Saturday, November 26, 2011

Day 654: Greater than through love and support

My Christmas Wish:

What I would love for Christmas is to see as many people as possible take one gift valued at $100.00...just one...and break it down into 10, 10 dollar increments and send those 10 dollars to at least 10 agencies.  In other words, to take one special gift and turn it into something that can make a difference to so many in such a substantial way.

Just think…I am sending this to about 2000 people. Imagine if even half did this.  That would be 1000 people giving 10$ each to 10 agencies of his or her choice. That would be $10,000.00 PER AGENCY! 

Even if it was $100 per agency, it would be another art program for a senior with Alzheimer's at the CAM, another meal for a homeless person, a care kit for a child who is taken into foster care, a rape kit, a bloodless testing kit for HIV/AIDS, or a chemistry book that a student would not be able to afford otherwise at UNCW or CFCC, and so on…

With some of these agencies having budgets of less than $200,000.00 and some of these scholarships being endowed at 10k, you get my drift!

So, I hope  you will use my list, and if not, that you will make your own.

Goodness came into this world with a message of peace, love, charity, and hope for all of us over 2000 years ago…I can think of no better present than to say “Happy Birthday”, “Merry Christmas” than by making peace, love, charity, and hope happen in the coming year right here in Southeastern, North Carolina with donations from us to these amazing resources for those in need!
Merry Christmas Friends!
Love
Bo
(BTW: there are more than 10 listed here….oh well, if you got that extra 10 spot OR TWO…why not?)
1.)  Cameron Art Museum
http://www.cameronartmuseum.com/support.php

2.)  Coastal Horizons Incorporated (Rape Crisis Center, Youth Shelter, and Substance Abuse Treatment http://coastalhorizons.org
donate on line: https://secure.nuvox.net/www.coastalhorizons.org/monthly_sustainers/index.php
send checks to: Coastal Horizons Center, Inc.  Willie Stargell Office Park 615 Shipyard Boulevard, Wilmington, NC 28412.

3.) Wilmington Interfaith Hospitality Network (providing homeless families with emergency shelter and transitional shelter)
http://www.wihn.net/
donate online! http://www.wihn.net/httpdocs/giving.html
send checks to: WIHN
411 North 4th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401-4010

4.) Good Shepard Center (Shelter and Soup Kitchen)
http://www.goodshepherdwilmington.org/
give online: https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=56-1566178
send checks to: 811 Martin Street  Wilmington, NC 28401

5.) First in Families (aiding disabled families and individuals)
http://www.arcnc.org/services/first_in_families/
send checks to: First In Families of Southeastern NC
5041 New Center Drive, Suite 109
Wilmington, NC 28403

6.) Domestic Violence Center
http://www.domesticviolence-wilm.org/
Give online: http://www.domesticviolence-wilm.org/donate.php
Send checks to: Domestic Violence Shelter and Services, Inc., 2901 Market Street, Wilmington, NC 28409

7.) Carousel Center (assisting victims of child abuse)
http://carouselcenter.org/
donate online: http://carouselcenter.org/donate-today.php
Send checks to: 1501 Dock Street Wilmington, NC 28401-4936 (910) 254-9898

8.) Cape Fear Community College Foundation (providing grants and scholarships)
http://cfcc.edu/blogs/foundation/
Send checks to: 411 N. Front St. Wilmington, NC 28401
Give online: http://cfcc.edu/blogs/foundation/?page_id=12
9.) Habitat for Humanity (making housing happen in the Cape Fear Region)
http://www.capefearhabitat.org/
Send checks to: 20 N. 4th Street, Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28401

10.) Phoenix Ministries (working with the homeless and nearly homeless for job preparedness)
http://www.phoenixwork.org/
To contribute, please mail your check to Phoenix Employment Ministry, 20 N. Fourth Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, or call (910) 343-8469 to donate using your Visa or MasterCard

11.) Linc (Leading into new communities)(transitional services for the adjudicated released into the community)
http://www.lincnc.org/
Donate online: http://www.lincnc.org/
12.) UNCW Scholarships
http://uncw.edu
give online: https://tswww.uncw.edu/giving/
send checks to: 601 South College Road Wilmington, NC 28403 C/ O Marla Rice-Evans

13.) Coastal Carolina Aids Consortium
Send Checks to: COASTAL CAROLINA HIV CARE CONSORTIUM INC
805 N 4TH ST STE F
WILMINGTON, NC
28401-3472

14.) Elderhaus of New Hanover County (day care for our elderly)
http://www.elderhaus.com/
http://www.elderhaus.com/contributions.htm

15.) The American Heart Association
http://www.startcapefearnc.org/

16.) Airlie Gardens
http://airliegardens.org
send checks to: 300 Airlie Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-3706

17.) Kid's Making It:
http://kidsmakingit.org/
15 South Water Street
Wilmington, NC 28401
P  910-763-6001

18.) New Hanover Regional Medical Center Foundation
http://www.nhrmc.org/body.cfm?id=2329
give online: http://www.nhrmc.org/body.cfm?id=3647
send checks to: NHRMC Foundation
2259 South 17th St.
Wilmington, NC 28401.

19.) Child Advocacy and Parenting Place
http://www.cappcenter.org/
Send checks to: CAPP offices at
1401 S. 39th Street, Wilmington NC

20.) Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center
http://hospiceandlifecarecenter.org
Send checks to: 1406 Physicians Drive
Wilmington, NC 28401-7335

21.) Family Neighborhoods Institute (amazing after school programming! Begun by Mrs. Mary Mosley)
http://familyandneighborhoodsinstitute.org
Send Checks to: 1102 Orange Street
Wilmington, NC 28401-4852
(910) 762-2884

22.) WHA/UNCW Community Campus  (comprehensive outreach to members of the public housing and surrounding neighborhoods in the form of computer training, reading programs, after school tutoring and dozens of other programs).
Checks can be sent to “WHA/UNCW Community Campus c/o WHA
1524 South 16th Street . Wilmington, North Carolina. 28401

23.) Access Wilmington (Building the Miracle field)
http://www.accesswilmington.org/
donate on line: http://www.accesswilmington.org/MAKEADONATION.aspx

24.) Boys and Girls Club
http://www.cbgcw.org/
Donate on line: https://www.cbgcw.org/donate.php

25.) Cape Fear Chapter- Salvation Army  
Send Checks to: 820 North 2nd Street, Wilmington - (910) 762-5948

26.) WARM-  Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry, Inc
http://www.warmnc.org/
Donate online: http://www.warmnc.org/Supporters/DonateNow/tabid/1119/Default.aspx

27.) WHAT: Wilmington Health Access for Teens
WHAT
4005 Oleander Drive
Wilmington, NC 28403
tele : 910.790.9949
fax : 910.790.9455
questions@whatswhat.org
http://www.whatswhat.org/

28.) Cape Fear Clinic (formerly the Tileston Clinic)
http://tilestonclinic.org/
1605 Doctors Circle
Wilmington, NC 28401

(910)-343-8736
FAX (910)-343-1293

29.) Cape Fear Health Net
http://www.capefearhealthnet.org/
910/798-3594

30.) DREAMS
http://dreamswilmington.org/
910.772.1501

31.) Elderhaus
http://www.elderhaus.com/
Elderhaus Inc.
1950 Amphitheater Drive
Wilmington, NC. 28401
Phone: (910) 251-0660
Fax: (910) 762-1732
Toll free: 888-343-8209

32.) Cape Fear Literacy Council
http://www.cfliteracy.org/
The Cape Fear Literacy Council
1012 South 17th Street
Wilmington, NC 28401

Friday, November 25, 2011

Day 653: Greater than through love and support

I think is was a week ago I got the gym and someone I care about was finishing up training and we got to talking. This person said "when am I going to get like you where I am enjoying this!".

It really struck me on a couple of levels. First, I remember being in that place (hell, it was only 22 months ago!)..and I also remember what happened when I hit the wall. I don't even have to look back on my posts at that time, cause I remember blogging about not only "getting through" training, but in particular cardio.

I also remember because it still goes on. There is, however, some difference now. But back to what it was like then: I remember that when I was starting, I wanted to stop when it got hard. This is after all work! Several things kept me going. Of course the love and support of Adam's training, you all, and to be honest, the absolute terror of failure! :)

But intrinsically, I can remember, the development of that internal voice. An internal coach, as it where. I can remember blogging about hearing a voice in my head when I was wanting to quit or not take it to the next level very lovingly say "you can do it". I had NEVER heard that voice in my head before reassuring me about something positive for myself. Sure, that voice said "yes you can screw this up" "yes you can fail" "yes you are ugly and fat"..but NEVER had it said things that were nurturing and uplifting.

What had happened was not that all of a sudden I was liking exercise..no...that was not it at all...what was happening was that I was liking me enough to want wellness for myself. To give me something good..to give me this health, this wellness, this time to nurture the phsycial side of myself that had an aggregate effect on me in the positive. That was what was so wonderful!

I guess somewhere along the way I have said how much I love the exercise..and while i do totally get off on the accomplishments, the growth, and the exhiliration that comes from the achievement that I am experiencing, it is this change in my thinking that is the most amazing and wonderful. I had to start shutting down on the voice that was so negative and say "this is FOR my wellness!" and it made the difference.

I was glad that this person said something to me because I was able to say "IT does not get better, I DID and DO!". I had heard that in other ways, but this was the first time I was able to say it for this part of my journey. Running and doing the things I am doing are indeed work..that is why they call it a work out. But, in my mind, I do no longer see this as punishing myself for being fat, or eating poorly, or not taking care of myself. I see what I am doing as creating more health and wellness for myself, doing something for me that makes more good things happen as a result.

My WILLINGNESS to see differently how this works makes the difference in not only the outcomes of working out, but in the work out themselves. I can approach things negatively and create as much resistance and make it as hard I can..or I can get in there and work my ass off and really get something done. It is up to me. I see it as a gift and know that ultimately the earning of the wellness comes in how I respond to that gift.

Tonight I set out to run and get some exercise. I took the day for myself and have had a good day. But I have to admit that lately I have been raw emotionally and very senstive about my weight and how I look. Interesting how those two things just like to go hand in hand! LOL! Daddy being in and out of the hospital, the Tournament, the Gala, oh...and leaving my place of work after 13 years and starging a new venture....nothing like a little stress. While I have kept up with my running, I have had food I do not normally eat, I have drunk diet coke like it was water, I have even had little bits of candy here and there. Things that I responded to or grabbed when I was just over the top. I am proud of myself overall for how I have come through these last few weeks, and Lord knows I am grateful to God! :) but, there for a while I was not "seeing" myself. I was "fat" and I was questioning everyone and everything...I could have read "codependency no more" again! and while that may sound funny, it was a little rough going. One day at a time, I am hear, and moving forward! and like I said, today, I took the day for me and tomorrow I will as well. I need that recoup time.

That time is precious...just like the exercise. Giving myself those is nurture. Nurture for my soul. That does not mean that it takes out the sweat, the effort, the footwork, or even sometimes the butt kickingness  that comes with it, it just means that what I am doing by exercising, eating right (most of the time), trying to do these things and live in the moment, give me a sense of wellness that are truly, truly wonderful..and can only be named "gifts".

Adam Freeman Personal Training  | Juice Plus Whole Food Nutrition!   |Cape Fear Heart Walk! GIVE TODAY! | Crest Fitness | Live Fit Cape Fear! |Custom Fit Meals| Heidi Kaufman Nutritional Services-Dietitian | Bike Cycles Bike Shop at Mayfaire| Boseman's Sporting Goods | New Balance Shoes | Tidal Creek- Healthy Foods! | Pita Delite- Wilmington | Hibachi Bistro on College Road | The Star News | WECT | Wilmington Biz and Wilma | Encore Magazine | New Hanover County Public Health Department | Zoe's Kitchen | Try Sports| VitaCost online NC Company for sports Nutrition | City of Wilmington Parks and Recreation| New Hanover County Parks| Airlie Gardens | The Shell Cross City Trail | Wrightsville Family Practice | Sandra Miles Dentistry | Church of the Servant Episcopal | Active.ComWithout Limits Coaching | Go Time| Cape Fear River Watch| New Hanover County Arboretum| Coastal Land Trust| Masonboro.org| Hook, Line and Paddle| Wilmington Road Runners | Cape Fear Cyclists| Jessica Cooper Therapeutic Services

Monday, November 21, 2011

annual thanksgiving tradition: 12th year=1200 things, people, places I am grateful for...

12 Years ago I started a list because a lot of folks I encountered were having a hard time or shared that they did not see a lot they could be grateful for in this area. I had learned about writing gratitude lists to generate for myself the good around me and keep it first in my heart and mind and sent out a “gratitude” list of 100 things I was grateful for in Wilmington that year. It was met with great success!



I decided, and have kept up that each year I would do the list but make it equivalent to the number of years I had been doing it!
This year I am at 1200, and I am so glad to be able to have this exercise.
I  have included groups, things, organizations, and places. Names are only used in reference to gifts..don't go looking for your name! LOL! :)
I generate a NEW list each year. This is stream of consciousness, just like my blog.
Regardless of what someone might think of this list, regardless of what my circumstances might be, regardless of what events may occur in my life, it is a tradition I will continue, because, I/we am/are blessed and it is worth remembering, offering thanksgiving, and sharing with each other! I hope it will spark a list of your own and feel free to steal mine!



I am grateful for….



1.) God

2.) Loving

3.) being loved

4.) Trusting

5.) being trusted

6.) Having hope!

7.) Being more in the moment than I have EVER been in my lifetime

8.) A daily reprieve that is unfathomable

9.) The most amazing husband and an unconditional love, partnership, friendship I can only pray to earn each and every day!

10.) Having my mother, step father, father still alive and with me

11.) My mother’s amazing group of friends

12.) My mother’s art

13.) My mother’s book group

14.) My family, both blood and chosen

15.) Time with daddy

16.) My conversations with daddy

17.) Healing and change

18.) Understanding more and more that accepting people for who they are, allows for healing to happen.

19.) Letting go and letting God

20.) First things first

21.) One day at a time

22.) Our beautiful cats, 14 years old and still amazingly loving

23.) Drives just to look at the beach with michael

24.) Just going to Barnes and Noble….

25.) Going out to dinner..and being able to and knowing what a privilege it is

26.) Michael’s research reassignment this year

27.) Michael’s successful colloquium on his research

28.) The teaching gifts of Michael!

29.) Just being at home and enjoying tivo together

30.) Our library at home

31.) Being at home. Period.

32.) The sun through the skylight

33.) Leaving the house each day reading elin ohara slavick’s gift to me

34.) The message from Ghandi on our back door that tyrell made years ago: an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

35.) Surrounding ourselves in our home with warm memories and remembrances

36.) Open space

37.) The sound of michael’s laughter

38.) The smell of coffee being made

39.) The smell of toast

40.) Hamburgers on the grill

41.) Grilled chicken at home

42.) UNCW professors and their teaching

43.) The center for teaching excellence

44.) The gifts of therapy for people I love

45.) The gift of therapy by rich ogle

46.) The gift of therapy by carrie clements

47.) The gift of therapy by julie stone

48.) The gift of therapy by Ralph fox

49.) The gift of therapy by all the coastal horizons providers

50.) The gifts of therapy by carrie’s mentees

51.) Being a judge for Ashley High School Senior Projects

52.) Ashley High School

53.) New Hanover High School Lyceum program

54.) CFCC early college

55.) The Noble Middle School Students who study Albert Schweitzer

56.) The Roland Grise Students who get to come to CAM and learn

57.) Having the unconditional love and support of a mother always

58.) The most amazing friends I could have ever dreamed of…and In fact, could never have imagined

59.) Having a brother after all these years

60.) Being allowed to be there and be a friend especially in hard times

61.) Knowing that I am NEVER alone

62.) Knowing I have friends who are always there for me and truly care

63.) The continued gift of personal training

64.) Adam Freeman Personal Training

65.) Crest Fitness

66.) Custom Fit Meals

67.) Having a home that we truly love and feel safe in

68.) Our amazing and nurturing cats

69.) Having a job and being employed, particularly today

70.) Having a new venture with employment

71.) Having access to health care

72.) Having access to dental care

73.) Having good neighbors

74.) Being uncle to “Louis” the best neighbor dog ever!

75.) Walks with Louis in the woods

76.) Runs with Louis

77.) Louis kisses! 

78.) Living in a neighborhood that is “safe”, or relatively so

79.) Our small little back yard sanctuary

80.) Our little “labyrinth” in the backyard

81.) Sitting in the Adirondack chairs and listening to the fountain in the Spring

82.) The chime in the wind

83.) My magnolia tree

84.) The Crepe Myrtle planted from Mother’s yard in Raleigh

85.) Having paved streets to run, bike and drive on

86.) Having heat in the winter

87.) Food to eat and access to that food

88.) Fresh vegetables

89.) Fresh fruit

90.) Feast down east

91.) Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program SENC Foods Farmers' Cooperative

92.) The buyer’s club

93.) Tidal Creek

94.) The 10% campaign

95.) All the businesses and folks committing to the 10% campaign

96.) The market at the Cameron during the Run, Ride, and Roll

97.) The Wilmington farmer’s market on Saturday’s

98.) Meat and poultry that is sanitary and ready for me to eat

99.) Dairy that I can just pick up and use

100.) Eggs that I can just eat

101.) Electricity always on

102.) Central heat

103.) Central air condition

104.) Cookware to cook with

105.) Dishes to eat from

106.) Computer at home

107.) Internet

108.) Cable

109.) phone

110.) Fresh water

111.) Cold and hot running water

112.) Laundry in our home

113.) Clean clothes to wear

114.) Shoes to wear

115.) Blankets to keep us warm

116.) The down comforter

117.) White cotton sheets

118.) Shelter in the storms that come around here

119.) Emergency weather radios

120.) HOA leaders who are about community, not their own issues

121.) Being able to pay our mortgage

122.) Hell, having a mortgage

123.) Having a car to drive

124.) A bike to ride

125.) A freezer to keep food in

126.) My facebook!

127.) Sharing facebook with others

128.) Hearing what others say and share on facebook

129.) The Sandra Miles Denistry

130.) The staff at Sandra Miles Denistry

131.) My smile getting better through Sandra Miles Denistry

132.) Ken White’s Boat and all he does for so many charities with it!

133.) Cruiser’s Car Wash

134.) My photos of events and people

135.) Jessica Cooper Massage Therapy

136.) John Sakel Massage Therapy

137.) Juice Plus!  love this stuff!

138.) The cross city trail

139.) The section of the trail through UNCW

140.) The woods along eastwood from the cross city trail

141.) The pond on autumn hall

142.) The kayak launch under the WB bridge

143.) Kayaking

144.) Being able to fit in a kayak

145.) The reeds along the intracoastal waterway

146.) The water fowl along the intracoastal

147.) Masonboro island

148.) The amazing white, clean, and empty beach along Masonboro on the atlantic side

149.) The blue crabs in the shallows while kayaking

150.) the solitude on the water while kayaking

151.) drifting with the current

152.) living near the water like this

153.) having access to the water

154.) seeing osprey up close

155.) the boat launch at Trails end

156.) the boat launch at the park under the Memorial Bridge

157.) kayaking on the ocean at Kure Beach

158.) the annual beach seep with the honors students

159.) kure beach

160.) kure beach pier (especially it being free to go on)

161.) Wilmington water tours!

162.) The black river water tour

163.) The aquarium at Fort Fisher

164.) The eel room at Aquarium

165.) The gardens outside of the aquarium

166.) The outdoor prints at the aquarium

167.) The gators at the aquarium

168.) The fowl roaming around in the open area of the aquarium

169.) Cape Fear River Watch!

170.) River keepers

171.) The black river tour

172.) Understanding more about the impacts on the river from drilling down on our water table

173.) Lillian’s list event at the Blockade runner

174.) The blockade runner resort

175.) Flotilla Event

176.) Flotilla Run

177.) Flotilla Party

178.) The law practice of Steve Coggins

179.) Planned Parenthood of the Cape Fear/Wilmington

180.) The law practice of Frank Block

181.) The hannah block center

182.) The life of hannah block

183.) Airlie Gardens

184.) The butterfly house

185.) Enchanted Airlie

186.) The Airlie oyster roast

187.) The Bottle house

188.) The pier on the creek from the garden

189.) The garden party

190.) The hats at the garden party

191.) The seersucker and madras..just a little fun in the Spring

192.) The swans in the lake at Airlie

193.) The bent tree and getting yelled out for climbing it! 

194.) The azaleas..not just at Airlie, but everywhere

195.) Spring in Wilmington period

196.) The Spring Garden at Airlie

197.) The tulips…the amazing tulips!

198.) The Airlie Oak

199.) The Outdoor concerts at Airlie

200.) The music of The Imitations

201.) The music of Susan Savia

202.) The music of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra

203.) The Music of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra, Youth Orchestra

204.) The music of the Wilmington Girls Choir

205.) The Organ music at First Pres

206.) The Choir at Church of the servant

207.) The Ashley High School Choir

208.) The music of Paco Strickland

209.) The music of UNCW Seniors

210.) The Music and Voice of Pamela Campbell Dareef

211.) The “community day” with Pamela et al

212.) Being allowed to pray at that and feeling that prayer

213.) The music of Renaldo Frazier

214.) The ministry of Terry Henry

215.) Gregory United Church of Christ

216.) The Williston Alumni

217.) The Black Chamber

218.) The beautiful Article in the SeaHawk from the students

219.) The Wilmington Journal

220.) Dancing with Mother on her birthday to Beach Music!

221.) Watching everyone dancing!

222.) The writing of Nan Graham

223.) The gift of the voice of Nan Graham

224.) The WHQR commentaries from Nan

225.) The Cape Fear Museum’s Jewish History Display

226.) NC Living treasures event at the Cameron with UNCW

227.) Randall Library

228.) Randall Library Staff

229.) The Fish House

230.) Dockside

231.) Being able to shop in the regular men’s department at Belks

232.) Walking into Banana Republic and being able to buy something other than a hat!

233.) The space between my stomach and my steering wheel

234.) Not being out of breath at the top of stairs

235.) Running

236.) Walking

237.) Biking

238.) Meeting each new training challenge with NO injury and growth

239.) TRX

240.) Almost doing a pull up (I am gonna get there!)

241.) Doing push ups

242.) Doing push ups with hand weights

243.) Doing planks

244.) 50 pound barbell chest press

245.) 150 pound dips

246.) One legged squats

247.) One legged sitting squats

248.) One legged squats on the bosu ball

249.) Balancing on the bosu ball

250.) Stretching

251.) Training to be a trainer class at UNCW

252.) Art lounge at home

253.) Seeing my body recover

254.) Not experiencing acid reflux daily

255.) Not having to gag on food everytime I ate

256.) No fast food wrappers in my car

257.) No nights “passed out” after eating myself to it

258.) No major binges

259.) Being able to wear jeans again

260.) Being able to tuck in my shirt in jeans! 

261.) being able to enjoy a treat now and then

262.) java city

263.) the staff at Java city

264.) subway!

265.) Subway breakfast sandwiches!

266.) Tuesday morning

267.) Ebay

268.) Pawn USA

269.) Reco

270.) Reception for the New USS North Carolina Commander and officer’s at Livans

271.) Christmas at the foxes

272.) Christmas at Liv’s

273.) Celebrating at the beach with Shin lu an Wei

274.) Celebrating Chinese new year at that Chang’s

275.) Wei’s cooking! 

276.) Lunch at Diana’s after the

277.) The giant heron on the dock off summer’s rest road

278.) Summer’s rest trail

279.) Biking summer’s rest trail

280.) Cameo 1900

281.) The healthy menu at Cameo 1900

282.) West Marine

283.) The arboretum

284.) The tea house at the arboretum

285.) Wilmington Tea Company

286.) Monk’s tea on the back porch

287.) Our monastery pillows in the big room

288.) My step machine

289.) The bozo ball in the house

290.) The Japanese garden at the arboretum

291.) The plant sale at the arboretum

292.) The ability garden at the arboretum

293.) The amazing section of the trail along rose avenue!

294.) Gary Shell’s memorial

295.) Halyburton Park

296.) The run, ride and roll

297.) The Lecture by Mr. Rehder and the Fly Trap Frolic

298.) The Fly Trap Frolic

299.) The fly trap preserve at Alderman School

300.) Coastal Land Trust

301.) Wilmington Parks and Recreation

302.) Olsen Park

303.) The Miracle League of Wilmington

304.) The UNCW Baseball exhibition day for the Miracle League

305.) The Kiwanis Playground at Olsen Park on its way!

306.) New Hanover County Senior Center

307.) Elderhaus

308.) Elderhaus Crabfest

309.) Elderhaus Anniversary serving our area for so long and taking care of so many seniors

310.) The woods on the back of UNCW’s campus

311.) The curvy area of the depaolo trail through the long leaf pines

312.) The leadership and tenure of Rosemay DePaolo

313.) The Portrait unveiled this year of Rosemary

314.) The legacy of learning and undergraduate research that is Rosemary’s

315.) Undergraduate Honors students

316.) Watching students grow and achieve

317.) mid year graduation

318.) end of the year graduation

319.) honors teas

320.) using grandmother’s china for the honors teas

321.) The “teal” trail on UNCW’s campus

322.) UNCW’s campus as a whole!

323.) The UNCW women’s basketball team and Coach Coop’s Coaching

324.) The UNCW Baseball team and the coaching of Coach Scalf

325.) The Hammerheads in Wilmington

326.) The pond on the Campus commons

327.) The fisher memorial area on the campus commons

328.) Shinn plaza on UNCW’s campus

329.) The “honors” lounge in the fisher student center

330.) The track at UNCW

331.) Breaking a 10 minute mile on the UNCW track this summer

332.) Without Limits Coaching

333.) Go-Time race promotions

334.) Hackman events LLC

335.) Turkey Trot 5k for Habitat for Humanity

336.) Historic Wilmington Foundation Urban Race

337.) Boseman’s Sporting Goods

338.) New Balance Shoes

339.) Wilmington Roadrunners

340.) Cape Fear Cyclists

341.) Bike Cylces

342.) TriWilmington

343.) TrySports

344.) Turtle Crawl 5k

345.) Turtle Festival on Castle Street

346.) Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital

347.) Turtle nests along the coast

348.) Turtle nest watchers and preservationists!

349.) My first turtle release

350.) Visiting my Chase, my adopted sea turtle!

351.) Being allowed to carry “Dilligence” to the water to release him back to the ocean!

352.) Riding to the release with the turtle in the back of the truck, rubbing him and keeping his wet

353.) Going to the turtle release with Louise

354.) McColl and Associates

355.) Flash Promotions

356.) USS Gravely Commissioning!

357.) Bowling with Mrs. Alma Gravely’

358.) The amazing gravely crew!

359.) Sitting in Capt. Kuzman’s chair!

360.) The Gravely itself. what a ship

361.) Lunch with an Author

362.) Central Rotary

363.) The growth of the club at Central Rotary

364.) Ringing the bell and singing for Salvation Army

365.) The world’s largest rotary wheel rehab

366.) Aerial photo of the world’s largest rotary wheel

367.) Speaking with Adam at the Downtown Rotary

368.) Learning about Swartville

369.) The castle hayne farms

370.) Picking blueberries at the farm on Gordon Road

371.) The fresh strawberries on Gordon Road in the Spring at Lewis Farms

372.) Riding on the trail up to Ogden by Military Cutoff

373.) The Military Cutoff trail

374.) The Rock Garden out on Market Street

375.) Our new retention walls in our garden and slate as well

376.) Flying for the first time in years! 

377.) Flying with World War II veterans for the Honor Flight

378.) Being a “Guardian” for the honor flight

379.) Escorting a Normandy hero on the Honor Flight

380.) Listening to the stories from the WWII veterans

381.) Experiencing the WWII memorial with the veterans

382.) Experiencing Iwo Jima Memorial with the veterans

383.) Experiencing the Naval memorial with the veterans

384.) Seeing the surprise and delight on the veterans faces when they got their “mail call” with letters and notes from family and friends on the flight

385.) The “welcome home” at the airport of the veterans

386.) The honor flight being sponsored by the USS Gravely

387.) The Gravely crew accompanying us on the flight

388.) Seeing the Honors students raise money to sponsors a veteran on the flight

389.) Seeing central rotary sponsor two veterans

390.) ILM

391.) The ILM Airport staff coming out for the welcome home!

392.) The fair at ILM each year

393.) Alpha Phi Sorority

394.) Alpha Phi’s Red Dress Fundraiser

395.) Alpha Phi’s volunteering of the Heart Walk

396.) Cross Country Team Volunteering for the Run Ride and Roll

397.) Honors Scholars Volunteering for the Run Ride and Roll

398.) Honors Scholars Volunteering for so many community events

399.) Honors Scholars Volunteering for Stargell

400.) Honors Scholars volunteering for the CARE event and movie launch

401.) Honors Scholars volunteering for the Well care event at the Aquarium

402.) FIJI Fraternity

403.) FIJI at the Walk a Mile in her shoes

404.) FIJI showing up for the Heart Walk

405.) The Randall Walkers Heart Walk Team

406.) The Men’s basketball team showing up for the Walk a mile in her shoes

407.) The Women’s basketball team showing up for the Walk a mile in her shoes

408.) SeaDevil’s Athletics

409.) SeaDevil’s Basketball

410.) Playing Santa Claus for the “good friends” luncheon

411.) Tuba Christmas

412.) Riding around and looking at the Christmas Lights in the area

413.) The dolphins jumping on Pleasure island

414.) Watching “the ref” for the millionth time..our tradition that starts off the holidays

415.) Our annual holiday gathering of friends

416.) Having a Christmas tree

417.) Decorating for Christmas

418.) My mother’s apple cake

419.) Mt. olive baby gerkin pickles

420.) My mother’s gravy and dressing

421.) Harold’s fried shrimp

422.) Ice box fruit cake at Daddy’s

423.) Chicken and dumplings at Casey’s

424.) Having the students over for holiday gathering

425.) Good Friends organization of women

426.) The first annual central rotary BBQ Plate fundraiser at the Masonic Lodge

427.) The Masonic Lodge on 17th

428.) Heart Association

429.) Executive Leadership Team of the Cape Fear Heart Walk

430.) Cape Fear Heart Walk

431.) Heart Ball

432.) Annual “greater than through love and support” birthday party

433.) Herrington homes

434.) Intracoastal Realty

435.) Intracoastal New Homes

436.) Coldwell Banker Seacoast Realty

437.) First Citizens

438.) First Bank

439.) PPD

440.) Eshleman Foundation

441.) Landfall Foundation

442.) Cape Fear Foundation

443.) New Hanover Regional Medication Center

444.) Cape Fear Garden Club

445.) Friends of UNCW

446.) Coastal Horizon’s Inc.

447.) Rape Crisis Center New Hanover

448.) Rape Crisis Brunswick

449.) Rape Crisis Pender

450.) Youth Shelter at Coastal Horizons

451.) TASC treatment Services

452.) The board of directors of Coastal Horizons

453.) The staff of Coastal Horizons

454.) The Coastal Horizons annual luncheon at UNCW

455.) Roy Cooper coming to the annual luncheon

456.) Walk a Mile in her Shoes Fundraiser for Rape Crisis

457.) Rock against Rape Fundraiser for Rape Crisis

458.) Vagina Monologues for Rape Crisis

459.) Getting CABHA certified for Coastal

460.) The Willie Stargell Annual Golf Tournament

461.) Mudcat Grant singing at the reception

462.) The Dialysis staff coming to the dinner

463.) The Stargell golf committee

464.) Seeing the tournament through the eyes of the student volunteers and their wonder! 

465.) Watching other’s benefit from the blessings I have been given and seeing them learn and grow.

466.) The stories the players told about the history they lived

467.) Hearing what it was like,first hand, from those who lived in a segregated world

468.) Having the Wake Forest Coach come who gave his kidney to his player

469.) The glove that was given away for the tournament this year

470.) The huge income from the auction for the stargell this year!

471.) The volunteer drivers I had for the tournament this year

472.) New presenting sponsor for the tournament

473.) WECT

474.) WECT weather

475.) WECT news team and news in general

476.) WECT community involvement and support

477.) Fox affiliate

478.) New GM for Fox! 

479.) Encore Magazine

480.) The “best of” Encore

481.) Having my blog in the “best of” to be able to share more

482.) To be able to do bowilmington.blogspot.com as a pay forward!

483.) The feedback from the blog!

484.) Seeing other people inspired to change their lives and getting healthy and making changes!

485.) Watching other’s be successful and enjoy and follow a path towards wellness

486.) Creating change

487.) The inspiration from other people’s journey’s and stories

488.) Learning from others as they progress and change!

489.) Being able to share this journey with others

490.) For those who set the bar for me to follow and continue to be inspirational!

491.) The Provost’s office at UNCW

492.) Academic Affairs resource management office and all involved in this

493.) All the amazing budget managers on UNCW’s campus who do more for less and who do more with less and make it happen for the students each day

494.) The smile in Einstein’s when I go to get my breakfast

495.) The cashier in Starbucks who knows me by name and my order

496.) The cashier in Lowe’s food who is always so helpful

497.) The service in Brassierie

498.) Our trashmen

499.) Our postal workers

500.) 911 operators

501.) Ambulance drivers

502.) The Doolittle ride

503.) Those who take our recycling

504.) The termite inspectors

505.) , and while I don’t like the landscaping company we have, I am grateful to the workers who toil in the summer heat for us and do what they can

506.) the maintenance crew at UNCW

507.) the housekeepers at UNCW

508.) those who keep UNCW so beautiful everyday for everyone

509.) the city workers who cleaned up after the hurricane (even the one I had an issue with when I was running. I know it was a tough haul)

510.) again, not a fan of CFPUA, but am grateful for the workers who do the job and keep water coming to our home

511.) those who maintain the lines for power

512.) handle the landfill

513.) Kid’s Making it

514.) The Kid’s making it event at Bluewater

515.) The Belizian Ambassador’s Reception

516.) The Consulate for Belize being right here!

517.) The exchange between UNCW and Belize

518.) The Coral Reef Study

519.) Buenaspace downtown

520.) Cucalorus Film Festival!

521.) The thriving film business

522.) Screen Gems Studios

523.) Going out to watch Adam play ball

524.) Being there for Fenway’s celebration of life

525.) Dr. Resnick’s vet practice

526.) The Lady’s of the Cape Fear Portraits

527.) Kenny barnes Photography

528.) Carolina Farmin!

529.) The lunch line at Carolina Farmin

530.) All the local NC food at Carolina Farmin

531.) Cape Fear Commerical

532.) Cape Fear Literacy Luncheon!

533.) 6th Annual Teen Summit

534.) The work of reverend Ben Chavis

535.) The life of Julian Baker

536.) Top walkers luncheon

537.) ELT Breakfasts at Wilmington Health

538.) Board of Governors’ meetings at the City Club! 

539.) The humane treatment of our beloved pets

540.) Our Mayor and Our Commissioners with the Governor getting Iron Man 3 here

541.) The Film Commission

542.) Wining the items that the students made in the auction/raffle at the event

543.) The Kid’s making it breakfast at Shell Island

544.) The Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar

545.) Scott Whisnant being named the Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar for 2011

546.) The ASHS ceremony

547.) Harold Hodges photography being given to Scott as his award

548.) Scott’s amazing speech at the award ceremony

549.) The Laura Wilson Servant Leader Award

550.) Laura Wilson getting the first award

551.) The Wilmington interfaith Hospitality Network

552.) The Host churches that house homeless families and those in need

553.) The support churches and congregations that ensure food and other supplies for the families and stay the night to ensure they are well cared for

554.) The day center for WIHN on North Fourth Street

555.) Those who have who give to those who do not

556.) Those who understand it is what we do for each other, not for what we collect

557.) Those who see the importance in the common good

558.) The Kelly family and the story of their return from homelessness through the network

559.) The WIHN Gala

560.) Those who are generous in spirit

561.) Those who are generous in with their talents

562.) Those who are generous with their resources

563.) Those who are generous with their selves

564.) Those who vote their faith

565.) Those who live their faith

566.) Those whose faith is guided by the welfare and principles of the common good and best for their fellows

567.) Those who live principles over personalities

568.) Principles before personalities

569.) The Country Club of Landfall Staff

570.) Wrightsboro United Methodist Church

571.) The small group from Wrightsboro United Methodist Church

572.) Joey Gore’s music and the Wilmington Celebration Choir

573.) Southern Gospel Music

574.) Si Cantwell’s beat on community groups

575.) Starnews media

576.) Starnews media online

577.) Starnews media facebook

578.) Wilma Expo

579.) BizTech Expo

580.) Copycat printing

581.) Conscience online

582.) Lumina news

583.) Wrightsville beach magazine

584.) The StarNews

585.) Sunday’s in the bed with the paper

586.) Sunday’s

587.) Clove Marketing

588.) Talk Inc

589.) College Road Diner

590.) Tuesday Morning

591.) Ogden Optical

592.) Having glasses I can see with

593.) Having glasses I can read with

594.) Having glasses I can take off and be vain with! 

595.) Bald Head Island Conservancy

596.) Bald Head Island Leadership

597.) The barrier iselans in the area

598.) The new School of Health at UNCW

599.) The nursing program at UNCW

600.) The Ada Zola King Dean Nursing Scholarship

601.) The Thad Dankel Memorial Math Scholarship

602.) The LS Dean Scholarship in Honors

603.) The Boseman-TenHuisen Scholarship

604.) The Levy/Bruce Honors Scholarship

605.) The Myers Art History Scholarship

606.) The Betsy Irvin Memorial Honors Women’s Studies Minor Scholarship

607.) Cape Fear Community College

608.) The Cape Fear Community College Foundation

609.) The CFCC Foundation Staff

610.) The CFCC foundation Board

611.) The faculty and staff of CFCC

612.) Fourth of july on the CFCC pier

613.) The Moffitt being funded by the legislature

614.) The CFCC alumni Association

615.) The SeaDevils to SeaHawks club at UNCW

616.) The Gift of Education Luncheon at CFCC

617.) Our Place Teaching Restaurant at CFCC

618.) The CFCC North Campus

619.) the 911 memorial at the north campus

620.) donor appreciation event at CFCC-Kentucky derby

621.) playing cornhlole

622.) Wilmington Business Journal!

623.) Afternoon emails from the WBJ

624.) Power Breakfast Series

625.) Wilma Magazine

626.) Fittest Exec effort

627.) Wilmington Downtown Inc

628.) Dock Street Printing

629.) Toner Exchange

630.) Four Seasons Trophy Shop

631.) Coastal Engraving!

632.) Downtown Concert Series

633.) Downtown Farmer’s market

634.) Riverwalk

635.) Running the riverwalk for the HWF race

636.) Kayaking the river along the riverwalk

637.) Kayaking over to the wreck on the opposite side of the river

638.) Battleship North Carolina

639.) July fourth fireworks

640.) Commissioning fireworks

641.) New Year’s fireworks

642.) PRIDE at UNCW

643.) Church of the Servant Episcopal

644.) The Bargain Box resale shop

645.) The labyrinth at Church of the servant

646.) The memorial garden at Church of the servant

647.) Officiating at the wedding of Sarah and Zach

648.) The Bellamy mansion

649.) Café Phoenix in its’ new location

650.) Officiating at the wedding of Leigh and Randall

651.) Officiating at the wedding of Beth and Will

652.) The seahawk sculpture by Dumay Gorham

653.) The paddle sculpture for the 1898 memorial park

654.) The “sanitary” fountain downtown

655.) The kenan fountain

656.) The venus fly trap sculpture at the foot of market

657.) The Buddha Frog in the Arboretum

658.) The sculpture of Dumay Gorham

659.) The Sculpture of Andy

660.) The clay studio at UNCW

661.) The pottery of

662.) The clay work of Hiroshi

663.) The pancoe clay studio at Cameron Art museum

664.) The Cameron Art museum

665.) The Cameron Art Museum School

666.) The stained glass window in the reception hall

667.) The Folks Café Coffee days on Friday at the Cameron Art Museum

668.) Hattitude and “Crowns” exhibition at the Cameron

669.) The Church fan exhibition at the Cameron

670.) The new benches and park area throughout the Cameron grounds

671.) The Cross city trail running through the Cameron

672.) The art of Virginia Wright Frierson

673.) The art of david Norris

674.) The art of Donnie Wrights

675.) Donnie getting his masters!

676.) The art of MJ Cunnigham

677.) The art of Kristin Gibson

678.) The art of Michele Connelly

679.) The art of Elizabeth Darrow

680.) The art of Sullivan Dunn

681.) The art of Wexler

682.) The art of Xris Xssler

683.) The photography of Andy Fletcher

684.) The photography of Mark Steelman

685.) The photography of Jamie Moncrief

686.) The gift of a portrait by Jamie Moncrief

687.) The art of Bates Toone

688.) The photography of Mr. Davis

689.) The photography of Jason Pearson

690.) The photography of Logan Wallace

691.) The gift of helping me see myself for the first time from Logan Wallace

692.) The Wilma Night’s Celebrity Auction

693.) Eddie’s Floral Gallery

694.) Julia’s Florists

695.) Wrightsboro Wholesale Florists

696.) Edwin van de Bovencamp Flower growers in Castle Hayne

697.) The opening of the Honors College this fall

698.) The Paul Hosier Undergraduate Research Fellowships

699.) The WHQR pledge drive

700.) Jemila Erickson’s mid day Café

701.) Day sponsorships at WHQR

702.) The WHQR luncheon at the convention center

703.) The Cape Fear Green Building Alliance

704.) The CFGBA Luncheon at the Convention center

705.)

706.) The Annual meeting of Coastal Horizons at the Hilton

707.) The Hampton Inn Landfall

708.) The Hampton Inn Sponsorships and Support in the area!

709.) The Hilton Garden Inn at Mayfaire

710.) Homewood Suites at Mayfaire

711.) Wilmington Health Access for Teens

712.) The WHAT picnic at the blockade runner

713.) WHAT in school health centers

714.) WHAT staff and leadership

715.) The board of WHAT

716.) Going to Disney for the first time since 1971!

717.) Celebrating the wedding of Will and Beth in Disney

718.) The Food and Wine Expo at Epcot! Wow!

719.) The fireworks at Epcot

720.) Attending Cirque de soleil with Michael

721.) The Homewood Suites sponsorships of local events

722.) The CARE project

723.) The CARE project premiere here in Wilmington

724.) The Brooklyn arts center

725.) the art of Liz Hosier

726.) the art of Fritz Kapruan

727.) townhouse art and frame

728.) Perry’s Emporium

729.) Kingoff’s Jewelry

730.) The city club

731.) The city club giving membership dues to charity!

732.) The city club gardens

733.) The front porch of the city club

734.) The staff at the city club

735.) Habitat for Humanity of the Cape Fear

736.) The youth build house built with Habitat for humanity

737.) The Wilmington youth build program

738.) The youth build graduation

739.) The youth build visits to UNCW

740.) Habitat’s neighborhood revitalization effort

741.) Wilmington Housing Authority

742.) The Dedication of Brooklyn Homes at Taylor Estates

743.) The staff of the WHA!

744.) The UNCW/WHA Community Campus

745.) The community garden at the campus

746.) The community partnerships with WHA

747.) The grant to revitalize Hillcrest

748.) The gazebo at Soloman towers

749.) The remodel of Soloman towers

750.) Jervay House and more housing for disabled folks

751.) The Olsen Park Kiwanis Playground fundraising

752.) The Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast

753.) The Olsen Park Miracle field fundraising

754.) The Miracle League day at UNCW Baseball

755.) Miracle League of Wilmington

756.) Health and applied human sciences at UNCW!

757.) HeartStops Blog by Marty

758.) Unheavy debbie blog!

759.) Weighing in with Sherry-Sherry Jone’s Blog

760.) Jill’s Blog-Jillsville

761.) The Grove Project Blog

762.) The Huffington Post

763.) Kathy’s Blog-Two Old Broads

764.) Craig’s new journey for health and wellness

765.) Adam Freeman Personal Training Blog

766.) Community Solutions Southeast

767.) Port City Young professionals

768.) The law practice of Andy Mcvey

769.) The law practice of Julia Boseman

770.) The law practice of Virginia Hager

771.) the law practice of Gary Shipman

772.) the New Hanover County Sheriff’s office

773.) the appointment of Robin Robinson to Judge

774.) the judiciary in New Hanover County

775.) Harold Wells insurance

776.) Chadwick Insurance with Robert McIver

777.) Earney CPA and the audits for non-profits I sit on

778.) McGladrey audits

779.) Wrightsville beach loop

780.) The trees on the loop

781.) Running the loop

782.) The Wrightsville beach museum

783.) Fellowship at WB on Sunday’s

784.) Sweet and savory

785.) Comedy of Timmy Sherrill

786.) Comedy of Buddy Lewis

787.) Nutt Street Comedy Club

788.) Level 5

789.) Thalian Association

790.) The arts council coming back to Wilmington!

791.) Caslte Street Antique District

792.) Jester’s Java

793.) Keffi’s outside looking over eastwood road

794.) Boca bay

795.) Brassiere

796.) Kathy and the staff at Brassiere

797.) Anything Ash does for food! LOL! 

798.) Terrazo’s

799.) Leadership Wilmington Alumni Socials

800.) Leadership Wilmington

801.) Tennis Tournaments at Empie

802.) Softball Tournaments at Olsen

803.) The public pools through parks and rec!

804.) The amazing back to school giveaway with Sandra and Big B

805.) The gift of voice from Sandra and Big B

806.) The gift of Voice from Foz

807.) 107.5!

808.) 97.3!

809.) The writing of Clyde Edgerton

810.) The writing of Dana Sachs

811.) The writing of Hannah Abrams

812.) The writing and film work of Dave Monahan

813.) The writing of David Gessner

814.) The art of Ned Irvine

815.) Explorations Journal housed at UNCW

816.) Ecotone

817.) Peripulus

818.) The Seahawk

819.) Atlantis

820.) Slice of Life…BEST PIZZA EVER!

821.) Adam being nominated for Philanthropist of the year

822.) Ashley being nominated as Professional fundraiser of the year

823.) Cape Fear Association of Fundraising Professionals

824.) AFP breakfast

825.) Tim Milam getting Philanthropist of the year

826.) Louise McColl getting the volunteer recognition from the city for the Gravely

827.) The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce

828.) The new Chamber Logo

829.) The Chamber foundation

830.) The Karl Davis Leadership Wilmington Alumni Award

831.) The life of Karl Davis!

832.) The life of Betty Ann Sanders

833.) Spending time with betty ann on that day

834.) The memorial for betty ann at UNCW

835.) The life of Kayleigh Anne Freeman

836.) The balloon release for Kayleigh at Homewood Suites

837.) The March of Dimes Walk with the freeman’s

838.) Adam Freeman’s Fit Camp

839.) Being asked to speak at the fit camp!

840.) The “got heart?” t-shirts

841.) All the volunteers that Adam got to help the fit campers!

842.) The money raised from the fit camp for the Heart Walk

843.) The before and after picture..the amazing gift from the freeman’s

844.) Swimming in our pool this summer

845.) Being on the beach without my shirt

846.) Walking on Masonboro Island without my shirt

847.) Tidal Creek

848.) Whole Food vitamins at Tidal Creek

849.) Heidi Kaufman Dietician Services

850.) Wilmington Health

851.) Wilmington Health as a lead sponsor for the heart walk

852.) Great Clips Wilmington

853.) The owners of Great Clips and all they do for Wilmington!

854.) Hooks Alarm Company

855.) BB&T

856.) State Employee’s Credit Union

857.) Stephenson Honda

858.) Blacks’ tire and auto

859.) Stephenson Honda Service

860.) Lease Auto

861.) Lease Auto donating a car to WIHN!

862.) A 16 year old getting the car that was donated as her first car! 

863.) the crew at Lease Auto that took such pride in getting that car ready and donating it!

864.) Adult Day Care services

865.) Just for Buyers real estate

866.) The life of Macy McRae

867.) The Life of Windell Daniels

868.) Wilma’s Birthday Party at UNCW

869.) Louise’s Birthday at the Hampton Inn

870.) The men’s breakfast

871.) Chris’ restaurant

872.) Angie’s catering

873.) Elizabeth Redenbaugh receiving the John Kennedy Award

874.) WECT playing the ceremony on TV and all who sponsored it!

875.) Wilmington in Black and White

876.) YWCA women of Achievement

877.) Domestic Violence Shelter

878.) The Domestic Violence Shelter Fashion Show

879.) The Domestic Violence Shelter Father’s of Hope Ad in the Starnews each year

880.) Vintage Values resale shops

881.) Wilmington Chief of Police and the WPD

882.) The Campaign committee for the re-election of Bill Saffo as our Mayor

883.) The service of Bill Saffo

884.) The day on the bus with the campaign committee! 

885.) The service of Laura Padgett

886.) The re-election of Laura Padgett

887.) The service of Earl Sheridan

888.) The service of Margaret Haynes

889.) The re-election of Margaret Haynes

890.) The Service of Susi Hamilton

891.) All Wilmington City Employees

892.) The Wilmington Manager’s officer

893.) All in Wilmington Parks and recreation

894.) Wilmington Council and Mayor’s office

895.) The annual holiday parade downtown

896.) The tree on market street by the federal building at Christmas

897.) Historic Wilmington Candlelight tours

898.) The WFD

899.) The Wrightsville Beach FD

900.) The quick action this year in our neighborhood of the WFD that stopped a fire that took three homes and the action of both the officer of WPD and WFD.

901.) The life of the animals lost in that fire and the love they gave those individuals.

902.) The service of Jonathan Barfield

903.) The service of Jason Thompson

904.) The service of Ted Davis

905.) The service of Rick Catlin

906.) The NHC Manger’s office

907.) The NHC parks department

908.) The senior center

909.) Living outloud magazine

910.) The NHC Citizen’s academy and an incredible experience

911.) Social Services of New Hanover County

912.) The food nutrition program in New Hanover County

913.) The NHC finance department and all they do to make our money go far!

914.) Election results coming back at the government center

915.) The government center itself and easy access for all

916.) The 911 center

917.) The employees at the 911 center

918.) The staff at NHRMC

919.) The NIC unit at NHRMC

920.) The Willie Stargell Dialysis center at NHRMC

921.) The amazing staff at the dialysis center

922.) The chapel in NHRMC

923.) The stained glass window in NHRMC

924.) The Zimmer Cancer Center

925.) Champion Davis Center

926.) The Champion Davis being a non profit and serving so many

927.) The Champion Davis rehab area

928.) The voice of Julie Rehder

929.) Hospice of Lower Cape Fear

930.) The labyrinth at Hospice of Lower Cape Fear

931.) The “have the converstation” campaign

932.) The “orange you glad you came” fundraiser for hospice

933.) Jess James events in Wilmington

934.) Outdoor adventure programs at UNCW

935.) Challenge course

936.) Municipal Golf Course

937.) Junior Golf Academy

938.) Cape Fear National Golf Course

939.) River Landing Golf Course

940.) The Chamber Golf Tournament

941.) The CFCC Golf Tournament

942.) The Tin Cup Golf Tournament

943.) The Junior Golf Academy Golf Tournament

944.) “For Colored Girls” being performed at UNCW

945.) Lumina Theater

946.) Mayfaire theaters

947.) Mitchell Gold coming to Wilmington

948.) Carolina Canines

949.) The NHC Animal Control office

950.) The ministry of Catherine Powell

951.) The Ministry of Rev. Baumann

952.) The ministry of Ernie Thompson

953.) The ministry of John McLaughlin

954.) The ministry of Cheryl Walker

955.) The Ministry of Kevin Hay

956.) The Ministry of Rabbi Waxman

957.) The ministry of Sister Issac

958.) The ministry of Sister rose

959.) The ministry of Father Bob

960.) The ministry of Rev. Elliot

961.) The ministry of PD Midgett

962.) The ministry of Andy Anderson

963.) All the ministries in the area that understand that service to and for the “least among us” is what we are called to do”

964.) St. Jude’s

965.) Unitarian Universalists

966.) Pearsall Presbyterian

967.) Winter Park Presbyterian

968.) 1st Presbyterian

969.) the stained glass in 1st pres! Unreal!

970.) The temple on Market

971.) The basement in the temple with the Judaica

972.) the transitional housing 1st. Presbyterian makes avaible to WIHN

973.) The mission mortgage at St. Mark

974.) The Mission mortgage from PC3

975.) St. James

976.) St. John’s

977.) St. Pauls

978.) Grace United Methodist

979.) Wrightsville United Methodists

980.) Wrightsboro United Methodists

981.) Macedonia

982.) St. Luke’s

983.) Unity

984.) 1st Baptist

985.) St. Nicolas Greek Orthodox Church on Market

986.) The amazing icons in the Greek Orthodox Church

987.) The Greek Festival

988.) The food at the greek festival

989.) The music at the greek festival

990.) Good Shepherd Ministries

991.) Good Shepherd Shelter

992.) The staff and volunteers at Good Shepherd

993.) Frans Fans

994.) Annual Coat Drive

995.) First Fruit Ministries

996.) QENO

997.) QENO programs to help and educate non-profits

998.) The New OutWilmington

999.) Wilmington Pride

1000.) The New OutWilmington Winter Ball at CAM

1001.) The New OutWilmington Website

1002.) Wilmington Pride newsletter

1003.) Community action when student attacked

1004.) LGBTQIA resource center

1005.) Having Reverend Jimmy Creech come to speak

1006.) All the programs from the center

1007.) The annual awards from the center

1008.) The leadership of the center!

1009.) PortCity takeover

1010.) Elizabeth Darrow exhibition at the Property Shop

1011.) The Property Shop! 

1012.) Pine Valley Market

1013.) Pine Valley Market getting all those “best of” awards from encore

1014.) Pine Valley Market catering!

1015.) Pine Valley market burgers (best EVER!)

1016.) Pine valley market veggie sandwiches for my step dad!

1017.) Pine Valley market chocolate dessert for Moma Weller!

1018.) Pita Delite

1019.) Pita Delite Heart Day for the Cape Fear Heart Walk!

1020.) Pam’s Salad! 

1021.) Port City Java on Racine being open!

1022.) Starbucks on College Road

1023.) The Men’s club in the morning at the starbuck’s on College road

1024.) The staff at the starbuck’s on College road

1025.) Shops on Racine

1026.) Fat Tony’s on Racine

1027.) Fuzzy Peach Frozen Yogurt

1028.) Fuzzy Peach being owned by UNCW grads! 

1029.) Sugar free cheese cake yogurt with blueberries and strawberries at Fuzzy Peach

1030.) Turkey sausage!

1031.) Candadian bacon

1032.) Spinach and lots of it!

1033.) Bananas

1034.) Apples

1035.) Salad

1036.) Not eating pasta

1037.) Not eating junk food (still!)

1038.) Mixed Greens

1039.) Collards

1040.) White corn

1041.) Sugar free can fruit!

1042.) Sugar Free fruit cocktail

1043.) Whole wheat bread

1044.) Costco for healthier items

1045.) Pure protein Protein bars with very little sugar

1046.) Harris Teeter Pharmacy

1047.) Brita water filter

1048.) Emergen-c

1049.) Sugar free breyers ice cream

1050.) Sugar free Eskimo pies

1051.) Sugar free fruit pops!

1052.) Fat free sliced sharp cheddar cheese

1053.) Fat free creamer

1054.) Pita chips

1055.) Werther’s sugar free caramels

1056.) My Ipod

1057.) My Iphone

1058.) The music that I have downloaded to run to!

1059.) The Carousel Center show and our troupe! 

1060.) The Carousel Center

1061.) Hibachi Bistro on South College Road

1062.) Nikki’s on racine

1063.) Surf’s restaurant

1064.) Surf’s Heart Day for the Cape Fear Heart Walk

1065.) Zoe’s Kitchen

1066.) Zoe’s Heart Day for the Cape Fear Heart Walk

1067.) Rubbing the ears of our little girl cat

1068.) Seeing our boy cat flip out over cat nip

1069.) Having Circe (little girl), paw at my face to get my attention

1070.) Being 5 minutes from the beach by car

1071.) Running to the beach for the first time this year

1072.) Running to the beach and back this year!

1073.) Running the loop twice! : )

1074.) Learning some yoga from my oldest friend, Karl

1075.) The gift of yoga from Karl

1076.) Taking 18 full minutes off the time of my first 5k

1077.) Continuing, a day at a time, to live a healthier life

1078.) Not going to drive throughs (at all!)

1079.) Not smoking (15 years and counting)

1080.) The humor of Celia Rivenbark

1081.) Celia’s book launch for “for a fat girl…”

1082.) Celia’s column

1083.) Celia baking a cake for the WIHN Gala..making us 1500$! Best damn Duplin county cake maker EVER!

1084.) The yoga farting story

1085.) Wilmington Area Rebuilding Ministry

1086.) The Leadership of WARM

1087.) The first WARM Gala

1088.) Celia at the WARM Gala

1089.) The healing and continued clear healing for Rhonda S

1090.) The healing and continued clear healing for Mary B.

1091.) The healing and continued clear healing for Scott W

1092.) Moma W.’s Healing and continued good health

1093.) Pink Pack program from WECT

1094.) The Pink Ribbon Program

1095.) The Buddy Check with Frances

1096.) Run for the Ta Tas

1097.) The best damn 13 years I could have prayed for at UNCW

1098.) The Project BGLAD work that is now the Safe Zone

1099.) The Upperman Center that is now shared with multicultural, Centro Hispano, Women’s Resource, LGBTQIA, and housed with a VC Provost of Mulitcultural..reaching out, teaching and make a difference FOR All

1100.) The Honors Program that is now the Honors College

1101.) The Psychology department that will now have a building

1102.) The Psychology Department that will now have a PHD Program

1103.) The Watson School of Ed that went from King Hall to the space it is in

1104.) The Watson School which now has a PHD program

1105.) The Biology Department which now has a PHD Program in Marine Biology

1106.) The Marine Bilogy Center

1107.) The Burlivech Center for Marine Biology

1108.) The Student union that is now the Fisher Center and the Student Union

1109.) The burney support center that is now the Burney Ballroom that houses hundreds of events each year

1110.) The Warwick center which is now remodled

1111.) Boseman Field and the boseman Field house

1112.) The baseball field house from the fishers

1113.) The OLLI building on south college roard

1114.) The CIS building

1115.) The Honors Office in Randall that was once this little space

1116.) West side hall transformed to Depolo hall

1117.) Trask being redone and all shiny now

1118.) The Nixon annex being built and the subsequent building

1119.) McNeil Hall being built

1120.) The battle that Senator Boseman and Dean Adams waged to get the funding for the School of Nursing

1121.) The Battle Danny McComas, Dean Tyndall and Dr. Luetze waged to ge the money for the Ed Building

1122.) Luetze hall being built

1123.) The legacy of Dr. James Luetze here

1124.) The campus commons making its way for all to use

1125.) The building of the parking deck

1126.) The remodel of Wagoner hall

1127.) The opening of the dub café

1128.) The installation of the seahwak at the front of campus

1129.) Watching the clock tower being installed

1130.) Watching the students, lead by then student leader shane Fernando, collect the money to create the clocktower

1131.) The claude howell in the library

1132.) The portrait of Dr. Luetze

1133.) Dawson’s Creek being filmed on Campus

1134.) Walking into shots in the library when Dawson’s creek was being filmed

1135.) The building of cornerstone hall

1136.) The building of the crossing

1137.) The remodel of kenan hall and creative writing moving in

1138.) The annex in belk being built

1139.) The long protests over the trees!

1140.) The building of the Seahawk village

1141.) The erecting and dedicating Shinn Plaza

1142.) The life and work of Dr. Gerry Shinn

1143.) The video recordings and history gathered by UNCW Archives

1144.) UNCW Archives

1145.) First town and gown that became the community council dealing with off campus issues

1146.) The chancellor’s club

1147.) The board of visitors at UNCW

1148.) The foundation board at UNCW

1149.) The Board of trustees at UNCW

1150.) Being in the chancellor’s club

1151.) The staff council being formed

1152.) The staff council becoming the staff senate

1153.) The Staff Senate scholarship

1154.) Seahawk Perch

1155.) The quilt being made (and quilted by mother) for the AIDS memorial in Fisher

1156.) The Honors Lounge being set up

1157.) The TV’s set up in the Honors Lounge and in the office

1158.) The staff senate scholarship becoming endowed

1159.) The annual poinsettia sale for the staff scholarship

1160.) The memorial benches down at honors

1161.) The vigil after 911

1162.) The vigil after Virginia teach

1163.) The bullying vigil

1164.) The memorial for the loss of the honors students

1165.) So many students doing so many good works

1166.) So many staff doing such hard work and giving so much!

1167.) So many faculty giving of themselves

1168.) All the mentors of honors projects (for free by the way!)

1169.) All the tutoring in local schools

1170.) All the engagement that I have born witness too!

1171.) The scholarship diners

1172.) The thank you note sessions and never a complaint to do so

1173.) All the letters that came each semester through student affairs-these I treasure most as they came from the students

1174.) The human relations advisory committee

1175.) The graduation committee

1176.) The chancellor’s diversity council

1177.) Southern Regional Honors Council Conference at the Hilton

1178.) CAA Conference here at UNCW

1179.) SNUCRS here at UNCW

1180.) The undergraduate research showcase

1181.) The Darwin Conference

1182.) The Honors Spring Speakers

1183.) The honors Spring Speaker reading groups

1184.) UNCW Special Collections

1185.) NHC library

1186.) NHC east branch library

1187.) NHC Library sale

1188.) The joy of Michael at the NHC sale each time! 

1189.) The ability to shed tears of job

1190.) The ability to shed tears of sorrow

1191.) The ability to feel a full range of emotions

1192.) The ability to feel

1193.) The gifts of friendship

1194.) The gifts of community

1195.) The gift gifts of the very air we breathe

1196.) God’s amazing grace, undeserved, but so so thankful!

1197.) Another year of this list!

1198.) The possibility, one day at a time, that we will get to 1300

1199.) The truth that there are more things that could be listed here each year

1200.) And lastly, knowing that if you read through this and I have missed something that you and I did together, you and I shared and it was not listed, it was not that I am not grateful for it, it is that in the abundance that WE live out, there is room for us to share with each other that joy and make that connection in person, in an email, or on facebook and share that and make more for the days to come! Here’s to making more and experiencing more in the year to come, the days to come, the moments to come to be grateful for!





Sunday, November 13, 2011

Day 641: Greater than through love and support

Seems like my posts are becoming Sunday posts...the Sunday Evening Post by Bo...naah..don't like the ring of it. But I am sitting in Rex and looking out of the fifth floor at the amazing trees and the color from fall. It is pretty spectacular! I miss the trees so much! I had to come through town to get here today and I noticed the welcome sign for Raleigh now says the "city of oaks"(ok...this could have been this way for a long time..but i just noticed it)...I thought we were the capital city..but oh well..I do love the trees!

Anyway...things are ok. Daddy is better and actually he can go home tomorrow. He will get a hospital bed for his house now and they can give him a continuous feed for his feeding tube that will hopefully prevent dehydration and kidney issues that put him in so much pain and caused this trip this weekend. It is pretty miserable, but he has been joking today...and happy about the elections in Raleigh...so I know he is focused on stuff other than his decline. My sister who lives here is very attentive and we have been in communication a lot. It is a great comfort.

I chose not to go to my award this weekend, but I was able to do a little of the tournament. The award meant so much and from a group I revere, for work that, as Scott Whisnant put so aptly at his Albert Schweitzer ceremony, I was getting because I was "lapping up the glory, while so many others shared in the work".  But what was so special is that a small group of students from UNCW where able to attend! That, in the end is the most important thing. I needed to be close by and to stay on what is my first priority: my family.

There was no irony lost on the fact that this weekend's tournament was for Kidney disease! If that kind of money had not been raised over the years, I know my Dad would not be here today. It is great work while I was a great deal more emotional at times and kept a little more to myself, it was very meaningful and i felt like I was actually making a difference in a very personal way...and I got here..and everything is ok.

I really do have to watch my exercise and diet though while all this kind of mess is happening. Stress was at a new high Friday afternoon and I was grabbing for sugar. I was able to go running on Thursday, but I was not able to Friday or Saturday. I am really hoping i can get to that tonight when I get back. I just don't feel right without it, and the eating was an issue. I was also not sharing like I normally do and a couple of things happened: one I ate more than ususal (no, not a binge, just more). and two, I found myself angry and taking out my pain on silly stuff. This "wellness" thing is more than just diet and exercise, it is prayer, calling, and FEELING. Michael was amazing with me and let me just do the best I could and I was able to reach out to Ashley, but I was trying so hard to just get through and not upset others with my own stress, I ended up causing more stress for me! So...love this hindsight thing..but at least I see it now..as this process is not over and there is a ways to go..one day at a time , and I don't have to do this to myself unless I just really really want to! ;)

Anyway...I have started my annual thanksgiving list. that will and does help a lot..."get me out of me!"



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Sunday, November 06, 2011

an addendum...seeing

 Sorry for the second post. I was driving to Fuquay yesterday and I was thinking how much I hate that drive on 40. It has never really been a very happy drive. Too often it has been a drive to hospital visits, funerals, appointments back to my hometown. A few times we have taken off to go back to Chapel Hill or Durham for something special or head off to catch 95 to go up to DC, but mostly 40 is not a happy stretch.

Yesterday was no exception and the further down the road the more I colored in how unattractive the drive was.  No real beauty to look at. That damned Floridian who tried to run me down..."those drivers"..and then it hit me. I remembered that i was inside my own head. I was barely cognizent of the road or anything around me. Don't get me wrong, I was paying attention to my driving, but I was not SEEING anything...I was in my head..what I was "going to"..not where I was..and it was miserable, sad, and I was feeling it..living IT, instead of where I was. I remembered a story this very spiritual man once told that I heard at a little episcopal church in Lime Rock, Ct. He said that when he was unwell spiritually, the inside of his mind was a series of mirrors. Everthing reflected back inwards and all he saw was his own self, his own thoughts, his own isolaiton, his own self centerdness, whatever it was that he was thinking...projecting..that was is mind. But, as he began to grow spiritually, each one of those mirrors turned into a beautiful, clear window...and he began to see outward, the world around him, the MOMENTS that he was in...other people, other's points of view, and the only mirrors that were left were there to be used as needed for self reflection and awareness.

That visual..that image that he gave over 20 years ago was so powerful for me. Here I was, riding down 40..and I was trapped by my own mirrors. What I was "seeing" had nothing to do with the moment I was in..it was what I was projecting on my own mirrors..living inside my head.

I opened a window.

Fall had come and I saw color I had not seen. Light was hitting. The clouds broke at time.
I grabbed my camera and I took pictures as I was driving of this color, these clouds, the sun. It was all so beautiful. I was in that moment, not the one ahead and somehow 40 did not seem so bad...no, it was actually very wonderful.

I had a very emotional visit in Fuquay. It is going to be a process..but on the way out...my window as still open and I saw a barn I have seen my whole life..but I "saw" it for the first time. It was backdropped by some forebodding clouds, wrapped and being absorbed by the countryside..a by gone life giving up itself to a new day. What I had just left felt oddly similar....somehow that barn was a comfort and somehow very beautiful...no...dignified.

I am glad I was able to "see"

thanks be!