welcome to our family

p town

2005-12-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

sam and i are having a wonderful and relaxing trip in mississippi. we came tocelebrate thanksgiving and it couldn't be lovlier. we have made several trips to walmart. we got to eat at edd's. we even got to spend some money at mcraes. we got a fancy coffee maker, glasses (everyone complains we don't have enough), and a cheese slicer. we also decorated the trailer with tons of christmas lights. sam did an amazing job, really. we are going to sleep in, have one of mam lou's famous breakfasts and then head home to see our darling christy in her betsy dress on her bday. love you all.

lesley and sam

talkin bout my inspiration

2005-10-03T10:14:00.000-04:00

hello everyone! it's lesley and sam.
please keep us in your prayers these days. we are trying to grow as a married couple and we would love to be able to move in to a house soon. one of the main problems is that sam is having a difficult time finding a job in atlanta. everything is done online and it is really hard to get a feel for companies and to figure out if many oppurtunities are even legit. sam has so much to offer and i just want him to be happy and to feel challenged and successful.

we are both in a place where we are so ready to have a place of our own and a place where we can eventually have children.

I want to live somewhere like this:

the other day i was listening to the bert show and paula dean was on there and her story is amazing!!

Hundreds of patrons line up everyday in front of the The Lady and Sons restaurant in Savannah for just a glimpse of the owner. Paula Deen’s best selling cookbooks, her hit show Paula’s Home Cooking on the Food Network, and most importantly her personal story have become a positive force for millions of people.

Living with agoraphobia for twenty years and a crumbling marriage, Paula was left with two growing sons and no source of income. As a girl reared in the deep South, Southern cooking was in her heritage and the kitchen became her only hope. With only two hundred dollars and her sons, Paula launched a home-based lunch delivery service called The Bag Lady in June 1989. The business model was simple: She made the sandwiches and her sons went out and sold them.

Two years later, with The Bag Lady growing too large for a home-based operation, Paula opened her first restaurant on Savannah’s Southside called The Lady and within five years, it also became too successful for such a small space with limited seating. On January 1996, Paula and her sons went from selling tuna fish sandwiches in saran wrap to running their own downtown restaurant in Savannah’s City Market. The Lady and Sons opened her doors to faithful customers, celebrity clientele, and thousands of Savannah visitors seeking out Paula's famous fried chicken.

Paula self-published her first cookbook in 1997, The Lady and Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. A major publishing house quickly picked it up after a literary agent unexpectedly came into the restaurant for lunch to escape a thunderstorm. She bought the book and immediately saw its potential. Paula began her road to national recognition in 1998 by promoting its sale on QVC television where it became one of the best selling cookbooks. In 1999, she published her second best seller The Lady and Sons, Too! and her third The Lady and Sons Just Desserts in 2002.

Paula’s Home Cooking aired on the Food Network on November 16, 2002 to rave reviews and was immediately embraced by the public.

In 1999, USA Today awarded The Lady and Sons restaurant the "International Meal of the Year," and a guest appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show triggered hundreds of letters from women who took charge of their lives after watching Paula tell her story.

Paula’s deft hand in the kitchen, combined with her flair for dramatic touches, have set her restaurants and cookbooks apart from the others . Her determination, hard work, and innate warm Southern charm have done the rest.

she is so adorable and inspirational! i just love her.

our own piece of katrina

2005-09-08T11:20:00.000-04:00

well as most of you know sam and i had to go on our own rescue mission to pascagoula to get his parents and dog. it has been such a testimony in our lives of how the Lord works and how provided for we are. we were so thankful to be able to get sam's family out of such a devastating situation that many are still living through.

on the way there we got our first flat tire. we were trying so hard to get there as soon as we got the go ahead that we were crushed when we had to pull over. our tire was melting off of the truck and all the other tires looked as if they were going soon as well. i was distrating myself with a book so i had no idea where we were. when i asked sam he told me we were in lagrange. i almost burst in to tears because i knew that we weren't far from my aunt and uncle who own a tire shop in where else but Lagrange. i called me aunt and she asked me where we were and i told her and she was quiet for a second and said that we were right in front of their exit! how amazing God is to protect us. my uncle was there in about five minutes to change our flat to the spare and then they gave us four new tires and sent us on our way. i couldn't believe the blessing or their generosity. uhhh, the amazingness of our God i can not explain!

here's the tire!

the sun sat the quickest i've seen, but we made it safe and sound right at curfew. the town was dark and bleak, no lights no noise, and the air was thick and hot. when we got to the house we couldn't see much. there were thin strands of light coming from walking flashlights and the smell was one to rival any port-a-pottie, but we were there, finally!

we ended up spending the night and the generator allowed us to sleep with a fan. hallejuah.

early the next morning we were able to survey the damage. here are some pictures:

the inside of sam's home was flooded with sewage and sediment

more of sam's home

the damage near the coast was horrific, clothes and trash littered the yards.

please continue to pray as we have no idea what to expect in the coming months. thank you to everyone for loving us and blessing us sooooo much. we would crumble without you!

"kelly clarkson rocks," sam said.

2005-08-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

When Did Kelly Clarkson Become So Hip?

Everyone from Yellowcard to Steve Carell sings her praises.

by Corey Moss

Kelly Clarkson (Photo: Getty Images)

Over the past few months, former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody has found himself taking less and less flak from rock fans for producing part of Kelly Clarkson's album Breakaway.

"Now it's cool to like Kelly Clarkson, so I'm in the clear," Moody said. "She's kind of popular now."

Clarkson, of course, has been popular in pop circles since winning "American Idol" four years ago. What Moody means is it's slowly become de rigueur for artists and music fans outside of that world to cheer on Clarkson, who is nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards this year (see "Green Day, Gwen, Missy Nab Most Nominations For MTV Video Music Awards") and will also perform at the show.

In an informal survey of rockers and other hipsters, nearly all of the artists polled copped to liking at least something about the Burleson, Texas, singer. (Sorry Kelly, System of a Down still have no idea who you are.)

So how did the 23-year-old former Red Bull girl transform herself from the next Jessica Simpson into a genuinely cool rock-and-roll singer?

"Here's the thing about Kelly Clarkson," Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump said. "At the end of the day, she's an amazing singer, and you can't fault her for that."

Clarkson can certainly blow, as Randy Jackson would say, but so can, say, Simpson. The difference is Clarkson's seen more as the girl next door, and as someone without a manufactured sound or image.

"I think Kelly Clarkson is good because she's real," Simple Plan singer Pierre Bouvier said. "You see her live and you're like, 'All right!' Even if you don't like her style, there's nothing about her that's bad, because she's sweet and she's talented. What else do you want?"

"She's the real deal, so it's not as lame as some other people," Yellowcard singer Ryan Key added. "I hope at some point people will realize what's real and what's not real, and who's an artist and who's not, and who doesn't deserve to be."

From the beginning, Clarkson has always come off in interviews as a sweet Southerner incapable of the diva attitude associated with many of her peers.

"I met her briefly and she seems to have a really great spirit and I think that's the beginning," singer Ciara said. "Your personality is very important, your spirit is very important and she already has that."

"There are so many people out here in the industry that pretend to be something else and she's really one of those that's really, really true from the heart," added R&B crooner Frankie J.

Still, something happened between the release of Clarkson's debut album and now, something that forced other artists to give her a chance. Something called "Since U Been Gone," a tune with the kind of legs that pop music hasn't seen in years.

"It's incredible," Yellowcard's Key said. "It gets in your head and won't leave."

"You have to listen to that song at 11, that's just the way it is," added Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman, who recently caught himself pulling up to the beach with "Since U Been Gone" blaring from his car radio.

Indie rocker Ted Leo saw the video one morning earlier this year and decided to play an acoustic cover of it for a videotaped Web session a few hours later.

"I was like, 'Wow, that's a shockingly good song for a pop star,' " Leo said. "It's just one great hook after another. I also really appreciate the more advanced pop pastiche aspects of it. It's written in a way that is so transparent in terms of drawing from a lot of what's vaguely edgy and popular right now, but put together in such a perfect little package. It's undeniable."

Even though Leo only played it a few more times, bootlegs of his performances circulated around the Internet within a few weeks and it became his calling card, which he's not exactly thrilled about.

"I appreciate that people get a kick out of it, but it's not in the set [anymore]," he said. "A lot of people have asked me about adding some cachet to Kelly Clarkson, as if I'm trying to tell people that she should be considered more than she is, but honestly, I was poking more fun at myself and my own weakness for a good hook. Not that I have anything against her. In that world, she got where she is because she can sing. She's not some heiress with a Chihuahua."

Fittingly, the humble Clarkson never expected "Since U Been Gone" to earn her such a widespread fanbase.

"It's ridiculous how well that song was received by hard rockers, by indie people," she said. "They will say stuff about it and I'm just floored. I was walking around with a friend of mine and this hard-rock guy came up to me and was like, 'I look stupid, but I tell my friends I love this song.' People at concerts are like, 'That's my guilty pleasure. I don't mean to be mean, but I didn't want to like the "American Idol" girl.' But they love that song, and it kind of won them over."

What's also winning rockers over is the video for Clarkson's follow-up single, "Behind These Hazel Eyes," in which she sabotages her own wedding.

"She is so unbelievably gorgeous in that video that is all over TV right now," Yellowcard's Key said. "The wet wedding dress and the wet hair and ... come on, man! Who knew? She is so hot. She looks so good in it."

Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau agrees. "I want to date you," he said. "You think it's just a joke, but it's not a joke."

And rockers are apparently not the only ones obsessing over Clarkson. One of Hollywood's hottest comedic actors is so smitten with her that he yelled out her name while ad-libbing a memorable scene in his latest movie.

"I don't know her very well, I mean, we dated a couple of times," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" himself, Steve Carell, said, tongue firmly in cheek. "She smells like strawberry shortcake, I know that. Her eyes are like limpid pools and she has the voice of an angel."

watch our trailer for our new movie!

2005-08-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

here's to you johnny!

http://www.weddingcrashersmovie.com/crashthistrailer/index.htm?id=138576

we love you all!!

for kate

2005-06-23T16:11:00.000-04:00

so apparently people read this thing. who knew!
things are busy my friends. not today, but in general. i'm workin the ole 40 hours and so is my dear sam. life is good though. it always is. i narrowed down our wedding pictures and finally got them. i love them so much. i spent a ton of time with christy at sam flax picking out the perfect album, colored paper, photo corners,etc. then i spent oh about 10 hours working on it. i love it. it makes me so happy to look back on that day!
sam and i have been trying to do a lot of grown up things and it makes me sad. i hate cell phones, bills, insurance, yada yada. sam has been flirting with the insurance lady for like an hour. haha! get er done.

y'all have a nice day. this was pretty dang uninspired. i'm feelin stir crazy!

a little color for your life!

my first solo anthro project

pretty amanda dancin on her birthday

peepee!

hair cuttin and hangin!

beautiful leah spent the day with me and my bad hip, which is much better finally!

sam's 24th birthday and his beautiful cake! haha

piicturesssss

2005-05-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

yes we do clean and fix things. ain't sam fine?

i love jeremiah's face in this one

a lovely day at the park before church. red potatoe salad, turkey wraps, iced tea. later it was sloppy joes and erin's famous peach tea. i love our friends so much!

2005-04-30T20:05:00.000-04:00

can we say..way over due.

sam and i have had a completely lovely and lazy day. it started with the most beautiful breakfast, so beautiful in fact that we took a polaroid of it. we had petit heart shaped waffles, bacon, and sam's eggs (which i challenge anyone who could rival his).

next it was on to best buy. sam looked at car cd players and i lusted over washer and dryers with the glass circles so you can watch your pretty things spin round and round. i used to open up the washer when i was younger just to see the clothes spinning around in all the bubbles.

then we came home. i had all these aspirations to start a real journal charting my thoughts and what God is speaking to me and how things are changing and evolving in my life and what i'm learning, but instead it will have to wait until later because i def fell asleep for a couple of hours. i was exhausted. then i woke up just in time to watch silence of the lambs with sam and now i am completely freaked out waiting for him to get back with our shhhhhh taco bell. gotta love the laziness. i did however make my cookies and i am hoping to share them so that i do not eat anymore!
we had the best time last night. we went to macaroni grill for a dinner date. mmmm. it was really delicious and fun. everyone was staring at us. we don't know why. then we went to celebrate the lovely jere-de maio! i had the best time. lots of friends, dancing, silliness, strip aerobics. i am slightly embarrased of my antics, but hey everyone loves a drunk girl. i told sam on the way home how thankful i am for my friends and how awesome each and every one of them are. how did i get so blessed?
so tom i am going to go to the gym, have some much needed quiet time and then we are going to my church, our home. i miss it.

xoxo

lesley and sam

2005-04-07T09:23:00.000-04:00

dear plants and flowers,

you are beautiful, but you are killing us!!

love,

the grahams

so, work has been looking up. i was told yesterday that i am now a senior sales associate and i am going to be working full-time, etc so we are very excited about that.

this weekend we are going to good ole ptown for autumns shower and to see mama lou and mr sam. a mini break. sounds good.

we got our bookshelf that we ordered. our first piece of furniture together. sam did such an awesome job putting it together while i made cookies. here's a picture!

more later!!

2005-04-01T17:45:00.000-05:00

here is our favorite honeymoon picture. we went to puerto vallarta and had the most wonderful and relaxing time. it was so nice to be together and in peace and in love.

2005-03-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

so, my little brain has been wrapping itself around the "idea" of a little puppy one day. i know what you're thinking, but i can't help it. i want to play with it and walk it and train it, but i think it's probably best to wait until we have a home. i don't want a doggy to be coped up all day in our little apt. just look at this...

omg!! and this to carry that cute baby in...

Missing objects

2005-03-28T10:48:00.000-05:00

hallejuhah!! after plummeging through our apt i found not only the thank you notes which have been a HUGE source of anxiety, but i also found our netflix that was missing, so hopefully they will credit my account, since we already bought it. in other good news, sam and i are getting a joint account today and we got our ceremony dvd, so i can't wait to watch that. yay! so, it's been a good day. i feel much much better.

so now it is diet coke and trying to put things back to normal. i also have to mentally prepare myself for work. it shouldn't be too bad. i hope that miss mcpherson or miss whitley is working.

have a great day!! hopefully missing objects will appear for you and make your day as well.

ps, we did not make it to church AGAIN, but we did get a much needed family time. good food, wonderful company, and a bruce willis movie. doesn't get much better!

pps dawson's hair is so gross.

2005-03-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

it's easter morning. the birds are busy chirping. sam is sleeping. i got up early to surprise him with a homemade easter basket. it was my first one. i know they'll get better with time, but i am so excited because i'm pretty sure he has no clue. i wanted to make french toast or pancakes, but we have no eggs and i really don't want to run out this early.

sam and i started watching the motorcycle diaries last night. i love it so far. we have been watching movies in sections because we get too sleepy.

i am really excited about church tonight. we have not been in several months and it is long overdue. i need fellowship and corporate worship and familiar faces and the word like no one's business.

have a very blessed Easter everyone and remember to celebrate the miracles of God and that they are still happening everyday.

2005-03-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

last night we went with kathleen and chris and keely and new bf matthew to top spice. it was so wonderful as always. pad-see-u, wassup! when we got back sam and i attempted to watch hero, but between the subtitles and it being 10:30ish i was OUT. sam said he was bored anyways so i don't think he cared. he is at a career service seminar right now. i would do anything to have an actual weekend to get to spend together. he has to work from 11-5, which means overtime, but i feel more like it's undertime and i have to work until close. brrrrrkkkkkk

i think we lost a box in the moving process. i can't find my camera connector, thank you cards, or one of our netflixes. so hopefully we will find it. please pray that we do. i mean, it has to be here somewhere, right?

i am excited about Easter. we are going to eat lunch at my grammy and lynndaddy's house and then we are going to the 6:30 service, so hopefully we will see some of you there!

2005-03-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

sam's at work and i have been hanging pictures, cleaning, reading, and doing a little bit of procrastinatin'. tonight i am going to get some wine and maybe some chocolate for our friends that are coming over tonight. i hate that the apt is not perfect and awesome for people to see, but if that were the case then no one would ever see it. i am watching punk'd and i have been laughing so hard! the funniest was when penelope cruz punk'd salma hayek by showing her this disgusting turd and overflowing the toilet. it was awesome. i can't wait for sam to get home so he can watch it with me. we appreciate the same things in pop culture. i love him so much. we have been watching the professional, which is one of natalie portman's first movies and it is so good. it is about this hitman and this little girl he takes in after her family has been killed by these corrupt cops. eeek. i can't wait to see how it ends!! wow i have posted 3 times today, don't get like used to it, k? haha.

and i want that. thanks!

2005-03-25T14:21:00.000-05:00

Meet the Grahams

2005-03-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

Our own little family now has its own little journal. We are going to be writing and documenting our first year of marriage...here! We will be writing all about the ups and downs and posting pictures and everything in between. This is the true story of Lesley and Sam Graham.