Nothin' Much News

Oh my, my, my

2012-01-09T21:09:00.002-06:00

Oh wow! It has been so long since I have blogged. I am going to make an effort to do this more often. 2011 was a hell of a year for me. We started off our year by having to replace our water heater. I celebrated my 30th birthday in February. Chris took me to see brad Paisley for my birthday. It was a lot of fun! He is such a good hubby!

In April, we went to Gatlinburg to see our friend get married and celebrate my parents' and brother's birthday. My brother Matt was also leaving for basic training.

In May, we went to Ft. Walton Beach in Florida for Chris' 30th birthday. It was so beautiful there. Our hotel was beside the aquarium so we watched the dolphins. I also got the worst sunburn I have ever had!

Throughout June and July, I went through an interview process to get a new job. Out of 215 applicants, I was one of 15 chosen for a phone interview and one of 5 for a face to face interview. Unfortunately, I did not get the job, but it was a good experience for me.

On July 4th, my parents and my brother's girlfriend Alyssa came to my house. We headed out on July 5th towards Ft. Sill, OK to see Matt graduate. It was a great trip. Chris had to work, so it was just the four of us. I really got to know Alyssa better and had so much fun! We saw Geranimo's grave, the Holy Land and ate Longhorn beef. We also went to the Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing Memorial. That was a very intense visit. My dad was the guest speaker at Matt's graduation and got to give him a challenge coin when Matt was announced as his class sharpshooter. I am so proud of him! We had to leave him there for his AIT class.

Also in July, my parents hosted an engagement party for my baby brother Gregg and his fiance Regina. The night before the party, Regina, Alyssa, my mom and I went to my old college to watch some of my friends in "Hairspray". We had a blast! We worked very hard to pull off a luau for Gregg and Regina, but it was well worth it.

August brought both joy and pain to my family. On the 29th, our nephew Branson was born. He is such a joy! He is just a cool cat and the most laid back baby. (I am not at all in love with him!) Also in August, Alyssa went to the ER because she had severe stomach pain. It turns out, she was in labor, never knowing she was pregnant. She gave birth to a full term baby named Isabella Miracle Dei. Isabella was put in NICU on a ventillator due to seizures and other issues. Alyssa got out of the hospital in a couple of days and Matt was able to come home from OK the next day. We went to see everyone and got to see Isabella while she was in NICU. On September 3, after only 17 days, Isabella went home to God. We had her funeral and burial on the 4th. It was very heartbreaking, but it really makes you thankful for what you have.

After the difficult beginning to September, things got on a roll. I helped to host my friend Brandy's baby shower on September 10th. It was a hoot! We made the guys chug beer out of baby bottles! September 23rd was our 7th wedding anniversary. We celebrated the next day by having dinner at the Paradise Park Trailer Park and going to a Preds game. We had awesome free tickets in the club section. Steve and Peggie sent us an awesome edible arrangement as a gift! It was delicious! September ended with my maternal grandfather's passing. He was my last grandfather and will be missed.

In October, we got new furniture! Then Chris had his knee surgery and recovery. The new furniture really came in handy, especially the oversized rocker/recliner. October also brought the big Santa Fe School Fall Festival! I am usually asked to do balloon animals and this year was no exception. It was a nice night and I got a free funnel cake! Worth it! My friend Brandy had her son Bryson in Oct. He is so adorable! The end of October brought me back to Morristown to help host a wedding shower for Gregg and Regina. It had a country theme with mason jar glasses and lots of gingham! The bride and guests had a great time making TP wedding dresses and modeling to "I'm Too Sexy". I got to end the month by wearing my bathrobe and slippers to work for Halloween!

November was very busy for us! Chris participated in No Shave November and tried to grow some facial hair. I was sooooo glad for Dec 1st. Chris got to go back on regular duty in November after his knee surgery. Gregg and Regina got married on November 11th. It was a really beautiful wedding that Matthew got to help officiate. We spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta at Bill and Deb's house. It was really nice to get to see everyone. The day after Thanksgiving, we were so lucky to get to go to our cousin Kelly's wedding. It was such a beautiful affair and we had a blast!! The end of November gave us a chance to get our Christmas tree up and decorated! (And the facial hair got shaved!)

December was pretty calm. The year ended on a pretty chill note. We got to go to the big Towhey family Christmas celebration and spend Christmas Eve with my family. Whew! That is 2011 in a nutshell. I am looking forward to a very full and blessed 2012~

Holy cow!

2011-09-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Proud Wife

2010-09-11T19:57:00.013-05:00

Since Chris has already told the story, I am just going to post the pics. I can say that I love him very much and am very proud of him and the other guys.

School days, school day...good old...what?

2010-08-03T19:58:00.002-05:00

Well...school has started again. And we are off to an exciting year. The district has been rezoned and we have more students now than we ever have had. It is crazy! We had 4 deaths among our faculty before the kids came back. On our first day, before 10am, I had a student brought to the office. He was playing on the monkey bars and jumped off. When he did, he hit his chin on a bar and bit his tongue. There was a gouge in his tongue! But, he was not crying. We called his parents to take him to the ER. After that, I had 2 more come in bleeding. At the end of a very long day, and I was the only one left (besides administrators), I got a call from a frantic parent. Her child had been put on the bus by mistake. She had come into the office and the clerk was able to find out that the child was, indeed, on the bus. However, when she got to the bus stop, her child was not there. So, I had a panicked parent on the phone, an upset teacher in the office, and I can't get through to the bus garage to talk to the driver. So, I called our SRO in and explained the situation to him. He called another deputy and had them go to the bus garage and have them call me. We found out that the child had refused to get off the bus when her mom wasn't there. All was well and I got to come home.

Day 2
Well, another exciting day. Appearantly, there was one of the TBI's most wanted felons on the loose in Maury Co. He was convicted of child molestation in Hamilton Co. (Chattanooga). How he ended up here I will never know. Anyway, he was seen about a half mile from our school. The police were out, the TBI, the troopers, the helicopter, the dogs and heat seeking cameras. We went into a soft lockdown first thing in the morning. Luckily, he was caught within an hour and a half. He was caught about .2 miles from the school. Whew! It was a stressful, long day. It took me almost 3 hours to get through a $9200 deposit. I had some tight deadlines for Central Office, too. I am going to consider myself lucky to get through the rest of the week!

I hope that everyone is having a good (uneventful) week! I am just looking forward to the weekend! TTYL!

Our vacation

2010-06-06T19:56:00.009-05:00

Ok, I hope all is well out there. I am going to warn you....this could be a long blog. As most of you know, Chris and I headed off on our vacation on May 20th. We left out Thursday morning for the first leg of our trip..Gatlinburg.

We made good time to Garlinburg. As soon as we got to the exit, we went to Bass Pro Shops. I bought jerky seasoning (which is in the dehydrator) and Chris got a new flashlight. Then we headed on up and Chris went to Smoky Mountain Knife Works and bought a new knife. We drove on to Gatlinburg and checked into the River Terrace hotel. Chris was not feeling well by this time. His allergies were really terrible. So, we walked to a little place on the strip and ate then we went to Walgreens and bought allergy meds and Kleenex with lotion. The rest of the night was quiet in the room. We got up Friday morning to head out to Lancaster, SC to the Shores' house. We took the Foothills Pkwy. I got some great morning pics. Here is one:

We had a fairly uneventful trip to Steve and Peggie's house. We did hit a streak of rain outside of Charlotte when we stopped at Chili's. (BTW, this trip took a little planning as I don't eat fast food anymore.) But, we got there and were greeted by a very happy Maddy, "mommy" and "mom mom". I can't believe how far Maddy has come! She is talking so clearly! I did make the mistake of trying to get her to say "sheep", though. :) We had a nice night. Saturday was Chris' birthday. Steve to Katie to look at a car and I went to get an oil change. We all had a good birthday dinner for Chris. I think he had a great time. Sunday morning, we got up for breakfast with the family before taking off for Hilton Head!!!

We had an good drive to the coast. We stopped once at a rest stop for a break and the weather was great! It was not quite hot with a breeze. We got to Hilton Head aroung 1:00pm and was told the room wasn't ready yet. So, we walked around the cute little shops, bought hats and went out to the beach. We forgot the sunblock for the couple of hours on the beach, but only got a little red. We finally got checked into our room at the Holiday Inn Oceanfront (which was a pretty nice place to stay) and changed for dinner. We walked down the main street and found a little place to eat called Kenny B's. It was an amazing little cajun place. You ordered at the counter and it was little! The food was incredible! The next day we went out on the beach some, but the weather was hit and miss the whole time we were there. One night we tried to walk on the beach and had gotten maybe a 1/4 mile and it began to rain. Then it began to pour. If we had pina coladas, it would have been perfect. Our hotel had a tiki bar out by the pool with a great view. We took off one day after spending some time on the beach and went to the Sea Pines area that included Harbour Town. We went to the top of the lighthouse and were treated to an amazing view! We also walked through a nature preserve there and saw the "Vanishing Swamp" and an Indian Shell Ring. On our final night, we booked a sunset catamaran sail. We packed a light dinner of fish spread, shrimp, fruit, crackers, cake, wine and beer and took off. It was so amazing! We both really enjoy sailing on catamarans anyway. There were about 15 people on the cruise. We took off and saw some amazing houses and boats. There was even a private island with its own state of liberty! We saw dolphins on our way out, too. That was a first for me, outside of an aquarium. When we got out into the open water, we could see Tybee Island. The sunset was incredible! On our way back in, a dolphin swam right by our boat and so did jellyfish! It was fun. I hated to leave the next day. We drove a very long time to get back home on Wednesday. Once we did, it began to storm and I had to go pick up Shiloh. So, that is the main points of our trip. Here are some great photos from Hilton Head.

I have more pics posted on Facebook. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing good. I might actually start posting more often!

I laughed until I cried...

2010-04-13T19:02:00.003-05:00

I will update on our home projects soon, but I had to tell this story. Yesterday at work (we are on Spring Break) Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Perryman, Janna and I were eating lunch together. Something came up and Mrs. Cook told us the best story ever. She has a friend who has a friend who lives in Florida. The lady in Florida is a teacher and she has a grown son with Down's Syndrome who lives at home. He is at home alone in the day, but she calls to check on him. Last week, she called home to check on him. The call went something like this:
Mom: How's your day? Everything ok?
Son: I caught an elf and I've been feeding him all day!
Mom: What?!?!
Son: I caught an elf! I've been feeding him all day!
At this point, the mom thinks she needs to go home and see what is gonig on. When she gets home, her son is so happy and wants to show her the "elf". He has been keeping him in the closet and feeding him Cheerios under the door. Mom opens the door to find..... a human dwarf!!!! He was the census worker who came to their door!!! The son had taken him and put him in the closet!! We have yet to hear what happened after Mom came home. We are waiting to hear that. When I told Chris, he said, "You know that guy thought he was going to die!"
This is by far the funniest story I have heard in a long, long time! I literally laughed until I cried! Hope it gave you all a good laugh!
Follow up....Chris just called and told me he thinks this is an urban legend...bummer..

Let it snow..and snow..and ice...

2010-01-31T18:57:00.004-06:00

So, first off let me say that I hope 2010 is starting off well for everyone! Ours has been a little crazy, but that is ok. Chris has filled you in on the flooring situation and we are really doing well. We need to do our utility closet, our bedroom and the guest room and all the trim. I am feeling good. We are finally over the halfway hump. Our visit to SC was good; cold, but good. I found a futon at the WOW! store that I want. We just staying in mostly, but it was cold! We had a nice trip up and back. I am glad we got to visit with Steve and Peggie. Work has been going well. Of course we have had our share of illnesses. This always happens when the kids get back together. Our most recent work hiccup was the SNOW!!!!

Beginning Monday, the forecasters were predicting a winter storm to come through TN. In Columbia, we weren't supposed to get more than an inch of snow. It was supposed to be a sleet/ice mix. (Notice I keep saying "supposed" to get.) I had to go grocery shopping Thurs night because we were out of food. That was a mistake! The "french toasters" were there. School was called off for Friday due to the impending weather. Friday morning was nice. No snow. Around 10am, it starting snowing. A lot. By 3pm, we had over FIVE inches of snow! Shortly thereafter, it began to sleet and get icy. Chris and I took Shiloh out in it for a while. We had almost finished the kitchen flooring by that point. :) Shiloh wasn't too keen on it at first, but when we started throwing sticks, she got into it. When we first went out, we started walking toward the fire pit and a rabbit ran out from under it and through the fence! I guess he was trying to take refuge from the snow! I made a nice BBQ meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. Yesterday, we had a nice quiet day. It was nasty out and I knew that Chris might have a long day today. He did go out and dig his truck out, though! I made from scratch chicken pot pie for dinner. It was yummy! Chris left the house this morning around 15 till 5 and made it safely to work. I kept hearing things falling and smashing today. I went out with Shiloh and discovered it was the ice from the trees crashing down. It was beautiful! There was 5"-6" of snow with a frozen layer on top and all these pieces of ice on it. It almost looked like broken glass! I dug my car out and then took Shiloh for a walk up and down the street. She had a blast! I couldn't believe that I was ready to come in before my cold natured dog! We have had a nice quiet day today, as well. School has been cancelled for tomorrow and central office is closed, so I don't have to go into work. Chris and I are going to tackle the utility closet. Hope everyone is staying warm! Enjoy the new pics!

God Wink

2009-12-14T18:36:00.002-06:00

I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but today, I just want to share my God wink. About a month or so ago I had a dear friend at work who lost her dad. It was a battle that lasted over a year. I was unable to attend the funeral, but I did want to send something. I wanted something from the florist, but they closed at noon on Saturday. So, I ended up at Kroger. I looked at everything, but kept coming back to the Star of Bethlehem plank with the beautiful white flowers. I left it at the funeral home. I had not thought about it since then. Today, my friend and I were talking and she said her plant was doing great. I laughed and told her that particular plant had spoken to me at the store. This is when she told me that she cried when she saw the plant. Of all the things I could have chosen, I picked the Star of Bethlehem. He dad's favorite Christmas song that he sang every year was "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem". This was my God wink. Things like this really mean the most. Hope everyone is preparing for a wonderful Christmas time!

Part two (the not fun part)

2009-10-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

Ok, now onto the big event that happened this week. We got back from Gatlinburg on Sunday and made a pot of vegetable beef soup for dinner. It was very yummy! Monday I went to work and busted my hump to get things done for my absence this week. My parents came in Monday night. On Tuesday morning, we all got up early and headed out to Vanderbilt. I was scheduled to have a catheter ablation done that morning. We got checked in and I was taken back to the prep area and got my IV started and some tests were run. I think everyone else went to get breakfast. They all came back at different times to see me. After waiting for a while, a nurse came back and told me I was pushed back. (Apparently, they had an emergency.) So, around 1pm or so, I was taken back to the OR. It was kind of freaky that I was awake and alert when they took me back. (I didn't even have an IV bag or any medicine at this point.) They put me on the table and I was strapped across my calves, thighs, and stomach. My arms went into "troughs" and were strapped in. I swear I felt like I was getting lethal injection! They gave me something to "relax" me at this point. They put IV ports in my groin area and ran catheter leads up to my heart. They began to use electrical impulses to manipulate my heart rhythm. I had to tell them when the rhythm felt like the arrhythmia I had in the past. They found it pretty quickly. They put a 4mm laser in one of the ports next and ran it to my heart. When they found the place to cauterize, they used it. It felt very odd and uncomfortable. It was my worst heartburn x100! I was over in 60 seconds. I think I was in the OR for 1.5 or 2 hours. They took the leads out and I went back to recovery. There, they took the IV ports out of my leg. I was very nauseous at this point. (No food + narcotics will do that.) I got some phinagrin (sp) and pretty much slept after that. I know that my parents left to come back to our house to take care of Shiloh and I kind of remember the trip to the cardiac observation unit. I slept when we got there, too. When I finally woke up, dinner had arrived for me. I was special and not on any diet, so I got the chicken Parmesan with strawberry shortcake. After, I was able to get up and go to the bathroom and move around a little. I put on my pj pants and talked with Chris a little. I went to sleep fairly early. I was visited every 4 hours and poor Chris had to sleep in a very small recliner chair that wouldn't stay reclined. :( The next morning, the doctor was in around 7:30 and said everything looked good and I would be released. I got breakfast while waiting on release papers. I had to be off work until Monday and will need to have a follow up in 6 weeks. For the past few days, I have been tired and have an almost constant feeling of heartburn and the area where they put the 4 IVs is sore. Otherwise, I have been doing very well. Chris goes back to work tomorrow, but my parents are coming in tonight. My dad has some things to do with the Army this weekend and so my mom is going to keep my company. A friend I work with is having a yard sale next weekend and she has agreed to take my stuff, so I am going to price it all and she will sell it. That is about all I am planning to do with my weekend. Oh, and Chris and I got to pick up our flat screen TV from the repair shop today. Yay!!! Hope everyone had a great week and will have an even better weekend!

First half...

2009-10-02T17:01:00.003-05:00

Sept 23rd marked the 5th anniversary since Chris & I got married. We did dinner together at home. The big party was last weekend. We left on Friday to go to Gatlinburg and see the families. We had a bit of a snag checking in on time, but it was all good. Chris and I were very excited with the cabin and with everyone who was able to make it. Friday night was laid back with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Saturday the weather was not cooperative with downpouring rain. My parents made a wonderful breakfast for everyone. However, despite the weather, Chris and I were able to get out and have our picture made. Since we were doing a cowboy theme, we decided to have the old tyme photos made. Chris is holding a sign that says "Still Hitched". We had fun doing it. (We also played Ski-Ball and other arcade games at the place where we had our photo!) Everyone kind of did their own thing during the day on Saturday. When we got back, we brought our friends Jason & Brandy with us. After getting everyone acquainted, we wished Nancy a happy birthday and had a cake for her. Then, we began the decorating and preparing the food for the party. Steve made some great margaritas for us! I think that everyone had a great time and enjoyed the food and the company. I know I did! Sunday was just a laid back day with everyone packing up and heading out. Chris & I had breakfast with my family and then did a little shopping before we headed back home. It was a good weekend. Chris and I have decided that we definitely want a large jacuzzi when we decide to build our house! I could have stayed in there all weekend!!! Thanks to everyone who helped make our anniversary special!

Crappy Thursday

2009-09-10T18:14:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here goes. Yesterday at work, I was talking with the principal and she said that both she and the assistant principal, and the backup administrator, would be out today. I was joking and told her I'd be out, too. Then I did ask her what we were to do in a crisis. We kind of went over it. So, today, I went in and it was chaos from the beginning. We had a teacher who was out and we didn't know it, so I began my day in 1st grade. When we got that covered, I went back to my office to begin on paperwork and got a call from a concerned parent. I was going down to the ag shop to check on the child. As I got to the bottom of the steps and was stepping to the floor, my foot turned and I stepped full weight on my ankle. It hurt so bad I sat down and cried. I was smart enough to have taken my radio with me, so I called for the nurse to come. She got there with the SRO and a wheelchair. I was wheeled to the office in the middle of high school class change. (That was mortifying.) By this time, my left ankle was 3 times the normal size. We got ice on it and got it wrapped with an Ace bandage. I filled out an accident report and called the Board. Our HR person told me to come by there and then go to the doctor for an Xray. (This happened at 9:15am.) I drove home to get Chris and he took me to the Board. I filled out paperwork and then went to the doctor. We got there around 10:30. It was almost 2:00pm when we left. I got an Xray and took a drug test. Nothing is broken; it is just a bad sprain. However, I am on crutches for a while. I have never had to use them before, so it is a learning experience for me. If I take care of myself, I will be A-OK by Gatlinburg.
Speakiing of Gatlinburg, here's a little update. We are going with a Western theme. Wear your blue jeans, boots and stetsons if you got 'em! Peggie and Steve and Bill and Deb have offered to bring their Margaraitors, so we will have margaritas and daquaris, too! Thanks to everyone who is helping to make this a great weekend!
I hope that everyone has a great night tonight and a good Friday!

Very Busy Weekend!

2009-09-07T17:22:00.009-05:00

This has been a very long weekend for me. I went into work Friday morning to do a few necessary things, then I went to the doctor. I have been battling a sinus infection for a week now, so I went to take care of it. A shot and three prescriptions later, I came home. Chris and I went out to Ruby Tuesday for lunch and then we just hung out. Saturday morning we got up and decided to do some geocaching. The weather was nice. Our cell phone contracts are up, so we have decided to upgrade. We decided to go buy Chris an iPhone so we would have an additional GPS if we needed it. (Also, Chris just wanted one!) They were out the phone I wanted, so we just got his. We came home and put the collar on the dog to take her with us and IT STARTED TO RAIN! And rain...and rain. So, we went and picked up something for dinner and got a couple of movies. It was a rainy night at home. Chris worked yesterday and all I accomplished was doing the weekly grocery shopping. (At this point, we were out of everything at our house!) Now, today has been exciting.

I GOT A NEW CAR!!!! We went to Downtown Nashville Nissan because they were offering a guaranteed $5000 trade-in on any car. We figured this was a way to come out ahead on my Cougar. So, we looked at the Altimas and came away with a white one. It is very nice. It is a little weird, though, because it is a push button start. Today, Chris was driving it and I had the key in my pocket. This is my very first ever "brand new" car. It only had 71 miles when we drove out of the lot. Chris really likes driving it and so do I. I am very excited about it!!!! Here are a few pics for you to enjoy!

okay...

2009-08-27T20:44:00.007-05:00

Ok, so here goes. Today, my car broke down again! It was the same thing this time as last. The engine maintenance fuse blew again. We replaced it three times and it blew every time I turned the key. I was on the side of the road, blocking a lane, under the hood in a skirt and heels. I really appreciated the police officer who drove by without a second look. (and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th! ) One man stopped just before Chris got there. Another stopped and helped push my car to a side road. Anywhoo...we had it towed in and will find something out tomorrow!

On to better things. Here are some pics for everyone to enjoy!

This is me and Julie. She was a good friend from 6th-12th.

This is Lindsey. She organized the reunion. She and I have known each other since Kindergarten! We were Girl Scouts together.

It was a very nice reunion. It was outdoor at a historic place in Morristown. There was a gazebo. We had a buffet BBQ dinner and took a group photo. There was only about 40 of us there out of 285. They had a DJ who tried to get us to dance, but most weren't having it. :) It really was a fun night.

Now, as for my mom, she called when we were driving in for my reunion and told me she was in the hospital becuase she had started having severe chest pains. She has some issues with her heart anyway, so they kept her overnight for observation. The hospital did not find anything to be immediately concerned with. On Sunday, my brother Charlie turned 30. Chris and I stopped at Smokey Mountain Knife Works before we headed to my brother's house for a BBQ. I ended up outside with a bag of kettle korn and a book! The BBQ for my brother was good with their family and friends. My niece Emma was a mess!!! She is 17 months old now and getting into everything!

She definatley kept everyone entertained!

We headed out after lunch.

School has been interesting to say the least. We have had a host of illnesses and we got to start off our week with a prankster who decide to pull the fire alarm! We had already had 2 drills this month, so we knew it wasn't planned. We have a new schedule for the HS this year and we are still not positive on how effective it is, but we are halfway through the quarter. I got my audit results back and am going to have to do some research to challenge some of the items they have put on there. After a principal's meeting, we have found out that it is a problem county-wide. There are some things that different bookkeepers have gotten written up for that we have done in complete opposite ways! Oh well. It will work out.

So, there. A glimpse into my world over the last 5 weeks. Hope it kept you entertained!

Preview...

2009-08-27T11:30:00.003-05:00

I am just gonna give the basics. I am at work now, so I can't put any pics up. We have my car posted for sale on Craigslist. I am really hoping to be able to sell it soon. Keep your fingers (and toes!) crossed for me. We have looked at a couple of cars and even went in to see about buying one, but it did not work out, so we are still on the lookout. Chris and I went to the Melting Pot last night for 80's night. The wait staff was dressed in 80's outfits and they played theme music. I even ventured to dress for the occasion. It was really fun and the food was great. I have a picture I will post later. Also, I had my 10 year high school reunion on the 15th. (Again, I have pics at home and will post them later.) It was a lot of fun. My brother, Charlie, turned 30 on the 16th and we got to see him. My mom was in the hospital with chest pains when I went in for my reunion. (more on that later) My younger brother, Gregg, works at a CVS and was held up at gunpoint last week. Our school is plauged by strep, a stomach virus, and type 1 flu. So, there are the basics. Keep reading for a follow-up tonight! Hope all is well!

Updates...agian

2009-07-19T15:19:00.002-05:00

We have found a place to have out party! It is an 8 bedroom cabin through Sugar Maple Cabins. It is called the Big Timber Lodge and it sleeps 32. I have posted all the info on our website. It is www.momentville.com/AprilandChrisShore if anyone needs it. I have called and found out that the cabin is in the Wears Valley area. It is near an entrance to the Smokies. We will be mailing formal invitations next week. PLEASE let me know if you will or will not be coming as I need to figure out lodging and plan on food. Our plan right now is to do BBQ. (It seems good for Sept in Gatlinburg.)

In other news, I am making beef jerky in the dehydrator today. It is so full. I used 3 pounds of ground beef. It smells goood. Tomorrow, I am going to do some fruit in it and try to make my own trail mix.

I would also like to say that I am very proud of Chris. I will let him fill in the details.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

A quick note

2009-07-17T10:58:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note to keep everyone up to speed. Tuesday Chris was at work and I was out in my car and it died in the middle of a busy street. The power worked, but the engine would do nothing. A police officer came up behind me, got to my window and -after listening to my explination- said, "You can't leave it in the street." Really? Hang on and let me stop oncoming traffic, push and steer in 3" heels. Anyway, I could not reach Chris as he was in confined spaces training, so I called my assistant principal and asked to borrow her husband. Eric came and stayed until the tow truck came and then took me home. We later found out that there is a fuse box in the engine and the "engine maintanance" fuse blew. Huh!?!? It runs the alarm, A/C, ignition, etc. So, she is running again. We are gonna gussy her up, take some pics and post her for sale! When we get this one sold, the search for the new one is on! Hope everyone had a good week. I will catch up some more this weekend.

One more thing....

2009-07-08T19:50:00.001-05:00

I did find A&W Cream Soda at the little store down from the school! And I bought 2!

Catching up

2009-07-08T09:52:00.002-05:00

Well, I am so glad to hear that everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Ours was kind of busy. On Friday the 3rd, we got in the car around 6:30am and headed to Gatlinburg to check out cabins. We took Shiloh with us and had a nice drive. We managed to avoid a lot of the traffic because we had gotten an early start. After looking around at different companies, it was around 3:30, so we headed back home. We took the back roads out of the crazy traffic and found an A&W to eat at. Shiloh had a wonderful lunch. She got a treat from the drive thru guy AND got an A&W hot dog! We had good food and started back. We got home safely and went to bed early. On the 4th, we had a 1st birthday party to go to for our friend's little boy. We found Charlie Daniels park in Mt. Juliet and had good food and fun times with our friends from college. We even got to meet Annalise Newsome, another friends' 3 month old. When I got to hold her, she snuggled into my chest and went to sleep for a long time. (I am just happy that she was not crying or pooping on me, ala Maddy. ) :) We drove back to Spring Hill, but were a little early for Mass, so we went to Beef O'Bradys. This is when we found out the news about Steve McNair. It was a bit of a shock. I really feel for his family. Then we went to Mass and went home. (We became fuddy-duddys at this point.) We watched a little TV, then went to bed early. And yes, this meant that we missed the fireworks, but it had been a busy weekend! Chris worked on Sunday and I just tried to wind down with the puppy.
Yesterday was an interesting day. For those of you who really know me, you know that although I am from East TN, I am a city girl at heart. Our custodain had a stroke about a month ago, so we have all been pitching in to take out the trash, etc. Well, I managed to figure out how to drive the stick shift diesel tractor yesterday! I am sure that there were a few people rolling when they saw me because it was not the prettiest sight in the world. I was ok once I got going, but starting and stopping were a little jerky! So, that was done. I went to get the groceries for dinner and wanted nothing more than a nice cold cream soda. Kroger was completely out of any brand of creme soda. I even checked for the expensive six packs, but nada. So, I stopped at Walgreens on the way home. They have their own brand in a glass bottle that is good. Guess what? NO CREME SODA! So, I hit the mini mart on the corner. Again, NO CREME SODA!!!! I think we are having a creme soda shortage. Can you believe that 3 places had no creme soda of any brand? So, I did not get my frosty treat yesterday. I am going to stop again today and see if I can find one. Oh well. Hope everyone is doing well!

Shiloh's big adventure

2009-06-23T21:42:00.004-05:00

Okay, so you all know that Shiloh can be a spaz. A couple of weeks ago we let Shiloh out before bed. I heard her outside having a cow! I went out to see what was going on and realized that Shiloh had treed something. Chris came out with a flashlight and we found out she had chased a black cat up the tree. It managed to get down and run off. Since then, this little cat has decided that our front porch is its' spot. Tonight, I went to let Shiloh out and this is what I see:

This is where they both see me, but don't notice each other.

This is where they see each other.

This is when Shiloh decided to try and get the cat off the porch. It decided to run the other way.

That is Shiloh's Big Adventure!

pics

2009-06-23T21:29:00.002-05:00

Here goes! The 1st is our new chair in the living room. It is very comfy! The second is our new glass tile backsplash. The 3rd is a pic of our new shelves before they were finished. They have that "floating box" effect. You can kinda see the new wainscoating. As you can see, we have gone with rust red and sage green for our kitchen. The last two are for the country music fans out there. Joey + Rory are best known for their song "Cheater, Cheater". Well, there is a little cafe out here in Maury Co. owned by a relative of Joey and Rory. I went there to eat on Friday and they had these new shirts, so I HAD to buy one. Where else are you gonna get a shirt that says "No Ho's Allowed"?

Here goes!

Time flies...

2009-06-22T12:31:00.002-05:00

when you are NOT having fun!
Things have been a little hectic around our house and my work, so I have not even been on here in close to a month! I will follow this up tonight with some pics, but here are the highlights.
1) Work stinks! I have to have the audit materials turned in by July 2nd. I have been working hard on it, but there is just so much paperwork! A unit school bookkeeper gets the shaft. We do the paperwork from basically 3 schools. How I envy the ones who are ONLY elementary, middle, or high school. I do try to keep organized throughout the year, so I really only have to go throught my checklist, make sure everything is there and check it to make sure it is correct. Then, I get to box it up and label the boxes. We have a new auditor this year who has already made life difficult for us, so I want to make sure that everything is in perfect order.
2) I have been working diligently on our anniversary party. You should be receiving your save the dates soon. I have that done, I have the invitations ready to print, and I have built a website for the party. (Info on the save the dates.) We have narrowed down the cabin properties to look at. Chris and I are planning to drive over to Gatlinburg one day and look at properties. Once that is out of the way, we can focus on food. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but it really depends on the kitchen space in the cabin. So, it has been busy trying to get all that together.
3) Home. I don't think Chris has mentioned our home woes. First of all, we are looking at new refrigerators. Our current one works, but there is a huge crack inside the door. That is looking like the least of our worries. I was making chicken pot pies from scratch the other night and had them in their pans ready to go in the oven when we realized the oven was only warm. I never got hot. I ended up cooking the pot pies on the grill. They were very good! So, in short, we need to repair the oven.
4) That is it! (For now) I did get a chance to read everone's blogs and it sounds like everyone is staying quite busy this summer! Congrats to Bryan and I hope all the dads had a good Father's Day!

Still kickin...barely

2009-04-24T21:43:00.002-05:00

Just a little note to let you know that we are still alive. Both our jobs have been stressful lately. For mine, it was just nuts. (Those of you who remember school or have kids will understand this part.) In the last week alone, we have had TCAPs (standardized testing), a mandatory ACT for all juniors, and prom tomorrow. Oh, and evaluations. I passed with flying colors! The weather has been crazy around here. We are going from floods to tornadoes to 87 degree weather. So, we are moving along and staying busy. Just a few things: great pics Katie, nice job on the deck to Steve and Peggie, and keep your chin up to Tom. Have a great weekend!

Time for another one!

2009-03-31T20:17:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I don't get around to this very often, but I promise I read everyone's blogs! Things have been moving very quickly around here. Chris put a very nice roof over the swing that went in last fall. Now, the birds can't do their business on it! We have had our first two lawn mowings of the year and took the old swing to the dump. We have been talking about what to do with our kitchen next. I am thinking that I want either glass tiles or metal tiles as a backsplash. The metal tiles are cheaper, but I think the glass will be easier to clean. That is about it for the house. I began a yoga class at the Y last night. It is a weekly class on Mondays from 5:20 to 6:20. I had a really great time. It didn't feel like hard work, but I am really feeling it today! I think I am going to like it! My dad has been promoted to Leiutenant Colonel in the National Guard. My family is having him a pinning ceremony on April 11th in Greeneville at a Civil War-era inn. He has worked very hard for this and I am certainly proud of him. He has asked me to sing at his ceremony. That is a first for me. But, I am very proud to do it.

Work has been moving along. The kids and teachers are on Spring Break this week and next week. Maury Co. always plans spring break around Mule Day and it is Saturday. I have been desperatly trying to get rid of my last 8 tubs of cookie dough. (Not bad when you consider we started with 1900. :p ) I am getting so much accomplished now that it is just me and my bosses. I still have a few "big" items to do, but I keep trucking along! I am very fortunate to have the job that I do. I enjoy what I do and the people I work with. (And we are in the home stretch!)

Here's the BIG part of my blog. April 18th is our March for Babies walk. The Santa Fe School middle school Book Club has already raised $350 for this great cause. Now, I am enlisting you! A huge thank you goes to Steve & Peggie who have already donated. I have a website with the March of Dimes. This site takes credit cards and PayPal. IF YOU CAN DONATE ANYTHING, PLEASE HELP US OUT. If I remember correctly, 86 cents from every dollar goes directly to research and programs to help fight prematurity. The Book Club sponsor, Lori, had a premature son and my brother Charlie was premature. I really want to reach our school goal of $500. In any case, we will be out at 8am on a Saturday to walk 3.5 miles. If you can help out, please go to www.marchforbabies.org/aprilshore. I know that times are tough, so please don't feel guilty or pressured. I only want to do my best to raise money for this worthy organization. Thanks for letting me bend your ear a little. :)

I hope everyone is having a great week and is safe! Thanks to you all!

Sorry, no pics

2009-03-10T16:07:00.002-05:00

I am at work right now with a VERY long in-service tonight. I will have to leave early to release the wild beagle, though. Things have been very crazy with us lately. My pre-audit on Feb. 25th went very well. Unfortunatly, that was also the day my dad went in for his shoulder surgery. I had to take a call while the auditor was here. The surgery went well, but the recovery did not. Chris went in to work on Thursday and got a vacation day, so we left for Morristown as soon as I got out of work. We got in late Thursday night and went to bed. Friday started off well. My dad's blood pressure was up a little as he went to physical therapy. He came back and we all went to my grandmother's house. While we were there, my dad's bp shot way up and he felt sick, so we went back home to let him rest. Friday night we ate a wonderful meal of homemade salmon patties and fish and then we watched movies. Saturday morning my mom woke me up by saying she was taking my dad to the ER. His bp had gone up and his chest was hurting. So, off to the ER we go. At first, the ER doc thought it was a clot. But, the test came back negative. They could not figure out why his bp was so high. My parents made the decision for him to be transported to Baptist Heart Center in Knoxville. So, in the car I go to get Chris and my brother Matt. Chris took the truck and headed back home so he could work on Sunday and I stayed behind and drove my mom's car. The weekend was a blur of driving I-40 and the hospital with no answers. Chris came back on Monday to pick me up. We just met at the hospital b/c it was closer for him. After all the tests and a weekend in the hospital, they still don't know why he suddenly has high blood pressure. Anyhooo.....we came back to Columbia on Monday night and I was back at work on Tuesday. The week went well, but busy. Our weather has been nuts. We still had snow on the ground Tuesday and it has been almost 80 every day since Friday. Tomorrow, it is forecasted to be a high of 49. No wonder so many are sick! What else? Oh yeah, Friday night my car got egged as I had parked it in the road. UUGGGHHHH!!! I went and ate Hawaiian with my family Saturday night. I had the "Poo Poos on the Flaming Poo". No joke. That was the name. And it was VERY good. Chris and I have been taking the dog on hikes through the park near our home while the weather has been nice. All in all, things are looking pretty good. Oh well. Hope everyone else is having a great week. Be prepared; my next blog is going to be my March of Dimes March for Babies blog! Thanks for reading!

Thanks to everyone

2009-02-22T19:59:00.004-06:00

who wished me a happy birthday. It was a lot of fun. We did not get to eat at the Olive Garden, however. I got there at 15 till 6 and we were meeting at 6:30. It took me 10 minutes to put my name on the list then the hostess said it would be 90-120 minutes (closer to 120). I did not want to wait that long, so I gathered everyone up and we went to Logn's. Hey, I got a BIG "Yeeeehhhaaawwww!!!!" from the room. ;) Thanks to Katie & Bryan and Peggie & Steve for my gifts. Chris and I went today and bought some new pillows for our couch from Kohl's. We were going to eat at the Olive Garden today, but alas, it was not to be. They opened at 4 and we got there at 4:05 to find a line out the door and all the way down the sidewalk. It would have taken us at least 30 minutes to even get to the hostess, so we went to Pancho's instead. It was very good! I finally got to open my gift from Chris. He got me a magnetic knife rack to show off the new knives he bought! I had a gift card to Target that my friend Dannette gave me and we found my new knives there today! So, I bought the dark purple sandwich knife. It is wide and flat so you can spread the condiments on your sandwich. The light purple knife is a chef's santouku all-purpose knife. The orange one is a citrus knife and the red one is a tomato and cheese knife. The citrus and cheese knives all came with their own case. The all work very well. We decided to put magnetic tape on the back of the knife strip and put it on the fridge for now. I think that is about it. Oh, Chris had to work on Valentine's Day, but he did get me a gift to find. He bought me "Mama Mia!" on DVD. (It is even the sing-a-long version!) That was very sweet. I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and is going to have a great week. I will leave you with a pic of my "baby" that was taken at the park one day.

Yes, I'm still here...

2009-02-16T09:40:00.002-06:00

So, first of all, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Chris had to work, but he did leave me a gift to find..."Mama Mia!" on DVD. I watched it with the sing-a-long on. I have been busy, busy at work lately. We kicked off our big fundraiser, a cookie dough sale, on the 6th and it wraps up tomorrow. On Wednesday, I have some parent volunteers coming in to help me count and organize the orders. I have a pre-audit on the 25th of this month and they still have not told me what I need to pull for it. The kiddies and teachers are out of school today and so I am just tooling along here. I am trying to help the HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) club with their murder mystery dinner. This is where I need your help. The theme this year is "Murder Me, I'm Irish!" and it takes place in an Irish cafe. (It was supposed to be a pub, but this is school.) We need some decorating ideas and photos. If anyone has Irish photos they would be willing to let me use, please e-mail them to me at apsusweetie2002@yahoo.com. I would really appreciate it and any ideas you have for turning a school cafeteria into an Irish cafe.
Now that the begging is finished, here is what else is going on for me. My dad is having his shoulder reconstructed on the 25th. He has a bone spur, rotator cup injuries and torn tendons. It has bothered him for a while, but he finally went to the doctor. I have a birthday this Friday and will be 28. Chris has to work, but I have gotten some people from work together and we are going to the brand new Olive Garden that just opened today. It should be fun. I think Chris is a little irritated because I have not told him what I want for my birthday. The fact is, I really can't think of anything that I can't live without. It would be nice to get a pedicure and get my nails done. A weekend getaway would be good. Gift cards are always good. Chris wants to get me and Shiloh obedience classes at PetSmart. We need to look at their schedule before we make a commitment to that. If they are during the day, that puts it out for me. Personally, I think Shiloh knows the commands, she is just stubborn. Oh well. We will see how it all turns out.
In case I don't get back on for a while, Katie, good luck with the surgery. Bryan, welcome home. Peggie, I hope you get the new laptop up. Have a great week, all!

Lots of catching up to do...

2009-01-31T20:10:00.003-06:00

I am very sorry that I haven't blogged in so long! Things have been crazy for us, too. School got back in session the second week of January. Since then, we have had 2 snow days (and trouble with heat in the building). The first week that we were back in school, our faculty and staff got some devestating news. One of our teachers, and dear friend, had tragedy befall her. Her husband of 4 years shot and killed himself. He had a 12 year old stepson and a 3 year old son. It was very difficult and emotional. We are still trying to take care of our teacher. When that was over, we also had a teacher whose mother passed and another whose grandfather passed. It has been a trying year at school so far. I did manage to put in 4 hours of extra time this past week. I had the privelige to attend a training session on Thursday. From 8:30 till 2:30, I got to hear people talk. FUN!!! Oh well. This week is down, this month is over and we are going to make a new start.

As Chris said, he bought me a new knife. We are looking at buying a new set and putting them on a magnetic strip. He bought me the Santuku(?) knife. The are a great set that are colored. The handles and the blades are colored. It is neat. Mine is purple. I have not been able to use it yet. The blade seems to be good quality, but I am a little concerned because the handle is a very light plastic. I am afraid of breaking it. I am also looking at the Kuhn Rikon Swiss knives at Willilams-Sonoma. They are also colored, but they are bolder colors and heavier knives. The prices are comparable. Anyhoo...

What Chris failed to mention about the lock picking gun is that it is LOUD! I ended up with a headache. But, it worked. Oh well. I hope that everyone has a great weekend, enjoys the Super Bowl and the groundhog tells them what they want to hear! Love you all!

Happy New Year to All!

2008-12-31T19:05:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year's Eve! Chris is at work tonight, so I am at home watching movies and surfing the net. We were very happy to get to visit with everyone over Christmas. This year has flown by. I can't believe that another year is gone. It has been an adventurous year anyway. Chris and I welcomed two nieces into the family this year and witnessed two of our very good friends get married. We have also had our own adventures. I graduated from APSU with my BA. (Yea me!)My car has had two major accidents. Chris got to be first on scene to a fire. We redid our living room and master bath. We celebrated our fourth anniversary. We drove to Texas and back. 2008 has been a busy year. I think we are doing well with our lives, though. It is very quickly going to be a new year with new adventures. I hope that everyone had a wonderful 2008 and will have an even better 2009. I know that Chris and I will have a wonderful year. We both have our ten year high school reunion coming up. We will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary. Chris and I are tentatively planning a vacation for the upcoming year. I hope that everyone is happy and healthy in the new year and is safe tonight. Have a great one!

I dreamin' of a white...

2008-12-11T18:03:00.005-06:00

Friday! It is snowing here in Columbia! For the past couple of days, we have had serious rain, but this afternoon, we started with sleet. Around 5, it turned into big snow flakes and now it is white. The ground and road are white. I am hoping for a snow day tomorrow, but will settle for going in late. It is now a lot whiter and we are beginning to wonder if we are going to get the pizza we ordered. Oh well. Peggie and Katie, bring your warm clothes!

I'm still allive..

2008-11-05T20:00:00.010-06:00

Ok, all. I am still alive and doing well. (Just a note: this blog will probably be choppy, but I hope you can all understand it.) We had a wonderful trip to Texas as Chris and Peggie have pointed out. I enjoyed everything (except the snake) and Maddy is absolutely beautiful. Katie and Bryan have a great home as well. It is worth noting that we passed the Texas State Fair. I got to see the big ferris wheel. When I got back to school, I had to really step it up to get everything ready for the teachers to come back. Chris and I put up a new swing in the back yard. I got to dress up for Halloween at work. I decided to be a Harley girl. A teacher let me borrow some boots and a red leather Harley jacket. I even added 8 or 10 "tattoos" to complete the effect. I also did big hair and lots of makeup. The sad thing is that more than a few people told me I looked good! We are going to east TN this weekend for my grandmother's birthday. We are also going to have a family meeting about a cruise we want to take in January. We have decided that may be a better option than doing presents. Anyhoo...The biggest news is that I went and got my hair done today. I told the stylist that I wanted color and a cut, but was up for anything. I LOVE MY NEW HAIR!!!!! Chris really likes it, too. I told him that I finally got a big girl hair style. I am adding pics of it. Ok, now that all my pics have downloaded, I will add them. Again, sorry this is so random.

Nash and lil sis.

Uncle Chris and Maddy.

The new swing.

Halloween 08.

New hair

More new hair!

Sorry this was so long! Have a great hump day!

Celebrate!

2008-09-30T17:24:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to wish Katie and Bryan a happy 2nd anniversary! At least they got to spend part of the day together. I am so happy for both of you! Enjoy your last anniversary alone!

Pictures!

2008-09-28T18:14:00.005-05:00

First of all, I would like to say that it looks like everyone had a great time in Atlanta. Happy birthday to Nancy! Now, I actually have some new pictures for you all! This first photo is of my new scarecrow. I love Fall and love to decorate for it.

The photo to the right is the arrangement I made out of a glass pitcher. I know that Katie is great at this stuff. This was my first attempt and I think it is ok. There are amber and green glass pebbles in the bottom of the pitcher.

The last photo is my table setting for Fall. It is a rare occassion that I set the table for anything other than a meal! But, I got these great dishes and glasses to put on the table. The glasses have fall leaves on them. So, there is my big week. I cleaned and decorated.

Chris and I are getting very excited to go and visit with Katie, Bryan, and Maddie. We are going to make an adventure of it and drive there. So, I hope that everyone has a great week!

THANKS!

2008-09-23T19:36:00.002-05:00

Thanks, everyone for the anniversary wishes. I am going to be toasting alone tonight, though. Chris had to work. We have made plans to go to Chattanooga around the end of Nov or the beginning of Dec. I want to see Rock City with all the Christmas lights. I think it will be very pretty. I have also found a Christmas themed luncheon cruise I would like to take. Anyway, I can't believe it has been 4 years, either. It has been 6 years since we met. I ate at Sonic tonight to commerate our day. (For those of you who don't know, we went to Sonic on our way back home after getting married.) We are moving right along! Oh well.

Childhood memories...hmmmm. Well, you guys don't know my family history, so I don't know if you will get the whole picture. (BTW, this is tough.) I guess a good one would be our trips to Opryland theme park. When I was in the 6th grade, we started accompying my dad to a yearly convention at the Opryland Hotel. I can't even explain the feeling I got the first time we walked into the hotel. It was so amazing! We would get up in the morning, my dad would go to a session and my mom would walk us over to Opryland. We would come back for lunch, sometimes go swimming, then pick up my dad and go back over to the theme park. It was so much fun! My dad would go on the thrill rides with us and we all loved the Screamin' Delta Demon. There was a catfish place in the park on the river we would eat at. I remember the last time we were there before it closed. We were riding the Grizzly River Rampage. It is one of the wild river rides where you are in a big inner tube with seats and velcro seat belts. The loading dock was elevated. You got in, and went down into the river and at the end of the ride, you went up a conveyor belt. I was sitting beside my mom and we were on the downhill side on the conveyor belt going up. The ride jerked to a stop to load an older person and my seat belt came undone. I was going over the edge of the boat and my mom reached over and pulled me back into the boat. The theme park is gone, but the remains of the Grizzly River Rampage are still there. I think about that every time I see it! There are so many memories to share still, but that is the one I still think of often.
I hope that everyone is having a great week. Chris and I will be on our way to see Maddie and the crew on the 11th. Katie, you better talk that girl out on time!!! We want to see her! Anyhoo...again, thanks to all who wished us anniversary wishes. Have a great week!

Quick Thought

2008-09-11T21:27:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to weigh in today, too. This day has a special meaning to me. This is the day that things changed for my family. I remember that my mom and I looked at each other during the news coverage and said, "He's gone." Because of that day, my day, uncle, cousin and numerous friends ended up on active duty for two years and in Iraq for a year of it. They were on the ground in the hostile zone. Chris and I have talked about it a little, but I am still deeply affected by the coverage of 9/11/01. I watch the coverage of the memorials every year. I will have to say that I was disappointed today by the lack of support I saw. Only two or three of my co-workers dressed in red, white, and blue. But, that is ok. It is each person's option to show support or not and that is why our soldiers are fighting still. I do want to say that I am very proud of all our service personnel, not only military, but fire and police as well. I am very proud of Chris for what he has chosen to do. So, I will leave you guys with Patrick Henry's last words, "Give me liberty or give me death."

Big Day

2008-08-18T20:35:00.002-05:00

Ok, it has been a long time and a lot has happened. One weekend, I saw "Mama Mia!" with my mom. My parents went to Hawaii. I got to go to Arrington Vineyard for a friend's birthday (it was Chris' little brother Scott). Chris and I went to see the new Mummy movie on Saturday. We both liked it a lot. School has started. This past weekend we got the monstrosity of the desk out of our office and rearranged the bedroom. My parents came down yeaterday and Chris and my dad built a nightstand/dog bed for me. Friday we had 2 kids have seizures at school, but they were not serious enough to call an ambulance. Today, we had a 14-year-old have such a severe asthma attack that we did call an ambulance. We found out that it takes about 30 minutes to get one to the school. I was with the girl the whole time, along with the nursing teacher. I am not sure what would have happened if the EMTs had not shown up when they did. She was starting to pass out at that point. I will be honest when I say that it scared me to death when her eyes started rolling back and dialilating. Chris is good with this stuff, I don't know what I am doing! I was definately going on pure adrenaline for about an hour and a half. It was an exciting day. I really hope that she is going to be ok. What made this situation really bad is that we didn't even have an inhaler for this girl. Oh, and one of our teachers went to the ER (undiagnosed now) and another one's grandmother died. Eeehhhh...that's how it goes sometimes. I am going to bed now. I am tired. Hope everyone's week is uneventful!

Funny story...

2008-08-03T18:38:00.002-05:00

I just had a funny experience at Kroger. I take cloth bags with me when I shop. They hold more and don't rip. Plus, I am trying to be responsible. So, I bought a few groceries and the bagger was doing a good job putting them in my bag. I finished my transaction before the bagger was finished. I could tell the cashier was trying to hurry me out, so she "helped" by bagging some of my things in plastic. I wanted to look at her and ask if she missed the whole point of cloth bags. I just couldn't believe it! Some people.....

I'm still here

2008-07-31T20:26:00.003-05:00

I just wanted y'all to know that I am still here. It has been super busy here. We had registration day yesterday and school starts on Monday. I have spent countless hours editing, revising, and printing our teacher's handbook. We made a lot of changes to it this year. There is about 115-125 pages in it. I think I remembered to put in all the new policies. :) On top of that project, I have had the bills, ordering the supplies, and getting the teachers ready for Monday. It has been a madhouse! That's work.

Chris and I have been trying to figure out how to rearrange our house. We have almost picked out our paint colors. We are going with a basic off-white for the majority of the house with different accent colors. We have chosen a rusty red accent for the living room and kitchen. The guest room is going to stay a shade of yellow (to be determined later) and the office is either going to be green or a khaki green. For our bedroom we are thinking of doing one wall a dark blue. We are also wanting to rearrange our bedroom and living room furniture. So, that is what we have been up to.

My parents and brother are going to Hawaii either this week or next. They are going to fly military transport and stay on base, so their departure will depend on space. I asked if I could tag along in their luggage! It has been far too long since I have been to the beach. Anyway, I just wanted to check in and tell all of you that I am alive and doing well. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Busy week

2008-07-13T18:06:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of weeks. Chris has filled you in on our bathroom remodel. I think it turned out really well. Just to add, I made homemade ice cream the day we had ribs. Since then, I have been back to work and it really feels like a crunch now. The teachers will be back in 2 weeks and registration is on July 30th. It is getting crazy. Chris and I had a nice Saturday yesterday. We went to Franklin to have our picture taken. The picture is of Chris in his uniform and me. We ordered a package that includes a yearbook of the department, a pic of us, and 2 different pics of Chris. After the photo, we went to Ghengis Grill for lunch. It is Mongolian stir fry. After a great lunch, we bought tickets to see "Hancock". Because it wasn't for another hour, we went to Target to shop for Katie & the baby. We made an interesting discovery. The prices that print on the registry are the online prices and can be different from the store. Something we were going to buy was $10 more expensive in the store. Oh well. The movie was really good. It was better than what the critics said. We had a really good time. Today has been quiet. Chris is at work today. Today, I have been watching a "Bring It On" marathon. I did go to the gym and to Kroger to buy Lean Cuisines for lunch. Oh, and Katie, I had a Boca burger for dinner. I really like them! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I need a reminder...

2008-07-01T19:00:00.007-05:00

to blog more often! As Chris has said, I am on vacation this week. It's kinda silly, but they close down the school system for the week of the 4th; however, we have to make up 30 hours or take 3 vacation days. I have already worked my hours. Ok, this is going to be long, so bear with me.

First, the wedding. We had an amazing time at the b&b and with Brandy and Jason. It was so great to be there with them for their day. Chris and I were beside the best man and maid of honor. The first picture is of our bedroom at the b&b. The bathroom is really neat, too. The walls were the original brick because it was the outside of the house before additions. The second pic is of me and Brandy before the wedding. She looked great! Chris and I got down there early on Friday and we went to lunch with Brandy and Jason. After lunch, Chris went with Jason and Brandy and I went for pedicures. After that, we picked up our dresses from the shop and took them to the church and then I went to check into the B&B. Then, we ran to her house to change for the rehearsal and ran back to the church. The rehearsal dinner was at Jason's sister's house and it was great. We had BBQ and just an overall good time. The day of the wedding went very well. I bought food for the bridesmaids to have while dressing and the guys went out to eat. The ceremony was beautiful and the flowers were gorgeous! After the reception, we went to Riley's house for a party. There was food and homemade ice cream. We left Sat. night to come home. We picked up Shiloh from the kennel on Sunday and had a nice weekend.

So, now on to more things. I have been cleaning the house on my vacation. I am making an effort to get things where they need to be so we can paint. As previously noted, Chris suffered a major sunburn last week, so we didn't do much over the weekend. Yesterday, we embarked on an adventure to Lynchburg. It was a great day. I don't think it got over 85 all day. When we got there, we went downtown to eat lunch at a BBQ place. They had great fudge pie. :) After that, we went over to the distillery to take the tour. I had never done it before, so I found it very interesting. The place smelled wonderful. Our tour guide talked about the stills and it made me think of my family! I have some distant relatives who were moonshine runners! We had a wonderful time. Then we came home and Chris went to the volunteer fire dept. to log in some time. I am hopeful that we are going to be able to go canoeing this week.

Today, I had to take Shiloh to the vet. I hate to take her becuase she is terrified of that place. She is having some bad allergy problems and we need to give her some new medicine. When I got her there, she tried to run back to the car. In the waiting room, she hid behind me, shaking. We finally got her in the room and she hid under my chair. As the doctor was examining her, he literally scared the poop out of her. She does this almost every time. I don't know why she is so scared there. But, we got some steroids and have to consider giving her allery testing. She is better now.

That is about it for now. I told you this would be long. Katie, I made a bacon, cheese and spinach quiche for dinner. It was the first one I ever made and not bad. Not as good as some I have eaten, but not bad.

It's been a long, long time...

2008-06-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys! I have been soooo busy that I finally got a chance to sit and write. First of all, I want to say that I got my audit materials turned in! I was the second person to do so. That is over. I received my diploma in the mail, too, so I am official now. I have been trying to get things together for the wedding this weekend. Chris and I both love Jason and Brandy, so we are willing to do whatever it takes. This time, it takes going to Winchester on Bonnaroo weekend. :) I have looked everywhere for a hotel room. There was one in Winchester, but because of Bonnaroo, they were charging $250 a night! I found a room for $75/nt, but it was 35-40 min away and another that was $100, but it was 20-25 min away. I finally just settled on the Antebellum Inn b&b in Winchester. It is very close to the church. It is mid-priced and we get a "full plantation breakfast" in the morning. Today's pic is the b&b. We finally got over that hump. Now I need to find a place to stick the dog! I have been without a car for about a week now. It is in the shop getting a rebuilt transmission. After that, we are going to try to trade it in. I am here tonight with just the doggie. I think I am going to take her for a walk in a little while. We both need it. I am now on summer hours at work. It is 7-3 now. We are going through the long process of cleaning out old files and rotating them. We have to keep 5 years of records and burn anything older than that or anything with "sensitive" information on it. So, after July 1, I get to go on a burn fest. Chris said he would help me. Oh well. I know I am going on and on. I hope you all didn't get bored. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Ladies' Night

2008-05-25T21:10:00.003-05:00

As Chris has already said,I went to a bachelorette party this weekend. Today photos are all of us (Katie, me, Brandy, Josie, Amy, Jennifer & Riley) in front of the limo we rented for the night and the bride and me in the limo. We began the day with a shower Saturday at 3. Then we grilled out and had a nice dinner. At this point, many of the girls were drinking. After dinner, we got dolled up and waited on the limo. We went to downtown Nashville to the Cadalliac Ranch. It took the place of the Red Iguana. We got there around 9:30 and stayed there dancing until 12:30. Then we called the limo driver and we went to a new place called Stampedes. That was bad, so we left 15 minutes later and went to Steak N Shake. Eating at 1:30 in the morning is probably not a great idea, but hey, why not? We then napped in the limo on the way home. I did discover that I am getting a little old for this because I didn't want to drink (I'm not keen on hangovers) and was ready for bed around 11! It was fun, though.We had a great time. Oh, and Katie, we did not find a Peter for Brandy.

In other news, as Chris said, we did not get a car. I was very upset with the salesman. I told them I wanted a base model with NO extras. He kept talking about the cars he can get in and they all had the "preferred package", which is about $2000 worth of stupid extras like first aid kits. I told him I wasn't paying $60 for a first aid kit and he told me that if that was what he could get in, that is what I was going to have to take . I don't think so. So, back to the drawing board.

School is now out and I will start my summer hours on Tuesday. My audit is on June 6th, so wish me luck. All is well and I hope that everyone is doing well.

They got me

2008-05-16T19:56:00.004-05:00

Today the senior class got me. Today was there class day and they do gag gifts for some of their teachers. Well, I was included. They called me into the theater and made me stand on stage. Then Krista said, "Because you like to dress up so much...you know, Marilyn at the Murder Mystery, Baby from "Dirty Dancing"...we thought you should have your own dress up kit. Now you can dress up anytime!" I got a funny set. It is a pink feather fan, pink tiara and jewelry set and shoes. I work the tiara all day for them. At least I didn't get the Metamucil and anti-wrinkle cream!

Things are going pretty well. Chris wants to keep looking at some other cars, but I think I have finally settled on the RAV4. I really like it, as far as large cars go. We really need to replace my car soon. It appearantly has a terminal disease. :) I am starting to get excited about the prospect of a new car. I love mine, but it is time to upgrade!

That is about it for now. Tomorrow I am going to a pancake fundraiser at O'Charley's. Then, I have to go to a baby shower and drop off my rings at Kay's for refinishing. I think it will be a productive day. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Crazy days!

2008-05-11T18:54:00.002-05:00

Ok, I know it has been a long time since anyone has heard anything from me, so here it goes. I finally graduated last Friday with a BA in Public Relations. Unfortunately, no one thought to bring a camera, so we have no pics. I am going to order a couple of the pics they take when you graduate. They are a little pricy, but it is worth it to have a record of the event. Steve and Peggie came down for it. I appreciate that. We ate at Chris' choice of Cozymel's. It was very good. Chris and his mom spent all day Saturday woking on this blog thing and I went grocery shopping. Although I love my husband dearly, it hurt my feelings that he did not mention me in his blog on Saturday. Anywhoo.....we found out that my car needs to be replaced. The guy Chris took it to told him it would be about four grand to put a new transmission in. So, we are looking for a new car. As much as I would love to have another convertible, we need a car that is comfortable to take trips in and has good gas mileage. My front runner right now is the Toyota RAV 4. It has all the room we need and it gets 29 mpg. (That is actual, I know someone who drives a new one. And, she has had it for a year.) I tried on my dress and shoes for the wedding we are in this summer. That is about it. Graduation for Santa Fe is on Chris' birthday. He won't tell me what he wants to do, so that is still in the air. Anyway, happy Mother's Day to all and have a great week!