Treasures in the Attic 3 (kind-of)

My 'assault' on the mess in my attic is really not living up to the grand idea I had at the beginning of the year, but I'm not giving up.  However, I am finding all sorts of ways to 'count' things that probably don't really count towards this goal I set.  It makes me feel better.  ha. 

So after about 17 years, my lovely patterned sofa and loveseat, along with badly faded curtains and desperately-needed-to-be-replaced gross carpet have finally all been tossed out.  It was almost funny to see how excited my kids were about replacing those couches - they've been embarrassed by them for a very long time.  That pattern was so 90's....  haha.  But it's been fun getting new things and the family room is starting to come back together.  Of course, now I'm trying to find new odds and ends to decorate a room that has completely changed color - AND - now that the family room is looking all fresh and new, it is making the kitchen look like it needs a fresh coat of paint and a color change.  And we can't decide on a color.  Or I should say *I* can't decide...  Anna and Jack have liked this one color for a while and after going and getting samples of 2 other colors and painting splotches of them all over the walls, I think I'm going to end up liking theirs after all.  :)

Anyways, so I'm counting getting rid of old things - my couches, curtains and carpet - as one more step towards getting my house in order.  (And for my English-loving friends, how do you like that use of alliteration?!?)   Here is a before picture:

 

And now an after picture:

 

Mandy is actually asleep on the floor behind the brown chair that we still aren't quite sure is going to stay in the room... but she is pretty sure we put in the nice new soft carpet just for her.  :)  I'll update again one of these days when I find lamps and tables and pictures for the mantle and all that stuff.  I need someone to shop for me and just do that - I just go, like I did today, and wander around furniture stores and get overwhelmed and come home with nothing. ;-) 

 

I guess my 'treasure' from all this was the couches - here they are just before they got picked up:

 

 

I was happy to see them leave the breakfast room, but I'm funny about things.  I attach memories to things and when the sofas went out the door, it felt like they took a lot of years and memories with them.  Like I have this image of Mackenzie burned into my mind sitting on the love seat when it was pretty much brand-new, with her backpack on, getting ready to go off to her first day of Kindergarten.  And lots more things like that.  It's kind-of silly, I know, because I really don't forget - but it's just a little nostalgic thing I go through.  So I took one last picture to remember them by.  :) 

 

But I am very much enjoying my new space and updated things.  Maybe I will tell stories about the painting and carpeting fiascos in another blog, but that's enough for today! 

 



UAB Bound!

We had a fun day yesterday taking Anna down to UAB for a Scholarship Reception at "The Club" overlooking the glorious panorama that is downtown Birmingham:  :) 

Now I personally think that this view is pretty, but Jack and Anna were mostly making fun of it - and of me - for thinking that.  But this is where Anna is planning to spend the next four years pursuing a higher education.  The plans for the moment are to get a BFA in Art and a minor in Biology so that she can go on to grad school and get a degree in Medical Illustration.  It all sounds very intimidating to me, but she is very excited about it!  This picture is not her favorite so it won't be showing up on social media, but she knows that not too many people frequent my blog so she didn't fight me about putting it up here.  ;-)

 

I'm just very proud of her and glad that all of her plans are coming together.  She and her friend Ruth signed up for housing together yesterday and are crossing their fingers that they will make it into the brand new freshman dorm.  And that is the news for now.  Here are a few more pics from the day...

 

 

And now all that is left to say is...  Go Blazers!  :)

 







Treasures in the Attic (2)

This idea I had of dealing with one thing I find in my attic every day has been very slow to develop!  I got a little sidetracked by my credit card mess in my office -- happy to report, though, that I have dealt with all of that and even organized a bit more in my office.  BUT, the idea was to get in my attic and get to work there.  SO, today I did that and here is what I found:   (aaaaaaaakk!!!)

Today's pile to deal with is this - the gift wrap jungle:

 

I dragged it all downstairs and this is what I sorted through.

I'm happy to report that I threw a whole bunch of stuff away, consolidated other stuff, and it's all tidied up now.  :)   My 'treasure' of the day in all of that was this 'Class of 2011' wrap that is still in there. (nice memories of Mackenzie's high school graduation - ha)  I wonder if Anna will mind if I cross out the last 1 and write in a 5 and use it to giftwrap her graduation gift a few months from now!?!  :)

Post Birthday Update...

A few more pictures.  We surprised Anna and took her out to dinner at The Melting Pot with her life-long BFF's Natalie, Kerry and Abby.  We had SO much fun and just laughed and laughed.  I hope that she will be able to keep up with these girls for many, many more years!  :)

Happy 18th Birthday Anna!

Oh my.  I can't believe my baby is turning 18 today! 

Time continues to march on and I can't quite figure out how to stop it - or at least slow it down!  :)  Here's a few favorite pictures...

 

 

Anna, from start to finish, is a beautiful girl with a gentle and caring heart and such a fun sense of humor.  She has always been the one in the family to keep us laughing and I am going to miss that as she graduates this year and moves off to college! 

But I am so proud of who she is and all that she has done... 

so Happy Birthday my sweet girl!!  :)

 



Junior Grace

Just a quick post and a couple of pictures of Anna.  She was invited to go to the Junior Grace dance this past Saturday night.  It's always fun to see the kids get all dressed up and uncomfortable (ha) for a night out on the town. 

Treasures in the Attic

In keeping with one of the many things that people resolve to do in the new year, I am going to try to 'de-clutter' my house this year.  My attic is starting to fill up with STUFF and the PILES that I tend to set aside to 'deal with later' are begging to be dealt with NOW.  So, in trying not to overwhelm myself, my thought is that I will deal with one pile that I find or one box from the attic per day (or more realistically, as I get to them) and slowly, but surely, I hope that I will throw out a whole lot of stuff in my house this year.  :)  This idea came to me in the shower on New Year's Day and along with it came the 'Treasures in the Attic' title for the blog.  I thought it would be fun to take pictures along the way of what I am tackling on any given day and talk about one thing that I find interesting along the way.  Of course, when I initially thought of this, I planned to start in the attic.  But then my office seemed to be a place where organization was more immediately needed.  :)  SO, here is my first picture of a pile that I started work on last night. 

 



Hopefully there are no criminals looking too closely at my credit card and trying to get the numbers there...   but really, no worries, I think that account is closed anyhow.  ha.  So confession...  this is a stack of Credit Card stuff that I have been meaning to deal with for a long time.  It's accounts that need to be closed because we don't use them anymore, etc.  I have been stacking stuff there for a while...  And here is my fun fact from this pile.  At the bottom of it I found a credit report - you know that free one you get every year...  well, apparently I decided one other time to deal with this stuff and ordered the 3 reports.  That was in June of 2011.  For real.  So embarrassing.  SO, the end result of this pile was that I cut up a bunch of cards, ordered a NEW credit report, and on my day off this Thursday when it's SUPER cold outside, I will be wrapped up in a blanket in my office cancelling credit cards and finishing off this pile of mess.  :)

 

I realize this might not be interesting to anyone else but me, but I'm trying to get myself motivated here.  Hope some of you will enjoy coming along with me in the journey! 

 

 

Happy New Year 2015!

A Happy (retro) New Year to you all!! 

 

I opened up my blog and I knew it had been a while, but I couldn't believe that I hadn't posted anything since last May!  But then, last May was about the time that most of life became focused on the WEDDING that happened in August and since then, well, I've been recovering and doing other things.  ha. 

So just to fill in the gaps from the last 7 months or so, here is what has been happening:

Last MAY we went to a lot of High School Graduations:

And we celebrated Jessica's graduation from Troy University with a dinner out at P.F. Changs with all the girls!  :)

 

Last JUNE we were finalizing a lot of wedding details, like the dress!

 

 

And our dining room looked like this:

 

And then we had an unexpected event - our van died...  on Jack's birthday, no less.  I was driving to work and the transmission just gave out.  I managed to limp it along and roll it into a parking space before we had to have it towed home, never to be revived.  :(   But that led to this...

 

Last JULY, we bought a new car:  (a really pretty Subaru Forrester which I just LOVE!!!!!)

 

 

And then Anna attended a 2 week art camp at the Memphis College of Art that helped her decide that she definitely wants to pursue a BFA in Art in college!  And we got to feel what it was going to be like to drop her off at college in the fall...  :`(

 

 

Then last AUGUST, we had this little event: 

Andrew and Mackenzie's wedding!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a truly spectacular day for a wedding!  You gamble a lot with what kind of weather you will get on August 2nd in Tennessee.  The day had been a bit overcast and we even heard some thunder off in the distance about 15 minutes before the ceremony started.  But then the clouds parted and the sun came out for a while - a breeze was blowing and well, I just felt like we were being very blessed with the best that could have happened.  :) 

 

A special thank-you to all the family you see here that lent their help and support in so many ways. I know my mom and dad took good care of people who came to the wedding that I just didn't have time to see like I would have wanted to.  I think there are probably some stories that my sister still hasn't told me about things that she just took care of without me knowing - like parking cars! (ha)  Not to mention pulling off all the details for a fantastic bridal luncheon!  My Aunt Carolyn who drove up from Pensacola with a car full of special decorations and treasures to make sure that the bridesmaids luncheon was extra-special for Mackenzie.  Then there was Adeline who saved the day by reviving and replanting all of my 15 reception table centerpieces that had wilted or completely died.  And if it hadn't been for Jack's mom, sister, and aunt I might STILL be setting up the barn for the reception.    Also a big thanks to the Burgess family for the awesome photos (thanks Jenna!!!) and much needed friendship, encouragement, and behind-the-scenes support along the way.  (Who else besides Jeff goes into a full on sprint across a field in search of the missing wedding rings only to save the day at the very last minute?!?) 

 

 

One story that has to be told... you know, the THING that has to go wrong at every wedding so that you have a crazy story to tell?  Well, besides having that moment 5 minutes before the wedding where we really didn't know where the rings were, THIS was the big story:  On Friday, the day before the wedding, while all the ladies were at a bridal lunch in Shelbyville, Jack decided to pass the time by going for a run.  Now, he runs all the time so this was a perfectly reasonable thing for him to do.  When I got back from a really fun time with the girls, I opened the door to our hotel room to find him with his foot propped up on a coffee table and ice wrapped around it!  I truly thought, for a moment, that it was a joke!  But then I took the ice pack off and saw this:

 

He had gotten about a mile out and stepped wrong off a curb and rolled his ankle.  My nephew Nathan had gone with him, so they managed to limp the mile back to the hotel.  At this point, we were just a hour or so away from the rehearsal dinner and he said, "It'll be fine.  I just rolled my ankle.  No need to go to the ER."  So off we went where he had to walk (hobble) around for the rest of the evening.  I wish I had a picture of how purple it was when we got in later that night -- ewww.    Anyways, he assured me he was fine and there was nothing that could be done about it anyway, so he went the rest of the weekend like that, including walking Mackenzie down the isle and the father/daughter dance at the reception.  He was a trooper, that's for sure.  When we got back to Huntsville on Sunday afternoon, we finally went to the ER.  Upon telling the triage nurse our story, she just looked at his ankle, shook her head at him, looked at it again, grimaced and said, "Yeah, that's probably broken."  It was.  Sooooo.....

 



Last SEPTEMBER, we recovered from a wedding AND a broken ankle.  :)   We also changed gears and Anna started visiting and applying to colleges.  We took a long weekend and traveled to Augusta, GA to visit Georgia Regents University to talk about their Medical Illustration program - very cool!  We went from there to Boone, NC to visit Jessica at Appalachian State and fell in love with the geography of that place!  We went back through Nashville to attend an Art Portfolio Day at Watkins College of Art and Design where Anna got to talk to colleges from all over the place.  Of all of that, App State certainly won favorite status just because of all the fun things you could do outdoors if you went to school there!  BUT, given that getting an education is a little higher up on the priority list, not to mention one that is affordable (if that is even possible when talking about college these days!)...

Last OCTOBER, we also did a couple of trips back and forth to Birmingham to Montevallo, Birmingham Southern, and UAB. 

Here we are with Jessica at App State:

We took bikes and did a great ride along the Augusta Canal - beautiful!:

And Anna was thoroughly embarrassed by this sign at Montevallo, but I took a picture anyway.  :)

 

Last NOVEMBER, Jack and I took a weekend trip to the beach in Destin and counted that as my birthday celebration.  :)  This was the view at lunch:

 

 And we are just terrible at selfies...

 

We were also fortunate to take our traditional Thanksgiving trip to Callaway Gardens for the Fantasy in Lights with Jack's family.  We got to have Andrew and Mackenzie with us and my nephew Taylor had his long-time girlfriend along, so our little family is growing! 

 





 

Finally, last DECEMBER, I did something totally new for me.  I went with Lisa to an Advent Retreat at the Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman.  It was very refreshing and was a great start to the Christmas season.  (Well, at least until we both suffered from some food poisoning later that night!  Maybe we shouldn't have told them that we weren't Catholic?  hahaha...  )

 

 

 

Then on this auspicious date, 12.13.14, we were thrilled to see Andrew and Mackenzie graduate from Lipscomb!  They both now have their Bachelor of Arts degrees in Ministry.  Mackenzie's concentration ended up being in theology and Andrew's is in preaching.  They are going to continue to live and work in Nashville for now and are considering graduate school at Lipscomb for next fall.  But it was great to celebrate this day and this milestone with them.  It's been a big year for the two of them.  :)

 

 

 

And of course there is Christmas.  My brother and his family didn't get to make the trip this year - probably cause we wore them out in August with the wedding! And we really missed them.   But again, we got to have Andrew and Mackenzie here for a few days.  (I'm trying not to get too spoiled and think this will always work out for both holidays, but I'm thankful it did this time!)  And my sister and her family came over.  It was lots of fun.

We may have to take these gifts back - they didn't work.  :(   (But we still love our team.  RTR!)

 

And as we finished out last year and are rounding into the New Year, Anna has decided that she is going to UAB in the fall and is really excited about that!  Well, except that their mascot is a dragon and their school colors are really ugly.  haha.  I told her if she's going to be an art major, perhaps she could start a campaign to change that.  ;-) 

So Happy New Year to all - and now that I am caught back up, I do have some plans for blogging more consistently.   More on that later because right now I am worn out from all this catching up!

 

A final salute from our two who will be graduating in May!