Easter Sunday :)

So this is a bit belated, but we've been on our feet for the last two days...go, go, go! :)

Easter Sunday at Elevation was incredibly moving experience-- our church rented our Time Warner Cable Arena with more than 10,000 people in attendance!  The house was packed, the music was fabulous, and pastor's sermon was on point.  Our church started out with such humble roots...4 years ago it was just over 200 people big, and their first Easter Sunday was held at a retirement center. Now, with over 11,000 people in attendance, Elevation one of the fastest growing churches in the nation with an amazing cause that is changing our city: "That people far from God will be filled with life in Christ."  And they were :)

We came and set the table to Easter dinner.  Jamie came over to celebrate with us and to enjoy an Easter ham, green beans, souffle, and dinner rolls.  Oh, yes, and chocolate cake.  Nom, Nom!  Here's a picture of the table I set.  We finally have a fitting opportunity to use the new China.  It's so beautiful!

Happy Easter! :)

He is risen (Matthew 28:6)

Enjoying Spring Break :)

Today Charlie and I went for a walk again at the Greenway. (And yes I took the picture to the left!  Isn't it pretty?) We were out and about for about 2 hours and 6 miles of trekking, but it was worth it on this beautiful day!  We left around 9:00 am equipped with water for us and the dog, a backpack, sunscreen, and good walking shoes. :) The Greenway is really beautiful because you walk over decks on flood planes.  We kept saying how we couldn't believe that we hadn't done this before, considering the trail even crosses by where we used to live. 

We look gross and tired!  It was a workout!

After that it was spring cleaning time!  Finding a place for scattered junk, re-organizing, grocery shopping...the works.  You know how I roll on spring break.  I LOVE our new apartment, and we have so much more room...but cleaning two bathrooms is a lot more than just one.  And dusting two bathrooms takes a lot more time than dusting just one.  Everything seems to take twice as long.  I can't imagine adding yard work on to that.  Geeze.  I'm lucky if I get the porch swept!  Eventually when we buy a house one day, I can't see us buying a monster.  I like smaller, cozy, and ORGANIZED.  I stumbled upon this youtube sensation video the other day... can you imagine living like THIS!?!?!  Pretty wild.  Although I can't say I disagree with many of his points.  

Happy almost Easter everyone!! :)

Parks are under-rated...

...and they shouldn't be.

I went for a paseo/stroll with Andreia today after work at McMullen Greenway on Rea road. Charlie and I are out and about all the time, but for some reason, we haven't taken advantage of any of the hiking trails/parks near us.

So, I know this picture is cheesy...but it was really beautiful. You wind for 4 miles through the woods and wooden pathways, over creeks and marshes. And on a day like today--the sun was shining, temps hit the high 70s--and you can't help but smile. :)

My goal this year is to check out more parks like it. Freedom park is next on the list...

Everybody loves North Carolina in the spring!

Confessions of a foodie... and avid organizer...

I love Easter time, if not just for the Cadbury eggs. I don't know why I love them so much. I've heard many complain that they are far too sweet and overpowering, but boy oh boy, I think I could scarf 3-4 in a sitting if given the chance. And this is not a joke or exaggeration. I think they should come little boxes of a dozen, just like you buy eggs at the store. While this would only last you a couple of days, it would be quite convenient. And I would stock up.

Good thing, too. I was reading an article (here) on cnn.com that says, "Compared with people who rarely ate chocolate (about one bar per month), the people who ate the most chocolate (slightly more than one bar per week) had a 27 percent and 48 percent reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, respectively, the researchers found."

I say I have the best habit around!

These past couple of days I've been also re-arraging things around the house just...because? I don't know. I've been big on Glade air fresheners this week, so maybe the new scent prompted a change.

Something that's been a huge pick-me-up lately has been thinking about the beach and being on vacation. It's nice to have a little piece of that around you every day.... I love white coral so much. I know, it's trendy right now, but it's sooo relaxing to me.


So here's what we started off with...a super messy coffee table...that was driving me bonkers. Blah.


And here is the after. Apart from the obvious de-cluttering I added some vases from the bathroom and changed the plant pot. I added a little beach and some Siesta sand, too. We got the starfish when we got engaged, and Vicki brought us the sand back from Siesta. Yay for relaxation. And yay for pick-me-ups...that I just had lying around the house. ;)

Bigger...and badder :)

Today we found out about Charlie's job prospect...he was just starting to feel stressed about the whole waiting process--especially because they assured him he would know by the beginning of the week. We were walking the dog, and his phone rang... I said a prayer, gave it to God, and in the end, this one wasn't it.

The boss directly called him to thank him personally. Charlie made it through on a fabulous resume, two rounds of interviews, and was in the top two candidates. There is a bigger plan for him and our family, and it doesn't include this particular job. Charlie is so talented, and part of me felt that it doesn't seem fair, that HE deserves it...but another part of me, the wiser part of me, knows that something bigger--and badder--is in store for him. :)

Here's some things I DO know...

Charlie is the most caring person I have ever known. And he always means it.
He wears his heart on his sleeve and his smile will melt the problems of the world away.
He's dang cute and super cool :)
He dreams big and rises to the challenge of a bumpy path in life...when I've seen many people give up.

Love you, Charlie.

Springtime!

Vicki and Chuck came to visit on their drive up from Florida this past weekend. They survived the "coldest winder in Florida's history" of 50s/60s temps and cloud-cover, but in Charlotte this weekend, the first weekend of Spring, temps hit the near 80s! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and I didn't run into one person who was in a bad mood. What an ideal visit. The boys golfed for a good chunk of Saturday, and Vicki and I enjoyed the first good porch weather in a while. Later we visited the dog park and had dinner at Southpark. Sunday brought rain, but I got to test out my new galoshes...I can't complain too much. :)

I can't believe it's already spring, and that means summer is just around the corner. It won't be long until I turn 25 (really? ah!), I go to Spain, and we celebrate our 1 year anniversary. I can hardly believe it, either!

With the turn in weather comes sandals....finally. I'm so sick of wearing closed-toed shoes! This summer's trends are fun I think--flirty and very comfortable. Forget thong-sandal blisters. The only problem I foresee is funny tan lines. :/ Oh well, I'm in love with my new shoes. Thank you, Target...and the gladiators (who I believe started the trend). ;)

This week Charlie and I are also agonizingly waiting for him to hear back about his most recent interviews. He made it through two rounds, and nailed them both, and now it's time to play the "wait for a phone call early next week" game. It's a slow process, and business-wise, "early next week" has a plethora of definitions. I'm proud of him either way-- it's an exciting time.

S%#& and Roses

These past couple weeks have been really, really hard: the main reason I haven't been blogging lately. Mom had her heart surgery on Thursday, and Adam has been sick for weeks with unknown X illness that's been puzzling doctors. It's been so hard to be far away from family during this time. I think about them every day, and the distance doesn't make things easier. To top it off, work has been so stressful. Lucky for me my wonderful husband had roses waiting for me on Thursday night after karate. I think I accepted them in the horizontal position at 8:30 pm, falling asleep to some Bravo t.v. re-run. Charlie knew they meant the world to me, though.

This weekend was so completely necessary to my survival...I was a shell of myself on Friday night, and I don't really remember it I was so tired, but I woke up on Saturday after a good night's sleep, and it was refreshing to take some time for myself. That night we went out with Lauren and Chris, our Michigander friends who just moved to Charlotte. It was nice to kick back with a drink in honor of St. Patty's day :)

A little retail therapy was also part of the equation. Purchases from the weekend included:
Target galoshes... I've ruined exactly three pairs of shoes directing traffic in rainy weather after school (ah yes, the life of a teacher), so I decided it was time to stop this nonsense. I thought they were fun and cute, and now I may save some of my suede shoes from their death.

This adorable little lantern from IKEA for our patio. I can't wait to use it... so finally we can light a candle during NC's glorious spring months. I will never forget buying it...I think Charlie was getting a bit bored near the end of our shopping trip, so he was making fun of the European things at IKEA, randomly busting out a techno tune and talking in a Swedish accent. Quite amusing.

And now comes the "S%#&" part of the post... this afternoon we took Luna-mc-lunerton to her favorite place of all...the park. We let her run off-leash (since it's surrounded by creeks and she can't really escape) and she adores it. Today she was more gutsy than usual, and she wandered behind a tree stump, when she emerged, the entire right side of her body was covered in, you guessed it, POOP. Gross, smelly, no-clue-what-kind-of-animal-dumped-it, POOP. It was stuck in the nooks and crannies of her collar and she was proudly tottering toward us. As if that weren't enough, she then proceeded to dart in the other direction and just so happened to stumble upon a huge pile of rabbit poop and she ATE IT. Ug. I was so mad at her. We spent a good 40 minutes washing her in the tub, and I swear she was laughing at us the whole time..."What? Poop is fun! I can't wait to go back to the poop place!" Fat chance dog. Oh well...she knows what she did....