Friday, February 10, 2012

gratuitous





Cutest. Baby. Ever.


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posted by Carroll @ 8:51 AM 5 comments

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

baby nephew

Meet baby Duncan!

I must warn you...if you choose to look at his sweet face, you will forever be ruined for other babies. He's the cutest little fellow I've ever seen:



Not that I'm a proud aunt or anything...

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posted by Carroll @ 3:59 PM 1 comments

Thursday, January 26, 2012

coming

This came on the radio as I drove to work this morning. Seems appropriate for today...

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posted by Carroll @ 8:43 AM 4 comments

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

anyone out there?

Are you there blog? It's me...Carroll.



So I've been a little absent. Like, non-existent on here. Oops.

I went to New York, then it was Thanksgiving, then it was Christmas. Now I'm working on something special for my sweet baby nephew...who should be here in the next few weeks.



Here are some of my pictures of NYC. I went with some of my favorite traveling buddies. Please be a pal and ignore the lingering steroid face:



We walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, visited Ellis Island, and walked through Central Park.

I spent a few hours in Times Square, like a good tourist (I really could have stayed there all day)...



I hit the observation deck at Rockefeller Center, showed amazing self control at FAO Schwartz, and took a few minutes for breakfast at Tiffany's.



An apple counts as breakfast, right?



Of course, I saw some shows. Mary Poppins was great. And we were on the 4th row.



My favorite was definitely Anything Goes. I've been a Sutton Foster fan since Thoroughly Modern Millie...and to actually see her in a show was awesome. I want to be her when I grow up.



We had a 4 hour layover in Chicago on the way home...so I made everyone take the train into the city. There was just enough time to pick up a Giordano's pizza and stroll through Millenium Park before we had to be back at the airport. It turns out that you CAN bring a pizza through security. The guards will all threaten to confiscate it, but they will be secretly impressed that a girl from NC knows about Giordano's.

So that's about it for exciting news...for now. I really need to be better about updating this thing...


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posted by Carroll @ 8:38 PM 5 comments

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

slash



Well...it's June on the farm.

Which means Fred had to go to the emergency room the other day.

Pop Quiz: Why did he have to go to the ER?
A - He got shanked by a cow.
B - John decided to show him who was boss.
C - He went to dislodge a rock from the mower (while it was off) and nicked his arm with one of the blades.

He got 9 stitches and good talking to from his children. We're going to have to start wrapping him in bubble wrap and making him sit in the truck while farm work is going on...

And I think I'll start calling him Slash, just for kicks.


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posted by Carroll @ 5:13 PM 2 comments

Thursday, June 16, 2011

aunties

I have 4 amazing aunts.

Seriously. They're the best!

There's my Aunt Martha - Fred's sister. She's passionate about truth and her country and her Southern heritage. And poodles. If I ever need to run away, I just go to her house for a while. Her house is like a second home...where nobody fusses if you don't get out of bed until 11:00. I love that about her. I just never get to spend enough time with her.

It's been mentioned in passing that I'm more like her than her own children. I think it's a compliment.




And then there are Shirley's sisters, Marie, Lois, and Kay. They all get together and sing four part harmony and tell hilarious stories about crazy relatives I barely remember and get real excited about good food. They have also been known to do some awesome line dancing at midnight. I don't get to spend enough time with them!



Marie always sends birthday cards. ALWAYS. She never forgets. That is amazing to me. She paints beautiful pictures and always has some interesting news from the Caswell Messenger (their hometown newspaper) to share.

Lois is never without an extra Walmart bag. You never know when you're going to need a Walmart bag. She also plays the piano by ear, which is incredible and makes me sad that I didn't get that superpower.

Kay is just fun to be around, period. She's usually up to something, and you know how I love to be up to something. Like me, she recognizes dressing as a major food group. Love of dressing creates a deep, deep bond.

I'm just so blessed to have all of them as my aunts. They're the best. And it's a good thing I've had such good examples.


'Cause in January, I'M GOING TO BE ONE TOO!!!!



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posted by Carroll @ 12:23 PM 6 comments

Friday, April 08, 2011

dream

I knew it the moment I saw it on a trailer in front of Ashley's Art in F-V. We were meant to be. Inevitable even.

One day, I would ride in the giant NCDA shopping cart.

Shirley beat me to it:


I'm beyond jealous right now. Just thought you should know.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have the urge to pick up some House Autry and make hushpuppies...


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posted by Carroll @ 1:00 PM 7 comments

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

happy family time

We got together to put up the tree at Fred & Shirley's house last night - or, as Shirley calls it - "Happy Family Time." We put up the tree while Fred sat in the den watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Here's the happiest moment of the night...Rachael officially takes possession of the sparkly wise man that John made when he was 6.



We got the tree set up, then realized that part of the lights on the top section were blown out. John and Rach spent a good while looking for the blown bulb...but we ended up just adding a new string of lights. I keep waiting for Rachael to realize what she's married into and run away...



Aaaaand...for good measure...here's a shot of my half of the office. We're bordering on tacky...but I think it's great. I'm plotting to leave the twinkle lights up year-round! (and yes that IS the super cool Wolfpacky Christmas tree in the window...)

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posted by Carroll @ 10:45 AM 1 comments

Thursday, November 11, 2010

11/11

Happy Veterans' Day to my 2 favorite veterans! Thank you for doing hard things so the rest of us can be free. I love you!


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posted by Carroll @ 7:00 AM 2 comments

Monday, August 09, 2010

gifted

We had a great time visiting Aunt Martha and Uncle Dan in Virginia. We hit the Bass Pro Shop in search of a birthday gift for a certain sister-in-law. It was really hard to decide between the giant fish pillows:


The horsey margarita mix holder:


The shiny rainbow fish mailbox:

A lifetime supply of peach rings:


A fish tail fly swatter:


A pink four wheeler (I couldn't get Fred & Shirley to go in with me on this one):


A catfish can coozie:


A pink fishing pole (which she may need when we all go to the rivah in a few weeks):


Nothing felt like just the right gift, so Aunt Martha and I gave up and used all our quarters at the shooting range. What fun!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHAEL!

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posted by Carroll @ 12:43 PM 2 comments

Monday, July 12, 2010

blue


On Saturday John, Rachael, and I headed down to Goldsboro to visit with Aunt Martha and Uncle Dan and his mom, Granny (ok...so she's not really our Granny...but we love her so much that we usually forget that detail). Granny has a bumper crop of blueberries this year...so we got to work:


Doesn't Uncle Dan look fetching in his red straw hat?

We also dug up some baby bushes to bring home. Hopefully we'll have our own bushes in a few years!


I froze most of mine for smoothies...but I did have to make some muffins. Mmm!

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posted by Carroll @ 12:14 PM 3 comments

Monday, June 21, 2010

a note

On Saturday, we learned that these two individuals:

should probably not be allowed to use farm equipment unsupervised unless this patient and forgiving individual:


is around to fix whatever they may or may not (but probably may) have broken. And the Gator needed to be washed anyway.

And I love having a sister!

That is all.


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posted by Carroll @ 10:39 AM 6 comments

Sunday, April 11, 2010

perfect



...and they lived happily ever after...



Congratulations
John and Rachael!


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posted by Carroll @ 6:21 PM 11 comments

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

gimpy



My foot is still gimpy. It was getting better, then blew up again on Sunday afternoon. When I woke up on Monday morning, my ankle was the size of a softball...so I went back to visit the good folks at Urgent Care. I am still in the ankle brace (on the bright side, I am allowed to wear tennis shoes to work indefinitely...so it's not SO bad) and will be on steroids for the rest of the week. Fear me.

So, other than getting ready for John and Rachael's wedding, that's about it for now. We're all so excited...but there's always something to do (pssst - Martha - we need to find shoes). I'm heading to the tanning bed this week, so if I have to be gimpy at the wedding, at least I'll be tan and gimpy.


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posted by Carroll @ 2:08 PM 3 comments

Thursday, March 04, 2010

jib chai



We had a cultural experience last night. John brought me a chai tea set from Iraq (isn't it cool?), and while Rachael, Martha, and I were addressing wedding invitations, he brewed up a quasi-Iraqi pot of chai tea.



We learned that when visitors come, you yell "Jib chai!," and in a few minutes, some household underling will bring a tray of tiny teacups full of tea.

It's very hot, and almost too sweet. Oozey pouted when we wouldn't share:



Maybe next time we can convince him to wear his man-dress while he jib chais...


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posted by Carroll @ 12:23 PM 2 comments

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

big day

I had a big day yesterday.

A giant banner greeted me in the office:



I found balloons on my car in the afternoon:



And the best part of all...I had the greatest birthday cake EVER:



I mean, LOOK at this thing:



I MAY have eaten cake for supper last night. Because I am mature like that.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

In other news...I think everyone knows by now...but we lost Max a few weeks ago. He was a special part of our family for a long time. The farm is certainly not the same without him. I still look for him when I pull into the driveway. He will always be missed.



Fred celebrated the birth of his first baby girl by bringing home a new baby girl. Meet Ellie!

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posted by Carroll @ 12:17 PM 4 comments