Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Living Like Tourists

We decided it was time for us to see Atlanta.  While there isn't much to see (besides traffic), there are a few things we knew we wanted to do while we live here.  It also didn't hurt that J could get us a discount! :)

First stop was The Varsity. (Shout out to Stuart and Miranda for the gift card!) The onion rings were AMAZING. And the fried apple pie was pretty good, too.  Check that off the 'Things to do in Atlanta' list!

 

Next stop was the Georgia Aquarium.  I guess everyone else had the same idea we did, because it was packed!!! We probably would have enjoyed it more if it was less crowded, but we still had a good time.  Caution: Picture Overload Commencing...

Notice the little eels on the bottom.  I think they are called cucumber eels.


Tropical fish... I could have stayed all day in here!







Of course there is a polka dot fish!





In the tunnel with everything swimming over us!






It feels like you are under the water!






Sea Dragon

African Penguins... all my pictures are blurry. :(

African River Fish


Piranhas... they were incredibly still



Waxy Monkey Frogs- how can you not love that name?!



We also saw the Dolphin Tale show.  The dolphins were really cool to see, but the whole show itself was lackluster.  It was included with the price, so you know we went! Ha!

After the aquarium, we headed to World of Coke.  It was neat, but I am not sure I would pay full price to go (and you know we didn't!)




Notice the sign that says a 16 oz. serves 3!


After that, we were pretty tired! It was a fun day though... too bad we had to go back to work...

Friday, January 18, 2013

[15] +2

Take two...


Thursday, January 17, 2013

[15]

My picture this week didn't turn out very good, and it is too cold to put those clothes back on tonight... maybe I will try again tomorrow. Until then (or next week...), here is my view:




15 weeks~
________________________________________________________________________

Tu is the size of an orange


Weight: +3.5 lbs 


Craving: Nothing really this week


Maternity Clothes: Not yet! Still using a rubberband on one pair. I am still fitting in my normal clothes for now, but I did find some of my bigger pants, so that has worked out well!

Sleep: This week has been rough! Not sure why, but I haven't been able to sleep well lately.


Aversions: Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)


Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl


Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!


Labor signs: No


Belly Button in or out: In


Wedding rings on or off: On 


Feeling: Exhausted! And pretty unmotivated to do my coursework. And anything remotely spicy sets off heartburn. Who knew seasoned fries would do that?

Looking Forward to: A long weekend!
Movement: Hopefully soon:)
________________________________________________________________________


Caitlin has been here for about a week.  She has interviewed for 3 different newspapers! She even received a job offer from one today.  Not sure if she will take it or not, but it is exciting either way!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

[14]





14 weeks~
________________________________________________________________________

Tu is the size of a lemon

Weight: +2.5 lbs 

Craving: Sour Gummy Worms

Maternity Clothes: Not yet! I did use a rubber band on a pair of pants this week, though.

Sleep: Besides waking up at least once a night to go to the bathroom, great!

Aversions: Ground Meat (really wish this would go away!)

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling: SO much better! Morning sickness is pretty much gone. I did discover that if I eat spicy food, I will get wicked heartburn though. Tums are on my nightstand! I am also still pretty tired, but that might be because I was used to sleeping in, and now I have to go to work!
Looking Forward to: Caitlin coming for a few days because of interviews
Movement: Still too early, but hopefully in the next few weeks
________________________________________________________________________

Sorry for the awkward picture. Maybe next week will be better :)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

[13]

Please note that all previous pictures were taken in the morning, but from here on out, will be taken at night.  That explains a little extra puffiness. :) Since we got our new camera, it is easier if I wait until J gets home to take my picture.



13 weeks~
________________________________________________________________________

Tu is the size of a medium shrimp (almost 3 inches) 

Weight: +2 lbs 

Craving: Chicken Tenders (NOT nuggets) and Sour Gummy Worms

Maternity Clothes: Not yet!

Sleep: Besides waking up at least once a night to go to the bathroom, great!

Aversions: Ground Meat

Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl

Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!

Labor signs: No

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Feeling: still get sick if I don't eat for a few hours, but I can feel it lessening! 
________________________________________________________________________ 


I had a good appointment today. Everything is measuring right on target. Tu's heartbeat was 158 bpm! Next appointment: January 31.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy 2013!

Guess we are still here... the world didn't end after all!

2012 recap
- Boston (with Clark and Amy)
- FINALLY got a dining room table (in February) and chairs (in August)
- Got a new (to me) car. I love my Prius!
- Charleston
- Getting sod
- Savannah and Tybee Island
- Getting ready to sell and selling our house 
- Caitlin graduates!
- And for good measure, a surprise blessing!


What does 2013 look like?
(Not really planning much past July)
-  Marion graduates
- I finish my Master's in May!
- Babymoon during Spring Break (no idea where yet)
- Memorial Day Weekend trip with J's family
- Anna gets married in June
- Tu's arrival in July! :)


12!

It's a little late, but better late than never... right?!





I realize I am headless. Believe me, you didn't want to see it.

12 weeks~
________________________________________________________________________
Tu is the size of a small lime (2 inches)
Weight: +1.5 lbs
Craving: Chicken Tenders (NOT nuggets)
Maternity Clothes: Not yet!
Sleep: Besides waking up at least once a night to go to the bathroom, great!
Aversions: Ground Meat
Gender prediction: I am thinking boy, J is thinking girl
Name(s): Picked and will be a secret until July!
Labor signs: No
Belly Button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On 
Feeling: nauseated when I don't eat for a few hours, but overall much better since getting over my sickness! 

 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Oh, baby!



Click to make me larger!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Catch-up!

It has been a whirlwind past couple of weeks! Thankfully, we have had this weekend to do pretty much nothing!

Let's go back to Thanksgiving...

J got to come home to NC Tuesday night and work from home Wednesday.  He ended up leaving Atlanta at 7, so he didn't get home until after 1! Regardless, it was nice to have him home!  Wednesday was a half day for me, so we even got to go out to lunch.

Thursday, we had Thanksgiving with the Ralphs.  Plenty of food was spread around and we enjoyed playing with the kids outside.  We came home with plenty of leftovers, that is for sure!

Friday, we spent the entire day packing. We got pretty much everything packed (except for a few things we would need the following weekend to move). Thankfully, the liquor store has quality boxes.  We even had too many!

Saturday, we headed to the Ralphs for our going away party.  We had pizza and enjoyed visiting with our friends... bittersweet.  They were so thoughtful and got us gift cards to restaurants so during the move we wouldn't have to worry about cooking.  We have already used a couple!  Then, we headed to Winston-Salem for the Wake Forest and Vandy game.  It was much colder than it had been Thursday! The hot chocolate was pretty much a necessity. 

   
Freezing at the game


Vandy beat up on WF pretty bad, so we left early. And it was COLD! We got home in time to watch the Egg Bowl. That's all I will say.

Sunday, we headed to Atlanta.  It was a looong day with lots of accidents and traffic slowing us down.  Thankfully, we made it safely.  We unloaded our cars and I went to bed!

Monday was my first day on the job.  The week went well, but it was lots to soak in.  It is a lot different from my other job, but I know I will get the hang of it.  Co-teaching a class is so much different than working 1:1 helping a student with whatever he/she needs.  The teacher that I work with is GREAT and has been so helpful.  I am thankful I have great co-workers or I might go crazy!

Now for a side story about the apartment saga:
After calling and calling and calling, we finally heard we got the apartment that Tuesday.  I explained that we needed to move up our move in day because we would be in NC on our original move in day.  I was told it would be no problem.  I get an email saying that we will sign the lease early, but no mention of moving in early. I shoot a quick email to clarify things....

Thursday, John gets a call that we can't move in early.  We think it shouldn't be a problem, we will just go ahead and sign the lease and get the keys.  Um, when I show up, they are shocked to see me.  They say there is nothing they can do, if we aren't here Saturday (which they know we won't be), we will have to wait until Monday. Um, I don't think so! After a little meltdown and a chat with the manager, they agree to give us the keys tonight and let us move in tomorrow. Whew! Crisis averted....

After we spent 1.5 hours there, we leave (it's after hours).  When we are pulling out, I realize we did not pay. Ugh! I plan to swing by Friday to pay before Nan and David arrive.  Well, they call John and say that we have to pay and that they changed the locks on the door, so the keys they gave us won't work! Um, I know we have to pay- I can't believe they changed the locks.  So after work, I go to pay and get the new keys.  I end up standing outside for 30 minutes while they are in a 'meeting.' (But I can see them walking around inside.)  I got to pay and am told that I have to have a cashiers check! WHAT!? I was not told this! We were allowed to use a credit card/debit card for our application fee, but was told we had to have a cashiers check. I was FURIOUS!  The closest branch of our bank was 30 minutes away (and there is one by my school, which I could have gone to had I known).  I rush over and get a cashiers check and rush back. Turns out, the amount I was told wasn't even the right amount!  Thankfully, they decide to take what I have and allow me to pay the rest later.  It is after 5 at this point.  I still have to walk the apartment to check for any damage.  Nan and David are there and waiting.  When we are finally able to get everything settled with the apartment, J is almost there, so we decide to wait for him.

Back to scheduled programming:

We left Atlanta at a little after 6.  Traffic is horrible and there is a bad wreck, so we decide to break for supper.  Back on the road, the traffic is much smoother... until part of 85 is CLOSED. Take a detour and Nan's car needs oil. It's 1:30 in the morning. Luckily, we find some and head on our way.  It was sometime after 3 that we made it to the house. Exhausted.  

Saturday, I get up and Nan and I go get breakfast.  The boys head to pick up the truck. And the check engine light is on. Awesome.  We take our chances since we were told it was just serviced. (Spoiler: J hit a bump and the light went off.)  We begin packing the truck at 10:45 or so.  About 30 minutes later, the Ralphs show up to help us. We couldn't have done it without them.  Even the kids wanted to help!  The Spencers came with pizza for lunch as we finished packing the truck.  We pull out around 3. (We spent a lot of time talking and not packing....)



We stopped for some Steak N Shake on the way to Anderson, where we spent the night.  A good night's sleep does the body good.  We left Sunday a little after 8 and made it to our apartment a little after 10.  And the unloading began.  Chris arrived and we took a break for lunch before we finished unloading the truck.  Once it was unloaded, the boys took the truck back and J showed them where he worked while us girls worked on unpacking the kitchen.  We grilled out steaks for supper and went to bed early, but not before putting up a tree!


Monday, AT&T came and installed our TV and internet.  When we went to bake our potatoes Sunday, we realized the apartment didn't come with a microwave, so N and I went in search of one.  Success! I love microwaves! N left Tuesday morning, and Caitlin came Tuesday night.  She was staying with us for her interview a couple of hours from here.  She stopped back by for supper on her way back to KY. Hopefully, she will know about the job soon.

The rest of the week we have just been getting into our new routine. J's commute has actually been shorter here than it was in NC, while mine is about the same. I only have 9 workdays until Christmas break. Yay!

And here is our other tree we put up (Snowbabies):


Now, back to the 25 days of Christmas on ABC Family...

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Hunt Continues

We continued our search and found a decent place.  The lady in the front office was even from Mississippi.. and went to State! We couldn't see the actual apartment we would get, but we did see the floor plan.  It wasn't the best layout, but we liked it enough to fill out an application.  We decided to call and tell them whether or not to process it.

We then went to another place... and well, it was the clear winner.  The kitchen is HUGE! And y'all know how much kitchen stuff we have.  And it has a gas stove, which I am pumped about.  We will be on the ground floor, woot!  So we filled out all the paperwork and they would call us and tell us when we were approved. *Spoiler alert* After me calling numerous times and leaving several voicemails, J calls once and gets a person- and we are approved. Move in date- Dec. 2!

We had a busy morning, so we headed to explore Marietta.  It has a cute downtown and we ended up eating at The Marietta Diner.  It was not really what you think of as a diner, but it was good! We then headed back to Midtown for the afternoon.

Sunday, we went to church in East Cobb.  It was fine, probably a little too progressive for us though.  We then went the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.  J had been by this area called Sope Creek, so we decided we would picnic there with the leftovers from the diner.  I somehow managed to forget my tennis shoes in NC, but we decided to do a little hike anyway. The leaves were too pretty not to!




Old Paper Mill




We enjoyed a lazy Sunday.. well, I did. J worked.  And Monday, I drove back to NC. This would be our last stretch of being apart!


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Hunting

Been too busy to update lately, although pretty much everyone who reads this knows what's going on anyway! So this is mainly for Sophie. :)

John is really liking his new job, although we have not been loving the long distance. Thankfully that is coming to a close in 5 short hours when J gets home (to NC). :)

Let's back it up a couple of weeks.  I had Veteran's Day off, so I took the Friday before off.  I headed to ATL Thursday after work. Man that drive is no fun! (I have done it three times now since J started!)  Friday morning, I had employee processing and I got my fingers printed and everything! They also made my badge.  The badge will even unlock the school doors! How cool is that?! Hope they don't expect me there after hours too much though.

For supper, we ordered take out from The Vortex.  Mine was pretty good, but J's was SOOO good. It lived up the the hype I read on Yelp.

Saturday, we set out to find an apartment.  3 bedrooms apparently go pretty quickly, but thankfully we found one!  It was a beautiful day to be outside though.


 The apartment we chose (not the one pictured above) is only 2 square feet smaller than our house! So hopefully we will have room for everything.


To be continued when I can keep my eyes open... :)
 

Friday, November 2, 2012

Views, Paint, and New Jobs


Things have just been crazy around here! However, things are falling into place.  It is amazing how God answers prayers! Sometimes it can take a while, but He knows what he is doing!

I have repainted the guest bathroom.  Bye bye red-orange, hello Builder's Boring Khaki.



J moved to ATL this past weekend.  Since we are renting a furnished condo, he just took clothes.  I went and got him groceries and got the lay of the land.   On Monday, I got a call from a school district that I applied to.  They wanted me to come in for an interview, and since I was in town, they wanted to schedule it for while I was in town.  I was so not expecting that! I didn't have any interview clothes or anything.  That just meant shopping!

Buckhead Skyline from Lenox Mall



Beautiful Drive!

The condo we are renting is tiny.  But the views from the parking garage is pretty nice!



 
 
 I had the interview Wednesday and it went really well.  Then I came back to NC.  It was weird going back to work since I felt like I had been on vacation.  Today, the principal and the supervisor called me and told me they picked me for the job! They had interviewed someone else, but they picked me!!! I had to wait on the official call from HR though.  HR must have been having a party, but it took me calling the supervisor and her calling HR to get the call.  I then turned in my resignation. I am now going to try to talk my current director into releasing me from my 30 day notice early... we'll see.  The latest day I will start will be Dec. 3! Crazy! God is good. All the time!


Here's to our next adventure in GA!
 
 
 
 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

More Recent Update

Again, I apologize for the sideways pics....


Ken's Corn Maze. We went the night we found out about J's new job. It was pretty hard. You were supposed to find stations throughout.... I don't think we even found half!




J with 10 day old baby Archer. He is so cute!! (well both of them are)



Ken's Corn Maze


Love gas prices in SC compared to NC!

Some Crazy Catch-up

Soooo much has been going on I haven't had time to update. On top of that, we have just been trying to keep our news on the down low until J put in his two weeks.  He did on Friday, so now it's okay that the whole world knows..... We are moving to Atlanta!

Almost 3 years ago, J interviewed for a job at Nielsen as an Analyst for Coke. He was told he needed more experience, so we ended up in NC. Well, this past July, the job opened and J casually applied. We thought nothing would come of it.  He just wanted to keep his name in the pool. Well to our surprise the hiring manager last time remembered him and wanted to interview him! After a phone screening, a phone interview, and a day of 4 1:1 interviews, he completed the process. Late last Friday (5th) he was offered the job. 

I apologize for the sideways-ness of the pictures... They are from my phone and Blogger won't let me flip them. 

So on Sept 20, we hit the road for ATL. We stayed in Buckhead so it would be an easy drive to Coke and close to shopping for me.  I shopped and did some homework during J's nearly 4 hour interview. We explored parts of the city to see where we might want to live. We also had some really good BBQ. The following Saturday, we spent with our friends in Anderson, SC. It was great catching up and visiting their church. And now we will only be 2 hours away!  

Here are some pics from our first ATL trip.


Community Q BBQ (we went again yesterday. I can see us there frequently.)


Better get used to this!



 

We thought this was genius... no room for 'Prayer Requests' on your box? 'Prary Quests' will do.

 

Getting into ATL at night

 
 

Our go-to pit stop :)

 
 

Microsoft trying to be Apple. I was there on the day the iPhone 5 was released, so Apple was packed. Microsoft, so no much....