Back to School...

Keith had his first week of teacher workdays in preparation for the start of school next Tuesday. He'll be teaching two sections of English IV this semester, along with managing the online learning lab for one period a day. He has a male student teacher from NCSU who will be joining him as well this semester. (Another MALE English teacher! )

He'll be spending all day tomorrow putting the first coat of real, colored paint on the walls upstairs. We'll post photos as soon as we can.

I'll be spending the weekend relaxing for the most part. (Before you give me a hard time, remember that Keith has such high standards of work performance that I am not allowed to work on the house. I just provide food, snacks, and refreshments as needed.)

We're going to try and catch up with our neighbors at some point, and our friend Stacey is coming for dinner Saturday night. My friend Kerry has free tickets to the OAR concert Sunday night, so a few of us will be heading out for that too.

Summer Beach Time and House Updates

11th Annual Girls' Beach Trip

As per tradition, seven of my girlfriends and I made the trek to Atlantic Beach for weekend of sun and fun. Most of us are friends from NCSU days, but we have one lovely lady who has joined our tradition within the past five years. A good time was had by all, and we're already looking forward to year twelve, can't you tell?

With the start of school fast-approaching, Keith has been hard at work trying to finish up the projects here at the house. He's had to postpone the final outdoor painting pieces because of all of the rain we've had here. He has been spending most of that time upstairs working to get things finished. (We now have running water in both sinks, a functioning toilet, and shower!)

He did head to Charlotte this past weekend for a weekend away with friends Dan and Stacy. They have been talking about a diving trip for a while and finally made it a reality. There are already more dives planned for September I'm told....

House Painting Update

The first time our shutters have been on in two years- YEAH!

The man at work- note his sun protection- Panama Jack style!

This gives you an idea of the color difference....

Keith has been working tirelessly to finish the house painting. At this point, all he has left are the upper peaks and the dormers. Everything looks fabulous, as you can see! Once this is done, it's on to the upstairs....

Home Improvements Start Back...

Close up view

And now you can see how high up he really is...

So summer is officially here, which means that the project master is at work once again. This week, he finished caulking the house, power-washed the whole place, and is now painting BY HAND. Yes folks, my husband is crazy, but I love him for it.

Thankfully, our neighbors across the street work from home, and their office windows face the house. They have promised to "keep watch" during this project and anything else that ensues...

This project will be finished next week. Up next- finishing the upstairs!

Summer Punch Party

Stacey, Me, Alicia, Elaine, and Erica catching up

Impressive set up by our buddy Dan

Keith and I have a busy few weeks. He's been closing out the school year, and I've had lots of work projects going on. We hosted our annual Summer Punch Party yesterday, which is always lots of fun. We had sixty guests in attendance this year, and everyone enjoyed our homemade BBQ, the delicious contributions from our guests, our buddy Dan's homebrew, and the usual SoCo punch. Dan outdid himself this year, providing SIX varieties of brew for everyone.

Doughman Challenge

A few weeks ago, Keith and I read about "The Doughman Challenge" in the Raleigh paper and decided to volunteer for the event which took place Saturday in downtown Durham. The deal is that a four-person relay team eats various delicious foods, then has to run, swim, and/or bike a leg of the relay without "losing" anything. Crazy, huh? (especially considering that the first person had to down mac and cheese with blue crab and a fried egg before a 2 mile run and short swim...)

Go to http://www.newsobserver.com and look for the story. Proceeds from the event benefit Seeds, which is a program that teaches Durham youth how to grow their own sustainable gardens, which they then sell at the Farmers' Market.

Keith with Bruce???

We check out "Bruce in the USA" every time they are nearby. What a fantastic show.... It's the next best thing to the Boss. They played a local club in Raleigh tonight, and we had to take in the spectacle. Now, off to bed!