Getting in the Christmas Spirit

The weekend before Christmas Ron decided we would go out to dinner, then take a ride in the Corvette, but he wouldn't tell me where. He likes to keep me guessing sometimes, but I know him so well it doesn't take me long to figure things out!

After dinner we headed down 485, and once he took a particular exit I knew where we were going. We went to see the Christmas lights at "Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden". We also took a horse and buggy ride, which sounds all nice and romantic. It was not! Ron was sadly disappointed. I, on the other hand wasn't expecting much so I was fine with the ride. The carriage was for 6 people, and there were 2 couples that talked the entire time~ blah, blah, blah...I just wanted to hear the horse clip/clop on the road in the dark. It was so soothing & quite except for the loud people in the carriage with us. They didn't have a carriage for two. Lesson Learned: I won't do that again!

Anyway, the lights were what I expected. Ron again, expected a bit more. Here's a few pics.

Late Blog --- How we spent Thanksgiving

Ron's brother(Jeff), Chase & Jake(Ron's nephew)














Ron's Mom & Dad















Brittany & Drew














Chase & Drew playing in the water

















Chase & Drew horsing around. They were friends before Brittany & Drew started dating.










My wonderful family enjoying the beach......


Happy belated Thanksgiving!

We had lunch with mom the Sunday before Thanksgiving, as usual. It was a great meal. We missed my brother being there because they were on a trip in the TN mountains somewhere.

We left the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for the beach to spend time with Ron's family. His mom and dad spend the whole month of November at the beach, along with his aunt and uncle and cousins. Drew, Brittany's boyfriend of 2 1/2 years came, along with Chase's new girlfriend, Ashley. Even though our kids live at home and go to school, we never hardly see them. We get up and leave before them each morning. When we get home from work, they are either at school or working. By the time they get home we're in bed.

Here are some pics of our Thanksgiving beach trip. We also celebrated Ron's mom and dad 50th wedding anniversary while we were there.

I'm still here......

Oh my, I just looked at my blog. It's been a long time since I've blogged. So sorry, but does anyone really care. lol

I promise I will post what's been going around the Griffin household in the next couple of days.
Work has been crazy trying to finish up 3 projects by end of the year. I've been spending a few weekends working. When I'm not working, I've been trying to get my Christmas shopping done.

Right now, I'm wrapping a couple of last minute presents for the kids, cooking for tonight at my mom's. Cleaning up a bit. Candlelight service at church before we go to mom's. Tomorrow will be breakfast here at home with the family, Stanie and Brittany's boyfriend Drew, if he can get out of bed and get here by 9am! And of course the ole' bowling alley lunch, with a gathering afterwards at Ron's family. I'll try to take a few pics to share.

Merry Christmas~ Love and miss you all.

Whew~ It's been a busy couple of weeks! Half Marathon, NYC, etc.

My view from my hotel in NYC at the Ritz.

Hello all - It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Let me try and recap what's been happening.

Well, I've been real busy at work for one. I work all day, come home eat dinner, and then usually log back in for a couple more hours of work, then bed. Then get up and do it all over again!

I guess I'm not complaining though. It's nice to have a job the way the economy is going.

Did I tell you that Ron went back to work a couple weeks ago? Wachovia called him back for a 3-month contract. It may last a little longer, but we're not counting on it. That'll get us through Christmas and the new year. This time of year is kinda tough to find a job since it's year end, so we're hoping things will open up the beginning of next year.

I did complete another half marathon since I last blogged. It was in Charlotte, nothing exciting. I've gotten so slow since I have been focusing on TRIs, and not running like I use too. I seem to only get in 2 days a week of running and it has really hurt me on my time and the way I feel when I run. (Slug) I've got to get back to 3days a week! I say that, but this race was a couple of weeks ago, and I haven't run ANY until day. I've been so busy with work. And when I'm not working I just want to sleep! But I have been lifting weights and cycling some, but not much.

I'm going to try and get back on track. I've got about 3+ weeks of vacation left this year, but I was told that I may not get to take it, since we're so busy at work!! Bummer! But I think I'll be able to carry some of it over to next year.

I went to NYC on business last week. That was nice, but tiring. I meet an old friend who I've known for about 30 years. He lives in the city, so it was nice to know someone who could show me the city. It was good catching up with him and see what he's been up too.

We were in Times Square on election night. Now, that was a hoot! I love NYC!

Ron and I was able to ride with our cycling club on Sunday. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. That's going to end pretty soon with the cold weather. Back to spin classes, I guess. We had a year end party last Sunday night. That was fun seeing everyone without their cycling clothes and helmet. I barely recognized some of them!

I've also did a little shopping. I needed some work clothes so I bought a few things, and 3 pairs of shoes!

We also had another birthday over the weekend, so we spent some time at my brother's home to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday Teresa!

PJ Party

It was so nice spending some time with Sally this weekend. For several years we've talked about having a "Hotel PJ Party" so we decided to do! Sally finished up working in High Point a bit early so we met her at the hotel around lunch time. Gina, Sally and I had a nice lunch. Stanage couldn't make it until later in the afternoon because she had some "dog walkin" to do. :-)

After lunch we decided to go back to the hotel and rest/hang out even though we were in the middle a of good shopping area. Sally's feet were beat up, and I was feeling pretty darn rotten with a nasty cold, fever. Felt like I had a bit of the flu. I sure hope my buddies don't catch it! :=(

Stanage came to the hotel Saturday afternoon. We hung out and caught up with what's going on with everyone. Also enjoyed some "ice tea" that Sally brought from High Point. Stanage really like it, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I felt better.

For dinner we went to a nearby Italian place and met Ron, D'ann, and Danielle(D'Ann's daughter).

Sunday morning Gina and Sally went for a nice long walk. Stanage went home last night because she had more "dog walkin" to do. I stayed in bed still not feeling well.

For breakfast we went to an awesome nearby breakfast place. Stanage and Ron joined us. Gina and Sally had some delicious pumpkin/pecan pancakes. They loved them!

We said good-bye to Sally, and I headed home and snuggled up on my couch for a 2-hour nap!

I plan not to move for the rest of the afternoon, trying to rest up and get over whatever I have!

Great seeing you Sally! I know I was a bit of a party pooper. Wish I felt better!!

I did exactly what I wanted this weekend

After Baltimore last weekend, and the crazy busy days at work last week, I wanted to do NOTHING this weekend. I got exactly what I wanted!
I ran twice last week, amongst other things, and both times I fell. Gina said I must be tired. I think she was right. We decided to run Friday morning, so we could stay close to home on Saturday and not have to get up early to run. I slept until 7am Saturday morning, and Ron finally dragged me out of the house after lunch to run a few errands. After we were out, I talked him into going to Home Arama. WOW, the houses are awesome. My favorite was the 3million dollar house.!! What a house!!!! We also picked up our first Christmas gift!
Sunday morning I slept until close to 8am! Basically, I've done a lot of sleeping, and resting this weekend. I big difference from last weekend. lol....Not sure I'll get any exercise in this weekend, which is a HUGE change for me!! But I'm okay with it. :-)
Ron and I got in a couple of movies the last week or so. Like Dick and Angie, we also watched Ironman again. Good movie~. And we watched "Run Fatboy Run". It is about a guy training for a marathon in 3weeks. It was a very corny movie, but we did have a few laughs, which is exactly what I needed. Nothing to think about, no serious plots, just a few laughs!
Oh, and my new dishwasher was installed! YIPPEEE~

Hope you all have a good week.

Fun in Baltimore

We all left early Friday morning for a trip to Baltimore to run a Half Marathon for most of us and one brave soul ran the Full Marathon! It was the most hilly course we've ever run. I think about 75% of the course was uphill. One leg was a 4-mile uphill. I kept telling myself I will stop and walk at the top, but couldn't see the top of the hill! It was a great running festival! They have the full, half, 5k, and relay. There was GREAT support on the route, with lots of cheers on the sideline. (Not enough potta johns of course) I saw 2 'tigers' dancing on top of a car, with music of "Eye of the Tiger", a huge man in the middle of the road doing a funny dance, which I couldn't help but laugh, and much more. The massage at the end was nice also! It was a very hot race. Salt was visible on our faces and clothes after the run. I don't recall getting salt crystals on my face unless I was marathon training long distance. Most of us didn't finish the race without a mild sunburn also!

We had a great time, laughing and joking all weekend! Friday night we carbo loaded at a Italian restaurant in Little Italy, and hung out and played Yatzee. Early to bed in preparation for the run on Saturday morning. We didn't get back to our hotel room until around 3pm, from the race festival. We all rested a bit, showered, and left for an early dinner and a bit of shopping along the Inner Harbor. The pic above is our dinner at the Inner Harbor on Saturday night. We headed back to Little Italy for some dessert at a recommended spot, then back to the hotel for a good night sleep!

Sunday morning we had breakfast and headed to the airport to close our fun weekend.

We all had a good race, and had tons of laughs over the weekend. All in all, it was a great fun weekend with friends.