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Christmas 2009

Wow! Christmas is gone already! Can't believe it, New Years is right around the corner! So many new things have happened this year w/the wedding and new babies coming along. Our family just keeps on growing. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season and I pray that it continues thru the next year! Love you all!

What in the world?

Have you ever just asked the question "What in the world?" You know, the one where you just stand/sit there with this completely confused look on your face? I have been asking myself this question very regularly the last few days. And I'm sure the face has accompanied it many times. I completely understand that things happen in your life that you have NO control over. So that is not the purpose of the question, but why just because I do not agree to something does that automatically put me at fault? Times like these are when I truly have to remember that no matter how wonderful people are, we (YES! I say "we" because I myself am guily as well, I do not believe myself above reproach), and I mean humans in general, are selfish. We can be very sympathetic to others needs and wants, but very often we want our own needs and wants met first. I also understand (better than a lot of people) that not all families get along all the time. My own blood family is a very good example. Those who I do have frequent contact with, as well as those I never see. I mean I have 2 half-brothers that I did not meet until my dad's funeral, obviously we are not close, one of which decided to say some less than attractive things about my mom, which of course "upset" me greatly. True I was only 13 but hey, I can blame grabbing a baseball bat and starting to go after him largely on grief, right? I know that I am rambling, but that is what this thing is for anyway, right? I am the type of person who take pretty much what ever kind of abuse you want to put to me. I've dealt with it most of my life, so this is nothing new. BUT...when you start upsetting my husband and my sister, who also happens to be one of my best friends, we have a problem. Both of these people are fiercely loyal to those who they love. And much like me, will take whatever you want to put on them. But both are also very tender-hearted at certain times and ESPECIALLY when it comes from certain people. I just feel very bad that just because I make a decision that is good for me that I should be blamed for it!!! But OH WELL, I don't have "actual" children, I only have dogs so I should just be able to do what anyone wants me to do. Ok, sorry I'm getting snippy and I'm sorry if this hurts anyone's feelings, but you know what, I've had mine hurt a lot and I'm still alive. But again, I'm sorry if it hurts feelings, I would never do this purposely, but do feel that I am inclined to my own opinion and should be able to express it in my personal blog.

A Wedding!

Yes, we had a wedding. Not mine of course that was almost 4 yrs ago, but our cousin Paul married his sweetheart of a fiance Allyson. It was a very sweet simple wedding held at the Gazebo in Danielsville. True to Newbury fashion, the wedding didn't start at 5, but somewhere around 5:30 or 5:45. The cd player we had to play the music wouldn't play the burnt cd, so we had to use Mom & Dad's Volvo to play the music. Which is really quite amusing, but like we all said, at least it was a Volvo and not a big 4x4 truck! It really was a fun night and I hope everyone else had as good a time as I did.

Neal and I have seriously been trying to get ourselves back into church and it is something that we are committing ourselves to doing. And NO we're not doing this so that everyone will look at us and say "Oh, look at them going to church, they're being so good." This is something that we are doing for ourselves and our family. Neal is struggling w/some things and he is praying daily that God will give him the strength he needs to overcome. Both of us know that we do not want to stay on the path that we are on now and have decided that now is a time for change. We have both been saved for a very long time, I was 8 and I believe he was around the same age. Unfortunately, we have just not been living the way we should. One thing that both of us are praying daily for help with is our language. If you do not and have never cussed, then I admire you. But this is something that both of us struggle with and we have decided that it is time to stop. Ok, thats just a bit of what has been happening, so I'll leave w/a few pics from the wedding and reception.

It is Tuesday!

I'm not really sure what that means, but it is really Tuesday and I am so excited about the new Sherrilyn Kenyon book that comes out today. "Bad Moon Rising". So anxious to read about more of the yummy Dark Hunters and especially since this one is a Were-Hunter. I know, I know, I'm weak. Oh well. If any of you haven't read any of her stuff, I definitely recommend them. They are wonderful and I truly believe men would like them just as much as women. I actually think Neal may read some of them. Just a few more days until my first chance at wedding photography. Mel and Chad are coming down today, so we'll have our sweet little babies to play with as well. I don't think that Mel and Chad know how much I cherish the fact that they allow me to be a part of the girls' lives too. You see, I have at least 2 nieces in FL from my 2 half-brothers and I have never met them and probably never will. And that is hard on me because I really would like to at least get to know them or at the very least know their names. I'm pretty sure that they don't know that they have an aunt in Ga since I'm kinda like a curse to most of the people on my dad's side of the family. I didn't even meet either of my half-brothers until my dad's funeral. The oldest of the 2 Junior (who is about 25 yrs older than I am) and I pretty much had a hatred for each other from the beginning. And I do mean that literally. He came to the hospital the night I was born and took 1 look at me and turned to his wife and told her he never wanted to have children b/c he didn't want to risk having a red-headed girl. Guess what, his daughter is red-headed. The other brother, Terry, tried to actually get to know me a bit, but it was so weird that I couldn't put any effort into it. You see, I grew up w/2 guys that I thought of and still do think of as my brothers. Robert and Bubba David will always hold a special place in my heart. I mean Bubba David is the one who scared my boyfriend in 7th grade b/c he had broken up w/me. That is a true brother. So anyway, just wanted to give ya'll a little background on my wonderful life. And I just wanted to thank my brother and sister for letting me call those sweet babies my nieces.

Pictures of our Summer

These are just a few of the pictures I took while we were on our little mini-vacations.

The completely Awesome Haunted Prison tour in Charleston, SC. The prison was finished in 1802, and a large part of the original building still stands.

The Beautiful Gazebo in Lexington, SC.

Kyleigh, Alison & Neal swinging.

Sweet baby Adeline and her Uncle Neal.

Neal & I in Greenville, SC.

The babies playing in our room in Greenville and yes, JuJu is brushing Korbin's teeth for him.

Wow!

Time is just flying by! It is already August and I can't believe it. My niece and nephews start school this Thursday. One very exciting piece of news is that our cousin Paul and his fiance Allyson are getting married this Friday. I'm going to be the official wedding photographer so I won't really get to enjoy the wedding, but I hope they like the pictures I get. Melody and Chad just announced to everyone that they are expecting baby no. 3 in Feb. I really hope that he/she comes on Neal and David's b-day, he would be so excited. Still no talk of babies for us yet, just the 3 monsters that I call my own right now. But any-who. Let us see...well nothing else is going on right now, just working and praying that they don't decide to downsize Neal's dept at work. So ya'll have a great one and say a prayer for us!

Back to work...

So I am now back at work after my wonderful 5 straight days off. But you know the problem with that? I REALLY didn't want to come back today! On the bright side though by the end of the week I'll have an almost new (well new to me anyway) washer and dryer! Yah! Considering the ones that we have now are probably as old as we are, Seriously. A lady that works for my aunt is moving and their new house has a brand new set, so she is selling us her old ones for the completely ridiculous price of...$50! For both! Again I'll say Yah! I know this may not seem like such a big deal to a lot of people, but its pretty darn exciting for us, well me anyway. And I found out today that our cousin and his fiance are expecting a little girl. So very exciting as well. More babies to play with! But oddly, no this does not make me want to have one yet. I am still perfectly content with my furry, four-legged children, who got a beautiful new bed pillow this past week. It really is pretty and even matches our bedroom decor. Its actually just one of those huge pillows instead of an actual bed. We, well again I, are trying to make Bo and Daisy believe that they don't have to sleep on the bed with us. Considering we only have a queen sized bed. Daisy of course thinks it is completely for her and tends to hog it, but she finally let Bo sleep on it with her. Hopefully they will both consider this the best idea. That way if I do get the king-sized bed I am going to ask for for christmas, Neal and I will have tons of room! Especially since I found one at Sam's last thursday that I really want! Ok, thats 'bout it for now, if anything interesting happens, I'll let you know!

Tax Season is over!

The deadline is finally here! As of 5 o'clock today I am off for 5 days straight! I'm so happy! I made it thru my first tax season at an accountant's office w/out killing anyone or worse. I plan on cleaning house for the next couple of days and hopefully getting it to look half-way presentable. So all of you out there, have a great couple of days!

Sunshine!

Thank goodness its sunny again! Which means, time for Neal to start fishing regularly and going to play golf with his new clubs and fancy shoes I bought him. He's been really sweet to me this week. Probably because I've had horrid headaches almost everyday getting home, simply because of the rain. I am a walking barometer! No seriously. My head goes completely wacky when the pressure changes. He cooked dinner a couple of nights and on wednesday, he went to Academy to buy some wood for smoking and bought me 2 georgia shirts. And he even almost bought one of those really nice enameled cast iron dutch ovens. I have been wanting one for such a long time. Yes, I really am a weird woman. Most of the time I'd rather get some kind of cooking appliance or cookbook or regualr book than any of the other traditional wifely gifts. I love to cook. And no that does not mean bake. I admit it and if my grandmother were still alive she'd probably pop me upside the head w/a beater from her mixer, but I just don't like to bake. One thing is the fact that I'm not a big sweet person. Never have been actually. I almost never finish a candy bar or cookie. Now I do get cravings for the double-doozies at American Cookie Company, but who doesn't? :) Neal actually does more baking than I do. But anyway. Life is just moving right along. Nothing really that new or interesting going on. Although I have decided to quit whining about things so much. Personally I hate whiners, and refuse to listen to them. So when I went back and read some past things I've written, I realized you can only vent for so long before you just turn into a huge whiney butt. So no more (hopefully).
I can't wait until tomorrow. The annual folk festival in Danielsville starts at 1. Mom C. and I are going. Like mostly always. I have to be good though. I can't go and buy a bunch of jewelry like I generally do. I love it 'cause unlike everyone else who has to find a parking spot, I just walk across the street from my house! Love it! Ok, I guess I've rambled for long enough. Its just about time to blow this joint for the weekend! Praise God! So ya'll have a great one!

Tired...

Have you ever found yourself so tired of the run-around people give you that you just no longer care? I believe I have come to that point in my life. When did things as mundane as being friends with people become so competitive? For those of you who don't know, two of our "best friends" have decided that no longer do they want to be friends with us, which in itself is sad, but acceptable. But now it seems they have decided that they must try and take any and all other friends we had and turn them against us. This actually has been going on for a while, but escalated in the very short past. I have heard from multiple sources that apparently we are the cause of this. Very funny in fact when you have all the facts. Like isn't it weird that another friend of ours called Neal asking him if he wanted to go fishing, we were in town, so Neal told him that they would try and go later in the week. Said friend was completely cool with this and decided to call the "best friend" to ask him. Well apparently he was at work, but told said friend that he shouldn't ask Neal, because he never takes anyone fishing and only wants to go when it is to some other place. And apparently also some other things were said, but I do not have all the details. Odd! I say this is odd because from the picture "best friend" is painting, Neal and I are only the type of people who only do things to benefit ourselves. Never mind that we stored almost all of their belongings while they were living with someone else and Neal even helped load and unload everything they brought to our house. Plus very odd is the fact that "best friend" won't ever take Neal to his "special" fishing place b/c once when they went, Neal caught a bigger fish. How childish! Ok, just had to get that out before I vented to these people themselves and later felt bad about it. I know, I know, I shouldn't let it bother me or make me feel bad, but that is how I am made. I know no one that I know reads this, because if so, well I'd probably have some hate mail by now. But thanks to whoever is bored enough to read about our life problems!

Just life...

My life is probably nothing out of the ordinary, actually most of the time its pretty normal. Lately though, things have been creeping up on my mind and heart and I'm not exactly sure what to make out of them. First of all, why is it that friendships, for the most part, are completely a lie? I'll explain, out of all of the friends Neal and I had and were so close to, I only have one friend who I still speak to on a regular basis. Neal still has contact with many of his old friends, but the one person who said he would always be there isn't anymore, unless you count wanting something from us. What hurts the most out of this is the fact that this person views the fact that we get upset as an insult to him. Like we're not "helping" him out because we're awful people. I am convinced that this is the result of Neal and I being what you would call "homebodies". No, we don't go out every weekend and go drinking. Honestly the most drinking we have done in the past six months have been with his parents and sister and brother-in-law. I personally see the act of going out, paying way too much for a drink or two and then coming home (30 minutes away from any clubs or bars) as a complete waste. Its just very funny to me that people complain about not having any money to pay their bills, but yet, they have money to go out all the time. Am I the only one who see a Major flaw in their thinking? I have tried desperately in the last couple of years to not let people put me down, but lately, I have found myself slipping back into that old persona I used to frequent so much. This is something I'm praying constantly about and would very much appreciate any prayers anyone can spare. I know logically that I cannot make people like me, but still seem to strive for this anyway. I think it comes from the fact of moving at a very influential time in my life to a new place and being very, very shy for a very large part of my adolescence. So I am now setting a goal for myself, no more will I let people dictate how I feel about myself, and no more will I spend time wondering about what I could have done to make myself more appealing to them. Keep coming back for updates on just how I am achieving this goal!

Ok, here I go!

Yep, I decided to start a blog, don't ask me why, but I did. Things are as normal as ever. Neal and I are passed the 3 year marriage mark and heading toward a grand total of 9 years together as a couple. Pretty good, Huh? I honestly don't know what to tell anyone about our lives at this point. No children, yet. Or at least none of the human persuasion. Still just the 3 beagles. Well, they are actually mixes of some sort. Bo and Daisy are beagle and foxhound, I think. This is based upon their body types and markings. Luke has to be beagle and basset hound. And yes I know our dogs are named after the Dukes of Hazzard characters. What can I say, it was one of Neal and I's favorite shows to watch growing up. And now Neal has the bright idea that he wants a blood hound and wants to name it Uncle Jesse. Lord, if this happens, we very likely will be bodily thrown from the city limits of Danielsville. Umm... lets see. Neal is the same as ever. Still loves to cut up and make people laugh when he can. Although he has became very reserved at certain times as well and his feelings can be hurt much easier now. This has lead to people starting to make fun of him, simply because he hasn't gotten fat unlike so many other people after high school. What can I say, he has an Extremely high metabolism. And why is it that its ok for people to pick on him for being slim, but not ok for those of us who are slim in nature to make fun of the heavier people? This is a question I ask myself constantly. They see Neal and all they see is a guy who is 6'2" and weighs about 145-155 and they think weak. But I can guarantee you he is more than likely stronger than anyone you know pound for pound. As most of you know, I was verbally abused about being fat by an ex and at the time I only weighed about 100lbs. So forgive me if this ticks you off, but get over it. We all know that you're probably only making fun of him because you, yourself are self-concious about your weight and in fact envy him. No one makes fun of my man and gets away with it. I don't just roll over and let people step all over me anymore, I bite back now. Ok, that is enough about my little tirade. Check back and maybe I won't be so emotional next time. Until then, Love ya'll!