travis and i remain incredibly awesome. evidence? please see below.
then:
now:
awesome
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Family
happy valentines day
chicago the trip
in other news. the weekend itself in chicago was wonderful. temps between upper 50s and upper 70s/low 80s. clear skies. little to no wind. and my parents came! it was a really nice weekend. the hotel was less than a mile from grant park and the transportation system was easy to navigate. a few of my favorites to sum up the weekend:
mom and myself on the navy pier taking in the skyline
this was pretty stunning at night when lit up.
architectural tour.
batman.
night lights.
signs of fall.
family photo!
thanks chicago. i enjoyed you.
For My Parents
My Valentine’s Day ‘card’ to you:
Thank you both for all your love and support. I am blessed to have such wonderful parents! I’ll send a sappier note to you in the mail, a few days late. Until then, a few photos.
Central Park
Bert and Lindsey's Wedding
And who could forget this little one.
Easter Sunday
Anyone in the Atlanta area knows very well what a gorgeous Easter weekend we were blessed to have! As usual, I shall share the day with some photos!
Coach of the Year
This article is a few months old. Nevertheless, check it out.
Whales, Luau & Wedding
We arrived in Maui mid-afternoon on Monday and hit the ground running Tuesday morning. The day started with whale watching through the Pacific Whale Foundation. A few of those pictures can be found here.
The whole crew!
After the whale watching we grabbed lunch at Kimo’s and enjoyed their ‘world famous’ hula pie.
For the evening, Travis, Mandy, Angie and I went to a Luau held at The Royal Lahaina (the same location as the wedding). It proved to be a really great meal. We enjoyed drinks, a solid buffet including some excellent pork and some good entertainment.
My new sister.
Wednesday morning Travis, Mandy and I started the day with yoga on a grassy area overlooking the ocean! We followed that up with a run, breakfast and some beach/snorkeling time. The highlight of Wednesday was most certainly the wedding! The dinner after was at Merriman’s in Kapalua. The restaurant supports a number of local growers, farms, ranches and hosts events to raise money for non-profits. The food and wine were excellent! (I was a big fan of the red wine choice from Warwick Estates.)
An excellent first few days!
Wedding Photos
Christmas and more
My schedule worked out well this winter. Busy prep weeks were involved to make it happen but it has resulted in 13 days off of work (currently in progress). In the mix was moving belongings to the new condo, moving far more to my parents home, house sitting for three awesome (crazy) pups, christmas shopping, and work. That means NOTHING to do except read and enjoy for the next week+. Don’t worry, it’ll roll back in with a bang. There will be a lab, work, a FSAFA form, one more grad application, endless prayers that Ga State will get organized, etc. But for now, I’m enjoying this thing people call ‘vacation’.
Christmas Eve day was great. Brennan and I went for a trail run that morning. I took a nice trail dive to give myself a sexy bruise for the beach. We headed to the condo to meet Travis and Mandy who so kindly helped me move furniture and boxes to my parents. (And by helpful, not only did Travis do the majority of heavy lifting with Brennan, he also allowed us to use his truck, picked up the trailer, and dropped it back off … all the day before they had their flight to Maui). I was grateful! The move was followed by a delicious Christmas Eve dinner with the family. Exchanged gifts and enjoyed.
Christmas Day met sleeping in, breakfast and reading. In the afternoon we headed to Decatur to spend time with Brennan’s family. More excellent food, gifts and enjoyment. (We also went for a run post-food. Glad we got it in, but standing rib roast will not ever fall into the “What to eat before a run” category!) That night we met up with some folks from Big Peach at Brickstore.
Yesterday allowed me the chance to get a pedicure (gift from Brennan’s mom!), figure out what on earth is wrong with my phone (battery charging port is done), eat lunch at Leon’s (one of my favorite restaurants), and enjoy the evening reading Hungry City by Carolyn Steel.
The first chapter of the book was about land and our relationship to it. The second chapter is about how food reaches cities. It notes that food isn’t something you would generally choose to move far. With railways, this changed and it was possible to build cities in locations (and size) that would have never been possible previously. Steel speaks a good deal on how it might have been good initially …
but the result today is that we are totally reliant on trans-national corporations to feed us, who have no civic responsibility and no interests at heart other than making money. That puts them in an extremely powerful position – especially when you consider how difficult it is to feed cities as large as those we now live in. Because it happens invisibly, we tend to assume that feeding cities these days is easy. It isn’t. It’s a highly sophisticated process that relies on phenomenal levels of skill, coordination and energy – and ‘just in time’ deliveries that keep stocks of food to an absolute minimum. Food security is an increasingly urgent global concern, and not just for developing nations, but for every one of us.
I am also interested by some of the following:
The loss of genetic variety is not just occurring in the exotic plants and animals of the rainforest either; it is also occurring in those we breed to eat. Over 90 per cent of milk in America now comes from a single breed of cattle, and over 90 per cent of commercial eggs from a single strain of hen.
…. In terms of food security, whichever way you look at it, that is not a very sensible approach.
…. Research carried out at Stanford University suggested that contamination with botulinum toxin of one of the 50,000-gallon milk silos that feed American consumers could kill 250,000 before the contamination was even discovered.
Food and politics fall closely together so I’ll leave my post to the above.
Merry Christmas
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death; a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:1-7
