Staycation

(This is a repost. Apparently I drafted it up back in August, but it didn't publish properly, so I wanted to share it now. :) )

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This week was our "Staycation Week", so I thought I'd share a little of that on my blog. Nick had some vacation time that needed to be used (use it or lose it hours), so he took the week off and we've enjoyed spending some extra time together. His work schedule can be hectic, so it's nice getting to enjoy a laid back week together. 

The last time I saw my GI specialist, he changed 6 of the medicines I was on in an attempt to end the current flair that I'm in, which keeps me at home a lot.  (That number is not a typo). Needless to say, adjusting to new medicine and changing out old things can be extremely taxing. Since I haven't felt well, we decided a Staycation was a good idea instead of going somewhere away from home. We thought it would be fun to watch movies, enjoy some restaurants as a nice treat, and just do the simple things we enjoy together. 

These are some of the things we enjoyed this week. Mostly wondering around local shops, and enjoying a few restaurants together. :)

-On Saturday, we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Of course, we got breakfast for dinner! We also had fun exploring their gift shop. All of their Halloween displays are out now, and they are adorable!

On Sunday, we celebrated my Mom's birthday with my mom, aunt, Nick, and I. We all had a good time! While we were there, my mom also gave me my birthday gift too since I hadn't seen her since before my birthday. It was a beautiful, vintage movie add for, "Breakfast at Tiffany's. "(One of my favorite movies!). I'm a bit gutted that I absolutely forgot to take birthday pictures with my mom while we were there. We were all to busy visiting and completely forgot, so I will have to remember to make up for it next time. 

Sunday night, we went to see, "Let's Be Cops". If you're looking for a funny movie to watch, definitely check that one out; it's hilarious! 

-On Monday, we mostly hung out at home and took it easy, just enjoying each other's company and watching a few movies with our furbabies.

-On Tuesday, I had a dentist appointment. Afterwards, we were in a different part of town than we normally hang out in, so we decided to grab lunch at Caio Bella, and then we we went to a nearby book store, The Booksellers. Their store was adorable! Not only do they have a wide range of books, they also have a full cafe, household goods, friendly staff, and even had a book signing while we were there. It was a neat place to explore. I also found all three books that I've had saved on my "book wish list" for a while, so I'm excited to read these! 

On Wednesday, we had dinner at Colton's, then roamed around Wal-Mart for a few things. We found a few movies we wanted to watch on clearance, so we we made a movie night out of things! 

(How adorable are the metal cowboys from Colton's)

On Thursday morning, we woke up early and had breakfast at Bryant's. (It's one of Memphis' best spots for breakfast!) After breakfast, we went to check out, At Home. It used to be called, Garden Ridge, but they've changed the name. Thankfully, everything else is still the same though. We found it amusing that the Halloween and Christmas displays were side by side. That night we were going to Dixon Art Gallery, but neither of us felt up to it. Instead, we stayed in and watched, "Love It Or List It". Gotta love HGTV!

Friday night, I made some homemade chicken soft tacos for us, and we watched, "We're the Millers" on DVD. Our simple our date nights in are some of my very favorite! After dinner, we got dessert to go from Firebirds.

Chicken soft tacos

Sometimes it's fun to just have dessert to go and eat it at home after you've already cooked dinner. This was our dessert from Firebirds (creme brûlée cheesecake).

Happy First Birthday, Ranger!!!

Today is my beloved little Australian Shepherd, Ranger's first birthday! I can not believe how quickly he has grown and how much this sweet little guy has changed my life in such a short span of time! It seems like just yesterday when Jack surprised me with a little ball full of fluff the night before Easter. Jack knew how much I had missed my other Aussie and how I talked about them constantly. He apparently conspired with my sister Kimmy for quite a while to try and find the perfect match for me. How Sweet! None of the local shelters/rescues had a puppy that fit the bill, so he decided to do a lot of research and find a wonderful breeder. That led him on quite the journey. a round-trip from Memphis to Missouri and back. He told me that he would be out flying all day, so I didn't think anything of him going out of town. I just went about my day and then went to Target that night. On my way back home, I got a call from Jack asking where I was and when I would be back home to let him in. (We don't live together and at the time, I had just moved into my old apartment and had yet to make key's for everyone.) When I got home that night, I pulled back the vertical blinds and turned on the porch light to let Jack inside of my apartment (he had just jumped over my patio and hung out there until I got home). When I opened up the blinds and door, I could not belive what I saw- there stood Jack with the most amazing little puppy....the one that I had unknowingly picked out several weeks prior when we were looking at puppy pictures at Ihop during one of the first large Memphis snows of 2010. Since he had been all of the way in Missouri, I never even entertained the idea that it would be a possibility to get the little guy. What a surprise when I found out he was mine! :)


That's the "short" version of Ranger's story. Since I've had him he has been such a wonderful dog. He has finished Puppy, Intermediate, and Advanced training classes. He passed his Canine Good Citizen test last saturday (Jan.22)- All before his first birthday! He will begin agility classes on Saturday and we are also in full swing with training so that Ranger and I can become a certified therapy team. Any job you give him, he excells at and strives to please. I'm looking foward to many, many more years to come with this amazing dog!

Happy First Birthday, Ranger!

It's hard to believe he's grown soo quickly!

Ranger on his first birthday, today!