winter hike.

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful that Nate and I went to Radnor Lake when I got home from work. We took a 3-mile hike around the lake. The fresh air was awesome and there were a lot of other people enjoying the trails, too! Unfortunately we didn't see any deer or chipmunks—just one gray squirrel and some ducks on the lake. The rest of the animals must all still be hibernating.

I'm surprised they haven't been tricked into thinking it is spring. All of the daffodils are confused. They are blooming. Trees are budding. My blueberry bushes are budding. Some of the bulbs I planted in the front yard are starting to come up. I planted daffodils and tulips. I think the wildflowers I planted are coming up along the fence, but they might just be weeds. I'm afraid to pull them so I'm going to wait and see if they flower. I bought one of those big bags of wildflower seeds this fall and just dumped it along the fence. I'm going to be really disappointed if the overgrowth of odd-shaped greenery turns out to be weeds. There are weeds coming up all over the yard. And mole hills. I have weed killer to spray the yard when it's actually spring. I don't know how to kill moles.

We went home and I cooked a frozen pizza for dinner. Why do I feel guilty saying that? Work has been stressful and I have not been doing much cooking lately because I'm so tired when I get home. So we had pizza and watched Wheel of Fortune until the KU v. Oklahoma State game came on. And we watched parts of the Voice, which I only watch during blind auditions because after that it gets boring. Oh, and Nate and I can't keep a straight face when we see Cee Lo Green holding that flat-faced white cat. We crack up every time.

chattanooga.

For my birthday last weekend, Nate and I went to spend the weekend in Chattanooga! We stayed with the Guevels who were excellent hosts! We had such a great time. Saturday we went to the Tennessee Aquarium. They had a special seahorse exhibit that was really cool. I had never seen a live seahorse before! My favorite part was petting sting rays.

Sunday we went to Point Park on the top of Lookout Mountain. You could see for miles! This is a picture of downtown Chattanooga from Point Park. It was really cold though. We had brunch at Cracker Barrel before driving back to Nashville. I'm officially 24! Which Nate lovingly reminded me is halfway to 48! ;)

chattanooga!

My birthday is Sunday … the big 2-4, which Nate so lovingly reminded me is halfway to 48. Nate and I decided to start birthday traditions. Each year for my birthday, Nate plans a surprise weekend getaway. I'll do the same for him in March.

This getaway was a surprise until a few days ago when I convinced him to tell me about it because he needed help planning some of the details. We had booked a hotel, but some family friends offered their upstairs to us for free (we love saving money). Some of the things on our agenda include the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain, the Y (to go swimming since we're not in a hotel), walking around downtown, and shopping. I am so excited about the aquarium. I will try to take lots of pictures.

A lot of our friends say Chattanooga is a very under-rated city. We hear there is a lot to do there so we are planning on packing out the weekend. And it's only two hours away from Nashville!

death of the daffodil.

The weather people said it was going to freeze last night and recommended cutting any bloomed daffodils to enjoy them inside. So I did.

I put my daffodil in a bottle on the kitchen table. Minutes later I was sitting on the couch when I heard "nom, nom, nom" behind me.

Miles was eating my daffodil! He pulled it out of the bottle and carried it into the kitchen and growled at me when I tried to take it away from him! I think he likes to eat anything from outdoors because when he sneaks out of the house as we come in, he heads for the grass and chews it.

I did read that any flower from a bulb can be toxic to cats, so I pulled it from his mouth and threw it away. So much for enjoying my little yellow flower.

daffodils.

The daffodils are so confused! It's still February, yo.