Bulldogs and Waffles

I told you that I was coming back!  You didn't believe me?  Shame on you!  I even remembered to take photos for this post.  Even if they were on my cell phone, they still provide you with a fun documentary of our lives this past weekend!

Bulldogs and Waffles may be a strange title for a post, but it is fairly descriptive of our weekend--and you'll soon understand why.  We traveled to Starkville, MS to see our Bulldogs take on South Alabama.  I know nothing about South Alabama other then the fact that their logo/mascot looks like Penn State. In fact, I saw a fan wearing a t-shirt and thought it was FOR Penn State. Then we got in the game and I realized my error when I saw their logo on the jumbotron.  Random fact for you.

We showed up to Starkville around 8:00pm and dropped the dog off at our house then headed for our favorite Starkville treat: 

That would be a Mugshots Comeback burger for all of y'all who don't know.  I can still taste it.  Sadly, I only ate half of it and David ate half of my fries, but it was well worth every calorie!  If you are going to mess up on the diet, mess up on something well worth it, right?!  Well, it was well worth it!

We got back late to the cabin to see that David's parent's had arrived.  My parent's were unable to make it this weekend so we invited David's to visit for the weekend.  After preparing all of the food, we all crashed and fell asleep!

Now, my Mom began a tradition a couple of years ago.  She decided that every Saturday for football game weekends, she would make a big bowl of waffle batter and everyone could fix waffles as they woke up.  It was a huge success because it took minimal preparation, was ready quick, and was fairly simple to clean up. It's a tradition that we have added in to our Starkville mornings--football season or not.  So when my parent's couldn't make it to the first game of the season, David, desiring his waffle fix, requested about the time we got to West Point (15 minutes from Starkville) that we invite his brother and sister for waffles on Saturday morning prior to the evening game against Jackson State. Me, loving a good get together, said "of course" and told them to bring their roommates/friends.  That turned into 9 hungry college kids plus David and I.  A box of waffle mix, 18 eggs, 1 gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon of orange juice, 2 pots of coffee, and 2 quarts of strawberries later, we had 11 stuffed people and no leftovers. With little planning, we had a blast!  When they all left, we mentioned that we'd have to do it again.

Well, since the Auburn game was at 11am and none of us wanted to eat waffles at 6am, we skipped out on the waffle festivities for that game, but bring on South Alabama at 6pm and we were preparing for a party of sorts on Wednesday morning!  I text my bro and sis in law to bring a crowd!  And boy did they take us up on it!  

Want to see what feeding 12 college students + David and I + my inlaws looks like?

I literally made waffle after waffle after waffle!  AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!  This is what my parent's house looked like on Saturday morning around 9:30am...

So much fun!  I cooked and cooked until there were stuffed college kids and everyone said they couldn't eat anymore.  And 2 boxes of waffle mix, 22 eggs, 1 gallon of milk, 1 gallon of orange juice, 2 pots of coffee, and 2 quarts of strawberries later, we had 16 stuffed people and minimal leftovers.  What a fun memory!

Here are a few photos of these awesome new friends enjoying waffles and great fellowship and of course, talking about our awesome 4-0 Bulldogs!

These two guys rode their bikes from downtown Starkville to the refuge to Browning Creek.  They ate waffles and then rode all of the way back!  I was impressed!  Glad you guys made it!

These two just got engaged Thursday!  Excited for all of the planning that is beginning. Soak up being engaged!  As much as you want to wish it over with, you never get it back!  Such a sweet, sweet time in life!

Then, we decided to go take photos on the porch--except they wouldn't stop laughing!  Side note: I can't tell you how many photos I took in college with some very special people on this same porch! 

Then, at their request, they wanted a photo with Lacey in it!  Don't they look cute in their maroon and white and Lacey in her cheerleader outfit!

Next up were family pictures. And man, I must love you guys because I am looking ROUGH (and tired--from feeding an army) in these photos!

Maroon and white family!

It was a fantastic time. I can't begin to describe how much I enjoy being around Jesse and Danielle's friends. They are wonderful and so appreciative that they make me want to cook waffles every weekend just to allow us to see their faces.

Next, it was time to get ready for the game.  Since it was a white out game, it was necessary to wear white (or cream in my case).  There were a lot of lace tops/dresses on campus on Saturday.  It was so impressive to me how many people chose to wear white with maroon!  In my day at college, girls wore whatever color they wanted to.  It was refreshing to see so much school spirit in the clothes everyone wore.  (It's the little things!)

We saw some very special people on campus for the game. My sis in law and me:

David's siblings:

Very special girl in my life! Love Riley and all of our special conversations!  I can't wait to see where God takes your dreams!

My bestie Kat and her baby C!  He's grown so very much!  (it occurred to me that my friend's may or may not want their baby's names on here...so C is his name here!)

C is ready for cheering on the Bulldogs--except his mama won't take him to the game for fear of the cowbells.  My child will be deaf by age two because they will be growing up around loud cowbells!  Poor future Adams' children!  Isn't C precious?  Your Aunt Sara loves you baby! :)

Then it was game time!!! Everyone did really well at whiting out the game!

Even though it was one of the MOST boring games of my life.  And even though the Bulldogs played sub par for how they should have played, a W is a W.  And we are still 4-0!!!

Hate this game on the Jumbotron, but love the version this year!  Just a reminder of things to come!

That wraps up another maroon and white post.  Hope you enjoyed it. Look for more soon.  Our vacation is just around the corner and with it will come lots more posts!  Thanks for reading!

I'm BACK!

Well, today is the day. I do not know what is special about today or why I have decided to resurrect the blog on a day like today.  Maybe because it's raining.  Maybe because I had a terrible day at work.  Maybe because I am procrastinating on our ever expanding mountain of laundry.  Or maybe it's because the Mom of one of my best friends threatened to stop being my friend if I did not blog again soon.  It's almost been a YEAR!  And let's face it, the blog was dying long before then.  I just got burnt out.  I have no excuse.  But the other day, I bought Pumpkin Spice Coffee from Fresh Market.  And I thought, I remember when I recommended this on the blog? Yum!  And the desire sparked again!  (We'll attribute it to the coffee! :)

So here goes.  How do I catch you up on a year of the Adams' lives?  Well, I'll start with me.  Last year, I agreed to go to work full time as a Quality Engineer at a medical device company.  Wow, talk about a whirlwind. If you have had any conversation with me in the past almost 9 months, you know that it has been a wild ride.  God has taught me A TON!  I am attempting to not be a work-a-holic and enjoy life, but work responsibilities are intense. Thankful for the ability to use my brain that God gave me.  Days are far more stressful then they used to be, and resurrecting the blog may or may not mean lots less posts than what once was. However, I'm thankful for a boss who is teaching and molding me both into a knowledgeable person in my field and as a woman of the Lord.

Speaking of my company, they are exploding.  We are growing and growing and growing and we can't keep up.  So we are preparing for a facility move sometime soon.  If you want to read about it, you can here.  Pretty cool stuff.

That's what I've been up to.  Now let's catch you up on David.  David is still with International Paper at their Headquarters in Memphis.  His title changed from Replenishment Planner to Supply Planner in January 2012.  Basically, that means he now plans a Paper Mill in New York.  Pretty cool stuff too!  He has enjoyed the new responsibilities and challenges that come with a new job.  We love IP!  They have been wonderful to our family, and I couldn't ask for a better place for my hubby to work!  He has become an international traveler this summer with a trip to Poland to visit the customer service center for IP.  He also traveled to New York a few weeks later.  Needless to say, I was a complete pansy and was ridiculous when it came to staying alone.  Big house all by myself was not fun.

Speaking of house, we bought our first house in April!  We still aren't unpacked or else I'd show you photos of our beautiful, spotless, everything in it's place home.  HA! Yeah right!  One day it will be pretty and put together.  Until the day when I'm not working 50 hours + a week, it will remain as is.  We try to straighten, but it winds up becoming messy again. Somehow, I keep the dishes clean. The laundry is a different story.  (sidenote: never negotiate front load washer and dryers into your house contract. They take 4 hours to wash one load of laundry + another 2 to dry the load resulting in a 6 hour total time for one load.  Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but trust me...you don't want to find out.)  I'll have to tell you about our home buying experience one day when I have "time" or am searching for something to write about!  Until then, I'll have to leave you with a photo of the front of it. Curb appeal!

This is a photo from the listing when we first found it. I know I have one that I have taken, but cannot seem to find it.  Other then planing flowers in the front flower beds, not much has changed.  The house is in East Memphis on 2/3 an acre. IN EAST MEMPHIS!

Yep, that's right. We have a red door!  We bought a house in East Memphis and love it.  The house was built in 1955 and has all fun things that come with a house built in 1955.  Like an air conditioner built in 1984 and a hot water heater built in 1988.  Needless to say, we are praying over multiple items in our home to break while we have a home warranty!

We have plenty of "projects" I am/have been working on that I promise to share. I have neglected to take before photos to most projects because generally I am in such a hurry that I don't even think about it. I'll be sure to take photos slowly but surely.  David's uncle told us that he'd heard it said that you buy a hobby when you buy a house. SO true!  Our home is an ever changing project, and I am convinced it will NEVER be exactly like I want it to be!

Now that we have plenty of space, my parents come visit!  There most recent trip included a fun celebration of Elvis during the kick off to Elvis Week.  Dad and David ran in the Elvis 5K and sang along to various Elvis tunes in the Graceland area.  They even met the King outside of the gates.

After the race, we all enjoyed a yummy brunch at Elvis' favorite breakfast spot The Arcade. YUM!  We hung out downtown and went to the National Civil Rights Museum.  We ended the day with dinner at Soul Fish in Midtown. It was an exceptionally Memphian day!

Now, with football season upon us, David and I have been making the trip back and forth to see our Bulldogs who are now 3 and 0!!! Great job Bulldogs! :)  It's hard to believe that last year, we were kicking off the season in Memphis with these two friends!  That's what football season is about. Good friends, great memories!  We are looking forward to another fantastic year with the Dawgs!

I'll leave you with photos from the Music City Bowl. I'm holding out for the Sugar Bowl this year.  That was my bowl prediction last year as well.  The Cotton would be fun too!  Excited for the rest of the season with the Bulldogs!  It's a great time to be a Bulldog! #hailstate

The coming days are busy for the Adams'. We are planning a trip to DisneyWorld soon so I know I'll have a lot of "material" to write about in the coming days.  I think it's safe to say, I'm back! Encouragement welcome!  Oh how I've missed you all! :)