mutual feeling), I really do have to give it to him, Matt makes being married easy.

It’s no secret that I’m not the best at house work. Any of my previous roomies will attest that the phrase “it looks like a tornado went through this room” can be directly attributed to me. Matt is the complete opposite of me in that respect. I have to say, his organizational habits are really rubbing off on me. Of course I still have my moments, but with a little encouragement, my ability to pick up after myself has done a total 180. Matt also has an incredible work ethic, which I think I’m picking up on, too. Matt is one of those people who makes it a point to give 110% everyday at work. It’s amazing to see how well he is doing with his job, and how quickly he is progressing. He recently got a mini-promotion and will be starting a cross training program. I’m so proud of him!

Besides the big things, he is also one of those people who does little things, just ‘cuz. The other morning, it was about 25 degrees outside, and Matt got out of bed and went down to start my car and scrape the ice off. Had he not of done that, I would have been really late for work. I could probably sit here another hour listing off all the little things Matt does, but lets be real, no one wants to read all that gushy stuff!

So, all that being said, I have a fabulous husband who makes me extremely happy every single day. One of my favorite shows of all time is Sex and the City…I always said I was most like Charlotte. Looks like I was right.

Samantha: Relationships aren't just about being happy. I mean, how often are you happy in your relationship?
Charlotte: Every day.
Samantha: Every day?
Charlotte: Well, not all day every day but yes, every day.

Holiday Party Time!

Matt, me, Shelly & Craig

Last night we had the holiday work party.  I was on the party committee, so of course I was a little stressed about it going well.  All in all, it was a lot of fun and everything went off without a hitch.  I’ve had a little trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year…not really sure why.  But now that we’ve had a few really chilly days, and we had our work Christmas party, maybe I can finally get into that jolly holly mood!

Decorating – Sell Style

Matt's keeping Cisco company....

Just because Matt and I are now married and living in our own home, doesn’t mean we don’t get to partake in the annual decorating traditions held at my mom’s house. This past weekend, we made our way up to Bel Air to help decorate the Christmas Tree with my parents. Decorating the tree is always fun with my family. Typically, my dad puts lights on the tree, and then mom and I decorate while Grandma helps put on hooks, etc. As per usual, this year was no different from any other. Dad spent Saturday proudly wrapping 700, yes he insisted that there were actually 700, lights on the tree, and then Sunday, mom and I put on the decorations. To top it off, even Grandma helped string the tinsel. Not exactly sure what Matt did to help partake in the festivities, but if nothing else, he did a great job keeping Cisco company….

My family also has some unusual Christmas traditions. As my Grandma is “right off the boat” (literally) from England, we also make sure to continue the British Christmas traditions that she loves. When I was a kid, each year we would head to Grandma’s apartment for a traditional Christmas Dinner and gift exchange. Now that I’m an adult, and Grandma lives with my parents, we modified the traditions a little. Sunday night, dad fixed us the traditional British Christmas dinner…this included roast beef, brussel sprouts, potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding…he forgot the corn. After dinner, we headed downstairs to Grandmas table for Christmas pudding, desserts, singing and gifts from “the Christmas elf.”

Although it seems silly to continue to do some of these traditions (like get gifts from the elf), it really is the family time around the holidays that make it so special. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family!



Me and Grandma decorating mom's tree.



Grandma's famous "Christmas Pudding"

Silly Christmas headbands are a must!

The "Brown" Christmas tree!

Our first Christmas ornament

These last two photos are at our house...we just can't get enough Christmas decorating!

It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

Especially in the Brown house….

This past weekend kicked off the Brown (& Brogan) Christmas season. As I said before, the weekend following Thanksgiving is the official Brown/Brogan family Christmas. Once we all get together after Thanksgiving, it’s time to really get into the Christmas spirit. As Matt and I made our way back from WV on Sunday, we decided to stop and look at Christmas trees. We pulled up at the lot and were ready to dive in an make the annual tree purchase, but the 70 degree weather really just put a damper on our festive moods. So we decided to wait a few more days until the weather became seasonal again.

Yesterday was the first chilly day in a while, so we decided it was time to start putting up the decorations. Although we haven’t gotten our tree yet, we have started putting up garland, lights, wreaths, etc all over the house. Getting our tree is on the agenda for Friday night, I’m really looking forward to it!

Happy December 1st - Let the Christmas Countdown begin!