Another Funny one.....I love FOOTBALL!

And for SEC Fans:

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.

At GEORGIA : it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to stabilize the rolling beer cooler the bulb changer is using for a ladder.

At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one.

At ALABAMA : it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator.

At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.

At LSU: it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours.

At KENTUCKY : it takes eight! One to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.

At TENNESSEE : it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama .

At MISSISSIPPI STATE : it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, 'GO TO HELL, OLE MISS'.

At AUBURN : it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama and Georgia, and fifty to get drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA : it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.

At ARKANSAS : None. There is no electricity in Arkansas .

ROLL TIDE!

My Pop Pop sent me this last week. I can't believe how true every line is. Zach and I were hysterical!

Planning for the college football season in the South is radically different than up North. For those who are planning a football trip South, here are some helpful hints.

Women's Accessories:
NORTH: Chap Stick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.
SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.

Stadium Size:
NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.
SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

Fathers:
NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.
SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Campus Decor:
NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.
SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

Homecoming Queen:
NORTH: Also a physics major.
SOUTH: Also Miss America .

Heroes:
NORTH: Rudy Giuliani
SOUTH: Herschel Walker & Peyton Manning

Getting Tickets:
NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.
SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus, make a large financial contribution, and put name on a waiting list for tickets.

Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:
NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game, because they have classes on Friday.
SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

Parking:
NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking. SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

Game Day:
NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.
SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting 'Game Day Live' to get on camera and wave to the idiots up north who wonder why 'Game Day Live' is never Broadcast from their campus.

Tailgating:
NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.
SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance from the Dave Matthews Band,... who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.

Getting to the Stadium:
NORTH: You ask 'Where's the stadium?' When you find it, you walk right in.
SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it is the state's third largest city.

Concessions:
NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.
SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's mascot on it, filled less than half way with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

When National Anthem is Played:
NORTH: Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.
SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

The Smell in the Air after the First Score:
NORTH: Nothing changes.
SOUTH: Fireworks, with a touch of bourbon.

Commentary (Male):
NORTH: 'Nice play.'
SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

Commentary (Female):
NORTH: 'My, this certainly is a violent sport.'
SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

Announcers:
NORTH: Neutral and paid.
SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.

After the Game:
NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.
SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker, while somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, and planning begins for next week's game.

Nothing else in the universe comes even halfway close to the glories of Southern football!

In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips

I feel truly blessed to have two amazing sisters that are also my best friends. One thing that we all have in common is how important our family is to us. In the last couple months, each of us have gone through different situations that made us realize how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful and loving family. It is sad that some families just aren't as close, and I know they have their reasons, but it is a wonderful gift that God gives us. I thank him everday for my sisters!

WhhoooAAA!

What a great weekend! My sisters threw my bachelorette party down in Gulf Shores this past weekend. We stayed at The Beach Club, thanks to Sherrie, and got to relax, socialize, and have a great girls weekend! Two of my other Bridesmaids, Kimberly and Crystal, and a great friend from High School, Cristina, all got to spend the weekend with me in celebration of my "Last Fling before the Ring." Friday night everyone was arriving and we all went to LuLu's for dinner.

Saturday was supposed to be a relaxing day on the beach, but Fay definitely ruined that. So we relaxed in the condo, went for a beer run and got a ton more food (that is what girls do when they get together....eat...eat...eat) and rented a movie. That night was FIESTA themed. We had layered dip, cheese dip, salsa, and margaritas. We also had a pepper pinata that would not break for anything and we opened gifts. Then we played tons of games that got interrupted every so often by all of us talking too much. So much fun!

Thanks everyone so much for coming. I had a blast!

Daycation

Today at 6:00 marks the end of my work week....YEA! I have a really busy weekend ahead that I couldn't be more excited about. My boss, Sherrie, is awesome! For my bachelorette weekend, she offered me and my friends their condo on the beach Thursday through Monday! I was so excited when she told me, I had to call my sisters right away! Since the girls aren't arriving until Friday night, Zach and I are going to take a "daycation" as we like to call it. A "daycation" is a mini mini vacation for us, usually a night away or just spending the day completely with each other on the beach or doing something out of the ordinary. Our first daycation was in July. Shawn, Zach's brother, had booked a week at The Caribe, an awesome resort here in Orange Beach. Unfortunately, Shawn and his family had to leave early and he offered us the condo for the remaining two nights. Let the daycation begin. Zach and I stayed Friday night and played in the pools and relaxed in the hot tub and got to sleep in an amazingly comfortable bed (unlike ours at home) and we woke up when we wanted to (which was still 7...we can't sleep in). It was a nice little getaway that we enjoyed very much! So, Daycation numero Dos is starting tonight. Zach and I are checking into the Beach Club after I get off work and spending all day tomorrow together on the beach relaxing and enjoying one another since we won't get to see each other the rest of the weekend. I love these days because we completely forget about everything going on around us and get to spend quality time together! Everyone needs a vacation, Zach and I just take them one day at a time :)

All I want to doooo.......Is love you!

I LOVE SUGARLAND and so does Zach. Every song they come out with I pretty much can't get enough of. Their latest one...."All I want to do" is so fun. So, when I heard that they were coming to Orange Beach this Sunday, I went immediately to the Wharf to get the tickets. Unfortunately, the concert was delayed due to a rain storm and didn't start until 11:00, not good when I am typically in bed by 9:00. The concert was AWESOME, none the less. We had so much fun!

I tried to upload the part of the show where they sang...all I want to do....but it was way to large of a file. You will just have to go and see them in concert yourself and I would definitely suggest it!

Thunder in the Gulf!

This weekend were the Boat Races in Gulf Shores. It was my first experience with any type of racing. People say that the boat races are like Nascar in the water. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pics from the race. And they call the race "Thunder in the Gulf".

Zach and his Buddies, Jason, Drew and Jason. They were celebrating Jason #1's bachelor party this weekend. He is getting married in November. It sounded like they had quite a good time and have many pictures to prove it.



Here is Jason venturing out into the Jellyfish invested waters to get closer to the race. I, of course, stayed on land. No jellyfish for me!

I have a green thumb....maybe?

After doing as much as we could on the interior for now, we moved on to the outside. Let's just say, we had our work cut out for us. It was a disaster! Our neighbor, Wendy, commented to us last night that she had never seen Zach work in the yard and he has been living there for almost 3 years.....Hmmm?!?!

Before

You can't see in the first picture, but our first task was to remove two dead palm trees. It was hard but fun. I got a little carried away and broke the rope a couple times trying to back up the truck. But overall, mission accomplished!

Next, Zach brought home the sod cutter and cut an area in front of the house for us to make a bed for some grasses and flowers. He also fertilized the grass we already have that needs quite a bit of work, I guess from Neglect...go figure! That week, Zach stained and sealed the porches which they were in desperate need of. We did them in a Cedar stain and they turned out really great!

The final step was to lay some mulch and plant the flowers! We went and got everything yesterday from Lowe's and Ta-Da!

We have a couple more things we want to do before we can call this project complete. We are going to get some hanging plants for the front porch and pot our palm plants we have on the other side of the porch. But we have definitely made progress!

AND OUR ROCKING CHAIRS ARE ROCKING!

A House becomes a Home

Since I moved to Gulf Shores, it has been project after project trying to make Zach's place feel like OUR place. Zach had lived with other guys since he moved to GS and the place really felt and looked like a Bachelor Pad. I made sure to change that. Since I am on quite a strict budget...I can only do so much! But, I tried my best. I started by slip covering the sofa and love seat in the living room.

Before

After

Then we painted the living room Roasted Coffee (Brown) and the Kitchen something Mark Twain (which is Green).Then, I bought rugs for the kitchen and reorganized EVERYTHING. With all the showers and gift we have been receiving, I had to make room in the kitchen. I LOVE to organize. I get very anxious when things are scattered and a mess. Organization keeps me level headed and sane! Other than those changes, that is all we have done for the interior. On the the outside!

What a WEEKEND!

I went to Atlanta this weekend for the last time before the Wedding. My mom and I had a list a mile long of everything we needed to accomplish. And we did it, some how! We started Saturday morning about 8:00 and didn't finish until 7:00 that night. We got my dresses altered for the 2nd time, got our make-up done at MAC (they are amazing and would highly recommended them!), found shoes, earrings, was persuaded to buy straighteners (sales people :P), figured out the decorations for the doors at the church, framed our engagement picture for the reception, got everything to wrap all our gifts.....and so much more. Waiting in line to get my picture framed, I almost fell asleep. A very long day! So we finished the day off the best way we know how...with Margaritas, chips, and salsa.

On Sunday, we had an appointment with the coordinator at Wolf Mountain Vineyards to finalize everything for the reception. She is such a blessing! Everything went so smoothly and I know everything is going to be great at the reception. I invited one of my bridesmaids and soon to be sister-in-law to come with us. We enjoyed brunch after the meeting and got to try all the vineyards wines. So good! We showed Kimberly around the town of Dahlonega and where all the events of the weekend would be held. She even helped us pick things out for the reception since she just went through the same process in July.

Kids, Kids, Kids

As most of you know....I LOVE KIDS! I have been taking care of kids it seems FOREVER. I started my babysitting with twin boys, Cameron and Craig, who were my neighbors when I was 12. Then I moved on to teaching swimming lessons to 5 and 6 year olds. In college, I also was a lifeguard and taught swimming lessons. I can't seem to get away from them...and I don't want to. When I started Grad School in Atlanta in 2007, I needed a flexible job that would work around my class schedule but still pay the bills. So, I started to nanny for The Kettell Family. I started with Sydney when she was 2 months...what a learning experience! But, I immediately fell in love with her! Julie, her mom, was amazing too. We got along so well. I stayed with the Kettell Family until Sydney was 18 months. That 1 1/2 years was truly a blessing to me. I don't think I have ever cried so hard as I did on my last night with them (and you all know I cry at everything). But that is part of nannying, I guess. I am so excited because Zach and I are going up to visit them in Connecticut the last part of our honeymoon!

So, when I moved to Gulf Shores in May, I started working at a furniture store that also incorporated free design assistance to its customers. It just didn't work out. To be honest, I really missed spending time with kids. So, I immediately started looking for a nanny position! And, to my luck, I found a family that works perfectly for me! I didn't think I could get so lucky again, but God has blessed me with The Bott Family. The Bott's adopted Dakota at birth and she is 4 months old. What a sweetheart! I have enjoyed every moment with her and her parents are so wonderful, too! I love getting up everyday knowing that my day is full of something I love to do.

Did someone say cake?

While we are on the topic of CAKE, my MIL and SIL are amazing at decorating cakes! For both of them it started as a hobby and they took a class last spring to learn more techniques and tricks for decorating. Now, I don't think a weekend goes by that they aren't making a cake for someone and their special event. I only have a couple pictures of some of the cakes they have done, but I think you'll agree...they are great!

Holly hard a work!

Thanks Uncle Tim!

Unfortunately, my Uncle Tim won't be able to attend the wedding because he is recovering from surgery he had this week. But, he promised he would send something fabulous....and he indeed did. We got a Kitchen Aid Mixer! Zach was home to open it when it first arrived and he called me so excited! He made me promise him we would make a cake when I got home from the shower. I am not a big baker....but you better believe I am going to become one!

Rainbow Chip is my favorite frosting so here is the end result...not the prettiest cake, but SOO GOOD! Thanks again Uncle Tim. You are the best!

Showered with Love

All of Zach's Aunts threw me a shower this past weekend up in Berry. We all had a lot of fun playing games and socializing. I also learned some more about Zach from a cute game Holly and Heather put together. We got great gifts from everyone and our house is definitely starting to become a home. Here are some pictures.

Crystal, Kaitlin and Ashley

Jacie and Heather

We played Family Feud, which was a lot of fun. We had to grab the kitchen spoon to give our answer.

Holly definitely won this one.

Starting to open gifts.

All of Zach's Aunts bought us our cookware!

And we got ROCKING CHAIRS! This may seem like an unusual gift, but I love it! I have been talking about wanting rocking chairs on our front porch forever and now we have them! They were from The Phillips' and The Cordes'.

My soon to be Mother in Law and Sisters in Law.