A Gamer's Heaven

I am a gamer. And for the past two weeks I have been gaming almost every day!! It has been a true dream for me. Usually I have to beg and plead for Luke to play games with me (because I always win) but the past two weeks there have been other people that wanted to game with me! What a true joy it has been.

So, after all my gaming the past two weeks I was inspired to blog about my favorite games of 2010. For all those gamers out there, enjoy!

Number 3 Game of 2010

BANANAGRAMS! This a great game that combines Luke's love for scrabble and my love for speed.

Audience: best played with people that know how to spell and know what proper nouns are (i.e. my parents are not great at this game)
Best Environment to play: This is a great game if you want something quick and fun to play with friends. Not the best game for people who want to chat while gaming, people get pretty intense! Also, there is a easy way in and out of the game, you are not stuck playing it for hours.
Other Info: It helps you think and use your brain! We all need to give our spelling a brush up every now and then!
Overall Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Number 2 game of 2010

Nerts! This was a close tie for first, and if this was a Big Love gaming blog we would have nerts as our number one for this past year! We play all the time! But, it is not the best game for all audiences!

Audience: Best played with people who love speed! Also, being able to multi-task is a must have in this game, because of that most guys tend to hate this game (i.e. my husband). As we all know, women are just better at multi-tasking :)
Best Environment to Play: Like Bananagrams, nerts is a speed game and takes a lot of concentration, so it not best for times that you want to chat an catch up with friends. A round table is best, and be prepared for your hands to hurt after a long night of playing! Also, if you want to win--don't play with Megan Short.
Other Info: It is a great game that combines both strategy and luck. Also, it is very addicting...and will probably end up playing most of the night.
Overall Score: 4.3 out of 5

Number 1 Game of 2010

Mexican Train!!! I was introduced to this game by Big Love housemates last year and I love it! It was definitely the game we played on the regular last year and perfect for all audiences.

Audience: Anyone can play this game. My grandma loves it. My brother loves it. Smart, dumb, cool, nerdy...it is for anyone and everyone!
Best Environment to Play: You can play this game anywhere. The reason why it is my number one is because you can catch up and hang out while playing this game. It is also wine friendly (playing nerts you might knock your glass over).
Other Info: Again, great mix of both strategy and luck! Also, it is not stressful and easy to come back and win even if you are loosing (i.e. I beat my brother last week in great victory even though he was winning till the last round!)
Overall Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Honorable Mentions:

Sequence. My brother just introduced this game to me last week and I loved it. With a little more time and experience playing it, it could easily make the top 3 next year.
Gin Rummy. Luke and I were bored one night last week and taught ourselves how to play. I love the game, but it is only fun for 2 people.
Spades. Although my all-time fave, this year there was little Spades playing. It is hard to find people to play with because it is a more difficult game to explain. But, it does not get much better than finding 3 other committed and hard-core spades players!

Balls

Luke and I decided to have our own Merry Married Christmas (in the words of Krystal) last Saturday. It was so much fun.

The morning started with me waking Luke up way too early for a weekend...I just get so excited about presents!! I was singing Christmas Carols and could hardly wait for him to make us coffee before opening them!

The day before I let Luke open one of his gifts early. It was snowing and he was complaining about not having water proof boots as he was about to shovel the driveway...so I caved and gave him his present: water poof boots. So, he only had one present to open! But, I had made him a scrapbook from our honeymoon, so he was pretty excited about that!Luke's big present to me was a Northface backpack!! I LOVE it! My old one had holes in it and paint all over it--it was about time! And, it is even JMU colors! No, does that not mean I am suddenly a JMU football fan, Lisa.
So now to the balls.

Luke and I really wanted to "specialize" in a treat to give to our friends during Christmas this year. Well, considering neither one of us are exceptional bakers--we went for balls. PEANUT BUTTER BALLS. Chocolate, peanut butter, sugar...I am mean you can't mess that up. And, we didn't!! They were delicious!!!


After getting the balls all packed up and ready to go...we went out and about in the small town of Harrisonburg. We mapped out a route...and hit the road! We were delivering for about 3 hours--and only 2 people were there when we showed up-sad! The cool thing I realized was if I had gone out and around Harrisonburg the past two years--that trip would have taken me maybe 30 minutes (not too many friends to hand balls too), but as Luke and I settle into the burg' we actually have friends this year! Praise the Lord :)

Afterward, we treated ourselves to nice appetizers at Clementine's and dinner at Union Station (thanks to gift certificates!)...followed by renting a movie!

What a fabulous Christmas it was. Here's to a merry married Christmas...and the 4 more "Christmases" we have to go!

Dec 19, 2008

Two years ago Luke came home for the Dominican Repbluic to visit for Christmas! It was definitely a day with mixed feelings of excitement, hope, anxiety, and even some stress. You see, a month earlier I told Luke that I thought our friendship could be something more (after years of him pursuing me and continual ups and downs in our friendship), and now was the time for him to come home and see if it could work.

Houston, Leo, Charlie and I (all of which were his groomsmen in our wedding) headed to the Raleigh airport with signs ready and everything!

Then the moment came...Luke's arrival. I remember wondering "Will this be awkward? Will he try to kiss me? What do I say? Will our friends think this is weird?"


After a VERY awkward drive home (thanks to the guys in the back for their snickering comments) we headed to the surprise party and had a blast! After everyone left, we hung out on the couch and talked for hours. Then, right before I left for the night, Luke asked if he could kiss me. The best way to describe it after being friends for 7 years beforehand, "amazingly not awkward." Thus, marking December 19th 2008 our 2 year anniversary! What an exciting, hopeful, fun and sweet two years it has been.

More pics from his week at home when we first started dating:

Man, our friends had no idea what do with us and our new relationship, and probably still don't, haha!!

Luke, I love you! Happy 2 years :)

Running to Victory (Victory Juntion 1/2 Marathon)

Well, ladies and gents, I survived my first half marathon! All the odds were against me, with pouring rain, A LOT OF HILLS (the whole 10th mile felt like an incline), 36 degree weather (Evan said she was not going to run if it was below 35 and raining...haha), an ipod that stopped working mile 3, and a terrible blister... but I ended up running it in 1 hour and 59 minutes!! I was thrilled to make my goal and be able to run it with such fun people!

My sister-in-law, Evan, ran it (I think) in 1 hour and 50 minutes and got first in her age division. She was also the 4th woman overall. Evan's dad, who is in his sixties, ran it in 2 and half hours and beat his goal by 30 whole minutes!

The best part of the whole thing, finishing it and having everyone cheer you on!


Steve finishing! Notice all his "gear" in the back!

We survived!!!
OK, here are a few unexpected things that occurred before/during/after the race that were interesting:

BEFORE: I walked up to the race with Richard Petty. He looked exactly like I pictured him: really tall, thin, cowboy boots, hat, big white shiny teeth...etc. So, that was pretty cool, I guess?! He was really nice and I enjoyed talking to him for a few seconds.

DURING: My ipod broke mile 3. So, what to do for the next hour and half...well I listened to other people's conversations. One involved a funny story a woman was telling about her husband drinking to much tequila and her son asking "Why is daddy acting funny, mommy?"

Also, I was pacing with a 9 old boy. But towards the end, he beat me.

AFTER: No one told me that after running races you might have some stomach issues. Well, I spent the ENTIRE afternoon running to and fro from the restroom. It was quite embarrassing....

And, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my mom who managed to make it to the race after a late night Christmas party with friends. And, she did not even have a bloody mary with her. I love you and your support means a lot (Im jk about the bloody mary, haha).



So, when and where should the next one be?!

The 5 days of Christmas

Last week I had 5 Christmas parties in 5 days. That's right. 5. So, do me the honor of singing along with me as I blog about last week's Christmases...

On the 5th day of Christmas (Monday)...I celebrated Greek IV style as we hosted over 30 JMU sorority and fraternity students in our house! We ate potluck, played Christmas movie trivia, and played a Christmas song game. It was delightful.


On the 4th day of Christmas (Tuesday)...my Junior discipleship group (named Power Hour) got together for a dinner at my house. We ate chicken parmesan, laughed, and talked about how we have seen God at work in our lives this past semester. It was such a joy to be with these girls, but sadly I don't have a picture.

On the 3rd day of Christmas (Wednesday)...my friend Kate and I planned a Tinsle Town Talent Night for our Small Group's Christmas party. She glitzzed up her house while I got together the program for the night. We have quite the talented (and hilarious) small group!

Here are few featured performances:

Charlie rapped "Men in Black" and Kate joined him as a back-up dancer...



Steve's "Chipmunk Golf" was a hit as he stuffed his mouth with 3 golf balls.


Beth sang a beautiful song that she wrote--it was so GOOD!


Earlier last week I walked in to our bedroom and Luke was practicing his talent wearing only his long johns...

he did the Thriller dance and I almost cried it was so funny. I have a video, but it was taking too long to upload! A picture will have to do for right now.


My talent? Well, a Christmas Cheer of course! "Deck the Halls with your In-laws"


On the 2nd day of Christmas (Thursday)...we celebrated Greek IV style again, but this time myself and the sophomore girls made dinner and surprised the freshmen girls! We also decorated cookies and told stories of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Sophomore Girls, I adore them!





On the 1st Day of Christmas (Friday)...BIG LOVE CHRISTMAS. We ate a feast, decorated the tree, exchanged presents, played Disney Trivia, I read everyone The Grinch, watched FREE WILLY, and played nertz. And even though I lost both games, it was a joyful celebration as the week ended.

Creating New Traditions

"My family does this..."

"Well, in my family we do it this way..."

Oh the joys of getting married and trying to figure out the holidays. I must say it has been harder than I thought giving up some of what my family does over Christmas...but it time for Luke and I to create OUR OWN FAMILY traditions as we are now a family too! So, up first...

cutting down our own Christmas tree. Growing up we always had a kids tree, AKA colored lights and tacky ornaments that only Dereck and I thought were cool, and a Adult tree, AKA my mom's more fashionable and fancy tree of silver and gold. Since college, I have never really cared about decorating for Christmas and all that jazz...until this year. Now, that we have the little cellar to ourselves, it only seems appropriate to get a tree and deck the halls.

Neither Luke or I ever cut down our own tree growing up, so we thought it would be fun for us to go to a farm close by and try it out. We had a great time!



The best part was going with some new friends of ours, the Suttons. Beth and Johnathan just joined our home group and they kindly invited us over for lunch and games before heading to the farm.
Their little son, Evan, was so precious! It was FREEZING outside and he was such a trooper! I loved his nose was turning red like Rudolph.


The whole time I really wanted a Charlie Brown Tree like the one below. I felt bad that maybe the small ones would never get chosen. They were just so cute!
But, then I came across the most perfect tree...



After we cut down our tree, you can go into this old building and get hot chocolate by a fire! You also get to pick out any ornament you want from their tree. We picked out a really pretty angel, as our first married ornament!


The finished product...and the perfect fit for our cellar :)

And the Countdown begins...

Well, it has been a goal of mine for years, I've trained for twice and never done it...but this Sunday is the DAY!

I am going to run a half-marathon. 13.1 miles.

Way back in college my junior year, I signed up for run the VA beach Rock and Roll half with my cousin, Brooke! I started the training...and then Brooke realized she had sorority recruitment the same weekend! 3 years later, I commit to running with one with my old roommate, Lisa, in Leesburg, VA and then Emily Rowe decided to get married and her bachelorette party was the same weekend (which was so much fun by the way).

So now, the question is, "Will I make it this time around?!"

I have almost completed the training with running 10 miles this morning, I've iced my knee and taken lots of pain medicine for my back throughout this process. The only thing holding me back is the potential of bad weather: the forecast for Sunday in Greensboro calls for a high of 49 degrees and 50% rain. Please, God, make the rain go AWAY!




The goal for Sunday: I just want to make it...but I would love to be able to run it under 2 hours and 15 minutes (that is running 10 minute miles).












Join me in prayer as the countdown to Sunday begins...I can't wait to mark off that last box :)

Thankful for Family

Here are some more family shots from Thanksgiving...I am so thankful for each of them and the role they have played in my life. As each year goes by, I think I grow more and more in love with them (those both new and old). This year was especially neat as Luke and I joined our families together.







Grandma Sue and Dick.

What an incredible couple! They have only been married for a few years now and they celebrate their anniversary every month...their love for each other and the Lord is so contagious. Grandma Sue is Luke's grandma (his mom's mom) and Dick is his step-grandfather.

Cute family shot!

Lots of people to be thankful for below:

Connie (Luke's mom with black shirt on the left) is full of life and energy and passes it on to others. Luke is the most precious gift God has ever given me. Dereck (beside me on the right) is my little brother and easily makes people feel at home--he is also really cool. Then there is mom who would drop anything to help her friends and especially her family--she is also super trendy and cool for a mom. Dad takes care of people really well and gives sacrificially, he also one of the most selfless people I know. Grandma Becky (mom's mom), well I named my dog after her as a young child, so clearly I love her. She is beautiful and her faith in God is really admirable. Grandpa John (mom's dad) is strong, determined and loved by many people! Uncle Kent loves to capture beauty through photographs and loves my grandma really well. Grandma Register (center) raised 3 boys and must be really patient to have kept up with my dad! She also cared for my grandfather really well before he passed away.

Meet Lila, my niece!

We got to spend sometime with her in Greensboro after Thanksgiving! I am thankful for her for a lot of reasons as well. She is first of all, really cute to look at and play with. But also, she is great to have as a "baby fix" for a short period of time...then I can just hand her back to her mom and dad!

I don't have an actual picture of Evan and Matt from the weekend, but I am very thankful for them as well! Matt is a real loyal and loving brother towards Luke and he is really easy to be around. He also knows everyone in Greensboro! Evan, is just the best. I really feel like both her and Brooke (my cousin) are the sisters I never had. She is a cool mom and just a great friend...even though she is the crazy one that talked me into running a half marathon. haha.

Well, Thanksgiving is over...but I hope that we can continue to give thanks throughout the year!

p.s. I am also thankful for YOU and the fact that you are reading my blog. More followers please!