Weekend Fun and New Opportunities

The last 10 or 11 days have been somewhat of a whirlwind.  Two weekends ago we had our first overnight guest!  This is always exciting for me.  The best part is having the entire house super clean for a couple of days.  Allan thinks I'm crazy, but I like being a good hostess.  My long-time friend, Scott, was headed home after spending a few days up north and stayed with us one night to break up the drive home.  He got to meet and hang out with some of our new friends in Athens.  It was really fun and we can't wait to have more visitors. 

That same weekend, Ole Miss beat Auburn!!  I can't imagine how much fun it would have been to be there.  Did you know that it was our first SEC win since Oct. 2, 2010?  We lost 16 SEC games in a row!  I didn't realize how bad we actually were.  Hopefully we can keep it up!!  Before the game started we went to the Lickskillet Arts Fair downtown.  I had in my mind that it might be like Double Decker, but I was mistaken.  It was fun, but small.  The highlight of the fair for Allan was the macaroni-and-cheese food truck. 

We've been visiting FBC Athens pretty much since we moved here.  This past week they hosted families through Interfaith Hospitality Network.  I think this program is excellent and is exactly the type of program the church should support and be involved in.  I worked at the Day Center one morning which didn't require much more than being there.  For me, getting involved in volunteer opportunities within the church has been a great way to meet people.

Saturday we took a little day trip to Ellijay, GA.  They are famous for their apple orchards.  It was our first time to pick apples.  It wasn't necessarily cheaper to pick your own apples because you are paying for the "experience", but it wasn't too much more than buying apples at the store.  We fit 21 apples into our bag that cost $10 + $4 to get into the orchard.  The orchard had a country store where you could buy all kinds of jams, honey, produce, and baked goods.  We opted for the fried pies (apple for me, strawberry/cream cheese for Allan) and a muscadine slushie.  So good!  After picking apples we headed toward downtown Ellijay to check out the Apple Festival.  There were a few arts and craft vendors and we looked in a few of the shops.  It was a cute little town that I'm glad we took the time to visit. 

In the last week I've made a change in jobs.  Rite Aid offered me a full-time, salaried position with benefits.  I went to an interview, accepted the position, filled out all paper-work, and have officially been hired.  I go in tomorrow for some computer training modules and I start on Thursday.  I'm really excited.  It's been 3 months since I have worked and I am  ready to get started here in Athens.  I hated to leave my previous job before it started, but unfortunately it was not full-time and had no benefits.  This is going to be a good thing and I'm grateful that this door was opened. 

Yesterday,  I had to drive to Marietta to fill out some paper work for the new job so I decided to make a trip to Ikea in Atlanta since I was close.  We need furniture for the master bedroom and a couple of bookshelves for the "office".  I've never been to an Ikea, so it was definitely an experience.  I was shocked at how big it was.  I was very glad that I had already done my "pre-shopping" online.  Three hours later I finally made it to the check out line.  We will be getting our new furniture next Thursday!

Tonight we are going to a neighborhood gathering.  A family down the street is cooking 8 pots of chili and we are all carving pumpkins.  We haven't been very good at meeting a lot of the neighbors so hopefully this will be a good opportunity to do so. 

Have a great week, friends!

Fall Decor

It's time for me to go back to work.  I've resorted to crafting.  Our new house has a fireplace, so I needed something festive to spruce up the mantle. 

 My first creation:  pumpkins made out of a roll of toilet paper wrapped in strips of burlap with sticks from the yard as the stem and tied up with a copper colored ribbon. 

 Next up are the chevron printed pumpkins.  I wanted them to be perfectly lined, but painting a chevron on a pumpkin is not nearly as easy at it seems.  I used masking tape and spray paint.  They're good enough I suppose. 

 Finally, I dotted another pumpkin with some black glitter glue and tied another one up with a black toule bow. 

 This fall decor will be great until it's time to decorate for Christmas!!  

M-I-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-I...

It's been about nine weeks since we made the move to Athens.  We both have been missing home, so a trip to Mississippi was in store.  Allan cut class on Thursday afternoon (shame, shame) and we headed to Byram.  Every time I go home to Byram there is always something different about it.  It's a growing little city!  This time, it was sad to see Super D closed.  That place holds a lot of great memories.  It was my first real job and was the place where I decided that I wanted to be a pharmacist.  Who gets to work with all of their best friends from high school at the same place?  Fun times indeed.  We were in Byram Thursday night and all day Friday.  Pooja came over to hang out for a few hours.  We had a good time chatting and catching up.  I miss her!  The only thing I miss about pharmacy school is seeing my friends!  My mom made a feast Friday night that was suitable for Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner.  Some of my aunts and uncles came over and it was great getting to see everyone.  I'm glad momma got to take a break from the craziness of nursing school to spend some time with us. 

 Saturday, we made the trip to Oxford for game day!  I miss the Grove!  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so great and we spent a majority of the day huddled under the tent, but where there's food and friends, there's always fun.

Ann Katelyn and I

Allan and I with Lindsey, Julianne, Julia, and Chris

A glimpse of the Grove on game day

After being rained on and freezing.  Lucky for us, Chris is always prepared.

I was poorly prepared for the cold, rainy weather, but thankfully we had an Eagle Scout in our midst that brought enough sweaters and jackets for everyone!  Thanks, Chris!!  The rain moved out just as the game began.  We played so well!!  I really thought we would win against Texas A&M, but they scored the winning touchdown in the last minute and a half of the game.  It was so disappointing.  Oh well, I've grown to expect the heartbreak associated with Ole Miss football.  One of the best parts of the game was half-time.  Being an alumna of The Pride of the South, I always enjoy listening to the band and I always think they do great, but I have to say, the Aggie band was phenomenal.  I couldn't look away.  It was seriously the most entertaining band performance I've ever seen.

The team charges the field after Joel McHale from "The Soup" starts the Hotty Toddy cheer

Sunday, we had lunch with Craig and later took Daisy on a walk to the Square.  Lindsey was sweet to let us stay with her in our old house.  The thing I love most about that house was the location.  One of our favorite things to do was walking Daisy to the Square.  We took a few pictures at the pumpkin patch at St. Peter's.  Later that afternoon we headed to Allan's parent's house for dinner.  It was good to see everyone.  We especially miss playing with Benjamin.

So, a 1000 miles and 17 hours in the car later we are back in Athens and exhausted.  Allan went straight to class and Daisy went straight to her place on the couch.  I've been unpacking and getting things back in order.  Hopefully I will start work this week!  I'm ready to hit the ground running!