Homeboy Recap: Arkansas and Tennessee

I'm still in shock over the outcome (i.e. final play) Saturday night. I thought we had the game, then thought we lost it, then we had it back again. It was a roller coaster, as is the usual Auburn style. Two big post-game should outs. First, to my homeboy Ricardo Louis. Some people thought that I was crazy for picking him. Now I like him even more. Second, to my dad who predicted after game 5 that we'd be 10-1 going into the Iron Bowl. The man knows his stuff. Here are his picks for Arkansas and Tennessee. Laurie and Ray are the big winners!

 

"Well Tiger fans as we get ready to neuter the bulldogs down on the plains this Saturday afternoon, it occurred to me that I haven’t sent out the MVHB selections for Malzahn’s march through Arkansas and Tennessee the last two weeks. (Actually Natalie reminded me)

Well, for the pig roast in Fayetteville the obvious choice for the MVHB has to be Tre Mason for his 168 yards rushing on 32 carries. Wow! Tre ran over, around and through the defense in one of the most impressive rushing displays by an Auburn running back in a long time.

As for the Tennessee game, it got so bad in the second half that Smoky the coon dog even left the game. We definitely dominated the game. Nick Marshall had an outstanding game, rushing for 214 yards on 14 carries, but he lost the MVHB award when he threw that pick 6 on the screen pass to Mason. So the MVHB award goes to Cory Grant who rushed for 48 yards on 4 carries and had the 90 yard kick-off return for the touchdown to open the second half.

All right Tiger fans, have a good day today and better day tomorrow and I’ll see you on Mell Street Saturday morning!

WDE!!!

Mike"

Celebrating Baby Nat: Part Two

Day Two of Nat's celebration began with brunch at Tavern. Luckily, Mom was able to drive up and join us for the meal. The food was so good. We started off with red velvet waffles and white trash hash that was incredible. The bloody mary's were top notch as well. I'd suggest the cucumber version.

After brunch, Laurie and I went back to the hotel for a small rest while the rest of the group checked out the Nashville Food Truck Competition. Eventually it started to rain so they ended up coming back as well. That afternoon, Laurie was nice enough to help me get things set up for the lingerie shower. We had champagne with St. Germain, sangria, cheese ball, coconut cake and a few other snacks. I ordered Nat's invitation from Designs by Nicolina and the paper goods (straws, confetti and banner) from Ruffled Paper. Both turned out great.

I was thrilled to get to pass down the veil that I wore at my lingerie shower/bachelorette party. Natalie got some really pretty things! Enough about that...

After the shower, we all hung out in the room watching the Auburn/Arkansas game. There were some frustrating moments in the game but we managed to pull it out.

So lively.

That night, we went to Sambuca for dinner and had our first celebrity sighting. Gary Allan sat at the table next to us at dinner. Of course I texted mom and dad and neither knew who he was. If you ever eat at Sambuca, I'd highly recommend the Brussels sprouts. Seriously the best I've ever had.

After dinner, we had a quick stop at the hotel for a shoe change and walked down to Broadway. We decided to brave the crowd at the Stage and I'm so glad that we did! The band was amazing. They played a great mix of country/pop/rap that kept you singing and dancing the entire time. We had a couple of run-ins with some individuals who had been "over served" but thankfully, none of those individuals belonged to our group. At the late, late (to me) hour of 1 a.m., we called it a night.

The next morning, we cleaned up our disaster of a hotel room and everyone hit the road to go their separate ways. Before I could get out of town, I had one very crucial stop to make: a trip to my beloved Trader Joe's. If you've never been there, you're really missing out. I'm always surprised at the number of people in south Alabama who have never heard of, much less been to, Trader Joe's.

All in all, we had a fantastic weekend. Nashville is such an interesting city and I'd love to make a return trip. Now we're just counting down 'til the wedding. 15 more days!

Happy Trails!

Celebrating Baby Nat!

Last Friday, I hit the road for Baby Nat's Nashville celebration. I've been preparing for the party for quite some time now and I was so excited for it to finally arrive.

I hit the road around 8:30 heading north. First stop, the Yellowhammer. Sarah and I used to stop here when we'd take trips to Auburn and I love that they have fountain Diet Mt. Dew. I managed to cut it pretty close gas-wise but I somehow made it!

Three miles 'til empty.

Next stop, Cullman to pick up the cake from Dad. We had a lovely gas station rendezvous. Third and final stop, Mom and Dad's house in Decatur to pick up all the goodies that Mom was providing for the party.

Somewhere around Huntsville I began to realize that I've forgotten what "fall" looks like. Down in south Alabama, the trees pretty much stay the same color all year. All the trees up north were so beautiful!

Clearly taken from inside my vehicle

I rolled into Nashville a little before 4 and got checked in to the rooms at the Doubletree. I quickly realized one problem, there were no refrigerators in the rooms. I had a melting cake, snacks, drinks and nowhere to store these items. Luckily, there was an ice machine on the floor and I'd come prepared with one cooler and one cooler bag. The food and drink were (mostly) saved.

Around 5:30, Natalie arrived. A little closer to 6, Laura and Suzanne joined the party. The four of us set off for dinner at Pub 5. Even though we had a little mix-up and I at half of Suzanne's sandwich, it was fantastic. The food was great, atmosphere was fun and our server was a fan of Laura, and vice-versa.

Sisters!

Dinner view.

After dinner, Laurie and Ashley arrived so we met them back at the hotel for a quick drink. Then, the group ventured out to Honky Tonk Central. This place was packed. Luckily, we were able to secure a table. A "friend" bought us a round of shots and then threw up in the hallway. I'd say that's typical for a bachelorette party. Everyone managed to make it back to the room safely at the end of the night, which is a success in my book.

Fireball

Best friends.

View from the balcony.

Second post on day 2 to come!

Of course, I'm late in posting this. A little prologue: Last week, my middle sister, Sarah, moved to San Diego. She took a job as a travel nurse and (I believe) will be working at a children's hospital out on the West Coast. She and Julie safely arrived after four days of travel and Julie is now safely back in Birmingham. Sarah has sent us far too few pictures of her new home.

Without further ado, the homeboys.

"Well Sarah and Julie are off and should be getting close to Memphis by now. Maybe they’ll stop and have some ribs for lunch…or maybe not.

Anyway, as for MVHB’s, I know I am a week behind and I need to get caught up, so here we go.

As for the Texas A&M game, it has taken me a week to get over the excitement of us going on the road and upsetting a top 10 team. WOW! The home boy for that game has to be Nick Marshall. He put on a show running the ball as well as throwing the ball, especially in critical situations. There truly were some great highlights from that one which would include Trey Mason, Marcus Davis, Dee Ford, Sammie Coates and many others. The whole team truly brought their A game last week. WOW!! It was GREAT!

On to last night. We knew Florida Atlantic would be heavily out manned going in and as we speculated, everyone that could hobble out on the field got to play, but please, do we have to continue to play Kyle Frazier at quarterback, give me a break, I never want to see him take another snap. Find somewhere else to use the guy. So much for that. It was hard to find a star, since no one really had to play above their ability to get the job done last night. There were solid performances by many on both sides of the ball, and the MVHB goes to Sammy Coates for his 2 touchdown catches.

Well let’s saddle up for next week as we travel to the far reaches of Arkansas to take on the hapless hogs. We need to be careful that this isn’t a trap game.

Everyone have a great week and keep Sarah and Julie your prayers as they take their one wagon train westward to the gold of Cal-i-for-ni-a.

Later,

Mike"

 

So Bess and Baby Nat are our homeboy challenge winners for weeks 7 and 8. Speaking of Baby Nat, last night I returned from her bachelorette party in Nashville, which I will recap later this week. So much fun but this traveler is tired!

 

Happy Wednesday to everyone!

 

Melissa

Long Overdue Homeboy Recap: Ole Miss and Western Carolina

So sorry for my long absence from the blog. Since my last post, I've celebrated an anniversary, made trips to New Orleans and Seagrove, spent quite a few hours preparing for trials that got continued and loaded up lots of stuff for Natalie's bachelorette party next weekend. A few pics at the end of the post.

Clearly, it's been an exciting few weeks in SEC football. Auburn has surprised everyone and managed to pull of a few big wins. Georgia lost to Vandy, South Carolina lost to Tennessee, Missouri beat Florida. As usual, the SEC is a mess. I, for one, could not be more proud of the Auburn Tigers. I can't lie, I think at the beginning of the year I told my father-in-law that I expected a 7 win season. They have far surpassed my expectations. Each week, my dad has been e-mailing us with the homeboy winner and each week, he has expressed an admirable level of confidence in the Tigers!

The Commissioner on Ole Miss:

"Well we now have 5 games of the 2013 season in the books and we have defeated a ranked team. Auburn turned in a solid performance in all phases on the game on Saturday night on it’s way to the upset of #24 Ole Mess. This team appears to be getting it’s legs under it. With somewhat of a tune-up game next week for homecoming, I really like our chances as we travel to College Station on October 19^th to take on Texas A&M. If we can keep Johnny Hancock somewhat under control I think we could come back to Auburn with a 6-1 record and very well positioned in the SEC’s Western Division.

Again, this was a very solid performance by Auburn this week and several players deserved consideration for MVHB. Offensively, Trey Mason and Nick Marshall turned in the most notable performances. Defensively, our d-linemen really showed out, constantly keeping Black Bear Bo off balance. Dee Ford, Gabe Wright and Carl Lawson all had highlight reel performances and in recognition of his 6 tackles, which included 2 qb sacks and 3 ½ tackles for loss this week’s MVHB award goes to Carl Lawson. If you haven’t heard his post-game interview, it’s very impressive. He is quite articulate. My guess is that this young man is not your typical brain dead athlete and is someone Auburn will be very proud to have as both an athlete and a student.

I’m going to step out and predict that this team will continue to get better every week for the rest of the season and will enter the 2013 Iron Bowl with a 10-1 record and a chance to win the Western Division title."

Congrats on Andy on the Ole Miss homeboy victory! And congrats to myself on my victory in my bet with Robert, who has to make the bed every morning for a month since his team lost.

 

And on Western Carolina:

 

"Well after a week of pondering the MVHB from the Western Carolina game, it finally came down to a coin flip to decide who it would be. In a 62-3 rout where everybody, including all three drum majors, got in the game, it’s hard to narrow it down to one person. If anyone had chosen Jeremy Johnson it definitely would have been Jeremy. But unlike the earlier game where the MVHB was not a HB, I won’t make that mistake again.

So, the winner of the coin toss for MVHB against Western Carolina, which isn’t even a state, is Ricardo Louis. Ricardo finally showed what he has the potential to be as a receiver not only catching the deep ball but also taking the ball in space and making something happen.

Everybody get ready for a war this afternoon against Manziel; if our pass rush can put pressure on Johnny football and not let him scramble for major gains, I think we come back to Auburn at 6-1."

Yup, that's right...my homeboy WON! Even if it was sort of by default, I'll take it!

Life highlights from the last few weeks:

Pretty Anniversary Flowers

Cocktails in New Orleans

Drinks at the Pearl in Rosemary

Dinner at George's in Alys Beach

 

Auburn v. LSU: MVHB and My thoughts.

Also known as, the week where no one wins. In all fairness, Dad did choose two most valuable players for the game, it's just that no one had picked those two individuals.

"Well week 4 is now in the books and although it didn’t turn out the way we would have liked, the 2013 Auburn Tigers fought to the end and played much better in the second half. Had we not had 2 quick turnovers in the first quarter the outcome might have been more to our liking. Picking a MVHB was a little difficult this week, but after giving it a lot of thought, this weeks award goes to Cassanova McKinzy who lead our second half defensive efforts and finished the night with a total of a team leading 8 tackles. Since I’m not sure if anyone picked McKinzy as their HB, the backup MVHB would be Sammie Coates who lead our receiving with a total of 139 yards."

In other news, Laurie got to select a new homeboy this week. Her original HB, Jaylon Denson, will be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. In his absence, Laurie has chosen Corey Grant as her replacement HB. Solid choice.

As for my thoughts on the game...we started out strong...in the first minute of the game. Then, things seemed to fall apart. When LSU took the lead by three touchdowns, I was worried that it could get out of control. Fortunately, this year's team looked nothing like last year's, who probably would have just sat on the bench drinking gatorade and eating orange slices, wishing they were somewhere else. The team didn't give up. They fought all the way to the end. A couple less turnovers and a recovered onside kick and we would have been in it. I know, it's always easy to play the "if only" game, but it's my blog and my opinion.

Thankful for an off week this week. Robert's headed to Tuscaloosa with friends to watch the Crimson Tide take on Ole Miss. If you get a chance, say a quick prayer they all return to Mobile in one piece. Hotty Toddy!

Week 3: Homeboy Challenge

No official email from the Commissioner this week. We actually found out the homeboy at the tailgate right after the game. I present to you this week's homeboy, Nick Marshall.

In the winning drive against State, Marshall completed 6 of 8 passes for 66 yards and ran three times for another 19 yards. It should be added that the drive began on the Auburn 11 with 1:56 left on the clock. Marshall finished the game with 339 passing yards.

My honorable mentions: Quan Bray and C.J. Uzomah

Other game notes: Clearly, we weren't ready for Dak Prescott. Earlier in the week, Dan Mullen said that he expected Tyler Russell to be ready to go. Russell even warmed up with the team in pre-game. Then Prescott started. After the game, Mullen said that Russell hadn't ever been cleared to play. Good strategy on their part and poor planning on ours. We should have been ready for whichever qb started the game.

Freshman Marcus Davis looked really good. He had six catches in Saturday's game, four of which came on the winning drive. Bray and Coates better watch out.

Congrats to Bess on her homeboy victory! If you followed along last year, you know that she always manages to pick a winner.

Looking forward to tomorrow's game against LSU. Fingers crossed for a miraculous victory! War Damn.

Recap: Auburn v. Miss State

Last weekend was a ton of fun! I left work a little later than planned and made it to Auburn around 8:45. The group was out to dinner and I expected them back at any minute. I unloaded the car, made my rice krispy treats and doctored up the white sauce. Still no sign of them. I finally called them around 9:30 and was informed that they didn't even have a table yet. I finished reading "The Book Thief" and fell asleep on the couch, missing the loading up the cars for the tailgate. Whoops.

The next morning, we were up early as everyone scrambled around to shower, drink some coffee, put the finishing touches on their tailgate food and pack their belongings for the day.

The crowd around campus was great and the weather was perfect. It did get a little bit hot closer to mid-afternoon but it was in the mid 80's, as opposed to the mid 90's, so it didn't seem all that bad.

The star of the day was the glittery Gus Bus created by Laurie (with a little help from Michael and Sarah, I believe). All day long we took pictures in the "bus". We had hopes of making it to the popular page on instagram but unfortunately, we didn't quite make it.

It was a bittersweet tg since it was Sarah's last tg of the season. She's packing up and moving to San Diego next month and she'll be sorely missed. Her getting low skills are second to none and there were no shortage of dance moves on Saturday.

Around 5, we packed it up and headed to the stadium. Separate post to come on the game itself and MVHB. Of course it was a thriller!

Julie and I

Andy and Michael

Mom and Dad

Love this place.

Week Two: Homeboy Challenge and WDFJ

The HB Commissioner has spoken:

"Well in week 2 we saw very consistent play from most of our homeboys. Obviously Jason Garrett is still hampered with a hurt foot as he never made an appearance against the Red Wolves and Ricardo Louis is apparently in Gus’ dog house as he saw very little action Saturday night. Maybe Ricardo will have a better week of practice this week and will get more playing time next week.

The terrifying trio of TM, CG and CAP were a rushing juggernaut against the red wolves and provided a very solid ground game. Nick Marshall posted a much improved performance in week 2 and at half-time I thought he was well on his way to being the MVHB for week 2, but his performance fell off a bit in the second half.

The defensive line and linebackers continued to play well in week 2 with notable performances being posted by Montavious Adams, Carl Lawson, Justin DeLaine, Gabe Wright, Kris Frost and Cassinova McKinsey. If the defensive continues to develop, you can look for one of the defensive players to take the MVHB in the coming weeks.

However, for week 2…..the MVHB goes to Cameron Artis-Payne for his solid interior running production which produced 102 yards rushing and one touchdown on the night.

Hope everyone has a great week! See you all in Auburn Saturday morning."

Mike

 

My personal observations during Week Two: I was very thankful to be able to watch the game this week. It's much easier to figure out what's going on when you can see it with your own eyes.

 

I've never seen a team get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty enforced at the beginning of each half for wearing "non-contrasting" jerseys so that was a first. I have to admit that they were difficult to read. Plus I just didn't really care for the jerseys as a matter of personal taste.

 

I thought that the targeting call against Kris Frost was a little harsh. Robert and I watched it several times and it looked to me like he just shook the guy's shoulder pads. I thought that you had to hit above the shoulders, but I could be wrong. I do foresee that this new rule could really come into play in some bigger games down the line, and could potentially be a game-changer. I don't love it.

 

Anyone shocked that Louis didn't win MVHB for his -2 rushing yards? Me neither. I did think that there was an unfortunate missed interference call that hurt him. Like dad said, maybe next week. We didn't really have the refs on our side at all this week.

 

All in all, an enjoyable game to watch and a nice performance from the Tigers. The real test begins this week in our first SEC match-up with Mississippi State. Counting down the days until I head to the Plains.

 

I'll leave you with some WDFJ pictures from Saturday. It was Taco TG and I hear the food and company were fantastic as usual. Happy Monday!

Crocks of Rotel

Sisters!

Inflatable Lounge Chair

Jordan-Hare

 

Labor Day 2013

We spent Labor Day weekend down at Dauphin Island. It's been especially rainy in Mobile and I've had terrible luck with rainy beach trips so we were crossing our fingers for good weather. On Friday night, Robert left and headed down to the island so that he could fish on Saturday morning. After work, I loaded up on groceries at Publix and packed things up at home. I left around 9:30 on Saturday and was a little discouraged at the weather when I arrived. Luckily, the sky cleared and we had pretty weather!

Our friends Witt and Ashley came down and joined us Saturday and Sunday night. Once they made it to the island Saturday, we whipped up a round of Pineapple-Mint Mojitos and took the boat out for a spin. The sky was so beautiful!

Quite frankly, I can't provide much of a recap of the game as I didn't watch more than a few minutes of it. ESPNU isn't available on regular cable and that's what is available down at the condo. We watched a little bit of the game at the Pelican Pub when we ran in to pick up a couple of drinks on the boat. I also listened to a little bit on the radio and tried to keep up with score on ESPN gamecast. That's it. Maybe not the most devoted Auburn fan for week one but I'll try harder in the weeks to come!

On Sunday, we took the boat over to Tacky Jack's and then joined some friends for a few hours on Sand Island.

Robert and I haven't done much "vacationing" this year so we decided to take Tuesday off to extend the long weekend an extra day. We spent our vacation day working around the house, cleaning and doing yardwork. We even got a little ambitious and thought we'd try our hand at homemade fried chicken Tuesday night. A few weeks ago, my parents gave us my grandmother's old electric skillet, mentioning that "lots of fried chicken" had been cooked in the skillet. When you've got the proper tools, why not give it a shot? 

It took a little bit of prep work, i.e. three hours soaking in eggs and buttermilk, but it turned out really well! We used the recipe in Cotton Country Cooking (Morgan Cty. Jr. League) and stuck to it as written, other than adding two eggs to the buttermilk, per my mom's advice. We had mashed potatoes (homemade) and green beans (from a can) on the side.

 

 

 



All in all, it was a successful weekend. Hoping this one will be just as fun. War Eagle and Happy Friday!

Auburn v. Washington State: MVHB and WDFJ

Straight from the Man himself....

"Well after careful analysis and meditation the MVHB for week 1 has been decided.

My first pick was Robinson Therizie for his stellar defensive performance and my second selection was [Corey Grant] for his outstanding rushing display, but no one picked these two.

So, the 1^st week’s honor goes to Tre Mason for his 100 yard kick-off return and his steady rushing ability. I discounted his fumble as he was giving extra effort to try to pick up some YAC.

If Ricardo Louis, Sammy Coates and Nick Marshall can get on the same page they are going to put some pressure on for MVHB in the coming weeks. Others to watch are Montravious Adams who along with Jonathan Holsey had steady performances last night.

And Sarah, don’t give up on your HB, I read today that he was held out last night with an injury. Both he and Dee Ford should be 100% by the Mississippi State game. I don’t expect either of the to see much action against Arkansas State next week.

It sure is more fun to pick a MVHB after a win rather than a loss."



Saluting Ray for making such an excellent selection.

And he's right. I've sort of forgotten what it feels like to win a football game. Congrats to Ray...who's a first-timer with us in the Challenge. Everyone pick up an extra bit of Maker's Mark at your local ABC store in his honor.

I received several reports from the tailgate on Saturday. I'd say that it was a huge success. Can't wait to be there in 9 days!

Ray supports all of Laurie's glittery endeavors.

WDFJ

Three lovely ladies.

Auburn Sunset

Cheers! Wishing everyone a wonderful Thursday. Two more work days 'til gameday!

I'm Back! - Homeboy Challenge 2013

***Posted even later because I can't seem to get the blog to work correctly.

Long time, no blog. We've had a busy spring and summer down here in Mobile and the blog hasn't gotten much (any) attention. But now we're back with another Homeboy Challendge.

Mom and Dad came down for a visit two weekends ago and we let Robert and Dad draw numbers to determine everyone's place in the draft. Of course my husband drew a not-so-great number for me.

Last Wednesday, we held our draft. One by one, I watched my top players get chosen. Luckily, one of my top picks was still available by the time that draft pick #9 rolled around. (Haley dropped out so we each moved up a spot.)

Ladies and Gentlemen, your picks for Homeboy Challenge 2013:

Bess - Nick Marshall
Ray - Tre Mason
Andy - Carl Lawson
Sarah - Justin Garrett
Emily - Cameron Artis-Payne
Natalie - Joshua Holsey
David - C.J. Uzomah
Michael - Greg Robinson
Melissa - Ricardo Louis
Amy - Quan Bray
Laurie - Jaylon Denson
Julie - Cody Parkey

A little about my pick, Ricardo. Standing at 6'2 and topping the scales at 215 pounds, Ricardo is a sophomore wide receiver who'll be donning the #5 jersey. (Every time I type his name, I type "Richardo" and have to correct it, which is a tad bit annoying) He's from Miami and he's a sociology major so I'm sure he's probably a lot of fun to go out with. His parents' names are Roland and Beatrice which are pretty cool names. Also, he's an Aries, so he's sure to be a go-getter. That's about everything I know for now.

I should also add that for the first time in several years, we decided to forego season tickets. Being married to a non-Auburn fan, it was getting to be too much driving seven plus hours per weekend by myself. Plus, I felt like I "had" to attend each and every game because we (my parents) bought season tickets. Without getting into too much detail, we've had a really long, trying summer and I need a little bit of a break. I've decided to take a more laid back approach this year and attend a few games instead of all eight home games. Thus, these first two weeks the only TG shots you'll see have been stolen from other members of the WDFJ.

LK Sign - Week One

I'll be back with another post to reveal the HC Winner from Week One, as well as a recap of our weekend at the Island. Here's hoping that I can somehow get the editing function to operate between now and then.

National Fax Your LOI Day

Today's sort of like Christmas for grown men (and some women) across the country. Who's ready to have their day made or destroyed based upon the actions of  a bunch of high school seniors they've never met and probably never will?

I kid. I love signing day as much as the next football fan. It's one of the few days a year that my Rivals subscription is actually worth $10. Biggest winner of the day so far? That one goes to the Ole Miss fan base, my husband included. What a haul they've had! The Ole Miss program is on the rise and I see good things coming their way. Biggest loser? Tie between the University of Tennessee and Reuben Foster. Vonn Bell really stuck it to Tennessee when he chose Ohio State. As for Foster, nothing says dedication like a commitment to Alabama. No wait, a commitment (and matching tattoo) to Auburn. Scratch that, a commitment to Alabama. Now you're just stuck with a permanent reminder of your new sworn enemy. Think before you ink.

As for Auburn, we've had a pretty solid day, all things considered. After all the coaching shake-ups, I had some doubts. We managed to pull in some pretty big defensive recruits in Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams. The Elijah Daniel and Deon Mix flips also made headlines. I'd hoped that we'd manage to bring in MacKenzie Alexander for some much-needed help in our secondary but no such luck.

Will any of these kids ever actually play? Will they be successful? Will they make headlines for their good deeds and academic accomplishments or arrests and suspensions? Only time will tell!

2013, One Month Late.

Written at the beginning of the month...

As per usual, I was at home in bed this year as the clock struck twelve. We did have a fun dinner out, though! Robert and I met our friends Susan, Handley, Mac, Kemp and Will at Felix's and enjoyed delicious drinks and dinner and great company. We managed to make it to bed just before midnight.

This year, I decided not to make any resolutions, but to take a different approach. There are several things that I want to be more mindful of in 2013:

Reading my Bible
Eating "cleanly"
Attending Church
Exercising "for fun", not because I feel like I NEED to
Becoming more flexible with my schedule/life

Anyone who knows me can probably attest to the fact that I love schedules, lists, organizing and planning ahead. I hope that this year I can relax a little more and try to "go with the flow". I feel like sometimes I miss out on today's blessings because I'm so focused on what I need to be getting done for tomorrow. Thus, no strict resolutions for 2013.

One month in update...I'm three weeks into Beth Moore's James study and am beginning to really look forward to the time that I devote to the study each day. I'm also three weeks into training for a race at the end of March. I've got a training plan that I am loosely following, but thinking of adding in an additional rest day (switching from 1 to 2 rest days) to allow myself a little more time to relax. Luckily, the month of January was a pretty restful one with Robert spending lots of time in the woods, so it allowed for a little more flexibility with my schedule. It did not, however, positively influence my goal of attending church on a regular basis. Must work on this. Now it's February and we're in the throws of Mardi Gras which has a tendency to shake things up a bit. We've also got Valentine's Day and Robert's 30th birthday on the horizon. Lots of fun times ahead!

Hope that your New Year's goals/resolutions are still sticking!

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

On December 28th, I hit the big 3-0. For some reason, it didn't seem like a big deal to me. Sure, it means that I now have a "3" at the beginning of my age, rather than a "2", but other than that, not much seems to have changed. I still sometimes feel like a grown up, and sometimes like someone who's trying to "grow up". As much as I enjoyed my twenties, I think that my thirties are going to be even better.

We had a few birthday celebrations over the course of a month. Just before my actual birthday, Robert and I went to dinner at Legacy Bar and Grill with our good friends Bailey and Amanda. Amanda turned 30 a few days after me and they were headed out of town to celebrate. We had a delicious meal and are so, so excited that they are Amanda is going to be having a baby in July! What fun news!

The morning of my actual birthday, Robert had the day off work but he sweetly got up when I did and helped me make breakfast. Then, we opened some gifts. Layla and Robert gave me a fantastic new purse! That night, we enjoyed drinks and dinner with friends at the Bike Shop.

Great job, Layla!

The weekend of the 19th, we traveled to Birmingham for a joint birthday celebration with my family. My cousin Emily turned 30 on the 25th of January and Robert turns 30 on the 21st of February so we met in the middle. We had dinner with my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts and cousins at Hot & Hot Fish Club, one of our favorite restaurants. We also ate at Hot & Hot the night of our engagement so it will always be a special place to me! As always, the company and food could not have been better. I am so thankful for my wonderful family, especially my parents, who went out of their way to make my 30th so memorable.

Here's to thirty more years of wonderful!

The Peppermint Pig

Trying to catch back up on posts...internet issues have stalled me.

A few years ago, we began a peppermint pig tradition at my grandparents' house for Christmas. I believe that mom and I ran across the pig in a Hearth Song catalog and thought it might be fun to try. Now it's turned into one of my very favorite parts of Christmas!

The pigs are made by a company called Saratoga Sweets. There's a story that accompanies the pigs, which tells us of how the peppermint pig came to serve as a symobol of good health, happiness and prosperity. According to tradition, after the holiday dinner, the pig is placed within the enclosed bag. The pig is then passed around those gathered, each in turn giving the pouch a firm tap and sharing a tale of the past year's good fortune.

Each year, after we finish unwrapping gifts, we read the Christmas story. Then, in descending age order, we each get a turn to share with the family something or things for which we are thankful. Since we started the tradition, we've been thankful for anniversaries, new grandchildren, engagements, new homes, new jobs, surgeries and chemotherapy gone well, graduations and getting into new schools, and even a national championship. There is always laughter and there are always tears.

After everyone has had their turn, the pouch is opened and each member of the family eats the peppermint, guaranteed to bring you good luck throughout the next year. If you're looking to add a new tradition to your holiday festivities, this one's pretty awesome!

Christmas Recap, Part Two

*For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me add pictures. Very frustrating!

Christmas morning, we woke up bright and early to open gifts from the family. We got some amazing gifts! I have to say that my favorite gift was the Cook's Journal that my mom gave to Sarah, Natalie and I. She took the time to write down many of our family recipes inside each journal. It's a gift I know that we'll all treasure for years to come!

Mom also gave us baskets of handmade goods; bath salts, laundry detergent, seasoning salts, cinnamon butter and apple butter. So fun! I can't lie...I also love the Tory Burch shoes a heck of a lot. Unfortunately, they were a half-size too small so I'll get the correct size in a few weeks. After we opened our gifts, we cooked a traditional breakfast together: biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, eggs and fruit. Absolutely worth every calorie.

After breakfast, we showered and loaded up for the trip to Trussville. Since Robert, Layla and I were heading to Mobile from Trussville, our car was completely packed. We even had to stick some things in the back of the truck and wrap them in garbage bags.

We made it safely to my Grandparents' house and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas lunch and exchanged gifts. We draw names in the fall and it's always fun to figure out who had whose name. Emily had my name and I was the recipient of a beautiful Kate Spade bracelet, comfy pj's and the world's largest gummy bear. He weighed in at five pounds.

It was while we were finishing opening gifts that we realized the weather was going to be less than ideal for our trip home. We quickly read the Christmas story, broke the peppermint pig (more on that later) and hit the road.

As soon as we got in the car, Robert and I both discovered that we had multiple missed calls and text messages from friends asking if we were okay. We had no idea what was going on. I quickly consulted Facebook and discovered that there had been a tornado that touched down in Midtown Mobile, the area where we live. We let everyone know that we were okay and called a neighbor to check on our house. Our neighbor told us that our street appeared to have fared well. We were very thankful but still nervous for the drive!

From Birmingham to Evergreen, the drive was rainy but okay. Once we hit Evergreen, things took a turn for the worse. To say that the weather was horrible would be putting it lightly. I've never been that scared in my life. Robert was trying to keep the car on the road and I was simultaneously praying and crying. We had lots of people texting and telling us to get off the road but honestly we were scared to try to get off of the interstate.

Around Atmore, the weather let up. I told Robert that we needed to get off and look at the radar. We knew that if we needed to, we could always stay at the Wind Creek Casino ($$$) for the night. We pulled into a rickety gas station and both went in to use the restroom. When we got back in the car, we pulled up the radar and discovered that we were right in the middle of the pink tornado box thing. Robert declared that we weren't staying at the gas station and floored it across the street to a hotel. He pulled up under the awning, told me to jump out and I ran inside. He parked the car and told Layla that we loved her. I went inside to find several other people who had also sought shelter at the hotel. Luckily, we were able to wait out the storm there and get back on the road.

A few miles down the interstate, we came across pine trees that had fallen across the interstate and cars that had barrel rolled over the trees. We actually had to drive on the side of the interstate to pass through. I am so thankful that we stopped when we did!

We made it back to Mobile safely. We didn't have power but we didn't have storm damage. We lit candles, unloaded what we could from the car and crashed. Some of our friends did have damage to their homes, but we are so grateful and blessed that no one was severely hurt or killed in the storm! Seriously, two tornadoes in a week!

Birthday/New Year post to come!

Christmas Recap, Part One

Clearly, things have been busy and I haven't managed to finish a post in quite some time. Hopefully, this week I can catch up!

Card handmade by Sarah. Love!

Thanksgiving to Christmas is always a busy time of the year for us. This year was no exception. Around the second week in December, Robert left for New Orleans for a week and then traveled to Boston the following week which added a bit of extra stress since Layla and I were on our own. Luckily, we got most of our Christmas shopping done early so we spend a good bit of time wrapping presents and decorating the house. And of course, we also spent a lot of time in the kitchen, baking cookies and candy for co-workers, friends, family and neighbors.

Almond Cream Cheese Cookies, Salted Dark Chocolate Peanut Brittle,
Classic Sugar Cookies, Mint Chocolate Cloud Cookies 

We celebrated Christmas with Robert's parents two Sundays before Christmas. This worked out well with all of our schedules as opposed to trying to "have Christmas" on a weeknight. I am so excited about our big gift from them, a new buffet. I love to entertain and we're working on getting the house furnished so that we can have a proper dinner party. The buffet is beautiful and looks great in our dining room!

On the 23rd, we made the trip up to Decatur. That night, we cooked steaks, made a grocery store run, and hung out with my family. I am so appreciative of the time we get to spend with my parents and two sisters, as they seem to be few and far between as we get older.

Monday, we hosted my Dad's family for Christmas Eve. All the little kids get gifts and the adults play dirty Santa. We walked away with a wine fridge and some Kate Spade earrings. Not too shabby! And yes, I brought the earrings as my gift so I was thrilled to take them home! After the festivities ended, Nat and I went with Dad to take my grandmother back to the nursing home. While we were there, Dad and Nana had a discussion about how to make homemade biscuits that was just priceless. Maybe I'm overly sentimental, but as I get older I'm realizing how important it is to treasure these little moments.

I'll be back with a post on Christmas day, goodness what a long day!