9 in '09 - Week #21

Organization is my hero.

Last week:

• 64 oz water a day - mostly
• eating improvements - yes, until weekend
• workout 4 times, abs 4 times - 4 workout, 3 abs
• finish organizing kitchen - no
• clean house - no
• catch-up blog posts here - yes
• start considering server move - yes

I did ok with vitamins. I planned to workout more on the weekend but wasn't feeling so swell.

This week:

• 64 oz water a day
• low calorie eating
• vitamins
• workout 5 times
• abs 4 times
• drop off at Goodwill
• clean house

Our only commitment is Sunday night late. I have a lot to do and I'm working hard to be organized and make progress.

The Color Purple

This weekend, we went to see The Color Purple (the musical) at the DPAC. It was the final show in our Broadway Series and the least exciting.To be fair, we did miss a couple of shows along the way so the only other one we saw was Rent, starring some original cast members. Not much could top that.

The Color Purple is the story of Celie, a black woman and the rough life she endured, first at the hands of her father, then her husband, etc.

The first half of the show was very depressing to me. In fact, I considered leaving at intermission but we decided to stay, thinking it must end on a high note. And of course, it (predictably) did. Triumph and reunions and rainbows and puppies.

The performers were not the problem. The dialog was not the problem. A major problem for me was the music. What kind of musical doesn't leave you humming melodies and repeating lines when you leave? This kind. I couldn't recall a single big of song from the show by the time we made our way to the car. It was all pleasant enough but not catching.

Next season, our Broadway series includes some great shows, including Phantom of the Opera, Grease, Mamma Mia!, Beauty and the Beast, and Wicked. I can't wait!

9 in '09 - Week #20

Not a bad week and feeling good about the week ahead.

Last week:

• 64 oz water a day - yes
• begin regular workouts again (and abs 4 times) - yes (abs 3 I think)
• organize kitchen pantry - yes

The new Wii game arrived and I've enjoyed incorporating that into my workouts. The kitchen isn't completely in order but we made significant progress.

This week:

• 64 oz water a day
• eating improvements
• workout 4 times, abs 4 times
• finish organizing kitchen
• clean house
• catch-up blog posts here
• start considering server move

I've also started taking my vitamins again. There are no evening commitments at this point so I should be in good shape for workouts. The Gold's Gym workouts are hard enough to be good exercise but not so miserable that I can't do them frequently so I'm going to really push on that this week.

The Porch is Awesome

No idea how this game will end up but I'm currently cheering for the Canes in game 7 vs the Boston Bruins. From my porch. Does it get much better than this?

Asheville & Biltmore Festival of Flowers

We made our second trip in six months to Asheville NC and the Biltmore Estate. However, the Festival of Flowers is a much different experience than the Candlelight Christmas.We both cut Friday afternoon short at work so we could hit the road at a decent hour. We made great time out to Asheville despite the threat of rain. In fact, we arrived before 7:30, making us in time for the hockey game! Too bad the hotel stations didn't carry it. We did our best to watch online and the Canes managed a win while we snacked on room service goodies.

The next morning, we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading into Biltmore. Storms were moving in that afternoon so we spent the start of our trip wandering around the gardens. We walked through the azalea garden to the waterfall and then back to the house by way of the walled garden. The weather was warm and the humidity was in full force. Much the opposite of the biting cold weather when we visited in the winter.

We attempted to tour the house itself but were only interested in the new rooms that had opened since our last visit. Unfortunately, there was no way to do this without visiting the entire house, which was completely jammed. We opted instead to head out to the winery.

By the time we reached the winery, dark clouds were moving in. We originally planned to eat at the outdoor cafe but wisely changed our mind and took cover at the indoor bistro. Wise decision - it wasn't long before the sky opened up. And the food was amazing. We had a really great lunch there.

After filling our bellies, we went to the wine tasting room next door. We tasted 8 wines in all, picking two that we'd like to buy. Unfortunately, the were both more expensive than we thought it was worth so we passed. We inquired about two wines we had bought from Biltmore in the past but found out they were out of them. Still, we somehow managed to find three bottles for purchase before leaving.

As we exited the estate grounds, we realized we had never visited the gate house shop. We wandered around a bit and noticed they also did wine tasting. We tried three more wines, bought a bottle of each, and then called it a day.

That night we enjoyed early dinner at a pub called Jack of the Wood. A couple of pints and some great sandwiches and finally we were ready to call it a night.

Sunday we slept in and then drove home. Considering how much rain was in the area, we managed to avoid it both while driving and wandering around. Not a bad trip!

9 in '09 - Week #19

Seems I skipped a week... But I'm coming back stronger than ever.

This week:

• 64 oz water a day
• begin regular workouts again (and abs 4 times)
• organize kitchen pantry

I'm going to get serious about this again. Back under control with eating. This morning, I ordered the Gold's Gym "game" for the WiiFit and that will be here Wednesday to assist in workouts. Tuesday night will likely be a hockey game. Saturday night we have a show (The Color Purple), and Sunday morning Mike is running a half-marathon.

Brian Vander Ark

Last night was completely made of win. A concert on our porch followed by playoff hockey.A couple of years ago, Mike's coworker at Duke introduced him to the music of Brian Vander Ark. Brian is the former/sometimes lead singer of Verve Pipe (you may remember The Freshman from the mid/late-90s). He is now putting out fantastic solo music.

For the past few years, Brian has been touring around on what he calls the "Lawn Chairs and Living Rooms Tour". Basically, you pay enough to cover his expenses and some extra cash in his pocket and then he shows up at your house for a couple of hours to sing and hang out. Rick hosted a Brian concert at his parents' place a couple of years ago. This year we decided to split the cost of a show and host it on the new porch. Last night was our night.

Everyone, including Brian, showed up around 6pm. We had eight spectators plus Brian out on the porch - just the right amount of people for the space. We were fortunate that the weather cooperated (I was concerned after the night before) so it was very comfortable.

In all, Brian played about 15 songs from our request list, stopping to talk in between about the song, his travels, life in general. And just like last time we saw him, he put on a great show. It was very intimate, just the small group and Brian on an acoustic guitar. Also, he's just a really nice guy. We enjoyed it more than I can really put into words. I can't wait to see him again.








After the crowd cleared, Mike and I went upstairs to watch game #3 of the second round of playoffs. Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins. Canes lost the first game badly in Boston before winning the second game. Last night was the first game of the series here in Raleigh. It was a great game, going into overtime. An even better game because the Canes won, taking the series to 2-1. Yay!

There's been some trash talk on my message boards lately about hockey. Seems we have someone local to Boston, one in DC, and a die-hard Pittsburgh fan there. Plus, a couple of us from NC. Yesterday, I decided to set everyone straight on who we're cheering for:

We're not in Kansas Anymore!

For the first time since moving to North Carolina, a storm grew so violent we decided to take cover.

Last night, storms moved across the area, causing the formation of several tornadoes. One was less than a mile from the house. In the end, I think four actually touched down in North Carolina.

With the tornado warning, in addition to high winds, crazy rain and freaky lightning, we did something we've never done before - we actually took shelter in the bathroom downstairs. This is no easy task. The bathroom is a half-bath, about 3x8 maybe. There's room for a toilet, a pedestal sink, and space for the door to swing open in between. We somehow managed to fit both of us (plus our laptops) and both very unhappy cats (in their cages) in the teensy bathroom for about forty-five minutes.

We were fortunate not to have any damage, just some yard debris. Our garden even survived unscathed. Now to see what the rest of the week brings as they're saying the conditions will be like this through Friday.