Paula Deen and Mickey Mouse

So I found out this weekend that my mom is going to let us use her timeshare in Orlando in April for my birthday!! I'm sooooo excited. We are going to stay at Orange Lake Country Club which is just a short distance from Disneyworld. Lee and I have been wanting to make a trip down to disney for a while now! I have been three times but I've only been to the Magic Kingdom and I'm dying to go to the Animal Kingdom and all the other parks! We are getting the 5 day park hopper pass as well as heading to Downtown Disney! OH but don't think for one minute I'm driving to Florida without stopping in my favorite city (besides NYC) Savannah, Georgia. AND yes I WILL finally be taking the Paula Deen tour!! I love her..love love love love her and have been wanting to do it for a long time!! Lee loves Paula too so I'm sure he will enjoy this...haha :) I know its a long way off but I cant help being the little trip planner that i am..it will be all clearly thought out! yay!! :)

The greatest fear is fear itself..

Ahhhhhhh! So let me start by saying this weekend was over the top! On friday nite Lee and I met up with Hope and Chad and Carolyn..Richard had to work :( for dinner and drinks at Village Grill on Grandin! It was so good seeing my girls..I just love them! Happy Birthday Carolyn!! It was the perfect nite to sit out on the deck and listen to the music...Friday was straight up an autumn day..not hot..sunny and breezy! It was wonderful! After dinner Lee and I went home to watch the olympics!! He really got me into it. It truly is an amazing thing. All the countries coming together for this one huge event and putting aside their differences. The opening ceremony was insane!! There's no way America could top that! We've been recording it all and keeping up with it. I'm a huge fan of Michael Phelps for sure and rooting him on! AND I just love watching those gymnasts! We probably stayed up half the night watching the games! On Saturday we got up early and made breakfast together...I suck at making eggs. I mean who screws up eggs right?? Me!! always! Lee has to make those. After breakfast is when the fun started.
OK. So..Lee has been trying to get me to ride this motorcycle he bought for months now and I wont do it. I've seen too many horror stories..heard too many horror stories..and know a few people who have been killed. I have been pretty much against the whole thing from the beginning. Plus, he only has one helmet so I didn't want to risk riding with him. Well folks..saturday..lee bought a second helmet. I knew I wasnt going to get out of it. I knew I was going to have to try it. Yes I know im a huge baby but I was so scared. Anyway I finally got up the nerve to do it. I got on. He said we're going to drive down the street to a parking lot and do different moves so you can get used to them. DEAR GOD PLEASE HELP ME! It took me about 15 mins just to sit on it. It took another 15 for me to let him turn it on. Probably 5 for me to put my feet up on the bars.. and 5 more for me to let him go. He started going..not even a block and i started screaming and crying for him to pull over. After he calmed me down..we made it all the way to the civic center. I started to slowly get used to it but we got the hang of it..not bad at all. I'm still totally terrified but I know I'll get used to it more and more. Also his bike has a back passenger seat..but not back rest..so it hurts my back a lot and I always feel like I'm going to fly off the back. He is going to purchase a back rest and soon hopefully a more comfortable seat because let me tell ya my butt HURTS!! Sat nite we went out to dinner, rode the bike over to fresh market, bought some wine and came home and watched the other boelyn girl. We both loved it!! It was a very good movie. My roomate had read the book and said it was really good so I figured the movie would be too..and it was. After the movie we caught up with the olympics again and then I headed to bed. I was exhausted.
Okay, so after my big practice run Saturday, It was time to do the real thing Sunday. We finally took the bike up on the parkway! We drove almost all the way to the peaks of otter..and would have if my butt didnt hurt so bad! It was a beautiful day and we stopped at all the overlooks and if the camera hadn't died I would've been able to take more pictures. It was a great day. Anyway..that about sums up the weekend. We skipped out on the SFCS picnic and the beer festival. I knew it wasnt worth the money for a ticket because i dont like all those different beers...I'm a miller lite girl. And we almost went to the picnic..but lee was just too excited about the bike to do that. Wish me luck...the next few months are going to be so scary!!! hahaha!!

Harrisburg Bound!

Lee just found out that he is going on a business trip to Harrisburg Pennsylvania! In a couple of weeks were are heading up there! Hotel and Gas expenses will be paid for. We will be staying at the Hilton Towers Hotel in Downtown Harrisburg. It will also be one of our "monthy" anniversary weekends. Friday nite dinner overlooking the river..Saturday while lee is in his conference which thank god is only a couple of hours, I will be touring the downtown/market street area for some shopping and sightseeing! Afterwards We will head over to Hershey to the Chocolate world and Hershey Park! We thought about heading to New York City since its only about 3 hours away on Sunday, but we both have to work on Monday so we need to come back home :( However..it's a good possiblilty that we head up there during the holiday season..Which is when I want go since I've only been there during the summer months! What a fun little weekend gettaway! Cant wait! AND..had to share my excitement! Also..I'm so thrilled that gas prices are coming down! I heard that it could possibly hit 3.00 dollars at some point...yeah yeah a couple years ago, 3 dollars seemed like a lot but now it would be a lifesaver!
I dread working late tonite but Epic does seem to make the time go by faster..and Lee will most likely make me dinner which is one reason I love thursdays! It's almost friday! Woop! :)

Cheese with that wine?

Lovely
outside view of the deck
The huge tasting room!
This is the entrance to the reception hall. There is full access to the hall, tasting room and deck and property!


This weekend was wonderful! Friday night I was exhausted. I got about an hour of sleep the night before and had to work all day trying to figure out Epic..it was a nightmare!! (We are officially "Live" on Epic today...whoohoo)THANK GOD. So needless to say, Friday night we had dinner at La Finca...so convenient..about 10 steps from the apartments and then went to Best Buy to find a movie or two. We ended up buying the newest disney movie (of course) Sword in the Stone..which we both LOVE and season 3 of The Office! I am so addicted to The Office. Someone tried to get me to watch it once before and I didn't really get it but I gave it another chance and now I cant stop watching it. I absolutely dub that my favorite show. It's right up there with Jon and Kate Plus 8 and 30 min meals! hahaha :) So..We ended up watching The Office and drinking some wine which was ALRIGHT with me!
The next day we got up and headed to Crozet, about 15 mins outside of Charlottesville. We ended up leaving a little later than planned and got a little lost but even so where we ended up was beautiful. We drove all around and saw gorgeous farm and beautiful homes it was amazing. We probably saw about 15 vineyards in the one area but I had my heart set on a certain one! It is immaculate! I definetly have my heart set on getting married there. We are going to go back again in a few weeks! We also stopped at an adorable little farmers market and bought some vegetables and fruit (we've found its much better to support the local farmers in the area and its MUCH cheaper because the food doesn't have to travel) We've been getting a lot of our fruits and vegetables from downtown when we can! Anyway, we also picked up some wine and some dipping oils and bread. Yummmm! After making one too many purchases we drove to Keswick and met up with Hugh and Stephanie! We went downtown and had Dinner at Eppies a little new orleans place with yummy food and tons of it for cheap! I had jerk chicken with rice and cornbread and lee had a curry chicken salad sandwich and peach cobbler. Then we headed down to Millers place for some drinks. It was good seeing Hugh. I hadn't seen him for a few months and I love his new girlfriend! They are perfect for each other!! Im so glad to see him happy! It was starting to get late so we headed home and got back to Roanoke around Midnight. On Sunday we got a lot done...much needed laundry and some organizing. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond and got a lot of nice things for the apartment. Some new throw pillows...kitchen cannisters, home decor...good stuff. The apartment looks very nice!! Finally we had our newly purchased wine and dipping oil and watched the bucket list. It was a nice ending to the weekend. I'm looking forward to this week/weekend and spending time with my girls!! AND school starts in a few weeks..I'm a little nervous about that but so excited! Anyway..that's all for now! Oh yes..and the above pictures are at the vineyard!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great week!!
Meg

Lazy Summer days

The last few weeks have been tiring lazy relaxing kinda weeks. I have been working weekends and some extra hours for work because carilions new computer system, epic is starting at the end of this week. Its been a little crazy and a little stressful but I should have a significant amount of training/overtime which will be nice. Lee has been REALLY enjoying his motorcycle and has bought a few things to fix it up! He's dying to get a helmet for me but I just cant stand the thought of falling off the back so he may be investing in a back rest for the back seat. haha. His dad came in this weekend and they enjoyed their long drive to NC on the parkway. His dad has also bought a motorcycle. It's funny...the compare all their stuff and the other person has to try to do it bigger and better..pimp my bike pretty much.
Friday nite we all went to see The Dark Knight! It was very good. Lee got me pumped up before because we went and got the blu ray batman begins..which I had never seen. So I think I understood the movie a little bit better. I thought it was great except maybe a little too long..a little under three hours!! The next morning Lee and his dad headed out on the parkway and I met up with suzanne at Tudors before work. We worked all day long..I got outta there about 5 and went back to Lee's who thank goodness had already made it home, and made me dinner! Awwww :) He wanted to go work out but I wasnt feeling it so I tricked him into going to a frisbee golf course that I had found. However the joke was one me..I thought it'd be a litte less miserable than the same old workout but it ended up being so hot..and muggy..and buggy..even that late at night that i was ready to throw in the towel! BLAH! We came back that night both exhausted and crashed to bridezilla. haha!
Sunday we woke up and decided to go to church. We havent been for a while so it was much needed. The service and the sermon were pretty good and afterwoods we ended up going to lunch at one of our faves RED ROBIN!! mmmmmmm! We then ran some errands and came back to his place because he had to go to work and i needed a nap. Once again I crashed to bridezilla while he worked and around 5 he came home and i cooked dinner. Later that nite we decided to go jogging. We walked and jogged a couple miles around smith park...i love that place!! i love ending a weekend like that...it was much needed nature therapy..we've been using the gym at the new apartments..which they just opened and it is SUPER nice!! I love it!! I've been spending a lot of time there to save money on gas..its nice because I can walk to work in less than a minute and im saving a ton of money..back to the working out. Im starting to get frustrated because I'm dieting and working out 4-5 days a week and im not really losing any weight. I can tell a difference in a lot of my clothes but my weight loss is minimal...and its frustrating because lee loses 2 lbs here , 10lbs there.. and his mom is losing a ton of weight too. I feel like such a failure! :( Im trying and im working hard, and im exhausted but I feel like i must not be doing enough. The actual working out is not hard, its finding time to do it and not being exhausted..especially with school coming up..wow. Im going to continue and pray that this non weight loss is just me building up muscle..however..i dont feel any stronger! im such a weakling :) wish me luck!! OH and i highly recommend the disney movie college rd trip. Lee and i watched it last nite and it was wonderful!! hope to have something more interesting to blog about soon..but for now its work and working out and sleeping/eating. Have a great week! ps: I want to thank Lee for my new awesome nike running shoes and to Andrea for giving us her employee discount at lady foot locker! The shoes are amzing as well as lees shoes!! yay!!

Boats, Bagpipes, and LOTS of Boys!!

I will have to say that this was probably one of the best weekends I have ever had! After such a long week at work I thought the weekend would go by super fast..but it actually didn't! It all started Thursday night when Lee's mom arrived. In my head I was thinking that we would probably all kick back and relax and talk what not. Boy was I wrong!! She wanted to go OUT! She kept saying..I just want a margarita. SO..off we went to the Beef for some appetizers and drinks! It was yummy! Then we went upstairs to listen to some live acoustics out on the deck. It was a beautiful night! We had so much fun..I even got her to take a shot with me!! Suzanne came out and joined us as well! We found out that Lee's brother, John, would be arriving later that night with his friends, Noah and Spencer. He had a concert that night and probably wouldnt arrive until early morning. Julie decided she would stay with me that night so that the boys didnt wake her up when they came in.
The next morning we woke up early and sat out on my porch for an hour or so and talked. I love talking with her. Her voice totally eases my stress and frustrations immediately. She also had the oppertunity to meet my roomate. She had just gotten off work. After some much needed R and R we headed over to suzanne's and Lee's to pick up the boys! We packed up some coolers. We had a ton of food! Sandwiches, crab dip (mmm i made it!!) and Lee made brownies! We were all very hungry so we decided to stop at bojangles on our way to the lake for a quick breakfast! When we got to the marina (which we'll never go to again) we arrived to find out that the pontoon boat that we rented was broken down and not working. WELL..instead they gave us a speed boat!! WHOOOOO HOOOOOO! However..it would've been nice if they had called and told us that because we had a ton of stuff with us..coolers, bags, beer, food..even bagpipes. We somehow managed to get it all to fit though. The boat had a lot of storage under the seats and througout. We were so excited to get on the boat and I think we stood around for about and hour or so..maybe longer because they weren't ready for us. It was so hott...and annoying..we were all pretty much pissed off by that point..NOT to mention the fact that there was a thunderstorm in the distance and it was headed directly our way..GO FIGURE! This was not getting off to a very good start! We finally got in the boat and it started to thunder and sprinkle a little bit. Captain Julie said she was going to get ahead of the storm! We started going pretty fast. Well it wasnt fast enough because we started getting battered with hail!! AHHHH it was so painful!! We were all freezing and shaking..but having a ball!! and to think..we were so worried about the crowds out on the lake..yeah..we were definetly the only boat out there...the worst place to be in a thunderstorm!! I dont think I have ever laughed so hard in my life..Suzanne and I were sitting in the back of the boat with Noah but I think John and Spencer got the worst of it..they were at the front of the boat on the outside!! Lee and his mom were in the middle driving..they were pretty good. It was crazy fun!! We finally got ahead of the storm and decided to do some tubing!! It was hilarious! The funniest thing I have ever seen in my entire life..is Spencer..tubing. OMG!! I will never forget that face! After a little tubing/swimming we got back in the boat. Oh but yes folks..it did NOT start!! AHHH! NOT to mention the thunderstorm started rolling in..and this time it came up fast!! We were just floating there lightning, thunder and hail all around us!! The boys kept jumping out of the boat to pull the boat because it kept trying to float from the middle of the lake into the bank! We tried to call the marina but we didnt have a signal! NOT to mention the fact that we had no idea where we were..we had gone a very long way! Finally we started floating towards this house and these two young guys came out and asked us if we wanted to dock our boat! Meanwhile its still POURING, lightning and thundering all around! it was so scary! I think we saw lightning strike about 30 feet away!! Anyway all the boys and Mrs Hammarback got out of the boat and started pulling it towards the nearest dock. Suzanne and I jumped out of the boat and made it safely on the dock. We finally got word of where we were from the people who lived there and got in touch with our marina. We were definetly all the way in Pittsylvania CO. VERY FAR from where we started out. Yes it's still pouring and storming and we're standing around on this random person's dock.. miserable! ALL THE WHILE laughing at our stupid luck! Finally the storm passed over us and the sun came out! We were still waiting for the marina to come rescue us so we decided to do some swimming and make some sandwiches. The people that had let us use their dock were having a big 4th of July party. Before I knew it, John had gotten into the boat and started playing his bagpipes!! THEY LOVED IT! It was so random that we're stranded on these random people's dock and he whips out some bagpipes and starts playing! fun fun! FINALLY the (stupid) marina finds us..and end up fixing our boat! It only took about 2 mins..something was wrong with the battery and he fixed it! SO, we headed back out on the boat and went over to the cliffs so the guys could jump off! They went to the HIGHEST ones! I will try to post the video and some pictures of this if I ever find our camera. Suzanne and Julie and I just watched..Im definetly scared of heights when it comes to jumping in the water...they loved it! After that We went back out for some more tubing! It had been a long day and we ended up taking the boat back and going back to Lee's! He made us an awesome BBQ dinner that night for everyone. YUM!! After dinner, Suzanne and I went back home to freshen up to go out for the night. Well, it ended up we couldnt go out because Spencer couldn't find his wallet, so we stayed in for the night, drank a little and watched THE OFFICE marathon...much better anyway! Lee's mom went to my house to go to sleep and I quickly went home and started snoozing myself because I was so exhausted from the day! Saturday Julie left and I slept in..for the first weekend in a LONG time and then did some things around the house. The guys went to shoot guns and do "manly" things. After they were done I met up with them at the grocery store to gather materials to make my dad's spagetti! I made dinner while the boys went to play frisbee golf! It actually tasted just like his!! I couldnt believe I got it right! Lee and I have been trying to replicate this recipe and I finally got it right! I also made more crap dip for Spencer upon request. A lot of water got into the first batch during the boat storm and he loved it so much..I guess he never really had his fill. After dinner we decided to go downtown! They had blocked off all the streets and had a big stage in the middle of the market with some live music! It was awesome!! We then went to cornerstone and had a few drinks. We were all once again very tired and headed home a little later..it was a great nite! The next morning I woke up and made the boys some breakfast. biscuits, gravy, and awesome eggs that Lee fixed up! We were so full..I felt like it was going to be VERY hard to jog this week! After breakfast we headed up to Blacksburg to the frisbee golf course! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I didnt really play because it was a VERY hard course and I didn't want to lose their discs..I'm not very good. I can play the easy one down at fisburn park but I couldn't do this one. THIS COURSE WAS CRAZY! we were basically climbing up and down a mountain! It was so awesome the way it was set up and I actually enjoyed watching for the guys discs and running ahead to find the whole for them. It was amazing to me that I not once got out of breath and i was RUNNING up hills people!! If Lee and i hadnt been jogging lately..I probably would've died/stopped breathing/rolled down the mountain/all of the above. It was very hot, and we were all sweating and getting mosquito bites..but it was probably the most fun I've had in a while! I was so proud of myself! After disc golf..we said goodbye to Noah, Spencer, and John. It was sad because I had so much fun with them. Lee and I headed over to Fazolis for a quick dinner and then headed home before the storm! OMG I ALMOST FORGOT! ON THE LAST HOLE of the frisbee golf course...after miles and miles of tangling hot woods...i was finally out in the open and yes folks..i saw.. A HUGE SNAKE!!! i flipped out! I was on my way to get john's frisbee and i saw it... HUGE black snake! My heart started beating so fast ..I ran back towards the guys screaming and tried my best not to cry..i held it in till I got back to the car and then started tearing up. I am deathly afraid of snakes! AND its amazing to me that after walking all through those woods i didn't see ONE and when I was finally out in the open, short, grass..there it was ..waiting for me!! EWWWWWWW. anyway it was a great weekend and I will post pictures once i find the camera! cant wait to see everyone again!!

..and so on

So today is Wednesday of my four day week and I feel like it's going slower than ever. I'm so exhausted from all the Epic work and and regular work. I'm ready for a break. Unfortunately the only break I'll be getting is Friday for the 4th and nothing else until labor day in September!! Our department is not allotted any time off during the summer months because of Epic training. It sucks..but thats life I suppose.
I'm very excited for friday! We have a boat for the day and I'm really looking forward to seeing Julie and John. Hopefully Spencer and Noah will be able to come but it depends on their jobs..they work at the same bar and I guess that means they might not both be able to come. :( However, Suzanne WILL be joining us and im very happy about that. Julie and I are both making food and bringing drinks..it should be an eventful day. There is a huge beach party a Bernards landing and we may make a stop there for some good food and music!
Tonite I'm FINALLY getting my haircut! It's sooooo long..almost down to my butt and I have so many tangles. Plus its hot, heavy and its time to go shorter... I'm thinking a definite change but nothing TOO drastic! Lee said he would like to see it a lot shorter but I told him not until this jogging we're doing starts to pay off. SO far the jogging IS paying off because I've noticed a major difference in my clothes..my pants are way too big and falling off!! I didnt know I would see a change so soon...its wonderful! Not to mention the energy level.. (minus today).
In further news..I think there is a good possibility that I'm having a gallbladder problem. I had a weird attack this weekend. From my symptoms..I've gathered from co-workers, family, and my nurse roomie that it definetly sounds like a gallbladder attack. I REALLY hope it's not but if it happens again I'm getting it checked. It happend Saturday night. I thought I was going to die. I couldnt stop crying. Lee finally went to the pharmacy and got me something. I begged him not to leave me alone because I thought something was going to happen and i almost called 911 that nite. Im very thankful that Im better now but im praying this doesnt happen again.
ALSO, last nite we discovered mold in lee's laundry room. It appeared in like a day!! I went to do some laundry and i smelled mildew..Lee turned on the light and we found a wall full of mold!! it was crazy..we just did laundry the day before and there was no mold!! They are now currently tearing down the wall and said it would be done by tomorrow thank goodness! anyway..thats the news for now...have a great rest of the week! :)