How The Bush Grows

Monday night was Jessica’s 26th Surprise Birthday Party. So where did we have it??? 26 of course! It was so nice to go out and celebrate her birthday with everyone from our churches small group last fall. Our group has grown a little bit since then. Notice all the babies hanging out around the table…It was so good to catch up and see everyone. I had a lot going on so it was nice to get out of the house and celebrate life of a great friend! I am very thankful that I have Jessica as a friend and prayer partner. I always know that with her I have someone else that gets me and really understands from a woman’s prospective what all is going on in my life and prays accordingly. Happy Birthday Jessica. I hope this year is your best ever!

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Sunday was a very nice day. We got up and watched church online which was very cool. Afterward we went on a long walk on the trails next to the golf course. It was such a beautiful fall day and perfect for a long walk with Digby. Later I came home and got ready for Lauren Thompson’s baby shower. She was our across the street neighbor when I was growing up so it was so nice to catch up with all of our old neighbors. It was extra special because I used to babysit Lauren when she was little so it was so cool to see it come full circle and her have a little one on the way now.

Saturday night after Taylor’s Birthday party we headed on home and Eric and I pulled all the fall decorations out of the attic. I was trying my best to wait till October first but I was so excited and I also knew that next weekend we would be busy getting ready for Felicia’s Tea and that I would not have much time to decorate. So I went ahead and decorated and since then most of the neighborhood has followed suit. I love decorating for the holiday’s an enjoy coming home to look at my decorations. Eric thinks I am crazy for how happy the new centerpiece on my dining room table makes me but it really just makes me smile every time I look at it. This year I went to Pottery Barn and took pictures of all their fall decorations and then went to Homegoods and recreated their displays for a fraction of what Pottery Barn was charging. I also went over to Yucatan in Cahaba Heights and purchased the new pots for my random brick pedestals next to our stairs. I am not sure if they look too big or not but for now I love how the orange and blue are Auburn looking. I guess for now I will leave them and keep feeling them out and see if I want to change them out for shorter pots or not. I am not excited at ALL about the weather changing because I LOVE summer but I am excited about the decorations that come along with the fall and winter!

Friday was Taylor’s birthday so on Saturday night we all headed on over to Tanner and Nichole’s to celebrate. He decided to have an Auburn theme party since it was during the Auburn game. However, I probably only saw about one play of the game because Eric, Felicia, and I were busy jamming out with the “Birthday Band”! See Eric, Kyler, Felicia, and I gave Taylor Rock Band for his birthday. We have been hiding it in our closet for weeks now and it has been SO hard for me not to give it to him every time he has come over to play. As soon as he finished opening up presents we headed on downstairs and got it all set up. It was so much fun and we played ALL night. Taylor was the one that eventually went over and turned it off and told Felicia and I it was time to take a break.We love you so much Taylor and are praying that you have the best sixth year ever!

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So I was checking out Facebook this weekend and a friend of mine from high school that moved to Colorado had a very interesting video post. When she was hanging out on her balcony at home a mama bear and three little bear cubs came over for a little visit. Her video was so cool that it was even featured on Good Morning America. Below is the Good Morning America Video. I could not figure out how to get the Facebook embedded link to post the entire bear video. I will work on it and hopefully I will be able to post it too soon.

Aspen, Colo. Being Overrun With Bears

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Friday was another long day at work but it was ok since Eric was out of town till later that night. After work I headed on over to Paper Works Outlet on 1st Avenue North. They are going out of business and have all of their party things on sale. I was able to get two large bags worth of stuff for $9.52. They are being cleaned out fast because their prices are so good right now. I am so sad they are closing because they are the only store like that downtown and it was very convenient for me to swing by while working to pick up things for upcoming parties. But I was very excited about the huge sale because Laura; a neighbor, and I started a welcome to the neighborhood committee and when people move in we are taking over cookies and I was able to get some really cute cookie boxes for dirt cheap.

After I left Paper Works Outlet I headed on over to Homegoods to check out their fall decorations and picked up a couple of things for the house. Then I went straight to Publix and did a little grocery shopping. Unfortunately, I did not have coupons and I have just not had much time with work to research and print coupons. It just makes me sick to pay full price for our food but our fridge and pantry were empty and we really needed food. Once I left Publix I went straight to the airport to pick up Eric. We ended up getting home around 9:30 and watched the end of the Mizzou football game. I didn’t even watch the game but I had to put a couple of decorations up so Eric could enjoy the second half of the game…I know, I know. He could care less about the decorations but I am doing whatever I can to hold off on the fall decorations I am so eagerly wanting to put up.

This is a quick excerpt from the Nightman Cometh live show in San Francisco on Thursday – September 24, 2009 – from the season 4 finale of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” – one of the funniest shows in television history. Taken from the front row, the live show was hilarious and fantastic to experience. I was out in California for a work event and this was taking place only 3 blocks from my hotel, being one of my favorite shows of all time I had no choice but to go and I was so glad I did. Check out the video and pictures below:

This morning we got up really early and I dropped Eric off at the airport for his work trip to San Fransisco. I headed back home got ready for work then went on into the office so I could get out of there in time for the Ingrid Michaelson Concert with Dana. Luckily I was able to get off in time to go to dinner and the show. Dana and I went and ate at one of our favorite pre-concert restaurants Roho in Southside. I just love their salad with the special Roho Dressing. If you haven’t noticed Dana and I have a lot of traditions that we like to keep the same. For example before all concerts at Workplay we eat at Roho and get the exact same meal every time. We then go to Workplay and park in the same parking spot every time too. This time was a little different because it was a sold out show so we did not get the table we typically sit at but the seats we had this time were just fine! It was our second time to see her. Last year we saw her when she was touring with Joshua Radin. This was the first time she was the main act and the concert was great and I got a really cool comfy t-shirt too. It was nights like tonight that make all the long nights at the office totally worth it. If I didn’t have a job I wouldn’t have money to do nights like this so I am very grateful for all the long nights if this is the life I get in return…

So I have not been the best wife lately since I have been working so much. Almost every night over the past couple of week I have been picking up fast food around 8:30 on my way home. So I took a tip from Kate on Jon and Kate + Eight and have decided to get dinner prepped the night before so when I get home I can cook in a second. So today I cooked chicken and carrots in cream of mushroom in the crockpot for our main course. And for our sides already had the water in a pot and the rice measured ready to go so on my way home I called Eric and told him to get the water boiling and when I arrived I just dumped the pre-measured rice in. I also had the can of corn out next to the can opener with a pot waiting for it on the stove. So I just walked in the door dumped it all in the appropriate pots went upstairs and changed and once I came back down dinner was ready. So we had a nice meal that only took me 5 minutes to make when walking in the door! So not only am I making my lunch the night before but our dinner too. It makes the next day really easy. I guess Kate got this right and I am going to keep this up till things slow down with work.

This is where we try to eat dinner most nights so we can catch up on each others days. This picture is especially cool because there is DAYLIGHT in the background! I was able to get  home 2 nights before dark and that was extra special to me!

This is where our other family member sits when we eat. Digby thinks he is far enough away where we want tell him to go but close enough that he can remind us he is there waiting on any leftovers we may have!

Between both of us being out of town, long nights at the office, then being sick it had been a while since we had a date night. So Sunday night after church Eric and I went to Firebirds for dinner. It was so nice to get out of the house and have some yummy lobster caso dip then headed home for a late night walk in the rain. It was only sprinkling so we didn’t get too wet. Later that night Kendall came over to pick up some suits for her interview this week (Good Luck Kendall!) and then we hung out on the porch on the swing and talked for a while about her new life as a wife. After she left it was time for the Big Show to start…and no it was not the Emmy’s although we did watch that too- but the lighting show was amazing. We set on the porch for about an hour and watched the amazing lighting and rain. Such a cool thing to see. I hated to go up to bed I was enjoying it so much!