Jenny Snyder

Way to go.  I've let almost 3 weeks go by since I've blogged about Christmas.

Here's the rundown, with pictures:

The Tuesday/Wednesday before, Dave & Brooke came through on their way from Tampa to Pittsburgh for an overnight stop.  Dinner, drinks, shopping, good buys, and fun times were had.

Christmas Eve brought wrapping, unwrapping, and car packing for a trip to Raleigh the next day.  Rowdy, at this point, had taken over the Christmas tree skirt as his own bed.  No point in arguing... it was a losing battle.  Pirate dogs always win.

 

 Fletch's new winter hoody.  Nice that he's bored to sleep.

 

 Rowdy's new bed also doubles for present storage.

Christmas Day we trekked to Raleigh and took up camp at Mom's.  We spent the afternoon and evening with Mom and Granny eating, opening presents, napping, eating, and eating.  Good grief... I love going home to my mom's for holidays!

The next day, Kevin was excited to wake up and go straight to Golfsmith (a golf superstore that a friend of mine runs that, as of right now, hasn't come to Charlotte) for after Christmas sales.  And you thought I was the only shopper under our roof!??!  Later that evening, we went to visit our friends, Steve and Ann to watch the second installment of Narnia.  As a reminder, these are our friends that have the HUGE swing in the backyard that I posted a video of a few weeks ago.  Well, Steve talked Kevin into doing it in the dark this time.  Dark.  And upside down.  And closing his eyes.  I just stood on the porch and prayed.

Saturday, we headed out early, but took our usual stop to see little Braxton, baby Annalise, Jim, and Erica.  I think Kevin and Braxton are new BFFs.  Braxton got a puppet show tent for Xmas and he and Kevin were inside playing... when I tried to go in, Braxton said "no girls allowed".  I've been ousted from the club.  Kevin says he'd have a human baby now if it would come out Braxton's age (which is about 2 1/2 yrs) - I reminded him that would be a little painful on my end, but a lovely thought.  I, on the other hand, enjoyed time holding and bouncing baby Annalise (who has just turned 2 months).  I kinda like 'em that size.  They're just so soft and squishy!

We got home Saturday afternoon in time to clean up, unpack, and prep for Brooke & Dave, who were coming back through for the night, and our friends Kara and Bryant to come over for post-holiday munchies and drinks. The guys couldn't pull themselves away from the shuffleboard table most of the night (which is great, because that's probably the 4th time we've ever used it!), and Brooke was the most excellent Arnold Palmer maker (lemonade & sweet tea vodka).

     

We had a wonderful holiday 2008 season.  It was relaxing.... filled with fun and memorable moments of our close friends and family... and special moments with our little family.  And now we're ready to kick off 2009!

Kelly Kelly celebrated her first and only true 29th birthday a couple of weekends ago with an afternoon gathering at her pool.  Lots of food, yummy adult lemonade, good stuff for the grill, 80's music (of course), and pool toys!  And good company:  old friends (Paul and Rodena) and new ones (Lisha and Alisha).

One of the things I gave Kelly was in honor of my favorite comedian that we love to quote, Mike Birbiglia.  If you've never seen it, be sure to watch his Wiffle Ball Tony skit (which, at some point, I will post on here!).

The weekend after Charleston, I went back home to Raleigh for Tracy and Jason's wedding.  This has been a much anticipated event as they have been together for 9 years!  Everything was beautiful and it was nice to catch up with old friends that I haven't seen in nearly a year.  (And I have to commend Tracy on having mini BBQ sandwiches at the reception buffet - that was the best!)

 

Tracy and Jason Kait... the first dance

 

Nina, Renee, Jennifer, me, and Michelle

After the reception, Renee, Fred (her man), and I took a journey downtown into our old stomping grounds.  Coincidentally, our friend Niall was opening a new 3-story bar/restaurant/club that night called Solas, so we popped in to see that and congratulate him.  Niall does everything top-notch and this place was no exception - the most amazing feature was a "see through" dance floor on the 2nd level (NOT for those afraid of heights!) that allows you to see what's happening on the 1st floor beneath you.

 

Renee and Fred

 

Sooooolllllaaaaaassssss!

The final stop was the Deep South bar.  Since I'm a music junkie and pop culture fanatic, I've been dying to see this place.  We stayed there for a short bit, then decided we were all whipped and it was time to call it a night.

Stop hiding from me!

I couldn't believe how much "the scene" had changed since the last time I had been out about a year and a half ago.  It was fun - definitely neat seeing some of the new places - but it all felt different.  Renee pointed out that "it's all time and place for each person"... she's right.  And it made me smile to think of my little corner of the world at home in LKN.

 

 

If you've never been to the Highland Games in Grandfather Mountain, its something that everyone should experience once in their lives... its such a unique experience.  When our friends Donna and Francie moved to Boone last fall, that's one of the first things I mentioned to them that I wanted to come up and do with them. 

Poor Donna was homebound all weekend due to a nasty fall, so she was homebound all weekend... but I swear I don't think I've had a more active weekend in a long, long time.  Kevin, Francie, and I were on the go the entire time starting from our arrival on Friday!  I ended up creating an album of all of the pictures - there were so many (Kevin took a TON of the scenery as we were on top of Grandfather at different points) - but here were some highlights:

The Highland Games, of course... there's a video below of a throwing a pole that's pretty impressive!; Riding a ski lift up Sugar Mountain; Walking across the Mile High Swinging Bridge (and freaking out); Feeding bears at the Grandfather Mtn zoo.  (And on top of all that... on our way out, we hit the J Crew outlet, where we found a 40% off of clearance sale!  HELLO!  I got an argyle sweater and a cashmere sweater... Kevin got a sailboat hoody, sailboat flip-flops, and lobster socks... and our grand total was $53.  LOVE IT!)

Kevin becomes Nature Boy when he is up there... and I just feel so darn tranquil and relaxed.  Its a hard place to leave.  And we always have so much fun with Donna and Francie - they're such great people with amazing, uplifting spirits and senses of humor!  Thank you for a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

Maybe "nothing" isn't the best word choice... lots going on lately, both in town and out, that will take a few blogs to get back up to speed.

Starting with:  a lovely Saturday with Kelly a few weekends ago in Mooresvegas, including a hair-chopping for yours truly.  Lunch at Vinnie's on the lake, sundress shopping, and a search for the perfect centerpiece vase for my dining room table.  We also came across this lovely number for Kelly... what in the heck is a "wine twail"?  (Perhaps it was painted by Elmer Fudd?)

 

Picking out the right vase can be exhausting!

The following weekend brought about a Texas Hold'em Poker Tourney with friends and co-workers.  I managed to stay in longer than Kevin, but neither one of us took home the pot... despite the fact that Kevin was wearing his lucky J Crew hat:

 

A few days later, we had a well needed reunion of the LLLC now that Renee has returned back home to us!  She, Allison, and I met at Maddi's - our favorite Southern stomping ground - for good food, great drinks, and even better girl talk!  We even had a guest appearance from Allison's baby brother on his way down to SC.

And that almost brings me up to this past weekend... so more to come!

 

fA few weeks ago, my friends & co-workers, Michelle, Stephanie, and Billie, and I all attended a dinner for the Second Harvest Food Bank at Table Restaurant in Ballantyne.  On the way home, out of the corner of my eye, I caught an odd sign sitting outside of a prominent neighborhood that was curious enough to make Stephanie turn her car around.  Once we confirmed that the sign did indeed say what we thought it said, we all hopped out and took turns taking pictures in front of it... then Stephanie, being the genius graphic designer she is, photoshopped all of us into one picture.  And voila!

  

I've never been much of a "hair band" fan.  I really just started liking Van Halen a few years ago thanks to my obsessed husband... and I pretty much preferred New Kids, Debbie Gibson, The Smiths, and The Cure to Motley Crue, Def Leppard, and Poison.

And then I got sucked into the train-wreck on VH1 known as "Rock of Love".  And I sort of maybe kinda starting liking Bret Michaels just an eensy bit.

And then I hear through Kelly that he is coming to Charlotte to a little bar called "Alley Cat" to do a show with his solo band.  BUT - tickets were $45.  Not low enough to satisfy my eensy urge to see him.  Flash-forward to the day before the show - I find a girl on Craigslist selling 2 tickets for $50.  SOLD!

My friend Michelle went with me - once Bret came on, we managed shove our way up from Row 10 to Row 2.  I'm glad my college groupie years finally came in handy!

Here's Bret singing [most] of "Something to Believe In" (I had to cut it off for fear that I'd eat up ALL of my memory!):

A few pictures from the night:

And I think its awesome that Bret Michaels is wearing a Bret Michaels shirt:

Here's Big John from "Rock of Love":

And Michelle and I... anxiously awaiting Bret:

A couple of weeks ago, we took the dogs for a doggie playdate with our friends Claire and Mark's dogs.  They are building a house on a big lot in Salisbury and have a huge fenced in pen for their dogs to play... so we put our three in with theirs and let everyone wear themselves out!  Claire, like me, is a dog photo-aholic and sent me tons of great pictures of everyone playing together.

Claire and Mark have two basenji mixes, Homer and Bernie.... except Homer and Bernie are way bigger than our basenjis.  Claire calls them "basenjis on steroids"... so funny!  Mark's parents' dog, Holly, also came to play with everyone.  I think all shapes and sizes were represented.

Holly (L), Rowdy and Kevin, and Fletch (R)... and Bernie in the left corner

(L to R):  Fletch, Rowdy, Bernie, and Homer

Basenji boys!  Homer and Fletch (I can't believe how much they favor!)

Everyone wants to be on stage!

At one point, we left everyone in the pen except for Rowdy and went on a "nature walk" through the woods on their lot.  Rowdy loves being a nature dog!  Kevin let him off the leash a couple of times and although he was very interested in exploring, he pretty much stayed near all of the people.

Rowdy running through a creek... keeping up with the people!

My little nature boy... look at those long legs stretched out!

thWhat a fun week... I wish it wasn't already Sunday night.

Monday night, Allison and I wished Renee off for another one of her cross-country tours.  We met for dinner at Maddi's Southern Bistro near Renee at Lake Norman.  We decided that when Renee gets back, we will all return again - with Hick'ry - for all-you-can-eat fried chicken night!  Good luck on the road, Renee - we'll miss you! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were low-key... Kevin came down with flu, so I watched after him.  Thursday, I went to pick up my new glasses - I've been dying for black frames for sometime, so I finally bit the bullet and did it!  I also went to get a LONG overdue facial from Modern Spa & Salon, which a local chain of Aveda salons in the area.  Now I've been a faithful Mario Badescu customer for years... but MB products are a little inconvenient to find around here (I could pick them up at the mall right next to my office in Durham when we lived in Raleigh).  SO - I've made a bold switch to Aveda products.  We'll see how it goes.  The facial was great and my skin seems to be loving the change so far. 

Friday night, Kelly and I had our monthly visit to Arnie's Tavern for nachos and martinis.  Much fun and laughter ensued.  See the before and after picture below. 

Saturday, we went to Lupie's Cafe in downtown Huntersville for lunch.  It's pretty well known around here, so I've been dying to go... and it was well worth it!  It's a fun little place with lots of ambiance... a great menu, great service... and I will definitely be back!  Check out the website if you have a chance to get the scoop.  We stayed in and vegged the rest of the day... it was SOOOO cold!

Sunday morning, I don't know who was more excited - me or the dogs.  Today was dog park day!  We went for the first time last week and the dogs had SO MUCH FUN (Kev and I did, too)!  They made lots of new furry friends today... and for once, Rowdy wasn't the runt... there was a small Jack Russell named Tucker who was shorter than him and a Boston Terrier who was just a bit tinier.  Rowdy did, however, elect himself Mayor of Dog Park.  He ran around and barked in EVERYONE's faces.  He didn't start trouble with anyone - just barked at them all.  Fletch and Kieran just ran... and ran... and ran.  Everyone played hard - and then we ALL came home and slept for a couple of hours!

I can't believe the weekend is already over...!  At least this week is starting with more sunlight!!  :)

Okay... I have some massive catch-up blogging to do.  How do I always get here?!?  I'm about 3 weeks out from our trip to Orlando - our Valentine's Day present/4-year "dating" anniversary present to each other.  So rather than trying to recount every single moment in several different blogs, I created an album with a bunch of pictures and a few highlights below.

DAY 1 (Wed 2/13):  Dropped off the dogs at the vet for boarding.  Saw for the first time that Fletch is very attached to his siblings - he cried when Rowdy and Kieran where taken back to their shared run and he was left in the lobby by himself.  Broke my heart.  Drove/rode for 8.5 hours to get there.  I kicked butt on Kevin's 80's name-that-tune challenge.  Checked in, took a short nap, went to get dinner at Crabby Bill's.

DAY 2 (Thu 2/14):  First thing, sat through our mandatory time-share presentation.  Once our required 1.5 hours was up and we told our sales rep "NO" and that we inherited a fully-paid timeshare a few months ago... she got rude.  Kevin warned me this would happen, but it was funny.  Played my first 18-hole round of golf in about a year.  I half-sucked, half-surprised myself.  Went to Arabian Nights for dinner (knock-off of Medieval Times - we had free tickets).  Thank goodness for the unlimited wine/beer... otherwise, I couldn't have made it through.  For example - during a portion of show celebrating Native Americans, they played Enigma's "Return to Innocence" and lit up a disco ball.  Because nothing says Native American like New Age Music and disco balls.

DAY 3 (Fri 2/15):  MOST FUN!  Spent the whole day at Animal Kingdom - my favorite Disney Park.  Rode the new roller coaster, Everest, 5 times.  I won't give away any "spoilers" in case anyone is planning on visiting there soon... but it's AMAZING!  Did the Kilimanjaro Safari 2 times (Kev has nicknamed this the Calamari Safari) so that we could get tons of animal pictures - they are all in the album.  Spent most of our time getting FastPasses for rides and stalking animals - totally fun!  They added a new Meerkat area... I could watch those guys all day.  Rowdy reminds me of a Meerkat, sort of.

   

That evening, Dave and Brooke came up from Tampa to hang out and stay the night in our condo.  Had a crappy dinner at Big River Brewery on the Disney Boardwalk (seriously, don't waste your time or money with the place - bad service, bad food).  Went dancing at Atlantic Dance Hall.  Danced to Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, New Kids, Vanilla Ice, Poison, Run DMC, etc.  Ended up hanging out with Turbo B from Snap (remember the song "I've Got the Power" from the late 80's?  Turbo B was the male rapper.) and his wife - it was their anniversary.  Adult beverages were consumed.  Plentifully.  And we'll leave it at that.  :)

 

DAY 4 (Sat 2/16):  Didn't feel so hot after aforementioned adult beverages on Day 3.  Had lunch with Dave and Brooke at the resort, then they hit the road to their next destination.  Kev and I went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  I rode my first big girl roller coasters:  Hulk and Dueling Dragons.  And didn't yarf!  We rode a few other things as well - a cute Dr. Seuss kiddie train, an amazing Spiderman 3D ride (probably my favorite of the day), and a Jurassic Park water ride (I told Kev we shouldn't ride it because it was cold and we'd be soaked... somehow, he got soaked and I stayed totally dry - ha!).  As much fun as the trip had been, we knew it was time to go home the next day because we were both physically ailing.  We left the park when it closed at 8pm and went to a "mom and pop" Italian place for a hearty dinner.  Then collapsed back at the condo.

DAY 5 (Sun 2/17):  Drove/rode for 8.5 hours.  Lots of sleeping on my part and not as much of a concern of what music was coming through who's IPod.  I was wiped out.  We had to take a detour on some backroads because of Daytona race traffic.  Thank goodness Kevin can read maps!

We both said that was probably the most fun vacation we've ever had.  It was well deserved and fun to visit with friends.  We just don't see Dave and Brooke enough - even now that Brooke an East Coast girl! 

And how can you possibly have a bad time in the land of Mickey?!?!