Andrea's blog

Cubjac

2012-02-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

If you haven't met my brother yet, I hope you get to one day. For now, you can check him out on this video about Cubjac, where he owns a home. Dan's segment begins at the 4:08 mark.

C'est bon!

Windows

2012-01-25T17:22:00.000-08:00

LinkedIn just notified me that 88 of my contacts changed jobs last year. That's a lot of folks. 2011 was a good year. Lots of promotions and bigger shifts. Call me number 89.

When a door closes, a window opens. Here's to windows. Cheers!

Twinkie extinction?

2012-01-11T05:37:00.000-08:00

So far I've been cautiously optimistic despite all of the bad news about the sinking economy. But now it's gone too far. This is serious, people.
Twinkie maker Hostess Brands in bankruptcy filing

Chincoteague Pony

2012-01-02T07:53:00.001-08:00

My friend Becky bought a Chincoteague pony filly. She's six months old with a great disposition. Her name is Chocolate Kiss. So cute!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T07:48:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! May you have lots of time in the saddle with no unintentional dismounts in 2012.

10

2011-12-30T07:48:00.001-08:00

Today I'm organizing and cleaning out my Gmail account. Earlier this morning I had 184 emails in my inbox. Now I'm down to 10. The last time I had only 10 emails in my inbox was when I first set up my account.

The [Delete] key is my favorite. :-)

Converting Word docs for Kindle

2011-12-29T07:19:00.000-08:00

I've enjoyed my Kindle since I got it a few months ago. But today I love it. Amazon automatically converts personal documents for the Kindle - you just have to email the file to your Kindle email address with "convert" in the subject line.

Thank you, Amazon!

Get the details

Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from sunny Yuma! De-De says hi.

Red Solo Cup

2011-11-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

This may be the best ballad of the year.

Oooh shiny

2011-11-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Jennifer makes and sells beautiful handmade gemstone necklaces, bracelets and earrings. It's addictive.

If you're looking for jewelry for yourself or as a gift check out her site, Blue Room Gems, on Etsy.

Costumes

2011-10-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

With Halloween around the corner, it's that time of year: Time to pick out a costume for your pet.

At the Days End Farm Horse Rescue fall festival they had a costume contest for the young volunteers and their favorite horses. Very inspiring.

My favorite costume was the ballerina. There was lots of attention to detail, from the heart on his forehead to the tail wrapping. Major points to the handlers for successfully combining ballerina attire with paddock boots. This costume makes me want to get a tutu for Gary. . .

Another great costume was prince charming. This one would be more appropriate for Gary:

Zzzz

2011-10-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

After seeing horses snore so many times, it's still cute to me.

Horses don't sleep a lot laying down - less than 30 minutes a day. To catch one sleeping is cool in itself. To catch one snoring is even better.

Tucker is an excellent snorer.

Here's to the New Year

2011-09-29T03:44:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much to Y for inviting me to her family's Rash Hashanah dinner last night! Great company and delicious food to celebrate the beginning of a new year. The timing was very meaningful for me. There is an angel on my shoulder, I'm convinced.

Thank goodness for my family and friends. Life would be meaningless without you.

Happy new year!

Cowgirl

2011-09-11T05:42:00.001-07:00

Lisa, Matt and Emilie were in town last weekend visiting Bill and Cheryl. It was so fun to see them! We had a fun afternoon out at the barn. Emilie rode Duke. Maybe she'll be a cowgirl just like her Aunt Andrea.

We went back to Bill and Cheryl's to relax before having a great dinner at Olazzo. After dinner Cheryl served the best dessert I've had in years: homemade peach and raspberry cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. We watched a movie to cap off the day.

A perfect day with great friends!

Flood

2011-09-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

My porch flooded on Thursday night. Luckily by the time I saw it the water had drained off. It looked like someone had ransacked my porch. My big wheeled trash can had floated off and tipped over. My heavy rubber welcome mat had also floated off, and ended up covering the drain. Luckily no water came inside.

My neighbors didn't have it so lucky. Armand's basement had 12" of water and Greg's basement had 5". My next door neighbors were bailing water off their porch at 9 pm.

Falls Church needs more boats.

Come on Irene

2011-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Irene went easy on us. My power went out for 7 hours yesterday. It was touch and go for that box of ice cream sandwiches in the freezer. Most of them survived the day. :-)

Shaken, not stirred

2011-08-23T16:27:00.001-07:00

Today's earthquake was scary. When it hit I was at work on the 10th floor of our 11th floor building. The quake shook the building hard for what felt like 1-2 minutes. The exterior of the building is about half made of glass, which is awesome most times but not during a big quake.

I thought of the twin towers collapsing and how standing in a doorway wouldn't help me if the entire building fell. That was the scary part. Luckily there was no damage and everyone was okay.

We evacuated the building when the shaking stopped. After another 20 minutes or so they closed the office for the day. They told us we could go back upstairs to get our things, and to take the afternoon to check on our homes and neighborhoods and spend time with our families. The last place I wanted to go was into another building so I spent some quality time outside processing it all.

Please, Mother Nature, no more earthquakes.

Seize the Bay

2011-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Y for a great Bay weekend! We boated, jetskiied, relaxed (I'm getting better at that), and ate good food. I even slept in. So much fun!

Here's the view out the front patio door. Note the hammock, in case you need to break up the walk to the dock:

The 'relaxation station.'

Time on the boat:

The jetski lift wasn't working at first - barnacles in the track. The guys got it working though.

Y knows how to make the most of a weekend!

Jammin'

2011-08-19T11:55:00.001-07:00

Thousands of bikers are riding into DC this afternoon in tribute to the victims of 9-11. I hear the bikes are lined up for 14 miles.

A few major roads are closed for the bikes. Here's an updated DC traffic report. Note the 'Jam factor' on the right.

Sleeping Beauty

2011-07-31T16:27:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day I've seen Gary sleep laying down. He doesn't usually sleep when people are around. This morning I snuck up on him. I watched him for a few minutes before he woke up. He wasn't snoring but did appear to be dreaming. Very sweet.

3:10 to Yuma

2011-07-09T12:32:00.000-07:00

I saw Dad in Yuma recently. We played with the horses, ate great meals, and watched western movies. A fun weekend with Dad!

This old flag

2011-07-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

Happy fourth of July! This is the flag that we flew at our house in Philadelphia in 1976. Dad and I put a flagpole bracket on the garage door a couple of weeks ago so he could fly it in Yuma.

Finally healing

2011-06-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Gary's wound is showing signs of healing again. His lip hasn't looked this good since Sunday, when L. opened it up. I didn't cleanse it today because I was alone.

From here if we let the wound heal without digging it open, I think it will heal well. Big relief.

Still not healing quickly

2011-06-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Before we get to the lip wound photos, let's start with a couple of cute Gary pictures today.

Now for the wound pictures. Before cleaning it with Betadyne (thank you, Caitlin!):

And after (sorry - it's blurry):

A Little Better

2011-06-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

Gary's lip was open when I saw him today, but it looks like it's starting to heal. Or maybe I'm being optimistic.

Caitlin washed the wound with betadyne today (thank you, Caitlin!). We'll do it again tomorrow night.

Before we cleaned the wound today:

Here's the wound after we cleaned it:

Wounded

2011-06-20T16:47:00.001-07:00

Today Gary's wound looked worse. We asked yesterday for L. at the barn to do no more invasive treatment. On Sat. and Sun., when I arrived the wound was closed and healing. Today when I arrived the wound was open:

I say to L., "It's much worse today." She said, "Of course it is." This is very frustrating.

Today the wound is deep. When I put neosporin on it, my finger went into the wound. Gary wouldn't let me touch it a second time.

Benched

2011-06-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Gary's on the bench this weekend. Yesterday morning I noticed an injury to his upper lip. The wound was healing and looked like it happened a couple of days ago. Not the worst injury, but in a hard spot to treat.

Here's what it looked like when I saw Gary today. This is before the wound was opened up and flushed out:

And here's a picture of it after the wound was opened up and flushed out. L stuck a needle up in his lip. A bit of blood spurted out. No pus. No swelling, redness or heat. For what it's worth I didn't smell any funky smell that would indicate infection. I believe the invasive treatment delivered wasn't in Gary's best interest. That needle went pretty far into his lip.

The day prior, there was mention/joking by L. about a tracheotomy. Lovely.

Big birthday

2011-06-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Leah and her family for helping me ring in 40 years!

Moutain Laurel

2011-06-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Every year the mountain laurel blooms in the woods on the overlook trail. Gary and I finally got to see it last weekend. Beautiful.

Martin

2011-05-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

It only seems natural for a cowgirl to have a guitar. I'm learning to play. Not ready to post a video on my blog yet, but hopefully one day soon.

Thank you, Alan!

Gary likes Peeps

2011-05-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friend Stephanie brought some bright pink chick Peeps to the barn to let the horses try. Gary and Duke love them.

Yet they hated my carrot cupcakes. Go figure.

Adrift

2011-04-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an interesting book, Adrift by Steven Callahan. He was adrift alone at sea for 76 days in a 6-man life raft before being rescued.

With very few tools and supplies he hunted for food and water, fended off sharks, kept the liferaft from capsizing, kept the liferaft moving so he could make it to a shipping lane or land, and navigated using very primitive tools - while dealing with constant starvation and thirst.

The book ends with this: "Each of us is lucky if we must face only one serious crisis in our lives. And in those times when I feel alone and desperate, I take comfort in the silent company of those who have suffered greater ordeals, and survived."

Introducing Sean Michael Jacques

2011-03-31T17:48:00.001-07:00

Sean Michael Jacques is the cutest little thing. Congratulations, Andrea and Jason!

Nieces

2011-03-27T16:05:00.001-07:00

I love being an aunt!

Cake Boss part 2

2011-03-15T04:03:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Duke's birthday this weekend. It was a lot of fun.

I baked cupcakes for the occasion. Duke probably shouldn't have chocolate frosting, so I made him his very own horsey cupcakes.

The insides were filled with raw carrots:

The frosting was made of carrot ribbons:

I had high hopes. What horse wouldn't love it? So Caitlin fed the first one to Duke:

And here's what he thought of it:

Then I gave a cupcake to Gary, figuring he'd like it since he loves sweets. Here's how that went:

Sigh. They don't like my baking.

See the original Cake Boss post

Ride Like the Wind

2011-02-27T16:13:00.001-08:00

It was cold yesterday and very windy. Gary and I toughed it out and had a great ride.

In this picture he has his tongue out. Cute!

It's Official

2011-02-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

Today I entered into a legal agreement to officially be Gary's mom.

Sadly Gary wasn't as excited about the news. He didn't want to see me today, despite a long separation due to business travel. Sigh. It's day 1 and he's already stopped trying.

Nice to see you again, Los Angeles

2011-02-06T05:39:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I extended my business trip in LA. It was so fun to hang out with my LA friends and visit some of my old haunts.

When I lived there I loved to hang out in Manhattan Beach. It was the first place in LA I ever saw, and a lot of the reason that I decided to move there.

And we swung by the apartment building where I lived for 3 years. It seems like the neighborhood's gone downhill a little bit. Or maybe my perspective has changed.

24 Hours in Nashville

2011-01-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Between recent photos shoots for work, I was able to spend 24 hours in Nashville.

What a fun town! I did so many fun things in just a day. Hopefully I'll make it back there again before long.

Poole's Store is Closed

2011-01-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

We rode to Poole's Store one last time on Friday. The store has been our main trail ride destination for years. We liked to ride the horses over, hitch up and go inside to get a sandwich or barbecue. In good weather we ate outside with the horses. The horses always got a snack, too.

NBC was filming when we were there on Friday, so we were on the news. In the first part of the news story you see (in order) Rhonda on Mouse, me on Gary, and Mary on Kidd. Mary and I are also on at about the 35 second mark. Speaking of Mark, Mary's husband is at about the 1:39 mark.

See the news story on the NBC Website

Christmas

2010-12-27T03:59:00.001-08:00

My friends are like my family, and I loved celebrating Christmas together this year.

Here's a great recipe - start with family and friends, and add:

A beautiful tree:

Good fire:

Good wine:

A little dancing:

Christmas socks:

Gingerbread cowboys:

Gifts. (A gift isn't properly opened until you can see the squeaker.)

And a couch nap:

You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel

2010-12-23T03:47:00.000-08:00

At my high school one of the traditions is Dr. Miller's reading of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We would sit on the floor like kids in front of him to listen. Enjoy it on YouTube:

Watch part 1
Watch part 2

I was lucky to have Dr. Miller as a professor. He's part of the reason I majored in English. Dr. Miller came to our reunion last year. Here's a picture of Caroline, him and me. It was great to see him.

Alex and Little Bit

2010-12-20T17:10:00.001-08:00

My friend Stefanie has the cutest and most photogenic sons ever. Recently I got to meet her youngest son Alex. This picture is from that day. If only I could look so good in pictures.

Notice Little Bit on the right, sound asleep in a blue sweater.

The Doors

2010-12-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

After 3 unsuccessful installation appointments, 1 strange nightmare, and numerous trips to the Home Depot my new patio doors are finally installed.

Kinda nice. Like I have an extra room in the house.

Gary

2010-12-06T17:46:00.001-08:00

I can't resist - here's another super-cute Gary picture from Halloween.

Coming soon: Santa pictures.

Thank you, Mark!

Cake Boss

2010-12-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

I like to bake cakes for my friends' birthdays. My friends usually like this, which means my cakes must be pretty good.

For Lisa's birthday last weekend I baked a red velvet cake (her favorite).

For easier layering, I wanted the cake to bake flat on top. I read on several different Web sites a tip about wrapping a wet kitchen towel around a cake pan while it bakes to make the cake bake flat. It's on the Internets, so it must be true. I decided to try it.

Results: really hot towels and a cake that looked deformed.

One of the layers cracked (gasp) while I was removing it from the pan. I tried to fill in the gap with frosting. That didn't work so well.

And the layers baked lopsided (as Matt is pointing out below).

We had a good laugh over it. I suggested that instead of cutting the cake, we spoon it out with a ladel. The cake tasted good, at least.

Pie

2010-11-26T04:47:00.001-08:00

Pretty much since Emilie was born I've wanted to take her horseback riding. Spoiling is what aunts are for, right?

Yesterday Becky let me borrow Pumpkin Pie, and Emilie had a fun ride. (Thank you, Becky!)

Secretariat

2010-11-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

Footage from the 1973 Belmont Stakes. Secretariat won by 25 lengths. Amazing.

Milo

2010-11-07T04:52:00.000-08:00

Sad news last week, as our friend Mark lost his horse Milo.

Mark first brought Milo to the farm in 1985:

Here's a recent picture:

We'll all miss you, Milo.

Good vs. evil

2010-10-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

Gary loves to dress up for Halloween!

To infinity and beyond!

2010-10-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

At work the team dressed as Toy Story, complete with Andy's bedroom.

When the walls come tumbling down

2010-10-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

To anyone who's visited my house lately, you know the retaining wall was in need of repair. Great news - my new wall is almost finished, and looks great.

The workers have done quick work on it. This video shows the progress day by day.

School shoes

2010-08-22T17:29:00.000-07:00

Emilie, my honorary niece in Atlanta, starts 1st grade tomorrow.

I love the shoes that Lisa bought her for school. They're like the Skechers version of Ed Hardy, but cuter with extra pink bling.

Matt Woods & the Thunderbolts

2010-08-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Scott is the bass player in a really good Iowa blues band - Matt Woods and the Thunderbolts.

Kind of a big deal - they were the opening act for REO Speedwagon and Pat Benatar at the Iowa State Fair recently.

See a video at local news station KCCI - skip ahead to around the 28 second mark to see the band.

I'm proud of my Uncle Scott!

Stacks

2010-08-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to Arlington's Central Library. It's a big place. I had to ask directions twice before finding the book I wanted.

Some people were sitting at small desks among the shelves on the second floor. Reminded me of the stacks at NC State. Best napping spot on campus.

Kauai

2010-08-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Kauai was beautiful. Here's a video with some pictures:

The rental house was amazing. To see the house, visit kauaiwaterfallhome.com.

Fred

2010-07-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

My friend Jennifer rescued a baby bird that fell out of the nest and broke its leg. Jen named him(?) Fred and is raising him. Fred is thriving under Jen's care.

Fred definitely thinks that Jen is his mom. He rides around in her hand and chirps at her. He's hungry all the time - who knew birds were such little piggies?

See Fred's YouTube debut

Best birthday almost ever

2010-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

My birthday was a blast, and I haven't stopped celebrating yet.

Gary turned 21. Let's just say I turned. :-)

Buttercups

2010-05-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

The pasture is so pretty when the buttercups are in bloom.

Horse Pirate

2010-05-25T17:14:00.001-07:00

My friend's horse had her eye bandaged last week.

She looks like a horse pirate. Arrr.

Congratulations, Emily and Hunter!

2010-02-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Emily is a great friend who lives in Dallas. She went to high school with Hunter, her new fiance. After high school they lost touch for about 15 years. Hunter spotted Emily on a street near hear office last year, where they reconnected. Yesterday Hunter proposed to Emily in that same spot outside her office.

Can't wait to celebrate at the wedding, and hopefully even sooner.

Congratulations Emily and Hunter!

Keep your head above. . .snow

2010-02-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

Leah sent me this picture that a friend of hers took of deer in the snow. They must be freezing. Hope they found what they were looking for.

Snowmaggedon

2010-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Obama referred to yesterday's storm as snowmaggedon. I just dug my car out. Time for a nap.

Snow: After

2010-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

It's 5:00 and the snow has finally stopped. Here are updated pictures. Today has been dedicated to catching up on (search marketing) reading, iTunes downloads, cleaning, phone calls, etc. I've almost finished Wuthering Heights. Somehow I've resisted the cake mix and frosting that have been taunting me from inside the pantry. Hope the roads are clear enough tomorrow that I can make it to the Super Bowl party!

Snow: Before

2010-02-06T06:12:00.000-08:00

We're having a record year for snow. Here's the view out my windows this morning, and the snow's still coming down. Looks like a good day to catch up on blogging.

Apartment For Rent

2010-02-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

Last weekend when I was in Dallas I stopped by my old apartment on Herschel Avenue. It's a nice part of town over there. I had a one-room garage apartment, complete with skylight and murphy bed.

Turns out that it's for rent, for only $550 a month. Same landlord (Willy) that I had 10 years ago.

In the photo of the garage, my apartment is the one at the top of the stairs.

View Larger Map

Happy Trails

2010-01-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

Mom, Dad and I like to go on trail rides, and Arizona's a great place to play cowboy. Last month we went for a trail ride just north of Phoenix. The trail was narrow and rocky, with hills and curves. The scenery was gorgeous. In terms of wildlife we came very close to a couple of coyotes and some quail. I'm lucky to be able to ride with Mom and Dad in such a pretty place.

2' is nothing

2009-12-31T03:55:00.000-08:00

After seeing how much snow one of our hotels in La Vista, NE had this week, I'm glad we got only 2'.

2010, I'm ready for you. Bring it on!

2009-12-29T15:56:00.000-08:00

Where were you 10 years ago? I had just moved to LA and I was getting ready to start working at Edmunds.com, where I started my search marketing career. Since 2000 I've moved back to the east coast, settled into a mortgage, and spent more time riding horses (including team penning).

My 2009 in a nutshell:

My friend Mary tied the knot with Mark
Learned to ride Gary in the arena - mad riding skillz! (lol)
Caroline, Ruth and I belted out Total Eclipse of the Heart in a karaoke bar in NC
20th high school reunion
Spent quality with my faraway friends including Lisa and Matt, Jen and her boys, Caroline and Ruth
Lost a former teammate and great guy, Suniel Matai. Very sad and unexplainable.
Lost a horse friend, Cord. Also sad, but easier to understand.
Spent quality time with family in NC - love!
Started a new job at a major hotel company

Happy new year!

Snow bunnies

2009-12-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

Horses usually get frisky in the snow, and it doesn't keep them from going about their normal daily routine.

Ranger looks like he's leaving a snail trail:

Here's a horse (not sure which one, from this angle) trying to graze in deep snow:

And here's one of the prettiest Christmas trees ever, at the top of the driveway to the barn:

Melting pot

2009-12-27T07:57:00.001-08:00

The snow is melting, finally.

Here's what my car looked like when I got back to BWI airport from Phoenix, and what my parking spot looked like when I got home to Falls Church (the snow almost comes to the top of my neighbor's fence).

The folks at BWI were so nice - I was dug out of there in no time.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

I hope you have a great holiday!

For all my peeps. . .

2009-12-12T16:17:00.001-08:00

Great news! The first-ever Peeps store has opened, and it's just up the road in MD! I feel a field trip coming on. . .

Pen pal

2009-12-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

I love getting Genevieve's letters! Here's a note she sent me to thank me for her birthday gift.

Watering hole

2009-12-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

It was cold today - even Duke and Gary's watering hole was frozen over.

Deck the halls

2009-12-06T04:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Rhonda and I helped Mary decorate for the holidays. Mary has a big house, so decorating is a big job but well worth it!

We decorated the area above the front door, the fireplace in the formal living room, and the banister in the front entry. Martha Stewart would be proud!

Mattie in a tree

2009-12-03T17:40:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Jeanne's cat, Mattie, loves to sleep in the Christmas tree (year-round). She seemed very happy when we moved the tree from the basement up to the living room.

Who needs ornaments?

Macaroni and cheese

2009-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

My favorite food to eat and cook is macaroni and cheese. And I'm so glad to have good friends to share it with!

Good-bye, friend

2009-11-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

Sad news - Cord was put down today. I saw him last night. He looked happy. He played with me for awhile and I fed him some carrots.

Glad that I got to say good-bye.

Arlington rap

2009-10-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

I got this funny video from my "bear" friend's blog - the best part is at the very end (and it's so true!).

Cord

2009-10-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Cord, one of the horses at Duke and Gary's barn, is very sick. He beat a fever this summer, but in the process he foundered and he's now very lame. I hope he pulls through.

Cord lays down a lot because his feet hurt. I like to visit with him when he's laying down. Twice last week I rubbed his neck until he fell asleep. So sweet. . .

Years of Navy training at work. . .

2009-10-18T16:18:00.000-07:00

Here's Dad supervising my niece G. as she steers Dan's boat.

I love Halloween!

2009-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween! It's like a candy festival with costumes. This year, I hope to eat a lot of Kit Kats and Twix bars. Mmm. . .

Start spreading the news. . .

2009-10-15T03:26:00.001-07:00

I've had lots of great travels lately! Last weekend I went to NYC with Andrea and Leah. We saw the sights, ate great food, and made friends with a carriage horse named Ted. So much fun!

Back to high school

2009-10-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

The high school reunion was fun, but not as much fun as going out with Caroline, Ruth, Craig and Victor to celebrate the twins' birthdays that night! We had a good dinner in Cary, then heard some live music at the Umstead hotel and topped the night off by singing karaoke at a dive bar until 2 am.

The highlight was singing Total Eclipse of the Heart with Caroline and Ruth. It was one of those moments that I wish I could capture in a bottle to replay again. Fun!

Mind control

2009-10-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today I was at my 20th high school reunion and I learned that one of my classmates, Jonathan Kuniholm, was on 60 Minutes (one of my favorite shows - very cool!) two weeks ago.

His story is amazing and inspiring. He's giving more back to society than anyone else I know, and that's saying something.

Here's a link to Jonathan's story in the NCSU alumni magazine.

Here's a link to Jonathan's 60 Minutes clip - he's towards the end, controlling a prosthetic arm with his mind.

Absolutely amazing.

Go yellowjackets!

2009-09-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

Saturday's GA Tech game against UNC was a blast, despite pouring rain in the 4th quarter! Even though the Wolfpack wasn't there that day, I pulled for them anyway (whenever UNC had the ball). Go yellowjackets!

Happy birthday, Leah!

2009-09-22T03:52:00.001-07:00

Last night I was lucky enough to help Leah celebrate her birthday. Her parents, her sisters, Leah and I went out to eat at the Beach Shack (mmm) and then back to Leah's house for cake and ice cream.

During dinner Leah pointed out that we had been to the Beach Shack with my parents (last fall), with her parents (last night), but not with her husband's parents yet. (We may have to work on that). Coincidentally, we sat at the same table last night that we did when we went there with my parents. We'll call it the Parents Table.