More scenes...

Here are some more scenes from our Thanksgiving.

my awesome Grandpa, complete with his brand new Liberty overalls.

My dad basting our country ham. The best EVER. In other news, I am so glad that the elections are finally over in Georgia. You guys all thought that the election slanderizing (oops, I mean, advertising) were over after November 4, but we were blessed to be able to hear/see them for another month. Ronald Reagan's son even called me to ask for my vote for Saxby Chambliss. Does that stuff really work for them?

Now maybe all these newly elected officials can get back to Washington and get some work done!

Scenes from Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving I found myself being thankful for simple things. Basic/reliable transportation, safe travel, quiet doggies, meaningful conversations with family and friends, mine and Scott's jobs, my grandparents, financial stability...

We met in Chattanooga via separate cars- me in my new (to me at least) car (with the puppies in tow). We enjoyed a wonderful, low key Thanksgiving with my family (minus Megan, the little twerp) and my mom's parents. We found out the Monday before Thanksgiving that Scott's last remaining grandparent, Maw Maw (age 92) had passed away. So Black Friday held a different meaning for us this year- it was a day of mourning and celebrating the life of his grandmother. Maw Maw was the first member of Scott's family that I met. Since she lived in Tuscumbia, AL, she was the closest relative to Scott when we lived in Nashville. His family has always been so warm and inviting towards me. Anyway, we traveled to and from Tuscumbia on Friday for the funeral and got to spend a lot of time with Scott's family. Below are some images from our Thanksgiving.

Also, my sister-in-law posted some pictures of our Friday with Scott's extended family here. There are some fun photos of Scott's brother getting "fresh" with Helen Keller at her birthplace. So goofy.

My beautiful pecan pie that I made. Check out the leaf cut outs on the edges. I was so proud. :)

Maddie with Rumi (Megan's dog)

my new car...a black 2007 RAV4. Yeah!

Our lovely table setting...

More later...my connection is entirely too slow tonight!

Gotta go back in time...

So lately I've been feeling like I'm in "Back to the Future" or something. The Saab is gone and once we received the check from State Farm for it, I had five days to let go of the "gangsta mobile" or else we would have to begin paying the entire amount for the rental fees. Not going to happen. And, we being the cautious Copelands, did not want to go out and buy another car immediately. So what did we do? Well, my Dad graciously offered me my old car. The one he bought me when I was 18- a 1996 Subaru Outback Impreza (first model of the Outback series.) It has 169,000 miles, but it drives great. No A/C or heat, but who's complaining? Not me...

Many of you may remember "The Sube." Because I had the "new" car in college, I drove all over the Southeastern United States on road trips. This car has been to Savannah, Memphis, countless trips to Chattanooga, Knoxville, Atlanta, Callaway Gardens, Columbus, Asheville and many other cities I'm sure. I even spent the night in it a few times (college kids don't have extra money lying around for hotel rooms and gas was about 99 cents/gallon back then.)

When I was 23 and suddenly a "grown up" I decided I would sell "The Sube" back to my dad for my little sister, Maddie, to drive (these daddy deals always seem to work in my favor, but that's another post for another day.) Now the car has Maddie's mark all over it. The bumper stickers on the back say "Forever Bluegrass", "GPS Alumna" and "Keep your butt in your car, the earth is not your ashtray!" I love it...

So while we are looking for a "deal" on a new car, I will be pretending I am 18 again... cruising the streets in "The Sube" with all these great bumper stickers on the back. What a great trip down memory lane...

You want to know what the best part of this story is? Once we buy a car, I am going to donate the car to the Hephzibah Children's Home here in Macon and another young driver will get to drive the beloved "Sube." My dad gets a tax deduction and a young kid gets transportation- a win/win for all.

My Saab Story...

My beautiful, black Saab met its match last Wednesday when a large deer ran in front of it. I have mixed feelings about this. In many ways, it's like the end of an era. This car was the first car I ever bought by myself. It was my "I'm a single and successful young woman" car that I bought when I was 23. It's almost symbolic of that time period of my life. I almost cried when I went today and cleaned it out. It's been a constant in my life and has seen me get married, buy our first home, take a step of faith and move to Georgia, buy our second home and now as we are trying to sell and move again. There was nothing like the carefree feeling of driving the rural roads of Georgia with my sunroof open, radio blaring and turbo engine revving. I'm very sad that this car had to go "this way."

At the same time, we've been needing a new car and were just holding on to this car until the right "deal" came along. And thankfully the insurance company gave us way more money than we could have gotten for a trade-in or even a private seller. AND, most importantly, the car did its job and protected me from harm.

So, I leave you with pictures of my car...may it rest in peace.

The Happiest Place on Earth...

Ok guys,

Here's my long overdue post about Disney World. I'm reliving that week in my mind since this past week has been so awful. By the way, Friday night our hot water heater broke and leaked water all over the garage, and the home warranty technicians can't come until Monday morning, soooo no hot water all weekend. What a way to top off the week!

So back to the "happiest place on earth..." I would certainly agree with that statement. I was certainly happy while I was down there. We stayed at the Pop Century resort and bought park hopper passes. We went to all the parks, rode all the rides and ate like the princesses we all are. Side note, stay on Disney property and use the dining plan. Wow...we ate at all the best restaurants. Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada in Epcot was the best (in my opinion.)

We had some great girl time, although no craziness like the last trip. Maybe having the older sister along as a "chaperone" was good for Gina and I... we tend to get in trouble when we are alone. :)

I leave you with some fun pics from our trip...

Us with Winnie the Pooh at The Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom.

Us with Piglet (my favorite character).

We saw En Vogue at Epcot all three nights they were there. What an amazing live concert! Shandra and I knew just about every word to every song they sang. Brought me back to the 90's. For all those that don't remember they sang such songs as "Free Your Mind", "Whatta Man (w/ Salt and Peppa), "Don't Let Go", "Never Gonna Get It", etc. Such a great concert .

And if Gina will give me permission, I'll post a hilarious photo of her with her anti-snoring device.

All in all a GREAT week.

I'm a gangsta...

Hey guys,

wow, it's been almost a month since I updated anything. A LOT has changed. I went to Disney World with my friend, Gina and her sister, Shandra. We had a BLAST. I'll post more about that later (with some great photos!)

Right after I got back from Disney, I began work as the Interim Executive Director at the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority. It's a lot of responsibility, but I'm enjoying learning new things that will hopefully help me in my career down the road. The job is part of the reason I haven't posted anything in a while. My brain is just too pooped to blog at the end of the day.

Now, to get to the title of this post...

Yesterday I was minding my own business driving and a deer decided to commit suicide and ran DIRECTLY in front of me on the rural highway I drive to work. I swerved to miss it, but almost head on collided with a huge gravel truck. I really am lucky to be alive right now, but my car is totaled. Luckily, my co-worker was on her way to work and was an angel. She met me at a gas station and waited on the deputy and the wrecker to tow my car. Scott came home early and we got a rental car. So now we will probably be in the market for a car and unfortunately our "car fund" is in mutual funds/stocks. Bad timing. We were hoping that my car would last another year and then we'd be in better shape to buy one. Keep us in your prayers as we embark on this journey. I hate HAVING to buy a car.

Anyway, here's my car for the next couple of weeks...a Chevrolet HHR. Scott and I call it my "gangsta car." Whatcha think? Does it fit me?

Update

hey guys,

sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I told you from the beginning that my life isn't too much to "blog" about (like that play on words?) :)

Not too much going on here besides living in two different cities. I'm working a lot with both my jobs (which is good) and I am trying to find a job and sell a house in the worst financial crisis since the great depression (which is bad.) I have a job interview tomorrow for a job that I'm very interested in and would be great for my schedule (lots of travel and I can work from home from here or Lawrenceville.) Please think of me and utter a quick prayer on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.

I just got back from Savannah for a conference and will be leaving Sunday for Disney World with my wild, crazy and long time friend Gina. I'm sure there will be lots of blog-worthy material that comes from this trip. Let's see... last time we went we 1) got sushi and saki bought for us by a single guy at Shogun, 2) ate dinner with Disney characters 3) crashed a private party in downtown Disney 4) I got hit on by the "bouncer" i.e. the young associate for the company hosting the party- he gave me his card and told me to call him if I ever got divorced! Wow!

I can't wait to spend some quality time with my longest friend. We've known each other since we were 5 years old. Still going strong 25 years later!

here's a couple of pics from my time in Savannah. I just LOVE that city. Hopefully I'll have them up on Flickr soon.

Rest in Peace, Darrick...

Hey guys,

I just found out that a dear friend and co-worker of mine from TVA passed away while serving in Iraq in the Army Reserves. His name was Darrick Wright and he was only 37 years old. He had gotten married since I left TVA three years ago and his wife is expecting their first child in November. He and I started on the same day in 2000 at TVA and went through all the "fun" new employee orientations and training and really bonded. I even tried to set him up with Joy- but he was too short for her. :) remember that, Joy? We cooked for him at our apartment at The Landings! He actually took my place when I left TVA in the Market Research and Evaluation group. He was an incredible guy that never met a stranger. Everyone at TVA is understandably upset. Please keep this family in your prayers, especially his young wife.

More info here and here

Caption Please...

Hey guys,

Last weekend I had the joy of being involved with a communion and candlelight service. My friend, Chris, is a Worship Pastor at a small church plant in Griffin, GA called Journey Church. We've been friends since I worked as the Tourism Director in Monroe County and Chris was the Assistant Chief of Police in Forsyth (County seat of Monroe.) It was fun discovering that we had so much in common- he is a bi-vocational Worship Pastor! We love hanging out with Chris and Heather and their son, Lance and we wish we could see them more (he works at the new Johns Creek police department now in Fulton County.)

Chris was really creative and had some really neat elements to the service, including a 8' cross that was carried into the service and hung while we sang "Wonderful Cross." I got to sing two songs, "Sing to the King" and "To Speak Your Name"- and I had an absolute blast!

Here's a pic from our service. What I want to know is this: What AM I thinking in this picture? Am I thinking "What a wonderful cross?" or Thank you, God." or hopefully not "What's for dinner?" :)

What do you guys think?

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!

Hmmm....let's take a trip down memory lane to where many of you were six years ago on a Labor Day weekend much like this one. Maybe you were sleeping in at a world class luxury hotel in Downtown Chattanooga, or maybe you were enjoying lunch or a movie at one of Chattanooga's many attractions. Or maybe you were reliving the previous day's events and remembering the celebration of two major events: Scott and Carmen's wedding AND Scott's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday and Anniversary, Scott! (sorry it's one day late- it was a crazy day yesterday, you know that!)

August 31st is a VERY important day in the Copeland family. Let's see, Scott's mom was born on August 31st, 1945. Scott's parents got married on August 31st, 1968 (Scott's mom's 23rd birthday), THEN Scott was born three years later on August 31st, 1971. When we got engaged we realized that August 31st fell on a Saturday that year (2002) and we knew we had to get married on that day. So, let's recap. Yesterday was. 1) Scott's mom's birthday, 2) Scott's parents anniversary, 3) Scott's birthday and 4) Our anniversary. Crazy, right? Believe me, there were text messages, phone calls, emails and voicemails flying around the Copelands yesterday. Scott even got a voicemail with little girls singing " Happy Birthday" to "Uncle Cool" from our nieces, Cassie and Brianna (long story about the "Uncle Cool")

We celebrated our anniversary by spending the weekend at a hotel in Atlanta. On Friday we went to Stone Mtn and hiked many of the nature trails and ate at a yummy restaurant. (pics coming soon on my flickr site) On Saturday, we went to the High Museum of Art (great exhibits from the Louvre and a fascinating exhibit on Civil Rights history) and the Center for Puppetry Arts. Here is a pic of Scott next to his "hero" Kermit the Frog. The Center for Puppetry Arts is going to be opening a new wing in 2012 dedicated to Jim Hensen's collection of muppets. It will be amazing (especially if you like Jim Hensen, and Scott does)

Sunday we attended church and there was a HUGE summer blowout that evening for the community at our church. They had a cookout, inflatables, volleyball AND professional fireworks. Our pastor negotiated a great deal from the people who do the Braves' fireworks and we had a 15 minute show which was amazing. Here are some bad pics from my phone, but it shows you the caliber of fireworks. Not bad for any event, let alone a church! We had TONS of visitors and hope to make this an annual event for the community.

Scott promised me fireworks for my anniversary and I got them! :)

Dreams and Mt. Vesuvius

This is bizarre. The other night I had the MOST vivid dream that Scott and I had gone back in time and were in Pompeii, Italy in A.D 79. We knew that Mt. Vesuvius was going to erupt soon and were warning people, but no one believed us. Then, my friend Joy (who was back in time with me for some reason) called me on my cell phone (don't ask me why we had cell phones in A.D. 79) to find out where I was. She wanted to be near me so we could die together. How morbid and weird is that?

The other weird thing about this dream is that I found out today that it's the anniversary of the massive eruption that buried Pompeii and killed thousands on August 24 and 25th, A.D. 79. Isn't the brain an amazing thing? Growing up, I was fascinated with the stories of Mt. Vesuvius, Mt. St. Helens, the Titanic, etc. Somehow I think the date of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption was buried somewhere DEEP in my brain and came out in my dream. You guys have anything happen like that?

Master Bath update...

hey guys,


it's been very busy around here. This weekend I got the "whim" that I was going to paint the main room of our master bath. We've mentioned that we've put in new tile, countertops, mirrors, toilet, etc, but I had left the color in the bathroom (a chocolate brown that is the same as in our bedroom.) Well, after putting in the countertop (a laminate called butterum granite), it just seemed very dark in our 1980's small master bath. So, I painted the section with the sinks and left the other color in the room with the tub and toilet. I like the effect because they are both in the same color family. Anyway, here's our tiny, but cute master bath!









After: This shows the tile we put in.

Toilet Room- Not much to look at.

And this next pic shows the cute transition between the rooms.

Check out Scott's blog for Before Pics! We had pastel laminate floors, baby blue countertop and awful wallpaper (although I think it was painted in the before pics...we didn't get any shots of the "cute" flowered 80's wallpaper!)

My babies...

My babies right now are my two puppies, Lexie (the beagle) and Anna (the lab/shar-pei mix). I'm not sure if I've ever told you the story of our animals' names. When I had my transplant, Scott let me get a kitten. I brought home a scrawny little white and black kitten from the pound. He had a big, black spot on his head and Scott decided to name him "Gorbachev" (we call him Gorbs or Gorby) because his spot is in the same spot as Gorbachev's birth mark.

Well, we decided to go with this "Russian" theme with as we acquired more animals. Next we got our beagle puppy, and we decided to name her "Alexandra" and call her Lexie. Then we got our Lab/Shar-pei mix and named her "Anastasia" and call her Anna. Don't worry, we aren't going to continue this trend with our children!

anyway, we have taken our dogs so many places since we've had them and they are always up for a ride. And they are the BEST travel dogs. We usually travel with them in Scott's Pathfinder, where we have a gate set up and they have the reign of the trunk area. I didn't have this luxury when I took them to Chattanooga this past weekend and we all had to pile in my little Saab. But check out my angels! They were so great! Here's Lexie (who decided she HAD to sit in the passenger seat like a human)

And here's Anna, who was an angel in the back seat.

I love my babies! (yes, I took these with my phone while driving- Don't worry, I was careful!)

Live Blogging from the World's Longest Yard Sale...

hey guys,

I'm blogging live from Signal Mountain, TN where I have been since Thursday. That's right folks, I have been at the World's Longest Yard Sale and have been having a blast "yard-saling" with my mom and sister. I'll take a picture of my "loot"... but I got several southern living cookbooks, two work shirts, a bread tin from 1978 (special year) and an old window. I'm not sure what to do with the window, but I was thinking of blowing up some Scotland pics to 5x7 and putting them behind the panes. Any suggestions creative people out there?

Anyway, it's been so fun. You guys need to check out this yard sale sometime. it goes from Gadsen, AL all the way to Ohio on Hwy 127. People seriously rent U-hauls and travel the length of it. Now, I'm not that dedicated... I've stayed on Signal Mountain. Another useless fact: It was started by the Jamestown, TN Chamber of Commerce as a way to promote these small communities and has grown every year. And it's being emulated across the country. In fact, when I worked at the Monroe Chamber, we participated in a similar sale called the Peaches to Beaches yard sale that went from Culloden, GA (in Monroe county) to Brunswick on Hwy 341. I just love these ingenious Chamber people and what they do to promote their communities!

I've also spent a lot of time reading and relaxing on my mom's porch and all her birds. I've got some decent shots of the hummingbirds which I will also post on my flickr page.

Being a tourist at home...

hey guys,
Before I forget...I uploaded a bunch of photos onto my flickr site tonight. You can link to it from the right side of my blog. Some from the beach vacation, our visit with Scott's family and our fun adventure this weekend. Here's a pic of my family from our recent vacation to Amelia Island, FL. So much fun!
We practically had the beach to ourselves and the weather was perfect... not even too hot.

Scott came home Thursday and we were "tourists" in Macon today. We are doing things here that we've never done because 1) we are about to move and 2) gas is so expensive! And in case anyone asks, we did NOT eat at NuWay Weiners, one of the top tourist attractions in Macon (featured on Food Networks "Best Hotdogs in America") We went to the Ocmulgee National Monument where there are Indian mounds from the Creek Indians. Here's a pic of Scott being an "Indian"on top of the temple mound. You can see downtown Macon in the background...we couldn't believe how close this nature was to downtown!

Here's a view from the temple mound to the wetlands. I think these Indian Mounds are the highest point in Macon. :)

Then we went to Dauset Trails Nature Center near Indian Springs State Park. Great places to visit. Dauset Trails is an educational center that is free due to an endowment from a couple of wealthy individuals who wanted to share nature with everyone. There are farm animals and an animal trail, hiking, biking and horse trails. It's a great place to bring kids. Indian Springs was the first State Park in the nation and the site of where the Creek Indians signed a treaty that ceded 4.7 million acres to the State of Georgia. Then we had ice cream at this delightful shop near Indian Springs... check out these flower boxes at the ice cream shop. I want to recreate this when we move...

So what kinds of things do you do when you are tourists in your own towns?

Dark Week and Dark Knight

So I have survived my first week as a "single gal". Scott started his job last Monday and had his first Sunday today. He did an amazing job (not that I expected anything different.) It's funny, people at Ingleside never really knew Scott as a "Worship Leader"- he was the instrumental director, drama director, student band director and my personal favorite: church pianist. After our recording in June (f0r which Scott wrote and performed an incredibly powerful song) and our announcement we were leaving, people were coming up to me saying "we knew it wouldn't be long before he left... he's ready." Well, of course he was ready! He was a Worship Pastor or Worship Leader for many years before he even met me! Just not at a mega church like Ingleside. Anyway, I'm off my soap box now. Scott left early last Monday morning and then came home on Thursday night. He installed our new countertop and sinks (pictures coming soon) and mowed the grass on Friday and Saturday, then we attended a pool party for my job. After the party we met some friends for The Dark Knight.

Let me just say "Wow". First of all, I'm not typically a fan of the comic book movies. I liked the Spidermans and that was about it. Scott convinced me to watch Batman Begins while we were on vacation. I really liked it because it was so real and believable. I loved the way they delved into Bruce Wayne's psyche and explained how Batman began (hence the name.) Anyway, The Dark Knight is a continuation of that story and details the fight of Gotham's most insane criminal (The Joker) and Batman. Heath Ledger really was amazing. It's not just hype because of his death. I have always had a HUGE crush on this man. His youthful good looks, long locks and Australian accent had amazing appeal to me. I was devastated when he died. This movie was nothing like his previous roles (not that I saw Brokeback Mountain) - he really did take the Joker to another level.

Yes, Scott and my money was part of the biggest blockbuster debut EVER. $155 million. And worth every penny.

Rock Shrimp Anyone?

Hey guys,


We've been on vacation for a week and a half! Wow, it was so needed. We went to visit Scott's parents in Cocoa, FL. Of course seeing nieces,nephews and family was a highlight, as was dining out at our favorite restaurant, Dixie Crossroads. Here's a picture of the bounty (from my phone):

If you've never enjoyed rock shrimp (the middle of the plate)-it's amazing! They taste like little lobsters. Yum!

Anyway, we celebrated the 4th of July with Scott's family (pictures coming) then we met my family at Amelia Island for a week at the beach. What a wonderful time of relaxing and eating. Everyone came, including my MamaCile.

In other news, Scott started his job on Monday and his first Sunday will be the 20th. Keep us in your prayers!

An Update for you...

Hey guys,

It's been a while and I have discovered that I am NOT good at this blogging thing. And it's not for lack of things to blog about... in fact, I think it's because I have TOO many things going on TO blog about.

We have had such a whirlwind couple of weeks. We've been using our free time to get the house ready to sell. Why is it that you fix your house up for someone else? I don't get that. We've been putting off fixing up our master bath and now we are being forced to. We've done new tile, new light fixtures, new toilet and new mirrors and Scott ordered a new countertop on Saturday. Scott said that if we get a fixer upper next then our master bath will be the FIRST thing he fixes up since we did this with our first house also!

So we've been fixing up the master bath, landscaping, touching up paint, organizing, etc, etc. Friday we drove to Loganville to look at houses and boy did we find some we like! Wow, it's a buyer's market!

Saturday I had a meeting at the Chamber early and then had to go to Patriotic Sunday practice at church followed by a luncheon to honor Scott (and me, I guess). They wound up having a sort of "roast"- sharing memories and appreciation of Scott and my three years at Ingleside. Whew, I was not prepared for that one. I definitely needed tissues! Then Sunday was the Patriotic Sunday and Scott's last Sunday, so they brought us up on stage and gave us a HUGE print of Ingleside, signed and numbered by the artist and some flowers. We got a standing ovation at both services. It was a very emotional day. After church we went to the Whistle Stop Cafe with our good friends Russ and Vicki and stayed til almost 3:00. We usually have so much to do on Sundays that it was nice to relax and have a LONG lunch. ***Tourism footnote and useless fact: the Whistle Stop Cafe is the original one from the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes. It's in Juliette, GA, about 10 miles from our house. I highly recommend it! Yummy, yummy food and my friend is the manager.

Anyway, keep us in your prayers as we are in this transition. We need our house to sell to be able to buy another one. If we can sell ours, we'll definitely get a bargain in Atlanta! we'll keep you updated as we go...

A little funny for the Auburn fans...

So I was getting a biscuit at McDonald's this morning (which I never do) and I was intently driving out of the drivethru on my way to work. This little old man was standing on the corner walking out of the restaurant and he started flagging me down. I was confused by this and thinking that this man must know me, I slowed down and rolled down my window to talk to him. Well, he must have seen my "Auburn Alumni" tag on the front of my car because he proceeds to tell me this joke:

"Why won't any Auburn fans vote for Obama?"

I said, "I'm not sure, Why?"

And he said, "Because if you put a 'G' in front on his name is spells "Go Bama!"

I started laughing and drove off. How funny is that?! Any of you guys heard that one?

Big News...

Hey guys,
Nope we aren't pregnant. :) I know that's what you were thinking. Scott and I are MOVING to Lawrenceville, GA where Scott will be the Worship Pastor at Brookwood Baptist Church. We are very excited about this opportunity, sad about leaving Ingleside and Macon, and a little nervous about the transition. Check out Scott's post here with his perspective.

We really struggled with this decision between two "good" choices (staying here vs. leaving) but decided that we could make a huge impact at the church in Lawrenceville. We are excited to see what God has in store there!

Please pray for us during this transition. I will be staying until the house sells, so pray for my sanity of 1) being alone (I'm not terribly good at it) 2) keeping the house in "show" condition 3) packing and moving. There is a hilarious post that I need to share about the last time Scott left me alone to handle moving/selling a house by myself. That's another post for another day. Also, pray for Scott as he transitions to this new leadership and ministry position. I am so excited for him! We'll keep you guys posted as things progress.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy weekend with Scott's family. Scott picked me up at Callaway on Friday and we drove to Alabaster, AL to meet Scott's parents and sister's family and to visit with his 91 year old grandmother and aunt. We had a great time visiting with them. Here's a picture of some of us after gorging ourself at Lloyd's restaurant.

We left Alabaster on Saturday afternoon to return to Macon with Scott's parents and sister's family. We went to church, had a wonderful lunch then grilled out Sunday evening.

On Memorial Day we packed a picnic and went to one of mine and Scott's favorite places, High Falls State Park. We hiked a couple of trails and then had a wonderful picnic lunch. Scott's family left Monday afternoon and we crashed. All in all, an eventful and fun Memorial Day weekend with family!

Here are some pics from our trip to High Falls.

This is on the Towaliga river trail. Scott, his mom and brother in law, Rick, with our nieces Noel, Jo Anna (on Rick's back) and our nephew, Jacob. The other photo is at on overlook. It's of Scott's sister, Stacey, and her beautiful family!

Callaway and Economic Development...

I attended the Georgia Economic Development Association's Spring Workshop in Callaway Gardens last week. Economic Development and Callaway Gardens go hand in hand (actually they do...tourism is Georgia's second largest industry)

Anyway, here's my last week in pictures.

this is the chapel at Callaway...right at dusk. It was really beautiful on the inside.

this is my favorite photo that I took while I was there. It was taken at the Butterfly conservatory. I was proud that I captured that moment!

A water element at the Butterfly conservatory...

At FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA. This is where FDR used to sit and think about the problems of the world and come up with solutions. Maybe this is where he thought up TVA...

It sure had a lovely view! Reminded me of, you guessed it, Chattanooga!

Me with the FDR statue at FDR State Park.

If you haven't been to Pine Mountain or Callaway Gardens in a while, I recommend it. The Lodge and Spa was AMAZING. Every detail was thought out.

We also had a VERY eventful weekend with Scott's family. I'll post more about that later! And I hope to do some photoshopping of my Callaway pics and get them up on my Flickr account.