The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is the time that I look forward to every year.

The National Peanut Festival.

And it was just as glorious as usual.

Ben's mom, Ms. Brenda, had never been to the Peanut Festival before, so she joined us on Saturday for our favorite day of the year! She was shocked that there were free peanuts everywhere!

We taught her that the first stop is always the line to the Corndog Man. Those are the most delicious corn dogs in the whole entire world. They hand dip them in their sweet and buttery batter right there in their little trailer. Usually the line for corn dogs is longer than the lines for rides on the midway.

After corn dogs, Ben and I got kettle corn and Mom and Ms. Brenda got roasted ear of corn. This is what we eat when we walk through the exhibits. We always make a stop at the tractors so Ben can dream about our little farm in the country...or at least a yard big enough to use a riding lawnmower.

Then we headed down the midway. It isn't so much fun to watch the rides when you're not planning to ride any...I think my OB would discourage riding the Himalaya at 5 months pregnant.

I could ride the big ferris wheel though! We always ride this ride. Ben is slightly scared of heights, so it's not his favorite, but I love to go all the way to the top where you can see the whole fair down below!

When we got off the ferris wheel, we found the National Peanut Festival queens! This was a treat for two reasons:

1. Over my entire life, I can never remember actually running into the queens!

2. Little Miss NPF was our Little Miss Houston County! It's fun to say you know Little Miss Peanut! She is absolutely precious, and so is her family. We are proud of Jules!

And of course, we always end our fair day by getting a funnel cake. All that fried dough and powdered sugar...YUM!

I love the Peanut Festival and I'm sad that I only get to go once a year now. When I was little, I was there 4 or 5 times each year.

Of course that was back when Mom paid for me to go, I lived there, and I had 4 or 5 different groups of friends I would go with. I always went once with Jayla, once or twice with school friends, and once or twice with church friends, and with whoever else wanted to go!

It's a big social event.

But it's so much fun. I can't wait to take Brooke Allen next year!

Welcome to Atlanta

Last Friday afternoon, I took a partial day at work so Mom and I could go to Atlanta for our annual Mom-Daughter time.

We went here...

...to see this...

...which was unbelievably amazing.

Afterwards, we had dessert here, where Mom left her souvenir program book underneath the seat and we're positive somebody kept it.

Then, on Saturday, we went here. I bought a frying pan and cinnamon rolls, and found the bookcase for Baby P's nursery, that Ben and I will go back and get some other Saturday. Big box.

Then we went here, to Atlantic Station. We did some fun shopping and saw the new Sarah Jessica Parker movie...

...and ate at Rosa Mexicano, which has the best guacamole in the world. Made tableside. And I don't even like guacamole.
On Sunday, we headed back to Birmingham. We stopped at The Shops of Grand River in Leeds (shameless plug: my company owns this) to look for Baby P some things...
to which she/he got some simple white onesies, some gender neutral sleepers, and a sweet little t-shirt that says "I love my daddy." Don't worry, it can work for a boy or a girl!

Mom and I had a wonderful time in Atlanta! We can't wait til next year when we will have a new little traveler with us!

Information Overload

Good gracious, time has flown by since my last post.

I will give you a run down from where I left off and then I PROMISE, I will never wait this long to post again. I have no dates because I can't remember them, but I'm pretty sure this is in chronological order. Logical order, at best.

Warning: Picture and information overload.

1. We threw my sweet friend, Mandi, a fun bridal luncheon at Calvary's parlor. Mandi loves bright colors, so the theme was orange, pink, and lime green. Yummy food and sweet, Godly, encouraging women, celebrating the marriage of Mandi and Mark.

2. We headed to Destin for Mandi's Bachelorette party! I love girl time!

Ben also went on the Mark's Bachelor party, but there are no pictures of that because...well...they're guys.

3. We had a blast of a weekend for Mark and Mandi's wedding! These are some of my bestest friends in the whole wide world! YAY Mandi and Mark!

4. Charlotte got big.

5. After the tragic tornadoes of April 27th, which PGFWABF, we were not affected at our house, we bought tickets to Bama Rising and watched some amazing country acts - David Nail being my personal favorite!

No, I will not put my pictures of the actual concert on there. My camera SUCKS, and we were behind a speaker set that ruined all my pictures.

6. We spent a week in DC over the Independence Day holiday with these wonderful people.

7. Found out we're pregnant.

8. Ben started Birmingham Police Academy.

9. Ben's cousin Andrew got married in Starkville.

10. We started leaving Charlotte out of her crate while we're at work.

That would be a paycheck and a power bill. She's also found a Publix bag, a cheeseburger, a Taco Bell bag, and a bag of barbecue chips.
11. Our friend, Blake, got married outside of Atlanta, so we spent the weekend with some friends and at the Aquarium on Sunday.
12. We had our THIRD anniversary! We spent the night at the Wynfrey last weekend and had a spa day, and then went to dinner at Brio (our FAVORITE) on our actual anniversary.
Wait...hold the phone...did you say pregnant?

I sure did.

We are PREGNANT!!!!!!

Hehe...stay tuned...

Old Blue Chair

I love my job.

I really do.

We have a lot of fun here and it's a super laid back office.

I get to keep Facebook/Blogger/Yahoo/Gmail open on my desktop all day long.

I'm on my lunchbreak - sitting at my desk eating hummus and chips and writing you this blog post.

But I really want to be here. Feel me?

It has been so gloomy and rainy and dark in Birmingham lately. I just want to escape to sand, sunshine, an icy beverage, and my husband in nothing but swim trunks.

Maybe we could break ourselves away from the shore to the quaint shops of this coastal town.

Someone would be playing steel drums in the background.

We would enjoy some spicy island food and make friends with the bartender who is American, but chose to live in this tropical locale - because he CAN.

We would mosey back to our turquoise blue Adirondack beach chairs. Ben would lay his down flat and make a pillow out of his tshirt so he could lay on his face. I would be armed with SPF 3249723847287, a good book, and an umbrella, digging my toes deep into the sand until I could feel coolness.

A cabana boy would come by and ask to refill my daiquiri...several times...

When the sun goes down, Ben and I would leave the beach for our private cabin and we would lay down together in the white hammock amid the green landscape, and we would drift asleep there, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

I can taste the sea salt now.

RANDOM FUN FACT: I have new followers! YAY! If you are reading this blog, click the "follow" button. It's not hard.

Welcome to Atlanta

So much to fit in just one post!

I may just break it into two.

Put your reading shoes on!

First things first, Monday night was our interview with the ABI (Alabama Bureau of Investigations) agent for the State Troopers!

It was a BREEZE.

He sat in the chair and told us about the Academy and answered all the questions we had.

He also said that Ben has a "squeaky clean" background and is on track to start the Academy in June!

I have NEVER been more proud of my husband as I was that night. After the ABI Agent left, I practically jumped into Ben's arms and cried like a baby. I am just so proud that he is seen by someone else besides me to be an outstanding man!

Sad day though, because he told us that we wouldn't find out if the Troopers are moving us until only a few weeks before he FINISHES the Academy, not before he goes. So, the waiting game continues.

After the interview, we hopped in the car and headed to Atlanta for our mini-vacay!

As we pulled into Atlanta, my mother called to tell me a friend of mine from some time ago was killed in a car wreck with her 15-month old son. A few tears spilled out for her husband. More on that in another blog post.

We checked into the Loews late Monday night and had a wonderful evening, minus the neighbors that came in the room next to us banging around at 2:30am.

The next morning, we woke up to no hot water in the room and had to switch rooms to take showers. No biggie.

Then we headed to Johnny Rockets for lunch!

YUM!

I love the nostalgia of Johnny Rockets. It just makes me feel like I've stepped back in time.

After a yummy lunch and Ben was armed with a milkshake, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium! I've already been here once, so I won't bore you with pictures of fish.

But it was so fun and I am always reminded of how big our God is while looking at these HUGE and tiny fish. Not a single one the same.

And then the chick that works at the Aquarium asked if I knew what I was taking a picture of as I snapped away at the catfish.

I'm from Alabama. I know what a catfish is.

After we finished up at the Aquarium, we took a quick cookie break in the park.

Then we changed clothes, figured out we'd left Ben's tennis shoes, my motorcycle boots, and Ben's Northface in the hotel, called the hotel and they said they had not found them (they since have), and headed to the LAKERS v. HAWKS GAME!!!!!!

The Lakers are Ben's all time favorite team and Kobe Bryant is his all time favorite player. I rule as a wife and bought him these tickets for Christmas!

We were in the presence of greatness last night as we breathed the same air as these champions. Kobe Bryant. Andrew Bynum. Pau Gasol. Ron Artest. Phil Jackson.

JULIUS FREAKING ERVING was sitting courtside.

A dream come true. My husband was on cloud nine.

Gasol and Bynum both double-doubled.

Kobe Bryant broke Moses Malone's record and is now listed as 6th on the all time scoring chart! We got to watch that!

On top of that, the Lakers WON!!!!! It was a great game and we were exhausted afterwards.

Then, we yelled at Wells Farchovia on the phone for about 2 hours because they told us we didn't have any money in our account when we did and we were stuck in downtown Atlanta with our car in a parking garage.

Thankfully, the Lord sent us an angel who gave us $10 to get out of the parking garage.

We finally got home last night around 1:00. The worst/best mini-vacay of my life!

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: Apparently, there are no CVS/Walgreens type quick stores in downtown Atlanta.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up again with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

1. Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Acne Scrub

I usually wash my face with bar soap (GASP!), but as part of my Giselle diet, I'm trying to be healthier all over, including my face. This smells sooooo good and leaves my face smooth with a pretty glow! Not sure if it helps with the acne so much yet...I've only used it 3 times!

2. National Signing Day!

RRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL TIDE! ESPN rates our recruiting class #2! Take that!

3. Pretty Little Liars

LOVE THIS SHOW. I know it's just as bad for my morality as Gossip Girl, but I just can't help it. So addictive.

4. Seeing this in a month

I bought Lakers tickets for Ben for Christmas. We're headed to Atlanta March 8th to watch Kobe whoop it up on the Hawks!

(What I'm NOT So Loving Wednesday - The Lakers haven't been playing too hot lately...They'd better freaking win against the Hawks, or I will march my little butt down to the court and yell at Kobe myself instead of Phil Jackson. Maybe I won't. I'd probably get arrested.)

5. Super Bowl Sunday!

We're watching the game with a few people at our house Sunday night. Although we're Saints fans, we'll be pulling for the Steelers!

That's what I'm loving today!

Oh, and of course, I'm loving this guy and this girl!

Yes, I know the picture is old (it was the first day we got Charlotte and she was only 10 pounds and 2 months old), but whose heart isn't fuzzy from this?

LOVE IT.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: John Wayne still holds the record for the most leading roles in movies. 142 to be exact. Thank you, Pawn Stars, for this useful information.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

WHAT?

No song title?

Because today's post is different!

I'm linking up to Jamie's "What I'm Loving Wednesday" over at This Kind of Love, a new blog I'm following!

Here are the things I'm loving this week!

1. My sweet, sweet puppy.

She's figured out that Dad (Ben) is the one she plays with and I'm the one she snuggles with. There is nothing better than that sweet puppy looking at me in the morning right after I wake up. She army crawls up by me and we spend a few minutes just loving on each other before I have to drag myself out of bed.

2. Scattegories - Cattegories

If you haven't played this version of Scattegories, you've got to. SOOOOOOO much fun and a little different from regular Scattegories. Ben and I find ourselves playing when we're bored, just the two of us!

3. Ben passed the polygraph test portion of the Trooper process! YAY!!!!! I didn't marry a liar!

4. THESE.

They will be arriving sometime next week, via ideeli.com. I paid $29 for these babies! WHOO HOO!!!!! Thank you, Kenneth Cole.

5. A quick trip to Dothan tomorrow night for a doctor's visit Friday morning. Conestoga and American Idol with Mom!

6. The new season of American Idol.

These judges are fantastic. Just when I thought Idol was on it's way out, they've revamped themselves and it's better than ever! Can't wait to see how this season plays out!

7. A 60 degree forecast for Saturday! SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!

8. As always, my sweet husband!

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: The news that we're watching said that 14% of women would consider choosing their dog over their significant other if forced to choose. I mean, I love Charlotte, but I sure do love my man!

A Long December

Christmas has come and gone.

Sigh.

But it was beautiful! Santa brought me wonderful things!

One was SNOW!!!!!! It has never in my lifetime snowed on Christmas Day and it did this year. It didn't stick, but it sure was pretty falling! Apparently, it stuck the next day, but we were in Jackson when that happened. Mom took pictures.

One was a fun-filled visit from my brother and his awesome girlfriend, Dervon. We were able to do so many fun things besides just hang out and open gifts. We went on a tour of Sloss Furnace, then up to Vulcan, and then to Sips-N-Strokes...all in one day! So fun!

Alas, they have flown back to DC. I am still in Birmingham.

Santa also brought me a Cricut! I am BEYOND ecstatic! Mom and I played with it last night. I cannot wait to cut out all the little things and learn all the tricks!

Ben gave me a beautiful purple sweater for Christmas...perfect to go with his Christmas present from me...LAKERS TICKETS!!!!!!!!! We are going to see the Lakers play the Hawks in March! I'm a genius. Best wife ever.

I also got a North Face rain jacket, GLEE Season 1, CDs, a pretty scarf, new sweaters, and lots more! I am blessed.

Ben's family banded together to give him enough money and gift cards to buy a new TV for the living room since I refused to contribute because the one we had was just fine. We now have a beautiful new 42" TV in the living room. And the 32" that was in the living room is now in our bedroom making it a movie theatre. Geez.

2011 is in two days. TWO DAYS!!!!! I can't believe it!

We are ringing in the New Year with friends in one of our favorite cities, New Orleans! It should be PACKED because it's New Year's (of course) and the Sugar Bowl is this weekend! I will not be letting go of Ben's hand.

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

Watching Alabama beat Michigan State on New Year's Day in the Capitol One Bowl.

Watching Auburn beat Oregon in the National Championship.

Watching Cam Newton draft 1st round in the NFL, leaving Auburn in his dust. (HA!)

Building my career.

Helping my husband build his career as he returns to school.

Having my husband's dreams (hopefully) come true in June.

Lakers v. Hawks in March.

New beginnings, wherever the Department of Public Safety puts us.

A return to DC in June to visit my brother.

Our third wedding anniversary on August 30th.

Turning 25 in October.

Another holiday season and the adjustments we'll have to make because of Ben's new job.

Starting to try to start a family. (Redundant, no?)

Let's not forget, though, that 2010 was a great year.

My favorite things about 2010:

GLEE!!!! This season was a fun theme year. The Britney episode was amazing.

Charlotte. She is the world's greatest dog. I don't know what I did before her.

Our summer trip to New Orleans.

My trip with Mom to Atlanta.

One of the best seasons of Top Chef ever.

Having A Pig and A Paintbrush boom.

My favorite trends/beauty products of 2010 that I hope continue into 2011 because I've invested too much money into them (I've included links):

Ulta Professionals Nail Polish - I bite my nails unless they are painted and this is the best, chip free polish I've ever found! Good Clean Fawn and Scarlet Starlet are my faves.

Maybelline Falsies mascara - Makes my lashes so long! Waterproof is WATERPROOF.

My Toms - Buy one pair, and Toms gives a pair to a child in need in a 3rd world country.

Shoedazzle - Seriously.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion - If a zit starts to come up, dab a little on this at night, wash it off in the morning, and I swear it's gone. It's a little pricey, but worth it.

Platform stillettos like these - LOVE THEM. Can't get enough of them. Husband is thinking of building shelves in the closet for them.

Motocross boots - Want some. Can't afford them.

Long sweater cardigans - These are adorable and so easy to wear.

So, as 2010 comes to a close, I leave you with a great song. The Counting Crows are one of my favorite bands and this song plays continuously in my head the last week of December every year. Enjoy the brilliance that is Adam Duritz.

Random Trivia Fact: BABY NAMES ARE IN!!!!

Worst Celebrity Baby Name of 2010 - Buddy Bear Maurice (Chef Jamie Oliver)

Best Celebrity Baby Name of 2010 - Grace Margaret (Mark Wahlberg)