More to life

It has been too long since our last blog post.  I apologize to our diligent readers.  We are back in Birmingham and settled in.  Brittany is keeping the lights on, in more than one way, and I'm on the job search.  The life of someone searching for a job in finance is a little less than exciting at present, hence my lack of stories to share on the blog.  Basically, everyone should buy land and learn to farm.  Sharecropping seems more promising than stock broking..

Being back around family has been great.  To some extent, the lack of blogging has been because we've had a major expansion of outlets on the social scene.  In New York, we certainly had friends but it was just different.  We had more time to ourselves, which was great for our first 10 months of marriage, and could do more blogging.  Plus we had a lot of unique experiences while we were up there and wanted to share with all of you. 

This afternoon I was doing our monthly budget update and was feeling the common frustration associated with such activities.  Luckily, we had committed to go to a homeless shelter in downtown Birmingham and Mama Dooba (my mother) was coming to pick us up at 2:40.  It was perfect timing.  The shelter, which is an old firehouse (pictured above), is very similar to the Jimmie Hale Mission.  On the weekends different churches and groups get together and provide a meal.  Mama Dooba was in charge of green beans and we helped serve the meal.  It was a great time.  The people that we served were so appreciative and obviously in need.  The experience put my ridiculous budget worries in perspective.  

We will step up the blogging going forward.  Go gators.

The Roof at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Well we almost missed out on one of the coolest things to do in the city... go to the rooftop garden at the Met.  Thank goodness we did it the last weekend we were there.  The atmosphere and views are seriously amazing.  I definitely recommend seeing this if you are ever in New York on a Friday or Saturday night in the warmer months.

New York

If you would have asked me about 5 months ago to describe how I would feel about leaving New York, sad probably would not have been a thought. But to tell the truth, I am sad about leaving the place we called home for the past little while and the incredible friends that we made. Living there changed my life. That probably sounds drastic, but it really has. I have gained a broader perspective on life and the world that I hope will stay with me forever.

I can't help but think about the things we will miss the most...

1. Our Bible Study -  We started attending a Redeemer Beta Group Bible study this past May.  Our co-ed group, of about 15 people, met every Tuesday night for about 2 hours to discuss and study the week's sermon.  Not only will we miss the discussions and weekly fellowship, we will miss the great friends that we made through the group.  One person in particular that we will miss is our group leader, Christine.  She has been such a special blessing to George and me over the last few months.  If I could sum her up briefly, I would say that she is one of those rare people that you know are put into your life for a reason... a person that inspires you and that you hope to be like one day.  I think she is just great and wish everyone that I love could meet her.

2. Our Auburn Friends - Thank goodness for Southerners in New York!  We had so many good times with Wade and Pat and, in the last couple of months, Jan Paul and Mary Catherine.  We will always remember our trip to Mystic, Connecticut, Mohegan Sun, weekend dinner outings, the Auburn bar, and many more.  

3. The AU Bar - This was probably one of my favorite things in the city.  Even though this season hasn't been that much fun to watch, it is a neat experience to be in the middle of New York while surrounded by Auburn fans.

4. Our Neighborhood and Favorite Places - You would think that living in a city as big as New York, we would have never eaten or gone to the same place twice.  Oh contrar.  We loved our little part of the city and frequently chose our favorite places over branching out.  Some of the places that we regularly went to were Delizia's Pizza, a quiet little cobblestone park on the East River, the little authentic wine shop across the street, J.G. Melon, Carl Schultz Park (especially the small dog run), and Best Health Gourmet Deli.  In retrospect, it was kind of nice to have anything we could possibly need within 1 block of our apartment!

5. Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Tim Keller - Our church will definitely be missed.  If you have witnessed Tim Keller speak or listened to one of his sermons, you understand.  At least we can still download his sermons and listen to them from Alabama!

Eagle Eye Cribs

The Auburn University television station, Eagle Eye, did a special on George during our senior year of college.  It is Auburn's version of MTV's Cribs (a TV show that shows ridiculously expensive and fancy houses of celebrities).  We recently found the link to it, so I thought I would share...

http://eagleeye.auburn.edu/story.php?id=805

Big News...

WE ARE MOVING HOME!!  Yeah!  It is something that we have been thinking about for the past few months and are thrilled that it is actually happening.  Last Wednesday, I accepted a job offer back with Alabama Power in Birmingham, and since then, George and I have been on cloud 9.  I can hardly even sleep with all of the excitement that moving home and beginning a great job brings.  

Thinking about everything that has to be done to actually move so soon is a slightly intimidating thought, but our anticipation is a huge motivator.  George, Clancy, and I are packing up in a U-Haul and heading south on October 20th... just a couple of weeks away!  Ready or not, here we come!

Gameday!

War Eagle!!

We love Corso today!

The Brooklyn Bridge

This past Sunday we took the subway down and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Now, this is probably the second most popular bridge in the world, next to the Golden Gate, so I was anticipating an extremely sturdy/safe structure.  Think again.  The first 200 yards of the walkway are cement, which I would have guessed was the material of choice for the engineers.  No such luck.  After our first little ganter on cement we began to approach a brown walkway that resembled wood.  I thought for sure that this couldn't be the case.  I was wrong.  Think 2x4 wood planks.  Not steel, not cement, not some space-age polycarbonate, but wood.  Whoever built the walkway was also nice enough to place the boards about a half an inch apart - just enough to see the water directly under you

 (135 ft down according to wikipedia, but I would argue that it's higher).  That's about twice the height of "Chimney

 Rock” for those of you familiar with such.  I probably could have handled the height but the boards flex as you walk across them, coupled with the fact that there are tons of random tourons (tourist + moron = touron) walking along with you.  I eventually came to grips with all these unforeseen factors and we took a few pics.

George on Children

Ironically, George and I were the first of our good friends to get hitched. This has caused playful harassment on multiple levels by some of them. One such friend, whom I’m sure you can guess, really likes to harass on the subject of children. No matter how much I protest, she just loves to conjure up stories that make me jump straight from wife to mom. Well Lacey buddy, this blog is for you.

I just love George, but bless his little heart, he is sometimes clueless when it comes to babies and children. It may be decades before he understands enough. There are some things that I have previously noticed- he is disgusted by pregnant women’s bellies (especially the thought of touching one), he has little interest in babies until they are about 3, and he almost loses it if he sees a pregnant women’s belly button poking out. These things are relatively minute, but the other day he made a comment that pretty that much sums up his take on children. Here is the story…

George’s cousin, Emalee, was in New York for work and had stopped by to visit us. She and George were iChatting with Jenny (George’s cousin’s, Will, wife), William, and Jeb (Will and Jenny’s youngest children). They were casually talking about everyday life in Singapore with two children under the age of 3, when Jenny mentioned that she liked to run in the mornings. George then seriously asked and I quote, “So do the kids run with you?” Let’s think about that for a second. Imagine a woman running in a park while her infant and 2-year-old briskly run right behind. The comment tickled Emalee and me, but the more I thought about it, the funnier it got and the more scared I got.

In conclusion… I’m afraid that George and I will NOT be the guinea pigs in having children first!

Auburn Tigers and Surfing

Now that I have re-entered the world of blogging after a long vacation, I would like to note the new look of it.  I finally found a background that displays the colors our team... the AUBURN TIGERS!  (And yes, I may be color blind, but I can tell the colors aren't exactly right.)  We love football season, especially when Auburn is playing.  We were so excited to get to attend the first game thanks to Jan Mother and Poppy's generosity and a last minute trip home.  Although we can't be in Auburn for most of the games this season, we will still be cheering them on from the NY Auburn bar.  War Eagle!!

Also, I would like to elaborate on surfing, my favorite new water sport, after many people have asked me about it in regards to a recent post.  Basically, it is the lake version of surfing.  You start out standing on a surf board with the front tip of it on the boat platform, putting your weight mainly on your front foot, and holding on to a short rope.  Once the boat starts going, you slowly let out the rope and, by shifting your weight backwards, slide the surf board off of the platform.  You keep going backwards until you are about 5 feet from the back of the boat.  Once you are stable and feel the wake start to take over, you throw the rope back to the boat.  Finally, you are surfing on the wake of the boat!  

It is super cool and has really become popular with the Bain family.  George and I both got a chance to surf when we were home Labor Day weekend.  I still have a couple of moves to teach him, but he caught on for the most part :).  

My Sweet Nana

As many of you know Nana, my great-grandmother, passed away late Sunday night. She passed very peacefully, while surrounded by many loved ones. Her health, both mental and physical, had dropped drastically over the last few months. In the last few weeks of her life here on earth, she had become a distant Nana that neither reflected her well-known zeal for life or her charmingly inviting personality.

George and I were very blessed to have been able to spend as much time with her as we did over the last 6 months. Every time we came home from New York, we were happy to go see our sweet Nana. Some of our visits were spent listening to her stories about special moments in her life, sometimes we would try to update her on our unfamiliar life in New York, and other times were just spent sitting in peaceful silence with her. One thing that she couldn’t avoid was George teasing her with questions like “So tell me about the boyfriends that you have been meeting”, “How many boyfriends do you have?”, “Are they cute?”, etc. This always tickled her and she would finally give in and play back with comments like “they are all too old for me!”. We also would try to keep her updated on her favorite team, the Braves, until she just couldn’t keep up with them anymore.

Each time we were able to see her; it became more and more apparent that she was slipping farther and farther away. She began to refuse to eat and communication became increasingly difficult. Knowing that she wasn’t comfortable and accepting that her mind wasn’t the same were the hardest things to deal with. I wanted MY Nana back in great health and sharp mind… the Nana that I knew growing up, the one who loved to let me play in the sprinklers and pickle bucket, the one who I always wanted to come “wibus”, the one who loved to play dress up with me, the one who made the best cakes in the world, the one who could tell the best stories of her life (even if they were told over and over again :)), and the one who epitomized such pure, unselfish love.

Although I am selfishly sad that I can’t have her with me on earth anymore, I am even happier that she is now in a place so wonderful beyond comprehension. I can only imagine the moment that her beautiful soul arrived in Heaven. I bet that Andaddy (my great-grandfather) was patiently waiting to welcome her, probably in a fishing boat. Oh, what a moment!

Last Tuesday was the last time I would see Nana alive. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord brought me home last weekend for this reason. Mom and I stopped by the nursing home before heading to Atlanta to catch my flight back to New York. We spent 30 of the most peaceful minutes with her that Tuesday afternoon, and I will never forget a single detail. I can’t speak for my mom or Nana, but I truly had a feeling that it was going to be the last time I would ever see this special person again on earth. This feeling made it a very emotional, yet peaceful, visit. All I wanted to do was hold her and tell her how much I loved her. When the unwanted time came to say goodbye, I knew that not one thing was left unsaid. I gently hugged her fragile body, we exchanged cheek and forehead kisses, and I told her I would see her soon… and one day I will.

Sweet Home Alabama

George and I had the privilege of going home this past weekend and had the absolute best time.  We both flew out of NY Thursday night, George flew back to NY Sunday, and I flew back to NY Tuesday.  We spent the majority of the weekend in Birmingham and headed to Alexander City on Sunday. Two of George's best friends from high school, Stephen Perlis and Mindi Mullins, were married on Saturday and George was a groomsman.  Besides fun wedding events, we enjoyed getting to spend time with family and friends.  I will elaborate later on some parts of our trip.  For now, here are some of the many pictures from our time at home...

George giving his toast at Mindi and Stephen's rehearsal dinner.

George and I with the bride and groom.

Group at the rehearsal dinner.

At the Skybar of Birmingham, Innisfree... just like old times!

(wait, did we leave behind any treasures this time?)

George and I scooting around Birmingham on the Vespa!

At my second cousin's, Bella, baptism with the fam.

Me and sweet Nana, my great-grandmother.

I love this picture!  I think it reflects how much Nana adores George.

Wake surfing... I finally got it!

It was so much fun! 

I am voting for...

The true reason I am currently blogging is because I can't take looking at the last post.  I've come to peace with the fact that this event occurred, but when I check my bank account or look at the blog, happiness does not resound.

I also haven't posted since my maiden voyage several months ago.  I'm pleased to report that I have not had any situations involving elliptical machines and wifey in close proximity.  Additionally, I have been a responsible dog walker..

Did you know that pigeon shooting was once an Olympic sport?  It was.  I propose that we bring back pigeon shooting and get rid of fencing.  The only cool thing about fencing is that the US women dominate - bronze, silver, and gold this year.  The issue with watching fencing is that no one has any idea who wins.  They are fighting with these little bitty swords that you can't see and the only way to tell who just jabbed/stabbed the other one is by their reaction.  My analysis leads me to believe that these fencers have discovered this and just celebrate even if they know that they just took one in the jugular.  It's similar to how soccer players fall down and cry for a foul even if they know it wasn't warranted.  Let's think about how obvious it would be to watch an event in pigeon shooting.  You hear a loud noise.  The flying rat we call a pigeon explodes.  Then you repeat this over and over.  I would watch that.  NBC would make big money on ad sales and we could see commercials from Obama/McCain about which one is going to do something about alternative energy (the one issue they both pretty much agree on).  Forget politics - I vote for pigeon shooting.

WARNING

Back in the days of Auburn, I had the privilege of working with a company by the name of HDK. It is an illegal (in my mind anyway) towing company that I dealt with on more occasions than I care to share. I honestly believe that they went around town looking for Isabella, my car. Besides causing me a huge inconvenience by stealing my car, they charged an unreal amount of money to release Isabella from being held hostage. I thought that I had escaped the torture of such scamming... until the other day.

George was out of town, so I took Clancy out for his evening walk a little early, before it got dark. Around 7:00 pm we returned to the apartment, but I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my keys! Oh no! I had never done this before and, as luck would have it, George was out of town. The only other person who had a key to our apartment was our dog walker, Elizabeth. After spending about 2 hours trying to get in touch with her, I finally gave in and called a locksmith who had left his card on the doorstep of our apartment building. When speaking to him on the phone, he told me it would be about $160 to "get me back in" to my apartment and an extra $40 something dollars for the emergency call. I told him I had never heard of a locksmith charging that much, but he assured me that this was the standard rate. After about 20 minutes the locksmith arrived, and I was in my apartment after 10 minutes of his labor. And now the climax of my story... He handed me the receipt. I was floored. After relaying to him my surprise and the price that had been discussed previously, he explained that I had to pay for the installed lock as well. Shock! I thought for a second, but what could I do? The work had already been done. Frustrated and overwhelmed are understatements.

Happy Birthday to George!

We celebrated a very special birthday yesterday... George's 24th!  Since he had a long weekend at Stephen's bachelor party, we laid low and celebrated at our apartment.  After his requested meal of appetizers, Clancy and I gave him his presents and his pecan tart birthday cake.  His parents gave him a gift certificate to a really nice restaurant below our apartment that we are planning on going to this weekend to continue the celebration.  Here is George after 24 years...

The Bowery Mission

This past weekend, as George ventured off to Sea Grove for a bachelor party, I stayed in New York while my newfound friends took me under their wings (yes, I finally made some friends that are not from Auburn). Lauren Kloss and Christine Cook are two of our friends from bible study, and I met the others this weekend. One of them, Bradley, ended up being from Nashville and went to the same school as George’s mom!

We got manicures and pedicures, went "designer resale" shopping, watched a movie, and went to the beach. We had a great time doing all of these girly things, but the most fun thing we did was host an activity night for the Bowery Mission Women's Center. It is an organization that Redeemer works with that houses about 15 women who have previously been homeless and provides a program to get them back on their feet and teach them about God. If you go to this link and watch the video “To Dream Again” you will get a better idea of it… http://www.bowery.org/Display.asp?Page=TBMWomensCenter.

We fed them pizza at the townhouse where they live and then took them bowling. Although they seemed to have a great time, I believe we got the most happiness from the event. The women were so amazing and grateful for everything we did for them. I believe most of them front-hugged me at least twice. The pictures below are of our evening with them.

Christine with some of the women at the Harlem bowling center.

Christine and I while bowling.

My new friend, Donita. This lady was hysterical and danced the entire time.

A group of us waiting to bowl.

Visit From My Mom and Hallie

Hallie and Mom's train ride all the way to NY!

Clancy thinks he is a person and sits like one too.

Waiting in line at Magnolia Bakery for the "best cupcakes in the world!"

Hallie and Mom waiting in line for The Today Show and Miley Cirus at 5:00 am.

This past week was a real special one, because my mom and Hallie came to stay with George, Clancy, and me in New York. I was so happy to be able to spend time with them and celebrate Hallie's 12th birthday on Friday. Since they had already completed the touristy attractions on previous trips, we were able to do some unique things on our to-do list, they were able to witness and participate in our "normal" daily lives, and experience some of our favorite places and things. Hopefully the pictures will show how much fun we had.

For the most part, their trip was laid back and not too structured... except for Miley Cyrus's spot on the agenda!  Hallie is a big Miley fan (apparently, as is the rest of the world). Miley performed on Hallie's birthday on The Today Show, so Hallie had to be there of course. Waking up at 4 am to assure a front row spot was not successful, however Miley did see her "Hey Miley, It Is My Birthday" sign and wished her a happy birthday in front of the huge crowd. It pretty much made Hallie's whole week that she got a personal shout-out from THE Miley Cyrus.

Our weekend was filled with fun excursions. On Saturday, we decided to check out what the beach was like up here. Although we had no idea of what to expect, some of George's co-workers gave us a few tips on where to go. We ended up going to Long Beach, Long Island. It was about an hour train ride on the LIRR, and it dropped us off right at the beach. Surprisingly, it wasn't too much different than the Gulf of Mexico beaches. The sand may have been a little darker with a few rocks, the waves were bigger, it was way more crowded, and there were lifeguards... but other than that, it was pretty much the same. We all loved it! On Sunday, we ventured to The Bronx Zoo. Although it rained the majority of the day, we didn't let it stop us from exploring the exotic animals. One of my favorite parts of their trip was our visit to Clancy's favorite dog park, Carl Schultz Park. It is the neatest, yet quaint, little park, right on the East River, and one of my favorite places in New York. I had wanted them to see it ever since George and I discovered it!

All of us at our apartment before heading to the beach.

Hallie doing cartwheels on the beach.

George and I at the Bronx Zoo.

Clancy's dog park at Carl Schultz Park.