North Topsail Beach

 

 There are few things as calming for me as the sound of the ocean. It was a single overnight stay at North Topsail, but we were literally sleeping above the ocean at high tide. There isn't much more that I could ask for... except to go back and never leave.

I was invited down to the sandhills this past weekend to snap some pics. My friend Jim is the father of the bride...
 
 
 
 

Life has been busy.

So things have been somewhat busy since my last update.

I had applied for two different positions that would’ve been a boost up from my current position. I felt equally suited for both, but really wanted one of them. Last Monday, I got the call that the position that I really wanted was where I was placed. So, mark last Monday up as one of the best I’ve had in a long while. It was pouring rain on my way to work that morning, but within an hour of getting here… I had the news.

Good stuff.

This past weekend, my wife and I joined her parents for a day and a half in Wilmington/Wrightsville. It was basically a 1.5 day feeding frenzy. On the way in, we stopped at a pizza place recommended by Tom Gray. Slice of Life pizza has a downtown location and one near Military Cutoff road. We hit the Military Cutoff location and took a white pie back to our room. It was, by far, the best white pie I’ve had in the area. The crust was great and the toppings were fresh. I’ll add my name in with those in open support of Slice of Life Pizzeria.

We spent some time Saturday morning in Oakdale Cemetery and then headed to the Cotton Exchange / Front street area downtown before an extended lunch at Front Street Brewery.

Highly recommend their raspberry wheat or hefeweizen beers. Scotch ale is a favorite of mine, but avoid the smoked porter at all costs. I’m blaming the beer during lunch on our trip to the aquarium at Kure Beach. I love aquariums, but the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores has to be my favorite of the three in the state.

After wandering through the aquarium, we stopped by Apple Annie’s Bakery on Military Cutoff to pick up a few pastries for the next morning… finished off the afternoon with a nice long meal on the deck at The Bridge Tender. I’m a bit disappointed in my pics from this last weekend. Nothing really stood out that was worth posting here, or even saving. It’s kinda tough going on photo-safari when you’re following someone else’s schedule. No worries, I’ll have more time to snap pics this weekend.

The above sock monkey is the new addition to Bella's toy family. His name is Frito.


Creepy Easter rabbit... but I enjoyed the depth of field.


the star of the show, Bella. She's our girl. We were on the way to see my mom for mother's day and her birthday.

a benefit yardsale

Alright all, just wanted to toss something out for you to think about.

My wife, a few of her friends, and my mother in law are hosting a yard sale to raise money for the Susan G. Komen foundation. They're doing a 3 day hike later this summer and are raising funds. If anyone reading this has something laying around that you've been meaning to get rid of, or want to donate for the yard sale, please let me know. I would be more than glad to come pick up any donations.

This is the event they're raising money for; click the image below to visit the website.

a few pics from the pacific northwest.

and a few shots from the trip....

...and here we come.

...after a successful vacation, we're waiting to board the flight home at portland airport. I should have a handful of good pictures to share with you on the next post... but that will be after the jet-lag has gone away sometime this weekend.

So we're leaving early tomorrow morning for a week in the pacific northwest. I've never been further than Denver, so this is new to me. We'll fly into Seattle and spend a few days, drive down the coast into Astoria where a huge portion of my childhood was filmed. Thanks to Richard Donner, I believe that Goonies never die... somewhere in the back of my mind, there are a few kids still hunting for treasure under Astoria.



We'll drive out of Astoria into Portland and tour the city before flying back. It's neat, we fly out from Raleigh to Newark, to Seattle. Drive from Seattle to Astoria, then into Portland, before flying back through Houston to Raleigh.

Expect pictures to be uploaded to my picasa link from the previous post. If you have any requests, let me know... I'll do what I can.

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand." - Ansel Adams

I'm no photographer, but I love taking pictures. There are far too many "photographers" around Asheboro.. and I'm sure it has something to do with RCC and lots of students that have a bigger ego than portfolio.

Just the same, I take pictures. Some of them turn out pretty good. I make every attempt to not do any post-processing as I would rather just shoot a photo and then upload it for people to see.

So... that said.  I have my pictures online.Check out my picasa page or my flickr page if you want to see them.

That's exactly how I feel. No, not dead.. but absolutely at rest. Well rested. Recharged. Beaufort tends to do that to me. More pics will follow soon.

There is nothing in this world as calming as spending time in Beaufort with my wife. Nothing.

Except maybe pairing the experience with a bottle of good cabernet.

So...

after a lumpectomy and some exploration of lymph nodes, it's been determined that my mother-in-law is clear of cancer. There's still some radiation to come over the coming weeks, but for right now... we're in the clear.

Go get yourselves checked out and hopefully avoid the stress associated with a surgeon telling your family that "it's cancer."

Cancer, Cancer Awareness and a gripe.

I'm not sure how many of you are using Facebook. I know it's effectively the most annoying of my addictions, behind good food and computer-geek-stuff. A few weeks back, there was a chain letter going around to all of the ladies on Facebook urging them to post their bra color in support of breast cancer awareness. Of course, 90% of the guys on Facebook had no idea what was going on. Believe me, I have nothing against raising awareness for a cause I have always believed in. If you're a woman, go get a mammogram as soon as your doctor will allow it. Men? Prostate exams as soon as possible. Cancer screening and awareness is nothing new... but when folks dilute themselves into thinking that a gender-specific-coded-message on Facebook is helping, we're all at a loss.

I bring this up because I was sitting there yesterday when a daughter and husband were told that their mother/wife (and my mother-in-law) indeed had breast cancer. She was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS for short). According to what I've found in research, and from what the doctor said, it's the most common of non-invasive cancers. Lumpectomy followed by radiation can normally take care of the treatment, mastectomy is another option. I've never sat there for that specific moment in time... when someone is given the news that their loved one has something inside them that could potentially be fatal.

I guess, if I'm trying to achieve anything by this blog post.. it's this: Get yourself checked out. Go to your doctor. Both men and women. Simply having a pink ribbon ball-cap and a Save-the-Tatas sticker on your car doesn't replace a screening.

I sat around trying to figure out why these women on Facebook had digressed back into middle-schoolers with their random color status updates, meanwhile my mother-in-law had a tumor growing inside her. If you want to support a cause that you claim to believe in, make a donation... go to a relay for life and walk... but most importantly, don't be a hypocrite to the cause. Don't dress up in breast cancer awareness garb and never get yourself checked out.

Long story short, they're going to meet up with an oncologist next Monday for a plan of action. If you're a religious person and want to send out a few prayers for Cathy Wood, please do. If you're a secular humanist and just wanna throw out some well-wishing or good karma, that's perfectly accepted too.

 
I love transitional meals. Lately, our Sunday morning breakfast hash has found itself stuffed into a tortilla and alongside a black bean soup by later that evening. Today will be no different. The hash is relatively simple. Just dice sweet potato, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, onion and mushroom. Sprinkle with cumin, pumpkin pie spice, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and toss it onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or so.

Thankfully, it works just as well later on as a quesadilla. Good times.

Suuuuushi

 

 

 

 

a...nd hurray for sushi night with the lovely wife. Let's see here, we had a moonlight roll, cucumber salad, and a boat... and beer. Tasty night. I know there are other places for sushi in Greensboro, but I can't seem to pull away from US Sushi.

 

on a side note from everything else...
I love my dog.

Random update..

So I think we're gonna go see our favorite potter this saturday. If he's around, that is.

Also, there is some kind of plant/factory in Asheboro where their product smells (from a distance) like those pink circus peanut candies.
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