Concerning the Homefront

This place is beginning to look like a home.
We now have curtains!  Okay not sure why but Scotty came fully equipped with everything EXCEPT curtains?
We live on the 3rd floor and have HUGE windows and Black leather couches. the living room is dangerous in the afternoon so the curtains are a welcome addition for us.

 My friend and fellow MAPper Ashley came up to visit on very short notice and I decided to put her to work.  Scotty and I are still in the poor college kid category for a couple more months so decor is slim around here. Thankfully Ashley is pretty handy with a paintbrush so we added two paintings of Magnolia blooms to our living room this past week and I LOVE them.  Scotty and I also demolished took apart a bookcase of mine while moving it in so after seeing it piled in the corner we repurposed it into some shelves for our barren walls. Not exactly the nicest approach to creating shelves but its much cheaper to throw to shelves up on white utility brackets for $4 than it is to go by floating shelves....  It was also a good excuse to get him to move the TV over. I like things to be centered, so much so that I measure everything and the TV being 52" its pretty obvious when it is off center, now its not :)

My diploma and teaching certificate came in but they are at Home-home. :( I want to hang them on the wall so badly or actually hold them in my hands.  Graduation is in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to have some closure for that chapter of my life. 

I have so many exciting new things going on but I feel like I won't really be moving forward until then. 

Coming up:  visiting a new church, grad school, wedding invitations are IN, new job, Pack visit.

New Leaf

No Excuses, even though I am the QUEEN of THOSE.
I really just wanted to hit delete and make the blog disappear.
Its not fun anymore because I try to make everything fit into pretty little boxes.
I don't share what I am cooking, because I'm not a foody photographer.
I don't post pictures of us or of life because quite frankly I am disgusted with how we look right now. But its like I told Scotty before, this is a time in our lives that we should be enjoying and making memories. Not hiding our in shame.

I start teaching less than one month from today.
I want to document that journey.

Apologies to everyone, because I am a pretty boring blogger.
My writing is bland, but this is for ME.

I love linky parties but the commitment is a bit much for me.

I love reading other blogs, but I really stink at commenting or otherwise being a good follower.

I write about too many things that noone cares about but who knows life may get real exciting soon.

Engagaversary

"Happy Anniversary Baaaabbbbyyyy I got you on my mi----ind"-- Rick and Bubba.

This is so late but yet again I am a self proclaimed slacker.
For our Engagaversy Scotty and I wanted to do something new. But heck were in a new state, everything is New.  The 4th as we all know by now is a big deal to me and we did get engaged on the 4th last year so it was fun to celebrate all that's happened since then. 

   

THEN:

NOW:

Not much has changed except this year we did NOT get rained on.
And for the Record, YES I am wearing the same dress. As per Scotty's request.  Creature of Habit much?

I really stink at surprises, I always figure them out.... I even knew about the engagement so he was determined to surprise me and played along. 

 We drove over to Murrells Inlet to Marshwalk.  I really don't know how to describe it other than it is a boardwalk  lining the Marsh that has tons of Fabulous local restaurants.  We ate at Creek Ratz and it was uh-mazing. Fried food galore.  Forget fitting into a wedding dress, we devoured that mess. Crab stuffed fried mushrooms the size of a raquetball....<3 <3 afterwards we strolled around for a bit then went to check out a store that I have been dying to go to. Lazy Gator is all I wanted it to be and more. They have a year round Christmas shop! I collect ornaments so that was uber exciting to me. A great mix of local crafts and more mainstream as well.  Super cute and fun just to walk around in.
Then we decided to head on over to the beach for a walk since the weather was absolutely stunning.
There were scattered fireworks while we were walking and live music playing= wonderful night for me. 
The first time I visited Myrtle Beach two months ago they had started on a new restaurant, later we found out it was a Jimmy Buffet, Landshark Bar and Grill. Not only that but it would be the location for the SKYWHEEL the 2nd largest gondola, Ferris wheel ride in the U.S.  187' at the highest point. I am afraid of heights, like big time. 187' is about 185 too many for me. But I was dying to ride so.....

 I lived through it, I wouldn't even look down until the very end and I am pretty sure I held my breath the entire time we were stopped at the top, but I lived.

Our last stop of the night just happened to be the 8th Wonder of the World, The Bowery

I'm not much of a bar girl but I am an Alabama girl.  The band Alabama got its start as the house band at the Bowery. Now being from the same area its no big deal to run into the guys of Alabama.  But its cool to see where they started out after they left DeKalb County.  Plus flash the guy at the door an Alabama I.D. and tell him you are from the same home town, and you can skip that cover charge. I've always been laid back, not one to dance, or anything so it was fun to kick back and just listen to the band in a good ole honky tonk atmosphere. 

This weekend was just what I needed
Just a night for Scotty and I to be us. Not what everyone else wants us to be. Not entertaining guests. Not having an agenda. Just being Us.

Happy Belated Birthday 'Merica,

Okay so it is NO secret that the 4th of July is by far my favorite day of the year and it has been since I was a wee little tot.  My town's only claim to fame is hosting the Annual Henagar Potato Festival.  Yes a festival for potatoes. Its awesomeness is unsurpassed. Please see this lovely video. I cannot be held responsible for the contents of the video... its You-Tube.

Yes its my home town, yes I know most of those people, no I was not in the parade.
Plenty of people mock the South and even I think the parade is quite comical but I love every bit of it.
This is at 10am and in Alabama that means the temps are hitting 98-99 and 100% humidity. I have seen people on the streets at 9 just socializing waiting on the parade.  Its amazing.
Especially after all the devastation our area has been through in recent months.  This year it was truly a celebration of living to see politicians, horses, every firetruck in the county, every motorized vehicle known to man, and folks you just might not see any other time of year. 
Its a day of families. Nothing better than playing at the park with 20,000 other people, sipping fresh squeezed lemonade and eating a tater-twirl. I prefer to not get a tater twirl, but rather to share one with my Bestie just like I have done for the last 16 years.  Listen to some live music, look at cars in the car show.  Then at 9:00pm rain or shine, we (the entire Northeast section of Alabama) pile up on blankets in fields, in truck beds or on our roofs to see what for the last 28 years has been the largest Fireworks show in North Alabama. And I will tear up like a big baby, because well, that's what I am at times. A lot changes in a year, and many people reflect on New Years or their Birthday.
For me its in the deafening silence between the fireworks exploding in the air.  This year has had its gains and its loses. But in the end there is always that beautiful explosion in the sky.

Boring Blogger.

Yeh I have been more than mundane here lately.
There just isn't much going on in my life right now.
Honestly, I get up grab some breakfast, read emails etc.
Clean up the pile of breakfast and random mess kitchen from Hurricane Scotty for the morning.
Do a load of laundry, unpack a box or two, vacuum, then make lunch.
When Scotty comes home for lunch we watch an episode of LasVegas.
Then he leaves and I try to tidy up the mess he made in a short 40 minutes.
Unpack another box or two then start on supper for the night.
Once Scotty gets home I stay stuck to him like a little puppy until its time for bed.
After being apart for so long, we are used to having to smother each other every second we are together because we often went 3 weeks or so apart then saw each other for only 2 days or so. 
Yes, we will phase out of this soon, but its only been a week so we are still working on cutting the cord.

We have finally gotten the ball rolling wedding wise.
Invitations have been ordered and I got the cutest stamp from none other than Etsy. 
I have been wanting this stamp from Notetrunk  for ages. So I finally got one for all those return addresses.....
All the flowers have been bought for centerpieces, and BM bouquets.
Cakes have been ordered. Picked out tuxes today. Finished registering today!
I get more excited about marking things off my list than ANYTHING!
So Yeh Sorry for Being LAME

The Lost Art

Okay call me crazy, but I love to iron.
I know I'm a complete slob 99.9% of the time but its the one thing cleaning wise I actually like to do. Sneaky sidenote: sometimes I leave Scotty's clothes in the dryer so I can iron them. He thinks its because I'm just lazy and don't get them out.
Perfect creases and starch were always a big deal to my dad so that must be where I get it. ...

WILW

I love this link up, I feel like Wednesdays get a bad name. So loving it up on Wednesday makes it a bit better.
Check it out and share what you are loving at this kind of love

I am *loving* that I am finally Home

I am *loving* that I drove all the way from Alabama to Myrtle Beach in less than 9 hours.  No traffic = :)

I am *loving* that in less than a month I will be at new teacher orientation. Preparing for MY classroom!

I am *loving* seeing this:

Bama's leash and my keys hanging by the door.

I am *loving* that I seriously KNOCKED out so much wedding stuff this week.

I am *loving* that I got to spend some time with my grandmother this weekend. Its a rare event, she is one busy woman. But I loved every second of it.

I am *loving* that Monday was our one year Engagaversary.

I am *loving* that I got to be with my Mom on her Birthday this year.

I am just bubbling over with Loves today.