Picture time!

Here is the LINK to our family pictures that were taken last week. The password is "cherry". The photographer did an amazing job w/ Tahoe! (The link will only be accessible for about a week.)

Tahoe goes to Camp Lemons!

As you may know, several months ago, a co-worker mentioned possibly keeping Tahoe while we traveled. She already had two golden retrievers and figured one more couldn't be much more trouble. Honestly, I was ecstatic! I hate boarding or taking him to the farm. I quickly told Cindy that we rarely travel so we wouldn't bring Tahoe over much, which she has since learned to be not such a true little story I told. So I showed up for his first visit complete with his organic food, bowls, leash, all natural treats, towel that smelled like Mama (Get the picture?). I was SO nervous! Cindy and I stepped out onto her back patio for the dogs to play in the yard. Yikes! I completely forgot she had a pool. Tahoe doesn't know what to do around a pool. Lucky for us, the pool was covered with one of those covers that can "hold an elephant". Well, it didn't take Tahoe too long to mistake the pool cover for an addition to the patio. The cover didn't completely hold my "elephant". It dipped down quickly and got his feet wet. He was scared to death. But, I would have looked ridiculous if I'd packed up and headed back home so I left him as Cindy assured me she would take good care of him. Summer came and the pool still scared me. (This coming from a girl who wants to one day have a pool in her backyard and her children swimming in it all summer.) I even spent a Saturday afternoon in the pool trying to coax Tahoe in so he'd know what to do if he fell in. He never came near me. Maybe he'll learn to swim one day.
Tahoe quickly became friends with Bailey and Bear, Cindy's dogs. He developed a huge crush on Bear but had NO clue how to act on it. The crush lasted a few visits until . . .

Cindy's husband brought home a kitten! I think Tahoe spent so much time with Ollie as a young pup that he thinks he is a cat. He loves the new cat Festus and doesn't get too worked up over his old crush Bear. Now Festus is his playmate when Tahoe goes to Camp Lemon.

Tahoe is so grateful to have a warm house to go to when Mom and Dad travel! Thanks Cindy, Phillip, and the whole family!

Happy November!

Oh, where to begin. Maybe I need to borrow a friend's kids for a day or two so I have some good blogging material. Then again, I think I'll just stick w/ what has been going on here on Cherrydale. October was my birthday month, which means my car needed to have its emissions test done. Now, our test is quite different from the Atlanta test. Here, you go to the center, get in a long line, and eventually, you get to the front and the government employee does a few "tests" and let's you go. David was sweet enough to take my car, as I don't communicate well with government workers (not including any who might read this blog). He took the 4-Runner, sat in line, had the emissions test done, took the paperwork to the tag office, and came home w/ a shiny new sticker. Thanks, Babe! As he goes to put my new sticker on my car, he realizes, he just had the 4-Runner tested but his truck is actually in my name and the 4-Runner is in his. Hence, the truck's tag expires in October not the 4-Runner so the wrong car was taken to the emission station. Lucky for us, our bright government workers didn't notice. Oh, well.

My 1/2 marathon is just over a month away. Training is going well. I have been incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by very experienced runners who have been nothing but encouraging and helpful. My last "race" before the 1/2 will be in a couple of weeks in The House of Mews 5K. The House of Mews is our favorite no-kill shelter here in Memphis. I can't wait to run for such a good cause. We started supporting the shelter after we lost Ollie Man last year. We have elected to support rather than get another cat. I think Millie will kill us if we bring a kitten in the house. In other running news, we've order an I-Pod Nano to run with. It was supposed to be for David but I can't wait for it to get here. I realize most households already have a Nano, but we're typically behind the times. We also just got our first DVR box. (Again, we're way behind the times.) I think it was so David could watch the UGA / FL game again. Yeah, that won't be happening.

The theme for the month of November: Vote! Especially all the women! There are so many woman across the world who aren't fortunate enough to have this right! Please don't take it for granted.

Happy mid-fall, y'all!

The pets knew early on the FL game would be a nightmare!

Millie never even bothered to wake up for the game.

Tahoe left the game early on and went to bed. I woke him up towards the end of the game to tell him the nightmare was over! He didn't believe me and went back to sleep.

Mixin' it up w/ my new mixer!

This was my fancy b-day gift from my in-laws, Michael , and Kate! I had always wanted a mixer (They look cute on the counter, you know!), but I never imagined one like this! It is quite fancy. I've only been able to look at it for over two weeks b/c I didn't have time to give it a test run. I finally found some time this afternoon . . .

Okay, not too attractive, but yummy!

. . . and this is what I made. It is a pumpkin bread roll. (Sorry the above picture is blurry - didn't realize it until we'd eaten the bread. :)) Time to get to work on my baking and cooking skills. Thanks, guys! It was a huge surprise that I will enjoy for years!

Oh, Happy Night!

After a long trip to Nashville and back today, I came home to a new bed, cupcakes for a belated birthday dessert, and a calm house. After a year of searching for the perfect bed and trying not to buy the generic Pottery Barn bed, we caved in and bought it. I love it. So it is a bit large for our fairly small master bedroom, but I'm so excited to have a bed frame again. (Wouldn't normally post a picture of a bed, but I've been talking about searching for the perfect bed for a year and thought those who have had to endure the discussions would be glad to see the result of their patience.) With the chaos of going home twice in the past month, D and I never really celebrated my B-day w/ cake. He bought us four cupcakes for dessert tonight. How sweet and perfect. I heart cupcakes and we don't need a whole cake sitting around our two-person house. Happy Friday! I get to go climb in my big girl bed!

Who would have thought?

Courtney, Mike, M and D
Courtney and M

After being in Memphis for three years (I know it is hard to believe!), we have definitely concluded that there are very few Dawg fans here. However, I have uncovered one! She is my dear collegue and friend, Courtney. Now her husband could take or leave the Dawgs (I think mostly leave.), but she loves them. And I was so excited to find out she was going home (Commerce) for the game. In the mass chaos of a UGA football game, we managed to find them. They came to sit w/ us for a while. We had a blast!

Prior to the game, Mom and I went to Scott's on Friday and had a wonderful time! I could have spent a fortune but opted for a small pillow cover. D enjoyed a game of golf w/ the guys while I shopped w/ Mom. D and I took a day trip to Athens on Thursday. We had dinner at Last Resort, and I was quite excited to hear the owner telling another table that he is trying to go more organic, including growing a lot of their food supply on his land in Oconee County. We had a great surprise on Sunday morning. David's father was able to join us for brunch. It was great to see him, as we haven't seen him since April. It was a wonderful weekend!