As you have read over the time of our blog we have had quite a few friends move away from Pensacola in the past year. We still have some great friends here in town, but our weekend activities have slowed a bit over time. Now, with no kids or pets or weekend jobs you have probably wondered on numerous occassions what we do on these not-so-booked weekends, and I don’t blame you, it’s a great wonder to many. So today I thought I would give you a peek into what one of these weekends may look like.  I’m going to call it “A Weekend at the Ringls”.  Here we go…

Possibly Awesome Weekend, aka “A Weekend at the Ringls“

Each Saturday morning would start the same, with a hearty delicious breakfast of fresh french toast, topped with confectionary sugar and some fruit with whipped cream,  mhmm good ! Then, depending on the weather (and Stephen’s willingness to go) there may (or may not) be a nice walk involved.  If all goes as planned (or Cassie’s way) that big breakfast would be followed with a nice walk around the huge neighborhood we live in, which usually involves a lot of fun joking around and talking.  After that Stephen and I would have a vote on what to do next, we would either:
a) play some MarioKart on the Wii
b) watch 1-3 of the Lord of the Rings movies
c) go play some tennis, or
d) watch Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog, including the outtakes 

Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty hard call on which would be best. Of course there is the theory that we could fit most of those activities into 1 full Saturday, but that’s not the point here.
So, after “said chosen activitie(s)” it would be close to time for some dinner. This is another occassion in which voting would occur. We could choose to:
a) eat a sandwich
b) go to Cassie’s parents
c) go to Stephen’s parents, or
d) go to both Cassie’s parents AND Stephen’s parents!

You see there, almost all of those are GREAT options. The best option is usually the free, less clean-up option, so that could tilt the vote quite a bit, depending on who’s serving what ;)
Depending on what we do for dinner, added activities could be involved. For example, if we go to Stephen’s parents we would either play some Euker, which is a card game of 2 sets of partners, or we would play MarioKart, which usually involves dad and mom (Mark and Bobbie) beating us beyond belief and us leaving after a gruesome defeat.  Now, on the other side we would be at my parents and we would probably play some Uno-Attack or Balderdash. Uno Attack is always fun, and with Balderdash usually the most creative person wins.  Either way, both parents would have us going home with our bellys full of yummy grub. 

So that honestly about sums it up. That there is the possible unfolding of any relaxing and enjoyable Saturday with Stephen and I.  I hope you enjoyed the picture of what we could be doing on any given weekend.  Until next time, I will leave you with this Ringl-trivia question:
   Which of the 2 Ringl’s got trapped under their bed while avoiding a beautiful saturday walk?

Good Luck!

So I was online looking at my brother Matt’s latest YouTube video (he posts their puppy, Noel, doing tricks) and I decided to do a search. So I proceeded by entering the name “Ringl” in the search bar and found this golden piece of the past from a few summer’s back …  Enjoy!

Disclosure: Do not try repeating any of the following, and If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip the last 30 seconds of this video.

(You can see Stephen there in the red tee, friend Andrew to his right and then our friend Elise, the lucky girl that sampled the sauce before them) 
I hope that brightened your day just a bit, and if anything you learned what NOT to do if ever visiting a Zaxby’s.

In light of this awesome weather, I am going to post some pictures for those who are stuck indoors. Whether it be for work, boredom, napping, tv, video games or even eating – there is simply no reason to be insdie today (however, my excuse of being at work will stand)!
These are some pictures of events from Feb 09. Starting w/ Mardi Gras in New Orleans with our awesome friends Matt & Elise, having my parents over for dinner and cards, and so forth …
Enjoy!
 

 

 

 

 

There ya have it … February 2009 for the Ringl’s.
Now, for a brief glimpse of the awesome month of March (with even more to come next post): 
 

 

 

 

 

So I had a great birthday this year, with a Surprise party at La Hacienda (thanks dad)! For those of you who don’t know that is actually the same location where Stephen proposed to me after sneaking into town while living in Orlando. It is delicious, holds great memories and apparently, for some reason, I seem to never have my hair fixed when I go there – so henceforth, anytime LaHacienda is in the plan I will be doing my hair! Now go outside and enjoy the sun before it gets unbearabley hot ;-)

It has been a busy time here in Pensacola for Stephen and myself.  I am quite happy with the fact that it is now March and getting warm and sunny outside!  I just wish it was March year-round, with an occassional cold day to remind us why the sun is so glorious :)
Today during my lunch break I had to go to the bank, I mention this because It took all my strength to not continue my drive straight to the beach (which is less than 2 miles from where I work). The weather is wonderful today in Florida, which is actually rare in the ‘Sunshine State’. Personally I feel FL should be re-named to the “It rains everday at 10:00, 12:00 and 2:00 State”, however, I suppose that would not fit on a welcome sign as easily. Enjoy the 70 degree weather while you can my friends, the humid 95+ is right around the corner.

Now, onto the subject of March … March is a great month for many reasons.  First is the happy fact that Spring is upon us!  Second, for those in school, Spring Break is approaching – and no school is the best school! Third, it’s a month of super-cool birthdays!  Yes, it’s true, many many birthdays come this month of the year. We have my cousin April, on March 7th (Happy BDay April!), her soon-to-be-here son, happy ‘approaching’ birthday Bryce, my bro-in-law Jeff’s bday is March 18th (the big 21!!), my cousin in-law John is the BIG 3-0 on March 20th(!!),  John David (one of our pals that moved to Texas) has a bday on March 24th, and then there is me, Cassie, who will be celebrating my 25th birthday on March 13th.  It’s weird to think I will be 25, so instead of thinking on that I will sidetrack you and fill your mind with useless facts:

Wikipedia was kind enough to generate and store this random information for me that I would like to share.
Some of the memorable events of March 13th througout history: 
-Sadly, Robert Baker, Inventor of the chicken nugget, died on my 22nd birthday in 2006. I have many great chicken nugget/happy meal memories because of his contribution to this world!
-In 2008 gold hit an all-time high of $1,000 per ounce. This ‘historic’ event does not effect me, however, my wedding ring is made of gold and was purchased 3 months prior to this costly increase, so go Ringl for saving $$ with good timing on our engagement ;)
-Rachael Bella, was born on the same day and year as me. Apparently she is an actress and has been in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which motivated most of my high school hair styles), as well as being in the movie ‘The Ring’, which is less impressive to me because I don’t do horror! So, although I have no idea who you are, Happy 25th Birthday Rachael!
Now for something cool…
-In 1993 a blizzard hit the east coast and it snowed 6-10 inches in Pensacola (in March!) I actually remember when this happened. It was a great bday of snow, powdered doughnuts for bfast (in which I lost a tooth) and a sweet-awesome party at the skating rink!  Probably one of the best birthdays in human history!

So there you have it folks. Some random facts that you probably won’t remember, but don’t be surprised if you are craving chicken nuggets later on, I know I probably will!

For those of you who have been to our home, you probably have noticed, or possibly not noticed, that we are behind on the home decor/wall-art. Since we have only been married just over a year I feel that this is probably common, not having time to accumulate or decide on (agreed) wall decor yet. 
Now while we do have some wall occupying items; our diplomas, pictures of the wedding, a Harry Potter poster, and a very nice poster of Legolas from Lord of the Rings (I’ll let you guess who’s that was, lol), we don’t have anything on the artsy or classy side.
So, other than these ‘non-adultish’ items we are not really up and happening in the art scene.
This past Christmas season we were searching on one of our favorite webcomics, www.sheldoncomics.com, to find a lovely piece to hang in our guest room/office. This piece was soo perfect that we were pretty sad to see it sold before we could even decide to purchase it: (click on pic to make larger)

So, while I was thinking our search for art was going to produce themed or cultured pieces, all it has done is made me realize just how alike Stephen and I think. We enjoy humor, we love to laugh, and we feel that art should incorporate those similar qualities.
So there ya have it, if you are ever thinking of getting us a piece of art for the pure purpose that you love us to pieces, now you know what we like … laughter and apparently cartoons!

With this type of title for a post it would be normal that Stephen would be writing, however it is I, Cassie, the non-techy half of our marriage that is coming to you with information.

One thing I have noticed recently is just how impossible it is to stay on the top of the tehnology totem pole.  For Christmas I got Stephen a watch he wanted, more specifically this watch:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/9771/

 

 

 

 

 

This watch is at the top of the list of things Stephen likes to show off, which makes me proud as the successful gift-giver. However, as of 2009 this new quirky technology (I use quirky to avoid saying nerdy) has become obsolete in a matter of two months.  Here is why:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/b550/

 

 

 

 

 

While the watch I got Stephen was awesome with it’s 4GB USB Memory Storage hidden in the watchband, this new release has surpassed it with:
-8GB USB storage AND 
-a Mini video spy camera w/ built-in microphone

Yes, you read that correctly, a video camera w/ microphone hidden in a watch, available to anyone with the extra $99 to put towards a USB, Video Camera, AND Watch - all in one !!  You don’t have to be James Bond in a 007 flick to get your hands on this awesome spy-savy technology.  
Now while It saddens me that Stephen’s watch is now, so soon, not the coolest out there, I can’t help but think how cool it is that this thing is available to any and all to own.

Now while that info is pretty cool and you should be amazed that I know about it, this is much cooler:
we’re thinking about traning our fish ‘Fish’ … I mean we could probably sell tickets this is so cool

To start I’ll say that this has been a very busy couple months, hence the delayed post.  I have, however, gone ahead and posted some pictures for viewing, so that should make up for it a wee bit :)

Stephen and I went on a weekend road trip recently, which was awesome.
Recently Stephen’s 2 best friends packed up and moved to Houston, so we decided to pack up and go take a visit before life got crazy again. On the trip we stopped off in New Orleans to visit our friends Matt and Elise, which was a blast!  We ate some delish Solomon-cooking and played some awesome fun mexican train dominoes. We are going to see them again in February and I can’t wait! Here’s a preview of some Ringl-Solomon time:  
 

       mexican train

       that was good coffee!

       Ringls & Solomons

So I’m sure you can see just how much fun we had and wish you could hang out with all of  us just from those previews :)  Give us a call, or shoot us an email, we’d love to hang!
Now for a brief show of  our trip to Houston. Well actually before I post those I’ll let you guys know that from Pensacola to Houston it is just over an 8-hour car ride. However, gas prices are decent right now so if you are thinking about taking a trip you should do it! So, Houston … I will start by letting you know that driving through Louisiana is loooong and oddly marshy, which I did not know before this trip. Houston, Houstin is Big. You know the phrase ‘Everything is bigger in Texas’? Well it proved itself true to me! The whole place is just enormous! We went to an IKEA store and it took us 2 hours to work our way out of there, apparently 25,000 people visit it each week – that one store alone! They did have some cool furniture, but I did make it a goal to never step foot in there again (online purchasing please). We ate some hearty tex-mex, which supplied some delicious fajitas for lunch AND dinner that night. Sunday we enjoyed some texas bbq, after all, that’s what texas is all about! We had a real good trip and a lot of fun driving through 4 states twice in less than 48 hours!  Here’s a preview of some JD/Shaw hangout time:

  Welcome to Texas

       Breakfast in Texas

  ringl, cas, shaw, jd

 

So now you are caught up, just briefly, on what has been going on with the ringls. There is a fun story, that I will let Stephen post about, mainly because he was a big part of the intricate details of an oh-so-fun surprise party. Hopefully that will be up soon!  I would like to note that our internet is off, so our posts will be coming from house-hopping and internet borrowing. I hope this post will sufice until Stephen can come on and add some fun add’ins of his own.
Drop us a comment, let us know if there’s anything we should be trying out: restauraunts, movies, books, music … we like to try new things!

-Cassie

Tonight as I was driving home from my parents I saw a house with chasing christmas lights and it made me think about how quick Christmas passes.  Just last week I was finishing up our last bit of wrapping and finalizing plans on whose house we were going to when, and now it’s all done and over. It always feels like a blink of an eye when the next week has rolled around and, as everyone always said, each year seems to go by quicker than ever. It’s crazy to see just how time flies … 

Alright, enough with the adult-look of how things have come to be, Christmas was totally awesome this year! It was my first Christmas with Stephen and I being married, waking up in our own place and all that. While It was crazy going from his parents to mine then back to his and back to mine again, it was still absolutely great!
We started the morning at our place, we broke my usual order and did the stocking first :)  We then swapped presents and had a grand fun time seeing what we hid from eachother over the past few months.  I love how much fun it is to see other people open presents, I really put a lot of thought into gifts, so seeing that they like what I choose is the best part! We went to my in-laws first and had the Ringl-famous Christmas breakfast casserole, followed by table-side laughter and gift swapping. A bit later we got to my parents and started the Wells 1-present-at-a-time Christmas tradition. Mom made her famous pigs-in-a-blanket and we had a ton of fun opening gifts in order from youngest to eldest. Matt and Helena were in St. Augustine and we were looking forward to hearing about Helena’s reaction when Matt surprised her with a christmas surprise, a puppy. My suspicions were right on target that she was ecstatic and very very pleased with his decision.
After a quick nap on the couch (a christmas tradition I am always in favor of) we ate some dinner, played 32-Races on MarioKart  with Mom and Dad Ringl, tested out Samba de Amigo with Jason, which was funny to watch, played our Traditional game of Christmas-Charades and then went back to our place where I soon after passed out in bed exhausted.

So there ya have it, our first married Christmas has come and gone, and I am counting down the next 360 days until the next one :)    I’m very fortunate to have a few days off this week. I actually caught up on laundry, gave the family dog Angel a bath, and soon enough updated our website for all of you! 
Below are a few ‘previews’ of our Christmas-Day fun … check out the pictures page for more 

So the year of 2008 has been pretty awesome. Busy, yes. Exhausting, too many times to count. Worth it, without a doubt.  You may be asking yourself “Why was 2008 so awesome and busy Cassie?”  Well that is a great question, let me make a brief list of happenings/accomplishments from 2008 (thus far):

-Bro moved
-Stephen moved
-Got married
-Classes in the Spring
-Moved into our townhouse
-Job search
-papers, homework, tests, papers
-Became a substitute teacher (that was an experience)
-Classes in the summer
-Work, Work, School, Work
-Dad, Bro, Sis-in-law, Mom-R, Dad-R, Stephen, Mom Birthdays back to back
-School, more school, have I mentioned I don’t like school … ??
-Sister’s wedding/reception
-Attended 6 weddings for the year
-Got my mini from Stephen for Graduation (what I call my laptop)
-Thanksgiving trip to St. Augustine
-Term Papers Due Dec 2nd
-Finals
-College Graduation
-Christmas Shopping, still in progress
-Rock Band (currently in progress)

so there you have it, the year of 2008 for Cassie Ringl, so far (sorry if I left something out).

So I bring this up for a few reasons, but one very main reason. Today I graduated with my Bachelors from college. A great and long-awaited accomplishment that I doubted would ever happen on many occasions. This morning we rushed to the Civic Center so I could wait in line with a lot of strangers to walk across the stage, receive a diploma book, shake some stranger’s hand and of course my favorite part of the day: hear my name pronounced incorrectly for the 738,000 time of my life. Yea, I don’t know why it’s so hard to tell the difference between Cassie and Casey, but for almost everyone in this world it is. So ya, Casey Ringl graduated today, congratulations to him/her!

I posted some pictures so take a look if you have a minute or two.  Enjoy! Oh, and happy shopping, only 11 days left til Christmas!!