Mountains Days Two and Three

I had totally planned to give you witty narratives for each day we were in the mountains, but you're going to get one liners and a few photos from both days combined.  Best laid plans and all that!

Sir and I are heading to St. Louis tomorrow night, we're helping move my grandmother into an assisted living facility, and we'll be there all weekend.  All is fine with Miki, but it's just time for that 96 (almost 97) year old broad to have a bit more help.  So, off we go.  Again.

But, I didn't want to leave you hanging on this great trip, and the word, "swimsuit."

We woke up Saturday morning and the girls enjoyed watching Les Mis.  It was even better accompanied by a Bloody Mary.  It was my fourth time and I cried like it was the first.

So after Les Mis, we had a bit of sushi for lunch, courtesy of Larry.

Then we had a bit of Speedo giving to the boys.  Unfortunately, I can't show you many of those photos.  The suits were very skimpy, and the boys were, unused to, um, wearing them.  I do think I can get away with showing you one photo:

 

The rest of the pix just had way too many close ups.  But believe me, the boys were good sports and the suits were worth the giggle.

Following the Speedo Fashion Show, we then had

Larry swimming in the river

a good old fashioned game of Apples to Apples

Steak Bites and Crash Hots

a little Justin Timberlake DVD

a little Amy Winehouse DVD, complete with complaints from the peanut gallery

an impromptu trip to Helen, Georgia

a Wild West photo

the obligatory German couple photo

a Chopped competition (won by yours truly!!)

a little facial grooming on the deck

and a final night with tacos and Patron.

Granted, we didn't make it to our "intended" spot, but we made  that little house next to the Chattahoochee River our own little haven.

Mountain Retreat, Day One

For the past ten years, we've been going to Bryson City, NC, for at least one weekend a year.  If we can get away with it, we go more often.

More often than not, we've even rented the same cabin.  We do like our routine.

However, this year, we opted to go a different weekend (not New Years) and rent a new cabin.  All this change is a challenge for me, by the way.  But, we forged ahead.  We booked the new cabin, took time off work, bought food, bought beer, packed, cleaned and finally the big day was here!  We loaded up our friend's truck and hit the highway.

Then I read my emails.

In my inbox was an emergency email from the rental company.  It seems the ice storm had already gone through Bryson City and no way, no how, would we be able to make it up those roads to the cabin.

HUH? 

What began next was thirty eight miles of frantic phone calls and ipad use to try to find an alternative getaway.  All cities in the mountains of North Carolina were out.  ICE everywhere.  Charlotte had houses, but no hot tubs.  Should we go to Myrtle Beach?  Should we try Atlanta?  Turn around and go home?    Mike suggested Helen, Georgia; in the mountains, but a bit further south than the North Carolina mountains.  So, I found a house on my ipad while in the truck, Tracy called and booked it and we headed northwest.  We literally planned our weekend getaway in minutes.

Oh yeah.  We drove through the back half of that ice storm.  Ice covered the car, and of course the bridges.  But, we made it.  Listen, we were determined. 

And, I'm happy to report that the house was lovely.  It was nestled on the side of a hill, next to the Chattahoochee River.  There was plenty of room, a hot tub, a gas fireplace, and plenty of space to giggle and have fun.  That's really all we needed.

I mean, how perfect does the place need to be when you are surprising the boys with swimsuits?

Yeah, stay tuned for Day Two.

Oh My

Hi World!

Yes, I'm still alive.  I have so many tales to tell, but until I can get to them, let me just tease you with this:

Doggy Makeover

I've heard that they do mud baths at fancy spas, and that you end up feeling gorgeous after being covered in the stuff.  But, this is ridiculous:

 

This guy is covered in pluff mud.  Oh, do you know what pluff mud is?  It's that nasty mud that is exposed during low tide and also found in the swampy regions.  (Colleen, I bet you have it in your backyard?)  It's gooey, sticky and STINKY.  

This pooch was stuck in the pluff mud, and some angel rescued him and took him to the shelter.  Sir Steven does a lot of photography for the shelter, and was called into action for the "after" shot.  The kind folks at the Charleston Animal Society spent two hours washing, cleaning and grooming him.  Not only was he covered in the mud, but also matted terribly.  Ladies and Gents, I present to you:

 One clean pup.

(pay no mind to the non makeup wearing person holding the dog!)

 

Not only was he clean, he was happy happy happy!  Look at that smile!  We took him outside for his photo shoot, and he immediately lifted his leg in joy.  He pranced around and gave love and kisses to anyone who came near him.  

 

He posed like a top model.

He is also a media star, as his story is now featured on Facebook and the local TV station.  Hopefully, this reunites him with his owner or finds him a new forever home.  Either way, it brings more people into the shelter!  Kudos to the rescuer and the shelter folks who gave this guy another shot at happiness.

We had to stop and say hello to some of the babies waiting for adoption---

 All they want is someone to love them.

And maybe some kibble.

 

Oh, and some belly scratches.

 

 I highly recommend a shelter animal, they will love you forever.

 

 And they have such a sense of humor.

 

 

Sit With Me?

If you ever come over to my house to play with me....

 

 I will ask you to sit in my chair with me.  I like to snuggle. 

Especially with this baby.

Mid Week Mute

Zoom

Slow down, you move too fast----You got to make the morning last.

I was lucky enough to get to stop by Target after work today. It was one of my favorite types of shopping, picking up all sorts of items that don't go together.  You know, Drano, socks, Kleenex, 100 calorie Cheezits. I had a bunch of different items in my buggy.  A nice young lady was behind me and only had a cd to purchase, so I let her go ahead of me.  No big deal, we've all done it before.

As I left the store I thought about how easy that action was to do, and about how much easier life is when we just slow down a bit.  We are all in such a hurry.  We rush to and from work.  We work as quickly as we can to complete our tasks.  We rush through grocery shopping, driving, even meals.  

We're missing all the little things.  

 Accidents are happening because folks are changing lanes trying to gain the advantage.  

We're missing out on smiles and giggles with friends, because we're focused on getting to the next activity.

We're ignoring those in need and forgetting to shower love on those most important to us.

I'm gonna slow down folks.  I'm happy to wait in line a few extra minutes.





Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

A Summer Day in Mid January

I call this one,"recipe for a perfect summer day smack dab in the middle of winter."

Eighty degree weather on January 12th.

Let's go boating.  With no jackets.  Wearing shorts.  And flip flops.

Don't forget your baby doll.

Wear your swim trunks.  Just in case.

Pack a cooler with ice cold beer.

 

Pack the boat with a bunch of goofballs, a sassy bearded Englishman and a couple of cute kids.

Make sure you continue to be amazed at the weather and laugh at your friends and relatives who live in colder regions.

 

 Take tons of photos, post them to Facebook and Instagram.

 End the day with a cookout, complete with burgers, homemade fries and some yummy Kale.

Realize that you managed to get a sunburn in a month normally known for the flu.

 

And hope like the dickens that we get a winter day in the middle of July.

Mid Week Mute

Intervention

I am addicted to:

purses

black shoes

black boots

stripes

polka dots

Chopped

red onion

unsweet tea

naps

Cupcake Red Velvet Wine

finding comfy pj pants

Amazon.com

sushi from Zen

the mountains  (17 days!)

my iphone

Les Mis

Anything Caroline Lee narrates

Facebook

TMZ.com

garlic stuffed olives and cheezits.  not together.

reading all my friend's blogs

looking for comments on my blog

Jack in the Box tacos

Mac Lip Glass  (yes, that's how it's spelled)

Target


finding a good eye creme  (or is it cream?)

list making  :-)

How about you? What are you addicted to these days?

26 (.2) Reasons Why I'll Never Run a Marathon

A – My a$$ is too big.

B – Yep.  The boobalies would bounce me right out of mile number one.

C –Chafing anyone?

D -Desire, of which I have none.  Also, discipline.

E –Effort.  It takes WAY too much effort.

F- Flatulence when I run.  Yep.  

G-I look really goofy when I run.  Or, at least I did the last time I did run; which was about sixth grade.

H-It would mess up my hair. 

I-Injuries.

J-Jjuju doesn’t run.  Juju can't run.

K-Seriously, it would kill me.

L-I would be the laughing stock while getting continuously lapped by little old ladies.

M-That is way too many miles.

N-That much running would interfere with my naps.

O-O U C H

P-Um, the pain?

Q-Quitters never win.  Just call me Loser.  Or, you can call me, “Never Starter.”

R-Running is not a word in my vocabulary.

S-That stitch you get in your side. Ouch. Oh, and the sweat.  And, short shorts don’t look good on me.

T-I am terrified of losing my bowels in public.

U-It would be very very ugly.   All of it.  Me, the running, my hair, the outfit.  

V-I’m very content being a fan, not a participant.

W-You can’t drink wine when running a marathon.

X-The words I would be yelling would be xrated.  Small children and sensitive women would be insulted. 

Y-I’m a yellow bellied sapsucker fraidy cat.

Z-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  If I’m doing something for 26.2 miles or approximately four hours, you better believe I’ll be sleeping.

But kudos to all who do, especially our good buddy Matt.  

Thursday Thoughts

I just can't get into Pinterest.
But all the food on there looks G O O D.
I'm already tired of the GET FIT/LOSE WEIGHT commercials on TV.
It's hard to type with a cat on your lap.
I hate mealy tomatoes.
Short work weeks seem to last longer than normal work weeks.
Why do the nice people move away, and the horrible people just stay put?
Is there a good eye cream out there that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
I'm starting to dislike khaki pants.
I've seen Les Mis twice now.  I anticipate more trips to the theatre.
I'm now going to hold my breath for ten seconds.
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
My newest admitted addiction: Chopped.
My newest won't admit addiction:  Restaurant Impossible
My new favorite actor to crush on, even though he looks young enough to be my child:

I do love a man with freckles.
Have you seen Rocks TV?  OMG, if you haven't, it's too silly to miss.
My favorite peanut butter is Peter Pan.
I haven't eaten peanut butter for a long time.
If we had to go on Family Feud, we'd have a hard time finding five people to do it.
Well, five folks who could come up with good answers...
I haven't ridden my shiny blue bike in a very long time. 
But, I am still dieting. Oh, excuse, me, I guess the buzz word phrase is, "lifestyle change."
I won't lie - I could eat a whole bag of potato chips and dip right this second.
Burp.
What's your favorite dip?  I like anything with garlic.
Let's look at another picture of the cutie patootie, Eddie Redmayne:

Three weeks until the mountains. 
I still need to take down my Christmas crap.
I think Taylor is spending the summer in San Fransisco. Lucky kid.
This is the year I turn 50.
Let's get celebrating.