Monday, September 26, 2011

Day 4: Saying good-bye to Georgia

The last day. Our only day totally committed to seeing as much as we can. Our plane doesn't leave until 10pm -- so we get an early start and off to be a tourist.

The first stop was Centennial Park. The park that was built right in the middle of downtown Atlanta for the Summer Olympics in 1996 (?). It was a beautiful place and of course we had to have some pictures of it.





Then we were onto the CNN Studios. Ok...maybe CNN isn't my favorite news channel, but I wanted to do the "behind the scenes" tour and see what it was like. Paul stepped up as a volunteer newscaster and had the opportunity to read from a teleprompter like he was promoting the news. He was a big hit! He did such a great job and was very impressive. I'm mad.....they didn't tell me we could take pictures in there until he was already done. I would have LOVED to have a shot of him doing the news!





Our next destination was the Wonderful World of Coca Cola. Seriously....what better place could a Coke addict like me have a wonderful time? This was really a fun place to hang out. We saw old Coke commercials, saw old Coke memorabilia, saw how Coke is bottled, and saw everything and anything that was Coca Cola. But the HIGHLIGHT of the whole place was the tasting room. They had a room full of soda fountains from Coke products all over the world. And you could have all you want!!! Where else could you taste Bitter Lemon soda, or Mandarin soda, or Watermelon soda, or some other really nasty flavored sodas. Some were okay....but others were like drinking mouthwash. My favorite area was the room that had all the U.S. Coke products and you could just sit there and drink all that you wanted.....oh heaven! We were treated to a souvenir bottle of Coke that we had seen bottled during our tour. A really fun place!







Final sightseeing of the day was spent at the Cyclorama. The Cyclorama was a HUGE painting 40 feet tall and as long as a football field that was hung in a circle with an authentic diorama built in front of it which depicted the Battle of Atlanta during the Civil War. You sat in seats which slowly turned in a circle so that you eventually saw the whole painting while it described the battle that took place that day. The museum also housed some Civil War artifacts which we enjoyed looking at.



Last thing in Atlanta for this trip was to find someplace to eat. We headed back town and ended up at Pitty Pat's Porch. An authentic southern restaurant decorated Gone with the Wind style. Seriously, we had WAY TOO MUCH food to eat. Paul chose the salad bar which was filled with Pickled Okra, Beets, Macaroni Salad, fresh green salads, Tomatoes, and so much to choose from. I picked the good old Southern Fried Chicken (I did have help eating all this food). We had an appetitizer of Blackeyed Pea Cakes with a Southern Salsa made with Tomatoes, Onions, and Peaches (oh my gosh.....delicious). My plate had 3 giant pieces of fried chicken and real mashed potatoes and chicken gravy (the best ever). I also had sides of Collard Greens and Blackeyed Peas. Oh and we certainly can't forget the Sweet Potato Muffins they served! Ok....I have to admit I tried to avoid Collard Greens in the past, but oh they were so delicious. The best Southern Meal ever!





We walked off our dinner and headed back to the car. We still had an hour to kill before we had to be at the airport -- but we decided to just leisurely take our time and head that direction. The rest of the evening was spent "people watching" at the airport while we waited for our plane.

We walked into our house at 12:15am but it concluded another great time that me and the husband spent together and lots of fun memories to look back on!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Day 3: Pizza, Presidents, Peanuts, and more Pizza

Well day 3 began with a Pizza Seminar. Listening to a couple of successful owners talk about the do's and the don'ts to owning your own shop. Good to hear -- hard to get some of the things done that we'd like to. Finished up the expo by sampling some new wing sauces, new dressings, new ham, and checking out some sub rolls (didn't want you to miss all those important details). So the Pizza Expo ends at 2pm and we are off to see Atlanta!



First stop: Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. This was our 7th Presidential Library to visit and we have determined it was our very favorite. Well laid out, lots of interesting things to read and see, and had a nice flow to it. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and didn't even get to see it all because it closed before we could finish.





Second stop: Atlanta Underground. Heard about the shops and bizarre places you could see in the tunnels of Atlanta. We really didn't see much down there -- so we walked from one end to the other and made our way back to above ground to check out Woodruff Park. This park is famous for chess games and we did see several games going on, along with this giant chess game. One other thing that we discovered about Atlanta is that there are many really neat and unique sculptures throughout the city. We took lots of pictures with them!







Third stop: With no sightseeing places open -- we made the decision to drive an hour south of Atlanta to Grantville, Georgia. We have been interacting with another pizza owner in this small town for the past few years through a pizza bulletin board. He had recently closed up his store and we wanted to check it out. Grantville proved itself to be a VERY teeny tiny town with not a lot of things going on.



We stopped at the next small town and found a pizza shop and enjoyed a delicious pizza and some nice cold beer. A great way to end the evening!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Day 2 of the Peanuts and Peaches Tour

Day 2 was going to be a day where we stayed at the hotel all day. That was actually kind of a relaxing idea. No having to drive anywhere -- just do everything at the hotel.

We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then it was time to begin preparing for the day's events.

We met all our fellow competitors and drew a number to see when we'd start.





We were lucky #7. When it got close to our time, we found a nice little table in the back kitchen and Paul made the pizza.



He then was responsible for going up on stage and making another pizza for the judges and telling them all about us. I am so proud of him. This was something completely out of his "comfort zone" and he did a great job. I assisted him by baking the pizza in the kitchen, bringing it up to show the judges when it was done, helped serve to the judges, and took pictures. Our pizza looked and tasted gorgeous!





After the competition, the rest of the day was spent talking to different vendors and sampling food. Being at a food show is incredible -- there is so much food to sample.

That evening there was a dinner and a party at the hotel hosted by our food supplier. We were also recognized for competing in the Gourmet Pizza Competition, by receiving a plaque and picture taking with the owner's of the company. We didn't place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd -- but...hey, we tried (they better watch out next year).

After a long day -- it was time to walk around the hotel a little and explore and then go back to the room to plan the next day's adventures.

P.S. The hotel grounds were amazing. The lobby was a 3-story atrium filled with plants, waterfalls, love birds, comfy chairs, and glass ceilings. The hotel grounds were walking trails amongst the lush forest (we never did find a chance to go explore there). It was really a beautiful place to spend the day.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Peaches and Peanuts....Day 1

It's so nice to be able to combine business with pleasure. Especially if it means getting to go on a trip.

This past weekend -- destination: Atlanta (get the Peanuts and Peaches reference???). Sit back and enjoy our vacation/business trip as much as we did.

Had a 9:30 flight out of Houston -- so that meant getting up and leaving our house early in the morning. We arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport around noon on Saturday. After getting our rental car -- it was off to the hotel, which was the Crowne Plaza in Dunwoody (north Atlanta). Trivia fact: Did you know that this airport in Atlanta is the BUSIEST airport in the whole world?

Luckily the food that we packed in our suitcases for the pizza competition made is safely and cold. We packed in it thermal lunch bags with cold packs and put a note on it for the TSA that it was for our food competition. They did inspect that suitcase....but thankfully they left everything as we had packed it.

After arriving at the hotel -- we were starving and it was past time for lunch. Where else would we go for lunch......a pizza shop!! No pizza for this meal, but we were adventurous and ordered two yummy sandwiches that we found on their menu. One that was unique: Beef on a Weck. The Weck is a local bread from Buffalo that was wheaty, very salty, and had caraway seeds. Can't say either one of us really liked it.



Our other sandwich however, was absolutely delicious -- the Royal: sausage patty, capicola, roasted red peppers, onions, and melted provolone (yum yum). While eating lunch we researched our options and had to decide how to spend the rest of our afternoon. Paul found information on a street fair called the East Atlanta Strut that was held only one day a year in September. Well guess what.....it was that day! So off we went with the GPS and found the strut.

After getting stuck in Atlanta Braves traffic we finally reached the destination. We walked the street checking out all the art, bands, and "differently dressed" people that we found and ended up at the Atlanta Public Library Book Sale. UH OH....bad move. We spent 1/2 hour there and ended up buying about 20 books for $5.



We did get a catchy photo of Paul while strutting around!



After leaving the Strut it was off to a challenging game of trivia! We found a local place that had trivia. We missed the first round, but caught up quickly and managed to pull off a 4th place finish from about 25 teams. Yay us!



It was a fun first day in Atlanta.....but very late and then it was off to our luxurious bed and off to sleep.

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Comfort food

Nothing says Atlanta more than

fried chicken, mashed taters and chicken gravy,

collard greens, black-eyed peas, and sweet potato muffins.


I think I've died and gone to Heaven!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Happy Birthday Leslie



Couldn't let this day go by and not say Happy Birthday

The world is quieter since she's been gone.

We think about you every day -- and we talk about you frequently.



We'll never know what the future would have held ~ but we always considered you as a member of our family

I so wish that we could have changed the events of that day, but we can't. But we can hold your memory and your special day in our hearts. We can also remember how much fun and memories there are from your 23rd birthday.



Happy 24th Birthday Leslie -- I'll be drinking a Bud Light Lime just for you today girlfriend. Love you and miss you!

Friday, September 16, 2011

There are some days you need 48 hours and 4 hands

Today is one of those days

Got lots to do before we leave tomorrow. We have to leave our house at 7am -- so that means EVERYTHING has to be done tonight before we go to bed -- because there will be no time in the morning

Not only do I have to get the immediate things done before we go -- but I have to look 4 days ahead and make sure that everything for Pizza Zone is done and taken care of

Some of the things on the list today:

Laundry
Packing
Set up payroll tax and Sales Tax to auto pay on Tuesday
Make sure laptop is charged up and all the stuff we need on it to "take care of business" while we are gone is on there
Pay personal bills
Catch up some paperwork so that I can pay the sales tax
Pay PZ bills

While I would love to sit here and blog all day -- I have lots of things to get done.

We'll see you with all kinds of wonderful pictures when we get back and hopefully $1000 first prize!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Am I ready for the big time?

I was sitting here tonight waiting for Aaron to come over and "borrow" back some of the money he paid me a couple of days ago.

I went back and started reading some of by older blog posts.

I can't believe how funny I am. I was sitting here cracking up.

Hope you all find this blog as funny, amusing, and entertaining as I found it.

I'll be here all week folks!

Monday, September 12, 2011

This is our year

That's what I said on January 1st.

I felt it. I meant it.

All year long things have been moving in a positive direction to confirm this.

We are now on the brink of big changes.

We are excited and we are ready.

Hopefully, we'll be able to stop and take a breath now and then and enjoy a little of what life has to offer.

I am so ready.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

We will NEVER forget 10 years ago today



We all remember where we were at that moment, at that time.

If you ask me what I did on Thursday last week, I can't even tell you.

But I can tell you precisely everything about that morning on September 11th.

I was just pulling into work and had the radio on. They broke in with an announcement about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I assumed it was just a little plane and this was probably no big deal. The news media tends to exaggerate everything and blow it out of proportion. I casually mentioned the plane crash as I walked by the receptionist.



So I turned on the radio again when I sat down at my desk and that's when I knew that this was something different.

By then we were all on our way to a conference room to watch TV. We just had to see what was going on. I remember sitting there with my coworkers, shocked as we watched all the events of that day. For the rest of the day, it was difficult to accomplish anything.



This has been the biggest national tragedy that I have experienced in my life. I pray that we never have to witness this ever again. It's so sad how the world has turned to so much violence and hate.

We will never forget all the innocent lives that were lost that day. We will never forget the many stories of people who stepped up and spent their final moments being a hero. And we will never forget how it changed our own sense of security.

We will never forget..............

Friday, September 9, 2011

When wasted time isn't really wasted

Yesterday I worked my butt off trying to make a dent in things.

Last night I did take a moment and "waste a little time".

First time - spent an hour a couple of houses down talking to my long-lost "sister". I should say "crying" with my long-lost "sister". We were talking about our dogs who we missed so much. Hers almost a year ago.....mine 4 days ago.

She knows exactly how I feel.....Toby went with me every time I went down to visit her.

So after a good cleansing cry.....it was time to visit with my younger child.

He came by and we spent about an hour on the porch discussing his life, his church, and the funny things we both remember. However, the one subject that he did not want to talk about was the little dog we were both missing.

I have to say it was so enjoyable and relaxing talking with your child as an adult. I really love my kids and we have so many memories that are fun to talk about.

So every once in awhile it's a good thing to just stop, talk, and reminisce.

Thank you Aaron and Terry. I really enjoyed the time that I spent with you tonight.

Amazing thing to see your little boy turn into a man.



Even though he won't ever look at the camera and give me a good picture!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Saying goodbye to our little buddy

For 12 years this house has had a dog living in it

Today will be the first day that isn't true



He was 1 year old when we found him at Pet Smart waiting to be adopted. He had only been at the shelter for 3 days when we found him. We saw him in the cage and knew that this was the dog for us.

We brought him home and he was instantly a member of this house. He followed us everywhere and we tried to include him and take him with us every chance we could get. He loved walks and loved leaving the house and "going for a ride". Didn't matter if it was just around the block -- he was so excited to go.



We didn't even need to keep him on a leash anymore either. He just followed us around like he knew he belong to us. He did and we belonged to him.

But the signs of him aging were beginning to show on him, but yet he still would look at you with those little crooked teeth, that little tongue sticking out, and wagging his tail. But this morning we could tell it was something different and that maybe it was time to let you go. I knew that this day was coming, but oh how I did not want it to ever come.



No other dog could have ever had as much attention, as much love, and been more part of a family than Toby. And while everyone in this family will miss you -- I have to honestly say that I will miss you the most.



You were my car buddy, you were with me every moment I was home, my constant companion. The way you would look at me when I'd get my shoes -- melted my heart. I found myself apologizing to you that I was leaving and I always promised to be back soon. Your excitement at seeing me everytime I walked in the door I will miss more than anything. I too will always be looking for you at the door when I get home each time, but sadly won't see you there.



So as time goes on this pain of losing you will slowly ease, but the memory of you will never leave us.



We love you Toby Gainor and will miss you being part of our family!