November 22nd

A couple of weeks ago Danny and I invited the neighbors over for dinner to show off the house and how everything looks since we started this project months ago. I must say the house looked quite cozy with all of the Christmas decorations everywhere. Lynn commented that she had never seen the house decorated for the holidays before. I would have loved to light a fire to add to the atmosphere, but we've had a hot spell and it was nearly 65 out that night.

Danny made his famous fried chicken and mashed potatoes and I helped by steaming some broccoli and making cornbread. Apparently the cornbread was quite a hit. I used the cornmeal that Bobby and Patty had given to us when we went to see them grind their homemade grits and cornmeal. The recipe was just something I found online, but now it will forever be Desiree's famous homemade cornbread. Hooray for making something people love!

Santa stopped by the house early and left some presents for the girls, Taylor and Jordan. Taylor received a gingerbread tree kit and a stocking full of Hannah Montana school supplies and Jordan received a gingerbread house kit and a stocking full of High School Musical school supplies. After dinner Lynn gave them the go ahead to go and play with all the new stuff. They were amused for the rest of the night. I wish Christmas shopping was that easy for everyone.

Jordan and Taylor opening their presents from Santa

Showing off the loot!

the beginning

Since this is the first post, I'll see if I can give a brief rundown of what's been happening in our lives...he we go.

Danny and I were married at The Wilhite House in Anderson, SC on May 10th, 2008. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. Everything went perfectly thanks to the owners of the house, Lori and Jim Monroe. They took care of everything for us so we could enjoy the company of our friends and family that traveled all that way to see us. By the end of the night, the reception had turned into one big party – just the way we like it!

For our honeymoon we traveled to Las Vegas and spent a week trying to see EVERYTHING. There is so much to see and do there that we needed a vacation from our vacation! To hit the highlights we went to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, saw the Bellagio fountains from the Eiffel Tower at Paris, went on the roller coaster in New York, New York, saw the Cirque du Soliel show Zumanity, lost maybe $8 in slot machines, rented a motorcycle and drove out to the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon, and walked what seemed like 5 miles a day to see everything in between.

When we got back from our honeymoon, I started my new job at FB Johnston Graphics in Chapin, SC. They print products for two different markets, OEM and A&SP. All you really need to know about OEM and A&SP is that OEM is boring labels mostly for machinery and A&SP is fun marketing products (it stands for advertising and sales promotion). I’m a customer service representative on the A&SP side and enjoy it (most of the time). I handle projects that deal a lot with fast food advertising. I never thought my first job out of college would be so close to home, but it worked out quite nicely. I really love the option of being able to have lunch with my mom every now and then.

Danny’s two year anniversary with Crowson-Stone Printing is this January. He ran an HP Indigo 5000 Press for a little while, but now is the go-to guy for all sorts. If it won’t run, won’t fit, can’t find it, or don’t understand it, Danny is the person they go to. It’s a position that is very hands on and mechanical which fits him quite well.

Up until the end of October, Danny and I had been living in Essex Park (now called Lexington Station) off of Broad River Road in Columbia. For those of you who know Broad River, and more specifically that section of apartments on Longcreek Drive off Broad River, you are well aware of how…unsafe…it can be. For those of you who don’t know I would never recommend living there. We were counting down the days until we could move out of that area.

As luck would have it we were presented with the opportunity to rent a house in Irmo. We were told that the house needed a lot of work, but anything had to be better than we were at. The house was built in 1954 and was the home of the owner’s grandfather. There are only 4 houses on this street and they all belong to the same family. Lynn and Tim and their two girls live in one, Lynn’s brother and his family live in another, Lynn’s parents live in the third, and Lynn’s grandparents lived in the fourth. Since the grandparents passing the house has been shut up for a few years and was in need of some major TLC. Beginning of September the demolition began and we worked many many hours until move in day on October 25th. The entire house was gutted and we went from there. I will have to dedicate an entry just to the house and show pictures of the progress we made and what it looks like now. To put it simply, we love it!

Danny and I hosted our first Thanksgiving in the house this past week. Danny fried two delicious turkeys and I, along with the help of my mom, prepared all the side dishes. It was so nice to have everyone together to enjoy the holiday. I’d say it was a very successful Thanksgiving. The house was all decorated and there was a fire going, very enjoyable.

So that's us in a nutshell. I plan to come back and elaborate some more on some of the topics and post pictures so keep checking!