Sweetheart Snow Feb 2010

Valentine's Weekend 2010 we had 8" of snow in Columbia SC - That was the record snow in over 50 years! Maya, Chris and I had so much fun playing in the snow. Amazingly Maya was able to locate her tennis balls and dig them out from under the snow. By the next day it was all gone and life was back to normal.

3 days 2 people and 1 fun car!

In August 2009, Chris and I flew to Wisconsin bought a car and had an 1,100 mile road trip home! Because it was the end of convertible season in Wisconsin, we got an awesome deal on a Porsche 911 convertible!

We started our trip home about noon in Milwaukee and drove along the row of beautiful houses facing Lake Michigan. Then, we happened upon the Milwaukee Art Museum which is designed to look like a boat sailing into the lake - what a great photo op! That day, we drove until we reached Indianapolis Indiana and decided to call it a night.

The next morning, we drove to the Indianapolis Art Museum...Chris unfortunately was starting to see a pattern in the route I was following :-) There we explored several of Robert Indiana's sculptures including the famous LOVE and number series.

Our next destination was Louisville KY - home of the Louisville slugger! When we got to the city, I got a book of destinations in Kentucky...since we were driving we didn't follow the bourbon trail, instead we found a Frank Lloyd House! In Frankfurt, the capital city, was a beautiful Lloyd house. We couldn't tour it because it was occupied, but we parked our car in front of it and had a fun photo op. Then we went to the capital grounds to find the one of the largest floral clocks in the world! It is 34' in diameter and was made with 13,000 plants. Of course, Chris had to take a gratuitous watch photo with the clock - Time to get back on the road!

The road took us to Cumberland Falls, the Niagara of Kentucky. It was a lovely hike and we were able to watch a wedding ceremony in front of the beautiful backdrop. But that was only the beginning of beautiful scenery! We were on the way to the top....! That night we drove till we hit Pigeon Forge and Sevierville TN.

Climbing climbing climbing along part of the Appalachian Trail to the top of Clingman's Dome was our next adventure! 6,643 feet to the top of the mountain, the highest peak in the Smokies. From there you can look out and see all of the other peaks...it was literally breath taking.

This was our last day...we needed to scoot home and what better road to take than the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mountains and hairpin turns were no concern for Chris driving the new car! It handled beautifully and we had a great time riding back down the mountain to arrive safely home.

What a trip...what memories! Take a look at the photos from our trip by following this link:

2009 Road Trip

52 and counting

Welcome back! It has been a while since I have blogged about what has been going on. That is a good and bad thing! Bad because, well, I haven't been keeping my blog up to date, but good because that means we have been having a good bit of fun!

Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and let's catch up...

the short and short of it!

Whew...apparently I have not had a chance to blog in a while and I am sorry for the suspense! I am just going to make a quick list and see if I can go back and fill in the details. I know that I am forgetting some, so...I'll be more diligent in at least listing the experiences :)

I'll have to get out my calender to remember April, but for June and on...

Went to Cozumel, I will definately have to write many fun stories about that one! Chris and I shared so many fun moments and great experiences.

Played in my first Black Jack Tournament at Ameristar river boat and made it to the second of three rounds!

Won almost $80 in one pull of a slot machine.

Played Bingo for the first time with Aunt Rita, cousin Janel, and Mom...and won a game!!

Enjoyed a beer with my cousin Michael!

Went to Art Hill in St. Louis and saw a Monet Water Lilies and several other famous art pieces...in person!

Went to the Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach and ate dinner with no utensils.

Had a series of 6 of my ad designs published in the Free Times weekly newspaper.

Drove a Porche 911...and the guys were impressed that I could drive a manual :)

Check back please, more to come and I will be more diligent about this!

Neti what?

This year my spring allergies were the worst they have ever been. None of the allergy medicines were even starting to help, so I decided to try the ancient practice of Neti. This was a somewhat disturbing idea until I tried it, then, like magic...I could breathe! So what is Neti? First, you start with a Neti pot that looks somewhat like Aladdin's magic lamp. Then, you fill it with warm saline solution. Not bad so far...but here comes the squimish part: you place the spout in one nostril, tip your head to the side so that the saline can run up your nose, thru your sinuses and back out the other nostril. Then, refill the pot and pour from the other side. I highly recommend using a Neti pot at least once a month...happy Neti potting!

Fits like a glove!

I was actually able to drive one of my dream cars...a Lotus Elise! This car far exceeded my expectations and it fit me like a glove. I didn't even stall it once, perhaps it is a sign that I should have one!
(I would like it in orange - hint hint!)

Chinese Terra Cotta Army

Next in our tour of Atlanta was the incredible exhibit at the High Museum. The Chinese Terracotta Army in Qin's Burial Tomb.
Qin's terracotta army consists of life-size figures of warriors, depicted in battle dress according to rank an unit, and numerous figures of horses and chariots, and this is only part of what is believed to be his grand tomb. The terracotta army lies approximately a mile east of Qin's main tomb which is said to contain spectacular objects.

Emperor Qin ordered the construction of his tomb when he was only 13 years old, an order that involved hundreds of thousands of workers and thirty-six years to complete. It is also believed that Qin ordered that the tomb workers and supervisors involved in its design be buried alive to protect its secrets.

We saw an example of each of the warriors and also birds and musicians that are from chambers closer to his tomb. This was quite an impressive exhibit!

look...he is my size!!