september 29

@ 12p | 2 cents...

Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, I seem to have come down with a rather nasty cold. :(

We did manage to get out of the house on Saturday for a day trip up to Hanging Rock State Park. We saw five waterfalls although only three were worth photographing (Upper Cascades, Lower Cascades and Window Falls) and the stunning Hanging Rock. The view from the top was very beautiful but the fact that there were people EVERYwhere did detract a bit from the overall experience. Photos here.

Right now I am waiting for the Saturn folks to return my call about a part they ordered for my VUE. I was hoping to get it taken care of this morning as it will take over 4 hours to install this thing and I was going to use the loaner car to drive into Raleigh to get my blender repaired (the drive coupling busted two days ago). Alas, no news yet and I didn't want to take any cold medicine in case I have to drive. At this point I think I'll just have it fixed tomorrow. I've been waiting for over three hours and I simply can't breathe.

Oh, we tried a new restaurant in town called Brixx this weekend. On Sundays all their wine bottles are half price, so we ordered a spicy shrimp pizza (for me) and a barbeque chicken pizza (for Eric) with a nice white wine and dessert for under $40. Yum.

september 23

@ 11a | 2 cents...

Somehow, it only took an hour to get both our NC licenses and car registration adventure completed. We arrived at the license office this morning at 8:30a and didn't have to wait at all. Although the written test was a bit scary. :) Then I gathered the materials for the registration, dropped Eric off at work and forked over more money for the new vehicle registration and plates. Total time in both offices = 42 minutes. Honestly, I am feeling so very lucky at the moment. So lucky in fact, that I picked up a happy sushi roll for lunch. Mmmm, tuna, salmon and avacado, mmmm.

september 21

@ 11p | 2 cents...

I had to turn down a job today. They would have wanted me to work 6 days a week with no vacation between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was a retail place, even though I was applying for the lead graphic artist position. I haven't heard anything for the other position as of my second interview on Friday.

Alyssa's wedding in Norfolk was very nice. Our trip started out a bit hectic as the engine light started blinking while we were getting gas and then the rear tire that we knew had a slow leak was looking very low. So, we drove to the Saturn dealership and implored them to fix whatever was wrong with our vehicle as fast as humanly possible because we had to be at a wedding three hours away in under six hours. I forgot to mention the low tire, but they found the nail and repaired it while they reset the car's computer. We were out of Durham just over two hours later.

The ceremony was the shortest I had ever been to at just under six minutes. The whole event took place at the Chrysler Museum of Art. It was a beautiful setting and although there was no red wine for me, we made do just fine.

Eric found an ad for a new scrapbook store in Hillsborough, so I meandered over there this morning for a crop. I really miss my friend's CM crops and the store in Athens, but this place kept me busy for a few hours.

I also started my yoga class this evening. It's the first time I've really tried yoga and the experience was very nice. It felt mostly like a stretch and nap session. I do hope it gets a bit more challenging over the next few weeks.

september 16

@ 11a | 2 cents...

Eric pointed out to me last night after I ran into the kitchen counter again that I should change my journal header to something that reflects me more. I've had the same "theme" for 2.5 years, so I figured I could give this place a little update. The fact is, I have a terrible sense of space, meaning I run into things all the time. Doorways, walls, countertops and tables are bruise-inducing menaces and I bruise very easily. Plus, I like the red better.

I added the pumpernickel rye bread recipe to the recipes section, so check it out if you have pumpernickel issues in your area.

I received a call-back to the job interview I went to last week... so, I'll be meeting with more folks from the company and taking a "personality quiz" tomorrow afternoon.

september 14

@ 10p | 2 cents...

Did I say our water would be fixed on Monday? HA! Some workman showed up around 2pm to bang some pipes and told us everything was fixed. Then today we were blessed with 8 more hours of no water while they supposedly fixed the big pipe that originally broke. Hopefully, I can take a shower in my own apartment for the first time in five days.

Meanwhile, I have discovered that no one in Chapel Hill cares for pumpernickel bread... I have deduced this because no one seems to sell it! I went to seven different bakeries, farmer's markets and groceries with no luck. So, I decided to bake my own. The recipe is a good start, I'll post it soon.

Thanks to my mom-in-law we were made aware of Myrna Loy month on TCM... we now have all the remaining Thin Man movies on our ReplayTV for our viewing pleasure!

september 12

@ 9p | 2 cents...

53 hours. 53 long hours without water. We haven't had water pressure in our apartment since Friday afternoon. We have dishes piled up in the sink, laundry to do and we had to shower at our gym this afternoon. Apparently, a pipe burst in our apartment complex on Friday... workers spent all night fixing it and then a second burst occurred underneath the apartment behind us. Much to our chagrin, only our building is now experiencing a complete loss of water pressure. Example: we flush a toliet and the sink won't run until the water tank fills up again about 20 minutes later. We understand that "these things happen" but out management company has been awful in their communications with us regarding this extrememly inconvenient matter. And of course, nothing can or will be fixed until Monday. Lovely.

september 10

@ 10p | 2 cents...

Three years ago today we left on a plane to Hawaii for our honeymoon. We've been on many trips since, and it just keeps getting better... and I'm not just refering to Eric's photography. ;)

september 7

@ 10p | 2 cents...

As we were finishing up dinner, an entire family of deer strolled by our apartment. Eric managed to get the shot below through the office window.

@ 11a | 2 cents...

And so begins week two of job hunting... I sent a cover letter and resume to two more places for "Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator" and "Scientific Presentation Designer" positions. I am sincerely hoping that working 5 years in a University job promoting departments and programs will be enough to get my foot in the door at some of these places. I'm still waiting for my first interview, just give me a chance!

While I've spent a majority of the weekend watching the US Open, we did manage to get off our duffs for a great bikeride yesterday morning. It's going to rain here for the next few days, so we wanted to squeeze that in while it was still relatively dry. Thankfully, Gram wasn't evacuated for Hurricane Frances like she was when Hurricane Charley hit, hopefully Hurricane Ivan will behave himself.

For our anniversary tomorrow, we plan to go wine tasting at a local wine shop and then to an Italian restaurant for a nice relaxing dinner. Three years! I feel like they've flown right by! :)

september 5

@ 6p | 2 cents...

Yesterday we drove down to Fayetteville to take advantage of a free first Saturday at Cape Fear Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, there were very few specimens in bloom and we were left wanting in terms of labeling and general quality of the place. After a quick lunch, Eric remembered the Airborne & Special Operations Museum was located here (Ft. Bragg is nearby), so we checked a local map and drove on over. The museum was chock-full of interesting facts and memorabilia regarding the history of US airborne operations. It definitely saved our trip. Photos here.