Strickler's Happily Ever After

I said earlier that Woman's best friend is her dog, which in my case is Brinkley. Well I still believe that is true, but I would like to say a few words about my personal best friend, my husband. I began thinking of words to describe him when I was reading the OGT test at school today. The OGT is the Ohio Graduation Test for those of you who are unsure, and it is given to high school students before graduation. The reason this reminded me of Ryan is because we actually started dating in high school, and have been together ever since. I knew once Ryan and I started dating that our relationship would long term, and I couldn't have asked for a better guy to share the last 8 years of my life with. Ryan has been there for me through many so many things I don't know where to start thanking him. I am going to make a list to help me explain how wonderful Ryan is and how much he means to me so I can share it with the world how lucky I really am!

Thank you for being there for me during:

• High School
• College
• Sports
• Music
• numerous jobs- good and bad!
• thin and most recently extra thick times!
• short hair and long hair, curly and straight
• sickness and health
• deaths and births
• emotional up's and down's
• and everything else I can possibly think of now and in the future!

I love you Ryan!

Some say a dog is "man's best friend", well I believe the statement should be "woman's best friend". My dog Brinkley is a two year old "designer/mutt" with tons of personality and a heart as good as gold. Brinkley knows when I am sad, and tries to comfort me, gets excited when I am excited, sleeps when I sleep, is my exercise buddy-outside, alerts me of danger, is sad when I leave, and Overexcited when I return. She never seems to be disappointed in me no matter how "stupid, or jerky" I act. If people in this world would learn from her or other dogs like her, the world could be a better place, rather than a "dog-eat-dog" world! It could be a "dog-sweet-dog" world! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Brinkley showing off her infectious personality!

Just this last weekend, My husband Ryan, mother-in-law Debby, and cousin Sarah, went to visit Deena (my sister-in-law, his sister) and her husband Ryan in Mississippi. They visited some scenic places around the Starkville area and had a great time. Though I stayed home because I had to work, I had my own visitors. I had our cousins Jacey and Danielle stay with me, as well as my mother-in-law's dog-Gracie. We had a great time here at home, though we wished we could have been visiting Ryan and Deena in Mississippi too. Here are some pictures of the trip. Check out the colored houses, they called them the Skittle houses, (I bet you can see why! They are so cool!) I hope to make it down to Mississippi some day soon, but for now, I will enjoy the pictures with everyone else and use my imagination! Enjoy!
The group picture is Ryan B. , Sarah, Deena B., and Debby) For those of you who are not so sure!

I was looking through some pictures tonight and I found some of my favorite pictures of Ryan and I as we dated and became engaged. There is one prom picture from our senior year, our graduation from high school, Ryan's cousin's wedding, and a picture of vacation in 2004. We have changed somewhat in our looks, but as you can tell, we have only gotten closer and more in love! ( cheesy I know!) but so true! I hope you enjoy them!

For those who don't know me much, or at all, I thought I would share some information about myself and some recent pictures of me and my family/friends. As for me, I am a teacher at Van Wert High School and I love my job. I really enjoy helping the students I work with and all of their unique and fun personalities! I also work with a great group of people. Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my husband, dog, family and friends, watching Cincinnati reds baseball, scrapbooking, acting and singing, and relaxing! I also love my new hobby of Blogging! Here are some of the most recent pictures of me and my family/friends, I will add more as I can, I hope you enjoy!

This weekend, My husband and I helped with a Benefit for a woman who has Breast Cancer for the 4th time. This woman has 2 children and is only in her early 40's, but has had a rough go with her cancer diagnosis. Saturday we had Benefit Brenda Day which included activities such as; Co-ed Softball, Wiffleball for kids 15 and under and then a group for high school, food all day including a barbecue at night, an auction, a Texas Hold-Em tournament, and a dance with a D.J. in the evening. This was a fun and very benefiting day. Brenda was unable to join in the festivities due to her current status, but all thoughts were with her for the entire day. Here are some pictures of the day.















More Pictures will come later!

Here they are! The wonderful, (well most of the time), dogs/children I talk about all the time! I love my dog Brinkley and her sister Gracie! Here is a little bit about them!

Brinkley- named after Tom Hank's dog in the movie "You've Got Mail", is a brown, blonde, red, white, furry bundle of fun! Brinkley is a mix breed dog, or as they now call them "a designer dog!" who is probably a mix between a Lab, Newfoundland, and some Terrier. She is quite the mix, but has a great personality- laidback, happy, and somewhat over emotional! Brinkley does not like to get in trouble and when yelled at, will put here tail between her legs, head down, and hold a grudge for a while. She is so loveable though that it is hard to stay mad at her for long!

Gracie- My mother-in-laws dog, who has taken the nickname "gracie lou freebush" from Miss Congeniality, is a primarily black dog, with brown and white accents. Gracie is also a mixed breed/ designer dog! from the same litter as Brinkley. Yes, they are sisters! (Honest to God, they come from the same mom and dad!) Gracie also has a great personality though is somewhat different from Brinkley. Gracie has a much stronger personality and does not care if she gets yelled at. Gracie however is very lovable, loves to give kisses and get her belly rubbed. She also loves to chase other animals, particularly rabbits and squirels! She is also very lovable and hard to stay mad at!

Here are some other pictures of Brinkley and Gracie Playing! They are so much fun to be with!

My husband's birthday is coming up, actually, it's tomorrow, and I am having a really hard time getting him what he wants. I know what he wants, but I can't find it anywhere! I have been looking for a White #20 Michigan Football Jersey. Of course they have blue ones everywhere, but he likes to be different and wants a white one. The only one I can find is an authentic jersey which is $150! He wants to be able to wear this jersey and I know he won't wear one that is that much! All I need is a replica one, but do you think I can find it! NO! If anyone has any ideas on where to look, I would be greatful if you would tell me! Any other ideas would be great too! Just let me know!

Well, I realized today that it has been a long time since my first post and I need to keep up with this! I have been really bad about it which is not good if I want to keep people up to date! So here is the beginning of what will hopefully be a regular updating of my blog. Today I am placing some wedding pictures that were taken from my wedding. I know it has been over a year, but at least those of you who haven't seen them can get a sneak peak! I hope you enjoy them! More pictures will come soon, I promise!