Its A Beer & Brunch Kind of Weekend

This Saturday we hosted the 3rd annual Oktoberfest ZTA Style. Basically its a beer tasting that is a fundraiser for my sorority alumni group. We set out to have a good time and if we raise some $ then great, if not, we've all paid for our Beer and enjoyed it. This year was at our house and I was a little worried we wouldn't be able to hold everyone, but it worked out perfectly! We had about 30 people over and had Belgium beers to taste. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was surprised to find out I like Belgium Beers. My favorite was the Chamay and I think we'll be purchasing more of that in the future.

Then on Sunday, Beth & Steve Smith (my boss and his wife) hosted a brunch for Bobby and I. It really was so sweet of them both to even offer to host a shower for us. We had it at the Old Mill in Acworth and it was a Christmas decoration themed shower. Which I thought was fabulous! We got some great ornimants and now our tree will be full. Brunch was great and the compay was as well. We are so thankful to have such great family and friends.

My Guilty Pleasure

If you follow my blog or even read a few entries every now and then you know I LOVE reality TV. I can't explain it, but it really makes me happy to sit with my pups and watch people get matched, do amazing races, celebrities dance and young designers make really cool clothes on the fly. Last night was the start of on of the "match" type shows. Millionaire Matchmaker started last night and I was thrilled. I even got Bobby to watch it with me, and I think he enjoyed it. He really didn't have a choice since we were DVRing a few things at once and it won't let you switch the channel after you start watching something, haha!

This season "cupid," AKA Patti Stanger, has a new zip code as she takes her matchmaking expertise to the east coast. Patti relocated to New York City for the fourth season in hopes of rescuing the dating impaired. In this first episode, two millionaires; an older "Guido" type New Yorker and a young snooty Jewish website owner are the first clients. At first I didn't care for the guy, but he grew on me and when it was all said and done I think he was really looking for a wife. He didn't meet his match on the show, but I have hope he's met someone since. Then there was the 27 year old girl who really thought she was the cream of the crop and deserved a younger George Clooney, but she was a dry as a saltine and really it was hard to watch her dates. According to Patti she was a bit of a brat and I would have to agree. The idea and the preview for the rest of the season is for Patti and her team to give their millionaire clients complete transformations with the help of personal shoppers, date coaches, and therapists. The therapists being the biggest part for some.

Homecoming it is

This weekend we spent our time in the amazing weather watching lots of football. Friday night we had some friends over and walked down to the MHS Homecoming game. It is fabulous to live so close to the Marietta Stadium. Even though the high school itself has moved the Varsity games are still played at Northcut Stadium. We were joined Friday by Marietta alumni Audrey, Beau, and Cameron and their better halves along with Kristen and Larry. Larry actually went to Etowah, who we played in our Homecoming game, so he was there in support as well. I can't tell you how happy it made me to be back in that stadium and to hear the band play the fight songs. It almost made me want to jump on the field and start cheering again, almost. But then I was shocked back into reality with the masses of high school students and their craziness. I did however have a small moment with Audrey when the half time crowning of the homecoming queen took place. Being on Homecoming Court was HUGE when I was a senior and I loved it. Looking back it was a very fun experience and once I'm glad I had - now if I could just get back into that wonderful dress grandpa bought me. :) (We can all dream of being a size 2 again one day!!)

Saturday we went up for UGA's Homecoming. Jason Trock, one of Bobby's closest friends, was in town for the weekend and we were lucky enough to have him come to Athens with us for the game. Jason went to Vandy and was one of the few Vandy fans in the stands. Saturday was not only Homecoming in Athens but it was also the introduction of our newest mascot, Uga VIII. He really is an adorable pup, younger than most Ugas but maybe this will be a long lasting Uga. Some pictures from online below:

The weather really couldn't have been more perfect. My parents and Jamie came to the game with us as well. It really was a great day in Athens. 43-0 didn't hurt either. Happy Homecoming.

The Only Good Thing About Traffic

This morning on my way into work (an hour+ ride). I was thinking about all the wasted time I spend in the car driving to and from work. I think if I added it up it would be days of my life. But, this morning I caught a glimpse of a beautiful sky that made me think about the world on a much bigger scale. Suddenly, the stand still traffic didn't matter any longer. I even was able to take a picture on my phone. Traffic isn't really that bad when you have all the wonderful things around you to look out. I am thankful for the beauty that God has given us.

Catching Up on TV

This past week we just DVRed everything and I started to play catch up last night. I watched last week's Project Run Way, NCIS, Good Wife a few other randoms and got all of our laundry done. I was really productive. And, believe it or not, on top of all of that, I was able to make taco salad, a really good one too I think!

Project Runway: (love this show by the way)

Mondo Won again! He and April are my favorites. His personal outfits are a bit much for me, but overall the outfits he creates are usually really well made and they are high fashion in my opinion. This past week's challenge was one of the fun ones where the designers got to create their own fabrics and then design with them. I can never tell how long they actually get to create their ideas, but the things they come up with are great in the time it seems they get. April or Mondo could have won but in the end Mondo came out the winner. He also gave us a little more insight into his personal life letting everyone know that he is HIV positive and has been for years. It was a heavy run way this week, but the clothes were good and the drama on the show was about the same.

Taco Salad:

I must say that Taco Salad is one of the easier dinners to make that can be good and rather healthy. I made the beef and added taco seasoning first. Then chopped up the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and avocado. I even made the shells in the oven. Then you just add it all together, top with cheese and a small bit of sour cream and you're good to go. Bobby's taco salad below:

Our Invitations & Calligraphy

This week we dropped off our invitations with the Calligrapher and it makes me super excited. Invitations go out in a few weeks which means we are that much closer to the final big day!! I didn't realize how big of a difference having the invitation addresses done with calligraphy would make. Its a little pricey, but worth it. We were referred to Faith, the owner of Calligraphy Atlanta, by my friend Mandy and she's great! Faith is actually going to match the blue for the ink to the blue in the invitations. I can't wait to see them. Some of Faith's examples are below, I am so impressed with Calligraphy and wish I could write this way.

Colorado For the Weekend

Our Fall weekends have been slammed and this weekend was no exception. And when I say slammed, I mean it in a good way. Thursday night we flew out to Denver, CO to see Bobby's aunt and uncle and to go to the UGA game. UGA played Colorado in Boulder, but that was really just a side note to the trip. Bobby's uncle David, aunt Glenda and cousin Everett live in Colorado Springs and Thursday night we drive from Denver to Colorado Springs to stay for the weekend. They were so sweet to take us all in for a few days and to put up with the boys' disappointment after the terrible loss to Colorado. When I say "us," I mean John (Bobby's brother-in-law), Dennis (John's dad), Mr. Johnson, Bobby and I.

Friday, John, David, Chuck and Dennis went to play golf and Bobby, Glenda and I went to Pike's Peak. Ev of course went to school. Pikes Peak was fabulous. Its beautiful in just about all parts of Colorado, but the view from the top of Pikes Peak was great, breathtaking actually. The air is a little thin, but its worth it. Aunt Glenda got us tickets on the COG railroad, which is how we got to the top and the entire trip up was great. Whats even better is that I got to know aunt Glenda and to chat along the way. We saw the mountains, wild life, amazing tree lines and really just enjoyed the fresh Colorado air.

That afternoon we went to Ev's cross country race. He beat his own time by a minute, he looked great and is a good runner like most of the Johnson men. Its hard to believe he's just 13 and in 8th grade.

Then Saturday was the UGA game. We drove to Boulder for lunch and then tailgated a little before the game. The Colorado stadium is unreal. There is not a stadium in the SEC that has as nice of a view. It's almost distracting, specially when you are sitting where you can see the mountains for miles and the sun is setting. I caught myself a few times looking out into the distance and not watching the game, not that I missed much! The game was like watching a Marietta High School game with a lot more money involved. They played terribly and the program looked bad, but you win some and you then you lose some.

Sunday we watch the Steelers game and flew home, its a long trip out there and back but totally worth it! I really enjoyed meeting another set of Johnsons and can't wait for them to come to Atlanta in January for our wedding.

A Night at the Fair

Last night was a great GNO at the Fair! I haven't been to the North Georgia State Fair since high school and Bobby has been so busy wth work that we weren't going to be able to go, so I took it upon myself to make it a girls night. It was $18 for all you could ride rides and a great Fall night to enjoy a corn dog, funnel cake and lots of good people watching. We started the night with a few spinning rides, some of which looked a lot less intense than they were. I was excited that the weather is getting cooler and wanted to wear my boots, so I put on a cute navy dress and my boots, bad decision now looking back at it. That darn dress flew up every chance it got and on one ride I was almost sure I flashed the crowd. But, we had a good time nonetheless. Megan and I are about the same when it comes to tolerating the spinnning rides, but Brandy & Kristen love the bigger, faster crazier rides. Megan and I sat out a few and watched from below, which was a good choice. At 9:00 the human cannon ball went off, which was actually entertaining. We weren't really sure what to expect and with Kiki saying it was all smoke and mirrors, we got a good laugh. This guys was a second generation human cannon ball, hilarious! Pictures below:

Right before they got on the craziest ride, in my opinion, at the Fair. The Cyclopes.

We had a great time, enjoyed the food (but paying for it now) and the people watching. GNO will have to continue to be a reoccuring event.

The AMAZING RACE!

Oh yes, the Amazing Race is back! I don't know why I love this show, but I do. I owe my appreciation of the show to my good friend Erin Walker, she turned me on to this show and I've loved it ever since.

So... The Race started this weekend and as usual did not fail me. This year they introduced a small twist, which really made things more important for the first leg of the race. There was a pass added to the show for the first place team for this first round. The pass would allow the winners to jump ahead of any road block or challenge at any point in the race that they wanted to use it. It's really a great idea and something that the winning team will need. I am not as intrigued by all of the teams this year, but there is a UGA connection this year. Andie & Jenna, the red team, are from Georgia. Jenna Sykes was/is actually a ZTA from Uga. She and her partner, also her biological mother, just met and are doing the race together. It's really a great story and probably part of the reason they were chosen. While they didn't do too well on this first leg of the race I'm hoping they pull it together, her mom learns how to drive a stick and that they give the dorky singers a run for their money.

More to come, but no time to blog this afternoon. Oh and today is Hines & Sadie's 1st Birthday!! I'm making a cake tonight for our celebration, pictures and more to come tomorrow.

Jenna's Story below:

Fall TV Madness

It's here, it's here, whats that you ask??? FALL TV! I can't tell you how much I enjoy coming home, having dinner and sitting down for an hour or two and watching mindless (or relatively mindless) TV. This Fall there are so many shows our DVR is in high gear and I can't seem to keep up. There is new House, Criminal Minds, NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Amazing Race and Millionaire Matchmaker. Not to mention that the Real Housewives of Atlanta starts again soon and Project Runway is still on. Ahhh, I love it!

Call me crazy but if I have a minute of free time in the evenings you can find Sadie and I on the couch or in the floor in the family room watching TV!

Charlotte For the Weekend

This past weekend I took a short trip to Charlotte to see my good friend Jen! She was nice enough to let me come visit for the weekend. Jen just moved to Charlotte, NC at the end of July to start school at UNC Chapel Hill for anaesthesiology. She's sooo much smarter than I am I can't even begin to explain it. But, she did take a small break to hang out. I flew in Friday evening kind of late and Jen grabbed me from the airport (her first trip to the airport in fact) We took a short "field trip" and tour of the city on our way back to Jen's place. I really think I could live there, its not much different from Atlanta except there is less traffic, less people and more space!

Saturday we actually slept in which was AWESOME! Then we made our way to Taco Mac (love the Mac, apparently its new to NC) and watched the 1st 1/2 of the UGA game. For all the Georgia fans, you know it wasn't a pretty 1st 1/2. So we left and went to Yoforia, a self serve Yoforia. Loved it!! I might be addicted, but I need to stay away. For those of you that haven't been to Yoforia, you are missing out. You basically get to select your favorite type of frozen yogurt, I went with Pomegranate, and then you pick your toppings. I chose white chocolate chips and blue berries, but they have chocolate chips, kiwi, strawberries, nuts, etc. All of the expected toppings plus healthy or healthier ones as well! I think the idea is to have a treat, but not one that will make you the size of a house.

That afternoon we watched the end of the UGA game, down to the wire of course and then the Florida/TN game. I wish they both had lost, but I guess that can't happen. Saturday night we went to a fabulous sushi place, Nikko and then to see The Switch. Both were great and a fun night out with Jen. I think Nikko turns into a night club after hours, but the sushi was good even if the music was club like and there were girls dressed to the nines. Lady Gaga was in town Saturday night too, so we really think people were dressed up to go see her show. Either way, our southern girl attire didn't compare to the lace, crinoline and leather we saw at Nikko.

Ok, to The Switch. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this movie because sometimes I don't love Jennifer Aniston in Movies. Friends was her best role and the jump to movies wasn't easy for her I don't think, but she has been in a lot of film. Nonetheless, it was pretty good. And the best part was the quirky little boy that she and Jason Baton had together, which she didn't realize until almost the end of the movie. The little boy reminds me of the cute kid in Jerry Maguire, but he's a little older and a bit more quirky. Overall, I say it was a 3 star movie and worth seeing if you are a Jennifer Aniston fan.

Sunday was low key, which was the theme of the weekend. We had brunch at 300 East, a cute little house renovated to be a restaurant and then I headed back to the airport. Jen was a fabulous hostess for the weekend and I can't wait to get back to Charlotte soon to visit again.