So long to a loved one

Oh my goodness.

Sad day in the Ruby household.

We just said goodbye to a loved one whom is very near and dear to our hearts.

The Prius.

It seriously came out of nowhere.

A few days ago, Mr. Ruby informed me that he was thinking of trading in his prized possession for another. I just about fell right off the couch (and of course didn't believe him).

Now, for those of you who do not know my sweet husband, this was earth-shattering news. The Prius had kinda, sorta become his identity. We all teased him relentlessly when he first bought the Prius. It looked like a spaceship, had a little "nub" for a stick shift , and didn't make a sound when you turned it on. I think he may have been 1 of 3 people in the whole state of Rhode Island who drove a Prius. But that thing was his pride and joy.

So, needless to say, when we were chatting the other evening about potentially selling the Prius, I figured it was just a random thought and he would move on.

But then I got a phone call. Just a few minutes ago.

"I did it. No more Prius," said this little sullen voice on the other end. :(

I can't believe he actually went through with it.

Apparently, the Prius is such a highly sought after car because of gas prices, that they basically gave us what we paid for it brand new 2 years ago. He traded it in for another solid, reliable car, and we were able to pay off our other loan. This means no more car payments!!!

But man, oh man. Sad day. I hope the next owner fully appreciates the sweet little Pri-Pri.

She's gonna be missed.

Happy day, just 2 short years ago.

WILW - Home Edition

Man, oh man. There sure was a lot of dust collecting on this sweet little ol' blog of mine. I apologize for my lack of blogging/reading/commenting the past couple of weeks. I think I have over 1,000 posts piling up in my Google Reader. Sheesh. But, between being a new homeowner, applying for jobs like whoa, and finishing up school, there hasn't been a whole lot of time. Excuses, excuses. I know.

So...I thought I'd join in on WILW with Jamie this week - Home Edition!

There is SO much I'm loving about being a new HOMEOWNER!!!

1). I'm LOVING that it's my spring break so I can actually work on little home projects.

2). I'm LOVING that this is an exciting new phase in our lives. Our little home may have its imperfections, but it is ours!

3). I'm LOVING my sweet husband who is quickly becoming a cute Mr.-Fix-It.

4). I'm LOVING painting! Although, I have to say, painting textured walls is quite tedious - and my back and arms are killing me. And yes, that is 5 paint samples on our wall (7 total if you count the 2 shades of white). I'm indecisive. Sue me.

5). I'm LOVING our little cottage dining room table. So perfect. So us.

6). I'm LOVING our fit-everything-perfectly closet. Ok, so Mr. Ruby offered to give me the whole closet. I insisted that we share and he insisted I have the whole thing. I took the offer. He decided to take the Pepto-Bismol room closet. What a sweetheart.

7). I'm LOVING that I have a little helper. Today, he decided to try to help me paint. I died laughing when I walked into the living room and this is what I saw:

We've all been quite exhausted with this new home business. I often find this in the middle of our floor:

What are YOU loving this Wednesday?!?!

P.S. I promise to update with house photos soon!!! ;)

And now it's Friday

Holy Good Gracious.

Where did the time go this week?

It has been quite busy and quite exciting.

WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE on Monday. Woo-hoo!

And we've been spending every night this week deep-cleaning after work. And on this beautiful 70 degree Friday evening, we're going to be cleaning some more. Then tomorrow, we move in!!!!

I figured I'd give you a little update since it's been a few days. Promise to give more details soon!!!

For now, I'll leave you with some pics from my exciting weekend last week. It was my dear friend Julie's bachelorette party. I got to see some of my sweet sorority sisters, and it was so amazing to catch up after several years. LOVE being back in Kansas so that I no longer have to miss out on these precious life events!!! :)

Congratulations to the soon-to-be-beaming-bride!

Happy FRIDAY, Lovelies!

Guess what today is?

I'll give you two hints:

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And

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Details soon to come...

Major Musts

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Oh my goodness.

I'm in the greatest mood.

It's 70 degrees outside. I have the day off. It's date night tonight. And I'm heading to see some of my very favorite girlies for a bachelorette party tomorrow night!

AND I have two strong recommendations for you all on this beautiful Friday.

1). Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.

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Ok, I know I'm usually super late to hop on the popular books band wagon (e.g. Twilight, Catching Fire, Water for Elephants etc.), but I did read Something Borrowed and Something Blue over a year ago. And I just read Baby Proof. Stayed up until midnight earlier this week to finish. Really good. I definitely recommend for light, easy read. And I say "light", but I did shed a few tears. Can't help it. I'm a sucker in most books.

2). The Adjustment Bureau.

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Oh my goodness. I haven't seen a movie worth the price tag of 10-bucks-a-pop in a long time. Long time. But holy moly, this was a good one. So good that I dreamt about it and thought about it for a few days afterwards. Highly suggest. And who doesn't love some Matt Damon eye candy?!?! ;)

Hope everyone has a fab weekend!!!

WIWL - Date Night Special

Man-oh-man. Do I sure heart Wednesdays! Not only is it hump day, but it's technically like a Thursday for me because I have Friday off. AND it's time for a WILW post with the oh-so-adorable Jamie.

But I thought I'd focus this particular WILW around date night with my favorite hubby. ;) It is SO easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of pursuing a masters, starting a new career, moving across the country, buying a house, and everything else that life throws at us. So, it's incredibly important to make time for just the TWO of us. No matter what else is going on around us.

What I'm loving - Date Night Version:

1). I'm LOVING some quality time alone with Mr. Ruby.

2). I'm LOVING that we can enjoy an adult beverage AND dinner during a movie.

3). I'm LOVING that we can walk across the street after a movie and hit up a local restaurant for a beer and DESSERT.

4). I'm LOVING the new frozen yogurt joint near my parents' house. Perfect place for random Thursday date night.

5). I'm LOVING the red velvet cake flavor (with Oreos of course).

6). I'm LOVING that the new fro yo place reminds me of our time spent in California. (The fro yo is not nearly as good here as it is there...but it's a step in the right direction, Kansas.)

What are you loving on this lovely Wednesday?!?!? :)

Memoir Monday

Ohmigoodnness.

It was one of those weekends where I will be playing catch up all.week.long.

I'm exhausted. And it's only Monday. ;)

We had the MOST needed date night on Friday, celebrated a dear friend's birthday on Saturday, and stayed in our pajamas until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Perfection.

I haven't spent a weekend like that since college.

For now, I'm just going to share our fun Saturday birthday celebration!

Birthday Girl.

Martha Stewart. No, not the birthday girl. Her husband. He's always baking for us.

Lumberjacks. We didn't mean to match, I swear!

"Sit." Yes, that is my husband. Sitting on a dog bed.

Fab Foursome. Reunited.

Nothing but class. It's not a party unless you're sitting in camping chairs.

Friends. Since fourth grade. When we wore Keds.

Caught in the act. My husband having a dance off...with himself.

A real dance off. If you haven't played the Michael Jackson Wii game, you are missing out. This was one of the highlights of my life. We stayed up until 3 am dancing the night away. (Watch Mr. Ruby on the left...hilarious).

Feel free to join in and play along...I'd love to hear about your weekend recap.

P.S. Hello to all of my new bloggy friends. So nice to meet you! ;)

Thursday Thoughts

My scattered thoughts tend to run rampant and blow through like a hurricane, leaving a giant pile of debris to deal with.

Seriously.

It's funny because when I first began student-teaching, I teased my host teacher for her inability to finish her sentences and her unbelievable ability to hit on 17 topics in one sentence and one breath.

And now, I have turned into a topic-jumper as well. There is just so much going on and so many things to think about as a teacher. It is quite amazing, really.

So, I figured I'd share with you my endless stream-of-consciousness.

1). I cannot believe I've been student-teaching for 9 weeks now.

2). I REALLY can't believe we have been away from Rhode Island and living in Kansas for almost 3 months. Giant sad face.

3). Allergies suck. Especially in Kansas. I was warned, but I had no idea it would be this bad. I've had a sore throat for over 3 weeks. And I've been taking Mucinex D like it's candy.

4). So...I still haven't gotten the hang of the Neti Pot. I keep choking. And my sinuses are still not clear.

5). How do you fellow teachers NOT lose your voice? I lose mine at least once a week.

6). If I was on a deserted island and could only bring one food, I think it would be refried beans. I. love. beans.

7). Speaking of beans, our local grocery store has the most amazing generic Jelly Belly. I love every single flavor...except root beer.

8). Oh my goodness, what if I don't find a job? God is in control, right?

9). Mr. Ruby was making fun of me all night last night for not being technologically savvy. Just because I don't download a lot of apps on my iphone and never download music. I'm now determined to prove him wrong.

10). Mr. Ruby and I are going on a much-needed date tomorrow night. Just the two of us. Yes, even after the occurrence in #9.

11). Dairy Queen now has a "mini blizzard". I'm not sure if anything could make me happier.

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Scenes from a lovely road trip

I find it quite amusing that our idea of a road trip has changed immensely over the past few months.

We've gone from hopping in the car and zipping up to Boston, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York City (you get the idea) to driving through the never-ending-flat plains to get to Kansas City or Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Talk about a scenery change.

Nevertheless, we had quite the little road trip to Tulsa this past Saturday. We headed down to see one of my sorority sisters...a dear friend whose wedding I will be a bridesmaid in this June.

There is nothing I love more than to pick up right where you left off with a lifelong friend. I hadn't seen this particular friend in over a year and a half. But it felt like I just saw her. And everything was the same as it always has been.

Good times.

Enjoy scenes from a fantastic reunion/fun little city/much-anticipated-meeting-of-the-fiance.

P.S. We got to do three of my most favorite things of all time: 1). Find a local coffee shop. 2). Eat at a Mexican restaurant. 3). Play board games until 2:30 a.m.