I suppose that I need to stop apologizing for my continual
periods of blog writing absenteeism. Simply
put, it seems that life is not slowing down, nor shall it. Therefore, I’m lucky to get one blog a month churned
out in the midst of everything else…so, I guess I should just be thankful that
I can do that much.
I had a great New Year’s Eve with my friend Zach in
town. We went to the same party I go to
each year and the next day we drove up to Crowder’s Mountain to go hiking (the
weather was gorgeous). Unfortunately, I
got a speeding ticket on the way. The
roads were so clear and I wasn’t paying attention. So, now I’m going to have to go fight it in
court on Feb. 13…let’s hope they show mercy on me!
Grandma and Grandpa Carraway had their 70th
wedding anniversary party Jan. 4 with a ton of the family coming in town to
celebrate. They had 3 of 4 children, 8
of 9 grandchildren, and 5 of 8 great-grandchildren present, as well several spouses
and cousin Mary-Ellen. We had dinner at
the Cypress clubhouse which was delicious and took many family photos. For their main presents, I gave them a canvas
I had made of their colorized wedding photo and the kids chipped in to give
them professional photos of all the grandchildren together. Brandon, unfortunately, was not able to make
it, but I hope to be able to Photoshop him into the main photo at some point.
It was great to see all the great-grandkids! They are growing like weeds. Little Millie is as precious as ever – even though
she had a cold. I so wish they all lived
closer!
In the beginning of January I also decided to join a dating
website. Despite meeting so many people
every day and week of my life, it is often hard to find someone with the same
ideals and personality as me. I was very
hesitant about the idea, but after many suggestions by friends and family, I
decided to take the plunge – and I have to say I’m glad I did! After only about a week or two on the site, I
had four dates set up. While all were
nice guys, one particularly stood out with his astonishingly similar
personality and upbringing. We have now
been dating for almost three weeks.
Matt grew up in Indiana and went to Purdue University. After college, he worked for ESPN in Connecticut,
then Turner Sports in Atlanta, and now works in mobile app development for
NASCAR here in Charlotte. He is 30 and has a 6 years younger brother who still
lives in Indiana. They are very close. (His brother also got a full academic
scholarship to college). Matt has
traveled to Australia and Paris and London and has a big desire to see more
foreign places. He has begun playing ultimate Frisbee with me each week and
attending Forest Hill Church with me. He
also likes a variety of old movies – especially North by Northwest and
Vertigo. But really, he likes most movies. He plays drums (exceedingly well) and really
enjoys most music. 
Last weekend, Matt joined Mom & Dad and myself to see
the Circus. It was very cool with a lot
more aerialists and acrobatics than usual.
He then accompanied us to Outback where we met up with G-ma & G-pa,
and Uncle Bob & Cheryl. He says our
moms and grandparents are very much alike.
Right now I’m most looking forward to my birthday – even though
it’s more than a month away – because Matt and I just booked a trip to Disney
where a few of his friends and my cousin We’ll go to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. I’m SOOOOO excited!!! We’re going to eat in the brand new Beauty
& the Beast castle and also in France at EPCOT. I love good food!
Michael will meet us.
Michael will meet us.
(Speaking of Disney, I recently saw the Disney movie Frozen which I totally fell in love with! I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop. lol).
I’m also looking forward to Valentine’s Day – the first time
I’ll have an actual date on said holiday.
Matt is planning something but won’t tell me what, so I’m excited. I
love surprises!
This Friday my roommates and I are hosting First Friday
Night Dinner again. Last month it didn’t
end up happening, so I’m glad to have it resume this month. It’s always interesting to see all the
different friends who show up.
I also had another article published in Boom Magazine: http://www.boomnc.com/featured-articles/heading-north-on-the-california-coast/. Another even longer one will be published in
March.
That's all for now folks! Photos to come soon!
