Big News!! I turned in my 2 week notice at work on January 4, 2010. My last day at work was January 15, 2010!!
I've been spending my days getting our new house in order. All the boxes were unloaded into the garage. I unpack the boxes, bring in items, and put the items in their new homes. All boxes and packing materials stay in the garage. Anyone who has ever done a major military move will understand how nice it is to not bring the boxes and paper inside. When the packers pack military families, they use lots and lots and lots of paper. So, our house is not cluttered and we can enjoy it. All the boxes in the garage have been opened, but I am now to the point that I have a hard time finding homes for items that are left.
We still have a few items at our old house. It would only take a day of work to empty the house, but there are two major problems. One, the weather. It is either raining, freezing cold, snowing, or a combination of the three. Two, Tide Guy is traveling frequently for work. He has only been home a number of days this year. I have loaded my car a few times, but I can't get the big items and it is just too cold to stay in that house for a period of time.
All of our new furniture has been delivered. We still need end tables and maybe a coffee table for the family room. I've looked a few times, but can't find anything I really like. That, or the pieces are just too big for the area. It is wonderful to sleep in our new bed with the king size mattress that has been in storage for three years. It is so nice to see the house beginning to look like we want. We haven't hung any pictures since we are not sure of some furniture placement. That is the last thing we will do.
We had measurements done yesterday for plantation shutters. We hope to have those installed within 4-5 weeks.
We have had so much snow this year. I haven't seen this much snow in years. I even made snow cream. I have some great pictures of the house covered in snow.
Saturday, Tide Guy and I went to Tuscaloosa for the First Annual A Club BBQ Cookoff. The A Club had many former players signing autographs on the field. When I walked into the stadium, Derrick Oden gave me the pamphlet for the day. I was star struck immediately. Tables were set up on the field for former players to sign autographs. They started with players from the 60s, then each decade had a turn. Also, many players were roaming on the field signing autographs, too. We also got a tour of the field house. Mike hit the "WIN" bar that all the players hit as they leave to go to the field for a game. I couldn't reach it, so he picked me up so I could hit it, too. I also sat on Mark Ingram's stool in the locker room. Some of the players we saw: Coach (and player) Ray Perkins, Paul Hogan, Derrick Oden, Jay Barker, Wesley Britt, Tyler Britt, Jeremiah Castille, Chris Rogers, Tyler Watts, Dr. Gary White, Mal Moore, LaRon McClain, John Copeland, John Moore, and dozens more. The players were all so very nice. They all thanked us for coming and supporting them both on the field when they played and in their efforts to raise money. We enjoyed watching them interact with each other, too. The 60s players were giving each other a hard time about different plays or things that happened. It was incredible to walk on the field of Bryant-Denny Stadium. From the field view, the stadium seems so much smaller that sitting in our seats looking down Saturdays in the fall. We had so much fun and I can't wait to go again next year.
Afterwards, we went to the Colosseum for the Bama/Arkansas basketball game. Bama had no chance of winning and they played that way during the first half. Something happened in the second half and Bama actually turned it around and won.
In national news, gas is down to about $2.49 or so. The economy is horrible and the employment rate keeps getting worse. Houses are being abandoned every day because people can't make their payments. Luckily, the health care issue seems to be stalled, at least for now.
In adoption news, it looks bleak. Rumors are rampant that China wants all international adoptions to become special needs. We have been "in line" for over two years for non-special needs. Another rumor is China expects to refer more babies this year, but not really speed up. I don't know exactly how that can happen, but it doesn't look promising.
Time to get working on the boxes in the garage.....Oh, there is snow outside right now!
Tide Gal
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
National Champs!!
Tide Guy and I went to Pasadena for the National Championship game earlier this month. We saw the team arrive at the Rose Bowl and Mark Ingram, the Heisman winner, winked at me as he walked toward the stadium. (Well, he winked at someone in my area, so I assume it was me.) We sat in the Texas section. Ugh. Although they were nice, we had to contain a little of our excitement during the game. Not too much, as we cheered our team to victory. It was a nerve-racking game, but in the end, the best team won. We stayed for the Coach's Trophy presentation. The team was ecstatic and such a joy to watch. This team is such a great group of leaders and young men. I am so proud of them. They played as a team and gave credit to each other.
We slept for the first time in our new house on New Year's Eve. Tide Guy was determined to move in our new house in 2009. So, by a few hours, we made it. We still have a few little things at the other house to move. Plus, right now, the new garage is packed with boxes and such. We have done a lot here, but we still have a lot to do.
In world news, last week, Haiti had a 7.0 earthquake. There is so much damage and destruction. Hospitals, schools, hotels, their one airport, and most homes are completely destroyed. Even their palace is destroyed. Their leaders are homeless, too. People are living on the street. As of yesterday, they pulled people out of the rubble. The people are desperate for water, food, blankets, and medical supplies. There is a lot of help arriving, but for some reason it is bottlenecked at their airport. It is taking a week for help to get to the Haitians and that help is very slow. The estimated the death toll is 200,000.
In national news, gas has gone up to about $2.61 a gallon. There is an election today for Teddy Kennedy's Democratic Senate seat. There is a chance this could go to the Republican candidate thus causing the Democrats to lose their majority in the Senate. This would severely affect the health care issue in the Senate.
In the adoption world, even though there is a new director in the CCAA, nothing has changed positively. There is such a slow down it is unbelievable and basically disgusting.
On with the day!
Tide Gal
We slept for the first time in our new house on New Year's Eve. Tide Guy was determined to move in our new house in 2009. So, by a few hours, we made it. We still have a few little things at the other house to move. Plus, right now, the new garage is packed with boxes and such. We have done a lot here, but we still have a lot to do.
In world news, last week, Haiti had a 7.0 earthquake. There is so much damage and destruction. Hospitals, schools, hotels, their one airport, and most homes are completely destroyed. Even their palace is destroyed. Their leaders are homeless, too. People are living on the street. As of yesterday, they pulled people out of the rubble. The people are desperate for water, food, blankets, and medical supplies. There is a lot of help arriving, but for some reason it is bottlenecked at their airport. It is taking a week for help to get to the Haitians and that help is very slow. The estimated the death toll is 200,000.
In national news, gas has gone up to about $2.61 a gallon. There is an election today for Teddy Kennedy's Democratic Senate seat. There is a chance this could go to the Republican candidate thus causing the Democrats to lose their majority in the Senate. This would severely affect the health care issue in the Senate.
In the adoption world, even though there is a new director in the CCAA, nothing has changed positively. There is such a slow down it is unbelievable and basically disgusting.
On with the day!
Tide Gal
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Bad Blogger
Yep. No blogging for a long time. The worst part is so much has happened since the last post.
After beating Auburn, we traveled to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. The University of Alabama played the University of Florida. A lot was at stake. The winner would go to Pasadena, CA to play in the National Championship game. Bama was the underdogs and all media focus was on Tim Tebow. And occasionally the rest of the Florida team. But, Bama came out of the tunnel with a mission. And they accomplished it. In fact, they dominated the entire game. The team played as a team and beat Tim Tebow. And the other players on the Florida team. It was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. Now, Tide Guy and I are going with the Bama team to Pasadena to play Texas for the title.
The day after the game, we flew to Maui, HI for eight days of rest and relaxation. We stayed at a condo on the beach and enjoyed a great view, sand, warmth, and good food. We took a long, long drive on an extremely curvy road to Hana. We were gone most of the day. Although it was fun, we decided our trip was about enjoying the time rather than spending time in a vehicle. So, from then on, we didn't spend much time in the car. Maybe the next time, we go to Maui, we won't need to de-stress as much.
Everyone is done at the house. We still have a few little things that need to be done, but we started moving our things Christmas day. And, the day after. We will also move a little today. We should be mostly in by New Year's Day to enjoy the bowl games in our wonderful media room. We have watched two movies and it was great! Some furniture was delivered last weekend, but our master bedroom furniture won't arrive until after the first week in January 2010. We are going to put up a guest bed and sleep in that until our new furniture arrives.
There is still move to come, but it will have to wait.
Tide Gal
After beating Auburn, we traveled to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game. The University of Alabama played the University of Florida. A lot was at stake. The winner would go to Pasadena, CA to play in the National Championship game. Bama was the underdogs and all media focus was on Tim Tebow. And occasionally the rest of the Florida team. But, Bama came out of the tunnel with a mission. And they accomplished it. In fact, they dominated the entire game. The team played as a team and beat Tim Tebow. And the other players on the Florida team. It was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. Now, Tide Guy and I are going with the Bama team to Pasadena to play Texas for the title.
The day after the game, we flew to Maui, HI for eight days of rest and relaxation. We stayed at a condo on the beach and enjoyed a great view, sand, warmth, and good food. We took a long, long drive on an extremely curvy road to Hana. We were gone most of the day. Although it was fun, we decided our trip was about enjoying the time rather than spending time in a vehicle. So, from then on, we didn't spend much time in the car. Maybe the next time, we go to Maui, we won't need to de-stress as much.
Everyone is done at the house. We still have a few little things that need to be done, but we started moving our things Christmas day. And, the day after. We will also move a little today. We should be mostly in by New Year's Day to enjoy the bowl games in our wonderful media room. We have watched two movies and it was great! Some furniture was delivered last weekend, but our master bedroom furniture won't arrive until after the first week in January 2010. We are going to put up a guest bed and sleep in that until our new furniture arrives.
There is still move to come, but it will have to wait.
Tide Gal
Saturday, November 28, 2009
We Beat AU!
Barely. Bama played our big in-state rival yesterday, Auburn. We are ranked #2 and Auburn isn't ranked. But, in this game, ranking doesn't matter. This is a game of State Bragging Rights. For a WHOLE year. Many years, if one team isn't ranked, they have been able to knock down the other ranked team. Bama was predicted to win by double digits, but Auburn came out with some trickery. The end of the first quarter, Auburn was ahead 14-0. Unbelievable. They led the whole game. Bama was able to score a touchdown leaving Auburn with only seconds to score. They weren't able to do it, so we can still play for the National Championship if we beat Florida next weekend in Atlanta during the SEC Championship game.
Today, we are supposed to take my niece to Nashville for the night and see the Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry. She may be a little sick, so we have to wait and see what happens at her doctor's appointment this morning.
Tide Guy is supposed to meet the painter this morning and go over what he needs to do. So frustrating.
In the adoption world, things are the same. No speed up. No big referral days. In fact, the time between referrals has had some delays.
Have a good day!
Tide Gal
Today, we are supposed to take my niece to Nashville for the night and see the Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry. She may be a little sick, so we have to wait and see what happens at her doctor's appointment this morning.
Tide Guy is supposed to meet the painter this morning and go over what he needs to do. So frustrating.
In the adoption world, things are the same. No speed up. No big referral days. In fact, the time between referrals has had some delays.
Have a good day!
Tide Gal
Thursday, November 26, 2009
We Closed!! And Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Turkey Day!!
We closed on our house on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. So now, Tide Guy and I and the bank own our house. Mostly the bank.
We are ready to move in, but the painter isn't finished. He needs to stain both sets of stairs and the stairs going down into the basement. He also needs to do touch up throughout the house and paint the columns in the foyer. He has at least a week of work to do. He seems to be putting us off. Tide Guy is supposed to meet him Saturday morning to go over what needs to be done.
Alabama plays Auburn on the day after Thanksgiving this year and the game is in Auburn. We had wanted to move some that day before the game, but since the paint isn't done, we have to wait.
Gas prices are up to $2.49. The economy is still horrible. Nothing new or any changes.
Black Friday is tomorrow and it seems stores are having great sales to make up for lagging sales prior to the holiday season.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Tide Gal
We closed on our house on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. So now, Tide Guy and I and the bank own our house. Mostly the bank.
We are ready to move in, but the painter isn't finished. He needs to stain both sets of stairs and the stairs going down into the basement. He also needs to do touch up throughout the house and paint the columns in the foyer. He has at least a week of work to do. He seems to be putting us off. Tide Guy is supposed to meet him Saturday morning to go over what needs to be done.
Alabama plays Auburn on the day after Thanksgiving this year and the game is in Auburn. We had wanted to move some that day before the game, but since the paint isn't done, we have to wait.
Gas prices are up to $2.49. The economy is still horrible. Nothing new or any changes.
Black Friday is tomorrow and it seems stores are having great sales to make up for lagging sales prior to the holiday season.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Tide Gal
Monday, November 23, 2009
We Close Tomorrow!
We close on the house tomorrow. So exciting. We still need the painter to come back for touch ups and to stain the two sets of steps & handrail. The basement isn't completely done, but is more done than I thought it would be before we closed.
Everything looks great and we are so happy to almost be done. Thanksgiving is in three days, so we will be limited when we can move our things. On Black Friday, Alabama plays Auburn, so that will limit our moving on that day, too. The next day, Saturday, we are going to Nashville to see the Rockettes.
The University of Alabama is undefeated right now and we are going to the SEC Championship game next Saturday. We are going on a bus ride with Traveling with the Tide and it should be very fun. The next day, we fly to Maui for 8 days. We need a nice vacation after working on the lot and house for almost 3 years.
My niece, Darby, had her 3rd birthday on November 10, 2009. She had a party with our family that day and a party for the kids the next Saturday. Among many other toys, books, and puzzles, she got a trampoline and had a blast with all her gifts.
In national news, gas prices still linger around $2.40 a gallon. The economy is horrible and unemployment is terrible.
Tide Gal
Everything looks great and we are so happy to almost be done. Thanksgiving is in three days, so we will be limited when we can move our things. On Black Friday, Alabama plays Auburn, so that will limit our moving on that day, too. The next day, Saturday, we are going to Nashville to see the Rockettes.
The University of Alabama is undefeated right now and we are going to the SEC Championship game next Saturday. We are going on a bus ride with Traveling with the Tide and it should be very fun. The next day, we fly to Maui for 8 days. We need a nice vacation after working on the lot and house for almost 3 years.
My niece, Darby, had her 3rd birthday on November 10, 2009. She had a party with our family that day and a party for the kids the next Saturday. Among many other toys, books, and puzzles, she got a trampoline and had a blast with all her gifts.
In national news, gas prices still linger around $2.40 a gallon. The economy is horrible and unemployment is terrible.
Tide Gal
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Day After
It is the day after Halloween. Yesterday, we spent the day at the house before the main event. I finished cleaning the floor and we are now ready for hardwood on Monday. The rain that came in under the floor has dried up. Tide Guy and the builder met to discuss the wetness on the floor. They think they have a few different solution and those will be addressed today.
We had sheet rock guys working yesterday and they got a lot accomplished in the basement. So much better than the first sheet rock guy we had.
The cable guy came at 4 and worked until about 7. Of course, he was all in the mud and had to go into the house. Tide Guy has promised me there isn't mud in the house on the floor I have spent hours cleaning. Hmmm..... Now, another contractor has to come and buy the cable line.
I went with my brother to take my niece trick or treating last night. She is three and had a blast until one house scared her. Then she was ready to go to her Granny's house. We did stop at one more house and they gave her fake vampire teeth. She loved them!! Her two favorite treats were the teeth and Play Doh. She ate one sucker, a pack of Whoopers, but played with the Play Doh and teeth for hours.
I have forgotten to mention Alabama football. Well, we are undefeated. We were playing great, but now our quarterback is losing his finesse. Our last two wins were not pretty. Mark Ingram is a potential candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He is up against some other great players, but Bama has never had a Heisman Trophy winner! Right now we are number two in the AP and number three in the BCS, but we were number one in the AP a few weeks ago. I would rather be number two right now. People seem to focus more on the number one team and find pleasure trying to knock them down. Plus, I really want to knock Tim Tebow and Florida off their number one spot. See, told you. Everyone wants to knock off the number one team!! And Alabama is tired of hearing about Tebow. He is often referred to as Superman and is the focus of his Florida team by his coach and the media. All Tebow all the time, and not much attention on the rest of the team.
Next week we have a hard game against LSU. Those LSU fans are fun, intense, interesting, and unique. And they have a good team. The game could make or break us.
Stay tuned.
Tide Gal
We had sheet rock guys working yesterday and they got a lot accomplished in the basement. So much better than the first sheet rock guy we had.
The cable guy came at 4 and worked until about 7. Of course, he was all in the mud and had to go into the house. Tide Guy has promised me there isn't mud in the house on the floor I have spent hours cleaning. Hmmm..... Now, another contractor has to come and buy the cable line.
I went with my brother to take my niece trick or treating last night. She is three and had a blast until one house scared her. Then she was ready to go to her Granny's house. We did stop at one more house and they gave her fake vampire teeth. She loved them!! Her two favorite treats were the teeth and Play Doh. She ate one sucker, a pack of Whoopers, but played with the Play Doh and teeth for hours.
I have forgotten to mention Alabama football. Well, we are undefeated. We were playing great, but now our quarterback is losing his finesse. Our last two wins were not pretty. Mark Ingram is a potential candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He is up against some other great players, but Bama has never had a Heisman Trophy winner! Right now we are number two in the AP and number three in the BCS, but we were number one in the AP a few weeks ago. I would rather be number two right now. People seem to focus more on the number one team and find pleasure trying to knock them down. Plus, I really want to knock Tim Tebow and Florida off their number one spot. See, told you. Everyone wants to knock off the number one team!! And Alabama is tired of hearing about Tebow. He is often referred to as Superman and is the focus of his Florida team by his coach and the media. All Tebow all the time, and not much attention on the rest of the team.
Next week we have a hard game against LSU. Those LSU fans are fun, intense, interesting, and unique. And they have a good team. The game could make or break us.
Stay tuned.
Tide Gal
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