Kitchen Reveal

The kitchen is finally finished! I am so proud of Brent and his dad and the work they did. Granted I did walk in and tell him I hated it one day because I was so fed up with how long the grout process was taking and the amount of dust that was accumulating on everything! (Who am I kidding? Brent does all the cleaning so I shouldn't ever complain)

They removed our old countertops and Lowe's installed our granite. My dad then came and hooked up our new undermount sink and faucet. Brent and his dad then spent 16+ hours in one day laying the tile. Tack on another month of grout work and voilà- a finished Kitchen :)

Lights, Camera, Charlie!

Since I got my new low f stop lens I can't stop trying to blur out backgrounds. I have been working on shooting Charlie in low light (in manual mode) and as you know you need your subject to be STILL for this to work. Little Lhasa loves to wiggle! Anyways, I've been able to get a few cute ones so far. Lord knows I'll make him do this a few more times before the Christmas season is over. Look for one of these coming to a Christmas card near you...

GEICO Commercial

Brent and I find this commercial hilariously funny. I guess I've been living under a rock because tonight was the first time I've seen it. Enjoy :)

New Photos

Be sure to check the "Happy Hobby" Photography Link to the left if you would like to see my Sister-in-Law, her husband and their Lab puppy's pictures from today. We were able to take a few photos out at a Christmas tree farm. Fun! Be sure to follow that site as well. I hope to have plenty more pictures to add in the near future. Remember, I take them for free :) I just love photography and making people smile. If anyones interested in having any made please let me know.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. It's really mind blowing to sit down and realize what all we have to be thankful for. Have a good week.

from my family to yours...

What would Thanksgiving be without embarrassing stories and reliving funny days from years before? My family had the opportunity to introduce Brent to the "Pig Movie". Granted it was not an easy task. The VCR attempted to eat the VHS and my Uncle Tom had to take the VCR apart and surgically remove the intertwined tape from the broken pieces within the player. He then converted it to DVD and shared it to my dad's facebook. Instead of humiliating myself I thought I'd share it here rather than on my page. The Pig Movie was a 3rd grade book report completed by my sister, Emily, back in 1997. My sisters and I were in 6th, 3rd and 2nd grade. Needless to say my sisters usually had pretty creative book reports because Lori taught elementary school kids for years. This is the most screen time any of us have seen. Hope it brings a smile to your face at our expense :)

Cast:

On the Scene Reporter: Emily

Desk Reporter & Surviving Brother Pig: Myself

Police Officer & Baby Pig: Meagan

Big Bad Wolf: Dad

Thanksgiving Preview

Being from a large family has it's perks- Multiple Thanksgivings :)  We started the holiday season off right yesterday at Memaw & Papaw's Thanksgiving Lunch. Needless to say everyone left full and satisfied.

As always, pictures were taken:

Charlie manning his post

walk around buffet style lunch

pretty sister- Emily

"stop taking my picture"

I can't wait for Thursday. We will be back in Hartselle for Grammie's Thanksgiving Feast. YUM!

Christmas Cards

It's that time again... time to beg my sister to take a photo of our little Thomas family and put together a Christmas Card. When I asked Brent to do this he suggested we use a photo from Halloween. To this I said, "We were dressed as indians." His response, "Greetings from the Thomas Tribe...Merry Christmas to you and your people." Seriously? NO! I hope my sister is able to capture a good photo of us sometime tomorrow or Sunday. Looks like Charlie will get a bath tonight to get ready for the occasion. I plan on using Shutterfly to order our cards and hopefully send them out by the beginning of December.

Here are a few of my favorite designs:

(check out http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards for more designs)

For some reason I'm always drawn to red... be it wrapping paper, bows or ornaments. They have hundreds of cards to choose from so I may change my mind but I'm leaning towards something simple (1  photo). Shutterfly is doing an awesome give-a-way for us Blogger users. If you're a blogger and interested in obtaining 50 free holiday cards for yourself click here. 

Thank you Shutterfly for the fabulous holiday treat!

Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TWIN (Jessica). It's back to normal with an Alabama Football game on my birthday. Granted it used to be the Alabama/Auburn game. Tomorrow we will DVR the Bama game and hit up my favorite restaurant: Chuck's Fish. Then spend time watching Alabama take care of business while sharpening up for the big game next week. Brent spilled the beans that he purchased a jewelry box for me but that it won't be delivered to our house in time. I did get my present from my grandparents (new Tory Burch flats) and I'll be wearing them tomorrow celebrating the big 26! If only the gave you the day off for your birthday.... Goodnight All!

Auto Show

I know it sounds like a weird place to spend and Sunday afternoon but I thoroughly enjoyed the 2011 Auto Show at the BJCC today. Brent made mention of wanting to go and I though "Oh no, boring old antique cars". Not that I don't enjoy old cars but I was forced to attend many a car show growing up with my Memaw & Papaw and they always seemed to bore me. This was like visiting every car lot under the sun (except Mercedes & Hyundai) and seeing every model for 2011 and being able to sit and maneuver around in them.  Brent and I have been preparing to upgrade my 2006 4 Runner to a new SUV at the beginning of next year. Our two options are the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. Both were super nice in the 2011 models. I can't wait to actually start test driving the options and make sure I can back that big tank up.

GMC Yukon

Chevrolet Tahoe

 
The Tahoe & Yukon are basically the same thing...just a few minor differences. What I did learn is that GMC produces roughly half as many Yukons each year as Chevrolet does. I was also told that the GMC seems to have a few more options included without having to add them. That is reflected in the price tag though as Yukon is a tad bit more expensive. I'll leave the executive decision up to Mr. BR.

We were really surprised with a new car put out by Buick. When I think Buick I think "grandma". However, Buick stepped up their game with the new Regal. Brent currently drives a 2004 Camry. He has aspirations to drive a big truck. If the truck scenario doesn't work out (AKA we still live in the town home when it comes time for him to upgrade) I really hope he checks out the Regal. For it's price point it seems to be the most luxurious. It's one car I'd gladly trade in and out with him and my big SUV.

Here are a few photos:

Time for the Amazing Race! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Darkness

I'm not digging this dark at 5pm thing yet. I typically work 8a-4:30p...however in my new role I'm sometimes there later and can't stand leaving when it's pitch black outside. I find myself assuming it's 8pm on my drive home. It's a huge trick on my mind! I did love Sunday morning when I woke up and realized I had an extra hour to sleep before going to church. I felt so refreshed.

I hope to shoot more photos this weekend. My sister-in-law asked if I'd take some of her and her family (Mike & Dex- the dog). I hope they turn out well. I absolutely love taking photos of people.

Things are about to get exciting around the Thomas household. I've got a birthday next week, followed by one Thanksgiving celebration after the another. Our office was lucky enough to get Thanksgiving and the day after off and I could NOT be more excited. Big day of shopping & football for me on the 26th.

Last Sunday at church we had the pleasure of hearing the author of our pre-marital counseling book speak. It was so random! Our church just concluded a series on unmasking ourselves and this last week happened to be focused on our relationships. It was so nice to see the author speak in person. Brent and I both looked at each other and asked if we remembered anything we read. Unfortunately, neither of us could remember much. I know we took it to heart then but apparently we did not fully take in what we read. That seems to happen to me all the time. I think I read to fast and never really take time to mentally absorb all the words I'm processing.

Well enough with the randomness- I'm going to heat my leftover tortilla soup and watch Brent clean our tile backsplash. I promise to post pictures of the finished project-before Thanksgiving-- that's my deadline for him :)

By Request

Here are photos from Halloween. "Dances with BR's" & "Squating Pigeon" had so much fun at Brent's work Halloween Party. Brent picked out our costumes...and character names. He really got into this indian character.

{proof that he indeed did sing karaoke with a chilean miner}