Weekending: A Happy Birthday Surprise

Well, we actually pulled off a surprise party for Daddy! And he never suspected! We had a surprise dinner for him at the Gondolier in Athens featuring balloons, gift cards, pizza, spaghetti, cake balls, Gigis cupcakes & a little munchkin! We were so happy that we surprised him, he never suspected, and it went so smoothly! Kourt & Brian did a GREAT job with the decorations & Mama did a GREAT job with the excuse to get him there (the aides at school were eating Gondolier pizza yesterday & it made her crave it; even threw him off by saying she wished they had eaten at Western Sizzlin after they left a retirement party there). It was so fun! I'm so happy we got to do it!

Weekending: Chattanooga & My Little Sidekick

This weekend we headed to Chattanooga for Brent to participate in a 100-mile bike ride involving three mountains - Sand, Raccoon, and Lookout. We also were planning a surprise party for Daddy! Kourtney & I wanted to have a yard sale but ended up calling it off because the forecast was calling for a 70% chance of rain ALL DAY LONG. (It was correct.)

On Friday we drove up to Chattanooga & stayed in Kourtney's old condo. We met Ronnie, Lyn & Paige at the expo & then went to dinner at Sticky Fingers with dessert at the Cupcake Kitchen down the street.

On Saturday, while Brent was riding 83 miles up & down mountains with George Hincapie in pouring rain & 50 degree weather, I picked up my little sidekick and went shopping at Hamilton Place. Kourtney & Brian met us there. Halie discovered her new favorite store, Charming Charlie's, and we just had a lot of fun! When Brent was finally finished & warmed up (he drank 2 cups of coffee in the shower!) we stopped back by the Cupcake Kitchen before heading to Gondolier for Daddy's surprise party!!

Gray Saturday

Today was a little rainy and overcast, but we still had a great day!  Perfect mix of relaxing + productive.  Brent couldn’t ride because of the weather, so we ended up sleeping later than usual, getting some housework done, then going for lunch at Mellow Mushroom before getting groceries.

When we got home, I went straight for this:

And took a loooooong nap.  Tonight we ended up braving the nasty weather and going to the Plantation House with our friends.  They have this amazing wonderful spectacular shrimp & corn chowder on the salad bar.  I ate so much of it that I had to bring my actual meal home in a to-go box. This restaurant has the BEST chicken fingers ever, so we have that to look forward to tomorrow!

Rainy photos:

And look what we found in our kitchen cabinets!!!

I’m a little embarrassed that Thelma might see this, but oh well.   It is remarkable. We were growing a garden & didn’t even know it.

Weekending: Cabin Fever

From Wikipedia:

“Cabin fever is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period (as in a simple country vacation cottage during a long rain or snow). Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, paranoia, irrational frustration with everyday objects, forgetfulness, laughter, excessive sleeping, distrust of anyone they are with, and an urge to go outside even in the rain, snow or dark.”

Other symptoms might include mindless photography and excessive blogging.