Clemson Prowl and Growl

Last night was the Clemson Alumni spring meeting. The theme for this year was Prowl and Growl. I was excited for the meeting as Dabo Swinney and Oliver Purnell were at the meeting. It was great being able to talk to both coaches and hear about the football and basketball programs. I was lucky in that I got to chat with both coaches while everyone else ate or waited in line to eat (I had my priorities!). Coach Prunell and I had a great chat about the Clemson - Duke game and how sweet of a victory that was. I told him that I expect Clemson to beat Cryolina this year. Purnell had a good chuckle about me calling UNC Cryolina. Dabo and I chatted about the football season and the tough choice he has to make for the starting QB position. Both coaches were super friendly and really down to earth. During dinner they showed highlights from the year for both programs. It was such a great night. And of course I had to be sure to get my pictures taken with each coach!! GO TIGERS!!

Ralph's Green Thumb

As I mentioned my dad helped my plant some flowers around my house while he was in town. As per request here are some pictures of what we planted.

He'll be back in town next week and I am toying with the idea of having him do some more planting! It's great to have parents who both love to do gardening!

Miracle on Ice

Last night was game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes and Devils were in a do or die situation -- whichever team won was going on in the playoffs while the other team would see their season come to end. To say I was nervous is an understatement. It is no surprise to any of you that I am an avid and die hard sports fan! I was in no way ready for the Hurricanes' season to come to an end.

The game started off great. Ruutu scored in the first 90 seconds of the game! I thought for sure this was a sign of how the game was going to go. But no... a few minutes later the Devils scored to tie the game up. And then they scored again. The Hurricanes were able to tie it up at 2 apiece before the Devils took the lead once again. Ryne was not able to get the game as it was only broadcast locally. I was on the phone him relaying the game and counting down each passing minute. As the game wound down I had a sinking feeling that this was not going to end with a Canes victory. And then, all of a sudden the Canes showed the drive and fight to tie this game. And you know, they did! With 80 secs to go in the game Jussi Jokinen found the back of the net to tie the game up! Needless to say I was jumping up and down and screaming. Poor Ryen and Mistress had no idea what was going on! And no sooner did I calm down then the Hurricanes scored AGAIN! Yes, the Canes scored 48 secs later to take the lead!! I loved seeing the faces of the shocked NJ fans. They went from being so happy and sure of win to watching it all disapear in front of their very own eyes!! It was priceless!!

Look at the faces in the crowd... love their reactions!

It is not uncommon for fans to head to the airport to welcome the Hurricanes home after a big win in the playoffs. After talking with some friends we decided to head out to RDU to welcome the boys home. We arrived around 12:15am. There must have been 700+ people there with signs, horns, and banners. The Hurricanes arrived at 1am and we welcomed home by a sea of cheering fans. As they drove through the fan lined streets they all honked their horns, yelled out their car windows, took photos, and screamed right back at us. You could tell that they loved every single minute of it. It was such a cool experience and I am so glad I went.

I was back home and bed by 2:30am. I made for a very tiring day on Wednesday but it was well worth it.

My Partner in Crime

As you know, I have been keeping Mistress for the past few months. I love having her here as she is such a sweet cat and it's nice having her around. When I am home, she really is part of everything I do. From sitting out on the deck, to watching TV on the couch, to doing chores, Mistress is always right there with me. In fact, as I type this she is sleeping next to me with her head on my leg.

I just had to share some pictures of Mistress from the last few weeks. She has been quite adventuresome finding herself in unusual spaces! Enjoy!

Mistress in the dryer -- I was folding towels when she snuck in there!

When I was putting the towels away Mistress decided to check out the linen closet!

Before game 7, Mistress put her rally towel to good use!

Week in Review

Wow, it's hard to believe that it has already been a week since my parents came to town! This past week sure did fly by. Since I neglected my blog the entire time my parents were here I will just have to do a week in review.

Friday:
My parents arrived around 4:oopm. I helped my dad unload some of the car and then we hung out on the deck chatting. It was such a gorgeous day that we ended up grilling out. After dinner I subjected my parents to watching the Hurricanes game (which they won!).

Saturday:
After a big breakfast of bacon and eggs we headed out to the farmer's market. It was so insanely busy!! I usually try to avoid going there on the weekend for that reason. I think it took us close to 15 mins to find a parking spot. Our goal was to find geraniums to plant on my front porch and back deck. I ended going with a bright red this year (last year was hot pink). We also brought some fresh, native strawberries. Oh! While we were looking at the flowers this woman noticed a spider. Turns out is was a black widow! I had no idea they were in this area! Needless to say we left that are pretty quickly.

After the farmer's market we headed to the flea market. My dad just loves going there and looking for treasures. We all found something to add to our collections. I have a small collection of red glass and I found a really cool red glass vase. And for $3 how could you go wrong?!

From the flea market when then headed to Cameron Village for some more shopping. My parents are giving me an adjustable gold chain for my birthday. I am excited because this now means that my diamond necklace can be both long and short!

We capped the night off wtih dinner at Twisted Fork (my dad's favorite!). It was such a busy, fun day!

Sunday:
My dad spend the day planting my flowers whle my mom and I did a few errands. We then got ready and went tailgating with friends for the Hurricanes game. The weather got a little iffy at one point but we survived. It was a great game up until the Canes lost. I was able to sit with my parents which was great!

Monday:
We went back to Cameron Village today for the gold necklace and now have to order it. Hopefully it will be in stock soon. We then some more shopping and had a nice, leisurely day. We did chicken on the grill for dinner which was fantastic.

Tuesday:
My dad and I decided to plant a rhodadendrum and some azelas in my back yard so off we went to buy some plants. We then spent the better part of the day plating. My mom did some work aorund my house -- aren't parents the best?!? My mom cleaned out a few cabinets for me and a little cleaning. I went to the hockey game while my parents stayed behind to pack up since they were leaving in the morning. The Canes game was intense!! Up 3-0 the Canes quickly found themselves tied 3-3. Just when I thought we were heading to OT the Canes scored with .2 sec to go in the game to win it!!! You should have heard the RBC Center. It was sooooo loud!!!

Wendesday:
Before my parents left we had a plumber come over to fix a frozen pipe in the back of my house. I wanted my dad there just to make sure everything was done correctly. My parents hit the road around 10:30. My house seemed so quiet and emtpy after they left. And it also meant I had to get back to work... which was no fun at all!!

I had a great visit with my parents and I cannot wait to see them down here again in two weeks!!

It's Going to Be a Gorgeous Weekend!

My parents are due to arrive any minute and I am so excited!! It is absolutely beautiful outside today!! I have the windows open and I am enjoying the fresh air. Thankfully the pollen is more or less gone! We are going to have a busy weekend.

Saturday: flea market, Red & White NCSU Spring football game
Sunday: tailgating and Hurricanes game
Monday: planting flowers and shopping

And the weather is supposed to be absolutely perfectly all weekend!!

Let the Games Begin!

Tonight is the first night of the playoffs! I am very excited that Hurricanes are back in the race for the Stanley Cup. The first two games are in NJ and then games 3 & 4 are in Raleigh. My parents will be in town for the game on Sunday so we will be tailgating and going to the game with friends.

I opened my blog back up so it is no longer private. I am sure I will now have 100s if not 1000s of readers!! Ha!

Easter

I hope you all had a wonderful and enjoyable Easter. I drove down to Rock Hill, SC Sunday morning to spend Easter with my cousin Heather, her family, and my cousin Dawn and her daughter Emily. I was really excited about seeing all of my cousins has it been several months and also because I was going to meet Sara for the first time. Sara is such a cute baby and has cheeks that you just want to pinch over and over again!! There was an Easter egg hunt for Drew and Sara which was so fun to watch! Drew could not believe that there were candy filled eggs all over the yard. He would get so excited when he found one. Instead of moving on to the next egg, Drew would then sit down, open the egg, and eat it!

After dinner I headed to Marianne's house to visit her. It had been way too long since I had last seen her so it was good to catch up and spend some time together. Her kids were as cute as always... and I am seriously considering kidnapping all three!! Emma is now saying Lori (and she does a really good job with the L-sound!) and loved saying my name over and over! I spent the night on the bottom bunk in Andrew's room. When I went to bed he woke up and said "I'm so happy you were are sleeping in my room" and then went right back to sleep. Several time throughout the night I heard him climb down from the top bunk. He would then touch me to make sure I was still in bed. A couple of times he told me to go back to sleep and he also made comments about how he was happy that I was not sleeping in Mary McLean's room. He is too cute!! This morning I watched Mary McLean and Emma while Marianne went to the gym. I had so much fun playing with those two munchkins! I think it is safe to say the theme for the day was princesses. I know.. shocking since Mary McLean was involved!! I have to plan a visit back in May so I can spend more time with the Baur clan.



I hope you all had a nice weekend and enjoyed the gorgeous weather!!

Too Cute

I couldn't find Mistress earlier today... and it became obvious why. She had curled up in all of the pillows on the guest bed. At first I didn't see her but then I saw the tip of her little black ear poking out. I thought it was too cute not to share!

Keep private??

Right now my blog is set to private. I did this primarily because I did not want my students discovering my blog and reading all about me and my adventures. But I am considering opening my blog back up... what do you think? Right now my blog will not show up in a Google search which is what I want. And by opening it up I can have more than my handful of readers (thanks Marianne, MB, and Ryne!). So I guess am I asking you three what your thoughts are?????

OK, OK... I got the hint!

Thanks for your hints and suggestions to update my blog... I finally got around to it tonight (there are quite a few postings going back to the middle of March so you have lots of reading to do!)! Thankfully I have been keeping a file of postings so I could easily go back and write my posts up. I just hadn't had the time or motivation to sit down and actually post them to my blog! I will try and be better and not let so much time go by between postings.

This weekend I am heading to Charlotte to spend Easter with my cousins. I am really looking forward to seeing them as it has been a long time. I am so excited to meet my newest little cousin Sara. It will also be fun to see Drew (2yrs) and Emily (5yrs) and to watch them go on their Easter egg hunt!! Sunday night I am then heading to Charlotte to finally see Marianne and the kids! I cannot believe I have not seen them since football season! That makes me so sad...I miss them!! I will spend Sunday night and part of Monday visiting with them. I cannot wait!!

Spring in Raleigh

Ryne gave me a fantastic camera for Christmas and I really enjoy taking photos with it. Here are some pictures that I have taken over the past few weeks. Enjoy!

My hill of daffodils in the backyard
Daffodils I planted this past fall

Mistress enjoying some sun on the back deck

Mistress enjoying the fresh, cool air at the front door

Back in Black!

Tonight was the Cane's last time wearing their black home jersey during the regular season. They have been quite successful wearing black and tonight was no different. Some were afraid the Canes would come out lifeless and would not be aggressive given that they had already secured a playoff spot. But that was not the case. The Canes came out on fire and thoroughly embarrassed the Islanders. The final score was 9-0!! And the number of shots on goal were 57-12!! Staal had a hat trick and it was such a fun game to be part of it. The fans were chanting, "we want 10! We want 10!" in hopes of the Canes scoring 10 goals!! The winning streak is now at 9 in a row and 12 in a row at home!!

Photos by Gregg Forwerck

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad! Wow, 35 years together!! Here's hoping for another 35 years filled with love and happiness!!

Always a Bridesmaind...

Never a bride (well not yet at least ;-) )! My friend Elizabeth asked me to be bridesmaid in her wedding. Elizabeth is part of my Raleigh family and is like a sister to me. I am so happy and excited for her and Ryan! They first started dating when we went to Russia a year and a half ago. On that trip Elizabeth told me one night over drinks that she knew she was going to marry Ryan. They are such a cute couple and mesh so well with the other. I am looking forward to their wedding either next May or December.

Yes...another Hockey Post

What can I say? It's that time of the year and I love me some hockey! The Hurricanes won two more home games this week extending their winning streak. It has been so much fun to go to the game because you can just feel the excitement in the air!! And it's looking like the Canes are playing their best hockey of the season!! Today we tailgated before the game since it was absolutely beautiful out! It was a perfect day.. tailgating, warm weather, and hockey! I am starting to get sad that the end of the regular season is rapidly approaching. But with tonight's win, the Canes clinched a playoff spot so there are still more games to come!

April Fool's.... This is Not a Joke

So I finally filed a formal complaint today about the ongoing issue at work. It was very difficult for me to do but I knew it had to be done. Once I turned it in I wanted to get as far away from work as possible. I grabbed my friend Tamara and we headed out to an early dinner at P.F. Changs. I arrived before her so I sat in my car talking to my friend Kim about my work issue. As I am talking to Kim I see this car backing up and notice that it is getting really, really close to me. I turn around and I don't seen anyone in the car. I figured it was either the angle I was looking or that a little old lady was driving. As I am getting out of my car I see that there is in fact no one in the car... and then watch it slam into a brand new Escalade. Thankfully it just missed my car!! The owners of the Escalade came out about 3 minutes later -- they were visiting from Chicago and were about to get back on the road and head home. The car that hit them was an old, beat up Buik. I looked inside and noticed that the car wasn't even in park...it was in DRIVE!! I opened the door (it was not locked) and put it in park and applied the emergency break. The car was soooo digusting...l filled with cigarette butts. I gave my story to the police and then went on to dinner. What a wild experience!!

This picture was taken with my phone after we pushed the car forward.