365 Days

It's been a year since...

I was almost killed...

I broke seven bones in an instant...

and I underwent my first major surgery.

Since that fateful day, I've also...

gone through a second major surgery...

had to relearn how to walk...

 

and needed to teach my left wrist how to work again.

And that was just the big stuff!  There were so many things I once took for granted that I had to figure out how to do again.  My wrist will never be the same.  I will never walk down stairs without hobbling.  I will always have glass working it's way out of my skin through the scars that will never fade.  There are so many things I could be angry about, but instead I have learned to focus on the fact that I'm still breathing.  I get to kiss my husband everyday.  I get to see my niece grow.  And, soon enough, I'll get to raise a family of my own.  I'm so grateful that God let me live through such a disaster; I'm thankful for the opportunity to find beauty in catastrophe; I appreciate knowing I'll never take anything for granted again, even something as small as scratching my own face.  Thanks to everyone who helped me make it through this past year, especially Kolin and Mom.  Where would I be without the love of my family and friends?

Keep praying.  I'm proof that it works.

Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all the wonderful mamas out there, especially mine!

You raised two amazing kids, Mom!  We love you!

Keep praying.

Alligator Soul

Last night, Kol and I went to Alligator Soul for dinner.

Lookin' sharp!

We decided to do the six-course chef's tasting with wine pairings:

amuse-bouche: pesto wrapped in zucchini and topped with tomato on a crispy baguette;

 

first course: seared scallop and bacon fat over 
ham and cheese grits, topped with a sunny-side-up quail egg;

pre-second course: pecan corn muffins;

 second course: oyster and corn chowder with croutons fried in duck fat;

 third course: fresh grouper over yellow rice with squash and mushrooms;

 inter-mezzo: peach sorbet in vodka;

 fourth course: duck over a fried plantain (sorry I ate it before taking a picture :/);

 fifth (main) course: braised boar and fingerling potatoes over haricot vert;

 and the sixth (final) course (dessert): pecan roll, white raspberry 
truffle coated in dark chocolate, and a cookie with apricot preserves.

The evening was perfect and the food was delicious!  Everything was cooked to perfection - beautifully seared scallop, juicy oyster, crispy haricot vert, etc.  If you're ever in the Savannah area, give Alligator Soul a try.

Keep praying.

TO DA BEACH!

Last Friday, I went to the SCAD Sand Arts Festival with Michael, Amanda, and Eric:

It was the perfect day to go to the beach - warm and breezy.  This was my favorite sand piece:

On Saturday night, Kol and I went to Amanda's to hang out where Kolin met his new best friend.  He wants his own dog SO BAD; maybe we can convince our landlord to let us have one...

Sunday we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at church.  I got to lead my first song in praise team and it was in Spanish.  I was nervous but it turned out pretty good.  After service, we had a Mexican buffet and it was delicious!  It seems like we're ALWAYS eating at church; I'm going to gain a hundred pounds!

I put in my two weeks on Thursday, but my boss has been so awkward, that I'm going to go ahead and start my new job this Monday instead of next.  I'm really looking forward to it.  It will be nice not to have to drive an hour to get to work and another hour to get back everyday.

On Tuesday, Kolin and I went furniture shopping.  We're going to redo our living room soon and are very excited about it!  Here's the couch we're planning on getting:

Last night, MACK and Josh (J MACK?) met up at Michael's apartment to celebrate the true Cinco de Mayo.  We had Mexican lasagna, Mexican casserole, and strawberry margaritas:

Yum!

And for dessert...

 CHOCOLATE CAKE!

This morning was really foggy,

but it's starting to clear up.  Maybe it will be a beautiful day!

Keep praying.

New Job

Sorry I haven't updated in a couple weeks; it's been a busy few!

On the 16th, we welcomed a new baby to the family, Quinn Brookelyn.  She's a beautiful blonde, just like her cousin Cami! :)

On the 18th, while we were on our way to Michael's to do laundry, Kolin got into a little fender bender.  That's what we get for leaving the house, I guess.

Last week, Mom called and told me she was heading my way for a while - SURPRISE!  The first day she was here (Wednesday), we just spent the day wandering the streets of Savannah.  We ended up on River Street where we stopped at Wet Willie's for a (STRONG) margarita.  Needless to say, we had the giggles for a few hours afterward.

Thursday was "Bring Your Mom To Work" day for me.  Mom was nice enough to be the star of a promo we were shooting.  We ate lunch on the beach:

Friday, Mom was on her own all day, so I gave her The Lovely Bones to read; she liked it so much she took it with her.  Once Kolin and I came home, we invited Michael over for a family dinner with Mama:

We had lasagna and it was DELICIOUS!  After dinner, we headed to Target, because Mom wanted to buy us some house-warming gifts.  She got us a lot of stuff we needed (and some that we wanted ;D).  Thanks again, Mom!

All week, we had been watching the weather reports for Saturday diligently, because we were planning on going to the beach.  It NEVER said ANYTHING about rain until Saturday morning once it was ACTUALLY RAINING.  It was a huge bummer.  But we had a fun day anyway.  SCAD was having their annual Sidewalk Arts Festival.  After we saw everything that the festival had to offer, Kolin joined us for a trolley tour of the city.  It was a nice way to end Mom's trip (but I know she would have preferred going to the beach).

Since it rained, it's been sort of chilly in Savannah, but I like it.  I got to ride my bike for the first time Tuesday after I epically failed at WOF callbacks -  sorry, you won't be seeing me on TV any time soon.

I've been looking for a new job, because I can't afford to drive to Hilton Head and back everyday.  I got offered a job at Time Machine, a old-time photography place, but they were only going to pay minimum wage.  Yesterday, I had an interview at Grainger Honda for an Internet Coordinator position (making/answering calls, social networking, blogging, video work, etc.), and I'm happy to say I start on May 17th!  It comes with great pay, full benefits, paid vacation time, 401k, etc.  Oh, and did I mention, it's less than 10 minutes from my apartment - VERY awesome.

Keep praying.

WOF

First things first: I made callbacks for Wheel of Fortune, so I'm that much closer to being on the actual show and winning lots of money, trips, cars, etc.  BONUS.

I got my first Savannah sunburn a week ago, but you probably already know that since you follow Project 365, right?  RIGHT?!  Good.

Last Saturday, Kolin, Michael, Amanda, and I (we need to create a name for our group of friends, so I don't have to write all of our names out every time I talk about us.  How about MACK?) had a picnic in Forsyth Park right by the fountain, and it was DELICIOUS.  I made turkey pinwheels and pasta salad; Amanda make fruit salsa and cinnamon chips; and Michael brought pizza and wings - BEST PICNIC EVER.

We've been spending a lot of time with Michael and Amanda, and we're loving every minute of it!  On Sunday, we went to Michael's apartment to use his washing machine and dryer (another perk of having friends: laundry doesn't cost a thing).  While we were there, we fed the turtles that live in the creek outside of his apartment; there were so many of them, and they LOVED being fed.

I finally got a paycheck on Monday and went to our favorite antique shop to buy a lamp we had been keeping our eye on.  The seller didn't bring the price down far enough, so I ended up buying this instead:

The picture quality is a bit crappy, because I took it on my phone, but it's a beautiful, HUGE mirror with a thick, black frame.  It was our first (but won't be our last) antique shop steal.  It's the first step in turning the apartment into our own.  Next: a couch.

Finally, on Tuesday I got ma hurr and ma 'brows did (translation: I got a haircut and eyebrow wax).  I had to get my hair off of my neck, because it's getting hot (and will only get hotter), and I was tired of putting it up everyday.

Keep praying.

Old and New Friends

On Friday, two of my former Emens co-workers (Becky and Lori) came to visit, and we had so much fun!  We ate dinner at The Lady and Sons with their friend Amanda (who moved to Savannah the same week we did and is a Ball State alum - small world!) then met our new friend from church, Michael, at Club One to see a drag show.

Some of the queens were really beautiful...

(I was checking to see if her boobies were real; they weren't.)

while others were borderline terrifying...

but we all had a lot of fun!

After the drag show, we headed to Venus to have some drinks and hang out.  They were having an Easter raffle and Kolin won a $15 gift card, so we came back on Saturday with Michael.  After we got our drinks, we went down to the river and walked around:

It's so nice to have new friends!  We had our first Ruby/Movie night on Sunday (this is where Amanda and Michael come to our apartment to watch Ruby and a movie and eat snacks that are bad for us); it's so much fun!

Keep praying.