It ended too soon.

Heather and I got back from Tennessee late Tuesday night. We had a quick little vacation that ended too soon. :( It was refreshing though.

We stayed at River Romance. It was a cute little cabin and it was really close to downtown Gatlinburg. The Little Pigeon River was right in our "backyard". The deck still had snow on it from the weekend so Heather and I were able to play in it. It was fun until I got a snowball in my ear and it froze my ear. Haha. It was there the whole time we were there which was cool.

We drove around looking at the scenery quite a bit. At some points along the road one side of the road was covered in snow and the other side had no signs of snow ever being on it. It looked rather neat. Heather made me stop in the middle of the road (dangerous I know) so that she could play in the snow. It was cold outside so I stayed in my warm car and just took pictures of her. I'm not a huge fan of cold weather or snow.

I let Heather drive down one road and we had a little off road adventure. It was so funny. She went down a little hill and ended up taking a whole big pile of leaves with her along with a tree branch that got stuck under the car. She thought I was mad at her but I told her to go down the little hill and I was laughing the whole time. If damage was done insurance can cover it. We got a good laugh at it and that's all that counts, right? Haha. I turned down a road that looked like something off a horror movie. It was so scary. We were waiting for some murdered to run into the car.

We were unable to do the Off Road Voyages (Hummer Tour). I didn't make the reservation and I read some reviews that it wasn't as great as it was made out to be. That was fine with me, Heather and I took our own little off road voyage. We DID go to Dixie Stampede. I had never been before and I enjoyed it a lot. I was not too wild about the WHOLE chicken though. Heather is such a great friend that she picked my chicken off for me. I do not like meat on bones. If I don't see the bones then it's fine. The only thing I didn't like was smelling the animals though. That was pretty gross.

We got to see some of our co-workers while we were there though! I love seeing them. Michelle didn't have her baby before or during our stay. I was a little sad about that but I know baby Alyssa will come when God intends for her too. She's going to be a blessing for Michelle.

I'm ready for my next trip to Gatlinburg. It won't be next month thought because I'll be on my trip to Savannah with Heather and some other friends then. Hmmm, is it March 14th yet?

Is it Feb. 22 yet?

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and all I can think about is, "Is it Feb. 22 yet?". Of course I'm not the biggest Valentine's Day enthusiast there is. I think it's sweet when couples take a day to themselves, but on the same day as everyone else? I get aggravated. So, couples are happy and thinking of hearts and candy's and I'm thinking....

"Gatlinburg! I can NOT wait".

Heather and I will be departing Sunday after church and then we’re on our way to a relaxing vacation. I’m so ready to see all my coworkers that live in Gatlinburg or the surrounding areas. I have not seen any of them since the company cook out. We added a few since then so I’m excited to be meeting them.

It’s still up in the air on which cabin we’ll stay in. We really like some of the river properties with the company we use. They’re conveniently located near town and we can walk through Gatlinburg. I’m really wanting to visit the Ripley’s Aquarium. It’s shocking that I have not been there already. I did the Ripley’s Haunted Adventure and I thought it was scary. Others don’t think it is so scary but I’m a chicken. I get startled when someone comes up behind me and says “BOO”. I believe I have done all the Ripley’s attractions except the Aquarium and I’m thinking we might change that while we’re in town.

Still doing the Hummer Tours and Dixie Stampede. Our reservations are locked in for Dixie Stampede but I need to call and reserve the Hummer Tour. I did read somewhere that the Hummer Tour isn’t all it’s talked up to be but I think we decided to draw our own conclusions.
There will be PLENTY of stories and pictures when we get back I’m sure. Michelle, one of our coworkers, is pregnant and I will be so excited if she delivers baby Alyssa while we’re there.
We’re going to try out several other attractions while there. Which ones? That’s not concrete yet. I’ll post a blog about any we try though.

Until next time!…

Gatlinburg Attractions.

Heather and I go to Gatlinburg in LESS THAN ONE MONTH! I'm terribly excited. I'm looking at different websites trying to figure out what attractions we MUST do while we're in town. The Gatlinburg, TN website is super helpful.



One of the most important things (as I mentioned in a previous post) is Dixie Stampede. I've never been and I can't wait for this one! I'm already hungry for it. We already made our reservations for our dinner show so we are locked into that.



The next thing we have decided to do is ride through the mountains in a Humvee. How exciting does that sound? It's through a company called Off Road Voyages. They take you up a gravel road at first and once you get up the mountain they turn off the road and go down a rugged trail. There are 11 people in a Humvee and the roof is off! They take you over rocks, through creeks, and through mud. I can not wait for this!!!



Of course we plan to go to Tanger Outlets in Pigeon Forge. Well, I plan to. I'm not sure if she realizes that part of the trip yet. =) I doubt she objects.

We're staying in a cabin. Not sure which one, we'll sort that part out later. We are staying in a Gatlinburg cabin though with the same company we always use. We're going up on a Sunday and coming home that Tuesday. We're avoiding traffic and crowds this way. I don't have class on Monday so it works out perfectly.

I can't wait until I have stories to post about out trip!

Counting down the days.

My mother, sister and cousin are in the mountains this weekend. My cousin, Lexi, had never been to Tennessee (she's only 3 though) and Mom decided she wanted to take her. It snowed up there last week and some of the roads were unable to be driven on without sliding off of them. After begging and pleading with her for 2 days about waiting until Friday to leave, I won. They're staying at a cabin called Irresistible and they are very pleased with it. Mom is holding it against me that there is no more snow on the ground though. Hey, better safe than sorry right?

I am going to Gatlinburg on February 22 and coming home on the 24th. I can not wait. I love going to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I'm more excited about the dinner reservations my friend, Heather, and I have planned. We're eating at Dixie Stampede and I can NOT wait. She's been before but I have not and the day can not come soon enough. In case you've never heard of the Dixie Stampede before it's a dinner show. They perform their version of the Civil War while you eat. The "audience" is divided into 2 groups... the North and the South. While you're entertained you're served a WHOLE chicken, tea, and various other side dishes. I'm more excited about the chicken and less than amused that it will still have bones in it. It's going to be great!

School, again?

I suppose I though I would never return to school again after I ran out of the college on the last day of Fall semester. Well, that was the way I wanted to think about it. It seems like I've been out of school for a long time. Christmas and New Year's happened and now BOOM, I receive an email reminding me that school starts. The email should have said, "Dear Amanda, we realize that you have probably gotten used to sleeping late and gained 10 pounds from all the holiday eating but guess what? School starts back on Monday, January 12. Sincerely, The institution that is driving you crazy".

Ugh. No more staying up late and sleeping in. Instead I have to wake up before the sun rises and stay in classes all day until the sun goes down. Granted I only have school 2 days a week this semester but still, I'll have homework to do. Oh, how I hate homework. It's times like these that I wonder, "Do I really need my Bachelor's degree?". OK, yes I know it's kind of a necessity to have if I plan on being rich one day.

Off my pity party, I hope everyone had a great New Years. I have so many things I want to do for 2009! None of them will be accomplished because that's how it always goes.... you make the resolution and then it's like "eh, I can break my resolution... it's mine after all". Oops, I guess I got back on my pity party.

Christmas time= Christmas food.. and I love food

One Christmas party down and approximately 3 more to go. Our office Christmas party was this past Wednesday and I must admit, Hearth and Harvest has some pretty delicious foods. The office gang went to eat there and we started out with appetizers. I'm not sure what 2 of them were but the 3rd one was fried pickles and I could have eaten them all day. My main course was chicken fingers with double french fries. Any other place I go and order chicken fingers they bring out what I consider to be decent size chicken fingers. Hearth and Harvest brought out 4 chicken fingers that were huge, like the size of my wrist. I ate 1.5 of them and aout 10 fries and called it a night. I was so full I could even eat dessert. I got a to go box and those chicken fingers were gone the next day.

After we ate it was present time. We had "secret" Santa's but it wasn't a secret. Ha. I think everyone really enjoyed their gifts, I know I did. I love my office. I work with some really wonderful people.

Now all I have to do is Christmas with my friends, Dad's side of the family, Mom's side of the family and my immediate family. I'm ready for the madness to be over already and it's not even began yet.

I'm ready for January to be here. Fresh start, fresh year. Not to mention we're planning on going to Gatlinburg to get away for a weekend. My 3 year old cousin Lexi seems to think she'll see snow even though nobody has guaranteed her that. I'm not sure where she got that snow was going to be there either. Ah, 3 year olds. We've decided to stay in a Cabins For You cabin. Not sure which one at this point in time.

I'll blog again after the madness is over. Haha.

Hello December, haven't seen you in a year.

December snuck up on me this year. One day I’m celebrating Thanksgiving and the next I’m running around like a mad woman trying to buy everyone’s Christmas presents before the parties begin. Mind you I was NOT amongst the crazies who rushed the malls and Wal-Mart’s of America on the dreaded “Black Friday”. No, I was snoozing away in my bed. Instead I buy all my presents in one day, who cares that I don’t save $50. It’s worth the $50 to not have to deal with people fighting over Cabbage Patch dolls.

This year I didn’t “knock out” everyone on my list in one day though. So, I’ll have to go back to the malls with other procrastinators trying to figure out if I like “Susie” enough to spend that much money on her present. I get slightly agitated with people this time of year. The whole point of Christmas is to celebrate a birthday. It just seems to me like a majority of people put too much emphasis on the receiving presents part.

I don’t have many Christmas parties to go to this year. Thank goodness. One for Daddy’s side, one for mama’s side, one with a small group of friends and another with work. Last year I was running all over the place and had two parties in one day. I would like to never have to do that again. We drew names at work and this year I got Rachel. I thought it would be easy but I think I made it more complicated than it should have been. I bought her an Aeropostale hoodie jacket and a matching tank top. It was so cute. I tried it on to make sure it wasn’t big on me or else it definitely wouldn’t fit her. I decided I liked it and so I kept it. I told her and she laughed. I was shopping the other day with some friends and found a shirt I liked and I was going to buy it for me. Then a girlfriend told me, “This is the season for GIVING, not KEEPING”. So I bought it and I’m giving it and some other things to Rachel. If she doesn't like it she could always give it back.

We didn’t have our Christmas decorations up until yesterday. Nobody felt like decorating the house but my uncle said if we didn’t decorate then he’d be mad at us. He hasn’t been home for Christmas is 3 years because he’s been gone and he’s staying with us until he finds a place he likes to live at. I got up yesterday morning and it look like a Christmas hurricane had been through. We have two Christmas trees up, stockings, snowmen, angel’s, a wreath on the front door and little winter-y window stickers on the glass door. I guess I had a little “Scrooge” in me because I looked at my mom and told her if she expected to get any help in taking down the decorations and cleaning up from me then she was sadly mistaken. Bah-humbug.