The Nelson Chronicles

NEW BLOG!

2010-01-06T02:39:00.003-05:00

In case you don't feel like reading the post below, here's the most important part. :-) New Blog. New Name. New Everything. Apologies for the inconvenience of having to re-link. But I would love it if you did. :-)

http://polkadotpiper.wordpress.com/

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

2010-01-06T02:06:00.002-05:00

Oh hi there! I have been MEGA MIA. I think I'm ready to come out of hiding. I have been in this huge hole ever since our big move. I have no explanation. Ever since we've moved I have been doing a lot of sleeping and not a whole lot else. And by a lot of sleeping, I mean it's a good day if I get up before Oprah. :-/ There was more than 1 night where I never even went to bed. I stayed up until Dane woke up for work. He would leave and I would hit the sack until about 4 in the afternoon. So began an evil cycle. I either need a kid or a job STAT. I have neglected everyone, so no, it's not just you. I have replied to a couple Facebook comments and that's about it. Again, I am aware that that is SO RUDE, and I have no excuse. Maybe I knew I had a lot to say and update and didn't feel up to the task?

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas with family. We are loving our new town. It's quiet. Sunny. Up until this week, nice and warm. (It's 38 degrees right now and these people down here are FREAKING out).

Anyhoo, after 2 full months of being a zombie, I am snapping out of it. After several nights over the last couple of weeks with my new BFF Simply Sleep, I am getting much much better. It's after 2am right now and I need to hit the hay, so let me get to the point.

NEW BLOG! This one was so incredibly boring. So I thought I'd just start from scratch. Clean slate. New name. New everything. The "ufheather" name was getting overused, so I picked a completely random, nothing-to-do-with-me name. Apologies for the 5 minute inconvenience, but I'd love for y'all to link up. I promise to keep in touch and be less boring. :-)

http://polkadotpiper.wordpress.com/

See ya over there! Happy New Year y'all! (And Happy B-day Janna!!!)

Meet Harrison

2009-10-15T10:48:00.003-04:00

Does he not have the greatest hair ever?! Congrats to Beth Anne and Doug...he is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

I love my job

2009-10-09T15:33:00.003-04:00

I'm going to miss my job. Not necessarily my job, but my place of employment. I have said SO MANY TIMES that we could write a book with the amount of hilarious things we hear. When people get to the age where they move into a retirement community, many of them truly don't care what they say. I wish I would have started writing things down from the beginning because I always forget the good ones. Today's gem: Resident asked the Executive Director if he could grow marijuana in his apartment.

Seems Mr. B. has been in a lot of pain lately.

We have a new home!

2009-10-07T15:23:00.004-04:00

Everyone knows by now that we are moving to Orlando. I had all these thoughts in my head that I intended on blogging, but now it's such old news that nobody really will care! To sum it up in one word: Bittersweet. Dane and I will REALLY miss North Carolina. A lot! We have really come to love it here. Bottom line is that we want to start a family asap and want to be close to home when that happens. Orlando isn't exactly as close to home as I was hoping, but we're really excited about it. We will be almost 3 hours from my parents and 5 from Dane's parents. Heck of a lot better than 8-9 hours though! (And did I mention about 30-45 minutes from the beach)? :-)

We went on a house hunting trip down there this past weekend. I was SUPER DUPER stressed on our first day there because we peeped in some windows of houses that we had found (and liked) online. Needless to say they were NOT what I had anticipated seeing. Either the backyard backed up to a busy/noisy street and had a lovely view of several apartment/condo buildings or the living room was so small that our sectional wouldn't have even fit or they were just too outdated. I can handle a little outdated, but not to the extent of some of the places we saw. If we were buying that would have been a completely different story because we could remodel. But we're renting until we decide where it is we belong. Maybe we'll love Orlando and that's where we're meant to be! Time will only tell.

Alright, so about the house...it's not quite as nice as what we are in now, but it's more expensive down there and we have to live off of 1 salary until I find a job. This one was all about location, location, location. It's in Oviedo which borders Orlando to the NE side. Of all the time I have spent down there, I had never been to Oviedo, and I LOVED IT! It was such a homey place. When driving there, literally as soon as you cross over the county line into Oviedo's county there was more green and less concrete. We fell in love with the small town feel and couldn't believe how far removed from "the big city" that it felt. When leaving there (granted it was around 7ish at night, so very little traffic), it took us less than 20 minutes to get to downtown Orlando. It's a 10-15 minute drive to Dane's store. So yes, location, location, location. :-)

So the house: it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a 2 car garage. We're losing a living room (our current house has a living room and a family room), a 1/2 bath, and about 150 square feet. But it has a great split floorplan with a huge open great room. The kitchen and baths are outdated, but I can deal. And there's no fireplace!!! Where am I going to put up my fall and Christmas garland?! What we loved the most was the backyard. It's smaller than the one we have now (which is FINE with me since I do the mowing), but it feels like a little tropical oasis. :-) The back fense is lined with tropical plants and trees and even has a banana tree. Enough, blah, blah, here are some pics...

Reagan Ivey Turner is here!

2009-09-10T14:31:00.002-04:00

Who is Reagan Ivey? Well she is the brand new addition to one of my BFF's family. She is the first for Candice and Joel who are our really really good friends that live in Kentucky. Dane has known Joel since about middle school and the 4 of us were peas in a pod when we all 4 lived in Tallahassee.

Anyhow, Reagan was born this morning weighing in at 6 lbs. 4 oz's and is 20 inches long. Can't wait to meet her. :-)

Some maternity pics

2009-09-08T09:56:00.003-04:00

I have been meaning to post a few pics I took out at my parents' house of my SIL (and fam) the day before she had London. So here ya go... :-)

Maybe this will humor you as it did me

2009-08-31T13:46:00.005-04:00

I logged onto the Tallahassee Democrat's website for the heck of it this morning, and the arrest log link caught my eye. Check out these gems:

Some of us were pretty happy to have our picture taken:

Some of us were downright p.o.'d:

Some of us were a little gassy:

And ole Keith thinks his domestic battery charge is ridiculous!

But nothing could prepare me for these 2: :-)

London & Gainesville

2009-08-26T13:08:00.003-04:00

As y'all know, little Miss London has made her debut. She's sweet and perfect. :-) She definitely has her sister's lips, cheeks, and wacky hairline (no bangs for either of those girls!). Her forehead is completely different than Harmony's as is the shape of her eyes and nose. She also has less hair than Harmony had. So they will resemble each other in some ways for sure. Some day soon I'll post some side-by-side comparison pics. Oh, and my camera...wow! I. Love. It. Before I headed down there I went and splurged on the lens that I knew would take awesome portrait shots. It did not disappoint. And I think I just cost my dad some big bucks because mom is probably going to want one for Christmas. Sorry Dad! :-)

Over the past few months I've started designing some baby invites. I've done some birthday invites for friends over the past couple years and loved doing it. Who knows if I'll actually go through with it, but I'm thinking about getting a little portfolio together of announcements, invites, and Christmas cards and making it a business on-the-side. We shall see. So if any of you (Katie & Hazel excluded...y'all could blow me out of the water ;- ) ) want me to do a birthday invite, birth announcement, or Christmas card, of course I'll do it for free. :-) Here are a couple I did for London before she was ever born. They ended up going with the top one, and printed out it is absolutely adorable. :-)

About Gainesville- I had my interview down there and it went really good! But here's the terrible part...there are 8 (8!) other contenders. And I wasn't the only out-of-state interviewee either. They interviewed someone from Virginia who is also trying to move back to the area to be near family. So unfortunately my situation is not unique. Also good news is that she plans on calling and making an offer by the end of this week or beginning of next week at the very latest. And the lady (Charlotte) is a very considerate person and says she will call regardless of whether I get the job or not. It would be a GREAT job, so I'm kind of nervous now. In other news, even if I don't get this job, I really and truly think that Dane is going to get his job down there. He briefly spoke with his contact person, Lynne, and she said right after Labor Day she is going to get with him about coming down to meet with some other people.

Hopefully my next post will bear good news...

Babies and interviews

2009-08-11T15:43:00.003-04:00

Next Friday I will become an auntie again and have an interview all in the same day. :-D I just had a phone interview with UF which went super. So we set up an in-person interview for the day Miss London is scheduled to arrive. I had planned on flying down to FL the weekend after London is born, so everyone will be out of the hospital, but I felt the need to offer to come down next weekend instead since they are eager to get someone into the empty position. Wanna hear something way cool? The building I would be working in......right next door to the bookstore where Dane is interviewing. Do I sense some stars aligning??

In other random news, I made a baby announcement for my co-worker. I personally think it's pretty cute. :-)

A job. For me? Let's hope!

2009-08-08T13:47:00.002-04:00

So yesterday I got a voicemail that was left from a 352 number...and I just knew what it had to be. I was correct. It was a lady from none other than UF calling to talk to me about a position I applied for at the beginning of the week. Could this be?? Will Dane and I BOTH get job offers not just in the same city, but the SAME location, at the SAME time? That would be due to what could only be described as divine intervention.

Alrighty, I'm out to do some tax-free shopping!

Job update and some new pics!

2009-08-03T13:15:00.006-04:00

Ok, so I FINALLY convinced Dane to call the Gainesville (UF Bookstore) lady on Thursday. He had called the Chicago (phone interview) lady on Tuesday and she said that were supposed to have had a decision made by Wednesday. So when he hadn't heard anything on Wednesday or Thursday, he called the Gainesville lady instead to see if he couldn't get anything out of her.

When she picked up and he said, "Hey Lynne, this is Dane..." she immediately cheerfully said "Hey Dane...don't give up on me yet!" So that was good. She told him that they made the decision to not hire anyone before the fall rush because it would be way too chaotic. So she said they'll be making the final decision as soon as rush was over which will be be right at about a month from now. The not-so-good news is that the other candidate that they are considering for the position already works for the company. So that actually really sucks because they typically try to hire within the company whenever possible. BUT. BUT! She said that if by chance they decide to go with the other guy for this position, she is almost positive something else pretty equivalent will be opening up right at the same time, and she really made it sound as if she really wanted to hire him whether it was this Textbook Manager position or something else. So we shall wait some more...

In other news...I got my camera! I have only played with it a little bit and have a lot to learn, but here are a few shots straight out of the box...

All better

2009-07-27T15:44:00.002-04:00

Thursday and Friday were rough, but I think I'm pretty much all better. Most food still freaks me out though, so I've been sticking to soup and bland stuff. In other news:

1) I'm turning down the job in Tallahassee because it isn't going to pay enough. I understand the concept of working your way to the top, but I refuse to take the job if it isn't going to even pay what I'm getting now (which, quite frankly isn't enough!) especially in a city where the cost of living is going to be a little higher.

2) Dane hasn't heard back from the Gainesville job yet. He does know that one of the "hiring people" has been out of town since last Thursday and won't return until tomorrow. But that does nothing to ease my mind. I'm losing hope fast for that job even though he is still a little bit hopeful.

3) We now have a date set for my new niece's arrival. Miss London Grace will be here Friday, August 21st. So if the Gainesville job doesn't work out I'll have to look into a plane ticket for a long weekend shortly thereafter.

Flu??

2009-07-24T00:24:00.002-04:00

I am sick! I woke up feeling kinda yucky, so I went ahead and called into work. Then it REALLY hit. Throwing up, the big D, sore achy skin, headache, fever of over 100...you name it, I felt it. So Dane came home from work to make sure I didn't die. So not kidding. Sounds a hair dramatic, but I don't think I've felt that sick since I had mono. Even the raspberry incident didn't compare. I talked to mom early in the day and she gave me the "you need to go to the doctor tomorrow if you're not any better" shpeal. THEN, she called me later in the afternoon and woke me up from my Tylenol PM indused nap to tell me that dad thinks I should go ahead and go to the doctor so they can test me for swine flu. Swine flu! Way to freak me out dad!

So anyway, that's what I did today. :-)

Weekend recap...surprise!

2009-07-22T13:03:00.009-04:00

We're back! What a great weekend! For the amount of stuff we squeezed in such a short timeframe, the trip really didn't seem all that rushed. On Thursday we drove down to Lake City and spent the night at my parents' house. Friday morning we woke up fairly early and I drove mom's car over to Tallahassee (hour and a half drive) for my interview. It went really well. The place was really nice and I practically felt at home with all the old folks. :-) I may know by the end of this week if that's going to be my new home. I'll spare all the details until I know more. After the interview I went to lunch with Nicole and Amy at Sonny's (YUM!). Meanwhile, when I left for Tallahassee, Dane took my car to Gainesville (45 minutes south of my parents' house). He had an hour-long phone interview with the Follett recruiting people and then he met with the store manager down at the UF bookstore. I know this is vague, but both of us did really well, and we hope that one of us has gotten a job out of it. We should both know something soon.

We met back in Lake City and set out for Orlando. We got there just in the knick of time before the clouds opened up. It was SO GOOD to see all the Orlando peeps...it always feels like no time has passed. So this is where the engagement party was to take place...

It was a really cool place...brick walls, exposed pipes and beams, great area of town. Well, boy did Hazel and Chuck surprise everyone...it wasn't an engagement party. It was THEIR WEDDING!!! Surprise! Their parents didn't even know! Needless to say, Dane and I are so so glad that we went. I didn't get too many pics, but here are a couple...

A few years back, "all of us" had sit-in-front-of-the-computer-all-day jobs and we would email back and forth by "reply all" ALL day. At the time, Dane worked for Department of Health in Tally, I worked for Department of Law Enforcement in Tally, Hazel & Katie (bride and girl in yellow) worked for a graphic design firm in Orlando, Jennifer (in pink) worked for the government/Army in Orlando, and Ant worked in Tampa. At some point after our jobs all changed, someone dubbed us "the email possee". Great times. So here we all are:

And here we all were last summer at Katie & Ant's wedding:

And here we all were at our wedding 3 years ago!

The next morning Jennifer met us at our hotel and we went back to the Farmers Market where the wedding too place. It was awesome. We grabbed a bagel and lemonade and proceeded to melt a little. We couldn't think of anything we really wanted to do or anywhere we wanted to go, so we decided to head on back to Lake City. We stopped in Gainesville for awhile and I took a drive down memory lane. I went and saw my old apartment...even though about 8 years has passed since I lived there, I remember it like it was yesterday. We drove through the UF campus and I found the spot where a friend and I carved our initials in wet cement. :-)

Then we headed on back to the LC and when we got close to home I decided I wanted to take a few pics. It's so beautiful in its own way. It's just home. I get a serious case of the homesicks just looking at them...

Meet Bucky the burro. She's been our neighbor for as long as I can remember. :-)

And here's another neighbor. My parent's house is just past the trees.

That pretty much concludes the trip. :-)

Upcoming Trip and News and Stuff :-)

2009-07-10T09:03:00.003-04:00

Hi! It's been a boring couple of weeks for the most part. Next week will be a little more interesting for sure. As previously mentioned, we are headed down to Florida next Thursday for an engagement party. That trip has snowballed into something more!

About 2 weeks ago I was looking through the Tallahassee retirement community websites and came across something very similar to what I'm doing now. Do I love what I do? Not really. But do I love the industry? Absolutely...in that sense, it's the best, most rewarding job I have ever had. So I called the HR department at that facility and asked what the pay would be. The pay range was perfect. So I hung up and got a nice cover letter to go with my resume and even got a nice recommendation from my boss (yes, she knows of my plans to leave). I submitted it all and within a few days I got a voicemail saying they'd like to see me for an interview. Woohoo! Even more woohoo-worthy is that they can see me on one of the days that I will be down there already. But of course nothing can fall into place perfectly...when I finally spoke to the Marketing and Sales Director on the phone to set up an interview time, she informed me that she had ALREADY FILLED that position by promoting someone on their marketing staff. So she still wants to interview me, but for the now open marketing position. Ugh. The job would be fine, but I fear that the pay won't be enough. We don't want to make a move out of desperation...things (especially pay!) have to be right. We aren't looking for unreasonable salaries. We just want to "get by" comfortably. If that makes sense. :-) So anyway, we'll see what we can do in the interview. It's going to be next Friday morning.

Moving along. I'm more excited about this than my own interview. :-) Dane also has "a meeting" about a job when we go down there. Of all places.......UF in Gainesville!!!! The day I see him wearing orange and blue to go to work the camera is coming out. You folks cannot comprehend the loyalty he has to the Georgia Bulldogs. You just can't. The job is actually a textbook manager at the main bookstore on campus working for his current company's main competitor (Follett). Technically, the actual position is a step down from what he does now. But not really because this store is HUGE and it would pay more. So he will be meeting with the store manager next Friday as well.

So what would we do in the event that Dane and I are BOTH offered jobs in different cities?? Well Tallahassee is obviously where we really want to be. We'd actually go with the Gainesville job. Here's why I'm more excited about this than I am my own interview. If Dane could get the Gainesville job we could actually move down there at the same time. Because what you may not realize is that we both HAVE to have jobs in order for us to officially move. Our whole plan has been whoever gets a job first will go ahead and move down there and move in with our friend Amy. The other person stays here in Raleigh and keeps their job while still searching. As soon as the other person finds a job, THEN we could get a house down there and officially move. Stinks huh? That's just the only way we can do it though. So we thought. :-)

If Dane could get this job in Gainesville, then we could move in..............with my parents. Eeks! But this could potentially be the best thing to happen to us financially. We could pay SO MUCH off by just living there for 3-6 months. No more car payments, no more loan payments, no more debts at all (except for our student loans). If we could pay everything off and only have student loans to pay monthly, we would feel as if we hit the lotto. We didn't tell too many people this, (not big on feeling pitied) but when the sale of our house fell through in Tallahassee on closing day, we were counting on that profit in order to make the move. We ended up having to take out a loan just to move and get stuff turned on. We didn't have hot water for months! So anyway, we are still paying on that loan. So much good could come of the Gainesville job. We could finally turn our bout of bad luck around and actually begin a happy rest of our life together.

With all that said, a lot is riding on Dane's "meeting" (not an official interview is how we understand it). However, I will not be devastated if it doesn't work out. When the right job(s) come it'll all be worth it and we'll understand why certain things/jobs didn't work out.

So wish us both well next week! :-)

So pretty :-)

2009-06-29T16:46:00.003-04:00

Dane and I have a "list of things to buy before having a baby." We went to the overwhelmingly HUMONGOUS Furnitureland South in High Point on Friday and checked one item off the list. Here is the new console for the living room!

Always in our hearts...

2009-06-29T16:42:00.003-04:00

Baby Megan Grace was born this morning. She lived for 10 minutes. This is all I know right now, but pray for Amber, Steve, and baby Megan as this is just the beginning of a long road for them.

An Ode to Hazel!

2009-06-23T22:38:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to show y'all the cutest invite ever. :-) So I shall make this post "an ode to Hazel." So Hazel and Chuck are awesome friends in Orlando. They are engaged and are unable to start really planning a wedding due to not knowing where they will be living (planning a move to Honolulu...not sure when it's going to happen), so they decided to throw a big huge engagement party. How awesome is this?? :-) (You can click on it to make it bigger)

What makes it so awesome, is this is what they look like. :-D

And what makes THEM awesome is this is what they are really like. All. The. Time.

The 3 previous pics are from their engagement session in Hawaii with Jana Morgan. They are beautiful. And hilarious. So it looks like we're headed to the FL again in a few weeks. Can't wait to see everyone down there!

More beach time

2009-06-21T18:40:00.003-04:00

A week late, but here are a few pics from a quick day trip to Wrightsville Beach last weekend. A weeee bit too crowded for my liking, but still a great day! I'm sure we'll be doing it again real soon.

Hey look! I have a green thumb!

2009-06-08T09:41:00.002-04:00

The hostas (the green ones) were planted last year. They came up super thick this year. So I thinned them out and planted some under our tree in the front yard. I should have taken more out obviously. All the other plants I got from our plant sale at work. I have some elephant ears in there, but they liked Florida better so I'm not sure if and when they'll pop up.

Beach finds

2009-06-08T09:08:00.004-04:00

Here are the things I brought back from the beach. I intended to get a coffee table book. I want to start getting coffee table books from the places we visit. Anyhoo, St. George isn't big or well known (though it is regularly visited by Jimmy Buffet, Angelina Jolie, Kid Rock, and Hank Williams Jr.), so the coffee table book selection consisted of 1 book. It was really nice and even signed by the author/photographer, but it just wasn't $75 nice. So anyway, I saw this painting by a local artist on one of our trips to Avenue E and I couldn't stop thinking about it. :-) We just loved all the sand pipers there and this painting was so cute. Her name is Sandy. ;-) And then I saw this set of coasters at another store. We needed coasters (we have a glass coffee table) and I knew I'd never find another set I liked better. So here they are: :-)

Fun with old friends!

2009-06-02T23:41:00.003-04:00

The weekend after we got back from the beach (Memorial Day weekend), my 2 old roommates and great friends, Amy and Nicole drove all the way up from Tallahassee to come visit! We had such an awesome, fun time. Although lots has changed over the past few years that we've been apart, it was as if no time has passed. So I'll leave you with a then and now. (and looking at the "then" makes me miss the tan more than the size 2 bod! I need to get out more!)

Beach! Finally!

2009-06-02T22:25:00.007-04:00

Sooo, I have tried on numerous occasions through numerous methods to post some pics from the beach trip "an easier way." I made a nifty little movie/slideshow thing, but Blogger would have nothing of the such. So even though most of you saw the pics on Facebook, here we go!

This here was our house. Dane and I got the bedroom at the very tip top. :-) There was a bedroom, bathroom with a humongo shower, and a living room up there.

And the beautiful, peaceful view...

And here we are all color coordinated on our way to get some lunch. ;-)

Sweet Harmony Page

Harmony and my cousin's son Brandon

another trip out to eat (we did a lot of that)

This is mom and I at our favorite shop down there called Avenue E. I was as excited about coming here as I was the beach. I'll have to take a pic of my "loot."

Here are a few pics from downtown Apalachicola. I think they do a good job at telling the story of the lazy fishing town that it is.

More eating and more cuteness out of the mini-me.

Some pool fun with daddy (my brother).

And some fun with Papa (my dad).

It doesn't get much prettier...

And lastly, some family pics!

Mom and Dad - can anyone guess who I got my paleness from? :-)

4 of the 7 grandchildren on my mom's side of the family from oldest to youngest.

Harmony in Harmony's happy little world.

cuh-yuuuute! :-) (She's 4 1/2 and he's 5)

The whooooole group!

Look what I found

2009-05-22T15:25:00.005-04:00

Can someone tell me how one goes about getting a bruise on their eyelid?

::edit:: here's a better pic of the little guy

P.S. - I'll get some beach pics posted soon. :-)

Eeeeeeeek!

2009-05-07T08:52:00.002-04:00

1. Today is our 3rd anny. :-)
2. Today is my last day at work for a week because tomorrow we leave for the beach!
3. Equally exciting, Chris Daughtry has a new single out!
4. The state of North Carolina finally decided to deposit our $650 state refund into our account last night!

I'm Blessed

2009-05-05T14:41:00.007-04:00

***I have no idea what the heck is up with the crazy huge spaces. I didn't do it.***

Let me preface this fun little post by acknowledging how blessed I am.

<. PREFACE .>

I know there are people out there dealing with huge struggles- unemployment, poverty, infertility, losses of loved ones, physical handicaps, foreclosures. I am so blessed to have a fantastic hubby, a roof over my head, reliable and comfortable transportation, 2 entertaining ever-loving dogs, my health, a job that I have really come to enjoy, and family that I will soon get to see again. So yes, we certainly have our own personal struggles, as does everyone, but all in all life is good!

< / PREFACE > :-D

With that said, I am procrastinating at work and can't get on Facebook or Twitter or the Nest or anything fun. So, because you care, here is my list of wants! :-)

Canon XS

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Digital SLR Lens

Hoya 52mm DMC PRO1 Digital Multi-Coated UV (Ultra Violet) Filter

I just like this bed. :-)

And this dresser from PB to go with it.

This pretty little guy is at Sam's. Would like it for the living room.

... With this Sony Bravia sitting atop. :-)

And because I've had baby fever for well over a year now, I'll throw in a couple baby must-haves.

The Munire "Majestic" crib.

And the PB Dream swivel glider or rocker. Can't decide if I want to glide or rock. I know these puppies are quite pricey, but I know I will spend many many hours here, so we shall splurge.

Thus concludes my want list. I guess it's time to write those new move-in notices that I have been putting off all day.

Happy Birthday...

2009-04-21T13:12:00.006-04:00

...to my first "child"! I seriously can't believe she's 7. Where has the time gone?

This is about the most we get out of her these days... :-)

some Auntie news

2009-04-16T15:03:00.001-04:00

My brother and his wife found out today that they are having another GIRL!!!!!

For giggles

2009-04-10T10:00:00.004-04:00

I know y'all have seen these lists a bajillion times, but this one in particular was so true! This one is "you know you're from Georgia if". I have lived my entire life (minus the past 2 years) 30 minutes south of the Georgia state line, so these are more true for me than any "you know you're from Florida if" list will ever be...

1. You can properly pronounce Chickamauga, DeKalb, Dahlonega, Smyrna, Buena Vista, Valdosta, Hahira, Houston Co., Milan, Okefenokee, and La Fayette.P.S.. Atlanta = ADD-LANNA not AT-LANT-A.

2. You think people who complain about the heat in their states are sissies.

3. You know that the true value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but by the availability of shade.

4. You think everyone from a Yankee-state has an accent.

5. You measure distance in minutes.

6. You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit. Don't people everywhere do that?

7. You know cowpies are not made of beef.

8. Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date. More than 1. I actually know someone who planned their wedding on the 1st home Gator football game day and it caused a bit of a family fued.

9. You know someone who has a belt buckle bigger than your fist. Again...more than 1.

10. Almost everyone you know is either Baptist or Methodist.

11. A Mercedes Benz isn't a status symbol. A Chevy Silverado Extended Bed Crew Cab is.

12. You know everything goes better with Ranch dressing.

13. You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned how to multiply.

14. Ironically, you only crave Chik-Fil-A and alcohol on Sundays..when neither are sold. I ALWAYS crave the Chick on Sunday!

15. The directions to your house include "turn off the paved road." (including my parents) :-)

16. "YALL" is a word.

17. You call it a cold Christmas if you don't break out in a sweat in your new sweater. LOL. The gospel truth. This past Christmas, it was 75 degrees.

18. When a single snowflake falls, the entire state shuts down, even if it doesn't stick. The radio and TV news will make snowstorm reports every 10 minutes and the grocery store will be completely sold out of bread, milk, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer. Ehh, moreso with hurricanes.

19. You know the difference between a hillbilly, a redneck, and a Southerner.

20. You understand that at least once a year your car will turn yellow with pollen. Solid yellow.

21. You know at least one Bubba, and maybe a few guys named Bo. No Bubba's, but I do know a couple Bo's, a Boo, and a Snuffy. :-)

22. You say "tuna fish sandwich." (not tuna sandwich)

23. Braves=good. Yankees=bad. Mets=LOATH

24.You love sweet tea, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and all Southern comfort food...and Southern comfort.

25.You use the heater in the mornin and AC in the afternoon during the "winter" season. Practically every day.

26. You might have heard of people finding their lost boat in a lake that has dried up recently. Case in point- here is what Lake Jackson in Tallahassee looks like on the map...

...and here's what it ooks like in person (the WHOLE thing)...

27. You know the general population in the state will be stocking up on ammo and guns due to the new President.

28. You say "mash" instead of "push", for example...buttons

29. Savannah is The place to go to in the state for St. Patty's Day

30.You are 100% Georgian if you have ever had this conversation:

"You wanna coke?"

"Yeah."

"What kind?"

"Dr Pepper"

A little bit of random

2009-04-07T15:45:00.002-04:00

1. I kind of expected to hear something yesterday or today about the job. Still waiting. Not very hopeful at this point.

2. I got to see an old friend/roommate this weekend. She, her 10 month old boy, her mom, and her neice made a trip from Florida up to Pittsburgh to visit family. Since they had a couple little ones with them they knew they wanted to break the trip up and spend the night somewhere. So she decided to spend the night in Raleigh. We all went out to eat and hung out for a couple hours. It felt like old times. Made me realize how much I missed her friendship too!

3. Dane was at the gym yesterday lifting and something in his shoulder popped. :-/ It hurts to even lift his arm, so keep him in your thoughts. If it doesn't start feeling better before next week he'll go get an xray.

4. In about a week, my sis in law will be going in for her big ultrasound. Pray for a girl. They are stealing my boy name after I had made it known. Yes, I know I am not with child, but when this does happen, I'm sure it'll be a boy. Dane's family just doesn't make girls. :-)

Job Update (sort of)...

2009-03-30T09:01:00.002-04:00

So the FSU people were supposed to have made a hiring decision by the end of last week. As I was leaving work on Thursday I decided to mentally move along. I still didn't hear anything Friday, so that was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Or so I thought. The lady who I interviewed with emailed me at 6:00 Friday night and said that they actually haven't made their decision yet. They had "some scheduling conflicts" that made them run behind on interviewing the other 2 people. She and the other interview dude are out all this week, so they won't be making their decision until NEXT week. So I will continue to wait...

Another interview behind me

2009-03-23T11:58:00.003-04:00

I was supposed to have an interview this morning over webcam. Thank the dear Lord they weren't able to figure it out, so we just did it over the phone. This time I spoke with the department head. The lady who gave me the first phone interview was also in the room listening on speaker.

In a nutshell, it went really good! He didn't ask me anything that stumped me and we had good conversation. When wrapping things up, he said that I was "very pleasant to speak to and he likes my past experience" but he has to speak with the other 2 candidates this week before he makes a decision. He said his one concern is that he has never hired anyone with only having phone interviewed them, so there's a chance (uuugh!) I may have to fly down there after all. I'd love to see family, but there goes $250 on a plane ticket.

I told Dane that if I didn't get the job, it would suck, but I couldn't have had a better interview. So if they hire someone else, they were just more qualified, and I can handle that. :-) I should hear something by the end of the week.

Baby Megan

2009-03-19T15:48:00.005-04:00

Of course, all my NC friends know this situation. So this post is mainly for my far away friends to read. I have a friend here in NC named Amber. We met for the first time maybe a month after I moved here. Unfortunately she doesn't live in Raleigh, so we never got to see each other as much as I would have liked. I have told Dane this and I have told her this- I know without a doubt in my mind that if we had lived closer to one another (she lives about an hour and a half away) that we would have been really really good friends. Now that I know her a little better, and now that little Megan is on the way, I am finding it really hard to be 100% happy about relocating back home right now. I want to be here for her so bad.

Amber suffered a miscarriage over a year ago and she and her husband Steve tried for quite some time to get pregnant again. Around Thanksgiving time they found out they were expecting. They wanted to keep the sex a surprise, but they already have precious boy and girl names picked out. Last Friday, Amber and Steve's lives were turned upside down. Every mother, mother-to-be, or woman who wants to become a mother someday's absolute worst nightmare came true. They went to their "big" 20 week appointment where if they so chose to do so, they could have found out the sex. Instead, some measurements were off. Their sweet baby was diagnosed with "lethal skeletal dysplasia" which is the most severe type of dwarfism out there. After hearing this they decided to find out the sex, so they could be as prepared as can be for what lies ahead. They were told that their little Megan Grace will live for a few minutes to maybe a few days after being born.

Amber will be carrying Megan full term. She plans on taking the best care of her in the amount of time she has with her. She and Steve will be spending the next several months preparing for the worst, but through this all, they know that God still has time to perform miracles. They will soon be seeing a whole new set of doctors at Duke- as far as medical care goes, it's among the best in the nation. How blessed they are to be living right next door to such a place at a time like this.

A group of friends have created a blog to keep us all updated on Megan. I'm sure I'll be updating as time passes too...I tell you this heartbreaking story because Amber needs your prayers. I think we all know the power of prayer. You don't know her personally, but she needs every single prayer she can get.

One step closer!

2009-03-18T16:20:00.002-04:00

I got the phone call that I have been hoping for! The phone interview from this past Friday has led to a "face-to-face" interview with Florida State. I was kind of excited to get to go home for a couple days, but that's not going to happen. :-( Although I'm sad about that part, the good thing that has come of this is that I don't have to spend $250 on a plane ticket. They want to do a web-cam interview on Monday morning. Being that I have never had an interview via this method, it is kind of nerve-racking! My computer has a web cam, but I've never even used it other than for the face-morphing feature. So hopefully I can get it mastered this weekend sometime. So thank you SO much to anyone who took a minute to say a prayer or think good thoughts for me. I'll keep you updated!

big changes for the Nelsons...

2009-03-16T14:41:00.002-04:00

I haven't blogged in a long time! As far as fun and exciting things to report, I've got nothing. :-/ There have been so many occasions that I wanted to update here, but until I knew EXACTLY what I wanted (this will make sense in a minute), I didn't want to spill my thoughts. Well, Dane and I have been dealing with making some huge decisions over the past couple months, and we've finally come together as one and are in agreement with what we want to do.

A very few of you already know this, but Dane and I are going to move. This was such a huge decision and not an easy one to make. We don't know when (or even exactly where) yet. Bottom line is that we want to be, and need to be closer to home. We were very excited to move to North Carolina nearly 2 years ago and begin a brand new chapter of our life together. We had such high hopes. There have been many things that we have loved up here and will truly miss. First and foremost, I have met some of the most awesome girls I could have asked for. We also have loved feeling what a season really feels like. Fall and spring are heaven up here, and we both got to experience our first "real snow." NC also doesn't have to deal with "love bug season" or with 2 or 3 weeks of a thick yellow coating of pollen all over EVERYTHING (cars, house, patio furniture, driveway, bushes...). Nor do you walk outside and have your glasses or sunglasses immediately fog up because of the humidity. We will also miss some of the great shopping and food. Oh Armadillo Grill, how I will miss thee. Living 2 miles from Triangle Town Center has been awesome.

So if we like Raleigh this much, why not sacrifice some things (like many other people have) and just stay? Well, one reason goes all the way back to my childhood. Though we don't have kids yet, this is strongly influencing the decision. Though I had a picture perfect childhood that I can only pray that I will be able to provide for my kids, I wasn't lucky enough to grow up with family living close by. We were closest to my paternal grandparents because their Florida house was about a 3 hour drive from ours. During the summers they lived in the mountains of NC. My dad's brother's family also lived in the NC mountains. So to visit them it was a 6-7 hour drive. My mom's parents and my aunts, uncles, and cousins are all in Oklahoma. I can count on 2 hands (easily) the amount of times we've visited. I just don't want this for my kids. I have a niece who lives in my hometown, so from the time she was born, she has been around my parents, her grandparents, at least weekly. The dynamic between them is so wonderful to see. There isn't any awkwardness. She loves them and talks to them just as she does her own parents. I want my kids to know their grandparents in this capacity too. And if we want to take this to a whole other level, working in the industry I am in, I can't help but be reminded that parents aren't going to live forever. Time is precious and family is precious. I don't want to miss out on their last years, whether that's 1 year from now or 30 years from now.

About a month ago, a position opened up within Dane's company in Orlando. When he asked me "Would you want to move to Orlando?", I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it because ultimately we want to be back in a smaller town away from the hustle and bustle and the crime and the traffic. Orlando offers none of the above. :-) But the more I got to thinking about it, the more sense it made to give it a shot. It would pay a good bit more and would get us a LOT closer to home. Plus we do have some friends there. So he went for it and was told by a general manager and a regional manager that he had a really good chance. Well he got a call last Monday saying that they weren't going to consider him for the position because they felt it was too big of a jump from where he is right now.

Once getting that news, I have jumped into high gear applying for jobs. The majority of my applications were placed in Tallahassee and I have 1 in Jacksonville and 2 in Gainesville. Tallahassee is a place where we were very comfortable and would be more than happy to return to. It's an hour and a half from my parents and 2 hours and 15 minutes from Dane's parents. Close enough without being too close. :-) We're including Jacksonville and Gainesville simply because they are close to home and may have a lot to offer. We know that this could NOT be a worse time to just up and move and attempt to find a new job. We just feel as if it is something we HAVE to do in order to be happy.

Last Thursday I applied for a position at Florida State's College of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics. Friday they called me. That was shocking. State jobs in particular are NEVER in a hurry to hire anyone. They did a phone interview which lasted about 50 minutes. It went really really well and a lot was covered. The lady said that she had a couple other people to speak with on the phone and then she would talk to her boss when he returned on Monday (today). So I'm kind of on pins and needles waiting on the phone to ring. She didn't say she'd call me today, but she did say that they wanted to fill the position by the END OF THE MONTH. Kids, that's only 2 weeks away.

This has dragged a bit. :-) So if I think of other updates, I will make a new post. Everyone pray for the right jobs to come along and for this super difficult transition.

Really? I mean, for real???

2009-02-12T12:21:00.001-05:00

Sent out by our IT department...

"Please do not access social networking sites on our company network. This includes My Space & FaceBook.

If there is a business reason you need to access one of these sites you will need written permission from information systems and additional security levels established on your computer.

I have spent some time reading their Security & Privacy Practices and I have listed some of the facts posted from their sites below.

Facebook

Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, ...

If you review the security & privacy policy you will see that when you open facebook it gives the advertiser the ip address of your computer so he can be targeted for Ad’s. This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by Facebook and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.

Facebook may use information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. We do this for purposes such as aggregating how many people in a network like a band or movie and personalizing advertisements and promotions so that we can provide you Facebook. We believe this benefits you. You can know more about the world around you and, where there are advertisements, they're more likely to be interesting to you.

Email and instant messaging are not recognized as secure communications, we request that you not send private information to us by email or instant messaging services.

Information obtained from http://www.facebook.com/policy.php?ref=pf"

Quick pic

2009-02-08T23:55:00.002-05:00

After we got the sectional for our family room, we moved the old slipcovered couch into what we call the living room. Well when I went home for Christmas, mom gave me this "thing" that makes an awesome coffee table. It was actually a fixture in my dad's old golf store, and when he relocated he was just going to leave it behind. Mom grabbed it because she knew it would make a great coffee table somewhere. That somewhere ended up being my living room. :-) And it does open up for storage. I really like my freebie!

Oh Katieeee....

2009-02-08T22:40:00.001-05:00

It's safe to come back. :-)

Ta daaaaaa!

2009-02-02T09:27:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I spiffied up my blog. Much better. Not sure if I'm 100% happy with it because it kind of makes me want to have a seizure. But now I know how to mess with the HTML, so changing it again will be easier and less time consuming.

I'm at work which has become less and less "fun" to do. It started out great, but as time passes, I have a "co-worker" who is making it very very hard to enjoy my days. This is my personal blog and I should be able to say names and tell stories, but our IT at this company is so invasive that I fear doing so would not be of my best interest. So, other than said "co-worker" making my days miserable, having a shitty IT department that monitors email and amount of time spent on the internet, and basically being a data entry clerk for the past 5 months, yeah, the job is great. :-) In all seriousness, the job really is great. It's a relaxed environment and it can be very rewarding.

What I was actually getting at when I mentioned that I was at work, was that I don't have the time (before getting caught by previously mentioned IT department) to make an interesting post as to what's being going on the past couple months. Soon...

Boring!

2009-01-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

That is what I have been lately- I know. Changes are on the horizon. Promise.

Thanksgiving pics

2008-12-02T10:25:00.000-05:00

Well the visit was too short (of course), but here are a few pics of our Thanksgiving weekend.

Here's the whole fam (minus 1 dog)...

And here is me and my mini me...

And here is what happened 10 minutes after everyone left!

And last, but not least, we put up the tree! I have a lot more to do this weekend, but at least we got the most important part up. :-)

I just love google

2008-11-20T09:24:00.000-05:00

Now you can customize what your gmail inbox looks like. It can be a beach or mountains or just a color scheme. I chose cherry blossoms. :-)

Do you see what I see??

2008-11-19T14:46:00.001-05:00

Snow! In November!

And then LITERALLY 10 minutes later...

Score!

2008-11-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

I've never tackled anything this ambitious before, but I think I can do it. I just scored this trunk (it's really a cedar chest) for $10. The plan is to sand and stain it and use it as a coffee table. So here is the before-

Stay tuned for an after!

Uneventful Life

2008-11-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

I'm such a slack blogger! But the reality is that we are really boring people. :-) This weekend was spent cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I mowed (hopefully for the last time until April), did laundry, dusted EVERYWHERE, cleaned bathrooms, ran and emptied the dishwasher, vacuumed, and cleaned some baseboards. It feels so good! We have my parents, brother, sis-in-law, and neice coming for Thanksgiving (which happens to only be 2 1/2 weeks away!), so I should only have to touch up a few things before they come. As I was finishing up it was then that I realized that I will be husbandless for the next week. So now I will be husbandless and super bored. :-/ Dane flew out this morning for Nebraska for work. Hopefully he won't get snowed in and stuck there like he did a couple years ago.

A few nights ago we ran to Target for some super glue and ended up in the Halloween clearance section. :-) Tyson is not very happy about this. Meet Sgt. K9...

While I was out taking pictures of Tyson, I noticed how pretty the trees had gotten behind our house, so I took a few pictures of those. I was really hoping all the trees would still be pretty when my family came up for a visit, but every morning when I head to work I notice more and more trees that are losing all their leaves. So sad. :-(

And lastly, I couldn't give Tyson all that blog time without slipping one in of Zoe. She wants dad to play. :-)

Weekend in Asheville

2008-10-20T15:28:00.000-04:00

Dane and I went to Asheville this weekend with our friends Ryan and Meredith (and Savannah). :-) It was such an awesome, low-key weekend that went by too fast. We've actually been planning on going since last spring, but I'm so glad we waited until the fall. I've been to the mountains many many times (my grandparents had a cabin up there), but I have never been in the fall. It was worth the wait to see all the pretty leaves. The pain you may see in my face is because it was SO COLD! The temps were in the low 40s, but when the wind blew, it was awful! But still worth it. :-) Ryan's parents live there, so we had a wonderful place to stay AND home cooked meals. It just doesn't get any better than that. We left Friday late in the afternoon, so we just relaxed when we go there.

Saturday, we woke up and went to downtown Asheville. It wasn't like any other downtown that I have ever seen! It wasn't a downtown with skyscrapers, but a downtown that you would find in a small town- yet much bigger with several blocks of shops. It was bustling with lots of hippie folks playing their guitars or instruments of choice. I'd love to go back again some day because we probably just scratched the surface of everything it has to offer.

After we left downtown, we headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway to take a look at the mountains and the changing leaves. It was about as beautiful as I expected. :-) That night, we all went out to eat and I was so happy that my cousin L.T. and his long-time girlfriend Jennifer drove an hour and a half from Franklin to come eat with us. I haven't seen him in 2 years and this was the first time I met her. She was really sweet - i kinda forgot to get a pic with them. :-( Oh well.

So here are a few pics from the trip. Enjoy!

Sasha said she was SO OVER that car ride. :-)

ok, NOW Happy Fall!

2008-10-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

Ok, the camera didn't fail me this time, so here is "Fall at Casa de Nelson."

The dishes have a raised leaf pattern and the napkins have an embroidered leaf- all courtesy of the $1 spot at Target last year!

In the pass-through going from the dining room to the kitchen...

Ok, the next 2 pics aren't fall, but I thought I'd share. I finally got new pillows for the sectional to match the rug. So here is the pattern/colors of the rug (excuse the Zoe hair...haven't vacuumed in awhile) :-)

And here are the pillows...I got 2 of each color.

And last, but most definitely not least, is T-man in his pumpkin collar (also courtesy of the Target $1 spot)! We laugh because his head looks just like the pumpkins. :-)

Happy Fall everyone!

Well darn.

2008-10-08T10:34:00.000-04:00

I decorated for fall this weekend. So this morning I took a few pictures of everything with intentions to come into work and post them here. I even took a picture of Tyson in his pumpkin collar! I plugged in my memory card and they were gone! :-( I must of hit something weird because any pic that took after our Orlando trip was gone (which was really just the pictures of the new sectional and the pics I took this morning). It's not a big deal, but I have the whole office to myself today and that was what I was going to do this morning. Oh well....maybe tomorrow.

Beach Bound...

2008-09-29T09:33:00.000-04:00

I. Am. So. Excited! My mom went to Oklahoma earlier this month to visit her mother for her 91st birthday. She and her siblings decided that they wanted to go back to the beach where Dane and I got married for a week. We're going to have a few more people than when we were there for our wedding, so we couldn't rent the same house. Boy would that have brought back memories. :-) But after sifting through all the options, we picked a house that is probably 1/4 of a mile down the road from where we stayed for the wedding. We're going to go the exact same week in May too. We will actually arrive 2 days after our anniversary. Here's the beauty -

New couch

2008-09-26T16:09:00.000-04:00

We got a steal-of-a-deal on the sectional that we have been eyeballing since last winter. So without further ado, here it is... (and blogspot is hiccuping once again and making weird lines in a couple of the pics)

So ready!

2008-09-15T13:14:00.000-04:00

I am so excited that fall is almost here! Our TV stays on college football all day long on Saturdays now, and as I sit on the couch watching it I just feel like it is cool fall weather outside. (Then I go outside and it's 90 degrees- what a let down!) It felt so much like fall that we lit the Autumn Wreath Yankee for a few hours. :-) I just can't wait for our first cool snap so I can go meet the besties at Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte and sit outside. That weather and thinking of our infamous 4 hour Sarbucks trips just puts me in a good mood. :-) I found a few pics that I took with my cell phone last fall. Don't worry, no passers-by on the 440 were harmed in the taking of these pics. :-)

Tagged? Maybe?

2008-09-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

I have 30 more minutes before I can leave work, so I will fill this thingie out. HeirToBlair filled out a few days ago and basically tagged everyone, so here we go.

1. Where is your cell phone? About 6 inches from my left arm sitting on my desk.
2. Your significant other? Is super duper weird. :-)
3. Your hair? recently cut and highlighted, yet still in a rubberband today. :-/
4. Your mother? Is in Oklahoma visiting her mother for her 91st birthday (today!)
5. Your father? Is home alone - can't wait to see him at Thanksgiving
6. Your favorite thing? I heart naps
7. Your dream last night? Didn't have one? If so, I don't remember
8. Your favorite drink? sweet tea with a lime instead of a lemon
9. Your dream/goal? debt free. So close I can taste it. :-)
10. The room you're in? my office
11. Your hobby? shopping (I don't get to do my favorite hobby too often unfortch)
12. Your fear? When I was little it was Ted Bundy. He was in my dreams and it was awful. I wish no one had ever told me that he took and killed a girl from my little hometown. Currently, I suppose it's just losing DH or either of my parents. I worry about them all the time.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Not sure. Probably in a smaller town.
14. What you're not? pregnant?
15. Muffins? They're ok. I prefer chocolate chip cookies
16. One of your wish list items? a Canon Rebel
17. Where you grew up? small town, North Florida
18. The last thing you did? minimized this window because a resident trooped right on in my office. :-)
19. What are you wearing? dressy khaki capris and a shirt from American Eagle. It's dressyish too. Very casual as a whole.
20. Favorite Gadget? I guess my cell phone because I don't really have any other gadgets that I know of.
21. Your pet? Is probably holding down the couch.
22. Your computer? home- not even sure. Work - HP laptop
23. Your mood? really ready to go home yet not ready to play in traffic for the next 40 minutes.
24. Missing someone? Friends that are scattered
25. Your car? Acura
26. Something you are not wearing? ummm, a smile. I have to pee really really bad.
27. Favorite Store? Target, Z Gallerie, Pottery Barn (and its spawn)
28. Like someone? lots of people
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? I guess at lunch time. There isn't that much funny going on around here at the moment.
31. Last time you cried? last Sunday I guess. It was a bad day. :-)

Orlando!

2008-09-05T09:29:00.000-04:00

So to be perfectly honest, our trip was pretty much terrible. Ugh. So anyway, I am going to blog about the good times that were had. :-)

The first thing we did when we got there was find some good ole southern bbq. Smokey Bones was one of our most favorite places when we lived down there, so we were pretty stoked to roll up on one. Not only that, but they were playing the Florida game AND the Georgia game, so both husband and wife were very very happy people. :-)
After we ate we went back to someone's house to get ready for the wedding. Side note- Gustov paid Orlando a little visit. It was VERY rainy all day. And it was an outdoor wedding. :-/ It definitely didn't go as Katie (bride) had planned, but it was still a very beautiful wedding. It was held at the Cypress Grove Park Estate House. It is a beautiful old home in a most beautiful setting...

The plan was for there to be folding chairs in the lawn, but it had rained so much that day that the ground was too mushy. They weren't even sure until the very last minute if they would even hold the ceremony outside. But the sprinkles stopped just long enough for them to do the outdoor ceremony as planned. The bridesmaids were barefoot and the groomsmen wore flip flops- very Katie and Ant. :-) Meet Katie (she probably wouldn't like me very much if she saw this picture...) Now meet the mohawked Ring Bearess, Morgan...

And here are a few pics from the ceremony. How PRECIOUS is her neice, the flower girl?!

Notice the laughter in the above pic? The man performing the ceremony accidentally announced them as "Mr. and Mrs. Katie P!" After uncontrolable laughter, he re-introduced them as "Mr. & Mrs. Anthony P". Moving along, here are some pics of their first dance and random pics after the ceremony...

So we (the people pictured above) have always called ourselves "the email possee". Back in the early days when Dane and I were dating, we both had state jobs and had much time on our hands during the work day. Katie (bride) and Hazel (chick on the far right) worked together at a small graphic design firm. Groom is also a graphic designer. The other chick worked for the state down in Orlando. Anyhoo, the 6 of us emailed (reply all) back and forth ALL DAY long. It was such as good time! So eventually somone dubbed us the email possee. We have the same pic with all of us from back at our wedding.

Dane and I ended up staying at Katie and Ant's house since they had left for their honeymoon (poor kids--they are cruising the Caribbean dodging Tropical Storm Hannah). They live in an AWESOME area of downtown Orlando. Dane and I were able to walk right down the road to Starbucks. All of the roads were brick. Very cool. So Monday we walked down to Lake Eola. Here are several pics from there...

And after we left the lake, we went to Ikea!

Holy moly was that an experience. It wasn't what I expected it to be, but it was HUGE. We ended up getting a coffee table. :-) Since we flew down there, we left it in Katie's garage. We'll get it when we drive down for Christmas. It's be like a Christmas present I forgot about! :-)
So that about wraps up our trip! It was so good to get home. We missed our doggies. And bed.

Long time no blog!

2008-08-25T16:25:00.000-04:00

So I was told that "I need to limit my time on the internet" a couple weeks ago at work. Gasp!!! I have been spied on! By the time I get home, the last thing I want to do is go sit in front of the computer. So I was a good employee for about a week and a half and just checked my email really quick once or twice a day. Well, I couldn't take it anymore. :-) I know for a fact one co-worker of mine lives on craigslist. So by golly I'm going to blog!

Update on "the dress" from post #1. They only had 1 and it sold!!! I was heartbroken. :-( But it's all good in the hood. I found a plain ole black dress from Old Navy that was WAAAY less expensive and it is nice and comfy. I got the dress, a necklace, and a pair of shoes for $48. Not shabby my friends. So Dane and I are headed down to Orlando this Saturday for the big wedding. I'm not really as excited to go down there as I should be. It'll be fun to see all the friends I haven't seen in so long, but other than the wedding, it's going to be a pretty boring trip. I'll post pics...

Also, I found out that ole Tropical Storm Fay did a number in Tallahassee. My ENTIRE old neighborhood had to be evacuated by boat yesterday morning. Here are a few pics from the local paper of my neighborhood -

This house is on the corner of my old road.

This house is 3 houses down the road from my old house. I recognize it because it is the exact same floorplan as ours was and it was for sale at the same time ours was-

Grey Fox Run was my road-

So us leaving Tallahassee and leaving that house was definitely a blessing in disguise. When we left there last summer, the small "lake" (retention pond) at the front of the neighborhood was nearly dry because of the lack of rain. Now the entire neighborhood is in the lake. Wow.

So this past weekend Beth Anne, Meredith, and I drove down to Charlotte for a little sleepover. As usual, it was a great time! I'll leave you with a pic I took when we got home. Does it get any cuter? I think not! I'm so ready to meet Miss Savannah Harper!

Home

2008-08-06T12:22:00.000-04:00

I miss it. I don't see myself ever moving back, but boy do I miss it. You all know that I'm from Florida, but you don't know "the Florida" I'm from. Since I am in a sentimental state, I thought I'd do a picture-heavy post to show you what I called home for the first 27 years of my life.

Most people hear Florida and think-

and

Right?? Well in actuality, that Florida is a far away land. Here is some scenery from out at my parents... (if anyone can tell me why Blogger is screwing up my pics, please fill me in)

And here are some rivers. The first pic is the Suwanee River and the 2nd is the Ichetucknee which is crystal clear and 72 degrees year round. Brrr.

Those were all taken around my parents area. I spent the last 6 years in Tallahassee. I went for school here...

...and ended up falling in love with the city. What's not to love about the Capitol building? :-)

Tallahassee is home to some of the most beautiful canopy roads you will ever see. The first picture is Old St. Augustine Road which is where I lived for several years. This is home to me...

This is Lake Ella where Dane and I got engaged. :-)

Friends and family aside, what I miss the absolute most...

Seriously, those pics just send shivers down my spine. There is nothing like a Florida Gator game in the swamp.

Thanks for coming home with me. :-)

Hello Blog World!

2008-08-04T15:15:00.000-04:00

This is my first post and I really have nothing fun or exciting to report. This past weekend was tax free weekend, so Dane worked- a lot. He hasn't come home before 9:00 for the past 4 or 5 nights in a row. His salary just isn't worth all the hours! I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again- if he doesn't get a bonus this year I will be one mad white woman. If he does, then all the hours are worth it.

Yesterday I went and picked him up from work and we met Beth Anne and Doug and Meredith and Ryan at 518 West for dinner. It was quite yummy and the company can't be beat. :-) Had I not met the 2 of them upon moving here, I would be miserable. They have welcomed me from the day we rolled into town. Y'all mean the world to me! But anyhow, after dinner I dropped Dane back off at work and headed home. Ugh. I can't imagine.

In other news, our good friends Katie and Anthony (who live in Orlando) are tying the knot Labor Day weekend. We are very excited to get to go. We haven't seen them since our own wedding-waaay too long. It will be an outdoor ceremony here . I met Katie through a friend back in 2001. Even though I had just moved to Tallahassee and she had just moved to Orlando, I went and visited her and her roommate (my friend from growing up) as often as I could. There have been many good times had. I think so highly of Katie- she's the type of girl you would love as your best friend and the relationship she and Anthony have is one to be jealous of. It's true. Anyhoo, Dane and I went out for ice cream the other night and right next door was a boutique with the most awesome dress in the window. I'm loving it for their hot-like-Africa wedding at the end of the month. Birds freak me out in real life, but on fabric me likes.

We'll just have to see what it looks like on my pasty white bod. :-) That's all for now!