Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, like I said previously I'm a little behind on my blogging.  I'll probably blog about Christmas sometime in February!

This was the first year in my entire life, I didn't have Thanksgiving with my family.  I'll have to admit that I was a little sad, but we ended up having a great time!

Since the Husband has finals right after Thanksgiving the holiday is somewhat stressful for him, and he doesn't really have time to travel.  So this year we stayed right where we were, and invited a few other professional students and wives over.  Well it turned out to be just one other wife. J and I did all the cooking, and we got a little carried away with ourselves, but hey it's Thanksgiving and the more food the better, right?

This isn't really a good pic of our smorgasbord, but you can get the general idea.

We were pretty proud of ourselves (and our oven mitts)!

But don't worry about me, after our Thanksgiving feast I was able to sneak off to LA and visit the fam.  It was especially fun to see these little folks!

 (Notice that Ariel is having a snack too. The Little Mermaid is a big hit with G & H right now.)

 (those eyes say it ALL)

Mamma Mia

Mamma mia, here I go again

My my, how can I resist you?

Mamma mia, does it show again?

My my, just how much I've missed you

Yes, I've been brokenhearted

Blue since the day we parted

Why, why did I ever let you go?

Mamma mia, now I really know,

My my, I could never let you go.

A few weeks ago (I'm a little behind on blogging) my MIL, SIL, and I all went to see Mamma Mia in Huntsville!  It was so much fun!  I've been singing ABBA songs ever since....dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen...sorry ABBA is addictive.  I can't help it. 

It was the perfect Bunburying weekend.  There was shopping, musicals, and yummy food.  What more could a Bunburyist want?!

Wheeler

Today I am forgoing Favorite Fridays and participating in Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life - Pets.

As most of you know, the husband and I have a Boykin Spaniel named Wheeler.  We got Wheeler in May after searching the world over for a Boykin.  Boykins are a fairly new breed and kind of hard to come by.  We found the perfect litter in Atlanta. Only there was one problem...the husband wanted a male, and the litter was five females!!  So we decided to take a female and we are so glad we did (I secretly wanted a female all along)!

First Family Photo!  She was just a baby!!

Wheeler and the Husband during her toddler days.

Wheeler as a preteen.  She is growing up so fast!

These preteen months have been the most difficult.  She has decided that obedience is overrated, and she likes being Miss Independent!  Can't wait to see what the teenage months have in store for us!

Favorite Friday - Bible Verse

 ⁵For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.  Psalm 30:5


There are so many Bible verses that I love...there is no way to decide on a favorite.  However, this verse has special meaning. My mother has quoted this verse to me more times than I can remember, and it has stuck with me through the years.  I actually think it is the first verse I ever memorized - thanks Mom!

A chewing phase

Wheeler is going through a chewing/destroying phase.  Items chewed/nearly or totally destoryed by Wheeler in the past 4 days:

1) Television remote - still works, but now has a little character
2) Throw pillows - I needed new ones anyway...
3) Blankets - still useable
4) Kitchen rug - thankfully I bought it from Walmart, and it was dirt cheap
5) The husbands hat - completely destroyed
6) Pill bottle - completely destroyed. Miraculously she did not get the bottle open (that would not have ended well).
7) Plastic cup - completely destroyed
8) Bills - salvageable.  If our dog eats our bills that means we don't have to pay them, right?

Forgot to mention this is the 2nd hat she has destroyed!

Favorite Friday - Plays

So it's not too difficult to figure out my favorite play (especially since I named my blog after it).  Yes, the Importance of Being Earnest is by far my favorite play.  I just love Oscar's wit and cleverness.  I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes from my favorite play...

"My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression..."


"Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous."


"I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing."


"All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his."


"I could deny it if I liked. I could deny anything if I liked."


“I've now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being earnest” 

Whew!

This week has flown by!  Don't you love when that happens?  I just realized that tomorrow is FRIDAY!  The husband had two test this week, and I had two events going on at work this week....we are tired.

In Wheeler's world, she learned the importance of not eating Daddy's toxic plant project on Tuesday.  On Wednesday she learned the importance of not eating Daddy's boot, and today she learned the importance of not eating paper that contains important information.  As for the toxic plants, thankfully she only consumed plants that are poisonous to cows and horses.

Since tomorrow is Friday, that means one thing - Favorite Fridays!  I proclaim tomorrow, October 29th Favorite Friday - Plays.  Bet you can never guess my favorite play!!

Favorite Friday - Entrées

My most favorite entrée in the whole wide world is the southern tradition referred to as Bar-B-Q! Slow cooked and hickory smoked Bar-B-Q. I like it all, chicken, beef, and pork.

And any good southern knows that the Bar-B-Q sauce (one of the most important ingredients) can make or break Bar-B-Q. Now I am not a fan of vinegar based sauces, but if you want my recommendation for the best red sauce in the South click HERE. It is absolutely divine! Thankfully, my MIL keeps me well stocked with Big Bob Gibsons's Red Sauce, and I use it quite frequently.

Now doesn’t this just make you hungry!

(from Southern Living)

So what is your favorite entrée?

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I love the Sound of Music, don't you? Can't you just close your eyes and see Maria and the von Trapp children dancing around their bedroom singing:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things...

When I was little I took ballet lessons, and one of my most favorite ballet recitals was when I danced to "My Favorite Things." We were all assigned parts of the songs to act out, and I got the line "When the dog bites." My job was to act like a growling dog, to say the least I was not too happy about my role in the dance. Why couldn't I be the girl "in white dresses with blue satin sashes?" She got to act like she was tying a big pretty blue bow on her beautiful white dress! Totally not fair. Oh well, I still loved that dance recital, and I still love that song.

While I was reenacting my dance recital glory days for the Husband a few nights ago I had a sudden epiphany. Favorite Fridays! I thought about Favorite Mondays or Favorite Wednesdays, but I just really like the alliteration of Favorite Fridays.

So tomorrow starts my weekly posts of Favorite Fridays. In order to start this post off on the right foot, I thought I should start with a topic that I hold near and dear to my heart - Food.

Therefore, I proclaim tomorrow, October 23rd to be Favorite Friday - Entrées.

Time to Catch Up!

I am way behind on blogging!

First, My MIL and FIL came to the great state of Mississippi for a visit a few weekends ago, and my MIL taught me how to crochet! I can now check that off my to-do list!

DISCLAIMER: I did not make this scarf; however, I am working towards making something that somewhat resembles a scarf.

Second, Fall decorations have been put up, grew fuzzies (molded), and put up again. Note to self: Do not use REAL pumpkins and squash in next years fall decor.

Third, Mom and I attended a wedding in Birmingham this weekend of a friend of mine from high school. It was so great to see a few of my old high school friends!

Did I mention that we spent the night in B'ham, and you know what that means...SHOPPING! Oh, how I love shopping! And when you live in small town USA, shopping in the big city is a special treat! We had a great time and found some great sales. I even found a Lilly Pulitzer dress for $20.00 at Belk, and no, I didn't leave a zero out of that amount. I almost cried I was so excited!

The 2009 Flood

If you live in the southeastern portion of the U.S. you know what the weather has been like. Rain, rain, and more RAIN! Here in MS it has rained for 15 days straight. Sure we have had a few breaks, and I have even seen a bright shiny something in the sky on occasion; but for the most part it has rained pretty consistently.

The husband keeps saying that animals are lining up two-by-two and maybe they are!

I didn't say they were real animals :)

Wheeler found this to be very interesting...

This is what happens to your slip cover when you combine 15 days of rain with a hyper puppy.

Kelly's Kids!

My big sister, you know the mom of the two little ducklings that I just adore, is now a Kelly's Kids rep! For those of you who don't know my sis, she is full time preacher's wife/full time mom/full time volunteer, and now a Kelly's Kids rep too.

If interested in ordering clothing, you can order online at http://www.kellyskids.com/, and her rep# is 113725 to use for ordering.

Now here are few pics of H at H's 1st birthday party. Bet you can never guess where H's clothes are from!

An Update from Wheeler

Hi Blog World,

I just wanted to update everyone on what I have been up to lately. For those of you who don't know me, I am a 5 month old Boykin Spaniel named Miss Bama's "Wheeler."

I have quickly adjusted after making the move from Georgia to Mississippi. I have recently discovered the art of swimming. I am sure I could out swim Michael Phelps any day of the week. I love when Mom and Dad take me to the pond; however, they keep throwing various items in the water and expect ME to bring them back to them. I mean don't they know how to swim?

My all time favorite toy is toilet paper! It is too much fun to unroll an entire roll of T.P and then shred and consume it. Unfortunately, all T.P. in my house has mysteriously disappeared. Oh well, I 'll just move on to the shower curtain liner, which is equally just as fun to play with.

My favorite food is a stick. Have you ever tasted a stick? Well let me tell you that they are absolutely delicious, but once again the Rents keep taking them away from me, how mean!! I also really enjoy steak, chicken, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, ice cubes, bread, Cheerios, and anything else that falls on the floor while the humans are eating.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you but I keep having the strangest visitor every night. Every night while I am peering out the storm door dreaming of swimming and eating sticks, a dog that looks just like me comes and sits on the other side of the door! And to make matters worse the dog copies me! Every time I move that dogs moves too! I try growling and barking at it, but that hasn't seemed to phase it. If only Mom and Dad would open that door...

Gotta run, it's supper time! Wonder if there will be any sticks in my dog bowl?!

Show Us Your Life-Our Perfect Day!

Today Kelly's Korner is having Show Us Your Wedding Reception & Honeymoon. So here ya go!

I picked this cake out when I was in 3rd grade! Found it in one of my Mom's Veranda magazines! No grooms cake, instead we had an ice cream bar!

Now this little guy had some fun!

And we're off to....

Antigua!

One Year Down!

As I mentioned in a previous post the husband and I just celebrated our one year wedding anniversary!! Kelly @ Kelly's Korner had a show me your wedding dress post last Friday and this Friday was show me your wedding party/flowers/ceremony, and since we just celebrated the big one year, I thought a wedding post would be appropriate (I'm only a few days behind)!

Here is a pic of my wedding dress.


I bought my dress at Low's in Brinkly, AR, which was an amazing experience. I have never seen so many wedding dresses - it was so fun! Actually I have to give my mother the credit for my dress. She was the first to spot it. We both immediately fell in love. It was so different, yet so me!

FYI - The first thing the husband said to me when he saw me on our wedding day was, "You have a Gone With the Wind Dress!" That was reassurance that I had the perfect dress for me (I'm a Gone With the Wind type gal).

I so loved my dress!! I really hope every bride loved there dress as much as I did.

Now time to show you my flowers!

Flower Crosses on the church door - they were my favorite!

Bridesmaid Dresses
Color: Celadon
Fabric: Chiffon

###

More Bunburying!

This past week I spent the whole week Bunburying at the BEACH! It was wonderful, fabulous, incredible, relaxing, and so very enjoyable. Sunday - Thursday the husband and I were in Destin, FL. I had to attend a conference for work, but the best thing about the conference was....I only had to be there from 7 A.M. - Noon. How nice is that?! So my afternoons were filled with some serious beach time!Have you ever heard of Seafood Nachos? Well 3 years ago we were in Destin and came across the wonder of seafood nachos and have been craving them ever since we left. They are comprised of shrimp, scallops, some sort of fish, black beans, lots of cheddar cheese, guacamole, salsa, jalapenos, and obviously nachos. They may not sound that great, but they really are wonderful. So the first night we were there we visited Pompano Joe's (one of our favorite Destin eateries) and promptly ordered the nachos. They were everything we had dreamed of! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the deliciousness, but here is pic of the husband and me attempting to walk down the beach after filling our stomachs.

Don't you love when you make "small world connections"? At least once a day I made a random connection with someone at the conference! One day I had an hour long conversation with a retired MS Congressman that knew my Grandfather! Another day I meet a girl that was a sorority sister with SIL at the University of Alabama. Cue "It's a Small World"

Oh, and of course I did a little outlet shopping in Destin. The blouse I have on in the above picture - $4.77 at Ann Taylor Loft!!

To make my week of bunburying even better the husband and I were invited by some friends to Gulf Shores from Thursday - Sunday. What a perfect vacation!

A pic with the girls!

I am so thankful for my professional school wives! It is so wonderful to have great friends to go through this experience with - it makes all the difference!

One of the best parts of the vacay was that we got to spend a few hours on the beach with these little people (aka G&H niece and nephew)!



They are so much fun! My sister doesn't live too far from the beach so day beach trips happen often for G & H! Those lucky ducklings!

We had such a wonderful time, but man was is it hard to return to work on Monday!

The Bunburyist Goes Camping...almost

This past weekend was our 1 year wedding anniversary, and to celebrate the occasion the husband and I spent a few nights in Gatlinburg, TN seeing the Smokey Mountains.


We THOUGHT we would stay in a really cute cabin outside Gatlinburg and really be able to enjoy our vaca...

This is our cabin. Looks fairly nice from the outside, doesn't it?

Well the nice looking cabin turned out to be not so nice after all. The husband (who lived in a frat house for 3 years) even thought the place was filthy! Thankfully, we found some clean sheets in a linen closet, and I had brought some clean beach towels and bath towels just in case. We made the best of the situation and now we can laugh about how we slept under beach towels for 3 nights! Even though we had running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity this was pretty close to camping, at least for me!

Here are a few pics of the wildlife we saw.

Turkey

Deer

Huge Scary Snake

Overall, good trip, good memories, and good adventure!

Exploring our Baptist roots

Elijah Oliver's Barn
Grist Mill

Greenbriar School & The Husband studying hard
Warming up by the wood burning stove

No explanation needed