Happy Birthday, Joe

Dana (my great friend) dates Brad, fishing/hunting connoisseur.  Joe loves Brad to say the least.  And because of Brad, Joe has recently become enamored with spear fishing.  He goes into magazine shops looking for spear fishing magazines.  He checks by the local dive shop looking at fins.  He's always trying his old snorkel mask on at home. 

So for his birthday I decided to feed the beast. I enlisted Brad & Dana as my helpers and bought Joe his first pole spear.  There was really no hiding this 7 foot long humung-o thing so as soon as I picked it up Sunday night I took it right home and gave it to him.  I don't think he let go of it the rest of the night. 

 

Faye (BFF) is on her way right here right now.  YAY!  We haven't seen each other since the wedding in April.  And we miss each other severely.  And we express that in our 25 emails back/forth everyday.  

Let GIRLS WEEKEND 2010 begin!

Billy & Cortney Tie the Knot

We had the privilege and pleasure of sharing in Billy & Cortney's wedding day last weekend!  And what a beautiful day it was.  A perfect 70-some degrees outside at Fort Fischer nestled right in between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean.  Simply gorgeous.  Billy & Cortney were old neighbors who turned into great friends.  Billy & Joe do lots of fun ocean hobbies together and Cortney & I actually work together.  All of our lives are very happily and very luckily intertwined.  Congrats you two lovebirds!

weekend updates

Even though the 70 degree days last well into November around here, it still feels like the end of summer once you hit Labor Day Weekend.  And the end of summer always wakes me up,kicks my butt into gear and helps me get a bunch of last minute fun-ness in before the cold weather bears down.

So with enough airline miles in pocket to cash in for 2 free round-trip tickets to New York, we were well on our way to spend Labor Day Weekend with Hector & Andrea.  When I saw their decked-out backyard complete with a pool, grill, and more lounges than the local hotel I instantly reverted back to our honeymoon in St. Lucia.  And I once again became a pool hog.  We had breakfast by the pool.  We laid by the pool.  We had lunch by the pool.  We roasted s'mores by the pool.  If possible, I would've slept by the pool.  It was the perfect relaxing weekend to a perfect relaxing summer...

UNTIL

(dun. dun. duuuuun.) (scary movie music)

It was time to shape up or ship out.  Robin, Dana, and I decided to do a relay triathlon.  Dana swimming.  Me biking.  And Robin finishing us off as the runner.  We called ourselves the HUSTLIN' HONEYS.  And believe it or not, we placed 3rd out of the relay teams!  That's much more than I ever did by myself.  I'm so proud of us.

But with all the hoopla going on around us, we didn't forget to stop and Remember 9/11.  This is where I do a special shout out to my husband.  Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Hvala, Josip.  

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. 

But, the Marines don't have that problem."

Ronald Reagan

goodbye earl

We saw Earl across the room.  He flirted.  We nodded.  He asked us out.  We got all dressed up.  And then he was a no-show.  Not a drop of rain.  Not a gust of wind.  It was calm and breezy all night long.  I kept jumping up and looking out the window to see if anything was a' brewing.  Nada. Nischta. Nothing.

So goodbye Earl. 

earl

So there's a hurricane headed toward us in the month of September? What's new? I'll tell you what's new ... this beast is a Category 4. Winds blowing at 131-155 mph with storm surges generally 13-18 ft above normal. That's what we call a BIG 'EN. Luckily Earl's eye isn't anywhere near us and we're only getting hit by the most outer band of this thing. Which means we're only getting effects that are tropical storm strong. We'll still be bringing in the porch chairs and sitting in the innermost part of the house away from windows. But it could be worse.

Right now we're experiencing the calm before the storm. The air seems still and calm. Birds stop chirping. A sudden temperature change. An eery quietness. And then BOOM!

That boom will happen at about 11pm tonight. Just in time for it to be completely dark outside so you can't see the flying limbs coming at you. Perfect timing.