"Up" movie night

"Up" is amazing!!!

For the semi-annual Calvary movie night we watched Up Saturday night.  First and foremost this movie is incredible.  I don't care how old you are, this animated film is brilliant!

The Calvary crowd of course had a blast, not only with the movie but with the chili dogs and fixin's before the movie and of course the rec and fellowship clean up crew which disolved into Robin, Donnie, Paul and Donna singing songs from Hee Haw and Oh Brother Where Art Thou. 

Here are a few photos of the fun and frivolity :)

The grillmaster dethroned!

Brenda told Robin to move over and she showed him how to clean a grill when you leave the brush at home.

Hysterical!

The food line!!

Me with my church "daughter" Brittany.

I love her!

Oh, Nikki....

I loves her too :)

That's about it for the pictures because Donna and Tammy threatened to take my camera away...

I didn't find myself annoying at all.

The Weekend Tale

First of all, my uncle Billy had major surgery to remove an anuerysm from his liver on Friday.  The surgery ended up going really well, and although he is in alot of pain he seems to be doing well all things considered.  Please keep him and his wife Jeannie in your prayers, as they still have a long road to go down with his health.

Secondly, I spent my Saturday morning with Nikki selling concessions...AKA, she danced around to some cover band singing Mrs Robinson, and random Michael Jackson songs and I laughed alot.  I have an amazing clip of her dancing but Donna says I can't publish it for the world...your loss, I promise.

This still picture just does not do all that action any justice!

Then I went on an amazing shopping adventure!  I went to Old Navy and went crazy.  Many of you will be thrilled to know that nothing I purchased was black!!! (or brown either, for that matter.)  I did buy a new pair of jeans and a gray skirt (pictured), and lots of bright colored tops and a new yellow scarf that I promise to have a picture of in the next couple of days. 

(Sarah, you would be so proud!)

Yesterday morning I was feeling super cute at church and wanted to take pictures but no one would play with me except Marisa, so here we are being fashion divas together.  Gotta love little girls!
Oh and my hair...I have been putting up because it is so long it takes a life time to flat iron all of it.  I think it looks like Sarah Palin....Jerry Hoover was, of course, the first to tell me it looked good!  He would be the one to love my Republican hair...to bad for him, the Democratic brain still lives below :)

Speaking of little people...I had 5 kids in Sunday School yesterday!  So excited to see growth in the children's department at church!  I'm not so entirely sure Marisa and Elise are all that thrilled about thw new additions, since they are boys, but give em 10 years and it will be all good!
I however, know absolutely nothing about boys!  Even in Asheville, all I ever had was girls in my class.  This will definitely be a learning experience for me, as with the girls I can do pretty much whatever and they are good with it, boys however take alot more planning due to alot shorter attention spans.

I promise to have more pictures this week of my new clothes and as the calendar is chock full of items with adventure potential, it should prove to be an intresting one!

Calvary Valentine's Banquet 2010

By noon on Saturday the snow had given up it's hold on the roads and the Calvary Valntine's planners got in gear!
The food was spectacular, the entertainment superb, and the fellowship as always, was the best to be had anywhere.
I can't put it all in words so thankfully I had my camera on my wrist for most of the evening and have some great pictures to share!

We went with chocolate and pink decor and after much debate on best shade of pink I think we definitely made the right choice!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and more Cupcakes!!!

This was the most beautiful dessert buffet ever!  Not to mention the yummiest!

In addition the chocoalte and red velvet cupcakes we had chocolate covered strawberries, dark chocolate mint petifores, heart shaped cookies, red velvet white chocolate balls and chocolate strawberry tarts! YUM!

Sir Robin Grillmaster putting the birds on.  The chicken breasts were huge and after he marinated them over night they were wonderful!!

Paul "buttering" the steaks.  A much better way than last years pouring butter on an open flame and trying to set his whiskers (and the church) on fire!

Robin teaching the master class on how to properly place the steaks on the grill.

Greg and Donnie look like such attentive students! Hahahahaha!

Anybody wanna play HOT POTATO?!?

Beth and Brenda on salad assembly duty...yummy salads, but this is my least favorite job...which is why I was behind the camera ;)

Donna filling up our tea pitchers...which went WAY better than Robin and I trying to put the tea up afterwards!  Can we say spillage?

The Edge, Waters, Mickey, Gilbert table....except I lost Donnie somewhere!

The coolest girls at the whole shindig!

Nikki, Abby and of course me!

Mrs. Sylvia with her friends, Linda, Darlene and Tammy

The "White Head Club"

:)

They came up with that themselves!

Weather's and Edge's

And of course "The Edge's" :)

Mimi with her babie's and me with her babies...they made me the SWEETEST valentine ever!

Scott and his baby :)

(This should totally make up for the Super Bowl picture, Scott)

The Robin, who loved his chocolate fish :)

This of course after his run home wardrobe change...dork.

Papa and Mrs. Higginbotham.  Two of my favorite Valentines!

Favorite conversation of the night:

Cynthia: Go get Robin, I can't make this work.

a few moments later

Cynthia: How'd you get it to work?

Robin: I plugged it in.

CLASSIC!!!!!!!!

Calvary's "Souper Bowl" 2010!

Last night was super fun!!!!
I love our church's Super Bowl party and it was Souper with lots of different kinds of vegetable soups, chili beans and some amazing chicken and rice soup that took fisrt place inthe cook off that my pastor's wife Barb made.
Cynthia made onion rings and I got to help (sort of like"Shake and Bake" LOL...although I got both hands going in the flour mixture and the butter milk and made everything soggy including my fingers...I know better now.
I have never seen so much junk food ever.  I didn't eat all day so I could pace myself through all 4 quarters and eat some of everything.  I think the total tally on the tables was 7 crock pots of soup/chili, 5 pizzas, 3 bags of wings, 2 cobblers and ton of brownies and cookies and ever ground hog meat served up with crackers (I skipped that!)
The game was fun too!  I pulled for the Saints.  Everyone else else in my circle of friends pulled for the Colts...yay me for having better picking abilities!!! :)
During the game I also worked on a certain birthday present and got the friends to pitch in and help.  Will post pictures of that later once madam birthday girl has recieved her gift.
For now here is my favorite picture of the night.  My pastor in his flip flops sitting back watching the game yelling "GO PACKERS!"  Bless him.

Oh and here are my fellas all engrossed.

I don't remember what was happening at this point but Paul sure is thinking it over awfully hard.

I didn't take the camera out until the 4th quarter so alas that's all I got.  Oops.

A Mint Chocolate Coffee House

When you get lemons you are supposed to make lemonade, right?  Well when you get a room painted in bright eye assaulting minty green you make a mint chocolate chip room.  At least that is what we are doing in our current church building.  Yes, we are trying to sell it, but a new building is still at least a year to 2 years out, so we are doing what we can to live well where we are while we are there. 
The church had an old library with the most current books being circa 1960, and everything had a few inches of dust.  The room is situated on the corner as you start to the Sunday School classes so Cynthia, Donna, Robin and I are turning into a coffee and donut greeting area for everyone.  Due to a miscommunication the room was painted a funky green color and from there we go.
Here are a couple of pics from last night.

Here is the bookcase Donna and I painted chocolatey.  The paint looked like chocolate cake batter when you stirred it us.  So yummy.  The green looks so much more muted and sagey in this picture, but in reality is it more like this:

Cynthia is doing a faux stone wall in part of the room.  It is going to be beautiful! 

She and Donna were none to pleased that I took pictures of them, and they said they wanted royalties...I'll give them 10% of what I make off this blog.  Boy they are going to get real rich!

Here is Donna.  I halfway helped with this window, but it was a beast.  You have to understand that our building is OLD, and nothing is exactly smooth or even and every surface has 18 layers of paint.  This window frame also has the most wonky chaulking ever, so painting it is disgusting and no matter how hard you try it looks buggery.  We had fun though :)

Cynthia is going to shoot me for putting this up because she will say it's a picture of her butt :P  It's not.  Those pipes she is holding onto are HOT!  and she hit her head on them and said special words :)  Bad pipes!  Very bad pipes!

Missing of course is Robin and the bar he hasn't built for us yet :P

He did replace a toilet seat and mess with door locks while we were painting, so I suppose he is off the hook for a second or two, but he better get us some boards cut for our faux window or we may have severe punishment in mind....

Anniversaries and Such

Of course I didn't know this until I recieved a ton of emails from higher ups and my managers scared me with a loud "Happy Anniversary." but today is indeed my anniversary with the bank.  (A least with this bank, Hometrust does deserve it's dues for those 3 months in NC.)
Anyhoo, time flies!  I would never had thought it has been 3 years.  Three years ago when I got a full time job in SC and solidified that I was in Sparkle City to stay and not returning to Asheville.  It was a scary move at the time but looking back and seeing the twists and turns taken by those I left behind in Asheville, it was the best move I could have ever made.  It took time but I now have this amazing life, with a good job, great friends and the most incredible church family.  Best of all, I have the Corbins sitting on that hill in Asheville like real life guardian angels, proud of who I am and where I am.  I have said this many times, but there have never been people more full of grace than them.  They loved me, cared for me, nursed me to health and then let me go with God. 
So three years in a job, but 3 years of so much more.
Thanks to Debra, Suzanne, Harriett, Meredith, Donna, June and of course our long lost Freddie (Baltimore has no idea what it gained.)  You guys are the best!

Goodbye "09 and all your "Huge Times"

Well that was the mantra, "Huge Time in '09."  Did I live up to it?  Who knows, but I do know I have loved much and been loved more than I could have been asked for.  I have come together and fell apart in so many areas of my life, but sitting here at my desk drinking my super strong cup of hot organic peppermint tea I think I actually lived under the radar this year.  I kept waiting for something big and I missed alot of little, which is not very me. 
But the truth is...
I bought and paid for my first car that I actually bought myself.
I said goodbye to Blanche, the greatest gift I ever recieved.
I bought what might be the last of my host of bridesmaids' dresses.
I saw two of my best friends get married to wonderful men.
I saw two Carolina Gamecock football games with the greatest girl in the world.
I met an awesome girl named Sarah and then watched her move away to an amazing job in DC.
I made a bazillion scarves for the people I love.
I watched the person who is suppose to love me the most desert me.
I loved someone so much it hurt.
I watched my dear friend lose her dearest friend and sister.
I got back a sister I had lost years ago and with her the most amazing kids in the world.
I spent a year without laying eyes on one Wild Woman.
I used up 90% of my alloted cell phone minutes talking to Wild Women.
I dressed up as Marilyn Monroe.
I realized I have the best cousins in the world (even the dorks who pull for Clemson.)
I bought a Clemson tie (yes, this was big)
I bought two Gamecock boas (best money ever spent)
I did the Macarena with the best church family in the world.
I went to see the Wild Things with my little sister.
I saw the best guy I know move away to Baltimore and leave me with a bunch of Grandmas.
I sang second soprano (badly)
I cried in the rain.
I danced in the rain.

All in all not a blow out year but certainly not a bust.  Thanks for the memories 2009.
Cheers!  and let's live it up in 2010!!!!

A few more Christmas pictures...

 I couldn't fit all of my pictures in the last entry so here are few more. :) 

Kacie and Nikki

Pretty Pink poinsettias at Calvary

The most beautiful Sanctuary ever

The Advent wreath all lit up

Robin lighting candles

Happy Donna

Silly Nikki and Abby

Me with my cousins, Amy and Ashley

Christmas 2009

Wild and crazy and non stop, that was this Christmas.  I felt a little like I was meeting myself coming and going all weekend and was ready to come back to work to get a little rest.  However it was wonderful!!  The candlelight service at Calvary on Christmas Eve was gorgeous with the church lit only by the candles in our hands.  People can say was they will about battery operated candles but I love just good ole regular wax candles, even if they do drip and burn you and make you hit random high notes in the middle of Silent Night.  I wore jeans to the service, but I think Elise and Marisa had the right idea, as they came in their pajamas and looked absolutely adorable!

All of the friends exchanged presents which of course was fun.  My friends are entirely to generous and incredible!  I of course was so excited to give Robin his tie.  I am still not sure what possessed me to get his a Clemson tie, but for that smile I suppose I can suck it up.  This picture however is to funny for words.  I couldn't stop laughing at Nikki and Clemson in a Bowl Game makes Robin entirely to giddy.

I spent Christmas Eve night with Nana and Lucy for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning festivities.  The taco soup was incredible as were the cinnamon rolls on Friday morning.

We opened presents and I got money towards a new computer (I can't wait!!!), and one of my favorite things, a new Gamecock key ring.  It's so pretty and goes we will my new Gamecock earrings!  I suppose Santa rewards those who love people enough to buy ugly Clemson stuff :)

After Christmas morning was wrapped up (or unwrapped) I went to BB's and we went to Charlotte to see Aunt Dena, Uncle Don, and Amy and Ashley.  We had a yummy lunch and fun opening presents and then us girls went to the movies to see Alvin and the Chipmunk: The Squeakquel.  I am now a huge fan of the Chipettes!!!

It was a really fun girls outing and it was great to spend some holiday time with my cousins!