2010 Year in Review

2010 went by in a flash. I am very fortunately to have spent another year with my wonderful wife and I'll take as many more as I can get. Here's a recap of 2010 from my vantage point.

2010 began on a quiet note. Julie and I slept through the ball drop at our house and watched Auburn play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl on our new TV.



We invited our good friends (the Branches) and my sister over to watch Alabama take on Texas in the national championship game a few days later. Auburn finds itself in the same position the Crimson Tide enjoyed last year and it really just feels like yesterday when all of Alabama was focused on the Rose Bowl. I only played golf once in January.

February was more eventful at work than at home. Julie and I observed Valentine's Day quietly at home.

In March, my father and I traveled to Milligan, Florida to do some yard work around the ancestral home and family cemetery there. Many man hours have been spent trying to stay ahead of the weeds on this property located just outside of Crestview. It is increasingly difficult to spend the time there that is required to keep the house and property manageable. Upon returning, I pronounced this visit as my final trip to Milligan. I also managed to play golf twice in March.

April was a busy (and dangerous) month. We watched Duke University's mens team win their 4th national championship at the Branch's house.



I severely cut my finger and almost bled out on the opening day of the 2010 Master's Golf Tournament. This injury did not prevent Julie and I from hosting "Sunday at The Masters" a few days later. We had a lot of fun and I must make a note to start searching for a green jacket at local thrift stores earlier in 2011. Julie and I also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in April. We spent a long weekend in Savannah and really enjoyed ourselves!

Also in April, Clay Branch and I checked in with most of the Auburn football coaches when Tiger Prowl 2010 rolled through the Birmingham area.

I was able to put my wedding anniversary gift to good use in May. Julie gave me a gift certificate to play at Farm Links Golf Club. Clay Branch and I played 2.5 rounds that day and I could not have been happier.



Later in May, I attended the hottest wedding known to man (Lena and Robert Hardy [Emily Branch's brother]). On the work front, I decided to join the Pelham Lions Club to boost my business networking opportunities. I was a member of the Atmore Lions Club and enjoyed that experience very much. Unfortunately, the Pelham Club is slightly different: I'm the youngest member by at least 20 years. Most of the members are retired so business networking takes a back seat to heated discussions about the weather.

June was a fun month! Julie and I took spent some vacation time down at her parent's home in Destin with the Branches and our other friends: the Talbotts from St. Louis. A week full of oversleeping, overeating, diving board contests and good friends. I even got to play 3* rounds of golf! (*one of the rounds was at the local par 3 course).

In July, I celebrated our nation's independence by playing two rounds of golf in one week. I was thoroughly entertained by my cousin (EmKay Whatley) at an outdoor concert at Starbucks. She is very, very musically inclined. At the end of July, I drove Julie to North Carolina to the McIntyre Family reunion. Lots of my mother's family came down for our wedding so it wasn't too much of a shock for Julie. But that many McIntyres gathered together is a sight to behold! I also got to meet Duke point guard Nolan Smith.

August presented a chance to relax and cool our jets. I played golf on my birthday. Alone. No one witnessed my hole in one. Additionally, Julie and I attended her 10-year high school reunion at the swank Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore. It was a little awkward for me to be around so many old folks.

Ah, September. College football season! Julie and I enjoyed helping Auburn start their season thanks to her wonderful and generous parents. We got our first sampling of Cam Newton at the Arkansas State game (lots of questions about the AU defense were raised during this game).



We also got to see a very exciting catch and run by Auburn's #1 wide reciever at the Clemson game.



Continuing the football feast, Julie and I attended the football game and homecoming festivities at Huntingdon College.

My sister watched the Kentucky game with us in October. My new cousin Will Wilder was born in Auburn a few days later. Julie and I got to meet him when we were in town for the Arkansas game. (The Arkansas game will always be special for the Wilder family. Will's sister Margie Grace was born during the same week a few years earlier!) Julie and I went to Camden for a visit on Halloween weekend and watched the Ole Miss game on TV with my parents.

More football was in store for Julie and me in November. We were invited to watch Auburn's homecoming game against TN-Chattanooga on pay-per-view at the Branch's home. The next week, we attended the Georgia game and watched Nick Fairley and company end a long losing streak to UGA.



Also in November, Julie and I attended a dinner that honored the first Hispanic Lions Club in Alabama. The event was sponsored by the Pelham Lions Club and I was told that a local news camera captured a wonderful shot of Julie and I staring into each other's eyes. Truth be told, she was probably giving me her patented death glance and verbally abusing me telepathically for making her go to this event with me. We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Camden (the location of the Iron Bowl determines where we spend Thanksgiving).

December has been a blur because of work and Christmas shopping. Clay Branch and I played in the Bring Your Old Buddy golf tournament the day after Auburn won the SEC Championship game. We were well prepared for the cold weather after our experience last year. Too bad our advanced planning for the cold weather didn't help with this shank.



It's been so cold since then that the BYOB outing that I have declared it my last golf outing of 2010. We played well but I would have liked to have finished on a better note. If you're keeping score, I played less than one round of golf per month this year. I'm going to improve on that in 2011. Julie and I exchanged presents with my family in Camden on the 18th and celebrated Christmas with her family in Auburn on the 25th. I think we will continue our own tradition of spending New Year's together in Birmingham.

I hope you had a great year and that 2011 will be full of blessings!

Camden Christmas

This past weekend we celebrated Camden Christmas with Nick's family.  On Saturday we spent time with his extended family and exchanged presents.  Nick's cousin, Neil, and his wife Kate have two little ones and they always make the occasion much more lively for us boring adults.  



Neil for some reason was more interested in the newspaper than his presents!



Then he read himself to sleep.



Sunday we went to church and exchanged gifts with Nick's family.  It was a special day, and I so happy that I get to be a part of two wonderful families!

Like, Love and Don't Like

Aawwwwwwwwwwwwww yeah! Guess who's back?!? Special thanks to Julie for filling in while I've been wrapping all of our presents.

This week, I like light work traffic. Seems that a lot of folks have vacation time to use during the Christmas and New Year's holiday span. This makes for easy, stress-free trips to and from work. More of this please! Seriously, going to work this week has been a breeze due to school closings. It's like getting a taste of summer traffic without the overbearing heat.

This week, I love Wal-phed. I'm getting older and the body doesn't hold up like it used to. This week started with severe pain from sinus headaches. My throat really hurt too. Julie gave me some Wal-phed and I was feeling better in no time. When used improperly, this stuff can be a key ingredient for crystal meth. I guess that's why you have to buy it over the counter now. Rednecks have to ruin everything.

This week, I don't like the college football bowl season. Seems that every corporation with some extra spending cash can get their own bowl game now. I remember when playing your bowl game on New Year's day meant something, dang it. This year, playing on January 1st means that you have 4 overlapping games and two more that start later in the day. PLUS, January 1st bowl games take a back seat to SEVEN more bowl games that are played well into January. The bowl season alone should be enough reason for a college football playoff. By the time Auburn plays on January 10th, almost 40 days will have passed. Please join me by supporting the Playoff PAC, a group that works to elect government officials that are for a better system by which to crown national college football champions.

Now, this video was made last year after TCU and Boise State went undefeated and were denied a chance to play for the national championship (similar to Auburn's 2004 team). I fully agree with the critics that argue that these two particular teams benefit from weak conference schedules. To that I say: let them duke it out in a playoff. If they get clobbered in the first round of a playoff, that's a better result than having to always wonder, "what if?". Teams like Boise State and TCU have no business playing in the national championship game under current standards.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Bubble

So far I have managed to smock outfits for all of my friends babies, well at least their first born.  Now I have friends on their second and third and I can't keep up!  I absolutely love working on the outfits.  As I am making it I often think about what they will be like, what they will look like, and I spend time praying for them as well.  It is time consuming, but I get so much pleasure seeing them in an outfit that I made.

In October, my best friend Kiley had a little girl (Anna Kathryn).  Kiley decided to be difficult and not find out what she was having so it made it somewhat difficult to pick a pattern and a plate that was gender neutral.  I decided on Maja's Heirlooms Cory's Bubble pattern mainly because the only difference for a boy and girl are the sleeves.  Then I chose the Cross Eyed Cricket Fleur De Lis plate because Kiley collects Fleur De Lis and I thought it would be fun to smock it in Christmas colors. 



Christmas Card 2010

I started to wonder if we were going to get many Christmas cards this year....By the 15th we only had 3 or 4, but last week we made up for it.  This is a picture of our Christmas Card tree this morning.  You can't really tell from the picture but there are about 40 cards on the tree.  Thank you to everyone who sent us a card this year.  It is the highlight of my day when I go to the mailbox and have lots of cards waiting on me.  I love seeing your precious families! 

As I mentioned in an earlier post I once again under estimated the number of Christmas cards so again I apologize if you did not receive one from us this year.  I will do better next year.

Coming to your mailbox

Our Christmas cards are on their way to your mailboxes!  Some have already received theirs, but the rest are on their way!  I under estimated the number of cards again this year so I apologize if you are reading this and didn't get one.  I will certainly order more next year!

Have a wonderful day!

Making my list...and checking it twice

Decorate the House
Buy Presents
Mail Christmas Cards
Wrap Presents
Oreo Balls

I am feeling pretty good about my progress!  I plan to make my first batch of Oreo Balls this week when Ellen comes home!!!  She loves them.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Nothing Says Merry Christmas quite like.....

Oreo Balls

 A few years ago Sarah Harper (my sister-in-law) gave me this recipe and I thought it sounded good, but I was no where near prepared for just HOW much I would love these little bits of Oreo goodness.  They are now a staple in our house this time of year.  Starting in about mid November Nick starts asking for them.

So in case you want to try them here is the recipe, but be warned you cannot eat just one!

Ingredients:
1 package of Oreos
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened)
1 package of white chocolate chips
1 small package of milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Crush the Oreos until they are finely powdered. I put mine in the chopper or food processor.

Mix the cookie crumbs with the softened cream cheese. Form into the desired size balls. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow for hardening.

Melt the white chocolate in the microwave just until it gets melted.

Dip the Oreo balls into the white chocolate to cover. Place on a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet.

Melt small amount of milk chocolate chips and drizzle on top.  I use a ziploc bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner to drizzle.

Refrigerate. Once they harden you can package them into containers, but it is best to keep them refrigerated.

I hope you and your family enjoy them as much as we do!

Wish List

For starters I completely stole this idea from one of my favorite blogs Urban Grace.  I love looking at what other people have on their Christmas lists...and often times get good ideas!  So here is what is on the Baggetts lists for 2010:

My List

a.  Echo Ruffle Touch Gloves...love these because they have a leather tip on the index finger and thumb so that you can operate a touch screen.  Will come in handy now that I have my new iphone! b. 2011 Linnea Design Poster Calendar c.  JCrew Buffalo Check Boy Shirt this is going to be so cute for Auburn games and maybe even a National Championship game!!!! d.  World Market Verona Armchairs e. Brother PE 770 Embroidery Machine this has been on my Christmas list for a few years now and it made an appearance again this year.  Probably wont get it, but a girl can dream right.  f. Vera Bradly Laptop Portfolio

Nick's List

Do you notice a THEME?

a. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 (playstation game)  b.  Titleist Pro V1 golf balls c. Frogger golf club brush d. WeatherSof golf glove  e. 2010 OGIO Kingpin Cart Bag f.  Duke Head Covers

What are you asking for this Christmas?

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Top Gear. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a car guy. I really like this show for its beautiful HD element. This show, based off of a popular British show of the same name, features the most unique tasks performed in the most awe-inspiring automobiles. Unfortunately, the three hosts of the show don’t have very good chemistry and given their random backgrounds, I sometimes catch myself wondering why they are the hosts at all. Some of the stunts are dorky too. But the HD intros for the supercars used on the show more than make up for Top Gear’s shortcomings. See for yourself. This video is cool but not as cool as the pair of Aston Martins dueling in a dried lake bed I had hoped to show you.



This US version of the show is not getting good reviews from loyal fans of the British show. Who knows how much longer it will last? But you can bet on this: if you appreciate HDTV like I do, you’ll like this show even if you aren’t a car geek.

This week, I love watching great movies that I previously overlooked. Being the son of movie renters, I was able to enjoy a lot of worthy movies during my childhood. I also viewed a lot movies that were NOT worth watching with my sister (her picks). I’ve seen so many movies that, when I find a good film that I haven't watched yet, it's like discovering hidden treasure. Netflix recently suggested I watch M. Knight Shyamalan’s The Village. I don't know why I put off watching this 2004 film but I was very pleased. I haven't felt this good about 'discovering' a movie since I watch Boiler Room a few years ago.

This week, I don't like being a Grinch. I don't know why but I haven't been able to get into the Christmas spirit. I have had no desire to watch a Christmas movie or listen to holiday music. It may be because I have devoted a lot of time, attention and nerves to Auburn football lately. Who knows? Maybe all it will take it hearing the best Christmas song of all time to get me kick-started...



Nope. Didn't do it. Not yet anyway.