Our Trip to Raleigh, NC

We had such a great time visiting North Carolina this past week. It was such a smooth trip (well, kind of). Smooth meaning that we were able to hop on a plane and in less than 1.5 hours in the air, we went from Orlando to Raleigh (nonstop=thumbs up). We were picked up by our lovely friend Michelle and taken straight to the Videri Chocolate factory. yummy... dark, milky, salty chocolate... emmm. We're so excited for them. I really love the name and logo----> Check out Videri. They're relatively new so I think the website will be more extensive in the coming months.

Boy oh boy, we love Raleigh and its parks. Olivia was boucing from one playground area to the next. They really dedicate a lot of space for kids in the community. Love that. We visited a children's museum... so awesome! Check out Marbles Children Museum. Kids galore smiling, laughing, learning, playing... just a wonderful and creative place for kids to be. Zach and I wish we had a place to take Olivia like this in Florida. She is bored with some of the parks plus it be HOT outside.

Michelle and Chris were super sweet to let us stay in their cozy home. We had a ball playing music, making food and petting Miss Maggie the cat. Olivia enjoyed meowing all week. It was pretty cute to hear. I hope she didn't traumatize Maggie too bad. Let's see... Michelle took us to North Carolina Museum of Art. We took a stroll around the Museum and found such amazing sculptures and structures all over the grounds.

One of the days, we went to the Rose Garden. So pretty and super relaxing. I imagine the locals coming here for a romantic picnic. The layout is like a maze which can be fun and scary with a toddler. She's now a runner (which wears her and us out easily). She's fast and I sometimes for a second or two can't find her (very scary) I keep asking her to hold hands and she's beginning to nod her head yes and lifting up her hand. I hope she continues to do this :). // As you scroll down, her face is hilarious in the second photo (so cute).

Pullen Park is awesome for kids to run around... hop on trains, go on carousels, play on swings... so many things to do. Crazy, how much there is at this place. We could have easily spent the whole day here. This is a nice place to meet up with other families and chill out together while the kids go insane.

Here's some around town photos:

Alright so this is mostly what we did. We look forward to going back in May/June. I think next time it will be just the two of us. It was hard to go to restaurants, have long conversations, observe people and places as much as we wanted with little Miss Olivia. She definitly wants your full attention... as we should be but, I think we need another visit to seal the deal and look for jobs up there. So we'll be seeing you soon, Michelle and Chris! Here's some more random photos from the trip.

Time for a nap after this post... good day! Up coming posts topics: 18 month update, Stuff Olivia likes, and Artwork update. Thanks for reading.

Vacation TIme!

We are headed to North Carolina to visit some friends and do a bit of exploring. We look forward to checking out this potential place for living after Zach graduates. We hear great things about the triangle area. So wish us luck!! I will have a full report when we get back (crossing-fingers that its our place!) I hope you enjoyed reading Zach's 25 questions as much I did. I'm happy he went along my request. He's fun like that. Thanks Zach! I want to start doing some mini interviews of friends and family. I like getting to ask some fun questions and hear some great answers. Later Ya'll

Here's a Design Sponge photo of the Raleigh city guide we are looking at in helping with the exploration.

25 Questions for Zach

Name: Zachary Alexis Veltheim
Born: 06/21/1976

1. What does the name Veltheim translate to? I believe it translates to "World House" or "Field House". My dad jokingly said that that probably means outhouse.
2. Where are your family roots from? My father was from Helsinki, Finland. My mother's father was from Motherwell, Scotland (which is right outside Glasgow) and her mother was from Moundsville, West Virginia (though her family had been in America since before the revolution).
3. How have your parents influenced you? It might sound cliche but they encouraged us to follow our inspirations and live life as we saw fit.
4. If your dad were here today, what would you like to say to him? or want to do with him? I would tell him that I love him and then we could go snorkeling.
5. Can you remember your earliest childhood memory of happiness and that of fear? Earliest memory of happiness, I guess, would be sitting in our backyard with my parents, brother and cat. This was probably around 3 years old. The earliest fear memory would probably be watching the closet to make sure shadow monsters didn't come out.
6.  Is there something in your life that you feel very passionate about? Humans are rapidly making the world uninhabitable for most life, including themselves. That's pretty sad.
7. If you could be any animal, what animal would that be? plant? and insect? why? For an animal I would be a bird, maybe a hawk or kestrel. It would be so amazing to fly. If I were a plant, I would probably be a tree. Maybe a Live Oak with branches that reach out down to the ground. kids could climb all over me. I love insects but I don't think that they "enjoy" life so I don't have much desire to be one. But I guess I would become a honeybee. It would be interesting to be part of a superorganism and see ultraviolet wavelengths. 

8. What is it about Landscape Architecture that keeps you satisfied for it to be your career? It is almost always different with projects at many different scales. It also provides a mix of art, science and sociology (a must for me). 

9. Can you tell us something that you just learned that intrigued you? I have been watching a lot of hummingbirds feeding at my work. They are incredible little birds. I recently learned that they can beat their wings 200 times per second. This is accomplished because they have muscles that power the up and down stroke instead of just the down stroke as other birds do.

10. What is your perception of how people see you? It is probably as someone who doesn't talk much (until I know them). Then I talk too much once I do.

11. What are the qualities that draw you to people that you can base a friendship on? I guess that they are open and genuine. 

12. What's the best and worst decision you ever made? That is a very hard question. There are many decisions I have made that could be considered for either. I will just quickly pick two. For my best decision, I will say deciding to go to your art show at the Top restaurant. We were able to reconnect. This led to our relationship and Olivia. The worst decision is harder. I will pick one out of many. A few years ago while flipping through records at a record sale. I passed by a copy of Gal Costa's 1971 live album 'Gal A Todo Vapor'.  Someone else got it and I have cursed myself ever since. It is an amazing album from an amazing artist. The worst thing is that it was only $1. Or maybe the worst was passing up that copy of 'Rat On!' by Swamp Dogg.

13. Can you narrate to me your proudest moment? I'm very proud of Olivia. She is a wonderful little girl.

14. What do you find most ridiculous about life? People are incredibly ridiculous creatures. Their ability to think deeply and shallowly (all at once) has led to all kinds of comic/tragic misadventures throughout history.

15. Can you share a topic that causes your blood to boil? See question #6.

16. In what ways do you think you'll influence Olivia? I'm amazed at how much of a learning sponge kids are. Olivia is very perceptive at picking up actions, sounds, whatever you do. So, as a parent, you have to be very careful about what you put out there for them take in. If I'm not careful, she'll pick up my bad sense of humor. It may be too late. She already seems pretty silly.

17. If Olivia came home with a shaved head, an "I love dad" tattoo and let's just throw in a creepy boyfriend - how would you handle/deal with it? At 18 months, she is probably to young for any of those things. I would talk with her and hope that the things we've taught her will lead her to make good decisions.

18. Is there a song, book or piece of poetry that really resonates with you? There are many. One song that strikes me quite a bit is 'Attica Blues' by Archie Shepp. "If I would have had the chance to make the decision, every man could walk this earth on equal conditions. Every child could  do more than just dream on a star. All the strife and death would cease and I would put an end to war." It helps that this message is transmitted in such an amazingly raucous manner.  

19. How does it feel being a father? It's amazing. There's this little person who is growing and forming. Every day a little more of her personality comes to the surface. It's like she is slowly unraveling who she is to the world. And as a parent you get to be part of introducing the world to her. It's really a special experience.

20. What are your favorite and not so favorite things in being in a relationship? My favorite thing about being in a relationship relates back to something I mentioned in question #7. Humans are social organisms and as such can be more effective when bonded with others. Being in a relationship allows those individuals to make up a quasi-superorganism. Together you have increased brain power and social power. And it's really great to cuddle. My not so favorite thing about being in a relationship is my need to fulfill my loner side. Sometimes I want to be alone. These things can't always happen when you want them to. 

21.What was your first impression of me? My first impression of you was as someone very beautiful and playful.

22. How accurate do you now think it was? and on which counts do you think you were totally wrong and on which were you right? I was totally accurate on both counts. I'm finding out new things to reinforce those initial perceptions all the time.

23. What is your idea of a truly romantic evening? A truly romantic evening is one where a couple can spend time with each other in a way that they can learn new things about the other and themselves. It is romantic to actively experience the relationship deepening. 

24. Can you name three qualities that attracted you when you met me/got to know me? As I mentioned early you are very playful. This sense of fun and humor is important to me for a happy life. Your sense of openness and caring really pulled me towards you as well. You also have a very creative mind. Creative mind, open heart and funny bone.

25. If you could take a peek in your future (say 10 years from now), what would it look like? It would look like Scrooge McDuck diving in to a swimming pool of money. Except, instead of money, it would be happiness. And I would be human instead of a duck.

Buzzing Around

I'm a little late with all my post. I hope to get on a better schedule soon. I wish all weekends are as fun-friend filled as this weekend was. I was able to accomplish some things with my artwork and sold a bit! Yay! as well as, have a nice little brunch with Michelle and Chris //visiting from NC// Alecia and Coda - totally love that kid and so does Olivia // I love the way they interact plus Alecia has the whole mothering thing down! I'm always observing and taking down pointers. Zach made awesome french toast and I scramble some eggs with kale, cherry tomatoes (fresh picked) and some feta cheese. It was all so yum. I tried a beermosa // Blue Moon beer mixed with orange juice. Really good! Oh' and Chris sliced some fresh mango. So gooood. 

I've got a couple more post coming this week. Like: Zach's 25 questions (looking forward to reading them... i haven't peeked) and some more buzzing around in Orlando recently. I hope to write some more. I haven't really had a lot of time to get my head wrapped into anything but I have some topics brewing. Have a great day!