Sister Sister

My mom and sis were digging through some old photos over the weekend and came across this classic...

I really wish this would have scanned better. It was taken at Disney World in 1990. I think it's so cute!

Now we live 5 hours apart, but I feel like we are closer than ever. We email each other almost daily and I really enjoy knowing what's going on in her life as well as sharing mine. Through the good times and the bad... I love you sister.

"A sister is both your mirror - and your opposite."

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

"If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child."

"Sisters never quite forgive each other for what happened when they were five."

"A sister shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams."

Happy Valentine's Day

I'd like to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day weekend! And a happy Single's Awareness Day to all you single ladies! Ryan is currently at a sales meeting in Orlando, so I will be patiently awaiting his return on Sunday so we can go to a nice dinner! I can't wait! I will also be doing a little baking myself on Sunday, so I'll let you guys know how that turns out!

PS- Before Ryan left for his trip, he asked me to be his valentine. Normally one can assume we'll be valentines since we're married and all, but I think it's such a cute gesture that he asks me to be his each year. Of course I said YES. :)

I LOVE YOU, RYAN GRAY!

And a little fun fact to leave you with...

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas.

Happy 101

I've received a couple of blog awards in the past, and although I appreciated them just as much, I was bad about following through with them. So this will be my first to play along! Thanks so much to Sarah Mina at Sarah and the City for passing the Happy 101 Blog Award to me! How fun!

The rules of the award: list 10 things that make you happy, then pass the award along to 10 great bloggers.

Do I have to pick just 10!? Well here they are (in no particular order)...

10 things that make me happy:
1. Sipping a good glass of wine in my pjs on a lazy tv night with the hubs
2. Anything Ryan cooks and especially when he whips up a surprise snack for us and won't let me come in the kitchen until it's ready
3. Having reunions with best friends I haven't seen in a long time
4. Fresh flowers in the house
5. Eating outside (at restaurants and at home)
6. Finding a good sale
7. Looking through old photo albums
8. A long hot shower and my fluffy white robe
9. A squeaky clean house
10. Laying out in the sun for the first time after a long winter (can you tell what's on my mind)


And I'm passing the award on to:
Natasha at A Day in the Life
Ashely at Life with Mase and Ash Overcash
Ashley (do you have a title?)
Nida at A little bit of this, and a little bit of that
Aletha at Aletha and Preston
Amanda (you need a title too!)
Carly at The Adams family
Leighton at Ryan and Leighton
Brittany at B.Darling
A best friend who wants to be a secret blogger :)

Hope you all decide to play along too! TGIF!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We got SNOW!!!!! And lots of it (at least for Nashville)! I could barely concentrate at work Friday morning as the snow started to fall. It was so pretty! I got to leave around 10AM to ensure everyone could get home safe since it was predicted to snow ALL DAY! And it did... over 4 inches worth! Ryan and I got out in the snow a little bit that day when Parker, Glen, and Bo brought Duke over to play. Sadie and Duke had a blast in the backyard playing in the shiny whiteness! But Saturday morning Ryan got a real itching to get out and play in it ourselves. We wanted to SLED! Since we don't own a sled Ryan had a bright idea to use the top of a cooler. After a few running pushes down our road and back alley, we figured out pretty quick that it was not going to work. I'm sure our neighbors thought we were crazy when they saw Ryan running down the road pushing me on a cooler lid. So after Jeff and Aaron hit up Kroger for some storage bin lids (sleds sold out everywhere), they graciously agreed to come pick us up with some four wheel drive action (Ryan was missing his Tahoe right about now)! Then we swung back to pick up Meg and Natasha and we were off to Sevier Park in 12th South. Many other Nashvillians had the same idea so it was a full house! And I'm glad it was because 1. it was entertaining, and 2. because our lids did not work AT ALL and some people were kind enough to let us use some of their sleds- even their traditional wooden one! It's been years since I've done some real sledding and it was so fun! Apparently we're not the only ones in this town that do not own sleds because we saw everything from air mattresses to bicycles to canoes trying to make it down the hills at the park! It was hilarious! I LOVE SNOW DAYS!

And P.S.- It was Aaron's birthday! Happy birthday Aaron! What a fun birthday present!

Snowed in

Duke came over to play

Both these dogs were loving the frisbee

Getting ready to sled on Saturday! This is the stash of clothes Ryan pulled down from the attic for us to bundle up! Notice Sadie at the door begging us to come out and throw the frisbee for her :)

Layering up

Stylin' in some Carhart overalls! Oh yeah!

Ready to go!

Going to test out the cooler

Over 4 inches!

Sevier Park

No need for a cooler!

Some man gave Ryan a bar of soap to slick up the cooler lid, but it still didn't work!

Ryan getting a push from Jeff

And away he goes!

Having fun feeling like kids again!

Me and Meg

Snow bunnies

Snow hunnies :)

The whole group!

What a fun day!

Out on the Farm

A couple weekends ago I met two of my very best friends in northern Alabama for a little trip to the farm. Sarah Beth's family own two houses on a ton of land... 80 acres! It took me about 3.5 hours to get there and man, I haven't driven on those kind of country roads in a long time... darkness + curvy back roads + my driving skills = not my thing so much. But Sadie and I arrived safely and were so excited to start our relaxing weekend at the farm! The weekend consisted of lots of rain so we were cooped up most of the time which was fine with me. Although Cam brought quite the gun collection, there was no shooting to be had because of all the rain, but he did give us all a gun safety lesson. Thanks Cam! It was probably a good thing we didn't go out and shoot since we already cracked open a couple bottles of wine by mid-afternoon. What else is there to do on a rainy day at the farm? And that was exactly what I had in mind... lots of girl talk... I mean LOTS of girls talk (sorry Cam), lots of wine, and lots of board games. Unfortunately for SB's mom we did not get around to karaoke which she was dying to play at any hour of the day. Overall it was definitely a fun little get away and hopefully we can find a weekend to go back in the summertime! I even got to meet my parents for lunch on the way home in Athens. It was good to see them too!

They bought me a belated birthday cookie cake :)

Nothing like starting a fire to warm you up on a cold day at the farm

A fireplace is definitely on our list of things we want in our first home! I'm really hoping we won't have to compromise on this!

These two could have done this all day long (if it didn't rain)

Puppy energy

And they're still going...

Best buds

Mexican train! I love learning new games!

I miss these two girls so so much!! I still hoping we'll all live in the same city one day... :)

Happy 25th Birthday to ME!

This post is a little late, but I'M 25! whoop whoop! AND my birthday was on a SATURDAY! I don't remember the last time my actual birthday was on a Saturday, but I already can't wait until my birth date hits that mark on the calendar again! It was fun having a whole day with the hubby be all about me. :) I know that sounds selfish, but it was fun! This birthday, since some of our Nashville friends went out of town for NYE weekend, I wanted my actual birthday to be just me and the hubs. First, we woke up that morning and he made me pancakes! My favorite! They were so good! Then we went shopping... Yes, shopping. That is what I wanted to do! Ryan was such a good trooper during our 3 hour trip to the mall! He even bought me a new pair of jeans and a jacket! Then we were off to Park Cafe for appetizers and drinks before the hockey game. That night we watched the Nashville Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks- or better known as the Mighty Ducks! Of course Ryan pulled out his connections (Thanks Jason!) and we got to watch the game from one of the restaurants as well as eat and drink for free! Afterwards since some of our friends were out and about we met up with them for a couple Blue Moon's at Sam's Sports Bar. (I'm glad you guys stayed out!)

My big birthday celebration with most of our Nashville friends was on the following Tuesday. This is the second year I've had my birthday at Mafiaoza's for 2-1 pizza slices and 2-1 beers. I just love that place, and I think I'm going to make it my birthday tradition! Thanks to everyone that came out and helped me celebrate! And a shout out goes to Amy and Robert for making a fearless attempt to bring there 2 month old baby, but didn't make it much past the parking lot because of how crowded and loud the restaurant was. I'm glad I got to see you guys for a minute though!

And now for some pictures...

For those of you that don't know, I've had a DQ ice cream cake for my birthday since before I can remember. They look a little different now than when I was little since I used to get horse heads on them. I kid you not.

Walking to the Sommet Center

Go Preds!!!!!

This is the seventh birthday I've had the pleasure of celebrating with this handsome man by my side :) Can't wait for 70 more!

Joe, Megan, Buddy, Sarah-Ann, Aaron, and Meg

At Maf's

Brittany, me, Ryan and Rishi

Jeff, Natasha, Lauren and Candice

Parker, Sam, and Brittany

Meg getting my FUNFETTI cupcakes ready - thank you!! They were D-E-licious
Happy Birthday to me!