What's In A Name?

If you've been hanging out with me awhile, you may notice a few changes around here. Most notably, my blog name. I'll be honest - that was a really hard change. "Finding Home" had been birthed in my heart several years ago and it truly was what this blog was all about. As we have been out of our home for the past four years due to our renovation, it felt even more true. We really were finding our home when we didn't have a physical structure to even call our own. Where was home? How were we creating it? With the addition of our children, the face of our home changed even more. We were Finding Home.

But in the midst of this time, another blog came along with the same name. And she created something beautiful. And big. And her blog and her presence came to be known as Finding Home. And it was hard to see that precious name I held so dearly be birthed into something so big that wasn't mine. But this beautiful thing that she created was just so good. And it only felt right that I changed my name. Not that my blog - or my social media presence - would probably even cross paths with this other Finding Home - but I didn't want to chance it. I didn't want confusion. And I didn't want to be in the shadow of something so great.

And so I let Finding Home go.

And it was hard. It hurt.

But something new was birthed.

And it feels good.

And right.

And that's all that matters.


So welcome to Sweetly Home. There is so much goodness wrapped up in this title. So much that I can feel tangibly. All I want in this life is to create a beautiful, sweet, wonderful space for the people in my life who I love so dearly. It is the the sweet spot in my life. The place where I can create and craft and conjure up this beautiful life for my family and those who we are blessed to call friends.

Thank you for journeying on with us. There is so much more to be written and so much more to be shared. Come along with us, won't you?

My Pure Potential Life

Hi! Hi! Hi!

I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Christine. I know I've chatted about her numerous times on my blog and have even mentioned that she needs a blog. Well Friends, she is now blogging! I'm so excited to share a little about my best gal pal, Christine, and point you in the direction of her new blog.

Let me share a touch of her awesomeness with you.

First, this girl is a crafter. Hello! Take a peek at some of her projects!

Paper Posies for a baby shower.

Coffee Filter Wreath

Hair Clip Holder

Canvas Newspaper Art

Strawberry Tree

She's on Pinterest and is just as addicted as I am. One of my favorite boards is her Pin Wins/Pin Fails where she talks about the pins she's tried and shares her success (or not so much success).


Secondly, Christine is a decorater. Oh my, her house is amazing. Truly truly amazing. I'm hoping she'll highlight some of her decor for you but in the meantime, here is a sneak peak of some of her home.

Her sons room.

One of my favorite spots of her home. I love this photo wall. We sit at the table and craft every Friday night. 

Her daughter's room. 

Thirdly, she's a party plan diva. She used to own her own wedding planning company and she pours herself into the details. Christine is in the throws of planning the second birthday party in just a couple of weeks. It's Yo Gabba Gabba themed. Oh, I cannot wait!!

She yard sales! Someone give her a crown because she is a total queen. We've already made plans for hitting the sales this summer. Here is a photo of a one day haul. Everything in the picture for $60! And can you see some of the cuteness in the background? It's the playroom she designed. It's INCREDIBLE. I'm hoping she posts photos on her blog - but if not, I'm going to take some to share with you. It's an awesome space.

$60 yard sale haul. 

And finally, she's into taking back her health. Christine recently signed up for Weight Watchers and together we are tackling the battle of the bulge. We chat back and forth about recipes we've tried, tips we've learned and we're even making attempts to go to the gym for some workout classes. Right now you can read about her journey as a momma of two little ones and her declaration to reclaim her health. She's a wealth of information and wisdom. I can't wait for you to get to know her.

So head on over to Christine's blog, My Pure Potential Life, and follow along. I can assure you you won't be  disappointed. I can't wait for her next post!

#febphotoaday

I just got the iphone 4s. Pinch me people. I've joined the 21st century. Up until last week, I was sans cellphone. I know, I know. Some of you are falling off of your chairs because you have no idea how anyone can function without a smart phone - let alone a cell phone! I'm kind of getting what you mean now. I'm loving my white beauty. She's definitely keeping me connected!

Now that I have a camera constantly at my fingertips, I've decided to play along with fat mum slim and her February photo-a-day challenge. Today was the first day and I'm looking forward to finding my "perfect" shot to interpret each days photo challenge. Here is the list in case you want to join in.

And here is my version of today's challenge - My View Today.

I call it "Launching and Lunching" as I spent a lot of time today working on launching my Scentsy business. Though I officially had my first party last week, I'm still in the process of launching my business full core. I'm loving every single second of it.

Feel like playing along with #febphotoaday? Head over to fat mum slim's to see how to participate. It looks like it's going to be super fun!

And, if you're on instagram (my new FAVE!!), I'm mandi_joy. Let's be instagram friends!  

I Was Featured!

Can I just tell you how awesome this blogging community is? I LOVE it. Honestly, I really do. I've met so many awesome women through blogging. It's the best.

Ya'll, my Home Management Binder and my 2012 Calendar are featured on one wicked blog today. I was so darn excited to read that Cami from You Seriously made That!? was going to feature me today. I just had to sign up to be her newest follower because she highlights so many amazing blog projects. And ya'll, she's FUNNY. I just could not NOT sign up.

So please hop on over to visit Cami at You Seriously Made That!?. I'm sure you'll find yourself browsing for awhile! And make sure you tell her I sent ya! ;)

When You Rise

You know when you read something good, you just have to share it with others?






Well, I found a blog that has been like water to this momma's soul. It's called "When You Rise" and it truly has been so life-affirming to me as a mom. I just wanted to share! If you've got daughters, make sure to check out this post. It brought tears to my eyes!


Don't forget about the Shutterfly giveaway for 25 free Christmas cards. I draw the winner on Saturday!

Weekend Reads

Hi Gals! How is your Saturday? I only got a few hours of sleep last night and today I'm hitting the ground running. I'm taking this cute girl shopping and to a clinic that will take her photos, fingerprints, DNA and a few other things in case she is ever abducted. I truly pray safety over her life everyday as I beg God for her never to be abducted, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. What a way to start a post!

I wanted to share some good reads that have occupied my laptop screen lately. Hope you enjoy!

I know that my grocery budget is tight. How about yours? This series started at the beginning of April and is sharing with us how to really Eat Well and Spend Less. There are all kinds of amazing posts. I'll leave you this link so that you can read all about the juicy food goodness you'll find in this series. You won't be disappointed!

There is a lot of controversy surrounding TLC's show "Extreme Couponing". I'm sure we could have a lively discussion about that show! Love it or hate it, The Krazy Coupon Lady is full of incredible advice for saving your family mucho buckaroos. A friend of mine started implementing Krazy's strategies and she's bought tons of household goodies for simply the tax....$1.51 to be exact. There is a coupon database on their website and if you sign up for their Facebook page, you can see the latest steals and deals in real time. And I have to admit, I think their site is the cutest!

The past few nights, I have just been sucked in by the blog, Hooked On Houses. Julia does an amazing job showcasing all kinds of house love. Her blog is full of photos of every kind of house you can imagine. It's been so fun to get a peek into other's places. I especially found myself loving her feature on houses in TV and movies. I was, and still am, a HUGE Gilmore Girl's fan so to see still shots of Lorelai's home. "Somethings Gotta Give" is one of those movies that I can watch about ten times a day...and have. Taking a look at the beach house featured in the movie...well, let's just say, if I owned it, I'd never leave! And, one of my favorite movies of all time, "Grey Gardens" is featured. Have you seen this movie? If not, it's definitely definitely worth a rent! And, it's a true story.

For Christmas, my mom bought be Pioneer Woman's cookbook. Oh my, is it AMAZING! I've cooked Shane a few meals and we have just loved each one. So how excited was I when I learned she is being signed by the Food Network?! When I lived in the States, I liked to spend my Saturday's watching The Food Network. So to see that Ree will have her own show is just great. Too bad I don't have cable anymore! I hope they air her episodes online!

Happy Reading friends! I hope ya'll have an amazing and blessed Easter weekend!

Our Life: Binder UPDATE

I was so blown away by all of the sweet comments in regards to my Our Life: Binder. I had the most fun creating and like the post said, I have more pages to create and print. As they are done, I will share them with you. Some of you suggested I should offer up a download on etsy and let me say, it is something I'm toying with! I simply LOVE to create documents and think it would be so fun. I'm researching just how to do that and working on offering some different styles. Different strokes for different folks!

In the meantime, I'd definatly love to offer up some FREE printables! I'm just looking for a good "host" so that ya'll can download them without having to download all of the fonts so that it "looks right". Anyone have any suggestions?? I'd definatly appreciate it them!

Look for those downloads coming soon!

Howdy!

Hey ya'll! There are some new faces around here and I just wanted to take a minute to say HELLO!

Thank you for taking time out of your jam-packed day to sit a spell at "Finding Home". I originally started this blog in 2007 to keep my family up-to-date about my life in Northern Ontario, Canada. I'm originally from a tiny town in Pennsylvania. Let's just say we're a little on the rural side in PA. We even  have hitchin' posts at our Walmart. For what you ask? For the Amish' horses of course! If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'.

After blogging about what I was up to in Canada, I started to branch out into some of my crafty adventures,  home projects and recipes that I adored. But last year, I worked on my biggest DIY to date. My daughter. Her name is Aubrey and she is my pride and joy. I gave birth to her on December 20th and she's now just a little over three months old.

Aubrey on the quilt her Grandma made her.

Blogging slowed way down while I was pregnant and even more so after Aubrey came into my life. Part of it is also due to the fact that we are doing a HUGE renovation to our house that has had us living with my inlaws since the end of September. There just isn't a whole lot to blog about these days. But soon my friends, very soon! I'll have all kinds of posts about decorating our new home, projects I'm crafting, organizing our stuff, and the process of creating Aubrey's nursery. Of course I'll be throwing in some bits of family life here and there as that is how I stay connected to most of my family and friends.

Standing in our entrance way looking into my "kitchen" into the backyard. Scarey.

So be on the lookout for some stuff soon! Thanks so much for signing along for the adventure! I truly appreciate each and every single one of my readers. Ya'll really just rock!! And to prove it, I'm almost at 200 followers. As soon as I hit that number, I think a giveaway will be in order! Sound good to you? Yeah, me too! See you soon!

An Aubrey Update and the Status of This Blog

Hello friends! Boy have I been updating lately or what? Haha, my poor blog has been neglected for so long and now there seems to be a slew of things I want to say! I wanted to pop in and give you a little update about Aubrey and where we stand as far as her delivery is concerned.

Today I had a quick meetup with one of my midwives and she checked to see how far along I was as far as dilation. To spare any gorey details - because that so isn't me - it seems that Aubrey is far to content in her tummy apartment to want to make any kind of appearance on her own. It also seems that she's getting a wee bit chubby and it's about time to evict her from her apartment. So, if she doesn't come on her own this weekend - which there is always a chance - we will go for an induction on Monday. If we don't get bumped (as the hospital only does 3 to 4 inductions a day) because I am not super high on the priority list, then Tuesday will be the day. We are praying for Monday because it seems the doctor on call would do the induction and then transfer care back to our midwife. Which ultimatly is what I want. If we have to go for the induction on Tuesday, that doctor typically will deliver the baby and our midwife would be just a support. Which again, so glad she's there - but would rather she deliver Aubrey.

So that is where we stand! I spent the day buying our food and beverages for our hospital trip. I also picked up a few extra outfits for Aubrey. I'm now making my Mom's famous Chex Mix. The holiday's won't be complete without it. Last minute laundry is getting washed and my delivery gown is drying on the drying rack. Yes, I bought my own delivery gown. I tried it on, and let me say, I felt so pretty in it. I know many would laugh because birth is quiet a dirty process - but being in something so pretty and feminine, I just know is going to make me feel so much better. I got a great deal on the gown and won't feel one bit badly about tossing it after the birth. Here's a photo. It's actually much brighter and pinker in person.

I also wanted to talk about the status of this blog. As many of you know, I've been pretty absent from blogging for most of my pregnancy. I found myself really focused elsewhere and had so little to say. I think I'll be taking a bit of a break for awhile from blogging. As we are not living in our house right now, there is little to blog about on the home front and most of my crafting and house projects are on hold until we are ready to move back home. I am setting up a blog about Aubrey for my friends and family to keep up-to-date about what she's up too. With them living so far away, I don't want them to miss out on all of her changing and growing. I'm sure it will mostly be photos and short stories about how she is doing and what we are up too. You are more than welcome to follow along but know that it will be baby overload. :) I'll post the blog address once it's completed.

In the meantime, I'll definatly pop in the share photos of Aubrey and tell you how her birth went. I may even type out her birth story as I know I enjoyed reading so many other bloggers birth stories. Once things get rolling on our house and I have some projects to share, I will be back. Don't worry, you can't get rid of me that quick. ;) If things get interesting in my life (besides all the new mommy stuff!) I'll be sure to post updates here and there. Thanks for all of the sweet comments and welcome to all my new followers! You all really do mean so much to me.

Four Foodies Get Fit

Hi everyone! Can I just say how much encouragement I felt from my last post? I mean, I was completely overwhelmed with your support, concern, and sweet words of encouragement. It means the world to me and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I want to let you know that I am feeling worlds better. Shane left for home yesterday and though I cried pretty hard as I watched him drive away, I had a good evening with my parents watching American Idol. Speaking of tv, that is one guilty pleasure I am indulging in while home. I have three stations back home and my tv screen is smaller than my laptop screen! So I am definatly enjoying watching ol' television. :) Do you have a guilty pleasure tv show?

I also wanted to let you know about a new blog I have created with my Mom and sisters. It's called "Four Foodies Get Fit" and is all about our journey to health and fitness. We are each at different stages of our journey but we are trying to spur one another on to success. I've officially joined Weight Watchers Online and am going about my weight loss that way. I'm super excited about this blog! If you are on a weight loss journey, or are looking for some encouragement from four foodies who are going through it too - pop on over! We'd love to see you!

I also wanted to let everyone know that I will be back to blogging. Can I just tell you how much I miss it?? I miss catching up what is going on with ya'll as well! I'll see you soon and in the meantime, please check out Four Foodies!

Have a great night!

I Was Featured!

Happy Monday ya'll! Is anyone still recovering from Day Light Saving's Time? I am! Raising both hands! We had a super late night on Saturday so it didn't bode well for loosing an hour on Sunday. We didn't even get out of bed until abotu 1:30! That's just about unheard of around here. And about an hour later I was ready to climb right back into bed. Sheesh! Feeling a little more on track today.

I want to say a big warm HELLO to all the visitors from my friend Holly's blog - Homebody. Finding Home is featured on her blog today! Boy was I excited when I learned she wanted to feature me. If you haven't checked her out, please go right now. I'll wait. Or maybe I won't....you may be there all day. :)

We're working on a big home project today! It involves wood, paint, hooks and a trip to Home Depot. I hope to show it to you in the next day or so - with a tutorial. I am way too excited!

And before I go, I just wanted to show you this shelf that keeps getting moved around my house. I'm never quiet happy with it as it seems to small on whatever wall it gets placed on.

Here it is today. But later this week will probably be getting moved - as I'm hosting a party on Friday and I'd like to have something different on the wall. I'm always changing my mind. :)

And P.S.

I have a number of projects going on and things to show you - but my camera batteries have DIED. I've officially wasted every bit of juice out of them - you know, waiting an hour between picture takes, flipping the batteries upside down - that sort of thing. Dead as door nails. So, I just wanted to let you know why there haven't been too many project posts around this blog. Boo!

An Early Birthday Present

I won! I'm so excited to be the lucky winner of the Virtue Lip Gloss giveaway at Beth from The Stories of A to Z. I love what the Virtue company stands for - "a company founded by three friends who believe beauty starts from within. We want to remind all women of the simple and virtuous things in life". Love that!

And, if you haven't been to visit Beth, please please please jump on over to visit. She's just darling. Funny as can be and has projects coming out the wahzoo! Well, maybe not the wahzoo - but she's got so many awesome decorating and home projects going on. Please stop by to say hi.

I count this win as a bit of an early birthday present. Tomorrow I turn 28! February 21....my favorite day of the year. :) I hope this weekend holds something special for you. Love you all! You make this blogging thing so fun.

Tumbling After

Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that I created a tumblr account. It's holding all kinds of photos that I find inspirational, lovely, inspiring. You name it. I've hit my limit of photos for the day but there are plenty there to look at. Check back often for new updates. I'm always finding inspiration! Here is the link.

No-Reply Commenter

A few days ago I began to clean out my email inbox. It was getting pretty crowded so I decided to delete and organize some emails. In the process, I went to my "Sent" file in my email account and noticed that I had sent emails to hundreds of "no-reply commenters". Hundreds. If I'm correct in my thinking, no-reply commenters, do not have the option to receive emails back from the comments they left on a persons blog.

Can I tell you how much my heart broke? I mean, it broke.

I have sent hundreds of emails back to people who have left comments on my blog for at least a year now. I have answered questions, thanked people for their kind words, responded with my thoughts to their comments, expressed gratitutde, laughed along with what they said and generally tried to communicate back to whoever had left a comment on my blog. Disheartened does not even begin to describe how I felt when I realized that I probably alienated a bunch of bloggers. When in reality, I've been responding all along. I feel awful.

I've developed some awesome relationships with other bloggers because we were able to email back and forth. And that's what blogging is about for me. Developing relationships. I could care less about revenue (although that would be fun). I don't care about "hits on my blog". That's meaningless to me. I care about what you have to say and I care that you took a few moments out of our day to stop by and leave me a comment. That's what blogging is for me. I can't tell you how disheartening it is to sign up with a "linky party" and see that 15 people have visited your blog in half an hour and not one person leaves a comment. Makes me almost want to give up blogging.

But I'm not. Because I like it way to much.

So here's the thing. I'm now going to respond to your comments in my comments. I know that's not convenient. At all. But I want to make sure that you know that I am responding back. That this whole thing isn't a one way conversation. If you want to email me directly, please do! My email is listed on my profile under Email Me.

You can also add your email to your comments by doing this:

• Go to Dashboard
• Hit Settings
• Click on Comments
• Scroll down to the bottom where it says Comment Notification Email
• Add your email address
• Save Changes

Your email will show up in your comments just as though you sent an email to a friend. From now on, I'll check. Again, please know how sorry I am.

Welcome Home

* Whoow, whoow.* Testing, testing. Is this thing on? Please don't mind me. I'm just blowing the dust off my blog. Please give me a second as I look at the new updated Blogger editor too. This is the first time I am using it. Have you updated your editor? If not, click on "Settings". Scroll down to where it says "Global Settings". Underneath that you will say "Select Post Editor". Click on "Update Editor". I'm really enjoying the new features. I hope you do too. And if you don't, you can always change it back.

Last night we pulled into our snow-filled driveway after Christmas vacation in Pennsylvania. We had such a wonderful time with my family. It truly was a special holiday. As much as I enjoy vacations, I find myself excited to come home. It's inevitable that at some point on the return drive I say "I can't wait to see my house. I missed it so much!" And that's how I feel about my blog. Hello friends! I missed you so much!

It's currently 6:45 in the morning. We arrived home around eleven o'clock last night. As we opened the door to our house, I smiled. Our home was warm. The floors were clean. There were a couple of dishes left in the dish drainer ready to be put away. I breathed in. It smelled like home. Our bed had fresh sheets on it and as I turned on the bedside light, I couldn't wait to fall into those crisp sheets. Things were familiar. And if my house could talk, it would say "Welcome Home".

Thanks for your patience as I found myself on an unexpected hiatus. December flew by as I spent three weeks babysitting two infants at our church. The days were long as I was gone from our house for over twelve hours. With the holidays and traveling, my little blog just got tucked away until I could pull it out and love it up again.

So as I sit here with one of our dogs sleeping at my feet, the house dark save for one lamp, the morning news keeping me company, I feel a sense of excitement for all that is to be done today. Taking down the Christmas decor, puting away laundry, unpacking suitcases, and finding new homes for our Christmas gifts. And I am excited to settle back into my blog writing. I'm anxious to finish up some things that I started in 2009 - the kitchen organization posts, the second part of my hospitality posts. I've got an awesome giveaway coming up soon too. So thank you for your patience. Thank you for your friendship. Welcome home!

And P.S.  I hoped in line at Walmart at 3:30 a.m. on Black Friday and bought myself a laptop! What an answer to prayer! My own computer! See ya later library computers!

A Feature and A Workout

I'm so incredibly excited! My pumpkins and candy corn were featured on Someday Crafts. There a so many other wonderful pumpkin projects showcased. I can't wait to try some out. If you havne't been to this blog, please stop over. You'll find soooo many great ideas of things to make and do.

_________________________________________________________________________



The beginning of September marked a change for me. I wanted to start getting back into counting points for Weight Watchers and I definatly wanted to increase my exercise. I had been Shredding quiet regularly at the beginning of the year but injured my knee as I moved into Phase 2 of the Shred with Jillian Michaels. When I did that, I basically stopped exercising. So, I'm not trying to get back into the swing of things.

I read a blog called Shopping Is My Cardio and decided to sign up for their September challenge. The challenge was to exercise - or move - for at least 20 minutes a day. I took them up on it. We need to keep a calendar of our progress. Since the computers in my life are down I was not able to post my calendar weekly. I had been keeping track of things in my day planner but since each day has it's own page, I couldn't photograph each page individually. I threw this calendar together on the fly.

So today here is my month of September calendar. As you can see, I'm still trying to get into the swing of things. Some days I'm just barely hitting over that 20 minute mark. But the important thing is, I'm moving, right? Today I danced with my neice to one of her Nickelodeon dancing shows, did some stretching, and crunches. I'm going shopping with my Mom and sister later so I'll be doing some walking. Nothing super major but again, the point is to move, right?

Here is my calendar:

Arg!

Just when I'm ready to start posting again, the computer in my life goes kaput. It's so brand new too...my poor inlaws. They have had to replace this brand of computer (HP) three times!! There goes all of our Itunes, photos and documents. Why does technology have to be so nutty? So, I'll put of posting for a wee bit longer - hopefully only a couple of days - until the computer gets fixed. If you are wondering, I'm using one of the dinosuar computers at the library.

This Thursday, I head to Pennsylvania to help my youngest sister set up her nursery. Did I mention that she is having a boy? This will be the first baby boy born into our family. We are beyond excited!! I'm making him some cute projects for his nursery which will be done in a red, white and blue color scheme. Picture a handmade red and white quilt for his bedding (stitched up by my Mom). Cute, no? I'll be gone for about nine or ten days. I'm so excited to see my friends and family for so long! Shane will be dropping me off on the weekend, coming back home and then picking me up the next weekend. I'll sure miss him!!

While I am gone, he is PROMISING to finish the laundry room. Still, nothing is installed. No drywall has come down. Zilch. Zip. Nada. We've had the washer, dryer and pedestals since June. I finally threatened to not do his laundry anymore. (I've been hauling it back and forth from my inlaws since the winter when our machines broke.) So, what did he do? He went out and bought new socks and underwear. Then went to the laundromat. Sheesh Louise!

I hope everyone is doing great! So so sorry for my absence. I'm really dying to post about what I've been up too....but what is a good post without some photos? I guess this post will not be qualifying for any major awards since there are no pix. :) Talk to you all soon!

Random

Recently, I won a couple of giveaways in bloggy land. Let me tell you, when you find out your name has been drawn, there is a rush of excitement that just comes over you....or at least it did for me! I'd like to show you the gifts that I recieved.

First up is a sweet frame from Jessica at The Russo Corner. Her son had a birthday and in honor of his special day, Jessica made this frame. My name was drawn as the winner. It couldn't be anymore perfect. I love cake!! In fact, when anyone I know is having a birthday, I always say to them "Enjoy lots of cake!" My hope is to make a gift wrapping center/area in my laundry room and I want to put this frame there. How appropriate! Jessica also has an etsy shop. I would HIGHLY recommend her. She really took care of every detail when it came to the packaging and presentation of this frame. Oh! And one more thing. Check out the photos from her sons birthday party. You will not believe what this gal can do!

[Sorry for the dark photos!]

Next, I won these numbered balls from Holly at Homebody. I was so excited to get these cute things. I currently have them displayed in a mason jar on my end table. Holly also made me this darling pillow too! If I'm not mistaken, the bird fabric is from that shower curtain that was from Target that everyone seemed to love so much. Me included!! The pillow really adds a spark to my beige couches and their white pillows. Love!

I added a couple things to my living room too. I put some artwork up around my bookshelf. Funny thing...I've already added something else since taking this photo yesterday. It's a tiny metal sign that says "Cabin". I have it above the "Joy" wall sign.




I also bought this willow tree while antiquing with my Mom and sister Jenn. While it's not an antique, I have wanted one of these trees for a few years now. Finding it for $10 was right up my ally! And I definatly couldn't resist all of the little stars cascading down it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! We have a wedding to go to tomorrow. A friend of Shane's is getting married. He was actually in our wedding. When I lived in Canada a few years ago, this guy became like a big little brother to me. Big because he's tall...we used to call him "House" and little because he's younger than me. Big Little Brother.