Pierce Me Puhhhlease!

Aunt Janet and Cousin Brittan were in town for the week.

Although we had to work much of the week we were able to sneak away in the evenings to spend time with them. They stayed busy throughout the week swimming at the JCC and going to the Lazy Ranch in Mooresville.

Brittan has been begging to get her ears pierced for over a year.

She was convinced that it was a must have before middle school (which she will begin in 2 weeks!). Brittan is 10. She is a tall 10 year old! Brittan is an only child so this was a special opportunity for her to go get her ears pierced with a big sister figure (ME!).

Janet and Jim (Aunt and Uncle) finally gave her the seal of approval after much begging on Brittan's part.... so off we went.

Brittan was so excited about getting her ears pierced until the fear and panic set in about 2 hours prior to the appointment. You could see her heart racing, her eyes filled with panic. Will it hurt? Can they do both ears? What earrings should I get? I'm getting my ears pierced... AHHHH!!!!

I drove her to Merle Norman (much preferred over Clarie's) to get them pierced. She used my colored drink cup ice cubes to numb her ears the entire car ride to the store. More panic...as I tortured her like any 'sister' would do telling her that it was going to be so painful and that they might accidentally pierce her nose or her eyebrow. You would've died to see her face.

She selected some pretty amethyst stones (her birthstone) set in 24k gold and away the sweet lady piercer went. The lady that pierced her ears could not have been more of a gem. She explained every little detail to Brittan, was articulate and did a fantastic job. Brittan didn't even flinch and only experienced a tiny bit of post pierce burn.

Her new ears look fantastic and she is all ready for middle school. She will return home to Tennessee today with newly pierced ears and friends in awe. SHE FINALLY GOT IT DONE!

Ps. Its supposedly really cool to have your ears pierced in middle school. Without them you cant be cool. Wow... I am really learning. Cool was so over rated back then. I could've cared less about being cool in middle or high school. I hated cliques. I had lots of friends in lots of different groups. Times have definitely changed and peer pressure and image is way too important to kids these days.

Whose Health Conscious?

If you really know me, you know that I am quite health conscious and watch everything that goes into my mouth and Philip's mouth (which he can't stand!). Sorry honey...I want you around for the long haul. :)

After losing 40 lbs almost two years ago I never want to be back to where I used to be.
Size 14, over 170 lbs and out of shape.

I much prefer my new body size, new clothes and stamina.

A friend of mine passed this link on to me today and I felt compelled to share.
16 Secrets the Restaurant Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

If you are anything like me you will read it and forward it on to anyone that tries to drag you to fast food chains or eats these types of foods on a regular basis.

Please excuse me while I enjoy my fresh blueberries and steel cut oatmeal from trader joes.

http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100187534&page=1

Jam Packed...

The past five days have been JAM PACKED. Thursday night Philip and I headed to Raleigh. We arrived just in time for a cook out with Courtney and Josh. Courtney and Josh were so kind to let us stay with them during our trip to Raleigh and we love them lots of welcoming us into their gorgeous home. Josh made some of the largest hamburger's ever but they sure were tasty. Courtney and I watched So You Think You Can Dance and I got royally pissed at the show. How could they possibly have voted Will off before Mark? I am still mourning this loss. Why I get so obssessed with TV I am not sure, particularly this reality competition shows. I am still grossed out my the Bachelorette, DeAnna Pappas choice in Jesse the snow boarder. ::Stepping down off my soapbox.::

Thursday night was rough. I slept a total of 3 hours and was up and at it at 6 AM for work. I like my job but I dread going into the office to work. Let me list for you why. Our office is completely open. We are on the telephone ALL day so everyone can hear every conversation you have. We dont have cubicles we just have desks. Everyone is watching me all 8 hours. I get anxiety in the office. I come home totally exhausted after working in the office. While working at home I can get up and down as I please and take breaks when I need them. I can burp, fart, sneeze, pee, drink, eat whenever I want when I am at home. In the office everything changes. Luckily this office trip had an agenda and even a scheduled meeting that broke up the morning. The day flew by fairly quickly and my boss fixed my computer so I left a happy camper. They are also letting me design the slick/flier that we are taking with us to our upcoming conference in Atlanta so I was pretty pleased with my visit.

Friday night we had a "date" night planned in Raleigh with Courtney, Josh, Lisa and Wes. We went to dinner at 518 West and then to the IMAX to see THE DARK KNIGHT. I had not been to the IMAX in several years and I was truly impressed. THE DARK KNIGHT: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE, from Warner Bros. Pictures, featured four sequences filmed with IMAX cameras. This marks the first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras, marking a revolutionary integration of the two film formats. It was amazing. If you have not seen the film and can afford the extra few dollars to go to IMAX it is WORTH IT! We made it home by 2 AM and crashed after a long day!

The gang outside 518 West for Dinner

Outside the IMAX at Marbles Museum

On Saturday morning I went to visit Cassidy, Andrew, Hailey and Keelyn,..aka The Plunkett's. I had not met Keelyn since she was born. The last time I saw Cassidy she was only a few weeks away from her due date and she was about to pop. Needless to say she looks fantastic and Keelyn just celebrated her 5 month birthday! We had a great time together enjoying Panera bagels and play time. Hailey has learned to say my name amongst many other words and talks up a storm in a very cute high pitched voice! Keelyn has just learned to sit up and I am sure her juicy thighs help a lot with that. I wanted to eat them up they were so cute. As always the visit was too short however it was time for me to meet back up with Philip.

Lots of Photos of Cassidy, Hailey and Keelyn!

Keelyn loved some Renee!

Look mom! I am sitting up!

Another reason we came to Raleigh was because Philip had an Autralian Rules Football game on Saturday afternoon. He plays for the NC Tigers and the Philadelphia team traveled to Raleigh to play them. Philip loves his FOOTY (nick name for Autralian Rules Football) and he misses it so much that he and a few buddies have started their own practices here in Charlotte on Wedensday nights to keep up their skills. Philip's mother and I are not the biggest fans since it is SO dangerous! His team sadly lost, but it was great to see everyone and catch up with the team. Philip has been playing FOOTY for 7 years! As you will notice in the photos he gets VERY into the game. So fierce that husband of mine! After the game we headed back to Charlotte.

The team gathering for a meeting during 1/2 time. Check out the short shorts!

My handsome husband working it on the field!

I was so exahusted I fell asleep at 8:45p on Saturday night. We are hard core in the Schreibman house, for sure! 12 hours later we woke up, it was Sunday and we headed to the gym and the pool for a nice sunny day. Philip met up with Pam, Mitch and Jason to play tennis. He has been playing tennis on Sunday's when we were home and he seems to really enjoy the sport. He is already asking to buy a raquet and some tennis gear so I am sure this will be a new hobby in no time! Sarah met me at the gym and it was her first day back since her appendix surgery! Yippe! Many friends came out to the pool to enjoy the gorgeous weather and sunbathe with us. I got a little too crispy.. ek!?

Sunday night was ladies Mahjong! We met up at Jill's house and had a blast as always. Irene has joined our group, mainly because we just love her to death and she know how to play already! We all caught up on the latest and the greatest, lived vicariously through Sarah's "men stories" and enjoyed some wine. Our weekend was perfectly complete...minus the fact that our house is a disaster and we have tons of Laundry!

The mahjong Ladies (l to r: Irene, Jill, Me and Sarah)

Irene made yummy and cute cupcakes!

Aunt Janet and Cousin Brittan are in town til Thursday from Tennessee. Friday we are off to the family reunion in Fontana Village, NC (mountains!)

We love sleep

Philip and I love sleep.
Philip can fall asleep instantly and it takes a lot to wake him.
We often wake up each morning and greet each other with, "How did you sleep?"

Over the past three months my answer has varied...
"I woke up every hour."
"I had to go to the bathroom twice which disturbed the sleep."
"I had crazy nightmares"
"I couldn't fall asleep and/or stay asleep."
"I didn't sleep...period"
"My neck and back hurt so I tossed and turned all night"

but last night I SLEPT!

I don't know if it is because of the fish oil and vitamin E I have added to my vitamin regimen or the new birth control that I am on this month? Regardless of what it is....THANK GOD FOR SLEEP.

We love to sleep...there is no denying that we are not happy people without 8-10 hours of sleep. I can only imagine what our lives will be like when we have kids. Hopefully our kids will love to sleep as much as we did when we were babies. We are used to little sleep so I think we will manage.... I THINK, that is the key word. Then again...Philip can sleep through anything!

Killer Ants Attack

We completed the week with date night at Del Frisco's. We got all gussied up and headed to SouthPark for a nice dinner. When we got there they sat us at our table... in the corner and Philip was facing a wall and truly could not see anyone in the restaurant. As much as he loves me staring at a wall for an hour long dinner at one of the more expensive restaurants in Charlotte did not appease him. The food however we delicious and we even got to enjoy Oysters which is one of our favorites. After dinner we visited the Home Depot Design Center. This place is awesome. I am so glad he didn't take me there when we were building our house or the first few months we were busy with home projects because I could've gotten carried away in there.

We returned home and I finished my book. I might have read this in record time...at least for me. 400+ pages in 10 days! It was a great read - The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. I really wanted to pick up another book but I guess I need to finish the stack of books on my bed side table that include: Those Who Saved Us and Loving Frank. If only I could get into one of these books...

I have found a love for yard work. I am not sure what it is about it that I love but I find it so rewarding. I love watching everything grow and bloom and knowing that we had a hand in making it happen. We have definitely had our fair share of learning experiences. I ripped out all of the pansies in the front that had been blooming since March because they were fading. We also ripped out the tall erect bush that we truly despised since we moved in and replaced all of the flowers and bushses in the front with Pink and Yellow Lantanna's to blend well with our yellow mums that are popping back up from the fall! While I was leaning over the flower bed I felt this instant sting and realize I had just leaned my shin/ calf/leg into a MASSIVE KILLER ANT HILL that had made it home in our flower bed. My calf area was covered with killer red ants! I was attacked by killer ants a few weeks ago in my neighbors yard and it was pretty harmless however this was much different. I can't explain to you the fear and panic that I had this time. I have developed a phobia of KILLER ANTS and ANTS in general. By that evening my leg had swollen and welts had formed on my leg....that have progessed to puss filled welts that itch, burn and throb. Damn you ants....The next day we went back out to take a look at what was really there. WOW... I wish I had my camera. Thousands of frantic ants. Hopefully we killed the entire COLONY.

Welts before they got really swollen

Philip mowed the VERY LONG grass while I tore the pinestraw off the remaining beds in the backyard that didnt have weed protection, laid the weed control fabric and re-fluffed the pinestraw. While I was doing this I decded to de-weed the backyard....what a job! We realized over the past few weeks that one of our four butterfly bushes was dead and another was on its way. I dug it up and brought it back to the nursery for some feedback. Where did we go wrong? As I approached the nursery the gentleman said...."How in the heck did you kill a butterfly bush?" I was thinking, "Genius, if I knew I wouldn't be here!" It turned out that our landscaper smothered the ROOT BALL of the bush and the branches/root ball rotted. In an attempt to save the dying bush Philip put the gator bag around it and drowned the bush. The nursery employees got a kick out of it and kept the bush to show customers what NOT to do....obviously we are still learning. I purchased a dwarf blood red crape myrtle to replace the butterfly bush and am convinced we will enjoy this much more than the butterfly bushes. Good laughs for everyone.

The dead bush compared to the flowering bush

Our good friend's Summer and Matt Minchew are moving to DC in the next few weeks and we went to their going away party on Saturday. We are sad to see them go but know that DC will bring many new beginnings for them. Matt will be attending Maryland for his MBA and Summer located a new job working for a Design Firm. They will be greatly missed over the next two years but they won't be strangers with all of their family here in Charlotte.

Summer, Jenny (her sister-in-law) and I

We got in some great pool time this weekend and even indulged in our favorite dinner, Taco Night with my parents to wrap up the weekend!

Foie Gras?

I had been looking forward to dinner at Zebra for two weeks since I made the reservations. This week is Restaurant week in Charlotte.

Picture this....
Handful of restaurants (some of the best of the best in Charlotte)
3 course meal
$30

Sign me up!

Reservations booked up really far in advanced however I was able to snag one for
Zebra and another for Del Frisco's for Friday night (we have a gift certificate too)

Sarah and Jill joined me for dinner.
I was looking forward to this evening all day....my girls and great food.

Fast Forward to our dinner...
We sat down to dinner and had many questions about the French cuisine menu.
One item of contention was the Foie Gras....
Jill guessed what it was and she was right on the dot.

For those that are clueless...as I was:
Foie gras (pronounced /fwɑːˈgrɑː/ in English; French for "fat liver") is "the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by gavage" (as defined by French law[1]).
Foie gras is one of the most popular and well-known delicacies in French cuisine and its flavour is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. Foie gras can be sold whole, or prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté (the lowest quality), and is typically served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as toast or steak.

Needless to say none of us ordered Foie Gras.
Lobster Bisque, Beef Tenderloin (probably one of the best I had ever had) and Coconut Souffle.
All absolutely delicious.

Although, I didnt appreciate the extra $5 charge for the souffle that they didnt tell me about when I ordered it from their special restaurant week menu. I was about to put up a stink but kept my mouth closed and just enjoyed the lovely evening.

I enjoyed my dinner and thought the food presentation was beautiful.
I don't know if I would go back for dinner and pay the regular high prices, but it was definitely a treat and spending time with Jill and Sarah made it that much better.

Thank you for being my dates and spending the evening with me.

LOVE YOU BOTH LOTS!

Segway Surprise

This past week we celebrated my parents 30th Wedding Anniversary.

My parents decided that they wanted to do a surprise "family adventure activity" for their anniversary. My sister flew in from D.C. and her boyfriend Rich drove in from Raleigh to spend the weekend with us. My poor sister hates to fly and she was terrified the entire trip, but thankfully she made it one piece.

We received an email the week prior to the "mystery adventure" with the following instructions:
Be at our house at 7:30 AM
Wear light clothes, bring a hat and/or sunglasses and wear sneakers.

Our minds wandered for days and we threw out ideas such as : white water rafting, hiking, horse back riding etc. My mom was so excited that she kept this surprise from us!

Off we went Saturday morning bright and early. We drove to Huntersville (still clueless) and ended up at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. Gorgeous grounds. As we approached the end of the park we saw Segways and found out that we were going to be riding Segways throughout the nature preserve on a guided tour. After 45 minutes of saftey training and lessons on how to manuver the Segways (this is not a natural movement and takes time to adjust to) we were off and away. THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN... We didn't realize how much fun this was going to be initially and were definitely a little weary. Only the photos can capture the memories and the great time we had.

After the ride we ate a picnic lunch Bass style at the Preserve. Mom made pasta salad and we ate it out of CUPS. We used to do this back in my sister's dance competition days so it was a real treat and a blast from the past. I am sure Rich and Philip thought we were crazy :)

After 3 hours in the park we returned home exhausted. After our much needed naps we hosted a big cook out at our house, played croquet, ate on our new patio furniture and celebrated with my parents!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad - 30 amazing years of love and laughter!

I love Charlotte, let me count the ways...

There are many reasons that I love Charlotte and as you know I am not afraid to share them.

Thanks to my girl Sarah Kaplan I have some fantastic new information published by Center City Partners to share with you all.

As Sarah best put it:
For those of us who are here: Just a few more reasons to love this city!
For those of you who are leaving: Just a few more reasons for why you should think twice about that decision ;)
For those of you who have yet to move down here: Just a few more reasons for why you should be coming!!

Charlotte tops lists across the country
Over the last month, Charlotte has shown up in the top ten of some of the country's most prestigious lists. Here's a sample:

Charlotte's uptown has the lowest office vacancy rate in the country...CBRE says we are at 1.2%. The next lowest is Manhattan with 5.0%. Atlanta has 20.5%.

Money Magazine just named Charlotte the Best Place to live:http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/snapshots/PL3712000.html

Charlotte is number one on Relocate-America's top 100 list:
http://top100.relocate-america.com/

We're number 7 on the Business Journal's list of "Best Places for Young Adults":
http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/slideshow/45.html?page=7

Forbes Magazine says Charlotte is one of ten "recession-proof" cities in the country.
http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/americas-recession-proof-cities.html

Charlotte was the only U.S. metropolitan area to record a first-quarter gain in housing prices among the 20 markets tracked by Standard & Poor's:
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/05/26/daily4.html

Charlotte is the most walkable city in North Carolina, named by Prevention Magazine:
http://www.prevention.com/bestcities/

And a very cool press release outlining the vision of the future of Uptown Charlotte: http://www.charlottecentercity.org/files/Documents/Retail%20Press%20Release%20Final%20.pdf?CFID=1619156&CFTOKEN=86372038

Good Ole' Days

Last night was mother - daughter night.
One of the many reasons why I love living in the same city as my parents.

Even though we live 3/10 of a mile from each other we don't see them as often as you would think....so we planned to work out and go to dinner together.

My mom is cute. She did 10 minutes on the bike, 10 on the treadmill and 10 on the elliptical. It was her first day back to the gym in quite some time and she made me proud. I went early so i could get in an extra 30 minutes to complete my 1 hour of cardio. We love working out side by side so that we can catch up on what is going on for more than two minutes like we do when we talk on the phone. Our phone calls always seem so quick. Hi, What's going on? Ok Bye. We talk on the phone a lot. I mean...not normal a lot. Like oh, maybe 3+ times a day. Call me crazy...my sister does. My sister could go days without calling. I am obviously quite different. When on vacation I go through withdrawal and think of all of these times I wish I could call my mom to tell her something.

We went to eat dinner at this place called Good Ole' Days. Pretty suiting. Spending time with my mom reminds me of my childhood so much....those were the Good Ole' Days.

As I digress I must tell you about this woman or whatever she wants to call herself that sat behind us in the booth at the restaurant. She walked in with two kids. This isn't relevant but I need to paint the picture. She is white (possibly somewhat albino), the children are definitely mixed but pretty dark skinned. They looked to be about 18-24 months and 4 or 5 (two kids). She walked in on her cell phone. Put the kids in the booth and continued talking on her cell phone. The kids were good for the first 20 minutes...YUP 20 minutes. THAT MOTHER had the audacity to sit there at a restaurant with her kids on her cell for 20 minutes and IGNORE THEM. My mom and I were so pissed. I know it was none of our business but this really bothered us. The waitress came over to take her order three times....none of which she gave an order. Then while on the phone one of the kids told her he wanted pancakes and she snapped, "They don't make pancakes here, sit down and be quiet!" HELLO... obviously you didn't look at the menu. They have the biggest menu in town lady to include all breakfast food. Get off your freaking cell phone and pay attention to your children! Let's note the conversation she was having went something like this, " I dont know but I call that weak, if she ain't gonna step up to me and tell me like it is....I ain't playin games girl. You know... shooooot!"

My mom was so tempted to say something as we exited the restaurant but we kept to ourselves. As we walked out we saw a sign. Kids eat FREE Thursday nights.

Everything made sense.

God Bless America....
I love my mother...she raised me just right. Thanks mom for a fun night together catching up.

I love newness

I got a new phone tonight (Blackberry Pearl) and I am excited that I can now get real time email on my phone. Now it is time for my company to jump on the exchange server bandwagon and I will be set with everything I need in the palm of my hand ....

After a few days of BLAH....this was the pick me up I needed. PATHETIC I know...

Welcome to 2008 Renee... I am your new best friend.