Monday Night Raw - AHHH YEAH!

I'm not sure there is really much for me to say here.

WWE. Monday Night Raw. Brad and Erin (and a million screaming fans, a bunch of overly muscled (and pumped with steroids?) men in very little clothing).

Awesome :)

Real Easter with the Worshams

For real Easter, the whole Worsham crew came to town ... Tommy and Le Anne, Todd and Alex, and their dog, Reagan (see here trying to take a nap in Duke's dog bed!)


We had a great weekend full of amazing food (seriously, we ate SO much that I went in to detox after they left!) and seeing the sites around town. We went to Duke and walked around the gardens and campus, ate, played trivia one night in Chapel Hill (and almost won, but not quite!), ate some more, went to the Farmer's market, went shopping, ate even more, and we even went to Church!

Well, it was Easter after all, so a great opportunity to check out the big church that is by our house. Let's just say it was ahhh-mazing. A serious rock band and stage, concert-quality lighting, big screens projecting the service (and having a countdown before mass started), a pastor that started his sermon (which in fairness, was actually a really good sermon) with "there were two cats walking down the road" and said "dude" more times that I could count. Oh, and don't forget ... wait for it ... fog machines. Yup, fog machines at church. Definitely not the church that I went to growing up!

We also went on a segway tour in Raleigh. So fun! Made me really, really want a segway!




A great time was had by all. After everyone left, the house was quiet and suddenly FULL OF STUFF. Le Anne and Tommy drove and brought everything we've ever left at their house with them. Including lots and lots of china. Anyone want to come over for a fancy dinner??


And while we are on the Easter theme. A cute email that got forwarded to me which I thought was true and worth sharing ... "Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned from the Easter Bunny":

• Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
• Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
• There's no such thing as too much candy.
• All work and no play can make you a basket case.
• A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.
• Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
• Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
• Some body parts should be floppy.
• Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans
• Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.
• The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
• To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.
  

Happy Easter!!

Faux-Easter with the Layburns

Since the Worshams were coming to visit for Easter this year, we decided to celebrate Easter the weekend before with the Layburns. And that was how "Faux-Easter" was born!

We had a great weekend with the whole family. Of course, we celebrated with margaritas - some traditions are worth continuing! (and passing on to the new generation it looks like - whoops!)


Decorating Easter eggs and the good ol' Easter egg hunt. Brad got in to the Easter egg decorating as always and I had to get a pic of his fancy apron :)


And here is Brad cleaning egg off of my parent's dining room ceiling.


Wait, what? Why, you might ask? Well, it was perhaps the funniest, laughing so hard we were crying, moment of the weekend.

It all started because we had run out of hard boiled eggs for decorating (last year Natalie couldn't have cared less about decorating eggs, this year she was a machine. Knocking through about a dozen eggs before others even had a chance). So, we switched to regular eggs. Which led Brad to start bragging about how he could hold an egg in one hand and squeeze with all his might and it wouldn't break.

Of course, my sisters don't know to just smile and nod at Brad. Instead, they "egged" him on (hee hee, couldn't help it). Pretty soon Brad had an egg in hand, and moments later there was an eruption of egg yolk, egg on the ceiling, all over the table and oozing down Sharon's hair and shirt.

Hysterical. Turns out Brad was holding the egg the wrong way or something like that. Who brought that guy anyway? ;)

Hysterical moment #2 of the weekend - Natalie's dance show for us on the screened porch. Suffice it to say that Natalie now has the new nickname, Elaine (referencing Seinfeld and the her crazy dancing episode). There might be video evidence but I'm holding it for blackmail for the moment. Natalie, you can thank me later :)

FOMO

This is SO true! Excerpt from a recent NY Times article ...

Feel Like a Wallflower? Maybe It's Your Facebook Wall (by Jenna Wortham)

One recent rainy night, I curled up on my couch with popcorn and Netflix Instant, ready to spend a quiet night at home. The peace was sweet — while it lasted. Soon, my iPhone began flashing with notifications from a handful of social networking sites, each a beacon of information about what my friends were doing.

As the alerts came in, my mind began to race. Three friends, I learned, had arrived at a music venue near my apartment. But why? What was happening there? Then I saw pictures of other friends enjoying fancy milkshakes at a trendy restaurant. Suddenly, my simple domestic pleasures paled in comparison with the things I could be doing.

The flurry of possibilities set off a rush of restlessness and indecision. I was torn between nesting in my cozy roost or rallying for an impromptu rendezvous, and I just didn’t know what to do.

My problem is emblematic of the digital era. It’s known as FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” and refers to the blend of anxiety, inadequacy and irritation that can flare up while skimming social media like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. Billions of Twitter messages, status updates and photographs provide thrilling glimpses of the daily lives and activities of friends, “frenemies,” co-workers and peers.

The upside is immeasurable. Viewing postings from my friends scattered around the country often makes me feel more connected to them, not less. News and photographs of the bike rides, concerts, dinner parties and nights on the town enjoyed by people in my New York social circle are invaluable as an informal to-do list of local recommendation.

But, occasionally, there is a darker side.

When we scroll through pictures and status updates, the worry that tugs at the corners of our minds is set off by the fear of regret, according to Dan Ariely, author of “Predictably Irrational” and a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. He says we become afraid that we’ve made the wrong decision about how to spend our time.

Streaming social media have an immediacy that is very different from, say, a conversation over lunch recounting the events of the previous weekend. When you see that your friends are sharing a bottle of wine without you — and at that very moment — “you can imagine how things could be different,” Professor Ariely said.

The article goes on, but you get the point. "FOMO" - I totally have that!

European Vacation

We had a great, and relatively impromptu, European getaway, this year. I had the chance to go to Oxford for a work event, so we figured, why not extend a few days, have Brad meet me and then tool around Europe! It was amazing.

I started with several days in Oxford, attending a big social entrepreneurship conference. I felt so lucky to be there - the World Forum is the biggest, most prestigious event in my field. There were about 800 people there and it's a veritable who's who of government, for-profit, nonprofit and academic leaders. I was amongst my own personal rock stars the whole week - and was seriously geeking out the whole time :)

I didn't take many pics but here is one of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. His accomplishments speak for themselves, but he was also the cutest man with this ridiculously infectious laugh. So cool.

After the conference ended, Brad flew out and met me for what I lovingly termed "vacation/torture". We took the train from Oxford to London, spent 2 days in London, took the train from London to Paris (the chunnel!), then 2.5 days in Paris, then the long flights home. It was chaos. We did so much that it was a total blur and I was literally in pain at the end of the day from all the walking and running around. Here's a quick recap ...

London

Spending some quality time with Kate and Wills before their wedding :)

Chilling with the lions in Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately, the fountains in the Square were not running - Brad was not pleased!

View from the Tower of London - we liked the juxtaposition of the old vs new architecture


Westminster Abbey


The London Eye - which we rode on the first night we got to town, and someone proposed to his girlfriend in our car! I still think he should have sprung for a private car, rather than propose in front of 10 random strangers, but I guess it was still cute.


Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken to be the London Bridge which is slightly down river)


St. Paul's Cathedral - including a crazy climb all the way to the top for a view of the city. Then a walk across the bridge to take pics from the other side.


The British Museum and the National Gallery

and I'm sure there were more things (the Royal Palace, gardens, a night out to see a play...), but for the life of me, I cannot remember them all!

Then on to Paris...

Of course, we spent a bunch of time at the Louvre, spectacular building and some amazing works of art. We also went to Musee d'Orsay but no pictures from there

Basilica Sacre Coeur - amazing views of all of Paris, after another hefty climb that is!

A trek out to Versailles, which was totally worth it to see the over the top opulence (and make fun of the crazy tourists!)

Can't talk about Paris without some pics of the Eiffel Tower - by day and night

Multiple visits to the Arc d'Triomph to get the perfect photo


Rodin museum including "the Thinker"

And a final stop at Notre Dame the morning that we left the country.

Phew! I seriously needed a vacation recover from that vacation!

Why I'm a Duke Fan

So, Duke may not have won the NCAA tourney this year. We made it to the Elite 8 and then were absolutely DESTROYED by Arizona. A seriously ugly game.

After that lackluster performance, we were a little disheartened by Duke bball but then I read the following op-ed from former player Grant Hill and it reminded us of why we are Duke fans. For the most part, Duke players are classy, smart and a good representation of a school that we are proud of.

Grant Hill's Response to Jalen Rose (NYT)

“The Fab Five,” an ESPN film about the Michigan basketball careers of Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson from 1991 to 1993, was broadcast for the first time Sunday night. In the show, Rose, the show’s executive producer, stated that Duke recruited only black players he considered to be “Uncle Toms.” Grant Hill, a player on the Duke team that beat Michigan in the 1992 Final Four, reflected on Rose’s comments.

I am a fan, friend and longtime competitor of the Fab Five. I have competed against Jalen Rose and Chris Webber since the age of 13. At Michigan, the Fab Five represented a cultural phenomenon that impacted the country in a permanent and positive way. The very idea of the Fab Five elicited pride and promise in much the same way the Georgetown teams did in the mid-1980s when I was in high school and idolized them. Their journey from youthful icons to successful men today is a road map for so many young, black men (and women) who saw their journey through the powerful documentary, “The Fab Five.”

It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends narrating this interesting documentary about their moment in time and calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke “Uncle Toms” and, to some degree, disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic and commitment to each other and to me. I should have guessed there was something regrettable in the documentary when I received a Twitter apology from Jalen before its premiere. I am aware Jalen has gone to some length to explain his remarks about my family in numerous interviews, so I believe he has some admiration for them.

In his garbled but sweeping comment that Duke recruits only “black players that were ‘Uncle Toms,’ ” Jalen seems to change the usual meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two-parent, middle-class families. He leaves us all guessing exactly what he believes today.

I am beyond fortunate to have two parents who are still working well into their 60s. They received great educations and use them every day. My parents taught me a personal ethic I try to live by and pass on to my children.

I come from a strong legacy of black Americans. My namesake, Henry Hill, my father’s father, was a day laborer in Baltimore. He could not read or write until he was taught to do so by my grandmother. His first present to my dad was a set of encyclopedias, which I now have. He wanted his only child, my father, to have a good education, so he made numerous sacrifices to see that he got an education, including attending Yale.

This is part of our great tradition as black Americans. We aspire for the best or better for our children and work hard to make that happen for them. Jalen’s mother is part of our great black tradition and made the same sacrifices for him.

My teammates at Duke — all of them, black and white — were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. I know most of the black players who preceded and followed me at Duke. They all contribute to our tradition of excellence on the court.

It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men like Johnny Dawkins (coach at Stanford), Tommy Amaker (coach at Harvard), Billy King (general manager of the Nets), Tony Lang (coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan), Thomas Hill (small-business owner in Texas), Jeff Capel (former coach at Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth), Kenny Blakeney (assistant coach at Harvard), Jay Williams (ESPN analyst), Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) and Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) ever sold out their race.

To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous. All of us are extremely proud of the current Duke team, especially Nolan Smith. He was raised by his mother, plays in memory of his late father and carries himself with the pride and confidence that they instilled in him.

The sacrifice, the effort, the education and the friendships I experienced in my four years are cherished. The many Duke graduates I have met around the world are also my “family,” and they are a special group of people. A good education is a privilege.

Just as Jalen has founded a charter school in Michigan, we are expected to use our education to help others, to improve life for those who need our assistance and to use the excellent education we have received to better the world.

A highlight of my time at Duke was getting to know the great John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor of History and the leading scholar of the last century on the total history of African-Americans in this country. His insights and perspectives contributed significantly to my overall development and helped me understand myself, my forefathers and my place in the world.

Ad ingenium faciendum, toward the building of character, is a phrase I recently heard. To me, it is the essence of an educational experience. Struggling, succeeding, trying again and having fun within a nurturing but competitive environment built character in all of us, including every black graduate of Duke.

My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words. Adulthood is nothing but a series of choices: you can say yes or no, but you cannot avoid saying one or the other. In the end, those who are successful are those who adjust and adapt to the decisions they have made and make the best of them.

I caution my fabulous five friends to avoid stereotyping me and others they do not know in much the same way so many people stereotyped them back then for their appearance and swagger. I wish for you the restoration of the bond that made you friends, brothers and icons.

I am proud of my family. I am proud of my Duke championships and all my Duke teammates. And, I am proud I never lost a game against the Fab Five.

Grant Henry Hill
Phoenix Suns
Duke ‘94

Lots to catch up on ...

My goodness, we have been bloggin' slackers! As always, things are busy with lots of travel, lots of work, lots of fun, and not a lot of time for blogging. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Here's our quick catch-up post to at least get us closer to date. In the past 2 months, we've ...

Seen an amazing Prince concert in Greensboro. That man can sure wear some sequins and puts on an amazing show - hit after hit, I love Prince!


We also saw Yes at DPAC


I spent 2 weeks in India for work ... my 4th trip to India.




While I was gone, Brad got to go to a Hurricane's game with a bunch of friends. He also went to a Gala Charity Ball but somehow there are no pics of him in his tux!


JBJ!! Reaffirmed my crush on Jon Bon Jovi - he's so cute! :)


Sitting/standing in the student section for Duke vs Georgia Tech


Great Sam Bush concert in Raleigh


One of my favorite people in the whole world, Julie comes to visit!! We had a blast and some debauchery ensued. ;)

Our buddy Jenn also came to visit on another weekend, but somehow we missed taking pics the whole weekend!

And the recap ends with an amazing weekend in DC back in January. Spending an awesome weekend with two of my best buddies from Duke and the newest lady to add to the crew - little miss Emily Carmen, so adorable!!

Plus work trips and lots of other fun over the last few weeks. And now we're almost caught up with the blog!