Low Country Boil

Now that it is Thanksgiving break and I have my paper done, I can finally catch up on some posts that are way past due! About a month ago a friend from my cohort, Maggie, and her BF invited all of us over for a low country boil. Keep in mind that most of our dear friends in the cohort are from various places like PA, Miami, Kentucky, Kansas, NJ, etc...so this title needed a little explanation.

Several of them wanted to show up in overalls, straw hats, etc. While others had NO idea what went in a low country boil. Some even shared, "I am only coming if it a high country boil." After all the commotion in our facebook group and in class, Maggie finally posted this picture with an explanation...

A low country can be many different things based on the region of the country, but in Georgia we use shrimp, sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, and sometimes onion/carrots to make a one-pot dish that has a mix of hot and mild seasonings. Sometimes people use crawfish but I don't like my food to have legs :)

After the picture was posted the following comments were made:

• Does ink get in the food?
• What is that?
• Can you just promise me not to cover the table in the Breeze (JMU newspaper)? I already get sick when reading it, can't imagine how sick I'd get when eating off it.

HAHA they were cracking me up. Anyway, we had a wonderful time at their place and the food was delicious. Check out some pics:

our hostesses!

some of the ladies

All of us doing the "Ryan" for some reason he always raises his hand like this...

The Day(s) I Thought I was Pregnant....

Well, it was a typical Thursday in the world of student affairs at JMU. I had just come home from having a 3 hour conversation about the Penn State scandal in class and then worked till 8:00. Luke and I had made dinner and I made the mistake of asking him what he thought about the whole thing. I will spare you details, but lets just say we disagreed. Which ended in me deciding I would not speak to Luke for 24 hours. It was honestly one of the worst fights we have ever gotten into...it is funny the things that spark fights with us, mostly having to do with food, but I guess this one was a little different.

Anyway, I finally break the silence Friday night when I call to see what he wants to do for dinner and he decided he wanted to watch the UNC game and eat buffalo wild wings. Fine by me, he said he would pick up the wings and I decided to call my friend Kate to see if she wanted to join us because her husband had been out of town. I call Luke to check on the order after heading to the gym and discover that he did not get ANY wings that I would like. He knows my favorite is honey BBQ and "just forgot" which left me even more mad. Then he goes and gets me some honey BBQ because he is great like that...but keep in mind I was still pissed. So, I walk in from the gym and Luke is PISSED. He is mad that I invited Kate over because he just thought we would talk the whole time (yes, that probably would have happened) and all he wanted was a guy's night. Next time he will have to be more specific...

So I decided to rampage out of the house grabbing my wings, knitting, wine, movies, and anything else I might need for a girls night. I called Kate and moved the party to her house. Well, after me venting to her for a good 30 mins about my "insensitive" husband and the stressful week I was having at school I finally ended it with..."and I think I am pregnant." At this point I was 4 days late and I am very rarely even a day late. How was I going to have a child with my husband who thought that Joe Paterno should not be fired?!

Anyway, after sipping on wine and eating wings (how classy!) Kate and I decided it would be a great idea to go to Wal-Mart and buy pregnancy tests. She even agreed to take one with me for moral support (we were both pregnancy tests virgins). At 10:30 on a Friday night in my JMU sweatshirt and sweatpants I hit up Wal-Mart like a true knocked up college student. I even forgot to wear my wedding ring that night because I took it off to shower after the gym. We grab the test, get in line and think we have successfully made it out without seeing anyone we know.

Then Kate saw one of her students in line. While our cashier was making a big commotion about getting someone to unlock the case that the test was in. Ugh, now her student's mom is probably thinking, "Why is my child's teacher hanging out with a knocked up college student?" Luckily, the family did not speak English too well so we were saved from the comments...

We get home and decided first things first. We need to read the directions and document this because it could potentially go in a baby book or a blog post.

I am not sure if you have ever read directions for a pregnant test or not, but it was somewhat complicated. You have to hold in a certain angle, pee for NO LONGER than 5 seconds on the thing. Make sure you lay it on a flat surface, etc.


Kate goes first because we knew she was not pregnant. She survived, gave me some helpful tips, and then I went on my way. After staring at the stick for 5 straight minutes (for those of you that don't know my I start to get cross-eyed in situations like this) I was finally convinced the 2nd line was not showing up and I started to breathe again...

Afterward, it was time to head home to my husband. I walked in announced that he was not the baby of my child and everything was fine. He was a bit confused because I had not even told him I was late...but he was glad to hear that I was not pregnant and could blame my bad attitude and need for HONEY BBQ wings on my period who should come soon...

however it did not. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, still no period. I took another pregnancy test on Sunday and it was still negative. I was reading all these websites and taking online quizzes and thought I was showing all the signs (once again I will spare you the details). Monday I start freaking out. It has now been a week. Here are the things going on in my head:

• Will JMU offer a scholarship for a mom going through grad school?
• How will I share this with my family over Thanksgiving?
• Clearly I am having twins because I am showing early.
• This is why I was so out of breath walking to work this week.
• This also explains my out of the ordinary craving for baby carrots lately, I go through 2 big bags a week.
• How will I fit in Lisa' bridesmaid's dress for her wedding in June? No one wants to be the fat bridesmaid.
  

The list could go on and on. On Monday night Luke was getting so nervous he could hardly talk. In his brain he was trying to think how we afford a child...keep in mind I had taken 2 tests but just thought they were wrong.

I decided if my period did not come Tuesday morning I would call a doctor. I woke up Tuesday morning, took another test (glad those things come in multiples!) It was negative, again. 2 hours later I am at work and it starts. And it was a b*tch this go around. It must have been punishing me for thinking it would never come...

so all is back to normal. I will still be wearing a cute bridesmaid dress, eating baby carrots just because I like them, "showing" because I need to lay off eating so much cheese, not having to plan a "reveal" to my family...I still would not mind more of a JMU scholarship, but I'll go with no baby right now instead.

Why did this happen? Maybe it is the fact that I feel like I am surrounded by babies these days? Or maybe I just needed some drama in my non-dramatic life? Or, maybe I am just paranoid. Either way, here's to enjoying life without kids with Luke for a couple more years. By the way, we made up :)

the incredible Mr Clean- er Logan

And now for an important message brought to you by Taylor's significant other: That's right, Luke is back on the blog!


When it comes to household cleaning, three personalities come to mind: The Brawny paper towel man, with his brawny muscles, mustache, and signature flannel; the pine-sol lady that interrupts housewives with a better-than-your average cleaning experience that leaves your diningroom smelling like a softwood forest; and Mr. Clean, the bald man with the earring. Though I have hair, and do not have an earring, I would say that this guy is most like me because I cannot grow a mustache like the brawny guy, and am neither African-American nor woman like the pine sol lady.


I say that because Taylor is incredibly gifted in the way that she makes others feel welcomed in our home, and one important part of that is having a clean home. She actively pursues many relationships and has a way of helping to make our house a comfortable place to visit for any of our guests throughout the week. This is something that I am thankful for over and over again.
Even though Taylor has been busy playing the role of the hottest/most fashionable girl on the JMU campus, having a clean, welcoming home at the end of the day is not far from her mind. It stinks. There just arent enough hours in the day to take care all of the household duties and still have time to have people over a few times a week to entertain. Naturally, Tay gets frustrated that her husband isnt the Brawney man.

After a few disagreements about cleaning duties, I decided to do something. Who would have thought that 3 crumbs on the counter top would count it as unclean? In my mind, it takes at least 8 crumbs on a counter for it to be declared unclean! Anyways, in order to surprise her after one disagreement about the "clean" status of our house, I went out of my way and scrubbed the mess our of almost every surface of the house. Well, it worked. She loved it. The problem is that the bar has been set pretty high about what cleaning abilities I am capable of. So, one thing that I have learned is that if Taylor and I disagree about something, I start impulsively cleaning the house. I have learned that no matter what Tay and I might be disagreeing about (This week it was the Penn State scandal), things will go much easier in the Logan house if it is met with a swiffered floor, clean sink, and emptied garbage can.

That is why I am the incredible, Mr. Clean -er, Logan.

Courtney's Wedding

We had a great time at Courtney and Matt's wedding 2 weeks ago in Winston-Salem. But first I must mention how productive Luke and I were on our day off. We got up Friday and between the hours of 8:30am-1pm we managed to: read our Bibles, work out, pack for the weekend, pick up my car from the shop, shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner, and got new drivers' licenses (if you ever have the chance to see Luke's you should...it is the creepiest thing I have ever seen). For those of you that never saw last license picture, which I lost, mine this time is much better (although it is still pretty terrible)...but at least I do not look like my brother this time. Anyway...

then we headed all the way to NC to spend the weekend celebrating. There are only a few weddings left in our Sigma Kappa family, so we have to make the most of them. By the way, I apologize ahead of time for the amount of pics in this post... I just could not stop!

Anyway, we started the weekend with the rehearsal and dinner (Luke I got lost for an hour on the way to the dinner...) and then headed to Anna and Jordan's house for an adult sleepover--which are the best!!! We had a great time staying up late and talking and then
waking up to an amazing breakfast that Anna made..


It was so nice to have a relaxing Saturday because we did not have to be at the ceremony until 2:30. We watched a movie, went on a walk, ate a lot of food, and got ready...just like we were living in the SK house again. Oh how I miss those days...

Then it was time to head to the wedding which was held at Winmock Barn. The barn was just renovated and opened sometime this summer. It was honestly breath-taking beautiful....


There was no need for a program, they had these cute chalkboards outside of the room that shared information about the bridal party and order of events.

I mean check out these ceilings and the amazing job the florist did to create such an intimate, natural and beautiful setting for the wedding. I was honestly shocked with how amazing it looked.
We had to take some couples shots of course!


Jessica, Lindsay, Amy, Anna, Katie (not pictured) and I all had various "jobs" to do for the ceremony.

p.s. the dress I am wearing is from Good Will and the shoes are from a consignment shop I found at the beach...talk a cheap find and a perfect dress for a fall wedding!

We snuck in and found the groom!

It was my first time reading at a wedding and of course I had the longest passage ever!! But, at least I did not fall when I was up there which I dreamed about the night before...

By the way, I HATE the way my bangs split like that...does anyone have ANY suggestions?!

After the ceremony, it was time for the cocktail hour, and as always the guys hung out together. Luke loves spending time with them and it is funny to see how each of them has (or will) take turns at the altar...first Josh, then Michael, Luke, Jordan and more to come :) RIGHT?!

Amanda, my little, was there and it was the first time I have seen her since she got ENGAGED!! She is getting married to Justin in September and I cannot wait to celebrate with them!




Courtney pays so much attention to detail...even down to the forks! How are cute are these?



Me and the bride! I just loved her dress....

a blast from the past....I have not seen Pat or Kevin since graduation! It so much fun to get to see them and catch up.



The bride and all of her SK sisters....



The whole night ended with a surprise a horse and carriage ride to their hotel! How magical :)


Congratulations Matt and Courtney, I love you both!

Full Fall Weekend

Every year I turn down my nose at "fall people." To me fall means the coming of winter, which means bulky clothes, ugly shoes, being cold and paying too much for heat. I tend to overlook the good parts of fall that others enjoy like pumpkin spiece lattes, pumpkin icecream at Klines and pretty leaves. But, I must say my excitement for fall has increased as of recently.

I think it has a lot to do with my new fall wardrobe. Yes, I went shopping at the outlets a couple of weeks ago and got some awesome deals thanks to some help from my grandpa and dad who provided the funds to dress this poor grad student. It is amazing what some new tights, pants that fit you (see post on the love layer), and cute skirts to wear with boots can do for a person's attitude. And, I got to experience it all with my mom and cousin Brooke.

After showing off my new clothes for a week, I embraced a fall weekend for the first time in many of years. It all started on Friday when we made carmel apples at work for all the RAs and HDs. Not just any carmel apples either, we also rolled them around in delicious treats like crushed oreos and reeses...they were to die for!

Friday night Luke and I got to the chance to meet Brooke and Matt for dinner in Staunton because they were in Lexington for a family trip. OK that does not have much to do with fall...but afterward Luke and I went and partook in sam adam's pumpkin ale at a cute bar downtown. I am usually not a big pumpkin ale fan, but it was awesome!

On Saturday evening, we had friends over for Luke's homemade BBQ and then headed out to FEAR FOREST!! It was a blast to say the least. A few highlights:

1. People watching in a field for over 3 hours (ALL kinds of people show up to fear forest)
2. Luke leading us in the wrong direction TWICE which meant we were in dark, confined spaces that were not mean to be walked in (aka scarier than the confined spaces we were supposed to be in).
3. Apologizing to the scary people for screaming too loud in their face.
4. Sharing the fun and nightmares with cool people.

I also must admit the only way I survived the haunted school bus, children's play house, haunted trailer park, etc was screaming, laughing and looking down. I heard it was quite entertaining.

The only picture from the night:

Sunday morning I hosted a brunch for the girls I supervise at work which was so fun and full of lots of breakfast casserole a scones. Then I headed to the pumpkin patch with Kate and Charlie to pick out some pumpkins. I think this was my second time ever going to a pumpkin patch and it was so great!






After much searching and debate, Charlie finally found the perfect one for him:



On the way out we ran into this cute bunch!


So, that my friends, was my first full fall weekend in some time. Don't get too crazy though, I did not dress up for Halloween (I was at work all night), carve my pumpkin, or decorate my house with cute fall items. Maybe that can happen next year?