Living Well

Hit re-set. We must all do it from time to time. My own personal re-set looks like this. Sun, beach, a long highway to ride my bike and a nearby gym. Your time to rest and recover will look a little different than mine, I am sure. Our lives require balance, or we are not living well. Too much work, or play for that matter, leads to a toxic environment for a healthful life. Hitting the wall is what I call it. I get grumpy, normal situations don't look normal anymore. The color of life looks a bit gray. Recognizing this phenomena is so necessary to making the adjustment to get back my normal sunny self. Give it a try. Hit re-set.

I rest
I breathe
To take reprieve
I love
I laugh
No looking back
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All things come in 3's

They say that everything comes in 3's and I am convinced it is so.

#1 Elijah and I were on our way to school when we decided to stop at McDonald's for Mi' Mi' to use the ladies room. While I was using the restroom, Elijah got restless, I then did something that could only be explained as a rookie move. I allowed that bundle of sweetness to play with my car keys while I finished my business. Every key that I own along with Hal's new car key fob was on the ring. I got up...turned around and flushed...wiped my nose with some tissue...threw it in while the toilet was flushing (perfect timing, right?) and in a split second that seemed as though it was in slow motion, Elijah practiced his jump shot and threw my keys down the toilet, never to be seen again. Now, tell me how 10 keys with a key fob can go bye bye (as Elijah said) so quickly? The seriousness of the situation needs to be expanded upon...I had no car key! Couldn't get into my car to get my cell phone to call for help! My husband was in New Orleans with my spare key! All of the McDonald's employees were hysterically laughing at my expense!! O.K. on to #2 even though it was much worse than I communicated.

#2 It was Saturday afternoon and Gi' Gi' was keeping that cute little boy licking the spatula in the picture above. I went over to take over the babysitting duties so that she could go back to Alabama. Elijah was taking a nap upstairs when I arrived. I went out to see Gi' Gi' and PeePaw off and again in slow motion the front door closed behind me. Simple enough right? If you had a regular lock on your door it would be easy. However....the front door had an electronic keypad that I did not know the combination to. I was locked out with Elijah inside....alone....two years old...and visions of what he did to my keys were flashing through my mind. Thankfully he was still asleep and clueless to my situation. Being married to a man that never forgets anything just became a bonus! Hal remembered the code to the door after I attempted to break in to every window and door. Shew!!!

#3 If you have followed this blog for very long you know that I must do some kind of physical activity everyday or else I get grumpy. So, off to the gym I go. Hal and I did legs this day, many squats, many lunges...and then we went out to dinner. I freshened up at the gym before we left, we had a wonderful dinner and shopped a while. The next morning I needed my car keys to go to the gym again (addicted) however, I couldn't find them anywhere! Ugh! Frustration set in after a while of searching so I used Hal's keys to drive the Jeep but I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my mind. Where are my keys!! These keys replaced the keys from the McDonald's toilet situation.....my inability to be my obsessively organized self was getting on my last nerve! To the gym I go to work off frustration when I went to my usual locker, and there they were. I had left them in my locker from the night before.

And then the sun came out....

Benton Falls on the Spur

Benton Falls and Chilhowie Recreation area is mainly known for the bear attacks that happened back in the summer of 2006. The attack happened on the trails of Chilhowie and although tragic, things of this nature are rare here in the Cherokee National Forest. There is a variety of wildlife in the forest however brutal attacks do not happen regularly. Benton is located in the heart of Polk County and is just minutes from Cleveland, Tennessee. The trails of Chilhowie have many destinations. You can circle the lake, go to Benton Falls, go around the mountain, or find a quiet place to picnic. My favorite place to go is definitely Benton Falls. This waterfall is beautiful and romantic. The walk is strenuous if you're not accustomed to walking very much; however, we are so we considered it easy.When you reach the bottom you can see the falls towering above you. We walked through the water and stood on a big rock near the bottom and felt the mist from the falls while we looked at the beautiful fall foliage that surrounded us. The feeling is like one of a fairy tail. Such a place as this is a wonderful hidden treasure tucked away on the mountain. The trails are also perfect for biking and hiking. This hike will be one of my favorites as we log this one in the books and venture on to the next.

Vacationland

Brenda and I arrived in Orange Beach on Thursday night. After checking into the hotel, we hopped on our bikes and rode down to Perdido Key. The weather was still hot on Thursday with temps in mid 80's. We ate at Outback and went back to the room to watch TV and sleep. We were up and on the bikes again on Friday AM, but the temps were much cooler. We braved a chili wind as we rode to find a gas station that had an air machine that worked...Brenda needed air in her tires. After we finished with the ride, I worked for a while and we then headed to the Outlets. Brenda scored a real nice deal on a wool coat at Banana Republic. She sold me on it when she told me how nice it would look with a pair of jeans and boots. Wow! We both agreed it had been too long since we made a stop at Taco Bell, so we had burritos for lunch. It was a cold afternoon on the beach, but we dressed accordingly. As I write, we just finished splitting Fried Shrimp at Doc's Seafood Shack...the place for "laid back local stuff". We are having a little down time before having a cultural experience at "Florabama".

More from Louisiana

Brenda and I enjoyed our time in Louisiana. We accomplished just about everything we set out to accomplish even while I had a great week workwise. Too much fun. We ate Beignets at Cafe Dumond twice, had raw oysters and boiled shrimp at Felix's, ate at Prejeans in Lafayette and listened to a French Cajun Band, rode bikes through the French Quarter and the Garden District, listened to street musicians in the Quarter, and worked out at a couple of cool gyms. Brenda even made a couple of calls with me. We met another Ingersoll Rand salesman and had a nice lunch in Baton Rouge. Now on to Orange Beach!

Early Morning in the Big Easy...

Things remain exciting as Brenda and I take advantage of a business trip to Louisiana. Luckily for us, Brenda had the week off for Fall Break and was able to join me on a trip to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. We left Atlanta early Monday morning and endured the monsoon like conditions on the entire trip to New Orleans. Undeterred, we arrived in N.O. at 7:00, checked into our downtown hotel, and walked to the French Quarter. Our ultimate destination was great food and atmosphere at Irene's Cuisine, but along the way Brenda was treated to lots of window shopping for antiques and all kinds of art. Irene's did not disappoint. We ordered seafood and steaks and shared the entrees. A great experience. We made it back to the hotel by around 11:00 and hit the bed. We were out the door the next morning at 6:00 on our bikes heading towards the Riverwalk on the Mississippi River. It was still dark. As it turned out, all of the New Orleans TV stations were on hand as the "maiden voyage" of the USS New York was coming into New Orleans. It was a very patriotic event as many people were on hand with American flags. The USS New York was made with recycled steel from the World Trade Center. We headed over to Cafe' Du Monde to eat beignets and drink strong coffee. Cafe' Du Monde did not disappoint either. We worked off the beignets on a bike ride through the French Quarter, uptown, and into the Garden District. After seeing a few of the beautiful homes, we rode back to the hotel to get on the road to Lafayette. All that before 9:00 am. Not bad time management!!

Me and Seth at The University School where he teaches several classes as he attends Vanderbilt Graduate School. His beautiful bride Jennifer, Jacob on Seth's shoulder and Andrew checking something out down the way.

Sweet Andrew and Jacob

Jacob breakin' it down!