Top 10 things about this past weekend...

10. Rainy and cool weather, perfect for lounging around the house at Wintergreen.
9. Being able to have a fire going the whole time we were there, even if it did start to get a little warm Saturday evening.
8. The amazing mushroom soup Andy made, he's such a great chef!
7. Oktoberfest on top of the mountain-always a good time.
6. Watching people of all ages doing the "chicken dance," that song and dance never gets old!
5. Meeting Brian and Jenny at Oktoberfest (the only other "young, childless couple" there) and spending the whole day with them.
4. Playing "Mario Party" on the Wii...and beating Andy ;)
3. Watching the Redskin's game at the Bungalow with Dave & Alysia and Erica & Greg--our Kingstowne trio!
2. Making Andy watch "Sex and the City" with me, love that movie...Andy admitted it wasn't "terrible." :)

and finally...

1. Watching my Hokies beat Nebraska!!

Live blogging from Richmond, VA

I am currently proctoring an exam for work at a Honeywell plant in Richmond, VA. The fun part about this is that when I'm finished I'll be heading up to Wintergreen for the weekend.

Andy and I are looking forward to lots of reading and relaxing by the fire (it's supposed to be pretty chilly all weekend.) We also realized that Wintergreen's annual Oktoberfest Celebration is tomorrow, so we're excited about that.

Oh, and we'll also be watching VT take on Nebraska tomorrow evening...GO HOKIES!!!!!!

PS: Before coming to the plant this morning, I made a pit stop at a Target near by and bought some awesome pink converse sneakers, which I'll definitely be rocking at the New Kids on the Block Concert! ;)

My 15 (give or take a few) minutes of fame!

I am a huge fan of The Junkies, a local radio show on 106.7 here in DC. I've been listening to this quartet for a little over four years now and love that they keep me entertained every morning as I get ready for and as I drive to work.

I've called into the show a few times before, one time I even won tickets to a Pat Maghee concert, but this morning, I actually got to to go in studio!! They announced yesterday that they had tickets to the sold out New Kids on the Block (or NKOTB for those who remember them in their later years) concert and that they wanted ladies to come down to the studio today to play a trivia game to win the tickets. After giving it about 2 minutes of thought, I called in and told them I'd be there today ready to play.

I arrived at the studios around 7:15 and was brought into the green room (yes, it really was green) where I waited for awhile and was finally joined by the two other contestants. They were both super nice girls, both of whom were totally in it for the tickets, whereas for me, if I won, the tickets were simply a bonus as I was mostly excited about being in studio with the Junks.

Around 8:00 they brought us into the studio and got us ready for the first segment to start. We basically spent that first segment being introduced and then played one round of the game. The concept behind the game was that they'd throw out a category (i.e. NHL hockey teams) and we'd go around the room until one of us couldn't think of a new one to say. Once we got three strikes you'd be out of the game.

Here's how the rounds went:

1st round: Ugly Celebrities (strike one for Jessica)

2nd round: NHL Hockey teams (strike two for Jessica)

3rd round: Porn Stars (ok, this one was the only R rated version, and the only name I could come up with was Paris Hilton, which they accepted) (strike three for Jessica)

4th round: NFL starting quarterbacks (strike one for Maureen, uhhh, Brady Anderson played baseball...duh!!)

5th round: Junkies Lingo (strike one for Maggie)

6th round: Dead US Presidents (strike two for Maggie)

7th round: International Soccer Teams (strike two for Maureen..all I could think of was Real Madrid)

Final round: Boy Bands past and present....strike three for Maggie....I win!!!!!

It was quite a morning to say the least. The guys were super friendly and were great to take some pictures with us. They podcast their show, so once the podcasts from today are up, I'll link them here.

Meanwhile, I better get my old New Kids on the Block tapes out (anyone have a tape deck I could borrow) so I can bone up on the lyrics..."Step by Step...oooh baby!"

I *heart* Josh Groban

Ok, so everyone knows I'm pretty well obsessed with Josh Groban. I love all of his music and while my brother-in-law thinks my sister and I are crazy, we could listen to him all day, everyday. Well, on last night's Emmy awards, he once again proved why we *heart* him so much. Check out his hilarious medley of famous TV theme songs, I guarantee you'll laugh out loud!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7xD59eAnUc

Welcome to the world Owen Michael Marshall!!

Congratulations to our friends Jenn and Ben! Their son, Owen Michael, was born on Friday night at 11:11 (a great time of birth if you ask me!) and is just too adorable. We are so happy for the Marshall family and can't wait to meet the little guy!

Whatever Martha!

I just discovered this evening a hilarious new show on the Fine Living Network called "Whatever Martha." The show is hosted by Martha's daughter, Alexis, and her friend Jennifer. Basically what they do is watch old clips from Martha's various shows and provide running commentary during the segments. For any of you who remember "Mystery Science Theater 3000" it is very similar to that.

I was laughing out loud watching this, and even though I'm a Martha fan, I have to admit, some of the things she does are worth mocking, and they do a great job of it. It is also fun to hear Alexis talk about growing up as Martha's daughter, she even mentioned her "therapists" and yes, indicated that the word was plural.

Here is a great example of the hilarity of it all....

To set the scene, the clip was from a Christmas episode where Martha had "11 pipers piping" aka 11 little kids learing how to pipe frosting onto their cupcakes.

Martha: "oh look at you, you're doing little dots, and you are doing swirls, and you know you can practice on your paper if you aren't sure what you are doing."
Alexis: "What Martha's really thinking is 'oh look you're making crap. why don't you just get out of my kitchen and stop making a mess.'"

Ok, so it isn't going to win any Emmy awards, but it did provide me with an hour of entertainment. And let's be honest, when Martha gets going on how to properly organize a linen closet, who doesn't want to say "yeah, whatever Martha!"

Random things that made me smile on a Monday...

1. A drop in the humidity that plagued us this weekend.

2. Buying Spiced Pumpkin and Autumn Wreath candles from Yankee Candle (they both smell like wonderful memories!)

3. Having a lunch meeting at G&M in Baltimore, home of the BEST crab cakes on earth.

4. Enjoying my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season from Starbucks.

5. Getting to see Andy in the middle of the day after my meeting, a rare treat!

6. Listening to the new Jason Mraz and Gavin Degraw albums while I worked from home this morning and afternoon...great songs on both.

7. Knowing that last night Greg and Erica were able to just "pop" by for a drink and conversation before dinner..."popping by" for the last four years meant a 9(+) hour plane ride!

A fall frolic and some Hokie football

Today was the WGA's "Fall Frolic" golf tournament at our club in Reston, and while it isn't really fall yet, it was still a great day to get out and play some golf. Actually, come to think of it, it didn't feel like fall at all, aside from a few trees that have lost their leaves during the recent drought. I didn't win, or place for that matter, but I did have some great holes, and sunk a birdie putt on a par 4, which always makes me happy (the one or maybe two times a year that it happens.)

The other highlight of the day was that my VT Hokies beat Ga. Tech 20-17. While that doesn't seem like a "huge" win, it was certainly a good game, and in my book, a win is a win.

All in all, it was a great day, and I'm looking forward to a lazy day on the boat tomorrow. What a life huh!? :)

Ever wonder...

...what you would have looked like had you grown up in a different decade (or century for that matter?) Well I am totally stealing this from Leah's blog but just couldn't resist so am joining in the fun. If you go to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ you can also play along, but trust me, it is addicting.

Here I am in the late '50s, so prim and proper huh?



Here I am in 1968, the year my mom and dad graduated college.

Here I am in 1972 the year my mom and dad were married, and it is scary how much I think I look like my mom in this picture.



Here I am in 1978, this date doesn't really have a significance other than the picture was too hilarious not to post

Here I am in 1990, I'm totally rocking the "feather look" don't you think?

Here I am in the year 2000 when I actually did graduate from high school, suppose this would look like me except for the fact that I had short brown hair and was never able to pull off bangs...*sigh*

And finally, here is what Andy and I would have looked like had we been high school sweathearts in 1982, the year I was born...what a pair huh!?

Wooooooaaaaaahhhhhh....

...Or at least that's kind of the noise Andy made when he did his multiple jumps from the rope swing we found at Lake Anna. I swear he turned into a ten year old that day, but it was fun to watch him have such a blast. I however was happy to stay in the boat and play camera woman!

My Lake Anna Birthday

One of the great things about taking the week of Labor Day off means I also get to be off of work on my birthday. Growing up too many of my birthdays were also the "first day of school" so I think now it is great to have the flexibility to do what I want to do on my b-day.

I woke up to an amazingly decorated cabin. Andy really pulled out all the stops and made my day special from moment one! He gets major props not only for taking the time to blow up balloons and hang streamers, but for planning far enough in advance to bring all the supplies (hidden in the car mind you) to the lake. What a guy!



We had a traditional German (well Munich) brunch of wiesswurst, pretzles and wiessbier and then proceeded to spend the day on the water. We did get out of the sun for a bit in the middle of the day to visit the Lake Anna Winery, and it was nice to be the only ones there. We got some scoop on this year's harvest and are looking forward to the great new wines they'll release next summer.

For dinner Andy had planned ahead to make beef wellington!! I don't think I'd ever had beef wellington before, but it was delicious! He is so gourmet. I had fun helping in the kitchen a little, but for the most part was able to relax, read my book, and enjoy being waited on. It's good to be the birthday girl!

For dessert, Andy made my favorite, ice cream cake!! Oreo crust, mint chocolate chip ice cream (the green kind of course!) and Hershey's hot fudge as the frosting. Talk about a sugar rush! I also got some great gifts, golf balls from Liddy and a new life jacket, perfume and the movie "Enchanted" from Andy. Who could ask for anything more?

It was the perfect day, and I can't thank Andy (and Liddy) enough for making it so special. Liddy even joined in the fun at the end of the night with a little balloon volleyball action, which we caught on camera. Too cute!

Laka Anna Vacation Part I

We had an absolute blast at Lake Anna and are so sad that it is all over. The weather could not have been more perfect (great timing that we were home Friday before the Saturday rain storms). We had some great company and also some great alone time to just relax.

We arrived on Sunday, and after we got our jeep and Wally unpacked (boy did we bring way too much stuff, ha!) we got Wally in the water and went for an afternoon swim. The water was really crowded, but we knew we just had two days of boat traffic before we'd have the lake to ourselves.

Around 7:00, Greg and Erica arrived, and we were so excited to show them the lake and to spend the evening with them. We had a great dinner of crab cakes (G&M Crab Cakes of course!) strawberry salad, and for dessert, Erica made an insanely good "Eclair Cake" as an early birthday treat for me. The joke here being that as most of you know, in middle school, my mom and I both got food poisoning from a chocolate eclair at Disney World, not fun. I haven't eaten an eclair since...thanks though to Erica for quickly renaming the cake to a "S'Mores Cake." It was delicious ;)

We then took a great evening boat ride, and the sky could not have been clearer. The stars were unbelievable and it was just so great to share this with Greg and Erica. Sadly, the pictures I attempted to take of the sky did not turn out, but I can still see it in my mind, and that's good enough for me. We also got in several rowdy games of Catch Phrase and ended the night with a much needed dance party!

On Monday, Andy's folks came down for the day and we also got to see Andy's sister Bebe and her family. Bebe and Mark just bought a boat (an 18 foot Boston Whaler, Wally's big brother I suppose) so they were excited to get it out on the water and we were happy to have some time to see our nephews Dave and Kurt---boy are they getting so grown up! We fished, we swam, we went tubing, wake boarding, and ended the day with a big BBQ!

Tuesday was our last day with Greg and Erica as Erica needed to be back for work on Wednesday. We made the most of the day by beaching the boat at a nearby sandbar. This gave us an opportunity to let Liddy run around and swim, and we also got some beach volleyball (minus the net) time in. It was a great day, though we were sad to see our friends leave.

What a great first few days of our vacation!!