"Christmas Tree-ing: 101"

Step 1: Put up other decorations around the house so that others become aware of the fact that you are ready to go get the tree.



Step 2: Go to the Tree Farm (or Home Depot, that's what we did) and pick out the first tree you look at in order to not upset those that you convinced into going with you. If you can, convince them to pose with the tree while holding it up for you to look at... this can probably only be achieved if you really do get the first tree you inspect.

Step 3: Securely tie the tree to the top of your car... then get the next victim to pose with it (notice Bailey being a good sport too).

Step 4: Attempt to not argue with each other about the angle of the tree as you place it into a stand. After getting it situated, you will probably need to vacuum up the pine needles on the floor (from moving it 2 inches back and forth) and water the tree.

Step 5: Light a fire and put on Christmas music in order to get into the mood for decorating the tree. If others aren't getting into the mood, send them out to replenish the stock of spiced rum for the egg nog.

Step 6: Mix drinks, then put decorations of your choice on the tree. We used white lights, blue and silver balls, white sparkly snowflakes, and a silver star on top. (Expert Tip: If you've had too much egg nog by the end of decorating, I would recommend waiting until the next day to put the topper on the tree.)

Step 7: Put dumb reindeer antlers on those that have been drinking the nog and take pictures.

Step 8: Admire the tree!

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is nothing fancy for my family, but the food is really good (thanks Dad). Here's what happens...

We all sit around before eating - notice my mom lounging (in the first picture) while my dad is working in the kitchen in the background. Travis and my grandparents are also sitting around, but since I was taking the pictures, there's no proof that I wasn't working hard (smart, huh?).

Then, we all grab food and head to the table...

Eventually, Lucky enjoys his 8th meal of the day (my dad gives him tons of scraps).

Finally, my mom and I clean up the kitchen and then get back to sitting around. I know, there's no "picture proof" that I did any work, but unfortunately, that is my job every holiday that involves food.

AOC - Squirrel's Nest

Last weekend, we went camping at Unicoi Sate Park with the AOC. I was really looking forward to going because you stay on little platforms on a hill, instead of in a tent (less packing and a better view).

Unfortunately, my camping "weather luck" has been horrible lately - there was no chance of rain this time, but the low was around 10 degrees Friday night and 20 degrees Saturday night. With some convincing, Travis agreed to go up there on Saturday morning and to stay that night if we could survive the cold.

We arrived early on Saturday and got there in time to set up (we ended up taking a tent to help insulate us from the wind) and join the group for a 3 mile hike into Helen. Helen is a cute town that caters to visitors and looks like an Alpine village.

Here's a picture of the group walking through town - we were a sight because everyone looked like they've been camping... we all had on thick jackets, snow hats, and backpacks (not cute sweaters and purses like the other tourists in town). Did I mention how cold it was - check out the frozen fountian!



While there, we went to a restaurant where everyone got big mugs of beer and hung out. The girls were happy because we got to be inside where it was warm and guys are always content when there is beer and football.



After spending a few hours in Helen, we all went back to Unicoi and hung out by the campfire. I was worried about how cold we would be overnight, but we had on so many layers that we barely even needed blankets. I was especailly warm because had the prime spot in the tent - between Bailey and Travis!

Stone Mountian

Travis and I went to Stone Mountain Park a few weekends ago to climb (well, actually walk) to the top and to watch the sunset. I had been wanting to do this for a while, so we went before it got too cold out.

Here's the view from the top... if you look closely, you can see the Atlanta skyline on the right side of the picture.

Engagement Weekend!

Well, Travis finally gave in to my “hinting” (that’s how I’ll put it) and asked me to marry him. Since I had been “discussing” it with him, I figured that he wouldn’t be asking me anytime soon because it wouldn’t be a surprise, but he asked! So I guess that was how he manged to surprise me – and it caught me off guard because I really didn’t see it coming. Here’s how the weekend went:

As I’ve said before, I love October… and basically anything having to do with Fall. Last May (yes, that long ago), I reserved a spot to go camping at Enota towards the end of October anticipating that the leaves would be changing colors that weekend. I was very excited about the trip, but quickly became disappointed when we saw that it would be raining all day on Friday and there would be near freezing temperatures Saturday night.

We decided to stay at home on Friday (which is when I made my cape for Halloween) instead of trying to set up camp in the cold rain. On Saturday morning, we woke up early, packed lots of warm clothes, and went up there for one night. I was worried that it wouldn’t be worth the drive and hassle of setting up camp for one night, but we didn’t really lose a lot of time since we got there around noon on Saturday. I’m glad I booked the campsite early – I was able to get the one with the waterfall that was right across from it.

After setting up camp, we hiked to one of the two nearby waterfalls and walked around the campground to explore. Bailey had a great time running around and there were so many funny “first experience” moments for him, even though he camps all the time…

The first is that Bailey noticed fish for the first time. Enota had a fish pond and I got Bailey to look at the water when all of the fish darted in one direction. He went nuts! He desperately wanted to go after them, but he is too chicken to jump into the water off of a dock even though he loves to swim. He did eventually walk into the water to try to catch one, but once he was in the water, he couldn’t see them anymore.

After his adventure with the fish, Bailey walked over to a swing bench and jumped up on it. This is normal behavior for Bailey – he prefers to sit on things, not on the ground. However, he quickly discovered that it was a “moving bench” as it swung away from him as he jumped up. Unfortunately for Bailey, he panicked and jumped down, so the swing came back towards him and smacked him in his butt. Poor thing… we were laughing so hard that we couldn’t even console him! Travis did eventually hold the bench for him so we could get a picture of him on it.

Saturday afternoon, Travis and I threw a football some and I learned how to throw left handed (not well though). We tried to play again at night, but it was too dark (which was nice for the stars) and it was also really cold – so we had to go back near the campfire.

Alright, finally to the main event… on Sunday around noon Travis and I decided to hike to the other waterfall at Enota after packing up all of our gear. It was a tough walk up a hill to it (mainly from the rain because the ground was slippery), but we made it. Once there, it was really nice – we sat on a big rock in front of it and Bailey played around in the pool under the waterfall and looked for fish. We sat around for a while enjoying the view and listening to the waterfall while Bailey roamed around and got us muddy.

Then, Travis turned to me and told me that he had a problem. I was thinking that his thermal underwear was riding up or that he needed to use the restroom, but he seemed more serious and hesitant in his responses than usual so I started to catch on. He then asked me if I would say yes even if he didn’t have a ring with him. I said that I probably would, so he then attempted to get on one knee. This was the cute part – it was impossible to get on a knee where we were, so he had to put one foot on a log over the pond and lean onto the rock I was sitting in with one of his knees. It was close enough for me - YES!

As for the ring part, I had something very specific in mind that I wanted, so Travis knew that I would want to be there when he picked one out. It took three weeks to get what I wanted, but here it is…

Finally, a new post!

Alright, I have gotten lazy about blogging… and I admit it. The problem was that the further behind I got, the more I procrastinated because it seemed like too big of a task to catch up.

However, I got some motivation recently… TRAVIS AND I GOT ENGAGED!

To get myself to update my blog, I decided that I wouldn’t blog about our engagement until I updated past events, so I will tell you all about how he asked me in its’ own post later…

So, here is a brief review of the other past events… starting with the most recent:

#1 – Halloween 2008 (Oct. 31st)
I love Halloween… and this year, we had home made costumes. My mom got me a new sewing machine recently, so I made all of our costumes while Travis was in charge of carving the pumpkins. Bailey and I had matching capes and dressed up as “Super Dog” and “Super Girl”; although, Travis called us “Slobber Dog” and “Silly Girl” throughout the night. Travis also dressed up, but he was a Viking since he wasn’t willing to dress up as a Super Hero with Bailey and I (and I guess that’s good, ‘cause dressing with us in matching costumes wouldn’t have been very manly). Anyway, Travis had a hat and sword from last year, so we made him a tunic and bought some fur to make boots and a cloak out of. They looked really good on him! Our friends Heather & Scott also came over to hang out and help us pass out candy.

#2 – AOC Bike Ride & Camping (Oct. 10th – 12th)
OK, so there wasn’t actually much riding on this trip… I didn’t even plan to bike with the group because I have no mountain biking (or even much plain biking) experience. However, Travis was planning on going with the AOC group and Bailey and I like to camp, so we tagged along. All was going well on Saturday (I was reading, Bailey was swimming in the lake, Travis was biking with the group), until Travis called me because he broke the derailleur on his bike. Unfortunately, a replacement part would have to be ordered (they don’t really carry them in stores and if they do, they are expensive), so that was it for the biking part of the weekend. We still had fun though hanging out by a camp fire, but I hate that Travis only got to bike for an hour or two. I’d include pictures, but I forgot to take any on this trip…

#3 – Burt’s Farm (Oct. 5th)
This was our 2nd annual trip to this pumpkin patch. It’s a little over an hour away from us, but worth the drive because there are pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and size. I also buy a pumpkin pie when we go, but we never seem to finish it. My favorite part of the trip is watching Travis push the pumpkins up the hill in a wheelbarrow when we take them out to the car. I didn’t get a picture of that this year, but I’ll post some pictures that I have from last year.

#4 – Yard Sale (Oct. 4th)
I finally got rid of stuff! Some of it was my parents’ (they also had spare junk), most of it was childhood stuff that I had been storing at my parents’ house, and the rest was clothes or other trinkets that I had been keeping. Travis was especially happy to see it go because I had been storing it all in the garage while I sorted through it. Unfortunately, my parents found a few more of my boxes at their house, so I still have a little more to sort through. I am now vowing that extra stuff will go to Goodwill once a year in the summer – we’ll see how that goes!

#5 – Duluth Fall Festival (Sept. 27th)
Downtown Duluth has a festival that I go to every year, but who I can convince to come along with me varies each year. Travis and I have a deal when it comes to festivals and craft shows: he is willing to go as a backup if I can’t find anyone else, but he prefers to stay home if anyone else will go. This year, I didn’t need him for this event - Heather was able to go and we also met my parents there. We didn’t buy a lot, but it’s always fun to go browse.

#6 – AOC Lake Dogs (Sept. 14th)
This was another AOC (Atlanta Outdoor Club) event that we went to. We always have a good time when we meet up with this group, but Bailey especially enjoyed it this time because it was an event that was centered on dogs. Basically, everyone met up at a park that has some creeks and a lake to let the dogs swim and play. Bailey played with the other dogs for about an hour or so, and then Travis and I ate a picnic lunch and hiked on some trails around the park. We all enjoyed it...

Fun at the Park

This weekend, I went to Stone Mountain Park for the Yellow Daisy Festival on Saturday with my mom. This was the second or third time that we have been, but we enjoy looking at the crafts every year because there’s always something different. Anyway, here’s what I picked out this year: a really cute dog and some metal flowers (they'll never die).

Then, on Sunday, I went to the “Bark in the Park” event for the Atlanta Braves. This meant that I got to take Bailey to a Braves game!

When I bought the tickets, I wanted to be comfortable space wise – so I bought 4 human tickets and 1 dog ticket, even though I knew that only 3 humans (Travis, Heather, and I) would be going. I figured that Bailey will definitely take up a seat space… or at least the leg room in front of a seat and I didn’t know if a dog ticket included a seat. I mean, what if they were expecting smaller dogs and didn’t plan on a behemoth like Bailey?

Anyway, so all of the tickets were “general admission” and allowed us to sit anywhere we wanted within the sections of 414, 416, 418,420, and 422. By the way, these are highest seats and furthest away from home base along the 3rd base line. I hate that we were so far away, but I guess it would be bad if the seats were closer and a dog made a move for the ball!

When we got there, I was immediately impressed with all of the arrangements that they had made to keep the dogs comfortable. There were kiddy pools for lounging in and water bowls everywhere! They even kept water bowls full of ice water in several places on every aisle and came around every inning to refill them. Overall, it was a great day! Bailey wasn't too interested in the actual baseball game, but he loved seeing the other dogs and mooching food from the other spectators.