On The Road Again...

As if one road trip to see the Tigers play wasn't enough, we decided to take another trip with the same couple except this time we drove 9 hours, in the opposite direction of Maryland...to Tampa, FL! Yes, 9 hours! The longest road trip I have taken is 7 hours, so I was a little concerned about surviving a 9 hour road trip. Actually, it seemed much shorter than 9 hours, but I wasn't the driver :) Thanks Chris Mc. for being a great pilot! Kristie and I traded Southern Living recipes, I played tons of Sudoku and took lots of naps. It's amazing how quick a trip can seem when you can doze off for a few hours.

Yes, we know the flag is turned the wrong way but we were in a hurry to take the picture since others were waiting...and of course we needed to get to our seats to watch some FOOTBALL!

The temperature was so much, much colder than we had planned for.
Great picture of the McDuffies

Kristie, Ti and I worked together at Enterprise.

Those were some fun times at work!

The stadium was awesome. There was a huge pirate ship in the end zone and they served some yummy pizza, which we all enjoyed. The Clemson fans far outnumbered the Georgia Tech fans! Another reason why I'm proud to be a Tiger. We didn't come back with a win, but we came back with fun memories of a trip planned at the last minute with some great friends. I'm sure there will be many more trips like this.

Rewind back to October

I'm sooooo behind in updates! But better late than never.

In October, Chris and I went up to the Maryland/DC area for the football game. We had such a good time touring DC, seeing my cousins and watching the Tigers play. Here are a few pictures from our weekend with our friends Kristie, Chris & Keith.

We've landed!

This was our first time flying together.

Watch out DC, here we come!

You all know (or maybe not) but I am NOT a fan of museums. We spent a whole day touring museums, but I will say that some of them were kind of cool. I really only need 30 minutes to breeze through the entire museum and then you can find me in the snack bar :)

The boys are acting like mean machines on the subway

These are my precious counsins that attend the Naval Academy. They gave us a tour of the campus and treated us to a pizza dinner on campus. I'm so proud of them!
Mark is a sophmore (on left) and James is a senior (on right)

We missed the changing of the guards, but still sat in awe of the precision of the soldier.

This is how I entertain myself in a museum. I'm still not sure how I convinced my husband to pose for these pictures. They make me laugh out loud! A picture of the guys. I think we walked 20 miles that day!

Group photo before the game.
Me & Kristie at the game.

GO TIGERS!

The boys at the game.
After the game we toured campus a little bit.

We are so sunburned! Can you tell?

This is a "self-portrait" of the entire group at dinner.

Sunburned and worn out, but a fun time had by all!
You can't go to Maryland without enjoying some crabs! Delicious!

New Year's Resolution

...update blog more often.

I plan to update lots of exciting happenings this weekend and our list of resolutions for 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another Gift Idea

Still thinking about what to give? What about a Pampered Chef product?
One of my friends that I went to Irmo High School with currently lives in Charlotte with her family is now a representative for Pampered Chef. These are great products for those that love to be in the kitchen AND they last forever. CLICK HERE to order.
Time is ticking to get items shipped in time for Christmas...so Hurry!

To make things easier...

I know we have all planned to take a meal to a friend or family member that has just brought home a new baby. Have you ever heard of MealBaby? Me neither...until tonight. The parents can list the food alleries, likes/dislikes, and you can see what days are available without bugging the new parents at home by calling their phone. You can attach the home address and even get directions right to the front door.

Just something to make your life easier if you are the one planning this process for someone.

ACC Baby

We are going to Tampa tomorrow morning for the ACC Championship game. Be sure to visit next week for pictures from the weekend. Go Tigers!

Great Deal

Are you looking for a great gifts that keeps on giving?? Click here for a deal from the Dave Ramsey website on some of his Money Makeover products. What better gift to give then one of financial freedom!

Isn't it gorgeous!

I saw this picture online of a living room and I LOVE IT!! Can't you just imagine coming over to visit and Chris is making dinner and I'm relaxing on the couch?!? Really, he would prefer to be cooking. Ahhh, life is good.

Christmas Photo Cards

Yep, it's thetime to start thinking about Christmas cards. I love receiving photo cards from all friends near and far. Actually, I don't just enjoy them during the Christmas season but throughout the year. Chris can tell you that they stay on our fridge until the new ones arrive . They all warm my heart and remind me everyday just how blessed we are with such great friends. If you are looking for a creative card this year, check out www.tamagrams.com. She is a friend of mine from church. You may have remembered me using her specially designed wedding note cards earlier in the year :) and now she has a line of Christmas photo cards. Check 'em out!

Trunk-or-Treat

Lego Land

Tonight our church in Grennville hosted Trunk-or-Treat. IT is always lots of fun and I enjoy seeing how creative each group is. This year, our community group went with a "Lego Land" theme. The kids loved it and the costumes were low budget. Attached are some pictures from tonight. Chris was at work so unfortunately he wasn't able to participate in the fun.

Congrats to Ann & Lawrence

This is the grooms cake my mom had made for Lawrence. The picture of the State and the red SC flag was the logo for the wedding.

The wedding on Saturday was beautiful. I was reminded just how photogenic my brother is. Every picture of him is just perfect! His bride, Ann did such a good job of taking care of the small details. She looked stunning in her gorgeous dress...and it even had a bow on the back. It couldn't have fit her better!

Apple Picking

On Sunday Chris and I went with our small group from church to an apple orchard. My favorite apple is a Pink Lady. Dispite the fact that the Pink Ladies were not ready for picking (according the dry erase board), we did so anyway. We sampled them, against orchard rules and they tasted just delicious! We did get a small bag of Granny Smith apples for me to attempt to make a pie. I'll be sure to post pictures next week if that happens. Stay tuned.

I promise to post soon. Not too much to update other than our Maryland trip, which was a ton of fun! Stay tuned...

Help those that protect you

Some of you may have seen my facebook update the other day. I was on the hunt for someone who knew how I could get my expired coupons in the hands of someone that could use them. Weeks ago I had heard about a program in which you could mail your expired coupons to families on a military base to use at the commissary, which honors them up to 3 months after the expiration date. Well, I was able to find a lady that has put together a program called Coupons for Troops, ironically enough! :) I have included a link HERE if you are interested in mailing coupons to other families to help them save some money. She will email the name of a family and their address. As we know, every little bit goes a long way.

Dancing in the Rain

Well, it wasn't exactly dancing. Actually it was cheering in the rain. Yes, we were at the Clemson game and stayed the entire time. Thankfully we were prepared with rain suites so we really didn't get wet, but what a yucky feeling! Everything on your body just feels moist. Chris' hands were so wet that at one point when he was doing the "O-N" his ring flew off and bounced down 4 or 5 rows of bleachers. Thank goodness I didn't know why he had made a mad dash down a few rows. He did find it and all was good. At first I thought he was going down to tell some punk-like teenagers to behave. Although he was just getting his ring, he did manage to address the un-chaperoned teenagers at the end of the game when one thought it was a good idea to toss a full coke bottle. Chris made sure he knew in just enough words that what he did wasn't a good idea. Yeah for Chris! So many people would have just watched and then mumbled some words under their breath, but Chris handled it very well.
I took a picture of us on my new blackberry that I will try to post. Having a new blackberry is another post for another day. Let's just say, you don't have to worry about me being one of those friends that can't put it away. I don't even get it out...I can't even use it!

We are going to MD this weekend for the football game with some friends from Greenville. Chris and I have never flown together or gone out of town with another couple. I know we will have fun and I'm just so thankful how laid-back my husband is about traveling. I don't have to worry about him ruffling any feathers or being hard-headed about doing something. At some point we have all traveled with someone like that and it takes the relaxation out of the vacation.

I am looking forward to cooler weather! You?

Free (cont.)

Last night I went to get a sandwich at a nameless sub shop :) for dinner. I treated myself out for dinner since I had eaten lunch at the house. The story is that I ran in to get my sub, the guy made a HUGE sub and then...he asked me if I had cash. Cash? I never carry cash anymore. It turns out there credit card machine wasn't working and I went home with a free sub.
You may be thinking that is so cheap of me, but I promise I wouldn't have ordered the sub if I knew I had to have cash and the employee assured me he wouldn't get in trouble. After I apologized numerous times, I finally left with the free sub. At this point, it's a few minutes before 9pm, and they were closing the doors behind me or I would have run to the bank.

I definitely enjoyed it!

Free Ride

FREE: Did you know that if you complete the survey at the bottom of your Bi-lo receipt, you will be taken to a link to print a coupon for a free Bi-lo recyclable bag? Not only do you have a chance to win $250, but you can get a free bag and Bi-lo will refund you .05cents on every visit when you use your bag. These are great to use when making trips into the grocery store. I didn't realize how many plastic bags we accumulate until we started recycling them. They really add up!
RIDE: Chris will get off of work at 6am Monday morning from working this weekend. He will then ride with his mom up to VA to pick up a few little things that are still at the house, sign paperwork for closing, and then hit the road back to SC. Please pray for safe travels and strength for him to get through the day after having been up since 5pm Sunday night when he went into work. It will be a looooooong day for him. I do have a little stash of snacks for them to take.

Also...Happy Birthday to Ann, the future sister-in-law!! We hope you had a great day and a fun weekend.

Quick Update

Does anyone else think it's time for me to post? I'm sorry it's been forever. Here is a quick summary of our life in 5 short sentences. :)

1. We received an offer on the house.
2. Inspection and appraisal is this week. Until both of those are both done, we aren't celebrating.
3. Work has me busy, busy, busy.
4. We are sooooo ready for football season. I'm already thinking about some good recipes to try.
5. I have scored some major bargains this week! Whoohoo!

OK, that's really 7 sentences. Cross your fingers things go smoothly with the house. We are looking forward to only having 1 mortgage.

Lawrence's wedding is less than two months away. October will be here before we know it and I'm so excited about fall decorations, cute sweaters, colorful scarfs, and of course time with family.

Have a great week!

My favorite things

What are two of my favorite things?? Yes, besides Chris and Clemson...well, have you guessed?

FREE & CHOCOLATE! That doesn't come as a surprise to most of you :)

Every Friday, Mars is giving away 250,000 free pieces of chocolate HERE. I already got mine today. The certificate for your free chocolate does take six weeks, but it's worth it for me. I'll grab a cold diet coke and enjoy my free chocolate right about the beginning of October. And maybe I'll share it with Chris while we are enjoying a Clemson football game! That sounds like a great plan.

(Dad, I already registered for you today too. Love ya)

Free food

I just ordered $10 worth of free food to be delivered on Monday. Whether you pick out a few items and take $10 off or you order 1 item under $10 and get it free, it's still a great deal. Check it out HERE! No charge for delivery.