The dreaded name change

As of yesterday I am officially finished with the name change process! I know what you're thinking, it's about time? Well confession time, y'all. I'm the world's worst procrastinator. Shocker, I know. In less than a week we will have been married for three months so needless to say I'm glad to be done! I'm the type of person that puts off things that I don't know how to do. There's been all this talk about the dreaded DMV (technically DDS, but who calls it that?) and how crowded and horrible it is, so I have successfully talked myself out of going for almost three months. Chris and I went to the Social Security office about a month ago to get my new SS card and it was a breeze. There were only about four people in there and the lady that helped us was super sweet. 

Chris kept trying to talk me into going while he was conveniently working, but that did not fly. I told him, "If it was up to me I wouldn't have changed my name, so you are not getting out of this one buddy!" He dreaded going so much that he tried to talk me out of changing my name. Hah! We are pathetic. Unfortunately it was already on our marriage application so we were stuck! We looked up the requirements online a zillion times but I still found it confusing. I swear that different pages told us different things! In case any of you are wondering, here is what I needed:

Certified copy of my birth certificate (25 bucks at the courthouse. Ripoff)

Old Drivers License (bye-bye cute teenage photo)

New Social Security Card

Marriage Certificate (The actual certificate sent after the wedding)

Application for Marriage (I needed this to show that I was hyphenating my name)

2 proofs of residency (bank statement, bill sent to that address, etc)

We got there at about 8:15 and there were only about five people waiting. I actually needed all the above documents so I am so glad I took everything I own with me. Everything was easy peasy until the end. The system was down so the lady said she couldn't put in all my information until it came back up. We could either hang out until it came back up or come back later. I've seen the DMV on the news enough lately to know that "coming back later" would be disastrous. Fortunately she said we could bypass the line and come straight back to her to get my temporary card. AKA, see ya later homegirl! We left the office and headed back into town for a while. We went to Chick-fil-a for breakfast, and made pit stops at Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, and Big Lots before heading back. The system was back up and we were good to go! I'm glad I got to bypass the line because the office was ridiculously crowded! Screaming babies and all. I am SO thankful to have that done, y'all! It was like a little rain cloud hanging over my head! Now if I can just figure out the paperwork for substituting here, I'll be golden.

After we were done we went to the grocery store and stopped by Honey Baked Ham to use an old gift certificate Chris got from work. Another confession: I am obsessed with Ham. Like, ugly obsessed. I swear I could eat it every meal, every day, for the rest of my life. We picked up our 8 pound baby and headed to the house! Ham and Macaroni and Cheese? Yes, please! Needless to say, yesterday was a very happy day at the Watts-Savage house!

{PS, if you missed my post about hyphenating my name read it here}

Take me back?

{ If you're visiting from Kelly's Korner, welcome! This post has a few pictures from our honeymoon at the Zoetry Agua Punta Cana resort in the Dominican Republic. It's a small boutique resort with only 50 rooms so if you are looking for somewhere small and relaxing it's perfect! The food was fresh, organic, and absolutely delicious (this coming from someone who is a fast food junkie!) The staff were more like friends and made us feel so at home. I would go back in a heart beat! Enjoy! }

One of our favorite movies is Couples Retreat, and it just so happens to be on right now. I love the actors, and who doesn't like watching a movie about a place as beautiful as "Eden?" Now this movie reminds me so much of our honeymoon! Well let me tell you folks, we may not have visited Bora Bora for our honeymoon, but our little paradise in the Dominican Republic was heaven enough for me! I realized I never posted any pictures to the blog so I thought I'd reminisce and post a few of my favorites. I've already written about how I'm dying to go to the beach. We leave for Myrtle Beach three weeks from yesterday and I am stoked. It's no Zoetry, but I'll take it... 

If you've seen Couples Retreat then you probably remember Ctanley (with a C of course), the resort manager that Vince Vaughn battles in Guitar Hero? The number one reason why this movie reminds me so much of Zoetry is him. The general manager of our resort was exactly like him. Like, bizarrely like him! The resort was teeny tiny (under 100 people) so we saw him several times a day out and about and he knew all the guests. He was always popping up at the restaurants and the beach. Chris and I laughed every time we saw him! Okay, onto the pictures...

Heading out

Our awesome room!

Can I have this at my house please?

Dominican Breakfast - My mouth is watering

The most incredible grounds!

Our bungalow in the center

Amaya Restaurant 

Ahhh... Heaven on Earth

Taking an afternoon stroll

Ponds and pools

Our favorite - Indigo restaurant by the pool and beach

Totally empty beach

One of our spots for the day

Beach bums

Our bungalow one evening - the best time of the day

At the pool outside our room

Pool boy ;)

Paco!

The resort pet

Tropical Island = sun allergy to the extreme

Our favorite spot!

Are you joking me?

We really went here?

Husband carrying my beach bag

Last day

Last day on the beach

Waiting for the helicopter to pick us up for the airport

Here he comes!

Best experience ever!

Chris thinks so too

So clear you can see the shadows!

Perfect ending to the perfect week!

Okay, now I've made myself sick. Chris, when are we going back? 

I got nothin'...

To blog about. I haven't had anything going on lately but I thought I'd check in on the blog anyway. I was afraid if I didn't I might fall back into that slump of never blogging again. Come on, you know you'd miss me! Let's just pretend, alright? It's Saturday night and I haven't left the house, mom's house that is, all day. Chris went back to our house yesterday because he had to work last night. He's on night shift through Monday night and I'm hanging out here. I have to teach my Sunday School class in the morning so I'll head back to Dalton on Monday or Tuesday. These were taken the last time I thought Sunday School. I alternate with a couple from our church so I teach every other Sunday. This last time it was just these girls and we had too much fun! How could I say no to these faces?

The sweetest

Clearly not my idea...

So, what have I been up to since I last blogged? I'll show you...

Reading. Period. That's all. Reading what, you ask? Earlier this week I finished The Da Vinci Code, and tonight I just finished Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult. I absolutely loved The Da Vinci Code! I know a lot of people won't read it due to the content, but I thought it was an awesome read. I'm a huge fan of movies like National Treasure - those treasure hunt kind of books full of historical content (whether embellished or not). I highly suggest it! Handle With Care was good too, but too similar to My Sister's Keeper for me. Anyway, that's about it. I guess I better get ready for bed so I can get up and see my kiddos in the morning! Maybe next time I'll have something more interesting for you!

In the midst of seven days of bliss

Sorry for the cheese ball title! It's the first thing that popped into my mind. Well here you go again... Have I mentioned how much I love when my husband is off work? Well, I love when my husband is off work! He's just so much darn fun! He somehow managed to get his whole seven off again this month so we were pretty excited about that! He informed me that once they get farther into the work year people will build up more time and he will be back to working more overtime. Unfortunately I know that this will coincide with my favorite time of year - fall and Christmas time. Oh well, I'm enjoying his time off while he's got it! Once I get my act together I'll be substituting in Dalton, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm liking my new found freedom - no classes or school work tying me down so I can travel all over the place! We came home to Habersham Monday while Chris is off. This was the first time he'd been home in a month so he had some work to get done at home. I'm just along for the ride :) We haven't been doing anything too exciting over the past few days - here are a few photos since I last posted

Sunday we visited FBC Dalton again and enjoyed ourselves. It was much less crowded this week for some reason so that's good and bad at the same time I guess. Good for new comers! Then we had lunch at Cracker Barrel - we both had been craving it. For some reason nothing feels like the holidays like Cracker Barrel, right? I guess because of the smells and the fact that they already have out fall and Christmas decorations! SCORE.

Before church at FBC Dalton on Sunday morning

Lunch with my favorite boy at Cracker Barrel 

If you don't know me, I love ham. Like, serious love y'all. A seriously unhealthy obsession.

Chris's parents bought him a grill a long time ago when he moved into our condo in Dalton but he hadn't really needed it yet. When they came over this past weekend they brought it with them and we couldn't wait to use it. We had big plans to grill out on Sunday night but that didn't happen. When we left our house to go to the grocery store to get some steaks it was bright and sunny. On the way home it started looking like this...

Not perfect grilling weather, eh?

 Chris was determined to put the grill together anyway so he spent he majority of the evening working on that while I watched! We had dinner and watched our new Hunger Games DVD (Which by the way I am currently watching again).

Pretty new grill! Thanks David & Angela!

Monday we hung around the house not really doing anything much. We packed up our things and started heading home late that afternoon. The drive is anywhere from two and a half to three hours depending on traffic and the route. We've been trying different routes lately to see if they are any faster and to see the sights. Monday we decided to head over Fort Mountain State Park and I'm so glad we did! It was a little longer but boy was it beautiful! I can't wait to drive it this fall when the leaves are changing.

Cute husband and gorgeous views!

Not so cute wife but still gorgeous views!

We got home and had dinner with Chris's parents before heading back to my house. This is the view from their front porch - breathtaking. There have been beautiful sunsets all this week!

Last night Chris and I cooked dinner for Mom & Dad - Chris cooked those darn steaks we bought in Dalton and I made mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. It was so yum! Tonight was our night to serve at church and we just got home. I really love our church and am glad I'm still able to be involved even though I technically live in Dalton :) They aren't getting rid of me! I'll be here through the weekend to teach my sweet Sunday school class. Have a great night!

Social Studies Saturday!

Catchy title, eh? I feel it's most appropriate for what we did today! Social Studies are kind of like vegetables - kids claim to hate them on principle, but when you sneak some in on them in an unexpected way they love it! Well, I love vegetables and Social Studies all the time! That's because I'm a hundred years old... but anyway... We had an awesome day exploring Lookout Mountain today. It was one of the most fun things we have done in a long time. It's so nice to be in a different area where the sights and sounds are new and exciting. I'm well aware we have our share of activities in Northeast Georgia, but when you grow up in the middle of it sometimes it loses its appeal. Chris's parents spent Friday night with us and we got up early this morning and headed north. We bought tickets to visit all three attractions - the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls, and Rock City. 

First we rode the Incline Railway up to the top of Lookout Mountain. It was so neat, but pretty scary I must admit. I'm not one for heights! At one point it was at a 73% grade. Terrifying, y'all. 

Heading in to get on the train!

This is looking out the top windows at the steepest point, almost parallel. Lisa would not like.

The View from the Observation deck

My handsome husband and me up top

Such a sucker for these nifty things!

There wasn't much to do at the top of the Railway, but if you walk a few blocks down the road you can visit Point Park (and walk by some giant old houses). It's a beautiful garden area with awesome views, trails, and a little museum. It just so happened that we found Civil War re-enactors - so much fun! I tried to get Chris to sign up but I'm not so sure he liked that idea ;)

Heading in - part of the battle of Chattanooga/Chickamauga

Stunning views (and a super cute boy too!)

Re-enactors in the park, set up camps and the whole shebang!

Shooting demonstration with Civil War gun replicas

Said guns

Photo-op! One of the little side trails

So pretty!

Adios,  Point Park!

Next, we rode the Railway back down to the car and headed to Ruby Falls. They closed early today for a wedding (uh, awesome!) so we wanted to hit it with plenty of time. Let me just tell you, if you plan to go here on a Saturday make sure you allot plenty of time and go a little early. It was packed! But, that's probably because it is so stinkin' hot and humid so people are looking for a little relief. It was nice and cool the whole thousand something feet down!

Heading down, down, down. You see a lot of this!

Finally reaching the falls. Beautiful!

I'm a sucker for some crazy lights!

Crazy lighting from all the photo ops

I'll just be honest with you, the trip was a bit annoying at times. We were in a large group (obviously this nerd sticks right by the tour guide) traveling through teeny tiny caverns the whole way. We kept having to "pull over" to let groups leaving get by. By pull over I mean squeeze ourselves up against wet rock as twenty people shimmy by! If you could make your own time it would be much better, but I understand them not letting people wander the cavern alone! Bad idea. The positive to all that shimmying is that after you visit the falls you get to pass all those people and you make good time getting out of there! Overall, it's a great little tourist attraction. Cool, easy walk, neato waterfall. After Ruby Falls we headed the last attraction - Rock City. I've always wanted to go simply because of those darned old birdhouses! Mom has always had one and Haley and I made so much fun of her for it - for no reason other than to make fun of her I guess! Sorry about that Mama! It was a neat little place with a lot to explore.

Of course we had to watch the "Raptor Show." In case you didn't know, I'm married to the bird whisperer. Big deal, y'all! ;)

IT'S SO FLUFFY!

Staring deep into my soul... I think owls might be dementors... maybe?

A sweet 26 year old Bald Eagle missing his left wing

The swinging bridge - where I almost dropped my camera twelveteen times

Trouble. Maker.

At the top - so neat!

Thank God. I didn't get myself stuck! 

So pretty!

Over-grown man child anyone? Do you have these at home too? Bless him!

The souvenir! 

Obviously I succumbed to the pressures of Rock City and bought one of those darned old bird houses! Getting old does that kind of thing to you, doesn't it? You get all excited about bird houses and plants and crap! I can't wait to get that sucker up and watch some birds. Don't worry Hal, I'll invite you over for bird watching too!

PS, y'all should totally go to Lookout Mountain if you haven't. And when you do, visit me in Dalton!