Louisville Bats

Dan and I have been talking about going to a Louisville Bats game for a long time. This past Tuesday his office rented out a suite at the stadium. Free suite...free food....what better way to spend our first visit to see the Bats right?? The weather was perfect, we had a great time, and I managed to snap a few photos for the blog!



Outside the stadium





Inside the stadium. I liked these lights. A lot.



Supposedly this location is prime time foul ball real estate. We were skeptic. And then proved wrong.




The perfect seats, right? We had a great view. Unfortunately the Bats lost. :-(



This is just a sign that I thought was neat.



Shapeskpeare in Central Park

Just a few blocks from our apartment is Central Park. We love having a park within walking distance to where we live. Occasionally we'll walk over on a Sunday evening just for fun or to suffer through enjoy a game of tennis.

This summer is the 51st year of Shakespeare in the Park. Kentucky Shakespeare will hire actors from Louisville and across the country to star in various Shakespearean plays that last throughout June and July.

The first time we enjoyed this 100% free activity was two summers ago, shortly after we got married. We saw Romeo and Juliet and we both remember it being a miserably hot Sunday evening in July, but a fun thing to do nonetheless. So last night we decided that it would be a perfect night to partake in this local event. This time was sure to be better than two years ago; the combination of a great forecast and the new beverage tent was sure to make for a more pleasant experience. This time we also decided to pack a picnic dinner to eat at the park before the play started.

We saw The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. We didn't know exactly what to expect from the performance, but whatever expectations we had were far exceeded! The performance consisted of only three men taking turns playing different characters (at times modernized versions) from Shakespeare's works...and they were hilarious! Both Dan and I were laughing the whole time. The highlight had to be when the three performed a brief choreographed dance to Beyonce's famous "If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it." Hilarious!

We had a great time and have talked about attending one of the other shows this summer. Here are just a few pics from the night.

A view from our picnic table of the fountain and playground area.



Dan is enjoying his sandwich and pasta salad.

Dan managed to snap this very flattering picture of me!

The stage. As you can see, there was a good crowd for the show.

A Very Tepe Anniversary Weekend

It is quite impossible to imagine that Dan and I are already celebrating our second wedding anniversary! The past two years have absolutely flown by, but we have enjoyed every moment. It seriously seems like yesterday when we were celebrating on June 13, 2009 with our friends and family.

This year's anniversary celebration was all planned by Dan himself. And as you'll see, he deserves major props because it was a great weekend! We had a great time. Seriously. We both blocked school and work out of our minds for a few days and spent time together and it was wonderful. Here are a few pics we took along the way.

Dan had given me no information about what we were to be doing, but told me to pack a bag for one night for Friday night. Soon after he I got home from class and he got home from work, we got in the car and drove a short two miles down the road to the Galt House, a hotel that overlooks the Ohio River downtown. This just happened to be where we stayed the night we got married, so it was fun to return for our anniversary.

At the very top of one of the towers in the hotel, 25 stories up to be exact, there is a restaurant with a revolving floor. Dan had made reservations for us to eat there, so we got settled into our monstrous room and took the elevator to the very top. Rivue is a place neither of us had been, so we were excited to go there. We sat on one of the revolving floors. (If you know me, you know I have a horrible case of motion sickness, so I was nervous about this.) The floor revolves at a very slow pace. It took us a little over 30 minutes to make a full rotation. There are huge windows with wonderful views of downtown.



  


For the first time in my life I ordered a beef filet. It was most delicous!



Dan got a steak and said it was very good as well.






 


We were given this dessert in celebration of our anniversary. Yum! Layers of chocolate cake, strawberries, lemon curd, and whipped cream.



In addition to dessert, a candy cart was brought over and we were given a selection of candies to eat.



The candy cart had chocolate covered strawberries, a peanut brittle, turtles, candy covered almonds, and candied fruit slices (orange slices, mom).




Our waiter, Carl, snapped this photo of us before we left. Rivue was a great chocie for celebrating!

The view of the river from our room on the 14th floor.



Saturday morning I enjoyed a one-hour massage at the hotel's spa. Thanks Dan! We only were able to stay in the hotel one night because of some dumb teacher's conference that was being held there. There weren't any rooms available for Saturday night. But we still had a great rest of the weekend!





Dan loves his Chik-fil-A! (okay, I do too; I can't lie.) It seemed like a good anniversary lunch to us.

After an afternoon of running some errands and just hanging out, we ordered pizza from Sicilian. Good stuff!



After pizza, we enjoyed playing scrabble together. We ended the game early because it was taking so long. I guess I won because I was ahead when we stopped playing.  (I think Dan wanted to stop the game b/c he had no hope of winning.)



Sunday we walked to Central Park and played some tennis. The weather was perfect, and I think my body is still sore from it. I think Dan got his share of entertainment for the day, as I am NO GOOD at tennis.



I asked Dan what he wanted for dinner on Monday, our actual anniversary, and he said chicken parmesan. I had never made this before, so of course I went straight to my source for most things food related: foodnetwork.com. I ended up making the sauce from scratch and we both thought it turned out pretty well.



While we ate dinner on Monday night, we enjoyed watching our wedding video. This was the first time we had watched it since our wedding. We enjoyed being spectators at our own wedding. It was a good reminder of our supportive family and friends and our commitment to each other.

We were very sad to see our anniversary weekend go. We agreed that it is unfortunate we can't spend every weekend this way. But we had to face reality at some point, or as Karen says, go back to the "real world." But each day is special, even without nice restaurants, because we are spending it together!

Happy Anniversary!

It's my Blogiversary!

It was exactly one year ago that my blog was born! And I can proudly say that I have more than one post in the archive...success! A year ago I drew inspiration from several sites that I frequented to begin a modest blog that chronicled the modest happenings of my modest life. The past year has been a complete roller coaster of events, to say the least. I'm thankful that I can read through past posts and appreciate all that has happened this past year. On June 3, 2010 I sat down at my computer having no clue what the next year would bring. So on June 3, 2011 I sit down again, partly in reflection and partly in anticipation of the sure-to-be eventful days ahead! Thanks for reading the very sporadic posts!

Now, a glimpse into the past three months of adventures...



A tree in Old Louisville in March. One of the first pics taken with the iPhone.



Walkway in Central Park, a park in Old Louisville where Dan and I take frequent walks.



A house that is very indicative of Old Louisville. This house happens to be in St. James Court and I loved the color combinations in the picture.



80s day at school the week before testing started. Here is a pic of myself, a special education teacher, my assistant principal, and another 6th grade teacher. The kids LOVE it when we dress up!



The hummingbird cake I made to take to Fulton for Easter weekend; it was my first attempt at hummingbird. It didn't turn out perfectly, but it got several compliments! The "C" on the top stands for Cash, my mom and aunts/uncle's last name.



For Easter dinner we went out to my aunt Cathy's house, and afterward played a few "Minute to Win It" Games. Here, Morgan is trying to string 5 pasta noodles onto a spaghetti noodle then dump them in the red plastic cup....in less than a minute!



Here, Mom and Milton are trying to transfer each of 5 ping pong balls into the next cup, in less than a minute. (Do I need to add that my team won the whole game??)



Skipping ahead to Mother's Day Weekend, here is a picture of the flower pot I handpainted for Karen. Before our wedding, I painted a few pots for hostess gifts and my mom has always said she wanted one, so I thought Mother's Day would be a great occasion to give her one of her own.



Mom, Milton, and Morgan were in Lexington to move Micah home from UK on Mother's Day weekend. So we all met in Lex to stay a few nights together. Saturday night we decided that it would be fun to get food from Parkette Drive-In, a Guy Fieri choice for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on Food Network. I think Milton was the most excited! I think it was unanimous that Guy Fieri was overrating the food, but it was fun nonetheless.



For Mother's Day brunch, we drove just a few miles outside of Lexington to Midway, Ky to eat at Wallace Station, another one of Guy Fieri's Ky pics. We enjoyed eating on the patio to celebrate Mother's Day. Brunch was followed by dessert from Orange Leaf frozen yogurt. Yum!



This is where Guy signed the wall at Wallace Station.



Dan and I have had several weeks of weddings and wedding festivities....tis the season! Here is a pic from the first wedding; two of my friends from U of L got married at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington.



I was invited to a personal shower lunch for a good friend and discipleship group member on a Saturday afternoon. We had lunch at the Butterfly Garden Cafe on Bardstown Road, always a great choice! I had my bridesmaid's brunch (aka the bruncheon) at the same restaurant before my wedding, so it will forever be a special place for me! This is a picture of the very cute back patio. But seriously, you should eat there!



Our good friends from college, Jeremy and Courtney, got married in Louisville last weekend. Their wedding was one of the most personalized weddings I've ever been to! The tables were decorated with coffee bean sacks and even their wedding cake was topped with a coffee pot drizzling coffee (icing) onto the cake! We had a wonderful time visiting with many friends from good ole Murray State! It was a wonderful reunion that even Dan said he ejoyed!



One of Dan and I's most favorite thing to do in Murray was to go to Dairy Queen, the only DQ left in Ky with a window you just walk right up to to place your order. (Actually, I think this is a favorite thing for everyone in Murray.) I have been trying to get Dan to visit a similar establishment in Louisville, Dairy Kastle, a local favorite. You just walk right up to the window and place your order. I think we will be making more trip to Dairy Kastle because our local DQ just closed down! :-( You can ask Dan about his 32 oz. Reese's Flurry.



On Memorial Day weekend, I went to Lex to have a visit with Mal. Here is a pic of Mal while we were laying out at her neighborhood pool. I just couldn't imagine spending the holiday weekend in any other way than roasting in the sun!



On Sunday night, Mal and I ate dinner at the Windy Corner Market just outside of Lexington. This is a sister restaurant of Wallace Station, so we had high hopes! It is a very cute little market/restuarant that only sells and serves Kentucky Proud products and uses biodegradable products. They had a great menu of southern dishes and a case of decadent desserts. I have a feeling we will be returning soon!



At Windy Corner Market I got a BBQ po-boy sandwich and crunchy slaw on the side. Very messy but very tasty! Mallory got BBQ served on a corncake with crunchy slaw and beans.



We couldn't leave Windy Corner Market without trying the soft serve ice cream cones! You could choose of about ten different flavors to swirl into the ice cream. I chose strawberry and cheesecake on a cone and Mal chose peanut butter and chocolate in a cup. Mal also got a peanut butter tart that we enjoyed the next day at the pool!

 Whew! The last three months in a nutshell. Hopefully I can use my summer to make more regular posts.

And here's to another year!