Organization and Decorating Diva!

And no, I'm not talking about myself. Robyn came over last night after Jazzercise to work her magic on my living room shelves. They were just overwhelming to me. In my recent shopping trips, I bought a few accessories and more picture frames to add to the shelves. Robyn made quick work of my shelves and now, they look awesome!! I am so happy with them. When I get my Christmas decor added this weekend, they'll be perfect! Yea for Robyn!!

Here are a few pictures of our tree. Justin did a great job with the lights and he even helped me hang all the ornaments! Notice MSU has a special place on our tree this year (it's at the top). We are so proud of them!

Also, here we are on the roof adding lights. I'm not a big fan of the roof, but I'll get up there and work --only on the porch roof. I don't scale the peaks like Justin does. He thinks it's big fun. As Mama says, "it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt." Justin likes add "...then it's fun and games with a broke arm/one eye [add ailment here]!"

Pie and Decorations

Before we sunk out teeth into some delicious pie, we went for a walking tour of downtown. It was cold, but it was great to walk off some of that turkey and dressing. Coming home and eating our pie and drinking piping, hot coffee was a perfect ending to the day!

The next day we did not get out for Black Friday (yea!). Justin and his dad began a window box under our large front window. It’s always needed something more and now we have a wonderful flowerbox. It’s so good that it looks like it has always been a part of the house! Thank you to Mr. Sidney and Justin!! Justin and I painted it the following day. It was COLD that morning, but it ended up pretty nice. We spent the day decorating the outside of the house. We were the first on our block, maybe even our neighborhood, to put up Christmas decorations (lights, garland, wreaths). Daddy and Justin took a great picture of the house at night, but I’ll have to wait to get that from Daddy.

Wonderful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving break was wonderful! It was so nice to be home with Justin during the week. Wednesday we spent cleaning and cooking. We even took in a movie. We saw August Rush, which really wasn't that good. The only other negative [major] from the break was that Kama, Stew and Sage didn't make it. They were coming from Richmond, VA and the traffic was unbearable. They stopped for the night where ever they were and heading back to their house on Thanksgiving. We missed them so much.

But anywho, Justin's parents came in about 10 and Mrs. Carolyn and I started in on the turkey right away. Tom was injected and in the oven by 10:30ish and the dressing was cooking in the crock pot. About 30 minutes before the dressing was done, the casseroles were in the oven. We were aiming for 2:00 chow time and we only missed it by about 45 minutes. Everything went really well. Justin carved his first turkey. He did a fabulous job! Mr. Sidney even got in on the action sauteing the green beans!Everything was super yummy. But I am most proud that my greens and pecan pie turned out perfect!

What's on your table?

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

This has always been one of my favorite holidays. No gift giving, just enjoying one another's company and being thankful, being warm, cozy and super full, college football and relaxing!

This year Justin and I are hosting Thanksgiving for his family! It looks like we'll be eating, shopping and making a flower box for the front of our house. I am so excited about that. Justin's parents are such great woodworkers!

Yesterday they groceries were purchased (I still need to purchase the collards from the Farmer's Market) and the cooking will begin tomorrow.

Gresham's Thanksgiving Menu:

Turkey & Dressing

Gibblet Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Squash Souffle

Sweet Potato Casserole

Corn Casserole

Collard Green

Whole Green Beans

Yeast Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Thankfully, I won't be going solo on this venture, since it will be my first turkey to cook! Justin's mom will be assisting. His fam (Mom, Dad, Kama, Stew & Sage) will be arriving within the next few days! [Be careful!!]

Lucy is going to have a pal for the holiday too! She's going to meet her cousin Sage. Sage is a 90 lb. Rottweiler. I hope Lucy behaves and doesn't drive Sage nuts!!

Have a wonderful time of fellowship and reflection with your families and I'll check back in Monday with fun pictures!

Can you believe Nick Saban said this???

August of 2007…I’m living in the midst of the Alabama football culture, you’d think Nick Saban was a king. In place of the black square “W” that graced cars, they are now replaced with crimson squares with an “S”. In Church children are drawing Noah’s ark with an Alabama flag flying from it’s mast. The hype that has been around this man has been unbelievable. When Alabama won their first game this season, you might believe that Saban was god. The worship of this man is idolatry in its truest form. What would one expect from a god/king? Wisdom? Intelligence?

I am always amazed at what comes out of the mouth of coaches…I know that I shouldn’t expect much from Saban, but he has been so built up. Well, he’s opened his mouth and my, oh my…

"Changes in history usually occur after some kind of catastrophic event," Saban said during the opening remarks of his weekly news conference. "It may be 9-11, which sort of changed the spirit of America relative to catastrophic events. Pearl Harbor kind of got us ready for World War II, or whatever, and that was a catastrophic event."

Now a lot of people are misconstruing his words to say he is comparing losing this football game to the losses on 9/11; I do not have issue with that, because that is not what he is saying. What I do have a problem with is his amazing intelligent statement, “sort of changed…kind of got us ready…or whatever…”

What an idiot! I really expect too much from football coaches. I guess that’s why when I hear one that is intelligent, I like them. Football coaches should be categorized with dumb blonds…many fit the stereo-type, but not all fit the mold.

Here is a sign that best illustrates the follies of Alabama.

Prized Pilgrim Pumpkin Patch

"If no one believes now, they have their heads stuck in the sand." --Coach Sylvester Croom

MSU upsets Alabama 17-12 to clinch bowl eligibility

The Associated Press
STARKVILLE — Anthony Johnson returned an interception a school-record 100 yards for a touchdown and Mississippi State became bowl eligible Saturday for the first time since 2000 with a 17-12 upset of No. 21 Alabama.
It was the second straight win over his alma mater for Sylvester Croom, whose resurgent Bulldogs have won six games for the first time since 2000. It also was the second straight win over a ranked opponent for Mississippi State (6-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), which beat then-No. 14 Kentucky two weeks ago. The win gave the Bulldogs a 2-2 record during a streak of four consecutive games against ranked opponents.The Crimson Tide (6-4, 4-3) has now lost two straight. The Bulldogs limited Alabama to four Leigh Tiffin field goals and extended their streak of holding the Tide offense out of the end zone to 12 quarters. Titus Brown, a Tuscaloosa native, ended the game with a sack as Alabama edged into Mississippi State territory in the final seconds.