A Trip to Louisville

Matt and I spent this past weekend in Louisville, KY.  We haven't taken a trip for just the two of us since our honeymoon last year.  We chose Louisville because it was close by and we thought the weather in Louisville would be nicer than the weather in Chicago.

I worked a half day on Friday and after packing our bags, we were out the door and in the car.  We had scoped out the Hyatt in downtown Louisville before we left and headed there first.  The problem with last minute trip decisions is that you do not have time to research.  Imagine our surprise that there was a national archery tournament and several conventions going on when we arrived at the Hyatt.  We got lucky and were able to get the last room in the Hyatt.

After we settled into our room, we made our way back downstairs to find a place to eat.  We had made a friend, Daniel, who worked at the front desk and he suggested we go to the Bluegrass Brewing Company, also known as the BBC.

The BBC was fantastic!  I had a cheeseburger and the Altbier and Matt had a Jerk Chicken sandwich and a Purple Nurple beer.  Matt fell in love with his sandwich and declared it the best sandwich he has ever had.  I think all future sandwiches will be compared to this sandwich.  We had a nice stroll back to the hotel where we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning rolled around and we had a lazy morning and enjoyed the views of downtown Louisville from our hotel room.  We then packed our bags and checked out as the hotel was completely booked for Saturday night and they had no room for us. 

After I was somewhat caffeinated and had some breakfast, we hit the road to go back to Indiana to visit the Horseshoe Casino in Southern Indiana.

Matt won $25 at the craps table.   When I say won, I mean he walked out with $25 more than what he came in with.  I don't gamble, so I stood by and watched him play craps.  I know that there are rules to craps, but I don't understand them and it looks like they are making up the rules as they go. 

check out the fish in the table

After leaving the casino, we stopped at a McDonalds for a snack and to use the free wifi.  We then booked our next hotel room at the Galt House.  So, we checked into our room at the Galt House and relaxed for a few hours.  Do you notice a theme of relaxing?  It was wonderful.

We went to the hotel's martini bar, Al J's, for a few drinks and they had the most interesting bar I've ever seen.  The bar was actually a huge fish tank and the fish would just swim around as we enjoyed our martinis (Flirtini for me, Bloody Mary martini for Matt and then a beer).

After drinks we hopped in a cab (it was raining outside) and went to 4th Street Live to see a comedy show we had tickets for.   If you have never been to 4th Street Live, its an outdoor area in the middle of downtown Louisville with bars and restaurants.  David Koechner was the headliner we saw at the Improv Comedy Club.  He has most recently appeared as Todd Packer on The Office and was Champ in Anchorman.  Overall, his show was disappointing.  It had funny moments and was not as good as we expected.

After the show, we walked out of the club to see snowflakes the size of quarters falling from the sky.  We were starving and decided to head back to the BBC since we had loved it so much the night before.  So we walked several blocks through the snow to get there and we were not disappointed.

wine + beer = Raspberry Meade

Matt decided to get the Purple Nurple again and I tried the Raspberry Meade.  Let me tell you about the Raspberry Meade.  If wine and beer got married and had a baby, that child would be Raspberry Meade.  It was delicious but has a very high alcohol content (7.82%), so they serve it in smaller glasses.  Lucky for me, we just had another short walk to our hotel so it was two Raspberry Meades for me.

Overall, it was a great weekend.  I am so happy we made the decision to go and spend the weekend together.  I know we are together all the time at home, but this was different.  We had time to talk and explore the city together.  And since next month is our 1 year wedding anniversary (I know, its crazy to me too that it has been a year already), this was a nice way to celebrate our first year of marriage.

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The First Daffodils of the Season

To me, the first visible sign that spring is here is when the daffodils and tulips start coming up.  Last fall, Matt and I planted 60 tulip and daffodil bulbs and I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival ever since. 

On March 1, 2011 the first shoots started to come up.

On March 16, 2011 there are buds that are close to being ready to go.

And today, March 21, 2011, the first blooms are here.  It made very happy to come home from work today and see my daffodils blooming. 

Now we wait for the rest of my flowers to bloom. 

 

A Robot Named Rockstar

Last week Daulton's homework for the week was to build a robot from items around the house.  To say this homework assignment was a team effort is an understatement.  We are all very proud of how Rockstar, the name Daulton gave his robot, turned out.

In case you are wondering, Rockstar is made out of:

An old cornmeal container for the bottom
Red wrapping paper
Black Sharpie marker
Juice container
Aluminum foil
Juice Container cap for the green circle in the middle
Wooden skewers
Bathroom cups for eyeballs
Toilet paper roll for the license plate that says "Rockstar"

Daulton also had to write a story describing his robot.  Rockstar likes to color and eat ice cream.  Daulton and Rockstar also play football together.   Rockstar helps out with Daulton's homework and is 9 years old.

Unfortunately, I was too busy supervising and constructing a robot and I did not take any pictures during construction.  Instead, all I have are these outtakes to share with you.

Rock on Rockstar.

Does Something Look Different?

Big news here!  Daulton pulled out his first tooth last week.  It had been loose for about 2 weeks and finally, last week we convinced him to pull it out.  He had been trying for about 30 minutes and finally, when Matt and I both looked away for a moment he yelled "Its out!" and showed us his tooth. 

He lost his top, front tooth around the age of 1 so technically this is the 2nd tooth he has lost. 

The tooth fairy also stopped by and left some money and a note.  The note said she would be taking the tooth and throwing it up in the sky to make a new star.  Daulton was very excited that she came by and that he would have a star up in the sky!

My apologies for the super close picture.  We had some issues getting a decent picture and this is the best shot we have. 

Hard to believe he is old enough to be losing teeth and will turn 7 later this month!

 

There Is Something Breathing Outside

I wouldn't say that I am afraid of the dark.  Instead I would say I am not a fan of being outside in the dark. 

When I have to take Dixie out at night, I stay in the areas that are lit.  I used to go into the unlight areas, until Matt told me he saw a coyote in the backyard.  Granted the coyote sighting was during the day.  But I refuse to be the first human attacked by a coyote on a residential street with her german shepherd/beagle mix present and on a leash.  And apparently my inner-child believes that if I stay in the light, nothing can get me.

Maybe I am afraid of the dark. 

I took Dixie out last night and I heard something breathing, and it was not Dixie or myself.  Dixie heard it too.  Or at least I am pretty sure she did.  So I did what anyone else would do, I hauled ass inside to tell my husband. 

Me:  "Something is breathing outside."
Matt:  "What?"  (confused look on his face)
Me:  "I was outside with Dixie and I heard something breathing.  It wasn't me and it wasn't Dixie.  It was definitely something else."
Matt:  "Where was it?"
Me:  "Outside.  And its breathing."

So Matt went outside to investigate the situation I had so thoroughly described.  For a long time.  So I went to the front door to investigate Matt who was investigating the something that was breathing outside.  I didn't go outside because, well, it was dark out there.

Dixie and I are at the front door waiting for Matt to come back.  Matt didn't come back, but some lunatic who jumped out from the shadows to scare the living crap out of me did.  It was the kind of scare that makes your heart hurt from the fright.  And I'm pretty sure it skipped a beat or two.  Matt, of course, thought it was hysterical.

As a result of this experience, I will no longer be reporting back to Matt that "something is breathing outside" or going outside, or near the front door when its dark ever again.  There are coyotes and lunatics out there.

Check out my new blog post comparing 1st Grade vs. High School Basketball on the Hendricks Regional Health blog.  My mom is also blogging and you should check out her posts too.