Two Miles with Jackson

Well, this picture pretty much says it all! 

Poor thing is all tuckered out. Jackson did his first "big boy" run with me tonight. That means no stopping (except to poop right in front of the police station. Nice one, Jax. That wasn't embarrassing at all!)  I wasn't sure how long he would be able to go, so I had David on standby to come pick him up if he was just horrible at it. He did so good! I didn't realize how fun it was to have a full time running buddy, but it was so fun. He needed lots of encouraging, but he made it the WHOLE TWO MILES! I was so proud of my little running bud. Here are a few more pics of a sweaty "mommy" and a very tired Jackson! :)

And one more, just because he is so handsome! :) If it is this bad with my puppy, imagine what it will be like when I have children!

Introducing Jackson

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I have been a very busy gal! This is our new little buddy, Jackson. Isn't he just the cutest thing? He is a black lab and is currently 12 weeks old! Jackson has kept me on the move, especially this morning at 5:20 when he thought it was time to get up...UGH. But then I just look at that little sweet face and I am thankful that I got to school early to get some work done instead of being mad me woke me up an hour early!

 His favorite toy is a Coke bottle.

 Contemplating life on the edge of the bed...

 My handsome boy.

 Two handsome boys.

First puppy shot.

Meeting mommy for the first time! :)



HAPPY NEW YEAR! Just a brief little update on our new year...

I spent the last day of 2011 with the wind in my face! :) If you know me, then you know that the back of the motorcycle is one of my favorite places to be. Deddy and I rode all day and had a BLAST! :) Here is Deddy at Campbell's Covered Bridge. We have both ridden by there many times, but never stopped, so this time we stopped! :)

We rode all over TR, Paris Mountain, and on some beautiful back roads. Then I came home and got ready to go to some friends house for dinner. I have no pictures of that! :(

On the first day of 2012, David and I went to The Railhouse and met up with Mama and Deddy and some Harley riding buddies for lunch. The Polar Bear ride has become quite a tradition for us. (I didn't get to ride it this year, but I met them at the finish point!)

I've been HOOKED on reading The Hunger Games. I read ALL AFTERNOON. I mean had to MAKE myself put the book down to go eat a traditional New Years dinner with Mama and Deddy, Becca, Mema and David.  All in all, it was a wonderful way to ring in 2012...

Oh! And one more little update..Look at this precious little guy! This is Jackson, or Jax for short. (Thank you SOA for our nickname!) He comes home in two weeks! I CAN'T STAND IT! He is a black lab. He is going to bring lots of energy to this house!

Happy 2012! :)

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Wow how time flies! I just realized that I haven't blogged since early fall when we had the house sided. We had a very busy fall. LOTS of football, LOTS of friends, and LOTS of fun! :)

I promised pictures of the house after the siding was finished. So...here they are! :) This fell at a fun time because the house also won first place in our part of town for the Christmas decorations. Several have asked for pictures of that too, so this is both!

A Clemmer family tradition is Christmas Eve on Craig Street! I love having the family (plus Mema, Rodrick, and this year David and his parents) for dinner, church and presents. Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve. My mom took some better pictures, so I will get those from her!

Mema (HeHaw as we call her now) and her fellas!

This year, David and I hosted the work party for Hayes Landscape Management (David's work). It was so fun to have all of his friends over too! The boys fried a HUGE turkey and the girls brought the sides. I didn't take as many pics as I wanted too, but it is hard to host and photograph!

 Hayes Christmas Card

 The boys!

 Some friends, The Ramsey's came as well!

Host and Hostess

I don't have many pictures of Christmas day, but I thought this was a good shot before David left for Laurens. This was taken at mom and dads.

If you can't tell, I have REALLY enjoyed my break! All of the times that I am not posing for a pictures I have been in my pj's. All of my Christmas is down and put away, and I even worked on some lesson plans today! :) So I think I deserve a treat for that right?! It's off to the movies in my favorite jeans for a night time movie marathon...New Year's Eve (already seen it, but going again with my gal pal) AND We Bought a Zoo! Can you say bummin' on Christmas break?!

House Memories

If any of you out there own an older home, you know how frustrating it can be. Something is always wrong. And if nothing is wrong something needs to be fixed or updated. I am having some siding put on the house now, so I thought it would be fun to look back at some old pictures. Wow, do I feel better about how far I have come with this house! I thought my readers would be fun to take a little trip back in time.

I bought my little house (after one walk through) on the phone and by an email contract. My mom actually found it before it went on the market...leave it to CC.  I closed on my house the same day as meet the teacher my first year teaching. (I like to stress myself out apparently). I will never forget being so sick with nerves that morning over meeting my kids, and so sick with nerves that afternoon when I "signed my life away". Dad went with me to the closing, precious love, because I was just a basket case. I was just a little over 22 and hadn't even received my first pay check. This is what the house looked like then (August 2006).

I will never forget "move in weekend". Anything that might have belonged to me at some point, or appeared that it could belong to me was thrown into my tiny little house with only a small walkway between the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. LOTS of people helped with the move. My own mama and daddy worked their fingers to the bone, but the two things that stick out in my mind the most vividly was my house warming fern from the Carver family and move in day lunch from the Bentley family. I will never understand what I did to be bless with two amazing "other families", but I am forever grateful! This is just one example.

I put a lot of Tender Lovin' Care into my new little house with in the first few months. Dad and I tackled a small landscaping project one Saturday, I spent my Thanksgiving Break from school that year painting the living room, dining room, bathroom and hallway, I spent way to much money trying to decorate for Christmas, and I added some "homey touches" here and there. Lots of people played a role in helping me build my little house into a home. Furniture came from every which a way and I took any and all help I could get in every way! One of the things that makes my house special to me is the things I was able to use from both of my grandmothers. I have tried to make good use of the things they were willing and able to give so that I will always remember where I came from!

My little house was becoming a home. We started having Christmas Eve dinners here with the my family and Mema. Becca and Mema have even stayed here on Christmas Eve so that I wouldn't have to be here all alone.  I will say that quite a few house parties have taken place on Craig Street as well...all who are guilty should raise your hand how...:)

After the first few years, I decided that some larger "makeovers" needed to be made. I painted the barn out back and landscaped around that area. From "ugly gray" to "barn red"...(sorry about the dark after picture)

So the next big project was the shower remodel. Who's bright idea was it to do that the same week I had my wisdom teeth out?!? It was spring break for mama and me, so Papa came down for the week. Mom and Papa had that bathroom ripped to shreds before I could even get the good drugs.

 Yes, this is DUST on my bathroom wall. My ENTIRE HOUSE looked like this!

God love this sweet man. He worked and worked and worked until he had it exactly right!

Tile (no grout) I am not organized enough to find the after pictures. Sorry!

I SWORE I WOULD NEVER DO ANOTHER PROJECT AS LONG AS I EVER LIVED!!!

And then I did! Using my very own hot pink power tools I put together the inside organizer of my closet.

Only a real woman has hot pink power tools!

One of my bedrooms has been five colors, the master bedroom and bathroom have been painted twice. The kitchen floor has been replaced, I've had two sets of living room and dining room curtains (can you say indecisive?!) More furniture has come and gone from this house than I even knew was possible. I stood on the porch and watched some of my "starter" furniture move on my sister's house in  Newberry.  It was a bitter sweet moment for me. I was so happy to see it going to another good home, but it was so very strange to see it go. Many many many memories have been made in this little house.

I learned long ago to NEVER say NEVER when you own an older home, but I am hoping that this siding project is my last project for a while! Here are the before pictures of the house and the wood. As soon as the siding is finished, I'll post after pictures!

Still left to do....

1. Have the bath tub reglazed.

2. Paint the kitchen.

3. Paint all of the trim inside.

4. Repaint the back porch.

5. Find and refinish a coffee table. (I do have a great project in mind!)

So again I say never say never! I guess you all know what I will be doing with my spare time. In the long run, it is worth it. This house holds a precious six years of my life. If only these walls could talk...

Well this doesn't happen every day...Knight Family Reunion 2011

The Knight Family (which would be my grandmother's side of the family) has a tradition of a yearly family reunion. Yes, I know that doesn't happen much anymore with most families these days, but the Knight family keeps it real ya'll! Love ya mean it, just speakin' the truth here! I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the Knight Family Reunion 2011.

So it all begins around 8am at the Clemmer household. Dad has been deemed the "road captain" for the trip (That means that nobody else gets to drive...eek!), AND, wait for it...we rented our FIRST MINI VAN! That's right, the Clemmer, Penn, Siler clan rolled 6 deep in the mini all the way to Alabama. Yes, Dad was the road captain of the mini! HAHAHAHA! (If you don't know my dad, picture long goatee, tattoos, black Harley shirt, driving a mini with grandma in the front seat, wife and 2 prissy daughters + 1 boyfriend in the back.) So before we could even get out of Fountain Inn, Dad has managed to get the driver display only in kilometers, brayed at the horses on 418 and called himself a "pimp". And yes, that all happened in a 10 mile distance from our home. Lord. Help. Us.  So for the next six hours, this is how we are stuck. I mean talking about about arguing over the radio, whose feet are touching whom, etc. Picture Clark Griswald...BINGO!

When we finally get to Alabama and get all checked in, we make our way to our cabin. Of course it isn't ready for us, so we sweat our BUTTS off while we wait. (Cause it's really hot in Alabama ya'll! We were totally dressed for a South Carolina fall morning, not an Alabama afternoon.) Long story short, after we get all settled (with few arguments over bed arrangements, who will use the bathroom first, you get the idea) Dad and I set off to walk/run. Dad did the walking, I did the running.  I didn't run nearly as far as I did last year, but I just had to get out and do it. This state park has the most beautiful lake with a paved loop and I really enjoyed it last year, so I had to do it again. Plus, it felt WONDERFUL to stretch after getting out the car. After showering up, I took off to hug necks of all my fabulous family. Here is a photo of my favorite "road captain". 

Saturday morning we did more "cabin hopping" until it was time for the family photos. Here is my fav shot of our little family. I wish we had a way to get a whole group picture, because you really should picture this time 7 (the number of my grandmother's siblings). It is quite a sight! 

So the rest of Saturday was spend doing LOTS of eating, story telling with Uncle Ben, a beautiful candle light service for those who are no longer with us, one WILD sister act, and a bonfire complete with boiled peanuts and smores! I really can't even begin to put into words how much this special time with my family means to me each year. We have been doing this reunion since the early 70's, and it just amazes me that we haven't skipped a single year, nor have we stopped this beautiful tradition. I fear that as the weight of this reunion falls on the shoulders of my generation in future years that we will not be as "driven" to get together each year. Every year's reunion has been special to me, but for some reason, this reunion feels like it was the best one we have had in a long time.

Mema knows you are never too old to slide!

Some of my sweet girls.

The grand kids (my cousins).

 My grandmother and her living brothers and sisters.

Uncle Gordon was my buddy for the afternoon on Saturday. We had a blast!

So long story short of this blog is if you don't do a family reunion, you don't know what you are missing! Be the one to organize it the first time. I can promise you that it will be worth it.  

Knight Family....Looking forward to being one of your "hostesses" next year!! :) Uncle Ben, we drew our family tree on the way home, so you should be proud. 

I would love to post lots and lots more pictures, but for some reason my blogger is not cooperating and I still have some school work before Sons of Anarchy comes on at 10. :)

When I Grow Up...

I don't know if anyone else out there enjoys the car ride home from work, but I sure do! It is one of my best "thinking times" (except for in the shower...Yes, I know that is also strange, but I think a lot in the shower). So I was thinking today and here is what I came up with...

When I grow up, I want to be able to cook. Not cook like I do now, (which would be what I like to call fooking, or fake cooking), but REALLY cook. Fooking, or fake cooking, is the only kind of cooking I know how to do. It would consist of dumping a whole bunch of can foods into a crock pot and calling it soup. I can also make a mean spaghetti and a durn good salad. But, I am a southern girl. I need to learn to COOK. You might be asking yourself what on Earth brought this up today?! Well, I will say I did have a peach cobbler for breakfast. Thanks to one of my wonderful students (who proudly presented me with warm cobbler) and her southern mama, it was one of the best cobblers I have ever had. It sure made me miss my Nana! Now that is a woman that can really cook.  I've tried taking some lessons from my Mema over the last year or two as well. Now that woman can really cook, too! The particular lesson I remember wasn't so successful. I bought the wrong kind of pudding, my meringue didn't rise, I didn't layer my shepherd's pie quite right...so I guess I'll leave the cooking to Nana and Mema! My crock pot veggie soup wasn't a bad effort, but it can't hold a candle to the three women mentioned above...

When I grow up, I want to be a strong, determined woman. I know this is random, but at the same time it really isn't. See, I was driving home thinking about this blog post when my sweet mama called. (She is a strong, determined woman, but not the one I am speaking of right now!) She wanted to check on my day and invite me to a little ladies happy hour on her porch. Her dear friend Debbie was joining her on the porch and so I decided to drop on by. If I have ever met a strong, determined woman, it is Debbie. In the last six months, Debbie has proved her strength and determination in recovering from a horrible motorcycle accident. When I got to Mom's, Debbie was helping carry the snacks outside (mind you she hasn't been walking long), she had driven herself to mom's house, and she practically ran to me and give me a hug. Now this is a woman that was in the hospital for over a month and hasn't spent much time out of a wheel chair in the last six months. I just hope that one day I will be as strong and determined as sweet Debbie. It was so wonderful to see her out and about this evening and have some "girl time". If I was able to spend more time with Debbie than I do, I feel like I could learn many valuable lessons from her . Tonight's topics of conversation...1. We don't like girl drama and gossip. 2. We do like our "biker family" and the love, grace, and hospitality that is extended to our "family members" when it is needed. I have many more wonderful things I could say about my  "biker family" and how much I love them, but since this post is about what I want to be when I grow up, I will refrain. (Though being a biker when I grow up doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all...) Thank you, Debbie for reminding me what is important in life! Love you! 

When I grow up, I want to be a hostess. I love a good party, but I will never be able to throw one like my mama. I have also been thinking about this a lot in the last few days. My mama can host a tailgate like nobody's business. Since David and I met, I have been trying to imitate her tailgate hosting skills at the Clemson games, but all I end up getting is tired. My mama can do it all. So I show up tonight to visit...Here is the list of reasons that I want to be her...(Just a few of them! If i listed them all we would be here all night!)

1. Her house is immaculate.

2. She has snacks AND drinks set out.

3. She has her house decorated FLOOR to CEILING with the cutest Halloween stuff ever!

4. She has a drink waiting on me.

5. Her porch is immaculate (candles lit, accent lights and fountain running, music on, cushions out, etc.) 

6. She, herself looks precious!

Perfect hostess in a nutshell....CC!!!

I remember my Nana having this poem framed in her house. I have no idea why I have always liked it, but when we were cleaning out her things when she passed, it was one of the things I wanted. I have kept it pinned on my bulletin board, but have not ever shared it. Since this post is about being strong, determined, a fabulous cook, and a good "hostess with the mostess" it seems like the right time to share this from my Nana. Anyone that knew her can certainly say that I just described her. So I guess what I am trying to say is that when I grow up, I want to be Nana.

"Woman's Sphere"

They talk about a woman's sphere as tho it had a limit:

There's not a place in Earth or Heaven

There's not a task to mankind given

There's not a blessing or a woe,

There's not a whispered yes or no,

here's not a life, or death or birth,

That has a feather's weight of worth, 

Without a woman in it.