Garage Sale

We've decided to have a Garage Sale this weekend. We have a ton of STUFF we need to purge to make room for NEW stuff!! Meaning I need a new fall wardrobe and I'm secretly hoping EJ will finally decide to depart ways with some of his "college era" stuff. We originally planned to hold the garage sale next weekend but my mom convinced me that we'd make more money if we held it on the first Saturday of the month. Mom's always right so we changed our plans!! I put an ad in the local paper yesterday so hopefully it will attract a few bargain shoppers. One of our neighbors held one last weekend and the street was lined with cars!! Do any of you guys have any Garage Sale Tips??

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Little Man!!

Little Man is the son of my best friend AlyKat. He's an amazing kid with an amazing mom. These photos were taken during our yearly vacation on Edisto Island.

I have gas

I have to admit, since granting Riley access to post here, I've gotten a little lazy on keeping up. I'm thrilled to have her on here sharing our experiences. As you can see by the makeover, she does have a habit of cleaning up after me and really making everything around me look a little better. For starters, I no longer wear blue socks with black pants. Everything is better with her added touch. When she returns home from a work trip, as she did late last week, the pillows feel just a little bit softer, the sun and moon shine a little brighter, and desert tastes a little bit sweeter. Unfortunately, this week she came home to the gas crisis of the southeast. I blame the media almost as much as I "blame" Hurricane Ike. For the second time in a month, the media has helped infuse a frenzy on the area sending everyone out to the gas pumps. People were topping off all of their cars with gas cans in tow, stockpiling gas and draining the supply. Folks would spend hours and miles in line at stations that had petro flowing while others scoured the county for a station that had shorter lines if they had gas at all. I could have played the gas card to stay home with Riley Friday but was able to fill up both of our running on fumes vehicles to get us through the binge. Then it was back to normal, as normal as $4 a gallon gas can seem, we dropped in on a birthday party Friday night and had movie night last night. Tonight we watch the Bears and then its back to the grind tomorrow. Riley is back on the road but only for a couple days. I am already craving Wednesday's dinner because I know it will be delicious with her back home.

Headed South

I'm headed South!! I've been residing at the Staybridge Suites in Chantilly, VA on and off for the past 2 months due to a huge hospital opening. The girls at the front desk were a little sad when I told them I'll be leaving for longer than 2-3 days tomorrow. I think these guys have the same idea. There must have been 100 geese walking in a perfect line through the hotel parking lot this afternoon! It was truly amazing!

Leavin' on a jet plane at 9:00 am. Can't wait to see HIM!!

Wedding Memories

what time of year did you get married? Spring - South Carolina's definition of Spring is 80+ degree weather.

Candid shot taken by one of my bridesmaids on the way to the church.

Trying to stay cool in the limo!


what did the groomsmen wear? Traditional black tuxedos with black shirts, black polka dot vests, and black ties.

color of bridesmaid dresses? Black. Each of the girls wore hot pink satin shoes in various styles from Nine West.

how many bridesmaids? 8 beautiful girls!!

are you still friends with all your bridesmaids? Of course -- they're all a part of who I am today. I can't imagine my life without them.

location for reception? A beautiful hall on the campus of Coker College.

band, dj or other? DJ

something unique about your wedding? In lieu of traditional favors we made a donation to our local Humane Society in honor of our wedding guests. Our suprise dance was definately something my traditional southern baptist family wasn't expecting.

where did you go on your honeymoon? Antigua

name one thing looking back you would of changed? As a couple I don't think we would have changed anything. As a bride, I wish I wouldn't have cried like a baby when my dress ripped after the ceremony. My daddy was really upset to see me so upset over something that looking back on it now was not a big deal. It all went by so fast I wish I would have taken more time to take it all in.

One of my favorite photos from our wedding day. We'd just returned

to the bed and breakfast after the reception. The wedding party started

coming in and saw us hanging out on the couch. One of my bridesmaids

snapped this quick shot of us. We weren't ready for the day to be over!

Fingers Crossed

Hoping we'll be one of the "lucky fans" selected in the random drawing to be able to purchase Cubs postseason tickets on Tuesday. Will know for sure on Monday. Fingers crossed!!

Our first BEARS game as Mr. & Mrs. J



Chicago Bears 17 Carolina Panthers 20



When I became Mrs. J I officially became a Chicago Bears fan. You might say I abandoned the Panthers but I was never really a die hard Panthers fan anyway. They haven't really been around that long! Not to mention, where I'm from we watch SEC football on Saturday and NASCAR on Sunday. The NFL wasn't a frequent dinner topic at my house. We had a great time on Sunday tailgating with family and watching the game from our amazing 17th row seats. EJ's mouth scored him a few dirty looks during the game but it only proves what a passionate Bears fan he is (even when they're losing) and I love him for it. As long as he doesn't get this passionate about the Bears...






I'll keep loving him.

Will EJ or the grass ever learn?

If evolution were true, wouldn't grass learn to stop growing? I think the feature on the yard was really overshadowed last week by the snake adventure. So we are back at the grass, which was again cut today, a week later and even longer than it was for last week's cut. I lowered the blade to a 2 for the front yard, a 3 for the back...last week's cut was at 4...and pushed through. Inside, Riley worked her magic at cooking up a storm as I sweat it out in the sun outside. No Hanna for us, a brief passing shower aside last night. Riley does such an amazing job in the kitchen and all around the house, I really am proud to have people over. More than she knows. I think about where I've been, where we've been and I know that we are truly blessed, not a day goes by that I am not thankful for what I have. But like the grass, there are some things I just don't learn. I do make mistakes and I'm lucky sometimes that Riley doesn't make me sleep in the garage. For that, I am also blessed.