Success on all fronts!

Posted by Becci.

Happy Thanksgiving.

We sort of participated in the Greensboro Gobbler this morning. By sort of, I mean we showed up and it was going on, so we joined in for the dog and master walk. Part way through the route, a posted sign said we'd burned enough calories to warrant a big serving of turkey and stuffing. While perhaps the signs were intended for those running the 10k, I'm going to take them at face value and gobble up later this afternon. Besides, I heard there are no calories involved if you eat at someone else's house.

It has been a big week for us. Mom came to visit last weekend and we had a great time. We introduced her to the only thing other than NASCAR that is fast in the South, the Cookout. It's a very fancy fast food drive thru with the best burgers and pretty tasty hush puppies. On Friday, after some serious pre-Thanksgiving shopping, we went to a wreath auction and for drinks and appetizers at our favorite restaurant.

On Saturday, we made a trek down to Pinehurst, and along the way, happened upon a huge pottery festival in Seagrove, so we stopped there too. At the end of the day we showed off the fancy replacement grill the nice people at Two Men and a Truck bought for us and Mom treated us to her special key lime pie.

Mom basically said, following a successful solo walk with Ernie on Sunday morning, that he's the cutest grand-puppy she has, but she was reluctant to let us quote her. We asked her repeatedly if he was cuter than his cousins Keiko and Token and her very PC answer was "not cuter, just different." We knew what she meant though and we're all quite proud.

Before she set off for Florida again, Mom left us with a super cool flat panel TV/DVD player for the sunroom. Heather thinks it appropriate that we upgraded from the 13 inch TV we had just in time for her to return to work. We're very thankful though, especially today when the upstairs furnace is out. Apparently, when you have two furnaces and one of them works, it is not considered an emergency, so it looks like this is our situation for the weekend. Great. Perfect. Strongbow.

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After a great visit with Mom and in anticipation of a short week of work, we went to Cingular on Monday night to change our numbers to local numbers. If cell phone service visits are inherently long, you can imagine what happens when you try to make them in the South. After two store visits, four service personnel and two-30 minute telephone conversations, we were successful in getting new numbers. Please update your phones, because after all of that, we learned our old numbers no longer work and we cannot have the promised changeover voicemail or call-forwarding.

Heather: 336-686-0621
Becci: 336-686-0620

Other good news from Monday is that Ernie was told by the vet that he's just what the breeder's intended when they mixed Labs with Poodles. Again, we were quite proud.

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On Tuesday, we both set off to face the North Carolina DMV; Heather for plates and me to make my sixth attempt at a driver's license. I'd secured a notarized affidavit saying I was legally changing my name from Rebecca J. to Rebecca J. and I had about 36 other forms of documentation. After six or seven minutes, I cleared the first hurdle and nearly did a dance right there.

I scored 22 out of 25 (yes, Heather did better than me, but I did get a call from her right in the middle of the test, and as I was sitting beneath a huge sign that read "No Cell Phones in the testing area," I was distracted. She was calling though to say she'd succeeded in getting a NC license plate, so I couldn't be mad.) 22 is still a passing grade however...and I thought I was home free.

Oh...but no. The North Carolina DMV does not accept out of state checks. Right. I was supposed to take solace in the fact that my test scores would be good for 90 days.

Unwilling to take any further risks, I made a seventh trip there later that afternoon with cash in hand. I picked the background with the outline of the state (you get four choices here) and 30 minutes later, I had further proof that I live here. I wasn't sure whether to celebrate or cry.

Afterall, that just means I get to face the license plate people next. I think I'll get the JUST J vanity tag. Heather's new tag (you get only one, for the back) is WND-5578. You think that is a vanity tag?

Other big news--Ernie was allowed upstairs for the first time. Heather was perhaps more excited than he, as I think my acquiesence meant to her another tally point in the Heather vs. Becci ongoing challenge. Ah well, I'm a sucker.

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We're headed to friends today for dinner and then to the mountains tomorrow. Hope each of you has a great Thanksgiving. Gobble till you wobble! We sure miss you.