I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

And there will always be a part of me nobody else is ever gonna see butyou and me, my little girl

2011-11-08T23:21:00.002-05:00

Let's play catch up - in photo form! It's almost time for a "my baby is a one year old" post, but since I still have a few weeks, I figure I will share some random pics from months 10 and 11 :)

Things change with her all the time, but one of the constants is her love for Bowser. She loves to stand at the back door and watch him run around - she yells and hits the window and eggs him on. It's cute. She pulls herself up on everything and walks along things as long as she can hold on. She will babble your ear off all day long and yells at the top of her impressive little lungs. She smiles a lot and still loves her daddy more than anything. She has a stubborn streak in her that she come by very honestly. I love watching her figure new things out every day!

Anyways, enough rambling! Now for some random pictures...

Baby and Puppy Prison!

Watching Bowser play outside

She got super excited when Bowser came running back with his Frisbee.

Sitting on Daddy's lap at church - I love how she crosses her ankles!!

Just being cute!

There was a farmer who had a dog and Bowser was his name-o....

2011-10-01T00:36:00.001-04:00

Savannah and Bowser are the dynamic duo these days. We couldn't be more grateful that we picked Bowser - he is so good with Savannah! He puts up with a lot - she pulls him, hits him and tugs on his ears and tail, and he will just lick her face. He does, on occasion try to avoid her, but she can't stand that so she army crawls around following him until he pays attention to her. She has even started to crawl on top of him when he's laying on the floor, and he won't get up until she's safely off of him. They are so cute together! I don't think these pictures will do it justice, but I'll post them anyways. I have more of these on our computer, but you get the idea!

I love how excited she gets when she sees him, how hard she laughs at him when he's running around after his ball and I love how gentle Bowser is with her. My biggest complaint would have to be the kisses - she LOVES it when he licks her, and it's kind of gross. Oh well!

It was a bash...it was a boxer bash!!

2011-10-01T00:18:00.001-04:00

So a week or two ago, we decided to take Bowser to the dog park. The Atlanta Boxer Rescue, who I do volunteer work for on occasion, has this monthly doggie play groups called the Boxer Bash. We've never taken Bowser before, so we thought we'd give it a try. Turns out - he loved it!! He was very well behaved too. At first he was skittish and shy, but after awhile he was running around with all of them! I only had my phone, so I didn't get great shots, but here are a few! You can see how worn out he was by the end :) We will definitely be taking him again this month!!

If you say your goodbyes and hello to blue skies, Sendin' a postcard from your Pacific Coast eyes

2011-09-16T22:34:00.001-04:00

Savannah is officially pulling herself up on EVERYTHING! It's crazy - it just started happening so fast. This is fun to watch, because it makes her incredibly happy. However, it also leads to some cuts and bruises... Poor kid! My favorite is when she tries to do it with a toy in her hand. She's a very stubborn girl and when she falls down, she cries for a second and is at it again. It's cute to have her standing on her crib sand waving excitedly to see you when I go in to get her up! Here's a few pics of her doing her thing :)

We are holding hands in the rain, saying words like I love you; Do you love me? Yeah

2011-09-11T23:24:00.001-04:00

So I've just discovered that blogger has an app! Now I can blog from my phone. This may actually perfect, since I never seem focus when I'm at a computer. We will see how this goes!

I have lots of updates to talk about, but for now I will just leave you with some pictures and a brief update of my 9 month old! Crazy, huh?!

Savannah is 19 pounds and 28.5 inches long. She has a great mischievous face, as seen below, and is getting into everything. She army crawls, waves, babbles ma ma ma and da da da, and LOVES playing with other kids. In fact, she went to a nursery a week or two ago while I shopped a consignment sale and they had to put her in the 12 to 24 month room because she wasnt happy until they let her play with the big kids! She also is pulling herself up to a standing position. We come in to get her out of her crib and she will stand there and wave at us.

Bowser is still her favorite, but those stories/pictures/video deserve their own post. All I can say is that Bowser is the sweetest dog ever!! He puts up with a lot and still loves that little girl a whole lot.

We've had a fun summer and I hope to post about some of the stuff we have done soon!

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

2011-05-19T12:58:00.006-04:00

Savannah is getting bigger and more fun every day! She loves to smile and has discovered this insanely high pitched scream that she LOVES to do all the time (I, on the other hand, am not such a huge fan...) She rolls onto her tummy from her back, and as of this week can go from her tummy to her back. This is a huge accomplishment, because now she doesn't wake up screaming because she's stuck! She can flip herself over instead of crying for us to come do it for her. She now picks up everything she sees (including cell phones) and puts them straight into her mouth. Once she's a little more mobile, I'm really going to have to watch what's on the floors - especially dog toys and dog food. Oh, and little girl LOVES to be outside. That should make for a fun summer!

Savannah is such a daddy's girl. It's really adorable. Whenever he comes around, she gets so excited - she breaks out in this huge grin and flails excitedly around. When she gets really upset, I can hold her forever and she keeps on screaming. Daddy takes her and she calms down (most of the time...) I love the bond that those two already have. I think it's so sweet! I also love the way Jacob gets so excited to see her. He just lights up and can't stop talking about how wonderful our little girl is. I really treasure that! I'm going to copy a quote he put up on Facebook a few weeks ago:

This baby is like a sickness. When she was born I was able to be somewhat objective. Now I have no idea what she's actually like or how she actually looks because she just seems pretty much perfect to me. It's like one of those movies where the main character knows he's hallucinating but it's so hard to keep a hold of what's real.

She also started solid foods this week! She doesn't really like the rice cereal, but each time I feed her she eats a few more bites. She also isn't sure about the sippy cup. She just wants to chew on it. But she does pick it up and pull it to her mouth, so that's a good start. She is changing on a daily basis and sometimes I feel like I can't keep up! It happens so fast. But the bigger she gets, the happier she gets because she can actually do things. That makes everyone happy! At her 4 month weigh in she was 15 pounds even and 25 inches long. That was at the beginning of April, so who knows how big she actually is now! I had to pack up all her 6 month clothes a few weeks ago and get all her 9 month stuff ready. That happened fast! I'm hoping she slows down a little now...

Finally, Savannah is in love with Bowser! She can't get enough of him licking her, laying next to her or playing around her. She doesn't really laugh on a regular basis, but Bowser playing with her or around her will cause a lot of those adorable giggles. She loves to watch him and pet him. He just eats up the new attention. She pokes his eye or pulls on his face and he just wags his tail and gives her kisses. It's so sweet. I love watching those two interact.

Terry's, Terry's quite contrary, how does your garden grow??

2011-05-19T12:31:00.006-04:00

I think I'm just not cut out to be a good blogger anymore. I am always thinking of things I should post about, but sitting down to actually post them is a whole different story! So, I'm just going to break things down!

To start off with - our garden and back yard! I know I tend to mention things we do around our house and then say I will post pictures later, and it turns out I'm a liar! I never go back to post pictures. Oh well. But today I actually have pictures to post! YAY!

So we planted our garden this year and so far it's growing really well! We planted lots of stuff like spinach, tomatoes, peppers (lots of different kinds), radishes (yuck!), carrots, pole beans and cucumbers. I've probably left something out, but you get the gist. Lots of stuff! We planted it one Sunday in April, and with Jacob's parents help, we got it all done! Joel even built the nice little wall around it! He's super awesome like that.

And this is what is looks like today! It's doing pretty well. As you can tell, we still have some weeding and things we need to do, but overall it's going much better than it did last year. Sweet!

Jacob and his dad have also built a retaining wall and are going to be putting in a deck soon, so we will have lots more to show of our back yard by the end of the summer! For now though, I will just stick to the garden.

You are my fire, the one desire. Believe when I say, I want it that way...

2011-03-22T10:21:00.005-04:00

Well, this is the little one on her 3 month mark - I really should do cuter pictures, but for some reason I always forget. Silly me! She's a pretty big baby, but carries it well. She goes in for her four month check up next week, but last time I had her weighted (at a week or so before her 3 month mark) she was 13 pounds 3 ounces. So, I'm thinking she is at least 14 pounds, probably more and she is quite long too! She doesn't get that height from me! But because she is so big, we have gotten to start putting her in her Bumbo and her activity center, which she loves. She's got a really strong neck, and is keeping it steady about 90% of the time. It's getting better every day!

Two of her favorite things right now would have to be bath time and the song "I Want It That Way" (she is her mothers daughter....) She LOVES to splash in the bathtub and will stay in there as long as we let her! It's so cute and fun to see her so happy to just be in the water!! That means she will love going to the pool this summer - SCORE! As for the song choice, it's hilarious to me - I have no idea why (I did not listen to it when I was pregnant or anything) but she will be so mad and screaming and crying, and when I put that song on, she quiets right up! It has a 90% accuracy rate. It was an accidental discovery, but the more I test the theory, the more it seems to work! She's so funny!

Sleeping on Daddy at church

Looking cute to meet Brandy for lunch :)

We also took her on her first cabin trip! We go up to this fantastic cabin a few times a year with a great group of friends and it's so much fun. A great relaxing weekend. The weather was great so we got to take a walk, go down to the river and hang out in the sun on the porch. I already can't wait to go back! Savannah did pretty dang well, and we discovered that she LOVES to be outside. If she's fussy, we can take her out and she quiets up. She loves the sun and the breeze, so her and Jacob napped together out there for a little while :) Heather got some cute pics of her while we were up there, so I thought I'd post them too! She's also got some good stories from the weekend, along with more pics on her blog!

Other than that, we have been busy, but nothing terribly exciting. I'm still learning so much every day about being a mom...I can see that the learning never will stop. Savannah is a fun little girl and we love having her in our lives! She can be stressful too - she is very determined to get what she wants and she has a bit of a temper, but then she starts smiling and it makes the stress melt away. I know that she will be happier when she's a little bigger and can actually play and do things, but until then we will keep on figuring it out as we go!

I've got suds in the bucket and the clothes hanging out on the line...

2011-03-01T18:13:00.004-05:00

This is what our backyard looked like last night during the crazy storm.

This is what came bounding into our house this morning after being let out to use the bathroom...

He was out there for like 3 minutes - sheesh :)

This phase is gonna fly by, so baby just hold on, ‘cause it won't be like this for long

2011-02-21T09:47:00.005-05:00

So, Savannah is now two and a half months old. She is officially sleeping in her own room, and she is in the 90th percentile with weight. At her last check up, she was 12 pounds 11 ounces and 23.5 inches long! She has adorable cheeks and a nice round tummy - haha! She has learned to smile now, which is a lot of fun and she makes all kinds of sounds that aren't crying. It's pretty cute! She is also tired of being so young - she is ready to be sitting up and moving around with the rest of the big kids. She is almost ready to be put in her activity center or to sit in her Bumbo, but I want her head control to be a little stronger before I let her loose.

She's overall a sweet baby, but we discovered that she has reflux, which explains a lot of her fussiness. We are going back to the doctor today to see how she is doing and to see if there might be a better medicine for her. She's had her first cold and I think some sort of bug - there has been some excessive throwing up the last few days! Poor girl. But she still smiles and wants to snuggle, so she's not doing to bad.

So, I have a hodgepodge of pictures of her - the first one is the day she turned two months. The rest are random but funny or adorable and I thought I would share!

She's our little monkey.

Snow day!

She found her thumb!

Her first play date with Kendall - Cari's little girl. Cari is one of my closest friends from high school.

The dress she wore on the day of her blessing. My mother in law made it for her - it was beautiful and perfect!!

Extend your hand and I will lick it, throw the stick I'll run and get it, for just a bone I'll be forever in your favor...

2011-02-21T09:31:00.005-05:00

So, Savannah's biggest fan, other than her parents, would have to be Bowser. Sure, he still has moments where he is jealous of the attention she gets, but we try hard to make sure he still gets some too. He has really taken to her though, and is so cute with her. When she cries, he goes to check on her. He is always coming up and giving her kisses, and he lays on the floor next to her while she is on her mat or in her chair. We have moved her into her crib now, and just this morning he has pushed her door open twice to go in and make sure she is ok. I think my favorite thing he does is when we are playing fetch with him, he will come and drop the toy next to her or in her lap and wait for her to throw it for him. They are going to have so much fun when they get bigger! Here are some pictures of the dynamic duo - my two little ones :)

She actually likes it when he kisses her...we don't let it happen for to long though!

He's protecting us - he heard a noise from the driveway.

Smile and maybe tomorrow, you'll see the sun come shining through, for you...

2011-02-21T09:13:00.005-05:00

I have so many updates to do! I'm going to start with a series of my favorite pictures of Savannah. One day while I was holding her, she made these adorable faces while she was waking up, and I'm so glad my camera has a phone. I was able to get shots of them all. I think these were taken when she was one month old. (Can you believe she's 2.5 months already?! I can't!)

Welcome to the real world she said to me...

2011-01-01T22:05:00.011-05:00

Oh my goodness - I'm a terrible blogger!! So much has happened on top of the holidays, we have just been going and going! Since my last post, a lot has changed. The month of November was a blur for me. That last month pf pregnancy was a lot harder than I anticipated. I also didn't realize how huge I was! I saw a picture of me from the day before the little one was born and holy crap! Oh well, it happens.

Anyways!

So, I guess I should introduce the newest addition to our family!

Savannah Lea
December 2, 2010

My due date was December 10, so she arrived a little early, but I was very much ok with that. Here's the story (it's not that exciting...) I went to my 39 week appointment knowing that they thought my baby was big. We were scheduled to do an ultrasound that day to see about how big she was, and decide what the course of action should be. Well, based on the ultrasound, they thought she was about 10.1 pounds. My doctor was very open and upfront with us about our different options. Given all of the circumstances, we decided that going in for a scheduled c section was out best option. There were multiple reasons for that, and it's what we felt good about. Plus, if my delivery was going to end in a c section anyways (chances are it would) I didn't want to labor all day first. I trust my doctor (he's one of the best doctors I have ever been to...and I usually don't like or trust doctors) and so we scheduled the procedure for December 2 at 10 a.m. I won't lie - I was terrified. I did not want a c-section, but I knew it was the best option for my circumstances and what was overall safest for Savannah to have a healthy delivery. I have only been to the hospital one time in my life (when I passed some kidney stones a few years ago) so I had no idea what to expect. Overall, everything went great and she came and was healthy! I had some issues when they were giving me the epidural (oh my goodness it was awful...) but once I was drugged up things were fine and I felt no pain until I was recovering! Jacob was a rock star through the whole thing too - I'm so grateful for him. I really don't know how I would have done it without him. He kept me calm through all my anxiety and freak outs, and once Savannah arrived he was a rock star dad! Other than feeding her, I was pretty useless and he jumped right in and changed diapers, held her, swaddled her, and really took care of anything else she or I needed. Amazing!

Savannah delieverd at 8.9 pounds and 20 inches. Not as big as they feared, but still fairly large. She screamed so loud for a while after she came out, very reassuring and overwhelming at the same time! I was so glad to hear that cry, and then it hit me that I will be hearing that cry for a long time to come and I get to figure out what each of her cries mean! Once she was cleaned up, they brought her over to me for a bit to see her before Jacob and Savannah left to go get her set up while I recovered for a bit. It was so cute to be wheeled into the baby recovery area and to see Jacob sitting there holding our pretty girl. I was scared to hold her at first because I still had some bad shakes from the epidural. But I held her and it was crazy weird to know she was my little girl! But it was very awesome moment that I got to share with Jacob.

We had lots of family and friends come and see us at the hospital - we are blessed to have so many amazing people who live so close to us! Everyone has been so helpful and wonderful while we were at the hospital and since we have been home. I don't know how we will ever be able to thank every one enough, but I will keep trying to think of something!

Here are some shots from the hospital - so many proud grandparents, great grandparents and my brother is one heck of a proud uncle :)

And here are some more shots of our sweet girl over her first month with us! I can't believe she's already a month old. She's been a great little addition to our family! Even Bowser is taking to her pretty well (other than some mild depression over the fact that he's no longer the center of attention, he does so well with her!! It's adorable!!)

Oh, and the professional pictures are all courtesy of my amazing best friend Heather!! They are all mixed in together, so I apologize for that... She got more cute ones of her that I will post later, along with some pretty family pictures of us too. I'm so blessed.

That's enough for now... hopefully I can get on the ball and blog more! I have more pictures to share of some of Savannah's other "Aunt's and Uncle's" too! She's so blessed. I guess we will see if that happens or not though, . I don't know how you mothers keep up with a blog - especially ones with multiple kids! You are amazing :)

Happy 2011!!

And I said Lord I'm happy 'cause I'm just a walkin' my dog, Singin' my song, Strollin' along - It's just me and my dog

2010-11-09T11:19:00.007-05:00

Lord Horatio Nelson Williams
April 28, 1996 - November 8, 2010

Can you tell it was my mom's turn to name our pet?? She was a history major in school, and an avid history buff most of her life, so Nelson got one mouthful of a name. But he handled it quite well really :)

Nelson was the best dog ever. He lived for 14 1/2 years, and brought so much joy and love into our lives and our homes. Monday was really hard, and so have the last few months leading up to his passing. His health has been rough, and he was losing a lot of weight and his hips would give out...I won't go into any more of his issues, but the time came where a decision had to be made, and to do what is best for him, we put him down. That was not an easy decision to come to, but he was really suffering and that isn't fair to keep him alive because of selfish reasons. Especially with the cold weather coming in - it made his arthritis so much more painful.

I don't want to be all mushy and sappy and emotional, but I since he lived for 14 wonderful years, I was to share 14 of my favorite memories/lessons that I learned from him. I know it's cheesy, but this dog saved me in many ways through some hard times and I can't ever repay him for all the love and compassion he showed me.

1) Going to get a dog - I was getting ready to go into high school, and we were going to get a dog! I was so excited. We went to visit this family that had a litter of boxer puppies and it wasn't for sure we would get one, but it was a possibility. When we got there, it didn't take long for Nelson to attach himself to us. We have always said he picked us out, not that we picked him out. He followed us everywhere! It was so cute. And if we stopped walking, he would sit on our feet and when he looked up at you with those sweet puppy eyes, you couldn't help but know he was meant to be with us. It was the cutest and sweetest thing I had ever seen up to that point. I remember picking him up for the first time and him just licking my face and I was sold. Thank goodness the rest of my family was too! He came home with us that day.

2) One of the most amazing things that Nelson did for me was to be there for me. It sounds cheesy, but Nelson got me through some really hard times. My parents got divorced a year after we got him, and it was really hard on me and my brother. I remember sitting on the floor of my room in the basement crying, and Nelson would come and curl up in my lap and lick my tears and stay with me until I calmed down. He didn't just do this once or twice - he did it all the time for me. When I would come home from college and visit and was sad or upset about something (something trival and silly I'm sure) he did the same thing. Even last November when I had a miscarriage, I went to my mom's house to visit him and I sat down with him and started crying. He was so old and his hips hurt him, but he came and sat in my lap and licked my tears and let me cry, showing me nothing but the purest and sweetest love. I know it hurt him to sit like that, but he didn't budge until I was ready. I treasure those memories and that love he showed. I know he did similar things for my brother - we were his top priority and he took care of us. He loved us, and we sure love him right back.

3) I was really lucky to have a basement bedroom in high school. It had a door that went straight out into the back yard, which is where Nelson spent most of his time. Well, I loved my dog a lot, so I used to sneak him into the basement to sleep in my room. I'm pretty sure my mom always knew, but as long as she didn't catch him on the furniture, she never said too much about it... I, of course, had to push the limits though. I loved having him jump up on the little twin bed with me and fall asleep. It wasn't super comfy for him, but he did it (He was a big dog and it was a small bed). He would jump up and sleep in the bed with me until I was asleep, then jump down and sleep right next to the bed on the floor. I could reach down and pet him at any time. Then in the mornings, when I would start to wake up, he would jump back up on the bed and snuggle with me. I remember a few times my mom would come down to make sure I was awake, and she caught him up on the bed. Boy did we get in trouble...but he never stopped doing that for me. I was selfish, letting him get in trouble because I wanted things my way, but he never disappointed me!

4) He hated getting baths. My favorite bath time incident happened about a month after we brought him home - I had on a poncho and was bathing him on the kitchen sink. He was not happy to be getting so fresh and so clean, and wiggled right out of my hands, jumped over my shoulder ripping the poncho, and ran off in the house covered in soap. HA! We finally caught him and got him washed off, and we no longer bathed him in the sink.

5) Cropping his ears. This is not something I will ever do with another dog, but we did it to poor Nelson. The surgery isn't fun for them, and he had to have it twice, because one of his ears fell after the first surgery. Now, having this done to him isn't what I loved - but seeing his ears all wrapped up with a little bowl.cone around his neck - it's pathetically adorable! See for yourself - it's not the best picture, but you can see the general idea. Poor little guy!!! Isn't he the cutest thing??

6) Nelson hated his crate. We tried to crate train him, but I think since it was also used for punishment, it didn't really work for him. Trying to get him in there was the biggest ordeal ever - it involved blocking off all doors from the kitchen, trying to corner him and bribing him with meat! Even then, he still put up a fight. On the one hand, it was amusing to watch him do this to other people (my mom or brother) but then when he would do it to me it was so maddening! But he looked at you with that sweet puppy face, and all was forgiven. I'm pretty sure this is part of the reason he ended up being kept out in the yard instead of inside....

7) I will warn you - this is a gross one! But Nelson had, well, awful gas. Like, he could clear a room in 10 seconds flat (I say 10 seconds because there was always a delay between him passing the gas and then the deathly stench.) He even did this at the vet's on his last day. I have some funny stories about this, but I will spare you :)

8) Nelson loved to chase animals - especially squirrels. And he was a fast little guy - he caught them too! I remember the first time he brought his prize up on the porch to show us through the kitchen door windows - we were eating breakfast. EW! However, he was really proud of himself. He was a great runner though, and looked great chasing animals around!

9) Nelson didn't get to go on a ton of walks as he got older. I remember taking him on a walk when he was about 7 or so, when my mom lived off Holly Springs Road. I used to walk from her house to the intersection of Post Oak Tritt and Holly Springs. It was about a 3 mile walk, and it was a nice little stretch. Well, one day I decided it would be nice for Nelson to get to take a walk with me! He loved to run spurts around the yard and stuff, so I thought he was in great shape. Well, it turns out I was wrong. We got to the Post Oak Tritt and Holly Springs, and he was spent. We still had a mile and half to go! It took over and hour just to get home because he kept stopping and laying down every few feet. Poor kid - I felt bad for him!! But it was also hilarious to see this big old dog so tuckered out and me dragging him along (at one point I tried to carry him...but he was over 70 pounds at that point...so that didn't work out as well as I had hoped.)

10) This one is sort of embarrassing for my brother....but my brother would get him to chase him around the kitchen/den areas and they would go in laps. Nelson was fast so he would catch my brother and then he would end up pantsing my brother. HA! Nelson always beat him, too.

11) One of my favorite things about the boxer breed is the personality that boxers have! Nelson had a ton of personality - including letting you know when he was mad and having a special relationship with you and winking at you (I'm totally serious too!) My mom got the brunt of his attitude, especially his angry attitude. He would do things that would make her mad, because he was mad. Like if he didn't want to be left alone, but my mom had brought him down to the basement because of the weather, he would leave her little "presents" (aka poop) on the floor (it wasn't a cement floor, so it wasn't the worst scenario....but it still had to be cleaned up). When Gordon and I would come to see him, he would give us the cold shoulder for a while when we first got there. He would of course let us pet him, but his boxer kisses weren't around for a good while! He sure told us :)

12) My mom and step-dad's house has a great backyard and Nelson loved it. There is a nice big hill that he would love to walk to the top of and sit and look out over his territory. He would sit up there in the sun and just be. Even as he got older and his arthritis was really tough on him, he would take at least a few walks a day up to the top of that hill and sit there. It was sweet to see him up there looking over everything, including my mom and step-dad.

13) The hill also served as an amazing burial ground for ham bones!! At holidays, we always save the ham bone for him and we would take them to him outside and he would get so excited and run up on the hill and bury his bone. Then dig it up and bury it again. The process was limitless! He couldn't handle leaving it just one spot, and it is so cute to see him digging and then filling the hole by moving the dirt back in the hole by pushing it with his nose. We always loved watching him bury and move his ham bones around :)

14) Lastly, I love Nelson because he was truly a best friend to me. I love dogs and the compassion and companionship they give. Nelson was the most loyal dog I have ever had and he loved us so much. I hope he knows how much we love him. It was hard since both my brother and I moved away from home, and he stayed, but we made sure to visit him and spoil him when we did see him. I can never thank him enough for all the joy he brought into my and my brothers life. There are so many other stories I could tell, but I will stop now. The most important thing I can say is that I love Nelson and he came into our lives at the perfect time! I'm so grateful he picked us, because life without him would not have been as happy, as loving or as special. We are all better off for having him in our lives!

That's enough of my ramblings. Here are a few more pics from the last few years...

Oh, Mexico, It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low. Moon's so bright like to light up the night, and make everything all right..

2010-09-27T16:39:00.002-04:00

Things have been pretty busy around here lately...The biggest change that has happened was that I ended my job. It's been a big adjustment for me, but it's also been really nice too. I'm able to get a lot more done around the house and getting ready for the baby's arrival, as well as able to rest when I need to. It's been really helpful. It's weird to not be working, since I have worked for so long, and I miss my co-workers a lot. Overall, I worked with some amazing people and made some wonderful friends and it's been weird not seeing them every day! But it's for the best and I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to be home for a little bit before the baby comes. Bowser has loved it too - he's my little shadow and is just so sweet. I can tell he's happier too.

We also got around to knocking a big task off our to do list - we finally had our fireplace knocked out and had some french doors put in instead. I loved having a fireplace, but it did not work. It was going to cost a lot to fix it and we did not have any access to our back yard from within the house. Knocking it out and putting in doors was a perfect option. I will upload some before and after pictures later, once we get Jacobs computer set back up, because it looks awesome! The den looks better too - so much more light and it feels more comfortable. Bower loves it too because now he can run around the backyard and come back in when he wants. Before we would have to wait outside with him and that was a pain. This will make life much easier once the baby comes too, to let Bowser out and such. I love sitting in the den with all the light and looking at the fall colors start to come out. AWESOME!

Other than that, I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention lots of exciting things that have gone on, but for now I think that will work. I will do a more detailed doors, pumpkin patch, amazing baby shower post soon. But for now, I will wrap up with where I'm at in the pregnancy...just for kicks.

How far along: 32.5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: + 7 lbs
Gender: Our little girl is continuing to grow and kick more and more every day.

Maternity clothes?: Maternity clothes, especially pants, have been the best thing ever. I am glad that I finally gave in and got some! Thanks to oldnavy.com, I have gotten some for some great prices!

Sleep: Sleep continues to be difficult. If I make myself stay up late, and get REALLY tired, I sleep through the night fairly well, only getting up to pee lots of times. But I'm not getting enough sleep, because I still am constantly tired, but at least I'm sleeping through the night. I know it will only get worse, and once she gets here it will be even more crazy, so I'm trying to appreciate it what I do get as much as I can.

Best moment this week: This weeks best moment would have to be finally getting stuff int he baby's room set up, as well as my amazing friends throwing me a sweet baby shower!! It was so cute and thoughtful!! I love it. I will put pictures up later.

Movement: She kicks a lot these days. She definitely has her favorite times of day to be active, including in the middle of the night, but it's reassuring to feel her moving around, and it's impressive she's such a hard kicker! I think her favorite target is my bladder....

Food cravings: French fries (or potatoes in any form!), ice cream and milk, and red meat. Those are the strongest and most consistent cravings I have.

What I'll miss: Umm, that's kinda of tough! I'm not sure what I will miss at this point. I'm just looking forward to her arrival.

Milestones: We've been taking childbirth classes at Northside, and that's been super helpful. I am glad we decided to do that. I'm also calling to find a pediatrician for us. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to go to the same one I went to when I was a kid - the 2 doctors who where there when my brother and I were born back in the day are still there! I loved going there, so I think I will stick with what I know to be good. It's weird to think I will be taking my kids there now...
Theme: I don't know what the theme of the last week would be...probably just getting stuff together and in order. It's a relief and exciting and slightly overwhelming all at the same time.
Extra: There have been lots of changes going on in our house and lives....since I just talked about it all, I will leave it at that for now :)

I wanna hear you laugh like you really mean it; Collapse into me, tired with joy...

2010-08-26T11:56:00.004-04:00

So, I thought I would post some ultrasound pics on here. I went to the doctor Monday, and since it was at Northside instead of my regular OB, they ultrasound is much clearer! They got some great shots and said she's growing really well and looks very healthy! WAHOO! They also said they won't need to see me back there unless my regular doc sends me back because of problems, but I think we should be fine. The reason that they are concerned and have done so many ultrasounds on me is because of my vasculitis. Since they don't know what causes it, and I have had 2 outbreaks of it (the first one which stuck around for like a year and then I had all the prednisone issues.... and then in February when I got super sick and had a viral infection, I broke out again. This time I went to the doctor the day it broke out and he started me on a 2 week round of prednisone and it went away. Have I ever mentioned how I hate that stuff?) So to make sure that everything is going well and that the baby is healthy, they have done more ultrasounds. She's a rock star and they said she looks great! Wahoo! I'm so relieved.

Here is her blog debut :)

Rainbow's are visions, they're only illusions and rainbows have nothing to hide...

2010-08-17T08:57:00.003-04:00

I haven't really talked to much about my pregnancy so far, and I thought it would be interesting to see where I am at and track it a little more. The first half of the journey has been good, and I'm glad to be over the halfway point. Lots of changes are ahead, and I'm trying to get ready for them the best I can. It's exciting, fun and scary to me all at once. Jacob has been great in keeping me calm, being excited too and just being a great husband. I'm pretty lucky to have him!!

How far along: 24 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: + 3 lbs
Gender: It's a GIRL! I don't think I've said anything on here about it, so there ya go. She will be here on December 10th, and we are so excited. So is our family! I may have already bought some adorable clothes...I couldn't help myself! Now to start planning everything... We decided to not mess with anything until we knew the gender, and now that we do, a whole new reality has set in - yikes! But a good yikes. There is a lot to do before she gets here! Bowser will be so excited to have a little girl to play with :)

Maternity clothes?: I finally bought some and it was the best decision ever. I'm so much more comfy now, and I don't look like I'm just trying to fit in my normal clothes.

Sleep: Sleep is awful these days. I consistently wake up between 3 and 5 in the morning and can't fall back asleep until about 20 minutes before the alarm goes off. I look exhausted and I feel exhausted! Plus, I get either really hot or really cold and my nose is so stuffy that I can't breathe well. So, between all of that...sleep and I are apparently taking a break. I hope we get back together soon...I really miss it.

Best moment this week: Hmm...this week's best moment would probably be the realization that I will be parting ways with my job at the end of September. I've known and talked to them about it back in July, but the reality is finally starting to sink it. While it's sad and weird to think about not working, I'm grateful for the 2 months before the little one comes that I will have to "myself" to get things done that really need it. Plus, then I can reunite with sleep, because if my body will let me sleep - I don't care what time it is, I'm gonna do it!

Movement: I am feeling her move around a lot more these days - it's crazy! I didn't really know what to expect when you read about feeling the baby, but it's kinda cool. She isn't doing any ninja kicks yet, but I can feel light little kicks and lots of flutters. I can't wait for Jacob to be able to feel it too.

Food cravings: My cravings have been kind of weird. Nothing has been consistent, but when something hits, I really want it! One of my favorite ones is the Philly cheese-steak sandwich from Philly Connection....oh man, so good. Crap, now I want one!!

What I'll miss: As of right now, I can't really think of anything I will miss about being pregnant. Maybe feeling her moving around...

Milestones: I don't really feel like this is a milestone exactly, but I've started with the heartburn. It makes me feel officially pregnant and it's not my favorite. Luckily, I'm enjoying tropical flavored Tums, so that makes it a little better...but I'd rather not deal with it at all. I guess I need to make sure to stay away from tomato sauce and onions...at least those are a few of the triggers I have noticed so far.
Theme: The theme of the week would have to be lack of sleep and heartburn. I won't repeat what I've already said...but gosh, I miss my sleep.
Extra: One of my favorite things that has been happening over the last few months has to do with Bowser. I'm not really sure how he knows, but it has become a normal thing for me to sit on the floor with him and for him to rub his head on my tummy. I feel like he knows something is going on, but he doesn't know what. It might sound super silly, but I love that he does that! He is also super protective too. We had a friend come over last week to see us for a bit, and he laid at my feet the whole time, wouldn't go near the guy and when he came over to shake my hand before he left - Bowser stood up and watched his every move. It was adorable! I feel bad for the guy though...he just wanted to pet Bowser, but that wasn't gonna happen. I like the non aggressive approach Bowser uses. Typically, he warms right up to people after he hesitates for a minute, so this was interesting to see. Bowser is already taking care of the little one!

When you're the president of the Breakfast Club, and you're not hesitant to fall in love, To fall in love with the eighties...

2010-07-23T09:53:00.013-04:00

* Warning: This post contains a random assortment of childhood books/authors/memories. It may or may not be coherent :) *

With the opening of Ramona and Beezus in theaters today, People.com had an interview of sorts with Beverly Cleary. I have to admit, I was more than a little excited to click on the article. I grew up reading books, and one of my top 5 favorite authors was Beverly Cleary. I read every book she wrote - more than once. Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, Ralph S. Mouse, Beezus, Ellen Tebbits, Socks, and my all time favorite - Ramona Quimby. I fell in love with the all of Cleary's stories, because on some levels you could relate to them, but they were also outlandish enough to make you laugh and cringe all at the same time. Ramona had this incredible imagination - one that I wish I had.

Anyways! I started this post because I read the article with Cleary, and I felt like she is exactly the person who I would have expected to write such wonderful books. She's 94 now, and seems like a wonderful woman who has done so much in her life! (I ended up reading a Wikipedia article on her as well, so not all of my thoughts stem from the People.com article.) She has a love for books and children, and both are evident in the way she has lived her life and the way she talks about her books. My favorite quote from the People article:

She doesn't analyze her characters.
During one meeting with Ramona and Beezus director Elizabeth Allen, "[Beverly] asked, 'What are the themes in Ramona?' " recalls Allen. "I said, 'It's about this iconoclast who's learning how to navigate in society.' And she looked at me cross-eyed and said, 'No. It's about growing up.'

I love the simplicity that she keeps to her charters and her stories. They are timeless, as she says, and she wants children of any generation to be able to pick up the books and be able to relate to them, or feel a sense of normalcy when they read them. I know it worked for me. Growing up, we moved around a lot and I was constantly changing schools. While I would eventually make new friends in the neighborhoods we lived in or at school, I never felt like I had a place. One thing I did have was books! The characters never changed no matter where I lived, and I would read books over and over again and it gave me a sense of security in new places. As I've grown up, every now and then I will pick up one of my childhood favorites and those feelings and love of the characters are still there. I look forward to sharing those books with my own kids one day! (In fact, I just cleaned out about 3 or 4 boxes of those books from my mom's basement and now they are in my basement! It was fun to go through them all.)

Since this is sort of a hodgepodge of ramblings, I think I will leave you with my some of my favorite childhood authors.

Beverly Cleary, of course.

Ann M. Martin - Babysitters Club Series

Louise Fitzhugh - Harriett The Spy and The Long Secret

Norton Juster - The Phantom Tollbooth

Francine Pascal - The Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High Series

Judy Blume (there are so many that I loved!!)

Roald Dahl (also, so many favorites!)

Carolyn Keene - I loved anything and everything Nancy Drew

Anyways, those are just a few. I read so much that I can't remember them all now! It was fun to take a trip down memory lane though...I really want to go home and read the Phantom Tollbooth now :)

Did you notice I was afraid? I thought I'd run out of things to say. Two more hours until today burns this away, and it starts all over again.

2010-06-23T10:23:00.003-04:00

Some days are rough and tedious. Like today. I thought that yesterday was Wednesday, and it turns out - nope! It was only Tuesday. Now this is becoming the LONGEST Wednesday of my life. I need to laugh, so I found some entertaining Liz Lemon clips that did the trick. I love Tina Fey.

Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper "i love you", birds singin’ in the sycamore trees, dream a little dream of me.

2010-06-09T11:27:00.010-04:00

Well, to say that nothing has really been going on with us would be one big fat lie! Where to begin??

Well, for starters, for those of you who don't know yet - I'm pregnant! We are expecting the little one to arrive on or around December 10th - just in time for the holidays, poor thing! What a time to have a birthday. Jacob and I are really excited about it (and I'm mildly terrified!) I'm almost 14 weeks now...so I look forward to that 2nd trimester being better than the first thing to start happening. I have been blessed for sure, as I know plenty of people have it way worse than I do, but I'm ready to stop feeling so icky all the time. I've had lots of doctors appointments and a few ultrasounds, and we know that things are going well and that the little one is doing great. I'm right at 14 weeks, so hopefully I will start feeling better soon!

I survived the annual board meeting at work. It was a bit harder this time around since I was in my first trimester and all, but I did it and I didn't complain (well, I didn't complain at work. Jacob would probably say I complained a lot!) We had an even on Thursday night that was quite impressive. I have to admit, that my boss really knows how to put together an event. I have learned a lot from working with her on these things, and this one really took the cake. All the hard work we put in to making it happen really paid off because the Trustees loved it. It was nice to see people appreciate your efforts.

Jacob has planted our garden again, and it's doing really well so far! And I actually have pictures - good pictures to show!! Let me post some pics of the garden then I will explain my new picture taking circumstances. I wish I could remember all that he planted, but I know some of the things are tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos, cayenne peppers, bell peppers, strawberries...and a few others. Hes so good!

As far as having these beautiful pictures is concerned, I got a new camera! Well, I didn't get it persay, but my amazing husband and friends and brother all chipped in to get me this amazing camera that I have been wanting for my b-day! I turned 28 on the 28th, and I couldn't have been more grateful and humbled by what awesome people I have in my life! Heather took some pics and made a cute collage for her blog, so I stole it to put on mine! Yay for my Canon Rebel XS! It's such a stud :) Now I can take real pictures of things we do, people we love, and of our growing family! Bowser has proven to be a great subject so far!

Speaking of Bowser, what post would be complete without a few shots of the cute pup! He's about 50 pounds now and 8.5 months old. We totally got lucky when I picked him out - he's the best dog we could have asked for. Since I've been pregnant, he's gotten a lot more protective of me and the house. He barks when he hears or sees cars/strangers coming up the drive way or when he hears random noises that he knows aren't common. I love it! I feel safe and loved, especially when he comes and sits in front of me on guard and barking. Too cute! He also seems to be getting more well behaved (though if he steals my bottle of prenatal vitamins one more time....) Anyways! Enough about him! Here are some cute shots of him taken with my new camera!! Check out that tongue!

Oh, and so I know I have admitted that I have a deep love of the TV show Bones, but I also have that same love for Glee!! I'm a Gleek, and proud of it! I don't want to write about the finale in case some of you haven't watched it yet, but holy heck was I LOVING it! Not only do I love Journey, but I love the McKinley High Glee Club - great finale!! Here is them preforming at regionals - sigh. I just can't get enough :)

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars; I could really use a wish right now...

2010-05-25T12:24:00.003-04:00

Life has been a bit crazy and hectic lately! I will save those reasons for another post, but I'm grateful for little weekend getaways to see amazing and wonderful friends who make everything better :)

This past weekend I hopped in my car and drove down to Destin to see Mary!! I really needed a little break from work and such, and even thought I was sad to leave Jacob for the weekend, I needed me some Mary time. I love that they live closer now - even though I know they miss being near family. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, shopping, going to the beach, and hanging out some more. Mary and Cam seriously are the sweetest people and have some of the cutest kids! I had so much fun being with all of them. I miss her already and can't wait to go back and see her again!! Sadly, I don't have any pictures...but check out her blog to see just how cute their family is. I'm grateful for their hospitality and friendship. Mary has been such an amazing friend for so long, I just don't know what I'd do without her. I love you!!

Making the drive by myself wasn't to bad. I like driving and just listening to music - it relaxes me most of the time. I did great on the way down there and I made great time! I even bonded with Google Maps on the iPhone. (For those of you who don't know how much I usually don't like that app, this bonding experience was a HUGE step for me!) Well, on the way home it failed me. Once you load the directions, it doesn't matter if you have service or not you can still navigate the directions just fine. That's how I made it to Destin in one piece. Plus, I had printed out directions for the way there, just in case. I went home a different route than I came (mistake)! So, I was driving through a no service area on the way back, and something happened and I lost my directions! I couldn't even get the map to load! I tried to remain calm and not panic...I kept thinking that I will hit service soon and my map will come back. I had no idea where I was and I was fairly certain I had missed my turn. I finally pulled over when I had service and tried everything I could do to get my map back! When I tried to restart my phone, it would just freeze up for a while. Finally I called Jacob. I tried to be calm, but I'm pretty sure I was mildly freaking out. I couldn't have him get me directions because I didn't even know where I was. He told me of another way I could force my phone to shut off (I'm pretty sure if I hadn't been so flustered I would have thought of it eventually....maybe..) and once I did that, everything reloaded. I wasn't to far off the beaten path, but boy do I never want to rely on Google Maps again! (just the app, I still think they give the best directions from point A to point B). It made me further my desire to own a GPS. I don't travel far distances that often, but when I do I want to know I can make it home, and not be stuck in the middle of nowhere Alabama :)

**Mary posted a picture of us before we went to church on Sunday! I thought I'd post it too - I'm such a copy cat!

Still like that old time rock'n' roll, that kind of music just soothes the soul; I reminisce about the days of old, with that old time rock 'n' roll..

2010-04-28T10:29:00.005-04:00

I love my iPod. I love my iPhone. I love music. These three things all go hand in hand quite nicely, especially when I can load my iPod, that's on my iPhone, with lots of music and plug it in to listen to in the car! I have been doing that for a while now, and have always thought that it's great! I love the shuffle feature, and when I turn it on, I just let it go and let it surprise me with what it plays next. It's really a great system.

Sometime over the last 2 weeks or so, I started flipping through some CD books that I had in my backseat that I haven't touched in a LONG time. As I flipped through the pages, a flood of memories came back as I saw the albums or mix cds that were in there. I unplugged my iPhone and put in some albums that I used to listen to all the time, that get lost when my iPod is on shuffle. It's been so much fun to listen to complete albums again. I love flipping through CD book and seeing the graphics on the different albums, or finding CD's that you can't buy on iTunes! (I used to listen to a lot of not so famous bands, so I have quite a few albums like that.)

It might sound silly, because music is just music, right, no matter what form you listen to it in. Not for me. I love flipping through all the old records that I got from my dad a while back - can you even believe he was going to just get rid of them?! Sheesh! I'm glad I saved them! I love the sound of the music as it's played on a record player - it sounds so authentic and vintage to me and I love that. I love finding old mix tapes that I used to make - the choppy editing or the clips from the radio right before and after the song. Or the mix tapes that people made for me! I still listen to this Offspring mix that a friend made me in high school - we did a mix tape trade. He gave me awesome rock music, and I gave him awesome boy band music - HA! I love the nostalgia and the memories that go with those sounds. Like listening to the records when I was little with my dad and brother - my dad was a big air guitar player and I remember him jamming out while we played along with him or danced around. I remember driving around with friends listening to those mix tapes.

I love being able to buy music instantly on iTunes. But as I flipped through the CD books, I remember waiting in line at midnight to buy the new release with my friends, or the concerts I went to where I discovered a new band and had to have the CD right then - sometimes they would even sign it. I miss going to record stores and perusing the aisles and getting into conversations with random people or employees about what bands are good and why they like them. I discovered so much music that way. I also miss holding the CD case in my hands and reading through the CD books. The art, pictures, lyrics and bios always fascinated me. I feel like those things made music personal to me, and I have lost that spark now. Don't get me wrong, I still love listening to my music and am grateful for all the technology that goes along with making it accessible and enjoyable. I just miss the experience that used to go along with that. Maybe those feelings and ideas are part of being younger, and as you get older it just goes away.

Regardless, I'm grateful I kept some randoms CD's in my car and I think I will keep listening to them for a while before I jump back into the world of iPods and digital downloads.

When I saw him I felt the room divide into pieces, Oh the lights danced around us just like stars in the sky...

2010-04-23T09:16:00.003-04:00

In my attempt to be a more consistent blogger, I decided I need to post. But what do I post about? How about the random thoughts that have been plaguing my mind lately.

1) I don't know how many of you know, but I love the TV show Bones. It's on its 5th season right now, and for a while I never watched it. But season 1 was on sale at Target for like $10 bucks one day, so I bought it. It looked interesting, so I thought why not. It took me forever to actually watch it, but once I did, I was hooked! Such a good show! I blew through all 4 seasons and was watching the new episodes on Thursday nights. I am a huge fan of Booth and Brennan, and I want them to get together. They recently had their 100th episode and things came to a head, but now we are in that limbo period waiting to see what happens. I know it's ridiculous, but I am a bit of a hopeless romantic in some ways, and I can't help feeling so defeated when another episodes goes by and it's still not happening. I haven't wanted two people to get together so badly since Pacy and Joey on Dawsons Creek!! (Have I said to much?!) Anyways, I just look forward to the season finale because I am thinking that a little closure will come my way. I hope.

2) I am really sad about all the education cuts going on in Cobb County right now. I really hate when education takes a huge hit, because I feel that it's one of the most important things we can do for children and our community! I have always wanted to one day be a teacher, and it seems like it gets harder and harder to be able to do that since they are constantly having to lay people off or have salary cuts. Working for a university, I have been able to see the effects of budget cuts more and I know its tough. It just makes me sad to know that kids could get a lesser quality education because of budget cuts. I was really involved in the arts in high school and I know that they can be the first ones to go, and I think it's a travesty. I don't know tons about government budgets and how they make the decisions they do, but this budget cut has inspired me to get more informed. I want to know that our kids are being taken care of and getting an education that will help them go far in life. Plus, there are so many friends I have in the education field, I hate to hear about the possibility of them getting laid off. I should probably be more informed about things before I rant about it, but it's on my mind so I thought I'd share.

3) I'm super excited and proud of Jacob and all the amazing work he's done at the house this week. Our yard is looking a million times better! I wish I could have taken some time off to help out, but he's doing such a great job. His parents have been very helpful to! I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished. I will save the details of what they are doing for a later post so we can post the pictures of it. It is definitely inspiring to make the inside of the house look as good as the outside though. I have some serious work to do!

4) I'm really happy it's Friday. I need some downtime from work. It's been a busy week! My boss has been stuck in France due to the volcano in Iceland. She was supposed to be gone for two weeks, returning to the office on Monday. They can't even catch a flight until next Tuesday. They had to drive down to Madrid from Paris to even catch that flight! I can't imagine having to deal with all of that mayhem, let alone the extra cost of spending an additional week and a half in Europe. I personally would have gone down to Italy and tried to catch a flight out of there, after some exploration of course!

5) Apparently I look as tired as I feel today. Multiple people have mentioned to me how tired I look. It's funny that some people can say that to me and it doesn't phase me at all - I know them well enough to know it's not a mean comment or I know them well enough to where they are allowed to say things like that to me (in a nice way of course.) Then there are the people who I don't know well enough, or at all really, and it comes across as a rude comment. Today has lacked the rudeness, thank goodness, but I went to the bathroom after the 4th comment and yeah...not only do I look super tired, my hair is a mess too. Oh well! Happy Friday!!

Remember spring swaps snow for leaves, you'll be happy and wholesome again, when the city clears and sun ascends...

2010-04-09T08:13:00.006-04:00

Today is my hodgepodge update. I've been told by a few different people that I need to get on the blogging ball...so this is me..on the ball!

It's been pretty quiet here at work, which I am so grateful for. I know this is just the calm before the storm, since my boss is out for two weeks, and I know once she gets back it will be high stress all the way. We have our Annual Board of Trustee Meeting in June, and that one is always more stressful than the Quarterly ones. It's a big song and dance of putting on events and meetings and it is seriously the most stressful thing I have ever done. This will be my third one. I worked through my first one while passing a kidney stone. I had been in the ER that weekend and I still hadn't passed it by Monday morning, but I had to come in because the meetings were that week. Can we say miserable? For the record...taking Vicoden while working isn't the best idea in the world. Anyways! I am really grateful for this time where I can get as much of my stuff done as possible, so when it's gets insane around here, hopefully I won't be as stressed.

Heather and I started up a recipe blog - Don't Forget to Lick the Spoon! We have been talking about doing one for a while, and we finally did. Check it out!! It will be lots of fun to start documenting the things we love to make and to be able to share those things with you!

Bon appetit y'all!

So, I don't have kids yet, but I do have an adorable puppy, so....I'm going to talk about him for a minute :)

Bowser is adorable as ever and getting bigger every day! He has eaten a random assortment of things no dog should ever eat. The list includes: a bottle of prenatal vitamins, earwax remover, shampoo, toilet paper, make up removing face wipes, and lots of cardboard. He really loves to play outside, but not if we aren't out there with him, which can be a pain. Jacob has started teaching him how to catch a Frisbee, and he's getting pretty dang good at that. He's started trying to catch bees and other bugs that fly around. Apparently the other day he caught one, and then he opened his mouth back up and the bee flew out! HA! He's also getting more protective. Usually when people come over he goes up to them and wants them to pet him and all, but when the AC guy came the other day, Bowser didn't go up to him. He hung back and stayed near me most of the time. He would go see where the guy went and when the guy would come back, Bowser would be near me again. I won't lie - I kinda love that. This first picture is my favorite!! That's the grumpiest face I have ever seen!

I know this is pretty behind the times, but it snowed in Atlanta a few times this winter, and I love the way our house looks covered in snow! Bowser also loved the snow, but got neutered the day before the big snow hit, so he didn't get to enjoy it as much as he would have liked..

...Crusin' and playin' the radio, with no particular place to go.

2010-03-31T09:22:00.006-04:00

I have been struggling for things to blog about, mainly because I don't have pictures to go with any interesting things we do. But one thing that has been on my mind lately is cell phone usage while driving. I am the first to admit, I have texted while driving. I use my phone while driving. I also commute to Midtown Atlanta every day on 75 and I see tons of people swerving around and as I pass them I see that they are messing with their cell phones. 80 mph is not a safe speed to be multitasking at. It's dangerous, and I have heard way to many tragic stories that stem from cell phone usage while driving.

I have a story about cell phone usage while driving. It was my 23rd birthday and I was a nanny for two awesome girls, ages 14 and 10. (Let me interject here and say if I ever have daughters, I hope they are as awesome as those two girls.) I had just picked up the oldest one from a sleepover and we were going to pick up some lunch. I had the right of way, a green arrow, and there were about 4 cars in front of me. They all went through just fine. My car sort of hesitated before I went, which was weird, but it turned out to be a blessing! A guy who was talking on his cell phone totally blew through his red light. If my car hadn't hesitated, he would have smashed into me right where I was sitting! My car was totaled and his was in bad shape too. Overall, the girls were just fine and so was I. It was a terrifying experience being in an accident like that with other peoples children in my car. The family knew it wasn't my fault and they knew me very well and trusted me (I was their nanny for about 4 summers). I won't go into the details about the rest of the drama (and oh boy, what the guy who hit me FULL of drama!) but he hadn't seen the light because he was distracted by his phone call. I was really good about not using my phone while driving after that, but I got lax about it as the years passed. But now that texting while driving has become a big problem as well, I started to think about the issue more and more.

I decided that I needed to do something. I felt like complaining about it wasn't enough (shocking, huh?!) That's when I heard about Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge. I thought it was kind of a silly thing to do at first, so I didn't think about it much. I didn't want to sign something just because Oprah said we should (I have never even seen an episode of her show!) But then I really started paying attention while I was driving and so many people are not paying attention to the roads. It is especially scary when you see teenagers doing it. I'm not saying they are bad drivers, but they have less experience on the road and don't need even more things to distract them. I don't want something to happen to me or my loved ones because someone was checking Facebook or sending a text instead of watching the traffic signal and missing the fact that it turned red.

I know that I thought this wasn't as important when I first read about it, and I also thought, I'm a safe driver this wouldn't happen to me (which is ridiculous because it already has!)....Then I remembered it just takes one moment of not paying attention to cause a wreck. So, I decided that I would pledge to make my car a little safer.

That being said...here is my pledge!

I pledge that I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving.

I know I'm a cheeseball.....but at least I'm trying to be a safe cheeseball :)

If you ask me plainly, I would gladly say I'd like to have you round just for them rainy days...

2010-01-13T11:11:00.016-05:00

Happy New Year!

I'm really excited for the new year, and the things that it may have in store for us! (I hope it involves a cruise!!) Looking ahead is great, but 2009 was a good year for us! Here are my 10 favorite moments of last year, complete with pictures. Most of these are stolen, as I am terrible at remembering to take pictures. Or else they are taken with my iPhone. Meh.

In no particular order:

1) We got married! Best. Day. Ever.

2) St. Johns. Twice. Most amazing place ever. I hope to live there one day. Seriously.

3) Painted our kitchen! I'm so in love with it now :)

4) Learning to sew. I made my first pair of pajama pants! I'm grateful I have so many talented ladies in my life who can teach me! (Not only did I learn to sew, I learned to sew on my mom's first sewing machine. I had Heather take some pics of it so I could frame them and give it to her, since she has given me the machine now. I love the shots Heather took!)

5) My Jizninifer came home! She was serving a mission for our church in Mongolia, and I know that she didn't really want to come home...but I sure missed her while she was gone! She did so much for the people there. I love hearing her stories about the people and the things she did there. Most of all, I love her and her testimony and the example she set by going to share it with others. I love her!

6) Labor Day Weekend beach trip. I love the weekend trips that we take. I do seriously have some of the best friends in the world, and I love that we go and do all kinds of things together. Beach trips are some of my favorite types of trips. (I stole this picture from Heather...)

7) Speaking of awesome friends, I took a trip to see Mary. It was long overdue and so much fun! I definitely don't get to see her enough, so here's to another trip in 2010! Hopefully more than one...

8) Bowser. I know I just posted on him...but he is a totally one of our highlights of 2009!

9) Trying a fried oreo. I have always wanted too, but I never have. It. Was. Amazing. So good! Also, I love going to the Apple Festival and Pumpkin Patch, but eating a friend oreo sounds cooler than going to see pumpkins... :)

10) Brittany bought us concert tickets for my birthday!! We went to see No Doubt and Paramore. Oh my goodness....Gwen Stefani is so amazing. I love her!!! They played tons of old songs and sounded awesome. What an awesome friend! I'm lucky she has put up with me for so long :)

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

2009-12-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

So, my Christmas came a little early this year and I couldn't be more excited! Guess what I got...

A PUPPY!!!

His name is Bowser (yes, we named him after the character from the Nintendo games!) and he's 9 weeks old. Look at his adorable wrinkles and his big old paws! He's going to be a big guy when he's full grown. He's seriously adorable...I'm not even exaggerating! He won over Jacob - that says a lot right there! (Yes, Bowser enjoys to watch TV...)

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!! I have a bit of guilt that I have a puppy and Nelson, my dog who lives with my mom, can't live with us, but the circumstances don't really allow for that to be a feasible option. Nelson will always be my number one, but this little guy is a really close second!

Jacob and some awesome friends/family built a fabulous fence for the house, and it's almost finished! Once it is, Bowser will have a great yard to run around and get a lot of his energy out. I will post some pictures of the fence when I post about all the work we have been doing on the house. It's been a busy last month or two.

Bowser's personality comes out more and more every day. He's such a great dog. He loves to play, but he also love to cuddle. It's rather adorable. He sleeps through the night, and has from the first night we brought him home. He doesn't make a mess at night...during the day is a different story though. We are crate training him, but since he's in there while we are at work, we let him sleep in our room and that's worked out great. He still has a lot to learn though, but we are (well, at least I am) super happy and excited to have him! He came at the perfect time, and we definitely got a wonderful little guy.

I had a dog and his name was King, I told the dog about everything...

2009-09-17T11:15:00.005-04:00

So, life has been busy and somewhat crazy, but it's good as usual. I don't have much time to update now, but I did want to mention that I have recently started volunteering with the Atlanta Boxer Rescue and that this Saturday, September 19, is the big fundraiser - Boxerstock!

ABR works with local animal shelters to identify Boxer dogs that need to be rescued, move those Boxers to foster homes for care and rehabilitation, spay/neuter and vaccinate the Boxers as needed, and seek qualified adopters to give those Boxers new, loving homes. (I stole that from the website!) Recently, a lot of the dogs they have rescued have heartworms, and the treatment can get costly. So, if you want to help out this organization, come out to Boxerstock! The money earned will help cover the costs of the health care for these adorable little guys! I'm really excited about being a volunteer with this organization, and want to spread the word.

I am a huge fan of boxers in general, but in particular, Nelson. He's not from ABR, he's my puppy, who is now nearing the age of 13. We have had him since he was 6 weeks old, and he's been one amazing puppy. (Yes, I am fully aware he's not technically a puppy anymore, but he will always be one to me.) I would write more about the amazingness of Nelson, how much he means to me and how much I love him, but that will be saved for another day. He deserves his own post :)

Boooooring

2009-08-28T15:39:00.006-04:00

Are you interested in unbelievably dry analysis of the iPhone? Well, great! Then you're in good company, because I've written some.

Oh wait, you aren't? Oh. Well, then here's some pictures of our garden. I'm thinking I'll write a "What I learned in my first year of gardening" post in the next month or so.

I can't see the stars anymore living here, let's go to the hills where the outlines are clear...

2009-08-06T08:20:00.006-04:00

I am absolutely ready to explode with excitement!!!

I get to see my BEAUTIFUL Jiznin in less than two weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of her and her service to the Lord and the people of Mongolia. She's amazing!! I have missed her so much, and I can't even believe it's already time for her to come home. I'm so blessed to have her in my life, and I'm so grateful for all that she has done for me and taught me through her amazing example. I can't wait to hear her stories and tell her mine. OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER!

I LOVE YOU JIZNIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell I'm a little excited?!

:)

Where are you now; as I'm swimming through the stereo, I'm writing you a symphony of sound..

2009-07-16T09:58:00.004-04:00

I have been having trouble thinking of things to write lately, so instead of telling stories about what we have been up to, or how much I HATE Atlanta traffic/drivers, I thought I would write a list of things that make me happy lately...or always. Things that I love. So, in no particular order:

I love...

- My husband.

- Text messages that make me laugh.

- Peeling Clementine oranges. Mmmm.

- Going to see live music. I love seeing other peoples talents.

- Hugs from Jacob. They are the best thing in the world.

- Watching my husband play Tiger Woods on the Wii.

- So You Think You Can Dance

- My Smiths. All 3 of them. They are the best!!!

- Clint's sense of humor and taste in music! It's seriously my favorite. I also love it when he helps me cook. It is always a lot funnier/more fun when he's there! He's my favorite Martin...hahah!! Get it?!

- Pep talks from Calien. She makes me feel like I can take on the world.

- Baking yummy treats.

-Walking in the rain (even when it's a DOWNPOUR!)

- Looking at pictures from my childhood. My brother and I are awesome :)

- Watermelon

- Seeing a rainbow.

- Etsy.com

- Our new couches!!

- Having a really clean kitchen.

- Watching Food Network.

- Seeing midnight showings of Harry Potter movies.

- Trips to see Mary.

- Tweaking recipes to make them taste even better.

- Pedicures with Heather.

- Having FHE with the Smiths and the Eltons.

- Key lime pie

- SmartWater

- The Burkes. 'Nough said!

- Reading other peoples blogs. People are so interesting!!

- 4th of July BBQ's with amazing friends. (I was sad I didn't get to spend the weekend with all of the Williams clan though...)

- No Doubt concerts with Brittany.

- Brittany: No one knows me quite like she does :)

- Beating Jacob at Buzz Quiz (that doesn't happen as much as I'd like).

- Hanging out with my brother.

- My family. I have a really amazing family. I also have really amazing in-laws. I sure got lucky! Wonderful family makes life so much better.

- Zesting a lemon.

- My iPod.

- Decorating our house.

That's enough for now. I'm a very blessed individual! I love my life and all the people in it!

But until then I'll spend my money up right down to my last dime, callin Baton Rouge...

2009-06-25T10:58:00.007-04:00

I love trips. I love seeing new places. And I love doing that with amazing friends!! This time, I went to Louisiana to visit my wonderful friend Mary. It has been way to long since we last saw each other (well, her and her family came in town for my wedding, but we didn't get any quality time together...it meant the world to me that they came!) but when she picked me up from the airport, it was like we hadn't skipped a beat. I have to say, the trip was just what I needed, on so many levels. I am so grateful for Mary and her friendship over the years. I had a blast traveling over the South with her! We went to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Gulfport MS, some beaches in AL, and lets not forget all the fun outlets we stopped at along the way!

I also really loved seeing her home, hanging out with her little (and ADORABLE) little boy Hudson and her husband. I loved the Spirit in their home. I felt the love that they all had for each other when I walked through the front door. I'm really blessed to have Mary and her friendship in my life! I can't wait until I get to see her again!! (Don't worry, it won't be another 5 years!!)

I took some pictures of our adventures, but I can't find my camera cord. SAD! She has some posted on her blog, so if you are really curious you can check them out. Isn't Hudson precious?!

Thanks for letting me come to see you!! It was perfect :)

It's a lot like Mayberry, but without that catchy theme song to whistle in my head.

2009-05-28T09:41:00.004-04:00

I'm a nerd. For so many reasons, but #465 is my love of Archie Comic books. I have been reading them since...well, since I learned how to read. I have copies of comics from the 1950's all the way up to the issues that are out at Publix today! It's a guilty pleasure, one that I have no intention of giving up anytime soon. They may not be as cool as Spider-man or Batman, but they make me happy.

While I was reading CNN this morning, I came across this article. I was surprised, because usually Archie doesn't make headlines - I think it's because he's not real, but that's just a guess... :) - and it said that he is finally getting married and he's going to propose to Veronica!!! BOO!!!!! Ever since my first issue, I thought that Archie would end up with Betty, and to learn otherwise is devastating! I went to the Archie Blog (I'm super passionate about this...and may regret blogging about it after it's posted, but whatever...we all have our things!) And it looks like it's true...He is going to ask Veronica. Let's hope something happens in the next 6 issues that make him change his mind!!! I guess I won't know more until it hits newsstands on September 8, 2009.

This news takes away from my original post, about how overrated I think Rob Pattinson is. I mean seriously....did you see Twilight?! Worst movie ever (the books were good, I loved them)...yet somehow America overlooked the suckiness of that movie and catapulted him to fame. I'm not saying I don't like him - he's charming, handsome and has a lot of potiental....but Twilight is not a good reason to get all this attention. I thought he was great in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Good looks will get you anywhere, I guess. He's freaking everywhere!!! Ok, I'm ready...beat me up for that.

Ohhh, Harry Potter. I can't wait for The Half Blood Prince to be out - reason #25 that I am nerd.

I dream of dusty roads, paved with gold that lead me in your eyes...

2009-05-14T09:17:00.006-04:00

So, we are officially horrible bloggers. I blamed part of it on the fact that I didn't have a working camera, so I wasn't able to document all the things we have done...but then I got a working camera and nothing changed. So...that just confirms my theory - we are horrible bloggers. I used to be much better at it, but I lost my drive along the way. I am trying to get it back though. We will see how I do.

The last few months have been crazy busy, but they have been really good. We have slowly been getting the house all put together and making changes that make it feel more like our home. So, you know, that's a good thing. Plus, there are a lot more things we want to do, and I'm really excited about some of them. I really should be taking before and after pictures....but....I'm really bad at remembering to do that. I do have pictures of our garden that Jacob has started, and so far it's looking really good! Jacob is doing a great job with it. I can't wait until the stuff is ready to be picked. Now I need to remember to upload the pictures :)

Last week we went to see Death Cab for Cutie and it was awesome!! I love Death Cab. They played at the Fox and we went the Heather, Ry and Clint. Good show and good people - does it get any better than that?! I thinkest not. I love going to concerts. This summer there are some good ones coming to Atlanta, but I'm not sure how many I will get to go to. Apparently I'm at that stage in life where paying bills and mortgages are more important than going to shows. We will see how long that lasts for...

I am sad that this season of Biggest Loser is over. I love that show, and now I have to wait until next fall to see another season. I really wish Tara had won, but she looked so stinking beautiful and happy and AWESOME, that I am not sure she cared. She has inspired me on many levels! However, on an up side, So You Think You Can Dance starts next week, and that show makes me happy.

Ok, I'm done rambling....for now.

Has Taylor Swift even read Romeo and Juliet?

2009-03-16T22:22:00.008-04:00

On Sunday I asked Ashley about the lyrics to Taylor Swift's song Love Story. Well, I didn't really ask her anything about it, but wondered aloud if they made any sense. She got very defensive that they did make sense. She was kind of stressed, though.

Let me clarify. They DO make sense, they just have very little in common with the story of Romeo and Juliet. Now, Swift's lyrics start out strong. The two protagonists ("Romeo" and "Juliet" for our purposes) meet each other at a party, as in the play, and at least one of the parents is against it:

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet

I'm not too sure about throwing pebbles, but otherwise, this fits. In the Shakespeare play they were told to stay away from each other (seeing as how the two families had hated each other for generations). The song goes on, there are some other lines, it kind of fits the story of the play, but then there's this:

'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter

She's a scarlet letter? Mixing metaphors, tsk, tsk. Given that The Scarlet Letter is about a woman that commits adultery and suffers nearly her entire life under the weight of her sin, I'm not sure what Swift is going for here. Ashley explained to me that "Juliet" is shunned, and that's what this line is about. Okay, fine. But the line that really gets me is:

I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress

First of all, didn't the dad warn him to stay away three verses ago? But more than that, it's definitely not the way the story of Romeo and Juliet goes. At this point I think the only thing she knows about Romeo and Juliet is that they were in love. Everything else she's made up. It's like an 8-year-old wrote the song after falling asleep while watching the movie version.

Anyway.

Since I already sound cranky, let me mention something that really bothers me. (To clarify, this is not something else that really bothers me, because I really like that Taylor Swift song. It's just that the lyrics are pretty dumb.) I hate when cars at stop lights leave huge gaps between them and the car in front of them. I've threatened many times to get out of my car, walk over to the offending driver, knock on their window, and ask them to explain to me why in the world they've stopped 30 feet back from the car in front. I have yet to do it. Perhaps, if you're someone who does this, you can explain why this happens so I don't have to scare the bejesus out of some poor driver one day. I have photos.

I stitched together these four pictures so you can see what I'm talking about (that's right, it took FOUR pictures to photograph the enormity of the space that this person left between them and the car in front). These were taken at the intersection of Windy Hill and Powers Ferry. Why would this person stop where they've stopped? I can't understand it.

We went bowling the other night as part of what I'm billing (starting now) as the Weekend of Heather. I bowled possibly my best two games ever, 167 and 150. Here are the scorecards:

One last thing. I really like sudoku. I'm currently trying to solve a very difficult puzzle, difficult enough that I think I need to learn some new techniques. I think I can use the X-wings technique on it, but I'm not sure. Help me out:

Ohhh the sewing machine, the sewing machine; a girl's best friend, If I didn't having my sewing machine I'd a come to no good end...

2009-03-16T12:07:00.004-04:00

I love fabrics, and I found this seller on Etsy.com! The lady who runs the shop has a blog, and I want to win some fabric! So, go buy her fabric (But don't enter...I want to win!!)

Go here to learn about the giveaway. I never win this stuff, but I thought I would try one more time....

P.S. I have bought from her a few times and she is FABULOUS to work with!!!! I recommend her.

All eyes on me, in the center of the ring, just like a circus....

2009-03-06T16:43:00.007-05:00

She's back.....

And she is awesome - just like I knew she would be!!!!!

These pictures do it no justice, but here are some anyways :)

I know I should be above this....But I'm totally not. I'm pretty sure I'll be a Britney fan for life!

P.S. I think I hate the Pussycat Dolls even more after seeing them "perform".

If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts

2009-02-10T10:35:00.007-05:00

So, I don't really feel like I have anything to blog about at the moment. I always have lots of different ideas and such floating around my head, so I thought I would share a few of them. I mean, I will spare you the "I'm so excited to see Britney Spears!!" tangent (even thought I totally am....) These may or may not be more interesting than that!

So here goes....random tangents...

1) I'm so sad! It was announced that Domino Magazine is going out of circulation, and not only that, they are taking the website down too. Punks! I have been a fan of the website for a long time, and when I finally give in and get a subscription to the magazine, I only get to enjoy it for 3 months and then it's taken away from me. It's to bad too, because now I have a house to use a lot of their awesome tips and such. It's sad time. But I won't let it thwart my plans to become crafty! I already have a few ideas of things I want to make for the house, so I can't wait to get started. But, I must do it without my beloved Domino. You will be missed...

2) I'm so excited!! My oldest cousin Jenni and her husband Jon just had a baby!! He's a beautiful baby boy - Tilden Douglas. They are both wonderful people and are going to make such fantastic parents! I can't wait to meet the little man - I hope it's sooner than later!! They will be posting pics of Tilden soon, so check out their blog! What an exciting baby season :)

3) So, since Jacob and I are married now, we are in a new ward. When I was baptized at 19, I was baptized at the Singles Ward, and spent the last 7.5 years there. It had it's ups and downs, but it was comfortable and familiar to me. The family ward is a whole new can of worms. I don't know a lot of people (thank goodness for awesome people like Reva and Jared and the Burke's who are there). I know I will get comfortable there soon...and I hope its sooner than later!

4) I think that if Christian Bale ate something, he wouldn't be so moody on the set (I swear he gets thinner with each movie he does...) This would cause him to be pleasant to be around, and not cause him to scream at innocent people (I don't know if the video with the article is a copy of the rant, but I don't recommend listening to it...he's got the mouth of a sailor!) At least he apologized - he gets a lot credit for that. But still.

5) My Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer is my new favorite gadget. It makes me want to bake things all the time!! I've made cookies, pies, cup cakes, and they have all turned out great, thanks to the mixer!! Holy cow it's amazing...and pretty.

Turns out I don't think any of them were interesting, but since I typed it all up, I am posting it anyways. Maybe the next post will be better.

You know its gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and stay together...

2009-01-26T11:44:00.009-05:00

Happy February!

Jenni, this post is for you!! I promise to be a better blogger from now on :)

So, things have been really good, but also really busy, so blogging has taken a back seat. It's sad, but true. Thus far, 2009 has been a good year. Jacob and I got married toward the beginning of the year, and from there went to St. Johns for our honeymoon. It was perfect and beautiful and warm...and I can't wait to go back!! I love the beach, and this was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Once we get the pictures developed, I will post some. Since I had been living in my mom's basement with all of my stuff already over at Jacobs house in boxes, I couldn't find my digital camera charger before we left, so I bought disposable cameras instead. How old school!

The house is no longer Jacobs house, but it's our house now. We have slowly been getting settled in, and hopefully I will be unpacked sooner than later. It's true, I have a bunch of stuff, so I need to make some decisions about what I will actually be able to keep, and what needs to be chucked. I may be a bit of a pack rat, so those kinds of decisions can be hard on me. But I want to get everything put together so it feels like home and I have a place to start on all the different projects that I want to. I know it will take some time, but I hope it doesn't take forever!

The wedding was perfect - I had no complaints!! And it was so exciting to have some close friends and family come into town - it meant the world to me!! I will also post some pics of the wedding soon too. I have seen a preview of them, and Heather did an AMAZING job!! There are so many reasons why I love her!! I included a sample, but when they are all finished I will put some more up.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

2008-12-24T09:16:00.004-05:00

So, it's Christmas time. It's usually one of my favorite times of the year! This year though, I have been hard pressed to find my Christmas Spirit. I don't know where it went! And I hate when I can't find it - it totally ruins everything. Sure, life has been a little hectic and/or stressful, but that doesn't usually stop me. But I had come to terms with it. I quit trying. All of my favorite holiday movies are packed up in boxes somewhere, so I can't watch them. It's has not been particularly cold this year, so it doesn't feel or smell like Christmas. There aren't as many lights out this year, and when we went to Stone Mountain to see the lights there (like I have done MANY years in the past) it all of the sudden costs an extra $20 bucks to walk around the village! Bah-humbug! I'm to cheap for that! So, these are a few of the reasons why I haven't found my Christmas cheer.

Until last night.

I was going about it all wrong. I was focusing on me, and that's not what Christmas is all about. I went and delivered some packages to some friends. I love giving people gifts, and putting the thought and effort into picking out that perfect thing that they will really love or use. Some years I'm better at it than others, but it doesn't matter, I love trying! I love being around family and getting to see people who I haven't seen in a while, and hearing stories and sharing memories of those who aren't with us anymore. I love feeling the love and joy Christmas brings out in people. So, as I was driving home from delivering those packages and doing some late night shopping at Kohl's (thank goodness they were open until midnight!) a song came on the radio. It was a song that I loved as a kid and used to sing with my mom and brother all of the time. It's called "Do You Hear What I Hear." I wasn't really paying much attention, because I was so exhausted, but all of the sudden I started listening as this verse started playing:

Said the Shepard boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know
In your palace wall mighty king
Do you know what I know
A child, a child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold

This is when I got goosebumps. Then, the last verse played:

Said the king to the people everywhere
Listen to what I say
Pray for peace people everywhere
Listen to what I say
The child, the child
Sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light

And that might be when I started to tear up (I will neither confirm or deny that I actually started crying...) The realization that I had been so selfish and almost Scrooge-like hit me - hard. I had forgotten why Christmas is so beautiful, and how I have been given the best gift of all - the Savior in my life. And this is the time of year we get to celebrate Him, His wonderful life, and the people who had the faith to allow this wonderful miracle to come to pass! I had it all wrong. I'm not perfect - I let all the things in my life pile up and block out what really matters most - Jesus Christ.

I'm so grateful for this time of year, and the reminders we have all around us about what the holiday season is really about. They are there, we just have to look for them. I'm excited to celebrate with my mom's family later on today. I don't get to see them often enough, but it's always a blast when we get together! I know we will have a gift exchange, but we will also talk about the story of Christmas, and sing Christmas songs that allow us to focus on the Lord. I'm so grateful for that, and for what the Christmas Spirit really is all about.

I will leave you with a quote from the article The Best Christmas Ever, where President Thomas S. Monson, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, says (and quotes):

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) declared: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.

“It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.”

Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the “spirit of Christmas,” we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the “Spirit of Christ.”

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Catching Up

2008-12-09T22:21:00.016-05:00

I keep checking the blog to see if Ashley has posted something, but I realized today that she won't be able to post anything for a while, so it falls to me. You see, we moved Ashley out of her condo on Saturday and she's now staying at her mom's house, which has some type of internet deal I've never heard of where only one person can be on the internet at a time and they have to login or some such nonsense, so she can't use her laptop to get on the internet. At work it's board meeting week which means she's busy all day (plus she has to stay late Wednesday and Thursday, conveniently allowing her to skip out on being my date to my work holiday party). So, yeah, if I want to read something new on this blog, I have to write it.

But, don't worry, I'll spare you from my self-indulgent writing and instead just post some pictures from the last few months. Those always seem to be popular.

My brother, Carter, built this bottle launcher to have some fun with his kids. It's pretty ingenious. Pressurized air is put into the system (see the air compressor hose connected to the right side) and obviously something wants to give. The bottle is held in place by little plastic nubs (see detail below) that are locked into place above the rim of the bottle by a piece of piping that can be yanked down. When you pull on the string, it pulls down the piping holding the plastic tabs, all that pressurized air finally has a place to go, and the bottle shoots into the air.

Detail of the plastic nubs and the bit of pipe that holds them in place.

Carter thought more weight would help it launch higher, so we added this boot. It didn't help.

I only post this picture because sadly, this is the last picture that I have of my brother's beautiful purebred boxer, Hazel. She died of cancer this past weekend. It's hard to tell in this picture, but she's got some pretty sizable lumps in her throat, part of what killed her. She wasn't in pain, though.

We went bowling a few weeks ago. I don't know if you've ever seen Ashley bowl, but her form is... interesting. I want to say awful, but she doesn't do so badly, really. I kept trying to capture the weirdest part, which is that she kicks her left leg out in front of her and to the left. You can see her arm way up in the air, though, and I think the leg kicking is to counterbalance the crazy release she does.

I know, you've seen a million pictures like this. Everyone takes them - they always seem impressive when you take it, but then later you're like, wow, that's a boring picture. Still, I'm always amazed at how it can look like another planet above the clouds. This was on my way to Chicago for a presentation that I was really nervous about. I actually hand wrote seven pages of presentation notes on the flight. Most writing I've done with a pen since college.

I love these two trees in front of my house. I changed the color in iPhoto to make the picture look more like the color looked in person, but I overdid it a bit. You can see that with a lot of the leaves yet to fall there's already a pretty thick carpet of them on the lawn. A few weeks later, when I still hadn't mowed or raked the lawn, my Dad (quite tactfully, actually) asked if I'd mind if he came over and cleaned up the leaves for me. He said he had a whole leaf-gathering operation running and wouldn't mind doing it. I accepted.

Ashley made a delicious apple crisp when we were at the cabin. So Martha Stewart! Except Ashley's a lot sexier.

This was on the mantel at the cabin. Kind of creepy, because it was always staring at you.

See?

This was just after lugging three pretty heavy sections of an entertainment cabinet up a steep hill into Ashley's mom's house. All those boxes are Ashley's stuff. I'd say about 1/12th of it.

That's it for now. Maybe I'll do another one of these in a month or two. Blogger is a total pain to add pictures too, though. Hmmm... Maybe I'll let Ashley do the next one.

Life Goes On

2008-11-20T23:12:00.008-05:00

On occasion I get a little nostalgic. I remember when I was 12 starting to cry as I laid in bed thinking back to the good times I'd had with my brother and sister when I was 8. Maybe I should say overly nostalgic. This excess nostalgia reared its head again today when I went to AAA to book the honeymoon for Ashley and myself.

I actually went to the AAA office for the first time yesterday. The office itself has a bit of a "days gone by" feel to it - it's staffed primarily by older women, brochures and posters cover most surfaces, and little wooden signs hang from the ceiling above various open air sections: "Insurance", "Auto", and "Travel Agency". I was going to the "Travel Agency". When my name was called I went and sat down at the desk of an agent named Suzanne. Like most of the employees, she was a woman who looked to be in her 50s. She was very friendly; an impression that I think was aided by the tinge of red coloring the end of her nose, most likely due to the unusually cold day. I told her where I was looking to go (the U.S. Virgin Islands), how long (5 nights) and my hoped-for budget. She, however, didn't look hopeful. But she was going to give it her best. She started typing quickly on her computer while also calling (using her speed dial) other travel agencies - the ones that actually made the reservations, it seemed. I waited patiently while she called several, intermittently shaking her head and asking, "What about an earlier flight? What if we add a layover? How about the garden view room instead of the ocean view?"

After a few calls she gave me the lowest price she could find. A few hundred more than I wanted, and the flight had a layover in Charlotte. I told her to hold it for me; I had to discuss it with my fiance.

The next morning I took the time to look at airfare and room rates online. I discovered I could get a pretty cheap direct flight if we went from Monday to Saturday instead of Sunday to Friday. Then I checked the hotel's rates and saw that room and and airfare added up to hundreds less than the lowest quote from Suzanne. However, the AAA package deal came with cancellation insurance, and none of what I found did. So I went back to the AAA.

I told Suzanne what I'd found, but said that I'd be willing to still go with a AAA package if it wasn't too much more because I thought it would be worth it for the cancellation insurance. I suggested she get some quotes on Monday to Saturday to see if that would help, since it made a difference in the airfare I found. She started calling around, much as she had yesterday, while also looking up flights on her computer. After a few minutes of keyboard clicking and screen peering, she looked up from the monitor with a doubtful expression. "Are you sure it was a round trip you were looking at? Because I'm just not seeing anything below $700 on any airline." I assured her it was round trip. "To St. Thomas?" Yes, to St. Thomas, I said.

I glanced at her screen. The computer itself looked relatively modern, but the program it was running looked ancient. Green text on black backgrounds, hardly any graphical interface to speak of - most likely a holdover from the 80s, back when the idea of an interconnected global database of flights seemed incredible and gave travel agencies real value. She made a few more calls, ending the last one with, "Well, I don't know what to do. I'm going to just, uh, talk to him." She knew it was fruitless. So did I; I'd guessed as much ten minutes earlier. Not only could she not find anything to bring the price down, she wasn't even able to book the hotel for the Monday to Saturday time because it had to be through one of these other agencies and they couldn't book that Saturday (evidently agencies are allotted blocks of time to book and they can't book outside of their block).

With that, I expressed my gratitude for her help as sincerely as possible and left. I headed straight to my house and within fifteen minutes I had booked the flights and the room.

On the way back to the office I wondered whether I should call Suzanne (she gave me her card in case the cheap airfare I'd found wasn't there anymore - or if it turned out to be a one-way price) to let her know I was able to book everything and thank her again for her help. I thought it might be awkward, though, to come so close to pointing out what I felt had become very apparent: her job was completely unnecessary. She'd been defeated by a home computer and an internet connection. Her old travel-agent only program that supposedly tapped into reduced rates from all the major airlines, her network of contacts at various agencies, her years of experience; all rendered inefficient, redundant, and pointless by the internet revolution.

It made me sad. Really, it made me nostalgic for a time I had never even experienced - one where overly cheerful travel agents were needed, one where engaged couples waited in hushed anticipation to hear whether the agent could "work some magic" and get them the within-budget honeymoon they were hoping for, one where all that clicking and peering was mysterious and exciting.

CNN Headlines

2008-11-13T12:42:00.001-05:00

My home page is set to CNN.com. On a surprisingly frequent basis, CNN makes... interesting headline choices. Allow me to demonstrate:

I read the article for this one and I remember it not being as insane as the headline would suggest.

Well now we're right back where we started.

Look at number 1. No wonder people think we dig up bodies to do baptisms for the dead. (which, in case you don't know, we don't - it's baptism by proxy.)

Hopefully they revisit this in twenty years: "Commemorative Tree Now Tall, Lush"

The More You Know...

This really should be a live developing story. Follow-up: "Mars Lander's Arm Now Extended"

If you do this, it will help you some sunny day. Take your time, dont live too fast. Troubles will come and they will pass...

2008-11-13T10:00:00.015-05:00

I was watching the CMA's (no comment....I can't help what I enjoy watching!) last night and James Otto came on to preform. I had never heard of him before, so when he came out and started singing...I was shocked!! I couldn't take him seriously!!! He looks like a perfect hybrid of Jack Black and Travis Tritt!!!!! I mean, I am talking down to the crazy big Jack Black eyes. When ever he belted a note....I just had to snicker!! I couldn't dwell on anything other than that...I didn't really like him all that much, sad to say. But he definitely entertained me, because I kept on laughing. Wow....he was also sorta creepy. Sorry Mr. Otto!!

In other news...Carrie Underwood is one of the most beautiful women out there. She looked fantastic all night, and shes got that cute personality to go with those fantastic looks. Love her!!!

Don't even get me started on how much I like Taylor Swift! She's also freaking darling.

Anyways, the CMA's are a refreshing awards show to watch because they have so many great performances. I love all kinds of music, and country is no exception! I might not listen to it every day (or maybe I do!) but they sure do have some talented musicians and song writers! Plus, fall is the perfect time to listen appreciate it...well, for me it is!

Next time I will rant about the awesome death metal show I watch. Don't worry - I cover all my bases.

We should get jerseys cause, we make a good team. But yours would look better than mine, cause you're outta my league....

2008-11-09T21:16:00.010-05:00

I have felt the need to blog for a while now, but I have had trouble figuring out what to say. Here goes nothing! I feel like I have just been so busy with work, church stuff and the wedding planning (which is going pretty well, overall.) There are a few things I am REALLY grateful for that I have going on in my life though...

The first would be that I am able to work out again. I don't want to get into the drama that explains why I couldn't, but it all of it happened because of vasculitis. But I have been off my medication now since July and it hasn't flared back up. Getting off the medication meant that I was allowed to start working out again. I had to start slowly at first, but now I am able to do whatever I want and I have had no signs of the vasculitis coming back! And let me tell you how good it feels to be able to work out until I feel like I'm going to die. It's one of the best feelings in the world, and I am so glad that I am able to do it again. As big of a pain as it can be, I hope I always remember how grateful I am that I have the ability to work out and what an amazing feeling of accomplishment it is to work so hard at something. Plus, it's a great stress reliever. It might sound cheesy, but....oh well.

The second thing is also cheesy...but I'm a big fan of music and being involved in different music groups/ensembles is a pretty fun thing for me to do. It always has been. So, in our ward the bishops wife has a full set of handbells, so we are able to have a handbell choir. This is the third time in my life that I have had the opportunity to play in one. I first did in high school at the Catholic Church I went to, and since I hadn't really seen one before then, I figured I wouldn't see another one after that. Then in college, when I lived in Chattanooga, I had the opportunity to play at a few different churches up there too! Now, as luck would have it, I get to do it again. I realized at practice last week how much I appreciate playing in an ensemble. I really miss it. I have been saying for years I need to find a community band to play in...and I think that will be something I really try to do next year. I miss playing my flute. For now, I will just enjoy ringing my bells. And who knows...maybe one day I will get a chance to ring them again.

I have a huge urge to do something crafty....I can't wait to figure out what it is I want to do!

I'm rambling...I know....not shocking.

On a totally random note - I'm watching P.S. I love You. I read the book a few years ago and totally loved it, but I forgot that I laughed and cried all the way through it. Well, the movie isn't that much easier to get through it! I'm such a girl sometimes. Anyways, it's nice to have reminders in life that make you sit back and realize how blessed you are and how grateful you are for the people in your life. This was one of those moments for me. I know when it comes to the people in my life....I'm one freaking lucky girl.

Oh, and here is a sample of some engagement picture Heather took for us. She did a great job!

Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody, This world's an ugly place, but your so beautiful to me.

2008-10-31T09:02:00.003-04:00

So, I got tagged. Thanks Loverbunny!

I'm supposed to tell you 6 quirks I have...hmmmm.....

I'm obsessed with the words llama and flarp at the moment. I use them in everday converstaions whether they are appropriate or not.

I enjoy naming things...animal, vegetable, mineral...or inanimate object. It's fun, and helps to provide a strong sense of ownership!

I get REALLY angry at supid drivers. Sometimes it's a problem. They just need to quit being stupid and we won't have a problem. Yes - It's just that easy.

I'm apparently freakishly stubborn and competitive at times. This was not something I realized about myself, but luckily I have wonderful people in my life who remind me of that.

I have a great appreciateion for freshly shaved legs. It's a wonderful thing.

I love shoes. A lot. Not nice fancy/designer shoes (I'm sure I would if I could afford it...or if I could walk in them) But I love comfy cute sneakers/tennis shoes. Oh, and also flip flops. I wear them year round.

I don't really know who to tag...so if you read this, consider yourself tagged!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Facebook Tips

2008-10-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

If you're like me, you have several hundred friends on Facebook. Although you may technically know everyone you're friends with, a good portion of those "friends" may be people you have near-zero interest in. Or, said more politely, a small group of those friends you have a very high interest in. And yet the Facebook news feed indiscriminately delivers updates on all of them. It doesn't have to be this way! Using friend lists you can filter the news feed content to show stories from only those friends you are truly interested in.

To start, go to your friends page. In the left column you have the option to create a new friend list. Go ahead and create one and add some of your close friends to the list. Once your done, go back to the main "Home" page. In the tabs above the news feed you have an arrow on the far right. If you click it, you'll see that you can filter your stories by your friend lists. Select a friend list and the news feed refreshes to only show stories by or about them. You can actually edit your friend list right on the news feed page by clicking "Edit" in the dropdown menu you get when you click the arrow.

You can do some nice organizing with friend lists. I have two systems, one is to create various "Tiers" of friends. Tier 1 friends I talk with on a regular basis. Tier 2 friends I do not talk to regularly, but could call at anytime without feeling uncomfortable, and so on. In addition to the "Tier" system I have friends lists based on time periods of my life (college, mission, etc.).

I also further refine the news feed by clicking the "Options for News Feed" link at the very bottom of the feed. This allows you to change what type of stories show up, as opposed to our earlier efforts to control whose stories show up. You can actually request more stories for some people and less for others here, but I find the filtering by friend lists technique to be more flexible.

From the Lead Contributor

2008-10-21T19:40:00.000-04:00

Although you see my name in the URL for this blog, I don't really consider myself on equal footing with Ashley in regards to it. She has chosen everything about it, and so I see my role as more of a contributor. But, I do plan on occasionally writing something.

This will be my fifth attempt at a blog. In case you're curious, I also have www.jacobterry.com (last updated 1/7/08), rumorsandreviews.blogspot.com (last updated 9/15/06), my 1up blog (only two posts, one of which is titled "First Post"), and jacobonline.wordpress.com (set up specifically for my E3 visit this year, but on the second day I realized that there wasn't really a point. Also, I succumbed to the "First Post" temptation again).

So I have some failures in this space. However, I do not consider my www.jacobterry.com blog dead - I've got about 10 posts in draft form saved on my computer. I'm just really bad about finishing them, because I like to have high quality writing with some research behind it. And I'm lazy.

I don't expect these personality characteristics to change, and therefore anticipate infrequent posts to this blog. When I do post, however, I'm likely to touch on one of the following subjects: video games, grammar (for example, should video game be one word or two?), movie reviews, philosophy, logic, Apple, cell phones, and technology in general. I may, during a weak moment, talk about my ever-deepening love for Ashley Williams. Luckily for you I don't have too many weak moments.

No please don't complicate, our time is short and this is our fate - I'm yours...

2008-10-08T08:19:00.016-04:00

Yay for fall fun! Last weekend we went to the Georga National Fair with our favorite Smiths. It was a bit hot that day, but overall it was lots of fun. They had all kinds of contest winners and contestants on display, including science fair projects. The quilts were my favorite part. It made me want to really start learning how to quilt. I guess I should start with learning to sew...

They also had all kinds of animal shows, including rabbits (and a lot of them were freaking huge), horses and cows...

He loves his mama!!

Fun times!

The little trooper - he was pooped!!

I wonder why Benihana is concentrating so hard....

Looking upwards I strain my eyes & try to tell the difference between shooting stars and satellites...

2008-10-04T00:50:00.005-04:00

So, even though Jacob and I aren't getting married until January, I wanted to play around with Blogger so I went ahead and created a blog for us. I have had 5 great years with LiveJournal, and I am not giving it up, but I am ready to move on to new and different blogging adventures. So far, I am loving this! I hope it lasts :)

I'm so excited for Fall!! We have so many fun fall things to do this year, I can't wait! Hopefully I will start to use my camera more so I can document these things...I'm so terrible about that...We shall see how I do!

Also, I love music. So in keeping with the tradition of my other blog, I will continue to use song lyrics for my titles. Let me know if you figure out any of the songs!