Trip to to Pittsburgh

FOR SOME REASON THIS SITE IS NOT ALLOWING ME TO MOVE THE PICTURES ONCE I HAVE ADDED THEM... I WILL TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT TOMORROW AND GET SOME PICTURES UP

This past weekend was my cousin Denae's bridal shower and my mom and I had planned on going up to attend, however we were unsure how we were going to get there. At first we entertained the idea of driving the 8 hours because tickets were so expensive, however Alisha found some pretty cheep last minute tickets and booked us 3. She was originally not going to go so she decided to keep it a secret and surprise everyone.

So off we went on the big jet in the sky. Preston did very well on the trip up there, he hardly cried and slept most of the way there. He even got his first pair of wings. So exciting!

Saturday was the actual shower so we rushed to get there as we hit unforeseen traffic coming thru the tunnel. We made it to Denunzio's in enough time for Alisha to make her grand entrance. The shower was being held on the enclosed porch and we were worried Grandma would see us walking in. Good thing she was sitting on the other side of the room because she never saw us and was SO excited she couldn't stop crying. She almost had me crying to see her so happy. Preston is the first grandchild on either side of our family and everyone has been dying to meet him.

The rest of the shower went great. There was about 50 plus people who joined us to celebrate Denae's up coming wedding. It was a sit down lunch and each table had their own cake. Everything was so yummy. While Denae opened her gift's we all played games for a chance to win one of 10 themed baskets or $5 gift cards to numerous places. It was a great time and Denae got so many good gifts to stock her kitchen and house in Tampa.

After the shower we went to my Grandmothers house to surprise my Grandfather. He was just as happy as my Grandma just without the tears. Seeing all the untouched snow in my Grandma's back yard, Alisha couldn't contain her self and quickly reformed back to a little kid. She got dressed in what looked liked the Maid of the Mist water proof suit's at Niagara Falls and headed out to play in the snow. She had a blast and I had a blast taking pictures.

After Alisha was done playing in the snow I headed to T-Mobile as my cell phone was not charging. Apparently one of the prongs was broken and it wasn't able to connect to the charger. (this is the SECOND time this has happened with my blackberry). I was available for an upgrade so instead of placing the insurance claim, paying the $100 deductible and waiting 3 days for the new phone, I decided to go ahead and purchase a new phone. I have been frustrated with the Blackberry since the day I got it and I decided to go with the T-Mobile Dash 3g. Before the Blackberry I had numerous Sidekicks and was always, ALWAYS, pleased with the phone. The new Dash is windows based but has a lot of the features the Blackberry does. Wish me luck.

That night we decided to go to my FAVORITE place for dinner, Jioio's. This is the best PIZZA hands down EVER! For some reason Alisha doesn't care for it, crazy child, but then again she doesn't really like pizza at all. The pizza was as good as I remembered but the service was not so good. But I guess that's what you get when you leave a bunch of teenagers to run the store.

That night I think we all passed out from exhaustion. Pdiddy slept 8 hours then fell back asleep for another 2 hours. GOOOOOOO PDIDDY! They even let me sleep till almost 1030am! It felt great. After we were all showered and dressed Alisha and I took my mom to meet a few of her friends for brunch and to show her Grandson off. I left Alisha there with them for a bit and went back to T-Mobile to ask a few questions about my phone. Once I picked Alisha up we headed over to my friend Tasha's house to visit her and her son Edward. He is getting so BIG and so adorable.

After visiting with her we headed back to my Grandparents so they could get some more time in with Preston. Angie stopped by and brought Preston a cute outfit before we all headed to Hoss's for a late lunch/early dinner. Hoss's is probably the only semi buffet I will actually eat at. There food is darn good!

After we all had our tummies full and said our good bye's we headed to the Pittsburgh airport to come back to Georgia. We thought we would have enough time to visit with Denae at the airport as we were on the same flight back to Atlanta, however the stupid plane decided to board early. Grrr what a mess, we got on and got our seats but still had to wait on the people that didn't know they were boarding early. At this point Preston had pooped and Alisha went to change him before we took off. Something either spooked him or the diaper cream irritated him because once he left the bathroom he cried and cried for at least 20 minutes. I know the people on the plane were cursing the fact that we were on their plane.

Once he settled down the rest of the ride went smooth until we arrived at the Atlanta Airport. Since we took off early and landed early our gate was not ready and we had to sit on the Tarmac for 20 or so minutes in the hot plane until they found us a gate. We were so happy to finally be off the plane, however that just meant I had to lug the 2 suite cases, diaper bag and purse thru the Atlanta Airport. I felt like a valet the whole weekend. Who knew you had to take so much stuff when traveling with a baby. I should say when traveling with Alisha and a Baby. Princes just carried the baby while mom and I struggled thru the airports, what a spoiled brat.

We had a great time on our short trip up north and I can't wait to do it all over again in April. Thank goodness this time we will have 2 men to help with all the luggage!

All you need is love...

Since the last time we updated we actually had a first in our relationship...

Our First Valentine’s Day (Yes we are that sappy)


So what did we do you ask? Well our wonderful weekend started with Snowmageddon in Atlanta. Yes that's right we got a whole 3 inches of snow in Metro Atlanta.



While we're happy for the mid Atlantic states being done with their snow, but when Atlanta freaks out about snow, it's the greatest of all time... Just saying...



That Friday turned in to a work from home day for me (oh yeah, this is a Lin post by the way), while Kara made her way down to work before the snow started. So much for spending the entire weekend together but we can still figure this out...

Saturday saw the final days of me cleaning my old apartment. I actually met up with Brent and Michelle to help Brent move his stuff down to their new place in the Midtown/SoNo/Va Highlands area (depending on where you are coming from to get there). It's a nice place and I look forward to visiting once they have the place officially set up. It appears to be in a great area.

Later in the afternoon I finally did meet up with Kara. We decided to go to Ted's as Kara was working her MOD shift. Bobby B. did decide to join us for the dinner. While at dinner a classic case of the difference between Lin and Kara came out.

Being the more "Laid Back" one (Yeah I said it Boo!... Love you) it appeared that the Meatloaf I ordered was going to be a little late. Bobby and Kara's steaks came out which was no big deal to me. Then our waitress came out and asked if I wanted to order something different. I don't know about you all, but that never seems to be a good sign when that happens. Jokingly I told our waitress that I still wanted my meatloaf but we could talk about a free dessert. Kara on the other hand I think was ready to start something with somebody. That's my Boo from the SoNo District. They Gangsta!

The thing to remember was I think they were having a bad night. The manager comped my whole meal. Can't beat that right?

Sunday... The official day. The day you've been waiting to hear about. We started off with Kara going to work in the morning. But not before giving me my gift. It appears somebody pays more attention to my Twitter Feed than I expected. I said a week or two before after walking the mall on my lunch breaks that I wanted a Kangol hat. This of course lead to her teasing me about one of those Fuzzy ones which I said No, I was thinking more of a Baseball Cap. Sure enough she got me one that was a plaid pattern which I thought was perfect!

The night before after bringing Bobby home, Kara didn't want to stop at her place. I did everything in my power to make sure that Kara went into her apartment to see the roses I hid there for her. She told me a horror story about having flowers delivered to a hotel so I figured not to risk it. The next morning I also delivered her card to the desk along with a CD I made for her. She claimed it was sweet. I made sure to throw a few songs in there that hopefully made her laugh as well.

Once Kara finished work it was time for the big celebration. What the day was all about...

We went to My Mom's to celebrate My Sister's Birthday!!! As you can see, this weekend was clearly not about us :-)

To be fair, My Sister Kristin's birthday is January 29th. Unfortunately we lost a close friend of the family 2 days before so Kristin spent her birthday at a Funeral. So we took this Sunday to have a few people over to celebrate my Sister's 33rd Birthday.

Kara did go back to the Hotel that night as there was more Snow in the forecast for that Monday. Of course, did it snow? No. Of course Tuesday Morning was a different story. But Anyway...

So now comes the big question... Lin... Where did you take Kara for Valentine's Day?

Answer... Back in Mid January I made reservations at this Restaurant called Veni Vidi Vici. This is a restaurant which is a part of the Buckhead Life Group in Atlanta which is known for really great food and atmosphere. I've been to the Atlanta Fish Market a few times for Family Events. I've been to Pricci, and to a few events catered by The Buckhead Diner as well. Being right in Midtown Atlanta, I figured that this would be a no brainer right???

Really? Has anything else on this post gone according to a typical plan? Don't get me wrong, the company was great, our service was great as well. The food was not as great as we hoped. Definitely a popular place, but both of us expected more. I don't think we'll be making reservations here again anytime soon, but I still believe in the Buckhead Life Group.

So that has been our past week. Kara is currently back home in Pittsburgh for Denae's Wedding Shower and visiting some Friends and Family. By now I hope the surprise is out that Alisha brought P. Diddy with her.

So I'm living the Bachelor Lifestyle again this weekend and as you can see it's off to a wild start.

I hope everybody is doing well, and we look forward to keeping you updated again soon.

Slumber Parties, Chicken Wings and FootBall Things

This weekend was supposed to be a lazy weekend for Lin and I but you know we can never seem to sit still!

Friday night I worked until 8pm as we had a large group of Cheerleaders check into the hotel for Cheersport. Once I got off of work I headed up to Cumming to join the girls for a birthday party/Slumber Party at Nicki's. Nicki, Kristin, Tracy and Kelly were all there when I arrived. We had a blast that night playing games, drinking Champagne and celebrating Nicki's Birthday.

Since Jeff was in Florida she had invited us to stay the night, however both Kelly and Kristen began to miss their beds (or men) and decided to head home late that night so we all decided to call it a night. I had such a blast, thank you Nicki for inviting me. All of you girls rock!

Saturday mom said she was going to make Ham Loaf for dinner and coaxed me in to staying for it. For those of you who don't know Ham Loaf is like a meat loaf only it is made with a mixture of Ham and Pork. You cook it like a meat loaf but then drizzle this mixture of Brown Sugar and Vinegar on in the end. So yummy I am almost drooling over here.

Lin had decided Friday he was just going to relax and play PlayStation in bed and he did just that. Saturday was supposed to be a lazy day for him as well however once he heard mention of Ham Loaf he decided to make his way up to Alisha's for Dinner as well.

I definitely got in my much needed Pdiddy time, I miss him so much when I am at home during the week. He seems to miss me a lot also seeing as he spits up on me every chance he gets. It's funny, when he is done eating and needs to burp Alisha gives him to Grandma and he burps, when Grandma hands him off to me he spits up on me. My shirt from Saturday night was not pretty.

Later on that evening Mike, Aubree and Kaitlin came over so Alisha and Aubree could make Super Bowl shirts for themselves and the babies. They did a wonderful job! The shirts came out so nice. Bobby even made his way over for a few beers before the guys decided to go "Pick up" wings. In our men's mind going to "Pick Up" food means order it, have a few beers, eat the food then come home an hour or so later. Needless to say they were in a bit of trouble. Shame on you Lin and Neil for dragging poor Mike and Bobby into your web.

Since the boys got back so late Lin and I decided to spend the night at the Natic's on Saturday and woke up Sunday morning with a craving for breakfast. Lin had suggested going to The Original Pancake House again but Neil had heard about this bagel dinner off of exit 12 called BB's Bagels. We all decide to head there to see what the hype was all about.

Once we got there Neil and Alisha realized they had been there before with some of Neils family. They were Uber excited because they had such wonderful food the last time they had been there. Let me tell you, they had every reason to be excited. The food was AMAZING and came with so much that you could barely eat half of your meal. They even had unique cream cheese; carrot cake, kit kat, chocolate sunday and yes those were all cream cheeses. Their home made corn beef hash was the best I have ever eaten. I totally suggest if you are up by exit 12 before 2pm you check the place out. You won't be disappointed.

After we ate Nicki stoped by on her way home from church so her and Lin could catch up a bit and for her to try the amazing food I had been texting her all morning about :) Once we were all stuffed Lin, my mom and I headed to Lin's mom's house to watch the football game while Alisha, Neil and Preston headed off to the Daily's Super Bowl Party. (Nicki had to get home because Jeff was coming home that night)

The rest of the night went well. My mom and I enjoyed catching up with Linda and Lin enjoyed watching the game. I think the team he was pulling for won? Who knows.. All I know is a made it through my FIRST Football season with Lin. WHOOOOO HOOOOO GO KARA!

Having a Little Fun....

I decided to have a little fun the other night....Isn't Preston so cute

Where in the World Are Kara and Lin?

Happy February Everybody! I (Lin) know that we have been major slackers in January. I also know that I was informed that the update needs to happen soon cause Kara decided to play the guilt trip card and pulled her Grandma in and saying that she loves my updates. (I already can't wait to meet her Grandparents in April when we go to Pittsburgh for the weekend. All Braves, Auburn, and Bears garb will stay at home that weekend (another story for another time))

So where have Kara and Lin been? Let's just recap January as a whole...

The Great Atlanta Snow of 2010: With Kara growing up in Pittsburgh and myself growing up outside of Boston. Snow has never really been a big deal due to the fact we got it all the time. Down here, it's a little different.

We got a whopping 2 inches of total snow fall (maybe after accumulation). Most of us growing up away from Georgia laugh at this, but things actually got dicey. Georgia does not prepare for things like this due to the fact that Snow and Roads icing over maybe happens once or twice a year. Here is a view from my deck of what used to be my apartment...

Medieval Times: The Saturday after the Snow Storm we made a trip to Medieval Times. This is something Kara and I have been wanting to do for awhile. So the two of us, got Bobby B, and Dana and drove up Lawerceville and meet up with Brent and Michelle who decided to join us as well. If you have never been, it is definately an experience. Not quite like the Cable Guy like I was hoping but it was still great.



We were sitting in the Blue Section so of course we cheered on the Blue Knight. The Green Knight was the sworn enemy but Kara had fun messing with the younger girl as we were right next to the Yellow Section. Overall the Equal Opportunity Knight (AKA The Black and White Knight) was the Winner. The Food was Excellent, so was the Entertainment and Company.



The Busiest Weekend Ever: The Weekend of the 15th was extremely busy for us. Originally we were going to go to Gatlinburg for Kara's birthday this weekend (I know her Birthday was back in December, but like I said... We were busy) We decided to save a little money and stick around in town. What a weekend though, My Car was probably thinking what the heck are you doing to me! Here is the rundown...

• Fun and Games with the NeSmiths: We ventured up to Cumming for another great evening in with the NeSmiths. Again they made an awesome dinner and there were more friends over. After Dinner we had a great game of Apples to Apples. If you have never played the game, it can get interesting depending on who you have playing. Poor Kara started showing signs of Fun Poisoning.
  
  
• Taco Mac: Before getting back to Neil and Alisha's we decided to stop at Taco Mac. This pushed poor Kara over the top. The great news is, I'm finally a Pledge in Brewmaster University. We got to celebrate this with Neil and Bobby C. Poor Kara wasn't in great shape though. It's ok Boo... I still love you.
  


• Cheesburger In Paradise: Because poor Kara was still feeling the effects of her "Fun Poisoning" I ventured down to Perimiter on Sunday to go to Cheesburger in Paradise with the Dorin Family. Little Patrick has been growing like a weed and he has become quite the flirt as he flexed his game on the waitress. Another great place if you haven't been. Pluse anything by Auburn's most famous Drop Out can't be beat right? Exactly!


• Happy Birthday Paul!: Now before dinner with the NeSmiths on Saturday we went to Rice to Celebrate "Little" Paul's 6th Birthday. After Cheeseburger in Paradise, I drove back up to Dawsonville to meet up with Kara and her Family to celebrate Little Paul's birthday. "Big" Paul (Kara's Dad) made his homemade pizza for the Celebration which can't be beat. Kara and I got him a remote controled Escalade. I did have fun searching for things in the Toy Department, and a few things that I thought about getting him however I knew some of the things would probably get me banned from the Raygor house. Maybe the Drum set will be next year.

Lin and his Hawks Games: The past two Friday Nights I have been to see the Atlanta Hawks play. Last Friday it was against the Charlotte Bobcats and this past weekend against my Hometown Boston Celtics. Both Games I've had excellent seats so I thank both Rolka and my Cousin Mark for the Tickets. The Hawks have a great team this season and have been improving the past few years. It's great that there are 2 teams in the city that are great. Now if the Braves can get back on Track this year and the Thrashers could be consistent, Atlanta could be an up and coming Sports Town.

Meanwhile in Kara's World: Kara spent the weekend up in Cumming last weekend with her sisters Danielle and Alisha and of course Neil and her Mom. She got to go Shopping and also got her dress for Denae's wedding. I won't post pictures now but she looks great in it. This past weekend she went to Gordon Biersch with Neil, Alisha, "P. Diddy", and Bobby C. I was almost a little jealous I missed out on that, however she brought more glasses home so it's almost like I was there.

At Least One Of Us Got To Relax: Kara said this weekend that she was just going to relax and didn't want to do much. It was good cause she needed a break. Me on the other hand, pretty much finished moving out of my apartment. I got a Van from U-Haul and my Friend Eric and got the stuff out of my apartment. Dropped off the Armoir I'll be using at my Mom's and brought the rest to storage. Eric and I had lunch and talked all things sports with Woodstock locals at Buffalos while Kara... Sat on the couch and watched Fox Reality TV. Once I returned everything and came back, Kara says "Let's go get the other 2 tires for my car" and we got to Discount Tire just in time cause the place got packed. This quick trip for tires turned into, lets get Kara's car serviced, run a few errands, and go play with Kristin's cat as well. I was beat so after all of this I told Kara she could make dinner as I was running all day.

Later that night we took in the moving Taking Woodstock. Seeing Dimitri Martin was in it, I thought it would be hilarious. Not really but if you are into the Music from that time and the story of Woodstock, I would reccomend it.

Yesterday I started unpacking my room as I've officially moved. I finally got to check out the Original Pancake House as well. I can't believe I haven't been there before. The place was awesome!

We finally wound up ending the day celebrating my Sisters 33rd Birthday with dinner at Aspen Steakhouse. I have joked with Kara that we have become aspiring foodies over the course of the month.

January has had it's ups and downs, while we had to watch Diddy suffer through some stomach issues and the passing of Ms. Wilma on my Family's side. We are still very confident that this year is bringing great things our way. (Well I am while Kara is going to keep complaining that things aren't happening fast enough)

I know I made the promise last time but I will stick to it that this will be updated more often.