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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

All Things Summer (The Sentiment of Summer)

WHEN: Memorial Day to Labor Day
WHERE: The Northern Hemisphere

In dedication to my favorite season of the year, and as part of the final chapter in compiling my Seasons page, I present...the sentiment of summer!

Greenville, North Carolina
August 4, 2009

Virginia Beach, Virginia
June 27, 2010

Norfolk, Virginia
June 12, 2010

Fort Macon State Park, North Carolina
August 8, 2007

Norfolk, Virginia
June 12, 2010

Fort Myers, Florida
June 9, 2007

Pea Island, North Carolina
May 30, 2008

Sanibel Island, Florida
June 8, 2007

Waterloo, Iowa
June 18, 2006

Phoenix, Arizona
August 7, 2005

Holden Beach, North Carolina
August 6, 2009

Cedar Falls, Iowa
July 4, 2006

Sanibel Island, Florida
June 8, 2007

Pea Island, North Carolina
May 30, 2008

Grand Haven, Michigan
August 14, 2006

Fort Myers, Florida
June 9, 2006

Norfolk, Virginia
June 17, 2010

Stockholm, Wisconsin
June 10, 2011

Ocracoke, North Carolina
July 24, 2008

Sanibel Island, Florida
June 8, 2007

Virginia Beach, Virginia
June 22, 2010

Carolina Beach, North Carolina
September 17, 2008

Greenville, North Carolina
August 4, 2009

Carolina Beach, North Carolina
August 7, 2008

Washington, North Carolina
July 4, 2008

Atlantic Beach, North Carolina
August 8, 2007

Virginia Beach, Virginia
June 5, 2010

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Jesse's POW (July 17, 2011)

WHEN: July 17, 2011
WHERE: The Villas at Charleston Park

See where this picture was taken, here!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Jesse's POW (July 10, 2011)

WHEN: July 4, 2011
WHERE: Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (June 26, 2011)

WHEN: June 23, 2011
WHERE: The Pines at Charleston Park

See where this picture was taken, here!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Jesse's POW (June 19, 2011)

WHEN: June 15, 2011
WHERE: The Pines at Charleston Park

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (June 12, 2011)

WHEN: June 10, 2011
WHERE: Foster Rd., Stockholm, WI

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (June 5, 2011)

WHEN: June 4, 2011
WHERE: Village Rd., Chaska, MN

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (May 29, 2011)

WHEN: May 25, 2011
WHERE: Cypress Gardens, Moncks Corner, SC

See where this picture was taken, here!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Goofy Love

WHEN: May 27
WHERE: a putt-putt golf course

Today Stacie and I celebrate our 4-year wedding anniversary!

And by celebrate, I mean...work extended hours at work to compensate for vacation time used next week; Stace starting her first day as lead teacher for summer school; spending all night packing for vacation, paying bills, and checking off our last-minute to-do lists; and getting our house ready for a showing tomorrow (our lease is up on August 31 and the owners have put their condo back on the market).  I know it could be worse and I'm not really complaining.  We are both crazy excited to see our family and go on vacation next week and the compressed schedule that precedes is well worth it. 

Looking back at my post for our anniversary last year shows it was just more of the same.  Our past three anniversaries (including this one) have occurred on weekdays and we tend to celebrate them on one of the surrounding weekends.  That generally leaves the festivities of June 1 falling flat.  This year we knew most of our celebration would come in the form of vacation activities and the fact that we are even going on vacation.  We are also celebrating two other anniversaries in her family next week.  I know I will have much more to share in my next post, after we have spent a week with family and more adequately celebrated our anniversary.  So, for now I am writing about another anniversary Stace and I have celebrated this past week. 

Friday night we celebrated a big anniversary in our relationship.  A ten year anniversary!  Yes, ten years ago, on May 27, Stace and I had our first picture taken together.  We were not dating at the time ("officially") but we had become good friends.  It was also Memorial Day weekend and that Sunday night we went goofy golfing (neither of us remember who we went with).  Did we go with you?  Who took this picture?  Did you? We would like any answers you may have for us :)

May 27
Then and now.

What I do remember is that I wore Stacie's mom's fleece jacket that night (which I'm wearing in the picture); that I was wearing over-sized, off-themed (dress) shoes (which my mother-in-law has always referred to as my "clown shoes", since they are huge); and I have since learned that placing a publicly-shared golf ball in your mouth is not how you define "sanitary". (If only Stace knew what she was getting herself in to!)

So, last Friday night we went out to commemorate the occasion at, you know where...a goofy golf course!  I actually still have those "clown shoes" from ten years ago and almost wore them (along with a red fleece jacket), until Stace won the argument that it was foolish. :)  I at least convinced her that we should wear the same colors that we did in our picture ten years ago.  Compromise - that's a good lesson for a 4-year anniversary, is it not?

We played an 18-hole round at a goofy golf course just down the road from where we live.

On the links again, 10 years later!

Stace, on the opening shot of the night.

After a week in the mid-90's, Friday was a beautiful night for goofy golf (only reached 84°).  We could even wear our jeans!

Showing Stace how to play the game.  There are certain games we have always beat each other at.  Scrabble is her game, goofy golf is mine! :)  I especially love to rub it in, since she played high school golf for four years and her dad is a golf coach.

Eating humble pie.  Here, two holes later, she got a hole in one.

We took our time, let others pass, took pictures, laughed, teased, enjoyed the pleasant evening, and enjoyed time spent together.

"Never gonna win with that kind of shot!"
(despite the sentiment of the occasion, trash talk was not prohibited)

Though Stace ended with a bank shot hole-in-one and I ended with a 5-stroke monstrosity, my dominance in goofy golf was maintained and I shoved my victory in my wife's face once again.  Not romantic, but tradition :)

"The Graceful Loser" :)


Bumper Boats, also at Frankie's Fun Park.  I'd like to think that this would be another one of those games I would always win at.  We will try them next time we go and I will report on my winnings yet again!

Opponents on the field, 
team mates in life.
  Now ten years later,
she is my wife.

(she didn't marry me for me poetic skills)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, STACIE JO!!!!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!


Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Pictures of the Day

WHEN: Yesterday, today...every day!
WHERE: Within a 46.5 billion light year radius...and expanding!

No, I am not uploading pictures daily now.  As illustrated by my chronic tardiness with posting my picture of the week, I can't even maintain a 7-day cycle.  However, there are people and organizations who CAN maintain new and exciting daily photo uploads, who have multiple skilled photographers, and who make money by providing these pictures.  Therefore, I am making them do the dirty work and sprucing up my blog with their amazing photography.  I have included some organization's "Picture of the Day" (POD) websites below and also provided a photo link to them on my Jesse's POW page.

The first one, though not really a bonafide POD website, is Bing.com.  I have used Bing as the homepage for our computers for the past year and enjoyed their daily-updated background pictures from all over the world.  A complete list of their previous daily backgrounds can be found here.

Bing.com
Bing.com provides a brilliant new background image on their homepage each day

The next POD website I've included is that of National Geographic.  I was particularly impressed with a picture (see below) appearing this month, on May 17.  Though it appears like it is a painting at first glance (and perhaps the second and third glances), it is in fact an actual picture taken of camel thorn trees in Namibia, Africa; with a large red dune in the background exposed to the early morning sun.
National Geographic
The picture that's NOT a painting

Next on the list is a website with pictures that are out of this world - literally!  NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" website includes daily pictures of celestial bodies across the known universe, back to June 1995.  It also includes descriptions below each picture for the layperson, which 99.9% of us are when it comes to astronomy! With the latest technology, astronomers can now see 46.5 billion light years (that's 273 million trillion miles) away from Earth in any direction - what's known as the "visible universe".  And if that is an unfathomable amount of miles to comprehend, the number for how many stars are estimated to exist within that same amount of space is even more (over 3,500 times more)!  Many of these pictures put in to perspective (in a very illustrative and tangible way) just how small we (and the Earth) are and how big GOD is; to have created something so vast and yet still hold in the palm of His hand!  He placed (spoke) the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+ stars in to the sky and He knows them each by name! The pictures really give meaning to the song, "God of Wonders Beyond Our Galaxy"!
NASA
A glimpse in to the sky - like you've never seen before!

If you're looking for new PODs or POWs here, consistency and frequency will not be upheld to the same degree, unfortunately.  I have just now got the past 3 weeks of POWs up (below).  Now you can enjoy even better pictures, from three places, on a daily basis, with the websites mentioned above!

Jesse's POW (May 22, 2011)

WHEN: May 21, 2011
WHERE: St. Matthews Lutheran Church, Charleston, SC

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (May 15, 2011)

WHEN: May 14, 2011
WHERE: Tanger Outlet Mall, North Charleston, SC

See where this picture was taken, here!

Jesse's POW (May 8, 2011)

WHEN: May 7, 2011
WHERE: Our patio

See where this picture was taken, here!