Wedding Reception for Pun'kin and Travis

Weddings are innately joyous occasions. And as friends spread across the country, these gatherings take on a secondary purpose that adds to the joy: friend reunions. Marlayne and Travis' beautiful wedding completed both of these roles very well.
All the pictures from the event can be seen [here].

A few observations from the reception:

1. Love the rule of making tables sing in order to make the couple kiss. Much better than people violently banging away on their water goblets.
2. Ya gotta dance. The more people dancing, the better. Also, older couples are especially cute.
3. Comfy bride shoes are a must. I've known too many brides that suffered on their big day. Maybe it works for some, but I'm glad Marlayne was herself and didn't have to worry about that.
4. No wedding line. It's a personal preference, but I love seeing the couple getting to meander and mingle. Plus, they actually get to eat (a little) this way.
5. Catch the bouquet! Even if you don't really want it, just catch it and stuff it in some little girl's hands. Believe me, she wants it. I just don't want it to hit the ground. Treat it like the American flag (which probably shouldn't actually be thrown).
6. You don't have to use your full reception time. Marlayne and Travis did a great job of this. When they were satisfied with the celebration, they thanked everyone and took off. Bravo.
7. If I think of more, I'll add them. That's all for now.

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2009: The Year of the Cheetah

"So what'd you do for New Years?" We all know the question is coming. It's early January and it's the easiest icebreaker question at anyone's disposal. Just like "how was your summer" was a given on the first day of school in the fall. Well, if you must know (such a busybody!), I ran a 5K in the freezing cold of Utah on New Years Eve.Do I have a screw loose? Is that a trick question? Of course I do! Why else would I forego normal New Years Eve parties, revelry, and even potential smooching and instead freeze my butt off running 3+ miles and temporarily losing feeling in my fingers and face? Yes, I definitely have a screw loose. And I intend to unscrew it even more during this year. You see, this was the first of many races I'll do this year. They'll be varying lengths (5Ks, 10Ks, half marathon(s), full marathon(s)?, 200-mile relay races, sprint tri's, olympic tri's, and even a half Ironman).

Cheers to 2009: the year of the cheetah! What? You say it's the year of the ox according to the Chinese calendar? Too slow. I'm going with the cheetah. Try to keep up.

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40 Days to #44

Today I noticed that we're 40 days away from the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America. Yes, Barack Obama will take oath on January 20, 2009. And thus I dedicate this blogpost to him and a total of 44 things (some rough rounding used) he will be starting with when he inherits the White House from our current Commander-in-Chief.

Note: some of these weren't started by President George W Bush, but they may have been exacerbated by President #43.

1 -struggling economy

1 -energy crisis

2 -unpopular wars

3 -failing domestic auto manufacturers

7 -percent unemployment rate

8 -out of 10 Americans are overweight

10 -major global conflicts (according to cnn.com)

11 -trillion dollar national debt, AND

1 -heaping helping of HOPE!

44

Here is a great link that shows how he is an ordinary man who does ordinary things in addition to serving our country.

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Closer to 30 than to 25

Note: I'm finishing this post in Jan 2012, so I'll keep it brief and use lots of pictures. Better late than never, right? 

As I get older, I am getting more subdued in my birthday celebrations.

But I still don't want to get boring!

The birthday kids

So for the my 28th, I joined forces with two of my friends, Megan and Anne, since our birthdays are all in December and that way we could throw a good bash all together.

Mmm, Georgetown cupcakes!

Mostly it was a night to socialize and chomp tasty foods, which was what we wanted.
And that gave us all a good chance to catch up with the wonderful well-wishers that came by.

Matty Fischer was under attack

I have no idea what we were thinking;
just being goofballs, I suppose

This birthday trio has got some sweet hops

Well, another birthday has passed, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to Megan and Anne for making it so great!

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Sara Bringin' NYC Style to DC

Note: I'm finishing this post in Jan 2012, so I'll keep it brief and use lots of pictures. Better late than never, right?

My friend Sara came down from NYC for her first DC visit, and Becca and I made the most of it by showing her a few of our favorite spots.

Saturday brunch at Eastern Market. Gotta get some bluebuck pancakes. Ya just gotta.

Oh, and remember to take cash, because they don't accept cards or checks.

Best way to do it?
Everyone get something different, then share

This reminded me of something clever my mom might do

Cool name for a cool-looking vegetable

With our bellies full, we walked across the street to my favorite bookstore, Capitol Hill Books.
Confession: I've never bought a book there, but it's amazing for pictures, as you'll see.

How appropriate

And of course we had to take Sara down to the National Mall so she could see the monuments.

As friend historian, I'm very proud of this jumping pic

Sara and Becca are so talented at cartwheels and handstands

Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Thanks for coming, Sara, and we sure hope you'll be back soon.

Or maybe we'll come to NYC and you can show us around your 'hood, eh?

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Vote or Shut Your Yapper for 4 Years

I don't care if you voted for Obama or McCain, Nader or Ron Paul, Burt or Ernie, Bonnie or Clyde.

But if you didn't go to your local voting center and perform your civic duty today, then you have absolutely no room for complaining in the next 4 years.

If you did vote, like me, then feel free to voice your opinions as the next president takes charge in the current challenging situation.

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Viva'ing la Vida on Halloween

So what'd you do on Halloween? Maybe go trick-or-treating? Or to a Halloween party? Good activities, to be sure, but I think mine was a little cooler.

Anne, Bethany, Jeff, and I went to the Verizon Center to see a concert by one of my favorite bands. I'm so glad Anne and Bethany talked us into ponying up the dough to go, because Coldplay put on a fantastic show! They had a bit of theatrics, great (and large) decorations,

songs from the new album and some old favorites, and switched up their stage location very effectively a couple times.

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