2013 Coming to a Close!

It's hard to believe that 2013 is almost over! While other blogs are taking up some of my limited free time, I decided it was time to update this blog a bit! Here are some highlights from the past year:

1) My dad has had two strokes in less than 6 months. Needless to say, this has added a lot of concern and stress to my family circle. My dad is still in rehab from the second stroke, which he had on Halloween, and he's getting better. My sister and I have had to consider several eldercare issues on an emergency basis, which has been challenging. It's made me want to take better care of myself and get more organized. Unfortunately, I haven't had as much time for either as I'd like.

2) I've completed three more courses toward a Masters in Library Science. One of them, Health Science Resources and Services, remains my all-time favorite, even though I had a mean case of poison ivy at the time. I hope to graduate this time next year.

3) I've finally taken up geocaching, thanks to the geocaching app I downloaded onto my iPhone. It's been a lot of fun, and I've met some nice people along the way.

4) My 2001 Honda Accord, with almost 180k  miles on it, has become a money syphon. I'm wondering if enough things have been replaced that it'll last a while longer, or if I should cut my losses and look for a newer car. I'm hoping to wait until after graduate school is over to decide.

5) This is the first year in several that I haven't done at least one 5K (or longer) race. I hope that will change in 2014. I miss running a lot.

6) Oh, I turned 50 this year (earlier this month)! I was so busy with school and my dad's stroke recovery that I didn't have too much time to worry about it! The birthday itself was a good one, as my coworkers helped me celebrate, with gifts, cards, and birthday cake, so sweet! My family (including my sister, both parents, a niece, and G.) went out to dinner with me at the Washington Duke Inn, which as a big treat! The next weekend, George and I went to Asheville to visit the Biltmore Estate, which was lovely!

2012 Belk Bowl

Bank of America Stadium

As you may know, I'm a Duke football fan, so George and I had the fun opportunity to go to the 2012 Belk Bowl over the Christmas break. Duke played the University of Cincinnati at the Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers. It was my first trip to a pro football stadium, and my first trip to a bowl game in many years.

Georg and Lesley

I reserved a space in a parking lot ahead of time, and we attended the pregame Duke tailgate, which was fun! The weather was nice, but cold for the 6:30 game. Even though Duke lost the game, we still had a fun time!

My pictures from the 2012 Belk Bowl are here.

Happy Holidays!

George and I have had a busy, but fun stretch of celebrations this month!

First, we celebrated Hanukkah with his family over at Papa's house. Papa is 98 years old, the patriarch of their family. He really enjoys having the family fill his house, and it's fun, for sure. The kids are growing up so fast! We did something a little different this year for gift-giving. We each drew one person. I got George's mom, Tina, so we went to lunch at Mellow Mushroom, then to Paint Your Pot in Cary this past Saturday. It was a great time to catch up with her!

On Sunday, George and I threw a Festivus party! I was in the mood to host a Sunday night party, so I googled "December 23 holiday," and found out that it's Festivus, Who knew?! Great excuse to have people over, we decided!We cooked chili, and others brought food and flowers, and we played the original Trivial Pursuit. Fun times, great company! (Thanks to +Beth Bruch, +Nancy Mayer, and others for joining in the fun!)

Last night (Christmas Eve), George and I went to a Moravian Lovefeast at Christ the King Moravian Church. This is the second year in a row that we've gone to this service at Christ the King Moravian, so it feels like a tradition. It's such a nice service, with traditional Christmas hymns and readings, as well as the serving of coffee and buns, We really enjoyed it!

George, Lesley, & Marion

Today, George and I joined my Uncle Marion (who drove from Goldsboro) for brunch at Paparazzi, an Italian restaurant in Raleigh, for Christmas Day brunch. We had an 11:15 reservation, and didn't leave until nearly 3:00! Needless to say, we had a great time catching up and eating yummy food!

Once home, I called my parents in Alabama, and heard about their day. We wish we could've all been together, but it was great to hear their voices!

Tomorrow's a rest day for me, while George returns to work. It's been a great holiday season!

Election Day 2012

Today is Election Day across the country. It's a relief to many (including me) that it's finally here. I cast my ballot at an early voting location a couple of weeks ago, so I'm not part of the voting excitement today. (Since I'm home from work sick today, I'm kinda glad.)

This Presidential campaign season has had a different feel to it, at least for me. Part of it, for sure, is that I'm a lot busier than I was four years ago. I've added graduate school to my schedule, so I watch a lot less TV, and have less time to read newspapers and magazines for fun, so I didn't keep up through the primaries and final push like I did four years ago. It feels strange being so uninformed! But, I voted anyway, and I'm glad I did. It'll be interesting to see who wins.

Taking Better Care of Myself

After weeks (months?) of letting my health take a backseat, I went to a new-to-me doctor recently for a physical. I left with a pretty long list of marching orders that reminded me why I've been too busy to take better care of myself!

For starters, she told me to walk 15 minutes/day. It's been a good goal to stretch for, but some "old" running injuries (plantar fasciitis and a sore ankle) have flared up again. *sigh* She gave me a new blood glucose monitor, but the pharmacy has had difficulty getting me the correct test strips since running out of the samples that came in the monitor's box. She also wants me to buy a blood pressure monitor for home, but I've procrastinated after looking at the long list of possibilities on Amazon alone. (How do you know which one is best?! I think I'll look at the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for suggestions.)

The doctor also wants me to look into a diet program like Weight Watchers. I've done Weight Watchers before with some success, but always regaining later. My issue with WW now is that I don't have time for the meetings, which cost money (which I'm using to pay for grad school and otherwise trying to save!) to attend. Some would argue that the "group therapy" approach to weight loss is helpful (it often is!) and that paying for something adds an extra element of motivation to the effort. I've decided to go a different route though, returning to SparkPeople.com. The website offers lots of information, teams (groups with similar interests), and a point system for clicking on different articles and such AND for fitness minutes. You earn virtual trophies for moving up the point ladder. The website also offers food, exercise, and weight tracking.

I've also made an appointment for my annual mammogram, always not-fun but oh, so important.

I return to the doctor in 2-3 weeks for a follow-up on her marching orders. How will I do? Stay tuned!

Post Labor Day Blues

After an especially nice Labor Day Weekend, I find myself wishing for a little more time! My plans were to get a lot of studying done, but instead, I had flashbacks to undergrad days, where I procrastinated doing homework sometimes by cleaning my dorm room and doing ALL my laundry! Now, all of this has a different view as a middle-aged, working-full-time, part-time-grad-student adult, of course. It does feel extra nice to have a cleaner apartment, all my clothes hanging in the closet or folded in drawers, and food in the refrigerator! In a way, I have fewer distractions and some peace of mind as I work my way back into the study groove. Sigh. I'm missing my free time just a little!

Okay, I've vented enough for now, thanks. Back to homework!

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Visit to the Farmers Market

I've been reading the book Eat to Live recently, and it's inspired me to go to the Raleigh Farmers Market this afternoon after my workout. I got some tomatoes, blueberries, and peas (I don't remember what kind of peas, but a variety I don't think I've tried before). I did get some cooking tips for the peas, so that's on my to-do list for this evening. Now I wish I'd gotten some squash and peaches too! I guess I'll have to go back soon. (Darn!)

Image from Barnes & Noble

Springtime in the South

Foster's Market Outdoor Seating

George and I decided to take advantage of outdoor seating for dinner at Foster's Market in Durham recently. It was such a nice evening, and surprisingly few people were there, considering it was Reunion Weekend at Duke. (Perhaps a lot of people were involved in campus events.) At any rate, it felt great outdoors (and in the shade), so we had a delightful dinner. What a nice way to start the weekend!

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm usually a bit nostalgic for the previous year on New Year's Day morning, but not so much this year. I bet it's because I have a lot to look forward to in 2012, and that's just the stuff I know about!

1) I'm in graduate school, working on a Masters of Library Science. Fall semester 2011 was my first, so I have several more classes planned for 2012 (and probably a couple of years after this one!).

2) I'm going to Anaheim in June for the American Library Association's Annual Conference. It'll be my first ALA conference, and my first time to Anaheim. (Where's Mickey Mouse?!)

3) I've signed up for two half marathons this spring, the Tobacco Road Half Marathon and the Flying Pirate Half Marathon. These races will be a stretch for me, mixing consistent training with graduate school and a full-time job. I'm kinda nervous, so wish me luck!

4) George and I will celebrate 10 years together in October!


With these things and more on my plate, I've decided not to set any "New Year's Resolutions" this year. I already have several goals and personal projects in progress, so this year, January 1 feels like just another day, but thankfully, it's a day for a little more R&R!

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

George and I are both off today, as usual, so we're celebrating Thanksgiving in two different places. First, we're going to a church we've been visiting for a potluck Thanksgiving lunch. Then we're joining George's family for more food in Cary! Looking forward to seeing everyone, and also look forward to talking with family vacationing in Florida.
I took yesterday off from work, and while it wasn't very restful, I got a lot of errands done. It's often nice to have a workday off for errands, especially with grad school in the mix this semester.

Staycation 2011: Prairie Ridge Ecostation, Raleigh, NC

Prairie Ridge Ecostation

Last week, George and I had a staycation, and we enjoyed seeing taking in several local sites, including the Prairie Ridge Ecostation on Reedy Creek Rd. in Raleigh, NC. It's an outpost of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and it's a delightful 40 acres of nature within the city limits of our state capital.

There's no admission fee, and it's a delightful step into nature. There's a small trail system (about a mile's worth if you walk it all), with lots of plants and birds around.

Do yourself a favor and check out the Prairie Ridge Ecostation sometime! You'll be glad you did!

Check out the rest of my photos from the Prairie Ridge Ecostation here.

Show Me the Money

One of the benefits of being a grad student is that it's prompted me to take care of some things in my personal life that needed attention. I'm discovering that crossing things off of the To Do List helps me concentrate more on school!

With all the talk about banking fees, including the disappearance of free checking accounts and some banks starting to a monthly fee for using debit cards, I decided to work on getting my financial ducks in a row. Turns out I had FIVE "free" checking accounts floating out there! Yikes! I did a little homework to catch up on bank fees of the financial institutions I was dealing with (in varying degrees of infrequency!), and learned that two of those checking accounts had recently started having monthly fees taken out, and another would have fees starting in November. One of those checking accounts with new monthly fees was actually at a credit union, so be careful even with credit unions! So, I closed all three of those checking accounts out, which netted me about $50 total. Small potatoes, so I'm not worrying about fees or keeping track of those miscellaneous accounts anymore.

I was intrigued by the varied reactions of the different banks/credit unions, especially since I did all of this late on a Friday afternoon. The banker at SunTrust asked nicely why I was closing my account, shook my hand after completing the transaction, and invited me to consider bring my banking business back in the future. (He even gave me a brochure about their Student Banking accounts, since I'm a grad student.) The banker at the credit union pulled out the fee schedule and went over it with me to make sure I understood it. Part of that, I think, was because I still have a savings account at that credit union, which is affiliated with my workplace. That credit union seems to be geared more to financial education opportunities than regular banks around here; they even offer seminars/workshop on a regular basis for various financial decisions/activities, like purchasing a first home or planning for retirement. My last stop, Bank of America, where my account was $1.66 in the red, had me in and out as fast as possible. That was the bank I was most relieved to free of, so I didn't mind. Their reputation for nickle-and-diming their customers is pretty bad in these parts.

What have I learned?

1) There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, and free checking accounts are becoming a thing of the past (unless you have direct deposit or a minimum balance).

2) It pays to take care of the nagging little things. They take up vital brain space in the remembering or the tracking. And much like letting your car go too long without a simple oil change, little things can turn into big things.

3) Taking care of one little thing can give you momentum to take care of other little things, the snowball effect.

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Heading Back to School

Now I can say that I'm going back to school NEXT WEEK! Yikes! My first class in the Master of Library Science program at North Carolina Central University is on August 23, a week from Tuesday. As expected, I'm both excited and nervous, but mostly excited!

For the past few weeks, I've been taking care of some things on my larger to-do list, things that I've been putting off for a while. Having the start of grad school looming large has been a nice deadline, really. Mostly, I've been getting doctor's visits in, ones I've been neglecting, like getting my teeth cleaned and a mammogram (but not at the same time, thank goodness!). It feels satisfying to be on the other end of appointments like that, peace of mind that will help me focus on my studies a little better, I hope!

Meanwhile, I'm staying busy at work at the library, which will continue as I take classes. Also, I've signed up for the City of Oaks Half Marathon on November 6. I just finished Week #4 of my current training schedule, and so far it's going well, which means I haven't gotten injured! :-)

George and I continue to shop around for a new church home, so we visited a new-to-us church in Raleigh this morning. The funny thing about it was that we heard the today's minister last weekend at a different church, where he was the guest preacher. Today he was back at his home church, and we heard the SAME SERMON today that we heard last Sunday!

Saying Goodbye

Last night, George and I hosted our last Covenant Group with this particular group, which we've been with for several years. It just happened that our last meeting with the group was at our apartment, so I enjoyed fixing dinner for the group. When someone hosts the group, it's usually light snacks, but I decided to throw some chili fixings into the crockpots (one beef, one veggie), and it all turned out well. In fact, we ended up staying around the dinner table for the whole two hours, rather than moving into the living room. The fellowship was really nice, and the discussion, as usual, was interesting and insightful.

I must admit that I'll miss the discussions and fellowship of this group, which meets twice a month to discuss spiritual topics. The membership has changed a bit over the years that George and I have been members, but a core has stayed the same. I've really enjoyed getting to know the group members, and sharing good food and fellowship for several years. It's a little hard bowing out of the group, but I decided that I needed to free that time for my graduate studies, which start next month.

Meanwhile, George and I continue to look for a new Unitarian-Universalist church home, and it's going to be an interesting journey. We've decided to give ourselves plenty of time to visit, and not jump on the bandwagon too soon. The Covenant Group was our last connection to our last church, so it feels a little sad to be done with that. (Well, we are joining the group a couple more times, one for cookie baking and lunch, and another to fix dinner together at the local homeless shelter.) But the future looks interesting, between my grad school and our looking for another church home. George and I have enjoyed the churches we've been to so far, and have already been discussing how we might get involved.

What do you look for in a church or place of worship?

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Fried Pickles

Fried Pickles at Maxwell's Tavern

A couple of weekends ago, George and I stopped in Waxhaw, NC, to visit with some of our Lathem cousins before returning home. We ate an early dinner at a place called Maxwell's Tavern, and had a fun time there! One of the surprises for me was trying fried pickles! Now, I generally shy away from fried food these days (and usually leave pickles behind on my plate at restaurants), but it was ordered as an appetizer for the table, and I was compelled to try some. I was glad I did--I liked them! It was definitely a splurge of the "state fair food" variety, but it was fun to try something new around some of my favorite people.

Getting Together With Family

Lesley, Jessica, Junelle, Margee, J.K.

This past weekend, George and I traveled to South Carolina to visit with the Lathems. It was such a treat to visit with family! Since we all live in different parts of the country and the world, it's a rare treat to get together in one place!

The picture on the left was actually taken in Waxhaw, North Carolina. I'd never been there before, and it's a cute town! It was my first time to Union County, North Carolina, too, so I'll be posting about the county visit soon on my NC Odyssey Project blog.

Thanks to George for taking this picture.

Church Hunting in the Triangle

George and I have had the fun of visiting two different churches the past couple of weeks, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough and Community Church of Chapel Hill. We had been members together at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF), but have decided to move on.

I must admit some reluctance and sadness over leaving ERUUF, much like leaving a school, home, or job, where there have been many fond memories and growing experiences. The time feels right for a new church home, though, and we wish ERUUF well.

Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough (UUCH) is a small congregation, but we were pleased to see several people we knew there! Several others introduced themselves to us and made us feel welcome. I got a lot out of the sermon, and we enjoyed staying for coffee afterward. After the service, George and I went into downtown Hillsborough for lunch at the Wooden Nickle Pub, where I enjoyed a black/white bean veggie burger. Hillsborough is a charming town, where I took a few pictures after lunch.

Community Church of Chapel Hill is a much bigger congregation than UUCH, and reminded us (in a good way) of ERUUF. They happened to have their "Rising Up" Ceremony (for rising 6th and 9th graders and graduation seniors) last Sunday, so we were able to catch a glimpse of the scope of the Religious Education Program (LOTS of kids) and the outpouring of support from the congregation. They also had the flower communion, a Unitarian Universalist ritual, last Sunday, which was nice. We also enjoyed the music, which featured a couple of children's choirs, singing "The Road to Nowhere," "Love Train," and another song. Familiar congregational hymns abounded. After the service, George and I had lunch at Streets Deli in Chapel Hill, then saw the movie, "The Lincoln Lawyer." We'd recommend both!

All in all, we had really good experiences visiting these congregations. We'll continue looking around, visiting new places and returning to these, over the next few months. I'm looking forward to the journey!

Duke Graduation

Lisa, Emily, Laura, & Craig after Graduation

Duke held its graduation festivities this past weekend, so we had a fun weekend celebrating niece Laura's graduation with extended family in town! George and I enjoyed several activities around West Campus, including a reception on the Main Quad, a breakfast in part of the athletic facilities, Commencement in Wallace Wade Stadium, and Laura's Economics Department recognition ceremony in Cameron Stadium. Laura, Emily, Lisa, and Craig were even busier, but it was all great! We also enjoyed a yummy celebration dinner at Four Square!

Congratulations, Laura!

More Graduation Weekend pix here.

25th College Reunion

This past weekend, George and I attended my college reunion at Duke. 25 years, impossible! It was good to see old friends and meet some new people. We attended the class party at the Nasher Museum Friday night, and the class lunch in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday. I also did a behind-the-scenes tour of the Conservation Lab and the Digital Production Center of Duke Libraries on Friday afternoon. I wish I'd done more!


One of my favorite pictures from the weekend, shown above, is of George and me in the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center. The Cameron Crazies are painted on one wall!

Basketball Fever

The ACC Basketball Tournament is going on this weekend, and I've been having a good time watching it on TV. George isn't a basketball fan, but he's been a good sport about it. :) I've pulling for the Duke Blue Devils, of course, but it's been fun watching parts of other games, too. The UNC Tarheels, number 1 seed in the tourney, have won both of their tournament games in overtime, exciting! Duke is playing Virginia Tech now, another close game.