Resolutions, Shmesolutions

So I hate calling them resolutions. I feel like if I call them that, then I'm doomed to fail. So I'm just gonna call them goals. Yes, I know it's the same thing. I just want to do things to make myself a better person, a better friend, a better wife, and really just happier overall.

I've been saying for 2 years that I was going to start up my own business. Well, earlier this year I registered my business name (Idle Hands), paid my privilege license fee and set up my tax info. But that's about all I've done. So one of many goals I have for myself next year is to really work hard on Idle Hands. I really want it to be successful but it will only be a success if I work hard on it and prioritize better.

Also, I need to do more to make myself healthier. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape, but I want to be in great shape - and I really want to have a baby in 2010 - so there's another reason to get into shape and stay that way! In my quest to run races in all 50 states, I have a goal in 2010 to run in 5 new states. I also want to run my first full marathon. That part might depend on when pregnancy comes my way. I already have 1 half marathon scheduled for February and I'm working on 2 more in March and May. I'm sure I can find a full somewhere that I can run before I get too far along (can you tell I'm planning on being pregnant?).

Along with getting into great shape comes cooking! I love to cook but I can't seem to always find the time. I think I'm gonna have to just start making the time. Wouldn't it be great if my business really took off and I was able to quit my day job? At any rate, I've told Craig that I'm going to cook more for us and he's pretty excited about it. All those cookbooks I've got ain't just decoration, ya know.

I really would like to get better at getting cards in the mail for people's birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I used to be so good about it! And I have a little birthday book with everyone's info written in it, but I don't look at it often enough to take advantage of it. But that will change in 2010 - I think this is probably the easiest of all my goals, so if I don't do this one, then I'm worthless :)

On those same lines, I also have a bad habit of not calling people back. Now, I hate talking on the phone - so I'm not going to make a realistic goal of calling people more often. But I'd rather put a handwritten note in the mail to let someone know I'm thinking about them. And I have several friends that are close to me in distance that I don't spend enough time with, and they probably don't know how important they are to me. That's an easy one to change, too. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life that want to spend time with me! I should really start letting them know how much I care about them.

It's a delicate balance to make sure that I don't neglect my family and friends - especially my parents and my grandmother, who I don't talk to near enough. And I have 3 godchildren that I need to lavish a bit more attention on!

There are so many more little things that I want to do in 2010, but if it involves me becoming a better friend, wife, and overall a better person, I'm all for it. Wish me luck!

Light The Night

My dad has been diagnosed with Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (non-hodgkins). Of the 80+ types of lymphoma, this is one of the rarest forms so he has become quite the celebrity of the local oncology world. Thank God my parents live where they live, so close to some of the best hospitals in the world. He'll be (fingers crossed) admitted in the next few weeks to the new cancer center at UNC for a stem cell transplant. His outlook on things helps us all get through because he's such a positive, strong-willed, God-fearing man - but prayers and good thoughts always help, too!

CANCER SUCKS!

http://pages.lightthenight.org/nce/Raleigh09/PGUMC

New York & The New Frontier

Once again, it has been a loooong time since I posted anything. And I know I have a lot to get caught up on!

I went to NY back in August and had a ball with Carolina, Paula and Maegan! It took a little bit longer to get there than we expected. I was flying in from RDU, Paula from Atlanta, and Caro and Maegan from San Antonio. Some brainiac decided to walk into LaGuardia that Saturday morning with a fake bomb in a backpack so the whole airport was closed for a couple of hours! It didn't happen in our terminal, though, so it was reopened pretty quickly. But we were delayed quite a bit; I should've been there at 10 but didn't get there until almost 12. So I waited for Paula and we went on into the city. Carolina and Maegan, however, didn't fare so well. They had a layover in Memphis that turned into a 5 hour nightmare. There was a repair that needed to be done to the plane and by the time they decided to just bring in a new plane, it was storming out and they couldn't take off! We'd planned on going to a Chilean restaurant before seeing Wicked, but Paula and I decided to check out the sushi bar in the restaurant instead. We didn't want to go to the Chilean place without the other girls! And I'd been craving sushi, so it ended up working out fine. I will say, though, I miss real empenadas!

Paula and I had a great time walking around that day and then at the sushi bar - then we went back up to the room to meet the girls, who were getting ready for the show. We hopped in a cab and headed to the Gershwin Theater to see Wicked, which was amazing! I'm hoping to read the books soon - and, Wicked is coming to DPAC next year and I'm hoping to go see it again! My first Broadway show - another thing to cross off my bucket list!

After the show, we went to Junior's, a great diner right across from our hotel (Marriott Marquis), where I had the biggest egg salad sandwich I've ever seen in my life. I was running the next morning so I figured on the lesser of two evils - it might not be the best thing in the world for me, but it was protein! Tons of it, I bet - there had to have been 1/2 dozen eggs in that sandwich, no joke.

All in all, and travel mishaps aside, we had a great Day 1 - I got to see Carolina and Paula, who I hadn't seen since Craig and I got married! And Paula and I had an Elvis sighting in Times Square.

So Day 2 started out early. I got up to catch the Subway up to City Hall Park for my run. I got a crash course in riding the subway from some guys who don't speak English, and when I walked up from the platform into the park, it was raining!

The run started a little bit late, parially due to the rain. It was the Sgt. Keith Ferguson Memorial 5K - Sgt. Ferguson was on duty with the NYPD and responding to a call when he had a heart attack and died. His mother even came through the line as we were waiting to get out numbers - she just wanted to talk to everyone and say thank you! She is quite a lady.

It rained throughout the entire race - but I still got some cool pictures. The course is basic but was very cool - you start in City Hall Park, run across the Brooklyn Bridge, turn around in Brooklyn, and finish back in the park at the fountain! It was pretty cold and rainy outside, so the girls waited for me at Starbucks, and I met them afterwards to warm up!

After changing clothes and warming up a little bit, we made our way to Battery Park to take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty - and I was able to cross something else off my bucket list! That's 4 things so far this year, and I'm so excited to keep working for more.




So we took the ferry over and went to see Lady Liberty. We had a great time but it never stopped raining, so we didn't get to enjoy it quite as much as we would have had it been clear and sunny out. When we got back to Battery Park, we did a ton of walking around - we stopped and got some great pizza for lunch, went to Ground Zero, did some shopping - we really just did as much as we possibly could since we were limited on time. We went to Grand Central Station and I was hoping to do an oyster shooter at the oyster bar there, but my luck - it's closed on Sundays! Oh well, I'll just have to go back up there again :)


We went to a comedy show that night at Stand Up NY, where several well known comedians have made their start. We saw about 6 comedians and some of them were hysterical! My cheeks hurt afterwards from laughing so much. We met one of them outside while he was waiting for his buddies to come out, so who knows? Maybe he'll make it big one day and we can say we met him way back when he was still working his way up.

We went to Roxy's Deli for late night dinner, where again, I had the biggest sandwich I'd ever seen - but this time it was grilled cheese and bacon. We headed back to the hotel to snooze and got up the next morning for our last day in the city.


We went back to Junior's for breakfast and then took the subway up to Central Park and walked around for a little while; it really is beautiful - next time I go up there I'd really like to go to Tavern on the Green. As we were walking around the last day, we saw the Naked Cowboy in Times Square! We did some last minute gift shopping and then it was back to the airport. Just when I was getting the hang of hailing cabs and riding the subway, we had to leave!


I was in a separate terminal than the other girls so we said our goodbyes and then the cabbie took me over to my terminal. I had a few hours to kill so I grabbed some McD's and then went to the spa for a foot rub and a shoulder rub. I didn't really think there would be a market for a spa in an airport terminal, but after running that race and doing as much walking as we did, it was the perfect thing for me! I got in later that night and Craig picked me up at the airport. Hopefully we'll have another great girls weekend next year. I miss my girls already!




Now, for the news - I went last Friday (9/4/09) to the Register of Deeds in Johnston County and reserved the assumed name for my business, Idle Hands! I am now a sole proprietor. I'm working on stock now and will post more later - maybe even put up a page solely for the business. But I'm really looking forward to getting up and running! I'm constantly doing research and making lists and working on business cards and other marketing tools. For starters, I'll be sticking with photography, knitted scarves and dustcloths, jewelry and wine charms. When I get some good inventory built up, I'd like to start taking some custom orders and then branching out to other things - mainly handmade soaps and candles, but I've also got a great pattern for aprons that I'm keeping my eye out for funky fabrics to make them with. Hopefully soon I'll have some stock up on my etsy page! I'll try to get better at posting here! Until then, these idle hands will have to find something fun to get into...


http://www.etsy.com/ Idle Hands NC idlehandsnc@live.com

Long Time, No See

It's been so long since I've written, I don't know where to begin!

I have more exciting travel news - I'm heading to New York in August! Carolina and I have been talking for months about getting together this year. I had originally planned on traveling to San Antonio (I haven't been in years and I miss Texas!) but then we opted to meet somewhere instead. So we're meeting in NYC for a couple days! Perfect timing, too - they just reopened the top of the Statue of Liberty and we've already got our tickets; I can't wait!

On the work front, it's been a good but emotional week. Even though Jeff and I have moved out of the Special Victims Unit and into the Dangerous Offenders Task Force, our specialty is still motor vehicle fatalities. Those are never easy. This past Monday morning, a plea was entered to 2 counts of 2nd Degree Murder and 2 counts of Felony Assault that resulted from a wreck last year. There wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6842223

Ed Crump is a good friend of ours because we see him so much in the courthouse. It doesn't hurt that his office is right across the street! But he has been working the 'courthouse beat' for a long time and he and Jeff (and their families) have hung out outside work, so Ed recognized how personal this was for him.

Since I got back from New Orleans, not too much has really gone on. Just the usual: gym, work, hanging out with Craig at various venues. I did put in a container garden that's doing really well - 2 tomato plants, zucchini, several cucumber vines, a jalapeno, a green bell, and okra. The only thing harvested so far has been the zucchini - but there are a ton of tomatoes ripening as I type this. And I am so ready for a tomato sandwich made with a good homegrown tomato!

We also took a nice long weekend in Wilmington and Carolina Beach for Craig's birthday. We camped out 1 night on the North End and that was a ton of fun. Doug, Cody and Brad were out there with us. Brad, always a source of entertainment, got a $50 ticket for walking in the dunes - ha ha! And we think someone was scoping out our campsite in the middle of the night. Something woke Doug up and he noticed 2 guys walking really close to our site (we were right on the high tide line). So he stayed up for a few minutes and one of the guys walked right up to the window of Doug's truck and started to peer in, not realizing that Doug and Cody were sleeping inside. Doug piped up and said something to the guy, who then motioned to his buddy and then they walked away. Neither one of them said a word, they just left. Creepy! We talked to the people beside us the next morning and they'd had some tiki torches stolen one time - it's inevitable, really. People assume that everyone camping on the North End is passed out drunk, so why not rummage through their stuff? They could've feasted from our coolers had they grabbed those up - we had chicken, brats, iced coffee, and a ton of beer and soft drinks. Note to self: stow away coolers in the back of the truck next time.

Until next time!

The Big Easy March 2009

Well, the Big Easy was fantastical! Amanda and I had a great time and I got to do most of what was on my list, I walked probably 40 miles while I was there and I got a ton of good photos to boot.

3/29, Day 1 - I got in just after lunch. I met Amanda at the Hilton Riverside (excellent btw) and we set off for lunch. To our dismay, Central Grocery Company is closed on Sunday and Monday, so we didn't get to start off with a muffuletta. But at least we had something to look forward to for Tuesday! We went to the French Market Bar and I had an excellent oyster po boy and my first beer since St. Patty's Day! We did some walking around and I got my first taste of Bourbon Street - bars and skin clubs with a smattering of historic jazz clubs, quaint hotels and restaurants thrown in for good measure. I was curious about the 'World Famous Love Acts' club, but with 8x10 photos pasted up on the door of some of the things that are going on inside, little is left to the imagination. There are probably 5 Hustler clubs along the way and also Rick's Cabaret, whose slogan is 'It's not just the same old thong and dance.' Catchy, huh? The Brennan family is famous in NOLA for their food - we went to Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House Seafood for dinner and it was out of this world, some of the best oysters I've ever had.

3/30, Day 2 - I went on a run after Amanda left for her meeting - despite having no closing time for the bars and some of the restaurants staying open 24/7, New Orleans is pretty sleepy that early in the morning. I did a lot of walking around, just exploring streets I hadn't walked down - Amanda and I met at the Clover Grill for lunch. They boast that they have the world's best hamburger and fries so I gave it a shot. Fries? Not the best I've ever had, but I'm not one to turn down a fry. Bacon cheeseburger? Hell yeah, that thing was good - and huge. They cook their burgers with a little help from hubcaps off '57 Chevys. I didn't believe it 'til I saw it. The only thing they lacked? A half-decent bathroom. We had a serious conversation about how many people we thought might have died in there. We walked down to the Krystal and paid $2.20 for a drink so we could use their bathroom. I met a tour group at 1:00 at the Royal Blend Tea & Coffee House on Royal Street for my walking tour. We walked around the Quarter and checked out some of the architecture. Our guide explained the difference between a balcony and a gallery (balconies only come half-way out and are supported from below, galleries come all the way out to the edge of the sidewalk and are supported by posts or columns). She took us to St. Louis Cemetery #1, which is probably the most popular cemetery destination because Marie Laveau (the Voodoo Queen) is interred there. I had read warnings about going into the cemeteries alone and the danger of being mugged (you never know who's hiding behind the tombs and all) - and we saw several people who were definitely not part of a tour group, and definitely not in the cemetery to visit a deceased loved one...in fact, 2 kids walked through smoking a joint. They usually go in groups of 4 - 2 guys stay at the one and only gate and the other 2 go inside. That way, if you try to run, there are people waiting at the gates to ensure a successful take of your camera, wallet and valuables...There is a separate part for Protestants, and most of the graves are underground. But they have these huge thick slabs of concrete over them to weigh them down. Because of the water table, heavy rains can easily unearth the coffins, which is why most of the tombs are above-ground. There are a few of the Catholic graves that are underground, too - but they either have the concrete on top of them or are encased in layers of brick and mortar. Really interesting. Our last stop on the tour was Priestess Miriam's Voodoo Temple. Our tour guide said that she talks 'in a stream of consciousness' and she wasn't lying. Priestess Miriam is a fascinating, sweet lady - and you can tell that there are more levels to her and her belief system than just a human form. We had to walk through her office to get to the temple - the shelves were full of jars with spices, some I'd never heard of, powders, you name it. She has an amazing reputation in town and has a pretty big following as well.

We decided on Pat O'Brien's for hurricanes and dinner that night. The courtyard was really nice but if you're eating, they put you on the opposite side from where the dueling pianos are. That side is for drinkers only. The crawfish cakes were excellent. And the hurricane was pretty damn good, too.

3/31, Day 3 - I took another early morning run, this time I went through Jackson Square and down the riverwalk to the French Market and back. I did some more heavy duty walking around - I didn't do as much in the Quarter since we'd explored most of that and I wanted to see as much as I could. I went back down Decatur towards the French Market again, but this time I stopped at Jackson Square to take it all in and take some photos. It's gorgeous. That's about all I can say. I went to St. Louis Cathedral and again, amazing. Amanda and I met for lunch at Central Grocery Company for our beloved muffuletta! It was so big and so good, we split it and I would love to have another one now. I keep meaning to check and see if they have a website so I could order some of their olive salad - one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, hands down...

After lunch, I switched directions and headed back towards the hotel so I could avoid the rain by going to the Audubon Aquarium (which was right next to the Hilton). It was nice and muggy when I got back outside, so I decided to hoof it some more so I could really frizz out my hair. I went more towards the CBD (Central Business District) and got some great shots of some historic buildings - and Lafayette Square. They also have a streetcar art project that's similar to Raleigh's wolf art project. Local artists, philanthropists and school groups design and decorate streetcars and then they're placed all over the city, as a way to rejuvenate the spirit. I grabbed shots of all that I saw.

That night we went to Mulate's, the original cajun restaurant, for some food and some entertainment. They have a cajun band playing each night which made for some nice background music. I had the fried alligator plate - complete with fries and jambalaya, and Amanda followed her dinner with some of the best bread pudding in the world.

4/1, Day 4 - Our last full day, we decided to take the St. Charles streetcar into the Garden District for some more sightseeing and to check out a recommendation on a restaurant, Camellia Grill. The houses of course are amazing - we did, however, see 2 houses that still have the FEMA markings on them. We passed by Loyola and Tulane Universities - both campuses definitely belong in the Garden District. I could really dig going to college in New Orleans. We got to Camellia's and it was all it was hyped up to be. A small place with friendly service - everyone sits at a lunch counter and it has a really retro feel. Check it out on youtube, it's on there.

We talked about going on a Katrina tour but we really thought it might be too upsetting. There are several areas that are still devestated - but I would like to have seen the levee at the 9th Ward and the Musician's Village - the collaboration of Harrick Connick, Jr., Bono and Habitat for Humanity to build completely green, efficient housing for misplaced musicians and local artists who had to leave town after Katrina. The French Quarter is the highest ground in the area so it's difficult to distinguish Katrina damage from old age and poor maintenance. Flooding in the Quarter was minimal so most of the damage was wind-related, from the top down. We ended up deciding not to do a Katrina tour.

We got back to the hotel, relaxed for a little bit, and went in search of our next meal. We joked at one point that we were just walking from meal to meal - but damn, did we do some walking. We checked out a few places only to find out that The Pearl Oyster Bar closed at 6 (huh?) and Brother's, whose claim to fame is the fried chicken, is a corner bodega. So we opted to check out Arnaud's Remoulade instead - Arnaud's more casual and less expensive sibling. On the way, we stopped to get a couple of road daiquiris. You can't go wrong with a to-go drink.

4/2, Day 5 - Our last day :( We went to the coffee shop at the hotel for a quick bagel and cup of coffee and Amanda grabbed a cab to the airport. My flight didn't leave 'til 4 so I still had a few hours to do some people watching. I took a few last photos and went back to the Royal Blend for a coffee mug and an iced mocha, then walked around in search of a shot glass for my collection and a couple other souvenirs. I headed back to the hotel with a new cookbook, 2 other books about New Orleans and a couple other souvenirs in tow. My shuttle left at 1 that afternoon and the rain that we were supposed to have gotten on Tues and Weds waited ever so kindly until I got in the van headed to the airport! I got back to RDU around 11 that night and Craig was waiting there to take me home.

I have crossed another destination off my 'To Do - Travel' list! New Orleans was such a cool town, I really would love to go back sometime and see the things I didn't get to see this time...and see some things all over again.

Raleigh Rocks and NOLA

I ran my first 1/2 marathon today!!! So I was able to cross that off my bucket list. I came in around 2:18, but officials haven't been released yet so I don't know for sure. I really surprised myself, as I had set a goal of 3:00. Although my race pace most recently was under 10 mph, I wanted to set something realistic. I knew that there would be a lot of hill action on this course (a new course from last year) and honestly, I didn't know how my body would react after mile 12. That's the furthest I'd gone until today. It's funny to me that training regimens for 1/2 and full marathons don't include even one run that is equidistant to the race. But hey, apparently it works, so I'm not gonna ask questions. I think my next race is going to be late April, the Run For Our Heroes, which honors fallen RPD officers.

To my motivators today, I thank you! Kristen, Meredith, guy in yellow, guy with no shirt, girls in tie-dye skirts, girls in pink and green, and my mp3.

So tomorrow, I will cross something off of my travel bucket list - New Orleans!!! One of my best gal pals Amanda is down there for work, and I'm meeting her tomorrow afternoon. I cannot wait! NOLA is calling me - next week holds for me the following things: hanging out with a good friend that I don't get to see near enough, a hurricane at Pat O'Briens, a meal at Emeril's NOLA restaurant, chicory at Cafe du Monde, a cemetery/voodoo tour, a muffuletta (YUM) at the 'home of the muffuletta' and lots of photo ops from Jackson Square to the French Quarter and beyond. Can you tell I'm a little excited?

Good Stuff

So I've got 2 great things coming up soon that I'm really excited about - my first 1/2 marathon and a trip to New Orleans!

Next Saturday morning, I'll run the Raleigh Rocks 1/2. I started my training late but I think I've caught up enough that I'm ready. I attempted my last long run today but had to either cut it short or use someone's hedge as a bathroom...so I cut it short after about 7 miles and ran home, very carefully. I'll run again tomorrow morning, I might even attempt the last 12...but we'll see how Pat and Charlie feel. There are a few girls that I work with that are running the RR 1/2 also - I'm looking forward to devouring some pasta the night before the race with them and then meeting them at the finish line!

The morning after the run, I'm leaving on a jet plane to the Crescent City! My college roommate Amanda is going for work and I'm tagging along - I've never been and I am really excited about it! Of course, I've made a list of things I want to do, restaurants I want to go to, that kind of thing - if anyone who's been there has any suggestions, send them along. One great thing - the hotel we're staying at is in a great location, right on the Mighty Mississippi! Walking distance to a lot, or at least an easy cab ride. Have I mentioned how excited I am? Thanks Amanda!

First Time For Everything

Okay, so I've never done any blogging before...so here goes. I'm lucky enough to have friends and family all over the world. Unfortunately, I don't get to hang out with or talk to everyone I love as much as I want to. So I thought this might be a good way for people to keep up with what's going on with us...and for new people to get to know us. Who knows, maybe one day my kid will show this to his or her grandkids...

Craig and I have been together since January 2003 and we got married October 14, 2006. We live in Clayton, NC and both love living out in the country. We can actually see the stars at night! Right now, it's just us and our cat, Kitty. But we're hoping to add to the family soon. So we'll see how that goes, you'll just have to keep checking back!

We are both truly beach bums. We get to the coast any chance we get - we mostly frequent Wilmington, Emerald Isle and the Outer Banks. But we'll pretty much go anywhere there's ocean. I surf, we kayak, we're both wanting to get SCUBA certified, and Craig is getting pretty good with a stunt kite.

Craig grew up in Binghamton, NY and I am a proud North Carolina girl. Growing up, my family and I did a lot of vacationing all over the place - we spent a lot of time at the beach, but we took plenty of trips to the mountains also. I went to college in the mountains and a little piece of my heart will always belong to Cullowhee, NC.

Really, we both just love to travel - anywhere. I want to go everywhere I've never been. I've got an ever-growing bucket list, and there are tangent lists that include different states, countries, and islands that I've been to (those are the lists I want to expand). Oh yeah...I have an unhealthy obsession with list-making. I make lists about other lists I've made...it's really a sickness.

We've both always got something up our sleeves. Craig is always working on a project, some bigger than others...or he's thinking up what his next project is going to be. He loves to fish and now that it's getting warmer outside, spends a lot of time at the wildlife club. He's also a serious grill master and dart thrower extraordinaire. Me, on the other hand - currently I'm working on some knitting projects, writing some music (I have always dreamed of seeing my name in lights), contemplating starting up my own photography company, and running like a crazy woman. In 2 weeks I'll run my first half-marathon and I cannot wait! We are both super competitive, especially when we're competing against each other. Sometimes it gets pretty vicious.

Well, this is it for my 1st post...I'm gonna go watch the game now (it's NCAA Tourney time and the Clemson game just came on) - See ya later