A Day at Kennywood

On Sunday, pretty much the entire gang went to Kennywood to enjoy the beautiful sunny day. Notable exceptions were Tracy and Ryan (we missed you!). We even ran into Susie and Juan which was a cool surprise. I personally had a great time, although I have to say that Kennywood after 30 is a little different. I used to be a roller coaster fanatic and constantly on the go to see how many rides we could hit before the park closed.

This trip, we leisurely checked out the place, rode a few of our favorite rides, stood in line for the new haunted house ride (not worth the wait) and hung out while enjoying some great park food (including Potato Patch fries, corn dogs and funnel cakes). Oh, and the other big difference? The desperate need for Tums at the end of the night... getting older is not so fun sometimes.

Paul and me in front of the Thunderbolt:


The Ricci's:

And Garrett and Jonelle:

Legend of the Seeker

Thanks to Lindsey for posting this first (she beat me to it!). But, here is trailer for the Wizard's First Rule TV series.



It looks like they also finished casting for Zedd, Chase and Darken Rahl. I'm not liking it so far.

I'm in the spotlight!

One of my photos got featured as a Member Spotlight today on the Expressions photoblogging site! Their theme of the week was "tree" and my photo Tree at Dusk was chosen. Yay, this is so exciting! I always look at the member spotlights but never thought I would get chosen. :0)

Evolution of the phone

A little over a week ago I dropped my cell phone for about the 8th time in the span of two weeks. It did not recover. About 48 hours elapsed from the time that I realized that my phone was not coming back from that fateful fall until the time I was able to purchase a new one (which was an encounter that could possibly have made it into Ripley's for the worst customer service in history). Those 48 hours were filled with anxiety... I had no access to my phone numbers (many of which I had not written down anywhere else), had to wonder if I was missing a few expected calls from people who only had my cell number, fumbled with an old alarm clock every morning because I was used to using my phone's alarm, and got to experience that naked feeling that you get whenever you realize you left your phone behind each and every time I got into my car. I had no idea that I was so dependent on it to keep connected.

My new phone really rocks, though. It's an LG Dare -- a touch screen phone similar to the iPhone. I really wanted an iPhone. But to get an iPhone I would have to switch networks and I couldn't justify leaving Verizon when most of our friends and family are IN. I think it was a good choice. I like everything about it except perhaps its web browser, which is a little slow and cumbersome. It's great for texting, great for viewing photos and it has a really cool 3.2 megapixel camera with built-in flash (handy for snapping blog photos). So, I'm once again connected.

Even though I clearly love (or desperately need) my cell phone, I was thinking this week about how phones used to be. When I was a teenager, we got to talk to our friends on a good old landline with a super long twisty cord (so you could pull the phone all the way to your bedroom and talk in private). Of course there was the constant annoyance of little sisters picking up while you were trying to have a conversation.... "Get off the phone! (5 second pause) I know you're on there... I can hear you breathing. MOM! Tell Susie/Tracy/Jena to hang up the phone!"... But even so, there was some quality about conversations back then that we don't have anymore. You could almost hear a pin drop on the other end of the line. You could certainly whisper and still hear each other clearly when talking to your best friend late into the night (long after you were told to hang up). It seems like that intimacy isn't there anymore. Does anyone else know what I mean?

Calling all Joss Whedon fans

If you spent every Tuesday night from 1997 to 2003 desperately waiting for the next installment of Buffy, you are a Joss Whedon fan. Check out his latest creation - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. This is an Internet mini-series event... and I'm a little late posting about it because Act I began on July 15th and Act II on the 17th. Act III, the final installment, will become available on Saturday. But on Sunday, July 20th - they will all vanish! So watch it while you can:



And spread the word!

When it rains, it pours

Earlier this week Zoe got her annual summer haircut which means that she basically looks like a little elf dog with short hair and big perky ears. I personally think it's adorable but I like the next stage even better when it starts to grow in a little bit. In retrospect her haircut seems almost like a symbol of change to me... a lot of things have been going on for us lately.

I personally have had an opportunity presented to me recently and so I've been struggling with a big decision to make career-wise. Those of you who know me have heard this story and can probably attest to my stress level lately. :)

Plus, I am in the middle of my research phase for my dissertation and have SO much to think about on that front. I'll be back at RMU before I know it in August and starting into the final year of my doctoral program. That seems like it is going incredibly fast too... all of a sudden we're at a point in the process where I am going to be closer the end than the beginning and that just seems surreal.

Plus... drumroll, please... our house sold today! I can hardly believe it. For a while it felt as if the house would be on the market forever because you just don't know how or when these things will happen. But overall it really only took a matter of months. If all goes as planned, we will officially be homeless in less than 2 months, so we are now in a crunch to look for a new place. Luckily we have a few spots in mind but now we have to really think about this and make some more big decisions. It will be nice to end up closer to the rest of our family and friends (WAY over on the other side of the river). So, we have some house hunting to do now.

I'm definitely not complaining. Opportunities are amazing things to have - whether you act upon them or not. It just feels like so many things are happening at once that it is a little overwhelming.

Inaugural Trail Ride

Today I decided to take my new bike out on the Montour Trail for the first time. I needed to work through some stress and clear my mind. Paul dropped me off at the start of the trail in Coraopolis and arranged to pick me up at the park near the 8 mile mark.

This pic was taken at the side of the trail a few miles into the trip while I stopped to have a quick drink of water:
Most of the trail was relatively level. It was decently smooth riding too - most of it was crushed limestone though there were a few paved areas. I was a little nervous since I hadn't ridden in quite a while and wasn't sure how long was an appropriate distance for me. It turns out that 8 miles was not too bad. I definitely felt like I had a workout when I had finished, but I knew that I could have kept going further too. But there was no need to push it today. I thought it was a pretty successful first ride. Overall, I had a relaxing bit of time to myself and really enjoyed the outdoors too. I saw tons of butterflies, a rabbit and two baby deer along the way.

Date Night on the Town

Paul and I got some tickets to see the Pirates last night (thanks, Mom P!) and so after work we drove into the city to check out the game. We got there a little early and decided to walk over to Grille 36, Jerome Bettis' restaurant, for dinner. It was a really nice place and I thought the food was delicious. (I had chipotle shrimp rigatoni and Paul had an awesome BBQ burger.)
Afterwards, we walked along the waterfront over to PNC Park. When we got to the game, I was really surprised at how close our seats were! I don't think I've ever sat so close to the field before. So OK, everyone knows that I'm not a baseball fan, but there was something really fun about being so close to the action. I think the fact that the game was not crowded might have helped too... we actually had plenty of room around us to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Overall it was a really fun night out. Who knew I would enjoy a baseball outing so much? Oh, and don't worry Mom P & Judy - I got some pictures of your favorite players for you!

Good times, good friends

The weekend of the fourth was pretty packed with activities for us. Wes and Danielle, along with Kim and Joe, threw a huge combined party on July 3rd. The Ambridge fireworks got moved to Borough Park (that's Walter Panek Park for non-Harmony Twp. folks) which is right across the street from their houses, so it was a good night for a party -- perfect seats for the show.

Things started out a little dreary because the forecast called for thunderstorms all night... but the rain held off and I think the evening ended up being one of the biggest parties we've had in a long time. We had live entertainment courtesy of Garrett Mudrick, a near-beer-shortage at 9:00pm due to the massive amounts of attendees (although Frank saved the day for us) and at one point there were so many people there that vendors from the park started coming over into the yard to sell glow sticks. Until Wes kicked them out, that is. We had a perfect view of the fireworks and it ended up being an incredibly fun night. Just about everybody we knew came out for the party, including tons of friends and family.

The next day we had a little BBQ with the family and then got some major cleaning done at home. We were exhausted but the house is now sparkling clean and it was worth the effort. On Saturday, it was Ryan's birthday and a bunch of us went up to his cottage on 12 Mile Island for another party. Paul and Johnny had fun making me conquer my fear of bottle rockets (sort of) and we had a fun time eating picnic food, hanging out on the dock and sitting by the fire.

All in all it was an action-packed weekend for us. I had a really great time and I just want to say how thankful I am that we have such amazing friends and family. These are the moments to remember.

Fun in the sun, OBX style

A month ago we vacationed in the Outer Banks with some of our best friends. We laughed, we drank, walked on the beach, swam in the ocean (yes, that's right - even me, the girl who is terrified of Jaws in ankle deep water!), hung out poolside and relaxed in the hot tub. Oh, and we also got to chase off a fox and watch Joe and Paul kill a snake with a mop. You had to be there.

Here's the gang on our top deck: Joe, Johnny, Kim (holding Kason), Paul, Jamie (holding Zoe), Tracy, Jonelle, Ryan, Danielle and Wesley.

Our beach house was in Corolla on the soundside. We were only a quick trolley ride away from the beach and had a nice yard for the dogs to enjoy, a huge private pool and a golf course view. One of the best things about the house was that every room and the outside areas were wired with XM radio. We had a blast listening to 90s music while chilling in the pool. It was so hot we could have fried eggs on the cement if we weren't already stuffed with great homemade meals, fresh seafood and strawberry daquiris.

Here is our beach house:

The ocean water was incredibly warm for early June (and made for great swimming):

We also decided to rent a luxury pontoon boat for one evening ride on the sound. It was a pretty good time, although the fishing was pretty bad. I guess those are crab waters.

We tried our hands at crabbing - and although Wes and Ryan ended up catching some crabs - we were definitely bested by a couple of eight-year-olds with a string and a net. I have to say that even though my crab pot never saw even one inhabitant, I did enjoy watching the crabs swim around in their cute sideways crawl.

Above all, it was a great escape. Everyone got a little relaxation... even the dogs:

I miss the Outer Banks already.