Wow...

I am one pathetic loser!!

Ok, not really but I wanted to quote Dumb & Dumber. So...sorry about getting behind on my blog! Things have actually been going on but I've been so busy at work that I haven't had time to get caught up.

We leave today to drive to Greenville and then have an early flight to Seattle tomorrow morning. We then drive to Whistler/Blackcomb for some fantastic skiing. We return to Greenville on Friday morning and get to spend until the day after Christmas with family and friends. I'm so excited.

So...when I get to Greenville, I'll write a big, long bloggy about our trip and hopefully get caught up on everything else. Just bare with me :)

Now This is Funny!!!!

I hope these pictures of my brother make you laugh as hard as I did. Have a happy Friday!!!

Thanksgiving Was Great...but I have Countertops!!!

Ok...so I know you guys would like to hear about my Thanksgiving but the big news for me today is... I HAVE COUNTERTOPS!!!!!!!!!!! Some of you may not realize what a big deal this is. I have had plywood countertops for a year now...and a temporary sink...and no dishwasher. Today the fabricators installed my new GRANITE countertops. Let me just tell you...they are BEAUTIFUL. I feel like throwing a party. The company did an AWESOME job and I am so pleased with their workmanship. Pictures will come soon but I didn't have the camera this morning when they finished. I'm debating if I should make you wait to see them after I get my backsplash installed or if I should give you a sneek peek :). If anybody in the Memphis area is getting new countertops...I highly recommend American Granite & Marble. They were very easy and flexible and affordable to work with.

So enough about my countertops...Thanksgiving was wonderful as well. I always LOVE visiting my family in PA. We spend the first couple of days with my mom's side of the family in Johnstown and then the rest of the trip with my dad's side of the family in Kittanning. My mom's sisters remind me so much of her. This year we ate a lot of food, played Mexican Train, played Phase 10, went bowling (Grammy was the oldest one cosmic bowling with the young, teenage, tight-shirt wearing, hoodlums), ate some more, walked around "town", ate some more and drove. This year the weather was warm (in the 60's). Big change from the 14" of snow we got last year.

I guess it's time to get the Christmas decorations out. I can't wait for skiing and another holiday....and did I mention I got new countertops???

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy some Thanksgiving Pictures. We are still in PA but wanted to give you something to enjoy from my Mom's side of the family. More when I return. Sorry they are not in chronological order.

Brad, Elise and Me. Elise was one of my mom's best friends when they were little. I always thought she was an aunt when we were younger because we saw her as much on visits as we did family.
Me and my cute grammy breaking the wishbone.
Me teaching everybody to play Mexican Train. Brad won.
That's a lot of taters!!
The feast!! Aunt Jeanie only made 8 pies this year for 13 people. Not to mention she made a goody box for each of us that had a loaf of pumpkin bread, cookies, muffins, gobs and some other yummy stuff. She's crazy!!

Thanksgiving Can't Come Soon Enough!!

Well, I don't know about you all but I am ready for a break! I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving and the fact that I only have to work 1 and a half days this week. Yep, it's Sunday night and I am at work right now. I was at work last night too. Obviously I'm not working this very second but a girl's gotta have a break every once in a while. Tomorrow I am starting a new "normal" project. I say "normal" because I will not be working on all of these "fire drills" that are requiring late hours. Friday night I was able to go with Jacob to Arkansas to return Bouncer to his owner and then we camped and hiked 10.4 miles on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed going with Jacob. I didn't think I was going to be able to. So...we no longer have Bouncer. He seemed excited to see his owner again which is a good thing. I do not have much to talk about but enjoy these few pictures of Jacob and I. He sure is a cutie. :)

By the way, those curious...we will be leaving Tuesday afternoon and driving to Pennsylvania to spend Turkey Day with my family. I LOVE this time of year. I will have lots to post about I'm sure. We will return Sunday night. I hope your Thanksgiving is great!

Jacob and I at Brandon and Layla's Wedding a week ago.

Jacob and I (and Lucy too) at the Epicurean Dinner Group on Thursday. This is a group of people that I work with that get together once a month to try different ethnic foods and restaurants. This month was our first time attending and it was at Happy Mexican. The restaurants pick out what we will eat and we eat family style so we can try things that we wouldn't know to order. I look forward to some of the more interesting places.

Penelope's Wild Escapade

So…I think this is pretty funny. You guys might not think so but humor me.

I get home one night and get the mail from the box. In it I find a letter addressed to Jacob from Germantown Law Enforcement and I think, “ooo what has he done now.” I try to read through the envelope and all I could read was “CITATION.” He opens the envelope and in it is this piece of paper…I started laughing at him for getting caught running a red light. I just assumed it was him because he goes out to Germantown (a suburb of Memphis) every Wednesday to play basketball and often drives my car. Anyway, to make a long story short…it was me!!! I had gone out to my boss’s house to deliver drawings on Halloween and that’s when it happened. Ha Ha Ha. I had no idea that they actually used those red light cameras. So…beware when you run a yellow light…it could turn red…and you could get caught.

P.S I told my boss he owes me $50 bucks…he just laughed.

I erased parts of it just incase any creepos are reading this.

Have a Good Weekend

Just wanted to tell you I had a good week this week. Work has been pleasant. Things I did this week (this includes last weekend)

Friday: Good-bye party for Tonya and Jason at Carie and Chris' (funny pictures to come one day)
Saturday: Worked on Fence, Went to Wedding (Yay Brandon and Layla), Watched Windtalkers
Sunday: Went to church, ate roast, green beans and mashed sweet potatoes for lunch, cleaned house, watched t.v.
Monday: Worked
Tuesday: Worked, Tech Lunch, Voted, Cooked Dinner, Bible Study at Hunter and Emily's
Wednesday: Worked, Dinner at Texas Roadhouse to say good bye to Tonya and Jason, Target with Carie
Thursday: Worked, Tech Lunch, Game Night with Jacob...I beat Jacob at Risk!!!! And he didn't do it on purpose.
Friday: Worked, Going home...

Happy Birthday Lauren!!!

Today is my sister-in-law's 23rd birthday. Yay for Lauren. I wish we were there to celebrate with ya!!!

I didn't want you to think she was too normal :)

I made her a tree skirt for her birthday.

Getting Caught Up

Apologies for getting so far behind…I’d hate to turn into Carie or Tonya :). Anyway, things have been pretty busy lately and I haven’t had the time to write. I do however owe you some stories about the dog, the owl and Chilympics. So here goes.

The Dog...

Jacob went backpacking a couple of weekends ago with Siler. This dog began following him for several miles. He’d disappear and then return. That evening he disappeared but when he woke up in the morning…he was sleeping outside his tent!! So the dog continued to follow him and disappear and then return again until he was done backpacking…now 20+ miles away from where they first met. Jacob got to his car and called the owners to let them know he had found their dog. They never answered. He kept calling. Not knowing what to do, Jacob felt like he should stall a little bit until the owners called him back, but still needed to get home (which was over 4 hours away). So…since they never called back he brought the dog back to Memphis with him. He didn’t want to just leave him on the side of the road to die. He calls me to warn me and let me know. I thought it was a trick at first to talk me into allowing him a new dog. The poor little guy was malnourished and tick infested. We gave him a bath and as much food as he wanted. We didn’t know his name so Jacob insisted on calling him Roscoe. That evening the wife of the dog’s owner calls back. We tell him where we are and she said she needed to have her husband call us. Obviously she didn’t want to deal with it. The owner calls us and informs us that he is in Nebraska!! and will not return for 2 more weeks. We told him we would watch him and return him when he got back in town. It’s been 2 weeks now and we haven’t heard back from the guy. Jacob doesn’t want to call the guy back because he wants to keep him…who by the way is named Bouncer. I’m not really ready for another dog. Bouncer is terrified of new people (maybe he was abused?)…and he still smells…and he doesn’t listen worth a hoot...however, he doesn’t bark which is nice. We are going to have to bathe him again. So…until we hear otherwise, we have this new dog. Oh, he’s a hound (white with tan and black spots), about the same size as Siler. Siler doesn’t care too much about him but does get jealous if we play too much with him.

The Owl…

This story is short. Jacob walked out into the yard and there was a dead owl. That’s really all to the story but how often do you find dead owls in your backyard?? Not to mention, I was wearing my new shirt with owls on it the same day we found it! Spooky. Pretty random, I know.

Chilympics 2006…

Chilympics was a yearly chili cook off that my work, LRK held in the past. When I started working here I was so excited about it but they had stopped doing it. Well, now that Stewart has returned to LRK, he resumed the Chilympics (apparently it was in his job description). The object of Chilympics is to have a team building experience with people that you do not normally get to work with. The teams were selected at random. Not to complain too much but my team was not very good. Most of the people on my team didn’t really care to participate. The other teams however seemed to have a blast. There were judges that evaluated your display and other judges that evaluated your chili. My team didn’t win anything. Apparently my chili came in 3rd place but there were some discrepancies with the judging that caused us to not place. I was pretty disappointed to get a poopy team but there is always next year. The teams that did participate were HILARIOUS.

Sally’s Visit…

I had a blast with Sally last weekend when she came to visit. She took me shopping and bought me 2 new pairs of pants and a sweater. Thanks Sally!!! The rest of the weekend we did some funny stuff but I can’t talk about that just yet. I’ll talk about it after somebody’s birthday.

Halloween…

I worked sort of late and didn’t do anything for Halloween. We are grinches I guess. Frank Ricks (of Looney Ricks Kiss) dressed up as his cousin Henry and handed out candy at the office. We laughed SO hard. Can you believe this guy owns a reputable architecture firm?? Hehe.

Our 8th Dating Anniversary…

Today is 8 years since Jacob and I started dating. Wow…can you believe that a lunch date to Schlotzsky’s led to this? That was the best lunch I ever had. I love you buddy and can’t wait for 80 more years of dating. We went out to dinner to celebrate last night because tonight we are attending a bye-bye party for Tonya and Jason.

I think we are caught up now. Hopefully I won’t get so far behind again.

Disclaimer: This post is really long and I do not feel like re-reading it for errors and typos…so please forgive me!

Fuzzy Teeth Syndrome

Artwork Provided by Carie Alley, Age 27?

Ok, so I still owe you posts about the new dog, the crazy dead owl and Chilympics but for now I must share this piece of artwork by my dear friend Carie...It certainly made my day.

It's 4:50 pm on Friday and I have been at work since 8:30 am on Thursday morning. It has been a crazy, busy day(s). I knew I was going to have to work really late last night but was certainly not planning on an all nighter. So here I am sitting in the same clothes I was wearing yesterday, un-showered, sleepy and with fuzzy teeth. I almost walked to the Walgreens to get a toothbrush but that would have required energy that I did not have. I told Carie I needed to brush my teeth b/c they are wearing a sweater...I was drinking sweet tea to keep me awake and eating chocolate (diet of champions...I know) so my teeth feel gross. She in return sent this funny picture. I think with her artistic skills she should have been up here helping me do my drawings and then I wouldn't have been in this fuzzy predicament.

Other news...I decided against going backpacking this weekend b/c I just don't feel like it. SO!! Sally found a cheap plane ticket yesterday and is coming to visit me for a mother - daughter weekend. I will be picking her up tomorrow morning. Jacob will be backpacking with his pops and bro-in-law. Can't wait to see you Silly Sally who Sits on the Seashore Sipping Sweet Tea Sweetened with Splenda.

Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend Jacob went backpacking with Siler dog while I stayed home. Since I have had such a crazy few weeks at work, all I wanted to do was be lazy and. It was a nice weekend but Monday did quickly come.

Friday night I met Carie at UABC to help with their annual fall festival. I was assigned this big, inflatable slide to manage. There were several teenage boys that just loved this slide and kept jumping and doing somersaults on it. I really didn't have any control over them... After it ended at 8:30 Carie and I went to High Point Coffee where I had a something or other mocha. I'm not a coffee drinker but whatever I had was quite yummy. I think it was mostly sugar. We stayed up talking until 11 (way past old Carie's bedtime) and then I went home to my quiet house. I slept in the guest bedroom because it has a warm down comforter and I was cold without my snuggle friend.

Saturday I woke up at 10 and I am quite proud of that. I needed it. After I woke up and got showered and shaved my hairy legs, I met Carie at her house before heading to Costa Vida. A YUMMY place. We then went shopping and I bought a shirt, blue jeans and two picture frames for my pictures on my shelf (as previously posted). I always get frustrated when I go shopping for jeans. It doesn't happen very often and I only had 2 pair that I wear (one pair was my dad's from the 70's). I realized again that it is hard to find pants for short, stout women like me...so you know what I did?? I bought myself a pair of men's blue jeans and I love them. They fit perfect. After our shopping trip we went to Carie's house to pick up Chris so we could meet Tonya and Jason at the Fox and Hound to watch the Clemson game and grab a bite. The Tigers rocked against Georgia Tech, putting them in the Top 10!! After we ate and watched the game we went to Tonya and Jason's for a little while and just talked. We don't have much time left with them before they move :( .

Sunday I woke up and went to church. After the service Pastor Mike announced that he may be resigning because he feels God calling him to another church in Arkansas. It was shocking and sad news for everybody. We have only been visiting UABC for a little while but we really enjoy his preaching. Plus, after all we just went through at GBC we are ready for some consistency and to "settle" in at church. I have to keep reminding myself that you don't join a church because of the Pastor or Staff but rather for the biblical teaching and the way God is using the church to spread the Gospel. I know if God called Mike to another church, he will have called somebody else to come to UABC. Please pray for that situation. Mike will tell us on Sunday what the decision is.

After church I cleaned the house a bit until Jacob got home with TWO dogs in tow. We then went to Sam's to do our monthly grocery shopping. We returned home and watched the Amazing Race and did some other things around the house.

In the next post I'll tell you about the new (temporary) dog we have, the strange owl we found in the backyard and about the Chilympics that were held yesterday at work. Until then, I have to return to work...lunch is over.

In Memory

I wish I could have posted this last Thursday but I have had little time. Its meaning is still the same today…wow, I can’t believe it’s been 10 years!! And I still miss her like crazy. For those of you who don’t know (which I think everybody does) my mother died 10 years ago after a 2 year battle with ovarian cancer. She was the strongest and godliest woman who has ever impacted my life. In memory of her, enjoy these beautiful photos and this poem I wrote when I was a wee 14 years old.

My Mother, My Hero

As I look through our memories I can’t help but cry,
I don’t understand why you had to die.

You were so brave and always strong,
Even though it lasted so long.

You pointed me in the right direction,
With love, care and all your affection.

Never once did you complain,
Through all the needles, hurt and pain.

Even though you are not here,
I’ll always feel that you are near.

I know that God is taking good care of you,
And one day I’ll be there with my body so new.

And though you are gone,
My love for you will always live on…

Because you are my mother, my hero.

Linda Johns Toy
August 31, 1954 – October 19, 1996

Senior Portrait - Cambria High School - Class of 1972

Is that a yak?? – Date Unknown

Little Trinket’s First Birthday – April 17, 1983

This picture exemplifies my parents’ marriage…See how he looked at her after 19 years of marriage. So sweet. – July 1996 (3 months prior to her death)

I'm Burned Out!

Ok...so could you guys please pray for me? I'm totally burned out at work. I have been working 10+ hour days on a regular basis and I am exhausted. I currently am not working on one particular project but rather "floating" and helping around where needed. Some of these needs require immediate attention and fast deadlines. Pray that I don't have a rest-deprived break down soon. Thanks!!

Fortunately this weekend I was able to relax and take a break unlike the weekend before. Friday night I did work a little late and when I got home Jacob and I went to Moe's for dinner. After Moe's I don't even remember what we did.

Saturday I slept in a little while Jacob got up to work on our new fence he is building. I can't wait for it. So far it looks really good. I worked around the house a little bit until I headed to the St. Jude Showcase of Dogs Show with Carie at the Agricenter. I sure did see some FUNNY stuff. My favorite was the lady pushing her 3 toy poodles in a vintage stroller. I also enjoyed seeing the chinese crested dogs (the ugly hairless ones). Then there were the dancing greyhounds. Unfortunatly we missed the dance but I did see them in their red sequined outfits. The best part of the show though was seeing Tonya and Jason and their agility trial. We missed Tonya run with Chase but we did see Jason run with Taylor.

After the dog show I got cleaned up and we went downtown to meet some new friends John and Jen for dinner and headed to the Grizzlies game where Carie and Chris also met us. This was my first NBA game. Our seats were WAY up but we had a good time none the less...especially eating the blue raspberry cotton candy. YUM! After the game we stood on a corner and people watched all of the interesting people on Beale Street before heading home.

Sunday we went to church and then came home and I cooked. I spent the afternoon cleaning the house and preparing for our other new friends Mitch and Hillary to come over. We had a good time eating burgers and dogs and brownies and beans and then playing Mexican Train and Scattergories. Then it was time for washing dishes and practicing my chili recipe. I've been too busy to post about it but the big Chilympics is coming up at work and I am our chef. I wanted to do a trial run before the competition next week. My team is slowly pulling together our theme and I should have something to post about that in a week.

Well, I wanna go home and see my hubby and eat some grub so I am going to go now. Talk to you later!!

An A+ for Jacob and a 19 Hour Day for Me

Well, not too much to post about. Jacob met me downtown friday and we ate dinner and then he hung out with me while I worked. Saturday Jacob tore down brush and stuff in the backyard with his new chainsaw while I worked. Sunday we went to church and then Pei Wei and then Jacob played frisbee golf while I worked. Monday night Jacob slept while I worked. Are you finding a pattern here? I'm exhausted and I think I am going to go home now (seeing as I did work a 19 hour day yesterday and 55 hours since Thursday). On a happier note... Jacob made a 100 on his first test. Way to go buddy.



Also...I wanted to share some nice words I read in the Bible last night while I was a little discouraged at work:

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all of her sins." Isaiah 40:1-2

I like the rest of the chapter too...you should read the rest of 40 as well.

C-L-E-M-S-OOOOOO-N

Way to go Clemson Tigers who fought their way to a win after being down 14 points in the fourth quarter. Take that Demon Decons. 27-17. I miss football Saturdays, tailgating by our dorm and wearing lots of orange. Now the only orange you see in this state is the other orange.

P.S. If you are curious as to why I am actually updating on a weekend, unfortunately I am at work. Blah.

Memphis Fire

Lincoln American Tower - Fortunately vacant due to renovations

Memphis' Oldest Church and 2nd Oldest Building

I imagine some of you may have seen this on your local news (my best friend Ryina said she saw it all the way in Charleston, SC). The pictures are quite horrific. Unfortunately I do not know many of the details other than the First United Methodist Church (Memphis' 2nd Oldest building) caught fire around 3 am. Two surrounding buildings caught fire later. My work is a few blocks away and we are fine...other than the smell of smoke has entered the ducts and our office has that fire smell to it. They do not know the cause yet. I really do not have much to say about it because I do not know much about it. For more images check out the Memphis Fire Department's photo gallery. This guy is so talented, too bad the subject matter is so grim.

Church on Fire

Lincoln American Tower on Fire

Lazy Weekend

L to R: my new candle chandelier and my new shelf (as mentioned in last week's blog) and my new chalkboad.

Woa..what's up with this formatting? Oh well.

This weekend was another relaxing weekend. Friday I worked a little later finishing up some drawings for Chris & Carie’s smelly bathroom (ok, it’s not smelly, just wanted to see if she was reading this). They had to gut their bath because of a leak-a-rama that ruined the floors and everything. The joy of old houses! Anyway, I was drawing some plans for their new and improved bathroom-to-be.

Saturday Jacob and I were lazy and slept in until 10:30. Yep, that’s right I said 10:30. When we got up I painted a coat on my chalkboard for my kitchen. Then we went shopping. First we went to Lowe’s where KIX106 was airing live. I won a Carrie Underwood cd. After Lowe’s we went to Home Depot and ordered our kitchen sink. It should arrive in a day or so. We are making kitchen progress!!! After Home Depot we went to Hancock’s and I bought some stuff just because they were having a sale. I didn’t need anything. I did buy a few patterns because they are normally $15 and all Simplicity patterns were 99 cents. You could only get 5 per person though. Needless to say, Jacob does not like Hancock’s so I was rushed to pick out my patterns so I only got 3. I think I am prepared for the day that I have kids throwing temper tantrums in the store because my husband already does it :). Ok, I’m exaggerating a wee bit but he really did not enjoy being in there. After Hancock’s we went to Best Buy because I had a gift card for there. I bought Jacob a Ricky Skaggs cd. I wasn’t too excited about this purchase because I do not like bluegrass music but I have to admit there are some funny songs on the cd…especially one line that says, “Slap your momma’s behind”. After Best Buy we went to Hobby Lobby to get a frame for my chalk board and some candles for my chandelier. Then we went to pick up my car at Goodyear because I was getting the tires rotated. That evening we cooked steaks and then had a rollerblading date. We rollerbladed for a while and it was fun.

Sunday we woke up late (we were struggling to get up…again) so we did not make it to Sunday School. We went to church though and it was very good. After church we tried a new restaurant called Costa Vida that was delicious. After lunch we went home and changed for the park. We spent about 4 hours at Shelby Farms watching Siler play with his friends. Jacob studied for a test and I read a book. Carie and Chris met us at the park after a while. When we got home from the park I ate cereal for dinner (Cinnamon Toast Crunch to be exact) and then watch the Amazing Race while I ironed my clothes for the week and dusted the furniture.

Monday was nothing special at work. Jacob cooked for dinner because he was ready to eat and he did a great job on the “Cheesy Chicken”. After dinner I vacuumed and we played Scrabble. Jacob won but I get the play of the game with my 63 point word…”Quey” (a young calf). Yesterday was Carie’s birthday and I didn’t even wish her a happy birthday on my blog. You can read her blog though, she wishes herself a happy birthday :).

That’s all for today. More later.

Lunch Date

Jacob and I met for lunch today at Zoes Kitchen and it was scrumdiddlyumptious. I like lunch dates. Seeing Jacob in the middle of the day sure does make the afternoon brighter :). I hope you all are having a great day!!

Last Weekend

Well, it's Wednesday and I haven't written a weekend recap so I guess I better get on it. We were supposed to go canoeing this weekend but because of the rain that was a comin' we cancelled our trip. Jacob and I decided that we would still go out to the Ozarks and do a little camping and hiking. We are used to rain so it's not that big of a deal for us. We drove to Arkansas after work on Friday, stopped at Cracker Barrel for some yummy home cookin' and then set up camp at the trailhead, wherever we were. Sometime during the night it started storming and it stormed all through the night. We heard some crazy loud thunder and saw some crazy bright lightening. I have learned to enjoy storms as long as there are no damaging winds involved (which thankfully there weren't because we were in a little tent). Our poor Siler Dog was TERRIFIED. With every clap of thunder he would jump up and squeeze in between Jacob and I as close as he could. It was so cute, just like a little kid. It made me get excited about the future when we have little kids scared of storms and monsters and they will want to cuddle up in the bed with us. Jacob said if we have girls then they can be scared but if we have boys he's going to tell them to "toughen up" and go back to bed. We'll see about that!

So Saturday morning it was still pouring. We laid in the tent until it stopped at 10 ish. It was nice to sleep in a bit. When we finally got up we took a 1.5 mile hike to a waterfall called Haw Creek Falls. Since we got like 10" of rain the creeks were very swollen. We didn't take any pictures because we were afraid another downpour might occur. After we hiked back we got in the car and drove to Petit Jean state park. There was a nice waterfall there and some pretty overlooks. I really wanted to go into Conway, Arkansas because my favorite antique stores are there. Knowing that it closed at 5 we were in kind of a hurry. We made it to Conway and I purchased two "antiques". I say that with quotation marks because I am not sure if they are antiques but I liked them. I got a little black shelf with dentils and a somewhat rusty iron chandelier for over our kitchen table. We do not have wiring over it to hang a real light but I wanted some type of decor. This chandelier hold candles rather than lightbulbs. I think it's really cool. Once we get it hung I will take a picture to show you. We got back to Memphis around 7:30 and headed straight to Sam's to get our monthly stock of groceries. We picked up a pizza at Sam's and cooked it when we got home. It was the best pizza I have had in a while. They make them fresh daily and you take them home to cook.

Sunday we went to church and then came home and had leftover pizza (it was a big pizza). Jacob wanted to go to the park because it was beautimatastic (I made that word up in Maine and keep forgetting to use it) outside. I was tired so I made him go to the park with only Siler. I guess that wasn't very nice of me. I did get a nice nap though. Sunday afternoon I ironed all of my outfits for the week and did a few other things...then the day was over.

Monday night Jacob had a basketball game. I went and watched Jacob and Joey and hung out with Ella and Joanna. Ella is the most adorable 1 year old I know.

Tuesday evening Jacob had to take some bones (yes, real dead people bones) to UT to get scanned so I was home by my lonesome. I decided to sew because I have several projects that need finished. Well, I think the old Singer is on it's last leg (it's from 1970). I spent over and hour trying to get it to work and it just wouldn't stop bunching and knotting and clogging. I was quite frustrated. Ironically that same day we received a pamphlet from Hancock's with their anniversary sales and they have some machines over $100 off. Maybe I can think about getting a new one.

Well, that is about it. This blog is really long and I do not feel like proof reading it so disregard any errors you might see. Talk at you later.

Yee Haw for our Microwave!

For those of you who do not know, we have been remodeling our kitchen for about a year now. We ripped out everything…cabinets, floors, walls, and etcetera. The process to get everything back in has been very slow but rewarding. We have done all of the work ourselves including building our own cabinets. This weekend we finally were able to install our microwave, thanks to Clarence’s help. It may seem like a little accomplishment but I am so excited to have that big ole thing in it’s place and off of the "countertop". It’s all starting to come together!!! The only things we have left now are: a few pieces of cabinetry, countertops and sink, backsplash and some touch up painting, then decorating. I can’t wait to see it all together!! I will send before and after and pictures at a later date. Here is a little glimpse of our installed microwave.

Elephants and Gorillas and Giraffes and Jacob...Oh My.

This weekend family came in town. I love when anybody comes to town but especially when family comes to town. Sally, my mother-in-law, flew in on Thursday night. She was able to go to our first two softball games of the fall season. We won both!! Lauren and Chad were driving at this point and arrived at around 2 am or something. I was sleeping so I do not really know when they arrived.

Friday I had to work but was able to meet them for lunch at Rum Boogie Café. I then had to return to work while they “played” all afternoon. When I got home that evening they had dinner prepared. We ate and hung out until we had to pick up Clarence, my father-in-law, at the airport.

Saturday we got up and went to the zoo. We had a great time at the zoo looking at all of the animals. The zoo kind of made me sad because there were babies EVERYwhere. Babies here, babies there…babies everywhere. I was sad because I wished I was going to be having a baby to take to the zoo. God has a plan. After the zoo we went back home and relaxed and played games until it was time for dinner. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and it was delicious as usual. After dinner we came back to the house and played Cranium. The girls won one game and the guys won one. Remember Jacob…it’s “Broccoli” :).

Sunday we woke up and went to church. Lauren and Chad began their drive home when we left for church. Church was good. We had a guest speaker, Don Whitney, from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was really good and Biblical. After church we had Central Barbeque and then came home and played Spades and Hearts until time for Jacob and I to drop Sally and Clarence off at the airport. We dropped them off and then returned home and watched the season premiere of The Amazing Race. I love that show. That’s about all for our weekend. Next weekend we go canoeing!!!

Sewing Project

I never did blog about last weekend so I guess I owe you something. Last weekend was wonderful because we had no major plans. I did however go to a baby shower for my friend Kristen. She is expecting her first little one, Isabella, very soon. I just thought I’d show you the wall hanging that I made for her. I thought it turned out very cute. I’ve really found sewing to be such a relaxing hobby and enjoy learning and making new things. If anybody needs one…let me know and I’d love to start making things to sell.

Girls' Group

First of all, apologies for being a little behind on my blogification. I like to use my lunch time to write blogs and I have been having lunch meetings left and right. Today we were supposed to go out to lunch for Colin's birthday but they moved it tomorrow so I was without a lunch. I walked to Bogies to get my 1/2 chicken salad sandwich and pasta salad meal for $5. It's delicious. Anyway...this blog is not about my lunch eating schedule but about my awesome Girls' Group!!

I have been involved in a girls' bible study since moving out to Memphis. I have always enjoyed this weekly meeting of accountability. About 6 months ago we decided to split into two groups because it was getting too big...and half of the girls had babies and the other half didn't. So, know I am in a smaller group of about 6 girls and I just love it. Each one of the girls is special. I am learning so much about God and life and everything. We started a new book last week and last evening was our first night to discuss it. I can tell that all of us are going to learn SO much. We are doing a study called Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. It's about, well...prayer. The first week really challenged me and I am so excited to get into something with a little more depth.

Well, I believe that is all for now but I will leave you with the questions that the author of our study left with me...I've been thinking about them a lot...

Does prayer change God? If so, can He be sovereign? If not, why should I pray?

Mt. Katahdin

I wanted to get these pictures of Maine up and do not feel like spending any time formatting this entry...so in not the correct order...enjoy!

Pamola Peak. After a Great Climb on the Knife's Edge.
Fall is on the way...as we crossed this bridge.
Maine is Gorgeous!
Crazy Jacob. I love the fact he is such a child at heart.
Katahdin in all her splendor.
Me contemplating my next move.
Highpoint #25!! We are half way done!

The Knife's Edge.

Mmm..Lobstah!

This was me and Larry the Lobstah in Maine, right before I ate him up. Don't worry Sally, I didn't eat the green stuff. I have to admit, I felt a little sad watching Larry get thrown into the boiling water...although it didn't stop me from eating him. Gulp.

I Heart New England

Our trip to New England was indeed a success. We conquered 4 high points, blew 1 tire on the convertible PT Cruiser, ate 2 lobsters, hiked 20-some miles, spent 3 nights in hotels, spent 1 night in the car, flew on 4 planes, etc, etc. Unfortunately I am a little busy right now but tomorrow I hope to post some pictures and details of our trip so come back soon and hopefully I will have something more to offer you.

By the way, our 2006 Ski Trip has officially been planned. We are going to Whistler/Blackcomb in British Columbia. I am really looking forward to this trip. We have 2 spots available should anybody else want to go with us. It's should be a blast. Dates: December 16-December 21. Cost: $380 per person plus transportation and food.

Wacky Quackers

I am finally able to get this picture of Lauren and I up and running. This is from a couple of weekends ago when we went on our Ride the Ducks tour. I so enjoyed having Lauren in town.

Jacob Complaining

Submitted by Jacob

I regret to inform everyone who reads this that I will no longer be posting on this blog. I refuse to waste my time to try to post on a website that only works half the time, and very slowly and haphazardly at that. I am looking in to developing my own website devoted solely to photojournalism and will keep everyone informed if and when this occurs. It will take some time, if it happens at all. For those of you who keep asking and inquiring, I literally have hundreds of photographs that I consider publishable to be printed into fine art prints. Hopefully I will be able to do this as a side hobby-business if the new website happens. In the interim, if anyone is interested in purchasing prints, please let me know. jcartne@hotmail.com

Maine or Bust

Today Jacob and I leave for our second annual New England Labor Day Tour. Last year we tackled New Hampshire and Vermont. This year we plan on reaching the highest points in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and possibly New York. We will be doing quite a bit of driving but we are up for the challenge. I can't wait to sink my teeth into some yummy LOBSTER. Mmm, my mouth is watering. Look for posts when I get back on Tuesday. Hopefully I will be able to get the pictures working.

Trish Goes to the Dentist

**These are not my teeth...Can you imagine me in that bright red lipstick?? Ha!

I followed in my hubby's footsteps and made my way into the dentist's office. I was a little nervous since it had been 3!! years since I had been. Everything was PERFECT! The dentist and hygenist said they couldn't believe I had not been to the dentist in 3 years. Such relief.

Thank you Jesus for looking out for every single part of my body...including my teeth. Isn't that amazing?? If God cares enough to keep my teeth purty...just think about what else He cares about??

Oh-Possum

Thought I'd share our recent catch with you. Jacob and I have set the squirrel cage outside our dryer vent twice and caught two baby opossums. If it were up to him, he would just let them die but his sensitive wife is a big supporter of the "catch and relocate" method. So...Jacob relocated this guy to Shelby Farms the other day. This picture was taken after his liberation. He looks excited and happy to be free.

Friend Weekend

** Disclaimer...I am having trouble uploading pictures to this blog but when it works, I will get them on here. I didn't want to delay this posting any longer, considering I wrote it yesterday.**

This past weekend was just wonderful. My good friend Lauren came out for a visit. Lauren and I go back to freshman year of high school. Some of our fondest memories were days in crazy Mrs. Grantham's class and then in service learning our senior year with Cindy and Lindsay. Cindy and Lindsay and I go back to middle school when we played soccer together. Anyway, senior year, Cindy, Lindsay, Lauren and I went to lunch one day a week before heading to NHC, a local nursing home. After we graduated from high school, Lauren and I continued to have lunch at Clemson once a week. We were the only ones smart enough to pick Clemson on the first go :). Lindsay transferred sophomore year and Cindy joined us junior year. We were finally all together! We met once a week for our girl's dinner. It was great. Now that I am far away, we still try to get together when I return home to get caught up.

So there is a little history before I start my ramblings of our exciting weekend. Friday evening I picked Lauren up at the airport and we went to dinner at McAlister's deli with Carie. We then spent the rest of the evening at my friend Whitney's house. She was having a girl's night while all of the boys were at a football game.

Saturday we slept in a little. We got up and went downtown to do the tourist thing. First stop was my work. I always like to show people my other home. After that we got tickets for the "Ride the Ducks" tour. My friend Katie was working the booth so she gave us our tickets for FREE. It was a sweet deal. We then went to eat at Rum Boogie Cafe (where I forgot to get my card punched so my next meal would be free...errr). After lunch we walked around Beale Street and saw the drinking goats at Silky O'Sullivan's (they were sober at this hour) and then we thought we'd see if they would let us peak in FedEx Forum just for fun. Jacob and I have never been to anything there. My work designed it so I was interested in seeing it as well. We walked in and the lady asked us if we were there for the open house. We were not but she asked if we wanted to be. So here's a run down...we got 6 free NBA tickets (Grizzlies vs. Pistons), a tour of the locker rooms and lastly, Jacob got to shoot some ball on the big court!! It was pretty neat. We did not have much time though because we had to get to our duck tour. I think he would have stayed and played ball all afternoon.

The duck tour was pretty fun. I learned some interesting facts about Memphis. After the duck tour, we went to the Peabody Hotel to see the famous Peabody Ducks do their 5:00 parade. It's always entertaining. We then went home and ate dinner and had Carie and Chris over for some game time. Chris whooped us all in a game of Risk. He was quite the world dominator. See if we play with that evil villain again...Ha!

Sunday included church, Corkey's and some time playing Nertz (a different version than we had been taught by Lauren and Chad...but I liked it better). Then I had to take Lauren to the airport and say goodbye :(. After that I returned home for a nap. When I woke up, Jacob and I played Scrabble and watched the Emmys. By the way....I BEAT JACOB!!! I was way behind and came back with the words "BOX" and "BE" that were worth 40 points! I beat him by 3.

So...that's what our weekend entailed. It was loads of fun. Last night was not loads of fun...I was at work until 12:30 am. Speaking of work...I better get back to it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADLEY!!!

Today is my big brother's 26th birthday. Wow, I can't believe he made it this far in life considering how many remote controls I used to through at him when he was whooping me in Monopoly. I promise I have learned to control my temper Brad! :)

Jacob Goes to the Dentist

*These are NOT Jacob's teeth...just in case you were worried

Well, I am so proud of my sweet Jacob. After about 8 years, he has finally sucked it up and gone to the dentist...and you know what??? He didn't have a single cavity! Personally, I do not know how that is possible, but I am thankful for it. I thought for sure he would call to tell me his teeth were all falling out and he'd need them replaced. It looks like it's time for me to schedule my dentist appointment (I haven't been in about 3 years...yikes!). I used to be a stickler about going every 6 months and then I got married. Now that we have dental insurance I am looking forward to going. I'm sure I will have a million cavities...that's how it was growing up. Brad and I would go to the dentist and I would have a bunch and he'd have none...and I was the one brushing my teeth twice as much. I'll keep you updated.

End of the Season

After a good attempt, the LRK #2 softball team is done for the season. After placing second in our league we were awarded a spot in the city tournament. Last night was the first tournament game and we lost against Christ-Wesley. It was a very good game. No worries though...Fall league is just around the corner! By the way, my hubby sure looks hot when he hits those triples and homeruns. These pictures are from another game but thought I'd put them on there anyway. (Sorry you don't get to see any of me but I did not play that game)

Jacob normally plays first (I play third or second) but this one game he pitched and did a mighty fine job. He looks sooo serious.

mmm...mmm...mmm cutie bootie!