A Little Mountain Air

Ever heard of Mountain Air Country Club?  Me neither, but I'm so glad that Michael's sister and her fiance invited us to go this past weekend!  What they said was true, no false advertising here:

"Atop the placid Blue Ridge Mountains, just 35 minutes from Asheville – "North Carolina's most vibrant and charming city" – resides a community that embodies the soaring spirit of the mountain beneath its feet and the divine beauty of the forests that surround it.

We welcome you to browse our website and discover why Mountain Air was named "America's Best Community".

Video I took of the sunrise.

It also just happened to be Asheville's "Bele Chere" Festival which hosted music, art, food vendors, and of course a little bit of beer.  We decided to beat the heat and camp out at Wedge Brewery which turned out to be a very cool place.  The beer was good, the atmosphere was unique with metal art throughout, and the best part was that I got to meet up with my cousin, Kevin, whom I never get to see.

Hole right outside the cabin.  

We headed out for North Carolina on Friday evening and arrived to an absolutely amazing mountain view, complete with a stunning golf course and some of the most beautiful "cabins" I've ever seen.  Read:  these weren't cabins.  This gated community is one of the most immaculate I've had the pleasure of going to.  The landscaping was perfect, the view unmatched and it was a great weekend with perfect weather and company.  The dogs didn't mind it too much either.  Pete was right at home on the balcony and didn't seem to want to leave it!  Rigby was a little anxious at first but she eventually settled.  Cousin pup, Neko, wasn't a huge fan of the balcony but had fun playing with our dogs when they'd come inside.  I woke up each morning to see the sunrise and beautiful clouds roll over the mountains.  I snapped some pictures and returned to bed, but didn't want to miss the scene.  I'm glad I didn't!  It's pretty during the day, but you can't beat the fog rolling in each morning.

Mountain Dogs

O hai!

We also ran into some "locals" on our way back from Bele Chere on Saturday... two baby black bears and their Momma!  They were just casually crossing the street and when we pulled closer to take some photos the babies ran up the tree as fast as their little legs would take them.  Momma waited on the ground to make sure we weren't going to do anything.  Pretty cool.  It's the closest I've ever been to a bear in the wild.  I was surprised how small they were, even the mother.

Whit and I at Palomino

After my trip to Indy last week for a conference, I'm beat.  I was so happy to spend some time with Whitney and say hello to my former residence, but I'm fine with not going anywhere for a while!  Next up is a conference in Denver in which I return five days before we depart for Europe.  Oy Vey!  It's gonna be a busy Fall!!!  Have I mentioned, I'm ready for Fall?

Sahara Summer, Supernatural Shame Spiral

I don't remember a summer being this hot or arid.  It's brown, it's dry, and it's crusty outside.  Like a burnt grilled cheese sandwich.  Also, I don't remember raking leaves in July which is exactly what we did this past weekend!  At least the grass has somewhat returned to a non-crust state, but my beloved flowers I've babied so much this spring and summer are still looking pretty rough!   The two gigantic tulip poplar trees in our front and back yards are shedding leaves like non-other.  Honestly, it's pretty annoying.

WTF Season 5

Speaking of annoying, what's going on with True Blood these days?  My one time favorite show has turned into a spiral of supernatural mockery.  I mean, I'll still be tuning in for Eric Northman and Jason Stackhouse...but who is writing these plot lines?  Who gave Terry Bellefleur a main story line?  Who is making the decisions at HBO?!  I expect more from Alan Ball having created another fantastic series, Six Feet Under.  I stopped reading the Sookie books after about book 11, in which they really went south. I can't even keep a straight face when the smoke monster that they so obviously ripped off from LOST makes an appearance.  They turned a great, strong, female lead like Sookie was into a character that I really don't even like anymore.  All she does is whine and throw balls of light from her hands.  Sigh.

Tower of London

In other exciting news, only 67 days until we leave for Europe!  But who's counting!  Our list of things we want to do and see just keeps growing and growing.  Is it even possible to perfect a balance between seeing all of the popular sites, and enjoying the true culture of each country?  I know we're going to try!

I'm really proud of this!

Today our company posted its first infographic on our website!  This is something I'm very proud of, as it was a LOT of blood, sweat and tears for myself and another colleague!  You might find it particularly interesting if you care about Healthcare Reform, or the healthcare industry in general.  I wanted to share this as I'm very very proud of how it turned out!!!  Whoo hoo!  (Also a huge shout out to Jason Pierce at MPerfect Design for making this possible!)   You can click for full-size.

Happy 5th Birthday, Spencer!

I'm a few days late, but it's hard to forget Spencer's birthday since it was triple seven's!  Spencer was born on 7-7-07 at the Humane Society of Indianapolis.  I adopted him at six weeks of age, and he's been my little furry companion ever since.  

Name:  Spencer Smalls
DOB:  7-7-07 - lucky seven's!
Hobbies:  Meowing incessantly, laying on vents, trying to open invisible doors on walls, chasing bugs, watching leaves, watching things that aren't there, eating, pooping, cuddling, reading lolcats.

Happy Birthday, Spencer!