YV Holiday Party

Last weekend Craig and I attended a Christmas party with my coworkers. It was a lot of fun... there's nothing quite like watching your coworkers make fools of themselves.

A marshmallow race--Trying to pass marshmallows with plastic spoons

in our mouths... My team totally lost this one. Christmas cherrades... can anyone guess what Cari is?!?

THE TIME HAS COME...

THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...



THE MOMENT ALMOST SEVEN YEARS IN THE MAKING...



CRAIG AND I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE...



WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

Yes, you heard me right... Craig finally decided to man-up and get down on one knee! He fixed me dinner at his house (nothing out of the ordinary). He prepared an amazing Szechuan stir fry. After dinner he pulled out a giant fortune cookie. Inside the cookie was the ring! Needless to say I was very surprised. We haven't really worked out many details yet. We'll keep you all posted!



P.S. We thought you all might get a kick out of the sound effects... you can thank Craig for that!

Tis the Season!

Craig and I decided to kick off our Christmas season by visiting the house and grounds of Allandale Mansion (Kingsport's "White House"). This estate was once a 500 acre farm that raised championship Black Angus cows and Tennessee Walking horses. The tour featured a dozen beautifully decorated Christmas trees, an antique toy collection, and cookies and wassail!

Following our tour of Allandale Mansion, Craig and I went to Fall Branch Christmas Tree Farm to try to find the perfect tree. We had a lot of fun and ended up taking home a leyland cypress!

Once we got the tree home it was time for the fun part! It's amazing how much a Christmas tree can make a place feel like home!

Reasons to be Thankful!

When you take time to really look at the world around you it's not hard to find reasons to be thankful. Unfortunately, many of us only take the time to think about this once a year. This year Craig and I went home to Clover for Thanksgiving. We were both blessed to spend time with wonderful family and friends for whom I am truly thankful! Although I didn't want to leave, it is nice to be back in Tennessee... day by day it's starting to feel a little more like home.

Weekend Warriors Part IV

This weekend Craig and I finally cleaned up the back room of his house. This room was originally a carport, but the previous owners enclosed it making a bonus room. So far, Craig has pretty much been using it as his workshop/garage area. This project took us two whole days. Believe it or not the "before" picture was taken at the beginning of day two... so just imagine how bad it must have been on the beginning of day one! Anyway, now we've got a perfect place to work on all of our fixer' upper' projects!

BEFORE

AFTER

I Guess It's My Turn

I got TAGGED!

Tagged
I am: a Caroling girl living in Tennessee.
I want: to make a difference.
I have: the same birthmark as my mother.
I wish: that social workers really did have magic wands.
I hate: when people mispronounce or misspell my name.
I miss: the good times I had in Columbia.
I hear: nothing... it's so quiet in Kingsport.
I wonder: how long Craig is going to continue to play games.
I regret: not visiting my uncle in the hospital before he died.
I am not: a vegetarian... no matter how many times people say that I am!
I dance: eventough I'm really bad at it.
I sing: to myself in the car... ALWAYS!
I cry: very rarely.
I am not always: the bitch, but sometimes I have to be.
I make with my hands: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I write: in print... never cursive.
I confuse: my left with my right.
I need: to make myself a priority.
I should: try not to interrupt Craig as much.
I start: talking in a STRONG souther accent when I drink... so I've been told!
I finish: a gallon of milk in 3 days.

I was tagged by Holly; I don't know who's left to tag.

The Glotzbach-Dervan Wedding Weekend Marathon!

This past weekend, two of Craig's best friends from college got married! The wedding took place in Albany, Georgia... the groom's hometown. The rehearsal, wedding, and reception were absolutely beautiful! We had such a great time hanging out with everyone. Congrats Jared and Melanie!

Jared going spelunking! (the hobby or practice of exploring caves)

The groom dancing with the mother of the bride while she tries to undress him!

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Day Trippin' in Atlanta!

Craig and I spent the day Thursday in one of the best cities around... Atlanta! We were on our way to Albany, Georgia for Jared and Melanie's wedding and figured we'd take a day to enjoy Craig's former home. We couldn't believe all of the growth and development going on. If you thought Atlanta was big before you should check it out now!

First stop... IKEA!

If you've never been here you TOTALLY have to go... it's amazing! I think Craig was a little worn out by the whole IKEA experience!

Next stop... The Georgia Aquarium (the largest in the WORLD)!

Craig was sooo excited!

I got to pet sting rays and SHARKS!

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Whale sharks... the largest fish in the WORLD... the aquarium

has four of them! (this one is named Norton)

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Beluga whales... they have five!

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Heritage Days in Rogersville

Craig and I decided to spend today at the Heritage Days festival in Rogersville. This turned out to be a fun way to spend the afternoon. Arts and crafts, food, an alpaca petting zoo, music, pony rides, an antique tractor show, and clogging... what's not to love?

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RAP Team Dinner at Kellee's

Saturday night, Craig and I had dinner with my wonderful team of co-workers (minus Charles and Larry who couldn't make it). Kellee and Rich were so generous to host the event at their beautiful home! The menu consisted of authentic Italian, courtesy of Rich's amazing culonary skills! For dessert, we had birthday apple pie and ice cream! We will definitely have to do it again sometime.

Clockwise: Craig, Bonnie (My boss' wife), Jason (My boss),

Rich (Kellee's fiance), Kellee, and Summer

Hotel Craig is Now Open for Business!

I would like to announce the grand opening of Hotel Craig! The guest room at Craig's house is FINALLY done(with the exception of a few finishing touches). The room comes with full amenities and complimentary breakfast... so, book now while there's still vacancy!

Our New Front Door!

Today is the day we've all been waiting for... the day we FINALLY installed a new front door! It's not totally finished yet (as is the case with most of the projects we've tackled), but it's a major improvement. Keep in mind we still have to paint it and install the molding around it.

The Elovich-Allen Wedding Weekend Marathon!

This past weekend was Jess and Lee's wedding! Here's the recap!

Thursday--Bachelorette Party!

Out with the girls in 5pts!

Believe it or not there's a shot glass down there!Playing in the 5pts fountain!Knock KnockRiding the bull at Saddle Ridge! We ALL had our turns on the bull!

Saturday--The BIG DAY!!!

Holly, Rae, Jess, and MeMe, Jess, and LauraMe and Craig

Cutting the cake--If this is any indication of how the marriage is going to be... LOOK OUT Lee, Jess is scrappy!
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Toilet paper, window paint, 100 crickets, and sardines--I just want to state for the record that I had NOTHING to do with this part of the weekend!