The weekend...or Sweet's Last Hurrah

Saturday, Andy (my husband) took me on a short little road trip an hour or two away from the house to Greenville/Morristown, Tennessee  (I'm not sure where we actually ended up...but somewhere around there).  Part of his job includes making deliveries of construction supplies, so he gets to see a lot of the local area that he's missed, despite living in Tennessee for the majority of his life.  I get to reap the benefits of this because he comes home and says 'hey, I found something cool, let's go look at it sometime' and so I get to see the highlight reel of all the cool things in the area without too much personal effort...hooray!

At any rate, this weekend, we went to see this dam/waterfall:

Please overlook the overpass...I was trying to give the waterfall/dam thing a little perspective so you could see how big it is, but it didn't quite work out that way I don't think...  But it does show that you can see the waterfall/dam thing from the highway as you drive past...which is how Andy found it in the first place...

These pictures just don't show how big and LOUD this thing is!  It was really awesome to get to see...

On the other side of the waterfall/dam thing there is a building, which Andy got some good pictures of (he's taller, he always gets better shots than I do...)  ...I just totally forgot to have him send them to me.  I will make him do that and then post the pictures of the building, because it was really cool looking!

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is from?  I swear to goodness, my early onset Alzheimer's is kicking in...I know what this is, the name is on the tip of my tongue, swirling around in my brain,  and I just can not spit it out!  It's driving me crazy!

If you'll forgive the fact that I'm in the car barreling down the road at about 70 mph, you can see the beautiful countryside that exists in East Tennessee.  ( I really do need to make a concerted effort to stop and get out of the car and take some pictures for you guys!)  I love where I live and the surrounding area.  It's so green and lush from all the rain, and it's just got amazing views in unexpected places thanks to the mountains and valleys...  It's so beautiful!

When Andy and I first got married, we used to have little day trips like this all the time.  We'd hop in the car and go for a drive, just for the sake of driving...or for the sake of doing something.  After a couple years, though, we kind of fell out of the habit.  Sometimes our work schedules were conflicting and it made it hard...a lot of times it was simply because there were 'better' things to do.  But lately, we've taken up our little outings again and I'm so happy we have.  It reminds me of all the things I like about him.

I think it's easy to forget at times...especially for me...the good things about our spouses.  I am the most guilty person in the world for this.  I am one who loves change and being spontaneous...my husband is the most resistant to change person I have ever met in my life.  It makes for some stress...Additionally, I have a hard time accepting that people love me...especially men people...  It's all too easy for me to forget that my husband loves me.  And honestly, on an emotional level, I have a hard time returning that love too...or at the very least, admitting or discussing the fact that I return the love.  My hospital stay was kind of a blessing in disguise.  (It was deep under cover, trust me...)  It did make me realize that my husband cares about me.  I know it sounds a little silly to say that, I mean, he married me and all that, but like I said, I forget that he cares.  He's not really a 'show he loves you' kind of guy.  But, when push comes to shove, when my back is against the wall and I really need someone, Andy has really been there for me.

What put me in mind of all that, is the fact that this weekend was kind of a 'last hurrah' of sorts.  I talked before about having to make some changes in my life...the physical type, I mean.  I have to start eating right, exercising, finish my 'quit smoking' goal...all that stuff is not easy for me.  It's big changes that have to happen RIGHT NOW.  It's all a little overwhelming...these habits are ones that I've had for the majority of my adult life...  They're things that I know have needed to change, that I've talked about fixing for a good long while, but could never seem to make them happen.  Now, they have to happen.

So this weekend, Andy suggested we go for a drive and on the way back we stop at the grocery store and buy the healthy food I should be eating.  He's also begun to monitor my cigarette intake with the strictness of an old-timey school teacher...ruler in hand, prepared to slap knuckles if I get out of control. (haha)  And he's even thinking of ways to get me up and moving...He especially likes the one where I cook dinner every night...instead of sitting down at the computer or at my studio desk as soon as I get home from work.  It's killing two birds with one stone, a tiny amount of exercise happens and healthy food gets made and eaten.

All this change is happening, and for a man that resists change so strongly, he's really pushing for it...and, after being married to the man for almost 10 years, I can tell you it's got a little bit of an invasion-of-the-body-snatchers feeling to it!  To me, it's showing that he cares about me more than he hates change...and the man REALLY hates change...so he must care about me a lot.  I think I have been oblivious to just how much he does care...or, at the very least, forgotten the fact for a long time.

Now it's making me want to do things I haven't done since we first got married and I was trying to impress him with my wife skills...like keep the house clean.  It's kind of weirding me out!  Right now, I have the strongest urge to go clean out the cabinets in our kitchen...I mean pull everything out and scrub.  To give you an example of exactly how much this goes against my nature, the other day I pulled a pack of muffin mix out of the cabinet and the expiration date on it was April...of 2009.  (Not even joking...I wish I would have taken a picture as proof...) Yeah, I told you I was resistant to cleaning.  ...but now I want to go rip everything out of the cabinets and throw away all the old muffin mix (the 2009 one is in the trash already...I did not just put it back in the cabinet...I'm not THAT bad...) and bags of chips with crumbs in them (that one's on Andy, I don't eat chips) that have been in there for a million years and scrub the shelves and organize all the things that are left...and then do the same thing with all the other cabinets.  And then go find other things to scrub and organize...

Wanting to clean so badly is unusual for me.  Normally the only time I clean is when I am upset about something...SUPER upset.  Me cleaning things is how the people around me know I'm mad or on the verge of breaking down.  And now I'm wanting to do it so strongly that I can barely resist the urge to call in to work and start immediately...and I'm not having a nervous breakdown or anything!  So tonight, instead of doing art...or at least before I start doing any, I'm going to have to clean something.

I guess Andy will get to know first hand what that whole invasion-of-the-body-snatchers thing feels like...