Whew it's been a long time

Yes I know, I've been a terrible slacker/blogger. Well it's been a very busy year and I'm already exhausted. However, there have been a lot of good things going on, so it wasn't all working (Thank God!).

In a very quick nutshell, here's what I've been up to:

1. Visiting Grandpa - a lot. mostly monthly. lots of mileage.
2. Celebrating my girlfriend Lisa's 40th Birthday - Bahamas Cruise.
3. Eating as Gluten-Free as possible.
4. Recruiting new Wine Club members (please let me know if you are interested? All of our ladies keep getting "knocked up" and can't attend for 9-12 months at a time, and it's dwindling our attendance).
5. Travelling for work - a TON.
6. Doing the Modern Atlanta Home Tour (it ROCKED btw)
7. Going to Zane Lamprey's "Drinking Made Easy" Comedy Tour
8. Got a nasty Ear Infection, got better, then hurt my back, realize it was my mattress, switched mattresses, finally getting the back better
9. Working out more
10. Hosted Mother's Day Brunch for 3 moms
11. Hosted brunch with the White Russian
12. Went to the Princess Diana exhibit
13. Went to the Public Forum for the Nutrition and Health Conference to meet Dr. Andrew Weil and see Sanjay Gupta.
14. Finally attended "Wednesday Night Dinner" (missed 2 of the 3 though)
15. Cooked Paul Prudhomme's Shrimp Creole 3 times (over 2 months)
16. Dined on "The Queen's Paella" - and other Spanish yummies
17. Discovered Hi-Life
18. Gearing up to cut off my cable - for good. Hello Mac Mini!
19. Got a Yoga Ball Chair (they are awesome!)
20. And last but not least - planning a trip to visit my peeps in Ohio finally.

Well that's all the news with me. I probably missed something in that list, but that's okay. Anyhoo, hope you are all well, and thank you for bearing with my slacker-ness in the blog department.

Hope you are having a GREAT summer!

Photo Credit from Garden Critters, owned/operated by my dear Aunt Julie & Uncle Jerry.
-
Matthew & I travelled to Sevierville, TN to see them at a Trade Show this weekend. It was a show for retailers to buy wholesale merchandise then re-sell the items in their stores. We did get some free samples from some of the folks, but you couldn't just say "ooh I want to buy that T-shirt or candle" because they wouldn't sell to individuals. They only wanted to sell to retailers and the items on display were there specifically for the show, not to sell. It was interesting to see where all the little gift-shop type items originate from. Anyway, the whole point of the trip was to see Julie & Jerry and visit with family, not to buy stuff. We had a good time.
-
The drive up there was very beautiful and scenic. We took 19 North most of the way, and then cut up 441 through the Smoky Mountain Park & Cherokee areas. Lovely colors with the leaves being all red, gold, orange, etc. Matt said it was like driving through a snow globe, it was snowing leaves most of the trip. Just gorgeous! I will have some photos soon, waiting for Matt to process them first. I got to play with his Nikon D70 for this trip. We will see if I am as good a photographer as my husband (probably not but it is good to learn).
-
Well everybody enjoy the lovely autumn weather! talk to you later.