Hot Springs and Paragould weekend

Last week, we took a couple of days off work and took a trip to Hot Springs and Paragould. Wednesday morning we dropped our puppies off at the vet for boarding and headed on down to HS. We planned to do the spa thing at the Arlington and eat a nice dinner out and walk around and see the sights. We both got hot stone massages. I have had a few before but it was Matt's first. You will see the giant scald mark on Matt's leg. His masseuse did not cool down his rocks and she totally burned the fire out of his legs. His poor sexy legs. He had 3 of these burn marks on him. They made it right when we told the hotel manager when we were checking out and gave us half of our money back so we felt pretty good about the situation after that. We also got pedicures. It was Matt's first and I'm not sure he was thrilled with that either. We had 2 women who talked to us the whole time which really all we wanted to do was be rubbed and not talk to any one.

Here is Matt the next morning standing by Arkansas' own President Bill Clinton. He was born in Hot Springs and maybe raised there? Really don't know.

Here we are walking around and in front of the hot spring that runs by The Arlington. Don't you just love pictures you take of yourself? My favorite part is my whole arm showing. Oh well. No one else was there to take it at 9:30 am on a Thursday!

Here is one of the hot springs. They had an information number you can call from your cell phone and it tells you about the hot spring. They are not in a volcanic region. It is actually a geo-thermal process that heats the rocks. Pretty cool!

Another spring shot.

Here is Matt at the waterfall at Garvan Woodland Gardens.

And here I am. Please do not be jealous of my pale white legs.

And yay! We found someone to take our picture! That is Lake Hamilton behind us.

Azaleas blooming

More beautiful flowers along the path.

Beautiful/ HUGE sculpture outside of the chapel.

This chapel is so gorgeous. It is hidden in the woods but it's actually glassed in and air conditioned. However, minus the cool air inside, you feel like you are outside. My boss actually got married there a couple of years ago but I had to miss it because I was on call that weekend. I was glad that Matt and I got to see it. I'm sure a wedding would be so beautiful in it.

Matt gave me this idea to take this picture from the altar. Pretty cool!

We made it home Thursday afternoon and spent the night at home with the dogs. Friday morning, we left for Paragould. Juli was nice enough to dog sit for us for the weekend. Matt's dear friend Casey Pratt got married to a lovely lady, Elise. It was so great to be there and be a part of it. Of course I didn't take any pictures! But we had a great time with the Summitts. It's been way too long since we spent a weekend in Paragould so we were really excited to be there. Here is Matt on David's new zero turn lawn mower. (Picture taken after he wiped the drool off his face.)

And this little beauty is the paddle boat that David brought home. Matt and Karan hopped on in, we put it in the pond and that sucker didn't work. Remember when you were a kid and the chain would pop off your bike and you would peddle and peddle and wouldn't go anywhere? That's kind of what was going on with this paddle boat. It was actually pretty funny to watch! But of course, I didn't get a picture!

Anyway, we had a really great weekend. We relaxed and spent basically the whole time together so it was wonderful. We are really excited about the things coming up. Memorial Day weekend, the PV Four-Ball Tournament, our trip to Mobile to see Lauren and Zac when they move and we are going to New Orleans from there. I can't wait to share the experiences when they happen!

I hope you and yours are doing well,

Lana

Doing nothing?

I'm not very good at sitting still. I am always up moving around doing something. On a typical day, I get off work and exercise for an hour, come home, play with my dogs, pick up the house, pick up dog poo, make dinner, do laundry, vacuum, etc, etc, etc. But today, I came home and did nothing. I am watching Sex and the City- I think it's safe to say this is my favorite show ever and it's definitely my guilty pleasure. I have book club tomorrow (which will follow a day at work, and a work out and playing with the dogs and house cleaning, etc.) and I haven't even read half the book yet. SO LAZY. Haha. Really, I have started a new bible study and I have been reading the Dukan Diet book plus I read 4 other books since last book club so if I don't finish Jane Eyre, I'm not going to feel bad about it.

Dukan Diet Update:
I have lost 4 lbs, but they like to come back in the afternoon. Haha. So who knows. I am going to keep it up and hopefully will be at my goal weight soon! I'm ready to add starches and carbs back into my diet! I miss you starches and carbs!

Bible Study Update:
This is a study about taming our tongue called Conversation Peace. I am really liking it so far. Let me share this week's memory verse with you!

1 Peter 3:10-11 "For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it."

I hope you have a great week,

Lana

Royal Wedding

Did you watch? I woke up at 3 and watched from the beginning! It was so worth it! Kate was absolutely STUNNING. I drank coffee out of my fine china cups and just had the best time watching it with my puppies. I really want to go to the next one with my sister. We are a bit obsessed with all things Kate right now...
Here they are! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

I loved her sister Pippa's dress! The cowl-neck was gorgeous!

And the hats! My how fab! After her dress and Pippa's dress and oh my, Prince Harry in uniform, the hats were my favorite. It was all my favorite. Can we do it again?

My sister told me about Kate's diet- the Dukan Diet. So I bought the book and I officially begin tomorrow. It seems really doable and is the diet most proven to get rid of cellulite in the thighs and buttocks. YE HAW!

Cheers,

Lana

Recently...

Oh yeah, I forgot! I have a blog! Haha. It's been a while since I've posted. So much has happened too. Tax season is over! We have really been enjoying our time together. Here are a few snap shots from recent events.

I made Cake Pops! Oh my. This was a bit of a disaster. I didn't know that you should dip the stick on the melting chocolate before you put it in the balls of cake until I read my friend Lauren's blog! So, they melted in the heat and slid down their sticks. They were super ugly. Oh well. They tasted good! Haha.

I got some new black summer sandals. Oh how I love them so! I am so ready for it to stop raining so that I can wear them some more!

Matt got a trailer! I'm so excited for him! He has wanted one for months to haul various things that need to be hauled in a trailer. Haha. Isn't he cute?

We have done projects around the house- planted knockout roses, laid sod and mulch.

We attended the Scott's annual Crawfish Boil and had a wonderful time with some of our closest friends!

I painted our guest bathroom. It was gray, but now it is Bavarian Cream. Quite pretty.

We have had so much rain! Unbelievable. It washed out our retaining wall and poured water and sand across our driveway and into the street.

I also got to go to Hot Springs Village with some girlfriends the weekend of my birthday! We had such a great visit! They surprised me with a cake and it was so yummy!

We are really excited about the summer! I hope you're all doing well!

Love,

Lana