Vacation memories

The cooler weather is tugging at my heart and making me miss family vacations to the Smokies.

While there have been a few truly miserable trips, due to a large dose of family bickering and a dash of drama, last year's vacation made up for the lackluster years in the past.

Since I'm feeling all nostalgic, I'm going to make this a picture post and share some of my favorite moments from our last trip.

We started off in Gatlinburg. I know I look rough in this picture, we'd been in the car all day. This was right before supper our first night there and I was giddy with excitement. Although we've been on trips like this countless times, I still feel like a kid when we finally get there. This is Chase, my youngest little brother, who will be 11 in just a few weeks. When did he get so old???

Here we are again, this time in the woods. I love this part of the trip. The sights and sounds of Gatlinburg are fun, but to me, the best part is being able to get out and enjoy nature.

Back in Gatlinburg, me and Chase are making idiots of ourselves. It was fun though! This was in the 3-D mini golf attraction. The pictures turned out to be the best part. It was hot and stuffy inside, and they kept playing carnival music, which kind freaked me out. I'm one of those nerds that read It and am consequently scared to death of clowns.

This was the view from under the swinging bridge on Grandfather Mountain in Boone, North Carolina. It was my first trip up there and it was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. This is the "mile-high" bridge — it hangs more than 5,800 feet above sea level. Of course I had to walk across it. :)

Also at Grandfather Mountain. This bear cracked me up. It was in a pen with some other bears, and they would all sit there and beg for treats. Chase got a kick out of throwing it food. It would catch it, gulp it down and immediately start begging for more.

Mama will be ashamed, but I can't remember the name of this waterfall. All I know is that it's the one you can walk behind. It had been dry that season, so it wasn't flowing very strong, but it was still pretty.

This is the view from the top of Grandfather Mountain. See all of those people standing on the edge of the cliff? I wanted to be one of them so bad, but was told that as long as I was on a family trip, I'd get nowhere near it. Guess I'll have to go back by myself for that one.

Overall, the trip was so much fun.

I wish I was there now...

So many festivities, so little time

It feels like it’s been forever since I posted anything!! To my faithful readers (all two or three of you), I’m sorry for leaving you out to dry. I know you must be dying to know all of the exciting events that have been taking place in my life.

Well, fear not — I had a very busy weekend, so there is plenty to fill you in on.

It got kicked off early Friday night. When I got home from work I went through my bookshelves and, much to my surprise, realized I had a book that had never been read. So, I was all set to spend a quiet night at home when my phone rang with a much more exciting offer — a night of rides at the Covington County Fair. Mikey and Jessica picked me up around 6:30 and we headed to the fair grounds. We had a great time, but the trip wound up being a bittersweet reminder that I’m no longer 13. The rides that I LOVED as a kid left me feeling sore and disoriented. And until this year, I had never noticed how rusty some of those things are. And they throw them together in less than a day! Is that safe? Who inspects them and decides they’re ride-ready? Where did these worries come from? Ahhhhg, I’m getting older and I don’t like it!

Anyway, after surviving all of the carnival rides and returning home only slightly nauseated, I went to sleep so I get up early Saturday morning to enjoy more fall festivities. Saturday started with a trip to Opp to help Mrs. Cheryl and her daughter run a booth at the fall festival. We were in charge of “Go fish” — the game where the little kiddies throw a fishing line over the booth to hook a prize. Some kids got a little ambitious and I worried someone would lose an eye before it was all said and done. Thankfully, no one was injured and everyone had a great time. After our shift was finished, we strolled around, checking out the arts and crafts and eating yummy festival foods.

Then it was home for a short afternoon nap before heading back to the County Fair to watch a friend of mine sing in the talent show. (She placed 2nd! Should’ve won 1st, if you ask me…not that anyone did.)

Sunday rounded out the weekend with church, followed by pumpkin carving with Kevin. I’ll post pictures of that later — I don’t have my camera handy. It will be evident by the pictures that I am NOT an artist. I bought a kit with stencils, but Kevin informed me that using a kit was cheating. He helped me scoop out the guts, but left the “free-hand” carving up to me. Not sure that was the best idea, but hey…it was fun. That’s all that matters, right?

Anyway, that was my weekend — another reminder of why I LOVE this time of year.

However, I’d love it more if my heater worked. I called my landlord earlier and she swore she’d try to have it fixed by this afternoon.

OH, speaking of my landlord, she offered me another rental house that’s cheaper than the one I’m living in. It would save me about $200 a month, but I don’t know if it’s worth it. The yard isn’t fenced in, which would be a pain with Toby needing room to run. AND it would mean lugging all of my furniture across town AGAIN. So, I’m weighing the options but leaning towards staying where I am. I'm going by to look at it during my lunch break, but it's not sounding hopeful.

Fabulously Fall

Hello and happy Monday. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Mine was the perfect combination of rest and productivity. Here’s the run-down:

Saturday I slept in until around 9:30 (by which time Toby was whining incessantly wanting to go outside.) I was pleasantly surprised by the weather when I took him out. It actually felt like FALL! Which made going back inside to do my weekend chores really, really difficult. But I was strong. I got all of my dishes washed and most of my laundry finished in time to enjoy an afternoon of serious football watching. I wasn't as fortunate as Jen and her fam, who actually got to go to the Bama game, but I did enjoy watching it on TV. Let me correct that statement. I enjoyed watching the first half. The second half was down-right painful. Why can’t we pull it together and play a WHOLE sixty minutes of football?! It’s like we quit after half-time. (Yes, I know I keep saying we. I’m also aware that I don’t, and never have, played football. It’s a figurative “we”)

“We” scraped by with a four-point win. SO, although it wasn't pretty, Alabama still remains undefeated. That deserves a ROLL TIDE! (Sorry Uncle Frank, I know you were disappointed. Maybe next year!) Oh, and Toby showed his team spirit by rocking his Bama jersey all day. He hasn't even tried to eat it yet. A sure sign he’s a true Alabama fan.

Sunday, Kevin and I left bright and early and headed to Mama’s for a day of loading furniture and hiking. I was fortunate enough to have a set of California king mattresses bestowed upon me, courtesy of the fam. (My step-dad is 6’7, so he has to have the extra length. But this set was too soft for Mama, and PERFECT for me…lucky me!) So now, my 5’3 frame gets to stretch out on a gianormous bed (which takes up practically my whole bedroom — but I’m not complaining!) I also came into possession of a new entertainment center this weekend. Score! My house is coming together quite nicely! :)

After getting everything loaded into Kevin’s truck, we all (with the exception of my step-dad who was watching football) headed to Oak Mountain for a WONDERFUL hike. (By wonderful, I mean this one was NOT sixteen miles long and it was about 15 degrees cooler outside. If you don't know what I'm refrencing, see this.)

Overall it was a pretty great weekend. Football, family, furniture and friend-boy (okay, that last word is backwards but it needed to start with an “f” to go with the rest of the sentence...and the title of today's blog.)

And kudos to Kevin for being such a champ. This is the about the gazillionth time he’s helped me move furniture. ::Sigh:: My hero.

Stalkers beware

Okay, let me just start by easing everyone's apparent fear...I am NOT going to go hiking alone! I promise! So don't worry!! You won't read about me disappearing or see my face on CNN under a missing person headline...unless someone steals me from the Wal-Mart parking lot one night when I'm buying groceries. (TOTALLY kidding y'all, don't stress out because I have a screwed up sense of humor.)

Tomorrow me and Kevin are packing lunch and taking our dogs to the trail for a fun-filled day our outdoor excitement. Hear that? Me, a guy and TWO dogs...crazy stalkers in the woods wouldn't stand a chance! :)

So, I have decided that I was not a natural born Atari player. I lost 12 straight games of Pong last night. And these weren't close losses, they were slaughters. I'm talking 11-1, 11,0, 11-2 (I thought I was improving.) But did I give up? NO! I was freakin relentless. I said, "I'll get you next game; I'm just warming up!" Finally Kevin got tired of such easy victories so he turned the game off and ruined my fun. Apparently my reflexes are just not quick enough to follow a little electronic ball across the screen. Sad? Yes... a little.

OOOOH I almost forgot. My very sweet friend Jessica over at Southern Yankee tagged me with this:

In return, I have to list six things that make me happy and pass the love along. So, here we go:

1. Unexpected gifts and compliments. :)
2. AUTUMN: football, hiking, cooler weather, pumpkins, apple cider, Halloween, candy corn, bon fires...I could go on and on.
3. Singing at the top of my lungs in the car. Yes, it sounds awful but no one hears it but me.
4. Mike & Ikes: I have an almost unhealthy obsession. This is why I try not to buy them.
5. Watching my insane dog play outside. He hops like a rabbit sometimes when he runs and I fall out laughing. Yes, he's destructive, but he's also a lot of fun.
6. Spending lazy days with friends and family. Sometimes just being together is all it takes. No plans, no schedule - just chill.

So there they are. There are many other things that make me happy, but I was limited to six and I try to follow the rules. (Hahaahaha, if you know me you'll laugh at that.) Honestly, I could go on all day, but it's Saturday which means there are football games to watch, so I'm trying to keep this short. I haven't figured out how to "tag" other people, so I will leave by telling Jen, Bethany, Christi and Heather to list your top six "happies" when you get a chance.

Time to hit the trails

So, as I mentioned in my previous blog, it is OCTOBER, which means it is finally Fall in the South. This is BY FAR my favorite time of year. I love the cooler weather and the color of the changing leaves (although that hasn't really started here yet.) This time of year I find it almost impossible to sit still inside. Every part of me wants to be somewhere else.
I was a little worried about the lack of outdoor activities when I moved down to Andalusia. Yeah, there are lakes- but those are really more fun in the summer. What I want are hiking trails. So, yesterday I got on OutdoorAlabama.com and was very pleasantly surprised to find there are actually some nearby! And by nearby, I mean 13 miles from my house!!! In fact, there are 20 miles of trail just south of here in the Conecuh National Forest. I have a feeling I will be seeing those very soon!

Haha...seriously. OCTOBER??

Well, according to the insurance people, a lot of people have dogs just as bad as Toby. They said I'd be surprised at how many people call and say their dog used their phone as a chew toy. So, THANKFULLY my cell insurance covered the damage and all I had to do was pay a deductible on the new phone. The bad news is Toby demolished any chance I had at getting my contact list, so now I have NO phone numbers. So if I don't call you, it's not because I don't love you, it's because my memory sucks and I don't have your phone number any more.

Also, I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but today is the first day of October! Are you kidding me? Where did September go? Or what about August? Last time I checked, I thought it was still May. Sheesh...the summer flew by and now it's gone. I have officially been in Andalusia for FIVE months now. That's insane... I feel like I fell asleep and someone changed my calendar as a joke. The good news is that the weather will be cooling down some, prompting me to find outdoor activities to do on the weekends. I think I'm going to look on Outdoor Alabama today and see if there are any trails nearby. Why can't there be mountains in south Alabama?