Chattanooga Is Home

With the release of the last Harry Potter book in the seven book series, Chattanooga book stores are gearing up for some Harry Potter parties. Here is a run down of some locations where the muggles can party and get Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows right at 12:01 a.m:

Where I will be:Rock Point Books
401 Broad Street
423-756-2855
The party starts at 10 pm and will include a costume contest, muggle snacks, wand making, trivia contests, owl experts, and other magical surprises. They still have vouchers available for pre-purchase of the book, but can’t guarantee that vouchers will be there when the party starts.
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Tonight our family will be curling up in front of the DVD player, chilling out after a very busy week. But next weekend, I am making room in my schedule to head down to Laura Pettit’s home for a viewing of the Clothesline Show.

The Clothesline Show is a showcase of artwork from ten women in the Chattanooga area. Several of the artists are women that I know in some capacity, from blogging to church family members.
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I took Fuller to the Chattanooga Market today so we could experience the fun. There were many Chattanooga area social agencies available for the Hispanic community. From Tenncare to the Office of Multicultural Affairs, from realtors to law offices, if they wanted to reach out the Hispanic community they were there. And they had swag!

EPB was there giving out compact fluorescent light bulbs. They had literature available, but it was all in Spanish. When I asked if they had the brochure in English, they said no, but the light bulb would work in English or Spanish. Mayfield milk Mom Squad was giving out half pints of their new Nuture Milk. I gave it to Fuller and he liked it!

The big sponsor of the day was La Paz de Dios. They are Chattanooga’s leading resource between Latinos and the city’s resources. La Paz de Dios is working toward the inclusion of Hispanics into our community while celebrating their cultural heritage. As part of their support for the market, they held a salsa competition for area restaurants and a silent auction.
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Growing up as a military brat, I really want to be someone who supports our troops. My dad is still in Afghanistan, at least for one more month. He has been doing some amazing ministry, including this three day Easter tour to forward operating bases (his picture is at the bottom of the article). I look forward to the day I get to see my dad again, and thank him for his service to our country.

I love that Chattanooga has a legacy of supporting the military. It was a bit overwhelming to stand on the side of Market Street yesterday and see those who have served and those who will one day serve.
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On May 20, 1950, the United States celebrated the very first Armed Forces Day. It was celebrated with parades, air shows, open houses, and receptions. And as the people celebrated, they were also being educated what the Armed Forces are:

It was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show “state-of-the-art” equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Armed Forces Day is officially the third Saturday of May. However, Chattanooga will be celebrating the observance this Friday, May 4th. Chattanooga has been noted as the only larger city to have the parade uninterrupted since the first observance in 1950. The reason Chattanooga celebrates early is to have school participation: JROTC units from various schools will be marching, as well as some high school marching bands.

The parade begins at 10:30 and will march down Market Street, to Third Street. Several members of our military will be participating as well: Major General William R. Cotney, assistant adjutant general for the Tennessee Air National Guard, is acting as parade marshal. Dr. Don
Loftis is parade civilian chairman and Captain Marty Malone, Tennessee Air National Guard, serves as military project officer. Charles Bates is CAVC liaison officer. General Bruce Carlson, Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon that follows the parade. (Sidenote: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is where my father is stationed, so General Carlson is kind of my dad’s boss. My dad however, is currently serving in Afghanistan.)

Fuller and I will be there. Will you?

[tags]Chattanooga parade, Armed Forces Day, parade, Chattanooga Armed Forces Day Parade[/tags]

Did you buy a Hamilton County Kids First Coupon book last August (we have six books)? There are coupons in there for UTC Mocs Basketball and Football games! Our family has decided to go to tonight’s last conference game and will be using the buy one, get one free coupon to go.

So, I guess that is two reasons to go to see the Mocs tonight- I’ll be there and you can use a coupon!

Friday was my last day as a working mom. My mom has been here helping us out as we transition to my life as a stay at home mom. Since Friday was kind of special, I thought it would be neat to do something with my mom as a thank you and mini-celebration.

I decided that visiting the Mountain Opry for the first time would be a great experience for both of us. From what I had heard, the music and atmosphere would be great and it would be pretty laid back as something we could just go see and then leave when we needed to. (more…)

My mother is visiting this week. She is watching my two year old while my husband and I navigate a changing of the guard- Damon is going back to work and I am in my last week at my job.

As a thank you to my mom I am going to take her to The Mountain Opry this Friday night. I am not sure exactly what to expect, but I know that there will be bluegrass music and we enjoy bluegrass. Since we have this venue so close to our city, I thought it would be fun.

Have you been there? What should I expect?

Just a quick update to say that we need a babysitter so that I can attend tonight’s game. My husband is point man on that task and I am sure he will be successful in his ventures (we have a lot of great friends), so I am going to go ahead and declare that tonight I will be at the Championship game.

We plan on going to the pre-game activities with our son around 4 (when it starts) or 4:30. There is excitement in the air here in Chattanooga, with all the fans milling around downtown (I saw some of them this morning. Hey tourists: Greyfriar’s has way better coffee than Starbucks! It’s on Broad Street in the 4th street block!)

I am looking forward to a great game. Hope to see you there!

I really appreciate all the folks who work to get the Chattanooga Market together every Sunday. It fills two needs for me: nostalgia and a sense of home.

The need for nostalgia comes from the two years that I spent in Germany/ The Netherlans as a teenager. Our family would usually carve out time on the weekends to go to the open air markets in one or two of the neighboring towns. We would stock up on our vegetables, cheeses, and whatnots… items that were fresh and unique to the region. And not usually found on the base commissary. The open air markets really gave us a sense of the culture of Germany and The Netherlands and at the same time helped us feel like we lived there and were not just tourists for two years.

The sense of home that the market provides comes from seeing all the local and nearby merchants come together to give Chattanoogans a part of their lives. There are farmers who provide herbs, vegetables, and honey. And there are crafters who have unique knit items or wooden toys and furniture. The photographers who share their art always get a wistful look from me- I want all their Chattanooga pictures to hang in my home! And of course, the local musicians who provide the atmosphere are such fun to hear and watch. I forget who was playing last time we were there, but my son loves dancing and singing, so it was added fun for him and a delight for me to watch. (more…)