Merry Christmas from Passport!

Here's the Passport office Christmas Card! We originally took this photo in our parking lot.... I did my photoshop magic and transported us to a wintery wonderland! Looks pretty real, doesn't it?

Here's the original.

Merry Christmas!

Abigail

Peace Be With You.

Today, at work, it was my turn for staff meeting devotion. Being the second week of advent I chose to read Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV). Below is my full devotion. I hope it brings peace to you this week.

The Peaceable Kingdom, Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV)
⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ⁷ The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. ⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Thoughts

The Peaceable Kingdom is a beautiful and vivid image of what we have to look forward too. Growing up, my parents had a framed painting of the Peaceable Kingdom above our fireplace.
As a little girl it was something I could see and understand. Seeing how these animals, who normally would follow the natural food chain, could sit, eat, and rest with each other in complete peace was almost crazy to imagine. But it was a perfect example of what was to come. That everyone, not just the animals, but all creatures would be able to live together in peace and love.

As we enter the 2^nd week of Advent we are inching closer and closer to celebrating Jesus’ birth. But, let’s remember, it goes past Christmas Day. It’s not just these few weeks of journeying through Advent. We celebrate Advent our whole lives.... constantly looking forward to what God has promised us. We all long for peace. Some days in our world it doesn’t seem possible. Just remember God’s promise of peace and that his Kingdom is coming.

Prayer

God, thank you for your promise. We look forward to your Kingdom with longing and excitement. Each day we have hurtles and moments that break us and bring us down. Help remind us that it is the journey that we all take. And that you are beside us as we step through each battle field. Give us wisdom and peace that we may love one another as you would have us do in your Kingdom.

We pray in Christ’s name, Amen.

Painting: The Peaceable Kingdom, Edward Hicks (1780-1849)

My first Roast Chicken

Oh, yeah, I did that.

All by myself.

And it was delicious.

Abigail

It's Here!

Christmas is here and it's already been fantastic! Keith decorated our little tree as a surprise for me. Didn't he do a wonderful job? He got a star for the top.... it's a little big.... but it's still beautiful. It'll be perfect down the road when we are able to get a bigger tree.

Magic 96.5 is playing Christmas music nonstop, it's really cold outside, and everywhere you look there are Holiday decorations! It's fantastic!

Happy Holidays,
Abigail

Thanksgiving 2010

We celebrated this Thanksgiving at our little condo this year. Mom, Allison, and I all divided up the cooking duties so it wasn't an unreachable task for me. We cleaned up well, I cooked our Turkey breast among other things and curled my hair. I'm talking Hollywood curls here. Too bad most of my curls had fallen once the Turkey was done. It was a lovely day.

Photo - Yes, those are the parents. No, they were not posing :o)
See Full Album

cheers,
Abigail

Garden Illustrations

These are 3 illustrations I did for a garden party event. Allison was working with an event planner on the project (she did all the calligraphy & program layout) and they both thought illustrations of the location would make the event even more special. Tell me what you think! (I was really happy with how they turned out).












Abigail
Soon to be: www.abigailbrandenburg.com
(I just recently bought the domain name woo hoo!)

Our Anniversary Trip to Chattenooga!

We had such a wonderful trip to Chattanooga. It's becoming one of our favorite places to go. We've already planned where we're going to stay next and what we'll do while we're there. Maybe that would be a good place to go after school gets out in May/June before it gets too hot :o)

All our photos are on my facebook page (like always):
Chattanooga Anniversary Trip 2010

Abigail

SU Homecoming Week 2010

Hooray for Homecoming! My "Samford Homecoming 2010" picture album is on facebook if you want to see them.

My week & end summed up:

Wednesday: Our official 3rd Anniversary. Church choir was canceled and we had planned to go out for dinner but I had to do some illustrations for a freelance job (I'll post later).... so, we ended up staying in. Keith cooked for me. Gerri and I waited patiently at the table :o)

Friday: 1/2 day at work, went to Dr. Mike Howell's "Butterflies of Alabama" presentation in Samford's Planetarium, saw Jeremy propose to Crystal on the quad, coffee with Allison (who photographed the proposal), Dinner at Mike's in Soho with Keith, went to the ASO for a wonderful concert.

Saturday: Got up early, met mom for coffee at Books-A-Million to catch up and talk about "stuff".... but most of all Thanksgiving (it's at our condo this year!!!), went home to get ready for the game, met up with Keith at SU to walk with the band into the game, enjoyed the game while Keith played as an alumn trumpeter in the band, hung out later at Ben and Rebekah's new house, went home for a lovely relaxing evening with Keith.

Sunday: Church & relaxation central!

Such a great weekend!
Abigail

1,095 Days and Counting!

Keith and I have been married 3 years today! Time has flown but it's been amazing :o) I love you sweetheart!

Boo At The Zoo & Halloween!!!!! WhoOOoooOOOOOoo

Pictures will sum up my weekend. It was awesome! These are just a few.... visit my facebook page to see the entire album. Enjoy!

Our adorable pumpkin on our porch Hallween night!
















Gerri was all interested in the pumpkin :o)





















Vito, on the other hand, watched from afar. haha he was more interested in his new play cube!
















Yeah, we're not strange at all!
















Some of our dear friends, Christi & Chi, with their new little addition, little "Lex" (Alexander)





















I never pass up a photo opportunity!
















Love!
















The cutest Harry Potter Theme group EVER! Casey, David, and their sweet Charlie (Hedwig).





















Jack, The Pumpkin King! I love me some Nightmare Before Christmas!





















The Sis.... and Chi hahaa
















Now on to Thanksgiving.... which will be at our condo this year - yikes!

Abigail

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from PASSPORT!

I love my office :o) Here we are the Friday before Halloween. We always vote on who has the best costume. Whoever wins gets a free lunch when we all go out together. Yeah, we all go out in public like this. We're that kind of office. Maybe this year I'll win!!!?






























Guess who I am!
Vito... of course.
Journeying home!

Now all Keith and I have to do is carve a pumpkin and go to Boo at the Zoo with all our friends!

Abigail

Halloween is almost here!

Halloween is Sunday. But tomorrow is Halloween dress up day at my office... like it is every year! Last week I had an idea all ready but when Vito went missing I lost all desire to flesh it out. I didn't even think I'd dress up at all. Now that he's back I feel like celebrating! So, I'm going to be something simple and classic... mainly because there's not much time left until... um... tomorrow.

What will I be??? I'll post pictures soon. For now feast your eyes on my ear bobs! I love Halloween :o) Who doesn't love a witch flying across the full moon!

Abigail

Vito came home!

Our sweet baby Vito came home to us this morning at 1am. Keith sat straight up in bed and ran to the kitchen. He had heard a meow and there was Vito, sitting on the back door mat. By the time I got up and ran to the kitchen he had Vito cradled in his arms. He was dirty, hungry, exhausted... but healthy. Amazing.

Vito is an indoor cat so 4 days and 5 nights is a lot of "the elements" for him. While he was missing, we grieved like we've never grieved before. I didn't know two people could cry so much over a cat. But he isn't just a cat. He's one of our family.

Our baby boy is home! And in time for his 3rd birthday which is tomorrow!
(This picture is of him just a few hours after he came home... he's pooped!)

An important note: I do have to say though, that while he was gone, Gerri, our little female cat, became the center of attention and was so sweet and more affectionate than normal. I've learned a very big lesson from all this. I am going to start giving her more attention than before. She kept us happy while we were grieving for Vito. Gerri was our little angel and saving grace.

I think I might be a cat for Halloween in honor of our babies.

Abigail

Vito is Missing: Homewood, AL

Our Vito is missing (as of October 22, 2010). If you see him or know anything of his whereabouts please contact me on my cell #205-335-4670 or my email: abigailbrandenburg@gmail.com

He is mostly Black with Silver as his secondary color. He has a black and white checkered collar with a black name tag and a yellow rabies tag. He also has a microchip from HomeAgain in his back.

Also, his veterinarian's office is Nall Daniels Animal Hospital and they're information (address, phone #, etc...) is here at their website. http://www.nalldaniels.com/v2/index.php

The Primrose House

Christmas 2009 I illustrated our old home for my parents. This is the house we lived in for more than twenty years. London is my second home but the Primrose House will always be my first. I learned how to ride a bike in that driveway. Maggie, our first family dachshund, used to slobber up the glassed in porch door barking at everything that moved. We had Christmases, Halloweens, Thanksgivings, Birthdays... everything, here at the Primrose House! We loved this place. I could go on forever. But, alas, I have other things to do today :o)

Abigail

Good Eats!

Alton Brown came to Brookwood Mall last night. He was signing his new book Good Eats 2 (I still need to get the first one). Keith and I have become pretty hooked on The Food Network. And there you go. Alton Brown is basically The Food Network... to me anyway. We watch Good Eats - funny as hell... like a Beakman's World or Bill Nye the Science Guy show... but for food... And we love Iron Chef America! He's the main host. He's also on those Welch Grape Juice commercials. He's everywhere. And last night he was here in Homewood!

I didn't actually stay to get his autograph because they were giving out numbers and I was already the 200th person to get there. A signature to me is alright, I guess... but being there and hearing him speak to the crowd, answering questions, telling jokes... now that was enough to make my evening Gold. I did buy the book though, and, yeah, took a picture of myself with it in my car. I'm kind of that person. Goofy, yes. Keith reminds me of that daily. :o)

By the way, even if you're not a huge Alton Brown fan, you should check out his Good Eats books. They are so funny but also very scientific and informative. Guys would like them because they seem to have this... manly, power tool, comic book/newspaper look... appeal. I know Keith likes it and he's definitely a guy's guy. Musician or not. He's not into frill, which I love about him... because I so AM.



Here are some of the pictures I took while he was talking to the crowd before signing (yeah, he jumped up on the table like it was the normal thing to do) Loved it. - Abigail

New Frontier

Hello All,

I'm trying out something new. How about a freelance business of illustrating people's houses? I've done it before here and there and found so much joy in it. So, if any of my non-existent readers want to help me out send me a picture of your house and I'll illustrate it... in the beginning for free... maybe... the jury is still out... I'll keep you posted. I could use the practice :o) Let's see how this all goes, shall we?

Here are some illustrations I've done over the past few months... years... there are more but I've given them to people as presents... so I might have to make some visits around town...

Black Cats are Good Luck

Today I had a little visitor sit in my window. He lives around our office... he's obviously a stray. In fact, we have a couple of them that wander around chasing after our little lizard friends. Anyhoo... I named him Tippy because he's missing a chunk off the tip of his left ear.

I love black cats, especially in October. I believe they're good luck. Example: I was able to finish several projects while Tippy sat there... much faster than I had planned. So, thank you Tippy.

Abigail

A Fairhope Weekend

Last weekend my mom, sister, and I went down to Fairhope, Alabama. It was our first getaway girls weekend. We left on a Thursday and came home Sunday. I'll summarize below:


















Thursday

• 8am Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed car ride down to Fairhope!
• Checked into The Fairhope Inn. First night we were in two rooms upstairs (precious)
• We changed clothes, walked toward the bay.
  
• Ate a light lunch at The Gumbo Shack - best gumbo ever!
  
• Continued our walk to the Bay.
  
• The Bay was gorgeous with walking trails and beautiful flowers everywhere! We stopped and met about a hundred strangers who we now call friends. Such a sweet little town. Everyone stops to talk and enjoy good conversation.
  
• We ate dinner at the Yardarm Restaurant on the end of the pier. Yummy Seafood! We also watched the sun set :o)

The Fairhope Inn












Mom :o)











Allison :o)













Beautiful Boats on the Bay!












Friday

• We ate breakfast at the Inn
• Shopped around in the French Quarter and other street stores
• Ate at Pete's Paninis for lunch! Sooo delicious!
• Came back to the Inn and moved our stuff to the Carriage house out behind the Inn. It was like we were staying in our own little hotel/cottage!
• Took a long nap after all that shopping and moving
• Got up and ready for the evening
• Ate dinner at McSharry's Irish Pub. Yum!
• ART WALK! We didn't plan it but every first Friday of the month all the stores and art galleries stay open late and serve wine and cheese. You walk around the streets with tons of people and music on every corner!
• After all that we were definitely exhausted

The French Quarter (Fairhope Style)














My yummy Chicken and Rosemary Panini at Pete's Paninis










The precious Carriage House behind the Fairhope Inn that we stayed in the last two nights.









Saturday

• Mom and I got up early and walked around town looking for a yummy breakfast to bring back to the carriage house. We found a little ice cream shop that served breakfast sandwiches and quiches with fruit and coffee. We had planned to go to The Page and Palette (my favorite store which I'll talk about in a bit) which has a coffee shop called Latte Da! but it hadn't opened yet. We really lucked out though with the ice cream shop because it was delicious and such a good price!
• On our way back (w/breakfast in hand) we planned out what stores to come back to later in the day. While we were walking we saw in a store window this funny little cat asleep on a bed. Apparently she lives in the shop. The owners just leave her there all night. She has everything she needs... I kept thinking she'd be gone from the window later in the day. Oh, no, she was still curled up in her little window bed fast asleep :o) Made my day (even though it made me miss my sweet feline babies).
  
• After we came back and ate our lovely surprise ice cream shop breakfast we got ready for another day of walking/shopping/relaxing!
• Most of Friday we just looked but this day we actually brought out the check cards and cashed in! I bought several prints to hang in our condo. Mom and Allison bought Christmas ornaments and stone pieces for their gardens... among other things :o)
• Then... The Page and Palette Bookstore. My parents had checked out Fairhope a few weeks before we came... that's why mom was like, "We HAVE to go there." Dad raved about this little bookstore and, just like he promised, we fell in love with it. We set up Allison's computer and our books on this large table in the coffee shop and just spent about all of Saturday afternoon looking around the store drinking coffee and tea... just hanging out! It may sound boring to some people but we had such a wonderful time. It was so charming. Please, whoever reads this, you have to go there!
  
• After that we went to this little cafe down from our Inn and got some Italian takeout. Took it back to the carriage house and watched "The Holiday" which I had never seen. I know it's kind of silly to watch a movie on vacation... especially a movie that you could watch any other time when you're not on vacation... but we had had so much fun in the town and were so exhausted... we just decided to relax and enjoy the carriage house for the last evening... on the couch huddled around Allison's computer. :o) It was great!

Matisse - Store Cat! On Snooze Patrol :o)











Our breakfast from the Ice Cream Shop!




















The Page and Palette!




















Latte Da (The coffee shop attached to The Page and Pallete)












We came home Sunday morning (arriving around 2pm) and I was able to do laundry and get settled back at home with Keith. I had a wonderful time with Mom and Sis but I missed him so much. I guess I'm becoming one of those women who never wants to be away from her husband for very long. How on earth do people have long distant relationship and far away jobs?

Anyway, I'm back in Homewood now... feeling refreshed and ready for this freezing weather that somehow snuck up on us while we were away on our vacation. Such a nice present to come back to. Chilly Autumn weather!

Thank you Mom for planning this trip! Thank you Allison for being such a wonderful sister! I love you both more than anything! Muah Muah!

Abigail

P.S. If you want to see all my pictures from the trip go to my Facebook Album
Also, if you want to plan your trip to Fairhope or learn more about the location go to their town website: City of Fairhope