Thanksgiving Menu: Roasted Rebels and Golden Eggs

In the nick of time, we started moving into our new place on a Saturday and left to go home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday night. I would hardly call it "moving", more like "dumping". With twice the stuff, and half the help, moving was quite exhausting. We did con some friends of ours, the Christmas family, to help. We promised them food. Works every time. Don't know what we would've done without them.

Anyway, we managed to scramble up enough clean clothes to visit our families, who hosted the first cooked meal we'd had on real plates in a week. Very nice. I was GREAT to see our families and be back home for a few days.

With our new head coach (Dan the Man), and over-rated Ole Miss season, there was no way we were going to miss the Egg Bowl, clean clothes or not, so we squeezed in a quick trip to Starkville. Mom and Dad joined, which was a lot of fun.

If anyone missed it, the Dawgs MAN HANDLED the Rebels in a 41-27 victory. It was awesome. The cowbells thundered as Mullen assured everyone which " only Mississippi team on the rise" is. We loved it. Go Dawgs.

Hectic, but Happy

Since my last post, we've had quite some changes take place!!!! We went into November fully expecting own our first home for the holidays. To make a long story short, the house we were going to buy fell through, leaving us ONE WEEK to find a new place to live and move. (Someone already had our apartment rented immediately after our lease expired in November.)

This of course caused a famous emotional breakdown, which just happened to occur over a dinner of roast and potatoes. After I burst into tears, Jeremie gave me the reassuring: "the foods really good, honey" look. I assured him I knew the food was good, but I was just frustrated and didn't feel like starting all over again looking for somewhere to live. But we didn't have a choice, so the next day we reluctantly (and bitterly might I add) started looking for rental homes. We refused to live in another apartment; we enjoy the outdoors too much! Jeremie and I rode around town that Saturday rolling in self pity that we had to house hunt again. We were tired, disappointed, and most of all, very grumpy. We were not unhappy with each other, just the situation. (Later, we reminded ourselves that a house is a material thing, we should be counting our blessings, instead of whining...)

Later in the week, we found a couple possibilities, and for the mere fact that we wanted to go home for Thankgiving (which would require us to move that weekend) we decided to settle for a house in the middle of town, and sign a six month lease until we figured out what step to take next. It wasn't our optimal choice, but the alternative was homelessness! Time was ticking away, and we only had a few more days to find something and move. On Thursday, during another close-to-emotional-breakdown at work, I stopped what I was doing, told God I couldn't worry about it anymore, and asked him to just take care of it. About 30 minutes later, a work friend of mine called and we got to talking about our house situation. He told me he had something in mind for us, and said he'd call me back in a few minutes. Next thing I knew, Jeremie was heading out to meet him and the owner of the possible rental. This is what he found us:


Needless to say, we were pretty darn excited. The cabin is on a man's property who owns about 400 surrounding acres. There is a pond, live oaks, and according to Jeremie, most importantly, a "Man Cave" downstairs. We felt relieved and BLESSED. Jeremie pointed out that the situation should remind us of how out of control we are, and how in control God is!

We love being out in the country and having so much room to "play". The picture above is before we moved in, so I have "re-decorated". We like to call it "Lodge Wells"......

In the Mix......

With a few random items, this will be a mixture of a post.

A few weeks ago, we headed to "God's Country" AKA Starkville, for Homecoming. It just happened to be our 5 month anniversary, so it was very strange being back on campus for the first time since the wedding. Passing by the chapel almost brought tears to my eyes. J and I took some time to walk around campus a little while and eat some yummy cookies a the Bakery.

Gameday was actually very chilly and muddy as it had rained the night before. But you can't keep a real Bulldog away; we still set up our tent and tailgated as usual. Between Meg, Mary, Amy and I, of course we didn't go hungry! We had a great time and it was awesome to see our friends.




On a different note, life here in Tally is great. The more we are here, the more we love it. We've met some great friends, found an awesome church, and are also part of a small group that is studying a book called "The Reason for God." It is really great and is opening our eyes to how important is to share our faith with others,the power of prayer, and an awareness of others' needs. The group makes us feel like family, and is really helping us grow.

Tally is a neat town in the fact that it's the capital, but has a small town feel as well. People are very friendly and welcoming. The old live oaks are a beautiful back drop, and if you drive just a few miles out, you're in the country. I was headed to a land auction the other day, and had to stop the car to let these ALBINO deer cross the road. It was crazy!






That being said, we do miss our friends and family very much, so feel free to visit!!!!

Bigger is Better

Whew! I am majorly behind on my posts! Between our jobs, trying to buy a house, and life in general, we've been pretty busy. Work and home buying negotiation wouldn't make for the most excited blog, so I'm devoting this blog to my sweet husband, and all you men out there who really think Bigger is Better.

Since being married, I've noticed that my husband has a "liking" if you will, for oversized stuff.

We'll start with our latest purchase, Jeremie's dream TV. Granted he's researched for a year about what kind he wanted, he finally announced one day after church that we should head to Best Buy to make the "investment". After I quizzed him if he had prayed about this, or if it just had to do a little bit with the start of college football the upcoming weekend, he assured me that he'd saved up and waited long enough. So with a twinkle in his eye like a little kid on Christmas, we bought the Big Boy. Jeremie was literally singing a little chant as we loaded it up in the truck. I have to say, I've now become ADDICTED to HD. We spent about 3 days switching it quickly back and forth from Regular to HD, and you'd think the TV had pulled a rabbit out of a hat, you should have heard the OOOOO'SSSS and AHHHH'SSS. Take a look at the difference.




Jeremie also has a regular laptop, and also a computer that he takes to clients to show them their product, all for an easier viewing experience. : ) Granted, it is nice to watch stuff on, but still cracks me up at what men can come up with.



And last but not least, what I would think is one of Jeremie's HIGHLIGHTS of the year, (besides getting married, ofcourse) is the unveiling of MSU's Jumbotron, which I like to call the TV in the Sky. Of course, since Ole Miss was building one too, we had to make our just a few feet bigger. Ha. It's pretty awesome and sometimes I find myself watching it instead of the field.


My last manly salute to my hubby is from a few weeks ago, when we went to Mississippi. The house we are hoping to buy has a little over an acre, therefore, lots of mowing to do. Jeremie's dad graciously donated their old riding lawnmower to the cause, and J would have nothing else but to go back through Richton on the way back to Tally to pick up his new toy. We arrived in Tally around 9:30 p.m. Not wanting to leave it out on the trailer, J fired it up and drove it off the trailer and THROUGH our apartment parking lot into the storage garage. Note, we pretty much live in the middle of town; it was hilarious. I'm sure our neighbors wondered what the heck was going on and appreciate the loud noise. Judging by the grin on his face, J was already happy with his new man toy.

A Newlywed Reunion

A few weeks ago, Jeremie and I headed down to St. Augustine, a town we were looking forward to visiting ever since J moved to Tally. Since we are big history buffs, the Nation's Oldest City was definately on the list of things to do.

To give you some background: While on our honeymoon, we were headed out for a snorkeling trip and a spotted a guy with a shirt that had a Nintendo-esk picture of a bride and groom on it that said "Game Over". Jeremie and I though it was hilarious, and we got to talking to the fellow and his new wife, who had gotten married the same day as us. Low and behold, we were all the way in Negril Jamaica, and our new friends, Bart and Jennifer, were from St. Augustine. We had a great time hanging out in Negril and agreed to visit each other in Florida.

So we took them up on that offer a couple weeks ago and headed down there. My dear friends that have only my best interest at heart, were a little questionable that we were going to spend the whole weekend with people we'd only "met for a few days". They asked "What if they're crazy???" "They could be on America's Most Wanted for all you know!" The funny thing was that Bart & Jennifer's friends were asking them the same thing! I just laughed and assured everyone that these were the type of folks you meet and feel like you've known forever.

After delicious banana pancakes, Bart & Jennifer gave us a great tour of the town. We visited the old fort, which was amazing, and walked around the AWESOME market downtown. We also visited where they got married, and must I even say, we ate like kings and queens. (Bart & Jenn share our love for food.) We had a blast and I don't think there was a silent minute between the four of us, other than when we were sleeping. They are such a fun couple. Below are some of our pics from the trip.

House Hunting, Church Search, and a Wii we go......

Just to catch you up on our everyday, I'm going to do montage of a posting, so try not to lose me.... ; )

One of the most excited things for us starting out as a new married couple has been our "church search". There are so many great churches here in Tallahassee, and J and I want to make sure we find the right one where we can serve the Lord best. We have literally been to probably 7 churches. It has actually been really neat, because every church has such different "personalities". And it's also given us the opportunity to hear some awesome preachers, again, all different. One actually broke out in a baritone version of an old church hymn smack dab in the middle of his sermon. It was hilarious. One particular church gave us a loaf of bread for visiting. Now THAT'S a church after our own heart. Haha..just kidding. The preaching was equally great there and we met some amazing people, who actually invited us to lunch afterwards. They have 3 PRECIOUS children, with number 4 on the way. Another couple joined us that has a 10 month old. There was screaming. There was jumping. The 10 month old actually climbed out of her high chair ONTO the dining table. She looked safe to me, so I just let her crawl around. I really would've caught her if something happened, but the mama told me, no, she's really not supposed to crawl ON the table and she laughingly told me she wouldn't call me to babysit. Ha. I really did offer to babysit, but made sure they knew I don't know how to change a diaper. But the 6 year old assured me she would teach me. After a fabulous and fun lunch, I left the extra brownies I made on the kitchen table for the kids as our friends walked us out. The next week I got word that while we were outside the dog actually jumped ON the kitchen table and ate all the chocalate brownies. We probably won't be invited back. We went home exhausted and in complete agreement that we are NO WHERE close to wanting a child. Sorry Carol.

ANYWAY........I really don't know how I got into that story. But, bottomline is we are excited about the church that God will lead us to and can't wait to get involved.

Now to a random topic that I mentioned in the last post, which is our new toy, the Wii!!!!! Jeremie and I have wanted one for a long time, and with some of our wedding gift cards, we made the big purchase. It is SO MUCH fun. The first night we played, we were so sore the next morning, we felt bruised. Pitiful. We don't have many games right now, but tennis and bowling are our favorites. Jeremie likes the boxing, which is quite entertaining to watch, b/c it obviously makes him feel like Rocky. When I heard him yelling "Adrianne!!!!!!" in the living room the other day, I yanked out the video camera, which I will upload the footage soon. You have to see. It's like the boy won the big gold belt. Hands in the air, sweat running down his face. Sometimes I sing "Eye of the Tiger" just to humor him. It's great.

Just for all of you who have read that we've spent our gift cards on camping gear and a Wii, don't worry, we really have used the bulk of our gift cards on our china and traditional wedding items. I can't wait to entertain with all of it. Some of the Vietri is still on the way.

Another main issue in our lives right now is house hunting......which is proving to be a little more difficult than we expected. Our lease runs out in December, and we are both tired of apartment living. This town is pretty large, so there's just so much to look at. This weekend was our first real time to go into homes and look, and we didn't really end up with any contenders. Two of the homes we looked at smelled like a mixture of smoke and wet dog. Another one had a power line complete with transmitors in the backyard, and another one was so close to the neighbor you could shake hands through your bedroom window. We drove home tired, discouraged, and frustrated. We needed a good laugh. A smile. And this man riding down the road did just the trick. Took from J's phone.

Nuff said.

The Taylors Visit Tally!!!

Wow. I've been terribly neglecting the blog! We have been staying busy, especially last weekend; we had our first company....

The running joke when we got married was that no one could visit us until August. (It has literally taken us that long to find a place for/hide all of our stuff.) Well, just guess shows up on JULY 31ST........Lee and Carol!!! hahaha....Actually Mom's birthday was August 5th, so we let them slide.

Mom and Dad arrived on a RAINY Friday afternoon. The 5 hour drive had definately done them in, so we calmed them down with a fabulous meal. Jeremie cooked cream cheese & jalapeno stuffed porkloin, and I made "smashed" potatoes, squash, and bread. Delicious! After we recovered from the meal, we challenged Mom and Dad to a pleasant bowling game on our new Wii. (More a/b that later.) Beings that Mom and Dad have never played a Wii before made for quite a funny crash course. Mom was noticeably better than Dad at the bowling. Now, if you know anything about my family, especially my Dad, everything is a competion. Second place is the first loser. So after some more practice, we played wives against husbands. The husbands won, and that's all I have to say about that. (Jeremie would yell if I didn't report that.) Just to level the playing field though, I destroyed him in tennis. It was actually sad. Ha.

The next day we headed to a plantation about 30 minutes from here called Pebble Hill Plantation. It was absolutely gorgeous! The plantation was purchased as a "summer home" in the early 1900's. This modest summer home was 31,000 square feet! Our whole apt. was the size of ONE of the 19 bathrooms. That's right. 19. The plantation was complete with amazing stables, schoolhouse, gardens, etc. Check out the pics

I was literally about to eat that horse by the time we left I was so hungry. So we headed to Harry's, one of Jeremie's and my favorite restaurants. Recharged and regenerated (okay, I admit, we all took a short nap) we decided the next competitive event was going to be goofy golf and go kart racing at Fun Station. Goofy golf was great, even better, because I was again,
completely embarrasing my husband in front of all the other families. Who knew I was such a good putter? Actually, Dad was beating everyone, but again, losing is not an option. As we made it to the last hole, I counted up the score. I was ahead by several strokes, and J discouragingly made his way to putt. I was pretty much telling him he played like a girl when he hit a hole in one! A little intimated, but not worried (as I had pared most of my shots)I hit the ball. And again, and again and again and again. That's right, 5 times. My crappy ending let J beat me. I was so enraged that I almost counted the score again. I hate losing to Jeremie b/c he will never let you forget. But this week the preacher spoke about pride, so I'm trying to re route my thoughts. ; )

Sunday was church and after that Dad, Mom and I headed to the Tallahassee Museum. It was a really neat place that was mostly outdoors with anything from a wildlife walk to snakes to a mini farm. We got to see foxes and panthers and bears, oh my! (Just had to say it) It was a good time. Our favorite interests include nature and history, so it was perfect.

Mom and Dad are fun and it was great to spend some quality time with them. It was great to see family and actually really strange to have our family come visit US in OUR home. Jeremie and I are usually meeting in the middle at our families' homes. We still can't believe that not only do we live in the same town but the same house!!!!! Marriage is still so fresh and it's really amazing. I feel like luckiest girl in the world every day.