Our Neighbors

When I got home from school last night I went over to see how things were with our neighbors (as usual).  The weather has been in the 70’s every day since we have been back, so it is nice to take advantage of that weather and just stroll around to see what everybody is up to.  This time, however, I remembered to bring the camera!  So here they are … now you can put a face to all of the stories we tell!  The first picture is of Donald and Linda; the second, of Buddy 1.  In these pictures you can notice some of the Christmas decorations that they have put up.  We will share more pictures of their houses (as they finish putting up decorations) in a later post.  We are getting more and more neighbors every day, so we will have to share more pictures of them (as we get to know them better) in a later post as well.

 

Are You Ready For Some Football?

I feel very fortunate to have gotten to see the Packers play the last two weeks.  Of course I also feel very sad that I saw the Packers lose in those two games.  Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.

Things are pretty crazy down here with the firing of the Alabama football coach.  It has been the only thing discussed in the local news for the last two days.  The thing I find pretty strange about it is that for the past few weeks, all I have heard on the radio and TV (and from Alabama supporters) has been for the firing of the head coach.  Now that he has been fired, all I hear is about how bad it is for him (e.g., he didn’t get a chance to prove himself, he took over the program in bad times – he should have been afforded some slack, etc.).  Maybe it has something to do with the way that he was fired, but it is just amazing to hear people change their minds in such a short period of time.  Anybody you ask hopes Steve Spurrier will be the new coach.

I wonder if Wisconsin will end up playing Auburn again in a bowl game.  If so, that will be 3 times in the last 4 years (2003 lost 28-14 in Music City Bowl, 2005 won 24-10 in Capital City Bowl).  It could be pretty interesting to see the reactions down here come New Year’s Day for Auburn fans.

Milwaukee Recap

What a fantastic week back home!  Our only regrets were that we didn’t nearly have enough time to spend with each of you.  Where to begin.  Thank you Kristin and Sandy for hosting such a wonderful Baby Shower for Jet on Saturday.  She had such a great time and really appreciated all of the effort that went into organizing everything, the terrific gifts for the baby, and the chance to see everyone once again.  Thank you Dad for picking us up at the airport and making a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for us just so that we could enjoy some of the food and family that we would be missing this year.  Thank you to Janette and Jeremy as well as Kristin and Bryon for making Jet and I godparents to Abby and Sam, and accommodating our schedules for it.

Looking back on it all now, it’s hard to believe we did all that we did in just 6 days!

Finally, thank you again to both Sandy and Kristin for welcoming us into your homes, giving us food, a place to stay, and your vehicles for the duration of our stay.  It is times like these that exhibit what a great family we have.  Our house is open to you and anyone else that would like to get a bit of warmth and sunshine down here.

Here are a few pictures from our wonderful week back home.

                   

Two Days!

We are getting a bit of a soaking here today … upwards of 4 to 5 inches of rain!  They say that the leaves on the trees may start to fall now, which is too bad.  I really have enjoyed the colors through mid-November.

Two days to go!  Dad is set to pick us up from the airport at around 1:00pm and will take us on some errands immediately.  What a guy.  Jet has gotten requests to bring back sausages from our trip back home, which seems like an odd request to me.  Is there anything specific from Dixie that you would like for us to bring up with us?

Oh There’s No Place Like Home …

… for the holiday’s, for no matter how far away you roam, when you long for the sunshine of familiar faces, for the holiday’s you can be home sweet home.  I met a man who lived in Milwaukee and he was heading home from Alabama and their corn bread and fried foods … in Milwaukee they’ll be joined by their friends and family, from leaving Dixie to Cheesehead land, the excitement is terrific!

Only 4 more days!  Well, with all of the Christmas music, commercials, and displays all around, we decided to succumb to the madness … it’s time to decorate!

  

Baby Room

Slowly, but surely we have been adding items to the baby room.  Just to keep everyone updated on the status of the room, below are a few more pictures of how it looked this morning.  We now have a rocking chair and another mobile.  We are thinking about what else the room needs and at the same time, how we can decorate (e.g., paint, wallpaper, etc.).

   

(Almost) One Week!

Almost one week to go till we fly back up to Milwaukee!  Both Jet and I have been so busy lately that the one item that lifts our spirits is knowing that we will be back home to see all of you in only a few more days.  With so much planned for the time that we will be there, I hope that things go well and that we have a chance to really enjoy ourselves.

Expect phone calls from us in the coming days so that we can coordinate pick-up from the airport, transportation while we are in town, and drop-off at the airport on Thanksgiving.  Our flight is scheduled to arrive in Milwaukee on Friday, November 17 at 12:40pm (Delta flight 4170) and we will depart Milwaukee on Thanksgiving at 11:49am.

Christmas Already?

Is it too early for Christmas?  I figure I ask this question after I received a “suspicious” call from a certain 414 area code this afternoon.  This “anonymous” caller did not say a word and all I heard on the other end was the faint sound of a Christmas song being played in the background.  I suspect that random caller was sending me some cryptic message.  Regardless, it is clear to me that Christmas has already arrived!  In early October, I noticed large displays in the process of being set-up at all of the stores (e.g., Target, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie) and they were completed BEFORE Halloween.  Further evidence that the season has arrived is that Jet and I stopped by JC Penny’s at the Mall on Saturday for their latest “greatest sale ever” promotion, and they were already playing Christmas music throughout the store!  At this rate, I fear I will be Christmassed-out by Thanksgiving!

Anyways, those of you (like me) that have off on the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) and like get out to do a bit of shopping, some of the “secret” ads have already been leaked at: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/  and http://bfads.net/ 

Saturday

Below are a few pictures of Jet taken today … we are getting very excited to see you all in person in two weeks!  Jet made breakfast for us today, a really tasty treat.  It was made up of crescent rolls, cream cheese, as well as cherries and it tasted very similar to a kringle.  I almost ate half of it because it tasted so good.  With Jet’s cousin in town, we visited Mt. Cheaha for some sightseeing before we went to Atlanta.  Below are a few of those pictures that we took.  The weather was very cool today as it was only in the 50’s this morning when we took pictures and it was one of the first times I had to wear a jacket outside.  Fortunately the weather is forecasted to be back in the 70’s and maybe 80’s for the next few days.  With the leaves changing and the very pleasant weather, it reminds me of August – September in Milwaukee.  Of course it is not the same without all of you to share it with us.

      

This Weekend

Tonight Jet’s cousin from London will fly to Birmingham and stay with us until Sunday.  Her cousin currently goes to college in London, but travelled to the US for a conference in Texas.  Jet told me that I never met this cousin and that they used to be good friends when they went to school together in Bangkok.  We will likely visit both Birmingham and Atlanta for shopping and a little sight-seeing.  I will try to convince Jet to go to Mt. Cheaha (highest point in Alabama, 2400 feet, about 20 minutes from our house) for some pictures as it should be lovely there now with the trees changing colors.

Jet is still battling a cold that she picked up on Monday.  It has gotten so bad that she is taking both Tylenol and Sudafed nearly every 6 hours and has had a tough time sleeping during the past two nights.  She went to the doctor today and got another perscrption for an allergy medication.

As for Halloween, I surprised Jet by coming home early on Tuesday.  I usually teach until 9:15pm and get home by 10:00pm, but 2 of the 3 students were not able to attend class, so I canceled it.  I got home at 7:00pm after finishing some work, but I guess I missed all of the action.  We had one trick-or-treater.  One.  When I spoke to some of the faculty about how they fared, they all said that they ran out of candy within two hours.  They said that there were carloads of kids being dropped off in their neighborhoods and when their candy ran out (some had over 8 lbs) they had to turn off the lights to their house.  Maybe next year it will be a little more busy by us.