double yellow lines and speed

i am constantly amazed at the differences between living in charlotte and greeneville…lately i have been focused on the driving differences.

the first is the double yellow line.  in charlotte i was taught that this line is the difference between life and death.  you cross it…you die.  you pass when it is a double yellow…you die.  you put your tires on it not staying fully in your lane…you die.  in greeneville it is just a geometrical, colorful line on the ground – especially in curves and corners.  it seems like the people here were taught to play chicken and scare the crap out of the people who aren’t in on the secret.

the second is speed.  around here the police are after anyone who goes 2 mph over the speed limit.  here the speed limit is lower (like 30).  when we were in charlotte i was like oh my gosh you are flying.  i looked over and he was going 45!  it was so funny.  he was like i feel like i am flying!  we laughed so hard!

back to greeneville

saturday morning we got up and i had brunch with carol and quinton.  it was great to see her and catch up with everything happening in her life.  we always have a great time laughing and catching up.

i took some time to go shopping by myself and get some things for andy.

i went by my parents house to feed the cats and play with them for a minute.  (andy went by our house to check on things).

we packed said goodbye and headed back to greeneville.  it was great seeing every one while we were in charlotte.

charlotte city limits

since we didn’t have the dog we were able to take our time and explore on the way home.  we stopped by montreat.

moon is shinning

it was so much different going through the campus when no students were there.  it was like a ghost town.  a perfect ghost town.  it was great to walk around a little bit with andy and remember all the things that come with montreat.

lake susan

it was so pretty with the bare trees – no leaves and no crazy youth.  we stood on the damn and just looked at all the beauty.

montreat store

we stopped by the stores (and got a shirt).  when we left there we went by the grove park inn to see the ginger bread houses.  when we pulled up to the gate (you have to pay to park at Christmas) she asked if we were a guest.  we said no and she asked if we were going to have dinner or drinks.  we said no we wanted to see the houses.  she told us that it was closed to the public…but if we went in and got a drink and happened to see them that would be fine.  so we said fine we were getting a drink and went on.  they were so pretty.  it was like nothing you have ever seen before.

my favorite

this one was my favorite out of all of them.  (and it only made top 10 – not even first).  oh well.  it was really neat to see the details of this creation.

close up

we had a great time seeing them and it showed me i don’t need to enter next year!

we got home to greeneville later that night and had lights on the house and deer in the yard and a snowman in the yard.  a lady stopped by today and asked if she could see the snowman and wanted to know everything i did about it since she loved it so much.

a few things to note about the week we were in charlotte.

dad called on thanksgiving to say otis had a seizure in the truck.  he is fine though.

i spent some time reading the twilight books.  i read the first one a while ago and it took me such a long time to get through and i had no intentions of reading the rest of them.  but i saw the preview for the last movie and decided it looked great so i wanted to see it.

the last thing is that it is weird to be “coming home to greeneville” and to be leaving charlotte behind.  no matter how many times we talk about it…it is still weird.  i think it is because for so long charlotte was home…it was the place i was always going to not the place i was returning from….

black friday: 11-23

for the past few years we have hit up good deals on black friday and finished our Christmas shopping.  we have gotten some GREAT deals in the past.  one year we got a printer (good one) for 15.00.  andy some sperry boat shoes for 6.00.  ugly dolls for 3.00.  movies for 1.00 and a ton of other great deals.

this year it was so important that i got my shopping done since the options are limited in greeneville.  i made my list before we went to charlotte and was so excited that we found almost everything on our list.  (we are going tomorrow to finish up what i couldn’t find).

we went to razoos for lunch and finished up our shopping for the day.  we went back to andy’s parents house and ended up going to a new mexican restaurant in matthews.  it was yummy.

thanksgiving: 11-22

i set my alarm for 630 so that i could meet my dad outside andy’s parents house to get otis…he volunteered to take otis back to greeneville so that we wouldn’t have to worry about him with all the people and shopping on friday.  he said he would text when he was leaving the house so that i could take otis out and pack up his bag so that he could get in the truck…they could go and i could jump back in bed for a minute.  i didn’t hear and didn’t hear so i dozed back off (with the phone balanced on my forehead so i would hear the text).  i finally got a text that said that he would be leaving a little later…come to find out the water heater went out….doesn’t that always happen?  it seems like it is always something.  anyways so when he said it was time to meet him we went and met him at an old bojangles (they have torn it down now…it was weird seeing all the places they have leveled to change the road pattern).  we handed off the dog and picked up breakfast.  we went back to the house and got cleaned up and headed to the hospital.  for the past several years (when my mom is working) we pick up doughnuts and coffee and take to her unit.  (usually we have to go to caribou coffee and get scones or something – but this year we got krispy kream).  we talked to her and a few nurses for a minute and then ran into a friend from years past.  we talked to him for a while and headed back to andy’s parents house.  we helped make some of the food (fruit salad mostly) and caught a cat nap.

we played cornhole when erik and maggie got there and then when everyone got there we talked and ate and talked some more.  we ended up going to bed a little earlier than the night before to get ready for our big shopping day!

wednesday: 11-21

the day before thanksgiving andy had to work…that put a crimp in my plans because i thought that we would be in charlotte by dinner (i had a dinner date with carol).  i didn’t know andy had to work part of the day.  (but it is ok carol understood and we made other plans).  we ended up leaving greeneville around 320 (we had to get drinks…go by the bank and a few other places before we hit the road).  i was dreading traffic but we didn’t really hit any until we got to 85 (and even then it wasn’t bad…just heavy like normal).  we ended up stopping a few times so that i could get out and stretch my legs and get otis off my lap.  we picked up bojangles and ate at andy’s parents house.  (they were kind enough to let us stay with them since we stayed with my parents last time).  we got to spend some time with ginger and sandy and cj for a little while before erik and maggie came and got her (they were out to dinner with friends).  we got cj a few books with a magical pen that reads the books to you.  i sat in the floor and we looked at the books together and played with a nativity for a little while.  we played the “what’s this?” game.  i would hold up a sheep and say what’s this?  she would answer.  then a little bit later she was holding up things and saying “what’s this?”  it was funny.  otis was acting a little crazy and was running around like crazy.  after a while erik, maggie, and cj were leaving and that got otis excited so he went behind cj and put his paws on her shoulders and freaked her out.  the rest of the night went in a blur and i went to bed.  otis slept in the middle of the bed – leaving me and andy to cling to the edge.

for the past many years the wednesday before thanksgiving we watch david letterman…so we stuck to that tradition and watched him (even though he didn’t do guess the pie with his mom).  we also watched duck dynasty…which is a wonderful show!

thanksgiving list and decorations

happy late thanksgiving…this year since i didn’t know where all my decorations were i bought some things for a center piece for our dining room table.

and all of it was on sale!

i also bought a thanksgiving flag…but didn’t get a picture of it.  oh well.  (this was about as decorated as we got this year – hopefully next year we will have a little bit more).

this past month on facebook people have been driving me crazy writing what they are thankful for (each and every day).  i decided that it was a good idea to list it….i just don’t agree with the everyday thing on facebook…..so to be slightly less annoying than those people i will list them here in random order…(stop reading if you don’t want to see another list of thankful things)…

1. andy – he is the most amazing husband i could have ever asked for…my best friend and soul mate.
2. my parents – whose love and support i can never repay or begin to say how grateful i am.
3. andy’s parents – for their son.
4. otis – for the laughter and entertainment he provides (and the moments when he knows i am sad and he crawls in my lap to say it is ok).
5. will, my brother – for the memories of growing up and a partner in crime.
6. katie, andy’s sister, and her husband chris – for the friendship over the years.
7. erik, andy’s brother, and his wife maggie – for being there when needed.
8. cj, our niece – for making us laugh and playing with us.
9. our aunts and uncles – for spoiling us when we didn’t need to be spoiled.
10. our grandparents – for reminding us where we came from.
11. our shelter – for the house we own in charlotte and holds a lot of memories and our temporary home that is a life saver.
12. food – to survive
13. being silly with the ones we love
14. conversation (serious and less serious)
15. love
16. marriage
17. funny tv shows and other entertainment.
18. our car.
19. our accumulation of stuff through out the years.
20. andy’s job…and places hiring that hopefully will give me a chance.
21. the ability to read, write, think, learn.
22. my education.
23. my country
24. God and prayer.

so there are some of the things i am thankful for….

(see my next few posts about our thanksgiving)

riding around…

i have gotten into the habit of keeping my camera out while we are driving around….it is something i have done since our trip this past may and it helps with boredom and you never know what you will find.  there was this really cool tree…

look at that sky…

this was a random house but a really pretty one…and it helped that the sky looked so cool above it.

bright tree…

we saw this tree and it was bright in the midst of trees that didn’t have any more leaves.  i tried to get pictures of the sy the other night…but my camera wouldn’t work with my skill level to capture what i was actually seeing….

checking on the cows

the weekend before thanksgiving we went to the farm.  dad had some stuff to do so andy and i took otis and rode around checking on the cows.  while we were there we saw a fox in one of the fields.  we saw lots of cows, the horses, and the jack.  otis had a blast singing for everyone to hear.

field of animals

in the middle of this photo is “black jack.”  it is funny how brown he looks when he is surrounded by black cows.  also the horses are in this photo to (left side).  otis sang to them and they all glared at us.  i am sure if we could have heard them – we would have heard a collective sigh.

wolly worm

when we are on the farm i usually hold otis and andy drives.  depending on the gate i will get out and close it (farm rules states if you open a gate…you best close it back).  so we do.  as i was closing this one i saw this little guy.  he scared me to death but i got his picture.  (see my hand shadow…hard to not be in the picture).

stand-off

we came upon this group of cows in the path and they were all laying down.  when we were this close to them they all stood up and stared at us.  we inched closer to them and they inched forward to us.  otis was singing to them and killing me trying to get to them.  finally they turned and ran (when we almost ran over them) but it was the great stand-off!

this view just never gets old.  i have always said that i could live at the beach and never get tired of the beauty of the ocean and the sounds of the waves on the beach…i can say for certain that i never tire of the views of the mountains.  it is a great reminder of God’s creation and love.

fart town…

when we were in the car (on the way to gatlinburg) i smelled something funny…i snuck a sideways glance at andy and smirked to myself.  when the smell didn’t go away i asked andy if he farted.  he said no.  we sniffed and the smell wasn’t going away.  we were laughing at the fart town and we rounded a corner and saw bush’s baked beans plant…it was like they were saving up gas from the plant and pumping it into the town.

the fart factory

i thought that the clouds looked cool too.  they had two trucks sitting outside the gift shop (which was across the street).

one truck

i thought this was the cooler of the trucks.  the fall decorations were really pretty.  they also had a cafe…but it was closed when we stopped in.

it was really neat to stop in and see some of their products and to see how close this is to us.  a hidden treasure we never would have known was there.

pigeon forge and gatlinburg

last week (the week before thanksgiving) we went shopping on andy’s day off.  we went to gatlinburg and pigeon forge Christmas shopping.  i don’t think that i have ever been before (mom said she didn’t know if she ever took me) and andy said he had never been so we took off.  we were shocked to see that it looked like myrtle beach picked up and dropped in the mountains.  it was crazy busy and touristy.  i don’t know what i was expecting…but it wasn’t that.  we hit the tanger outlets…found some good deals.  went to the Christmas village and some other shops.

took this for katie

we saw this restaurant and took a picture for katie (andy’s sister).  i don’t know if she still does it…but when we were going up she would write KT as her name to all of the notes that she wrote me.  (that i still have).

Christmas village

checking out the reindeer at the Christmas village.

shops at the Christmas village

i was glad that we were able to spend the day together shopping and getting some Christmas shopping done.  it was wonderful to exlpore together.  it was a great thing to get me in the Christmas mood!