Our Trip to Waltrip Racing
A family friend, Janet, that works with my parents at their UPS Store is into racing hardcore! And when I say hardcore, her husband works for Napa Auto Parts, and her son used to race and now actually works at the Waltrip Racing facility (where they build their cars).
Because we were so close by (in Lake Norman), Janet got us some VIP passes to tour the facility and I have to say it was definitely an interesting trip! None of us are into racing at all... Paul loves cars but even he hadn't ever gotten into Nascar.
But seeing this facility was actually really cool! The spaces inside were divided up by specific vehicle functions like suspension, transmission, body work, etc.
We started by walking through the suspension area to get to the body and frame section. It was actually really amazing how sterile and white everything was! Not like what you see when you got the a normal mechanic's shop!
From the main floor we headed outside where we got to see where they clean and load up the cars. These trailers can hold anywhere from 2 to 4 cars at a time, and I think hold all the tires for the race too. It's insane! And on any given race they have a couple million $$$, between the cars and tires, traveling with them. This is no joke! We also got to check out where the pit crew practices and unfortunately came on a day they were not practicing. But it was cool to see where it all happens.
From here we went into the actual shop (no pictures allowed there). This is where they are building the frames, piecing the mechanics of the cars together and I believe actually building engines (although I didn't see any engines)!
After all that we headed back inside for the "museum-like" self-tour around the upper level where you can look down over everything. It was pretty cool. Of course I think the highlight for me was sitting in the adult carseat-like structure that the drivers actually sit in. It was a bit uncomfortable, but I could see why it is necessary to keep the drivers protected!
Overall it was a very cool experience! Thanks to Janet and her husband for getting us this VIP pass! Super cool!!!
Lake Norman Lake House - What a Sight!
The following weekend after my cousin's wedding we were to be back in NC for another wedding. My parents were attending this wedding as well so they decided instead of heading back to GA, and then back up to NC again they would rent a lake house on Lake Norman for the week. Unfortunately Paul and I weren't able to spend the entire week there with them, but we were able to make a long weekend of it heading back up to Charlotte Wednesday evening.
It was a beautiful cabin style lake house with an awesome view of the lake with absolutely amazing sunsets. The cabin sleeps 12 people comfortably, and would be a great house for a couple's retreat or family gathering! The driveway wrapped all the way around the house, so there is plenty of room for cars and whatever you need!
They have a bunch of decks and a screened porch. But the highlight was the covered dock and the awesome view! Check out these cool HDR photos Paul got while we were there!
We also caught an amazing sunset this evening! It was an amazing array of pink and blue colors. We couldn't have asked for a better evening setting!
The photography didn't end with this amazing sunset. Paul couldn't resist the clear evening sky and went out again to catch some more night photos. All of these are pretty amazing! You can see the stars, a shooting star in the second picture and in the third, what Paul says was planes taking off out of Charlotte. So cool!
It was definitely a very relaxing couple of days leading up to the beautiful wedding to come!
Chris and Carolyn's Wedding in Chapel Hill
The whole family (Mom's side) came together for the beautiful wedding and reception of my cousin Chris to his now WIFE, Carolyn. They had a beautiful ceremony in the church and it was sweet and short, just like we like it! Paul caught a few nice images, and there's more where this came from!
The reception followed at a very cool restaurant in Chapel Hill called La Residence Restaurant. The reception was on their tropical-like patio and it provided a very nice ambiance!
We got some shots of some family members... Paul caught a picture of me and then my cousin Kim. There's definitely a resemblance there! Also got a good picture with my brother, my parents together and of course me and my Paul Paul!
The dinner was very nice and the cake was even better! I am ALWAYS looking forward to wedding cake! YUMMMM! And of course the newlyweds looked so great! Such a sweet couple!
Every time the family gets together we like to get a lot of fun pictures! Specifically my two cousins, Beth and Marissa, and myself. We have been a little trio since we were kids, and here is a little photo montage of the three of us over the years, ending with Chris and Carolyn's wedding! I think we are all aging well! I definitely like how I look better in the later pictures than the younger ones!
Overall it was a great weekend! So great to see all of our family, catch up and of course celebrate the union of Chris and Carolyn! Congrats to the happy couple!
perdueosity's One Year Anniversary has Come and Gone...
perdueosity's One Year Anniversary has Come and Gone... and I missed it entirely!
August has been a bit of a wash. We've been busy, but obviously not busy posting to the blog! So sorry about that, but the month of September is looking to be a great month for plenty of posts, come back soon! And thank you to everyone who has continued to follow and check out perdueosity!!!
Productivity has NEVER been more fun!
So this weekend was a busy weekend for both Paul and I! While we clearly made time for fun, and those are certainly the highlights of the weekend, for a weekend we spent so much time with friends it was probably the MOST productive weekend we've had in a while!
So Friday night I was with my friend Kristin (Storey) helping her pack up her apartment for a move to a newer and nicer place! I was out with her hanging out and packing things up until about almost 1AM! After leaving her place, I went home to meet up with Paul, Elaine and John!
I wasn't able to spend much time with Elaine and John, but it seemed as though Paul had a really good time with them, and it was nice to see them after they've been away for a vacation to the beach! Elaine had a very nice tan!
Then onto Saturday! On weekend's we're never really early risers, but when we did rise it was time for business! We spent the entire day doing a major cleaning on the house, top to bottom! It was actually quite nice to walk through the house looking so immaculate! We did laundry, vacuumed, steam mopped, cleaned counters, did dishes, and much more! It will be so nice to chill this week in such a clean space!
After knocking out ALL of that cleaning, we had Desi and Tristan over for dinner, drinks, and a whole lot of fun and games! Just a plain good time! It was nice to cut loose and not worry about anything! We talked about anything and everything, played a couple of games and just enjoyed each others company. Tristan was the first to drop off, Desi, Paul and I stayed up a little longer but it wasn't long before we were all off to bed! But it was still another late night ending around 1 or 2AM!
Sunday rolled around and we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Jimmy Johns (they are AWESOME!) on our way over to see my parents! We had to drop off my Dad's van (Paul calls it the race van!) We visited with the parents for a little while and caught up with them, then we were back off to Kristin's again! This time to help her get unpacked and settled in!
When we got there it was just chill, watching TV and chatting and then we got busy emptying boxes! Paul and I must have been on a roll cause we have to have emptied and broken down 20 boxes or more in NO time! Paul hung some stuff for Kristin, and we got some of her electronics set-up. We made some MAJOR headway prior to getting a call from our friend Curtis!
He was getting off work and was ready to party! He stopped over to Kristin's to say congrats on the new place and get us pumped to party with him! It was to be a Hooters' evening! Curtis had a friend/co-worker meeting him at Hooters' so that was the next move! And I have to say, it was the highlight of the weekend!
Paul, Kristin and I met Curtis and his friend John over at Hooters'. The evening started off slow with two pitchers of Stella and some ok food. But once we got through that third pitcher things were starting to get good! Unfortunately John left before Curtis "blew the weekend up!"
Now the ladies at Hooters' get some free time here and there to hoola hoop! I've not seen this before, maybe it's just the location we were at, but Curtis wanted to see some "Hoola Action!" He asked our waitress to show him some hoola action and she was a PRO! And then she told Curtis he had to try! And this is where the fun begins!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj7Fnsp3_rQ&w=750&h=563]
Curtis was HILARIOUS! And honestly a good learner! I don't think I could have picked up on it as fast as he did! This was truly the highlight of my weekend! The best end to an awesome weekend ALL around!
And I'm sure you're probably wondering what the frog is about... following Hooters' we dropped Curtis off at his place and hung out for a bit. When we got there we were greeted by Fred the Frog (he's apparently a neighbor of Curtis'). Paul got that awesome pic on his iPhone and then got this super cool video on his iPhone too! So, meet Fred the Frog!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEsb_hjD_k8&w=750&h=563]
Until next time... :)
Chunk's Day at The Georgia Dachshund Races!
We've had Chunk, our dachshund for almost 3 years, and have wanted to bring him to the races ever since we brought the little guy home! He was lucky enough to go to Halloweenie last year, but unfortunately Paul and I missed out on it as we were out-of-town. Our friend Robin was nice enough to take him last year.
Paul has designed the brochure for the Races for these past two years and we were finally about to make it out to let Chunk with run with his kind! We had high hopes for Chunk Master as he is quite the runner at home.
Our friend Gina and her mini doxie Ella came out to join in the festivities. It was a lot of fun and we were excited to see how Chunk would do!
Chunk was up for his heat and we were ready for him to show the world his skills! So check it out, we were in lane 3! I was the re-leaser and Paul was receiver
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZcFfBiqqR0&w=750&h=422]
Unfortunately, we have found that Chunk is more of a free-style runner! It was all in good fun, and I think he'll be ready next year with a bit of training... or maybe some toys or treats! Who knows, but I think it was a fun experience for all of us! Here's to an even more competitive 2013 races! :)
Two Weekends @ Lake Oconee!
Paul's parent's have a beautiful house right on the lake at Lake Oconee, GA, and we have been lucky enough to spend time down there not once, but twice in the past month! We did a spontaneous one night trip down with our good friends Desi and Tristan, and it was a nice "pre-Memorial Day" weekend getaway! It was nice as we were able to test out the experience with Chewie, and Arnie (Desi and Tristan's little ones) and it was their first boating and lake experience! It was a gorgeous weekend and we were wishing we had thought to go down sooner!
We were greeted by the neighbor's dog Sam (the beautiful black and white boxer pictured above), and he was super excited about having not only Chunk to play with, but two new pups! We spent as much time on the lake as possible! Getting out as soon as we got in and and settled and back out the next morning for a full day on the lake! The boys did great, Chewie was a great swimmer and Arnie was getting the hang of things but definitely preferred to be on the float or on the boat! Chunk too took a couple dips, but definitely enjoyed the beautiful breeze!
We were also able to catch a guy on a really unique seated ski called a "sit-down hydrofoil." Paul caught some awesome shots of him flying big time! It looks like a lot of fun! I'm not a skier myself, but I honestly think I'd be willing to try this. We talked to the guy after we caught these pictures and he said it was actually pretty easy! Probably easy for him to say, but it seems pretty cool!
And then we were back for Memorial Day weekend, and it was just as good if not better! We stocked the fridge with tons of good eats and this time we were not only hanging with Desi and Tristan, but also our good friends Derrick and Jesus came down from Charlotte and it as a great gathering of good friends. We all hadn't been together since Paul and my wedding over a year ago! We spent the entire long weekend relaxing on the lake, drinking delicious beverages and eating even better meals! It was AWESOME!
It was so hard to leave! We are so thankful that Paul's parents allowed us to take over the house for the holiday weekend and couldn't have asked for a better time with great friends. Can't wait to get back down there again soon!
Our Little Chunk Model...
It's been way too long since I've posted, so now it's time to delight in some great photos of our precious little Chunk Master!
He's such the model... I took pictures of him this past weekend while he was lounging on the sofa. Isn't he just beautiful???
Storey's Birthday at Monterey's Mexican!
I hate getting behind on the blog, but I guess that's life! So this past weekend we celebrated one of my best friend's birthday's! Storey (or as I have grown to know her since 6th grade - "Kristin"), turned 31! We went out to a local Mexican restaurant called Monterey's and it was PACKED! I called ahead, but I guess Friday's are just that kind of night for them so we had to wait a VERY LONG TIME!
But in the end it was worth it as it was absolutely delicious! We enjoyed margaritas and an assortment of other drinks, great cheese dip and guacamole dip and awesome dinners! Desi and Tristan came out, so that was nice and we also got to meet a couple of Storey's friends... Rob and Saffron. It was a nice mix, and everyone definitely enjoyed the good food, drinks and conversation!
Check out some of the fun!
Afterwards we continued the fun at Ron and Saffron's with Storey, Paul and myself. We had a good time drinking chatting and stealing some great ideas for building cool patio furniture out of pavestone palettes! When we get to working on that project I will definitely be posting about that!
Anyway, Happy Birthday Storey (Kristin), we hope you enjoyed it and look forward to many more years of fun!
Essie Tart Deco - Translated from pshiiit.com
Love this look, but the blog is in FRENCH! Here's the translation!
Yesterday, on facebook I was asked a crucial question. If Pshiiit had to choose 5 or 6 colors Essie maximum, which would it be? Tart Deco is instinctively that came in first. You know my love for non-delicate pink, which I willingly abandoned for all that is blue / green / blue-green ... Well Tart Deco is one of those pink-coral-orange that makes me love this color range. It is like no other color for me, it has the nuance that fits perfectly to my skin (at least when the latter is slightly tanned. The I grant you, it is rather mortis ^ ^), it punchy is just right, and admit it, it is likely archi ^ ^.
So I wanted to highlight the following issue to remind you how nice it is to the finish (a little late) of beautiful days. I wanted to make an accent on the forefinger nail by placing the tape striping. I was planning to spend a white layer and then remove it, and finally I found ca pretty as is, so I left. After laying the Tart Deco (two layers) I spent a layer of Top Coat Velvet from Chanel, and I aaaaaaaaime rendering Tart Deco matte! Moreover, talking about Chanel, I saw the visual June, and I think he has a small air Tart Deco. Here is the result picture :)
This color is hard enough to take a picture, at least I have not managed to set the camera to his chopper TRUE color, in reality it is more flashy and a little more orange. Finally with my eyes! ^ ^
Have a great week, and tomorrow for the second competition that will make you scream! ^ ^
FYI, the Tart Deco is still on sale for € 5 at M & B ^ ^.
