Out with the old. In with the new......

As I mentioned previously, we have been in the process of making some renovations in our home. Actually, Jeff's been doing most of the renovations. I've been busy picking tile, paint, etc. I'm so exhausted too. I don't know what Jeff keeps moaning about. You would think he's doing the lion share of the work or something.... ;-)

Below you will see the "before" shots of our hallway bath. It is easy to figure out why we hated it so much.

What started out as a small project has become a huge project. Originally, the plan was to modify our hallway bath and that was it. It had carpet for flooring which we hated...even for a bathroom with a toilet and sink. It had horrible wallpaper and lots of bling. The "bling" was the gold trimmed mirror and other decorative items left by the former owners. It would be an understatement to say we hated the wallpaper and bling. So, the project started with the goal to remove the carpet and replace it with tile. The other goal was to remove the wallpaper and the bling. The walls have been painted. The pedestal sink has been replaced with a new sink and cabinet with matching mirror. And, we are still in the process of replacing the hardware and trim. The hardware is no longer shiny gold. It is a pewter color...including the new light fixture. Below is our newly remodeled bathroom. Much brighter and more modern looking. Or, at the very least, it is more to our liking and tastes.

Next up....the kitchen. The first photo below is a picture of our kitchen as it was when we purchased our home back in February. In this photo, the wood flooring actually looks nice. And, it would've been had it been properly installed. What you can't see are the gaps in between the wood in certain areas due to a crappy installation. So, we decided to yank that out and replace it with tile too. I painted the kitchen (and the majority of the rest of the house) some time ago as the same drab color throughout the entire house just didn't do it for me either. But, the primary driver for painting was I wanted scrubbable satin paint. The cheap paint that was on the walls could not withstand a house with two young children.

I went ahead and bought matching tile for our kitchen that will be installed later as a backsplash. I was afraid the matching tile might be discontinued (knowing my luck) by the time we got around to that remodeling effort next year. Our preference is that we replace the counter tops first. The current counter tops are a hunter green color. They are in good condition but we think the color looks a bit dated. Plus, we'd prefer to have a more neutral colored top and have that installed before doing the tile backsplash. I also think Jeff will run screaming into the night if he has just to do anymore tile for a while.

As you can see from the "after" photos, Jeff did an awesome job with the tile installation. You'd never know this was his first time to ever do it. And, if his "honey do" list stopped here, he'd be a happy camper. But, no such luck.

We also hated the carpet in the main living areas which has various stains. So, we decided to replace the foyer with tile and family room, dining room, and halls with Pergo laminate wood flooring. That is what Jeff is currently working on. And, last on the list is tile in the laundry room. I'll post pictures after that work is completed.

As usual, he and I never do anything on a small scale. It's never been our nature. Probably never will be. I just hope we survive the horrible mess that is currently in our home due to all of the work going on. Our kitchen is 99% back in order. Like the hallway bath, it is also lacking some attention on the trim, etc. to be 100% complete. Those will be my tasks to take care of. And, before anyone gives me grief, I've been busy making runs to Lowes for supplies, cleaning up the messes and generally trying to keep some order in our messy home at the moment so I have earned my keep as well.

Giving Thanks....And, Remembering.....

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~~William A. Ward

Thank you God for today and every day that I live to see another sunrise. And, thank you for giving me the health to make the most of each second count.

Thank you for my family and my friends; for the love of a family and friends truly is life's greatest blessing. I treasure each day I am blessed to have them in my life.

Thank you to my husband who is the person that I could not imagine traveling this road of life without. And, thank you to my children who remind me how precious each waking moment is.

Thanksgiving

We traveled to Huntsville, AL, last Wednesday night to spend Thanksgiving with Harold and Gail. As usual, Gail prepared more food than any of us could eat and we probably all gained at least 5 pounds during the visit. The Thanksgiving feast was delicious as usual. So, thank you to Harold and Gail for the wonderful meal.

On Friday evening, we visited the Santa's Christmas Village (Constitution Village) in downtown Huntsville. It opens each year the day after Thanksgiving decorated as Santa's Village and each year we attend while we are visiting. The first stop in the village was to see Santa of course. Pete, Gabrielle, Lia & Krista met us there for the evening as well.

We didn't stay long this year as the weather was so cold. It was in the low 30s and the hot chocolate just didn't keep us warm long enough. Yes, we southerners are whimps when it comes to cold weather.


Iron Bowl 2007 & Pete's "Nappy" 40th Birthday

The Iron Bowl is the name given to the annual football game between Auburn University (our alma mater) and the University of Alabama. This football rivalry between Alabama and Auburn is a huge event in the state of Alabama. The winner of the game wins "bragging rights" for the next year until the team meets again. Since we live in Georgia now, the Auburn vs. University of Georgia game seems more tense because we are surrounded by Georgia fans. But, the Iron Bowl is still a top priority to any Auburn fan; no matter where they live! Of course, Jeff and I dressed for the special occasion. And, Rachel and Anna stayed with Gail and Harold for the evening. They had plans to go to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens to see the Christmas light display. Jeff and I got a rare night alone without the kiddos. And, I have to admit...it was pleasant being able to watch one football game this season without interruption.

For several years now, we have met up with our friends Pete & Gabrielle (both Auburn alumni) and their family to watch the Iron Bowl. Clarence (Auburn alumni) and his wife, Kelly, and their children (C.J. and Andrew), usually make it to Huntsville on their way back home to Virginia after visiting with family in Alabama. And, this year we celebrated Pete's 40th birthday in addition to meeting up to watch the Iron Bowl.

I made Pete a cake. It was in the shape of a football and decorated in Auburn colors. My writing on the cake wasn't the most legible. While it was meant to say "Happy Birthday," the "H" looked more like an "N" so it appeared to read "Nappy Birthday." Oh well....it's the thought that counts, right? And, here is a picture of the birthday boy below. Doesn't he look like a serial killer?

I'm proud to report that Auburn maintained their winning streak against Alabama. We have now won for the sixth year in a row. It was a nail biter of sorts; as most Iron Bowl games tend to be. It doesn't seem to matter how either team performs prior to the Iron Bowl. The winner is always a toss up when it comes to this game.

We had a great visit with Pete, Gabrielle, Kelly & Clarence and children. I hate that we live so far away from one another and do not get the opportunity to visit more often. Hopefully, we'll see Pete, Gabrielle, Lia & Krista as they travel back from Orlando close to New Years.


In Memory of Uncle Frank

Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.~~Author Unknown

My Uncle Frank died at the age of 73 on Sunday, November 25, 2007. He will continue to live our memories and our hearts. From his obituary: He was a member of Knights of Columbus, and served in the Air Force. He retired from ARCO and Small Business Administration. He was also a realtor in Birmingham for over 35 years. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend and was a blessing to have in our lives.

Rest in peace Uncle Frank......

Indian Springs State Park, GA

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

On Thursday, Rachel lost tooth #2. She was so excited that the tooth fairy was going to come and visit her again. Anna is now trying to find a loose tooth so she can get a tooth fairy visit. I wouldn't be surprised to find her with pliers working on a tooth just to get some money.

Friday was a busy day. Both Rachel and Anna had Thanksgiving feasts at school so I took the day off from work and joined them for those activities. It was nice having the day to spend some time with them at school.

Rachel's Class
Rachel

Anna's Class

Anna and Me

I also did some work around the house as well. Jeff and I have started some remodeling work in our house. We are replacing the flooring in several rooms. Our first job was the hallway bath. It had carpet in it and horrible wallpaper. We removed the wallpaper and have now painted it. Jeff removed the carpet and has now installed ceramic tile. I'll post some pictures when the job is complete. In addition to that job, we are putting tile in the kitchen and laundry room. And, we are putting wood laminate flooring in the living room, hallways, and dining room. In a nutshell, we will never be done!

We joined our friends Larry & Cindy with their children; Trinity and Hannah, and John & Denise with daughter Alecia for the weekend at Indian Springs State Park.

It was quite cold on Friday evening and still a bit cool on Saturday; but more tolerable. Sunday morning was absolutely perfect fall weather. The trees looked beautiful too with all of the fall colors.

Larry and Cindy and Jeff and I arrived at the park just before dark on Friday evening. Jeff and I learned a long time ago that we never want to arrive somewhere after dark. It was the best recipe for an argument before we had an RV. Now, that we have an RV, the stress is even higher as there is nothing more nerve racking than trying to back up a 40 foot RV in complete darkness to an camp site that neither of us are familiar with. But, John and Darlene got a late start so they arrived after dark. Add to that the fact that it was their first trip towing their new camper. Needless to say, they've probably had more enjoyable experiences.

On Saturday, we brought the children and dogs to High Falls State Park to walk around for a while. As I mentioned before, Anna and Rachel love to hike there. The kids and the dogs had a blast. While we were there, we were speaking with a man from Maine who was walking his dog. At one point in the conversation he asked if Darlene was my daughter. I couldn't believe it! I'm 37 and Darlene is 32. Of course, Darlene said people commonly mistake her for a teenager so I shouldn't take it so hard but I have to feel a bit slighted. Then, I had to deal with Grandma jokes all weekend long from Jeff.

Me and Darlene

(Left-Right) Trinity, Rachel, Hannah, Alecia, and Anna at High Falls State Park

We went back to our campers to have lunch and then we drove to Juliette for the afternoon. No one had visited Juliette and the Whistlestop Cafe other than my family so it was a nice, relaxing afternoon visiting the quaint shops and enjoying some fried green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe.

The girls at the counter at the Whistle Stop Cafe

The gang in the front of the Whistlestop Cafe

We grilled out on Saturday evening. Trinity's birthday is coming up soon so this was a party for her. Larry & Cindy hosted a wonderful cookout complete with hot dogs, chili, and drinks for all. The fire was nice too. Happy Birthday Trinity!

Trinity

On Sunday, Jeff, Rachel, Anna and I stopped in Indian Springs for a quick lunch at Pinky's Parlor and Cafe. The food was yummy. The atmosphere was pleasant. And, the service was excellent. I definitely recommend a stop there if you are visiting Indian Springs. And, Indian Springs is a beautiful state park. I'd like to visit there again in the summer as well. It's a great central location to many activities in the local area so it is a great place to camp.

After much debate we have decided to cancel our December camping trips. With the work we are doing at our home and the business of the holiday season, we decided it would be best to stick around our home for December. We did have plans to go to Unicoi State Park the first weekend in December and to FDR State Park later in December. We have reconsidered our original plans and have decided to get caught up on things at home.

And before I forget.....

It's hard to see in the pictures above but Jeff has blisters at the outer corner areas of his eyes right above his cheeks. He decided to make himself look like a monster while playing with Rachel & Anna last Thursday night. He tried some of my red lipstick...he put it on his face to make it look like blood and really play up the scary part. Little did he know that he put on the long wearing lip color that takes quite a bit of effort to remove. It's made to not come off easily. When it came time to remove it, he wasn't sure how to do it so he used a wet wash cloth and kept scrubbing it until he removed it. The result was something that looked like burns on his face. Needless to say, he won't be touching my makeup anymore. His face is doing much better but he had do endure a pretty painful night on Thursday after scrubbing that stuff off. Now, it just looks like he's been in a fight.

We wish our friends and family a blessed Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron

Going home.....

Ricky, Me, and Edwin

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~~Author Unknown

I would argue that families are more like peanut brittle --mostly nuts with sweetness mixed in. Either way you view it, our family is special. And, the sign shown at the top of this post was nailed to the outside of Ricky's (my brother) garage. I'll let people guess who are the nuts in my family. Actually, it would be easier to try and pick the "normal" ones. I think it is a prerequisite that you have to be a nut to be in our family. It's the normal people who don't survive us very long. Jeff is fitting in just fine though. What does that tell you?

I visited with my Mom, Grandma, and brothers this weekend. It has been at least two years since I saw my brothers last. It was great visiting with everyone again.

Anna and Rachel enjoyed spending time with their cousin Allison. They played dress up while the adults caught up on things.

Ricky's custom painted Harley Davidson motorcycle won 1st place at a competition in Birmingham in 2004. And, Teresa, my sister-in-law, has since gotten a Harley of her own.

My nephew, Ed (Jr.), visited with us as well.

Allison (my niece), Me, and Ed (my nephew)

We went back to my Mom's apartment after our visit on Saturday morning with my brothers. She made spaghetti for us at Rachel's request. Rachel and Anna always enjoy visiting with their Grandmas. My Grandma turned 90 years old this past April. She is sharp as a tack mentally but I'm afraid her body is simply getting weaker with each passing day it seems. After our delicious meal with my Mom and Grandma, we visited with some of my old friends on Saturday evening.

Anna and her Great-Grandma

Rachel and Her Grandma (My Mom)

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend." - by John Leonard

Maggie, Me, Kim and Karen

I first met Kim and Karen when I transferred to a public school in 7th grade. We were friends all throughout high school and I shared an apartment with them one summer while we were in college. Later they were bridesmaids in my wedding. They have remained in Alabama all of these years and like everyone else, our busy lives has kept us from visiting one another as often as we should.

Maggie also went to high school with me. She also lived in Georgia for a couple of years and has now moved back to Alabama. Maggie and I were pregnant at the same time with our second child.

It has been too long since I had seen them all and we all met at Kim's house on Saturday. It was fun watching the children play together. Maggie's children weren't able to come but we had a house full anyway. Rachel and Anna (our two children), Trent and Grant (Kim's sons), and Katie (Karen's daughter) had a blast playing together.

Our 20-year high school reunion is coming up next year and I hope to at least see everyone again then. It was so wonderful visiting with them. I hate that we live so far away and don't get the opportunity to see everyone more often.

Early Christmas....

From the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation--
Bethany: Is your house on fire, Clark?
Clark: No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.

It didn't take long for us to get into the Christmas spirit. I'm sure our neighbor's are wondering if the Griswalds moved into the neighborhood. Our neighbor's 11-year old daughter, Landon, was so excited to see us decorating that she offered to help us put the decorations up outside and she stayed for dinner and helped us decorate our tree. I made homemade hot chocolate and we put the movie "Polar Express" on while we decorated. Landon was amazed by our ornaments. Many are home made and/or given to us by family/friends. And, many are ornaments we've picked up from places that we have traveled to. So, each one has a story.

This is a momentous year for us. It is the first year we have had white lights on our Christmas tree. I have always wanted white lights on our tree but Jeff was adamant that colored lights were the way to go so I've just always gone along with it. The first year we put lights up outside of our house he insisted on getting colored lights for that too. Instead of looking like Christmas decorations, our house looked like a Mexican restaurant. I kept telling him to put up a "Feliz Navidad" sign so that the look would be complete. But, after that decorating mistake, he agreed with me that white lights looked best outside but he still wanted the colored lights on the tree. After 13 years of marriage, Jeff has acquiesced and we have white lights on our tree this year. I know how hard this was for him so it really means a lot! Now, after seeing everything decorated, he agreed that it really looked nice. I'm so appreciative that I finally get to enjoy a white light Christmas. But, I fully realize that this is my one year to enjoy the white lights everywhere and I'm going to! Of course, he has also given some leeway to my desires through the years. I think the order of decorations are: lights, garland, then ornaments. He thinks the order is: lights, ornaments then garland. But, each year we have put the garland on before the ornaments. Next year, we think we'd like to use the old style large colored lights and actually string popcorn instead of using garland.
We also put out our Christmas village and other family Christmas heirlooms as well. It's been quite some time since we put all of our Christmas decorations out. I guess not being able to really decorate for Christmas while living in our RV made us realize how much we enjoyed it and missed it. The ceramic Christmas tree below is one that Gail's mom made.

We finally purchased a train to go around the base of the tree. Jeff has been looking at them for years. He selected the Polar Express version. He says its for the kids. I'm not so sure about that.
The outside has a few decorations too. Landon said no one else on our street put decorations up outside last year. I'm guessing everyone is wondering what the bright light is on our street right now.

I was also hoping our outdoor decorations would cheer up the family next door to us on the other side. They found out that their 22-month old granddaughter (who lives with them), Aspen, has Leukemia. I was hoping that when Aspen comes home from her chemo treatments that she'll enjoy the view. With her immune system being compromised, she won't be able to get out much. Please keep this little girl and her family in your prayers during this holiday season.

I figured I'd post a few pictures so everyone can see how it looks at our new house. Particularly because I suspect, Simba, our cat, will probably disassemble everything on the inside before long.

Cotton Field

A common sight in the south eastern United States this time of the year are the cotton fields. For years I've been meaning to take Rachel and Anna out to one and take some photos. I finally did it today. Below are some of the photos I took. Hopefully, some day, the girls will treasure these photos.

A rare sweet moment between sisters

Anna enjoying the softness of the cotton