Apr 28, 2010

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Golden Corral. I've recently join the Pelham Lions Club and we meet at the local Golden Corral (I used to be an Atmore Lion). Atmore used to have a Golden Corral before I lived there. That's about all I knew of the restaurant. Turns out, they serve decent food at a good price. They aren't as proud of their buffet as much as Paula Deen is ($$$$) but they certainly do a good job.

This week, I love that Tiger (and Phil) will be playing in this week's tournament. I hope to be able to report next week that Tiger got booed. But, it is great having both of these guys in the field.

This week, I don't like the portion of Interstate 65 that runs through Birmingham. North or south, this is the worst stretch of interstate in all of America. For starters, it's mainly concrete. Broken and unrepaired concrete. Then you have to consider all of the construction going on south of Bammerham on I-65. I had to take a trip up I-65N yesterday and it almost rattled out the fillings in my teeth. (I'll be here all week - be sure to tip your waitress).

Bonus don't like: the smart guys at ABC for showing a rerun of LOST last night. C'mon man! Where was the warning about that? I and America DO NOT salute you.

Don't visit this country and land at this airport after watching the pilot episode of LOST (which I believe ABC will re-air before the series finale).







Apr 25, 2010

Finger Update!

The two-week mark has passed since I was attacked by a pig. Last week, my stitches were removed in under 2 minutes. I’m now allowed to get the cut area wet but I can’t soak the area. This new freedom has been very helpful in getting some of that crusty black stuff out of the way. Here is an updated pic.




The “flap”, as stated by the clinic doctor, is indeed dying more and more each day. The skin is hardening like a big hangnail. To prevent snags on my clothing, I am using one of Julie’s nail files to soften the edges. I know – that’s disgusting…but you asked for details. Actually, you didn’t. My bad. But you have to heck out this other angle:

See the hump? Yeah, no feeling in that whatsoever. The rest of my finger tip has come back to life though and I have full flexibility. No pain unless I bump the cut…which I did at work the other day and it hurt so bad that I just knew it was going to start gushing my DNA again. But it didn’t. I am planning on a return to the golf course in early May. Thank you for your continued prayers and the flowers from the anonymous sources. You really know how to make a boy blush!

Apr 24, 2010

Calligraphy

Somewhere between sewing/upholstery projects, work, and our trip to Savannah I managed to squeeze in a few calligraphy jobs.


Working away

Front page of a prayer book




Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

Apr 23, 2010

Savannah Part 2

The rest of our time in Savannah we:



Walked down by the river.


Shopped and checked out some more of the squares.





and last but not least...we ate at Paula Deen's restaurant Lady and Sons



we received our preferred dining time that morning and only had to wait about 20 minutes when we got there for dinner.




All in all it was a great trip! The weather was perfect and we loved seeing the sights and experiencing all that Savannah has to offer!

Apr 22, 2010

Savannah Part 1

As some of you know, Nick and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary this past Sunday. I still cannot believe that it has already been a year! Wow. Time flies when you are having fun!!!

To celebrate we decided to take a long weekend and go to Savannah. Neither of us had ever been so it was a fun adventure!

For starters we stayed at The Planters Inn. The accommodations and staff were wonderful. When they found out it was our anniversary they upgraded our room and sent up champagne!




The Planters Inn


Our cute room



Our first day we decided to do one of the trolley tours so that we could see the city and plot out the rest of our trip. Take a look at some of the beautiful houses we saw on the tour!







After the tour we stopped by a few of the squares to get some pictures. This particular square is home to Oglethorpe who founded Savannah.

Never pass up a picture with a lion!
Sunday night we went on a riverboat dinner cruise. Lots of fun and a great way to see the city.







Last but not least we had to eat our wedding cake topper. Yes we brought it with us, and the hotel was nice enough to keep it in the refrigerator for us!








It was still so good!!! Yum!



Apr 21, 2010

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like the fact that Lorena Ochoa is retiring. You may not know her so here’s the quick rundown: She’s the world’s #1 ranked women’s golfer and she’s only 28. After a dominating collegiate career at Arizona, she regularly hoisted trophies during her short LPGA tour career. Sure, her departure is the exact opposite of what the LPGA needs in this day and age of receding tournament sponsors. But I’m in a greedy mood and I can’t blame her for kicking back. Why not? Working is overrated! Most people retire from their job to play golf. You must be doing something right if the job you retire from IS golf! It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out as she has not ruled out a return down the road.

This week, l love pralines. I won’t steal much of Julie’s thunder by sharing details of our recent trip to Savannah but I will say that if you go there, a trip to River Street Sweets is a must. As soon as you walk in the door, they shove a warm sample of their original praline in your face. How could you not buy 20 or so?!?! This just goes to show that your taste buds do change as you get older. I wasn’t a big fan of pralines as a youth but now I totally am! Buy me some of these pralines via mail order my birthday in August and we will be friends for a long time.

This week, I don’t like water heater leaks. Yep, one of the first things we noticed once we got back from our Savannah trip was a little discoloration on the kitchen floor and some moisture in the vicinity of the water heater. And the moisture wasn’t from the tears Julie shed after leaving Savannah. Methinks we will have to get a new water heater as the one we currently have is old old old. The water heater is located in the same closet where our downstairs AC unit is located. It leaked water last summer, for those of you keeping score at home.

I would try the repair or replacement myself but I don’t want to end up on the local news.

Apr 14, 2010

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like that Tiger Woods’ approval rating is plummeting. He told us that he was going to return to his Buddhist foundation and do a better job of keeping his temper in check on the course. Well, it didn’t take long to see that his pledge didn’t stick. In his dramatic return, Tiger was seen throwing clubs and heard using the Lord’s name in vain on multiple occasions. (By the way, what is up with that? He’s Buddhist yet slurs my God? I don’t think so, chump.) Tiger did more to hurt himself than help and a win by good-guy Phil Mickelson was icing on the cake. NIKE can’t drop him now. They’re stuck with him. If you read blogs and comments on articles then it is easy to see that Tiger’s supporters are vanishing quickly. I'll wager that he won’t be gaining new sponsors anytime soon. It is refreshing to see that some people still have their values intact. Now if we could only get the ball rolling on a steroid inquiry…

This week, I love knowing that it is all downhill from here. Julie and I celebrate our first wedding anniversary this weekend! It is hard to believe that it has already been 1 year. I’ve loved every minute of it. My love for Julie is like the Hoover Dam: it gets stronger every day. When we got married, everyone told us that the first year is the hardest. Well, shoot! Our first year has been gravy so I’m glad to know that the years that follow will be even smoother! LOVE YOU JULIE! I’ve got an idea for when we renew our vows!



This week, I don’t like LOST. There…I said it. I’m just going to say that, as the conclusion of this once-fine television show nears, LOST is shaping up for a major letdown. There are a lot of people out there that are more faithful than me but their spin on the recent episodes are really stretching it. I just figure that if I go ahead and give up hope for a great ending now, I’ll be all the more satisfied if the shoe actually does have a great, mind-blowing ending. And if it doesn’t, my feelings won’t be hurt as badly.

FINGER UPDATE!

Today is DAY 6 and I noticed that my flexibility in the joint nearest my finger tip has somewhat returned. No pain, unless I bump the cut. The swelling has gone way down and my stitches appear very "loose". I go back to have the stitches removed tomorrow (April 15). I bet I could do it myself but I don't want to perform my inaugural surgery on my own hand. Know what I mean Vern?

I hope they give me some "what now?" instructions after the stitches are out. I've kept the cut dry, just like I was told. But the tip of my finger feels like I dipped it in paint and allowed it to dry. I hope I'll be able to clean it up and get that black stuff out of there too. I think it is dried blood. If you've got any tips, please send them my way.

Apr 9, 2010

Think...then act

I consider myself a cautious person (remember that I dated Julie for a looong time). I usually think things through before I take action. But I failed to stick to this practice on Thursday and I paid the price.

I cut the tip of my finger at work and could not get it to stop bleeding. I got my wonderful supervisor to take me to a walk-in clinic to get stitches and a tetanus shot. I came home with this awesome bandage.


Here is a close-up of my injury without the bandage. I was told to keep the cut very dry and my stitches would be removed in a week. I never knew how much I relied on my right index finger before.


Want to know how this happened? Part of my marketing duties at work include managing our giveaway inventory. We have a bunch of porcelain piggy banks that we give to kids/schools/churches. I noticed a crack in one of the pigs and instantly began trying to pry the piggy bank apart at the crack. No thinking was involved and I did not consider the repercussions. Well, the piggy bank came apart and sliced the stew out of my finger tip. Moral of the story: THINK THEN ACT.

My masculinity takes a big hit each time I tell the story of almost losing my finger to a piggy bank. Julie has been taking very good care of me and I do appreciate all of the flowers and cards you have sent. I know a lot of you are concerned about my golf game but I assure you that I will get back out there soon and will continue to provide the videos that you love so much.

REMEMBER THIS LESSON KIDS!

Apr 7, 2010

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like how old-fashioned American Greed can ruin even the best of stories. Some of you may have seen the following video before. If not, it answers every question you've had when watching an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.




Look, I don't like the outcome of these stories any more than you do. But I do want to share the examples they create with as many people as I can. Greed is the numero uno reason why the country's economy is in the tank. So...don't try to stretch a gift (or blessing) any more than it can be stretched.

This week, I love this week. This week is the best sports week of the year. I'm not sure if the stars line up like this every year but let's recap: we've had the Final Four*, Major League Baseball's opening day AND the Masters all in one week! How great is that?!?!

This week, I don't like pollen. Ugh. I don't know if I'm noticing it more because I'm older or because I'm indoors most of the day or what. But the pollen in Bammerham is getting to me! When I leave work each day, my mouth, nose and eyes fall victim to the pollen outside. My truck is yellow. Even the cat lady is wearing a mask when she feeds her cats at various locations throughout our neighborhood. The forecast is calling for some rain tonight so maybe that will help.


*GO DUKE!!!!!


Apr 3, 2010

A Wilder Weekend

Last weekend the Wilders (Neil, Katie and Margie Grace) came for a visit. Since they live in Auburn we get to see them a lot during football season, but not so much in the Spring and Summer..so we were thrilled we they decided to come to Birmingham for the weekend. We decided to take Margie Grace to the McWane Center on Saturday. She is 3 1/2 which seemed to be the perfect age to fully enjoy all that the museum has to offer.



This was a pulley system that enables you to pull your own weight.





Nick even got in on the action.












This exhibit demonstrated the arch.



Finished!







Guess Who???


Last but not least we jumped in the wind machine.


Hang on Margie Grace.
It was a great weekend, and we look forward to seeing the Wilders again soon.