Atlanta Day 1

So yesterday was a very full, very fun day that we must tell you all about! We started the day at 4:30AM at our home in Nashville. By 5:00 we were on the road and headed for Atlanta! The drive was pretty and uneventful. We made it to our primary destination, Six Flags Over Georgia, by 10:15. On the walk from the parking lot to the front gate, your field of vision is completely filled with their largest coaster, Goliath. It's the tallest coaster in the park, over 200ft., as well as the fastest, over 70mph. It was pretty amazing to approach the park while looking at the twists, flips, bends, and sharp curves of this coaster, while hearing the roar of the car and the screams of the riders! Heather had admitted that she was a little bit nervous about a few of the coasters, but once she saw this monster coaster, she decided that she wanted to do that one first!

One of the best things about going to Six Flags on a Sunday morning is that the lines were nonexistent! We practically walked straight up to the coaster and got right on. Somehow, I convinced Heather to sit near the back of the coaster with me. For any of you who are not familiar with the differences between sitting in the front vs the back...
Sitting in the front gives you the best visual stimulation, but the speed on the steep stops suffers, since most of the mass of the car is behind you (You get a ways down the slope before the car picks up speed)
Sitting in the back gives you the least visual stimulation since you are somewhat just looking at the passengers in front of you. But, and this is a huge but(t), since the majority of the mass of the car is in front of you, you are picking up speed before you get to the edge of the drop off. So when you sit in the back, you are essentially whipped off the edge of of the drop offs, and at 200ft and 70mph, it's a pretty intense ride!! Heather's regret increased with every click and clank of the chain as it pulled us to the highest point in the park. As it turns out, Heather's preferred method of coping with being on roller coasters is to close her eyes and hold her breath. While closing one's eyes might not be too big of a deal, holding one's breath can become an issue! So I did my best to speak in a very calm voice, "ok, breathe now breathe now". Suffice is to say that by end of the very long, 3.5 minute ride, we were both smiling ear-to-ear and were so excited for things to come!!

Unfortunately this excitement didn't last much longer...
Our next ride was a water ride (the kind with the big circular raft where everyone faces the center of the circle, and goes through a variety of rapids). Again, no line! We got right on a boat with a family of about 6 or so. We made it all the way to the last corner of the ride while staying reasonably dry. But then we found ourselves backing into two very large rapids. I did my best to cover my cell phone in my pocket, but we still got a bit damp. Would have been alright if that was the end, but we immediately found ourselves under a waterfall... that was dumping, DUMPING water on us. There was no escape! It came from above, and within a matter of seconds, we were completely soaked. Oh, and we were NOT wearing swimsuits. Cellphone, wallet, keys, everything was completely soaked. Heather and I both had about 6 sq. inches of dry fabric on our shorts. Oh, and she was wearing denim shorts! After ringing out our shirts and doing everything I could to get the moisture away from my phone, we were so full of frustration that we didn't know what to do next! I could no longer put my wallet or my phone in my pockets, and Heather was dealing with soaked denim for the rest of the day. This definitely put a kink in our plans for the day, but we didn't let it completely stop us!

Heather held my stuff while I rode one coaster she wasn't interested in, and we also dried off a bit while eating lunch. On our way to our next coaster, we found the perfect solution... the swinging chair ride! You know the one where all the chairs are hanging by chains connected to a tall, spinning, central tower? Yeah, it's essentially a spin dry for humans. Perfect! After a couple cycles on that thing, we were ready to take on a few more coasters, including the thriller Batman. It was super fast and included the tightest flips, barrel rolls, and turns of any coaster either of us have ever been on! What a rush!

One of the last things we did in the park was ride a wooden coaster. My experience on coasters of the wooden variety led to the conclusion that while they aren't as smooth as a steel coaster, they should be tolerable. This coaster was clearly the exception to that rule... OUCH!!! When this coaster debuted in the 1970s, it was the tallest and fastest wood coaster in the world. While it wasn't super tall, but was very very fast! But the speed, in and of itself, wasn't an issue. It was the fact that the speed led to the most bone jarring, spine-compressing, head-bashing ride we've ever been on. How anyone could go on this ride and be happy at the end is way beyond either of us. Heather had an instant headache and I had a very sore back.

We decided to relax and end our stint at Six Flags with a peaceful train ride around the park. This was a delightful little break from the stomach-churning coasters we'd been on all day. At the end of the train ride, we were almost completely dry, and our stomachs had settled a bit.

At this point in the day, we had been up for only 12 hours, but had gotten only 4 hours of sleep the night before, had driven 250 miles in the morning, and had our senses brutally flogged by coaster after coaster. Needless to say, we were exhausted!!! So with a large ice-cold lemonade, and a bag of cotton candy in hand, we headed for the car.

A quick drive into downtown led us to our beautiful hotel room at the Hyatt Place. It's a real treat to stay in such a nicely appointed room for a few days! We went to dinner at a local brewpub where Heather had a catfish salad, and I had shrimp and grits. So yummy! We did a little walking around the downtown area after dinner but it was early to bed for both of us after such a long and thoroughly eventful day.

This morning we ate breakfast in our room, and are now waiting for the Georgia Aquarium to open. We can see the aquarium out our hotel window so it will be a nice little walk down the road to start our day today. Our itinerary only includes the aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola which is just next door. Don't worry, many many pictures will be taken today and we will blog again tonight or tomorrow so we can share the best pictures with you all.

That's all for now from Atlanta, GA!
Till next time,

-Tim & Heather

Summer 2011

Hello everyone! It's true, it has been nearly an eternity since we last brought you up to date with our happenings via this blog. We've never claimed to be good at this thing, but we really do want to share our lives with you all in this way! So without much ado, let the update BEGIN!

We have been up to all kinds of fun these past few weeks! Seth and Emily came for a visit, we moved, we bought a washer and dryer and have been enjoying some fun activities!

The week we moved, Seth and Emily came for a quick visit. They were driving some foundry art work from Walla Walla to Mississippi, stopped to see us and then went on to New York. A cross county trek for sure! As always, we had a wonderful time with them. We ate all kinds of good food; pancakes from the Pancake Pantry, ribs from Rippy's, and an all you can eat southern feast at Monell's.

After Seth and Emily left Navhille it was time for us to move! We loaded up a moving tuck and moved to our new place. It was so much work, but we spread it out over a few days. Everything went smoothly and we are settling in our new place nicely. We still are trying to find places for everything, but we are really liking it so far!

We needed a few things to complete our new home! Check out the new household goods!

LG Washer and Dryer:


Tim can finally have his desk back, because we got an actual dining room table:



Here is the tour -



















Some other things we have been up to this summer (much more fun than moving):

We had heard about Rollerderby and finally got a chance to see what it is all about! It turned out so be such a fun, exticing time. The Nashville Team is really good! All of the players have fun, edgy names like Four Leaf Roller, Nix & Bruses, Hilda Beast and Killah B. Killed. We came up with our own Rollerderby names.

L to R: Keller Instinct (Kelsey), Cruelia Child (Heather), Melicious Intent (Melanie), ElizaBitch (Elizabeth), and The InTIMidator (Tim).



For the 4th of July, we went downtown and went to a free concert and enjoyed some amazing fireworks! We heard this really great group, The Cleaverlys, check them out here:

http://thecleverlys.com/videos/






We went to the Harpeth river and canooed. Oh my goodness, it was so much fun! Tim and I definitely make a good canoneing team! Watch out!





Overall this summer has been amazing! We have spent at lot of time with great friends, eating tons of great food and finding so much happiness every step of the way!

Thanksgiving and SNOW!

Only 7 days until Christmas! I cant believe how fast this year has flown by! I want to get this post up from Thanksgiving before we head home in 4 days!

Last year, Tim and I had Thanksgiving here in Nashville, just the two of us. It was our first, and hopefully last, Thanksgiving sans family. It was nice, but not quite the same as being home with our families. Thanksgiving this year was so awesome because my parents and brother came to Nashville for turkey day!

We had so much fun showing them around town. We took them to Vandy so Tim could show them the cool labs he works in, and test their hearing. And don't think I can get together with my mom without doing some serious shopping! We all got our fill. We all went downtown one evening for shopping and dinner and wouldn't you know it, Mom, Cory and I each got a new pair of boots! Some other highlights included going to Centennial Park, the newly re-opened Gaylord Hotel, and touring the Yazoo Brewery. Oh yeah and we cooked Thanksgiving dinner! Busy much? We wouldn't have it any other way.

Don't we girls look so cute!?


Waiting for the turkey to be done...


Finally dinner is ready! Lets eat!


Gotta love the leftovers!


Thanksgiving dinner was a success and we loved having family here to share it with! It was hard to say goodbye when we dropped them off at the airport, but we knew it would only be a few weeks until Christmas....and here we are!

Earlier this week we really felt the Christmas spirit when it started to snow! We got about 3-4 inches of snow. It was very pretty and Draco really loved to run and play in it!



Next post will be about our trip home for Christmas, I can't wait!

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!

Fall is finally here! The leaves are turning beautiful colors and the air is cool and crisp! FINALLY, I thought summer would never end!

Here are a few highlights of the last month or so around Nashville. A couple weeks ago we loaded up the car and headed to the beautiful beaches of South Carolina! Tim had a long weekend so we decided to spend one last summer hurrah out of town. And how convenient, the family of one of Tim's classmates owns a condo right on the beach!! Beautiful!



We spent lots of time relaxing on the patio overlooking the ocean and did some exploring of historic Charleston! We took a horse carriage tour through downtown and learned a lot about the area.



We have been celebrating the season with some fun activities: Oktoberfest, pumpkin carving and a costume party!

Octoberfest was a blast! They closed off about 5 square blocks of Germantown and the streets were lined with vendors. At several points along the walking route were stages with some great musical talent! We walked through the streets while drinking our massive beers and listening to great music. The beer, music, and food were all wonderful! Many of the proceeds of the event went to restoring some of the historical churches in the neighborhood.



Going to the Pumpkin patch is definitely one our favorite fall activities. It was great fun to see all the little kids (and big kids, like us) running around looking for the perfect pumpkin! We picked ours out and headed home for some carving!



Last night we went to a friends Halloween costume party! It was great to see all our friends all dressed up as fun characters! Here are our costumes:



Happy Halloween!

Homemade Happiness

We have been having lots of fun making and doing things around the house. Here are a few of our latest and greatest!

One of our favorite shows on TV (besides Survivor) is Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. In one episode, the host Adam goes to a restaurant in Minnesota where they have created a delicious cheesy burger called the Juicy Lucy. It's made by sandwiching some cheese between two thin burgers! On the show, Adam takes a big bite and shows the gooey cheese coming out of the middle of the burger and it looked so delicious! We thought it was a great idea and seemed easy enough to try at home. Tim started with his amazing Viking burgers (maybe now we need to call them Commodore burgers), shaped two patties, put the cheese in between and cooked them in a skillet on the stove. Check it out!



I made some really yummy apple turnovers also. They didn't turn out very pretty so Im not putting up a picture, but they tasted really good! Tim found a video on Youtube of a guy making egg mcmuffins like the ones from McDonalds and thought it would be fun to try. They were so fun and easy to make, and way cheaper than going to McDonalds! We figured that the total cost of our breakfast including coffee and fancy OJ was about $1.40. Not bad eh? Don't you just want to take a bite?! They were so good!



Many of you have heard about all the ladies at my work that are prego. There are four of them so I am being very careful not to drink the water! :) We had a baby shower at work for one of the girls and as a gift I knitted a pair of baby booties. They were a big hit at the shower! I made a second pair for another lady at work who is also having a girl. These are the booties for her, aren't the precious?! Several people thought it would be a great little money maker to knit some baby booties and sell them locally! What do you all think?



Lately we had been thinking it would be nice to have a small wine rack. We both really enjoy drinking wine and lately have been enjoying trying different varieties. It just makes so much sense! It doesn't cost any more money long-term to have several bottles in your house at any given time. It just means you have a few choices for dinner! Win Win!! We looked around and found a nice, affordable one at World Market (super awesome store!) It fits right in in our kitchen.





Lastly on the home front, my sweet hubby bought me the Mastering the Art of French Cooking volume set. I have been wanted to get it for quite a while, and even borrowed one volume from the library. He just surprised me with it one morning, no special occasion! After I went to bed he put the books in the cupboard with the rest of our cookbooks. In the morning he said it would be fun to make something different for breakfast. I went downstairs and opened the cupboard to get a cookbook and there they were! I was so excited, I was squealing and jumping around all morning! Tim, you are such a wonderful husband, I love sharing my life with you! You make every day so special!

Memphis for a day

MEMPHIS, TN

After one year of living in Middle Tennessee, we had ventured East to Knoxville, North into Kentucky, and South towards Chattanooga, but we had yet to explore to the West towards Memphis. This weekend being Tim's last weekend before Fall semester seemed a fitting time to hit the road! So on Saturday we took a day trip to Memphis to see the sights. It is a little over three hours from Nashville, but totally worth the drive!

One of the first things on our agenda was to visit the Mississippi Mud River Island park. The park covers a small island right on the Mississippi River, except it actually isn't an island at all, but a peninsula! The park includes an amphitheater, museum, and coolest of all...a half mile long model of the Mississippi River. The model was actually quite impressive. It was very detailed and included accurate contours and depth of the river along the way. Also included in the model were most of the main cities along the river.



This picture shows Memphis and includes the major bridges. Cool!



On our way back to the car from the Mississippi River, we spotted some very old trolleys that looked like they went downtown, so we hopped on! They looked like they had been running since the 30s or 40s. The main drag in Memphis is called Beale street and closely resembled Broadway St. in Nashville, but about twice as long and with one other major difference. This part of Beale street is always closed to traffic! So pedestrians are free to walk around from blues club to bbq joint all night! We were there in the afternoon so it wasn't very busy, but its easy to imagine downtown is hopping at night.





Next, we visited the National Civil Rights Museum located at the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The museum was very well put together and included the actual bus made famous by Rosa Parks who famously refused to move from her seat. All of the museum exhibits were very moving.



Lastly, we couldn't leave Memphis without trying some Memphis style BBQ! We drove out of the main downtown area in search of a local restaurant. We had read a bunch of reviews online and we were determined to try out one of the highest rated places. When we found it, we almost drove past based on the outside appearance. But we were set on trying the food and boy are we glad we did! Memphis-style bbq is characterized by the dry ribs sans sauce. We decided to order ours "wet" which just means they slap on some sauce right before serving the ribs. The sauce was quite vinegary and a bit too tangy for our taste but the meat was delicious and the sides were wonderful!! BBQ is one of our (mostly Tim's :) ) favorite discoveries of the South.

Our day trip to Memphis was a success! It has been really hot lately, so all the walking around in the heat was a bit rough, but totally worth it. What a great trip! We are looking forward to seeing other parts of our new home soon!

Two Years and Counting!

8-8-2008

Can you believe it? We tied the knot two years ago! These past two years have absolutely flown by. Today we celebrate being married for two years and this also marks a year we have been in Nashville.

On our wedding night, we went to our all-time favorite restaurant, Whitehouse-Crawford, for dinner. We kept the menu from that night as something to help us remember such a wonderful day. One thing we did for our anniversary was to finally get our menu from Whitehouse-Crawford framed. It turned out very nice!



Today we decided to go to the mall to do some shopping! It's something we don't do all that often these days. Tim bought me a pair of crocks and he got a few pairs of pants. Maybe not the most romantic gifts in the world, but both things we really wanted and needed! Notice the huge bug bite on my ankle.

I love my new shoes!



We also went out for a movie and then dinner. Crab is absolutely our new favorite meal. We had an amazing crab dinner at Red Lobster and headed home definitely over stuffed. Yumm!!!

Also this weekend, one of our friends was celebrating her birthday by throwing a big Tex-Mex party. About 25 friends showed up and we all had a great time celebrating fiesta style at her party. Tim was a Mexican cowboy and I was a cute chica!



In other news, the bugs are biting and Draco celebrated his one year anniversary being in Tennessee with a tick. We found it on him this morning but we were able to suffocate it and get it off him successfully.

Our two years together have been wonderful! We are so blessed to have each other and our adventure in life and in Tennessee have been very exciting.