Rainy day

I am thankful for the very rainy day we're experiencing today, but it has made me completely unproductive.

Keep on raining! I'll stay in my pj's all day :)

Coming soon...

... awesome photos taken with my new DSLR camera! YES! I got a new digital camera for Christmas/birthday. It is the popular Nikon D40X. LOVE IT! Now I just need to figure out how to use it. For now, here's one fun picture from 12/26:


Self portrait under the crazy lights at the GA Aquarium

Merry Christmas!

There, I said it! I've been doing my best to be "PC" everywhere else (especially at work) and I give the generic "Happy Holidays!" but I had to get out one good "MERRY CHRISTMAS" before I exploded! :)

So, I hear Christmas is next week. We've had the house mostly decorated since the start of the month and I thought it would be a good idea to take a little photo evidence for posterity.

Ooooooooooohhhhhh Christmas tree, oooohhhh Christmas tree, how lovely are your plastic branches


The piano (finally tuned and sounding beautiful! thanks mom & dad!)


The tree again (please excuse the ghetto tie backs, we have real ones to put on the wall, but just haven't had a chance to hang them)


Christmas card holder (yeah, it's just some ribbon and packing tape, but it works!)


The snow village


The festive mantle


Holly themed coffee table


The whole she-bang in the living room


Our front door (non-round) wreath


And finally the entry table


Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas in suburbia/small town USA

In case you haven't noticed, it's almost Christmas. This time next week I'll be done with work and it'll be present opening, food gorging, jolly good times. We've been getting in the spirit here, despite the non-Christmasy weather (hello 80 degree days).

The first weekend of November was the neighborhood luminary lighting
(in night vision mode, so it's a bit odd looking, and well, not all the neighbors participated - some of our Christmas decorations were up)




Last weekend it was the local Christmas parade. It was pretty warm sitting in the afternoon sun, but it was so much fun! Check it out:


Lots and lots of fire trucks, new & old


Ladies in Civil War dress


Float


Parade Grand Marshal, The Mark Roberts (my favorite traffic guy, although he now does car commercials)


NC Agriculture "big" shopping cart, it is quite large, no?


MOMS club (mothers of multiples) - all the kids were dressed in large Christmas gift bags, too cute!


Super cute wagon "float"


Festive old car


Love the tree in the 'rumble seat'


The stoic Chick-Fil-A cow


Local 'store' float (Old time-y gas station I pass everyday)


Dancers en'float


Our mayor


Ponies (and some poo)


A singing float


Sweet old car


Santa!


Yay for Santa!

That's all for now folks!

Planeguage

"The language of traveling by plane" (Delta's blog)

Delta airlines came up with a series of animated shorts to convey a humorous spin on plane etiquette. I have to say they a right on! Check them out for a smile :)

A season appropriate video called "Miracle"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsmGJdLYyYI

To view all the videos go to YouTube ("Shady Lady" and "Kidtastrophe" are awesome) (http://www.youtube.com/user/planeguage)

It's beginning to feel a lot like....... Christmas?!

Wow. It is warm. Too warm for December! Check it:

Statement as of 1:50 PM EST on December 10, 2007

... Record high temperature set at the Raleigh-Durham international
Airport today...

As of 150 PM... the Raleigh-Durham international Airport has reached
a high temperature of 80 degrees. This breaks the previous record for
December 10th of 76 degrees... last set in 1972. In addition... 80
degrees ties the record high temperature for the month of December
... Which was reached on 12/6/1998 and 12/7/1998. This product will
be updated later today once the official high temperature has been
reached.

The normal high temperature at the Raleigh-Durham international
Airport for December 10th is 55 degrees.

More winter weather?!?!?!

I'm blogging while eating breakfast because apparently we had/are experiencing some winter weather. It took everyone by surprise! I swear when we watched the news before bed there was NO MENTION of anything frozen falling from the sky.

Apparently it's a pretty big problem on the roads - especially ones with bridges. The local news is reporting that I-40 is just about shut down because of multiple accidents due to the SURPRISING slick roads. My commute includes 4 major bridges - 2 I never want to cross when slick (Neuse River bridge at Falls Lake damn and the Atlantic Avenue - up hill and curvy- bridge over the rail road tracks). So I'm going to wait until the sun comes up before going out.

Here's the latest winter weather advisory (although I think it will be extended beyond 7am because of the amount of precipitation and below freezing temps that hover over northern Wake county):

Statement as of 6:29 AM EST on December 07, 2007


... Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 7 am EST this
morning...

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 7 am EST this
morning.

A fast moving upper level disturbance will cause scattered light
sleet or light freezing rain before daybreak. Though only trace
amounts of precipitation are expected... even trace amounts can
cause slippery conditions on roads... especially on bridges and
overpasses. Extreme caution is advised for early morning
motorists in the Highway 70 east corridor through the central
coastal plain and between Raleigh and Wilson.

A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of frozen or
freezing precipitation will cause travel difficulties. Be
prepared for slippery roads and limited visibilities... and use
caution while driving.

UPDATE AT 7:30am:
70 accidents reported in the area

Wooo! First snow!(flake)

Quick weather report: "A mix of mainly spotty drizzle...and a few snow flurries will continue to be possible across the northern counties of North Carolina through noon. Areas likely affected include The Triad east through the Triangle...and into the northern coastal plain. Any precipitation will be brief... and will begin to taper off after noon. Temperatures will continue to rise into the mid 40s."

It's official! I saw the first snow flakes in Raleigh this morning. I also heard that it's coming down at a pretty good clip just west of here, so hopefully we'll see a few more flakes! It's not exactly a winter wonderland, but it is SNOW!

Thanksgiving (pt 2)

The weekend after Thanksgiving was spent in the [cold] mountains of Asheville. We decided to stay somewhere different and choose the Bent Creek Lodge. It is listed as a "Bed & Breakfast" but it is a wonderful, semi-rustic, cozy mountain lodge just south of Asheville (address is Arden). If the weather had been warmer/dryer and Paul's bike wasn't broken, it would have been the perfect place for us to mountain bike. We stayed in the "tree room" and enjoyed sitting by the fire, watching birds and eating the amazing breakfast. If you're looking for an alternative to the overpriced, under impressive hotels in Asheville, check out the Bent Creek Lodge.

Paul enjoying the fire & reading materials in the common room


While in Asheville, we did the usual things - eat at Apollo Flame, Tupelo Honey (buy honey to take home), walk around the Grove Arcade, visit UNCA, pay $6 to park/visit the NC Arboretum, you know the usual things we do. It's more fun to say it with pictures:



Interior of the Arcade


Exterior of the Arcade


Paul at the riveting NC Arboretum exhibit (the history of flowerpots, seriously)


Mom & Dad at the quilt garden


Yews are serious plants (ha!)


Bonsai Garden (the cold wind was sucking the life out of us, but it was an awesome garden)


Gates at the Bonsai garden


Size perspective


Can you tell we liked the Bonsai?


Visiting the Alma Mater (it has been 5 years since we graduated!) - check out the new science building being built next to the library - it is a MONSTER!






The University Seal - me squinty

Our different meal was SUSHI! with mom & dad. We ate the Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse in Biltmore Village. Their sushi was ok, nothing like our neighborhood sushi joint, but it sorta hit the spot. Mom, Paul and I split "sushi for 3" which means it comes out on a BIG BOAT (dad stuck with hibachi shrimp).






And our trip to Asheville wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Grove Park Inn. This time of year they host the "National Gingerbread House Competition" and it is one of my favorite things to go and see. This year did not disappoint. They only had the "top winners" on display at the Inn (other entries were around town, like at the Grove Arcade). I'm testing the slide show for these photos (let me know if it works for you and if you like it/not).

Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn (and other superfluous photos of us and the parents)


Want to see more pictures of the gingerbread houses? Go here (they aren't mine and show a little more detail)