Southern Comfort

When Corey and I headed back to the South for two weeks at the end of July we made a "must" list to complete while we were there. I must confess, I'm pretty sure all our "musts" involved food. While we are enjoying all that California cuisine has to offer, we desperately miss several eateries! I know the quality of these aren't the greatest as they were taken on various phones but you get the picture :)

I have no picture of the actual food, I guess we were too wrapped up in eating :)

There's simply NO ice cream that can touch Blue Bell! Every bite of every flavor is delightful!

I know, this is dreadful, but in my defense I was stuffed in the back of a Suburban full of fussy, hungry children when I remembered that I needed a pic...this visit was for the fries, I can't really describe them :)

Enough said!

Yes, that is fried okra! I LOVE Cracker Barrel! Especially the country store :)

They used to make the chocolate chip cookie dough with some sort of maple ice cream. I don't why they stopped but it just isn't the same :(

I forget to get a pic of the food here too :( Great sliders and even better shakes!

This is from the Wolf Bay Lodge sea food restaurant in Perdidio Beach, AL where my grandfather lives :) I LOVE fried crab claws and they are kinda hard to find.

This isn't my favorite but Corey insisted that it be on the list :)

Not pictured? DUNKIN DONUTS!!! Come to CA Dunkin! We also had Jim 'N Nick's on the list but were unable to fit it in unfortunately :(

I know these aren't the healthiest option, but when in the South...

Jasper

Jasper is our family's newest addition. He looks old in this picture because of the editing, but in reality, he is about three. Jasper came into our lives about this time two years ago. Two days before Corey and I were to set out on our little California Adventure we saw this guy trotting along on the side of the road in Stockbridge, GA. I, of course, couldn't leave him there. Going back, we were able lure him to us with a little food and discovered a deep wound on his left shoulder. We took him to Corey's parent's house (my parents were out of town) where I attempted to clean the wound and figure out what to do with him. Corey and I were about to begin a very long trip across the country with little in our pockets, one big dog already packed into a tiny space in the back seat of his truck and unsure of our future...we simply couldn't take him with us. I proceeded to call shelters and rescue organizations for the next two days with the help of my mom and some of her contacts. Meanwhile, I pretty much fell in love. He would simply sit with his head in my lap, begging for affection with his sweet, brown eyes.

It turns out that summer was a pretty busy one in the south, as far as animal rescue goes. Too many people, unable to take care of their pets in a failing economy, would put them out or leave them for someone else to care for. Most shelters and rescue organizations were too full to take him and some wouldn't because of his injury. I refused to take him to a place that would put him down. We decided he might have a better chance of a good life in a different state. So, headed out of town, I left him at my parents vet, gave him the name Jasper and said goodbye. My aunt picked him up on her way to North Carolina where she found a woman from her church to foster him for a while, eventually finding him a home with a family out in the country, where he has been ever since.

In June, my mom called me with news of Jasper. His family was moving and had to give him up, did we want him? Having been toying with the thought of getting a second dog, I agreed in a heartbeat. However, the decision wasn't just up to me. I called Corey for his thoughts. He thought it pretty strange that I had never stopped thinking about this dog and all of the sudden he needed a home. Without hesitation, my wonderful husband said yes ;) He didn't come without a price though, which actually turned out to be a little more than we imagined. He needed his annual shots, had to be neutered, and of course, we had to get him to California. I won't tell you what it added up to but I will tell you that it has been totally worth it. Our little guy is finally home.

ps...If you didn't know, we rescued Peyton as a stray from The Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, MS (a week long event that my extended family attends every summer) three months after we got married. So far, my family has rescued seven dogs from the Fair, three from this summer alone. Me and Corey, my mom, my aunt and my cousin have all kept one. We are in the process of finding loving homes for the others. Due to lack of spaying and neutering, pet neglect and people not preferring dogs out of the "puppy stage", there is a growing number of stray and "put out" dogs across the south. It is a sad reality that many don't know or care about.

Peyton and Jasper have become fast friends, playing all the time. And his wound is completely healed.

Well, it definitely lived up to it's name...

Corey and I celebrated our 3 year Anniversary on May 10th! We didn't do much the day of because we planned on a trip to Las Vegas the next weekend. Corey's parents take a big trip every other year and this year they planned to go to Vegas. They asked if Corey and I, as well as his brother and his brother's girlfriend would like to join them. Being only slightly less than an three hour drive from Vegas, we definitely obliged. I can't say that I was overly thrilled to be going to Vegas for our Anniversary but I knew it would be good to spend time with Corey's parents and his brother (who I have only really seen twice).

At one time I thought Vegas would be fun to experience. Then we did. I can't say that I desire to ever return. I can definitely attest to it's nickname "Sin City". I won't go into detail but that city is literally crawling with temptation and sin, which everyone walks around freely accepting. At times, I was seriously disgusted and heartbroken at the state of this world. There were somewhat redeemable aspects to the city...the incredible architecture and themes of the casinos and resorts, good shows and the fact that the pawn shop from the hit show "Pawn Stars" is located there :) Other than my utter shock (even though I had been warned) to the blatant sin, the clouds of cigarette smoke in the casinos (or walking by them), the "pleasure pit" (I'll let you figure that one out) which Corey and I unfortunately stumbled upon and the multitudes of people, I did enjoy our visit with Corey's family. We were able to do some pretty incredible things with them, including a tour to the Grand Canyon (with a short helicopter ride inside :), the Hoover Dam and the Mojave Dessert (the only place that Joshua Trees grow ;). We were also able to enjoy some great food and get our first (and last) go around with slot machines. Here are some pictures from our short trip...

The Colorado River that flows into Lake Mead (the largest man made lake in the world, or may be the 2nd largest...I'm not very good with tour facts) is very low...I can't remember exactly by how much, but as you can see, it's pretty low.

The Hoover Dam...if you look really close you can see people and cars at the top. You can also see some tractor trailer truck on top of that HUGE bridge in the back.

Oh Corey ;)

Driving through the Mojave Dessert to get to the Grand Canyon (this is taken through the bus window, so it's not super clear).

We arrived at the Grand Canyon Ranch (I'm not exactly sure how to describe it..."odd" doesn't seem sufficient) where they took us to the Helicopter pads in a horse drawn wagon. This ranch is one of the first established in this region with the original cabin still there (again, I don't know the exact date or details ;).

I wouldn't put these helicopters in the same category as those from the Bachelor...they were a bit more rickity :) It was truly amazing to experience the Grand Canyon from that vantage point though. It's really hard to imagine not believing in God period, but especially after seeing it.

I know it seems like it should be bigger, but to give you some perspective, there is a white dot on the river that is actually a boat dock with boats, a building and helicopters landing around it.

We saw this show our first night in Vegas...it was supposed to be similar to Cirque De Sole. It was impressive, but a little strange. Let's just say it started out with the image of a baby talking in a large hanging globe and somewhere along the way a very large plastic barbie came out of the ceiling...

The view from our room on the 54th floor of the Planet Hollywood Towers. I won't lie, our room was pretty suite ;)

A few other things not pictured...
~Our visit to the Pawn Shop, which was actually very small and overpriced :(
~ The awesome Brits on our tour that entertained my talk of the Royal Wedding ;)
~Phantom of the Opera! I went with Jeremy and Lindy to see Phantom, which was SO good (we weren't allowed to take pictures inside), while Corey and his parents saw the ultimate Variety show. I hear Corey went on stage for a portion of it...a mask was involved, but I'm still not clear on what actually happened :)
~All of our incredible meals, including Holsteins in the Cosmopolitan where Corey and I discovered Bailey's Oreo Milkshakes!
~And finally, Corey's dad almost choking to death at the Billagio Buffet...he's fine now, but for a few seconds there we were sincerely panicking ;)

My advice for future Vegas visits? Don't. Okay, but if I had to go back? I would hang by the pool, order room service and maybe venture out to a few shows.

I hate it, but I love it...

I just can't seem to get this blogging thing down. I get on a bit of a role with keeping up and then I forget I have a blog altogether. I'd like to say that I've been super busy since the last time I updated, but I honestly can't remember what has happened since then. I know I took a trip to Wyoming to see some dear friends and experience a little taste of the windy west. Other than that, our life has been pretty uneventful :) I guess I need to learn how to make my sometimes mundane life a little more exciting so I have something to blog about :)

The title of this post, however, is not to discuss my love/hate relationship with blogging, it's actually about my love/hate relationship with P90x! Corey and I began this exercise program about 2 months ago. It's a series of workout DVD's that are to be done everyday, with the exception of a rest/stretch day. Corey is doing the classic version (which I started out doing but felt like my legs doubled in size within the first week!) and I'm doing the lean version (which is basically building leaner muscle with more cardio based workouts). That protein shake is what we have to look forward to after each workout...surprisingly, I have come to crave it :)


We decided to forego the nutrition plan that goes along with the intense P90x program (we've heard it's pretty ridiculous:). Through Chick-fil-A we have a access to Chick-fil-A Wellness which provides one to one coaching for Operators and their wives. So now, once a month, we get on a conference call (not together, we have different trainers and different goals :) with a nutritionist and trainer to update them and be held accountable for how we are doing in our plans (my trainer is the one who suggested I switch to the lean version to avoid my legs developing into tree trunks). My goal is just to be more healthy all around - to develop healthier eating habits and exercise routinely. Corey's goal is to run faster and jump higher. For the past two months we have both been making wiser choices with what we eat and getting through P90x every day (I guess I shouldn't say every day because there are days we inevitably miss and days I refuse to do, like yoga...it's an hour and half spent mostly on your toes and wrists and I absolutely despise it!). We've even gotten some of our team members on the p90x bandwagon!

We go through periods of time where we get a kick out of Tony Horton (he's the guy on the cover who leads the workouts...no, we don't look like him yet :) and times where he's the last person on earth we want to listen to while we're working out :) But, in a sense, he has become part of our little family. I'm pretty sure Peyton would recognize him in real life since she's heard his voice so much :) Before Ab Ripper X, which is an ab workout about 16 minutes long that makes your abs feel as though they are literally ripping from your body, Tony efficiently describes it by saying "I hate it, but I love it". I would say this statement adequately describes how I feel about the entire thing :)

It's actually a handy little system. You can take the DVD's with you anywhere and all you really need is a resistance band (or a small set of weights...I wouldn't recommend traveling with those though:) and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. It's been fun to have Corey as a partner it is as well. We are able to hold each other accountable and see how our bodies have changed as a result. I would highly recommend it to anyone who really wants to whip themselves into shape! I will warn you though, the hardest part is not just pushing the play button :)

ps...Be on the lookout for my next post about our trip to Vegas, with a little of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam on the side :)

It's a hoot!

I'm on an owl kick. Truth be told, I have been for a while now. I'm not talking about "owl overload" here (It's not like I want everything I wear, accessorize or decorate with to be owl) but I do scan through Etsy.com on occasion actively seeking out new owl merchandise. It's become somewhat of hobby (I definitely do not purchase all the stuff I find, that would for sure be owl overload) but it's fun to browse. Anyway, I've gotten the idea from some other blogs I follow to feature certain ideas or tips from week to week. So, I figured I would share my favorite owl finds every now and then, starting now. You may not enjoy this as much as I will :)

*Hand made pillow cover made by the seller sukanart on Etsy.

*Hand made clutch style wallet and card holder made by the seller jcarterhandmade on Etsy.
(I actually did buy this, but just the wallet:)

*Hand made Gadget Case made by the seller sewingamity on Etsy.

March Madness

It turns out March has been just about as busy as February...

I turned 25+1 on March 5th and my mom flew out for the weekend as a surprise. We ate at the Sycamore Inn, which was built in like 1914, for my birthday dinner. We didn't quite realize it was going to be as expensive as it was, but it's one of those places that are fun to go to like once a year :)

Corey surprised me by taking me to Coronado Island for a night's stay in the Hotel Del Coronado! My freshman year of college I visited San Diego with my sister for Spring Break and Coronado Island quickly became my favorite place in California. When we moved out here I immediately began pestering Corey to stay in the Del. These are just a few highlights from our wonderful getaway (there's more on facebook).
Coronado Island is in the bottom left corner (the bridge to the right is the only way to get on the Island from San Diego). The big red roof on the Island is the Del :)

The March excitement continued when my sister and her family came out for a visit :) We had a wonderful venture to the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, hunted down a Merry-go-round for Maggie to ride a "horse" and ate way too much :)

I thought I had more pictures of Kenny :( I realized I took several on my phone that turned out too dark, but do not mistake his lack of pictures as Corey and I not loving him as much as Mags :) He's an amazingly sweet little guy who loves everyone, even me :) Oh, and I think seahorses are way cool, that's why there's a featured pic of one :)