100th Blog Post

Let me warn you now. This blog post is going to be all over the place. Lot’s of stuff to say…

As you can read, this is the 100th blog post. Since I’ve began, I’ve gained some readers. It’s fun to find out who reads it, but doesn’t comment. I love comments though. I encourage them.

Anyhow….because I have 100 blog posts, I can now mark #38 off of my 101 list.

In addition to this, I’m changing the name of the blog. When I first began it, I wasn’t sure how long I would keep it up. Little did I know that I would fall in love with it and continue to chronicle events in my life.

And the new name of the blog is….

BY GOD’S SOUTHERN GRACE

I think. I’ve been debating a couple of names. For now, this is the one I like. What do you think?

Renaming the blog now marks off #57 on my list.

Two down.

Now…on to my big news. I regret saying it was big news for the simple fact that everyone had their own thoughts as to what it might be, mostly a job. It’s not that big of news though. We’ll talk more on that later though.

I recently FINALLY bought what I had been saving up for.

A Canon T1i.

I found it on fredmiranda.com. Basically, on there, professional photographers {generally} sell their equipment on there. I have you know that the camera I bought doesn’t even look like it’s been touched. AND I got a great deal on it.

Now my goal is to get the lens I want. It’s a 50 mm lens, and I will be purchasing it a.s.a.p. to start taking the kind of pictures I like. I want it to be able to blur the background more, and you need the aperature to be lower {I believe}. Julie, correct me if I’m wrong.

I’ve been taking a few pictures over the last day, but things have been rather busy, and I haven’t gotten the time to really figure it out the way I want to. It’s not as hard as it looks though.

I haven’t gotten to load my editing software that came with it either, so I can’t wait to see what kind of effect that could have. Maybe photo improvement will take place over the  next couple of weeks.

Since I got my camera, this knocks off #17 on my list.

I’m not done yet though.

Because we’re now trying to sell my old blue car, I was able to knock off #67 on my 101 list. We washed, waxed, and vacuumed out my car this past weekend. It’s ready for it’s new owner.

AND

I’ve now crossed off #88, which was to support Brewton schools in some way.

 

I look forward to buying one of these cards every year. You would be surprised at how not having to purchase a drink makes a difference in how much money you spend on meals.

Now, for the last item of business for the day. It’s on a more serious note.

It’s now crunch time for a job. I had two really great interviews this morning, and I’m hoping something comes of one of them. I would really like the opportunity to work at one particular school, and I fell in love with the large classroom I saw today.

Please pray for me. It takes time to put a classroom together, and I like to be prepared. Pray that decisions will be made soon, so I will know the next step I will have to take.

If you’re still reading, thank you.

So excited to say…

Some of my wedding photos have been posted on my photographer, Julie Cottrell’s, blog. I could not be more pleased with what I have seen so far. For all of you who have been asking me, they’re here. Go check them out!

Click on the picture to be taken to her blog.

This was not my big news. Sorry! I’ve been busy, but I couldn’t wait to post this. I’ll have a better post later.

Thank you, Julie! You’re excellent at what you do.

Oh, and if you think about it, comment on her blog or mine on which one you like best. You might also want to offer her congrats. She found out today that she’s having another girl!

CONGRATULATIONS, JULIE!

Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?!?!

For all of you who don’t waste two hours of your night every Monday, I’m going to give you the opportunity to waste 5 minutes on this blog. This is a follow-up of “The Bachelorette.”

Let me begin by saying that the guy I was ranting about on my first post is GONE! Whoop, whoop!

See ya, Kasey! No more whiney voice. No more guarding and protecting hearts. I hear the heavens singing!

There was one more problem though. Justin. The entertainment wrestler. The liar.

From the beginning, I thought he was completely fake. The guys wanted to vote him out when they first arrived there. Unfortunately, Allie didn’t listen. He’s gone now though, and that’s what counts!

The guy had a girlfriend, only came on the show to become famous, and he called his girlfriend throughout the show. THEN, he wanted to lie about it. Too bad for him that his girlfriend threw him under the bus. That’s right! Some lovely voice mail messages happen to be in the hands of ABC and were broadcast for all of America to hear what a loser he is. What’s sad is the poor guy couldn’t even face the music? Pitiful.

At least we don’t have to watch two whole hours of him tonight though. He’s gone! Whoop, whoop! Now we can see who these sweet, caring guys are and how wonderful they are to her.

Major whoop, whoop!

Lots of News!

I have to say that this weekend was really terrific for more than one reason.

Reason #1- Checked something off my list

#24- Buy an SUV with a substantial down payment

‘B’ {as I’m called by my niece} got a new ride! I’ve waited Y-E-A-R-S to get a new vehicle. Let’s take a moment to see what I’ve suffered through for almost seven years….

Huge improvement, huh? It’s the little things that I appreciate after driving the little blue car for that long.

Power windows.

Key fob.

Space.

CD player.

An A/C that’s already cool when you crank the car up. No waiting 5 to 10 minutes for cold air.

It’s the little things like that that I appreciate the most.

Reason #2: Brittany and Luther’s Wedding

Colby and I had the honor of attending a fellow firefighter’s wedding this weekend. We have known Brittany and Luther since we have started dating, and throughout the years we’ve had opportunities to do activities together.

Brittany and Luther are a wonderful, sweet couple. She was breathtaking at the wedding {as all brides should be}. I didn’t have the opportunity to take any pictures. I actually left my camera in the truck. Shame on me, right?!?!

Luckily, though, a friend of mine was gracious enough to snap a few pictures to remember the special evening.

I must say that it’s one of the sweetest weddings I’ve been to. Brittany’s dad broke his leg a few months back, and he was unable to walk. From what I understand, it was a pretty awful break. This caused Brittany to have to push their wedding date back because she simply did not want to walk down the aisle without her dad.

Her dad was still not completely healed this weekend, but he was a sport. He used his crutches the entire night until it came to the moment to walk her down the aisle. He traded the crutches for a cane. You know that’s a daddy that would do anything for his little girl. It certainly made the wedding that much more special.

Reason #3: Pickles

I canned five cans of pickles this weekend. Colby made a $5 bet with me that I would let the cucumbers ruin, but boy was he wrong! I cut all of those cucumbers up in no time and had them made within an hour. It would have taken me less time, but I was watching “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera.”

I can’t say that I made the juice from scratch though. I cheated. I went to Wal-Mart and bought Mrs. Wage’s

I have some big personally exciting news tomorrow, but I’m going to try to hold my excitement in and share it with you tomorrow!

Future Posts:

Blueberry Festival Weekend {one weekend late}

My big personally exciting news

100th blog post

Edit: For anyone who thinks I have super big news tomorrow like a baby or something, it’s not that kind of news. It’s just something I’m personally excited about. Poor choice of words on my part.

We’ve caught another one! (Now two!)

That’s right. I have someone else who has joined the blogging world that is very dear to me. It’s my best friend, Erin.

Let me tell you a little about her:

Erin and I have been best friends since Kindergarten. She’s 22 years old and is engaged to an incredibly great guy named Hunter. Erin is currently pursuing her degree in nursing, but there’s a possibility that it might change. {You’ll have to read the blog to find out.} She’s just a fun girl to be around, but she’s what I consider a “good” girl, which is always a plus!

I hope you take a chance to read her blog. She’s just done her first two posts, so I’m sure she’ll have some great material coming up. I know I can’t wait to read it!

Her blog is Psalm 23. CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT!

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I just got another message on Facebook that my cousin, Meg, is starting a blog, too. I have to say that I’m in love with the name of her blog.

Seeking Mary’s Heart in a Martha World

Don’t you just love that name? I related with her first post, especially, and I encourage you to read it as well. I’m excited about it because I rarely get to see them since they live outside of Atlanta, so this is a great way for us to know what’s going on in each other’s lives.

I think blogging is catching on!

Here’s a photo of the girl behind the blog:

So, that was a trick really. Which girl is it? She’s the one in the middle. Those other two girls are my great cousins, Cate and Misty.

Good luck, Meg! Don’t give up on it! You’ll really learn to enjoy it!

Bridesmaid Luncheon

It’s another wedding post! Yay for that!

My super sweet SIL offered to host my bridesmaid luncheon the day before the wedding. I knew when she offered to do so that it would be awesome, and it was beyond anything I could have imagined. Someone even said it looked like something out of Southern Living, which is funny because one idea actually did.

Abby will be sharing the details of how she compiled the event together to make it such a beautiful success, but I figured I would just share a few pictures in the mean time.

Before I do that though, I would like to thank Abby and her mom for putting it all together. I know it took lots of hard work, and I can’t ever thank you enough for what you did. It certainly added to my wedding experience, and I have only you to thank for that. It was gorgeous!

Abby and her mom made the cute monogrammed cakes for each guest. Her mom actually brought the oak leaf hydrangeas that are in the centerpiece from her yard in Birmingham all the way to Brewton and arranged them herself.

Abby even transferred all of her Italian Countryside china from Birmingham to Brewton for this as well. That’s what I call love!

Her husband, Judd, designed the invitation. If you like what you see, he’s actually doing it on the side now, and I can get you more information about it.

As you can tell, the food was delicious. I’m not going to tell you what we had because I would have to lie about exactly what it was, but we all clearly loved it.

The luncheon actually took place where the reception was being held as well. Since Abby lives out of town, her choices were limited until someone came up with the idea to just have it there. I’m so glad we did, too. We used some of the bridesmaid luncheon decor for the reception as well.

These are two of my bridesmaids and friends since Kindergarten, Kate and Erin.

My niece, Aly, wanted to be the bride instead. Don’t you love her make-shift veil?

For the bridesmaids gifts, I decided to get them……….

These cute jute monogrammed bags and pearl earrings, bracelet, and necklace {which were worn in the wedding}.

My bridesmaid, Andrea, seemed to be pleased with it =)

This staircase made the perfect place for bridesmaid pictures. Here you can see from left to right, top to bottom Abby, Kate, Andrea, Ashley, Erin, and myself.

Now, do you see why I loved it so much?

I’ll put a link on another post to let you know when Abby blogs about the details and hard work she put into it. Thanks again, Abby!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Happy Tuesday! Just think…only three more days until the weekend! We’ll hold off on the singing until Friday though.

To celebrate Father’s Day, I decided to cook supper for my dad and Colby’s dad. I worked very hard on that meal all afternoon, and I ended up forgetting to take any pictures. I have to say that I’m a little bummed about that.

I picked my menu ahead of time, and this is what it consisted of:

• Italian Salad
• Lemon-Thyme Chicken
• Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• Potato Salad
• Key Lime Pie

The Bacon Wrapped Asparagus was a hit! I originally got the recipe from the Tasty Kitchen blog, which you can see by clicking on this link. I, however, am going to provide you with my version because I had to tweak it a little bit.

The picture you see above is not my handy-work and those are not my hands. The picture is from the Tasty Kitchen website.

On to the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 bundle of asparagus
• 1 package of bacon

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wrap one slice of bacon around each stalk of asparagus. If you choose, you can also wrap one slice of bacon around two stalks of asparagus. {This is what I preferred to do.}

Put the bacon wrapped asparagus on a cookie sheet making sure to leave a small space between each stalk. Put the cookie sheet in the oven and cook for 20 – 25 minutes. You want the bacon to be browning before you take it out.

Put it on the cutest serving dish you have and watch it be devoured. You will love it!

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This recipe is so simple, and it really is delicious. Give it a try, even if you think you don’t like asparagus. I didn’t think I did either until I gave it a shot {thanks, Abby!}.