Jay and Michelle's Blog: 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We have been very blessed this year. We hope our friends and family feel like they have been blessed too!

Our Little Christmas Tree & Pooches

Smurphalicious

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Our friend Brooke and her fiance Andy came to Atlanta for a visit during his leave from Afghanistan. We all met out for dinner and drinks at Bricktops, then made our way over to Red Door and Churchill's.

Jingle Jog

5K, 2 dogs, and 34 degree weather. We had a great time.

Just after the race

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Marietta Pilgrimage

We went to the yearly Marietta Pilgrimage on Sunday. We both really like old historic buildings and houses, and Historic Marietta is a great place to see both. Although it was really cold outside, we had a great time.

Michelle standing near the train tracks in historic Marietta

On the way to the tour

The first house we saw was the Hardage-Smith House (c. 1890) on Polk Street
This house had been updated by a young couple from 2006-2008, and they did a great job.

Second, we saw the The Wellons-Brackman-Gronewald House (c. 1946) on McCord
The owner of this house was a designer, and she had put her 'personal' touch on everything. It was OK.

Finally, we saw Oakmont (c. 1875) on Oakmont Drive

This house has a really interesting history - Kennesaw Hall was on the property, where Charles J. MacDonald (GA Governor from 1839-1843) lived until Sherman burnt it down in 1864. Oakmont was built eleven years later on the same site by MacDonald. The current owners have spent the last few years extensively updating the house, and have done an incredible job. It was a real pleasure to see this house.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Adam & Ashley's Wedding

This weekend, my longtime friend and Fraternity brother Adam married his longtime girlfriend Ashley. It was great to see old friends - it seems that not much has changed when we all get together.

At the wedding...

Adam and Ashley

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Fall

I sent these pictures to Jay when he went out of town recently to remind him of home. We love fall and the cool weather!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Happy Birthday to Jay

Jay's birthday was September 7th. It was pretty low key this year, but at least we were able to spend the day together. We walked the dogs, worked on the yard a little and chilled out watching a movie. We went out to Brookwood Grill, which is his birthday tradition (huge steak and potatoes)! Happy birthday, Jay.

Friday, August 29, 2008

College Football Season Is Here

We are HUGE college football fans in the Sjoholm house - particularly SEC fans. In honor of the 2008 season (and UGA's #1 preseason ranking), here are some of my favorite 'Big Hits' college fooball YouTube clips:

Greg Blue of UGA:

Greg Jones of FSU dropping the hammer:

Craig Steltz of LSU:

Matt Ryan getting a Clemson Tiger paw tattooed on his sternum:

Herschel Walker - Classic:

The Hobnailed Boot
(Michelle and I were sitting in the endzone - Verron caught it right in front of us. I almost lost my life because I was surrounded by Tennessee fans):

The best things about College Football are the unique traditions that each school has. Here are a few of my favorites:

Clemson Tigers - running down the hill. The Clemson players are bussed in from the practice field about 5 minutes before kickoff, and all assemble at Howard's Rock at the top of 'The Hill'. The crowd is going insane, Tiger-Rag is playing, the fire the cannon, and the Tigers run down the hill. AKA - 'The most exciting 25 seconds in College Football'.

Alabama Crimson Tide - Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer.

Yes, that last clip was Bama beating UT last season. To keep me from sleeping in the garage (my wife is a proud UT graduate), I can't leave out Rocky Top:

Let the games begin...

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Bored

While I seriously needed time in between semesters at school, I find myself getting bored quickly. I have already decorated a guest room, have been shopping at the outlets (can't buy much because, well, because I'm in school), and so this afternoon I sat outside with the dogs. Whenever I have had corporate jobs, I have always missed being able to go outside on sunny afternoons the most. I quickly realized it was nice to be able to enjoy it for once!

Jay's favorite picture of Haley - big yawn!

On the lookout for birds

My baby

Smurphalicious

Friday, August 1, 2008

Chucktown

We took a much needed break to Charleston the last week of July. I finished my last summer exam in Accounting and we were off!

Downtown Charleston, on the water

We enjoy taking one "far away" vacation a year, and one close beach vacation, where we can take the dogs. It was nice to get away and at the same time, we didn't spend a ton of money. When we first pulled into Charleston, I think we were both a little disappointed. We didn't realize that the shipping industry had taken over so much. They always show pictures of downtown, but leave out the HUGE cranes that load stuff on to the boats. Anyway, it really grew on us and we enjoyed spending time on Daniel Island, Mt. Pleasant, Isle of Palms and of course, downtown Charleston. Here are a few pics.

Driving over the bridge to Mt. Pleasant

This picture is funny for us, we literally went to five different meters before we could find one that worked. There is barely any parking in Charleston and it is impossible to find a spot. Every time we thought we found a spot....nope!...either it was "resident only" or the meters didn't work. We should have taken the hint. It was about 110 degrees with the humidity...we didn't last long at all once we finally parked. We ran back to the car, totally drenched, and about to pass out!

Isle of Palms - We went every morning from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. The dogs could run free, then we had the rest of the day to do stuff while they were passed out back at the house!

Haley loves the water. She stood out in the middle of the waves and rarely left the water the whole time were were there.

He is checking to make sure I am still right there!

They had so much fun

The little poodle out ran Smurphalicious, Haley out ran the black horse-sized poodle dog.

Our morning drive to Isle of Palms

Crossing over Sullivan's Island on the way to Isle of Palms - my favorite part of Charleston. I LOVED the greens and blues and the pure serenity of the marshes.

Crossing over Sullivan's Island on the way to Isle of Palms

At the house in Mt. Pleasant - I think this is the night we went to the Library (downtown bar).

At the house in Mt. Pleasant

"Street of Trees" that is famous from Gone with the Wind at Boone Plantation.

Walking the pooches

The only slave street still standing. It was hard to see.

Even though this place had a horrible past, the grounds were beautiful. We walked around for a little while, but not long, it was blazing hot!

Rushing back to the car.

Boone Plantation House

I begged people to take our picture in front of the house. All of our vacation pictures are of either Jay or me. The woman was sweet and took a few.

We took a wrong turn and crossed over a swamp that was only large enough for our four wheels to cross over. I'm sure it was full of alligators. We realized once we turned on to it that it was for a small trolly that takes the tourists around the plantation. I was freaking out the whole way across, then we came up to this flower patch. After this, we had to turn back around and go back. Yikes!