American Girl

It's been nearly a week, and I'm still totally wowed by the American Girl store in Atlanta. Even though I'm a grown woman, that store is so mind blowing that my inner 8 year old came out. That store is INCREDIBLE!!! I can't imagine how mind boggling that place is to young girls! The store itself is 12,000 square feet. Absolutely HUGE right? The detailed items and clothes they have to go with the dolls is incredibly detailed. They really have thought of everything. The furniture is all made out of metal and real wood too! All of the little drawers and details are functional too! The store even has a restaurant in it. They serve the girls and their mothers and friends, breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. You can also get sweets there. The store even has a doll hair salon in it. UN-BELIEVABLE!!!! Those folks are marketing geniuses! That store actually made me want to start collecting the stuff! Anyway, here are some shots that Casey and I took in the store. Everything they have on display you can buy, including the tree house!! First two of the total side windows of the store. Second set of side windows. The doll hair salon.

Whirlwind

My life has just been a whirlwind, since last Saturday. It all started with a Scorpions show last Saturday night. Casey and I saw a stop on the Scorpions farewell tour in Nashville. They were Casey's favorite band, back in high school. One of our very first dates, twenty years ago, was at a Scorpions concerts. So, they have a very special place in our hearts. We both had such a blast! It was a great show, and the Scorpions were such showmen. They performed as well as they did 20 years ago! Their sound was terrific! In front of the Bat Building in downtown Nashville. We just kept talking and talking about the show. We had decided earlier to take Wednesday and Thursday off from work to get some things done and spend some time together. On a whim late Tuesday night, we decided to take a look at the Scorpions tour schedule. We saw that they were playing in Atlanta on Wednesday night. We already knew we had time off, I happened to have a gift card for a free hotel room in my wallet, and there were still GREAT tickets left. So, we decided to go for it. Our hotel was REALLY nice. They even had a nice sized pool. So, I did get a little swimming workout done yesterday afternoon. We had time to kill, before the concert started. Just a mile or so from the amphitheatre was Northpoint Mall. Casey and I grabbed a quick Japanese meal at the mall food court. We noticed all the kids had American Girl bags. I discovered that Northpoint Mall has one of only 8 American Girl stores in the country. I'd always wanted to go through one, so Casey and I went in and had a look. That store was awesome with a capital A!!! It made me want to buy everything in there! Casey was really impressed too. So impressed, that he took a bunch of pictures. As soon as I get them off of his phone, I'll post them. Anyhow, we got to the venue just at the right time. It was an outdoor amphitheatre and the weather was just perfect! We got there between the opening act and the main show, found our great seats and got ready! Our seats at the Atlanta show. The show totally rocked!! It was great! After the show! It was one of the best little last minute trips, I've had in a long time!! It turned out to be one of those

Wordless Wednesday On Thursday

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope that everyone's having a terrific, long holiday weekend. So far, mine's been pretty good. I got to go to the pool for the afternoon. I got in a really good swim workout, around 2000 meters. Afterwards, I moved to the outdoor pool to soak up the sun, and watch the kids come down the waterslide. I also got to eat a wonderful swimming pool snowcone. I know that I'm and adult, but I STILL love snowcones beyond belief. Mine was cherry today and only 75 cents!! How great is that?

Tomorrow morning is church and afterwards a 4th of July lunch there. Casey's doing all the cooking for the event. After we get home, I'll head over to the pool to spend the afternoon again. I'll either go to the city fireworks tomorrow night, or ride into work with Casey and watch Eclipse. I'm not sure what's up for Monday yet. Probably all day at the pool...

Whatever you're doing this holiday weekend, please take time out to remember all the soldiers from the past and present, who have fought so hard to give us this wonderful life! Have a very happy and safe 4th of July!!

Goggle Cleaner Review

Last week, I posted a review on the TriSwim products. The same company, SBR, Inc. makes the Foggle goggle cleaner towelettes.

The Foggle product is made not only for de-fog and antifogging purposes. It also cleans your goggles. I've used a few antifog products and have only had temporary results with them. I used the Foggle towelette last Saturday, I've put in nearly 9,000 yards, so far this week. I'm happy to report, there's no sign of foggy lenses. That's saying something since, I've been swimming in the outdoor pool and the goggles have gone from the air temperature of 98 degrees with a heat index of 105 to the water temp of 90. As far a clean goes, it left my goggles VERY clean. There were no spots left from the evaporation of the cleaner either. Spots on my goggles ANNOY me to the Nth degree!!! In fact they left my goggles so clean, that I used the same towelette to clean my sunglasses too! The towelettes are good for around 6-8 uses, which makes them super economical too! It seems you just can't loose with Foggles!!

Again, another big plus is that SBR does not do animal testing, which makes me even happier with their products!! So, if you're swimming and looking through those foggy lenses, visit the SBR, Inc. website and pick up some Foggles. Foggles come in packs of 6 for $6.89 or in giant boxes of 48 for $34.56.

Anticipation

Just saw the full trailer for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. It would be an understatement to say I'm excited about this film. I really thought the last book was the best in the entire series!! If the movies are even close, they should be good. Anyway, here's the trailer.

Mr. Indiana

Swim Product Review

Over the past several years, I've heard a lot of hype about specialty swim shampoos/conditioners/body washes/lotions etc. I've read several reviews. Some people didn't feel like they cleaned well, some didn't think they had enough suds, some didn't like the smell. So, I've been satisfied to stick with my usual hair care and body products. Lately, I've been swimming 5-6 times a week. I've noticed that my hair was REALLY dull, and my skin was REALLY dry! Nothing I had on hand, seemed to help ANY!! So, I was excited when the new issue of Swimmer Magazine had an ad from the SBR Company that makes the Tri Swim products. In their ad, they mentioned that you could get free samples by e-mailing them. Off I went to the computer to enter my information. Within 3 days, I had a big envelope full of samples from their Tri Swim line. They included: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body lotion. They also threw in one of their Foggle towelettes to clean my goggles!!

To say the least, I was very skeptical. As soon as I had my first opportunity, I tried them out!

The shampoo got rid of the slimy, chlorine feel of my hair after my swims! It made it squeaky!! The smell was a very nice citrus smell. It made me think of grapefruit. When my hair dried, it was very shiny and the dullness was gone. I was also pleased with the conditioner! It got the tangles out (I have long, curly, fine hair, so this is an issue for me)and moisturized, without making my hair feel weighed down or greasy.

The body wash and lotion were excellent as well. Both had that same citrus smell as the shampoo and conditioner. I found out rather quickly that a little bit of both go a long way! I'm used to using moisturizing body wash, so the Tri Swim body wash had a very different feel. My skin felt REALLY clean and squeaky, while I was in the shower. After I was out and dried off, my skin felt smooth and moisturized. The lotion absorbed quickly and left my skin just feeling and looking soft, instead of slippery and greasy.

All of the above products contain gentle, natural ingredients to help repair the damage that chlorine leaves behind. From the Tri Swim website:

The ingredients in TRISWIM work to neutralize Chlorine and Chlorine odor on skin and in hair. TRISWIM has up to 5 sequestering agents which assist in attacking the chlorine, grabbing a hold of it, and washing the chemical down the drain. Not only does TRISWIM detoxify, but with our innovative formula, it also hydrates and nourishes with ingredients such as Organic Aloe Vera, Vitamin A and E, and ProVitamin B5.

Best of all, Tri Swim is a product that animals lovers can feel confident in using.

NO ANIMAL TESTING : :

At SBR SPORTS,INC, we use the finest ingredients known to us in the formulation of our innovative brands. SBR SPORTS, does not test, nor have we ever tested or believe in testing our products on animals.

All of their products are VERY affordable, whether you get them from the Tri Swim website or other swim retailers. Prices range from $8.95 per tube to $13.20 per tube.

For your free sample, log onto the Tri Swim website for info.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

It's been almost unbearably HOT the past week here. Our temps have been from 94-97 degrees. Our humidity has been just AWFUL!! That's made our heat index from 102-105 most days. Yesterday was no exception. It's been so HOT that our cat Biscuit decided to take a dip in our doggie pool, yesterday afternoon. Now you KNOW it's hot, when the cat takes a dip to cool off!!

Book Reviews

I CANNOT believe how far behind I am on my book reviews. If any of you are on Goodreads, please feel free to "friend" me. There will be several reviews in this post, so hang in there with me.

Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars I'll have to say that I cheated a bit on this one. I actually downloaded this one from audible. The fact that Gordon, himself, was the read cinched the deal for me. It was so interesting to hear him tell his life story. I had NO idea that he came from such hard beginnings. It even was a nice, quick listen. I highly recommend it in print and audio. View all my reviews >>

Hourglass by Claudia Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars I'll keep this short and sweet. I absolutely ADORE this series. Each book just keeps getting better. The plot is so thick in this book, that you can slice it with a knife. There is definitely a cliffhanger ending to this one, and the wait is about to kill me for the next release!! The plot is at a fever pitch, and I have NO guess for what is actually going to happen to Lucas and Bianca. I HIGHLY recommend the whole series!! View all my reviews >>

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars I was in absolute agony waiting for this book. There was one question that I needed the answer to, and luckily, it was addressed early on in this one. I do have to say, that I didn't enjoy Dead In the Family nearly as much as I did Dead and Gone. I still whipped through it, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as Dead and Gone (which I personally feel is the BEST novel in the series so far). This book feels like it has a lot of set up for the next story arc, but I may be VERY wrong. All I know is I can't wait to find out what happens next! View all my reviews >>

That's it for now. I know that I've read more, but I'll post those up later.

Wordless Wednesday

Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane's Indoor Yardsale

Need some new stuff on the cheap? Well, come on out and browse and buy Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane Association's indoor yard sale!! This sale benefits the enitrely volunteer operated, 501(c)(3) charity!! *SATURDAY JUNE 12 - INSIDE YARD SALE at 510 N. Hillcrest (near Central High School)from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wordless Wednesday

Busy With the Busy-ness!!

Wow, this weekend was just all kinds of C-R-A-Z-Y!! Not only was it a holiday weekend, but Casey had one of his first, big catering jobs!! He was hired to cater for our Rector's son's graduation party. He was told to plan for 50 people!! So, I took off from work on Friday to help him out and be a gopher. Casey worked all day on Friday and Saturday putting the meal together. When all was said and done, he made 5 big pans of lasagna (3 meat and 2 veggie), a whole beef tenderloin (when sliced makes filet mignon), italian bread with homemade garlic spread, and two triple batches of brownies! The puppies were a bit miffed that I couldn't sit down with them for nearly 2 days! Indy kept wanting and hinting for me to come to bed on Friday night.

It all turned out delicious and everyone was pleased, including the graduate. I have some pictures that I'll post this week of his finished dishes.

Sunday was a fairly busy day too. I had the reading for church on Sunday morning, and I also had to sing for the service. It was my very first solo there. I was uber nervous, because it has been over 10 years, since I've sung in public. I was rusty!! I got through it and the morning's reading too. We had a nice lunch at church, so we just came back home and lounged around. I managed to get in a nice afternoon nap, which made the puppies REALLY happy!!

Yesterday was just a lost cause. We were both so tired! We just napped and watched movies all day long. Hopefully, I'll get back to normal soon!

Wordless Wednesday: Jack at Grandma's Edition

Wordless Wednesday

Flood Recovery

As most of you may have heard the weekend that Casey and I got back from the cruise, Tennessee recorded one of it's biggest floods in history. This wasn't just a little water folks, it was a LOT! 15-22 inches fell in a 24 hour period! For 72 hours straight, our local stations covered the situation. It caught so many by surprise and the water rose so fast, that 22 have been confirmed dead and several are missing. Sadly, several of my and Casey good friends lost everything. It was a widespread flood. Downtown Nashville was flooded up to 2nd Avenue. The Grand Ol' Opry house flooded, along with the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills mall. The Hard Rock Cafe and The Wildhorse Saloon flooded too. That list is just the beginning of a HUGE list of flooded business and personal homes. Buildings were floating down the interstate, and all 3 major interstates in Nashville were closed, because they were under water. We got very little national news coverage. Check out this video that really tells the whole story.

Nashville is just about 50 miles north of us. There was flooding as far south as Rutherford County, which is only about 30 miles north of us. We were very lucky in Shelbyville. We didn't have nearly as much rain down south. Casey and I weren't sure what roads would be passable by the time we got back to Tennessee, so we cut our trip short and started driving right after we got off the boat. We were lucky. We had perfect weather most of the way home. We only drove in about 40 minutes of rain total. By the time we got home, the rain had stopped. It was only then that we learned how bad things were up in Nashville and out in west Tennessee. It broke my heart to watch the animal rescues. So many agencies pitched in to help rescue the ones left behind. Check out the ASPCA blog to read about the rescue effort and to see a great slide show. Folks, we still need a lot of help. Please give to your organization of choice, if you can. WE ARE NASHVILLE!!

Wordless Wednesday

Belated Mother's Day

Again I'm late on this, Happy Mother's Day to all of my mom bloggers out there. We had a really nice Mother's Day at my house. Also at church Sunday morning, we had a lovely Mother's Day service. All the mothers present were blessed and presented with Mother's Day keepsakes. The service ended in the courtyard garden for Rogation Day. It was wonderful. Afterwards, Casey and I spent most of the afternoon with Mom. Later, I was actually allowed to nap by all of the furbabies!! That was the perfect gift for me. Here are a couple of shots of Mom and me, after the church service.