Weekend in Review

This weekend was wonderful! We started our weekend off by enjoying dinner and coffee with Casey and Jo. It is so great to spend quality time with friends.
On Saturday, Bryan and I participated in the Medical Center 10K and 5K Run/Walk. This has kind of become a tradition for us. Bryan did very well and I managed to even run a little bit during the 5K. My time was so much better than last year's even with all of the walking that I did. Weird, huh? Later that evening Bryan and I, along with several others from our weekly Bible Study group, went out to dinner and then went shopping together. We decided we were going to participate in Operation Christmas Child this year. We bought items to fill shoeboxes that will be shipped overseas near the end of November. These shoeboxes will arrive sometime during the Christmas season to children in other countries. We decided we were tired of just talking about helping others and set out to actually do something.
Bryan and I vegged out for the first part of the day on Sunday and then we played disc golf. After we finished our last hole, we decided we weren't quite hungry enough for dinner so we drove out into the countryside to take some photos. We weren't looking for anything in particular. We would just spot some pretty fall colors and stop to take some photos. We would drive a little bit more and then stop and take more. It was really fun. Once it became so dark that we couldn't see anymore we decided we were going to go to Red Lobster for some tasty shrimp. Those Red Lobster commercials really are tempting and we just couldn't resist.

As we were eating up our delicious meal, I just kept thinking about how much has changed over the past few years. I have experienced so much. I am so blessed.

I really liked the tree in the middle of this field with the black and white cows. I asked Bryan to stop and get a photo for me.

We took this one when it was almost completely dark. I think the shutter speed was set to 30 seconds. It was so dark that we did not see the two deer that are in the grass near the tree line until after we opened the photos up on the computer.

Smiling for the camera :)

I took this photo. I was proud that I actually got Bryan in focus using his camera. :)

"This has been fun."

Bryan and I were discussing on our way to dinner tonight how much fun we had today. Bryan said, "This has been fun." That summed up how I felt and the fun wasn't even over. We spent the day with Nathan and Kelly in Nashville. We started out by just catching up while drinking coffee at Starbucks. Then we enjoyed lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (my favorite). We browsed the mall for a few minutes, explored the shops near the Whole Foods in Green Hills, and then Nathan suggested we go see the George Eastman House Collection at the Frist. Let me just say the exhibit was fantastic! The Rodin exhibit was also being featured so I was even able to see "The Thinker." On our way back to the car, we had a little fun on the huge sphere sculptures and even shot a little bit of our own photography. Kelly and Nathan had to get to the airport so we had to part ways with them there. We were sad to say goodbye, but we are already looking forward to the next time we can see them. I tried talking Bryan into eating at P. F. Chang's for dinner but he really wasn't up for it so we ended up eating at Chili's. After dinner, Bryan suggested that we take 31W back up to Bowling Green instead of the interstate. Because I am trying to be more spontaneous, I was up for it. We had a great time watching the sun set and spending time together. My day was full of great friends and great fun! I couldn't be happier right now!

I'm not sure why we wanted to get on these spheres but it was rather humorous!

Once Bryan was up, we didn't know how I was going to get on too.

This kind gentleman wanted to see us succeed so he helped us. Notice Nathan is capturing the moment on the ground and Kelly shot this from another angle. (Thanks, Kelly and Nathan)

Finally up and trying to steady ourselves.

I was holding on for dear life! We are so silly!

Cheese!!

Our best friends who we love dearly, Kelly and Nathan (he's doing what he does best)

Fall Break

This week has gone by so quickly. My fall break was just that, a break. I didn't travel anywhere and I didn't work on any school work. Bryan and I just hung out because he took the week off with me. After decorating and cleaning the house for fall I spent the rest of the week enjoying the nice weather. It was rainy a few days but that brought on some cooler weather for a fews days. I can't say that it has been very cool today though.
We played disc golf several times during the week and we even ventured back to Hobson Grove today. I scored an 82 which for Hobson I think is really good for me. I managed to not have to hunt through the woods very much for my discs but I fell off the first tee box, skinned my knee, and twisted my ankle. At first I thought our afternoon was going to be similar to the last time we tried Hobson and left after hole 5 but it proved to be not so challenging this time around.
I still haven't decided if I am going to paint the office. I am leaning towards not. I think I am just going to look for a different window treatment for now and call that good. We did start painting the doors in our house yesterday. I know it's a little late in the week but at least it is a start. Working with oil based paint is not very fun and I think Bryan and I were both dreading it. It's not so bad. It just takes a very long time for the paint to dry. I am sure we will be working on the doors for several weeks but at least we are doing something. Bryan also got the estimate for the materials for our garage and just has to get one more and then we will order them from the cheapest company. Yay!!
We went up to Jackson's Orchard this weekend and searched for the perfect pumpkin and also took some pictures for our four picture frames in the dining room. We try to change out the pictures for the season and since Bryan has improved in his photography skills over the past year the pictures are turning out really nice. We also picked up some delicious pumpkin butter and butternut squash while we were there.

Our dogs have had a big week. Bella went for some shots this weeks at the vet, we think Sophie is about to go into heat so hopefully we will have another round of puppies in a few months, and both dogs got haircuts. Sophie looks about the same but poor Bella was puppy cut and their version of a puppy cut and our version of a puppy cut did not quite match up. She looks so little. Let's just say I hope that her hair grows fast in the next week or two because she doesn't have much hair on her at all.

We also had a home visit from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Bryan is going to be a Big Brother! They came to inspect the safety of our house and to meet me which is one of the steps that you have to go through to be a participant. Bryan decided a few months ago that he wanted to do something and decided being a Big Brother would be a good opportunity to make a difference. He should be matched up to someone in the next month or two and then he will meet weekly with them starting in January. Bryan has also started up Kentucky ActionShots again so he has been busy the past few Saturday mornings. He has already gotten several orders and requests for more photo shoots!
Last night we went to see the movie Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was cute but not the greatest movie in the world by any means. I figured Bryan would have said that he hated it when we were discussing our thoughts about the movie as we were were walking to the car and heading home like we do with any other movie but he asked me if I ever wished my life was like the characters. I was puzzled at first but after some questioning I realized he meant spontaneous. We are not very spontaneous. We might be two of the least spontaneous people in the world. We plan out everything. But that got us thinking. We are going to try to be more spontaneous. Whether that brings good or bad, I'll try to update on our spontaneity.

To Paint or Not to Paint

So here is my dilemma. Bryan and I have been in this house for a little over a year and a half and I have already grown sick of my color choice in the office. I had a brief moment where I almost painted the bedroom again but I got over that once I found some amazing bedding that I would love to have from Pottery Barn. Since it is my fall break I have been dying to change something like renovate the bathroom or put in our order for new countertops that we are going to get around to one day or even (and I know it would be a miracle) actually start on the garage. Ok that is a sore subject in itself but I have really been wanting to do something. So I got the bright idea that for about $60 (the cost of about 2 gallons of paint) I could completely change the look of our office. Our office is currently a very light shade of blue. It is the only room in the entire house that is not a warm color and I have never really been satisfied with the color. You can see the room when you walk in the front door and it does blend well with the living room but I think a light burnt orange would go just as nicely as the blue. If you feel so inclined, please help me decide what to do by casting a vote. ----->

The current office color:

Here is our living room decorated for fall:

I chose an easier spread for the dining room table this year so that it is easier to move when we have a lot of food to put on the table. I decided to put all the pine cones, pumpkins, gourds, and candles in a basket.