Visit to Fall Creek Falls

My mother, and a few other ladies at my church drove up to Fall Creek Falls on Saturday moring. It is a state park located approxiately and hour and a half from my home. The women at our church went there for a weekend retreat. I am so glad I went, since I had such a rough week last week with my negativity and feelings of sadness. It was a very uplifting day with other women. I'm just sorry I didn't sign up for the entire weekend experience. I came home feeling more blessed than ever and much more positive about my life. Thank you Lord!

If you're interested in state parks,(I recommend this if you love the outdoors) here is the Fall Creek Falls website for more information.

It was a beautiful day and in between sessions many of us went out exploring around the falls. I took a few pictures to share...

Ladies Retreat sessions - pwerful lessons, prayer and singing praises to the Lord while looking at the wonder beauty that surrounded us.



Fall Creek Falls




Beautiful view!

Me standing close to the falls - a perfect photo opportunity!

I picked up some brochures before leaving because this place sounds like a great place for a weekend getaway with my sweetheart. :) And since I get discounts at TN state parks, another great reason to book a trip!



Where did my positive attitude go?

I see myself as a positive person most of the time. I see the glass as half-full. I try to see the best in other people. I look at the bright side most of the time. But for some reason, I have fallen into a negativity funk and feel sad. I'm not really sure the cause of this sad feeling. I can usually pull myself out of feeling sad pretty easily. But for the last few days I have not been able to put on my happy face. I'm going to pray about it.

What do you do when you feel sad, depressed or negative thoughts consume you?

Weekend stuff

After work Friday night, my husband took me out for a night on the town. He took me to the  The Bunganut Pig Pub & Eatery. It was a great place and I can't believe I've never been there before. I especially love places with live music and we were in luck. I took some pictures but apologize for the quality. It was too dark.

The band is warming up

On Saturday, I got up early even though I was feeling a little nauseous from the several glasses of wine I had the night before. I had an appointment for a haircut and my stylist is in Franklin, about a 40 minute drive away. I left home and decided to stop for coffee. I went to the only authentic coffee shop I know in our town, Fast Break Espresso. I used to live in WA state where you could find a coffee shop stand on every corner. I've noticed several have opened here and closed very soon after. But this place seems to be working and I hope it stays open. The taste of espresso drinks reminds me of WA. I had an iced mocha coffee drink with an extra shot and a breakfast sandwich. The sandwich was made with ham, cheese and egg on a crossiant. It was very yummy. And the mocha was just the pick-me-up I needed, except a little chocolately for me. Since I'm used to sugar free things, I guess it was too much. Next time I'll ask for less chocolate syrup.

Iced Mocha

After getting my java and breakfast, I headed down the highway to the salon, Lunatic Fringe. I only got a haircut, not the works like I usually do. I think it turned out nice. My stylist always does a great job. That's one of the reasons I don't mind driving so far to her salon.

Lunatic Fringe in Franklin



after the haircut - now I have bangs.


I plan on relaxing for the rest of the weekend and enjoying my day off on Monday. Are you having a fun weekend?

Busy week

It's been a busy week for me. And it still isn't Friday yet. I took Tuesday off to help my oldest daughter move into her first apartment. I'm glad I was able to help - but I was so tired the next day. I'm too old for this!

Moving day!

I have managed to stay on my healthy eating plan this week. It seems like I do better at sticking to this when I'm working. I suppose that is because I pack my healthy meals and that is all I have to choose from. But when I am home, I will go through the pantry, fridge, etc until I find something I want. And that is usually not a good thing.

I only choose the meals with no preservatives.

brown rice with vegetables

Greek yogurt with added blueberries

My favorite breakfast: oatmeal with blueberries

I also managed to get a few workouts in during this busy week. I will count moving as exercise since my daughter's apartment is on the second floor. I didn't count the number of times I went up and down those steps, but its more than I wished for. I also did a stationary bike workout this week while watching The Biggest Loser. And I am planning on exercising tonight. I bought a new PS3 Move exercise game. It's called Get Fit With Mel B. It gets great reviews and I'll looking forward to trying it out. Here's a link to the website Get Fit with Mel B If you don't know who she is, she was one of the Spice Girls. I'll let you know details later.

I hope you are having a great week!

Happy Valentines Day!

It's Valentines Day! (or single awareness day...whichever you prefer). My husband brought flowers to me at work today. Lovely! And having him deliver them was priceless!

my gift delivered by my sweetheart in person

I ate a healthy lunch today so I could indulge in this....

office snacks

Since John works nights, I took my lovely daughters out for dinner tonight.

Valentines Day dinner at Old Chicago

5 years ago today, I became engaged to the love of my life. A very special day. After 5 years, he still makes me smile and gives me chills when he looks at me. Since we work different schedules and have limited time together, sometimes I forget to tell him just how much he means to me. I am a very lucky woman to have such a sweet husband. Here are some pictures of us through the years.

Gatlinburg - our honeymoon Sept 2006



Our family photo - 2005




John - golfing Oct 2002




John in Chattanooga at a Spanish Tapas bar enjoying Sangria



John and me - company Christmas party 2009

Eating at Joe's Crab shack before a WWE event - 2011

John and me playing putt putt in Spokane, WA - 2002

Bowling 2002 - at Whitney's birthday party (dating only a few weeks)

Our wedding - 9/23/06 in Gatlinburg

Thanksgiving 2010

Our trip to Rock City and Atlanta Sept 2010

Panama City Beach - 2009

These pictures bring back so many good memories. Let me tell you our story. We met through an online dating service (yahoo personals) in the summer of 2002. We chatted online for several weeks before we even talked on the phone. I finally got up enough nerve to call him around the 4th of July and we planned our first meeting. Our first date was on July 6, 2006 (a Saturday) and we went to dinner at Milano's, an excellent Italian restaurant (that does not exist anymore) and we watched a movie with my roommate. My life changed forever after that day. I'll never forget how long it took me to get ready for our first date. I changed clothes many times and was extremely nervous. That is a day I will never forget. Just telling that story makes me have chills! I love you baby.
I hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day!

"Love is patient, kind. It does not envy, boast, it is not proud, not rude, not self-seeking. Love never fails. " -I Cor 13

A beautiful day

It is a lovely day filled with sunshine! I'm so happy to see the sun and enjoy the warmer weather. It was in the high 50's today. I went to church this morning and enjoyed an uplifting service.

I came home to find my husband taking a run in our neighborhood, so I got my running gear on and went out myself. It's such a lovely day that I couldn't stay inside for my run. I wanted to go to an outdoor track but my husband tried that and the one at our local college was locked. I ended up going to one of the Middle Schools in our area that has a road around the school. It was approximately 1/2 mile once around and I went around 2 1/2 times. I timed the first mile only just to check my pace. I did it in :16 minutes which is right on track for me. It was a hard run for me because it was windy and because I had not run in 2 weeks (slacker...) I'm glad I did it though. Hopefully the nice weather will stay around so I can continue running outside. I get too bored with the treadmill.



Date night

My hubby and I decided to go out for dinner as an early Valentines Day celebration last night. We went to one of my favorite places in out town, Marinas on the Square. Great Italian food and lovely atmosphere. I started with a glass of Merlot and a garden salad with balsamic vinagrette dressing. My entree was chicken marsala - one of my favorites! It was a wonderful dinner and I enjoyed the time with my special man.

Marinas on the Square

Murfreesboro courthouse on the square

Now, it's Saturday and I have a busy day ahead. It's a shopping day with my daughters followed by my monthly massage at Massage Envy. I look forward to this every month.It's the little something special I do for ME! and I love hanging out with my beautiful daughters.

I'm looking forward to the warmer weather we should be having. The snow is almost gone, for good I hope!

More snow days

Another winter weather system has left us with more snow. This has got to be a record for snowfall in the south. Very rarely do the kids get out of school or even get close to using their allotted snow days, but now we are down to 3 days left. I am working at home this morning and waiting to see if the roads improve before I go anywhere. I will be so happy when spring gets here!

I want to be here (see pics below). These were taken in Florida a few years ago. I'm looking forward to going there again this year. I guess we better start planning our summer vacation. Just looking at the pics give me a feeling of serenity and relaxation.

I have been slacking with my exercise. I haven't felt well over the past few weeks and have been trying to recover. I am ready to get back on the wagon. Boxing sounds good to me...