HOT HOT HOT

Summer has come many months too early in Richmond, Virginia--that is, according to this Pennsylvania native. Brace yourself for this weekend weather recap...

TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE 90s!!

And brace yourself yet again for the current and upcoming weather...

TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 90s!!

Almost disgusting. The only thing keeping me from packing my things and heading north is the minimal humidity and my desperation for a tan. I seriously am not understanding this heat in April. My dear friend Shep, who shares with me a dislike for the summer months (strictly based on weather), warned me today of the reality of Virginia heat. He thinks I don't know what hot feels like, being that I'm not from the south. I hesitated to disagree with him, as I cannot remember ever experiencing such heat so early in the year.

But anyway, I'll get over it, as the forecast shows high 70s in our future.

Here's hoping you're experiencing actual springlike weather.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! Today he turned the big 2-3, although we all think he seems a whole lot older than 23. The Link side of the family came into town for the big event, which has been great fun. We've been extremely lucky to have beautiful weather and we definitely made the most of it today. 

We went to Maymont Park this afternoon to see the pretty gardens and check out all of the animals. Our faves were the huge, colorful fish, and of course the bears. We also became nostalgic of our childhood as we cooled off with some snow cones. 

For birthday dinner we ventured to Famous Dave's BBQ, which was quite delicious. Jeremiah and his dad ate way too much meat for any one human being and we shockingly all were able to walk out of the restaurant on our own (as opposed to having to be rolled out). 

The rest of the extended fam came over for birthday cake and ice cream--an enjoyable time for all. Screwdriver cake for Jeremiah and deep dark chocolate cake for Chuckles (his birthday is the 22nd). Delectable. 

Enjoy the wonderful tulip photos courtesy of the birthday boy. Yay for gorgeous weather and comfort food.

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter. The weather in Richmond was sunny and spring-like, which made the day just lovely. We headed off to church this morning and then went to brunch at the Salisbury Country Club. Kristy and Matt invited us to come with their family and a couple other families--something that has been their Easter day tradition for years. We had a great time and were thankful for the invite. The food was delicious (buffet style), but the desserts were divine. SO good! Combine the country club fare with the Easter goodies my mom and sister sent up, and let's just say we had quite the gluttonous weekend. 

Lucky for our arteries we made a stop to purchase tennis rackets and balls after brunch so that we can start playing here at our apartment and with Chrissie and Dave. We just got in from our first go-round at it, and boy was it interesting. By the end we had gotten the hang of it, but I clearly need a lot of practice before I try to compete with anyone other than my husband (who loves me for better or for worse).

Barf. Tomorrow we go back to work. How depressing. Two months to go til summer!

Friends In Town

How sweet it was to be reunited with great friends, even if for only a little under two hours. Last night Matt and Kristy Landis and Jordan Stone came to visit Jeremiah and me. Kristy and Jordan are two of my best friends and college roommates. Jordan grew up in Midlothian and Kristy lived in Midlothian since high school. Both of their families still live ten minutes away from our apartment, so they were all in for Easter. What a blessing it was to be able to see them! Matt and Kristy now live in Central Bucks area and Jordan is on staff with Cru at WVU, so we don't see much of each other--we hadn't seen the Landis' since Labor Day! We all had a great time laughing and telling stories. Lucky for me, Jordan will be moving back home mid-May to begin raising support to join staff with Cru. I cannot wait to have a close friend nearby!!!

SPRING BREAK

Alas, it is here! After a typically depressing winter (gloomy skies, colder weather, lack of vitamin D) Jeremiah and I are hoping to get a boost of spring energy after our much needed break. We debated doing a number of things to celebrate our time off, but ended up staying here in Richmond for the week. It hasn't been such a bad gig, as we've had our fair share of fun excursions balanced out with some productive time at home. 

We kicked off our break with a day trip to Williamsburg--primarily for the outlets. First though, we stopped at The Cheese Shop for a delicious sandwich and then headed to Wythe Candy shop for a sweet treat. Both of these places are downtown right next to Colonial Williamsburg at Merchants Square. I had eaten at both while at the women's retreat for our church and just had to let Jeremiah in on the experience.

Sunday we had an Opening Night cookout planned at Chrissie and Dave's (Jeremiah's cousin, her husband, and their daughter Ruby). As pictured, Jeremiah and I showed up in our Phillies garb ready for a sweet victory over the Braves; however, we all know how THAT turned out. Ridiculous. ((if you'd love to read more about the Phillies, check out Cameron's blog repeat09.blogspot.com)) We still had plenty of pre-game fun, especially during our Wii homerun derby tournament. Unfortunately, neither of us won, although I did have 9 homers in a row during our first practice round. Here are some more pictures of our festive evening.

Monday, we continued our adventures with a journey to Wakefield, VA to dine at the famous Virginia Diner. If you've seen Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri on the Food Network you might know what I'm talking about. Guy visited this diner during one of his episodes and Jeremiah has been anticipating some good southern diner food ever since. This place was in the middle of nowhere and rather interesting. Think time warp. Jeremiah feasted on collard greens, mac and cheese, BBQ pork, and fried chicken. Can you tell he's not a native northerner? Enjoy this photo of him in all his glory.

Tonight we're off to Chrissie and Dave's for our weekly Lost viewing. We cannot wait to delve into all that is Benjamin Linus and his sheer evil.

Game Night

On Friday, Jeremiah and I had some people over for a game night. So fun! Of course, prior to the get-together I was a semi-stressful mess getting the apartment in order and trying to decipher the plans via my husband's memory. Jeremiah and three of his co-workers (all female) planned this night, but as we all know, men and women tend to have varying thoughts on things like this, so there I was drilling Jeremiah with questions to try and figure out the expectations for the evening. It was decided that the hosting couple would order pizza and everyone would bring their own beverage. It ended up working out really great, and we're looking forward to doing this with the eight of us every several weeks. We decided to play one of my personal faves, Cranium Turbo Edition. It's a must have party game. All you Cranium lovers, get your hands on this game and brace yourself for the twists and turns. We laughed a lot, and although my partner and I didn't come out the victors, we were oh so close after leading much of the game. I also felt encouraged after many of them complimented the decor and homey/cozy feel of our place. It's been a work in progress, with much discouragement. You never really know the feel of your home until someone tells you since you're so used to being in it.

A fun night had by all.

Women's Winter Weekend

This past weekend I went to a women's retreat with Hope Church--the church we've been going to since around Thanksgiving. It took some convincing for me to sign-up, but I'm so glad I did. I felt quite nervous and intimidated going into the weekend, as I only knew two people (and I didn't know them very well). Jeremiah encouraged me by reminding me that I had been on many a retreat in college and had a blast each time. This is true; however, it was going to be a lot different not going with best friends and not being part of the leadership that put the whole thing together.

When I arrived at the beautiful Williamsburg Hospitality House on Friday night, I felt very out of place. But thanks to a few sweet and caring women, I was enjoying myself and feeling better by late that evening. The retreat was so well thought out--every detail was significant and made the weekend relaxing, encouraging, and a lot of fun. We had several meetings with worship and a talk from the guest speaker, an woman working in youth ministry in Colorado. After each of these times we met in small groups that were assigned to us for the weekend. This was a great way to further discuss what we had heard, and to enable vulnerability and support in a group of about eight women. Saturday afternoon was free to roam around Williamsburg, which I loved considering I had never been there. I only got to see a snip-it of the city, so I am anticipating the next chance I'll have to go back. Late Saturday evening there was a Pajama Jam, which was so so great. They had Rock Band set up on a projection screen, chocolate fondue, pedicures, and--my personal favorite--jewelry making. They were so generous to provide tons of supplies to make bracelets and earrings. I must say I'm rather impressed with my products, and was told many times that I'd have customers if I started selling. Maybe jewelry is my new calling in life. Probably not.

One thing I cherished most about the weekend was the fellowship with women of all ages and stages of life. I've been so used to the college atmosphere and being in fellowship with Christians my own age, that this was something new. I loved listening to other women's experiences and learning from them. It reminded me of how valuable my mom's wisdom, and I am looking forward to making a point to pick her brain a lot more about life.

All in all it was a nice weekend. I know plenty more people than I did going into the retreat, which I think will help Jeremiah and I get more involved and plugged in at Hope. I loved learning more about the values of Hope and seeing the community of the church, too.

http://hopecentral.com