A Special Day

Today is a pretty amazing day in history for two very special reasons.

First, in 1959, my precious mother was born.  The second child (of four) and first girl (of two).  Today she celebrates 55 years.  She's beautiful, independent, and strong.  She loves to read and plays a mean game of poker. 

Clockwise from top left

1.  Riding her tricycle at age 3 or 4.

2. That time I caught her binge watching The Vampire Diaries on her laptop...with headphones.

3. A family reunion a few years ago with my dad and the Husband.

4. Kindergarten school picture I believe.

4. My most favorite picture of my parents.  Olan Mills circa 1985?  This was before brother was born.

5. My mom was her (and later mine) high school's first ever prom queen.  I'm really digging my Granny's pink pantsuit and my Pawpaw looked sharp as always in a jacket and tie.

6. Mom and I after a trip to Panama City Beach (again before Brother was born).

7. A recent picture from a trip to Mississippi.  My mom rocking the animal print.  Stylish as always.

I wish my mom many, many more wonderful birthdays.  This makes me happy.  It fills me with joy that I can celebrate her birthday with her.

The second reason today is special is because on this day in 1967, my sweet cousin Kim was born.  My dad was the youngest of his siblings by a fairly large age gap so he ended up being closer in age to his nieces and nephews.  He was especially close to Kim.  When I was growing up, I always looked to Kim.  She was always so sweet to me and she loved her family fiercely.    I bring up her birthday because this is her first birthday that we have been without her.  Maybe I'll talk more about her later but her passing is still so fresh and raw.  It makes my heart ache.  So today I don't want to talk about that.  I want to remember her life and the wonderful memories I have both as a little girl and as an adult.  Like my mom, Kim was strong and independent.  And beautiful. 

 Kim and my Dad at one of our famous family karaoke gatherings.



So today can be bittersweet if I let it but I'm choosing not to recognize those aching feelings.  Today is about celebrating.  I'm so happy that God chose August 27th to give these two beautiful women to the world.  They have each made this world, and my life, a better place.

That Time I Went to Atlanta for Work

In mid-July I attended a conference on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta.  I traveled with two co-workers.  We went, we saw, we ate.  It was a very enjoyable trip and I definitely need to take The Husband and see more of what Atlanta has to offer.  For our trip, we did not leave Emory's campus except to drive home.

Now please enjoy a timeline of our trip, complete with restaurant links and really bad cell photo photos.

Jax was not a fan of the suitcase and packing business.

Day 1
After departing Birmingham around lunchtime, we didn't make it far before we decided lunch was in order.  We stopped at The Irondale Café, made famous by the movie Fried Green Tomatoes.  It is a wonderful meat and vegetable place.  My favorite!  I had fried green tomatoes (of course!), cream corn, peas, and cabbage.  It was all delicious.  I remember visiting years ago and not enjoying it so they either stepped it up or I was in a much better mood/frame of mind (definitely the case). 

We headed east towards Atlanta and arrived with time to spare before our meet up with colleagues for dinner.  We stayed at the beautiful, Emory Conference Center Hotel.  Originally I thought it was part of the University but I don't believe that it is the case.  It's located on (or extremely close anyway) to campus so we were within walking distance to our conference space as well as a fun place with restaurants and shops.

My super spacious hotel room at the Emory Conference Center Hotel.

For dinner, we met up with colleagues (about 15 of them) and walked the short distance to Emory Point.  We decided on Marlow's Tavern.  It was a fun spot and we had a HUGE table/booth combo right next to the bar and were basically all to ourselves. 

I quickly found heaven on the menu in the form of the word "Feta."  So I ordered the Sizzlin' Feta as an appetizer to share with my co-workers and our other friends.  The Feta was oven baked with roasted tomato and basil pesto and served with ciabatta crostini.  It was pretty amazing.  Like really pretty. 

My boss ordered a deviled egg plate to share.  It is not on their regular menu so it must have been a special.  Being good Southern girls, we love some deviled eggs and these did not disappoint.

For my entrée, I ordered the Tavern Burger and fries.  A basic bar burger on a delicious-toasted bun.  It was so big I had to cut it in half!

Day 2
After a day a conferencing and learning and talking nonstop at certain times, I was exhausted by the time we arrived back at the hotel.  My pajamas were definitely calling my name so I did what any self-respecting professional does when she is at a conference, I called room service!  I invited my co-worker and friend to join me and we both ordered grilled chicken sandwiches.  I added a side of fries and she added the most amazing looking flour-less chocolate cake.  Sitting on the bed in stretchy pants, watching reruns of Castle, and having dinner delivered to the room made for a perfect evening.

Side Note - At the afternoon break, instead of sugary cookies or baked goods, the conference venue had granola bars, fruit, and this amazing trail mix.  Loved this!

Pecans, coconut shavings, dried mangos, bananas, and pineapple, raisins, and a whole plethoria of other stuff.

Day 3
The conference wrapped up at lunchtime and we headed back west to Birmingham.  Before leaving Atlanta we made a stop at The Varsity for lunch.  You can't go to Atlanta without visiting this famous landmark.  I had the chili cheese dog and fry combo and I might have had an apple pie on the side. 

This is not my photo!!  But this looks like exactly what I ate - well minus the onion rings!

And because in almost 10 years of marriage, we have only ever been apart for one night at a time, The Husband planned something special for dinner when I arrived home.  He made reservations and we visited The Melting Pot for the first time.  

So that's my Atlanta adventure.  Maybe on my next adventure I should shoot for some better quality photos.  I am a photographer after all. 

Throwback Thursday

I have been lost in a fog lately.  I think I'm finally coming out.  I get like that from time to time.  One thing I have come to learn about myself is that I have to stay busy.  I am a very project/goal-oriented person.  I need to find purpose.  I need to use this blog more for that exact reason.

So today, let's have some throwback Thursday goodies...

6th Grade Band when I lived in California.  Oh the hair.  It was the 90s.

That Christmas that I recieved a guitar that I didn't know how to hold.  But I was wearing one of those onesie, footie-pajamas things so I was pretty much on cloud nine.

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