Good friends make the world go round!

So this past Thursday I got to see my life long friend Mary for the first time since Chad and I got married. (Which was 6months ago) She flew in from Albuquerque, NM for a visit home to see her friends and family, and mostly me. We had a lovely wine and hors d'oeurves party at Jenn Jameson's apartment and about 12 or so girls got together to enjoy each others company and the opportunity to spend time with Mary. It was a blast to see so many people who I hadn't gotten the chance to see in such a long time. A definite treat was reuniting with some of the girls from my Alpha Chi Omega pledge class! (pic-Amanda Glwe, Kate Lawson, Brandi Pope, Mary Cannady, Jenn Jameson, Caitrin Laughey, Leanne Outlaw, Loring Smith, and me!) Since I had to work Friday morning in Florence and I'm not the best driver in optimum circumstances it was unfortunate but I could only stay 2 hours because it was raining and late and I wanted to be off the roads before 11. I was so sad to leave Mary, I miss her so much it's not even funny. So, I've added some classic and old school Goose (mary) and Mav (me) pics for you readers to enjoy!! So, the longest work week ever ended Friday evening just in time for our newly married friends Tara and Tony to come and stay with us for the weekend. We spent Friday night amped up on Monster Energy drinks singing American Idol karaoke on Chad's PS3. It was awesome. The we drug ourselves out of bed Saturday morning for Banana Nut pancakes and Tara's awesomely cooked bacon. A few hours at a pool in an apartment complex across town and then a nice nap filled our day until we woke to start getting ready for a Barbque party in our back yard!! We were expecting around 16-20 people and it was gorgeous outside (albeit 100 degrees). Just as guest were arriving the temp dropped to a happy 85 or so and we started grilling out. Chad made excellent hamburgers and hotdogs and all of our friends brought food for the party. Perry made some amazing chili for the hot dogs and Amber made a pasta salad wtih fresh veggies that was to die for!! Needless to say we were all full and happy not too long later, and Morris was sooo glad to be surrounded by so much food! I think the real victor of the night, however, was Charity's oreo dessert, because it lasted about 5 minutes before the pan was empty. We continued the evening with a very fun game of signs that entertained us for a while until the sun started setting and no one could really see the signs any one else was making and the bugs were so hungry and swarming the group causing everyone to scratch their noses and eyes and shake their shirts, pretty much sending out all the wrong signals. When signs started to get way too confusing we split into two teams and had a great game of charades going on....Tony's acting out of To Kill and Mocking Bird and Bridget's great way of signaling whether the person she was describing was a man led to great times being had by all...we moved the charades inside once the bugs became absolutley unbearable and the threat for West Nile grew to 130%. The night ended with a girls American Idol competition and the guys playing each other in NCAA football. I know this was a brief description of the night but it started at 6:30 and we weren't in bed until 3. Of course no one managed to set an alarm and we missed church. But we did finish off the weekend with omelets and biscuits and a nice recap of the weekends events. Also the planning of this coming weekend with a trip to Atlanta and possibly watching the Braves play the Red Sox....of excuse me ( cough cough, Tara) the Braves BEAT the Red Sox. Hope y'all weekend was a jam packed and fun as mine! Keep loving life, Layne

My Baby Bear (aka my dog)

Morris is our dog. He is beyond a shadow of a doubt, the BEST dog ever created. He' s a black lab and beagle mix that we rescued two summers ago when Chad and I were just dating. From the minute I picked him up from the shelter I was head over heels. Chad was living at the Beach with his parents that summer and I had moved down there to be close to him. That was the summer I converted, and also the summer we realized we would be together forever so we took the plunge and decided to get a dog. Chad had always wanted a dog. Every year on his birthday and at Christmas he would ask for a puppy. One of my favorite stories is that one Christmas Greg and Carol (Chad's parents) bought a robot dog and put it out for Chad as a gift from Santa. My poor husband was not amused. He interpreted this act as a slap in the face and took a bat to the toy. I left the beach to move back to Columbia a month earlier than Chad and first thing I did when I moved home was go pick up Morris from Blythewood Animal Shelter because by that time we had applied for adoption and been approved. Now I've never adopted a human child, but the paperwork for an animal child was about 10 pages long before they even approved us, so I can only imagine what it would be for a little boy or girl. When I went to pick Morris up they actually brought out the wrong dog at first. My heart was guilty when they brought the other dog into the room because I was sure they had told her someone had come to get her, but I had to tell them no, and that this wasn't my dog. About 5 minutes later Morris flew through the door and up onto my lap and I knew I had made the right decision. The picture above is of Morris right after I got him, he has the FLOPPIEST ears ever! Chad was at the beach for a whole month without our new bundle of joy and it nearly killed him We sent so many picture and video texts that month so that he could see Mo--it was rediculous! Now he's over 2 yrs old and still just as fabulous as ever. He knows a myriad of tricks and eats anything we willingly feed to him. He is such a lover. He wouldn't want to be anywhere else other than laying on top of us being rubbed. Chad says its the greatest thing in the world to come home from work and have someone waiting on him who's glad to see him under any circumstance and is always ready to run up and kiss him! I just love my baby bear. He's certainly a mama's boy! I hope all of you have a MoMo in your world. Keep loving life. Layne

Work it Girl!!

So today I'm going to fill you in on my office! I work for State Farm Agent Richard Skipper! The office is 40's and 50's themed and when you walk inside you feel like you're actually still outside. The walls are brick and so is the floor and each staff members office looks like a separate shop on a brick road! We all have different color office doors with windows in them and the lobby features a working old fashioned glass bottle RC Cola cooler. I work with three very different women and Ben the lone wolf who works part time as the financial guru of the pack. Tonya is the take charge leader of the group, she's been with State Farm for 10 years. Letha is the older woman of the group, she's a hard worker, she's got a lot of quirks, but she gives me good advice on my house plants! Bridget is my Boo Bear, she's become my bestest friend in Florence. She's newer in the insurance industry but she's super fun so she's good with people. She's a dingbat and really silly so it makes working at the office really fun. But don't let that description fool you, when it comes to sales Bridget doesn't joke around. Life Insurance is serious and Bridget makes sure that all of the customers know she means business and she wont take "no" for an answer. (see photo) Ritchie is the Agent we work for. He's a trip, he is a super great guy and he's an awesome boss. Infact this week he's treating us to lunch at the Town House which is supposed to be this fabulous restaurant in town that I haven't eaten at yet, therefore giving us a reason for the whole office to have a treat. It's a great thing to be able to enjoy your job and have it be an ok place to go to on a day to day basis. I haven't experienced it much in my working life but my time at the agency so far has been such a ball. I hope all of you out there have the same luck I do. Keep loving life. Layne

My Family Across the Board

So while Chad and I are here in Florence we have family across South Carolina and in Tennessee! Chad's family is in Myrtle Beach which is a hop skip and a jump away so we get to see his parents and sisters quite often which is great because we love spending time with our niece, Taylor. My family is a rocks throw in the other direction in Columbia. Both of my brothers as well as my grandparents are in Columbia and we drop in for Sunday lunch as often as we can. Unfortunately my parents are living in Tennessee right now which makes it difficult for us to see them a lot, but they're really happy there and they get to travel a great deal. Hopefully once Chad's work schedule calms down we will be able to visit them in the Blues Capital of the world. Stay tuned in for a link of my mom's blog which is soon to come, it think it should be called the Mystical Memphian and her Mischievous Adventures. I'm pushing hard for it because my mom runs into so many funny scenarios on a day to day basis and meets crazy characters all the time! I'm about to walk the dog, and get some needed exercise for both of us. I sit at a desk all day and he's stuck in the backyard while I work. He needs lots of attention while Chad is traveling and working so much. He sleeps in the bed with me at night and pretty much follows my every move when I'm at home. He's my baby bear, and he just wants to make sure I'm not lonely. I hope all of you have a dog who loves you as much as mine loves me! Keep loving life! Layne

New Blogger Alert!

So with Chad gone so often for work training and little ole me stuck at the house left to my own imagination. I have decided to join the thousands of other bloggers out there and set up shop. I'm watching the Tony Awards and dreaming of being there watching these talented actors and actresses. So far I've seen performances from Sir Elton John, Stockard Channing, the cast of Mama Mia, West Side Story, and so much more! We had a great day at church today listening to the testimonies of our brothers and sisters and learning more about the Gospel. It was sad to let Chad leave this afternoon as it always is but Morris and I look forward to his return on Wednesday and having him home for another week and a half! We've got a great cook out planned in a few weeks as an official celebration of Summer and I'll be sure to post lots of pictures, we have so many friends coming it's sure to be an event to remember! Keep loving life. Layne