Top Two Tuesday!

It's time for Top Two Tuesday again!  This Tuesday starts the beginning of a new series about what each of us has learned in life...this week, it's...

Top 2 things you've learned about friendship

1.  Friends come in all age groups, backgrounds, and walks of life
I have so many different types of friends, and to me, that's the best way to live life!  Each one of them offers something different to me, and I hope they feel the same way!  Even though my close friends range in age from 24-60, every one of them are VERY special to me!

2.  A true friend will drop EVERYTHING for you!Don't we all know someone who would drop everything, and I mean everything to come to your aide in a time of need.  To me, THAT is true friendship.  I am very lucky to have some friends like this, and I think they have showed me A LOT about what friendship means.  I hope their compassion rubs off on me, and I can be half as good a friend to them as they are to me!
 

What have you learned about friendship?  Head over to The Undomestic Momma and link up!

Weekend Update!

Once again, the weekend didn't last quite long enough!  It was a really nice one though.  The weather here in Music City was AH-mazing, and the fact that I didn't really have any plans going into this weekend made it even nicer, since it allowed me to just wing it and decide how to spend my time as I went along.

Friday night was dinner and a movie with my beau!  We went to see this movie:

This is two sentence review of this movie:  very cute and fun for the ladies, but a little too mushy for the boys.  It definitely had its funny parts, but it also had its far-fetched, silly parts as well!  Rental?  Maybe...

Since this was my first weekend to work this year, my Saturday morning was kind of a bust...however, it's still not TOO busy at work right now, so I was able to spend my last hour in the office cleaning and organizing in preparation of "the season." 

As I was leaving work that afternoon, my neighbor texted me and asked me to stop by her house so I spent the next hour and a half hanging out and drinking wine with her and a couple of her friends (don't worry, ladies...I used my Flex Points for that wine, so I didn't blow my diet).  =)  It was so much fun to sit out on the patio and enjoy the first glimpse of Spring!

The rest of Saturday was spent running, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, and just overall relaxing.  =)

Today was definitely the best day of the weekend...it started out by Patrick and I meeting Adam, Alacia and Baby Hannah at their church for the Sunday morning service.  We had visited their church once before when Patrick was the Godfather for Hannah's Baptism, and we really liked it a lot.  Therefore, when Patrick suggested that we go to church this Sunday, that church was at the top of my list.  Oh, and just for reference, here's a pic of the Stainbrook family back in May the first time we were at their church:

I can't believe how different Hannah is now!  It's hard to believe she was ever that tiny!

Next on the agenda was brunch at Mad Donna's in East Nashville.  We had all heard they have wonderful brunch, including Capt'n Crunch French Toast (does that not sound to-die-for!), so we decided today was the day to check it out.  Obviously, I didn't get the French Toast (there's NOTHING Weight Watchers about French Toast), but all of our food was delicious.  The service however, left a lot to be desired.  There was a wait when we got to the restaurant, but it WAS noon on a Sunday, so we were cool with that.  It was the fact that we waited OVER AN HOUR for our food AFTER we were seated that was a little bit of a problem.  Still, it was a pretty good experience, and if you have lots of time to kill on a Sunday, I suggest you check it out!

On the way home from lunch, Patrick and I made one last stop to pick up my early Valentine's Day gift.  Yes, I realize it's not really romantic to get your Valentine's gift BEFORE Valentine's Day, but since the Super Bowl Party is at my house next weekend, I needed this to go on my bed when people come over:

The rest of the day was spent watching this movie:

It is a GREAT movie!  Oh, and BTW, watching a movie on a laptop because you STILL don't have a DVD player isn't really all that bad.  =)

Now, I'm trying to get ready for the work week...it sure does make it hard when I have a fun weekend like this one...I'm determined this is going to be a good week though...fingers crossed!

What did you all do this weekend?  Hopefully, it was a great one!

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab my purse, my laptop, and my favorite outfit.  =)

2. A smell I really like is Black Raspberry Vanilla from Bath & Body Works and my beau's cologne.  I'm pretty senstive to smell though, so please nothing TOO strong!

3. Something you might not know about me is I love the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills...no, it's not something to be proud of, but that show is addictive!

4. Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are Facebook, Mint.com, and of course, Blogger.

5. This weekend I will work a little, relax a little, and play a little.  Stay tuned on Sunday or Monday to find out the full report!  =)

6. Nothing makes me happier than an unexpected day off work because of snow...unfortunately, I haven't had one of those this year, but it would make me REALLY happy!!!!!

7. A bad habit I have is driving too fast (don't worry Mom...I'm working on this).  I don't really have road rage, but I just like to get from Point A to Point B in shortest amount  of time possible!

If you would like to participate, head over to Lauren's blog and link up!

End of an Era!

So long Jeff Fisher...you will be missed!  You were one of the main reasons I became a Titans fan 11 years ago.  Here's hoping he has a successful career with his next team and that the Titans can recover from this pretty unscathed. 

Good luck Jeff and Go Titans!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

So, this past Monday was my first "weigh-in" with WeightWatchers!  I lost a total of 3.8 pounds, and I was pretty impressed by that!  I decided to devote this week's post to things I have learned in the last week:

1.  It's really hard to eat all of the points I am allowed everyday.  I get a ton of them!

2.  It's REALLY expensive to buy groceries when you are eating healthy!  Is it worth it?  Absolutely...but still, VERY expensive!

3.  Fruits and vegetables are my friends!  Not only do they have 0 Points, but they also taste great, are healthy, and have tons of fiber!

4.  I am not a fan of "logging" everything I eat.  WW sugests that you write everything you put in your mouth in a log and review it at the end of the week to see what worked for you that week and what didn't.  You would think this would be an OCD girl's dream...however...I HATE it!  I am trying my best to keep it up because it does make it easier to calculate points, but it's no fun!

5.  I feel sooooooo much better than I did a week ago!  I mean, seriously!  I'm not as tired, I'm not as hungry, I'm not as likely to be sick, and I'm a much faster runner! 

Okay, so I'm probably not THIS fast...but it's how I feel!  =)

6.  The processed TV dinners such as Lean Cuisine, SmartOnes, and Healthy Choice have wayyy more PointsPlus than they should based on how they taste.  In fact, I've pretty much cut them out of my diet!  The convenience just isn't worth it!

Stay tuned for next week's weight loss report! I know I'm definitely looking forward to it!  =)

#7 -- DONE!!!!!

I have been looking forward to this post ALL DAY LONG!  My new bedroom furniture finally arrived today, and I love it (although, I have to admit that it's WAYYYY bigger than I expected...I almost had a meltdown until they finished putting it together).  Now that I've had a few hours to take it all in, I couldn't be happier!  I'm so glad I added this to my 101 Things list!  Oh, and in case you were wondering, I decided on the bed with the storage underneath.  I loved the canopy bed, but I just had to go with a bed that sits up higher than that one did.  Here are a few pics!

Bed with the Chest of Drawers in the background

Dresser

Nightstand -- This is my favorite part since I've never had a nightstand before!

I still have a lot to do in this bedroom...starting with buying a comforter that is King sized instead of a Queen!  =)  However, I'm going to take my time and make sure I get exactly what I want!

Top Two Tuesday!

I am so excited about this week's Top Two Tuesday!  Since I'm trying to eat healthier (like a lot of people this time of year), I can't wait to see what everyone has suggested!

Top 2 Healthy Recipes and Snacks!

1.  Angel Food Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix

1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice (NOT Syrup!!!!!)

Mix ingredients together and fill cupcake pans 2/3 full.  Bake according to directions on Angel Food box.  Some people like to top with Cool Whip, but I think they are so good, they don't need anything!

These cupcakes are delicious!  AND, they are only 1 point on Weight Watchers PointPlus!  That's my kinda dessert!

2.  Italian Chicken Pasta Toss

Ingredients:
6-oz. uncooked bow tie pasta (about 3 cups)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow or red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut int 1-inch strips
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1-oz. (1/4 cup) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm. 

Meanwhile, dice tomatoes and chop onion.  Slice zucchni.  Cut bell pepper into thin strips and chicken crosswise into 1-in. strips.

Heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.  Press garlic into skillet.  Add chicken.  Stir-fry 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasoning mix and salt; stir-fry 2 minutes.  Add tomatoes; heat 1-2 minutes, stirring gently until heated through.  Remove from heat.

Stir in warm pasta.  Grate Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over pasta.  Serve immediately.

I found this recipe in one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks, and it is delicious!  You would never believe that it's healthy!

What are some of your favorite healthy snacks/recipes?  Head over to The Undomestic Momma and let us know!

#98 -- DONE!!!!!

When I made my 101 Things list, I never thought I would have to buy a laptop so soon!  However, unfortunately, I wasn't really left with a choice when my old laptop died a couple of months ago.

Thank goodness my beau is such a bargain hunter.  He found me the perfect laptop for a really good price.  The laptop I chose is made by Asus and it even has a 10-Key (a must have for us nerdy accountants) and a webcam.

Glad to back in the world of the technologically advanced again!

#56 -- DONE!!!!!

When I moved into my condo in November 2009, THIS is the monstrosity that was hanging in my half bathroom:

Yes, it really is THAT ugly!  I am really not sure what the previous owners were thinking, but to each his own, right?

After I had lived here for a few months, I found a new mirror that I thought would look much better, so I decided to go ahead and buy it.  However, it took forever for me to get it hung, hence the reason I added it to my 101 Things list! 

So, after living at my place for over a year, I finally replaced my ugly mirror with one that looks much more appropriate for the decor:

Weekend Update!

This was what will probably be my last "work-free" weekend until after April 15th, so I decided to make the most of it and have a really good time.  Friday night, Kat and I had our monthly "date night."  Since we are both trying to eat healthy, we decided that nothing sounded better than the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday!  They also have what is called their Fit and Trim menu with MANY selections under 700 calories.  Kat and I both agreed that our "less than 700 calorie" meal was wayyyyy too good to really be less than 700 calories.  If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should!  I know I'll be going back!  We had a great time and, as usual, sat and chatted wayyyy past the time our server wanted us to.  Oops!  =)

On Saturday morning, it was time for my final hair appointment until after tax day (can you see the theme here?).  =)  I just love a fresh hair cut...it's so nice knowing that your hair will do what you want it to for at least 4 weeks!

Saturday afternoon, I ran in my 2nd 5K -- the Nashville Zoo Run Run!  Since Alysia started running recently, she did it with me!  It was her first 5K and she did great!


The race was tons of fun!  However, it was also really hard!  I totally ignored the fact that there are TONS of hills at the zoo when I was training!  I was NOT prepared for that.  Because of the hills, I felt like I walked a lot more in this race than I did in the last one...however, I actually finished in 35:12...a full 1:24 better than the Resolution Run!  I was pretty proud of myself, but realized I have a long way to go if I am going to run in the half marathon...however, I have over 3 months to train, so I know I can do it!  Here are a few more pics of the day!


Me crossing the finish line...Patrick always wants a pic of me finishing the race, but as you can see I never seem to cooperate...maybe next time!  =)



Alysia and I have such good BFs!  They came out and cheered us on, even though it was UBER-cold out there! 

Saturday evening Patrick and I went to a friend's birthday dinner at a local Mexican restuarant, but because we both had busy weekends up to that point, we called it an early night!

Sunday was a super fun day because Patrick and I went to the circus with Chase and Maggie!  It was so much fun!  I love the circus and have looked forward to it all week.  This year's circus did not disappoint.  Here are a few of the cool pics I took:

The tigers were impressive, as always!

The elephants are definitely my favorites!

On the way back to the car after the show, we all had a conversation about what we would do if we traveled with the circus.  I said I would like to fly on the trapeze...however, that doesn't seem very realistic since I doubt any of those girls are a day over 22...therefore, if I had to pick something a little more reasonable, I would like to ride on the elephants!  That would be a BLAST! 

What would you be if you traveled with the circus?  =)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Since I started doing WeightWatchers this week, I thought I would devote Wednesdays to all things healthy and diet related.  I have done WeightWatchers before, but recently they have adopted a new program called PointsPlus.  I have to say that I actually like the new program a lot better, even though it is much more complicated.  And if it makes me look half as good as Jennifer Hudson, then I'm a believer.  =)

I thought a long time about posting my starting weight so you could follow me along on this journey.  However, I kind of decided that it doesn't really matter how much I weigh either now or after I am finished losing weight.  What matters is that I'm doing something to get healthy and that in the end, I am happy with the way my body looks.  Instead of stating my weight, I will say that as of Monday morning, I needed to lose 18 pounds to get to my goal weight.  I don't usually like to weigh myself more than once a week, but since I will be doing these posts on Wednesday, and my weigh-in day is on Monday, I will weigh myself 2 times per week.  AND, I am happy to report that when I weighed in this morning, I was down 2.2 pounds.  Now, I realize this is probably mostly water weight, but I'll be honest, I don't really care!  I'm just happy that the pounds are coming off! 

I'll definitely keep you updated on how this experience is going...and you can be guaranteed that when I'm done, I will definitely be posting an "after picture."  =)

Top Two Tuesday!

Oh, I feel like I haven't blogged in forever!  I wasn't sure I'd have time to blog my Top Two Tuesday this week, but I am soooo glad I did because I am so excited about this week's topic:

Top 2 Outfits You're Loving for Spring

1.  Trench Coat from The Limited

I have always wanted a trench coat, but we just don't get enough rain here in Middle TN to justify it.  Oh, well, at least I can dream, right?

2.  Dress from The Limited

Since The Limited is my absolute favorite store, I thought I definitely had to include this adorable dress!  Doesn't it make you want to head to a warmer climate right this minute?

Head over to Taylor's blog and tell me what your favorite spring outfits are!

Weekend Update!

Once again, I am very diligent with my blogging at the beginning of the week and then it all falls apart at the end of the week.  Oh, well, part of that may be because of my fun, fun weekend!  Even though it was a fun weekend, it was still one without pictures, so this update will be pretty short and sweet.

Friday night, it all started with Patrick's Work Christmas Party...well, it was originally a Christmas Party, but since it was post-poned because of weather back in December, I guess it was really just a fun get together.  This year's party was held at the restaurant, Allium, and it was delicious!  Patrick was in charge of this year's party, and he did a great job, if I do say so myself!  There was lots of fun conversation, lots of food, and lots of wine!  Maybe a little too much wine.  =)  Oh, and that reminds me...supposedly organic wine is supposed to really help control hangovers...well, let me be the first to say, that is a big load of crap!!!!!

On Saturday morning, after spending a little time hanging out with my beau, it was time for Andi and Ginger to arrive from Knoxville!  They decided to come to town this weekend to hang out before I got really busy at work!  We had so much fun!  All we did was shop, eat, and relax!  It was so fun getting to catch up with both of them. 

On Sunday, I went for a short run, relaxed a little bit by myself, and then Patrick and I headed to look for furniture!  I am happy to report that a decision was made and it will be delivered this Friday!  Woohoo!  I cannot wait!  No word, yet, on which bedroom suite I picked...I'm waiting until it's delivered this weekend to show all of my bloggy friends.  =)

Well, that's about all from my weekend!  Hopefully, all of you are having a wonderful week so far!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Thank goodness it's Wednesday!  This week has been so long, and I am so glad to at least be on the other side of it.  Here's what I'm loving on this cold, cold Wednesday:

1.  I'm loving that my Knoxville friends are coming to town this weekend.  That can only mean one thing...shopping, shopping, shopping!  Can't wait to catch up with everyone!

2.  I'm loving that I'm buying new bedroom furniture soon!  I got my current bedroom suit when I was 13 and have used the same one ever since.  Therefore, this furniture purchase is long overdue, and I cannot wait! Here is a pic of the 2 that I am deciding between.  Opinions welcome PLEASE!

3.  I'm loving that because it snowed on Monday, that my beau and I got to go sledding:

Don't worry...I wouldn't let Patrick go down the same hill this girl broke her back on last year!

4.  I'm loving that I FINALLY took down my Christmas decorations last night!  That was officially the LONGEST they have ever been up!

What are you loving?  Head over to Jamie's blog and link up!

#4 -- DONE!!!!!

So, this post is REALLY, REALLY late...however, I just haven't had time to get my 101 Things posts done lately.  Late in 2010, I decided that there wasn't a better time than the present to attempt to run in my first 5K.  Seeing as how my friend, Kathleen is a super-serious runner (i.e. she's ran in several half marathons and even one full marathon), I begged her to run a 5K with me.  The begging part came into play because the race I decided to run was held at 10:00 am on 1/1/11!  Yep, you read that right, I signed up to run a 5K on New Year's Day morning after being up late celebrating the new year the night before...not my brightest moment.  Either way, she agreed, and I started training.

I know this is silly, but I was soooo much more nervous about this race than I was about the half marathon that I walked in November!  I honestly just didn't know if I could do it...and I don't say that often, so you can imagine how stressful this was for me!  It didn't help that on Friday night before the race (i.e. New Year's Eve), I stayed up later than I intended and I had a couple more drinks than I intended.  Regardless, I pulled myself out of bed early on Saturday morning, got dressed and headed downtown.

After getting to the race, Kathleen had to "show me the ropes" and told me I needed to get my bib and also get my chip to record my time.  Well, I went to get my bib, and you are never going to believe this...my bib number was #1!!!!!  Okay, so apparently, I was the first person to register for this race...that's not embarrassing (insert extreme sarcasm here!!!!!).  Anywho, I got over it when I had the following conversation with a volunteer:

Volunteer:  So, do you know your bib #?
Me:  Yes, I do...it's #1.
Volunteer:  Seriously?  You are really #1?
Me:  Yes, I'm afraid so.
Volunteer:  Wow!  I feel honored to meet you!!!!!

No one has EVER felt "honored to meet" me before, so I decided to just get over it and run.  =)

The race started and I quickly realized that a lot of people were walking the race...once I realized I wouldn't finish last, I really relaxed and started enjoying myself.  I won't say that I ran the entire race, and I also won't say that it was the easiest thing I have ever done, but when I knew I was coming up on the end, I knew I could finish this.  It was such a good feeling to know that I had accomplished something that I truly wasn't sure I could do.  As I approached the finish line, I hear someone cheering me on, and I look up to see Kathleen and Mickey (who had finished before me), then I crossed the finish line and saw my beau over to the side snapping pictures.  I was seriously proud of myself for this accomplishment! 

I'm the one in grey -- I HATE this picture of myself...I only included it to prove that I was actually running.  =)

Me at the finish line with Kat and Mickey!

One last finish line pic!

That evening, the scores were posted and turns out my finishing time was 36:25...not too shabby for my first time!  Stay tuned for more races in the future.  =)

11 in 2011: Day 11 -- What Are You Looking Forward to in 2011

Day 11:  What Are You Looking Forward to in 2011

There are so many things to look forward to this year...I am excited for tax season to end, I am excited to participate in the Country Music Half Marathon, I am excited for a fun summer, I am excited about going on several trips this year, and I am excited about spending time with family and friends.  I can't think of any 1 thing I am looking forward to more than another, but I definitely think this will be a fun year, and I can't wait to see what happens!

Well, this is the last day of 11 in 2011...a special thanks to Kit and MJ for hosting!  It was a great way to start the year!

Weekend Update!

I know that I've mentioned it more times than any of you care to read, but here I go again...I am a CPA; I do taxes; this means that my life sucks from approximately February 1 - April 15 (although this year the lovely IRS has pushed the deadline back 3 extra days until April 18 -- THANK YOU IRS) every single year.  I have been doing this since the spring of 2002; you would think I would be used to it...however, I have to admit that it only gets harder each year.  Yes, I love my job, and yes, I feel VERY fortunate to have such a steady, stable income in this very rocky economy...however, every year I have to remind myself that this is what I signed up for back in the Fall of 2001 when I declared a major in college.  This brings me to the reason for this post (sorry, I rambled a little bit).  Part of my "gearing up" process every year includes a short trip with my beau so that he and I can get some QT in before I fall into the dark abyss also known as "tax season." 

This year we chose Louisville, KY!  Neither of us had ever been there (which is rare for the 2 of us), but we had both heard wonderful things about it.  We even found an excellent deal at The Brown Hotel, an historic Four Diamond hotel in downtown Louisville.  After checking in around 7:30 on Friday night we both agreed that it did not disappoint.  Because I was a serious slacker and failed to take pictures, here are a few pics from their website, just so you an get an idea:

After getting settled in and unpacked, we were both starving!  Because Patrick is the KING at hunting down delicious restaurants in obscure places, I knew this was one aspect of the trip I could completely turn over to him.  After a short drive to The Mayan Cafe, we were ordering food in no time.  Having never eaten Mayan food before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but we ordered the Chile Relleno for an appetizer and I decided on the Chilaquile for dinner.  It was very delicious, and surprisingly didn't seem all that unhealthy.  Here are a few pics (doesn't it all look delicious?):

Chile Relleno

Chilaquile

After we fed our bellies, we decided that it was time to head to the Fourth Street Live area of Louisville.  This is a fun area in the middle of downtown that is closed off to traffic and is actually covered.  There are tons of restaurants and bars in this area and pretty much if you can't find something you like, then you just don't like anything.  =)  First we checked out the sports bar called The Sports and Social Club; then we made a quick stop in Ri Ra Irish Pub for one last drink before heading back to the hotel for the evening.  As we left the bar, prepared to walk back to the hotel, we were greeted by this sight:

It was absolutely beautiful, but we were relieved that it wasn't necessary for us to drive anywhere.  Of course, in true Patrick and Melrose fashion, we HAD to have some fun in the snow:

After sleeping in a little bit on Saturday, we were finally up and ready to go.  Because we didn't really want to move our car, we found out about a free trolley that was available all day until 6:00 pm.  The only problem...you had to stand at a Trolley Stop and wait on it because it didn't stop at most stops unless someone either needed to get off or someone was waiting there to get on.  Let me explain the problem with that...it was COLD!!!!!  And I don't mean "a normal winter" cold...I mean a bone chilling "I can't let any part of my skin be exposed to the air" kind of cold.  I think that when I declared that I've never felt cold like that in my life that Patrick thought I was being a little over-dramatic...I promise, I was being serious...it was FREEZING!!!!!  Anywho, back to my weekend.  After we waited on the Trolley to come get us, we were very happy inside because it was VERY warm and very cute.

We also loved the Trolley because it took us to Toast on Market for breakfast.  That place was YUMMY!  Patrick got the The King french toast and I got the Monte Cristo french toast.  Another win for Patrick and his restaurant picking abilities.  Next stop the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory!  This was the one thing I had really been interested in doing and it was very fun.  They were actually making bats that day in the factory, so we were able to actually see the process which was very informative.  Here are a few pics from random parts of the experience:

The front of the building -- yes, this is a 120 foot tall bat!

Close-up of the bat!

Patrick holding an actual bat used by Cal Ripken, Jr.

Patrick in the batting cages after the factory tour!

Me taking a break with my beau after a fun time of learning about baseball bats!

After the tour, we were both pretty beat from both the excitement of the day and the freezing temperatures.  Therefore, we decided to head back to the hotel and relax for a little while before dinner.  Speaking of dinner, we had another delicious meal.  We decided to stay indoors that evening and have a nice dinner at the Lobby Lounge in the hotel which consisted of this concoction:

The Hot Brown!

After taking a little nap after dinner (the turkey really got to me), we decided to head back to Fourth Street Live for a second night.  After a minor amount of begging and pleading on my part, my beau agreed to call a cab instead of making me suffer outside by walking the short quarter of a mile walk to the bar.  On this night, the bar we decided to check out was Howl at the Moon.  This is your typical dueling piano bar and honestly, there are fewer things I enjoy more!  I think it is so fun to sing, and dance, and people watch.  We had a great time!

Again, after sleeping in on Sunday, it was time to say goodbye to our humble abode for the weekend.  Our next stop was lunch at our token BBQ joint of the trip.  See, my beau is a serious connoisseur of BBQ and therefore, every time we leave the city of Nashville, we eat BBQ.  Again, this place was delicious, but I'll be honest, I can't remember the name of it, I can't find it on Yelp and Patrick is busy with the boys watching the National Championship Game tonight (go Auburn!) so I'm just going to keep going.  Maybe he'll leave a comment with the name of this place...I feel like I should give it a shout out because it was that delicious!

Our final stop of the trip was Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby).  I expected this to be a short stop just to see what it looks like, but I was totally wrong!  There was a museum, a movie, and even a tour of the grounds.  Honestly, this was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It makes me want to head back during the first weekend in May to see what it's like on Derby Day!  As always, here are some pics:

Me at the entrance...

Patrick at the entrance (we didn't do such a great job of getting the 2 of us in the same picture...I think it was too cold) =)

The track of the KY Derby!

The Finish Line!

After spending some time at Churchill Downs, it was officially time to head home.  =(  We had a fantastic time though, and I'm so thankful that we are able to spend these times together.  I think it's trips like this where we really get to appreciate each other and I am reminded of how happy I am to have this guy in my life:

Sorry, Patrick!  This pic just cracked me up and I HAD to include it!  =)