Oh my, my, my

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!

Proud Wife

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?

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

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...

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...

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

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)

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...

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

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!

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...

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...

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

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

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....

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

Catching up

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

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

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!