Hilarious Blog!!

Harry stumbled across a blog where people send in funny cat pictures with funny captions. Here are some examples.


Harry's favorite.



Um, Oregon Trail... best game ever!!



This would be Joey. He doesn't know he's so big.



This would be Phoebe. She loves destroying toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls.



This would be both Joey and Phoebe; they hate car trips because the only ones they go on are to the vet.

Check out I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER? to see other funny pictures. We both suggest it.

I HATE yellow jackets!

Today, while Harry and I were working outside in our burn pit... oh, excuse me, our "yard" (yeah, I'm calling it a burn pit because we have had 3 weeks 95-105 degree weather and NO rain, not a drop) I was stung multiple times by multiple yellow jackets. I was cleaning the dead stuff out of our front garden and fluffing up the mulch when BAM! I was hit hard on the leg. I didn't really know what was happening until I felt awful pain on my leg and back and looked down to see 2 yellow jackets on my pants. Harry ushered me in the garage and I had to take my pants off to get them to stop stinging. I can see 3 separate stinging spots on my leg and Harry believes 1 sting on my back. It hurts. I do not see the purpose of yellow jackets in this world, so I am starting a campaign to rid the world of them... or at least our yard. Harry said that yellow jackets are good for pollinating but I told him butterflies can pollinate too and they don't sting. Yellow jackets suck, who agrees?


This looks like the jerks that stung me.

Trying to Keep Our Cool

This is an actual picture of our wireless thermometer reading today. Yes, if you look carefully, you will notice the temperature reading is 109.2 degrees!

Record High in the Q-City

Today Mom and Dad were here to visit and they brought with them extremely hot temperatures. Actually, it has been scorching hot all week; however, Charlotte tied its ALL-TIME high of 104 degrees! This is actual temperature, not the heat index. Needless to say we did not do a lot of outdoor activities today... Harry worked and we went shopping. Hopefully the weekend will bring cooler temperatures (it will surely bring good entertainment as Harry and I will be in Virgina for the Dave Matthews Band Concert!!!) More about that later.


Here you see the traffic on I-77 today into Charlotte... a pain like always.

Wounded Warriors Mud Run

Yesterday, Harry, his cousin Emily and her husband Matt, and I participated in the Wounded Warriors Mud Run, held at Belmont Abbey College, to support wounded marines and sailors at the Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp LeJune. The event was a 3.8 mile run with different obstacles... the most anticipated was the giant mud pit of which the event was named. The obstacles were as follows:

1. on road 1 mile run
2. 50 yard duck walk
3. off road run going under and over ropes tied between trees
4. off road run to tire obstacles
6. off road run to five foot wall
7. off road run to seven foot wall
8. off road run to 25 push ups station
9. off road run to 25 jumping jacks
10. off road run to 50 yard 30 pound sand bag carry
11. off road run to the 3 feet deep mud pit
12. 25 jumping jacks in the 3 feet deep mud pit
13. low crawl over a mud hill, into another 1 foot deep mud pit
14. 25 push ups in the 1 foot deep mud pit
15. off road run to 50 yard 30 pound sand bag carry
16. off road run
17. on road uphill run
18. low crawl through the grass
19. on road run to the finish line




The race itself was difficult. The duck walk, while innocent sounding, was the hardest exercise I have ever done. To "duck walk" you crouch down so your butt is almost on the ground, put your hands behind your head, and walk without raising up your hiney. This was the first major obstacle after the 1 mile run, which meant that we had another 3 miles to run and do all the others. Needless to say our legs were shaking and wanting to give out after just 1 mile!

Our team, Log Gringos Locos, finished in 53:25 and 39th out of 63 teams. Harry and I are very sore today, but very proud that we finished the event; and we didn't come in last!!!! You can see pictures of the event by clicking here... and you can search for our team by entering Bib # 79 and clicking search. If you want to find out more about the event visit the Inaugural Mud Run at Belmont Abbey College website. To find out more about the cause you can visit the link from the Mud Run website or you can visit Wounded Warrior Barracks at Camp LeJune site.

The White Stripes

No, I am not naming this post "Myrtle Beach" even though the rest of the posts were named after the city... Why? you may ask... because A) The White Stripes are awesome, and B) We hate Myrtle Beach. Especially in July. Way to much traffic and the class of the average patron would be, how do you say it nicely, low? Anyway, on Sunday Harry and left beautiful Charleston for Myrtle Beach to see the White Stripes play at the House of Blues.

We got to Myrtle Beach early to go to the Saucony outlet to get new shoes; only to find that it was now out of business. It was still a successful trip, we both got new running shoes AND we got to see some really awesome people. We heard one family discussing where to get lunch. The father suggested Wendy's because "they got that new baconator". We also got to see a budding beauty with a sweet T-shirt that said "I'm even sexier from the front". (See what we mean by the class of the average visitor).


Tired of outlet malls Harry and I decided to go mini-golfing at Mutiny Bay Golf course. This course was complete with a floating pirate ship that shot cannon balls every 30 minutes.


Harry and I enjoy the South Carolina heat next to a cool water fall at Mutiny Bay.


Here, peering though the jungle, you can see the pirate ship firing a cannon ball.

Finally, the whole reason we came to Myrtle Beach... The White Stripes! Harry and I got to the House of Blues early to eat (when you eat at the HOB you get to go into the concert hall before everybody else).


The concert was fantastic. The White Stripes played almost all our favorites.

After the concert Harry and I drove the 45 minutes north to Wilmington to see mom and dad. It was a LONG, HOT day... I don't think I've ever been as happy to see their house.

Charleston, Day 4

Our fourth day in Charleston turned out to be a bit of a wash... literally. We awoke to gray skies but decided to travel the 30-45 minute drive out to a local winery. On the way we were bombarded by a fierce thunder storm. We were a little worried about the flooding in the low lying areas around Charleston, and figured that the winery tour wouldn't be all that fun in the pouring rain, so we decided to return to Charleston sans local wine.

Our outing wasn't a complete failure... we were able to find the Charleston Crab House that was flipped on "Flip This House" on TLC (now "The Real Estate Pros" on A&E).


Here you see the now famous building complete with upside down sign to signify the flip.

We then ventured downtown to a little place called "Cupcake"... and purchased the BEST tasting cupcakes EVER!! We tried to purchase the giant bowl of frosting, but it wasn't for sale. That was probably for the best, though.

As we made our way through flooded Charleston (some of the streets had 1-2 feet of water covering them) we located another famous sight... the downtown storefront of Trademark Properties! (For those of you who don't watch "Flip This House" or "The Real Estate Pros" Trademark Properties is the company featured on the show.)


We kept an open eye, but we didn't spot Richard, Ginger, or the rest of the gang, but we still had a great day.

Charleston, Day 3

Harry and I started our third day of vacation at Isle of the Palms beach. It was a beautiful day... but very hot! We got to the beach at about 10:45 so we were pretty fried by 1:00. After that it was back to the hotel to clean up.



Once we had cooled off and cleaned up Harry and I decided to walk the 1/4 mile on the dock to see the naval ships docked in Cooper River.


First, we toured the Destroyer.


Here you can see Harry in the wheel house.(Reminds me a bit of the Deadliest Catch.)


The gun mount on the bow deck of the Destroyer.


On the right you see the bullets that are loaded into the gun mount. On the left you see the mounting cylinder.


After the Destroyer, we toured the Coast Guard cutter. We don't have any pictures of us on this boat because it was SOOOOO hot! We were too miserable to stop and take any pictures. Thankfully the aircraft carrier was a little cooler.


Here you see the stern of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier.






I thought that it was so cool that the wings of the aircraft folded up to save space.


Last, but certainly not least, we visited the submarine. In the background of this picture you can see our hotel again... further proof of its great location!

Again, it was too hot to stop for pictures on the submarine. I do wish that I had gotten a picture of Harry trying to crawl through some of the doorways... I described it to him as watching a giant crawl into a doll house.

After another shower (oh that Charleston heat!)we saw the band "Wrong Way" on the hotel beach.

Charleston, Day 2

On our second day in Charleston, Harry and I decided to take in the sights at the wharf. We started the day with a boat trip out to Fort Sumter.




Harry and I headed out to the fort.


Fort Sumter was held by the North at the beginning of the Civil war. However, they did not have enough supplies to hold the fort for very long. The south started to fire on the fort in an attempt to claim the fort for the south. The Yankees were finally driven out of the fort after the Confederates set fire to the officers quarters (putting the gun powder stores under the officers quarters in jeopardy). Without a single casualty the Yanks surrendered the fort.


This is the bent wall. Above this wall were the officers quarters. The wall is "bent" because of the continued cannon fire it took from Charleston.




This is one reason Harry is not in the military... I don't think he could pass a gun safety course.

During the Yankees surrender ceremony, on of the cannons misfired and killed a soldier. This soldier became the first casualty of the civil war.


Here you see the fort in the foreground, and Charleston in the background.

After we went to the fort, Harry and I went to the Charleston aquarium.


One of the many gators living in the Charleston Aquarium.


One of Charleston's major environmental focuses is saving sea turtles. The beaches are on black-out from May till October as to not confuse sea turtle babies trying to make their way to the ocean. There were also 32 sea turtle sculptures all around Charleston that will be auctioned this fall to raise money for sea turtle rescue.


A panoramic of the wharf.

After we finished at the aquarium we left the wharf and went down to the battery and Rainbow Row.


Here you can see the sculpture dedicated to Fort Sumter at battery park.


The trees in battery park are very old and beautiful.

Here are some of our favorite houses from Rainbow Row.










Harry and I at Battery Park.

Charleston, Day 1

Last Wednesday Harry and I loaded up took a road trip to Charleston, SC. We stayed in Charleston until Sunday. On Sunday we traveled to hell on Earth (also known as Myrtle Beach) for a White Stripes concert at the House of Blues; then it was north to Wilmington to stay with the rents.


On the way Harry and I passed this semi. Harry immediately looked at me with fear and questioned... vampires? Despite the 100's of vampire killing stakes headed for Charleston, we ventured on.


YEA!! Crossing the bridge... we are almost there!


Here you see our hotel, The Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina. It was right on the harbor and it shared docks with the naval museum.

After checking in we went downtown and walked around Market Street. We also had a delicious crab dinner at the Charleston Crab House.

Stay tuned for more details about our trip.

Body Worlds

So, it may have been a little gruesome, but yesterday for my birthday Harry and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at Discovery Place (Charlotte's science museum). Many of you may not know what Body Worlds is... and some of you might have caught a glimpse of it in the newest James Bond movie, Casino Royal, and not even known it.

Body Worlds is the display of real humans who have been preserved through the technique of plastination. In simple terms, water from the human body is removed and replaced with a polymer that stops the decaying process. This allows tissues, organs, and even fats to be viewed in a display.

It was very interesting; and for people who know me, you know I have a weak stomach. I didn't feel queasy even once. The whole visit was very educational. Here are some of the exhibits we saw.


This display was designed to compare the human anatomy and the horse anatomy. The rider is holding the horse brain in one hand, and the much larger human brain in the other.


This display was titled the dancing jumper. It was showing the flexibility of the muscles.


This display, the basketball player, was supposedly the most muscled human to have donated their body thus far. It was incredible to see what weight lifting can do to the muscles.

There were many other displays, and some of them I didn't feel needed be posted on the blog. All in all Harry and I spent a little over 2 hours going through the exhibit. There was a lot of emphasis on how life choices, such as smoking and drinking, effect your body. There was also a very interesting display of embryos and fetuses at each week of development.

Like I said, a little gruesome for a birthday, but extremely interesting.

Body Worlds website

The Return of an Old Friend

A year ago, before we started our blog, Harry and I had a visitor. There were a select few (mostly my family) that got emailed pictures and updates about this visitor; however, many of you (both our readers) did not get to see our visitor. To my delight, the visitor is back.


This little bunny, who I will name Hoppy, has come back to visit our peach tree yet again. The reason Hoppy makes me so happy (what a pun) is because I love bunnies (as any of my relatives, close friends, or students can tell you). Last year Hoppy visited every night and even got so bold as to stand up on his hind legs to pick peaches off the tree. To Hoppy's dismay, the tree is bigger this year and he cannot reach the peaches. This means tomorrow I will be picking a peach or two off the tree to put at the base for Hoppy to eat.


Joey and Phoebe also love Hoppy's visits, as is evidenced by this picture. If you will notice, you cannot even see Joey's tail because he is so happy to see Hoppy.


Hoppy last year (June 2006). Notice the ties on the smaller peach tree.