Our American Idol

This year marked the tenth season of the popular television show, American Idol. In the show's first years I was an avid viewer, but honestly have not watched the show in seven years. However this season, my Tuesday and Wednesday nights turned my eyes back to the reality show. Why? Because of a contestant named Scotty McCreery. Scotty is a "local boy" from Garner, NC. Not only did I tune in for our "hometown hero," but also because this 16 year old is extremely talented. He has a deep voice like Josh Turner, southern charm like George Strait and captivates his audience like Elvis. His fans range in age from 5 years old to 95.

When the American Idol Tour rolled through Raleigh on July 27th, I wanted to go and see this boy in real-life! Not only do I love concerts but I also wanted to see him for his talent and that the American Idol winner would be performing for his hometown. My mother is a real estate agent with Fonville Morisey Realty and she works for the same company as Scotty's mom. As a company event we could purchase tickets and sit together. I assumed we would have a section of tickets on the first level. Boy was I wrong! I arrived at will-call the night of the show to pick up my tickets and my eyes were immediately drawn to section "FLOOR." Then it said, "ROW 12." Are you kidding? As we made our way to our seats, we kept getting closer and closer to the stage. We were 12 rows from the American Idols. The American Idol contestants were inches from us! It was an amazing experience. One I will never forget! The best part was being able to loock around and see how electric the RBC Center was. Getting to see what it looked like from the performers' view. Reading "I Love You Scotty" signs to "Scotty, I'll Meet You at Bojangles" signs. Scotty topped the performance when he came out for his encore in a Carolina Hurricanes jersey. As famous as he has become, Scotty still hasn't forgotten where he's come from and that he loves North Carolina "THIS BIG."

The view of the RBC Center from the 12th row.

Me, Kiera and Travis screamed along with 30,000 screaming fans!

Bleeding Purple and Gold

As I ran errands this weekend I was reminded of college students going back to school. Everywhere I went college students were with their parents buying dorm furniture, notebooks, and an endless supply of Raman Noodles and Easy Mac. Seeing all of the excitement bustling around me has made me nostalgic of my college days. The memories have continued to flood back. Memories of Freshman Move-In (carrying everything I could possibly need for the next year up three flights of stairs), meeting my new friends in the dorm, our scheduled lunches and dinners in the dining hall and gathering in each other's rooms for the newest episodes of The Bachelor, One Tree Hill or The O.C. I was very fortunate to call the town of Greenville, NC and East Carolina University home for four years. ECU blessed me with the best memories and the best friends a girl could ask for.

A Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On!

Today was a first! I have lived in North Carolina my whole life, and today I experienced an earthquake! Sitting at work all of a sudden my monitor started to shake, then the flourescent lights above me started to shake and almost give a humming sound. It lasted about 20-30 seconds. Lots of thoughts were crossing mind during these quick seconds. Thoughts like, "Am I imagining this?," and "Could this be an earthquake?" I quickly reminded myself - I live in NC. I've never known us to have an earthquake. Everyone in the office was thinking the same thing. Within moments Twitter and Facebook were telling us that this was in fact an earthquake. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Richmond, Virginia that could be felt as far south as Charleston, SC, the beaches of NC to as north as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
What I was most amazed by was the technology that we have access to in our modern times. Within seconds my Twitter and Newsfeed was full of information regarding this earthquake before the local or national news had posted it to their websites.
I can now say that I've survived an earthquake and that 2011 has brought me another "first."

A Trip of a Lifetime

As kids are starting to go back to school, the popular once-a-year question starts to be heard, "What did you do this summer?" Almost every year my answers have been similar. "Went to the beach," or "Went to visit family." However this year I have an answer I've never had before, "I went to Africa!"

On June 25th I left the Raleigh-Durham Airport with nine other people from my church headed to Kenya for 10 days. These 10 days were completely life-changing. I learned a lot about how long international flights can be, what it's like to drive on the other side of the road, speak the same language as someone 8,000 miles away from home, go to the bathroom on the side of the road, feed a baboon from your car car window and catch a glimpse of seeing the world as God sees it. We did more and learned more in a day in Kenya than I've ever done in America. My visit to Africa was a once in a lifetime experience and I can't wait to share my stories with you.

A Day in the Life

This is it! I have joined the 21st century and decided to start a blog. I've come to the conclusion that life moves too quickly. There are so many moments in life that I wish I could pause and live in these moments forever. But these moments tend to go by in the blink of an eye! I love photography and in order to "capture" these moments I tend to take a lot of pictures. By a lot of pictures, I mean.. A LOT! I believe a picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures will help me to "re-live" these special moments.
Through this blog I hope to keep a journal of special moments in my life. I believe everyday is a treasure and worth every minute. I hope you enjoy a glimpse of my life and the little moments that make life so wonderful.