What a Day!

Well... as usual I wasn't looking forward to going back to work yesterday. I mean since changing jobs it's gotten a lot better, but Monday's still stink. Especially after a LONG holiday weekend. As I was walking into the office, I was totally thinking about the "somebody's got a case of the Mondays" line from Office Space. Anyway, when I got inside the day didn't get any better.

Apparently, at some point over the weekend the ceiling in my office collapsed. I'm not just talking about a small hole or even a big hole... I'm talking about a HUGE hole in my ceiling! 8 x 12 feet to be exact.

Now we have no idea what happened... I mean the ceiling wasn't wet and there's nothing stored in the attic above my office. The best we can guess is that it's an old ceiling and it just gave way after all of these years. On the way down, the ceiling took out a table I had under my window with some plants on it. It also dented the top of my metal file cabinet and banged my printer.

Yep... that's a huge piece of plaster smacked up against my office chair. I sure am glad this happened when I was out of the office!

We cleaned up a huge pile of ceiling plaster and 6 large garbage bags of fiberglass insulation. Needless to say I was VERY itchy by the end of the day. I have had to temporarily set up shop in another office until my ceiling gets repaired. Now instead of having my huge 15 x 20 office all to myself, I am sharing a 12 x 12 office with two of my coworkers. I hope my office gets fixed quick! After all of this I was definitely having a case of the Mondays!

Happy 4th of July!

Craig and I spent our 4th in downtown Kingsport watching the annual fireworks display. I was honestly surprised that our little town had such a good display. Hope you all had a great 4th as well!

Happy Birthday Kori!

Sunday, Craig and I went out to Logan's for my friend Kori's birthday. I hadn't seen Kori since I changed jobs at the end of February... definitely too long to go between visits. It was great to see her and catch up on all of the gossip from the old job.

I must say though, that I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a penis birthday cake again this year!

Vacation Out West...

Well, we're finally back from our Vacation in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. We spent a week at my sister Tina's house and drove to the surrounding sights during the day. Here's a breakdown:

Sight # 1--Idaho Potato Museum. For real... this is no joke!

Sight # 2--Yellowstone. We went on Tuesday in the snow and froze... then again on Sunday in the sun and got burned!

Sight # 3--Grand Tetons and Jackson Wyoming

Sight # 4--Mesa Falls and Ranger Station


Sight # 5--EBR-1
Sight # 6--Craters of the Moon lava fields... in the middle of the Idaho desert (who would have thought?!?)

Sight # 7--Sand dunes (again, who would have thought) where Craig pulled the car off of the road and we got STUCK and had to be pulled out by strangers passing by!!!


Sight # 8--Harriman State Park

It was a LONG and BUSY trip, but definitely a lot of fun. Who would have thought there would be so much to do in Idaho and the surrounding states?!?

Idaho or Bust!

Yesterday, Craig, Erin, and I flew from Charlotte to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews who live in Idaho. We flew into Salt Lake City, Utah and then drove to Idaho Falls.

Pictures and details to follow...

Sydney's a Graduate!

For the past 6 weeks Sydney has been enrolled in a beginner's obedience class. Sydney's teacher, Judy Pinkevich, is the Training Director for the Greater Kingsport Kennel Club and she is awesome! She can train a dog to do anything! Over the past 6 weeks Sydney has learned sit, down, stay, come, heal (in a circle and figure 8), wait, finish, pass, shake, high five, and a few pieces of agility equipment. We also cured his little jumping "problem" in a matter of 2 minutes! Anyway, tonight was the last of the beginner's classes. For all of his hard work Judy gave Sydney a new chew toy and a lovely diploma. We're so proud of our little guy... he's growing up so fast!
We're both VERY excited to begin the advanced obedience and perhaps agility classes in the coming months!

Recipe Swap

Okay... in Response to Holly's recipe challenge I thought that I would post one of my favorites--drunk chicken (a.k.a. beer butt chicken)! This is also super easy and a lot of fun to do during the summer months. Here's what you've gotta do:

• 1 whole chicken
• salt
• pepper
• other favorite spices
• olive oil
• 1 can of beer (any kind will do)
• 1 beer can chicken holder (optional... this can be found in the grilling section at any Walmart)

Rinse the chicken inside and out, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and any other favorite seasonings. Rinse the beer can, open it, and drink half!!! Place the can with the remainder of the beer inside the chicken (that's right... up the butt). Stand the chicken upright on the grill and cook until the internal temperature is at least 180 degrees. Remove the beer can using tongs and oven mits. The yeast in the beer will help to make the skin crispy while keeping the meat moist. Enjoy!