Merry Christmas to me...

I'm a lucky girl.

Adam and I exchanged presents yesteday because we'll be in Denver for Christmas this year. So I thought I'd take the opportunity to brag about my presents on here:

Qdoba for dinner:)

Prenatal Vitamins. (for growing my hair and nails mostly)

I asked for them, cause who wants to spend money on vitamins in normal life?

a gift certificate for a mani/pedi or multiple manicures.






A starbucks gift card.
Cause there's only so many days left to get Peppermint Mochas...mmm.






The promise to go to the Polo outlet to get a new oxford. HOORAY!



See, like I said. I'm a lucky girl:).

Most Likely to...

My friends Liz, Sarah, and I passed around a notebook during our senior year. We wrote all of our notes to each other in it. It's pages are plastered with magazine cut-outs of our favorite things/celebrities/sayings. It also has a few pages dedicated to lists. One list was "Most Likely to....". I was looking through it the other day and think it's pretty funny looking back to see what we nominated each other for when we were 17-18. I'll share the ones Liz and I got since Sarah probably doesn't read this, and the ones who do, might not know her.

Most likely to...
1. ...be the first to wear mommy jumpers. Tricia
2. ...still live in PA for the remainder of their life. Liz and Tricia
3. ...join the army. Liz-ha!
4. ...to be on their own reality TV series. Liz
5. ...have the first kid. Tricia
6. ...get married first. Tricia
7. ...join a sorority. Liz
8. ...have the most kids. Tricia
9. ...have a child who wants a pet snake. Liz
10. ...die from overdosing on Diet Coke. Liz
11. ...be the first to retire. Liz
12. ...have a pet chihuahua. Liz
13. ...run a Fortune 500 Real Estate Company. Liz (she added this one herself, ha!)
14. ...own a motorcycle. Tricia
15. ...enter a beauty pageant. Tricia


Haha, some of these were right on, some not at all. But it's definitely fun to go back and see how we excepted things to go vs. how they really went/will go.

**Stay tuned for an entry of "Reasons boys suck" followed by "Reasons boys are cute"**

God's Love Letter

Our sermon last Sunday was on Galations 4:4-5 : "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship".

Normally this verse isn't really seen as a "Christmasy" verse, but our pastor pointed out how it actually encompasses all of Christmas. It was really impressed on me that God had a plan-a plan in which he orchestrated everything to fall into place just right so he could send Jesus. The timing had to be perfect! And it was!

Lately in the Ludwig household we've been getting ready for some changes. Some we're sure of what they are, but most we're not. But, one promise that the Holy Spirit keeps placing on my heart (a promise that shows up often in my life) is that God's timing is perfect. He has a plan! He's always had a plan. It doesn't matter how many times I make my own plan, and it completely falls apart, He has it figured out. And because He does, I don't need to.

Anyway, I started today a bit discouraged, so I found this "love letter" online. The site is super cheesy, but the words are pretty powerful. If you have a chance, you should check it out. It's amazing to be reminded of just how much God loves us.

If being an elf were a real job....

I'd DEFINITELY apply. I think I'd be great!



I absolutely LOVE Christmas time. I'm kind of a dork about it--my poor husband. But the planning, the anticipation, the decorating, the music (yes, even the music), that everyone is just a bit happier, the family time, the cooking/baking, the food, the drinks, the movies, celebrating Jesus' gift, it's all stuff that I love, all at one time, and it's the only time that I can get most people to do it willingly with me. Also, I typically suffer from "Post Event Depression", but Christmas time even has a buffer for that--it's kicked off with Thanksgiving, it lasts an entire month, then once it's over, there's just one week until another celebration, which kind of eases you into the humdrum of the next few months!



But dont worry, I know I'm kind of a Christmas freak. But I hope everyone else is enjoying this season as well-even if it's not to the same extent that I am:)

Surprise Thanksgiving!

My parents called the Saturday before Thanksgiving (super early in the morning I'll add) to offer us one of the greatest surprises!: 2 tickets to Philadelphia for Thanksgiving!!!! It was so awesome! And I really think it was divinely inspired... it was too easy getting work off, finding someone to watch stetson, getting airport rides, having a super sweet travel day, and ending in Philadelphia. It was family time x 10000000!

We had thanksgiving dinner:

Went Midnight Shopping

and baked 10 different kinds of cookies!

and laughed... a lot. It was so wonderful and I'm so thankful for that blessing! We also watched a lot of football and a bit of Duke Basketball as well. And dont worry, got to see Liz too:)

ps. Liz, this why you're never my profile picture. We never take them together.

Matchy Matchy

When I was younger (second grade approximately) I have distinct memories of calling my friend Kate Vesper to figure out what outfit we'd both wear tomorrow. The conversation usually went something like "do you have black stirrup pants? me too! Do you have a plaid shirt? me too! ok, do you have big red socks you can scrunch? Ok great, me too! And then wear your keds, and your hair in a ponytail with a red scrunchie, deal? deal."

Well my friends, it looks like history is beginning to repeat itself. Here's the thing... Adam had a black northface and lost it. He bought me a black mountain hardware fleece when I was in college, and somehow I lost it too. So this weekend we went to Cabela's (cause we had a gift card and coupon) and picked out fleeces: both black, both northface. Adam gave me two conditions to allow me to get this fleece 1. it had to be something I wore a lot, and 2. I couldnt complain about matching and/or ask him to wear something else so I could wear mine.

I agreed to these two things and so we'll be bringing you the Ludwig uniform. Most days it'll consist of jeans and a black northface. Get excited!

(ps. for the record, i'm not sure a different color would have mattered. I mean how much better is it to have one in a black fleece and jeans, and one in a brown fleece and jeans... I'll tell you, not much.)

TV with Boys

Watching TV with boys keeps me from watching crap. Allow me to elaborate.

I have lots of guilty pleasures when it comes to TV shows. I love to keep up with the Kardashians, stay friends with The Real Housewives of ______ (preferrably Atlanta), help the Bachelor or Bachelorette pick their soulmate, judge the contestants on Project Runway, laugh and cry (that might be an exaggeration) with the cast of One Tree Hill or any teenage melodrama really, roll my eyes at Heidi and Spencer on the Hills when it was on, and so on. And I would say that considering the audience I write to, you probably fall prey to one of these shows as well.

These little "addictions" were not really a problem when we didnt have cable. Sharing a computer that served as both a computer and access to the cable world made it tricky to watch any shows that we both didnt commit to watching together. But now... we have cable (Yay!) and it definitely takes convincing to get to watch one of these guys listed above. And to be honest, it's difficult to come up with an argument as to why we should forego watching something else to watch these when you are debating with a boy.

Hence, why watching TV with boys keeps me from watching crap.

**as a disclaimer, those are not the only shows I like, they're just the unnecessary ones.

Facebook --->the loss of filters

Facebook has been around in my life since college... so 2004 for me? So it's been 6 years and it has really evolved. When it first started it was only for college students, there were no ads, creating groups like "i love naps" was the big thing, along with bumper stickers. Mostly people would use to see pictures, and check relationship statuses, figure out who so-and-so is, and see what ex-boyfriends, and what's the term, "frienemies"?, are up to.

NOW... all the info we put about ourselves in the beginning--our likes and dislikes--have created targeted ads, are parents and little siblings are now on, there are games and "apps" everywhere, and status updates are how you learn about everyone's lives.

While this website has grown into a culture changing phenomenon, it certainly has it's drawbacks, negative sides, and just plain annoying features. Let me tell you my pet peeves--you may find you are annoyed by them too.

1."you know who you are" comments. You might have seen that I dislike this in my status update. But why are people writing detailed angry messages to people without naming them. For example: " I hate when people are fake. I dont need you in my life, you just drag me down, and i deserve more... you know who you are". Just write them a message, or... talk to them in person *gasp*

2. Ever read statuses like this: "on the treadmill at the gym", or "at a romantic dinner with my husband. first course down, waiting on dessert. he's so sweet", or "I wish he would just latch on... no wonder they say breastfeeding is hard... this hurts". The point is... are you so addicted to facebook that you're using your cell phone to update it during the most ridiculous moments? or are you using it to share with the world details we dont care about? Random thoughts and observations, funny. major life moments you want to share with a lot of people quickly, great. Sharing in appropriate things at inappropriate times...not necessary.

3. Over friending. Do you know someone that is an over-eager-friend-requester? have you even been introduced to someone, then head home and find an email that they want to be your friend on facebook hours later, when you barely remembered meeting them to begin with? These are the people who's info goes down your news feed and you're like "who is that again?" I consider facebook friending as real life friending. Not people that you meet and will never see again. Not the ones you couldnt pick out of a line up. But ones that you're like "yeah, i'm glad we met, I'd like to keep up with your life".


These are my facebook pet peeves. what are yours? you know you have them.

Happy Halloween!

Meet Ted and Carol Waseski. 2 proud members of their local church choir. They told me to tell you "Happy Halloween"!

Easton James Annotti

Oh my gosh you guys, Keje and Patrick had their baby last week! (Thursday, October 21st). They named him Easton James Annotti, 7 lbs 14 oz, 21.5 inches long. He's perfect. So adorable. And the best part was, Keje let me be in the room along with Patrick and his mom while she delivered. If you ever get the chance to do that, do it! It is the most amazing thing!!! I'm so thankful she let me!
Poor little guy, he has been in and out of the NICU because he had a bit of a hard time transitioning (breathing and now an infection). This is why it's taken me so long to send out pictures. Anyway, they are hoping to be home Thursday, but it could be longer. Just please keep them in your prayers.

But isnt he just precious??

Celebrating Fall

This weekend/week we've been "celebrating" fall in the Ludwig household...

On Saturday, We raked leaves (minimal celebrating took place, but everyone chipped in... including Stetson):

AND we carved a pumpkin, gutted 2 pumpkins and baked their seeds, and made pumpkin muffins (with real pumpkin):

It's nice to do fall-ish things before it gets too cold---which is sounding like might happen this weekend...ugh.

MLM

Major Life Moments.

Lately the theme in my life is "Major Life Moments". (with "visitors" tacked on as a secondary theme). Since August, there have been a lot of big things happening in my life and all around me. Let me list them:
1. Adam has decided to go back to school for engineering this spring semester.
2. 2 of my best friends just got married.
3. All of Adam's sisters are about to have (or already have) new babies.
4. My brother, Tom, passed the Bar Exam.
5. My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
6. I turned 25.

I realize a list kind of cheapens them, but think about it... EACH one (and some have up to 3 things listed) are huge, life altering moments. Anyway, it's all happened in just 2 1/2 months! which is kind of the craziest part!

I'm not sure what to make of it all. And to top it off, remember I mentioned my secondary theme, "Visitors"? Let me list them too:
1. My best friend, Liz, finally came to visit (a time in which we saw John Mayer at the Gorge--perhaps life altering moment number 7?)
2. AND my brother Jim, came out to visit.
3. we went to Seattle to take Jim to the airport and saw an old family friend, Matt Eusey.
4. Our brother-in-law Drew and his friend Dusty came to visit
5. I went to Cleveland and Philadelphia
6. Adam's parents come next week
7.. Kirstin and Piper! are coming in November.


Whew! That was exhausting just typing it! All good things, but they all happened really quickly. I'm just trying to still compute it all.... and it's not looking like it's going to slow down.

in closing, you can see some pictures of when Liz and Jim were here (not my most flattering, but you get the idea):

And So the Story Begins...

Baby Annotti is coming in about 3 weeks!!!! So my friend Meredith and I had the pleasure of throwing Kedron a Storybook themed baby shower to get ready for the little rascal. My work friends Sara and Shelly were a HUGE help too, and we had a bit of banner help from Kirst. Here's some pictures below:

It has been so fun watching Keje during her pregnancy. She's been keeping herself busy cooking, sewing, and decorating. It's fun seeing her become more and more of a mom even before this little one arrives. I cant wait to meet him/her and see Keje and Patrick grow as a family as learn to parent this new life. It'll be soon....

Under Pressure...

Deja vu? If you're like me, you experience this (or something that feels like this) about once a week.

Adam and I don't have cable. We dont have Netflix. And one of the only movie stores left in town is one we owe about $10 in late fees to, so we can't go back. SOOO, redbox is our option.

Aside from the recent $0.15 irritating rise in price, it's not exactly a bad option. Except for what I'll call the "Redbox Pressure Factor". Have any of you experienced this??? I go to a red box, finally get my turn, and choose a TOTAL dud. Why? because I buckle under pressure. I feel the person behind me breathing on my neck and dont feel like I can take the time to peruse the screens and read a synopsis if I want to.

A couple the winner's I've come home with:my apologies if you liked this one... especially since it was nominated for Oscars... but the whole thing was super slow, unrealistic, and just all around depressing. And Adam hated it.





All. About. Weed.


And I cant tell you the number of times I've come home with something revealing an offensive amount of female skin, evidently a warning I didnt catch when reading the review in such a rush.

There's no doubt that the "Redbox Pressure Factor" or "RPF" is an unfortunate side effect of the whole Redbox Phenomenon. Guess I have to take the good with the bad...

1 week anniversary...

...of the best weekend of Liz's life:) (and a great one in mine I'd have to say).

Liz took mostly all the pictures so I'm sure she'll post the rest somewhere, but it was great to have her here. And GREAT show at the gorge with John Mayer.
Until October....

I pretty much love this guy...

While I wait until Liz sends me pictures to post from our trip, I thought I'd at least post this (unposed) picture she took. He's been doing this lately and as much as we should be telling him to get off the furniture, I find it the most adorable thing ever.

Ready for this...

minutes away from picking up this charmer... more to come next week i'm sure.

Stetson is a big kid

Guys, it's time to give back Stetson's crate. As you can see, he no longer fits in it. He's a big kid now.

The Reason for Seasonal Clothing

No, I did not draw this. Nor, did I have a cute niece or nephew draw it for me. I am a creep and stole a child's depiction of what seasonal wear is (a well done depiction I might add) to illustrate a point.

I have always struggled with what I'm about to tell you. Always.

I dress according to the weather. When I see it's going to be 90 degrees outside, I wear light clothing--perhaps a kind of sleeveless dress that you see above. Why? because it's hot outside.

Now conversely, when I hear it's going to be 30 degrees, I wear warmer clothing-perhaps a sweater dress that again, is so nicely pictured above. Why? because it's cold outside. And I would argue that most people do the same.

(You might be thinking this is all obvious, but it's bringing me to my point...) if we dress according to the weather, then why are we blasting air conditioning or heat? If I'm dressed for a hot day but the room I'm in is 68, then it defeats the purpose of my cute summer dress because I have to cover it up with that same cardigan that is worn all year long.

Listen America, if this is the way it's going to continue to go, then I propose that the stores just keep the same season of clothes all year long. Macy's, Forever, please no longer make cute silky dresses or tops. And J Crew and PacSun, also please avoid selling any wool cableknit sweaters or fuzzy lined hoodies. Lets all just wear thin cardigans all year long.

Either that, or please, please, let's just be reasonable with the temperatures at which we're setting our buildings. That way we can all continue to dress according to the seasons we all love.

(I'm tired of being uncomfortable)

thank you.

"Can we get this one?"

This, my friends, is what Adam was referring to when he called that out to me moments ago. I'm not sure if you can see well, but it's horse shoes welded together into patio furniture. Asking price? $200.

thanks, person on craigslist. While we can appreciate the hours put into this, we'll keep our two hundred dollars and look for clearance target specials.

Denver 2010

We went to Denver last weekend, from Friday to Wednesday, to visit Adam's family. (I apologize if the majority of the blogs you read are Ludwig blogs, because this will just be a repeat for you.) But we had a great time. It was so cool to see how much our nieces and nephew have grown up in the year since our last family vacation! We loved every sweet, sassy, toddler-esque thing they did. And it was great to see everyone else too! It's crazy to think that our family will have grown by 2 people (almost three) by the next time we see them.
Anyway, I posted a few of my pictures, and a few stolen ones from the family website, to show you a bit about our trip. For more, just look at Kirst, Jord, and Carla's blogs:)