The Baggetts

Picture Post

2012-02-05T10:00:00.001-06:00

I am fully aware that all anyone is really interested in is pictures...so here you go. Our first month...

2012-02-04T12:00:00.000-06:00

This week, I like Jake and Amir. This duo has been making internet videos since 2007. The videos are short, feature unique humor and are just the right thing when you’re trying to rock a baby to sleep. You may remember Amir from this (obviously scripted) prank video. Sometimes crude but always funny, I’m really glad I came across these videos. I imagine that I act a lot like Amir’s character in my friendships.

This week, I love eating sunflower seeds. This is not a new discovery for me. It’s just the first time I’ve ever shared this love with you. I grew up eating seeds on the baseball diamond as a good-glove-bad-bat first baseman. I often enjoy eating seeds on the golf course (I have to do better about spitting the shells on the greens). But my craving for seeds has increased since Graham arrived. I came across these studies that show new fathers often suffer from drastic drops in sodium levels during the first 2-6 months of their newborn’s lives. So not only am I healing my body but I’m also getting lots of nutrition from this classic snack. Photo credit to Vernon Bryant.

This week, I don’t like belly putters. It’s happening more and more – younger golfers on professional tours are turning to long-shafted putters to help improve their ability to roll the rock. Traditionalists oppose these putters and proclaim that belly putters allow players to anchor their putters to create an unfair, improved pendulum stroke. I agree and was discouraged when watching highlights of last week’s annual PGA merchandise show. It seems that Titleist is developing an adjustable belly putter, but thankfully this putter has yet to receive USGA approval. I’m sure the club will soon receive “conforming” status and what was once only seen in the bags of senior players will find its way to more local ~~Bammers~~ players. The irony is that as a marketer, I can appreciate a manufacture’s ability to put a new twist on an old standard. Adjustable drivers have been all the rage for the last few years and I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make belly putters cool.

The Day Our World Changed

2012-02-03T13:44:00.000-06:00

Well I am only about a month late with this post, but I wanted to be sure to record the events while they are still fresh on my mind. As all of you know, Nick and I welcomed our precious son, Graham, into the world on December 28, 2011. I have so much to share but want to begin with the my thoughts on delivery day.

Here is a quick timeline of the events leading up to the delivery.
December 27th
8:00 p.m.   Arrived at the hospital and settled into our room.
9:00 p.m.   Received first dose of Cervidil
December 28th
1:00 a.m.   Received second dose of Cervidil
5:00 a.m.   Started Pitocin
5:45 a.m.   My water was broken
7:00 a.m.   Epidural
8:45 a.m.   Started Pushing
9:30 a.m.   Still Pushing
10:00 a.m. Still Pushing
10:15 a.m. Still Pushing
10:23 a.m. He is finally here!

I am not sure that anything prepares you for that moment when you and your husband are riding in the car to the hospital to have your first child. I was nervous, anxious, excited, and extremely uncomfortable  all at the same time. When we arrived at the hospital it was like we were checking into a hotel...very strange and nothing at all like I envisioned the process.

Throughout the night and leading up to delivery I really didn't have any really deep thoughts or insights. I just remember taking it one step at a time and going through the motions. I was somewhat anxious about the delivery and the pain associated with that but there was no doubt that I was ready to have this baby and see my son.

After the sleepless night, the contractions, the epidural, and the pushing Graham finally arrived. From the second he came out I felt as if I became a different person. From that moment I was oblivious to my pain or anything else going on at the time...all I was concerned about was that sweet baby and if he was ok. Here we are a month later and those are still my thoughts every hour of every day. I guess that is what being a mom is all about...

I will leave you with this... Our first family picture. Again not what I envisioned our first family photo to look like, but nonetheless this is it.

Hellooooo Graham!

2012-01-13T07:50:00.000-06:00

Is it too late to still wish you a Happy New Year? I feel like our 2012 has been a blur. I guess it's because Julie and I have been....uh...a little busy. We welcomed Graham McIntyre Baggett into the world on December 28th and our lives have been non-stop since!

When we first found out about Graham back in April, we learned that his due date was going to fall on December 28th. In the weeks (then days) leading up to that date, all signs from Julie's visits to the doctor pointed to the fact that he was ready to be born, but Julie wasn't quite ready. On Tuesday, December 27th, we requested to induce and we were schedule to check into the hospital that same night. Graham arrived on his original due date and things haven't been the same since!

I'll spare a lot of the details but I have to say that the delivery was a sight to behold. I was amazed at Julie's determination throughout it all and impressed with the composure and professionalism of the hospital staff. All grandparents, aunts and uncles were eager to meet Graham at the hospital. Julie and I certainly benefitted from having her mother stay with us during our first week at home.

Yesterday was Day 15 in Graham's life and the love we have for him is off the charts. Each new day holds something new and it seems that I notice something new about Graham every time I pick him up. It's true what everyone has said: he is certainly growing up quickly. He's even started taking a bottle!

It's been so great! I've been home all week but will have to return to work next week. I know it's going to be difficult to leave! Thanks for all of your prayers, meals and visits. I've got a feeling that Graham will become a major topic for this blog!

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-22T21:30:00.000-06:00

A wise man once used the following explanation to help me understand why the years seem to pass more quickly as we age:

A year seems like an eternity to a 3 year old because that year is 1/3 of that person’s entire life. One year is a much smaller portion of an 83 year old's life.

Makes sense to me! 2011 certainly went by in a blur. Here’s a look back at some of the events from our busy year. I’m sure I’ve missed some crucial moments so I apologize in advance.

January started on a chilly note. We experienced some wintery weather at the same time Auburn defeated Oregon in the BCS national championship game. Insert your "hell freezing over" jokes here, Bama fans. My parents, my sister and The Branches joined us to watch the game and celebrate. I still get goosebumps thinking about that night.

Later in January, I ~~took Julie down to Montgomery to her first~~ went to Montgomery to watch the Inauguration of newly elected State officials. My dad (below, pictured on the far left) was asked to take part in the swearing-in of family friend Kay Ivey to her position of Lieutenant Governor. He’s helped out in her previous 2 inaugurations when she was State Treasurer.

In February, I joined Covenant Presbyterian Church. Julie has been a member for several years and we were married there in 2009. My golf season officially kicked off with a round at Bent Brook Golf Club in Bessemer.

Julie continued her impressive blogging practice in March. She had lots of projects going on – from painting doors to framing a bathroom mirror to much more. Looking back, maybe all of this was just early “nesting” activity. On the golf front, I got to play at Grand National in Opelika for my only golf outing in March.

April was a monumental month for The Baggetts. As many people in Alabama were recovering from the April 27th tornadoes, Julie and I learned that we were going to be parents. Trying to determine the results of a pregnancy test by candlelight is not as romantic as you would think. But it is exciting! Julie and I also celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and I played two rounds at Highland Park Golf Course near downtown Birmingham in April.

May was packed with golf! Not only did I get to attend the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek Country Club, but I go to do so in style thanks to our good friend Emily Branch. I attended the Saturday round with Emily’s husband Clay and Julie joined us for the Sunday round. Emily hooked us up with tickets and very valuable transportation passes. I also got to play a round on the Ridge Course at Oxmoor Valley near Hoover and represented my employer in a credit union tourney at Highland Park. I won a closest-to-the-pin contest on a par 3!

I’m not sure why I waited until it was so hot but I finally did some much-needed yard work in June . I spent 6 hours taming a hedge in our back yard ("before" picture below). When I regained my strength, I enjoyed a round of golf at Timberline Golf Course in Calera. I registered for a drawing on their website and won a free round – which was great because I sure would have hated to pay for such a poor performance.

Julie and I joined her parents and sister in Destin for the July the 4th holiday weekend. I enjoyed playing a round of golf at Kelly Plantation with my father-in-law and I also squeezed in a round at the local par 3 course. It was a GREAT weekend! Later in July, I played another round at Oxmoor Valley’s Ridge course and at Highland Park.

I received a lot of help from my sister when it came time to paint the nursery in August. I would probably still be painting if it wasn’t for her! Julie and I had a fun “reveal” party with The Branches (below). It was exciting to learn that Emily and Julie were both having boys! I enjoyed my return to Farm Links in August but the trip was bit lacking in some areas. Plus, I got to celebrate my birthday in Camden!

While September marks the beginning of college football season for most people, this year it meant the beginning of baby classes for us. Julie and I did manage to attend the Auburn / Mississippi State game with her parents and we really enjoyed our visit from Anna Kathryn Talbott and her mom at the end of the month! AK is so much fun!

There were a lot more treats than tricks for us in October as baby shower season got underway. We had a great time visiting with friends and family in Atmore and they really went all out for us. I attended an Alumni Board meeting at Huntingdon College in Montgomery and we went to another Auburn game – this time, a win against Florida!

More baby showers in November, this time in the Birmingham area. I enjoyed 2 more rounds at Highland Park before Julie and I traveled to Auburn for Thanksgiving with her family. While there, I got to play a round of golf at the Auburn University Club with Clay Branch and his family. Julie wisely declined to join her family and me as we watched a helpless Auburn team get pounded by Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Yuck.

Unusually warm weather allowed for shorts at this year’s Bring Your Old Buddy golf tournament in December. Since then, Julie and I have been decorating for Christmas and playing the waiting game. The down time gave me a great opportunity to learn Julie's thoughts near the end of her pregnancy.

If you’re keeping score at home, I played more golf in 2011 than I did in 2010. I’ve been told by men and women, friends and family members that the number of rounds of golf I play in 2012 will definitely decrease. I don't agree with these people and I don't know why they would intentionally try to make me sad. We’ll have to wait and see if everyone is right. It’s been a great year and I know that 2012 will be even better with Graham! Thanks for reading and have a safe and merry Christmas!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-12-16T19:55:00.000-06:00

This week, I like American Horror Story. Since LOST ended, it’s been difficult to find a serious, make-you-think type of show to enjoy. American Horror Story comes close. This show packs a lot of mystery and leaves a lot of questions unanswered, much like LOST did. I like this show because it features a great cast and the writing is better than anything else I’ve come across lately. There’s part of me that tries to avoid becoming attached to a television series because of the way LOST burned me. But if the intrigue of Season 1 carries over to the next season, American Horror Story could become an all-time favorite. You can watch past episodes at the show’s official website but be warned: this program is not for kids. It’s actually alarming to realize how much non prime-time cable programs can get away with in terms of language.

This week, I love our Christmas tree lights. Julie did an amazing job with our tree (as usual). Even though I am a huge fan of big, colored lights, I have to admit that I enjoy watching TV in the dark with all of the lights in the room off except for the Christmas tree lights. The white lights that Julie prefers give off a nice glow. Julie even got a timer that the lights plug into so we don’t have to worry reach awkwardly over a bunch of presents to grab the plug!

This week, I don’t like the Michael Buble Christmas Special. Did anyone else see this train wreck? It aired on December 6th but Julie and I just got around to watching it this week. We’re big Bublebrains* but I knew this special was going to be bad the moment I realized he was going to put his own cutesy twist on all of my favorite Christmas songs. Listen Bubs, if you can’t sing The Christmas Song like old Nat, then don’t even try. Throughout the program, Michael was joined by a variety of singers, including Kelly Pickler and Justin Beiber. The sense of puzzlement felt while watching these odd duets was only topped by the awkwardness of the forced interviews that Michael conducted with random kids. Surely the comedy sketches filmed with Ed Helms would save the day, right? Wrong. I seriously expect future critics to point to this program as the worst attempt at entertainment to ever be seen on television. It reminded me of the time Michael hosted Saturday Night Live – he bombed that night too. Maybe he just doesn’t have the knack for variety shows. Oh man, just thinking about this show is giving me a headache. I bet this video of the BEST CHRISTMAS SONG EVER will help ease the pain.

* By the way, Bublebrains are the members of Michael Buble's official fan club.

Interview with Julie

2011-12-06T20:30:00.001-06:00

If you’ve been keeping up with us lately, then you know that the arrival of our first baby is getting closer by the minute. Julie’s due date is December 28th but I’m willing to bet that Graham is born before then. As I’ve reflected on this time and taken in my last “pre-parenthood” moments, I thought it would be really neat to get Julie’s thoughts and post them on the blog so that we can look back one day and remember these frantic last days before our lives really changed.

I managed to get Julie to sit still long enough between periods of ongoing nesting and arranging Christmas decorations to answer some questions. Here’s what she had to say:

Can you describe what it’s like to be pregnant to someone that’s never been pregnant before?

“I really can’t. It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s a combination of anticipation and other crazy emotions. It’s hard to describe how it feels to bond to someone that you’ve never met but absolutely love.”

What’s been the most difficult adjustment to being pregnant?
“The daily bodily changes – from the growing stomach to the swelling ankles – have been difficult adjustments. Compensating for my belly in my daily movements has been a challenge too. I’ve managed to sleep well until recently. I can’t seem to get comfortable lately.”

What’s something that you’ve always heard about pregnancy that didn’t happen for you?
“I haven’t had many food cravings other than a short period early in my pregnancy in which I could not go without chili from Wendy’s. I haven’t really been sick (nauseous) at all. I have felt like my normal self up until my belly really expanded.”

What have you done to educate yourself throughout your pregnancy?
“I haven’t read many books other than an Academy of Pediatrics book and The Baby Whisperer. But I do have a pregnancy app on my iPhone that gives me daily and weekly updates about the baby. I’ve also asked my mother and my friends a lot of questions.”

Have you experienced any weird changes to your body during your pregnancy?
“I basically have a beard now. [It’s just some fuzz, folks – Nick] I 'crack' my neck a lot and my hips also crack when I stand up after sitting for a long time. My belly button protrudes and feels like it is being stretched to the max. The vitamins I am taking make my fingernails grow faster, and I think that my feet have gotten bigger – both longer and wider.”

Tell us about your baby’s name.
“I’ve liked the name ‘Graham’ for a very long time. It’s not a weird name but it’s not too common either. We wanted a family connection for his middle name so we decided to honor my mother-in-law by using her maiden name – McIntyre.

Tell us about Graham’s current schedule and movements.
“He is active in the morning from 9:30 until 10:30. He settles down until about 2:30 in the afternoon. He becomes very active around 9:30 pm and he moves throughout the night. His favorite move is to bury his right foot into my ribs as far as he can.”

Based on his schedule and his movements, do you think Graham will be more like you or more like your husband?
“He’ll definitely be more like you. I think he will be very tall and a night owl.”

What do you anticipate Graham’s arrival being like?
“It will be emotional. I don’t think there will be any complications with the actually delivery, but I know I will come completely undone when he is born. If there’s one thing in my life that I’ve always been sure of, it’s that I know I’ve always wanted to be a mom.”

What do you anticipate Graham’s first few days and weeks will be like?
“Stressful. Our time will probably be spent adjusting and figuring it all out. We’ll have to get him on a schedule. I know I’ll be worried about every little noise he makes and I’ll rush to his room every time I see him move on our video monitor.”

I’d like to thank Julie for taking the time to chat with me. And I thank Julie for being the best wife – I am so very fortunate. God has truly blessed me, and I cannot wait to be a parent with Julie. I love you Julie!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-11-25T06:43:00.001-06:00

This week, I like grocery shopping. When I was a bachelor, I absolutely hated going to the grocery store. Because I never planned in advance, it seemed like I was always making trips to the grocery and I certainly never used coupons. My perspective on grocery shopping has changed now that Julie and I are working as a team. Julie, being great with child, needs all the rest she can get these days. I made a deal with her: if she would make a list and gather all the needed coupons, I would do all of the shopping. It’s worked out perfectly so far. I keep the trips short by using my male intuition (get in and get out). Julie is rested and I don’t go hungry…all is well!

This week, I love urban exploration. Julie and I were recently invited to a friend’s baby shower at a very nice facility in downtown Birmingham. During the shower, which was held on the fifth floor, I looked out over the city and noticed all of the run-down, forgotten buildings that seem to be on every block. I wondered what was inside of these buildings and remembered a website I came across that featured photos and stories about the crumbling, once-grand architecture of Detroit. From this site, I was introduced to the phenomenon that is urban exploration. Wikipedia defines urban exploration as “the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities.” A few days after the shower, I wondered if anyone has bothered “exploring” the abandoned buildings I had just observed. A quick internet search revealed that yes, people have. This amazing site is proof. It's really neat to see how buildings and rooms deteriorate. Be sure to check out the post on the old Bryce Hospital building, a former institution for the “insane”. I also recommend that you visit this site about a very cool exploration video of New York City. The video is long (almost 30 minutes) but well worth it.

This week, I don’t like Google+. Google+ (or is it Google Plus?) is Google’s answer to Facebook that was introduced this past summer. It generated a little buzz back then but has since gained very little attention. I recently felt compelled to determine whether or not my employer needed its own Google+ account, in addition to our Facebook and Twitter pages. To make this determination, I created a personal Google+ account to learn the ropes. I’d like to tell you that I’ve been able to explore all of Google+’s features, but I can’t. I have only been able to find 2 living people that I know that actually use Google+. But, I have been able to determine that Google+ is a confusing hodgepodge of features from Twitter and Facebook. Many people from all over the continent that I do not know have added me to their “circles”. What this means, I do not know. When signing up for my account, it became very clear that Google is on the way to becoming everyone’s go-to source for online activity, if they’re not there already. Google owns YouTube, Blogger and you probably use Gmail. Open a Google+ account and you’ll be able to incorporate social networking plus everything else under your main Google account (maybe that’s where the “+” came from). This takeover became even more evident when I noticed that all the photos that Julie and I have ever uploaded to this blog were made available for viewing in my Google+ account. It’s kinda creepy to realize how everything is so connected.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:45:00.001-06:00

Eat 'n eat 'n eat 'n eat and eat. Happy Thanksgiving!

Making of a Nursery - Part 4

2011-11-19T20:11:00.001-06:00

Last time I showed you a few of the accent fabrics that I picked out, and now, after much work, I am ready to show you what I have done with them so far.

I will start by saying that if you have not discovered Pinterest yet...go sign up now! Be warned, it will consume hours of your time....hours looking at the site and then hours trying to recreate all that you discover on the site.

To say that I am obsessed would be an understatement...but it really has been helpful in planning and preparing the nursery. For instance I have wanted an X stool/bench for a while but could never justify spending over $300 for a stool. I wanted to use one in the nursery in place of an ottoman because I thought it would add some interest to the room and also provide another place to sit in case Nick and I were both in the room.

So while on Pinterest a few weeks ago I found this:

These are X stools from K-Mart! Yes that's right K-Mart. This is what they look like from the store.

This decorator simply painted the legs and covered the top. What a great idea...and they are only $40. Perfect solution for the nursery ottoman. So off to K-Mart I went and got my very own. Here is my transformation.

I may paint the legs at some point, but for now I like it the way it is. Next on my list was to frame some of the fabric to go over the crib. The sweet ladies at Sew Sheri Designs (the fabric store in Mt. Brook where I bought the fabrics) had the wonderful idea of framing the sea life print in multiple frames. I was sceptical at first, but I love how it turned out. This pattern has a large repeat so it isn't a great choice for pillows or smaller items, but framing it really gives the effect of the entire pattern.

Yet again while on Pinterest I came across this nursery:

They took Shel Silverstein poems and framed them for art in their daughter's nursery. I love Shel Silverstein and thought this was such a great idea. I opted not to spring for custom framing but rather pre-made frames from Michaels. I think they turned out well.

I water colored a yellow border around each poem then matted and framed them.

Last but not least I finally decided on storage baskets for the changing table. I have looked at every store that I could think of that sells baskets and while there are tons out there it is really difficult to find ones that are the right height and depth. I ended up settling on these from Pier 1. They had a dark brown stain and the brown just didn't seem to blend with the rest of the room. I noticed that Restoration Hardware sells gray baskets in their Baby the Child line and thought that was a happy medium between the typical white or brown.

I decided to spray paint mine gray and went to work making liners from both of the fabrics.

That will do it for this update....Ok so there are 4 days until Thanksgiving. Not sure I will be completely done by then, but I feel good about the progress I have made so far!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Showered....more like Immersed

2011-11-17T20:21:00.004-06:00

As Nick mentioned in his post, we have been blessed beyond measure these past few weeks with several baby showers. I wasn't sure I would ever feel as loved and supported as I did when we got married, but this is certainly a close second. I know that it is the norm these days to have showers and parties when you get married and when you have a baby...trust me I love hosting showers myself, but it takes on a whole new meaning when you are the one being honored.

Words cannot begin to express how grateful we are for all of our friends and family who have joined us in celebrating the upcoming arrival of our son. Nick and I already love him more than we ever thought possible, but it is overwhelming when those around you express their love for him by showering us with extremelty generous gifts.

A few weeks ago, we traveled to my hometown for our first shower. Some of my mom's very best friends hosted a beautiful shower at my home church. It was a special weekend in many ways, and we were truly smothered in love and kindness.

This deserves an explanation. This is one of our dearest friends, Mrs. Shirley West. She lived across the street from us growing up, and to this day our families are still very close. The weekend before the shower Dr. and Mrs. West were in Auburn visiting my parents. Nick and I were also in town for the football game. The fabrics for the nursery had just come in, so I brought them with me to show my mom and Ellen. Well of course I had to show Mrs. West too! For those of you who don't know Mrs. West...she is the science queen. She taught science for many years and more recently has founded Turtle Point Environmental Science Center. She loves all things related to the ocean, so I knew she would love my sea turtle, fish, octopus themed nursery.

While shopping for a baby gift, she spotted this guy for Graham's nursery! You should have seen my face when I saw his eyes peering out the top of the gift bag! What a perfect gift, and I LOVE that it came from her. We have named him Herman West. Herman was Nick's pet turtle when he was a little boy, and West is in honor of Mrs.West. Can't wait to snap that first picture of Graham with his turtle.

A few weeks later, several of my co-workers, co-workers' wives, and one of my best friends, Bethany, hosted a shower here in Birmingham. Once again I was overwhelmed with everyone's generosity. It was a sweet afernoon with family and friends!

And just this week, the girls in my Sunday School Class hosted a diapers and wipes shower. We do this for each other when someone in the class has a baby, and it is such a sweet time of fellowship. At each shower we take time to pray for the baby and the parents. It was a special evening for me, and I am so thanful for our amazing Sunday School community. I somehow managed to come away with no pictures, but here is the loot they sent me home with! I think we are set for a while!

What a special season in life! We are beside ourselves with excitment about Graham's upcoming arrival and are reminded how loved and supported we are by our family and friends. Thank you for immersing us with your generosity! We are forever grateful.

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-11-10T18:35:00.001-06:00

This week, I like my iPhone. I’m a long-time AT&T customer and recently upgraded to an iPhone 4. The elitist attitude held by most users of Apple products has always rubbed me the wrong way. But I wanted a new phone and the whole family of Droid phones is confusing to me. Julie has used an iPhone for quite some time now and I knew she was satisfied with the service. I upgraded online and received my new phone in 2 days (super easy, by the way). I’m still learning the ins and outs but I really like it. Calling it a “phone” seems silly since I’ve made less than 5 calls in the 2 weeks I’ve had it but, if anything, I like my new phone for my social media outlets.

This week, I love baby showers. As Graham’s arrival gets closer and closer, the gifts have been piling up. He’s received a lot of toys but the majority of the gifts have been items that we’ll need to clothe and raise him. Julie and I are extremely thankful for your generosity and I can’t wait for him to get here! I have been made aware of some side bets pertaining to my reaction to all of the attention Graham is receiving. My mom once told me that once you have a baby, it’s not about ‘you’ anymore. I think I’m starting to realize exactly what she meant. It already makes me feel good to see so many people doing nice things for our son.

This week, I don’t like the direction of the new Three Stooges film. As you know, I am a huge fan of the Stooges. Lots of rumors regarding a Stooges movie have been making the rounds for the past few years. At one point, Sean Penn was pegged to play Larry along with Jim Carrey (Curley) and Benicio Del Toro (Moe). Casting these three stars was thought to add significant muscle to a Stooges bio-film, something that’s never gained any traction in Hollywood. But, as stars will do, all three actors lost interest in this Farrelly Brothers project and production was put on hold. It now appears that a lot of work has been done since that point. A photo of a revised cast was recently released and I have to tell you, it ain’t pretty.

That’ right…Will Sasso as “Curley”, Sean Hayes as “Larry” and some Greek guy as “Moe”. This movie just went from the top shelf to the basement. Check out the film’s website and you’ll see that the cast of Jersey Shore will make a cameo in the movie. So, these will be modern-day Stooges. Ugh, we get Snooki but no Shemp.

You may not think the Stooges are funny but they are indeed comedy legends. Maybe I am an old soul or maybe they are just an acquired taste. Either way, there’s no denying that their careers were built on a platform (short films) that had a brief life. They were never considered relevant enough to catch on in TV or movies. The Stooges deserve a great movie made by great stars but it appears we’ll just have to keep waiting.

Just try to watch this without laughing:

Making of a Nursery - Part 3

2011-10-27T21:49:00.001-05:00

Several new updates on the nursery front. Again my goal is to have it completely done by Thanksgiving...so only a few more weeks to go!

Since the last post we have accomplished a good bit. For starters our crib now has a mattress. Several of my co-workers went in together and surprised us with the mattress which was so sweet!

I also made some fitted sheets from a blue and white swiss dot fabric.

Our changing table arrived and we have put that together. Still working on storage options for the bottom portion, but hopefully I will post about that next time.

My mom gave us this sweet little rocking chair, and Nick painted it a fun orange!

Speaking of orange....for a slit second I was considering painting the bathroom orange (no thanks to Kiley), but since it took me over a month to decide on a blue/gray for the nursery I quickly realized that I didn't have near enough time to mull over that decision. Not to mention I am such a coward when it comes to decorating...I always take to safe route....even though I know the bold approach would probably look better.

All that to say...we decided to paint the bathroom the same color as the bedroom (Benjamin Moore Gray Owl), but managed to spice it up with a fun orange and white horizontal stripe shower curtain. I am so pleased with the result and cant wait to get a new bath mat and towels to tie everything together.

You may be wondering where all of this orange is coming from...well I did manage to pick some accent fabrics which will be incorporated in the room. None of the work is done so I don't have any pictures to show, but here is a peak at the fabrics.

Stay tuned to see where these will be used!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-10-19T18:08:00.002-05:00

This week, I like my pencil. Several years ago, shortly after the beginning of my career, I decided to use a mechanical pencil as my daily writing utensil of choice. I purchased a two-pack (not to be confused with 2Pac) of Pentel’s P207 model. I can misplace a cheap pen without even trying but somehow, I’ve managed to keep both of these pencils. I use one at home to balance the checkbook and one at the office. The office pencil has a significantly greater amount of wear and bite marks. Both pencils are due for an eraser reload but let’s face it – I rarely make mistakes. I’ve noticed that being identified as a pencil user in the professional world brings untold credibility and commands respect from coworkers. Maybe you will enjoy the same benefits. GET ONE TODAY!

This week, I love Twitter during college football season. It could be easily argued that Twitter users get the most value out of this social media outlet during college football season, especially in the south. Fans can tweet their opinion during games, follow their favorite players, receive updates from in-the-know sports writers and much more. It is almost as if Twitter was invented for college football fans. Unfortunately, Tweeting while at a football game can be made difficult if cell phone networks are over capacity. This is often the case at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. But this twitteruption (see what I did there?) is fleeting and normal service resumes once the crowd of 87,000+ disperses into the night. Listen, if you only use Facebook, you’re really missing out. GET TWITTER TODAY!

This week, I don’t like all of these occupying hipsters. So you don’t like the tax system? I don’t either, bro. You don’t like the ever-increasing gap between the middle class and the upper class? Same here! Let’s band together and elect officials that will meet our demands! No? Oh…you and your dirty friends are going to camp out on Wall Street? You think that chanting and playing your bongos will lead to more jobs and a better economy? Do you have a job? Do you even want a job?

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-10-03T18:00:00.028-05:00

This week, I like planning for parenthood. Julie and I have attended a few classes over the past few weeks that were suggested by our doctor. We spent almost a full Saturday (as opposed to several nights) at the hospital, learning everything from where to go when it’s show time and how to clean a newborn. We even watched some....detailed videos that helped us get a better idea of what the delivery will be like. We also attended a hands-free CPR class and learned what to do when infants and adults stop breathing or show signs of choking. I did not reassure Julie about my capabilities when the head came off of my CPR baby. The Branches attended both of these classes with us - having good friends go through this with us is so much fun and makes the classes much more tolerable! Here are some photos:

This week, I love Catching Hell. I’m a Chicago Cubs fan. We don’t have much to celebrate, but that’s part of the deal. When the future starts to look bright, a dark cloud always manages to loom over Wrigley Field. There’s no better example of this than the Steve Bartman incident. In the 2003 National League Championship Series, the Cubs were just a few outs away from winning game 6 and advancing to the World Series. All looked well until a fan named Steve Bartman made an attempt to catch a foul ball and interrupted a Cubs’ outfielder from making the final out of the inning. As fate would have it, the Cubs blew their lead, lost Game 6, lost Game 7 and the Cubbies still haven’t won the World Series since 1908. Steve Bartman has never appeared publically to discuss the play and receives all the blame for the Cubs’ collapse to this day. Catching Hell is a great documentary that not only examines the Steve Bartman incident but also the Bill Buckner incident from 1986, in which the Boston Red Sox first baseman made a crucial fielding error in Game 6 of the World Series. Just like the Bartman incident, the Red Sox lost Game 6, lost Game 7 and Buckner received all of the blame for the Red Sox’s collapse. The film explores why we make Bartman and Buckner the scapegoat despite plenty of evidence of other factors that led to those losses.

This week, I don’t like football players wearing pink. I love women so much that I married one. I understand that breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States. But I just don’t get the NFL’s breast cancer awareness tactic during the month of October. The NFL’s website explains it all but I just don’t know that this makes any sense. Breast cancer awareness is clearly the winner here: the NFL is a great vehicle for getting your message out there. But who is getting this message? I know there are lots of female NFL fans but wouldn’t the league do the majority of its viewers a much bigger favor by putting this effort behind prostate cancer awareness? You have to believe that the NFL would save many more lives of men by touting prostate cancer awareness than the number of women it is reaching with its current campaign. Ugh, everything is PINK – that’s the real issue I have. There is no franchise in the league that can mix pink into their color scheme without the result looking like something that came from the 90’s.

Skirted Table

2011-09-26T20:55:00.000-05:00

Amongst all of the baby/nursery preparations we have been doing some other rearranging to make room. Now that our guest room is the nursery we had to move our guest room downstairs into what used to be the office/sewing room.

When it was the office we had a desk that we used for the computer, files, and any other junk we could come up with. There is nothing special about the desk...it is just your typical computer desk, but recently I have noticed people making box pleat skirts for various tables and desks. We were needing a TV stand in this room and rather than go buy another piece of furniture I decided to try and make a skirt for the desk.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about these are a few examples of skirts I was looking to mimic.

Great idea right??? I read on one blog that recommended lining the skirt with blackout lining to give it some weight and to help it hang properly. So I took all the measurements, cut out the fabric (just a plain linen from Joann's), cut out my lining and started putting all 22 pieces together. I know 22 pieces! It was somewhat difficult to get on the sewing machine due to the size and weight but in the end it was well worth the effort.

This is how it turned out.

Before

After

I was so excited when my sister-in-law (she is an interior designer) came over and said that she really liked it! I am always unsure of my decorating ability so when I have her approval I feel like I have done something right!!!

Come on Down! You're the next contestant on the.....

2011-09-20T09:49:00.000-05:00

No I didn't get on the Price Is Right though I have always thought that would be so much fun. Do any of you remember Supermarket Sweep? Yeah I am the dork who really wanted to be on that show too!

Probably wont be getting on any game shows anytime soon, and I never really win anything. My brother won a free cruise once, and Nick recently won a "closest to the pin contest" at a golf tournament and won a free round of golf in a contest he entered. Well folks this past Saturday was my day!

It was a simple little giveaway on a blog and the prize was about a $12.00 value...but I WON! Our cousin Katie Wilder recently told me about this blog which is written by a lady who writes a lot of sewing patterns that I use. Last week she posted a question to her readers, "When do you find time to sew?" She said that if you responded she would choose a person on Saturday and they would get their choice of any of her patterns.

I thought....why not. This was my response to her question:

"I work full time so I sew the most in the evenings and on the weekends. But we are expecting our first baby so I have kicked the sewing into high gear and try to do as much as I can whenever I can!!!"

Much to my surprise when I woke up on Sunday morning I saw that I had been chosen as a winner out of 123 people who commented!

I already own several of Michie's patterns, but I have had my eye on this one for a while so I should be receiving it in the mail this week!

Now I have even more reasons to keep the sewing machine humming! It is so much fun to finally have a reason to sew!

Making of a Nursery - Part 2

2011-09-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

Click here for Part 1.

We have been busy working away on the nursery and making other preparations for this little ones arrival. In this post I am going to update you on the crib and crib bedding.

There are so many beautiful cribs out there that it is difficult to choose, but in the end I decided to go with the classic white Jenny Lind. This is the same style crib that both Nick and I had when we were babies, and I still love the timeless spindles and simplicity of it. Obviously there are a lot of other people who like this crib as well....it was out of stock most everywhere I tried. But we did manage to find one
(what would we do without the internet), and it came in a few weeks ago.

Nick jumped right on it and began putting it together.

Not really. Nick studied the directions while pregnant wife held together all 5 pieces. He thought he was pretty funny snapping pictures of me like this.

But now that the sides don't raise and lower...cribs are pretty simple to put together as long as you have someone to hold everything together!

Crib Skirt

Next on the agenda was the crib skirt. A while back I stumbled on this post at Urban Grace Interiors Blog. Erika (the owner) was documenting her nursery transformation and mentioned how she prefers to make crib skirts. I won't go into detail because you can read her post if you are interested, but the gist is that each panel is separate and adjustable so that the skirt will always hit the floor regardless of the mattress being raised or lowered. Love that!

So off I went and made the skirt panels.

Bumper Pads

Before everyone starts emailing me and telling me that bumper pads are no longer being used or are considered unsafe...just know that I am aware of the concerns and we may end up removing them at some point, but for now we have them! Again I went very simple on the bumper pads...white with blue cording and ties. Don't worry I will be mixing in some fun colors with pillows, art, rocker, and basket liners! I started off by ordering the bumper pad inserts from here. I am really pleased with the quality and the height of these as opposed to the ones that you can purchase at Buy Buy Baby or fabric stores. The kits comes with the inserts, zipper, elastic to make a crib sheet and instructions on how to put them all together. Here is how they turned out.

I do realize that we are missing a key component...the mattress. That is on the list and hopefully we will be getting one soon, but for now you get the idea. I am still not settled on the ties either. I made them long so that I would have the option of doing bows, but the knots seem to be more appropriate for a boy. Who knows I may change my mind.

There are several other pieces of the nursery that are coming together, and I hope to be able to post about those soon.

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-09-15T18:00:00.001-05:00

This week, I like Jersey Shore. OK…this is definitely a guilty pleasure. This show is truly the equivalent of watching a car wreck. The cast of Jersey Shore is amazing in that the women actually have fewer morals than the guys – and that’s saying a lot! My sister introduced me to this show. I watched the first season on DVD (uncensored!!!) and I’m watching the current season on MTV. I’ll probably catch the other seasons on DVD as well but each episode is basically the same. Think about the wildest, most dramatic, party-crazed night you ever had in college and that’s pretty much a mild Tuesday night for these people! Before ever watching an episode, I read a lot about the cast and the episodes. So, I know how much these kids are getting paid – which only adds to the shock and awe factor. Despite all of the craziness, you can always count on a lover’s quarrel between Ronnie and Sam, the only couple in the group.

Get More: Jersey Shore (Season 2), MTV Shows

This week, I love gator season. In 1938, Alabama became the first state to take action to protect alligators after years of unregulated hunting almost eliminated the killer lizards. An alligator hunting season was instituted in 2006 in south Alabama to help curb complaints about alligators. A few years later, the season was expanded to other areas in the state, including my home county of Wilcox. The season is limited to a few weeks in August and only a small amount of tags (or rights to hunt) are issued by the state each year. The 2011 season produced some MONSTER gators and our waterways are safer for it. Check out some photos here.

Now the only thing about gator season that I don’t like is the manner in which hunters must harvest their gator. First, an alligator must be hooked with a fishing line and reeled to your boat. While the gator IS STILL ALIVE, the hunter must secure the gator to the side of his boat. Once the gator is secured, a kill shot can be fired through the base of the alligator’s skull. I’m not brave enough to follow these requirements but I’m sure glad that some people are! It’s quite scary to think about how close these huge man-eaters are to our homes and recreation spots. Thank you hunters!

This week, I don’t like pre-video advertisements. When trying to find the above Jersey Shore clip, I was reminded of a very frustrating topic that I’ve been meaning to address for several weeks: the advertisements that play before online videos. Are these ads not the most aggravating things ever? They come in various lengths – fortunately, most are only :15 seconds. News websites like USA Today and MSNBC are the worst. In order to watch any type video on these sites, you must first sit through a brief commercial. There’s nothing you can do about it and that sense of helplessness does not mix well with the “instant” mentality we have all developed thanks to our microwaves and DVRs. But you know what? I get it. As a marketer, I recognize why some many companies are choosing to spend their dollars on what is called “pre-roll advertising”. It’s because Americans don’t (or can’t) read anymore. Reading about the new Ford F150 just doesn’t happen these days. But watching a video about the new Ford F150 sure does. And even then, companies must force you to watch. So the next time your “video will resume in :23 seconds”, blame your microwave for raising your expectations to an unachievable level.

33

2011-09-06T21:35:00.001-05:00

So as with most everything these days...I am behind! Nick celebrated his 33rd birthday a few weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to posting about it. We were able to make a long overdue trip to Camden that weekend and celebrated the event with my in-laws. My mother-in-law made sure to have caramel cake...Nick's favorite.

After eating too much cake it was time for presents. Now Nick may lead you to believe otherwise, but the boy did alright! He got some new golf apparel (shocker), an official Buddy's t-shirt, and a video camera to document all of baby Baggett's milestones (and I am sure some golf footage as well). Now he was somewhat upset that he didn't have anything to open on his ACTUAL birthday which was on Tuesday, but nonetheless he got some great gifts. We loved being in Camden and spending time with the Baggetts.

The next weekend my sister came in town to visit (she is moving to D.C. later this month...so she squeezed in one last trip before she leaves us for good). Nick yet again made out alright when Ellen gave him her gift.

Baby Baggett has his first Auburn outfit. A cute little onesie with matching socks and hat! Way to go Ellen!!!

This is the 5th birthday I have celebrated with Nick, and I can honestly say that I love and respect him more and more with each year that passes. He is the most amazing husband, friend, and companion that I could have ever asked for.

Nick I love you, and I love our life together....Happy Birthday (albeit a little late)!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-08-25T18:28:00.001-05:00

This week, I like watching my parents surf. My parents asked Julie and me to take advantage of the recent sales tax holiday and purchase them a computer (they paid us back). My sister had already donated a very nice monitor so we just picked up a tower and a 4-in-1 printer. Here’s the thing though: my parents aren’t very experienced with this type of machinery and wizardry. We traveled to Camden last weekend and set everything up. We showed them a few basics and they even ventured online for a bit. It was interesting to see how they tried to process different tasks that we all mindlessly execute dozens of times each day. You have to walk before you run and I know my parents will be blazing new trails in no time!

This week, I love ramping up. I don’t know if y’all are aware of this but Julie is going to have a baby. Like...in December. That means there’s lot of chores to do and little time in which to do them. It’s been a mixture of high emotions, stress and fun. So far we’ve painted the nursery, moved some furniture and have started the purging process (the Exchange Club is going to LOVE us). We still need to assemble the crib, recycle Julie's beer can collection and rearrange some rooms but we’ll tackle that soon. We also have to name our baby. But that’s another blog for another day.

This week, I don’t like am disappointed in FarmLinks Golf Club. My best friend and I made our 2nd annual visit to the best public golf facility in Alabama earlier this week. Y’all remember my first visit last year, right? The golf course is still top notch and we had a great time. Unfortunately, I came away disappointed in a few changes that I noticed this year. First, the hot lunch I looked forward to in the clubhouse was not to be. Instead, we were treated to a fried, greasy medley…outdoors. The wonderful lunch I enjoyed last year added a real value to my inaugural experience. The temperature was approaching 100 degrees this week and having to eat at a picnic table OUTSIDE really put a dent in my level of enjoyment.

Like last year, my friend and I took full advantage of FarmLink’s unlimited play feature. As we began our third round of the day, we noticed that the GPS feature in our cart no longer provided yardages for the holes we were playing. I interpreted this interruption in service as FarmLink’s way of encouraging us to leave. But we powered through and soon realized that we were the last two people on the course. We decided to use this rare moment of seclusion to give our wives an inside look at what takes place when we play golf. My only regret is that some of the commentary is distorted as our golf cart was in motion.

Making of a Nursery - Part 1

2011-08-14T15:42:00.001-05:00

You may be thinking to yourself...really starting the nursery this early. I have to admit...I too think it is a little early, but when you take into consideration that our little guy is due right around Christmas, we are about to start football season, and the fact that I am making all of the bedding and window treatments myself....I somehow already feel behind.

So with that said we opted to go ahead and start the process of transforming our guest room into the nursery. I have said all along I am going gender neutral. So regardless of the fact that we now know we are having a boy the plan is to use this with future Baggett babies as well.

My sister-in-law, Sarah Harper, was kind enough to come over on Friday night to help get the room taped off. She didn't want to be in the pictures, but trust me she was there and we appreciate her help so much. If that wasn't enough she showed up AGAIN on Saturday to help paint! I don't say this often enough, but I have the best sister-in-law. She is our only immediate family member that lives in Birmingham and we love being able to see her often. Thanks again for your help Sarah Harper!!!!

I am so pleased with how the paint turned out. I sampled about 5 different blue/gray colors and ultimately went with Benjamin Moores Gray Owl. It is the perfect blue/gray and is such a calming color. I am not the best when it comes to picking out paint colors (did you see the pink walls?) so I was thrilled when it turned out.

Lastly we were able to hang the London Shade once the paint was dry. I have had my eye on these London shades for some time now and wanted to make one but just never had the right place....but now I do! This was my first attempt at a "working" shade...meaning one that actually goes up and down. I have made a few Roman Shades that are just for looks and are stationary, but this time I really wanted it to work. It was a little more involved than I initially anticipated, but I think it turned out well....and it works!

Please excuse the poor picture quality. I am no photographer, and the sun was beaming in the window when I was taking these pictures.

Hopefully I will be back soon with Part 2!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-08-08T18:07:00.001-05:00

This week, I like Intervention. Each Monday, this hour-long program on A&E takes viewers into the world of addiction. The premise of each episode is the same:

- An addict agrees to be featured in a “documentary”.
- The addict is filmed while in the deepest crevice of their struggle.
- The addict attempts to justify the use of their drug or drink of choice.
- The addict is unexpectantly confronted by their frustrated friends and family members.

During each episode’s intervention, the addict is given an opportunity to go to a nice rehab center or face the rest of their life without their friends and relatives. More often than not, the addict chooses to go to rehab. The best part of the show comes in the final seconds when an update is provided on the addict after going to rehab. These updates usually contain details of a relapse. It’s very interesting to take note of all of the common denominators in each of these cases (mainly, the lack of Jesus in the family!). Check out Intervention for yourself and you’ll be addicted too. Here’s a clip of scenes from an episode that examines a young woman that is addicted to inhaling canned air. PLEASE DON'T TRY AT HOME.

This week, I love baby boys. As Julie explained, we recently learned that we’re going to have a boy! I was pulling for a boy mainly because I never want to have to deal with boys snooping around any daughters of mine. But I have a sister and I am married to a woman so if this child was actually a girl, I wouldn’t be totally unprepared. I will probably be a better advice-giver to a boy, anyway. What’s really great is the fact that our good friends (The Branches) are also due around the same time and are also having a boy! I can’t wait for that foursome to play a round of golf!

This week, I don’t like loving my neighbors. Ever wonder why God put so much emphasis on loving our neighbors? Because He knew they would test our Christian morals the most! Our next-door neighbors recently cut some limbs out of a tree in their back yard. To dispose of these limbs, they have opted to enjoy a relaxing fire (in August) on their wooden deck by burning these limbs in a very cheap fire pit. They do this at night about twice a week. Through a lot of instances, these folks have given me the impression that they are very careless. If my neighbors catch our home on fire, I might have a hard time loving them.

Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

2011-08-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

That's what little boys are made of!

Baby Baggett is a BOY!!!! We are beyond excited about this sweet, little guy. I am not quite sure that anything can prepare you for that moment when you find out what you are having, but it was a truly amazing event.

The past few days have been so special. We have loved telling all of our family and friends and referring to the baby as HE. Now it is time to get to work on the nursery, and I have a lot of sewing and smocking to do!

As an added bonus our friends Emily and Clay found out what they are having the day after we did. So to make it fun we decided to not tell each other and have a gender reveal party.

We started off with 8 cupcakes (4 with pink booties and 4 with blue booties).

Nick and I went first. Clay and Emily had to close their eyes while we put the appropriate color cupcake on their plate.

I have been saying all along that I was going to have a boy so Emily said she was pretty sure that is what I was having.

Now it was Emily and Clay's turn. I was SURE they were having a girl!

SURPRISE!!! They are having a boy too! Can you tell I was shocked?

It was such a fun night. Emily and I have loved going through pregnancy together, but the fact that we are having the same thing makes it that much more fun.

July

2011-07-31T15:11:00.000-05:00

So does anyone else feel like they blinked and July has come and gone? I still cannot get over how 30 minutes seemed like an eternity when I was 10 and now a whole month is gone in a flash. I apologize for the lack of posts...you know it is bad when your own mom calls you out! So I will briefly catch you up on what we have been up to...and hopefully I will do a better job of blogging regularly.

We were able to spend the 4th of July in Destin with my parents and my sister, Ellen. I somehow managed to come away with no pictures. But we had a wonderful time laying by the pool, eating seafood, and Nick got to play golf a few times which made him very happy. It was a nice trip, just wish we could have stayed longer.

I have been doing a lot of this lately.

I have one more job then I am DONE until after the baby comes! This next wedding is a special one...my best friends sister, Kate Gladney, is getting married and she asked to to do her calligraphy. This is actually the first time I have been able to do calligraphy for someone that I am close to. I am honored that she asked me to help and thankful that I was able to do it.

My Brother PE 770 has not gotten nearly the attention that I want to give it, but I have been able to use it a few times. My very first attempt was to monogram some dish towels....and for my first try I was pretty impressed.

The past few weeks I have been desperately trying to get my act together with all of the baby preparations. So far I have scheduled our child birthing classes, looked at a ton of fabrics

tested many different paint samples

and most recently attempted to begin my registry at Buy Buy Baby. Here I am testing out strollers (which by the way is a somewhat stressful decision), and as always Nick was a big help.

In other baby news...this Tuesday we find out what we are having!!! The playing field is pretty well divided at this point. Several family members are determined that it is a boy while others swear it is a girl. So all will be known on Tuesday.

The most common question I get these days is "how are you feeling?" To be honest I really feel great. My energy is back, and I for the most part I feel perfectly normal. Now if you check back with me in a few months I may not be singing the same song, but for now I am enjoying the process and trying to savor each step of the process.

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-07-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

This week, I like plotting my child’s cultural education. I just DVR’d five of the six Star Wars films and found myself thinking how cool it will be to introduce our child to these movies. It was interesting to note that Spike TV aired the movies in the storyline’s chronological order. Should I follow this route or let the child get the same experience we all had by watching Episodes IV-VI then following up with Episodes I-III? These are the decisions I have to make with this baby on the way. I won’t spend too much time dwelling on the cultural elements that our child will be exposed to because let’s face it – the kid will be spending most waking hours at the driving range or on the golf course beginning at age 2. But I will have input and I will regulate the amount of culture that the child receives. I will also be fair in what is covered and include variety to prevent overkill, thus insuring that society will not have to tolerate another one of these:

This week, I love Shaquille O’neal. I’ve been meaning to mention my affection for the greatest center to ever play the game since he retired in early June. There are so many things that distinguish Shaq – from the length of his career (19 years!!) to his goofy personality displayed on and off the court. I’ll always remember him for being tall AND thick. Many pencil-thin 7-footers have come and gone but Shaq was the first big man that actually filled out his frame (almost too much towards the end of his career). He was tall, strong and nimble. You just don’t see that combination every day. Shaq’s star was first beginning to shine in the NBA while I was finishing my high school basketball career. I was a HUGE basketball fan then and Shaq was my guy. He was larger than life and seemed to be everywhere. I’ll even admit to buying his first rap album. ESPN televised Shaq’s retirement announcement. The event was held at his home. He spoke for 10 minutes and answered questions for an additional 20 minutes before inviting all members of the media to a catered lunch. How’s that for class? Very soon, he will be addressed as Dr. O’neal after completing his PhD in Human Resource Development from Barry University in Miami. I’m going to miss Shaq on the court but look forward to what will surely be an entertaining NBA commentating career.

This week, I don’t like America’s come-and-go love affair with soccer. The women’s US soccer team recently saved the planet and won some big game, or something like that. Just like when the men’s team made a decent showing in last summer’s World Cup, many Americans are now certified soccer fans. Really? This again? Americans are not soccer fans and these fleeting moments of interest are very telling of the times: there’s nothing else going on and we’ll take ANYTHING to get our minds off the slumping economy and other problems in our lives. It’s plausibly impossible for Americans to enjoy soccer. Why? Because the sport requires constant movement and yields very little excitement. It totally goes against our instinct to be as lazy as possible while unfulfilling our ever-shrinking attention span. The worst part is listening to morons that have never cared about soccer suddenly become experts and have discussions about their long, lasting love for the game. Will the women’s team please lose their next match so that we can all go back to reality? This kid's actions sums up our true passion for soccer.

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-06-22T19:12:00.020-05:00

This week, I like being wrong on occasion. It rarely happens to me, but I recently learned that being wrong can be refreshing. In my last post, I forecasted an easy series win for LeBron James and the Miami Heat over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. But a funny thing happens when you mix in a 7-foot German with a delicate shooting touch. What’s better than LeBron losing? Watching the media rip him to shreds. Had it not been for his comments about us regular people with miserable lives after Game 6, I don’t think the press would have been so hard on LeBron. And boy was I wrong about LeBron’s dominance in this series. He could not have played any worse – especially in the 4th quarter in most of the 6 games.

This week, I love my new limb saw. First, a little background on why I needed a new limb saw. We had a very tall holly hedge in our back yard and I wanted it cut back and shaped up. I couldn’t get a landscaper to take on the job (more on that later) so I tackled it myself. I bought a new limb saw to get into the tight, interior branches of this overgrown hedge. This saw, from Corona, made quick work of the large limbs. Very quick work, actually. GET ONE TODAY. I’ve included some before and after photos of the hedge.

This week, I don’t like vanishing service providers. The cable guy has always gotten a bad rap for never showing up when promised. I’m ready to put landscapers in that same category too. I called the landscaping company that services our neighborhood association and asked for some help with the hedge in the back yard. After another phone call and a week of waiting, the company secretary finally returned my call. I was informed that someone would go to our house, take a look at the hedge and call me with a quote. I got that call two days later. A guy called me while he was in our yard, observing the hedge. I could tell that he wasn’t very anxious to take the job. He took a deep breath, let out a long sigh and promised to call me later that afternoon with a quote. Four days go by and no quote or returned phone call. I decided to man up and do the job myself. I’m just glad my neighbor was patient with me – I had promised to get the unsightly hedge trimmed before I made the initial call to the landscaper.

Brother PE 770

2011-06-13T06:49:00.000-05:00

On May 15th I celebrated by 29th birthday (can I really be 29). My family was in town that weekend for a wedding so we all got to celebrate together which was fun. Unbenounced to me Nick and my parents had been plotting behind my back to surprise me with a new embroidery machine!!!! The Brother PE 770 to be exact.

I have put this on my Christmas and birthday list for about 3 years now but never really thinking that I would get it, but they were very sneaky and gave me a big surprise. Now I can monogram and applique til my hearts content! These are a few examples of what this machine can do:

Thanks Nick, Mom and Dad! This is going to be one well dressed baby!!!!

2 + 1 = 3

2011-06-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

That's right...come December our family of 2 is going to become a family of 3! There are really no words to accurately descride the feeling other than to say that we are thrilled and honored that God has chosen to give us this wonderful gift. There are a lot of things in my life that I haven't known, but one thing I have always known is that I wanted to be a mom, and now that it is a reality I am overcome with joy and excitement.

We found out we were pregnant in late April and had our first prenatal visit on May 18th! We were able to hear the heartbeat and will get to hear it again this Thursday when we go for our next appointment.

The process of telling family, friends and coworkers has been a blast. And as an added bonus one of my best friends Emily Branch is expecting as well and we are due on THE SAME DAY. Not sure what those odds are, but nonetheless it is so much fun to have a friend that is going through this process at the same time.

I know that I have been a terrible blogger lately, but I hope to be much better in the coming months. On top of the pregnancy I have been consumed with calligraphy. Since late March I have addressed 555 double envelopes, written out 2 invitations, 2 reply sets, and 1 reception card. May not seem like a lot, but trust me...it is (especially when you have a full time job)! I have about 375 more invitations to go... Then I get to focus on decorating the nursery, smocking, and learning my new embroidery machine! I cannot wait!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-06-01T18:17:00.000-05:00

This week, I like being lucky. I am very fortunate. I have a wonderful wife that loves me and lots of great material items. I have everything I could ever need but I have never thought of myself as lucky. At least I don’t feel as if I am as lucky as other people. Well that all changed last Wednesday. Here’s a breakdown of my day:

* Got to represent my employer at a golf outing.
* Won a door prize at the golf outing.
* Won a closest-to-the-pin prize at the golf outing.
* Came home to find a voicemail from Timberline Golf Club explaining that I had won a free round of golf!

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my day! But if you’re keeping score at home, the luckiest day I ever had was the day I went on a blind date with Julie.

This week, I love Mint Condition. This book takes a broad view at the baseball card industry – from the early days of tobacco cards to today’s numerous and confusing card sets. I collected baseball cards during a time when it was thought that pieces of cardboard would fund your retirement. Mint Condition does a great job of explaining how baseball cards were transformed from something enjoyed by kids into a greedy industry. This industry gave us one of the best examples of how oversupplying can ruin a good time for everyone. Baseball cards have a long history that has been documented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Library of Congress. There is a definite point in this history when greed took over. Mint Condition helps me see this point and also understand why my own collection is now worthless.

This week, I don’t like LeBron James. This has been the best season for the NBA since the mid-1990s. The talent difference between teams is razor thin. And this great season is about to be tarnished because LeBron James is going to win his first championship. One of the last guys that was allowed to skip college, LeBron is now more famous for dumping Cleveland and his home state for a franchise that is buying a championship this year. LeBron is the 2nd best player in the league (see: Kobe Bryant) and he is an amazing athlete. But his on-court antics, chest pounding and “look at me” celebrations have turned a lot of fans against him. I will definitely be pulling for the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk is the anti-LeBron and one of the best players ever to come from Europe. Dirk even has an Auburn connection…what would be a highly illegal connection. But a connection nonetheless. Go Mavs!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-05-10T18:04:00.001-05:00

This week, I like the Regions Tradition. Thanks to our good friend Emily, I got to enjoy the 3rd and 4th rounds of this Champions Tour major in person. I've never been to Shoal Creek before but I was quickly impressed with the clubhouse, the course and the way the tournament was operated. I enjoyed walking the course with my good friend Clay (Emily's husband) on Saturday. We'll always have a funny story about my extremely awkward exchange with then-leader Mark Calcavecchia. I may or may not have caused him to lose the tournament. Julie joined us on Sunday but I think the heat impacted her experience. Being a major tournament, this was very special for me. I really enjoyed my time and can't thank Emily enough!

(Pause the video at the 1:40 mark and you'll see Julie, Clay and me directly under the tree in the background.)

This week, I love being in better shape. I've been walking laps and running stadium steps at Heardmont Park here in the B'ham area and it has really made me feel better. It's true what they say about exercising giving you more energy and my knees aren't as "noisy" when picking items up. I try to go walking every day after work and I am actually finding myself looking forward exercising. We'll see how that holds up in August! If I could get some help at home with my evening food consumption, I would be losing a lot of weight. And I know you are wondering: yes, my golf swing has improved with my new, stronger legs.

This week, I don't like judging people. While enjoying the Regions Tradition on Sunday, I couldn't help but to notice the numerous Alabama football fans sporting full gameday gear throughout the galleries. I mean...is a major golf tournament not even sacred? As I listened to countless shouts of "Rohl Tahd" to classy players like Loren Roberts and Tom Watson, I shared some quick-witted observations about these people with my friend. But later at home, I remembered that morning's Sunday school lesson about judging people. Why am I so quick to work up a judgement about some random person in Alabama garb and why do I think that I won't be judged on my appearance or actions by other people? Maybe human nature wires us like that but I am thankful for the challenges sent my way and for the opportunity to use these challenges to become a better person. I don't want to be so quick to judge people!

Live, Love and Don't Like

2011-04-26T18:23:00.000-05:00

This week, I like the Royal Wedding. I may not wake up early to watch it live but I’ll definitely DVR the wedding. I’ve been visiting the official wedding website like crazy. I can’t explain my interest. Maybe it’s because people used to mistake me for William when he had more hair? Maybe it’s because my sister-in-law currently lives in London? Maybe it’s because the Queen and her husband are actually cousins? Who knows? Now that I am married, I know what goes into the partnership that a marriage really is. If done properly, it will be neat to think that William and Kate will be enjoying what I have with Julie. Sidenote: Earlier this week, I learned that Kate’s parents are self-made millionaires. So there goes the “rags to riches” story.

This week, I love Cadbury Eggs. I actually love Cadbury Eggs year-round but it seems that you only get to buy them right before Easter. I wrote the company to pitch my idea of selling the white and yellow filling in tubes. I’m still waiting for their reply. I always express my appreciation of these treats and the joy I get from eating them but no one ever takes advantage of the post-Easter candy sales for me. Maybe this will be the year. GET SOME TODAY!

This week, I don’t like bugs on the windshield. Julie and I traveled to my hometown of Camden for Easter weekend. Night had fallen by the time we approached the city limits. Given the undeveloped outskirts and tall grass on the side of the road, the number of bugs drawn to our headlights (and thus, the windshield) reached the low millions. Bug guts everywhere. I guess that’s one perk to being stuck in Bammerham traffic: it’s hard to bring a bug’s life to a squishy end if you’re only going 2 mph!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-04-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

This week, I like the way The Masters ended. At the beginning of Sunday’s round, I was rooting against Rory McIlroy but as Tiger Woods made his charge and Rory began fading away, I found myself feeling a little sorry for the young golfer. Not to worry because we’ll be hearing his name for a long time! What a great final round! Guys were playing lights-out down the stretch. Adam Scott, Jason Day, Luke Donald and yes, even Tiger made a great final push. But they wouldn’t match Charl Schwartzel, a little-known player from South Africa. Charl birdied the last four holes at Augusta on Sunday and all he got for is efforts was a green jacket!

This was a special tournament. A very good friend of mine attended a practice round at Augusta on the Tuesday before the tournament started. He brought back lots of great photos, videos and stories. I was fortunate to watch the final round with him on Sunday and it was very interesting to listen to someone that had been there just a few days prior describe the course layout.

This week, I love downloadable schedules for Outlook. I downloaded the 2011 schedule for the Chicago Cubs and I now have a listing of all home and away games on my email calendar at work. Even better, scores, links to stories and game recaps are included on each entry the day after a game is played. This will be a special season for the Cubs and this downloadable schedule will help me stay on top of every game. Go to www.mlb.com to find your favorite team’s website, click on the “Schedule” tab and find the “Downloadable Schedule” link. Directions on how to create a new internet schedule in Outlook are available. GET ONE TODAY!

This week, I don’t like Kwikset locks with the Smart Key feature. Remember when Julie painted our front door? I tried to make the project easier by removing the deadbolt and door knob for her. When I re-installed the deadbolt, it would not lock and unlock at all. The door knob lock didn’t work properly either, but would suffice. I found a cool replacement deadbolt from Kwikset that had a neat feature that would give you, a common citizen, the ability to rekey the deadbolt. I purchased said deadbolt and installed it with the greatest of ease. But somehow I missed a step in the rekeying instructions and made it so that NO key would work on this spanking new lock. I researched Youtube and found some helpful videos but nothing I tried corrected the problem. I even managed to stump a locksmith that came by the house (he charged me a service fee). Fed up, I purchased a door knob/deadbolt set from Lowes and had them rekey both locks for less than I paid for the first deadbolt. I should have done this first and not even bothered with the deadbolt with the Smart Key feature. DON’T GET ONE TODAY!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-04-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

This week, I like On Demand. I fully support the concept of “appointment television”. I don’t like commercials and thanks to DVRs, I enjoy being able to watch my favorite programs whenever I desire. I started exploring the On Demand feature of our cable box the other day and I found some nice surprises. I’m not going to pay to watch any On Demand content but there are a lot of good shows available for free viewing. I’ve watched the entire 3rd season of Parks and Recreation and ESPN has some great programs available too. We have over 300 channels and nothing to watch. On Demand, Instant Netflix and the DVR have become my go-to entertainment tools.

This week, I love our “new” grill. We didn’t get a new grill. But I did manage to purchase and install new grill parts that totally brought our gas grill back to life. The difference is night and day but let me tell you – this was a challenge. The grill on our deck is so old that it no longer features any identifying labels or model numbers. I scanned the internet armed only with the manufacturer’s name and the dimensions of the parts I needed. I came across this parts company’s website that looked straight out of 1994. Despite its looks, I was able find what I needed after carefully examining the diagrams. I placed my order and waited – FOR FOUR WEEKS. The parts finally came in. I installed them and put them to the test earlier this week. SUCCESS! As I ate the cooked meat and tasted the delicious juices, a sense of usefulness and mastery of animals came over me. It was good meat and a good rush.

This week, I don’t like the flat-bill look. You know what I’m talking about -these baseball players and their flat-billed hats. Alabama’s own Colby Rasmus is a prime example. What is that?! When I was coming up through the ranks, the more curve in your bill, the better. Seriously, if your bill was flat, you were a total dweeb. (And yes, I know what sound like right now) The flat bill, which looks like it could have been created by a surfer, has penetrated the national pastime and is considered high fashion by the youths of America. What’s worse is that I’m starting to see professional golfers incorporate this look into their wardrobes. It was OK when Rickie Fowler was the only guy doing it. But now I’m starting to see other players (like Hunter Mahan) sport the flat bill and I’m fully expecting my good friend Clay Branch to succumb to this fad very soon. In closing, it just looks stupid.

Calligraphy, Visit from my Parents, and Company Coming

2011-03-27T20:58:00.001-05:00

Well Nick's wish has come true...the projects have come to a stop (not forever, but just for now).

I am booked with calligraphy business from now until June and it all started up this week. Right now I am writing out the invitation and reply set and will begin addressing the envelopes in the next few weeks.

Secondly my parents came for a quick visit this weekend! It is always great to see them, and we had a great time catching up!

Lastly this little one is coming to see us this week!

Anna Kathryn is my best friend Kiley's daughter. She will arrive (with Kiley and Mark) on Thursday. I cannot wait for them to get here!!! We have a fun weekend of shopping, golf, grilling out, and basketball watching planned!

Hope everyone has a great week.

Painting the INSIDE of the front door BLACK

2011-03-21T21:26:00.000-05:00

I know at first the idea seems strange, and when I first mentioned it to Nick he said absolutely not. But then I showed him some examples of what I was talking about, and he caught the vision and was on board with the idea.

This idea all started with the two pictures I posted earlier this week. Such a simple concept and makes the door pop rather than blend in with the rest of the molding. Once I started thinking about doing it I began to notice that many other people have done the same thing. Isn't that the way it always goes...once you start thinking about something you start to notice it all the time. Below are a few examples of other black doors I have come across.

Do you notice what else is painted black in most of these pictures??? The railing and newel post. I think it looks great....maybe I will put that in the lineup of future projects!

Since last week was Spring Break week in Birmingham (and I was the only person in my office on Friday afternoon) I decided to leave a little early and start painting.

-First I washed the door with soap and water.
-I taped off the hinges and lock mechanisms with painters tape (however in the end we decided to take the lock and door knob off all together)
-Then painted. It took two coats to fully cover up the white.

I used a quart of this paint.

It is premixed and in my Lowes is was next to the spray paint. Ask them to shake it for you at the paint counter.

I used a 4" foam roller and a foam brush (to get in the crevices and around the edges).

I am really pleased with how it turned out and once again just wish I would have done it a long time ago.

Please excuse the quality of my pictures... I am a horrible photographer.

Front Door Revamp

2011-03-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

Check this out:

Doesn't painting the back of the door black make a big difference! This is not my front door, but mine is very similar to this and it will be getting a coat of black paint very soon!

Stay tuned for pictures.

Like, Love and Don't Like * Special Edition

2011-03-15T12:27:00.017-05:00

You knew it was coming. I can't let the recent ESPN documentary about Michigan's Fab Five pass without responding. Here's a special edition of LLDL.

This week, I like the documentary about The Fab Five. I really did like the film. These guys came along about the time in my life when basketball meant everything to me. They definitely changed the game: from their shorts to their black socks to their insane amount of trash-talking. The film did a great job of telling how these five freshmen became starters and reached the NCAA title game in their first two years. The documentary also showed how this group of players were the center of questionable recruiting and ultimately tarnished Michigan's basketball program.

This week, I love the Duke haters. Watching The Fab Five was made even more enjoyable after watching Duke defeat North Carolina for the ACC Tournament championship earlier in the afternoon. See, even before I watched the documentary, I knew there was going to be a slant against Duke. The Duke program was arguably flying at its highest during the beginning of the Fab Five era. Duke defeated Michigan in the Fab Five's first appearance to the NCAA title game (1992). At the time, the game was billed with a racist, white vs. black undertone. Duke had previously found itself in this position in its battles against a predominantly-black team from UNLV in 1990 and 1991. And for some reason, that label sticks with Duke across the nation. Coach K and the Blue Devils are viewed as elitist, white, upper-crust basketball players. The Fab Five's Jalen Rose (and ESPN employee) best sums up this perception in the following clip. SALTY LANGUAGE WARNING.

Nice, huh? That's not to be outdone by fellow Fab Five member Chris Webber the following day on his blog in which he likened Duke to the Jim Crow era of the 1950's. Seriously. He said that.

This week, I don't like ESPN's proclamation that the Fab Five was the greatest recruiting class ever. This statement in the film's promotions sparked a heated debate with my good friend Clay Branch. I told Clay that it all boils down to what criteria is used to define "greatness" in this instance. The Fab Five didn't even win their conference title, much less a national title, so the group can't claim the title of greatest using their ability to win. It's better to argue recruiting rankings if you want to crown them the greatest. There's no doubt that this Michigan class was talented but I wasn't going to accept that they were the greatest class to ever be assembled. I did some homework to prove that I was right. You know what? I was wrong. Well, sorta. High school basketball recruiting rankings weren't as robust in the early 1990's as they are today. The gold standard is the McDonald's All-American Team, which selects the top players from across the nation to participate in an annual all-star game. I obtained a list of every player that's ever played in the McDonald's game. In 1991, four of the Fab Five played in the McDonald's game (Rose, Webber, Juwaan Howard, Jimmy King). I was blown away! I scanned the list to see if any other schools had duplicated this feat. Going back to 1977, many colleges have landed 3 McDonald's All-Americans but only two schools have signed four players: Michigan and........Duke. Coach K welcomed Carlos Boozer, Jason Williams, Casey Sanders and Mike Dunleavy in 1999. And if you want to go back to the "success" element, the Duke group won 4 conference tournaments, lost the 1999 national title game and won the 2001 national title - with lots of individual awards earned along the way. As I left the debate with Clay, I think it is best to say that the Fab Five were great in there ability to influence the culture of college basketball. And....I guess you could say they were very talented too.

UPDATE....Former Duke forward Grant Hill has written a reply to the documentary for The New York Times. The last line is priceless.

Help!

2011-03-14T14:00:00.001-05:00

I am working on a new "project" and I need your help. Would you choose

Beadboard

Tongue and Groove

or Board and Batten

Today I am leaning toward Beadboard, but I have changed my mind about 18 times already. Let me know what you think.

Bathroom Tile

2011-03-12T17:25:00.000-06:00

Last weekend while spending a lot of time in my guest bathroom working on my mirror framing project I noticed the the floor tile (more specifically the grout) was nasty! I am somewhat embarrassed to even post this, but I figure we are all friend...right! Not to mention that I get great ideas from reading about other peoples experiences...so who knows maybe someone reading this has nasty grout in their bathroom too.

All that to say that I got down on my hands and knees today and gave this bathroom a massive scrub down.

I used Scrubbing Bubbles Extend a Clean, but honestly you could use most any bathroom cleaner. The key is the wire brush!

See the difference. Probably 6-7 years of ground in dirt! Please know that I do mop this bathroom often, but mopping unfortunately doesn't always do the trick. Here is another close up of the results.

I am beyond pleased! Now I need to do this in the master bath, but it is much bigger and will take more energy than I have today. Maybe next weekend.

Framed Mirror

2011-03-11T06:00:00.004-06:00

Over the past few weeks of reading various blogs about DIY projects I have noticed that many of the DIYers have framed their bathroom mirrors. Honestly I thought about doing this a while ago, but I didn't think I had the tools to be able to pull it off. But after seeing the process these other ladies used I was convinced that I could do it. So I decided to try it in our guest bathroom since the mirror is a smaller than the one in the master bathroom.

Nick was playing golf on Saturday...so off to Lowes I went to get supplies for my little project.

This is what I needed:

Molding
Miter Box
Paint
Liquid Nails
Caulk

For the actual frame I bought (pre primed) casing. Basically the stuff the that you woudl use to frame out windows and doors. I bought and 7' and 10' piece and had them cut each of the four pieces to the size I needed.

Next I bought this little gem...a miter box! This is the part that got me a few years ago when I thought about doing this. I thought you had to have a miter saw in order to cut molding and trim at an angle. Well that is not the case you can get a miter box for about $15 and it comes with the saw! Awesome.

This is what the bathroom looked like before.

First I had to cut my molding at 45 degree angles to form the corners of the frame.

Once all the pieces were cut I painted them. (Tip - Be sure to paint the back side of the molding as well because when it is up against the mirror you can see some of the back.)

Once the paint dried I applied a generous amount of liquid nails to the mirror.

Then placed the molding on the mirror and held it in place for a few minutes. I repeated this step until all pieces where in place.

The next day I used caulk to hide the small gaps in the corners where the pieces fit together. This caulk is awesome because it goes on pink and dries clear!

Once the caulk was dry I lightly sanded it and painted over the corners. All Done! What do you think?

For $25 I think it makes a big difference, and it will be even better once I debrass everything!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-03-09T17:21:00.006-06:00

I've been taking full advantage of opportunities to play some golf lately. My scores indicate that I could have a much bigger impact on this planet by blogging more. However, I hope to have some new golf videos soon.

This week, I like the Federal Reserve. I just returned from a tour of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta with some coworkers. Working with the Federal Reserve is not part of my job but I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this place where banks and credit unions send their cash and coins. And brother, I saw a lot of cash today. And I saw where a lot of that cash gets destroyed. I even brough some home!

This week, I love NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. I've always wanted to be a game show host or news anchor. Brian Williams is the suavest man on television. He is very knowledgable of worldly events, he's a very good reader, he is funny as heck when he appears on late night shows and gets away with only having 3 neck ties in his rotation. And the Nightly News set is the best set in the industry. It's just a green screen and an awesome desk. I record Nightly News each night and even though it is always systematically BAD news, I will always be loyal to NBC. Do you know who the celebrity announcer is that introduces Mr. Williams each night? Leave your guesses in the comment section. When I learned this nugget, my mind was blown.

This week, I don't like the high praise for Charlie Sheen. I'll admit to to finding Charlie's catch phrases very funny at the beginning of his latest downfall. 10 years ago, I would have been the first person selling Tiger Blood t-shirts. But now I'm beginning to be disturbed by the number of people that are approving of his carefree lifestyle. I'm afraid that too many impressionable people are buying into his theory that life is about doing whatever you want to do. Life can't be that way. We're free in America but we're fortunate that (some) people know that nothing good comes from living a selfish lifestyle.

I've Been Tagged

2011-03-05T19:49:00.000-06:00

This is first for me!!!

In light of the Academy Awards (last weekend) several people in blog land have been listing their favorite movies and then tagging other bloggers so they will do the same.

Well my friend Anna from Recipes for Newlyweds recently tagged me so now I get to post my five favorite movies!

1. Childhood Must: Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz
2. Chick Flick: The Notebook, Dirty Dancing
3. Husband Approved: Gone With The Wind
4. True Story: The Blind Side
5. Holiday: Miracle on 34th Street, The Grinch (cartoon version)

Now I'm tagging She who dies with the most fabric wins, The Bright Side of Life, The Mize Family, and The Lloyds to share their five favorites!!

Fabric Organization

2011-02-28T14:00:00.004-06:00

I did get somewhat distracted from my organization mission, but this weekend I got back on track! We have a small closet in our office that houses our downstairs furnace and the hot water heater. Thankfully the closet does have some selves in it and provides much needed storage, but lately the closet has gotten out of control (my fault). I do all of my sewing and calligraphy in this room and this closet has become a catch all for my junk.

The main issue was all of my fabric. I didn't even take a before picture of the closet because it was so bad....just trust me.

But this is what my fabric looked like. Lovely...right!

To start with I took some plastic boxes (they are about the size of a shoe box) that I bought at Old Time Pottery for .99 each.

Then I separated my fabrics into categories. These are the categories I ended up with: solids, patterns, gingham, polka dot, seersucker, corduroy, and white.

Oh this is soooo much better! Makes me want to sew something... Maybe that will be next weekends project.

Kitchen Knobs

2011-02-27T17:55:00.002-06:00

I have always heard that the fist step to recovering from an addiction is to admit that you have one. Well folks I am here to tell you that I have an addiction to spray paint! Nick is in constant fear that he is going to come home and I will be spray painting the car. I doubt that I would go that far, but you never know.

So last weekend my spray paint /debrass project was the kitchen knobs.

This is what they looked like before....

(can you tell that the oven is circa 1991 as well)

First I removed all of the knobs and washed them with soap and water.

After they were dry I used a medium grade sand paper and I scuffed up each knob. From what I have read this provides a rough surface and the paint will adhere better.

I used Rustoleum Satin Nickle spray paint and applied two coats. Not sure how these will hold up since they get used a lot, but for now they are working great!

SOLD

2011-02-19T09:03:00.001-06:00

Here is an update on my Craigs List activity the past few weeks.

Still working on these...maybe I need to lower the prices.

More de-BRASSING

2011-02-17T20:39:00.002-06:00

I was just looking back over our last few posts....craigs list, spray paint, and popcorn salt. Wow we are really boring people! I am amazed that anyone even reads this blog. Hopefully we can come up with something really exciting, entertaining or informative to share in the coming weeks.

But for now more lame updates on my de-brassing efforts. Last weekend I tackled the light fixture in our foyer.

This time I used Rust-oleum Clean Metal Primer and Rust-oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

Check out the lovely spider webs!

Next to be de-brassed....Kitchen knobs!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-02-16T15:07:00.008-06:00

This week, I like Kernel Seasons popcorn flavoring. I’m a big fan of popcorn – especially from the movie theater. During my last trip to the theater (True Grit) I made a point to remember the name of the manufacturer of the awesome popcorn seasoning offered in the lobby. Turns out the maker is Kernel Seasons. I visited their website and sadly learned that they don’t make their products available in many grocery stores (at least not around B'ham). I also learned that the company makes a lot more flavors than what’s available at the theater. And I also learned that you can buy their product right from their website. So I did! So far, I’ve only tried the Ranch flavor. I'm really looking forward to trying the White Cheddar. GET SOME TODAY!

This week, I love “Busy” Julie. My wife has been busy busy busy! From mastering Craig’s List to painting light fixtures, I have been inspired by the way Julie has chosen to fill her free time. She's like the guy at the circus that spins dishes on the sticks - he runs from one dish to the next trying to avoid a big crash by keeping them all spinning. This recent flurry of new hobbies has helped Julie satisfy her internal management need. When Julie sets her mind to a task, you can bet the house that she will not quit until that task is completed. That’s just her personality. She has to have a project (or two!) going at all times and it is amazing to see her in action! Sometimes her determination scares me so I just stay out of the way.

This week, I don’t like detrimental activities that hamper Julie’s eyesight. Because she has been so busy, Julie’s main form of relaxation these days involves surfing the web. Julie is fond of kicking back on the couch with her laptop. She also conducts a last look of emails and blogs each night with her iPhone before going to sleep. The problem is that Julie does not wear her eyeglasses while enjoying her laptop or iPhone (like she is supposed to). It is a shame too because she looks very cute while wearing her glasses! The constant strain on her eyes is already affecting her eyesight. I have been asked to read the small print on coupons and canned goods several times this week alone. Hopefully Julie will stop throwing caution to the wind and wear her glasses.

1991

2011-02-09T20:44:00.004-06:00

What does 1991 mean to you... It may have been a special year for some of you, but to me 1991 was the year my house was built. Now I didn't own this house until 2005, but nonetheless it was built in 1991.

And do you know what houses built in 1991 have a lot of???? BRASS.

Brass Light fixtures
Brass Door Knobs
Brass Cabinet Pulls
Brass Faucets

Don't get me wrong I know that back then brass was the thing, but now 20 years later...its got to go! I tried to start my de-brassing last year, but I didn't get too far. I did manage to remove the brass fireplace screen, but then I quit. Well I am here to announce that I am back on task! But here is the kicker....we are trying to not put any more money into this house (unless it is something we can take with us when we sell) since we already have more money in it then we will ever get when we do decided to sell.

So I am having to get a little creative in my approach to de-brass this house. My first attempt will be the outdoor light fixtures. We have two small lights on either side of our back door and a hanging lantern on the front porch. These things are in such bad shape you can hardly tell that they are brass...but trust me they are!

I have read multiple blogs and even consulted with a lady in my office who did this and have decided to spray paint these fixtures rather than buy new ones. Here it goes....

First I removed the fixtures very carefully (if you do this make sure to turn the power off) and washed all the pieces with warm soapy water. Allow them to dry.

Once dry I used painters tape to cover the wires and inserted some into the socket (where the light bulb goes). Next I primed all the pieces with this:

Once the primer dried I used Rust-o-leum Flat Black spray paint.

**Tip** I used boxes when I was priming and painting and it was a big help. Kept the paint from getting everywhere!

Here is the finished product! I promise you cannot tell that they were painted...they look like new fixtures.

Here are few side by side comparisons.

Amazing what a little spray paint can do! Stay tuned for more de-brassing.....

Word of the Week

2011-02-05T15:34:00.001-06:00

The word of the week around our house is CRAIGS LIST. I have known about Craigs List for several years now, but have never bought or sold anything on there.

As many of you know I am in clean out/organize mode these days. Last Saturday I was sitting in my living room looking at this:

A 4 1/2 foot ficus plant. I know...I know fake plants went out of style years ago, but for some strange reason I have kept this one. Basically it just collects dust and drives me crazy every time I look at it....So I made the executive decision that it was time for it to go. I figured I would post it on Craigs List and if it didn't sell in a week I would trash it. So I listed it and within 1 1/2 hours it was sold and the man was at the house picking it up! I WAS SHOCKED (and thrilled to be rid of it)!

So the rest of the week I have been listing things like crazy! Here are a few of the items:

Basically stuff that we don't use or that I don't like anymore. I have sold 4 items so far so we will see if the others sell or not.

Key Ring App

2011-01-29T14:56:00.000-06:00

Still on a conquest to organize my life....this little tool rocked my world and helped me organize! I got an iphone in December. I was due for an upgrade and we bought it refurbished from AT&T (for around $45). To say that I have loved this little gadget would be an understatement....well as much as you can love a phone (because let's face it...it is just a phone).

Anyway I am still figuring all of this out, but today I stumbled on this little app:

Key Ring App

Basically you load all of your little store cards that you either have in your wallet or on your key ring into this app. Then when you go to the store just hand your phone to the cashier and they scan your phone. No need to carry around 25 store cards anymore...just load them on your phone! Plus some stores will automatically load their current coupons to your app so you don't have to clip them from the paper!

Now I have to admit I was somewhat leery about it actually working, but when I went to Winn Dixie today just pulled up my Winn Dixie card on my phone, handed it to the cashier, and she scanned it. No problem!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-01-27T19:24:00.008-06:00

This week, I like my manly hand cream. Guys, let's not kid ourselves. With the low humidity, cold temps and constant hand-washing, our hands take a beating this time of year. I found a great solution to my cracked skin at Duluth Trading Company. This hand cream is not slimy and has no odor. It keeps me from sporting busted knuckles and band-aids on my finger tips. GET SOME TODAY!

This week I love soup. I've never been a big soup guy but I've converted this winter! Julie makes a lot of great soups (Warehouse Soup!!!). I've found that you can't go wrong with a good canned soup and I even enjoyed a cup of really good Egg Drop soup at PF Changs the other day. I'm pretty sure that this appreciation will only last until the weather warms up but it's been a nice change. GET SOME TODAY!

This week I don't like morons on TV (or maybe I do). I'm going to pick on two different shows this week. Up first, the out-of-work, under-trained miners of Gold Rush: Alaska. This Discovery Channel program showcases the trials of a band of friends from Oregon that are down on their luck and use the last of their money to mine for gold in Alaska.

I told my friend Kiley that watching this show is like watching a car wreck. These guys have no idea about what they are doing, their homemade equipment is constantly breaking down and they have even dragged their poor wives and children into the Alaskan woods. They screw up so often that I find myself actually getting mad at them while watching the show! I'll continue to watch just to see the final, full face plant when all of the money is gone.

I now shift my focus to the 'star' of the Golf Channel's new show, Pipe Dream. This show is about a former golf professional who is now homeless (he sleeps in huge construction pipes, thus the title of the show).

The show follows this 'former professional golfer' as he gets back on his feet and attempts to qualify to play on the Champions Tour. I think the title of 'professional' is used very loosely here. From what I've seen, this jackleg was more of a professional mooch than anything else. He made a career living off of rich girlfriends until the gravy train came to a screeching halt. He never made anything for himself and went from living on a golf course to sleeping in a big pipe in one day. Let this be a lesson kids: don't build a life relying off of anyone else except Jesus! This guy has had some really good breaks on the show so far (offered a part time job, friends willing to chip in to pay tournament entry fees, etc.) but he's definitely not good enough to make it to the senior tour. I get frustrated with this guy for allowing himself to get in this situation but I'll continue watching to see if he reverts to his moocher ways and blows all of the opportunities extended to him.

Sew, Momma, Sew! - Pillow Month

2011-01-27T07:00:00.001-06:00

I love pillows for many reasons:

- They are an easy way to add color to a room
- They don't require much fabric
- They are easy to sew
- And there are so many different ways to dress them up

One of the blogs I have started to follow is Sew, Momma, Sew! There have been several projects that I have really liked and hope to have time to do this year, but I was thrilled this morning when I noticed that on this blog during the month of February is going to be pillow month!

I am in the process of changing the color scheme in my living room (mainly through pillows) so pillow month is coming at the perfect time!

I added a button below that will link you directly to Sew, Momma, Sew!

The Mug

2011-01-25T09:38:00.001-06:00

When we were at my in-laws just before Christmas we were sitting down having Sunday lunch when all of a sudden my mother-in-law got up from the table and announced that she found something and wanted to give it to me. I certainly was curious, but had no idea what it could be. Then she walked in with this:

Precious...right? It was a mug Nick made for her in 1st grade and she wanted me to have it. Many of you probably made something similar for your parents (I know I did.)

At this point I am still thinking oh this is so sweet...I am so glad she thought to give it to me. Then she asked me to read it. Not going to lie....it took me a minute to figure it out.

"Dey Mom I wus I dent haf tow go toow Scool"

allow me to translate:

Dear Mom I wish I didn't have to go to School

The sweet, gushy feeling quickly left and we were laughing hysterically. Only Nick would write something like that AT SCHOOL to give to his mother on MOTHERS DAY. I am sure this is how his report card read:

Coloring B

Spelling C (he did spell Mom correctly)

Honesty A

Organization - Patterns

2011-01-23T20:14:00.003-06:00

One of my new years resolutions (that I am determined to KEEP) is getting my house (and my life) organized. I do a good job (usually) of keeping everything tidy and neat, but when it comes down to nitty gritty organization...I could use some work!

I figure if I blog about it that #1 all of you will hold me accountable and #2 maybe you will suggest some of your own organizational ideas! I am always open to suggestions.

So last week I organized my pantry....which by the way I am LOVING! I breathe so much easier every time I open that door!!!

This week I tackled my sewing patterns. Now I know everyone doesn't have this problem, but a lot of you do sew because I follow your blogs and see all of your wonderful creations...so who knows maybe your patterns are a mess like mine.

Ok So I started out with my green basket and I was trying to refold the tissue and stuff it back into the original sleeve. Took me about three times to realize there are not enough hours in the day to ever figure out how to refold those stupid things. Then it was onto the hanger method. This worked for a while, but occasionally pattern pieces would fall off and I would loose them not to mention that it was a pain having them hang in my ohhh so tiny sewing closet (it is actually our hot water heater closet).

So after some research I opted to go with the file folder method. This is how it works...

I purchased a LEGAL size plastic file box. I really think it is important to use legal rather than letter. Letter size just wont be large enough for some of the larger pattern pieces. This box was around $14 at Office Max, but they sent me a $10 off of $20 coupon this week so I got this and some tabs for $10!

I added some file folders which I already had.

Then I started placing my patterns in ziploc bags (I used quart size). For each pattern I placed one size in the each bag.

So my Lettie (that is the pattern name) folder has the original sleeve with instructions, a bag with Size 1, a bag with Size 2, and a bag with Size 3.

Then I put them in alphabetical order by pattern name and made labels.

All Done! Nice, neat and organized!!!! One of the benefits to this method is that if/when someone needs to borrow a pattern I can give them the size they need without having to give them the whole pattern (and chance something getting misplaced or lost).

What to organize next??????

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-01-21T18:05:00.000-06:00

This week, I like the Cubs' chances of winning the World Series in 2011. Many fans of the Chicago Cubs find a source of pride in the fact that the Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908 (haven't been to the big show since 1945). There's a bit of mystique there, for sure. But the stars are lining up for the Cubs to finally win it all again. Why am I so confident? Because ALL of my favorite teams/athletes are on a roll. Auburn just won the college football national championship, Duke is on their way to winning a second straight college basketball championship and Phil Mickelson could very well win his second straight Masters Golf Tournament in a few months.

OK, so I adopted the Sacramento Kings as my favorite NBA team before this season started and they are currently the 2nd worst team in the league. I'm not an expert. The Cubs have a new manager, some new players and will be running on high emotions after the recent death of local icon Ron Santo. They may not win it all this year but it will definitely be an interesting season!

This week, I love (recent) history. My company is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. I performed some light research to determine the more significant events that have occurred since my company opened for business. You know what? A lot of interesting stuff has happened in the last 75 years! I never enjoyed history classes because I couldn't relate to things that happened in the 1600's. But I find that the closer the even happened to my lifetime, the more interest I'll show in that event. Landing on the moon, inventions, cultural moments - stuff like that. I want to learn more about World War II now. If there is a must-read book about WWII out there, let me know about it!

This week, I don't like being torn about not attending the viewing of Auburn's BCS Coach's Trophy. The trophy was paraded at a few Wal Marts in Georgia and Alabama last week. It also made a stop very near to our house here in Birmingham. I figured that since this location was an Academy Sports and not a Wal Mart, it wouldn't be considered too tacky if I were to have my photo taken with the trophy. I really, really, really wanted to go but opted not to at the last moment. I had that rotten feeling you get when you pass up one of those "now or never" moments. But, it turns out that A LOT of people went with their gut feeling. I'm glad I missed that big crowd. I'm not sure about the caliber of fans at the Academy Sports though. Reports show that some interesting characters showed up at the Wal Mart stops prior to the Birmingham appearance.

A Weekend to Remember

2011-01-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday my in-laws arrived. They came in town for a visit and to watch the National Championship game with us.

On Sunday afternoon we started to get some freezing rain...then sleet...then snow. This pattern continued through the night and into the day on Monday.

This probably doesn't seem like a lot to some of you who are used to frozen tundras but for us here in Alabama this shuts the city down...literally.

Monday - NO WORK!!!! Which worked out really well and allowed me to prepare for our National Championship party!

Here we are before the game....calm, cool, and collected. (Wellllll maybe not calm.)

And here we are after the game! Auburn wins!!!!!! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!

Couponing = Cluttered Pantry

2011-01-15T16:32:00.001-06:00

For all of you who coupon I am sure you have this problem as well...NO SPACE. I went from buying 1 box of cereal a week to 4 and 1 bottle of salad dressing now I have 9 in my pantry. Love those saving, but man my pantry was out-of-control.

This post would have been so much more effective had I taken a before picture, but I didn't. Just take my word...it was bad!

Not anymore...nice and organized!

Yes folks that is 9 bottles of salad dressing...but at $ .15 each I can't help myself!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2011-01-13T17:39:00.000-06:00

This week, I like feeling better. I came down with a bad cold right before Christmas. My symptoms included a failing voice, lots of coughing and lots of congestion in my chest. Nearly a month later, I can now say that I've kicked the cold. I still suffer from an occasional cough but I think that's because my body is used to coughing - it's just a normal reflex now.

This week, I love the Auburn Tigers! Who would have imagined a national championship? Not this season - but ever?!?! I don't want to take a way from Oregon's great play but I think the Auburn players were rusty and nervous - particularly Cam Newton. But they got the job done and brought home the crystal! How about that Auburn defense?!?!

This highlight doesn't include the safety.

Thumbs up to: The Auburn Defense, Michael Dyer and Special Teams.
Thumbs down to: Nick Fairley's personal foul penalty, Eric Smith's missed block that almost killed Cam, Eric Smith's dropped touchdown pass and Eric Smith's personal foul penalty.

This week, I don't like ice. On January 9th, we received a constant pelting of tiny frozen rain droplets at our house. These droplets stuck together and formed a thick sheet of ice over...everything outdoors. The temperature has been so cold this week that much of that ice remains. I'm sick of looking at it. It's not snow...it's ice. I'd probably have a different outlook if it was snow. Snow is fun. Ice is not fun. By the way, what happened to the 8 inches of snow we were supposed to get in central Alabama? Sign me up to be a meteorologist because not having to account for false information seems like easy money to me.

Corman Christmas

2011-01-08T16:03:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas with my family in Auburn. Because my sister is in graduate school in London this will be the last time we are all together until October...so it was nice to enjoy several days together before she went back to school.

Christmas is somewhat more "relaxed" in our family these days. My parents moved to Auburn several years ago from my hometown of Atmore. We are thrilled they are in Auburn, but it is strange to not be in Atmore especially at Christmas simply because so many of our traditions centered around our house, our Church, but most importantly the people there.

Also Christmas tends to be more relaxed when the "kids" are all in their 20's and 30's. There is no getting up a the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought, we all take turns opening presents, and the afternoon is spent napping or watching TV not playing with or putting together toys.

Don't get me wrong...I look forward to childish Christmas' again, but for now I do enjoy the low key relaxed celebration we have going at the moment.

Nick and I were up first so this is us waiting on everyone to get up...I think we actually started opening presents around 10:30!

"Never-thought-I'd-say-this" Post

2011-01-07T16:23:00.001-06:00

Auburn University's football team is playing for the national championship on Monday, January 10th, 2011.

Burlap Tree Skirt

2011-01-04T19:45:00.002-06:00

Some of you remember this post where I stated that I was going to attempt to make my own version of the Ballard Designs Burlap Tree Skirt. Well I did it...and I thought it turned out really well.

I know this post would have been much better to have done BEFORE Christmas, but I got busy and didn't get around to it. Sorry!

I did not take pictures as I went, but I used this series of videos and it was very helpful:

http://www.monkeysee.com/play/4198-how-to-make-a-custom-christmas-tree-skirt

We have a smaller tree so I wanted my skirt to have a 36 inch diameter. For that size these are the supplies I used:

2 yards of ivory burlap (probably could have used a little less, but I wanted to be sure I had enough)
2 yards of blackout lining
3 1/4 yards of ivory fringe

I don't think she talks about this in the video, but to determine the amount of fringe you need take your diameter (36 inches for me) and multiply it by 3.2 (36 x 3.2= 115.2 inches). Then convert to yards.

I was able to buy all of the supplies from Joann's either on sale for 50% off or with a 40% off coupon. In all I think I spent about $27.

Correction

2011-01-01T15:48:00.000-06:00

My husband got MOST everything correct in his 2010 review, however it seems that I must have missed an anniversary because I sure thought in April we celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Nick if you are right....you owe me a present!

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-29T18:13:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

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

2010-12-22T18:57:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-21T14:00:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-21T09:29:00.002-06:00

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

2010-12-15T07:18:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

~~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.....

2010-12-09T14:54:00.000-06:00

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

2010-12-04T17:30:00.003-06:00

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

2010-12-01T19:00:00.007-06:00

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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T13:04:00.000-06:00

It is worth it!

2010-11-21T08:45:00.000-06:00

So who doesn't coupon these days? I know most all of my friends do and now my mom is even getting in on the action (the lady who never shopped sales...ever)! She calls me now to tell me about deals I need to look out for and we share coupons...never thought this would happen.

I started using Southern Savers about this time last year. Since then I shop strictly at Publix and CVS. Before couponing I shopped at Wal-Mart. I thought it would be interested to compare my grocery spending from:

May 2009 - November 2009

and

May 2010 - November 2010

Why May? Well Nick and I got married in April so May was when I started buying for two and we started keeping track of our spending. So here it goes:

Total spent on groceries from May 09-Nov. 09 = $3,422.54
Average Weekly Spending = $122.23

Total spent on groceries from May 10-Nov.10 = $2,599.20
Average Weekly Spending = $92.83

Thats a 24% savings...and I get to shop at Publix rather than Wal-Mart!!!

I know $30 a week doesn't seem like a lot, but multiply that times 52 weeks and I am saving about $1,560/year. I like it!

Couponing does require good bit more work and more planning, but to me the saving are worth it!

Like, Love and Don't Like

2010-11-17T18:12:00.002-06:00

This week, I like NBA Jam. A version of this video game classic has recently been released for modern gaming systems. The new installation features an HD likeness of current and past players PLUS some of the classic catch phrases have been brought back! Admit it...you still say BOOM SHAKA LAKA to yourself after completing a task of any significance. If only there was some type of list on which to write the title of this game to indicate my interest in owning this game...

This week, I love talking with my wife. Julie and I have had some really down-to-earth good talks lately. I have enjoyed these open discussions. We've started conversations while preparing dinner and continued them throughout the evening until it was time to brush our teeth. Unfortunately, these chats are soon to be a thing of the past now that Julie can text. Julie recently shed the title of "Last Person in America without a Texting Plan". Here's an example of how our conversations now unfold:

Julie: Hey. Need you to pick up some things at the grocery store your way home.
Me: No problem honey! I'll be glad too! What do you need?
Julie: Need you to pick up some french fries.
Me: OK! Is there anythin-
Julie: Get some Sprite too.
Me: Sprite. Got it. Can't wait to see yo-
Julie: And some Rice Crispies.
Me: Sure thing. I love you!

Ten minutes later...

Julie: U2

This week, I Don't Like red vehicles with Auburn flags/decals. Have you noticed how many maroon or fire-engine-red vehicles are sporting Auburn flags, stickers or magnets these days? Naturally, sightings of these items have increased due to Auburn's success on the football field this season. It's just the sight of the Auburn orange on a red car irks me. You never see a navy vehicle with Bama stickers or flags all over it. I know that there are unique instances in which a driver does not have direct influence on the color of their vehicle. But going forward, the law now states that if you are an Auburn fan, you are not to purchase a vehicle that is painted any shade of red.

Like, Love and Don't Like

2010-11-10T21:25:00.000-06:00

This week, I like HootSuite. I'm responsible for managing my employer's social media sites. Coming up with content is challenging enough but simultaneously keeping up with Twitter and Facebook is even more difficult. Always late to the game, I finally stumbled upon the concept of a social media dashboard. HootSuite seemed to fit my needs better because it allows me to post on my company's Facebook Fan Page (you may remember this earlier post that included my disdain for Facebook). Other dashboards, like TweetDeck, are great too but don't have the Fan Page capability that I need. You can even manage your blog from some of these dashboards. Try one out for yourself and you'll be able to update all of your social media outlets with one click.

This week, I love getting stuff done online. This week, Julie and I have done everything from ordering a pizza to upgrading her cell phone through the magic of the internet. In a few days or weeks, when my Christmas shopping commences, there won't be any crowded stores and long traffic lines for me because I'll be Cyber Santa this year. The extra costs I may have to pay for shipping will be well worth the price of being able to stay away from the crowds.

This week, I don't like the Cam Newton drama. My golf buddy Clay is always scolding me for being so quick to succumb to negative thoughts about Auburn football. He really let me have it before the season started when I asked if this would be Gus Malzahn's (Offensive Coordinator) last season at Auburn! Even though I'm trying to keep positive thoughts about Cam's situation, it's getting more difficult as more allegations come to light. The timing is bad and I hate it for Cam and his family but what really gets me is the possible notion that the Auburn coaches bent the rules to construct a top-5 recruiting class this year. I can't envision Coaches Chizik, Trooper, Luper and the rest of the staff being so careless that they would utilize improper techniques to get players to attend Auburn. Cam may have cheated on tests at Florida and his father may have requested money in return for his son's commitment, but I just can't believe that the decision makers at Auburn would have any part of any wrongdoing.

Here's hoping that Auburn (and Cam) can put all of this behind them and end Georgia's four-year winning streak this weekend! If it all turns out to be rotten, that will be too bad. But how awesome has it been to watch this guy?!?!?

Roman Shades

2010-11-06T19:50:00.002-05:00

Yes I have lived in this house for 5 1/2 years and yes I am just now getting around to window treatments downstairs. I honestly don't know why it has taken me this long to get my act together. I have big plans for the downstairs so stay tuned for more decorating progress. For now here are the roman shades I made for the breakfast room window.

Before

After

Since we already had blinds (and we rarely close them) I decided to take the easy route and do fixed roman shades...meaning they don't go up and down.

Next on the agenda is to finish up the Christmas outfit (smocked of course) for Kiley's new baby girl, Anna Kathryn! Isn't she precious. Cannot wait to get to St. Louis and hold her.

Then I plan to try and make a Christmas tree skirt similar to this:

I love this tree skirt from Ballard Designs but not for $50! I bought all of the materials for about $20 today. I will post pictures soon.

The Baggetts

Picture Post

The Day Our World Changed

Hellooooo Graham!

2011 Year in Review

Like, Love and Don't Like

Interview with Julie

Like, Love and Don't Like

Happy Thanksgiving!

Making of a Nursery - Part 4

Showered....more like Immersed

Like, Love and Don't Like

Making of a Nursery - Part 3

Like, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Skirted Table

Come on Down! You're the next contestant on the.....

Making of a Nursery - Part 2

Like, Love and Don't Like

33

Like, Love and Don't Like

Making of a Nursery - Part 1

Like, Love and Don't Like

Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

July

Like, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Brother PE 770

2 + 1 = 3

Like, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Live, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Calligraphy, Visit from my Parents, and Company Coming

Painting the INSIDE of the front door BLACK

Front Door Revamp

Like, Love and Don't Like * Special Edition

Help!

Bathroom Tile

Framed Mirror

Like, Love and Don't Like

I've Been Tagged

Fabric Organization

Kitchen Knobs

SOLD

More de-BRASSING

Like, Love and Don't Like

1991

Word of the Week

Key Ring App

Like, Love and Don't Like

Sew, Momma, Sew! - Pillow Month

The Mug

Organization - Patterns

Like, Love and Don't Like

A Weekend to Remember

Couponing = Cluttered Pantry

Like, Love and Don't Like

Corman Christmas

"Never-thought-I'd-say-this" Post

Burlap Tree Skirt

**Correction**

2010 Year in Review

Camden Christmas

Like, Love and Don't Like

Christmas Bubble

Christmas Card 2010

Coming to your mailbox

Making my list...and checking it twice

Nothing Says Merry Christmas quite like.....

Wish List

Like, Love and Don't Like

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is worth it!

Like, Love and Don't Like

Like, Love and Don't Like

Roman Shades

Correction