Chick-fil-A and Marriage

I just discovered Tim Hawkins via YouTube. I'm not sure which video/song I like better:

"Chick-fil-A"



or

"Things You Don't Say to Your Wife."

Catching Up on December

I must apologize for failing to do my part to update this blog. Matt is so much better about it than I am, but in the new year (and before!), I resolve to have that change.

December has flown by for us, as I'm sure it has for many of you. A lot has happened since Thanksgiving, so here's a quick recap:

1. We attended "Light Up Durham" on December 4th. It's the event that kicks off the holidays in Durham, as the iconic Lucky Strike tower is illuminated. It was a great time, complete with performances from Durham-area school choruses and an appearance by Wool E. Claus (a.k.a. Wool E. Bull, the Durham Bulls' mascot).











































2. We bought the Taylor Family Christmas Tree on December 6th. The guys at the TROSA lot were great, providing not only the tree and standard services (cutting, trimming, netting), but they also put the tree stand on! We'll definitely be visiting them again next Christmas.






























3. Matt and I celebrated our 6th dating anniversary on December 7th with a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. What a great 2,190 days it's been!














4. We headed to New York City for an unexpected holiday trip on December 9th and 10th. We were both traveling in the Northeast for work during the same few days (me to Philadelphia and Matt to NYC). So, we made a mini-trip out of it and took in the great holiday atmosphere in Manhattan (after completing our work, of course!). The highlights of the trip were seeing the Kentucky/UConn game at Madison Square Garden, having lunch at the restaurant beside the Rockefeller Center skating rink, and taking a carriage ride through Central Park.


















































































5. Matt and I decorated our house for Christmas on December 12th. Yes, that means the tree stood bare in our living room for 6 days, but hey...we were busy!

Before...


















During...

















And After...




























My most prized piece of Christmas decor this year is something that Matt got me for our most recent wedding anniversary: the Ryman Auditorium Snow Village piece. It's been retired for several years, but Matt was sweet enough to seek it out on eBay for me. I love my growing village, and especially the Ryman!


























We had a busy week from the 13th - 20th as well, but I think this is more than enough for one post. So, we'll be back in a couple of days with another update. Hope everyone is well!

A Taylor Family Thanksgiving

After painting, cleaning, and cooking, we finally had the house ready to host our first family Thanksgiving in North Carolina.

(Last year's Turkey Day was simply a quiet dinner for two.)

Dad, Denise, Pete, Michele, Emily, Lindsay, and Madelyn came to town to help us celebrate the holiday.

The food was phenomenal thanks to Erica's hard work in the kitchen. She must have done something right as Lindsay indicated she was thankful for "Aunt Erica ... and Charlie Brown." That comment came shortly after Madelyn wrapped up Pop-Pop's prayer for him by saying, "Okay, can we eat now?"

The rest of the weekend was spent playing lots of Wii - Erica got everyone addicted to Rock Band; Dad insisted on a boxing re-match, several actually; and Emily whooped us all in bowling with her record-setting efforts.

We also visited Chapel Hill for the Kidzu Children's Museum and the 12 days of Christmas at The Carolina Inn, made a trip to the playground that ended badly when Pete had a hard spill while playing tag (you should've seen his swollen elbow), and took the girls to visit Santa at the Streets at Southpoint.

 

 

Ho Ho Mochas

Caribou Coffee recently introduced its seasonal drinks, including our favorite, the Ho Ho Mocha. We make it a special occasion each year when we have of our first Ho Ho Mocha. Thankfully, the barista to the left, Matt, was happy to play along and celebrated with us.

Talking Health

Erica's passion for health communication inspired her nearly a year ago to start HealthNC: Health in North Carolina, a blog that provides information and insight about local health topics.

After trying out some different formats she decided recently to focus on contextualizing news stories and providing useful information that can inspire action among North Carolina residents.

Her efforts appear to be working.

The following is taken from a Wilmington, N.C., newspaper:

"The HealthNC blog points out that with the newly updated unemployment numbers – at 11 percent statewide – more North Carolinians are in danger of being without health insurance during an already stressful time in their lives.

The blog has put together a good list of resources for people who are unemployed and need health access despite their tight budgets. Those include community health centers, prescription drug assistance programs and a free helpline from the N.C. Institute of Medicine to connect people with free or reduced health care services.

Check out all the suggestions and links for more information by going here."

Now that's news you can use. I'm proud of Erica's efforts to aplly her knowledge and skills to help others.

Happy Halloween

First, you buy the pumpkins. Scott's Pumpkin Patch was our source this year.

Next, you carve the pumpkins.

 

 

Finally, you sit your pumpkins on the front porch for all the trick-or-treaters to see.

Oh, and somewhere along the line you should try on a Halloween mask as well. This one was from the Ghastly Geezers collection.

Happy Halloween from the Taylors.

Fair Thee Well

Where else but the State Fair can you get your picture taken with a firehouse dalmatian mascot, have your choice of any number of fried food selections, and sit in the "Peanut" section of an arena for a concert by a former American Idol contestant?


We visited the North Carolina Fair on Thursday before heading to Nashville on Friday. The timing of our trip was dictated, as you might have guessed, by the Anoop Desai concert. Erica's been a fan since back in February when we saw him at a Clefhanger's concert.

Clay Aiken, another N.C. native and Idol contestant, reportedly sold out his concert at the fair in nine minutes when he appeared there a few years back. They added a second concert because he was so popular.

Anoop didn't quite sell the place out this year, but there were many enthusiastic pre-teens in attendance, so he had that going for him.

Durham Bulls Championship Celebration

Last week we visited Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the final time of the year. The Bulls held a celebration of their victories in both the International League Championship and the National Championship that included free food and drinks, visits to the locker room, autographs from players, and access to the field. It's fair to say we'll be renewing our mini-plan for next season. You won't find a better bargain in sports.

The Annual Anniversary Trip

In keeping with what has become something of a tradition, we headed to the Inn at Corolla Light recently to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Love was certainly in the air at the Outer Banks that weekend. You could sense it from the two weddings that were booked at the Inn. Heck, you could even see it if you happened to walk past the Soundfront room where a couple celebrated their shared affection without the benefit of closed curtains.

Suffice it to say the place lived up to its self-described reputation as "a premiere romance destination."

For all of its seclusion - real and imagined - the town of Corolla and its neighboring Outer Banks locations provide enough variety that our choice of activities has changed by year.

We've celebrated our anniversary dinner at the same location each visit, we always make time in our schedule to observe the postcard perfect sunsets over the Currituck Sound with wine and snacks, and we hit our favorite spots like Outer Banks Coffee Company. However, our schedule accommodates changes as well.

This year we traded the lively tones of the Duck Jazz Festival from last year for the more serene rhythms of the ocean as we relaxed on the beach, reading and watching sand crabs do their work. Sand crabs are more interesting than you might imagine. Either that or we're just easily amused.

Rather than climb the 214 steps of the Currituck Beach Light House we instead hopped in a 4WD vehicle with our tour guide, who was equal parts knowledgeable and likable, for a visit with the Wild Spanish Mustangs of the Northern Outer Banks.

"No vacation to the Outer Banks is complete without attending a service at the Corolla Chapel," according to, well, the people who run the chapel, so we added that to our list of new experiences.

We even made sure to adjust our routine while driving home.

Last year we stopped to play miniature golf at Jurassic Putt; this time we bought a kite - "Captain Barkley" - and took him out on the beach for his inaugural flight. It was among my favorite moments of the weekend. Captain Barkley rocks.

We also made a stop for boiled peanuts - Erica insisted that I try them for the first time - on the way home. 

It was a full, fun weekend away from home with my beautiful wife of three years.