And yes, I did expect the Confederate WHITE House to be white and not grey...I am not sure if the City of Richmond is to blame for poor upkeep of this historical building or if the building was always a yucky dingy grey color...oh well!
Family Picture
Monday, November 17, 2008
A Little Bit of Virginia History
On Saturday, Kevin and I drove up to Richmond and went to the Confederate White House and Museum. It was really interesting to see Jefferson Davis' home and to learn more about the Confederate Army and Civil War history. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the home, so we tried to make up for that by taking a bunch in front of it!
And yes, I did expect the Confederate WHITE House to be white and not grey...I am not sure if the City of Richmond is to blame for poor upkeep of this historical building or if the building was always a yucky dingy grey color...oh well!
And yes, I did expect the Confederate WHITE House to be white and not grey...I am not sure if the City of Richmond is to blame for poor upkeep of this historical building or if the building was always a yucky dingy grey color...oh well!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
What's Up Washington?
Prepare for the longest post EVER!!! Last weekend Kevin and I took an impromptu trip up to DC to see the sites. It seems that everytime we go to DC we go to the temple and never see anything touristy...in just two short days, we saw almost everything! I apologize that this post is neither funny nor brief...I just had to get all of these pictures posted!
Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery
View of the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial (if you look closely, you can also see the White House)
After a long hike to see Jefferson 
Jefferson Memorial - Whenever I go to this memorial, I always think about the Simpson's episode where Lisa goes to see the Lincoln at his memorial to ask him a question and finds it too crowded, so she goes to the Jefferson memorial and nobody is there and Jefferson is sad. Well, if the Jefferson monument weren't so hard to get to and so far out of the way, maybe more people would go there!
Marine Memorial (Tribute the Iwo Jima)
Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery
View of the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial (if you look closely, you can also see the White House)
After a long hike to see Jefferson Jefferson Memorial - Whenever I go to this memorial, I always think about the Simpson's episode where Lisa goes to see the Lincoln at his memorial to ask him a question and finds it too crowded, so she goes to the Jefferson memorial and nobody is there and Jefferson is sad. Well, if the Jefferson monument weren't so hard to get to and so far out of the way, maybe more people would go there! 
World War II Memorial
A friendly reminder to all of us...(Freedom is Not Free)
My favorite memorial - the Korean War Memorial (why Kevin got a picture in front of it and not me, I don't know)
A friendly reminder to all of us...(Freedom is Not Free)
My favorite memorial - the Korean War Memorial (why Kevin got a picture in front of it and not me, I don't know)
Lincoln looks like he needs to stretch...or at least that's what I think!
Looking down from the Lincoln memorial at the Washington Monument
Looking down from the Lincoln memorial at the Washington Monument
Kevin's favorite memorial - The Vietnam Memorial
Barack Obama's new pad
Barack Obama's new pad
I can't tell if my or Kevin's big head is blocking the White House
Kevin's getting a little too chummy with Gov. Palin, if you ask me!
Another friendly reminder...(Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty)
Diamonds are a girl's best friend!! (Hope Diamond in the Natural History Museum)
My favorite dinosaur - the Triceratops - aka Sarah from the Land Before Time
Kevin's favorite dinosaur - Stegosaurus
Another friendly reminder...(Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty)
Diamonds are a girl's best friend!! (Hope Diamond in the Natural History Museum)
My favorite dinosaur - the Triceratops - aka Sarah from the Land Before Time
Kevin's favorite dinosaur - Stegosaurus
You made it to the end! Thanks for visiting!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Happy Halloween!
The day before Halloween, Kevin and I had exactly one hour to carve our pumpkins together before Kevin had to go back to school for some meetings...I think we did pretty good in that time!
I came home from work to find my pumpkin already scooped! Thanks, Babe!
About to make the first cut!
Kevin went with a scary pumpkin
I, in my obsessed Twilight mode, went with a Twilight pumpkin...I was really impressed with my ability to not only cut this out with a huge steak knife (we lost our special pumpkin carving set) but to do so without cutting off one of my fingers!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Dentists: Cavity of Society, Sleazy Bicuspid (Remover), Root (Canal) of all Evil, Or Guardians of Wisdom (Teeth)?
After six arduous months of self-fueled indignation, I strode confidently into my dentist appointment yesterday ready to reveal the man behind the curtain, ready to raise the flag of truth, ready to expose these people for what they really are: FRAUDS.
Six months ago my wonderful wife set up a dentist appointment and informed me I would be going. Naturally, hating dentists as I do, I resisted. Nevertheless, my resolve was weakened and eventually broken as Leslie prattled on about the importance of dental hygiene, taking care of myself, not looking British, etc. To make a long story short, I soon found myself lying on my back as a strange man probed my mouth with various foreign objects.
I did not ever give a verbal “yes,” but perhaps under Virginia law, submissively lying motionless is sufficient to qualify as “consent.” Regardless, after he was done, he sat me up in the chair and with a stern expression on his face he said, “You haven’t been flossing, have you?” I replied with a well rehearsed line which I have employed during every dentist visit I’ve ever had: “No, not as much as I should.” I then looked sheepishly at the ground waiting for his inevitable scolding. I didn’t have to wait long. “Kevin,” he began, in an authoritative, condescending tone, “flossing is extremely important. All the cavities I found today are a result of not flossing. Remember, if you want clean teeth, you brush; if you want healthy teeth, you floss.”
Before I continue with the story, there are two points I need to address. First, there are likely some of you judging me for not flossing. Well, that’s right - I’m not a great flosser. There, I said it. However, that does not make me a bad person. If any of you are disgusted by this shortcoming, give me two minutes and I can come up with a list of your flaws.
Second, since when did dentists become the nagging parents of society? When I go into McDonald’s and order a Super Sized Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, the cashier doesn’t look at me and say, “Do you really need all that?” When I go to a horror movie the ticket guy doesn’t say, “You know, if you watch this you won’t be able to sleep and you’ll want to sleep in my room after it's over.” When I go to 7 Eleven at night and get a huge drink, the guy at the counter doesn’t warn me that if I drink this all tonight, I’ll probably wet the bed. The only person that will forever talk to you like you’re a child is your dentist.
Furthermore, it makes no logical or economic sense for a dentist to get mad when people get cavities. After all, that is how they make money. A dentist getting annoyed when you throw business his way by not taking care of your teeth is the same as the owner of a Chuck-A-Rama getting mad at people for not watching their weight. If there weren’t fat slobs in the world, he'd be out of business.
Anyway, back to the story. After my scolding and empty promises to do better in the future, I recalled that dentists always tell you to floss more. Armed with anecdotal data, I developed a theory that dentists will tell you to floss more during every appointment whether you floss or not. My theory dictates that dentists are playing the odds; they know that 99% of us should floss more, and much like birth control, 99% is pretty good odds. At that moment, I decided to become that 1%. I would become the dentist’s unexpected pregnancy - and I would be just as annoying.
For the next six months I diligently flossed every day. After the first week I had already surpassed my aggregate lifetime record. But I didn’t stop there. I flossed all summer, even when Leslie wasn’t around, I flossed on vacation, and I continued to floss when school started. I became the ultimate flosser. As I flossed, I fantasized about what I would say to the dentist when he perfunctorily told me to floss more. I imagined that I would slowly stand erect, the lights would dim and I would ceremoniously raise my arm and place one finger inches away from his masked face. In my best Charlton Heston voice I would categorically declare, “You sir, are a liar! Shame on you!”
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out like that. Yesterday, I had my long awaited appointment and sat gleefully in the chair ready to bring down an entire profession. However, after a short examination he looked at me and said, “Good, I see that you’ve been flossing.” It was entirely anticlimactic, but at least I learned an important lesson along the way: FLOSS.
Six months ago my wonderful wife set up a dentist appointment and informed me I would be going. Naturally, hating dentists as I do, I resisted. Nevertheless, my resolve was weakened and eventually broken as Leslie prattled on about the importance of dental hygiene, taking care of myself, not looking British, etc. To make a long story short, I soon found myself lying on my back as a strange man probed my mouth with various foreign objects.
I did not ever give a verbal “yes,” but perhaps under Virginia law, submissively lying motionless is sufficient to qualify as “consent.” Regardless, after he was done, he sat me up in the chair and with a stern expression on his face he said, “You haven’t been flossing, have you?” I replied with a well rehearsed line which I have employed during every dentist visit I’ve ever had: “No, not as much as I should.” I then looked sheepishly at the ground waiting for his inevitable scolding. I didn’t have to wait long. “Kevin,” he began, in an authoritative, condescending tone, “flossing is extremely important. All the cavities I found today are a result of not flossing. Remember, if you want clean teeth, you brush; if you want healthy teeth, you floss.”
Before I continue with the story, there are two points I need to address. First, there are likely some of you judging me for not flossing. Well, that’s right - I’m not a great flosser. There, I said it. However, that does not make me a bad person. If any of you are disgusted by this shortcoming, give me two minutes and I can come up with a list of your flaws.
Second, since when did dentists become the nagging parents of society? When I go into McDonald’s and order a Super Sized Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, the cashier doesn’t look at me and say, “Do you really need all that?” When I go to a horror movie the ticket guy doesn’t say, “You know, if you watch this you won’t be able to sleep and you’ll want to sleep in my room after it's over.” When I go to 7 Eleven at night and get a huge drink, the guy at the counter doesn’t warn me that if I drink this all tonight, I’ll probably wet the bed. The only person that will forever talk to you like you’re a child is your dentist.
Furthermore, it makes no logical or economic sense for a dentist to get mad when people get cavities. After all, that is how they make money. A dentist getting annoyed when you throw business his way by not taking care of your teeth is the same as the owner of a Chuck-A-Rama getting mad at people for not watching their weight. If there weren’t fat slobs in the world, he'd be out of business.
Anyway, back to the story. After my scolding and empty promises to do better in the future, I recalled that dentists always tell you to floss more. Armed with anecdotal data, I developed a theory that dentists will tell you to floss more during every appointment whether you floss or not. My theory dictates that dentists are playing the odds; they know that 99% of us should floss more, and much like birth control, 99% is pretty good odds. At that moment, I decided to become that 1%. I would become the dentist’s unexpected pregnancy - and I would be just as annoying.
For the next six months I diligently flossed every day. After the first week I had already surpassed my aggregate lifetime record. But I didn’t stop there. I flossed all summer, even when Leslie wasn’t around, I flossed on vacation, and I continued to floss when school started. I became the ultimate flosser. As I flossed, I fantasized about what I would say to the dentist when he perfunctorily told me to floss more. I imagined that I would slowly stand erect, the lights would dim and I would ceremoniously raise my arm and place one finger inches away from his masked face. In my best Charlton Heston voice I would categorically declare, “You sir, are a liar! Shame on you!”
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out like that. Yesterday, I had my long awaited appointment and sat gleefully in the chair ready to bring down an entire profession. However, after a short examination he looked at me and said, “Good, I see that you’ve been flossing.” It was entirely anticlimactic, but at least I learned an important lesson along the way: FLOSS.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
And the Award Goes To...
Bragging Alert! This is a total bragging post, so continue at your own risk!
This past weekend Kevin had a Trial Team (think mock trial) competition at Michigan State and not only did his team go to the semi-finals, finishing in the top 4 of 26 teams, but Kevin brought home an individual trophy! Out of 104 competitors, Kevin won "Best Closing Argument*" and I couldn't be more proud!
Basically, how these competitions work is a team of 4 people is given the facts of a case and are divided into the 2 sides of the trial - prosecution and defense - with 2 people on each team. Between the two of them, they divide up the roles of arguing motions, giving the opening statement, objections, cross and direct examining certain witnesses, and the closing argument. In this competition, Kevin was on the defense and competed against other school's prosecution teams. Well, suffice it to say that he kicked butt - only 5 individual awards were given that night, and he walked away with one!
With work, I couldn't make it to this competition, but Kevin's parents were able to be there to support and cheer Kevin on...a big thanks to Lionel and Artis for making the trip! It meant a lot to Kevin to have you there!
At the Awards Banquet...
:)
*The closing statement is a 15 minute speech that is meant to finally convince the jury to find in favor of their client; it is meant to bring all of the pieces of the case together in the minds of the jury and clinch their vote through persuasion and effectively dismissing the evidence and claims of the other side.
This past weekend Kevin had a Trial Team (think mock trial) competition at Michigan State and not only did his team go to the semi-finals, finishing in the top 4 of 26 teams, but Kevin brought home an individual trophy! Out of 104 competitors, Kevin won "Best Closing Argument*" and I couldn't be more proud!
Basically, how these competitions work is a team of 4 people is given the facts of a case and are divided into the 2 sides of the trial - prosecution and defense - with 2 people on each team. Between the two of them, they divide up the roles of arguing motions, giving the opening statement, objections, cross and direct examining certain witnesses, and the closing argument. In this competition, Kevin was on the defense and competed against other school's prosecution teams. Well, suffice it to say that he kicked butt - only 5 individual awards were given that night, and he walked away with one!
With work, I couldn't make it to this competition, but Kevin's parents were able to be there to support and cheer Kevin on...a big thanks to Lionel and Artis for making the trip! It meant a lot to Kevin to have you there!
Kevin's team
At the Awards Banquet...
:)
Kevin with my wonderful mother and father in law! Thanks again for being there for him!!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Apple Picking in Charlottesville
On Saturday Kevin and I woke up and decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Charlottesville to go apple picking and to see the city. We had the best time! The two hour drive was gorgeous with all of the rolling hills and changing colors of the foliage...Virginia is simply breathtaking in the fall!
We had heard from lots of our friends that the best place to go apple picking was at Carter Mountain Orchard and I think they are right! Set atop a mountain (duh...), the farm offers lots of different types of apples from Jonagold to Red Delicious and everything in between.
We had heard from lots of our friends that the best place to go apple picking was at Carter Mountain Orchard and I think they are right! Set atop a mountain (duh...), the farm offers lots of different types of apples from Jonagold to Red Delicious and everything in between.
The amazing view overlooking the city of Charlottesville
Kevin and I decided to go with some Fuji and some Macintoshes
Kevin had to do most of the picking because I couldn't reach the apples...thank heavens for tall husbands!
I got to hold the bag...
I think that the best part of our trip was drinking the most amazing apple cider ever and eating hot and fresh apple cider donuts....the donuts alone were worth the trip!
Overlooking the vineyards...
After Kevin and I had our fill of donuts and cider we drove down the mountain to check out Charlottesville and decided that we liked it very much...especially our street!
Excuse the horrible lighting on this picture but I had to post this shot of Kevin standing in front of a Robert E. Lee statue. For some reason, Kevin's younger brother Brian (currently serving his mission in the Philippines) has this unexplained deep hatred of Robert E. Lee and we always make fun of him for it. I mean, the guy has been dead for sometime now and sure, he led the Confederates in the Civil War, but really, who hates Robert E. Lee? I just think it is all very funny!
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