What we've been up to --part 1

Well, I was encouraged to post again already. I'm glad to know that my blog is being enjoyed by others!
I've been a bad bad girl. I've not been posting. During this time I've thought of a million things to post about, and so the list gets longer. Very much like my to-do list for around the house that I've been neglecting. But for this post, I'll start with a simple update:

I never did write about the past weekend, which included a trip to Grandma's (aka Phi Phi) for Jenny.
Thursday Nov. 6th:
I managed to pack all the princess's gear, and her Phi Phi and Pop Pop came to get her on Thurs. morning. The only glitch was the carseat transfer, which Pop Pop conquered. Yes folks, I do not know how to get the car seat in or out of my own car. That is what a husband is good for, and without mine I am toast. (he was at work)
As soon as Jenny left the building, I thought to myself: what do I want to do? Not what do I need to do (recurring problem for me). I suddenly realized how blissful it would be to eat a nice meal alone. This is something that I would have seriously avoided in my former life (BJ--before Jenny). Yet now I was a woman on a mission. Oh to eat a meal without cutting food up just right and coaxing a wild monkey to eat it. Oh to eat a meal without singing about the characters on Jenny's placemat. I was in the car in a flash of lightning. Where did I want to go? I needed the ultimate meal. It had to be good all the way thru. Salad, bread, entree, dessert had to be the best, something I could really savor. Olive Garden. I took my all time favorite book to read while I waited for the food to be served. I felt no apprehension about sitting alone, it was just so delicious to sit still in QUIET.After indulging myself, I prepared food for our small group meeting at the Carsons'. I rode with my friend Dianne and enjoyed chatting. We all had such a good meeting, and I just really left with warm fuzzies. Will was home by the time I got home, and I talked his ear off. I am really excited about getting to know everybody even better. I think its fascinating when you start to figure out how or why God put certain people in your life.
Friday:
I had high hopes to paint our den in one day, but Will talked me out of it. His argument was that the other billion things that I wanted to do, in addition, would impose on the paint a thon.
I had to finally agree cause I really wanted date night and a hair cut etc. And on our date I needed a husband who was not ready to kill me, or burn the house down etc. I was shooting for romance, so my den is still blah blah white.
You have to understand that I am a reasonable woman. That paint weekend had been planned out way in advance. I had literally said "this is the weekend we'll paint the den, jenny will go to grandmas". Then as the weekend approaches, I start to work on Will. You know, got to make sure he is on board for painting. So for days I feel like a cheerleader "we can do it! yes we can!" give me a P, give me an A! (I....N....T) what ya got? PAAAAAAINT!
Ha Then the trip was shortened by one day. At that point I knew I had to really ramp up the cheers. I said "it's still possible" and "it will be like we're on trading spaces". We even looked at paint needs in Lowe's one night, and I thought that I had it "in the bag". But ALAS on Thursday night it became increasingly obvious that Will's heart was not in it. He just wasn't up for the challenge.
I have to say that when you have few breaks from your child, it is hard to work on home projects when they are gone, instead of do fun things as a couple.
So........instead of paint we shopped and napped and then tried a new sushi place (new for us) in northshore called Nabe. We enjoyed it, but sushi is like mexican food, in that you develop a taste for a certain restaurant's, and then when you try a new place.....its not bad... its just different. I imagine that we'll continue to get our sushi fix from our old faithful: Shogun's on Gunbarrel. We like theirs best, and the clincher is dollar sushi night mon and wed.
But I like the Nabe atmosphere: not as crowded seating, and the opportunity for a fabulous walk in northshore afterwards.
After Nabe, we had our favorite "date": bookstore. Sitting in silence with our literary selections and sipping our Joe Muggs.....mmmmmmm that's the life.
Saturday:
We had breakfast at a place "consistently voted the most romantic restaurant in Chattanooga". The Back Inn Cafe. I saw it on the internet a few weeks earlier. When I saw that Rachael Ray had been there, I felt that we had to try it. Hank waited patiently in the car while we dined. Then we were all headed for AL.
We picked up Jenny at Will's parents' house and went to visit with our good friend April who was on a visit to AL from Aspen, CO. We had not seen her and her family since spring, so it was great to visit. I love to hang out at the Barkers cause they know what good food is and they know fun and they are "real" people, just so genuine.
I really can't visit the Barkers without partaking in Mr. Barker's BBQ. Particularly his second-to-none ribs. In addition to ribs, we gobbled up some spinach dip-- Jenny loves it. Yes, the dip recipe that is so well known---I shall not take credit---it all started with Mrs. Barker. While we were there, Jenny got to play with 2 other babies: Adriana and Logan. (April's cousin's children) Jenny fed the fish and played in the leaves. Also she likes to walk "off the beaten path". We walked her to the pond and she said "ish".
For dinner Saturday we enjoyed a trip to Rocket with Will's parents. I was stunned to not see someone we know!! It is a standard that you always will see somebody before you leave, no matter how quick you are in and out of there. I'm sure its because I had all my make up on. If I went in there with no make up and hair looking stupid then I'd see about....10 people. You know... the ones you haven't seen in 10 years usually. Anyway, we enjoyed drowning our fries in the signature rocket BBQ sauce. The only thing is that I didn't get to read any tabloids while I waited for my food, I had to be entertaining JR. Its really not a complete trip to Rocket if you didn't get to read an old issue of the Sun or the Star, but that's just another hard sacrifice I'll make as a mother I guess. HA HA
Sunday:
We went to worship with the congregation where I grew up: Jacksonville C of C. Can you believe we were .....EARLY???? We were thinking that we'd be arriving just "on time" but then I looked at our cell phones when we got in the parking lot. I said "WILL.......we're 6 minutes early!!!"
It all has to do with his parents clocks being set a little late. I said "Fascinating. We should do that." Will said "it won't work if you know about it ha ha."
Anyway, Jenny went to bible class and did fine without us---Yippee! I hope that that continues. At our church here, Jenny sits in her own bouncy chair. At J'ville, she has to sit in a small hole in the table. I think if I were a baby that would freak me out. But she luckily doesn't mind it.
It is wild to go back and visit there now and then and see some people who never seem to change and also some (kids) who are totally grown! It is a home for me.
After church we went to Top a da for lunch with Will's family (AKA Top of the River). We love Top a da so very much that we had to give it a nickname. Jenny had a minor fit and got a minor spankin and laid her head down on the table while holding blankie?? Never does that, but she's always doing new things to throw me off.
After Top a da, Nina (Will's sister) took our fall pictures. She does such a great job! I swear that if it wasn't for her I'd have no pictures cause I'd never think to schedule real "shoots". I'd just be stuck with snap shots. Nina is often the one prompting the photo shoot, and I am like "Oh yeah, lets do that."
Especially when Jenny was colic devil, then I didn't care a flip to take her to some stranger's studio and endure that. Not that I knew any good photographer here, or anyone to give me a recommendation, or any idea where ANYTHING WAS in town......not going to go there now though......
At the time, actually, I was thinking: "Pictures? Why would I want to remember this???" But as I suspected, I'm glad to have those pictures that she took now.
To sum up: Nina takes all my pictures, it is the bomb, yay, big score for me!

Here are 3 of my favorites from Sunday


Princess playing in the leaves

We're all here (excluding Little Dee)(who is totally mad by the way)

Hank the super dog, our firstborn

After photos, we hit the road coming home to good old Soddy Daisy. Jenny was being rotten and so I wanted her day to end ASAP so that I could exhale. I was hoping that her rottenness would be gone in the morning cause she had to go get vaccines etc. Whoopie!
To be continued..........