Hatchie Bottom

On Friday, Clint and I are leaving for Jackson. Every 4th of July weekend, my dad's family gets together for a little fellowship and holiday celebration. Pretty much this just consists of good food, sitting around talking, riding 4wheelers and motorcycles, shooting skeet, more food, and just relaxing by the swamp getting bit by mosquitoes. It really is a lot of fun, except the last part. My family's property is right along the Hatchie River bottoms, which is probably not the best location to be at when you are sleeping at night on a screened in porch. Nonetheless, traditions are traditions. I'm very excited to introduce Clint to this one. Let me just say that most of the men that have married into our family have either loved this weekend or hated it and vowed never to return to the hot and muggy location. But, the ones that love it, wouldn't trade it for anything. If you think about it, it really is a guy's dream. You don't have to take a shower (although one is available via a water tank and tarp) and the great outdoors double as your bathroom (the women are lucky and get to use the plush accommodation of the 2-seater outhouse). Once conversation begins to bore you in front of the box fan, there is always something to do. You can take your pick of motor vehicles, play cards or a heated ping pong match, fish at the river, go on a walk or bike ride in the fields, shoot fireworks, or go on a night ride in the back of a pick-up to a civil war cemetery! So, if you ever find yourself w/o 4th of July plans, you are always welcome to follow us down a dirt road 30 minutes outside of Jackson to our rustic cabin hidden in the cotton field. There's sure to be an endless supply of food and hours of conversation.

Clarksvillians

Well, we are here! After an exhausting day of moving from 9am-9pm, we finally made it. We are so thankful that Clint's dad took a day off from work and helped us move. There was no way we could have done it without him. We owe you Joe!

After day two of waiting on the cable guy, we finally are connected to the world. Man, you just don't realize how much you depend of the Internet or cable for that matter. Truthfully, it really wasn't so bad. It gave Clint and me time to unpack w/o the excuse of TV or computer to get in our way. And,we both love to read, so that is what we did at night...you know, like they did in the old days :) We still have many boxes to unpack and put away. But, I'm happy to report that after a morning spent scrubbing floors and cleaning, we are on our way to a normal living environment :)

Thankfully, I don't start my job until next Monday, so I have this week to get things in order. I have been playing the June Cleaver role so far. And, to my surprise, I have really been enjoying it. My days have been spent cleaning, going to the store, laundry, more cleaning, and fixing dinner before Clint comes home from work. On the other hand, I do know that this will only be for a week, so maybe that is why I'm enjoying it so much. (Or maybe it's because I can't stop doing laundry simply b/c I'm thrilled not to have to leave home to get it done!!) In any case, I know deep down, June Cleaver is not me and that I would soon be very eager to get out of the house. But, it does let me know that once the "C" word starts bouncing around in our vocabulary, I will be very capable of being a house mom! (No need to think about that right now!)

One thing that I do enjoy is cooking. I love reading cookbooks and finding new recipes to try out on my husband. Luckily, he is grateful for anything hot when he gets home, so if it's not so good, there is always tomorrow. Some of my fondest memories have been helping my grandmothers cook in the kitchen. I look forward to the day I get to pass down our family specialties!
I won't be posting any of our townhouse photos just yet. I want to wait until we get everything organized before I take pictures. But, if you know me, you know that probably won't be too long!!

Moving Day

Well, tomorrow is the day! Clint's dad is coming early in the morning (Love his heart) and we are loading up the Budget truck. Clint rented the biggest truck available and I'm pretty sure I could fit 3 of my apartments in there. But, at least we will have plenty of room!! I was so nervous when he drove that beast home! LOL
We will not have Internet for about a week, but I will post some updates and pictures once we are back in business! Next post will be from Clarksville :)

Good-bye M'Boro,MTSU,and Wendi!

Today is my last day working in the admissions office at MTSU. Clint and I are packing up and moving this weekend. I cannot believe after 6 years, I'm leaving Murfreesboro! I remember first coming to school here (what seems like forever ago) and hating it terribly! I missed my east tn mountains and my friends. But, it wasn't long before this small,crammed packed town grew on me. Now, I cannot imagine being anywhere else.

MTSU has been truly been my home away from home. I feel like I could direct any one anywhere on this campus with my eyes closed. (Which is exactly what I've been doing for the past 5 weeks, eyes open though!) It's gonna be a big adjustment putting on a red shirt and cheering for the Gov's. But, I'm excited for the change.

I met Wendi in ADPi. We both were education majors who really couldn't see ourselves teaching. We had lots of classes together and shared the joys and MANY sorrows of student teaching. Once graduating and having no clue what to do next, it was Wendi who told me about graduate school. For the next 2 years, we had most of our classes together. We joke that we are pretty much the same person with identical resumes. After graduating in May, we both took a job here in the admissions office while we waited to hear from job prospects. I'm leaving her behind here, but I know it won't be for long. Soon, she will be heading out of Murfreesboro to a new job!

At lunch today, we went to eat at one of my favorite 'Boro restaurants, The Front Porch Cafe. Oh, how I will miss that place, along with a few others. Clarksville is going to have some big shoes to fill.

Murfreesboro, MTSU and Wendi, this is not goodbye, but merely hasta la vista!!!

Ode to Guitar Hero

Ok, so most of you know I'm not a huge fan of video games. But, I must tell you, I've grown pretty fond of Guitar Hero. Clint of course introduced me to this PlayStation game. I think he loves it because it unites his love for guitars and video games. I had to find out what the fuss was all about. To my surprise, I really got into it! We can only play Ben's game b/c it's too expensive for us. But, boy is it fun!! Here's us in ACTION!

Making the rounds in Knoxville

On our way home we stopped by my Aunt Libba's house. We sat on the screened in porch, drank sweet tea and visited a bit. Nothing like a Southern Sunday afternoon!

On our way out, we stopped in to see Clint's sister,brother-in-law and our new baby niece, since their new house is literally 3 minutes from Libba's. There house is adorable. I love it! We were able to spend about 45 minutes with them and I got to feed Ryann a little snack. Hopefully, later on down the road we will be able to live closer to them!

Weekend at the Lake

This weekend we went to Clint's house in Kingsport to visit his family before we move to Clarksville and add another 2 hours to a drive there. It's no secret that I love his family and add in the lake, good food, and a cute dog and I'm a happy girl! The weekend of course flew by b/c we were having such a great time.

Takin you back to the 90's

Today at lunch, Wendi and I were reminiscing about our younger years. She says she doesn't know how I remember the random things that I do. I seem to have a real visual childhood. However, I only remember silly things that will probably do me no good besides add a little flavor to a conversation. Anyway, some how we got on the topic of music during our childhood era and I mentioned that I had a mini tape player that had a small tape that played 2 songs. My sister and I wore this little thing out! We made up so many dance routines to "La Bamba" and "Tequila" that we finally had to get another tape with Tiffany's "I think we're alone now" and "Could've Been." During the whole lunch break I racked my brain to think of what this thing was called. I remember Bridget and I talking about them a few years ago. Well, finally my memory for useless things kicked in and I remember it was called a Pocket Rocker! I wish I still had mine b/c of course, they are now selling them on ebay :) Did any one else have one of these, or were we the only cool kats??

Our new Clarksville home

Clint and I made an early Saturday morning trip to Clarksville and we just returned today (Monday). We only intended to stay one day in Clarksville to search for a place to live, but since we were unsuccessful on Sat., we had to stay longer. But, we were able to visit Joey and Amanda's new home in Bowling Green and got to stay an extra night with them. (There dog, Abby Jo loves Clint!) We finally found a town home that was what we were looking for and it's in a pretty good part of town. It's a 2 br, 1 1/2 bath, so we have room for company!! We are so happy to finally have a Clarksville address. We plan to move in June 22nd. I'm also posting pictures of the giant animals we saw all along our very scenic trip to Bowling Green. They made for a nice KY lotto advertisement and photo stop!!