Halloween 2014

Most everyone I know is aware that I absolutely LOVE Halloween. I love the weather, the scary movies, the costumes, the candy....all of it!  Each year I decorate a little bit more and a little bit earlier, just so I can enjoy the decor myself.  Since we live in BFE we don't get any trick-or-treaters, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying Halloween.

Every year since we moved to our current house we've had a Halloween Costume party. This made our fifth year and although it was much smaller than most years, it was just as fun! We had a small party of 12, Jason made his delicious chili and by the end of the night we were mix-matching costumes.  You know, mature, adult fun. Since it was a small party the dogs were allowed to come out half way through, much to their delight.  Generally with large parties I leave them put up for fear of a door or gate accidentally being left open or Buddy swiping food off of the counters and tables. L.B. was a little freaked out by too many people, but Lois Lane and Buddy ate up the attention.

This year Jason and I dressed up as Bob and Linda Belcher from "Bob's Burgers", a cartoon show on Fox that is one of our favorites. If you've never watched it, you really should. It's good stuff! We also had a pair of pirates, a cow girl, an alien, a redneck couple, a U of L fan, a bear, and a couple non-costume attendees.  Fun times!

Halloween Party 2014 Photo Gallery

Girl's Night Out

Saturday night Christina and I were invited for a girl's night out by our girlfriend Beth. We kicked off the evening with dinner and drinks at our local Outback Steakhouse. Upon walking into the bar area of the restaurant, we saw our friends Lydia and Ben sitting at the booth right behind the one we were going to.

After dinner we all ended up at Ten Pin Lanes for a few more drinks and some bowling. I was horrible at bowling at first, but ended up winning the last game, but we still had a great time.

Such a great time that when Lydia and Ben called it a night, we continued on to R Place Pub to shoot some pool and have a few more beverages. (I was the DD and had my last beverage well before we were done bowling.)

As a summary of the evening: good food, good drinks, great friends, many laughs, new stories made, jukebox music, funny drunk bar flies, out too late.  Summary - Fantastic night out!  :)

Go Cards!!!

Saturday we went to hang out with friends to watch the Louisville vs. UConn game, eat some good food, have some adult beverages and just hang out.  The weather was beautiful, the game was great ( Louisville won ), the food was yummy and it was an all around fun time, as usual. Love hanging with my buds!

Friend Time!

A typical Friday night during the cold weather months - hanging out with our good friends Christina & Charlie, who live just up the street from us. We usually get together at least once, often more, during the weekend for dinner or just to hang out.  In the summer I spend most weekends at their pool and starting this spring and fall, and some of summer, we will be doing several weekend camping trips.  Good times to come!

Birthday Girl!

This is my good friend Beth!  Beth's birthday is tomorrow so we spent the evening with Christina and Charlie, who made chili for dinner!  We had a great dinner, a few adult beverages, did some camper shopping (Beth is in the market for a travel trailer), played some cards, chit-chatted and just had a nice evening all around.  Happy birthday, Beth!  Here's to many more!

Red River Gorge

Click here for all trip photos.

This past weekend we made a trip to the Red River Gorge area in Stanton, Kentucky for our friend Mr. Charlie's 40th birthday.  This is the second time we've been to the Gorge in November ( we went for Mr. Charlie's birthday in 2010 also ) and, in the end result,  it did not disappoint.  We stayed at a very nice cabin called Lakewood. The cabin itself was gorgeous, as were the surroundings with all the woods and creek running through the bottom of the property.

The weekend started off with picking up Christina and Charlie at their house and then Beth from her house.  We had a great, slap happy time on the way to the cabin, laughing all the way.  There is never a dull moment with this group, ever!  After many "just around this curve" comments, much joking and laughing, we pulled off the exit and had a quick lunch at Hardee's before going to the local tiny Kroger to get groceries for the weekend.

After lunch and shopping we headed up to the cabin site.  At the head of the road we stopped in to check in and get the keys to the cabin.  There is a whole story to the ten minutes we were there, but all I will say is that there were gassy fumes in the truck cab and step issues at the check in house!  The perfect start to our exciting weekend.

Once we got to the cabin, the only complaint was that the rental site touted the good cell phone service due to a cell phone booster and WiFi.  We did have so-so WiFi - but the cell phone reception was non-existent.  We realize that most people go to these places to "get away from it all", and while we would love to do this, we just can't due to our jobs.  Thus it was very disappointing for our friends to rent this place just for us because it was the only one with cell coverage and WiFi, only to get there and it have zero cell coverage and very spotty WiFi.  To make matter worse, firewood was purchased for a steep price of $20 to be delivered to the cabin.  As the wood was being delivered we were informed that the cell phone booster did not work at all and anyone with Verizon would not get any type of signal (though our AT&T people didn't get a signal either).  On top of that, all of the firewood that was brought in (all 10 pieces of it - for $20 mind you) was wet and would not burn.  Not turning out to be such a good deal, eh?

However, it all worked out in the end.  Jason was able to get an app on his phone that would allow a phone call to get through if there was an emergency.  The fire was a bust that evening due to wet wood, but at least the hot tub was in good working order.  So after a yummy steak and potato dinner the guys did their own thing and the girls went to hang in the hot tub for some good, old fashion girl talk.

The next morning we had a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs and biscuits while we waited for Lydia and Ben. to arrive.  We met them up at Kroger and went directly to a hiking trail that led to Hidden Arch.  It was a very nice two mile hike and was beautiful!  On the way back to the cabin we took a short detour to drive through a natural rock tunnel.  It was a tight squeeze for Big Nasty, the F-350, but by pulling in the side mirrors we made it through.

After that we headed back to the cabin where lasagna was prepared for that night's dinner.  Lydia and Ben went in search of dry firewood and came back with a mother-load of great wood for $10.00...and it was dry and burnable!  So we spent the evening on the porch burning our dry wood in the outdoor fireplace.  It was a pretty calm evening - though we did have to make a human ladder at one point to turn off the outdoor ceiling fans since it was quite cold and no light switch seemed to work the fan.  At the end of the night we sang happy birthday to Mr. Charlie, let him blow out his cheesecake candles and one by one drifted off to bed.

It was a fantastic, fun weekend that I will always remember.  And, as always, I got lots of photos. Next year we will replicate the trip, but instead of a cabin rental we will be taking our travel trailers!

Halloween Party 2013

Our fourth annual Halloween costume party went off without a hitch!  We had our largest crowd to date and ran out of Jason's Guinness chili fairly early - sorry for the late-comers that were hoping to get a taste!  Usually we make way too much and have too much leftover for us to deal with.  Go figure!  Anyway, thanks to all of the yummy goodies everyone brought along, it all worked out just fine.

It was too windy to do a fire while the majority of the guests were there, but later in the evening it calmed down so a few got to enjoy it.  But it was COLD so most people were content to stay inside or on the front porch where the house blocked most of the wind.

There were lots of cool costumes, great conversation and it was awesome having so many our friends together again!  The only hitch we had was people kept getting locked in the bathroom for some reason. The knob was malfunctioning so several people had to be rescued.

I also managed to get lots of cool costume photos this year.  Take a look and enjoy!

Dirty Girl Mud Run - 33/365

Today was the Louisville Dirty Girl Mud Run 5K obstacle course race. I had a team of 8 women running for our "Breast Friends" team. It was so much fun! I'd love to do this every year!  All the muddy photos can be found here.

Fair Day Girls - 32/365

Today I went to the Kentucky State Fair with two of my girlfriends, Beth and Christina, and we had a blast! We walked 4.5 miles, visited exhibits, rode some rides and acted like a bunch of kids. Awesome day!

Dirty Girl Mud Run - Team Breast Friends

On August 24th I will be participating in my first Dirty Girl Mud Run here in Louisville!  We have our "Breast Friends" team ready to get down and dirty!  I would like to invite anyone that wishes to join us to please do so!  You can join our Facebook DGMR group or you can go directly to the DGMR Registration page to sign up for the race.  If you wish to be a spectator and cheer squad, please come join us and cheer us on!

The 5K women's race takes place at Champion's Park at 2930 River Rd in Louisville KY 40206. Our team is Wave7 which starts the course at 9:30 am.

If you wish to display our team logo showing your support for our team you are welcome to purchase logo products in my personal CafePress store (with no cost markup).  Any donations you wish to give through our Team Site gives a portion of proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Wish us luck and we hope to have a good turnout both for our team race and our cheering section!

Wining and Dining!

The Girls:

The Boys:

While our friends from Indy were here over the Memorial Day weekend we decided to take a group trip out to Smith-Berry Winery for their first live concert series of the summer.  We got there early, despite a few sprinkles, and set up camp with a table and chairs. We had a yummy dinner of organic country cookin' and listened to Nervous Melvin and the Mistakes while we sipped on wine and beer and played dice. It was the second time we've been to a concert series and likely will not be our last. It's always a good time and supports the local winery - you just can't go wrong there!

New Buddies

Our friends from Indy came to visit for Memorial Day weekend and brought their dog, Chase, as usual. This was the first time Chase and L.B. have met.  I think they hit it off, don't you?  ;)

The Dog Whisperer

The dogs know who to go to when treats are being handed out!

Go Cards!

Today, on Valentine's Day, I'm going to my very first University of Louisville Cardinals basketball game!  C. found a good deal on decent tickets and the boys had no interest in going, so we went on a Valentine's Day date to the game! We started with drinks at bar just outside the Yum Center and had a great time!  The Cards won!

Fender the Pit Bull Rules!

This is Fender, a pure bred pit bull and one of the sweetest, goofiest dogs I've ever met.  He's a weenie too - I watched a chihuahua nip his nose and make him squeal like a baby.

Hot Tubbin' & Snow - 9/52

Saturday I had five girlfriends over for a "big girl slumber party". We had a fantastic time - we ate good food, played some Wii dance, had a craft session in the craft loft and spent the majority of the evening soaking and chit-chatting in the hot tub.  This is the view from the hot tub in the daylight. I can't wait until the leaves on the trees start coming back.

After our 70 degree day on Friday, this is what we woke up to this morning - boo!  Pretty, but BOO!  But tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60's so that's ok.

Red River Gorge & Natural Bridge

Last weekend we joined C. and C. for a weekend get away to celebrate Mr. C's birthday.  We rented a small, cozy cabin in the Red River Gorge area called the Star Gap.

We relaxed and played cards on Friday and then on Saturday we decided to hike up to Natural Bridge.  What a hike!  We took the "easy" trail and after getting up it we all decided we'd hate to see what the other trails were like.  It was a difficult climb at times, but it was overall fantastic.  The view from on top of Natural Bridge was gorgeous, and a bit scary at the same time with the wind gusts up that high.  We stayed at the top for half an hour or so and then made the hike back down, which went much faster.

Once back at the cabin we took a much needed soak in the hot tub, had another fantastic dinner and vegged for the evening.  It was a great trip and a much needed get away.

All Trip Photos

Our fabulous chefs of the weekend:

Trail to Natural Bridge:

Standing on top of Natural Bridge

The view from Natural Bridge.  We walked over to that cliff as well.

A view down from the cliff. We could see the car from here!

Jason Aldean / Chris Young & Thompson Square Concert

Last night C. and I went to the Kentucky State Fair to see Jason Aldean and Chris Young in concert and it was fantastic!  We left the house 3 hours before the concert so we could walk around the fairgrounds for a while before the concert started.  Little did we know it would take us over 2 hours to get to the fairgrounds.  Trimarc signs nicely told us that the main gates were closed and routed us to a different gate.  We thought, WTF, who closes the main gates on the first Saturday of a state fair for a sold out concert?!  So for 2 hours we sat in backed up traffic, maneuvered around several vehicles that had over heated and finally made it to the gates - where we found that the main gates were actually open and probably would have saved us at least an hour.  Thanks a lot Trimarc!

Once we got there we headed to the exhibition hall to get C. a custom fitted toe ring.  It was then that we realized her wallet wasn't in her purse.  Uh oh.  We called the last place we stopped to see if it was there before making the long treck back to the truck.  Luckily, her wallet was in the truck, having slid down the seat and into the back floorboard.  Shoo, that was a close one!

So then, we make the long treck back to Freedom Hall where the concert had already started with the opening acts.  By the time we got back we decided we needed a good cold one, and I wanted to get a t-shirt.  After more line standing, and C. not being able to get a shirt due to the credit card machine crapping out, we snagged one more cold one and headed up to our seats.  From then on, the night was fantastic!  We got into the Chris Young concert just when he was playing his best songs.  Perfect timing!

During the break between Chris Young and Jason Aldean, we took a bathroom break and decided to get one more cold one.  After standing in line for 20 minutes and still 15 people back from the beer stand it was announced that all the beer was sold out.  Nice.  So we moved over to another line for another good 5 minutes when we heard them announcing Jason Aldean.  At that point we abandoned our nice, cold beer and high tailed it back to our seats (which we never actually sat in).

This was probably one of the best, if not the best, concert I have ever been to.  Our seats were perfect, especially for the price we got them for.  We were side-stage and close enough to get a good view of the band members, plus they always have the big screens for the close-ups.  It was a great night out, despite all of our hurdles, and well worth everything!

And of course, some photos:

The equipment trucks - there were 4 of these plus the tour bus:

Our picture with Jason  ;)

Chris Young & Thompson Square

Jason Aldean

Scrappy Doo - 15/52

This is Scrappy.  He belongs to our friends Christina & Charlie and is a hoot!  He has the longest legs I've ever seen on a little dog and boy can he run!  Him and his sister dog, Molly, come over for play dates with our four on a regular basis.  Scrappy was rescued from the Humane Society about a year ago.  Such a funny little love!

I Heart Faces: Smirk

Jason & Larry being goofy on a day at the horse track.  They had been mocking me when I asked them to "look normal" and this was the best I could get from either of them.  Go figure.  But, it works great as an entry for I Heart Faces: Smirks!  Go here for other great entries!