spt

the final 8! i've actually enjoyed this month's challenge because it was so "open to interpretation." thanks to those of you who hung in there and looked for the 8s in your daily life.

this week, i turned to the clock for my eight. sadly, the photo didn't turn out quite as i planned (you can't actually read the clock on the stove.) but, trust me, it says 8:58.

what was i doing at 8:58 on march 28th? why, i was observing Earth Hour!! and who is that in my spt with me? why, it's crystal, from Carpe Diem!



crystal had a few girls over to watch Twilight on saturday. we didn't want to miss out on Earth Hour, so we actually stopped the movie at 8:30 and played board games by candlelight for an hour. how awesome is that?!? i could do that every saturday (i think...)


did you observe Earth Hour?
have you seen Twilight?
did you have fun looking for "crazy eights" this month?

photoless phriday

i have two words for you this week:

back
pain

i have been experiencing some major back pain this week (which has NOTHING to do with the fact that i worked 12 hours on tuesday in my really cute boots. NOTHING at all to do with that...) i haven't had this kind of pain since the year after jack was born, when i finally dealt with a thirteen-year-old herniated disc that had been plaguing me since college.

have i ever told you that story? the story about how i herniated a disc on Christmas Day, simply by laughing too hard... laughter is not always the best medicine, my friends...

so i've been hobbling around, awkwardly trying to carry my hot water bottle with me, eating pain relievers like candy, and pretty much feeling cranky. the prescribed remedy - RESTING - is not one of my favorite pasttimes. but, i'll admit, i'm not getting much else done.

in fact, here's a list of what is NOT getting done while i'm "resting":

laundry
blogging
grocery shopping
planning for easter
returning emails
maneuvering through the new facebook
exercising
eating properly
speaking kindly
laughing (i really have learned my lesson!)

hope you have a fantastic weekend! i'd stick around and chat, but i need to refill my water bottle, and it's going to take me twenty minutes to get to the fridge...

spt

my house number.
i have had several addresses that featured an "8":

809 in new york
8833 in maryland
138 in north carolina

grEIGHT memories in all of those places!

Live Green!

Where We Live is thrilled to bring you the very first
LIVE GREEN MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL!
This day-long celebration of local and regional musicians and artists is
an event we hope will bring family-friendly fun, great music & art,
and essential environmental education to our community for years to
come!

The festival will be located in the heart of beautiful Brunswick
County, NC.

This website will be updated constantly as we finalize our exciting
line-up of musicians, artists, and other activities! Please bookmark
our site and check back frequently!

We hope to see you April 11!

(just a hint of what's been going on around here...)

philadelphia freedom

last weekend, we drove to philadelphia for a memorial service for grabbie.
while a 10 hour car trip is not ideal, it gave the three ericksons a good amount of time to just "hang out" with each other. there hasn't been a whole lot of that going on this year.



jack has entered a new phase in his life: he is a reader!! he spent the majority of this trip cruising through the "Wimpy Kid" journals.



we slipped away one evening for "authentic" pizza. jack had a table all to himself, and from that vantage point, he watched his pizza being made from scratch, complete with a heavily-accented pizza tossing man! as we packaged up our leftovers, jack was heard to exclaim, "Gosh, that pizza was GOOD!"



aside from the memorial service and reception, there was plenty of time for socializing with extended family. here is a quick photo of three "anne" relatives (my cousin, megan, my niece, allison and i all have the middle name Anne. sorry, elizabeth, don't know why you weren't in this photo!) Grabbie's name was Anna, and she was later known as Anne (my mother is named for her.)



most of the family flew home on Sunday, but we three had planned an extra day to *see* philadelphia. we knew we didn't have a lot of time in the city, so we focused on three things: City Hall, the Liberty Bell, and standing in line for cheesesteaks!(we opted for Pat's instead of Geno's... the line was not *quite* as long.)



what is up with my son's goofy smile? he needs to grow into his teeth already!



and, look! we "stumbled" upon the Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade. there were dozens of Irish Dance groups like this one making their way through the city. it was quite festive, and almost made us forget about the cold wind that accompanied us on our journey through the City of Brotherly Love.

spt - 1858

on the way home from Philly, we took the opportunity to stop in D.C. to stretch our legs on The Mall. the highlight of our brief stopover was a visit to the Lincoln Memorial. in all the years i lived near D.C., i don't remember spending time at this particular memorial.

maybe it didn't seem so relevent to the times back in the heydey of the yuppy 1980s...



On June 16, 1858, more than 1,000 Republican delegates met in the Springfield, Illinois, statehouse for the Republican State Convention. At 5 p.m. they chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. At 8 p.m. Lincoln delivered this address to his Republican colleagues in the Hall of Representatives. (you can read his entire acceptance address here.)



A house divided against itself cannot stand.

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided.

It will become all one thing or all the other.

notes from the road

i've been traveling again... making good use of my word of the year [journey.] the past few days, it's been philadelphia, where we have proceeded to eat ourselves into a food coma. we're heading back to NC tomorrow, by way of a quick (QUICK) breeze through D.C.

i've seen most of my cousins and their families this weekend, and i tried to remember to take photos. what a great reason to get back into blogging (especially since some of them are actually reading this blog...)

i've also experienced the fantastic-ness of facebook once again, as i had the opportunity to enjoy dinner with a college friend. we hadn't had any contact in almost 25 years, and then facebook reconnected us!!

tomorrow will be a long day in the car, but the memories are well worth it. tuesday will be an amazingly long day at work, but with 4 nights at other hotels under my belt, i am filled with info to take back to my team.

have you taken your spt for the week? do you believe i forgot to look for "eights" in philly?

spt

april EIGHTeenth...
we just got the date for the Grand Opening of the NEW playground at Muse Park. you can read about our project here...

photoless phriday - getting ready to lose another hour of sleep edition

march 6, 2009
where have the past two months gone???

i'm currently getting about 5.5 hours of sleep per night.

in january, i spent 168 hours in new orleans.

i have spent approximately 572 hours reminiscing about my fabulous vacation.

i spent 10.25 hours at work yesterday. please do not tell my hotel that there is a slow down in travel due to the recession. apparently, the word has not gotten to southport yet!

next weekend, we are driving to philadelphia for a memorial service for Grabbie. we will spend about 9 hours in the car each way.

i have spent the better part of the last hour pulling pieces of houseplants out of Spider Dogs mouth.

tomorrow, we will spend 8 hours clearing land and preparing for the upcoming Live Green Music & Art Festival.

i have spent 0 hours doing laundry this week.

i can easily spend way too many hours on facebook throughout the day.

i need to find about 15 hours to sit down and catch up in the blogosphere.

in 24 hours, we will Spring Forward.

i will really miss that hour.

spt - crazy eights

the birthday boy and i

he is eight

i haven't taken a lot of photos lately. and when i snapped a few tonight, i was immediately struck by the "oldness" of this picture. my eight-year-old-boy, all at once a young man.

taking a cue from my "not blogging for Lent" friend, natasha, i want to list 8 things about jack:

1) on the way to school this morning, jack said, "i don't even know why i'm sitting in this seat." i had forgotten that NC law for booster seats is 8 years old or 80 pounds. we reached 8 well before we will reach 80! when i picked him up from school, i had discretely tucked the booster seat into the back of the car.

2) jack is in the 2nd grade, and started public school this year. he has transitioned very well, and excels in reading (on a 3rd grade level) and math (when he wants to!!)

3) jack played soccer for the first time last fall, and is a natural. i am already planning/hoping/praying for a soccer scholarship to college!

4) jack is a Wolf Scout and loves camping.

5) he is an acolyte at church (Episcopal) and his most important job is holding the Gospel steady while elderly priests attempt to read from it!

6) jack is the oldest cousin (by 4 years) and is finding his way as the leader of the pack

7) he is the most sensitive child i know, and is very protective of my feelings (most of the time...) when i have to travel, he begins missing me the first time i mention the trip.

8) jack got a dog for his birthday. (if you know me AT ALL, you will know that this is a HUGE deal.) "Spider Dog" has been with us for three days now, and by all accounts (jack's), his life is now complete!

happy birthday, jonathan tucker erickson!
i love you!!