Day 54 of 100

These past two weeks have been SUPER busy.  I apologize (particularly to my hubby) for my lack of posting.  But I should be back in the swing of things now.

Saturday, Danielle Ball and Emilie Cooper put together a breakfast for the girls in the dorm.

It was awesome to see the girls up early (when they could have been sleeping in) to fellowship and come together in Christ.  It was even more inspiring to see Danielle and Emilie take the initiative, recognize their leadership roles, and make something happen.

The upperclassman seem to be excited to be back and the freshmen are excited to be here.  It's going to be a great semester!

Day 53 of 100

Today I went to the City Wine Sellar with Jay and Aimee for Hot Tea Tuesdays (buy one get one free!).  It was nice to take a break from work and chill for a few minutes with friends. 

Who wants to be our fourth next time?

Day 52 of 100

My friend Jay got me a gift- thumb socks!

They are part of a program encouraging teens not text and drive, but Jay got them for the thumb wresteling arena I have in my office.  Now our thumbs can wrestle in style!

I like my friends and am glad they are back on campus.

Day 51 of 100

Told ya they were my prodigy.

Day 50 of 100

I'm half way there!

And I still have a few more assignments from Corey to complete.

A recreation of day 1 (a picture of me and my camera).

Day 49 of 100

I like ducks.  Their little quacks and the way they waddle... simply adorable.

Corey and I went to the pier yesterday to feed seagulls.  Only 3 showed up and they were pretty lazy seagulls.  Eventually they got bored and left, but we kept throwing out bread.  Every once in awhile a fish would eat a chunk.  Then off in the distance I saw these three little guys waddling up the bulk head.  The water was warm, the shade cool, and the expected and unexpected company great.  A nice way to end a stressful day at work.

Day 48 of 100

Rich was ordained yesterday by North Hampton Church of Christ.  I cried.  A lot.  I am so proud of him.

Day 47 of 100

I went to a baby shower for my friend Laura and her husband Matt yesterday.  We played a few non-typical baby shower games, one of which I won (it was called "How prego can you go?"  Of course considering our uncertainty of children, everyone found this to be hilarious.)  Laura and Matt received a lot of cute baby gifts.  A LOT, both in gifts and cuteness.  The continual awwws that also seemed to continually rise in pitch were proof. 

It was sweet to watch them open the gifts together.  You could see their love.

Can't wait for Amelia to arrive!

Day 46 of 100

The Sayers girls: Olivia, Kelly, and Katie.  There is a special place in my heart for these three.

It had been awhile since we visited with them.  Yesterday I could tell they missed me; it was a nice feeling.  Olivia and Katie showed me their silly bands and their new glasses that I am totally envious of.  Olivia also showed me her "80's" outfit she pulled together for camp.

My prodigy :)

Day 45 of 100

Aimee is back from Africa!!!

It was good to see my friend and hear about her adventures.  At Muddy's we flipped through some pictures from her trip.  I loved hearing about what she did, the people she met, and the things she learned.  I can't wait to hear about the random stories that come to her mind as the semester goes on.   I am so proud of her!

She also bought me some very cool African fabric!

(When taking our picture, Aimee told me I didn't have to duck.  This was the result.)

I love my friends!  Looking forward to the rest arriving on campus!

Day 44 of 100

During our trip in Asheville, we came across a Lamb-chop puppet.

Do you remember the TV show?  In elementary school, I used to have one of these puppets.  I remember my backpack had a matching lunch box that Lamp-chop wore as her backpack.  She would go to school with me, sit at my desk, turn in homework even. I don't remember how often I actually did this.  Maybe it was only for a day or week.  Maybe I did it the entire year.  But regardless... yup, I was a dork.

Day 43 of 100

Look!  I cooked dinner!

And it was yum, I'll have you know.

Day 42 of 100

This post if PG-13 (and probably TMI).

A gift I've occasionally seen given to newlyweds is jar with a bag of marbles.  The newlyweds are to add a marble to the jar every time they... well... you get the idea.

Corey and I decided instead of marbles to use quarters.  On our second anniversary I counted them and again on our fourth.

Don't fret; I'm not going to tell you how many there are..  However, I would recommend this to all couples.  It's a creative way to save a few cents here and there.  We haven't decided what to spend them on, but it will certainly be interesting to see how much money we've saved (earned?) after 10, 15, and 25 years of marriage.

Day 41 of 100

I didn't sleep well last night, because my mind was reeling with craft ideas.  That happens in a city like this.  So this morning we had a late start and didn't leave the hotel until lunch time.

After lunch at Cats and Dawgs, we strolled through Grove Arcade.  We saw grandfather clocks, fossils, "magic" crystals, and other crafty things.  Before we left we partook of frozen yogurt (very yum).  We visited a few other shops downtown as we made our way to Double D's Coffee, a coffee shop inside a double-decker bus.

Left pic: where you ordered.  Right pic: where you fix your coffee and the stairs to the second floor.  This double-decker bus was made for low clearance roads.  Notice the ceiling height!  Below is a pic of the second floor.

For dinner we had Caribbean cuisine at Nine Mile.  The food was amazing and it was a cool experience.  Then it was off to the outdoor Shakespeare play.  While we waited for it to start, we found a near by geo-cache.

It has been a great trip and I am worn out.  Long drive back to EC tomorrow, but excited to be home and make some of ideas a reality!

Day 40 of 100

Let me explain.  Yesterday I tried on 2 separate occasions to upload more pictures from the day (which was awesome).  It would upload a single picture and then refuse to upload more.  It was late, I was tired, I gave up and thus yesterday's post.

So what else did we do yesterday?
Took a trolley tour of Asheville
Went to an antique car museum and an art gallery
Went to several other craft, art, really expensive furniture, clothing and trinket galleries/shops
Got caught in a CRAZY lightening
Went to a cute, cultured cafe for lunch
Ate a huge, mouth watering cupcake for mid-afternoon snack
Went with what we knew for dinner (Olive Garden)
Checked-out the Grove Park Inn
Took a self-made-detour up the mountains and found the best view of Asheville.

What about today?
Slept in- because that's what people do on vacation.
Went to Goodwill- because that's what I do on vacation.
12 Bones for lunch- we shared a plate of pulled pork and a half rack of ribs (so good).
Followed the Urban walking trail- a "trail" marked out in downtown "that features sculptures, history stops and eye-catching architecture."  The tour of 1.7 miles is supposed to take about 2 hrs.  With all the stops we made at shops, it took us all afternoon.
During the tour, we made a stop at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe for coffee, tea, and a good read.
For dinner we visited a vegetarian cafe- Corey tried tofu and liked it.

To end the evening we joined the crowd at the drum circle. Locals bring drums of varying kinds and sizes and have a huge jam session.  We were there when it started with 4 drummers, 1 tambourine shaker, 4 hacky sac players, and 1 dancer.  It grew to 15 drummers, 3 tambourine shakers, and 4 dancers.  When we returned after dinner, the crowd looked like this.

Too many percussionists and dancers to count and not an open seat available.
A great experience.
Another great day.

Day 39 of 100

Today... I kissed a llama.

Day 38 of 100

Today Corey and I arrived at the Red Roof Hotel in Asheville, NC to begin the celebration of our 4 year anniversary.  Of course we had to break the bed in.

I jumped on it.  :)

Day 37 of 100

Not for those with a weak stomach.

I don't know what it is about the body and gross injuries, but I dig them.  Things that people almost vomit over I find intriguing.  A while back Jason Woolard sliced his arm open with a broken bottle (not intentionally of course).  Like most it churned my stomach a little, but I couldn't stop myself from looking. 

Today, Chris Amyx came into my office looking for someone to put ointment and new bandages on his back where he had moles removed yesterday.  When I removed the old bandages, this is what I saw...

Two of what were once moles had stitches.  The other two are now craters in his back.

I am so interested in gross wounds, I took pictures and posted them on my blog.  Yeah... maybe I'm a little twisted...

Day 36 of 100

Corey and I went to the beach AGAIN yesterday.  But it was overcast and rainy so not the best day for being at the beach.  So we didn't really go to the beach; it would be more accurate to say we went to OBX.

Moments from the day:
        Corey and Jason eyeballing each other during church.
        I forgot to pack bread for our lunch.
        Inception.  Amazing.
        Blue Raspberry treat from Ritas.

        Message from mom.
        Talking to mom about Christmas plans.
        Chilling at the house with Corey

Another good day.  This week has just been full of them!

Day 35 of 100

Yesterday, Corey and I took advantage of the nice weather and explored Elizabeth City.  We first visited Clownin' Around, a costume shop I like to frequent that is having a moving sale.   This is where I bought my disguise.

I bet you didn't even recognize me.  I am so sinister in my mustache.

We then cruised through the local art gallery (which, by the way, posted its signage upside down).  The work of one artist on display filled one of the rooms.  She had created miniature houses from what appeared to be foam board, covered them with paper and paint making them look antique, and decorated each with miscellaneous objects she had collected.  I am doing her work a great injustice.  It was amazing.  Corey was not impressed.  The average house, about a foot in height, sold for $400.  The largest was priced at $1200.  Corey said he wouldn't pay $10 at Wal-mart. 

Further down Main St., we made our customary Saturday stop at Muddys.  Corey drank coffee and surfed the web while I sipped tea and read. 

Back at home, we had a surprise visit from Rich Meister and Ben Hosman.  We shot the breeze, had deep conversation, and I cut Rich's hair.

After our visit, Corey and I headed to Edenton for the Steamers vs. Peninsula baseball game.  As we entered the stands, Corey grabbed a free program (despite the fact I said we didn't need one.)  We enjoyed park franks and fries as we cheered from the stands.  We saw a few good plays, a home run hit, and a car get hit by a ball as it drove by the field.

It was a great day.

O and remember that program?  There were numbers written on the inside and if they called yours out, you got a prize.  We were the first to win.

Go Steamers!