December?

Wow.  I have done a terrible job of keeping constant updates coming through.  Sorry about that.  Maybe I can talk Courtney into taking back over and provide everyone with better material than I have provided.  In all fairness we have been quite the busy Busbys.  Here's hoping we can put together something soon.

-Todd

Quick Update

Hope everyone out this is have a wonderful Sunday to cap off this lovely weekend.  Nothing much to report on outside of missing a couple of our best friends, Stacy and Brian.  They had planned to be visiting us this weekend but things didn't go as we hoped.  Stacy hasn't been feeling well so be thinking about her.  The great news is she is on the upswing and we have rescheduled the visit for a couple of weekends out.  It will only make it that more sweet when they do make it.

Have a nice week everyone!

Happy August

Todd Is Taking Back The Blog

Yes, this is me.  The owning account of this blog.  Just read the address up at the top.  I wanted to stop in and say 'Welcome to August'.  It has been great for us so far.  Currently we are enjoying 75º weather here in Charlotte and most every window in the house open.  It's funny that the one weekend I would love to be outside enjoying a sunny day we get rain and clouds.  Summertime music is my crutch for these days.  Just ask Courtney.  I hear that back in the Mid-South I would need to turn on Christmas music to trick my body into thinking it is cold.

Let's get into a more constructive recap of July outside of Courtney celebrating her passing of the NC drivers test.  Some of us only need 20 questions to pass instead of 21.  

Let's see... it started back in early July.  I can remember it like it was yesterday...  

The first real event that I can recall was The Fourth.  Now, people in hard working positions must work that day but us bankers get that day off.  But you say the 4th was on a Sunday?  Yeah Courtney had to work that day.  Don't let that get you down.  That extra day off comes in handy later on in our journey through July.  Back to the 4th, Monroe and I were out in the hammock most of the day while the ribs were cooking slow.  We had Sam and Lauren over to join us that night.  It was quite the party.  Subwoofers on the back porch blasted that summertime music I was telling you about.  If I'm cooking ribs I need subwoofers.  No explanation should be needed.  A lovely dinner it was.  After a few more refreshments we headed to the outskirts of Uptown (Downtown) Charlotte to enjoy the fireworks show.  Courtney almost blocked in a soccer mom as we pulled into a crowded lot just in time for the show.  Drama was closely avoided.  After the show, luckily for me, we called it a night.

Now, that weekend day that Courtney had (un)fortunately worked came in hugely handy the following week.  The following Tuesday (6th) we hopped in the car after work and headed to Isle of Palms, SC for a concert.  IOP is a small beach town just north of Charleston.  We made it in not much short of the opening act.  We dropped Monroe off at the "Pet Friendly" hotel.  I'll get to that later.  Since we were running so close of the opening act we skipped dinner planning to pick up some food at the concert spot - The Windjammer.  Well The Windjammer had cut off the kitchen early because of the show, so we purchased bar Nabs.  Apparently they are not called Nabs on the East Coast so we had a small disconnect that lightened the situation.  As you would guess Nabs aren't great to party on.  We trudged on anyway.  The opening act was a little reggae fella called Mishka.  It was a nice opening act but I was ready for Donavon.  Fantastic fun being on the front row where you get drops of sweat in your beer.  It was loud and a blast.  Afterwards I bought his latest vinyl and had him sign it. Not thinking too clear I only had him sign it to me and not Courtney.  I don't think she was too disappointed though.  She was slightly turned off from the dripping sweat she got on her in this picture.

So once the show was over how were we doing?  Jet's just say we needed some McDonalds before bed.

Next morning we go to check out after a bit of working in the hotel and come to find a $75 charge to the room.  Well Monroe had done a bit of partying himself and woke up the blue hairs next door.  Anyway that was straightened out after a bit of 'discussion'.  We head to the beach thereafter.  Yes, I worked at the beach.  I hooked the laptop up to my cell phone and signed in from the sand.  Not much to report here outside of Monroe LOVING the ocean.  He took on some waves bigger than him.

We headed back to Charlotte around 2:00 and got in right about rush hour.

The following weekend offered a bit more driving and the second concert of the week.  We took off from Charlotte that Friday(9th) about 5:00 am EDT.  I started off with driving duties since I was off the clock at that time.  The drive through Asheville to Knoxville TN is gorgeous.  The four hours it took us to get to Knoxville flew by.  We switched roles at that point and Courtney took the wheel.  We switched one more time and finally pulled into Senatobia MS around 2:00 CDT.  After a quick few holes of golf later that day we headed to Como Steakhouse, a Stoogie tradition.
The Stoogie golf tournament started that Saturday(10th).  Another tradition is that we always score better on Saturday than Sunday when it should be the exact opposite.  However it was fun.  The highlight for me was going to the show that took place that Saturday night.  The boogie band that was lined up bounced a lot of 40, 50 and 60 year old asses that night.  It was quite the show and a awesome time that both Courtney and Taylor unfortunately missed.  They had headed to Jackson MS for a Brock Birthday party.  Both our niece and nephew share a birthday week.  I hear that the Wii games we gave are still the hit that they were that day.

Sunday night was one I was really looking forward to.  After golf I RUSHED to change (no shower needed) and get to Memphis.  We met up with Stacy, Brian, Alex, Robyn, and Katie at Boscos.  We I say 'we' - I spent maybe 45 minutes vising while Courtney on the other hand had an hour or two.  We are making up for that soon with some awesome visits and football games.  Later that night we headed to Jamie Cullum.  His show was awesome as usual.

The real treat here was the opening act that Courtney and I have since memorized his album.  His name is Julian Velard.  Look him up.  Don't cry to 'A Dream'.

That Monday looked a lot like the previous Friday in reverse.  We did manage to stop by the Sweetwater Valley Farm and pick up three blocks of cheese.  It is awesome!  Check it out if you are ever driving from Nashville to Knoxville.  It's a short hour side trip.  Did that sound too Griswald?

There was one intentional detour that put us a couple of hours behind but it was well taken for the most part.  We decided to drive through Gatlinburg for dinner and beers.  We took it into the park to watch the sun set over the mountains.  It was nice end to the trip.  Did I mention that we were still four hours away?  We didn't get in until 11:00 that night.  What a WEEKEND!

Did we do anything the next weekend?  HELL NO!

The weekend of the 24th a fraternity brother, Andy Bower, came to visit.  He lives in ATL and does business in Charlotte plus many others in this larger region.  He had to work the following Monday so we partied the weekend away.  Saturday night after he got in we went to Mac's Speed Shop.  It's a great local Bar-B-Q shop with a nice beer selection.  With a lack of options that night we decided for a movie.  The lightweight Courtney opted out of watching Inception that night.

The next day of us not really having a plan we said "Let's go to wine country!"  Bower never knew that NC had a wine country.  He soon found out that it is fantastic!  We went to Shelton and Raffaldini where he wound up with seven bottles combined.  It was an awesome day for it not being planned.  Wine country FTW!  Needless to say we were exhausted when we got back and called it a day shortly thereafter.  Man we are old!

So that leaves us here.  Did we do anything this weekend?  HELL YES!  Slavedriver in the other room had me doing chores!  Luckily we shared awesome pizza last night.  I had the bright idea of recreating California pizza from Boscos.  It was great!  Today we have been doing a bit more cleaning but have partaken in a few mimosas.  I have found that mango nectar is smooth in place of orange juice.  Try it.  You won't be disappointed.

So that brings us to the end of this post.  Until we meet again...  Life, Love, and Laughter

I passed!!!!

My North Carolina Drivers license test!!!!  Yes when you move to this state you have to take the written test again.....and it has been some years since I have taken the written test. The day I went to take my test, there were 7 of us starting the test at the same time...4 of the 7 FAILED the test! CRAZY!!! Thank you Todd for finding a study guide for us to read over! :)

Long time....no post....but guess what...I'm back!!!

WOW!! I has been way too long since I last posted!!! We obviously have been busy Busbys!!!
Let's start with family visits....

The Busby's came for a visit at the end of May. It was so great to have family in town! While they were in town we did a little bit of everything....shopping, wine tasting, a visit to Carowinds amusement park, saw Wicked, grilled out & had a GREAT week!! Below is a picture from our visit to Carowinds, I am the only Busby that did not ride the flying coaster or any of the other crazy rides.....I am not much of a roller coaster fan, but it looks like they are having a BLAST!! And I have just realized that we ONLY took pictures while at Carowinds...I was not very good at documenting their visit!! I will promise to do better on the next visit!

Th Vinson's were next on the list for a visit. Todd & I met them in Bryson City for a mountain weekend getaway & then they came to Charlotte! While in the mountains we went hiking, tubing, & some went whitewater rafting! Below are some pictures from their visit.....

In early June Todd & I went to Carolina Beach, NC for an overnight camping/beach visit. We camped out at the Carolina Beach State Park. The camping was fun except for the raccoons....they kept us up ALL night long! We spent the daytime at a beach where you drive your truck (has to be 4-wheel drive) onto the sand to where ever you want to go for the day. I had no idea how bumpy sand would be to drive on, needless to say we went ~1/2 mile from the entrance and found a good spot. This beach was also dog friendly so Monroe was able to have his first taste of the Atlantic Ocean! In the beginning of the day he was pretty nervous, but by the end of the day he was playing in the water like a fish!!! Below are some pictures of our little beach trip.....

Well that is pretty much an update from us for the last few weeks!!! I am going to try to be better about posting more often!!! See everyone soon!

Jamie Cullum

I first heard Jamie Cullum while at the beach with my family the summer after I graduated from Mississippi State. I instantly fell in love. I can also say that Jamie Cullum is one of the two artist that I introduced to Todd!!! When I found out Jamie was going to have a tour in the states this year, I knew I would be going to a show. Todd & I were able to go to Atlanta for a show & it was AMAZING!!!! We had a great night & I am looking forward to going to another one of his concerts!!!!!

Our time in Charleston, SC

Todd & I (along with Mrs. Linda & Mr. Tracy, Todd's parents) were able to make a trip to Charleston shortly after we moved to Charlotte. Our primary reason for the trip was to attend Lauren's wedding. Lauren is one of Todd's cousins. She & her fiance moved to Charleston last fall/winter & decided to have their wedding at a beach near Charleston. The wedding was beautiful & the reception was great as well!! It was a beautiful day & it was good to spend time with family!! Congrats & best wishes to Lauren & her new husband!!!



The day after the wedding Todd, Mrs. Linda, Mr. Tracy & I went to Hilton Head, SC for a round of golf. The 3 golfers had a good round & I played photographer/golf cart driver. It was a windy, chilly day but we had a good time none the less.

The next few days we spent in Charleston, enjoying the town. We went to Battery Park, walked among the historic homes, toured the Calhoun Mansion, & took the ferry to Fort Sumter. Our tour of Calhoun Mansion was very interesting. This mansion, the largest residence in Charleston, has 35 rooms & is over 24,000 square feet. The owner has an interesting collection of art & other items. We were also able to visit Fort Sumter. It was pretty interesting to stand on the site where the Civil War began. I have always been interested in the Civil War & had a wonderful time touring the site. Below are some photos of our visit!!

The Queen City -- Charlotte, North Carolina

Well we have finally found some time to really start this blog & post some info on our new home!!!! This will probably be a long post but.....to catch everyone up......

1. We moved to Charlotte NC in March. (We GREATLY appreciate the help from all of our parents!!! Love yall!) We have finally gotten our new home in order. Our new place is a town home that is twice as big as the Memphis condo & in a great location! And we have a patio & yard that we absolutely LOVE!!!! We have even seen a deer across the little creek & a turtle in our neighborhood. Below are a few photos of the move & our new home!!

Packing the 24 foot moving truck....

The front of our new home....



Making our mark in North Carolina.....



The living room/front entry.....



The dining room & kitchen.....



The living room & back door.....

The patio & back yard....lovely!!!

2. I started a new job at Carolinas Medical Center - Northeast. Todd was able to transfer with First Tennessee Bank to their office here in Charlotte. So far both job changes have been GREAT!!!

3. Monroe LOVES LOVES LOVES his new back yard!!! (And so do Todd & I......it is MUCH easier to take him out these days!)



4. We miss our family & friends alot!!! I mean alot!!!! We are looking forward to visits from both families in May & welcome any other visitors!!!

5. We have been able to venture to some fun places around Charlotte; including wine country & Carowinds (a roller coaster park)!!! We are looking forward to more adventures to the outter banks, the mountains, Panthers football games & Knights baseball games!





Whew!!!! Well that just about catches everyone up!!! The one thing missing is our trip to Charleston....but that will have to be another post!

A New Chapter

We have moved.....to Charlotte, North Carolina!!! We have settled into our new home & I (Courtney) start a new JOB on March 22!!! Todd was able transfer with his current company. Monroe is adjusting well, he REALLY loves his new yard! More news & pictures to come soon!