Decorating

Hello All,
We have been SO busy over the past week with Thanksgiving last weekend, and John-Isaac's and Rebecca's basketball games this week, and finally us putting up our Christmas tree! Woo-hoo! Let's start with the first event on the list, Thanksgiving. We ate SO MUCH food it is probably sinful. In all, Clay and I ate seven Thanksgiving dinners on our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. Holidays are major work, but it is worth it because you get to see all of your "kin" and have much needed fellowship. I made four pies for Thanksgiving, two peanut butter and two pecan pies. They looked great, and I must admit they tasted awesome too!

We went to two basketball games this week, Johnny and Becca both had games and they both played awesome. They were made for this sport. Becca, I think, is the youngest starter on the girls team, and Johnny can jump so high that it is actually shocking. They both did great, and Clay and I enjoy going to watch them play every time.

We finally put up the Christmas tree and decorations this week! I know that it is only December 1st, but if you knew me, you would know that I am a fanatic about Christmas. If I were allowed, I would probably keep it up year round and play all of the Christmas carols year round as well. Clay was so sweet to help me put it up and get in the Christmas spirit. I have a few photos to share with you all.

Until Next Time,
Tiffany

P.S. I wrote this post before Christmas, but for some reason, I did not post it. I wanted to post it now so that I could share the pictures with you and you could see how we felt at Christmas time!

I am (trying to be) Crafty

Hello All!
I know you are all getting excited about the holidays. Thanksgiving is this Thursday! Can you believe time has gone by so fast? It is unbelievable. And Christmas is right around the corner. I can't wait! Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year. Everyone is in a happy mood, the women are baking, the men are cooking the turkey and greens, and the children all sit around the Christmas tree drooling over their presents. However, the BEST part about Christmas is the fact that Jesus was born into this world to one day save us from our sins. How amazing and wonderful. That act of love is the best gift that anyone could give. No one could give a better present than that, it is unbeatable. Sometimes I just sit and think about how many people really would give up their life for me, or take the blame for the wrongs that I had done. There aren't that many, I can tell you that. Not because people don't love me, but because that is a hefty price to pay. Would you give up your life for just anybody, or take the blame for killing someone when you had never sinned in your life? Good gracious, no. But Jesus would, and did. How awesome and humbling.

Anyways, I've quit preaching and gone to meddling. The reason I blogged today was to show you my wonderful craft I have FINALLY fininshed! I know you have been anxiously awaiting the results, right? [Ok, you probably haven't, but you could at least pretend! :) ] A while back I went to Michael's Craft Store, which by the way is my favorite store ever, and I bought some materials. Here they are:

So, what did you think I was making? ........

A beautiful wreath!

I spent SOOO much time on this thing.

First, I wrapped the wooden wreath with cream colored yarn, which took an eternity. If this inspires you to do your own wreath, just let this be your warning. I started and stopped probably four different days before the cream yarn was finished. The rest after that was pretty easy. I wrapped brown yarn in different areas and then attached the flower pin and green buttons in different areas using a needle and some thread. I am so proud of it, it is quite comical actually. I guess it would mean more to you if you did one yourself, because then you would know how much time I spent on it. But in any case, this is the last wreath I will be doing for a while.

 I loved making this wreath. 

 I'm glad I am done!!!

Have a great Thanksgiving Day, and remember to give all thanks to Him.

Until Next Time,

Tiffany

Luggage

Hello All!
This weather we have been having recently is wonderful. Don't you agree? The only thing I could complain about is it being bipolar and going from hot to cold every other day, but I guess I am used to it, being a Floridian and all. Anyways, I've been sick for almost two weeks now because of this weather change. I stay up all night coughing and I don't like to go out much because I don't want to hack all over people and get dirty looks. So far I have spread my germs to my side of the family as well as Clay's, so I'm sure you all would appreciate me more if I were to stay home until God heals me or I go to the doctor.
I was watching the t.v. the other day and an advertisement came on for Macy's, the "BIG ONE DAY SALE" it screamed, and being the shopper/savvy saver that I am, I knew I had to go. There were two reasons why I had to go: 1) because Clay and I got gift cards to Macy's for our wedding and haven't used them all up yet, and 2) because they were offering a 4 piece luggage set worth $160 for only $39.99! (I know, I'm a sucker....they make those ads for people like me). You also have to understand though, that the only "luggage" Clay and I own are the cloth zebra tote bags that Clay gave me for Christmas last year. They hold about two outfits each, and there are only two. So, I decided I would go to Macy's with the gift cards in one hand and 5 cough drops in the other. When I got there I only had one hour to shop around before the big sale went off, so I hurriedly walked around the store looking for the luggage sets. Of course they didn't come in the traditional black, only hunter green and baby blue, so I opted for the hunter green and on my way I went to the cash register. As I was trying to decide between the two colors though, something amazing happened. Something that is dying off in the world, someone did an act of kindness. There had been a woman watching me try to decide between the two luggage sets and she came up to me and told me that she had an extra, and that if I wanted it that I could have it for myself. It was a coupon for $10 off of a $25 purchase or more. I was thinking to myself "could it really get much better than this?" but it turned out that I couldn't use that coupon with my luggage set. So I went ahead and bought Clay a Christmas present so I could take advantage of the $10 off. How neat is that? I felt like a million bucks walking around with that coupon in my hand. :)
The funny thing is though, that a few months before this happened Hanna and I were shopping in the same mall at Aeropostale. Hanna had printed off two all day passes for 50% off your entire purchase (yes, we are both savvy shoppers). We made our purchases and started walking out the door when we both thought about the same idea, if we weren't going to be using the all day pass anymore we might as well pass it along to somebody else. So we did, we found a woman that was shopping with her son and gave her the coupon. She looked at us like we were crazy, as if she didn't believe it would work if she used it, but smiled and said thank-you and took it anyways. I guess she was just in shock that someone would be nice. It is funny how things come around though, isn't it? Good deeds never go unnoticed, and God always outgives us. We can never outgive God, because He will always give us more blessings in return.
Well, I must get off to call the doctor and make an appointment. I think I have suffered enough, and so has Clay, he hasn't slept in two weeks because of me coughing all night! I hope you all have a great day today and tomorrow and a wonderful weekend. Be safe and stay healthy.
Until next time,
Tiffany

Our First (Mis)Adventure

Hello All,
It has been beautiful weather lately, hasn't it? Last week we took our puppy to his first vet visit. We were so excited because it meant we would be taking him in on his new leash we just bought and we were going to show off to the Vet by showing her all of Crimson's new tricks we (Clay) had taught him. Well, we get there and of course everybody is ooh-ing and ahh-ing over our puppy. He is so cute that the reactions almost come natural to people. Anyways, we fill out our necessary paperwork and sit down to wait on the Vet. Meanwhile, Clay is already talking to the receptionist about all of the cool tricks we have taught.
(Side note: The way we taught Crimson to do all of the cool things he does is by feeding him balogna and ham. I thought this was a bad idea from the start, mainly because it left me with no lunch meat, so I suggested to Clay to feed Crimson carrots when he does something good. Clay laughed at the mere mention of it, and I guess Crimson felt the same way because he spit out the first carrot I gave him, so back to the balogna we went.)
Ok, so we are both talking to the receptionist now about Crimson's great ability to learn tricks and Clay pipes up and says "Yeah, our dog must LOVE balogna because he'll do almost anything for it. That's what we give him as treats." Now let me just tell you what happened next, well, I wish I would have had a video recorder for her reaction. She drew in a deep breath and her eyes got as big as two oranges. She said "Oh my gosh! Please tell me you aren't feeding that poor puppy balogna! That is horrible for him...one of the worst things you could feed a puppy is balogna because it has pork in it." This is when Clay starts telling her that we are newlyweds, and we don't just have doggy treats laying around the house, so we had to resort to something that we eat ("human food" is what she calls it, which apparently is a sin in a veterinarians office to give a puppy "human food"). So she comes up with a solution, and says "well, if you are absolutely going to give him human food, the best food you could give him would be carrots". Need I say more? Honestly? Thank you God, You are so good! For once in my life I am right about something, and I didn't even know it at the time! I didn't really rub it in though, because Clay's face got all red and I could tell he was embarrassed. It was so funny though, and as soon as she said "carrots" we both busted out laughing. I'm sure they all thought we were idiots in that office, because they sent us home with a complimentary (yeah, right) bag of dog food, dog treats, and a fluffy dog toy that squeaks when you squeeze it. I guess they thought we were mistreating our dog because we fed him balogna. We just didn't know any better, but the experience was hilarious to say the least.

                                                        Our first Vet visit with Crimson
In other news in our lives, I would ask you all to pray for my Granny. She has been in the hospital since Monday and we hope she can come home soon. She is having multiple tests done on her to see what the problem is, but until then I would ask that you keep her in your prayers. She definitely needs some uplifting. Also today, I have an exam in Microeconomics that is worth 57% of my grade. Yeah, 57%. So it kind of stresses me out, which means now I need to get off of the computer and start studying before the exam. I hope you all have a great day and God bless you.
Until Next Time,
Tiffany

Pickin' up the Pecans

Hello All!
What a wonderful day it is that God has given us today. Don't you agree? For the past few days now I have been bombarded with school work, so I have found that my release is to go outside and pick up pecans. I used to do this as a child with my famil and it was so much fun searching for more pecans to add to the bucket. I have already picked up a phenomenal amount of pecans, and there are still many more left to pick up! Guess who I found out also loves pecans....Crimson! But he doesn't love just any old pecan, oh no. He only likes to gnaw on the ones that are in my bucket that I have already picked up. I'm thinking to myself "Are you kidding me? All of the pecans laying around on the ground and you are wanting to eat the pecans i've already picked up and put in the bucket? Good gracious!" That dog is smart, I tell you. And so then I decided to give him the pecans that are bad and let him chew on those, but of course he doesn't want those, only the ones in the white bucket. Oh well, what can I say...the dog has good taste!

Isn't he just so stinking cute?!? He just wants me to give him attention I guess, and the only way I will give him attention while I am picking up pecans is if he tries to steal the good ones away. Oh, by the way, I just want to throw this out there that I say pecan like (PEE- CAN).....NOT (PU-CAHN). People that say it that way are wrong. I am sorry, but they just are. Either that or they didn't grow up in the south, because if you say it the (PU-CAHN) way you just aren't Southern. That's kind of like hating sweet tea or fried chicken. It's just not normal. Anyways, I am having a ball picking up pecans everyday. It makes me want to grow pecan trees and have a pecan grove. I wouldn't even have to hire anybody to pick them up for me because I would be happy to do it myself!

Happy pecan picking upin'

Until Next Time,

Tiffany

Football!

Hello All,
I trust that you are all enjoying this Fall weather as I much as I am. I love the cool gentle breeze that Fall has to offer. Clay and I are always on the go, and this past weekend was no exception. We decided to go see my little brother, Caleb, and watch him play in one of his tackle football games. He did so great, and we had so much fun watching him from the sidelines. He is such a "rough and tough" little boy, so tackle football fits him well. He plays on a team with Jaben and they are just the cutest things out there on that field together. It looked questionable at first, but our guys (The Green Bay Packers is their team name) pulled through and got a win out of the deal. We were so excited for them, but not as excited as they were!

                                       

                                             Caleb is on the left, Jaben on the right.

                                                        Mom and I at the game. (If you look
                                             real close you can see Mr. Rem and Mrs. Joyce
                                                     ....actually watching the game!)

We also went to our church's Fall Festival the same day. It was so much fun, they had a hay ride, candy apples, caramel apples, popcorn, cotton candy, and even prepackaged candy bags for everyone to take home. There weren't near as many people there this year as there was last year, which is so sad to me, but everyone that went had a fantastic time, and I guess those that didn't just missed out! :) I would have to say that my favorite part was the cake walk. It was my favorite partly because I won a cake on my first round of walking, and also because I won a half of a carrot cake! Yum! It is SO good too, let me tell you. I actually had chosen the blondie brownies, but when Mrs. Debra offered me to have a bite of hers, I quickly traded my brownies in for the cake. I mean afterall, how many times a year do you get to eat homemade carrot cake? Not much! I can tell you that, unless you live by my Aunt Nancy, then you do I guess. She makes the best carrot cake I have ever tasted, but since I don't live close to her, my cake walk carrot cake will have to do! I pray you are all having a fun and festive time during this Fall season as we are. It is all about your attitude, your perspective, and the way you look at life. I choose to look at the glass half-full. What about you? I hope you have a marvelous day today, and that God is with you.

Until next time,

Tiffany

We have a BABY!!!

Hello All,
Please read before you go telling people about my new post (I don't want any misconceptions here)! Clay and I do have a new baby, but he is in the form of a puppy! They always say try your hand out at parenting on a dog before you try your hand at the real thing, so here goes our good 'ole adventure. Our beautiful new addition to our family is a redbone coonhound (Clay's pick) and we named him Crimson (as in the color). We were originally choosing between two names: Crimson and Copper, but chose Crimson because we thought it fit him better. Overall he is a good puppy. He does howl at 3 a.m. (I know our neighbors just LOVE that!), and has had "accidents" on the carpet when he runs in the house unexpectedly, but he is so loving and sweet that we try to overlook the bad (Kinda like real kids, right? Overlook the bad because the good outweighs it :) ) Anyways, Clay has already taught him how to sit, but I told Clay that if you were dangling my favorite foods in front of me that I would sit if you told me to, too! Apparently Crimson likes the pepperonis on Domino's pizza the best. Clay loves that dog, and so do I. We call him our baby, kind of jokingly, but seriously too. Eventually we are going to teach him to roll over, fetch (he still hasn't mastered the whole bring-back-the-ball thing yet) and more cool tricks. His mom's name is Daisy and his dad's name is Wrangler, so we had to name him something original, yet something that still had flavor and zest. I think we picked a pretty good name out. I will post pictures of him as he gets older and bigger.

Aren't they so cute? Man and his best friend. :)

Until next time,
Tiffany

Happy Birthday!

Hello All,
And welcome back! Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day and very special to me because it was my Daddy's birthday. I am and always have been a "Daddy's Girl", so even though we went this last weekend to see my family we still had to go again yesterday to celebrate his birthday. He is so special to me and I love him very much. I always said that I wanted to marry somebody just like my Dad and I got as close as I could when I married Clay. My Dad has characteristics that every man should have. He is loving, sweet, giving, teaching, and a Godly man. He turned 48 yesterday, but he doesn't look a day over 47! (Just kidding Dad).He actually looks younger than that, and so does my mom. Dad told me a few times that when Mom and Dad were dating that people would ask if they were brother and sister because they looked so much alike. Isn't that funny? I'm sure people think that about Clay and I, they think he is the older brother babysitting the much younger sister...but hey, I don't care. Anyways, I am so blessed to have a Dad that has had such a positive impact on my life. He has always given me advice that I could "take to the bank" as he would say, and it's true. Daddy never led me in the wrong direction growing up, always gave me good avice, and I am so blessed that I still have him in my life. We often take for granted the things that we have until we no longer have them, but I am so thankful for both of my parents because I would not be who I am today without them. Happy Birthday Dad, I hope you had a great day yesterday. You are loved by many, especially by me. I love you.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Pots, Pans, and Lizards, OH MY!

Hello All,

It is a wonderful day today, isn't it? Even though it is rainy and cold here, it is still a wonderful day because we needed the rain and because God allowed us to wake up another day and praise Him. I talked to my mom on the phone this morning for a while, which was great. I miss my family dearly but I also love living the life of a wife. She has done so much around the house to decorate for fall with little scarecrows, pumkins, and hay adorning the front porch. I guess I need to take the hint and start being festive for fall as well. We had a good talk and she caught me up on the latest info I needed to know about the family.

(The next paragraph is about my family, so if you don't care about reading about my bragging on my family, just skip this one and move down to the lizard paragraph. It is sure to give you good laughs.)
Hanna was recently voted "Best All Around" in her senior class, which is a great honor. I am so happy for her and her accomplishments in life so far. As my Dad would say, "She has her head screwed on right"...which basically means she is doing the right thing and has her thoughts on the future and how bright it looks. She is also in HOSA which is a health care organization for high school students, and she is going to have her CNA license before she graduates high school. How neat is that? I couldn't be prouder and more excited for her. Caleb is doing well in school and is becoming a star on his football team. I can't wait to be able to attend one of his games. Dad says he is quite the football player and has blocked the quarterback and tackled him at least 4 times in the last game alone! He is all boy, after all, boys are supposed to be tough, and Caleb is the epitome of a boy. Dad is still working on my car that I wrecked, and he said it should be done by this weekend or early next week. My dad is so talented, I used to say when I was a little girl that "my daddy could fix everything but a broken heart, and sometimes he can even fix that". Mom is trying to get my Grandma's affairs in order. We all miss her, but we know she is in a better place.

So that is just the first part of the morning. I decided to get up from my chair after doing my Bible study and straighten up a bit, and what do you know I see a LIZARD on the floor! First off, how did a lizard even get in here? Second off, HOW IN THE WORLD am I supposed to get this thing out of here? I don't want to just leave it there, because it might come over to where I do my school work and crawl up my leg or something....we can't be having that. Of course Clay is working, so he can't do anything about it 30 miles away. I had to take action, and the only thing I could think about was to catch him. I got a pot out of the kitchen and slowly crept up on him and of course he started moving his head around and looked straight at me when I was standing over him with a pot. I won. He is in the pot as we speak, waiting for the lizard killer (Clay) to come to my rescue. I know that must sound stupid to you, but hey, what else am I to do? At least you have something to take away from my post today.....if you have a lizard in your home, catch it with a pot if you don't know what else to do.

I must get going now. I am wasting time and that is something I simply don't have time for today! Come back and see me.

Until next time,
Tiffany (the lizard catcher)

P.S. I haven't forgotten about my craft project I started, I just haven't had alot of time recently to finish it. Imagine that!?! Anyways, it is still a work in progress, but I promise to keep you updated when I finish it.

Skinny

Hello All,

Today I will discuss with you my viewpoint on "skinny". So many people come up to me on a regular basis and tell me that I am skinny. Some of these people are old friends, while some of them I have never even met. They come up to me and tell me that I am SOOOO skinny. In my head I think to myself "Really? You think I'm skinny? I didn't even know!" I know that is a very sarcastic way of thinking, but it gets tiring hearing people tell me I'm so skinny. It's like, I know I'm skinny already! It is the way God made me, and I have embraced that. I am glad that I can eat whatever I want to, whenever I want to, and never gain a pound, because I am sure once I start having kids the pounds will come. They always do (or so I hear). The thing is, I never go up to people and say "Hey! Oh my goodness, you are SOOO fat!" How horrific would that be to somebody? I would probably get knocked out by somebody if I said that, especially since they would be bigger than me, they would be able to! I have never been big, and I think the most I ever weighed in my entire life was 102 pounds. I count that as a blessing, not as a curse, even when people say "you poor thing, you look like you are 14 because you are so tiny". I just smile and say thank-you. Do you want to know why I smile and say thank you? I do it because I am confident in who I am. I thank God for letting me be just the way I am, and I praise Him for that. Everybody has a little quirk about them; some think they are too tall, too short, too skinny, too fat, have too many freckles, don't have straight teeth, have to wear glasses, I mean the list can go on and on and on. The point is that God gave us all one body while we are here on this Earth. Sure, we could go through procedures and change things about us, but then we wouldn't be unique and specially made like God intended for us to be. He loves us, and we should love one another. I hope you all have a restful night tonight and a wonderful day tomorrow. I will, and I will praise God for everything He has done for me. I might not be richly blessed in monetary value, but where that lacks, love is there. God has blessed me richly in so many ways, as He has done for you as well. Thank God and praise Him for His goodness, because He is So Good!

Until Next Time,
Tiffany

Full

Hello All,
It has definitely been a FULL week for me. If you only knew, you would wonder how it was all done. I will start from the beginning of the week and let you in on my wonderful, crazy, sorrowful, yet blessed life. It has definitely been a whirlwind, and I have told so many people about everything that has happened to me that I figured my followers would want to know as well. On Monday I did the usual, which is go to college and then the unusual which was go to revival. This last week was revival at our church, but I only got to go to Monday night because of everything that has happened. As soon as I stepped out of church on Monday Hanna called Clay's phone, and to make a long story short, she told me that our grandmother had passed away. I was so upset that I hadn't been able to tell her goodbye. I went to see her while she was in the hospital just a week before that, and I thought she was going to get better. I never said my goodbyes to her because I just knew I would see her again, but at home next time. I loved to play cards with my grandma, and she loved it too. Really she just loved to do anything. She was so lonely that everytime I went to leave her home she would stand at the screen door on her porch and her eyes would follow me until I was out of sight. That killed me, because I knew she was lonely, so it made me want to visit her even more. I wish I would have been there to tell her goodbye, but living so far away crippled that ability for me. She knew that I loved her, and I know that one day I will see her again, so I am happy about that. On Tuesday and Wednesday I stayed at grandma's house all day to catch up on some much needed family time with cousins, aunts, and uncles. There was so much food brought, and we were so thankful to everyone who was so thoughtful. Thursday was the day of grandma's viewing. I woke up and had tremendous amounts of pain in my lower left back, so much that I couldn't sit, stand, or walk without the pain being there. This also happened on Monday, but I blew it off because it was a one time deal. Now that it had happened twice I knew something was wrong, so I went to the doctor and ended up getting a C.T. Scan at the hospital because my doctor thought I had kidney stones. She called me and told me I don't have kidney stones, so good news is I don't have a problem, bad news is I still have to pay the medical bills (blah!). I also had planned a jewelry party on Thursday, and had this planned for the last few months with Mrs. Debra. She is such a sweet lady and I had been looking forward to having this party for her to make some extra money, so I decided not to cancel it. I had to skip my grandma's public viewing to go to the party, but because 82 people were invited to this party, I couldn't just 'not go' and I wanted to be responsible and stick to my prior obligations. My back was still hurting, so Hanna went with me to the party to help me. When we got to Mrs. Debra's house I realized I left some jewelry at my house, so I got in my car and ran down the road to grab the pieces I had forgotten. I was only going about 40 mph, but my car's tires slipped on the limerock that was just put down and I started swerving everywhere on the road. I had lost control, and instead of doing the sensible thing of stepping on the break and holding the wheel straight I kept pushing the gas and turned the wheel this-way-and-that trying to make the car go straight. (future reference to everybody- that's a bad idea). I ended up on the side of the road in the ditch upside down, I had flipped my car and was now stuck upside down with no way to get out. I started honking on the horn hoping someone would hear me and come help me while all the while praying that God would help me get out of this mess alive. Thankfully people started coming to my rescue one right after the other after only a minute of being stuck in the car. I am convinced that my Grandma asked God to send me a guardian angel to protect me in the accident, because I walked away with only a little scratch on my knee (my car wasn't so lucky, but thankfully I have a Daddy who can do wonders). So let's recap, shall we?

Monday: Grandma passed away
Tuesday/Wednesday: Stayed at grandma's house visiting with family
Thursday: Woke up with pain, went to the doctor, got C.T. scan done at the hospital, went to grandma's private viewing for a minute, went to jewelry party (but before I got to actually do the jewelry party)....had a wreck and flipped my car.
Friday: Grandma's Funeral, sore
Saturday/Sunday: Sore

Good news is I made an 83 on my accounting quiz without studying at all this week! I will say that I was telling one of my friends from college everything that had happened to me this last week (trying to explain why I made a B on the quiz instead of the usual 100) and my teacher overheard and asked me to repeat to her what had happened. When I got done she said "Tiffany, it's amazing that you say all of those things have happened to you, yet you still have a smile on your face". That made me feel good, I like to leave impressions like that on people. I want to be known for being a good example of a Christian woman, that I smiled, laughed, and had a fulfilling life, and that I brightened others' days. My grandma was so giving, she would the shirt off of her back to someone if they needed it. She was a saint, and I love her always. I know I will see her one day in heaven, so I will cherish the memories I have of her until then. This week has been a FULL week, but God has been good to me. I know that He saved me from the accident I was in because I still have something to do for Him. My time has not yet come, and I want to be the guiding light for others to come to know Him. I want to fulfill God's will for my life. I hope that this week finds you with great happiness, and not as much craziness as it did me last week. If by chance, your week is as crazy as mine, just remember that God is with you, He knows what is best for you, and He has a plan for your life.

Most people say "Thank God it's Friday" but this week I am singing "Thank you God it is Monday", because Monday means the start of a new week. Have a great week, and tell the ones you love that you love them, because tomorrow might be too late.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Hello All!
This weekend Clay and I went to a lake house with some dear friends of ours, David and Liz. We had so much fun and can't wait until the next time we get together. Clay has been best friends with David for a very long time, and ever since Clay and I started dating we would get together as couples and spend time together, so I have grown to love Liz throughout the whole process. We think and act so much alike, and it became very apparent when we were playing "The Newlywed Game" at the lake just for laughs. It was couple against couple, and because there was only one big bed at the house we were staying at, we decided that whoever won the rounds of The Newlywed Game would get to sleep in the big bed. We had so much fun, and really discovered how well we really knew each other. Girls and guys have a different make-up in their brains. To me, girls think logically, but that's a whole different ballgame right there. There were some questions that I just knew Clay was going to answer right, and he had no idea what my answer was, and other times I had no idea what his answer was. It was very interesting to see what Clay would say about me, and vice versa. Some of the topics we brought up were hilarious, while others brought up drama! In the end, we all had fun and grew closer together. Some of the crazy questions that we didn't get right was how many shoes do I have in my closet, or how many windows are in our house. Like really, who goes around counting their own shoes? Especially girls? That makes us feel guilty about how many we have, and I'd rather not feel that way, so of course we got that one wrong. And then Clay and I argued about how many windows we have in our home, seeing that we've only been here for 3 months anyways, we both are uncertain, but in front of our friends we have to at least act like we know what we're talking about! Here are some pictures of our trip, as you can tell, it got pretty heated with Clay pointing his finger and all. He wasn't the only one though, we all did that at one point, I was just lucky enough to catch him in the act....playing the blame game. :)

 

Sorry about the picture being split, I don't know how to fix it. :)

Anyways, we had a blast. It is always good to find people who are your age that enjoy doing the same things you enjoy. Clay and David have matching personalities as do Liz and I.

I am still working on the craft project I told you about, but am no where near being done. A few more days maybe.... but I promise it will be one to impress and inspire. I'll even show step by step how to do it, so you can do it too if your heart so desires! I hope you have a blessed day, and I love you for stopping by and reading my blog.

Until next time,

Tiffany 

Hello All,
It certainly has been a while, eh? Now that I am married and have a few more responsibilities it seems less and less I find time to play on the computer all day! Not that I ever played ALL day anyways, but, you get the picture. Anyways, alot has happened since I posted last, I guess because it has been a whole TEN days since I've been on. Shame on me. Anyways, this last weekend I had an exam due in every one of my college classes, so I was studying a while for that. I went ant spend the day with my Grandma on Tuesday, she is in the hospital and not doing so well, so please remember her in your prayers. While I was home, I also visited my Granny and spent a little bit of time with her, and saw my Mom, Dad, and Hanna too. I couldn't see Caleb because he was at football practice (I'm glad the little guy found something to let out all his energy while still having fun with other little boys too). Yesterday Clay only had to work half of the day because the grass is starting to slow down on the growing, so he took me to Michael's (which is a craft store) and I had a ball! I love that place, and I think I would spend all of my money there if I'm not careful. I am always finding cute little crafts to do online, and there normally aren't too expensive, so I write down the materials I need and the next time I go to town I 'drop by' the crafts store. Clay is so funny! The first two minutes he was all into it, trying to help me find things that matched, but that quickly dwindled away, and then he was off the to the candy aisle to see what he could eat while I was 'crafting it up'. I didn't expect much else, because I never see men in that store ever, but he was being kind and tried to act interested, which was good enough for me! We spent $11 and saved money too because I printed out a coupon before I went (I know I must have mentioned that I love couponing before!).

So, 8 things for $11...not too shabby in the craft world, and wait until you see what I make of it all! I can't wait to show you. Of course, it will take a few days at the least to make because I have school and such, but as soon as I get it done I will post it on here to show you all. Don't be surprised if you get inspired by it and want to go to Michael's yourself and do the same thing! Tonight we will be having quesadilla's for supper. Not the kind from Moe's (but of course I do love theirs), we have a quesadilla maker of our own! Hooray! Now we can eat Mexican style food whenever we want! I'm sure it will be delicious. I am also going to try my hand at singing with Clay's sisters today. They (Katie, Rachel, Rebecca, and Anna) sing in front of their church on different occasions and they have asked me to join them and start practicing with them. I love to sing, and so of course I said yes. Well, that is all for today that will be going on. Tomorrow will be an adventure of it's own.

Until next time,

Tiffany

Birthday Time

Today it's my birthday! I am 21 today, and so happy to be able to live another year. God is so good. Birthday's have always been a big deal at my house, my Mom and Dad always threw birthday parties for each of us every time another year rolled around. This year, I am 21, but that doesn't change anything for me. I'm not going to go out tonight and binge drink. Why would I? I want to set an example of Christ, and be remembered for what I acted like. I want people to remember me as a constant, someone who never changed or acted a different way in front of different people. With that being said, going out and drinking on my 21st birthday is just not something  that I would normally do. I don't want a lost person to see me and say "She is not any different than me, why do I want to become a Christian ?". I want them to see the love of God in me, and I try daily to portray that and show others around me this. (I just went way into left field there, but I've been thinking of it lately, so I had to say it.) Anyways, because birthdays are special to me and my family, we went over to my mom and dad's house this weekend to celebrate. This is something that is special, not because I get a present or two, or because all of the attention is on me, but because we are all together enjoying one anothers' company. I wanted to share a picture of one of my birthday parties that I have saved on my computer. This picture means so much. My sister and best friend sits right beside me, my cousins Amanda and Melissa attended and are behind me, My Papa who is missed but is in heaven now is behind all of us, and Daddy who is getting ready to cut the cake are all there. Oh, and who can forget one of the most important people in the whole picture, Mom. Of course you can't see her, that's because she is always the one taking the picture, but she is very important in the birthday celebration, she usually is the one who plans it all. Well, the whole gang is here, and while it might not be tons of friends from school, the people who matter the most were there, and that's family. Family sticks together through thick and thin.



 I hope you all have a marvelous day, and I'll try to do the same! ;)

Until next time,

Tiffany

Organization

To all of you out there,

Hello. And welcome back to another episode of life with Tiffany. I am so happy that you all read my posts, and today it said that my blog has been viewed 255 times! Alright! I have some loyal fans, even though I only have one follower (Thanks Mrs. Joyce). Right now I am doing my school work, adding a post to my blog, and my husband is cooking some mac-n-cheese for lunch. I was browsing Pinterest a few minutes ago (Pinterest is a website that has alot of DIY projects and creative things) and I came upon a neat idea that I should have thoughtt of ages ago. Do you ever have cupcake wrappers all of the place in 5 different containers? Well, with the help of Pinterest, I have come up with a solution for your problems.
 
Meet the organizer of the year. This is actually just a clear spaghetti jar that is serving it's purpose as a cupcake wrapper holder. It is cute, efficient, and makes you feel organized and in control of your kitchen! I am definitely going to be buying me one of these soon.....and then I'll have to buy some cupcake wrappers to go in it! :) You have to remember that I am a newlywed that has never lived on her own, so we buy things as we need them. When I first made pasta in our new home I was looking all around for a strainer for about 30 minutes before I realized that I didn't have one. I guess I just thought that when I got married I would automatically have all of the kitchen utensils and everything else I used to have at my parents house. This was not the case, however, but I like it that way. It makes me appreciate things more when I need it and have to wait a while to get it. Well, if I don't get to doing my school work, it won't be a pretty sight, plus, the mac-n-cheese is done! I hope you all have a great and marvelous Tuesday, and happy late Labor Day to you all.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Wonderful Wednesday

I am going to start a segment called Wonderful Wednesday. Every wednesday I am going to post something that is wonderful and brings joy to my life. Sometimes it might be little things, sometimes it might be dramatic things, but whatever it is, it brings joy to my life, thus the saying Wonderful Wednesday. Today's joyous occasion was brought about by a wonderful craft project that I did about a week ago. The story of my craft came from an idea that sparked in my head wondering whether or not I could turn a rusty old fish into something more attractive. I got the fish from the people who lived in this house before Clay and I moved here. They said they would purposely leave things here, and whatever they left we could do whatever we wanted to with it. They left a few things, but the most striking to me were the "outdoor enhancements" like this fish. It was old and rusty, so I tried my hand at painting. I bought some acrylic paint at Michaels in a beautiful blue tone that matched the stones on the fish, and away I went with the paint brush. I loved the outcome! It was fun in the process of painting it, and now I love to look at it when I walk outside. What do you think about my newly painted fish?
                                                                         Before:

After:

 What is your verdict? Do you like the change? I hope you and yours have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Until next time,
Tiffany

What is Important in Life?

Many people ask this question to themselves. What is really important in life? Whatever you come up with defines who you are. If you value spending time with your family at the dinner table, you are definitely a family oriented person. It is the same concept Brother David (my pastor at Antioch) says, "If you want to know where your heart lies, look into your checkbook. You invest everything, your money, your time, and your efforts, into what you value the most". This is true, if you spend all your money at the bookstore buying new books to read, you value reading and being by yourself more than anything. I value many things. I value my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ more than anything, and closely following Him is my Dear Husband Clay that God gave me. I also value my immediately family, My Dad, Mom, Hanna, and Caleb. I value Clay's immediately family, Mr.Troy, Mrs. Melanie, Katie, Johnny, Rachel, Rebecca, Anna, and James.I value my church family at Antioch, as well as at New Oak Grove, although I am not as close yet to them as I was Antioch. I did not realize how closely I hold Antioch to my heart until I moved. I miss my Antioch family, and I refer to them as my family because I see the people that go to my church more than I see most of my real family. I have known the Antiochians for longer than I can remember, I was born and raised there with most of the same people that are still there today. When Clay and I go home to visit we stay until after church on Sunday morning so I can visit my family at church. They mean the world to me, and they are the most genuine, loving, caring, and Godly people you will ever meet. I am sure that my new church will become like Antioch to me, it will just take some time getting to know everybody. I just wanted to say that I value Antioch so much. I love the Antiochians and always will. You all hold a special place in my heart. (Because I have A.D.D. {self-diagnosis} and cannot stay on one thought process at a time, I will now continue on with the things I value). The store Michaels, I value very much. I love to do arts and crafts, which remind me I will show you the craft I did a few days ago, SO CUTE, and whatdayaknow I bought the supplies at Michaels. That place might be the death of Clay's wallet (I need to start making some money). I also value family time. I love to spend time with both of our families, just sitting around eating, playing cards, watching movies, and just spending quality time together. I value cooking, and the smile it puts on Clay's face when he sees how hard I have worked in the kitchen to make him proud. I value well, so many things. I'm going to make a bullet list because this writing thing is getting tiring saying "I value" "I value" every sentence, and I'm sure you're getting tired of reading it. So here it goes.
I value:

• shopping time with Hanna
• taking pictures with Rachel
• getting cooking tips on how to make things from scratch from Mrs. Melanie
• a clean home
• candles burning and the aroma they bring
• sweet tea
• pictures colored with crayons made from the little girls I babysit
• making an A on an assignment
• no dirty dishes in the sink
• pretty tableclothes
• Clay getting all his work done and coming home before dark
• friendship from everyone
• family (even Aun'ts, Uncle's and Cousins who are dear to me)
• washing machine and dryer (how did the Pioneer's live?)
• the body that God gave me
• the list could go on and on.....

The point is that there are so many things that I value and that I am thankful for. I think everybody should sit down every once in a while and write out the things that you value and that you are thankful for. It does my heart good to see how many things I am blessed with, and how much thanks I should be giving to God for everything He has done for me. I challenge you today to write out as many things you can think of that you value and that you are thankful for. I guarantee your hand will be tired of writing before you finish! How blessed we are. Thank you God for all that you bestow upon us!

Until next time,
Tiffany

Full-Time

Well,
Today I did alot of everything but I don't feel like I accomplished much of anything. Have you ever had one of those days? I woke up and went to town to take Clay something he left at home and ended up eating lunch with him in town. Afterwards I remembered I needed to go get some groceries and made a pit stop to Office Max for their great deals on binders (Office Max has notebooks for 1 cent while supplies last, but you can only get 5 at a time, so every time I go to town I get 5 more! I mean come on, 1 cent, who can pass that up?). After I got home I realized I had spent 4 hours in town and got practically nothing done. I put on a load of laundry, put away the groceries and notebooks, and proceeded to my laptop to do my on-line schooling that I love oh-so-much. I just realized that I have been sitting here doing Accounting on-line for 3 hours, and I haven't even touched any of my other courses for the day! Whew, I am exhausted, and yet the house is still a mess because I haven't done any house work. Sometimes I wish I could pack more hours into the day to get more things done, but I don't know if I would have enough energy to use the extra hours anyways! Has this ever happened to you? I'm going to try to get up early in the morning tomorrow and see if I can get some things knocked out early so I can feel good about myself and my contributions to our family of two. Have a great night, sweet dreams, and talk to you all tomorrow!

With all my love and until next time,
Tiffany

P.S. Happy 2 Months Anniversary Dear. :)

School!

It has been a while, hasn't it? I didn't post anything this weekend because I was spending time with my family. Yesterday was the first day of school. When I was younger, I would look forward to going to school after each summer vacation. I loved going to the store with my parents and buying new school suppiles in hopes that they would buy me a folder with horses on the outside of it. I would walk into the classroom on meet-your-teacher day and hope that I knew somebody in that class, and that I was sitting by them. School used to be so much fun and exciting. I liked to get good grades, make new friends, and I strived to be the coveted student of the month so I could get my name on the bulletin board. Those were the good days. Now that I am in college, I have to pay for classes and books, walk into class and know no one, and hope that the professors I have do not cuss every other word. College is all about will power; if you don't want to be there, you don't have to, so you have to make a conscious effort to stay up on your work and don't let it get behind. There are many people who would love to go to college who don't have the finances to do so, and I think about that alot. That makes me greatful for being where I am. I know that when I graduate I have bettered myself and I know that if something were to happen to Clays' business that I would be able to support us. Only one more year and I will be done! Hallelujah! Well, I am off to do some newly found school work.



Until next time,
Tiffany 

Premier Designs Jewelry!!!!

I thought about NOT putting this on my blog but decided that I should. I didn't want to be pushy or advertise too much about one particular thing, but when you are excited about something, you want to tell the whole world, right? Kind of like salvation, when you get saved and you know Who is in control of your life now, you want to tell EVERYBODY! Well, same thing with Premier. I love it. I can't get enough of it. It is just the most awesome business anybody could be in. I mean come on, hold 1 or 2 shows a week and make between $800-$1600 a month, and doing what you LOVE! I love to be fashionable, and wear the latest fashions. With Premier, I make money to be able to stay home and focus on college while not being burdened about finances. I also get to offer women FREE jewelry for letting me use her home as a way to showcase me jewelry with her friends. Who doesn't want to be a jewelry lady? Or FRIENDS with the jewelry lady. If you are the jewelry lady you make money, and if you are her freind, you get jewelry! It's a win-win situation. And Premier is for everybody, the full time working woman who wants an escape from the same-ole-same-ole to the woman who is a stay at home mom who wants to make a little extra money while being able to spend some "girl time" with the ladies at the party. When I first got started in the business I used to tell people that even if I didn't make any money, it would still be worth it just to spend time with other ladies and eat their food at their home! Of course, the money is nice too. If you love free jewelry or know somebody else who would love free jewelry, tell them to come talk to me! If you need extra income or know somebody else who could use the extra income, send them my way. I would love to share Premier with you, tell you my story of how I got started, and how Premier has helped me. I hope you all have a wonderful day today and know that God loves you through everything.

                             (isn't this ring AWESOME! and we have tons more in all different styles!)

Until next time,

Tiffany

Grandma's Apron

Cooking dinner for my Husband! I'm wearing my apron that I made a few years ago with my Grandma. I would visit her a few times a week, and each time I would visit her we would work a little more on completing my apron. She offered to make me one and save time, but I wanted to make one with her so I could savor the fun memories we had together. It took me two or three months to complete an apron that should take 2 days, but she was patient, and I was a slow and steady learner. We finished it together, and it makes me happy when I pull it out of the drawer to put it on. Well, I must get going. Dinner isn't going to cook itself! We're having shepherds pie and biscuits for dinner, with peanut butter pie for dessert. What about you? I hope it's good, and made with love.* Whatever it is, eat it while spending time with your family. I am convinced that mealtime is what many families are lacking, and that's why they aren't a close-knit family. The family that eats together, stays together. :)

*Everything I make is made with love, if not I don't think Clay would eat half of it. He is a picky eater, but he eats what I cook because he knows I work hard on it. So, I cook with love and he eats with more love.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Crest

Hello All! I trust you are having a marvelous Thursday! Today I would like to share with you what caused our first marital disagreement.

Time: Shortly after returning from Puerto Rico
Place: Grocery Store
Who: Clay and Tiffany

So, we were walking down the personal care aisle and we come upon the toothpaste. Clay reached down for the Pepsodent and I shot him a weird and questioning look. "Who has ever even heard of Pepsodent?" I ask. Apparently Pepsodent is an off-the-wall cheapo brand of toothpaste. So, Clay and I are in the store, I am on my hands and knees looking on the bottom shelf for something a little bit better and more heard of than Pepsodent for something to brush my teeth with. Clay told me I was being ridiculous about the whole ordeal and pointed me to the active ingredient on both bottles of toothpaste. Crest has 0.243% sodium fluoride while Pepsodent has 0.24% sodium fluoride. I think that the 0.003% extra sodium fluoride is a good enough reason right there to get Crest, but Clay begged to differ. I have to defend myself saying that I grew up using nothing but Crest as toothpaste my entire life. Every family has their own little quirks. Some people only use Ragu sauce for their spaghetti, some people drink Pepsi and not Coke, some people use only Dove soap, and the list goes on. Everybody has their preferences, and I begged Clay to let me get the Crest. All of this happened while I was sitting on the floor in the grocery store looking at the toothpaste boxes that surrounded me as the people walking by stared at our absurdity. My argument was that Crest tastes better, and Clay's argument was that I wasn't going to be eating it, just brushing my teeth with it. True, but I'm going to be tasting it, so same thing! We ended up getting Clay's Pepsodent toothpaste because it costs $0.69. Yeah, I know, a toothpaste that is that cheap has to have something wrong with it, or it has to be bad for you, or something! The next time I went home, I told my Daddy about this horrible happening and he promised he would give Clay a hard time about it (all in good fun of course). Clay walks in the door and my Dad says to Clay "Son, did you know I have invested over $2,000 in that girls' mouth and you are making her use the $0.69 toothpaste? What a shame." Then Dad started laughing and Clay knew he was joking. It scared Clay for a minute though! Well, needless to say, I have been looking for coupons in the paper for Crest, and so has everyone who knows me, so I can get Crest at a discount. Round 2 shopping trip came about two weeks later and we come home with this.

We found a good deal, so Clay let me stock up for a year. Haha! It was all really funny, but serious too. I mean, hey, Crest is the Best! We both got to be right. Clay got to be the head of the house and have the final say the first time at the grocery store. I got to be the neck of the household the second time we went to store, because the neck turns the head whichever way she wants it to go! :) I hope you enjoyed our story. Everyone we have told it to thus far have. And I think I have everybody at our church looking for coupons for me in the paper and letting me know when there is a good deal on Crest. Toothpaste is serious stuff around here.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Hanna

As most of you know, I have a wonderful sister named Hanna and a darling brother named Caleb (well, most of the time they are wonderful and darling). Anyways, I was texting Hanna a few days ago and she told me that she loved my blog! I love to hear that people actually enjoy reading my thoughts-turned-to-blog. When I was younger people used to tell me all of the time how "it will change"... meaning my taste for things. I used to despise onions, and now they aren't so bad. Same thing with tomatoes, zucchini, squash, boys and their 'germs' and the likes. The one thing that I thought would never change, however, is wanting to share my clothes with Hanna. More times than not, the reason my sister Hanna and I would get in trouble growing up would be because of not sharing our clothes with one another. Being the older sister, Hanna would always want to borrow my clothes, but I wouldn't allow it! To me, it was a point of saving my babysitting money to buy clothes for myself, not clothes for myself and my sister. As we grew older Hanna grew to have similar taste in clothes as I did, so we began to share. To this day Hanna has clothes of mine in her closet, and I have clothes of hers in mine. It is more difficult now than ever to share our clothes, or anything for that matter, because we no longer live together. It is such a special bond between two sisters, and I am so thankful for mine. We are best friends, we always have been, and always will. That is God's special gift to us. I heard a saying once "God made us sisters, but love made us best friends". This fits us perfect. Time goes by so fast! It's scary, because I know how fast I think time has gone by, I can't even imagine how my parents feel! I can remember like it was yesterday playing dress up in our dance costumes and making tents out of beach chairs in the backyard. I wake up today and I have been married for almost two months! So, the advice for today is treasure every moment that you experience, especially those with your family. In the end, family are the ones that matter the most. Have a great day!

Until next time,
Tiffany

Macaroni

Good Day all! It is a wonderful day today, the sun is shining, I am drinking pink lemonade, and my husband is outside doing what he does best, mow the lawn :) . Yesterday my darling family came over and we laughed and talked and played cards and ate. Isn't that what most families who haven't seen each other in a while do? Everybody just sits around and eats. I'm sure there is somewhere in the Bible that says you shouldn't do that, and I know it can't be healthy for you, but it brings everybody around the table to talk, so that means it must be worth it, right? I think so. Besides, if you live in the South, it's manadatory to do that. Eat until you can't eat anymore, and then get another plate full. That's why there are so many all-you-can-eat buffet's around here. I've been to New York and Washington before, twice as a matter of fact, and I don't remember seeing any buffet places anywhere. So, it is good to be a Southern. What isn't good is to wake up wanting to make waffles from scratch and not having any flour. That's what's no fun, because then you are forced to eat left overs out of the refrigerator. If only cereal wasn't $10 a box (I'm exaggerating, but still) then we wouldn't be forced to eat leftovers. Ahh, the joys of being married while also being broke. Please though, have no pity on me. I want to be able to look back when I get old and look over at Clay in my rocking chair on the front porch and say, "Hey, remember that one time when we ate macaroni and cheese for breakfast?" (and even besides that, I like macaroni and cheese). These are the good 'ole days. Well, the chores aren't going to get done with me playing around on the computer all day, so sadly, I must go. My words of advice today are always look on the bright side of things. While I do my chores I normally turn on some music and sing along to make the time go by quicker. It's fun, and since there is no one in the house, I can sing as loud as I want to! Well, high ho, high ho, it's off to work I go! Have a great day!

Until next time,
Tiffany

Thankful

Good morning all! Today's post is about being thankful. I woke up this morning and found a recipe my wonderful mother had given me on a sticky note on my floor. I hurriedly picked it up and went into the kitchen to transcribe my mother's recipe in my handy dandy cookbook. This is no ordinary cookbook, mind you, this is in my opinion one of the best wedding gifts I have received and by far the most personal to me.This cookbook was given to me by all of the women in my church. They all got together and collaborated with one another on what to put in this cookbook to get me started. As everybody knows, a newlywed definitely needs help in the area of cooking when she is just starting out, and I am certainly no exception to this rule. In this cookbook there are all kinds of recipes, and it is so neatly organized. The different dividers are labeled Appetizers, Delicious Desserts, Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, and Soups & Salads. I can tell that the ladies that did this really took some time putting this together for me. So, if you are out there, and are in need of a wedding shower idea, look no further! Put your new Bride-to-be a cookbook together and she will cherish it always. Today, I found that I am thankful for all of the women in my life who have given me a positive outlook, encouragement, and advice throughout the years. What are you thankful for today? Through everything you can always find something to be thankful about, even if it is something as little as being able to wake up to a brand new day. God is so good! Thank Him for the blessings in your life.

Until next time,
Tiffany

Let's Explain....

Just as soon as I posted my first post (yay!) I realized I told nothing about myself or why I chose to blog and the name behind my blog. Therefore, I am going to do blog a second post merely minutes behind the first. My name is Tiffany Dale and I am a newlywed alongside my wonderful husband Clay. I chose to call my blog Southern Adventures because I wanted to log my adventures that I have on a day to day basis. I was born and raised in the south and currently live in the south, so I am definitely a Southern Belle. I like to cook almost anything, and since I am a new bride and wife, cooking means something along the lines of experimenting at my house. Clay is a trooper and eats whatever I fix him with a big smile on his face, which is alot considering he would get spankings as a child for not wanting to eat the foods that didn't look like chicken or hamburgers on his plate. Clay is also a good 'ole Southern Gentleman, meaning he likes fried chicken, hamburgers, steak, and....yeah, that pretty much sums it up. He is a VERY picky eater, and so here comes my quest as the new wife. I am going to get Clay to eat new foods! I cannot tell you how may times we have been out to a swanky nice restaurant and I get a fancy dish that 'expands my horizons' and Clay gets chicken fingers. He promised me when we got married though, that he would try everything I made him, and in return I promised to not make him eat it again if he didn't like it. Fair enough, I say, because at least I'm not having to spank him to get him to eat, right? :)

On the subject of being a newlywed, it is GREAT! We love spending more time together and doing what we want when we want to, but we also miss our families. It is a hard adjustment going from living with your family and seeing your fiance on the weekend to being with your new husband all of the time and seeing your family every other weekend. I have also learned that this is not the only adjustment I am going to have to face. Marriage is definitely about give and take. Lately I have noticed I do alot more taking than giving.
Example A:
Clay and I went shopping (he actually LOVES to go shopping with me!) yesterday for groceries. I was SO excited because I bought the paper and had decided I was going to be one of those coupon gurus who spends less than she saves. Well anyways, I cut out about forty coupons in the paper and off we went to the store. I was so excited to save money and make him proud of my efforts, but everytime we went to use the coupons there was something else that was cheaper, so I didn't get to use my coupons. Then I started feeling bad that we were spending all this money and I look down and there is chocolate milk in the buggy. I go all crazy saying there is no way we can buy chocolate milk when I just bought chocolate syrup to make his chocolate milk with, so he put it back. That made me feel really guilty and horrible, but after I made a big fuss about it, he wouldn't get the chocolate milk. Well, we left the store and ended up using only one of my forty coupons. It was .40 off a bag of chocolate chip cookies that costs $2.49 that we really didn't even need. I was upset that we didn't use my coupons (mostly because I didn't know how to do the good bargain shopping like everybody else seems to be able to do), I was upset because I made Clay put his chocolate milk back, and we spent $118.00. Good gracious alive. So the moral of the story was that Clay was being very gracious about taking me shopping and letting me walk around the store trying to find the best deals to use my coupons, and I should have let him get the chocolate milk. Hindsight is 20/20.

Marriage is not tough to me like everybody said it would be. It is just something I have to get used to. It isn't all about me anymore or what I want, it's about pleasing Clay and making him happy. If he is proud of me at the ed of the day, that makes me happy, so it is a win-win situation.

What I learned thus far-
Marriage is a never ending learning cycle.

Until next time!
Tiffany

My Blogging Adventures

Well, Hello there world! This is my first blog, and I have to admit, I am pretty ecstatic. I decided to create a blog after being inspired my cousin Lindsey, a church/family member Mrs. Joyce, and the movie Julie and Julia. I love the idea of having a 'digital diary' and the ease of being able to share your thoughts and actions with family members who live at a distance. I am so excited to capture the many things that make me smile, laugh, and cry and share it with those I love dearly. So, here's to you, loved ones! I hope you enjoy some insight into the life of.....The Dale Clan!