Playing Catch Up (once again...)

Well, I have a good excuse this time-our computer crashed in late September and my access to pictures, blogging, and slide.com was impeded by malware and a crummy hard drive.  Some time in December, Tim was able to get everything in working order again so here I am on my first snow day of 2011 playing catch-up on the last third of 2010!
I'll start with what I never got to in September, our trip to New Hampshire in mid-September.  Tim, being the nature enthusiast he is got more pics of the scenery than he did of Mary and Andy's celebration.  The weather was a welcome change from the warm September we were having in the south and the sights were gorgeous. 
North Conway, New Hampshire:

The whirlwind of October quickly swept in and we were absolutely terrible about taking pictures.  Both Tim's 32nd birthday and the 3rd annual Hallowine snuck by without a single picture being taken.  Great fun was still had but until Tillie's first birthday we have nothing documented.  Tillie has quickly managed (with the help of her brother to de-stuff any stuffed toys she received and I managed to survive turning 30!  It probably helped to have have a wonderful husband who gave me gifts that acted as a trip down memory lane to all the wonderful places we've been together.  Some highlights were the bar-b-que from Fiorella's and the deep dish pizza from Giordano's...YUM! Camellia's in bloom and a beautiful day in the park made my 30th a wonderful day!

November ushered in yet another milestone as Tim celebrated his 10 year college reunion at The Citadel.  We also hosted Thanksgiving with ALL of the family once again.  Good times were had all month long!

Somewhere between November and December, I finally convinced Tim to get started on the fence...or he finally convinced me to let HIM do it...one way or another, here are few of the pictures documenting the progress. Now, if it only had a gate...

With the holiday season fully underway, we were able to host once again. First, Tim's grandmother and aunt stayed with us for Christmas. We enjoyed having them here from St. Louis...especially since they brought a white Christmas with them! We almost thought we would not be able to host the Potter gathering the next day. However, much like the Potter way, a party of 8 turned back into a party of 30+ once word got out that the roads were safe!

One of the many wonderful things about South Carolina is that we can be blessed with a white Christmas and less than a week later have beautiful weather at the beach. We were lucky enough to head to Hilton Head, SC for the New Year. Starting the year at such a beautiful place, I have every reason to believe 2011 has many more wonderful moments to offer for us and I pray for all of you as well.

Happy Holidays from the Brocks (meaning Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year...along with any others occurring during this summary!) Here's to 2011!

October 3, 1978

Happy 32nd Birthday to Tim! 
Click HERE to find out what happened the year you were born.
And the number one song on your birthday...

Down Dog

An excerpt from a journal entry I did for yoga training, written June 6th:  This was written in a moment when I was having a hard time focusing on what was important and not being so hard on myself...yes, believe it or not, I am hard on myself!

"...To add to the distraction there is a 7 month old in my house named Tille.  She is 6 pounds of fluff and has strategically timed her play time right when I go in yoga poses such as wheel or plank.  She starts by licking my legs, and then moves on to more vulnerable areas like my feet and face.  At first, I was annoyed.  I mean, here I am trying to quiet my mind and she's tickling me and bringing soggy toys to play fetch!  Today, it occurred that I should focus on the moment and not the distraction.  In that moment I was being loved by my pet.  Are there really any more pure forms of love than that?  She doesn't care about my thighs or how many calories I'm trying to burn today.  She only cares that her human is on the floor where she can kiss and play. In that moment she chooses to be content and so should I.  I'm sad that I didn't embrace her distractions earlier on.  Little moments of love like this make extending my yoga practice a little longer worth it."

Vacations, Visitors, and the Pursuit of Consciousness

Oh my goodness!  It has taken me quite a while to get back to this blogging thing!  I'll admit, I became a little preoccupied in March with other things and checked out of the blogging business for a while.  After that, LIFE happened and that's just about all the excuses I have for this post! 

I guess starting where I left off is the best place to begin catching everyone up...

APRIL-Hillary begins her yoga certification.  What an exciting experience this has been already!  The program I am participating in is a one-weekend-a-month kind of thing where I learn what yoga is really about, how I can apply it to my life and how I can help those around me (who are interested) as well. This really couldn't have fallen into my lap at a better time.  The month of April was already proving to be less than desirable, and the months that followed gave me many opportunities to practice "living in the moment" AND "breathing deeply." So far, I have relearned human anatomy and Ayurveda (the science of nutrition); have discovered I am a "Pita-Kapha"; and found a new level of patience. I've always enjoyed yoga and now I get to potentially DO something with this passion and learn much more about the art and science of a centuries old approach to life.

MAY-The school year ended and hope for a backyard fence began.

JUNE-Matt, Michelle, Tim, and I wend on a cruise to the Western Caribbean.  We traveled to Grand Cayman Island, Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize.  What a wonderful trip and such a blessing to experience! It was great to travel with Matt and Michelle (we miss them so much now that we are back in the south.)  Check out some of the highlights:

When we returned from the cruise, we were met with the unfortunate news that Tim's father would need some surgery that propelled us into a long summer of going back and forth between Spartanburg, Greenville, and Traveler's Rest.  The good news here is that through all of it, Dan is doing much better and is currently on the mend. 
JULY-Grandfather Mountain Highland Games really started off the month for us.  We camped a few nights and got a taste of tartans, bagpipes and the infamous Marshmellow War.  Somehow...(we must have been distracted...)there were no pictures captured of this weekend!  Will post from next year's event!  Shortly after this weekend, our dear friend from Colorado, Jenny, came to visit for a week!  I was so excited to have her here!  I had been very homesick for Colorado and she was the perfect antidote!  While here, we gave her a taste of southern cuisine, southern drawl, and southern heat...and then we took her to Charleston!



Our door is always open to our dear friend Jenny!  Just as she was leaving, Michelle and Carson made a quick visit before my mother and I headed back to the beach with them, but this time it was to Edisto Island:





What a great time!  Even through the power outage, my mother and I enjoyed and were appreciative of such a great chance to hang out with Michelle and her family!

AUGUST-This month was full of preparations...going back to school; Dan coming home from the hospital; Michelle and Carson making yet another return, but this time to help out with the family.  What a fast and busy month this was! 

SEPTEMBER-And here it is mid-September.  My 30th and Tim's 32nd are quickly approaching. We have just returned from yet another vacation to New Hampshire for Mary and Andy's wedding and I've learned through Ayuveda that if I truly want to honor my dosha, I need to give up TOMATOES!  Not sure if that last one will ever happen.  What will happen are more posts from me...starting with pictures from the New Hampshire trip.  I've just got to get them loaded on the computer! To all out there reading this who are close, we value your presence in our lives.  It has certainly been full with you in it!  For those of you reading this who are far away, we feel the void and cherish the moments we get.  Jai Bhagwan and Love to you all!

Invitation Only...

Well, we had to go private with the blog.  We started getting some odd comments from annonymous posters.  In general, this won't effect most of you, but in case there is difficulty in viewing, let me know and I'll try to correct the problem!  Hope you're all having a great weekend!