Book Club Update

The book club convened at J's house tonight. The proceedings kicked off with some cute, tiny sloppy joes, a bucket of grilled KFC chicken, some tasty pasta salad, a layered Mexican dip, and a cake from Kroger's shaped like a watermelon. Oh yes, we were in food heaven! Shortly after eating, we congregated in the pool and discussed our latest book, Holmes on the Range.
Most members gave it a mostly favorable review even while noting it wasn't really their type of book. DaddyP is currently reading my copy and intends to read Book Two in this same series. I believe there are 4 books total, but I do not know how many in our group intend to continue with the series other than the member who recommended the novel.
If you haven't already checked out the book, you can read about it here. I think in order to truly enjoy this novel you might first need a love (or healthy respect) for, first of all, a western novel. Second of all, and most importantly, you must love a mystery. The mystery in question in this novel is a murder that needs solving, and these 2 (one is illiterate) cowhands decide to try their hand at figuring out who the guilty party is. Like I said, this book is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it's neat to read a book in a group to decide what you did like about it and to pick apart what you didn't. I can honestly say that I've never really read an honest-to-goodness mystery, and I'm glad to have this book to fill that spot. With our previous hostess being a mystery lover, this title was a shoe-in for her to recommend. I know that were it not for being a part of this book club, I would NEVER had read Little Dorrit or Holmes on the Range.
See there? Proof already that this book club is broadening my mind. Now if we don't stop with the random and fattening food choices, it'll be more than my mind that is broadening. Haha.
At each book club meeting, the person hosting the club gets to choose the next novel to be read. We always have one book that everyone has to read. It's like our focal book. In addition to that book, we also have several other books to share/recommend/suggest that we may or may not opt to read. While discussing our focal book, we'll also have these side books to discuss with whomever happened to have read them. This month, along with Holmes, one of the other books that we selected was What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman. Ya know, I honestly didn't like this book. I liked the plot and where it COULD have gone. Instead, the storyline seemed to get out of hand. Like the author got crazy and then couldn't pull the story back in tight enough to end it on a reasonable note. I had high hopes for the book, but I figured out the 'twist' long before I think it was supposed to obvious. The only other book that I can compare my dislike to this one would be The Memory Keeper's Daughter which I initially chose because I liked the cover (and because the odd little man at the bookstore said it was "wonderful.") This novel was such a disappointment to me. The plot had such potential, but the story just seemed to spiral out of control in such a Jerry Springerish way that I totally lost interest about halfway through the book. To me, these two books were very similar in that they both let me down equally. Haha.
And so, drum roll if you please, our hostess tonight, J., informed us of our next read that we will be discussing at Olive Garden (yay!) Here is some info in case you are interested!
(Sidenote: We also discussed our Netflix interests tonight, and several gals have Lost in Austen waiting in their queues. Can't wait to get mine in to watch! Curious to know if and when you watch it too!) I'm very curious about next month's book. T.Spoon will be choosing that one, and one never knows about her. We'll just have to wait and see, but for the month of July, we're reading about the Mormons!
Must be off to bed now. Cousins2 are sleeping over tonight, and I'm beat from getting up way earlier than I wanted this morning and then having the brain strain of hiring committee added to the day. BARF! Hopefully the cousins and kids will sleep late (haha) in the a.m. We're heading to see Ice Age tomorrow, and I think I'm as fired up as the kiddos!

A few birthday pics~

(Unrelated sidenote: It rained and rained here this afternoon with temps in the high 70's!! Oh, we needed a break from the heat so bad, and we got it! Even now that the rain has stopped, the sun has been hesitant to glare it's ugly face today. Thank the Lord!)
5 minutes into the party, Sam was yanked from the pool for unsportsman like conduct. Actually, if ya wanna put a fine point on it, he was yanked for inappropriate language. Here you see him warming the time out chair.
And here you see the eleven year old blowing out his candles! Check out the hair! In case you're wondering, the other children had refreshments also. I just bought a small cake for Jack's candles and a couple dozen mini cupcakes otherwise. What can I say? It was 136 degrees outside, and I wanted to move things along quickly.

The partying crew!

I'm off to the AT&T store to pick up some stuff for my new phone. (Did I mention here that DaddyP got me the new iphone? Not sure what got into him, but it's charging as I type. Note to iphone-ers, Ebay has tons of VERY cheap cases, covers, accessories, etc. WAY cheaper than the AT&T store/Best Buy, etc. And the selection is enormous! Check it out! A friend pointed me in the ebay direction, and I've found the CUTEST covers there. The best part is that you can buy multiples to change them out for dirt cheap!)

The rumor is true. It's Monday.

So, I woke up this a.m. I know. Shocked me too.
The kids are playing Jack's new racing game for the Wii, My Sims Racing. We're HUGE Mariokart fans, but I think this game is going to be a hit. If anyone is interested, I'd be happy to let ya know the difference. Just email me! Loads of perks compared to Mario.
I have to go to school today for a committee meeting (barf,) and Pmil is coming to stay with the kids. Not sure what time I'll get outta there, but maybe we'll get some time to swim this afternoon before gym and swim team. The boys should get their ribbons from Saturday's meet at practice tonight.
I really should be doing laundry or something before I leave, but I just ain't feeling it this morning. The cousins2 will be spending the night tonight. We weren't really planning a sleepover, but they begged and begged and laid it on pretty thick. So, they'll be here late this evening after gym and swim, and I suppose we'll play for the better part of Tuesday. It'll be nice to stay home, since we haven't been able to do that yet since school got out. As a matter of fact, I think this entire week will be full of nothing. Wait, except on Wednesday. We have a group movie thing planned to see Ice Age. The kids LOVE Ice Age, so they are really excited about seeing it.
Not really sure where June went. Our first week out of school was spent camping, the next week was spent in NC, and last week was swimming lessons with all the Saturdays in between spent at out of town swim meets. June has been a blur! I don't think July will be as busy, although I think I'll be babysitting the cousins2 for a few weeks while my mom recuperates from foot surgery #325. As far as I know, we have a couple of trips coming up in August (Arkansas and Nashville,) but in July, we only have the beach--(ONLY, haha! We're so fired up about going to the beach! Can't wait to get to that place!) I need to talk to my SIL to plan on our annual trip to the Blue Belle water park in Brenham. The kids have been asking about it, and I usually make a trip with them to visit for a few days. Maybe we'll hook that up in the next couple of weeks while DaddyP works.
Well, I've delayed the inevitable long enough. I must bust a move.
Mr. Weather Man says that today will be another cool, pleasant day. Lots of breezes and refreshing showers throughout the day. He also tried to sell me the Golden Gate bridge.

Playing Catch Up and Giving Birth

Sorry I've been such a bad blogger lately, but things have been cuhrazee around here. The swim meet yesterday was h.o.t.h.o.t.h.o.t.h.o.t. The temp was 102, but I think the index was at 108. It was just so hot. The boys both did great and both will probably ribbon. Jack moved up in the standings from the previous week, but we won't know officially until Monday night at practice. They did post a few results before the meet was over, and we know that Jack moved up from 11th place in his division for freestyle to #4 for his entire age group!! He also competed in his first 100m IM, and he did exceptionally well in his heat. We aren't sure of his final standing, but we're thinking his heat time was fast enough to allow him to hold onto the Top 3 for that event. Sam actually (surprisingly!!) placed in the breast stroke at his previous meet, and we saw on the results board before we left this meet that he was 8th in his division. That means he'll get a ribbon at tomorrow night's practice. I'm pretty sure that Jack will ribbon in all of his events from Saturday, but we'll see.
We celebrated birthday #11 for Jack today. It's hard to believe that at this time 11 years ago, he was less than an hour old....being born very late after such a long and disastrous day of laboring. We spent the afternoon swimming and having cake with friends/family, and he had a wonderful time. The adults who weren't in the pool were pretty miserable, but the kids had a good time. DaddyP took Jack out for the evening to have some Man to Man Time, so I'm watching Joan Crawford in a 1939 film called The Women. I'm enjoying this movie immensely. I love old movies, and wow. This is about as old as you're gonna get. Those hats! Oh, why don't women wear hats like that anymore? Off to watch..

Cousin Sweetness

Our dear, sweet Cousin E. is here, and Sophy's world is complete. Of course, she's going home tomorrow....and oh the sadness that will commence. We've had a great week of fun and pretending and swimming and silliness.

Videos from Lil Flip

We're on Day 3 of swim lessons. I took the Flip today, so here are a couple of short shots. Sam is trying to get out of Red Cross level 5, I believe. In this clip, he was having to survival float for 30 seconds, I think. Survival floating is really hard for a kid because they have to fight the urge to tread water. They simply have to be limp and relaxed in the water while only raising their head to get air. Sam had to fight hard not to move. Sophy is also in 5-ish (haha.) Here she is working on her front crawl/freestyle. She had completed one pass prior to this, but she did the entire thing in one breath, so they made her go back and do it over. In case you're wondering, these are the Red Cross requirements for Level 5. (Having said that, I think I'm a Level 1.5.) I can't say enough about making sure your child's swim lessons are the of the Red Cross variety. They really stress water safety and make sure that your child is prepared to hit the water in every circumstance possible.

Day #5-Segways!

(And a Happy #37 Birthday to DaddyP!! He doesn't look a day over 25...or so. Have I mentioned that 5 different people have asked us if we're on our honeymoon? When I tell them we've been married for 12.5 years, they're amazed. Maybe it's because we're immature? Hehehe.)
I hate to leave out a description of our Rooftop tour that we took of the Biltmore House this afternoon, but it's just going to have to take backseat to our Segway excursion! Hands down, this was the MOST fun I've had in a verrry, very long time. After checking in and meeting our guide, Joshua, we spent about 30-40 minutes doing a "rigorous training" for off-road Segwaying. This training included learning how to drive the machine, how to stop (most important,) what NOT to do, how to crash, what NOT to do, a cone driving course--oh-so-much fun, and oh...what NOT to do. Our group consisted of about 3 other couples, all of them were in their 50's-60's...one was the owner of the Tractor Supply stores. He was just an average guy, except he drove a really nice car. Where was I? Oh yes, so we trained in a small grassy field with Josh. He was a really nice kid who loves his job! We had a good time with that guy.
After our training period was over, we started off on our 2.5 hour trek around the estate. I mean, learning to operate a Segway is one thing, but taking your Segway around a place as beautiful as Biltmore, it was like Segway heaven! We stopped several times to rest. You wouldn't think it's tiring, but in a weird way, it really is. If you've ever used a Wii Fit balance board, you sort of have an idea of what it takes to off-road Segway. So, we started out on some paved paths that looped around the outer limits of the estate, and we moved on to greener pastures (haha) to test our off roading abilities. The Segways that we were on are different than the typical version (basically it's the tires that are the differences...that and the off-road version costs about $5,000 compared to $2,000 for the regular version.) Our tour was extremely organized, and Joshua let the group set the pace. Eventually, we vamped up to the chip that lets you smoke around at 12mph. This doesn't sound like much, but when you're controlling your every movement with the balls of your feet and a computerized gyroscope. Trust me, 12mph is booking! But oh the fun! At one point, Joshua gave us "Segway recess" and turned us loose in a grassy field. I'm sad to say that DaddyP was involved in the only crash of the entire outing. And I'm even more sorry to say that I was the target of his crashing. Yes, he took me out in a blaze of glory, right there in the green pastures of Biltmore. I have a slight bruise/goose egg on my shin where his Segway pinned my leg to my Segway and a bloody scratch on my forearm, but other than that, we survived. Somehow, I should've expected a crash out of the Crash King. Haha. Luckily, HE wasn't injured! That's the truly miraculous news!! Hahaha. We were up and back on our way with minimal assistance (once we were able to stop laughing,) and back on our way to the Finale of the ride which ended on a cliff overlooking Biltmore House. Totally, totally an morning well spent!

Biltmore '09

Click here to view these pictures larger

Day #4-I Ate Food in a Vanderbilt Horse Stable

(I've decided to post all of the Biltmore pics in one Shutterfly slideshow. I'll put one together tomorrow night, our last night. I apologize if this is sketchy, but I'm trying to get stuff out before I forget it all!)
We woke up early (with electricity surging through the outlets) and headed down to a crazy breakfast spread that was compliments of Biltmore. Our package already came with breakfast each morning, but they had the formal dining room open to everyone at the inn with a really good spread laid out. After we ate, we went out to catch a shuttle to the big house, which is about 4 miles from the inn, and a really interesting shuttle driver gave us a very good impromptu narration of things as we came across them on our drive. He also explained how and why things were chosen to be the way that they were. The man who designed the landscaping aspects of the grounds (all 8,000 acres of it) had also designed Central Park in NYC (even though Biltmore estate = about 40 Central Parks,) and it was his intention that the drive to the house (by carriage) should build up the suspense of the visitor, give them views and reflections up until the minute that the ginormous house pops into view. And by pop, I mean EXPLODES into view. It was a nice shuttle ride to the house. We met another couple on the shuttle and walked and visited with them off and on through the morning tour of the garden. We've met so many nice people here that we've sat and talked with, toured with, etc. Of course, I'll talk to a tree, so that's not surprising, I suppose.
So, the gardens. Oh, the gardens. I just can't describe it and do it justice, so I won't. You have to see them, and that is all there is to it. The man was a genius. We won't even talk about the designer of Biltmore House because there are no words for that either. I will be able to add photos of the gardens (which will not do it justice...everything is a view that was meant to transition to another view, another garden, another terrace, another wilderness walk, another, another, another,) so I'm afraid even my photos will not do it justice, but at least you'll be able to see those. The house is another story. No photos or videos allowed inside, but it's a piece of work, lemme tell you. We did the audio tour which was amazing! There was a good sized crowd today, but with the audio tour (which is the only way to go,) it was paced and told you all of the highlights that you wouldn't know otherwise. Parts of the audio tour also have sounds and commentaries added, and it added a lot to the experience. We had to keep reminding ourselves that Biltmore House was a HOME. A residence. Not a tourist attraction when it was built. The audio tour explained so many facets of the house like there were 30 dozens of eggs delivered DAILY, the indoor-BASEMENT pool was 10 feet deep, was heated, and had underwater ELECTRIC lights. A full laundry service comparable to that of any grand hotel of THIS time period, 3 kitchen areas, and at any given holiday, would likely have had up to 250+ guests. And not just any guests...these were Vanderbilts, so their friends were famous artists, authors, politicians, etc. It just boggles the mind. And this place was so remote.....and they usually spent days and days on a train and then 7 hours by carriage to get here. But oh man, it must've been worth it. I mean, the rooms. THE ROOMS...floor after floor of guest rooms and baths with indoor plumbing. It's just amazing. That's all I can say.
So anyway, after the tour, we headed to one of the 5 (I think) restaurants on the estate. It is housed in what used to be the Vanderbilt's horse stable. The stalls were made into booths, and the food was oh-so very, very good. Oh, and then we shared a gigantic strawberry ice cream cone, just for the record.
Tomorrow, PDad's birthday!!, we have our off-road Segway tours (they have mud tires!!!,) and a rooftop and attic tour of Biltmore house. We originally had scheduled an afternoon tea, but after seeing how cool the house is (the tour took over 2.5 hours,) we wanted to see more. I'm taking the Flip to video PDad on a all-terrain Segway. You'll wanna stay tuned for that!

Day #3-Thunder From the Mountain

(Yes, we heard officially today it was a tornado, and we took a shuttle around the 8,000 acres today to see more damage. The oldest tree on the estate planted when the home was built was lost during the storm. Very sad.)
After leaving Winston-Salem on Thursday morning, we drove the 2 hours to Asheville, but not before we did a little off road investigating for some good, 'ol North Carolina BBQ. For some bizarre reason, everywhere that we have eaten, people feel compelled to know how we feel about their food because we're from Texas. I can't tell you how many people have directed us, without prompting, to "real Texas BBQ." I guess that we heard about it so much that we couldn't stand it anymore. So, we drove about 20 minutes off of I-40, twisted and turned our way through MORE mountains, to find Phil's BBQ in Black Mountain, North Carolina. I will encourage anyone reading this that ever has the chance to eat at Phil's BBQ to do so! It was amazing, and the North Carolina BBQ sauce puts anything Texas has to shame! TO SHAME! So, so good. So, after we scarfed that down, we were back on the road and ended up getting to the estate at Biltmore around 2:30 or so. Just long enough to get settled in our room, go for a quick explore, and then the storm to end all storms happened. Thunder sounds very, very ominous when it bounces through a mountain range. So, we lost power, and when the storm had cleared, we did a little more exploring and found smashed cars, tons of downed trees, debris everywhere, etc. We ended up just spending the evening hanging out, but we were really lucky that our room had a balcony with french doors. The electricity was back on around 11, and we were so happy to know that it was NOT like East Texas. You know what I'm talking about. When the power goes out, it's out for a lloonngg time!
Which brings me to Day #4...

Weather Bulletin

I'll have to keep this extremely short due to the battery of my laptop being close to death. We have arrived at Biltmore, and it's as beautiful as they say. About an hour after checking in, a tornado touched down in several parts of the estate, uprooting trees and cutting power. I'm sitting in the dark in my lovely room. I'll update tomorrow (if power allows.)

Day #2.5-Americana Continued

We're headed to Biltmore tomorrow. The plan is to wake up early and get on the road. We can't get into our room until late afternoon, but we can drop off our bags and head out onto the Biltmore grounds as soon as we arrive. There is so much to see that we're just hoping to get there as early as possible. We had dinner tonight with a nice girl (manager of the place we ate at,) that sat with us throughout our meal and told us about the points of interest to hit at B'more. So, we're outta here in the a.m. If you ever have the chance to visit Old Salem, I HIGLY recommend it!

This is a part of the Moravian cemetery called Cedarhyrst, I think. It's right at the entrance. There is a sign asking for reverence and respect.
These are the bakers. They were loading the wood into the fire for the next day's baking. They gave us free bread samples. They were niiiiice old fellows.

This red breasted fellow sat on the branch outside of the second story window of the tavern where we had lunch. I'm still dreaming about that chicken pie and trying to figure out how I can get some of it home. They do offer it in a frozen form to be taken home, but I don't think it will last until Sunday. Anyway, this guy sat outside our window for our entire lunch....

The Moravians were very focused on music. Tannenberg, the organ maker, created this (and other) organ for them. It was refurbished, and this old lady, apparently, comes each day to sit and play it. The sounds coming from this organ are nothing short of Heavenly. You can just see her grey hair sticking up above the music sheets. The sounds coming from that organ made us cry. Really.

Day #2-A Whole Lotta Americana

Pictures first (in random order:)

This is a typical Moravian style (Triebel designed the plan, I believe) vegetable garden. From what I gather, families planned out their gardens in drawings. The Old Salem village has used some of those plans, spanning over 100 years, to re-create the early gardens created by the Moravians. I guess what struck me is that these were settlers from Germany and what is now Czech areas, but they seem to have hit the ground running. The town is beautiful by any standards, old or new. Check out this garden! I love this kind of stuff.

(Interesting side note: The gardens rows are diagonal instead of straight.)

One of the street views.
So we had lunch today in a two story tavern. No electric lights anywhere in the building, only handmade candles in lanterns. I had to use the flash to brighten this photo because it was so dark in this room. We were upstairs in one of the sitting rooms. The food was beyond great! It was so good, in fact, that we're going back tonight for dinner. Hehe. The entire village area has candle lit windows, and we want to see it at night. So, off we'll go!

Oh look! It's us! This is what I had for lunch today at the tavern. I think I'll tell you about it in a bit. Very, very awesome chicken pie, Moravian style. Quite possible the best I've ever had. Sorry Pearl.

This has nothing to do with Old Salem or the Moravians. I just like it. Hehe, someone loved their public education so much they felt compelled to express their feelings through graffiti. I sort of like to think a group of public school teachers snuck out one night and did this. I mean, it's all spelled correctly. C'mon. It had to be teachers.

Gentle Readers, we will continue our Flora and Fauna of the Carolinas today with another plant identification. Can you identify this beautiful bush?

Pomegranate!!

This building is pretty nondescript....until you learn that....

It's the second white building that you also see in this photo taken the year after the Civil War ended. At that time, Old Salem was still old. The first building you see is, I believe, the tavern where we had lunch. This is another photo that is probably meaningless until you realize that it's a printers case that stores the different letters for the press. Bit O' Trivia: This is where the term Upper and Lower case came from.

I don't know these gals. I just thought they were cute. All of the people in this village are dressed from this period. I came very close to buying me a bonnet.

This is the Moravian Cemetery (didn't get a good photo of the church, but WOW!) All of the occupants of this cemetery are buried according to their gender and marital status, not according to family groups. All the headstones are flat and equal in size and all face East. One of the headstones that we read was from a death in 1732 and the woman was 99 years old. I would think in that day and age, she was a medical marvel!

PDaddy and I both thoroughly enjoyed our tour through Old Salem today. The weather has been perfect, even if a bit rainy, but we had so much fun today! We took the strollway from our inn to the Old Salem village where we started off with the Toy Museum tour. Being unable to photograph inside the museum, I can't convey to you how neat this place was. Words do not do it justice and to simply say that it was a toy museum doesn't begin to come close to describing it. It was amazing, and we must've looked like kids in a candy store, er...toy store...in there. You can't touch any of the displays which made me gladiolas that the kids weren't there to see it. DaddyP and I both agreed that taking kids to a toy museum (and one such as this) would be like showing a donut to a cop and telling him not to touch it. Ya know? Loved it!

We spent the entire day walking the village. There are people going about activities as if it's the late 1700's, in period costumes, doing the jobs like they would've been done long ago. The Moravian history is very interesting and is something I didn't previously know much (if anything) about. Old Salem is beautiful, and of course, the streets are cobbled and brick, so it's a very quaint scene that you have with the gardens (flower and vegetable,) large trees, and Salem College surrounding the neighborhood. It's just beautiful. We visited a gunsmith (who told us a great place to eat "real Texas BBQ"..and this was before he knew we were from Texas.), a printing press/photographer, silversmith, clockmaker, and bakery. That's not to say that these were the only things we saw, oh not by a long shot! There is so much to see! At the beginning of our day, someone told us to be sure to plan a trip to the bakery for later in the day because they would be "heating up the ovens" throughout the morning. Sure enough, when we got there, we were able to see 2 old guys baking Love Feast bread (a Moravian tradition), and we bought some hot cider and baked treats and went and sat outside in the drizzle on a bench and enjoyed some tasty goodies.

DaddyP and I had lunch at the Salem Tavern. The food was out of this world, and the history of the building we were in just made it that much better. I have to tell you about my lunch. Chicken pie (double crust). This pie is full of the best chunks of chicken. Nothing else!! Just chicken! However, the savory gravy is served spooned on top of the pie, and the vegetables served on the side. I'm a chicken pie person, and THIS was chicken pie to write home about. Wow!

We heard that the tavern had a world champion fiddler/violinist playing tonight, so DaddyP wants to go check out their dinner menu. Haha. Better take my flashlight!

Day #1 - Where Daddy P Tries to End It All

(Edited to say that my friend, T. in Vegas was flying back to TX today to spend a couple of weeks! I can't wait to get to see her!!)
(Edited one more time to say that the Book Club book that I finished was What The Dead Know. Didn't like it at all! Good story, but I didn't like the author's style of writing at all! I am reading Holmes on the Range next.)
(Edited One Last Time to tell my SIL that I expect frequent updates and cruise photos next week when she's travelling! Ahem.....It's time for more than just cookies at that blog of yours!)
Today started really early as we made our way to our flight (hooray for the nice man driving the shuttle with a lead foot) at an unrighteous hour. The lines were already long when we arrived, but we made it through without a hitch. Oh, and I met some nice people while we waited in line. On of them was a sixth grade teacher on her way to Mexico. I wonder if she plans on coming back.....
So after the whole process to ensure that we're not carrying weapons of mass destruction in our flip flops, or carrying explosive agents in our hair gel tubes, or running a fever/cough/sore throat and carrying H1N1 to parts unknown, and proving that PDaddy's collarbone is indeed infused with metal and not bomb making parts, we had some time to wander around and grab PDad a Starbucks and a yogurt parfait and time enough to find a vending machine to get me a V8 and some Cheezits.
Our first flight was nice, although the plane was surely the one that Orville and Wilbur made their first flight in. Jeepers, it was an old clunker. Didn't do much to make me feel better, but the flight went quickly enough. I finished one of our Book Club books (total waste of paper that one was) while PDad watched movies on his iPod, laughing like an insane man & alarming those sitting near us. A rather uneventful flight, thankfully.
We made it to Atlanta in time for lunch and then loaded onto our next bird (thankfully a much YOUNGER bird) to connect to Asheville. Sadly, our second flight was marred by the fact that some Korean chic spent the entire flight tossing up her cookies. Uh-huh, it was as fun as it sounds. I wish I could report that barfing in Korean is more pleasant than barfing in English. Uhm, no. Uh, it's not. If anything, there is more moaning and spitting. We can only hope her ailment was due to motion issues and not actually related to the aforementioned H1N1 or any other mutant strain thereof.
I must take a minute to comment on our flight attendant from Atlanta to Asheville. Her name was Trudy. Trudy Baird. The sheer fact that I know her first and last name should clue you in rather quickly to the fact that Trudy was an interesting individual. Have you ever noticed how you can never forget the things you want to forget?
That is very much how I feel about Trudy.
Trudy Baird.
Trudy whose call sign is "Turdy." No, I'm not mispelling that. She told us her call sign was Turdy. She also informed us that it was in her genetic make-up to be "perky." Trudy was about 65 years old...and in dire need of an audience.
The flight was only 30 minutes long, but Turdy didn't let that deter her from using every one of her spare minutes (and there seemed to be lots of them) to detail her definition of 'hospitality', 'humor', and 'personality.' Somewhere during one of her knock-knock joke segments, Miss Korea started hurling. I totally sympathized with her for the most part. Well, I sympathized with her when I wasn't trying to send her "I'm going to cut you if I catch that" vibes. Miss Korea's brother almost launched when his sister started up. He sat clutching his mouth and gagging behind his hand. Oh, it was the finest 30 minutes I could've ever spent, lemme tell ya.

So between Turdy and The Vomiting Koreans, we had an interesting second half of our trip. Honestly, if the flight had been longer from Atlanta to Asheville, I don't think we could've survived.
So, with that biz out of the way, we obtained our rental car and headed out to find Chimney Rock which is totally cool, I might add. I'm not sure if we enjoyed the vistas or the drive to the vistas more. The river valley and ascent up the foothills looked like something off of the Hidden Valley Ranch bottle. Plus, there were these cute little gardens EVERYWHERE where you could stop and pick your own produce. Obviously, I live in the wrong part of the country. North Carolina is calling my name. (Interesting side note: North Carolina is apparently the day lilly capitol of the world. Every corner, right of way, easement, curb, hill, embankment and berm is covered in them. And if you've not seen what I'm talking about, you'll think I'm exaggerating. I assure you, I am not. I've seen some lovely gardens with day lillies on the drive to Winston-Salem today, and I intend to figure out how to manage one when I get home. Write it down. It's gonna happen.
So, we're in Winston-Salem (home of WFU), and we're staying at the Brookstown Inn. We made the reservations some time ago and planned to go to the Old Salem village. Manda Jan seconded that it was a good visit, so I'm excited about seeing that tomorrow. Other than that, I'm not sure what is on tap for tomorrow. Probably just some walking and exploring, I'd guess.

This is the view from Chimney Rock. The lake you see in the distance is Lake Lure. If I'm not mistaken, it and the community surrounding it are where Dirty Dancing was filmed. I took this photo in honor of Rachel...who made me watch Dirty Dancing 4, 289 times when we were in HS.

In order to reach the pinnacle of Chimney Rock, you first had to take a 35-40 minute stairway trek. You read that correctly. Of course, there is an elevator for pansies...which I am not. We conquered the stairs, and I'm not ashamed to say that we had to stop and rest about 3 times. The thighs they are a burnin'. Last week, it was the Stairs O' Despair at our cabin, now this. I am enforcing a no stair policy for the rest of the summer.
I've been very interested in the flora and fauna of this area. It's very much like home and so different in many other ways. As we made our way up the mountain, we noticed this growing everywhere. It has pretty pink and white blossoms and resembles a Magnolia tree. You'll be pleased to know that it is a Carolina Rhododendron.
And now we come to the end of it. Where the Koreans and the vomit and Turdy were just too much, and DaddyP contemplated tossing himself over the edge of Chimney Rock.
Don't do it!

Heading out

We'll be leaving tomorrow bound for Dallas where we'll leave out early Tuesday a.m. headed to ATL then Asheville. I'll have my laptop with me in hopes to log on and upload pics/update. We'll drive our rental buggy to Winston-Salem for our first two nights and go on to Biltmore (squeee) from there on Thursday. I'm a bit anxious about flying, but I'm holding it together. I actually love flying, but it's the crashing that I hate. I mean, duh.

If swimming were easy, it'd be football.

Most of the swimmers write some form of a message on their body. Some say, EAT MY BUBBLES. Some say, I EAT CHLORINE FOR BREAKFAST. I thought long and hard before I came up with Sam's message for today.

He fell on his way to the ready bench (and again later off of the starting block) and a lady stopped me and said, "You're the miracle kid's mom, right? Well, he just fell down, but I think he's okay because he kept going." That's our Sammy. He just gets up and keeps on going. Sam worked his hardest and did a great job for a first year swimmer. He placed last in each event, but it's all about the exposure at this point, right? He had a blast and didn't injure himself too badly when he fell off of the starting blocks before the 25m freestyle heat; however, it did embarrass him a little to have to stop the meet. He continued on and gave it 110%. He's such a cool kid! He had no idea he placed last each time and even thought he placed third once. Haha. I was so busy getting him from Point A to Point B that I didn't think to video him! Then again, my camera battery might not have lasted that long. AHHAA!
Jack did awesome today! He came in 1st or 2nd in all of his heats and placed in the Top 10 of all the events in his age division. Last year his times improved about 3-4 seconds over the course of the swim season. If the same thing happens this year, he'll be in the Top 3 EASILY. We're just happy that he loves what he is doing! I'm attempting to upload some videos. During the breast stroke, Jack's goggles got dislodged. He continued on and finished second in his heat despite the wardrobe malfunction. There was a time that would've reduced him to tears! My, my, we've come a long way! We had to leave Jack at the meet to ride home with another family (thanks Potts family) due to the meet running long and DaddyP being late for an evening wedding. We left the Flip with them, and Mrs. Potts recorded the moment for us! We're looking forward to a super year! If you get a message saying the video is unavailable, just check back later.

What I did today...

• Washed, folded, and put away the laundry.
• Packed the kids' bag for next week when they're with my mom.
• Finished reading Jane Austen's, Mansfield Park. This time I really read it. I think Fanny Price is one of my fav Austen girls. But I think Northanger Abbey is my fav Austen novel.
• Added some movies to our Netflix que.
• Started packing my bag for NC.
• Let Ronald McDonald cook supper for myself and the kids (PDad had a wedding tonight...yes, a Friday night wedding. Odd, huh?)
• Took Sophy to spend the night with Meem, since we are leaving at 5 a.m. for the swim meet that she didn't want to sit through.
• Packed the boys' bag for the swim meet tomorrow.
• Took Sophy to her make-up session at gym, since we missed our regular night due to camping. She was an absolute train wreck while we were there. I partly blame the fact that she worked with a different coach, but mostly she was just in RARE form.
• Did a little more leg work on a back-to-school trip weekend for the kids. I think we're going to hit a Rangers game like to rest of Texas!! How 'bout them TX Rangers! Having a good season, I think.
• We're ready to book a cruise for next summer. My SIL and bro are leaving week after next, and they got a super deal. We plan on booking this summer to lock in the prices before they go up. Setting our date for July '10, since we plan on taking the kids.
• We're leaving at 0'my-gosh-it's-early:30, so I better add 'went to bed early' to the list. Unfortunately, I have a hard time with the early to bed-early to rise thing. Sigh....(Tomorrow: SWIM MEET PHOTOS/VIDEO!)
• Which reminds me to add CHARGED UP THE CAMERAS to the list, too.

Pictures from Kelly

Click here to view these pictures larger

We Have Returned!

Jack took his very first solo canoe/fishing trip! He is soo big! He did a great job with the canoe!

The Stairs O' Despair

These were the stairs that we had to take to get to the waterfront MANY times a day. There were times that we were at the bottom without the energy to make the return trip to the top!
Dear, Sweet, Loving Aunt Missy did her Auntly duties by letting the kids ride on top of her head across the lake, despite the fact that Sophy swam to the floating pier without assistance numerous times. Aunt Missy is all about child safety!
And Dear, Sweet, Loving Aunt Jewel pulled off a pretty amazing train formation!

Lordie, we're home! This week was a lot fun, and dirt, and bugs, and fresh air, and lake water, etc. Whew! We rented a peddle boat and a canoe for our time at the cabin, and it was nice to be able to take it out to fish or to shuttle the kids around. The weather was perfect! I can't believe how cool it was, and there was a breeze each day. It's very nice to just kick back and let the kids roam, swim, play in the dirt, climb, catch fireflies, etc. The mommies went for walks, read, etc. It was nice.
We had a whopper of a thunderstorm last night at the cabin and almost lost power several times, but it hit right as we were wrapping up our annual Cousins Camp Out t-shirt festivities. We were able to end on a good note with great weather! We also were able to take the entire clan to the 5D Cattle Company in a nearby town of Avinger (don't blink, you'll miss it.) This steakhouse has been featured in Southern Living and is famous for steaks that are out of this world. The menfolk with us had steaks the size of a bed pillow, but I just opted for the bacon wrapped filet. Very tasty! We went back to the cabin afterwards and tried to avoid the stairs.

Here are a few more pics:

This was our little Cousin's Cove....or Grand Central Station is maybe a more appropriate name for it.

This boy played hard all week! And yes, that is Happy you see in the photo there! That old dog has seen some miles people! God bless him, he's down to one eye.
We all would've lost 5 pounds each due to the stairs, trails, climbing, swimming, rowing, and peddling, had it not been for all the food we consumed. We loved us some canoeing. DaddyP wants to buy one and start making regular canoe jaunts. Sounds like fun to me!

The Gang '09! They're getting so big!

It's Naptime Somewhere.

Amazingly, this rope held up to it's share of boys (young and old) swinging on it.

DaddyP took the boys to get some summer time hair cuts. We spent this past week regretting the fact that they were covered in a head-full of thick hair, so they may come back shaved (which is what they both wanted.) The laundry is almost caught back up, the bags are unpacked, and I'm kicked back in an attempt to recover some of my walking ability. Oh, the Stairs of Despair. The trails. The PEDDLE BOAT. Ug! My aching legs!

Tonight we're off to our last swim team practice before Time Trials on Saturday! Hopefully, I'll update again before then. For now, it's very nice to be home. And clean.

Speaking of Tubes

We're looking into an end of year fling on the G-Lupe. Anyone know the hot spots to hit and/or avoid on the Lupe? We've been on some of the surrounding runs, and they were WAY less populated. Still, it's calling us. We have to go. Anyone with some inside info, please email me! Sar? I KNOW Ms. World Traveller has surely done the float...recently???

All I Do is Ramble

PDaddy and Sam are building a "dirt pit" today. We've tried and tried to get that kid to stop digging holes in our yard large enough to swallow an unsuspecting elephant, but alas, he's part ant, or gopher, or armadillo, or something. So, we had the most brilliant idea to find a remote part of the yard, remove the grass, border it off with landscaping timbers, till up the soil, add a few large bags of play sand, and Wa-La...Sam will be the proud owner of of his very own Dirt Pit. It is worthy to note that this is not a "sand box." Let us just get that straight right now! Sam wants that to be VERY clear! :-)
I'm back to watching my birds this morning while I have my hot tea. I've accumulated quite the titmouse population. I love those little guys, and I am in awe of the sounds that those little things make! Birds are so cool. Seriously. If I'm not mistaken, we had a Pine Warbler this morning. When I get a chance today, I'm going to check my bird book. He was a pretty little guy..or gal.
I'm off to get us ready for church. Jack is being dropped off at Meem's house from his sleepover, and then we'll see him at church. I talked to him this a.m., and he was still agog over the arena football game. I think he's hooked. Must've been quite a game!
Tons of packing today and finding all of our camping stuff, fishing poles, flashlights, s'mores skewers, sleeping bags, OFF!, sunscreen, water shoes, hiking boots, sun hats, inner tubes...oh my. I wonder where it's all at?!? Not to mention the laundry that HAS to be washed and put away today because we all know how much laundry you bring home from vacation...much less one that involves three kids, a lake, mud, hiking trails, etc. Mercy!

Ramblings About Stuff

Jack is spending the night with a friend tonight, and he just called to let us know the score of the arena football game they went to see. Because at 10:45 at night, you can bet I was interested in the SCORE OF THE GAME. Haha. I was glad to hear he was back at his friend's house, and he was having a blast. He had accumulated quite a stash of cash over the past couple of months which he had been saving to buy a cell phone. We didn't actually think he'd get enough money, but he did. That'll teach us! We stuck to our word; however, and let him get a pre-paid cell phone. **PLEASE NOTE** If you get calls from him, please let us know! We are WAY limiting his use of the phone. Only when he's away from us and in need of something to contact us with. He called me 3 times this evening, but I didn't complain since they were in Shreveport late. I'm sure there will be a day when he doesn't want to call and let me know where he is.
While we were in town today, I continued my search for a family vehicle. I looked at one of the new Toyota Camry's and also a Honda Accord, both were the loaded sedan models--although I can't remember what the models are called exactly. Anyway, both get good mileage and seemed to have long leg space. I really liked the Camry. Anyone out there drive a Camry? And thanks to the person who commented about the Toyotas being made in America! :-)
If all else fails, there is always THIS TOP SELLING MODEL to consider!!

Watching my birds

We read up on ways to increase the # of birds & butterflies (more on the flutter-ers in another update) in our yard and found that our feeders were in the wrong location, that we needed certain types of food to attract certain types of birds, etc. So, I'm happy to report that with only a few of the minor changes actually accomplished, we've increased our birdage by a noticeable amount. As I type(and drink some hot tea,) I 'm watching a black-capped chickadee fuss at a titmouse, heehee. We were able to attract some of the more brightly colored birds to our feeding area, and it's been nice to see it happen. Of course, with the added food, we're having to contend with some psychotic squirrels, but I think we're on the road to deterring them. I'd like to add some more housing and feeders around the bigger part of our yard this summer. The kids have really enjoyed helping us and seeing the new birds come. Well, Sam enjoys the squirrel action more, but that is to be expected.
It just dawned on me this morning that next Saturday is time trials for swim team. We'll be in Lufkin. Yes, we'll have to leave at an unbelieavable hour to be in the water for warm-ups by 7:20. Oy! Looks like I've got more to do today than I thought, since this will be my last available Saturday before we head to NC. Better bust a move.

It's Been Fun...

But it hasn't been real fun.

This week has been beyond description. Way too much to put into words. Slightly traumatic, I guess you could say. Lots of surprises, shocks, changes, tears, etc. In my 12 years of teaching, I can honestly say this has been a wild week! Maybe one day I'll be recovered enough to talk about it.

Sophy and I attended the HS graduation tonight while DaddyP shot the ceremony. It's always good to see the kids, the former students who are in town, etc. Piano Girl graduated tonight along with some other young souls that passed through my classroom many years ago. For some bizarre reason, these kids just keep graduating! Ha.

Tomorrow, PDad has pics in S'port early, and we'll hook up somehow in the afternoon for lunch and to pick up camping stuff for our annual cousins camping trip next week. The kids are invited to a swimming party tomorrow night, and Jack may be going to an arena football game with a friend.

I think I'll go read. Yes. I will.

Oh, Just Some Stuff

Things I Liked About Monday-Wednesday:

• I only ran out of gas once.
• The ulcer in my mouth didn't get any bigger.
• The police didn't come to school.
• I held my tongue 2 times.

TOPIC TUESDAY: Car Shopping = IQ Test

Well, it's no secret we've been car "shopping" for a while now. I think normally we would've settled on a car by now and been over and done with it. Truth is, I think we're afraid. Heck, I know we're afraid. But how long should we wait? Is now the time? Will it EVER be the time again? This much I know, we'll be very certain to not purchase a Government Motors vehicle. Not that we were GM people in the first place, but we just can't be now for several reasons. It's a shame, because they have a couple of pretty vehicles...and by pretty I mean ginormous SUVS that get 19 mpg. We recently bought a work truck for DaddyP. Motor Trends truck of the year, as Jack can tell you and list the reason why (he reads WAY too much,) and being a Ford, we are pleased with it immensely. Lots of nice-nice, but as my MIL pointed out, "A FORD?" Yeah, who knew, right? My SIL recently sent her Mercury mini-van up the river (the Y had fallen off years ago and was affectionately referred to as "The Mercur.") She got one of those Toyota safari looking things? But a Toyota? It's unAmerican, right? What's a car buyer supposed to do?
At this house, we try to by vehicles based on what we like, not a name or a brand(--although I won't lie, I like me some brands!!) But who wants to get hung out to dry? How do you know when you're gonna be hung out to dry? Saturn? Yeah, I was thinking one of those was a contender not too awful long ago. Now, what's gonna become of them? Scarey! Hummer? Yikes! We have friends and family with all of these brands. I don't even know what this means for them.
Here is where our thoughts are lately for us:
We have 3 kids, obviously, who aren't getting any shorter. Currently we drive a vehicle that has 2 rows (Ford Freestyle,) and most of our past vehicles were Fords that we ended up trading in at pertinent times. The birth of a second or third child. A vehicle more commuter friendly, etc. So while we have traded in a good number of Fords for other Fords, our reasons have always been mostly trying to keep a vehicle that would fit our family and lifestyle/needs. So, having 3 kids means you probably should have 2 rows in the back. But we've found that 3 rows = less leg room for the occupants of those 2 rows. So the dilemma then becomes do you have 2 rows which allows your kids to not gouge and poke (in theory) each other but leaves them riding with their legs under their chins, or do you opt for 1 back row which leaves them sitting next to each other (need I say more?), but that also gives them considerably more leg room.
Plus, vehicles that seat over 5 passengers typically get pitiful gas mileage, and I'm sorry, I do NOT ever want our main family vehicle to get lower than 30mpg if at all possible. 25 MINIMUM. Mind you, DaddyP just bought a new work truck, and obviously that things not getting over 21mpg. It's not our main vehicle though, and we need something for hauling his equipment, kid's bikes, mulch-haha. But, for our main family vehicle, how do you decide? What do you choose?
Ok, so that limits some vehicles. In this arena, what would we be looking at? Well, a Ford Fusion Hybrid (which is a nice enough looking car, but ya know..if I'm going mid-sized Sedan...I don't know if I wanna Ford...but...), the Fusion gets 34 for the regular version and 44 for the Hybrid. We saw a pimped out one the other day, and it was a nice looking ride. Still, the price tag was comparable to that of a luxury sedan (I just see no need in an extravagant car for the sake of the name/image) I just don't want a Fusion, though. I do want the Fusion's mpg, however. Nothing comes close to that.
As of right now, this is the vehicle that I want. Honestly, it's the vehicle that I've drooled over for several years. It's the vehicle that I'm gunning for still. I know, I know. Problem? Yep. Gas mileage. I can't do it! I think it's extravagant and wrong to not think about gas mileage in this day and age. I can't stand the thought of a guzzler. Can NOT! Not to mention that fuel standards are changing rapidly, and who wants to buy the 19mpg vehicle when 30+ vehicles are where we're headed in the not-so-distant future? And hybrids? I read a Car and Driver report (or some such thing) that said that even hybrid technology was so quickly changing that some types were already obselete. HELLO!? What's a girl to do? Can someone out there in Car Land please make up their mind? How did we make it to 2010's door step and this is where our vehicle market has taken us? Gas guzzlers and technology that didn't keep up? Makes me mad.
Well, I think we may have found a new contender tonight. This guy. It's comparable to the Lexus crossover version without the overpriced stigma of paying for that "image." Very roomy on the inside. 21/29 mpg (nice!), and the one that I drove was nicely appointed, to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I really liked it and the features it had. But mostly, I just liked it's mpg.
If you've recently bought a family friendly/sized vehicle that gets good gas mileage, either comment or email me. I'm curious!

Hugging Soldiers, Kissing Babies...I need to run for office.

I've had lots of visitors this week. Typical of the last week of school, but this year I seem to have had more soldiers (former students) and babies (of former students) to come visit than ever before. It's been great, and sort of drives home why we do what we do. Twice this week I've come home from school with baby spit up on my shoulder. Livin' large, people.
Thursday night, we're having a Southern Living at Home party here. Not sure how many folks are coming, but I've gotta run to town tomorrow after school to pick up some type of refreshmente'. Plus, I have to pick up a Secret Pal gift for our Big Reveal on Friday. Oh yes, Waiting Until the Last Minute. That's me. Not to mention, my poor Secret Pal. Bless her heart, we have like...zErO in common. Nada. Zip. Zilch. So yeah, I haven't been the giftiest giver this year. Hopefully I can make up for it with an end of year gift that says, "Gee, I'm sorry. Can we still be friends? And if not friends, then non-combatant co-workers?"
I plan on attending High School graduation on Friday eve to see some of my former students graduate. I may be able to meet up with the QM's for dinner afterwards, and then on Saturday, I'll be heading to S'port to pick up our stuff for the camping trip (we leave Monday) and going to a swim party Saturday evening.
Oh, before I forget! Jenn from long ago at the TLOL, I hope you found me!! Let me hear from you!