99 Things

I got tagged... so here it is!

Instructions:
Copy the list, bold the ones you've done (with explanations if needed), share with friends.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain (spent my early years in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia)
9. Held a praying mantis (in the second grade)
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a thunder and lightning storm (learned to be fascinated by them early on, but don't like the destructive ones!)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Candlewicking... should do more of that)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort (early years in Virginia, 'member?)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (both!! Absolutely breathtaking on Grand Cayman)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (workin' on it now with Rosetta Stone!)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (once upon a time)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (LOVE to do that with my hubby)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Snorkled in Grand Cayman and Hawaii)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (if home movies count, then yes... lots!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (I had a medical transcription service)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (my dream vacation... on my bucket list)
63. Got flowers for no reason (my husband is very, very thoughtful)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (only once, but can't now because of my blood disorder)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (over the volcano on Maui - beautiful)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I probably should get those from my parents' house!)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (don't even get me started)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (several)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle (Shhh... don't tell my daddy)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (won't ever do that again!)
83. Walked in Jerusalem (also on the bucket list)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (as a kid in Virginia, with a 9' tall Easter egg when I was 15, as a Planoette drill team member, with Leadership Plano)
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (Christian singer Steve Green, former Dallas Cowboys Tony Dorsett and Randy White)
92. Joined a book club (miss being in one)
93. Got a tattoo (nope and won't)
94. Had a baby (...several in Heaven)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (following a car accident)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And we said, "Yes, we'd LOVE to!"

It's good to have friends.

It's better to have friends with lake houses!

D & B, our dear friends, recently purchased a house at a nearby lake. Now D & B have been favorite travel buddies for a long time, and they're VERY generous people. When they asked us if we'd like to go and spend a long weekend at their new place, of course we accepted. (We could do that because I'm on vacation this week, so rushing back home wasn't an issue.)

We envisioned a little cabin near the water with rustic fixtures and dated plumbing. Perhaps the deck would need a little refinishing to keep our feet from getting splinters (when we walk barefoot on it in the summertime of course). Maybe the bathroom would be damp and cold, and perhaps the bedroom would be dark and creepy.

Um.

We. were. wrong.

Here's what we saw when we drove up.
And then another view with our vehicles in front:

We entered to find an awesome "great room."

Looking from the fireplace towards the kitchen:

Check. out. this. stone. fireplace.

Dining room. Seats eight. (Other chairs in front of window.)

Gorgeous HUGE kitchen with granite counter tops. (I don't have those in my regular house, much less my non-existent lake house!)

Pretty hand-painted tiles.

Cozy breakfast nook.

Master bedroom. View out the window just to my right is simply a.m.a.z.i.n.g. You'll see it below.

Part of the master bath. Marble Jacuzzi tub? Yes, ma'am!

These stairs lead down to a whole other adventure.

The game room with a big flat screen for the "Guitar Hero" players in the family.

The bar/kitchenette downstairs.

Downstairs bedroom #1.

Downstairs bath. Two-sink vanity with TONS of cabinet and drawer space (most of which is not pictured) and a great shower/tub.

Downstairs bedroom #2.

Each floor has its own laundry area. I'll spare you those photos (you KNOW I took them!) 'cuz I'm pretty sure you've all seen washers and dryers before.

But back upstairs, we went out on the looooooong deck that runs the length of the house. There's a brand new five-burner grill that Studly Man helped to assemble and inaugurate at the end of it.

And sweet Snickers joined us for the trip. Doncha just wanna hug him?

Snickers LOVES Uncle Studly Man.

But the best part?

What's that you say?

What's the very BEST part of the house?

Why, the view, of course!

And the view at sunset

D & B will retire here in a few years. For now, it is a lovely place to escape for the weekend or heck, for a whole week! Some furniture and accessories remain on order, so it will become more like home with every trip.

Now, here's some irony. The picture below is the house of D & B's new next door neighbors. Pretty, right?

Take a close look at that gorgeous double front door.

Yep, Studly designed and built that steel entry way about eight years ago. He even stood on the slab of what is now D & B's new lake house before it was completed and sold to its first owner. (Same builder built both houses.) How's THAT for a small world!?!?

We had a great time. We hung paintings and valances and cooked steaks on the new grill. We watched several movies and slept in late. I think between all the cell phones present, we collectively had three incoming phone calls the whole time. Ah.... the quiet.

And ya know what's even more exciting? We have some OTHER really dear friends who have recently bought a house on ANOTHER lake (not quite as nearby, but close), and we've been invited out there, too! In fact, we've tried to get out there, but got sick. SKay, get ready!! We're headed your way. ;)

Coughin' and Sneezin'

Cough.

Cough. Cough.

Sneeze.



Cough. Cough.


Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.


Sneeze. Sneeze.


Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough. Cough.

Sneeze. Sneeze.



Sneeze.

CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough CoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCoughCough

Amen.


That's my life. In a nutshell. Just ask my friend Suze who has listened to it every.single.day.


It's been a tough few weeks what with all that coughing and sneezing. Haven't felt like blogging. But now?


NOW...


I'm better.

Finally.


And I'm on vacation.


I don't have to work again until January 26.


Jealous much?


Perhaps I'll stop by here some this next week and REALLY write something worthwhile.


Until then...


Happy trails.