The Holidays Have Arrived!

Patrick and Susan's Wedding- December 6th, 2009

Brrr... It's cold! Donna and Keith get warm before the wedding...

Work Holiday Party - December 3rd, 2009

We've started off the holiday season with a bang! My work party was this past Thursday night, and we braved the cold and light rain to get our tree Friday night after work. Saturday, we ventured to Greensboro for dinner and "A Christmas Carol" at the High Point Theater with our friends, Noel and Britta. (The production was amazing- it's put on by the North Carolina Shakespeare Theater yearly.) Sunday, we braved the cold once again for a beautiful outdoor wedding in Smithfield at the Rosefield Plantation. (Luckily, the reception was indoors!) We decorated our tree last night, and spent time before bed relaxing on the couch by the light of the tree.

Yard Conquered!

This machine is amazing....

We can't believe that December is just around the corner.... We spent the majority of today bagging up all of the leaves in our yard. We have lots of old trees, and the project is usually completed over the course of several days. Thankfully, our wonderful neighbors (Heather and Tom) allowed us to borrow their "leaf destroyer," and we were able to crush the job in four hours, record time!



We have the opportunity for two pre-Thanksgiving dinners this weekend. I had one this evening with several girlfriends, and tomorrow night, we'll have our annual friends' dinner, which is always fun.

November News

Avon Walk Charlotte- Cheering on walkers at mile 26

Captain Cleavage in the flesh- Don't you love his new costume?

Mom and I displaying our new flashy team sign

Keith's Halloween scary look

My ghoulish side

Yes, I have not been very diligent with my postings over the past few months. An early New Year's resolution of mine is to get back in the swing of posting at least once a week....

October was filled with lots of fun for us. My parents were here for a visit during the middle of the month, and we visited the State Fair, went to see West Side Story, and ate lots of delicious delights both at the fair at at our place. (No fried Ho Ho's or chocolate-covered bacon though... We just couldn't do it!)

We also volunteered for the annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Charlotte. We have served lunch to the walkers and crew for the past five years, and it's an amazing experience that we always look forward to.

Painting the upstairs bedroom- We didn't expect this much of a purple hue, but it's more greyish/blue with the second coat.

Keith has borrowed a guitar from our neighbor Tom and is working on teaching himself to play!

Stacey and Keith toasting this year's Oktoberfest


This fall has been an especially busy one for us. Over the past month, we've had a lot going on! Here are a few of the highlights...

1) Keith went diving with Dan and Stacey at a quarry in Rolesville. This was his first time diving in five years, and he's officially hooked again.

2) We went to the annual Oktoberfest at a local church. Not as much dancing this year, but our crew expanded to fill four tables full.

3) Keith and I joined friends for the U2 show at Carter-Finley stadium. This was my third time seeing them, and they did not disappoint!

4) Keith's still hard at work finishing the upstairs. Tentative move-in date is Thanksgiving...

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....