She's Sun and Rain

I just had a moment. One of those...what will we do? moments. Reading some of my friends blogs who went to N.C. State with me and so did their spouses, when they have babies...the babies all wear N. C. State gear! So here is my hope... Jay, Taylor, Shae, Rebecca, Shelly...someone who is a wolfpack fan. When we get pregnant and have a baby, I'm going to need an N.C. State onesie. You see, a lot of my family are Clemson fans (My uncle played on the team in 81 when they won the National championship - huge deal to my family and quite an accomplishment!) And, my husband is a Georgia fan. He grew up there and went to W. Georgia. Georgia is a red team, but I am kindof worried that I will not have N.C. State gear to put my kiddo in! Ok, there is my early request for someday. Please make a note of it! Haha :)

Give me a challenging cleaning task, I dare you. I will find a way to make it clean again. Hence, our most recent project...tile grout. I am not a fan of real tile just because of the difficulty of keeping grout clean and nice. We moved into our apartment in October. I already cleaned the guest bathroom tile grout. It wasn't really dirty so I didn't notice a huge difference. However, today when I started working on the kitchen...oooh la la what a difference! Mad props to Zep Grout Whitener. (Please read all directions on the container, use gloves and open windows for ventilation!) Thank you Zep for turning this... Can you believe how dirty this tile was?? And after! Love it. If it's possible to love tile grout. Well, I do. Into this! I also used a small clorox scrubber to scrub the grout. I just let it sit for about 15 seconds, scrubbed, and then wiped with a hot washcloth. Let me know what you think!

Well ladies and gentlemen. It was a project. My sweet husband offered to go with me to hancock fabrics to purchase fabric for our table and chairs. We purchase a new table when we were dating in Augusta and recently sold it in an attempt to get out of debt. Sold the table for 550 and then purchase 11 dollars worth of fabric to make the old one liveable again :) Back in college my roomate Rebecca and I recovered it from a blue funky pattern to a red solid. Let me know what you think about the new color! Out with the old! In with the new! I think the next time you see a new dining room of ours, it will probably not have this table. Because I seriously doubt Adam will help me cover these again. It was not easy, but in my opinion, it was well worth it!

Ok, I have to get this off my chest. The last few days I've been looking at wedding photos to print to put up in our home. I have been lying in bed this morning thinking about it. You see, I read a lot of blogs (hence out of control blogroll) and alot of photography blogs (that may or may not be on the blogroll) and one thing keeps coming to my mind. I wish we would have done the whole "at first sight" thing. Adam and I talked about seeing each other before the wedding, but I stuck with tradition for some reason. Well, I didn't want all traditional photos, just to stick to that tradition. I do think a certain amount of traditional photos are good to have. Now, let me clarify in saying I had an AMAZING photographer, and this is definitely not her fault or really has anything to do with her :) I just wish that we would've done the see each other before the wedding thing and taken all the romantic, sweet, just him and me photos before. After the wedding and before th...

Hi friends...here are a few photos of some of the things we've been up to lately! I have deducted that most people prefer photos, while I have a few blog posts in my head that may not be photo related, I'll have to get to those say...in a few days. First Anniversary! We went to Adam's parents Cabin in the mountains and then to the Biltmore House for the day. I had not ever been before so it was a blast. We also hiked a few waterfalls. Then there was Thanksgiving. We went to my parents at the coast. Picking out the tree. We always get a NC Fraser Fir.  Adam was kind enough to check all the lights :) Then as tradition would have it, Greg and I put the lights on.  And then we took some photos on the beach. You can see Adam and I in the background checking out ours haha! And then there was the boat parade.  Next up, meeting new baby Marla...our niece.    Me with Marla, and Adam with her. Check back tomorrow for some pictures of the snow, Christmas, and New Years!

Merry Christmas from the McCulloughs! We took this at our church last weekend when we had our annual "O Holy Goat" party. (I do take credit for coming up with the name 3 years ago!) It's an event for the student ministry and since we both volunteer as leaders, we happy attended! It is a fundraiser to raise money to purchase goats in other countries to feed needy families. It's also a great way to teach the students they can give and make an impact in the world. We had a fabulous Christmas seeing lots of family and just enjoying the season. We are so thankful to celebrate Jesus' birth! What a great gift to all of us. I'll post more 'catch up' photos soon as this has been a busy season and I haven't seemed to keep up. It is snowing here in NC as I watch the weather channel and my husband is asleep on the couch, the tree is still lit, and of course, I'm a night owl and am wide awake ;). I have never seen a white Christmas before so what a gift thi...

Congrats to my cousin Zac for winning the State Championship in High School Football. He played at Charlotte Country Day this year. So most of you probably know I have a younger brother named Greg that I am always very proud of. He played baseball at Charlotte Christian and is now a Freshman at ECU. I also have two younger cousins Zac and Trent, and they too, are kindof like 'little brothers' to me. I'm very proud of Zac and enjoyed getting to watch some of his games the last 2 years. I'm so thankful they have moved to Charlotte :) Here's a picture of the team! And here's a picture of some of our family that was there. Notice, I am wearing Leonard's Clemson hat. Which...I almost went to school there and my family are big fans, so I'm not ashamed :) I love my family :)

I love December and Christmastime and all the things about it. But this year has blown my mind and continues to do so. I hope to ring in the new year with a new attitude and hopes for a more 'calm' year maybe? Who knows. I haven't posted in a month or so and it has been insane. I am organizing, babysitting, selling Mary Kay and basically just trying to function. I am tired. Hopefully after tonight (my MK open house) things will settle down a bit. The only thing I have figured out for 2011 is that it will be the year of scrapbook catch up. I am tired of all these photo boxes. Gotta get it done. Well... as non exciting as this is...gotta run. Happy December! BTW - can someone tell me how to make my blog post titles not orange?

 This year Adam and I got to go to Villa Rica for Halloween weekend. Adam was asked to preach at his parents church and so we were able to do the 'trunk or treat' with our niece Ava. She was tooo precious. Tinkerbell of course.  Tinkerbell with Uncle Adam  Mom and Dad and Tinkerbell  Getting candy out of the pool  The cake walk! Man that cake was good!  Mostly she just wanted to swing :) With Aunt Ginny :) I love being an aunt! My non-techy self can't figure out how to rotate the video. So, here it is sideways. She loves Phil Collins. LOL.

 This is us at our storage unit in Leland, NC just outside of Wilmington. We had our stuff here because we 'thought' that was where God was leading. Turns out he did, but just for a short time. We were so blessed because we were able to spend time with the Smith family. They were generous enough to come help us move out of the unit along with my mom.  Eli loved the ramp that moved up and down. He wanted to ride on it with Papa!  No more storage! Hurray!  Now, let's head to Charlotte!  Consider all of these the "Before Photos". :) Coming up - a few After shots...when it starts to look like after shots :)

This fall we went to Adam's hometown for a visit and went to the Villa Rica Gold Rush festival. He grew up in a small town west of Atlanta. Here are a few fun pictures from the parade :) Sweet Ava.  The family at the Parade in the back of Adam's dad's truck.  I love that they still say "In God We Still Trust". SO Important.  Villa Rica was the site of Georgia's first gold rush.  We also went to the Carolina Balloon Fest in Statesville, North Carolina this year. We have both been wanting to go, so we finally did. Two 1/2 hours later in traffic and a lot of cash, we were there and enjoyed watching the balloons lift off. It is definitely beautiful and something everyone should see once.  On our way out...we saw this. The irony of the Mona Vie sticker (supposedly helps you live healthier longer....) and the wheelchairs in the back. I'm sorry if this is offensive, but it made us laugh!

Something spurred (is that the right word) in me today thoughts about stages of life. I was talking on the phone last week with a friend about how even though we are married women now, we don't want to exclude ourselves to only talking and hanging out with married women. When I was single, I hung out with singles, married people, people with children, old people...whatever :) I notice however that some people choose to only hang with people in their 'life stage'. I find there is something completely wrong about this. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it! Although I am not as fun of a playdate as someone with children, I think I'm pretty fun. ;) I'm kidding. But seriously, I think that sometimes people can get into this phase where, because they relate better with someone in their life stage, they choose to only spend time with them. There is much to be learned and shared with others in their different life stages. I love being around moms with childr...

This weekend we will move into an apartment! I cannot contain my excitement :) But then again, why should I? We have been out of our house in Augusta since June so we've been staying in different places...and we are so ready to be settled again. It's been a huge blessing to stay with friends and learn to be content in any circumstance but we are looking forward to our own little space. I house-sat for so many years that my stuff was in storage for 4 1/2 years before we got married. I still have stuff that is in boxes from 2005! Needless to say I am ready to unpack and organize and decorate. Just part of being a woman, wanting things to be "homey". It's hard to believe that this season of our life is coming to an end because it has been such a whirlwind experience. We have learned a lot about life and about each other. Our marriage is definitely stronger from it all. What a first year! We will definitely be celebrating come November! We sold the truck this week so ...

In lieu of my own post today...I'd like ya'll to see one of my favorites. Visit Rachel in Raleigh for a great recipe and fantastic way to reach out to your neighbors. No better way than with sweet treats!

My last 'update' was more of a mini-update...so here is my full blown McCullough household update. :) We did move back to Charlotte and in with some friends from church. They have been wonderful to offer up their home for us to stay in. It has been fun staying with them and great being able to share food costs and split up cooking nights. Brad has been able to help us with some automotive work as well, we are so thankful! (Especially when I backed Adam's truck into a pole in the parking lot at my job and now he definitely needs a new bumper!) Speaking of my job, I did end up working for Philip...a friend from high school who owns a printing company. I am helping with his office work/quickbooks etc. In addition to all that, and most importantly...Adam got the job we mentioned in a previous post! Praise the Lord!! He went through a lengthy application/interview process and last Monday they offered him the position. He will be working for the Hartford doing commercial underw...

As of yesterday, September 10th...I finished reading the new testament! Every single word! For some of my readers (whoever you are out there...) you know I have been working on this for a long time. I think I started when Adam and I got engaged last May (09). So, obviously it took me a while, but I did it! It has definitely helped me be more disciplined with my quiet times in the mornings. Most of my life I have had a hard time with what to read or study for quiet times. It was always easy at a camp or retreat when someone gave you something to read with follow up questions. I would definitely recommend trying something like this. I was never one to stick to a specific bible reading plan but taking it at my own pace and just one day at a time was feasable. I think Adam picked up with me somewhere in Romans or Acts when we got married so it has been fun to read along with him too. I do think I'm going to do some studying on revelation because it left me confused of course. But other...

It's very comical to me that the older I get, the weirder the things are I get excited about. This week for example: our house rented. YAY YAY YAY. This means a lot of things. It means that we will actually be able to pay our mortgage, the water bill, and the rental company with what the renters are paying. This is an amazing thing. We are thrilled! We are getting better at using coupons and saving money. Now, I'm not the type to announce to the world on facebook every time I save a few bucks, but we are excited to be better stewards of what God is giving us. I never knew that I didn't have to spend a fortune at the grocery store to still cook well for my husband and have the things we need. That is something to get excited about. :) I also never thought that I would be the type of person to make a menu for the week, but the truth is, when you do...you save money. If I can save money on food to buy a new....(insert cute clothing item or house decor here) then I'm all ab...

Here it is the end of August and tonight, what's on my mind is, Christmas. We started talking about the Biltmore House and I've always wanted to go. I know it's probably gorgeous in the fall, in the summer, and especially in the spring. I bet though, that I would like Christmas time the most. I love the holidays. I love everything about them. The smells, the Christmas tree, the holly, the wreaths, the LIGHTS, decorating, family time, music, and celebrating Jesus's birth. It's all just great. It's pretty much the only thing I look foward to about winter, that, and the fact that there are less bugs. So, here's an early start to thinking about my favorite time of the year :) Happy: Christmas in August.

Today was an emotional day for me. I'm sure in part because I am a woman and certain times call for certain emotions, but also because my not so little brother left for college today. Excuse me, August 1992, weren't you just here? I was 11 when my brother was born and we actually shared a room for a while when he was little. I babysat many a nights/days and then once I could drive became a taxi driver sister :) I wouldn't take back a day of it, it was such a blast. I was 'cool'. I was cool throughout high school and college. I think I'm still cool but I'm sure that is debatable in the eyes of a college freshman. You see, I am my brother's biggest fan. I watched him play t-ball, basketball, take horseback riding lessons, more baseball, went to awards banquets, graduations, you name it...I was there if I could be. I am so proud of my brother. He graduated from HS with a great GPA, lots of awards in sports, and most importantly, great character. I took him ...

Well...yes they are. We are staying positive. Positive people that is what we are. ;) Adam has had several interviews with a company and we are continually praying that works out, if it's the Lord's will. Looks like I might have at least a temp job working for a friend helping with his business, getting it organized. I like organizing you know :). We are enjoying being around friends again, having a support system, people to work out with, pray with...it has been GLORIOUS! Adam got to go mountain biking this week with Brad, have lunch with the other Brad, we have been able to go to the gym and work out with friends, and I've been able to have some girl time. YAY for being around people. Love it. Alot. Alot. We are moving in with some friends come Saturday. We are excited about it! Thank you for friends who cheerfully welcome friends into their home. We are grateful. We have looked at apartments and trying to find the best deal if we can get settled sooner than later. We st...