:: upward in the bronx

so the following day, after all of the pregnancy excitement, matt had to work and i spent most of the day out and mom and dad's celebrating holly's (that's my sister-in-law) birthday. my dad grilled out...it was really nice! then i went home to pack and get ready for ny...our flight was leaving out at 6:00am on sunday morning! :(

so melody (a peep from work) and i flew out sunday. we just chilled around central park sunday afternoon and met up with david and doug later that evening (more upward peeps).

monday morning, kendall, our fearless leader, briefed everyone on the happenings of the week. (that's kendall in the yellow shirt)

there were 2 churches there to run the camps. we upward peeps were mainly there to observe and help out where needed. we passed out flyers (created by your's truly...hahaha) all day monday and david, doug, melody, kendall and i put together some portable goals so some of the smaller kids could use them.

here's david posting a flyer...


and here we are putting the goals together...that's doug standing up, kendall's in the green, and david's peeking through from the back...


the rest of the week consisted of us getting up and onto the subway by 8:15 or so, to be in the bronx by 9:00. the camps ran from 9-12. i think, throughout the week, there ended up being 120 kids that came! it was such an awesome experience! i am so glad that i decided to go, despite being preggo! haha! (l to r: kendall, melody, doug, and me)


before i start posting photos, i must tell what occurred on tuesday of that week. matt called to tell me that st louis was a possibility for us with chick-fil-a...it would be temporary...only 6 months. he said he needed to tell them in a couple of days if we were going to go or not. we decided that this was what we needed to do since this would put him closer to his ultimate goal of becoming an operator/owner. there was one kicker...matt would be leaving in 2 weeks! i would stay behind to wrap things up at work and get all of our stuff packed up and into storage. at this point, our prayer was that upward would allow me to go with him and work from home for them. i called wendy, our dept director, and scheduled to meet with her and chris (my boss) on monday of the next week. long story short, upward was very gracious and decided to allow me to work from st louis! thank you, Lord! we knew he had answered our prayers!!

okay, on with the pictures...





there were 2 camps being held that week. this is one about 5 minutes from the camp where melody and i were all week. they were doing cheerleading at this one, which as you can tell, went over VERY well! :)


here's melody and david...we had to walk up the street to get some water and snacks for the kiddies. the nice folks at the store let us borrow the buggies...but only after melody left her license as collateral! hahaha! (oh, david said we probably shouldn't refer to them as "buggies" in nyc..."carts" was the more proper term and we were less likely to get weird looks...hahahaha!)


here i am trying to show some kids how to play H-O-R-S-E...they thought that was a trip!! i got schooled! haha!


some really excited kids learning their bible verses!


more happy kiddies!



here we are at carmine's...boy, was it GOOD!! (l to r: david, kendall, julio, karina, melody, doug, me)


lindsay and deb came up on wed and left on friday...those crazy girls! haha!


this thing was a BLAST! i think they called them "circle cabs", but i'm not sure. we all had to pedal, and the empty seat is where the driver sat and steered, but he was taking the picture. he drove us around time square...i thought we were going to kiss the bumper of a taxi at one point...it was so much fun! thanks, david, for hookin' us up!! :)


we did dinner at tavern on the green and went to phantom of the opera. that was a lot of fun!! (l to r: julio, me, doug, melody, and karina)


and here we are at the mets game...they played the braves and beat them! :( it was a really good game though! GO BRAVES!!
(l to r: melody, deb, kendall, doug, jeff, lindsay, me, and david)


so, that about wraps it up. sorry for such a long post, but i wanted to share all of that. lots of people have asked me about my trip, and i haven't had any pictures with me to share, so here they are! it was an awesome experience! kendall blew us all away with her mad skills and passion for bringing Christ to those kids! she did such an awesome job handling everything! she da woman!! there were several kids who came to know the Lord, and lots of seeds were planted that week and the other weeks in the hearts of those kids. pray for those seeds to be harvested and for the hearts of the people of the bronx to be opened. there are churches there that will follow up with the kids that were at the camp, so they will need our prayers too!

:: 2 months behind on blogging

okay, since i have gotten MAJORLY behind on my blogging since my trip to chicago, I am going to try to redeem myself in the next few posts.

lots of things have happened since then, and i'm going to do my best to fill you in on all the happenings!

i'll start off with this first post with what happened on Friday, July 8!

on tuesday of that week, i came home from work and was EXTREMELY tired. i came home and thought, "i will just lay down for a few minutes"...keep in mind, i have never been able to take naps and i hate lying down when it's light outside! haha! but i was exhausted. i lay down around 6:30 and woke up at.....9:30!!! what the hooey?! wednesday morning came, and i didn't feel so good...thursday and friday mornings followed suit. in talking with some of my fine peeps at work, i was convinced i needed to stop on the way home and pick up a pregnancy test. i did. matt was anxiously waiting when i got home, after he got my "i'm going to drop by target and pick up a pregnancy test" message. ahhaha! i took the test...well, i took 2 of them...here was the aftermath...


eeeeeeeek!! it was positive!! at first, i was skeered out of my mind. i was so overwhelmed, i just started crying. matt was bouncing off the ceiling. he was proud poppa! haha! after he calmed me down, i got a grip and just started laughing! haha! then i threw myself in a panic as i realized i was leaving for nyc with upward in 2 days and would be gone for a whole week! augh! no problem...carla, get a grip...no biggie. i called wendy, my good peep and boss at work, and got some advice from her...she must've thought i had lost my mind. i decided to go ahead and go to nyc as planned. matt and i headed out the door to get some baby items to help us tell the big news to our parents. we were going out that night for matt's mom's birthday...we wrapped up some kid proof electrical outlet covers in her bag of birthday goodies.

when she opened it, she just glared at us and said, "this better not be a joke"...as we are both known for doing that sort of thing...haha! when we told her it wasn't, she just burst into tears...as did ralph and angela too! it was awesome! we headed out to my parents to tell them the big news. we got there and put a tube of "butt paste" in the middle of the table (diaper rash ointment for those of you who are wondering..haha)

...my mom said, "are you pregnant??" when we said YES, she and my dad started laughing and saying "whoohoo!"...quite a difference in the emotions of the carter's and the smith's...it'll be a good balance for baby carter! HAHA!

:: in chicago!

greetings from chicago!
chris, chris, and i are here for the HOW design conference! whee! so much fun! it's now 1.45am and i am pooped...so i'm just going to post some pics from today...we're having a blast and pictures can show it better than i can tell it...haha!

here's the view from my room...looking east at lake michigan


here's the street...some exciting photography, huh? mommer would have a stroke from the height! haha!


sweet room, huh? it's treatin' me nice!


chris, me, and chris...just out of a session at the conference...time for a burger!


goofy, goofy, carla at billy goat tavern...cup contents = water...i promise! :)


chris ran into a little trouble atop the john hancock building...we managed to pull him up! :)


i kept my footing a little better than chris...here i am showing my mad window washin' skills!


poor chris...somebody get that boy a parachute!



that's all i have for now...we're slammed tomorrow with classes pretty much all day...then tomorrow night, the white sox game! YAY!

:: an old friend...

that's cash...our old dog. he is now living in pell city, alabama on 72 acres of farm land. he moved away when we moved here in november, 2003. he needed more room to run and people who could give him more time and attention than we could. i was just thinking of him a lot lately and wanted to dedicate a post to him. so here's to you, johnny cash.

:: what's going on...

looks like i've taken another hiatus from blogging...so much has been going on, that i really haven't had a chance to just sit down and do something fun and stress-releasing like blogging...haha! in the past few months, when i've sat down at the computer it's either to work, or check email, and not much of anything else.

fuzzy bison has been "working her hump off" (that's for you, lindsay..hahaha). for those of you who aren't aware, fuzzy bison is my freelance business name. lots of business has come my way and i'm very thankful for it. it's good to get that extra moolah for those "fun things" we want to do or buy..haha! i have one last job that i am wrapping up and after that is finished, fuzzy is taking the summer off! whoohoo! mainly because i need a break, but i'm going to be out of town so much that it's just not worth trying to tackle jobs in the midst of traveling. i leave saturday (june 11) for chicago for the HOW design conference with work. i'm really stoked about that..it's gonna be so fun! (www.howconference.com) july 10-16 i will be in nyc with work...we will be working with inner city kids in the bronx doing Upward basketball camps with new hope new york (newhopenewyork.com)...yet another exciting week! then, july 17, the greenville mall chick-fil-a (where matt is currently at) will be closing! YAY! so he will move on to greener pastures...hahaha! most probably, either cherrydale or back to woodruff road for 6 more months, then we will await the next assignment...hopefully won't be too many miles away! :) he will have a break between stores, so july 18 we are leaving to go somewhere on vacation. we haven't decided where yet, but are leaning towards a canoeing/camping trip...the adirondacks are looking pretty inviting! :)

i really didnt' mean to type all of that..i was just going to throw some pictures up and show what has been going on over the past month...so i'll get on with that now...

we went to see blue merle at the orange peel (asheville, nc) may 17. the shore opened up for them. both bands ROCKED!!


chris, lindsay, and i went climbing one day..i can't remember when this was..sometime in may...hahaha! it was fun! i had forgotten how much fun it was! hard...but fun!


matt and i went camping up at north mills river (outside of asheville) a couple of weekends ago. this was at the pink beds view area (like that isn't obvious..haha) on the blue ridge parkway...it was so hazy, so we couldn't see them :(


stephen and i celebrated our birthdays on may 22 (our bdays are on the 19th). we had mom's surprise 60th bday party on the 20th...the details of that happening will be saved for a later post! i have pics to, but i don't have them ready to post...so i'll get them up at a later date...but here's the pic from our bday thingy at mom and dads...


upward was a part of relay for life this year! it was awesome! i'm so glad i was able to go! here are some of the upward peeps that came...lots more came throughout the night...


and here is just a random photo i took of a weird looking spider on our back porch...he looks really big, but see the fly he caught for dinner? yeah, he's pretty small afterall...


and here is a really ugly fish i caught today...it's a pickeral...that's what matt said...all i know is he was ugly and had teef! ha!


welp, i'm pooped...so off to bed i go! i'll be back with more later...happy summer!! :)

:: May 3 - Happy Birthday, James Brown!

:: sooo sleepy

I'm currently downtown (Greenville) at Carpenter's Cellar...lucky me tapped into a network...I don't think they have one...must be streaming in from another business. Matt is playing here with Oracle 7 tonight. They are doing awesome! They've gotten to the "requests" part of the set...just did a Dave Matthews song and now they're doing a Burlap to Cashmere song...I used to LOVE that band, but haven't listened to them in several years...I think I'll get that cd out when I get home...well, not tonight...I'll wait until tomorrow when I'm refreshed and have had some sleep. I've been working all week on freelance deadlines, so I've not had my regular sleep routine going on...it caught up with me today...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Haha! SO GLAD IT IS FRIDAY!! (okay, I don't know what song that is they are doing now, but it is freakin' awesome...lemme consult iTunes real quick...okay, no luck...I'll ask Matt tonight and get back with ya on that one...crapitola! I wish I could think of what that is! UGH! That's fo sho gonna bug the hooey outta me! Ha!)

Oracle 7


Upward Lake dried up this week...well, lemme rephrase that. Some peeps came and sucked it dry. The poor duck family is now residing on the concrete waiting for their home to be replenished with some H2O...haha!

Ange and her new "friend boy" just stopped by. I can't say "boyfriend" because I don' know if that's the case yet. She's pretty secretive about those things. I'm sure I could tickle it out of her...if she didn't wet her pants first. Ha! (Inside joke, and no, if you don't know, I won't fill you in) He seems like a super cool dude...he didn't roll his eyes at me once, or say "shut up you dumb girl", so that's a good sign...he likes her family so far...LOL! I hope they hit it off something fierce! Just from the little bit I was around him, I'd venture to say he's a keeper! :)

Okay, I'm REALLY ready to go! I am about to fall in the stinkin' floor. Maybe I should get another coffee..caffiene can do a body good! FO SHIZZLE! HA! Holly is keepin' me company via instant messenger...I told her to come get me and I'd pay her $8 and buy her a coffee...but she declined...hahahaha!

Hmmmm...I trying to think of any news...I don't think I have any.

Good TV night last night...Survivor and The Apprentice are now my new favorite shows...along with American Idol. Yes, I am a sell out.

:: Sunday, 10:06pm ::
Well, while I was writing this Friday night, some dude walked up and started talking to me...he was a rather strange man...asked me if I knew any Christian business men...I asked him what type of business and he replies, "Well, I have this invention that I need to get out and market..." And you can imagine what went on from there...thank goodness, the band was on their last song, and Matt rushed to my side as soon as they were done to rescue me! YAY! Goooo Matty!! Haha! :)

Another work week starts tomorrow...a crazy busy one for Fuzzy! EEEk!! :)

:: love, yes - like, no

This post is dedicated to my place of work...Upward...and the peeps I work/party/play/laugh/cry with. (<--not much of that cry stuff...especially Lindsay...she claims not to have tear ducts...haha!)

40+ hrs/week :: 52 weeks/yr :: 3 1/2 yrs to date
That's a huge chunk of my life...and the place that I spend this time at should be fun and rewarding...and that it is!

Here are the sobering facts: studies show that almost 70% of all employees dislike or downright hate their jobs. (taken from www.xtremerecruiting.org)

I am grateful that I am a part of that small 30%. I can't imagine getting up every morning and not wanting to go to the place that I spend more time at than I do with my husband. I love where I work, what I do when I get there, and most importantly, the peeps that I get to work with. They pretty much rock my face off. You couldn't ask for a more fun group of peeps. Not to mention the fact that we truly do care about and look out for one another. Don't get me wrong...we have our quirks and idiosyncrasies like everyone else, but most of the time, we find a way to work through them. ("with all the love of Jesus"...to quote the Wendy..haha!) I know what you're saying, "Carla, you work at a ministry...your peeps HAVE to love with all the love of Jesus!" Haha! That, my friend, is a false stereotype. Sure, it's easier to get along when you have the bond of being brothers and sisters in Christ, but it doesn't mean you have to like each other...love, yes...like, no...there is a difference. And I'm also not saying that everybody at my workplace likes each other...let me start with my list...just kidding...haha! But we do, for the most part, get along and make things work...and have fun in the process...

All of these thoughts have come about as co-worker/friend Lindsay and I, spend some quality time at Upward Lake yesterday. We have a, hmmmm, gathering place of rainwater in our parking lot that seems to have expanded with all of the rain we've been getting. Our Director of Purchasing (being the funny guy that he is) brought a duck decoy and put in in there this past week...sooo funny! So yesterday, at Walgreens, Lindsay and I (well, Lindsay spend the $1.99) picked up a rubber duck family to partner with Mr. Duck Decoy at his home on Upward Lake.

Here are the picks to prove it...and yes, that is pollen floating on Upward Lake...YUCK!

Lindsay blessing the ducks as they embark on their new adventure.



New Friends....and baby takes a tumble.



Wednesday was Lindsay's birthday...the big 2-4! What a baby! Ha! In keeping with the 2-4 theme, she has decided to have a Jeff Gordon Birthday Party...since she's a HUGE NASCAR fan...okay, she NOT a nascar fan at all...which makes the whole thing so weird and funny! Haha! Everyone adorned her with #24 paraphernalia on Friday! Check it out!

Here's Travis, Lindsay, and David. Travis IS a huge nascar fan...he's letting Lindsay borrow the blow-up car for the party. And David gave Lindsay some sweet bedroom shoes with JG's 24 on them! LOL! Oh, and Chris T and Chris P (not pictured) gave her the sweet JG figure...well Chris P only contributed enough to buy one arm...Chris T covered the rest...LOL!



Having a private moment...



And, the sweet shoes...


Welp, that about wraps it up...see, I told you we have fun! HAHA! Really, that was just because it was Friday...haha!

Off to enjoy my weekend!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

:: my NEW favorite CD

i'll write my review later :)

:: I feel the need...

...for pictures!! I really like having pics on my blog, so seeings how I haven't really taken any for the past 3 months, I've gone back to some that I actually meant to post anyways...

Remember the post "The Element gets Accessorized"? (dukefarm.blogspot.com/2004/12/element-gets-accessorized.html)...well, in there I said I'd post pics of us installing the roof rack...well, I never did...so here goes...

Here's Matty hard at work...I tried to lend a helping hand until........




....ouch!!!!!!! I pinched the hooey out of my finger with some freakin' needle nosed pliers! Ayamamasita!!! Half of my finger was blue by the end of the evening! HA!



This is a bit random, but since we're upon good hiking weather, I thought I'd share these pics from last summer. Matt, Amy, Russ, and I went on an awesome hike on Wesser trail in NC. I posted this entry on trailjournals.com about our experience...


Destination: Wesser Tower
Starting Location: Wesser Creek Road Parking Area
Trip Miles: 9.00

Wow! What a great hike! Everything was awesome except the fact that I wore Chacos like an idiot! Had the worst blisters from that moronic decision! Ha! It didn't get bad until about .25 mile from the end...then one popped and wowsa! Did that ever hurt! Ugh!

Anyways, the trail was good...it's about a 3.5 mile hike to where Wesser intersects the AT...we hung out and rested there at the shelter and read the journal entries which inspired us even more to tackle the AT eventually. After our rest, we headed on up 1.5 miles more to the firetower. It was a pretty hazy day, so our view wasn't near as spectacular as it could've been...but it was GORGEOUS!

We headed back down the mountain, and Amy and I both took a spill...hers was way better than mine...she actually fell off the trail into the woods! Awesome! Haha! Oh, and Russ tried a shortcut and nearly uprooted a tree with his bare hands! Probably one of the funniest looking things I've ever seen...it ranks pretty high up there! Thanks for that visual, Russ-T! It will forever be with me! Haha! I had a little slip, but it morphed into the equivalent of sledding without the sled...haha! And Matt never busted it at all...must've been those Adidas Trail shoes! Haha!

END OF ENTRY


So needless to say, we had a blast...here are the pics to prove it...








All cleaned up and ready for breakfast the next morning...yuuuum! NOC has the most ROCKIN' breakfasts!! (www.noc.com/ld-nanty.htm)


Thanks to Mike + Ramelle (the best aunt and uncle on the planet!) for hookin' us up with a campsite for the weekend! We had a blast! Stay at Turkey Creek Campground in Almond if you are ever up in the Nantahala area!!(www.turkeycreekcampground.com)
Russ and Amy had a little visitor on their tent the next morning...haha!

:: I recommend...

Here's some great stuff I recommend...some, I just happened upon, others are old friends...


- a super movie...

i am sam



- my new favorite cd...

keane - hopes and fears



-a fun game to play with your hubbie at the park...

upwords



- a super sweet park to play the great game with your hubbie in...

reedy river falls park - downtown greenville, sc



- a fantabulous toy...

ipod photo

Obviously, NOT back into the groove! HA!

Hollaaaa!! Wowser! Over 3 months since I've posted!! Pretty pathetic!!

Where the heck should I start...hmmmmm...

I've even gotten slack with my picture taking...no pictures since Christmas either...I don't know what is wrong with me! Haha!

We've been extremely busy, but that is no excuse...haha!

Matt is officially interim manager at the G'ville Mall Chick-fil-A as of January. We are anxious to know what lies ahead for us after this stint. He'll be there until July 13ish. After that, we're not sure what will happen.

Neither of us escaped what seemed like the flu this season (but our flu tests came back negative). I was out for 4 days from work and Matt was out a solid week! Praise the Lord for good jobs and awesome bosses! Haha! This was around sometime in February. Oh yeah, how could I forget...mine started on Valentine's Day, so I was in the bed that night with a fever and chills...awful. Ha! Since then, we've had colds and junk...and I even got a weird stomach virus a few weeks ago that conveniently robbed me of my weekend...ugh! Ha! We went camping in the Element that Friday night, and by 4am the next morning, were on our way home with my sickly self. We didn't make it though...had to make a pit-stop on the side of the road so I could, well, rid myself of my Quesadilla Verdey from Monterrey's. YUK! Sorry, you probably wouldn't been better off not knowing such details, huh? Haha!

Speaking of camping, we tried our Element out again this past Thursday night up at Paris Mountain! It was SO much fun! It's nice (for just one-nighters) not to have to set up a tent and all that maddness. And spur of the moment trips will be much easier. It was nice to spend some quality time together and just get away for a bit.

Fuzzy Bison biz is in full effect. This time of year seems to get pretty busy. Next week will be rediculous...deadlines at Upward and with Fuzzy...so it will be interesting.

We've started at the gym since I wrote last. I'm beginning to get rid of me flabby arms and legs...haha...it's nice to actually see a difference. I can't really see a difference on the scale yet, but supposedly that's because I'm gaining muscle. Or it could be because I've gotten hooked on going to the coffee shop EVERY morning and getting a tall dark roast with irish cream SYRUP and CREAM...hmmmm...yeah, that could possibly be the culprit. Or my "every now and then" Mexican Mocha. MAN, those things ROCK! Here's a little plug for Carolina Coffee Roasters...the best dang coffee you ever did taste!! You Greenvillians, it's over on the parkway in Thornblade Commons...try it...you'll get hooked! HAHA!

Welp, I've got quite a day today, so I had better get busy! Matt is getting off at 11:00 and we are heading up to Hendersonville (or wherever), to just chill and hang out. It's hard for us during the week to spend quality time since I'm usually working at night and so is he...and he's having to close most nights now, so that stinks. But days like this are great...and makes us not take our time together for granted!

Have a HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

Gettin' Back in the Groove...

...always takes me a while after the holidays. This is obvious by my lack of blogging in the past few weeks. I'll try to do better this year! :)
A lot has happened since I last wrote, so I'll try to give the skinny...mostly with pictures...I like pictures the best. They tell stories better than I can.

I don't have a picture of this, but Matt started at the Greenville Mall Chick-fil-A last Monday as Interim Manager! Go Matty! He is doing a mighty fine job! And he is really enjoying it, too! He has been putting in a lot of hours so far, but hopefully this will only be for another week or so...just until he can get in there and try to "get things under control". Things were "out of control", so that's why they put him there. He's doing a wonderful job! And he doesn't have to wear dorky white shirts and ties anymore. He can wear nice dress pants and shirts and ties that aren't so dorky...so that is a plus! Haha! You Greenvillians, stop by G'ville Mall, only if it's to grab a chicken sandwich...why else would you go there anyways? Exactly. Other than the calendar club now has calendars for 75% off! Heck yes!

Things at Upward are going well. Our deadlines are coming fast, so our department is full throttle this time of the year. It's fun though! I'm already on my 4th book design and layout of the season and that is very unusual this early in the year. Our timelines are laid out the best they've ever been, so that has helped stress levels and late nights at the office be kept to a bare minimum...if any! None so far, so I'd like to keep it that way! Haha! I did my first "ball" design a month or so ago, and it came back last week...a soccer ball. I was really pleased with it! I'll post a pic if I can snag one at work later on...

Well, enough talk about work...

We got our roof rack put on...here are some pics...I'll shut up for now...

Uh oh...sorry, I just realized I haven't uploaded those photos yet to my photo hosting site. They're on my external drive, which isn't with me now, so I'll get them on later...

Here are the pics I do have...
These are from Christmas with the Hickman's (my mom's side o' the familia). This was on Dec 18.

That's (clockwise from left) Mom, Dad, (Uncle) Jack, (Cousin-in-law) Tony, and (Aunt) Jerry. (Aunt) Carey must've made a mad dash for the kitchen when she saw my camera. And (Cousin) Kim is MIA.



That's (Niece) Kaylee, (Cousin) Colton, and (Niece) Sunny. What a bunch of little hams!!! Haha!



Not sure what really is going on here...Jerry looks like she's posing for a portrait or something...haha! That's Kim digging through her wallet...did somebody tell her she had to pay for her present? Haha! And Holly looks like she's shootin' me the double-barreled birdie for taken her picture...haha!



Here are some pics from Christmas morning at Matt's mom and dad's.


Ralph: "What in the hoo-haw am I supposed to do with that?"



Regina: "Oh Angela! It's just what I've always wanted! One can never have too many pink purses! This rocks!"



Regina, I mean Santa, always gets creative with her stocking stuffers!



Ma + Papa doin' a little posin' by the wreath.