Blacksburg bound...

For a few months now we've been planning a trip down to Blacksburg with our friends Greg and Erica for the Virginia Tech v. Duke football game. It's been five years since I've attended a game in Blacksburg, and two years since we've been to the 'Burg. Needless to say, we were all counting down the days.

When we first started looking for hotels, we realized that even to stay in the "hurting" Comfort Inn in Christiansburg we'd have to pay $250 a night, per couple. This did not seem like the best option so we decided instead to rent an RV for the weekend. This enabled us to actually sleep and tailgate on campus, for half the price of the hotel...amazing! Our weekend started on Thursday night when Erica, Andy and I drove to Ashburn to drop Liddy off at my folk's house. We decided to sneak out to "Super" Clydes for dinner and had a Lurch Papa sighting (one of the DJ's for the Junkies.) Needless to say, Erica and I were star struck! :)

We then woke up early on Friday and started the trek to Blacksburg. Greg had been working in Warrenton all week so he drove separately and met us at the RV place. After about an hour of filling out paper work and getting oriented with our "home on wheels" we were back on the road headed for our beloved Alma Mater!

Erica and I drove the car and Greg and Andy followed in the camper. As the campus first came into view, John Denver's "Country Road" came on the radio and we proceeded to turn up the volume and sing along, changing the words to "Virginia Tech, mountain mama, take me home!" We later found out, Greg and Andy had done the same thing. Our excitement levels as you can tell, were off the charts.

We had planned our arrival so that we were in Blacksburg around lunch time, and we all made our way directly to Macados. Those who went to Tech, know that there is nothing more satisfying than a sandwich from Macados. After enjoying all of our personal favorites, it was time for some grocery shopping and then on to the parking lot.

We were the third RV to arrive in the specified lot for campers, and we ended up with a prime location up against the grass. If it was possible, our excitement levels were getting even higher at this point and we knew we were in for a memorable weekend!

Turkey cupcakes

Ok, maybe I need to think of a better name for these, but in the meantime, I am loving these cute cupcakes I brought to the office today. Since it is my last day of work (YAY!) before Thanksgiving, I thought I'd bring my co-workers a little treat. The original idea for these shows candy corns as the feathers, but after searching high and low at the grocery store I could not find a single bag (probably because the candy canes have taken over!). Anyhow, I think I did a good job of imrpovising. My co-workers will even have a choice of "white" or "dark" meat. :)

5th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving...

On Saturday, Andy and I hosted our 5th annual Pre-Thanksgiving. We started this in 2004 when we realized that Thanksgiving is always set aside for families, and yet some of the people we are most thankful for are our friends. So ever since we've made an attempt to invite a variety of friends, from different parts of our lives, (some of whom have never met), to spend time enjoying great food and most importantly each other.

This year we were so happy to be able to invite Greg and Erica. When we started this tradition they were living in Kuwait, and haven't been home for a Thanksgiving since. Jenn and Ben were part of the original Pre-Thanksgiving crew, and we were happy to welcome their new addition, Owen, to the festivities. We rounded out the dinner with Dave and Alysia, who are quickly becomming "regulars."

Part of the fun of this event is inviting everyone to bring a favorite dish. As a result we ended up with a great feast and my refrigerator is still packed with leftovers!

It was a great night, just as all the other ones have been. We are thankful year round for all the fabulous friends in our lives and are happy to spend at least one evening celebrating that!

Happy to be home...

I got home last night after a full day of travel. I got out of dodge before a big storm though, so I was happy about that! The sleet had started in Minneapolis before I got on the plane, so I got to see the de-icers in action!

My layover in Chicago wasn't quite as long as the one I had on Sunday, but I did have time to enjoy a "salted caramel hot chocolate" from Starbucks. I had been wanting to try this out and it was definitely as amazing as I had hoped it would be. Just picture dipping a chocolate covered pretzle into a yummy caramel laced hot chocolate...yeah, it was fabulous!

I was also lucky to have Andy pick me up at the airport. I flew into National, and he even got a quick shot of my plane landing over the Potomac with his cell phone. Pretty cool!

Travels to Minneapolis

I'm blogging live from chilly Minneapolis, where I believe I see some snow flurries out my meeting room window. Not quite enough for the first snow angel of the year, but the day is young!

I flew into town yesterday through O'hare, which is always an adventure. Fortunately everything went smoothly yesterday, and low and behold, my bags even made the full the journey! I did have about a 2 1/2 hour layover in Chicago, which gave me some time to stretch my legs...a lot! I walked the entire B and C concourses, including the 200 or so yard corridor that connects the two. It was kind of fun to walk past all the gate areas and see the various destinations that people were headed to. On my "please take me with you" list were Dusseldorf, Colorado Springs, Munich, Frankfurt, and Manchester, England. On the "oh thank goodness I'm not going there" list were Hartford/Springfield, St. Louis, Detroit, and CLEVELAND!

I'm here just until tomorrow, and am not sure if I'll have time to visit the Mall of America, but will see what I can do. Andy would probably prefer that I get caught up in other activities...

In the meantime, I just might step outside at my next break and try to catch my first snowflake of the year!

We've hit the peak!

I think Mother Nature is celebrating our Hokie victory last night as the colors outside my windows are just gorgeous oranges and maroons (with a little gold thrown in there as well!) I can't believe the change in color overnight, my tree in the front yard literally went from green to gold in 12 hours.

Just a great time of year!

My husband...the smoker!

Ok, so that headline isn't exactly what you might be thinking. Aside from an occasional cigar with his dad, Andy does not smoke...ciggarettes that is. What he does smoke is any kind of meat he can get his hands on!

About a month and a half ago, Andy finally purchased a smoker, something he'd been researching for quite some time. He already has a gas grill and a charcoal grill (both Webers of course) but somehow, that just wasn't enough outdoor cooking equipment for him. So, now we have a third method of cooking outside, and one more distraction for Andy during football games!

The thing about the smoker is that food takes a really long time to cook, but Andy enjoys the process and has enjoyed the time he spends reading by the smoker even more. It is fun to watch him out there, checking on the meat, making sure the temperature is just right, and responding to inquiries from our neighbors on whether or not we realize that smoke is coming from our patio.

So far we've had baby back ribs, chicken, and best of all, the turkey breast he smoked on Sunday. That turkey was so moist I couldn't believe it. I'm told the trick is that you actually put water in the bottom of the smoker, so it is steam smoking the meat, which keeps everything nice and moist. An interesting method to try in the oven on the Thanksgiving turkey.

I'm not sure what is next on Andy's list of things to smoke (or grill!), but I'm looking forward to it just the same!