A shop wall in Chapel Hill
February 16, 2007
February 9, 2007
Girls Night Out
Tyra and I met for dinner Thursday night at Mura in North Hills. Tasty!
We had a really nice time chatting, girl talk and soul spilling and all of that. 
February 3, 2007
Meet Penner, Say Goodbye to Karen
Friday night we had a party at Humble Pie. Karen’s fiance, David Penner, was in town and this was our opportunity to meet him. It was also time to say goodbye to Karen, as she is leaving Raleigh to move to San Francisco with Penner. We will miss her! There was great turn out at this event! It seemed everyone we know was there, probably 40 people in all. Even Karen’s parents showed up, just for the night!
January 30, 2007
Carolina Cruisers
When Amy and I were at the Skate Ranch on Sunday, I got a little info about the Carolina Cruisers. They’re a group that gets together to skate. They hang out socially and I think do some social/charitable work as well.
I met King, who is the organizer, and he seemed very nice. When he was explained the group to me, he mentioned that there was “no drama” in the group. Amy and I nodded and thought, “Good, that’s a good thing, we hate drama.” I gave him my email address so I could keep in touch.
However, I received a few emails from the group today and I was a little put off by the constant references to “no drama.” Here are some examples:
From Monica, one of the Smoov Divas:
“Hello all, I had a great time! Thanks King, can’t wait for the next outing. Drama-free, fabulous fun! Monica aka THE DiaMond DiVa!”
From King:
“We are drama free. We just like to have fun and and get our skate on. Anything you want to learn, we will make every attempt to teach you. You gotta come out to the first Thursday skate jam. This Thursday! You will have a good time.”
From Willis:
“Hello, I would like to say, “welcome to a drama free skate club-Carolina Cruiser Skaters Assoc.”, from Willis Silver aka Mr.Hospitality.”
Is this some nuvo lingo that I’m not familiar with? Should I be worried that they’re so worried about drama? What’s up with this?
January 28, 2007
Weekend Fun
Saturday morning started off with a nice continental breakfast. Homemade banana-nut bread, fruit and yogurt, served with Bellini’s.
Then we went out for errands. We went to Best Buy and picked up SD cards for our cameras. I got a new camera in January! An HP Photosmart R725. It’s a 6.2MP teeny-tiny digital camera with a 2″ display. I love it! The best part about it is that it was free, with my HP PurchasEdge points.
Woot!
After our arduous shopping trip, we went to the Bar for lunch. Pickle chips were a must, plus a few rounds of beers.
Then, off to redeem ourselves, we went to Umstead and hiked the one of the foot trails. We didn’t go all the way around because Dave was so tired. When we got back home he fell asleep on the couch, still jet-lagged from his trip to Asia.
Amy and I continued to work our way through the puzzle. We cooked dinner at home (tenderloin and vegetables on the gill) and enjoyed a few bottles of nice red wine.
Saturday night we watched Little Miss Sunshine with our Movies-on-Demand option from Time Warner. Great, fun movie! Laugh-out-loud funny.
Sunday was a nice big breakfast, green eggs, turkey sausage, fruit. “Green eggs?” you might ask? Dice up some avocado and whip really well with your eggs before you cook them. Add some cumin and black pepper, tasty!
Sunday afternoon was more puzzling. We were very lazy on Sunday, and Dave took a nap that lasted a few hours. We made dinner around 7 PM (Chicken picatta with angel hair pasta and roasted asparagus with thyme) and then Amy and I took off for the Skate Ranch! Sunday night at the Skate Ranch is “Adult Skate” and I’ve been wanting to give it a try. Amy was the only one I could drag out there. 🙂
Skating was fun, though a bit of a workout! It took some time to get my “sea legs” but eventually I did. Amy had a problem with her foot that left her in pain, so she wasn’t as gung-ho as I was, but I think she enjoyed herself nevertheless.
Watching these people skate was just amazing – so talented. There was all sorts of dancing and a little jumping going on. The couples’ skate was sexy, and the groups who were skating in formation were awesome, too.
You can watch this little video to get an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZsxjbS6cXA
A number of people were wearing ‘Carolina Cruisers’ shirts. I inquired and learned that they’re a group that gets together to do social things and skate, mostly. Maybe I’ll join. Then I’ll have someone to skate with, as none of my other friends here have taken the bait. It’s fascinating to me that this little microcosm of society exists. I had no idea. Amy says that it’s called “urban exploring”, seeing what your city has to offer you in terms of recreation that you never expected.
We got home around 11 PM and then off to bed with us. Monday morning we had Waffle House-style egg sandwiches and then I deposited Amy at the airport.
All in all, it was a very relaxing and fun weekend!
January 26, 2007
Friday Night – Visitors and Homebodies
Dave and Amy both got home on Friday afternoon. I was so happy to see him! And it was great having Amy here, too. Friday night we went to early dinner at the Rockford. Yummy, though I think they changed the recipe for the Canellini, which is my favorite sandwich.
After coming home, Amy and I started a puzzle and stayed up til the wee hours talking, drinking, and puzzling.
December 31, 2006
College Night at Dave and Busters
Every Christmas or New Year’s, Dave’s crew of college buddies from the University of Dayton get together. They’ve been doing this for years now. They are great people, and I love getting to hang out with them and their kids.
This year we met Joe and Nancy with their two boys, Dan and Jake and Reynold and Lynn with their two girls at the Dave and Buster’s right down the street from Mom and Dad’s.
Dave, Jeni and Annabelle, one of the cutest little people I know. 
Jeni and Dan
Reynold and Katie, the other cutest little person I know.
My favorite game at DandB’s is Time Crisis. Go here to view a trailer.
December 20, 2006
Romancing the Stone
My good friend Alba got me an emerald. I am amazed that she did so – the cost, the time, the worry, the getting it to me, wow. I can’t thank her enough for her thoughtfulness and trouble. If it were cut glass, I couldn’t love it more.
Recently, I took my little treasure to Johnson’s Jeweler’s off of Edward’s Mill to have it set. Below are pictures of the setting I choose. I picked yellow gold because it seems truer for an emerald than white gold or platinum. I also liked the scroll detail on the sides – it seems reminiscent of Pre-Colombian art, fitting for my stone. Lastly, I like the partial bezel setting. It’s safer for both me and the emerald.
Side View:
Top View:
December 17, 2006
Saturday Night Christmas Parties
I love Christmas parties. You get all dolled up and see all your friends and everyone gets along swimmingly, even if it’s been ages since you’ve last seen them.
On Saturday, we had two parties to go to. Will and Ele, my newfound friends, invited us to their annual Chili and Beer party. Meridith and Marty also hosted their first ever party in their house. Dave got inspired and made cookies for us at the last minute, and I took about 30 minutes to make my spectacular Holiday Guacamole for Meri’s party.
Saturday we went first to Will and Ele’s. I was a little nervous because I knew we’d be meeting a ton of new people, but everyone was very nice and I was so glad we went. Will and Ele are so nice, great hosts and they seem like a lot of fun. The only weird part was what to say when people asked “So, how do you know Ele?” Ah well. 🙂
Around 10 we headed over to Meri’s. Karen, Kerri, Kelli, Mark, Beanie and some other people were there. Alissa and Chris showed up as well. They are so cute together. We celebrated Kelli’s graduation from college – she graduated on Saturday from NCCU. I don’t remember exactly what her degree is in, but she’s going to be teaching high school kids! Crazy stuff. Kerri got some people involved in a funny drinking game called Flip Cup – it was really entertaining to watch. Then we played The Name Game. It’s very simple. I say a name, like “John Hancock.” You then have to say a name where the first letter of the first name starts with H. So you say “Hannibal Lecter.” The next person has to use L in the first letter of the first name. Sounds easy, right? It’s hilariously difficult. Plus, you’re supposed to go very quickly so if you sit there with your mouth agape trying desperately to figure out a name, any name, that starts with the letter L, the group will just tell you that your time is up and jump to the next person. It was really funny and I was glad I’d switched out my glass of wine for a cup of water at that point because I kinda sucked at it.
All in all, a great night with new friends and old!