Hello 2010

Well, I made it 1 year of blogging. I admit, it was tough at times to think of something to blog about, but I did it... with a little assistance for reminders.

Gatlinburg was great, great weather, great chalet, fun at the Aquarium, walking the streets, eating at new places, etc.... just didn't like the traffic.... before we got to Pigeon Forge we were in bumper to bumper traffic... seems we weren't the only ones who wanted to be in Gatlinburg for New Years. 2 hours and 20 miles later we made it to our chalet up on the ridge top... a good thing to because we were near delerious from the drive. We ate at new places, aka not our usual places, The Peddlar steakhouse, Bubba Gump seafood, and the Alamo steakhouse. We ate lunch and breakfast at the cabin. We enjoyed a backporch hot tub and a pool table inside.

We had an awesome view of the mountains and the nearby ski slope. It snowed 2 mornings in a row but the plows were diligent and we made it off the mountain. We had a good time roaming the shops on the strip and I even managed to get Ariel to go "mining" with me. (you know the stores that sell you a bucket of dirt and you sluice the dirt out to expose the rocks and gemstones.) We actually found quite a bit for gems. I sent a ruby off to get cut and polished and we kept the rest uncut for now. I think I'll get them done one at a time as finances allow. The day before we left, it was freezing outside so we went to the Aquarium and spent a few hours there. We got to see all kinds of aquatic life of course but the best part is taking the tunnel under the shark tanks. We got to get up close with sawfish tiger sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays, and giant see turtles with just a couple inches of reinforced glass between us. Awesome.

We returned home sunday to Evansville, Ariel pouting the last hour of driving because our trip was already over. Linzy is practically clinging to us because we were away for 4 days. She is having some trouble once again with the potty. She tells us she needs to go, we take her, then she says she dont have to go, and then less than 10 min later she pees her pants. (sighes) Or she doesn't tell us cause she dont want to stop playing and just stands there and pees.

First day back to work 2010, busy nonstop. I think people should sedate their pets for the holidays, less bites will happen. Ever try to hand auger a hole in frozen soil? P.I.T.A. (pain in the ass) I can't wait for the weekend....

Joe is coming out and we'll go snowboarding at Paoli. Good times.

Anywho, My Neww Years Resolutions:

1. Get back into shape more. - I haven't worked out as much since I left my travelling job and I've had a bit more fattening diet. Gotta get back into a less jiggly shape.

2. Give more. - I feel the need to give more, not just material things, but to give of myself more. In my labors and service where I can.