Peacock Love

Our foyer tree is the card tree.  It's peacocky and I love it.  I plan on posting all the decor soon, not much has changed but I still love having it to look back at each year!

Day 332

Warm the Soul

It's been a cold, dreary couple of days around here.  The highs have been in the low 40's and just rainy and wet.  I've been freezing, I know that 40's isn't really that cold to some people but it was to me.  The first thing I did when I got home was make a nice mug of hot chocolate.  It was wonderful!Day 331

Weekend of the Century: Part 2

(You can catch up on Part 1 here) We got up bright and early on gameday to watch Gameday.  I had to go to the store for a few things so I headed out.  I went to the Publix on campus, not that this is important, I basically went in my pjs thinking I wouldn't see anyone.  I don't know why I thought that.  There were people everywhere.  I pretended like I wasn't wearing my pjs and started gathering my goods.  I got to the check-out and realized I didn't have my id or card.  So I left my buggy and ran home.  I'm not going to lie the thought crossed my mind that this wasn't a good sign for the day to come.Slowly but surely we all got up and got ready for the day.  After the events the day before we were all a little spent emotionally so it took us a little longer than usual to get into our tailgate groove.  It wasn't too much longer till everyone started filing in. A little later we ventured to the quad.  There were more people in Tuscaloosa for this game than I've ever seen there.  It was unreal

When we got home from the quad Ally was pooped.  It's tough to be carried all that way.  We rested and refueled for the big game.  I was nervous.

Before we left the house.

Amy and I saw this beautiful sunset on the way to our seats.

In our seats.  We managed to spill two drinks before the game even started. The man in front of us (that we spilled a drink on at the UT game) turned to us when he got to his seat and winked.  It was a little creepy but made us laugh.  Apparently he didn't hate us.  The game was frustrating to say the least.  It should have never come down to our kickers or overtime. 

When we went into overtime I went to the bathroom.  I couldn't watch.  I came out of the portal to watch the 2nd overtime and met these two super sweet people.  They weren't even really Bama fans but they consoled me anyway.  They ended up coming back to the house for dinner and drinks.  I enjoyed them.   

I think this photo best describes everyones feelings at the end of the day.  We were all pooped both physically and emotionally.  I was sitting at the table trying to decide if I wanted to drive home or not and I just started crying.  I looked like an idiot.  (It also made the season complete, I some how managed to cry about something every single home game.  It's a gift, or a curse I'm not sure yet.)  I just got to thinking about that being the last tailgate I'd probably go to at that house.  We've had some amazing times there and I was sad thinking about not seeing all these people every Saturday in the Fall.  John will still be down there next year so hopefully we'll have a place to hangout. 

All in all it's been a great season.  The loss hurt, only because we had every opportunity to win and we blew it.  We're on track to get our rematch in the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans.  I would give my right arm to be there.  (Which I may have too!) 

Roll Tide Roll!

DIY: Tree Skirt

I've been busy working on a new tree skirt.  I finally finished it tonight.  It's not perfect by any means but it gets the job done. 

This was another pinterest idea and it was fairly easy just very time consuming.It's more square than your average tree skirt, I'm not real good with scissors!
Day 330 Theirs is way better than mine!

Source: mycrazylife-lauren.blogspot.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Thanksgiving Sunday

Since we didn't have turkey and dressing at my grandmother's Thursday, my dad made it for lunch today and it was delicious.  I took this picture of Harper and Ally before we ate.  They're pretty cute!

Day 329 

Winning

Iron Bowl Saturday is always a big day in our house.  I think I've mentioned before we are a house divided ;).  It's rough.  Patrick was off work today so we invited some of the tailgate crew and a few friends over to watch the game.  It was mostly Alabama fans with the exception of Patrick and Hope.  It was fun to have everyone over to hang out and watch Bama kick some tail! I got us this ornament for our "House Divided" tree and I love it.  I thought it was so cute!Day 328

Weekend of the Century: Part 1

**Disclaimer:  This particular post has taken me almost a month to write for a reason. It was hard to write.  I would appreciate any questions or comments about anything I've written to be directed to me.  Thanks.** 

 Some of you may have heard about the "Game of the Century" a few weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, well my weekend started Friday around noon when I hit the road to Ttown to get ready for my sister's wedding.Yes, my sister got married the day before the LSU game in Tuscaloosa.  I've never felt emotion like I did that day.  Let me back up to the Sunday after the Tennessee game... Liz and Clay came by mom and dad's to announce they'd set a date.  November 4th, 2011.  They also informed us they were inviting 4 guests to the ceremony and 20 guests to a dinner following.  I immediately started bawling.  The first words I spoke went something like this, "4 guests? Are you f-ing serious?" Classy, I know.  To which Elizabeth replied something like, Be happy you're one of them. She went on to name the four guests...none of which included my parents or his parents. I then announced if my parents weren't invited then I wouldn't be in attendance. I could not for the life of me understand why you wouldn't want your parents at your wedding especially since our family has always been so close. I love my parents so much and they are good people.  I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want them there.  I was caught in the middle.  I love my sister, I support her, if she's happy I'm happy for her. But I also love my parents and it killed me to see them so upset they've been dealt some blows and I think this was the most hurt I've seen them.  I mulled over it for two or three days and with my parents blessing I decided I should go to the ceremony if I was invited.  I arrived in Tuscaloosa a little after 1:00 Friday and the whole town was a buzz.  There were people everywhere already ( for the game not the wedding).  I got to the house and Elizabeth and Amy were getting ready. We all chatted and laughed.  I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it through the day.  I was trying so hard to stay strong, I've gotten pretty good at smiling on the outside when I really want to sit in the corner and cry.  I was completely torn the entire day.  We all got ready and then it was time for Liz to put on her dress and finish her hair.  While I was so honored and excited and happy to be there, I was also dying on the inside.  I wanted my mom to be there.  It's a mom's job to make sure your veil is straight and that your shoes are buckled.  I was reminded of my wedding day so much.  My sister and I spent that entire day together and we laughed a lot.  We laughed a lot this day too but every time I laughed I felt guilty that I was there and my mom wasn't.Soon enough it was time to head to the church.  We arrived at little bit early and the priest wasn't there yet.  He quickly arrived and we headed into the chapel.  The chapel was beautiful and it was a really sweet, intimate ceremony.  One of the prayers was that you are blessed with children and they bring you much joy and all I could think was that their parents weren't there and how much joy being a part of this ceremony would have brought to them.  I always cry at weddings and this one was no different.  I cried like a baby. It was really beautiful.  I was so happy I went because I know I would have regretted not being there.  Sometimes we have to suck it up and smile even if you think it may be the last thing you ever do.  After the ceremony we went to Cypress Inn for a nice dinner.  Patrick and I love Cypress Inn, I was sad he wasn't able to join us.  He wasn't able to get off work. I was happy to finally see my parents.

 

John and me before dinner.

Me and the bride.

Amy and my Mom, they both looked beautiful.

Amy and John

We felt like we were at the kids table.  So to play the part when Keith opened his potato we all thought it looked like a seal so we made a ball and put it on his nose.  Isn't he cute.  We had Gigi's cupcakes and then we headed to the house. 


Once we got to the house we decided to head to the Houndstooth.  This was the outside at 8:30 Friday night.  It was crazy! 



I was excited to see my new friend Shannon.  Love this girl!

Also got to hang out with an old friend from high school.  We didn't stay out to late.  We got back to the house and Amy and Shannon were going to another bar so I just decided to call it a night.  Before I went to bed, Dad and I took Ally for a walk and we ended up walking all the way back to campus to see the Gameday set. We also passed this casket in the bed of a truck.  Pretty random.


 I've tried so hard to put all of this behind me.  It's just so hard when you see people that you love hurt, it's even harder when the cause of the pain was the action of another person that you love too.  I try to forget the pain but it gets brought to the surface all too often in a photo or a friend who mentions it in public because weddings are happy occasions.  And for the record my feelings about this situation have nothing to do with the person Liz has chosen to spend her life with.  It wouldn't have mattered who was standing beside her.  The fact that my dad wasn't there to give his daughter away and my mom didn't get to see her stand in front of that chapel and vow to spend the rest of her life with someone is where the hurt comes from.  The fact that it didn't seem bother either of them that they hurt people that love them deeply fueled these feelings.

If I've learned anything in my 27 years it's Life is all about perspective. While all this was so hurtful and some of us even found ourselves navigating the stages of grief, it could be a lot worse.  They are still in our lives.  I am still able to call her on the telephone if I want to tell her something.  I don't want that to change but I also want it to be understood how hurt I was and why I was hurt.  I've tried to understand and respect the decisions they made but that doesn't mean I have to agree with them.  It also doesn't mean my feelings won't be hurt.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I hate writing these types of posts but sometimes I just need to pour my heart out.  I try to keep it real and this is about as real as it gets.

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

I am really blessed beyond words.  I have the most amazing, resilient family that I couldn't imagine not having in my life.  Do they make me crazy sometimes, yes, but I know without a shadow of a doubt they'll be there for me in a heartbeat. 

Patrick is my better half.  He keeps me grounded.  He tells me when I'm being ridiculous and need to chill out.  He lets me cry when I get my feelings hurt and he can always say something to put life in perspective for me.  My mom and dad, I'm lucky enough to be able to say they are truly two of my best friends.  Patrick's parents are two angels in my life.  They are two of the most kind hearted people I've ever be around.  They are able to make impossible situations seem possible.  They always know the right thing to say to make you feel better.  My friends, where do I start, they have listened to more venting over the last 8 years then they probably care to think about.  Just being around them lifts my spirits.  I love that we can laugh at things and ourselves all the time.  Sometimes I wish we could still all live together, husbands, babies and all.  The two years I lived with them were some of the most laughter filled moments of my life.  I'm thankful that when we get together we can laugh till my face hurts (usually about whatever we started venting about).  I have learned a lot this year, a lot of tough lessons that I didn't really want to learn.  But I'm am thankful for them. 

Life is good.  Petty things do not matter.  I can not control how other people feel and act I can only control my reaction to them.  People can only hurt me if I let them.  I'm trying to learn that.

Enough mushy stuff on to Turkey Day...
We had a wonderful day.  We started with lunch at my grandmother's house with my aunt and my uncle (his wife went to Indiana to visit her family, we missed her).  My grandmother decided against a traditional Thanksgiving meal and opted for vegetable soup and Mexican cornbread instead.  It was delicious (although I was a little disappointed because I'd been craving turkey and dressing all week). 

Harper checking out the black Friday deals. 

The boys (and Ally) out shooting. 

Harper loves Ally.

For dinner we went to Patrick's mom and dad's and like usual they cooked enough food for 50 people, there are 13 of us, five of those are under the age of 10.  She had ham and turkey, dressing, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, squash, green beans, corn , peas, baby potatoes, roasted vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes onion all together), sweet potato casserole, salad and rolls.  It was all so good.  Then for dessert she made a chocolate cheesecake, pecan pie, another pie (pumpkin I think), banana pudding and strawberry/cream cheese danish thing. It was all so delicious!  Needless to say we had to roll ourselves out of there.

I left there headed to my parents house to make a black Friday shopping plan.  Honestly there really weren't that many deals that we thought we just couldn't miss.  There were a few things that we were after.  Our first stop was going to be Wal-Mart until we drove by and there wasn't a parking place for blocks.  All we wanted was one wii game and we decided we didn't need it.  So we headed to Target to wait for them to open.  The line was ridiculous so we decided we'd just sit in the car until it opened.  Then they were only letting 30 people in every 3 or 4 minutes.  So we decided we'd have to go stand in line if we were ever going to get in.  We made it in around12:30 got the few things we were after and got in line.  This is where I started to turn into a pumpkin.  I get really grouchy when I'm up past my bedtime and it was way past my bedtime.  We stood in line about 20 minutes and made it out without hurting anyone. 
I really didn't do as well as I have in the past.  I only got 6 gifts but that's a start so it was worth it. 

Wow that was a long one, if you're still reading thanks for sticking it out!

Tomorrow is kind of a big day in Alabama, there's this little game called the Iron Bowl and we really need to win it!

Roll Tide!

Volunteer weekend

"The Third Saturday in October"

October 22 we headed to Tuscaloosa to take on Rocky Top.  Tennessee is terrible so we weren't expecting much of a game.  I honestly don't remember much of the game.  We had a good time.  I do remember that!  We won, I remember that also.

We started the day with mimosas, like we do most every gameday.

I don't remember what we ate but I'm sure it was good.  I think it was chili. 

John, Hope and Bentley. Aren't they precious!

Pre-game photo shoot.  I title this one "Self-portrait".

Liz on the porch

Amy so happy to go to the game with me!

Mom, the Doggy sitter extraordinaire.  They love her! 

Sisters before the game.

Siblings.  Amy and I ended up leaving our seats after we splashed a drink on the man in front of us and I thought we were going to get in a fight with his wife.  She was so mad and it barely got on him.  These people have not liked me since the first day I sat in these seats.  I like to cheer, a lot and loudly.  They didn't appreciate it ever.  Funny thing is this game I was cheering at one point and the woman turned around and told me she just loved my energy.  I thought we were finally making progress then the drink happened and we were back to square one.  So after all that we decided to go find my little brother and sister in the student section and sit with them. 

To start the fourth quarter we decided to head down to Dad's seats.  This was our group shot after Rammer Jammer.  So happy!

Amy and I trying to pose with our victory cigars.  I couldn't do it and look cool so this is the best it gets.

Babo and Papa!  I love them!

The boys and Liz with Bullets infamous sign of the week! After the game we decided to head to the Houndstooth. We watched a football game at the bar, I think it was Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Can't remember for sure but it was an upset.

I love these girls.

One Month

Till Christmas!!!

As of today our halls are officially decked!
I started the day with coffee from my Christmas mug.  I caught up on shows via our DVR.  (I love Wednesday nights on ABC the comedies are great and Revenge is the best show I've watched in a while.)  After I watched a few shows I started dragging out the Christmas stuff, my sister came over and helped me so I got it all done pretty quickly!  I'm pretty excited with the results!  I'm also trying to get the blog caught up before the holidays are in full swing.  I've still got a couple football games and Thanksgiving and I'll be satisfied!

Day 327

Making a List

We're making a plan to tackle black Friday. I'm sure I'm going to regret this decision!

Day 326

Breaking Dawn

Tonight I went to see Breaking Dawn with Lorie and Kristen.  I'm not gonna lie, I didn't love it.  There were some parts that were just a bit over the top even for a vampire, werewolf, mortal and vampire baby movie.  To be honest I haven't just loved any of the movies.  I loved the books but the movies have been just okay.  We went to the late movie and I had to prop my eyes open. I'm getting to old for that stuff!

Day 325

Chicken & Dumplings

This was another pinterest recipe.  It was really good considering the effort it took!I can't get it to embed so here's the link.Day 324

Iron Bowl Week Kickoff

I decided that I could justify putting up one of my Christmas trees this week because it is our "House Divided" tree for the man room.  I can't believe it's already Iron Bowl week.  This season has seriously flown by.  I need life to slow down.
I cut these vinyl letters awhile back but we just got around to hanging them tonight.
Day 324

Blooper Reel

After lunch today I took some pictures of my brother's kids.  While Ava was getting her hair done, Porter and Harper helped me find a place and set my camera.  They were both being such hams.

Day 323

Celebration

Tonight we went to an engagement party for my cousin and his fiance.  It was at her parents home and it was fabulous.  I want to live on their patio around the pool!  Everything was beautiful!  I'm so excited for Ryan and Natalie and all the wedding festivities.  I love a wedding!(Patrick, me, Hope and John out by the pool)Day 322While we were at the party the BCS was being turned upside down.  It looks like things are lining up for a rematch in the National Championship game.  We still have to beat Auburn and if I've learned anything this weekend it's anyone can lose any Saturday!Roll Tide!