Sarasota Dreamin'

Well, I believe I can honestly say that I've never been so unexcited to be back in North Carolina. I left a very hot, 85-degree NC on Wednesday, spent 4 days of wonderful 70-80-degree weather in Florida, and came home Sunday evening to freezing temps! And the outlook for the coming week isn't good. What happened?? I can say, though, that it made me enjoy our time in Sarasota even more knowing it was much colder back home.

Jarrod and I had a wonderful time visiting some of our favorite people in the world: my cousins, T&K and their 3 kids (who, by the way, are the coolest kids ever!) It was a looong drive, though. But we had fun. It was the first big road trip Jarrod and I have taken together, so it was really great to have those 11 hours together, just the 2 of us. Nothing too eventful from the trip to report: just greasy food and sketchy little towns.

Thursday was actually our most relaxing day. The kids were in school, so we had lunch with T&K and hung out around the house until everyone got home from school and work. A very strange thing we noticed in Florida - we watched an episode of 24 while we were there and the TV picture is really weird! It's hard to describe, but it almost looked like a documentary. Something was different about the back lighting and made me very aware that we were watching the show through a camera lens. We noticed it on other TVs while we were there, too.

The next day we spent on the boat. Everybody took off from work and school and we took a friend's boat out on the gulf. It was a gorgeous day and the water was so blue.  But the amazing part about this trip was the dolphins. They were everywhere and would often come right up near the boat. We probably saw about 10 of them and I've never seen dolphins up close, outside of a marine show. But that's not even the best part! So as we're coming into the Venice area, we're slowed down since we know there are dolphins in the area. I'm up at the very front of the boat with K, just looking out ahead of us when a dolphin literally jumps straight up in the air! It had to be 5 or more feet out of the water. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Totally different than at a Sea World show. This was just a wild dolphin showing off. We all just kind of sat there in shock for a minute afterwards. So the boat was a great experience, however, apparently I'm no good and putting on spray-on sun block, because I got some crazy bad, splotchy sun burn.

Some more exciting news from that day, Jarrod was offered a new position that he'd interviewed for at Gregory Poole CAT. We celebrated that evening at the Blase Cafe on Siesta Key. Congratulations, baby!

On our final full day we made a trip to Tampa to go shopping but wrapped up the day on Lido beach to watch the sunset. And I've never seen a sunset like that (obviously that's because I don't live on the West coast, but still, it was gorgeous). After dinner we went to Kilwin's to get ice cream. Apparently this is a very popular place, because the line was out the door. A fun story: my cousin T worked there after high school and actually served Steven Tyler ice cream one time (sadly, he was not there this time).

Sunday was get up and go time (Jarrod does not hang around on travel days). So we set out that morning on another 11 hour trek. We did listen to the Carolina basketball game on the radio, but I wasn't feeling great and ended up sleeping for half the trip. But Jarrod was great and drove the entire time. That's why I love him! 

So after a day of travel and not feeling well, I came home to a freezing house. Thank you, North Carolina. Florida, I miss you already!

Oh the madness...

Part of what I love about growing up in the Southeast is the legacy of basketball. Now, I did not grow up in a very "sportsy" household. We'd watch the Superbowl every year, but as a house full of women, we were a little more tied up with dance competitions and that sorta thing. But my love for basketball started when I was in high school, my sophomore year to be exact. I know most high schools really celebrate football and it's those big Friday night games that bring everyone together, but my high school didn't have a football team, so basketball was king.

Our crazy fans in high school were known originally as the "Ledford Loonies" (since we played games at the Ledford Center) and changed over to the "Castle Crazies" once we moved to our new facility my junior year. I was the only girl in the small group of us who were the really crazy ones who stood right at the corner of the court and screamed the ENTIRE game. I would very often not have a voice the next day. I also was voted "Most School Spirit" my senior year.

So I was very excited to attend a university with such a highly regarded basketball program as UNC. I was even more excited to experience an NCAA championship win my freshman year! (Although I will admittedly say that it sort of spoiled us for the rest of our college experience.) I can't tell you how great an experience it is to don my Carolina blue jersey and cheer on my boys at the Dean Dome and then run 2 miles up to Franklin Street after a big win and celebrate with bonfires and general revelry.

And I get pretty worked up during these games. I've been known to scream and stomp and jump up on my chair and one time, I even gave myself a massive nosebleed that wouldn't stop. Yah, it gets pretty intense.

So these past couple of weeks have been hell on my heart rate (and sanity). It seems that every single tournament game (ACC and NCAA) the Tarheels have taken part in this year have come down to the final seconds and a very last minute win. Not that I don't enjoy a close game that's played until the very last second, but really guys? EVERY game??

So I'm very excited about the games coming up this weekend. (I guess I'll have to convince the Florida folks of the importance of this game!) And I don't have any delusions of grandeur of us making all the way to the National Championship. I think we've got as good of a shot as anybody, but I don't think it's our year. I think nabbing a #2 seed and making it to the Sweet 16 is already the makings of a good season. But I'll still be there cheering them along until that clock winds down to 0.0. Let the MaDnEsS continue!

GO HEELS!

25

Well, here I am on my final day of being 24. In just under 7 hours it will be my birthday and I will officially leave my early twenties behind (although 24's already arguably not "early" 20s anymore). I'm a little nervous, although I'm not sure why. I guess once you're 25 you're supposed to really be an adult and that's an unnerving feeling.

I think somewhere in the back of my mind I have this nagging feeling of, "you should've accomplished more by now." But when I look at my life, I think I've really done well for myself. At this point I'm married to the man of my dreams, we actually own our own home, I have a good job and career, we have great friends. Who could ask for anything more?? But I do, I want more.

I don't want to live from week to week, which sometimes I feel that I do. I want to have some real goals for myself and push myself to accomplish them. I want to continue to discover who I am and who Jarrod and I are together. I want to focus on and develop the things I love and not just "float along."

So I've been thinking about the things I'd like to accomplish while I'm 25...
*I want to be content in my job and find a good place where I'm happy with what I'm doing... no matter what it is.
*I want to expand my cooking expertise. Basically I'd like to be more comfortable working without a recipe and just ingredients!
*Open a Roth IRA. This may be a long shot, but I've always said I wanted to start one before I turned 26, so it's my last chance.
*Finally, I just want to enjoy being young and in love. We're still celebrating our first year of marriage and I just want to live in that moment of growing together while we're not tied down with other responsibilities. I'm definitely looking forward to starting a family someday, but I have the rest of my life to experience that, so I want to really take advantage of the time we have now.

Magical March

Ahhh, I love this time of year (so I know I say that every month, but I really mean it!) March means the beginning of Spring, basketball, and most importantly, my birthday! Although I'm not entirely sure how I feel about my impending birthday this year. It's the BIG ONE... the 2-5! Aren't you supposed to be all grown up by the time you're 25?

Anyways, I'm excited to say I accomplished all of my goals for last month!

-Budget - I've got a pretty good one worked out now and have a good handle on where our money is going. Now, we've just got to stick to it!
-File our taxes - Done! Ready to get that check
-Get my filing done for 2010 - Got it all organized and put away. It's amazing how quickly it all piles up.
-Figure out a good system for writing - Well the issue here is that there's no good system for writing, at least not without spending a lot of money which will mess up my budget! However, I'm very proud to say that I wrote a chapter in my book! Yea!

Now for the month ahead...

-Keep honing the budget, because I think I can get it even better than it is now.
-Get plans nailed down for my sister's bachelorette and wedding shower.
-Find some time to relax, because starting at the end of the month, just about every weekend is booked through the summer.
-Turn 25 with dignity and grace... and a fabulous celebration!
-Drive 11 hours to Florida to visit the most awesome cousins!