Elizabethtown, KY...Much Needed Getaway

For the past year I have been telling Jeremy that I need a vacation all by myself.  No kids, no husband, just me.  Well, I finally got it.  I just wanted time to relax, not worry, and just have time for me.  When I told others about where I was going, most said, "Elizabethtown.  What's in Elizabethtown and why did you choose it?"  Well, I learned about Elizabethtown last year when we took Megan up to Lexington.  It just seemed like a small community with a lovely name.  When we took Emilee up to Lexington this year, I was reminded of Elizabethtown again and thought, that is where I want to spend my few days.  It was small enough not to get distracted by too much to see and close enough to the big city, if I wanted to venture I could.  So off I went and let me tell you.  It was wonderful.  When I first got to the hotel, I lied down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling for about 30 min, just enjoying the silence.  For the most part, I read, watched a few movies, slept, saw a few of the quaint little sites to see in Elizabethtown, and I even went shopping,.... and I did venture to the big city of Louisville.

This was a cute little walking tour that I did in the center of Elizabethtown's little downtown area.  They had characters dressed up as we visited each one on this fun walking tour through the downtown area.  They told us the story about themselves and their role in Elizabethtown and their mark on American history .  We got to go in houses along the main street and pretend we went back in time.  We met people like Pres. Lincoln's sister-in-law and Pres. Buchanann.  Each person we met was a real person from the past and it was kind of cool to hear all about their stories.

The day before I came home, I went up to Louisville.  It is about 35 min. away from Elizabethtown and it is a huge city.  I went to Cheesecake Factory, shopped a little, and went to the downtown area of the city.  Now, I am not a fan of baseball at all.  But, when you are right next to where they make the "Louisville Slugger"  baseball bats and you see a huge Louisville Slugger bat off the road, you stop and take a picture.  I wish I could have gone inside, but it had just closed when I got there.  Oh, another time.  I also enjoyed "Fourth Street Live".  This is an area on the street where cars cannot go into.  It is mostly bars throughout, but they have some other things as well.  They usually have some bands playing.  Now, of course I didn't participate in any of the bar scene, but I did enjoy my Wendy's Frosty and listened to some music.  Of course, my luck, it was a country band.  I hung out a bit, but then I headed into Border's books, and finally back to Elizabethtown.  Now, as much as I enjoyed my "alone time", this would have been a place to go with others.  Lots and lots to see and that would have been fun with Jeremy or some great girlfriends.  Maybe another time.  It was a good trip.  I highly reccommend it.  We each need some good alone quiet time in our lives.

My New Blog

I have been thinking about doing this blog for a while.  I even think it might be a little embarrassing, but I figure the more people I let know about what I am doing the better.  I so often have just kept losing weight a secret because of how often I fail.  So I have created this blog to journal my struggles, triumphs, downfalls, and successes.  I have the desire to change and I hope that you will all visit it often to go on this journey with me.  I hope by knowing that if you might check it often I will be able to work through the struggles and become successful in the end.  Please leave comments of encouragement, tips that I might add to the pages, healthy recipes that have been proven successful in your families, and links that might have helped you.  I would like to post these things on the various pages of the blog. These are things I would like to add.  I even want to add pictures, which is embarrassing itself, but what a great way to see progress.  I can't wait to hear from you all.  See you on my journey......
http://watchmybuttshrinkthejourney.blogspot.com/

Emilee's Kentucky Trip

I have been meaning to put this up for some time, but just haven't had the motivation or the energy to do it. After a few weeks, I finally got it together. As most of you know, Jeremy travels a lot for work. One of the places he has to go is Lexington, KY. Last year Megan and I tagged along on one of his trips for her birthday. Emilee of course wanted the same thing, so this year again I tagged along on one of Jeremy's trips and we took Emilee up to Kentucky and enjoyed pretty much the same things. She of course was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to go to the horse park, ride horses, go to the children's museum, swim in the hotel pool, and hang out with just mom, dad, and her. When Megan got home last year, she told Emilee all about Riddick. Emilee of course wanted to ride Riddick as well. I told her, that might not happen, the workers choose a horse for you and it had been a year. A lot can happen in a year. I couldn't believe it, out of all the kids that were there, Emilee ended up with Riddick. She was so happy and couldn't wait to tell Megan. She did really good. A lot better then me, though I have to say, I had a HUGE horse, by the name of Big Boy, and I felt very high up. I also think I am allergic to horses 'cause last time my eyes puffed up. I had thought it was just plain old outside allergies, but I ended up at the eye doctor because it was so bad. This year my eyes seemed fine, until I got off that horse. After petting the horse and rubbing my eyes, they become puffy once more. Not as bad, since I took my contacts out immediately this time. That is what happen with me and cats, so I think I must be allergic. It was fun to watch Emilee though. I would do it again.
We got to see some fun horses, some small, some huge, and some pretty and different ones. We watched some do tricks with riders, and run around the track. It was a beautiful day. Warm, but beautiful.
We also went to the children's museum downtown. Emilee had a blast, running, playing inside big bubbles, working on patients, and going to the moon.
Last year, on the way home, Megan and I stopped at one of the caves, called Diamond Cave. This year on the way home, Emilee and I stopped at Hidden River Cave. At one time this cave was probably the most Toxic Cave in the Nation, because people would drop trash, dead animals, and anything else they didn't want down in the cave. In the '80's Kentucky made a law against that sort of thing. Some organization cleaned it up and the water started cleaning itself up and now is the town's primary water source. It is now know as the Nation's greatest ecological miracles. Before it went through all of that, in the '20's it was a dance club. They had a big band down there in one of the "cave room", set up lights, tables, refreshment areas, and danced the night away. I thought that was pretty cool. I guess many of the caves in Kentucky did the same thing.
We had a good time. We were happy to be home, but we had lots of stories to tell. I guess Hunter thinks he is next. But he has to be 8 to ride the horses, so it will be a couple of years.