Things to look forward to…

Mondays are always a bit of a trial for me. It always depresses me to no end knowing that the work week is just beginning. So, I’m compiling a list of things that I look forward to in the next few weeks.

1. My office Christmas Party is Thursday night. Although we never stay too long at one of these events, it’s always good for a fun blooper reel.
2. Only two work-weeks until I take my final four vacation days Christmas week.
3. 24 hours of “A Christmas Story.”
4. Giving the girls their Wii for Christmas.
5. My mom’s scalloped potatoes.
6. “Every time a bell rings, and angel gets it’s wings.”
7. Finally, eventually seeing “Australia.”
8. Fudge. I want some fudge – without nuts.
9. Church Services.
10. My fifth wedding anniversary, even though we’re going to be at my brother-in-law’s graduation and commissioning.
11. The BCS National Championship Game. I know my Sooners are considered the underdogs, that we can no longer win bowl games, and that there’s no way we can compete with the SEC, but I’m still excited. The last time we were the underdogs in a National Championship Game, we went home with a trophy.

Vacation Log

To see pictures, visit My Picasa Web Albums and please comment.

First of all, let me say how wonderful last week was just because of the fact that we were out of cell-phone range most every day and didn’t have time to watch much television each night in our hotel rooms. Especially because I work at a television station, it was wonderful to be able to get away from news of the economy, the election, sports, celebutards, and just about every other thing that dominate the airwaves. we have XM radio, but didn’t even listen to it until Friday when we were making our 5-state dash home.

So, as you can tell, we were on vacation last week. We were gone almost an entire week, and though we stayed busy, it was just so relaxing to not be at work or anywhere near work. Even when I take time off at home, I can’t really get away from work because we’re the affiliates for two of the four major networks. I’ll see our news or promos and won’t be able to put it out of my mind.

As I said, it was nice to really get away for a while. Bart and I haven’t had a real vacation alone and out of town in almost five years, since our honeymoon. Three years ago we spent an extended weekend at Gaston’s White River Resort with Bart’s family, but this was just the two of us, and though we probably got on each other’s nerves, we needed that time together. So, let me tell you of this trip now.

Day 1 – Saturday, October 11 – We got up fairly early and dropped Lucy off at Camp Bow Wow in Bentonville. Then we returned home to pack and clean the house while watching the OU/Texas game. Though I wasn’t pleased with the ending of the game, I have to admit that at least we just lost to Texas and not some unranked team. It’s not like we lost to the Oregon Beavers or Ole’ Miss.

After the game we left for our first stop, Little Rock, where we spent the night with Bart’s grandparents. It’s always a pleasure visiting with his grandparents because they’re just really great people. I love being around them and visiting with them.

Day 2 – Sunday, October 12 – We got around early and drove straight through to Farragut, TN, a town just outside of Knoxville. We didn’t really do anything there but sleep, but the hotel was nice. Wait, actually we stopped outside of Nashville and toured The Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson. We tried to to that on our honeymoon and couldn’t then, so we fulfilled a five-year-old desire.

Day 3 – Monday, October 13 – Again we got around early ( a recurring event, you’ll see) and visited two cemetaries in Concord, TN where Bart has ancestors buried. After finding those graves, we drove on to the Smoky Mountains and ate our first of many picnic lunches at Cade’s Cove. We took the loop around the Cove and got stuck on a one-way road traffic jam. The traffic was so backed up that an elderly couple pulled off the road in their RV and took a nap. At least I hope they took a nap because the man was decidedly pale. After that, we tried to visit one of the many waterfalls in the area, and the “easy” hike up the mountain turned out to be so difficult that we decided against any hikes that were “strenuous.” The pictures there didn’t turn out well at all because my camera needed fresh batteries, and I wasn’t going back down the hill and up again just to photograph a waterfall that had people crawling all over it like a bunch of ants on a pixie stick.

Day 4 – Tuesday, October 14 – Our first real day along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and we got up especially early so that we could hopefully get good pictures of the sunrise and fog. I think we accomplished that goal. This was also the day that we visited the Biltmore Estate. We wanted to have been able to take the tour on segways, but they cost an extra $65.00 per person, AND all were already taken once we made it to the estate. Still yet, the largest home in the United States is quite the site to see, and I think everyone should visit it just to get a sense of history and architectural and landscaping artistry. I kind of like to think of it as America’s Pemberley, if Pemberley really existed. Afterward, we went to Mt. Mitchell and weren’t overly impressed.

Day 5 – Wednesday, October 15 – This day we went to Grandfather Mountain and crossed a mile-high, swinging pedestrian bridge. THAT was rather freaky but wonderful. After that, we took better pictures of the viaducts, visited the Bob White Covered Bridge, and the Mabry Mill. This was one of our latest nights out, and we spent the night in Waynesboro, VA after completing the Parkway in the dark. We ended up in the country of Early Hamner, the creator of The Waltons. The Parkway actually ends in Rockfish Gap. Rockfish is mentioned a great deal in The Waltons, as is Charlotteville.

Day 6 – Thursday, October 16 – This was the beginning of our journey westward, home. We didn’t get too far though, before visiting the birthplace and Museum of Woodrow Wilson. After that, we journeyed into West Virginia. The country there is remarkably beautiful, but I wouldn’t want to live there. It is evident the area is economically depressed, and the cities are very cramped, as they are all on the sides of mountains. We did see the New River Gorge Bridge, which is on the back of the West Virginia Quarter. Also, we saw the Humpback Covered Bridge before winding our way into Kentucky, Ohio, and Kentucky again. We spent the night in Lexington, which was a coincidence since the Hogs played there Saturday against KU or UK or whatever they call themselves.

Day 7 – Friday, October 17 – We started the real trek home this morning. We drove up to Louisville, into Indiana, Illinois, and to Saint Louis, where we eventually hopped on I-44 to Joplin where we got on Hwy 71. We arrived home around 9 pm, having traveled 2772.1 miles. Only that last leg of the journey did my restless legs start to bother me. I have to admit that I slept through a great deal of Missouri because after eating lunch at Joe’s Crabshack, I thought it best to take two Benadryl, just in case my white fish was fried with shellfish. We picked Lucy up from camp the next morning.

I had intended to write an individual post for each day, but the time to do so disappeared. So, unfortunatley many of my thoughts and observations have long been lost along the many miles of road that we’ve traveled. I must say thought that you cannot watch the sun rise over the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can’t listen to a roaring waterfall, you can’t walk trails that were used by pioneers and indians and not appreciate the awesome glory of our God and the gift that he gave us of this Earth. I’m not a wacko environmentalist, but I believe in preserving God’s beauty and taking care of it so that our children may too someday see the sights that I have seen.

Random Observations and Such – July 22, 2008 Edition

I’ve come to realize that the older I get, the less I care for summer. Maybe when I have kids and stay at home with them I’ll enjoy it again, but for now, I can’t wait for Fall. The first obvious reason and cause of most, if not all, other reasons is because of the heat. I don’t particularly care for excessive heat. I don’t know how I managed to survive all those years of July church camps and band camps when I was in high school. Perhaps the teenage body is better equipped to withstand the heat than that of someone in her late twenties, or perhaps I have less incentive to whither and sweat these days.

I feel sorry for my dog, Lucy, when it’s hot I only make her spend the mornings outside. She, being the spoiled house-dog that she is, is always only too glad to spend the remaining three hours after my lunch sleeping on the couch, under the air conditioner and ceiling fan. Playing with her and exercising her is an ordeal for dog and owners. Our nightly run has become a short walk, only taken after dark.

Since I am an adult, no longer in school, there is no long, lazy summer vacation. I work every day and save vacation days for cooler weather, when people who have school-age children can’t take vacations. Dressing for work is a chore because though you can fry an egg on the pavement outside, as long as the air conditioner at the office is working, the workplace is often a freezer.

Cooking large meals is out of the question because you end up heating the whole house so much that the air conditioner can’t stop working. By the time you’ve managed to prepare and entire meal, you’re too tired and exhausted from the heat to actually what has been prepared. Then there is the dubious task of cleaning the kitchen after you’ve decided that you can’t possibly eat the meal you’ve worked so hard to prepare.

So, I long for the Autumn. I can’t wait until the start of the college football season. I miss a cool, gentle breeze brushing against my face while I walk the dog. I want to step on crunchy leaves. I want to be able to wear clothes that are comfortable both outside and at work. I really want to step on crunchy leaves.