Eastside Week

It is already well established that I am probably too established in the goings-on of my high school, but like I said here, I have my reasons.

One of the things I love most about my alma mater is the tradition of Eastside Week. During this week, Wade Hampton High competes with Eastside High to raise money for a charity of each schools' choice for the schools' spirit week.  The schedule for ESW is jam-packed! Every night there are events at the schools, and during the school day (at least when I was there) not much schoolwork was being done. From mud wrestlin' to spaghetti suppers, to poultry (the competition where WHHS students couple up to raise money for the week, then reveal their totals while cross-dressed (yea, you heard me right)).

Now, there has been talk of this being the last time the schools might compete. WHHS moved up to 4A, while Eastside is still 3A. Therefore, football scheduling can be pretty difficult. However, nothing has been decided as far as I know, so I can only hope that they continue this wonderful tradition, in some way. Some of my very best memories from high school were around ESW. And more important than that, it allows high schoolers to pull together for a common goal, no matter what 'clique' you were in, and give money to a worthy cause.

Plus, when I was a student, WHHS never lost the money total. And beating your rival is pretty sweet, even if the charities win either way. In fact, I think in the last 9 or 10 years, Eastside has only won the money total once.

Below are some of pictures of last night, where Eastside raised $150K for their charity, and Wade Hampton raised $206K for the Meyer Center. 

Louis, the ever-present security guard. Been telling people to "find a seat, gotta find a seat" for as long as I can remember. 

 WHHS student council, waiting for the check totals. 

Almost time!

Revealing $206K raised for the Meyer Center!

And WHHS wins again!

Big Plans

So, remember a few weeks ago when I shared that part of our deck was taken out by a tree? Well, we have been dreaming a little about how to rebuild it.

We dont like the lower section of our deck, over on the left hand side. It is sitting right on the ground and likely to rot out soon. It also has a weird swing frame thing that is basically unusable.

So...clearly that leaves us with some imagining to do. We want to take out the lower section, but bring some sort of privacy wall out from where the larger sections starts now. I mean, we really like our neighbors and all, but I'm sure they would like some privacy too! Below are some of my starting ideas!

For our privacy wall, we could do some sort of lattice, with climbing plants. 

Or we could do something like this, with boards angled down.

Or go a little funky with thicker and thinner boards in a pattern. 

One thing sorely lacking in our current deck is lighting. I dont know that we will get this complex, but it sure is pretty!

And if we do decide to put in a pergola, you can bet that there will be some awesome Christmas lights hanging out there!

A pergola would be a great option for some additional shade, as well as helping define a dining area. 

This is probably the most likely option(at least the way I see it in my head right now). Can't wait to get this project underway (Except did you know how expensive lumber is??) and enjoy our new deck!

Labor Day at the Lake!

We are so blessed to be able to have two lake houses that we can use at different times throughout the summer. However, the houses are a bit different. My family's lake house is on a small lake, is pretty nice, and has a lot of non-motorized fun (that's code for - we don't have a fast boat (unless you consider the world's tiniest pontoon with a 25 HP motor fast), but we have things like paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and the ever popular lake float). Will's family's lake house is on a huge lake that is on the SC-GA border, is a little more rustic, and we have access to boats and a jetski.

The other big difference is the neighbors. While my family's neighbors are quite nice, at Will's lake house, there are the Walker's. The Walker's and the Blackmon's have been friends forever. Marty and Dan (Will's dad) have been best friends since high school, and their families happened to have lake houses next door. Marty & Rose have 3 kids around our age, and we end up spending most of our time during the weekends on their dock or at one house or the other.

This weekend, the two Walker boys, Luke and Rhett, got the idea to redo the old cooking pit between the houses and cook up at whole bunch of chicken. Bottom line, it was a good idea!

Cleaned off cooking pit, complete with sprayer to season the chicken with every turn. Luke and Rhett fashioned up a rack for the chicken that the boys turned every couple of minutes. 

That's right, 28 chicken halves, plus salad, baked potatoes, more chicken, desserts, and homemade ice cream. Several families came over, including the Walker cousins, and there were still tons of leftovers. The Walker's sure can throw a party!

Perfection! This was such a perfect way to celebrate the long weekend, with friends, family, and lots of good food!

And of course, one of the best things about whatever lake you happen to be on, a beautiful sunset. Already can't wait to get back!

A(n Almost) Finished Bedroom!

So, I have held off on posting too much about the master bedroom, because it just didn't feel finished to me yet. We were missing a few key pieces, the biggest being curtains. Our room was not that bright, but someone's hubby likes it super dark when he sleeps. Therefore, black out curtains were his one request. I really wanted curtains that weren't too matchy matchy, had some texture, and were long enough to touch the floor (standard length curtains don't quite cut it in our old house) and that weren't too expensive. All of that lead up to 9 months of not having any curtains. Finally, I found some online that I thought would work, and Will gave me the ok!

And here they are!

When they are closed, the room is pitch black, which lead to me sleeping in to 8:30 each night this weekend. :)

Our other new addition is the artwork in the corner. I had a print made of a photo I took at Will's families' lake house and had it framed. It seems appropriate to have some artwork that is more personal to us in our house, and I am glad we found a place for it. 

Next steps: making more use of this beautiful piece to actually hold Will's clothes rather than just to take up a corner in the bedroom. Also, a new hamper. I am rather tired of the plastic hamper from Will's college days that still has the "Dorm Life '07" sticker on it from Target. After that, we should be pretty much done!

Book Sale Here I Come!

Every year in Greenville, the Greenville Literacy Association hosts The Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Booksale at the University Center. Books range from $1 to $10, but you can get most great paperbacks for $1 to $2 a piece. The sale is tomorrow, starting at 8:30.

And most years, our family racks up!

As I sit here typing my list for tomorrow and prepping my strategy (people are crazy, yo!), I am once again so thankful for the city I live in and being able to be back home.

I have around 50-60 books I am looking for, and I am sure I'll find some other books I won't be able to resist once I am in the thick of it. This is time that the little old ladies get out their shopping carts and start throwing some elbows. Those gals ain't playing around! They need enough cheap Danielle Steele paperbooks to last them until the next August!

Even if I don't find exactly what I am looking for, it is almost a cultural experience to fight your way through extremely tight rows of books, trip over boxes, and wait for people to discard books they don't want to purchase.

I know I am ready, are you?

P.S. - Yes, I realize I am a total nerd. But I embrace it

Family Recipe

Today, while Will and his family moved my sister-in-law Mindy into her new apartment in Columbia to start her new job, I hung out with my sister before she moved back to Winthrop. We watched The Office, went to Oriental House, and then went over to my Nana and Papas to make Nana's famous pound cakes.

Sam and Abby!

Nana and Sammy mixing

Future baker

Practicing the family recipe

Yum!

The best part, the batter!!

It was so good to spend most of the day with Sam and to get some classic family pound cake batter. Nothing like a family recipe!

Deck Down

So, on Monday, we had an epic fight at our house. Deck vs. Tree. (Hint: Deck Lost)

Poor handrails...

Crushed handrails

Not really a limb, more like a small tree.

After we cleaned off the deck

Take that tree!

Bad news: Both corner handrails and the corner support are shredded. We can tack them back up, but if anyone put any weight on them, they would topple over. Good news: We were going to rebuild the deck eventually anyway. 

Now the only question is: rebuild in the fall, or wait for the spring?