Sunny Side

"Yes Maam. You should leave the house right now."

2010-02-17T20:30:00.005-05:00

So, I have had the gas logs for 9 days now. We have been smelling a slight gas odor since the first usage...every day...and it lingers as long as the logs are lit. I mentioned this to a co-worker and she said the logs need to "burn in" for a few days.

Well, yesterday I was working from home and I let the logs burn to achieve that "burn in." After 3 hours on conference calls I went downstairs to be met with the gas odor and it had lingered up the stairwell too.

Sooooo, I call the gas company to see if this is normal. They connect me to the Emergency Gas Leak department. This VERY calm woman said that they never take a potential gas leak for granted so my case will be classified as an emergency. I am still calm at this point....then she proceeds to tell me that she needs to read their standard safety precautions to me....

1. Do not light a match.
2. Do not turn on a light switch.
3. Leave the domicile.

Uhm....can you back up a moment. Did you say leave the domicile. "Yes Maam" was her reply. "You need to leave the house right now. Immediately." All said in this very calm, "pass the salt" voice.

I sat outside in my car in the driveway waiting for the gas company to arrive. They take potential leaks seriously. He arrived in 12 minutes. He entered the house armed with a spray bottle filled with soap. If you remember from high school chem gas is a kinetic gas and moves (Nathan told me that as I totally did NOT remember!) therefore the soap would bubble if there was a leak. Thankfully NO leak. BUT it may take a couple of months for the logs to "burn in."

Oh well. They are beautiful when lit and keeping us warm. We can deal with the gas odor for a bit. Thankfully it is not Sophie or Gracie blessing us with their odors! ; )

Gas Logs -- WOO HOO

2010-02-13T20:23:00.004-05:00

FINALLY gas logs are installed.

Took over a month to get them in from the point of the first call but they are IN. It was quite a ridiculous experience in buying the logs. Tried to save money buying them over the internet but was faced with TERRIBLE customer service from a company in California that I canceled my order. Ended up spending MORE money at a local company but at least I know they are good quality and have good customer service to back it up.

Ahhhh the warmth. And just in time as we had 6 inches of snow last night. Our neighborhood tends to lose power pretty easily in the ice and heavy snow so now I am prepared to at least stay warm if that happens this winter.

Basketball Wrap Up

2010-02-13T20:17:00.005-05:00

Matthew finished his basketball season this week. They lost in the semi-finals of the playoffs.

It was sad in that two of the starters got in trouble in school the day before the semi-finals and were not allowed to play. You could see on the boys faces when they came on the court at the beginning of the game that they were not quite themselves. Matthew played an incredible game but got quite frustrated....no doubt about the team not starting off on the right foot but also a little at the refs. That is how things play out sometimes.

Nonetheless, they had a truly fantastic season...and quite good for Carver in many years.

I am SO proud of Matthew. He finally gets a chance to rest over the next few weeks thankfully.

BBall Playoffs

2010-02-04T22:37:00.003-05:00

Go Wildcats!

Finished the regular season 10 -2. Playoffs begin this Saturday and looking for the championship.

I love you Matthew. So VERY proud of you.

Good luck Saturday!

Basketball and more basketball

2010-02-02T21:27:00.005-05:00

The Wildcats beat Gaffney Middle School tonight. Woo hoo! Matthew has been playing incredible defense. So proud of him.

They are now 9-1.

Tomorrow, weather permitting in N.C., we will be heading to Thomas Jefferson...the team we lost to last week. The boys are stoked to get some bball revenge. This will be our final game before the playoffs next week.

GO MAFFFFFOOOOO!

Bball Update

2010-01-28T21:05:00.003-05:00

As of tonight, Matthew's team is now 9-1. They lost their first game. : (

They played Thomas Jefferson - the only other undefeated team. It was a fantastic game. Matthew said it felt like a championship game.

Final score was 59-72.

They had one guy on their team that is 6 ft 5. He could not handle the ball well but he could shoot 3's and made nearly every one of his free throws.

What was completely DISGUSTING is that the refs truly called the game one sided. Our team had 20 fouls....their team had 4! Something is just WRONG with that CRAP!

I must say that despite the loss, our boys held their teams high and showed some incredible and honorable sportsmanship. I love you, Mafffffooooo!

Matthew just posted on his Facebook page a very descriptive comment. He said they he feels down but also accomplished. Hugs my dear son.

Basketball Update

2010-01-17T14:08:00.014-05:00

Matthew's team has not lost a game yet thus far.... WOO HOO!

vs. Ewing - 73-55 (7 pts)
vs. Whitlock - 47-22 (2 pts)
vs. Granard - 65-45 (4 pts)
vs. McCracken - 42-37 (7 pts)
vs. Middle Gaffney - 36-33 (6 pts)
vs. Thomas Jefferson - cancelled. Hope to reschedule
vs. Ewing - 52-34 (4 pts)
vs. Whitlock - 49-24 (10 pts)
vs. Chester - cancelled. Hope to reschedule.

Matthew is having a great time with his team as well as the new coach.

I don't want to use the word beginning with "u" for fear it will ruin the winning streak. : )

More Christmas...

2010-01-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

Family pic! Not quite crystal clear but at least I managed to set the timer and run to be in the picture....after three tries...

My niece, Costa, and Matthew opening presents. Too cute.

Cynthia getting some loving from Sophie...or perhaps Sophie found a comfy place to snooze after all the gift opening excitement.

We found some cool lights thanks to my friend, Donna. The entire yard was covered in these lighted creatures. We kept pondering how long it takes to put them all up then take them down. Bet he starts in October and ends in February!

Doing the jerk? No, Jerking...

2010-01-17T13:46:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to post this for awhile. Matthew was goofing around in the backyard dancing just before Christmas and I was able to capture some of his "jerking." No, not the Jerk...but the new thing is "jerking."

He definitely has some rhythm.

The days leading up to Christmas

2009-12-24T20:13:00.014-05:00

It has been a busy few days since my mom and sister showed up on Tuesday. We have spent many hours already baking yummy cookies and preparing all of our goodies for Christmas Day dinner. My brother, Jeff, and his family as well as my step sister, Becky, and her husband will be joining us. It will be a full household. I LOVE IT! I sure hope I have a seat for everyone! Humm, I think the boys can sit on the floor to eat. haha! Just teasing guys!

Here are pics from this week and some from today. The boys coerced me to open one of their presents TWO days early!

The boys and the doggers...

The boys and the doggers...take two.

Nathan being a goofball again! He is wearing his new hoodie from Mema.

Matthew cannot be outdone by his big brother! He too is wearing a new shirt from Mema.

Somehow we ended up with the blue and gold theme so Mom wanted to take a few pics. I was a slob after blowing leaves earlier in the day with Matthew but Mom would not take no for an answer.

Yep...they DO love each other!

We went for a drive to hunt for outrageous Christmas lights but came up pretty short. Thanks to my bro we did see this yard. It was filled with over 50 maybe 60 blow up decorations. It was pretty great. We kept wondering what their electric bill is!!

Nathan got an up close and personal pic with Santa in a bi-plane.

See? I told you! They love each other...

Okay....so maybe they love each other less right now. Actually they said "let's play fight!" I kept imagining me running to the ER with one of them today.

Gracie is very tired after the days cooking activities. She and Sophie stayed at my feet nearly all day today...because I was COOKING! I succumbed and gave them some ham.

May all of you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. I wish you wonderful dreams tonight of sugar plum fairies and all that is good in this world.

BBall Update

2009-12-20T12:30:00.007-05:00

I am a bit behind in posting about Matthew's basketball team so here goes...

Matthew has a new coach this year...an actual basketball coach versus a teacher trying to coach or a football coach coaching basketball. Not to fault past coaches but the coach this year indeed knows how to coach the boys on learning plays and how to improve what they are doing wrong in a game. Matthew is having a BLAST.

Carver sponsors a pre-season tourney just before Thanksgiving and that started out a little rough with a loss but then one the second game against Gable.

(Nate hugging Matthew after their loss.)

Regular season is coming along REALLY well.

Matthew is playing awesome and you can tell he is at home on the court. He has started each game and gets a fair amount of play time. He is doing well on assists and has a few steals under his belt as well!

Beat Ewing 73-55 (7 pts)
Beat Whitlock 47-22 (2 pts)
Beat Granard 54-45 (4 pts)
Beat McCracken 42-37 (7 pts) This was a HUGE win for us as they are our cross town rival!

Carver is now 4 - 0! Woo Hoo. Go Wildcats.

Walking on Water

2009-11-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

Gracie is at it again. She has now taken to running across the pool cover...almost like walking on water! She has NO fear! And now she nearly has Sophie (Miss Scaredy Cat!) to start stepping on it too!

Gracie and Sophie love to run and chase each other all around the back yard...through the bushes, leaves and now the pool. See for yourself.

Happy Gobble Gobble

2009-11-27T22:59:00.006-05:00

Traveling to my mom's the day before the holiday has become our annual tradition. (Over the hills and through the woods.... Oh, that is for Christmas I think...) We then head to my cousin's on Thanksgiving. It is a nice group of about 15-20 each year. They gather from Kentucky, Tenn and SC. I always look forward to my mom's homemade cranberry sauce and Donna's sweet potato casserole... and for some reason I like to snack on those little sweet pickles before we sit down to eat. Donna always has them out...thank you, Donna. (I take joy in seeing my Uncle Jack - not really my uncle, but my cousin, sneaking them as well.)

The boys and I always like to get out in the morning and take some pics at my mom's. Here are a few. They can really be such lovable goofballs!

(Nearly the whole clan. Some snuck out of the picture!)

Pre-Season BBall Tourney

2009-11-27T22:42:00.005-05:00

Won one and lost one....

A few pics from Matthew's first two games. Regular season starts December 1st. It will be a much busier season than last year as they have two games a week through end of February. Matthew is VERY excited about the new coaches and looking forward to beating McCracken! ; )

(Matthew was one of the two team captains for the game against Gable. Won 53-40)

(Nathan hugging Matthew after the loss to DR Hill. He REALLY does love his lil brother.)

More Basketball!!!

2009-11-09T22:00:00.003-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO MATTHEW!!

He made the basketball team today! 40 boys on day one down to 14 on the team!

SOOO proud of you honey!

Count down to first game has begun. November 21st here we come.

State Marching Band Competition

2009-11-08T16:37:00.008-05:00

Nathan and the band headed to Orangeburg for the State Marching Band Competition yesterday.

They performed EXTREMELY well and received a rating of "Excellent." They ended up 11th our of 14 bands. They missed the finals by only 4 points! In comparison, last year they finished 13th and missed the finals by 10 points. They did great considering the large number of rookies! Nathan and kids were so disappointed but eventually the smiles won out.

I am incredibly proud of not only Nathan, but of the entire band. The kids have worked very hard and it showed yesterday. No doubt they are laying a good foundation for next year.

Hugs Nate Daddy!

One thing Nathan told me I will share. He says marching is the "smart kids sport." I laughed and asked why. He said "How many football players do you know that can play and instrument while walking backwards on their tip toes?" Not many I don't think. LOL

Mom, this is for you. I know you wanted to be there. The picture part is not very good but the sound is somewhat decent. I think you can get an idea of how they played.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T20:16:00.009-05:00

Happy Halloween

The boys wanted to Trick or Treat this year...first time to dress up in a few years.

Nathan went as Mr. Death. Matthew joined up with his friend Colby and they went as Kanye West and Taylor Swift - too funny.

We stopped by our friend Donna's and the boys got spooked by Paul. He jumped out when he opened the door slooooooowly. BOO! Thanks Donna for all the yummy Reese Pumpkins! We picked up Courtney along the way and dropped off Matthew to hang out with Colby and Zack.

Too bad the rain dampened the number of houses they visited. Quite a number of people in my neighborhood had their lights out. I think each year fewer people participate. I only had two visit my house. LOTS of candy leftover.

Here are a few pics from the night.

(My two boys hamming it up!)

(Matthew, Courtney as the gypsy prey of Mr. Death and Nathan)

(Colby and Matthew as Taylor and Kanye. Too cute!)

Gracie....sweet? Don't let her face fool you!

2009-10-29T22:06:00.003-04:00

Gracie. Our beagle baby in the family. She is now 9 months old and completely full of herself. She does her own thing and can only be lured away from it with cheese slices or chewable bones. And sometimes cheese does not even work when she sees the open plains of the front yard and takes off to our neighbors across the street. She is quite the mess.

Oh trust me. She does indeed have her sweet moments. She loves to cuddle while sleeping and acts just like the boys when I go in to wake them up in the morning. She quite honestly looks at me like "Mom....pwweeease....5 more minutes...."

Despite being a poop factory and an eating machine, she is a welcome addition to the family. Sophie has enjoyed a play mate...but she DOES get jealous.

She has a blast playing with Matthew and Sophie in the back yard.

But this starts to be her evil side. She will lick you on the face when you least expect it.

This is a typical "playtime." Love it. Really sweet to see them chase after Matthew.

25 Year Reunion

2009-10-26T22:50:00.003-04:00

25 years? Is that REALLY possible? Noooooooo waaaaaay.

(me, Kelley and Amy before the reunion)

Amy taught me how to drive a stick shift in her little red station wagon. She suggested the grave yard so I would not hurt anyone!

Kelley and I went to high school AND college together. Too bad both of them live in Texas! Too far away for a road trip but a flight might be in order.

I really had a good time seeing some old friends. We did not have enough time to catch up though.

More pics to follow.

High School Reunion

2009-10-24T09:42:00.002-04:00

My 25 year high school reunion is tonight. I am so looking forward to seeing some old friends...most of which I have not seen since the day of graduation. Facebook has allowed us to get back in touch over the past few months - amazing what a little technology can do - but it will be far better to catch up in person.

I hope to have pics tomorrow to post.

Death

2009-10-21T23:10:00.003-04:00

A found out this morning that a co-worker became suddenly ill over the weekend and died yesterday. Matthew Kahn also coached soccer for his son's team while I coached my son's team. We scrimmaged each week after practice for two seasons. Matt was only a year older than me. He has 3 kids. Matt was a nice guy and I enjoyed his enthusiasm for soccer and seeing not only his son improve in the game but all kids. He always cheered on my Matthew.

I found out tonight that a guy that graduated a year ahead of me in high school died last week. I did not know him that well.

It makes me take pause and think if all my proverbial ducks are in a row...on all fronts. Will my children be cared for? Am I right with God? Have I done all the things I really want to do? I truly am thankful for my boys and my family. Life can be gone in a minute. No doubt we ALL need to value and savor each and every morsel...even the bad ones.

Yes!

2009-10-18T21:13:00.002-04:00

We got the pool covered today. YAY! I think that is the one thing about owning a pool that does not thrill me....covering it. We have one of those stretchable covers that you pull taut over the pool. It lets the rain flow through but keeps the leaves (tries to) out. It can be a pain to put on but the boys and I knocked it out pretty quickly today. Thankfully we finally had a day of sunshine.

With all the rain we have had in the past two weeks the pool was a sea of green. I really did not want to waste chemicals since we certainly were not swimming.

Thanks Nate Daddy and Maffoo for helping out today. Hugs.

United Way Day at Work

2009-10-08T21:52:00.005-04:00

Survivor Day for United Way

This is the IS Team. Barbara, Jerry, Nick and myself. We each had to do a "Survivor" type game to earn points. Jerry had to do the Hula to a hip hop song, Barbara had to eat gummy worms, swedish fish and olives and Nick had to unwrap 10 foiled chocolates and eat them faster than the other teams.

We could either be the GRAPE team or the PINK team. I voted for PINK to honor Breast Cancer Awareness. Jerry was able to find these shirts at Dick's Sporting Goods. Interesting that Nike make pink golf shirts for men and then we realized why. Their shirts had the small pink ribbon on the sleeves.

Mine was lifting 10 marbles out of a bucket of ice cold water. I won handily. I guess those toe stretches in yoga class paid off! lol

We came in 3rd out of 8 teams. It was a nice break from the work day.

First Band Competition

2009-10-04T13:56:00.010-04:00

THIRD PLACE FOR THE VIKING MARCHING BAND!

Woo Hoo! 3rd place out of the final 8 bands and 17 bands in all. They really did a superb job. They received a Superior rating during preliminaries and 4th in their class. However, the overall points they received put them into the finals and came in 3rd. They truly did an outstanding job.

Way to go Nate Daddy and the whole band!

Nate and the rest of the bass drum line. You guys rock!

Friday Night Lights - Band Style!

2009-10-02T22:25:00.006-04:00

Mema is in town and we went to the Spartan High game tonight against Gaffney.

Here are some shots from the night.

Dinner at Panera with Mema and Matthew. Nate Daddy was already at the game eating with the band.

Nathan raising his cap to the band director after the half time show! They really did well tonight!

Mema and Nathan after the half time show.

Me and Nate Daddy!

Drum Line after the completion of the half time show. I wish I had gotten a better vid but hopefully you get the idea.

Finally! A New Bathroom!

2009-10-01T20:56:00.010-04:00

I am finally getting around to posting pics of my new master bath. I am not quite finished but wanted to get these up. I still have to hang the new bamboo blinds like what I hung in the bedroom as well as do something with the sitting stool and floor.

Old light. I really think this light was hung when the house was built over 30 years ago. Ick!

New light. Yes, sorta looks like a booby. lol

Old sink. HAS to be the original sink.

And NEW sink and faucet. Love them!

Here you can see the ugly striped wallpaper (been up there for 13 years!), old light fixture and the old yellow laminate counter top. And, uhm, pardon my mess!

Ta Da!!!!! Check out the new light and marble counter top. I had the old mirror cut down and framed. Saved a bunch of money that way. You can even see the new drawer pulls.
(And yes, I do have all the mess organized now in the drawers!)

Vote for Spartanburg High Marching Band

2009-10-01T12:31:00.004-04:00

Spartanburg High's Marching Band is up for News Channel 4's Band of the Week. PLEASE go to their website and vote. The poll is mid way down the page on the right hand side. You can vote OVER AND OVER through 3 p.m. Friday. If SHS wins they will get a 1 min video on Friday's night's newscast.

Thanks!

http://wyff.highschoolplaybook.com/Index.do

Go Vikes!

Viking Band

2009-09-29T22:10:00.006-04:00

Go Viking Band!

Nathan has his first band competition this Saturday. The band has been practicing hard and Nate Daddy is REALLY looking forward to it...even a bit nervous.

I have been busy over the past few days hemming uniforms (Hugs Donna for your help!) and replacing buttons in preparation for this weekend. Nathan, Matthew and I spent Friday evening breathing in pvc glue when helping build stands for the competition props.

I hope to post pics Saturday from competition and hopefully a smiling Nathan holding a trophy!

GO VIKES!

A New and Improved Piggers

2009-09-21T22:19:00.008-04:00

Some of you have asked about Piggers fate. I had not seen Piggers since her dip in the pool last weekend. Saturday morning while I was getting ready for golf I smelled something HORRIBLE! I looked all around the bathroom and bedroom and could not figure out where the smell was coming from. It did not smell like Miss Gracie left me a "present"....it smelled like something was DEAD.

Yesterday while doing laundry I found the source of the odor. IT WAS PIGGERS! Gracie evidently thought my closet was the perfect place for Piggers to sleep.

The picture does not do it justice but she was a "lovely" pink and matted brown. I pretty much doused her with Shout and spun her in the wash.

TA DA! A renewed Piggers. Amazing what Shout and Gain will do!

To celebrate their friend getting a bath, the dogs decided to run and fight and play while I was on a conference call tonight to Australia. Thankfully Sonya was understanding of the dogs barking and fighting beneath my feet. : )

Have any of you ever seen the series of pictures of the stolen yard gnome? As I recall a yard gnome was taken from someones yard and the family ended up receiving blackmail photos of the gnome in various states visiting our nation's sites. Perhaps Piggers needs to go on a road trip...

P.S. Can you tell I don't want to do more laundry tonight?!?! I needed to entertain myself. : )

A Rainy Start...

2009-09-19T20:49:00.006-04:00

St. Mary Magdalene's Annual Golf Tourney.

This makes my fourth (or third??) time in this tourney with Bob and Des. Satish joined us this year. The tourney benefits the children's center at St. Mary's. Bob and Des attend this church and St. Mary's really know how to put on a tournament. Friday night was good BBQ and putting contest.

Our 8:30 shotgun start was delayed by Mother Nature but by shortly after nine the skies cleared and allowed us to play pretty much rain free throughout the day. None of us were "on" but we each had some nice shots through the day. My tee shots were not consistent at all but my putts and short game were reasonable. We shot 5 under...and that certainly did not win it. : (

Despite our higher than normal score we had a great time joking around and simply enjoying playing golf.

(Satish, Bob, me and Des. Can you see how soaked we are already? This was after warming up and just waiting around for the rain to stop.)

(Des and Bob. We were all wet puppies for sure. Thankfully the rain had stopped.)

Gracie and her "Piggers"

2009-09-16T22:14:00.003-04:00

Gracie, our beagle, has a stuffed pig that we call "Piggers." She and Sophie take turns grabbing and running with Piggers around the back yard as the other chases. Usually it is Gracie with Piggers and Sophie very close behind.

On Sunday Gracie and Sophie were having a blast chasing each other and jumping through bushes with Piggers in tow. I heard Gracie whimpering so I turned around to see this....

PIGGERS WAS IN THE POOL! OH NO.......

Then there was Miss Gracie. All pitiful. Her eyes imploring me to rescue poor Piggers.

"Pwease pwease Mommie. Pwease get Piggers for me. Save her!"

Needless to say Piggers was a wet mess but that did not bother our Tom Boy Gracie. She gladly took her and ran off around the yard again. I am afraid to see what Piggers looks like now after being drug through the pine needles and dirt sopping wet.

Golf Part Two

2009-09-14T20:40:00.004-04:00

I meant to post a few other pics...

(Buster and Ted...)

(Ted lining up his putt. Cannot remember if he sank this one.)

(Des....please note that he is on the RED tee box! Girlie shot! Actually Desmond used a "red tee buster" so he could hit from the red tees. He crushed it and we ended up with birdie on the hole. I made him get back on the tee box so I could document such "girlishness!")

And let there be GOLF!

2009-09-13T18:58:00.011-04:00

I am getting back into the swing of things...quite literally. I have played a few rounds of golf with friends over the past month and yesterday took the plunge and played a charity tournament for work. Okay...it certainly was NOT work but raised funds for our United Way campaign.

I played with my long time friend, Desmond, and two work friends, Ted and Buster. We had a great time. We shot a 66 which is decent but not good enough to win a Captain's Choice tourney. Winning score was 54. TWO TEAMS actually shot a 54. We had some good laughs and TOO MANY close putts.

I held my own and was able to hit off the tee pretty well and land a few greens. Putting was a bit off but I would like to formally blame the recent aeration on the greens! *wink*

I will gloat a little bit and tell you that on our last hole for the day (#2), we took my tee shot, my approach shot (which landed so pretty on the green!) and even took my putt for birdie. I was really tickled to finish the round that way. I guess I will keep playing...

It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL S.C. day!

Here are a few shots for our LONG day at Willow Creek. We had lunch at noon, teed off at 2 and despite a lot of teams finished our round in 5 and half hours. LONG day for sure.

(Ted, Buster and Des)

(me, Buster and Des)

(I used a "red tee buster" which allowed me to take my tee shot from 200 yards out. I hit into this brown patch but we had a clear shot to the green.)

(Buster landed his on the green nice and pretty. Go Buster!)

(And Ted with his shot. We birdied the hole.)

(Buster and I waiting to tee off at the turn.)

(Des taking a putt. I think this was on 8.)

(Ted and Buster. Notice the chipmunk cheeks! These Southern boys and their chew!)

(Des and I before our last hole.)

Rays of sunshine

2009-09-10T22:47:00.005-04:00

This week has been challenging on many fronts but rays of light shone through as well.

The week started with difficulty when we heard of the death of one of the boys' friends. Jeremy choked to death on Sunday. It has been a sad week.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090909/ARTICLES/909091053/1083/ARTICLES?Title=Classmates-gather-at-school-to-remember-friend-teammate

Matthew looked up to Jeremy as he played high school basketball and was just an all around nice young man. Nathan and Matthew had to face this at a young age. I can see the questioning in their eyes but I can also see and hear their kind and loving words. Nathan comforted many friends this week. It broke my heart to see their pain but it also warmed my heart to see the love they had for their friend. Matthew is dedicating this year's bball season to Jeremy. This is definitely a ray of sunshine in an otherwise very sad time. My prayers go to the Sailem's.

I saw more rays tonight when signing the boys progress reports. Good grades all around despite some minor bumps on a few tests. They have always done well in school but today the pride I have for them ran over.

Tomorrow is the 9-11 anniversary. We are planning on wearing red, white and/or blue. It brought a smile to my face when Nate Daddy commented that we wear the colors to show our respect for the lives lost that day. Yes, another ray of sunshine.

First Day of School 2009

2009-08-18T21:27:00.003-04:00

The boys were soooo excited about the first day of school that neither one slept well. They were so handsome in their new duds! Nathan is now in 10th (BIG high schooler!) and Matthew 8th.

They are getting so tall! Nathan is taller than me and Matthew is getting closer each day.

Here is a pic from first day of school last year for comparison.

Yay - New Bedroom!!

2009-07-09T20:26:00.005-04:00

After two weeks....Before and After.

Blah yellow walls....to "Coastal Path." A nice warm taupe. I wish the pics would do the room justice.

I still need a new lamp shades and a new ceiling fan as well as some new pictures. I love the room!

Mothers Day Basketball Tourney

2009-05-10T22:31:00.007-04:00

Basketball Tournament in Spartanburg

Game 1 - Won vs Myrtle Beach 62 - 53; Matthew scored 6 points
Game 2 - Won by forfeit
Game 3 - Won vs. Trojans 51 - 42; 9 points (Highest scoring game to date.)
Game 4 (Semi finals) - Lost vs. Carolina Select; 7 points

(After game 1, HAPPY BOYS!)

(During game 3...Dorman High School big gym)

(Friday night, 5 of the boys spent the night! Fed them at 10:45 at night after the games. Lights out by midnight per the coaches orders...they just made it!)

(Before game 4 started...)

(Yes, he was there to cheer on his brother.)

Before the final game Sunday the entire team came up into the stands and gave me two Mother's Day cards signed by the whole team. Myself and the two coach's wives have been the only ones in the stands to cheer the boys on. I think the head coach's wife and myself have turned into Team Mothers. Tears came to my eyes when they gave me the cards. Very sweet.

Another new ride!

2009-05-03T21:06:00.005-04:00

Okay...here is the real deal this time.

Finally decided on a car after test driving so many. Honda Pilot came out ahead. Picked it up this week. I debated on a hybrid but could not get the numbers to run in my favor. Some may view this as a total "Mom car" but that would be a van and THIS Mom does NOT DO VANS. ; )

Sophers wanted to hop in for a ride...

Awards Day 2009

2009-05-03T20:34:00.006-04:00

Friday the boys both had Awards Day at Carver...it was actually Nathans 9th grade graduation. I honestly had not expected pomp and circumstance but they certainly provided it. I cannot adequately describe the unbelievable pride I had watching my boys go up for their awards. I am sure I had some silly smile on my face that may have actually embarrassed my children. : )

I understand pure pride now. I am absolutely amazed at how my boy's have grown and turned into incredible young men.

Uncle Dick - I would not be surprised if the boys follow in your quest for science knowledge.

Nathan received 8 awards in all. I knew he was doing well in school but had NO idea this well. Here is a list of his awards:

Principal's Award (4.5 gpa)
Principal's Exemplary Conduct Award
Most Outstanding Musician
Excellence in Advanced French
Excellence in Honors Alegbra
Excellence in Biology
Most Musically Talented (one of those cute superlatives)
Wildcat Scholar

Matthew received two awards:
Excellence in Science
Excellence in Physical Education

Nathan during the processional.

Mom and Nathan...

Happy Mama!

Yes, they actually do love each other!

Nathan being a goofball when we got home. I was able to take him home early but poor Matthew had to stay the rest of the school day - sorry honey.

Maffooo getting his Science award.

It makes me sad

2009-04-27T12:14:00.003-04:00

It makes me so very sad to see parents arguing with their children. Yes, it is one thing to disagree as well as to put kids on point when they mess up. I am referring to no holds barred yelling and fighting.

This morning on my way to work I passed a car with a father and young daugher just outside of Nathan and Matthew's school. We were running just on time so by the time I saw them I am sure they were late. The father was yelling at what looked like the top of his lungs at his daughter. She was younger than Matthew so I am guessing she is at the elementary school next door. Poor thing was in tears. I can only imagine how her school day has gone this morning.

Then just a little bit further down the road I was at a stop light and looked across the intersection to see another car with a mother/daughter argument in process. The mom was on her cell phone AND was yelling then reached over and hit her daughter three times. And it was not just a light tap either. The daughter looked to be high school age and had a look on her face like this was business as usual.

I know we all get frustrated as parents. I know I certainly had my days. However, I simply cannot imagine having a KNOCK DOWN DRAG OUT in the car (much less on a cell phone and driving) on my way to school with my kids.

And we wonder why some kids are not doing well in school...

This bothered me all the way to work. Made me sad. Thankfully I have a very good relationship with my boys. I pray it stays that way.

P.S. Yes, I guess I could look at it from the other side. Maybe the kids did something to get on their parent's last nerve. Maybe the highschooler did drugs or wrecked the car...but still, do you really have to SCREAM and HIT?

Goofing Around

2009-04-26T20:27:00.004-04:00

Today was work in the yard day.

Nathan blew leaves off the pool deck but poor guy was having a tough time with his allergies so I gave him my bandanna to help ward off the pollen. Uhm...yes....the boy needs a haircut!

Matthew came out and wanted to learn how to drive the lawnmower. He had a good time meandering all around the back yard. He grew bored quickly so I finished. I think when he realizes that allowance is tied to mowing the yard he may not get bored so fast. :)

Basketball Tourney

2009-04-26T20:07:00.006-04:00

Matthew's first AAU tourney was in Lexington, SC this weekend. (AAU is a competitive league across the US.) His team had one game Friday night and two Saturday. Unfortunately they lost all three games. Two of the teams they played have been playing together for some time and this is only the second tournament Matthew's team has played together.

Matthew played well and scored 8 points over 3 games. He played consistently and made his free throws. I think he finally realizes he is going to have to play more aggressively and drive to the goal. When he did that yesterday he was drawing fouls which is just fine.

Game 1 - Lost (3 points)
Game 2 vs B-L Phantoms - Lost 50 - 67 (3 points)
Game 3 vs White Knoll - Lost 57-64 (2 points)

Next tournament is in two weeks here in Spartanburg. By the way, his team is the Spartanburg Bucks.

Here are a few pics from Saturday.

(Before the first game on Saturday with Dave and Trey.)

(After the first game on Saturday..not so happy...)

(At Zaxby's after the first game with David and Trey.)

(All four boys were snoozing on the way back home....)

Fall Out Boy

2009-04-26T20:04:00.003-04:00

Nathan and I had a great time at the Fall Out Boy concert in Charlotte Friday night. There were 3 other good bands to watch. 50 Cent was also there but Nathan was not interested so he ventured out to meet a friend that was also there.

We thought it was odd that 50 Cent was performing at a rock concert.

Fall Out Boy put on a good show. We saw some interesting people there including this one young lady in black tights and a pink and orange tutu. What is up with that? Very odd.

I enjoy hanging out with Nathan and he seems to think I am a "cool Mom." That warms my heart....

Weekend

2009-04-23T22:31:00.003-04:00

Whew! Busy weekend ahead.

Friday Nathan and I are headed to Charlotte to see Fall Out Boy. It is the second time we have seen them. Looking forward to rocking with Nate Daddy.

Matthew plays bball Friday with his new AAU team and again two games Saturday. I am looking forward to road tripping with him and his buddy Trey on Saturday to the hot town of Columbia.

Good luck Mafffoooo. I will miss your first game but looking forward to cheering you on Saturday! Huggers.

My new ride!

2009-04-12T20:41:00.005-04:00

As part of moving forward in life, I got a new ride. Yep, here it is! tee hee

I managed to mow all the lovely weeds and I think the yard turned out pretty nice. : )

I just love this time of year with the dogwoods and azaleas blooming.

More Home Improvements

2009-04-06T15:44:00.004-04:00

Updated the powder room with Shelly's help. She is quite the HGTV guru. We replaced the light, mirror and the towel and tp holders. I painted the darker blue a few weeks ago.

I am saving money to replace the commode. Evidently it is a mismatched colored lid. I can see it now with the darker wall color. I am also thinking of replacing the entire sink cabinet. They are actually fairly reasonably priced at Lowe's.

I will post more of mine and Shelly's HGTV work later.... THANKS SHELLY!!

New "Puppers"

2009-04-05T17:19:00.006-04:00

This was last Saturday when we brought the puppy home from Whittier, NC. It was a long day due to the rain but this little "puppers" is too cute and fitting in nicely. We named her Gracie.

She and Sophie are getting along despite a few bites and growls when they play too hard.

She is learning about "going outside" and "potty." Let's hope she learns potty sooner than later! The boys and Gracie start puppy training this week.

New "Family Member"

2009-03-17T21:30:00.002-04:00

We pick her up on the 28th. She is soooo cute.

Anyone have ideas for names? Gracie, Chloe and Oreo have come up thus far. This was taken two weeks ago. New pic comes tomorrow.

Some fun pics during the snow storm....

2009-03-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

Matthew outside in shorts and his comforter....Nathan texting his friends by candlelight.

Matthew goofing around with camera.....Boys doing the "loser" sign.

Matthew winding up to throw a large snowball at me.

Snow 2009

2009-03-05T21:01:00.009-05:00

Here you go! From the land of sand comes the pics of snow... lol

(Sunday around 6 ish)

(30 minutes later....)

(9 ish....huge flakes really coming down...)

About 30 minutes after I took the picture above our power went out..... :(

(the next morning......so pretty but we were VERY cold)

(Look at the snow on the diving board. By our crude measuring we came up with nearly 10 inches.)

Pretty...but look closer.....

(Just outside the front door. Our neighbor's tree uprooted and fell into our yard.)

(Top of a cypress just cracked and fell onto the edge of the shed causing a slight dent.)

Around 1 a.m. Monday morning both Mom and I woke up just shortly before hearing a CRRRRACK then a THUMP.....this is what I found.

Turns out there were two large pine trees down. Thankfully neither tree hit the fence or anything else for that matter.

I like the snow. It is quite beautiful but I hate being cold and without power. Mom and the boys were troopers through it all. More pics on some of the fun we had later.

Snow and more snow

2009-03-04T22:46:00.003-05:00

We were without power since Sunday night at 9:30. It finally came back on around 5 or 6 this morning. I am not exactly sure what time because we spent the night with friends last night. It was so terribly cold....brrrr!

We got about 10 inches at my house. This is the unofficial number but this is based on how much snow was on the chairs around the pool and on the diving board.

I will post pics tomorrow. It was quite beautiful Sunday and Monday but I am definitely over it.
BRING ON SPRING!

Home Fix It......Part Two

2009-02-22T20:56:00.005-05:00

Here are the "before" and "after" pics of the work done on the porch...finally. I am still not up to par yet after being sick. This "gunk" really packs a punch and likes to linger for a bit.

The contractor also hung flood lights to shine on the basketball court and pool as well as replace some rotten wood on the front porch and around the garage. I really like the work he did. I have little doubt I will find new projects for him to do in the near future. : )

Sickness

2009-02-18T22:26:00.003-05:00

Sorry for not getting the house pics up but we have all been sick the past several days. I was out of work Monday through today. Ugh - this is the sickest I have been in many years. Matthew has been out of school. Thus far Nathan has been immune.

Evidently there is a flu-like virus having fun in our town. Nothing like a sinus infection, chest congestion, sore throat, cough and just being exhausted.

FINALLY on the mend and back to work and school tomorrow.

I will try to get pics posted tomorrow of the house.

The Roof...the Roof......egads!

2009-02-11T22:23:00.006-05:00

A few weekends ago Nathan was cleaning the gutters and stepped down onto the roof of the screened in porch. Well.......he stepped into a very soft spot. Startled him and scared me when he told me. I knew it was getting bad...Ihave put this off for too long.

Thankfully this week I have a fella out to fix the roof and replace some rotten pieces of wood as well as put on new screen. We have had great weather thus far this week so he hopes to be done on Friday...painting too!

It REALLY makes me feel better to get this fixed!!

Here are the before pics. I will post after pics this weekend.

(This door has seen it's day. New door coming with a dog door to boot!)

(Uhm, yeah. Love that hole. I think squirrels have been eyeing it for their new nesting place!)

(See the bumpy shingles? A two foot crumbly spot was underneath it....and yes, this is where Nathan stepped!)

Roof, Basketball...and Conference Calls

2009-02-11T13:35:00.001-05:00

Sorry for lack of posts lately.

LOTS of meetings and conference calls at work.

Basketball was off last week with the tourney starting last night.

And I have workers at the house repairing the roof on my porch along with replacing several pieces of rotten wood.

Lots going on. Will share more tonight along with pics.

Uhm....Gaffney???

2009-01-29T20:38:00.011-05:00

"It has been discovered that Gaffney Middle School basketball player's unusual height is due to the nuclear waste found in the ground water in Gaffney. Studies over the past 10 years have shown a explosion of tall boys in 7th and 8th grade. Doctors and researchers finally found the answer. The photo below is just one example of the large difference in height between Gaffney and other middle school players."

Okay, okay. Yes, this is a joke. And I am sure you can tell by the tenor of this post that Carver lost to Gaffney tonight. Final score was 38-47. We started out strong in the first quarter and were ahead. Second quarter Gaffney put in their first string. It became a full court fouling extravaganza. Geeze...do the refs even KNOW the game of basketball?? This comic truly depicts how these jokers were tonight.

When you can HEAR our players arm get SLAPPED by Gaffney you just know it is a foul. That should be an easy call to make. One ref could hardly walk down the court much less run. You really have to wonder how these guys even become refs.

Yes, our team made mistakes but between FOULS and BAD CALLS it is hard to win. The Wildcats played much better and held Gaffney far better than the first time they were matched up.

Half time score - 22 v 22

End of 3rd Qtr - 33 v 32

Final - 38 - 47

Matthew played and played hard but he was so disappointed after the game....

Carver is 3 and 7 going into the tourney.

Carver v. Granard - Lost 51-61

2009-01-28T22:24:00.006-05:00

Lost to Granard. Wildcats are now 3 and 6.

Matthew played off and on throughout the game and scored 2 points. He played hard and despite the loss he was upbeat afterwards. Granard boys definitely take after Gaffney and eat lots of meat. Those boys are SO TALL! And of course the refs were a bit off..oh well.

(Matthew shooting....)

(Waiting on Granard's free throw)

Their last regular season game is Thursday against Gaffney Middle. Playoff tourney starts two weeks after that.

(Team cheer before the warm up.)

Nathan - The Guitar Dude

2009-01-26T21:36:00.009-05:00

As I mentioned in previous blogs, Nathan has been teaching himself to play the guitar since we got the guitar in August. The past month he has really amazed me with his increased ability and the songs he is learning. I need to start looking for someone who can teach him.

I sat down with him tonight to hear the latest song in his repertoire. Here is a sample. We tease him a little about his voice but that is improving as well.

And of course Sophie was in the audience tonight....

Carver vs. Whitlock - Won 60-29!

2009-01-24T21:08:00.006-05:00

(Showing off the team's new warm up suits!)

Another Win!!!! Beat Whitlock and Matthew scored 8 points! Woot!

Carver is now 3 and 5.

Matthew had a very good game. He played most of 2nd, 3rd and nearly all of 4th quarters. He seemed to get into a groove in 2nd quarter and got comfortable taking shots. He had two beautiful layups and made 4 of 5 free throw shots.

Next week they have two home games - Granard and Gaffney. My Mom is coming to town to cheer him on.

(Taking a free throw...he made both of these shots)

(Final score!!)

(Happy boy after the game!)

First Snow of 2009

2009-01-20T22:11:00.005-05:00

A Blizzard!!! ;)

We got our first snow in SC today. We had maybe an inch or so at our house. Not much - but enough to close schools. Buses do not drive on icy roads here in SC.

I kinda wish we had more snow but it was beautiful nonetheless.

(birdies on the feeders in the backyard)

(in our neighborhood)

Welcome to our 44th President!

2009-01-20T09:15:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Barack Obama!

Welcome to the most challenging job of your life.

I look forward to new things from you. I look forward to changes you will make. I look forward to a renewed hope throughout our country.

Do not let the politics in Washington go on as usual. Make changes. Stand strong.

Good luck in your first 90 days and of course through your first four years in office.

Sincerely,

An American looking forward....

Carver vs. McCracken

2009-01-18T21:14:00.006-05:00

Lost 21-45. Now 2 and 5.

Oh well. Matthew played quite a bit. Most of 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters. He is only one of four 7th graders. When he is on the court the 8th graders do not pass to him...or any 7th grader. Sooooo stupid. These boys do not understand the concept of "team player." Matthew was wide open a dozen times. Coach was even calling out for them to pass to Matthew. grrrr.

McCracken had a huge crowd that was really pumped up. I wish we had more kids show up at our games. Evidently there was something special going on at school that night and it was an unusual showing. It nearly sounded like a high school game. Good for McCracken.

(Matthew during pre-game warm up)

(During 3rd quarter)

Carver vs. Ewing: A win!

2009-01-14T18:22:00.006-05:00

Woot! Another win! 46-40. Now 2 and 4.

Matthew played most of 2nd quarter. He had a nice fast break and went in for a layup and got fouled HARD after his shot so ref called a technical. He made one of two shots. He really should have made the first shot but the silly refs were not in sync and the buzzer was buzzing and kids moving around.

I am beginning to think Junior High School refs are the newbies of the bunch.

Here are some pics from the game.

(Zach, Colby and Matthew - Colby was too cute in his "#1 Fan" t-shirt.)

Updates

2009-01-12T19:17:00.003-05:00

I took Sophie to our regular vet Saturday for a check up. She ended up getting 3 staples put in to close the hole. Doctor numbed her up then pop-pop-pop. Almost like getting her ear's pierced. She is doing great now.

Matthew has two games this week. Tomorrow against Ewing (Gaffney) and Thursday against McCraken. Carver lost to them in previous games but they have improved a good bit so we are hoping for good outcomes this week.

Nathan continues to amaze me with how he teaches himself various songs on the guitar. He is actually learning some of the alternative and rock songs he likes so much. I am really proud of him.

I am still conducting year end reviews for my team at work. They should be all finished this Friday thankfully.

Carver vs. Gaffney Middle

2009-01-08T21:26:00.004-05:00

Lost 32 - 46.

Grrrr......

Bad calls by bad refs and very tall boys make for a bad game. Matthew got some play time in 3rd and 4th quarters. He played hard and had a nice steal and a very nice assist. He has a great attitude especially considering the team is now 1 and 4.

Some pics (albiet blurry) from the game...

Poor Sophers!

2009-01-07T22:18:00.005-05:00

Nathan came home from school today and found Sophie at the gate shaking. Not her normal greeting of jumping and wagging her tail. Once she got inside she went and hid under Matthew's bed. Nathan noticed she had some blood on her shoulder.

Unfortunately I was on a conference call so it was over an hour before I could get home and sure enough she was hiding under Matthew's bed. I could not lure her out - not even with Pupperoni. Nathan and I had to move the bed twice but finally got her out. She whimpered so much when I picked her up.... :(

We took her to the emergency vet. Thankfully no broken bones (was afraid she got hit by a car) but she has a nickle size gash in her shoulder. We are guessing she got out of the fence then when coming back in she got caught on the chain link fence and pulled it. Yuk!

The vet fixed her up pretty quickly but without stiches. It is all open - double yuk!! She has pain meds and antibiotics. $145 and peace of mind.

Nathan was such a trooper. He is not much for blood but he held her gently in the back seat to and from the vet.

She will not let me get near her cut at the moment. I guess I cannot blame her.

Doesn't she look pitiful?

No blogs!!?!?!?

2009-01-07T14:18:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

Sorry gang - no blog updates of late.

I have been busy with year end reviews at work.

Matthew has a basketball game tomorrow against Gaffney so I will keep you posted on that with some new pics as well!

Christmas 2008 Part 2

2008-12-29T19:17:00.007-05:00

Here are some various pics from Christmas Day.

It was sooooo warm here - around 65 degrees with the sun shining! The kids actually ate outside on the screened in porch. We even played some bball!

(Mafffoooo and Sophers)

(Guitar Hero imitation!)

(Matthew going in for the swish in a game of HORSE)

(Matthew and Costa goofing off while opening presents)

(me, my sister Cynthia and my brother Jeff)

(Costa shooting a few with Matthew in HORSE. The girl has some skillz!!)

(Chip Shot declared no more puzzle!)

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T16:10:00.006-05:00

My Mom and sister, Cynthia have been here all week. We have cooked and baked up a storm every day. Thankfully today is a little more low key. I will make Turkey and Dumplings. That seems to be a favorite the day after Christmas. Mmmmmm.

Each year we try to save one of Nathan and Matthew's gifts for the scavenger hunt. Here are a few pics from this year's hunt. They are getting older so we thought we would make the clues a little harder. Thanks Cynthia for help in creating the clues.

(First clue was right in front of them on the desk but they could not see it...they needed some help. You are cold..your are hot..you are red hot!)

(Clue in bird book....amazing. I did not realize I had so many bird books in the house!)

(Clue in Nathan's guitar case...)

(Clue high up on the basketball goal.)

(Yes, even a clue in the Bagel Bites!)

(The presents were in Chip Shot's new sleeping spot...under the plastic grocery bags.)

Nathan got two Xbox games and Matthew got an iPod.

Braces!!!!

2008-12-22T12:33:00.004-05:00

Matthew has been wanting braces for a LONG time. Probably since Nathan got his. The day has finally come. He practically insisted on getting them over the school holidays!

BEFORE

AFTER

He is such a goof ball!

He is doing okay at the moment but we have Tylenol and Ambesol on standby. No doubt Mister Nathan will be dogging him a bit this week.

Game #4 vs. Granard

2008-12-17T20:58:00.007-05:00

Carver 42 - Granard 55

Oh well. Carver is now 1 and 3. I do believe, however, this was their best played game yet. Granard had boys nearly a foot taller than Matthew. These boys are 7th and 8th graders. I am not sure but I am thinking Gaffney has some super vitamins in their water or something.

Matthew had an outstanding game despite the loss. He was brought in late 1st quarter, played all of 2nd and part of 3rd. It was a very aggressively played game with some lousy refs. Matthew played hard and had no fear of the taller boys.

You may not believe me but the team's score throughout the game was pretty good until 4th and then Granard pulled ahead. Well actually....I do have a little proof. It was 23-29 (Granard) in the 3rd quarter then soon thereafter he was taken out for rest of game. I think Matthew should have stayed in! Of course there is NO BIAS here! lol

A little action shot...

Game #3 vs. Whitlock

2008-12-09T21:14:00.005-05:00

Woo hoo! Wildcats beat Whitlock 39-12!! First win of the season.

Matthew's team had a great night. They were definitely a different team compared to the last two weeks of play. Matthew got to play a good bit in 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters and scored two points on free throws. The boy knows how to swish the ball.

He has his bud, Zach, had a great game. Not sure if you could tell by this post game pic! ; )

Games and Government

2008-12-07T13:52:00.003-05:00

Matthew's team did not fair so well on Thursday against McCracken. I did not note the final score as the game was pretty frustrating. I believe it was 23-47. Matthew played only a couple of minutes in the 3rd quarter. I know it was frustrating for him to sit on the bench watching his teammates continue to do terrible passes again and again. Oh well, next week is a new week of games.

Nathan got home from Youth In Government yesterday afternoon. He had a great time meeting new friends and seeing old ones. His Bill, however, did not pass but he enjoyed doing other presentations. Evidently students could choose to stand up when a bill was read to do an argument for or against the bill. Nice to have him home.

Matthew was supposed to go on this same trip but a week before the trip he decided he would rather played in the McCracken game than go to Columbia. Interestingly enough Matthew's Bill was given the Most Outstanding Award. His Bill was to have tougher penalties and fines for parents that do not buckle up their children. Matthew wishes he would have gone now rather than sit on the bench. He is definitely learning. : )

Update

2008-12-04T12:00:00.004-05:00

Matthew's basketball team played Ewing Tuesday night in Gaffney. Lost 35-51. They started out strong in the 1st quarter but the other team simply shot more shots and were off the boards waaaay better than our boys.

Matthew played a little bit of 3rd and 4th quarters. Coach brought him in again to be the 3 point shooter. Matthew has amazing calm on the court. He hit a beautful 3 pointer. SWISH!

Next game is tonight against McCracken on our home court. Matthew is excited to play them as he knows some of these kids from church league the past two years.

Nathan left for Columbia Wednesday afternoon for Youth in Government. He will present a bill he wrote to the Youth Congress. His bill is for allowing kids to use their mp3 players during tests and exams to allow them to focus more on the test. Interesting concept. Music personally helps me focus but not sure that teachers would appreciate their kids tuning it up in class.

Turkey Day Antics

2008-11-28T19:44:00.006-05:00

We drove to my Mom's house in Kingsport, Tenn for Thanksgiving. We ate at my cousin Donna's. We had about 16 people there. Of course yummy food.

Before the eating festivities began the boys were horsing around outside at Mom and Jim's. Here are few pics I took.

(And a nice shot with their Mema before we got on the road home.)

Matthew's First Basketball Games

2008-11-28T19:27:00.007-05:00

The Carver Wildcats had a tournament on Monday and Tuesday this week. Two VERY exciting games!

They lost to DR Hill 27 - 28 Monday.
They lost to Gable 30-28 Tuesday.

Matthew played only a few minutes each game but had a great time and played well. On Tuesday he tied up the game when he swished two free throws. He was so calm as the crowd was stomping their feet and the cheerleaders screamed.

He had a great time despite the losses. The regular season starts up this Tuesday.

There was a bonus on Tuesday. He had extra cheerleaders. My mom along with our friends Heather, Jennifer, Donna, Hayley and Hayley's boyfriend, Jay all came to cheer on Matthew. Hayley used to babysit the boys from when Matthew was just a few months old. It was great to see her.

(Matthew going for the swish!)

(Nathan in between cheers. Yes, he did indeed cheer for his bro!)

(Matthew chatting it up with Heather and Jennifer after the game)

(Nathan, Hayley and Matthew)

(And I got some after game loving from my star basketball player!)

It's a THREE POINTER!!!

2008-11-17T21:05:00.010-05:00

The minutes were ticking by.....8:30...8:35 and no phone call. Poor Matthew went upstairs....crawled into bed...head buried under the covers. I laid down next to him.

I am thinking to myself. 15 boys to make the team. The coach is going to call 15 boys in 30 minutes??? Not likely...but as the time got closer to 8:40 I started to wonder if Matthew was going to make the team. I started to tell him that coaches make mistakes...that we are still proud of him...all the things Moms say when trying to mend their children's hearts.

Then finally at 8:49 the phone rang. Nathan answered the phone. I took it from him....it was the coach. Matthew sprang from the covers with tears in his eyes. He hesitated at first to talk to the coach because he was crying. He took the phone and the coach told him

YOU MADE THE TEAM!

All Matthew could say was thank you and thank you....

Matthew has literally been dreaming of playing for Carver for three years. He practices every day and lately has even been practicing with his friends and adults at the YMCA. This means SO much to him.

Here are some HAPPY DANCE pics and a short vid to show you how excited he was.

(Right after hanging up the phone...)

(Calling Mema and telling her the good news....)

(And of course, the HAPPY DANCE!!)

Waiting for the call.....

2008-11-17T18:43:00.002-05:00

Matthew just got home from practice. If he made the team the Coach will call him tonight between 8 and 8:30.

He is pretty calm about it....I am watching the minutes tick by....

Basketball

2008-11-17T16:01:00.002-05:00

Matthew made the first cut for the Junior High basketball team. I believe there were 40 kids in total during tryouts and they narrowed it down on Friday to 30 (I think). He is at tryouts as I write this. I am hoping and praying he makes it. He should....my mother status aside...the boy has some skills.

We should know sometime this week if he made the final cut. 18 boys will suit up.

Keep your fingers crossed for him!!!

He's Baaaaaack!!!

2008-11-13T19:04:00.008-05:00

Nathan had a blast in the Big Apple! My sister, Cynthia, was able to join him and the rest of the band for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday.

Cynthia found a good spot on the parade route and got some nice pics. HUGS to Aunt Cynthia for taking awesome pics as usual!!

Here is my personal favorite and here is the link to all the pics she took. http://flickr.com/photos/cyntata2672/sets/72157608902404615/

I snapped this right after Nathan got off the bus yesterday. They left NYC around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night and rode all night. Poor guy said he woke up every few hours due to strange dreams. I think he actually looked pretty fresh after a 12 hour bus ride. Perhaps he was just happy to be home.

New York City

2008-11-10T21:18:00.004-05:00

Nathan is having a good time. I think he got a little bored on the bus tour this morning. (I do not blame him after a 12 hour bus ride yesterday!) He sent me two pics he took today via his cell phone.

First one is him in front of the NBC Peacock sign at lunch today.

This was taken tonight from atop the Empire State Building.

Happy Monday

2008-11-10T12:38:00.003-05:00

Nathan is in New York City with the Spartanburg High School Band. They are marching in the Veteran's Day Parade tomorrow. He is VERY excited. They left on chartered buses late Saturday night and arrived noonish Sunday. They saw "The Lion King" and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. I have not received confirmation that it occurred but my sister was due to meet them for dinner. I hope I can find an online video of the parade tomorrow. Have fun Nathan!

Basketball tryouts start today for Matthew. He was like at kid on Christmas morning on the way to school. He said "lots of kids" are supposed to tryout. The team will be comprised of both 7th and 8th graders. I cannot wait to hear all about it. Good luck Matthew!!

Round Two...Ding!

2008-11-09T20:20:00.007-05:00

Round two of trying to fix the ceiling appears to have a KO. (That's a knock out for you non boxing fans.)

I called two "professionals" this week. One declined and the other never called me back. I guess they are not interested in small jobs. So Friday I ventured once again to Lowe's and picked up more of the spray "popcorn" ceiling stuff and more paint. I think it has worked!! I look forward to seeing it tomorrow when it has completely dried.

It actually was not too bad. Step 1 - Spray Kilz Step 2 - Spray popcorn (3 cans) Step 3 - Roll paint

Thank you, Matthew, for being my big helper!

Before...

During...

After (Still drying....)

Have you voted?

2008-11-04T13:49:00.002-05:00

I hope you voted. Please exercise your right to vote.

I voted this morning. Took me about 90 minutes. Lots of people at my polling place.....all ages and races.

My sister lives in New York City and last I heard she had been in line for nearly two hours. Only one voting booth there. Amazing! Only one in her district in NYC. Wow! I surely hope voters do not get frustrated by the lines today.

Please go vote. No matter who you vote for...just vote. Make your opinion heard.

Home Fix It......

2008-11-02T14:50:00.012-05:00

In the Spring of this year a pipe broke in the boys bathroom upstairs. When I came home from work that evening the water had flooded their bathroom and created a nice big stain on the kitchen ceiling. I have not been motivated to fix it until now.

So yesterday I went to Lowe's and got spray Kilz and spray popcorn. (Yes, the ceiling is that old yucky popcorn.) The Kilz worked pretty well but this morning it was still yellowish. So off to Lowe's I go again for ceiling paint as I really did not want to use the popcorn on such a large space.

Well, the painting started well but then I hit the spot where the water had saturated quite a bit. The popcorn just started coming down and down and down. UGH! The bad stuff is now all scraped away and I will be calling a "professional."

Kilz, paint and special rolling brush - $35

Hiring a professional - Pricey

Doesn't this almost look like an eagle with it's wings spread???

Football Post Script

2008-10-28T08:35:00.003-04:00

So here is the season wrap up:

Newberry: Lost 6-20
Mabry: Won 12-6
McCracken: Won 20-0
Mabry: Won 44-0
McCracken: Won 14-8

4 and 1. Not too bad. A shame Whitlock had to bow out for two games because they did not have enough players for a 7th grade team.

Grats Matthew for finishing your first football season!! /hug /cheer

Last football game

2008-10-27T21:42:00.007-04:00

Matthew's last football game was supposed to be last week but it was postponed to today. They were expecting a bad storm on Friday night so they moved the high school game to Thursday thus pulling our refs to the high school game.

Soooooo...with that said we were supposed to start today ast 5 p.m. but no refs showed up. The coaches waited until 5:30 and decided to go ahead and play the game with one coach from each team acting as refs.

It was brrrr cold for good ole South Carolina this time of year. Poor Matthew was freezing on the sideline and only got in for two plays the whole game. I asked him afterwards if he was disappointed...he said no. He was happy to stay on the sidelines because of how cold it was. He said it was hard to warm up and run full speed. Oh well. I hate that he played so little his last game. I think he is happy for it to be over and for basketball to start.

In the end Carver beat McCracken 14-8.

This is Matthew in a flash after the game. He was running to the bus to get warm. :)

Is he REALLY that tall??

2008-10-18T11:43:00.005-04:00

After Matthew's football game I took a couple of pics of Nathan then we got one of us together. I knew Nathan was "officially" taller than me but I simply cannot believe he is THIS much taller. Oh my! He is like a weed!! His hope is to be atleast at tall as his Papa...my father. He was 6 ft 4.

I know what it is. I was slouching. Can we get a re-take please?

And despite their ages right now they really DO get along! : )

Apples

2008-10-18T11:21:00.009-04:00

Via Shelly's list of blogs she follows I found a blogger that is pregnant with her second child and has developed a love for Honeycrisp apples. I have enjoyed checking in on this blog from time to time as she is a fantastic photographer and writes great blogs. Over the past month or so I have seen her passion for Honeycrisp apples. I had never heard of them. I am a Gala fan myself....until now.

Last weekend at Bi-Lo I saw they had these lovely red and yellow fruits. I am officially a convert. If you have not tried them...go to a farmer's market or to your local store TODAY and get some. They are crisp and a little sweet. I like to slice them up and put peanut butter on them. My Mom eats them that way.

Mhmmm. Yummy stuff. : )

P.S. I hope my fellow blogger does not mind but I added her to the blogs I follow.

44-0!!

2008-10-16T19:56:00.009-04:00

The score says it all....well not quite all...

Matthew played a little bit of 2nd quarter and pretty much all of 3rd and 4th.

And.....drum roll please.....

HE SCORED HIS FIRST TOUCHDOWN!!
It was so pretty! He told me later that he wanted to do a little victory dance but realized he should be humble. That put the score at 44-0! It was awesome to see his teammates high five him!! He was soooooooo happy!

This was taken at halftime. Perhaps this was a hint of things to come... : )

After the game the team huddles up and chants. They were a stoked group of boys.

And finally, this was him doing the LOL sign! He was SOOOO PUMPED after the game. The coaches were all very supportive of him. Perhaps he needed a little taste of success in football to keep him coming back. So maybe next year....

Cannot lift my arms....

2008-10-14T21:03:00.003-04:00

Between traveling, new job and the boys schedules I have not worked out very much the past three months. 7 lbs proves it! : ( So last week I got back into it. Cardio - Check. Light weights - Check.

Tonight I worked out with my friend, Clyde, who owns the gym I go to. He spent 30 minutes with me and I can FEEL IT! UGH. I bet you money I cannot lift my arms well enough to wash my hair in the morning. I could already feel it when I took a shower tonight.

It hurts but it is a good feeling. Nice to be pushed a bit in my workouts....quite frankly...Clyde barely pushed...he just nudged and I already feel this way. Bad Judy for missing all those workouts!

I will be back at it tomorrow!!

Update

2008-10-14T08:31:00.006-04:00

Work and home have been busy so sorry for the lack of updates.

Matthew has a football game this Thursday against Mabry. They beat Mabry 12-6 at the last meeting so we look forward to another win this week. Matthew is still not so thrilled with football but is seeing the season to the end. Their last game is next week.

Nathan has had band competitions the past several Saturdays. No first place yet but hopefully before the season is over. Homecoming is this Friday for Spartan High and he has been working hard on the music. I promise to get a pic of him soon in his uniform. He has this precious girlfriend and I promise to get a pic of them soon as well.

The pool is officially closed for the winter. The leaves are already starting to accumulate on the pool cover. Fall is upon us. I will miss the warm weather but it is nice to to see the color change in the trees.

Work is going very well. I am meeting all of my team members and just getting myself acclimated. I hope to move to my new office in the next few weeks. I will actually have a door!! Looks like I will be heading to New Jersey in early December to meet some new customers. It should be a short trip.

Oh my beautiful orchid

2008-10-07T08:50:00.008-04:00

Over four years ago my dear friend Shelly and I bought two orchids at a grocery store of all places. They bloomed beautifully that first year. When Shelly moved to Washington she gave me hers to take care of. I got mine to bloom a second time...a feat as I had never done that before. Unfortunately it has withered away.

Over the past four years I have not gotten Shelly's to re bloom until NOW. I honestly thought it was going to wither and die like mine but lo and behold in early August it sprouted a new stalk with cute little buds. I think my very nice window at work provided the best environment.

I started taking pictures of it every few days to chronicle it's growth. Every day we marveled at it's new growth. Thanks to Desmond for taking pics while I was in Australia.

I thought you would like to see at least part of the beautiful transformation. I hope the blooms last for the next month.

Aren't the blooms incredible??

Grrrr....Gadget.....

2008-10-01T13:49:00.002-04:00

Grrr...not the hard drive but the mother board. Another pc down the tubes.

Friend at work says the bonus room may be too hot and that is why I have literally fried so many hard drives. Yowza. He gave me this cool little software download to check the cpu temp. I am setting that up tonight.

Bugger. Looks like I will be laptop shopping sometime in the future. Not sure I can do another Dell at this point. Sorry Dell.

New Gadgets and Stuff

2008-09-30T22:28:00.005-04:00

My work Blackberry died so I got a nice new Blackberry Curve. Smaller, lighter weight (a bonus!) but learning to use the little track ball. All around a nice thing.

Now for not such a nice thing. My laptop hard drive died. :( Just ordered a new one. Thankfully they are relatively cheap now. I love Dell. Have five of them in the house. Unfortunately I think this is now the 8th hard drive I have gone through. I am beginning to wonder if Dell has no clue about hard drives or perhaps I burn them up???? Maybe I should not love Dell so much....

UGH! Geeze. I could install Windows XP in my sleep at this point I have done it so many times.

Oh! My mother has finally come into this century and is officially OFF the dial up and ON to high speed cable modem. Woo hoo! She even went so far and is getting cable telephone. Go Mama!!

Sophers!!!

2008-09-27T21:42:00.003-04:00

Sophie went to vet Friday for teeth cleaning. I have been negligent in getting that done sooner. She was sooooo SAD when I dropped her off. As the vet tech took her from me Sophie was looking over her shoulder with these pleading eyes. For those of you unfamiliar with canine teeth cleaning they put the dog to sleep. I picked her up at the end of the day and she was still out of it. They had to pull a tooth and poor thing has gingivitis. The things we do for our pets. She is pratically like a child to me.

I love how Nathan holds her like this.

Football Season

2008-09-27T21:35:00.003-04:00

Matthew's team won this week 12-6. He played third and fourth quarters but did not touch the ball. He also went forearm to opposing team's helmet and ended up with quite the bump. OUCHIE! Not sure he is having a good enough time to play football again. It is quite discouraging because he really seems to be picking it up and understanding the rules but coaching and encouragement is lacking. The QB never even looks at him and he is wide open. These are from this week's game. Thus far team is 1 and 1.

Basketball will most likely start up in November I believe and he is REALLY looking forward to that.

Blog Outage!!

2008-09-25T12:43:00.002-04:00

Sorry that I have not posted anything since last week. The jet lag was terrible and now my new job is keeping me pretty busy.

I will get back into the swing of things this weekend.

Matthew has his 2nd football game today so I hope to take pics if the weather cooperates. His team lost their first game 20-6 last week. : (

Nathan is full on into band and still enjoying himself.

They are both preparing for a Youth In Government conference in Columbia. They write Bills to be reviewed by the Youth Congress. Nathan did 2 years ago and had a blast.

More posts soon.

I am home!!!

2008-09-18T14:13:00.004-04:00

Two hour delay in Melbourne due to power outage, 50 kids from a performing company, two crying babies, 3 flights and 29 hours of traveling and I am home!

Since being home I have had about 8 hours sleep. Can anyone say 'running on fumes?' Please get my body clock back in sync.

Thankful to be home and thankful to see my family. Not thankful to come home to $4.00+ for gas, two failed financial firms and the wake of hurricane Ike. Ugh!

Interesting things I noticed in Australia

2008-09-15T04:11:00.006-04:00

As you well know other countries are different from the US in regards to their culture and simply their every day life. I have been surprised by several things during my stay here. here are a few observations and I hope some of them make you laugh or intrigue you:

They show naked backsides (men and women!) on the evening news. And not the 11 p.m. edition but the dinner time edition.

Bongs are sold right next to children's toy stores. I have no idea if pot is legal here but this one store was dedicated to smoking. Pipes, rolling papers and bongs in the window. It was next door to a 'Hello Kitty' market.

Not everyone says 'G'Day Mate'. However, they do say 'No worries' alot.

I passed an Asian restaurant and it smelled of dead skunk. I am NOT kidding. I stopped quickly to look at menu but it was all in another language. Skunk HAD to be on there.

Tipping for meals is not necessary and in some places frowned upon. They evidently make a decent wage. Unforunately, I noticed this impacts service a bit. (I don't think I would tip for the skunk....)
There are no pennies in the Australian currency. They round down or up your total to the next 5 cents. There is a line on the receipts labeled 'rounding'.
In Syndey, they pay construction workers $50k (AUS) per year and they have homeless people turning the jobs down because they make more on unemployment.
Politicians are called 'polies' and they refer to Bill Clinton as Bubba Clinton. Evidently they don't ALWAYS refer to him this way but this one news show must have said it 10 times in 30 minutes. I did not realize he was so popular here.
'Gas Bagging' is chit chatting or gabbbing. I love that phrase!
And finally, 'sledgeing' (not sure if I got the spelling right) is the same as trash talking. There is plenty of that in the footy and rugby games here...and I know Matthew ended up with a broken thumb after some sledgeing this summer!

Bye Melbourne. I have enjoyed it but I am ready to get home to South Kakilacky! : )