Livin' in Tigertown......: 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Good time and good friends in Jacksonville!

This past week I was able to take some time off to drive down to Jacksonville to visit my college roommate. It is such a blessing that we have been able to stay in touch so well and so close even after....yes..even though I hate to say it...6 years out of college! I can't believe how time flies by. It's crazy! Anyway, Lauren is an awesome friend and she has some good people in her life down there. I was able to meet several of her friends and even catch up with a few I have met before through others. She will be driving up this way Memorial Day weekend, so I can't wait for her arrival in May!

Lauren and I my last night in Jacksonville

Group shot...AnneMarie, Lauren, and me (notice the nice poser in the back!..haha)

Another group shot of us my last night out

A good friend, Jacy that I was able to catch up with while I was in town

Lauren and her good friend AnneMarie

Jon & Kayla's Wedding Shower

My cousin Jon (he and his family lives in Tampa) is getting married this summer to a wonderful girl, Kayla. My mom, aunts, and uncle through a wedding shower for the two of them a few weeks back. It was a nice Italian themed party with great food, fun, and spirits! It was so good to see our family from Tampa because we don't get to see them often and to be able to meet some of Kayla's family prior to the wedding.

Here are few pictures from the shower:

Jon & Kayla getting ready to open some gifts

A photo opt for Kerri (my sis-in-law) at the shower...that weekend was also her birthday! Yeah for Lemon cake!

Another shot of Jon and Kayla while opening their gifts

JD and our cousin Kaleb...I promise you he is growing up to be a little version of JD. Watch out everyone!

Me and my beautiful mom...she is an awesome cook. The food was great!

Room remodeling....

So, a few weeks ago I decided to finally get on the ball and paint my room that I had planned to do months ago. My mom came over and was a huge help! She is the best person to have around for jobs at the house! A benefit of this remodeling was that I went through every piece of clothing that I owned and by the end of the weekend I had 7 bags of clothing, shoes, etc to donate to Goodwill! It's amazing what you can accumulate over the years. I am still working on getting all my clothes back in the room and hanging everything on the walls, but it will look really good once it's all done!

Below are a few before and after pictures:

Mom taking a wonderful picture of me (that I didn't want taken) at the begging. This was a sweats and shirt day as you can tell

One last before shot with all the furniture moved in

Camden and Spice loved the windows being opened....The window seal was a hot seat for the day

An after shot with all the painting done and furniture rearranged...I'm still looking for window treatments

Another after shot

Last after shot looking through the bedroom door

Monday, March 16, 2009

Spring Time!!

So, this is a little post active, but two Saturday's ago my good friend Amanda and I met up downtown Greenville to enjoy the weather and have some fun... It was crazy because the Sunday/Monday before we had about 4 inches of snow on the ground and it was freezing and then by Saturday it was 85 degrees! Since these pictures we have had to go back to some cold weather, but hopefully Spring isn't too far away. Here are a few pictures from our outing...

Beautiful Reedy River downtown Greenville

Amanda taking some time to pose by a beautiful garden

Another picture of the falls....

The crowds were out enjoying the weather at the park...

wow... catch up time!

So, I realize that it's been a LONG time since I have posted, but things have been a little busy and yes I will admit I have probably been lazy on this thing too.. So, here are a few things I will catch up on some posts:
-CSU basketball
-Spring time
- Birthdays

Towards the end of February I was able to go down and spend some time with JD and Kerri. Mom was home taking care of Granny Duke and I must say to report she is doing remarkably well and I am so proud of here. But it was really nice to spend time with the two of them. I have to say the Lord brought together two remarkable individuals that I learn so much from with each visit that I hope to one day have a partner in my life that will love, support, and grow with me the way the two of them do.

Anyways, here are a few pictures from our time together....

JD and Kerri together after a great CSU win!

That night was "Think Pink" in honor of Breast Cancer awareness. This is the wifes' of the coaches all decked out in their pink...

Kerri and I

JD planning out the Bucs next move....

This is pre-game JD making sure everything is ready

Jessica, Kerri, and I pose for a picture after a great win!

So, I think this will suffice for this post. I will post again for more on Spring time and some birthday... Till then!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

It's been awhile!!

Hey out there in blog land! Wow...it's been a long time since I have blogged, but I think that's because of two things: 1- things around here (work and school) have been really busy and 2- I haven't had very many interesting things to talk about over the last month. But I will try and catch everyone up to speed on a few things....

1. My grandmother had surgery last Wednesday and has been doing remarkably well! She is currently in Lila-Doyle rehab facility. She had her right knee completely replaced. She is very close to her dog Molly and hadn't seen her in almost a week. Fortunately, my uncle Hal was able to bring her by for a visit and I think that it was a sweet reunion. You can check out the picture for yourself below.

2. The house remodeling is at a stand still. I was able to recruit my dad and mom to help me move a desk that I was given to the house. We had to take it apart in three sections and then put back together when we got there. Everything is pretty much done at the house except the painting of my bedroom. I just haven't been able to get motivated to move all the stuff out of my room yet. Maybe in the next week or two things will start moving again.

3. JD's basketball season is still in full swing. They haven't had the year that I know they were hoping for, but they are still making progress. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks and month. They don't have much time left in the season. I am excited about seeing him this weekend as CSU plays UNC-Asheville, so we are going to make the trip up there for that.

Well that's all I really have to talk about. Maybe things will pick up more in the next few weeks and months.

Till then.....

Monday, January 5, 2009

New Office

Over the holiday break I decided to make a few changes to my office. I have offically been working here for CCIT @ CU for a year now and have never added my personal touches to my office to make it feel more like mine. I wish I had before pictures, but you know how that is. I didn't think about it until I was already half way done. The pictures below are mostly of the finished results, but you can see the progress that was made on the tiger paw that I decided to paint on the wall.

The tiger paw in midst of painting

The tiger paw painted along with my newly framed SWU undergrad diploma hanging on the wall

The bookshelf in my office with a few personal touches

These are some really cool tiger prints that I found at TJ Maxx one day....

My Charleston prints that I have had for a long time...

The paw says it all!.....

A look at the finised product

Once again I must recognize those who made this project much more than it would have ever been. Mom came to help me hang picutres and she took over painting the tiger paw when she knew I didn't have the patience for all the detail involved. Much thanks to her!

Now that a new year is here it is time to get back to work and focus back on school as well. I finish my grad program in July, so it will be interesting to see what life holds beyond that.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Gator Bowl

So, I can't remember if I mentioned it on here, but I won 2 free tickets to the Gator Bowl, 3 free hotel nights, tickets and passes to all the Minolta (the sponsor) events, and $500! So, myself and my friend Amanda decided to head down to Jacksonville, FL to see the Tigers play and hopefully see the new coach Dabo get his first official win as the Head Coach!

The Tiger and the band marching into the stadium

The Budweiser Clydesdale horses were in attendance

On the field for pre-game warm-ups

Amanda and I on the field before the game

Amanda and I trying to make a CU after a Tiger touchdown

Again on the field with the team walking arm in arm down the field

As all of you should know the Tigers lost the game. It was good to see at least a good game, but they could have done much better. They struggled lots in the 2nd half. It was good to be at a Bowl game though. I can't remember the last time that I went a bowl game so it was good fun. The only downer of the trip was the I-95 traffic! It was the worst thing I have ever witnessed or experienced in my life....but all in all a fun trip and I was happy to get to spend it with some really good friends too!!

Happy New Year!!

This new year's was spent in Jacksonville, FL for the Gator Bowl. My good friend, Amanda, came along on the trip with me. We started the night off at a party at the hotel, then went to the Jacksonville Landing to meet up with friends from Clemson. Below are some pictures from the evening...