Jessica Toland Sanford

This beautiful little lady tied the knot with the handsome Mr. Ryan Sanford a few weeks ago, and although this is belated, I thought I would share a little from their big day. Jessica is one of my best friends and one of the funnest people I have ever met. Everyone loves her and wants her around to make a good time an even better time. There are not enough words in the dictionary to tell the tales of our friendship. I was honored to be a part of such a special time and was pretty much consumed by warm feelings the entire weekend!

The ceremony was held at First Baptist Church in Alexander City and the reception was at Five Star Plantation. I didn't do a great job of taking pictures, so I have borrowed a few from Hayden, Ali, and Hillary.

The gorgeous bride

The first dance

The reception scene. I was just fully embracing the celebration.

Happy One Month Anniversary Sanfords!

We've Got Babies

Birds, that is. A little momma bird has made a tiny nest in one of our hanging plants. We have caught her flying in and out of it over the last few weeks, so I got up on a ladder to see what she was up to in there. By golly, if I didn't find some baby birdies. It is a miracle that we found it and have stopped watering the plant. Bless there little hearts, we could have drowned them. I love them because they remind me of my great-grandmother, Nana. For some reason I always associate birds nests and baby birds with her. I think she must have always had some at her house.

I have named the one in the front Beas the bird, in honor of our friend Marye Beasley. It just seemed right.

Check. It. Out.

Our yard I mean. Can you tell what is different?

If you guessed the grass, you are a genius. It is new and improved! Before, our yard consisted of a hundred different types of grasses/weeds and mostly dirt. I don't have many "before" pictures because I always tried not to get our grass in pictures. George and I (G mostly) tilled up all of our old yard and laid brand new emerald zoysia sod. I think it is just fabulous. We had some great help from our friends, the Cobbs, and from Pierce during our yard weekend. Here are some pictures of our hard work...

Other than our grass, we have done a couple of other less intense landscaping projects including a raised garden. Needless to say, we are pretty proud of our work. Here are some of the finished product...

Hole-in-One

Well, I have done it. I shot a hole-in-one. I was playing golf at Timberline Trail just South of Birmingham on Saturday. The second hole on the course is a 126 yard par 3. I was the first one to tee off and pulled out my 9-iron; the original Ping Eye. I've never purchased a golf club in my entire life as I am a Stegall and our elders practice the discipline of filling up their garage with clubs while their wives aren't looking (much to the benefit of we younger Stegalls). It should be noted that the clubs are older than I am and were originally owned by my grandfather in the late 1970's.

After my club selection, I went through my pre-swing routine and let it rip. I struck the ball clean and knew it felt like a great shot. Little did I know that it would end up being the best shot of my life (thus far!). The trajectory and direction looked perfect. Distance was suspect but yet to be determined.

The pin placement on the green was in the front middle. A bunker protected the right side of the green and an elevated lip to the front. I could see the pin but not the cup due to the elevated lip. After the ball landed, we talked about how it might have gone in and I thought to myself that there was no way. John Howell thought otherwise and walked up to the elevated ladies tees, where he could see the entire green. After John notified me that he couldn't see my ball, I started to walk/jog towards the green. I get up there and no ball. I peaked into the hole and their it was, my Titelist ProV1 #4 golf ball. I of course went nuts.

My fellow golfers/witnesses were John, Brandon Owens, and Brent Botsford. It was a great outing that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Green Thumb

If you want to see the prettiest pansies in all of Birmingham, you must come to our house! It won't be long before we have to replace them with summer flowers, but for now they make me very happy. George knows that flowers are my favorite and has watered them every morning. What a lucky girl I am! I hope we have as much luck with the vegetable garden.

Look, it snowed

People freaked out. I took pictures.

My favorite panorama feature of our house and our neighbors

Neighbors walkway

Not exactly 4" but at least 2"

Happy Birthday Clancy

Clancy turned 3 yesterday!

So we had a birthday party...

I made him a birthday party hat and doggie ice cream, and George grilled out dinner.

Dinner & Ice cream = success, Party hat = no success.

I know, doggie ice cream sounds a little extreme. It is actually very easy to throw together and Clancy (and George) loved it. Just in case you are curious, I have added the recipe at the end of my blog post.

He brings so much happiness to our little family. I really can't imagine life without this little guy. I think that the best thing about Clancy is that no matter what kind of day I have had, I can always look forward to that "you are the best thing in the world" look that only he can give me. It is the best.

Doggie Ice Cream:

- 32 oz plain yogurt

- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used a little bit more to make it extra tasty)

- 1 mashed up banana

- 1 tablespoon honey

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a blender, pour in small cups or an ice cube tray, and put in the freezer for a while.

Mi nombre es Jorge

My mother and I put in a french drain at her house this weekend. It was some serious manual labor but we got it did.

Before

Before (and the reason for the drain)

Before

After

The Phoenix Ball

Brittany and I went to a charity event put on by the Phoenix Club of Birmingham. The event was a benefit for the Boys and Girls Club of Central Alabama. It was a great night with friends.