Sister Trip To Gatlinburg In the Great Smoky Mountains

Hello friends

I am a few posts behind. I know I sound like a broken record but man have things been crazy around here. Anyway here we go:

It’s hard to believe but another of our annual Sister Trips is in the books. As usual it was such a fun time. A couple of weeks ago me and my two sisters and my niece Tammy, who is just like our sister, went on our annual Sister Trip to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is only about 70 from our hometown so just a short drive for us. We have so much fun when we all get together. We eat and laugh and talk and talk and talk.

We stayed at Baskins Creek Condominiums, sorry I couldn’t find a proper link for it, just off of the strip in Gatlinburg. We also did a short trip to Cherokee NC to Harrah’s Casino. The sisters like to gamble a little. I am very conservative when it comes to gambling I have a very small budget to gamble on. It turns out I had a $20.00 voucher from the last time I was in Cherokee at the casino and I used that. I never thought I would win anything on that but after being at the Casino only five minutes, using the voucher, I had won $375.00!!!! I couldn’t believe it. I played for a little while longer and lost a little and left with winnings of $310.00 not too bad for me.

The condo we stay in has two bedrooms and we have four people so we share a bedroom. I am always the first one up so I make coffee and enjoy the quiet time for a minute. If its not too cool I will go out on the balcony for a little early morning fresh air. The mountains are beautiful this time of year. We haven’t had a lot of color from the leaves because of the lack of rain but the leaves are starting to turn a little.

This is the outside of the condo. Every room has a balcony.

The rooms in the condo are very spacious and nice. We tried staying at another place last year but we just didn’t like it as well.

The sunset from our balcony.

The Gatlinburg SkyLift is an attraction that has been an icon in Gatlinburg since 1954.
Several years ago a terrible fire burned much of Gatlinburg including homes and attractions. The top part of the SkyLift burned pretty bad. The SkyLift was closed for quite a while. But what happened when the rebuild started was quite a thing to behold. A suspension bridge was installed on the top of the mountain along with a SkyDeck that allows you see for miles. The SkyBridge is 140 feet high at its midpoint and 680 feet across and is the longest suspension bridge in North America. You begin by riding the SkyLift to the top of the mountain.

At the midpoint of the bridge the panels are clear!!! That means you can see right through to the bottom. This is a very weird feeling. A lot of people close their eyes when walking over this part of the bridge. Being a suspension bridge the bridge does move more as more people are it. I have to admit it is a little scary.

You can tell I was a little nervous on the bridge.

I promise those are not cracks. It’s actually trees that you can see below you.

This picture was taken from the bridge. A great shot of the city of Gatlinburg.
Coming down from the mountain via the Skylift. This is an amazing view.

We ate at some wonderful restaurants while we were in Gatlinburg and the Pigeon Forge area. In Pigeon Forge we ate at the Five Oaks Farm Kitchen. It is one of the newest eating establishments in Pigeon Forge. They serve breakfast lunch and dinner. I have eaten both breakfast and lunch there and it is great. We also ate at Park Grill in Gatlinburg. Park Grill has some amazing steaks and a fabulous salad bar it is right on the parkway in Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is the perfect place to get away to the mountains for shopping, eating and enjoying the attractions. For more information check out these sites: Gatlinburg Attractions, Things to do in Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On the way home we always stop in Sevierville and do some shopping at Tanger Outlet Mall. There is 107 outlet stores at Tanger. We have our favorites and don’t usually go in half of them but it is a lot of fun just being together.

It was good to be back home. I have been gone so much the months are flying by.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!

Happy Fall Y’all

Happy Wednesday how are you? I know that officially fall started almost a month ago but here in East Tennessee the temps have been in the nineties. Can you believe that half of October is gone. The cooler weather has finally arrived it’s feeling a little fallish. We have had temps in the mid seventies for the past few days. It feels wonderful. I think the next few days are supposed to be in the mid sixties. Anyway, grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine depending on the time of day it is for you and catch up with the events of my crazy life.

I love the way the fall sunshine peeps through the trees. It looks so different than the summer sunshine.

The sisters and I are off today for a sister trip to Gatlinburg. This is an annual trip that me and my two sisters and my niece Tammy do every year. We are staying in Gatlinburg for a few days and going into Cherokee for one of the days. The sisters like to gamble a little and we usually make a trip to Harrah’s Casino. I am a very conservative gambler. I usually have a very small limit and when that is gone I am done. I like to visit the shops in downtown Cherokee and do a little retail therapy while they are at the casino. But more about sister trip next post.

I spent most of last week playing catch up after being in Chattanooga the entire week before. If you haven’t read that post you can catch up with it here.The fur babies and hubs were so glad to see me back home. I spent a pretty uneventful weekend the first weekend home just getting caught up on laundry and things. I was back to work last Monday with a busy week ahead. I did take off last Thursday for a mammogram. I didn’t actually have to be off the whole day but me and my sister always go together and then we shop and have lunch. My other two sisters have had breast cancer. They are five years apart in age and had breast cancer at almost the same time. That is why me and my sister Sandy are vigilant about our exams. We are often asked about genetic testing. I know there is a lot of opinions about genetic testing. For me I am not ready to do that. I know what the odds are with most of my family having cancer. I have heard horror stories of insurance companies not covering you if you test positive for a gene of a particular type of cancer. It can be considered a pre-existing condition. I am still undecided I need to do more research.

After the mammogram me and my sister did some shopping. I don’t know about you but I love Target. I noticed when I was in there the other day they have a new clothing collection called Knox Rose. I love this line. The clothes are so pretty and very reasonably priced. I am not sure if this is a new line or maybe just some different clothing options than what they have had.

Sugarfix is a line of jewelry that is available at Target. Other places too I suppose but I just seem to notice it at Target. They always have it so nicely displayed. I love big chunky earrings and that is what a lot of Sugarfix sells. I love all of these. Just a tidbit of information for you. Did you know that 80% of women only wear 20% of their jewelry? Yep that is probably me.

O.K. I am not rushing the season or anything but do you not love these colors for Christmas? I know they are not the traditional red and green colors of Christmas but I am in love with them.

For over a week hubs has been having some problems with the sensors in his truck. It was causing his battery to go down. The truck is only about three years old so we were a little surprised. He took his truck in last Monday to have it checked out and see what was going on. After about five hours of hanging out at the dealership they came and got him and told him a rat or some rodent had chewed through numerous wires in his engine. Said rodent had actually built a huge nest in the engine. At that time twelve wires had been chewed into. This is what was causing the sensors to go crazy. On Friday they finally had just about everything put back together. He is picking the truck up today. I am holding my breath over the final rodent repair bill. Fortunately I discovered we can turn it in on insurance and our insurance company feels certain it is a valid claim. They said they had seen it happen many times before. The repairman at the dealership also told us to spread mothballs under the hood. Of course you know my husband had to order some fancy rodent deterrent that you strap under the hood. We will see how that works. I am skeptical. I got mothballs just in case.

My nephew Tyler came up and spent most of the day on Saturday with us. He wanted to go fishing. He and Mark spent the day down at the lake. No luck on the fishing but I am sure most of the world’s problems were solved by those two. Or that’s what they think.

Tyler loves fishing even though he didn’t catch anything.

I love these pumpkins. I am going to try and make some. They are made with fabric and down filling. I bought the fabric and I hope to get some made before Halloween although I think they would be good for all of fall.

On Sunday night something really scary happened. I was out on the deck taking pictures of the Hunter’s Moon. No luck with the pictures. But anyway as I was going in and out Kitty Kitty must have gotten out. She is an inside cat and never goes out. She usually doesn’t even act like she wants to go out. I did not know she was out. It was about 11:30 and when I went up to bed a few minutes later I thought I heard her downstairs at her litter box. I noticed that she did not come into the bedroom like she usually does but she had found a basket downstairs that she likes to lay in and I figured she was in the basket. When I got up at 5:00 AM the following morning I could not find Kitty Kitty. I called my husband, he was on his way to work, and he said he had not seen her before leaving for work. I panicked. I ran outside and started calling her. I tried not to imagine all the things that could have gotten to her during the night. We live in the woods and have coyotes nearby. We don’t even let our big dog Molly stay out at night. After calling to her several times from outside the front and back of the house I heard a very mournful meow. I followed the sound to the back of the house and she was under the back steps very scared. I finally coaxed her out and up the deck stairs. She was really freaked out and I was a big weeping mess. I called my husband who was waiting by his phone for word that she had been found. I will never leave or go to bed without doing a Kitty Kitty Check.

She was so tired from having been out all night she slept all day in her basket.

We also had a celebration for my nephew Caleb, Tyler’s younger brother, on Monday night. He is turning the big 16. That is so hard to believe. We had a great time.

The traditional cake in the face for the Birthday boy.

See you soon. Until then remember,

Love your day your way!!!!!

A Week in Chattanooga

Last week I had to be in Chattanooga for a Caves Association meeting. I love getting together with my cave buddies from around the U.S. but of course I hate being away from home. I left on Saturday and didn’t get back home until the following Friday. That’s a long time for me to be away from home.

Chattanooga is only about two hours from my house but I had meetings during the day and events at night so I stayed in Chattanooga the whole week. It would have just been too hard to drive back and forth.

I got into Chattanooga on Saturday evening. Our group stayed at The Chattanoogan.
The Chattanoogan is nice and centrally located. It is very close to downtown with lots of restaurants and shopping.

I had a board meeting on Sunday morning at 8:00 AM so I wanted to be there on time without having to leave my house at 6:00 AM.

So meetings all day on Sunday. Our official Convention started on Tuesday with an opening event on Monday night. On Sunday a friend of mine from Pennsylvania arrived at the hotel and we had an opportunity to get together for dinner and catch up with each other. We ate dinner at Tueplo Honey which I love. Southern cuisine and the best fried chicken and biscuits. I did not order the chicken I had a barbecue burger and potato fritters. It was great.

We also went to Warehouse Row, which is a nice shopping area with some upscale shops, but it closed early on Sunday so we didn’t get there in time.

On Monday morning I was awakened at 4:00 AM by a fire alarm at the hotel. I jumped out of bed and couldn’t even think where my clothes were. I grabbed my bra because I am not going out without my bra, fire or no fire. I also grabbed a light sweater I had on the back of a chair. I grabbed my phone and out the door I ran. I was on the fifth floor and of course everyone was running for the stairs. Once I got outside I realized that most people had taken time to put their clothes on. Luckily I had my good pajamas on HA HA. It was a false alarm and after about twenty minutes we were allowed back in the building. It was pretty exciting. I ran out without my room card and of course I didn’t have my ID so I had to go to the front desk and get another room card. By the time I got back to my room it was 5:00 AM and I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Monday was a free day until our opening event so my friend Ann and I decided to drive down to the river front in Chattanooga and check out some of the shops there. There is also a free electric shuttle, CARTA, that will take you all over the city. A lot of the shops were closed on Monday. A big disappointment but we knew we would be back within the next day or two to visit the other shops. We ate lunch at a great little place called the River Street Deli. The deli is small with a limited menu but the sandwiches, Stromboli, salads and soup were more than enough to make anyone happy.

We visited the In Town Art Gallery while we were near the riverfront. This gallery has a little bit of everything. I bought a piece for a friend I can’t wait to give it to her. The piece is called Wild Woman. Wild Woman, Be One, Friend One, Love one. I love this piece. This is the artist in the picture below. Charlie Yowell so much talent in this gallery be sure to visit when you are in Chattanooga. Charlie came out and talked with us for a long time and showed us several of his art pieces. You can see the Wild Woman piece below with her hair blowing in the wind.

Later that night we visited Songbirds Guitar Museum. Songbirds is a world class vintage guitar museum. There is actually a vaulted room that houses 12,000,000 worth of vintage guitars. In case of fire the vault automatically closes and becomes fire proof.

This is the vaulted room. Very impressive.

This guitar had my sister’s name on it so I had to get a picture of it.

After visiting the museum and having a great Barbecue dinner we went downstairs where the band Rubiks Groove was performing. This band is an 80’s and 90’s tribute band and they are awesome!!!!! We danced the night away!!!!!!

The next day after a morning full of sessions we headed to Lookout Mountain to Ruby Falls. If you haven’t been to Ruby Falls you have to check it out. There is a beautiful story of Leo Lambert, who discovered the falls in 1928, and his wife Ruby, you see the connection now, and how he discovered the falls after crawling through small passages for about seventeen hours. Now that is determinationn.He then went back and got Ruby and they made the journey back to the falls together. You have to see it Take a peek here. Your tour starts with an elevator ride down down down into the caverns, at the bottom of the cave you are about 1200 feet underground. Your guide will show you a brief video about Leo Lambert and his bride Ruby. You will then start your trek through the caverns to get to the falls. Along the way you will see some of the most beautiful cave formations you have ever seen. Ruby Falls is the nation’s tallest and deepest underground waterfall open to the public.

Beautiful Formations

This is called Leo’s Passage. You can get an idea of what Leo Lambert had to crawl through when discovering Ruby Falls.

When you arrive at the falls you wait for a moment in darkness and you can hear the water falling and falling. Then the waterfall is lit with some of the most beautiful colored lights. It is just so awesome to see something that far underground. Wow!!! what else may be underground that we do not even know about!!!

Ruby Falls is 145 feet high and spectacular!!!!

The next day was mostly meetings and tying us general business with the Caves Association. A great speaker from he National Speleological Society and some time to share ideas with other caves within the association.

The next morning I was ready to head for home. I had been gone for almost a week and I missed everyone so much!!!! It was great seeing my cave buddies and I look forward to it every year. But it is sooooooo good getting back home. Now to start all that laundry.

There’s lots and lots of things in Chattanooga I didn’t mention, Rock City Gardens, Incline Railway, Tennessee Aquarium. So if you get a chance go visit this amazing city that has invested so much in their commitment to sustainability. Spend some time and have some fun. www.chattanoogafun.com

And always remember
Love your day your way!!!

A wake up Call

Tuesday I had an appointment with my doctor for my annual physical. A week ago I went to the office for lab work for my upcoming Appointment. I have the blood work about a week before so my doctor can go over the results with me during my visit.

I was concerned about my weight. I knew I had gained weight during the last few years. And as it is with many things as you get older losing weight has become really hard. It seemed like when I was twenty I could lose ten pounds in two weeks. Wow those days are no more. I guess I have just been comfortable in my own skin and really still am to a great extent. I don’t like the extra weight when it comes to fitting into clothes or liking the way I look in a particular outfit sometimes. But I guess it hasn’t bothered me enough to really do something about it. I feel like I have had a lot of other things in my life to deal with.

UNTIL, I noticed that my knees were starting to bother me more, I wasn’t working out like I should.I am getting older I noticed I am stiffer when I get out of bed in the mornings or after I sit for a long time. Not moving makes that worse. Just a few years ago I was training for a half marathon. What happened? Well at that time I injured my knee, stopped working out, didn’t do the marathon, and basically just gave myself a freebie not to work out for awhile. Unfortunately the “while” turned into a long while. And the extra pounds started piling up.

Now don’t get me wrong. For most of my life I have been plus sized, chubby, big boned, whatever you want to call it I have always been above my normal weight range, whatever in the hell that might be. You know most people are only in that weight range when they are in kindergarten. I probably wasn’t then either. That is me. I was never picked for sports or cheerleading but I was just as comfortable, more so really, sitting in the library reading a book. Do I like myself thinner? Well yes I do but as I said I guess I have reached an age where I am comfortable with me. Until it starts causing me joint issues and not feeling like myself and not wanting to do things like I used to. Or until I realize I am not taking control of my weight and it could really get out of hand and cause blood pressure and cholesterol and diabetes issues.

I have been on a diet most of my life. I have lost hundreds if not thousands of pounds throughout my lifetime. Thousands is probably more like it. Every time I have an event a few months away I think to myself well that gives me plenty of time to lose about 20 pounds and wear that outfit in the back of my closet. But you know that doesn’t usually happen.

I realize I could have a lot of health issues that could be worse than having to lose some weight. No blood pressure problems, no cholesterol problems. Everything is within range. But I do know that carrying extra weight, not exercising and eating the wrong foods could change all of that as I get older. Older than I am now.

I could blame my weight on a crazy work schedule with lots of travel, being a care giver and not having a lot of extra time of my own, depression, anxiety, stress, any of these things or all of them can cause someone to eat mindlessly and just have the need to fill a void within themselves.

The first picture was when I was about three and the second one was when I was about ten. I will never forget being at the dentist when I was young and the assistant ask my mom if my cheeks were always that puffy or if they were swollen? My mom said “no they are always like that”. That memory has always stuck with me and made me self conscious of my chubby cheeks. I still have them.

So on Tuesday I went to the doctor’s office, I felt pretty good about myself. I wasn’t even dreading the weigh in as bad as I usually do. I hadn’t weighed myself at home in weeks if not months. I thought maybe I had even lost a little weight. My body did feel different my clothes were still fitting o.k.

The nurse called my name, of course the first thing they do is lead you to the scales. I didn’t even ask to remove my shoes. I bravely stepped onto the scale and after she adjusted the weight thingies I almost passed out. I literally stepped back and almost fell off the scale. And then she said my weight in a loud voice like I hadn’t seen it on the medieval torture device scale. I cringed and quickly looked around to see who else had heard her. Dear Lord!!!!! It was terrible. I couldn’t get that number out of my head. I guess the fact that I thought maybe I had lost some weight only to find out that was not true but I had actually gained!!! It was too much.

Through the years my weight has fluctuated. If you could look through my medical records you would see probably a 35-40 pound range over the past 20 years. My closet has everything from a size 6 to a size 16. I just shove them around as needed.

The doctor came in and went over my blood work with me. Everything looked great. We discussed my weight, which was not great. I had only gained five or ten pounds since the year before but I could see myself adding on year after year.

So we came up with a plan. My doctor doesn’t want me to try anything ridiculous and try to lose 10 pounds in a week, not that that would happen with me, he wants me to set a goal of a ten pound weight loss by the end of the year and add 150 minutes of exercise per week. That may sound like a lot but it is only 30 minutes a day for 5 days, or less if you spread it out over 7 days. I think that is doable until I get back in the swing of exercise and build up some muscle and endurance. After the first three months we will look at the next goal. Having a goal in sight helps me to stay focused.

Now please don’t get me wrong when you read this post. I have seen many men and women with excess weight who are happy and comfortable in their skin. I love them and think you go, good for you. But I can only be comfortable with myself to a certain point and then I do have some self esteem issues. Add in the joint pain and stiffness and that is just not the me I want to be. I feel that I should try to be the best me a I can be and that is what I want to do. But you are you and you be the best YOU, you can be.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

Always remember to Love your day your way!!!!