Buying a home...

Inspection is tomorrow. If all goes well, we are officially adults! Can't wait to settle in to North Carolina. We have loved Arizona, but are ready to live closer to family and friends.

The Avenues

I participated in my first ever craft fair during the second week in September, and visited my "longest" friend--Alisha--who has been one of my best friends from when I was 12 and who I had not seen in over 4 years!The Avenues is one of the most attended street fairs in Salt Lake City. I've been told there were more than 10000 people waltzing down the streets looking at the various vendors. I was excited to give it this a try as my first.

It was a challenge, but I succeeded in carrying everything, including my clothing, inventory, and table display items, carry on (go ahead--say it--I even impressed myself! :p). I didn't want to check ANYTHING, in case it got lost.

Alisha, myself and one of her friends split the booth three ways so the up-front fees were not as painful as doing a booth alone (the one I am doing alone this weekend is $100! ...gulp...). Alisha sold earrings and baby wraps (the earrings may been seen HERE on her etsy site), her friend sold hand crocheted items, including ice cream pint cozies (me and my Ben and Jerry's couldn't resist so I am not a proud owner of one), and I sold my baby items (may be seen HERE on my etsy site). I felt especially excited because I am "legal" now--I have a business license, a tax ID number and an EIN. Pretty cool!
Alisha, by far, had the highest return rate. I think she made over $200. I made a little over $100 and her friend made over $50. Combined, we made 6x the booth fees, so I think we did fabulously.

The most relaxing part of the weekend was attending a temple session at the Salt Lake Temple.

The most rewarding part of the weekend was seeing Alisha as a mom. She has married and given birth to two little ones since I last saw her, and it was enjoyable to see her and her mothering skills...which were awesome. I am glad to have a friend like her! And her kids are cute!

If you live in Sierra Vista, come check out my booth at the Fort Huachuca Holiday Bazaar on Saturday Nov 6th from 9-5 and Sunday Nov 7th from 11-4. It will be held at Barnes Field House (the gym), is FREE, and open to the public!

summertime sewing

When I visited D.C. this past month, I had the opportunity to visit with my Grandpa Norm Wheeler and my Grandma Louise Wheeler, my mother's parents who live in Bally, PA.

Grandma is a true artist, venturing into all forms of craftiness, including knitting, rug hooking, crocheting, painting, sewing, drawing, jewelry making, needlecraft, etc. I received some retro fabric from her collection and I decided to put some of it to use by making a clothespin holder for the clothesline I hung this week out in our backyard. I love the holder! Eco-friendly (by saving energy) and sweet vintage retro.This was my first experience working with bias tape. I think I will try it again!

GWU Graduation

Many friends and family already know that I completed my Master's Degree in Paralegal Studies back in December. After some encouragement from Jared, I took the opportunity to go home and participate in commencement exercises on May 15th and 16th, and visit with family and friends in the Northern Virginia area. Michelle Obama was the key note speaker for GWU's graduation on the National Mall.
Several of my colleagues and I were inducted into Lambda Epsilon Chi, the National Paralegal Honor Society, for graduating in the top 10% of our class and with a 3.9 0r higher (I had a 4.0!). The hard work paid off--I was provided a special honor chord to wear during graduation, and a framed accomplishment certificate along with a lapel pin. :)

It was nice to put faces with names and meet several of my online classmates in person, including my girlfriend Lina, who was kind enough to let me borrow two extra graduation tickets for my rather large immediate family. It turns out that she lives in Virginia Beach, and her daughter goes to high school with my sister, at my old alma mater, Princess Anne. Small world.

During my trip to VA, I was also able to meet my new nephew, Micah Conner Bussey, for the first time. He is a cutie! Poor baby has a hernia and is scheduled for surgery on June 7th; I am sure it will make him feel better, and help him to be less fussy for my sister. He sure does look like a "Bussey" here.

It feels great to be DONE with school...at least for a little while!

The Five (Adrianne)

Five years ago, I:
1. Was a sophomore at GMU in Fairfax, VA
2. Was the Biology Club Treasurer--I'll say it for you: "dork!"
3. Drove a sweet red '89 Honda Prelude
4. Broke up with my high school sweetie
5. Moved in with my favorite college roomie, Elizabeth
Five things on today's "To Do" list:
1. Get Jared to schedule a housing pre-inspection
2. Substitute teach at Kubasaki and get home via the Greenline since we only have one car
3. Separate what kitchen items I need for our express goods shipment
4. Complete a group discussion posting for my GWU class in International Trade and Finance
5. Figure out whether book club meets tonight or not
Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Pepperidge Farm Chessman
2. Fresh, hot banana bread with cream cheese spread on top
3. Apples and caramel dip
4. Any kind of Willy Wonka fruity candy
5. Fruit "leather"
Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay my tithing
2. Pay off my parent's mortgage
3. Buy a beach house for the summer in South Carolina
4. Invest for my (future) kids education
5. Donate to http://www.gardenofangels.org/
Five places I have lived:
1. Alexandria, Virginia
2. Virginia Beach, Virginia
3. New York City (Manhattan), New York
4. Okinawa, Japan
5. Salt Lake City, Utah
Five jobs I have had:
1. Red Lobster (hostess)
2. Greater Potomac Mortgage (under the table custodian when I was in high school)
3. Outback Steakhouse (server/admin assistant)
4. Legal e-Staffing (payroll and billing)
5. USMC civilian legal assistant

Tag to Alisha, Alexandria, Shanelle and Evelyn.