My Baby Love

I've never really been a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but I am already looking forward to the holiday next year...

Baby Tew is scheduled to join us on February 14! I am about 17 weeks pregnant and growing every day. (This ultrasound pic is from about 10 weeks)

After loosing our first baby late in the first trimester to a miscarriage earlier this year, we have been very anxious about this pregnancy. Praise The Lord, things are progressing perfectly and Baby Tew seems to be healthy! Brad and I are thrilled to have this little miracle growing inside me. These past several months have been very hard. At times, I felt that I might just suffocate from worry, but God is a faithful Sustainer. The Lord has strengthened our marriage and drawn us closer to Him...we are so grateful for His perfect timing and providence. Mark you calendar for September 9...we will find out if Baby Tew is a he or she!

ARE YOU READY??

Hi, Brad here. I almost can’t believe it. It’s that time again ladies and gentleman. Time for a little college football. In particular, Auburn Football.

There are a lot of headlines hovering over the Auburn Football program this year. In case you have been in a cave for the past few months, you might not know that Auburn has a new football coach. Back in December, AU led Tommy Tuberville to “resignation”. Many folks think that the AU “powers that be” simply had enough. I am not going to bash Tubs because he did many good things for Auburn football as well as the University, but from a cynical observer of AU football one could tell that a change was needed. Tubs had appeared to get a little lazy in recruiting which as many know is the lifeblood of a successful college football program. This is indirectly proven by AU not signing anybody in the State of Alabama’s top ten recruits in the class of 2008 and only 2 in the class of 2007. It is hard to win when you don’t even compete for talent in your own state.

So, the new sheriff in town is former AU and Texas defensive coordinator Gene Chizik. Notice how I don’t mention that he used to be Iowa States football coach (5-19 record). I would rather forget about that stat and focus on the fact that his last two high profile positions he was undefeated in back to back seasons (Auburn 2004, 13-0, Texas 2005, 13-0). Chizik has passed the first test for all Auburn fans in the off season when he put together one of the best coaching staffs in the SEC. Mean Gene understands that to win in the SEC you have to be able to recruit. The coaching staff is filled with guys who understand recruiting and know how to recruit, most notably Trooper Taylor from Oklahoma State, Tracy Rocker from Ole Miss, and Tommy Thigpen from UNC.

I am anticipating the 2009 season probably more so than I did the 2003 season when we were preseason #1. It’s not because we are going to compete for a SEC title or even for a division title, but it is a “new” Auburn in terms of personnel, staff, and mentality. My prediction this year is 7-5 for Auburn. I believe if we come out of the gate and win our first 4 home games there is a chance we can sneak away with 8 wins. That 8th win would have to come against the likes of LSU, UGA, or ummm, Alabama (I hate to admit that this is a tough game, but its true). With that said, there is potential disaster for this team. We are very thin along the offensive line and at linebacker…..this goes back to recruiting. If a player or heaven forbid, players go down, it could be a long season. But I’m optimistic. I think this team has good leadership and has the right pieces in place to surprise some people this year. AU always seems to play its best when it is under the radar….remember 2004???

It’s here……..college football that is.

Pastry Art

Earlier this week, I spent a couple of days working out of my office at UAB. I am so thankful that I work with such fun girls and I miss seeing them on a daily basis. On Tuesday, we decided to try these little things called "Cake Bites" at a local bakery, Pastry Art.

Oh. My. Word. These baby cakes were like little bites of heaven - divine! Pictured above from left to right: Coconut, Chocolate/Chocolate, French Vanilla, Red Velvet, Caramel and Turtle. I am still dreaming about the Red Velvet flavor:) Other flavors include Strawberry, Italian Cream and Key Lime.

You can purchase Baby Bites individually out of the case or special order by the dozen. These are a must try!

Pastry Art

1927 29th Avenue South

Homewood, AL 35209

(located off Hwy 31 in Homewood across from Regions Bank)

Weekend Recap

Its probably a bit too late for a weekend recap, but I have been super busy and tired the last couple of days. No time for blogging!

This past weekend, Brad and I traveled back to Alabama to spend time with family. Friday night, we were able to see my little brother (I shouldn't call him "little" anymore - he towers over me!), Trey, in his first football game as a senior. Well, it wasn't a real game - just a jamboree.

Trey played so well! We hope the Knights will have a winning season...Go Big Blue!

On Sunday, we had a sleepover at Walker and Kathryn's new house in Birmingham. They couldn't wait to show us their "jumpoline"...

And, their big basketball goal. Uncle Brad got a workout lifting them up and down!

Of course, Uncle Brad had to show off a little:) P90X must be working!

Happy Birthday & Must Read

Happy Birthday Mallory! Savor the big 2-1 Sis. The next noteworthy celebration will be 30...yikes! Love you!

For my birthday last month, Mallory gave me The Help by Kathryn Stockett. It is by far the best book I have read in a while. I couldn't put it down! I love Southern authors and I especially love books written in a true, Southern vernacular. I give it 5 stars! Check out a review here.

NY, NY: Part Two

On our second day in the Big Apple, we picked-up breakfast and headed to Central Park for a picnic. Who knew there could be such a beautiful, secluded forest in the middle of the biggest city in the nation? I was so surprised that Central Park was so big!



After our picnic, we walked over to the Museum of Natural History...but, we didn't stay long.


It was such a zoo with screaming kids and pushy parents, we could hardly move! On our walk back, we stopped at Tavern on the Green.

Of course, we couldn't pass up a carriage ride through Central Park!

Silver was our guide through the park.

Saturday afternoon, we finally were brave enough to attempt navigating our way through the subway to Soho and China Town.

Turns out it was at scary and overwhelming as we thought it would be. And mom, no we didn't get mugged, shot or catch any infectious diseases (that we know of). After emptying our wallets in Soho, we headed back uptown for a casual dinner at John's Pizzeria.

You can see from the empty platter that the pizza was delicious!

Before heading back to our hotel, we took a stroll through Times Square. Sorry for the fuzzy picture. You have to take what you can get when you ask random people on the street to take your picture!

Sunday morning we hopped on the subway and headed back to Soho for brunch at Balthazar's. We were told that the food is delicious and it is a celebrity hot spot.

Well the Hazelnut Sour Cream Waffles I had were amazing, but we sure didn't see anybody famous. We keep our eyes on the front door the entire time trying to get a glimpse of somebody that is known for something - no such luck.

Following brunch, we headed further downtown to Wall Street and Ground Zero. Honestly, there wasn't much to see at Ground Zero except a huge construction site.

Wall Street was basically deserted except for the tourists. (Disregard the random Romanian posing with Brad)

I guess the Wall Street big wigs need a day off too. On our way back to the subway, I spotted Alexander Hamilton's tombstone in the Trinity Church cemetery.

I have always been intrigued with Alexander Hamilton because we have the same last name. Maybe we are related.

Before we left for the airport, I begged Brad to go to ABC Home. Thankfully, I was able to twist his arm...that store is incredible! Too bad I couldn't afford much inside.

Well, that's it folks! We packed so much into our little weekend trip. My feet are still tired from all the walking!

Two for Tew

Today is our actual anniversary and I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have Brad in my life. He is the most sensitive, funny, compassionate, hard-working person I know and I am so blessed he is my husband and best friend.

Thank you Lord for two wonderful years or marriage. Brad, I love you and look forward to many more years with you. The best is yet to come!

NY, NY: Part One

Time flies when your having fun...I can't believe Brad and I are approaching our two year anniversary! To commemorate this milestone in our marriage, Sweet Brad planned a "secret" trip to New York City for us. He kept the secret for about two months before he accidentally spilled the beans two weeks before the trip:) Nevertheless, I was thrilled with the surprise!

We arrived at our hotel Friday morning. The Sofitel has a perfect location: two blocks from Times Square, half a block from 5th Avenue, three blocks from Rockefeller Center and two blocks from the subway.

Plus it was pretty posh with fresh flowers in the room and L'Occitane toiletries. I love a nice hotel!

After checking into our hotel, we decided to take a stroll down 5th Avenue. As we passed by St. Patrick's Cathedral, there were hundreds of NYC Firemen standing at attention as the family of a fallen comrade entered the church. The scene was a reminder of how much we owe to those in public service.

We ventured further down 5th and made a stop at Nike Town. Does Brad look like he could make the team?
Of course, we couldn't pass by Tiffany's without a quick look inside!

By this time we were both starving and decided to grab lunch at the first place we saw. Unfortunately, the first restaurant we came across was none other than the Trump Cafe located inside Trump Tower. Needless to say, our turkey sandwiches were nothing to write home about.

After lunch, we went to Rockefeller Plaza for an NBC Studio tour. I faithfully watch the Today Show and NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams so it was awesome to see what goes on behind the scenes.

Once the tour was over, we dropped by Magnolia Bakery to savor a little piece of heaven. The tiny bakery was packed with a line out the door.

Brad chose chocolate and I had the red velvet.

Thankfully, these cupcakes were worth the wait and lived up to the hype! The icing was unlike anything I had ever tasted - divine! My mouth is watering just thinking it.

For dinner, we got dressed up and went to Gramercy Tavern. This restaurant came highly recommended but we were highly disappointed. It was definitely not worth what we paid for it!

Then, we cabbed it to Broadway to see Burn the Floor. The show was AMAZING!!! Even Brad raved about it:) Karina and Maksim from Dancing with the Stars were the featured dancers. This was by far our favorite part of the trip. Sorry there are no pictures from Friday evening. By this point, I was too exhausted to even hold my camera.

Stay tuned for Part Two....