The Cup

We can add to our list of things we have now done (and will do again!)....The Carolina Cup! We got up early this morning and finished packing the car with tables, tents, chairs, coolers, etc. and headed down to Camden for the annual steeplechase event.

When we first got there it was warm and windy, but Ron and I headed straight to College Park and the Vineyard Vines tent. I was hoping for a tee-shirt, which I didn't get, but we did get a whale hat and key chains. Next year, I know to get over there earlier. And, we stopped by the Lilly Pulitzer table where they were giving away cute little photo albums. We got back to our spot, set up shop and then walked over to Elizabeth's where she, Brett, Brian, and Heather were based. We were waiting on Paula, Peggy, Leslie and Meredith --- who got there as the races were starting due to traffic. Over the next few hours though we saw a LOT of people, and a few horses!

The weather deteriorated as the day went on into windy and COLD. I was freezing in my sundress. After a couple of races I decided to walk back over to College Park where some of the Phi Mu's were tailgating. I went in between races while the gates were open and no sooner than I got there did the bottom fall out of the sky. It poured! I happened to find one of the girls and I stayed under the tent she was at for a while, before trying to head back --- only to find the gates were closed as a race was about to start. A very nice guy shared his umbrella while we waited and by the time I got back to our car it had all but stopped raining. Just my luck, I guess! Of course, almost everyone had packed up and traffic was a nightmare, so Ron, Paula, Leslie and I sat in the car with the heat on while it cleared out.

We saw some funny, absurd and interesting sites at the Cup. It was a people watcher's dream!

Despite the weather, it was a really fun time with friends and I think we are all looking forward to next year....with warmer weather.

me and Rhe

my Vineyard Vines whale hat!

Ron FINALLY let me get him a birthday/Christmas/Valentine's gift --- a tent!

after the rain...Paula, me and Leslie

Indian Culture

Last night Ron and I joined some friends from Jaycees for "A Night in India". We ate some yummy Indian food (which neither of us had ever tried before) and then viewed a slide show about India and learned all about the country from Singe (I think that is spelled correctly)and her family, a friend of Sheila's who moved to the US a few years ago. At most points we had no idea what exactly we were eating, but the "chicken 65" was really good and the dessert -- a flowery flavored sorbet -- was great!

It was definitely something different and we learned a lot, too. Singe is from the southern part of India and she was able to share many of the customs, historical facts and ways of life. I was most interested to learn that she and her family are all Christians and not Hindu or Buddhist....that really surprised us all. She and her husband, Jobe, were married in an arranged marriage (she met him only a month or so before the wedding), yet she told of how her sister wanted to marry a man who was not "chosen" for her. The father sent the man off to complete "tasks" before he would allow the marriage. One of those was that he must convert from Hinduism to Christianity. The man met all of their father's requirements over time and is now married to her sister. It was all very interesting and the family was very sweet. I would love to visit India someday and see, in person, the sights we viewed on the screen.

The Bunco Cup!

In keeping with the upcoming Carolina Cup, our monthly Bunco theme was aptly dubbed the "Bunco Cup". We dressed up and wore our hats and thoroughly enjoyed Stephanie's great hostessing....she went all out with decorations, "tickets" (even having Rick and Ron direct parking and collect $$/give out tickets), dressing up poor Rosemary like a jockey and cup-themed foods. Best of all was "THE punch", courtesy of Rick's mom!

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We Got Our Glasses....Again

If you remember back at Christmas, we were all excited about getting the Flying Saucer Christmas '07 glasses, well, last night was St. Patrick's Day glass-nite. After the Jaycees membership social at Wild Wings about 15 of us headed over to Flying Saucer to get glasses...and we almost literally got the very last ones they had! (They always go on sale at 7 and they were sold out by 8 last night.) These are really cool, too, just like the Christmas glasses. And, no, we don't use them...these are totally for collecting at our house.

Elizabeth and I show off our glasses!

We even wear our sunglasses at night! Haha! Rhea, Ben and I just all happened to still have them on us and thought this would make a great picture!

This is too funny because Ron and Brett were actually talking to each other....they were inputing their numbers into contacts....

PJ Party Bunco!

It has been such a busy week that I am just now getting to blog about our second Bunco for our newly named Bunco Babes' group on Tuesday night.

Anaya hostessed at her house and chose a pj party theme. It was lots of fun to go out and get new jammies just for this and then hang out with a bunch of my favorite girls to play Bunco. As usual, we had a GREAT time! I am already ready for next month's Bunco CUP themed night (in honor of the Carolina Cup that following Saturday...which I am also VERY ready for!)

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Baubles and Bubbles 2008

Last night was Junior Woman's Club's annual fundraiser event, Baubles and Bubbles, for Palmetto Place shelter. It was a terrific and fun night in spite of the pouring rain!

We had great food, some wonderful silent auction baskets and a diamond drop (someone did win, but, nope, it wasn't me....I walked away with two nice CZ's though). We had live music and lots of girl time. I was fortunate to have JWC, Phi Mu, Jaycees, ViA, Bunco, GNO and school friends there to share the evening with....we had a blast! Although the event was fun, the best part is that we raised some much needed funds for the shelter. And, that is what it truly is all about.

Ron was there helping out, as was our friend Dennis....Ron enjoyed getting to meet many of my friends that he hadn't previously met.

I can't wait for next year!!

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Mardi Gras!

Today is "fat Tuesday". Our friends, Leslie and Dennis invited us to join them at their church's Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and talent show. The food was great, the entertainment was fun and, as always, it was great to see them! We very much enjoyed ourselves as we celebrated Mardi Gras and the start of the Lent season.

The boys get into the spirit!

Our friends -- Dennis and Leslie

During the talent show they invited all of the kids onto stage for a "kazoo band", Ben absolutely wanted to participate and he did! He is third from the right....

Happy MARDI GRAS!!!

New Blog Links, Welcome!

I have added two new links (well, one has been there for a couple of weeks and I kept forgetting to do this...) to my "people we know" sidebar.

Welcome to Jamie's Blog! Jamie is a friend from Junior Woman's Club, GNO and Bunco! I love, and know you will, too, love reading about her and her husband and their adorable dog, Bella!

Welcome to Wendy's Blog! Wendy and I go WAY back! We taught together last year at Boiling Springs Elementary and we were "life lines" for each other. Then, this year I bailed and left her with our grant and a Charleston trip to plan on her own. Luckily, she still loves me! Her blog is new, but you'll love reading about life as a teacher with a husband and her three beautiful kids!

Enjoy!

Seeing the Girls!

Several weeks ago some friends that I taught with last year and I set up a girl's date to meet for lunch at Fatz in Clinton (it is about the same distance for all of us). It seemed like it was WAY off when we scheduled, but it got here today --- really quickly!

As it turned out I had a job fair interview with a school district pop up for this morning and then I drove Ron's car (see next post!) to meet them. It was so good to see Suzy, Wendy and Nancy and catch up on everything going on with them and at my old school. I think we all agreed that we need to do this more often!

Suzy and Wendy

with Nancy....

....with Suzy

....and, with Wendy....I MISS teaching with these ladies!

Bunco and a Busy Week

This week has been so crazy that I am just now getting around to blogging about it! After spending Monday with a cold, Tuesday night was our first Bunco. I hostessed with a "New Year's" theme. It was a lot of fun...as we packed 15 ladies into the apartment to socialize and play! :) Most of us were new to the game so we learned a lot and got to know each other.

Sheila, Stephanie, Jamie and Leslie enjoy the "high" table

The whole Bunco group....all 15 of us!

Clay received his guitar this week (he's been saving his Eagle Scout money for year) and I have heard him play "Smoke on the Water" and "Paint it Black" about..oh, a million times! :) But, its great -- he has guitar practice two days a week after school and he LOVES it! Ben has been building some HUGE Lego world for days -- he says it is his "project". So they have kept busy, too.

Last night some friends invited Ron and I to join them at the Capital City Club after work and then when we got home, we all were in bed by 9:00 because we were so tired! Tonight I have two meetings after school and then, finally...FRIDAY!! It is going to be a busy weekend -- I have an interview with a school district on Saturday, meeting some friends from Boiling Springs for lunch, Scout Sunday at the church sponsoring Clay's scout troop and then we're supposed to meet some friends to watch the Super Bowl. But, as for tomorrow night, I'm planning to curl up with Maggie on the couch and read a book. I can't wait! (I need the rest for next week which is even busier than this one was!)

Out With Friends

Tonight Ron and I met downtown and joined some friends at M Cafe for a wonderful dinner and then Town Theatre to see the play "Dearly Departed". I had sushi and Ron had Mongolian Beef, both of which were excellent! Of everyone at dinner, Ron had only met Dennis and Leslie. I knew Christy (from the other couple that was there) but had never met her husband. As we were waiting on dinner to arrive Ron and Michael, Christy's husband, are talking and come to realize that they had a phone conversation two weeks ago.....Michael is sales rep for a copier company and with Ron being in IT puchasing, they had a business call. Too small of world! :)

After dinner we headed to the theatre where we met up with Stephanie and Rick, Elizabeth and Neil and Christina for a wonderfully funny play. The premise is that "Bud" has a stroke at the kitchen table and his family is left to conduct a wake and funeral for him in spite of their own personal problems and issues. It was hilarious! Ron summed it up best, "I'm glad I'll be dead at my funeral."

It was a great, fun night and we look forward to doing this again soon!

Congratulations!!!

I want to wish a HUGE congratulations to one of my "great" little Phi Mu sisters, Sarah, and her husband on the addition of Austin Gabriel to their family on Friday!

He is absolutely adorable and is one lucky little guy to have Sarah as his mom (and he's lucky to have all these wonderful Phi Mu aunts, too)! I can't wait to meet him!

The End of the "Social Season"

Last night was our last "official" holiday parties! I picked Ron up from work and we headed over to Palmetto Health Foundation's office for the Christmas social. It was nice to see Nan, Paula, Leslie and Dennis while enjoying some yum-i-licious crab cakes and hors d'ourves. Afterwards we headed to Flying Saucer to grab a table early for our dinner-date with Stephanie and Rick.

It was "glass" night and we were determined to get a "Santa Glass" as soon as they started at 7! We ordered one, but actually got 2 from "waitress who didn't listen" (kind of like "he who can't be named" from Harry Potter but in a German get-up and less evil, unless you count "accidently" bringing things not ordered and charging for them....)

Stephanie and I opened our gifts -- we gave her a Vera Bradley wristlet in Mod Blue Floral and I got a set of AWESOME multi-color glass bracelets from one of my favorite stores, Handpicked.... I love them! (If you look real close in the first picture of me and Steph, you can see them!) It was a fun way to end the "social season"! (BTW --- hope you guys have a safe and fun trip to TN! See you next week!)


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JWC Christmas Party

The first Christmas Party of the season was the Junior Woman's Club party on Thursday night. It was a lot of fun, with some terrific food, and it was nice for Ron to finally meet the folks he hears about and I actually met quite a few other women from the club.

And, of course, it was even more fun to hang out with our friends, Stephanie and Rick!

All of the appetizers were yummy.....I tried a new recipe which was so super easy and it turned out pretty good (cheese cubes, chiles and salsa heated together for a dip and scoops). My favorites were Michelle's sausage balls, Stephanie's fat-free brownies and the pimento cheese and bread from DiPrato's!

Unfortunately our "turtle dove" stockings didn't win, but we still enjoyed a great time!

Me and Stephanie

Me and Elizabeth

Making Stockings

My friend Stephanie met me at the school this afternoon to work on our Christmas stockings for tomorrow night's JWC party. Stephanie came up with a great idea to make "two turtle doves" and came with feathers and googly eyes. We had a wonderful time talking, laughing and hanging out while we made our stockings....we were very proud of how they came out!

HalloWonka 2 - Preview Party

Tonight I took Ben and his friend, Cullen, to HalloWonka at EdVenture. (Cullen's mom, Vicky, met us there.) The boys played games, got candy, ate, played and had a terrific time. Clay was volunteering and so we didn't see very much of him.

The food was awesome --- Ben and Jerry ice cream bars, fried pickles, Chick-fil-A, wings, meatballs, mini corn dogs and more......And, there were all the "friends" there ---- Cocky, the Chick-fil-A cow, the Palmetto Pride Lion, and the Publix Dragon.
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This was our first year attending and it was so much fun! We even won two "golden tickets"...one was a $40 gift certificate to Italian Pie and the other a much-needed manicure!

Fun Afternoon

I just wanted to say what a fun afternoon I had today. My friend Stephanie e-mailed and asked if I'd like to get together and we decided to meet at Barnes and Noble. It was so nice to sit, chat and relax with a girlfriend on a Thursday afternoon over mocha and scones!

Thanks, Stephanie! I had a great time and I'm looking forward to our next "girl's only".

Kristie!

Our friend Kristie is working on her MLIS (Library Science Masters) degree and she has to come down to USC for class every now and then. This was one of those weekends, so she came early, on Friday night, to visit with us. She got here a little after 5 and we headed dowtown with Ben (Clay was going to the Northeast game) to meet Ron for dinner at Flying Saucer, a great German-food place in the Vista.

Me, Ron and Kristie

Serious.....


....and silly :)

We had a great time catching up with Kristie since we haven't seen her since we moved. We're looking forward to next month when she comes back for the whole weekend and brings her son, Levi, one of Clay's best friends.

I have no idea what Ron was doing!

Keeping Ben entertained with my camera.

Tailgating and Gamecock Football

First game of the season! We left home about noon yesterday and headed to Yesterdays for lunch. After lunch we decided to go on to the fairgrounds and try for parking. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes until the gates opened, but we secured a great spot. Meanwhile, our friends, Mike and Leigh were on the phone with us and we waited for them to pull into a spot and then spent the rest of the afternoon tailgating and catching up with them. We had a blast!

Going looking for Mike and Leigh.

We found them! And, had a blast tailgating together....can't wait for next time!

Ben enjoyed some tailgating snacks and then made his own place in the back of Mike's SUV to play his gameboy.

Ben and I walked over to the Gamecock Village where he tried some football practice with his "throwing arm".

Finally about 5:30, we headed towards the Biscuit House where one of Ron's vendors was hosting a tailgate.

Mike and Ben watched a game ( Ga. Tech, I think) on the bigscreen at the Iron Mtn. tailgate area.

And the band played the fight song for us after they ate dinner.

We hung out there for an hour or so before Mike and Leigh headed off to the game and we started looking for tickets. That was interesting.....we thought we'd never find 3 tickets together. Finally, right as "2001" came on and right as we were ready to give up, the gentleman came by and told us he had 3 tickets, upper bowl, under the press box. We were hoping for lower bowl tickets, but snapped these up as we realized if we wanted in, this was it! From there we ran...yes RAN all the way to the tip top of the stadium and our seats were on the very next to the last row at the top. By the time we got to the top, we couldn't breath from running and the heat. I was seriously thinking I was going to throw up and was debating how much damage would be done if I had to throw up in my Vera Bradley! Luckily, I just sat still for a few minutes and the feeling finally passed.
Can you tell how hot Ben and Ron were? This was about fifteen minutes after we sat down!

Other than the fact that the overhang prevented air flow, we liked our seats.

Our (literal) view from the top!

We had a great view of the field, except for during halftime when a couple rude guys decided to stand up through the entire show.

Clay called during the game (he's at Edisto with his friend, Chase and his family) and we gave him a hard time. I held the phone up and asked, "What's that the sound of?"

Clay, "the people cheering?"

Me: "NO! Real Football!" and then Ron, Ben and I started laughing. Clay, I'm sure, was shaking his head and rolling his eyes! He's not only a Clemson fan, but a Michigan fan. It turns out he wore his Michigan shirt on Saturday and took quite a bit of ribbing from folks at Edisto after THAT game.

Ron will be out of town for the next home game, so we're really getting ready for the last game of this month.

Congratulations, Again, Jim and Jana!

We send our best wishes and congratulations to our friends, Jim and Jana, who are adding a new baby to their family in early March! We are very excited for both of you, Taylor, Kaitlyn and Anna!