Yes, I'm a day late with this entry. But let it go on record that it's not because I forgot the occasion, I was just too busy to blog.

Happy birthday to Mike! Not much of a milestone in terms of years (we won't talk about that) but a big day in other ways. He started his shiny new post-MBA job on his birthday!

We did most of our celebrating over the weekend though we did make a nice dinner at home and have presents, cake and ice cream last night.

I won't say much about his first day on the job except that it went well. It's really his story to tell and his resolution to "blog more often" has failed miserably the past couple of weeks.

So drop him a line to say Happy Birthday and maybe chide him a bit about the blogging as well. And since I blogged a day late, I'm sure he'll forgive your belated well-wishes.

When you go for a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they ever press charges. -Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

This weekend, we managed to visit two very different restaurants run by the same management group.

Last night, Mike chose South for dinner to celebrate his birthday and new job. Located at the newly renovated North Hills area, we've mentioned stopping in for dinner countless times.

Our reservation was for 6:15 and we were seated promptly. The decor features a lot of dark woods and is very sleek. However, the seating is the only complaint we had for the night. Like sister-restaurants Vivace and Frazier's, South features several seating areas that consist of a long shared bench running the length of the back wall with tables and then chairs scattered across it. While this offers versatility for dining configurations, it also manages to leave you feeling like you are sitting with complete strangers. It's hard to have a private conversation.

The service was great. Jonas was our server and he was attentive and helpful without being intrusive or aloof.

We started with two appetizers - crab cake and cornmeal crusted Chesapeake Bay oysters. The crab cake was very good. Oysters aren't really my thing - they were alright as oysters go but Mike enjoyed them.

For entrees, I ordered the Blackened NC Tuna with butternut squash succotash, red pepper chow chow, and grilled lemon vinaigrette. (Yeah, I copied that from the menu). At Jonas' recommendation, I ordered my tuna seared, leaving it quite rare in the middle. It was very tasty. Mike also ordered fish - Roasted Grouper with buttermilk mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and crab & roasted tomato butter. The bite I tried was perfect. We also shared a side of the cheddar grits and this is the first time since moving to the south that I've had grits I liked.

By the time Jonas brought the dessert menu, we were both pretty stuffed. We opted to split a vanilla creme brulee. It was a nice light ending to our meal.

So other than the seating arrangements which seem to be typical as more restaurants try to pack in the maximum number of guests, it was a perfect dinner. And the seating situation wasn't enough to keep us from going back.

This morning, we went to Porters Tavern for brunch. We arrived just as they opened at 11:30 and were seated immediately in a small private booth towards the back.

I ordered the Florentine omelet (mozzarella, spinach, tomatoes) and Mike ordered eggs Benedict. Both were very good. We split some grits and found them to be a little bland but still good.

Brunch was yummy so we plan to head back at some point for dinner. Porters is a lot more casual than the other restaurants in the group so it should be interesting to check out their dinner menu.

We don't often eat out so much but this weekend we've tried three new restaurants (plus hit Panera for lunch yesterday). I'm stuffed!

I don't eat oysters. You have to eat them alive. I like my food dead. Not sick, not wounded -- dead! -Walter Hollander, Don't Drink the Water (1969)

Starbucks' Sugar Free Mocha

Mike decided to grab Starbucks this morning and discovered they now offer sugar free mocha syrup.

They've been really pushing their lower calorie drinks (including 90 calorie skinny lattes) since the beginning of the year to encourage all of those New Years Resolutioners. I usually get the sugar free vanilla but now I have another option since I don't like the other choices.

London Fish & Chips

We've been meaning to check out London Fish & Chips in Cary for awhile but we finally made our way there last night.

The shop is small and decorated with black and white photos of UK personalities and scenes. London Bridge, Princess Di, The Beatles.

They open for dinner at 5pm and we arrived around 5:10. This placed us 7th in line. The menu is simple - about 5 fish choices, either as a full or half order, with chips (English-style fries). With a full order, you also get a choice of side - coleslaw, beans, or mushy peas. After ordering at the counter, you receive a number and try to find a table.

While we waited for our food, the line stretched at various points to the front door. This was in part due to the number of customers but also deceiving as the line wouldn't have been so long if service had been faster. Though we arrived at 5:10 and were 7th in line, we didn't receive our food until 6pm. Apparently when they "open" at 5pm, they weren't "ready" for service at 5pm.

When we received our food, it was worth the wait. Mike had a full order of cod with chips and a side of beans. I had a half order of haddock, which was more than enough for me. The batter on the fish was awesome and the chips were perfect.

Prices are decent - about $11 for a full order, $7.50 for a half with chips (you can also get JUST the fish without chips but why bother?). I think our food plus a beer and an Orangina came to about $25. I wish the wait hadn't been so long but we weren't in a rush and the food was so good that I'd be very willing to give them a second chance. Updated Aug 20, 2008: Reports are that London Fish & Chips has closed sometime not long after we ate there. So disappointing. And not our fault.

Tonight - South at North Hills.

There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot. -Steven Wright

An excerpt from Anderson's 360° blog:

For the last two nights we have reported on actor Heath Ledger. His shocking death is clearly a story a lot of people are interested in, but tonight we will not be reporting more on it. The truth is there is not really anything new to report.

The full results of the various tests done on Mr. Ledger will not be ready for perhaps a few weeks and there is very little new information. I have no doubt other networks will spend a lot of time tonight discussing his death and the various rumors about what might have caused it, but I am not a fan of speculation, so unless there is something really new to discuss we probably won't be covering it anymore anytime soon.

Good for Anderson.

I was surprised when I heard about the death of Heath Ledger. "Dead at 28" was the major headline and that resonated with me. I'm 29. 28 is just too young. And his poor baby girl...

But beyond the initial report that he had died, the main interest I have in this story is awareness about mixing certain medications. Maybe some good can come of bringing attention to that issue. But I didn't need to see the body bag. Or pictures of his grieving ex. Or endless clips from movies he was in that I've never seen. Or speculation about bills and pills and and Olsen twin. It's tragic but I find the obsession with the details to be even more disturbing.

The kind of behavior exhibited by the media this past few days is part of what drove me to change my major back in college. So, props to Anderson for not following their lead in "reporting" every rumor. Instead, maybe he can be a leader by example, prompting other news teams to back off.

I think the funeral is in the next day or so. By Monday, the media will have moved on to the next story. Where's Britney when you need her?

Until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value! -Cher, Clueless, 1995

Vanity, perhaps. But every so often, I like to Google myself, to see what the world sees. Perspective employers, random acquaintances.

I seem like a pretty harmless person, I think. Nothing too crazy or risque. Nothing unemployable or unapproachable.

The confusion is that I'm not the only me. Sometimes, it's not a big deal. Other times, I feel like I want to put a post-it note on the results - "this one isn't me!!!".

Also annoying - certain "professional" networking sites that have incorrect information. There's one that appears to be me (correct location and profession) but then has blog entries that are NOT from my blog. "If this is you, sign in to edit this profile!". Scam much?

Sometimes I wonder about those other people with my name. What is their life like? What do they do? Are they happy?

And sometimes... would they like to trade?

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. -Anna Quindlen

Three years ago today, we brought home "Poser" from Second Chance, a local pet adoption organization. We renamed him "Ripley" and he quickly adapted to his new home.

When we first brought him home, he and Tasha didn't get along. Everyone said it would take time. Well, it's been three years. How much more time do they need?

If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way. -Mark Twain

Today, my heart is filled with joy. No, I didn't win the lottery. This is much, much better... And I have my friend Chix to thank for sharing the news.

The Mole, perhaps one of the best gameshows/competitive reality shows on television, will be returning to ABC after a 4+ year hiatus.

Here's the concept. A number of contestants, we'll say 10, solve puzzles of varying natures and complexities, hoping to put more money in the bank. However, one of these players is hired by the show. This player is the Mole and their identity is unknown to the other 9 "real" contenders. At the end of each round, the players take a quiz about the mole's identity. The player with the most questions wrong is eliminated from the game.

The show will be a bit different than the original. Most importantly, it will be without the best host in the history of my world, Anderson Cooper. Seems he's busy being the best news anchor in the history of my world right now, over on CNN. Thankfully, cheeseball Ahmad Rashad has not been asked back. Instead, they will be looking for a new host, likely an unknown. Just as well - my second favorite host, Phil Keoghan, is tied up with a little show on CBS called The Amazing Race. Hey, as long as it isn't Seacrest, we're cool.

The show will be casting regular folks as contestants, choosing wisely to avoid another celebrity edition. Which, I'll admit, I did not find nearly as revolting as I find most celebrity editions.

Look for the show back on ABC this summer. I know I'll be glued to the set. I just hope it lives up to my expectations.

If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again. -Terry Venables

I've already looked back at 2007. Now it's time to look ahead at 2008.

A lot of 2008 was determined on the last day of 2007 - Mike accepted a new job and it will be here in Raleigh. For the longest time, we were unsure if we would be staying or moving to another city. He received his offer letter on 12/31 and started the year by accepting it.

So now that we've settled on a location, it's safe to make some plans. I hesitate to call them resolutions. But they are, so whatever. Even if they're repeats, I'll go ahead and list them.

• The never-ending quest for hotness (aka - those stubborn last few pounds).
• Run a 5k without stopping.
• Blog more often. Not necessarily in this blog. But in general I should be writing more often.
• Brush up on my French. Then make Mike take me to France. ;)
• Read at least one book each month. Perhaps I'll report here. (Recreational books, not grammar manuals or educational books)
• Finally learn how to play the guitar.

There are a few other items but I think those are best kept to myself.

I think this year, I'll post my updates monthly and keep my weekly boring accountability posts for my spreadsheet in Google Docs.

Also, I'm not into numerology but "8" does seem to be my number. Hopefully 2008 will be a great year for me. After some of the things that have gone on over the past few years, I feel it's overdue.

A man can do only what he can do. But if he does that each day he can sleep at night and do it again the next day. (Albert Schweitzer)

2007 has come and gone and I like to take New Year's as an opportunity not only to set resolutions going forward but also as a chance to reflect on the past year. A lot of the year was again focused on Mike's MBA but we snuck in some fun along the way.

January got the year off to a crazy start with Mike's LASIK and a fabulous trip to Europe. The trip to London and Dublin ran over to the start of February and we took the rest of the month to recover.

March included a trip to Washington DC to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law. Too bad the weather had other plans... I also began an online creative writing course which ended in late April.

May was mostly quiet. Mike completed term 4 of his degree and we took a trip to the Vineyard Cabin to get away for Memorial Day weekend.

June got off to a rough start. We did manage to run the Race for the Cure even though I was sick and we had a funeral to attend for one of Mike's coworkers that day. On a more pleasant note, we were able to reschedule the weekend in DC with Matt & Rachel and had a great time at the Mall and Zoo.

July brought my introduction to Brian Vander Ark and his music. We also attended a Colbie Caillat/Lifehouse/GooGoo Dolls concert that month and spent a night at the Washington Duke.

August was our 9th anniversary and Mike pulled off a HUGE surprise - a 24 hour trip to Philly that included seeing The Police play Giants stadium!

September involved me taking an absolutely horrible online NonFiction Writing course. Mike spent the second half of the month in China/S. Korea for one of his classes.

October kicked off with an endoscopy for me. It was also the Parade of Homes and NC State Fair. Towards the end of the month, we spent a day hiking at Pilot Mountain and I celebrated Mike's final (EVER!) weekend of classes with a little panda pumpkin carving.

November was an extremely busy month. I participated once again (successfully) in NaNoWriMo, writing something semi-worthwhile this time. We also took our first cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate Mike's graduation, which was November 17th.

December was busy leading up to the holidays. We had a nice Christmas, despite a few poorly-timed household mishaps (busted garage door and a dead oven).

2008 looks to be a very big year for us but I'll save that (and my resolutions) for another post.