Can it be?

only 100 days until these two cute faces join together in marriage (it is what will bring us together, that day)!!!

here and there

My mind has been a million different places recently, here's a look at its journey:

1. glitter- there is a piece of glitter on my forehead that will not go away. Everytime I think I've managed to swat it away or pull it from it's perch I'll catch a glimpse of something shiny again. Smuggly laughing at me for not being able to control the situation. Hmph.

2. honeymoon- the honeymoon is in place and i can't tell you how wonderful a vacation with Mike will be. I could tell you where we'll be, but i'm not going to. It's our thing right now. Almost to the hundred day mark, by the way. Planning is coming along as well. Invitations are in, everything but the DJ is booked. I meet with the vendors for the first time in a little under a month. Finally, i'll be able to taste things and wrap it all up. Lots of friends have offered help, but I don't know what they can do. I've taken care of little things here and there. I'm at a loss. Strange.

3. job hunt- crap this is hard. why can't schools just post positions!?

4. biscuit- i could really go for a good homemade buttermilk biscuit right now

5. weight- i've lost about 20 lbs since moving here in August. this is FSANTATIC! it means that my wedding dress is super big and there's possibility for embarassment- which will be rectified when i have it altered. it also means i go to the gym every day whether i want to or not. discipline, it's hard. i also eat a lot of low-sodium, high protein foods. i gobble hard boiled eggs up, i can't stand chips anymore, i indulge every once in a while with cheese fries, and i eat so much raw food now. So now some of my clothes don't fit properly, but some fit just as well. I know my hips have slimmed, but man I wish they'd shrink a little more. Mike, of course, thinks i'm crazy and that i'm perfect the way i am. silly boy.

6. run- a big milestone occured the other week- my first complete 2 mile run. i run a mile in just under 10 minutes which is decent for me. okay, it's fantastic for me. I normally run a mile and a half and then walk a bit, but i actually ran two miles straight. yay me!

7. art- i'm working on beefing up my lesson portfolio. this means that i'm creating things again. woo-hoo!

8. april?- where did the first three months of the year go? honestly.

9. hair- i miss my long hair sometimes, only sometimes. it's shoulder length already, which will be plenty long for August, but secretly i'm nervous. i have some ideas for my wedding, but i could still use some more. help, please!


ok, enough for now.

Let's talk Oasis

Oasis: ever the iconic English blokes who stole our hearts in the mid-nineties. Despite their battles with band members, other bands, and well pretty much the rest of the world, they were still able to create some top music. I've recently become reacquainted with the boys from Manchester. Outside of sophomore giant What's the Story (Morning Glory) they've had relatively small success in the states. Their 2000 effort Standing on the Shoulder of Giants achieved minor success stateside with the single "Go Let it Out". Their fifth effort, Heathen Chemistry performed much better both abroad and stateside. Singles "Songbird", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", and two other European hits carried the boys back into mainstream popularity. After their promotional tour ended in 2003 they headed back to the studio to work on their sixth studio album. Don't Believe the Truth was released in 2005 and wowed critics and fans alike as their best effort since Morning Glory. It even entered the US charts at number 12. Their first single "Lyla" is one of my favorite songs. It's upbeat and charming with that swagger that we've now come to accept from the brother's Gallagher. The latest single "The Masterplan" comes from their 2007 greatest hits collection of the same name. All in all the boys have created a solid catalogue. What's amazing is the fact that Morning Glory, after 12 years, never dulled or entered that category of "nineties" music that's so distinguishable to that decade. I'm one American fan who looks excitedly to future efforts. If their fighting and addictions haven't ended their careers thus far I don't believe there will be a foreseeable end in sight.

TOAST!

i lika toast with the num num jelly

i eat it down to my big fat belly

Look what I can do

Three hour long Monday classes are not in vain.

Excitement!

Wedding festivities will take place exactly FOUR months from to-day!!!

Behold

Sunday was our Passion of Christ service. It was interesting. The congregation was split into three groups and traveled to different "sites" within the church that represented the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, the Trial. We came back together at Calvary and nailed our sins (written on a piece of paper) to a cross . It was a quiet time of meditation, prayer, and singing. It's the closest this church has come to real praise. It was refreshing and needed.

Behold the Lamb of God

Behold the Lamb of God

who takes away the sin

the sin of the world

a few things

1. had one of THE funniest conversations with Mike on the way back from Duke last night. I'll just have you know it involved St. Elmo, Steely Dan, Megadeath, and old people driving a BMW (with headlights that could sear a steak- too dramatic? possibly.)

2. i saw AMANDA CULLEN!!!! Her last "real" chorale concert was last night and it was great. Plus I got to see Mama Cullen and that was lovely too. We're already planning a reunion post haste. Let's hope it sticks!

The Duke University Chorale

Amanda and me

3. Carey's moving to Charlotte! Excited, you betcha! Seein him next week will make hump day just a little more interesting.

4. Should I go to Charlotte for the GCC Alumni thing???

5. Man, I can smell my gym clothes from here...gross.

6. Amy will be in the states SO SOON!

7. Why don't people return phone calls. I'm not always the best, agreed, but come on people!!

8. I finished Franny and Zooey. I didn't like this book again until the last 30 pages. What's with these books. I understand that it's a "classic', a "must read", but I don't get it. I think there's too much dialogue and the scenes are extended too much. I'm not an English Major (contrary to popular thought, and obvious by my writing) so I guess I don't fully appreciate the book's value. Oh well.

9. I have finished reading the Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. It's a great narrative, from several perspectives, of the Rape of Nanking that took place beginning in the Fall of 1937 when Japan invaded China. 400,000 people were killed, totured, and raped. Some were killed to take care of the "food and supply shortage" but most for sport. It is gruesome and difficult to read at times, but it is an incredible read and is easy to become absorbed by the horror. At times you feel completely devastated and drained. Interestingly enough, Japan just issued an apology about the so called "comfort" houses, which were military owned brothels filled with true prostitutes and women that had been kidnapped for the sole purpose of suiting soldiers "needs." This is significant because it happened this month. That means the only denied it for over seventy years. What's sick is that there is a revionist camp in Japan today still trying to ignore and deny the whole thing.

10. I heard from Giada, my friend in Verona. It truly made my day!

11. Mike finally updated his blog...finally

a blanketing

I came out this morning to witness a blanket of pollen covering every vehicle that had been slumbering over night in its happy parking space. The cars were gilded yellow. It was as if Midas himself had seen fit to cover the entire city in this hue. The day was heavy and humid. After stepping out of choir rehearsal I once again entered a world I've never been a part of. In the evening sky, under the lights of the parking lot, a heavy yellow haze lazed about. If you have been so lucky as to witness a dust storm in the west this would be comparable. Tufts of saffron danced around my feet as I hurriedly made my way to my car. The winds have picked up since this afternoon. We are preparing for a storm. The lightning has begun. It is only a matter of time before thunder and rain make their way across the city, uncovering every gilded inch that we see.

hiking

Two weeks ago both Mike and my brother were in town. My brother drove down on Tuesday morning and arrived by 1ish in time for us to drive north of Winston-Salem and go for a hike to Hanging Rock. It's a relatively easy hike, only a bit over a mile. It was a perfect day, mid 70s, clear sky, not humid. Just perfect. We enjoyed the great hike and goregous views.

on top of hanging rock.

we're sitting because i was scared.

would you believe...that he protested before Mike took this picture

it's a gorilla face. on the mountain.

ah, the Glory of God...so grateful for beauty and family

an update...what else do you people want?!

to hurriedly catch you up on my life as of late...

1. LOST...again, another heart attack tonight. they were a little boring there for a while, but man were things spiced up again. woo hoo! i can't give any details though, since there are some faithful readers who have not seen tonight's episode. (side note- episode, it's a word oft not used anymore. why people? why?)

2. Funeral in Blue was my second novel of choice and it was ok. it dragged for most of the book and finally became exciting in the last twenty pages. it's a 320 page book. yikes. i give it a C. mid-grade, but not failing. very detailed indeed (unlike my writing) yet bogged down by too much emotion and frivolous dialogue. I'm almost finished with Franny and Zooey and i don't know what to think of it. same prediciment, prolonged awkwardness and rambling. i've got about twenty pages left.

3. job search- daunting. must get started. help!

4. Mike and I have discussed and pretty much decided that next year we're going to begin applying for programs in the UK. He for a doctorate and me, a masters. We both are very eager to see where we might be taken (together). The next two years will be filled with much prayer and conversation about this. (I'm secretly hoping for Edinburgh)

5. in FIVE months we're getting married!!!!

6. I heart Old Navy again. Wasn't a big fan for a while, but now that they have adorable and affordable dresses again, I'm in LOVE!!! Bought a cute blue baby doll today. LOVE it. Watch out- not too much bending over please :O

7. Emily and Mike bought a house! a HOUSE!!! i'm visiting on Saturday. yay!

8. 70 friggin degrees today...AWESOME!!!

i think that's all i've got in me right now. brilliant...night :)

and then this gem...

Saturday I saw this man play with the UNCG Jazz Ensemble and (pardon me) DAMN he can play!! it was quite a night of wonderful music....

Max Weinberg!!!!!!!

Great Guinness Toast...Brilliant!

it is what it is...

The Guiness is flowing, and oh what a night!
We're here to thank you, and thought that we might
Take a minute to praise the folks we love the most,
So here's to us all, another great Guinness Toast!

a few delicious pictures...

and it begins...

ooh...yummy deliciousness

poor lonely Pete

i heart Sean

head wrestling...the wave of the future

classic look #1

classic look #2 (this is the one that obviously made lindsey almost pee herself)

i can't even explain it...this is Ryan's face, btw

so many pints!

birthday weekend spectacular

it's been a busy two weeks since i last posted. the 13th marked my 23rd birthday. to help me celebrate, my parents came up for the weekend prior. it's actually been pretty great having parents that will travel to make that one day extra special for you. i only hope i do my children justice. on friday night we went out to Logan's steakhouse, because that's where they like to eat and i couldn't complain. then we drove around and i showed them some of town. not too exciting since we were all tired. ooh, but i did introduce them to the Harris Teeter. For those of you not familiar with the great land of the South, Harris Teeter is a higher bracket grocery ala Wegmans or Whole Foods. The shopping selections are not always varied, but the extras are great. they have a brick over pizzaria, and hoagie station, an olive bar, a sushi bar, an entree bar, a salad bar, and pretty much any other food you could possibly want to eat. We purchsed my lovely ice cream cake there. It was the one thing i really wanted, and it was delicious! Of course we had candles and my mom took pictures- natch.

Now the next day was the day for "fun". We didn't know what the "fun" would be so we started the day with a hearty breakfast from Bob Evans. After enjoying some yummy eggs benedict we were on our way. Still having no clue where we going, east on 40 was our decided direction. Heading toward Raleigh we decided that the Zoo in Asheboro would be the best option. It was a lovely day, probably 50ish and it was bright and sunny. Before we made it to the NC Zoo we detoured at the Richard Petty museum in Randleman. It was AMAZING!! I'm not even kidding.

Nope, still not kidding. I grew up on old school NASCAR. This stuff today is all about money and sooo not about racing. Needless to say it was one of the coolest things i've done here. and no, i'm not lame. Richard Petty is "as American as baseball, hotdogs, and mom's apple pie." The man helped build racing to what it is today and he is a fantastic man to boot. The museum was small, considering it was THE main attraction for Randleman, but it boasted an array of seemingly endless ...stuff. All great stuff by the way. Every championship-winning car was dispalyed, his final-race car (that totally burst into flames on the last lap), a large gun collection, every trophy, jacket, endorsemnt product, trinket, die-cast car, just EVERYTHING. He's won 7 championships and 200 races. This is a record that has yet to be touched. Only Dale Earnhardt tied the number of championship wins. His dad, Lee Petty was a racer, as is his son Kyle. Even Kyle's son, Adam, got into racing but tragically lost his life at the New Hampshire Interational Speedway in 2000. His #45 Sprint Chevy sits in the museum under a three generation picture as tribute.

They have some of the wildest stuff and I loved it...

after that delight we went to the zoo. it's actually a decent zoo. who knew it was only 25 miles away from where i live?! a lot of construction was being done, but we did get to see most of the animals. the polar bears were fun and there was a 16 point elk- yikes! i don't even want to talk about the baboons. (shudder)

for my actual birthday some of us gathered at the local Steak n' Shake. I actually got a free sundae- that hasn't happened for many years!

Katie got me tulips (my fav!) but delivered them in just her coat. It was a good birthday.

Whataburger

A few folks have asked me what in the world my profile pic is. Why on earth am i stuffing my face with a burger? Well, it's not just a burger. No, it is "yummy goodness"! From our trip to El Paso we experienced the magic of several Texas treasures. None so glorious as Whataburger. Now, Whataburger is a chain of burger joints begun in 1950 by the Dobson family of Corpus Christi. According to the website there are over 600 locations throughout the South and Mexico. In 2001 the Texas State Legislature passed a resolution that named every Whataburger a Texas State Treasure. Go figure. Mike loves the place and even bought a shirt from a salvo or something with the logo on it. Before I departed for civilization we stopped to grab some food. I didn't need anything big, and i had never had it- so Whataburger it was! I have not had a more delicious fast food burger- EVER. Anywho, that's the short and sweet of it...Whataburger!!

a few ramblings

1. LOST is back and in the words of Frank Barone, "HOLY CRAP". I think I almost had a heart attack Wednesday night. 16 straight weeks of this?! I don't think i can handle it! (OK, so maybe i can)

2. I finished my first book in years. The Devil Wears Prada. I give it a B-. I have higher hopes for the movie. Now reading Funeral In Blue- it's going slow, hopefully I'll finish it in the next few days. Then I'll finish Franny and Zooey. See, I start books and get distracted. I have four books on my shelf that I've started- some several years ago. Not to mention the several at home. Argh, I will beat this, and enjoy reading again.

3. I sang alto last Sunday. Crazy i know. It went well- and it was with youth, so my voice stuck out, but apparently not my fresh-looking face. Score!

4. I get a commission now on the audits we finish. Awesome!

5. Shoes. Shoes. Shoes. Lets get some shoes.

6. Schools actually closed last week because we had less than an hour of snow. I still had to work. Boo.

7. My birth control is making me go CRAZY!! I talk to people in the morning. I talk constantly. Too many hormones!!

8. My hair is now at that inappropriate length where it just does not do much for my face. Soon it will grow out and all will be right in my hair-world. It has however, grown three inches in two months. I rule.

9. my milk expires on my birthday. yay birthday! the big 2-3. not as much of a milestone as 26 though. go figure.

and that's the story of my life right now.

Morning Commutes

Some people enjoy Opie and Eliot on XM radio, some people enjoy Stern. Others still prefer Eliot in the Morning on DC 101. I, however, enjoy the likes of Bob and the Showgram on G105 in the mornings. They broadcast out of Raleigh and are SO much better than Eliot in the morning. On my short 6 minute commute to work i laugh at the hilarity that is this crazy program. They're on from 5am to 10am every weekday, with highlights being reaired Saturday mornings. They do crazy stuff ALL the time.


Today was Bob's 40th birthday and they had money to give away and all of these weird surprises. The theme was a "white trash birthday." It was spectacular! To coincide with the themed birthday show they thought it would be a good idea to give him a little piglet. Yes, they had a live piglet in the studio. He opened a box on air and out came this squealing little porker. The funniest part wasn't his squealing, it was the fact that he had fleas. Commentated on air was "I can feel them crawling on my arm!" "Ooh, yeah, I see one on your leg." "I washed him like three times!" (This last one was Kentucky Kristen). To make light of the situation, because lets face it that's what you do when given a pig, he names the little guy Flea Biscuit. His real name is Bubba Earnhardt Dumas. Though I personally think Flea Biscuit better. I haven't laughed so hard in the morning for a while. It was the best moment of the day.

This was the best way to start the morning.

take a look...

I am home on my lunch break and usually that means a little bit of food with some relaxation in front of the t.v. Well, i was flipping channels as my food was being warmed, and what should i come across but READING RAINBOW!! who knew that show was still on? honestly, i didn't. The theme song is similar but modified to fit the modern crowd it now serves. wow- Levar Burton eveyone!!! ...it's in a book. it's reading rainowwwwww!

A Moment for Wedding Plans

We're getting married exactly six months from yesterday! That may still seem like this huge span of time (which it is) but seeing as it's already February, it's really now. I'm to that point where the impact of time frame is really hitting me. I have so much to do. I'm not just talking wedding either, i'm talking my two classes this semester. I know, wah wah for two whole classes. One is cake, and the other actually does require lots of reading and outside school activities (but hey, i'm going to go to a skate night- woo-hoo!) So i've got this class that requires actual work from me this semester and then planning a wedding in a location from which i live eight or nine hours from. Though I am happy with my progress thus far, there is so much more i need to do- all little things- YIKES!!! :)

This is not our cake, but man it's kind of cool in a "i'd-look-but-never-have-at-my-wedding" way.

Progress:
Chapel - check
Farm- check
Organist- check
Wedding dress- check
Cake- check
Flowers- check
Photographer- check
Rehearsal dinner space- check
Wine- check


Things I need to get on:
FOOD
Music?? to DJ or not to DJ? truly the question of the moment.
Every small detail for the wedding



it's going well, and time is flying by. thanks for enduring this moment for wedding plans.

mmm...athletes and rain

so, Super Bowl 41 is here and i'm excited. Go Colts! I just got back from babysitting some kids- yes, during the Super Bowl. At least I was able to watch the half time show in peace. I was pleasantly surprised. I now really heart Prince :) Back to the game! GO COLTS!!!!