I am being such a "client"

I started painting my bedroom Saturday and if you follow me on Twitter (englandaia) then you will know I moved my gigantic pillow-top king size mattress by myself on Friday and even managed to trap John and Lucy in two separate rooms before shoving it into the guest bedroom...from where I am writing this entry now. I tweeted about the process mainly in case people stopped hearing from me then they would know that I had been pinned under the mattress and could send help. Don't laugh, it was a real possibility. :)

Anyway, I am off topic now and need to get back to the story in the title of the post. So, I prep the walls and ceiling (patching, sanding, taping and such) and start cutting in with the field paint. Lingo translation; field paint is the main paint color. I am being odd/lazy and using the same color on 3 walls and the ceiling. The wall behind the head board will be a darker accent wall. There will be pictures later.

So...cutting in corners, windows, and such and I start second guessing color choices. I picked out the colors and bought the paint in June and this is the last room I had to paint from that era of color choices. I remember thinking that I could get it painted before the furniture arrived. I was so very wrong. I came home at lunch one day and set my brand new quilt from macy's in the floor and pulled out my box of paint chip samples and selected the two colors for the room. I then dashed away back to work. It seemed fine at the time but now I am rethinking.

Did I want a blue paint with a little gray or a gray paint with a little blue? It is a medium dark blue/gray. Did I want it this dark on the ceiling too? Do I want to paint the trim in the accent wall paint (almost black) or paint it white? Is the accent wall going to be too dark? What was I thinking? Did I smoke crack when I picked this scheme out?

These are the types of thoughts clients have at times and I felt very much like that type of client. I took a deep breath and decided to continue on and trust that it would come together. I have never done illegal drugs so I figured I probably WAS thinking when I picked it out and I should go with it. We will see. Anyway, if it doesn't turn out well then I can always paint over it. That is the beautiful thing about paint...you can always try a different color!

I will post before and after and if need be, the between schemes photos, once the bedroom is painted. Fingers crossed.

Coffee

This morning as I am up earlier than normal and having orange juice and an egg mc muffin type thingy (aka Jimmy Dean D-light sandwich) I want coffee too. It seems too wasteful to have a coffee maker when it is just me drinking it at home. I have a one cup maker but for some reason that also seems like trouble.
I did run across this article in my rss feeds this morning and it seemed apropos.

Perfect Cups: How To Make Coffee Without a Coffee Maker

I might just give this a try when I am not feeling quite so lazy.

Twitter carry over

So I tweet a lot more than I blog but there are some interesting things I happen across in my tweets here are a few. If you are on twitter I am "englandaia". I protect my tweets (that is just who I am) so if you want to follow me just let me know.

Twitter excerpts:

This little light bulb terrarium and vase idea is just too cute. http://tinyurl.com/ykrmkt5

These are too cute not to tweet about even though they are sold out. Wine glass slip on coasters http://tinyurl.com/yf6p7sa

Oooh, add this to my Christmas list! http://tinyurl.com/cqkosc

Oh no, @knoxmoms just let me know that people really are going to be saying "leggo my eggo"...waffle shortage! http://tinyurl.com/y9xopf2

It is never too early in the morning to learn how to open a wine bottle with just a shoe and a hard wall; http://tinyurl.com/yzrokyh

Santa, please bring me: http://tinyurl.com/yz6sola and http://tinyurl.com/yh4v6tk

I so want to use this memoir technique for my next vacation; http://tinyurl.com/y9nfkdr

Maybe I needed to say "Help, I...am addicted to the internet". Check out this "Help" site it is super cool, http://tinyurl.com/nuz43b

@FrankMurphyCom Frank, this has you written all over it...make your own peeps! http://tinyurl.com/cum2ee

I think this may appear at my Christmas party. I have always been leery of sushi due to fish allergy but...http://tinyurl.com/cgwfes

Chore chart so everyone is equitable and no one is screaming...of course I get to do all of them :) http://tinyurl.com/mgdqgo

I am not sure if this means this guy is creative or just bored around the house to come up with this idea; http://tinyurl.com/yldywnh

Afraid of sulfites in wine? Read this...http://tinyurl.com/yjzabsl

Another useful link, this time about cleaning...fess up, you know you need to do it. http://tinyurl.com/y8omveg

This looks like a fun DIY project! http://tinyurl.com/ydo3nf5

Want to figure out what interior design style you have? Take the little quiz linked in this article, http://tinyurl.com/yknu4jj

Good article. RT @OPENForum 6 Desktop Apps for Better Org & Focus: http://bit.ly/1XA5IL

Mustache fascination...

There is a small mustache fascination going on with me that may be replacing the "owl" one that I was being accused of. First it started with this mustache screen saver. I had a paper one on the computer at work and last weekend while in Nashville visiting a friend I found some fabric ones and bought a pack. Now my laptop has it's own mustache. :)


Today John and I went downtown to pick up a present that I ordered and he dressed as Santa's Helper and I went incognito including what else but a mustache. Here is a photo of us about to head out the door. We got some odd looks downtown.

First Snow

This morning John and I woke up to snow on the ground and it was still falling. I also found out that Lucy likes the snow as much as John does. We bundled up and went to play. John wanted a snowman so that was the main goal. He had fun playing in his play structure and I rolled a big snowball around the yard picking up lots of leaves as I went. Our snow/leaf man was rolled to the front yard so that people passing by could enjoy it for a little while. I wonder if it will make it until mid afternoon. I wonder how icky my hat will be afterward. :)

My little family

Here are some cute pictures of John and Lucy to share.

Interesting images...to me

Here are a few images that I ran across and liked from the web and one from a Market Square visit.

Yes, I go to Market Square a lot; no, I don't live or work downtown. :)

My little tour of downtown Ktown

A few weeks ago went downtown one Saturday morning to do some handmade Christmas shopping at the Farmer's Market on Market Square. I took a few photos and would like to share some here. To preface, I DID buy lots of presents that day and so I won't go into much detail about that but what I can tell you is that I had a wonderful experience of enjoying a pumpkin spice latte, bacon scallion biscuit and live music while sitting in the adjacent Krutch park.


After the shopping and respite I headed off to look around with touristy camera in hand.

The building with the arch top windows is where I spend a lot of my volunteering time, 500 Gay Street. My AIAET board meetings, ETCDC board meetings are here so I am here a minimum of 3 times a month and often more.

Again, I apologize for the random photo placement. If someone wants to give me a lesson on how to get these to stick where I want them to please let me know. :)

As I write...

As I write this blog I am in pain. I went to the gym tonight and tweaked my back the same way I did months ago. It took me over a month to recover then. At least this time I know some things I can do on my own. I will not have the nifty cool electronic acupuncture treatment or the ultrasound massage from the physical therapist but I am sure I will be able to suffer through. I will be stocking up on ibuprofen.

I think this may be the end of my free weight squat days. Maybe nautilus machines are all that are in my future? Even those won't be in my future for a while. Hello dying bug exercises.

Closer to a new entry

I spent quite a while tonight downloading photos off of the camera so I am one step closer to another legitimate posting. I have been a tweeting fool on the twitter account (englandaia is the twitter account name) and will share some of those finds on this end as well. I also have some adorable photos of John and Lucy to post. Check back; I hope to have them, or some of the entries anyway, posted by the end of the week.

Jacene

As you probably know...

As most people know who are around me for any length of time (the time can be as short as 5 minutes) I am venturing out into the dating world. You can almost hear the spooky music playing in the background can't you? I signed up for eharmony last month and have met some nice people.

The thing that is the hardest part for me is the whole "blind dating" aspect of it. Sure you know a little bit about them and hopefully you have seen a photo that somewhat resembles the current version of who they are but still, if you are use to being friends with someone and then dating them it is odd to do it this way. Things go slow...which I am not complaining about, don't get me wrong. All in all it is interesting and I would recommend, and have recommended, this approach to friends wanting to meet people. It is a good way to meet someone you may otherwise never run across. If I don't try this I just wind up hanging out with fellow architects and never dating.

A friend sent me this blog link which is pretty accurate and informative if you are contemplating the online dating thing. The blog in and of itself is pretty entertaining.

Jacene

Catching up - Halloween

This year, in true John fashion, John decided to be something for Halloween that is atypical for a 6 year old. He chose "the riddler" from Batman. He has been playing a lot of Lego Batman with Clay this year and decided to be the riddler because he can tell people riddles in return for a treat. He is so thoughtful. :)
Needless to say, I had to find stuff to make his outfit. It is not easy to find purple and green items without graphics. We managed, it was a team effort between the both of us to find the pieces. I bought some glitter fabric paint and felt and we were set. You can see the results of our planning and labor here (and in the birthday party photos). Oh by the way, this costume won first prize at the Ivan Allen Halloween party we went to Thursday night. His prize is to go see any movie he wants and dinner out. We are seeing Astro Boy and more than likely going to Texas Roadhouse or Arby's.

Catching up - Halloween (Boo at the zoo)

Last Sunday John and I headed to the zoo for their last night of "Boo at the Zoo" event. It was PACKED. We made our way through the treat stations and John played in "kids cove" for a little bit and then we headed home via Arby's drive through. He had fun and decided to dress as a fire fighter for the event. One of the firemen at the end of the trail handing out krispy kremes told him that he "better get back for his shift." Again, photos to document the festivities.

Catching up - Halloween (Birthday Party)

A week ago we had John's 6th birthday party at the Down Under at the University Center on campus. If you didn't go to UT or didn't have enough spare time to have visited the Down Under if you did go there. It is a billiards and bowling area in the basement of the University Center. You can rent it for parties and such and is a pretty good deal.
John wanted a Batman cake and Halloween treat bags...ask and Mom shall deliver. I made the cake so no laughing. The buildings are cookies and the top and bat symbol are fondant. He liked the cake and requested chocolate...takes after me I guess. Here are a couple of photos to commemorate the event.

Catching up - Halloween (House)

John and I have been working on making the house spooky for a few weeks now. It started with some tombstones and skull pictures in the windows. Then the cobwebs and ghosts in trees appeared. Every time we would go for a walk around the neighborhood he would see something and get another idea. There are a couple of window pictures he wants to have that we saw at other people's houses and what he doesn't know is that I have found them and have them as part of his birthday present. He will be excited! Here is our house and pumpkin for this year. Oh the pumpkin idea came from a magazine so don't give me too much credit. :)

Catching up - Baby Shower

If you didn't know it, my Sister is going to have a baby. The due date is January 3rd but no one thinks she will make it that long. She has one BIG bun in the oven (99% across the board). Last weekend I threw her a shower for "family" and here are a couple of photos of the festivities. It was the first "party" I have hosted at the new house.

Catching up - Lucy

Waiting for trick or treaters (or is it treators) to hit the neighborhood and thought I would catch up on some blog postings. So I owe lots of picture and lots of information. I will catch up first with a photo of Lucy the dog. She is a hand full but sweet a good deal of the time as well. She looks for any opportunity she can to make an escape and has done so several times. To her dismay, I keep finding her. She seems to be a terrier and catahoula leopard dog mix. Here are some random photos of her.

I am soooo tardy

Yes, I promised photos. No, I haven't posted any. I have my camera and external drive ready to sync but I have not been able to focus to actually do it.

I did run across a link to the Knoxville Business Journal's story about the first class of 40 under 40 people and thought I would post the link to it here. See, that is something. :)

2007 class of 40 under 40

Delinquent

I am sorry for the lack of posts. To catch you up, my job description has changed to include interior design. I like doing most of the things that need to be done and I think I can do pretty well if given a fair shot. I am trying to learn quickly about prices of materials and how to be thrifty but effective. Example: instead of throwing out all of the existing millwork in a project I am chosing to resurface it with a film and reuse as much as I can. Yes, some modifications will need to be made to the pieces like doors added and countertops replaced but all in all, it is cheaper than starting from scratch. Don't worry, I won't sacrifice functionality for cost so whatever is kept will work.

By me taking on this role, we are stepping up as an office on the level of detail and thought that we are putting in the interior sheets. I am not allowed to get away with some of the general notes that we have used in the past and am being asked to research and call out specific items and not leave it up to the contractors or subcontractors discretion as to what they can use. It is a crash course on materials but I am up for the challenge.

What has suffered because of this added role is marketing. I am still doing some but not as much as is expected of me. I am trying to juggle all the balls but it isn't easy. I keep giving 100% and hoping that will be enough...maybe, maybe not. My next little challenge is to figure out a way to become a registered interior designer. Texas seems to be a route I can take but I still have some more checking to do before I go in that direction.

Don't worry, I know that I owe everyone lots of pictures of lots of things. I will try to catch up this weekend. My new laptop came in (I am writing on it now) and I am working on getting the programs I need on it to be functioning. I am excited to have one of my very own and not just the office one so that I can feel better about financial and legal programs I use. It is good to get some independence.

Oh, speaking of independence, I have a new personal phone number. I still have the office cell phone so you can reach me with it but if you want the new number as well let me know via text or calling or emailing or whatever.

One more thing...I am on twitter. You can request to follow me but be warned, I twitter random things and nothing useful. It is entertaining at times since I seem to get hurt often so if you want to follow I am "englandaia".

Um...that is it until I sit down with my camera and some time to do a legitimate posting.

Jacene

It's convention time in Tennessee...for the AIA anyway

I am right in the middle of the state AIA convention. AIA stands for the American Institute of Architects but if you are reading my blog you probably already knew that. Anyway, the convention started for me Tuesday night with a reception for people that helped put the convention together. Wednesday night was the host chapter party which I chaired. It went well but I am already exhausted. Exhausted but still not sleepy enough to stay asleep for more than 3 hours at a time. Yes, I am still having sleep issues.

Again, I am digressing. What I am trying to say is that I am busy right now and owe anyone keeping up with this blog some postings. Hopefully this weekend I can sit down and post about the new dog, a tour I went on of the Alex Haley farm/Children's Defense Fund retreat and about the convention in general. Yesterday was very informative about general business practices. I think today focuses on design but I forget. Oh well.

Jacene

Dog Picture

If you want to see a picture of Lucy you will now have to wait a little while. They have taken down the link to her and I will need to take a photo of her tonight...after a bath. :)

DOG!

John, Angie and I went shopping. I wasn't really intending on buying anything today but of course I broke down and did. I now am a proud pet owner. We went to Young-Williams Animal Center and shopped around after a disappointing experience at the Golden Retriever Rescue event at Turkey Creek's Petsmart.

We looked at big dogs and small dogs and puppies but we chose "goofy". That is her shelter name and since she didn't really respond to it today I am changing it and she will be "Lucy" starting Monday night. We bought everything to start her out except a crate and a dog house which will be purchased tomorrow. I have found out that starting costs for pet ownership are more expensive than I thought. It will be over $800 in start up costs and that is with a super cool vet telling me what to buy and what not to buy. Yikes.

Here is a link to view a picture of this 4 year old, 40 pound, peculiar looking mutt.

Quick Post

Today my sister and I helped clean out my Mom's closet. We will have to return to finish the job but we packed up 19 kitchen trash bags and took them to Goodwill. There were 4 bags of trash as well. It took 3 1/2 hours to get that much done. Whew.

Here is a little tid bit about me that not many people know and probably should if I ever offer to help you do this...I don't caulk well. I get more caulk on the surrounding surfaces and my hands than I do in the area to be caulked. If I am helping you do something around the house, make sure it is not that.

As I write this, there are multiple parties in the neighborhood with live music. I live in a hipper place now than where I was (west knox vs. fountain city). West Knoxville, hip? Who would have thought it? I am not hip enough to attend the parties but I can listen to them. :)

Tasty treat after a hard day

Yesterday was a long day. It started with Church and ended with rum cake and tv watching with friends. In between those events, throw in Father's Day and the last bit of moving/cleaning from the old house in between rain showers. I didn't even make it to Sears to buy the hedge trimmer.

Oh, as for the picture...I came home from dropping off my Dad's truck (which he has graciously let me use this whole time in moving) and was just planning on cleaning myself up and watching a movie. I checked my email and had an invite from friends that live in the new neighborhood to come to dinner and visit with them. I had been meaning to meet up with them and last night they caught me at a good stopping point since I wasn't going to be productive around the house at all.

The company and the food were excellent. I was also introduced to a new t.v. show that may make me upgrade my cable package so that I can continue to watch it, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" on BBC. I am a "Sound of Music" nut so this was right up my alley. A whole bunch of women trying to be "Maria" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of the "Sound of Music".

I was driven home around 10:30pm because we realized it was too dark in the neighborhood to walk back home...it wasn't because of the rum cake. :) Next time I will bring a flashlight and leave an outside light on at the house since I still have trouble finding it. I am such a newbie to the neighborhood. All in all, yesterday was a very good and productive day.

The yard

I have come to the realization that I am going to have to mow the yard every week. This is not a "keeping up with the Jones'" type thing, it is just that the yard is growing so fast I can't keep up. Honestly, the back yard could probably stand to be mowed more often than once a week but that is insane. This week it took 2 hours (40 minutes for front and side, 80 minutes for the back) to mow which is much better than the course 0f 4 hours last week...there was some stopping to wash out the underside of the mower and then let whatever engine part dry that I shouldn't have gotten wet. This week it only died twice in the back yard due to high wet grass. I went r...e...a...l...l...y slow and that helped a little. I had to refill the gas tank twice.

If you missed it, just check the previous postings to see what sort of river washes through the yard during big thunder storms and you will know why the back yard stays wet more than most yards. I still haven't quite figured out where I should stop mowing and where the neighbors should start. I have been eying fencelines and treelines where the property lines should be but I have a feeling that the previous home owner just mowed over to both neighbor's driveways. Not me, buddy.

I also don't know what to do with the sticks and such that are picked up out of the yard. In the City you just put them at the curb and trucks would come by once a week and pick it up. Now what happens? I still haven't called to set up trash pickup. I am taking advantage of my last week of City services and taking the trash to the old house. This week I need to call...maybe they will pick up my brush too.

Tomorrow I am going to go buy hedge clippers like I have been meaning to do for 2 weeks and I may even attempt to use the weedeater that I bought and am terrified of. In a couple of weeks I am suppose to do an oil change on the mower, according to a coworker. I am not even sure if I have the correct tools to try this.

I have several owner's manuals to catch up on...garage door opener...vacuum...mower...weedeater. Rivitting reading.

I love Kidkraft

I have a new favorite company, Kidkraft. During the moving process I flaked out and moved John's play kitchen in a pickup truck without tying down two ends (I secured one end) and without taping doors shut and making sure everything that can move was secured.

I head out and hit a bump or something on the interstate enough that the whole thing tips toward the tailgate. I see something move and think it is just the door on the "microwave". Come to find out, it was the plastic sink insert. I didn't realize this until I got to the house and saw that everything but the kitchen sink made it there. I told John later and he cried about it. I told him I would try to find a replacement sink and order it.

A few days later I poked around the internet and couldn't find any place that sold parts so I contacted Kidkraft directly and explained what I was looking for. They were super cool and said they had some still in stock and would send one to me...for free. No joke. I love this company. I had no idea anyone did anything for free anymore. John is happy, I am thrilled and the kitchen will be functional again!

Should I build and ark?

We have been having some afternoon thunderstorms lately that have been real frog stranglers and I happened to be up in John's room during one of them. I thought I would try to capture the small river that flows through the back yard during heavy rains. My thought... it helps me identify where to plant a weeping willow. Really, the home inspector and I checked it out one day and we were both ok with the distance from the house to the river.

The Monochromatic Room

I have a "before and after" shot of one of the rooms I have been frantically trying to paint. This is the dining/living room. Before it was an off white box with a white ceiling. I changed it up a little bit but what was funny is that excluding the dark brown, everything is about the same color. The ceiling and upper walls are the same color which match the carpet which matches the rug which matches the chair. Tomorrow the movers come and so there will be more furniture in the room to help break things up but for right now it is a very monochromatic color scheme.

Painting machine

I have tried to turn myself into a painting machine without much success. I really need to have three ceilings painted before tomorrow morning so that my Dad can come over and reinstall the light fixtures in those rooms. I have 2 out of the 3 complete. After an awards dinner (no, I am not winning one) I will be headed back home to start on the last room. Everything is taped off I just have to pull out some paint and get to work. I have finished the smallest room and the largest room and the one tonight is the most complicated room. All of this is to be done with one antique light fixture as the light source. Last night I painted with only the help of track lighting. I only had one section I could find this morning that was a little light on paint. Next time I have flat white on a roller I will hit that spot...maybe.

As a side note, I think I am the first person to paint the ceilings since the house was built in the two rooms I have painted thus far. Oh, and the evolution of paint colors in the den are this; pink, light blue, khaki, and soon to be a medium-dark blue. I have decided to leave the trim a dark wood and not paint it white in that room. I figured that if I change my mind I can always go back and paint it later. Better go, work is about to start. :)

Jacene

canceled LEED test

I canceled my LEED AP test yesterday. I figured it was better to pay $30 and cancel than to pay $300 and fail which is what I was going to do if I didn't study more. I have not had time to study properly (I had 20 pages of notes but that was the tip of a very big iceberg) and did not foresee a lot of study time in the future so I bailed. I feel sort of bad about it but the timing was just wrong. Oh well.

Quick note...

I stopped by the ceramics studio and glazed all of the remaining pottery today. I will go back sometime next week and see how it all came out. They changed out most of their glazes so who knows how it will look. I am excited to have a few usable pieces from the class. John will also be very excited about his two pieces that have survived so far.

Oh, I am also without internet connection for a few days until I regroup with Comcast so if you email and I don't answer promptly, I apologize in advance. I am writing this post at work...yes I am actually doing work too. I have already approved some timesheets and finished my own. I will log off here and write the letter I came to work on too. The faster I get it done, the faster I get to go home and rest. Ah, rest.

Oh and for anyone wondering how the wasp stings are doing, the swelling is gone and now they just feel bruised and tender. I will live, although you wouldn't know it by the two screams I made when it happened this morning.

Jacene

Vacation? ...I think not.

When John and I finally made our way back home after a VERY long day he said it was like we had been on vacation because we had been gone from the house so long. We left at nine this morning and pulled into the drive way a little after six. We started out picking up female family members and going to Harriman to visit my grandmother. When discussions turned political, then racial, and then the inevitable "the end of the world is almost here" I packed up John's stuff and we both went to the car to wait for the others to follow. It was about lunch time and so we ate out and then John and I dropped everyone off at my parent's house.

John and I booked it over to the downtown Regal to catch the 1:40pm showing of "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". It was equally as entertaining as the first one. I laughed out loud multiple times. John and I gave it two thumbs up.

After that we went to Mighty Mud to glaze his beehive. I didn't notice the note on the door saying they closed at 4pm today as we were sauntering in at 3:55pm. I asked if we could glaze the one item and they were ok with that. They have seen John quite a bit recently and like him. We were there for about 15 minutes and then off again, this time to McKays used book store. We bought about 10 or so kids books and headed out again.

I will need to give a little background for the next stop. John has characters from the first "Night at the Museum" movie. No, they didn't actually make any but we found a site that carried Odyssey Toys that have historical characters. He now wants to get some more to be able to play the new movie. Anyway, we did find some of the characters in town last time and so we headed over to Target to see what we could find. I didn't expect much and we didn't find much.

Our last stop of the day was Sam's for gas and food, namely coleslaw that I am suppose to bring to a cookout tomorrow. We picked up some other things as well and then headed home.

Before you all pass judgement, I had packed snacks and drinks for the day so the child was not abused. He was actually so full by the time we made it home he didn't want supper. I dunked him in the tub, trimmed his hair, fingernails, and toenails, and read one of the books we bought and tucked him in. He is one tuckered out camper. Ha, vacation indeed.

Jacene

...it has started

I have bought the first thing for the new house, a string trimmer. I bought it based on the consumer reports recommendation. I may not be able to mow...or store cold food...or wash or dry clothes...but I will be able to trim the grass around things. :)

This weekend I also plan on buying a bed since there are sales galore right now. I will save $100 on it. It isn't a huge amount but it is still $100 that I couldn't save a week and a half ago when I went to check it out. I am ashamed to admit it but I am buying it at Rooms To Go. I now feel bad for making fun of RTG for so many years. There stuff isn't so bad for mid-line furniture. Look at me and my frugality. :)

Jacene

Add this to the list of firsts for me...

Today John and I visited the "Redbox" machine and rented two movies, one for him and one for me. I did lock up a little when I had my date for today mixed up but once set back on the right path everything was fine. How that happened in the first place, I don't know. I had written down today's date earlier in church. Oh well. Look at me doing a trendy and frugal thing. :)

Jacene

Another try at Little Ponderosa Zoo

John and I have been to Little Ponderosa Zoo before...about 2 1/2 years ago for a classmate's 4th birthday party. It was a stressful experience for me for several reasons; missed turns, just me and John, very cold, poor parking and planning so that I had to leave John and move the car while someone came to pick up a horse or something...anyway, stressful. I really never intended to go back but there was another classmate's birthday party.

So, I held my breath and tried it again. Me and John alone again at Little Ponderosa...oooh, doesn't it just seem ominous already? Well, I missed one turn and had a car to follow part of the way so getting there wasn't so bad. I miss turns all of the time so that wasn't too bad in and of itself. We get there and the parking isn't as crazy today...good sign. The birthday girl's dad is at the door to greet us and we are on our way for a tour of the facilities. It is MUCH different now. It isn't as redneck scary as it was. Now it is more like a little redneck zoo. They do have a lot of different animals and I am not sure how or why they are all there but it is interesting. We walked around, fed some animals, rode the ponies (well, John rode the ponies), used the swing set, and went back inside for juice, chips and power ranger cupcakes. It was an enjoyable afternoon. I have included some photos of John doing cute things as well as the Zonkey they have on site. Enjoy.

Oh, and check out the crazed look in the deer's eyes in the background. It kept following us and "barking" well it was more of a belching bark. Weird.