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| Kaz and her pumpkin |
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| Kaz and Chris |
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| No pumpkins were hurt in the making of this picture |
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| Endless pumpkins |
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| Folk fest Sat pano |
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| Folk fest Sun pano |
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| Awesome clouds! |
10/15/12
Pumpkin picking and Folk Festival
Ah, Richmond. You've got some really fun events. The Folk Fest may be the best. 5 outdoor venues playing Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. All kinds of music, from bluegrass and country to "kosher gospel" to Ethiopian music. Every one being entertaining at worst, or completely captivating. My friend Chris came down for the weekend and joined us for pumpkin picking and the Folk Fest enjoyment. The weather could not have been more pleasant. Cool, sunny, low humidity. Jeans and long sleeve shirts, and then crisp jacket weather after the sun went down. Absolutely gorgeous! And the clouds were amazing. Jet stream streaks crisscrossing the sky. Great weather and October festivities with the best of people makes for the best of memories.
10/9/12
Blue Mtn Disc golf
Friday's Nutritional Biochemistry test was a little tough, but I think I did okay. Then my group members from a different class got together and took some video for our "counseling" project. If it's any good, I'll post it here. It's just to practice being a counselor. A lot of it is pretty common sense stuff, but it's a class and we have to learn it.
After school, I dropped off Maddog at Kaz's place and headed up to Andrew's house in MD. Saturday morning Andrew and I hopped in his new ride and drove up to Blue Mtn Ski area where they have a couple disc golf courses. We've been there before, but not in a couple years. We hadn't ever played the "valley" course, which is at the bottom of the mountain. We played it this time, and it was quite good. Lots of fun, lots of variety. Then we played the "skyline" course, which we'd played before, and was the main reason to go. We rode the ski lift up the hill, and played the course, which winds its way back down, along the ski runs and through the woods. It's really a great time. Watching the disc glide, seemingly forever. It's breathtaking. And with a colorful fall backdrop, it was spectacular!
We got back into town, close to 10pm after the 3.5 hr drive. Our philosophical discussion on Buddhism and all things ethereal made the drive fly by. With our brains and bodies tired, we watched a little SNL and then I slept like a rock. Sunday, the plan was to play some more disc golf, but since it was raining, and we had such a fantastic, and also relatively strenuous... yes, disc golf can be strenuous. Especially when you're hiking a ski slope, and trudging through the woods to find a lost disc. So Sunday we sat around around, ate and played video games, and then watched football. Really manly stuff.
I left around 3 to beat the Redskins traffic, and got home in record time. I went to Kaz's to pick up Maddog and have dinner and catch up on each others weekends. Check out some more pictures from disc golf by clicking on the link below. I'll post a couple videos soon!
I forgot to mention, all the pictures were taken with the iPhone 5. The panorama feature is pretty sweet as you can see in the one above, and a few more in the photo link. Very cool.
After school, I dropped off Maddog at Kaz's place and headed up to Andrew's house in MD. Saturday morning Andrew and I hopped in his new ride and drove up to Blue Mtn Ski area where they have a couple disc golf courses. We've been there before, but not in a couple years. We hadn't ever played the "valley" course, which is at the bottom of the mountain. We played it this time, and it was quite good. Lots of fun, lots of variety. Then we played the "skyline" course, which we'd played before, and was the main reason to go. We rode the ski lift up the hill, and played the course, which winds its way back down, along the ski runs and through the woods. It's really a great time. Watching the disc glide, seemingly forever. It's breathtaking. And with a colorful fall backdrop, it was spectacular!
We got back into town, close to 10pm after the 3.5 hr drive. Our philosophical discussion on Buddhism and all things ethereal made the drive fly by. With our brains and bodies tired, we watched a little SNL and then I slept like a rock. Sunday, the plan was to play some more disc golf, but since it was raining, and we had such a fantastic, and also relatively strenuous... yes, disc golf can be strenuous. Especially when you're hiking a ski slope, and trudging through the woods to find a lost disc. So Sunday we sat around around, ate and played video games, and then watched football. Really manly stuff.
I left around 3 to beat the Redskins traffic, and got home in record time. I went to Kaz's to pick up Maddog and have dinner and catch up on each others weekends. Check out some more pictures from disc golf by clicking on the link below. I'll post a couple videos soon!
I forgot to mention, all the pictures were taken with the iPhone 5. The panorama feature is pretty sweet as you can see in the one above, and a few more in the photo link. Very cool.
10/1/12
Warrior Dash
Sunday we did a little car shopping. Kaz's car is on it's way out unfortunately. It's a great car (gotta love the Forrester), but time to be retired. We met up with Kirk and Lisa and Luke and some other friends for dinner and that was awesome! It was great catching up with them, and meeting Luke, and seeing some JMU folks I hadn't seen since well before graduating. Can't wait to do it again. I'll post a couple pictures when I get them. Great weekends abound. This month will include out of town disc golfing, Richmond Folk Festival, Sherando riding and whatever other adventures can be had. Looking forward to it.
9/24/12
Oktoberfest
Nutritional Biochemistry resumed on Friday. So we got our tests back and I did pretty well. And way better than the average. So that was nice. Got into more cycles of energy molecules. Krebs, Cori, Glycolosis... ect. Lots of very detailed, foundational material, but nothing you really use as a nutritional counselor. Luckily, I happen to find the foundational molecular stuff pretty interesting.
For dinner we went to Karen's mom's house, and helped move some furniture and work out some computer problems. Saturday was a full day of cleaning and general maintenance stuff like getting a hair cut. But Sat. night was Oktoberfest, 2 blocks from my house, so we went and hung out with friends, listened to um pa music and watched stein holding contests.
Sunday morning we attended a "meditation group" which was interesting. The weather was the best, and it was something I might do again, but perhaps earlier in the day and closer to my house. We'll see.
Then got in a ride with Carter and a guy named Nate, who had a single speed stiff (no suspension) bike, who left Carter and I in the dust. It was fun(ny) trying to keep up. Good times. Ice cream with Kiki after the ride was perfect and then a relaxing dinner and silly movie with Kaz filled Sunday night. Doesn't get much better than that.
For dinner we went to Karen's mom's house, and helped move some furniture and work out some computer problems. Saturday was a full day of cleaning and general maintenance stuff like getting a hair cut. But Sat. night was Oktoberfest, 2 blocks from my house, so we went and hung out with friends, listened to um pa music and watched stein holding contests. Sunday morning we attended a "meditation group" which was interesting. The weather was the best, and it was something I might do again, but perhaps earlier in the day and closer to my house. We'll see.
Then got in a ride with Carter and a guy named Nate, who had a single speed stiff (no suspension) bike, who left Carter and I in the dust. It was fun(ny) trying to keep up. Good times. Ice cream with Kiki after the ride was perfect and then a relaxing dinner and silly movie with Kaz filled Sunday night. Doesn't get much better than that.
9/18/12
Banff Mtn Film Fest Class Canceled
I had set my alarm for class and woke up ready to go, but as I was getting ready, I got an email from the professor that class was canceled. I was looking forward to going because we were to get our test grades back, and I was thinking about staying after class and checking out the schools big gym facility. Oh well. So I had an extra 4 or more hrs to do whatever I wanted!
I took Maddog to the disc golf course first, and we had a great time. The weather was just incredible. Cooler but sunny. Awesome. Dropped Maddog off back at the house, and hopped on the Blur for a ride around the city trails. Clocked a little over 14 miles in 2 hrs. Pretty good time for me. And still gorgeous weather!
Made a Trader Joes run and stopped by Performance Bike shop and got some more chain lube and cleaner. Dinner and a movie with Karen was a great time. Saturday we went to the Farmer's market. Always good stuff there. And looked at the art festival. Couldn't afford to get anything there. Oh well.
Banff Mtn Film Fest was on Saturday night. We were rushing around trying to get there by 6:30, and ended up being about half an hour late. When we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised that the show started at 7, and we were exactly on time. Awesome!
Sunday I got a little reading in for school and a little clean up around the apartment. Not nearly as much as I should've for either, but still working on it. Decorated the work cube wall late last week which I'm really liking. Just some 4x6 pics of recent trips and memories.
I took Maddog to the disc golf course first, and we had a great time. The weather was just incredible. Cooler but sunny. Awesome. Dropped Maddog off back at the house, and hopped on the Blur for a ride around the city trails. Clocked a little over 14 miles in 2 hrs. Pretty good time for me. And still gorgeous weather!
Made a Trader Joes run and stopped by Performance Bike shop and got some more chain lube and cleaner. Dinner and a movie with Karen was a great time. Saturday we went to the Farmer's market. Always good stuff there. And looked at the art festival. Couldn't afford to get anything there. Oh well.
Banff Mtn Film Fest was on Saturday night. We were rushing around trying to get there by 6:30, and ended up being about half an hour late. When we walked in, we were pleasantly surprised that the show started at 7, and we were exactly on time. Awesome!
Sunday I got a little reading in for school and a little clean up around the apartment. Not nearly as much as I should've for either, but still working on it. Decorated the work cube wall late last week which I'm really liking. Just some 4x6 pics of recent trips and memories.
9/11/12
Pictures from around the neighborhood
So the last couple weekends have been a little more tame. More biking around Richmond, and hanging out with friends. Seeing a movie here and there, and more relaxing. Here's some pictures I've taken from around the neighborhood, usually while walking Maddog.
Nutrition school is going pretty well. I'm still researching long term goal paths though, because the RD path is long, arduous and doesn't pay anything while doing a year long internship. That doesn't sound very appealing. Hopefully more updates on that soon.
Still working on a name and a scheme for the new blog. Hopefully that'll be up and running soon too. Until then, be well.
Nutrition school is going pretty well. I'm still researching long term goal paths though, because the RD path is long, arduous and doesn't pay anything while doing a year long internship. That doesn't sound very appealing. Hopefully more updates on that soon.
Still working on a name and a scheme for the new blog. Hopefully that'll be up and running soon too. Until then, be well.
8/27/12
Vacation +
Couple weeks behind now. Karen and I went on vacation to Maine in the middle of August to escape the VA heat, and visit a place neither of us had ever been. It was amazing! There were a few hiccups along the way including a whale watching tour that sent both our stomachs for a loop, and getting rained out of Baxter St park and Katahdin Mt. and sleeping in the "boat house" aka a shed. But we were on vacation and in Maine, so it was great! We visited some great people along the way and got some bike riding in and had a great time together. Here's a picture link if you haven't seen them on Facebook or Google+ yet.
Coming back to work is always a rude awakening, but we're back in the swing of things now. And new swings too. I started class last week. One class on Wednesday afternoon and another class Friday morning. Nutritional counseling and Nutritional Biochemistry. After one class of each, so far so good. They will be interesting and helpful.
Here's another call out to see if anyone has any suggestions on blog names for my new blog. Karen and I have come up with several good ideas, but I just wanted to throw out a line and see if anyone else had any good ideas.
This past weekend, after my Friday class, I dropped off Maddog, and headed up to Northern VA. Scott and I went to the shooting range and also had a great mountain bike ride at Fountainhead park. What a great trail! And then I finally saw "The Avengers!" and what a great movie! Saturday night I caught up with an OLD friend on the phone on my drive home and then met up with good people at Avalon. Sunday included some clean up and then some school reading and hanging out at Karen's in the afternoon and having dinner with her and her mom. Another great weekend!
Coming back to work is always a rude awakening, but we're back in the swing of things now. And new swings too. I started class last week. One class on Wednesday afternoon and another class Friday morning. Nutritional counseling and Nutritional Biochemistry. After one class of each, so far so good. They will be interesting and helpful.
Here's another call out to see if anyone has any suggestions on blog names for my new blog. Karen and I have come up with several good ideas, but I just wanted to throw out a line and see if anyone else had any good ideas.
This past weekend, after my Friday class, I dropped off Maddog, and headed up to Northern VA. Scott and I went to the shooting range and also had a great mountain bike ride at Fountainhead park. What a great trail! And then I finally saw "The Avengers!" and what a great movie! Saturday night I caught up with an OLD friend on the phone on my drive home and then met up with good people at Avalon. Sunday included some clean up and then some school reading and hanging out at Karen's in the afternoon and having dinner with her and her mom. Another great weekend!
8/6/12
Birthday bash!
Lots of fun was had this past weekend. Friday we had an unofficial softball party, with a few players and special guests. Always great food on the grill, like chocolate spiced chicken, grilled veggies and hot dogs. Painkillers, mojitos, chips and salsa and good people. Not to mention it's walking distance to my place, and can take Maddog to play with his friend. "Take me out to the ball game" on the accordion also happened, along with a lesson if you wanted one. What else do you need on a Friday night?
Saturday was the 4th Annual Richmond Moonlight Ride. This was my first time participating in this event, but I'd definitely do it again. It was a ton of fun. Just me, some good friends, and nearly 3000 of our riding buddies riding through the streets of downtown Richmond. The streets were shut down just for us. If I was trying to drive anywhere I'm sure it would've been a hassle, but I wasn't, and it was great! We did the 17 mile loop in about an hour, and 9 min and then hung out in the parking lot listening to music, and enjoying some 2 wheel comradery.
Sunday was Kaz's birthday! I brought over some home made breakfast sandwiches to spec. English muffin (gluten free), fried egg, and cheese, with raspberry jam! My first; one of her favorties, and quite delicious! In the afternoon, we went to Ann and Michael's house for some yard games and dinner with friends. It was great! She had a blast and so did everyone else. We had Volleyball, badminton, bocce ball, croquet, ladder ball and corn hole. Along with great food like Kiki's symphony brownies, deviled eggs, and salmon, as well as Jen's famous goat cheese and pecan salad and delicious ratatouille made from home grown veggies, it was a feast. And the best part, it was all a surprise! Thanks to everyone that helped put it together and keep it quiet. Happy birthday Kaz!
7/31/12
Ping pong, dinner, Maine!
Friday night we played some ping pong, and I got my butt kicked. Even
after a drink, I lost every time. So we tried our hands at pool, and
that was terrible! We both haven't played pool in I don't know how long,
and it showed. We are no pool sharks, that's for sure.
Saturday night we went to a birthday dinner for one of Karen's co-workers at Kitchen 64. That was a lot of fun. And then we headed over to Crossroads to hear a band play and hang out with some other friends.
Went for a solo ride on Sunday morning around the city trails from my apt. I felt like I was going slow and had to keep pushing myself to keep going. But I ended up not being too far off a personal best. So that was respectable. Capped off the evening with dinner and planning for Maine! Just a couple weeks (less now). It's gonna be awesome!
If you have any suggestions for the name of my new blog, leave it in the comments. Thanks!
Saturday night we went to a birthday dinner for one of Karen's co-workers at Kitchen 64. That was a lot of fun. And then we headed over to Crossroads to hear a band play and hang out with some other friends.
Went for a solo ride on Sunday morning around the city trails from my apt. I felt like I was going slow and had to keep pushing myself to keep going. But I ended up not being too far off a personal best. So that was respectable. Capped off the evening with dinner and planning for Maine! Just a couple weeks (less now). It's gonna be awesome!
If you have any suggestions for the name of my new blog, leave it in the comments. Thanks!
7/26/12
New Blog?
Feedback time. Should I have 2 blogs? One with "what I did over the weekend" and another for "health and wellness topics?" Or keep it simple with one site and include both? Cast your vote!
I'll tell you about today which is both... I'm volunteering at Appomattox Area Health and Wellness Center just south of Petersburg, VA. I've been working on Thursdays, helping out with diabetes counseling, and weight management, which a lot of times end up being very similar recomendations. Imagine that. It's a little tough though, because they heavily promote the DASH diet, and the MyPlate.gov information, which I disagree with. I do need to get better about finding the commonalities, and quit harping on the differences between my reading and their info. Karen has been great about helping with that mental barrier.
It's been really cool though. I've learned quite a bit about how to deal with a tough population, and real world issues, like safety around patients neighborhoods, transportation issues, and money restrictions. It'd be nice to tell everyone to eat all organic, and grass fed meat, and the like, but that's just not physically possible. It's been eye opening and very interesting.
I'll have to wait and see what days I can work there in future after I get signed up for a (couple?) fall classes.
Alright, so that was really just a "what I'm doing" post, but it relates to health and wellness. The meat of a second blog would mostly be article summaries, and why you shouldn't believe the low fat, low carb, low cholesterol hype. Maybe some pictures of what I eat. Like this one. Lamb steak and eggplant; peeled, sliced, doused in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper (a la Karen). Delicious.
1 Blog or 2
I'll tell you about today which is both... I'm volunteering at Appomattox Area Health and Wellness Center just south of Petersburg, VA. I've been working on Thursdays, helping out with diabetes counseling, and weight management, which a lot of times end up being very similar recomendations. Imagine that. It's a little tough though, because they heavily promote the DASH diet, and the MyPlate.gov information, which I disagree with. I do need to get better about finding the commonalities, and quit harping on the differences between my reading and their info. Karen has been great about helping with that mental barrier.
It's been really cool though. I've learned quite a bit about how to deal with a tough population, and real world issues, like safety around patients neighborhoods, transportation issues, and money restrictions. It'd be nice to tell everyone to eat all organic, and grass fed meat, and the like, but that's just not physically possible. It's been eye opening and very interesting.
I'll have to wait and see what days I can work there in future after I get signed up for a (couple?) fall classes.
Alright, so that was really just a "what I'm doing" post, but it relates to health and wellness. The meat of a second blog would mostly be article summaries, and why you shouldn't believe the low fat, low carb, low cholesterol hype. Maybe some pictures of what I eat. Like this one. Lamb steak and eggplant; peeled, sliced, doused in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper (a la Karen). Delicious.
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