One of our new neighbors

As we were unpacking yesterday, George looked out one of our windows and notice a mama bird in its nest! It was so sweet to watch! Some of our Covenant Group from ERUUF were over heloing us unpack, and one person recognized it as a tohwee.

All moved in

George and I moved this weekend, and it's soooo good to have that behind us! We still have his apartment to get cleaned up, but I think that will be fine. We really like our new place, though we're both still a bit sore. We had some great help both Saturday and Sunday, in addition to the professional movers on Saturday. It was a great day for moving. The morning was pretty pleasant, though it did warm up a bit.

I'll write more later....

New apartment

George and I signed the lease to our new apartment this morning! There have been a few glitches, such as having to change addresses (the people in our original apartment couldn't move out as their house fell through) and our washer and dryer not being delivered until late next week. We're glad to have the papers signed. Now we just have to finish packing and move.

Our washer and dryer won't be moved in until next Friday, the 29th, a bit of a pain! And now we're on the third floor instead of the second. But that means we'll just get more exercise, right?

Our new apartment is pretty and spacious. I can't wait to set up house there!! George and I still have some negotiating to do in terms of furniture placement and decorating, but I think it'll all work out.

"I Say, You Think" Meme

I've been exploring the idea of adding memes to my blog periodically, and decided to dive in this morning. This first one is a word association that looked like fun.

1. bug: big
2. red: flag
3. traffic: Interstate 40
4. apple: red
5. sexy: self-confident
6. book: work (which I like!)
7. roller coaster: Where?!
8. hippie: tie-dye
9. weekend: Yippee!
10. chocolate: Three Musketeers

Running Group

I'm planning to join a running group Saturday morning at Umstead State Park, and I'm excited about it. Of course, I'm a little worried about being able to keep up, but I keep telling myself to show up and do my best, and take it from there. The group will start with three miles on Saturday, which is almost my max distance right now, and build on that, which seems perfect for me. Since we'll be running on a trail I've never been on before, maybe I should leave a breadcrumb trail in case I do bring up the rear!

Quote of the Day

"The most successful people are those who are good at plan B." James Yorke

McLamb Reunion

I went to a McLamb Family Reunion over in Dunn today. I had fun seeing the people I know, and enjoyed meeting some new people. This particular branch of the family tree isn't my direct one, but it's fun to be invited to this gathering on an annual basis. It's made me want to get my own branch of McLambs organized and together for a reunion. I need to get another computer up and running to do that....a goal for the new apartment! I do miss doing genealogy.

What I'm Reading

Right now I'm working on Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies. It's an autobiography of Lamott's spiritual journey, and it's been a joy to read so far. She has an interesting way of putting words together, and I'm enjoying reading about another Christian's journey that's unconventional and more liberal. I've been thinking a lot about my own spiritual journey lately, and how it's changed over the years. Being at ERUUF has hightened my awareness that I'm a bit in flux these days, and I'm trying to find my way. Sometimes I feel adventurous about my spiritual journey, and sometimes I feel out of sorts and uncomfortable. It's better than being stagnant, though.

Memorial Day

George and I find ourselves in town this weekend, doing some packing, but mostly taking it easy. It's a nice change of pace, and the down time is much needed before the busy month ahead. I'll be glad to see July 1 come around.

I've signed up for another 5K, this one this coming Saturday. I'm looking forward to the change in exercise routine, and can't wait to see if I can improve my time. The last time I ran a 5K race, I finished in 46 minutes, 30 seconds. I think I can top 45 minutes, for sure. How close I get to 40 minutes probably depends, in part anyway, on how hilly the course is.

Packing

George came over and helped me with some packing last night. We made progress, though not as much as we'd hoped. (I'm realizing just how much stuff I actually have! Yikes!) Tonight we're going to work on his place some. We're hoping this weekend brings a big packing push for both of us.

What I'm Reading

At the moment, I'm enjoying the book, Courting Trouble, by Lisa Scottoline. It's a legal mystery, and is a pretty fast read, nice for almost-summer, especially with the stress in other areas of my life. It's a nice escape. I'll probably finish it this week and return it to the light reading paperback shelves here at the library. Time to start weeding through my own bookshelves at home and see what I need to return to the library, or pass along to others, or save. I love books, and in time I'd love to have a room dedicated to books in my home.

Vesak

My friend, Suttee, invited us to the Buddhist temple she attends in Knightdale, near Raleigh to see the Vesak festival today. It was held outdoors, which Buddhist monks, nuns, and dancers, plus lunch beforehand. All of it was really fascinating to me! There was a lot of traditional music (Suttee told us it was Thai music), and the flowers, flags, and other decorations were very colorful--yellows, blues, reds. I'm so glad Suttee invited us to join her.

Catching Up with Friends

Last evening I tried to call my former co-worker, Aura, who's moved to California. Yesterday was her birthday! I didn't get hold of her, but it was kinda nice to hear her voice on her cell phone voice mail message. I left her a message.

After that, I decided to call an old Toastmasters buddy, Alice. We met at the Bull City ToastMasters several years ago, and realized last night that it's probably been about three years since we've seen each other. She has since has a baby, and doesn't have time for Toastmasters right now. I don't either, but have been thinking about going back. Anyway, it was great to catch up with Alice (it has been about 9 months since we'd talked!), and we hope to get together after my move.

Cleaning

Last night I tackled the bathroom, cleaning out the linen/supply closet, as well as underneath the sink. That was a good job to get out of the way! It was good to consolidate supplies and toss old stuff. Lord knows WHEN I'd swept out the bottom of that closet. ANd how did I get so many hairbands?! At least they're all together now.

I need to keep chipping away at my apartment. Wonder room(s) what I'll work on tonight...fun, fun! It is nice to have the motivation of moving to get me going on this sort of thing. I'm sooo excited about our new place!

Half Marathon in Charlotte!

I've just discovered a half marathon (Thunder Road Marathon/Half Marathon) in Charlotte in early December that would be a neat thing to do! I've been thinking about doing one in October or November, but this would give me a little more time to train and lose weight, plus it would be a great birthday present for myself!

Beautiful Day!

I just had lunch outside, and it's a beautiful day here in Durham! It did my spirits good to sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine from a table outside of the library, underneath a big umbrella.

This evening I'm having dinner with a friend I met back on New Year's Eve. We really hit it off when we met, but haven't been able to coordinate getting together until now.

Date Night

George and I went to see Spider Man 3 last night at the theater at Brier Creek Commons. It's a nice, fairly new theater. The movie was pretty good, but long, nearly 2.5 hours.

Tomorrow is, of course, Mother's Day. It's also Graduation Day at Duke. I often get pensive during this time, especially since I've been back at Duke. The other night, I caught up with my sister, Lisa, on the phone, and she asked me what I'd do differently in college if I had it to do over. It was an interesting question, one I've actually thought about already. I'd want to study more, have more fun, meet more people, sink my teeth into a cause.

End of an Era

George and I were just planning a date night tonight, and were thinking about the Starlite Drive-in in Durham, I checked the website when the movie listing didn't come up on Yahoo Movies, and it turnes out the drive-in is closed, maybe for good! The owner died unexpectedly! :-( George and I have had several fun dates there. I enjoyed this write-up about the Starlite on the "Big Blog."

Butterflies!

We had our final Junior League meeting of the "year" last night, and it was held at the Museum of Life and Science. One of the highlights for me was being able to go through the Butterfly House. I saw some beautiful butterflies, some flying around and others hanging from branches, appearing to be sleeping. It was neat! I hear it's also really pretty when it's sunny outside, that the butterflies tend to be more active during a sunny day.

I also enjoyed catching up with Hallie and some others at the meeting last night.

Airport

Last night George and I had an unexpected trip to the RDU Airport to pick up a friend and take her home to Raleigh. One of the nice things about it, though, was realizing how close we are to the airport. Close enough, but not too close. :)

I'm sleepy today due to the late night, could use a long, cozy nap!