Where has Julie been?

Good question - and there really isn't one good answer - I have just been busy, but good busy and enjoying life.

Since March 5 a lot has happened, so enjoy my mini blogs within a blog!

March 8
I got invisalign braces which I like. They are working well so far, shifting my teeth, etc. I highly recommend them to anyone who is thinking about braces but doesn't want a permanent metal structure on their teeth for the process. You can pop these in and out as needed and can't even tell that they are on when you have them on. They were actually about $500 cheaper than the quote I got for regular braces!

March 10
My sister moved into a new place in Lansing. We are all very happy for her, although lugging all of her stuff to the third floor was no picnic. She has a LOT of stuff and now it is finally all in one place!

March 14 - 15
I went to Washington DC, Virginia, and New Jersey to meet with some clients. I really enjoyed DC. Rick (my business partner) and I had an excellent lunch at a place called Utopia on U street in DC. If you are ever there, I highly recommend a lunch or dinner there. It is a very artistic and unique kind of place. Surprisingly the weather was beautiful for mid March as well. We had a couple of great meetings. In terms of Southern New Jersey/Philadelphia, I would recommend not going there. It was just very dirty, unattracitve and glum. I see why it's called the armpit of the US.

March 19-23
I was in our Atlanta office training a new recruiter. It was beautiful there, all the magnolia trees in bloom. However my allergies spun out of control, landing me at the doctor's office on the 24th getting an allergy shot -which helped significantly.

March 24
I went with a new look via hairstyle and got bangs. So far, I like them.

March 25
In response to the last thing I posted regarding a digital camera, I am happy to report that I took Tony's advice and went for a Cannon PowerShot A630 8.0 megapixel. I really like it. I have taken about 100 pictures so far, but they are all still on my camera. I guess I need to read the instruction manual and get them transferred to my computer so I can post some of them. The camera was much more affordable than I anticipated. I love how it has the LCD that swings out to the side, and even flips over. It is very useful so you can see what you are doing if you are taking one of those shots of yourselves where you are holding the camera out way in front of you. Dennis and I are famous for that.

March 26 - April 2
Our house was in complete disarray! We had almost the entire house painted. The foyer is a beautiful green color called Texas Sage. The living room and dining room are a blue grey color called Castle Walls. The kitchen and family room are a rust color called Fresh Cclay. My office is the color of butterscotch pudding. The upstairs hallway is a slightly lighter green than the foyer and called Paris Rain. The Master Bedroom is a green mossy color called Weathersford Moss on the walls, with a very light green ceiling and a dark brown called Mustang on the plant shelf. (All Benjamin Moore colors) I couldn't decide on the powder room so it's still white. We also left the 3 spare bedrooms white as we will finish those up accordingly whenever we have kids. Overall our painters did a wonderful job and it's really starting to look like a home.

April 6 - Good Friday
Was my best friend Christen's birthday. Dennis and I were both off work so it made for a fabulous 3 day weekend. Christen came out for lunch. My dad stopped by to check out the new paint and even my grandma came over. We all had a blast playing the Nintendo Wii bowling and golf! Friday night, for the first time in about a year, Den and I went to a bar! We went out for Christen's birthday and had a really fun time. Many of her friends were there as well as my sister.

April 7
Our friend Nic got confirmed in the Catholic church. We attended the Easter Vigil mass and had the opportunity to be there for his confirmation.

April 8 - Easter!
What a busy day! We spent the morning at my dad's - had a wonderful Easter dinner that Diana had prepared for all of us. Emily was even in from Arkansas for Easter and her birthday. We spent the evening with Dennis's family with another wonderful Easter Dinner. We ate a LOT that day! Later my brother in law and his wife, Greg & Linda, came over to play the Wii. I know I teased Dennis a lot about getting the Wii but it's really provided a lot of fun and entertainment. I am becoming a big fan of it.

April 13 - Friday the 13th!
We had a fabulous evening with out good friends Adam and Logan. If you have never been to Vic's on Main in Crete for dinner, we all highly recommend it. The spinach manicotti is out of this world. I love the eight finger cavatelli. And the Godiva chocolate raspberry cake is so good it should be illegal.

April 14
My mother-in-law was home alone this weekend as my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and 2 nephews went on a weekend trip. So, we picked her up and we all went to the Michigan City outlet mall and scouted out some deals. Sue and I had a blast in the Coach store, as always. Dennis found some huge Vera Wang red wine glasses for a steal. And of course we couldn't leave without raiding the DKNY store for some new clothes for our trip to Florida.

April 16
I flew back to DC to meet with a candidate from Maryland and then to meet with a potential client in VA. It was a good day, great meetings, etc. I flew back home the same night. Getting up at 4am to get there on time and not getting home until midnight, it was a really long day. It was well worth it though. Now it's back to work!

In other news, Dennis and I are planning our trip to Florida for our anniversary. We are going for 10 days. So far, I have the plane tickets and have rented a Mustang Convertible. Now I need to book our hotels and order tickets etc. If anyone has any "must see" ideas for FL please let us know! We plan to spend the first 5 days in Disney World, the next 3 in Key West and the last 2 back in Orlando at Universal/Sea World, etc. If anyone knows of any fantastic places to stay or things to do, we are all ears! Can you believe that we have been married for 11 months already! Time sure flies when your having fun. :)

Now that you are all caught up on my life (I know you have all been dying with anticipation) be sure to come back in the next week or so to see some pictures. I promise I will post them soon!