Last Wednesday's Snow

Snowy Winter in the South

So it snowed today. And it snowed Wednesday. They say it has not done this in years. And, it is supposed to snow again later this next week. Good grief. We called church off Wednesday night and are only having the 11:00 a.m. service tomorrow. Here is snow in Carrollton:

Our front door:

Jane (Yeah, we got us a name):

Lookin' out our front door:

I have some other pictures of the snow from earlier in the week that I hope to post soon.

Lauren and Jane:

Jane has had a bit of a rough week. We took her to the groomer on Thursday, in hopes of cutting down on the shedding around this joint. We did not really accomplish that--we just made her look a bit like a boy. They clipped her hair extremely short--to the point that she was absolutely shivering and shaking from the cold when we picked her up and put her in the truck. While there, the groomers told us they thought she was pregnant (something we had wondered, as her belly has gotten significantly larger over the past week).

Well, yeah, we freaked out. A dog having puppies on a hardwood floor without any sort of access to the outside, a garage, or anything of that short. Well, just not really possible. We were not sure what were going to do. So, she went to the vet on Friday. They said she was not pregnant. She was spayed and given more vaccinations than a newborn (okay, probably not--but this is my first time around the block experiencing first-hand all of the things that actually go into sustaining the life of a dog). She now has a really big scar--and she acted completely loopy yesterday--took a while for the anethesia to wear off (that was really funny).

We found the second place in Carrollton (or Georgia for that matter) that has beef brisket. Not quite as good as the first . . . and definitely no Smoke Shack or Sonny Bryan's or Dickey's. But hey-at least, they are trying. They have seen the light--and it is called beef brisket. I am getting a little more accustomed to this Brunswick Stew stuff. It is a bit weird--but does not taste too bad.

--be

We're Getting Nowhere Here

We still do not have a name for the dog. Tomorrow will be a week. We have thought of everything we can think of . . . we think. Right now, "Jane" seems to be the frontrunner--but I don't know. She kind of looks like a Jane--but not really sure 'bout that one.

My vote is for "Waffles." The second day we had her, she jumped up and stole three of my waffles off of my plate at dinner, then ran off with them. I figured that should be her name. However, that one did not work out. She has come out of her shell. The first day she was extremely nervous. Not so anymore.

She could be the perfect dog--no barking, no jumping up on you, no going to the bathroom in the house. She just lays there, lets you pet her. No freaking out. Nothing. The only downside is she sheds a good bit. We have swept the house more this last week than we have since we have been here. But we are getting her groomed on Thursday--hopefully that will help.

Lauren is back full into the swing of school . . . I am back into the swing of work. What does that really mean to be back into the "swing" of something. Makes no sense.

Well you might think I would take this opportunity to rant about the Cowboys and their ridiculous performance (if you even want to call it a performance this past Sunday). But, no, I will not do so. I will simply say that living a good distance away from the sports teams you support can be a good thing when they collapse (as Randy Galloway calls it--the biggest collapse in the town of Loserville--bigger even that the Mavs collapse last year)--see, when you live in an area that is dominated by other teams, you do not have to hear about the Cowboys defeat 24/7. It is not all over the TV, radio, and is not what everyone is talking about. People that know you just do not even bring it up because they know you are hurting.


--be

The Unnamed Canine

Say hello to the newest resident in the Edwards' householdr. We would tell you her name--but we are not sure of it yet. Maybe you have an idea? Let us know. The pound gave her the name, "Cinnabon"--but she does not respond to it--so it seems that we are free to call her what we want. We are not sure yet.

We picked her up this morning from the pound and took her straight to the pet supply store, so we could see which travel carrier she would fit in. She got loose in the parking lot; and (no lie) we came very close to not having our unnamed friend tonight. She shot off; and we are lucky to have gotten her back. Rather traumatic. I think I will move on without talking about it anymore--not a fun experience. Something we will laugh about . . . later on.

She has been pretty nervous all day long. Lauren has been able to stay her at the loft with her all day long. She has spurts of wanting to come out of the corner to say hello and mill about around the loft--but she has stayed fairly close to her new corner of the place throughout the day. She has sat by Lauren some as she has studied.

So . . . there you go.

--be

Our Texas Christmas

We hope you have had a fun-filled, enjoyable holiday season. We sure have. Sorry for the long delay between posts--we have been traveling around our fair nation and have both been swamped with stuff since we have been back.

We were able to spend a good deal of time with friends and family during the holidays--and we feel very grateful for that--we were so glad to be able to see you all. We were able to attend church in special places and see some special dogs and babies. We spent time in Hamilton and in the DFW Metroplex, seeing family and friends. We ate some good Texas food (though we were not able to work in any good Texas barbeque--though I know we will in our next visit here in a couple of months for Jana and Kyle's wedding). We graced the halls of Storm's, Chicken Express, Taco Bueno, and Uncle Julio's to name a few, not to mention all of the good food we ate in our families' homes.

Speaking of special dogs we got to see, we wanted to share two of them above--Kevin and Jake. Jake is wearing the shirt that says, "I Ate Santa's Cookies." Kevin is in the sexy pose. The picture above that is taken behind a restaurant/meat market in Hamilton--they sell Pork Butt sandwiches, along with buffalo meat and all sorts of other goodness and well, we just had to take that picture.

Do we look good or what?

Our favorite niece (okay, our only niece--but still) being pushed around in her new Christmas present by her aunt Lauren.

We enjoyed our time over the holidays; and we are now back into the swing of things in C-Town. Lauren finishes up her first week of school of the spring semester tomorrow. I am back full into the flow of Youth Ministry.

--be

Down with Fellini's

I was hoping to report on the blog tonight a wonderful culinary experience from today. Rather, I have to warn you--if you are ever in Atlanta, do not eat at Fellini's Pizza. I have seen a few of them around the city. Today, we ate at one on Ponce de Leon Ave. It was gross. The pizza was not that great--sort of a cardboard'y taste. And the calzone was just a big chunk of cheese--with a little bit of crust and some sausage in it. The only good thing, as Lauren reports, is the mariana sauce that came with the calzone. That's about it. Her vote was to go The Varsity. I voted to try something new. We should have stuck with the good ol' grease pit, The Varsity. I highly regret our decision.

We went into town to do a few things and go watch a movie. Then, when we were there, sitting down and watching a movie in a dark theatre right after lunch just made us sleepy (of course, the greasy cheese and pizza mixture in the bottom of our stomachs probably did not help--I know, probably a lovely visual for you). So we explored a bit. We came upon Atlantic Station--an outdoor mall along with lots of different housing, very close to downtown. Was pretty cool. Banana Republic, Express, things like that. Had a really trendy-looking Target--with parking on the first level, then the Target above it. Was pretty cool. I had a Starbuck's Frappucino to salvage our eating experience for the day (we do not have a Starbuck's here in Carrollton--one thing that we do not have but desperately need).

We took the camera to hopefully take some cool pics from our lunch experience--then our stomachs and heads hurt, so we just wanted to get out of there. And, there is this ginormously huge mailbox outside of Douglasville I had hoped to get a shot of--but it was almost dark when we passed through Douglasville--so alas, no picture for this posting.

Hope all is well with you out there in internet-land. As a good friend would put it--remember, we are just 10 minutes east of Dallas, via the internet. We look forward to our Texas voyage, just around the corner. All is well here in Georgia. Lauren is lovin' life now with school being out for the semester. Work is going great for me--we have already had our big youth Christmas shin-dig . . . and I am really enjoying getting out and watching youth's games and concerts around town.


--be

Waffle House, Waffle Yes

What is amazing to me is that the soft yellow glow of the Waffle House sign still gives me joy. We ate their late last night; and getting out of my car and walking across a Waffle House parking lot still makes me happy--because I know what is inside--pure goodness. There are three here in town--one less than a mile from our loft. Ah . . . yeah.

I remarked to someone the other day that I think every town in Georgia has a Waffle House--it is true. They're everywhere. Heck, less than ten miles from where I sit, there are Waffle Houses across the interstate from each other.

Of course, our visit last night was as good as any. That's the greatness of it--awesome and yet consistent. And, oh my, they have added something to their menu--biscuits and gravy--finally. When you think about it, this is something they should have had all along--being a Southern staple. Waffles, double hashbrowns smothered and covered, and biscuits and gravy (no that was not my entire meal--we shared it). Mmm--that brings me some joy.

Life moves along well for us. Lauren will be finished with school next Tuesday--we are looking forward to that. Has been a good semester. We have a big youth Christmas deal on Saturday--it has been a really busy week at the church for me. We are looking forward to getting to come to Texas for a good visit here in a few weeks. My sister is going to fly out for a few days before we drive to the nation of Texas and then ride back to the Lone Star State with us.

We had a Deacon Christmas Party on Monday night--a bluegrass/western quartet came and played some for us. Was really good. They played this one song, "Cross the Brazos at Waco" that talked a lot about Texas. Lots of people turned around and looked at me. They know the Texan in the room.

I am watching the Mavs struggle through another one. Man, they are not doing well. And, we are not able to see many of their games here of late. Maybe that is for the best, as they go through their woes. My theory is Avery is just sort of playing around, not pushing anyone too much, trying to figure out different line-ups until later in the season--then they will really turn it up later in the season and as the playoffs begin (rather than trying to calm down at the end of the season, then have to really turn it back on when the playoffs begin). At least that is my theory--I guess it makes me feel better about it all.


--be