Holy Cow...it's time!!!!

I am going to keep this brief as it is very nearly 4am and I still have quite a bit to do before I get to sleep (I say this as though I believe I will sleep tonight...)

WE ARE GOING TO VIRGINIA IN 6 HOURS! I am getting married in 5 days!!

Between this moment and that one, I need to figure out how to get an ENORMOUS amount of "stuff" into Justin and my cars! Justin spent approximately 5 hours today trying to acquire and then assemble all of the correct pieces to move the Yakima rack from the roof of the old KIA (aka "The Roller Skate" who, after 200,000 miles and many a fond memory will soon be joining the ranks of NPR donations) onto the Mazda. I'm not sure that he actually finished, but between the dark (you should have seen how cute he was out there with his headlamp on) and the cold (hey- it got into the low 30s!), he bailed around 9pm.

I also need to finish a tax research project, at least start two separate tax finals (have I mentioned how much I love law school and how impeccable my choice of wedding date is in relation to final exams...), bake my wedding cake, assemble welcome gifts, meet with my vendors one final time, and remember that THIS is IT! This is the "stuff of life", those moments that you look back on for the rest of your days as "the good stuff." I searched for 30 years for the "right" guy (well, a good chunk of that time was spent finding the "right" ME, figuring out what I wanted in the "right" guy, and then recognizing that I found him once I had! But you get the picture...). My goal this week is, aside from doing what I can as far as getting my "to do" list taken care of, to be here in this moment, to be fully present and to STOP and recognize how fortunate I truly am. I have so much to be grateful for, this Thanksgiving even more than usual!

So just in case I don't find a moment to post in the next week or so, bear with my silence and I promise to make up for it over the Christmas holiday! In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

More Christmas card photos...

After meeting with Barbara last week to take pictures for her Christmas cards, Rachel wanted a few more photos of her family! So we decided to go out to Barbara's farm, a gorgeous spread of land on the outskirts of Chapel Hill, and take them there.

As so often happens when anyone is attempting to organize an entire family, Rachel and the family were a few minutes late. It worked out well in that the very rainy and overcast day suddenly gave us an insane sunset at the last minute... unfortunately, we had all of ten minutes to take advantage of it before the light was gone! So we are going to meet one more time this week to see if we can't get some good, natural light pictures of everyone! I have so much to learn about photography!

The farm...





I liked the "vintage" look of the barn...



I just love this moss-covered log!



The wind chimes...



Emma & Nicholas



David & the kiddos





Rachel swinging Emma



And of course, the famous Penny Lane!



Rachel was babysitting her friend's two-year-old, Christina, who was just the cutest thing ever!







Christina couldn't stop watching everything Emma did!







The family...it's tough to get everyone smiling & looking at the same time!!

Study Break...

I thought I'd take some silly pictures while I waited for my appellate brief to print...I'm tired!!

What did the world do before "Starby's"? My favorite vice!



So these are unfortunately soft...I have real issues getting my photos sharp! Suggestions, anyone? She's so much more patient with me in the middle of the night- I think she might assume that if she cooperates, we'll go to bed sooner!






I bought Justin's wedding gift on Monday! I'm dying to give it to him! Do you like my decorating? I love to pretend I don't have an ever-growing pile of work in front of me!


Have I mentioned that I'm having an illicit affair? It's only with my camera and I'm not sure that that counts, but Justin may beg to differ...

Christmas Cards...

It's already time to start ordering Christmas cards, can you believe it?! I'm such a sucker for the holidays...I love everything about the season! Thanksgiving is my favorite, but I admit that I smile when I see the Christmas decorations out at Target already. I know that it's shameless commercialization, but it doesn't change the magic for me! I love it!

So when I asked my organization client, Barbara, the other day what sort of Christmas cards she was planning to send out this year, she wasn't sure. So we ended up deciding to take some pictures and see what we could come up with! This afternoon we hung out and grabbed some shots of her, her fabulous dog, Myra, and her daughter & grandson, Rachel & Nicholas. Nicholas was not at all excited about having his picture taken, but Myra was more than accommodating! Here are a few (please excuse the noise...I'm still learning you know!):

A moment of solitude...

Amidst the craziness of weddings and school, I've found myself in desperate need of a moment to myself lately. The opportunity for one came up suddenly while running an errand Friday afternoon! I realized, as I was about to get back onto the highway to head home, that I was right next to the entrance to a great local park. Umstead Park has a plethora of fantastic trails as well as great picnic spots and I really loved the opportunity to get to know it better a few years ago when I ran the very well executed Umstead Trail Marathon.

So I decided to avail myself of the opportunity and eat my lunch at the park. I didn't have much time, but even those 10 minutes were sufficient to bring a sense of calm back into my heart. It's no secret that I love fall deeply and the light in the trees was just incredible. I'm so glad that fall has come to North Carolina!

Nearly speechless

I sat down to write just now, feeling so emotional and charged after last night's victory and the most inspirational political speech of my lifetime, thinking that I would have so much to say. But I find myself at a loss for words. At least the right words.
For as long as I can remember, I had a certain amount of envy for our parents' generation. While, of course, always grateful for the opportunities that they opened up for us, there lacked in my own generation and time the same passion to make the world a better place and the sense of personal responsibility to do just that. Please don't mistake my words- there has been no shortage of social injustices worldwide and at home for my generation to fight, and I am always both so proud of and awed by those individuals who have taken their commitment to a cause so seriously. But the understanding that we must unite and cooperate to bring about real change, that, as a society, we must sacrifice some of our daily convenience for the benefit of all people- in that way, my generation has been different than our parents. We've fought injustice, but we've done it in a more fragmented way- we've fought it from various struggling non-profits, or from our boardrooms, or by seeking the educational opportunities that our parents' worked so hard to open to us. I am not underestimating any of those efforts or the changes that they have brought about- of course they have been both significant and meaningful.

But last night, I heard a speech that riveted me to my seat. I heard a true leader commit to bringing us together, not in fear, but in cooperation. I felt what I can only imagine our parents must have felt watching JFK 's inaugural address and MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. That we must act. That we must make a difference. And we finally have the leadership to unite us with each other and with the world. For the first time since I was a little girl, I felt justified in my awe of the President of the United States (even if he is still "elect") and inspired by him in a way I have never known. I can only feel that, come January, we are entering a new era in American history...a better America than we've been for some time. I can't wait to get started!

 

If you missed last night's speech by Obama, click here to read the transcript or watch the video.

Wow.

I have just three words tonight:

Yes. We. Can.

Another amazing story...

I just can't get enough of the stories regarding first time voters in this election. As someone who couldn't wait for the first election after turning eighteen, I have been so frustrated over the years by those who take the privilege for granted.

One of my favorite programs on NPR is "The Story" with Dick Gordon. He interviews regular people with exceptional stories- of triumph, of failure, of surviving daily life- and he always asks then great questions and seems so genuinely interested in their tale. Yesterday, as part of an ongoing series about how politics is personal, he featured the story of Aredelia Edmondson. She is 95 years old, raised 13 children, and never voted prior to this election. Her story is compelling, to say the least...if you have a spare moment, I can't urge you strongly enough to listen to it here.

I will be waiting this evening with baited breath to see these election results come in. It's not everyday that you can look up and realize that you are, indeed, witnessing history being made. Amazing.

My Runaway Groom...

Justin ran Raleigh's City of Oaks Half-Marathon yesterday and I thought I'd share a few of the highlights! He ran the full marathon last year and spoke highly of the course, albeit mentioning several times how hilly it was. This was his first half-marathon and he has proclaimed that it might be the ideal distance!

Being there as a "groupie" made me ache to be out there, too! I will heed my doctors' warnings, but I am thoroughly looking forward to my next long race!

Here are a few fun shots...

Packet pick-up


Only Justin is this happy to start running 13.1 miles!


The big finish...


Post race- no one will accuse him of not working hard!