Funny Guy...

I don't know what it is about guys. Is it so bad that we want to document our vacations and share our memories? Devin gets so sick of me trying to line him up in front of every landmark we see. So in rebellion he has started making goofy faces at me every time I try to take his picture. Then he laughs his head off when I look at the picture afterwards and see his "smile".
Running away from me so I can't retake...
Laughing at me for being so determined to get the shot I want...
I give up.

Biltmore

So pretty much anyone that comes to visit from now on will get a trip to the Biltmore. Cousins Justin and Kira, as our 1st guests, we able to go with us this week for our first look at the mansion. This place is amazing. It is the largest private residence in America. It was built by a Vanderbilt around the turn of the century and has been fantastically restored. I'm sure that place has payed for itself 1000 times considering what they charge to go in there. But it was worth it. We went on a candlelight tour of the house. They had live Christmas music performances, Christmas trees, blazing fireplaces and yummy wassail samples (a privilage we grossly abused, did you have to ask?). The drive up was incredible. The pictures don't do it justice (sticking my camera out the window as we drive by at 80mph). The mountains looked kind of like a giant head of brightly colored cauliflower. Full album.

A Match Made In "Heaven"

Shock. Disbelief. Incredulity. All good words to describe the collective mood of Clemson fans as we somberly filed out following a gut-wrenching 20-17 loss to Boston College Saturday night. Fortunately, I've been here before... lots of times. Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, who can forget Michael Jordan's last great act? I certainly can't. Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, does the name Bartman ring a bell? Those are perhaps the most famous (or infamous) examples but I feel like I've been a part of more heart-breaking losses and catastrophic collapses than the average sports fan should have to endure in one lifetime. Yet here I sit, reflecting on yet another cruelly disappointing hand dealt by the sports world. Left to wonder if the "thrill of victory" will ever feel quite as sweet as the "agony of defeat" does bitter. And yet like a lemming making his annual death march to the sea, seasons pass and inevitably my "hope springs eternal." Well, enter Clemson. For those of you out west, you probably aren't aware of this but here is a brief resume of Clemson's football over the past few years as told by a local beat-writer.

"But as great as life must be for Boston College right now, the bigger story in this game has to be a Clemson crew that, once again, saw its stomach punched, its emotions gutted, and its heart crushed by yet another late-season mindbender of a loss that leaves souls numb and leaves grown men shaking their heads in disbelief.

It would be cold and merciless to catalogue and list the many miserable moments that have enfolded Clemson football during the Tommy Bowden era. Like clockwork, the Tigers annually display their considerable talent and show just enough to offer the promise of something special, only to become Charlie Brown to an opponent's Lucy at the precise moment when a conference or division crown is there for the taking. Saturday night against Boston College--another program with an uncanny knack for failing to grab the brass ring once it appears in plain sight--Clemson found itself in a test of nerves against the equally sweaty-palmed Eagles. Two teams with tortured gridiron histories traded special teams adventures; bad sacks taken by quarterbacks; untimely penalties committed; passes dropped; and all manner of other football foul-ups. A Clemson team that had been so thoroughly dominant and devastating over the previous four weekends suddenly played tight and tense when a big prize came within reach. Boston College--who started the season strong but then drifted into mediocrity over the past one and a half months--didn't fare any better than Clemson for most of the night. This contest would come down to the final, fateful, fear-filled minutes. One team would try to lose and fail; the other would try to lose and succeed.

Clemson proved to be the more "successful" team.

Forget the last-second sack on Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper, which knocked the Tigers out of comfortable field goal range with just five ticks left in regulation and the home team trailing by three. The moment when the Tigers lost the division title came a few plays earlier. Harper--the author of a storybook season under center--threw a letter-perfect long ball to veteran receiver Aaron Kelly with 42 seconds left. Kelly--open at the goal line--saw the ball clang off his hands. In a game that wasn't won with excellence so much as it was lost by failing nerves, Aaron Kelly made the "big play" for Clemson. But don't blame Kelly too much. An entire Clemson team that had been steamrolling ACC opponents played emotionally straitjacketed football the entire night. BC did so as well. The actual victim of a late-game mistake was irrelevant on this night, because in a flop-sweat festival such as this one, someone was likely to lose this nailbiter before anyone won it.

College football's eternal ability to provide the cruelest and most heartbreaking moments in sports became all too apparent once again on a sad and sorrowful night in Clemson. In a mystery that defies all logical explanation, the fickle finger of fate once again ambushed a team of Tigers that deserves a great deal of empathy and compassion after another gridiron nightmare unfolded before their very eyes."

No wonder I feel so at home here, this team is perfect for me.

Final Score: CURSE 27 (years and counting) DEVIN 0

Kickin' It On The Hill

Hi y'all, it's me...as in blogger me. Yes, Devin too has a cyber-identity. So I've been asked by my wife to make my "first contribution" to the blog. We'll see if this gets a very good response from the web-masses out there, but I'd say the chances are that Sarah will be posting again soon. So the moral of the story is don't get scared away by my ramblings here.

ANNNYYYWAY, so we went to our second to last Clemson home game today. We've been hearing from some our friends who were Clemson undergraduates that to truly experience a home game you had to sit on "The Hill" for at least a quarter or two. Being the adventurous peeps that we iz, we tried it out for a change today. It was fantastic! We got to see the players line up at the top of The Hill prior to the game and then rub the rock and run down onto the field. We were close enough that we were able to smack them on their helmets and shoulder pads as they ran past us onto the field. You know, football stuff. It was fun, you wouldn't believe it but Sarah was really getting into it. She was yelling at some of the Clemson players, trying to get them all fired up. She's quite the closet sports fan. I believe there will be some pictures of all of this posted with this entry, so hopefully that will illustrate what I am trying to describe here. We spent the whole first half on The Hill with all of our freshman friends before heading up to our normal seats for the second half. I would have stayed longer, but I lost feeling in my lower back from standing on an incline for an hour and a half. It was fun to chat with my MRED buddies in the second half, but I did miss hearing about all of the latest fraternity pranks and sorority gossip that we got all caught up on in the first half. Oh well, maybe we'll be so bold to try it again next week. Speaking of which, Clemson gets Boston College at home, winner goes to the ACC Championship game. I'm soooooooo excited! Rumor has it that College Gameday is going to be coming to Clemson for the game, since the Michigan/Ohio State game lost all of its luster courtesy of Wisconsin and Illinois. We'll see what happens, but I've decided that if Gameday comes, I'm going to make a sign that says something cheezy like "Nothing Could Be Finer Than Gameday in Carolina" with a big ole Tiger Paw on it, or maybe "BYU Fans: So This Is What National Exposure Feels Like!!!" or something like that. Send along any suggestions you might have and watch for Sarah and me next Saturday morning. That's right, I'm sure Sarah will be there right alongside me, closet sports fan, remember? You know what the funny thing about all of this is? I can see exactly what's gonna happen before it even does. I'm gonna get all of my hopes up and Clemson is gonna lose on some heart-breaking play next week. But then again this has been a pretty wacky year for college football...maybe all of these upsets have reversed the biggest curse of them all, THE DEVIN CURSE.

But even if all else fails, at least the Gators can't repeat as champs. Ha!

GO TIGERS!!!

Tea Party! Happy 22, Nat.

One of my favorite places to celebrate is at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City for their afternoon tea. My mom and I timed our trip to Utah last month to fall on Nat's 22nd birthday. We decided a tea party would be the perfect way to celebrate. For those of you that haven't been there, it's the best. They have a spot set aside for you in their front lobby, set with china and silver. You pick out your flavor of tea or hot chocolate and they bring it to you in your own teapot. Then they bring out a tray full of little sandwiches and scones with creme and jam. Then they wheel out a pastry cart and you get to choose 3 pastries for dessert. You're pretty much stuffed by the end. We had a great time.

Love this picture? The waiter brought out a little ball and put it in this glass then poured water on it and it turned into a little flower. It acts like a green tea bag. Does anyone know if green tea is "legal"? Please say yes because as you can tell from the picture, it's a little too late.

Putting an end to the debate.

I found this site from Carrie's blog. I think I'm addicted. I was running out of internet to surf... now I can find the celeb look-alikes for everyone I know! I'm starting to have self-esteem issues because everyone tells me I either look like Meryl Streep (who plays old lady roles) or Julie from the Real World. So doing a bit of investigating on my own I found the #1 look-alike: Legally Blond herself, Reese Witherspoon. Awesome. I also look like MJ's X, a Miss Venezuela runner-up, former Friend and my favorite, feed-the-children-Sally-Struthers. (Yes, I wikipedia-ed.)

I've been tagged...

Sara C. tagged me so here's my best shot. The rules...
A. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
B. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog, for these rules.

1. I have never purchased a magazine subscription. I am ALWAYS on the look-out for the perfect magazine. I can never decide which one to get so I spend my time in the check-out lane scrutinizing each brand, hoping that I'll find my soul-mate magazine. (Right now it's between Real Simple and Living... any suggestions?)
2. If I was graded on my ability to memorize song lyrics, I would get a big fat F. I can hear a song 1000 times and never learn the words. I don't know why because my memory isn't that bad. Devin thinks it's because I never pay attention to the words. I'm always off in my own world thinking about who knows what. When I have kids I'm probably going to sing them "Eternal Flame" by the Bengals or "Stay" by Lisa Loeb as lullabies because those are the only 2 songs I know all the words to.
3. Like the dad on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and his Windex, I think I can cure the world with yogurt. Any time I feel like I'm getting sick, I drink one of my special yogurts and I'm fine. Placebo? Maybe. But I find myself searching out human subjects to validate my experiments. Anyone want in? Here's my favorites. b-k . Used in Canadian hospitals to treat chemo patients to build back their immune systems, av. in health food stores. Dannon Immunity. Not quite as powerful but seems to work okay, is cheaper and av. at Wal-mart. And to make it even wierder, sometimes I culture Bio-k in my own yogurt maker.
4. I love cousins. I have a special bond with my cousins. 1st, 2nd, 3rd twice removed, it's all good. Most of my favorite memories (and favorite people) come from the cousins. (Halloween memories: corn maze, hitting Jina with a corn stalk javelin, Haunted Forrest, Mr. Pumpkin Head... just to name a few.) My kids will have lives filled with cousin craziness like I do.
5. I'm really into making pesto right now. Basil pesto, cilantro pesto, mint pesto, rosemary-parsley pesto... This is the main reason why I heart my herb garden so much.
6. Hi, my name is Sarah and I like watching sports. There, I said it.

I tag: Keri F., Tiffany plus baby girl (Congrats, Tiff!), Laura D., Teresa, and Shannon H.

Visit home

So the blog needs a little attention. I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Vegas and Utah. It was so good to be home, even if it was for a short time. My biggest regret is how crazy my schedule was. I didn't have nearly enough time to spend with anyone and there were people I didn't even have the chance to see. Conclusion: Live in the west. Thank goodness for blogs and cell phones.

Savannah

Savannah. (Sigh.) What a beautiful city. I could wander those streets for days. Every house looks like the set of "Gone with the Wind" and you run into a romantic city park about every 3 blocks. Friday night we took a ghost story walking tour. Savannah is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in the world and I can see why. Practically the whole city is build on a giant cemetery. The picture of Devin is taken in front of an old hotel that is haunted. They went to redo the floor in the '90s and discovered hundreds of limbs dating back to the Civil War. (It was used as hospital and I guess their disposal policies were a bit different back then. "Just throw it on the floor. They'll clean it up in 100 years.") So now people see ghosts with missing limbs wandering the halls. A girl said one bit her! Freaky! It was really fun to walk around the streets at night and hear the scary stories of people being buried alive and stuff. Who knows how much of it is true but who cares? I sure didn't.

The Lady and Sons... I had no idea what a big deal Paula Deen's restaurant was. We had to wait in line for 2 hours just to get our name on the list for dinner. Then we had to come back 3 hours later and wait for another half hour. Worth it? You betcha. Fried green tomatoes, crab cakes, hoe cakes, mac and cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, candied yams... It was so yummy. Worth the wait for sure.

Home Sweet Home

I've been promising photos of our place for awhile now. We love our apartment. We live about 3 miles from campus in a wooded area. (We walk out our door into a grove of trees, it's great.) Here are pics of the front room and kitchen. There are 2 good-sized bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Not bad for $600/month. And thanks to the tennis court, I'm shaping up to be the next Maria Sharapova. (Now if I could just hit my backhand...) More pics...

Greenville and Stumphouse

This past weekend was a blast. Friday night we went into Greenville with another couple from Devin's program. Greenville has a great downtown area with lots of parks, people and cool buildings. We stopped for sushi and it was amazing. I had my first roll with bbq sauce. Surprisingly delish. Saturday we got up early and drove out to Stumphouse tunnel. It's an old railroad tunnel that was never completed. They used to cure Clemson blue cheese in it. Anyway, it was really freaky but fun to walk through. Issaqueena Falls are right around the corner. A quick hike down, very fun. The drive back through Wallhalla was interesting. You'd just have to see it. There were all these wack-o businesses along the highway. An old shack with a sign on it that said "see live snakes" (um, no thanks), a store that looked more like a service station turned garage sale with a giant peanut bench (I wonder if it's for sale, it might look good in my den)... southern charm at its finest. See the full photo album here.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Recipe of the Day:
1. Cut out aluminum foil in desired shapes.2. Arrange the turkey in the roasting pan, position the foil carefully. 3. Roast according to your own recipe and serve.

Sad, Sad Cubs Song...

I woke up this morning to Devin's sad Cubs song.

Cubs suck bad,
Cubs suck bad,
Hey Chicago what do you say,
The Cubs are gonna get swept in the playoffs.
Cubs suck bad,
Cubs suck bad,
Hey Chicago what do you say,
The Cubs are gonna get swept in the playoffs.

My poor guy. Another year, another disappointment.

Go, Cubs, Go

In celebration of the Chicago Cubs 4th trip to the play-offs since 1945, we decided to post the Cubs' victory song. Now you can all sing along and get it stuck in your heads just like us. As a fair warning it's one of those buggers that you can't get rid of.

Baseball season's underway
Well you better get ready for a brand new day
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.
They're singing ...

(Chorus:)
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today
Go, Cubs, go
Go, Cubs, go
Hey, Chicago, what do you say
The Cubs are gonna win today.

They got the power, they got the speed
To be the best in the National League
Well this is the year and the Cubs are real
So come on down to Wrigley Field.
We're singing now ...
(Chorus:)

Baseball time is here again
You can catch it all on WGN
So stamp your feet and clap your hands
Chicago Cubs got the greatest fans.
You're singing now ...
(Chorus:)

June Trip Recap- Upstate New York

Glenn Beck told Michael Buble to keep a journal, even if it was only bullet points. So that's where I'm at with this trip.

• Niagara Falls
• Palmyra
• Syracuse (Dinosaur BBQ, the best ribs I've ever tasted.)
• Cooperstown (Baseball Hall of Fame for Dev, Farm Museum for Sarah)
• Lake George
• On up to Montreal

June Trip Recap- Philly and Pittsburgh

Philly was really fun. Partly because of the sites and partly because of Devin's family, Sara, Lucy and Jonathan. There is so much history in this town and the Cardons were great tour guides. Highlights: Liberty Bell and Independance Hall, Rocky statue, Prosperity Hill, Reading Terminal, Philly Cheese steaks (wit wiz), Indian food like I've never tasted before (yum!), Valley Forge, Amish country, Manayunk & the Masonic Temple.

In Pittsburgh we stayed with friends Justin, Amelia and Henry Hohl. Pittsburgh is really a beautiful city. It's a lot like Europe the way the rivers run through the city with bridges and steep hills everywhere. Here's a picture of Devin in his element at a Pirate's game.

June Trip Recap- Boston & the NYC

Boston and New York were a blast. In Boston we walked the Freedom Trail and saw all the U.S. history sites. And what trip is complete without a visit to Fenway Park. (We still like Wrigley better.) In New York, we just kicked it. We saw the Bodies exhibit, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, saw a Yankee's game, shopped, sat 1st row for Les Mis and ate and ate and ate. It was more of a restaurant tour, really. Here we are at Lombardi's, the 1st pizzeria in America. Other favorites were Cafe Havana, Gray's Papaya, Saigon Grill (yum-o!) and Mario Batali's Otto. http://www.mariobatali.com/restaurants_otto.cfm There we had the most amazing dessert. Olive oil gelato, salted strawberries, passion fruit granita drizzled with basil oil. It sounds gross but it was the most incredible taste. If you go, try the cheese plate.

June Trip Recap-Quebec & Maine

Quebec City is the best kept secret in North America. That place was so cool. Don't waste your time on Europe. Quebec City is just as charming. We happened to get stuck during their "national party". (They didn't get the you-don't-have-your-own-nation memo). It was like the Strip on New Year's. Maine was beautiful. Here we are in Kenebunkport, home of Mr. Bush.

Caffeine Buzz Numero Dos

Anyone who visited the Palmers between 1997 and 2000 will remember the obligatory journey to the Coke Bottle. For $1 and enough gas to get to the strip, you could enjoy an evening of Coke history and all the coke you could drink. The highlight: tasting about 50 different Coke drinks from around the world. And who can forget the Beverly, an Italian treat that tasted like cough syrup and turpentine mixed together. We all mourned the loss of the Coke Bottle when Vegas made the transition from "fun for the whole family" to "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". You can imagine my joy when I discovered this: http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/. Now for $15 (plus $10 for parking) and enough gas to get me to Atlanta, I can enjoy a day in the mother of all Coke Bottles. Memorabilia, Coke art, history, cool new videos, cool old commercials, a motion ride, all-you-can-drink Coke products and yes, the Beverly. What more can I ask for out of a Saturday?

C'mon Gators! Get up and GO!

Football, football and more football. Last weekend we took a 7 hour road trip to Gainesville, FL to visit cousins Justin and Kira. The trip was cool for many reasons. First, baby Evan, the most portable baby in the world. Evan is 2 months old and is every bit as cute as his parents claim. Having a baby has not slowed Justin and Kira down. Evan was happily sleeping in his sling wherever we went. I think he especially enjoyed being worn during mini-golf. Friday night we ate Pan-Am overlooking a gator-infested lake. Then we headed to pre-teen party land for some mini-golf and go-cart racing. Saturday we went out to a natural spring for a little sun and snorkeling. (Beautiful!!) Then to the big game- Florida vs. Tennessee. Again, football on steroids. There is nothing to compare to it in the west. The stadium is huge and so, so loud. The talent was incredible (another national championship on the horizon?) and they killed Tennessee, much to Devin's chagrin. He did a good job of secretly cheering for Rocky Top. Look at me, I'm turning into a football geek. Thanks, Dev.

New Beginnings

Okay, okay, okay. I'll do it. I start blogging already. Now that I'm 3 weeks into my job and finally have a computer, I can now devote more time to what's important. Hey, I can't help it if the work that is supposed to take me 8 hours only takes me 4. So as I try to back track in my blog, let me give you a preview of what's to come. Right now we're a month and a half into our South Carolina adventure. We LOVE it. Devin's classes are going well, especially his golf class, he's been called as the ward Exec. Secretary, we've already moved twice, I found a job that I can actually put on my resume and we're on our way to Florida this weekend. So much to tell. So what you have to look forward to is this: Our trips to the Northeast, Canada, cross-country drive and Myrtle beach. Our life here in SC including... FOOTBALL! That is the only thing that matters here right now. More to come soon....