Weekend Update

What an awesome weekend! It started out with a Goo Goo Dolls concert!! They're my FAVORITE band ever and I don't even care if you think I'm still living in 1995.

It was my birthday present from Gin & Lu.

I would totally marry Johnny Rzeznik.

The crowd was kinda lame-o. But Gin, Lu & I rocked out.

I sang every word.

And had the best night ever! Seriously, it was amazing to see them live.

The next day we went to Hayden's play. (He's my cousin's son.)

Followed by a dinner at Betts' house with all extended family.

We also celebrated my godson's 9th birthday!

And here's a picture of Betsey with her ancient camera that requires FILM! :)

Happy Birthday Brooks!

Happy Ear Day

I had such a wonderful day with the kids. Although we did have a rough start to the afternoon with the boys hitting and fighting and then an unwillingness to venture to Lowes to get stuff to celebrate Earth Day... but I eventually won. ;)

You should've seen them, they ran through the garden center and wanted every plant they had. Margot and I went inside to find birdseed and when we did, oh! guess what we saw: a mouse. I screamed and quickly grabbed Mar, put her up on a lawn chair and then jumped on one myself. A man saw us and laughed, then gave us an update when the coast was clear. Please. I don't mess with mice, even if it means embarrassing myself at Lowes.

I knew we had to get basil, petunias and geraniums but the boys were set on getting a fruit tree. Ok, so I let them pick out the smallest tree and they were thrilled! We came home and were up to our elbows in potting soil and flowers, and there might've been a wet, smelly dog running around, too. Everyone had a task to do and while P&W were digging the hole for the peach tree, and Mar was planting the petunias, I wrote on the driveway in chalk: "Happy Earth Day".

Wilson got out the hose to water the tree and then he calls me over to show me that he erased the 'th' with water, so the driveway now read: "Happy Ear Day" and of course I found that hilarious and applauded his creativity.

My favorite part of the day was when I was leaving, Wilson said sincerely, "I had a really great day with you, Carrie. Happy Ear Day." {and my heart melted}

Girls just wanna have fun

We had a bachelorette weekend for Michelle and it was a blast! Everyone came into town Friday night for a concert. On Saturday we had breakfast and then later we went to Freedom Park, which is right around the corner from me! It's my new Central Park.

I love picnics.

Hamilton Lake girls

Al found these cute cups:

This is the 3rd time in a month that I've seen Al. So much better than 3 times/year!

After the park we went home to rest and get ready for Cabo Fish Taco in NoDa. Yum. I love fish tacos and this was the perfect place for dinner.

It's the BRIDE!

Me & my roomie MK

The whole crew:

After dinner we went back to my house for games and fun.

I can't wait until June!

Keep calm and Carrie on

I'm not going to lie, I was in bed with the lights out at 10pm tonight. After a fun and sleepless weekend, I was exhausted. And then I got the best surprise last night when Kathy called to see if she could stay in Charlotte because she was on her way to the Furniture Market in High Point, NC. Of course she could! I quickly made cranberry scones because she loves cranberries and we talked until the wee hours of the morning. So that's why I'm a granny going to sleep super early tonight.

Before sleep, I usually run through a list of "day debriefings", one of them including why brothers hit/punch/beat up/try to hurt each other. Ahhh, I don't get it! Boys are soooo different than girls. I certainly never hit or kicked Ginna & Lucy (that I recall), so this is all new to me. Help!

After processing that, I realized I hadn't blogged today, and I promised the blog world a post every day this week, so I'll just add the following and call it a night:

I saw this poster today for the new S&TC2 movie coming out and love how they incorporate the main character, Carrie Bradshaw, into the advertising. Check it:

That's all. Carrie on.

Thoughtful

The other day I came home from work to a little manila envelope in our mailbox. Oooh, what could it be?! It was from my Dad and the only thing inside was this book and a lovely note on the first page. Dad, you're the best and I look forward to reading it. Thank you!

Weekend

I'm going to try and post every day this week. But first, I'll give you a little preview of my weekend:

Timing

Something amazing happened tonight. I've been dog-sitting this week for the family while they're away. Tonight I went to a grocery store I don't usually go to to pick up things for their return. I walked in and turned a corner when I saw a group of people. Within that group, I spotted a dear friend who I haven't seen in many years. Her name is Chelsea and we were roommates at an orphanage in the Qingyundian Township of the Daxing District in China for the summer of 2005. She lives in Texas now but is in Charlotte this weekend for a wedding. Crazy!

I'm surprised I didn't scream when I saw her. We hugged and then I met her sister and beau. They continued to shop while Chels and I picked up right where we left off: where are you living now, what's new, how's so and so.... on and on. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is to run into someone you haven't seen in a while and the happiness that comes when you do. I was so sad to say goodbye to her because I'm sure we could've spent hours catching up. She's just one of those friends who knows you and you can talk about life, boys and everything else, and you don't have to explain much because she gets it.

I know you're just reading this blog post about me running into an old friend, but really, it's more than that. Tonight I was overcome with emotion as I realized how perfect God's timing is. What if I had picked a different store, different aisle or different time to go? I had the joy of experiencing God's timing and not only trusting that He wants good things for us, but orchestrates them to happen exactly when they're supposed to.

"From the Great Wall of China to Harris Teeter!" -Chels

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

DUKE WINS!

What a game! I watched it with Unca D & Leigh and we were on the edge of our seats the whole time. And what an effort by Butler! It was an incredible season for us: we beat UNC twice and won the ACC and NCAA tournament. Yay!

Beautiful detour

On my way home from Atlanta on Tuesday, I stopped in downtown Greenville, SC. It's so adorable and quaint! I loved walking around, going into shops, galleries and enjoying Falls Park. If you're ever in the area, you've got to check it out!

Easter weekend

What a fun Easter weekend it was in Atlanta! I drove down early yesterday morning to go to church with Al and B.
Then we went to Piedmont Park.

Ate a ton of yummy food.
Had a covert beer opening. (Al and I had sangria.)

We relaxed under the shade, people watched with sunglasses on and every 5 minutes said how perfect of a day it was.

After that we headed to my dear cousin's house for Easter dinner. Lauren & Lee have been in the Atlanta area for almost 4 years and I had never been to visit, so it was time! It's so fun to be with family for Easter. When I lived in New York it was, surprisingly, the one holiday I really wanted to spend with my family and I'm thrilled I got to spend it with my cousin, and of course Al & B, who are practically family anyways!

Lauren & Lee in their lovely home.


This morning Brian had to work, so Al & I went shopping. She's now off to Florida for Spring Break. I was hoping to find an art museum in Atlanta, but, alas! it's a Monday and most places are closed, except for some dinosaur museum, and no thanks. But I found my way to a Caribou Coffee and am now "killing time" on the computer even though I cannot sit still, and it's not the coffee. It's because I am anxiously awaiting DUKE vs. Butler!!! Ahhh!!

A couple weeks ago when I was planning this trip, I realized that if Duke was going to be in the championship game, I would need to find a place to watch it. And though I'm super sad not to be watching it with my Dad, I am going to watch it with my awesome Uncle Don and his wife Leigh. He graduated from Duke and was also an announcer at Cameron for the Dukies back in the day. Him & my dear Aunt Awah (who passed away 11 years ago) would go to many games in the 90's and love Duke basketball. Oh, and I just got my car washed because Unca D was also a race car driver and there's no way he'd be happy if I rolled up in a yellow, pollinated car. Good thinking on my part. :)

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter and GO DUKE!

It's awesome, baby!

I can't even begin to describe how awesome this weekend has been & will be. Seriously, it's been unreal.

GO DUKE!!

I'm on cloud nine! :)