South Carolina, Day 2

Friday morning, I got to sleep in. I mean, really sleep in. I didn't get up until almost 10 am. It was so beautiful. DS's mom got us a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, which made for a good start to the day. Then we packed up our climbing gear and drove back to Columbia to take his mom rock climbing. Yeah, that's right, his 55 year old mom went rock climbing with us. She's so cool. I'm really impressed too, because most people freak out halfway up on their first try, and want to come back down. But she perservered and made it to the top of her 40' climb. It was good for me too, because the way my work schedule has been going lately, I haven't been to the gym in months. We worked out after the climb, and boy are my abs sore!

After that, we drove back to Aiken (where his parents actually live) to shower and rest a bit. Then his sister picked me up, and we drove to Augusta to pick out a flower girl dress for his niece. She is SO adorable. I can't wait to see her all done up. We keep telling her that she's going to get to be a princess, and she wants to wear a crown and everything. She tried on 5 dresses, and told us matter of factly that she was prepared to take home 2 of them. I guess one isn't so bad, especially since she gets to play dress up in it after the wedding. She was also very enthralled with her mom's bridesmaid dresses, and spent some time picking out dresses for Granny Jane. As it turns out, it's a good thing she's not in charge of picking out dresses, because she picked out the worst pinks and oranges I have ever seen!

After some sushi and martinis, I was dropped off back with DS, where we spent the night partying with his long time friend Shawn and his wife. They told us how awful marriage is (because they're sweet like that), and we enjoyed some rum and coke while DS kicked his butt repeatedly in various XBox 360 games. Shawn talks a lot of smack, but somehow always manages to lose... :)

Today, it's teeth cleaning (his brother-in-law is a dentist) and then back to Columbia for some partying with his old college buddies. Hurrah!

South Carolina, Day 1

We've arrived! DS and I had to get up at the buttcrack of dawn. Our plane left 7:oo AM, but the good news is that we got into Columbia around noon. We had lunch, and proceeded to nap for a few hours.

Suprisingly, the flights were all good, and on time. In fact, they were both early. The Columbia airport was really nice, with ponds and koi outside all of the windows. We're deep in the throws of the second season of Lost. So, you can imagine that our plane ride was mostly us watching that on DS's laptop. Also, we got ourselves a second Nintendo DS Lite, and a copy of MarioKart, and our remaining time was filled with me kicking his butt on the racecourse. Let me tell you, the new DS Lite is AWESOME! It's beautifully designed, a lot like a those pretty white Macs with the clear coating. Now that we have two systems, we can finally use the Pictochat feature. It's pretty cool, mostly because I can make fun of DS's handwriting.

Now we're making steak and fried green tomatoes. YUM!

New Job!!

I have a new job! Woo-HOO!!! I'm so excited!!

Also, I apparently missed my 1 year blogging reunion. Sorry June 7th...

DS and I are leaving on a jet plane tomorrow morning to visit his parents for 5 days. I'll try to update tonight before we go, but we'll have internet there, so no worries!

Now it's to work for day 8 for me!

I got lost...

Hi everybody! (You should read that in your best Dr. Nick Riviera voice)

So, I had planned to write this whole series of posts on my family reunion, and then one on the Louisville Zoo, but since I've waited so long, it doesn't look like that's a good idea. If I feel up to it later, maybe I will, but for now, here's what you need to know.

1: DS and I played Cornhole, which is really just a bean bag toss, all weekend. One of my cousins decided to start a tournament on Saturday, which while doing decently, we didn't win. However, he later picked 4 players whom he felt were deserving of the title of Cornhole All-Stars. And guess who was on that select team? Me baby! That's right, yours truly is considered a Cornhole Champion!

2: DS was thoroughly harassed by the older men in my family as a means of "breaking him in." One of these types of harassment included making him participate in the annual Soggy Bottom Boys karoake. Really, this is all you need to know about this weekend...

3: The Louisville Zoo lets you feed the giraffes if you get there early enough and pay them a dollar. So guess who got to feed and pet Bo? Me! But really, giraffes are dirty. I had to severely wash my hands afterwards, as they were caked in dirt.

4: The flower appointment went about as I expected. I said, I want these general colors, do whatever you want, and she said okay. Why they had to make me drive 9 hours on a weekday to spend 20 minutes with me is still something no one can answer.

So why have I been so busy? Well you remember those totally awesome invitations I designed? Beading them takes a LONG time, and we've realized they need to go out next week since most of the people that are invited live out of state. So DS and I have been spending our evenings watching Lost on DVD and making invitations and reply cards. And let me tell you, that boy can use a paper cutter like no other! Not to mention decorative hole punches. It's really a shame I don't have more things like that for him to do, because then I would be done in no time.

Pictures to follow!

Giant Super Happy Fun Post!!!

Hold on to your seats! You're about to embark on an exciting journey. A photo documentary of sorts, showing you the best parts of the past two weeks. You will notice the lack of pictures representing the days and days on end of work. No, you will see only the good parts. Ready? Set. Go!

Two great friends, KT1 and MT, threw DS and I an engagement party, complete with KT1's special recipe Long Island Iced Tea.

Not to mention the food. Granted, after spending 30 minutes in the living room chatting with guests, I returned to find the food almost completely gone.

However, this was quickly overlooked when MT and I won a rousing game of Pictionary. You just don't let a girl that can MS Paint her life away team up against anyone in this game. People were still on the starting square when we won. Though as you can see, hilarity was more the goal of the game, and winning was more overlooked.

A few days later, two of DS's friends from South Carolina stopped in on their way to Montana. We introduced them to the best Madison has to offer, including Spotted Cow, the Glass Nickel, the Great Dane, and the newcomer, Ale Asylum. They want to move here now.

We were invited to attend a Madison Mallards game with our friend Dylan. We think we might make this a weekly thing. I mean, tickets are less than $10!! Plus, it takes 15 min to get there instead of more than an hour to get to Milwaukee. Here you see Maynard, their official mascot.

I've been exploring the capabilities of my new camera. Check out this picture of a batter, right as he was hitting the ball!

DS continues to avoid having a natural picture taken. Dylan ignores us completely. I think he might like baseball more than us...

A storm came through, and I tried to take a picture of lightening. Though I failed, I did discover my nighttime landscape setting, and took a sweet picture of the sun trying to peek through a break in the clouds.

We were invited to a party by KT2 (also my boss) on the 4th. Then we headed over to Elver Park to watch the fireworks. Here, you see KT2 enjoying some sparklers, and me enjoying the fireworks setting on my camera.

And finally, the fireworks themselves. I should have brought my tripod, but it's still a pretty cool picture. I'm excited!

We're off to Kentucky in the morning for a family reunion, and our first trip to either of our parents' homes since Christmas. I may or may not have internet access, so no panicking! Come back and marvel at my pictures if you get bored, or enjoy any of the fine links there on the right. We'll be home Tuesday, and we're sure to have pictures!

It's Okay, I'm Alive

It's true, I promise. Maybe just barely, but it's cool. I open at the store the rest of this week, so hopefully I can find some time to update everyone soon. Life has been hectic here at the Goblin household, not to mention me working 9 days in a row, and me needed a trip to the chiropractor dreadfully. But I have 300 beautiful ibuprofen, and personal masseuse, and the hope of a second interview. All is not lost!

I'll be back soon cg-c!!