Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
For your amusement, I'm posting a photo from last year's Halloween night. I dressed up as a vampire to scare the kids. it worked well. They were distracted by me and the make up, then Brandon showed his fangs as they got close!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Barack Obama
I feel hopeful for the future of America tonight after watching Barack Obama's special message to America tonight.
I believe Barack Obama is an exceptional man who can unify in lead our country to a better future. If missed the address tonight, I encourage you to watch it.
I believe Barack Obama is an exceptional man who can unify in lead our country to a better future. If missed the address tonight, I encourage you to watch it.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Facebook, Weaknesses and Weekends at Home
I've had lots of things pop into my mind lately, but haven't taken the time to blog about them...so, this is going to be a bit unfocused. Betty King would not approve.
I'll start with the latest: Facebook. It's a curse. It's addictive. I'm a very social person, so I am naturally curious about where old old friends from high school and college ended up. At the same time, it is easy to become completely obsessed with finding and contacting people. I especially enjoy looking at pictures. It's a slippery slope, though, because like most things in my life I instantly start comparing myself to the people I used to hang out with. It's like living vicariously through a TV show...but through really people. It's crazy!
I'm also glad Election Day is almost here. I believe Barack Obama will be our next president, and that makes me feel good about the future. The pessimist in me is worried though. So...ROCK THE VOTE ya'll! Unless you're going to vote for McCain. :)
I've also been thinking about my biggest weakness. I seem to never be satisfied with anything. Why is that? It's a bit neurotic and it seems to cross into every aspect of my life. It makes me too competitive for my own good sometimes and far too critical of other people as well as myself. At least I am much more aware of it than in the past!
Last Wednesday, we went to a OU alumni wine tasting at a local winery called Tino Vino with our friend DuWayne. It was a lot of fun and good to catch up with DuWayne. I also got to meet one of his co-workers (and a fellow OU alum) who was really nice.
Brandon and I have spent the last two weekends in Cincinnati. It has given us a nice break from all the hussle bussle. This weekend we went to the Jim Beam Bourbon tasting with our friends Paula and Kirk on Friday. (Kirk works for Jim Beam and this is a fundraiser they do for Sky Ranch and Kid's Cafe.) I sat next to this girl named Kelly and her husband, Don. For some reason, Kelly and I totally hit it off. On
Saturday, we slept in and then went hiking at East Fork Lake State Park with Ginger. That night, we headed to Paula and Kirk's house to watch the OSU game. We really enjoy hanging out with Paula and Kirk, so it was a good time!
Sunday I took Ginger to Waynesville to visit dad and his dog. It's been a long time since I've been up to see him, so it was nice to visit. I made him a pot of chili (his favorite) and we let the dogs run around the dog park. It's a great way to spend a fall afternoon. That night, it was off the shelter as usual then back to the grind Sunday morning...
The weekend before last Brandon and I had a great time just hanging out at home and relaxing. We burned all the wood that fell out of our tree and made smores in the chiminea and had an impromptu Saturday night dance party. It was awesome. Brandon has a way of always deflating my stress, making me laugh and keeping me grounded. What can I say? He's the ying to my yang.
I'll start with the latest: Facebook. It's a curse. It's addictive. I'm a very social person, so I am naturally curious about where old old friends from high school and college ended up. At the same time, it is easy to become completely obsessed with finding and contacting people. I especially enjoy looking at pictures. It's a slippery slope, though, because like most things in my life I instantly start comparing myself to the people I used to hang out with. It's like living vicariously through a TV show...but through really people. It's crazy!
I'm also glad Election Day is almost here. I believe Barack Obama will be our next president, and that makes me feel good about the future. The pessimist in me is worried though. So...ROCK THE VOTE ya'll! Unless you're going to vote for McCain. :)
I've also been thinking about my biggest weakness. I seem to never be satisfied with anything. Why is that? It's a bit neurotic and it seems to cross into every aspect of my life. It makes me too competitive for my own good sometimes and far too critical of other people as well as myself. At least I am much more aware of it than in the past!
Last Wednesday, we went to a OU alumni wine tasting at a local winery called Tino Vino with our friend DuWayne. It was a lot of fun and good to catch up with DuWayne. I also got to meet one of his co-workers (and a fellow OU alum) who was really nice.
Brandon and I have spent the last two weekends in Cincinnati. It has given us a nice break from all the hussle bussle. This weekend we went to the Jim Beam Bourbon tasting with our friends Paula and Kirk on Friday. (Kirk works for Jim Beam and this is a fundraiser they do for Sky Ranch and Kid's Cafe.) I sat next to this girl named Kelly and her husband, Don. For some reason, Kelly and I totally hit it off. On
Saturday, we slept in and then went hiking at East Fork Lake State Park with Ginger. That night, we headed to Paula and Kirk's house to watch the OSU game. We really enjoy hanging out with Paula and Kirk, so it was a good time!
Sunday I took Ginger to Waynesville to visit dad and his dog. It's been a long time since I've been up to see him, so it was nice to visit. I made him a pot of chili (his favorite) and we let the dogs run around the dog park. It's a great way to spend a fall afternoon. That night, it was off the shelter as usual then back to the grind Sunday morning...
The weekend before last Brandon and I had a great time just hanging out at home and relaxing. We burned all the wood that fell out of our tree and made smores in the chiminea and had an impromptu Saturday night dance party. It was awesome. Brandon has a way of always deflating my stress, making me laugh and keeping me grounded. What can I say? He's the ying to my yang.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Fall and Key West
It's official: winter is on it's way. Yesterday was the first day I would truly call "cold" in Cincinati. It alwasy amazes me just how cold that first cold day feels. In the fall, everyone breaks out the wool coats on 60 degree days. In the spring, Ohioans are practically ready to jump in the pool. Ah, bye bye summer. Now we can look forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!
I spent the first week of October in Key West with Jane. (I had my entire blog entry--minus a few pictures-written earlier this week and I accidently erased it. I'll try to recreate.)
It's always good to catch up with Jane in person; it's just never the same on the phone. I'll never forget the first time we spoke. We hit it off right away, talking a mile a minute on the phone without ever having met each other in person. I came out of my bedroom and my parents were trying not to laugh. I said, "what?" They said: "Gee, did you hit it off?" Yes, we did. She's the closest friend I've ever had, and I'm very thankful for our friendship. I wish she lived closer!
Anyway...
Brandon and I fell in love with Key West during a spring break trip in college. We made the 24-hour drive with two friends from the band. It was the first real beach vacation I'd ever had and I was hooked. We returned for a day during our honeymoon and again a year later with Ben and Carrie Feldmeyer.
This, however, was Jane's first trip. As far as I could tell, she loved it, too--except for the walk to Ft. Zachary Taylor beach. (I should have told her to bring a backpack vs. a beach bag.)
We did all the things you must do in Key West except eat at Blue Heaven, a well-known and wonderful restaurant. It was closed for the off season. We did try another historic place--Pepe's Cafe--and it was fabulous. It looked pretty dingy from the outside, but they had a great outdoor patio and wonderful, homemade food. Here's a picture:
THINGS YOU MUST DO IN KEY WEST:
1. Enjoy the local attractions, including the Custom House Museum, Key West Aquarium and the newly opened Butterfly Conservatory. The Custom House in particular is incredible--it is a beautiful historic, renovated building. It has a permenant exhibit of Cuban art my Mario Sanchez, which I always enjoy, and a rotating display. This time it was "Icons Revisited," an exhibit of American icons created in 3D. To promote the exhibit they had a massive statue of American Gothic outside. It was crazy! The first time we noticed it was at night when it was underlit...pretty creepy.
Here are a few pictures from the museum and the butterfly show:
2) Visit Mallory Square to see the street performers. This is also a great place to meet some of the local cat population. I told Jane I needed to move to Key West and start a trap-and-release program to slow the pet population. They all look so skinny! I fed a cats my leftover cuban food, including the cute guy below.
3) Walk all over Old Town enjoying the quaint houses, beautiful flowers and touristy things, like the Southernmost Point:
4)You must also watch the sunset from many places. That meant a sunset sail, the beach and the top of our hotel.
5) You must also spend lots of time at the beach, preferably in a noodle chair.
My laptop battery is about to die, so I'll have to post those photos later.
I spent the first week of October in Key West with Jane. (I had my entire blog entry--minus a few pictures-written earlier this week and I accidently erased it. I'll try to recreate.)
It's always good to catch up with Jane in person; it's just never the same on the phone. I'll never forget the first time we spoke. We hit it off right away, talking a mile a minute on the phone without ever having met each other in person. I came out of my bedroom and my parents were trying not to laugh. I said, "what?" They said: "Gee, did you hit it off?" Yes, we did. She's the closest friend I've ever had, and I'm very thankful for our friendship. I wish she lived closer!
Anyway...
Brandon and I fell in love with Key West during a spring break trip in college. We made the 24-hour drive with two friends from the band. It was the first real beach vacation I'd ever had and I was hooked. We returned for a day during our honeymoon and again a year later with Ben and Carrie Feldmeyer.
This, however, was Jane's first trip. As far as I could tell, she loved it, too--except for the walk to Ft. Zachary Taylor beach. (I should have told her to bring a backpack vs. a beach bag.)
We did all the things you must do in Key West except eat at Blue Heaven, a well-known and wonderful restaurant. It was closed for the off season. We did try another historic place--Pepe's Cafe--and it was fabulous. It looked pretty dingy from the outside, but they had a great outdoor patio and wonderful, homemade food. Here's a picture:
THINGS YOU MUST DO IN KEY WEST:
1. Enjoy the local attractions, including the Custom House Museum, Key West Aquarium and the newly opened Butterfly Conservatory. The Custom House in particular is incredible--it is a beautiful historic, renovated building. It has a permenant exhibit of Cuban art my Mario Sanchez, which I always enjoy, and a rotating display. This time it was "Icons Revisited," an exhibit of American icons created in 3D. To promote the exhibit they had a massive statue of American Gothic outside. It was crazy! The first time we noticed it was at night when it was underlit...pretty creepy.
Here are a few pictures from the museum and the butterfly show:
2) Visit Mallory Square to see the street performers. This is also a great place to meet some of the local cat population. I told Jane I needed to move to Key West and start a trap-and-release program to slow the pet population. They all look so skinny! I fed a cats my leftover cuban food, including the cute guy below.
3) Walk all over Old Town enjoying the quaint houses, beautiful flowers and touristy things, like the Southernmost Point:
4)You must also watch the sunset from many places. That meant a sunset sail, the beach and the top of our hotel.
5) You must also spend lots of time at the beach, preferably in a noodle chair.
My laptop battery is about to die, so I'll have to post those photos later.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Pondering Changes
This past weekend, we went to Knoxville to visit Ben, Carrie and baby Luke. It wasn't as odd I thought it might be to see them with a baby. They seemed to be settled into a pattern of existence. Both seem a bit stressed and growing into their new roles: Ben as sole provider and Carrie as a full-time mom.
Watching them has escalated the already mixed emotions into my head. I'm happy for them, but I also feel somewhat angry and somewhat jealous at the same time. Welcome to my screwed up head.
I think I feel this way because them having a baby symbolizes another decade in our lives: the decade of building a family.
I'll be 30 in December. Ugh. How scary is that. Are kids the next step in my life? What if it isn't? When is the right time? What if I wait too long and can't have kids? What if kids ruin my relationship with Brandon? What if kids aren't what I want, but what I think I want or what other people think I want?
I'm driving myself crazy with these questions and thoughts. I need a new fixation. Perhaps I'll go back to politics...
On a happier note, Jane and I are headed to Key West on Sunday for a week of girl time. I can't wait!
Watching them has escalated the already mixed emotions into my head. I'm happy for them, but I also feel somewhat angry and somewhat jealous at the same time. Welcome to my screwed up head.
I think I feel this way because them having a baby symbolizes another decade in our lives: the decade of building a family.
I'll be 30 in December. Ugh. How scary is that. Are kids the next step in my life? What if it isn't? When is the right time? What if I wait too long and can't have kids? What if kids ruin my relationship with Brandon? What if kids aren't what I want, but what I think I want or what other people think I want?
I'm driving myself crazy with these questions and thoughts. I need a new fixation. Perhaps I'll go back to politics...
On a happier note, Jane and I are headed to Key West on Sunday for a week of girl time. I can't wait!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Land of the Sun
Brandon and I spent Thursday through Monday in sunny Arizona. It was a great trip, but a bit of a whirlwind. (We're saving the bulk of Brandon's vacation for Hawaii in February, so we only had a few days for him to burn.)
Thursday night we got settled into the family condo in Phoenix (it is awesome!) and then went out with Steve and Roy. We met up with some of their friends at local Mexican restaurant and noshed on Margaritas and nachos then went to Corbin's for a tasty dinner.
Friday we slept in then took advantage of Steve and Roy's cabana...aka backyard. They have a pool and hot tub, so we laid out until we were hot, got in the pool, hot tub, repeat. You get the idea.
That night we road the bus to downtown Phoenix to watch the Reds take on the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, we lost but it was still fun to see a ballpark other than our own. I enjoyed watched the DONKEY (Adam Dunn)strike out. HA!
Here are a few photos:
Saturday we headed north to Flagstaff for a 6.7 mile hike in the Coconino National Forrest: the Bear Jaw/Abineau Loop. The trail goes to the base of the Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in Arizona. When you turn your back on the peak, you can see the Grand Canyon 90 miles away. Pretty amazing. We saw large alpine tree groves, avalanche damage and beautiful wildflowers. Here are a few pics:
That night, we stayed in Williams at the Holiday Inn so Brandon could watch the OSU game. We ate Mexican--again--at a local joint then headed to bed early.
Sunday we got up early and drove to the Grand Canyon. This was the first time we hiked down into the canyon. We didn't have a whole lot of time, so we did the six miles round trip on South Kaibab to Skeleton Point and three miles on the Bright Angel trail. Both were amazing. Next time we're definitely going to build in time to hike all the way to the canyon bottom.
Here are a few of my favorite pics from the hikes:
There was a huge storm that left most of Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati without power while we were gone. Fortunately, our power was back on by the time we got back. we spent our first night back cleaning up sticks from our yard. Fortunately. our trees and roof weren't damaged.
Thursday night we got settled into the family condo in Phoenix (it is awesome!) and then went out with Steve and Roy. We met up with some of their friends at local Mexican restaurant and noshed on Margaritas and nachos then went to Corbin's for a tasty dinner.
Friday we slept in then took advantage of Steve and Roy's cabana...aka backyard. They have a pool and hot tub, so we laid out until we were hot, got in the pool, hot tub, repeat. You get the idea.
That night we road the bus to downtown Phoenix to watch the Reds take on the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately, we lost but it was still fun to see a ballpark other than our own. I enjoyed watched the DONKEY (Adam Dunn)strike out. HA!
Here are a few photos:
Saturday we headed north to Flagstaff for a 6.7 mile hike in the Coconino National Forrest: the Bear Jaw/Abineau Loop. The trail goes to the base of the Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in Arizona. When you turn your back on the peak, you can see the Grand Canyon 90 miles away. Pretty amazing. We saw large alpine tree groves, avalanche damage and beautiful wildflowers. Here are a few pics:
That night, we stayed in Williams at the Holiday Inn so Brandon could watch the OSU game. We ate Mexican--again--at a local joint then headed to bed early.
Sunday we got up early and drove to the Grand Canyon. This was the first time we hiked down into the canyon. We didn't have a whole lot of time, so we did the six miles round trip on South Kaibab to Skeleton Point and three miles on the Bright Angel trail. Both were amazing. Next time we're definitely going to build in time to hike all the way to the canyon bottom.
Here are a few of my favorite pics from the hikes:
There was a huge storm that left most of Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati without power while we were gone. Fortunately, our power was back on by the time we got back. we spent our first night back cleaning up sticks from our yard. Fortunately. our trees and roof weren't damaged.
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