It's Official...

He's spoiled rotten. We've know it for a while, but I think Maverick is starting to catch on.

Nothin' New...

There’s not much going on around the Farmer household these days. We had a great Christmas and New Years and I have absolutely no pictures to document our fun times. We even spent a weekend in Bowling Green with Blake’s mom’s family and I have no pictures from that trip either. I haven’t fallen off the picture collage bandwagon, I’ve just slowed down a bit. I have some absolutely adorable pictures of Crosby Fox Malone that I’ll post sometime with week. I got to see and hold him for the first time yesterday… he’s so teeny and adorable.

I guess the biggest news around here is that I made a couple of New Year’s Resolutions that I don’t plan on breaking. I don’t usually make any because I know I’ll break them, but this year it’s going to be different. I have two weddings in May (one on the 16^th and one on the 23^rd) and I don’t want to feel like a stuffed sausage at either of them. I’ve been really unhappy with my body these past few months so I decided it’s time to do something about it.

Resolution #1 – One Sweet A Week. This is HUGE for me because I LOVE dessert and I LOVE to bake. I’ve even caused Blake to develop a sweet tooth. It was especially hard because last Friday was my birthday and Channing bought me a delicious cookie cake and we had leftovers. I ate one piece Friday night and had one Sunday (new week)for breakfast. So I had my sweet for the week early this week. Oh well… it was worth it!

Resolution #2 – One Dr. Pepper a Week. This might even be more difficult than ‘One Sweet a Week’ but it’s going okay so far. Luckily Lipscomb is a Pepsi campus (no DP or Coke) so I’m not tempted at work, but going out to eat it when it’s hard. I’ve just go to break myself of my desire to have DP with certain meals… okay, all meals. I’m drinking a lot more water these days. Although I guess it’s easy to drink more water than I used to, because I used to not drink any water at all. Seriously. I’d go through a whole day and realize at bed time that I was incredibly thirsty because I hadn’t had any water all day. I’m feeling less puffy without all the carbonation, that is for sure.

Resolution #3 – Exercise Three Times a Week. This may sound lame to some of you exercise fanatics, but I had to be realistic with myself. I hate exercising. Hopefully I’ll stop hating it soon but until then I’m only making myself work out 3 times a week. I do feel better when I’m exercising so hopefully that will encourage me to exercise more.

Finally… Resolution #4 – No Snacks. I could eat all day every day if there were food available. I used to snack during the day at work and when I’d get home but I’ve realized I don’t need that food. I’m not cutting back on my portions at meal time (because I don’t eat like a pig) so I thought this would be a realistic goal too.

All of these resolutions also help when you are trying to save money. Buying sweets, snacks, Dr. Peppers, and baking sweets tends to add up quicker than I’ve realized in the past. Blake and I also set a budget for our groceries and eating out. We take out the money for the month and what is left over at the end of the month I get to keep as an extra allowance! How great is that! It was even Blake’s idea. I told him to be prepared because we’ll be eating beans and rice until I get back from New York in April! (Just kidding, but it does sound tempting!)

Yucky day

I'm having a yucky day. I got up a little late and was just really slow getting ready. I did my hair one of the three ways I normally do it, semi-curly with some curls from the Chi. I pulled my shirt over my hair and it just went down hill from there. Nothing I could do made anything better. I {not so} slowly became pretty grouchy. I attempted to put my hair in a pony tail and then proceeded to take it down. That did not look good. So, I had to put it back up. I can't remember the last time I wore my hair in a pony tail when I wasn't working out. Lately I've been keeping my hair so short it wouldn't even go up unless I had 20 bobby pins. {I've recently decided to grow my hair out so it will actually go up with little help.} I am supposed to me at work at 7:30 and didn't even leave the house until 7:35. It doesn't take me that long to get to work so I wasn't that late, but still. What a cruddy way to start my day. And to top it all off, I actually have my hair in a pony tail. I feel yucky every time I look in a mirror. I feel so yucky that I've actually tried not to drink anything so I don't have to go into the restroom. I'm ridiculous. I know.

Here's to 2.5 more days of work until Christmas break and WAY better hair days.

A fun Saturday Night...

Saturday night we had an adventure. Well not really an adventure but we did have a good time. We hung out with the Jones and the Lipscombs. Our original plan was to go to eat at Macaroni Grill at OpryMills and then go look at the lights/take pictures at the Opryland Hotel. We all piled in Justin and Katie's Pilot and headed out to Opryland around 5:45pm. When we got close to our exit we realized we weren't going to be eating or taking pictures any time soon. The exits, from both ways, were backed up at least a mile both ways... I might be exaggerating a little bit but it seemed like a mile. We decided to get away from the Opry area and go to Outback. We had a delicious dinner and dessert despite our waiter completely ignoring the Lipscomb's every request. After dinner we went down to the Nashville court house to take pictures in front of the city's Christmas tree. It was SO cold that no one really wanted to take pictures but we did anyway. The shots above are obviously from Saturday. It wasn't the most adventurous night we've ever spent together, but it was fun!

For those of you who don't use Google Reader you will have alread noticed that I've changed my blog once again. I'm kind of back into the season where I like to change the design of the blog more than I actually like to blog. I'm sure I'll have several super interesting posts after Christmas.

What a wonderful day!

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Let me list why is was so wonderful...

• Sleep until 9
• Brown sugar/cinnamon bagel and cream cheese for breakfast
• Picking up Bo, the Jones' puppy, to walk at Percy Warner park.
• Walking with Bo on the white trail (Maverick was with Blake on the red trail)
• Seeing Travis Stork (The Nashville Bachelor) and Carrie Underwood on the trail and having them stop to pet Bo.
• Calling almost everyone I know, while hiking, to tell them of my awesome Star Sighting.
• Getting a Christmas Tree from Blake's former boy scout troop.
• Moving living room furniture around to accommodate the tree
• Decorating the tree
• Making a personalized wreath for our front door for $15
• Dinner with the Farmer family at O'Charley's

So as you can see my day was pretty normal except for my start sighting. I'm seriously still excited that I saw Travis and Carrie, I didn't even know they were dating until I Googled them when we got back in the car. Anyway... if my luck continues I just might see Brad Paisley before the year is over! Here's to good luck!!

Oh yeah, we had a great Thanksgiving too! I'll probably post pictures of that later. Priorities, priorities!

A little commercial...

Okay... I'm completely impressionable and I realize that. I watched America's Next Top Model every week that it was on and last week was not exception. During their final challenge McKee, Samantha, and Annaleigh had to film a commercial for Cover Girl advertising a new lip gloss. I watched the commercial and they totally convinced me I would look just like them if I bought the lip gloss, so I did and I LOVE it! I have been on the hunt for a lip gloss that doesn't feel sticky and nasty and this one doesn't at all. It even feels like chapstick (the cooling effect some have) when you first put it on. It's shiny, lasts for a long time and doesn't taste terrible. Anyway, I'm completely in love with Cover Girl Wetslicks AmazeMINT lip gloss. I just wanted to share.

On another note... our hot water heater went out last weekend and props to Blake for fixing it all by himself! We were all prepared to buy a new one ($300) when he decided he might be able to fix it. One new tool, one heating element and $17 later... we have hot water! He's so great! We were only without hot water for less than 24 hours. Thanks to Justin and Katie for letting me shower at their place on Sunday morning! That's what friends are for!

Banding Together...

I just wanted to let you guys know about something really neat that is going on at Lipscomb. The 7th grade Geography classes have started a blog to help the world. The money they raise will be donated to making a difference in undeveloped countries through micro-lending. They started with a rubber band ball that they traded up for a brand new iPod Nano. They then traded the iPod for $300 worth of house cleaning... so far they are off to a pretty good start. I helped them create the blog and am still helping with the project a little. They will keep trading items until April 2009 and then they will sell their final item and donate the money. They got the idea from this guy who started with one red paper clip and traded up for a house... pretty crazy huh? Anyway, take a look at the blog (add it to your Google Reader) and see if there is anything you'd like trade. Visit http://dlbandingtogether.blogspot.com or click on the image below to visit their blog. Happy trading!

Girls Weekend in Abilene...

I spent this past weekend in Abilene, TX, with my girlfriends from college. Several of the girls weren't able to make it but we managed to have fun without them.
Blake and I left Nashville around noon on Thursday and drove to Fort Worth to spend the night with my parents. We got up semi-early the next morning to drive to Abilene (not before stopping at my favorite donut shop!). We got to Abilene in time for chapel and lunch at Rosa's Tortilla Factory.
I won't go into a play by play of our weekend but I had a blast. I love how we (well mostly me) can go months without seeing each other and then come back together like no time has passed... that really is a blessing.
We ate at some delicious restaurants and had a ton of laughs. I don't know what else to say besides the fact that I can't wait until next year! Nashville 2009!! (Hess, the 2nd collage below is dedicated to you.)

My Sighting...

Blake and I were at Copper Kettle. It's a 'meat and three' in Nashville, located just across the street from Lipscomb. We ate there on Tuesday, but my favorite day to eat there is Thursday... Roast Beef Day!! They just opened up a new restaurant downtown too (just in case you live in Nashville and didn't know.) Anyway... That's where my famous person siting took place.

Guess who I had dinner with tonight...

James Marsden!!! Well... if you call eating in the same restaurant two tables away from him, then I had dinner with him. Oh yeah... Blake was there too. Here's the story:

Blake is working super late tonight because of the election so we decided to go out before he headed to work. We get our food and then sit down at a table with me facing the door. Several minutes into my fried okra James walks in the door with a young boy on his shoulders. I immediately recognize him. I know he is famous but I don't know his name and I can't remember what movies he has been in lately. I rack my brain for several minutes and then ask Blake for his phone (mine was in the car) to try and figure out who he was. I was pretty sure his name was James 'Something' or 'Something' James and I'm usually a Google machine but I couldn't find out who he was. While I'm using Blake's phone I notice a young girl who keeps looking at him and then whispering things to her grandmother. We finish our meal and then head out the door. I stopped by the girl's table and ask her if she recognizes him too. She says yes but she can't remember his name. She could at least remember that he'd been in 27 Dresses. Bingo! I just Googled him and apparently his wife is originally from Nashville.

While Blake and I were sitting at the table he finally decided that he recognized him too. Blake said, "I can't remember what he's been in but I think it's in the 90210 time frame." I agreed. I am so stupid. This is just a sampling of the movies he has been in lately: 27 Dresses, Enchanted, Hairspray, Superman Returns and the Notebook.

I was pretty excited about seeing him. I love seeing famous people. Just so you know... if I ever see Brad Praisley around town I will probably wet my pants.

Bad little buddy...

Blake walked into the kitchen this morning to find Maverick on this table. (Sorry Holly and TJ!) Maybe he was trying to get a glimpse of his girlfriend that had just arrived, Blake isn't sure. You kind of expect little dogs and cats to jump up on tables, just not a 70lb. Golden Retriever. Anyway, I thought it was hilarious and wanted to share.

My Recent Thoughts...

So... this is what I've been thinking about lately. Depression and the Dust Bowl. Sometimes I think that I might be a little more aware of what is going on in the world, not because of my own initiative, but because Blake is a reporter. But I know I'm not the only one who has been thinking about the Depression lately. Everything you hear on the news is about the status of the US (and now the rest of the world) economy. It's pretty hard not to get down when you look at your mutual fund shrinking on a daily basis. For me when I think about the Great Depression I automatically think about the Dust Bowl. I caught myself thinking this the other day... "The economy is so terrible right now. There is going to be another Great Depression and it's going to be so dusty!" For some reason I cannot separate the two. It's strange I know. I know they really had nothing to do with each other, just incredibly bad timing to have a drought. It's been really dry in Nashville lately, until this week. We got like 3.5 inches of rain earlier this week so you'd think my fears of the Depression/DustBowl would go away. Apparently not. I had a dream about "The Grapes of Wrath" last night. Not the kind of dream where you are an observer, but the kind where I was a part of it. Let me tell you, IT WAS TERRIBLE. I haven't read the book since my 10th grade year, but all the details came flying back to me like it was yesterday. The "turtle" from the book was even in my dream. I know this is kind of a weird thing to write about, but it's been hard not to think about it. I don't actually think there will be another Dust Bowl anytime soon. I know our farming and irrigation methods have greatly improved since the 1930s, but I can't say the fear of one happening isn't in the back of my mind.

That's all for now. I'm one week away from having my first quarter of grad school completed... What a relief!

Like No One is Watching...

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt,
sing like no one is listening, and live like it's heaven on earth."
William Purkey

(Sorry for stealing your pictures, Kami!)

I’m sure everyone has heard that quote (it's really overused) or something similar to it. So… I obviously don’t have a problem with the first part of that quote. I’ll be honest, I love to dance. I pretty much always have. I was on the Drill Team in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. I was co-captain of our team my 5th grade year. I know it doesn’t sound that impressive, but I was a good dancer for a 5th grader. I grew up in a dancing family. My parent square danced when I was little. Bevin actually took the lessons with them but I never did. I just dressed up in the outfit and petticoat and twirled around. It was really fun. I also took clogging lessons… for less than a year. I still know the three steps I learned and Blake always tries to get me to perform for people. He gets a kick out of it, and I don’t know why.

Growing up in the C of C meant that most people I went to church with didn’t approve of dancing. Luckily my parents knew how much fun it could be and always let me go to dances when I wanted to. I watched other people dance in a provocative way, and I wasn’t really into that. I later learned you can have fun dancing and not look skanky at the same time. I didn’t really break out of my “dancing shell” until college. I think that Jen, Erika, and Kara helped me with that.

I’ve had more opportunities to dance lately, and I really love that. The pictures in the collage are just evidence that I don’t really think about what I’m doing while I’m dancing. I’m just dancing. I don’t care if I look silly or stupid because I’m having fun! One night at church camp we had a dance party. Dancing… at church camp? I know, all of you are going to want to go to Otter Creek’s Camp next year. When the music started playing I couldn’t control myself. I started going crazy on the dance floor. People were laughing at me all night long and I didn’t understand why they were looking at me instead of dancing themselves. I realized how much Katie and I were alike that night. It’s like we were both different people on the dance floor.

I know this all sounds pretty silly. But I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Julie, Katie and I have been walking most days after work and we have been meaning to have a “Dance for Exercise Day” sometime soon. We had one planned last Wednesday, but no one even felt like waking. So instead, we sat on the couch and ate frozen chocolate chips. We’re going to have a “DFED” sometime soon. If you’re in Nashville and want to join us… just let me know.

I’ll leave you with what I’ve been listening to lately. Don’t judge me… I know you’re going to look at this list and think you’re looking at the playlist of a 16 year old. Don’t worry, I don’t care.

• My Humps – The Black Eyed Peas
• Ohio (Come back to Texas) – Bowling for Soup
• Candyman – Christina Aguilera
• Cupid Shuffle – Cupid
• London Bridge – Fergie
• Glamorous – Fergie
• Party People – Fergi and Nelly
• Low – Flo-rida
• In the Ayer – Flo-rida
• Leavin’ – Jesse McCartney
• No Air – Jordin Sparks
• Chop me Up – Justin Timberlake
• Summer Love – JT
• Bleeding Love – Leona Lewis
• See You Again – Miley Cyrus
• Lose Control – Missy Elliot
• Country Grammar – Nelly
• E.I – Nelly
• Hot in Herre – Nelly
• Shake Ya Tailfeather – Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee
• Girlfriend - *Nsync and Nelly

Old School...

I know EVERYONE is doing this, but it is too stinking funny not to post. I mean seriously, look at the bottom right picture and tell me that is not actually me. Some of the pictures don't line up well, but when they do, it is SO weird.

Things are going well around here. I spend my time posting in class discussion forums and writing HTML. I don't hate HTML but I'll be glad when I can go back to Dreamweaver writing the code for me. I am learning a lot though. Enough about school. I've been a boring blogger lately. Sorry. Just unmotivated. Anyway. Maybe these funny pictures will tide you over for a few weeks. (Just kidding) I have several posts that I need to work on. Maybe tomorrow.

Bill Brown [BWOWN]

So it may not be the skin-fest your prurient interest desires, but this is the Aussie known as Bill Brown. Guess Mo should have brought the zoom lens, huh.

In seriousness, this is a crazy man. He climbed up this tower. Jumped off. Then flipped and twisted his way down 60-feet into a little pool. I really wish, though, we could all see his Tarzan Speedo. 

It's fair time in Tennessee...

Last night, we went to the Wilson County Fair. We piled seven people in to the Trail Blazer and headed to Lebanon, TN. (Yes, that's right... the home of the original Cracker Barrel). Two boys in the front, three girls in the middle and two boys in the back, with no seats and a Puppy Partition between them and the rest of the crew. We got lost on the way out there. We had 5 phones with internet mapping capabilities and still managed to get lost... Interesting, huh? Apparently the Wilson County fair doesn't actually know it's own address. Seriously, it was totally wrong on their website. Anyway. We had a blast! I ate a corn dog, half a funnel cake and drank two cokes. It was wonderful! The weather was perfect and the only thing missing was Julie. She was in Orlando for her nephew's 1st birthday. Blake came without her. Now that's friendship: going to the fair with three couples AND volunteering to sit in the Puppy Pen with someone who is 6'3".

It's Official...

My life has changed forever. My Jeep died last week and I got a new car on Wednesday. My Jeep didn't actually die, it was just about to 'throw a rod' and the air conditioning went out. Good ol Carmax gave us a whopping $750 for my pretty purple car (I think they were generous). We took it to a reputable mechanic and he said he couldn't fix but knew someone who could. He also said if it were his car he'd get rid of it as fast as possible. So we did. We weren't planning on buying a new car any time soon. Luckily, the Friday before we found out we weren't going to have to pay for any of my Grad school. Talk about a blessing! Here's a pic of my new ride. I really like it.

I started my new job at Lipscomb today! I'm excited to go back and see what tomorrow holds for me! (I'm not on fire in this picture... I just look like it)

.

I start Grad school on the 25th. I'm taking 12 hours this semester, which will be interesting. 12 hours of school + 40 hours of work = Not much free time for Mo. Blake said he'd be willing to take over the housework while I'm in school... I haven't decided if I'm going to take him up on it. He's a great husband, not much of a housekeeper though. That's all for now. I do realize I need to write another installment of "A Prequel to the Farmer's Almanac," gimme time. It will happen. :-)

Vacation

Last week marked 31 years of "Family, Friends and Fun!" (That's what the 30th anniversary T-shirts said last year.) But seriously, it was a week filled with the 3 F's. This year lake Ouachita was lucky to have a few new additions grace her shores. The Lipscombs, their puppy Maybel, and our buddy Maverick all joined the ranks of our 'red-neck yacht club.' Justin and Blake took the pups swimming every day, sometimes twice, and they couldn't get enough of the water. At first, Maverick was a terrible swimmer but he quickly got the hang of it. It wasn't terribly hot this year but the mosquitoes were biting like crazy. I still have the remnants of a few bites on my ankles... Our precious Brady Mountain Resort ('resort' is used in the loosest sense of the word) was sold to a group of investors from Dallas earlier this year. We were all a little hesitant about any changes but we managed to make it through the week with only a few disappointments. Luckily they didn't change the recipe for the biscuits, so I was happy.

It was wonderful having the Lipscombs there this year. We are lucky to have them as friends and are already talking about next year... TJ and Holly?? Blake and Julie??? Ready for some fun?

Our Chimney Sweep

Meet our chimney sweep.

Not really, just my first thought when I saw this picture Moriah took at church camp.

Sorry its not in a snazzy collage. No time.

-Blake

Church Camp!

All About Bo!

This is Blake and Julie Jones adorable dog Bo! Katie and I went with them to pick him out/up. Bo is Maverick's half brother and as you can tell by the picture above, Maverick wanted nothing to do with Bo. He is warming up to the idea of his little brother, though. Maybel on the other hand immediately loved little Bo. They might as well get used to each other, and quick. They are going to be spending a lot of time together! Anyway, Bo is adorable and much more active and vocal than Maverick ever was. Bo will play around and bark (even if it is a little bark) at you if you aren't paying enough attention to him. I love Bo... not as much as I love Maverick, though. That's all for now!

Wedding Season

About 3 weeks ago Blake and I drove to Austin, TX for Jen and Hayden's Wedding. It was a long trip but well worth the 24+ hours we spent in the car that weekend. Elijah , Janine and baby Micah were nice enough to share their house and bedrooms with Blake, Kenli, and me. We went to the rehearsal dinner and caught up with friends I hadn't seen in almost a year. Saturday morning Blake and I woke up and went to Round Rock Donuts. (We are seriously lacking good donut places in Nashville) Blake and I got a dozen donuts, 1 kolache (sp?), and a cup of coffee for only $7! It would have cost twice that here... Oh well! We went to the Texas Capitol Building and gave ourselves a tour Saturday before the wedding. I hadn't been there since elementary school so it was nice to go back. Saturday we went to the wedding where Blake was in charge of the music. We witnessed a beautiful wedding, ate great Mexican food, listened to a Mariachi Band and danced for what seemed like hours. It was so fun and the location was BEAUTIFUL. Sunday we drove up through Fort Worth and spent Father's Day with my family, which was really fun. Needless to say the weekend was a blast! I don't have time to blog about Hunter and Leslie's wedding so I will just leave you with their pictures!

We've been busy...

Blake and I have busy. I've mostly blogged about our love story and neglected the fun we've been having. So here's a recap of our last couple of weeks... in no particular order.

Beaufort, SC... Here we come!

Blake and I loaded up the car with our suitcases, beach towels, Maverick, and about 50 pounds of his food and headed to Beaufort, SC for the Memorial Day Weekend. My parents and little sister were already in Beaufort visiting Bevin and John so we got to spend the weekend with my whole family (minus Channing's fiance, Austin). We divided the trip into two parts, and I'm glad we did because Blake drove 65 mph the ENTIRE trip. Needless to say, I slept a lot. Blake and I stopped in Savannah, GA to try and get reservations at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's restaurant). We got there at 9:20am to get our names on the list and there were already 200 people in line in front of us. I was pretty much the reason we were trying to eat there so I decided I didn't care if we ate there or not. So instead of eating at Paula Deen's we ate at Barbara Jean's... no lie. My mom, sisters and I shopped at the outlet mall in Hilton Head on Saturday while the boys played golf at the course where Bevin works... for free. Sunday we all went to the beach and then Bevin, John and their fiend Matt cooked dinner for all of us. It was delicious! Monday morning we headed back to Nashville and met the Lipscombs and the Jones at Casa Fiesta for dinner. We had a great weekend and I can't wait to see them at the lake in July.

Jellico, TN... Here we come!

Just kidding, we're not getting another dog, but it was Maverick's birthday on Sunday! He's one year old. We obviously haven't had him for the whole year but it has gone by really fast. He's grown so quickly and we love him a lot... probably too much. He's kind of spoiled. He loves playing with Maybel and can't wait to meet his new buddy Bo. The Jones are going to get one of Mav's (at least half, could be full) brothers from the Meeks in Jellico, TN. I can't wait to meet him and Maverick can't either.

University of Missouri... Here I come!

We're not moving... but I am starting a Master's program (online) at the University of Missouri in August. I will be studying Educational Technology with an emphasis in School Technology. I'm really excited. Over the past couple of months I feel like I have really figured out what I want "to do" for the rest of my life. Sometimes I sing this song to Blake, " I love technology, but not as much as you, you see... But I STILL love technology... Always and forever." This leads me to my next thing...

David Lipscomb... Here I come!

No, I'm not trying to get two Master's degrees from two schools, I'm going to work at the David Lipscomb Campus School!! I'll be leaving Otter Creek (the job) at the end of July and beginning a new chapter in my career. I'll be working with the Elementary, Middle and High school technology needs, taking care of their website, taking pictures as needed, and taking care of their design needs. It's a lot of what I'm already doing at Otter Creek, but with some changes. I'm really, really excited!

That's what has been going on around Binkley Drive lately. I'll post pictures of our trip in a few days!

“A Prequel to the Farmer’s Almanac” – Chapter 4

The Real Relationship Begins
Part One – by Moriah

I moved into my dorm a little early sophomore year. I might have not told the truth about helping out with Welcome Week (ACU’s Freshman Orientation) so I could move in early… oops. Anyway, all of my friends moved in early and I hung out with them at night and slept in while they were up doing Welcome Week stuff, it was the best of both worlds. One night my girlfriends and I went to dinner and then to ‘His Cup’ the local coffee house. I think I knew that some of our guy friends were going to be there but I tried not to get too excited about the possibility of seeing Blake. My friends and I got to ‘His Cup’ and just as we got out of the car I saw him. I knew it was Blake, but it didn’t look like the Blake I left at the end of freshman year. Over the summer Blake “lost” his earrings (he had two) and “lost” all of his bangs. He was also really tan from landscaping all summer. He was wearing a light peach colored polo that he still wears to work in the yard. I looked at him and my stomach jumped. I was so excited to see him, and he looked SO cute. We awkwardly hugged and walked inside.

Our group of friends sat down at a couple of tables and, of course, I ended up at Blake’s table. We all sat and talked for a while and about an hour into the evening my friend Ashley leans over to me and says, “You know that girl sitting across from you is Blake’s ex-girlfriend, right?” I didn’t know and I was a little heartbroken. I tried not to let it get me down. I don’t remember how he asked me out for our second “first date” but it was just a little over a week later. We went to Outback Steakhouse where Blake had lamb with mint sauce and I had the Outback Special, what I still order today. At dinner that night we saw Blake’s ex-girlfriend (whom I had become friends with) who was also on a date. After dinner we headed out to the “Mesas” as we so lovingly called them to sit, talk and look at the stars. Competitions to see who could see the most shooting stars later became something we (mostly Moriah, Blake isn’t that competitive) loved to do. We didn’t have our first kiss that night and it didn’t come for a few weeks, but that was okay with me. I just liked being with him and holding his hand.

The First Kiss
Part Two - by Blake

A Willy Nelson song inspired our first kiss – “Maria, Shut Up and Kiss Me.” However, by the time that first came around, it was more like “Moriah, Its About Time to Kiss Me.”

It was probably more than a month into our dating relationship. It’s not that there wasn’t plenty of opportunity. Abilene has a boat load of “parking spots.” Some of our favorites included a mesa south of town, an airfield just off I-20, and some of the farm to market routes around.

I (or we) weren’t too nervous. I think I just had a feeling that there was plenty of time for kissing. This wasn’t going to be a short-term friendship.

If memory hasn’t faded too much, I believe Moriah called while she was on the road on her pink Nokia phone. It was Saturday night and she was coming back to Abilene from Fort Worth early. Her call was rare. We hadn’t made the jump past me asking her out to her initiating the hangout time. She said she’d be outside my dorm in a few minutes. I grabbed a stick of gum and headed outside.

We drove to the 24-hour What-a-Burger, where Moriah certainly must have had French fries and her favorite ketchup tubs. I always got the potato and egg breakfast burrito. We came back to the Edwards dorm and spent quite a while sitting there, chatting.

I was trying to play it cool, but I knew this night wasn’t going to end without a kiss. Moriah had shown tangible evidence that she liked me too. SHE CALLED ME! I had sung that Willy Nelson song in my head, replacing Maria with Moriah. I thought this could make a relatively seamless transition from talking to locking lips. I leaned in, gave my line: Moriah, shut up and kiss me. She didn’t say ‘no,’ so I moved in.

The next time we kissed was at our wedding…at least in the video, which I watched yesterday to celebrate our third anniversary, my performance wouldn’t convince an audience that it was more than our second or third peck.

Attack of the Blog Stalker...

Yes, that's me. I'm a Blog Stalker. I didn't even come up with that term, I took it from someone else's blog. You know you do it too. You read your friend's blogs and then read the blogs they have linked on their blog. I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of. It's fun to read about other people's lives, it's why Reality TV is so popular. Blogs are more interesting and generally more family friendly. There are some people I feel like I'm friends with, although I've never even met them. This is where the actual story begins: Attack of the Blog Stocker...

Blake and I leave our classroom, walk down the hall and stairs towards the parking lot at church. Everything is normal, until I recognize this girl. I know her name, and I say, okay shout it. "HOLLY!" (Her name isn't Holly, I'm protecting her) She turns around and I realize, I don't really know her, I just read her blog. I introduce myself, and Blake, and explain how I "know" her. I tell her she was friends with my older sister in college and I that I read her blog. I ask her a few questions and quickly realize how strange I might be making her feel. I say, "It was nice to meet you," and Blake and I head towards the car. As we walk out of church I ask Blake if it was weird what I did, and he said, "Kind of." I immediately picked up the phone, called my sister, and told her my story. She laughs and thinks it's funny.

I hope that I didn't make Holly and her husband uncomfortable. They recently move to Nashville, visit a new church, and then all of a sudden some strange girl is calling out her name in the hallway after church. I'm really surprised I haven't done this more... calling out to people I only think I know.

So, from this point on I'm making it a point to make my presence known... on the blogs I read. You can do it too, if you want.

“A Prequel to the Farmer’s Almanac” – Chapter 3

Freshman Formal

After our AIM conversation I went out with Sunshine several more times. We had fun together but he wasn’t exactly “Mr. Traditional.” He told me several times that he had no interest in going to the Freshman Formal, but I didn’t think that meant I couldn’t go. So, when a friend asked me to go to the formal with him I said yes. I had no interest in my date what so ever, so it was no big deal to me. (I never dreamed that Blake might want to ask me.) One night, while talking to Sunshine he asked me to go to the formal. I explained the predicament and he didn’t take it that well. That is when I realized he had an anger problem, so to speak. I only went out with him a few more times…

So, formal night comes around and my girlfriends and I spend hours getting ready. Everyone helped each other with makeup and hair-dos. Getting ready for the formal probably was more fun than the actual formal. Formal Date comes and picks me up and we head to the Windsor Hotel where the formal was held. We sat at a table with Cheryl and her date (CBH boy), Ashley and her date, and I can’t remember whom else. Before dinner I wandered around talking to people and taking pictures with everyone. During my stroll I came across Blake and his date. We talked for a while and took a picture (see below). I didn’t really want to go back to my table, but I had left my date alone. Following dinner we sat around and listened to Stephen Speaks play his super popular music. It was obviously just TJ and his guitar, but I thought his name was Stephen, as did pretty much everyone else.

Formal ends and everyone heads back to their dorms to change clothes. Formal Date picks me back up, along with his friend from home who was staying in my room, and we headed out to lake Fort Phantom. We walk up to the bonfire, I find my friends and Formal Date disappears. I’m standing around, leaning on a truck listening to Ashley’s date play the guitar and up walks Blake, sans date. We stood there talking for a long time. I never noticed how late it was but after a while Formal Date walks up. He says (and I quote), “I’m going to go on back to campus, you can just ride home with Blake.” I turned and looked at Blake and he had the same shocked look on his face. I said, “No, that’s okay, I’m ready to go.”

I didn’t feel bad for Formal Date because he knew that I had no feelings for him, and I thought he felt the same way. I found out later that wasn’t necessarily the case. School ended and Blake and I talked over the summer. As he said earlier, that’s when things heated up.

A Prequel to the "Farmer's Almanac" - Chapter 2

The First Date
Written by: Blake Farmer

It wasn't so much what happened on our first date...but how we got there in the first place.

Once Sing Song concluded (and we sucked, by the way), I didn't see Moriah except for in The Bean, ACU's main cafeteria. So, I had my friends. Moriah had her friends. Every once in a while I would time my trip to the ice cream counter so we would stand in line together and be forced to talk, but I was struggling here. At one point, I just bit the bullet and started going over to her table and spending a few minutes each day before I would leave for my afternoon class (aka nap).

In these brief conversations we would have, I started throwing in this line about "we need to make some Blake and Moriah time." Upon reading this, it wasn't as sneaky as perhaps I intended to be. Eventually I was walking Moriah out of the lunch room each day. This was a new thing for me. All the girls I had tried to date before were first my friends.

One day, I decided it was time to just ask her out. I walked Moriah all the way back to her dorm, but we had a third wheel, a tagalong. Our good friend thwarted my efforts. I would persist. I eventually asked her out, right there in front of the fountain drinks. I said Friday. She said, "I can do Thursday." (little did I know, she already had a date for Friday.) I did back flips all the way to my dorm.

So we went out. Hit up a small Italian restaurant. I was funny. She was pretty and smiled a lot. And I remember she had a phone that lit up when you called it. I really hadn't gotten to talk with her at any length until this time. We then went to Grace Bible Study, which is more like a Jeff Berry concert.

I dropped her off that night at Gardner Dorm. She was wearing one of her knee-length, hooded sweaters, if I remember right. I said we should do it again. She said great. Almost asked her to freshman formal. Thought she already had a date. She didn't.

So later that night, I spend a few hours on AIM, chatting it up. We had already exchanged user names.

It went down like this:

Blake1005: I meant to bring this up tonight, but I didn't want to come off too strong. I've heard you're dating someone. Is that right?

moeydawn: Actually. Yes. His name is Gill.

Blake1005: I'm not trying to squeeze into anything. I don't want to mess something up. I really didn't know, but just to let you know, I'm around. I can wait.

moeydawn: Yeah. I had fun, but I feel bad. Gill and I already have this thing going. Sorry


Little did I know, I was talking to Moriah's friend, Kenli. We would talk aplenty on AIM and flirt from afar for the rest of the year. We chatted by phone several times over the summer, and then things started to heat up.

A Prequel to the “Farmer’s Almanac” - Chapter 1

It all began with Sing Song.

In the fall of 2001, I went to ACU without a care in the world… I also went not knowing a soul. Okay, I knew a couple people from Camp Blue Haven (CBH) and a couple of my sister’s friends who were seniors.

I was blessed with a wonderful (potluck) roommate, Cheryl. She was quiet at first but we really hit it off. Cheryl and I hung out a lot with the girls on our hall. I honestly didn’t have much interaction with a lot of freshman guys. I actually went on several dates that first semester but nothing ever came from them. Many times I didn’t want to go, but Cheryl always talked me in to it. She would say, “If they are going to get up enough courage to ask you out, you can’t say no… and it’s a free meal!” I would go and have fun, but I could always find some little something about the guy that I wouldn’t be able to get over.

I ate dinner a couple times a month with one of the guys I knew from CBH. He was nice but I honestly didn’t know him that well. He had been in my brother cabin a couple times and we won the “Best Boy/Best Girl Camper” award our last year at camp. During one of our dinners he asked me if I would be interested in helping him direct (I ended up mostly organizing things) the freshman act for Sing Song. I immediately said yes. I knew it would be really good for me to step outside of my comfort zone and meet A LOT of new people.

The week before finals we scheduled the try-outs for Freshman Sing Song. *For those of you who aren’t ACU people, Sing Song is huge and mostly everyone wants to participate, so you have to have try outs to whittle the numbers down. Try-outs were held, over a three night period, in the Gardner dorm. I sat in on every audition and ranked everyone as to how well they sang and how good their ‘Sing Song’ face looked. I’m going to be completely honest… I don’t really remember much about those nights, I don’t remember meeting Blake, but he does remember meeting me. I do remember not really caring about how people sounded but looking for people I thought I could be friends with. Totally shallow, I know. (Sorry to any of you reading this that did not get chosen… obviously we’re friends now, so it doesn’t matter, right?)

Christmas break happens. Blah, blah, blah. As soon as school starts we have our first practice. This first practice gives CBH guy and I a chance to see who has what it takes to stand on the front row. I (of course) put myself on the front row, and guess who stood just one person away?

A Prequel to the “Farmer’s Almanac”

I’m going to go ahead and admit that I’m copying Kara. I’ve enjoyed reading her “How I became a Sheets” story so much that she inspired me to write the tale of how Blake and I met and fell in love. I’m not going to promise that it will be very funny or even very interesting, but maybe it will give you a little more insight about us as a couple. More than anything, this will be for me to reminisce. I hope you enjoy our story. The first installment will be released tonight (I decided to change the date), and no, there are not any advance copies available.

Mule Day, eh?

3.29.08

*I will blog about the bottom three pictures later tonight.*

Better late than never, right?

Guess who we met this weekend...

Kevan and Sharon finally had their baby. Sweet little Merit Fey was born Saturday morning around 10:00am. We met the newest member of the Albright family Saturday night. Sharon looked wonderful and Kevan looked very happy. I'm pretty sure that Merit is the first baby I have ever held on the day of their birth. Seems weird, but I'm pretty sure it's true. Blake held Merit for a little while, too (he said that I was hogging her, and it's kind of true). She mostly slept while I held her, but she was so cute. Sharon thinks that Merit looks like a girl version of Kevan, but I can't really tell. Regardless of who she looks like, I can't wait to see her again really soon!

Snow, huh?

(This was written after Kara's comment) No, we didn't get another dog. This is Maybel, Justin and Katie's yellow lab. Maybel is Maverick's girlfriend. They like to chase and kiss each other.

 So, Friday night we got about 3-4 inches of snow. Real snow. Maverick loved the fluffy white stuff. He loved to run around and occasionally grab a mouthful of snow. Blake and I also had fun throwing snow balls at Mav. He didn't care at all, he's tough. We woke up Saturday morning and had to call Maybel to see if she wanted to play in the snow. We picked up the Lipscombs and headed out to Brentwood to play in Otter Creek's fields. We stopped at Chick-fil-a for lunch first. We left the dogs in the Jeep while we ate and they didn't kill each other. Actually, when we got back to the car we found them both sitting in the back seat facing each other. When they saw we were there they jumped up and started going crazy. Blake said it was like catching two teenagers making out. Anyway, I don't have any more to say. I love the snow. But, I love that it was over 60 degrees today even more. I'm so ready for warm weather. I realize I still haven't posted any pictures of my New York trip with LeAnne. I can't say they will come any time soon, but I'll try. That's all for now.

You should buy this!

It's really good! You can buy it here!

Prayers, please!

Add this blog (blakeanddaniellemalone.blogspot.com) to your list of "blogs to read." When you are finished reading, pray for them. Blake and Danielle are in our lifegroup and are our good friends. Any prayers said on their behalf would be greatly appreciated!

The Office Meets Stephen Speaks

So, we just couldn't wait till April. That would be when The Office returns to prime time television and our lives return to normal.

Do a tiny bit of searching on you tube, and you'll find thousands of clips of semi-pro movie-makers who take video from the show and put it to music. So when we found TJ's song...well, we were surprised. You know, there are other videos of Out of My League that have been viewed over 300,000 times. Crazy, huh.

Just thought we'd shard this one. Two worlds collide.

Blake

I'm depressed...

I'm not actually in a state of depression, but I have been in a bad mood almost all day long. I'll just go ahead and share the bad news. My Chi died this morning. I decided that I was going to wear my hair "curly" today but needed my Chi to smooth out my bangs. I plug it in and... nothing. I flip the switch off and on again. Nothing. I press the reset button. Nothing. I try it in an outlet in the kitchen. Nothing. I leave for church with bangs slightly less smooth than I had hoped, but it wasn't really a big deal. The store where I bought my Chi guaranteed them for life as long as you had the original box and receipt, which I did. We get home from church and I send Blake into the attic to find the box but he finds nothing. I get upset with him, take his head lamp, and climb into our creepy attic to find the box that I KNOW is up there. I emerge box-less and mad. I look in every closet. Nothing. So I buy a new Chi online. I can't be with out it, I just can't. If you have one you know. I find one on-line for about $80 (no shipping) which is half as much as I paid for my first one. Now, I know you are thinking that $80 is no big deal, it normally wouldn't be.

You see, I started giving myself an allowance on February 1st. I have my own bank account that is my money to spend any way I choose... clothes, tanning, haircuts, lunches out any decorating for the house, etc. Spending $80 of "our" money is very different than spending $80 of "my" money. Oh well. I have to have the Chi. For the next few days instead of looking like this... I'll probably look like that. Hopefully I will get it before Thursday. I'm getting my hair cut, and I hate for Heather (my stylist) to see my hair looking ugly.

Who is this bringing back the 'stache?

Flipping through some pics from 2007, I ran across this one.

I've bumped into several people lately who are growing out the mus-trash. The conversation on my end goes something like, 'nice facial hair. Did you go to a costume party as a child molester, or something?'

Twice, in recent months, I've had this response: "No. What makes you think I'm trying to be funny. (straight face, awkward silence, I find reason to walk away)"

So that's it. Somebody's trying to bring back the 'stache, and I'd like to know who it is. It sure doesn't look good on me.

We went skiiing

I thought I'd share a short video from our ski trip to Steamboat. The snow was amazing - two powder days and one with bright, blue skies overhead. In attendance were Grant (the brother) and Chad Autry from our life group. We're already planning to make it an annual event, so mark your calendars for mid-January '09.

Thought I'd share this. Grant likes the jumping far more than I do, but he dragged me into it. However, on the last day - the one shown - Grant wasn't feeling so hot. He ended the day holding in some runny poo and throw up all the way down the mountain.

Here he went off a big jump, bailed and snapped his binding, which you can hear.

Look what I found...

While I was cleaning off our external hard-drive just now. If you are a TJ (or real Stephen Speaks) fan you will love this. Watch for my Blake every once in a while. For those of you who don't know, this got MAJOR air time on MTV Asia. Enjoy!

One fish...

Maverick loves his fish, as you can see. I gave Maverick my favorite stuffed animal, Bubbles, when we first got him. (Yes, I still love stuffed animals) I wanted him to be comforted in his kennel when we weren't there. As he got older he loved to hold Bubbles became more of a toy instead of a comforter. He loved to swing Bubbles around by one of his fins, shaking his head side to side. Bubbles is a Beanie Buddy and I think Maverick liked to hear the beans move around. As he grew he loved to play tug of war with Bubbles and anyone else who would pull. So eventually Bubble's fin was ripped off. Maverick slobbered all over Bubbles and got him really dirty, so I washed him. He was nice and clean but missing a fin. Maverick then took all the stuffing out of Bubbles and proceeded to chew off (and eat) both of his eyes. You can see what Bubbles looks like in the first picture. I decided to see if I could find a used, but clean, Bubbles on ebay. I did and they were super cheap. I decided to order 2, at $3 a piece I couldn't pass them up. The new Bubbles come in and immediately Maverick chews off the eyes of the first one, so I sew the sockets up. Now Bubbles #2 looks like he has permanent "Bitter Beer Face". Then he pulls off one of the fins. Maverick some how gets a hold of Bubbles #3 and chews the eyes off. Now they are both sitting on top of our refrigerator waiting to get stitches. My brother-in-law John told me some dogs only like toys they can destroy... I think Maverick is one of those dogs.

Just plain lazy...

I have been too lazy to blog. I haven’t been doing anything else, just being lazy. What has happened since I last blogged 1.5 months ago, you ask? Let’s see…

1. Holly and TJ stayed with us for a week before Christmas. TJ recorded a new album that I absolutely cannot stop listening to. I’m actually listening to it right now. I think it will be available in February some time. You must buy it!

2. Blake and I went home to Texas for Christmas. I’ll just list the things we did while we were there: Blake played golf, shopping with sisters, Patmommy and Granddad’s 60th anniversary party, Travis Avenue’s Christmas Eve Service, Dinner at a hibachi place, presents and stockings, Patmommy’s biscuits and gravy, Christmas lunch with the Steward family, presents and stockings (again), drive home… we also ate at Cousin’s Barbeque and Rosa’s Tortilla factory! Yum-O!

3. I didn’t work the week between Christmas and New Years (super nice) so I just bummed around the house, renewed my driver’s license, and shopped a little.

4. Friday before New Year’s Eve we went to Bowling Green and had a party/sleep over with all of Blake’s mom’s side of the family. We ate, sang out of a hymnal, ate some more and did a gift card exchange. It was fun. At one point I was sitting in a leather chair with 5 kids on or around me listening to me read. I felt like the Pied Piper.

5. We spent New Year’s Eve with the Lipscombs and the Jones. Taco Soup, Chili’s chips and salsa, fruit pizza, Oreo balls and Mexican Train dominoes. Couldn’t ask for more fun!

6. My birthday was the week after New Years. The night before we went to Bricktop’s with Blake’s parents, Grant and Grant’s girlfriend Megan. Once again, yummy! We teach a class of 3rd graders at church on Wednesdays and Melanie had them sing Happy Birthday to me. After church Blake invited several of our friends over for Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake, my favorite! We still have two pieces in the freezer.

7. The Friday after my birthday Blake, Chad and Grant flew to Colorado to snowboard in Steamboat Springs. LeAnne and I left that same night for New York City… actually Astoria, NY. Blake’s sister Emily lives in New York so we went to visit her. New York really needs to be its own entry, so I’ll just say we had a blast and ate way too much.

8. I forgot to mention TJ and Holly came back in the Thursday before my birthday and were here until the 22nd. We had a blast with them, as always. We ate out and stayed up late talking. They also stocked us up on Dr. Pepper and laundry detergent. Thanks, again!

9. This weekend I was on the couch more than I wasn’t. I slept late and pretty much didn’t get off the couch until Blake and I ate dinner at Chili’s. We don’t usually just lay around on the weekend, so it was kind of nice.

This blog wasn’t every interesting, but at least I’ve updated all my fellow bloggers on what has been going on in my life. Picture posts of New York (and possibly Steamboat) are coming soon.

Christmas Fun

Thanksgiving... finally.

Our Buddy...

Maverick is still growing. He LOVES to dig, especially when it is muddy. He also likes to eat dirt, hence the muddy nose. He's chewing more, too. We still really love him, though. I just thought I'd share a couple cute pictures of him. I have tons of pictures from Thanksgiving. I'm trying to pick out my favorites for a collage. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. I'm only blogging because Blake gave me a hard time about changing our banner twice since I had last blogged. Oh well... until tomorrow.

I really have been...

I really have been too busy to blog. You might think that’s not true from my lack of pictures, but that is how busy I have been… too busy to take a ton of pictures. Here is what has been going on lately and is to come soon!

1. & 2. The first picture is a picture of our small group at church. We’ve been meeting with these guys since February and have really made some great friends. We switch houses every month and usually do some sort of fun activity in place of “real” group once a month, too. In October we were at the Blake and Julie Jones’ house. The week before Halloween we all carved pumpkins. The second picture is of all our pumpkins minus Ben and Bre’s. I didn’t get a good picture of all of them together.
3. Maverick is fixed. He will never have kids of his own, but that’s okay to Blake and me. Blake Malone (one of the 3 Blakes in our Life Group) is a vet and did Mav’s surgery. My Blake actually got to snip one of Maverick’s “you know whats” out. When I went to pick Maverick up later that day he was SO happy to see me. Blake gave me a small tour of the vet clinic and informed me that my dog took a huge dump in the kennel that made the whole office smell. Anyway… when Maverick got in the car he wouldn’t sit down for about 10 minutes. He just stood in the seat looking frightened. Then, when we got home he wouldn’t get out of the car and I was afraid to pick him up. He stayed in the car until Blake got home about 45 minutes later. Don’t worry! I left the windows partly down. Later that night Maverick had his first date. Justin and Katie Lipscomb brought their new yellow lab puppy, Maybel, over for dinner and then to watch our Thursday night shows. Maybel wanted to play A LOT more than Maverick did. Maverick was pretty doped up on pain meds so he wasn’t his normal, playful self. Maybe next time he’ll be in a better mood.
4. My family is coming for Thanksgiving in about a week! I can’t wait. Emily is also coming home from New York for a short visit. (By the way, the #4 picture was taken about a year ago). Even Patmommy and Granddaddy (my mom’s parents) are coming to Nashville. I don’t know what we’re going to do for 5 days, but I know it will be fun to have everyone here.

As for other things that have been going on around the Farmer household… We finally got DVR. We almost bought HD TiVo and that would have been the stupidest thing we could have done. We’re only paying $5 more a month for the DVR. If we would have bought TiVo it would have been $12 a month plus the $300 for the box. We love our DVR. Also, I took the GRE last week! I have never been so glad to have something out of the way! Now all I have to do is apply to the grad school I want to attend. For those of you who don’t know… I’m planning on going to Grad School. No, we’re not moving, I’m looking for on-line programs. I’ve found one that I’m particularly interested in, but am not going to mention it for fear of not getting in J That is pretty much why I haven’t been blogging. I felt like every free moment I had needed to be devoted to preparing for the test. But now it’s over! Yes!!! Anyway… my time devoted to blogging should increase. There should be more photo collages to come in the near future. By the way… My photo collages just celebrated their 1st birthday. The first photo collage made its debut on November 6th, 2006. It will have many birthdays to come! Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

Good Friends...