it's a new season with a new coach, a new qb and 7,000 additional seats at the stadium (to make 50,000+/-)...sold out crowd for the first game of the season and the pirates did not disappoint! ecu defeats tulsa 51-49! :D

did you see that?!

can you tell i am in love with http://www.picnik.com? ;)

thursday, i took a half-day from work and got my hair cut (eek!). i came home and cleaned the kitchen & took out the trash..and realized that i still needed to pack and would be leaving during rush hour. so, i took my time..we finally headed for raleigh around 7:45. i spent the night in raleigh and headed down to greenville friday afternoon because....

after 7 years of money issues, taking time off, and working full-time, my best friend, has done it! friday evening around 5:15pm, adina and her purple chucks walked across the stage to officially graduate! i am so proud of her for pulling through and finishing her degree.

after the ceremony, it had started to rain...ugh. after losing adina in the parking lot (she ran off--silly girl!), we went back to toby & jenn's to start the celebration with some super mario on the wii. her "boyfriend" was there...that's a whole other story. i will say that it was nice that he came to her graduation.


i love my girls. here's the picture of the FIVE of us ready to go over to paul & stephanie's (jackie is pregnant!).


it was so nice to be able to see jackie (we didn't plan to match either!) and hannah. i can't wait to plan a baby shower for baby brown! :) it's due in june--what a great birthday present that'd be!

i will refrain from talking about friday night because it reminds me why i have come to hate greenville. it was great to see jacob & the guys, but let's just say that i'm not planning a trip back until hannah gets pinned for her associate's from pcc (in 2 years).

i headed back to raleigh late saturday afternoon and stayed with my folks. with the threat of wintry weather, i didn't want to be driving in the dark. we decorated the tree and watched "ratatouille". after a wonderful brunch of my mom's french toast & my dad's scrambled eggs, i packed up the car and we headed back home.

YAY PIRATES!
YAY PIRATES!
YAY PIRATES!

Back-to-back Conference Champs!

Skip & the boys are heading back to Memphis & the Liberty Bowl
to take on Arkansas, January 2 @ 5:30 on ESPN.

GO PIRATES!
GO PIRATES!
GO PIRATES!

one more to go

this is my 99th post! next stop, 100. wow.

thanksgiving has come and gone (and boy, was it tasty!). soon, christmas will be here and after that, a new year! aside from the summertime (my birthday, the college world series), this is my favorite time of year. there's just something about a brisk chill and being able to see your breath with the glimmer of hope that snow will come east of the appalachias to brighten one's spirit.

and even though it's december & i haven't watched an ounce of basketball, i'm already looking forward to february and the start of baseball. i'm contemplating getting season tickets for the uncc games. season tickets are $49 total. that's ~35 home games. i think it's a good deal..plus it's tickets for the uncc/clemson and uncc/unc match-ups. could be good. ecu comes this way only twice, and only to high point and elon. i will be asking to leave work early for those. but before i jump the gun completely, i just wanted to say, you better bring out your megaphones and root for the pirates this saturday as they take on houston(?) in the conference usa championship game, 12pm, in greenville. woo hoo! gooooo pirates!

review/preview

it's been a couple weeks since i've posted..not much to write about i suppose. :/

this past weekend, i was going to go home. as usual, i didn't feel like driving friday night so i stayed in..i went to bed at a super reasonable hour since i was planning on getting up early to hit the road. but, man! did my bed feel good saturday morning. so i rolled over and called my mom. she did her darndest to convince me to come, but the security of my 3 comforters, 1 blanket & 4 pillows (+ teddy) just wouldn't let me go! so i rolled back over, and was in and out of sleep (mostly "in") for the next few hours. i ended up getting myself up at 1:30 or something like that! poor b...stuck in her crate since i thought we were leaving early....but she's a trooper. ;) saturday, i was lazy and watched football & movies (including staying up to see the end of the ecu-smu game. ecu lost by 7 pts. agh! we are just NOT a 2nd half team. i don't get it!! sunday morning, i went to church. but, since i was running behind, i ended up going to the main campus service that starts around 10:30 (the north campus service starts at 10:15). i like north campus better, but i'm glad the services are staggered. :) all i can say for sunday, is i did watch most of the panthers' game (not really sure why though), and cleared my dining table off and played a couple games of solo scrabble. i won. ;) then, i went to bed and had my horrible nightmare again, waking up at 1am and not wanting to go back to sleep. but, the nightmare also proved something i already knew: that i kinda have a crush on my neighbor. i think he lives with his dad, which is slightly endearing. he's really nice. we may hit up the wine vault this weekend, since i've yet to go. we'll see.

this week: it's back to the grind today..bah. i have a quick work project that's due by monday dealing with apf data entry. shouldn't be too bad. tomorrow, i have artitudes at 6:30 downtown, and then supposedly meeting derek for dinner somewhere south (since he lives in ballantyne). thursday, i have a much-needed eye appointment after work in concord. i haven't been to the eye doctor since i moved to charlotte. i need contacts!! (that's not to say that i've been wearing the same pair for 2 years, because that would be disgusting and incredibly bad for my eyes!) friday, after work, is another mint after 5. so long as the weather cooperates, i'm gonna go. saturday, i have a hair appt. (last color appt. before the wedding..darker, less blond, tone down the red, etc.). ecu plays rice for homecoming. the way rice got spanked this weekend, if we can't win, i'm gonna go give the team a swift kick in the rear! i'm going to be motivated this weekend for sure...get some work done (maybe even finish priming the living/dining rooms?). oh, and i need to find some new black flats (as i am in studded thong sandals today despite the temperature/weather; which is okay for outside work but maybe not so much for work in october?). wish me luck. ;)

hope everyone had a great weekend and survives the chillier & gloomy/rainy week that lies ahead.

p.s. i promise to upload pictures this week/weekend!

in case you didn't hear...

the pirates pulled out the victory against the mountaineers on saturday!

..and when i say "pulled out," i mean it. ecu seems to always want to give the game away. if there had been 5 more minutes, the result may have been different. but, no matter. state lost, virginia tech lost and east carolina WON! :)

i have just one thing to say....

Loyal & Bold, We are the Purple & Gold.
GO PIRATES!!

wordless wednesday.

17 days until...

victory!

saturday, september 5, 2009
east carolina pirates
vs
appalachian state mountaineers
greenville, nc

RIP PIRATES

Early Tuesday morning, the streets of downtown Greenville turned into a crime scene after a drive-by shooting occurred, killing two innocent by-standers. One victim was an ECU student. The other was an ECU graduate and a manager of a downtown pizzeria. Read the story here: http://www.reflector.com.

I think, in general, everyone thinks that Greenville is different from other cities; that violent crimes don't happen there. Living in Greenville for six years, I can't recall hearing about violent crimes that often, more small crimes or student-to-student crimes. It was always, "stay on this side of the tracks, and you'll be okay", or "remember not to walk alone at night." Yet, in the past two years, I've been hearing from my girl friends that Greenville is getting more dangerous. Gang activity is on the rise (last year, they told me that they actually said on the news broadcasts that women should stay inside and lock their doors because an initation stunt was to find and rape as many women as possible in a particular evening), the university is growing, and the lines are being blurred. The last time I went to visit, while we were out, Hannah's car was broken into. Car break-ins did not used to be the norm.

This shooting...it began inside The Other Place. The Other Place is a bar/nightclub that I used to frequent (obviously not so much these days), and knew people that worked there. The pizzeria? It was Alfredo's for the longest time (another frequent stop during our late-night ventures) and still would be if Alfredo hadn't sold it this year and moved to another part of town, to be a more "family friendly" restaurant. With downtown so close to the school, it could've been anyone. It could've been my girls. It could've been worse if it hadn't be "just a driveby."

Events like this remind the Pirate community that we are not excluded from the violence and the negative experiences of this world. We are blessed as a community, that it wasn't a widespread attack, that more innocent people didn't die. It is unfortunate and my heart goes out to the families, friends and other loved ones for the two young men that died, to the witnesses, and to the rest of Pirate Nation. We are strong. We will perservere. And, hopefully, the GPD will find the SOB and give him the just punishment he deserves for taking innocent lives, for CHOOSING to take lives. My head nods to the bouncers and staff at The OP who did their jobs, and protected the patrons inside from what could have been a tragedy had the man decided to open fire inside the bar.

RIP ELB and CAK. RIP PIRATES 6-30-2009.

what really happened...

This is a perfect example of why it sucks to have the planner's mentality...To have the whole weekend planned out only to have the rug pulled from beneath your feet when your best friend calls to bail on a weekend that's been planned for nearly a month. Here's a real recap of what went down this weekend. Even without Adina, it still turned out to be pretty kick-ass.

Friday night, Matt (the one on the left; we met at the dog park) & I went to Stooly's. So, I still got my Blue Moon. :D

Saturday, I didn't take Bella to PetSmart nor did I go to the pool. It had rained pretty much all day Friday, so it was still soggy and cloudy Saturday; so, I laid around, watched baseball and took a nap. Later, Brent came and we went to Verizon to see these guys:

We missed The Sounds, which is okay. Paramore was pretty good but man! No Doubt was AWESOME!! Of all the concerts I've been too, I rank last summer's Tom Petty show as #1. No Doubt is a very close 2nd. It was awesome.

Sunday, I watched the ECU/UNC game. Darn Tarholes. We'll get 'em next year! After the game, I cleaned the kitchen and both bathrooms and showered. Then, I took Bella down to the Davie Dog Park to meet Matt and his dogs, Diesel and Bruce:

Bella had a great time of course..She laid in the mud and even got her nails clipped (Matt did it for me). She's such a sweetheart. Needless to say, she was pooped when we finally got home. Matt was sweet and brought me a lily (Easter lily) stem. He works for a landscaping company and I had told him my thumb is green; that usually I can keep bouquets alive for at least 2 weeks..So he's daring me to keep it alive for 2 weeks. We'll see. I had to put it in the trunk while we were at the park so one bloom has already wilted a little bit...

Oh yeah, my cyst behind my ear came back. It showed up Saturday morning in all its glory and hurt like hell. But, Sunday night/Monday morning, somewhere between 2 and 4:30, it started to drain. YUCK. So, my lobe is still swollen and tender to the touch but my ear looks more "normal". I do have band-aids on it just in case it should decide to drain while I am at work. My dad's upset it came back and wants me to find a different doctor to go to...I agree but this time is also the fastest it's shown and and drained too........

This week, I need to wash my car. The Phantom has been getting pelted by the birds and really needs a bath. I think I'm going to do it tonight after work. Laundry...and packing for Raleigh on Thursday night..This week will be punctuated with a trip home on Friday. :D

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!

YAY ECU

The ECU PIRATES came from behind to beat the USC Gamecocks 10-9 in 10 innings last night to win the Greenville Regional Championship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, the PIRATES will take on the UNC Tarholes in the Super Regional this weekend.

*I wish I hadn't gotten tickets to No Doubt this weekend because I would so be rolling to CH...sigh.*

Memorial Day Weekend in Charlotte

Paige was in Charlotte Friday night - Saturday afternoon for another round of bridesmaid dress shopping with Leah and I. First, we went to The Bridal House on Old Statesville Rd. (right by my house) and found two possibilities. Then, we picked up Leah and went to The Wedding Mall. After trying on many, many dresses, we found "the one". It's pretty perfect..chocolate brown and turquoise with beautiful bronze sequins that look like fish scales. Perfect for a November wedding!

(I think the tag should have a disclaimer on it for parents of girls going to prom because it was a tight squeeze on but slid right off! Ha!)

JUST KIDDING!! These are the two possibilities for bridesmaid dresses, both in a teal/peacock color, both by Alfred Angelo: The first one is a chiffon/satin trim mix, halter dress that would need to be hemmed to the knee. This could pose a problem, but given the price of the dress ($109), it makes it seem more reasonable. The second one is strapless and satin (without being "bridesmaidy satin"). It is also $109 ($128 at a shop in Concord). (For Leah & I, we would only pay $94 + tax because at TWM, there is a $15 per person fee to try on dresses...)

Neither one really fit either of us..ah, sample sizes. So it was hard to tell if either really was that flattering on either of our body types. The majority vote at this point is for the second one. I REALLY like the purple dress (but don't know that it would be that pretty in teal) because I prefer the halter to the strapless style, but I think the second one would go better with Paige's dress (since it's satin with chiffon stripes). Any votes?

After TWM, we went to Mecklenburg Bridal but didn't find anything new. Then, we drove out to Gastonia to Poffie Girls and came up with nothing. I put about 100 miles on my car driving around Charlotte/Gastonia. I am making a mental note for if/when I ever get married and the duties I will force upon my Maid/Matron of Honor. ;)

It rained all weekend, leaving me completely unmotivated. Brent came down Sunday night and we went to Stooly's. Monday, we laid around and watched tv, went to the store, got pizza and wings & I taught him how to play SCRABBLE. He had never played before...so we played 3 games while watching The Bachelorette. I won 2-3. :) It was a great, uneventful weekend..except for all the rain. Hopefully the next two weekends will be rain-free! :)

Pirate Update: Despite losing the conference championship, ECU will host a regional this weekend. GO PIRATES!

I wish my life was exciting...

Sometimes, I really wish I led an exciting life..one that isn't so weighed down with routines. Since I moved to Charlotte, my days have pretty much been the same, more or less..although they did get more exciting/hectic/stressful/happy since I brought Bella home.

After the past few weeks, I will say that I think this year will be a year of change. My friends and I are growing up, our lives are going places we never expected them to go and we're having to make decisions we've never had to before. I can only expect that my relationships will be more fulfilling and honest, now that I don't have "that guy" in the back of my mind/heart. I think life will be better...hopefully I'll make some girl friends. No one will be able to replace Adina, Hannah or even Joanna & Jackie, but we're all so spread out and somewhat disconnected. I've sent in my membership application for the Young Affiliates of the Mint and that excites me, not only for the social experiences but for the exhibits (hello, Andy Warhol?!). Plus, I plan on getting a tan this year, one way or another...mostly so that I'm not a ghost when it comes time for Paige's wedding. I've never been one to care (plus, I always say I won't get skin cancer later since I don't worship the sun), but a little color wouldn't be so bad.

What else? I guess I'll end this post with some GREAT news! ECU swept Memphis last weekend and won the C-USA regular season title. The Pirates are 41-15, 17-7 C-USA and are ranked in the top-18 in ALL 5 major polls: #15 Baseball America, #16 ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, #17 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Rivals.com and #18 Collegiate Baseball. This week's rankings mark the longest active streak ranked in at least one poll at 14 consecutive weeks, since the 2004 season when they were ranked 17 straight weeks. In 2001, they were ranked on at least one poll the entire season, at 19 weeks. Tomorrow, ECU heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Southern Miss) for the C-USA Baseball Championships and will face UCF (8th seeded) at 5pm. GOOOOOOOOOO PIRATES!!

Busy Week

This week is certainly a busy week. On the work side of life: myself and another co-worker (who started the same day I did) are part of the county's efforts to save money and avoid layoffs and as a result are being redistributed downstairs?. We start Monday, yet we have no idea where, what, for whom and how. So, I'm using this week to tie up any loose ends (make sure files are closed in the system and filed away; organized my open files & in general, cleaning & organizing my desk/office) so that everything is in order come Monday.

On the personal side of life: I finally get my cyst removed tomorrow (on my lunch hour no less!). The doctor better not waste my time tomorrow (last time I had to wait 20 minutes just for him to come in, I could've had it out last time)...Can you feel my frustration?! Poo on specialists!
Bella goes to the vet Friday to find out if her mange has healed or if we have to continue with the needle/suringe routine. My hope is that it hasn't gotten worse....

This weekend = Chicago with Brent. Our flight leaves at 6am Saturday morning for Chicago. We take a turbo plane from Chicago to Champaign (Did you know the University of Illinois has its own airport?!). There's a reception and a basketball game where the school will recognize the players at halftime and then apparently, the party begins! I am really excited, and happy to be apart of this aspect of Brent's life...but I'm NERVOUS! For one thing, I'm the world's worst packer--even for overnight visits + we're flying and there are rules involved. Like, I thought, 'I can pack it all in one suitcase and then I can just take it with me and not have to check it.' Then Brent tells me that the type of plane we take from Chicago, they don't allow luggage in the plane, you only get your purse and coat. Yikes! AND the other thing...I'm meeting his family (parents, brother, sister-in-law, etc.)...I'm nervous! Wish me luck!! :)

P.S. Props to the ECU Baseball team for sweeping Monmouth last weekend on the opening weekend of NCAA Division I play. :) YAY PIRATES!

Homecoming....

This past weekend was Homecoming at ECU. Not that I need an excuse to go see my girlies, I decided to give myself a little vacation by taking Friday and Monday off from work. Tuesday was Veterans' Day, so I got a nice 5 day weekend. Lovely.

Thursday after work, Bella & I drove (well, I did the driving!) to my parents' house for the night. There's just something about home....Friday, we headed down to Greenville. I dropped Bella off at Auntie Adina's so that I could go to campus to see old professors, to the City to see the GIS guys, and to UBE to get some new Pirate paraphernalia. It's interesting to see how much Greenville has changed since I graduated..even since January!
Friday night, Adina and I went with her brother, Toby, to the Rebel opening at the Emerge Gallery downtown. The Rebel is a student publication that features extremely talented writers and artists, and is mighty difficult to be offered a spot. Well, Toby had two animation pieces chosen! So, it was fun being around the artsy-fartsy folk, although it did make me miss art school. ....Adina ran into Julianna, a girl she went to Italy with 4 years ago, so we all went to Boli's on the Boulevard to eat, drink, and be merry!
Saturday, Adina, Bella and I went to the Homecoming Parade on 5th. I learned that she gets apprehensive around bands and firetrucks. When the ECU Band came by, Bella actually hid behind me. Aww, so sweet! After the parade, we met Joanna and Hannah at the Fresh Market. Yes, Greenville has a Fresh Market..finally. We took lunch over to Hannah's so that Bella could meet Ramseys, her sister-from-another-mother. I was slightly worried that they wouldn't get along, but they quickly put my worries to rest as Bella chased her around and under and over and around for the next hour plus. It was a great afternoon with my girls (human and canine alike)!
Sunday, I packed and headed back to Raleigh for the night...Bella got her Christmas present early, as my parents bought her a crate like the one I have for her here--the biggest one they make (48"x42"x33")--and, they actually put it in the kitchen! My parents--not huge pet people--put my dog in their kitchen! It's a big deal, to say the least.
Monday, I got my hair done and I hate it. I was going to take the plunge and go dark, so I told the lady "no more blonde". How did I come home? Still blonde. Ugh! There were harsh words and tears...I mean, it looks fine (I do happen to have great hair), but it's not what I wanted. But, never fear, I'm getting it done on Saturday afternoon. Only 2 days left as a blonde...........I'll post a picture once it's all said and done. :)

Well, this post has turned into a short story, so I'll cut it off ...HERE. Until next time.....


p.s. ECU beat Marshall 19-16 (OT). We are now 6-3 with 3 games to go before the conference championship. GOOOOO PIRATES! Aarrgghh!