Camping

  
This weekend we headed to the North Carolina mountains to camp with some of our friends. As we headed out of town we had a brief moment of wondering if we were nuts to be heading out of town when gas supply still seems to be sketchy - my brother called on Friday from Nashville to say they were out of gas. Our concern lasted all of two minutes... we went any ways.

  
As we get older, most of our friends have kids, so camping has begun to take on a new meaning for us. We will always love our backpacking trips, but we are adapting to the kid-friendly camping experience.

 

 
It was nice to be able to relax in the woods and catch up with friends. I can never turn down a campfire, hot chocolate and smores.

 

  
The highlight for me was getting to be a part of Andrew Reynold's first smores experience. Daniel helped him roast his marshmallow and then we all enjoyed watching him bit into that first goodness of eating a smore.

 

  
Kid-camping involves a lot more catering to kids - we did a lot of reading to kids and watching the kids play, but it was a nice weekend. Thankfully there were no full-blown melt downs. I think the kids all did great.

 

  
It was the first weekend of perfect camping weather. Cool, but not too cold. No bugs. Just perfection.

 

 
We stayed at Turkey Creek which was a really great campground. Daniel and I generally try to avoid campgrounds, because we find them loud, but this was quiet and relaxing.

 

  
After breaking camp down, we headed to the Panther Creek Trail to do a little hiking... it was a lot of creek crossings, but fun. Afterwards we headed to eat lunch at NOC at the River's End Restaurant - it is always a treat to get to watch the kayakers and rafters float by while you eat.

 

I am looking forward to more camping trips in the future (as soon as the house is finished).

 

Weekend Recap

So, here we are, almost the middle of the week and I am just getting around to posting about my weekend. Julie and Luke came to visit for the weekend. I always forget how much I miss having my friends around. Granted, we have new friends, but it is somehow not the same as seeing your old friends.

For fun, we stayed up until after 1 a.m. (both Fri and Sat) - this is extremely late for me and Daniel, by Sunday night we were both exhausted.

Saturday morning, we all slept in (except for Luke who got up to do his marathon training). After we were all up we got ready and headed uptown to the Blues, Brews & BBQ festival where we were able to get some pretty decent BBQ. After BBQ, the guys went to the gun show while Julie and I hung out. Saturday night the Irvine's went to a seminar downtown, while Daniel and I were able to get caught up on some things.

Sunday we slept in, went for breakfast at the Not So Original Pancake House followed by church. Then finally we came home, hung out and then grilled out before Julie and Luke headed home to Richmond. After they left I ended up crashing on the couch for a 2-hour nap and I still managed to sleep all night.

Overall it was a nice, catching-up weekend. Wish we could have these types of weekends more often.

The Ideal Creative Workflow...

Unfortunately real life is not always this simple.

This makes me feel old...

Last night we were invited to dinner with a bunch of "young adults" from our church. We were sitting across from a couple and the girl mentioned something about being from Searcy.

I didn't recognize her, so I said, "Oh, I'm from Searcy too." We discovered that she went to Harding Academy and that I went to SHS. We both went to HU for college.

We proceeded to talk about when we graduated... she said she graduated in "2003." So I say, "That's weird, I graduated in 2002." At this point we start to try to figure out if we have any mutual friends.

So I say that from Harding Academy, I was friends with Alicia T. At this point she says, "Oh, Alicia is way older than me, I went to school with her younger sister, Andrea."

The awkward, I feel old part happened when at this moment it dawns on me that when she said that she graduated in 2003, she meant from high school. When I said that I graduated in 2002, I meant from college.

Anyways, she is the age of my youngest sibling and I definitely am feeling like we are no longer "young adults." Overall, It was a good meal and we met some really nice people that we had not had the opportunity to meet before.

Confessions About the Dentist

Here is my big confession: I am almost 28 and I have never really been to the dentist before today. Sure there was the one time when I was 10 to have sealant put on my molars, but other than that, this was it.

To be honest, I was a little petrified of today's visit, but it went really well. My dental hygenist did a great job of taking care of me and my dentist was very frank with me.

My dentist told me that as far as he was concerned I could walk out and not come back and I would be fine. He had some minor concerns, but my teeth and gums are in really great shape (especially for never having really been to the dentist before). He did recommend that I come back for more regular cleanings, but that was up to me. I will be back just so the cleaning takes less time and so that I will be more aware of the health of my mouth.

There was one area of concern, there was a white spot on my x-ray (probably a calcium deposit on my jaw). This makes me nervous. He said that it might be nothing, but we will have an oral surgeon review the x-ray just to be sure.

And then there is the whole case of my jaw. I once went to an orthodontist who told me he couldn't help me and that I would have to seek advance treatment. This was not an option at the time due to finances... it may still not be an option. However he suggested I at least consult with a surgeon to see what my options are. Mostly I need to find out what the ramifications of leaving things the way they are... there is a possibility of arthritis in my jaw (long term).

Anyways, the consultation is a little overwhelming, but the actual part where my teeth and gums are healthy is good news as far as I am concerned.

Thoughts on Women

When I was in high school, I remember one of my guy friends asking me if I was a feminist. At the time I was offended and thought he was making fun of me. For some reason, being a feminist seemed to carry a stigma.

In college, I had a group of guy friends who really knew how to goad me. They would make comments like, "Get in the kitchen, where you belong." They said these things knowing they could get a rise out of me. I am sure they thought it was funny. Looking back, it was funny at how they could get me (a calm, peace-loving human being) so riled up and angry.

Anyways, I am beyond those phases of getting angry about comments and snide remarks. I am married now and I actually spend a lot of time in the kitchen - because I like to, not because I have to.

If by feminist, you mean that I think women are capable human beings and should be treated as such, then yes, I am a feminist.

The reason for this post is that I am really frustrated with the comments I hear about Sarah Palin needing to spend more time taking care of her family and less time focused on politics. You would NEVER hear that expectation for a man. A man is never told that he needs to go home and take care of his family.

While I believe family is extremely important, I believe it takes two parents to adequately raise a family and to put that burden solely on a woman's shoulders is ludicrous.

Many of my roll models in life are capable women who are very able to do it all. I have an aunt who is in her 40's, who has 4 children. The youngest has down syndrome AND she works outside of the home. She is a fantastic mother and great at all she does. She has a wonderful husband and has surrounded herself with a good support system to make her world function.

My mom is another roll model for me. She chose a different path. She was a stay-at-home mom. I love her decision to be home for me and my siblings. This is the greatest thing about America (and Canada)... if as a woman, you want to stay home, that is OK. If you want to have 4 (or 5) kids and hold a job, that is OK.

In the six+ years that I have been out of college, I have only had one female department head and she was amazing. I have also had an incredibly inept male boss (I have had several great male bosses). To me, positions should not be assigned because you are male or female. You should never receive a position as a handout. You should have people in the positions they are in because they are capable human beings. Period.

Laboring on Labor Day

So who labors on Labor Day? We do, of course. On the national holiday from taking a break from labor, if you visited us we would probably put you to work as well... you may think I am kidding, but Daniel's dad is visiting and replacing our fence for us.

This particular weekend, you would find us: replacing a squeaky floor... installing sound proofing between two walls... installing fresh drywall to finish a room... tearing out part of an old fence and installing a new one... There were probably other things, I just don't remember them all. So much for a reprieve from labor.

 

Me cutting styrofoam insulation for sound insulation between the two bathrooms. If you look at the next pic, you will see that I am standing over the section that we replaced - the one where Daniel is sticking his head through the floor.

Daniel below the bathroom floor, reinforcing beams before replacing the floor.

Daniel's dad, Wesley, tearing out the privacy fence (behind him). We are going to put in a split-rail fence in this section to match the rest of our fence around our yard.