Our Snowy Soirée

Michael, Scarlett and I had a great time playing in the snow this morning. Click here to take a look at some pictures from our adventures in the snow!

SAG Awards Best and Worst Dressed

As most ladies do, I love, love, love awards season! I watch the awards shows to see who wins of course, but more than anything, I'm obsessed to see who looks hot and who got it wrong on the red carpet. I'm not a recognized member of the fashion police, but I do think I know a little bit about who looked stunning and who should have opted to pay for a personal stylist! Here are my picks for the Best and Worst Dressed:

The Losers

The Winners

Most Improved from the Golden Globes

Most Disappointing after the Golden Globes

Honorable Mentions

MLK Day of Service

This Saturday, I had the opportunity to join Michael for the MLK Day of Service at UT. Michael works for the TeamVOLS office at UT, and it is his job to assist a group of students with organizing volunteer projects for other UT students and organizations. Michael's job is very rewarding because he gets to work first hand with students who are dedicated to community service. I was very excited to get to join him on Saturday for the biggest one-day community service project his office organizes. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, students come together each year for a day of service to honor the civil rights leader. This year was the biggest ever, with over 350 students who volunteered at 14 different area sites. Our group volunteerd for the Bridge Refugee Services office. This office receives refugees who are forced to flee their countries as a result of violence, rape, torture, genocide, and religious, political, and racial persecution. When we first arrived, we met the director named Marilyn who explained to us that the Knoxville office receives approximately 150 refugees a year, mostly from Iraq and the Middle East, Burma, and Africa. They expect to welcome over 300 this year as a result of the earthquake in Haiti. To give us an example of what these refugees have gone through, she told us the story of a woman from the Congo who was a victim of genocide. After being raped by the militia, she was forced to watch the soldiers mutilate and murder six of her children with a machete. She fled to the U.S. with two of her children with the help of the refugee services. To help Marilyn, our small group organized the donations for the office by separating clothing, blankets, towels, household items, and furniture. When refugees arrive, the office furnishes a standard apartment for the family by giving them clothing, a bed, a few pieces of furniture, towels, a comforter, and cooking utensils. Trust me, they get the bare essentials, but it's enough to get them on their feet. For six months, the office helps refugees get acclimated to living in the U.S. by teaching them about our culture and helping them learn English with the hope that they will be prepared enough to get a job within six months. As Marilyn assured us, the purpose of Bridge Refugee Services is not to give the refugees a place to live and a few household items, the greater purpose is to give the refugees enough confidence and dignity to learn to help themselves once the six months is over. It was amazing to be able to learn about what this office does and to be able to help them with the little work we did. It really made me proud to know that places like this exist and so many people in our country understand the value of humanity. Refugee services exist all throughout the United States in very many cities and towns. More than anything, the part of this experience that touched my heart was that 353 UT students came together to volunteer. I know that when I was in college, community service was not at the top of my list of ways to spend my time, so I was really motivated to see so many young men and women who were eager to volunteer. It was a great day of service that truly honored Dr. King. Here are pictures from the day:

Michael manning the registration table.

A group of students getting ready to head to Chilhowee Park.

Our clothing table (I wish I would have taken a before picture).

This is the only storage the office has for household items.

It was a disaster before we got started.

Our group!

Name Games

Let's face it, my name has been butchered a lot! It's an easy name to say, and it rolls right off your tounge, but when it comes to strangers spelling my name, something mysterious happens! Today, I witnessed the worst mispelling of my name EVER, but I'll get to that in a minute. The name game started long before I met Michael and became a "McGreevey." It all began with my first name long, long ago. The go-to spelling for my name ends in "Y." I don't know if people are all too familiar with the whiskey, like to associate my name with "candy," or simply don't give my parents credit for being a little creative because they never seem to get it right! Trust me, as a young girl, I checked out all the gift shop displays that offered personalized key chains, door plates, and your very own spoon, and I never found Brandi with an "I." My maiden name was even better. Gullett, pronounced like "mullet" with a G, was first butchered in my kindergarten yearbook. There I was in my first class picture looking so cute, and they had named me "Brandi Bullet!" I was a mortified 6 year old! For years to come I prepared myself for the first day of class and waited to hear how my teacher would pronounce my last name. Gillette (like the razor) was a popular favorite and Gool-lay, though it sounded much more dignified and French was the second most popular choice! I was happy to acquire the name McGreevey. What an easy name to pronounce and spell! To me, it looks exactly how it sounds, and I have learned to forgive those who leave out the extra "e" at the end. It sneaks up on you if you're not used to it. That's really the only issues I've had with people spelling my name, and it is so nice to have a last name that people pronounce and spell correctly...at least until today! I was honored with being selected as the 2009 Employee of the Year at Fox Den. Aside from the great gifts that come along with the title, having your name added to the Employee of the Year plaque is another perk of the award. Well...my coveted name plate came in today! You can't imagine the excitement I felt tearing through the package which held the trophy that would be permanently placed on the country club wall. I finally pulled it from the final envelope, and my heart immediatley sank. There it was in big bold letters:

BANDI MCGREEVEX

2009 Employee of the Year

Finally Posted Some Pics

Michael, Scarlett, and I enjoyed the most perfect January day yesterday. We took a long walk around UT and along the Tennessee River. Click on the picture above to check out my photo blog.

Two Beautiful Baby Boys

This past weekend, two of my very good friends from college gave birth to beautiful baby boys!

Britnie Drake gave birth to her first son Dax Garrison Drake on Friday at 11:43 a.m.. Dax weighed 6lbs 5oz, and he was 19.5 inches long. He is already preparing for a football career at Alabama! Britnie and Garrett are the proud parents, and Michael and I have been friends with them for quite a few years. I lived with Britnie for a little while when we were both at Henderson, and I was with her the night she met Garrett for the first time at his apartment in Whispering Oaks! They are a wonderful and fun couple, and I wish them the best with their first baby boy! Congratulation Britnie and Garrett!

Baby Dax

Nicole Bingham gave birth to her second son Everett yesterday morning. He weighed in at 7lbs 12oz. Unfortunately, there were some complications with his delivery, but with everyone's prayers and a great team at Arkansas Children's Hospital, baby Everett is doing well. Nicole has always been a dear friend since I first moved to Arkadelphia. She is my big sis in Alpha Sigma Alpha, and I have some of the best memories of college with her like spring break 2002! We thought we were something back then! She and Kevin are an awesome couple...I don't think she could have met a funnier guy! I had the opportunity to be in their wedding in 2006, and Nicole was also a bridesmaid in our wedding, so they have always both been special to Michael and me. Everett has joined their family of three, and I am sure Jacob is very excited to be a big brother! Congratulations Nicole and Kevin!

Baby Everett

Kevin, Nicole, Jacob, with baby Everett on the way!

Britnie and Nicole, I wish you all the luck in the world as moms! I am so happy for you both! Please keep baby Everett in your prayers, so Kevin and Nicole can get him home quickly!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I wanted to wish my beautiful mom a very Happy Birthday! She is the most wonderful and strongest woman I know, and she is such a blessing in my life! I love you mom with all my heart! I hope you have a great birthday!

The Things I Can't Live Without!

Today, it was finally time to tackle some cleaning, and I saved the best for last...my rediculously cluttered closets...yes I had two to take care of. I know many of you are like myself, and we have stuffed our closets to the brim with things we just aren't willing to part with, hopelessly waiting for those few little items we splurged on three years ago to miraculously come back in style.

Thank God, as I have gotten older, my style has edited itself down to be more classic, both in my clothes as well as my home decor, but there are still days that I take a slow look around the house at items I've bought and say to myself, "What on Earth was I thinking!" Everytime I begin to clean out my closets and declutter our apartment, I always realize I could have saved myself a lot of money over the years if I only stuck to the things I could not live without. So just for fun, I decided to make a list of the top 10 things I can't live without in my life. It sounds so much better to say there are 10 things in life I could not live without (Michael, Scarlett, water, my job, soap, and a roof over my head don't count), but I can't seem to narrow it down to less than 12, and I can think of a few more must haves I could sneak into my list, but I'll refrain.

So...here we go, these are the top 12 items, in no particular order, I could not part with if I had to get rid of everything!

1. Moisturizer

2. Jif Peanut Butter
3. Nikon D80 Camera

4. Banana Republic Trench

5. Over-the-Knee Boots

6. Almonds

7. Citizen Jeans

8. Internet

9. Metallic flat sandals

10. TV

11. Workout Outfit (including shoes)

12. Coffee

Help Us Help Haiti

As all of you have seen the headlines racing across all major news stations, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 rocked Haiti 10 miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince and has decimated the country. I'll be the first to admit, that with the Lane Kiffin news around Knoxville, I didn't really pay much attention to the earthquake's devastation until this morning while I witnessed coverage of the Haitian survivors on ABC News. I decided this morning that Michael and I must do something to help these people who were already suffering before the earthquake struck. Michael and I decided to donate to help the people of Haiti, and I encourage all of you who read this to help them to. I know that many of us are very skeptical of "philanthropic" organizations who claim to help those in need, so I wanted to share an email I received from the Young Democrats of America that gives names of reputable organizations you can trust to put your donation to good use: "The International Affairs Committee is working to coordinate efforts to help the people of Haiti. While we know that needs are many and the full impact of the earthquake is yet to be known, there are a few things that you can do right now.

• Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross' efforts to aid the victims of the tragic Haitian earthquake. The donation will be charged to your cell phone bill. • Text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti, an organization started by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean to provide humanitarian aid to Haiti. • Donate your Facebook status or Twitter: "Young Democrat asks you to text "Haiti" to 90999 right now from your mobile phone and give $10 to the American Red Cross or text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 via your cell phone bill to Wyclef Jean's Yele organization." • Donate online: the International Affairs Committee has identified several organizations that are assisting with the efforts in Haiti:

o Unicef o Save the Children o Mercy Corp

Right now the need is monetary donations to assist with rebuilding the infrastructure so that additional aid can be received and properly disbursed. The International Affairs Committee will send additional information regarding canned food, clothing and supply drives or volunteer opportunities in the near future." Michael and I chose to donate to the American Red Cross. We donated online, but there are several accessible ways to donate to the disaster relief fund in Haiti. It is my hope that all of you who read this will pitch in and donate at least $10, but if you are unable to donate monetarily, I ask that you pray for all of the Haitians who are suffering from this terrible catastrophy. I thank God that Michael and I are safe, healthy, and happy, and I pray that He will lift the spirits of all of the survivors and give them the strength to carry on.

I love BIG LOVE

If Michael would have never developed an obsession with HBO's Entourage, then I wouldn't have fallen in love with Big Love. The show just debuted its fourth season, and I didn't really watch it until this past fall when they began airing previous episodes leading to Season 4. Well...I'm hooked! I literally spent all day Sunday and Monday cozied up on our couch watching all of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4. If any of you have HBO, check out this guilty little pleasure!

A Walk to Remember

Last night, Knoxville got a Whopping 1" inch of snow. You would have thought the world was coming to an end! For some of us, it kinda did...especially those of us who aren't equipped to walk through snow and ice in 3" inch spiked heels! 1" inch of snow doesn't sound bad at all, right? But snow plus 6 days of below freezing temperatures in the South makes for a highly panicked, drop everything and go get bread situation! And of course, Michael and I headed home at the same time that all the frantic Knoxvillians did. Both of us thought we beat the worst of it; however, we weren't prepared for what awaited us just two blocks away from our apartment...a giant hill covered in ice and flanked with car after abandoned car. What were we going to do...there was no way to get down the hill in a car, but we knew we had to get home. There's a dog in there for Pete's sake!!!! Well...we did what we had to do. We jumped ship (car) and took a nice leisurely walk through the snow, taking up a nice space at the mall and neighborhood nursing home only to be forced to trek through our unknown neighbors' backyards and the giant field that all of us refer to as the dog poop patch. I'm glad I avoided getting pooh on my shoe! We made it safely home, but it was definitely a walk to remember. We made the hike this morning as well, but I am happy to say that the road home had thawed enough this afternoon, which made it possible for us to both get our cars home. YAY!!! Just lovely!

Almost there! Early morning trek! Thanks for the snow boots mom! The cars still stuck on the hill this morning

Dogs and God

I've been aimlessly going from blog to blog on here for the past two hours just seeing what's out there and what people can't live without. I've come up with an answer to my search. People absolutely canNOT live without two things: DOGS and GOD!
I know I certainly couldn't!

Why a second blog?

Welcome to my first post of blog #2! Why a second blog you ask? I began blogging in spring of last year when I started getting into photography. I wanted to share the photos I had taken with my friends and family, and I chose to start the blog to keep in touch. I absolutely love taking photos of all the places Michael and I go, but I don't always have my camera with me; therefore, blog posts don't get written if pictures don't get taken. Since it is a photography blog, I feel it is important to include pictures! But sometimes I have a lot to say, or I just want to share with everyone how our lives are going, and I don't always have a picture to go along with my story...so I decided why not start writing a different blog where I actually get to write! Not only is this a good opportunity for me to share my thoughts and let those who love me know what's happening in our lives, it also gives me a great excuse to begin writing again, which is something I have been meaning to do for a very very long time. Most importantly, I find that time keeps going by faster and faster, and I can't remember what I was doing six months ago. It is my intention for this blog to give me the opportunity to record the day to day events of our little lives and to serve as a reminder of how blessed we truly are! So...I hope you will enjoy the "writing" that awaits, and I hope I will interest you with my future posts. Afterall, this is just about a guy, a girl, and a dog. I don't know how interesting it can be.