A Few Randoms From Weeks Past.

Work has been kind of weird lately.  They fired someone; which put me back into my original position.  They hired someone who is supposed to be a super star, but is just kind of taking credit for the hard work I've done.  Which is sort of all behind me, but still sort of stings.  Like I've said before; pretty much the only thing that will get me through the day is the people I work with.  Oh yeah, and getting to come home to B and Stell.

Here are a few pictures from the past week(s) of things that make me happy!

 

I had just woken her up and come out of the shower; she was not happy.  With the light or the photo taking.

Driving to decompression session after work on 78.  The sky was orange and blue with just a little sliver of moon.

My Juney boo sent me this pic; her almost hubs made this for her and had it waiting on her when she got home.  They couldn't carve pumpkins because of Hurricane Sandy.  Her and Mom live up in PA.

Haribo from World Market.  A sweet present from the hubs.  Reminded me of Denmark. 

Jesse and I taking pictures of each other taking pictures.  He did have sunglasses on, but I was not slick enough to get them before he grabbed his phone to take one of me.

Christmas chocolate chip cookies.  Tanner said they were awesome.  The approval of a six year old means everything to me.

 I can't wait to share my PA trip.  There will be so much going on that I can't wait to share.  From a second Thanksgiving, to a Christmas lighting ceremony, a trip to Philly and a margarita binge with the sis.  

So my Dad spent Thanksgiving in Puerto Vallarta...

and he sure sent enough pictures to remind me.

He didn't get any of his daughters for the holiday, so him and my step-mom took a trip to Mexico.  And he sent emails (regarding the outcome of the Packers/Lions game.  Pack won.), and also sent pictures of his time down in paradise.  Good thing for them.  Probably a good thing seeing as how the forecast doesn't call for degrees over 6o for the next week.  Here are a few pictures of what I got...to remind me that A.  I wasn't in Mexico, and B.  I was still stuck at work.

Honestly the best picture I've ever seen of my dad.  I actually feel like I may be related to him.

Poor step-mom got stung by a jelly fish.

A photo of the beach, sent on Thanksgiving Day.

He said he wished we were there, but somehow I guess our invitation got lost in the mail.  I hope they had fun.  I certainly wouldn't complain about getting to spend Thanksgiving in a Mexican paradise.

From B's phone. Part II

So B has traveled the past couple of weeks, once to Florida and then once to Houston.  For some reason, I can't be convincing enough to have him write his own posts on this, no matter how hard I try to tell him that one day we will look back on this and be in awe of how awesome we were, I still end up having to write his posts.

His excuse?  I'm not a good writer.  I happen to disagree with him; he's very smart.  Maybe it's the happiness of being anonymous behind the computer screen?  Or maybe he just doesn't want to be a part of it.  Oh well.  Regardless of any excuse, it's still going to happen.  I'm still going to go through your iphone pics and steal all of them.

I already know that I'm in his head.  Why you may ask?  Because he takes pictures of his food.  So here we go...

Homemade convertible in Ocala, FL.

Spanish food from Latinos Y mas Spanish Cuisine in Ocala, Fl.

Strip club in Tampa, FL.  Apparently there are a few. 

Bahn-mi sandwich courtesy of Houston, TX.

Sake from Sage 400 in Houston, TX.

According to hubs, the best salad ever.  Also from Sage 400 in Houston.

The sushi from Sage 400. 

He decided to browse around the mall and found these Auburn treasures.

Aubie looks a little cracked out, but that is supposed to be him the National Championship trophy.

Lump crab cake hash with poached egg and Hollandaise...from the Marriott hotel in Auburn.

I will force him to take pictures on every trip. And he will like it.  I actually think he does like it.  I just keep reminding him that this is for us; one day we will want to remember all of this fun amazingness that we did in our youth.  And even if we don't?  Well, we''ll still have record of it.

Thankgiving 2012

So I'm thankful that I'm not one of those blogs where I feel guilty when I don't blog every day.  Because if I were, I'd be all like whoa, I haven't blogged in over a week!

To be fair, my laptop charger sparked itself to death, and I've been waiting patiently for my new one, just so I can update everyone on my goings on.  

This Thanksgiving, we spent in the ATL with my cousin Erica, and her husband, friends, family, etc.  It really was a great time.  We get to have another Thanksgiving in PA with my mom and my family this Sunday, so I'm pretty excited about that.  But this Thanksgiving was a good replacement; and I did get to spend it with family and reminded me that I do need to spend more time with the family that I have near me.

So we took the 2 1/2 hour trip, again, to Canton, GA to a Thanksgiving feast that featured at least 16 people.  Bigger than any holiday dinner I've ever been a part of.  We got to spend time with another cousin of mine that I've rarely gotten to know, as well as meet some new people that are semi-family (family of Erica's husband..what would you call them?  Cousins in law?).   Anyway, it was a great time.

She is not a fan of long car rides. 

A tablecloth you can write on.  We are a classy bunch.

The 22 lb turkey.

Gino carving the turkey.

Erica was very proud of her non-plastic looking plates.  The ewww, nasty green bean casserole is in the background.

My "cousin-in-law" Donna is way more thankful for gravy and wine than #3 her husband. 

oysters...steamed and grilled, then topped with parmesan.  southerners know how to do Thanksgiving.

Getting ready to eat....

Kiddos coloring on the tablecloth.  The adorable kid on the right with his tongue out is the most awesome kid on the planet.  I refuse to have kids unless they are him.

I, for some reason, get really nervous about family gatherings, but for some reason, this was a great time.  The food was great, the people were great, and even the Detroit Lions lost for me.  All in all it was a great Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to share my late Thanksgiving for when I get to PA!!

B's Special Hummus

This is a household that sometimes like to pretend that we're healthy, when in actuality we really like pizza and wine.  And vodka and scotch, but when we do, we love hummus.  For some reason, that's the only hipster/hippie thing about us.

It all started with an obsession with the hummus served at J Clyde's.  They serve it with fried pitas and veggies, and it's the greatest thing ever.  And ever since then, B has been recreating his own.  And he finally nailed it this week.  So behold,

B's Special Hummus.
 Chick Peas
Black Eyed Peas
Garlic
Olive Oil
Adobo Oil
Salsa

Mix them all together in a food processor, and enjoy with Ritz Cracker Chips, the Italian herb kind.  Amazing.  I've been snacking on this stuff all week.

Happy mid-week snack!!
 

Hop to the City

Have you ever done something so crazy to your appearance that even you were shocked with yourself?  Well, my friends, I am now a redhead.  I've wanted to do something different with my hair for awhile, and I've done the blonde thing, the brown thing, the in-between thing, and I decided it was time for something else.  

So red it was.

Anyway, as promised from last post, we went to Hop City this weekend in Pepper Place.  It is a beer lover's dream.

They have every beer you could imagine bottled, plus all your favorite wines.  Then they even have a back bar (filled with 20 taps of local beer) and a brewery.  

We had three beers each and were pretty buzzin after them.  It's so weird even right now, to look at the brown hair.  For some reason, I feel way more awesome with the red hair already.

We'll see.  B has yet to see it, and I promised him if he hated it, I'd dye it back.

Scratch That

I mean, another one of the list of "to-do before Austin," that is. This weekend was one of the greatest weekends B and I have had in awhile.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and there were so many things around Bham that we just had to do.  

First off, we went to Frontera.  It is this cute little shop in downtown that has all sorts of handmade iron works.  They have these cute little piggy stakes with wings for the garden, and iron roosters, which of course make me swoon.  I will definitely be headed there for unique Christmas gifts.  They also have a welding class on Thursdays.  The owner said most people just make crosses, because they are the easiest.  I'm certainly contemplating it on my own.

Then we went to Hop City.  More detail on this tomorrow.

Then for dinner we decided to hit Jinsei in SoHo (south Homewood) on Sunday.  They have $9 sushi rolls on Sunday's as opposed to $15 ones during the week.

 

We had blackberry cocktails, plus four rolls.  The kobe beef roll was amazing as well as the Red Dragon roll.  The fish was so fresh, it seriously melted in your mouth.  

The service was amazing, as well as was their cocktail selection.  They have all sorts of rolls that range from the tame to the adventurous.  It is definitely a cozy place, so get there early so you can have somewhere to sit.  But even if you have to wait, it's well worth it.

Wedding Rehearsal

It was so long ago.  And I was way too unsure of posting any sort of pictures on line.  Or anything to do with my life.  I'm still pretty hesitant to post anything too personal (yesterday's post was as close as I'll get), but for some reason, when I was looking through my closet (looking for things to donate; no need to move clothes that I don't wear), I came across my green Ralph Lauren dress.  

The dress I wore to my rehearsal.  And so here you have it.  

Kelley and Olaf at the Monkey after party. 

Colin and Katie.  Love how she's looking at him.  Now married.  :)

Me and C.  Green dress!!

Hanging out.

I love this one.  Sis and I laughing and each other.

My ladies.

Dad rehearsing walking me down.  I miss my tan!  And long hair.

Groomsmen.

dinner.

I'm not sure why I was on the floor.  I also would like to know where my tan disappeared to.

Dan entertaining anyone.  He's the best storyteller.

Here's to the weekend.  Maybe Auburn can pull the upset and beat UGA.  Probably not, but you never know.  

War Eagle!