The iron man

I'm sure my brother will kill me for this, but I just couldn't help it. He has been training his ass off for this race and that, so I felt the need to post a photo of him emerging from the ocean. I give you the real Iron Man:



Then there's Todd & Abby having fun in the waves. While not shown here, Maria managed to capture some pretty hilarious "dead man's float" pics.

Breaking bread with birdies

Our usual bird-feeding platform is the dock behind Drew's beach house, but our new digs this year had no dock so we took directly to the shore instead. We created a feeding frenzy! Abby pulled me aside later that evening and said, "Auntie, that was really fun earlier...feeding the sea gulls. Can we do it again tomorrow?"

Abby and I (Auntie) tossing bread crumbs:





Maria takes part with Abby:

Sand Crab

Someone built this impressive sand crab on Holden Beach. It was back just far enough that it escaped high tide and thus remained in tact, even after a rather heavy thunderstorm.

I am particularly fond of the photo of Abby's "crab claw pose." Nice pincers don't ya think?!



"Abby-crab"



Maria at crab front

Beach week in a nut shell

More details and photos to come later, but what follows is a very brief synopsis of the highlights:

♥ Beach week was almost lost when we learned that the air conditioning unit in our rented house was cashed. Todd, Maria and Abby spent Friday night at 95+ degrees fahrenheit. I spent said night searching for backup houses. A substitute was found (pictured below), but Zoe was no longer invited. Thank you Caroline and David for graciously taking such wonderful care of my baby girl!


♥ Games were played. I reigned as the master of Clue. Miss Scarlet proved to most often be the criminal. She possessed murderous skills wielding several weapons.

♥ Olives must've been on hiatus. Most found were either tiny or ancient. The shell seekers were bummed.

♥ Abby lost a tooth with a bracket attached! In the words of my father the dentist, "she was an excellent patient - really she was - very good." And he was telling the truth. I was quite impressed with her myself.

♥ We made good use of a gift Abby received a couple of years ago - ladder ball. Great beach game. I acquired enough skills so as not to be completely embarrassed by my performance, but Todd was clearly the most talented player.

♥ I read a fabulous book, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I couldn't put it down. I will provide a more detailed post on it later, but I really loved it. Todd allowed me to borrow Under the Banner of Heaven by the same author, which I plan to read after finishing my current read and the book I have on hold at the library.

♥ I learned the origin of the ridiculously annoying word "mayhaps" that my friend Jen uses quite often - the movie Up. While I loathe the use of that word, I admit watching the scene where it is spoken more than a dozen times. For those of you who have seen the movie, all that needs to be said is, "SQUIRREL!!!" Very cute movie.

♥ The name of the house we rented was "Great Expectations." While I don't think any of us had any after the rocky start to our vacation, we found ourselves in a position to realize and enjoy our great vacation expectations.

Shared (Great) reads

Have you ever read a book and loved it so much that you wanted to pass it on to your friends in the hopes that they would love it just as much as you did?

During last week's vacation I watched my family open their hearts to some amazing characters:

• Enzo, the faithful and elderly lab mix from The Art of Racing in the Rain

• Augusten Burroughs, the quick-witted alcoholic from Dry

• Randy Pausch, father of three young children who fought and lost the battle against pancreatic cancer. He left a remarkable legacy via The Last Lecture.

I don't think of myself as one who needs positive reinforcement for the books I choose to read, but I admit feeling very pleased that Lisa, my friend's wife, loved The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Then at the beach, my brother held up the same book and asked me if I'd read it. I said, "YES!" and I was so excited for him to read it.

He loved it and passed it on to my mother who couldn't put it down. She adored Enzo - as we all should! Maria will follow shortly.

My mother, my brother and my sister all read The Last Lecture.

There are so many quotes from the The Last Lecture that touched my heart, but one of my favorites follows:

When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time. But in the end, people will show you their good side. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out."

I had a hard time taking this to heart last night when on my way home - through a sea of non-functioning traffic lights - I had to cut in front of a car on 751 (mind you, I used my turn signal and ample room was available for my merge). The driver behind me made an extravagant display of her middle finger for at least a full 3 minutes. I'm not afraid to say that I stared her down in my rearview mirror (left door mirror) and waved my heart out. I gave the driver just ahead of me a hearty giggle, but all I could think was, Really?! Seriously life is too short for that kind of white trash, redneck immature gesturing. All I could do was shake my head and hope said driver finds herself in a somewhat similar situation someday soon so that her idiocy is blatantly and brightly pointed out to her. Gee-freakin-whiz.

One of my brother's favorite quotes from Dry:

"Ad people don't care where you came from, who your parents were. It doesn't matter. You could have a crawl space under your kitchen floor filled with little girls' bones and as long as you can dream up a better Chuck Wagon commercial, you're in."

When I asked Maria about Todd's impression of Dry, she said, "He thought the beginning of the book was much funnier."

Of course it was - Augusten was still a belligerently drunk idiot. But I truly believe that the perseverance, subsequent failing, and rebound are what truly make Mr. Burroughs a hero to be admired.

Oh. And he's DAMN funny.

While my family was enjoying my earlier reads, I struggled through Angela's Ashes.

It wasn't that I didn't like the book, but the Irish dialect required a bit more concentration than what I hoped for in a beach read. Depressing? YES. But I still recommend the book.

Seriously, The Last Lecture and The Art of Racing in the Rain should not be missed.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog

When I was a little girl my mom said, "Home again, home again, jiggety-jog" upon each return home. I always loved hearing her say that.

My sister Maria said it the other night when we returned from shopping at the Tanger outlets and it brought back a lot of memories so I had to mention it.

Indeed I am home again, and quite sad that our annual beach week is over. In Abby's words, "it was our best beach week yet!"

Fuzzpa's new "instant ice cream maker" was a hit. Todd was the blender-king, whipping up exotic smoothies daily. Watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, strawberries, bananas and even carrots made it into the mix. My favorite was the peanut butter ice cream - good thing there was a recipe for that since somehow more than 72 ounces of fresh peanut butter made its way with us to Holden Beach.

Abby and Todd did a fair bit of body boarding. They're a great team and Abby has an absolute blast riding the waves.



In true shell-obsessed fashion, Maria and I ventured out early Monday evening (August 3rd) hoping to find some prize shells. We found none, but the rest of the Glazeners found their way down to the beach to check on our progress.

Below: Todd, Maria and Abby by the pier. I am certain Todd is taller than he claims to be. 6'1" isn't short, but by golly I swear he teeters above that, and teetering is the most accurate description of him at this point.



The photos below were taken at Provisions - our favorite local Holden Beach eatery. We usually dine there at least twice during our week in town.

I managed to avoid using the facilities at Provisions until this year. The sign above the lavatory door might suggest my avoidance.


Facilities were far more pleasant than I anticipated, but I still plan to do my best in the future to avoid the necessity of "4U2PN."

Moving on - Grammy, me, Abby:



Grammy and Abby:



Abby and Daddy (a.k.a. brother Todd). I love this photo:



Todd and Maria (I love this photo, too!):



Abby and Fuzzpa:



I'm proud to say I gave Abby that little green hat that reads, "Let it Ripple." She was adorable in that cap.

Abby noticed on Saturday that I was wearing a shirt just like one she owns. Below we're pictured wearing our twin t-shirts.


I'm already looking forward to beach week 2010!

Holden Beach on the Horizon

The Glazener family vacation to Holden Beach is rapidly approaching and I find myself giddy with excitement. The photo pictured left was taken by my sister last year as we ventured out at the ass-crack of dawn to troll for olive shells - which we'd become obsessed with over our week-long stay.

Finding an olive was like finding a $20 bill free and clear. We couldn't stop searching for them, right up through our last morning last year.

We'd even begun tracking the tides in order to pinpoint prime olive-shelling. (I should feel embarrassed at that admission, but I just don't).

I have every confidence that the olive-shelling frenzy will pick right up where it left off last August, as well as regular seagull feedings, boogie boarding sessions and lots of beach combing. Abby is the cutest true surfer-girl to grace any beach, so I always look forward to spending a day in the sun with her.

Here's to all the book reading, sunbathing, relaxing and OLIVE SHELL DISCOVERY to come very soon. Can't wait to spend time with all you Glazeners! xoxo

Holiday Weekend

I spent Friday night with my dog pals Emma, Bailey and Zoe and then drove home to Winston-Salem for a birthday-Mother's Day-Father's Day weekend.

The Glazener's have been quite busy lately so all of the aforementioned holidays/occasions were foregone, but we managed to meet up this past weekend to cram everything in together.

The first photo is not a Glazener photo, but a Burleigh one: Sydney (lovely god daughter) and Felton (adorable brother). Kerry came by my office on Friday to pick something up so of course I took advantage of the photo op. Who couldn't when given the chance to capture such beautiful babies?!


The birthday, which was Thursday, was sister-in-law Maria's. I won't divulge her age, although I bet no one could guess anyway because she is in fabulous shape.

I feel bad now for having not mentioned it earlier, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA! I LOVE YOU!

As of late, a weekend with all of us together is pretty rare, so we lumped Mother's Day and Father's Day in with Maria's birthday. I think everyone made out well.

Abby and Todd:



Maria and Mom (Grammy), who we've all missed dearly:



Then of course I always owe Maria for being primed and ready to capture the cutest photos. I'm luckiest when she uses my camera to snap them! First we have Abby and Casey with Bailey hanging out to the left:



Then Abby with Bailey ("Baywee" or "Bail"):



I told Maria and Abby a gazillion times over the weekend, but I just love Abby's cute new do. It is so super-cute in person. It made me sad when Abby told me that her best friend told her she didn't like it, but I'm pretty sure she's the only one who doesn't love it!

Too bad you can't see it in these photos, but anyone who knows Shelly (Mehlen) Anderson - that's Abby's cut. I LOVE IT!

Holden Olives

Olive Shells (those I found this past week pictured right)
Family: Olividae. Number: about 400 species.

These small glossy gastropods are found in tropical and warm seas. Shaped like pointed olives (more like torpedoes to me), they have been used for jewelry and ornaments since prehistoric times. Each shell has its own color and design, due to a dye the animal secretes continuously over its lifetime. Using its large foot to pull its prey down, the olive snail feeds on worms, bivalve shell animals and crabs. Olive shells are popular with collectors because of their almost limitless range of patterns and colors. Most markings in olives consist of zigzags, chevrons and small tent-like (inverted V) markings.

The shell of the lettered olive, Oliva sayana, is the state shell of South Carolina in the United States. The shell coloration can vary from cream to a greyish exterior with reddish-brown zigzag markings. The common name of this species is derived from the darker surface markings that sometimes resemble letters. (See shells below darker center shell and to the left).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In case you're wondering, I've included this brief informative entry on Olive shells because we became absolutely obsessed with finding them. So help us, we even planned some of our activities around the possible "prime Olive shelling" times. Maria is a pro. Honestly, I felt like a beach-combing virgin trying to keep up with her.

Interject: Phelps just CRUSHED the World Record in the 400 I.M. I don't miss swimming, but WOW, that kicked ass. Go U.S.A!

So, since it was our last morning today, Maria and I rose at 6 a.m. to search for the last of the Olives. While the beach wasn't loaded with the treasures for which we searched, we did find enough to make the trek worth it. Of course the champion of the week was Abby, who on Thursday found a fully intact Sand Dollar, almost without any effort at all!

Maria, double-fisting the caffeine while I snapped her photo under the pier

Saturday morning's sunrise

Me at sunrise (at this time in my life this is a RARE sight!)

Probably more latent Holden news to come. We had a smashing good time!

Greetings from Holden Beach

Mom and I arrived safely at Coastal Living on Saturday night. We were both exhausted, so after catching up with everyone else, we all retired early. Sunday morning we decided to go to the beach for a while and then head out to the Tanger Outlets for the last day of tax-free weekend. Grammy (mom) was supposed to come down to the beach soon after we left, but she never came. We all wondered why but assumed she just decided to skip it for the day.

When I got back to the house, I found all of the rugs hanging from the back porch railing and all of the furniture relocated to the other end of the house. Grammy was in the shower. When I asked her what happened, she screamed from the shower, "Oh I've had SO much fun since you've been gone!" I thought she'd just gotten a wild desire to clean. I was very wrong.

When she came out she said the washing machine "exploded." All of the clothes remained in the overflowing machine and my mom spent the early afternoon frantically searching for a mop and then feverishly sweeping the river of water out the door. She was all alone in her quest, and not happy about it! It is the following morning and the rugs are still not dry.

This morning, my dad who cannot sit still, decided to weed and mow the lawn. He just cut the cable cord with the lawn mower. Abby is now facing a week without Sponge Bob. What else can go wrong?! Hoping my next report will be more positive.

Photo 1 below was taken Sunday, Todd and Abby body surfing.
Photo 2 is Abby (morning hair extraordinaire) and Maria, taken today.

Coastal Living

Later today, mom and I will be heading to Holden Beach (Supply, NC) for a week with the family. The name of the house we rent is "Coastal Living" and we absolutely love it. The owner is a friend of dad's, so Casey and Zoe get to come, too. Bailey isn't allowed because he will bolt if given the opportunity, and a beach house with two main entrances and a six-year-old occupant (the niece, Abby) is highly likely to provide him with many chances to escape. I really don't think "escape" is his intent, since he always appears to be relieved when I find him hours into his free venture, but that is a story for another time. Anyway, I truly believe Bailey would rather spend the week with the Burleighs and his pal Emma than to sweat it out at the beach.

Holden is an amazing family beach - very quiet, no large hotels, clean and close to other areas of interest: Kure Beach, Fort Fisher, Southport, Myrtle Beach and more. Our favorite restaurant nearby is Fishy Fishy in Southport. Not only is the food fabulous, but the atmosphere is perfectly relaxed (great for kids but you don't feel like you're at Chucky Cheese), and the dockside location offers a view of fantastic sunsets. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend giving Fishy Fishy a try.

The photo of Zoe hanging out by the dock in the back yard is from the summer of 2006. I'm sure I'll be posting current pics upon my return. And remember to always wear sunscreen!

Happy trails...