Freaky Friday

On Friday, October 26, we participated in a Freaky Friday 8k run here in Tuscaloosa.  The race started at 9 pm at Wintzells, a restaurant across the river near downtown Tuscaloosa.  Of course we walked due to my back (no more running ever) and walked in a group with a couple of other people. We were actually assured that there would be lots of walkers, and there were some runners who walked intermittently, but I do believe that we were the only ones who walked the entire time. We wanted to participate because it was a costume run & we thought it sounded like a fun & active way to spend a Friday night.  Plus, we LOVE to dress up!!  Why is dressing up so fun?!?

Brent was the star of the evening.  It was out of control.  He ordered the wig & mustache on the internet, cut the sleeves off of a ratty Budweiser shirt and we found the rest of the costume at the thrift store.  It. was. awesome.  He actually became Joe Dirt for the entire night.

When we got to the race, he was such a hit.  All of these girls were taking pictures with him and he was working the crowd just like a politician.  In the picture below he is saying “Yeah, there’s not even enough room in these shorts for me to put my hands all the way in my pockets.”  Seriously.  The funniest part of the night (for me, anyway), was when he sprinted across the finish line, arms raised, mullet flowing behind him, cheering for himself, yelling “woooooo hooooooo!!!!!!!” AS IF everyone else had not already finished and was inside drinking + socializing. Seriously, there were four people at the finish line when we finished and Brent still finished like a champ – just like Joe Dirt would have.

(the bee & the butterfly on the course)

It was no surprise to anyone in attendance when Brent won first place in the costume contest. He won a Nick Saban autographed football, a $50 gift certificate to a Mexican restaurant in Northport, and a Sports Illustrated issue signed by Trent Richardson.  All of the Alabama memorabilia was hilarious. People in Tuscaloosa truly believe that everyone is a Tide fan.

What a fun night!!!

Avett Brothers & Grace Potter

Thursday night we went to the Avett Brothers concert at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Probably our last amphitheater show of the year! Grace Potter & the Nocturnals opened & they were great - we downloaded several of her songs for the Gatlinburg road trip first thing Friday morning!

We sat with our friends Susan & Doster so that made it even more fun! Highlights included: I and Love and You, January Wedding, Down with the Shine, Head Full of Doubt, and Kick Drum Heart (part of the encore!). They sang lots of songs from their new album. The only song I was hoping to hear & didn't was "Salina," which is one of my very favorites.

This was our 2nd Avett concert & it was fantastic! They might be my favorite musical artists out there right now. Can't wait to see them again!

First Spring Weekend

It was a gorgeous weekend in Alabama!  Everything is in fully bloom – our neighborhood is beautiful!

Today we did a massive grocery shop + lunch.  We hit Sam’s Publix, Wal-Mart & CVS.  Just going where the deals are!  Ha!  In between, we at lunch at the Pearl Garden, where they are now selling ginger salads & shrimp sauce from Hokkaido’s – the Japanese restaurant that was blown away in the tornado.  My favorite is the ginger salad.  I could eat it for every.single.meal.

And my new spring tablescape!

Gray Saturday

Today was a little rainy and overcast, but we still had a great day!  Perfect mix of relaxing + productive.  Brent couldn’t ride because of the weather, so we ended up sleeping later than usual, getting some housework done, then going for lunch at Mellow Mushroom before getting groceries.

When we got home, I went straight for this:

And took a loooooong nap.  Tonight we ended up braving the nasty weather and going to the Plantation House with our friends.  They have this amazing wonderful spectacular shrimp & corn chowder on the salad bar.  I ate so much of it that I had to bring my actual meal home in a to-go box. This restaurant has the BEST chicken fingers ever, so we have that to look forward to tomorrow!

Rainy photos:

And look what we found in our kitchen cabinets!!!

I’m a little embarrassed that Thelma might see this, but oh well.   It is remarkable. We were growing a garden & didn’t even know it.

Spring in January

(Back by popular demand!)

Can’t believe it is still January.  It is so warm and sunny.  Today Brent took the day off from riding, so we got to spend some good quality time together. We took the dogs to the Arboretum.  It felt like late March – it was so nice.

This week I noticed that our neighbor’s tulip tree is in full bloom, and was hoping that they would be blooming at the Arboretum as well.  Two years ago in March, we were walking the pugs at the Arboretum and came up on a group of tulip trees in full bloom. The sun was setting behind the trees and I swear it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

As you can see, the trees are already starting to bloom.  I will need to start going every day so I don’t miss it!

New Girl  growled at every dog that came near her and was so terrified of the water.  She thought Brent was trying to drown her in the lake and panicked.  A group of people stopped to pet Milly, who is always lagging behind.  As they walked on down towards the lake, she picked up the pace and fell right in with the group.  Brent and I both called to her to come and she cut her eyes over at me and just kept walking with the others.  I had to go pick her up. She only makes it about the first 10 minutes…after that she has to be carried.

Back home I noticed that we have lots of blooms on our camelia bushes.  I think plants that produce such beautiful blooms in the winter are a fantastic idea.  They are one of my favorite things about our house (including the azaleas!).

All the photos on this post were taken with my new iPhone, which is, hands-down the best material gift that anyone has ever given me (thanks, Brent!).  The DSLR is obviously a close second.

I am planning to go back and fill in the gap from November to January, so keep checking!