Alpaca Obsession..Maybe we need a support group ;)

Several years ago I was out at the Spirit of the Suwanne for an event. Beka & I were on our way to somewhere...(I can't exactly re-call where we were headed, but it was important i'm sure)....Anyhow, on our way I spotted what I thought were llamas...turns out they were Alpaca's! I fell in love...I ran and fetched Brad and showed him, and he was none too impressed...especially when I said I wanted one. You see we have a town house, and i think it would be close quarters. Then I suggested it live at Daddy's house, but Daddy didn't like that plan. So all these years I have loved, yet lived without an Alpaca. Beka & Jennifer J. are quite aware of my obsession, and they are nice enough to humor me. When I found out that the Spirit of the Suwannee was having an Alpaca Show of course I had to go!! Beka & Jenn were there because they've grown to share my fondness for the cuties, and Krista....poor Krista...She's just friends with us wierdos so she came to see how crazy people spend their days ;) Enjoy the pictures!!

Me & this guy were having a serious discussion about him coming to live with me.

TWINS :)

"Hey guys, look!! I got my ears did for the big show! Like my curls?"

He was really checking Jenn out ;)

This is Sam - he knows approximately 50 commands!...& he needs braces.

Beka & Krista - Alpaca Lovers lol!

ZUMBA!

Just wanted to tell everyone that I got my Zumba Instructor Certification!!! YAY!!

I'll be teaching classes at Blush (Beka's Dance Studio). Can't wait to get started!

I'll let ya know how it all goes...I'm kinda nervous.

2010!! Seriously?? I've been out of high school for 10 years?

I am old!! Those are really the only 3 words that belong in this post because I need to sit here and reflect.

How did 10 years go by so quickly?

Why do I still feel like i'm a young'un?

This isn't fair!!!...

Ok now that I got that out, i'll continue. After reflecting on my age....Brad & I went out to the Spirit of the Suwannee with some friends to see a band play. It was a good time :) We had dinner, cooked oysters, listened to good music, and spent some quality time with good people. The rest of the night went like this.......5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! GOODNIGHT!!! I'm old remember?...I had to go to bed ;)

Holly Jolly Christmas!

I absolutely LOVE Christmas. I love the decorations, the parties, the gifts, the smell of Christmas trees, Christmas songs, and everything that comes with it. On Christmas Eve we had dinner with Brad's family and opened our gifts with them. We both got clothes, gift cards, I got an awesome canvas print, Brad got cologne, and a few other things. Brad's mom is the best at picking out clothes for me. Everything always fits and is always sooo cute!! As i'm finishing gifts Brad says "Hunny, the rest of your present from mom and dad is at home".....So I try to stay focused, but naturally all I wanna do is get home and tear into "the rest" of my gifts. Eventually we wrap up the evening and head home. I was so excited to give Brad his gifts! I got him a Florida Gators tag and license plate & a new pair of Costa Del Mar Sunglasses! He LOVED everything. Then...It was my turn YAY!! Brad & his parents went in together and got me the Nikon camera that I had been drooling over for months! I was SOOO excited! Life is gooooood :)

The only thing I wasn't so thrilled about this year is that Brad had to work AGAIN. So when I got up at 4:00am to make his lunch I decided to go on out to Momma & Daddy's house. There's just something about waking up Christmas morning in the house you grew up in...I mean i'm not sure how Beka felt about me raiding her bed at 4:30 in the morning, but it was necessary. We eventually woke up, read about the birth of Jesus from Luke 2, and then opened gifts. Beka & I had asked for money. We're going on a road trip out west in June, and we need some dolla dolla bills ya'll ;) So when I opened my gift and found a book I was kinda confused, but hey....I love to read! Then as i'm skimming through the book i find something scattered between the pages....You guessed it....GREEN, BABY!! So we got our money and the book was sooo good. It was called "Shades of Blue" by Karen Kingsbury. Go read it....although there probably won't be money in your copy so don't get your hopes up...and don't be tryin to steal my Momma & Daddy ;) After gifts we had pancakes and bacon...mm...mm...good. After Breakfast I kinda waited around on Brad to get off work. When he got off we made his family rounds and then called it a very exhausting day. Hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas as well!! Thanks for everything guys!!! We love ya'll!!

Christmas on the Square & A Book Signing!

This past weekend was one of the best weekends I do believe i've ever had. Saturday morning we went down to the town square for "Christmas on the Square". There are always a million vendors selling the same thing pretty much every year. However....when you are only there to eat funnel cakes the repetition of the event doesn't effect your day in the least :)

Blush Dance Company's debut was scheduled for 12:15pm....and we were sooooo nervous!!! Beka completely pulled it off! She did an amazing job, my cloggers did an amazing job, and we had a really good crowd cheering us on. The studio has only been open since September, and Bex has been working her hiney off. I'm so proud of you Beka!!

After Christmas on the square it was time for the parade, football game, and bonfire. It was a perfect day.

Now this is where it gets good! January's Christmas present from me was a cookbook...I know that seems odd, but just bare with me for a minute. 2008-ish January discovered and introduced me to an amazing blog that has literally changed my life...."thepioneerwoman.com". (I posted about Pioneer Woman a whiiiiiiile ago if you wanna go catch up) PW's real name is Ree Drummond and all jokes aside....I want to be her when I grow up :) A couple months ago Ree's cookbook was released and she announced her book tour. When I saw ATLANTA on the the list I literally screamed....out loud. Brad just ignores my outbursts when it's related to PW. He know's I want to be her....and I think Brad secretly wants to be her cowboy husband "Marlboro Man" when he grows up ;) Anyhow, so I scream and decide that a road trip to the book signing would be the rest of January's gift!!!!! So now you should be caught up....Sunday afternoon we loaded up the truck and headed to ATL. Trips to Atlanta are always a treat because we get to hang out with Cody and Katie! They are amazing, and hilarious, and we miss them crazy bad when we aren't with them. So we arrived at their house sometime Sunday night, stayed up until...some ridiculous hour discussing iphones, twitter, facebook, and the controversy over Tim Tebow crying....and eventually we made it to bed. The next day was shopping, delicious food, and PW!!! WOOOHOOOO!! January and I arrived at the book store around 5:00pm. I'm so glad the signing didn't start until 7:00 because we got there super early and we were the 250th & 251st PEOPLE IN LINE!!!! Seriously!! I am clearly not the only person that wants to be reincarnated as Ree Drummond. It was CRAZY! We waited, and waited, and drank root beer, and waited, and read about our signs, (i'm a Leo by the way) and waited, and finally......It was time to get in a different line! Yippee...so we waited some more, and sometime after midnight WE MET REE! We had our cookbooks signed, posed for a picture, chatted for a split second, got our t-shirts, met Betsy (Ree's sister), met Hyacinth (Ree's creative friend), and then drove home! I had the most amazing time & enjoyed the company of the most amazing people! Can't wait to do it again :)

As previously discussed...this picture was taken well after midnight...excuse the sleepy smiles ;)

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving was insanely busy this year! Brad had to work :( I was kinda bummed about that, but the fact that he still has a job is the one thing i'm most thankful for this year. The night before Thanksgiving we sat around a fire with our closest friends. I love that. The holidays are always so focused on family. Don't get me wrong....Brad & I are VERY close to our families, but I love that we have genuine friends. We all want to involove each other in our holiday festivities because it just feels like that's the way it should be. Thanksgiving morning Brad got up at 4;15 to go to work, and I got up to start cooking. I made pumpkin pies, a strawberry trifle, & sausage wrapped in bacon. It literally took me all morning! I made it to Brad's Grandma's at 11:00 to see his family & then left there to go eat with my family. My family functions are always a treat ;) You never know who's gonna say what. It's very entertaining. When Brad got off work we went out to his Aunt's house to eat again. Basically all I did was eat ALL day. I would post a picture (not of me eating...a picture of Brad & I), but I don't even think we had pictures taken. That's pretty much our day...busy but uneventful. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving :)

A double shot....amd i'm not talkin espresso ;)

Ok so I'm FULLY aware that in my last post it was clearly stated that i'm not a "redneck" i'm "southern". That is in fact true...however I may have a bigger argument on my hands now. Don't judge me too harshly....