Carolina Photo of the Week...

Nothing says "southern living" like the vision, or the scent of a giant leafy magnolia blossom.

Here is a macro close up of one of the most beautiful flowers the South has to offer.

A Great Day in DC....

Turns out the week before Christmas was the perfect time to visit DC -- no crowds, no traffic and no lines. Awesome! Less than a four hour drive from Raleigh, we got up to DC by 11:00 a.m. We immediately found a place to park (!) and were on our way to the Smithsonian. We parked close to the National Mall so we first took a walk down that to see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. It was a beautiful blue, crisp day in Washington and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Having never been to Washington before, Sabrina and I were both very excited. The city really is very beautiful and immaculately clean -- at least where we were. We only drove up for the day so we were limited in what we could experience. At Blaise's urging we first visited the Air and Space Museum, then the National Gallery and finally the Natural History Musuem. What a wonderful job they did laying these museums out. The buildings are beautiful and the exhibits are meticulously put together and very spacious -- which made the experience all the more pleasant. Did you know that it is absolutely FREE to get in to all of the museums in DC? I guess living in South Florida for so long - I had gotten used to PAYING through the nose for everything -- so I was totally shocked to find out that there is no charge for entrance to all of these spectacular. After the museums closed (5:30p.m.) we made our way over to the White House to take some pictures and then to our ultimate destination -- which was the National Christmas Tree. The White House looked lovely all lit up under the winter sky -- it gave me chills. The National Christmas Tree which was directly across the street from the White House was fun to see as not only was the tree itself pretty impressive, but what we enjoyed even more was seeing all of the U.S. Territory and States' Christmas Trees -- each one decorated by hand made ornaments from the region.


Blaise was amused by me because I was really moved by the experience. It was all very exciting to me and I really felt a sense of pride as I gazed upon the nucleus of our Great Nation (sigh!)

It was a wonderful trip and we are already talking about going back in a few weeks to see more as we barely scratched the surface. Even Sabrina is looking forward to making a return trip as she really wanted to see the contemporary art exhibits and we just didn't have the time.

I'll tell you what -- I think both Blaise and I would take a visit to the Smithsonian over a trip to Disney World any day!

Nothing Like a Mini Road Trip to Zap Holiday Stress!!

Let it Snow!!!
We keep watching the weather and both Blaise's (New Jersey) hometown and my hometown (Ohio) are covered with the white stuff. We keep looking outside as it certainly is cold enough to snow right now here in NC -- but alas, the skies remain Carolina Blue.
If you are like most of us -- this can be a very hectic time of year and with that hectic schedule and pressure comes all kinds of stress. So what can one do to beat that stress? Well, if you get your hands on any of the recent articles from NBC news, Forbes, or Kaboodles you can read some pretty bizarre suggestions -- everything from skipping Christmas all together, celebrating Christmas on the New Year to avoid the crunch or, my personal favorite.... pulling over in traffic after getting stressed out holiday shopping to "take deep breaths and meditate." LOL! Can you imagine -- leaving the mall with a kid or two in the backseat, a trunk full of gifts to be wrapped, aching feet, a headache and dinner to prepare and "taking a minute to pull over, take a few deep breaths and meditate??" Come on guys -- you gotta be kidding!
We are feeling the holiday stress level rise here at our house, too. Between working (yep - we're still busy here at Carolina Pines), holiday parties, Sabrina's exams, last minute shopping, holiday baking, and the list goes on and on.... we decided that we need to step back and are going to "take a break" from the holiday commotion by taking a drive up to Washington, DC (about a 4 hour drive) to see the National Christmas Tree and the beautiful lights in DC sometime this week. So once Sabrina completes her exams -- we are in the car and driving up to DC for some good old fashioned "down time." Check out all the holiday happenings in Washington, DC by clicking here; http://godc.about.com/od/seasonalevents/a/Xmas_trees.htm?p=1.
That's just one of the many reasons we love living in North Carolina. It's great being able to say to eachother, "what do ya feel like doing this weekend?" and being able to drive in only a few hours to the mountains, the beach, Washington, DC, Nashville, and the list goes on and on. So -- beat those holiday blues -- take a mini road trip -- and put your cares behind you!
Have a great week.
Blaise & Cathie

It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Christmas....

Every year the weekend before Thanksgiving, Blaise goes up into the attic and pulls down box after box of reindeer, wreaths and lights so we can decorate the outside of the house and, on Thanksgiving night, be the first family to "light up the neighborhood!" It's been our tradition ever since we've been married. The kids always loved being the first ones to have their house decorated. The tradition lives on!