Christmas Vacation

"Christmas" Morning

Thanks to the snow last weekend, my Christmas break started a couple days early (Snow Day!!). Waking up to the snow on Saturday was absolutely beautiful, and witnessing the hustle and bustle of Crystal City at a stand still seemed magical. This mood of the morning inspired Jonathan and I to celebrate our first Christmas together a few days early. We grabbed some coffee and our Christmas plant (getting a tree just didn't happen this year) and traded gifts.

A few days later, we headed out to Sterling to celebrate Christmas with our families. We spent New Years Eve with my family. We hung out, watched movies and played games with my brothers and my older brother's girlfriend, Cassandra. That night, we enjoyed a nice dinner together, traded gifts, and went to a gorgeous midnight mass at my parent's church. As usual, we weren't the best about capturing our adventures on film.

The next morning we headed over to the Hansen's abode. Jon's mom made an amazing breakfast consisting of spicy sausage egg stroganoff, praline french toast, fresh fruit and bacon (YUM!). We traded gifts and spent the day hanging out with Jon's parents and brothers. That night we had an awesome standing rib-roast for dinner with twice baked potatoes and other sides. We tried to convince Jon's mom to make this a Christmas dinner tradition... we'll let you know if this happens in a year.

It has been so nice to celebrate this holiday season together with Jonathan. For whatever reason, we never celebrated holidays together as a couple before we got married. We would stop in to visit each others families, but we always celebrated everything separately. It has been so special to join in on each others family traditions and to create our own.

Hansen Family Christmas Photo

Well, Now We Know That the Fire Alarm Works

Over the last week or so, our apartment building has been testing our fire alarm system. It has been quite annoying, especially to Jonathan who has been at home working on finals.

Last night at two-thirty in the morning, I awoke to a familiar annoying sound. I nudged Jonathan awake and asked him why the fire alarm was going off. Laying there, not wanting to get out from under the warm covers, we debated whether or not this was just a glitch as a result of the testing this week.

After several minutes of the alarm going off, we decided that it might be real. So, Jon called the front desk of our building and was told that there was a fire on the 7th floor... we live on the 6th floor. We quickly got dressed, unsure if we would be forced outside in the accumulating snow, & marched down 6 flights of stairs. Thankfully, everyone was gathering safe (and warm) in the lobby.

It turns out that it was just a small kitchen fire, which was taken care of before the fire department even made it up there (the poor guys had to drag themselves up 7 flights of stairs in their heavy gear for nothing). Within 30 minutes we were allowed back up stairs and we headed back to bed.

It was a very exciting night. But we are thankful to know that the fire alarm system works. =)

Change

So after months of contemplation, which started well before our wedding, I finally did it. I cut off a ton of my hair.

Late Wednesday morning I walked into Salon Cielo in Pentagon City Mall and met a wonderful stylist named Ty. I told him that I needed something completely new and that I was sick of long hair. Eight inches, lots of layers, and several styling tips later I have a drastically new look that I'm still getting used to but that I completely love.

I would put up pictures but Jon and haven't taken any. We are so sentimental that we didn't take a single picture at either of the TWO Thanksgivings we attended. I'll try to get something up soon. :)

Thoughts

Just some thoughts (in no particular order)....

Things I miss about Charlottesville:

- Portico
- our Community Group
- nature
- the mountains
- trains (real trains, not Metro)
- friendly strangers
- Shenandoah Joes
- Lemongrass
- St. Maartens
- Mellow Mushroom
- Dumplings
- the Downtown Mall
- life isn't at a constant 100mi/hr


Things I do not like about DC:
- people say living near the city is convenient... yes, Metro makes it easy to get into the city, but everyday life things (ie. grocery stores, banks, etc.) are not convenient b/c of traffic & bad parking.
- Target is still almost at 15 minute drive... but it is <5 miles down the road.
- it never feels like there is enough space
- traffic / mean drivers / drivers that don't pay attention

Things I am thankful for in DC:
- My husband
- Our apartment
- My job
- My school
- My co-workers
- My commute to school is against traffic (seriously, praise the Lord!)
- Our families are only 45mins away
- I'm close to a lot of good friends

Settling In

Image taken by Laura A.

Image taken by Haley H.

We made it! Jonathan & I survived the wedding planning process & our wedding was beyond spectacular. With all of the amazing help from our family & friends, vendors, and AMAZING wedding coordinator Megan Daubert everything went off without a flaw. We left saying, "that was like a wedding out of a movie!" It was perfect.

Settling into our apartment has been fun! We have enjoyed moving all of our stuff into the same place, opening gifts and deciding where they should go, and making some purchases of our own to pull everything together.

We have been greatly enjoying living so close to Washington, D.C. We have been trying to do little trips into the city to hang out with friends and visit museums. It has also been awesome to live close to good friends in the area and to see them frequently again. We are also looking forward to hosting some friends & family in the near future!

So, just a quick update. My goal is to start posting frequently again. More to come....

I Have Neglected You

I'm sorry blog-o-sphere, I have neglected you. The last 3 weeks have been pretty crazy/not very internet friendly. After a visit to Wisconsin and my friend Jamie's BEAUTIFUL wedding in Minnesota, I came home to all of my stuff moved into our new apartment - Thanks to Jonathan, my dad, my future father-in-law, my brothers, and my future brother-in-laws.... don't I have an amazing family?!?

Jonathan has helped me settle in quite nicely. The kitchen is unpacked, all of our furniture is in place, and most boxes have been unpacked and organized. We still need to hang pictures, but I absolutely LOVE our place - the amount of space that we have is perfect for just the two of us and I don't think we can beat the location! Also, it has been nice to feel like an adult moved into my first grown-up place, but it is quite boring/lonely - especially because our cable and internet have not been installed yet. But I'm sure that this time of boredom and loneliness will help me appreciate when Jonathan moves in with me in October - btw. I can't wait!!

I also started school this week. I had a couple of days of new teacher training and then a three day conference with a ton of amazing speakers (including two of the original Freedom Writers) that were very inspiring. So far, I am loving this school system and I am excited about the direction they want to head. The big downer of the week was that the school building where I am working is still under construction. They are supposed to be done on Monday. It will be really nice to finally get in there and start cleaning and organizing the room (especially since EVERYTHING is in boxes - including our entire chemical stock).

Well, I am currently at Panera and not on my computer with pictures - so I apologize for neglecting you further by not providing images. The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy with my last week of professional development, my bachelorette/bridal shower weekend, and the official start of the school year. But I will try to write a picture update blog soon.

I'm off to wait for Comcast.... for the second time,
<3 Alison

Busy Week

I have a very busy, but exciting week this week. Here is a run-down of what I have going on....

Today:
- flew home from family vacation in Wisconsin (on a 2.5hr delayed flight that only lasted 2hrs...)
- rested
- started placing invitations in addressed envelopes

Monday:
- shopping in Tyson's for: a dress for Jamie's wedding/my bridal shower, jewelry for my wedding, brown shoes to go with my rehearsal dinner dress, and some other wedding things
- take my wedding dress to be fitted and bustled and my rehearsal dinner dress to be taken in
- finish placing invites in envelopes and double check addresses

Tuesday:
- take invitations to the post office and cancellation stamp every invite
- file my change to my change of address with the post office (switching apartment numbers)
- take my engagement ring to Jared's to be re-sized [better late than never, i guess o=) ]
- dinner with my NOVA ed school friends
- if I have extra time after, relax in the hot tub with a glass of wine =)

Wednesday:
- work on lots of wedding crafts (I'll update with pictures later this week.... hopefully)
- figure out transportation for guests up to the wedding site
- finalize some things for my bridal luncheon
- if Jonathan gets back early enough from his bachelor party/trip, go wedding band shopping

Thursday-Sunday:
- fly up to Minneapolis, MN and drive to Spicer, MN with some 206 girls for Jamie and Rob's wedding!

(Sunday, also):
- Jonathan, his brothers, and my brothers move me into my new apartment (too bad I'm out of town until Sunday evening... its funny how that worked out) =P

Monday:
- physically move myself into the apartment
- unpack and organize the apartment with Jonathan

Phew! Lots to do, but there is also a lot of fun to be had. =)

Heaven

Today, I feel like I had a small taste of heaven....

Almost every summer of my childhood my family drove 16+ hours in our minivan to spend at least a week around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My dad is one of 7 and his entire family is up this way. I always LOVE our trips to Wisconsin, which consist of family, brats (sausages... not young, annoying children), Milwaukee custard, Friday fish fries, the lake, and amazing weather (with very little humidity)!

Tonight we gathered together with several of my aunts and uncles for fish fry at a restaurant near my grandparents' home. We just talked, shared stories, laughed, and ate amazing fried fish. Afterward, we drove to Mickey's, a custard place near my grandparents' house, and indulged in amazing, rich frozen custard.... YUM!! (If you are lucky enough to live near a Milwaukee Frozen Custard place in the Herndon/Sterling/Ashburn area, you must go and try for yourself!)

I always love traveling to Wisconsin and when several of our families gather together over a big meal. There is so much joy is such meetings. It is what I picture heaven will be like... sharing food, stories, and laughter with people you love. I can't wait.

Blue Hole

Blue hole did happen and it was fun, amazing, and slightly scary (not in a terrible way)! Anyways, Jonathan has all the pictures... so, I'll update on this in a couple weeks when I finally get moved into the new apartment!

What do you do with an extra 48 hours in Cville?

So, Jonathan and I were supposed to pack up and move from Charlottesville yesterday.... well, we are still here. About a month ago, we placed an order to rent a Uhaul truck to help us move our things, and a car trailer to bring Jon's car (so he could drive back to Cville to work one more week). However, a wonderful friend of ours offered to come with us and help us move, and he could drive Jon's car. Thus, about two weeks ago, Jonathan called Uhaul to cancel the car trailer. BUT we found out Thursday evening that they decided to cancel our entire rental order!! Thanks, Uhaul.

With only 12 hours before our planned move, we were unable to find a truck for Friday. With today being the first of the month, we were also unable to find a truck for today. However, Pensky came through and has a truck for us tomorrow morning, 8am. Praise, God!

With all of this said, Jonathan and have I found ourselves with an extra 48 hours in Charlottesville. After moving & cramming all of Jonathan's stuff into my apartment (thanks for your flexibility, Stacey!), we decided to go out for wings and a movie with my roomate, Stacey, her boyfriend, Jeff, and our friend Chip. It was good fun to eat as many boneless buffalo wings as possible and then just vegge in a movie theater.

After the movie, the night was still young. Jon and I picked up a few sodas from Giant and decided to go for a drive. We hopped on 64 West and just drove. After about 30 minutes of driving on 64, we figured we were half-way to Harrisonburg and in the mood for ice cream... vuala we had a mission! So, we drove to 81 North and into Harrisonburg, grabbed a couple of cones at Dairy Queen, and headed back to Cville. Mission complete.

It was awesome! We had the music turned off and just talked the entire time. We talked about a great variety of things: God & faith, music, childhood memories, and puberty experiences to name a few. This spontaneous trip just reminded me how amazing it is to be in love with my best friend. I cannot wait for all of the spontaneous adventures we will embark on in our life together as husband and wife! =)

So, that was the first 24hrs.... currently, the next will entail sleeping in for Jonathan (who is still fast asleep in my living room) and a trip to Blue Hole, a swimming hole near the Shenandoah National Park. More updates later!

Note To Self:

If you are only renting a place for one year, don't paint a wall a dark color, like chocolate brown. Priming and painting the wall back to white is not fun.

<3 Alison

Gentleman In Training

I have been babysitting 4-year-old twins this summer, a boy and a girl, and the little boy has started the cutest routine with me the past couple of weeks. A least a couple times a week he insists on walking me out to my car, borrowing my key to unlock the door, returning my key, and after I sit in the car he closes the door for me. It is too adorable!

Despite the ups and downs I have had with these children this summer, he makes my heart melt every time!

Laura's Wedding!!

My good friend Laura married her high school sweetheart, Drew, this past Saturday! I have known Laura for as long as I can remember and I got to know Drew in high school and during college. I was also very fortunate to be in Italy the same time as Laura and Drew & when Drew proposed two years ago.

Laura & I in Sienna several days after their engagement (I believe that I originally stole this picture from Laura =] )

Laura and Drew had the most AMAZING wedding! The weather was perfect, Laura was absolutely gorgeous, and the ceremony and reception were beautiful. Not to mention their DJ was great and we were dancing the whole night. It was awesome!

Katie & I during cocktail-hour.

Laura & Drew's first dance!

Father-Daughter dance... and you can see how beautiful Laura looked!

During the last dance, everyone gathered around Laura & Drew and started blowing bubbles. It was too perfect!

Congratulations, Laura and Drew!

100 Days!!!

Today is a very exciting day!! Today marks 100 days on our wedding countdown! Jonathan and I are beyond excited that our wedding day is drawing nearer. God has been so good to us in the past few weeks with jobs, apartments, and other life details. It has been so amazing to see the daily details of our future married life start to fall in place.

We are so excited to start counting down the double digits! =) Yay!

Playing on the beach in Trinidad a couple days before our engagement.

Engaged!!! January 7, 2009.

My graduation, May 17, 2009.

Bridal shower at the Hansen's house, June 14, 2009.

Goofing off with our new pot holders. 0=)

Crystal Houses, where we will start our married life together!

More Than I Ask Or Imagine

I love transitions in life. Though they are not always easy (and I definitely am a worrywart), I like transitions because I feel like it is so easy to see God move and work around me. Perfect example... the last few weeks. **Warning: this will be a LONG post, because God has been GOOD and I haven't posted in forever!**

Here is a little background info: I got engaged in January, I (barely) graduated in May, I am planning a wedding, I have been searching for a place to live in DC with Jonathan, and I was also searching for a full-time job. Needless to say I have been a little busy / slightly stressed, as I admittedly am a bit of a worrier. But the Lord has been blessing Jonathan and me abundantly recently.

A verse that has been on my mind recently is Ephesians 3:20-21: " Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." I feel that God has clearly been ahead of us and leading the way over the past few weeks and has definitely been doing more than either of us could have ever asked or imagined!

Three Sundays ago, Jonathan's mother and her friends threw me a gorgeous bridal shower. A group of amazing women who have been praying over Jonathan since birth and over me and our relationship for the last 5 years all came together to celebrate our upcoming marriage. I left that shower feeling more than blessed. So many people blessed us with gifts to help us get settled in together AND with heart-felt words of encouragement and advice during the entire afternoon. I definitely feel the power of those women's prayers in my life and I don't know that I could ever ask for anything more.

The night after the bridal shower, I received a phone call out of the blue from an administrator with a northern Virginia school system. That Wednesday I was up in NOVA interviewing for a 9th-grade Chemistry teaching position, and it went very well. I did not expect to hear from the school system for at least couple of weeks. The very next Tuesday, I shared how my interview went with my community group and asked for lots of prayers that God would definitively open or close a door. While I was driving home I prayed: "Lord please just let me hear from this school system, good or bad, through letter, phone, or email... haha email, yeah right no one gives offers via email... however they contact me, please let it be soon." I got home and opened my email for the first time that entire day, only to find an offer from the school system in my inbox that had been sent at 8am that morning. Talk about God doing more than we ask or imagine... He had answered my prayer, the part of my prayer that I thought impossible, even before I prayed for it!

This job offer also came right as Jonathan had received information on loans from Georgetown. We had been trying to figure out a potential budget so we knew exactly how much of the loan we would need. Praise God for the timing of this job, because we were able to make a more sound estimate.

Also at this point in time Jonathan and I had played with several options for housing situations for the couple of months before and the months after we get married. At first we were going to rent a place starting in August and Jonathan was going to live there so that he could have an easy commute to classes at Georgetown while I lived with my parents until the wedding. Then, we decided that we wouldn't rent a place until October to save money and we would both live with our parents until the wedding. Once I got the job, we decided, once again, that we would find and rent a place starting in August, but Jonathan insisted that I live there while he lives at home. That way I would have a short commute to school for the first, stressful month of my first year of teaching, which is also the last month before our wedding. Jonathan is now looking at an 1.5hr commute to the first month of classes rather than a 30min commute. I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing, selfless fiance who is putting my commute and stress level before his own. I could not even imagine having a more incredible future husband.

Speaking of apartments.... Jonathan and I visited a few apartments this weekend in southern Arlington / northern Alexandria. After visiting three apartments, with a break to meet up with Magsy and some of her friends in between, we fell in love with Crystal Houses in Crystal City (Arlington). Starting August 4th, we will be renting a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment on the 10th floor of the high rise with lots of closet space, a good-sized balcony, and a great view. We will be within walking distance of a metro stop, shops, and restaurants. Jonathan and I both had dreamed of being in a great neighborhood with easy access to the city, but we weren't sure if we'd be able to have that for a couple of years. We feel so blessed that the door has opened with this apartment and we can't wait to start our married life there!

Summary: God is good. I am just in awe at how quickly everything came together. From the shower, to the job, to the apartment everything has just fallen into place way better than I could have planned it. Praise the Lord!

Ten to the Izz-Oh Eight to the Izz-Three

So... I'm a terrible blogger and I haven't posted in about 3 weeks or so. I thought I would give you all some background info on me. There is a group of us who have been friends since we were in grade school, and a few of us have known each other since preschool. These girls have been so special to me and I'm sure that those of you who I have gotten to know in the past few years have heard mention of them at least once. This is how we came to be (with pics below)...

Caroline, Laura, Jessica, and I along with a few other girls got to know each other through playgroup when we were in preschool. Once a week our moms would take turns hosting all of us preschool girls while the other moms got the afternoon off. During playgroups at Laura's house we also got to know Catherine who lived next door. In elementary school we started a girl scout troop - troop 1083! whoot! whoot! - with a few other girls from school, including Katie and Sam. As troop 1083 we enjoyed camping and trips to Lancaster, PA and Savannah, GA.

We hung out a lot outside of girl scouts and had countless sleepovers over the years. During high school and into college we all pursued our different interests and went our different ways. Our freshman year of high school Catherine moved to Georgia, all of us attended different colleges and universities, and more recently Jessica has moved to Spain, but to this day we have stayed in contact - thanks Facebook! - and meet up when we can. Laura is getting married next month and I this fall and I greatly look forward to celebrating with these wonderful ladies! These women have been such an important part of my life and have greatly influenced who I am today.

Caroline, Catherine, Jessica, Katie, Laura, and Sam - I love you and I don't know what my life we be like had you not been in it! I look forward to staying in touch for a long time to come! Love, Alison.

Laura, Me, Katie, and Catherine - to be honest I don't remember exactly when this picture was taken but I think it was summer before or after first year of college?

Caroline, Me, Jessica, Katie, and Laura celebrating Laura's 19th birthday.

Me, Katie, and Laura on our way to DC during Thanksgiving break 2nd year.

Laura, Sam, Jessica, Me, Caroline, and Katie May/June 2008.

Flowers' Power

I'm was not a girl that started planning her wedding at the age of 12. I really didn't ever think about what my wedding would be like until a few months before we got engaged (shocker right?... haha). Even today I still don't have an exact picture of what every detail will look like.

I have really enjoyed planning so far. Jonathan has been really amazing and has come to almost every meeting with me, and I have loved making decisions with him about the wedding. Every decision has gone pretty easily except one... I have NO idea what I want to do with flowers and centerpieces!

So far, I thought that I wanted my bouquet to look similar to this:

and I want the girls to carry a different flower of the same color (dahlias, chrysanthemums, or whatever is in season at the time). But I have no clue as to what I want for the centerpieces. I think that I want to incorporate grapes and/or grapevines somehow, because we will be at a vineyard, but it is really easy for the ideas to become too country. I definitely don't want country and at this point in time that is about all I know.

The thing that is making this so difficult is my lack of knowledge about which flowers are in season in the fall and which flowers are way more expensive than others. From the little I have learned thus far, flowers that I like in general tend to be just too expensive. I only like a few of the "fall flowers" out there in burgundy: calla lilies, chrysanthemums, and hydrangeas (green with burgundy tips). But calla lilies and hydrangeas are expensive. =( Another idea that I really liked was incorporating artichokes, but I also found out that these are really expensive.

As I am writing this a looking through the pictures of flowers that I liked online it is occurring to me that I have completely ignored that my favorite color is yellow and that half of the pictures I have pulled are of yellow flowers... maybe I need to rethink the burgundy idea. Jonathan even included my love of yellow flowers in the chorus of a song that he wrote for me in high school. I mean why was I thinking burgundy in the first place? I don't even really like the color red- which is possibly why the flowers are bothering me so much.... Epiphany perhaps?.... I'll let you know.

Anyways, this is my flower dilemma that has been consuming my mind since exams. I'll leave you with a couple pictures of yellow flowers that I like.... they are just so happy looking!

Food Happenings

As some of you might know, I LOVE food! So I thought that I would share a couple of recent food happenings with you. =)

(1) I am a junk food junkie (especially when it comes to Wendy's). I am very aware of the health (and financial) costs of my favorite foods, so I am always on the lookout for healthier homemade alternatives.

One of my favorite junk foods is French fries. I have made baked french fries several times, but they are always either two crispy (aka burnt) or completely mushy - never the perfect in between. I recently saw a tip on Sandra's Money Saving Meals on Food Network that you should start with the baking sheet hot. So, I reattempted with 1/4 inch slices of russet potato cut in half tossed with a little bit of canola oil, salt, and pepper. Once the oven and baking sheet were 425 degrees F, I took the pan out sprayed it with cooking spray and placed the potatoes on the sheet. I baked the potatoes for 10 mins on each side and voila... french fries!
I just patted them dry and added a little bit more salt and they were so yummy! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside = perfection!

(2) On the other end of my food favorites spectum is my love affair with fresh fruits and vegetables, but they can be expensive. I was so excited when I went to Harris Teeter this week and raspberries (my favorite fruit) and green beans (one of my favorite vegetables) were on sale. The raspberries were 99 cents for a 6oz. container which is usually $3.99!! They were definitely on the ripe side, but after careful inspection I bought 6 containers of raspberries. I also got half a pound of green beans which were 99 cents/1lb. Lemons were 2/$1 so I grabbed a couple of those as well.

These items together would usually have cost $26.05 but I only paid $7.64! So, I bought a bunch of raspberries (most of which I froze because they were already ripe), green beans (for a yummy meal that I am planning for tomorrow) and lemons (which are always useful) all for an amazing price! =)

Updates on tomorrow's dinner to come!

The Importance of Being Ernest

Today my mother and I were checking out apartments in Alexandria. While we were heading to another apartment in the beltway I hear a "bump, hiss, thud, thud, thud..." - FLAT TIRE! So, we pulled over , put on the hazard lights, and got out to check out the situation. Right as we discussing what to do a van with flashing yellow lights pulled over behind us. It was a CVS Samaritan van driven by a wonderful man named Ernest. Ernest just flew into the rescue. He pulled out my spare tire, filled it with air (because it was a little low), and changed it for me in a matter of 5 minutes! After he finished, Ernest sent us on the way with advice about driving on a spare.


I had never heard of the CVS Samaritan vans, but I am so thankful that they are around! After some research I have learned that CVS has had Samaritan vans on the roads of metropolitan areas for just over 30 years. According to their website:

"The drivers, have a multitude of talents and certifications. They are Nationally Certified Auto Mechanics, State Certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) or Paramedics, and Nationally Certified Animal Control Officers to name just a few. They are capable of making numerous on-site auto repairs, administering medical help, calming a tense situation or using their communication equipment to summon the state police or other assistance." http://www.cvssamaritan.com/


Wow! What a great service to the community! Thank you CVS and thank you Ernest! You were a great, and timely, blessing to a girl who wasn't carry the right tools to change a flat tire. =)

So It Begins

Many of my friends in Charlottesville blog and they have inspired me to start one as well... so here it is! The name is about 5 months pre-mature, but I figured we would grow into it. =)

Two days ago, marked 5 months on the wedding countdown! We continue to make decisions, book vendors, and watch details come together. I am so excited to see how all of our planning and hard work for the big day play out, but I am even more excited to become Jonathan's wife and experience life together with him!

My hope is that this blog could serve as a venue for updates on our life and random thoughts as God guides us through the next, exciting chapter of our life together. Enjoy!