12.07.2008
Wedding Pics
These pictures come from two of our friends who just happened to bring along cameras and snap away. I downloaded, sorted, and uploaded them through picasa. I love the simplicity of google.
let's see here...
Also, it should be noted that while I'm fawning over the care that I recieved, I certainly hope that my mouth doesn't need more services from the good surgeon... my wallet may not recover as well as my jaw has.
I'm happy though, I'm actually had a steak last night (Pittsboro General Store Cafe - local produce, great food, but the service can sometimes really suck) and I'm feeling good about food again.
Kristen and I adopted a new member into the family.. and as soon as he has adjusted, I'll get you some pictures of Charlie. He is an FCAP (feral cat societ) adopted cat and is taking home under our bed for the time being. Beautiful cat, he just needs to get himself acclimated.
...but at times, don't we all?
11.26.2008
...I'm sure it's happened to the best of us though, right? October just passed me by without as much as a single update... but having accrued over 250 hours in overtime alone, I think I was a bit beyond busy.
Things have been going along swimmingly. After the election was over, I decided to take care of a few things I had been putting off:
- Home repairs and improvements.
- Matt repairs and improvemenets.
I still have a way to go on both horizons, but friday is a big day in the Matt repair field. I'll have my wisdom teeth hacked out Friday morning. No leftovers for me, eh? At least not in solid form anyway. I hate dentists, but after meeting up with my oral surgeon, I'm a bit more at ease.
Getting back into a healthier lifestyle is going to come next, and I figure if my ability to eat is hampered, maybe that will lend itself to me starting back over on a new foot? I can hope as much anyway.
Everything on the homefront is great though. We're preparing for the holidays, and trying to survive the "we must do everything with both families" syndrome that most young married folks go through. We're making it though... this will be the second year of trying to make everyone happy and still keep some time for ourselves to enjoy the holiday season.
I still haven't had a chance to get out to see Tom Gray... and I still have that bottle of Lizano for you. I've yet to find anything (within reason) that doesn't go well with Lizano either. I haven't had the opportunity to get any pictures off of my cameras and get them edited or uploaded. Last night was the first baking that we had really done in the house since... well.. it's been a while. I wish I could share it all with you... but we only made 2 dozen.
homemade (from scratch) cupcakes with a coconut custard filling, homemade butter cream icing to top it, a fresh ganache to top that off, and then slivered almonds.
I guess I eat these solid foods while I still can, right?
I'll update more frequently now that things have somewhat calmed. Here's to hoping that everything is going well for all of you.
9.19.2008
so we didn't fall off of the planet during the honeymoon.
but it'll have to be later tonight.
as for the shorter update:
- the weather was beautiful for the wedding
- the honeymoon was great
- naps are wonderful things
- coming back to work after a week off sucks like life out of you
- people are annoying
that's about it. There's more detail to be added tonight/this weekend.
Tom, I have some Lizano for you. I haven't found it in asheboro yet, but I picked up a bottle of it in wilmington at the hot-sauce shop in the cotton exchange.
9.02.2008
all the planning in the world...
The only thing we didn't plan on was Hanna. We didn't invite her either. It just looks like she's headed this way...
It's alright though... the venue we chose has an alternate indoor location. Believe me, we appreciate all of the updates (either by text message, email, myspace/facebook, phone calls), but trust and believe that we know she's coming this way.
The pessimism is the biggest issue for me though. See, at this point, there's absolutely 100% nothing that we can do about the weather. In fact, we knew it was going to be hurricane season when we picked the date. Our venue can easily host everyone inside if it comes to that. There's room for folks to change into dresses and tuxedos, mingle about, have some wine if they want... there's room for the food and dancing.
And when it all comes down to it, what's the most important part of the day itself? Is it the dress? the catered meal? the cake or pictures?
... no. It's the fact that I'll be married to the woman that I love. Come rain or shine, that's all that matters in the end.
8.27.2008
Google Earth!
take a read folks... Google Earth has added the street view (what everything actually looks like from ground view) and put in better (3D) navigation to the program.
So what's the big deal?
If you have a mobile device that can access the internet (pda/smartphone) who would need a GPS anymore? You can actually get turn by turn directions, see the actual buildings around you, and get the most accurate digital depiction of.. well.. the world.
But why would google use street view here.. I mean, we're just Randolph County right?
You'd be shocked and amazed folks. A little over a month ago, I noticed the odd elongated white van (with an omnidirectional camera) parked in the Walmart parking lot. It was actually parked in a space, thankfully. Sections of Asheboro are already on the google streetview layer.
This (I would imagine) is going to be applied on a global level too.. and for a simple blue-collar worker like myself, this allows us to see parts of the world that I may never be able to see. Imagine the benefit to school children. Why just talk about the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower when you can see it and the surroundings on the screen right in front of you... interactively.
I've used google earth to help me lay out some plans for the upcoming honeymoon. It can show you gas prices, hotels, things to do, restaurants... etc.
If you haven't yet tried this program, jump all over it here: http://earth.google.com/
I've yet to try out the plus version, but I'm half tempted to give it a shot.
8.26.2008
too much sleep..
So hurray for Sagebrush and Timothy's.. oh.. and.. uh... Sherwood? Okay? I never figured Sherwood would be looking for beer sales, but more power to 'em... right? Maybe this will lessen the load on those overworked folks at RockOla. Seems that they've all been ridiculously busy and since the election was certified. Funny, sounds like someone may have been right about more money being spent in Asheboro.
I know I haven't picked up anything in Randleman since...
Wedding planning has been the word of the day since this past October, and the time is drawing much closer. Am I nervous? Not really. Is She? I hope not. I think it's a shared anticipation to have it behind us. There's nothing quite like spending 11 months trying to plan a wedding. Well, I take that back. There's nothing like having 11 months where you only really have about 4 months of time to use to plan a wedding.
The beauty, though, is that we'll be on our honeymoon in 2 weeks from right now. In fact, there should be sand between my toes in exactly 2 weeks. I'll be able to get back into Picasa and start add some pictures to the blog. Visual stimulation is always a plus in maintaining an audience. Well... pictures or sheer insanity.
Those of you that are fans of beer and head to/from Raleigh occasionally, stop in Apex at the Tyler's Taproom. I recommend Lion Stout or Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout if you like a good dark beer that isn't local... oh, and have the Garlic Fries.
8.20.2008
"He gave up his ghost to heaven and we will miss him always"
It's hard to explain in a blog what the music that these guys produced has meant to me. It has pulled me through rough times and helped me celebrate wonderful little moments in my life... and one of the founding members of the band has left us.
One of the multi-instrumentalist for the Dave Matthews Band, LeRoi Moore, has passed away. He hadn't been on this past tour due to injuries that he received after an ATV accident in June. My fiancee and I attended a show on July 4th of this past year, and was astounded... as I tend to be at their shows.
We left the show, talking about the next one that we could go to. We left with a sense of anticipation and joy...
and it has since been, as of 8:12 this morning, completely emptied out with nothing to take its place.
what a sad, sad day.
Rest high above the clouds my friend, no restrictions.
8.19.2008
A few notes from the weekend..
- red robin charges way too much for a burger.
- carolina coffee always rises above my ridiculous expectations.
- tux fittings suck the life out of you.
- the lowes foods on 64 has the best beer selection in Asheboro.
- wisdom teeth are the devil.
- wheelies-shoes are sitting on the right hand of the devil known as wisdom teeth.
- everyone should follow the slow roma tomato roasting idea that Tom Gray posted
Everything else was a blazing success this past weekend though. I spent some free time putting together a template for the wedding programs... and we're getting everything in order. The marriage license is in hand, all we need now is to go through the motions and have everything signed.
As for the tomato roasting thing...
We played host to a few folks Sunday afternoon and I love putting together finger foods. I remember seeing the post that Tom had out and wanted to give that a try, so we popped a few slices of tomato in the oven. Instead of any sugar, I added two cloves of roughly diced garlic, olive oil, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. They hung out in the oven for about 4 and a half hours instead of the full 12. While they did their thing, I pulled together a basil infused mayonaisse, toasted some sea-salt and rosemary bread, and sliced some polly-o mozzarella cheese.
They turned out to be, effectively, two-bite french bread pizzas.
Good stuff.
so with everything said and done, the wedding is a little over 2 weeks away... and our to-do list is shrinking daily.
...gah. I need a drink.
8.13.2008
working for the weekend
8.12.2008
who's next?
Who is going to give those hard working (a lot of wait-staff working double shifts, 7 days a week to accomodate the change) people at Rock-Ola a break?
Chilis?
Sagebrush?
San Felipe?
Burrito Brothers?
Timothys?
Something Different?
Pizza Hut?
Olde Towne Deli?
Bamboo Garden?
Blue Mist?
Mayflower?
Sapporo? (beer and sushi go well together...)
Tuscany? (Wine and italian food? who would've imagined!)
Quotables? (miiiiight have to stay open longer than just lunch though...)
Coaches?
Zekos? (beer and pizza work well too...)
Just a few examples to ponder...
I know Sir Pizza has vowed to never serve... and there are few places that I don't think would consider it. I've never seen alcohol served in a buffet style restaurant, and I really don't think many people want an Asheboro Libre with their Biscuitville bacon platter.
Just the same, who do YOU think is going to be the next to dive in?
8.11.2008
awkward parking in downtown...
The biggest difference is not being able to see oncoming traffic until my car is halfway backed out onto Sunset Ave.
So why change things at the old courthouse/register of deeds? It's a blind turn and if you're the lucky winner of the "parking in the spot nearest the intersection", things may grow to be a bit hairy when backing out to leave. Does Asheboro need that much parking?
Pics to follow.
also, all four quik chek locations in Asheboro have their ABC permits... as well as both of the Lowes Foods stores.
8.08.2008
Tonight, it's PC gaming though. There's something addictive about first person shooters. I used to be a COD guy.. including all of the variants. I bounced around to BF2, Quakewars, Quake, Half Life2, and now back to Call of Duty 4.
I can't help it. I played "army" with my cousins 20 years ago... and don't care to enlist considering the current quagmire. Besides, digital bullets hurt much less... and are a lot cheaper too. Then there is the whole "hit enter to spawn again" deal that you can't really get in real life.
so hurray for the weekend. Yard work is waiting for me in the morning... and the poor yard needs it. The Fiance and I have been much too busy for our liking, so this could be both therapeutic and productive...
til then, folks.
So I'm curious where all of the folks that were going to boycott alcohol-supporting business are going to shop now... I'm not trying to be facetious, just curious if these folks are going to stick to their testimony.
Both Wilco-Hess stations also picked up their permits yesterday. It will be interesting to see how these places change their layouts. What is going to go? I know that Lowes Foods (well, I've been told) is going to relocate their card section in order to put in new cooling units for their beer sales. I am just a bit curious about the walmart layout. Will they mimic that of the Randleman walmart? I've no idea.
I'd just be happy if they cleared the cars out of the fire lane/no parking zones.
Also, thank God it's Friday.
8.07.2008
the low price kings begin battle..
I just wish there was a station a little closer to downtown that could compete with those gas prices... whether they have beer or not.
It may come as a shock...
It's been years since I've been to the banks, but the salt in the blood is rising with the anticipation. The last time I was there, I tried hanggliding. That didn't work out too well the first time around, but there's always hope. I just don't think I'm meant to fly.
I've been reading a ton of reviews and forum posts from roadfood, and I think that the honeymoon will be an adventure.
As a recommendation: If you've never been to the Beaufort Grocery restaurant in Beaufort, NC... please do.
8.06.2008
have a beer at Rockola...?
My Fiance and I had our first date at the Red Oak Brewpub in Greensboro near Guilford College.
good times, good nachos, and great dark beer.
Hopefully the Easy Mart will have it... since they've applied for their permit.
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148153
If they don't, I'm sure Food Lion won't let me down.
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148164
then again, if they don't have the Red Oak beer, at least I can have a wine tasting at Oakie Mountain Shopping center.
or over at the other Food Lion on 49.. since they apparently have it permits too...
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148166
that said, any of the 200 people that were at Rockola last night, what beers are they offering?
8.05.2008
and thus it begins.
...
Update.
Quick Quality Gas Station has been added to the list.
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148144
so who is in? update!
Rockola has acquired temporary permits to serve all four types of beverages. expect to see taps flowing soon.
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148132
It would also appear the J&S Independent (of J&S Wholesale and Rentals, LLC) is in for all of the off premises sales optinos.
http://www.ncabc.com/search/business.aspx?bid=148144
And the Quick Quality Gas station on South Fayetteville Street is in for Malt Beverage and Unfortified Wine.
to echo this morning...
Keep an eye on the NCABC commission website folks, I'm sure things are going to be showing up quickly. Also, the NCABC is hosting a RASP (responsible alcohol seller program) workshop on 8.14.2008 at the public works training room. 1312 N Fayetteville Street in Asheboro. There's a morning session from 10 am to noon, and an afternoon session from 1:30-3:30. The training is free...
it might not be a bad idea for prospective employees of Rockola/Chilis/Sagebrush/any future restaurants that might be opening to drop by and attend on of these seminars...
...but you have to register for the workshop.
ABC? Who's in?
Aunt Betty's Cafe... The Alphabet Store...
I've heard it referred to as a few other code-names in my time, but the curiosity surrounding the ABC for today is simple... and has nothing to do with the retail location itself.
In the megalopolis that is Asheboro, who is applying for ABC sales and who isn't?
With the impending certification of the ABC referendum on tap (pun completely intended) to go through early this afternoon, there is an online database of all ABC permits that have been granted throughout the state for the past 15 years or so. The majority of permits have gone to individuals, but there have been a few businesses that have been listed as well.
The big news will be what names are being added to the list of permit applicants / temporary permit holders over the next 24 hours. It might make it a bit easier to squash those nasty little rumors floating around about who is and is not supporting sales of alcohol in asheboro.
curious? click here to search the database.
8.04.2008
So what are we looking for...?
... so what is going on? What happens now? The election is to be certified within 16 hours and temporary permits will be assigned to local businesses. Rumor has it that Sagebrush, Rockola, Chilis, a few grocery stores, and convenience stores will be applying for temporary permits.
There's also a rumored sports bar and grille coming to the food lion shopping center on 49.
What would some of you like to see in the way of progress. I know there were a few good ideas posted on the highly commented on Randolph is Talking thread. Someone had mentioned the idea of a Microbrewery in Asheboro. A lot of folks shrugged off the idea, but take a look at Pittsboro. You'll find a microbrewery and a restaurant with an exceptional menu, live music three days a week, and ... of all things, a bar inside.
Could a brewery survive in Asheboro? It's possible. Probable? It's hard to say. One of my favorite breweries closed their restaurant in Greensboro. Red Oak Brewery is no longer open on the restaurant side of things, but they still sale and distribute their brews locally. If there was a tie in to the Zoo, and able to be sold to/from the local restaurants, a brewery could survive.
Me? I'd love to see a brewpub come into play. At one time, there was a coffeeshop downtown where Quotables is now. Bailey's Coffee and News was one of the closest thing to.. well.. if you ever watched Cheers... it was like that. Everyone that came in knew everyone else, and if a stranger walked in the door, they left as a friend. I'd love to have that aspect come back to somewhere here in town. Live music... open for longer hours...
...but that's just me.
Any word on the old Sir Roberts restaurant near the high school? Have any of you bloggers heard who is in contract with this particular spot? Color me curious.
also, what would you like to see move in to Asheboro now that the city is wet? Live music in the city park? Different restaurants? Where in Asheboro do you see the change?
the first of... many?
Thanks to Rob over at RIT for sparking the ever-present urge to blog.