Loving our Company!

First came David and Becca, then came Cooper and Andrea. We have had a ball with our company . . . and only wish they could have stayed longer.

David and Becca (Matt's sister and brother-in-law) arrived the end of February. Becca was in town for a gymnastics meet, and David came down to join her, make a long weekend of it. Sunday we went shopping on Magazine street, to all the little boutiques and dress shops - then to dinner at our fave, Dante's Kitchen - then to play pool at the old Rivershack (dive) bar. Monday, as Matt was at work, David, Becca and I went on a swamp tour (interesting) - and then met Matt for dinner at NOLA, a fabulous resturant in downtown 'Nawlins (as the natives call it).
Here is the four of us (David, Becca, me and Matt) at NOLA . . .

I love this picture! This was Sunday afternoon when we were shopping on Magazine street. One of the boutiques had a waiting area for the guys with a sofa and Maxim magazines! Needless to say, we were able to shop at this store for as long as we wanted!

This is Captain Tom, from our swamp tour, holding a baby gator. He said it was a fiesty one, so we couldn't hold it, but we were all able to pet him as we walked by. Now, I know you're jealous of that experience!

After we were introduced to the baby gator, we all piled onto a rickety river boat and toured around the "swamp" lands of Nawlins. Yes, there were real gators swimming up to the boat! This one just ate a marshmellow that Cap't Tom threw out to him.

David and I, enjoying the beautiful afternoon, amidst the gators . . .

Here is David and Becca at the Rivershack, listening to Cross Canadian Ragweed and playing pool. Can you believe that some other guy in the bar also listened to and liked Cross Canadian Ragweed? I had never heard of it before!

Cooper and Andrea (Matt's best friend from Southern Pines) came for a visit the end of March (Wednesday to Sunday). Unfortunately Matt and I had to work Wed - Fri. We still went out to nice dinners every night. Thursday to Cochon (beef-creole cuisine). Friday to Upperline (New Orleans' style down-home cookin'). Saturday afternoon to NOLA for lunch. Sunday to Dante's Kitchen for brunch. We were all fat-n-happy by the end of their trip!
Here we are Saturday night watching the Carolina NCAA game in our living room.

Sunday brunch at Dante's Kitchen - seriously good food! (Matt, me, Cooper and Andrea)

We had such a good time with our company! And we miss them already! We are looking forward to being in NC again and being closer to everyone!

Oh Charlie!

Chin Flea Dirt. Why did I adopt a creature with 'chin flea dirt'? Anyway, we wanted a friend for Frankie, as we spend much time away from her. So, we went to the animal shelter and found "Avery," who we renamed "Charlie." Charlie was definitely cute, playful and affectionate - but Frankie hated him! (and he had chin flea dirt - would you want that in bed with you?)
So, after a week of Frankie's "temper-tantrums," we took Charlie back to the shelter. I really did (and do) feel bad about it, but I believe it was for the overall good. Here are a few pictures of Charlie . . .

Trust me, Matt is not smiling because Charlie is sitting on his lap . . . there is a Friends episode on the TV in the background.

Frankie is relieved to have her mother all to herself once again. She takes up my whole lap!

And here is Frankie - showing her love for us by sitting on our freshly washed laundry. Nice kitty!

Celebrating Six Months

January 21st, 2008 . . . our six month anniversary. Being married is like being at home . . . it just feels right, comfortable, and peaceful. It is actually hard to believe we've been married for only six months . . . feels like forever. Like we've always been together . . . and I can't imagine life without Matt.
To celebrate this memorable milestone, I baked a strawberry yogurt cake. We each ate a piece . . . and the rest of the cake went to the garbage. Oh well. If we lived closer to family, I'm sure it wouldn't have gone to waste!

A Christmas gift from Canada . . . we wanted to say thank you to Betty and Mike (my sister's in-laws) who picked out these awesome candle holders for us. I used them to decorate the kitchen table for our anniversary celebration, and I used them to decorate the mantle. A very thoughtful gift!

And we could not update the blog without addressing Frankie's exciting events. She received a new Kitty-play-tower . . . and makes the most of it by sitting on top of it and looking out the window (keeping an eye on the neighbors for us). This gift was actually a bribe - we bought it just before we got Charlie. Needless to say, it did not appease her . . . and Charlie's stay with us was short (as you've read about in the above posting).

spoiled rotten kitty . . .

Carly's new haircut and color . . . this is my favorite 'do' yet. I will be going back to this stylist!

Matt and Frankie relaxing - after a very stressful day (for both them)!

We have to say sorry that it has taken us such a long time to update our blog. The main deterrent is Carly's computer. It is soooooo slow. It takes forever for it to boot up and open any program . . . and this is where our photo program is. We probably need to upload our photos to Matt's computer and use it . . . but we've yet to do that either!