A whole separate post about our vacation. We spent 10 days in the mid-West visiting friends and family in Wisconsin and Indiana, with a day trip to Illinois. Here are some highlights from the trip!
October 9th, my birthday! The first weekend in WI, hubby and I stayed with our friends Kim and Nigel. On Friday, Kim, Brian and I went to lunch with Crystal (above) at Rock Bottom Brewery. Our appetizer was fried cheese curds and from the the two ladies who know about such things, we were told these were good fried cheese curds. Yea!
Saturday, we all got up and headed into Milwaukee to race in Al's Run, an 8k that benefited the local Children's Hospital. This is hubby and I pre-race getting ready to hit the bathrooms and warm up before the start. We had a great run and I enjoyed seeing downtown Milwaukee through running. I finished in 1 hour 7 minutes and 48 seconds. I was the last of our group to finish, but I did finish 5 minutes faster than I thought I would. Yea me!
After the race, we all headed to the Miller Brewing Factory for the tour (and free samples!). This is Kim and I hugging the Miller Lite bottle. LOL! It's silly, but after running 5 miles in the freezing cold and drinking beer, you tend to get silly. It was a fun day. :-)
Sunday, we headed to Kim's bar to watch the Eagles play. After the game, we tried out hand at darts and realized we had NO idea how the darn thing was scoring! Kim came in first and I came in second with the boys trailing behind. ;-) And since I am moving so fast in this photo, the darts must have been some good exercise!
Monday, we headed to Indiana to spend the week with hubby's grandparents. We did take Wednesday to head into Chicago to visit with a friend and her son. These are our train tickets into the city. We almost didn't get back that night! We parked at one train station, but thought we were at another. I took a photo of the sign for the train station and that's the only reason we didn't get left at the wrong one! Photography is good for something!
Hubby and I at the Sears...er...Willis Tower in Chicago. They added what are called ledges to the tower so you can stand on clear plastic 107 stores above the ground and look straight down. Thanks to our friend, here's a photo of us standing on the ledge. It's kinda freaky the first time you go out, but easier the more you do it (and don't go falling to your death).
From the Sears Tower, we headed to Navy Pier. As you can tell, it was a tad chilly and overcast this day. I brought along my gorilla tripod and was able to get a nice photo of us and the skyline in the background. It was nice to have a good photo of us rather than just the self-portraits we usually get. No worries though, we took plenty of those while we were there!
And while on Navy Pier, we decided to go on the Ferris Wheel. It was COLD! We had great views of the city and Lake Michigan. It would have been better had the day not been freezing and overcast, but it was fun to go up. It was one of the things I wanted to do while in Chicago and even though it was really cold, we did it.
On Friday, we left Indiana and headed back to WI to spend the weekend with hubby's aunt and uncle. On the way, we made two stops. The first was the Jelly Belly Factory, of which all we had time for was the gift shop. ;-) The other was the Mars Cheese Castle. We each got to visit something fun. LOL! Here I am outside the Jelly Belly Gift Shop.
On Saturday, we got tickets to attend a Wisconsin Badgers game, so we did. LOL! I take a lot of random pictures of hubby, so this is him getting me back. He was sneaky as I had NO idea he had taken it until I saw it on the camera later. LOL! It was another cold day in WI and our seats were in the shade, making it even colder. Ugh. It took a long time to warm up after THAT game!
Our last self-portrait of the vacation. On Sunday, we went to the Horicon Marsh Preserve with hubby's aunt and uncle. Behind us is the marsh lands. LOL! It was cold that day too, but honestly, it was the sunniest and somewhat warmish day we had the whole trip! And I must say, the weather didn't improve when we got home. It was just as cold and rainy here when we got back as it was on vacation. Guess it really is fall now.
Wow! A Whole Month With No Postings!
Filed Under (baseball), (Eagles), (football), (Orioles), (Philadelphia Phillies)
Well, that's just wrong. I didn't realize I hadn't updated in so long. I feel kinda bad now, not that I think many people are still hanging around, but...I'm going to share some photos from Oct. and there's a bunch as we went on vacation. :-) Here we go!
Brian and I headed to Philadelphia to see the Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of September. It was a fairly nice day, though it was kinda wet out. We tailgated a bit with our friend's Mike and his brother Dan in the parking lot before heading into the game. We had nose bleed seats, but we could see the whole field, so it was ok. The Eagles won and we had a really fun day, though long.
After the game. :-) With the field in the back ground. Go Eagles!
The following weekend involved a full two days of baseball. Saturday we headed to Camden Yards to see the Orioles play. Saturday night was Oktoberfest and we scored free Orioles steins (which turned out to be plastic, eh.) and saw a nice O's win. The O's went on to win Sunday as well, keeping them from hitting the 100 loss mark this year. Yea O's!
Well, this is a tad blurry! Guess that's what happens when you forget to zoom out. LOL! I have a habit of zooming in for a photo, then deciding to take a self-portrait...and this is the result. What I just noticed about this photo is we are framing the ground's keeper at CBP very nicely. :-) The Phils won this game, though it meant nothing in the standings overall, they had already clinched the NL East earlier in the month, but it was good to go to a win. And with the Phils win, we were batting 1.000 for the weekend in baseball.
Sunday - Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run
Filed Under (Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run), (running) on Sunday, September 20, 2009
I fancy myself a runner...at times. LOL! I'm a slow runner, but I do my best. Sunday, hubby and I had signed up to race in the Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run. We decided to it since it was a unique race - run though the Fort McHenry Tunnel on I-95, how many times do you get the chance to do THAT? So, we headed there this morning. It was a huge success for the organizers as 1,000 people turned out, double what they anticipated. It was a good run and I finished faster than my last 5k, which is nice. I took a camera with me as I ran and got some shots of the race. Most of them were blurry, but I got a couple good ones. Here's me running. ;-)
Saturday we headed to Baltimore for the Fort McHenry 5k Tunnel Run. The race itself was on Sunday, but because the race was early and it's about an hour drive, we chose to stay over Sat. night. We booked ourselves at the Hotel Monaco Baltimore on North Charles Street. AWESOME hotel! If you need to stay in Baltimore for some reason, I totally recommend it! After we checked in, we took our bags to the room and found a simply gorgeous room. I took a pic of me on the bed and this is what I got. I feel so tiny in this photo. :-)
Today's photo is courtesy of my new venture - walnut harvesting. We have a walnut tree in the side yard that seems to give a TON of walnuts off each year. For the past 5 years, I have just been annoyed at how many of them are about - bouncing off the roof, landing in the driveway, tripping me when I go outside because I don't see them. Well, this year I decided I am going to harvest my walnuts and see what I get. Today's photo is my first attempt at harvesting the walnuts. There will be more walnut photos in the future - you have been warned. LOL!
Another photo! Today's photo, boys and girls, is all about running. Two years ago I ran the Harrisburg Mile. I then promptly stopped running until I signed up the next year to run it again. Then I spent 6 weeks freaking out and trying to get myself ready to run again. And promptly stopped running again. LOL! This past Jan. I decided to try it again, running that is. So, each Sat. morning, I would head to be park and run a mile. Nothing exciting, but better than nothing. Then classes calmed down in April and I started running a couple nights a week. Then I started adding distance. In the end of June I ran my first 5k (check out the June photo update to see me in my race gear). I'm running another 5k this coming weekend (Sept. 20) in Baltimore. So, today's photo is me lacing up my shoes. :) Hoping my run goes well Sunday. (Sorry it's a tad blurry.)
I am not a morning person. Let me get that out there at the start. It usually takes me a while to wake up and get myself together. This morning was no different. I was barely awake when I poured myself a cup of cereal. I don't eat it with milk, I like it dry. Weird, I know. Well, hubby walked by and patted the arm holding the cereal bowl. Being that I've been awake for maybe 10 minutes, I wasn't real with it. I dropped the bowl. Cereal went everywhere and I got nailed on the right foot with the glass bowl. It hurt! I guess the good thing is that the bowl didn't break. So, here's my poor foot. Hoping there's no problems running. I have a 5k this Sunday!
I just love my kitties. I know people think that's strange, but I believe kitties have a personality all their own. And it sure is true for my three! The other day, my fluffy Pooka was sitting with me when I decided to take some photos. These cats will have more photos of them than any pets known to man! LOL!
Sunday, Brian and I headed to Philly for an action-packed day. We started at the Independence Seaport Museum on the Delaware River. We went to see a tattoo exhibit at the museum. As part of our museum entrance fee, we got to board the Olympia (cruiser) and (submarine). The have you start with Becuna. Then you head to the Olympia. The above photo is me heading down the steps into the Becuna. I will say, I should have headed down backwards, cause the stairs are REALLY steep. LOL! Ah well...live and learn. Both ships were incredible in their own way and being able to go on the ships made it so worth the admission fee.
Time for the rest of August, though not sure how many more. August was a really slow month. We didn't do much. July was really the high-water mark of activity. LOL! Alrighty, onto the second half of August!
Brian and I after the O's game on August 30th. We headed to the game with our friends Shaun and Ada. It was Shaun's birthday, so we all chipped in and got his name on the score board. :-) He loved it! And it was a great game cause the O's won. Yea! The weather was great, we had a blast chatting and catching up, and the O's won. What a lovely day.
Look! A real blog photo!! I have an obsession with recipes. I have about 20 notebooks filled with them. I collect them from magazines, write them in spiral bound notebooks, and never use them. LOL! That's not completely, true, but there are hundreds of recipes I have collected that I have never used. One day, I may use them. As of now, nothing. But, this is me going through all the recipes that had collected and writing them in the notebook. It's fun and whenever someone needs a recipe, I tend to have one. So, if you're in need of a recipe, let me know. I'm sure I have one for you!
August has been somewhat of a let-down after July. LOL! But, we have done some fun stuff, so here's some of the fun so far this month. We have more to come, so I'll do more photos as the month goes along. I'm sure you'll love them! ;-)
Brian and I have a partial season ticket plan to our local Independent League team, the York Revolution. Here's us enjoying a game. This night, we got fireworks too! Yea!
Brian took this one, but I'm in it. LOL! On Saturday the 15th we headed to Pinchot State Park to celebrate Brian's birthday early. Last time we were there, it was a beach on a lake. This time grass by a lake. Very strange. But, we had a good time. And yes, that's me in a bathing suit. Eek!
Brian's actual birthday! We had Revs tickets through our plan on B's birthday, so we headed to the game. Sucks they couldn't pull out a win, but we had fun with our turkey burgers, fries, and B's beer and ice cream. Happy Birthday Brian!
July has been a busy month! It was a good month, but we had a LOT going on. Probably more than we should have bitten off, but whatever, it was a fun month. So, here are some shots from July. Hope you enjoy!
We headed to Hershey Park on July 3. We generally get there once a summer because we get free passes, though they have to be used by July 4th. So, nothing like waiting til the last minute, huh? LOL! We went on a ride that you sit on and just go over part of the park. This is our feet over the river that runs through the park. At the bridges over the river, you can feed the ducks. I like doing that. And it's only a quarter to get the corn. Or you can be cheap like me and pick up what people drop and feed them that. LOL!
Us on the ride. It's such a great ride to take. I like it because you can just sit back and check out the scenery. Plus your feet get to dangle while you ride it, making it seem dangerous! LOL!
The following weekend, we headed to NJ for a wedding. Brian's cousin from Louisiana was getting married and we were invited! We were actually pretty excited about it, as we haven't seen these guys since 2003. The wedding was GORGEOUS! The bride was EXQUISITE! It really was a wonderful day and just a lot of fun.
Had to post this. The bride came up to the table and grabbed the camera. She said she had to take our photo because it's hard to get your picture taken when it's just two people. LOL! She is very sweet!
So, yea. I have a habit of taking a zoomed in photo, then wanting to take a self-portrait. I don't know how many times I've done this with THIS type of photo as a result. Normally, I just delete them, what's the point in keeping them? But, for some reason, I did not delete this one. I think it's kinda funny. So, if you wanted to know what my teeth looked like up close - there ya go!
Another photo from our trip to New York City. This is cheating since the bar tender took it, but whatever. Our friend Maryrose (in red) wanted to go to Burp Castle, so we headed over there after dinner. This is us hanging out at the Belgium bar. It was a lot of fun and the beer was good...if not sweet. Would completely go back!
Yea, you would think this photo is strange, but it's not. Stitch and I had a beer at the Sam Adams Celebrates Atlanta bar in the Atlanta airport. We missed our flight to Vegas by ONE MINUTE, so we grabbed beers here. Stitch was for my friend Kim, whose wedding we were heading to. I love that this is a self-portrait and I got the beer, Stitch AND me in!
Not the most flattering photo of me and my friend is a little blurry, but at this point in the night, we were both feeling a little blurry! LOL! We played some beer pong at O'Shea's in Las Vegas. We did not do so well, lost 2 of 3. :-( Sad. so very sad...
All dressed up! My friend and beautiful bride Kim. This was the whole reason we went to Las Vegas - to spend her special day with her and her new husband. Thank you guys! It was a great time!
It's sorta been a while. About a month, but here are some photos from June. :-)
Brian and I were lucky enough to get tickets to a Hershey Bears play-off game on June 6th against the Manitoba Moose. This was Game 3 of the Calder Cup finals. It was a great game and a great Hershey win! Woohoo!
Here were are at Hershey again, except three days later and a victory shy of the Calder Cup. The Bears had a 3-1 lead going into the game and LOST. :-( They headed back to Manitoba to defeat the Moose, but not in front of the home crowd. We were sad.
My engagement and wedding rings. LOL! We were at a York Revolution game and I was having fun with the camera. I kept wanting a photo of my rings, but they always came out blurry. So, I tried again and it worked! My engagement ring is an opal. :-) Isn't it beautiful?
This is me on Sunday, June 28th in Baltimore, MD. I ran my first 5k at the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k that morning. My goal was to run the whole thing, no matter what the time. And I did! I ran the entire race, finished in 45:25 (which was 5 minutes faster than I thought I would), and didn't come in last. Yea me! It was a good day.
Brian and I at the Hershey Bears. They won. They are currently in the Calder Cup finals. Go Bears!
Brian and I at the O's game Thursday night. Look, this is a recent photo! LOL! Our friend's dad had tickets he couldn't use, so we all headed down to a night of Orioles Magic. The O's won and a good time was had by all.
Some shots from April. Love the weather starting to get warmer. :-)
Opening day baseball! LOVE IT! We had opening day tix for the Phils and I had to get set. I painted my nails Phils red and painted on a white Phillies P on each thumb. :-) It's blurry in this photo, but it looked cool. Take my word for it. ;-)
Brian and I at the Phils. It was COLD! But we had a good time, even if the Phils couldn't win.
Off the next day to Baltimore to catch the O's play the Yankees. It RAINED. It was rainy all morning on the way down and at lunch. Then the sun came out and it was gorgeous. Then it went away and seriously poured again. 30 minutes after start time, the skies cleared and we played ball! And a great game it was! O's beat the Yankees in a fantastic game. At least we went .500 in our two games.
After our 10 year college reunion, we stopped at Sheetz (PA convenience store). Brian decided to take photos IN the store. LOL! This is me telling Brian all about the fancy coffee optinos they now have.
The next day, Brian and our friend Maryrose and I headed to Camden Yards to catch an O's game. The weather was incredible! It was HOT. We grabbed water outside the park because it was cheaper. LOL! But, when we got into the park, they were giving away free ice. Really! I was shocked. Never heard of that before. But it went a long way on such a hot day. *nod* Here's my second cup.
More of my great nail painting skills. Actually, I took this photo because the pop corn was just so good! It was kettle corn. Yum! The bonus was I still had my Phillies P. ;-)
I tried posting new photos, but it wouldn't upload. I'm not sure what the problem was. But I'm going to post some from the last few months. :)
Brian and I at a Beach Themes Party at Bube's Brewery. Love that place! If you're local and haven't been - GO! It's in Mt. Joy, PA. Awesome, awesome place! There is not a restaurant in the place I don't recommend, but I do love the Catecombs.
Our anniversary! Well, sorta. :-) We celebrate our first date anniversary, so off we went to TJ Rockwell's in Elizabethtown, PA. Our first date was in this building, but it was known as Mookie's then. TJ's is a good place too. :-)
