The Good, The Bad, and The Dudleys

Mayster the Destructor!

2010-10-20T20:42:00.011-05:00

Since Clay started his new job with longer hours spent away from the house, Macy has spent more time by herself. Clay and I really didn't want to keep her pinned up in a kennel all day long, so we had a doggy door installed in our kitchen. So basically, big Macy has free reign over where and when she goes. She is an inside-outside dog. BUT, that still doesn't alleviate all of her "energy" needs. We have recently found that she has a fondness for anything fabric-esque to chew on. Our Macy doesn't like the regular sticks, shoes and furniture. Nope. She prefers napkins, towels, paper towels, clothes, doormats--any fabric she can rip. She loves to eat the stuffing out of anything. And my college roommates know I have a slight tendency to leave napkins laying around, so this does not mesh well with the aforementioned scenario.

This issue has translated nicely into a ripped doggy bed (see below). As you can tell in the picture, she is really sad she tore up her bed. And those two small holes aren't the problem. The green fluff inside...that's the problem. She pulls it out and eats it!! Gross!

Clay and I ventured to the land of PetSmart last night and dropped a load on new "chew-proof" stuff for Mayster. See video below of her new indestructible bed by Kong.

Exhibit A shows the soft toy bought at PetSmart last night. If it looks a little flat to you, that's because the toy had been ripped open with all of the stuffing strewn across the dining room floor. I promptly removed and trashed the remaining stuffing and Macy is ripping apart the rest of the toy as I type.

EXHIBIT A

The new image in Exhibit B has a more tragic tale attached to it. See the previous post for a picture of Macy with her head stuck through a hole in a pretty blue plaid blanket. My mother-in-law was over about a month ago and noticed the travesty that was Macy's blue blanket. It was not two days after her departure that we received in the mail a package with a lovely new fall-inspired throw for Macy to enjoy. And enjoy she did! Unfortunately, the blanket was in said shape only a few days after it was received.

EXHIBIT B

Oh well. the last set of pictures show the other "unchewable" toy we bought for Macy: the HAPPY MOPPY!!! I tried my hardest to get her to pose for the camera, but her attention span is only one second; by the time I pressed the button on my camera, she moved!!!

So my question for you guys is this: do your dogs have this fetish for fabric? Or is our Britt the lone dog in the pack? Happy Wednesday!

It's About Time!

2010-10-17T20:29:00.016-05:00

Wow! When it's been four months since my last post, it's kind of difficult to know where to start, but it has to be somewhere...so- here goes!

What a busy fall it has been!!! Clay, Macy and I have been going non-stop like most everyone else! I love fall- the weather, the colors, the soups, and the football! Growing up in Auburn, I never really knew what it was like to be around real BAMMERS. It is real culture shock to live in Birmingham, which is basically the second most populated city of Bama fans second to Tuscaloosa. I know my few Bama friends reading this will turn up their noses at my story, so I apologize for being tacky, but I must be true to my roots. WAR EAGLE. What a FUN season it has been so far watching Auburn prove everyone wrong. I haven't heard much from TSDTR (the school down the road) lately. One awesome conversation I had in the hospital last week went something like this (and this was coming off UAT's loss to SC):

BAMMER: "It was a TOTAL FLUKE that we lost to South Carolina"
Me: "But didn't y'all lose by two touchdowns? I think they [SC] pretty much dominated y'all"
BAMMER: "Well, Alabama WILL NOT lose another game this season"

Wow, that confidence is really something, though--you have to give it to them!

We've enjoyed weekends in Auburn seeing our families and friends and look forward to the rest of the season.

So, what have we been up to lately? LOVING ON MACY! We've been all-Macy-all-the-time. Have we told you about her exercise regimen? What I'm about to tell you is a true story, so feel free to feel sorry for us! Macy is an ACTIVE breed. Clay and I take turns exercising her every single day, and I don't mean just a once-around-the-block. We garner some serious weekly mileage with Macy. She and I are training for a few half-marathons, just to have a goal in mind. She's done every long run with me and is still bouncing off the walls for the rest of the day, while I usually try to be a couch potato after that draining activity. Clay has resorted to riding his mountain bike with Macy to get in the appropriate mileage for her. They are quite a pair traveling down Broadway in Homewood. Clay is pretty good at steering and holding Macy's leash. I tried it once at 5 am with no cars on the road and still almost crashed!! Anyway, here are some Macer pictures for your enjoyment:

The other REALLY BIG thing that has kept me busy is re-decorating the house! I guess you can call it re-decorating if you've only had something decorated for a year. The end of September marked the one-year anniversary for Clay and me in our house, and it is still something we are so thankful to have!!!

For most of you, the pictures won't seem like I did much to my living room and dining rooms, but being in them everyday, I see a world of difference. I have to say that I didn't do this all on my own--I solicited help from my very good friend, Abby Haygood. I offered her a pitiful budget and asked if she could possibly work some magic. I wasn't totally in love with my living and dining rooms, and Abby was certainly able to make mountains out of molehills.

A lot of what Abby did was to offer and make plans, to which I put in the work and carried out (i.e. picked out fabric, then my mom did the sewing; also, picked out paint, and I did all the painting). So the manual labor on my part certainly helped to design on a dime.

Let me show you some before pictures to remind you of what our living room looked like-

NOW, let me show you the after photos-

So, if you can tell, we really didn't rearrange any of the the major pieces of furniture-outlets, air vents and the like prevented that. Also, my low-budget meant no money spent on large pieces of furniture, so we opted for "accessory changes"--new lamps, pillow fabrics, custom curtains, etc. I really love the "lighter" and updated feel of the room. As always, there is more I would like to do with some of the pictures and possibly furniture (eventually, Clay) so I'll keep y'all posted on that!

Now, the bigger project (for me) was the dining room. Let me show you the before pictures and remind you that I wanted a different look but had pretty much nothing to spend on furniture. Clay and I lovingly referred to the wall color as "pumpkin spice"--

In our almost-70-year-old house, we only have this one dining area to eat, so I didn't want a "too-formal" look. Clay and I eat in here pretty much every day, so I wanted a mix of shabby and chic. Here are the after pictures- definitely a lighter look:

So, you can tell that we painted the walls, painted and reupholstered the chairs, and painted the beast of a china hutch! It was a lot of work, but I like it a lot better than how it all was before! What do you think? Do you like the "antiqued" look of my hutch? I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm satisfied with the results. I don't know if I'll use any of this furniture in a future house, but I love it for where we are now.

Let me get all of your opinion--what should we do with the remaining pieces in the dining room--the table and the tea cart? I've had a lot of different opinions: leave the table and stain the tea cart dark, paint the table the same taupe as the chairs, stain both the tea cart and the table, just use different colors of dark stain, etc. I would LOVE all of your opinions!

Anyway, it sure is fun to decorate, but it is always important for me to keep in mind that the state of our home is more important than the state of our house, if you get my drift. On that note, we are so blessed to call Cahaba Park Church our church home. We absolutely adore the church, our pastor, and the body of Christ with which we engage. If anyone would ever like to visit our church, please let me know; we'd be so happy to host you!

My last PRAISE is an update on Clay--he has a new job working for CRC Insurance. Although we are sad about Clay ending his tenure with Hope International, this job was an answer to prayer and we thank the Lord for his provision in guiding Clay in this new phase of life.

WOW, this was a LONG post, and congratulations if you made it all this way! I have to admit that this is the first time in over a month that I have been on my laptop at home. My new "thing" is to not get on my computer once I leave work. But it is so fun to blog, so I'm going to have to do this again soon!

Love y'all!

The Time Has Come...

2010-06-15T21:17:00.010-05:00

For an update!

First things first--Clay and I are parents! Our BABY Macy joined our family in April. She is getting to be SUCH a big girl, and we love her so much! Macy is a Brittany (spaniel) and she has been so fun! We got her from a breeder in North Alabama, and she is 4 months old today. She is fully house trained (hasn't had an accident in a while now) and she is just an active puppy! Clay and I walk and run her at least 2 times per day, and she definitely keeps us active and on our toes. Here are some pictures of our BABY- *sidebar* I never really thought of myself as a hardcore dog person. I mean, I grew up with dogs and everything, but they were always outdoor dogs and not so much an integral part of the family. I was stressed about how smelly, drooly, and shed-dy a dog would be. Fast-forward to Macy. I am totally obsessed and can't even imagine life without her. I bathe hear 1-2x per week, she barely sheds, she does not smell, and she is totally anti-drool. She doesn't have accidents. She is my dream dog. She is my running partner; I used to run with an iPod, now I run with Macy. AND the biggest sign of my love for her...I would totally let her sleep in the bed with me if Clay would let me. But he has put his foot down on that one :). He said a staunch NO and so I have to respect that. But I think that says a lot about my feelings for her.

Macy at 4 weeks old when we went to the breeder and picked her out.

Macy pictures- earliest to most recent...She's getting to be a big girl. Her full grown size will be about 25-30 pounds. She'll be a smaller Brittany than most. I like that. Petite little girl!

Okay, so that's our baby. Thanks for letting me share! *Post to come later about Ceasar/Clay Milan, the dog wisperer! Clay is all about it!!!

Clay and I have stayed busy lately--hence the lack of blogging. We've been doing a lot of work and some traveling. In April, we took a mini-vaca to DISNEY WORLD in Orlando with the entire Dudley family. So fun! I had previously only been to DW once in my life, when I was 6 years old and there was an incident at Typhoon Lagoon with a lifeguard rescuing me that I choose not to remember. I was glad to make some new Disney memories! And memories we made. Clay and I stayed at the parks (Epcot and Magic Kingdom) from opening to closing both days. To say we were tired is an understatement. We loved experiencing DW with the Alford kids! Makes me wish I was a kid, too!!!

Clay spent some time recently in the Dominican Republic with some members of the Auburn Football team (they went with Chaplain Chette Williams)--that is combining two of Clay's passions into one--he was in HEAVEN!

We just got back from two mini vacas--one to Montreat, NC where Clay and I celebrated our THREE YEAR anniversary. What!?!? can y'all believe that. It snuck up on us. We had a good time--hiking every day, going to the Biltmore Estate, eating at great restaurants, including the overlook at the Grove Park Inn, eating (did I say that twice?)...good times. Macy LOVED hiking up the mountains. We had to help her a bit, but she is a trooper with a capital T.

We also spent a few glorious days at Hilton Head Island with my family. Mom, Dad, and the guhls were there. We lazed around all day (well, we biked/ran/walked in the morning-hardcore might I add), ate yummy seafood, played bocce ball (new family favorite) and worked on our tans. My goals is to look like Lex and Lyd. Some summers I get close!

That's the only picture we took at the beach...I'll see if I can get more pictures from my dad. And Leigh or Patrick, if you're reading, Dad's fascination this year was not with egrets, but with a hawk that would perch itself right outside the window. He set up his tripod and got a lot of good pictures :). Dad, you are an excellent photographer, and I want to post some of those pics!

I also am excited to share that I have officially ended my residency and I've been offered a permanent position at Princeton as Director of Operations and Business development for the hospital. This new role will keep me busy for sure, so if I'm MIA, you know why. I praise God for his divine provision in my life with the entrustment of this new role. I am so excited and very thankful.

It Died and Now It's Back to Life

2010-02-21T22:17:00.004-06:00

The blog that is. Don't you know when you wait so long to do something it's even harder to start back?? It's been over 2 months!! Oh well. I love how Clay says to me "so when are you going to post?" and "what happened to our blog?" and I say, "Feel free to post on our blog anytime." You know what he says to that...

So anyway...life. That's what's been going on at the Dudley house. Christmas happened. New Years happened. Work and life have happened. Snow happened.

Nothing really special or noteworthy. We have both been very busy with work. I'm on the tail-end of my residency, so I get to participate in pretty much all meetings with the hospital and health system. I therefore am at work a lot. But praise the Lord that it is such a wonderful work environment and I am learning from very good teachers who love the Lord first and foremost.

I also have a picture of what Clay has really enjoyed lately as well:

My sister came to visit this past weekend and we had fun doing nothing (Love you Leigh-Leigh)! Eating pizza and ice cream, watching TV, and sleeping in. That is my favorite part of every weekend. Catching up on the lost sleep from the prior week. Anyone out there agree with me on that one?!?! She also came bearing a wonderful gift that my mom has been working on for a while. If you remember from the post where I showed pictures of our house, we have a beautiful set of windows in our dining room. They have been bare and have needed curtains, and mom really outdid herself. These are PROFESSIONAL and I would have paid big bucks if I were to have purchased them in a store. I am showing these pics to really show-off how good of a seamstress my mother is and how absolutely kind and giving she was to make them for me.

Here's a close-up: she went all out with pinch-pleated drapes and swag-

Here's the full-room view. Mostly these pics are for my mom to see her handy-work hanging in the house.

I also got the do-it-yourself itch this weekend and painted a little butcher block island that's in my kitchen. I don't have a "before" picture, but it was all light-finished wood with a brass knob. I had leftover paint that was used on the beadboard in my kitchen, so I used that to paint the little island. I am, again, posting the picture mainly to show my mom that I can sort-of do it myself! HA! I wish I was more handy than I really am!

On another note, Clay's dad, Bill, has been in and out of the hospital in Chattanooga. The physicians have been unable to find a primary diagnosis, and it has been a trying time for the family. But God is so faithful and has put so many people in place to help Jakie and Bill, and they have high spirits as they continue on the journey of finding a diagnosis. If you could, please remember Bill, Clay, Jakie, Elizabeth and the rest of the family in your prayers as they go through this. His symptoms do not indicate anything life-threatening, just obscure pain.

One more note--I made Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings tonight (Clay only likes fruit in his dessert if it's apple) and it is THE BOMB! Go make it now!
Okay-I have finally posted and I sure hope it's not another two months before it happens again!! :)

Monday Morning Blues

2009-12-14T08:51:00.001-06:00

I'm posting at 8:50 am, but all of this happened prior to 8:00 am this morning.

-Woke up and it's raining...YUCK
-Got ready, got in my car to back out of the parking space (you can see where this is going)...got too close to hitting the wall of my house, put my car back in drive, got it stuck...YUCK
-Had to get neighbor, his friend, and Clay to help me get car unstuck (muddy, been raining) and spray mud all over the side of the house and other people in the process...YUCK
-Finally got unstuck, drove to work. Realized as I walked into my office, that I left my leftover salad in my trashcan from Friday, SO my office smelled like rotten food...YUCK
-Got the airfreshner from the bathroom and sprayed about 50 sprays in my office to ease the pain of the smell, BUT what I failed to realize was that the bathroom air freshner was industrial strength and gets sprayed about one mist per 30 minutes, therefore my office currently smells like a mango explosion!!!...YUCK
-I'm sitting in the common area because the smell in my office is currently too strong...AWESOME

I think on days like this the only thing to do is laugh at how it all seems to pile up simultaneously!!

I also need to point out that Clay was so CALM and helpful this morning. No harsh words were said other than wanting to know an explanation of why I was so close to the house and not watching where I was going...Mom, since you're reading this, it was SOO foggy and I couldn't see very well {lesson learned now so don't say anything}. As I was leaving, Clay was getting the hose out to spray the mud off the house with a smile on his face. Thanks babe! Happy Monday to you, too!!!

A Great Weekend

2009-11-22T17:48:00.006-06:00

So I know it has been a while, but now is the best time to update y'all on the happenings of the Dudleys. When the "off weekend" rolls around, many of you may think Clay and I sit back and relax and hang out at home in Birmingham. Nope, we're on the road again. I was back on the plains and Clay was somewhere south of Atlanta going hunting.

I had a fantastic time going to Kristi Dumas and Mac Phillips wedding. Kristi is an old friend whose friendship extended into college and beyond. She has a precious family and the wedding was a wonderful and holy celebration. It was so fun to see lots of old high school and college friends. The weather held up for the event and it was beautiful. I can't even count how many people said "I read your blog" and "you need to update your blog" so this is all for you, sweet friends!! I must say, though, that as much as I rail on facebook and twitter and the like, the great thing about social networking is being "in the know" with friends you don't get to see that often. The catching up this weekend didn't take as long, thanks to blogs and facebook. Thank you, 21st century!

Mom and I had a fun time hanging out at the wedding, and I enjoyed spending time with dad and the girls the rest of the weekend. I haven't mentioned that my parents got two havanese puppies, Molly and Max, and they are so much fun to play with. I'll have to post pictures of them soon! Clay had a great time hunting with some family friends at a place I can't remember the name of. He told me he shot some 120 birds (quail) in the 1 and a half days he hunted. I guess that's pretty good! Here are some pictures of his weekend:

Um, I love Clay in those pants in the first picture because they resemble Chaps, and if any of you read Pioneer Woman, you know exactly what I am talking about :)

So yeah, that was our weekend. I helped mom plan out the next week's menu for Thanksgiving. I won't even say what the grocery bill was, but Dad, if you're reading, we saved a lot more than you think!! I'm going to get mom going on couponing when Publix opens in Auburn.

On another note, I haven't updated y'all on the third bedroom. If you remember, I have my grandmother's old bed repainted in that room. Well, a few weekends ago I helped Mom sand and paint the old chest of drawers that went with the bed. I so wish that I had taken a picture of the furniture before we painted it, because it was awful, no offense grandmama, God rest her soul! It had an "Indian motiff" painted on the wood. The furniture itself was in good condition, but the outward appearance just wasn't cutting it. So, here's a picture of the new chest of drawers in the bedroom. We rearranged and put the bookshelf on the other wall. We also got a new lamp for the bedside table. I think this room has the bedrooms balanced out. It is much more feminine than the other guest bedroom, which is full of navy blue and Clay's old chest and stuff.

Everyone is always asking us how we like our new house and we LOVE it. It is so nice to have space, as you can imagine! I love the privacy compared to living in a townhome and hearing everything your neighbor does and says. Clay and I have also enjoyed working in the yard. I use "enjoyed" loosely here, because while it isn't always fun, it is definitely nice to work on your own property! Such a blessing!!!

Okay, I'm off to fix dinner. I can't wait for the yummy Thanksgiving food and family time coming up. I'm making a tiramisu bundt cake from Taste and See. I'll let you know how it goes!

A Peek Inside...

2009-10-22T21:19:00.012-05:00

Well, it may be against the rules of blogging to post pictures of your house on the internet, but whatev. We have an alarm system:)

Clay and I have been in our new house for almost one month. It is AWESOME. I love having space. No more tiny {I mean tee-iny} one bathroom house with no closet space and kitchen countertops the size of the top of the dishwasher. We loved our old place because is was *quaint* but we love our new place even more. A lot of y'all have asked to see some pics, so they will follow. DISCLAIMER: I am no decorator. I was a biomedical sciences major. I am, in fact, a rookie when it comes to house-decorating. I put stuff together and cross my fingers, hoping it will look good. SECOND DISCLAIMER: Actually, this is an apology. The pictures are dark. I have taken them at night. I only have time to blog when I get home from work and it is late and dark. So sorry. Colors may be brighter or darker than they appear in the photos. AND I have to point out that my mom made the living room curtains. She is the bomb. So, without further adieu, {some} rooms in our house:

Entryway:

Living Room:

Dining Room {I am taking credit for the plate display-I've been collecting those for a while and finally get to display them}:

Bedroom with My Grandmother's old bed that my mom painted {btw: I'm keeping it real...you'll note that there is junk on the bedside table and the bed for that matter. We're still organizing and getting things hung up and put up}!

Another Bedroom:

Our Bedroom:

Sunroom/Clay's Office/Boyroom {I have big plans for the window seat area...stay tuned!!}

You'll note that I have not included pictures of the kitchen. I haven't cleaned it up from dinner tonight and I didn't feel like cleaning it up before doing this post. Another day maybe. Guest bath: no pic. It's nothing special. Our bath: it's awesome because it is huge, but then again, it's a bathroom. Didn't think a pic was appropriate. Hopefully this blog can chronicle the progression of our landscaping attempts. They have yet to commence, but I'll post when we get on that.

Thanks for letting me share. We have actually only been here one weekend {thanks Auburn football} so we're looking forward to some yardwork and other home projects this weekend. Y'all have any plans for the weekend? Hit us up if you're in the 'ham!!

On My Heart

2009-10-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:7-16

Check List

2009-09-22T22:28:00.003-05:00

Buy new house...CHECK
Celebrate by eating cheap food at home...CHECK
Get to work...IN PROGRESS
Refinish Hardwood Floors (and they look awesome)...CHECK
Paint entire interior of house...IN PROGRESS
Change locks...CHECK (so don't try to break in)
Have sewer guy clean the lines and drains...CHECK
Have air vents and chimney cleaned...UNCHECK
Pack away everything I've ever owned, including all the stuff at my mom and dad's house that couldn't fit into our apartment, including stuff at Clay's parents' house (too much stuff!!!)...IN PROGRESS (and the worst part of moving, might I add)
Yardwork...UNCHECK, but will be IN PROGRESS once we get settled in
Book moving company for Friday...CHECK
Get nervous about moving...CHECK
Get excited about moving...CHECK
Have husband wonder why wife is blogging and not packing...CHECK

Praising God for His wonderful blessings! CHECK CHECK! :) {I know that was cheese, but it's the best part}

Decisions, Decisions

2009-09-14T15:46:00.004-05:00

Closing is set for 3 pm tomorrow afternoon. Once again, I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself. I've literally been squealing these past few days. I can't wait to get my hands on the keys and get to work!

Almost immediately we're having someone come in and refinish the hardwood floors. That will be nice. Right after that, we're having every room in the house repainted. The walls aren't terrible, but I want different colors and there seem to be "bad spots" in every room- it's like the previous owners had on drunk goggles when they painted- there are obvious splotches of missing color. Oh well. Here's where the fun part begins: deciding on paint colors.

It seems to me that a lot of you readers are homeowners. I am looking for general information on paint colors. Is there some kind of guide I should read before deciding? Are there "old wives tales" that I should know about. Is there paint etiquette? Clay and I have looked online and picked stuff out, but we haven't bought anything. The other wonderful issue is that Clay is just as opinionated about this stuff as I am, so that makes for some interesting *decisions* that have yet to be made {love you, honey, and I wouldn't change you for the world}. Regardless, here are a few things to know about our style to consider when you offer advice:
- We like classic looks, nothing contemporary or modern BUT this should not be mistaken with out-dated looks
- We have area rugs in our living room and dining room that are oriental. Very busy and colorful (mostly golds and reds) but very beautiful. Keep this in mind.

Actually, that's about it. I value your advice and look forward to reading. I can't wait to update as we get moving as well!! Thanks!!!!

Do you remember the 21st night of September?

2009-09-08T20:31:00.013-05:00

I love that song and I can't believe it's already September (Also, I couldn't think of a good blog title :)

Well, it's been a while. I don't care. I know you don't either. Blogging is good for one thing, though, and that is making me go through my digital camera and upload pictures. But I have to be honest. I am horrible about getting pictures printed. I have probably printed about 4 pictures in the past 2.5 years. I love having a digital camera and the ease it allows for taking and editing pictures, but I just let them sit on my computer. Do some of you make a habit of always printing your pictures? Do you go to a drug store and do this or do you print them from apple.com or do you print them from home? Just wondering...

On another note, Clay pointed out that a week from today we close on our house. I'm so excited I can hardly wait. He said we have one week left before we are swimming in debt:) But it's good debt, right? It's an investment! Clay can testify that I have been a big bum with our apartment. I have no motivation to keep it clean. My excuse right now is that there are boxes in the way of my vacuum maneuvering. I must point out that my selfless mom came up here a few weeks ago and boxed up my entire china hutch. What a time saver! My parents also go me a new Kirby vacuum cleaner. I was so happy I cried. It doesn't take much :)

Anyway, Clay and I have had some glorious vacations these past few weeks. We spent a long weekend at the beach in Watercolor with some friends from Sunday School, Edward and Elizabeth Whatley and Ryan and Kate Thompson. The Whatleys are very active so we spent a lot of time riding bikes around Watercolor, kyaking in the ocean, playing sports on the beach, walking to Seaside, etc. It was an awesome time and the weather was perfect.
Us Eating Watermelon

Clay and Ed playing baseball

Our group before going to dinner

Kate and Ryan

Clay and Me

Ed and Elizabeth

On the beach

Boys finding huge crabs

Clay and I spent the next long weekend in Jacksonville visiting Clay's sister, husband and kiddos. I took my first vacation day from work and it was well worth it! We had a fantastic time!!! I wish we lived closer to them. This was my first time visiting the Alfords in Jax and they showed us a good time. Clay drove down with Bill and Jakie (my in-laws) and I flew in the next day. We spent quality time at the Alfords house (they renovated a turn-of-the-century estate right on the St. John river and it is beautiful!!!). We went antiquing and outlet mall shopping. We ate out at some great restaurants and Elizabeth also cooked for us. All in all, we had a great weekend and we wish we could go back tomorrow. I love my nephew and nieces, and Elizabeth, if you're reading, tell Reece I would be a free anytime-babysitter if y'all moved back closer to us:)

Here are some pictures of the weekend:
Bill brought a croquet set and we (really the kids) had fun playing in the back yard.

Us after Church

Reece, Elizabeth, Clay and Me (I do realize that in most of my summer pictures, I'm wearing the same clothes. You don't have to tell me. I know and I'm totally okay with it)

Finally, this past weekend began the start of our Mecca to Auburn that commenses every fall. People always ask me if we ever make it back to Auburn for football games. I tell them, yes, we have season tickets. Translation: we never miss a single game because my dear sweet Clay is hardcore. I love him for that. It's just that seasons like this one, when we have four home games in a row, I get a little, shall I say, disgruntled with the lack of weekends at home. Oh well, I'll get over it:) Here are two pictures from Auburn.

We enjoyed sitting with Jenna and Shug and the Tigers played a great game!! We stayed in Auburn on Monday and got to spend some quality time with my grandparents. My grandmother has Alzheimer's disease and is in a nursing home, so we took my grandfather (who is in assisted living) to visit her. It was very special to visit with both of them, something I don't get to do that often.

Well, that's a long update if you've read this far. Hopefully I won't wait another 4 weeks to post again. I have a feeling all this moving ain't gonna be pretty, but I will be very excited to post pictures once I "set up house." Hope y'all have a great week!

Old Meets New

2009-08-09T20:27:00.004-05:00

I have spent the last two days at the new ADPi dorm on Auburn's campus. Clay was in the Dominican Republic the past fews days leading a wonderful mission trip, and I headed down to the plains to visit my family. It just so happened that my mom signed up to help with all the rush food for the weekend, so I got to help out :) I'll be honest, my first thought was "oh no, I'm going to be that girl that comes back year after year." I quickly got over my pride and thoroughly enjoyed helping out preparing and serving the sweet adpi girls. I even got to go to Tea & Pie and watch the skit! My old memories of rush quickly flooded back and made me miss all of my sweet friends and the saturated time spent in the chapter room. Oh wait, that was the old chapter room--I saw the new chapter room, and it is a beaut. I'll just say that those girls do not even know how good they have it now compared to what we had!

On another note, I feel like since I've started working that I don't really have anything fun to blog about. I mean, I'm really enjoying work and I could talk all day long about what I'm doing but 1. I might violate HIPAA and 2. Y'all would be pretty bored reading about the revenue cycle, quality initiatives, HCAHPS, etc. So I got to thinking that a good thing for me to share on my blog is the things I'm grateful for. It is always a wonderful reminder of God's blessings and mercies to list out your blessings, so hopefully I can do this periodically and be reminded of answered prayer. Here's my list of blessings for today:

-Clay's good and safe travel
-location of parents and the opportunity to see them often
-health
-ease of house hunting and negotiating
- education and having a job
- the Lord fulfilling needs
- friends in Birmingham
- being fed spiritually through various efforts

Wow, listing out these blessings is such a great reminder of God's promise to give us hope and a future. While some of these things will not always be present, we will praise God through the good and bad times, always.

Thanks for reading! I hope all of you have a wonderful beginning of the week. My sisters start school tomorrow, so say a prayer for them (and my mom and dad). Lydia will be in kindergarten and she is SOO excited. Lexi will be in 7th grade and she's not as excited, but loves her new Jonas Brothers notebooks!! :)

Home Sweet Homewood

2009-07-30T19:19:00.004-05:00

We're HOMEOWNERS!!!! Praise the Lord! I haven't been that vocal on the blog about searching for a home because it seemed like it was never going to happen, but Clay and I have been looking in Homewood for many months now. We love the cottage community and neighborhood feel of Edgewood, and we LOVE our house. It's big enough to grow into and stay there for a long time. There are three bedrooms, a study/sunroom and two baths. The rooms are extra large and the master bath addition is wonderful. We love that there is opportunity for improvements in the house that will make for fun projects in the future.

We are so grateful to the Lord for giving us this opportunity and we praise Him for his control over the situation. We will close the beginning of September, so anyone who may be bored over Labor Day Weekend is welcome to help us move!! :) Thanks for letting us share our joy with all of you--our blogger friends. And sorry again for the lack of posts; this whole process has had my stomach in knots these past few days and not wanting to blog!

Alive and Well

2009-07-13T21:35:00.006-05:00

That's the answer to the question of how Clay and I have been lately. That and BUSY. I know most of y'all can probably say that about your summer, too.

I started my residency at Princeton last week, so I am happening upon a lifestyle change right now. My days have gone from staying up late and sleeping in and doing whatever I want to schedule. But I can honestly say that I am so blessed to be doing what I'm doing. Besides waking up early and working late, I am absolutely loving my job. The people at Princeton are fantastic. The culture of quality and excellence is abounding, and their faith-based care is sincere. I feel completely overwhelmed with the genuineness of the staff. It's going to be a great environment to learn, and I am grateful for that.

So sorry I've been MIA. I haven't had time to read anyone else's blog, let alone update mine. But Clay and I had an awesome past few weeks enjoying my last days of freedom.

Here are some pictures of time in Montreat, NC with Clay's family and time at Hilton Head with my family. Hope to get back to updating more often than every 3 weeks. Thanks for your patience :)

The Life

2009-06-14T19:37:00.010-05:00

This is the life.
In Hilton Head Island~
Waking up to this scenery.

Hanging out with these people.

Laying out here.

And here.

Doing some of this.

Seeing some of this guy.

And being with him.

This is the life. Try not to be jealous. I haven't been here in a really long time. And I'm really soaking it up before I start work. I hope to be as dark as the girls by the time I leave. To throw in some humor: every room in this house has a king bed. Imagine Big Lidge and Tex Lex each in their own king bed with large suite bathrooms. Haha!!!

I'll keep you posted on the goings-on of the week. Patrick is flying in tonight, so the fun is just beginning. More to come...

Veggie Tales

2009-06-07T20:36:00.008-05:00

Yesterday morning, Clay and I ventured out to the Pepper Place Saturday market {I was made aware of this here, thanks to Jennifer!}.

Once upon a time when I was a little girl, my mother would drag me to the Opelika Farmer's Market on hot summer mornings. I dreaded it. As I recall, this "farmers market" was about the size of three single-wide trailers end to end. I remember the smells {rotting fruits}. I remember being hot. And I remember all of the gross vegetables that I didn't want to eat. I think it takes a special, more mature person to realize the beauty that is a farmer's market. I'm going to be honest. I did not like vegetables as a child. I would ONLY eat them if the prize was dessert (which was the case most of the time; however, I still begrudgingly managed them down my throat). Corn- sick. Peas-disgusting. Squash and zucchini- the worst! I did not like them. BUT THEN, slowly I developed my palate, and Thank Goodness I did!! I love vegetables now! All of them. Even brussel sprouts!!

I digress...Peppers Place was abuzz with people.

It is open every Saturday from 7A-12P from May until October. There were, of course, vegetable and fruit vendors selling all organic, local produce, mind you. There was also homemade ice cream and other yummies from local restaurants and bistros (Clay said we will be coming back for that!), as well as things like organic stone-ground whole wheat flour and meal, preserves, herbs, organic clothing, etc. To say the least, we had a great time and will be going back (hopefully weekly) to get our vegetable and fruit fill for the week.

Here's what we've got: By the way, I've got some peaches roasting in the oven as I type! :)

Fresh Green Beans~

Beautiful, Yellow Summer Squash~ (not to knock Publix, but this squash was really a vibrant shade of color)

And my Chilton County Beauties~

A good time was had by all, and we can't wait till next time. Come join us if you'd like- the more the merrier!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2009-06-03T20:50:00.006-05:00

Tonight was an All-American night at the Dudley Household. For dinner, that is.

I have been on a bread-making kick (with yeast) that really came out of nowhere. It hasn't been going on for very long, and I don't know how long it will last, but I've enjoyed my foamy friends that make flour into flavor!!!!!

We had delicious ballpark food for dinner tonight.

As you can see, we had hotdogs and homemade pretzels. And man let me tell you, these are the bomb! I'm posting the recipe because they are so good and so yummy. Did I mention fast? Even for yeast bread?? Yep. If you have the patience to let the dough rise, everything else is a cinch.

So we had salt-topped pretzels dipped in mustard. For dessert we had these babies:

Cinnamon-Sugar-Butter pretzels. Better than anything you would eat at the mall. Here's my man enjoying the deliciousness~

Now to top it all off, we just got back from a Sonic run where they are giving away Free Root Beer Floats from 8pm-Midnight tonight. Hurry and you can still enjoy it!! They are very small cups, but still good (I say that to make myself feel better for eating all of the CARBS tonight. Oh well, you just gotta go all out sometimes :).

Here's the Recipe if anyone is interested. The only change I made was to brush the tops of the pretzels with butter right after they come out of the oven. Then sprinkle cinnamon/sugar or kosher salt. LOVE IT.

Happy Number Two

2009-06-02T16:24:00.011-05:00

Happy Anniversary #2 to my sweet husband!!!!!! I can't believe it's already been two years {although some days it does seem like a lit more than that!!!}.

This is the only picture of us on our wedding day that I have on my computer! Sad. But after two years, I now have the rights to all copies (including digital) of our wedding pictures, so hopefully that will change.

This past weekend Clay and I took an anniversary vacation to Chattanooga!!!! Haha, Now some of you may ask why we vacationed in Chattanooga, seeing as we go there often as it is Clay's hometown and his parents are still there. Well, the answer is that Chattanooga is a very tourist-friendly town and we do go there a lot, but we never do these touristy things. So we decided to do a budget-friendly anniversary trip here. We stayed at the Marriott downtown that was in walking distance from everything. We literally would walk out the front door and walk across the street to things.

We spent the first day on Lookout Mountain. We rode the incline railway, which I thought was fun and very steep. We rode the train that was PACKED with a tour bus full of Amish people. I was wearing what I though was a modest outfit of mid-thigh length shorts and a shirt, but I somehow felt very un-conservative next to the Amish women.

We went to Pointe Park at the top of Lookout and saw where the Civil War Battle at Lookout Mountain was fought. Very cool.

We ate lunch at a fabulous bistro at the bottom of the mountain then went back to our hotel and swam in the pool. That night we walked a few blocks to Big River and had dinner there. I drank my first mojito(s) there and it is my new favorite drink!!!!

On Saturday we woke up and saw an IMAX 3D movie across the street from our hotel then went to the Tennessee Aquarium. So fun. My favorite things were the penguins!!!! There was also a butterfly exhibit and a jellyfish exhibit.

We walked across the Walnut Street Walking Bridge to Coolidge Park and had lunch at Mudpies. That night we enjoyed a very romantic dinner at the Back End Cafe, which overlooks the Tennessee River. I had filet stuffed with lobster. Y-U-M-M-Y.
We woke up and went to church Sunday at Signal Pres and heard Bill preach then had lunch at the club. It was a wonderful weekend and marked a great beginning for year #3.

I love you so much, Clay, and this past year has been even better than the first. I have a feeling it is going to keep getting sweeter and sweeter!!!

MWTD- We're BACK

2009-06-01T19:30:00.013-05:00

The GOOD: Our weekend last weekend in Atlanta visiting Sam and Abby Haygood. I have known Abby since my freshman year at Auburn- we were pledge sisters. I also met Sam that same semester at a Farmhouse Pledge Swap- Abby knows this, but I had a crush on Sam when I first met him- we both are nerds and like running, cycling, and the like. Anyway, the four of us enjoyed each other's company in college and have deepened our friendship since we've been out of college. Their wedding was one of the *funnest* weddings we've ever been to, and Sam is a soon-to-be cancer survivor for the second time!! The REALLY GOOD: Sam's scans that he had 4 days ago showed that his 20 tumors in his lungs have shrunk down to three tiny tumors! Praise God. This new treatment he is on is literally working a miracle, and we all should praise God for this!

Because of this new treatment, Sam really is his old self and can do all of the things he normally could do without being fatigued, etc. Therefore, our weekend was AWESOME. Without going into too much detail, here are some of the things we did: a tour of the Sweetwater Brewery in ATL, a double-feature drive-in movie night, shopping in Decatur, golf, Johnny's Hideaway Dance Club, a Braves Game (I saw 4 homeruns), ROOK, and lots of yummy food and beverages. Of course Abby was the perfect hostess. Here are some pics!

The BAD: This non-working time in my life. Okay, I really don't want to complain too much, but I have two more weeks left of working part-time at UAB, and after that, I don't start at Princeton until July 6th. It is really hard to be in this "in between" time because I am just making myself nervous with worrying about job performance, etc. It's like I have a really long time to be anxious about starting work, instead of have a really long time of relaxing before I start work. BUT, I promise I am trying to balance the two and not be anxious about anything, but pray, etc. I think it's my default setting, though, to worry!! :)

The DUDLEYS Couples Trivia Question: What three nouns best describe your partner? And three adjectives?

C: Three nouns that describe Sarah: child of God, wife, and friend. Adjectives: driven, passionate, devoted
(Okay, I thought he was going to say candy or skittles for noun and whiney for adjective {I've been especially whiney tonight. We went to the creamery and I asked for 'german chocolate' ice cream and they gave me regular chocolate. That has made me whiney :) }

S: Three nouns to describe Clay: leader, Believer, sweetheart. (awww :). Adjectives: funny, loyal, dedicated.

Stay tuned for a special post tomorrow:.

Addiction

2009-05-20T16:24:00.006-05:00

So, yeah, I think I have an addiction. To contests. Let me explain...

People who gamble win. Not all the time, but they have to win to keep on gambling, right? I mean why try if you know you won't win anything?

That's exactly the point to my contest addiction.

Sometimes I promise I don't even try, but sometimes I do.

Let me show you some of the things I have won in the past few years. Some are bigger than others.

$15.00 Starbucks Gift Card. Graduate School Contest.

Miller Lite Keg Grill. It is exactly what it sounds like. A charcoal grill in the shape of a giant beer keg. Royal blue with the Miller Lite Logo on it. I won it from the Miller Lite Girls who were having a contest in a gas station in Auburn. Real Classy. Anyone want to make an offer??

Guitar Hero World Tour. I won this this past Christmas at my local Publix. Some man just came up to me and said that because I had just bought some Cheese-Its, I won the grand prize. I signed a piece of paper and he handed me the game. I was totally going to buy this for Clay that Christmas, so it was like I was handed $125.00!!! Perfect! Thank you Lord.

And lastly, the beautiful flat-TV we have at home. Yep, won it in a contest. Actually, Clay technically won it but if it wasn't for me, then he wouldn't have entered the contest. Another story for another day.

So yeah, I've had pretty good luck winning things.

Now I'm addicted to the Southern Living Home Giveaway. I enter every single day for the home in South Carolina. Stupid? Yeah. Waste of my time? Probably. But I just can't help it. I also enter myhomeideas.com home renovation contest every single day. Pointless? For sure. Worth it? I say YES!!!!

Does anyone see my thought process? Sometimes TV ads come on announcing contests and I always rush to my computer and enter them. No doubt these are like the lottery: 1:320,000,000 winner!!!!

Do any of you have this same addiction? What fun things have you won?

I think it's super-fun to dream about winning...

Republica Dominicana

2009-05-18T21:01:00.020-05:00

By now I should know better than to say I'm going to post on a certain date, because that's when I always can't get it done :). Clay and I got back from the Dominican Republic late Saturday night. It was an amazing trip.

I hope some of you read my last post and watched the video about HOPE--that will give you better insight into what I'm talking about. Now I went on a few mission trips in high school. I always left feeling spiritually rejuvenated, knowing how blessed I am from seeing how poor some people live. I also remember feeling a little guilty for not leaving all of my clothes to the people and eating more than they ate. There was also the desperate feeling that these people will never be able to change their conditions; that they are destined to live life in poverty and that there was essentially no hope for them.

*On a side note, I am not bashing "traditional" mission trips or organizations that give aid in the form of hand-outs (e.g. Red Cross). These things give blessings in their own way and they are necessary in their own right. However, HOPE seems to be doing things the right way. Let me explain.

HOPE offers people access to capital that they never had before. These people, living in poverty, use their skills to open businesses. With the profits, they are able to do things and have things they never had before- like feeding their family two or three times a day, sending a child to school, having access to healthcare, and having dignity and self-worth. That was unbelievable to see. I left the DR with a sense of hope, not guilt, because what I saw was HOPE International giving these people the chance to break the chains of poverty. They are dignified and proud. AND they know the LORD. HOPE puts Jesus Christ at the front and center of its ministry, telling the Gospel to all its clients. HOPE requires clients to attend bible studies and learn Christian business principles. HOPE cares more about people coming to Christ than they do them repaying loans (although you shouldn't be surprised to know that HOPE has a 99.6% loan repayment rate- yeah, you heard that right!!!).

I now know what Clay does on an entirely different level. A better level. I will be able to pray for him and his work more specifically and passionately. I am so very proud of him and the fact that he followed the Lord's call to pursue this career. He is truly using his gifts to serve the Lord, and that makes me a very blessed wife.

So, enough of the sappy stuff, here's our trip in pictures. This vision trip is short and sweet. It is meant to show people what HOPE does. My mother in law, Jakie, went on the trip and Clay's godmother, Nancy, went as well. There were four people from California, one man from Missouri and one man from Florida that went with Clay and me.

Here's the girls arriving in the Dominican Republic. It was hot and humid.

We stayed at a pretty nice hotel in the heart of Santo Domingo. Here is our group on the rooftop for dinner after Clay had given an opening presentation and welcome.

One of my favorite beverages.

The next day we spent the morning with a group of clients who were receiving their first loans. One lady's business was selling towels. Another woman's business was operating a hair salon. They sang praise songs and had prayer at their meeting, led by Alejandro, the HOPE loan officer that lives in the DR.

After lunch, we headed back towards the airport in San Pedro to a more rural area where we watched a larger group of clients receiving their fifth loan in the loan cycle. This group really displayed the wonderful self-assurance that came with coming out of poverty. Note that everywhere people were dirty, floors were dirt, and children ran around barefoot and sometimes without clothes.

This flower is the Trinitaria, a beautiful orange and hot pink bloom local to the DR that would have been perfect in my wedding!!!

Here is a shot looking down the street from the house where the meeting was held.

Our next stop was to a school operated by a HOPE client named Milan. Milan became a Christian through HOPE and received her first HOPE loan two years ago. She saw many local children not attending school because their parents couldn't afford it, so with the profits from her first loan she opened a school in her house. The number of children attending her school grew to 100 in the morning and 100 in the afternoon. Milan's home was busting at the seams, so Milan and all the children began praying for HOPE and the opportunity to move. To make a long story short, Milan received several more loans from HOPE and now operates a school that sees 300 children in the morning and 300 children in the afternoon, grades K-7. It is unbelievable. Every morning they pray together (a public school mind you) for HOPE and its ministry. Unbelievable. Here are the Kindergartners.

Us with Milan.

Me and Clay outside the school.

We also went to the medical clinic that partners with HOPE. HOPE clients are actually offered insurance when they receive a loan and use it at this clinic.

At dinner that night all of the members of our group layed hands on Clay and me and prayed for his ministry. It was powerful.

We spent the last morning walking around Santo Domingo. Here are some pictures-

Here's our group right before we departed for the airport.

It was a wonderful trip. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go and I want to go again!!! Thanks for reading if you've come this far :)

Packing

2009-05-13T18:16:00.007-05:00

So Clay and I are spending the evening preparing for our pending trip to the Dominican Republic. I'm packing all of my minis (toiletries, that is) in my carry-on in preparation for our journey. Clay has all of the materials ready to lead the trip. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is our 6:30 a.m. flight (wake up around 4:30- yuck). Can all of you tell I like my sleep???

Here is a video of HOPE's work in Haiti. It explains the details of microfinance loans, how clients receive them, and all of the benefits of a holistic approach to alleviating poverty.

This vision trip will allow us to see these things through HOPE's work in the Dominican Republic. Please pray for our safe travel and time down there, as well as our health, and finally that God will reveal himself to us through this experience: that we may better understand our call to give to the poor.

We'll be back from this short trip on Saturday night, so look for a post on Sunday!

MWTD

2009-05-11T20:05:00.010-05:00

Mondays with the Dudleys is upon us. I don't really have much to say. Clay and I have had a low-key day.

So, here we go...

The GOOD: our trip to the Dominican Republic together that is coming up. This Thursday we'll be leaving for a HOPE trip to the DR; Clay leads these "vision" trips to the DR every few months. I am so excited to finally be going with him. We'll be spending time with HOPE clients who receive the microloans, and we'll learn how the Lord has worked in their lives. I can't wait!

Clay and I also took a quick trip to Wally World a while ago. We are encouraged to carry-on our luggage, so I'm downsizing all of my toiletries to fit the 3-ounce rule. I felt like a kid in a candy store AND a kid buying first-day-of-school supplies. It is so amazing how many baby-size products stores have now. They don't just carry a store/generic brand toothpaste, shampoo, and hairspray. They have EXACTLY WHAT I USE:

Crest ProHealth Toothpaste

Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo

(But anyone who knows me well knows that I shampoo-rotate. Clay said we would probably need 2 mini bottles of shampoo, so I also bought a Pantene Pro-V mini to rotate with. You know what I'm talking about, right?)

And Tresemme Extrahold Hairspray

The cute containers make me SO HAPPY. I am easily pleased. :)

Seriously, all toiletries aside, I am ready to be able to experience what Clay does while he's down there. People from California, Florida, Missouri, and Alabama will be joining us on the trip. Pray for our safety and for God to reveal himself to all of us while we're down there. I'll blog more about it this week to remind you :)

The BAD: BURNT POPCORN SMELL. I mean I really did it this time. I put a 100-calorie small bag of popcorn in the micro for THREE minutes. Bag on Fire. Popcorn on Fire. Black smoke in our house. Nasty smell EVERYWHERE. It was bad. I did this right before graduation, mind you.

We completely aired out the house on Saturday. It helped some. I used Lysol air sanitizer. I used candles. I put a bowl of water and cinnamon sticks in the microwave to remove the smell in there. Any suggestions??? The smell is not as bad now, but it's still there. Especially in the kitchen! I'm just glad no one has asked me lately why I smell like a fireplace.

QUESTION: If you had to move where would you like to live?

C: My answer is living somewhere with no holds barred: having all the means and no repercussions. There are two categories. In the "dream" category: either Scotland or a Caribbean island. In Scotland I'd want to live in a small community and be near the highlands, hunt, hike, and get to know some Scots. In the Caribbean I'd like to live an island life on island time. Second category is "realistically." So realistically, I wouldn't mind living in Chattanooga, Birmingham, or Auburn. But I'm good right now in Birmingham.

S: OOH that's a tough one. Probably the beach. I mean, If I HAD to. What a tough life that would be. But Clay and I both love being close (i.e. a short drive away) to both our families, so I wouldn't want to move too far away.

What do all of you say to that question??? Now that I type that, more places come to mind--Charleston, Hilton Head, Deer Valley, Aspen, Hawaii...?????

Graduate School...Check

2009-05-09T22:19:00.014-05:00

I am finished with my masters program at UAB. I don't really want to spend an entire post talking about myself, but I had a lot of people who made this a special weekend for me, so I would like to share that with all of you readers out there so that these special people can take some credit.

I am finished with the "school" part of my Master of Science in Health Administration degree. I won't technically graduate until next May because the year-long administrative residency is considered part of the degree; but since my classmates and I are scattered all over the country doing residencies and we are done with the education part of our program, we had our graduation dinner on Friday night to conclude our master's education. Friday night may be the last time I see some of my classmates, but I hope I'm wrong.

I was so fortunate to have my parents and Clay's parents come in town on Friday for the graduation dinner. Erin Mosley and Adam Waldron were so sweet to watch Lydia and Lexi on Friday while we attended the dinner. I know they had a GREAT time, Erin!!! Thank you so much :)

The dinner itself was very special. We had a great time socializing and reminiscing. We each had a chance to talk about where we would be doing our residencies and to recognize the people who were with us that night. Also, our teachers got up and gave each of us a "gag gift" type award. For example, one classmate got an award for being most likely to be late to work. I was given the "Professional P's and Q's Award," which I attribute to my love for Emily Post Etiquette. We all took a group photo after the banquet was over with our favorite professor, Dr. Houser, sitting in front of us.

My parents, Bill and Jakie, Clay and I then went over to Billy and Nancy Jackson's house to have drinks and dessert after the dinner. The Jacksons are dear friends of the Dudleys and Clay's godparents. Bill and Jakie surprised me with a set of hand-painted canisters that I had coveted from a store in Signal Mountain. Of course Clay had tried to buy them for me about a month ago, but sneaky Bill had already bought them and told the store manager to tell Clay they were sold out and that Bill had nothing to do with it. What a trickster. Here is a picture of the canisters that I took in the store back a few months ago to show Clay: Thank you Bill and Jakie.

My parents drove back to Auburn. Their gift to me was a diamond and sapphire ring. My mom's parents gave her this ring when she graduated from graduate school (Samford in Education) and now the ring belongs to me (although I have been wearing it for a few years now). It is officially mine. What a special gift. Thank you mom and dad.

We spent the night at the Jacksons with Bill and Jakie and had a great breakfast together Saturday morning enjoying each other's company.

Saturday night, I got the biggest surprise. Clay and I had plans to go eat dinner with Kate and Ryan Thompson, our friends from Sunday School. When I walked into Dave's pizza, all of our SS friends were there waiting to surprise me for finishing grad school. Clay had organized the entire get-together. I was totally surprised and completely humbled that these sweet friends came to dinner to support me. God is good. We had a great night, and of course, the food was awesome.

I received beautiful flowers from Clay as well-

Thank you Clay, and thank you everyone who came to dinner.

I am sitting at home now; it's late on Saturday. I'm enjoying the leftover cake mom brought to celebrate-

I can't help but to praise God for his blessings and mercies He has shown me these past few years of school. I feel completed blessed to have had the opportunity to further my education with graduate school. "I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." -Psalm 7:17.

A Shucking Good Time

2009-05-07T11:57:00.010-05:00

Well all you green thumb gardeners out there--you may want to stop reading this post now. What I am about to say is something you're sure to already know. However, the purpose of this blog entry is to educate my not-so-country-culinary-challenged friends who may not know how to shuck corn properly.

*DISCLAIMER* this might not be the "proper" way to shuck corn, but it's my way, and I find it quite easy.

First of all, RUN to your local Publix store. For the past two weeks and counting, they have 8 ears of Fresh Florida Sweet Corn on sale for $2 (for all you mathematicians out there, that's 4 ears for $1, or $0.25 per ear). You better believe we've bought 20 ears of corn and paid $6. Hot dog.

That being said, I need to be honest with you all. That's what blogging is all about, honesty. As soon as I came home from the store with all of this fresh wonderfulness, I called my mom and said "How do you shuck corn and can I freeze it?" That is important because Clay and I, although fresh vegetable fanatics, cannot polish off 20 ears of corn before they spoil, so YES you can freeze the corn once you shuck it.

So, with the help and wisdom of dear ol' mom, here is the process of shuckin' --

Step One: Admire your beautiful produce. Wouldn't it be wonderful to grow this yourself? I wonder what our landlord people would think of me planting a garden out back?

Step Two: Cut off the top of the ear, just about 1/2 an inch down from the top. The "top" is obviously the end where all of the leaves grow up to, not out of (that's the bottom). That's technical, right?

Step Three: Begin peeling off a small section of husks and silks. I learned that from momma. Note: if you try and pull a big hunk of leaves, it's too difficult. Start with a small section of husks and then it's easier to grab bigger chunks.

Step Four: Finish pulling off all the husks and as much of the silk as you can. Don't worry if you can't get all of the silks off--they fall off during the cooking process (boiling, steaming, roasting, etc.).

Step Five: Just give a little tug and twist and the husks should snap right off the ear of corn. You probably can't tell in the picture, but I just snapped off the corn from the husks.

Now, check out all of that beautiful, fresh, Florida sweet corn. It's all loaded up and ready to go in my freezer. I'm really tempted to buy about 20 more ears, but that would take up too much precious freezer space.

I do have a question, however. Does anyone know why some ears are yellow and some are more white? Just wondering...

Now, everyone go run to Publix and join the shucking fun. From start to finish, it took be about 10 minutes to shuck 12 ears of corn. I think it's totally worth it not paying more for the already frozen or canned stuff!!

WWTD

2009-05-06T09:20:00.009-05:00

Okay kids, better late than never. We're going with a Wednesdays With the Dudleys today, and I'll do my darndest to try to stick to the MWTD schedule from now on.

How is your hump day going? It's overcast outside, but I'm hulled up watching Cool Runnings on t.v. right now. Ah, the life of a post-graduate-student-not-yet-starting-work. I am liking it. A. LOT.

Now on to the goods:

The GOOD: Babysitting the girls this weekend. By the time the weekend had come and gone, Clay and I were pooped, but we had a great time being faux parents. The girls remind us that we are in no rush :) We got there on Thursday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Here's a picture of the girls when Lexi got home from school. We walked/rode down the street to pick her up at the bus stop-

We hit up Chick-fil-A Friday for dinner to get out of the house and allow Big Lyd to run off some steam. Here are some pics from the night-

Lydia also had a milestone event pass this past week: she lost her first tooth.

The tooth fairy brought her a silver dollar, and this is the dialogue she used to explain this to me:

L: I got a silver dollar, Sarah. There are two kinds of dollars; mine is not like the green one, it's like a penny.
S: You mean like a quarter?
L: Yeah, because a penny is brown, like me

What a nut. Anyway, we went to the pool and soaked up some rays on Saturday. What a difficult life. Stuart and Renee Winkler came over and we all cooked out on Saturday night. We played a little GH to round out the night.

---------------------------------------------------
Onto a different subject now, my mom has been slowly re-doing her kitchen. She added a new rug, did all new curtains, chair covers, window seat cover and pillows, new light fixture, and she still has some painting and new hardware to go. Here are a few pictures of all of her hard work- Isn't she talented???

Okie Doke, now moving on...

The BAD: Babysitting the girls this weekend. Only because I had to wake up at 6:00 am with Lexi to see her off to school, and no matter how late we let Lydia stay up at night (sorry Mom and Dad), she was still downstairs before 7:00 am to wake us up (on the weekend). Clay and I are just that spoiled married couple without kids and we like to sleep. We lost some of that sleep this weekend. I had to keep an eye on my grumpy monitor. But other than that, we loved it!!

Question: What does your partner bring to your life that wouldn't be there without them?

C: Some of the good things she brings are her incredible support and encouragement. I get good suppers every night. I laugh a lot with Sarah and she always makes sure there aren't too many dull moments in the marriage. Now she also brings some interesting things: that she can be a little whiney (me: what? what are you talking about??) but sometimes I think it's cute; the temperature from the air conditioner fluctuates on a daily basis-Sarah won't change her clothes to bring about temperature change, just the A/C. Finally, the joys of a mixed marriage between a morning person (C) and a not-so-morning person (S).

S: Well that was all so lovely, Clay. What you bring to my life: guns, hunting equipment, Auburn football pictures and memorabilia, dirt, germs, etc. But I LOVE IT. You bring that other part of me that God specifically created for me. You make me laugh and you bring accountability and support.

Long Time, No Blog

2009-04-28T21:15:00.011-05:00

We're right where we have been. At least where I have been. Let me explain my blogging hiatus.

I saw Clay Sunday night for the first time in 8 days. That's right, EIGHT DAYS. I don't care that last summer we didn't see each other for three weeks at a time. Eight days is long, no matter what. SO, I stayed busy with schoolwork and didn't blog about the fact that I was sitting at home. Alone. By. Myself.

Clay was in Pennsylvania for work, so I headed to Auburn Thursday-Sunday. The purpose of my trip was threefold: 1. to help my mom paint her kitchen (she's doing an awesome renovation, I'll post pictures next week) 2. to go to Allie Fuller and Christopher Selman's wedding and 3. to PLAY and not be alone in Birmingham.

Well, I certainly did play. I drove down on Thursday and went straight to the pool. I know that is so spoiled of me, but this is the last time in my life, I'm afraid, that I'll ever do this. Once I start work, pool days during the week will be a thing of the past. Lydia and mom joined me at the pool again on Friday.

Lyd took this picture of mom and me--I love that she conveniently cropped out our mid-sections.

She showed off her loose tooth to me.

She wouldn't let me pull it, although you can see the permanent tooth growing in behind the baby tooth. I think I'll get it out of her this weekend (Clay and I are going to Auburn to babysit the girls this coming weekend while my parents go on the East Alabama Medical Center Board Retreat at Watercolor. I'm jealous).

I enjoyed picking Lydia up from school and waiting for Lexi to ride the bus home from school. That was my second favorite time of the day. My most favorite was in the morning when mom and I would workout together. It brings back all the memories of us training for the Chicago Marathon together. Running outside and having all the time in the world to chat it up! My parents did a 70 mile (oh, excuse me dad, 77 mile) bike ride on Saturday morning, so I got up with the girls and we had breakfast together then played guitar hero. Two sidenotes: 1. nothing is sweeter than a 5 year old waking you up in the morning--UNLESS it's a Saturday morning and it's before 7 a.m. and 2. nothing is funnier than my two sisters rocking it out to songs like "Freak on a Leash" by Korn, "Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, and "Dammit" by Blink-182. As Lexi would say, "only the title of the song is bad." I love you mom and dad, but I think it's safe to say that these two get away with way more than the older three of us did:)

Mom and I bought out the Ann Taylor Loft store in Auburn on Saturday. Basically, mom never buys clothes and has a wardrobe from the 1970's that needed a little make-over. I told dad something like, "don't worry, we won't spend more than $500" on the way out the door. Of course he freaked out and I assured him we wouldn't spend that much. Well, needless to say, without going into a dollar amount, let's just say that maybe I shouldn't have joked about that, and mom should be safe for at least the next decade. We didn't just confine ourselves to Ann Taylor Loft. We expanded into other stores in the mall. But, we had a great time!!!! And just so you're wondering, I didn't buy a thing (Clay will read this, but he compulsively checks our credit card statement so he would have known by now anyway if I did. Love you honey, and I'm glad you keep up with our finances so well!). Oh, and my mom looks smokin' hot in all of her new clothes. I promise my dad is not even worried about the bill because my mom modeled all of the new clothes for him when we got home. So fun!

Sunday I went to the new Resonate service at AUMC with Lexi. Tim Chambliss did an awesome job leading the music, and I thoroughly enjoyed the service. It reminded me a lot of Encounter that I went to in college. That or Campus Crusade.

I got home late afternoon and picked Clay up at the Summit where he and some of his buddies had just returned from the Talladega Nascar Race. Puke. But he LOVED it. They all dressed the part, if you can tell in this picture. I just pleaded with Clay to wear sunscreen and to reapply throughout the day so that he didn't turn into a real redneck. He obliged. I was grateful. For a real treat, zoom into this picture and see if you can read Clay's hat. I'm so lucky, aren't I?

Anyway, we're happy at home right now. My last class ever was last night, and I now have two finals and then I'm done. I can hardly believe it. My graduation dinner is next Friday, so that may be the last time in a long time that I see some of my classmates. Anyway, now is not the time to get nostalgic. Another day. Another post.

Hope you've all had a great Tuesday!!!

MWTD

2009-04-20T22:03:00.003-05:00

The GOOD: This is the LAST FULL WEEK of school left in my entire life!!! Can you believe that?!? Sorry to blog about graduate school so much, but at this stage in my life, it is all coming to a close. Next Monday is my last day of class, and I've got presentations and finals that will be done by May 4 (two Monday from today). So although I'm busy at this moment, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I will go ahead and say that I am NOT looking forward to all of my classmates/friends leaving, but I am and thrilled about being done with school.

The BAD: Well, I don’t really like whiney posts, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Clay and I both had the “yuckies” this past weekend. Clay has had bad allergies and I think I caught something from him. We both had low-grade fevers on Saturday, so that put all of my studying/cleaning/getting-stuff-done plans on hold. So yeah, I felt a lot better by Sunday (I think I have a stellar immune system. I take a daily multi-vitamin) while Clay still feels pretty stopped-up.

Question: Is it more important for communication to be authentic or kind?

C: Authentic. I’d rather be completely honest with you (Sarah) and have you know the truth than try to lie and sugar-coat things. And as they say, the truth hurts. (Clay laughs). Me: but what about when I ask if I look fat? Clay: Then the answer is automatically no (good answer!!!!).

S: Well, my answer is a little more hazy, if I’m being honest. I think I tend to use the “kind” route a little more than Clay does. To be more specific, and keeping honest, I probably tell a few more white lies than Clay does. This is really a quality that I’m trying to work on, but for the most part, they are innocent. I never skirt the truth on anything that is important (in my mind). So yeah, it is super important for our communication to be authentic, aka honest, but I tend to be "kind" sometimes, too (Yeah, Clay, the man at the barber shop didn't butcher your hair--it looks great!! See picture below of Clay's really short haircut- I LOVE YOU HONEY :)

Monday Laughs

2009-04-20T13:04:00.005-05:00

Hello friends. My creative juices are not yet flowing this Monday, so I thought I'd leave you with some of my all-time favorite youtube vidoes. I cried watching a few of them, so I promise they won't disappoint. I'm sure many of you have seen most of them, but if you haven't, do yourself a HUGE favor and watch. I mean, I LOVE to laugh, don't you?!?!

First up: Zombie kid likes turtles

Next: Little boy recreating above video

Rounding Third: little boy after his trip to the dentist

Homerun: (Watch all of this, you will be on the floor laughing) Richard Simmons on Who's Line *I'd like to shout-out to B-Dub for first showing me this video

Come back tonight for a MWTD post. It may be late, so you might end up reading "Tuesdays with the Dudleys." Have a great day!!!

What's in store for me-

2009-04-17T08:07:00.002-05:00

Some of you know that I'll be finished with my Master Degree in Health Administration in a few short weeks. Part of my degree requirement is the completion of an administrative residency. All of my classmates and I went through the search process for our residencies this past fall, and I was selected to be at Princeton Baptist Medical Center. They were my first choice, and I feel very blessed to have such a great residency with such a great preceptor, Keith Parrott, CEO of Princeton. I start work July 1, and I can't wait!

Anyway, the front page of The Birmingham News yesterday had this article about the upcoming happenings at Princeton. I am really excited to be a part of it. If you're bored, give it a look- Happy Friday!

Product Promotion: F-L-A-V-I-A

2009-04-15T19:10:00.006-05:00

I thinks it's about time I shared with all of you one of my many obsessions: my FLAVIA Machine. The first time I came to know Flavia was last summer in Dallas when I was at Baylor. I was introduced to this wonderful, industrialized machine that made exotic coffees, teas, and other drinks at the drop of a hat, with no clean-up or hassle!!! It was amazing. I drank, on average, three cups of coffee a day (mind you, they were small, 8 oz. cups). I was sad to leave Baylor at the end of the summer, and even sadder to leave behind Flavia. Back to my boring old Cuisinart coffee maker, where I had to do all the work of filling up the machine with water every time I wanted coffee, to pouring the grinds, to waiting forever for the coffee to brew, and then all the yucky clean-up. EVERY DAY.

Fast-forward to this past fall. Clay and I met the Barnetts, a couple that had just moved to Birmingham from Dallas, and lo and behold, they had a personal flavia machine in their house!!!! I couldn't believe it. I immediately asked Clay and my mom and dad and whoever else would listen that I wanted this as a present! My birthday came up in October, and with a little hinting from Clay, mom and dad surprised me with the FLAVIA FUSION DELUXE HOME DRINK STATION. It is awesome, to say the least.

Let me show you, visually, why I love this machine. *PLEASE ignore the tacky vinyl/linoleum/coral&sand countertops in our apartment, and the surroundings*

.:Flavia comes in a gorgeous stainless steel finish, a perfect compliment to any kitchen. Notice its sleek and compact size:.

.:Flavia brews each cup of coffee separately, insuring a FRESH cup every time. You refill the water basin about every 10 cups. There are TONS of fresh or flavored coffees to choose from with varying strengths. There are also many teas and other beverages, such as Dove Hot Chocolate. Today, I will be making a CHAI TEA LATTE (Can you believe that?!?! with my flavia):.

.:It is simple to brew. Insert Flavor packs. No opening packets or removing wet, dirty packets. You never touch anything dirty:.

.:In about 30 seconds, voila, A DELICIOUS hot beverage. I PROMISE it tastes as good as it looks. It is definitely starbucks quality. You can combine packets and make drinks like Cappuccinos, Cafe Lattes, Milky Way Latte, Lemon Green Tea, Italian or Kenyan Roast Coffees, etc.) The list goes on and on- Do yourself a favor, and browse the varieties here:.

If you're wondering about the price, I don't think FLAVIA is any more expensive than your average Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks coffees that you make at home. If you frequent the Starbucks drive-thrus, then you'll definitely be doing yourself a favor by staying in. Just think about it! The link is here.

And now, I'm off to enjoy my Chai Tea Latte for dessert...did I mention it's fat-free and only 40 calories, and tastes like heaven!!!

MWTD

2009-04-13T19:11:00.020-05:00

Bear with me...this post is longer than normal. I'm compiling a lot of info and pictures into the Monday post!!

The GOOD: our Easter weekend in Signal Mountain. The entire Dudley family was there to celebrate the baptism of Baby Edith on Easter Sunday. We had SUCH a wonderful time...let me show our weekend in pictures.

On Friday, Jakie, Elizabeth, Reece, all the kiddos (Will, Charlotte, and Baby E) and I decided to be tourists and spend the morning at Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain. I had never been there, and it was really cool. The low ceiling height of the cave made me a little claustrophobic, but otherwise, everyone did great. And yes, I know I look like a dork in the picture :

All of the adults spent a night out on the town eating at Hennens in downtown Chattanooga. YUMMY.

Me with the lady of the hour, baby Edith. We share a special bond: we have the same birthday!!!

Clay joining the picture-

Here are some pictures outside the church Sunday morning getting pictures professionally taken (obviously, mine are from our little camera).

Clay with Will and Char-Char

Clay and Me

Here are the kids ringing the bell before the service. They had this responsibility to honor their baby sister on the day of her baptism.

Here are Reece and Grandaddy helping ring the bell

After the service, we all gathered in the Great Hall and enjoyed a wonderful lunch celebrating the resurrection of our Savior and the baptism of our dear niece.

We finally got a picture of the four of us: Reece, Elizabeth, me, and Clay

We LOVED our weekend with everyone. It is so rare that we are all together and we cherished our time with Reece, Elizabeth, Bill, Jakie, and the kids. We love you and CAN'T WAIT until the next time.

The BAD: all of the TORNADO warnings that have been going on lately. This is the worst time of year for severe weather, and I am having bad tornado dreams about 2x a week because of it. The watches, the warnings, they have all been a bit much. I was driving down Signal Mountain on Friday afternoon and there was a tornado warning and I saw a huge trash can fly through the air and a telephone wire whipping in the wind. I turned my car right around and headed back up the mountain to safety (the Dudleys tell me that tornados do not hit the mountain. I have heard, though, from the National Weather Service that tornados will hit anywhere and have hit the rocky mountains, so I don't know who to believe). I was okay, but the storm killed two people in a town north of Chattanooga. It is a serious matter.

Monday Trivia Question: What is your favorite book and would you recommend that your partner read it?

C: The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell; it's a true story about a Navy SEAL who had a special ops mission with his squad in Afghanistan. He and the three other members of the ops team fought off 200 Taliban for several hours. The other three were killed in action, and the rest of the story is about the SEAL trying to stay alive battling the Afghan desert and the lurking Taliban. Of course I would want Sarah to read it, but I don't know how much she'd like it.

S: The Prodigal Daughter, by Jeffrey Archer; a fictional story about a Polish woman born in Chicago in the 1940s who became the first woman president of the United States. I have read the book about 15 times, and I am always motivated and inspired by Florentyna Rosnovski's story. I think if Clay read this book, he would have a better understanding of what makes me tick :)

Hope you have all had a WONDERFUL Monday!!!

When the Cat's Away...

2009-04-07T21:05:00.007-05:00

Clay loves working for HOPE, but with that comes a decent amount of traveling. He is gone at least one week out of every month traveling, usually more. For the next few days he is in Orlando, so I have a routine I usually get into when he's gone. People ask me all the time if his traveling is hard, and yes, I miss him, but I don't mind a little alone time every now and then. It does get old when he's gone for extended periods of time, BUT I do get to indulge in what I want to do...Here are 3 things I ALWAYS DO when Clay is out of town:

Number 1: Cook myself pancakes for dinner. This never seems to get old for me. The cleanup is easy, and I can have as many as I want :)

Number 2: I watch Food Network ALL NIGHT LONG. Clay really doesn't like to watch this channel, and though I occasionally watch the cooking shows, when Clay is out of town, I get to watch the nighttime shows like Iron Chef and Chopped and Unwrapped. I am always entertained.

Number 3: I sleep on Clay's side of the bed. The right side was always my side of the bed growing up, but unfortunately for me, it was also the side of the bed Clay grew up sleeping on. Therefore, we had a discussion about who got the right side. In our bedroom, the right side is closest to the door, so Clay said he needed that side to fight off any badguys that might intrude. I obliged. BUT when Clay is gone, I reclaim my right-side throne and revel in its glory.

So, I am enjoying all three of these things tonight. Anyone else out there have quirky routines like me?

Mondays with the Dudleys

2009-04-06T12:02:00.004-05:00

From now on the Mondays with the Dudleys posts will be entitled MWTD. That's easier to type.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday, and here is The GOOD, the BAD, and our MONDAY trivia question:

The Good: Saturday morning breakfast at Edgar’s with two dear friends, Erin and Emily. We had such an awesome time catching up—we never get to do that. The three of us lived together senior year at Auburn, along with our other two sweet friends, Lauren and Katie. We missed you both girls!!

Another good: My couponing!! I spent $80.57 at Publix yesterday and saved $67.00!!!! It was only my second try at grocerygame.com. I love it. I am so into it.

The bad: Okay, I’m being really honest here, I have lately found myself wanting, wanting, wanting. We’ve been looking at homes online and we’ve been to other friends’ houses and it seems like everybody has a bigger, better house than what we have/will buy in the future. I just hate that I have allowed Satan to cultivate a jealous and disappointed attitude about all of this. God spoke to me through Clay today and reminded me truths in scripture, that where our treasure is, then our hearts will be also. I do not want my heart in material things, although at this stage in my life I have found myself falling back into that trap again and again. So that’s my “bad” and I know I am going to have to consistently pray for God’s peace, which transcends all understanding, and what Paul writes in Philippians, learning the secret to contentment in every situation. I will pray Psalm 131:1, “My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.”

Okay, now for the weekly TABLE TOPICS question. And Laura, these can be found here, and there are many other versions more appropriate for different groups of people, such as friends, teens, family gatherings, girls night out, etc.

Q: How does the importance of physical beauty change as you age?

C: Obviously physical attraction is a part of your relationship but it’s not the basis. The importance of it lessens, it shouldn’t be that important to begin with; but at the same time, I want to keep my body fit so that Sarah will remain attracted to me. I want us to both encourage each other to do this.

S: I think there is a line between being healthy and “keeping up your appearance” and being really concerned about how you look. I hope to always maintain an active lifestyle and make sure I don’t ever “let myself go” as I’ve heard it described. Physical beauty fades, and I never want to be too obsessed with beauty or being something I’m not. I just hope I don’t age quicker than Clay :)

Flowers & Friends

2009-04-05T16:53:00.008-05:00

Wasn’t yesterday beautiful? I spent about an hour “laying out” and reading a good book outside—the first time doing that this year. My very pale skin needed some UV rays and I have been much happier from my increased levels of Vitamin D (I do not make this up). I couldn’t resist snipping some Azaleas from the bush out back for display in our house. Fresh flowers make a world of difference indoors!!

We spent Saturday night at a surprise birthday party for Lori Cooper. Her husband, Dave, did an awesome job organizing the event—he even had it catered by Cocina Superior. We are in a Sunday school class with Dave and Lori, so much of our SS was there, along with other friends and family. It was a great time.

Picture of Sunday School Girls

Hope you all had a great weekend as well, and have a happy rest of the day on this Palm Sunday!

In Nine Months Time...

2009-04-02T12:01:00.004-05:00

We (hope) to be having a PUPPY DOG!!!!! I know, know! This was horrible of me. I am a little surprised at the number of people who believed me, however! 9 people said "yes" and 18 said "no." The "no" group really knows me well!!! But wouldn't that have been the PERFECT April Fool's to have really been pregnant? I may have to time that right in the future :) But then I will be the girl who cried wolf and nobody would believe me. I'm making a promise now, no more pregnant jokes--ever--on this blog. The next time will be for real.

But we really are planning on getting a Brittany Spaniel in the next 9-10 months, when we move into a house. I think we should learn how to manage a dog before a baby, but that's just me.

Please don't hate me. I've received enough chastising hate mail for one 24-hour period, and I don't like it, but I guess I deserved it :) Happy April 2 to all of my readers!!!!!

Well, I have some news...

2009-04-01T10:10:00.003-05:00

I'm pregnant. Take the poll to the right to say whether or not you believe us on this April Fool's Day. I'll tell you the truth tomorrow at NOON.

The Good, The Bad, and Mondays with the Dudleys

2009-03-30T20:37:00.008-05:00

So I think from now on I will do a post on Mondays with something Good going on in our life, something Bad, and a random fact about us that we answer from our Table Topic Cards. Cheese, I know.

The Good: our weekend in Auburn. We decided to take a quick trip down US 280 to spend the weekend with friends and family. We spent the first night at my mom and dad’s house, where mom made amazing grilled chicken (there’s nothing quite like your momma’s good cooking) and had a quiet night with the girls. Everyone at the table—dad, Lexi, Lydia, Clay and me—tried to convince my mom that they need to get a puppy dog for the girls. What do you all think? We then spent Saturday and Sunday with Jenna and Jonathan Shugart, celebrating Shug’s birthday. Stephen Searcy was in town from California and joined the festivities. Jenna cooked some awesome Mexican, and we ended the night with a trip to Jackie Lee’s Karaoke Joint—my first time ever to sing karaoke. It was a laugh to say the least!!! Clay sang Bad Company’s “Feel Like Making Love” and got the best response! Haha!

The Boys- Old roommates at Auburn

Jenna and Me

Group shot with birthday cake

The Bad: My first try at the Coupon Game. I took Emily’s advice and joined the grocerygame.com, and I only saved $15.83 on my $67.00 Publix bill. BUT the website says it takes a good 12 weeks for me to stock up on my coupons and stockpile to where I am saving the big bucks. We’ll see. Clay and I agreed that I have 12 weeks to see if this works. We shook on it, and now I am determined to make it happen. I’ll keep you posted.

Mondays with the Dudleys: **Questions come from TABLE TOPICS, Couples Version**- Thanks Elizabeth ☺

Q: What’s your ideal romantic evening?

C: First he wants to know if he should give an answer that is “blog appropriate.” Okay, have an evening at home: grill out steaks (we don’t have a grill ?) , to sit outside on our porch (again, he must be looking into the future at our one-day porch), enjoy a bottle of wine, and spend time together.

S: I love getting dressed up and going to an intimate dinner, one where you order wine and eat and drink real slow, just talking and enjoying each other’s company. Outside would be perfect. Flowers before hand would be nice. A really romantic evening would involve some sort of dessert: chocolate, ice cream, etc!!! Or candy!!!

What’s your ideal romantic evening?

To Bare or Not to Bare...

2009-03-26T16:51:00.008-05:00

So the week of June 6, 2009 is keeping me giddy with anticipation: it will be my first trip to the beach since my honeymoon! You heard right—over two years since I’ve been to the beach. I’m not complaining, just very much looking forward to some R & R with Clay and my family in Hilton Head. We’re staying here in our own house:

SO, the question is “To bare or not to bare…the stomach that is!” I really want to get a new bathing suit, so I have a question out there for all you ladies: when are you too old to wear a two-piece? Or does it depend on how you look in it? I’m 24 ½ years-old and I work out, but am I getting too old to wear a two-piece? I mean, I’m married! Does that mean I need to cover up? (Clay gives an emphatic, NO). This is a serious question, I think, especially for us Southern girls who try to do the proper thing. J. Crew has some amazing suits this year (right, Lilley) and some of the one-pieces and tankinis aren’t that bad! Here are some that I like:

Bring on the comments, and BE HONEST. I really want to know what y’all think. I think Clay’s opinion in the matter is biased :)

Eggs and Bunnies

2009-03-24T09:59:00.008-05:00

The season of Easter is a special time in the life of Christians for the obvious reason of the resurrection of our savior.

On another note, Easter also is a showcase of eggs and bunnies. I love holiday decorations of any kind, so let me show you my cheesy attempts at Easter decorations. When Clay and I got married, my mother-in-law gave me the collection of marble (right, Elizabeth?) eggs that Clay got every year for Easter, one each year. I think they are a beautiful centerpiece on our table.

I found this wreath at Hobby Lobby, and with a little doctoring-up, I think it's cute on our front door.

What about this stately bunny? I like his solemn demeanor on our teacart. He was a sweet gift.

And finally, my most favorite egg of all, the beloved Cadbury Creme Egg. I will admit that I have already eaten a few this season. I first saw them in the stores right after Valentines Day and I may have purchased one or two. If Clay is reading this, remember all I want is a basket full of CCEs and Starburst Jellybeans. Maybe some other candy, as you see fit :)

The Wedding

2009-03-22T18:44:00.035-05:00

Well, it’s Sunday afternoon. Clay and I have a wonderful new sister-in-law (Lauren Pearce), we’ve been to Dallas and back, and we’ve made wonderful memories. This has been a wonderful past five days, so I’d love to share. Let me start back at Wednesday…

Mom, Lexi, and Lydia came to Birmingham, picked me up, and we flew out of the Birmingham airport to Dallas Love Field, right in the heart of Dallas; close to the Highland Park area where all of the wedding festivities took place. Here’s a few pictures of us waiting to fly out of Birmingham-

We got our rental car and drove to Patrick and Lauren’s new house. It is precious and I know they will love it. Then we drove to the Pearce’s house where we picked up Leigh-Leigh, who had gotten in the previous night and slept there. When we got to the Pearce’s, Leigh had just woken up from a 16-hour nap, trying to cure her jet-lag. It was so great to see her. After that, we got settled into our home-away-from-home for the next few days: the Hyatt Summerfield Suites right in University Park. It was one block from the Northpark Mall! We spent that night at dinner with the Pearce’s, including Patrick and Lauren, at my favorite Mexican spot in Dallas: Chuy’s. We were tired from the traveling that day and pretty much rested for the rest of the evening.

On Thursday, Dad and Clay flew into Love Field. The girls spent the afternoon getting our nails done at a cute spa near our hotel. We were walking up to the nail place, and Lydia said very inquisitively, “Are we going to get pickles on our eyes?” Of course she meant are we going to get a spa treatment with cucumbers on our eyes—it was so cute!! That wasn’t the funniest thing she did: this was the first time for her to get a manicure. All four of us (mom, Lexi, Leigh, and me) were getting pedicures (Lydia was not) and Lydia went to the front of the room to get a manicure. She was sitting down for a long time while the lady did her nails. Our pedicures took forever, and Leigh was the first one done. When she went to go see Lydia, Lydia was still sitting at the table very still letting her nails dry. The manicurist told Lydia to sit very still and let her nails dry, then walked away. Well, bless her heart, Lydia had to go to the bathroom and no one told her she could, so she peed her pants!!! I know she would DIE if she knew I was sharing this, but I don’t think my 5 ½- year-old sister will be reading my blog. She really was SO embarrassed and Leigh had to coax it out of her. It was precious, but we were right next to our hotel, so it was no big deal!

That night, all the groomsmen and ushers went on a surprise Bachelor party adventure for Patrick. They left early in the afternoon on a Party bus and traveled to Denton where they had dinner at a sports bar that Patrick loved.

After that, Jamie Trussell had a surprise for the guys: they were playing football in SMU’s stadium. That was really cool for the guys.

Clay came home with a battle scar: a nice strawberry from making a great play- he apparently stopped the other team from making a touchdown- go baby!

Also here’s a picture of the groomsmen’s gifts: personalized mesh shorts- very Patrick!

On Friday we relaxed some more. Here’s Leigh and me working on our toast for the rehearsal dinner.

We had the rehearsal at Park Cities Baptist Church on Friday night. The officiating minister was John Trent—yes, THE John Trent—who is a famous marriage and family counselor; he is friends of the Pearces.

The rehearsal dinner was priceless. We had such a wonderful time. My mom did a great job with the venue and the food was amazing. Leigh’s and my toast went over well. Patrick got up at the end of the evening to say “all stories were heavily embellished…” haha, I think everyone told the truth, Patty.

Saturday morning was the Bridesmaids brunch at a cute place in midtown.

Here’s a pic of the yummy waffles that Lexi had. I had eggs benedicts!

Also, I am obsessed with the bridesmaids gifts we got. Lauren’s friend is a jewelry designer and designed this for us:

Saltwater pearl earrings and a necklace- we wore these during the ceremony.

Saturday afternoon we went to the church for the ceremony. Lauren was an absolutely beautiful bride. I do not exaggerate. Her dress, makeup, hair, everything. Here are a LOT of pictures---

Wasn’t my mom beautiful? Lexi was also a gorgeous junior bridesmaid. I had fun with my sisters. Clay and I might use one of these pictures for a Christmas card! Who knows…

I don’t have many pictures from the reception, but it was really awesome and fun. It was at the Belo Pavilion, a fantastic downtown venue. The food was gourmet southern: things like sweet potato fries, mac and cheese, fried okra, shrimp and grits, a carving station, a mashed potatoes station, and a salad bar. Here are a few pictures of the cake cutting, etc.

The band was so fun, and we danced all night long! Lydia and Clay especially made a name for themselves from their crazy dance moves.

I loved every minute of it. The reception ended at about 11:30 pm, and we all promptly went to bed after that!

Sunday we begrudgingly woke up and Dad and I saw Leigh off to Spain. Here’s a pic of us right before she left. I was sad.

We have obviously made it safe and sound back to Birmingham, and Mom, Dad, Lexi, and Lydia are on their way back to Auburn. We feel so blessed to have experienced such a wonderful wedding weekend, and we are equally excited to have a new sister in the family. Patrick and Lauren are honeymooning at a resort near Cancun, Mexico, and we can’t wait to talk to them when they get home.

If you’re still reading at this point, bonus points to you!!

***I also want to just say THANK YOU so much to all of our wonderful, wonderful family and friends who made the trek out to Dallas to celebrate with all of us. I enjoyed seeing and spending time with everyone and I know it meant the world to Patrick, Lauren, and the rest of the family!!!

Together Again

2009-03-17T23:14:00.004-05:00

Although tomorrow is travel day, I am most excited about seeing my sister, Leigh!!! You see, she is studying abroad in Valencia, Spain for the entire semester, and she is making a special little trip across the Atlantic to join in the family fun. I haven't seen her since January and after this week, I won't see her again until mid-May. Can't wait to see you, sissy :)

Well, I'm all packed and ready to fly out tomorrow. Mom, Lexi, and Lydia are driving up and we take the morning flight out to Dallas. My dad and Clay will join us on Thursday and we'll be all there. I can't wait for the yummy restaurants and hot spots that Clay and I found last summer while I interned in Dallas (another post for another day). I can't wait to hang out with the girls- I've packed lots of blow-pops and gum. Until next time...

Back To Normal...For Now, At Least

2009-03-16T19:51:00.006-05:00

So my life is now somewhat back to normal for the time being, seeing as I am finally done with my midterm exams! I just took the Health Law midterm: a four-page essay and TWENTY short answer questions. I was the second person to finish at a whopping 3 hours and 10 minutes!!! That was one of the worst tests I have taken in a while, so I’m “back to normal,” e.g. I have no excuse for a dirty table and unclean dishes (tests are always my excuse to not having enough time to clean, right Clay☺).

I’m leaving for the Big D Wednesday morning, so I’ve got a lot of packing to do. I sat for about an hour in my Revenue Cycle Management class and made an explicit outfit list for the days I’ll be gone. It was fun and wasted some good time!

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On another special note, many of you know that my favorite cousin, Alli Smalley, is the sophomore starting guard for the Auburn University Women’s Basketball team, and…They’re #2 in THE BIG DANCE! They are in the bracket in Oklahoma with #1 Oklahoma, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem as they make their way to numero uno. I am so proud of Alli and my cousin, Blake, who is a manager for the team. Basketball is one of my most favorite spectator sports, and I just LOVE watching her play. When I was a kid, it was all about getting skittles/popcorn/coke/hot dogs and walking around the very top of the coliseum with Patrick (back in the day when you could walk all the way around the top). In middle school, I became infatuated with a certain player, #10 Scotty Pohlman, and the 1999-2001 Tigers Teams. We were a #1 seed one year, won the SEC, etc. and I was there to watch it all, thanks to Dad and the scholarship seats. Some of my favorite memories are waiting for Dad to get home from work and then taking me as his date (I had to fight Mom) to the games! Okay, this is supposed to be about Alli, not me, so y’all join me in watching the Lady Tigers destroy Lehigh this Saturday morning at 11:00 am. (not sure what network). We’ll be watching from the hotel in Dallas and wishing we were there to cheer her on! This last picture is of some of my bridesmaids, Alli being the tall blond on the left :)

Feelin' Fine, Spring Break 2009

2009-03-14T11:35:00.001-05:00

A milestone has passed in my life: my final spring break! I’m glad I still have gotten a spring break with graduate school, but it’s totally unlike the spring breaks of undergrad. I never saw the sun or put on a swimsuit this past week, and I worked three out of the five days! Oh well, I did get to make a quick trip down to Auburn to help my mom finalize plans for Patrick’s wedding in one week! That’s right—one week from today my brother, Patrick, will be saying “I Do” to his fiancée, Lauren Pearce, of Dallas, Texas. We are all so excited for this day to finally be here! Lauren is a wonderful girl and we can’t wait for her to join our family.

My time in Auburn was totally packed but so fun! The girls (Lexi and Lydia) had school, so I only saw Lex in the afternoons and Lydia after lunch. Mom and I spent time picking out and accessorizing outfits for Dallas, taking dresses and other outfits to get altered (we went to a new lady in Auburn so I’ll let you know how that went), working out (which I love to do with my mom), cooking, shopping, and just hanging out together. It was perfect.

Thursday when I came home, Clay and I had a “supper club” dinner with the Whatleys, Thompsons, Martins, Coopers, Joneses, and Holleys who we go to Sunday School with at Briarwood. I made stuffed mushrooms which were divine- next time I’ll remember to take a picture! Clay and I are thankful for a restful Saturday and Sunday to prepare for the wedding week ahead!!!

In the Beginning...

2009-03-13T22:13:00.003-05:00

So here's my inaugural post to break the ice and give you a glimpse of our life. I was trying to think of cute names for our blog like "The Dudley Digest" or "The Dudley Daily" (knowing that wouldn't work because I couldn't possibly keep up a posting regimen of once a day), and so I asked Clay for his ideas and these are some of the names he came up with:

Dudley and Dudleier (take on Dumb and Dumber and I said I wasn't dumb)

The Last of the Dudleys (take on Last of the Mohicans)

Danger: Approaching Dudleyville (a town in central Alabama)

National Lampoon's Dudley Vacation (self explanatory)

And the list goes on and on with more boy movie titles. I am starting this blog because I am a self-admitting blog stalker and I have been for some time now. If my blog writing is as proficient as my blog reading is, this should be an interesting adventure. So without further adieu, and with no promise of engaging posts, but just our random thoughts, we give you The Good, The Bad, and The Dudleys !!!!