because in hindsight, it's funny.

me: isn't it strange that the black macbook is $200 more than the white?

especially since most laptops are black or gray

Anne: that is weird

pretty ridiculous if I say so myself

me: yeah it is

but i want it to match my ipod!

but that seems stupid

Anne: what, matching your ipod or the extra cash?

me: the extra cash

matching my ipod is not stupid

let's get to the recapping already

my lack of blogging as of late comes down to two major factors. the first was a temporarily defunct wireless card (past tense). the second is fourteen hour work days (present and future tense).

but i need a break from work for a moment, so i thought i would take a stab at getting everyone caught up.

as mentioned on a couple of other blogs, the impending 30th birthday was wreaking a certain amount of havoc on my psyche. since i was 15 i have been dreading turning 30. it was the age i thought was 'old', and here it was. in an effort to outsmart myself, i decided that if i kicked off year 30 with the bestest birthday ever then it couldn't possibly as bad as i suspected. so, as i often do, i planned. i dreamed and planned. months ago deb and i talked about escaping to greece. then the reality of finances came crashing down hard. then we talked about a weekend in montreal. then the demands of work came crashing down hard. then it was a trip to busch gardens. then my frequent summer king's dominion trips had me amusement parked out. then there was atlantic city. then the prospect of old drunk people seemed too risky. then there was virginia beach. ah, finally. we had a winner. it's the beach afterall, and that would be perfect.

so my one grand wish for my birthday was to spend a couple of days at the beach with some of the people i care most about. but as the day drew closer, the numbers began to dwindle, as did my hope for the perfect birthday. but a funny thing happened. once my expectations of perfection had been completely trashed, i was free to have a pretty good birthday afterall:)

it began entirely too early with a pancake house birthday kidnapping to celebrate anne's special day. there are very few people for whom i would get out of bed early for, especially when i had one day off of work after coming off a 75 hour work week, but anne is one them. aside from the fact that i love her, any oppotunity to see her bedhead is absolutely not to be missed!

breakfast was delish. i indulged in chocolate crepes, while others enjoyed omelettes, nutella crepes, etc. none of us was disappointed.

after breakfast, i headed home for my manicure/pedicure. but that was all the pampering the day would afford, as i ended up having to work. that is when the wireless card mysteriously stopped working. but i still had work to do, and jill was leaving baltimore later then expected, so i headed into the office. so much for my day off.

just in time for corey and jill to pick me up from my office i finished what i needed to get done, and we were off.

thanks to my portable dvd player, i was quickly immersed again in my buffy marathon, and working my way through season four. we stopped in fredericksburg to pick up erin, and stopped at wawa to pick up goodies, and were off again. traffic was kind to us, and it wasn't long before we were in richmond dropping off some things at corey's sister's. and it wasn't long after that before we found ourselves pulling into the parking lot of our hotel.

finally, we were at the beach. i could smell the salt and hear the waves, and i was happy. we checked in and the first order of business was to throw wide the balcony door so that we could fall asleep to to the rhythmic sound. we did some unpacking, and unable to resist the lure of the sand any longer, i headed down to the beach for a quick stroll.

upon returning it was time to call it a night. saturday morning we were up early enough to see the sun as it rose over the water. we all got ready and headed down to breakfast, which for no inexplicable reason took forever. eventually we were done. we packed up, corey moved the car, and we camped out for the day.

the weather was beautiful, the water was warm, and the company was fabulous. we enjoyed several hours relaxing on the sand and in the water, and eventually made our way back to the car to change out of our swimsuits.

we cooled off for a bit and enjoyed some ice cream. as i was reviewing the menu options, i couldn't decide between a couple of things, and almost to myself i said 'can i have both?', and almost simultaneously jill and erin responded 'of course, it's your birthday!' oh yeah! it's my birthday! so i got both.

after the yumminess, we wandered the streets, popping into all the kitschy beach stores. i bought sunglasses and jewelry, and jill bought me a tattoo! well, a henna tattoo, but a tattoo nonetheless. each of us got one and spent the rest of the day checking out our new acoutrements.

corey, jill, and erin all went out of their way to make sure that my birthday weekend was all that it could be, and that meant they all smiled and nodded when i said i wanted to play mini golf! i love birthdays!

the course options were fruitful, but we settled on the jungle course. jill and erin were most impressive with their multiple holes-in-one, and yet with my consistency, i managed to take second place.

after playing with the animals, we all agreed that the day had been a success and it was time to get back on the road.

the trip home was relatively uneventful, and was highlighted by the fabulous detour erin sent us on. i am a lover of good bbq, and pierce's near williamsburg was gooood bbq. it was the perfect way to cap off the trip.

then sunday came. (insert scary music here). i was 30. no longer a 20-something, or even 'in my late 20s', i was 30. birthday greetings kept my phone occupied, but work kept my mind occupied. after church i headed back to the office to prepare the last minute details for monday's event.

anne and corey both called to make arrangements to stop by, and i would later learn that my being at work was creating some major panic. see, they had a surprise party planned for me, and me being in the office was creating quite the challenge.

in the end though, i was able to wrap up my tasks and make it home in time to meet anne, corey and jill, who were later followed by a slew of other well-wishers.

it was a perfect way to close out the big birthday weekend, with chocolate and people i love.

thanks to all who went out of their way to make this scary birthday a fabulous success!

when monday came, play time was over, and it was time for the annual dgylf (darrell green youth life foundation) redskins cruise. registration went smoothly, and eventually it was time to leave dock. aside from a couple minor glitches it was smooth sailing (no pun intended). charles mann was, again, a fabulous mc, and all of our guests had an enjoyable time. i was actually able to relax a bit, which is a nice change for an event i'm working.

we docked at 10 or so, and i headed back into the office for a couple more hours at work, before finally calling it a night.

i've got another event tomorrow, so i make no promises about when the next blog entry will be, or when i will actually have a chance to change the playlist (sorry!), but i'll do my best.

for the rest of the photos, click here.

countdown to the scary age

i've tried to run. i've tried to hide. but 30 keeps sneaking up behind me. so i decided that i'm going to face it head on. look it in the eye, and shake it's hand.

when dylan got engaged i put together a slide show for the engagement dinner. i had to scan a lot of old photos, many of which (since we are only14 months apart) had both of us in them. and since i was already scanning, i thought it would save me some time and trouble later on to just go ahead and scan the rest of the usable photos, assuming one day i might want my very own slide show.

and today is that day my friends. i am looking 30 in the eye, and i'm going to make you look with me. or at me. or, well you get the idea. this bad boy of a slideshow is extremely long, and i promise, after my birthday (sunday, august 27th) i'll take it down and go back to the other slide show.

let the pointing and laughing commence...now.

ps-notice how i was rockin the trucker hat way before anyone else decided it was cool.

this morning might be the best morning ever

after being gone for a couple of days with her father, i woke up to the sound of kendyl's voice. i headed downstairs to say hello, and the momentshe saw me, she started laughing, ran toward me and jumped into my arms giving me a big hug.

does it get better than this?

gees, someone should really blog around here

chalk it up to the 14 hour work days as of late, but blogging has not really been my priority. on the upside, as a result of the 14 hour work days, not much to blog about, so you haven't really missed anything.

i'll let you know when that changes.

a series of random events (and things of other note)

saturday night as i was heading upstairs and nearly about to close the door, i heard my name being yelled by my sister in the basement. it was one of those yells that in it's tone and volume said 'something is very wrong here.' knowing she had just taken my niece downstairs, i moved faster than i knew i was capable of moving, broke a nail somewhere along the way, and found my sister on the floor at the bottom of the basement steps. there was no immediate sign of my niece. all my sister could say was, get kendyl, i twisted my ankle, i can't move. so i moved through the basement to find kendyl standing next to the bed crying, and bleeding.

apparently, when carrying her down, kate had missed a step and they had both gone down, kendyl hitting her face against the wall. i don't think i have ever experienced anything so terrifying, but i swooped her up and rushed her upstairs where all our medically related supplies are. i had no sense of what or how bad her injury was. she was bleeding from the mouth but i didn't know if it was inside or out, or how much damage had been done. so as i attempted to clean her up to get a better gauge on the situation, she kept repeating 'momma boo-boo'. here was this precious innocent child, certainly in pain herself, but concerned about what was going on with her mother. it was so sweet i nearly lost it. as was her general attitude. from the moment i picked her up, she had stopped crying, and was dutifully doing exactly what i asked her to do. 'can you open your mouth like this?' she did. 'can you stick out your tongue?' she did. 'can you drink some water for me?' she did. it was as if she was saying, 'really i'm fine, but you need to make sure i'm fine, so i'll let you.'

as it turned out, it was a cut lip, but not a serious one. the bleeding stopped fairly quickly and she was off to her regularly scheduled bedtime, having made a full recovery by sunday (as evidenced below).


the rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful. i joined adam and jeremy for some grub on sunday night, where their new fascination with us living 'a seinfeld life' was further explored. adam has been cast as jerry, jeremy as kramer, scott as george, and i, of course, as elaine. this all started with a comment jeremy made last week after moving in next door to adam, and it has seemed to take on a life of it's own. on one hand, it's kind of cute, on the other, i remember that things didn't work out all for the original foursome, so i haven't completely bought into it yet.

in the 'random other things' category, i thought i'd take a minute to share some fun stuff with you. i subscribe to a lot of different product related blogs, many of them completely geeky. but i have come across some really fun sites/products in my adventures (some of which i've mentioned before), so i thought i would take a minute to summarize my favorites.

top 10 stuff i use:

1. smugmug-the best site i have found for photo hosting. i've also started ordering prints of my own photos from them and been really happy. (ps-save $5 by entering my email, or my code, CI1HxiatFP5y2, in the 'referred by' field)
2. the gorillapod--perfect for taking self-portraits without having to ask strangers to do it for you. available in a compact and slr version.
3. the aquapac-perfect for waterproofing digital cameras that do not have waterproof cases specifically made for them. my camera is expensive, and i have submerged it in this bag. just a testament to it's goodness
4. zazzle-a fabulous 'make your own product' site. so far i've used it for stamps and t-shirts, but the possibilities are much broader than that and prices are extremely reasonable.
5. flash slideshow maker-after being completely disappointed with a similar product i paid for, i was overjoyed to find this free product that does everything i need it to do (even allowing for burning to cd/dvd formats for tv viewing)
6. photofiddle-making messing with my photos totally fun!
7. netflix-need i say more?
8. webshots-i used to host my photos here (but i like smugmug so much better for that). now i use it to create my own screensaver rotation from my photos, and for the desktop calendar feature it has
9. thinkexist-when i need a quote for something, this is where i start
10. bloglines (of course)-for tracking all the websites you read and only having to check them when they are updated.

top 10 stuff i haven't used yet but really want to:

1. digital photo frames-these are becoming more widely available, and this is just one example. this is high on my 'must have' list!
2. self destruction button usb-just because it is so freakin cool
3. the powersquid-i f you are sick of getting screwed on the number of power strip outlets because your ac adaptors are too big, this is perfect
4. the tripod belt-if you are of the type to carry around a full size tripod (i know there are a couple of you)
5. the selk bag-no more getting tangled up in your sleeping bag
6. the optic slim scanner-for all your scanning needs
7. skirtsports workout skirts-for the female gym rats
8. the availabot-because it makes me laugh. hard.
9. six skewer vertical grill-who doesn't love a shish kabob?
10. the endless yoga bag-aside from carrying a yoga mat, i see posters and all sorts of other possibilities

so, is that all random enough for you?

just plain weird

i didn't know m. night shyamalan existed before the sixth sense. i mean, he wasn't, then he was. and like most i loved that movie. but until lady in the water his track record with me was not so hot. so, i just saw this movie (or part of it) on the wb that i totally dug. i did a little research, and come to find out, it's a shyamalan film, pre-sixth sense, called wide awake. his odds are getting better.

...and last night on girls gone wild...

the girls (erin, steph, amber, rae, anne, val, and i) all got together, as none of us could resist erin's generous offer to treat us to dessert at the meltng pot. and it doesn't take long with this gang before things start to get out of hand.

in fact, it started early when amber and steph both arrived in their melissa etheridge concert t-shirts. typically, wearing a concert t-shirt is an expression of support for an artist, but when two girls are both wearing a concert t-shirt, and that artist is melissa etheridge, it says something else entirely, and we were not about to let them off easy! (the subject of the photo to the left asked to remain anonymous, so it will just be our little secret amber!)

once the chocolate came, the rest of us were distracted. yes i know, it doesn't take much. just a pot of chocolate and our eyes start to glaze, our foreheads start to sweat, and we can no longer speak in complete sentences. but we tried, and the result was a triumph of humor. i haven't seen the girls for a couple of months, and i was reminded how amazing it is to be with a group of women with whom there is no pride or pretenses. you can absolutely be yourself, and that may be one of the greatest gifts anyone of us can receive.

amber was so much herself that she (at the completion of the divine dessert) let out one of the biggest burps i have ever heard. if you know amber, you'll know why this is so insanely funny!

after dessert, we headed over to ballston commons to catch the ne 'hottest dance movie ever'--step up. and this is what i have to say about that. yum and dumber. channing tatum may well be a perfect specimen of manhood (although i know anne blasphemously disagrees). if you enjoy a bad boy attitude, a body sculpted from marble, and a face that will break your heart just to look at it, then you will enjoy watching him in this movie. if you require any sort of plot, or your cheese kept to a minimum, you may want to pass on this one.


but it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, despite the heat in the auditorium. our fellow man-gawkers in the theater were boisterous and didn't object when we would sigh or make snide comments about how bad the movie itself was. and at the end of the final dance routine, the audience actually clapped. if that isn't an homage to the beauty of silliness, i don't know what is!



thanks erin, and the rest of the girls...my stomach hurts from laughter!

wtc and the big 3-0

just to avoid any confusion, let me state that these are two seperate topics.

in just over two weeks, i will be putting another decade behind me, and there has been some dilemma as to the appropriate way to celebrate such an event. originally, i thought a busch gardens trip would be enjoyable, but truth be told, i'm a bit amusement parked out right now. so when corey suggested atlantic city last night, it was so strange and bizarre, that i immediately took to it. i can't think of anything weirder than a bunch of mormons going to atlantic city to not gamble (except i probably will) and not drink (which i definitely won't)..which is why it is absolutely perfect!

in other news, anne, corey and i went to see world trade center last night.

anne and i saw united 93 together and it was excellent. but when the trailers started running for this one, i was skeptical. nick cage and oliver stone? i couldn't bear the thought of an over the top 'hollywood' movie documenting this event.

not to mention that there is a big part of me that struggles with whether or not enough time has passed for the production of movies such as these. i tend to lean more towards the 'its too soon' mentality because it is still so raw, but the part of me that attends movies as a historian/witness to humanity won out.

i have no negative criticism of the movie. it was not 'hollywood', not at all oliver stonish, and it seemed to convey authenticity and truth. it was moving, and powerful, and not in the least bit trite or overproduced. but i still think it is too soon.

granted, it is never too soon to remember or to honor the heroism and the sacrifices that were exhibited on september 11. it is never too soon to be reminded that despite the evil that exists in the world today, there is selflessness, and love, and true compassion. there are principles worth standing for, like courage, and hope. and there are people who will and have paid the ultimate price for those principles.

it's not too soon to remember those things or to honor them, but it is too soon for me to watch it on a big screen.

i have no business blogging today

coming back from vacation is the worst. especially when you don't have blackberry reception, and you can't manage things in small doses, so when you get back to the office it feels like the whole world exploded while you were gone.

but before it exploded, i got to spend the final day of my vacation at king's dominion. kelly has never been to a 'real' amusement park (since lagoon most certainly does not count), so she and dylan thought it would be fun to check it out, i came along to play tour guide and get even more value out of my season pass!

aside from the oppressive heat, it was awesome. i've never been to the park on a weekday, but it was empty. of course the temperature may have also played a part, but we didn't care. rides i have stood in hour (or more) lines for were having hard times filling their cars. so we took full advantage and rode some of them multiple times..at one point we just stopped getting off to get back on.

we also spent some time cooling down in the waterpark. i haven't been in some time, and while enjoyable, i found myself longing to return to the park and hop on another coaster!

we survived the heat and had a really fabulous day, which unfortunately concluded with an unnecessarily long dinner at denny's and horrible traffic on the tail end of 95 (after i had been making killer time)

it is a small price to pay however, and aside from the angst of returning to reality (otherwise known as job responsibility), i am in remarkably good shape today.

for the rest of the pics, click here.

family portrait day

anne did an excellent job pushing the button (thanks!) and dylan worked his photoshop magic for the perfect pictures!



these are definitely the best, but if you want to see more, go here.

wrapping up new york

where did i leave off. oh yes, mom and dad were going to pick up dylan and kelly. after they stopped in harmony, pa to see where the priesthood was restored, i met up with them in bath for dinner. the evening was a quiet one, i think we played cards. we played a lot of cards..rook, and nerts, and more rook.

that brings us to tuesday...

tuesday it was playtime. it was hot, but hot matters less when you are on the water.

before getting started though, i headed to the teahouse to check in on things and give the dog a good walk. many years ago my grandfather built a japanese teahouse with a glass for over a waterfall on the property. when he died he was cremated and his ashes were placed in an urn that lies at the top of the steps to this peaceful place. there are a few of you who also know that the teahouse is the setting for my death in the family film '10,000 deaths' that we put together at the reunion a couple of years ago. if you have no idea what i'm referring to, than you simply haven't had the privilege of viewing this indie film yet. i'm sure it would have taken sundance by storm, had we submitted it.

but i digress. the walk was hot, but the teahouse was still standing, and that was a relief!

after making my way back down to the house, dylan, kelly, and i did some skiing. well, they did some skiing.

as i mentioned, kelly was determined to teach me to slalom. originally i had planned on skiing with two skis first so i could get up on something, but her point about not reminding my body of what it felt like to be on two skis was completely valid, so i began attempting the feat with only one ski. i will say this. i was close.

but eventually you just wear yourself out, and i was tired. so i begged for the other ski and the instructors obliged. well apparently, i had worn myself out more than i realized and couldn't even manage to get up on two!! this was extremely frustrating, as i have been skiing since i was a young tyke. but there were a few days ahead of us, so i was optimistic.

we spent the large portion of the day on the water--we played and swam, and my aquapac came in handy yet again. it was awesome to be in the boat again, but i learned that my idea of a good time catching some serious wake-made waves and throwing the tilt to max) is not everybody's, and i think i terrified kelly a bit. eventually we made our way back to the apartment and washed up for dinner where we were joined by grandma. after dinner it was time for yet another tradition, and we headed to penn yan for ice cream at seneca farms..which is absolutely divine. i had some chocolate peanut buttery yumminess in a cone, and the rest of the gang had some shake and flurry variations going on.

and then there was wednesday...



wednesday morning dylan, kelly, and i stole wireless from the best western and headed back when we learned that the other van atta crew (aunt judy, uncle scott, and cousins, jeff, jamie, and mark) were on their way.

basically we spent the whole day goofing off. my body was so achey from the ski attempts and the crappy sleeping conditions that skiing wasn't in my cards, however, spending mucho time on the boat was. not to mention getting a lift on the jet ski my cousins had just bought. i've probably been on a jet ski before but i don't remember it, and it was fuuun!

after getting our fill of water for the day, it was time for dinner and celebrating judy's recently past birthday. my cute cousin jamie had some fun with the blue icing on the cake, but she made need to use crest whitestrips in the near future!

we finished off the cake and played games until it was time for them to head back to rochester.

thursday...

was completely chill. mom, dad, dylan and kelly went to palmyra, as kelly has not been to any church history sites before. i opted to take some personal time and spent the day reading, watching movies, and hanging out with cyra on the dock. it was fabulous.

the gang returned that evening, and we killed more time playing cards (one of my favorite vacation past times).

friday was a little different...

one of grandma's normal helpers at the b&b was out after having her wisdom teeth removed, and we were tapped for some manual labor. so we all headed up the hill to do dishes. after bonding over soapy water, we all went our separate ways. mom was off to geneva for shopping, dad was up to his usual scanning at the apartment, and dyl, kelly, and i were back in the boat.

it was far too choppy for skiing, so we decided we would give tubing a shot. the last time i was tubing, my uncle drove so fast and furiously that i was getting insane amounts of air--and hitting the water hard. there was another time that a different uncle nearly got decapitated while tubing, so i was a bit hesitant. but i didn't let it stop me. dylan was an excellent driver and i had a blast. we all agreed that it was most fun when you had an opportunity to get caught in the giganto swells off the wake.

after gasing up the boat, we swung by the house where we found dad in a canoe on his way to meet us. he paddled back to shore and we did a drive by pick up before tubing some more.

saturday...

we got up for breakfast at the b&b again, and oh was it divine. some blueberry cream cheese thing and a banana flambe type thing. wow. after indulging ourselves all but mom took the golf cart to make our rounds of the properties landmarks; majesty in the field of dreams, the labyrinth, the tree house, the tea house, and the lady of the lake. we found all were as we had left them.

we dropped off the golf cart, packed up and headed out, saying farewell to another fabulous week at keuka lake.

sadness.

there are of course, a million photos, and you can find them all here. i'll also be uploading some funny videos in the next couple of days..keep checking the 'videos' link in the pics|video menu to the left.