Journey For a Lifetime

Photo a Day Challenge - Day 1

2012-02-01T19:32:00.005-06:00

So many blogs are participating in the Photo a Day Challenge. I'm not sure I can keep it up for one whole year but I'll at least try it for the month of February! Fat Mum Slim has set up a template to follow for February so I'm going to join in on the fun!

I'm going to TRY to take an Instagram photo each day and blog! This could really go either way so here goes nothing! :) Day 1 is "your view." Well tonight my view was oh so exciting! NOT! :)

I am NOT.a.housekeeper! But I'm a little anal about my laundry and I can't stand for it to pile up and it has gotten a little out of control so I'm getting a handle on it. TONIGHT! I hope everyone enjoyed Day 1 because I know it was astounding! HA! Hopefully, I will be more exciting soon! :)

Decorating for Valentine's

2012-01-23T19:50:00.007-06:00

I was kind of sad to take down the Christmas decorations, which is unusual for me. Most years, by Christmas, I'm ready for my house to go back to "normal." BUT - I've moved on! :) I decorated our kitchen buffet for Valentine's! I wanted to keep it cheap but still look cute.

I found these adorable printables on Pinterest and used one for Christmas. I just upload the Jpeg to my Costco account and have them print it for around $6! There are ones for all of the major holidays and they are so cute!

I found this cute "Love" sign at Hobby Lobby for $3! I put it on an easel that I already had.

Apothecary jars come in SO handy for decorating around the house! I just filled these with colored basket filler paper (from Hobby Lobby for a couple of dollars). I tied Valentine's ribbon around the top (that I had already).

I found these glitter hearts at Hobby Lobby for $1 (have I mentioned how much I LOVE cheap) :)

These candlesticks are always on the bathroom counter but for Valentine's, I tied some Valentine's ribbon around them. I also found this cute printable on Pinterest too and put it in this adorable frame that I already had at my house.

Pinterest is a GREAT place to find ideas for decorating and I'm totally addicted! I also have an addiction to printables! :) It's such a cute and FREE way to add a little decoration to your house!

Our Christmas(es)!

2012-01-05T18:25:00.009-06:00

Our Christmas ended up being both the weekend before Christmas and as well as Christmas weekend. We started out with Christmas at my grandmother's (my mom's mom). That family is small and we don't see each other nearly often enough so it was nice to just hang out and chit-chat.

The guys were into a football game and waiting to eat. haha!
My grandmother was so proud of her Christmas tree. :) It was pretty!
We also had our Christmas breakfast with my grandparents (my dad's family). This family is HUGE so it's mass chaos but I couldn't imagine it any other way!

This was just too sweet not to share. My cousin Noah and his wife had their second child earlier this year and these are their two kids. How sweet is this big brother? I just LOVED seeing them together! So sweet!

These are a few of my younger cousins (and my brother) and I just adore them! This group keeps me in stitches and also keep me young! :)

Enjoying each other after a HUGE breakfast

We spent Christmas weekend at my parents. On Christmas Eve, some of our family came over for our annual Christmas game night! Rob and I look forward to this night every year because it is SO much fun! We snack and play games and LAUGH all night! LOVE nights like those!

My aunt and uncle (2 of my favorite people in the world)
My mom and brother enjoying a game of Apples to Apples

More Apples to Apples

On Christmas Day, we opened our presents with my parents and brother.

Christmas afternoon, Rob's dad and his wife came over for lunch. It was SO nice to have my family and Rob's together for Christmas afternoon! I love that my father-in-law enjoys my family (and vice versa) because it makes life much easier!

Santa also visited 3 special dogs over the Christmas holiday. Yes, we set out their gifts (remember, we don't have kids) :) They got new plush toys, chew toys, tennis balls, and a new pet bed! And boy, are they enjoying everything! They were good dogs this year! ;)

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas and are definitely Blessed! This Christmas was filled with lots of great food, presents, games, but most of all family! It was so nice to get quality time with all of our family! LOVE LOVE LOVE the Christmas holidays and I'm sad to see them go!

Christmas Home Tour

2011-12-16T07:44:00.009-06:00

Today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner and The Nester on their Christmas home tour. This is my absolute FAVORITE time of year! I LOVE coming home to the lights and smells of Christmas! This month has been super busy so I'm so excited to have a few days off next week to just lay around and watch Christmas movies and bake goodies and ENJOY the season!

This year we decided to go with a pencil tree instead of our usual BIG tree and I'm so happy with our decision! With the pencil tree, we don't have to move furniture out of the living room so it is so much easier! This picture makes it look like I have thrown presents under the tree - I promise they are organized and attractive! ha!

I bought these stockings a few years ago and have debated on getting new ones but I'm just sticking with them for now.

The mantle - I want to get more apothecary jars because I think they look so good and are a cute and inexpensive way to decorate. The "Joy" sign is a picture frame I had at my house. I used scrapbook paper and did vinyl letters. I like how it turned out.

I did more in the kitchen than I usually do. This was a hutch until a few weeks ago when we decided to take the top part off and make it a buffet. It makes our kitchen seem so much bigger and I love it! I'm still trying to figure out how to decorate it. I'm hoping to find some decorations for it at some after Christmas sales!This is a Disney plate (you guys know we LOVE WDW) that we got for a few dollars a few years ago and I added vinyl to it. If you look very close you will see a certain mouse's head! :)

This is a ceramic tree from Rob's childhood. His mom always displayed it in their house and we got it after she died. It's such a neat tree and I love that it was something he remembers from being a kid!

This is a printable that I got from a GREAT BLOG here. I had it printed as a 16x20 at Costco for around $6 and bought the frame at Michael's with a 50% coupon and I LOVE how it turned out! I will blog about this project later!

When I got married I got quite a few Fitz and Floyd Woodland pieces and they are some of my favorite Christmas decorations!

Kitchen window
This year, I also added a small tree in the kitchen. I got these Williams-Sonoma chef snowmen ornaments as a gift a few years ago and found this cute tree to display them on. I think next year I will add a small strand of lights. You can never have too many Christmas lights...am I right? :)
I also added a table top tree in our bedroom! Since we went with a pencil tree as our main tree, I had a LOT of ornaments that weren't used and that wasn't an option! ha! So, on this tree I put all of our wedding ornaments, along with some from places we've been and some of the dogs' ornaments. I love waking up to this tree every morning - I can't say the same for the Hubs! ;)
In our guest bathroom, I added this cute little snowman towel and cute picture frame.

Christmas is, by far, my favorite time of year! I LOVE decorations and decorating my own house! I love seeing and visiting family that we don't normally see, all of the candies and cookies, the smells, the lights, driving around and looking at Christmas lights on houses, and everything else that comes with it. But I am most happy and thankful for the Son that God sent to the Earth for us!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas Y'all!!! :)

Christmas Craft

2011-12-14T21:19:00.003-06:00

I bought this cute, plastic platter at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago for $5! The outer rim was polka dots but the white middle part was plain and needed to be jazzed up a bit! Tonight I used the handy Cricut machine and "gussied" it up a bit! I'm going to put it on a plate stand in the kitchen! I love how it turned out! So fun!

Georgetown Cupcake

2011-11-27T20:29:00.003-06:00

While in DC, we decided to head to Georgetown and try out Georgetown Cupcake. If you have watched the TLC show DC Cupcake then you know all about this cupcake shop. It is really a cute little shop but CRAZY busy!

These pics were with my phone so they aren't very high quality.

Inside the store

The daily menu...the cupcakes were $2.75 each which I didn't think was too pricey. Considering, GiGi's cupcakes are like $5 each, their price was a steal. And Georgetown Cupcakes were MUCH BETTER!!!

The packaging - how cute are these little boxes

I had the chocolate and vanilla cupcake (on the left) and Rob had the red velvet (on the right). They were DELICIOUS!!! Like I could see myself ordering them and having them shipped delicious! :)

US Capitol

2011-11-27T20:16:00.005-06:00

We also toured the Capitol while we were in DC. If you've ever seen the Capitol, you know how beautiful it is. It's even prettier than I remember it being.

Inside the dome

Closeup of the Dome

Speaker of the House, John Boehner's office

Such a beautiful and historic building

Smithsonian - Air & Space Museum

2011-11-27T20:10:00.004-06:00

The Air & Space Museum was also pretty interesting. This was my first visit here and I would have liked to have spent more time there.

Spirit of St. Louis

Lunar Landing Module

Rockets
Seats in an early commercial airplane....can you imagine? UGG!
Different planes...I really like how this museum is organized, even though it's an overload! :)

Smithsonian - Museum of Natural History

2011-11-27T20:05:00.002-06:00

The Museum of Natural History has a lot of cool stuff in it but it was really crowded so we didn't get a lot of pictures. We did see the Hope Diamond but didn't fight the crowd for a pic.

This was probably the neatest thing to me. This is the actual capsule used in saving the Chilean miners. It is TINY!!! But I guess if you've been underground that long, you don't care how small the capsule is if it's going to save your life!

Smithsonian - American History Museum

2011-11-05T09:30:00.002-05:00

The first Smithsonian museum that we did was the American History Museum. Of course, we were only in DC for a week and it would take WEEKS to do all of the Smithsonians but I would love to go back and hit a few more.

Many of the displays did not allow photography so there aren't many pictures. Of course, my favorite is the First Lady display with the Inaugural Ball gowns along with some of their personal items.

Julia Childs' kitchen

The original Washington Monument was a depiction of George Washington as a Greek God.

This is the actual lunch counter from the Greensboro Sit-In. In 1960, MANY African-Americans as well as some white students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University staged a protest at the lunch counter at a Woolworth's department store. I never knew the story of this sit-in (as I only know of the civil rights events that happened in Alabama from my high school Alabama History classes) so I read more on it here.

Arlington National Cemetery

2011-11-05T08:42:00.004-05:00

Arlington National Cemetery is, in my opinion, one of the most touching places in the country. Every direction you look, you see rolling hills and rows of headstones of our service members. This was my second visit here with my first being in 1999. Though I did appreciate it then, it took my breath away this time. Not only am I years older, but my last visit was pre-911 and before our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Times were different then, as well as my wisdom. Arlington is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in this country where we are free! We need to be reminded that this freedom came with a high price and many, many men and women gave their lives for it!

The eternal flame for JFK. John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy are both buried here.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is so touching. The precision and synchronization of their moves are nothing short of amazing! It is such a beautiful and touching event.

Washington DC - White House

2011-10-27T19:41:00.006-05:00

We are back from our weeklong DC trip. It was a fun-filled, action packed week! This was my second time in DC but Rob and my brother's first trip. I don't think you ever have enough time in DC to enjoy everything that the city has to offer!

The only way that I know how to blog this trip and keep it from being one LONG post is to break it up into specific places that we saw. Blogging this trip could take a week or two so enjoy or come back in a few weeks and we will be on to something else! ha!

We were actually lucky enough to get into DC in time to take the White House Fall Garden Tour. On this tour, you can tour all of the White House grounds and see all of the beautiful fall plants and colors along with other notable White House notables.

The last time I was in DC we were unable to get close to the White House. We were all in absolute awe of the history and beauty of this national treasure.

View from the front of the White House looking toward the Washington Monument. This is the area where Marine One (the President's helicopter) lands when he returns from a trip.

The Rose Garden where the President gives many speeches. I will say that this area seems SOO much bigger on TV than it really is. I will be honest and say I was in complete awe of this area when I stopped to think about all of the speeches that have been given here.

The swing set that was put in for the Obama girls

View from further down the lawn

If you follow the current presidency you probably know that Michelle Obama is very passionate about healthy eating and active lifestyles. You may have seen articles or news pieces about her White House garden. It is one impressive and beautiful garden!

Such a beautiful scene

I took TONS of pics on this tour so this could go on forever but I still have LOTS of pics to share so I'll leave it with these. I will say that if you are ever in DC for the Fall Garden Tours weekend in October, you should definitely check it out! It is BEAUTIFUL!

Our 8th Anniversary

2011-10-10T19:41:00.003-05:00

On September 27th, Rob and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe that it's been 8 years! Since we had just gotten back from our beach vacation and are headed to Washington DC in another week, week just decided to do a low key anniversary. We ate dinner at PF Chang's. The staff there was SO sweet to us and they all came by to wish us a Happy Anniversary. Here are the fortunes we got for the night. :)

Our yummy dessert

I am doing a horrible job these days with pictures so these are the only 2 that I got. UGG!

Rob got me a really pretty ring from Swarovski that I had been wanting and I got him an Auburn 2010 BCS Championship book signed by Kodi Burns (one of my favorite AU players, HA)

It was a great 8th anniversary and I can't wait to see what lies ahead! I'm so Blessed to have such a supportive, loving, and the most giving husband in the world! :)

This Makes My Heart Smile!

2011-09-26T18:27:00.002-05:00

Birmingham's 33/40 did a story on my grandfather last week and I got to see it today. I can't even begin to describe this man, Bob, as my brother and I call him. He is the heart and soul of our big family and is one of my heroes! This video just makes my heart smile! :)

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, slows him down! He is such an inspiration and is one of the sweetest people in the whole world!

Our Relaxing Vacation

2011-09-21T18:54:00.004-05:00

We left Gainesville on Sunday morning and headed to Gulf Shores to spend another week. Our week consisted of sea food, sunbathing, sleeping, and lots of down time! We just enjoyed the peace and quiet! We have decided that the week after Labor Day is the time to go to the beach! There is NOBODY there! The beach is basically empty, condos are cheaper, and there are NO crowds, anywhere! It was AMAZING!

Our week was really nothing exciting...which is exactly how we wanted it. Since it was low-key, we really didn't take any pictures. I did snap a few of the beach one afternoon so I'll leave you with those!

Wish I was still there! :)

Vacation Day 2 - Game Day!

2011-09-13T12:01:00.008-05:00

Saturday we met up with the family for Game Day! We started out with lunch at Cody's, which was really good and a really neat place! We hung out there and finished watching the Auburn game and headed back to the hotel room to watch some of the Bama game.

Later that afternoon we headed to the stadium and I snapped a few pictures. "The Swamp" is a very dated stadium, but they have added to the front to give it an update and make it a little more modern.

Statues of their 3 Heisman Trophy winners - Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow

No offense to any Florida fans, but I was really expecting more in "the swamp." It has a strange lay-out and is terribly cramped. Though the university has done much updating to the outside, the inside still seems extremely dated.

Last year when UAB travelled to Knoxville, the Blazers gave the Vols a run for their money. Against Florida, NOT so much! The game started out competitive but got ugly rather quickly. However, Nolen did have one completed pass for 24 yards (he actually had another completed pass but it was negated by a penalty)

This pic was taken by my aunt and uncle who had their camera at the game (I was taking pics with my phone). We love #85!

I love seeing new places and new stadiums (especially the SEC teams); however, I probably won't make an effort to visit "the Swamp" again! We are glad we went and enjoyed watching the Blazers, even though it didn't end pretty!

September 11, 2001

2011-09-11T01:00:00.000-05:00

The night of Monday, September 10, 2001, I went to bed with no worries! I had just started my junior year of college at Jacksonville State University, living in a cute apartment that I had just decorated, living with a couple of sweet girls. My biggest worries were how many words I had to write in my latest essay and how many more maths I had to take to graduate! Little did I know that the next day, the world as I had known it for 20 years was going to change and never be the same!

I woke up on Tuesday, September 11th, like any other week day. I always set my alarm for around 7 (even though many days I didn't actually get up at that time...college girl, remember?) I was a student majoring in Communications and MANY days our professors would give us pop quizzes on current events in the media (I guess they thought that Communication majors needed to be up on current events, ha!) so most mornings I would watch and listen to The Today Show while I got ready. On this particular morning, I was sitting on my bed eating my breakfast listening to Matt Lauer with breaking news of a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. As he discussed the news, the infamous shot was shown of the black smoke and the gaping hole in the tower. I remember thinking, "Who flew a plane into the World Trade Center? How could you not see the towers?"

As Matt Lauer continued to talk and try to get answers from eye witnesses, the camera stayed on the horrific scene. As I sat and watched, I saw another plane really close to the WTC and I remember thinking, "Should that plane be that close?" As I sat on my bed looking at the TV, the second plane hit the second tower. I sat in silence and in disbelief! This could NOT be happening - not in MY lifetime, not in MY country!!

I sat, for what seemed like an eternity but was actually only a few minutes, just trying to process the events that were unfolding in front of me! I was the only person awake in my apartment and I didn't want to be alone so I decided to wake up my roommate Holly. She and I sat on our couch, watching the news coverage and shaking our heads. We could not step away from the TV. As we continued to watch, the scenes became even more horrific! We listened as news broke of the plane crashing into the Pentagon, as well as the one crashing in Pennsylvania. We both called our families, terrified that basically the world was ending!

I had been lucky enough to travel to New York City in 1999 with my graduating senior high school class. While in NYC, we visited the World Trade Center and visited the "Top of the World" as their tour to the top was called. I remember that day vividly because I was SO impressed with those buildings! Being from a small town, NYC was amazing enough but the Twin Towers intrigued me! I remember being so impressed that the people that worked there had a MALL at work! You have to love the mindset of an 18-year-old! :)

I remember the events of 911 as if they were just yesterday! The days that followed 911 were so hard...my world was now a scary place to live! I remember laying in my bed for many nights after that horrific day and I wasn't able to sleep. I would just lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what kind of world this had become! It was such a confusing time for me but also the most patriotic time in my 20 years! I remember this country becoming so UNITED! We were so determined, so united, and so loving towards each other. What was such a horrendous tragedy turned this country into a whirlwind of patriotism! We BELIEVED in this country and we BELIEVED in each other!!!

As we reflect on the horrific events of 9-11, we need to remember how united we became! We need to be reminded of what's important and how BLESSED we are to live in this great nation!

Vacation is Here!!

2011-09-10T07:56:00.004-05:00

Our vacation FINALLY got here!! We decided a few months ago that we wanted to go Gainesville for the Florida/UAB game. You may remember, my cousin Nolen plays for UAB and last year we headed to Knoxville to see the Blazers take on the Vols. This year we really wanted to make the trip to watch them against the Florida Gators. Since that was the plan, we just pushed back our beach vacation to the week after our Gainesville trip.

We headed out early Thursday morning and got to Gainesville late in the afternoon. We rode around the UF campus and ate at Chipotle. I REALLY wish we would get one of those in Huntsville! It was YUMMY!

Friday we woke up and looked for some things to do. There's not a WHOLE lot in Gainesville to do - well, lots of nature trails...but anyway! :) If you know us, you know our all-time favorite place to go is Disney World. We haven't gone since 2009 and it's killing us! (We are going to try to make a trip in January or February) So, we decided to head to Downtown Disney! It's about 2 hours south of Gainesville and it was a pretty easy trip.

We can now say we went in 2011! (We have been to WDW every other year since we got married and we were due this year - this year has been kind of crazy so we didn't get to go)

Proof we were there! :)

We started off at Cookes of Dublin to split a fried Snickers bar!!! We LOVE these!

The Lego store has some new displays and are in the process of building more. I thought this one was cute!
Since it was a last minute trip, we didn't make reservations to eat anywhere. We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe.

And of course, I had to stop in at the candy store and pick up some of my favorites!

After Downtown Disney, we stopped off at the Premium Outlets in Orlando. I forgot to pack my tennis shoes and after a LONG day of walking at Downtown Disney, flip flops were just not going to cut it for another day of walking for the football game. Needless to say, I'm now the proud new owner of some new shoes! ha!

It was a FUN day and I'm really glad that Rob talked me into going to Downtown Disney! Of course, now we just REALLY want to go back! :)

Fave Flip-Flops

2011-09-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was reading on a blog where people were RAVING about some kind of yoga mat flip-flops! As a HUGE flip-flop fan, I'm always on the lookout for the best flip-flops but I HATE spending a lot on them...let's be honest, how ridiculous do expensive flip flops seem?? Anyway, I decided to scope these "miracle" flip flops out!

I found them in a few stores but since it was so late in the season, they were picked over and never had my size. I finally found a pair in a store in Birmingham during a trip there a few weeks ago. I decided on a black pair and let me just say, I haven't looked back! ha! These Sanuk flip flops run about $27 and trust me, peeps, they are worth EVERY penny! They are A-MAZ-ING!!! I wear them all the time! I'm hoping when we go to the beach I can find some more (maybe even on sale - fingers crossed) because I want a pair in every color! (except the Tennessee Vols orange - I can do without that color! Ha)

Seriously, if you are looking for a comfy flip-flop, you need to try the Sanuk yoga mat ones! You can thank me later!

Sanuk does make a lot of other shoes and I'm anxious to try more on to see if they can compete with the yoga mat flops!

Apples, Cast Iron Skillets, and BBQ

2011-09-05T14:58:00.005-05:00

On Sunday, we decided to go on a day-trip with our friends Matt and Stephanie. Since the weather was a little "iffy," thanks to Tropical Storm Lee, we decided to drive the opposite direction and head north.

We started out heading to Crow Mountain Orchard, in Fackler, Alabama. This place seems like it's out in the middle of nowhere but they seriously have the best apples ever. Since we went a little early in the season, they only had about 3 or 4 kinds to choose from, but hopefully we will make another run later in October when they have lots more. We ended up getting a bag of McIntosh. Yummo! **Be sure to check out their website because they have lots of good recipes!

After the orchard, we headed to South Pittsburg Tennessee to visit the Lodge Cast Iron Store. Rob has been wanting a cast iron skillet so we picked one up while we were there. This is our second trip to this store and I love looking at all of their stuff. They have one room that is nothing but clearance. Most of the items have some type of imperfection so they can't sell them at full price. We got a 10-inch cast iron skillet for $11 because it has a TINY little indention on one of its sides. For $11, that little mark won't bother me a bit! :)

Can't wait for Rob to make some cornbread! :)

After the Lodge Store, we headed north to Chattanooga for lunch. Sticky Fingers is one of our favorite restaurants and since Matt and Stephanie had never eaten there, we decided to introduce them.

I forgot to take a picture of the building so this picture is courtesy of Sticky Fingers website.

Here are a few pictures from our yummy lunch!

We all tried the different sauces and each of us preferred a different one. My favorite is the Memphis Original! I need to find some at the grocery store and make some BBQ at home!

It was a fun day with good friends! So glad we got out yesterday because today has been rainy and nasty! Tropical Storm Lee finally caught up to us and it's just not worth it to get out in this. Needless to say, we have enjoyed a day inside, laying around. I have done a few things to get ready for VACAY - COMING SOON! :)

It's a Dog's Life!

2011-09-05T10:56:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure our dogs have the most fabulous life! As you can tell from these pictures, they have NO cares! :)

Buster likes to burrow (as do most dachshunds) so he always wants to be under a pillow or buried under a blanket. He will work forever to get it "just right."

Seriously, could they be any more relaxed?

Every afternoon they sit and watch out the window, waiting on Rob to get home.

Buster never looks comfortable to me, but apparently he is!
These two are never far apart from each other.

Since we don't have kids yet, these are our babies! Our neighbor had an 8-year-old German Shepard, Roxie, that died recently of an apparent heart attack (she was Buster's girlfriend). :) Buster just turned 9 and Roxie's death reminded me that these dogs won't be around forever... it makes me sad to think about! We just love these three! :)

Visiting the Nation's Capital

2011-08-26T20:42:00.002-05:00

As you can see, I'm reading a travel book on Washington, DC. Rob has to go to DC in October and my brother and I are going to tag along. We have been lucky enough to get to travel with Rob's job to some fun places and this year is Washington DC.

I actually visited DC during my senior class trip in high school and actually enjoyed the city more than I thought I would. However, at 30, I'm a little more mature and appreciative of this great country so I'm excited to experience it again!

I bought this book earlier this week and am learning as much as possible before we go. I'm attempting to plan out our days. Of course we will hit as many high notes as we can...you know the Capitol, the monuments, Smithsonian, etc but are there any "must-sees" that we need to know about before we go?

If anyone has any ideas of great things we should look into, please tell me! Any great finds, restaurants, shopping places...I'm open to any advice!!

We Are READY!

2011-08-23T19:09:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Crystal's Creations, we are ready for football season!! I have been looking for something for our front door for a while and finally found this cute wreath for football season! She seriously makes some of the cutest stuff - her wreaths are adorable - football teams, Christmas, and even wreaths for nurseries!!

I love it on our front door! (Just wish it didn't have that orange and blue on it...haha) Oh well, you see what color our door is! Ha! RTR! :)

Happy Football Season (almost)!

Newest Members of the Mac World

2011-08-22T20:21:00.004-05:00

You read that correctly!! We finally crossed over to the dark side! :) We have talked about this move for YEARS and FINALLY bit the bullet! So far, we could not be happier!

We went this weekend and purchased a MacBook Pro and I LOVE it!!!!! We are very close to being an exclusive Apple family! (and that's just fine with me)

Photo courtesy of apple.com

I hope my love for this MacBook continues and maybe the blog will benefit from it too! :)

Parmesan-Ranch Chicken

2011-08-20T08:30:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you but I get really tired of eating the same things over and over for dinner. So, I've been trying some new things out and this has been one my favorites. And now that our house is finally back in order from the tornado and our kitchen has been remodeled - cooking is actually a LITTLE enjoyable! (Pics coming soon) This excitement for cooking won't last long so I'm embracing it while it's here! :)

If you're looking for new things to cook or bake, check out Plain Chicken. She blogs a recipe a day and most of them are fairly quick and easy recipes. I've made LOTS of things from her website and we have liked them all.

This Parmesan-Ranch chicken is SO quick and easy! I will definitely make it again!

You will need the following ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I actually did 3 medium breasts and it worked fine)

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp pepper

cooking spray

This was my first time taking pictures of each step so I forgot to take pics! :)

Preheat oven to 425. Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, seasoned salt and pepper on a plate. Dip chicken in ranch (or marinate over night) and then coat in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese (if desired) and spray with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

So good!

If you are looking for a quick and easy recipe for dinner, try this out or check out Plain Chicken. You are sure to find something! I'm hoping to try out some new recipes this week and will blog if I find any new great ones! :)

To Plan Or Not To Plan...

2011-08-17T19:23:00.006-05:00

I'm not going to lie - I'm a sucker for office supplies! When I was younger (well, even in college) I loved nothing more than buying school supplies. When I was a kid, I would unpack and repack my backpack every day for WEEKS until school started. I would take out all of my new pencils, folders, etc and look at them just longing for the day I got to use them! NERDY, I know! I'm still like a kid in a candy store during school supply season!! HA!

A few weeks ago on Twitter I heard about Erin Condren's planners and how AMAZING they are! Let me just say, I'm a SUCKER for a good planner!! And yes, I know that there are lots of calendar and planner apps for the iPhone but I'm old school and like paper!! Something about cute paper and colorful pens make me HAPPY! (It's the small things in life, ya know)

Her planners have room for everything! Each day is broken down into morning/day/night and gives you LOTS of space to write. Each month has lots of room for notes and there's lots of pockets to hold other stuff that you need. She even includes a few free gift stickers and labels for you to enjoy!

If you haven't checked out Erin Condren's company and all she offers, you are missing out! She has the absolute cutest stuff!! Thanks to Twitter, I found out about a great deal and ordered one as quick as I could pick one out (which took a while because there are LOTS of cute choices)!!

Yesterday, I came home to this box (her FedEx boxes are even cute)

I tore into the box before I took time to take a picture of how cute it was wrapped in the box. Seriously, how cute is this planner??

AND it came with a $25 coupon off my next order!!!! Needless to say, I made my second Erin Condren order yesterday, which includes an address book, some personalized note pads and gift tags!

If you are a sucker for a good planner like me, check this video out and then head on over to Erin Condren and order yours!!!

Instagram Pictures

2011-08-07T15:58:00.004-05:00

I know, I know - I'm the worst blogger ever these days. Since the tornado in April, life has pretty much been consumed with house stuff. These projects are almost completed so I will post pics soon!

I'm totally addicted to the Instagram app on the iPhone. It makes your pictures look so much better than a normal cell phone picture. Here are a few from the past couple of months...

New Blog Design Makes For A Happy Girl! :)

2011-06-02T20:37:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Sweet Baby's Custom Blogs I am rocking a new blog design and I LOVE it! Leslie was so easy to work with and so quick (she had this up and running in less than a week)!

I have always been envious of custom blogs but I just couldn't justify spending big money on it. Sweet Baby's has great prices so it was well worth it! I could sit and look at it all day!!

Go see Leslie at Sweet Baby's for your custom blog!!!!

April 27, 2011 A Day We Won't Soon Forget

2011-05-22T20:20:00.009-05:00

The morning of Wednesday April 27th started out as any other day. We watched the news as we were getting ready for work (as we do every morning) and knew that there was a chance for some pretty severe weather later that morning and into the afternoon. When you live in Alabama you are totally used to the word "tornado."

Rob and I carpooled that day and on the way to drop him off I kept complaining that my chest was hurting. I kept having this sharp pain but figured it was heart burn or indigestion or the like. I dropped Rob off and headed to my office.

Throughout the morning we kept an eye on the weather at work and around 11:30 we took cover for what would be the beginning of a LONG day! I kept joking with my staff about my chest hurting...so I took some Tums. Those chest pains lasted until late that night....strange how your body might be telling you something! Rob told me the next time I have those pains, I should keep it to myself. HA!

While taking cover we watched a tornado pass over Redstone Arsenal. Little did I know part of that same storm system had hit my neighborhood just moments before.

Around noon, Rob called and said his office was closing for the day, so I left around 1:00 to pick him up and head home. We knew that the main road we live off of was closed in sections so we really didn't know what we were going towards.

The closer we got to our neighborhood, the worse things started looking. When we got to the main road that we live on, Madison County deputies were blocking it and would only let residents through. The main road was closed because power lines and trees had wrapped themsevles around each other and were littering the road. What few trees were left were completely scalped. Since the roads were littered, we couldn't get to our street. Luckily we were able to turn onto the street before ours which is still part of our subdivision. All of the roads to our house were blocked so we had to leave our car a street over and start walking to our house.

I will say these moments were some of the scariest of my life. All I wanted to do was walk in my house and see our dogs! As we rounded the corner and saw our house we saw a MESS! Our house was still standing but there were trees covering the garage end of the house and all of our trees were down. Our neighborhood was started in the early 80s so there were LOTS of mature trees. Our yard lost about 10 sycamore trees (that all hit our house), a magnolia, an oak tree and 2 pine trees.

This magnolia was in our front yard. It was the only tree that fell in our yard that did not hit anything.

One of our columns on the front porch blew completely off of the porch. That's my welcome mat in the shrubs.This was the view from my back patio. These are huge sycamores that fell. Notice our patio umbrella and chairs. Somehow the glass table came out without a scratch! This is the back corner of our house (garage). Those trees on the garage caused this hole. We have 2 gaping holes in the garage ceiling caused by the trees.

We have LOTS of water spots in the garage and a few small ones in the house.

Our back yard (looking toward the house)
That black blob was a grill

These are a few of the sycamores that fell. Notice the privacy fence that got taken out. There used to be a gate there. Somehow this piece of tree was still standing (which was behind our privacy fence) but the privacy fence was blown on the tree. It looked as if someone had nailed it to the fence.

These were some of the trees on the house. Notice Rob's old Chevy truck (also known as Bessie) lived through it without a scratch! (Of course Mother Nature wouldn't do me a favor and get rid of that truck! HA!)

The roof once we got the trees off

The winds pushed our mailbox over

When we got home and started assessing the damage, our neighbor came outside and said there was another storm coming through and it was coming through the same path. Beginning around 2:00 and going through the evening, we stayed in our bathroom (our safe place). Tornado systems just kept coming through the same path but thankfully nothing further hit our neighborhood. Unfortunately though, areas around us took a BLOW of an EF4 tornado that afternoon. Total neighborhoods and businesses were destroyed and lives were lost.

At one point, the people on the radio said there were too many tornadoes on the radar and they didn't have enough time to tell everyone so they told everyone that could hear the radio to take cover! It was the most unbelievable day!!!

It is still unbeliveable to see all of the devestation around us. I keep wondering when I will stop feeling like someone punched me in the stomach when I turn onto my street. Sometimes, at odd moments I still get a lump in my throat and cry and I have no idea how long that will last. I am SO lucky to have my life and everyone around me as well as my house that is still standing. Sometimes the emotions from that day are just too much! I pray that we NEVER see another day like that...EVER!!

Just because I want to document this...According to the National Weather Service our tornado was an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 110 mph. The damage width was 200 yards and the distance was 24.2 miles. The storm started at 11:30 am and ended at 12:05

"This tornado touched down south of Highway 72 in east Limestone County, uprooting large hardwood trees. The tornado moved northeast, snapping trees and removing shingles, crossing Capshaw Road near Old Railroad Bed Road. Numerous power poles were snapped. The tornado dissipated in the Deposit community." Information from NWS.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ALABAMA! WE ARE A STRONG STATE WITH STRONG PEOPLE BUT WE STILL NEED PRAYERS! Total communites were wiped out and the rebuilding process is a LONG process! But I can honestly say, I have NEVER been more proud to call myself an Alabamian!

Going to the Chapel

2011-04-18T19:01:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday night, I got to witness my high school best friend get married. The weather was warm, but absolutely gorgeous and Ashley was absolutely stunning! The wedding took place at a beautiful old home just outside of Birmingham that has been renovated for these types of events. Such Southern charm I LOVED the shabby-chic of the decorations...do you see those chandeliers and lights hanging from the tree? SO PRETTY!! This was the favor table with homemade jam...such a cute idea! Pretty monogrammed cake

The happy couple - Adam and Ashley! Ashley and I met on the first day of band camp in the ninth grade (insert joke here, haha). She had just transferred to our high school and was being introduced to people in our class. The first time we met, I think she thought I was a snob and I thought she had GREAT hair! haha! It didn't take us long to become BEST friends! Ashley and I have had a crazy friendship that I wouldn't trade for anything! Though we don't get to see each other very often, I think we always know that the other is only a phone call away!

I'm very happy Ashley has found someone to spend her life with and Rob and I wish them NOTHING BUT HAPPINESS!

Adoption Update and Nursery Sneak Peak

2011-04-04T19:46:00.003-05:00

Today we got news that our homestudy is FINALLY COMPLETE!!! We have had a CRAZY time getting this, thanks to my fingerprints. I had to end up sending 2 sets of prints in because they kept being "smudgy," and then had to wait on the Federal Government to accept them and then the State of Alabama had to accept them. Needless to say, we are ecstatic for this stage to be finished!!!! Now we move to the waiting stage! Since we have chosen private adoption, we wait until a baby comes along. So, that being said, many times word of mouth is what gets couple their baby. So, if any of you in Blogger Land know of a situation of a birthmother looking for a family for her baby, please keep us in mind! It's amazing how many adoptions end up this way!!! Unlike a pregnancy, with adoption there is no timeline. Therefore, you need to be somewhat prepared early on. For those of you that know me, know that I'm a planner so I've been planning this nursery for a LONG time! Since we also have no idea the sex of our baby, the nursery has to be gender neutral, which isn't always the easiest thing to plan. However, I'm so excited with the colors and patterns that we have chosen and can't wait for it all come together. I keep looking at the crib and I just long for the day when I am looking at our sleeping baby!!! We have also finally agreed on names (we think), and both names have the same monogram (Don't say it, yes I know I have a problem). So, here is a sneak peak of the colors and "shabby-chic" nursery that we are working on. I absolutely cannot wait to share the rest of it with you guys. We have most of the furniture up but still need to paint the room and get a couple of other things. I have the bedding picked out but was waiting to hear from the home study before ordering. A few weeks ago, we got our first "baby gift." My grandparents bought us this ADORABLE cart cover from Three Little Miracles, LLC. A few months ago, my grandmother told me to pick out a pattern and this is the one I chose and it's even cuter in person than in this picture. The owner of Three Little Miracles is a family friend of ours and she does GREAT work! This cart cover is SO much nicer than any other that I have seen! I absolutely cannot wait to use it!!!! Thanks Nanny and Bob! :)

If you have stuck with this blog post through all of this, Bless your heart!! ;) I just had a lot to say tonight!

Modern Technology

2011-03-22T20:48:00.002-05:00

Well, I have finally joined the rest of the technologically savvy world with this recent purchase...

(thanks to apple.com for the picture)

To give myself a little credit, we are Verizon customers so the iPhone wasn't even available for us until January. We have been Verizon customers for YEARS and weren't going to change providers just for a phone so we waited YEARS (literally) to finally get our hands on this gem! Are you noticing a pattern in how long I've waited for this....YEARS! :)

I've had it for a couple of weeks and I LOVE IT!! I've been a Blackberry user for the last 4 or so years so it was bittersweet to say goodbye to the roller ball! But that's okay because I'm in a new relationship with this little guy and we are soul mates....at least until the iPhone 5!

If there are any apps that are must haves, let me know! I'm always looking for new, cool apps!

Happy 1st Birthday Mallory!

2011-03-09T20:18:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we celebrated the first birthday of our friend Karla's little girl, Mallory. If you live here in the South, you know it rained ALL day on Saturday! We all looked like drowned rats by the time the party got going, but we all had a fun time.

The birthday girl

The party was a cowgirl theme and was SO cute! I just love these centerpieces with the Mason jars.

Instead of cake, Karla used cupcakes, which I think is SOOOO much easier than cake! And they were delish! The cupcake toppers matched the centerpieces...so cute!

The birthday girl after her cake :)

I can't believe this little one is a year old!! I can't wait to see how she changes as she gets older!

Louisiana Weekend - Part 2

2011-03-08T20:00:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, we got up early to head to the parades. But before that, we stopped off at the Coffee House, for beignets. YUMMO! This is such a neat little village. They have taken old farm houses from the area and put them all in the same spot to form The Cajun Village, which houses a wine shop, an antique store, etc. So cute, right?

The parade we went to was in Thibodaux, Louisiana where Stephanie has family. We had MORE great food and LOTS of king cake!

Stephanie, her sister Trish, and her neice Addison

Dobbins (the chef and Stephanie's dad) and Stephanie

Some of the floats

This parade actually goes by twice so you get both sides of the floats, which I thought was neat. It is also a more family friendly parade so the crazies were limited (thank goodness). Rob and I with our collection of beads!

The weather was absolutely perfect for the parade, high 70's with a breeze! We had such a great time the entire weekend and want to go back and do more sight-seeing. We headed home Monday morning, of course after a huge breakfast, compliments of Stephanie's family! :)

Right now we have no more trips planned on our calendar. Guess it's time to start planning! :)

Louisiana Weekend - Part 1

2011-03-06T20:10:00.008-06:00

Our friends, Matt and Stephanie, invited us to spend the weekend in Louisiana with Steph's family for Mardi Gras! We rolled in to Louisiana on Friday afternoon and had dinner at Kevin's, some yummy seafood! After dinner we got "dessert" at a drive-thru daiquiri bar. Can I just say how weird it is to get an alcoholic beverage at a drive-thru???After a long day of traveling we turned in pretty early so we could get up early Saturday for some sight-seeing. Stephanie's parents live in a small area, St. Amant, which is an outskirt of Baton Rouge. Since this was my first trip to the area, Stephanie took us around Baton Rouge and the campus of LSU.

LSU's campus is neat because of the huge trees that branch out really low to the ground. Somehow, I forgot to get a picture of the trees. However, I did catch a pic of Tiger Stadium.

After going around LSU's campus, we headed to downtown Baton Rouge. There are some beautiful old buildings with LOTS of history. This is the old governor's mansion.

This is the new state capitol building, which I thought was really neat. It is so different looking than other state capitols that I have seen.

This is the old state capitol building that has been refurbished and now houses a gift shop and other things. Doesn't it look like a castle?

After sightseeing, we headed to Rocco's for po'boys. Rob got these red beans and rice and I got the shrimp po'boy. YUMMY!

After lunch we did a little shopping. Saturday night we ate dinner with Stephanie's parents and had a FEAST! I was so busy eating, I didn't take any pictures!! Dobbins, Steph's dad, is the BEST cook...he grilled deer sausage, deer backstrap, and steaks! I can't even tell you how great this meatfest was! Mary Lou, Stephanie's mom, made all the sides...potatoes, Watergate salad, broccoli salad, squash/shrimp casserole, among other things! You guys should be SO jealous!

Stay tuned for Part 2 - Mardi Gras

We Need a Baby, Like BAD!

2011-02-13T21:00:00.003-06:00

Rob and I bought this jumperoo a few weeks ago from a co-worker. I got it out yesterday to clean it up and before I put it away, I decided to try it out. Well not me, but a dog! :) Minnie's always game for anything so I put her in it, turned the music on, and let her play! Ha!

Doesn't she look like she's having a BLAST??

She really couldn't figure out what was going on, but she didn't even attempt to get out of it!

Of course Buster couldn't be left out of the fun. He stood by the jumperoo with his tail wagging until I put him in too. Of course, he's a little hefty so he kind of weighed it down. He didn't enjoy too much jumping. haha! I really don't think he wanted to get out.

Yes, we need a baby SOON!!!!! We are totally ready and I know the dogs will be glad to have a baby in the house too! :)

Books Close to My Heart!

2011-02-10T19:30:00.003-06:00

If you have, or know someone who has, struggled with infertility, these books are for you!! The Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty is the story of a woman who has done everything the "correct" way and decides she and her husband are ready for a baby. She, like most women, start trying and assume that she'll be pregnant in a few months. Sound familiar?? It was like reading a book about myself, haha!

The book is a very comical depiction of what women go through trying to get pregnant - and I'll just say it is SPOT ON!! The moods, the calendars, the checking the temperature, it's all in this book!

As much as I loved the first book, I was SO excited to find out there was a second one. This one ended up being even closer to my heart because the main character and her husband decide to adopt!!! The Right Fit discusses ALL of the stuff you go through when trying to adopt - the paperwork, the questions, the MONEY, and the WAIT!!!!

These books really are a great read for anyone, but especially those who have found themselves in either the struggle with infertility and/or the decision to adopt! Check them out!!!

I'll probably re-read The Right Fit during this LONG WAIT for a baby! :)

I'm a Bookworm!

2011-01-28T20:50:00.003-06:00

As you guys probably read, I got the Nook Color for my birthday and let's just say I'm IN LOVE!!!! My Nook goes (almost) everywhere I go!

The first book I bought was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I really wasn't sure about this book at first, but everyone was raving about it so I bought it and I'm SO glad I did! I really enjoyed this book! Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson will be in the movie that is coming out in April and I can't wait to see it! I think I finished this book in like 3 days...I couldn't put it down!

After Water for Elephants, I wanted something a little more "chick-lit." The Shopaholic Series has been around for quite a few years and I just love them. They are easy reads, but the main character is SO funny to me! Mini Shopaholic was just as cute and funny as the others! :)

I am currently reading The Help by Kathryn Sockett and am enjoying it. Well, I don't know that I'm enjoying the story because so far it's rather sad, but I'm enjoying the book. It takes place in Mississippi during the early Civil Rights Movement and I'm absolutely appalled by the way the "hired help" is treated in the story. I'm really anxious to see how the story unfolds! AND, this book will also be a movie, out in August, according to the web!

If any of you read any good books, I would love to hear about them!! I should be ready for my next one sometime during the upcoming week! I've got a few on my "Wish List" that I will be purchasing soon. I'll keep the blog posted! HAPPY READING!

Office Night Out

2011-01-28T20:34:00.003-06:00

Last Friday night, my office got together for an evening of bowling. The Arsenal has a really nice and CLEAN bowling alley and AMAZING prices so after work we all headed out for a night of "team-building."

Katie sporting her straight leg jeans! :) haha!
Scott and Karla - pretending to like each other.....they actuallly act like brother and sister

Check out the form! ;)

Jeff, thinking he's a professional!

Katie, Karla and Katie....these 3 keep me laughing ALL the time!

We had a really good time and hopefully will start bowling more often, even though I'm the world's worst bowler! :)

Happy Birthday to Me (Again)!

2011-01-28T20:22:00.002-06:00

When I returned to work on the 18th, my staff had decorated my office!! When I walked in the office and my office door was shut, I knew it couldn't be good! ;) How cute are the polka dot streamers???

No 30th birthday is complete without LOTS of black balloons!

They had also made this cute poster and put it on the wall. (and it's actually still there because I like it) :)

Birth year of JT...very important fact!!!! Also, the year Prince Charles married Diana AND post-it notes were launched by 3M. BIG YEAR!

Check out these high prices! I wish a day at Disney World still cost this!

Seriously, who knew that Buffalo Wild Wings was 30 years old? Well, NOT ME!

We also had homemade cupcakes which were adorable and yummy (and I forgot to get a picture) AND they gave me a gift card to Charming Charlie (one of my favorite places). I am so blessed to work with people that I absolutely love to be around! I really do have a great job!

Celebrating (or mourning) the BIG 3-0! :)

2011-01-17T17:27:00.005-06:00

On Saturday, I turned 30!!!!! I still can't believe I'm 30! I just don't know how this happened! ;) Oh well, you have to embrace it!

We were supposed to spend a long, relaxing weekend at the beach but after the big blizzard (haha) and a bad stomach bug, Rob and I decided to stay closer to home and have some fun! Since we had already planned to take the days off to go to the beach, we kept the days and spent some time out and about! We were going stir crazy after being snowed in so we were just excited to be out of the house!

Friday we headed to Birmingham for a little shopping at the outlets in Leeds, The Shops of Grand River. This was our first time there and they are pretty nice. I hope it grows a little more so they will have even more outlets. After shopping, we headed to the Summit for lunch at Chuy's.

After lunch and a little more walking, we headed to Flip Burger Boutique for one of their famous milkshakes!

Rob tried the Krispy Kreme and I had the Nutella with burnt marshmellows. They were good, overpriced, but good.

On Saturday (my actual birthday), Rob got us a room at the Westin. We checked in and then went to the movies to see The Dilemma. Saturday night we had dinner at Connor's. If you've never had Connor's you are missing out!!!!!!!

Here we are headed out to dinner

We ordered dessert to go....yummy!

Before my birthday, Rob totally surprised me with the Nook Color. I've been wanting one for a while but I was NOT expecting it, at all!! By the way, it's even better than I thought it would be!!!

On Saturday, he gave me a Brighton charm bracelet that he started for me. This is a picture I did on Brighton's website of what my bracelet looks like. They have some really neat charms and spacers and I'm excited to start one as I start this new chapter of my life....my thirties!!!!

I'm 30! I still can't quite wrap my mind around it! I am excited to see what my 30's have in store for me though!!!!

What Nichole at 30 would say to Nichole at 20!

2011-01-15T12:33:00.003-06:00

Things that Nichole at 30 years old would tell a 20 year old Nichole!

1. MTV is NOT the only channel on TV!
2. Easy Mac should not be eaten at every meal! When you are 30, you will still gag at the thought of eating Easy Mac because you ate FAR too much of it back then!
3. Go ahead and start loving your alarm clock! It will be a part of your life FOREVER!
4. Sleeping until noon will not always be an option!
5. Working 20 hours a week while going to school is NOTHING! Just wait, in a few years you will work a full time job while working on your Master's! Then, you will know tough!!
6. You will LOVE sushi! There is more in the world than chicken fingers and fries!
7. The lights that you leave on actually do cost money! You will learn to turn things off!
8. As cool as you think you are, in 10 years you will look back at pictures and ask yourself what you were thinking!
9. Cell phones are nothing! Just wait and see what's coming down the pike!
10. Go ahead and learn to LOVE football! You will eventually plan your weekends around the SEC and actually enjoy it! CRAZY, I know! You will actually be a little sad when college football season ends!

But seriously, I wish 20-year-old Nichole would have known and understood these things!

1. God's plan is SO much bigger than your plan. Your path is so much bigger than you ever thought it would be. Life is not going to go exactly as you would like it or as you had planned!

2. All of the heartache will make you a stronger person and make you truly appreciate the one that God finally puts in your life.

3. Learn to love yourself! Everyone has flaws and it's OK!!!!

4. The material things will never make you who you are! Only buy things you can pay cash for!! You will have a LOVE/HATE relationship with Dave Ramsey and wish everyone around you would follow the plan too!

5. 30 is NOT old! 30 is actually a GREAT time because you will finally start figuring this whole life thing out!!!!

6. Don't say you don't want kids because at about the age of 27 your "clock" is going to go CRAZY!

7. Learn to be patient and wait! Enjoy the journey that gets you to the place you want to be! You will literally blink and be 30 before you know it!!!!!!!!!

8. Make meaningful friendships!!! You will need them SO many times!!!!!!

9. Have a REAL relationship with God! Talk to Him everyday!!!!!!!!!!! (Even at 30, I'm not where I want to be with this) He listens!!!!!!!!

10. You will find a husband who loves you for you! He will be kind, patient and your absolute best friend! You will become so much closer than you ever could imagine!

11. Go ahead and try new things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will be happy you did!

Bloggy Update!

2011-01-15T12:21:00.003-06:00

Sorry guys! It's been a crazy few weeks. Rob and I were busy during the holidays and then have been sick for the last two weeks! It's been CRAZY! We had a great Christmas with family and started out 2011 hibernating from the COLD!!! It's been so cold here lately and we have gotten 2 snows! We even had a white Christmas! Here are a few pics from the Christmas holidays!

The Saturday before Christmas we had our "Smith Family Christmas Breakfast." This has become our newest tradition with the ENTIRE family and a HUGE breakfast! YUMMY!! It's amazing how much bigger our family gets each year! So fun to watch the changes!

We headed to Oneonta on Christmas Eve and woke up to a WHITE CHRISTMAS! It was beautiful! This picture is looking out into my parent's pasture.

Christmas afternoon we headed to my grandmother's for Christmas with my mom's side of the family. We had a good time and laughed a lot! :)

Christmas night some of our family came over for our traditional game night. We played Mad Gab which is always hilarious!

We came home the day after Christmas to this! So pretty!

2010 Christmas Tour

2010-12-12T21:29:00.012-06:00

I'm linking up to The Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes as well as Kelly's Korner again this year! You should definitely check out all of the links there to see some beautiful Christmas decorations and get LOTS of ideas! Our living room is really done in classic red and green.

The last two years I have had wrapped gifts as my mantle decorations but I was ready for a change. I found this garland at Target that already had green ribbon as well as green and red Christmas balls and it fits PERFECTLY on my mantle. I already had one apothacary jar (that I use in the kitchen) so I bought another one and put them on each end of the mantle. The wreath on the mirror is the one that I made.I got these sets of green and red balls at Target and I love them!I absolutely love apothacary jars. Mine came from Old Time Pottery for VERY reasonable prices!More Christmas balls on the coffee table. My all-time favorite Christmas book sits on the other side of the coffee table - The Polar Express. I have LOVED this book since I was small and I cannot wait to read it to a little one and make it a tradition. For now, the dogs enjoy it! ;)
This church is one of my favorite Christmas decorations. It has fiber optic lights that change and it is SO pretty! My mom bought me this nativity scene years ago and it is one of my favorites! I wanted a nativity scene but don't have a lot of room for a big one. This one is just so simple but beautiful! It's a GREAT reminder of what Christmas is about! I decorate the kitchen too, of course! I LOVE to add little holiday touches to every room! I put my Christmas dishes out along with other decorations!

I found this cute basket a couple of years ago and use it to hold dish cloths

I found this plate a few years ago in Disney World for a few dollars. (Note the Mickey heads in the holly). I never really used it so I got my friend Katie to add some vinyl and I LOVE it!!!

My father-in-law gave me this for Christmas a few years ago and it is so pretty all lit up in the kitchen at night! I LOVE having little lights all over the house and spending nights at home with all of them on. SO COZY! Can you tell that this is my FAVORITE time of year???

I keep this red bowl out in the kitchen for all of the Christmas cards we get! I LOVE getting cards!

This year I even jazzed up our main bathroom! I found this cute frame on clearance after Christmas last year at Target.

I found this Lennox nightlight for a GREAT price a couple of weeks ago. It is SO pretty when it's on!

I found these towels after Christmas last year. They are so fun to me and match the frame!

I hope you all have enjoyed my little tour. As you can see, Christmas is my favorite time of year! May you all have a safe and wonderful holiday season!

"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

Ribbon Wreath

2010-12-09T20:59:00.003-06:00

A couple of months ago, my friend Karla and I got together for a "Craft Sunday" to make wreath ribbons. Karla made one for her sister's baby nursery so now that her sister has hers and the secret's out, I can share mine! :)

We found lots of different ways to make them but this is the one that we tried first. (I will definitely try more). I decided to make a Christmas one for myself so I bought a syrofoam wreath and coordinating Christmas ribbons from Hobby Lobby.

I cut the ribbons into strips.

You take push pins and loop the ribbon to attach it to the wreath. As you can see, there is no specific way to arrange it. Your goal is to completely cover the styrofoam.

And voila!!! Cute, huh? It took a couple of hours (and a snack break) to complete.

I had an unfinished wooden "A" from Michael's and decided it would be perfect for the center of my wreath. I painted it a bright green and used a paint pen to add the red polka dots.

I used a staple gun and push pins to attach it to the wreath and the project was complete. I was originally going to put the wreath on the inside of our back door. However, I have put it on our mirror over the fireplace and it's really cute. (I'll do a Christmas tour of our house later this week) Here is a picture of the final product (it's a HORRIBLE picture because I realized while doing this blog post that I didn't have a picture of the completed wreath so this is from the Blackberry - it looks yellow and it's NOT - it's GREEN).

Stay tuned for more pictures of our house decorated for Christmas! I will try to get those posted this week! Hope you all are staying warm and enjoying the snow (if you have gotten any over the last few days)! :)

Too Many Pictures...What Do You Do?

2010-12-04T19:19:00.008-06:00

If you are like me, you take LOTS of pictures throughout the year and just don't know what to do with them! That's where Shutterfly comes in! I go through my pictures and pick the ones that I want to actually have printed. When you sign up for Shutterfly emails, you periodically get discount and promotional codes which give you GREAT deals on pictures, as well as other items like calendars, canvas wall art, and even Christmas picture cards.

If you haven't used Shutterfly, you are missing out! I have used Shutterfly for the last few years and I love them!!! All of their products are excellent quality and they are SUPER fast getting your orders to you!! I have always had my order within the same week that I ordered it. And if you are like me with limited patience, this is IMPORTANT! :)

Last year, I chose Shutterfly for my Christmas cards and LOVED them!!! I chose the matte finish and they were my favorite Christmas cards yet!

I have narrowed this year's selection down to 3 different designs, but I'm not sharing which ones yet! ;) Once I've mailed them out, I will definitely share them with you all!!! :) One thing is for sure, they will be from Shutterfly!

San Fran - Part 4 (Last installment) :)

2010-11-21T20:13:00.007-06:00

One night we found The Cheiftain, an Irish pub in the SOMA district. It was authentic Irish food, like fish and chips but a few very interesting things too.

One such interesting dish was this zucchini soup. (Yes, it's green) It was SOOO scrumptious! The Chieftain was a really good restaurant and really cool atmosphere.

You absolutely can't go to San Fran and not ride a cable car! We caught the cable car down near Ghirardelli Square and rode it all the way through town to Union Square.

Rob stood on the back and snapped pictures while Jacob and I sat safely inside. Ha! Yes, our cable car is about to meet the one in this picture. I really think you could reach out and touch the passing cable cars!

Jacob surprised by the camera! :)

This is a view looking back down the hill we had just come over

Union Square was about 2 blocks from our hotel, so needless to say, we spent LOTS of time there! :) They were starting to put the Christmas tree up in the middle of the park.

Lots of shopping!

Our last night we had sushi at a place called Sanraku. Jacob had been craving sushi all week and we finally found him some! It was YUMMO!!

Doesn't he look happy? I know I was! :)

I, of course, have LOTS more pictures but I don't want to bore you guys to death! San Francisco is a beautiful and fun city! We would love to go back and drive up into the vineyards....maybe someday! :)

San Fran Part 3 - Alcatraz

2010-11-21T17:28:00.004-06:00

If you've ever been to San Francisco you know that Alcatraz is a MUST SEE! I've always been intrigued by Alcatraz and even more so after seeing it. We took a ferry over and this is what you see as you approach the island.

The shell of a building on top of the hill used to be the barracks where the guards lived. One thing I never realized before going to Alcatraz, was that guards and their families lived on this small island. While we were there, I just kept thinking how I could not imagine raising my family that close to a maximum security prison.

The lighthouse at Alcatraz

Our ferry ride over

One of the corridors of cells.
As you can see, the cells were TINY. On the left you can see two metal shelves, one being the table and one being a seat! On the right is the bed frame....the mattresses were about 3 inches thick!

This is the shower room. In the early days there were stalls but after some security issues it became just one big shower room!

Alcatraz also offers some of the best views of San Francisco. That's the Golden Gate Bridge behind us.

Notice the hilly streets of San Francisco behind us.

I have TONS of pictuers from Alcatraz but didn't want to go overboard on the blog. HA! It really was intriguing and SOOO interesting!

San Fran - Part 2 - Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square

2010-11-17T17:00:00.000-06:00

We also hit the classic tourist places, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli Square. Fisherman's Wharf is an older part of town is lots of small restaurants, bars, and shops.

If you have seen these "toilets" before you know how funny they are. It looks a lot like a phone booth or something. They are public bathrooms and after each use they go through a 50-second self-cleaning cycle. I didn't use one, but as you can see Jacob experienced it. Too funny!

Pier 39 was also really neat! Lots of shopping and eating! The view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the pier.

That's Alcatraz behind us! (that post will come later)

We ate at Bubba Gumps....great food and awesome atmosphere (since it's southern based) :)

The sea lions at Pier 39 are so much fun to watch. I think we could have sat and watched them interact with each other all day! They are such funny animals!

So much fun to watch!

We also headed to Ghirardelli Square and got chocolate and ice cream! Yummy! I did not know that Ghirardelli was originally from San Fran!

More to come soon! Stay tuned!

San Francisco - Part 1

2010-11-16T18:50:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, we spent last week in San Francisco. Rob had to go for a work conference so I tagged along (which I do for most of his work trips) and I took my brother, Jacob along as a companion. We had a great week sightseeing and taking in San Francisco. It only rained one day and the rest of the week was absolutely beautiful with the highs in the upper 60's and sunny!

We arrived in San Francisco and headed straight to our hotel which was located in the Soma District. We were in the middle of LOTS of shopping! (Yes, I was in heaven). We got to the hotel to watch the second half of the Bama/LSU game. BOO!!! We should have gone on to enjoy the city! :)

Our view out of our window....we were across the street from The Container Store (for those of you that know me well, you know how excited this made me), a 4-story Old Navy, and a huge Apple store. I was SO excited to see all of this right out of my window!

We asked some locals and chose to eat dinner at a swanky, local bar and restaurant called Anchor & Hope. It was DELISH and such a neat place. If you've ever been to San Fran, you know that there are TONS of small and very unusual eateries!

Rob had the Ahi Tuna, which was unbelievable!
I had the lobster roll on the brioche bun! SCRUMPTIOUS!

Rob also tried the beer sampler........I'm not a beer drinker but even some of these were good to me!

We took SO many pictures and I have SOOOO many things to share from our trip! I will probably have to blog our trip in 4 or 5 different posts! :) I'll leave you guys with these for now!

Adoption Auction!

2010-11-04T20:12:00.002-05:00

Remember the auction started today over at Worthy of the Prize. There are some GREAT items up for bid so start your Christmas shopping now!

100% of the proceeds will be split between 18 adoptive families (we are one of them, YAY)!!! So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go bid on some items!!!!!!

Just click below! Bidding will continue until Sunday!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

2010-10-27T17:58:00.006-05:00

Even though the temps are still in the low 80's, it's fall in our house. I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!! I don't do tons of fall decorating but I do a few things.

Here is our front door. I love mums!!!

"Welcome" flag

This is a better pic of the "Happy Fall" sign on the front door. I ordered this from Etsy a few weeks ago. I wish I was talented enough to paint something like this! (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Etsy)

I found these cute pumpkins at Hobby Lobby for HALF PRICE! They are so cute sitting up in the kitchen window.

I also found this cute kitchen towel at Hobby Lobby. I think it may be a little early for Thanksgiving decorations but not when they are this cute! HA. I found one of these on Etsy but really didn't want to spend $25 on it so I made my own. It's a spin-off of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" signs that are everywhere right now. This looks really cute in the kitchen.

I made this sign last year to go on our mantle. It will stay up until Halloween and then I bring out a Thanksgiving sign.

I made all of these last year too. I used craft pumpkins and paint! They are really cute on the hearth!

I hope everyone is having a great fall. Hopefully our temperatures will fall a little so we can start making soups and wearing boots and sweaters! :)

BEAUTIFUL Fall Saturday!

2010-10-24T20:33:00.005-05:00

Saturday we headed to Lynchburg, Tennessee for the Jack Daniels BBQ Cookoff. This is our fourth time to go to the cookoff and we love it. Lynchburg is such a cute, small southern town. We are fools for fair-type food, good BBQ, and arts and crafts! :) We spent the morning strolling around Lynchburg with our friends Matt and Stephanie.

We are getting really bad about not taking any or enough pictures. We have got to do better! This is probably because when we are with these two the four of us are usually laughing hysterically and not thinking about pictures! :)

Here we are with our footlong corndog and chicken on a stick. You're jealous, right? ;)

Don't they look so cute with their Jack Daniels hats? They were just trying them on....they didn't purchase them. However, I thought they were cute! :)

We left Lynchburg and headed back to our house to watch the Auburn/LSU game. *Reminder, Stephanie is an LSU fan and Rob is a BIG Auburn fan.* At the end of the game, we are all still friends! :) Just another beautiful Fall day with friends!

Over the past few weeks, God has reminded me how Blessed I am! He has put some VERY special people in my life in the exact moment that I needed them! Rob and I are blessed with such great friends, some old and some new. Our friends just make it easy! We always have a great time, no matter what we are doing and that means so much! It's so easy to get bogged down by life and stresses and the "what-ifs" that we have going on, but our friends help us so much!

Friday Night Fun!

2010-10-24T18:45:00.003-05:00

This fall has been the busiest season ever. We have had something going on EVERY weekend! Fall is our favorite season so we love being out and about. Friday night I had a "date" with my friend Karla and little Mallory (my fave baby). Karla, Mallory and I had a classic "girls'" night, including Hobby Lobby, Mexican dinner, and shopping at the mall! Doesn't get much better than those places! :) I didn't get many pictures and every time I would try to get a pic of Mallory, she would shake her head "no." So funny!!!! These are a couple that I got of her though.

She had a long day at daycare so she was "chillaxin" in her stroller. She kept putting her feet up on the tray of the stroller like a recliner. She cracks me up! Please notice how unenthused she was with me here. :)

This pic was from dinner and she was not cooperating with my photography! She really does like me...I promise. She just refuses to show it in pictures! HA!

Karla and I have been friends for about 6 years. When we became friends then I never even thought about us having kids and it is so funny when I stop and think about it now. So funny how I don't even remember it being just Karla and myself. Even though Mallory does come with LOTS of "stuff" - diaper bag, stroller, blah, blah, blah...I just can't imagine her not being there now. I can't wait to have a stroller and baby of my own so we can double up on "stuff." I love these two girls! :)

Fortune Cookies

2010-10-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

I've never really put much thought into fortune cookies and sometimes I don't even open them. (I'm not a fan of the cookies) Last Wednesday we decided to order Chinese at work. After we ate, I opened up my fortune cookie and this was my fortune
Crazy, right? Also ironic, because I was scheduled to take our profile book and letter to the adoption attorney on Thursday. I went to Target and found a small frame, some cute scrapbook paper, framed it and now it is ready to go in a nursery!!! I think I will keep this forever!

Saturday with Friends

2010-10-10T21:56:00.004-05:00

Saturday we loaded up the friends and headed to Franklin, Tennessee for the day. I can't believe we didn't take any pics of the downtown area because it is ADORABLE!!! There are TONS of restaurants and local boutiques and it was a beautiful fall day. We ate at 55 South which was a really good restaurant with great drinks and good food.

Junk Chips

Can't remember what these were called but it was seared tuna on crispy tortilla strips with a wasabi sauce, tomatoes, and onions. YUMMY!

After we ate and walked around the downtown area, we headed to the Cool Springs Galleria for a little shopping. Who said shopping isn't fun?

Dog Days of Fall??

2010-10-04T19:48:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, Rob and I took Minnie for a walk on one of the local greenways. We have AMAZING greenways in our area and the weather yesterday was PERFECT! She was SO excited and had so much fun! She even got a new harness for the occasion!

She sniffed every inch of that greenway that we would let her. She really is a well-behaved dog. She never got in anybody's business. If people or other dogs would walk by, she would just look at them and then keep walking.

In about our last 15-20 minute, Minnie completey tired out! She became such a big baby and kept trying to get me to pick her up! So funny!!! She was EXHAUSTED!!!! Once we finally got her to the car, this is what she did! HA!
She cracks me up so much!

On a side note, Buster is down in his back and has to be totally inactive for 21 days! Do you know how hard it is to keep an active dog INACTIVE? Should be an INTERESTING 21 days!!!!

Adoption Auction - Help Us Out! :)

2010-10-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

Worthy of the Prize is a faith-based company that sells the fit-band key chains that I talked about before. Please keep ordering those and if you haven't, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? :) (You can use the button on the sidebar of my blog to order to ensure that the money is put into our account)

The founder, Erin had decided to join forces with other companies and hold an Adoption Auction in which all proceeds will be divided among the Worthy of the Prize families. We are very excited about this and anxious to participate!! Check it out below and if you have anything to donate let me know or email Erin.

Thanks for helping!!!! :)

Happy 7th Anniversary!

2010-09-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

Seven years ago today I married the most wonderful, patient and loving man in the world. On that day I never thought I could love him any more than I did. Little did I know that my love for him would grow more and more every day! I absolutely cannot imagine my life without him. I know it sounds so cliche, but he truly is my BEST FRIEND!

Rob, thank you for loving me for me!

Thank you for loving me, supporting me, listening to me, backing me up, talking to me, being honest with me, and being the best friend and husband to me that I could ask for.

Thank you for a WONDERFUL 7 years! I can't wait to see what else the future holds for us!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Game Day - Knoxville Part 2

2010-09-26T19:58:00.005-05:00

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to get ready for the game. *Thanks to some GREAT family we had a beautiful condo to stay in with this great view of Knoxville! The temperature was in the low 80's and it was overcast.

We headed to Neyland Stadium to be there when the Blazers unloaded the buses. We anxiously awaited their arrival!

The Blazers unloading

Our blazer, #85 Nolen Smith

After seeing the Blazers off of the bus, we headed to our gate to find our seats. When we turned the corner this is what we saw.....a sea of Orange....:)

We picked up a roster.....WR #85....true freshman!

Our amazing family that let us stay in their condo also gave us some amazing tickets. This is a new addition to Neyland Stadium, the Tennessee Terrace....GREAT seats with an amazing AIR-CONDITIONED concourse with LOTS of food options. haha! It really was nice with tons of TV's so you didn't miss any of the game action. (it would have been better painted a different color....I kid, I kid)

After looking at all of the choices we decided to split loaded potato chips for lunch...I know, healthy, right? These were homemade potato chips, with bbq, coleslaw, and sour cream. YUMMO!

The toss

#85

UAB really came to Knoxville ready to play! They spent quite a bit of their time in the Red Zone but just couldn't make anything happen. Not to mention, the FIVE missed field goals. The game went into double overtimes and Tennessee ended up winning 32-29...such a heartbreaking loss. I can honestly say that UT would be a HARD place to come into and not get a little overwhelmed. It is extremely LOUD in that stadium and of course you hear "Rocky Top" only about 25 times.

Being a Bama fan, you grow up not liking UT. However, I can honestly say that the fans were very hospitable and everyone that we ran into was friendly. Not sure it would be the same if we were in our Bama gear, but it was a very pleasant atmosphere!

After the game we waited around to see the Blazers.

Nolen and myself

Our "gang" and Nolen
I will say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE having someone on the field playing. It brings a whole new aspect to the game. HOWEVER, it is so stressful! haha! I think I had about 5 mini-strokes during the game! But it was such a GREAT weekend and we had SO much fun!!! And a BIG thanks to our family for letting us use their condo and their tickets!

GO BLAZERS! GO BIG GREEN!

Weekend in Knoxville - Part 1

2010-09-26T19:09:00.007-05:00

We spent the weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee for the Tennessee/UAB game. Rob and I went up Thursday night so we could do a little "sightseeing" around the UT campus on Friday.

Neyland Stadium

View of Neyland Stadium from across the Tennessee River

World's Fair Park

While out and about Rob and I ate lunch at Cilantro's Grill on the strip. We met the owner who was from Birmingham, and then the Budweiser delivery man came in and he was from Bessemer. Everyone we met while in Knoxville was originally from Birmingham. Just some irony!

The UT campus is a pretty campus and I love that the river runs right through that area. I also think it is so neat that people drive their boats into the city and "tailgate" on the river. There will be TONS of boats just lined up and down the river on gameday. I'm not sure why I didn't take any pics of that.

Friday afternoon, my parents came up and we ate dinner at Calhoun's, overlooking the river. So pretty! Again, don't know why I didn't take any pictures! :(

Relaxing at the Lake

2010-09-22T20:33:00.004-05:00

We spent last weekend with friends at Wheeler Lake. The state park has some newer lakeside cottages that are so cute and cozy!

We saw lots of these when we were driving into the state park

We were in Cottage #6

Our view from our back deck. It was so quiet and peaceful. On Saturday the rest of the group went for a walk. I decided to get a book and sit here while they were gone. It was the most peaceful and serene few hours. I was in Heaven! (Life has been crazy hectic lately so just sitting in the quiet was amazing)

We relaxed...

...watched lots of football and stressed out during the Auburn game...well, the Auburn fans of the group did.....I was fine since Bama BEAT Duke! :)

...played lots of games. Matt introduced the guys to "Magic" or "geekfest" as the girls might like to call it.

... and enjoyed a fun game of Mad Gab (one of my FAVORITE games because it is always funny and it didn't disappoint this time either! :)

Tailgating in T-Town

2010-09-22T20:24:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Rob and I introduced our friends Matt and Stephanie to Bama tailgating! :) Stephanie is from Louisiana and is an LSU fan and Matt is from Arizona and he's a....well whatever Arizona University is. haha! Bama played Penn State so there were TONS of people on the Quad! It was SOOOOO hot!!!! Around the middle of the day a rain shower came through and did cool it off a bit but it was definitely NOT football weather. Even though Matt and Stephanie aren't Bama fans, they were great sports and we did have a good time!

It was really too hot to even think about taking any pics but these are the few I got with my blackberry.

I took this pic before we even got out of our garage. :)

After the rain shower, we headed over and watched the Million Dollar Band....LOVE cheering with Bama!

Who doesn't love Big Al?

I can't wait for us to go back when Fall officially gets here! I LOVE football season!!!!! Roll Tide!

We are officially UAB Blazer fans!

2010-09-05T17:37:00.005-05:00

My cousin, Nolen just started his freshman season as a wide receiver (number 85) for the UAB Blazers. Thursday night UAB kicked off their season against Florida-Atlantic University and were favored to win. It was a tight game and the ending was not what the Blazers hoped for. However, it was a great night for our family because we became official Blazer fans and look forward to many more games. Now I'm on the hunt for some green and gold apparel! :)

Here are a couple of pics from Thursday night

Saturday Night at The Brick

2010-08-25T20:38:00.003-05:00

Saturday night Rob and I joined some friends for dinner fun. We decided to try somewhere that none of us had ever been so we took the advice of another friend (Thanks Katie) and headed to Decatur to The Brick. We listened to live music and just had a great time.

Since Meredith was in San Francisco for work, we wanted her to know she was missed. :) See how sad he is Meredith? Haha! We did miss you though!

The band, Wild Ride, sounded REALLY good. They weren't a normal looking group but they were definitely good. The lead guitarist was a little strange and would walk around to all of the tables and just hang out while playing. You can tell in this picture how awkward this was! HA!

What do we drink next? :)

2 Week Beach Vacation!

2010-08-21T13:05:00.008-05:00

Yes, you read that correctly! I was lucky enough to have a TWO week vacation! On Saturday July 31st, Rob and I headed to Gulf Shores for the week. It ended up being just the two of us and was actually one of the most relaxing weeks of my life. We had no set plans or schedule and it was WONDERFUL! I haven't gotten SO bad about forgetting to take pictures so this blog is LACKING! SORRY!

The beaches were beautiful and calm. It wasn't near as crowded as it normally is but there were still quite a few people. We had a rain shower at least once a day but with temperatures over 100 degrees, the showers really helped to cool it down so it was really nice.

The beautiful and calm beach
Of course while at the beach, we also had some wonderful seafood. At Tacky Jack's we tried some gator (I have had this before, but it was years ago)

We also ate lots of OYSTERS..........yummo!

We also tried the Ol' World Pizza and it was SCRUMPTIOUS!!! This is a pic of our shrimp pizza and we also had one with roasted red peppers and crawfish!

On Sunday, Rob headed home and I began my second week of paradise. My mom and her co-workers had to be in Orange Beach for the week for a conference so my brother and I tagged along. I know all of the girls and always have a great time with them. (I'm hoping that some of them took some pics that I can steal and add to this blog post...haha) During the day they were all busy so I spent some much needed quality time with my brother. We did some shopping, and spent LOTS of time in the pool!!! I don't think I've spent that much time in a pool since I was a child. It wasn't near as hot the second week as it was during the first. A tropical depression was brewing so there was a NICE breeze! The beach was absolutely BARE. We pretty much had the entire area to ourselves which was GREAT!

We headed home on Friday and I started back in the real world on Monday. After two weeks on the coast I had become a local and really hated to leave! Wouldn't life be GREAT if laying out was all we had to worry about every day? WOW...what a life that would be!

Plan B by Pete Wilson

2010-07-13T13:25:00.007-05:00

photo courtesy of Thomas Nelson Publishing

If you have ever felt like your life isn't quite working out the way that you had planned, then this book is DEFINITELY for you! For those of you that know me, know that I'm a planner. I have a plan for everything and this includes life. Rob and I were going to get married and be married for about 5 years. We were going to start trying to conceive at the 5 year mark and by the end of 2008 we would have our own bundle of joy. Well, here we are in the middle of 2010 and we are still childless. Boy, did my plan work or what? :) Today I can sit here and smile about it because God definitely has shown me who's boss (and it's NOT me)! As most of you have read or know, we have begun the adoption process and really have no idea when we will be blessed with a child. It is all in God's timing. This has been a long road so far and we can't see the end yet. However, I have learned so much during this journey so far and I can only imagine what is still left for me to learn.

Plan B by Pete Wilson is a book that will ALWAYS be within my reach. I read the book over a month ago and still refer back to it on some of the "dark" days. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit and feel sorry for myself that things haven't "worked out" the way that I wanted. But I do have moments of aggravation or just plain ol' bitterness. Pete Wilson, the lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, has written this book to answer the question, "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought he would?" Sometimes he just puts it bluntly. At one point he says, "I think we often treat God like we do a vending machine. When you walk up to a vending machine, you expect to insert the appropriate amount of money, press the correct number or code, and out will pop whatever you were hungry for. The whole process takes about forty-five seconds." How true is this? We feel that if we "do right" and "act right" that God should help us out, even give us what we want.

I truly believe that God's plan is bigger and better than my plan would have been! I absolutely cannot wait to see what God's plan is for us! One of my favorite parts of the book discusses the Saturday between the Good Friday that Jesus was crucified and Easter Sunday when he arose. Wilson points out the "Saturday seems like a day when nothing is happening. It's a day of questioning, doubting, wondering, and definitely waiting. It's the day of helplessness and hoplessness. It's a day when we begin to wonder if God is asleep at the wheel or simply powerless to do anything about our problems." He goes on to explain that Saturday is actually a day of preparation! When I read his description of "Saturday" it spoke to me and I think about it every day. I'm smack dab in the middle of my Saturday and just patiently awaiting God's will!

And that is EXCITING!

Here's a video of Pete Wilson discussing what Plan B is all about:

I promise that if you feel like things just aren't going the way that you wanted them to go, you NEED to read this book!

I'll leave you with my favorite passage from the book:

"You've got to stop looking at your shattered dreams and your unmet expectations as something God is doing to you. He's not doing something to you. But he might be doing something through you. He might be doing something in you."

Not a Care in the World!

2010-07-12T19:27:00.001-05:00

I wish I could relax like this! Minnie isn't worried about anything! :)

Happy Birthday Rob!

2010-07-11T17:45:00.009-05:00

Last weekend (July 5th) was Rob's 40th birthday. For all of you now doing math in your heads, yes Rob is 10 years older than me. :) I will be 3o in January! Rob kept drilling it in my head that he did not want us to spend much money for his birthday. We have a week at the beach coming up at the end of the month and then in November we are going to San Francisco for a week. Therefore, we are trying to save money for our trips. Also, for those of you that don't know, Rob works at the local credit union so he sees EVERY dime that I spend. Since our Dave Ramsey class, we no longer have credit cards so it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to do very much surprising!

On Saturday night, I had made us dinner reservations at Pauli's in Madison and also got us movie tickets to see Grown-ups. This is the only picture that I took from that night. :( I guess I was just having too much fun! By the way, my hair is not two-toned like it appears in this picture. Apparently the lighting was bad with the blackberry and you can't tell where my hair ends and my cardigan begins. HA!

Dinner was AMAZING and Grown-ups is a VERY funny movie!

Sunday was the 4th of July so we spent the day cooking out and swimming with my family in Russellville. Before we left that morning, I had a little trickery up my sleeve. Since I couldn't plan a weekend getaway without Rob knowing, I brought the weekend getaway to him. Before we left, I made our bedroom into a hotel room. After the family cookout, we headed to BridgeStreet to watch fireworks. When we got back to our house, I gave Rob his room key to Room 705 of Akins Hotels & Suites. (I forgot to take a pic the key) Here are a few pics from our "suite." (All of the pictures are taken with my Blackberry so they aren't great quality, but you get the idea)

Our room number was 705 (which is Rob's birthday) Of course, every hotel suite has a "Do Not Disturb" sign

Our ice bucket and wine glasses

The hotel stationary

The mini-bar

There were even movies to "rent"

Here are a couple from the bathroom

The maid even put chocolates on the pillows

Rob was definitely surprised and I was just glad I pulled off some kind of surprise. On Monday (Rob's actual birthday) we curled up in the bed with our dogs and watched movies all day. It was GREAT! I'm so glad this hotel allowed dogs. :)

I gave Rob a Bible for his birthday and also sent him for a massage on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure Rob had a great 40th birthday and I know for myself it was one of the most relaxing weekends we have had in a LONG time!

I'm the Worst Blogger...I Know!

2010-07-11T17:26:00.003-05:00

I have been the world's worst blogger over the last two months. Let me just say it's been a crazy busy time AND we had computer problems on top of the craziness. But now, I'm back (hopefully life is going to slow down a bit) and on a brand new laptop! YAY me!

Anyway, can I just tell you how much I LOVE summer? I hate that it's so hot but I absolutely LOVE this time of year. We had a great 4th of July with family. And our vacation is just around the corner.......20 days to be specific! :)

Another great part of summer is all of the fresh fruits and veggies. My parents have a garden so we keep loading up on squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Here's a pic of one of our great dinners.

We absolutely LOVE grilled zucchini. Our grill ran out of gas so I tried these in the oven. They were delicious, and just as good as they are on the grill. I sliced them and tossed them in olive oil, sea salt, and parmesan cheese. I baked them on 350 degrees for 35 minutes. They were scrumptious!!!!

Six In The City - Part 2

2010-05-29T19:26:00.004-05:00

On Sunday we headed to the Georgia Renaissance Festival. We really expected a big, open field with tents but were surprised to find a mini-theme park. The buildings are permanent structures and it's actually kind of impressive. We were some of the only people who were not dressed up, which was really surprising considering it was 90 degrees outside. It was a REALLY hot day.

Trying to decide which direction to head:

We acted silly, saw lots of shows, ate some good food and drank LOTS of water. The bottled water and soft drinks were MORE expensive than Disney World. Just thought that was funny! :)

The guys tested their strength

Scott became part of "The Ded Bob Show" and he had a GREAT time! ;)We stayed until the park was about to close and climbed our sweaty selves back into the car for a LONG drive back to Madison. We had a great time in Atlanta and enjoyed our time with great friends. Can't wait for our next road trip! :)

Six In The City - Day 1

2010-05-24T17:55:00.015-05:00

Saturday morning Rob and I, along with our friends Scott and Meredith and Matt and Stephanie, headed to Atlanta for two days of lots of fun, lots of sun, and TONS of laughs!! We set out early Saturday morning and our first stop in Atlanta was The Varsity. This was Matt and Stephanie's first trip to Atlanta so of course this was a MUST! (Since Matt is from Arizona and Stephanie is from Louisanna they have LOTS to experience) After lunch we drove around downtown and ended up at Centennial Park.
We walked through Centennial Park and headed over to the Coca-Cola Museum.

After Coca-Cola we headed to Buckhead where we stayed at the W Hotel. (This pic is courtesy of whotels.com) After checking in and freshening up, we set out to find dinner. The rules were that we absolutely could not eat at a chain restaurant. We wanted local fare that only Atlanta could offer. Rob and Scott and our friend Maggie (also known as Magellan, the GPS) decided to scout out a local brewery in Buckhead. After driving for about 30 minutes towards our destination, when we arrived to the address it was a Japanese steakhouse. After laughing hysterically (because I have learned that the hungrier that people are, the funnier things become) we set out to find something else. We had seen another brewery on our way in so after about an hour we found Gordon Biersch, a place no one had ever eaten, or so we thought. Once we got inside and got drinks, Matt realized that he had eaten at one of these restaurants before in Arizona. This is an established chain with LOTS of locations. It was hysterical that it took us HOURS to find dinner and ended up eating at a chain restaurant....but it was good food and we had a great time. I had the BEST pineapple mojito EVER, so I was a happy girl! :)

After dinner we headed back to the hotel's rooftop bar, Whiskey Blue, where Rob showed off his dance moves. As I begged him to stop, Scott begged him to keep dancing. You can imagine who won! (I'm really sorry I have no pictures....NO I'm really not sorry about that, I'm actually quite grateful)

On our way back to our rooms we got "stuck" on the elevator with two VERY drunk women and their male sidekick "Seersucker Scott." We entered the elevator first and then their crew got on. Since the elevators were secure, everyone had to swipe their card to select a floor. We couldn't get to the buttons because this crew was in the way. One of the girls kept going in and out of consciousness and they tried to "kidnap" Meredith. It was absolutely hilarious. We rode up and down on that elevator to every floor except the two that we needed. People on the floors would just look at us when the doors opened but nobody would dare get on. It was SO funny! Again, no pictures. I was just focused on getting out of the elvator and away from the drunk clan. :)

Stay tuned for Day 2 - The Georgia Renaissance Festival! :)

Adoption Bands - Everyone Needs One

2010-05-16T18:22:00.004-05:00

***UPDATE: Erin updated the sidebar so now it defaults to Akins. One less thing for you guys to worry with! :) Thanks Erin!

On Thursday I came across another company that helps families during their adoption process. Can I just say how amazing it is to come across these giving people who are willing to give up proceeds on their products to help "regular" people like us on our adoption journey??

I've been talking to Erin from Worthy of the Prize and she makes the CUTEST key chains and lanyards! She has set up an account for Rob and me and will donate 50% of her proceeds towards our adoption. ISN'T THAT AWESOME! She has helped me set up the ordering on the sidebar to make it even easier for you guys to order one of these adorable key chains or lanyards. You can also visit her at worthyoftheprize.com to see her other products (but the adoption key chains and lanyards are the ones that get us a percentage).

Just remember when ordering that Erin has set it up so that you pick the family that you want the proceeds to go to so make sure you choose "The Akins." (or split the proceeds between all the families which is another option)

We are SO excited to have found Erin and Worthy of the Prize. We hope you ALL order one of these adorable key chains or lanyards. We appreciate ALL of the help!!!

Attention All Coffee Drinkers - We Need Your Help

2010-05-13T21:08:00.002-05:00

Rob and I have officially begun the adoption process. The first batch of paperwork is completed and our individual interviews are done. We are now working on the second batch of paperwork and then will schedule the home study. So far, so good. Our social worker is absolutely precious and SO easy to talk to, which has been such a relief. At this point, money is the biggest concern. We are trying to save but at the same time, we are also trying to pay some things off (remember, Dave Ramsey).

We started a new class at our church last week. This class is for new members or visitors to really get to know the church. Asbury Methodist has a HUGE congregation so they offer this class to give you a better opportunity to learn about ALL that the church has to offer. This week during class, we were discussing our adoption and how our interviews went this week. One of the girls in our class reached in her purse and pulled out a business card, handed it to me and told me about a friend of hers. This friend has a coffee company and has started donating some of the proceeds to adoptive parents, both beginning the adoption process and after the child has been adopted. Money was really on my mind all day yesterday and God definitely showed me at church last night that everything is going to work out!

As soon as we got home from church, I got online and looked at the site. Rob and I are now part of their site and I'm so excited about it. For every bag of coffee or t-shirt that is sold, we will get $5, for every tumbler, hat, or bag we will get $3 and for every scoop of coffee sold we will get $1. Each month they will send us a check to add to our adoption fund.

PLEASE, PLEASE visit www.justlovecoffee.com/nakins and anything you purchase will help us on our journey to our baby! Thank you SOOOO much!!!!

Yes, Maybe I Have a Problem (or two) but I'm Breaking Free

2010-04-19T14:21:00.009-05:00

Over the last 6 weeks I have been studying Beth Moore's Breaking Free. It's a 10-week study and I LOVE it! So, I've been working on breaking free!

First on my agenda is breaking free from clutter. By no means am I a hoarder, but I accumulate a lot of STUFF! I'm not a knick-knack sort of girl. In fact, I'm very simplistic in decor. However, my closets are a different story! :)

Last weekend I finally found time to clean out my closet. Our house has many great attributes, big yard, big bedrooms, etc. However, since it's an older house, the closets are SMALL, basically non-existent (apparently people in the early 80's didn't need big closets, HA). So, when the seasons change I have to switch wardrobes and I began this process last week. My biggest feat was shoes and bags. Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE shoes and bags!

First I went through ALL of my shoes and filled an entire garbage bag to donate. (I'm talking the big black yard garbage bags). No human needs so many shoes! So, I narrowed it down and kept ONLY the ones that I actually wear.

Winter Shoes to be put away until later this year:

Summer shoes that I put in the closet (Can I just say that my toes are so glad it's warm again....I LOVE flip-flops)
A few weeks ago while in Atlanta, Rob and I visited The Container Store. Another "problem" I have is an addiction to organizers. I LOVE the idea of being organized but really struggle with the follow-through! While there, I found this gem

That's right, a flip flop holder! I bought it and put it to great use in my closet.
I also will be donating quite a few bags and purses too. I found a basket in our garage and am using it in the bottom of my closet to hold purses.
I'm not going to lie though. This is not all of my purses or bags. The rest are in our guest room closet and I haven't decided what to do with them.

I still have to go through the rest of my spring/summer clothes and add them to my closet so this task is still a ways from being completed. BUT, this is a start! :)

This is the first of a few posts of my "breaking free" tasks!

Weekend in Atlanta

2010-04-06T20:40:00.006-05:00

If you know me, then you know how BAD I've been wanting to experience IKEA. Well this past weekend, Rob and I spent the weekend in Atlanta and I FINALLY got to experience what IS IKEA!

I was completely overwhelmed with "stuff" but didn't go too crazy! I kept myself in check! :)

The Loews Hotel- Atlanta opened last week so they had great room rates that we were fortunate enough to get. We were the FIRST people to stay in Room 1505. ;) The Loews is absolutely beautiful and right in the heart of Midtown!

Our view of Atlanta - look closely and you may see the Georgia Dome

On Saturday we headed to Buford, Georgia to the Mall of Georgia and did some sightseeing. We also ate lunch at

We left out Sunday morning and headed to Oneonta for Easter lunch with the family. My camera had died so we have NO pics from the family time! :( It was such a great and relaxing weekend and I can't wait until we have another weekend like that! :)

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

2010-04-06T20:33:00.003-05:00

I know, I know....I've not been the best blogger lately. Let me just say we are having MAJOR computer issues at the Akins' house these days. Rather ridiculous considering we have 2 laptops and 1 PC but hopefully our problems will be resolved SOON!!

LAST weekend we celebrated our friend Stephanie's birthday. We all had dinner at Surin with YUMMY sushi and then had scrumptious red velvet cake and ice cream afterwards.

As always we had a blast with this group! Whether we are together for five minutes or five hours, it is constant laughing!!!

Happy Birthday Steph! :)

It's Been Too Long!

2010-03-21T20:05:00.002-05:00

We have had a very busy but exciting week! My brother-in-law Josh, along with his wife Lesa and children Morgan and Silas visited us this week from Oklahoma. It was spring break for the kids and gave them the perfect opportunity to head east. This is going to sound really bad (well, because it is) but it had been almost SEVEN years since we have seen each other. I know, I know...how sad is that!!! It's amazing how fast time flies before you even realize it. Poor Silas didn't even remember us (probably because he was 1 the last time they were here).

Rob and I took a few days off this week so we could spend some time with them. On Tuesday we headed to Chattanooga for the day. We did the Aquarium, an Imax movie, and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Here are a few of the MANY pictures Rob took throughout the day.

Morgan, 10 and Silas, 7

A prehistoric turtle shell

Butterfly garden (so neat)

The penguin exhibit was probably our favorite!

Chattanooga Choo-Choo was a little less than what I was expecting. Many of the shops and things were closed which was a bummer.

For dinner Rob and I ate at Sticky Fingers! YUMMO! We had ribs and wings and was absolutely delish!!!

We had a great time just hanging out with Rob's family, especially the kids! Morgan and Silas are two of the funniest kids I have ever been around! We can't wait to see them again SOON!!!!!

Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont

2010-03-08T18:39:00.004-06:00

The first book from Thomas Nelson Publishing that I chose to review is Kaleidoscope by Patsy Clairmont. Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope and just been amazed at how all of those small pieces come together to make something so beautiful? The Book of Proverbs resembles all of those small pieces but Clairmont pieces them together and ties them to everyday situations and the entire Book of Proverbs seems to come together, like a kaleidoscope.
Each chapter begins with a Proverb and Clairmont connects the reader to the verse with a real-life story. For instance, one section begins with Proverbs 27:1, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." When reading that Proverb, I totally understood what that meant. Of course it means, that none of us have any idea what will happen tomorrow. No brainer, right? Well, in one paragraph Clairmont states,

"The theory that only the swagger-filled confidant people succeed seems rampant in our society. It's a puffer-fish theology of 'fake it until you make it.' But here's the problem: We don't have a clue about what tomorrow might bring. Tomorrow is already full, but we didn't pack it."

I LOVE this!!! Some people may not like Clairmont's brutal honesty, but I LOVE it. I NEED brutal honesty, not a tiptoe, walk on eggshell explanation.

I think this book would make a great daily devotional type because it's broken down into small chapter-type sections, with each section discussing one Proverb. I really did not know what to expect when I chose this book, but I was so pleasantly surprised that I read it in 2 days.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Reviews for Thomas Nelson

2010-03-08T18:27:00.002-06:00

Since reviewing both Same Kind of Different as Me, as well as What Difference Do It Make? and LOVING them, I talked to the people with Thomas Nelson Publishing and have decided to become a part of Booksneeze, a group of bloggers who review new releases from the Thomas Nelson group. I pick a book, Thomas Nelson mails it to me, and after reading it, I give an honest opinion of it on my blog. Easy peasy, right? I'm really excited about this and have had a blast so far!

Look for reviews coming soon! :)

Warm, Busy Weekend

2010-03-07T19:36:00.005-06:00

This weekend was beautiful, warm, and busy (which we LOVE). Friday night we were exhausted from a LONG week so we ordered Chinese food and caught up on some of our Tivo'd shows. Saturday we headed to Hoover for Elliott's 2nd birthday party (I can't believe he's already two). We had a great time at the party and I failed to take ANY pictures. Thankfully Little E's parents took plenty so I'm "borrowing" a few of theirs.On Sunday, we headed to lunch at Phil Sandoval's for some yummy Mexican food along with great company, Matt and Stephanie. After lunch we headed to the Home Builders and Remodeling Show and saw LOTS of things we WISH we could do to our houses. :)

After running a couple of errands this afternoon, I have started cleaning up the guest room and I cleaned and organized our front bathroom. We found out yesterday that Rob's brother, sister-in-law, neice and nephew are all coming this weekend and are probably going to stay with us at least one night so I have A LOT to do before next week!!! We haven't seen them in SO long and are very excited! (also a little stressed because there's a LOT to do)

I hope everyone has a great week!

What Difference Do It Make?

2010-02-23T16:05:00.005-06:00

Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about the amazing book I read, Same Kind of Different as Me. After I blogged about how much I loved the story, I was contacted by Thomas Nelson Publishing and they sent me a complimentary copy of the follow-up book What Difference Do It Make.

This book is the continuation of Same Kind of Different as Me and picks up where Ron and Denver left off. It also includes stories from people all over the country who were touched by the first book and what they did in their communities and for their neighbors. Both of these stories are so uplifting and really make you think about what you do for others.

Denver who is the "illiterate homeless African American" brings up so many good points. He talks about people who will not give money to the homeless because they are worried about what will come of the money. I'm not going to lie, this thought has crossed my mind as well. Anytime I have ever given money to a stranger, I often wonder where the money will be spent. Denver's response to this is "Maybe you right. The thing about it is, though, gifts is free. When you give a person a gift, you is also givin the person the freedom to do whatever they want with it. When you give a homeless man a dollar, you ain't saying, 'Here. Go buy yourself a chicken.' If you really wanted him to have some food, you'd take him in the McDonald's and buy him a Big Mac and an apple pie." He goes on to say, "I tell folks to look at what's written on all that money they be givin away: it says 'In God We Trust.' You just be the blessin. Let God worry about the rest." I LOVE this!! It REALLY changes the way that I think! I'm not in control (something I'm learning more and more every day) - God is!

Ron, the "wealthy fine-art dealer" discusses the way so many people "help" the homeless. He says, "Homeless people are used to people who 'help' with one hand and hold their noses with the other. They are used to catch-and-release friends, who feel warm and fuzzy and compassionate for a few days or weeks but then abandon their efforts when the going gets tough or when the busyness of their own lives takes over." How true is this? We "help" others when it's convenient for us and then pat ourselves on the back. We do good things for others and then make sure we tell everyone we know what good deed we did!

Matthew 6:1-4 (NLT) "Watch out! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don't do as the hypocrites do-blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. "

Thomas Nelson Publishing also sent me the Introduction of What Difference Do it Make? to share with you all. I hope that everyone reads both of these books because I believe they will speak to your heart!

If any of you read either of these books (which I pray that you do) please let me know what you think of them. I would LOVE to hear your opinions of them! I hope you are as touched by them as I have been!

Introduction

Hello again.

If you’re reading this book, it might be because you already have read Same Kind of Different as Me, a true story about my wife, Deborah, and the man who changed our lives, Denver Moore. If you haven’t, don’t worry—we’ve included enough of the story to catch you up. (The “catch up” sections from Same Kind of Different as Me are in italics.)

Since June 2006, when Same Kind of Different as Me snuck first onto bookstore shelves, then onto the New York Times bestsellers list, Denver and I have traveled thousands of miles back and forth across America. We’ve spoken at hundreds of venues, from local book clubs filled with sweet little old ladies to the Bethesda, Maryland, symphony hall. (We were in Bethesda as guests of Doro Bush Kock and her mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, who quite possibly is Denver’s biggest fan.) Throughout that time, we have seen thousands of lives changed—homeless shelters started and millions of dollars raised for the homeless, yes, but also astonishing changes in the lives of everyday Americans that we never could’ve imagined or predicted.

That’s why we wrote this book, to tell you just a few of the stories of hope and redemption that God continues to write in the lives of so many—and in our own.

One day in the spring of 2009, as we were writing, I was in the kitchen at the Murchison estate, where Denver and I live, on a conference call with executives at Thomas Nelson, our publisher. During the call, Denver walked in.

“Hey, Denver,” I said, putting the call on speaker. “We’re talking about titles for the new book. Got any ideas?”

“Title for the new book?” he said, screwing his eyelids down into his famous hard squint. “What difference do it make?”

“What Difference Do It Make?” I said. “That’s it!”

Denver shrugged and walked off, shaking his head.

It was the perfect title. Since Same Kind came out, over and over, like the needle stuck in the groove of an old vinyl record, we’ve repeated a single message: one person can make a difference. My wife, Deborah Hall, is proof of that.

As many of you know, God took Deborah in 2001. Cancer. But if she were here today, she would tell you she was nobody special. If you had come to our house, she would have made you fresh coffee or tea and invited you to sit down at the kitchen table and tell her about yourself. And you would have felt loved. Because that was Deborah’s gift. She loved God and, because of her intimate walk with Him, loved people. Her whole life was about forgiveness and unconditional love, two qualities that most of us find difficult to master on a regular basis.

It really was that simple. Deborah’s life showed that kind of love is attainable for anyone willing to put in the time on their knees, then overcome their fear and go out and get their hands a little dirty. And I have talked to literally hundreds of people who told me that Deborah’s story inspired them to do just that. Through the difference her life made, others are now making a difference, and that’s in part what this book is about. It’s packed full with stories folks have shared with us about how Deborah’s example inspired them to do more, both in their own homes and in their communities.

A lady named Ann, for example, wrote to us from Vivian, a small Louisiana town just north of Shreveport—not too far from Red River Parish, where Denver worked the plantations. Ann wrote of how she loaned Same Kind of Different as Me to about twenty different friends. Every friend who brings it back has a very different story about how the story affected him or her.

“One person notices the friendship Denver and Ron share,” Ann wrote. “Another feels shame over the way her grandparents treated the ‘Denvers’ in their lives.”

One woman surprised Ann by telling her that the portion of the book that dealt with Deborah’s cancer battle stirred her to go and have a colonoscopy she’d been putting off!

Like Ann, we’ve been struck by the amazing variety of stories people tell us about how Debbie’s story affected them. Here we thought we were writing a book about one woman’s determination to make a difference for the homeless, and we started getting letters about marriages restored, friendships renewed, ministries begun, even babies adopted!

In Fort Worth, a high school teacher named Carin told us that, “unbelievably,” she’d been able to get the school administration to approve our book to be read by her entire mental-health class. “The students have learned how so many issues affect our mental health,” Carin wrote. “I have also used the book to help relay to them the importance of community involvement, passion, and what it means to be a servant to others.”

Shortly after Deborah died, her best friend, Mary Ellen, told me that God had whispered to her during prayer that Deborah was like the kernel of wheat Jesus refers to in the gospel of John: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Mary Ellen told me she thought that maybe Deborah’s death would be like that—fruitful. I cannot even express how much I absolutely did not want to hear that at the time. But it appears that Mary Ellen was right, more right than even she knew.

She told me about the wheat kernel just a couple of days before the dedication of the Deborah L. Hall Memorial Chapel, the new worship facility built at the Union Gospel Mission in my wife’s honor and funded by donations that poured in after local folks heard Denver’s story at her memorial service. At the time, we thought the chapel, along with the new care facilities for the homeless, were the fruit God would bring from my wife’s death. I had no idea that the Union Gospel Mission was just the first fruit in what would become a cornucopia of blessing.

Take Detra, for example. Detra, who lives in Austin, Texas, wrote to tell us that after reading Deborah’s story, she decided to start carrying food and socks and blankets in her car so that she can bless the homeless. Also, her church had a picnic in an Austin park and had so much food that they began feeding hungry people who were in the park that day.

One little girl asked Detra, “When are you coming back?”

After that, the church made the picnic a monthly event where church members sit down and break bread with the homeless.

Would I take back blessings like that one and those you are about to read about in this book? If I could rewind time like a video and create a cancer story with a happy ending, would I?

I’m sorry to say there’s a big part of me that says, “Yes! I want my wife back!”

But I can tell you without reservation that Deborah would say, “No, Ron. I’ll see you soon.”

And so the story goes on—men and women all over the country inspired by the story of Denver and Deborah to make a difference in other people’s lives. Over the past three years, I thought I was making a difference too—traveling and speaking all over the country, “carrying Miss Debbie’s torch,” as Denver calls it. And I suppose I was.

But in 2009, I learned that sometimes the most difficult difference to make is the one that’s closest to home.

– Ron Hall
Dallas, Texas
July 2009

We HEART the Olympics!

2010-02-21T18:49:00.004-06:00

Life in the Akins house over the last week has been rather uneventful. Since we aren't spending money this month, we have watched lots of TV (mostly the Olympics) and read LOTS. (I am currently reading two different books so stay tuned because I can't wait to share them with all of you)

We have Tivo'd the Olympics both day and night and pretty much watched every event. Though I do prefer the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics bring a lot to the table too! Rob and I have become HUGE fans of snowboard cross and Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis have become household names around here! :) I could watch this event ALL day!!!

I also LOVE Apolo Anton Ohno....I don't care if he's dancing or skating! He seems to have the BEST outlook on life and he just intrigues me.

Rob had to go to Atlanta for work so I've spent the weekend watching the games and reading! (I mean I did straighten up the house, did laundry, etc) My mom, brother and cousin came up Friday afternoon and spent the night so I haven't been alone all weekend. I have enjoyed my quiet time but I'm ready for Rob to get home so that I can actually converse. The dogs listen but they don't talk back. HA!

Good Luck USA! I can't wait to see what is in store this week during the games!

Vancouver Olympic symbol courtesy of Vancouver2010.com

Bathroom Makeover-Part 1

2010-02-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to blog this for a while but am just now getting around to it. I've really been wanting to change up our front bathroom (the one that guests use) and with some awesome gift cards from Christmas I was able to do just that. I've gotten a few things done but still have quite a few things left to do.

First I needed a new shower curtain which I found at Kirklands...yes, it's monogrammed and I know you are shocked.
I then set out to find some candle sticks or something because we have lot of unused counter space. Our house was built in the 80's and some things they did are just ridiculous. A trip to Hobby Lobby and we are set. (Rob really finds it odd that there is a picture of us in the bathroom). I have bought some paper and ribbon to "dress" up the candles like I did here, but haven't gotten around to it.

Another gift card bought us some great brown towels (that will be monogrammed soon to match the curtain) and a new hand towel rack. The white towel is a Valentine's Day towel that I found at Target for $1.

So far so good. We have bought paint to change the color of the hideous cabinets from gross brown to a chocolate color. We EVENTUALLY are going to paint our kitchen cabinets and this is a practice run to see how it goes since there are LOTS fewer in the bathroom than the kitchen. Hopefully I will be back soon with Part 2 of the Bathroom Re-do! Wish us luck!

Did Sarah Palin Really Do That?

2010-02-08T20:29:00.002-06:00

I don't care who you are or what "side" of the aisle you are for, you MUST think THIS is hilarious! It feels like a Saturday Night Live skit, but it's real life.

Did she seriously read notes written on her hand? Everytime I watch this video it just cracks me up!

*This is not a blog to open up a political debate....just simple humor! :)

Dogs Like Super Bowl Commercials Too!

2010-02-08T13:00:00.000-06:00

Minnie really wanted the dog on the Doritos commercial during the Super Bowl. She is the only one of our dogs that ever pays attention to the TV but she's never gotten quite this excited before. I apologize for the poor video quality. I had to use my blackberry because it was the only thing close by. Ever notice you don't have a camera when you really need one?

A MUST read!

2010-02-07T16:29:00.003-06:00

Since I've been sick over the last few days (but am now on the mend) I have had lots of time to read! I just completed Same Kind of Different as Me which is one of the best and most touching stories I've ever read!

It is the true story of a modern-day slave who becomes homeless and meets up with a wealthy art dealer's family and is the kind of story that forces you to look at yourself. I have read it in two days because I just couldn't put it down! It's a book EVERYONE should read!

Have any of you read this?

* I read online that there are negotiations to make this book into a movie starring Samuel L. Jackson. I hope this happens so that even more people will hear this story!

How I'm Spending My Week

2010-02-04T13:58:00.003-06:00

I worked Monday and Tuesday but Tuesday afternoon I started feeling a little under the weather and by Wednesday I was sick...so after a trip to the doctor my week is consisting of

some meds...

of course some Chicken Noodle Soup

Back and forth between Propel and Diet Mt. Dew :)

And going back and forth between the bed and the sofa. (Yes people that's an Auburn snuggie and it's so cozy that I'm not even apologizing for it..HA)

I really thought I was going to make it through the entire winter season with no sickness but no such luck. Oh well I'll be on the mend soon! :)

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Because I'm a Sucker for Anything Monogrammed

2010-02-03T20:46:00.004-06:00

You all know by now that I'm a sucker for anything monogrammed! It may be a sickness! :) I've been looking for a cute market tote for a while now but haven't been able to find one for a decent price. Well that was until I looked at Etsy....remember I LOVE Etsy! I could look at that site all day and just drool over all of the adorable things that people make. I found a girl in Prattville, Alabama and she has some adorable items, including CUTE market totes at reasonable prices! Sweet Thangs Sewing and Sew Forth really has cute stuff at really great prices AND she's a "Bama girl! If you are looking for monogrammed things (especially for small children) check out her site! She is also very easy to work with and really fast!

Here is a pic of my new market tote!

Also for the record this market tote was ordered last week (which was January) so I still haven't spent money in February! :)

Dave Ramsey - Oh How I Love/Hate You!

2010-02-02T20:29:00.004-06:00

Back in the Fall, Rob and I took and completed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at Asbury Methodist. For those of you who aren't familiar with Dave Ramsey, he is a Christian first and foremost, who is basically a financial counselor. He was a self-made millionaire in his early twenties who ended up losing everything. He created Financial Peace University to help people learn how to manage their money. When we started the classes we really weren't sure what to expect but so many people have raved about it, we thought what the heck! Wow...we had no idea what we were in for. We learned about budgets, insurance, retirement funds, etc.

But probably the most important thing that we learned was the power of giving which is Dave Ramsey's end lesson in FPU. The ultimate goal to gain financial peace is to be completely 100% debt free, so that you are able to GIVE to people less fortunate than you. If you have ever considered attending FPU, Rob and I HIGHLY recommend it!

Yes my blog title says I love/hate Dave Ramsey. Overall, I love him. However, there are moments when I can hear his voice in my head when I'm considering buying something. So in those moments I hate him. HA! Just kidding!

This brings me to my newest challenge. Rob and I are challenging each other to go the entire month of February without spending extra money. Of course our bills will get paid, we can still buy groceries, etc. However, there can be nothing extra, which includes eating out, movies, anything that is not NEEDED! This includes not doing anything special for Valentine's Day. We will have to be creative on that day since we can't spend any money. For those of you that know me well, know this month will definitely be a challenge! But I'm determined to prove to myself (and to my husband) that I can do it! So thanks Dave Ramsey!

I'll keep you all posted on my successes from the month!

Weekend In Review

2010-02-02T20:15:00.003-06:00

This weekend was rather quiet at the Akins' household. Friday was wet and slushy outside so we curled up on the couch and watched movies. We have had so many of these cold, wet evenings lately that I'm beginning to LOVE piling up on the couch with my dogs and my snuggie! Too cozy! Saturday night we had dinner at Surin with our friends Mark and Sharry. We hadn't seen them in a while so it was nice to catch up and as usual, the food was YUMMY! Sunday afternoon my parents came up for movie and lunch. We watched It's Complicated which is such a cute movie!
After the movie we ate lunch at Carrabba's...YUMMY! We love these types of weekends with LOTS of sleeping in!!!

Love is in the Air

2010-01-26T20:05:00.003-06:00

Can you tell I'm in the mood for warmer temperatures? I'm ready for some color, some flip-flops, flowers, birds chirping, etc, etc, etc. I'm SO over winter! This weekend looks cold and wet (maybe even some ice) so I guess we will stay home and dream of warmer days ahead! :)

I received so many comments, emails, and facebook messages from friends and family after my last post. We are so grateful for all of your support and loving comments! We also learned some people have adoption stories in their families that we didn't even know about! I just want to say thanks to all of your comments, thoughts, and especially your prayers!

Last week, I saw the cutest project and had to try it myself. Tatertots and Jello made the cutest Valentine's Day decorations with nothing more than cheap frames, scrapbook paper, and marbles. I tried a few of my own and love the way they turned out. They are SO cute on the mantle in front of the mirror!!! It was SO cheap and easy! Can I just say that I LOVE the blogging world!

Adoption

2010-01-21T21:01:00.006-06:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5

I debated on whether or not I should even blog about this, but it's weighing heavy on my heart tonight and hey, it's my blog! :) As I've said before on this blog, Rob and I have been trying for over a year to get pregnant with no luck. We have ALWAYS thrown around the idea of adoption and feel as if we are being led down this path. God continues to put things in front of us that we feel are leading us towards adoption. There are SO many children who need a loving home and we feel that we could give this to a child. At this point we are researching potential agencies and deciding what path we want to take. There are many factors that weigh into this decision (which agency, location, how long it will take, how much it will cost, etc).

We have really only shared this with the people closest to us (i.e. family and friends). The first question out of a lot of mouths is "Can you not have kids?" Well, we don't know. We have not been "diagnosed" with any problems. I really find it sad that people have it in their heads that you can ONLY adopt if you CANNOT have children of your own. Why is it so strange that people would WANT to adopt children? I absolutely HATE that there is this sort of stigma with adopting, as if that were only for people who can't have children. In fact, a few agencies that we have researched make it a requirement that a couple be infertile before they will adopt a child to them. To me, that's absolutely crazy! Why would we put a requirement like that on saving the life of a child who is already born and needs a chance at a good life?

The reactions that we have received from our family and friends have been from one extreme to the other. For the most part, everyone has been very open and excited about it (which in turn makes us excited). We have had a couple of negative comments and we deal with those as they come. I am definitely growing a thicker skin these days and learning that other people's opinions really don't matter. I can listen to opinions and take them in, but in the end, this is ultimately a decision for Rob and me.

We look forward to this chapter of our lives and if you have any prayers to spare, we would definitely appreciate you sending them our way!

We are open to any advice, suggestions, donations, or comments that you have to share. If anyone knows or has experience with a certain agency, we are definitely listening to you! If you want to tell us that we shouldn't adopt or we are making a mistake, please keep those comments to yourself! :)

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-01-18T11:07:00.009-06:00

Friday was my 29th birthday! Yup, 365 days until I turn 30!!! :) Last year at this time we were in Walt Disney World celebrating my birthday so this year was going to be a little low-key. Rob surprised me though. He got with our friends and set up an evening at The Station 2 at BridgeStreet. Scott and Meredith and Matt and Stephanie were already there when we arrived. We ate dinner and listened to great music.

Scott and Meredith got me Monocco movie passes and After-Sun Lotion. (We are all in "beach" mode because we've been planning a beach trip. HA! We are SO over winter!)

Matt and Stephanie got me the cutest MONOGRAMMED cutting board! Too cute!
Rob also ordered me a cookie cake from The Great American Cookie Co.

When they asked him what colors he wanted the icing he chose red and white. While ordering he decided to have them add "RTR" to the writing. Funny story behind this: Scott and Meredith are HUGE Auburn fans (even though Scott is an Alabama grad). Scott absolutely HATES when people use "RTR" instead of saying or typing out the words, "Roll Tide Roll." So, Rob thought it would be funny to add "RTR" for Scott's benefit. Meredith picked up the cake and when she saw what Rob had done, she had them go back and add orange and blue to the cake. Hence, why my cake looks so strange. It actually had nothing to do with me! HA! ;)

Here are a few other pics from the evening

Rob got me PrintMaster Platinum which I'm very excited about. I've been wanting to create my own stationary, labels, etc and this will help me with these projects! I can't wait to get started!
My parents got me this adorable sweater that I can't wait to wear.

Ialso needed some new houndstooth earrings because my old ones broke. Apparently my brother was listening to me and got me these
I had a wonderful birthday and for now I'm going to just enjoy being 29 and try not to think about how close I am to 30!

COLD week! (and Dreams of Summer)

2010-01-10T17:33:00.005-06:00

This week in Alabama has been COLD! I seriously do not remember it ever being this cold and I have now decided that living in the north is definitely NOT for me! Most of the week was spent in the teens and single digits (yes, that's COLD). It snowed Thursday and Friday, which we all know shuts the south down. Rob and I have barely left the house, so instead we just relaxed in our sweats and watched Netflix movies and it was awesome. I get bored easily but not this weekend. Staying in and watching movies has been so relaxing and nice.

We did, however, eat out with friends Saturday night at Phil Sandoval's, which was yummy as usual. Good company always makes it more fun! There was also lots of talk about beach vacations which only made me long for Summer even more than I already did.

Of course beach talk also brings up the dreaded "D" word - yes dieting! Rob and I bought groceries today and it's on! The holidays are over so there is NO excuse any more! We will see how this goes! Our August beach trip will be here before we know it! During these COLD temps, I will just long for this!

December Crafts

2010-01-04T21:03:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to blog this, but just keep forgetting. Domestic has never been my middle name, but I thought this Christmas I would give it a try. I researched Paula Deen's website and cookbooks (you can't go wrong with some Paula Deen) and tried my hand at peanut butter cookies, pecan clusters, peanut and pretzel bark, chocoloate gooey cookies, and peanut butter balls. Yes, I'm extremely proud of myself! :)

I found these little red and white tins at Target (gotta love the dollar bins). I have a BIG extended family and it is impossible to buy everyone a gift. So instead, I put together these little tins and filled them with goodies. I made the tags with Word, cut them out, punched a hole in the top, and tied a ribbon through them (yup, it's that easy). They ended up being really cute!

We also tried our hand at honey butter to give as gifts, which was a HUGE hit! I found these adorable "Ball" jars at Wal-Mart. I made these tags on Word too and I found the ribbon at Dollar General. I was very pleased with how they turned out!

Now I can definitely become domestic with my new KitchenAid mixer. Thanks Mom and Dad! Now they can have all of the honey butter they want!

Happy 2010!!

2010-01-01T11:51:00.006-06:00

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends, Scott and Meredith and Matt and Stephanie. We enjoyed a great steak dinner, snacks, drinks, Wii games, and fireworks! We had a great time and hope that 2010 continues to be like this!

We played games on the Wii and the later into the night we got, the funnier the games became. See for yourself! This was a doubles tennis match. As you can see this group isn't competitive at all! ;)

At the end of the night Scott and Rob decided to play the Summer Olympics and competed in the 100 meter dash! Check out the intensity on their faces!! I just keep watching this video over and over because it absolutely cracks me up! These two are quite the pair! ;)

Here are a few other pics from the evening:

We had a great time, which we always do with this group! 2009 definitely blessed us with these "new" friends!

Though 2009 did not go exactly as I had hoped or planned, I still realize how blessed I am. Not only do I have the MOST patient and understanding husband, I also have an amazing family and great friends, both new and old! I am looking forward to 2010 and to what God has in store for us!

Here's to a GREAT 2010!

Coupon Redeemed

2009-12-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

One of the gifts that Rob and I gave my brother was a sushi dinner on us. He has become a HUGE fan of sushi so we gave him a "coupon" for a sushi dinner at the restaurant of his choice. Jacob and Justin came up Monday morning and were kind enough to "let" me hang out with them all day. We had a great (but slow) dinner at Surin of Madison! Jacob and Justin have been coming up and spending the night with us basically since I got married. Rob and I enjoy having them around so much and wish they could come more often!

Mad Gab

2009-12-27T20:41:00.002-06:00

Christmas night some of my family came over to my parents to visit. My cousins had gotten a game called "Mad Gab" for Christmas so we decided to try it out. If you have ever played this game, you KNOW how funny it can be! If you haven't had the experience of this game, you need to RUN (not walk) to your local Walmart and pick it up! It is hilarious....especially with some Southern "twang." I haven't laughed as much as I did that night in SO long. It was SO funny and just a blast! I hope we get to do it again soon!

This is just ONE of the MANY videos that we took throughout the night. We were all very funny trying to figure out what the phrase was but my uncle Robert was by far the funniest!!!

Rob and I just keep watching all of these videos because they are so funny! I have the funniest family!

I hope you enjoy your Mad Gab game as much as we did!

Fun Times

2009-12-27T20:28:00.007-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by our amazing family. Rob and I drove to Oneonta on Christmas Eve to have dinner with my grandmother. We spent the night at my parents house and watched "Four Christmases," which has become one of our "regular" Christmas movies. Christmas morning we opened gifts with my parents and brother. My parents got me a KitchenAid mixer that I am SO excited about. I have wanted one for SO long!Rob got a BlueRay player that he is also very excited aboutWe got LOTS of great and thoughtful presents! My parents cooked a HUGE southern breakfast with all the fixins.' Aren't they cute in their aprons!Here are a few snapshots of our great dayThere were people in and out of my parents' house all day. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful and fun-loving and FUNNY family!