And the Award Goes to....

Tim was awarded as Maury Alliance Ambassador of the Year tonight at the annual Maury Alliance banquet (as seen in this snippet from our local paper, The Daily Herald). You saw in the previous post his costume. Well, lucky Tim was recognized for this accomplisment while in full lion regalia and in front of about 250 of his closest friends. Seriously, he handled himself admirably and truly deserved his recognition as Ambassador of the Year. I'm so proud of him!!

RRRRRRoar!

Tim puts the finishing touches on his circus music for the Maury Alliance banquet. The theme is "The Circus", and he is obviously in costume. Too bad I'm not going to be there to witness him and all the others dressed up!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Stormy Weather

We had some nasty weather blow through this evening. Sustained winds of 40-50mph came through for an hour or so. Some heavy rain, too but mostly just nasty wind. In the pic above, the sun was out on the west side of town while the dark skies were still threatenening to the east.

Feeling Puny

After working on the new home theater setup for Randall and Glenn yesterday, the four of us went to La Fuente for lunch. Apparently, that wasn't such a good idea. Randall and Glenn were both sick last night from the food, and I was puny today. I came home from work at noon and slept for 3 hours. I never got sick, but just felt like I was. The magazine above came in the mail today. Nothing cheers me up like good Southern recipes, garden ideas, and decorating inspirations.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Wires, Wires, Wires

Today, I hooked up a home theater surround set for Randall and Glenn. Those things have wires going all over the place. After much cable routing and re-routing, everything is finally working properly.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Breakfast of Champions

My Rotary Club hosted our bi-annual Breakfast of Champions. The event went very well, drawing in over 120 folks. Our "headliner" for the breakfast was Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins. My goodness what a pretty young man he is! And on top of looking good, he's a hometown Columbia boy. Go Marlins - or whatever team he's on really, no matter to me as long as I get to look at him!

Retail Therapy

I had some extra money from various computer work I had done this week. This means shopping! Tim got some new speakers for his 'creative arts studio' and I got this new end table for my 'garden solarium/home office'. I also picked up some Asics tennis shoes. I love buying new stuff!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Authen_ic Mexican Food

This sign hangs over the entrance to a local Mexican eatery here in Columbia. There's also one with the same spelling by the road - to attract people in to sample its fine, authen_ic food. (Notice there's no "t" in Authentic on the sign) Now, I can understand that the owners likely aren't fluent in English but still needed a sign for their business. My beef is with the sign company that made the sign for them. Do they not know how to spell properly either? Isn't it their job to check and double-check spellings before creating their masterpieces? Oh well, it provided us a nice chuckle tonight as we were leaving the restaurant across the street. Maybe tomorrow night we'll be in the mood for Authenic Mexican Food.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Cocktail Time

We bought this fun neon martini light last night for our home bar. I thought it would be dim, and kinda cute. Wow is it bright! And too much fun!! Now we're ready for some cocktails - French martini or a Pomtini anyone??

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Gettin' Ready for Summer Drankin'

I saw this monogrammed beer coozie at Tuesday Morning today and just had to have it. Of course, I also had to get one for Randall. Isn't it just too cha-cha for words?!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Treasured Painting

Another bonus of the office rearrange is that I now have a great spot to show off this watercolor painting that Tim did for me. It's of the old train depot in Columbia, TN. I've always loved this building. It's a dream of mine to buy it, have it restored, and open an upscale restaraunt in it. We'd have an outdoor dining patio, outdoor herb garden for the kitchen, live jazz and piano music on Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday brunch, and great artwok on display. Our chef would change the menu often to keep choices fresh. Service would be impeccable. I think the depot would make a great business venture- any financial backers out there want to pitch in some money???

Ferns

With the rearrange of my office, I moved a bookcase in front of the window, thus giving me the perfect spot to try some houseplants. I can grow just about anything outdoors, but have always had problems with houseplants. Maybe this time I'll do better with them. I've started a fern collection. The various containers are just too fun!

Home Office Rearrange

Saturday night we rearranged my office in the house. I'm really liking this new layout. The same furniture is still in here, but it feels much roomier. Thanks for helping me move that armoire around Tim!

Dinner with the Girls

We had dinner with Robyn and Terry tonight (Terry kinda seen here not wanting her picture taken). We went to Bonefish Grill in Cool Springs and let me just say YUMMY!! It was very tasty. I had the pistachio encrusted rainbow trout with lemon basil butter sauce. It was fabulosa! Tim had the tilapia with warm mango salsa.

We had a wonderful time visiting with Robyn and Terry. We don't get to see them often enough, but we have vowed to do better this year about that.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

New Media Stand?

Saw this at the Office Depot. I'm liking it as an option for a new tv stand in the living room. And, it's only $99!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Drinks with Jen & Buying Some Happy

I left work at 3:30 to go to Cool Springs for work shopping. I called Jennifer to see if she wanted to meet for a drink after work. We met at P.F. Chang's and had dirty martinis and appetizers. It was yummy and fun! I also got a raise today at work and bought myself a little happy - the new Apple TV! I can't wait to hook it up and try out the iTunes movie rentals!!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Need to Clean Up

Too many things on my desk, too much clutter, and no motivation to fix it.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

Sometimes a Routine is a Good Thing

This evening, after work, I did my normal, weekly Wal-Mart shopping. After having been gone for the past week from Texas to east Tennessee, it was nice being back home and getting back to normalcy. By next weekend, I'm sure I'll be complaining about being stuck in a rut, but for now, that rut just means I'm on the right road.

~~ Sent from my iPhone

The Cabin Gang

This is the gang that stayed at the cabin all weekend. From left, Shane, Tim, Danny, Glenn, Randall, Frank, and Chuck. We had a very nice weekend, some good shopping, and lots of laughs with the boys. We arrived home at 2:30 and enjoyed a restful afternoon and evening.

In the Mountains

Saturday we ventured into Pigeon Forge for some outlet shopping. I bought some olives and some Timberland boots - $39.99 thank you very much! After we ate lunch in Pigeon Forge, we headed back towards the cabin. On the Foothills Parkway, we stopped a few places so I could take some shots of the scenery. This one is my favorite mountain shot of the day. It was very hazy. We spent the evening in the cabin watching tv and laughing and talking.

At the Cabin

We made it to Chuck's cabin on Friday afternoon. It was about 4 hours from home, up in the Smokies. It's a really cute cabin - very quiet and secluded. You can stand outside on the porch and all you hear is nature - no planes, cars, sirens, city noises - just nature. It was very peaceful.

Ready for Another Trip

This weekend, we're having a boys trip to the mountains to stay in a cabin owned by Chuck's cousin. It's going to be so nice to get away and relax. It's just us guys - we can do a little shopping, take some photos, and just kick back and relax. And best of all, Tim is going, too. I don't like those trips that I have to go on my own!

On the Road Again

Today was all about driving back home. I left Texas at 9am and arrived back home at 6:30pm. Other than being long, the trip wasn't too bad. Apparently mass amounts of ducks migrate through Arkansas - there were thousands of them: overhead, in fields, on the water. I've never seen so many.

I was sooo glad to get home and see Tim. There's just nothing like home. Life is good!

A Treat to End the Day

After working on Dee's computer all day long, this was the treat for the end of my day. An absolutely stunning sunset, as seen from the side mirror on my rented Durango. Dee was so sweet throughout the day- she made brownies, half sweet/half unsweet tea, and chili frito pies for lunch. She even potted a "baby" orchid for me to bring home. Her's was blooming with very dark purple blossoms. I hope I can keep mine alive to see its blooms. I enjoyed visiting with her during my stay in Texas.

Made a New Friend Today

I arrived at my destination in Kilgore TX today. My hotel is nice - lots of room and a refrigerator and stuff! When I went to Dee's house to set up her new computer, I met her dog "Puppy". She is sooo sweet. She's a miniature golden retriever mix. She has a wonderful personality - very playful and very smart. She immediately sat, shook my hand, and rolled over in circles for me.

Visiting My Cousins

I'm on a road trip to Kilgore TX for work and stopped at my cousin Danny's place in Memphis on my way. I was glad to visit with he and Roger. I don't get to see them often enough. We watched some movies, went to Bahama Breezes for a great dinner, and called it an early evening. Thanks for the hospitality!

~~ Sent from my iPhone

New Floors are Done!

Our new floors are finished and we love them!! They turned out so well. Tim and my dad did a great job installing them. I mostly ran errands and stayed out of the way. It went very quickly even though there were some tricky, tight spots in the kitchen. The floors have changed the whole 'feel' of our home. It's so nice to have the same flooring for the living room and dining room. I think it will give us more options for entertaining. I love them!!

New Floors and Tim's Birthday

My dad is helping us put in new hardwood laminate floors. It's eucalyptus wood. We've had el-cheapo carpet and 1mm thick linoleum for the 10 years we've been in the house. We're so excited to get new flooring. So far, it's really nice!

Today is also Tim's birthday (seen here striking a butch pose for the camera while taking a break from installing our new floors). With all that ink and the wife beater shirt, he looks quite manly, doesn't he? Hotty McHot!!

Brrrr!

It was freaking cold this morning! The tempy gauge on my car read 11 degrees! We Southerners are not accustomed to such frigid weather. Makes you just want to stay inside, snuggled up all day. I'm glad I have an indoor desk job.

New Shopping Experience

Stopped by Holland's Gifts at lunch today. They had some really nice stuff in there. I especially liked their collection of mercury glass - both silver and green. There were also some nice candles, ironwork pieces, and of course, everyone's favorite- Crocs! I'm looking forward to their Spring and garden lineup.

I'll be going back when I can spend more time and money!

~~ Sent from my iPhone