It was a good year for salsa at Ramsgate Manor. It was also the first year for my garden in full sun. Last fall, we had a 70+ year old Oak tree removed that was struggling with a disease. We decided it was best to remove it rather that spend the money to repair it. And the garden reaped the benefits. Here’s the breakdown of the tomatoes and peppers from the 2013 growing season. Continue reading
After two full days on the beach and an awesome evening of fireworks, it was time for a recovery day. Sort of. Welcome to day seven on the Outer Banks, Friday, July 5. We were going to be tourists today, and there’s nothing wrong with that. On Monday, we did a day trip to Ocracoke and Hatteras Island, which was a great time despite the rain. It was time to check off a few of those attractions that you always drive by, but never go to. Today was our day. Continue reading
Image courtesy of Russ Stephenson
“Raleigh is a great place to call home” said Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat. Whitehurst led off as dignitaries from all levels of North Carolina government spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony held at Red Hat Tower on Monday, June 24, 2013.
Governor Pat McCory thanked Red Hat for their commitment to the urban core. Chairman of the Wake County Commissioners, Joe Bryan, highlighted the need for a grocery story in downtown Raleigh. After talking with a few Red Hat associates who live near downtown, Bryan took the opportunity to talk about improving the quality of life for downtown to attract more companies like Red Hat. Continue reading
On July 2, 2010, the photo voltaic system installed on our roof by Southern Energy Management that included 18 solar panels was turned on. We finally started generating renewable energy. I looked at the project as a long-term investment, not a quick way to make money. But overall, the right thing to do for the environment.
I was inspired by Thomas S. Friedman’s Hot Flat and Crowded. In the book, he says that there should be solar panels on every rooftop in America. So we found a great company to partner with and we did our part. Not quite an early adopter, but jumping on the bandwagon.
I get a lot of questions about how much the system costs and how it works. It seems like a good time to share this information (as I’ve been meaning to for a long time). Plus, I saw a post that June was solar energy month in NC and decided to share our story. Continue reading
Spoiler alert, you may need a tissue or two for this post. Just sayin.
Life is short folks, and we take so many little things for granted everyday. When I come home from work, I have four, happy, energetic Border Collies greeting me. Whether I’ve had a great day, a super busy day, or a not-so-great day, tails are wagging and Dot, Nat, Sox, and Rex are excited to see me. When I come home today, our oldest Border Collie, Dot, won’t be there to say hello. Continue reading
We’re happy to announce that Caitlyn “Coco” Kalani has made her arrival at Ramsgate Manor (our home). She came home last week and we’ve been slowly adjusting to our new routine with Coco in the mix.
As many of you know, Zander started school this week. He’s excited to be starting first grade, but he’s even more excited to be a great big brother and help us around the house with his little sister. He was aggressive at first, but he’s learning fast that Coco is still a very tiny baby and needs time to continue her development. Continue reading
We can’t believe it. Last Friday was three weeks since Caitlyn’s arrival. It’s been a lot of back and forth to Rex Hospital and a lot of education about preemie babies for us. The terminology is different. Every baby has a unique situation. But the ultimate question that everyone wants to know the answer to is…when will she come home?
Caitlyn “Coco” Kalani is making great progress. Everyday it seems like another cord is coming off or another weight goal is achieved. We have the same question you have, when can she come home? And the doctor’s put it too us very simply, when she meets the following criteria: Continue reading
It’s been an interesting week for us. Coming home without your newborn is tough, but we’ve had tremendous support. Caitlyn Kalani is doing great. We’ve been visiting her daily at Rex Hospital in the Special Care Nursery and monitoring her progress. It’s been ten days since Coco arrived a few weeks early. We’ve had our share of up and downs, but mostly ups!
(As we say at Red Hat a lot, up, and to the right.)
It was the morning of Tuesday, July 31. I headed over to Rex, prepared to take Merri Beth home from the hospital. I arrived just in time to review the application for the birth certificate, making sure that Caitlyn Kalani Hibbets was spelled correctly and reviewed a few other details. We paid a visit to Coco, who was improving from this weekends’ extraction. Continue reading
As many of our friends, family, and co-workers already know, we got a wonderful surprise during the early morning of July 27. You can read the full story of baby Coco’s arrival. It was an amazing roller coaster ride and we’ve had tremendous support along the way. Thank you. Very much. And now, here’s what so many of you want to know… Continue reading
This is the story of baby Coco’s arrival. Quite an adventure for the Hibbets family.
As many of our friends, family, and co-workers already know, we got a wonderful surprise during the early morning of July 27. After a long day of work, Merri Beth started having contractions while we were preparing dinner—but she didn’t think they were contractions. We ate dinner as a family and I got some late-night work done while MB was catching up on some True Blood, trying to fight the pain. I went to bed shortly after midnight and was awakened by MB just after two in the morning. Our lives were about to change. Continue reading