Flavor of Friday #3

For the last “Flavor of Fridays” I was posting my top five simple things in life right now. Well….yesterday I found out that another one of my friends is six weeks pregnant – there will be babies everywhere!! Yeah! Therefore, today’s Flavor of Friday is going to be about my top five favorite things when I was a kid!

1. Doggie. (Please hold your laughs!) I got a stuffed dog when I was 3 or 4 and I am not sure what made me so attached to it but it was the equivalent for me as a blanket is to most other kids. I named him doggie (I know, very original) and he went everywhere with me. We cuddled every night and even in high school he was still somewhere in my bed (please, continue to hold your laughs). He went to college with me (even though he did spend a lot of time in the closet (he prefers the dark, ha ha)). He is now in my closet at Eastover ridge, enjoying the view from my top shelf. Doggie turned 22 this year and is still going strong except his personal hygiene is not up to par; he hasn’t bathed in 17 years! Ewww.

2. Crayola Markers – Blair and I loved to color. I mean we LOVED to color and draw with markers. You could entertain us for hours with a coloring book and our markers until one day… we got bored with the coloring book and turned the markers on each other. Sesame Street was on and sister and I wanted to look like Bert and Ernie so we made it happen by coloring all exposed skin on our hands and arms. It was definitely worth the punishment of loosing marker privileges for a little!!!! But, even to this day I still love to color!

3. REAL playground equipment - The old playground at Civitan Park was a REAL playground, not one of these pansy plastic things. This was a giant metal structure with a barrel in the middle that allowed you to climb up a story on a rod iron ladder that took you to a platform at the top which held three slides. The slides here covered, twisty, slick and always hot! They were real slides! This was a playground. Poor kids today have no clue what they were missing!
The merry-go-round at Harmon Park could entertain a kid for hours. You could put a dollar on it that some kid would ALWAYS get sick, thrown off or drug under this merry-go-round; someone was for sure going home hurt- no doubt about it…. Again, poor kids these days for missing out on the merry-go-round.

4. Reading Rainbow – “Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high. Take a look, it’s in a book – Reading Rainbow. I can go anywhere! Friends to know and ways to grow – Reading Rainbow.” I still can’t figure out why I loved Reading Rainbow. I think the theme song has some kind of hypnosis in it because lets be serious…the writer of that song was smoking something when he came up with those lyrics. He was hoping to “go somewhere”. Anyway, Reading rainbow was produced to get kids to read…that’s right, kids have to watch a TV show to get them to pick up a book. Yes, it’s counter-intuitive but Reading Rainbow was the shit, especially when they showed it in our classes at school during snack! Be honest with yourself, you loved LeVar Burton’s high tops too!

5. The Kernersville Dairy Queen – There was one dairy queen in Kernersville right near our church. We always went to church on Wednesday night for Wednesday Night Live. This was dinner with our friends and families and then sessions like Sunday school after. The food at Wednesday Night Live was always hit or miss. I swear sometimes that stuff would kill you – worse than cafeteria food! Therefore, the nights that the smell would make you gag when you walked into the fellowship hall, mom and dad and Joan and Earl would give me, Blair, Sarah and Katie money to run down the street to Dairy Queen to eat instead. We thought we were so cool because they let us go on our on. Something about Dairy Queen Blizzards were amazing! That dairy queen was so good until one day when it started going downhill and after only a couple years it closed. it closed not because they did not have business; not because their sanitation grade was bad; not because they re-located, but because it was a drug dealing establishment. Drugs were grown and sold through the back door of the Kernersville Dairy Queen. RIP DQ.

Makes My Mouth Water

Follow Up:
The two recipes below turned out pretty darn good.

They are VERY easy recipes but somehow I still managed to mangle one of them! HA HA BUT....it still turned out fabulous, maybe even better!
Here is what happened....

The Harris Teeter had the whole roasted chickens on sale for only $2.99 for the ENTIRE bird! So...instead of buying chicken and boiling it for the Chicken Spaghetti I cut up this little, already cooked, beauty. Since it was already cooked, I bought a can of chicken broth to boil the noodles in. Welllllll....after the noodles were done boiling, I strained them and dumped out ALL the broth. (Not cool since the recipe calls for 2 cups reserved chicken broth from the pot) So, to fix my mistake, I grabbed a can of cream of chicken I had in the pantry and added it to the mixing bowl along with a can of water (close enough to chicken broth, right?!)
I threw all this in the pan and finished with the rest of directions.
IT CAME OUT AMAZING!!!! yum! It's fool proof! My fave!

I am also picky about green beans; ask mom. I used to eat only Maw-Maw's green beans and, now that mom makes them like Maw-Maw its moved to only Mom's green beans - UNTIL NOW. This Spanish green bean recipe was to die for. It was extremely easy, cheap and low maintenance. See, I am not as picky as everyone thinks I am; I'm growing up!

It's Dinner Time

I am cooking dinner tonight for a pretty critical audience :) and I needed something with common ingredients but a little twist. I will let you know tomorrow how it turns out!

Let me introduce you to the menu:

Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finelly diced onion
1 - 4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook 1 chicken and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.)


"Spanish" Green Beans


Ingredients:
4 Cans Whole Green Beans (or 1 - 2 lbs. fresh)
2 Cans Whole Tomatoes
1 Medium Onion
1/3 Package (5 slices) Bacon
Cayenne Pepper


Slice the bacon up into 1 inch pieces and start cooking them in a large skillet or dutch oven. Keep cooking until bacon turns brown. Meanwhile, dice 1 medium onion. When the bacon is begining to turn brown, drain some of hte fat and then add the onions. Cook, stirring now and then, until bacon and onions are both turning a nice golden.


Drain the green beans and add them right into the pan with the bacon and the onions. Next, throw in the two cans of whole tomatoes with their juice. Stir around gently and then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 45 mintues.


When they are finished cooking add Cayenne pepper to taste, up to about 1/4 of a teaspoon for a hotter dish. Stir gently and serve!

Come Back Halloween

Halloween . . . . . .

It loves me.

It loves me not.

It loves me.

It loves me not.

Right now I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween. I feel like I am at that weird age for Halloween. For obvious reasons I can’t go trick-or-treating, but . . . I can’t hand out candy which I LOVE to do because “kids” don’t seem to stop by Eastover Ridge to trick-or-treat unless they want to borrow some beer.

Therefore, since it is a “holiday” the pressure is on to do something fun which entitles either a friend’s Halloween house party or hit up the downtown scene at the bar. The only problem with that…you have to dress up. It’s inevitable. If you don’t, you will be “that girl.”

Therefore, we move to my next reason why I am just not a Halloween fan at age 25. Halloween is the one night out of the year for the female race to wear the sluttiest outfit to draw ultimately negative attention to herself and the male species to either show how arrogant or corny they really are. The worst part is…everyone spends “boo”-coos of money on a costume to wear it ONLY this night (because lets be serious, you can’t be seen on Facebook two Halloweens in a row wearing the same costume ! lame-o!) and…to top it off… no one remembers the next day what you were anyways due to the massive amounts of alcohol they had to consume to stay warm and feel better about themselves in their sluty costume.

Halloween.

Just not one of my favorite holidays. Slightly over rated for the individuals that are over the age to trick-or-treat but under the age to have a kid to take trick-or-treating. Oh what to do…..

What happened to the days when Blair and I would carve pumpkins on the back porch and mom would bake the pumpkin seeds? What happened to it always being so cold on October 31 and no matter what you wore you were totally miserable in your costume? What happened to the days when all the kids in the neighborhood would meet on the lawn at the Pizzulo’s house and have McDonalds Happy Meals for dinner before scattering to ring doorbells? What happened to dressing up like Cherry Merry Muffin, Big Bird, the three little pigs with Sarah, or a bag of Jelly Beans? What happened to the times when Halloween was fun?!

Come back Halloween!

Special Weekend

It was a special weekend for so many reasons.

Sister and Sam celebrated their one year anniversary yesterday! Love you two and congratulations! Your marriage is one we all only hope and dream for!

Here is the slideshow of their wedding pictures if you missed the actual event! (Turn on your sound- good music!)


Their wedding took place on Bald Head Island with 120 of their closest family and friends.
http://clients.loganwallacephoto.com/higgins_howard/

And on that note: more good news . . .
Sister also went to the doctor today and she and Sam are expecting a little one on June 4th! Ahhhhh I can’t wait to be Auntie Blain!!! This kid is going to be loved more than it will ever know!!!

click pictures to view larger

And…
Happy Birthday Ryan Lynn!!!! Yesterday Ryan celebrated her 26th Birthday! Ryan and I met in Kindergarten and have been friends ever since. Ryan is a friend you can ALWAYS count on. She is always there, honest, and supportive. I wouldn’t trade her for the world!!!! Love you Hays!

And…
I spent the weekend in Wilmington with the girls celebrating Bullard’s Bachelorette Bash! I was so blessed to meet the most amazing friends in college and you can guarantee to pee in your pants when you put us all together. I have never laughed so hard in my life….hopefully pictures from the weekend will follow soon. Congratulations Ash! You and Mr. Lackey are going to be so happy together; I am excited to share in this occasion with you!!

Why....

I started to cry and then got angry.

For the second time in a week.

A message I didn't want to hear.

Another friend.

I don't know how to feel.

It's so unfair.

Why worry about eating healthy?

Why worry about exercising on a regular basis?

100 years ago those were the only things you had to do in order to see your 102nd birthday.

But today...

I am convinced that unless you live in a bubble, no matter how many organic fruits and vegetables you eat, no matter how many miles you log on the treadmill, your chance is as good as anyone.

No matter what.

It's a toss-up.

It's honestly a gamble.

Cancer.

It is not fair.

How does it select its victims?

Why does it select its victims?

I am having a hard time realizing how it fits into God's plan for us?

After finding out last week that the dad of a good friend was diagnosed with stage four cancer of his lungs and lymph nodes, I found out yesterday that a family friend has been diagnosed with breast cancer and cancer of the lymph nodes.

It's unfair.

Everything today is linked to cancer.

How do we stop it?

What do we do?

It makes me so angry, sad and scared all at the same time.

It's "too close to home."

It's affecting my friends.

Make it go away.

Make it stop.

Leave us alone.

Please keep Mrs. Karen Gosselin and Mr. Gildea in your every prayer

Goodbye "Summer Camp"

I.

Am.

Out.

Eastover Ridge, it has been a pleasure…but there are bigger things waiting for me in uptown!

You have taught me how to never let go of that college kid in all of us.

You have allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people I will call friends until the day I die.

You have given me many Saturday and Sunday fun days by the pool and at my neighbor’s apartments playing rock band and watching TV.

You have introduced me to two total strangers who turned into amazing friends and roommates.

You were there to experience with me what it is like to be 100% independent and truly living on my own for the very first time.

You have hosted bachelorette parties, dinner gatherings, Friday night movies, sleepovers with friends, and pre-game night out events.

You let me go on my very first day in the corporate world and watched me take my first step into grad school.

You have provided me shaded safe sidewalks to run and a family friendly neighborhood all around.

You have experienced it all with me.

You are the place I lived when I finally called Charlotte “home.”

Eastover Ridge, you will be missed. I have lived with you longer than any other place besides my childhood house. You hold some of the most precious and dear memories over the past three years that I will never forget.

We experienced this time together.

Goodbye “Summer Camp”. I love you.

Flavor of Friday #2

It is the second installment of Flavor of Friday. I am always so thankful for Friday’s to come and it makes me think of the everyday simple things in life. Therefore I have compiled my second list of top 5 simple things in life right now.

1. The little tear that ran down my face this morning when I heard that my lifelong best friend found out she is expecting twins! A tear of joy. Congrats Sarah and Adam!

2. The smell of lemon scent pledge. It reminds me of being a kid on a Saturday morning as mom cleaned house with all of the doors and windows open.

3. The ability of dental Floss. I don’t care if I have not showered in six days, if I can floss my teeth, I feel clean!

4. A morning BBM from sister telling me to have a fantastic day

5. Prayer. It is a simple everyday thing. But at the same time a big everyday thing. Today, my simple every minute thing is to pray for Pat’s dad who was diagnosed this morning with stage 4 lung cancer. Keep him in your prayers please.

The future Mother and Grandmother of twins!

(click to view picture larger)

Sha-ney-ney

I was blessed.

I had the most amazing, absolute amazing, ridiculously incredible roommate my freshman and sophomore year of college.

At first, I knew who she was but did not really know her. She was from Kernersville; we just went to different high schools.

We both had plans to attend NC State the fall of 2002 as freshman and neither of us had roommates.

A mutual friend, Leslie Routh, introduced us and the rest was history. (A wonderful love story I know!)

Shannon and I met for the first time at TJ’s deli in Kernersville and immediately began making plans about school, classes, and of course the décor of our dorm room!

Over the next several weeks we exchanged conversations over the phone and agreed to meet at Belk at Hanes mall to pick out matching bedding. With our mothers help we purchased matching bright colored comforters. We decided on lofts for our beds and a futon on the floor. The vision was there.

The day we moved in, we both arrived with our “life” in our hands and the help of our parents and sisters to move it into Lee Hall. Our parents were very similar with “over caring” mothers and dads who wanted to just “get it done.” We came from very similar families, similar backgrounds and we both had a sister we had spent the last 18 years making our best friends.

Our stuff was moved into 410C Lee Hall by mid afternoon and we were officially college kids. It was time for our parents to head back to Kernersville with sore backs and beads of sweat running down their temples. After tears from everyone and short lectures from both sets of parents about locking the doors, staying together and never-leaving-one-another –without-knowing-where-the –other-is-at, we watched from the balcony as they headed to the parking lot.

Shannon and I stood there without saying a word or moving a muscle. After several minutes we both turned to walk back down the hallway and as we faced each other our eyes were identical; small pools were forming on the bottom lids.

We entered the room, climbed on our lofts, and the tears began to flow like Niagara Falls. Neither of us said anything…but we didn’t need to. I knew what she was thinking and she knew exactly what I was thinking. We were on our own, but at least we were doing it together!
Over the next year, Shannon and I did everything together. She had her quirks and I had mine but we appreciated them in each other. That’s what made her who she was. Shannon was a neat freak, honestly almost OCD, but I loved that about her. It made me a better person! You could always bet our room would be PERFECT no matter what time of day you walked in; she was a girl of my own heart! I loved at night waking up at 1am and finding Shannon typing away on her computer below as she was talking up a storm on AIM. I loved coming home from a mid-morning class and finding her wrapped up in the NCSU blanket on the futon napping EVERYDAY. It’s hard to get along in such a tiny space but we made it happen and I enjoyed every minute.

After our freshman year we decided we still wanted to live together but somewhere off campus. We joined forces with Kelly Schwartz and Leslie Routh and got a townhouse at University Suites. Shannon and I shared the downstairs and we enjoyed yet another year as roomies! We had almost all the same classes so I knew I always had help right across the hall. Shannon was extremely smart and talented and I knew I could always depend on her.

We parted ways as roomies when I moved into the sorority house our junior year but the friendship with Shannon didn’t disappear. I love that child with all my heart and I will never forget all the memories we made together. College would not have been the same if she wouldn’t have been in the picture.

Shannon is now married to one of the most precious guys who loves her deeply and they are living back in Winston-Salem.

This morning as I was walking into work, I heard someone yell my name through the parking lot. I turned around and it was Reggie, Shannon’s father. I was so excited to see a familiar face. Sometimes I feel lost in a sea of 900 in our building but to see Reggie brought a smile to my face so early in the morning. Reggie works for Duke at Allen Steam Plant but was at the Energy Center working on a project today. We stopped and talked for awhile as we caught up from the last time we saw each other several years ago at Shannon’s wedding. I asked if he would send me Shannon and Justin’s home address and he said he would email it to me this morning. I received the following email a little bit ago:

It was nice to see you. I just talked to Robin and told her I ran into you. I also told her there was no way that just a few short years ago we were helping move that young lady I walked in with this morning into a dorm and then an apartment! Ya’ll have all grown up so fast, and done so well. We are all so proud of you kids (I can still call ya’ll that, can’t I?) I can only imagine being down here when I was your age, but you’ll do well. I know that it’s been tough on Shannon, but I truly believe that she’ll come through this much better than she can imagine. Shannon and Justin’s address is as follows:

Shannon Grubbs
** address deleted for privacy
Winston-Salem, N.C. 27107

Don’t know if you are going to K’ville this weekend, or not, but we’re having the Chicken Stew Saturday beginning around 5:30 or 6:00 P.M. We’d love for you all to come, tell your mom and dad, they’ll know most of the folks there. Again, it was good to see you, take care.

It made me miss Shannon more than ever but also made me realize what a blessing it is to have met her my freshman year and to have had her as a part of my life!
She is an amazing friend and I would not have survived or become who I am today if it were not for her!

It's Just Not Worth It

Yesterday I was in procrastination mode so I called Dustin. Dustin just bought a house. It’s a cute little house but it definitely needed some paint and furniture (I’m sorry, I meant “handsome” house. I learned you never call a guy’s house “cute”.)

Anyways, Dustin bought an entire bedroom, living room and dining room straight out of IKEA’s. It is great furniture for a good price but….

When you buy furniture from IKEA it comes in 100000000 different pieces. It really is annoying but I love this kind of stuff. I love to build and assemble. Each piece comes with picture instructions (they can't put words on their instructions since they sell it internationally). Most people hate this kind of stuff but I get super excited about it!

So... Dustin and I started out and got his bedroom done -2 dressers and a night stand; piece of cake. He then wanted to hang the panels he bought to use as blinds/curtains in the living room. Now, I love working with Dustin because he will admit he gets confused over this stuff so he sits back, lets me look through the instructions, figure it out and then give him instructions about what and where we are going to put it. After finishing the dressers and night stand with ease I think both of us had gotten big heads and thought we could tackle anything. NOT! The panels and sliding track were a slap in the face. They were awful. Tiny little threaded pieces only to be screwed in with a small, small, small, small, small allen wrench. It was a nightmare. Everything was sold separately and in separate boxes. Everything needed to be measured and hung level in a straight line. An absolute nightmare. The panels even had to be assembled. Again, a freakin nightmare.

The final product looked really nice against Dustin’s lime green wall but….it wasn’t worth the hassle. I would have paid the extra bucks to purchase these already assembled. The two hours spent on hanging those stupid panels I will never get back.

Below is what I am talking about: don’t waste your time! (and at the top were the pieces that attached to each pannel)

Flavor of Friday

As soon as I woke up this morning, the first thing I thought was...Thank Goodness Its Friday.
Its was all I thought about as I was in the shower.....T.G.I.F
As I was drying my hair I began to think of the other things that made my day besides it being Friday. The first five things that popped into my head were (prepare yourself, some of these are very random but remember, it was 4:30am)

1. Clean, warm sheets right out of the dryer

2. My home..and not my home in Charlotte. I LOVE it that my parents still live in the same house I grew up in. It's rare and it really brings a smile to my face everytime I think of home.

3. The five minutes I have to myself in the morning during the drive to work. Sunroof open, no radio and complete silence all around the city. ME time.

4. The windows open at night in my room as I listen to late night tennis players on the courts outside.

5. Yankee Candles in Christmas Tree and Christmas Wreath scents. Yes, we do burn these year round in our apartment. Its Christmas everyday in 336!


What are your everyday simple things of life?

You Don't Need A GPS

Have you ever gotten lost? Made a wrong turn that put you out on a street you had never heard of? It’s not hard to do in Charlotte because of the fantastic lay out (ha ha) of every street turning into something else, dead ends when you least expect it and huge intersections of at least five roads.

Well I am one of those people that does not own a GPS. I don’t want one. We can’t rely on computers for everything. I will give the credit to my father; he gave me a pretty decent sense of direction. I can’t tell you if I am going north or south at any point in time, but…99% of the time I know exactly where I am and what streets are parallel, perpendicular or coming up. I also don’t like written directions. I like to see an overview of a map (like the maps on Google). Let me look at it for two minutes; let me get an “overhead” view of where I am and if I need to make rights or lefts onto the next street and I am good to go.

Well yesterday, my iPod got the best of me. I was 100% distracted while running and singing “Even if the sky is falling down? Down, Down” (thank you Jay Sean!). I love to go for a run around 6:00 because I get distracted by the large houses in our area and the families that occupy them; it takes my mind off running. It’s like jogging in a little fairy tale picture book of tree lined streets. With the iPod going, my curiosity for new homes, I turned into Forest Gump, “I just kept on going.” I was running through new neighborhoods that I had never before explored when the sun started going down. I then realized I honestly had NO CLUE where I was. I had been making rights and lefts like it was my job, weaving my way down sidewalks until I was clueless where they headed.

I’ll be honest, I slightly panicked. Sure, I don’t look like a serial killer so any of these people would have let me walk up their driveway and ask for a ride back to Eastover, but...my pride was too good for that. That’s when my “overhead map” of Charlotte popped into my head. I knew I was somewhere in the square of Wendover, Providence, Fairview and Sharon Road because the only other major road I had crossed over was Sharon Lane. The next street sign said Arbor Way. Never heard of that before, so I kept running…passed Beresford Road. Nope, never heard of that either. I thought to myself, "Eventually I would have to recognize something." Red Fox Trail – BINGO. I have seen this street sign before. My only choice was to make a left and I was on foot again. I eventually got to Foxcroft Rd. Sweet! I have heard of this too. Looking down Foxcroft I could see cars going faster than if they were in a neighborhood. Yes, a major road! I ran that direction and popped out on Sharon Lane. Whew, I knew exactly where I was but I was not even close to Eastover! It’s ok though, I made it out. Only 3 miles until home!

Moral of the story, you don’t need a GPS, I promise. Pay attention to street names when you are driving. Have an idea of where you “sit” on a map at all times. If you always know your location on a map you will never be “technically” lost. You just have to make it back to a major road which will lead home. You might not be taking the fastest route but, I promise you, you will learn so much more than relying on a British accent to tell you five times “turn left in 1.2 miles”, “turn left in 1.1 miles”, “turn left in .9 miles.”

As Close To A Jail Cell As It Gets for Me

It’s 10ft x 10ft, 3.5 ft tall and navy in color. They are connected side by side and are everywhere. They are any “corporate” person’s nightmare. They are: THE CUBE.

Now, some cubes might be 10ft tall, 8 ft tall, or even 6ft. But oh no, I have the joy of having a cube that I am able to sit in a chair and see EVERYTHING (a little sarcasm; maybe). There are 24 of us in the room, all with open cubes. We can see each other ALL DAY long. TV’s are available in the front of the room for our viewing pleasure, but this is the only perk about having the luxury of the 3.5 ft cube. Otherwise, not only can you see everything, but you can hear everything! Zero privacy in this place. Work conference calls, personal phone calls, personal conversation, and work conversation, whatever it is, if it comes out of your mouth, we all hear it and its now public information. Now don’t get me wrong, this environment is conducive to a lot of the work done here on the trading floor but…..do you ever feel like you know a little too much about your co-workers? It sometimes resembles a jail cell.

To be able to concentrate on any kind of personal work, you either need to have a lap top and totally remove yourself from this room or, you log into this little lifesaver…. http://www.grooveshark.com/

I listen to this at least 60% of the day as I try and concentrate and not let my co-workers conversations and little personal habits make me want to shake the shit out of them. I have made playlists depending on my mood, the time of day or even the project I am working on. This little website has saved me more times than none from going over and literally being ugly to a coworker if he would not stop talking about fantasy football or his drastic weekend where he “got totally wasted off 24 beers.”

I plug my headphones in, select my playlist or the “most popular” selection and away I go knocking out all kinds of mundane tasks that have to be accomplished in a typical day.

Thank you Grooveshark for saving my patience!

click to view a larger pic of my personal cell

Want to trade places?

Vote Now

Doc Hendley is a 2005 Graduate of NC State and has been named a Top 10 CNN Hero. The Top 10 Heros were voted on by a panel of judges which included Gen. Colin Powell, Phil Jackson and Ted Turner. Doc is the founder and president of Wine To Water which he began in 2003. Wine to Water is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit aid organization focused on providing clean water to needy people around the world. Over 1 billon people in the world today lack access to adequate water and sanitation. Wine to Water is devoted to fighting the epidemic.

In 2003 Doc dreamed up the concept of the organization while bartending and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh, North Carolina. In January of 2004 the first fundraiser was held and by August of that same year Doc was living in Darfur, Sudan installing water systems for victims of the government supported genocide.

When Doc returned home in August of 2005 the haunting memories of what he had seen in Darfur drove him to continue building the organization he started two years before. In 2007, after working two jobs and volunteering his time for over three years, Wine To Water became an official 501 (c) (3) and Doc's dream finally became a reality. "When the idea came to me to start Wine To Water the only real world job experience I had was tending bar. I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using completely different methods than anyone else. So I started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music."

Doc's dream, and now the goal of Wine To Water, is to quench the thirst of the needy in a way that sets them apart from the rest of the world. "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." (Mathew 10:42)

Vote for Doc Here:


And check out this video:


Also, see how Wine to Water began and where they got their name from; Great Story!: http://winetowater.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=2

Check out the full article here and more inspiring videos:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/heroes.doc.hendley/index.html


And....if you know me, you will know why else I think this guy is totally awesome....not only does he have a heart of gold but he has tatoos!! Fabulous mix :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!

click picture to view larger

My friends are everything to me. I depend on them more then they will ever know and Miss Laura Faust is no exception!


Laura and I have only been good friends for the past couple years but we would have anyone fooled. After she moved to Charlotte and became roomies with two of my buddies Ted and Thunda, things with Laura and I just started clicking and I could not be more thankful that we have become good friends. I would say we think alike and have the same little quirks which help us understand each other. She has definitely become someone I turn to in Charlotte when I need anything. Laura possesses a quality that few have. She knows how to listen; something everyone desires in a true friend. Laura truly cares about others and puts her whole heart into her friends. Today we celebrate Miss Laura's 25th birthday!!! -put your party panties on! You all know me and how important birthdays are to me; they are THE most important day of the year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAUST!

The Most Important Day Is Today

I woke up with a little bounce in my step (which rarely happens at 4:10 am) and something was just telling me to get-a-move-on because today is going to be fantastic…and it’s crazy because it absolutely has been and the day is not nearly over with! I have so much to look forward too ;)

Since it is such a great day…I want to share with you something I have printed off at my desk that I read every morning. It is a blog post written months ago by my pastor. It is just a simple reminder that I think we could all refer to every now and then!

Happy October 1st friends! It’s a Special Day!

Strength for Today

posted by: Pastor Steven Furtick

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow…Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!

Please tell me you know that hymn. It’s one of my favorites. I was singing the third verse of Great is Thy Faithfulness the other day, and I had a relatively profound thought: that’s exactly how it works in the economy of God.

Not the other way around.

God gives strength for today, and hope for tomorrow.

Sometimes we get it backwards. When we worry about the uncertainties of tomorrow we’re bound to bend and break beneath the weight of anxiety. God doesn’t give strength for tomorrow’s tests. He only gives strength for today. Like manna. Each day has enough trouble of its own .

God’s only provision for your future needs is hope. The certainty of His sovereignty is your only guarantee. Make a note though: God doesn’t give you hope for the needs of today. He gives you strength for your immediate needs-and He expects you to do something about them! I’ve met people who waste time hoping things will work out…when God has already given them the strength to make a change and take a step. You can’t substitute hope for hard work, expecting God to do something for you that you can do for yourself.

Do you a have need today? Walk confidently in the strength of your God for the needs of your now.

Do you have a concern about tomorrow? Tomorrow’s strength will be deposited in your account first thing tomorrow morning…not a moment before.Until then, put your hope in Christ alone.

Great is His faithfulness!