Pig Pickin...

It's Tuesday and life is back on the grind. Between the two of us, Rickey and I are working, schooling, wedding planning, house hunting, baseball coaching, job hunting, and just trying to get a second to spend with each other when we get a chance. Life has been hectic these last few weeks but things are going well. School is good for Rickey. He has great grades and is working so hard, studying and coaching at the same time some days! I am so proud of him. We went to Pig Pickin' this weekend which is a Delta State tradition. I had never been so I was interested to see what it was all about. Most of the day, Rickey showed some prospective players and their families around. He thought it was so cool that they called him Coach Noland and referred to me as his "wife". We went to the Pig Pickin' BBQ next to the football stadium in the afternoon with our some of our friends then headed to the football game. This was fun because we got to sit in the coaches box with Coach K and his wife. Mrs. Cindy is so sweet and fun to be around and Coach K and Rickey cut up with each other more than I have ever seen. It's fun, this is what life will be like when season starts, and the wedding has gone.. We look very forward to the future plans that we have. And its only 278 days away... Time flies....
Avec tout mon couer..... L

Insomnia gets me everytime..

Yes, I seriously think Insomnia has a hold on me.. So many nights I cannot sleep, and its soooooo annoying because I sure love to sleep.. But on these nights that I can't-what do I do? Blog. Yep. Blog.

Tonight (or should I say this morning because its 2:15 am as I write this) I am going to blog about my registry items that I love at Oxford Floral. Rickey and I did this registry about a month ago, and although you cant find it online because Oxford Floral's website got hacked into and they are STILL trying to figure out how to fix it all, I can definately show everyone the things that we picked out. YES. You read that right, WE. Rickey, suprisingly enough, LOVED helping me with the registries. When we went to Target to do our registry, he had a blast with Critter scanning just about everything in the store. When we left that day from hours of scanning and the boys on a starbucks high, I counted over 500 items on the registry list. Even BABY CLOTHES. Rickey literally walked down the aisle scanning everything in sight. I had to delete those baby clothes rather QUICK, because I just know how my little town can gossip, and goodness knows they would think we were having a baby on top of our wedding! ;) Needless to say, when we went to Oxford Floral to register I was sooo jacked. This place is just DIVINE and I couldnt wait to just stand and look at plates. And glassware. And everything! We walked in the store literally just said "we want THIS and THIS and THIS" and that was it. It was so easy between the two of us. We have such similar taste and like pretty much the same thing. Maybe this is why we are getting married. :) I know this blog is boring tonight, so after this weekend in Cleveland I am sure I will have so much more to blog about. Rickey and I are going to Pig Pickin' (not real sure what all this is yet but its a Delta State thing and so we are testin it out). Sleep tight, friends.. Love, L





ENJOY looking through all the pictures that I googled of our stuff we loved!



(from Left to Right: Top first) 1. Everyday ware by Vietri in the Bellezza Pattern (Which is the off white pottery pattern); 2. French China by Bernardaud in the Athena Platinum Collection; 3. Oneida Placesettings in the Couplet design; 4. Vera Wang Crystal in the Duchess Collection; 5. McCarty Pottery Accessory Pieces in the Traditional Brown Collection; 6. Everyday ware also by The Good Earth Pottery in the Bluebird Collection (which is DIVINE and is my favorite).

Boo...

In the movie Bull Durham (which is one of my absolute favorites by the way), Annie Savoy says that she "believes in the church of baseball". Although Rickey and I don't worship it as our "church" its a huge part of our life, one of the biggest I would even go so far to say. Some people find it so strange and odd that we live and breathe this "game" as we do. We follow stats religiously. We travel long distances to sit in the freezing cold or risk heatstroke just to sit for 9 innings and watch (or Coach) our boys play with every bit of their heart, cause baseball players don't just play, they play with every bit of heart they have. This life we lead means so much to Rickey and myself and our families and everything that has come from it we have enjoyed. Now, I have blogged before about Rickey's accolades with the game and his passion for it. I wont do that again, he almost killed me when he read it because he is NEVER EVER one to boast. Actually, Rickey is his worst critic when it comes to baseball, and thats ok, cause thats Rick. Today's blog is based upon the "Pope" of Baseball, the sports hero of the South and someone that Rickey is fortunate enough to meet and greet and learn under on a daily basis. Ole' Boo.

Rickey always calls me at lunch just after he gets out of class and before he goes to work on the field. Today he was just so HAPPY - you could hear him smiling just through his words. I said, "Rickey Noland are you happy to talk to me or something today? What has gotten into you?". Rickey answers with, "Oh yes Lace I'm happy to talk to you but I just got a call from Coach and I'm going to eat lunch with him and the other guys. Coach Ferris is taking us all out". And then I knew. Coach Ferris just might be Rickey's baseball "coaching" idol. You can look him up on Wikipedia and read about his stats and baseball legacy. You can go to the MS Sports Hall of Fame and check him out. Ask around Cleveland and Drew, MS and people will tell you stories of him. Call Rick Cleveland and get a copy of his book that he wrote about Coach Ferriss. You could call the Boston Red Sox and they would tell you about his playing stent there for 5 years and his coaching time there as the Pitching coach. You could even call up John Grisham and ask him of his stories of trying to play for Boo Ferris and trying out for the baseball team at Delta State. Grisham would tell you that his inability to hit a curveball for Coach Ferris inspired his focus to continue writing. This man, who is a LEGEND in the baseball world and has been active in it for over 46 years, sits and eats lunch with my Rickey most weeks and tells him stories of "Hank Aaron" and "watching this game or that game".. Rickey says he just sits in AWE and learns so much from him. These are such special moments and Coach "Boo" Ferriss will never know the impact that he makes upon these families, these players, and these coaches. Rickey's senior year of school, he was nomiated for the Boo Ferriss Award, a top award for baseball players in MS. He didn't win it, but he will tell you that it doesnt matter, because not many people get to learn under a coach like Boo and eat lunch with him on a daily basis. He says he wins everyday that he gets to spend time with coach, AS a coach. This man, who is now retired and resides in Cleveland, MS, still comes and visits the players and coaches and sees the field he created almost on a daily basis. His wife still comes to Delta State games with him and they cheer on the statesmen that he coached for decades. I can only hope that Rick and me will have a life like Boo and his wife, because THEY are amazing to us.... This transition from playing to coaching has been, well, Different for Rick and myself and our families. It's something New. And I will say, I was worried about how Rickey would feel, not playing anymore but I see his joy in coaching and his motivation to be just like Coach Ferriss, and it makes us ALL happy and smile. We are blessed, yes we are....

Check him out.. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Ferriss

Making a List.. Checking it Twice...

Not time for Santa yet, but I feel like I'm working as my own little Elf with the wedding (and life) TO DO list that Rick and I have created for ourselves! AHH! No worries though, all is well in wedding planning world, and we (should I say I) love it. As of right now, I have about 50 things that I need to be doing for the wedding, and then about 50 million other things I need to be doing for LIFE but I can sit and blog about it and somehow feel "accomplished" for these next ten minutes.

This Labor day weekend was fantastic. There is something so great about just being Lazy. You know, the kind of lazy that makes you tired from laying around and watching movies all day. I left the clinic Friday afternoon, hit the road and met Rick in Cleveland for our departure to my favorite place, Denham Springs and Baton Rouge. We drug Abner from his happy humble abode and loaded him in the car for the four hour travel to my home away from home. We got there around midnight and immediately crashed. The next few days were spent literally snoozing, eating, relaxing with the family, wedding chatting with Mrs. Dana, and admiring the new Noland kitchen. Now these things might be just so miniscule and small in other peoples lives but to me and Rick Rick, we LOVE this. We love the idea of being MARRIED, we love the idea of restoring furniture, of bringing abner (and kids one day) to see Papa Rick and Mrs. Dana, hanging with the brothers, laughing with them, our abita and football games, and abner time. WE LOVE THIS. Rick and I have always been family people and we love to surround ourselves with the people who make us the most happy. He and I also took time to go back to Richard's (our engagement ring man who totally made ALL our dreams come true) and pick our our wedding bands! This was fun, and kind of emotional. Rickey picked out a beautiful, yet masculine, ring that I cannot wait to see on his finger every day and I got to see the wedding band(s) that are designed for my engagement ring. Yes, I said that Right... BANDS.. My fiance' is SO GOOD to me, that not only do I get one band for the wedding, but i get an additional band "because it evens out the ring with one on EACH SIDE" he says. He's ridiculous, I know, and far too wonderful to me....What a wonderful love I have... And we can never forget about Abner, so we went to Petco and TigerMania and bought him tons of toys and new happies.. He even got an LSU Jersey that he wears and his daddy is SO VERY PROUD. I never thought I would see the day that Rick would want Abs to wear any clothes but when he saw the jersey in Abner's size (which would be a pet's XL) he had to have it.. and Abner actually, HA, LIKES IT! We watched the LSU/Washington game and just hung out.. All in all, we had a low key, WONDERFUL weekend in our future home... I love it there... We were driving home last night, back to Cleveland, and thinking of everything that we have going on this upcoming week. Rickey is starting his first week of Team Practice, which he is SUPER excited about. The idea of not being a player has finally soaked in, and the challenge of transitioning from being a player to a coach has ARRIVED. And hes ROCKED it so far. We are also still researching houses in Cleveland (to which I would like to NOTE we have FOUND A FEW!! YAY! Thank you for your prayers!), job interviews for me, School, classes, baseball, Work, and that little thing we like to call the Harris-Noland wedding thats coming right around the bend!! HOORAY!

Enough for now.. I really have to get working on some stuff......
Avec tout mon couer... Lace

Giving Back....

At a time when I feel so lucky to be able to have a wedding of my dreams, a family that supports me, friends that back me, and a fiance' who wants to spend the rest of his life with me, I have been overcome with the feeling of being blessed.. That being said, I have been looking for this for a long time and finally figured out how to get the links attached and online paperwork filled out for this to work... SOOOO I am happy to blog tonight about mine and Rickey's membership to the I Do Foundation. This was a foundation set up by a few large scale corporations to give back during a couple's exciting wedding time. Through this foundation, we have been able to link both our Target and Pottery Barn wedding registries to our charity of choice, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Any purchase made from these stores carrying our registries will donate 5 percent donation to our charity. You can also access the charity link and donate directly to St. Jude through the I Do Foundation. This means such a great deal to me because having worked at St. Jude before, I understand the massive undertaking it costs to maintain the everyday runnings of the campus (over 1 million dollars a day to run all facilities). Not only that, the hospital is one of the most amazing places I have ever been in my entire life. Angels from above definitely work there are lives are saved every year through research and hard work in the fields of pediatric cancer and pediatric illnesses that can be fatal. Rickey and I have toured St. Jude together and it is very special to us both. We do not need ANYTHING from our registries, being able to get married and be happy with each other is more than enough and we are blessed, but these children need more and this organization deserves more than any of us will ever know! If you are in search of a charitable cause, consider St. Jude and becoming a official St. Jude Partner in Hope!



Avec tout mon couer ~ Lace and Rick



Click HERE to go to our I Do Foundation link!
http://www.idofoundation.org/37740



You can also learn more about the foundation by going to www.IDoFoundation.org



Thinking of becoming a St. Jude Partner in Hope? CLICK HERE!
www.stjude.org


You can also find a link at our wedding webite! CLICK HERE!
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/LaceyHarris&RickeyNoland

Blind Side...

I was getting ready for work this morning and catching up on my daily Celebrity Gossip through E! Entertainment television and I literally was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the preview for the new Sandra Bullock film titled "BlindSide".. This movie means ALOT to me because of the story behind it... Let me elaborate..

Although I am marrying an LSU fan and being swayed into supporting LSU through watching ballgames, etc, I am still an Ole Miss (Hotty Toddy!) fan at heart and will always be. Last year I was amazed at the story of Michael Oher, an offensive tackle for Ole Miss. Oher was a standout player for the University and although I do not know him personally, many of my friends do and can attest that he is one of the nicest and most wonderful people that you will ever meet. Oher's story goes so much deeper than that though. Growing up in the Memphis, TN area, Oher's father was murdered and his mother was addicted to drugs. He had very little attention as a child and attended eleven different schools through the first nine years as a student. Oher was found, at the time homeless, by Sean and Leigh Ann Tuohy, who literally adopted him off the street, provided a home for him, helped him gain confidence and attendance at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, TN, attended sporting events for him and became his "mother and father". Oher only played one year of football before attending Briarcrest Christian school his junior year (totally three years of playtime in his high school years) and was an extremely high talent for scouts. Oher was ranked as the #1 Offensive Line prospect in 2004 and sports analyst, Tom Lemming, said "Michael Oher’s athletic ability and his body — the only thing you could compare it to was Orlando Pace". Oher, upon graduation, was offered scholarships nationally, with highest regards from LSU, Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, and North Carolina State. Oher chose to attend The University of Mississippi and was drafted to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the NFL draft in 2009.

That being said... A book was written about Oher's life by Michael Lewis in 2006 titled, "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game". I was so excited when I saw the movie trailor come out about this story. I literally cried the entire time that i watched the film trailor because my heart has always gone out to Oher and I have always thought he was so awesome to have overcome the adversity in his life. The family who adopted Oher are also amazing and I think so many times how they loved someone who had been overlooked for SO LONG, and literally changed his life.... What an impact they have made... Amazing.

Check out the Blind Side trailor here...



p.s..... OHER SIGNED WITH THE BALTIMORE RAVENS in 2009 for 13 Million dollars..... God is Good. :)

ALOHA ~

Mahalo Kahuna.... (it means, "Thank you, Hawaiian Priest".. no relevance but sounds beachy. Yes?) I just got back from a wonderful and relaxing vacation to the beach with my sisters and mom. It was wonderful to be able to sit on my balcony and drink a nice sippy sip, eat some yummy "catch of the day", and get my sunshine on.. Much needed after a busy life I have had these last couple of months... WHEW! We had such a great time and it was fun to just spend time with my sisters since we are all departing to different directions for school, work, and life in general. We got home around lunch today and I was itching to get back to the clinic to visit my coworkers and get some stuff done. I have had the PRODUCTIVE bug today since my last few days have been spent like a fish in the water, just swimming and lounging.. After I left work for the afternoon, I was driving home and heard a song that made my mind totally think and keeps reminding me of perspectives that we face. Now, let me totally write that I am not a HUGGEEE Kenny Chesney fan. Although I think the guy has some talent, yes, most of his songs remind me of most of his songs that i've ever heard. But I loved the lyrics of the song, "Never Wanted Nothing More" (p.s. if you really want to check out a cool singer/songwriter from the Delta/MS/Nashvegas area check out Meagan Rae Mitchell.. She's also singing at my wedding for my first dance. Do I have to mention that she just rocks? I didnt think so.). Not all the lyrics apply to me in this song. I dont "wait to turn 16 and drive all the boys around"... BUT.. when the Chorus strikes it makes you realize this guy's got it right here, this is what life is all about, or SHOULD be.. "Well, I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not. I'm sure happy with what I've got. I live to love and laugh a lot and that's all I Need..." - TOTALLY LOVED THIS. That's how I totally feel. I am who I am, take it or leave me. And I am so very happy with my little imperfect self and my little imperfect life. I dont need a fancy life or grandeaur things. My future hubby and my pup make me smile and laugh a TON. My family is a blessing and more wonderful and supportive than anything. I got to thinkin' today, "Man, this is just all I need...". Rickey and I wont ever be bazillionaires (well, I cant say NEVER, things do happen, they do..) and the chances are ever so slim that we might be super wealthy.. But we will be happy, and full of love and peace with the good Lord on our sides.. I look forward to our hamburger helper dinners and times when we might have to save for weeks and weeks for that little "somethin" that we want.. I cant wait to work my tail off for things that my children need. Now, Im not saying that I want to struggle with my finances or I dont want to be comfortable in my living situation. I think that most people desire for that. Im just saying that I am fine with living in our perfect little average, happy, imparticular and imperfect home and life. Im fine with being average on this earth and in this life so that we can live a life that one can only dream about with our Father above.. I've got all I really REALLY really ever need and its a pretty satisfying feeling. Any other blessings that we recieve from here on out are BONUSES.. thinking about life that way makes me happy, sure does....