O is for ...

ORANGE

When you think of word descriptions of items associated with the word orange, some of the following may come to mind: adventurous, danger, unconventional or amusement. The color Orange is bright and exciting and exhibits an heir of fun to it, which is possibly why some people desire to bring a little orange in to their life – to try to lighten things up. Spice up your life, right? While I do think of orange as fun and exciting and even associate it with adventure and danger I often think of a variety of completely different things when I first hear the word orange. So, let me use this blog to share a few of my favorite orange moments!

A Sea of Big Orange Nation

Nothing screams football like the Big Orange Nation and Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Volunteer Orange is a very, very distinct orange, so much so that some of the local hardware stores actually sell Volunteer Orange paint for people to buy and take to their respective homes. Many opponents who play against the Vols have developed a passionate distaste and hatred for the color orange. But not me, I love my University of Tennessee Volunteers, and I absolutely adore being in the sea of Big Orange nation fans as they go strolling down the Phillip Fulmer Way in preparation for the big game. There is nothing quite like sitting in Neyland Stadium with 102,455 fans and hearing the roar of “Go, Big Orange” or the melodious sound of “Rocky Top” as it blares throughout the city of Knoxville. (On a side note, the Carolina Panthers’ home of Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte only seats 73,778 -- so now you can get a real picture of how big college football is in Tennessee!!) Whether you like Tennessee or not, everyone should experience a football game at Neyland, as there is nothing quite like it. Just be prepared for a variety of shades of orange, but look to the middle of the field and you will see the real Volunteer Orange down on the field. Go Vols!!

Orange-‘o-lanterns

Fall has never been one of my favorite seasons, as it reminds me how much closer we are to the cold days of winter. However, I do love the fall time of year for the State Fair, my birthday and pumpkins! I love walking through the woods behind my house to see the pumpkins growing in the field, and I love riding past roadside stands that are loaded with pumpkins for sale. What a fun thing to use to be festive and decorate with. There are so many varieties of pumpkins – all shapes, sizes and colors. So, make sure you grab a few and decorate this upcoming fall –add some orange into your life!

Orange Attire

An absolute must for my attire at home or for travelling to Tennessee is, of course, a little bit of orange! I cannot even begin to tell you how many orange Tennessee Volunteer shirts and jackets that I have (and lets not even begin with Dad’s collection – holy cow! It is probably more than the UT Bookstore!). There is a little bit of orange in every aspect of my life. I may not wear orange on a daily basis, but deep down in my soul, my heart longs for some Tennessee orange. Appropriately, Adidas came out with an orange pair of running shoes and of course I had to buy a pair (though you won’t see me actually running in them!). Ironically not long after I bought my pair, the University of Tennessee went in with Adidas and used those pair and some very similar as the official school shoes. It never hurts to spice up your life a little, so proudly wear your orange and be a little adventurous and bright – you’ll definitely stand out!

Edible Orange

One of my more recent favorite things that I have discovered is orange-colored kettle corn. Now, I love kettle corn, but I am very picky about eating just any ‘ole kettle corn. It has to have just the right blend of ingredients for me to eat. The microwavable bags of kettle corn that you can buy at the grocery stores just don’t cut it for me because it is a little too sweet. I need my kettle corn to have just the right blend of salt and sweet. I always grab a bag or two of kettle corn when I am up at Dollywood, and last fall as we were leaving Dollywood during the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival, I made a pit-stop by the kettle corn booth. I grabbed a bag of regular kettle corn and then the orange kettle corn caught my attention. I just HAD to have a bag of orange kettle corn in Tennessee, it would only be appropriate, right? Well, in reality, it tastes no different. The orange does not give it an orange flavor; it is merely just a food coloring of sorts. But my mind, just didn’t believe it. My mind will tell you that my tongue firmly believed the orange-colored kettle corn tasted better than the plain. Fortunately for my mind and my tongue, I will be heading back to Dollywood next week, so I shall gladly sample it again!!

Monsters of Orange

Many sports teams have mascots some of which are of the orange flavor, including the little Orangeman from Syracuse. I have encountered two orange beasts in my life that truly stood out and I know I will surely not forget them. The first is one of the true “Orange Monsters” that was built out of orange DOT barrels by a college student at NC State. He initially got in to some trouble over his orange barrel monsters creations, but they became such a hit that the NC State Fair put them up on display back in 2009. I thought the orange barrel monster was totally awesome. Personally, I think the North Carolina Department of Transportation should put these on display at the state welcome centers or something. My other big orange beast that I encountered was when I went down to Austin, Texas, to visit my cousin. There in the parking lot back behind the University Co-Op was the infamous Bevo the Longhorn, mascot of the University of Texas. Bevo is very menacing and absolutely gigantic. Always be alert to large roaming monsters of orange as you never know where they may appear!

Keep your eyes open to what is around you and more than likely at some point you will see a little bit of spice of the orange color. It might be an awful color to some, but others love it. So, we should respect each other’s opinions and enjoy whatever color exists and surrounds your aura! Orange is a color that also produces warning signs, so always be attentive and alert to what surrounds you. You just never know when you may need to run across the checkered end zones of life and score the big win!

N is for ...

NOTRE DAME

“Well I remember the leaves a fallin'
And far off music like pipes a callin'
And I remember the golden morning
I saw the long ranks as they were forming

And there's a magic in the sound of their name
Here come the Irish of Notre Dame…”

If you are a sports fan of any kind, at some point in your life whether it is from football to women’s basketball to hockey, you have likely heard the words Notre Dame mentioned. The University of Notre Dame is a sports haven and a highly revered school in the state of Indiana and arguably the nation. While I have never actually set foot on the campus, I have always been intrigued by the University and have always desired to visit it. Growing up, I was never a big fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I think a big part of that is because I was always mad at NBC for showing their football games constantly on television but never showing any of my more local teams. But, like them or not, one thing always stood out to me about their football team – their helmets. The shiny gold of their football helmets makes them stand-out as a force to be reckoned with on the field. In reality, their helmets remind me of the centerpiece of their campus – The Golden Dome atop of the Main Building that sits in the heart of campus. It immediately captures your attention and holds it. In my mind, I imagine the campus of the University of Notre Dame is very beautiful, especially with the Golden Dome standing out in the center of campus.

While, I haven’t personally been a fan of the Fighting Irish Football (and please, don’t hold that against me), there is one sport at the University of Notre Dame that I have always supported and that is their Women’s Basketball team. I have always been a fan of the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team, and absolutely admire and adore their head coach, Muffet McGraw. Now, sure, when Notre Dame is playing one of my other favorite teams, it is always hard to decide who to cheer for, but then again, it usually results in a win-win situation for me. As many know, I’ve written past blogs about fashion in basketball and Muffet’s name has always been mentioned, but I had never had the chance to meet her and that was one of my goals in life, as I had met so many other previous head coaches that I had written about. Tiffany and I were fortunate enough to actually sit through one of Muffet McGraw’s coaches clinic sessions hosted by the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in Greensboro, and it was so neat to learn from her and hear her speak on something so passionate to her and dear to her heart.

Last year, it was announced that Notre Dame was joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Many people have had mixed reactions to that, as did I initially, but then I soon realized that I didn’t have a problem with it because that only meant I got to see the Notre Dame Women’s team play more often in my home state of North Carolina (though I am still trying to figure how an Indiana school can be in the ACC when they don’t border the actual Atlantic Coast, ha!). Fortunately for me, last basketball season I was able to see the Irish play three times in person (which is a rareity for a girl from North Carolina!) – at Duke, at NC State and at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro. AND, all three times, they WON the game! It was so exciting at the Duke game to be sitting right behind Muffet McGraw and amongst all the Notre Dame fans. At that time, I only possessed green shamrock earrings, so I proudly wore them. Not long after that, I bought an Irish jacket that I just adored. I took it to the Notre Dame vs. NC State Women’s game in late March (now, keep in mind, I am a season ticket holder for NC State, so bringing a Notre Dame jacket in to the building and sitting in my seat was taking a major risk!). After the game, Muffet McGraw came to our side of the court to do her post-game radio interview, and thanks to my wonderful friend Kim, we were able to get Muffet to sign my jacket courtesy of her husband, Matt. Now, you want to talk about taking my jacket to a whole new level – now I wear it with pride, Fighting Irish pride!

One of these days I hope to be able to take the trek up to the University of Notre Dame and tour their campus. I have fortunately toured almost all of the campuses in the ACC and several other conferences, as well. College campuses have always amazed me, as each are similar but also so different and unique in their own ways. I just love walking around on a college campus and taking in their scenic beauty and learning of the history that exists on each campus. One day, I shall make that trek up to South Bend and maybe take in a basketball game on their home turf or who knows, maybe one day I’ll even cheer for their football team (okay, that’s lie, I already have cheered for their football team – anytime they play UNC or a team I don’t like!)

So, in the end you may be asking why are you a fan of Notre Dame and the Fighting Irish when you haven’t been to their campus and don’t like their football team? Well, even though they are pretty, it’s not the golden helmets; it’s not the green shamrocks, nor the little leprechaun, nor the lovely song “Here Come the Irish”, nor their really awesome victory/fight song, the ultimate reason I am a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is simple, it is two words – Muffet McGraw!! That’s all it takes. An amazing coach, a terrific leader and person – when I think of Notre Dame, I don’t think of the golden dome, I think of the little dark-headed dome of Muffet McGraw!

“The pilgrims follow by the sacred waters
And arm in arm go the sons and daughters
The drums are rolling and forward bound
They're calling spirits up from the ground

And there's a magic in the sound of their name
Here come the Irish of Notre Dame.”

M is for ...

MYRTLE MANOR

If you’ve ever been scrolling through the TLC channel, you have more than likely seen an advertisement for or even watched one of the newer reality shows called Myrtle Manor. When I first saw the previews for the show, I thought to myself -- seriously, a reality show about a trailer park? But the more I watched it, the more I got sucked in and realized it was a rather interesting and funny show. The craziest part about it all is that it is filmed on location at a place that our family frequently vacations – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

We’ve vacationed off and on throughout the years at Myrtle Beach since I was a youngster, so it is always interesting to watch Myrtle Manor to try to catch a glimpse of some of the places we have visited while down in South Carolina. However, the funniest part about it is that I never really realized there was an actual (more like several) trailer park down in Myrtle Beach. When you are driving down Ocean Boulevard, you are surrounded by the high-rise hotels and resorts and the numerous t-shirt shops, clubs and restaurants that dot the Grand Strand. Even when you are cruising down Highway 17, you are still surrounded by restaurants, shops, golf courses and houses. There are plenty of RV Camping Resorts, but I had never honestly noticed any actual mobile home parks in existence. So, when Myrtle Manor made its debut, most all of us that are vacationers to the Grand Strand area immediately began to converse and try to figure out the locale of the Myrtle Manor trailer park. Before too long, we saw several people posting on Facebook and Twitter to inquire where the trailer park was and if it allowed for visitors. Surprisingly to us all, we found out that we could come and visit the Myrtle Manor trailer park, and if lucky, you might could meet some of the residents and stars of the reality show.

My curiosity was immediately piqued in finding the set of Myrtle Manor, so in September of 2013, my friend Tracey and I took a mini-weekend trip down to Myrtle Beach. Sure, we needed to have a break from our crazy workplace, but our ultimate intention was to find the set of Myrtle Manor and see what it actually looked like. I will admit when you see things on television and then see those same places in person they are usually not what you expect or not quite how you imagined them to be. I know that was the case for me when I first went to Times Square in New York City. It was not at all what I had imagined it to be. So, I really began to wonder what would Myrtle Manor be like…

Shortly after arriving at our hotel in North Myrtle Beach, Tracey and I had a slight hiccup in our adventure, as I managed to ram the right rear-bumper of my Explorer in to one of the large concrete columns within the parking garage. After a brief stop at Walmart for some lovely duct tape and red taillight tape, we were ready to hit the strand and find the trailer park – now we were really prepared to venture in to the trailer park with our duct taped car!! Fortunately, it was not that difficult to find Myrtle Manor, though if you are actually looking for a mobile home park named Myrtle Manor, you won’t find it as that is not the actual name of the park. We found our destination and ended up parking up at the souvenir trailer area that was all decorated in Myrtle Manor paraphernalia. The lady working the souvenir trailer was very nice and told us that if we wanted to walk down to the actual set of Myrtle Manor, we could but we would need to go soon because they were going to start filming again soon. So, off Tracey and I go trekking down the street of the Myrtle Manor trailer park. We encountered several residents of the park, however none were actual stars on the TV show, but they were all very friendly and had their homes very neat and clean (unlike some of the mobile home parks here in North Carolina!). Once we arrived on the set, it was much the same as you see on the show. It is not quite as big as you would expect, but when it is inside of an actual mobile home park, you don’t have much room to have a full-fledged set. But, everything appeared exactly as you see on the Myrtle Manor show – the sign, swimming pool, the infamous Tangulls’ salon, the silver bullet and countless other oddities. We met a security guard, though it was NOT Marvin, and he told us little tidbits about the show. Unfortunately because they were beginning to film the newest season, we really were not allowed to go on the set to have our photographs made or inside of Tangulls (I was a bit bummed about that!)

We eventually walked back up to the souvenir area and took some photos with The Weiner Girls’ infamous hot dog stand that is no longer being used on the show. They have now turned it into an area where fans can go and have their pictures made as if pretending to be a Weiner Girl themselves. Sadly, Tracey and I did not get to see any of the cast members to speak with them or have our picture made with. We did see Cecil, the owner of Myrtle Manor and more commonly known as Becky’s Dad, but unfortunately we missed seeing Amanda, Chelsea, Taylor, Jared, Marvin, Roy and all the others. But, we have already decided that we will definitely have to take another visit down to ‘ole Myrtle Manor and try to catch up with some of the stars of the show.

If you happen to go down to Myrtle Beach and get tired of the ocean (who could though!?) or tired of shopping, riding, eating and all the many other activities you can do down along the Grand Strand, you should take a few minutes to go visit Myrtle Manor. You will be absolutely amazed at how friendly the folks of the Myrtle Manor mobile home park are. They are genuine and truly do appreciate their fans. Take a visit to Myrtle Manor and always remember to Keep Calm and Trailer On!

L is for ...

LOVELY LIZZIE

I have a passion for animals. You name it, and most likely, I will like the animal, except for snakes, they should all be squished under the tire of a car and killed. But dogs, pigs, cows, things like that, well, I just love and adore them. I have been fortunate enough to have had several pet dogs in my life from Pepper and Aggie to Marlowe and Zoey, and I have truly learned that dogs are honestly man’s best friend. They love you unconditionally and know when you are happy and when you are down. They want to spend time with you and want to play and be loved. They are loyal, devoted and dedicated to their master – at times, even better than a human friend. So, why wouldn’t you love a dog?

Occasionally, I will dog-sit, and that is always a treat. I used to dog-sit my former coworkers’ two dogs – one was indoor and the other outdoor. She would bring them to my house when she would go on long Christmas or summer trips, and it was always interesting to see how they adapted (and sometimes didn’t) to new environments. Recently, I have started dog and house-sitting for one of my friends who has two of the sweetest dogs on the planet. She has a wild and rambunctious little puppy named Bernie, who has been featured in a prior blog and even has won a second place ribbon at the NC State Fair, and then there’s Lizzie – sweet, precious, lovely Lizzie.

Little Lizzie was born in the grand Sunshine State of Florida to a lovely couple, named Peter and Wendy. Peter is an absolutely gorgeous father and Wendy is a precious mother. The litter, which Lizzie came from, consisted of five puppies with three of the five being double merles, which automatically makes Lizzie a special addition to our grand world. Lizzie was a precious little puppy who loved playing with her balls, and she has grown into a beautiful young lady, who is very well taken care of by her lovely human Mom.

When you first meet Lizzie, you think she is just like any other dog – running along, barking and carrying on as any typical furry friend would do. But, if you look closely at her eyes, you can see there is a difference, but hey! that’s nothing unusual as some dogs have different color eyes. But, that is not the case with Lizzie as she is a very special little lady. Lizzie is what is often referred to as a double merle, which is the name given to a Sheltie that is white (which, as I learned is rather rare – I guess I just assumed that Lizzie was just a white Sheltie – I had no idea that signified an unusual occurrence) and double merles often are known for having some physical impairments, as well. In Lizzie’s case, she is visually impaired in which she can only see what’s straight ahead of her and cannot see anything to her sides. Because of that, she struggles with heights because of a lack of depth perception. Lizzie is trained in sign language and when she is looking at you, she can read the signs and respond accordingly. In addition to her visual impairment, Lizzie is also hearing impaired – she was born completely deaf. Call her name and holler at her all you want, and she just walks right on. So, my first time dogsitting Lizzie & Bernie, when he was just a few months old peeing and pooping everywhere, was a great learning experience in teaching myself to adjust and adapt to meet both of their needs!

If some humans had the same impairments that Lizzie has, they would simply give up and think life was over. However, Lizzie does not allow her impairments to get the best of her. Quite the contrary, Lizzie is honestly one of the smartest dogs that I have ever encountered. You may be sitting there watching something on TV and all of a sudden Lizzie will start barking. As humans, we’re sitting there thinking “what in the world is she barking at” because we can’t see anything nor hear anything, but Lizzie knows! She can feel things and can sense things – she has her own sixth sense (and not like Bruce Willis’ movie seeing dead people either!). For example, she can feel and sense the train before it comes thru town blowing its horn; something that I could only physically hear when it arrived closer by. That, in and of itself, absolutely amazed me watching how she could do that. And, when it comes to play time with a toy or heavens to Betsy time for a bone don’t let Lizzie’s sweet little innocence fool you. You take her toy or her bone, and she is coming after you – poor Bernie has gotten snapped a few times.

I think my favorite thing about Lizzie is that if you leave the house, she will wait right by the door that you exited from until you return home. She is so loyal and faithful. If you sit down on the floor with her, I can guarantee, she will lay right beside you and give you sweet little nudges asking you to pet her, and she will even return the gesture with a small, gentle kiss showing her love and appreciation. She is a princess in all rights. She is prissy and loves to show off her beauty. If you take her on a stroll down the street, as we did for the 4th of July, and she acts like she is Miss America prancing right down the sidewalk.

We should never take our animals for granted because just like humans, they can have their own impairments. We should learn to love and appreciate them for who they are and just how God made them! It is amazing to watch dogs with impairments because many times, you would have no idea they have any sort of physical impairment because they can adapt so well to their surroundings. Lizzie is a precious dog and if you have the opportunity to meet her, you will likely not even realize anything is wrong with her, unless, of course, you do try to talk to her because she will have no idea if you are speaking English, Chinese, or whatever to her. But no matter what, she will likely love you nonetheless because she is a precious princess in all aspects of life. Take care of our critters because in the long run, they will help take care of us and comfort us at times when we may need it the most!

K is for ...

KRISPY KREME

One late December evening as I was leaving a Christmas event at the North Carolina Executive Mansion, as I stepped out the main front doors and on to one of the outside patios, I was greeted with a very familiar smell in the air. I paused on the top step and thought to myself certainly you cannot smell that from here. I turned to look back inside the Executive Mansion and did not see any snacks being passed out that evening, and then it hit me -- I needed to run for Governor of the great state of North Carolina so that I can spend my evenings on the back patio inhaling the fragrant aroma of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!!! What a lovely and distinct smell it was, and I was absolutely amazed that you could literally smell the fresh doughnuts being made at that distance. It isn’t that far of a drive (or walk) from the Executive Mansion to the main Krispy Kreme location in Raleigh, but it was further than I anticipated the smell of the hot doughnuts’ scent to be travelling. Who knows, maybe I am part bloodhound and can sniff those suckers from a mile away! Either way, it amazed me and made the night even more riveting.

Yes, folks, I am an addict. I am a doughnut addict, but not just any particular doughnut I am a Krispy Kreme addict. AND I am proud of it (though, I am currently going through severe withdrawals because of my diet that is limiting me from my excursions downtown to buy a few or a dozen or more!) If you don’t like Krispy Kreme, well, I will seriously have to pray for you because they are absolutely melt-in-your mouth delicious!

As a young girl, I was always pretty good with directions. I could easily tell you how to get to so-and-so’s house or to such-and-such store, and I absolutely knew how to get to the Krispy Kreme! However, I never really comprehended how close the main Krispy Kreme location was to my house. Maybe that is because our family had a special tradition that we only really ever bought Krispy Kreme Doughnuts around Christmastime or if my cousin’s from the Yankee-lands came home (because at that time Krispy Kreme was a foreign entity in New England!). I remember as a youngster we would go out riding looking at Christmas lights, and one of our stops was always the brightest light around – the HOT sign at Krispy Kreme! We would come out with a dozen or two or three. Yet, as weird as it may seem, I think I might be the only person who does NOT like the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts when they are hot. I will eat them when they are hot, but the more of them I consume in that manner, the more sick I feel. So, that is why we usually get one dozen hot fresh doughnuts and one dozen assorted. We would eat our doughnuts as we continued our trek around town looking at Christmas lights.

As I have grown older and the Krispy Kreme locations have sprouted out to have little local stores, I still find that I must go to the main store in downtown Raleigh. Something about their doughnuts just taste different, they are fresher – maybe because they are from the REAL, original Krispy Kreme store or maybe it is merely a tradition for me. Either way, I would much prefer to drive downtown to get my doughnuts AND take in all the crazy sights that are always ongoing down there – especially now, that I have realized it really is not that far to the Krispy Kreme store. (My family always tried to keep that a secret from me evidently, ha!)

Everyone has their favorite doughnuts, right? What are yours? Hmmm…well as for me, I particularly love the chocolate iced with sprinkles or just your regular glazed crème filled (NOT Boston crème –yuck! but regular white crème!). My ultimate favorite was a special doughnut they made for their 75th birthday. It was a chocolate iced glazed with sprinkles, but in the middle, they filled it with the white crème. Ahhhhh…to die for!! No wonder I gained so much weight that year! And now, I have also come to LOVE their chocolate ice cream – Wow!, let me tell you, that is some good stuff and they will load it up in the cone for you. Annnnddddd…, let me add, yes, I have tried the Krispy Kreme cheeseburger that they have at the NC State Fair, and well, I LIKED it. A good mixture of sweet and salt combined and absolutely appealed to my appetite! Yummm…how can you go wrong with a Krispy Kreme Doughnut??

So whether you prefer Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts or even the awesome ones from Sheetz gas stations, every so often, we deserve to reward ourselves with a sweet treat or two or twenty-four, ha! Go eat a doughnut or two and enjoy! And if you go to the Krispy Kreme (or as I call it, the “KK”), make sure you inhale and savor that blissful smell. I think they should bottle that up and sell it. That night walking out the steps of the Executive Mansion, made me also think of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and how the entire town smells like chocolate. Now, here in Raleigh, we smell like doughnuts – ahhhh!, what sweetness!

And now, that I have written this, I am experiencing a huge craving for some Krispy Kreme Doughnuts – you know what, forget the diet, I am going tonight or this weekend and catch-up on what I have been missing out on! Krispy Kreme makes me "Happy, Happy, Happy!"

J is for ...

JELLYFISH

I have always been one who has had mixed feelings about jellyfish – part of me is fearful of them and part of me is intrigued by them. Jellyfish are very unique creations. They almost possess a mystical aura about them. At times, I see them looking like a tornado and then as a pile of Jell-O and other times they look like the explosion I saw on a recent “24” episode of a nuclear bomb being detonated (okay, yes that is a bit far-fetched – but they look like the mushroom cloud of a bomb floating around!). Seriously, test out your vivid imagination and see what you can come up with that they look like!

Often times most of the jellyfish I have ever encountered are those that have washed ashore that have died somewhere along their journey in the deep ocean waters. When I see those washed ashore, they just do not quite in capture how they look when they are housed inside an aquarium. Jellyfish on the seashore pose as an ominous reminder to us beach-goers of what lurks beneath those dark, mysterious waters. Just seeing them laying on the sand, you can see their poisonous tentacles awaiting to attack and sting someone; it should serve as a warning that we are technically invading their home in the water and we always need to be alert to our surroundings, so as we don’t have to call out for a lifeguard to come rescue us (though, some lifeguards, well let’s just say, I might want to come rescue me, ha!)

Last September, I went to the Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with one of my friends, and we were brought up-close and personal with all sorts of sea-life. I had been there one other time as high-schooler and was amazed at all that surrounded me and all the vast assortment of creatures that lived within our ocean’s deep. For whatever reason, this time, I was really astounded by the jellyfish. Maybe it was their color or the lighting in the dark blue waters that made them almost appear to be glowing. Maybe it was their ascending and descending within the waters so gracefully as if they were a ballerina dancing on her tip-toes. No matter what the ultimate reason, I remember just standing there watching them in their enclosed habitat floating around and looking at all their dangerous tentacles and thinking that even though they looked so menacing, they were still quite eye-catching.

Some days, like a jellyfish, I would love to be able to float around and just glide at a graceful pace, and yes, other days, I would love to be able to sting the mess out of someone just to prove my point, ha! But, no matter how you feel, the time you take a trek to the beach, see if you can take in a sighting or two of a jellyfish. I was actually quite intrigued to learn how many varieties of jellyfishes exist. They are all part of God’s wonderful creations for us to check-out. Just be a little more leery when you go swimming in the great ocean waters, so you don’t end up coming home with an extra souvenir.

I is for ...

ICE, ICE, BABY...IT'S AN ICE STORM!!!

A cold, clear early January morning, I awake and look out the window to find a white yard with a nice glaze over top the ground and on everything you can see in sight. Frozen in time … that is what the world seemed to feel like, and in reality, things were frozen, solidly frozen, thanks to a lovely and rare North Carolina ice storm. In my home state of North Carolina, we are not accustomed to a lot of annual snow fall, much less an ice storm or two. People love to laugh at us for cancelling schools at the drop of a hat or just anything, but let me tell you, we are not equipped to handle this type of precipitation. We can handle the hurricanes and thunderstorms, but you throw in some snow and ice, we panic. I will be one of the first ones out the door of the office because I will NOT drive on this mess, as our roads are not capable of sustaining this excess weather and crazy traffic all leaving work at one time.

Unfortunately the Winter of 2013-2014 would not leave us (I even think on this May day, it is still trying to rear its ugly head as it is a gloomy and cool day outside), but our winter did not treat us kindly this year. The schools have missed so many days because of weather delays and closings, they have had to make all sorts of adjustments, among countless other things that have been hindered and delayed because of the inclement weather. We had several snow storms this season which provided two great opportunities for me – 1) I was able to bring out the surfboard and use for sledding and 2) I was able to eat some good ‘ole snow cream (yum, yum!). The whiteness of the snow is so beautiful yet it makes everything around it look so ugly. Imagine that is probably how Christ might look at us. He died on the cross to allow us to be washed white as snow, His blood shed so that we can be cleansed, but before we accept His cleansing blood, we look dark and dirty compared to His glorious, radiating appearance.

The times we had ice storms this year, they left us completely paralyzed. I don’t care who you are nor where you moved here from, you cannot drive on ice. But, if you want to get out there and try to maneuver around, go right ahead, but don’t come crying to me when you tear up your car or get stuck on a hill expecting us to come push you. Stay home and stay warm and safe! To me, the morning after the ice storm hits, it leaves a beautiful residue for us to capture. Ice covers everything from the cars, to the basketball net, to the flowers, trees and bushes … you name it, likely it is frozen in ice. The ice makes it appear that things are literally frozen in time and that you are all alone moving about in this frozen time zone. But little by little, precious little critters – birds, squirrels, etc. – begin to venture out in search of food that is frozen beneath all of this ice. It was fun to me to feed the birds some of our table scraps, like Cheerios, and watch them enjoy being able to be fulfilled from “human” food while they could not get to their own “natural” food.

Even though I cannot stand cold weather and really do not like to see the snow fall, it still provides us with a beautiful landscape to allow our senses to explore. I pray that our upcoming winter of 2014-2015 is less eventful, and I just pray that we have a summer and that winter won’t rear its ugly head during our months of warm, heavenly bliss – I will gladly take 100 degree temperatures and humidity any day over 7 degree temperatures with a wind chill – call me, crazy but that’s what I like! And, by the way, keep making fun of us North Carolinians for cancelling school or leaving work or whatever, I guarantee when you have a wreck, we’ll be sitting home laughing at you on the TV because we are the ones with sense who have stayed home. As I’ve always said, you moved here and can always remove yourself. I was born here and I fully intend on staying unless a new adventure awaits. Enjoy the snow, enjoy the ice and don’t forget to make you some snow cream!