Herzlich willkommen in Helen

No my blog title has not lost it's mind. That is German for "Welcome to Helen."

Shane came up on Friday night and I met him in Alpharetta at The Cheesecake Factory. I promised him that we would go since I had teased him with it the weekend before and it is one of his favorite restaurant's! We had a great meal and then came back to the house after stopping by the Redbox to pick up some movies. We did not end up watching the movies because we got back to the house so late that we ended up going to bed! (Author's note: I sleep downstairs in my bed, and Shane sleeps upstairs in the guest bedroom! No funny business in this house!)

Saturday we got up....around 11! And got ready for the day. After stopping by my parents house (in which Shane ended up meeting them!) to pick up my water shoes and the tubing poles we headed to Helen for the day. One of my favorite summer activities, other than Stone Mountain, is going to Helen. If you have never been you should definitely go! We planned to go tubing down the 'Hooch, but when I saw how packed it was I said NO! Shane was a little disappointed...OK A LOT, but I promised him we would go back. Its just a 45 minute ride from my house up there and it is a great day get away. We ended up eating our picnic in the back of my Jeep along the river, and then walking around the town. Of course we stopped in at Hansel and Gretel, the best candy shop! They were making fudge and it smelled wonderful! To bad I don't like to eat it! Shane got a candy apple with nuts, and I got pecan brittle. (Of course I had to pick mom and dad up some too!) After walking around we decided to play putt putt. Shane was determined to beat me...and sure enough he did! Badly too! I think the final score was 54 me to 44 Shane! Ack! That's okay....I will get him again! He now thinks he wants a rematch in bowling! HA! After a long day in Helen we headed home to eat our leftover Cheesecake Factory food and of course had to stop by and pick Chloe up! We tried watching The Soloist that night but I laid my head on Shane's shoulder and I was out! I could not even tell you what the first scene was! He said it was pretty good! Shane took pictures on his phone so I don't have one to post!

On Sunday we slept late again...I promise we will make it to church one of these days! (Again, seperate bedrooms!) But Shane went to dinner with me at my parents house! After dinner, I guess he was feeling quite comfortable since he stretched out on the couch with his feet in my lap and proceeded to take a nap! Dinner went well and I think my parents like him so far! They are of course more cautious. And he is already starting at a deficit since he is a UF fan...trust me I am working on that one! But they both said he was very nice and polite! I get to meet his family in a few weeks when I head to Carollton for his Dad's suprise birthday party! I am nervous and excited!

This week is just work work work and Friday Shane is coming again! We are supposed to head back to Stone Mountain on Saturday with Patricia, Mike, and the kids for the day! So that will be a lot of fun!

Summer cold and a road trip...

Apparently this one never got posted last week....so you are getting a twofer this week...

Last week my body decided to HATE me! On Monday I took 2 naps! (I work from home on Mondays and Thursdays.) Which is really rare for me. Tuesday I went to work but was exhausted ALL day long and my throat was burning. I left work a little early and decided to come home and take a nap. When I awoke from my 2 hour nap low and behold I had a summer cold in full! No energy, could barely hold my head up, throat was burning, etc. On Wednesday I tried my best to get out of bed and go to work but my body would just not have it! Instead I called out and slept all day. Well, minus the part where I had my annual doctors appointment. Which by the way went well, no new lumps, which means no breast cancer! Yay! And the 3 that were found last year have not grown! Double yay! Anyways, I got home from that doctors visit, and went straight back to bed. I have the best Momma in the world who came over and brought me soup for supper! Thursday I was feeling better and decided I could make it in to work. When I got there my co-worker looked at my boss and says "Jerry, there is a big fat germ ball that just walked in, send her home!!!" And so he did....literally...I was there for about an hour and a half and by that time he kept fussing at me and shooing me out the door! I worked from home the rest of the day and felt MUCH better by Friday! Now the runny nose has started and I am about to SCREAM!!! I hate runny noses....they are gross and annoying things! Uggg!

Anyways, all the girls went on a road trip to see Heather and James this weekend up in Charlotte. We had a great time. We left around 1:30 on Friday and got up there about 5:30 or so. We went and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then went back to Heather's house for Pinneapple Upside Cake Martini's! YUUMMMMOOO!!!! This is our signature drink! So easy and soo tasty! Saturday we got up, cooked breakfast, got ready...which takes some time with 6 girls! And then went to lunch and shopped a little. We left Charlotte around 6pm Saturday evening and I pulled in my driveway at 10:30. So we made good time....and that was even stopping for dinner and then at Kathleens to pick up my car and break in her house...HA! She locked her keys in the house when we were unloading the car and I had to use a credit card to break in! Yes, folks, one of my hidden talents! Anyways, it was a great weekend, but I did miss Shane! I wont get to see him until this weekend!

Here is a pic of the girls....the only picture I took this weekend!

Alumni and Bowling...

Saturday I headed out to Carrollton for the day. The UWG BSU reunion was this past weekend. I have not been to Carrollton in a VERY long time and it was quite interesting to go back and see all the changes! The BSU itself has not changed much. A new coat of paint on the inside but it still had the same furniture! Even the old comfy couch that we are pretty sure is probably so dirty that we really dont want to sit on it...but let me tell you there were good naps taken on that couch!!!!

After the reunion Shane drove me around town to see all the new and exciting things! HA! And we walked around campus a little too. It was good to go back and see everything! GREAT memories! We also went a sat out a Lake Carroll for a little while.

Then we headed to the movie theatre to see The Ugly Truth. It was a cute movie. Not as great as I thought it was going to be. I dont think Shane liked it to much but he suffered thru it in silence to make me happy! (Told you I had a great guy! ;) )

After the movie we headed to Newnan for a little bowling. I like bowling. I am no good at it, but I like it. We usually go each year at work and I break 100. So I figure that is pretty good for an amature. Well folks, I beat my great guy! First game total was 94 (Shane) to 104 (Me). And the second game? 106 (Shane) to 161 (me). Apparently I missed the part where you are not supposed to beat the guy in sports because that emmasculates them. (Beat him at putt putt too!)

Oh well! He is bound and determined that he will find SOMETHING to beat me at! Poor guy!

Then we headed to Frank's for dinner! This was by far the best part of my day! Frank's is this little hole in the wall resturant in Palmetto. Frank, the owner, is Greek/Italian and makes THE BEST food period! I have not eaten at Franks in sooo long that I had almost forgotten how good it was!. Well, I decided since we were already in Newnan going a couple of exit's up 85 was no big deal. I warned Shane that this was a hole in the wall but he was still shocked when I pulled up to an old convience store! I had the Philly Cheesesteak and he had the Gyro. SOOOO good!!! And he was quickly convinced of the same! Trust me, if you are near Palmetto/Senoia/Tyrone/Newnan area go try Frank's! It is worth it!

Chloe talks....

Yes folks, Chloe talks! OK, so she doesn't say words but she does growl, bark, and fuss at me! If she is not getting her way, wants me to do something, or she thinks that I am not paying attention to her she talks!



This is a little video that I took this morning...

This is not the only crazy thing she does....she has a pacifier! Seriously!!! When we first got her our groomer told us to try giving her a paci. She was gnawing and sucking our fingers so much because she was looking for her mother. (Her mothers milk dried up and we got her at 3 weeks old.) She plays with it now and I will occasionally catch her running thru the house with it in her mouth but am never fast enough to get a picture. Yesterday she was napping while I was working and this was the picture I got....

These are just a couple of the weird things my dog does! Brandy, our groomer, says that it is because she thinks she is a person and not a dog because we got her at such an early age. Oh I am sure the Dog Whisperer would have a time with this one! But I love her just the way she is!

Stone Mountain

Friday night Shane came up to spend the weekend. We had decided that we were going to spend all day Saturday at Stone Mountain. We both have been to the mountain several times but Shane has never been to the top. (It has been quite some time...since high school...since I have been!) I am definitely the planner in our relationship! HA! I had it all worked out where it would be a super fun and relatively cheap date! In my mind, we were going to get up, grab something to eat on the way out there, hike the mountain (cause it is free), pitter around and find a few things to do, have a packed picnic (because the food there is SOOO expensive) and then watch the laser show! Sounds great right???? Wrong....

Well, sort of....

See I failed to factor in the fact that my boyfriend LOVES to sleep as much as I do! Seriously folks! I am becoming a little better in the morning but only because Chloe wakes me up! So we didn't get up till 11:30! (I had to go up and wake his behind up...) Well that is not true! I had to get up at 7:30 to work! (Long story, we wont reminisce on the bad week I had last week!) I got up, worked for an hour, got our picnic ready, and made the fatal mistake of laying back down in my bed! (All the while Shane is sleeping away in his bed upstairs! And by the way, Chloe was at Mom and Dad's for her weekend visitation!) So, we got a little later start, no big deal! We finally go there and decided that we would get the all day passes so we could ride up and ride down the mountain and do some other attractions. We spent 1 hr 45 min's in line for SkyHike. I REALLY wanted to try this. I had done a ropes course in middle school and thought I would be fine doing this! Did I mention that I am TERRIFIED of heights???? Seriously, I can't stand on a counter top with out getting a little weak in the knees! Anyways, we did the 12 ft course...and I was pretty proud of myself! Shane tried his best to get me to go higher and I just couldn't! Sorry honey! Maybe next time... We didn't get any pictures because you are not supposed to take any loose items up with you!

Then we decided to get a funnel cake! Can you say diabetic coma???? I had a few small bites with very little sugar on them...here is Shane eating some of his....

Then we decided to ride the SkyLift up to the top of the mountain....this picture (below) was taken about half way up the ride...

Once on top, you have the most amazing views of the city and state! I could just sit up there for HOURS!!!!

And last but certainly not least, we capped off the day with the laser show! Such a southern tradition! I remember going every summer as a little girl! Some of the same things are still incorporated in the show now and I absolutely LOVE it! I could go and watch it every weekend and not get tired of it! (Ok, maybe not EVERY weekend!) But we are definitely planning to go back before the summer is over!

Here are some of the awesome pics I got of the laser show....

July 4th Activities....

I have been meaning to post an update, but life has been crazy busy lately! (In a good way. :) )

I think I said before, but I am moved into my house and LOVING it!!!

For July 4th we went to see the Gwinnett Braves play the Norfolk Tides. Unfortunately the Braves lost but we had a FABULOUS time! The stadium is sooo clean and nice! The best part is Chopper (the mascot) sat in Santa's lap!

Oh, Shane! Ha! I am dating a WONDERDFUL guy named Shane! We actually met when we were in college but due to some conflicts never dated before and lost contact. But thanks to Facebook we have reconnected and started dating. He is a wonderful guy and I am having a ton of fun! He lives in Carrollton, so it is long distance, but we are making it work! He came up on July 3rd and we went to see The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. GREAT movie! Then we went out to eat and watched the fireworks in Cumming. Last weekend we met in Marietta and had dinner and played putt putt! He is coming in tomorrow night and we are going to Stone Mountain on Saturday! Here is an attempt at our self portrait while playing putt putt...

I really need to get him to smile in pictures! Ha!

It has been a while...

It has been a while and so much has happened!

I moved in my house on 6/20! I LOVE IT!!! It is the best thing ever!

Work is getting better. I have 2 days a week at home again!

Unfortunately my uncle passed away. He will be greatly missed but I know that he is healed and in a much better place! He had one of the best funeral's I have ever been to! The hearse was escorted up Lookout Mtn. to the church by the Police Cheif, Police Dept, Fire Dept, Color Gaurd, City Council, and City department heads! Flags flew at half staff. The state flag that flew over the state capital on Tuesday was flown in my uncles honor and was presented to my aunt on Wednesday when Senator Jeff Mullins came to the visitation. He coffin was drapped with a flag and when they folded it at the grave side a bugal was played. SOOOOO many people came by to pay their respects. Litterally there was a line ALL night. Visitation was from 5 to 8 and we did not get out of there until 9:30! I just hope that I can leave half the legacy he has left!

We went to the Gwinnett Braves game tonight and it was so much fun! Well, until I sat in 2 hours worth of traffic!