Gretchen and Jeremy

My college friend Gretchen got married in Edenton on November 19th.  Edenton is such a beautiful town, and I was excited to show it to Jason.  I think I smell a day-trip back there some day for photos.

Wasting a bit of time before heading to the church

It was really sunny... at least, I think that's why Jason's making that face

The wedding was nice, and the reception beautiful.  However, I did a HORRIBLE job of photographing it.  No pictures of the bride, the groom, or any usable pictures of people I knew.  Um, so here's a few of the favors, cake, and other miscellaneous things.

Apples as favors, along with Jeremy's Nanny's famous apple pie recipe

Close-up of the cake Melody made

Flowers Gretchen and the bridesmaids (Melody, specifically here) had in their hair

Gretchen's bridal portraits

A Totally Different "Adventure Saturday"

Jason and I visited Jamesville the weekend before Thanksgiving because we were going to our friend Gretchen's wedding (look for future post).  I knew we wanted to take photos somewhere Saturday morning, so I asked my dad if we could go to the farm.

Backstory: My grandfather (or "Pop") was a farmer, so my dad spent a lot of his childhood on the farm.  My uncle now owns the farm, but he rents it out to another farmer to use.  My two main memories of the farm are fishing in the pond and trying to wrangle the cows when the fence broke and they got out (I didn't say they were fond memories...), so this was a fun exploration trip.

Jason was excited to have something other than bugs and flowers to photograph

Daddy came along for the adventure, sharing stories and pointing out stuff along the way

Farm across the street with the paper mill in the background... very past meets present

soybeans

pond, looking back towards the silos

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my loved ones!

Here's a few pictures from Thanksgivings past to get you in the mood...

Thanksgiving 2009 -- Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple.  I made us a mini-Thanksgiving meal of chicken, green-bean casserole (which I learned Jason hates...), sweet potato casserole (a staple at the Selfs -- the Nebo Selfs, that is.  It's a special occasion at the Raleigh Selfs), and biscuits.  This was all before traveling to Jamesville and eating 3/4 of our body weight in food. :)

At our house

SOME of the food Mom made (it doesn't all fit on this table)

We also had a family outing shooting targets.  It was a blast!  I hadn't shot a gun in over ten years, so it was really fun.  Mom "won" by shooting the closest to the bullseye.

Thanksgiving 2010 -- Jason was in the process of growing out his mustache for the mustache party.  It didn't seem to get in the way of eating all the delicious food!  After the meal, we went over to Jim and Tammy's.  The guys played pool.  The girls somehow ended up having a photo shoot with Tammy.  We all gathered around the fire pit and chatted for a while.

I'm sure I'll share pictures from 2011 some time soon, but until then, Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm so blessed in so many ways, and I'm thankful for each of my faithful blog-readers (all three of you *wink*).

Adventure Saturday

Our weekends aren't always terribly exciting.  We usually wake up before dawn, eat breakfast (muffins!) and don "photo clothing" to go out somewhere in the Triangle and take pictures.

A few Saturdays ago, we woke up before dawn, ate breakfast (orange sweet rolls... love you, Pillsbury Dough Boy!).... and then couldn't think of anywhere to go take photos.  Maybe it was photo fatigue.  Maybe it was knowing we would be be traveling the next two weekends.  Maybe it was that is was freezing temps outside.  Maybe it felt a bit too nice on the couch under a blanket in our chilly house.

It turned out to be a beautiful fall day... once it got above freezing!

We did eventually go out, and we ended up having the BEST day!  We parked downtown, perused through the natural science museum and history museum stores (didn't feel like actually visiting the museums that day), and walked over to City Market.  They were having a handmade craft show, so we looked through that stuff.  Super cute things, I just didn't need any of the things and I wasn't in the mood to haggle prices.  So we moved on.

We ate lunch at Woody's @ City Market.  I had a gourmet hotdog (came with cheese, avocado, and mango salsa... crazy, I know), and Jason got a hamburger that came with shrimp, "boom boom" sauce, and slaw on it.  Hey, I said it was Adventure Saturday!

Walking around Downtown

We walked around Fayetteville Street, got some coffee at Port City Java, and decided on a whim to visit a pawn shop.  I don't know... we had never been to a pawn shop, and Pawn Stars makes it look so cool!  We drove to National Pawn off of Capital Blvd.  It was very neat, very clean, and very organized.  And very boring.  Sure, there were electronics (especially tvs and Wiis), musical instruments (so many guitars!), and jewelry, but where was the WWII memorabilia?  Where were the katanas and dueling pistols?  Lame, National Pawn, lame.

Boom!  Pow!  Adventure Saturday!

Name that Fossil!

Who left these footprints (or "trace fossils" as we in the biz like to call them)?

Fossil #1: 

Fossil #2:

Your suspects... (and yes, I know the photos aren't great... just go with it)

Ok, so what do you think?  Have you narrowed it down?

Fossil #1:

Fossil #2:

(though you get credit if you chose any of the animals with hooves... I gave my students multiple choice on this one, eliminating other possible suspects like the zebra and the giraffe).

Thanks for playing!

So Sorry!

I really am trying to keep my blog current, but it's so hard!  Here's a quick (during my lunch break) update.  I'm not at home, so no pictures to add.  Again, sorry.

Last weekend, Jason and I had a GREAT day hanging out downtown.  We called it Adventure Saturday.  We didn't overplan it or have an agenda, and ended up having a really great time.  I actually have a post about this, but I'm waiting on him to edit his pictures so I can add them in.  So stayed tuned for a more detailed description of Adventure Saturday.

Teaching is going pretty well.  I'm actually FOUR days ahead on planning instead of one day like I was at the beginning of the semester.  I feel so in control and on top of things... until January when I start from scratch all over again (because I'm teaching a different science class).  We're studying fossils tomorrow, so I spent my planning period this morning making footprints in modeling clay with plastic animal toys.  Gotta love teaching!

Holidays are coming up, and the Selfs are trying to get everything done.  We're headed to Jamesville this weekend to visit my family and go to my friend Gretchen's wedding in Edenton.  Then, we're Nebo-bound for Thanksgiving and to celebrate (a bit early) Sawyer's 1st birthday.  Um... which means some time in the next week, we need to get him a present.  Oops!

I've started Christmas shopping... for me!  I have some things in mind for Jason and for Addison, but that's it.  This time last year, I think we were done with all our Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving.  I guess that's the difference a full-time job makes.

Food (if anyone cares) was a bit weird this week.  We had a chicken-pasta-zucchini-squash-carrot dish seasoned with Hidden Valley Ranch powder packet (man, I love that stuff).  I also made a spaghetti squash that I've been eating with spaghetti sauce and provolone cheese.  I thought it was yummy.  Jason was nice enough to eat it... one night. Leftovers for Megan, I guess!

Speaking of Jason, he's been working crazy-long hours at work this week trying to get some project done.  It's really allowed me to get ahead on my teaching work (quiet house, nothing better to do), but I hate when he gets in at 7:30... and I'm out cold on the couch at 8:30.  At least we'll get to spend all weekend together (yay!).

Ok, that's a seven-minute update on what's been going on with the Selfs.  More fun stuff and pictures to come, I promise.

Self Update -- Food

Working full-time again has definitely changed the way we eat dinner.  There seem to be a lot more PB&J or breakfast-for-dinner nights than elaborate meals that take an hour to prepare.  Every once in a while, I still manage to whip up something fun for dinner.  Here's a few things we've had this week:

Jambalaya.  The only jambalaya I've ever had is when I make it, so I can't speak for its authenticity or deliciousness, but I like it.  The rebel in me usually alters recipes before I even try them, but I follow Anne Burrell's recipe nearly word for word.  I cut the recipe in half this time because it makes a TON!  The one thing I forgot to cut in half -- the spices (red pepper flakes and cayenne).  Even Jason had a hard time eating it, and he loves spicy food!

Mac and Cheese.  I sometimes bring baked macaroni and cheese to potlucks, but it's usually so labor-intensive that I don't make it for just the two of us.  Tuesday night, I made stove-top mac and cheese with a few modifications.  I didn't have a 1/2 pound of any one pasta (not sure how that happened), so I made mac/penne/rotini and cheese.  Also, Jason really likes smoked cheeses, so I made it with smoked cheddar.  Yummy yum yum!

Enchiladas.  Very few weeks go by without us having some kind of Mexican food.  C'mon, it's cheap, cooks up really fast, consists mostly of pantry items, and is mighty tasty!  Enchiladas are a fun way to mix it up from the usual quesadillas or burritos.  Want the recipe?  Go to the grocery store, buy the enchilada sauce, and follow the recipe on the back.  Hey, I made two other things from scratch, I'm allowed to "cheat" on the enchiladas!


What "I have no time, but I need to cook something" meals do you make?

Self Update -- Photo Trips

When I run into people, they always ask how am I doing or what's new or something like that.  I usually say "fine" or "nothing much."  So don't expect any Earth-shattering news here, but this is what's up with the Selfs these days.

~Taking photos.  That never really changes until the weather prevents us from our weekend photo trips.  I've gotten a bit bored with actually taking photos recently, but I enjoy being out in nature and hanging with my best friend.  Here's a few of our recent trips.

Eno River State Park:

Umstead (confession: I wasn't actually on this photo trip):

NC Art Museum: 

Jason has bought two new lenses recently, which often leads to taking practice shots around the house.  These usually consist of random still-life in the living room (hat, vase, keys, etc.) or pictures of me on the couch under a blanket, grading papers.  The other day, though, he captured something awesome/embarrassing, all in one shot.

So beautiful, but I'm still ashamed at how dusty our house had to be for this photo.  

Touring the Triangle -- Yates Mill

Last weekend, Jason and I ventured to a new photo destination for us -- Yates Mill.  It was a beautiful fall day, but suuuuuuuper cold when we got there at 8:00!  I had on my running tights, jeans, knee-high socks, several shirts, my NC State hoodie (had to on State vs. Carolina day!), gloves, and a toboggan.  All that, and I was still freezing the whole time.

The sights were totally worth the cold.  I haven't edited any of my pictures, but here are some of my favorites from Jason.

Fall trees and Canada Geese

Checking out the views

I couldn't decide which picture I liked better, blurry window/clear reflection...

or clear window/blurry reflection.

And possibly my favorite...

Why Yes, I AM 5 Years Old...

Today my students are jamming their fingers in Fun Size Milky Way bars, pulling them apart, and squishing them back together, all in the name of science (plate tectonics, to be exact).  I think they're enjoying "playing with their food" and feeling like kids again.  One class down, and it's actually not the disaster I had feared it would be.

In honor of feeling like a kid again, I made an impulsive Target purchase the other day.  For the first time in years, I bought a can of Spaghetti-O's with everso fake meatballs.  Oh my word, they're as fantastic I had remembered them.  I'm also eating applesauce (another kid-staple), but it's homemade, so not as kiddy.

What's your guilty like-a-kid treat?  Do you watch cartoons (even when an actual kid is not around), wear footie pajamas, put your hair in pigtails?  Please share!

More Party Pictures

More pictures from Kristen's birthday party:

Kristen's beagle Kitty (yes, her dog's name is Kitty) dressed up in her tutu

The Birthday Frog

Kitty made friends with Jason... as long as Jason had food, that is

Kristen and Vince doing "prom pose"

Opening presents

Kristen decorated Cooper with a mane of tissue paper

Having fun with Clint's Beaker mask

Clint finding an "interesting" use for my peanut butter balls

Enthalpy girls