It seems as though the primary activity for Athens is eating. Most events surround or are defined by food. This is of course a good an bad thing. We have gone to several more great restaurants and had many supper engagements and had some friends over to eat. We are going to have to balance this with a LOT more working out. :)

Anyways, in the last couple of weeks, my new rowdy friends and I have gone back to a couple more roller derby bootcamps. Skills assessment is next week! We aren't sure we have time to really devote to roller derby but it is some crazy fun. We have definitely been jonesing for more skating. It that intoxicating smell of feet, middle school, and half price corndogs that keep us coming back for more. I hope we are able to plan more skating outings as it is great exercise.

Adam has gotten to head over to the Athens Driving Range to get back in "the swing" of things(couldn't help myself there; Apologies). The dogs have been behaving at the dog park, but are dealing with missing a few walks due to us having too many night time engagements. It seems as though lately, we are home for about 30 minutes, long enough to throw some sort of cuisine (I use that term loosely as the last thing I made to take to a dinner was Pizza Rolls!) and run out the door again, not to return until at least 10pm. We need to get more sleep. Or add one day of hibernation...

This weekend we went to Marietta to spend Father's Day celebrating my cousin Brad's birthday and of course Father's Day with my uncle Gary. We had a great time and it was really nice to be with family again after being here for a few weeks without relatives (that is for sure the longest I have gone without a family function, probably in my life).

So as I began, I will end with the new places we have visited. "Date night" lent itself to some take out from Mexicalli Grille. It was really great. By far the best Mexican food since we have been here in our opinion. Of course, Mexican restaurants are hotly debated around here. :) The cheese dip is reminiscent of my favorite home away from home at home Cinco de Mayo. :) We were also able to hit up http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/83/804083/restaurant/Clocked-Athens downtown. GREAT. BURGERS. GREAT. FRIES. Adam, feeling a little adventurous, decided to take a chance on the Peanut Butter and Bacon burger. It did not end well. Let's just say, he is not a fan. Stick with the Bayou Burger (I got it without the sauce and it was a good decision, given my aversion to mayo looking disgustingness). Thanks to Ryan Russell for his decision making abilities and foodie excitement over all things Athens. :)

Back For Good

We are in Athens officially now! We are loving our new house and getting into somewhat of a routine.

Jessie started work at Athens Tech and is enjoying it so far. I like this version of what I do: I help people who help people. :) In real life, I tell people their passwords and reset quizzes for DFCS employees. The people I work with are super nice and I am enjoying learning about DFCS policy and getting to know the people who call. As being a help desk person doesn't exactly fulfill the longing of my soul, I hope that I am able to at least make people's day better by helping them or helping my coworkers. It it overwhelming to find out how overworked many of these people are. They need all the help they can get. I pray that despite their schedules, ever increasing workloads, and mandatory furlough days that they are able to bring peace to tragic situations.

Adam has been settling in to his position as campus minister. He is all good once his desk is organized the way he wants it. Many people think that he is laid back and unorganized but they are terribly mistaken. He is way more OCD than anyone knows. :) But with his work space at peace, he is finding some comfort and is ready to get started.
The GCSC was blessed to get a table at the UGA freshmen orientation organization fair, and had their first one on Friday. I think the boys had a lot of fun meeting people and talking about the upcoming events. Other than orientation (there are SEVERAL more), the main issue on the docket is fund raising. With a growing ministry and a shrinking budget, we need to acquire some new funds to be able to take care of business. I think this is the cause for a little stress right now, but we are trusting that God will provide what we need, despite what we THINK we need. What he gives us is enough.

We have done many fun things in Athens so far and will attempt to give props to the great people, good food, and fun things there are to do around here. Some culinary highlights for the week were Peppino's (my birthday pizza) and Five Star downtown. Peppino's has a great pizza parlor environment. When we go back, we will try the thin crust, as the ratio of sauce to crust on the Sicilian style was not to our liking. Five Star Day Cafe is a great (tiny) place on Broad, who offers a variety of interesting dishes (Gourmet Soul Food?). Both are on the "will visit again" list. The entertainment highlight was the roller derby last night. That is an amazing experience. We went with several of the students (we were all first timers) and had a blast! The place was PACKED and these people are serious about some Roller Derby. There were tail gaters, fan clubs, a dancing Recycling Bin, hula hoops and more fun that you can shake a stick at. :) There are not too many home bouts but this event is a must see at least one time in your life. Bring chairs and wait till the last half for the half priced corn dogs (yes, I am more than a little red neck at heart).

People are already on the countdown for football season. We can't wait to experience the insanity that is UGA football!

Let the Games Begin!

So officially we are in Georgia (or at least Adam is)! After a whirlwind week of driving, closing, opening, cleaning, moving, organizing, and relocating, we finally are getting settled. Our stuff was picked up last Tuesday and delivered Wednesday afternoon with props for Duncan Storage in Cookeville. Those guys are logistical miracle workers. They brought a very small truck to the Sparta house. I scoffed and was VERY nervous that we were going to have to come back and ride the riding mower all the way to Georgia, but those guys got it ALL in the truck. Not one thing (so far) was damaged except a plate that I most likely broke while packing. They even got our scooters, the mower, the grill, the swing, the rocking chairs, and the patio table in the truck. Not one inch was wasted. Best. Decision. Ever. :)

So Adam and I worked for a few days getting all of our stuff in its home (that was like Christmas to me... I LOVE reorganizing!) but we did have to add an annex (the spare bedroom closet) for all of my kitchen stuff. Having a garage is awesome.

We had some great dinners with some new friends! Thanks to Jay and Aby and Donnie and Beth for feeding us! It just so happened to work out that we didn't have to eat bologna sandwiches and frozen pizza every meal. (Although, ain't nothing wrong with a little baloney and cheese. :)

Somehow, this year has been nothing but a whirlwind of crazy. This weekend Adam comes back to TN from his first week in Athens and at work. We have graduations galore. Congrats to Sean (one of our kids from Central) and our nephew Tyler for graduating high school! We also have a bridal shower for Abbey, the soon to be newest addition to the Bradley/Hickey/Daniels family! We are excited about her marriage to Galen, our brother in law, in June and excited to have a bigger family. (We love her sweet daughter Kylie, whom Adam loves to pick on!) Congrats also to my sister in law Allison for getting a new job in Tuscaloosa working for the athletic department at Alabama. I am sure we will have quite the rivalry going on between the DAWGS and the Crimson Tide! More congratulations to my cousin Leah and her new husband Brooke who got married in Charleston last weekend. We know they will enjoy each other for a LONG LONG time. MORE congratulations! My cousin Ashley and her husband Melvin are expecting again! We are praying for a healthy baby and an easy time for Ash. Prayers are needed for my uncle Steve as he suffered a stroke last week. We are praying for a swift recovery, an easy surgery, and for this to be an opportunity for him to get healthy so he can continue to be a dad, grandpa, husband, brother, son, and uncle for a long, long time.

I am staying with my parents for the next couple of weeks while I work to finish out my job here at TTU. I am making notes for the new person and cleaning out my desk today. I am happy and sad! Sad because of all the sweet gifts and cards I am packing up from my wonderful co-workers and happy because this list I am making for the new person is REALLY insane. Prayers for whomever will take over! I am having a great time with mom and dad. Dad and I are working to refurbish my grandpa's old workbench to use in our new house as a buffet. We keep saying how Grandpa would be laughing so hard to think of me using a work bench in my kitchen! I think it is going to be cool.

I will go back to Athens Memorial Day weekend to be with Adam for good.(yay!) My parents will get to come and spend some time with us that weekend also! I start my new job at Athens Tech on June 1st, so please pray for us as we drive, strive, and thrive in a new place!

BullDawg Bound!

Welcome to our Blog!

So many things are happening so fast, I wanted to be able to keep up with all of the changes in hopes of stopping to appreciate this time of chaos and insanity in our lives. God has blessed us tremendously with this opportunity and we would like to share our excitement and joy with our virtual community.

We are Adam and Jessie Daniels. We are moving from Middle Tennessee to Athens, Georgia. We hear that they are pretty proud of their BullDawgs. :) Since our blood has never run orange, we are jumping on the bandwagon.

Adam is the new Campus Minister at Campus View Church of Christ in Athens and will be ministering to college students in the area, at UGA and also the many community colleges in the area. He has a background in youth ministry and is currently working on his Master's of Divinity at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

Jessie will be working at Athens Technical College supporting state employees who do online job training for the Department of Family and Children's Services. She has a background in Distance Education as the MBA Productions Manager at Tennessee Tech University. She also loves teaching and hopes to continue to teach Freshman Writing and other courses in the future somewhere in Athens if the opportunity arises.

We have been married since 2004 and we are so excited to start this new adventure together. We hope this blog will serve as an update for our friends and family near and far. Expect updates on life in Athens, working with college students, and general musings from both of us on various life topics.