Final list

I counted them up, and today's list is...
All 30 Weddings I've Been To In My Life
Farthest Distance Away
(1) My mom’s cousin Betsy’s wedding in Pennsylvania
Shortest Distance Away
(2) Josh & Erin’s wedding 2 minutes from my apartment
3 bilingual weddings (conducted in English & Spanish)
(3) My suitemate Raquel
(4) Longtime friend Libba Diffey marrying Jorge
(5) High school friend Justine Sittema marrying Isaac
3 outdoor weddings
(6) High school friend Abby Killough when we were 19
(7) Church friends Katie & Brad from Hope
(8) Freshman year Bible study leader Tiffany (only the reception was outdoors though)
Only wedding where I went as someone else’s guest
(9) Youth leader Stacy Skeen’s (I went with Jessica)
Only wedding I went to with a date
(10) My sister Hillary marrying Allen (my good buddy Mike Knotts picked me up in a spiffy convertible and then danced the night away with me at the reception!)
Shortest wedding ceremony
(11) College friends Lee & Sara (18 minutes)
Couple together the longest prior to getting married
(12) College friends Spence & Courtney Shelton, who started dating when they were 14 & 15
Most inconvenient timing of wedding
(13) College friends Paul & Diana getting married the evening UNC was in the Final Four in 2005 (the year we won the championship)
Couples who are now doing mission work
(14) College friend Nicole Winters marrying Tim (now in Raleigh with Campus Crusade)
(15) College friends Andy & Erin Ashley Huffman (now in East Asia with Campus Crusade)
(16) Suitemate Sheri & Brett (now in Mali, Africa)
Wedding where I missed the ceremony because I went to the wrong location
(17) One of my sister’s best friends Molly Nicholson marrying Alex Warner
Groom from farthest distance away
(18) High school friend Erin Harding marrying Niels from Denmark
Least relationship with the bridal couple
(19) When I was little, mom took me to a wedding of a girl she used to babysit for, who had a sister named Kimberly (where my mom got my name)
Most unique reception site
(20) High school/college friend Kristen Lawson, at Anne Springs Dairy Barn in December
Longest time in coming
(21) High school small group leader Kim Leviner, at almost 36, marrying fellow youth leader Keith Dickerson, after a 5-year crush and an off-and-on relationship
(22) College friend Jenny Kirby marrying John after having a crush on him all through college
Wedding I have no memory of
(23) My dad’s cousin Sandy marrying some guy named Gary – that ended quickly and then she found the love of her life Paul, and they’ve been married 20 years
Only wedding I’ve been to with an ice sculpture
(24) Jaimica and Dwayne, who were in the Bible study I co-led in college
Randomest connection from a wedding
(25) College friends Jon Narveson and Sara York got married, and I met Jon’s cousin at a shower and she ended up moving in with me!
Most I cried at a wedding
(26) When my aunt Lisa married Keith when I was 6 (and I was the Flower Girl), I saw my grandfather crying during the ceremony, which made me in turn bawl my eyes out and refuse to be in any of the post-wedding photos
Most direct result of bouquet/garter-catching
(27) College friends Terry and Lauren caught the garter and bouquet at
(28) Lindsay and Adam’s wedding and then got hitched themselves
Only time rice was used as the send-off
(29) One of my sister’s good friends Courtney Killough marrying Terrance (Didn't y'all use rice? I may be remembering totally wrong, Court!)
The one I almost forgot in this list
(30) College Bible study friend Mary married Ben

Things I wish I were doing today instead of working

(1) Lying in a hammock outside with Wade
(2) Throwing a frisbee with my dog
(3) Ripping out the ivy behind my house and the ugly butterfly bush outside my front door
(4) Tilling the soil in those two places and figuring out something else to plant there
(5) Lying on the beach with my mom (because she's actually doing that today)
(6) Sleeping
(7) Reading my last Mark of the Lion book
(8) Tidying my house (on my perpetual list)
(9) Driving around town with Wade
(10) Hanging out with Wade's family
(11) Going to the UNC public basketball practice at Bobcats' Arena
(12) Walking my dog
(13) Visiting friends
(14) Taking a road trip
(15) Cleaning out my closet

In One Word

Another Libba theme, copied for my own blog (can you tell she's my blog idol?)...

1. Your cell phone? pink
2. Your significant other? wonderful
3. Your hair? straight
4. Your mother? survivor
5. Your father? provider
6. Your favorite thing? bed
7. Your dream last night? unsettling
8. Your favorite drink? milk
9. Your dream/goal? mommy
10. The room you're in? cubicle
11. Your hobby? domesticity
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? settled
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you're not? patient
16. Muffins? nah
17. One of your wish list items? bigscreen
18. Where you grew up? Charlotte
19. The last thing you did? Facebook
20. What are you wearing? sweater
21. Your TV? tiny
22. Your pet? adorable
23. Your computer? Mac
24. Your life? God's
25. Your mood? ambivalent
26. Missing someone? YES
27. Your car? reliable
28. Something you're not wearing? necklace
29. Favorite store? Target
30. Your summer? Wade!
31. Like someone? Wade!
32. Your favorite color? brown (would say Carolina blue, but that's 2 words!)
33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
34. Last time you cried? recently
35. You believe in? resurrection

Are you dating a player?

From MSN.com, here's an evaluation of the men/man in your life:

5 signs you could have a player on your hands…

He’s bold.
For the player, the pickup is a game. He doesn’t approach women with the same nerves or awkwardness of a normal guy. He’ll walk up confidently, with a big smile and great eye contact. His manner will be smooth and put-together. This doesn’t mean you should look for the opposite — a stuttering wreck — but be wary of a guy who acts completely bulletproof. A little anxiety is natural. Wade - he was bold enough to impress me with his confidence, not so bold that he seemed like it was a game to him.

He declares his feelings right away.
Players employ a “fast come-on,” according to Dr. Kalish, making sweeping statements of affection (e.g., “You’re the most perfect woman I’ve ever met”) from the word go. These declarations can feel very welcome, especially if you’ve been in a string of relationships that lacked such intimacy. Just remember that true closeness takes time, and it’s normal for a guy to be more guarded about his emotions. Wade - he says those things now, but didn't lay it all out there from the very start.

He always plans romantic dates.
Dating for the player is kind of a performance art. And he’s going to be good at it. “He won’t just bring a box of chocolates,” Dr. Kalish warns. “He’ll take you to a state fair and offer to share cotton candy.” Nice guys can be romantic, too, but life with them won’t always feel like a John Cusack movie. Non-stop rooftop picnics and weekends at the cottage could be too much. Wade - he plans romantic dates, yes, but not in the grandiose movie screen sense, more of the active hiking in the mountains or relaxed candles and movie at home sense.

He has lots of acquaintances, no close friends.
The player tends to be a lone wolf. That doesn’t mean he lacks for drinking buddies. The same way he charms women, he can charm lots of people in his life. The key is that, in friendship as in romance, his affections run broad but not deep. If solid pals are hard to come by with this guy, consider yourself warned. Wade - he does have more acquaintances than super close friends, but he also readily acknowledges it.

He’s a thrill seeker.
A guy who spends his spare time looking for a rush — fast driving, bungee jumping, kite-boarding, heli-skiing — should give you pause. This type, says Dr. Kalish, craves the high that comes from conquering a difficult challenge, and that goes for his relationship goals as well. Once he’s “conquered” you, your allure may quickly fade. Wade - he likes adventure definitely, but doesn't seem to be out to conquer every dangerous sport and crazy activity there is.


And 5 signs he’s just a nice, upstanding guy...

He’s goofy.
The sincere suitor is not suave. He doesn’t always say the right thing. It may sound weird to go into a date hoping for a pratfall, but it’s not a bad thing. “Believe me,” Dr. Kalish says. “The false charmer does not trip. He knows where his feet are at all times.” Wade - his goofiness is one of my favorite qualities about him, because I'm just as goofy and we laugh our heads off with each other.

He remembers personal details and events.
It’s the most basic way to show someone you care—by learning about his or her life and interests. Players can’t be bothered with this. One of the most common complaints Dr. Kalish fielded about false charmers was that they failed to show up at important events. “They are narcissists,” she says. “Dating is all about them.” Trifling as it sounds, if a guy remembers to bring over your favorite ice cream or shows up at your pal’s birthday party, he might just be a keeper. Wade - he remembers our month anniversaries, special songs, special date moments, what kind of music/movies/etc. I like...

He treats his mama right.
Generally speaking, a loving family begets a loving person, and the opposite is also true. Dr. Kalish often heard about alcoholism in the families of insincere boyfriends. While this might incite an understandable desire for you to reach out and help, you should also be cautious. The wounded outcast who is betrayed by his parents makes a hot lead in a soap, but not the best boyfriend. Try the good-hearted guy who flies home for his mom’s birthday instead. Wade - he told me before I met his mom that she was THE nicest person in the whole world, and he calls home and plays board games with his family on vacation and definitely treats his mama right.

He can mingle.
“The sincere guy doesn’t mind being in a room with people who are more accomplished than he is,” Dr. Kalish says. Conversely, the player wants to be in situations that will glorify only himself, especially around his woman. He doesn’t want to listen to another man’s interesting story. A loving guy, on the other hand, can mix with others even when he’s not the star of the show, and actually enjoys learning things from them. Wade - he loves to mingle and can carry on a conversation with anyone, including my family, my college friends, my church friends and pastor, my coworkers, my roommate, you name it.

He says, “I love you.”
As fawning as a player’s affections are, there’s still something sacred about the L-bomb. Kalish found that insincere men would say, “I want to grow old with you,” or “I want to have children with you,” but “I love you” remained somehow off limits. A guy who says those three magic words may very well mean them. Wade - he said I love you for the first time when I visited him the last weekend in September, and definitely took it seriously because he thought about saying it before but wanted to make sure it was right. And he still says it often.

Looks like God blessed me with a pretty great guy! I love you sweetheart!

List Delinquent

Yeah, sorry for the lack of lists this weekend... I honestly just didn't feel creative at all, and coupled with non-stop basketball games to watch, lots of chores and errands to get done, and family Easter things, I haven't been at the computer except to check my status in the Hope women's NCAA tournament brackets.  

Let's just say I dropped from 1st place to 21st place in the past 2 days.  I did pretty well the first round, even predicting a few upsets correctly, but the second round destroyed it all!  But maybe there's hope - I don't really know how these bracket scoring things work.  I think I have 8 correct teams in the Sweet 16, and my Final Four is still intact (UNC/Wisconsin and Texas/UCLA).  Though it messed up my brackets, I was excited for the Davidson win today and the Duke loss yesterday (sorry Wade).

Other exciting things this weekend:

(1) Paisley got a new collar after her other one broke (she was on her chain outside, playing with my neighbor's dog, and I thing she probably lunged hard enough to break the plastic buckle).

(2) I got giftcards to Trader Joe's and Fresh Market out of our "young adult Easter egg hunt" today with my cousins - just $5 each, but still...

(3) I spent several hours this afternoon hanging out at Freedom Park with my awesome group of friends from church - beautiful day, beautiful weather, so much fun :).

(4) My mom was healthy and vibrant, unlike last Easter which I spent in her hospital room after her massive surgery at Johns Hopkins.

(5) I cleaned my floors downstairs, including the disgusting nastiness of dirt and hair that was behind Paisley's crate (since I rarely move it to clean back there).

(6) We got a clean bill of health on Paisley's ears, so hopefully the infection saga is over with.

(7) Paisley stayed out free in my house (not in her crate) for several stints today while I was gone, including 6 hours tonight, and didn't chew a thing (except her bone).

(8) Wade had a fun trip to Michigan to his friend's dairy farm, and he'll be in Charlotte for the rest of the week starting Tuesday :).

(9) My whole family (mom, dad, Hillary & Allen) came to my church for Easter this morning - so great!

(10) UNC killed Mt. Saint Mary's and Arkansas in their first 2 games of the tournament!

Can you believe it's almost April?

Home Improvement

Copying this list idea from Libba's blog, here are 21 home improvement projects I would do if I had time and money:

(1) Get leather chair & ottoman repaired from Paisley’s chewing
(2) Put up curtains on downstairs windows
(3) Put up curtains on my bedroom windows
(4) Frame and hang canoe picture leaning against the wall over the futon in my room
(5) Sand and paint dresser, add hardware
(6) Sand and repaint my bathroom ceiling – or figure out some type of coating that’s not going to peel from the moisture in there
(7) Recarpet upstairs
(8) Get fireplace/chimney cleaned by a chimney sweep
(9) Sand and repaint kitchen cabinets something cooler than white, add hardware
(10) Replace kitchen counters and sink
(11) Install shelving in closet under my stairs
(12) Hang pictures on walls in stairway and upstairs hall
(13) Sand and re-stain desk & desk chair
(14) Sand and paint bookshelf in my room (or maybe just get a new bookshelf)
(15) Sand and paint wooden bench in my room
(16) Replace my plastic shower with stone tile or at least porcelain
(17) Take door off medicine cabinet in my bathroom & replace shelves inside
(18) Rip out the butterfly bush, lantana and any other plants outside my front door and start over with landscaping
(19) Install gate across opening in my patio so I can leave Paisley out there (and find a way to heighten the walls a bit because she can jump over them)
(20) Buy large area rug for downstairs
(21) Sand and paint front door

Peep Show

Yay for spring!

20 Spring Flowers


(1) Bleeding Heart


(2) Brunnera


(3) Candytuft


(4) Columbine


(5) Cornflower or Bachelor's Buttons



(6) Diascia


(7) Heucherella


(8) Jacob's Ladder


(9) Larkspur


(10) Lobelia


(11) Nasturtium


(12) Nierembergia


(13) Oriental Poppy


(14) Petunia


(15) Pot Marigold


(16) Primrose


(17) Snapdragon


(18) Sweet Violet


(19) Viola


(20) Virginia Bluebells


By the way, I owe this post completely to Google and Google Images :).

More Baby Name Silliness

19 more actual baby names that beg the question "what were these parents thinking?" (from msn.com):

(1) Leper Priest
(2) Rubella Graves
(3) Typhus Black
(4) Emma Royd
(5) Kathryn E. Coli
(6) Cook Cook
(7) Governor Bush
(8) Doctor Love
(9) Gamble Moore
(10) Envy Burger
(11) Greed McGrew
(12) Pride Saint
(13) Lust T. Castle
(14) Dinner Ware
(15) Bread White
(16) Mayo Head
(17) Mustard M. Mustard
(18) Pickle Parker
(19) Plum Sellers

What I want to be when I grow up

Wade asked me last night if I would ever want to go to grad school, and it got me thinking of other professions I think I would like working in. Not saying I'm looking for jobs in any of these right now, but if you have any connections, feel free to send them my way :).

(1) Wedding planner
(2) Personal trainer
(3) Chef or baker (somewhere low pressure)
(4) Freelance designer (for things like stationery, announcements, invitations, etc.)... this I can do right now if you have any need for printed materials!
(5) Personal assistant or personal shopper
(6) Dog sitter or nanny
(7) Dress fitting consultant in a bridal boutique
(8) Product tester

Of course, I mainly just want to be a mommy!

Spring Banquet

This weekend I took a short but oh-so-fun trip to see Wade and go to his spring banquet. Although I can't wait to have him here in Charlotte this summer instead of this long distance stuff, I do love my little visits and meeting/hanging out with his friends at Covenant in the meanwhile.

This was the end of our date Friday night... I arrived at 7:00, and we went to dinner at Panera. Then we were going to go out for ice cream, but my boss called needing me to email something to her. After two failed attempts to coach Wade's mom and my mom through the process of checking my work email, we had to cut the evening out a little short and go back up the mountain to get that done. (It wasn't really their fault though, because I couldn't fully remember my user ID and password since I rarely check my work email online.)

So we just got some ice cream at Bi-Lo instead, and had a nice little "carpet picnic" if you will, with candles, ice cream and old Saved by the Bell episodes. (In case you were wondering, we watched the one where Mr. Belding's brother is going to take the gang whitewater rafting for their class trip but backs out on them at the last minute, and also the one where Zack, Slater and Mr. Belding offend their respective women and put on a ballet performance to win them back.)

Saturday night was the banquet, so after a lazy day of basketball-watching and a late workout, we spiffed ourselves up and got ready to hit the town.

Spring Banquet was held at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga... This was the view of it as we came across the overstreet bridge. Thankfully the weather cleared up after tons of rain earlier in the day. It was windy and pretty chilly, but not raining!

On the steps of the Hunter Museum... I love this picture - I think it looks like Wade is running for president or something :).

One of the pictures Wade took of me on all the random benches throughout the museum. A little bit artistic, a little bit cheesy.

At the end of the night, after a lot of dancing, a lot of foot trampling (of me, done by the mass of people on the dance floor - not Wade), some yummy food, some technical difficulties with the music, and a lot of fun!

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday - I was a little busy with church, watching the Heels win the ACC championship, and driving back from Lookout Mountain.

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, my list today is 17 Green Things I Like:

(1) My eyes, when I wear something green
(2) Rolling grassy fields
(3) Fresh green beans, steamed
(4) Pesto
(5) Paisley’s leash
(6) My car, if you were colorblind between green and red
(7) The sage green duvet cover on my comforter
(8) Christmas trees
(9) Money
(10) The pajama pants I bought at Old Navy in 10th or 11th grade and still wear
(11) Ivy
(12) Granny Smith apples
(13) Sour apple candy
(14) Sour apple martinis (see a trend here?)
(15) Orbit Sweet Mint gum
(16) Thin Mints
(17) My lime green purse

He looks JUST like a Dweezil

Since Baby Boom 2008 is going on right now amongst my friends, today's list is...

15 Ridiculous Celebrity Baby Names

Frank & Gail Zappa had
(1) Diva Muffin Zappa
(2) Moon Unit Zappa
(3) Ian Donald Calvin Euclid "Dweezil" Zappa, and
(4) Ahmet Rodan Zappa

Heidi Klum & Seal had
(5) Henry Gunther Ademola Dashtu Samuel

John Mellencamp had

(6) Speck Wildhorse Mellencamp

Quincy Jones had
(7) Kenya Julia Miambi Sarah Jones

Some “celebrity” parents I don’t even know who they are, but they named their kid
(8) Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence

Again, don’t recognize the “celebrity” parents, but the kid:
(9) Elijah Bob Patricus Guggi Q Hewson

Sisters:
(10) Fifi-Trixibelle and
(11) Peaches Honeyblossom

Elle McPherson has
(12) Arpad Flynn Alexander Busson and
(13) Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson

Richard Gere has

(14) Homer James Jigme Gere

And last but not least, David Bowie named his son, yes…
(15) Zowie Bowie

I guess when I have kids, if I can't decide between a couple names - or heck, even a letter or number or the symbol for long division - I can just throw them all together. Just picture it on the nursery wall...

Road Trip

Today I'm driving the 6-hour trek to see Wade in Chattanooga (well, really Lookout Mountain). It can get kinda boring in the car, so here are 14 Ways to Pass the Time on Long Road Trips:


(1) The Alphabet Game (in alphabetical order, look for each letter on a sign, building or license plate)
(2) Get Super Bubble and blow the biggest bubbles you can
(3) Count cows or horses in the fields beside the road
(4) Imagine what the people living in random houses in the middle of nowhere along the highway do for a living
(5) Pray
(6) Rock out to some tunes
(7) Periodically calculate the percentage of the trip you have traveled (by miles or time) and the percentage you have left to go
(8) Listen to a book on CD if you have such a thing (which I do not)
(9) Call people on the phone
(10) Plan your bridesmaids' dresses and flower arrangements for your wedding (you don't have to be engaged, or even have a boyfriend - you know girls do this anytime!)
(11) Get a Cookout milkshake because it'll take you a while to suck that thing down
(12) Drum on the steering wheel
(13) Yell out loud about how you're tired of driving and you just want to be there already
(14) Take pictures (out the front windshield and driver's side window preferably), especially if the sun is setting or you're going through the mountains or something

Live Those Songs Again

13 Songs That Take Me Back

(1) Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm by the Crash Test Dummies…

to sixth grade gym class (for some reason).

(2) Big House by Audio Adrenaline…

to playing football outside Arnie Benson’s house at our seventh/eighth grade Bible study (those are some girls from the Bible study in the picture above).

(3) Brown-Eyed Girl…

to summers at Camp Desoto, when the boys’ Camp Alpine would come over and sing “Desoto Girl” to us to the tune of Brown-Eyed Girl.

(4) Love Carrier by ??…

to youth group in ninth grade in the Fireplace Room at Christ Covenant, with Chad Ellenburg  and Hoyt and Nate would be in the back doing the “whoa whoas” really loud.

(5) Testify to Love by Avalon…

to the first Tucson missions trip, summer of 1999, building a new kitchen at a church beside a gang house, and Mary Sha, April and I did all the electrical wiring!

(6) Be With You by Enrique Iglesias…

to moping around my room and missing my high school "love" Rod Contreras after he moved to California.

(7) Stronger by Britney Spears…

to 217 Hinton James, Hecht and I taking study breaks during exams while dancing around our desk chairs in our dorm room.

(8) A Dios Le Pido by Juanes…

to Thioni’s ice cream in La Plata, Argentina, summer project 2002.

(9) Heaven (remix) by Kylie Minogue…

to dancing at George’s Garage in Durham, with club lights flashing and bubbles floating down on us.

(10) Walk By Faith and I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp…

to driving home many nights after finding out my mom had cancer and praying this while crying and being terrified of the future.

(11) Pray For Me by Michael W. Smith…

to every break-up or disappointment in love I’ve ever had, playing this song over and over and crying.

(12) Hark The Sound (UNC Alma Mater)…

to every football game in college, arms around friends’ beside me, swaying side to side and singing after the game.

(13) Spoken For by MercyMe…

to the day my grandmother died, coming home to my apartment to find Mike Knotts, Marcy and Jessica singing praise songs and playing guitar... and joining them while thinking of sweet Mama Dyke in heaven praising Jesus.

Weekend in Columbia

I'm shamelessly stealing these pictures from Lindsay's Thompson's Facebook. Here are a few pics from my fun weekend in Columbia for Jess's birthday and the Carolina-Duke game.


Me and Susie - I LOVE this girl!


Olé, Susanita!


Susie and her new man, Trey :)


The Carolina girls watching the Tar Heel domination at the Carolina Ale House!

Thanks, Susie & Jess, for hosting - it was a great weekend! Can't wait to do it again :).

Happy Birthday Girl Scouts

On March 12, 1912, Girl Scouts was founded in Savannah, GA. In honor of Girl Scout Birthday, today's list is 12 Famous Girl Scouts (or former Girl Scouts):

(1) Juliette Gordon Low – uh, she founded the organization… I guess she’s famous
(2) Dakota Fanning
(3) Susan Lucci – daytime soap star on “my show” All My Children
(4) Natalie Merchant
(5) Hillary Clinton
(6) Katie Couric
(7) Sandra Day O’Connor
(8) Barbara Walters
(9) Ann Landers
(10) Mariah Carey
(11) Queen Elizabeth II
(12) Shari Lewis (you know, from Lambchop)

7 months!

Today, Wade and I have officially been dating for 7 months :). So my list today is...

11 Things I Love About Wade
(1) His Homestarrunner impression
(2) He’s active without being go-go-go all the time (so he’s content staying in, relaxing on the sofa and watching TV with me)
(3) He’s frugal, like me
(4) His passion for kids
(5) He isn’t afraid to talk about feelings with me
(6) He loves to work out
(7) He’s really interested in knowing ME
(8) He tells me “I love you” and “You’re so beautiful” often
(9) He’s not the jealous type
(10) He remembers our month “anniversaries” and sends me e-cards for no reason
(11) He’s 6’7” for goodness’ sake

I LOVE YOU!

To-Do List

Sorry for the boring list today - I didn't have time to come up with anything more creative. This is just my to-do list for the week :).

(1) Grocery store trip and/or Walmart run
(2) Clean up my room (file papers, put away clothes, get shoes and random things in their proper places or the trash)
(3) Pack for visiting Wade this weekend
(4) Clean the kitchen (since I leave never-ending dishes beside the sink these days it seems)
(5) Swiffer & mop downstairs floors (because they are DUSTY and HAIRY, from Paisley)
(6) Look for some plain, inexpensive picture frames for a bunch of pictures I just got developed
(7) Cook my pesto chicken or pork tenderloin meals (see previous post) - or both
(8) Watch The Bachelor: Where Are They Now? special tonight
(9) Work out Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs
(10) Possible happy hour Wednesday with my community group girls for Meredith's birthday

Daylight Saving Time

9 Fun Facts

(1) Beginning in 2007, most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time zone switches at a different time.

(2) The European Union has an equivalent called Summer Time. Equatorial and tropical countries generally do not have daylight savings time, and China only has one time zone.

(3) The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time (NOT Daylight Savings Time). But the truth is, the name is inaccurate anyway, since no daylight is saved – only shifted.

(4) For the U.S. and its territories, Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Arizona . The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three states.

(5) There is a public health benefit to Daylight Saving Time, as it decreases traffic accidents. Several studies in the U.S. and Great Britain have found that the DST daylight shift reduces net traffic accidents and fatalities by close to one percent. An increase in accidents in the dark mornings is more than offset by the evening decrease in accidents.

(6) Not everyone likes daylight saving time, like people who wake at dawn, or whose schedules are otherwise tied to sunrise, such as farmers. Canadian poultry producer Marty Notenbomer notes, "The chickens do not adapt to the changed clock until several weeks have gone by.”

(7) The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his trip as an American delegate in Paris in 1784.

(8) Standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads on November 18, 1883. Prior to that, time of day was a local matter, and most cities and towns used some form of local solar time, maintained by a well-known clock (on a church steeple, for example, or in a jeweler's window).

(9) A man, born just after 12:00 a.m. DST, circumvented the Vietnam War draft by using a daylight saving time loophole. When drafted, he argued that standard time, not DST, was the official time for recording births in his state of Delaware in the year of his birth. Thus, under official standard time he was actually born on the previous day—and that day had a much higher draft lottery number, allowing him to avoid the draft.

Go Heels! Beat Dook!

Tonight, at 9 pm EST, Carolina plays Dook in our last regular season game. I am watching it with fellow UNC alums in Columbia, SC (while visiting Susie & Jess). In honor of this momentous occasion, today's list is...

8 Reasons I Love Carolina
(1) Carolina blue is so much prettier than Duke blue
(2) It's home to the UNC Clefhangers
(3) It’s GORGEOUS in the spring
(4) I spent the best four years of my life there
(5) The Yogurt Pump
(6) It's an amazing education for an amazingly low price
(7) All the exercise you get walking everywhere
(8) The traditions and school pride that connect every UNC alum forever

Happy Birthday Jess :)

Today, March 7th, is my good friend Jessica's 26th birthday! Jess and I have been friends since 9th grade, through high school, college, a shared apartment, jobs & grad school, and now (sadly) different cities. She works as a midwife in Columbia, SC, which is such a cool job. I'm excited to be driving down to visit this weekend!

So in honor of Jess, today's list is...

My 7 Favorite Memories of Kim & Jess

(1) Sophomore year, Labor Day trip to Charleston… dying our hair with boxes from the store (the only time I’ve ever dyed my hair – it was “strawberry blond” but more like just red, and it washed out in 24 washes).

(2) Our first Christmas tree in our apartment – it was so scraggly, you could see through it

(3) When somebody in college saw a picture of her brother (who is adopted from Peru) and asked if he was a child she supported overseas

(4) Meeting for accountability with Lindsay the summer after our freshman year of college

(5) Sitting in the front seat and talking as she drove a 15-passenger van through the night to Dallas for Urban Immersion junior year of college (and watching the sun come up as we drove through western MS and eastern LA).

(6) Hosting parties together in our apartment and hearing her tell crazy stories about delivering babies

(7) Spending the day on a pontoon boat on Lake Wylie with Jess and the other bridesmaids a couple days before Lindsay's wedding

More Kim & Jess memories

Jess, don't kill me for this trip down memory lane :).

10th grade Ski N Grow?

Beach trip after junior year of high school - somebody had an underwater cam apparently

That same year - seriously, we were rising high school seniors here?  I look about 12.

With Jules, again on a beach trip

The masked skier Jess was in high school

Spring Break senior year of high school - oh what a trip down to ol' Litchfield!  Actually, this picture is about all I remember from that trip.  What did we even do for fun?

Beach trip after we graduated from high school - this was the beginning of the Lindsay-Jessica-Kim trio.  Again, I look 12.

Trip to Charleston for Labor Day sophomore year of college.

Luau at the Duplex - beginning of junior year of college (my short hair phase obviously).

Halloween senior year of college.

Women's Beach retreat, senior year of college.  Or wait, was this junior year?

College graduation!