Defying Gravity 242/365

We were up early Saturday morning to prepare for 2 very fun days! Tyler was off to pick up Ethan for the BBBS Bowling fund raiser where his team raised tons of money for BBBS of Charlotte and they got to bowl a game with Ethan. After bowling, they even got in a game of laser tag! Tyler dropped Ethan back at home and his friend from St. Augustine, Daniel, came into Charlotte for the night. They grabbed dinner at Blackfinn and watched the UFC fight back up in Hutnersville at the Hickory Tavern. Daniel is living in Chapel Hill now and it has been nice having him close enough that he and Tyler can catch up with eachother on a more regular basis.

While Tyler was staying busy in Charlotte, I headed to Greensboro to spend Mother's Day weekend with my mom. I got in on Saturday just in time to grab breakfast before driving to Durham to see Wicked. My mom and sister had both seen it before, but for my cousin Haley and I...it was our first time! We all LOVED it! The cast was fantastic, the story was fabulous and the music was just incredible. :) We had such a wonderful afternoon and then returned home before heading out for dinner with my dad that night. Another great meal at Imperial Koi...or was it General Choy...and I know we had a very happy momma with both of her girls under her roof on the eve of mother's day.

Solid as Iron 241/365

We hurried home from work on Friday, both looking forward to our date night! We had plans to meet friends for dinner and the opening night of Iron Man 2. We had fun catching up over dinner and arrived early enough to get great seats for the movie. We both LOVED the first Iron Man and had really been excited about seeing the second one. It was a little long but still a good story and a fabulous Robert Downey, Jr. As in the first one, he totally made the movie! We both had early mornings to prepare for on Saturday, so after the movie we headed home for the night.

Sushi Slice 240/365

Tyler came home from his quick trip on Thursday and was exitedly welcomed home by Tess and I. As we got ready for bed that night, he began to unpack. As he reached his hand into the pocket where his toiletries were, his finger got sliced on his razor. After several minutes of pressure on his finger, the bleeding finally slowed down enough so we could put on a band-aid. A fabulous sushi band-aid that is. I think he will live but his bravery always impresses me. ;)

Nimble Niece 239/365

Despite the lack of news coverage...there was HORRIBLE flooding in Nashville and my sister had to evacuate her building...and so did my niece Scout. They stayed a couple nights in Nashville and then drove into Charlotte with Ben. I already had plans to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a fiesta at our house with some friends, so Tracy and Scout just joined in on the fun. We had chips and queso, chicken tacos and Corona's with lime...it was quite festive. Maggie stayed for the night, and as we hammered out wedding details, and Tracy watched Glee, Scout slyly cozied up with Tess. She used Tess' paw to scratch her own head and reached out to touch Tess with her paw every few minutes. They were very sweet and I was impressed with how Tess seemed un-fazed by her furry friend. Of course Tess was not up for being photographed, so I decided Scout should grace the blog solo.

Planning Playbook 238/365

On Tuesday, Tyler left for a business trip. He has traveled to the Canton area several times before and has talked about wanting to visit the NFL Hall of Fame on multiple occasions. But it has never really fit into his schedule until this trip. So after his meeting on Tuesday, he headed over and spent a few hours walking through the exhibits. He saw trophies and coins and rings and helmets, but one of the coolest things he grabbed a picture of was an old playbook. He spent the evening preparing for his meetings the next day while Tess and I hung around the house and relaxed. 

Rotating Recovery 237/365

Recovering from my weekend at the beach was a 2 day process! I was OUT OF COMMISION on Sunday, which resulted in no picture being taken. But, this picture perfectly explains what I was doing on Sunday AND Monday...laying on the couch, facing the ceiling -- recovering! Did I mention that I have an incredible husband who smiles and happily plays video games when I have had too much fun with very little sleep that leads to general exhaustion and 8pm bed times zonk outs on the couch. I thought my view would be an appropriate picture for the day.

Fantastic and Fitting 235/365

We were up and ready on Saturday for an action packed day! We had a "Pamper the Bride" shower with breakfast first thing and then got ready to spend the day on the beach. We chatted and snoozed our way to lunch and then spent the afternoon walking the beach and sitting by the pool. Then we were off to conquer the task of getting 14 girls ready for the night in 3 showers...quite an accomplishment if you ask me! While we were out celebrating Maggie's upcoming Big Day, Tyler and his family were actually attending his cousin's Big Day in Jacksonville. They braved the sun for an outdoor ceremony and enjoyed celebrating through the reception. I was sorry to have missed it, but our simple divide and conquer attitude led to twice the festivities.

To Be Tied 234/365

Early Friday morning, I was off to Myrtle Beach with my girlfriends from High School in tow. We piled into the car, filled the trunk to the brim and off we drove as we caught up, laughed about old stories, and jammed out to music from our fun 4 years together. We arrived around lunchtime and quickly changed so we could spend the afternoon on the beach. We soaked up some sun, happy to be celebrating Maggie and her last weeks with a bachelorette status. We made a stop at Bimini's...a local favorite...for dinner and drinks before coming back to the condo to await the arrival of the rest of the girls. We happily prepared for a full Saturday on the beach and piled 3 girls to a bed to dream of sand and sun.

While I was hanging at the beach with friends....Tyler was on his way to Florida to spend the weekend with his family. He flew into Jacksonville, where his parents and Aunt Sarah, who came in from Virginia, picked him up. They grabbed a bite and finished the drive back to St. Augustine where they stayed for the night.

Fabulously Framed 233/365

Thursday marked the last day of my photography class. :( We all met at Freedom Park for environmental pictures and my friend Lisa was sweet enough to model for me. Lisa is a talented artist, so I thought it would be fun for her to bring out some recycled canvases to play with. Check out her art HERE! Lisa...thanks for being a patient and gorgeous model! I can't wait to see where your art takes you. :) As dusk settled onto the park, my class headed over to Outback for dinner and celebrating our last class. With talks of getting together to shoot and keeping in touch, I'm really looking forward to seeing these girls again soon!

Posing Pedicure 232/365

On Wednesday, I did something wonderful during my lunch hour...I stopped in and got a pedicure. And this may have been the best $25 pedicure I have ever gotten. There was a massaging chair, a great magazine, a parafin dip...AND it was in the middle of my work day. Now that's pretty tough to beat! It was my first pedicure to celebrate beach season...what a way to get things started.

Radical Raindrops 231/365

We went from a gorgeous flower photographing day....to a gloomy and rainy one on Tuesday. While I cooked dinner, Tyler grabbed some raindrop shots. We both liked how the drops were bouncing back up in this one.

Purple Petals 230/365

My favorite plants in our backyard are finally in full bloom! After work on Monday I thought they surely deserved their own photoshoot. How gorgeous!

Creatively Mundane 229/365

In an attempt to get COMPLETELY caught up on the blog, I will be sharing pictures from every day...but only stories from days worth sharing. I also must admit that with nothing on my calendar for 2 Sundays ago, I can't seem to remember the details of our day. I will however, make a brilliant deduction that we were getting some laundry done. :)

Epic Epicentre 228/365

I woke up before the sun on Saturday morning to head down into the city so I could participate in something called the City Block Project. My friend from photography class, Michelle, picked me up and down we went to walk around and photograph in the Epicentre. The goal of the project is to have an annual photographic record of one city block. The hope is to be able to document the growth and change of the city through the eyes of the people who live here. There was a 24 hour window that pictures had to be taken in. Afterwards, you could submit your images and anyone who submits, has the oportunity to vote for their favorites. The top 5 images will hang in a gallery in the Epicentre and also at the Light Factory. Since I'm playing catch up, I just chose one image to share...

After we were finished taking pictures and grabbing breakfast, I went home to meet up with Tyler so we could come back into the city for a workday with the Charlotte Seminole Club and Hands on Charlotte. We spent the rest of our morning cleaning up a dump site and accomplished a ton with all of the volunteers that came out to help. It's amazing how much can be accomplished before NOON! We felt like we had done so much in fact, that we had a very relaxing rest of the day.