Christmas Recap

I can't believe Christmas is over and it is almost 2011!!!! I remember my Granny telling me when I was young "the years will go by faster and faster as you get older". Man she was right because new years 2010 seems like just yesterday.

I had a pretty good Christmas though, eventful but still good. Our Christmas celebrations began at 3:30pm on Christmas eve. We ate and opened presents at my Granny Brown's house. This year we had my cousin and her six boys in attendance. That's right I said six. Plus all of the usual crowd.

We then had to be at Justin's Granny Mary Ruth's house at 6:00. There we ate dinner and exchanged gifts.

Next we went to his parents house for their gift exchange and some homemade hot chocolate. There Justin got every thing  else, I had put on the list of "He wants".

Justin and I returned home around midnight to open our presents from each other.(He never fails to impress and out do  me). Is it sad that Molli had more to open than the both of us combined?

Christmas morning we had to be at Jonell's for "Christmas breakfast" at 8:30. We headed home for a quick break only to be at Justin's uncle's house for lunch around 1:00. Oh and we were not done yet. We then went to my parent's house at 3:00 for a gift exchange and Christmas dinner.

At my parents house we decided to open presents first. (You know since we were floating on turkey and dressing). It was crazy. There is no order to our Christmas. Justin's parents stack everyone's gifts in piles and each take turns so every body can see what each person has received. At my family's Christmas you just better get out of the way and duck if something comes a flying. We took Molli this year, and even my little hiper dog had a look of despair as the kids ran and jumped around her.

So if you have been counting that was SIX Christmas events in 24 hours, 5 of which involved eating. No wonder mine and Justin's faces look like we're storing nuts for winter. I'd bet we gained 10 pounds in the those 24 hours.

Breaking Ground but Not Really

I have begun to figure out this whole house thing is going to be slow go (at least for now). There are so many things that have to be done before anything can actually get done, if that makes any sense at all.

For instance, we decided not to put any money into the land our house will sit on until after we had a perk test done.  Since this can not really be done in freezing temperatures or in the pouring rain we were just able to prepare for this, this past Saturday. This included us digging two holes, five feet deep, two feet wide and thirty feet apart. Then paying the health department to come and look at all of the work we had done. 

 

I look really short, other than being really short this is due to me wearing Justin's coveralls. They were really warm but not very attractive not to mention about two feet too long.

Hunter bug decided he wanted to help. He even brought his own shovel. Although he decided he'd rather play in the hole instead of actually digging it.

Can you tell it's deeper than he is tall? Oh, and don't you think Justin looks really good with a kid at his feet? I think it looks awful natural.....Just saying.

 The next step to this process is waiting by the mailbox for God knows how long to see weather the land "perked" or not. So as you may have guessed, this is the stage we are currently at. I figure it will be three weeks before we hear anything. You know with it being the holidays and all.

It was funny as Justin dug into the ground Dad began to say "Brandi aren't you excited"? "You're breaking ground"! My response would be "yeah but not really". I refuse to get excited until I step foot in the house and I have paid the first payment with ease. Call me a scenic but I call it cautious. He even named an album on his facebook "breaking ground" or something to that affect. I guess he can be exited for the both of us....lol

Blog Hooked

Okay it is official.... I am "blog hooked"!! It may be fairly obvious since I am posting at 10:20 on a Tuesday night. Normally my bed has been calling my name for about 20 minutes now. Well I guess it still is but my need to be "in the know" is much greater.

I love the fact I can keep up with all my favorite people.  I feel I know every move those cute little kiddos make. Not to mention the ones who have yet to enter the world. I guess living vicariously through these lovely little mommas and mommas to be is enough for me (for now).

Also, I am super siked. Another friend of mine has climbed onto the blogging band wagon. (it's about time). I love hearing from her. Although when we talk she ends up patiently waiting while I vent about something or someone. Ahh what a great friend to pretend to care about what some crazy person said about you today.

It's weird.....reading about some one's day to day activities in a blog can make you feel much more close to them. Even if they are complete strangers. So for this I say......thank you Elena for the band wagon....lol

Day One in Stone Mountain Georgia

When Justin finally decorated the outside of our house I noticed he neglected to put the wreaths on the windows. Last night, when we set up in the campground I found out why...........

Yes that is right. He has decorated our camper...hahaha. I find it humorous.

We also decorated Molli....

I know it's not a Christmas sweater but all they had was orange in her size. She looks like she is okay with it in the pic above but she wasn't at first......

It may be hard to tell but she is hanging her head. What's funny is she stood in the same spot for twenty minutes, just like this. Its like she thought the sweeter tied her to the bed and made her head weigh a thousand pounds. Justin pushed her and she just fell over lifeless. Kind of like "cow tipping", I guess...lol

We took her for a walk to prove to her she was still capable of moving her limbs but she was more interested in hunting squirrels.....

Later we went into Stone Mountain Park. It is amazing how many lights they have.

All of you with kids old enough to appreciate this (LaRae), you should definitely come here during Christmas time. They have Christmas lights everywhere, a Christmas parade every day, shows (some of them in 3d), snow, snow rides, hot chocolate, smores, a train ride with caroling, fireworks and a Christmas tree in every corner.

  Speaking of the shows, I am sure my friends Ollie and LaRae would enjoy them. Some are just like Southern Union's but on a smaller scale. Kind of reminds me of Glee. I took a video of the best one but of course it was a horrible video. I did get a decent one of the reindeer they had. They were really neat they....glowed!

(FYI sound is awful so you may want to hit mute)

In light of these facts, I have decided Ollie and Larae should take December off, come up here and perform in one of these. (You know, rack up some Christmas cash).

Also Justin got to hear his favorite Christmas song. Wanna take a guess at what it is? Nope it's not jingle bells. No it's not white Christmas. What's that you say? That's right....It's Dominick the Italian Christmas donkey. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about here is a link......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXcx7_XaeEo

Oh my goodness I love this man but he is nutty!! Although you have to admit it's catchy.


Lastly, I leave you with a random picture I took of Molli, just because I thought it was freaky......

Takes after Justin I guess.....The devil comes out some times.

Word of Advise

As if the holidays aren't expensive enough. We received a power bill a few days ago that was twice what it normally is. I know your thinking we'll its colder but this one was for last month. It really wasn't that cold. So I sent Justin to investigate. The lady said our usage doubled last month and has doubled AGAIN so far for this month.  "What???? We haven't changed anything", I thought.

Thank God for my savvy husband. He immediately went home to investigate. Turns out the "programmable" thermostat everyone talks about (the one we just purchased) has broken and was stuck on emergency heat.

So let that be a lesson to anyone who cares. If your power bill jumps don't just pay it and forget it. INVESTIGATE!!! Justin talked to a friend of his who had the same thing happen except he waited until his bill suddenly jumped by $600.00 before checking things out.

I know you are thinking, "who blogs about bills" but I thought it may be helpful to someone who is or may be in the same situation.

On the bright side, I know what brand thermostat we aren't installing in our new house. :)

A Long Ride and Lots of Sticker Shock

Friday our contractor (Robby) called to tell us the consensus on the materials for our house. He has been taking our plans around to different places getting a total price on materials. I was nervous about this. I just knew it was going to be devastating to me. However it wasn't as bad as I expected. I understand it will be much more in reality. (You know once I  begin adding stuff I can't live without). However, I didn't expect to find Justin on the "Bose" website afterwards. That's right I said Bose. This is an occupational hazzard of being married to an electritian. I would rather spend our money furnishing our home or just save it and have a smaller payment. In contrast, Justin would rather have a killer surround sound throughout the entire house and a tv mounted in his bathroom(so he can see it from the shower).

This is going to be a long ride. I suffer from "sticker shock" on a regular basis and Justin's motto is "if you want it buy it". This is primarly due to the fact he has never had to pay a bill in his life. First his mom paid all of them for him and now I do. He never sees his check. I deposit it and distribute it acordingly. It must be nice to know "somebody" will take care of it. No worries. :)

 I guess this is why God put us together. He pushes me to "live a little" and I push him to "save a little". However I do not look foward to the inevitable agurments about what we want and what we chose not to tack on to the growing debt. I love that man and I hate telling him no because he works hard too. But as much as I love him I hate spending money more. So as I said this is going to be a long ride.

I will leave you with "rough draft" of our house plans. I say rough because they will change.

As I've mentioned we can't decide if want a formal dining room or an office so here it is both ways. (I need your input on this issue. See the poll to the side and vote.... )

Sorry they're backwards. We had to mirror them for our lot.

It's Christmas Time Already?

 Wow, I am having a hard time processing the fact it is Christmas time already. It really snuck up on me this year. I feel I haven't got one thing done but we did get the inside of our house decorated this past Saturday.

Justin and I are like a well oiled machine when it comes to decorating. He has his chores and I have mine. I take down the fall decorations, set the table and clean clean clean while he puts up the Christmas village.

He likes his little village. He so carefully places every house, light and person in just the right spot on the mantle above the fire place. I personally would prefer pre-lit garland, ribbon, candles and maybe a wreath or something. However Justin doesn't handle change well and his mom always had a Christmas village on her mantel when he was growing up. Maybe I can have the village moved to a different location in our new house but I am not holding my breath. Ya got to pick you battles I guess.

The outside of the house is Justin's area as well. I have my chores to help but he is the master mind. He usually goes all out with icicle lights, pre-lit reindeer, wreaths, garland and yes a music box the lights dance to. However we haven't completely gotten to that yet. My friend Allison came by the other day and expressed her disappointment in the "Griswold's" this year. Don't freight Alli, we'll get there.

Hopefully we'll make it to a christmas tree farm today to get this year's masterpiece. However "dam overtime" may be standing in our way. (Those who may not know I am not cussing, Justin really works at a dam and may have to work overtime).. lol

Anyway, the tree is my favorite part of christmas time. I love the smell, the lights and everything about it. I like to sip coffee in the mornings while I sit and stare at it. Crazy I know. I guess it makes me feel like a kid again.

Thanksgiving and Eating WAY Too Much

I had a great thanksgiving. Ahhh what a few days off can do for you.

Wednesday I left work and started cooking. It was my first attempt at a pecan pie. Last year my sister made one and it was runny, needless to say I made fun of her. So, I just knew mine was going to be awful. What goes around comes around right? I also made two pumpkin pies, a peach cobbler and green bean bundles. Luckily God was smiling down on me because it all turned out perfectly.

Wednesday night we ate dinner at Justin's Granny Mary Ruth and Papa Buddy's house . I stuffed myself, of course. Thursday around 12:00  we ate at his aunt and uncle's house with all of Jonell's family. I told myself I would eat only a little since we had to eat again around 3:30 at my parent's house. Funny thing is I don't listen to me very well. I ate way too much then I went to Mom's and ate way to much again. As you would guess around 5:00 I was miserable. Not to mentioned I stepped on the scale to find an extra three pounds. I may manage to get rid if it about the time I stuff myself again for Christmas. Oh well, I always have new years.

The kids  (my niece and nephew) came home with us Thanksgiving night. Hunter, my nephew is five and can be mean as a snake. For example I put him in the bath tub and the little sneaker hid in the corner,  filled a cup with water and threw it at Justin when he came in the bathroom.

Justin came into the living room with a big wet spot on his jeans. I thought it was hilarious but Justin wasn't amused. He got the last laugh though, he filled a cup with ice water and dumped it over Hunter' head. Needless to say, Hunter decided that would be the last time he messed with uncle Justin. He didn't like "pay back".

The rest of the weekend we took easy. Too bad I had to return to work on Monday. Another week off would of been great.

Thanksgiving

As everyone knows this time of year is the time of year to count our blessings. I know this is impossible because God has blessed me more than even I could ever relize but I'll give it a try anyway.....

First and for most I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave up his life to save mine. It is amazing what we take for granted but I know my God will forever be with me.

Next I am thankful for my best friend, the only person that can put up with me for more than and hour at a time. The one who understands me better than I understand myself. The Love of My Life. My hubby!!!

I am thankful for my family....

My mom

My Dad

My niece

 

 

My Nephew

My mother and Father in law.

I am thankful for my friends. God has truly belssed me with a wonderful group of friends.

 

I am thankful for my pup. Its amazing how much company pets can be.



 

Well I am know I have forgotten alot of things and people. I did warn it was imossible to count them all. lol

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thankful for "Mr. Justin".

Justin and I teach a sunday school class every other sunday to the first through third graders. In light of  it being Thanksgiving week we had them write down what they were thankful for. Kids are so cute. One child said he was thankful for his God, his church, his cat and his dog. Another little girl said she was thankful for her mom, her aunt, her sister and her dog, but the last little girl said she was thankful  for "Mr. Justin". It is so humerous to me. How is it Justin is so iffy on the subject of children but yet they all love him?

I just don't understand it. I keep telling him God is trying to send him a sign, but he doesn't agree. Oh well I imagine that sign will knock him in the face one day. :)

Who Needs Four Bedrooms, Right?

Okay so we settled on house plans. It was not our "plan A" house. (it is amazing how expensive plan A is) However, our soon to be contractor is going to make plans that look like plan A but with a more economical square footage. I mean I figure I'll be lucky to get one kid out of Justin, so who needs four bedrooms, right?

We have had more disagreements in the past few days than I think we ever have. It is amazing to me how Justin had no opinion at all when I was looking through house plan books but now that we have chosen the plans he is suddenly full of them. He has an opinion about my dinning room. He says, "It is a waste of space, we'll never use it". "Lets knock it out and make the living room bigger". Oh and it is the same for my garden tub. He wants to get rid of a tub all together and make his shower bigger. Lets not forget the bigger garage he has to have. (has to fit his bigger truck).

I guess it is going to be a long road. I am not even sure if we are up to it. Although, I try to remind myself that God is bigger than any problem I could ever have.

The Toilet Paper Toss

Okay a week or two ago I blogged about the game we were working on for our church's fall festival. I thought it turned out pretty good. It was made to be set up in the dark but since mother nature insisted on rain, we had to move the events inside.

I believe I promised a picture....

It isn't much to look at but the kids seemed to enjoy tossing the toilet paper around.

Dealing with the Crazy

Last week I mentioned that Justin and I were tossing around the idea of building our house. Well we have only been looking into it seriously for one week and I am already crazy!!! I have carefully calculated our budget and met with the bank. I thought that was the hard part. Oh no, deciding on how much the thing will cost is much harder.

 As we talked we decided we needed to pick out plans for a "plan b" house (you know just in case the "plan a" house was to expensive for comfort). I mean seriously, who wants the rest of their life to be about making a mortgage payment? We want to live a little too. Too bad it wasn't that simple.

As you may know, I am the most indecisive person God has ever blessed this earth with. I feel sorry for my husband. Bless his heart he has to handle the crazy. (Although, in my defense if he gave an opinion consisting of a little more than "I Don't Know" I may be able to come to a conclusion a bit quicker). However, since I have this sickness picking a "plan b"  house is torture.

A few days ago I thought I had found it, this was until I began picking it apart with what I didn't like. After that, every other house plan I viewed I compared to the first. It took me years to find the "plan a" house. I really can't spend that much time on "plan b". So I guess we are going to take the "wait and see" approach. Meaning we are going to wait and see the rough estimate on "house a" before I torture myself any further. This may prove to be more stressful than it is worth at this time. In that case, as I said in my last post "what's five more years?"

What a week

What a week it has been so far.

Justin and I worked all Sunday afternoon on our game for our church's trunk or treat/ fall festival. It is going to be so cute. My handy dandy husband made a box and lid out of plywood. We cut a whole in the top and attached a toilet seat. We are going to let the kids toss toilet paper into the "toilet". If they ring it they get a prize.

I was looking so forward to it. It was suppose to be tonight but if you have watched the weather channel you may have noticed that Alabama has gotten slammed with severe weather the past three days. So they have postponed it for one week. I will post pics afterwards.

Also Justin and I are tossing around the idea of jumping into the construction of our house. That is a very scary thought for me. I am an accountant by trade. So as you can guess I am a bit of a control freak. I want to know to the penny what this is going to cost me. I have been told this will not be the case if we build. We won't know the final cost until after we complete the project and close on the mortgage.

There are just so many variables, tons of things could happen along the way. This is not comforting at all. However I figure we will pray about it. If happens than I know it was meant to be and God will protect us. If not than we'll just wait. After all what's another five years.

This past week was the week

I am a CPA and I work as an auditor of public funds for the State of Alabama. It is a really good job but one of the downfalls is that I have to go to a training once a year. This consists of sitting in a classroom for eight hours a day for five days. Can you say boring?  Well needless to say this past week was the week. Ugg... It seemed to drag on and on but there were some good moments.

Monday night a co-worker and I went shopping and out to eat at Jason's Deli. When we arrived back at the hotel we found the main parking lot full. So we had to park across the road in their secondary parking lot. This lot is dark an a bit further from the hotel. As we were unloading the bags from the car a sketchy man began walking towards us. I was not concerned until I turned to find my co-worker, Nikki speed walking away leaving me holding her bags. I guess she figured she didn't have to be faster than him just faster than me. I later told her just how safe I felt around her...lol.

Thursday night our department had a rather large retirement party for our County Division Director. This guy is your typical "tough guy" boss. He thinks the world of his employees and can tell you every one's names but usually doesn't speak. When he does it is typically not a good thing. Anyway he cried like a baby during his speech and I just can't stand to see a grown man cry. This does mean that someone is going to replace him. Our department is all the buzz about who will take this position. I think everyone was more interested in trying to predict this than the sessions themselves.

Friday before I left, I stopped by Dreamland Ribs and got Justin some ribs and banana pudding. I drove around and around Montgomery trying to find a parking spot by the restaurant. I finally gave up and just went back to the hotel, parked and walked. I am so glad I live in the country. Last thing you have to worry about here is where you are going to park. When I got home that afternoon I explained to Justin how lucky he was to have a wife who would go to all of that trouble.

"He is a Hero in My Book"

My dad's birthday is tomorrow and I haven't a thing planned. I thought I might take him out to eat but if you knew my dad you would know that nailing him down is virtually impossible.

I guess you could say his and my relationship has always been slightly strained . My mom says it is because we are too much alike. We would argue about things like the clothes I was wearing, the swim suit I wanted or how dirty my room was. Oh, my favorite is my sister. Several of our "discussions" (as dad would say) seem to derive from my older sister.  Some of these are silly arguments like who he is going to give his furniture to (after only two years of owning it).

To be honest, I have always been proud of my dad. He is a police officer and I know it takes a special person to protect the lives of those he doesn't even know. This includes the low lives that keep the drugs, gangs and violence thriving in our world. Not only that but he has character. He's made mistakes. He has also owned up to them, even when it was difficult.

Also, I am certain he has saved many of lives throughout his career. Maybe he has removed a drunk driver from a car that may have later plowed into a church bus full of children or taken a rapest off the streets. Either way he is a hero in my book.

You may not know my dad but I am sure you know a police officer, a firefighter, a medic and even a soldier. Please take time to show gratitude to these individuals. They risk their lives each and every day for you and me.
 


 Thank you Daddy!!!! Happy Birthday, I love you!!!!

I talk to Molli

I have always thought myself to be fairly independent. When I was growing up I never really asked for things. As soon as I could,  I worked and just bought them myself. Now my job requires me to be alone a lot. I thought I had grown accustom to it. However Justin has had to work the night shift a few nights this week and I have decided I like his company much better than I like my own. It is so boring being in a empty house with no one to talk to. Well, I take that back. I talk to Molli, our dog. Although I think she likes his company better too.

Here she is.....our Molli

 

I have had a busy weekend though. Friday night I took my niece and nephew out to pick out Halloween costumes. We had fun but every time I keep them together I find myself wondering if I want more than one child. Those two fuss and fight so much. They seem to be fuel for each other's bad behavior. Although alone, they are perfect angels.

 

Saturday I went to my friend LaRae's house for some girl time. We have a group of seven girls. We have been friends since high school. They are all having babies or planning for babies. It is little sad when you think about it. I mean I can't believe we are all old enough to be starting families. Its weird how time flies. I still feel like high school just ended a few months ago.

 

Sunday my mother in law threw her annual combined birthday party. It is for the many people that have birthday's around this time of year. So Happy Birthday all.

 

Today is Columbus Day which is a state holiday. (So no work for me). Yea!!! I intend on spending quality time with my hubby. Only bad part is this means I have to go back to work tomorrow which I dread. Maybe I'll be sick. lol

"Maybe One Day"

Justin and I have been married five years now. Things are not at all like I had pictured they would be after five years of marriage. I had thought I would have a couple of kids and would be living in our dream home by now.

This is so not the case. We currently do not have children and I am not even sure when we will plan to. This is a sensitive subject in our household. Of course I am ready NOW, Justin on the other hand.....not so much. I have come to realize his catch phrase is "maybe one day". So I guess the plan is to wait and pray the urge hits that hubby of mine like a ton of bricks one day. So I imagine if we do decide to begin a family it will be a sudden decision.

The dream house is nothing but a set of plans in a magazine right now. We know exactly what we want and where it will be.We just haven't mustard up the nerve to dive in just yet. We are blessed though, we live in Justin's great grandparents house. We have renovated it. It is cute and plenty for us but we do not own it. There is just something about being able to say something is "ours".

God has blessed us with good educations and great jobs. On top of that we have the greatest group of friends we could of ever asked for. It is amazing how things work out. We dream up all of these lavish plans and we don't even realize God has much bigger plans for us.

God worked quickly!!!

My sixteenth birthday was the day I thought no other day could trump. I remember getting off the bus to a big red bow placed neatly across the windshield of a red two door Pontiac. Little did I know, I would soon be utterly shattered by my secret crush (who will remain unnamed). Later that night I prayed. "Dear God, one day can you please send me someone to love and who will love me back. please make it someone who will pick up after himself, who will wash clothes when I ask him to, someone who is strong and is good with his hands. Also God, I need someone who can make me laugh and who will be my best friend." As I cried out to God about how I had been hurt that day I added one thing to my prayer. " Dear God this love you will send, please don't let him hurt me, leave me or forsake me. I want to trust him more than I trust myself."

I have always been told God answers prayers in his time and not our own. This implies that this is a slow process and we should be patient. While this is true it wasn't the case in this story! I turned sixteen on February 7, 2001. I shared my first kiss with the love of my life on March 18, 2001. God worked quickly!!! We were married August 6, 2005 at the highest point in Alabama, Mt. Cheaha.