Born on the 4th of July

Michael was born on the 4th. He likes to tell me that his birthday is SO special that they have fireworks to celebrate "his" big day. His parents and little brother, Jeremi, decided to take a trip down to see the new house and help us celebrate. They got here on Friday night and we grilled out and had birthday cake. We then went up to the top of the parking deck at the school of public health (where I work) to watch Birmingham’s fireworks display. If we could have chopped a tree or two down, it would have been a PERFECT view.

After the fireworks extravaganza, we went back to the house and sat around a fire. Michael LOVES to see things burn…candles, fireplace, fire pit…it doesn’t matter. My mom gave him a fire pit for his birthday and we have already used it twice…and it is JULY. I can’t even imagine how much we are going to use it once things get a little cooler. The fire must have hypnotized me because Jeremi and I made plans of doing the Soulja Boy dance together for Michael’s family at Christmas this year. I am a terrible dancer, so the sooner I start practicing the better.

On Saturday we all went to the Vulcan. Jeremi had never been before, so I think he was entertained.

After visiting the god of the forge, I decided I was in the mood for some homemade bread. A little background may be necessary, I think homemade bread is so delicious. I think it makes it seemed like you “worked hard” on even the simplest meal (for example, sandwiches). I have tried multiple times to make homemade bread in a bread machine. Every time I get my hopes up and every time they are dashed. People who use a bread machine say “it’s not hard” which makes me feel like a moron because I CAN’T GET IT TO WORK. I mentioned my bread making woes to Vicki, Michael's mom, and since she is a bread making expert she agreed to give me a tutorial. Thanks to her expertise, the bread turned out pretty good. Homemade bread is best just out of the bread machine (I think). By the time we got around to eating this batch, it had cooled down, but it was definitely my best attempt to date. After dinner, we decided to go with Jeremi to see The Forbidden Kingdom at the dollar theater. I was moderately entertained, BUT I am not sure I would be excited about having to watch it a second time. My less than enthusiastic recommendation should be taken with a grain of salt-The Forbidden Kingdom is a martial arts flick and that is DEFINITELY not my favorite genre. Every time I go to the dollar theater I am struck by how hilariously ghetto it is (Martina, don’t you and Camron love going? Do you think it is ghetto?). I guess it’s true that you get what you pay for. Seems like the boys felt like they got their moneys worth.

Sunday Michael’s fam headed home. Happy belated birthday, America and Hubby!

Senior Trip

Michael graduated a little over three weeks ago and is about to join the working world. We felt like it would be fun if we took a mini-Senior trip to celebrate this transition. We just bought a house, so a lot of our "play money" has gone to that lately, so we decided to zip over to Atlanta for a couple of days of rest and relaxation.
Nothing says rest and relaxation like Braves baseball, right? Michael truly does love watching baseball...minor league, major league...it doesn't matter...he is entertained. I, on the other hand, like about 5 innings and then I am kind of over it. Thursday night we went to see the Braves play the Marlins. I have to say that there were a couple of things made this game exciting:

1. One of my very best friends from college, Jennifer Burnley, was there and sat with us during the game. She and I got to catch up which made the game fly by. It is always so good to see her!
2. Micheal graduated high school with Josh Willingham, one of the Marlins players. We got to the game a little early and got a chance to see him and even got our picture taken with him. Josh is unfortunately on the "hurt player" list right now, so we didn't get to see him play, but going down to the field to see our friend the major league base player still made me feel like a VIP;)
3. Chipper Jones, Braves 3rd baseman (for all you non baseball fan), hit his 400th homerun. 400 freakin homeruns. It was actually a little emotional. He got a standing ovation, everyone was so excited...it was hard not to buy into the mayhem a little bit.

Friday morning we went to IKEA. This is my second IKEA experience and I am still totally amazed by it. There is just SO much to see. Michael was impressed for about 30 minutes, so it was a much shorter trip than the last time I went (with a girlfriend of mine). I got to see everything I wanted to see, though, and am ever amazed by how well designed that store is. I am realizing, though, that IKEA's cheap prices are tricky. You feel like you can buy a bunch of stuff and then there is some "sticker shock" when you get to the register. Thankfully, we didn't do too much damage.

Friday afternoon we went and got a couple's massage. I truly believe a massage is one of life's simple (or maybe I should say luxurious) pleasures. We went to a place called Buckhead Massage. I am always a little leery when I go to a new massage person, but my girl, Charlene, was great. Micheal said his girl pulled his hair (kind-a weird), so I was glad he had his masseuse and I had mine.

Friday night we went to a eat a CELEBRATION dinner at a place called Restaurant Eugene. Michael and I both love a good meal (honestly, though, who doesn't), but sometimes it is hard for me to find a good place to eat in a town I don't know a lot about. There is this website called chowhound where folks post restaurant reviews about restaurants in various cities (everybody else may already know about this, but I am kind of new to the chowhound scene). That's where we got the recommendation for Restaurant Eugene and it turned out to be delicious. As a matter of fact, the chef at Restaurant Eugene was one of the 5 nominees for Southeastern Chef of the year. I looked last night and turns out he didn't win, but I still give him two enthusiastic thumbs up. YUMMY.

Saturday morning we got up had a delicious Embassy Suites breakfast and headed home. It really was such a great trip.

Beginnings

Michael and I are members of a “Core Group” at the church we go to in Birmingham. A lot of the girls in our group have started blogs. I am the latest in the string. Normally, I am not one to point fingers, but I think some of this epidemic in our group is to be blamed on one - Jamie Grizzle. She volunteers to help you to design your blog and then next thing you know…you have one. She does such a fabulous job setting things up that it is almost wrong not to use it. She is a sly one. This brings me to my thoughts of the day…beginnings. I think it is so fun to start fresh. Who knows what this blog will turn into…I may post everyday…this may be my one and only post…but it is exciting to think of what it may turn in to. Another big reason this is on my mind is because Michael and I bought our first house 2 weeks ago. I have really enjoyed dreaming about what the house is going to look like when we put “our touch” on it. How will the bathroom look without the pepto-bismol pink tiles? Do we want to paint the walls? If yes, what colors? Where do we want to hang pictures on these freshly painted walls? What kind of plants should we plant in the backyard? It is enough to make a girl’s head spin. I keep having to put the brakes on my train of thought and give myself the “it’s a marathon not a sprint” speech. I am just so curious to see the finished product that I am having a hard time pacing myself. So there you have it…the beginning of a blog. Thanks again, Jamie, for setting this up. Oh, and stay tuned I am going to try to post pictures of the new “crib” in the next day or so.

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