Relocation

Hello all!

I am starting fresh. Please follow my new Blog - BrownE Chat http://brownechat.blogspot.com

-Erin

Weddings, Weddings, and more Weddings!

You know it’s bad when someone calls you out on not keeping up with your blog…but lately I’ve been so busy at work that I haven’t even had ten minutes to think about blogging..and when I get home, I don’t even turn on the computer!

That being said, today I’m way too distracted to be accomplishing anything productive. It seems like my wedding is a constant thought running thru my head. There is so much I’ve done, and even more I have left to do. I think all of the major things are taken care of, but now it’s the little things that are keeping me awake at night.

Today, I especially have wedding on my thoughts. My co-worker, Shelly, is getting married tomorrow. I’m so excited for her! I’ve been watching her plan, plan, and more plan…and it’s just so exciting that her big day is finally arriving! As I watched her during the days leading up to her wedding, I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous; I want my day to be here, NOW! Clearly I’m not ready, tho!

Today is also especially wedding’ish’ b/c Kate and William got married today. After watching some of the Royal Wedding, I have to admit my hopes to out do Kate were extinguished. I mean really, I don’t think I can compete with 2 billion people watching…regardless, I am marrying my Prince Charming, and that’s all that matters. Watching the Royal Wedding on TV has really gotten me excited tho. Just seeing the raw emotion of Kate and William brought butterflies to my stomach; I can’t wait to be in that moment!

Hallmark Holiday… So What?

My last blog post was slightly dismal… and although there are very real reasons I was sad and gloomy, perhaps it’s time for a more light and fluffy post…and what day is more perfect for light and fluffy, than Valentines Day?

Ok, sure. Valentines Day is by far the most Hallmark holiday in existence. And yes, you should be sweet and nice to your significant other all year long. But really, is there any harm in celebrating the person you love just a little extra, one day a year? Personally, I don’t want to go out to dinner tonight and I don’t need an expensive gift, but you won’t hear me complaining about being pampered a little extra today!

To be honest, I have my own theory about Valentines Day. Did you ever notice that Valentines Day falls right in between Christmas holidays, and spring? Maybe Valentines Day is a Hallmark holiday, but if you ask me, Hallmark hit the nail on the head when they strategically plotted Valentines Day right in the middle of dreary winter season. It’s always this time of year when I find myself really starting to get ‘seasonal depression’. Now I haven’t actually been diagnosed with any problem, but all I know is come February, all I want to do is sleep. In fact, I’m not really even interested in venturing out of the house…I don’t even feel like wedding planning (& now is a bad time to get the wedding-planning blues!!)

But here I am today, in a great mood and it’s the middle of February. Maybe it’s because it was unseasonably “warm” this weekend or b/c I got a ridiculous amount of sleep on Friday and Saturday nights. But really, I think I owe a special thank you to Hallmark, for making me in a great mood on this Valentines Day, which just happens to fall on a cold Monday this year.

Not so Invincible

It’s funny how things in life can creep up on you. You know how your mom always said “you’re not invincible!” (at least my mom always said that!)… somehow, I never really believed her. Sure, I thought I believed her. I honestly thought I was being careful. I always thought that I was taking enough precautions in my life. I studied hard, played harder, and thought “I’m a good person, so I’m good to go.”

Now I’m not all about spreading other peoples business, so I won’t go into detail… but recently I had two big eye openers. Two of my very close girlfriends are going thru life changing events, very different types of situations, one good & one bad, but life-changing none the less, and it has really made me think about my life, and what I would do in their situations.

To be honest, if I were in either of their situations, I don’t know what I would do. I guess I would pull myself together, and move on, or prepare (if you will)…but there are so many what-if’s. Maybe instead of thinking about what I would do, I ought to be more concerned with appreciating everything I have in my life, and simply be there for my friends when they need me.

This has been a very vague entry, and I apologize..but really my point is that sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day routines of life, and forget about what really matters. Matt has never missed a day of work in his life (other than when he had emergency surgery) me on the other hand, I love my free time and take advantage of it. Now don’t get me wrong, Matt has plenty of leisure time, and he is great at balancing personal life and work life… but a very smart man, probably the most influential man in my life, keeps telling me “there isn’t one person in this world, that on his death bed said, “ I should have spent more time at the office”” Again, it’s not about having poor work ethic ( I like to think I’m a great asset to my employer!) but it’s about realizing what’s really important in your life, and not letting that slip away. Trust me, you always have 5 minutes to make a phone call – tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone and bad things really do happen to good people.

Change...is a good thing?

So first of all, I’m sorry for never blogging… I feel like I’m that horrible person in a relationship, you know, the one who is always sorry and constantly making excuses? That being said (this time, I promise..for real!) I am going to really spend some time keeping up with my blog this year. In fact, I’ve made it a 2011 resolution to actually work on it…hopefully it works out better than my 2010 resolution to lose 15lbs…

Anyhow, I really thought 2010 was my year of change. I officially left Northern MD and bought a house in Calvert County, I spent a full year working for at the American Diabetes Association, and oh yeah, I got engaged! Lots of big things happened for me in 2010, but here we are, starting a new year and already there are lots of big things happening for me in 2011!

First, and most importantly (according to Matt..) my commute to work is about to be cut by about 60%! Woo hooo! Unfortunately, that means I’m leaving ADA. Although working for the American Diabetes Association has been a great learning experience, I think it is time that I found a position a little closer to home, and that is a little more marketing focused. So, I recently accepted a position with Community Bank of Tri-County as a Marketing Specialist. I start the new job next week, and I am super excited to start this next endeavor in my life. It’s funny, but the number one question people are asking me is…what are you going to do with all that free time?! Even though getting up early is pretty much horrible, I’m fairly sure I’m going to try and keep my early bird schedule, that way I will be home in plenty of time to take advantage of the evening hours. Maybe I’ll even join a gym…ha let’s be honest, probably not! But really, I’m excited to cut the commute and actually be pleasant at the end of the day (I’m sure Matt won’t mind either!)

Second big change of 2011…this is my last year being Erin Sell…come September, I will join the ranks of the Brown family! I’m very excited about the wedding (and there is a ton of planning left to do) but I’m sure by the time it gets here, everything will fall into place, and my day will be as wonderful as the man I’m sharing it with!

Going to the Chapel and We’re….Gonna get married!

Although I’m terrible at blogging, I think by this point it’s common knowledge that Matt and I are getting married!!

On August 25, 2010 (also Christines birthday!) Matt took me up to his grandparents cabin, where he asked me to marry him. I’ve told the story about 200 times, but every time I make sure and end it with “it was absolutely perfect, and the entire thing fit Matt’s personality, I wouldn’t have had it any other way” – basically because to someone else, the proposal on the front porch might not have been quite how they imagined… but if you know Matt, you know he loves being outside, four wheeling, camo hats, and basically loves just enjoying the small things in life – which is exactly how it went, nothing fancy (although the ring, is absolutely breathtaking!), but simple and quaint, exactly how our life together is, perfect – for us.

Since then, all bets are off. I have been in full wedding planning mode. I immediately booked our venue for the reception and ceremony for September 3, 2011. It will be outdoors, in St. Mary’s County, on the water. I am absolutely I love with the site! I have also decided on a dress. After trying on lots of dresses, I found one that really gave me the “this is the one” feeling. Although I didn’t really expect to have that feeling, I knew the dress was it the moment I put it on. Won’t elaborate too much tho – if you want to know more, just ask! I also decided on our wedding party, colors, food, etc. If you ask Matt, I’ve slightly turned into a bridezilla. Thankfully I have a wonderful family, great friends, and an amazing finance (ahhh finally getting used to that word!) to keep me from getting out of control.

All in all, its been a busy couple of months- but basically I’m the luckiest girl in the world, and I can’t wait to be Mrs. Brown!

Life in Calvert County

First, let me apologize for my lack of blogging. The past few months have been crazy with moving and such, but now that I’m firmly settled into what I will be calling “home” from this point forward – I guess I need to step up my game, at least with keeping up on my blog.

Life in Calvert County is nice. It’s quiet and it’s a bit slow; what I would call a happy medium between St. Mary’s 7th District, and Baltimore Cities Federal Hill. All in all, I am loving the new house, loving living with Matt, and moreover absolutely in love with the natural beauties that are found right in my back yard. (not literally, but close enough!)

Now let me preface my next statement with – I love working at ADA. But (yes, there is always a but) sometimes things can get a bit overwhelming, and after what I would call – being on the verge of a freak out- Wednesday, I decided it was a good idea to take a personal day. So I came home Wednesday night very chipper that I could sleep past 5:45am on a weekday, woohoo!

Wednesday night Matt and I went in search of a public beach near our house. I have been aimlessly driving around for weeks, with little to no luck in finding any sort of “public” recreational area for lounging. Surrounded by water…literally we are nestled right between the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay, it would be logical that a public beachy area would be easy to find. Not so much. After another failed attempt at searching for the beach, I was slightly disheartened. Non the less, after a great night sleep, we headed out again to search for the sand.

After finding 2 other small beaches, Matt, Ginger and I stumbled across Flag Pond Park. We had to pay to get into the park, and then walk to the beach…but after so many failures, we figured, hey what’s one more walk? After a leisurely walk for about ¾ of a mile we came to the clearing on the beach, and WOW was about all I could say. The beach I have so anxiously awaiting to find, has finally revealed itself.






I can’t take credit for these photos, however this is exactly what I saw when I came through the clearing. It was most certainly worth the wait. In fact, we almost immediately went home and got our swim suites, and the three of us spent the day lounging on the beach. (Ginger was a little confused & didn’t love that we tried to make her swim – maybe next time she will be a little more brave when it comes to the water)

Anyone who knows me knows I love the beach. And somehow, I think Calvert County just won my heart.