Wedding weekend

Last Saturday was my cousin Julie's wedding. I was looking forward to going because I love a reason to get all glammed up. She got married at the church around the corner from us and I had originally thought we'd walk to the wedding, but it was too stinkin' hot. So we drove a block and parked. Oh well. We went to the reception at the former Holiday Inn. It's now called The Decatur conference center... or something to that effect. Everything was really nice. It's the kinda wedding I would have planned for myself if I had had an unlimited budget. *sigh* but I digress.

Here's a shot of Dan and I. My eyes look a little droopey. I think I was gettting ready to blink.

This is my cousin Shay. He played an sang during the coctail hour. He's amazing, he only started playing piano in college. He never had any lessons, one day he just sat down and started playing. Keep your eye out for him. Someday he'll be famous.

I love her dress.

If it's not one thing, it's another...

About an hour ago I was standing on my enclosed front porch watching the rain come pouring through the ceiling. I collected as many buckets as I could find and that helped some, but there was just too much water coming in. We've lived here a year and this is the first time this has happened. Here's why: yesterday we had new gutters installed on the house. They angled the front gutter towards the porch roof and from there it's supposed to run down and collect in another gutter. Well... that wasn't working. I could see from my dining room window that the water was shooting out onto the porch roof, which meant it was shooting up under the shingles, hence the reason it was raining inside my porch! Ah, the joys of home ownership. It seems we've been given an unfair amount of water issues. But, the silver lining in all this, the basement stayed dry!

Happy 4th of July!

This morning our street had its 48th annual 4th of July parade and party. Our street is known for its social gatherings that happen several times throughout the year. On the 4th, the kids decorate their bikes and wagons and at 9:30 am the cannon is fired and the kids race their bikes down the street and back. It's so cute to watch the kids and all their decorations. Some of them really go all out. The parade lasts all of about 3 minutes and there's no candy throwing *sigh*, but it's still in the spirit of the day. After the parade of bikes, we all wandered over to the neighbors that were hosting and we enjoyed fruit and baked goodies and chatted with people we hadn't seen in awhile.
People that previously lived on the street come back to Cobb Avenue for this annual event. One man who returns every year brings his homemade cannon and fires it to signal the beginning of the parade.
Here are a few pictures from today's event's. (sorry they're not in order, had trouble uploading them)

The man with the homemade cannon gets ready to light it!

Everyone is getting ready and waiting for the parade to start.

OK, so this is taking alot longer than we thought

The landscapers are still out back working away. They've just about got the patio part finished. I think our landscaper really underestimated the amount of time it would take to do the job. Hopefully by the end of the day they'll have it done.

Hooray

The landscapers are here! They came and started on our backyard Friday and they are about half way done with the flagstone patio! They think they'll finish it up tomorrow. Then they can start on the beds! It's so exciting. I can't wait to have it done.

Class of '93

I've recently discovered that the soap network plays reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 in the afternoons. I am hooked! I love to watch this show and see how dorky the fashion trends were at that time. As a fellow "classmate" of the graduating class of "93, I am sure I committed some of the very same fashion mistakes...the high wasted jeans, pants and skirts, the vests and men's blazers that the girls wore, and the tights under the skirts and ruffly shirts. It cracks me up. I get a good laugh out of every show.

Blessing

I am constantly amazed at how God continues to bless our lives. HE gives us everything we need and so much more. One of the recent blessings to our lives has been a new group of friends. It's so amazing to watch these relationships grow - I'm excited about what God is going to do through these new friendships.

One year

Sunday, Dan and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It's been a wonderful first year of marriage. In some ways, it seems like we've been married much longer than that... it feels like I've always known him

Dan and I spent a nice day together. We didn't do anything real special, we just hung out together. It was fun and we enjoyed the day.

Oprah...you're not my friend anymore!

I have the greatest husband in the world. He got me tickets to Oprah for our anniversary.

Last Wednesday morning Dan called me from work and told me to cancel all plans for the next few days. The Oprah show had called him and said they had two tickets for Thursday's show and could we be there tomorrow at 7am. So we packed up and headed to Chicago. We got to our hotel around 10:30pm and immediately went to bed because we had to get up at 3:00am. We had been told by friends that we needed to get there before 6am to get a good place in line. So we decided to try and get there at 5am. At 4:45 the next morning, the cab dropped us off at Harpo Studios. There was already 2 people in line. So we waited, and we waited and finally at 7am they started letting people inside. They herded us into a room where we waited for another hour or so. ( At this point I'm having Price is Right flashbacks...)

Finally, they started calling us in to be seated in the studio. Now, we were really excited because we were number 3 and 4 in line and had been told that seating is decided on a first come basis. We thought we'd be sitting right down front. Well, that was just the first dissapointment of the day. Apparently there were 100 or so people who had some kind of connection to the show and they got seated down front. So when we were let in, we had to sit in the back. Not a huge deal because it is a very small studio and every seat is a good seat. But, we wouldn't have wasted our time getting there so early if we'd known that! So now we're sitting in the studio and we're waiting again, but the production staff was very nice and kept us entertained.

Finally they got the signal that Oprah was on her way, everyone went crazy, and now the show was about to start. When I saw her in person, I immediately thought; she's shorter than I pictured, and she's thinner than she looks on tv. I guess it's true that the camera adds 10 pounds. We had no idea what the show was going to be because they won't tell you ahead of time. We were really hoping that since we were there on the last day of taping, there would be a fun give-away show. I was hoping for a new car! Not really, but free stuff anyway. That was dissapointment number 2. No free stuff. The show was on people who had shown a lot of courage.

The taping went by so quickly. When they went to "commercial" they changed the set around, and... here comes dissapointment number 3. During all the "commercials", Oprah never talked to the audience or even acknowledged we were there. And even when the show was over, she walked off the set and that was it. She never said anything. I know she's not always like that because sometimes they do that Oprah after-the-show and she interacts with her audience.

I got there at 4:45am for her, all I wanted was a "Thanks for coming".

All in all, we did have a really good time. We had some really fun people in line with us and they really made the time in line more enjoyable. It was fun to see the studio and see Oprah in person. I would like to go again and see how the experiences compare. I will also say that Dan was a real trooper through the whole experience. Not every husband would go to the trouble of trying to get tickets and then get there so early to stand in line. He was a good sport and I love him for that.

See you in reruns

This week the chains that have been tying me to the television are beginning to break. On one hand I am looking forward to my upcoming freedom, but yet I am not sure how I will get through the next few months. I said my final goodbyes to 7th Heaven on Monday night. I have been ready to say goodbye to this show for awhile now and over the last couple years haven't tuned in regularly. But with this being the final season I made sure to watch. My Tuesday night hangouts with Lorelai and Rory also came to an end this week. Although, I will miss The Gilmore Girls, I know that come September we'll pick right up where we left off. In two weeks, I will no longer be tortured by the mind-games from the cast of LOST. They've got me so confused that I don't know what the heck is going on. But I will be waiting eagerly for season three. And alas... what will I do without American Idol in my life? Only a couple more shows and we'll know if it's going to Taylor, or Elliot or Katherine. Did you hear that? Another chain is about to break. The finale of Survivor is Sunday night.

Is there something in the water?

Ok, I stopped and counted up the number of people I know who are pregnant and right now the number is up to 9. Here's a little list of my friends who are expecting:

Patty (cousin)
Jennifer ( cousin)
Lynetter (neighbor)
Karen (HS friend)
Tonya ( school friend)
Michelle ( school friend)
Katrina ( MTA/ church friend)
Karen L. ( Dan's cousin)
Heather ( TCC friend)

It seems like I am missing someone else. I'll add them when and if I can remember. :) I'm gonna have a lot of baby showers to attend and gifts to buy. Not sure I'll be invited to all these showers, but probably at least 6-7 of them!

I just keep asking myself, "Could I be next?" Who knows. I can't wait forever - I'm going to be 31 in July! "Ahhhh, the pressure!

First Serve

Just thought I would share about my experience with "First Serve" today. But first I'll give you a little background on what that is. Our church ( Glad Tidings) recently did a series on "Living Beyond Myself" and it was basically about getting out and volunteering more. They had a ministry fair during church one Sunday so you could see all the different areas that are available to volunteer. They were encouraging people to sign up for a first serve volunteer. You try it out and see how you like it with no comittment to do it again. Kind of a neat concept. Lots of times you might want to help out but are afraid once you do it then you're stuck there.

Ok, for my first serve I decided to try out the kitchen on Sunday mornings. GT has a "cafe" that serves breakfast on Sunday mornings and dinner on Wednesday night. So this morning I went and helped make food to order. I made omeletts and helped with the breakfast burritos. It was fun and I enjoyed the people that were in there. I think it's something that I'd like to do again. They commented on what a slow morning it was. I guess the kitchen is usually a bit more chaotic. Probably a good thing. If I felt too stressed I may not have wanted to go back!

Window to the Past

Here's a picture of my latest crafty project. I found this really old window frame at an antiques store a few months back. I painted the frame black, printed copies of some of my favorite old family photos, and then Dan helped attach them to the glass with some clear vinyl. I love the way it turned out. It's hanging in our hallway. Eventually Dan's mom is going to get me some copies of old family photos from his side and I'll use them to make a grouping on either side of this one. I have such a facination for family history and my mom's side of the family has some really beautiful old pictures. I am so glad that they are hanging up for us to enjoy every day.

Therapy, is it needed?

I was going through old pictures the other day and found this one of myself at age 2. Now I know why I love french fries so much... my mom dressed me in french fry pants as a child! It's all her fault! :)

Ever had a Grapple?

I noticed something new at the grocery store the other day and it sounded so interesting that I had to buy them. They were grapples (grape+apples). They are apples that have a grape flavor to them. They were packaged 4 to a container and even through the plastic I could smell the grape. Dan and I tried one last night and I have to say I am dissapointed. The grape flavor smelled stronger that it tasted. It was ok, it tasted like an apple with a hint of grape. But I am even more dissapointed in how they got the grape taste in there. I thought maybe it was some kind of cool new hybrid that someone came up with. No, all they do is soak the apples in a grape solution. Oh well...

C is for cookie

I have made a dangerous discovery at Wal-mart. There is a box of cookies that tastes very similar to the shortbread cookies at McDonalds. I love the McDonald Land cookies. Now that I have discovered these cookies.... I am in trouble. They are the Great Value vanilla cookies in the red box. At my Wal-mart they are right next to the vanilla wafers on the bottom shelf. And the best part is they are only .94 a box!!!! Now that is a Great Value. :)

I'm not Martha Stewart

Ok, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post and I am feeling pressured to write something. I don't really have anything exciting to add, so I'll just put down a few details of what's been happening the last few weeks.

Martha Stewart's perfect chocolate cake isn't so perfect after all. For months now I have been wanting to make this cake, She made it on her show and it looked so good. I figured if it's from Martha Stewart's recipe book then it should be wonderful. Well, I have mixed feelings about this cake. The cake itself was good, although I over baked it a bit even though I took in out 5 minutes sooner than it called for. The ganache that went over it I could have done without. If I make it again I 'll do things a bit differently. I just get carried away with Martha Stewart stuff and always think her recipes are going to be better that what I've done in the past. Sometims, Kristin does know best!

My Grandma Eva has had to go live in an assisted living home. She's only been there a few weeks. And since it is a brand new facility, she is only one of three residents living in the memory loss wing. We, and by that I mean my brothers and sister and all their family went to visit with her tonight. The home is really nice and has a very upscale feel to it. Eva's not particulary happy about being there and would rather go home. But after her little adventure around the town where she lived, the family decided she needed supervision. We have discovered that our grandma has quite a fiesty side. Grandma and one of the other residents don't really get along. I guess they got in an argument last week that lasted 4 hours! They live in the memory loss wing... you'd have thought that they'd both have forgotten about the argument at some point. And grandma tried taking a swing a the lady. I didn't know my grandma had it in her. I hope that they get more residents soon...and hopefully they'll be people that Eva likes! :)

I am totally addicted to American Idol. I get sucked into this show every season. I really like the 17 year old girl, Paris. I think she's really good. For the guys, I think I like the rocker guy Chris. He reminds me of someone, I just don't know who.

Dan and I bought a new refrigerator on Saturday. It's getting delivered on Tuesday and I can't wait. It's so cute. It's stainless steel with the freezer on bottom and the french door refrigerator top. our kitchen is going to look so different... and smaller because our fridge now is dinky and doesn't even fill the whole space.

Well, that's enough ramblings for one night. Good night

My Funny Valentine

As someone who once spent years of being depressed and cynical on Valentine's Day, I can now really enjoy this holiday. I used to hate February 14th. It was just this horrible reminder that once again, I was not dating anyone. I'd watch co-workers receive beautiful bouquets of roses and discuss their dinner plans...and I would feel left out.
Now that I am finally married - I get to have Valentine's Day any day of the year. Yes, it's wonderful to get the extra attention and of course the presents on Feb. 14th , but my husband really does an amazing job of making me feel loved and appreciated every day. So now February 14th is a special day for us, but it's not the important date that I used to think it was when I was single.
Just to let you know just how wonderful my husband is, he had a dozen roses delivered to the house this morning and as part of my gift he wrote me another heartfelt love letter ( he gave me the first one last year on Valentine's Day).

To my single friends reading this, hang in there. Looking back, I'm glad now that I didn't waste Valentine's Day on men who weren't going to be my husband. All my memories of Valentine's Day are going to be about Dan and I. And I like that.

It's greek to me

I don't understand football, and I don't think I will ever care enough about it to even try and understand it. It's just a lot of people getting paid a lot of money to run up and down the field with a ball.

Cupid's been here

We've been "Struck". Dan went to work this morning and as he was leaving he found a gift bag on the front step. It was full of Valentine goodies. We were struck by Cupid's arrow. Now it's our turn to pass it along to someone else. So today I picked up some things so I can make 3 more goodie bags. Tomorrow night, Dan and I will "Strike" 3 other families on our street. It's fun to have neighbors who enjoy doing this kind of thing.
This game took place back in October also, but that month it was "You have been spooked".