A Chili Weekend

Wes invited Pat to join him in the Charleston ZTA Alumnae 3rd Annual Chili Cook Off to benefit breast cancer awareness. Wes entered last year and won fan favorite so we had high hopes for them this year. The weather was absolutely terrible. It rained all day Friday and the majority of Saturday afternoon but that didn't influence their determination to win.

Pat has been making this chili recipe since he and Wes lived together 10 years ago! For the competition he wanted to step up the ingredients using ground pork, ground veal and dry aged fillet. That proved to be a great decision because they took 1st place!!

We celebrated that night with dinner at The Grocery. The guys made sure to boast about their win to everyone we met. The chef even came out to congratulate them! So for the day we let them bask in the glory of their win.

 The weather finally cleared up on Sunday so we grabbed some lunch on Sullivan's Island and took a walk on the beach. 

We ended the weekend with a little something for everyone: food for me, the beach for Maggie and a tour of Fort Moultrie for Pat! Doesn't get much better than that.

Love and Happiness

I think it is funny that something that makes one person so happy can have the opposite affect for another.

The social media crazed world we live in leads many people to feel unsatisfied with themselves. My parents have always said they were the happiest when they had the least in terms of material possessions. I would like to think that holds true for most people but unfortunately many of us get caught up trying to "keep up with the joneses".

I occasionally find myself wondering who reads this blog and sometimes I feel the anxiety of being judged. Many times I don't proof read and my Dad frequently tells me I should have used 'me' instead of 'I', but I try to remember that I do this for the ones I love and I know you would never judge me! :)

When I was in 3rd grade, we were given the assignment of writing about what we would want for Christmas if we could only have one thing. My teacher told me that they wanted me to read my paper on the morning announcements. I don't remember the sequense of events but I remember standing in the main office with a stocking shaped piece of paper in hand, extremely nervous. I can see myself wondering why they thought it was such a big deal; I wrote about the only thing I thought anyone would want...love.

To this day when I feel myself getting caught up in the everyday world I think of how wealthy I am. I have lots of love in my life and that remains the only gift I need.

Happy Valentines Day!

One More Member of the Club

Rob, being the wonderful husband he is put together a great group to celebrate the departure of Shelly's 20's. Her best girlfriends from NYC surprised her Friday night followed by Haley, Jenny and myself on Saturday.

We celebrated with dinner downtown at Tsunami. Once we were home and in our PJ's it was time to take in some movies. A few months ago I came across some home videos of Shelly's from college and I had them converted to DVD. They provided us with lots of entertainment!

 

My "Stop, Drop and Roll" roll. Yummy!

No post about Shelly would be complete without a picture of Anacapri.

She is so sweet I could just eat her up!

Shelly, today I welcome you to the 30 and over club. Congratulations and Happy Birthday!

'Woo'hoo!!

Pat's cousin Trae got married...and the bride just so happened to be one of his good friends from high school. I know crazy, huh?! Not only did we get to visit with family we also had lots of fun with good friends we don't see enough.

For this wedding the McCarthy hospitality suite was on a whole new level. The Woo (Uncle Tracy) chose The Restoration on King which was centrally located between the hotels we were all staying in. We shared a condo with the rest of the Stier siblings across the street. The hospitality suite houses the essentials for any guest of the wedding and the best part is you are guaranteed to run into someone you know.

The bride was gorgeous and the church and reception site matched her perfectly. Pat was his usual self, attempting to steal the spotlight with his unusual dance moves (someone actually asked me if he was Russian?!).

We danced the night away and finally called it a night after a pit stop at...

We rounded out the weekend with a trip to The Battery in our favorite transportation for the weekend, a rickshaw, "a ricky".

Lounging on the rooftop...no big deal!

Congratulations to Trae and Meredith! We had an awesome time and are very happy for the beautiful couple!

A Different Point of View

Pat and I refer to this blog as 'ours' but I am the one who does all of the writing and I take most of the pictures therefore things are always from my perspective. Our recent vacation left us bound to a car for many, many hours. I filled some of that time looking through Pat's phone. While browsing his pics I found that he has documentation of everything he has done over the past 6 months.

My sister-in-law, Jenny and her family have made a tradition of compling a CD of the Stier's favorite songs for the year. My choice this year flew off of my tongue, it wasn't until later that I realized my song was written for my husband. The Lucky One by Alison Krauss and Union Station.

You're the lucky one

So I've been told

As free as the wind,

blowin' down the road

Loved by many, hated by none

I'd say you're lucky 'cause I know what you've done

Not a care in the world

Not a worry in sight

Everything's gunna be alright

Cause you're the lucky one

This boy is everywhere. He is somewhere different every week, sometimes everyday so he has seen a lot! Starting with the first picture in August here is Pat's life...

August 12:

Greenville, SC - Anacapri's birth

August 15:

Spruce Pine, NC

This stray dog kept showing up at the job sight. He was going to be Maggie#2 (sharing her love of spaghetti and all)  but never showed up on the last day of the project.

 August 20:

Mount Mitchell State Park, NC

August 26:

 Prosperity, SC

August 28:

Columbia, SC

Working with your best friend, not a bad deal!

September 1:

Brevard, NC

.

September 10:

Bayou La Batre, Alabama
Home of Forrest Gumps "best good friend," Bubba

September 20:

Highlands, NC

You're the lucky one

Always havin' fun

A jack of all trades a master of none

You look at the world with a smilin' eye

And laugh at the devil as his train goes by

September 23:

Columbia, SC

Maggie giving the "if I look at you out of the corner of my eye, you

don't see me" look. She really wanted to go for a ride!

September 27:

Isle of Palms, SC

O Happy Day

September 28:                          

Michael and Gina's Wedding

October 4:

Tennessee

October 22:

Andrews, North Carolina

October 26:

I-20 SC 

October 30:

Western North Carolina

Well you're blessed I guess

By never knowing which road you're choosin'

To you the next best thing

To playin' and winning is playin' and losing...

November 12:

 North Carolina

Our favorite gas station

November 27:

Asheville, NC

December 3:

The Biltmore House

December 6:

Another day on the job

December 26:

Port Allegany, PA

Maggs and her PJ's

December 28:

Ellicottville, NY

December 31:

 Port Allegany, PA

You're the lucky one I know that now
Don't ask you why, when, where or how
No matter where you're at, that's where you'll be
You can bet your luck won't follow me...
'Cause you're the lucky one.