#3 - I've Never Planned a Family Reunion

My husband Mike has a great family, full of wonderful and weird characters (like most families I am sure). Unfortunately, distance and time has prevented us from getting together as often as we would like. The last time the whole family was together was at the matriarch of the family's, Madeline Pond, funeral. Even though the circumstances were formal and sorrowful, we still managed to be silly and have a fantastic time together. The comment, "we need to get together more often," was thrown around and I took this to heart. So in my mind I started planning a family reunion.

I was randomly watching PBS one day and the program "Our State" came on. I caught a segment on a place called Fontana Village that was built during the construction of the Fontana Dam by the TVA during the 1930s. The Tennessee Valley Authority was one of FDR's programs of the New Deal in order to create jobs during the Depression and also assist a poverty stricken area of the country with electricity and infrastructure. The Village was built as a place for the workers of the area and was later remodeled to become the vacation resort it is today. Being the history nerd I am, I thought this sounded awesome and I immediately thought of the family reunion.

So last November my husband and I took off for Fontana for a long weekend to check out the property and see what kinds of adventures were to be had at this place. We had a great time and being November most of the stuff was closed in the village. We thought if we could have such a good time with restaurants, the pool, and other amenities not available, it would be a blast in the summer. I set up a Facebook event and the planning began to take shape.

I did my best to accommodate everyone coming. We took polls on what dates people were available, I sent out a survey for possible activities, and took charge of making a schedule and fixing food for the family. In early June I sent out the final itinerary and everyone that was able to make it had their rooms or cabins booked. All we had left to do was let the good times roll.

And we had some great times! Highlights of the trip included swimming in the pool and lazy river, Rock Band sessions, family meals together, hiking and exploring waterfalls, and attending church together. Was there stress? Of course. Did everyone get along all the time? No way. But that is what family is all about. They are the people that know all of your faults and love you anyway.

The best part of the whole experience was watching the next generation of Ponds get to know one another. At Grandma Pond's funeral that was the thing that stuck out to me the most - how these children were starting a whole new chapter in the Pond legacy. So although Charles and Madeline may be gone, the future is looking bright for the Pond family. Thank you to Dave and Marj, Tim, Anne and Emily, Matt, Laura and Carter, Dick and Connie, Kyle, Beth and Lawton, Kevin and Mandy, and my husband for letting me be a part of your family and for making the trip a success! See you all again in 2013!

#2 - I've Never Donated My Hair

My mother used to be a hair dresser. My childhood was filled with perms, cuts, and a little color. She experimented new techniques on me. She did my hair for almost every homecoming dance and prom. Many times I begged her to do something different with my hair when I got bored. It's like having your girlfriends dye your hair at a sleepover - except she was a professional :). Looking through my yearbooks, every year I had a different "look."

This spirit of change has stayed with me as an adult. I have cut my hair just about every length, and dyed it almost every color under the sun (no black goth phase for me though). One thing I have never been able to do though is let my hair grow. I always get antsy and cut it off before it gets too long. This past year or so however I have just let it grow and not done much to it, and lots of people remark, "I can't believe how long your hair has gotten!"

I didn't even realize how long it had gotten until it became hard for me to take care of. And usually what happens at this stage is I cut it off. But then a thought occurred to me - I have always envied people that donate their hair to places like Locks of Love. However, with my frequent styling I have never had long enough hair in good enough condition to make the contribution. Until now. Talking with a friend at school, I found out she was also getting sick of her long hair and I asked her if she would be willing to go short with me and donate the rest. She agreed and I set up an appointment with my favorite stylist at Belle Vous Salon.

So below is our haircutting adventure:

Sara pre cut doing the great picture in the mirror pose.

Look how long and gorgeous that hair is!

Here is the 8 inch long ponytail! Kiss it goodbye!

It's all gone baby!

Paige's ponytail!

Bye bye hair!

And now for the drum roll please...

Sara proudly displaying her braid and a beautiful new 'do!

Paige's new look and hairstylist extraordinaire Taran!

I had a fabulous day at the salon chatting with two wonderful ladies. I am so happy that Sara was a good sport and joined me in the big cut. I was not nervous at all, but I know this is the shortest Sara has been in awhile and I think she looks gorgeous with shorter hair! I donate blood pretty regularly, but for some reason this has given me so much pride! I guess because I know how long it took to grow out, and how difficult it was for me to do. I know it's just letting your hair grow and that I didn't actually have to DO anything, but it is still a great feeling!

So soon our hair will be off to an organization called Children With Hair Loss. It is based out of Michigan and they make wigs for children with cancer, burns, alopecia and many other medically related reasons for hair loss. They give these pieces free of charge until the child turns 18. If you are unable to grow out your hair, then please consider making a monetary donation to this group. I know how fabulous I feel with a new 'do and I can't imagine how great it must feel for the child on the receiving end.

#1 I've Never Eaten A Kripsy Kreme Burger

This Saturday I embarked on my first entry for my 30 for 30. It involved something I saw on one of my favorite TV shows, Man V. Food. In it a guy, Adam Richman, travels around the country eating obscene amounts of food as he takes on different challenges offered by restaurants. Most of them involve dining room table sized pizzas, enormous omelets, and sometimes insanely spicy wings, chili, etc. In one episode, he highlights unique offerings at minor league baseball parks. One that stuck out in my mind was the Krispy Kreme Burger. That's right - a burger sandwiched between a sliced Krispy Kreme glazed donut.

So when I learned our own Gastonia Grizzlies offered this most interesting burger I had to give it a try. Plus I had never been to a minor league game before and so it sounded like a good opportunity to give the local ball park a try. Friends Mark and Anna and their girls are always up for an adventure and when I learned they already had free tickets, I had to bum along.

It has been super hot recently, and Saturday was no different. When we first got to the park we were fairly early and lucky enough to get a spot in the shade. My husband and I, who teach at a local high school, ran into a bunch of former students, while Mark and Anna saw several people they know from church. Several current students work at the ball park, including the mascot. Madeline, who is normally terrified of these characters, started to warm up slightly to Chisel the Grizzly once she saw how friendly we were with him. We may have made progress!

If you have never made it to a minor league game in your town I highly recommend it. It is fairly inexpensive fun. The parks put on a great show with lots of activities between innings to keep you entertained. In fact, as Mike and Mark were taking Madeline to jump in the bouncy house they were stopped by a worker and asked if she would participate in the toddler race. It ended up only being her and another little girl from her church. The guys gave her a good pep talk ahead of time and boy did it show! The announcer said she may have set a new ball park record!

We didn't actually watch a lot of the game. We spent most of our time socializing and walking around. Which means I had a great time!

So finally around 9pm the girls started to melt down (we were surprised they made it that long!) and we headed to the concession stand to find what I had come to the park for. Not only did they offer the Krispy Kreme Burger, but they also had the Krispy Kreme Dog as well. I ordered both of course and we all sat down to try them out.

The verdict: The burger tasted a lot like a maple sausage patty, and the dog a lot like a very sweet corn dog. Neither one was gross, but I am not sure I will be ordering either any time soon. But it was fun to say I had tried them. It was also fun to go to the ball park for the first time. I had a great time with great friends, and it was good to catch up with a bunch of former students, and see current ones in action. This first item on the list was a success! Stay tuned for #2! Let's just say it might get a little hairy!

30 for 30

On June 1st I turned 29. I'm getting old. Now, I know people will say "You're still a baby," and "Oh, to be that age again," but let's be honest. The time is going by. And I've heard it goes quicker and quicker. The reality of it is, nobody knows what middle age is. For some people it is 40 or 50, but for others they learn much too late that their middle age came sooner.





I hate the phrase "Live like every day is your last." Nobody can do that. Nobody should do that in my opinion. It's totally unrealistic, and pretty selfish if you ask me. If everyday was my last day I would stay in bed, read, somehow have a campfire in my bedroom where I could make smores, go to a fabulous dinner with great friends and family, and cap the day off with fireworks. But that ain't gonna happen.





So maybe "make it count" works better. Or maybe life is way too complex to wrap up in some cutesy little slogan you can post above your mirror, or put in your locker. But at any rate, I do want to look back at the things I've done and not have too many regrets - know that I gave it a good go, had some fun, and maybe made people smile a little.





Talking to my assistant principal one afternoon, we got to discussing this little blog, and she was asking how it was going. I told her it was going slow, but that I had some big plans for my 30th birthday. She came up with the awesome idea of trying 30 new things before my 30th birthday. I loved it! And so that is what I will be doing, 30 things in the 12 months leading up to my birthday.





Telling some people about my idea, they said, "Aren't you a little young to have a bucket list?" But I really don't think of it that way. To me it is a living list. Or maybe I am being a bit morbid. I am the girl that told my mom I didn't have to make college plans because the world was going to end in the year 2000. So if in fact all this Mayan prophecy stuff is right, it is a bucket list. Otherwise, its just a list of things that I think sound pretty cool.





I do have a list already made. However, some of the things on it may get expensive, and depending on what the state of NC decides to do with teachers' salaries, I may not be able to get to some of them. So I am accepting ideas, and also donations in anyone feels so inclined.





I hope you enjoy reading over the next 12 months. I hope it inspires you to do something you may never have done before. I hope to have a great time!