:: ReCap ::

Wow! I've really gotten behind on my "bloggin'"!
So here goes...the past week or so in review!

Last Thursday Adrienne landed at the Carter house! We went to the Eddie from Ohio show at the Handlebar. I had never heard them before. Adrienne is the hugest fan ever! I must say, that I liked them ooook...just not my type of music, I guess. But obviously is a lot of folks type, because there sure were a lot of hoopin-hollerin' fans there!




We ate with Jessica on Friday night, and finally got to see Emmalee! What a doll! SO cute!! Mac was working, so we didn't get to see him. Saturday morning, we did the Walk for Diabetes at Furman...it was a great walk! Very overcast and yucky, but the rain held off! YAY! Lots of people showed up, so I hope they were able to raise a lot of money! Adrienne headed out Saturday afternoon, and off we went to Simpsonville to pick up the nieces! I had asked them earlier in the week if they wanted to spend the night, and duhhh...of course, they did! Ha! So we picked them up, and took them to Corona's to eat. Sunny can really put away a lot of chips! WOW! Got home and played for a bit...Sunny was dying to watch Toy Story, so I got her set-up with that, and Kaylee and I played blocks and "phones" <---that's what she calls dominoes! Ha! Pretty ingenious!




Around 9:30, I remembered that Holly wanted them to have a bath before church the next morning! OOPS! So I threw them in the tub and scrubbed 'em down...Kaylee wanted to know where the toys were...hmmmm...last I checked I didn't have any bath toys...we take showers. So I rounded up a few SOLO cups and plastic rings that came in a Happy Meal, and you would've thought they had died and gone to heaven! HA!!




Getting them ready for church Sunday morning was oh, so eventful! Ha! It really wasn't bad at all! They are the best...so anything I asked them to do, they did it. "Hey, go fix your breakfast...while your at it, cook me some eggs, sucka!" Okay, not really, but they really do mind well! Haha! We got to church in record time...even beat Holly (their mom)! Haha! She was quite impressed by our punctuality! Haha!

Sunday started our revival at church with Adrian Dupre. It was really awesome! A wonderful time of getting renewed! It ended last night with a celebration baptismal service for those who had given or rededicated their lives to Christ during the revival. It was really awesome!! I'll end with this prayer...


I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Christ Jesus.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the fact of sacrifice,
hesitate in the presence of adversity,
negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity,
or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Christ Jesus.
I must give until I drop and preach until all know.
And when my time is up, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

DukesFest!

Not that you really will be surprised by this since you've probably noticed the title of my blog by now...but I'm a big Duke's of Hazzard fan! Ha! My brother and I grew up revolving our lives around 8:00 on Friday nights...now our lives revolved around our First Season DVD Set...just kidding...haha! I think a large part of my continuing obsession can be attributed to the fact that whenever I watch or see pictures of the Dukes, my childhood just comes back in full color...we had a blast as kids and thinking back on all of it just feels good...then if you bring out the 80's pictures, it's like, "Mom! What the hooey were you thinking by cutting my hair that way and letting me wear that Pizza Hut belt!?" (I must've gotten that because I looked like I'd eaten there a few time..."Most Frequent Eater Child Award Belt"...it was adjustable.

Anyways, we pretty much lived on our bikes as kids, so any kind of game was always involving our bikes. We'd fight for a bit over who was going to be the bumbling cops, and who was going to be one of the lovin' cousins....then we'd tear away for a few hours of chase and some bad acting, and really believe that we were riding in the General Lee or justifying our wrong turn to Rosco on the CB. I always had to be Enos, if I wasn't Bo. Enos was the best! I hated be the bad guys whenever we played anything, so if I had to be the cops, Enos was the one to be...the not-so-bad bad guy! Ha!

All of that to say, we got to meet Enos face-to-face at DukesFest this past summer. It was a hoot! He seemed happier to meet us than we were to meet him! Haha! It was hilairious! Here are the pictures to prove it! Ha!

When we first met...hahaha



Enos + Me!



Enos + Stephen!



Our pictures are even posted on this website! (http://www.hazzardnet.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=518&si=&page=1&sort=1&perpage=12&password=&ppuser=&stype=0)

DukesFest was, as you can imagine, the biggest redneck gathering ever! Ha! Just people watching was as nearly entertaining as the stunt-show! Ha! Check out more pictures here and you can see how Daisy has blossomed into a saggy old lady that thinks she can still pull off Daisy Duke attire! Haha! (http://www.cootersplace.com/dukefest.asp)

Weekend at Charleston

What a great weekend we had! Left for Isle of Palms Thursday night and met Ralph + Regina...they were winding up their vacation...they'd been there a little over a week. We had a blast! Just hanging out with them, looking at Elements, going out on the boat (oh, so fun!), and I think that's about all we did...but it was a ton of fun, as always...just being with them. So we stayed with them at the condo thru Saturday, tootled around Charleston + Mt Pleasant, and then headed to Monck's Corner to hang out with Kyle and Rita. Kyle and Rita have been married for a wee bit over a month, and we were their 2nd visitors already! Quite the hospitable folk they are! Ha! We've been married almost 3 years and will have only our 3rd overnight visitor this weekend! (Wheee! Adrienne'll be in da house!) I think Amy + Kaylee have been our only overnight visitors! Haha! I guess part of the reason no one wants to stay with us is due to the fact that we don't have an extra bedroom...poor Amy, Kaylee, and now Adrienne have had to sport the floor...sorry, guys! :( Those air mattresses can be quite comfy, you must admit! Haha!

So our visit with Kyle + Rita was great! So awesome to get to see them! I gained a new respect for that Kyle Polk, though. The kid drives an hour and a half to work in Hampton! He works at a really cewl restaurant called Taylor's...We went to visit Saturday night and had the best meal! Thanks for the M.S., Kyle! :) Everything was awesome! We met Kyle's brother and girlfriend...John and Elizabeth. Matt knew John from NGC and I had heard wonderful, enriching stories about him...but had never met the real deal! What a character! My life was enriched, and will "never be the same" as Rita put it...hahaha!

Enough, jibber jabber...here are some pics from our trip...I gotta get to work...


Here is the view from the condo...gorgeous!



Ralph tossin' a little football on the beach...looks like his arm flew off! Haha!



Regina chillin' on the boat...enjoying the ride and sunshine!



Matty on the boat...note the toboggan...it was CHILLY!!



Matt and Ralph on the lookout for porpoise...we saw a bunch! It was really cewl!



Everyone at Taylor's...l to r: Kyle, Rita, Me, John, Elizabeth, Matt

Fire Ants vs Regina's Kielbasa

You know what Kielbasa is, right? Strange pork product...as if there are any pork products that aren't strange. Anyways, I've vowed never to eat pork again...well, I'm not die hard really, but I rarely eat it anymore. I won't get into the "whys?", because there aren't many...I basically just find it gross. And I figure I'll be healthier if I eat Morningstar Farms "sausage" anyways. That's 2 freakin' servings of vegetables for one sausage! Go figure!

All of that to say, check out this massive Kielbasa! Who knew! There's a world largest one in Alberta, Canada! Can we all say, "ROAD TRIP!"?? I'm there!


That was a long intro to my fire-ant/kielbasa story...
Anyways, Matt and I were eating on the back porch the other night...leftovers...Regina's (that's Matt's awesome mom) Chicken Perlow (you low-country folks can tell me if I'm spelling that right or not...Rita?) It also had Kielbasa in it, so it should've really been deemed "Regina's Chicken Kielbasa Perlow". Whatever. Anyways, I was eating it when I realized that I really didn't like the Kielbasa all that much, so my new "never eat pork again" thing wasn't going to be so bad afterall. I had taken a little bite of it. The whole thing was still on my fork and I just flung it into the yard trying to be random and funny and make Matt laugh. He didn't find it near as random and funny as I did...he did laugh, but basically just told me to "go fetch it, ya goob". So, I did...then realized where it should find it's resting place...

the fire-ant mansion...


You must realize. These freaks have taken over our yard. You see how big the flippin' thing is. I wear a size 10...which, well, is big...but still...that mound is huge! Well, there are about 50 in our yard! It's crazy!! Mowing the grass is a chore...we should wear gaiters...we're lucky if we get out with less than 10 bites in the process.

Okay, so I place the sausage on top of the mound...and have mercy! Those ants went NUTZ! We left them be with their new found feast and anxiously awaited the next day.

How I wish I would've taken a picture of the mangled pork flesh they left! It looked like it had been through a meat grinder! And they were STILL eating! Freakin' beasts! They're savages!!

Next day, they had pulled it down into their abode...storing it up for the winter, I guess.

Nope...next day, it was GONE! They devoured it! The picture above was taken a week later...they'd already built the Kielbasa hole back!

We've concluded that fire ants are freakin' MANIACS! Just watch them if you ever get a spare minute. And if you're really out for some fun...toss a Ballpark in there.

I love Fall!

Fall has got to be my favorite time of year!
There's nothing like the smell of a pumpkin and cranberry candle burning in the house! YUMMM!
Anyways, this year, Matt has put up the decorations so far...he did a great job! Go Matty! He picked out the lights and the "Eek!" sign!

Check it out!





We may add a hay bale and pumpkins or something later. Adrienne's coming up next Thurs - Sat, so we'll carve pumpkins then if she's up to it! I'm sure she will be...anything to bring out the artist in herself! :)

Matt's waiting on me to watch Mean Girls...hahaha! I've already decided...when and if the Lord blesses us with children, I'm putting my request in for boys!! Girls are mean...I should know! Hahaha! Now, I'm not talking about my darling nieces (Kaylee, Sunny, Caitlin + Courtney)...they are the exception to the rule...but most girls, when they get about 15 or so, they grow horns...I'm sure of it...hahaha! I did!! Haha!

That's dad and the nieces! See...they are an exception! They don't have horns! Hahaha!



I actually cooked tonight, so we ate out on the back porch...a treat to actually sit down and eat! Haha!



Matt in a sultry pose...he's actually pickin' his nose if you look closely enough...haha! Isn't that oil lamp awesome! Adrienne gave it to me for my birthday! I love it! Thanks, chica!

Upward Camping

Well, we went on our first Upward Camping trip this past weekend! We had a blast! A short blast, but it was fun anyways! We'll have to make it a longer trip next time, and not as far away!! Ugh! Haha! Sorry, guys! :(




Here is the list of awards given this weekend....

David and Julio rule in the realm of games! So girls, if you're ever throwing any kind of shower for someone, just call the guys and they'll lend you their gaming knowledge! They rocked! Oh, and David gets the "littering hiker" award...he left Matt and I a trail of SPAM, Vienna Weiners, a ball, Emergency Blanket, Handi-Wipes...etc.....hahaha!

Juli Foster gets the award for going into dangerous territory fearless and unarmed! Sorry I don't have pictures that captured this event...we stopped at a primitive campground to take a potty break, but...well, since I've already said "primitive", you can assume that there wasn't really a potty of any sort. There was a, hmmm, latrine, I guess you could say, enclosed in a stone building that was about 95 degrees inside, with every imaginable bug keeping you company as you took care of whatever it was that you went in there to do. Juli went in first!! She came out a new woman!! You rule, Juli!!!

Melody + Sabrina get the award for being the best sports! Chris' 5-man tent that he loaned them turned out to be a couple of tarps and rocks! Someone that previously bought it before Chris + Cristi, returned it to the store with some trickery involved...NOT a nice trick! So, they're next mission is to consult the K-Mart customer service center! Ha! Which means Chris + Cristi get the bad shopper award! Haha! Just kidding! Chris gets "coolest sounds while snoring" award! Go Chris!! Haha!

Julia gets the award for having the coolest lookin' bumper! Well, coolest might not be the right word just yet...but will be after her insurance takes care of things! You guessed it...she and Juli were rear-ended on the trip up! Ouch! So, we've discussed what color she should go with...email Julia with your suggestions...I think we settled on lime green...haha!

And Matt + Carla get the award for arriving there the latest! The 2 1/2 hour trip was 5 hours for us (traffic coupled with a rock slide)...and since we had all the food for everyone, we were greeted with gnashing teeth and drool! Haha! Just kidding! Thanks for not killing us! Haha! We had a 10pm hot dog supper...it's amazing how good a hot dog can be when you're so hungry you could eat your left leg! Ha!

So, that's that! It was awesome! Short, but awesome!

Thanks for going and being such good sports, folks!! We'll do it again, soon! :)



I love Juli's face in this picture! Haha! David won at Chubby Bunny! Haha!



One last picture before heading home...



You can see all this pics here: http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeCN2Llq3YtmH4

Nickel Creek

Nickel Creek totally rocked, as always! But, I am so mad!! I forgot my camera!!! I brought it with me, then left it in the car where we met up with Joel + Rebecca at their house. So I couldn't really walk back to the car when I realized I had left it...ugh!

Who's this Howie Day kid?? I'll tell you who he is...an arrogant dork who played for an hour and a half! Who the heck does he think he is playing that long at a Nickel Creek show?! Someone clue him in that he's supposed to be "opening" for them! Ugh! He's quite a strange kid. I'll stop...I'm really trying to work on "building others up"...even those that I don't know and/or have any type of interaction with...like famous people. Haha! I will say that I actually liked him after the first 3 songs...by the 4th, he was beginning to get a little old...but then when he started talking and trying to be funny, I gave up and started yelling, "NICKEL CREEK!!!!!!!"...hahahaha! Now I must admit that I actually purchased one of his songs off of iTunes...but that's it! 99 cents is all he'll get from me! Haha!

Overall, the show was great! It was out at the Ampitheater and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! It was awesome!
Saw my homegirl, Lindsay, there and realized she knew David Smith from BCBC...he was there too! What a small world!

I'll post some fake photos of the show later...

I'm a GEEKarama!!

Yup! That's me, I'm talking about! Why, you ask?
I BEAT THE FLIPPIN' DUKES OF HAZZARD GAME!!!! Oh wait...that wasn't really the issue...the issue was that I only had it for FIVE DAYS!!! Holy Majoly!!!
I can't believe I allowed myself to spend that much time doing something so meaningless (although, I'm sure some of you are saying that about my new "blogging" hobbie)...but, blogging enhances verbal skills at least!! What does XBOX do??! Especially, an XBOX facilitating a Dukes of Hazzard game!! Well, I guess if you're going to spend all that time, it might as well be something as fun as the Dukes! I must say, I was a bit disappointed in the graphics...Boss Hogg looked especially freakish! I couldn't find a screenshot of him, but here's a taste...



So yeah, it wasn't great as far as the graphics go...but the game itself and dialogue was funny!

I've been forgetting to mention the reason for starting my dukefarm blog...I was quite inspired by Adrienne and Rita to start it. They're on Xanga. I searched around and found Blogger and really liked what I saw...so here I am! Hopefully, at the start of something grand! :) Thanks, mi chicas!

Chinese, please!

Wow! I'm really keepin' up with this thing, surprisingly! Well, we're only 2 days into it...can't pump myself up too much.
I'm just killing time again while I should be working on some jobs I have due next week, but this is more fun...ha!
We're heading downtown tonight to eat with Amy + Russ-T (our 2 most wonderful friends!). Amy's a PE/Health teacher and Russ-T's a paramedic, so they're quite the pair! It's great having them around...especially if you slice your ear off or get attacked by a wild boar or something, or not, or...ooooook. They're a blast and we only live about 5 or so miles away from them now that we made the big move from "Simpleville" (aka Simpsonville)...haha! So we're going to eat Chinese tonight...the Orient on Main, downtown Greenville, SC...go there and let it rock your face off! It's AWESOME!

I'm all pumped about the Nickel Creek show Thursday night at Furman! Whoohoo! This will be the 3rd time we've seen them on this tour...the 4th time total! Wow! We're becoming quite the groupies! Haha! We saw them in April in Columbia...they rocked, as always...see fo yosef!



Anyways, I better get to work so I'll have some done before we go eat! Whoohoo! Can't wait for that egg-roll! :)

Peace out...

Freelance Biz = XBOX Fun for All

Well, I've already surprised myself by writing more than one blog...and in the same day! Wow! Still not a habit though...just something new that can pull me away from my freelance biz.
I got 2 new jobs today...I was free for all of 4 days of freelance work...I enjoyed it immensely! It's really nice to have the extra money, but really, really nice to have the extra time! I didn't know what to do...other than to play my new Dukes XBOX game, which I'm proud of myself for not touching it since I've been home tonight. It's only 10:05 though...the night is still young! Ha!
Matt is playing Tony Hawk's ProSkater now while I'm working. I hate working at home and not getting to spend time with him some nights, but he likes the extra money too, so we endure the "togetherless" nights...haha! Afterall, how the heck could we justify buying 2 XBOX games without a little "bonus" cash?? Hahaha! We did have some together time tonight at Garden Ridge...what a man! He agreed to take me there! Haha! I must admit, I hate it nearly as much as he does, but I really wanted to try and find some fall decor for our porch...but our shopping efforts were futile. Garden Ridge doesn't have squat in the line of fall decor so don't go there. I'm going to try AC Moore tomorrow. A bit more inviting than Garden Ridge! Haha!
Okay, I'm really distracting myself from my work efforts...can't bill a client for "time spent writing a blog"...that could help me find my way out of the freelance biz real quick like...haha!
Keep it real...


real what? I haven't a clue...

Monday, monday...

Hi All!
Well, this is my first ever blog! I'm sure I'll be as good at sticking to this as I am any other time I try to get into journal writing...let's hope I've turned over a new stone here...haha!
I always hate Mondays. Today hasn't been too terribly bad, but Friday's are always better.
Matt surprised me last week with the new Dukes of Hazzard game for XBOX. And no, I don't really get into playing XBOX all that much, but I do get into the Dukes! Yeeehaw! Haha! So I'm sure I'll have to try and save Daisy tonight from heading over the cliff since the bad guys cut her brake line...I wasn't successful last night and she died about 27 times! Ha!
This weekend will be a blast! It's our first Upward camping trip! One of many to come, I hope! There's only 6 of us going + 2 spouses...but it will still be a blastarama!
Better get! I'm at work!