Howe Wonderful

Summer

2010-07-29T22:09:00.001-04:00

Honestly where does the time go! Well I certainly have had plenty to keep me busy since March. I have completed yet another two semesters of school and will start my final (God willing) undergrad semester next month.In the meantime I am on summer break from school and enjoying the downtime. Regrettably, the next few weeks will not be all fun and games, as I plan to take the GMAT at the end of August and really need to set aside some study time. With any luck I will be able to get into the Masters of Accountancy program in the spring and start working towards my CPA licenses.

I am continuing to enjoy the wonderfulness of married life! It’s really hard to believe that we have been married for over a year now (technically 502 days, but who is counting). I honestly have forgotten life before him and can’t imagine life with out him.The best news is that we have been talking about and making plans to expand our little family very soon, which is excited and scary all at the same time!

In 10 days I will be celebrating my 33rd birthday on the beach with the man of my dreams! Until then I am going to enjoy the little bit that is left of 32 and hopefully do better about keeping this thing updated!

My Life List

2010-03-24T01:45:00.003-04:00

Recently I became inspired by an online blog I read called Mighty Girl. The author, Maggie Mason, created her "Mighty Life List: 100 Things to Do Before I Go", listing all of the things she hopes to accomplish in her lifetime. The idea behind a life list is that if you list out all of your life goals (big and small) you will have a better chance of actually achieving them. I thought that this was such a cool idea and decided to start a life list of my own. I wasn't sure if I could come up with 100 items, so I decided to start small and add to the list as ideas come up.

Here is my LIFE LIST!

What about you, what are some of your life list items?

$The Grocery Game$

2010-03-15T01:37:00.010-04:00

Recently Keith and I have been trying to cut back and save money. Since I have decided to go back to school full time and will not be returning to the work force for a while, I wanted to find creative ways to make a dollar stretch as far as it could. That was when I remembered our friend Tony and Julie telling us about a program called The Grocery Game.

The Grocery Game is a program that provides you with a weekly list of the lowest-priced products at your supermarket or drugstore matched with manufacturers' coupons and specials - advertised and unadvertised. The basic idea is that you buy the stuff you use when it is on sale and you stockpile it, therefore you never pay full price for things you use.

Since the GG offers a free 4 week trial membership - I figured I had nothing to lose and signed up in December. I can not tell you the amount of money I have saved since I started playing the grocery game. During my first trip to the grocery store I saved over $100! Most weeks I save as much as I spend. I have saved enough that my husband has agreed to let me do all of the grocery shopping - which was hard for him to do because he loved going to the grocery store.

So since December I have been slowly building my stockpile in the garage of things we use a lot - like pasta, rice, cereal, canned veggies, and paper goods.

(my stockpile)

Another thing I like about the GG is that its not just boxed or canned items, it also helps you find sales on your fresh produce as well as meats. It has really helped cut down on all of the trips to the grocery store! Now I go once a week and we very seldom have to go back. Before the GG, I felt like we lived at Publix.

As you can see I am a HUGE fan of the GG now and I really wanted to share this with you guys. I know many of you are in the same boat we are and are trying to make your dollars stretch too. Hopefully this can help!

Happy Savings!

One Year and Counting

2010-03-14T22:00:00.001-04:00

Today Keith and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary.

It really is hard to believe that a year can go by so quickly!

We celebrated our milestone by having dinner at the Columbia Restaurant
in Ybor City. We had such a great time and the food was amazing. We even got to see the show put on by the Flamenco dancers.

(The Howe's before dinner)

Tonight we had dinner with Keith's parents Dick and Dollie at Carrabba's and then went back to the house to enjoy the top tier of out wedding cake that has been sitting in our freezer for the past year. I was surprisingly good for a year old cake!

(our cake one year later)

I am truly blessed to have such an amazing husband and I look forward to many more year of love and marriage.

Blip

2009-11-30T23:12:00.002-05:00

I came across this really cool website via one of the blogs that I read Chookooloonks.

The website is called Blip

What exactly is a ‘blip’? (from their website FQA)

A blip is a combination of 1) a song and 2) a short message that accompanies it. The way you create a blip is to first search for a song that you want to hear (or a song that you want your listeners to hear), then add a short message (under 150 characters), finally you submit it. Submitting a blip is also referred to as “blipping”, so from here on out, when you read “he blipped my favorite track” it means “he submitted a blip that had my favorite song attached”.

I think it's a neat way to share music and I am considering incorporating it into my own blog.

Song: The Winners Takes It All by ABBA

Thankful

2009-11-26T22:55:00.001-05:00

Our thanksgiving was filled with the three F's - Family, Food, and Football.

The best part of the day was spending time with our two little nieces and nephew Noah.

(Savannah)

(McKinley)

(Keith and Noah)

and watching Grandpa Dick play with the girls.

Boys and Bulls

2009-11-23T12:03:00.009-05:00

This past weekend my sister and nephew came down from Jacksonville. We do not get to see them as often as we would like so we were looking forward to spending some time together. Keith and I have turned my nephew Charles into a USF Bulls fan so we took him to the homecoming game on Saturday. He seemed to really enjoy spending time with his uncle talking football. We really treasure every moment with him because he is growing like a weed and we both know that it wont be long before we he is heading off to college! And if we have anything to do with it - that college will be USF!

(Getting ready to cheer on the Bulls)

(the boys enjoying post game celebration! Bulls WIN!)

(me and Charlie in IKEA, i made him wear the flower hat)

2009-11-21T11:35:00.003-05:00

Two years ago today Keith and I got engaged.

So much has happened in those two short years. We have planned our wedding, said "I do", and purchased our first house together - and it all started with that one enchanted evening in November when the man of my dreams asked me to be his wife.

Halloween

2009-11-08T20:53:00.008-05:00

As a child we never really celebrated Halloween or went trick-or-treating. We lived in a fairly rural area so there weren't many people going door to door in my neighborhood and my dad was a firm believer that there in may in fact actually be a razor blade in that piece of caramel. So while the rest of America was out collecting their free candy, we were staying in and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and eating the candy our parents bought us.

Since I never really got to experience Halloween as a child, I was looking forward to this Halloween. It was the first time we were able to decorate our home and pass out candy to our neighborhood kids this year. We kicked things off by making a trip to a local pumpkin patch and then carving our pumpkins!

The evening of Halloween we ordered takeout and stayed in to pass out candy. Sadly since our neighborhood is still small and growing we only gave away a fraction of the candy that we bought, but I was thrilled the first time the doorbell rang and I looked out to see the little Buzz Lightyear and Woody at our door saying Trick or Treat.

Still going strong...

2009-09-14T22:05:00.005-04:00

To my husband,

Today is our six months wedding anniversary. I know a lot of people say that the first year is the hardest, but here we are half way through and blissfully happy. In you I have found my partner, soul mate, and best friend. Thank you for loving me, respecting me, and always putting our love first. You are an amazing husband and my gift from God.

I love you.

Love, Your Wife

Mowers and Beds

2009-09-13T23:54:00.005-04:00

Hooray!!! We are finally moved in! We moved on August 22^nd and we were fortunate enough to have a relatively smooth move. Thanks to some really amazing friends and family we were able to get everything moved out of the apartment and into our house in less than a day! Keith and I found a great moving company through Angie’s List named Dependable Movers and they moved all of the furniture. They even carried my washer and dryer up to the laundry room on the second floor - which was worth every penny spent!

So now we are slowly unpacking boxes and getting settled in. We are also gradually starting to acquire all of the extra things you need when you become homeowners. Keith’s parents gave us an awesome new gas grill as our house warming present. We can not wait to use it! We are looking forward to many backyard BBQ's with friends and family. These BBQ’s will be hosted in our well manicured backyard, thanks to Keith’s favorite purchase - his shiny new Lawn Boy lawnmower. You have never seen some so excited to mow a yard. He can hardly wait for the grass to grow so he can get out there and mow it again. I must say it’s rather adorable and he does a great job.

But hands down my favorite purchase has been our new king size bed! Before we got it, I kept teasing Keith that is was the “Divorce Bed” because it is so large that we would never see each other, however now that we have it – we don’t know how we slept on our old queen for as long as we did. The bed is a Simmons Beautyrest, which has the pocket coils so that you don’t feel the other person move – and boy does it work! We honestly love it and we both have been getting a better night sleep than we did before. I have also stopped referring to it as the Divorce bed; because a well rested husband and wife equals a much happier marriage!

Home Owner

2009-08-18T23:34:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Keith and I finally closed on our house! Surprisingly the process went much quicker than either of us expected. In the weeks leading up to the closing we were told by numerous people that we should be prepared to feel like we are signing our life away at the title company, however we were in and out in less than an hour and a half. Honestly I think we signed more papers when we put the initial deposit down than we did in the closing. Even our real estate agent was surprised as to how quickly and smooth the closing went.

After the closing we drove down to the house to test our keys and then went for a celebratory dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant. We also made our first purchase for the house - a heavy duty garbage can. I know, I know - not too exciting - but we are thrilled at the idea of never having to haul garbage to a trash compactor located several yards from our front door again.

Now the moving process begins (this is the part I wish I could skip) but its nice knowing that once we make this move we will not have to move again for several years. I don't think it has hit me completely that we finally own the house and I don't really think it will until we spend a few nights there - or better yet write a few checks to the mortgage company. However its good to have the closing finally behind us and now we can focus on making it our home.

Thirty-Two

2009-08-16T20:21:00.005-04:00

For the past few years I have spent my birthday away from home and as a result Keith and I have never been able to celebrate it together. When I found out that I would have to be out of town for yet another birthday I was pretty bummed. Luckily things have a way of working out and since Keith didn't have to be back to work until the 17th he decided to come along. So not only would we be able to celebrate together we would also be staying with my best friend Nancy and her family.

So on August the 8th I turned the BIG 3-2 in Sacramento, California. I got to spend the day playing with Nancy's two adorable daughters McKenna and Allison and that evening Nancy and her husband Greg took us our for some really great Mexican food and a birthday margarita. On Sunday Keith and I made a day trip to Napa Valley did some wine tasting. Since we didn't have a whole lot of time we mostly went to the big name winery's like Sutter Homes, Beringer, and Beaulieu Vineyard. We had such a great time learning more about wines and then of course tasting the wine! We also had lunch at a really great place called Taylors Automatic Refresher which has some of the best drive-in type food around.

I can honestly say that this birthday weekend was one of the best I have ever had. The best birthday present was being able to celebrate my birthday with some of the most important people in my life my loving husband and the worlds most amazing best friend. I love you both!

Property Virgins

2009-07-23T18:25:00.000-04:00

A few months ago Keith and I started talking about buying a house. We were both tired of renting and really wanted something that we could call our own. Since the process of buying a house can seem a little intimidating we decided to start slow and drive some neighbors to see where we might want to buy. After driving around for a few weeks and doing a good deal of research online, we decided it was time to take the next step and hire a realtor.

We started out looking at foreclosures because they seemed to be the best deal, however most of the houses had been left in need of a lot of work and we weren't really sure we wanted to mess with that. We really wanted something that was move in ready so we shifted our focus to new homes. On July 7th, we lucked upon a new house that was almost finished being built when its original buyers ran into some issues with their financing and the builder had to put the house on the market. It was truly a blessing from God, because the house had almost everything that we had been looking for and would be ready to move in by the end of July.

A few days later we took our parents to see the house and after getting my father-in-laws seal of approval we put down the deposit to take it off the market. We are now in the process of getting all of the paperwork and financing in order and have a closing date of August 17th! We can not believe how fast the whole process had gone. In less than a month we will be packing the boxes and moving into our first new home. We are so excited and are looking forward to finally being settled and becoming property owners!

Fathers Day

2009-06-22T10:44:00.002-04:00

Since losing my dad in 1997 I hadn’t really celebrated Fathers Day, but that changed when Keith and I started dating. Keith is lucky enough to still have his dad around and we both really enjoyed celebrating Father’s day with him yesterday. We spent the afternoon at his parents’ house and his mom made the perfect Fathers day dinner of fried chicken and homemade biscuits. It was nice to relax and spend time with family.

Valencia Gardens

2009-06-10T08:33:00.003-04:00

Last week we found out that the place where we held our rehearsal dinner closed. Both Keith and I are pretty bummed! We have been talking about going back since the wedding, but never made it out there now it doesn't look like we will ever get the chance. Valencia Gardens has been around since the 20's and was a true Tampa landmark. Its sad to think that its going to be torn down and developed.

Baby Baby

2009-05-12T21:28:00.004-04:00

Last night Keith and I took my mom and her friend Sandy to see Amy Grant in a benefit concert by Metropolitan Ministries. Metropolitan Ministries is a great organization here in Tampa that helps homeless families. My company was a leader sponsor for the event so my boss gave me the tickets. The concert was great! Amy Grant has a amazing voice and she sounded so good live. Even Keith enjoyed the concert. She played a great mix of her old stuff and her new stuff, and yes she even played he big pop hit "Baby Baby".

Over all it was a great night made even better knowing that all of the proceeds were going to help people in need. It really makes you stop and take stock of your own life and grateful for the things you have in life.

Project 365

2009-05-03T19:02:00.003-04:00

I have started a photography project called Project 365. Its a blog/photo journal where I post a photo I took everyday for the next 365 days. I decided to start this May 1, 2009 - and hope I can make it all 365 days. I really have picked up an interest in photography and hope that this will be a good way to experiment with and learn a little about my camera.

You can check it out here!

Fireproof Your Marriage

2009-04-28T21:45:00.008-04:00

For Valentines Day this year my mom gave Keith and I the movie Fireproof. We heard about if from a few people at our church, but were not able to see it while it was in theaters. A few weeks before the wedding we sat down and watched the movie together and it really had an impact on us both. It reminded us that we were about to make one of the biggest commitment you can make in life, and that commitment would be put to the test by the pressures of the world we live in. We both know that it won't always be easy road to travel but we are dedicated to fireproofing our marriage.

My favorite quote from the movie was "Fire proof doesn't mean that a fire will never come, just that when it comes you will be able to withstand it"

I highly recommend this movie! It's an amazing story that I urge every couple (married or not) watch together.

Pretty and Pink

2009-04-26T21:56:00.005-04:00

Today while shopping at Costco, Keith bought me the prettiest roses I have seen in a very long time. Who would have thought that you could buy something so pretty for wholesale prices!

Anyways, when I got home I decided to snap a few shots of them....

Rays vs White Sox

2009-04-19T15:18:00.004-04:00

Last night Keith and I went to see a Ray's game with his parents. We had a pretty good time despite the Rays losing the game and the series to the White Sox. Keith is pretty bummed that the Ray's have been losing but I try to remind him that the season is still young. Think he got spoiled from the kick butt season last year.

Here are some picture from the game

Kickball for Charity

2009-04-17T13:08:00.004-04:00

My husband Keith is a teacher at a local high school, and last night he played in an annual kickball game between the students and the teachers. The proceeds go to the American Cancer Society so its all in fun and for a good cause. The teachers were able to pull off a victory against the students and their prize was that the teachers were able to throw water balloons at the student of their choice, a task that Keith enjoyed very much.

Marriage success perdicted

2009-04-15T13:17:00.004-04:00

I was reading an article today on Yahoo that says you can predict the success of your marriage based on your spouses smile in their yearbook. Maybe I should go look at Keith's yearbook photo and see if we are gonna last!

I can't believe that this is what scientist are actually spending time on! Shouldn't we be finding a cure for cancer or something?

1 month anniversary

2009-04-14T20:43:00.002-04:00

The time last month, Keith and I were surrounded by all of our friends and family and having the time of our life. Where does the time go!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T14:21:00.001-04:00

Keith and I want to wish you all the Joy and Blessings of Easter!

Our Easter plans are pretty simple. Keith and I attended church this morning and were blessed with a wonderful Easter service! This afternoon we will be heading over to his parents house for Easter dinner. They were nice enough to include my mom so it will be nice to spend time with both our parents.

Last night Keith and I got into the Easter spirit by dying Easter eggs. It had been several years since either of us dyed eggs - we forgot how much fun it is! Here are a few photo's our our creations.

The Nobel Wife

2009-04-09T18:31:00.002-04:00

I really love this Proverb about the Noble wife. It really sums up the type of wife I want to be - one who honors God, is loved and respected by her husband, and who is blessed by her children.

Proverbs 31:10-31 (New International Reader's Version)

The Noble Wife

10 Who can find a noble wife?
She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband trusts her completely.
She gives him all the important
things he needs.

12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

13 She chooses wool and flax.
She loves to work with her hands.

14 She is like the ships of traders.
She brings her food from far away.

15 She gets up while it is still dark.
She provides food for her
family.
She also gives some to her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it.
She uses some of the money she
earns to plant a vineyard.

17 She gets ready to work hard.
Her arms are strong.

18 She sees that her trading earns a lot of money.
Her lamp doesn't go
out at night.

19 With one hand she holds the wool.
With the other she spins the
thread.

20 She opens her arms to those who are poor.
She reaches out her hands
to those who are needy.

21 When it snows, she's not afraid for her family.
All of them are
dressed in the finest clothes.

22 She makes her own bed coverings.
She is dressed in fine linen and
purple clothes.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate.
There he takes his seat
among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen clothes and sells them.
She supplies belts to the
traders.

25 She puts on strength and honor as if they were her clothes.
She can
laugh at the days that are coming.

26 She speaks wisely.
She teaches faithfully.

27 She watches over family matters.
She is busy all the time.

28 Her children stand up and call her blessed.
Her husband also rises
up, and he praises her.

29 He says, "Many women do noble things.
But you are better than all
the others."

30 Charm can fool you. Beauty fades.
But a woman who has respect for
the Lord should be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned.
Let everything she has done
bring praise to her at the city gate.

How is married life treating you?

2009-04-06T00:00:00.003-04:00

One of the most frequently asked questions that I have received since returning from our honeymoon is:

"So... how is married life treating you?"

I am happy to say that three weeks into it - married life is treating us pretty well. It took us some time to come down from our honeymoon high and to settle back into "real" life, but we are happy to be home and to finally be married.Time is marching on! I have returned to work and school, and Keith is out of school this week enjoying what his calls his "second" spring break (he took vacation for the honeymoon, now he is on his official spring break from school).

It is actually amazing how fast the wedding, honeymoon, and the past few weeks have gone by. I am hoping this blog will provide me a way to record our first year as newlyweds and capture some of those moments that I know will go by so quickly. Stay tuned!