Saturday, June 27, 2009

Mike and I have reached a new point of cool. We are spending our Saturday night ripping down wallpaper! Actually, I am spending my Saturday night cleaning the kitchen, occasionally checking facebook and now blogging because the smell of the vinegar is making me gag!

Mike seems content with his scraping duties so long as I continue to talk to him. Typing and talking is hard so I better run...

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hope grows here.

For six years Dustin’s GreenHouse has been taking local high school students out of the country through our Globetrotter program. In less than one month, our 2009 team will depart on this year’s international adventure – a journey to Budapest, Hungary and the Transylvania region of Romania.

Leading up to this point we have worked hard to EMPOWER the 17 young women who make up the 2009 team. We have taken them to Cisco Systems in Raleigh where they were introduced to opportunities for women in the engineering and technology fields. We traveled to Washington DC where the DGH girls were spotlighted at Author and Philanthropist Edie Fraser’s Women and Giving event, and where they attended NC Senator Kay Hagan’s Carolina Coffee. We have exposed them to local volunteer activities through the Junior League of Greensboro and HorsePOWER Therapeutic Riding. And most recently, we took the team to the North Carolina mountains where we spent two days touring the Appalachian State University campus, hiking, cooking and talking about some of the pressures teenage students face today.

As the international piece of this year’s Globetrotter program approaches, and we begin the process of selecting a new team of high school students for next year's program, I wanted to ask for your help…

I recognize that the current job and financial markets have made things tight for everyone… Believe me, we feel the pressure as well. But as they say in show business, “the show must go on.” There are too many kids out there that need our help to slow our pace or to scale-back our programs.

Should you choose to get involved, there are a number of ways you can support this year’s Globetrotter Program, as well as DGH programs in years to come…

You can make a financial contribution. (Please keep in mind that every bit helps. Whether you are saving loose change or pledging full scholarships, every penny donated will help us carry-out our mission of cultivating opportunities for North Carolina students.)


We also have a way for donors to get involved in a more “hands-on” capacity though our Give A Gallon campaign. We invite you to fill a Gallon-Size Ziploc bag(s) with everyday, household items (things like soap, deodorant, toothpaste, tooth brushes, hand sanitizer, over the counter medicines, band-aids, razors, feminine products and more). Members of the 2009 team will be collecting these bags up until July 15th to take with them to Romania. While in country, they will share your bags with local families – offering those families an array of desperately needed household items, and even more valuable, the hopeful feeling that comes from knowing that a complete stranger, thousands of miles away, truly cares about their well being.



To learn more about either "gifting" option, you can click on one of the images above or visit www.dustinsgreenhouse.org. And thank you for caring... Dustin's GreenHouse would never be what it is today without the support we have received from so many of you.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Just climbed up into the inside of our roof...

It looks like there is a leak towards the back of our house but the water is running down and out of the base of a skylight into the playroom.

I cannot figure out how to get a towel up in there...

Roof doctor still needed. God, please make the rain stop.

OMG! Our roof is leaking!

Not sure if I should wake my husband up and tell him, or not...
Worried he might try to climb up on the roof and repair (temporarily) on his own. Crap... What do I do?
Roof doctor - I need you!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Warning: The Secret is Out!

I invited 3 girlfriends over on Wednesday night for pizza and wine on the front porch. Mike had been out playing a round of golf, and I wasn’t expecting him home for a little while. To my surprise he walked in only moments after the girls arrived and asked if he could join us for dinner. “Of course,” I said, not sure whether he was being serious or only kidding. At which point Mike (seriously) proceeded to pile some pizza on a plate and followed us outside.

The five of us, Carrie, Carli, Leah, me and Mike were having a grand ‘ole time when spontaneously Carrie darted off the porch and ran to get something out of her car. It was a new dress she had found on sale at Macy’s that she wanted to show us before Gary, her husband, dropped by. The girls spent the next few minutes oohing and aahing over Carrie’s new find... Mike, on the other hand, sat perplexed.

Mike to Carrie: “What are you going to tell Gary when he sees you in this new dress?”

Carrie to Mike: “Simple, I’ll tell him I’ve had it forever but that it’s the first time I’ve ever worn it.”

Mike’s head darts over to me: “You don’t ever do that to me, do you?”

Me: Oh no, crap – I was a baby deer frozen in the head lights of a MACK truck! In an attempt to spare women everywhere, I smiled slyly and said, “Of course not Sweetie.”

Unfortunately the damage was done. The secret was out. The fool proof “I’ve had it forever” trick was blown.

So ladies, I apologize in advance if my dear, dear husband calls any of your boyfriends, fiancés or fellow husbands and alerts them of our strategy. In the meantime, I am working on a plan-B. (Oh, and I would highly caution you about the dangers of inviting any boys to your next girlfriend dinner.)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Thoughts from 5505

Things I absolutely love:
- Having a garage and a garage door opener
- Watching the golf crew groom the course in the early morning
- Addie's new favorite spot (on the back of the couch looking out the front window)
- The little surprises people have been leaving on our front porch
- Learning how to light the pilot on a hot water heater
- Hanging art work
- Great neighbors (Carrie and Gary, you have been amazing!)
- Opening and using long-stored wedding gifts
- Sitting on the front porch with Mike

Things I am not so fond of:

- The mouse I saw run across the floor of our garage
- Having to cook on an electric stove
- Our giant couch that we cannot manage to get upstairs
- Wallpaper

Things I am still unsure about:

- The wild foxes that run across our yard
- Organizing closets

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Guess what...

Mike and I are finally living in the same place! We moved into our Greensboro house this past Sunday, and while there are still boxes everywhere and a growing number of things on our renovation wish list, the house could not be more perfect.

Please, please, please stop by and see us. We are way overdue on entertaining friends and family!

5505 Wallace Drive
Greensboro, NC 27407

Home Phone: 336.292.3111

P.S. I'm running on fumes at the moment... Give me a week or so and I promise I will deliver a much better post.