Clemson vs. UVA

This past weekend was the last home game for Clemson. It's hard to believe that football season is winding down -- where did the fall go?! I must admit that I was quite nervous about the game despite the fact that it was against UVA. If Clemson won the game, they clinched the ACC divisional title. Clemson has been here before.. and unfortunately we have not ended up on the winning side of things in the past. So the pressure was high for the game this weekend.

After getting on the road at o'dark thirty we arrived in Clemson around 9am. It was such a nice, beautiful day -- definitely a rarity this football season. We walked around campus and the kids had a blast playing in the leaves. It was nice just being able to enjoy one of my favorite places in the world with great friends on a gorgeous day.



I am happy to report that Clemson won the game and are now the Atlantic Division Champions of the ACC. The Tigers will be squaring off against GaTech for the ACC Championship on Dec. 5th. It's a great day to be a Clemson Tiger!! Go TIGERS!!!

Hockey and New Moon

Well, I survived! But I must admit that I am dragging today.. and all I can think about is going to sleep!!

Last night I went to the hockey game with friends. The Hurricanes were playing with a hodge podge of players due to injuries. The game started off rough.. and I mean rough. Down 3-0 at the end of the first period I have to admit I didn't have high hopes for the Canes. But they slowly came back and before I knew it the game was tied. The game went back and forth and it for a bit and it looked like we were heading to OT. But then Toronto scored with 29 seconds to go in the game to go ahead. No!!! I was positive the game was over. But then some how the Canes managed to come back and score a goal with 1.9 seconds to go in the game to send it to OT!! The Canes went on to win the game in a shoot out.

After hockey I went over to Jane's house. We then headed off to the movies to see New Moon with some other friends. Jane had discovered the best thing ever... wine that comes as a "juice box." Each box of win held 3 glasses!! Not too shabby!! I never ever thought I would be part of group of fans seeing a movie at midnight but there I sat with all of these wild teenie boppers. I think the wine definitely helped me cope!! The movie was good.. much better thant he first. I am really excited for the next movie though -- New Moon was my least favorite book.

I pulled into my driveway at 3am and was in bed and asleep by 3:30am! I had to get up early today for a haircut so I file last night's sleep under the category of a nap!! Later today I am off to visit Marianne and the kids and then we are headed to Clemson on Saturday for our last home game!

Does it Get Any Better Than This??

Tonight is a special night. First, I am going to the Hurricanes game (which should be interesting since literally half of the team is out hurt. This means that half of the team will be players who have been called up from the minor league team. Oh, and we are now without our top two goals. Hmm.. this should be very interesting!!). After the hockey game I am meeting up with my friend Jane and a group of girls and we are going to see New Moon. Yes, I am going to be one of those crazy people who is going to see the movie at midnight. Will I be able to stay awake??!! I sure hope so!!! As excited as I am about seeing the movie I am also dreading the super late night (I will be lucky to be home and in bed by 3am!!). And unfortunately I will not be able to sleep in tomorrow because I have a hair cut at the crack of dawn!! UGH!! But it will be worth it!!!

Happy Birthday, Mary McLean

Happy Birthday, Mary McClean! I hope your birthday is filled with lost of happiness!!

Bridget's Visit

This past weekend one of my closest friends from childhood came to visit me. I was so excited to see Bridget...sadly it had been well over a year since the last time we had been together!! There is just no excuse for that. For those of you who don't know, I have known Bridget since we were around the age of 7 yrs old. We first met through the town soccer program. While we were never on the same team I always remembered playing against her -- even back then Bridget was super tall. In 5th grade we both ended up on the town's travel soccer team together. All of the girls on the team were from the same elementary school.. I was the only one who went to a different school. So needless to say I never had a go-to partner when it came time to partner up. But one day Bridget said she would be my partner and I guess you could say that is when we became friends. As the years went on we became closer until we became inseparable. We shared a love for many things, of which included the Hartford Whalers and Geoff Sanderson. Ahh... let's just pause for a moment to admire our hockey love:

Now I won't bore you with the fact that I knew every little fact there is to know about him. Nor will I bore with the details about how I was convinced I was going to marry him and that my parents were slightly concerned. Instead, I will share with you how Bridget and I spent hours cheering on the Whalers and admiring Geoff Sanderson (we even discussed this weekend how we were convinced back in the day that he would make eye contact with us from the bench during the games).

It only seemed fitting that I take Bridget to see a Hurricanes game on Friday night, since they were the Hartford Whalers after all. Plus, the associate head coach of the Hurricanes is Ron Francis, who the first hockey crush for both of us. Unfortunately the Canes lost (again... that was loss #14 IN A ROW - and interestingly enough, we lost for the 14th time in a row with 14 secs to go in overtime). Despite the loss we had a great time reliving our love for hockey and the good old days of high school when we used to follow the players (some of you may use the word stalk but I think that is just a little too harsh :) ).

Ron Francis is in the center

On Saturday we got up nice and early and headed off to cheers on my Tigers! It was such a nice treat to be able to see Clemson play and only have to drive 10 mins!! Yes, that's right.. Clemson was playing at NC State! Bridget and I met up with some friends and we tailgated before heading into the game. It was another Tiger vicotry and by the end of the game there was definitely more orange than red left in the stadium. I think Bridget is still recovering from the game and how into I get. It was great that she was able to experience Clemson football.. next time it will have to be in Death Valley though!!


After the game we went to dinner with my friend Tamara. It was such a great way to end the night... lots of good food and plenty of wine. Bridget and I then came back to my house and just hung out and caught up. I am so glad that I was able to spend time with her this weekend!

Hello... is anyone there?

After several reminders and requests for updates, I am finally back to my blog! So much for those plans of mine to do catch-up posts from the summer. I thought about still doing my catch-up posts but I figured in order to move forward I need to start fresh... or else I might not ever got back to my blog!! I think that was part of the reason I had been avoiding my blog... I did not want to tackle all of my posts I had wanted to catch up on. The thought of all that I wanted to say and cover overwhelmed me! So... I guess I will just give you a brief update on the past few months and promise to try my best to keep updating.

So without further ado.. here is a condensed overview of the last few months:

My summer was capped off with an amazing trip to Ireland (this trip really does deserve its own post but I suspect that it would take forever... maybe one day I will do a special post dedicated to Ireland). I went with my parents, Rob, Margaux, my Aunt Susie, and cousin Amy. We spent the first few days in Dublin and had an amazing time. We did TONS of walking and hit all of the sites: Guinness (it's a lovey day for a Guinness!!), Jameson Brewery, Temple Bar, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, etc. We celebrated my parents' birthday at a fabulous restaurant along the River Liffy as well. Despite a "minor issue" with our car rentals (read: we reserved 2 automatics cars since my dad is the only one who kind of knows how to drive standard but they rental company only had 1 for us. After much battling my dad finally caved in and was brave enough to drive the standard -- on the wrong side of the road!!) we drove across the country to the west coast. I truly LOVE the west coast as that is where my family is from and how I always picture Ireland. We had to most amazing time there -- Rachel's wedding was so much fun!! It started at 2pm and literally it went until 6am!!! We had a great time with family and did some traveling up and down the coast. I even milked a cow on the farm. But I think the highlight of my trip was climbing Green Hill. Green Hill is behind my Granny Mae's house (originally my great grandfather's house). At the top you have the most spectuclare view -- you can see out to the Irish Sea along with all of the rolling green hills. This year I climbed it with Rob, Amy, and my Irish cousins Leslie and Charlie. Leslie is my age and he is my partner in crime. Every time we get together we always have a wild night out in the pubs. It was great to be able to spend some time with Leslie since he had recently moved to Austrailia. I am so ready to head back to Ireland.. it truly is one of my favorite places in the world!!

Leslie, me, and Rob on Green Hill

After quickly regrouping on the Cape I returned to Raleigh. I had a few days to get settled before classes started up and the semester was back in full swing. This year I had a harder time than usual getting back into the groove. Perhaps it was because I was missing Ireland and my daily Guinness! I flew out to visit Ryne the end of August for his birthday and one last summer trip. We had a great time together and headed up to the Black Hills for the long weekend. As usual time zipped by and I was back in NC before I realized it.


And of course every fall means Clemson football!! It was great to head back to Clemson and to see and spend time with Marianne and her family. Her kids just crack me up and I love being able to spend time with them. Clemson got off to somewhat of a rough start but in the last few weeks they have been able to turn things around. I just love my Tigers and I hope they are able to keep on winning!! (On of my highlights from Clemson football weekends isn't so much football related as it is Emma related. On the drive home after a game Emma was the only one who was still awake. Since I was sitting next to her in the car she chatted and played with me. It was during that ride that I taught Emma to say "seriously" - which is one of my popular sayings. Let me just say this... hearing her say it is by far the cutest thing in the world!!! Mary Mac also melted my heart when she left a Care Bear for me in her bed. And of course Andrew is my little buddy so listening to his stories is always a riot as well).


Ryne came out in early October for a quick visit. We saw opening night for the Hurricanes. The next night we went to the U2 concert which was simply awesome. What a fantastic show!! We went with some of my good friends, Jane & Tamara, and had a blast. This was Tamara's first time ever tailgating and she is now hooked! Since it was a perfect weekend weather wise we also headed to the farmer's market (picked up some pumpkins and mums) and spent the day at the NC Zoo. It was just a perfect weekend.



But the fall is not just football.. it also means the start of hockey season. What can I say, I love sports!! During the off season the Canes picked up some key players and there were high hopes that the teams was going to have a strong season. Well... that did not end to be the case. The season is now about 1/4 under way and the Canes have only managed to win two.. yes TWO.. games!! They are currently in a 13 game losing streak. Bad... so bad... It's almost at the point where it is so bad it is comical. Yes, there have been several injuries to our top players but it is more than just that. The Canes are OLD (oldest team in the NHL) and it shows. We are slow. I don't know what it will take to get them back on the winning side of things. Several players have been put on waivers and I suspect that we will see a few players get traded. It just makes me sad... because I sure do love my Canes!!


My parents came to Raleigh for a week and we had a great visit. We did lots around the house - planted pansies and daffodil bulbs as well as installed motion sensor lights on my front porch. We also went to a couple of hockey games (obviously both were losses) and went out to dinner. I love having my parents here and it was said to see them go. But... the day after they left I flew out to spend some time with Ryne and his family. As you may know, Ryne's mom and grandmother are both battling cancer. It was important for me to be there to support them and do whatever I could to make their lives easier. We had a nice visit and I was able to help out and spend time with his family. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Whew! I think that more or less sums up the Fall. This weekend Bridget is coming to visit. I am so excited to have her come to Raleigh! We're going to Hurricanes game on Fri night and then to the Clemson at NC State game on Saturday. It will be a sports filled weekend but I know it will be a fun one!!