New Year...time for resolutions!

At Hamburger Mary's in Orlando

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas & New Years, I certainly did! I spent Christmas Eve & Christmas Day in Montgomery with my WONDERFUL family, ate, laughed, gossiped ;), cried a little (good tears) and enjoyed every minute of it! On Sunday we went to Birmingham for "Morris Family Christmas", had a wonderful time and even saw a little snow! For New Years we were in Orlando for the Citrus Bowl, spent NYE on Church Street (smaller & cleaner version of Bourbon St) and even watched "The Orange" drop. The weather was perfect, a nice sunny 72º with a cool breeze, so different from the gloomy cold 38º atmosphere that we returned home to.

"Church Street"

We spent Sunday in downtown Disney, ate at Earl Of Sandwich, if you have never experienced it then it needs to be on your "bucket list" truly 1 of the best sandwiches I have ever tasted. We spent the rest of the afternoon over on the porch at the House Of Blues, listening to a great one man band play and taking in the great weather!

House Of Blues-Orlando

I started thinking the other day about what "resolutions" I would make for 2011, what did I want to change or accomplish this year. I'll be honest, I had to really think about what I wanted out of 2011. I am blessed with FAR MORE than I deserve, a beautiful home, my health, family, friends, JCM, a good job! I thank GOD everyday for his protection and provision upon my life. I also am thankful for parents who have been on their knees praying for the Lord's protection & provision upon their children's lives. I think we are all guilty of making the same resolutions each year, you know the "get in shape, eat right, spend less money, volunteer more, drink less" etc. I decided this year that I am going to make some realistic "goals" not so much "resolutions". I want to pray more & spend more time in God's word, be less obsessed with my home and how it looks (it will still be clean & organized), watch what I eat and how I treat my body, be less "me" focused and more focused on what's important like my family, friends, JCM, etc. I think the biggest goal I want to accomplish this year is I truly want to make a difference in other people's lives, and no I don't mean I'm going to try to change the world. I just want to change the world around me, not necessarily in a way that they know but in a way that I know. What I mean by this is as simple as giving a blanket & a fast food meal to that homeless man on the interstate exit, that I pass everyday on my way to work. That office employee who always seems to be mad at the world, leave a secret gift or note on their desk, just something to brighten their day. Even send money anonymously to that person who I know is barely getting by. My parents have been helping a homeless ministry the past couple of months by feeding them on Sundays, donating blankets & coats, and I have the same thought go through my head every time I talk to my mother about it, "I should do more."

There is a verse that always comes to mind when I think about all that God has blessed me with, "For those who much is given, much is required" Luke 12:48. So anyway, my goal is to just give back and not so that anyone else knows, just so I know. What are your goals for 2011?! I hope everyone has an AWESOME 2011 and WDE!

Oh Christmas Tree

Well, even though our tree has been up since the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I just haven't gotten a chance to blog about it so here we go! We decided to put the tree up in the living room so that it could be seen through the huge window along the front of the house. However, by choosing to put it in there and not the den, we were limited to only getting about a 7 - 8 foot tree since the ceilings in that room are so low. We get to the Christmas tree lot and begin the search for "the tree" you know the one that when you see it you just know its what will soon adorn all your ornaments in your home. At first I didn't see anything that impressed me nothing really seemed to have that wow factor until I stumbled upon about a 10 ft Frasier fur...to which Jordan said "We are not going to reenact the tree scene from Christmas Vacation." So I continued looking around and then saw it, a 8 ft Frasier fur, nicely trimmed, full & shapely, perfect for my Christmas tree vision. Well we got it home and put it in the tree stand and went to haul it inside, as luck would have it we go to stand it up and of course it scraps the ceiling and top is bent over. Needless to say it was taken back outside, cut off and trimmed up to fit just right. Of course I am a little impatient and a bit of a perfectionist, I began arranging ornaments and lights, making sure there weren't any areas without lights or 2 of the same kind of ornament close to each other...Jordan wanted to kill me but what else is new. Everything I've used on the mantle, buffet, and throughout the house is live so I'm being the "heat nazi" and only turning it on when its freezing, in effort to keep it all alive for a few more weeks. All in all I am thoroughly pleased with how the tree turned out, the only thing missing is the bow which I am getting today while home in Montgomery for the weekend celebrating my sister's 19th birthday. I still can't believe my sister is 19, I feel so old! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a wonderful time this holiday season! I'll post more pictures of the house decorations when I get back tomorrow.

Stockings hung with care.

There's no place like home

This past weekend I went home to Montgomery for my dad's 55th birthday (He looks like he's in his 40s). My mom decided to throw a little impromptu get together for my dad's birthday and the UA vs. Miss St game. I of course got into town and we started shopping and getting things prepared, only my mother would have people coming to her house at 5:00 pm and be out shopping til 2:00. We got home and begun the frantic rush to make sure everything was ready, made beds, fluffed pillows, swept floors and stuffed junk into every place that couldn't be seen by company, haha. As my mom, sister, dad & I were all working together it dawned on me that it was just like time had stood still. We all just fell right back into the groove with each other, my sister is a sophomore in college, I am out & living on my own in another city, my parents are 30 years into their life together and yet we all still WANT & LOVE to be together. I truly cherish my family, it is one of the few things in life that never change. I thank GOD for that!

I also got to go spend sunday with my "Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw", any of you who know me, know that my grandparents mean the world to me! My Maw-Maw & I talked about that was going on in our own lives and she caught me up on the events in the lives of my aunts, uncles & cousins. While my Paw-Paw watched the race and napped. He is doing much better, still a little weak. One of the best parts about going home, besides seeing my family, would have to be my aunt "Teesa" (Teresa)'s homemade chocolate pound cake! She is an amazing baker, and always has one of my favorite desserts waiting for me when I arrive. So Maw-Maw, Teesa & I sat around and enjoyed cake, laughter and each other. Its times like these that make me miss my family so much, but it also makes me treasure the time we spend together. I will be heading back home on wednesday for Thanksgiving and can't wait to see everyone again.

I love my life and wouldn't change things, but its always comforting to know that you can always go home and things be just the way they have always been.

Fall

Wow it has been awhile since my last post, so much has been going on. I don't even know where to begin, but I will try! Edie is still doing great she is such a good dog, we got so lucky to end up with her.

We took a trip out to Houston at the beginning of October for the Mississippi State vs. Houston football game. Our wonderful hosts Andrew & Julia Novarini once again showed us a great time and threw a greatTX style tailgate!

Since we hadn't had any official "event" or party at the new house, it was only appropriate that we throw a Halloween Party! Even Edie participated in the fun!

Edie in her Halloween Costume!

Some of our guests!

The house has really come together these last 2 months! The outside has been painted and looks GREAT, it is amazing the difference it has made. The inside is only lacking a few final touches, the tile floor in the kitchen and molding in a couple of rooms. (Will post pictures)

New Addition

As luck would have it, the decision on rather or not to have a dog was decided for us last week. We now have a wire hair Terrier (mix) named "Edie". Edie showed up at my office last monday, she was just laying on the patio asleep in the sun. She appeared to be in good shape and seemed like a super friendly little dog that just needed some food and a good bath. My boss wanted to call the human society but I said "No, I'll take her home, feed her and then call" well we all know how that turned out. I brought her home, but not before I went and bought her a bed, chew toy, dog food, shampoo, and bowls. I mean she had to have all that just to stay for the night like I had said she was going to do. So I bathed her and got her all set up in the kitchen in her bed with some fresh food & water, and her new toy. She slept in that bed the entire night, didn't move until the next morning when it was time to get up and go outside. I forgot to mention that when I told Jordan that I was bringing her home for the "night" he just shook his head and said we both know that it won't just be for the "night". Day 2 of Edie's stay went well, we came home to find her in the back yard without any signs of trying to dig out or anything torn up so it was looking more and more like she was fine staying with us. Once we decided that she needed to just stay with us permanently, I took her to the vet to find out how old she was, what breed and the status of her health. Dr. Canant said she was at least a year & half old but now more than three, her health was excellent and that she was a Terrier mix. Edie has gotten use to us and her surroundings quite well, loves when people come over. She is a bit on the attention hog side, if we are on the computer or watching tv she has to be right in the middle of it. All in all, we got lucky because she adopted us and has been wonderful so far! I will post pictures of her as soon as I can find my camera cable.

Settling In

So this past weekend was certainly eventful to say the least. It started out on a good note, Jordan's dad's dog Kayla came to stay the weekend with us while his dad was at the beach. Kayla is a great black lab, well behaved and really 1 of the best dogs I have ever been around, next to mine of course. Our good friends Ben & Claire (soon to be "The Lands") were in town from Austin, TX for the Penn State game, as well as MANY of my friends from high school & college so we of course had a full weekend ahead of us. After dinner at a little Mexican place by our house, we headed downtown to meet up with everyone and start the weekend off right! Of course parking was terrible so we decided to park in the "dirt lot" as the city calls it, at the end of 4th street which is uneven and full of holes. As luck would have it, going to get in the car I step in a hole and fall face first on the ground (no it wasn't too many margaritas). Next thing I know, I am covered in blood and all skint up. We rush home (only after convincing Jordan that I didn't need to go to the ER) I got all cleaned up and went to bed thinking "wow this is going to be worse in the morning" and it was. My face hurt, my neck was sore and I looked like I had been in a bar fight. Most of you know, I can be a little vain at times and this was 1 of those times because all I wanted to do was lay in bed and sleep til it had healed. However, it was game day so that wasn't an option, I had to make the best of the rest of the weekend. My face has healed for the most part I have a little scab on my nose and small cut under my eye which is a vast improvement from Saturday. However, God once again uses things to show me how truly blessed I am. I had to deal with a few minor scrapes on my face for a few days while others have had things happen to them that are permanent. I hope that from here on out I will work on not caring so much about how I look or how others see me, but more on how I see others.

The house is coming along, since football has started we of course only have sundays to work around the house. We have finished everything in the kitchen other than light fixtures, laundry room door, and the floor, which will be done this week! I can't believe that we have gotten so much done in so little time. The exterior should be painted by the end of the month, we keep going back and forth on the paint color. As far as the inside goes we only have to change out 5 more interior doors, put crown molding in the bedrooms, and paint the living room. I can't imagine what we will do with our spare time once this project is done, although I am sure I will find something to occupy my time.

Labor Day Weekend

Well, I hope everyone had a great Labor Day! We certainly did, the weekend started out a little bumpy though. I left work early on friday to run some errands and get things ready for a little birthday party we were throwing that night for our friend Chase. I fought game traffic all afternoon and of course get home, kick it into crazy mode like I always do before people come over. Well a technician from Alagasco was there when I arrived, he was checking our furnace, in 90 degree weather I don't think we were really using it but whatever. He checked it out, had us turn the heat on to make sure everything was working then told us we were good to switch it back to the A/C. However, to our surprise and my frustration, the A/C wouldn't come back on which sent my blood boiling! Here we had a house full of people and no A/C, simply because Alagasco chose that day to come out to check something that we didn't even call for them to do. God always has a way of making you realize the bright side of things, luckily our deck had just been finished (the deck that I wanted us to wait on having done). So after calling Alagasco's emergency line and comtimplating reporting a gas leak, to get them out there anytime over the 3 day holiday weekend we opted for plan B and just had emergency A/C repair come fix it!

The weekend did get much better though because saturday was GAME DAY and that made everything seem to fall in place! We have great seats even if they are for the Alabama games. The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, doing some work around the house and hanging out with friends. I love a good 3 day weekend because it just means a 4 day work week and its back to the weekend again! Today is also the birthday of a good friend of mine, Claire Taylor....Happy Birthday!

Anne, Dan & Claire...on Anne's 22nd B-Day!