30 Sep

Witches and Goblins

Wade and I started celebrating Halloween early. We decided at the last minute on Friday afternoon to do some pumpkin carving. Jamie, Steven, Grant, and Shelly came over and got creative – or rather Wade got creative. The rest of us discovered how wonderful stencils can be. Madison was underfoot and ate quite a bit of pumpkin guts – but it didn’t seem to bother her. My pumpkin is the third from the left!

Since we carved the first pumpkins so early, we’ll hopefully be able to have at least one more pumpkin carving before Halloween. Now we just have to work on our costumes for Rob’s B & B Party in Washington D.C.

29 Sep

Shh…. She’s sleeping

Ben and Stephanie Upshaw (part of the Toadfrogs and Elephants) just had a new baby girl – Liza. Now we have all of the toadfrogs and elephants paired up (as of Liss’s wedding) and a new baby too!

28 Sep

Ambulance Driving

I had my first official EMT class last night. The instructor is pretty cool – funny and laid back. There are 34 students in my class, but I was told at the end of the quarter (this is a 3 quarter class) there will be about 25. I was making bets with my two new friends (and believe it or not, they are girls) on who wouldn’t last. One of the girls has an undergrad in Biology and is applying to med schools for next year. She is also recently married and her husband is a golf pro (he actually got a degree in that).

Anyway, I don’t think the class will be too hard (there are up to 2 re-tests on any test including the final). The worst part is that it meets from 6-10 two nights a week with occasional Saturdays. After working my 45 hours a week that is a little much. My poor puppy is already asleep when I get home. If everything goes according to plan, and we stay in the area – I will be certified and licensed (we got a lecture on the difference) by the middle of next June.

Oh yeah – and supposedly EMT people get very offended if you call them ambulance drivers. However, I still tell people that is what this program is for – so I can drive ambulances.

25 Sep

Splish Splash

Wade and I decided to go for a hike in northeast Georgia after church. Wade could easily get to Anderson (his home away from home) and I could just come back to Atlanta. It turns out Panther Creek Falls Trail was a little difficult to find, but we eventually made it.

This was a new experience for Madison. She was tugging on her leash but did pretty well. We eventually let her off and that was great. There were lots of streams and waterfalls, which she loved. She even fell in once and got carried away by the rushing water. There is a video of it (and other pictures) on Wade’s website. She got herself out before we had to go in and rescue her – poor puppy. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Madison jumped in the water anytime she could, but no more rushing water. She liked to be in the lead when walking on the trail, but she never got more then 10-20 feet in front of us.

At one point, Wade and I stopped for water (I was wearing my camelback) and Madison was sitting all cute watching us. I squirted some water out of it towards her and she started drinking too!

The worn out puppy slept the whole way home and only woke up for a bath before going to her crate for the night. Now we are talking about a weekend trip for next weekend.

24 Sep

Zap!

A few weeks ago, I played laser tag as a part of the corporate challenge I was involved in – my team came in 3rd. I had forgotten how much fun it is. This place had a huge indoor area, much bigger than where I last played in D.C. Wade has been begging to play for ages, so I planned a group activity.

Steven, Ryan, Brad, Wade, and I took on 6 other people our age and a mom with her two kids. The area was all blacklit and had three castles. It was supposed to be every man for himself, but we teamed up a little and had a blast. The two little kids were annoying and the mom kept trying to protect them – I admit to hunting them down the second game. Wade came in 3rd for both games and I came in 5th and 7th. I can’t wait to go back again with more people!

Afterwards, we all went to Steak n’ Shake, where I had such quick service I was dumbfounded. This is the same restaurant that ran out of ice cream last time I was there! We sat and talked for an hour or so. The guys spent time speculating why a couple sat in their car for 15-20 minutes after leaving the restaurant. I even furthered the Firefly cause – I passed my DVD’s on from Steven to Brad.

20 Sep

Another One Bites the Dust

Wade, Madison, and I arrived in Paducah late Thursday night. The wedding festivities began early Friday morning – if you count going to have my dress altered. Then I ran my few errands for the weekend – a trip to the used bookstore and a stop to get my immunization records. Our old next door neighbors – The Haughs (Dabney, Leland, and Mary Marshall) hosted Melissa’s bridesmaid luncheon. Then we were on to the church for the rehearsal and then the fun began!

The rehearsal dinner was similar to our’s last year – it was outside at my dad’s with BBQ and a bluegrass band. What a great time! I even got to do some of my country jitterbug with Matt Hodges (my old partner from D.C.) Matt and I both hadn’t danced since my wedding last year, but we got most of the moves. The pull-the-shades was the one we never got – darn it.

Saturday was all day crazy. I had one last dress fitting and then I spent five hours at the beauty shop with the other girls. Melissa’s pictures were being taken at mom’s house so I rushed home for the pictures. Then we all rushed to the church for some more pictures and then some waiting. Finally we walked down the aisle and they said “I do.”

The reception was lots of fun – there was a chocolate fountain! My goal at this reception (as opposed to mine) was to dance and eat and do some visiting. It worked out just about right.

My M&M story – we realized that Tyler and Katrina (my little cousins) were a little apprehensive about pictures and walking down the aisle. However, they perked up and did as asked for an M&M. I had some M&M’s waiting at the end of the aisle for the flower girls and the best man had some in his pockets for Tyler. During the first prayer, I heard scuffling and realized the girls were helping themselves to all of the M&Ms left on the altar. Wish I had grabbed a few!

11 Sep

She’s Back

Friday night, Wade and I went out with Jamie and her new boy. I long ago told Jamie my only requirement for the guy she dates is that he like to play cards. You wouldn’t think it would be hard to come up with two other people, but it is. We always have three or five – never four. We did play cards after dinner, and it was Dan’s first time at Spades. He did pretty well, but Jamie and Wade still beat us.

Saturday, Wade and I spent most of the day in the car. We drove to Cullman, AL to meet his parents for lunch. (The main reason for the trip being the return of Madison.) Madison looked a little skinny and had stitches on her tummy, but she was as hyper as ever. The bad part is she can’t have a bath till Friday (she normally gets one every couple of days). Wade’s dad also told us she has fleas. Yuck.

Sunday, I had to play putt putt for the Gwinnett Corporate Challenge with a couple of people from SA. I managed to get 3 hole-in-ones and the third worst score – go me. Then Wade and I did the cleaning and fogging that went with getting rid of fleas. That also meant we had to leave the house for a few hours. We ordered some pizza from Mellow Mushroom (I am in withdrawal) and headed for Piedmont Park. I love watching Madison in the dog park. She isn’t sure about the big dogs and there was a Great Dane there tonight. It slobbered all over her and she jumped up into my arms. There were some Australian shepherds and Chihuahuas she liked playing with.

09 Sep

Now This Is Work

My company had it’s annual Legal Conference this past week. I haven’t been with the company for previous retreats, but this one was awesome. We spent three days at Chateau Elan in Braselton, GA. I was a little apprehensive about going. I know lots of the lawyers, but wouldn’t be comfortable with them in a social setting. This year was a joint legal and finance conference so I was hoping there would be some other young people. I wasn’t thinking that this was mostly high level people. I was the youngest person by about 15 years.

Regardless, I had a great time. There were about five speakers – a major investor, a board member, the CEO, and two panels of engineers. I learned a lot about the company and found some people in my department that are a lot of fun! We listened to the speakers for about four hours every day and the rest of the time was free. There is a spa at the hotel so I got a hot stone massage for my leisure activity- now that was relaxing!

The retreat ended at noon on Friday and we were done for the day. I decided to stay at the hotel and use their pool. I miss having a pool – that is the only bad thing about renting a house versus being in an apartment. I did get rid of those pesky strap marks though. Now I am ready for Melissa’s wedding.

05 Sep

GT vs. Auburn

Wade’s family (his mom, dad, and sister) came to visit for the long weekend. Wade and I both got off work early, and his parents arrived on Friday evening. We went out to dinner and then played dominoes – I won! His sister, Emily, joined us the next afternoon and we all got in the car to drive to Auburn. Wade’s dad and sister graduated from Auburn and Wade and I graduated from Tech. His mom tried to be impartial and root for both teams. We arrived in the early afternoon and revisited some old favorites of his dad. I am not a huge football fan, but I learned a lot about the game (Wade answered all my questions) and Tech won!!

I graduated three years ago, we were at an away game, and I still saw people I knew – how cool is that? We didn’t get back to Atlanta till 3:30 AM so most of Sunday was spent recovering and shoe shopping for Emily. Everyone left early on Monday and Wade and I spent the day relaxing. Wade’s parents took Madison with them. His dad is a vet and the plan is to spay her this upcoming week. It worked out great since I have a work retreat Wednesday through Friday and would have had to board her. Now I just can’t wait till she comes back.

03 Sep

Little Polka Dot Bikini

I suddenly realized that my sister’s wedding was only a few weeks away. In most aspects, this is great, except that I have to wear a strapless bridesmaid dress. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but the whole summer I have been getting a tan wearing my bathing suits, which have straps. Now I suddenly need the strap marks gone and to do that – I need a new bathing suit. I hate bathing suit shopping. It always takes forever, and then the suits are overly expensive. I decided I only needed this bathing suit for a few weeks so it didn’t have to be cute. I wanted a cheap one so I decided to do my shopping at Wal-Mart. The only thing I forgot in my master plan was the fact that it was late August and most stores are trying to get rid of their swim suits. There were two racks of suits, and each piece was only $5. I ended up with a neon orange top and neon yellow bottoms. Talk about eye catching! Amazingly, the suit actually fits really well – if only the colors didn’t scream 1980’s.

02 Sep

Our New House

Wade, Madison, and I have been in our latest house since April – so of course I am only getting pictures posted in September. The pictures are in my gallery. Take special note of the bookshelves and the dresser in the spare bedroom. That was my project last weekend. We tried to match the colors to the bedspread, but that probably doesn’t come through in the pictures. I’m just glad to have one more project done!

01 Sep

Soaring Gas Prices

You know those old photos of the 70’s when there were long lines of people waiting for gas? I saw that yesterday in Atlanta. I was on my way home from work with only an 1/8 of a tank of gas. I had heard stories about the gas prices, but I figured I’d just have to suck it up. Nobody had mentioned the “rush” on gas. I passed 6 gas stations on the way home. Three were out of gas and three had lines of cars that stretched at least a mile. I decided that was ridiculous. I went home and ventured back out at 10 – thinking nobody would be waiting in line then – wrong! I had to wait 20 minutes to fill up and then paid $3.15 a gallon. Geez!