Henry Ford Museum

A trip with Adam, Dad, and Charlie.

Merry Christmas :)

It's been a beautiful day of family and love. Charlie and I woke up at the Snearly's and spent the better part of the morning there, opening gifts, eating delicious breakfast, and playing our new speed-Scrabble game (which might just be my new favorite!) Afterward, we joined the family at the Berger house, and opened gifts with Mom, Adam, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dave and Aunt Bonnie. The afternoon was consumed with a much needed nap, and later a ham dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Using our new Flip video (so cool... I'm pretty much obsessed. Thank you, Vicki!) we documented our day. We think this little video perfectly sums up our Christmas. Enjoy and have a blessed New Year!

cómo se hace una tortilla española

Only two more days of school until break officially begins! I can't wait. The days are starting to take on agonizing length... I've taken a break from TPRS (other than 7th grade today) to focus more on reading and seat-work. It's been refreshing, but storytelling makes my day fly by in the blink of an eye. The kids are injected with "crazy" this time of year, and I think we're all ready for a vacation. Case in point:

We are taking a quiz--6th grade, 7th period mind you-- and I hear this incessent, obnoxious squeaking. I turn to see a sweet little 6th grader with wild eyes, rocking back and forth in his seat.

Sra. Snearly-- "Johnny, can you please stop? It's hard for others to focus."

Little Johnny-- "Sorry. I just love Christmas."

*At this moment I suppose I fail to see what this quiz has to do with Christmas*

Sra. Snearly-- "How much candy have you had today?"

*A pause*

Johnny-- "A LOT. I love candy, too."

Kids are pretty cute.

Tomorrow is our Spanish fiesta at school, and Charlie was kind enough to help me make four Tortilla de Patata. Que rico :) We made a mess of the kitchen chopping onions, potatoes, and pouring oil in and out of pans. They turned out great, though...and I know my students will appreciate them. It's a traditional Spanish dish.

I LOVE this youtube video of how to make it-- the Spanish accent is to die for, and the woman cooking reminds me of Sabi, my host mom. She is so cutely Spanish. Even if you dont' speak the language, it's still beautiful to watch her make it--sometimes I wish we had our own personal Spanish chef. I'm dreaming I know :)



Happy almost Thursday!

Christmas cards and a holiday update

We are nearly done Christmas shopping, and most of our gifts are wrapped under the tree. It's truly starting to feel like Christmas...slowly but surly. Tonight we're heading to the Zwally's Christmas Party to and we will exchange the first gifts of the season! How fun.

Last night was our school's Christmas party at the nearby Country Club. It was really nice to not have to cook anything. Drinks were $8 a glass, and Charlie laughed looking at the sign and asked the bartender, "Is there a teacher discount?" Several teachers turned around and gave him the look disgust. I thought it was funny, anyway.

In other news, our Christmas cards are finally in the mail! All 50 of them! We printed them at Kinkos and stuffed all the envelopes together watching The Office.

Then, the bright idea dawned on Charlie and me that we should enter everyone invited to the wedding into the computer in a spreadsheet and print each address on sticky labels to put on the envelopes. Oh what time we would save in the coming years! We proceeded to create a complicated excel chart that would correspond to a label template. After Charlie fiddled with the program for 45 minutes and finally got it to work, we printed our first set of labels, and stuck them on the envelopes.

I stepped back momentarily to admire our work and soon realized that our friendly Christmas cards looks more like bills than a holiday greeting. (What with the cold, Times New Roman text and sticky labels). My skin was crawling. I KNEW we couldn't send them out like that. A hand-written card is not something you would imagine would make much of a difference, but when it's missing, you really notice.

We promptly broke out the pens (lucky for extra envelopes), and we proceeded to address each one the "proper" way. A mere 30 minutes later I was done. What we should have done in the first place. Live and learn, right? Hehe.

Sausage!

Charlie and I have been really, really enjoying Italian Sausage. (If your mind is in the gutter, please remove it promptly. Hehe.)

In all seriousness, it's a meat that we have totally neglected, and have just discovered the tastiness of. We've been around the block with chicken, ground beef, and ground turkey. It just gets so old! I suppose sausage was the next logical step.

It all started when I had a coupon for authentic Italian sausage, and I purchased it on a random Saturday at Harris Teeter. Charlie cooked it on the skillet with marinara and spices and it was so delicious!

On our return trip to Harris Teeter the next week, we bought more (buy one get one free), but we weren't charged the buy one get one free price. Luckily, Harris Teeter makes a promise that if they ever overcharge you for ANY product, and you bring it to customer service, they refund DOUBLE what they owe you. (A very little known fact, and very noble of them). So, I kindly brought my packages of sausage to the Harris Teeter lady, to be handed almost $10. We actually made a profit shopping! (something Charlie was quiet proud of), and we have two delicious trays of sausage in our fridge. Yum, yum... sausage night!

.com's

How funny is that!?!?! This is just about my favorite youtube video. You can't help but watch it and smile. What a cute baby! It's funny how people can become famous now with the click of the mouse and a few moments for uploading. Everyone knows that Charlie is a "biter" and about "that guy" who pushed the bride into the water.

It's amazing the things we can do on the internet nowadays...my students visit my Wiki for missed homework, study guides, videos, and Spanish fun. I update people around the country with what we were doing here, now and today on our blog. I jump on forums and other blogs and make comments and post remarks. I can upload videos of our vacation, pictures of our weekend. My facebook status can be updated by the minute from a cell phone, and I can video chat with anyone around the world on Skype. Most of our Christmas shopping was done online.

I was thinking as great as all of this technology is, it makes anyone who shares their information with the net subject to viewing by the world, and in turn, your life is aired for the world to see.

Now that I have a very unique last name, I am a #1 hit on a google search. Anyone can find me via the internet. Luckily, I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. It's worth thinking about, though: one picture, one video, one post that is uploaded can't be erased...ever. Even when it's "deleted." It can damage your reputation, or worse, prevent you from being hired. Sometimes I think this is something that the next generation fails to see...

I was watching MTV this weekend, something that has faded out of my life in the last 3 years, but I was captivated by a show, and even more fascinated by a commercial that came on. In "this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs" fashion, the commercial exposed the risk of teens posting inappropriate or private information on the web---their slogan is "Think before you post." I thought it was pretty powerful and speaks to a reality of today. Real-life and the internet have begun to blend.

As our digital age grow and changes, it will be interesting to see how about attitude toward the internet changes as well. For now, I'll stick to keeping my personal life private, and my "willing to share" life a part of this blog :)

Weekend's end...

How is Sunday here already!?! The weekends always seem to fly by in the blink of an eye!

Our nut party was a huge success...we chatted, had a few drinks, made caramel turtles, and cracked pecans (realizing it was much harder than we originally anticipated!) It was a whirlwind of a day cleaning for the party and getting everything ready, but it was worth it! Very relaxing.

All the ladies!

Aunt Katy, Luna and Me! :)

With tons of Christmas shopping under our belt, and a Christmas tree skirt blanketed with presents, our home feels very festive. I can't believe the holidays are approaching so quickly!

After church today, we were in need of some R&R. I watched some of my favorite DVRed shows, and enjoyed the couch...I may have even dozed off a few times. I got some candles on sale at Kohl's when I was doing Christmas shopping. One is "Sugar Cookie" and the other is "Warm Apple Pie." They are to die for. I think they encourage me to sit around and do nothing. This is going to be such a busy week I'll be kicking myself tomorrow!

Christmas gadgets!

Chinese is on the way, dog is walked, tree is lit, and we're basking in the beauty of Friday :) (Charlie's reading his book, he wanted the world to know. And I'm blogging!)

Tomorrow I'm off to get some Christmas shopping done... I have my list and everything.

It's funny to read about those "hot" items that are flying off the shelves this year. You know, the kind that kids whine in cry that they HAVE to have... like this year's little robotic hamster, Zhu-Zhu. Have you heard of him? Why wouldn't you want to spend $60 on ebay on an $8 robotic hamster that crawls along the floor, glides up ramps and makes a flushing toilet noise when it enters the bathroom?

Ha. Sign me up.

When I was a kid I remember I just had to have a Oopsy Daisy. I was completely hooked by the commercial:

Christmas of 1990, I had my dream baby, opened her up, let her crawl and fall...and then I was...bored. That's all she could do! Her limbs couldn't bend, so you couldn't hold her, or play with her...I don't think Oopise had much fun after the 25th. Doesn't sound too far off from little Zhu, Zhu, now does it?

Now one gift I just can't quite wrap my head around is nook. It's another sold-out item...it's like an i-Pod for books! You can upload any novel you want, and read it in the palm of you hand. I've never seen one up close, and it looks cool...but there is something so liberating to me about being able to hold, touch, and smell (yes, smell) my books. I love fluffing the pages, holding it to the light at night, and writing and highlighting them. Maybe I'll change my mind...does this make me a fogie? LOL.

Happy Friday!! :)

Hump Day, Nut Days

Humpf... rain, cold, and the middle of the week.

On the bright side, we are having our first annual "Nut Party" this weekend, where friends get together and make "nutty" treats! Should be fun. :)

First on the list are caramel turtle candies...yum, yum! I found the recipe online, and they sounded delicious. We bought two small bags of pecans and a "nutcracker" that was on sale. It's much cheaper to buy your nuts shelled than de-nutted (I don't know if my "nut terminology" is up to snuff but you get the idea). Plus, it's much more fun to do it yourself. Reminds me of Spain :) I love the nut displays around the holidays!

Here's the recipe...hopefully it's as easy at it looks....

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 18 soft caramels
• 72 pecan halves (about 1.5 cups)
• 5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with aluminum foil and spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. (I also read to add wax paper so they don't stick!)

2. Arrange the pecans in clusters of 4 with each pecan pointing in a different direction (like turtle legs).

3. Place a caramel on top of the center of each cluster. Put cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 3-4 minutes, until the caramels have softened and mostly melted over the pecans. The tips of the nuts should still be showing.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool fully.

5. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler. Spoon the melted chocolate over the cooled caramel, being careful not to cover nut tips.

6. Allow to fully set. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

Source


I love the internet.

Our vacay...

...on Vimeo!

Here it is! We took a video on the last day of our trip and I finally uploaded it. It was an amazing day...makes me wish we were there all over again...



I <3 the sound of the ocean...

Ugly Jar Update!

I realized that I haven't given the update yet for our "Ugly Jar," if you remember from this post. After a week of tabulating our complaints and counting our negativity, we ended up with around $20 in the jar, mostly due to me (Charlie is so darn positive!). I even tried to "trick" Charlie into complaining by telling him that I purchased a "musical Christmas clock" that plays a Christmas tune every hour on the hour. I knew for a fact that he happens to loathe these "musically destructive" decorations, and I knew he would complain, which he did... and he put a dollar in the jar...and so did I for being sneaky ;)

I have to say, though...it's so easy in our lives to complain about little things, the smallest details of an inconvenience that come up in life-- a traffic jam, a late appointment, a missing pen, an un-charged i-pod when you can really use some music. I was diligent with tracking my complaints...I think it helped me (especially) a better and all-around happier person. I don't think I'm an avid complainer, as I try to see the joy of life, but being a teacher, there are difficult days, and it's easy to find faults with the "system". However, being more conscious of my words was a step toward being more thankful for the blessings that we do have--which are plentiful and something to celebrate. I think we could all use a little of that this Thanksgiving.

We decided to put the money toward the Angel Tree at my school. It's an easy assumption that many of the students were I teach are affluent...which just isn't so. There are students who attend school who don't have much food (if any) at home, take care of their brothers and sisters late at night, and don't have much this Christmas. I see many of them being my school's "translator." This is our way to give back in a place where our love is needed, and where we will see our gifts make a difference. It's true what they say...giving and loving feels good! :)


Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:38

The end...

...to a perfect day. And perfect vacation for that matter. Today was picturesque beach weather: low 70s, lots of sunshine, and a very light breeze. We spent about 6 hours on the beach today, smoothing on the sunscreen every few hours, books in hand. We didn't want it to end!

We spent 3 of those hours at Venice beach, which actually had its perks compared to the beach out front. Siesta sand retains water, and because of it's white color, all of the rain made it very cold and compact-- like a brick! Venice beach had warm, fluffy sand and was hardly crowded at all. The three of us ran along the beach, sat under our umbrella when it got too hot (I know, such a complaint, right?) and absorbed our last day of healing relaxation.

Tomorrow is a big day. We'll wake up at 6, leave by 7, and join the thousands of travelers making their way back home from family and vacation. I plan on lesson planning in the car when I'm not driving. At least we have a sandy mess in the back seat to remember our trip by :)

My hands still smell like shrimp and fish from an amazing Captain Curts dinner tonight... I think I'll be full for days.

Perfect Evening :)

I had to jump on and post this...we had the most perfect sunset tonight. It was cooling off as the sun went down (into the mid 60s). But Charlie and I stole a moment on the beach, just the two of us, where we got engaged, to watch the water-colored sky and the sun sink behind the horizon.

My hand at sand art! :)

Sun, wind, and surf.

Today was was a refreshing, windy beach day. It was much colder than yesterday, only in the low 70s with a brisk wind. It was perfect for a light shirt and swimming trunks! We spent several hours at Venice beach. We even let Luna off her leash and trusted her for the first time not to run away. She did great.


Here are some pictures of our day...

Happy Thanksgiving...beach style :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As we soaked up the sun, surf, and breeze today, we were thinking how incredibly blessed we are. :) There is such a peace and healing nature about Siesta. It makes every long hour spent grading papers and writing speeches worth it. It's been hard thinking about our family 1,000 miles away, though... we miss you guys!

Today was another fun journey in the land of Snearlydom. We woke up to overcast skies, and took the dog on a walk, but in typical Florida fashion, we could see the perfect, crystal-blue skies in the distance, so after a hearty breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs and pancakes (made by yours truly), we leashed up the dog, got our over-sized beach bag together and headed for the dog-beach in Venice!

Luna's first time in the water!

When we arrived at South Brohard beach, we were quite impressed. It's right next door to the infamous Sharky's restuarant, and Luna was so happy to come play with us! (No dogs are allowed on the Siesta Beaches--so this was the next best thing!) It was a ball and Luna had so much fun with the other dogs. She found some friends "just like her" that she could happily play with. It's hard to be so small when most of the world is 3x your size!


Here's some more of Venice beach...

The whole family!

After Venice, we came back to the condo for some lunch, and then the two of us headed down to Siesta beach for some R&R and reading!

Here comes Charlie with the stuff!

Charlie taking a dip...he lost some sunglasses somewhere in there...

After hottubbing and jumping in the pool, around 4:00 we came back to the condo for some time out of the sun. Hankey Pankies will be tonight's Thanksgiving dinner...more on that later. :)

You'll be happy to learn that Charlie is making dessert tonight... Thanksgiving cookies. I've married a wonderful chef!

Ringling Museum!

Today we woke up to gray skies and buckets of rain! But no matter, it's Florida!--it will blow over :)

In the meantime, to enjoy ourselves while the rain dumped its heart into the streets, we ventured to the Ringling Museum of Art. It wasn't at all what I expected. I suppose I envisioned a "circus-shrine" complete with elephants and glittery outfits... but what we found was an amazing cultural journey!

Unbeknownst to me, but logical by all laws of common sense, the Ringling family was filthy rich (mostly by real estate, oil drilling, and investing--but I suppose the circus didn't hurt). This particular compound houses both the Ringling mansion as well as an art museum which was John Ringling's personal collection of art. You would expect this to be a little room of semi-crappy paintings, but no, he has THOUSANDS of exquisite oil paintings, frescos, sculptures that echoes the grandeur of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. There were works by Rubens, van Dyck, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Gainsborough. And much to my happiness... Velázquez and El Greco! AHHHH! THERE WAS A WHOLE SPANISH ROOM!

Here I am with El Greco! I think I was the only on there this obsessed.

We toured the complex which included outdoor gardens and a broze cast of the original David! It brought back such fond memories of Rome.

We even got a guided tour of the "Venice in the Age of Canaletto" exhibition that had come to visit the gallery, and learned of famous works by renound Italian painters Canaletto, Tiepolo, Guardi, and Ricci. It was amazing to learn, that even in the 1600 and 1700s, tourists came to Venice seeking souvenir art. Many times, art of Venice glorified today was in fact created for tourists. This made me laugh.

Some pictures taken along the way... The goofy....

And the beautiful...

The harbor where the Ringling yachts parked.

The secret garden on the property...which somehow had a great view of the neighbors' yard...hmmm. ;)

The Ringling mansion! I loved the Moorish/Spanish arquitecture. Amazing.

We made it. Yay!

We're finally in Siesta!!! (newly equipped with "Speechright" internet connection!)

It was a long drive--about 11 hours total--but by the time you hit the beach it was worth every minute.

When we arrived we decided to forgo the initial "unload the car step" and headed straight for the surf. That's what it's all about. No matter that it was 9:00 pm. The three of us (dog included!) walked down to the waters edge and sank our toes into the sand. Luna was overwhelmed with sights and smells. Dead fish and crabs on the beach made her jump a clear three feet in the air, and she was facinated by waves. She would jump back as they came toward her, and follow them as they receded. We walked to the spot we got engaged at and sank it all in....and then made our way into the condo.

Remember when? Summer 2008!

After unloading the car and "stuff" (only abuot 25 minutes of labor), we plopped on the couch to watch HGTV.

Bedtime was difficult at first. I think it was all too much for Luna...a long car ride, the new smells, a new place, all which made her very nervous. Maybe we are "lax" parents, but she got ot sleep in bed with us. Actually she slept at the foot of the bed like a good girl and we all got a relaxing night sleep.

Today is rain and more rain... you know. Flordia turrential down-pour style. Thank goodness for my husband, good books, and the Ringling Bros Museum later today. The rest of the trip should be great beach weather!

We've also been playing lots of our FAVORITE Siesta Key game, Landlock. It's cool. It has gnomes and tussicks!

Siesta tomorrow!!!

I just finished this fabulous book called Mine! by Jean Donaldson.

I initially bought it because we've been having some problems with Luna guarding her rawhide bones...she lets out a little growl if you get to close. She doesn't guard her food dish, her toys, or anything else other than her bones. It was bothering me, though, because one day when we have children, I want her to be safe to be around them when she has something. I suppose it comes from being a rescue dog...she's probably had things taken from her all her life. But it's not excuse to be rude!

The book basically outlines a step-by-step method for getting rid of any kind of "resource guarding." The only requirement was a "clicker"... so I went and picked one up from Pet's Mart for $1.50! The principal is, the dog learns to associate doing something "good" with a click followed immediately by a reward (the tastiest treat you can possibly imagine!). It's basically utilizing Pavlov's dog theory.

Our clicker!

In better news, tomorrow we leave for SIESTA KEY FLORIDA. We are overjoyed. Beyond overjoyed, even. As I drove away from school today, I threw my hands up in the air and shouted: I HAVE A WEEK OFF OF SCHOOL! YAY! (Preparing for a sub, is sometimes harder than teaching. KWIM?)

We are going to live this vacation to the fullest. We have plans to beach-bum-it, go out to eat, see a botanical garden, and even make a trip to the dog beach so Luna can splash in the surf. Charlie and I each have 3 books to read, and you best believe they are going to be read cover to cover :)

Sunny Siesta, here we come. Jealous, right? ;)

This is where we got engaged! Brings back amazing memories :)

Good food good friends

Last night we went to dinner with the Zwallys and Hamilkights (Hamilton and Knight, hehe). We tried a Hibachi grill (similar to Beni-Hana) where the food is prepared for you on a large skillet with goofy tricks and entertainment. It was a riot. The girls sat on one end and gossiped about weddings, vacations, and life, and the guys talked about sports, golf, and the like. Perfect night out!


Afterward, we went back to Katy and Andy's to hang out and eat advent calendar Chocolate. :)

The craziest part was on the way home, Jeff, Kathleen, Charlie, and I were laughing about something, and out of NOWHERE a deer darts across the road. Using his flawless driving skills, Jeff slammed on the breaks, and we missed him. The entire car was on edge for a few minutes, and not moment after beginning to laugh at our near-death experience, Jeff lets out a yelp as we blaze over an opossum. Yikes. Note to self: be very alert when driving in Indian Trail!

Our life in Wordle!

Graded some exams and took a break to make a Woordle. Here are the defining words of our life!

I copy and pasted our blog entries from the month of November, and Wordle creates a collage were the most frequent words are the largest. It's art of our life! :)


© 2009 Jonathan Feinberg Terms of Use

Click the link to make it bigger :)

Gimme some down-home bluegrass....

The first thing most people think of when the think of "Bluegrass" music is down home country jammin' with some twang, beer, and foot stompin'. While I have to admit this description is fairly accurate, it alone hardy does this amazing music any justice. ....It was so much more brilliant that we EVER EXPECTED.

Charlie and I attended our first Bluegrass concert with Jamie last night in Charlotte at The Visulite. The venue was a perfect, an inmate theater setting with an ornate little stage, classic wooden bar, and hundreds of unique beers. There couldn't have been more than 300 people there. Our "spot" was only feet from the stage.

First up with a girl named Sarah from the band NickelCreek. She's gone solo and sings and plays guitar and ukulele. She was AMAZING and the harmonies were to die for.

Next was the main show, the Infamous Stringdusters. A band of 6 young guys (most of them about our age) came on the stage for the most amazing showing of band musicianship we have ever seen in our lives-- complete with slide guitar, violin, banjo, 2 acoustics, and bass. It blew us away. Only watching it can do it justice:



Here are some blurry pictures from the evening:

We were so close to the stage!

Deck the halls!

I know, I know... It's NOVEMBER 19TH. That's not even remotely, excusably December. But we decked our halls. Literally with balls of holly and Christmas decor!

Don't be mad... yet. Read on.

We are both very anti-Christmas before December and Thanksgiving. In fact, growing up NO CHRISTMAS movies, songs, or decorations were allowed before Thanksgiving. It was only on Thanksgiving day that we were allowed to break out the infamous childhood Christmas films like Tennessee Tuxedo and the Christmas Pageant and The Grinch. I used to scream and run from the room if I heard talk of early Christmas. It's a coveted holiday.

HOWEVER, Charlie and I have crazy lives, and decorating for Christmas just wasn't in the cards this year. It's a good two hours of work with getting out everything and putting the rest away!

I got home from school today, and after 60 graded exams, plopped on the couch. I got to thinking that the weeks before Christmas are filling up....

This Friday we are going to a bar concert, Saturday we have shopping for Siesta and dinner with friends, Sunday is church/volunteering, entering grades (I take home quite a bit of work these days), and packing for Siesta. Monday is a crazy day of school and I have to get ready for Tuesday, whenI will have a sub! On Tuesday I go to the DMV early in the morning, and then we drive 10 hours to Siesta.

Now, this part--to be fair-- is very relaxing. We have 5 glorious days of beach time. But we aren't home to decorate! We come back late Sunday night, and I have to get up and teach on Monday. Bla. I'll come back to an undoubtedly gross room with piles of "busy work" to grade, and a whole week to teach. By then it's December 1st. I probably won't get to decorating until the 5th, which is our "Nut Party!"

Then, we leave for Michigan on the 22nd. What's the point of having decorations up for 17 days? We'll be in Michigan for the holiday!

This is why I chose to start early.

I have to say, though... it wasn't easy.

I walked to the closet...opened a box...then put it away. I got out our fake tree. Took a look at it and put it away.

I sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV after which point a glance at the calendar stirred me to move again. The dog was starting to become interested as I pulled new smells from the closet.

Here is the before with three boxes of Christmas stuff! Charlie was at karate and I finally got up the courage!

Luna looks like demon dog ;) She was really into it!

Our Stockings! We still need one for Luna. Possible X-mas gift, anyone? LOL.

I decorated the top of our cabinets with our white lights. :)

Our Nativity from the Beyersdorfs in the entryway!


Merry Novembermas!

Obsessions of the Moment.

LOST used to be our obsession. We had the DVDs on loan from Vicki and Chuck, and randomly picked them up one day. We were hooked at episode one. By season four (a mere 2 months later), we vowed we would wait until the 5th season came out on DVD to watch any more, but we eventually caved and bought them on Best Buy online. After watching every single episode up until (spoiler alert) the ENTIRE ISLAND is swallowed by the glowing light of an anomoly (yes, we know!!!), we were devastated at the prospect that we coudln't watch any more until Season 6 in December.

So, with some "time for relaxation" free-time on our hands, we decided to focus are addiction elsewhere....

Here's what we have so far:

1) Documentaries. The beauty of Netflix. Our favorite so far was called "The King of Kong" World-famous Donky Kong champ meets the underdog middle school teacher from middle America who can beat the high score, but the corrupt gaming coorporation stips the new champ of his title, accusing him of cheating. You can't write this stuff. The nerds in us loved it.




2) Glee. So many of our friends said we had to watch it... I think the combination of musical interludes and dry, stupid humor that got us. Go Cherrios!



3) Chinese Takeout. We never eat out any more, but when we dont' feel like cooking, takeout seems like the thing to do. The gooeyness of the crab rangoons is even making my mouth water right now. But boy, Luna hates the delivery guy.

4) Books on tape. Did you know you can download them for free from the library?? Amazing stuff. I'm listening to the Great Gatspy and Charlie finished Aragon a few weeks ago, or as I like to call it, "Nerd Dragon Book" ;)

H1N1 and Joy

What a title! No, these two things are not related. Hehe.

Charlie and I got our Swine Flu shots today-- it was painful to say the least, but I'm glad we got them out of the way. Earlier today, neither of us had intentions of getting the vaccine, due to inconvenience, cost, and the unknown effectiveness, but considering we are 24--the age group that is "high priority"--we decided that we should get them. Besides, I felt like a quick Target shopping trip was in order. :) We now sport matching band-aids and sore arms.

In other news... Charlie and I have missed several Sundays of church due to crazy schedules, so I've been catching up by watching them online. There has been a series on Philippians on the subject of joy. Pastor Steven really captured my attention with these words:

"Happiness is a symptom of circumstances, but joy is a product of perspective."

It caused me to think how many times I lightly complain about the world, my job, and how hard life is, when really, it isn't at all. We have so much-- especially when you put it into perspective seeing what so much of the world DOESN'T have.

Pastor challenged us to make an "Ugly Jar" and for seven days, have a "complaining fast", where each time we utter a complaint, $1 goes in the jar to charity. Oddly enough, we just got a free super-ugly-piggy-bank from Petco during their grand opening. The jar was so ugly, and I thought...what are we going to do with this? Perfect.

Here is the ugly pig that sits in our kitchen. Yes, we drew a face because he needed one! He has to be UGLY!


We'll update you in seven days. This week is long for both of us, so it will be refreshing to be positive! :)

Cards in the yard.

Today was the most perfect weather you could imagine...perhaps summer wanted to make one final appearance before she took her winter hiatus. So, after church and a few errands, we decided that rather than watching the Lions lose, we would take the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air outside the complex. There aren't any benches or seating, so we spread our picnic blanket on the grass, soaked in the late afternoon rays, and played a game of the now infamous Double Bexley...



...which was promptly ruined by the dog.

Ballooning, Baby!

So today, thanks to Laura, we experienced a hot air balloon! It was fabulous-- a trip of a lifetime, and so incredibly peaceful.

That huge balloon fits in such a tiny bag.

We drove out to the Lake Norman area to the "take-off" site. Ursula and Marc are the couple who owns the company. An endearing, intelligent pair, they explained how the balloon works-- from propane to air displacement--and how North Carolina is actually a mecca of ballooners.

It was a divine day to be on the farm...a comfortable 73 degrees. Their property rolled on forever--over grass, trees, and acres of land. They are an animal-loving couple with two horses, a dog, two cats, three ducks, and a chicken...just to name a few. They fell in love with balloon riding their first time up, and now, after more than 2,500 rides under his belt, Marc was the "captain" who took us up for the ride!

Charlie and Ursula filling the balloon with air!

Take-off as described by Marc is as peaceful as the "earth gently moving away from the basket." And it was just so. The ride was breathtakingly beautiful, with clear views for 50 miles (we had the perfect November day). There was hardly any wind, so at times our balloon drifted along at a very, VERY slow 1 mph. But, with views like that, I can't complain. The air is so quiet and peaceful, and the sounds of nature were only interjected by the smooth blasts of the propane tank to take us higher into the air!

I can't say I much enjoyed the landing. After one failed attempt to land in a grassy field, we went onward and upward (literally)! We floated past a very tall tree (I could have touched the branches...too close for comfort) and over a grove of trees, and landed in someone's backyard. The landing was two giant "bounces" and a large tip of the basket. I didn't want to spill out!



A startled couple opened their doors and said, "DID YOU CRASH!?!!?" and then proceeded to take cell phone camera documentation of the bizarre moment. I suppose that's just it about hot air balloons...you never know when you are going to land, and you can't control the wind!

After about a 10 minute ride back to Ursula and Marc's home (we didn't fly far), we drank some champagne and signed their memory book. The sun was just disappearing!

It was a perfect day. Charlie and I can now say we stole a kiss at 2,000 ft. elevation!

We captured the day using a handy-dany video camera...enjoy :)