a little boo boo

And NO the "boo boo" is not a pun on Halloween! Hunter decided a while back that I needed a pistol, so he bought me one. He however has been the only one to shoot it or carry it, until today. We went out this afternoon so I could target practice. I kept hitting the target at the top right, so I decided if I ever actually have to defend myself, I'll have to aim for the liver if I want to hit the heart! :) I was having trouble steadying it, so I decided to move my thumb around towards the back to give me some extra coverage. My instructor (that would be Hunter) did not notice my hand placement, and never told me NOT to put my hand towards the back of the gun. You see, apparently once you pull the trigger, the action pops backwards to eject the shell. Well, when your thumb is in the way, this is what you get:

Keep in mind, this is post clean-up. We were out by the lake and all I had to clean it with was a napkin. It was bleeding pretty bad and had pretty much soaked the napkin by the time we got home! I came in and cleaned it and because they don't make bandaids that fit the thumb perfectly, this is what you have after bandaging:

Which, I really hate because it makes it look worse than it really is! It also hurts really bad when I have to wash my hands! I was really stressing because I HAD to wash my hair tonight and I knew that was going to be pretty painful if all I had was the gauze. Never fear, Mr. Fix It will make SURE no water will get into my bandage:

and, he was good, no water got it and the hair got washed! After the shower he glued it back together....and YES I do mean krazy glue! He swears by gluing stuff together, and I'm thinking this wound was the perfect type to glue back together. I may regret this later, but for now, it does seem like the best solution!

the end of the world

In case you live under a rock, a crazy man predicted that the world would end this past Saturday (May 21, 2011). He based it on his "Biblical" predictions....well he obviously missed the verses about no one knowing when the Lord will return, not the angels, not even the Son, only the Father also, the one that says He will come like a thief in the night....missed those buddy. Anyway, while some people used the prediction as comic relief, the thought in and of itself, should not be taken lightly.

We really DON'T know when the Lord will return. It truly could be TOMORROW, or next week, or next year. So we need to be prepared for whenever this may be. Even if the Lord does not return tomorrow, our "end" could be at any time. People die every single day. Every day, someone has their "judgment day", so while we criticize Mr. End of the World Predictor, Saturday May 21st was someone's judgment day, the end of their life. We do not know the day or the hour that will be OUR last.

Make every moment count. Live your life with eternity in mind.

a week in review

This past week has been draining - emotionally and physically, but mostly emotionally.....very, very draining. It is a week I will never forget. We all knew Wednesday, April 27th was going to be a day of severe weather, James Spann had been telling us that since Sunday. If James says it's going to happen, it WILL happen....and so it began....at 4:30 A.M. that is.

Hunter was on his way to work, and heard about the tornado heading towards Northport. He called and woke me up. (I semi-appreciated it at the time). I called my friend Kendall (who is terrified of storms) and woke her up. This apparently started a phone tree that I did not find out about until later that day. 4:40: My grandmother called to make sure I was awake and sheltered. 4:50: My co-worker Regina called to ensure my safety. 5:00 my neighbor (also Hunter's aunt) called to make sure I was safe. I was feeling very loved that morning. Brady and I took shelter in my bedroom closet, my laptop and flashlight followed us. The power went out around 5:45, so I turned to the iPhone for help. What did we do before smart phones????? I laid in the closet with my blanket and pillow pondering the day ahead. I knew there was a LOT on the schedule that day and I was anxious about what was in store for us. I didn't want to go to work. I wanted to stay home, where I was "safe". 6:45 a.m. the "big things" for the day were canceled.... PRAISE JESUS! 7:00 power returns.....YAY Alabama Power! I was already hearing of damage reports around campus and was wondering why in the world UA had not canceled classes yet, both school systems had already canceled their days.

Like a good girl, I got up and went on in to work. No one was paying attention to their job that day, we were all focused on the weather. I'm pretty certain UA paid me to check weather.com all day. Around 2:00 I decided I was done for the day, and I headed home. Truth of it all was I didn't want my Brady to be home alone during a storm.

3:00 ish Hunter arrives home from work and we begin piddling around the house. He decides he needs to grill something. So he heads to the grocery store around 3:45. I'm begging him not to since I know there is bad weather ahead, and he assures me he will be fine. He arrives back with groceries, and then realizes the grill has no gas. So off he goes to buy a new tank. I'm REALLY begging him not to go now, and he again assures me "all is well" and he has "plenty of time". No sooner has he left than my buddy James informs us there is a tornado between Hwy 171 and Hwy 43....for those of you who know where I live, that's REALLY close! I called him and told him to get home STAT.

He obliged. Once home he asked if I wanted to go up to his dad's or granddad's because they both have basements. I told him no, we could just stay here so Brady wouldn't be alone, and we could go to the closet if it got bad. We were glued to the TV watching the details as they unfolded. The moment the video of the tornado popped up on the TV and they said it was on Joe Mallisham Parkway near the toll bridge (which is about 10 miles from us) we both looked at each other and he said "get Brady, we're going". I did not question him, I grabbed Brady, my purse, and my rain coat. While grabbing my purse he asked why I would need that....he OBVIOUSLY does not know what all the purse aka "suitcase" holds!

We arrived to the basement safe and sound, and we watched the events unfold in front of us in utter disbelief. I can still see the picture in my head.

It was later that night and the days that followed that will haunt me for years to come. The sounds of sirens, lots of sirens, constant sirens. I didn't realize how terrifying those sounds were to me, until I heard them again yesterday. There had been a wreck and there were policemen, ambulances and firetrucks coming from all directions around me yesterday, and it aroused a fear in me that I didn't even know existed.

The dazed looks of people as they walked down the street that night, many carrying their dogs, many rolling suitcases, which I know held the only belongings they had left.

Cars, everywhere, on top of each other, upside down, all with broken windows, dents, dirt, there was lots of dirt that night.

Rubble, everywhere. Spotlights on houses and buildings as rescue crews try to dig people out. Our precious city, gone, destroyed, all within minutes.

I'm not a momma yet, but that night I experienced a mere ounce of what I imagine it will feel like when you think your child is in danger. I wanted to make sure my 7 students were ok. I texted them, and heard back from 5 very quickly. The cell phone service was very sporadic that night, and became frustrating at times. Where were my other two students? I knew they both lived very close to campus. Why had I not heard from them? I got a text from another student to inform me that one of the missing two was ok, she was just trapped in the mall....so now I was down to one, where was she? I wanted to find her, and I wanted to get to her. I finally got cell service back and had numerous text messages and voice mails pop up at once. One was from her. She was alive....thank God! The terror in her voice was evident as she began with "Miss Fowler, I'm ok, but my house is gone, my car is gone....." Now I REALLY wanted to get to her. She was scared, alone, and homeless. My calls wouldn't go through, my texts wouldn't go through. I had no idea where she was. Finally Hunter remembered he could use his On-Star to make a call, and that's what we did.....I think he paid about $45 for 30 minutes of air time, but it was totally worth it to me! All of my "chick-a-dees" as I call them, were accounted for.

The days that followed were just as harrowing. Feeding those without food, providing medical care for those who didn't want to leave their homes for fear of looters, or fear they would not be allowed back in if they leave. Helping my cousin move to a new classroom (her school was destroyed).

It has been AMAZING to see the people of God at work. The city of Tuscaloosa has been amazing. It's brother helping brother. Race, Religion, Social class hasn't mattered....it's been life as it should be, the way God intended, us all working in harmony. I'm proud to be from this city, and I'm proud of how our local officials have stepped up to the plate and exhibited grace under pressure.

We will rebuild. We are Tuscaloosa.

Roll Tide Roll!
God Bless the USA.

Devastating Times

As I sit in my house, my house that is completely in order, whole, and full, I ask myself why. Why was I spared? Why did I not get hit? Why not me Lord? My family is all safe, and for this I am so grateful. In a time where our city and our state is in complete turmoil, we see the hands of His people come together for greatness. As I was walking down the street, we asked a man, a complete stranger, if he needed anything, I thought, why do we not do this everyday? Why do we not ask complete strangers if they need food or water or shelter? Probably because we are too busy, too selfish, or too self absorbed to even notice. A city gives of themselves, of their time, of their talents, of their finances to ensure everyone is taken care of.

Why does it take such tragic events for us to come together and care? Why can't we be loving people who give all of the time? We are so much more patient, whether waiting in line or on our roads, because we realize there are others who are having a worse day than we are. May we always remember April 27, 2011 as a time where our priorities were realigned. A time where we were reminded that we can't take anything with us when we leave this Earth. PEOPLE are our priority, not possessions. Let's make a difference that will last for eternity!

wedding rings

We bought Hunter's wedding ring today. Somehow it was a MUCH less timely (and costly) process than picking out my ring! We went in one store, he said yep, I like this one, he tried it on, it fit, I paid, we walked out. I've been having some fun with the camera now that we have both of our rings, so I thought I'd post the finished project.

Andrea is home sweet home.

So, in case anyone was sitting on the edge of their seat wondering how the remainder of my trip went, I thought I'd fill you in.

The taxi ride from the hotel to the airport was just as eventful as the ride from the airport the first time. I'm pretty sure our driver was part gangster. He spoke in such short sentences and mumbled words, I could barely decipher what he was ever trying to acts me. His first strike was his plush Auburn jacket lying on the armrest when we got in the van. My co-worker said "uh-oh he's an Auburn fan", just trying to make conversation, and then somehow the jacket disappeared, not sure where it went, but it was gone. He then had his ear buds in his ears the entire time, but continued to turn up the radio, which was playing some retro funk kind of music. He proceeded to roll all of our windows down, without asking if that was ok....I mean, it's not like we were paying customers or anything, therefore, we had delightful new dos when we arrived at the aiport. We got out of the cab, I gave him a turkey sandwich I had in my purse, along with the plastic wear and the mustard & mayo as well. Why did I have a turkey sandwich in my purse you might ask? Who DOESN'T carry a spare sandwich in their purse for such emergencies as this? For some reason, the sandwich and southern hospitality wasn't enough, and he still wanted dinero, so I had to cough up the cash to pay him.

Bags checked. Through security. In the airport. Now waiting. Thankfully, oh so thankfully they had free wi-fi. Did I mention it was like 1:15 and our flight wasn't until 3:15? Oh, and did I mention our flight was delayed until 4:15....which I am now thankful for being that the original plane that was to transport us got taken out of service for a "mechanical delay"....glad I wasn't 20,000 feet up when they discovered this!

While waiting we hear a page overhead: "If you just arrived from gate X, and you've left your walker, well, it's a miracle you've made it very far, because we still have your walker at the gate."

Now, on the plane we board. Our steward was quite comical. He probably had one of the driest senses of humor I've ever seen, but kept us laughing the entire time. While giving the pre-flight emergency speech he proceeded to "swim" when it came time to talk about the life preservers, and pretended to hyperventilate when it talked about the oxygen devices. He then had a special name for every "delicious beverage" he handed out to all passengers.

We made it to Birmingham, and thanks to what I'm certain were 100mph winds, we had a more bumpy landing than the first. Safe at last....so I think. My sweet Mr. Wonderful picks me up, only to realize he has let his alter ego out for the day, and he thinks he's a NASCAR driver. When I FINALLY arrived at home, I was so glad to be here, so glad to see my sweet Braidster, but most of all, SO glad to see my own shower!! What is it about knowing your shampoo & conditioner is right where you left it, the body wash is where it's suppose to be, and best of all, you know the last time it was truly cleaned!

Head hit the pillow at 8:15 last night.

All is well with the world.

Andrea goes to Tampa....

So Tuesday began as a normal travel day. I was anticipating safe travels for my first trip for the Capstone. The plane was at the gate, on time, we left, on time, and we landed EARLY. Now, I didn’t say we land smoothly, but we landed safely. All was well. I prayed for our flight prior to and many times DURING the flight…you see I don’t like turbulence, not even a little bit. My heart ends up in my throat and I white knuckle the arm rests. I could see the clouds from outside my window, I knew the clouds were causing the turbulence, but I still had a sinking feeling every time we went bump bump bump. My prayers were answered when we landed and we were safe. What I failed to pray for was our taxi ride from the airport to our hotel. Holy Guacamole did I pray hard during that taxi ride! Curves that had 25mph speed limits were taken with two wheels on the ground at 60 mph. I could not even look down, literally, as it would make me sick. Imagine how it is when you’re on a roller coaster and try to look down….yea, that’s how our taxi ride was.

So, we made it safely to our hotel. We arrived at the front desk simply wanting to check in, place our bags in the room and freshen up prior to the welcome reception. Apparently that was asking too much. As it turns out, the lady who made our reservations made them to begin on Monday night, and since we weren’t scheduled to arrive until Tuesday, we obviously did not show up on Monday night. (I’m not sure how you make flight reservations for Tuesday, but then hotel reservations for Monday, but alas, that’s what happened). So, since we were a no-show, they cancelled our rooms AND booked them for other people AND they were sold out. So now we are in Tampa, safe & sound, but have no where to stay. Thankfully the METI staff was more than accommodating and provided us with “whatever we wanted” to eat and/or drink while we waited. They then put us up in the hotel across the street, which was an Embassy Suites, and it was a MUCH better deal! We all had suites with a living area separate from the sleeping area, free breakfast – and I’m not talking about croissants and cereal, I mean made to order omelets, eggs, sausage, bacon, bagels, toast, cereal, fruit, potatoes…..and I could go on. They also had free happy hour every night….not that this was utilized, it’s just the point.

The rest of the conference was wonderful and I am now awaiting my flight back to Birmingham. I am praying it is totally event free and praying we will arrive prior to the bad weather that is anticipated for tonight. Currently our flight is delayed.

Drum Roll Please......

I'm engaged!!!! [insert exciting scream here!]

After being friends for 3 years and dating for 6 months, we are now officially "official" :) Poor fella, everyone has been hounding him about when the ring was coming. I tried not to bug him too much because I knew the pressure was coming at him in all directions! Because of this, he knew he couldn't concoct anything elaborate or I would be suspicious from the beginning.

It began as an average Tuesday morning, (January 18th) he asked if I had plans for dinner. I (thankfully) did not. He offered to grill hamburgers that night, and I thought that sounded like a stupendous idea. (at this point in the story I'm always afraid people are going to think he hid my ring in ground meat, but he didn't). So, as usual, I called him when I left work to see what he was doing, and he was heading to the grocery store. I came home and began organizing my pantry (Mr. Wonderful had hung new shelves on my pantry door the night before, and for those of you who know me, know that organizing is my heaven).

He then arrived at my house and brought the groceries in, and I asked for the items to put in my newly organized pantry. He handed me several cans of pringles (I'm still not sure why we need so many varieties, but alas, we apparently do) and then handed me a card and said "I picked this up for you because I knew you hadn't felt good this weekend, so I thought this would cheer you up". At this point, I'm still just thinking he has earned major brownie points for being so thoughtful to pick up a card for an ailing girlfriend. I opened the card, and the words could not have been more thoughtful. To spare you from wanting to gag yourself, I will not repeat it word for word, but basically it said "You're the one I want to share my life with, and share my hopes and dreams with". At the end he had hand written "so with these things being said...." and then at the very bottom "will you marry me?" At this point I'm thinking, if this is a joke, it's a very cruel one, and if this is for real, OH MY GOSH! so, I turned around, with what I'm certain was a very confused look on my face, and he was down on one knee, ring in hand.

At this point, I still had my opal ring on my left hand (the ring that has been the source of MUCH confusion in some recent fb posts), so I had to remove it. He had laid the ring box down at this point, and silly me reaches for the ring to put it on myself. As I grabbed it, I realized HE needed to put it on me, and so he did.

I failed to mention that I said Yes! Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if I ever actually did. I remember "OH MY GOSH", I remember saying, "I'm in shock", I remember "I'm so surprised" but I don't remember if I actually ever said the word "yes". Oh well, it was obviously understood that I would accept the ring - which btw - is absolutely beautiful and he picked it out all by himself!

Wedding details are in the infant stages, but I'm certain I'll keep my audience up to date with all things wedding related!

Love, the Bride to be.....

Snow?

Disappointed would be an understatement. I wanted snow, real snow, lots of snow. Not a dusting and some ice. All of my north Alabama friends and family have 8-10" of snow, my ATL friends have 5-8" and I have a yard that looks like someone sprinkled a salt shaker over it. I just wanted to make a snowman and some snow cream. Is that too much to ask?

Here is my "salt shaken yard":




Hope you and yours have had an awesome day playing in the snow!

Snow Lesson

For those of you who live in the South, you know we go slightly crazy when the "S" word is mentioned. Well, today we have it, snow and sleet AND it's sticking! As I looked out the window and saw the first few HUGE flakes falling from the sky, and I began jumping up and down like a two year old, I had an epiphany.

The first few flakes that fell were huge and just as beautiful as the flakes that will fall once the ground is covered in snow. But, if I had not seen those flakes fall with my own eyes, I would have never known they fell. The same is true in our lives. Each one of us have a contribution to make. Some people may feel they are not important, or they go unnoticed, or they may think it wouldn't matter if they contributed or not, but each one is just as vital to the body of Christ. We all have a part to play. Some may be the first few "flakes" of snow that fall, the people who lay the ground work. Some may be the middle, the people who connect the generations. Some may be the final flakes that fall and make the beautiful, undisturbed snowy blanket that we see. It takes every single snow flake to make that beautiful snowy blanket. It takes every single Christian to accomplish God's perfect plan. You are unique and needed. You contribute to the plan. You have a purpose. Never underestimate what you can do.

Enjoy the snow day!