BJ got me a “love” tree ornament, and I got us a “1st Christmas” ornament!!!  BJ got me a friggin gorgeous ass digital camera, little tiny and silver, with like 7 times more mega pixels than my old one that was like 10 years old, and I LOVE IT!!!!!  I got BJ a surround sound system for his frigging X-Box which he can also use for DVDs!!!  He loves it!!!!  We rock at gift giving!!!! 

I also got him some lottery tickets (he won $2), the Blake Lewis cd (awesome), and some gas and food and Game Stop gift cards, and my parents got us both WalMart gift cards.  BJ got me chocolate!!!  And a cute little statue of a girl hugging her dog, which is so me (I hug the crap out of my dog). And he got me a MEMORY STICK for the camera, he is so thoughtful!!!!  And a carrying case!!!!!!   Ahhhh!

I got to have Christmas at BJs parents and they INCLUDED me and gave me presents!!!  Can you believe how lucky I am???  I got a Vanilla bath set (little did they know that Vanilla is one of my favorite smells ever, along with Lilac), with soap and body wash. Me and BJ got an Olive Garden gift card!!!  They got me frames and printed out pictures for me!  They got toys for my dog and my cats!  Bluie loved his, see below. BJs family is so good to me!

On New Year’s Eve it was our 1 year anniversary.  We had a rough night at work and didn’t really celebrate other than just smooching at midnight at our Avenue gig.  I’m just so glad the company that booked us got the 10 piece so we could be together.

We went shopping at the mall (Oakwood mall, I remember it was a huge thing when it opened during my 4th grade year), and got an awesome game called Tri-Bond!!!  The game gives you three subjects and you have to find out what the common denominator between the three things is.  It’s addictingly fun!!!  We took it over to Tammy’s house to play with her and her husband Blake, and I got to meet Tammy’s daughter Hailey for the very first time!!!  I LOVED Hailey!!!!

I also got to meet my youngest nephew, Elliott, for the first time ever, who was 2, but I don’t have any pictures with him because he wasn’t quite as personable as Hailey.  I also got to see my first ever nephew for the 3rd time ever (I don’t get home much) who is nine now!!!

We got home from Wisconsin on Sunday the 4th. On Friday the 9th, me and BJ drove to Pittsburgh to see Stevie Wonder!!!!!  It was both our first times seeing him live and man did he rock!  He didn’t stop all night.  He even stood on a piano bench singing at one point, which I think made everyone more nervous than it made Mr. Wonder.

My Cutlass started acting funny right as we pulled into the parking lot.  After the show we got it started, but then when we stopped for gas right outside town the battery died.  We got a jump and got home fine.  I found out that the new alternator I had put on about a month earlier was bad…..AFTER I put on a new battery.  Oops. Note to self, check alternator before running out and buying a new battery.  Luckily the shop replaced the alternator for free.

The very next day, on the 10th, we went out to Dave N Busters for the first time with BJs cousin and his girlfriend!!!!  We had so much fun!!!  Little did we know, it would be the first of like 4 visits in the next 3 months!!!  I think we won about 1400 tickets that night.  Amateurs.

On the 15th and 16th I missed work due to a sinus infection. The first of two this winter   BJ was so sweet to me when I was sick.  I love him.

On the 22nd I got to have Thanksgiving at BJ’s parents house!!!!  I got to me his cousins and aunts and uncles.  We had yummy food and played Tri-Bond! 

On the 29th it was my b-day.  BJ got me the most beautifullest necklace (that I tipped him on to).  Hey baby, I just saw on the web site they have matching earrings and a ring!!!!!!!!  (www.evesaddiction.com “Tiffany Paloma Picasso Inspired Daisy” set hint hint.)  We went out to eat at Carraba’s!!!   Mmmm, dericious.

We were so busy I don’t even really have time for all the pics.  I guess it’s thumbnail time.

First of all, frigging RASPBERRIES!!!  OK, here’s a tip: only freeze your raspberries if you plan to cook with them.  Because you can’t eat them plain after they thaw. Pucker!!!
   
Secondly, the friggin Akron Zoo on the 3rd!!!  We got the kitty cats all wrilled up. Good thing the glass was strong because a couple of the kitties wanted me for lunch I think.

On the 6th we took our first train ride on the Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad!  BJ took this cute picture of him kissing me on the train! He loves me!

On the 12th, we went to the Factory of Terror in Canton. We screamed so much BJ lost his voice after!!!  I held on to his sleeve and we zoomed through their so fast, our adrenaline was up! We laughed and laughed, like we usually do.

On the 19th, BJ got to go down to the Belterra Casino to do a Rat Pack show!  He got to stay in his own room for a whole week!  I had a ghost bucket of candy sent to him in his room, then I went down there on the 25th, and there were flowers waiting for me!!! In a yellow vase, because I love yellow!!!  BJ is so thoughtful! BJs parents came down on Friday night and I sat with them at the awesome show. I got to sit on BJs side and see him all night!  He’s cute!

On Saturday the 27th I drove home and BJ did too, but then he turned around and went to Athens to play with Green Leif!  He’s crazy!  After that, they drove into the boonies and stayed at a friend’s cabin and hiked around on Sunday.

On Labor Day we went to the Geauga County Fair. I LOVED this because we got to pet SO MANY animals!!!  Of course, BJ took lots of pics. We petted horses, little teeny tiny horses, bunnies, donkeys, and piggies!  We ate fudge, and calzones, and I remembered to ask for marinara sauce to dip them in!!! County fairs rock.

On the 26th we saw Good Luck Chuck.

We got to play a few shows together this month with The Avenue-a wedding in Dayton, and one at the Renaissance which was pretty cool because the bride hired both us and a Greek band, and we traded off sets all night.

The week after he moved in, we went to Geauga Lake on the 15th. Again we did this on a Wednesday. Do it. We didn’t know at the time that Geauga Lake would close in just a few weeks, forever!!!  Luckily we got this shnifty keepsake to the left.

Aside from all that, BJ and I still managed to make a little time for us.  We saw two movies, Evan Almighty on the 10th (our 78th date in case you’ve been counting), and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry on the 27th.  Both movies ROCKED!!!  We love Kevin James!!!  And Steve Carell or however you spell it!!

Then we went around to all the experiments and man were they fun!!!  We need to go back there again earlier in the day, because we closed the place down and still wanted to play…they had to tell us to get out!

On the 13th we went to Cedar Point!!!  The best thing in the world is to go there on a Wednesday. Especially since I can’t handle all the rides that BJ can, so he got to run on to them with no long wait in line!!!

The just a few days later BJ was kind enough to join me at a concert for my favorite – Stephen Stills!!!  Our 65th date. My friends who work for Stephen were kind enough to get both BJ and I in and it was a great, great show.  BJ was surprised at how rockin’ and danceable the second set was.

Then just 3 days later we went to the Cleveland Zoo!!!  Can you believe our June?

Then on May 18th, we saw The Ex with Zack Braff and Jason Bateman (hehe).  We dug it, Zack is cool.

The best thing about May happened the next day - horseback riding for our 53rd date! We had a BLAST. It was hard to find a place to go trailriding in northeast Ohio, but found one on the east side.  I got to ride Heidi, and BJ rode Blaze. Blaze had a crush on Heidi.

After our ride, our guide said she was so happy we came out and she hoped we’d come back. She said she wasn’t looking forward to doing it that day because most people are first-timers and scared and nervous.  This was BJ’s first time and maybe the 5th time for Leigh.  Our guide said she could tell we weren’t scared at all.  My horse did a full-on jump over a falled tree trunk!!  It sprinkled a little but we were in the woods.  Then at the end of the ride we went through a gorgeous grassy field.  Here’s pics from the ride on the way to the stables:

The following Wednesday, we had to soak in more springtime and visited the Rockefeller Greenhouse (click to enlarge, you’ll be glad you did):

And then the following week we couldn’t believe that spring really was here and we just had to get some more!  Here we are at the Olmsted Falls:

And finally, here is the markings of a great man. He pets your cat even though he’s allergic to him:

On April 21st we had our first show together in The Avenue as a couple! A wedding at Signature of Solon. We got to play the next weekend as well, a corporate event at the InterContinental. Before the show, my parents came into town and met BJ for the first time. That was when BJ and I got to see the A Christmas Story house for the first time!

On April 30th, BJ came over for our 45th date with flowers and this card!!!  He got them for no reason, which is his favorite way to do it. They were my first flowers from BJ. He got me yellow ones because it’s my favorite color right now, and I missed the sun. Luckily we would get to see a lot of the sun in May……….
     

The very next day, BJ drove me to the airport so that I could meet my parents in Phoenix for a week.  It was really nice, while I was gone, to call BJ up every night and tell him about my day. Mom and I went to Vegas and I won $100 on a Wheel Of Fortune $1 slot.

On Monday the 19th, we went and saw Premonition with Sandra Bullock. Pretty good! Our 24th date.

That movie probably wasn’t as good, however, as the movie we saw on our 30th date – Blades of Glory!  This movie is all BJ, he loved it   Ooh, and this time we went to a new theatre! This date seems like yesterday, can’t believe it was almost a year ago now…

The next day, I drove down to Athens, Ohio with BJ to watch his band Green Leif play. I remember getting him water ALL night long. I remember feeling a little jealous afterwards when a girl came up to him and said her name was Leigh, and he didn’t even say “That’s my girlfriend’s name!” We stayed in a Super 8 I believe, and BJ fell asleep right away!  I was looking forward to the hotel room; that was a bummer. But man did he look hot on stage with his band