NYC Weekend

This past weekend Lynn and I took the Bolt bus down to NYC from Boston to visit Joe and Kerry. It was one of our only times going to NYC without a car, which after our U-Haul experience, we would be okay never doing again. We began the trip Friday by walking to the train station in Beverly, then getting on the subway from North Station (where the Celtics play), and taking it down to South Station (where the buses depart from). Once we got in to NYC we walked about two miles to Joe and Kerry's place (MSG to 28th and 3rd). It was fun getting down there, as we marveled at how little we packed and how frugal we were by not having to pay for gas, etc... but by the time we reached Boston Sunday on the return trip, we were definitely tired and ready to be home.

The weekend with Joe and Kerry was great though. Friday night when we got to New York we went to a couple local restaurants for drinks and then dinner. Saturday morning we were actually pretty productive as Joe and I went over to Reebok Center for some morning hoops and lifting, while Lynn and Kerry went to a Pilates class. That afternoon we went to a BBQ place near their apt. Lynn and I have been wanting to try called Brother Jimmy's to watch the UNC game, where the delicious fried pickles and Sweet Tea in some ways made up for how awful UNC played. Saturday night was definitely the highlight of the weekend though as Lynn and Kerry cooked up a delicious meal for us and some of their neighbors, which followed with a variety of games including American Idol on the Wii. The night was capped off with Guiness floats (like Root Beer floats), and one of Joe & Kerry's 6'-7" neighbor's singing while sporting a snuggie. We were also able to Skype with my family who was celebrating my dad's 60th birthday down at Chris's in Apex, which we unfortunately could not make it down for.Before we left Sunday morning, Lynn and I were able to get breakfast with two of our friends, Carolyn and Alan, who are getting married in October. As seasoned married veterans of two months, we were able to share some of our marriage wisdom with them, in a Seinfeld-like corner dinner in the city called Moonstruck. We really enjoyed seeing them, since up here in New England, we don't get the opportunity to see ASU friends very often.

While we were definitely exhausted Sunday night, and even feeling a bit "dirty" from all the public transportation of the day, we were definitely glad to have spent the weekend with family in NYC and are hoping to see the Beahm family in Boston in March?

-MAB

College house fire!

I got a call from my friend Jerry yesterday who is now living at 1078 George Wilson Road, in the house I lived at in college. He was calling to tell me there had been a fire at the Stone House (Manor). The Watauga Democrat wrote an article about it and said they estimated around $70,000 worth of damage to the house, and $20,000 in damages to the contents of the house! The crazy thing is that all eight guys were in the house Wednesday morning when the fire broke out in the attic, and they were woken up by car horns of people driving by who saw the smoke coming out of the roof! The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical. Although there was a lot of character to that old house, and many memories from my 2 years there (including the address being tattooed on a few of my best friends), as Nate said concerning the fire, "it (the house) should probably be updated."

-MAB

CHOPPED!

Well, I guess we did the OPPOSITE of what you are suppose to do during the winter in New England...we both chopped our hair off!

-LMB

Valentine's Day Weekend

Michael and I had a great first Valentine's Day as husband and wife. We started off the weekend at a delicious pizza dive on Friday night with our friends Josh and Mandi. Pizza places are all over the place in this part of New England, but you really have to search for spectacular ones. Josh and Mandi have lived here nearly 3 years now and know all the good local places. This pizza place is located in downtown Ipswich and is literally a renovated "house." It was small but crowded which is a sign of a good spot. They ONLY serve pizza; no salads, sandwiches or breadsticks. Only pizza with a variety of toppings. The crust was thin and each pizza was only $5...fantastic price for a student family!!Each person could eat their own pizza so needless to say, it was a pretty inexpensive dinner, but wow, very very good. We will definitely come here again. Well done, Riverview!

We followed dinner with an Xbox 360 Karaoke competition at the Warrens' which was fun, but not so much when they picked me to sing the popular and hard Italian song "That's Amore."

On Saturday, Michael and I enjoyed a walk and run around Beverly, and Michael created a fantastic dinner. He made lemon-rosemary salmon and a spinach, feta and mushroom rice pilaf. Wow, he's really turning into the chef! He amazed me with his creativity and tastiness. I am so blessed to have a handsome, talented and caring husband. It doesn't get much better than this!!

I hope you had a Valentine's day full of love, laughter and joy! And don't forget the Lord's love for us: unchangeable, unconditional and full of grace. He loved us first!

-LMB

Back to the Office

Hello, blog world. This is my first attempt to join the world of bloggers. I thought it was about time to do since Michael has been blogging for over 2 years now. He will probably still be the main blogger, but who knows, maybe I will end up really liking this!

For the past 1 1/2 years I have been working from home for my company based out of Charleston, SC where I used to live from 2005-2007. Shortly after moving up to Beverly, MA, I was asked to start working out of our Portsmouth, NH office. This has been quite a transition for Michael and I, especially because we only have one car and the commute is about 1 hour each way. However, there have been quite a few benefits of going back to the office, and I thought I would share them here.

First, I have loved being around people again. The human interaction has been awesome, especially since I work with such a great group of people. It is nice to be able to share jokes, stories, and help each other out without emailing or calling. Second, I walk and drive to work. I walk to my car, drive an hour and then walk 3 blocks to my office. This is much longer than my past commute from my bed to my desk, but I have enjoyed the fresh air and moving my legs outside more often. Third, I work in a stimulating and fun office. Like I mentioned, the group is fun, but also incredibly productive. There is hardly any negativity or gossip, and they love celebrations. For example, they made treats on my first day in the office, and we celebrated Valentine's Day on Friday with homeade valentines and homeade yummy treats. I can handle this!

So, even though Michael and I did not plan for me to start working in an office now, it's been a good change and one we trust the Lord in. I look forward to interacting with my fellow colleagues more and blessing them in any way the Lord allows!

-LMB

Take your husband to work day

It's a cold Wednesday afternoon here in New England, following a long day for me of shoveling out Gordon-Conwell from yet another few inches of snow we got yesterday. After a day like yesterday I needed to get away from campus for a while, so Lynn decided to take me to work with her. Well, not exactly... but I did go to Portsmouth with her.

Since we moved up here nearly a month ago now, Lynn has been driving up to work out of the Arcadia office in Portsmouth, NH. After making the commute for about a week or so, Lynn told me Portsmouth was like a mix between Charleston and Asheville. A glimpse of Heaven appeared to me when she made that intuitive comparison, and I knew it was time to make a visit. So, because I didn't have class or work today, I decided to head on up to Portsmouth with Lynn. I have been studying at a coffee shop called Popovers this afternoon and Lynn and I ate at a place called Me and Ollie's Honest Bread for lunch. There definitely seems to be a lot of local flavor up here, so I can see why Lynn compared it to those two Carolina towns.

Anyways, Lynn said in the summer (once everything thaws out up here) Portsmouth gets packed with tourists, and I can kind of see why. It's definitely a nice place to go if you don't want to deal with all the traffic and crowds in Boston. I'm thinking we have a new spot on the New England tour for anyone that comes up to visit us. I'm also thinking every Wednesday might start turning in to "take your husband to work day"... at least for the App Beahms.
-MAB