Ramsey's Cascade and Porter's Creek Photos

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Gatlinburg Day 1 and 2

Stuart and I are spending his spring break in Gatlinburg. We drove in Sunday and stopped for dinner at the AppleBarn Restaurant (upon recommendation of Jake). Luckily for us the traffic in through Pigeon Forge was better than we have ever seen it. (Maybe because we have came in during high seasons and on the weekend before). We are staying in a cabin up near the national park. We are very pleased with the amenities including internet access, a kitchen, and a hot tub. Today, day 2, we hiked 12 miles to the Ramsey Cascades and Porters Creek before having dinner at Calhoun's Restaurant. We are looking forward to some time in the hot tub to relax our tired and sore muscles. It was supposed to rain today but we made it through with only a few sprinkles, not sure if we will be that lucky tomorrow but we plan to venture out hiking again in the am. (Here's to hoping we aren't too sore to get out of bed!). We crossed 3 foot bridges over water (which I have to admit was more than a wee bit scary). Best of all we found a local breakfast place with amazing biscuits and gravy (my favorite) and it was cheap! I'm attempting to upload more pictures to facebook, if successful I will post a link later.

Celebrations

I was lucky enough to have Saturday night off from work. Stuart and I hosted some friends and family over to see the improvements on the house. We were especially delighted to have Reagan (Brian and Melinda Patterson), Nathan and Carter (Scott and Jenny Paris), and Beckham (Danny and Amy Spanyer) along with all of our adult guests. We forgot to take pictures while every one was visiting but did remember to snap a picture of the housewarming gifts we received (thanks to the Spanyers and McCombs) along with some leftover appetizers we took to a neighborhood St. Patricks Day party that evening. We were grandly surprised that one of our Irish neighbors actually has an Irish Pub room in their house. We watched the Cards in the Big East Championship game with our neighbors. I was amazed to still be standing on only 2 hours of sleep for about 36 hours but isn't that a joy of being young and working the night shift?!

On the mend

Not much to report here other that me catching a horrible stomach bug/flu from work last weekend and being sick most of my 5 days off. At first we thought that Stuart and my family, who visited last Sunday before I turned ill on Monday, had made it through unaffected. But Stuart has been sick the last 24 hours and my mom is feeling the affects today. Boo Boo Boo stomach bug. Luckily Stuart is on the mend and after low energy through Friday afternoon I had an uneventful weekend at work. I'm hoping Stuart fully recovers faster that I did! I really only did about 6 productive things all last week (2 yoga classes, laundry, grocery store, cooked a pot of soup, yeah that's about it!) We missed church this morning and are now enjoying a close U of L basketball game on the couch and listening to the thunder and rain outside.

Valentines Day

The weather here in Kentucky has been beautiful this week. Stuart and I have been able to walk our new neighborhood together three days in a row. Stuart surprised me Sunday morning with a new pair of yoga capris and an UnderArmor type shirt for our upcoming hiking trip in Gatlinburg over spring break. We celebrated a low key but special Valentines Day dinner at home. Stuart grilled steaks and I made twice baked potatoes, broccoli casserole, green beans, salads. I also made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert and Stuart made some dark chocolate dipped strawberries. What can I say? We love to eat and enjoyed some of everything. We ate in the dinning room by the fireplace (which we absolutely love even as the weather is getting warmer.) We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching recordings on our DVR.

It Takes a 'Ville

Thursday night Stuart I joined Joe, Ellen (his parents), Tony (brother), and Sarah (sister-in-law) for dinner and comical performance at Actors Theater. One of our favorite things from our August 2008 honeymoon in Chicago was the improv political satire we enjoyed at the 2nd City. When I heard members of the 2nd City were performing at Actors we rushed to get tickets. It was a laughter filled evening and we had a great time. We didn't remember to get a picture at Actors but did snap a picture in front of our new ventless fireplace before bed. Also is pictured is Stuart and I in Chicago at the 2nd City (hard to believe it has been 2.5 years)!

Decorating and a new do

My friend Becca is working towards her license in cosmetology at the Empire Beauty School. I spent Thursday night getting pampered by Becca. I left with beautifully manicured fingers, revitalized brows, and a much needed haircut. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time being spoiled by Becca and the prices at the school are very affordable.

On the home front Stuart and I are still enjoying a much needed break the remodeling process. We are continuing to hang curtains and decorations. I am very excited to finally be able to display my McConnell Scholar Louisville Slugger bat (I've been playing on buying holders to hang it for years now!). Stuart is working on the installation of a ventless gas fireplace. I will be very glad for the extra warmth!