Cabo continued . . .

Okay, my thorough attention to picture taking could only last so long. So . . . instead, we'll have random stories from our trip thus far.

1. While I was so grateful to have an exit row seat w/ a seat between D and me, it was quite interesting taking an international flight w/ a crew that I'm thinking hadn't ever taken one. The flight attendants were clueless as to what forms we needed to fill out to get into Mexico. We all made it through but definitely seemed to annoy the Mexican customs rep.

2. Oh, Wal-Mart. Yes, in my attempt to save money, we went to Wal-Mart to purchase staples. I have been to Wal-Mart now only twice in the past two years and I'd like to keep it that way, but boy, you sure can get some cheap groceries there! (We did this on our honeymoon, too.)

3. We've been here almost five nights. I still don't know my room number. I don't think I have any short term memory. At this point, I'm pretty sure our waiter at our favorite pool has a better idea of my room number than I do . . . hum . . . that is not good.

4. I discovered as we were listening to a band at dinner a couple of nights ago that my husband thinks Willie Nelson sings "Amazing Grace". While true that we've seen Willie Nelson sing "Amazing Grace" live, I think we're probably officially not permitted in any Southern Baptist Church based on his Willie comment. Might not even be able to go to any southern funerals.

5. The beginning of every conversation w/ someone new (At least when David is in charge - remember I still say I'm from Atlanta) - The new friend: Where are you from? David: Memphis. Our new friend: Ahh, the home of Elvis??

6. The internet signal is only strong at the bars. We're pretty sure this is not a coincidence.

7. I'm so grateful for the exposure my brother and Mom gave me to this Mexican and Guatemalan cultures. Because of it, I do not get irritated when no one who is waiting on me has near the urgency that I think they should have.

8. As w/ the last post, please ignore my typos!

Cabo days 1-2

Rocks on the ocean. This is the most beautiful place we've ever been together. I just hope America doesn't ruin it. PS - Random blog watchers - this post and the next couple are really us trying to document our vacation. A vacation so desperately needed and appreciated. You're welcome to come along but try not to get too bored.
The ocean bed drops off within 20 feet of the shoreline so swimming isn't permitted here, but when have David and I ever swam in the ocean? The hotel has proved to be more green than I expected, Granted, I don't travel everyday so this may be common, but we have to insert a key card to get the room lights to turn on. Hence, when you leave, the key goes w/ you and the lights go out. Urgh . . . more details to come. D just explained that he is starving and ready for dinner.


From the ocean towards the hotel

Our second day view

D and M at The Office. Fabulous tuna, fish tacos, and Mexican food!

David at The Office just before sunset

View from our front door

D after a day at the pool

Our view point from our first day in Cabo. We spent all day in these seats.

The view from our balcony

Germantown 1/2 Marathon

This past Sunday I ran the Germantown 1/2 marathon. Pretty small, but fun. David was SO supportive and got up bright and early with Elizabeth and me to deliver us to the starting line. He even stuck around to cheer on all of our friends along the route.

Courtney, me, and Elizabeth - 7:00 am Sunday morning; happy to be running!

Elizabeth, Kim, John, me, and Debi following the race.

Four of my very favorite people in Memphis!

Me about to cross the finish line and not feeling so hot. I actually looked at David and told him not to take the picture but he didn't listen. I did cut my time from St. Jude by over 10 minutes but that last 1/2 mile was rough!

What to run now? Well, that is the problem. I can't find anything to fit my schedule, budget, and low heat tolerance. If you come across any fairly flat, within short driving or flying distance, average temp of 60 or below 1/2 marathons in the next couple of months, let me know. I will run! In other running news, David is back to the pavement and will run his first 5K in several months at the end of the month!

Paw-Ty!

Tahoe sort of turned five today! He is technically a leap year baby and is only one. We had a Paw-Ty to celebrate him turning five. Pictures are below. He even got a present (Treats!) from his only guest (dear Elizabeth). Please ignore Tahoe's reflective eyes. It was late and I was just trying to get the post up.

David - where is your Paw-Ty hat?

Snow!

We had a WONDERFUL weekend watching the snow!


Tahoe and David on our afternoon walk. Snow wasn't going to stop us from our Sunday walk!



The house above is on our daily walking / running route. It was built by Elvis (you can barely see the "P"s on the awnings). He lived in it when Heartbreak Hotel hit #1 and while he was building Graceland. The year we moved here, it barely escaped getting caught in bankruptcy court due to the then owner's financial state. Some Elvis fans managed to buy it and fix it up a bit. On more than one occasion I've been out running and had to redirect the poor tourists who arrive at this house thinking it is Graceland.

How IRONIC!

So . . . at the association, we've been discussing how to incorporate the Kindness Revolution's platform into association activities (Mentioned last week.) . We always coordinate a backpack drive each summer for a local, needy school. We thought it'd be a great idea to incorporate this with the Kindness Revolution. After contacting the KR to see where they'd like us to donate school supplies / backpacks in conjunction w/ their efforts in the public schools, the school that was picked was none other than the one I worked at briefly after our move to Memphis. (To put it nicely, I wasn't in Cobb County anymore. The campus cop checked on me hourly!) I was in one of the most challenging places between the Mississippi and the Atlantic Ocean! If the Revolution works in this school, I might offer to go back to work there!

Oops! Forgot to mention we (or I) hibernate during winter!

I hate to be cold and tend to do as little as possible during cold weather. Hence, a break from blogging that lasted several weeks, but I'm back and am going to try to update for those few of you who still aren't on Facebook the events of Cherrydale Rd. Our top ten events thus far for 2009:

1. The Kindness Revolution - This past week at AAGM's monthly luncheon, we had Ed Horrell, the founder of the kindness revolution speak. He was amazing and his cause needs to be championed by all now today more than ever before! The Revolution is genuinely focused on bringing dignity and respect back to everyday interaction, ie: providing good customer service. I can't wait to learn more about it. And what is even better, they're taking The Revolution to the Memphis City Schools to begin mentoring students in developing basic relationship skills so that, hopefully, our kiddos won't act like THIS when they get their first job.

2. Ronald McDonald House volunteering - AAGM's charity of choice is the Ronald McDonald House. We try to provide for the house whenever possible. I have been wanting to volunteer my time for a couple of years now on a more regular basis. I mentioned it to my boss and he agreed that I could spend a few hours a month at the house volunteering during the work day! How fortunate am I to get to spend some of my working hours giving back to the community? I am so lucky to have the job I have. I've only completed one volunteer shift thus far, but am so excited to get rolling on this new venture! (For any AAGM stakeholders out there - Don't worry! I promise I'm making up the hours.)

3. David goes on special assignment - Just before Thanksgiving, David accepted a request at work that would keep him off the road during the week and home on weekends! It was a 90-day assignment and we are SO excited to report that this is his last week on special assignment! It has been wonderful to have him home every weekend, but the special assignment doesn't fit D's interest and our home will be a happier with him back in his old job. (Any stakeholders of D's employer (Oh, yeah, that includes me!), know that we are beyond grateful for our situation, particularly given the economy, but we're just the MOST grateful when he is buying.)

4. Valentine's Day - In keeping with the Patterson tradition, David brought me yellow roses on Valentine's Day. (They're over a week old in this picture so be forgiving.) My father-in-law always gives my mother-in-law the flowers that were used in their wedding, and David has continued this tradition with me. But I do wonder when he goes to buy these on Valentine's Day if the people in the store think he is trying to let some poor girl off saying "Let's just be friends!" since yellow roses signify friendship. Thanks, Babe!

5. Tahoe goes to the vet - A few weeks ago, I was petting my big pup and noticed a lump in his right armpit. Of course, I was mortified, as I don't know dog anatomy very well, but I do somewhat know people anatomy. And humans have lymph nodes in their armpits. Yikes. He is way too young to have any type of major illness ahead, and besides, God, I can't do this right now! One pet leaving me at a young age was enough. Of course I got the first vet appointment available the next day and off we went. Luckily, it is nothing and only needs to be removed if I think it should be removed for cosmetic purposes. (I almost laughed at that. You can't even see it and won't unless it grows quite a bit.)

6. As I type, David is installing these! We didn't inherit any cool, older doorknobs with our house. Rather, we inherited nice swirly, gold knobs that arrived straight from the 1990s. And

some were chipping so they were really gold and silver.

7. And . . . the biggest excitement on Cherrydale is our new fence! Yippy! Now, we just have to

landscape! And boy, do we have to landscape! So if anyone is looking for something to do this spring, we'd love to have you visit. Bring your shovel!

Have a great week! Winter is almost over and Lent is just around the corner.