The Biltmore House

Also on our vacation we traveled east to Asheville, North Carolina, to see the Biltmore House. The Vanderbilts built it in the late 1800s and in the 1950s it became open to the public. It's the largest residence in the United States. It was so, so cool! Pictures weren't allowed inside, but our tour was just amazing. You can check it out in more detail here.

I'm not really sure why boys like to flex in all their pictures.

This is my "Japanese tourist" pose.

Cade's Cove, Part II

Even after an 11 mile ride with me, Nathan wanted to go around the loop again, this time as fast as possible. I agreed to follow him in the car and take pictures. Luckily for me, it was dusk and there were tons of deer out. Unluckily for him, there were many people cars who were looky-looing at the deer, hogging the road, and frustrating his quest for a world record. However, I think the man got some great exercise.

Cade's Cove, Part I

I'm sorry for the corporate punishment with my blog withholding, but I had to do what I had to do. I ended up staying until 9:30 on Tuesday night finishing up papers and putting grades into the computer, so now I feel light as a feather and ready to blog my little heart out. There's so much to share! Let's get started...

These pictures are from our time away in the mountains of Tennessee. We rented some bikes and rode around Cade's Cove, an 11 mile loop around gorgeous countryside. We did not come prepared for biking or bring any backpacks, so I was balancing my purse with our picnic lunch inside it for about 7 miles. :) We picked a bucolic setting for our lunch break, right next to an old barn.

Nathan gets the picnic blanket out.

This picture looked artsy to me... this is my attempt at being a photographer.

We started out strong and excited. Nathan is flexing saying, "Is the trail THAT way?"

Pointing at the map... I didn't know I would be having a panic attack on one of the last big hills around mile 9. Let's just say I'm not really an outdoor girl. I'd like to be, but I was a complete poser that day.

Nathan was so nice to me throughout the entire experience. He was encouraging and was just so, so kind. I had a great time making memories with him. :)

Lots of Thoughts

Sorry it's been a while since I've last blogged. Last week was my spring break from school, and Nathan and I went on our first vacation together since our honeymoon. We've gone on trips to see family and friends, of course, but this was only our second "just us" extended time. It was heavenly! Our pastor and his wife generously offered us a week at a timeshare in the Tennessee mountains. We slept in, read, played tennis, visited the Biltmore House, rode bikes, walked around downtown Gatlinburg(a.k.a. Redneck Disneyworld), and generally had a fantastic time.

There are pictures to post, but the camera is at home. Plus, coming back to school this week has been quite overhwelming. It was like jumping on a treadmill going 10 mph after strolling along at 2 mph for a week. I brought papers and tests to grade on our vacation, which I did not touch, so in addition to keeping up with my students, I have to catch up on my grading as well. For this reason, I am telling myself that I cannot blog or post pictures until the papers are done. Sigh.

Until then...

My A++ Report Card

You see that?! That 6.0 in the middle of the page? That means my A1C levels (my blood glucose averages for the last three months) are in a healthy and normal range! Normal is between 5.0 and 7.0. My doctors originally told me that it would take six months to get to normal. My first A1C was 11.5, my second one was 7.0, and this one is 6.0.

These are all my blood sugar testing averages throughout a 24 hour period. It climbs out of range a little after dinner, so I am having to adjust my insulin intake a little. I expressed my concern to her and said, "I probably have readings over 200 three or four times a week." She looked at me like, "Puh-lease!" "What if I have to get a kidney transplant?!" I joked... kind of. She just rolled her eyes and said, "Well, you might as well schedule it right now! Stop worrying! Many people have readings over 300 three times a day, and they don't think to worry." I'll take her word for it. I think I'll have to give my worrying up to God. :)


This is a graph of my mean scores for the last three months. My doctor was very, very happy with me. By the way, you can double click on each of these pictures if you want to get a closer look at the charts and graphs. Some people are into that kind of thing. :)

Thank you, thank you for your continuing love and prayers for me.

I'm Dreaming of a White... March?

Yes... snow in Atlanta! It poured down snowballs for a few hours yesterday morning/afternoon. This house is in our neighborhood. Our yard didn't look as pretty because we have huge trees covering everything.

This is Nathan throwing snowballs at me (I'm in the car) from our carport.

Nathan asked me to "go exploring" with him after church, but by then it was sleeting and not snowing. However, I was a good wife and went anyway and did not complain. :) These pictures are taken behind our house in the woods and by the creeks and lake.

Richard and Jennifer's Wedding

Nathan and I went to another wedding this weekend. Jennifer was a volunteer with the youth group, and she made the trek all the way to our wedding in California. Their wedding had a lot of cool traditional features (bagpipes to "Amazing Grace") and the reception was at the beautiful and historic Georgian Terrace Hotel downtown. It was such a class wedding!

Hannah and me.

Nathan and Hannah and me.

You can't see it here, but Nathan's tie has the monogram "TEC" on the bottom of it. I didn't realize this until we were seated in the church. Obviously, a thrift store find. Yikes.

Jennifer was a gorgeous bride!