Snowmaggedon 2014

We live in the South.  In Alabama.  Snow is like gold around here...at least to kids (and kids at heart!)  Well, this kid at heart is to the point of saying, "I'm ready for SPRING!"  This NEVER happens!  But, we have had so much snow that we have closed the credit union for 2 days (we couldn't make it to work on 2/11, so 3 for us), left early 3 days, and opened late even more.  I don't have any pictures from January 28th.  We were some of the lucky ones and made it home in 3 1/2 hours.  There were a lot of people in Birmingham stranded in their cars, offices, and even stores.  Once we got home, there really wasn't any snow.

February 11th

The girls loved the snow!

 

February 13th - Luckily, Hanceville has a snow plow, so I was able to get to work.  That, and I was determined since I had planned a 50th birthday party for my boss!  The snow was BEAUTIFUL!  But, it had already started to melt as soon as I got out and started making pictures.

 

You can see the spots where the water was dripping from the roof already.

 

Look at those ears!

 

I wouldn't mind it if we had this much snow every year, but I'm done for Winter 2013/2014.  Bring on the sun, shorts and flip-flops! 

 

Sold!

So, we signed the contract on the house, went through the long negotiation process from the home inspection, and closed.  One of our last days at the house:

At this point we were homeless!  Our realtor had said he would have our house sold in 4 weeks....well, it was 5.  And I never dreamed it would be so hard to find a house we liked, in our price range, in Cullman County.  We changed realtors, and the first house the new realtor showed us was this:

It looks kind of plain on the outside (I had actually already seen it on a real estate website), but I was sold when I saw this:

The WALK-IN Pantry off the kitchen!  Heaven!!  I was sold.  It took convincing Patrick a little, but we are so happy to have closed on the house, moved in, and are trying to get settled.  We're having to do a lot of cutting down and burning outside (these people did NOTHING outside), but we're getting there!

FINALLY!!!!!

Now, we just need somewhere to move to!

Thankful.....

Today, I'm thankful to NOT be working in public accounting any more!!!  If I were still in public, I would have been working 60+ hours each week, by now, which included working on Saturdays.  And, that doesn't include the amount of time that I had to spend at night and on the weekends doing tax returns for myself and my family.  Now, I leave work somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30, and I don't have to work on Saturday.  Definitely improved!

 

I'm also thankful for these rascals!

This was from our Christmas card "photo shoot" in 2011.  I love this picture!!!

Projects

Wow....almost a full year since the last post!  Sad!!!  Maybe we can start back and stay on track with posting occasionally.  I've turned into much more of a blog reader than a blogger.  But, if there were no bloggers, then there would be no blogs to read.  So, I'm going to try to do my part to add to the blog world!  Ha!

Since we are going to be putting our house on the market in the next month or two, I've been working on projects around the house to make it look like real adults live here.  Since we've been in the mood to sell the house for around two years, it's been hard to think of sinking money into it to make it look like a home, rather than a house.  I keep putting off buying things we want because "what if it doesn't fit in our next place?"  So, I've been trying to do a little at a time so that it doesn't seem like so much!  Here is what we've done so far:

Ripped out shower with hole (from my heel) and put in a ceramic tile shower.



Before

 Right when I moved in....so nice and clean!

 

After

It looks much better in person...it is so much better than that horrible white insert!

 

New bedding in the master and guest bedrooms.
 

 

New secretary desk for the foyer.

New photo gallery for the wall in the living room...

(I'm kind of proud that I took all of these pictures myself!  Maybe I can make photography my hobby, since Patrick says I don't have one!)

One of my new lanterns in the master bath.

We moved the cabinet from the foyer to the living room.

 

 



We definitely have a long way to go (in my mind), but we have made progress.  We're finally getting out of the college furnishings and making progress towards a home with adults!  If anyone actually reads this and has any decorating tips, they will be welcomed with open arms!  We've still got some landscaping, paint touch-ups, and a few more minor things.

 

The goal is to have it on the market by the end of March, but if anyone knows anyone that needs a house in Pelham, let us know! 

Lent

So, Lent started today with Ash Wednesday. I've been contemplating what I wanted to give up for the next 40 days. What would help me improve my relationship with Jesus? I didn't eat anything sweet today, just I case that was my final decision. I really think that in place of giving up sweets, or in addition to, I'm going to give up more of my time. I'm going to use that time to read devotions, pray, just spend that time building my relationship with God. And as an added bonus, I think I'm going to try to do random things to help people I meet. Maybe not every day, but if a situation presents itself, I want to try to make someone's day better.

I think 2 out of 3 of these are very meaningful. I hope to improve other's lives while I enrich my own. During the Ash Wednesday service tonight, the main takeaway I had was "remember that you may be the only Bible someone reads today.". Definitely makes you think about your persona and how you handle situations.

Happy Lenten Season!

Slight Hiatus...

So....it's been awhile.  Hopefully, I can get this blog back up and going.  Maybe use it to destress, put down ideas, etc.  For my first post back, since Patrick is traveling for work, I decided to try a new recipe from Pinterest (the best site EVER!) 

Source: recipe.com via Alison on Pinterest

Avocado basil pasta...AMAZING! And, it's actually fairly light.  There is some olive oil, and the avocado (which is good fat), and bacon, but there is no cream sauce.  And you can control the amount of the fattening ingredients.  I used bowtie pasta, not wagon wheel.  This recipe would also be really good with grilled chicken on top or on the side.  Definitely worth trying, and a serving is actually a lot of food.  Here's the recipe:

8 oz dried bow tie and/or wagon wheel pasta
2 medium avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 slices bacon, crisp cooked, drained, and crumbled
2/3 C chopped fresh basil
2 T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 C finely shredded Pecorino Romano cheese

Note:  I used fresh grated parmesan cheese because I couldn't find Pecorino Romano.  Make sure to mince your garlic very fine.  Get a chunk of that and it will light you up!  Another thing, if you get the recipe off of http://www.recipe.com/, it will tell you what is on sale.  Of course, none of those stores are in Birmingham!

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the avocados, bacon, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt.  Add the hot pasta and toss to combine.  Transfer to a serving bowl (I didn't) and sprinkle with cheese.

The longest part of this was peeling the avocados because I got the big green smooth kind, and they are harder to peel.  Also, I read a suggestion that it's better to use avocados that are not completely ripe because they will hold up better.  I completely agree.

Buon Appetito!

Addie Turns 1!

Our baby girl is growing up! We don't usually go "all out" for our dogs' birthdays, but, since this is Addie's first, we decided to get her and Peyton some treats. I stopped by a local pet store and purchased a dog cake kit. You combine the mix with water, microwave, and you have a small cake. I did add too much water to the icing mix, so the icing was runny. Just FYI, no matter how thick and globby it looks, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!! Since the girls aren't used to such fine treats, they halved Addie's birthday cake. Oh, and I picked up these cute cookies at the same pet store.

Daddy and the birthday girl!

That's kind of tasty!

And we washed our yummy cake down with a little milk. You can't have cake without it!

Happy Birthday Addie-Lou!

It's been a loooonnnnggg time since January! Why does life have to be so hectic?! I keep hoping life is going to slow down! Well, here's a quick recap of happenings since January....

Easter - Bryleigh's 1st

CU Planning Session - We went to Orange Beach again, and had a great time! We didn't take too many pictures, but we did go deep sea fishing. This trip was the 1st for both Patrick and I. I finally caught a few fish, then put down the rod to watch the dolphins and take some pictures. It was really rough, but neither of us got sick! It definitely was a long day, but a lot of fun!

After the April tornadoes that tore through the state, the group Alabama put together a benefit concert with a large number of singers. The Commodores, Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, and so many more sang all night long! It was a very long night, but SO worth it! I just wish they would've had it on Saturday night. The next day was a little rough at work!

David Nail sang without his band...just him and his guitar....AWESOME!

Kellie Pickler

Dale Earnhardt!!!!

I don't have any pictures of this event, but on 7/12/11 (the day after our anniversary), our nephew Benjamin Lane Cook was born. I didn't bother taking the camera when I went to see him. I was too busy holding him! He was so good, and just wanted to snuggle!

Next up, Bryleigh's 1st birthday. We drove over to Atlanta for the festivities, then stayed and had a late anniversary dinner at Horseradish in Buckhead, went to the World of Coke the next morning, and ate at the Varsity. Horseradish was amazing, but we were a little overdressed! Evidently dressing up in Buckhead is a Hawaiian shirt and shorts! Coke was great, as usual, and the Varsity was really good! Not quite what I remember, but still a good hotdog. Really, how can you dress up a hotdog?

Next up, some summer pics of the girls, and Addie's 1st birthday!!!