Weekend Update: Photo Book Style

This weekend JRB and I traveled to Dothan, Ala. for our friends Elizabeth and Jared’s wedding. The weekend was full of fun with old friends that I literally haven’t seen in months. Some I haven’t seen since our wedding in May! Below are pictures from the rehearsal dinner and wedding.

My roommates from college- the bride, Elizabeth, and maid of honor, Camilla

JRB and my awkward family photo (minus Miller)

My bff, Ginny, and I are also doing our version of awkward family photo: swing style

The beautiful bride before walking down the aisle. (Yes, I cried on stage. When did I become such a sap?)

Our AWESOME bouquets. I fell in love with them!

Happy Monday! Hope your weekends were full with love, fun, and friends like ours were! If they weren’t, then at least we can be happy that Auburn didn’t lose…. since we had a bye.

Thanksgiving

These are the things I’ve been thankful for the last couple of weeks:

Cool weather for porch sitting with my beau and pup

Scenic views on my drive to work (Yes, I left my apartment early so I could stand on the side of the road and take this picture. It takes my breath away every morning, so I wanted you to see!)

The privilege of standing at the front of the church with the About-To-Be- Battes who will wed tomorrow. Thankful for their friendship, encouragement, and love of all things America.

The joy, laughter, and lessons I get in a kindergarten classroom

God’s creation, sovereignty, and grace

Sweet friends and sweet conversation at our favorite place

This man who knows me well enough to not only offer me DQ when I cry, but also offer to eat half so I won’t feel guilty later.

Happy FUN Friday, folks!!

Weekend Updates: Santa Rosa Beach, Puppy Love, and the Traveling Journal

This weekend was one for the record books, record books of fun that is. Even though JRB and I were apart, I must say this is one of the most fun weekends I’ve had in a long, long time. My best friend Elizabeth had her bachelorette weekend at Santa Rosa Beach, and I am among the lucky ones who got to attend. I’m pretty sure I told every one I know at Callaway Elementary that I was leaving after school to go to the beach. Maybe I was a tad excited…. I left school at 2 and was on the road at 2:30. Even though it took Camilla and I about an hour longer than we expected, our drive was full of fresh conversation. Even if I only could’ve had that conversation, the weekend would’ve been a success to me!

After staying up late Friday night, Saturday was a full day of pool and beach living. Hard life, right?

One interesting thing that happened is that I found this traveling journal in my bag. You guys know I love Today’s Letters, so I got this idea from them. However, this journal is been really fun thing to incorporate into our marriage. It’s a great way to affirm and encourage one another through the written word (my preference, obviously). The funny thing is that my letter in the journal was written by Miller. Who knew he was so smart that he can write? What an impressive pup!

Saturday night the group went to Red Bar, which just so happened to be RIGHT. NEXT. DOOR. Yes, we literally walked out of our door, took a left, and were at Red Bar. I had the stuffed eggplant (I didn’t even know I liked eggplant until a month ago), and it was d-to-the-liscious! Here I am with the blushing (or maybe just sunburned) bride outside of Red Bar.

Meanwhile, Josh was in Birmingham living it up with his friends and the pups. As seen below, Miller is quite adaptable. Last weekend, he played with a Golden Retriver/Lab mix, and now this weekend he fearlessly conquered playing with Girl, a year old Great Dane, and his cousin Luc, a Daschund . From what I understand, they’re best friends for life. Here they are discussing their excitement for the beginning of football season and cooler weather. (Sadly a little fuzzy)

Josh had tons of fun seeing his friends and brother. So much fun that I beat him home….by almost four hours. I was beginning to believe he was never going to make it! But finally he made it home, and we rested from our crazy crazy weekend. It looked a lot like this.

Hooray for a new week with kindergartners, new classes of freshmen at Point, and the one year anniversary of our engagement! C’mon September, Auburn football, and tailgate food!

Weekend Updates: Kindergarten, Mishaps, and Auburn

This weekend was one for the books. Friday began at 6 a.m. for me since it was my first day at kindergarten! My day was full of learning and overflowing with sweet hugs. It’s funny how so many kindergartners say ” I love you” on your first day! Leaving at 2, I was quite pooped. I haven’t woken up at 6 a.m. in I don’t know how long and definitely haven’t stayed on my feet for 6 hours maybe ever. After picking up some supplies for dinner and letting Miller out to play, I took myself a well-deserved nap. I’m going to have to whip myself into shape, especially since I’m now going to work an after school program until 4 everyday. The one thing I did notice on Friday is my need for a lunchbox. Friday I kept my lunch in my purse (not cool), so it was completely necessary for me to get something else. So I got a new lunchbox; it’s odd how excited I am about it.

Saturday was a great day for us! Josh’s mom was in town for a wedding, so we met her in Auburn for lunch and ice cream. Not before we ran errands in Tiger Town and my mom and I got mani/pedis (our specialty). Now that my nails are looking good, I can’t wait to head back to kindergarten. I’m 100 percent positive that I will get compliments on them.

Miller had quite a big weekend also. After this week which included licking Clorox and a toxic frog, who knew it could get much bigger?? Well, he was hanging out at one of our friends’ apartments, and had a little run in with a bigger dog. This dog is so so sweet, but Miller tried to get his bone from this dog (an obvious bad choice) and was left with a boo boo on his snout. Apparently he was very very pathetic after getting bitten, so I’m overly happy that I wasn’t there. For some reason, I’m quite emotional lately. Explanation: I cried Thursday watching Marley & Me and Friday writing letters to my friends. Who am I? No worries though; Miller is as happy and alive as ever.

For dinner we ate with our good friends Josh, Meagan and Meagan’s dog Mae. Miller and Mae hit it off immediately- after some good sniffing, of course. We took them onto campus; only after some unfortunate bathroom mishaps on College Street (whoops!). They ran… and ran… and ran… and ran. It honestly crossed my mind that Miller could run himself to death. This was perfect though because as soon as we got home, Miller was off to bed. And even better, he slept all night!! No waking up at 3:30, 5:30, or 6! Wooo hoo!!

Then Sunday, sweet Sunday, Josh and I attended church, got ANOTHER dinner invitation (on a roll-Wooo!! Friends!!), ate frozen pizza, watched Crash, and took lengthy naps (maybe that was just me again….) But we are very excited for this week which includes: kindergarten and a new lunch box for me, classes beginning for Josh, dinner with a couple from our Sunday school class, a department party for Josh, and a bachelorette party for my friend Elizabeth! Honestly, what an awesome week to look forward to!

On the Horizon

Have you ever felt like God was sending you a direct message?? No, I’m not talking about you randomly think something extreme and attribute it to God. I’m talking about everything in your life seems to be pointing toward the same topic. Well, that’s what’s going on in my life right now. Let me explain.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog about this book I’m reading, Kisses from Katie. I gave a couple of excerpts and then talked about the conviction to be interrupted for the needy and hungry. I also posted about this ministry I had the pleasure of being a part of for the unemployed and needy in the LaGrange area. See a theme yet? If not, let’s continue.

Josh and I have been attending First Methodist in LaGrange and have really enjoyed our couple of times there. Well, they just started a four-week series on stewardship: giving of your finances, time, etc. Also, a couple we met at Sunday school invited us for dinner Monday night (so fun to have other adults to talk to!). After dinner we got into a conversation about being the church in the community and how church isn’t just a building to go to, but should be sharing the love of Jesus Christ (this among many other awesome things). We should be going to those in need (both physically and spiritually) ourselves and by giving of our finances. See it yet? Then, as if I hadn’t gotten the point yet, I was talking on the phone with a lifeline friend this morning about nonprofit agencies, being the church, and helping the needy in America. Oh! And by the way, the radio station I listen to is a ministry through a church and is asking for donations so it can continue to reach out to the community with the gospel.

Here lies my point: surely I’m not reading a book, studying in Sunday school, having multiple conversations, and hearing on the radio about stewardship, reaching the needy, etc. all on accident. No, I don’t have some huge idea of what exactly is going on, but I’m thinking something is on the horizon.

I realize this is a bit of a weird blog post since I’m rambling with no conclusion, but just letting you know what the Lord’s doing here in my heart in LaGrange. I don’t have any concrete objectives (and maybe I never will), but I do see that my eyes are being opened to the need in this community (and everywhere!) and how capable we are to help.

Weekend Update: Milestones, Zzz’s, and a War Eagle Puppy

This weekend was a great one. Miller confirmed that he is an Auburn tiger and some of our best friends secured their spots as Auburn University alumni. That’s what you call life changing!

After waiting THREE HOURS at the Troup County DMV on Friday, Mr. Bierman and I solidified our status as Georgians by getting licenses. Then, to complete our week of “Around the World” eating, we had fish and chips for dinner before watching movies and Olympics till WAAAAYYY too late.

Saturday morning I went to LaGrange’s Market on Main for some much needed early morning alone time (no offense to Josh and Miller. Occasionally an only child just needs some alone time, ya know?) and produce shopping. Let’s just say Market on Main didn’t disappoint. I got a blueberry pastry, large container of blueberries, squash, eggplant, green beans, and homemade bread for less than $15. We’ve already begun eating the bread and blueberries, and they really are some of the best I’ve ever had. Not a single blueberry disappoints; literally, they’re all perfectly sweet.

Saturday afternoon we took Miller to Auburn for the first time so I could attend graduation.While I was at graduation, Miller and Josh had some guy time. They walked around campus, played at FarmHouse, and made lots of new friends. Some of my personal favorite stories from the day include Miller running into a pole because he was looking at a sorority girl and the security guard at the Arena keeping Miller so Josh could go inside for water.

Ok, I lied. I have another funny story. Last week when Miller met our friend Jared for the first time, he was so excited that he started peeing on/near Jared. Well, this Saturday when he met Elizabeth (Jared’s fiancé), he did the exact same thing! He hasn’t done that to anyone else, but how funny that he did it to both of them!?

Needless to say, Miller was one tired puppy. He slept on the way home. Slept when we got home. Slept on the floor. Slept on me. Slept in his bed. He must have really loved Auburn and all of our friends because he played himself until he literally couldn’t hold his head up or his eyes open anymore.

Sunday…. Well, it was Sunday. We tried out another church, and really liked it a lot. One of the greatest things about this church was its Sunday school class for us. There were several couples attending, and they weren’t all 15 years older than us. So, that’s a success, right!? We finished Sunday with a nap (that might have just been me), kabobs, and the Olympics. I’ll be so sad when they (The Olympics) end!

Weekend Update: America, Masks, and Fans

What a great weekend! Minus the fact that Miller and I were without Josh all day Saturday, we had a great time. Friday, to celebrate America and our participation in the Olympics, we had an all- American dinner/ celebration. Our good friend William drove from Auburn to watch the opening ceremonies and have dinner. For dinner, we had cheeseburgers, potatoes, baked vegetables,  and (my favorite) red, white, and blue trifle. Miller even got into the celebration by wearing his patriotic collar.

William told us that when he was little, his family used to eat meals from around the world to celebrate the Olympics. I’m thinking that’s not a bad idea. So this week I’m planning on eating Mexican, Chinese, and Italian. Those are pretty easy to do, but what else should I do? Maybe crepes for France? or Fish and chips for Great Britain? I’m gladly accepting any and all ideas.

Then Saturday morning I had quite an embarrassing moment. Josh left pretty early to go to his faculty retreat, leaving Miller and I to fend for ourselves. Well, before Josh left he put Miller on the bed with me, so we obviously slept until 10 (time of Miller to take his meds). After he took his meds, I immediately took him out for a walk. Not thinking about how I looked at all, I went out barefoot, in a red, white, and blue tye-dye t-shirt, and athletic shorts. When we made it down the stairs, we met some people and their movers so we briefly chatted. Well, after we started to walk away, I heard the movers snickering. Instantly I remembered that I had worn a mask to bed Friday night, and I hadn’t washed my face yet. Meaning the whole time I was talking to our neighbors and their movers, I had a white mask on my face. Happy Saturday, Paige.

Another thing you should know is that JRB and I haven’t been cold since we moved to LaGrange. The week after we moved in, we asked our apartment to come look at our air conditioner. They did and said they fixed it. However, this weekend we had to buy a $30 fan because our apartment was 85 degrees. Yes, our air conditioner was set to 66, but the actual temperature was 85. You can’t tell me that’s working appropriately. Let’s all hope that our air conditioner will be fixed! Josh is going to take care of business (aka talk to management) as I type this.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sure did! Even though Josh and I haven’t really had a Saturday together in LaGrange, we still are doing very well. Looking forward to this coming up Saturday when we can actually spend it together!

Weekend Update: Cold Feet, Luau, and CCCC

Friday was the first night Josh and I have spent the night apart since we’ve been married. It was weird because falling asleep Friday night I remembered what it was like to not have body heat to keep me warm. I was back to the days of cold feet and sleeping in a ball. While it was nice to not be hot, I’m not sure I want to go back to sleeping cold. Why were we sleeping apart though? Because I went to Dothan, AL for one of my best friend’s bridal showers. Elizabeth and Jared are getting married in September, and I had the pleasure of attending not one, but two showers in their honor.

Here’s the sweet couple at their second shower of the day, luau theme!

It was also super fun just catching up with friends. Pictured below are Elizabeth, Morgan, Anna, Myself, and Laurel. I hadn’t seen any of them in what seems like forever, so I was near jumping for joy to spend time with them. What better reason to hang out then to celebrate our bff’s pending marriage?!

Who knew I was so wrinkled? Yikes!

Josh had some friends from Auburn coming to keep him company Friday night, so in true wifely manner I made sure they got the hook up while I was gone. This obviously means rotel dip, cookies, and root beer.

I know I’ve talked about this before, but what would I do without Pinterest?? Over the weekend I made two different recipes found there. And this week I’ll be making at least two other recipes I found on there. Maybe I wouldn’t have to workout or think about my weight if I hadn’t found Pinterest… Sigh…. Anyways. One of the cool creations from this weekend is called Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecakes. To shorten that let’s call them CCCC (C to the fourth power. Am I right? Am I right?)

{Background to recipe: My dad’s birthday was Friday, if you didn’t know so already because you didn’t read Friday’s post. For his birthday, he, my mom and grandmother came to LaGrange for lunch after church. This was partly birthday, partly want to take a look at the apartment, partly just to see us. But either way, we enjoyed the company. We found a yummy (but incredibly horrible for you place) called Fried Tomato Buffet (as if the name doesn’t give it away). }

Anyway, I made CCCC for his birthday and kind’ve just because I wanted to. Let me tell you. Yummmmmmmmmy! You know we love cheesecake around here, so they’re flying from the fridge. The ones pictured are actually the ones I made. I think they’re something to be proud of.

As many of you know, Josh and I watch The Bachelorette. Last night was its finale (awesome), and our sweet, sweet friend Ginny drove all the way to L-Geezy just to watch it with us. When we were in Auburn earlier in the summer, Ginny came over every Monday to have dinner and watch it with us, so it was only fitting that we finished the season together. Isn’t it awesome to have awesome friends?? Now we just have to make that happen in The Grange. Dear LaGrange people, please be our friend so we can stop staring at all of your hands wondering if you’re married and then if you are married worrying that you have children. Over and out, The Biermans. 

Weekend Update: Charleston, Root Beer, and Findings

JRB and I took an extended vacation this weekend to Charleston, South Carolina. We had such a great time catching up with friends, basking in the sun, and playing lots of games! Here’s a little bit of what went on:

We couldn’t drive through Atlanta without stopping at the Varsity for chili dogs and greasy french fries. Since I went without a hotdog on the Fourth, I see this stop as a makeup.

We also ate dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant in Charleston on our way in. I kinda sorta left my sunglasses there Friday night and went all Saturday wearing Josh’s Maui Jim’s. True to fashion, Mr. Bierman saved the day by calling the restaurant, figuring out my glasses were there, and driving 30 minutes to get them for me. Hubby Points Awarded: 35,893,742

On our way back from retrieving the sunglasses, we stopped by a grocery store to buy root beer and cream soda. As I hope you all know, it’s not vacation for the Biermans without Cheerwine, root beer, and/or cream soda.

The guys were REALLY into Bocce Ball. Here is Mr. Bierman doing his thang! (Even though turns out, he won’t be going pro anytime soon.)

If there is one thing Josh loves, but doesn’t get to do often it’s fishing. I’m so pumped that he had an opportunity to fish with his friends. Fish count: 3 sharks and 2 baby, I mean GINORMOUS, fish

For those of you who don’t know, Mr.  Bierman and I have puppy fever. Yes, we realize we have only been married 2 months and haven’t established any routine and having a dog right now is not wise. But we still REALLY want one!! So much so that we sometimes pretend we are already owners. (I can’t even begin to explain this one. Just think we’re weird, and move on.) That being said, we LOVED having time to hang out with sweet Georgia (pictured above) and seeing how the Funderburks live as dog owners. This may or may not have pushed us over the edge to wanting a pup so badly it hurts.

Sunday night we went into downtown Charleston for dinner and entertainment. It was there that we found this sweet (no pun intended) little shop. It had gelato, clusters, homemade Reese’s cups, fudge, and caramel apples. Holy awesomeness!

The hubs and I. As you can see, we went after the gelato! Getting healthy begins tomorrow. Or the next day.

Parting shot. This was taken this morning before we left. Those figures you see out at in the ocean are Josh and a friend. Those sweet feet in Chacos you see resting on a beach chair are allllll mine! So thankful for a relaxing weekend, time spent with friends, and much needed sunlight. Hooray for tan lines!

America, Six Flags, FUNderburk Birthday

Happy Fourth, everyone! I know I’m a day late, but did you honestly expect me to blog on our nation’s birthday?? Yesterday was such a fun day for Josh and I. Anytime you can get together with your friends, wear crazy/tacky things, and ride roller coasters is a good time. And that’s exactly what we did. Last week, Britt’s wife messaged a group of us who live close to Atlanta asking if we would want to go to Six Flags for his birthday. {By the way, how lucky is Britt to be born on July 4th. It’s like the ENTIRE nation celebrates with him every year!} Without a doubt, Josh and I jumped on this train (roller coasters? Duh.). What made it even better is Josh’s other friends were planning on making t-shirts to commemorate Britt’s birthday, and Ellis had buy one, get one free coupons for the park. Once again, roller coasters, tacky t-shirts, and coupons will always get the Biermans to attend.

This was our view walking in. I have NEVER been scared of riding roller coasters. From the time I passed the height requirements, I was obsessed with them. However, yesterday I figured out that the older you get, the more realistic/contemplative you get. I found myself wishing I was an engineer/physicist so I could figure out how I wasn’t going to die.

This is the front of the HILARIOUS shirts that were made. All of the girls had stars, and the guys had navy. The guys were easier to see/read, but I will say the girls were much more festive.

The guys. Oh, the guys. Don’t know if you can tell, but Britt is SUPER thrilled that we all wore his face all day. (Insert, sarcasm here) No, but he really was a great sport. The day could never have gotten boring when these four were wearing these shirts. One of my favorite moments was when all of the girls decided to sit out a roller coaster, so the guys all rode together without us. Seeing them exit the ride, laughing hysterically, wearing matching muscle tees had to be one of the top 10 funniest things I’ve ever seen. It really pays to have a husband with awesome friends because they become your friends. And I must say I’m pretty pumped to call these guys my friends!

All in all, our Fourth was so much fun! Yes, it was hot, but it would’ve been hot anywhere. And another fun thing I learned is that Six Flags is very calm on the Fourth. I have literally never been to an amusement park that had shorter lines than we had yesterday. There were several times that we never waited in line. We just walked right onto the ride. From the Biermans to you (although it’s a day late) Happy Fourth!!!

What did you do for Independence Day?? Any hotdogs? That’s the only thing that was missing from my Fourth!