A Birthday to be Remembered

June 3, 2011 was a great day. I'm writing this to share my joy in that day, but also to preserve the memories that I never want to forget.

Phil and I have been using each birthday's as an opportunity to surprise each other with something special. For Phil's 23rd birthday I took him to Longwood Gardens. For my 23rd Phil rented us a boat and we laid out on the water for hours in a beautiful park. On Phil's 24th birthday I got us tickets to see Cirque du Soleil in Philly. And for my 24th, well, Phil made me feel just downright special and loved :)

The morning of June 3rd Phil drove us to Nockamixon State Park about 45 minutes away. He had planned out a trail route for us and packed a picnic lunch with sandwiches, salads, and fruit. It was a gorgeous day, high of 75F, sunny and clear blue skies. We got to the park around 11:30 and started off on our hiking adventure! We missed the trail a few times but it was fun to spend time together outdoors and see all the beautiful wildlife. Phil is not usually the outdoorsy type so it was nice of him to think of something he knew I'd enjoy but wouldn't necessarily choose for himself.


After hiking for about an hour, we ended up at this beautiful spot right near the river. We ended up stopping here and had our picnic lunch. Phil had bought a cooler so everything stayed cold. I'll tell ya, this guy can really plan every little detail! After we had finished lunch, we hiked back to the car. We took a different trail back and ended up trekking through some high grass, but it just added more to our whole adventure!


Once we got back to the car, Phil said he had our next stop planned nearby. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at a cute little creamery, OWowCow. They make their own ice cream, toppings, and whipped cream! It was oh so delish! We got a hot
fudge sundae with lemon ginger ice cream. YUM!
We stuffed our faces full of ice cream and then headed back home.

When we got home, Phil told me that I probably wanted to shower before my next surprise. Sure I was muddy from our hiking adventures, but wasn't in the mood to shower again. Phil pushed it enough though that I finally decided that he probably had a reason to be so adamant...

Around 4:30 we headed out again and Phil dropped me off at Sedona Salon & Spa! He told me I was set up for a 90 minute Swedish Massage. Does my husband know me or what? (I was also thankful that I had showered, thanks Phil!) I asked Phil what he would do while I was getting my massage but he simply said, "Don't worry about it." So I didn't.

An hour and a half later, I was relaxed and mellow. Phil picked me up and took us to our next stop: The Cheesecake Factory for dinner! I had Crusted Romano Chicken and Phil got the pulled pork sandwich. Boy oh boy is their food good... Phil even told them it was my birthday so they came over and sung to me with a piece of cake! Not that either of us had room for cake, but we managed a few bites before we boxed everything up and drove home! Full of food, love, and gratitude for my wonderful husband, I wasn't quite sure what else Phil could possibly have planned but he said it wasn't over yet!

We got home around 9:00 and after dropping off my things in the closet, I looked up to see a beautiful assortment of roses in a vase waiting for me on the living room table (turns out this was what Phil was doing while I was getting my massage!). I walked over and opened the breathtakingly beautiful birthday card that Phil had gotten me with the roses. With tears brimming over, I read on the card that there was still one more present! Phil told me to wait here and ran upstairs. He came down with a box. I opened it, teary-eyed, and found a brand new Amazon Kindle inside! I love to read so this was a very well thought out gift. The night ended with two exhausted, full, and happy people!

I hope I expressed enough to Phil just how much today meant to me. The intricate planning and time spent to make this a special day for me shone through in the excitement he had throughout the whole day. I am blown away by how kind hearted and thoughtful my husband is and can't thank God enough for sending him to me. Here's to another wonderful year in which I hope to share that same love and appreciation back to my husband everyday.

You Gotta Go There To Come Back

One Tree Hill. This show has been a staple in my life since its pilot aired on September 23, 2003. I know that probably sounds very worldly and media-centered, but there's just something about this show that just cuts straight to my heart. I've been a dedicated watcher since day 1 and have been wanting to visit where they film ever since. I was never able to go in high school since I couldn't drive yet and I didn't have the money to go in college. After hearing that the current season, 8, is most likely my beloved shows last season, I knew I had to go now. Phil, being the supportive husband that he is, agreed to come along and, although he is not as big of a fan as I, he was excited as well.

I started planning, planning, and more planning. I got a list of all the locations they've filmed, mapped them out, and set us up with places to visit each day while we were down there. I joined forums to exchange info with other fans so we could help each other out with filming information while in town. I researched the cast's favorite hangouts in Wilmington, NC. And then, finally, the day arrived!

February 18, 2011:
Having hardly been able to sleep the night before, Phil and I set out on our 9 1/2 hour drive to Wilmington, NC. We drove south through Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, D.C. Virginia, and into North Carolina. Ten and a half hours and some aggravating traffic later, we were there. The minute we entered Wilmington, NC I could hardly focus on anything except how cute the town is and "Do you recognize that? What's that building called? Do you see any cast members??" Phil was very patient with my fanaticism and started snapping pictures left and right. After checking into our hotel, we set out to see downtown and get some dinner. We ended up at The Reel Cafe, an incredibly delicious restaurant that has the added benefit of being both a former filming location and a popular hangout for many of the actors. I wasted no time in searching for any bits of info I could and asked the waitress if anyone from One Tree Hill had been in tonight. She said no one had but had no problem gushing about the show and each actor's favorite meal to order at the Reel Cafe. I was alert throughout my whole meal and probably scared some people that entered the resto, but all we left with that night was a full belly.

February 19, 2011:

Very busy day ahead of us! After getting ready for the day, we stopped at where they filmed Keith's Auto Shop, Lucas and Karen's house, Haley James' house, and Peyton's house. We then headed to the Screen Gems studio for their tour at noon! This was such an awesome experience since seeing the sets that you watch every week is so much different to see in person. We were showed Nathan and Haley's second house, Brooke and Julian's house, and Red Bedroom Records. One fun fact is that the stairs in any of the houses lead nowhere, they just drop off. So whenever a character is shown coming down the stairs, it's really just the actor standing there and then walking down the few stairs they've built for the set. Pretty crazy how things are so much different than how we picture them on TV.

After the tour, we continued on our ventures to more filming locations. We went to visit where they film the outside of Nathan and Haley's house and then set off to Airlie's Gardens. Wow, was that beautiful. With its arrangements of flowers, sculptures, trees, and paths along the water, it was definitely one place I was glad we visited. One Tree Hill has filmed here multiple times and it was fun recognizing the sites as we made our way around the gardens. My favorite part of this place (aside from the filming locations, of course) was the bottle sculpture building. If you're ever in Wilmington, NC or around the area, I definitely recommend visiting Airlie's Gardens!

The last stop of today was the Indepedence Mall. Yet another filming location but also a way for us to just unwind after a busy day by just walking around and browsing. Well, that didn't last long since the business of the day quickly caught up with us and we were exhausted by 9pm. Don't think excitement can't drain you, because it definitely can. So, tonight was an early night for us.

February 20, 2011:

Back to filming location scouting!! Most of the places that they film are all downtown, so we were able to cover most of the places I had mapped easily and quickly today. The places we saw today were: Lucas and Lindsay's wedding church, the bridge from the intro, Tree Hill High, Clothes over Bros/Karen's Cafe, Keith and Jules' wedding church, Lucas and Brooke's first date (Blue Post Billiards), CD Alley, lingerie store that Brooke set up on Naley's scavenger date, Dixie Grill, Hell's Kitchen (where Taylor worked), spot where Lucas and Keith crashed, police station, courthouse, Tric, rivercourt (my favorite!!), and the riverwalk. Along our fun journey, we ran into two other One Tree Hill fans, Heather and Amanda, at Nathan and Haley's first "date" table when Haley starts tutoring him. After talking for a bit, we ended up exchanging information so we could help each other out if we spot anything!

Later that night, we met up with two other fans for dinner, Carina and Julia, who had traveled all the way from Germany! I had met Carina on Twitter and found out that we were both coming to Wilmington the same week! It's always fun meeting other fans :) We ended up at the Reel Cafe again. Another one of my recommendations if you're in the area.

Finally, the four of us set out to walk around downtown and, on our way, we ran into Lauren and Heather again! We grouped together and began our search for cast members. All the bouncers knew our names by the end of the night and were very helpful in sharing any information they had. We got to see this cute town at night, get to know our new friends rather well, and try out a few of the locals bars. It was a very fun night! Finally, about 1am, we decided to split ways for the night and headed back to our hotel.

February 21, 2011:

For breakfast, we made our way to the Dixie Grill, a place we had heard rave reviews about and, oh, it just happens to also be a season 6 & 7 filming location :) The hype was right, it was a very cute diner with fun decor and killer food! As we were waiting for our breakfast, Phil spotted a familiar face walk in. Mark Schwahn! Who is he you ask? He, my friend, is the creator, the mastermind, the genius behind this show called One Tree Hill. I quickly approached him and exclaimed, "Mark Schwahn! I love your show!" After an autograph and a picture, I managed to hold it together enough to get filming locations for the following day; what luck!

After our successfully delicious brunch, Phil and I went to visit where they filmed Jamie's school, Dan Scott Motors, Brooke Davis' house in high school, Felix & Anna's house, the house they used in "I Will Dare", and the Scott house. We also drove by the cemetery they use for any grave scenes. Later, we visited Wrightsville Beach since it was a nice day and, you guessed it, they've also filmed there. The weather turned against us and the wind drove us back to our hotel to get changed and relax for a bit, before dinner.

We met up with our four new friends again for dinner at...the Reel Cafe!! I was ready to try something new, but Heather and Amanda hadn't been yet, so we enjoyed yet another delicious dinner here. After dinner, the six of us headed to Wilmington's International Airport. Carina had worked her magic in finding out which flight Sophia (Brooke), Austin (Julian), and Rob (Clay) would have to be taking back to Wilmington in order to make it in time for filming the following morning. So yeah, we waited at the airport for them... I like to think that I went there to see it since they've filmed airport scenes here, but I know the fan in me was really hoping to see the three of them get off that flight. By 10:45pm, everyone had deplaned and no celebs had shown up. We left, disappointed, and were then even more crushed when I found out the following morning that other fans had waited longer and saw them show up at 11:00pm! I would be more devastated if the next day hadn't gone the way it had...

February 22, 2011:

Since we had gotten the list of filming locations from Mark yesterday, we all planned to meet at Sea Path Yacht Club near Wrightsville Beach where they were supposed to be filming the majority of the day. When we got there, we saw makeup trailers, equipment trucks, and vans they use to transport the cast. It was such an awesome experience to see everything happening in action. I am so used to seeing the final product in every episode, but here I was seeing it happen from the beginning! James Lafferty was filming here today and we actually got to catch some of the filming! We heard "cutting" "rolling" "play back" and saw all the hard work that goes into filming just one scene. It sure does give you some appreciation for the filming industry. After a few hours, we got comfortable and grabbed our blankets and peanut butter sandwiches. James had told us earlier that he would come out once he'd wrapped filming, so no way were we planning on leaving until then. While we were all sitting there waiting, chatting, and trying to keep warm in the 30 degree weather, we hear someone say "They're taking pictures over there!" In one big leap, we grabbed our stuff and ran to the source, only to see the one and only, Sophia Bush!! She had come outside to greet all the fans waiting. She was very sweet and patient enough to take pictures with everyone there. My first words to her were "Hi, you're so pretty." Yeah, I tend to babble when I'm excited and nervous. I also asked if she remembered me from some exchanges we'd had on Twitter and Crowdrise, and she did! It was very very cool meeting her :)

After that, we continued to wait for filming to wrap. Finally, James came out and kept his word! He came and said hello to everyone, took pictures, and signed autographs. I couldn't believe I was talking to Nathan Scott!! :)

Afterwards, Julia and Carina had to catch their flight that night since they were off to NYC before heading home to Germany. We all had dinner together one more time, this time at the Front Street Brewery, and then said goodbye to our two new friends!

Heather, Amanda, Phil and I then went to Blue Post Billiards to enjoy a game of pool! We had asked the crew earlier today where filming would be tomorrow, so we were set.

February 23, 2011

Today was all about finding and watching filming. We knew they were filming at the airport, Tric, and a hospital. We made it to Tric before filming had started and saw Austin Nichols drive up in their infamous white vans shortly after we arrived. He was kind enough to come over after I screamed "Austin!" ;) I chatted with him briefly and got a photo and an autograph. Score. After Austin left, Jana Kramer arrived! She also responded to my shout out and came over to greet us. Talk about an awesome start to our day! Later, we saw Michael May and Stephen Colletti show up since they were filming at Tric. Once we found out that Stephen would be filming all day and wouldn't come out until he'd wrapped, the four of us set out to grab some lunch (Papa John's) and then went to visit the high school where they'd filmed the Tree Hill High gym. Emsley A Laney High School is also where Michael Jordan graduated and his jersey number just happened to be 23 (Nathan in the show is also number 23). We were admitted as visitors and got to look around the whole school. The gym looked quite different than it does in seasons 1-4 since the crew probably brought most of their own props to showcase the Ravens. It was still cool to see though :)

After, we headed back to Tric where we waited another two hours before filming finally wrapped. Stephen did come over and we got to meet our third cast member of the day!

After Tric, we quickly drove to where they film hospital scenes (at Cape Fear Community College-they bring their own props to make it look hospital-like). We got to see Sophia and Austion (Brooke and Julian) film a scene for Julian's documentary in season 8. It was a very brief scene and after it wrapped, we made our way over to the River Room on Front St. for a wonderful charity event!!

Sophia had told us about it Tuesday afternoon when we met her, and had invited everyone to be a part of the charity for a crew member, Amy, who needs a transplant. Of course we went. It. Was. Awesome. When we got there, we saw James Lafferty, Robert Buckley, Stephen Colletti, Michael May, Sophia Bush, and Austin Nichols. We were able to grab pictures with both Robert and Michael since we hadn't met them yet. Everyone aside from Sophia and Austin left shortly after group photos, but boy was it something to be in the same room with all these people from my favorite show! I had to keep reminding myself that, yes, this was actually happening. The night ended around 9:30-10pm, and we had gotten to chat with both Sophia and Austin. The actual charity event was a huge success, raising over $10,000.00 for Amy! The top prize was a private tour offered by Sophia and Austin that went to two different groups for $1200 each.

The four of us left the River Room in a daze, not quite believing that we had just partied with the cast of OTH! All of us left the following morning, so we took one last long walk around downtown Wilmington. While stopping at one of the last few spot we'd wanted to take photos of, we landed in front of Deluxe Restaurant. Someone came outside and asked us how we ended up in Wilmington. After we explained, she told us "You didn't hear this from me, but the cast of A Cinderella Story 3 is eating inside." I had heard they were filming here and knew that Lucy Hale is starring! She is in another show that I watch, Pretty Little Liars. We made our way inside and I was able to meet her and grab a pic. I was the only one who cared since Heather and Amanda don't watch the show, but it was very cool to meet her!

Finally, we had to say our sad goodbyes to Heather and Amanda and then head back to the hotel to pack.

February 24, 2011:

Time to go home. Much to my dismay, we packed up our car and headed on our long journey back to reality. I could definitely live in Wilmington, NC someday. It's beautiful, peaceful, cute, and full of such nice people! It took us 11 hours to get home and we hit a lot of traffic. But, this trip was one that we will not soon forget.

We Change, We Wait

We are moving. September 25th is the big day! I gotta say, I'm darn excited. I just hope this is not us on moving day -->

Let's backtrack a little.

Phil and I have been unhappy where we're currently living for a while. The summers are hot and the winters are cold. Insulation? What's that? Our windows here are older than Dumbledore. As we've also noticed, our windows aren't so keen on keeping out bugs either, especially in the summer. So..the search for a new place began! Ten apartment places, 156 pictures, and 17 videos later, Phil and I have found our new place!

We stumbled on it on Craigslist.com. It's a two-story, two-bedroom 1.5 bath townhouse. From my first walk around it, I knew I wanted to move in. Phil and I talked about it, turned in our application, and were approved the next day!

I'm so excited to start fresh in a new place. I love decorating. A part of me thinks I could've been really good at interior decorating. I love looking for new furniture and decor for a place that has a blank slate.

In other, equally exciting, news, Phil and I will be cruising the Caribbean at this very moment next month! We're celebrating our one year anniversary by sailing the clear, blue ocean, relaxing on the beach, and enjoying our nice movie screen theater poolside on our cruise. I know, marriage is hard.

I'm so excited that Sunday is our one year anniversary! This year has been more than I could ever have imagined and I thank God everyday that he matched me with Phil. We're celebrating Sunday with dinner reservations at the Melting Pot. Hellloooo yum!

I hope everyone is enjoying (and staying cool) this summer!

Every Night is Another Story

Yesterday marked Phil and my 5 month anniversary. Each day that I wake up beside Phil I am reminded by how blessed and truly happy I am in my life right now. Marriage is absolutely wonderful.



As of January 14th Phil has been approved for his Green Card! Since I failed to blog for the past few months you have missed a chunk of our life where we were busy filing forms to adjust Phil's status to that of a permanent resident. Two days ago we had our immigration interview to determine that we are a legitimate couple. Turns out we are since we were approved and Phil's Green Card is now on its way. It's pretty amazing to find out how much one will go through in the name of love. Of course, it was all worth it in the end, but we are both glad all this visa nonsense is past us.

I'm going into my 6th month at the job I blogged about in my last entry. It has been quite a journey learning the ins and outs and I'm certain I have much more to learn. However, I am very thankful to have a job. I'm really happy to be a part of a team and have an office to walk into every morning and just try to make a difference in someone's life. It is very challenging, but honestly, what job isn't?

Phil and I have been settling into our apartment together nicely. It was so much fun opening all the wedding gifts that we registered for and finding a place for them to go in our home together. There really wasn't much adjusting after we got married; it's as if we were always meant to live together and time was just being patient with us until we found our way.

By the way, Happy New Year! 2009 was quite the year for me, in a very good way. Let's see, in 2009...

• I graduated from college
• I became engaged to my best friend
  
• I planned a wedding (with Phil's help, of course)
• We filed out a ton of paperwork and spent a lot of money to make Phil a legal permanent resident
• I landed my first salary job
• I got married!

With the closing of 2009 I know that 2010 will only bring more happiness and opportunities to grow and learn. Since I was never one to make New Year's Resolutions (because really, who keeps them and why would you want to set yourself up for failure on January 1st) I want to list a few things that I hope/pray/want to happen in 2010:

• I want to focus on the good things in my life and remind myself how blessed I am
• Move into a 2 bedroom apartment - the extra space would be nice, possibly within the same complex where we already live
• Become more involved in our church community
• Help at least one person, in a serious way
• Experience new adventures and travel to at least one new place
  
• Grow even more as a wife, sister, daughter, friend, and person

I hope this New Year brings all of you much happiness and peace!

New Job

I started a new job last Monday. So far, I really like it. As a case manager, my role is to work one on one with a caseload of about 20-25 clients to help them recover from addiction and mental health problems. The first week was really busy and I've only met 5 of my clients so far but I really think I'm gonna like it here.

Alongside my new job, the countdown is truly on to the big day. Everything is pretty much set, now we just wait (and pay off all our vendors). I've been planning for August since February and now it's finally here! I'm so excited for the wedding and our honeymoon! Sweet!

I can't wait to see everyone so soon!

Livin it up

Life is pretty good.

Our Camry is running well so far. Unfortunately we have had to get a new windshield already though, after discovering a small crack in it driving off the lot the day we bought it. Needless to say, the crack spread...a lot. But $200 later, our new windshield is installed and hopefully nothing else will need to be replaced any time soon.

I've started applying to jobs. So far I think I've applied to about 10 different places, mostly on Monster.com. The jobs vary between Case Worker, Social Worker, along with some other various job descriptions that interest me. I hope something comes up soon, I always forget how restless I get with nothing to do during the day.

The wedding plans are coming along great as well. Most people have RSVPd by now and we just had our first meeting with the pastor who is marrying us to do some pre-marital counseling. It was a good time and I am really glad he's marrying us. Next on the list is to do the seating arrangements for the reception, pick out a cake top and figure out what I'm doing with my hair for the wedding!

I'm so excited for the big day! Not only am I tying the knot with the love of my life but we'll also get to see some friends that we don't get to see very often.

I would also like to wish a very happy first birthday to my sweet little niece Maiya!

Phil and I went to visit NJ last weekend to celebrate her birthday and it was great to see everyone.

In all, life is pretty good in Pennsylvania. I really couldn't ask for more :)

Our 'Lil Camry!

Phil and I made our first big purchase together (well, besides all the money spent on the wedding so far..), a new car! Well, it's not exactly a brand new car (it's a '99 Camry) but it is new to us so I'm calling it new :) This is our sweet little thing to the right, isn't she sharp? Well, I call it a she but we haven't yet decided on the gender or a name. Let's just say that this is our first 'baby' and we are already protective of it!

We brought it home last Tuesday, June 9th, and I can't tell you how many times I kept looking outside just to make sure it was still there. It is so nice to know that I can just up and run and errand whenever I darn well please! No more waiting until the weekend when we used to rent a rental car.

This car is also the first approval Phil got as far as building credit goes so that's another positive of this whole event. Needless to say, we are pretty excited about it! It's in great shape and was well taken care of. I'm sure most of you reading this will see it in person sometime soon! And here's another shot of it to leave you with...