wedding weekend

Howdy! We just got back from Georgia again. This time, we went to my cousin’s wedding! Here’s a picture of the happy couple:

 

My cousin is Samantha, and her husband is Michael. He’s a great guy! They had a nice down home kind of wedding, and it fit them perfectly. Her dress was great. The bridesmaids magenta/hot pink knee length dresses with brown cowboy boots, and the guys all wore jeans with brown vests. The bride even had fancy white cowboy boots! It sounds crazy, but it was cute. It was very country glamorous, which fits Sam to a T.

I had the best time at the wedding reception. There was good music, PERFECT weather to sit outside, and everything just felt relaxed. I don’t usually get to spend lots of time with my family, and it was the perfect chance to sit around and just chat with each other in a different setting. Awesome!

The next day, we were supposed to go to my other family’s reunion. We were about to walk out the door, and people pulled up to visit at my parents’ house. Oh, well! No one was exactly dying to go to the reunion, so we told the new guests to stay when they tried to leave to let us go on. My aunt & uncle just really love to visit Cora, and I’m happy they do! Everyone seems to love her so much. I love it. It’s very odd how babies being around can reignite the family feeling among a family that’s been together forever. I guess a new item of interest is always good!

One of the best parts of the weekend was that we made the trip both ways without stopping. On both trips, I told Brian to get off at the next exit because Cora was crying too much. By the time we could get pulled over, she stopped each time. A miracle! I’m proud of her. Also, while we were there, she slept almost 10 hours on Saturday night, so that was a good thing to experience since her sleeping habits have gotten a bit worse lately. It’s just a phase. I know it will get better!

GOOD THING: Choxie has meds and will get better soon!
BAD THING: My stomach hurts. 

food

The biggest part of this weekend, as any weekend we visit my parents, was food. Here is what my early supper was today before I left:

ham
1 bite of cucumber
green beans
broccoli casserole
fried squash
homemade ice cream
lemon pound cake
sweet tea

That doesn’t include the available foods that I turned down. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS!

I also got to eat biscuits & gravy 2 mornings in a row, and that is the best meal I can imagine since I don’t get it from my mom very often.

I have been stuffed completely full the whole weekend since Friday night. It does NOT feel good, and it’s very easy to do now that I’m pregnant, but sometimes, it’s just worth it.

On another food note, we drove over 1 hour to go to Fuddruckers Saturday night. Brian lovesssssss it, and so do my parents, but they closed the one down nearest them – meaning we haven’t been since. We drove all the way to Rome, and everyone seemed to be glad we did. The only thing wrong was that I could not find or they do not have nacho cheese, so my burger wasn’t 100% what it should’ve been, but it was still good. On the way back, we drove some way that I’ve never been before, and we saw lots of really pretty farmland. When we got almost home, we stopped to look at the famous tunnel that Tunnel Hill, Georgia was named after (Civil War importance), and Brian had never been. I also had to pee so bad that I used a napkin and squatted behind a rose bush since no one was around. You do what you have to do, I guess.

GOOD THING: made it home safely
BAD THING: back hurts

work

Today at work, I have painted my toenails and am listening to Manchester Orchestra’s new album and some live recordings. Toot toot! I also did everything I needed to do as far as work goes, but I’m just saying – this stuff was AFTER that. Things have been mailed, websites checked, registrations logged, emails sent, phone calls made. Things are done, don’t worry.

GOOD THING: Beach trip planned!
BAD THING: worried about getting carsick on the way to Mississippi today.

christmas weekend

Christmas has come and gone, and so has my tiny little slice of Christmas spirit for the year. It never came on full force, but it was enough to get me by.

Christmas Eve was fun – worked half a day, hung out around the house, went to Brian’s parents’ house for food and family time (his uncle & aunt come with their 3 adult children and 1 granddaughter – Lexi!), then church with the immediate fam. That was nice, and we got into the truck to leave at 12:09 AM. We took a short drive to see Christmas lights in the neighborhood, then went home. I think we finally got to bed after 1 or something.

On Christmas, we woke up at 6:30 AM to get our gifting finished so we could pack and head to his parents’ again before family comes before we leave for Georgia. Brian got me great gifts, and there is still one on its way. At his parents’, we also got great stuff. Brian has a new computer to build! It will be a PC and a Mac. He’s working on it right now. After that, we’ll have 3 computers, so I think our current big-monitored PC will move down to the basement because I am going to finish setting up my work area down there for jewelry making! We rearranged everything months ago to have a workout area, a tv/stereo area, and a work area, but I actually kind of forgot to continue working on it.

Anyway, that was good, then Brian’s aunt & uncle picked an extra early time to come over for breakfast, so we had to cut it short and eat & talk with them. It was fun the second time, too. They left pretty quickly, so we had another bit of close family time before Brian and I left for Georgia. We had to leave on the early end of our range because it had started to snow! My dad swore the roads were fine at the moment, so we headed out. The roads were all fine, but I’m glad we didn’t wait around because they weren’t as great that evening.

My parents had way more snow than Alabama! As soon as we pulled up, I said hello and borrowed some waterproof boots from my mom so I could drive to my grandparents’ and sled with my cousin. He’s the one that I always played in the snow with when we were in school, so it was cool to get to do it again – especially since it was Christmas. It didn’t work out so well! I think we’ve lost our touch, but it as still fun being out there. Then it was Christmas time! I always like Christmas at my grandparents’. We also got to visit with my aunt & uncle who live in North Carolina (and their 2 kids), so that was nice because I only see them once a year at the most. My cousin also brought her new little baby, but I didn’t even look at her up close because it seems like she was eating the whole time! Every time i saw her, she was eating or sleeping. My mamaw gave all the girls huge boxes of homemade jellies & stuff, which is what we told her we’d like to have. They’re delicious!

After that, we went to my parents’ and finally did Christmas there. We got lots of awesome things! I love every single thing I got – all day, for that matter. I got a super pretty dress, some videos I’ve been wanting, a sweet coat, and tons of other stuff. My parents seemed to love their gifts, so that is the best part. My dad cannot stop playing with and checking on his little weather station thing we gave him; he loves it! It was the big hit of the weekend, I think.

It ended up snowing probably 3 or 4 inches there because it snowed ALL day on Christmas AND the next day! wooo

Mostly, that just meant it was super gross and muddy the next day.

Choxie loved playing with Rosie, so they had a super fun time. All they do is constantly play fight for 3 days, so when we get home, Choxie is really tired. Score!

GOOD THING: We made it everywhere we wanted to go safely.
BAD THING: I need to clean my house BIG time.

wednesday

Today is Wednesday! My Wednesdays are long, but they’re good. I start off by going to work. After work, I got home to watch Oprah from 4-5, then I head to church to eat dinner there. After dinner is my class, which has a focus of helping Dave write/proof his new book. It’s proven entertaining so far – mostly because I like watching Dave make people twitch with his theology. Some people really couldn’t get behind Dave last week, and it was the first night we reviewed anything! I can’t wait to hear what happens tonight since most of the reading was about circumcision with a little homosexuality discussion thrown in. Anyway, after class, I go home and watch Modern Family!

I have a Bible study on Thursday mornings, so I’ve been going in an hour early on Thursdays to help make up for it. That doesn’t cover it all since it’s 1.5 hours, so I need to come in some extra early days soon. That study is good times and is led by Drew. So far, it’s fun.

I can’t wait for this weekend! Brian, Julie and I are driving up to Berry College for Mountain Day. I should see some old friends, some people I care nothing about talking to, and also Margaret Anne! I hope we have a super fun day with her. I can’t wait!

GOOD THING: I have about 30 more minutes before I leave work, and the cast of Modern Family is on Oprah today.
BAD THING: have to get up early tomorrow and super early Friday (and Saturday!)

nope

I did not forget I have a blog. I will update soon! We just got back from a 10 day trip to Bolivia, and it was super awesome. It feels really weird to retell stories from the trip because it feels like they’re impossible to describe, but I’ll be happy to share if you’d like me to. Today is my first day back at work, and I am ready to go home! I am not super busy, but it’s just boring to sit in one spot all day after being so active for almost 2 weeks.

GOOD THING: Ann gets home tonight.
BAD THING: stuck at a desk all day!

family guy

The episode I’m watching is so funny! It’s about gay marriage and stereotypes republicans.

Choxie is goofy tonight! She keeps pressing up against me and is all but laying over my head while licking on a toy. She is finally down on her bed with Brian chewing on a bone. He took her for a run tonight, so she was tired for about an hour, but she’s getting over it. She also found an empty parmesan cheese container in the recycling bin, so she keeps sneaking to try and like all the leftovers out. Well, actually, she seems really tired again now, which is awesome.

I got my new passport today! I’m sure I would’ve been fine not paying for it to be expedited, but I never want to be the person holding a group up. I’ve also had my shots already, so everything’s done except going! My arms hurt pretty bad for a couple of days enough that I couldn’t sleep on my sides very easily, but they’re fine now. I just have a bruise leftover that didn’t make an appearance until the pain was gone. Maybe it’s unrelated.

Brian is dancing to one of the terrible freecreditreport.com commercial songs, and Choxie is staring at him like he’s an alien.

Regions is awesome! Someone apparently tried to buy something with Brian’s card number, and we did not know. Brian tried to use his debit card last Thursday, and it wouldn’t work, so he finally called Regions today to see what was going on, which is when they told him about the purchase. Apparently, it was made either on the phone or online, and the buyer wasn’t required to put any verification in, so the bank red flagged it. Now, Brian can get a new card, and they won’t have his new number! The purchase was for less than $2, so they think they were checking to see if it would work, and if it did, then they’d go crazy with it. The bank even made sure that Brian really cancelled his card instead of talking to some fake office that said they would cancel it. Apparently, that’s been happening, too.

GOOD THING: Choxie is sleeping right now.
BAD THING: plans for the next 3 nights

choices

Of all that is on the word wide web, why can I never find anything to look at online? I am the worst time killer ever.

I have lots of travelling that I want to do during the year 2010, and I hope at least some of it happens.

I just finished reading my new book by Chelsea Handler, and it was seriously hilarious. I am going to buy everything else she’s written next time I purchase some books. I’m moving on to the Family, per recommendation by Casey. It’s way smarter and more serious than Chelsea’s book, so it will take some adjusting. I’m a little leary of getting angry and/or creeped out by it, but I have to see what’s in there. It’s like a train wreck or a scary movie. I’m reading through cracked fingers!

Tonight was pretty sweet because I had no plans. We wanted to eat early tonight, and we drove to Sam’s Deli to get some yummy and cheap burgz. We also shared cheese fries! today at lunch, I ate a vegan Kashi meal that was the Mayan Harvest Bake, and it was pretty yummy. I can’t remember everything in it, but it’s plantains on their pilaf with sweet potatoes, amaranth (whatever that is) and polenta something or another with ancho chili sauce. It sounds weird, but it was really good. My least favorite thing in their meals is their special pilaf, which sucks because it’s in every dang one of them. It has a strong taste, so it kind of takes over at times. I actually bought 2 more of those tonight at the grocery store and a different one I want to try.

Choxie is sleeping beside me on the couch and is experiencing some crazy twitches right now.

Oh! I forgot to mention: Last night at the UMW dinner thing, I had lots of fun. We met at someone’s house and talked business for a minute, mostly just to learn about the big fundraiser we’re doing this year, and then we had a nice dinner with fancy Christmas china and all that. We had really good chili and salad with the best dressing – raspberry vinaigrette – and some bread. Then, we all got some ice cream with a brownie and some other SUPER yummy dessert. The best part was all the funny conversations we had at dinner. I was laughing so hard at one woman asking about what goes on at the spa….I almost wanted to call her today to see how her first trip turned out!

GOOD THING: Brian made it up to Decatur to wander in the wild and back safely today.
BAD THING: It just got late – fast! I need to go get in bed.

soggy

Today is rainy again, and I’m so tired of it! It’d be not AS bad if I didn’t have to be at work and could sleep all day, but then again, NOTHING would be as bad if i could sleep all day instead of work haha. I’m just over the rain, and I’m ready for it to either get sunny and fall-perfect or just get cold already. Plus, my dad bought me a new coat this weekend, so I want to be able to use it! It’s a sweet Carhartt one for doing things outside when it’s really cold outside, and I love it.

I am going to try and pull out the ol’ bicycle sometime this week and get back into riding it around. It doesn’t take long to work up some stamina (because riding a bike is so much harder for me than walking or jogging), so I am not too intimated. I just know how sick I felt every time I rode it to work last spring, so I am going to try and work on that to get to where I can easily have enough energy to do it comfortably. I wouldn’t mind walking at all, but since I already walk the dog pretty often, I don’t want to burn myself out on walking. I feel like I’d never want to walk the dog if I’d already walked to work and back that day. We’ll see how it goes! I usually have lots of good ideas, but I never get around to them.

This weekend was pretty good in Georgia. We sucessfully went to 2 apple houses, ate some desserts there, almost got in a wreck on the highway because of a girl and her cell phone, ate lots of food, visited a dam that my grandfather worked on decades ago, drove through some beautiful mountain areas, tried out my dad’s inversion chair, played with the dog, heard some funny stories, heard some bad jokes, and some other stuff. Oh, and I closed my own finger up in a the car window, which hurt REALLY bad. It also took us over 4 hours to get there, and it should’ve been less than 3 hours. It seemed like eternity in the car.

I’m afraid Choxie is sick, so Brian is going to help me decide this afternoon whether or not we should take her to the vet. I’m all for preventing and being cautious, so she will probably go. She hasn’t eaten much since Friday and has slept extra compared to normal, so if something’s wrong, it’s been wrong for several days, and I don’t want to push it too far. We might see how she eats tonight and take her tomorrow. I really hope she’s okay! It makes me worry more since I know I am supposed to take her back to the vet in a couple of weeks anyway to re-check some liver enzymes because they were really high last time. She’s pretty tough, so I think she’ll be alright eventually.

I got my new wallet in the mail! I could’ve gotten it Friday, but we went out of town, and I didn’t know that Zappos was going to ship it overnight until Friday morning after it had been shipped. If I would’ve known, I would’ve shipped it to my parents’ house instead of to my work so I could get it sooner. It doesn’t matter either way because it’s just a card carrier instead of a full out wallet, so I won’t be using it unless I just want to carry one tiny thing with me when I go somewhere instead of a purse.

I cannot wait to get my hair cut this Friday!

I’m also excited to take Margaret Anne on her college visit in a couple of weeks to Berry. I know she’ll love it, but we’ll see if they can work something out with the major she wants since they don’t really have it. Either way, we’re going to have fun that day because I will be off work, and she doesn’t have to go to school. Score!

GOOD THING: less than 1.5 hours left of work until I can go check on my puppy
BAD THING: seems like 7 PM outside

antisocial

Warning: this one is long, but maybe it will at least be a decent read. Maybe not.

Brian and I traveled to Berry College this past weekend to go to Mountain Day, which can be best described to someone who didn’t go there as an alumni weekend/homecoming/annual celebration. It’s to ceelbrate the founder’s birthday, and the students who want to can participate in the “Grand March” on the big hill. Parents, friends, alumni and professors can watch them participate while eating a BBQ picnic lunch. People bring their dogs and children and catch up with people they haven’t seen in a while. That is, if you like to do that sort of thing. We obviously do not really enjoy stuff like that very much, so every time we go, we wonder why we decided to go haha. We knew a few friends would be there, so we wanted to hang with them, but those friends are people who we’ve seen during the past few months. I didn’t really catch up with many other people except for a few hellos, but it was still good. I still enjoy seeing those people in person versus on Facebook even if we didn’t have a full out conversation. I would love to have conversations with everyone, but it just never happens. Mostly, I really wish more people would’ve been there, but that is how it always goes.

We killed some time at Kaitlin’s house trying to stay awake by goofing off before the big reunion event that night. We dreaded going because of the whole forced social awkwardness, but when we got there, it really got better. I chatted with a few more people, there was a band, candy was thrown all over our table, and we got free drink tickets! Kaitlin and I got some white wine and armed ourself with buzzes after we ate our dinner, so everything was funny after that. We decided we would go back and use our second free drink ticket, but they’d run out of alcohol and shut the tent down! What the?! That was kind of sad. I did get to bring home a pot of flowers for my front porch that was used as table decoration there, and our class tent won 3rd place in the tent decorating contest. Thanks, planning team!

We went back to Kaitlin’s aftewards for about an hour and goofed off until we decided to drive back home, and that was fun. I got some yummy gas station French Vanilla coffee on the way home. Brian and I listened to lots of music, and I danced to lots of songs in the car. We love Owl City! We knew that already, but Brian’s work friend Emily made him an actual CD, so we had it for the listening. The songs are so cute and fun even if they’re kind of cheesy sometimes. It was just happy music for the car all about regular things and animals and nature and love and stuff.

Sunday, we were so sleepy but got up for church anyway because we love Jesus. After church, we ate Mexican food for lunch. The best part is that we went home and ended up napping after that! Even Choxie napped with me in the living room after she listened to me play my guitar while Brian slept on the bed. We both eventually conked out, too. Brian had to go be a photographer for work that evening, so I left to go buy some beads to make some necklaces. I decided to try and sell some online. After I make a few more, I’ll list my measly inventory and see what happens. If someone actually buys one or two, I’ll go buy more stuff to add to my page, but I’m not wasting my time or money until that happens.

This coming weekend, we’re going to visit my parents and go get apples! It should be a fun day. That trip is fun enough just with my parents, but my mom told me that my aunt and uncle, my two cousins and a friend & boyfriend are coming along. We’ll see what happens! I can’t wait!

GOOD THING: less work to do this month than I thought
BAD THING: the cold, dark weather makes me very tired!