06 Sep 2011
08:08 pm

Aahhhhh Football

This weekend was the opening weekend of college football. For many southerners, this particular Saturday is like Christmas morning. If you don't live in the south or you aren't a college football fan, you just don't get it. And that's fine. But I thank God I was born here and that I was raised a football fan. There is nothing more exciting than the energy in the air on that first weekend in September. This weekend marks the beginning of the whirlwind that is the college football season. We live for it all year, it flies by like the blink of an eye, and just like that it's over and the non-football depression sets in!

It's only fitting that my best friend gave birth on this weekend last year. She and her husband are huge football fans and they are "A House Divided" - which, in football-speak, means one is an Alabama fan and one is an Auburn fan! They had a baby girl (who by default is an Auburn fan because mom has ultimate power) and thus began the never-ending attempts to get her to say "Roll Tide" and "War Eagle," to put her in something crimson when mom isn't looking, and the inevitable jokes about when she gets old enough to really "choose" for herself. But having a baby on the opening weekend of college football essentially means that her birthday parties will always include football in some capacity. So her first birthday party was, of course, Alabama/Auburn themed. Lindsay and Ryan pulled out all the stops and threw an awesome shindig. They rented a projection screen TV for the Bama game and had another large screen for the Auburn game, they catered fun tailgate food, rented a moon bounce for the kiddos, iced down tubs of beer for the adults and Capri Sun's for the little ones, and decorated to the hilt in everything crimson and white, orange and blue that they could get their hands on. It was an AWESOME party!! And oh dear god how much do I love that Ansley Dean Miller!!!! Words can't express how excited I am to watch her grow up...and how much I'm going to learn from her amazing parents when I have my own kids. See pictures from the party below.

Keeping with his tradition of spending opening weekend with his friend Nick in Atlanta, Eric was gone and I was solo. So our friend Blake tagged along and was my date for the day. We spent the morning at the birthday party and then we hit up Pale Eddie's for the night games. We met up with my friends Sara, Jonathan and Erin and funzies ensued. Overall it was an awesome day of football, good friends and fun.

I'm so excited about this football season...well, the whole year really because I'm getting married and starting a life with my perfect match :) ...but football season is just so fun and Eric and I have so much fun together during football season - despite being a house divided!!! I love getting up on crisp fall mornings, putting on a pot of chili, icing down a bunch of beer and waiting for friends to arrive...I love the anticipation of kick off...I love going to games, the smell of the quad, the food cooking, the sound of The Million Dollar Band, and the way the coffee in the stadium is the greatest thing EVER during a cold November game... I love finding every way possible to incorporate crimson and white into my outfit almost daily... I love watching Eric get excited and yell at the games... I love being in the stadium and screaming Rammer Jammer as loud as I can....I love phone calls with my Daddy on Sunday mornings hashing out the game and what our strategy for the next week should be....I love making fun of the refs and the bad calls...I love watching Gameday and getting pumped up...I love Tiffany Wade's weekly "Happy Gameday" text....I love hating Les Miles more and more every year...I love the office banter with Auburn fan coworkers...I love knowing we have bowl games to look forward to after the holidays...I love listening to analysis on sports radio on Monday mornings...I love hating Finebaum more between September and January.... I love going out for breakfast with Eric on Sunday mornings and sitting in complete silence as we read our respective columns in the Football U section of the paper.... I love the way Alabama and Auburn fans talk shit but when it really comes down to it we are damn proud to be each other's rival and know that no one outside of this state really understands what that's about....

I LOVE FOOTBALL. I JUST LOVE FOOTBALL....

ROLL TIDE Y'ALL!

27 Aug 2011
02:25 pm

How much can I cram into one blog post?

Wow. So much has been going on. I hate writing these all-encompassing posts where I throw a million things into one because I haven't posted in so long. But oh well...here goes....

Wedding planning is in full swing. We have gotten SO much done...mostly to the credit of our fabulous wedding planner, Kerri Kelley! All of the big things have been sorted out (ie venue, band, cake, food, decor, etc). We just have to fill in all the little details. Unless, of course, it turns out that our venue might not actually exist when our wedding date rolls around. But I don't want to talk about that right now. You can read all about THAT fiasco here if you're interested. I will say this though... we chose B&A for our venue because it's historic, it's in the heart of this city that we love so much, and because it's the ONLY place we could find that had the feel we wanted and that would accommodate everything we envisioned for that day. I have no idea what we will do if it closes.

Moving on... it's been an incredibly busy summer with the wedding planning, a family vacation, family reunion, beach trip with friends, and of course...work. My job has been unusually stressful this summer. So much so that I've had a few little breakdowns about it. I won't get into all that here...I just ask that you send positive vibes my way, or prayers or whatever you'd like - I need all the positivity I can get right now! Arrgghhh there's so much I want to say here but know it's in my best interest not to.

Eric and Garland played the annual Birmingham Chicks Rockfest this summer. It was an awesome show and I got some great pics. I really hope they play more gigs this fall. Here is a link to that album!

Anyhoo, my parents were kind and generous enough to take us with them to their house in the Bahamas again this summer. It was such a wonderful trip. We fished, we snorkeled, we lobstered, we saw a Junkanoo parade...it was great! There are so many things I love about the islands of the Bahamas. But most of all I love how distinctly different the islands are from one another. If you've only visited the touristy parts of the Bahamas you've got no idea what you're missing. Each island has it's own little culture and unique qualities. My parents' house is in an area that's like a very small town...everyone knows everyone. The people are so wonderful and they've made some great friends there which makes visiting even more special. You can click here to see the whole album but I've posted some of my faves here.....

**Disclaimer - I look horrid in most of these because I didn't wear any makeup most of the time we were there and I barely came out of a swimsuit....

Other random thoughts before I go:

I've become quite the NASCAR fan and I make no apologies for it. When you learn alot about it, you realize it's actually really interesting. I am college educated, I have a masters degree and, yes, I like to watch cars go around and around. Wheee!
I know I probably say this every August but....I don't think I've ever been MORE ready for football season. OMG. The agony of this last week is torture.
Eric got sick every time we traveled this summer. I never get sick and often brag about the fact that I haven't taken antibiotics or had a single shot since 2005. But every time he gets sick I get a touch of whatever he's got and it's getting old. We are about to start working on that boy's immune system. I'm pumping him full of immune boosting stuff every time we travel from now on. I ain't about to spend my honeymoon nursing Mr. Sickly!
We saw the final Harry Potter film and, overall, I was pleased with it. Very sad to see it all end though. Eric loved the films and really wishes he had read the books now. I'm still trying to get him to read them. We'll see. He does good to read a complete Sports Illustrated magazine.
I haven't laid in the tanning bed since February when I had a little pre-cancer spot burned off of my face. That was enough. I realized I had done enough damage to my skin and I had to stop tanning. I made it through the entire summer using sunless tanner and wearing SPF 30 every time I was in the sun. It was weird and I felt SO PALE at first but I feel so much better and I like the thought of having nice skin when I'm older and not looking wrinkly and leathery!
Pinterest was an incredible invention and I'm totally hooked.
I took Eric back to my home town a few weeks ago to meet and hang out with some of my old school peeps! It was great. I love that town and feel that growing up there had a huge impact on who I am today! I hope to get down there more this fall.

I guess that's about it for an update. New recipes coming soon I PROMISE!

31 Mar 2011
07:51 am

More than just sightseeing... NOLA ...off the beaten path...

So...Eric jokes that every time we go on vacation he sees the sights 3 steps at a time. Take 3 steps, Katie stops to take a picture, 3 more steps, another picture...and so on. Yes it's true. But on this trip I didn't do as much shooting as I had planned. I've been so stressed lately and I really just wanted to enjoy the time with Eric, enjoy the city, and NOT follow a schedule. So on this trip I spent one day wandering around taking pics, but the rest of the time I was too busy eating, drinking and socializing to really focus on it. Now that I'm home I wish I had taken more but...oh well...we'll be back soon. Last time we were in NOLA it was Eric's first time, and I felt all this pressure (that I put on myself mind you) to show him EVERYTHING and make sure he liked the city - because if he didn't we might have to rethink this whole relationship thing. ha. Anyhoo, the great thing about Eric is this: schedule or no schedule, taking it easy or rushing around, rain or shine, stressed out Katie or chilled out Katie, walkin' it or cabbin' it, luxury hotel or cheap crappy hotel...he is constant and calm and happy...and this has the most calming effect on me. This makes me look at life differently and take things in and not really care so much anymore about things that don't matter or things I can't change. But THAT, as I like to say, is another blog altogether!

Moving on. So I made the decision that, due to the fact that our last trip was successful and Eric pretty much had an idea of what NOLA had to offer, we would take it easy, make no plans, and go where the wind blew. If we slept late, oh well, if I got up and ran 3 miles, great, if I was hungover and couldn't move til noon, great too! ha! We did a little bit of it all.

I don't want to bore everyone with the day-to-day details of what we did while on the trip. I do, however, have to share about a couple of significant things ...things I hope you will check out next time you're in town!!!

First off, the last time we were in town we kept hearing about this great new restaurant called EAT. It's small, reasonably priced, casual/fine dining that is BYOB and set back far enough in the quarter that it's not a tourist trap. It attracts mostly locals or regular visitors that are "foodies" and want a new experience in the quarter. We went friday night and had an incredible meal. They were more than accommodating to my crazy dietary needs and didn't even bat an eye when I then broke down and had a bite (or 5) of Eric's dessert - which sent me straight back to the hotel in pain. But anyway. I could go on and on about the menu and creativity of the dishes, but I won't. Just check it out next time you're in town - at the corner of Dumaine and Dauphine. Oh...and they even put our Miller Lite tall boys on ice for us..cause that's how we roll yo! Who needs wine? Psh!

The Marigny. Ok I went into this a bit in my blog about last year's NOLA trip but I just want to reiterate that this is the ONLY way to experience music when you are there. Please review that blog and short explanation about the Marigny. And PLEASE, for the love of Pete, get off Bourbon, take a walk down Decatur, cross over Esplanade and experience all that Frenchman has to offer: Cafe Negril, Spotted Cat, Snug Harbor and d.b.a. are some faves. The vibe over there is very real and different. It's very NOLA...for lack of a better word. I love that the Spotted Cat stays packed, shoulder to shoulder, for a Swing band called the Cottonmouth Kings, when, unfortunately, you only pack a bar like that in Bham with outplayed cover bands. Love em but you know it's true. Quality little jazz bands don't pack bars around here like, say...Trotline does. Ha. So for folks like Eric and I who love discovering new music, supporting local musicians and songwriters, it's paradise for us!

Peaches Records! While standing in line for a fabulous, excellently priced LUNCH at K. Paul's, I was checking into Four Square and saw that "Kent" was "mayor" of K. Paul's (sorry if you don't know what 4 sq is...just keep reading). Anyway, I immediately asked the nice gentleman behind me in line, named Kent, with whom I'd been chatting if he was the Kent on 4 sq ...and it turns out they are one in the same! Kent had been telling me how he'd taken refuge in Birmingham during Katrina, how he loved the vibe downtown and the music scene here, and the food, and THE NICK! and Zydeco, and the people...it made me swoon because I love Birmingham for so many of the same reasons. We got to talking about music and vinyl and come to find out, Kent has "a little record store" on Decatur. So we decided we'd head over after lunch and check it out. Turns out, Kent's little record store has been in New Orleans since the 70's and is one of the few surviving, family owned record stores left. Check out this really cool article I found about it! And here's their FB page! We stayed in there way too long and Kent told us stories about music and artists from the area...even showed us a picture of Troy "Trombone" Shorty when he was about 4 years old playing in a street parade! He told me about how devastating Katrina was for them, how their store was trashed and their merchandise stolen (because when people don't have food and water what they REALLY need are CD's - ugh - tangent - sorry), and what it took for them to reopen finally after being closed for 2 years. It was such a neat experience. Go there. Please. Here are some of my favorite shots from Peaches!

Troy. Troy is an artist we met last time we were in town, selling his artwork in Jackson Square as many local artists do. From a $400 painting to a $20 painting, many reputable, well-known local artists sell their work on the square because it's a sure-fire way to meet customers who might not stroll into the fancy shmancy galleries on Royal street...those who might be too intimidated by the prices of some of the work in those galleries. These artists have a permit to sell their work on the street and usually are displaying said permit proudly. Look for it. Anyway...back to Troy. We saw Troy's work last year and loved it. It was colorful and cheerful and very much my taste. We had talked with him about custom painting something for our house and we were going to contact him when we got back...but we got busy and you know how that goes. So this time we promised ourselves we'd find him and definitely get a painting! He was there, same spot, and we immediately picked out a piece we loved. He held it for us while we went walking around and we came back to get it that afternoon. We got to talking ...as I tend to do with folks...I have an inquisitive nature..ha...anyway, we got to talking and he told us about Katrina and Rita and how he was affected, how he ended up in Texas and was working with kids in the foster care system. Troy began telling me about his work in a residential facility for kids. I know I know...goosebumps right!!! Everything he was saying was an exact depiction my experience working in the foster care system...he shared the same frustrations and disappointments..but also the same joys it brings. He went on to tell me he hoped to open a center for kids to learn about the arts. I hope he does. He seems like a fantastic person and I love his art. Check out his website and read his bio here! Also check out Troy's nephew, Ashton's art as well!

This may have been just an everyday thing for Troy, or for Kent at Peaches...talking and sharing stories ...but for us it was neat, and special, and gave us a great memory to take home from this trip. That's what I love about New Orleans...there's a story around every corner, behind every bar and in every little shop...and when you take the time to get away from the karaoke bars, daiquiri shops, strip clubs and pizza-by-the-slice joints, there's an amazing, unique culture waiting to be discovered. From the artists to the street musicians, the perfumery to the handmade toy shop ...the unique and different and quirky thrive there...there's no place like it and it's always abundant with stories to be told and memories to be made.

A couple more things...we also attended a food festival..OMG...on Royal street saturday. You can see pics of that as well as all the others I took in the FB albums. I made two albums: one for my 50D shots and one for my Point and Shoot shots. Check them out and comment PLEASE! Also, there's this little corner store we always like to go in called Unique Grocery. And even though homeless drunks hang around, it's pretty badass. It's at the corner of Iberville and Royal. There is always awesome old school Hip Hop playing in there. They have everything from pop-tarts to beer and right when you walk in they have these huge bins with tall boys iced down. 16 oz's for 1.50 and 25 oz's for 2.25. You can't beat that with a stick. So we buy tall boys and stick em in our koozies when we are walking around the quarter. It's AWESOME. While we were in there I had a homeless guy say to me... "you're a goddess...and that's coming from a drunk, homeless m***f***'er." LOL! Big shout out to Unique Grocery. It's quite unique!

Here are a few more favorites!

More artists....

(download)

Fun on Royal...this little boy was something else...

(download)

Around the square....

(download)

28 Nov 2010
01:17 pm

Big things, little things, Iron Bowl, etc...

Well I had this awesome blog all typed up that I'd been working on for days and in an instant it was gone. I shall attempt to re-create it. Unsuccessfully I'm sure...

I've been a bad blogger of late. We've been so busy with weddings, babies, football, holidays, trips, etc. It's been wonderful but I haven't had much spare time. I have about 10 half written blogs in my drafts folder that, I hope, will materialize into full posts soon, but for now we'll stick with a quick update and some thoughts...

-- Big news first. I passed the NCE exam and I now have my LPC. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor which means I'm licensed to do private practice if I so choose. I'm currently employed with a non-profit agency and while I don't make much money, I wouldn't trade what I've learned there for anything in the world! Furthermore, I feel like I make a difference at the end of the day which means alot too. But sometime in the future I plan to go out and explore my options. Working with kids in the foster care system is hard, emotional work. As anyone who has worked with this population knows, happy endings are rare and burnout is high. I don't know if I'm ready to walk away completely, but I've considered going part time and working with some other client populations. I need some light to balance the dark...so-to-speak. We'll see...

-- Eric and I made our biannual trip to Talladega on Halloween weekend and it was an experience as always. We camped out like we did last fall and it was alot of fun. Camping out at Dega always takes me back...reminds me of growing up in Clanton. I don't know why..maybe it's the smell of the campfire and the cheap beer. It just makes me think of my adolescence, camping out, four wheeler rides, bonfires, barn parties, etc. I don't get out of the city much anymore and I hate that. I need a trip home soon! Anyhoo, HERE is the link to the whole, hilarious album from the weekend. One of our compadres somehow ended up with a carboard cutout of his favorite driver and we had WAY too much fun with that thing.

-- My favorite newborn continues to grow like a weed and I was able to get some good shots of her recently. Here are a few:

-- We went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I started to include my thoughts on that here but it got too lengthy.. so I'm saving that for a separate blog. As with the past films, I wasn't very happy. Having read all the books at least twice, I'm extremely critical. Anyway, moving on...

-- We got our Christmas decorations up the 2nd weekend in November. I get alot of crap for putting them up so early but I enjoy it. It puts me in the holiday spirit. I love the holidays...the smells, the lights, the music, the warmth, family, friends, parties, etc... I want to enjoy it as long as possible. Here are some shots of our decorations... take note of the wreath. I made it!!! Cool huh? A wire coat hanger, some cheap plastic Christmas balls from walmart and about 20 minutes was all it took!!!

-- Now for my Iron Bowl analysis: We lost.

No seriously, I think we played a stellar first half. It seemed our defense was shutting Cam down and Auburn's defense wasn't even in the stadium. But they made adjustments in the second half and were able to make the plays. We also had 2 key turnovers that I know cost us at least 2 touchdowns. I also feel the injuries to Julio and Greg hurt us bad. Had we had them in that final drive I feel we would have AT LEAST kicked a field goal for the win. I'm sure all Bama fans are saying similar things but oh well. It makes me feel better. I do have to admit that I'm beginning to believe Eric isn't exaggerating when he talks about the national media's dismissal of Auburn. The national sports media consistently expects them to lose and yet they keep winning. They seem to think they are scraping by with luck...like they are just an incomplete team with a good quarterback that won't possibly make it to the title game. But yet it seems they are 1 win away. I guess we'll see. I'm pulling for them now, of course, but an Iron Bowl victory would've been nice...especially since I was there with Eric. Most of the couples we hang out with are "split" as well so I really wanted bragging rights this year. Oh well. We went to the game with Ryan and Lindsay. Too much fun...here are a few pics from the day:

21 Sep 2010
07:38 pm

and finally...I give you...NOLA

So I wasn't very happy with alot of these pics. It was my first time using my two new lenses, each of which have a fixed aperture. I was shooting mostly in manual for the first time and I realized, at the end of my trip, that I had forgotten to change the aperture when I changed lenses...most of the time. It was a stupid mistake that I hadn't made when practicing with them, but when it's 100 degrees in the shade, you're feet are swollen from walking around the city ALL day, and you have a cranky boyfriend because you stop every 5 feet to take a picture....it's easy to forget I guess! So here are a few of my faves. You can see the whole album by clicking here!

(download)

09 Aug 2010
08:06 pm

30 Days of Blogging - Day 10 - A Photo of Me Over 10 Years Ago

So when I started to look at pics for this blog I was originally looking at pics taken in college but then I realized it said OVER 10 years ago which could mean anything prior to age 20. So that, of course, was before the digital age and those weren't on my computer... so I busted out the old photo books and shoe boxes and began scanning. I sat in the floor and laughed my ass off and decided there were just too many that I wanted to share ...sooo...I've decided I'm going to be scanning more and will create an Old School photo album on FB. Be on the lookout for that in the near future. Anyhoo...here are a few that I selected. I couldn't pick just one. I'm AMAZED at how much I've changed. Not just in appearance (which is pretty dramatic), but also in my whole approach to life and health and everything. But that's the way it should be right? Change is good...very good in my case...why the hell was I so freaking pale? I swear that's why I'm obsessed with the tanning bed now...

So Photo Number 1 ::: When I first moved to Montevallo Angel Anders was my partner in crime. She was one of the first people I met and we pretty much tore up the town that summer. Here is a pic from one of our many outings. I believe I was 20...but I also believe this pic was taken at the now defunct TC's which means the fact that I wasn't 21 meant nothing there...LOL! PLEASE note the awesome old school Miller Lite can and the nasty cigarette in my hand. OMGEEEEE!

I believe this was one of the first nights I realized Abby wasn't at ALL the person I believed her to be in high school...and thus our college friendship bloomed ... this was taken at the old 5 Points Music Hall...may it rest in peace AGAIN.

Next we have a couple of me and my other partner in crime...Tracy!

Okay last but not least I went a bit further back...to high school. Here are a couple of me and one of my best friends from high school, Mandy. We WERE partners in crime...literal crime a time or two I'm sure. I think there are still some stolen street signs in my mother's attic that we jacked on random boring Clanton nights. Oh the memories..."POP THE BOOT!!!"

Well that was fun. Can't wait to share more old school pics. Nite nite!

07 Aug 2010
09:33 am

30 Days of Blogging - Day 8 - A Photo That Makes Me Sad

Two specific pictures came to mind when thinking about this blog so I've included them both. Pic number one...

This is a photo of me and my friend Jared who was killed in a car accident March 8, 2006. Jared was very close to me and a very special person in my life. I still sit and think how differently things would be if Jared were still here...especially the many wonderful things he would have accomplished. Jared was so bright and had such a unique spirit. We shared many loves...especially the love of music and photography! I miss him dearly. He was not wearing his seat belt. I can't imagine anyone today who doesn't wear their seat belt but if you don't please reconsider...and read this. Jared would be alive today had he been wearing his seat belt.

Okay...Photo number two...

This is a photo I took in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans TWO AND A HALF YEARS post Katrina. This is a photo of a street that used to be filled with houses...now it is just empty lots. Either way you looked, up and down the street, it was the same... empty lots with the occasional house still standing... but barely. I took alot of pictures that day. I saw the markings on the front of the houses that were made by the search teams, showing the count of how many were found dead. You saw the occasional marking that showed a dead dog or cat was found. I took pictures of the rows and rows of FEMA trailers, all the boarded up shops, schools and restaurants...it was gut wrenching. I was glued to the TV during the Katrina coverage. I was so ANGRY that the people in the city weren't getting any relief. The response was shameful. Nearly 2,000 people were killed by hurricane Katrina... 1,600 of them in the state of Louisiana and MANY of that number died AFTER the storm hit ..due to the lack of food, water and medical attention. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities and seeing 80% of it underwater was heartbreaking. ALOT has changed in New Orleans since Katrina. It saddens me when I'm there and I go to visit some little family owned spot I used to love and it's no longer there. Thank god the Quarter and the Garden District didn't see the same level of devastation...although alot has changed there too. Alot of people say New Orleans was dirty and needed to be cleaned out...personally, I can think of a lot better ways to improve the city. New Orleans is special, it's unique, it's filled with history and music and culture that can be found no where else in the world.

06 Aug 2010
07:03 am

30 Days of Blogging - Day 7 - A Photo That Makes Me Happy

There were alot to choose from...but I would hafta say this is the happiest and most at peace I've ever felt and it's got alot to do with this man ...SO...

31 Jul 2010
01:52 pm

CC, Bahamas and other stuffs....

Well...lots to catch up on. I always feel so guilty when I don't blog on a regular basis but this summer has been nuts. Been traveling and going to shows and when I AM here I'm catching up at work or sleeping because I don't seem to get much of that these days! BUT....I have thoroughly enjoyed this summer so far and wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Okay so CC... if you haven't read my previous post, The Music Gods, please do. Anyhoo, The show was exactly what I expected. The table section was filled with socialites who could care less about the music, talked and sipped wine as expected. They sat the whole time, had no energy and ignored the band's pleas (along with mine) for them to get up. So basically the energy sucked and the setlist was composed of alot of crowd-pleasers but I can't complain because I knew that's what it would be. I still went nuts and soaked in every second of it cuz that's what I do. But after you've seen as many CC shows as I have, you start to compare and contrast because they are all different.. and some are just simply in a league of their own! You can view the pics by clicking HERE! I'm still living for Eric to experience a GA show with me. Who knows when that'll happen though. HOPEFULLY when the special guest is no longer freaking AUGUSTANA. OMG shoot me now if they tour with them ONE MORE TIME.

Moving on! Our trip to the bahamas was blissful. There was a teensy tropical depression named something that moved over us and brought some wind and rain. I was very upset because I had planned on getting alot of sun and the water was too rough for us to do alot of the water activities we had planned...BUT we still got to fish and snorkel and I got PLENTY of sun. It was in and out, but lord when it was out it was strong! Unfortunately, Eric got a bit sea sick when we were fishing. The water was rough and he hadn't been boating much in his life. Bless his heart. But he was a trooper. Puked off the side of the boat then grabbed his rod and went back at it! He even got back on the boat the next day in even rougher water. I heart him! But all in all it was awesome. We got to spend some quality time with mom and Greg and we ate some amazing food. The chef at the lodge cooked special for me the first two nights and then on the last 2 nights we cooked at the house because Greg had caught so much freaking fish. I just love it down there so much. Their place is so far from everything touristy and developed. It's untouched and beautiful. We saw sharks, sting rays, dolphins, star fish...the whole nine. We even tried to save a beached dolphin that was stuck up on a sand bar. You can see all the pics from the trip by clicking HERE! And visit the club's website here: www.deepwatercay.com!

What else? Oh we are going to New Orleans in a few weeks. Just the two of us. Just for a weekend trip. It's one of my favorite cities EVER and Eric has never been. I usually prefer to go in the spring or fall and I know it's going to be dreadfully hot and muggy right now, but we are going anyway. Once football season starts up there won't be much traveling going on except to Tuscaloosa or Auburn. Then the holidays will be here! So it's our last chance for the 2 of us to get away and I'm just dying to get back to NOLA!

One last thing...

Eric and I are coming up on the 1 year mark and I just want to say that this past year has been the best of my life. Every day I am more and more amazed by him and I feel so incredibly blessed to have him in my life. He is an amazing human being and I have absolutely no idea how I managed to find him. But I did! I'm so excited about embarking on another year with him...another football season, holidays, birthdays...all of it is better because of him!

Okay enough mushy stuff.

BTW ..Football is in the air people..can you feel it!?! 35 more days! GET READY!!! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

02 Jul 2010
06:44 am

A Southerner's Observations While in the BIG CITY Y'all!

Now that I'm home, laundry has been done, pics are finally uploaded, and I've caught up on my sleep I thought I'd write a little about my trip. First of all, I want to say that it took me a LONG time to really appreciate Birmingham, Alabama. And although I love traveling and experiencing new places, going away always reminds me just how great this place is. It's such a perfect mix of small town and city life, cultured without losing the feel of the deep south... the pace is perfect, the traffic isn't bad, and people are friendly..you can have lunch at a vegan cafe, browse through a vintage record store and yet be out in the country, surrounded by pastureland within 30 minutes! And I'm so glad I'm at that place in life where I feel I've really found my niche here. I love my home and my neighborhood, I'm settling into my career, I have a wonderful support system of friends and family, and someone very special to share it all with....I'm blessed! Birmingham has it's issues as we are all aware...but it's home!

Moving on...NYC! Here are some random observations and things I learned while on this trip...

1) I very much love having a vehicle and am one of those people that will never be able to use mass public transportation as my only means of mobility.

2) I can walk a very long way while carrying lots of heavy things and not die...not that I ever want to do it again.

3) Some of the greatest stores do not have locations in the south nor do they have online shopping :(

4) I very much like brits.

5) Running on a boardwalk is very different from pavement or a treadmill and does interesting things to your calves...furthermore, running for 5 miles on a perfectly flat surface takes some adjustment when you are used to running 5 miles of hills.

6) People up north do not eat oysters with saltine crackers.

7) The western on Highland Ave has a much better beer selection than ANY store I was in in NYC.

8) Urbanspoon.com is one of the greatest things ever and is a lifesaver for people with restrictive diets traveling with picky eaters who hate vegetables.

9) Adrenaline is a wonderful antedote for sleep deprivation.

10) No one place or person or thing will ever make you happy....

11) I love my DVR, my dishwasher, my washer and dryer, and my large closet and my sofa...I feel badly for people who have none of these things and pay more than I do for their living space.

12) Old friends are the best friends!

13) A fast paced, big city like New York is NOT the place to try to learn your new DSLR...but I managed. Thanks to Abby and Joey for allowing me to stop and take a zillion pictures over and over.

14) When walking for hours while carrying heavy bags, spotting a Starbucks is like finding the oasis in the desert. And for someone that never drinks coffee iced, I developed a fondness for Iced Americanos on this trip!

15) The sun is definitely stronger here than up north...I know logic should tell me this but I put on very little sunscreen and didn't get crap for sun. If I laid out for that length of time with that little sunscreen here, I'd be burned. I might be wrong on this point (scientifically) but oh well. I came back with no more of a tan than I left with so it makes sense to me :D

16) I mistook some native new york accents as foreign...as in...from another country. Yeah.

17) Coming from Birmingham, AL, it is very interesting to me to see what Joey refers to as a "ghetto" in New York.

18) I've been told this ALOT by people who moved to Bama from up north but every time I go up there it seems more and more true... People in the south are more attractive. Yes. It is true. I don't know why, but it is true. Perhaps it's the humidity...it does wonderful things for our skin :) I'm not saying there aren't attractive people up north but, on average, there are more attractive people here.

19) Nice cab drivers do exist.

20) THIS is one of the coolest fast food places I've ever been and someone would make a killin' if they opened one here. Please someone do it!

I know some of that might not make sense but...

Okay so pictures...

Here is the link to the entire album ...please view and comment....and here are a few of my faves...

Overall it was a great trip. There are a few things I would've done differently in terms of planning/navigating but that's the OCD in me.. Let it go Katie. I didn't get in as much shopping as I wanted and didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted on certain things...but we didn't have alot of time in general. Definitely have to set aside a few extra days next time. OH, and Long Beach is really cool. I think with the whole gulf oil spill crisis, I will focus my next few beach vacations for New England coastal towns. I'm thinking another Boston trip is in order too...HUGE Little Italy there, tons of history............... we shall see :)

Filed under: photos