ho hum...

i haven't blogged in a while because, basically, we haven't done anything interesting! mostly, we've been working and coming home and going to sleep and waking up and working... you know, continuous cycle. the most exciting things i've done over the past few days has been going to the doctor for my "annual" physical - that i haven't had in like 5 years, and getting my "regular dental cleaning" that i haven't had in a few years. both places report positively (good health, pretty teeth), and i feel positively about both offices! they're both within a few miles of our house, and they were both very kind, professional, and knowledgeable. in case you live nearby, i went to dr. harmon's family practice on n. pleasant coats rd. and to riccobene associates family dentistry on hwy 210.

this weekend, i have to work saturday morning, but andrew and i are going to meet up with my parents for dinner! yay! perhaps i'll have more to blog about after that.

bloggy facelift!

i got bored... let's see how long this one lasts!

carowinds!

this weekend andrew and i were invited to go to carowinds with my work. i was really excited because i LOVE roller coasters, but andrew was somewhat more reserved since he doesn't. i had, however, convinced him to ride at least one, just for me, and i was really excited about a fun weekend with him and my work friends. unfortunately, the night before we were supposed to leave, andrew got sick with a stomach thing, and i ended up having to go alone :-( i still had a good time, but i wish he'd been able to come too.

before leaving saturday, we had to be open at work for our usual saturday morning hours, however friday was crazy, and we ended up having surgeries that would have to happen before we left as well. i stayed late friday night to assist with a splenectomy/mass removal, i worked double-duty saturday morning running appointments and helping with another surgery, and then before we could leave that afternoon, we had a THIRD surgery. by the time we got on the road we were all a touch on the grumpy side and very very tired. though i had planned to ride with andrew, i was lucky enough to hitch a ride there with steph and sammy. the grumpiness faded away, and we revved up for a great weekend at the park!

that night, after figuring out the room fiasco (there were some issues with competency at the half-renovated hotel), we grabbed a bite for dinner and hiked over to the park. we stood in line for a long time for the nighthawk as our first ride:

then we made a dash for the afterburn, my personal favorite:

i didn't want to carry much around, so i don't have any pics from my own camera - sorry!

after our quick jaunt at the park, we headed back to the hotel for some pizza, beverages, and some stanky leg dance. i believe there is a picture i can find of this. good times.

we got up saturday morning and "enjoyed" (not so much) the continental breakfast and then headed to the park! it was awesome. we rode every ride there was (with the exception of the carolina cyclone because i've ridden it several times and it always gives me a major headache). we even rode the scooby do haunted mansion, where i got 900 pts shooting ghosts with my laser gun!

our crew: sammy, steph, me, hunter, rich (not pictured: kat and edie)

then we headed to the water park, where i lost $25 in the wave pool (stupid running short pockets), we went down some fun raft rides, and then we almost died on the screaming wombat tube slides. holy cow, i have never felt so terrified in my whole life. so i wouldn't say that the water park was a complete success, but if it hadn't been there i would have probably overheated before we left.

we spent the rest of the day on wooden coasters (no thank you, too jerky), getting icees, re-riding the fun coasters, and getting totally sunburned. i rode back with hunter and rich, and by the time i got home at 9:45, i was exhausted! but i had a great time - thanks to carefirst for letting me feel like a teenager again!

honeymooners (part 2)

andrew and i were feeling the need for a romantic excursion, so instead of doing the typical burned-hamburger-cheap-beer-bug-spray-cookout-and-fighting-for-a-spot-fireworks 4th of july, we went to the inn on biltmore (the same place we went for our honeymoon almost 2 years ago). i had gotten a few presents (in monetary form) with directions to "go on a vacation" that i had spent fixing things at the house, so this little getaway was pretty much fully financed by generous benefactors -- thanks to you :-)

we each had friday morning off, so we got up, packed, stuffed all 3 dogs in the car, dropped them off at the new care first at grace park, and set out on our journey. when we got there, it was bright and sunny, so we went and hung out at the pool:

since it was a holiday weekend, they had festivities going on all over the inn, including a poolside bar - yum!

after lounging at the pool, we got all cleaned up for dinner at "the dining room", which is the 4-star restaurant on the bottom floor of the inn:

we had a lovely night. the next day, we went down for the breakfast buffet and enjoyed the brisk mountain morning:

after that, we walked down to the winery and tasted more biltmore wines. we still aren't crazy about their reds, but they do have some pretty nice whites, and their dessert wines/champagnes are excellent. we ended up with a mixed case comprised of chenin blanc, a reserve pinot noir, a reserve red blend called "passport", a few different champagnes, a cabernet rose, and a table white. the lovely inn had it delivered to our room so we wouldn't have to carry it back up the side of the mountain. for the record, while the dining room is phenomenal, the bistro (which is the restaurant adjacent to the winery) is not good, nor is their customer service - quite contrary to the rest of the biltmore feel.

after the lunch and wine, we'd wanted to go biking, but andrew's silly wife was too tired and wanted to go biking on sunday instead - unfortunately, as we would later find out, it rained saturday night and sunday, so we didn't get to go. instead of biking, we took advantage of our room amenities (translation: we watched tv and had chicken strips delivered to our room - gourmet!).

saturday evening, the biltmore put on quite the production for the 4th complete with a cookout, oyster/shrimp boil, square dancing, and fireworks.we had a wonderful time!

after that, i was craving the banana souffle that i'd had at the dining room the night before, so andrew and the waitress from the night before managed to get it run up to us while we sat outside on the balcony. it was amazing to be treated like royalty.

this morning, we woke up reluctantly, and the mountains cried for our departure (it rained). we had another fabulous breakfast buffet in the dining room, had the bellboy take our luggage to the car, drove most of the way home, visited dr. cindi on the way, picked up the crazy dogs, and made it home safe and sound. i am totally bummed about having to go to work in the morning, but i had a wonderful weekend and wouldn't have traded it for the world!

ps. if you want to see more pictures, go to the album on my flickr page.