RAMMER JAMMER! Championship Bound!

our view

Matt and I had the most FABULOUS weekend!
We traveled to Atlanta to see our beloved Tide DOMINATE the Gators!
We've been to a lot of football games together and had some great times, but I must say that this one is at the top of the list. When else have we been able to enjoy such a win? Admittedly, I was extremely nervous and didn't breathe easily until the last 3 minutes but it beat the heck out of waiting until the last minute to win! The scoreboard never indicated that there was any question we'd win!
(Unlike the best game of our lives- The Colts/Patriots AFC Championship game when I was unbelievably nauseous at halftime thinking about how much $ I'd spent on Matt's present- TOTALLY worth it in the end!)
It's been an incredible season for us so far- all 3 of our teams (Alabama, Colts and UK Basketball) are undefeated!

via NYT

I must say, I like Tim Tebow. As a person. As an athlete (as incredible as he is) I will admit I was tired of hearing about him. Probably as much as other NFL fans get tired of hearing about Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. But as a person I think he has done an amazing job of putting God first and foremost and I was super impressed (as always) with the class he showed Saturday night in Atlanta in what had to be one of the biggest disappointments of his career. Not to mention the attention God and the Bible receive everytime his name is mentioned!

Back to the subject at hand... Good Luck Ingram!!!!! You've definitely earned the Heisman in our eyes!

via NYT

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew, What a Weekend! Great Company, Beautiful Weather and a Near Disaster!

Matt's dad and Jean came to visit from Indy this weekend. I took a day off last week to get ready, we had a room full of boxes that HAD to be dealt with! After SO much time invested, it paid off! I will upload pics of the guest room eventually. I took 2 days off this past week to spend with the guys and it was a lot of fun. We watched more football than I could imagine possible (ROLL TIDE!) and that is saying A LOT! We ate more than any group should have within a four day time span (Jubilee Seafood, Martins, Filet & Vine, and Dreamland~ not to mention breakfast everyday).

Jean did me the favor of taking some shots for our Christmas cards and I snuck a few in of the guys.

The weather was phenomenal with temps in the 70's during the day and a bit cooler at night. My roses are in full bloom again!





Then the Near Disaster almost ruined EVERYTHING! Abby Gayle and Xena have spent a TON of time outside lately in the nice weather.

They seemed to be fine. So much so that Matt would leave for short periods of time and let them wander freely in the back yard. NOT ANYMORE! As I was inside preparing for dinner Friday night and Matt was grilling he reminded me at about 7 that the dogs had not been fed.

So, I grabbed Abby Gayle and we went to the studio to get supper ready for the girls. Matt had been to the grocery WAY earlier (as in daylight hours) and I truly thought he put Xena up before he left. I didn't think to ask, I just assumed. So, when I opened the door to the studio and she wasn't in there, I was shocked. I went back outside and asked Matt where she was. She normally finds a bush to lay under so I was about to go looking (in the dark) for her but instinct always tells me to look toward the pool first, then I go look for her under the bushes. This time, I looked toward the pool and the cover we put on the pool 2 weeks ago was obviously not right. (Right as in what it looks like below)



I could see pitch black water in the moonlight! I ran screaming toward the pool and found Xena soaking wet and struggling to get out of the water. I don't remember being that scared in a very long time. She is about 14? and is VERY arthritic. She was shaking uncontrollably because she had been working her hips and back legs SO HARD trying to get out of the pool. We have no idea how long she was in there but the water was about 60 degrees. Chaos ensued and Matt ran over and got in the pool and helped me get her out because I couldn't. We rushed to get towels and got her inside in front of the propane heater in the studio. She warmed up eventually and stopped shaking. It's been 3 days and she seems to have recovered well. Good thing she's a lab!


The new rule is that if they are outside without us, they are on the tie-out. No more unsupervised roaming for my babies. And before we have babies (or a baby) we will have a fence around that pool!


We rounded off the weekend with the Colts Patriots game. Whew! Another Near Disaster avoided! Love our Colts!!!

Before and After: The Downstairs Master

This post (or series of posts, depending on how tired I get) is for the best realtor in the world! Beth Bowman stuck by us through thick and thin! Our home search saga was too topsy turvy to ever post about- good thing I didn't try. By the time we found what we ultimately purchased, Beth had moved to Valdosta (boo) and Tammy Brown Chavers moved in as her relief. What a great save! She was awesome and really made things go smoothly~ love her too!
So anyway, Beth hasn't seen any pictures and she hasn't made it by to visit yet so I promised to post some pics for her.

I'll start with my favorite room, "my" bathroom' Since Matt and I are getting ready for work at the same time every day he has full access to the master bath and I took over the guest bath downstairs.

BEFORE:

I changed out the brass cabinet knobs and installed "diamond cut" glass knobs, hung curtains and a crystal chandelier and added a zebra rug in front of the sink and a white "fur" rug in front of the shower. Matt installed a Mac-Daddy shower head and I got a pretty spa blue shower curtain and used mirrored curtain hangers. My goal had been "Tiffany" blue, but it was hard to find the perfect shade. I also replaced the brass towel and toilet paper rods with a brushed nickel set. I still have some things to do (hang a picture, etc) but I've really enjoyed getting ready in this spacious room compared to the tiny space on Dartmouth.


The sink area:



Wendy gave me a great idea- use our "getting ready" pictures in my "getting ready" room! Loved the idea and took care of it immediately! Now I just need to hang it.

The shower area BEFORE:


And AFTER:


Curtain rings ~Emerald Cut:)


The Downstairs Master (adjacent to bath above) BEFORE:

I am in search of the perfect piece of art for above the bed so it's a bit bare still and there is an extra table in there:

I am also planning on trying to change out the hardware on the furniture from brass to brushed nickel, but for some reason the old holes aren't the new standard so it will be a chore and I've been procrastinating because I am scared!

Doorway BEFORE:

Doorway AFTER:


Can't represent Abby Gayle without representing Xena too!



Since I only have a Wanna Be Photog camera and not the upgrade to a Professional camera (yet) complete with all of the lighting tools that would enable me to shoot at night inside and it still be pretty, I apologize for the poor lighting in my after pics!!

More to come later.

G'night and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Oh what a year!

I can NOT believe that it has been a year since Matt and I were married!
So much has happened since this time last year. It seems like this weekend was the first one we've spent completely relaxed since the wedding. We stayed at home to celebrate our first anniversary and pretended we were on vacation all weekend. No plans, just go with the flow. We FINALLY got to hang out by the pool and do nothing! We LOVED being able to enjoy our new home!
Here's to another great year!

She's HOME!!!!!!

My sweet baby Xena is back where she belongs!

She's stiff and has aged a bit but I think she will be just fine with lots of love and attention! She trotted around the yard so much it wore her out.


She loves her new "house", Matt has lovingly agreed to share his studio with Xena!

She has plenty of room to stretch out and investigate. She already brought a nice yucky prize to me!


I'll share pics of her in her new yard as soon as I find time to unpack my camera!

EMERGENCY PRAYERS NEEDED...

Please Pray for Stellan!

A MUST SEE Wedding Entrance!

Check this out!
LOVE IT!

CHICAGO

I just realized tonight that I never posted pictures from Matt's birthday trip to Chicago!
We went at the end of January.
We stayed at the Hard Rock and had such a great time!
It was 4 flippin' degrees when we landed- I am SUCH a Southerner, I thought I was going to DIE!
I layered more than I ever imagined possible and we had a fabulous time!
The highlight (and real reason for the trip) was a Metallica concert for my music loving husband!
WE love all kinds of music but I was really branching out on this trip.
SO MUCH FUN!!!!! I was really nervous about Mosh Pits, etc. but it was a breeze!
3rd row and LOVING it!
We also went to an authentic Blues club and had the best time ever!
I can't wait to go again...in the Summer!