Happy Trails

Yesterday, as I was walking around the lake, a paving company was busy at work. I have to admit, I am looking forward to today's 4 miles on solid pavement. No more mulch and no more gravel.
I enjoy walking and unwinding my mind, but those pesky gravels and mulch that try to work their way into my shoe has always been a nuisance.
Now, I wish that I had a pair of roller skates...no really, I DO.

Get'r'done

So far this week, Stroker has washed both of the vehicles; we grilled burgers for dinner on Monday. We sat up the obstacle course and wiped the entire thing down and disinfected it to get it ready for summer. I walked 2 miles yesterday with my sister and Brookelynn by my side. I cooked a meatloaf, mashed potatos and corn for dinner last night. This spring weather has really got us up and moving.
Who knows how much more progress the rest of the week will hold...It's only Wednesday.

5 Day Recap

Wednesday morning I drove to Sparta to pick up my mom and take her to her doctor appointment. When we arrived at her appointment, the lady at the "sign in" window informed her that her appointment had been rescheduled. After a drive thru breakfast at McDonald's, we headed back to Sparta.
When I got mom back home, I headed back to Cookeville and spent the rest of the day working around the house on all the mundane chores such as laundry, furniture polishing, bathtub scrubbing and general pick up.
Thursday must have been really dull. I can't remember a thing that happened Thursday. Seems like it rained most of the day Thursday. I didn't get a chance to walk that day.
Friday consisted of a visit to Moss TN and a meal at El Tapatio.
Saturday was a cooler day. We have gotten so spoiled to the 70 and 80 degree weather this month, that 62 chilled us out. I skipped out on walking again because it just wasn't warm enough. We went to Logan's for dinner and ran into Chris and Ashley (again). That was two nights in a row that we ended up at the same restaurant as them.
Today, I got dressed for church in the bedroom. I put on a long sleeve black shirt and a khaki skirt. I decided on black sandals. When Stroker came out of the bathroom, he had on a long sleeve black shirt, khaki pants and black shoes. We took one look at each other and said "you just want to be like me".
Neither of us would change into something else, so we went to church as the matching couple. Great minds think alike I guess. We had a good sermon today about putting our trust in God and the importance of the sacrifices we make for Him.

Stroker put down some grass seed this afternoon while the sun was out.
I got to take my four mile walk at the park today. That felt good, being as I have missed the last three days. I spotted these ducks at the bridge on my last lap.

Spring Sprang Early

Today was officially the first day of Spring. We had record breaking warm weather around here. Today's high was 85 degrees. It was so nice outside that we grilled burgers and corn on the cob. We threw together some macaroni salad and baked beans and had dinner on the patio.

I had taken Cletus to drop him off at the groomers at noon and picked him up at 4pm. He sure looks like he feels better. His winter coat was looking shaggy.
I also walked another 4 miles today toward my 500 mile walk this summer. Today I went by myself. Sometimes it's nice to have an hour alone to reflect on everything.

The grass is getting greener and the stinky Bradford Pear tree blooms are gone.  The cherry trees are beginning to bloom and they smell beautiful. This sure was a great spring break.

Warm Weekend Recap

Although Spring isn't officially here, it has felt more like summer for the past week.

This weekend has flown by. We have been on the go since we got up Friday morning. Treasure  went back home from her sleepover with Brookelynn around 1pm Friday.

Stroker was excited all day Friday about going to see Michigan play.

They left for the game Friday evening before I got home from work. Brookelynn and I met up with Darlene, Stacia and her boys for dinner and stopped by a couple stores before heading home. At midnight Friday night, we were sitting at IHOP with Gary and Stroker.

Saturday morning was here before we knew it. We was in Gainesboro Saturday at lunch time and decided to try Helen's Restaurant on Highway 56.  "Mom & Pop" restaurants always seem to have the best burgers.
Saturday evening, we headed to White County so Stroker could help Gary hang a new storm door. Darkness set in around 7:30 so we called it quits for the night. We hung out with them for a while, then headed back to Cookeville. It was another late night for us. We had dinner at O'Charley's around 9pm. Brookelynn spent the night with her friend Jalyn. She had to fit in one last "spring break" sleepover.
Sunday, after church, we stopped by moms and took her with us to Darlene and Gary's. Stroker and Gary assembled the door latch while the rest of us enjoyed the warm sunshine.

March Madness

Looks like Brookelynn and I have the evening to ourselves tomorrow. Stroker, Devin and Gary are going to watch Michigan at the NCAA tournament.

Brookelynn and I started a walking routine yesterday. We knocked out four miles. Today, the weather set us back a little. We only got two miles in.

My goal is to walk 500 miles this summer. I have accomplished it before...let's see if I can do it again.

Out With the Old

Earlier today, our dining table looked like this.

 Tonight, our dining table looks like this.

I love glass top tables. We had the black table for about four years so we all welcomed the new look.

"March"ing Forward

After spending a couple of days at home resting up from vacation, we got back into our "normal" day to day activities. The kids are still on spring break this week so they ditched us last night to spend time at my sister's house. Devin is taking a road trip with Gary today to check out a truck driving career. Stroker and I went for a quiet dinner for two at Logan's last night. We also stopped by the funeral home to pay our respects to nice man that we both knew. He collapsed at his job (Staples) on Friday and passed away shortly after.
Other "happenings" in the past few days have been...

• John Casen's first birthday party

• Check up with the oral surgeon about the numbness in my chin and bottom teeth.
• My finger nails are still growing since I can no longer bite them with a numb mouth.
• I went for my second manicure.

• Spent Saturday in four surrounding counties.
• Devin invested $65 on a PS3 game called Battlefield 3 so he could play against his PA friend that he met on the ship.
• The Bradford Pear Tree's are in full bloom (and stink).

• Daylight Savings time began. I love long evenings.

• Erin, Brandon & Ansley got moved into their new house.

The "Dream" Cruise

Breakfast at Sea...approaching Nassau Bahamas

Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas

Both of these photos were taken at Castaway Cay. While we were there we witnessed a guy propose to his girlfriend (she said "yes"). We also watched a beach wedding that was beautiful. I reminisced about our Disney wedding while we watched.
Brookelynn and I rode the water trikes too...I have always wanted to ride one.

We must have chosen the perfect cruise time because the weather was awesome. We also chose a great ship. Since it is just one year old, everything was still new and pristine. We were docked by a Carnival ship in Nassau and it looked used and abused.
Our most relaxing vacation ever has came to an end, and now it's time to get back to reality.

Reality is quite a change from the sunny 80 degree days, elegant dinners, Broadway theatre, Bahama beaches and relaxation; nonetheless, it's our reality and after a few days, we were glad to get back home.

While we were soaking up the sun drenched days, storms tore through our county.

Luckily we had no damage to our property.