We ran away from home!

34. Trip to Capt. Henderson House Bed & Breakfast

To "celebrate" the one week anniversary of Brian's rotator cuff surgery, I kidnapped him Thursday and took him all the way to Arkadelphia :) "Take BC to the Henderson House" has been on my actual Bucket List for quite some time, but I've had trouble finding a time to accomplish this. Poor Brian is stuck wearing a large, bulky sling for 4 weeks, and he is not supposed to drive for that full 4 weeks. AND we don't have cable TV to make his confinement a little easier :( So I just decided Wednesday that the time was now! He wanted to go in to work for a little bit (a co-worker chauffered him), so I gave him strict instructions to be home by noon, and pack a change of clothes and a toothbrush. We got in the car around 1:00 (departure delayed a little with the welcome opportunity to Skype with Ben) and headed south. Brian was a little worried about the fact that I was driving and I was the only one who knew our destination- who would be able to make sure I didn't miss any turns? I'm known for my absence of any sense of direction. We stopped for a late lunch (see next entry) and got to the Capt. Henderson House in Arkadelphia around 3:30. We checked in and then met up with our friend, Mike Reynolds, who gave us a tour of Ouachita. Wow- it is SO different from when we were students there. And it is looks great! Way to go, OBU!
Mike dropped us back at the front door of the CHH. I have stayed there before with some friends and LOVE it. And this time did not disappoint! We had a nice suite, with cable TV :), a relaxing whirlpool tub, and a great breakfast Friday morning.
Here are a few pictures, to further entice you to run away from home yourself. Take your hubby, your friend(s), or just yourself. You'll be relaxed & refreshed.






























*The picture of the plate of food is in special tribute to Deborah "Sam Perkins" White, who took pictures of every plate of food she ate on her recent mission trip with Brian's crew to Haiti :)






35. Fried Green Tomatoes

I have never tried fried green tomatoes! Until recently, I've never had a desire to try fried green tomatoes :) But, now that I am 55 and so brave... I branched out. On our way to Arkadelphia, we ate at Brown's Country Store & Restaurant in Benton (another "first" but I'm gonna lump all the restaurant firsts together later). Brown's boasts that it has a 100' buffet table and it is filled with country cookin' comfort foods, like chicken & dumplins, turnip greens, cornbread, fried chicken, and FGT. They would probably taste better served fresh, rather than sitting out on a buffet line, and maybe a little crispier, but they were pretty tasty. I'll try them again another day, another place.

Canvas family portrait

33. Finally have a canvas print of a family portrait.

(Forgot to post this one earlier.)
Remember the family portrait we finally took at the beach? I have long wanted a nice 16x20 canvas family picture in our house. Using that beach picture and a site called Canvas on Demand, I uploaded the digital print and had the canvas delivered and hung on the wall within about a week of our return from vacation! Very pleased with the finished product. They even upgraded to a 16x22 size to better fit my picture. Good customer service!

Plastic surgeon's office...

Guess what I did today???



No!!!
32. I got a microdermabrasion facial and chemical peel :)
Sponsored by--- yep, Groupon. My friend, Tommie, and I went this afternoon and cashed in our certificates. They let us go together, so it was even more fun since we could talk throughout the whole procedure. Not sure we look any younger, but our skin is definitely smoother (and saltier). Apparently Tommie is likely to age better than I will, her and her good thin skin!
Our "Aesthetics Clinician" was very nice, friendly, and good at her job. So, if you need a referral for botox, permanent eyeliner, lip/chin waxing, teeth whitening, or just a facial, let me know.