. This trip for hubby’s birthday was BEYOND expectations!  I mean, really, how does a high maintenance girl like me spend 4 days and 3 nights without any electricity, running water (well I guess those rapids on the Colorado could be considered running), potty, shower, mirror, and heaven forbid cell phone or internet access???  What was I thinking when I said, “sure honey, I’d LOVE to take this trip of a lifetime with you for your birthday?”  I’ll tell you what I was thinking…

We recently rented this very cool cabin on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge GA for our anniversary. Toccoa River Cabin While a cabin that sleeps 14 would be considered a bit excessive for a party of 2,  the cool factor was just too much to resist for my architect husband and me.  There were walls of window facing the river… a two story windowed garage door that opened up the dining area to an outside deck… an indoor / outdoor fireplace… a hot tub… and a beautiful kitchen with c

Her name was Mary, but everyone called her Betty or “Granny Patty.”  She also ran an in-home daycare, back in the day, and nap-time was during her favorite soap, “As the World Turns.”  Although I can remember when she kept me as a child that she was a big fan of Jack LaLane (circa late 1960s), not so much a watch and participate kind of fan, but she definitely watched.  She’s been gone just a few years now, but she continued to share her creativity with my daughter and she en

Cooking – As I mentioned in my “about me,” I am a personal chef in Nashville, so obviously cooking is one of my passions, and I am lucky enough to be able to pursue that passion as a career (oops – I’ll cover the career “c” in a future post.  I became passionate about cooking 18-or so years ago when I was a Jazzercise instructor (hint, another one of my careers), and was lucky enough to be a part of a monthly “supper club” where several instructors would get together with a t