It's been a bit hectic for me lately and whenever I have a chance to sit down I don't feel like blogging..... 

BUT since I have a horribly messy room to clean I think blogging sounds perfect right now!  ;-) 

It's been a busy past couple of weeks... I had my trip to NJ/NY for Phil and Kayla's wedding and then the Eliya Family Reunion and every since I've been home (One week tomorrow) I've been non-stop with all the little things that fill my week up!  I really should be cleaning but I wanted to talk about my amazing trip!! 

.....it didn't start out so amazing.  I had to fly out of Charlotte on Tuesday at 8:30.  Everything was going well... I got there in plenty of time, whizzed through security, picked up a sandwich and a drink to eat at the gate (I have to be there early so I know I won't miss my flight- its a HUGE fear of mine) and I sat patiently and ate my very yummy dinner (for an airport) for about 30 minutes until it was time to board the plane.  This was my second time flying by myself and I was hoping that I wouldn't have bad luck this time because the first time was HORRIBLE!  Well, I all that hoping was completely pointless.  I have decided that I should NEVER... NEVER fly by myself! 

I got on the plane and everything was going perfect... found my seat... I picked up the magazine that was in the back of chair in front of me, realized that the Sudoku had not been worked which made me VERY happy!  Everything was going perfect, I was thinking that my first flight alone last year was just a fluke... we start taking off to the end of the runway and everyone is ready to be in NJ, especially me!!  THEN... the pilot came on the intercom to tell us that there were some horrible storms in Charlotte so we were going to be delayed 45 minutes.  I thought "Not too bad, it could be worse..." I was trying to be positive!!  After about 30 minutes the pilot tells us that we aren't flying anywhere for a while, the airport was at a complete stop... Closed!!!  Then to top everything off, we couldn't get off the plane because there were FIVE planes in front of us... and then TWO behind us!  So, there I sat... hot in a plane with recycled air and the engines turned off.  Remember, I was supposed to fly out at 8:30 and land in Newark at 10:30... nope, I flew out at 10:30 and didn't get in Newark, safely in the car with Peter and some cousins until MIDNIGHT!!!!!  The flight was NOT smooth at all... bumpy, scary, with bright lightening all around!!  At one point I was petrified... I seriously thought I we were going to die!  Then, I realized... "why am I scared?!  God is in complete control of everything!!"  So, I closed my eyes and thought to myself... "God, you are in control!  I have no reason to fear!!"  Then all the sudden everything was calm.  Not one bump... no bright lightening... it was amazing!!!  I felt SO safe!!  

So, I finally arrived and got my luggage... went straight to Mimi and Jane's house (Peter's sisters) and after tossing and turning a bit I slept peacefully and happily in NJ!  :) 

The first day in NJ (Wednesday) was full of shopping with the girls!!  I found some great buys at Forever21, which makes me a happy girl!  Forever21 never fails me- haha!!  

That night we had the rehearsal dinner for the out of towners which was around 50-60 people... it was a blast!!  We Had some yummy food, dancing, drinks, henna celebration!! It was a great time!

Me and Joy Dancing! 

Henna Celebration! :) 

On Thursday we had a girl day again... full of nails, hair, and getting dressed up for the wedding!  The wedding was pretty long, it was a Syrian Orthodox Catholic church so I didn't understand most of the ceremony.  It was beautiful though!!  The Reception was pretty awesome... there was a very long cocktail hour with a TON of food!!!  When I saw all the food I assumed that was our meal for the night, but NO... we also had a sit down dinner (I had a very yummy, filet) so there was plenty of food!  Not to mention the Martini Bar that could make anything you ever wanted in a Martini glass!!  YUM! 

The Eliya Family with their dates and the Bride! 

Me and my Handsome date!! 

Me and Joy dancing!!!

Friday we packed our bags, had some awesome lunch that Peter grilled for us and drove up to Hunter, NY.  Its in the beautiful Catskill Mountains in upper NY and it was gorgeous!!!

This was the view we saw while eating breakfast, 

playing games, and spending time in the pool... 

it was so peaceful! 

The first night we got to the Lodge we had a welcome dinner... didn't get any pictures, unfortunately!!  But we did get these AWESOME shirts!!  Everyone that came to the family reunion got one!  Mine said "Little Miss Southern Belle" and Peter's said "Mr. Debate"... haha, very fitting! 

The next morning we had an Eliya Olympic game day and wore our new shirts!  I was on red team, Peter was on blue team... WE WON!!  Go Red Team!  We had all kinds of games and then spent the day in the pool!  On Saturday night, our last night of vacation, we had a formal dinner night full of pictures, stories, eating, and dancing!!  Lots of fun! 

Formal Dinner Picture

Most of the Gals

And most of the Men

Dinner on the last night

The next morning we wake up, pack the bags and eat some breakfast.  Then Peter and his mom left to drive home since they drove up a week earlier.  I stayed with the sisters and they took me to the airport to fly home after spending some time with some cousins.  Now, I already know that I have the WORST solo flying luck... I was supposed to fly out at 6:30 and I didn't get dropped off until 5:45 and that little fear I have about missing my flight... yea, I was feeling it!  Thank God their wasn't a line to check in and the security line wasn't too extreme besides the 1 flight attendant that was so RUDE and OBNOXIOUS that I wanted to slap him!!  I got on the plane... had the isle seat which made me VERY happy had a blank sodoku again and was ready to get home!  Then I hear a familiar voice on the intercom and I knew it was an annoying man that I wanted to slap a few minutes earlier... yup, the rude flight attendant from before was on MY flight!!!!  Then everything went down hill from there, after sitting on the plane for around 45 minutes cause Charlotte was closed due to weather AGAIN they let us off the plane so I sat in the airport talking to my mom who was almost to Charlotte to pick me up... while I was in NJ!  After talking to her I called Peter and since he was driving home and about 2 hours from Charlotte he said he would pick me up so my mom could go home!! haha... I think I should have just drove home with him, it would have been a lot easier!!  So FINALLY after a wonderful 5 days on vacation I was finally home in my bed!  Vacations are always wonderful but going home is great too!!!

promise.

Nothing makes sense in this world, it's a mystery.  But it's what we do about it that counts.  Using your faith in God, in each other, and in the future changes everything.  Trusting that the end is worth it... and never letting go of it's promise.

I have had a GREAT weekend with some wonderful friends... really makes me realize how lucky I am!  Peter left for NJ early yesterday morning which was of course a bummer!  He gets to spend some fun time with his amazing family and I'm not flying up to NJ until Tuesday night... soooo, since I had a full day to myself what did I do?!  I had brunch with some girl friends, and then went to see Eclipse (finally!!! it was SO good!).  Then went home and had some lunch with mom... took a nap... then got dressed for a fun Girls Night Out!  We had such a good time and it was VERY much needed! 

Movie time after Cracker Barrel! 

Self Timers are a life saver! 

They are so much fun! 

LOVE THEM!

Today I did ABSOLUTELY nothing... allergies have reared there ugly head for some ungodly reason so I felt so out of it all day!  I watched movies... got stuck on The Hills marathon... snacked on some food and drank some HOT TEA! YUM!!!  And then watched True Blood!  I did none of my packing today, very bad!!  This means I have to do everything tomorrow, ick.  I hate packing... and the only thing I hate more than packing is UNPACKING.  Super ick!! 


So, going to bed now... gotta work tomorrow.  And pack.  bleh. 

Summer time, and the livin' is easy...

One thing for sure, this is going to be a HOT summer!!!!!  I am so ready for it though!  It was a great first weekend of summer full of games, relaxation, and pool lounging!  

Jessica had a fun 60's themed pool party at Jason's house that wasn't much of a 60's theme at all... but it was fun!  It was nice to just kick back on a float in the pool with a chilled drink while listening to some music!!  When it comes to parties with our group of friends Jessica (and Isadora of course) and I are usually the only girls... so we were very happy that Katie and Jennie came!! 

Notice Isadora peeking at the camera!

So stinkin cute!!!

It was a fun day... we grilled fresh shrimp, hot dogs, some burgers, chicken, steak, and ribs... we had a TON of food and it was all very tasty!!  I am so lucky to have so many friends to spend a fun relaxing weekend with!!

 

Great turn out for the party!!  Can't wait for many more parties this Summer!!!  

back to reality.

Now that the beach fun is over and tomorrow is Monday I really don't have a choice.... I had a wonderful, long, relaxing, fun weekend with Peter, my Mom, and my Grandma in Charleston!!!  It was so great!  I also didn't get fried so that was spectacular!  A little pink on my shoulders but that's okay, it will freckle in a day or 2 anyway! :-)  

We also brought Bella with us too so that was fun, it was her first vacation and she seemed to have a good time.  She was definitely home sick though.  Since we have been home she has been passed out on the couch and hasn't moved (I've checked her breathing a few times) which is VERY odd for her.  Usually if anyone moves she's up and checking everything out, but she is more than happy to be home!! 

We spent most of the weekend on the beach in Isle of Palms... it was HOT but so nice!!  I made sure to keep SPF on so I wouldn't get murdered by the sun like I always do!  On Friday night we went to eat dinner at The Wreck again, it was delicious as always!  Then we had some ice cream for desert... then me and Peter parted ways and went downtown for some drinks!  Peter had been to this one bar (Coast Bar & Grill) before and it's kind of hidden so mostly locals go there!  We had the BEST bartender ever and he made the most AMAZING Mojito's I've ever had!!!  Mine was a Hawaiian Peach Mojito.  Peter had a Honey Dew Cucumber one that was out of this world!!  The bartender has won the Mojito Challenge for 4 years in a row in Charleston... yea, they are THAT good!!
  

Then we went to another local bar that a couple told us about called Closed for Business (Love the name!!) and they had a TON of beers on tap, including Kwak, which is one of my favorites, thanks to Peter!! We called it a night pretty early since we had an early morning planned on the beach again.

After a full day of sun on Saturday we got to go to my FAVORITE place in Charleston!!!!  YAY, I was so excited!  Yea, it looks like a hole in the wall, sketchy diner but it's so great!!!  They have something for everyone and it's all amazing! 

I got to share the wonderful fried pickles and fried green tomatoes with my mom, then the grilled pimento and cheese sandwich with bacon... definitely life changing!!!  ALSO we got to have the strawberry shortcake! AH, great meal... and it's so cheap!! 

THEN after that Peter took me to see Cowboy Mouth for the first time. WHAT A SHOW!!!!!  

I mean, WOW... it was definitely an experience!  I was soaking wet after the show, partly from jumping up and down the entire time and also from the bartender spraying water on the crowd (which I greatly appreciated since it was SO hot!!)  We started out behind around, 6-7 rows of people but by the end of the show I had pushed my way up to the second row!  It was so great!!  We got in MUCH later than Friday but we also got to sleep in since today was the check out day and our lazy day in Charleston... 

I have realized that I absolutely LOVE Charleston!!!! I would TOTALLY move there if I could live in a small, quaint home like this... hehehe!! ;-)

and wake up every morning with a view like this.... 

And do all the Charleston things like, walking the pup by the water on Broad Street!

....and having a late brunch at Carolina's (which we did today!  I had Shrimp and Grits, of course... and Peter had a Duck Confit Omelet with sultana’s, goat cheese, onions, and spinach which was incredible!!) 

....and shopping around the Market, and catching a game at the local bar down the street (MOE'S, so much fun and great service)

....and then ending the day with a coffee (we went to Baked... its a small coffee shop that's based out of NYC with the most adorable deserts and yummy coffee!!)

.....MAN, I could SO live in Charleston!!!  It was a wonderful day with a wonderful man!!  LOVED IT! 

ALMOST 2 Years.

I can't believe it's ALMOST 2 Years for me and Peter! In some ways it seems like it has flown by but then in other ways it feels like we've been together for so much longer!!  Very surreal.  I'm a very lucky girl... and since on our actual 2 year date we will be at his family reunion in NY I thought I'd take some time to do this now!! Hope you enjoy... 

Here are some highlights from the past 23, wonderful months!!!! :) 

One of our first pictures together... he grabbed my side and tickled me right when the camera was flashing.  I should have known I was going to have my hands full!! 

One of my MOST favorite pictures of us... this shows how incredibly happy he makes me! 

My 22nd Birthday dinner at The Melting Pot! 

Charleston Trip last summer for Peter's Birthday!! 

Shower in NJ for Joy and my first trip to meet Peter's HUGE Family!

Rehearsal Dinner for Joy and Fadi's wedding, such a fun time!

Favorite picture of us!!! 

This was taken at Joy and Fadi's wedding and I just LOVE it!!  :) Makes me smile!!! 

Halloween '09, went to see the Roots at The Handlebar... 60's theme! 

Christmas Festivities!! 

New Years Eve in NYC with Peter's cousins!

New Years Day, beginning of 2010!!

Jay-Z concert in ATL!! 

My 23rd Birthday party with Peter and his Mom! 

Spring 2010!

Peter's Surprise Birthday party!!  He had no idea! :) 

First Beach trip of 2010, Charleston! 

That's just a few of the fun moments of the past 2 years that I've loved so much!!  Can't wait to see what's going to happen next!!! One thing for sure, it's going to be amazing! :) 

Thank you, Peter for the best time of my life... I LOVE YOU! 

xoxo, Cas