seven seven OH seven

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary. I started to mix it in with the 4th of July post, but thought it needed one all by itself.

What a lovely day it was. Jack worked tirelessly writing and studying for his sermon. He worked without ceasing to bring home the bacon for our little family. I slaved over the yard, pulling weeds, spreading some new mulch. I sweated as I cleaned up the garage and pruned the holly bush. Yes, it was a lovely day indeed.

We even got the hole in our ceiling fixed.

It was from water damage from all the rain. But now the roof is fixed and the ceiling, so I look forward to the next rainy day.

Anyway, after all the home improvements and hard labor, we went down to the Old City to Pasta Trio. Have you ever been there? It was so weird, fun, and interesting. I've never been to a place where we got there before the chef. We arrived at 6:30; he arrived at 6:45. We wanted to eat then because we were going to try to make an 8:20 movie. Not happening. The chef was also our server. He had trained at Johnson and Wales, so at least we had that going for us. He said he uses all fresh ingredients, blah, blah. Some other people (servers, hostesses?) came in around 7 carrying boxes of groceries.... I had just ordered scallops thinking "oh, maybe he got them from the Shrimp Dock or something." Nope, I saw frozen scallops in the groceries. Sigh. Let's just say we got there at 6:30 and didn't eat until 8. It was fun though, we weren't mad. Just hungry.

This is Jack waiting. And waiting. And waiting.


I must say, though, as bizarre as the experience was, the food was really, really good.

The frozen scallops:
I played with this on iPhoto, so please forgive the funky-ness.

We left Bizarro World and drove around Old North and Forth and Gill. It was lovely. We stopped by to see Patrick and Caroline for a few minutes at their Old North house.

It was a really great 2nd anniversary. I'm excited to see where we will be in our lives on July 7, 2010. God has been so faithful and so good!

Happy 4th

This was at our 4th of July get together with the King family. Good times were had by all, like Camille.

This is Ellen, thinking of what she should do next.


And the four little girls in their sweet dresses. I love this photo and the way iPhoto enhanced it!

Day #2

Hey, hey, look at me posting two days in a row. I'm sumthin'.

Check Pioneer Woman for today. Especially if you are a girl. Or woman. And if you have a daughter. Or are a mother. Symbiosis. Something men can't understand about their wives relationships with their mothers. They don't need to understand, though. It's a special, secret sort of thing women have. I remember when I was a freshmen in college EVERY female I knew had daily phone calls with their mother. The first time my mom came to visit, the girls in my dorm were jealous. One girl stomped out and said, "That's it. I need to talk to my mom!" Some days now, two years into marriage, if I haven't talked to my mom I feel like I've gone most of the day without brushing my teeth. I could talk to her for thirty seconds and feel better. Just to touch base. Just checking in. Just brushing my teeth.

I spent some time at the pool today and it was perfect. I am reading Harry Potter and today was one of those days that I was like "this is what this summer is for... this is special, I'm not going to get used to this because I'm not going to have it probably ever again." And I didn't feel guilty and I kept reading.

I am making Chess Bars and brownies for the weekend. They are smelling pretty darn heavenly right now.

I wish NPR had a TV station because that is the kind of news I want to hear about! People, interesting stories about a whole gamut of things, and world news.

That is all.

Please Pass the Ketchup

This post really isn't about ketchup so much as it is about catching up from the past month. I have such high hopes of posting every day but then life happens and I forget. Or I spend blog time reading Pioneer Woman or My Charming Kids. If you need other blogs to read besides this one, please spend your time on those. They are great!

Anyway, lots going on on Red Bay Way.

• I got a Mac. My amazingly thoughtful and resourceful husband got me a Mac. And a free iPod Touch came with it. Amen.

• I turned 27.
  

• I've been cooking a lot lately. Jack planted an herb garden and we're waiting for the tomatoes and peppers to come in. I've been rockin' out the homemade popcorn, salsa and granola. If Jack didn't require meat, I could live on those three things.

• I've been saving my favorite part for last: Bo and Laura got married!!!

Jack at the rehearsal dinner.


Watching the slideshow of the kids (B&L).

Cutting the cake. The gorgeous, delicious cake.

Sorry this picture is giant. I stole it from Facebook. But it is mom and me. If you were wondering.

Another one stolen from FB. It's Bo and all the boys. He had great groomsmen.


Somehow we always wind up together. My lil family.


This is one of my favorites because it is the sweetest picture of Laura and you notice that somehow Bo ended up with a mustache on. Hilarious.

That has to be all for now because I hate blogger. I think it was invented by Voldemort. Yes, that is a reference to my current reading selection:

It is an amazing summer so far. I'm "off" until school starts, both for subbing and grad school. It's such a gift and blessing that I am able to have this time to do so many things (or not) before our life really changes with my school. That's why I am cooking, painting, and reading Harry Potter. Oh, one last thing before I die a slow death from uploading photos on Blogger.

This is one of my newest projects:

Before

After

Isn't it amazing what a little fabric can do? The idea came from here. It was so easy and fun, I can't believe I had gone so long without any window treatments. Next up is the kitchen window!

Thanks Cousin Jodie for the majority of the wedding pictures :)

Fix It

Ok, I was so excited to figure out how to post a link to the video clip, but I guess it is too big for the space. Bummer. I'll leave it anyway. If you have any advice, pray tell. Please and thank you!

Also, we made the plunge and switched from Comcast to Direct TV. So far so good and we are saving a LOT of moolah.

Yesterday I was subbing in the freshman English class. These kids are so immature and just have a long way to go. I've been in their classes a lot, so they are getting to know me better. I called roll, and then went over the instructions for the class. I found myself saying, "What does QUIETLY mean?" We came to the conclusion that it means "minimal whispering." They were going to be doing some group work, so minimal whispering was a big deal. At one point, it got really, really quiet. One boy immediately said, "I'm sorry." I said, "For what?" He said, "Were we being too loud and you told us to be quiet?" I laughed and said, "No, you are just being angels and working hard." And then it was over when some one said, "Mwahaha, Angels and Demons! Mwahaha!"

There are so many funny stories, most of which I can't repeat and most of which I shouldn't laugh about. I don't laugh at the time, but later I do. Teenagers are just fascinating; they're not even human, it's so weird.

Happy Birthday Cousin Jill!!

I love you! Will you tell me an Emmy Claire story?

Little Hands

We never watch Saturday Night Live... this past week we were out late and I started watching it to wind down. I was really excited when I saw Will Ferrell was the host. I laughed so hard at this clip that I almost fell off the couch and the tears mixed with my moisturizer.



I don't know why it struck me so hard, but I hope it makes your night like it did mine.

Good news

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

Good news came today... I am officially accepted to Richmont Graduate University to begin my MA in Professional Counseling. The letter said I am to be "congratulated on my academic achievements and excellent recommendations." (that's probably a form letter, but it made me feel good anyway!) So, that is a major relief to know that I am going for sure in August. Now, we pray for scholarships!