(the rest of) 2010 in pictures

We went to the zoo and decided to never have children. At least none of the 20,000 who where there that day.

We went to a Phillies game.

The girls amused ourselves with ice cream.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Jeremy graduated from Georgia Tech in May.

Next stop, Montgomery. The twins love Minnie and PawPaw.

A little fishin' fun with Uncle Corey.

College friends

Laura got married and had a georgeous Southern summer wedding!

Corey swinging me around the dance floor.

The newlyweds, Laura and Charlie Holt.

A mini vacation to Amish country in July. We stayed at a farmhouse dating back to the 1700s. It also had an amazing clawfoot whirlpool tub that I plan to have in my next bathroom, if I win the lottery.

4th of July in front of Independence Hall. This is where it all began, folks!

Beautiful Lake George in September.

We rented a boat and spent all day on the lake. We now want a boat.

I drove about 30 seconds for the photo opp. I had much more fun as a passenger.

In a little gazebo at a house near Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Presidents used to stay at this house or something. At least that is what the plaque said.

The entrance to a beautiful garden on the grounds of Fort Ticonderoga. The picture does not capture how magical this place was.

A canon at Fort Ticonderoga, looking out on Lake Champlain.

NYC with the sibblings in October.

One year of marriage on October 24th. I don't look very happy about it, but I am!

Camping with Ben and Toni in October. This is a pic of the boys, Corey, Ben and Berlin.

I made Ben stop the car. I felt like "that person" but it was too beautiful to pass up.

Toni and I by the non-existant fire.

We went off-trail to find this spot, but it was beautiful. All we had to do was climb on my hands and knees up a mountain. No big deal.

A dinner in December.

The table is set...

Daddy does the honors on his first trip to our new home!

Kinda an akward picture, but I like it.

CALIFORNIA in December-- WHO WILL MOVE THERE WITH ME?

The Pacific, it was beautiful. The guy who took this picture was throwing a ball way out in the ocean and his dog, who was a retired rescure dog, was amazing and finding the ball every time. Just a day in the life of a CA resident. "Hey, I'm going to run down the street and play fetch with the dog...in the Pacific ocean."

The first mission in San Deigo, where JJ and Jess got married.

At the reception with our buddies for the weekend, Brandon and Brittney.

Decorating the tree with Amanda and Ray on Christmas Eve!

Dudly, Jeremy and Ami's dog.

I got to see my best friends after Christmas, Lindsey, Laura and Jenah. Lindsey and Jenah both had new baby boys for me to meet. All of the kids were adorable. I also got to see Laura, but don't have a picture. I do wish I had a picture of her and Charlie playing a Wii dance game, it was hilarious!

2010 family beach trip.

Lily and I rode the carosuel in Panama City.

Goodbye 2010, it was a great year!

I'll leave you with a little video from Lake George.

A New Year

Hi my name is Jackie and I have a neglected blog.

But, not to worry! A new year is here and I am henceforth committed to updating this baby regularly. And I mean like once a week. Really.

And to start....a view from the Loewe's Hotel where our National Sales Conference was held. I never thought I would find myself prancing around a high rise building of a big city in a business suit and actually belong there. I guess there are occasional perks to the most annoying of jobs.

Goodnight all, and come back soon. Up next, a pictorial tour of the last 9 months of my blog hiatus!

Gardening brings life to Philadelphia row home

Plants don't really like me that much. Before Corey left for a few weeks in March, he said his little goodbyes to our current house plants, knowing that it may be the last time he saw them alive and healthy.

But when spring burst into Philadelphia in early April, I had the itch to really conquer my feeling of gardening inadequacy. With the masterful (and hilarious) help of Lindsay Reilly, I actually planted a plant. Did have have to ask her a million questions? Yes. Could my gardening instincts be any less natural? Probably not. But at the end of the day I had beautiful window boxes, herbs, vegetables and flowers and a good many laughs under my sleeve. Good weather, good friends, a little dirt, a pitcher of pink lemonade -- a perfect gardening day.

The Process










The Result

Snowy Day

It's the second biggest snowfall in Philly history, during the second snowiest winter in Philly history. And it took something this big to slow me down? That says a lot about our lives recently. We have been running at break neck speed. It's a wonder our necks did not actually break. Between closing on our house, moving, working, starting new jobs, traveling, keeping up a social life, and trying to be the perfect twenty-something...we got lost in the shuffle.

If I wasn't filling my time with something, I was behind. So rush to Target, you know, you can't have an empty living room even during your first week in a house. And, I need to cook. I haven't cooked anything new in so long; does that make me a bad person? Wait, I've got to print our wedding picture and can't forget that I need to make that vision and dental appointment. Uh oh, my nails look horrible and I don't have anything new to wear to work but what about those friends I haven't called in weeks?

And then it snowed.

And it kept snowing.

And I couldn't go anywhere.

And I had the best day I've had in a while.

You know you are on the wrong course when it takes a snow drift blocking you doorway to keep from rushing out of it. So yesterday I slowed down. I disengaged from turbo mode and just took my time. I did a little cooking, and a little reading. I took a long shower and shaved my legs like a woman who has some time on her hands. Not like usual where my main concern is that I won't look like a cave woman in a work skirt. I recharged my battery an vowed to slow down in the future. Ahhh, deep breath.

I loaded some pictures from our attempt to dig out today. I would like to make a formal apology to Southern car. She doesn't deserve this, but is handling the situation well.

Enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's me again from my kitchen table. This time it's Thanksgiving Day, our first Thanksgiving together, ever. It is also the first time, ever, that I have not been with my family on this day. Thanksgiving is my mom's favorite holiday and although we didn't do exactly the same thing every year, it was always filled with happiness. One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is how for probably about 5 years running, we would all congregate from wherever we happened to be at a Mexican Restaurant on the night before Thanksgiving. Each year was a little different because we were coming home from different places, bringing significant others, then wives, then babies. But each time there was a reunion, there was laughter and there was most certainly cheese dip. Nothing brought our family together like a 3 dollar burrito.

I remember Thanksgivings in Oklahoma, Thanksgivings when we worked outside, Thanksgivings when we painted the kitchen, when we picked up pecans, when we went on a cruise and ones where we just sat around the fire enjoying eachother's company. Although every year brought some new change, I came away with the same memory of the way I felt.

And I just realized today what made that feeling possible. My mom knew how to celebrate and make every holiday a party no matter what we were doing. You see, I'm not with my family, I'm in a small apartment and I even have to go to work tomorrow. But somehow I have the same Thanksgiving feeling in my heart. Why? I think it is because my mom taught me how to celebrate too. She taught me how to have a holiday. I didn't realize it until now, but I have been acting out the exact same things my mother would do but just in different ways.

This is a page I took from my mom:

First,

You have to be around people you truly love and enjoy. Now, you can love someone and not enjoy them. But thankfully, Corey and I really enjoy each other's company and just have fun spending time together.

Second,

You have to do something that maybe you have never done before or just something that brings back sentimental memories. Whatever you do, the key is to make it a party. Even it isn't something that is inherently special, make it fun! Now, we didn't go eat Mexican last night. But I did make my first attempt at homemade pizza. The smell was good enough to knock your socks off and the pizza was pretty scrumptious for a first attempt. Add a caesar salad, a diet coke and snuggling up to watch a movie, and there you have our own Wednesday before Thanksgiving party.

Third,

You have to have a good smell. A smell that takes you back to good memories or just makes you feel good. Mine came in the form of cinnamon-smelling pine cones that I picked up at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Pile them up in a bowl in the middle of the table, and Voila, Thanksgiving for you nose. Sitting here, I feel like I'm 8 and smelling Jojo's cinnamon broom.

And finally,

Food. I just checked on my Apple Pie in the oven and felt a wash of joy. And the joy isn't just in the eating, it's in the making too. And making people happy by what you cook. Nothing feels more like a holiday than making special meals that fill your belly, maybe a little too much. I still can't think about eating from biscuits and gravy for breakfast.Throw in some good music to dance to while you're cooking and you can have a really good time!

I don't desire to spend every holiday away from the Greer Farm fireplace, but is sure feels good to know that I can and have a darn good time at that. Thank you, Mama.

Editor's Note: Exactly one day after the writing of this article, the author did shed a few tears because she missed her family. They dried quickly and she went on to enjoy the rest of her Thanksgiving weekend.

From the Inside Out

"Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades,
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame,
And the cry of my heart is to give you praise,
From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out"

So, I am married. From where I sit at my kitchen table there are empty boxes piled high just waiting to be taken to the street, dishes in the sink piled even higher (Corey isn't surprised), a large wire rack filled with fun kitchen items, laundry in the washer, cookies on the counter, a set of golf clubs in the corner and a long list of thank you notes I need to write taunting me from the living room. But it is the weekend, and I'm putting everything aside to share a little thought with cyberspace.

Since the last post, an embarrassing 3 month ago, I have been through the whirlwind of last minute wedding planning, a wedding, a honeymoon and the acquisition of a new roommate. Just saying that makes me want to take a nap. While I can't wait to write about all of the festivities, it is usually the off-beat, random thoughts that really get me motivated to type. So here it goes.

Thank you is the buzz word of my life a the moment. The last few months for me, have been a season of thanksgiving. While I wasn't expecting that to be the theme of my wedding and new marriage, it certainly is. Probably out of pride or insecurity, I have lived my life feeling uncomfortable with people doing things for me. I don't want to be indebted to anyone or have them secretly resent that they gave to me more than I gave to them. I want to be in the black, debt free. But when you get married there is no way to every repay the generosity of your family and friends. Neither for their time, their money, their giving hearts, or their outpouring of love. I am indebted to them forever. Many people traveled from far away, some lost hours of sleep, some did much more cleaning and cooking than they ever wanted to, some threw georgous parties and had sweet words to say. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Maybe in the past, I foolishly felt like I deserved some of the blessings God gave me and also the ones I would allow from other people. Now, under this waterfall of blessing I can't keep up and I can't give enough back. When I think about my wedding, or look at Corey, or remember my friends and family, I feel completely undeserving of the gift. What was hard for me to accept at first, is now the source of the deepest feeling of gratitude I have ever known. It has allowed me to worship and praise God in ways I have not before. It has allowed me to look at Corey in a new light and feel humbled that I have the love of such a man. I never knew that feeling so undeserving would bring so much joy. May I never feel entitled again, may I never try to stay debt-free for it is just an illusion, may I never lose the heart of praise that can only come from humility.

I was driving around town yesterday when a song came on by Hillsong called Inside Out. If you haven't already heard it, I encourage you to listen to it. Do you know the feeling when you hear a song that puts into words exactly how you feel? Well this song did that for me. Living in the moment of your joy knowing that there are so many more joys and sorrows to follow in your life, but stopping for second to thank the One who lives forever, who gave us our lives, provides us will good things, and holds everything in his grasp, ahhh peace. "Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades..."

This One's For The Ladies

I have been a neglectful little blogger recently due to the fact that....I'M GETTING MARRIED! Blogging is for the post-wedding Jackie who has no important life changing decisions to make like: hair-up, hair-down? To see before the wedding or not to see? 5:00 or 5:30? Will people dance or not dance? Everyone better dance!!

But I do have a little thought to put out there to the universe. It's about women. The week after I got engaged, I had the pleasure of going out to Oklahoma to visit my grandparents while my Alabama parents and Aunt were also in town. I didn't grow up with any sisters so I have always felt very attached to my mom's sisters. I remember following my mom around and around the house while she chatted with Cathy and Cheryl about mundane things, about funny things and sometimes about serious things. These hours of phone conversations gave me an example of what deep female relationships can do for a woman. They kept this up across the miles and over the years, only to all gather just a couple of times a year with hoops, hollars, laughing, and lots of love. They aren't perfect, but they are sisters.

It was into this atmosphere I arrived in Oklahoma, freshly engaged and on a mission. I needed a dress, and fast. There I was, right in the middle of the Skaggs women, just the right place to be to get the job done. With excitement and expectation we set out to the dress shop to see what we could find. Every dress was met with "Ohhs", "Ahhs", and sometimes "I don't think so's". We debated, we tried this veil and then that one. We tried this dress on and then again one more time and then once more. We sang it's praises and then voiced concerns, but I finally knew that it was the dress when I just didn't want to take it off. I'm so glad I found a dress. But what I really could jump up and down about is how greatly blessed I am to have such a circle of women in my family that will be so joyful with me in my joy, women that will surround me with love. That is what I felt like, like I was wrapped in a blanket of love. Thank you Mama, Mom Skaggs, Cathy, Cheryl and Micayla.

But this isn't the only example. From best friends to people I barely know, the news of my engagement brought squeals of joy, I'm serious, actual squeals. People at work often ask me for the latest in wedding plans and bring me little things like fake diamond ring key chains. I have been flattered by friends that have offered to throw showers, jump in and get their hands dirty with planning or just simply be there for me during this time. You know who you are. And all of this is not because of me, it's because of who women are. We stand by each other in joy. We squeal over weddings, we feel pregnant bellies, we gush over a newborn. We are also there for each other in times of pain. We cry together, we hash out our problems, we listen, and we care.

So, this post goes out to the ladies. We've got lots of issues as women, many can be attributed to hormones and men, but we are a darn good creation. We are strong, we are full of love, and we will be there for each other.

And to me, this is worth a million perfect dresses.