East Coast Girl

Don't get me wrong...I had an INCREDIBLE time in California this past week - but despite the fun I just don't think I could ever live there. I'm truly an East Coast Girl at heart. Rachel & I flew into San Jose on Tuesday morning and then spent the afternoon/early evening in San Fran...which was freezing! I imagine the 60 degree/windy weather is nice in December, but I couldn't handle that all year round. On Wednesday afternoon we hit the road for Yosemite and didn't waste any time before exploring the park. We quickly checked into the hotel and then headed into Mariposa Grove to check out the big trees...
On Thursday, Rachel and I squeezed in 2 quick hikes before our 1:30 horseback ride with some of the rest of the gang. The views were so-so and the trails were dusty! We were literally caked in a layer of dust by the end of our two hour tour. We had just enough time to shower and head to the Tenaya Lodge for Tyler's birthday celebration. Friday was our best day of all - We hiked to Glacier Point to check out the incredible views of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley and then drove down into the Valley and hiked to Vernal Falls...


On Saturday, deciding that nothing could top our views from the previous day, we took it easy and drove around Bass Lake and then relaxed by our hotel pool. Then it was off to celebrate the wedding of Stephanie and Tyler! Stephanie looked completely stunning and their handwritten vows had almost all guests in tears. The reception was a blast - We danced the night away to some of our old VT favorites. Congratulations Tyler & Steph!
On Sunday we had a rough drive back to San Jose and then headed to the beach to recover a bit in the fresh air. We weren't anticipating the frigid temperatures and wind gusts! (Ok, maybe not frigid, but certainly not the beach weather I had in mind!) After a quick walk, we headed back to Evan's for dinner and a good night sleep, ready for our Monday morning departure home. Truly a great weekend with great friends - One for the memory book!

West Coast Bound

Tomorrow morning, Rachel and I are catching a (very) early flight to San Jose, Cali for our friend, Tyler's wedding. We're only staying in San Jose for one night and then driving out to Yosemite where Tyler & Stephanie are getting married. I'm looking forward to a girl's week on the west coast packed with sun, hiking, horseback riding, wine tasting, and some wedding fun! I'll be sure to post pics when I return. Bye until next week!

Ready!

On Saturday, Frank & I put in our longest runs in prep for the 8/31 Half-Marathon...12.4 miles. I was pleasantly surprised that while exhausted afterwards, I did not feel like dropping dead! Frank completed his run in 1 hour 38 minutes while I came in at 1 hour 49 minutes...which puts me in even better shape for my hopeful 2 hour completion. We were feeling quite proud of ourselves until we watched the Olympics Women's Marathon - The winner finished in about 2 hours 28 (or so) minutes...unbelievable!

Editor's Note

On Monday it was blogged that my little sister turned 24. Whoops! She ever-so-nicely informed me that she is now 25. (And how old am I turning, 70 or 30??) ;)

HBD Laura!

Today my little sister turns 24! Geez, it seems just like yesterday that she was forcing me to play Barbies with her. (Wait - maybe that WAS yesterday!) ;) On my way home from Blacksburg yesterday, I met my family at Lake Anna for some boating/jet skiing/tubing fun in celebration of Laura's birthday. We had a great time - And Laura, I hope you had a very, Happy Birthday today!

Pleased to Meet You

This past Saturday, Rachel and I hit the road to Blacksburg to meet our newest (and first!) nephew, Domenic Joseph Scalise. At only one week old, he's certainly already stole our hearts! We just couldn't get enough of him - I think Rachel and I took turns holding him just about the whole time. It's amazing to me to see Kristy as a mom and how natural everything seems - She's definitely been blessed with an adorable son, and Domenic is certainly lucky to have two wonderful parents. I can't wait to watch this little guy grow up!

Vegetables of My Labor

Ah - What satisfaction...So far I've only gotten a few cherry tomatoes from my little vegetable garden, but tonight I picked two huge zucchinis! I can't wait for all of my green tomatoes to ripen and I'm really looking forward to some home-grown squash. What a great feeling to go out in my back yard to 'shop' for vegetables!

Disturbing Run

I usually always run on the W&OD trail – which means I have to cut off the main road and cut over to the trail on a small path. I’m always a little leery of running on the trail early in the morning when it’s still dark – I know we’re in a safe area, but you just never know. I even stopped running with my iPod so I can instead be in tune with everything around me. This morning as I was cutting over on my usual path, I noticed some items lying in the grass near the trail. As I got closer, I realized it was a belt, children’s clothing, a backpack, and a baseball mitt. Immediately freaked out, I started looking around and didn’t notice anyone and made a mental note to be extra aware of my surroundings and call the police when I got home if everything was still there on my way back. Well, when I returned, about an hour later, everything was still there – along with four police cars and numerous police canvassing the ‘scene’. As I passed, I let them know that I had seen the stuff there on my way out on the trail, and they said they were trying to figure out what happened. I hope and pray that a little kid did not get abducted on his/her way home from baseball practice or something – Trying to look at this optimistically, I’d like to think that the bag was on the back of someone’s bike and it fell off without their knowing. This is a good reminder to me to be extra careful when I’m out and about by myself before sun rises, or at any time, for that matter! I’ve been scouring the internet this morning trying to find a story that relates to what I saw this morning, but haven’t come across anything yet. I’ll keep you posted – Hopefully it’s nothing.

Get Well Morgan

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20216749,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors (I think it's the voice). I just saw that he was in a severe car accident last night. I love the fact that this guy has boat-loads of money, but was driving his 1997 Maxima. At any rate, I wish him a speedy recovery.

Weekend Recap

This was our first weekend that we stayed in town since, oh - around the beginning of June. Needless to say, we were extremely looking forward to relaxing and getting some chores done around the house. We started the weekend off with dinner out on Friday night and then a movie at home - We rented 21 and both gave it thumbs up. On Saturday morning, I dared to go running but kept it to 5 miles - and then stopped by the chiropractor for a quick adjustment 'just in case.' I think I'm good to go now (I hope!). After running some errands on my own on Saturday, Frank and I ventured to Costco to check out the TVs...and left with a 46" Samsung LCD TV! It is definitely long over-due - our basement has been finished since January. This week Frank has been tasked with arranging to set up the HD cable, so hopefully we'll get to catch the Olympics on our new TV! On Sunday after church and a bit of lounging around the house/yard work, we stopped by Megan and Brian's house to get some QT with little Brennan, who is just as cute as when I first met him. It's hard to believe he's already 4 weeks old - My, how time flies. (Speaking of which, I can't believe it's already Monday!)

It's a...

BOY??? One of my best friends, Kristy, had been expecting a baby girl on August 2nd. Well, the doctors were pretty spot-on with her due date, but not so much on the sex of the baby. Kristy went into labor Saturday evening and gave birth to an adorable baby boy early Sunday morning. I am super excited to meet him - Rachel and I are hoping to take a trip to Blackburg this weekend to see Dominic Joseph. Congrats Kristy & John!!