virginia is for lovers

Caledon Natural Area

2008-10-24T20:44:00.000-04:00

I thought these looked like balled up gremlins...

Spring Time

2008-04-05T20:38:00.007-04:00

My parents came to help with the final move push in mid-March . . . we're still unpacking ;)

Walking downtown is an almost daily activity now.

Bradford Pear

Breakfast croissant from Hyperion, our new fav coffee spot.

Doc's new fav spot

Matt eyes the beer selection at J Brian's at dinner before our first "First Friday."

Doc (back) and Artemis (front) try to steal some treats at the dog park!

Where's Doc?

2008-03-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

180 lbs of Carpet

2008-03-08T19:07:00.002-05:00

This is where we spent the morning, waiting for our new carpet tiles to arrive via FedEx. Eventually, they came and were quickly put in place :) I love them, thank you Mom!

Our Street

2008-03-08T18:56:00.000-05:00

Little Help

2008-03-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

Back Door View

2008-03-01T22:36:00.001-05:00

A Place to Hang Coats

2008-02-27T21:48:00.001-05:00

Closet Contents—Old Apt

2008-02-25T19:14:00.002-05:00

Doc Packing Up

2008-02-25T18:19:00.000-05:00

Teaser

2008-02-22T21:50:00.003-05:00

So, obviously we have not been blogging much the past few months, but we have been pretty busy! I will post more details eventually, but this will have to do for now.

1. I started a new job at The Free Lance–Star, that I love.
2. We learned way too much about Addison's Disease, luckily our little Doc is doing well :)
3. We moved the first items into our new apt downtown... woo hoo!

Good Old Improv!

2007-10-28T20:07:00.000-04:00

19 JUNE 2008

2007-10-22T22:58:00.000-04:00

Matt popped the question a few weeks ago and of course I said yes. It was very simple and sweet, just like I wanted. Caitlin came down that weekend to celebrate with Korbel and homemade cake in hand, yum! We also had an intense shopping experience at David's Bridal; Mom ordered a dress for me off ebay instead :) The ceremony will be in Seaside, FL with family and a very few close friends... we are so excited!

P.S. Our date was carefully chosen so we could attend Kayla's wedding the weekend before and Allison's the weekend after :)

Big Meadows Camp

2007-10-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

We spent last weekend in Shenandoah National Park at Big Meadows Campground. After setting up our site, Matt, Doc and I tackled the Lewis Falls 3.3 mile hiking trail. While on the hike we met some nice folks who took a photo of us, enjoyed the 81' waterfall and discovered just how out of shape we are. Most of the next day was spent recovering and eating, of course ;)

We ended up staying only one night due to the cold, even Doc was all bundled up. Next time we go during the chilly season, I hope to stay at the lodge. I would miss the neighbors and the smores though!

P.S. This view along the way reminded me of the scenery on the way to my grandmothers in KY.

DC: Lydia's New Home

2007-10-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, Matt & I spent the weekend in DC with its newest resident, Lydia!

We rode the metro from Franconia/Springfield into the district for Matt's first zoo experience. I have never been a fan of gorillas, and these rambunctious guys didn't change my mind. We did enjoy seeing the pandas, sea creatures, sexy turtles and all the other animals :)

Saturday night we went to the Braves vs. Nationals game wearing our new Braves jerseys from Matt's parents and sister :) It was very chill y and the Braves lost... Matt hasn't seen them win in person since 1995!

Before heading home on Sunday, we visited the Hopper exhibit and the DE Jazz Festival on the mall with Lydia :)

Back in Action!

2007-10-09T22:05:00.000-04:00

West Side at the Wolf

2007-09-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

Matt & I (and Doc) spent Labor Day weekend in Reston with Caitlin & Houston :)

We spent Saturday evening watching West Side Story at Wolf Trap. We packed a picnic and the guys transported it to our perfect spot on the lawn. Houston contributed various goodies from his summer in NY, including cave aged cheese and hard apple cider. . . Yum!

Sunday was mostly spent playing the Wii (see Rachel and Caitlin boxing above) and discovering a tasty sushi delivery place. I had pizza with Caitlin, I don't do sushi. Sadly, we had to return home for work on Tuesday :(

Old Friends, New Dos & Rocky Trails

2007-08-23T19:07:00.000-04:00

I have been lucky enough to spend my last two weekends in Reston with Caitlin!

Weekend No. 1: I enjoyed traveling North on I-95 during rush hour (poor south bounders) on Friday afternoon. Caitlin and I quickly bought our metro passes and headed to Foggy Bottom to meet Beth and Fran! Caitlin and Fran planned the best route to Sequoia, where we enjoyed our "Restaurant Week 2007" dinner. While we were enjoying the view of the Potomac, Brandon called to say his flight had been canceled and he would be joining us :) The dinner was great, but the company was even better!

Saturday we laid around Caitlin's apartment after a very satisfying lunch at Chili's and watched our normal tv line up. Well, you can only watch so many makeover shows before you realize that you need one too! So, we decided the remainder of the day would be spent getting manicures and haircuts. Click here to see Caitlin and here for me, we are very happy with the outcome of both :)

Weekend No. 2: This time I had a companion for my trip. Upon arrival, Caitlin & I ate dinner at a great little Italian place called Mamma Lucia, where we stuffed ourselves, surprise surprise. Then we rested up for our big day of hiking at Great Falls Park.

Saturday afternoon, we headed to the park and spent a few hours on the River Trail (which runs near the Patowmack Canal). The view of the Potomac was very impressive. Doc couldn't get enough rock climbing, it was so cute! We also enjoying watching the people kayaking. After a long day, what else could we want to do except decorate Caitlin's apartment? On a whim, we decided to paint the area above her fireplace :) Caitlin ended up doing the painting, I kept her well supplied with beverages. You can see the finished results below. I think it looks great!

Meet the Davenports

2007-08-15T11:00:00.000-04:00

Matt & I revisited Mississippi a couple weeks ago for Dave & Brooke's wedding. We met up with Houston at the airport, rented the tiniest car possible and headed straight to Dave's Mom's for wine and Groomsman gifts. Dave gave the guys The Dangerous Book for Boys and some spirits :) How sweet!

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur. We somehow managed to spend hours at the Island View Casino, and also attend a rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, photo session at the Beau, the actual ceremony, and of course the reception! Special thanks to Billy and Briana for being my dates (and ride) to the ceremony and reception :) Everyone had such a great time! Brooke and Dave even had a choreographed first dance.

We spent Sunday in the Kiln with Matt's family :) We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, so it was lots of fun to relax and catch up. Early Monday morning, we headed home via a short day trip to Baltimore for lunch at Lexington Market. We picked up Doc, and had to go back to work on Tuesday.

Good Commitment

2007-07-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

I worked with James and Kary this weekend on some new GC graphics. Make sure to check them out, along with their new episode!

A hiking we will go

2007-07-15T18:44:00.000-04:00

Doc longs to be outside, and of course we try to keep him happy ;) Yesterday we visited Alum Spring Park and took a trek along the old railroad bed. Normally Doc avoids stairs, but he didn't mind all of these! We had a great time and got some good exercise in the process. We were there for over a hour, but only walked half of the trails. Guess we'll have to go back soon!

For My Momma

2007-07-05T18:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday from your Simpsonized Family ;)

Hazaa! Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T23:04:00.000-04:00

This is Us

2007-06-25T18:31:00.000-04:00

I thought our readers might enjoy some everyday pics of our life in Spotsy. Even though we are trying to eat healthy, we love to eat, especially when someone else cooks. From hot dogs to Japanese, we'll eat it all (as long as it doesn't contain cheese or celery)!

Between work (unfortunately I don't have pics of Matt's secret workspace) and our ongoing website project, we get to hang out with Caitlin, rarely Houston, K, J, A & now Cole!

At the end of the day our sweet pup is always ready to cuddle :)

Periferal Installed

2007-06-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day! Here you can see my dad sporting his gift, an all terrain tripod!

Mail Day!

2007-06-14T14:47:00.000-04:00

Our mailbox is normally full of crappy coupons and credit card offers, but today that was not the case! Laura managed to find some spare minutes between fish class and survival suit study to mail us the sweet message seen above. I am very excited about our Heifer International donations. I'm waiting till Matt gets home to open the tokens, but I am wondering what the last line of the note used to say! I also finally earned a 10% off day at Target, the proof arrived today and I'll be using it before sundown. Finally, we made a small WWF donation last month, so we received a free Blue Footed Booby stuffed animal. Doc is already making it "live hard" as my dad would say.

UPDATE [7:30pm]: Matt and I are tickled about our mints and magnet from Laura!

Doc's Do

2007-06-05T19:15:00.000-04:00

This is my favorite image for today. I have finally gone part-time at work, which frees up my afternoons for jewelry box construction, freelance design, and chores! Today's chore was taking Doc to the groomer.

Happy Bday Matty!

2007-06-03T18:11:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Matt's Birthday with a cupcake tower, UNO takeout and a few gifts. He had to go to work for a little while today, but didn't mind the trip in his new ride :)

7.9 lbs of Cole

2007-06-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

Cole Alexander has arrived! Keara called around 11:30am to make sure we were available to watch Anden, and a few hours later Cole was born! Anden spent the day flying with Matt, watching Blue's Clues and making a "Welcome home Cole" banner with me. Now he is resting up for his big brother duties with Doc guarding his door. Keara, Joe and Cole are spending the night at the hospital, everyone is doing well :)

UPDATE [4 June]: Cole is home and happy!

Hallie & Joshua Head

2007-06-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

Matt & I flew home to Clarksville a few weeks ago for Hallie's wedding! It was my first experience as a bridesmaid, but Hallie's momma made sure we'll all knew what to do :) We all enjoyed the bridesmaid's luncheon in Springfield, including Abby, Camilla's daughter/flower girl. Meanwhile, Josh spent the afternoon setting up at Emerald Hill. After Kayla and I ran around collecting bows, sparklers, and wedding cameras, my feet were happy to find these Dollar Tree comfy flops. Even after a minor dress issue (thank you Kayla and Jes) we made it to the rehearsal on time.

Isn't she beautiful!?! We zipped her up, and she was down the aisle. Hallie & Josh said their "I Do's" and celebrated with an outdoor reception. I even managed to see some family and old friends in all the wedding frenzy :)

Matchbox Art

2007-05-13T22:21:00.000-04:00

I am now a real part of my mother's jewelry venture. Mom found that matchboxes covered with patterned paper make great earring boxes. I created some colorful designs, and spent this week perfecting the art of wrapping these tiny things. Mom has designed some earrings to coordinate with the patterns, and hopefully they will be in the Atlanta showroom by mid-summer! Happy Mother's Day :)

Sexy Beaches

2007-05-13T21:54:00.000-04:00

Caitlin came down from Reston yesterday to participate in a birthday weekend cookout! Joe, Keara & Anden also ventured into our apt for the first time to help celebrate. Matt grilled burgers, chicken kabobs and the best hot dogs I've ever had (thank you J&K). Caitlin & I made some girly cocktails, Keara & Anden enjoyed some too (minus the spirits). We had a great time. Caitlin and I spent the remainder of the evening watching a chick flick and ANTM... Doc has been worn out all day from the excitement :)

Merle

2007-05-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

This is a Violette combo project. My parents designed the Merle Travis Music Center, and I designed the logo featured on the sign. FastSigns didn't produce the sign (it's in Kentucky), but it looks pretty cool!

Yippe Yee I'm 23

2007-05-10T20:02:00.000-04:00

Today has been a lot of fun! My new area at work is coming together nicely, and I am really starting to enjoy my job. Matt's family sent me a Tiffany style butterfly lamp that came in neat wrapping from amazon, which happened to coordinate with the package my parents sent! I came home to a cute note from Anden and a dinner of big salads and fruit courtesy of Matt. Now I'm testing out CS3 and preparing for our trip to Clarksville next week, where will will enjoy cake with my parents :) Thank you to everyone who shared birthday wishes!

Nilsson's Puppy Song

2007-05-07T23:27:00.000-04:00

If only I could have a puppy

I'd call myself so very lucky
Just to have some company
To share a cup of tea with me
I'd take my puppy everywhere
La la la la I wouldn't care
Then we'll stay away from crowds
With signs that say no dogs allowed
Oh we... I know he'd never bite me
We... I know he'd never bite me

Hallie & I used to sing this song from You've Got Mail all the time in High School.
I can't believe she's getting married next week!

Chicken Anyone?

2007-05-07T22:25:00.000-04:00

So far, so good on the healthy eating. Despite a few tasty temptations (stuffed shells, Joe's famous breakfast tacos, and enchiladas) from Joe & Keara across the hall, we have really surprised ourselves with our self restraint.

Tasty Teriyaki Chicken Kabobs, Garlic Chicken Breast with Steamed Veggies and Chicken Fajitas have been some of our faves. We even ventured into the fish world with some Tilapia stuffed with Crab Meat.

FYI: We do not take the time to prep all of these dishes ourselves, check out the Target fresh dinner entrees next time you're there ;)

Improvvers Studio

2007-04-29T16:30:00.000-04:00

I'm a little late putting this up... I'm sure they had a blast :)

We're All In

2007-04-22T21:25:00.000-04:00

Doc & I dropped Matt off at a poker tournament yesterday and headed up to Reston to visit Caitlin. Somehow I managed to take zero pictures, but the best images to describe the experience are here and here. Sadly, Caitlin decided to delay the puppy purchase, but I am holding on to my puppy kit for her just in case ;) The Mexican restaurant provided plenty of entertainment, including "Queso LIVE!" Basically, you pay a dollar more to have the waitress personally mix the cheese, taco meat, sour cream, etc. together LIVE! at your table. It was worth the dollar.

Today was a typical Sunday, meaning we tackled the shopping list at Target. Matt & I have finally decided to commit to a healthy eating lifestyle. Since we moved, eating has become more entertainment than nutrition. We order out, dine out, and overall, pig out. No more of that! Our fridge is stocked with healthy items, even Diet Coke has vitamins now. Along with a cart load of food, we had a cart load of other random "necessities." Thank goodness Matt came along!

The remainder of the day was spent relaxing in our "back yard." Doc tested out his new toy, the Heave-A-Beaver while simultaneously learning what it is like being restrained to a limited area (note the red rope). Target also supplied us with a new squirrel proof bird feeder.

UPDATE [29 April]: We have outsmarted the squirrel with our purchase. See photo below.

Meet Nutjob

2007-04-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

Mom & Dad sent an Easter package of chocolaty treats for us along with this stuffed squirrel (aka Nutjob) for Doc. Even though it took less than an hour for Nutjob to lose a foot, he doesn't hold it against Doc. They stare out the window together, venture outside together, and play around together. With some luck, Nutjob may make it through the night.

Face Transformer!

2007-04-08T21:34:00.000-04:00

We had a lot of fun with this...

Back to School

2007-03-25T23:41:00.000-04:00

Time for another Lab Rats Show!

Spring has Sprung

2007-03-25T17:03:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed an afternoon chasing Doc around the soccer field next to our apt. The weather is perfect today. The animals are also taking advantage of the warmth, check out this pesky squirrel invading our bird feeder!

Shorter Styles

2007-03-15T19:33:00.000-04:00

Matt and I decided we were in need of fresh haircuts for spring...
Doc also enjoyed a trip to the groomer :)

Teeth Be Gone!

2007-03-15T14:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my wisdom teeth were extracted! Dr. Reivere (who came highly acclaimed) managed to remove them in about half an hour, and I didn't feel a thing :) The first thing I remember is asking for my teeth... I wanted to make sure he took all four out! We brought them home in a little white envelope. I pretty much have just been sleeping and sipping on soup and jello. My cheeks are getting poofier by the minute, but the pain isn't that bad. Mom, Dad, Matt and Doc are taking very good care of me :)

Prime Time

2007-02-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

Check this out if you're in the MSU area :)

Grow Nails Now!

2007-02-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

I have always been a nail biter. As gross of a habit as it is, I could just never break it. That is until this year. It has been over a month and a half since I gnawed on my tips, which is well past the 21 days it takes to break a habit. This weekend I even participated in the girlie event of a manicure with Caitlin. FYI, our nails are now wine colored, not black ;)

Yum... Cake!

2007-02-15T21:35:00.000-05:00

Ice Storm '07

2007-02-14T11:42:00.000-05:00

Matt and Doc watched the news last night, hoping for snow, as usual. The weather man wasn't forecasting snow though, just lots of ice pellets. We woke up this morning to an icy yard, frozen car, and no power. Even the grass is frozen! Luckily, we can afford to take the day off and our power came back on quickly :)

Here you can see our cardinal friend chillin' on a branch, waiting for the bird feeder to thaw.

It's been awhile

2007-02-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

Last week I decided to take advantage of my dental insurance and visit Dr. Livesay, see the results above. Please note the bottom two wisdom teeth, turned sideways. I'm going to the oral surgeon tomorrow to see how quickly we can get those suckers out of there. Matt also visited the dentist last week and came home cavity free :) We're still waiting for his consult to hear about the exact location of his wisdom teeth...

We were subs on NSWC's dart team last Tuesday. Matt scored many more quality points than I did, but it was still fun. Other than that we have kept busy by eating super bowl cupcakes, scanning the dog, and of course, Matt's has started back with the homework. I also discovered not only do I hate celery, but I am quite disturbed by mini-corn. Obviously I did not enjoy that Chinese dinner. During all of this excitement, Doc's fur became pretty scruffy. After a visit to PetSmart's grooming salon, he is back looking handsome.

Liberty Tax Ladies

2007-01-23T21:14:00.000-05:00

FastSigns is located next door to Liberty Tax Service. Every January through April, a lucky few are selected to don the Lady Liberty gowns and crowns. Whether rain, sun or snow, they stand on Rt. 3 and wave at the cars going by. This afternoon Paul decided to challenge Rachel and me. He said, "I'll give you each one hundred dollars if you wear those outfits and wave for ten minutes." How could we refuse? After explaining why we needed to borrow their extra outfit, and Rachel bribing one of the Ladies already waving, we cheered our hearts out for Liberty Tax as the 5 o'clock traffic whizzed by. I'll update when we see the hundred dollars ;)

UPDATE: On March 1st, Paul's Birthday, we both had 100 dollar bills on our keyboards!

Snow Day

2007-01-21T20:27:00.000-05:00

We started our Sunday with a trip to Target, as usual. The slippery trip to the car with our new goodies was the unusual part. Once we made it home, we played outside for a little while before retreating inside to watch the snow fall. We also put our new vacuum to good use. Obviously our old one didn't suck ;)

UPDATE: Cleaing up the morning after the snow fall isn't as much fun as playing in it...

Big Bowl of Fun

2007-01-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

Today Matt, Caitlin, and I braved the windy weather of Reston. It's amazing how it can take 2 hours to drive 70 miles on a Saturday afternoon. It was worth it to dine with Caitlin at Big Bowl... even if there were no booths available... ever ;)

This is Caitlin at her apt complex, pointing out the obnoxious wind chimes that keep her up at night. Unfortunately our trip was fairly short, we do have a puppy to worry about. Also, we couldn't wait to introduce him to his new toy.

How to be an Adult: Lesson 4

2007-01-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich with milk for dinner :)
Okay, maybe our posts should be "How to avoid becoming an Adult"

Nevermind, it's SNOWING

2007-01-09T19:20:00.000-05:00

Matt came home very excited due to the icy precipitation seen above! Doc checked it out, made some yellow, and came back inside to sleep with his cone (today was neuter-day).

It's getting HOT up here

2007-01-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

We spent the afternoon down by the river at Old Mill Park. I can't believe we're in northern Virginia and it was warmer here today than it was in the Kiln! Doc is enjoying the warm weather walks for sure.

After our park visit, we spent an hour driving up and down I-95 trying to find this billboard. Tricord Homes is my favorite client, and I was happy to design this for their new golf community, Pendleton :)

Christmas, Christmas time was here

2007-01-06T20:02:00.000-05:00

Matt, Doc, and I spent Christmas in Clarksville, TN with my family this year :) Traveling with Doc (freshly groomed) was quite the experience. We strapped him into his seat, and stopped very frequently. It was surely worth it though, just look how cute he is as a sidekick for our lab, Zoe. Once we arrived, my dad was eager to open presents, especially the one from us. Everyone loves an oversized canvas!

I spent most of the week laying around, but I did help Mom a little bit while she prepared our Christmas Eve feast. Grandmother kept a tight hold on Doc, while I mingled with my many new cousins. The newest additions are Callum and Mackenzie.

This was the scene at Target at 6:55 am the day after Christmas. Mom and I pushed our way to the Christmas ribbon to save for next year and managed to find some good clearance clothing items as well. I love Target. The men stayed at home and enjoyed their new pjs :)

Look at that form! Matt and I enjoyed a night out with Kayla and Lance and the newly engaged Hallie and Josh. Please take a look at the scores from our first game. Hallie and I spent the rest of the week talking about her wedding, and trying on dresses. Kayla and I are going to be two of her bridesmaids :)

We returned to Virginia for the First Night celebrations which featured the Fredericksburg Pear (shown above) and some entertainment from the local high school improv troupe, Shenanigans, Inc. I offered our assistance to them after the show, but I think they probably just thought I was crazy.

Nerds go to Washington

2007-01-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

I stole the title for this post from Laura.

Last month, Houston and Laura came to visit :) We explored DC, and even though Matt & I have lived here for over 6 months, we definitely still behave as tourists would.

After all that site seeing, we were surely hungry... as you can see by all the Chinese food.

Laura finally gave us the reason we needed to explore downtown on a Sunday afternoon. Ice cream and puppy stores... what more could I need? We loved having Laura as a house guest, and of course Doc loved her too :)

Woo Hoo!

2006-12-08T10:22:00.000-05:00

Wish I could be there to see this girl walk tomorrow... I'm so proud :)

For my twin and her sisters

2006-12-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

Latest Project

2006-12-06T12:35:00.000-05:00

Our living room finally has something on the walls! Thanks to FastSigns production team and our new printer, I was able to have my polaroids from Italy printed to canvas. Now all we have to do is come up with a way to lite the room well...

Welcome Caitlin!

2006-12-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

Caitlin is officially a Virginian! I am so excited. We spent Saturday catching up, making fools of ourselves at the local craft store while searching for the tiniest pre-lit tree ever, and exploring her new 2nd floor apt in Reston. Now if Laura and Houston would just hurry up and get here, the five footsie friends could be united again ;)

Much Belated Happy Thanksgiving

2006-12-05T19:06:00.000-05:00

I admit the puppy has taken over my life. Thanks to petwink.com he hasn't taken over the blog ;) Anyways, Matt and I got to take a few days off work for Thanksgiving. We took advantage and flew down to the Mississippi coast to visit Matt's family. Flying did mean we had to kennel Doc, and I wasn't happy about it. After 12 hours of traveling, we arrived to a wonderful meal that included fried turkey... yum :) We also enjoyed some drinks by the fire.

Friday night we got to see a bunch of our friends at Dave & Brooke's. Most of the night was spent playing their Wii. My arms were sore for two days... isn't that sad? The guys also got a kick out of the ds's voice recognition. We arrived safely back in Spotsy in time for Desperate Housewives and I woke up early Monday morning to bring home our sweet pup :) We really enjoyed ourselves, and wish we could have stayed longer.

Puppy Sitters

2006-11-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

My parents came to visit again last weekend :) It was so much fun. They also helped out a lot with the puppy... Doc does need a lot of attention! Saturday was beautiful, so we took advantage and visited Fredericksburg's Battlefield Park. The pyramid in the above photo marks Meade's penetration. We crossed the railroad tracks to check it out... shhh.

Dad loves little Doc:)

After our tour of the Battlefield, we drove to Frederick's Hall, where our ancestor's lived a few counties over. After some helpful attention, Dad and Matt deciphered some headstones. It's really neat living so close to our family land and history. Plus, I know my Dad's genealogy obsession will keep them coming to visit!

New Addition

2006-10-29T18:57:00.000-05:00

We are proud to introduce you to our new Westie :) He has had a very busy day shopping at Petsmart, video chatting with my parents, and meeting Olive, the Schnoodle from upstairs. We do need your help with one thing... a name. Please post name suggestions. If it helps, puppy likes to stare at his reflection, sneeze, quickly change direction while doing figure eights through our apartment, poot, and sleep.

UPDATE: The pup has offically been named "Doc"

Font Humor

2006-10-26T23:34:00.000-04:00

My dad sent this to me today... I thought it was cute :)

48 hours in the Real South

2006-10-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

The Sirens (thanks Chuck) were reunited this weekend in Starkville :) Matt and I escaped the fog and made the drive, flight, and drive again to spend the weekend with our friends, and eat cheesesticks at The Grill.

This is the new MSU Bookstore. It is the proud home of the only escalator in the area, and plenty of books as well. We were also in shock to see the state of Matt's old apartment. Looks like our new coat of paint couldn't compare to the Belfry.

We spent a lot of time at Glen Hollow of course. I was happy to see a clean Apt 89 and the fridge decor. Lydia watched as Bust cooked a cow, and Matt appointed a King of 3 Man.

Saturday night, we enjoyed Houston's performance in The Madwoman of Chaillot. We also enjoyed laughing at Kary, Lily, Kristin, Mark, Will, Ian, Lindsey, Dustin and the rest of the cast :) After the play, we gathered around for another celebration via the internet. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Robinson!

P.S. It was also pointed out to me by Beth, that nothing is too little to write about on the blog, so I am going to try to write more... even if it is about people running into my buggy at the Ukrop's.

The ESCAPE!

2006-10-13T09:30:00.000-04:00

Scary Stuff! Tonight at 7:30 on the McComas Hall Main Stage. Check out the cast list and poster as well.

It's the Atlantic!

2006-10-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

Friday, Matt put on his beachwear, and we headed to Virginia Beach for the 2006 Neptune Festival. There were blocks of booths filled with crafts, games, and toys :)

And my favorite part... the food (including desserts from funnel cakes to frozen bananas)! This means my deal with Caitlin has started all over :( My 2nd favorite part had to be the sandcastles. They included a Buddha, a modern twist, and the of course the classic castle.

We played in the sand, and Matt took his first steps into the Atlantic Ocean. We watched our mouths as we played 3D Putt-Putt in King Neptune's underwater world. And finally, ohhed and ahhed at the fireworks before packing the car and heading home.

SECAF

2006-09-25T22:35:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting a long time to use this poster. If you can, go to Starkville this weekend for some laughs :)

Labor Day Project... Complete!

2006-09-23T18:38:00.000-04:00

Mom and I found this dresser at the Goodwill over Labor Day weekend. Work began promptly by removing the yucky hardware and sanding, sanding, sanding. After 2 weeks of staining, restaining, painting, and replacing the knobs & handles, the project is finally complete!

Visitation has Begun

2006-09-18T21:06:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend, my parents came to visit :) We played with some big shells, ate a lot, shopped a little, and visited garden s & house at Monticello in Charlottesville. They also got to see my FastSigns project of the week. I missed them immediately after their departure, but I'm sure they'll be back soon... Dad has more genealogy research to do ;)

And then... last weekend, Caitlin came! We also ate a lot, but then made a deal to cut back on that. I also kicked some butt in Mexican Train Dominoes, Houston felt left out, so he kept chiming in with his "textual relations" hehe. Laura called to ask when we'd all be together again, so we decided to make a smaller triangle and hop a plane to MSU in October :)

Happy 21st to JB!

2006-09-18T20:53:00.000-04:00

I'm actually NOT the youngest person at FastSigns! Jordan turned 21 yesterday, survived, and showed up to work today to enjoy the cookie cake. Too bad Paul got to it first!

You and I are not the only ones that don't like the new Facebook junk

2006-09-06T13:14:00.000-04:00

Today on Slashdot...

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/06/09/06/0112231.shtml

Where's Olive?

2006-08-27T11:10:00.000-04:00

Go see this movie. If you're reading from MSU... it's not playing in Starkville, but I think it would be worth the drive to Tupelo. Matt and I saw it yesterday, and it looks like Crafty Cait enjoyed it too :)

Go Braves!

2006-08-19T13:55:00.000-04:00

We spontaneously decided to travel to the Washington Nationals v. Atlanta Braves game at RFK Stadium Wednesday night. Thanks to the metro (too bad we forgot our reading material), getting there was easy. We chowed down on some hot dogs and beer, thanks to this guy who had invented his own contraption to open beer cans that functioned like a hyper speed can opener. We had fun, dispite the Braves loss :(

XBOX UPDATE

2006-08-17T22:11:00.000-04:00

The Xbox 360 media center extender functionality works great now.

For anyone out there getting the following error message:

Session Terminated: Another user or application on the Windows Media Center-based PC has disconnected this device.

This site helped me troubleshoot the problem, mine was the second method.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911123/en-us

How to be an Adult: Lesson 3

2006-08-14T10:51:00.000-04:00

BUY VIDEO GAMES??

I already have a PC running Windows Media Center Edition 2005. It is able to pause and record live television like a DVR (like Tivo). I have been touting the Xbox360’s ability to act as a media extender for the PC for a long while now, so Mal wanted to get one. By act as a media extender I mean that it is SUPPOSED TO connect to your wireless network and stream recorded TV, music, and pictures from your PC to the television in your living room. I didn’t do my homework well enough, and was surprised to learn that to connect wirelessly to the internet, I had to purchase an additional wireless adapter for the Xbox. I also learned that I had to upgrade my wireless router to an A + G router to stream video affectively over the A network. After doing all that, I was ready to get this thing hooked up and ready to go. I spent all weekend opening ports and disabling/enabling my commercial firewall and my router firewall and calling Xbox support (so they can blame it on the router firewall) and Linksys support (so they can blame it on the windows it on my third party firewall). Finally at 6 on Sunday, Xbox technical support tells me, "Oh that error you’ve been getting, that’s a Media Center software problem, and YOU’LL HAVE TO CALL MICROSOFT (which was closed). So our weekend ended with much money and time spent, and nothing to show for media extending, a key feature that sold us on the Xbox 360. Maybe I’ll get a chance to call today or tomorrow while tech support is still open.

Note: Despite the complaints, we have had an awesome time playing Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion, and please… any computer/electronics geek that may stumble across this blog and may want to comment about Microsoft; save it because we already know.

Extra Pics

2006-08-13T21:55:00.000-04:00

I found some pics from early summer that I thought were worth posting...

Us at my house in Clarksville preparing for the drive.

We are officially in Virginia... woo hoo! Look at that mountain in the background!

Matt checking out our back porch.

This is for Caitlin. Our feet in Richmond.

The Canal downtown Richmond.

I'm not really sure what I'm doing here.

Matt's so strong ;)

The rocks at Belle Isle.

I wasn't quite as adventurous as that woman in the distance.

We saw "Thank you for Smoking" at the historic Byrd Theatre.

Interior shot.

Lobby shot.

And finally, we ate bbq at Double T's. Richmond is neato.

Look Closely

2006-08-08T22:01:00.000-04:00

Friday morning when I arrived at work, Paul (my boss) and Rachel insisted that I needed to go to the bathroom. They are always playing harmless pranks so I try to stay on top of my game. After some coaxing, I agreed to check out the bathroom situation. In addition to the normal clever saying on the toilet lid... I was upset to find this poor guy (later named Stewie). Paul thinks he was prancing around on the seat, slipped, fell in, and drowned :( Rachel sprayed the seat with Lysol, Jordan flushed Stewie down to the sea, and we went on with our day.

"How to be an adult" Lesson 2

2006-08-02T09:54:00.000-04:00

FINANCIAL TRAINING

The day I arrived at the new job, my supervisor told me that she had signed me up for “Finnancial Planning for New Hires”. I attended the class on Monday, and I found it to pretty interesting.

The instructor was a mix between that guy on Mad Money and a snake oil salesman. He also struggled with his on the fly math skills which he was never called out on, but his multiple errors definitely did not go unnoticed in the room full of engineers.

Despite all that, he had a lot of good information, and provided a booklet of info for us to take home. Here are a couple of non-civil servant related financial nuggets I learned:

1.) A Roth IRA differs from an ordinary IRA in that all the money comes out when you retire is tax exempt. This includes your principal investment and all your earnings which can come out to quite a lot if you have had the IRA for many years. The catch to this thing is that you can’t contribute if your household earns too much money. If you think you and your spouse will ever be in danger of earning over $160,000 combined ($110,000 if you are single), you should start contributing to this thing early before you’re such a baller. From what I understand, you can stil keep the account when you make too much; you just can’t contribute to it any longer.

2.) You will be exempt from Capital Gains Tax on any profit from selling your house if you have lived there for 2 out of the last five years. If you will be moving to a new house in the same area, you may want to rent out the old house over the next 3 years and then sell. The renters will be paying the mortgage, while your old house has a chance to appreciate in value (depending on the real-estate market). As long as you sell the house before the 3 years is up, you can still rake in the profits tax free.

3.) You can check you credit score at Fico.com for $45.00 or so. You can get a free credit report each year at AnnualCreditReport.com, but this report does not provide you with a credit score. A credit score may be good to know before trying to finance a major

4.) Innactive credit cards are bad for your credit score. Having credit cards that sit in your wallet unused with a zero balance are apparently bad for your credit. Signing up for a department store card to get the 10% off, paying the balance, and then sticking the card in your wallet never to be used again can negatively affect your credit score. Credit reporting agencies like to see some activity on active cards along with on-time bill payments. If you have credit cards that you never use with a zero balance, you should just cancel them.

One I picked up on my own:

5.) There is a hybrid car purchase tax credit. For all those out there that think purchasing a hybrid isn’t worth the money, it definitely is if you purchase a 50 mile- to-the-gallon compact car in 2006. The 06 Honda Civic and Toyota Prius earn tax credits of $2100, and $3150 respectively. This almost makes up the added cost of choosing the hybrid over their standard models in one chunk. Once your factor in the added 20 miles to the gallon over the next 5 to 10 years (and the morality money you’ll earn going easy on the environment), it should make sense for you to go with the hybrid, especially if you have any sort of commute to work or school everyday. This one was really just an excuse to justify my desire to purchase a hybrid civic this year.

*I would advise doing your own research before taking action on any of this information. This is just reporting on some of the things I learned.

Don't be a Dodo

2006-07-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

Never a dull moment at work... here you can see Henry, Rachel, and one of his many buddies. He also brought in this little guy who ran across the floor making this barking noise then huddled against the wall trying not to be bothered. Henry travels around to local schools with his animals and is starting an anti-drug show. He wanted to purchase a sign with a 4 foot tall Dodo bird on it saying, "I'm a Dodo, I'm extinct, before you do drugs, stop and think, or you'll be a Dodo too!"

"This is really happening"

2006-07-25T19:41:00.000-04:00

I happened to check Ryan Adams’s website on Saturday. Sunday night Mal and I were in Charlottesville, VA watching him live. It was a great day to see the mountains near Monticello, the University of Virginia, and to catch Ryan Adams at the Charlottesville Pavillion. Ryan played for over two and half hours to a relatively intimate crowd of a couple thousand at most.

He played mostly stuff from his last 3 albums including:

Some stuff from the new album 29
Magnolia Mountain
Easy Plateau
Cold Roses
Let it Ride
A Kiss before I Go
Trains

He also played a couple of oldies:

What Sin Replaces Love
To Be Young (Is to be sad, Is to be High)
Call Me on Your Way Back Home
Dear Chicago
Anybody Wanna Take Me Home

Encore: This is it

I have been waiting for a chance to see Ryan since I missed him in Memphis back in ’04. I don’t know what made me check the website for the first time in months, but I’m glad I did because we had awesome time... much better than our Saturday night experience watching "Hard Times Idol" at a local Fredericksburg bar.

fun with video chat

2006-07-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

This is my Grandmomma, checking up on us... so cute :) Video chat also helps us catch up with my parents, here dad shows off his new haircut, and mom makes some jewelry. Video chat also supplied me with the best view I've had of my diploma so far :) Hopefully Matt's parents can eventually get one, and it would be cool if our friends would too (get on that web cam purchase Houston!)

No more boxes!

2006-07-17T21:49:00.000-04:00

Check out the super clean apt:

We even have a game/guest room/office! The Uglydolls are right at home, and so is Matt :)

How's work?

2006-07-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

My job is with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. We live a little to the southwest Fredericksburg, VA, and I commute an hour each way to work everyday. The base at Dahlgren is an amazing place to work. Systems like the fleets Aegis Weapon Systems, Tomahawk Missile Systems and others have dedicated facilities on base. I was assigned to the Ground Based Midcourse Defense Program (GMD) Follow On Contract requirements Engineering Project (mouthful). The GMD system currently defends against the threat of ballistic missiles with interceptor missiles located in silos in California and Alaska. My project team is deciding on the capabilities the system will need to have to defend against future threats in order for us to define the 2008 contract. I have heard GMD described as the most complicated defense system ever, and all believe that it has a healthy future. I have heard the program mentioned by name at least 3 times on CNN in light of the current tests by North Korea. Having said all that, the project is just starting and I am so new, so I have hardly done any real work. The project is definitely very interesting, but I am getting so bored!

In other work news, I am very proud of Mal for getting a job doing graphics so quickly. I am very excited that her job is in Fredericksburg because I like the city so far, and I really want to get to know people here. I guess a second income is pretty nice too.

happy one

2006-07-11T00:51:00.000-04:00

This place is a ZOO!

2006-07-06T23:32:00.000-04:00

I see animals in Virginia that I never saw up close in Mississippi. It’s not like we have been nature hiking. We drove up here, and now I drive back and fourth to work. I walk everyday from the parking lot to my apartment and do the same at work. Having said all that...

Animals I have seen so far within 50 feet include: (No encounters were captured on film. Instead we have produced some artist renderings)

Bear cub – (1) running past the car in front of me and jumping a fence on the highway

Rabbits – (2) both in the Brittany Commons parking lot, just hoppin’ around!

Turkeys – (3) all on base in Dahlgren including a mother with baby close behind crossing close in front of me as I attempted to walk up to the side door at work.

Chipmunks – (2) both in Richmond, I was startled by what I thought was a miniature cat in a bush by the canal. This was because it had a wood chip too big for it’s mouth causing its cheeks to stick out, and because I cannot recall ever seeing a non-cartoon representation of a chipmunk before this in my life, so I really had no idea what I was looking at. Mal only got a glimpse, but was able to speculate that the creature was probably a chipmunk. The second encounter occurred later at Belle Isle. I said something like “I wanna see another chipmunk”, and a minute later...the second chipmunk (we'll call him Chipmunk 2) and his buddy the cardinal were horsing around in the forest in full view for Mal and me.

Deer - (specifically 1) ran out in front of my car and stopped. I know this happens all the time in Mississippi, but never before to me. Bambi is lucky there wasn’t a meeting of her grill and my Pathfinder’s.

-CH=CH2

2006-07-06T22:13:00.000-04:00

That's the formula for a vinyl group, according to wikipedia. I assisted Shelly, pictured above, in making these yard signs today at work. Shelly's last day is Tuesday :( It's her departure that sparked my hiring :) She was nice enough to donate these snazzy shirts to my work wardrobe. My first 8 hour day ever was yesterday, I basically felt worthless because I didn't now how to do anything, I wasn't even allowed to answer the phone! Today was much more productive as far as training goes, we even did some role-playing FASTSIGNS style.

"HAZAA!"

2006-07-05T23:48:00.000-04:00

The crowd cheered as we showed support for the Declaration of Independence, read by Ben Franklin and friends, on the steps of the National Archives yesterday morning. Matt and I joined in the celebration thanks to the magical mass transportation known as the Metro. After the reading, we camped out in front of the Natural History Museum and enjoyed the parade, complete with "Independence Bird." We staked our claim to Oktibbeha County (it looks like we're claiming Texas... I was too quick with the clickity clicks) and signed the declaration as well. After long walk around the monuments and a quick storm that almost made us return to Spotsy, we joined Stevie Wonder on the Capital lawn for a musical celebration and, of course, fireworks.

"How to be an adult" Lesson 1

2006-07-03T22:31:00.000-04:00

RECYCLE! Our local recycling center takes cardboard, paper, plastic, aluminum, and small brush. All of our moving boxes were proudly recycled by Matt, along with several bags of packing paper (seen here in plastic bags that were also recycled). So far there have been three successful trips to the center, and we have only thrown away about four bags of non recyclable trash... not bad for a month!

Home Sweet Home

2006-07-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

Our apartment at Brittany Commons is beginning to feel like home, complete with a magnolia tree in the front yard. We haven't met many neighbors yet, but we did find this guy chillin by the pool. While Matt goes to his first day of work, I snaz up our dining room with flowers, while I should be unpacking these towers! hehe

Welcome to Spotsy

2006-07-03T21:01:00.000-04:00

Despite some minor car troubles, we finally made it to Spotsylvania Co Virginia on June 8th :) I even managed to get pretty good gas mileage on the way here, thanks to Mom's fuel injector purchase! People here seem to have pretty good sense of humor so far...

You snoop!

2006-07-01T01:16:00.000-04:00

yep, i'm talking to you ktbug ;)