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I have had the last week off of work and it’s been B.L.I.S.S. With a sick day AND a snow day prefacing it…it feels like Christmas Break all over again. There is SO much to blog about! SB took care of our Vday weekend with his previous post. It really was a magical weekend for us. It was our first Vday that counts, but I truly hope we continue to have weekends like that for a long, long time.

When we got home SB was off for President’s Day. We stayed pretty busy in Chattanooga so it was nice to have him home to rest up and unpack from the trip. We also realized though, that if we were going to try to go car shopping together, today was the day. So off we went to Gossett VW in Alpharetta. I had my sights set on a Jetta…but drove it and just felt….meh. Next was a Passat and as soon as we got 1/2 a mile down the road we look and each other and just knew. This was the car! I’ve had it for a week now and I love it! Old Greg is gone (for $500!) and the new car needs a name. One will find her soon.

The rest of the week stayed pretty busy! My break’s usually fly by, but honestly I usually spend them being lazy as ever. I got a LOT done! My new driver’s license is on the way with my maiden name and I found a new doctor in Dunwoody and the whole office is awesome. Wednesday we planned on going to Snow Mountain, but waited too late to realize they are only opened on the weekends. doh! SB had the day off anyway so we enjoyed some family time at home. We went to dinner with SB’s parents for his dad’s bday and had some delicious food at Red Lobster. Our week of getting shit done continued on until the weekend rolled around and BAM! We were hit with some beeaauuutiful weather! Blue skies, slight breeze, sun shining in the 60’s. Chase and I drove around to look at schools earlier in the week and came across an awesome park that is literally around the corner from our apartment.

Saturday morning we got up, I went for a run, then we picked up some lunch and headed to the park! You would have thought they were giving away gold! People were just as in love with the weather as we were and it was packed. As we sat in the sun, ate our lunch, and watched the families, dogs, and our Chase, play and swing….it was just a great way to end the week.

But wait!! We have one more in us!! We were going to Snow Mountain dangit!! After two failed attempts (saturday time slots were sold out), we finally got a time slot at 6pm Sunday night. It seemed late for a school night, but it turned out perfectly! There was a small crowd at first but by 7:00 we were going straight up to the slides and tubing away! I was so nervous for Chase b/c I’m telling you…those things went fast! He loved it though…and I learned again that I need to let go just a little bit and let him be a boy. We have some great pics from the week. Now…if the next 9 weeks would just fly by so we can have Spring Break!

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no more grrrrrface! Things are still the same with the previous situation…I’m just channeling some really positive energy (from somewhere?) and going to make the best of it until May. It certainly helps that SniperBen is always there to be a voice a reason for me.

In other news…I have a change in my top 5! I’ve added Bob from The Biggest Loser. We’ve been watching this season and I just love him! He’s hilariously intense and pretty damn sexy! I happen to think he looks like SniperBen as well…*delish!!!

Oh! SB also introduced me to www.thesuperficial.com this week. I have to admit that I am all about these dumbass celebs and what they are up to. This site has the goods! Check it out if you haven’t.

I hope the rest of your week goes by fast…b/c that means mine will too! Winter Break…car shopping…sleeping in…VDay weekend…*SQQQEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!*

So it seems The Snipers have been a bit absent or lazy in their upkeep on this thing in the past few weeks. Well, that’s mostly true. The main reason is that we’ve been getting settled in to our new apartment, been working like the dickens, dealing with ailments that just won’t go away, cooking, watching movies, and all manner of things. Now this blog is supposed to capture that all that stuff, so it seems only fitting that one of us go back and jot some things down that have gone on in the past few weeks.

So as you know, we’ve officially moved into our very own apartment. It’s like really real and legit now. Before it was either my place or Jess’ place. One weekend here, one weekend there. On Wednesday’s I’d drive to Milnertowne to hang with them and back here the rest of the week. In December Jess moved most of her stuff to ol’ 3202, but that wasn’t really the same as it is now. Mr. Chaserson was sleeping on an air mattress and half her stuff was still at her old place, well Jan finally rolled around and we got our very own place. Chase has his own room, complete with his toys and 3 DS’s, and posters and a bed he can call his own. We got all our clothes into the closet so there’s no hunting around in the morning looking for stuff, all the books, games, furniture, dishes, liquor, decor, etc. are in the place they belong. There’s not a single box that hasn’t been unpacked or relocated to storage. It finally feels like home. Most importantly, last night was the first night we actually got to eat dinner at our very own dining room table. That was a great feeling. Sitting there, looking around, everything was as it should be.

Reading that you’d think it’s just been easy peasy and like butter and/or cake. Well, that’s not all the facts. Jess and/or Chase have this never ending cold that has crippled 2/3 of the Sniper clan. Undoubtedly it’s from all the kids runnin’ round the school of hers touching things, rubbing their snotty noses all over the place, coughing, hacking, spreading germs and such. So she’s been under the weather for the better part of 2010, but that hasn’t stopped her. She’s a trooper and has been pressing on. She’s unpacked boxes, moved furniture, organized books and the kitchen, done about 1 bajillion loads of laundry and dishes. This woman has pushed threw the sick and got this place feeling like home. I love her more than she probably realizes. I mean, I was in a house for seven years, and it never felt this close to a home.

In addition to all the unpacking and getting settled in, we’ve still managed to have some fun. Last weekend was our fist “date night” of 2010. Dinner, dancing, drinking, peeing in a parking lot, busted hands, laughing, all the things that make up a good night. We’ve got into a groove during the week of shows to watch and dinners to cook and all the stuff that families do. It didn’t take us long to figure these things out, because we worked together. Heck, I’ve even started watching Vampire Diaries and a little bit of Grey’s Anatomy. Jess watched one episode of Heroes and was lost, but that’s to be expected with that show. Speaking of LOST, we jumped right back into that. It was no big throw-down premier party, but it was a lot of fun. The show is amazing and I can’t wait to watch every episode with Jess, and explaining time travel all over again.

Other than that it’s been fairly normal for The Snipers. The weather has kept most outdoor activities at bay, but I have a feeling that’ll change soon. I went back to kick-boxing this week and am eager to continue doing so. We are both signed up for a 10k in March that we’re not actually going to do, because we’re in no condition to run 6 miles. We do have big plans for our health and fitness though. We’re slowly moving into a healthier lifestyle, cutting things out here and there. Making better decisions and such. I can honestly say that aside from the plague of doom that appears to be attracted to Jess, we are feeling a lot better, both mentally, and physically than we were back in December.

So that’s that. I’m going to try and get some pics of the place and post them up. Not just to show the place off, but to see how it changes over time and we live here and continue to grow and add more and more memories to it. Oh, and our doors are always open for people to come by. It doesn’t take a passport and a treasure map to find us, a phone call should suffice.

Stay tuned for more!

I never uploaded Christmas pics! whassupwidat? Well…it’s been a crazy few weeks. We made it through Christmas with flying colors and everyone was spoiled with lots and lots of goodies. New Year’s was lots of fun and we are slammin’ through January. We’ve moved SO much, and we’re finally feeling settled in the new place. We have a few more things to hang, and a ‘to buy’ list…but it feels like home already. Regretfully…we didn’t snap many pics during the movapaloosa, and additionally, I had the WORST virus for the better part of it. What I do hope to do is get a few pics of the place once everything is complete. For now, I want to make sure I post our Xmas pics. Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year so far!

What a day! It started off earlier than I’ve been up since Christmas break started. Tea, coffee, oatmeal with fruit..we were off! I am too tired to go through the details, but we got SO much done. We packed up my living room, sold my living furniture, and got Chase his own room up here in Dwood. It’s temporary until the middle of Jan., (moving to a bigger apartment here at 2Blocks with more room…phew!) but it gives him his own space and a place to keep his things and I love that. He really seems happy up here and I am so so thankful for that. Oh…did I mention we de-Christmas’d TWO apartments today? Yeah..trees, outdoor lights, decor…all of it. Packed up and ready for storage. I have so much to blog about…our Stone Mtn. trip, our official move to Dunwoody, and Christmas of course! We all got so many awesome things from Santa and each other that I can’t wait to brag about. I’m hoping for a calm, relaxing few days. I have some things on my to do list in anticipation of the move, but other than that I want to play games with Chase, watch movies with Ben, and enjoy the rest of my break before heading back to work. A great way to start that is to plan a nice, calm week eating in. Here’s what on the menu.

Sunday
Spaghetti and Meatballs with Bacon Marinara (yes…bacon. everything’s better with it!)

Monday
Broiled chicken with green beans and rice

Tuesday
Fish Tacos. Muy delicioso.

Wednesday
Brunswick Stew

Thursday
New Year’s Eve dinner in the city.

Friday
Our first attempt! Roasted chicken, collards, black eyed peas, cornbread. stfu!

Now…off to enjoy a hot bath with my new products from Lush!

Tis’ the season for ballz!! Sausage balls that is. They are a must have and a staple of almost every holiday ‘get together’. Someone says ‘finger food’ and sausage balls’ll be there! Now don’t misunderstand me, sausage balls are the bomb! SniperBen and I started a conversation about a month ago playing around with different versions of the balls. “Bacon balls…Oh..I know! Jalapeno balls! …wait…what about..” and it basically went on from there. The amazing ideas never really came to fruition, however, we talked about it again while walking down stone mountain yesterday with chase (blog on that to come btw!). I needed a good ‘finger food’ dish to bring to Girls’ Night gift exchange and we remembered the balls!! Here’s what we came up with.

Bacon/Ranch Balls
Regular sausage ball mix (the bisquick kind)
add chopped up bacon (pretty small)
ranch dressing mix (powder kind)
*these may need to be cooked a few extra minutes

BBQ Balls
Regular sausage ball mix
add your fav. bbq sauce
we added extra chopped up white cheddar cheese and spices

MexiBalls
Regular sausage ball mix
extra texmex cheeses
LOTS of chopped japs. yummmm….

Maple Balls
Regular sausage ball mix
maple syrup (go on and get the good kind, it’s worth it)
brown sugar

They were great!! I don’t really have exact measurements or cooking times, but you can wing it! The idea is, think of some awesome things that YOU would like and go great with sausage. Cook them until they look “done”. I promise you’ve never ’sausage’ a great finger food for the holiday! {disclaimer: that corny but funny joke was brought to you by SniperBen}.

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Not just 1 or 2, but 3 dancing machines!

Our week of thanksgiving bliss was trucking right along. I had good food and traditions with the Turner’s and lots of rest and cooking in Dwood with the boys, so the only thing left was turkey time with the Birney’s (Sniperjess’ family). For those of you that know us…the Birney house is always an interesting experience. It’s untraditional, and slightly unorthodox…but it’s always a good time with genuine intentions from all. My growing time in Dwood lately lead to what I would call a “catch up” session when we got there. The adult beverages were poured and we chatted about the previous week and just life in general. SniperBen had leftovers, but I was somewhat tired of turkey so I passed (which I would later regret…aLOT). SniperBen got yet another look into the life I grew up in. Our holidays are about celebration and believe me…we celebrate. There was laughing and jump roping and Madonna tunes blaring and dancing. I won’t sugar coat it…things get a lil crazy. It’s a lot for a person to take in if they are not accustomed to the Birney house, but SniperBen held his own. (and later held my own….blegghh). I will admit I may have over done the turkey day festivities, but I was still very thankful to have my guy there to load us up and take us home at the end of the night. (Sorry you had to tomtom your way back to my apartment babe…I owe you one! ..or two.)

Aww, we found our perfect tree!

The next morning (after some much needed Tylenol on my part), we had plans to get our tree! Going to the tree farm and cutting down the perfect tree is tradition I have always had and I could not wait to share with the boys. Believe it or not, this was the first time SniperBen had experienced this tradition! That made it all the more exciting for me. Chase ran around pointing out his favorites, and we scoped the place for the best tree. Of course…we found it! Ben cut down his first tree like a pro and we headed home to watch some football and trim the tree…sounds simple, right?

Um… no. We got to my apartment and fought with the #$*& tree for about an hour (at least). We put it in the stand, everything looks great, let go and…wait for it…lean. Try again! Loosen this part…tighten this part..wait for it..it looks great!…wait…lean! GRRRR! This is a classic scenario where SniperBen’s patience is just what I need to keep me from throwing the damn spruce out the back door and getting another one.

Merry Christmas from the Snipers

A deep breathe, and big ol’ hug, and that smile of his and I was laughing about it with him. He suggested dinner and a new, snazzier tree stand. While we were at it…I decided to switch up my boring ol’ theme and have a multicolored party tree!! And that we did…in addition to jazzing up the outside of the apartment too! I love our Milner tree and I love the decorations. We finally rested that night in a warm, cozy apartment filled with the glow of our hard work from the day. It’s the first Christmas I’ve had in a few years now that hasn’t felt like a chore. It’s an absolutely awesome feeling and I can’t wait to make more Sniper adventures this holiday season! (and believe me…stay tuned b/c they are coming!!)

You know we can’t do anything with out taking a ton of photos. So here’s the rest of the photos that help tell the tale of our very first Thanksgiving week together.

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It’s been a few months since I last wrote anything here. In all honesty I’ve had a lot going on and finding the time to sit and write, just didn’t come easy.

So here’s a quick rundown of what all I’ve had going on. Since my last real post, I’ve sold my house, I’ve got a new job, I’ve ended a relationship (one that many of my friends had no idea I was even in), and I’ve been to my first pro football game.

Read more…

That is if everything goes according to plan. Today I was going through all the stuff I needed to do and actually pulled up a calendar and it hit me, I will be moving into my very own apartment in 18 days! That kinda blew my mind a bit. The closing on the house is 23 days away, but there will be a time when I am no longer living here before the end of the month.

After the initial overwhelmation hit, I started trying to figure out what all I need to do. I’ve got a lot of stuff already done or at least in the works, but the more and more I get done the more and more I uncover that I need to do. For example, I got the list of things the buyer wants fixed and have already had the contractor out to the house to get an estimate, but that’s 3 days worth of work right there. I’m now down to 15 days to get packed up and outta here. I still have to pack, change utilities, clean, figure out what I’m going to keep vs. what I’m going to sell, watch So You Think You Can Dance, and all the other things that go on with selling a house.

This weekend will be mad packing weekend for me. I am going to try and have most of the stuff I don’t use on a daily basis sorted into keep, sell, and toss piles. It will be like that garage sale show on TLC only with a less attractive host (me). If anyone is interested in showing up to my house this weekend to clean or help pack or help sort or just show up, come on by. I’ll be here for the most part.

So yeah, it’s really happening. I’ve waited over 2 years for this moment and after nearly 7 years in this house; I’m ready to move on. I’m sure I’ll have some separation anxiety, but for the most part, I’m ready.

Ok, so here’s the details:
My house is currently on the market for $150k
The offer is for $149,999 / I pay $5300 at closing / I leave my wrought iron patio furniture / I leave my TV and TV stand / fix a few cosmetic issues around the house / leave blinds and window treatments and hardware.

• The furniture is old, rusted, and the seats are warped…. Read More
• The TV is an 8yr old DLP that has never had the bulb replaced.
• The stand is nice, but eh..I’ll get a new one for my new tv.
• I have 2 curtains in my whole house.
• The blinds are old and some of the hardware is missing.
• The cosmetic issues are uber easy to fix.

They want to close no later than July 1st. So basically, I’ve got 1 month to fix all this stuff up, find a place, and get on up outta there. I have until tomorrow at noon to accept or come back with something since their agent is going on vacation. As it stands right this moment, my house is as good as sold.

Ok, now who all have I helped move in the past……