1.03.2011

Out with a Bang, In with the New!

OUT WITH A BANG!!

I ended 2010 with a bang!! Last Thursday, I took my last day off, for the year, and I actually had nothing to do and nowhere I was supposed to be going, for once. (This was my third 4 day weekend in a row!!!)So I started the morning off getting my first massage ever, at Aqua the Day Spa. Thanks Kendol!! (christmas present) It was awesome and I wish I could get one every week. Then, I treated myself to a Caramel Hot Chocolate at Cups and took myself to the nail salon. I got my fingers and my toes done in MAROON SPARKLES!! Maroon for Mississippi State, of course, and sparkles for New Years... Pretty fitting for the weekend, I thought. This was huge for me... I never pamper myself, so it was nice. Then we headed to my favorite place in the world, The Delta, to stay with my parents for the 4 day weekend. But we couldn't make it all the way there without a pit stop at People's Drug Store in Lexington to browse the Christmas decor sale. I got three ornaments and two tall skinny snowmen!! They are so cute. I thought I controlled myself pretty good with only 5 purchases... really good actually, to be an over-obsessive Christmas freak!

On Friday, I rode with Momma to Memphis, to pick up Eleanor from her trip to Nashville to see Caitlyn. We, of course, did some shopping. We went to the Pottery Barn outlet and got Ann-Hamilton some new pink polka dot baskets for Hayes' room. I seriously could buy the whole store, but surprisingly, I made it out without purchasing anything. It's a MIRACLE!! We also hit up Anthropologie (and other places) and had lunch at Panera Bread!! Yummy. We then hurried back to home to try and beat the bad weather.

This was my first New Years in a while to not spend out on the town. Instead, Daddy and Kendol didn't even make it to midnight, so they could get up and hunt. Eleanor, Momma and I spent the night on the couch watching the weather channel and chasing the cat, that ran inside when we opened the door to see how bad it was flooding. 2010 went out with a bang, literally!! Some of the loudest thunder and scariest lightening I've ever seen.
NOW ON TO ALL THINGS NEW (SO FAR) THIS YEAR!!


~ A bulldog football team with a winning season and a bowl game win!!
On Saturday, we all woke up pretty early to get everything ready for our "tailgate party" for the game! I believe we had plenty of food for the five of us.

Menu:
Marinated Cheese
Mexican Layer Dip
Hot Wings
Smoked Sausage
Deer Sausage
Peach Cobbler

Cowbelle... Check
Party Food... Check
Game Time!!

The five of us cheered our bulldogs to a 52-14 victory over Michigan in the Gator Bowl!! It's so much more fun to cheer on a team that's winning. I've spent many, many years cheering on the bulldogs but this year has, by far, been the best and most fun. I can't wait for Dan the Man to bring the Gator Bowl and Egg Bowl trophies to Jackson for the signing day party and see what he has to say about this season and next.


A little "Dawgpound Rock" to get the game going!!

I wish (so badly) that I could've been part of this sea of maroon!!

MVP Chris Relf with the Gator Bowl Trophy


Celebration time!

Relf wearing Nick Bell's jersey and holding Nick's mom's hand after the game. The article that goes with this picture will make you cry.
The rest of the weekend consisted of hunting, eating our black eyed peas and cabbage, more football and ended with going to church on Sunday morning.

~New Job!!
This morning, I started my new position at work. I've moved to the other end of the office and will now be working in the Individual Disability Department. I will also continue doing most of my previous position with the Group Department. As for now, I think doing both jobs will be possible, but we will see in a couple of weeks when everything gets going really good. Wish me luck!!

~New Radio for work!!
Also at work, I have downloaded the "new" pandora.com. My pandora (online radio for those of you who don't know) that i've always had was limited to 40 hours of music a month. Everyone says that they have never heard of such, but it would never let me download a new one... Until this morning at my new computer. Hopefully I will have unlimited music for work and will not run out on like the 10th, like I usually do.

~New and Improved Things around the house
As you all should know by now, I get bored with my house very easy and am always changing things around. Here are some new things I have done during the holidays with our new things.

First of all, we didn't change the living room back to it's previous set up, after taking the Christmas tree down. We decided to leave it as is and move our two polka dotted chairs in for more seating. Then there was a need for a table. I had forgotten all about the precious green bedside table that I got from my Great Great Aunt's house. It has a dresser and desk to match, as well. I always thought the color green was awful and I would be re-doing them when I had a place to put them. Turns out, the green matches my chairs perfect. It just needed some new drawer knobs, which I took care of at our trip to Anthropologie!! How cute.


Table with old knob and missing knob.

Knew Knobs!!!!


Finished Product
 Kendol received two new Mississippi State pictures for Christmas, which I used to accessorize the extra bathroom. The walls are green and the shower curtain is black and white toile. I never had a color to accessorize with, but now I do!! So, I can get towels monogrammed and such. YAY!!

MSU picture my parents got him, fits this spot perfect!!


And the one that I got him fits perfect above the towel rack! If you can't tell, that's a map of Mississippi State's campus. I got one of these for "the delta" at MS Gifts, then ran across this one in Jackson. I had to get it! http://www.mycityprints.com/

This is my delta one!!
 Of course, once I re-did the bathroom, I had all of my copper crosses to hang somewhere. So, that led to re-arranging one of the extra bedrooms.



Then there are all of the little things in the kitchen!!


New KitchAid Mixer!! WOO HOOO

Finally got us a much needed spoon rest!! I found it at our trip to Anthropoligie. Hoping our Anthropologie has a different pattern, so I can have two, but not two of the same.
OK OK OK!! That's all for the house... for now!!!

Other Things New....
~I now have to be at work at 7:30, but I get off at 4:30!

~Kendol and I have made it our mission to find a church home, here in Jackson. We can never agree on a church. Kendol is Methodist and very traditional. I am Baptist and am more contemporary. That makes things difficult. We will find one soon! I just know it. Feel free to throw out ideas.

~I am now back on the mission of cutting back on soft drinks since I slacked off during the holidays.
~I also plan to get back into my running and regular exercise that I have slacked off on as well bc it's so cold outside!!

Ok, I believe that's enough "new" for my life for three days. At this point, I think it's safe to say, this years' off to a great start!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

12.27.2010

Christmas Time!!

Just a little Christmas week recap!!!

We kicked off Christmas the Wednesday before and had a little Christmas party at our house. Instead of playing dirty santa or exchanging gifts, we had a donation jar for the Salvation Army. Kendol said when he dropped the money off at the red kettle at Kroger, that the man almost cried and gave him about 10 hugs. Kendol told him how we went about getting the money and the guy told everyone that walked by!! That'll put a smile on your face.


Precious friends Krista, Kaitlyn and Christin.

Stephanie and Wally

Ann-Hamilton, Kaylis and I.

Hayes made her first public appearance and everyone loved her!!!

The next morning, Kendol, Mallory, Stephanie, Wally and I packed up and headed to Nashville, for the night, for the Garth Brooks benefit concert!! O my gosh. It was one of the best things I've ever done. He played every good song and never stopped to take a break. A-MA-ZING. Not to mention, Trisha sang "She's In Love With the Boy."










The Saturday before Christmas we celebrated with Kendol's daddy's side of the family. I got the most precious 8x10 distressed frame compliments of Chal and Rivers. YAY!! I can't wait to get it hung up. And the kiddos got Dora the Explorer guitars!! They absolutely loved them.


 
Sweet Jacks





Susie playing her Dora Guitar.

Milla master her first bridge (backbend) while at Christmas!! YAY for new little gymnasts. So proud.

The Sunday before Christmas, we celebrated Christmas at my parents house with the Pittman side of the family! Here are all of the Pittman Gals.
Ann-Hamilton, Eleanor, Kaylis, Farrell (+1 Boy), Me, Hayes, Claire and Anna Elizabeth


 That same afternoon daddy sent me hunting for the first time by myself. It has always been something we have done together, so it was kind of sad. But when he heard my gun shot, he immediately sent me a text. "Did you shoot?" to which I responded, "One buck down." He was the happiest, proudest daddy in the whole world when I killed a deer all by myself without him there to talk me through it.


On Wednesday I headed back to the delta for the Christmas holidays. We did lots of hunting, shopping and eating! Eleanor and I spent the entire night baking Jesus a birthday cake and making Christmas sugar cookies... from scratch!! Needless to say, it was interesting and MESSY.





On Thursday we had our annual girls Christmas party at Lusco's.
Annual picture in front of Mrs. Angie's Christmas Tree- minus a few who met us at Lusco's.
Me, Mary Britton, Amanda, Mary Gregory, Mary Kathryn, Meagan, Meagan Rae and Whitney


Mal, Liz and I at Websters after Lusco's.



On Friday, we went to the candlelight service at Church. Baby Hayes got dedicated and Meagan Rae sang "O Holy Night. She did so so so good... made me cry, of course!! Melissa Tribble also sang and did such an awesome job. Afterwards, we went to JuJu's for Christmas with Stowers side of the fam!! Then went home to open our new Christmas Eve pajamas and wait for Santa.
 
The whole fam in our new pj pants. (annual tradition)
Ann-Hamilton playing Santa for the first time!!
Hayes' Santa
I think Hayes' Jenny Jump Up is a little too big!! She'll grow into it soon enough.



On Christmas morning, we opened all presents then had our traditional breakfast.. sausage balls and biscuits with chocolate gravy. We then headed back to Jackson for even more Santa Claus at the Collins. We got lots and lots of good stuff for Christmas. I just started to type it all out and it made me look very spoiled, so I'll refrain. Let's just say, we are BLESSED beyond measure.

Saturday night, we had Christmas with Kendol's mother's side of the family. On Sunday, we went back to Kendol's parents for a Christmas party with some of their closest friends and their children, who all happened to be in town at the same time!! 

Put it this way... I am tired and a couple of pounds heavier than I was a week ago.

I hope everyone had a Merry Merry Christmas!!! I know I did.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2: 9-12



12.15.2010

Happy (Maroon) Wednesday


HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE!!!

12.06.2010

MARATHON MONDAY


WE DID IT!!!
I can officially say that I have completed a half marathon and lived to tell about it. YAY!! Here are some pictures from our weekend in Memphis.


SOME OF OUR TEAM EATING DINNER FRIDAY NIGHT!
MAL, LESLIE, KATE, KATIE, JAMIE, KRISTA, ME, LIZ & KAYLIS

WELCOME RACERS!

KENDOL & I BEFORE THE RACE

OUR CHEERLEADERS!!
KATE AND LESLIE

KRISTA AND I BEFORE THE RACE

SOME OF TEAM TRI DELTA BEFORE THE RACE
LIZ, KATE, JESSICA, KATHERINE, LESLIE AND KAYLIS

ELIZABETH KALICH

BRAD COLLINS

KENDOL

CALLIE

YOU CAN BARELY SEE KRISTA BACK THERE!!

I SPOTTED KATE AND LESLIE RINGING THEIR COWBELLS!

JESSICA JOHNSON

KATIE HORTON

KAYLIS BYRNES

THE BACK OF OUR PRECIOUS T-SHIRTS

KRISTA, BRAD, ME AND KENDOL AFTER WE FINISHED!

A LITTLE POST RACE CELEBRATION AT SILKY'S
KATE, KATIE, ME AND MAL

MORE CELEBRATING!
KATE, ME, MAL AND KRISTA

12.02.2010

This Race is for You!!

So, I just ran across the most adorable picture in the world and I immediately started crying. This is Eleanor when she was little and my grandaddy "Nanny."
 
Nanny was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of my 9th grade year. I remember leaving early from our first football game against Jackson Prep to go to the hospital to see him! Luckily for us, he lived for 3 more years after that!!! The last time I saw him was May of my Junior year, we were in the hospital together. I was in an accident and had to have surgery on my on my wrist. Well, Nanny found out I was there and ignored his nurses orders to not come see me. Although I was really out of it, I just remember him coming to my room, oxygen tank and all!! I'm so glad he did, bc at the time I had no idea it would be the last. I remember it like it was yesterday and it makes me cry every time.

As most of you know, I am running my first half marathon on Saturday and it benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I know it's not much, but it's my small way of helping in the fight against this nasty disease. I am a part of a team of runners, mostly consisting of Tri Delta's from MS State, close friends, husbands, boyfriends and family. Together we have raised over $2,500, so far!!

Dear Nanny,
This race is for you!! I know you will be watching me and I may need your help towards the end. I don't care how long it takes me or how I finish, just as long as I cross the finish line!!

I love you and think about you everday!!
Caldonia Colleen

P.S. I may celebrate with some Bolgna and Whip Cream!! (that's what he would tell me was my only option to eat every time I said I was hungry ha)