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!