Rewind 365

Well, I actually remembered the Rewind 365 meme this week! Someone should be proud of me. I don't even know today's date. I already explained the rules for this meme and if you want to know more, check out Cammo Style Love.

 

One year ago today, I was:

Who knows!? I can't find anything on Facebook or my blog that says what I was doing...

I did change my profile pic on FB to this pic of Bina:

That's all I've got. LOL.

 

Link up!



Our Last Valentine's Day Weekend Together as a Family of Two! (Sunday & Monday)

• After having a horrible night's sleep Saturday, I got up and showered. After I showered, I dressed and packed up the suitcase while J showered. When we were completely packed and ready to leave, we went downstairs and took all of our stuff to the car. While J smoked, I went in to to get some breakfast. The breakfast spread was great! I had a bowl of fruit loops, a blueberry muffin, strawberry yogurt, orange juice and I grabbed a banana for later. J came in and checked us out while I was eating. He complained about the bed and the lady said the hotel was only 4 years old! The rest of the hotel was really nice, but the beds were cheap! 
• When we left the hotel, we went to St. Elmo to ride the incline. (We had to pay to park there, and it was exactly $2! Remember that $2 J found Saturday!?) I was terrified and the higher we went, the more my terror intensified. By the time we were at the top, J was convincing me that I didn't have to ride back down unless I wanted to. He would ride down by himself and bring the car up to get me. I was in agreement at the time (but I did eventually calm down enough to ride it back down).

• We got off at the top and walked down the street to the Battles for Chattanooga Museum and Point Park.

•  We looked around the museum and store, but didn't see anything we wanted, so we went out to Point Park and paid $3 each to walk around. The park was mostly a military park, with cannons, statues and lots of historical information about the site and battle that was fought there and nearby. The views surrounding the park were incredible! You could see forever!  

Point Park

View from Point Park

In Point Park

• When we left Point Park, we walked back to the Incline gift shop and J ordered me some hot chocolate to warm up. It was freezing outside! Then we walked to the top of the building to look out over Chattanooga.

• By the time we got back downstairs, it was 10 minutes til boarding time to go back down, so we got in line so we could sit in the front. The ride down was not as bad as I thought it would be and it was much less-terrifying than going up. Especially since going down, we were facing the direction we were going. 

The other railcar was coming up, so we switched lanes! 

• When we got to the bottom, we went into the gift shop to buy a few postcards to satisfy my obsession. haha.
• After we left there, we went back to downtown Chattanooga to find somewhere to park for the day. We found a parking garage that only charged $8 a day instead of the $9 to park at the aquarium. We walked around awhile instead of going straight over to find something to eat. We walked along the river and I took a few pics at Ross's Landing. 

Ross's Landing

Artwork on the wall leading to the landing.

My Love. ♥

• By the time we left Ross's Landing, I was freezing and really had to pee, so we went to find somewhere to eat. The first place we tried was so packed, we could get in the door! (Cheeburger, Cheeburger) The next place we went to was closed and the next place had their menu outside and nothing looked appetizing. We finally ended up eating at Big River Grille & Brewing Works. I wasn't that hungry, so I ordered off of the kids' menu. I had a grilled cheese sandwich with carrots and ranch dip. I ordered pickles on my grilled cheese, but they didn't put them on there, so I had to get the waitress to bring me some to add on to it. I hate when they forget! I ended up liking the ranch dip so much, I dipped my sandwich in it, too! :P
• After we finished eating, we walked around a little more before we had to go into the Ocean Journey building for our backstage adventure! It was great! We got to see the penguins from above, the biggest tank from above where we got to meet the divers and feed the fish and then we got to meet a rare gecko and pet it! 

Penguins! 

 This sea turtle was injured by a boat and as a result, his back fins had to be removed.
He has trouble swimming down low, so he stays near the surface where his butt often floats above his head. Bless him.

Gecko

• We had so much fun on the backstage tour, J wanted to do the River Journey, too, but I convinced him we should save it for another trip, so we could go see something else. 
• We left the aquarium and headed back to the car. When we left the garage, J couldn't get the ticket to go into the slot, so he pressed the button for assistance. Turns out he was trying to insert the ticket from another parking lot! HAHA! We got a good giggle out of that.
• We pulled out the GPS and headed towards Rock City which was near the incline. Rock City was awesome! I was freezing, but it was totally worth it! There are so many pictures on my camera and phone that I don't have time to look through all of them, so I'll just post a few sneek peeks from my phone.

J taking a smoke break.

 Fairytale from Mother Goose Village

Gnomes in Fairyland Caverns

• We didn't leave there until they were closing, so after we left we headed towards the Chattanoga Choo-Choo Hotel to check in to our room. J had bid on hotwire.com for a three-star room at $61/night. This was the hotel that we got. The main building where we checked in was beautiful, so we thought our room would be awesome, too. We were surprised to see that our room was very much not up-to-date and the only thing that had been updated was the television. The mattress was so old that the end of it was higher than the rest of the bed and there was a huge dip in the middle of it. Needless to say, it was very uncomfortable.
• We settled in and then decided it was time to go get dinner. First we walked around and didn't find anywhere that was open other than the ice cream shop and The Gardens. The Gardens wasn't our style of dining, so we asked if any of the other four restaurants were open and they said that the deli was, but all they served was soups and sandwiches, so we went next door to The Tavern. We had to wait FOR-EV-ER for a seat. They seated us on the second floor and it was so cold, I couldn't take my jacket off. There really wasn't anything on the menu that looked appetizing to me, so I finally just ordered a burger and some baked beans. When it finally got there, I was starving. I didn't think I could eat 1/2 pound of ground beef, but as it turns out--I can! I also ate the small serving of beans (I'm talking baby food jar small) and the waitress brought me another serving, which we were charged for. WTH? It's not like there's a shortage on baked beans in this country! They were $4! 
• After we left The Tavern, we went back to the hotel to swim. When we got in, there were only 5 or 6 kids and 4 adults, with only one adult in the pool. (The other adults weren't even wearing swimsuits!) By the time we left, there were at least 15-20 kids in the pool and probably only 4 adults! What is wrong with this world that parents don't get in the pool with their young children!? There's no way I would let my 3 or 4 year old in the pool by themselves even if they were descendents of mermaids. SMH...
• I need to mention that this was a 9-foot deep pool! 
• When we got back to the room, I was freezing so I showered and then we crawled into bed to attempt to sleep. Not much sleep was had...
• When we got up Monday morning, we dressed and packed the suitcase up. I wanted to take our stuff to the car then, but J said we'd do it after we ate breakfast. So, we headed over to the main building to see which restaurants were open. Only The Garden was open and it was $10.99/ person for the buffet. All I really wanted was cereal, a muffin and some yogurt and I wasn't about to pay that much for it even if they did have it. We turned around and went back to the room, grabbed our stuff and headed out the back stairs to take it to the car. J had had to park so far away the night before, that he left me and the luggage waiting on the sidewalk so he could go get the car. It was pretty warm Monday morning, so it felt great to be outside. After we loaded everything up, we drove around to the front of the hotel to check out. Then we headed out of Chattanooga to get on I-24. It didn't take long before we found a Cracker Barrel off of 72, so we stopped there to eat.
• I had two little boxes of cereal with a small carton of milk, two chocolate milks, an apple, a pineapple yogurt parfait with granola, almonds, and cranberries, and a huge blueberry muffin which I ate later for a mid-morning snack. All of that was less than $8, so I'd say we got a much better deal than we would have at The Gardens. 
• When we left Cracker Barrel, instead of getting back on I-24 as we should have, J turned left onto 72 because he thought it would take us straight to Huntsville. He was wrong...lol.
• As we were driving along, I told him that nothing looked familiar and he said it was probably because we were going the other way and b/c I had had to pee so many times that I wasn't paying attention on the way through.
• I saw a huge yellow sign advertising Raccoon Mountain Caverns and I told J that we should check it out because it looked interesting, so he turned down the dead end road. Turns out, being lost was a good thing because the caverns were really cool!
• J got in free because he's military and my ticket was about $15. It was a 45 minute guided tour through the first cave. Since we had just learned about stalagmites and stalagtites and cave formations in my college science class, I found the different formations very interesting! 

Stalagmites and Stalagtites joining together.

 Soda straws and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling.

"Iguana Rock" and that hole at the top is where two flows of water joined together

and swirled, causing the hole to form. The geckos that live in the caves come in through the roof here.

Crinoid, or "sea lily" fossil.

 I think this is part of a Crinoid fossil as well.

 The round object in the center of the photo, with the "beard" is a cave shield. They are not very common and have only been found in 80 caves in the U.S. 

• I had a great time and asked a lot of questions. I was afraid of falling because in a lot of places it was very slippery because of the water from the ceiling of the cave, so I was walking very slowly. But no one in our group seemed to mind. ;) 
• I have to tell you that I expected to see some raccoons in the cave...but there aren't any. That was my only disappointment.
• After we left the cave, we headed out on 72 again until there was a detour which led us to I-24 where we were supposed to be. Thankfully we hadn't gone too far of the correct path and we got to have an adventure along the way!
• We only stopped one more time along the way home for a bathroom break and then we went to pick up our fur-babies! They were so excited to see us! 
• **Here's where those stars from yesterday come into play. I called the Animal Care Hospital twice, two different times during the week before we were to board the girls. I asked both times about the pricing and both times I was told that it would be $20 for each dog, each night. So I planned on having them there Friday and Saturday night. I asked what time we had to pick them up Sunday and she quoted me a time that was only about an hour window. I asked what if we were unable to get them in that short time frame and the woman told me the price would be the same if we picked them up Monday as if we were picking them up Sunday. So we only expected to pay $80 for the boarding and then $39 for Sabrina's shots to be updated. When we got there to pick them up, they charged us $160. They charged us for Sunday night's boarding. I argued with the lady, but she wouldn't change the price, so we just paid and went home. Both girls had to use the bathroom badly when we got home and Sabrina peed three times before she would come inside! I don't think they took very good care of them and we won't be using them again. 

All in all, we had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves immensely! Even though my legs, back and head were killing me most of the time, I have to say it was worth it to spend some time together before the baby gets here. Hopefully we'll be able to go to the beach sometime this summer, but if not, at least we got our last hoorah in!

 

I hope y'all enjoyed reading about our little adventure! 

RTT: Our Last Valentine's Day Weekend as a Family of Two! (Friday & Saturday)

J and I decided to spend our last V-day weekend as a family of two in Chattanooga, TN. We had a great time! Here is the timeline and what we did:

Friday (the 15th):

• I worked on schoolwork all day, washed laundry, cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes and packed while J was at work.
• I packed up food, treats and toys for Sabrina and Reba and dug out their medical records.
• When J got home, I quickly showered and dressed and we loaded up the girls to take them to the Madison Animal Care Hospital for boarding. *notes at the bottom*
• After we dropped the girls off, we headed to Jaybee's church for the annual birthday dinner. The food was amazing! They served green beans, ham (which I don't eat, so J got an extra helping), mashed potatoes, pineapple casserole (so good, I had seconds!) and a roll. Everyone at our table could tell they were sitting with a pregnant woman since I was stealing green beans off of J's plate and I cleaned my plate and had seconds of mashed potatoes, pineapple casserole and another roll! For dessert, they had an entire wall in the hallway that was lined with tables full of all kinds of cakes! There were so many to choose from, but I chose a chocolate cake with a cherry on top, coconut cake (to die for!) and a mandarin orange cake that was super-moist! They were all so yummy and I definitely got full!
• After most everyone was finished eating, the church members put on little skits, sang and told jokes. I really enjoyed myself and my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much! Thanks again for inviting us Jaybee!
• When we left the church, it was already almost 9! We stopped by Wal-mart to get a few things for the weekend, including: new loofah for me, travel containers for shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face soap; candy, drinks, nutty-butty bars (which I've been craving lately...), air fresheners for the car and a couple of cd's.
• By the time we got home, finished packing, fed Toby and J cleaned out his litterboxes, it was after midnight. It took forever for us to go to sleep. Mainly because we couldn't shut up or shut our brains off and J eventually ended up going to the couch so I could sleep.
• We got up at 5:30 ( I think...that was a couple of days ago, so I can't be sure! haha) and showered, dressed and loaded the car. I spent a little extra time loving on Toby while J was packing the car up. We ended up leaving late because J couldn't find the cigarette lighter charger adapter thingy, so that we could plug in more than one device at a time.
• We stopped by McDonald's and grabbed some breakfast on our way out of town.
• It only took about two hours to get to Chattanooga and although we forgot about the time change difference, we were still there pretty early. We went straight to the Tennessee Aquarium and bought tickets. (FYI, they're giving a 50% off discount to students this month!) With the IMAX, both aquariums and a backstage pass for the Ocean Journey, it ended up being only about $60! Not bad for two people!
• We were going to get something to eat before we went into the aquariums, but no one was open yet for lunch, so we went ahead into the River Journey building. I cannot express how much I love the aquariums! I could go every month and never get tired of seeing all the different fish and animals! I'm like a little kid. :P

The smaller turtle was swimming close to the bigger turtle the whole

time we were watching them. It looked like the little one was trying to

get a kiss!

 

Nemo! 



• After the River Journey, we went to eat lunch. We wanted to eat at TGIFriday's, but the wait time was 45 minutes or more, so we went to Buffalo Wild Wings instead. It was really good and I was starving. I had the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Wrap, which I always have. The lady was so sweet, she brought me a huge handful of celery to munch on while we waited for our food. I honestly have no clue what J ate, since I was so absorbed in my food. Haha.
• We played games while we ate. J played some kind of poker and I played the Lunchtime trivia. I won...twice. Although, I played by myself the first time. Haha!
• After lunch, we went to watch the IMAX movie. It was so pretty to see the different ocean creatures up close. Some of them were really scary though, like the eel. J fell asleep during the movie and I had to keep nudging him. Also, they told us to move into the middle of the theater with no empty seats, because they had sold out of the show. So, I was sitting to very large lady who kept hitting me with her elbow.
• After the IMAX show, we headed back to the aquarium to tour the Ocean Journey. J was so tired and it was so incredibly hot in there, that we really just cruised through so we could get out sooner. Plus, it was so crowded! I have never seen it so busy there before. We did spend a little time at the Ray tanks, so I could pet them. I never miss that opportunity!
• When we left, we had to walk all the way back to the car which was parked in the lot in front of the River Journey building. As we were walking through the parking lot, I spotted a $20 bill under a van. I grabbed it before the wind could carry it away. There was no one around, so I just kept it. J looked to see if there was more and he found $2! (Which we would need Sunday!)
• We got to our hotel (Holiday Inn Express), checked in and immediately stripped down and put on our swimsuits! I was more than ready to swim!
• The pool room was WAY TOO HUMID so J cracked open the door to the outside and stuck his flip-flop in so that it couldn't shut. It cooled off after awhile and it was more tolerable. I stayed in the pool a good hour or more. J could only handle so much of it. It was a salt-water pool, so to my tired pregnant body, it felt really great!
• After I had a craving for some milk while swimming, J went to the front desk to get me some milk and to get his phone from the room so we could listen to some music while I swam. When he came back, we looked outside and it was snowing! It didn't stick, but it was really cool to see it snowing outside while I was in a swimming pool inside!
• After I got all pruney and super-tired, I got out and we rushed upstairs to finish drying off and decide where to eat for dinner. I laid down in the super-hard and uncomfortable bed and fell asleep for an hour or more. J let me sleep while he got dressed and left the room for awhile. When I woke up, he was back and I had a bad headache. I dug out my one reserve of Tylenol and took it to try and relieve my massive headache. It didn't really help that much, so I went ahead and got dressed for dinner.
• We headed towards the mall about 10 miles away to find somewhere to eat. We didn't see anything along the way and ended up eating at Red Robin (YUM!) which was attached to the mall. It took forever for our food to come out and I was starting to feel really bad. By the time the food got there, I was already really nauseous. And then, to make matters worse, they brought me my chicken sandwich with onions on the plate which really made me sick. The waiter had to take it away to remove the onions and replace my lettuce and tomatoes that had been touching it. I ate several of J's sweet potato fries while I waited for my food to return. When our waitress brought my plate back, I scarfed down my sandwich and ate a few fries. I finished my chocolate milkshake (which was really just vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and not enough of it...) and I was ready to go.
• We went back to the hotel and got ready for bed. We watched a little TV while we waited for more pillows to be brought up and then tried to sleep. I say try, because I was so uncomfortable! The mattress was so cheap, the springs were stabbing me in the hips and shoulders and everywhere else! I probably got about four hours of sleep before I woke up for good at 7:30 (30 minutes before the alarm went off...of course) with another headache.

This post is already really long, so I'll continue our weekend recap tomorrow with Sunday and Monday. :) I'm not really sure if this post constitutes random, but I'm going to say it does! If you're thinking of any random thoughts, be sure to write a post and then link up at Stacy Uncorked!

 

 
 
 
 





Rewind 365

Found a new meme that looks like fun, but I probably won't remember to do it each week. It happens on Thursdays over at Cammo Style Love, hosted by Rheanna.

Rules are as follows:

Create a post with a picture, memory or even an old blog post from one year ago and make sure you include the Rewind 365 button so more people will join in the meme each week!

Tweet about your blog post.

Link your post on the linky at Cammo Style Love.

 

One year ago today, was Valentine's Day 2012 and I was:

expecting to spend Valentine's Day alone, but my awesome sister and her babies came to see me in Anniston so I wouldn't be all by my lonesome! :)

Boog played Mario while Boo-Boo napped and Boopsie played in the floor.

She was so little then!

(J was in Savannah for some kind of Army thing, so we had celebrated V-Day the weekend before with a trip to Maggie Valley, NC.)

 

So that's what  I was doing a year ago. Pretty boring. LOL. I only have a pic of Boog playing Mario:

 

 He was three!

 

One more day!

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! What are you getting your sweetheart(s)? We don't have a whole lot of money to spend on each other this year, so we're just going to go out of town instead. We deserve the time away and we haven't been on vacation since June! 

I can't wait to spend the night somewhere that I don't have to clean! Ha!

♥

15 Weeks!

New post over at I'm Pregnant...Now What?! Check out the new sonogram pics and leave your opinion on the stroller/ carseat combo we picked out! Hope y'all are having a great Monday! 

♥

Crib Bedding

I have been searching EVERYWHERE on the world wide web for some crib bedding. All of the ones I find that I like and are neutral gender, are always WAY too expensive! I have narrowed it down to two that I am absolutely in love with. My sister wants to buy the bedding for me, but I think it's too much. What do y'all think? Here are my top two faves:

Found here.

 Found here.

What do y'all honestly think!? I think they're both gender neutral and I love both designs. They are both $189.99. Leave a comment with your favorite, please! And links to any great sites with great prices for baby bedding!