Ringin' in the New Year
2013 is here! I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the beginning of 2012! This year has brought some amazing changes to our lives that I've been so happy to be able to share with you all through our blog.
December was no different than any other month this year in that it was jam packed with work, fun, travel, family, and friends! Bart has been working really hard the last couple of months expanding his business (and therefore, my business) to begin carrying products from other dealers. This is allowing us to carry a wider variety of parts to make our stores a little more well rounded. He also has developed a few more parts himself, along with the help of his employee Steven, that should really blow up our businesses come busy season! He also recently purchased WASP, and inventory control system, which is something we have so desperately been needing the last few years. We haven't set it up yet but we are SUPER excited about it as it is going to revolutionize the way we do business!
Aside from work, we were actually quite social this last month! Strange, huh? Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to some friends. Just as I started to meet some really cool people out here, they all decided to move! First, we said goodbye to our friends Natalie and Tommy who actually moved to Menifee! Go figure! And then more recently we said goodbye to Christa and Matt. Christa and Matt very quickly became our favorite "couple friends". We have so much in common and just have an absolute blast hanging out with them. But they moved here to live the skydiving dream and very quickly (and unexpectedly) became pregnant! Their little baby Carter is just the cutest. But he's a colicky handful and they want to move back to Ohio to be closer to their families. We completely understand, but we're so sad to see them go!
On December 16, we headed down to Orlando for a date night! We had tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra which we were pretty excited about....................until it started. WOW. What a weird show! If you're not familiar with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they are a rock/metal band that plays with a full orchestra. It makes for some really amazing music. However, the show was only about 20% what we KNOW the TS Orchestra to be, and 80% some other WEIRD stuff. A huge black guy telling stories, weird male vocalists singing horrible musical theatre type songs....it was just bizarre. We enjoyed that 20% though! They had some UNBELIEVABLE lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics that would kill any epileptic. But the rest of it we just laughed through as we sipped on our $10 watered down Bud Light. I included a video below. I tried to show a bit of EVERYTHING. It probably doesn't come across on camera but you can at least get the idea!
Christmas back in California was absolutely amazing. Just a perfect week all around. The only minor bump for me was saying goodbye to Dalcorp. Not really a bump because I know it's a good thing. But it turned out to be more emotional for me than I expected! But I was glad to get to help a bit with the packing and say my goodbyes with a few final, good memories. I also got to spend some quality time with Amanda and Lindsay. We went ice skating and had a sleep over at Amanda's house while Bart spent a couple days skydiving and hanging out with Nick! Nick is back in the skies FULL FORCE these days! I'm bummed I didn't get a chance to jump with him, but super glad Bart was able to. We were also able to squeeze in some time to have dinner and a movie with Lauren and Jason! These days, trips home are so chaotic. Trying to see everyone we want to see in a such a short period of time is proving to be quite the challenge! Christmas day was about as perfect as can be. I just can't get enough of family holidays during this time of my life. Having everyone (well, almost) together under one roof, laughing, talking, and spending time together is pure GOLD.
I was sad to not get to stick around for New Years this year. But we ended up having a pretty great time out here in Florida! Last year, we made pizza with Amanda and her ex boyfriend, and then Bart and I climbed the hill behind our house and had a private midnight moment over champagne and fireworks talking about the year to come. This year, we had our friends Jimmy and Sara over to make pizza once again, and then Bart and I took our new boat out on our lake and enjoyed a similar private midnight over champagne and fireworks! Fireworks are not only legal here but seemingly encouraged. There were fireworks going off EVERYWHERE. And from the lake we had a view of several of them! It was truly a magical moment. We were right in our backyard and yet it felt like we were a million miles away from anyone else. It sure felt strange to remember that similar midnight a year ago when moving to Florida was merely a vague idea in our heads, and here we were, all settled in, floating in our lake, talking about the next year to come. Age really puts life into perspective when you begin to realize just how fast time goes, and just how important it is to take in every second of it - because who knows where we'll be a year from now!!!
New Years day was also so much fun! We slept in and then watched the Rose Parade! I was so glad to be able to watch the parade even though I'm 3,000 miles away. Then we packed a few beers in the cooler and took the boat out on the lake again to enjoy the absolutely STUNNING, 80 degree day that New Years brought. As we paddled out with the breeze in our hair, feeling the sun on our skin, there was a guy out on one of the docks playing a guitar and it made the moment that much more beautiful. I wanted to bottle it up and give a little bit to everyone I love. Whenever I get sad that I'm not home in California, I try to remember moments like that, with the man I love, and remind myself just how lucky I am to call this my life. :)
And as most of you know, I'm currently doing a Neil Simon play at the local community theatre called Jake's Women. We open in 2 weeks and Mom and Dad are coming out to see it! I'm so excited! I also just got cast in CATS (at the same theatre) which will begin rehearsing during the run of Jake's Women! It's gonna get crazy ya'll! But I'm super stoked to be doing theatre again. It's a part of my life that I've really been missing in the last couple of years. A large void in my heart has felt full again lately, so I'm pretty thrilled that I have another show lined up right away. I could already see I was gonna be jonesin' after Jake's Women finished! I'll be sure to share some pictures and stories along the way.
I hope everyone had as great a holiday season as the Kimgowski's, and we wish you all a very happy 2013!
December was no different than any other month this year in that it was jam packed with work, fun, travel, family, and friends! Bart has been working really hard the last couple of months expanding his business (and therefore, my business) to begin carrying products from other dealers. This is allowing us to carry a wider variety of parts to make our stores a little more well rounded. He also has developed a few more parts himself, along with the help of his employee Steven, that should really blow up our businesses come busy season! He also recently purchased WASP, and inventory control system, which is something we have so desperately been needing the last few years. We haven't set it up yet but we are SUPER excited about it as it is going to revolutionize the way we do business!
Aside from work, we were actually quite social this last month! Strange, huh? Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to some friends. Just as I started to meet some really cool people out here, they all decided to move! First, we said goodbye to our friends Natalie and Tommy who actually moved to Menifee! Go figure! And then more recently we said goodbye to Christa and Matt. Christa and Matt very quickly became our favorite "couple friends". We have so much in common and just have an absolute blast hanging out with them. But they moved here to live the skydiving dream and very quickly (and unexpectedly) became pregnant! Their little baby Carter is just the cutest. But he's a colicky handful and they want to move back to Ohio to be closer to their families. We completely understand, but we're so sad to see them go!
On December 16, we headed down to Orlando for a date night! We had tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra which we were pretty excited about....................until it started. WOW. What a weird show! If you're not familiar with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they are a rock/metal band that plays with a full orchestra. It makes for some really amazing music. However, the show was only about 20% what we KNOW the TS Orchestra to be, and 80% some other WEIRD stuff. A huge black guy telling stories, weird male vocalists singing horrible musical theatre type songs....it was just bizarre. We enjoyed that 20% though! They had some UNBELIEVABLE lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics that would kill any epileptic. But the rest of it we just laughed through as we sipped on our $10 watered down Bud Light. I included a video below. I tried to show a bit of EVERYTHING. It probably doesn't come across on camera but you can at least get the idea!
Christmas back in California was absolutely amazing. Just a perfect week all around. The only minor bump for me was saying goodbye to Dalcorp. Not really a bump because I know it's a good thing. But it turned out to be more emotional for me than I expected! But I was glad to get to help a bit with the packing and say my goodbyes with a few final, good memories. I also got to spend some quality time with Amanda and Lindsay. We went ice skating and had a sleep over at Amanda's house while Bart spent a couple days skydiving and hanging out with Nick! Nick is back in the skies FULL FORCE these days! I'm bummed I didn't get a chance to jump with him, but super glad Bart was able to. We were also able to squeeze in some time to have dinner and a movie with Lauren and Jason! These days, trips home are so chaotic. Trying to see everyone we want to see in a such a short period of time is proving to be quite the challenge! Christmas day was about as perfect as can be. I just can't get enough of family holidays during this time of my life. Having everyone (well, almost) together under one roof, laughing, talking, and spending time together is pure GOLD.
I was sad to not get to stick around for New Years this year. But we ended up having a pretty great time out here in Florida! Last year, we made pizza with Amanda and her ex boyfriend, and then Bart and I climbed the hill behind our house and had a private midnight moment over champagne and fireworks talking about the year to come. This year, we had our friends Jimmy and Sara over to make pizza once again, and then Bart and I took our new boat out on our lake and enjoyed a similar private midnight over champagne and fireworks! Fireworks are not only legal here but seemingly encouraged. There were fireworks going off EVERYWHERE. And from the lake we had a view of several of them! It was truly a magical moment. We were right in our backyard and yet it felt like we were a million miles away from anyone else. It sure felt strange to remember that similar midnight a year ago when moving to Florida was merely a vague idea in our heads, and here we were, all settled in, floating in our lake, talking about the next year to come. Age really puts life into perspective when you begin to realize just how fast time goes, and just how important it is to take in every second of it - because who knows where we'll be a year from now!!!
New Years day was also so much fun! We slept in and then watched the Rose Parade! I was so glad to be able to watch the parade even though I'm 3,000 miles away. Then we packed a few beers in the cooler and took the boat out on the lake again to enjoy the absolutely STUNNING, 80 degree day that New Years brought. As we paddled out with the breeze in our hair, feeling the sun on our skin, there was a guy out on one of the docks playing a guitar and it made the moment that much more beautiful. I wanted to bottle it up and give a little bit to everyone I love. Whenever I get sad that I'm not home in California, I try to remember moments like that, with the man I love, and remind myself just how lucky I am to call this my life. :)
And as most of you know, I'm currently doing a Neil Simon play at the local community theatre called Jake's Women. We open in 2 weeks and Mom and Dad are coming out to see it! I'm so excited! I also just got cast in CATS (at the same theatre) which will begin rehearsing during the run of Jake's Women! It's gonna get crazy ya'll! But I'm super stoked to be doing theatre again. It's a part of my life that I've really been missing in the last couple of years. A large void in my heart has felt full again lately, so I'm pretty thrilled that I have another show lined up right away. I could already see I was gonna be jonesin' after Jake's Women finished! I'll be sure to share some pictures and stories along the way.
I hope everyone had as great a holiday season as the Kimgowski's, and we wish you all a very happy 2013!
Natalie, Christa, and me. This was the going away dinner for Natalie and her husband Tommy.
At the Amway Center for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Florida is just riddled with lizards and they're so cute! Bart always has fun playing with them.
Our new (used) dining room table! Finding a table that we like, for a good price has been the bane of our existence for the past 7 months. We found this awesome one on Craigslist for $200!
Hard at work.
Finally! A Bart sized coffee cup!
Ice skating in Santa Monica :)
Very graceful...
Christmas Eve at the Browns is always the BEST!
I love this picture so much!
Bart dug right into his blood soup and Pierogies :)
Deep frying some Polish sausage!
Best Asian tourist pic!
Uncle Bark and Daney :)
I always wonder why I have severe hip issues. Probably because I drink too much wine and bust out the splits!
Awww. My beautiful little niece. I mean nephew.
We all know how every time Bart is in town Dane doesn't let him take a rest from making paper airplane after paper airplane. This time, Bart majorly outdid himself using cardboard and wrapping paper rolls!
I'm so happy that this is my last memory of Dalcorp. Hanging out with the boys giving them golf cart rides. :)
Our new boat!
The first night we had the boat we sat inside of it, in our living room, having cocktails for a good 2 hours. Who says you have to have a boat in water to enjoy it?
When I asked Bart what we should name the boat he very quickly replied, "The USS Tonya Harding." As anyone would, I asked, "Why?????" To which he replied, "because it kicks ass!" And thus was born, the USS Tonya Harding.
My specialty New Years cocktail!
The boys setting up the smoker!
The new lovebirds, Jimmy and Sara :)
I love Sara's face! "Oh heeyyaal nah girl, you are NOT kneadin' that dough right..."
mmmmmmmmmmmmm Smoked pizza!!!
Midnight on the boat :)
Not a very good picture but these were some of the fireworks out on the lake!
New Years Day out on the boat.
It's a rough life :)
A PERFECT day.
We ended up staying out on the boat until sunset! And it was beautiful...
We had Matt and Christa over for a going away dinner and we made this DELICIOUS bacon wrapped BBQ pesto chicken, with rosemary and garlic potatoes and grilled veggies! YUMMO!
Matt, Christa, Bart, and Me. We had a little photoshoot!
A promo shot for "Jake's Women". This is Jake......my husband!
Jake and all of his women.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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