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!

Time flies...

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

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!

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

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

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...

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...

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!

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...

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..

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!

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!

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!

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

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."