Rich's Umpire Movie

So this summer Rich went up to Nampa, Idaho, to umpire, as you probably know! :-)

I got to visit one weekend (thanks again Aunt Carol!), and I took a video camera. 

I finally got around to editing the footage, so here it is... my directorial and editorial debut (please don't laugh too much, Jonathan!), and Rich's great umpiring skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztH7IOPGpL8

Bruno's Thanksgiving Message

Dear Dog's Best Friends,

I have my Thanksgiving Day collar on and I am just waiting for all of you to arrive. Travel safely and bring a big appetite. But don't touch MY food!

Love,

Bruno

Going to "the Prom"!

How's this for the quintessential prom pose? Scott and I attended the local hospital fundraising gala last night; the food was only fair but the band was great!

She passed!

For about a year now, I have been a volunteer tutor with the Literacy Council here in Asheville. I have been working with the same student this whole time. Her name is Maria Luisa and she is from Mexico (and living here legally). I have been helping her prepare for the US citizenship test in which you must demonstrate English language ability and knowledge of US civics and government. She took the test this morning and passed! She said the interviewer was nice, but talked fast. She was ready for that though thanks to Nate's expert impersonation of a USCIS officer last week when we did a trial run. It has been a really great experience and I'm so happy I could pop!

Halloween at 1-800-DENTIST

Ok, so Halloween at my work is... well... completely insane.  The departments get together, get a theme, and try to out-do each other. It gets a little out of hand (last year they decided to take the year off just because people were so sick of all the extra work!)

The prizes are $1000 for 1st, $500 for 2nd, and $250 for third.

This year my department (Marketing) recreated the Shining. I was in charge, I did all the sets, the writing, the costumes, etc. In the video you can't really see me because it's too dark, but I am the one who lures the audience into the shower scene before... well, just watch and see! We won second place!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkR8PBbvQ2s

Rich is in the Sales department, and they actually won first! You can watch the video, but if you're not that familiar with our company and spokesperson, it might not make sense. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nq6UPwsH_U

Anyway, it was a crazy Halloween as usual here. 1-800 has a few too many creative people for it's own good, but we love that they let us exercise it!

I've Become An "Oyster Mom"

Shutterfly View Shared Pictures

My neighbor, Dee, and I attended a workshop on Oyster Gardening last Sunday. We constructed our own oyster cages and now are the Moms to about 6 thousand baby oysters! No, we won't eat our young, even when they grow to be succulent, juicy, big oysters! We give them back to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation next June, and start raising more babies next August.

Teleworking

Even though we had a lot of work to do, it was our timeshare week so Mark and I decided to go to the OBX and spend part of the time teleworking. It was wonderful to look up from our laptops and see the ocean.

Fall!

So it's been around 90 degrees for the last week here in LA, so it's hard to get inspired about Fall! No cute sweaters or light jackets. But I am attempting nonetheless. I went to the store today and got this "pumpkin tree." It's so cute! And I am about to make some pumpkin bread (I'm trying MP!)

So, what are everyone else's Fall activities? Anyone pumpkin carving? Halloween costumes in mind? Help me get in the spirit while I'm sweating from the heat out here!

Jonathan! Over 100K per year?! Steroids?!

Red Bulls' Conway, Parke suspended for drugs
3 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Soccer has suspended New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke — the first players in the league's history to be penalized for using performance-enhancing drugs.

The two players were banned Thursday for 10 league games each. They tested positive for androstatriendione and boldenone metabolites after purchasing and using an over-the-counter nutritional supplement from a vitamin store that is part of a national chain, the league said.

Each player also was fined 10 percent of his salary. Conway makes $115,000 this season, and Parke has a base salary of $57,488.

Fuller Update

Hello! We've been kind of quiet lately, so we wanted to speak (write?) up... though not too much is happening, which is a welcome change! Rich got back from Idaho in August, and after our Burning Man trip he has settled back to work in LA. He really liked the umpiring, but not the travel. He has made some new umpire connections here and is working better leagues, but so far has decided to stay and hang out with me rather than travel all over the place. I got the awesome opportunity, thanks to Aunt Carol, of visiting him in Boise and videotaped him working the big leagues. It's on my list of things to do to edit the footage together... maybe Jonathan will help me at Christmas! :-)

In addition to my day job, I recently got certified by the American Fitness Association. I've been teaching a body sculpt class on Saturdays, which is fun and a challenge. As I get paid per student, I've been working hard to promote the class! I've also still been doing a lot of fire spinning, I performed for a couple hundred people last week and I have a paying Halloween gig, so it's going well (and I'm not burned!).

Spending time with MP & Mark on our vacation was a great reminder of how fabulous our family is. Rich and I are getting a long Christmas break, so we will hopefully see everyone (well, almost) and we're taking an east coast road trip to Asheville (Anne & N8!) and Charleston to see my Dad.  Can't wait!

The Happy Fans BEFORE the Game

Yes, here we are happy and hopeful ... not like 5 hours later, after the loss to the Titans. But, as usual we had a fantastic time, and the Ravens actually didn't look that bad, just couldn't pull it out. We'll just have to see who ends up with bragging rights in the family after the Redskins/Ravens match!!!

Maya asked me to post these pictures from the game.

Hail to the Redskins

I had 3 friends come to Dallas to watch the last Redskins game at Texas Stadium. We had a great time and bonded with all of the Redskins fans in Dallas by taking an accidental victory lap (who knew we should have walked to the left when exiting the stadium instead of right). I can now continue to hold my head up high as a proud Washington fan in enemy territory.

AP story about StoryCorps!

Check out the AP story that just came out about StoryCorps! Looking at the pictures makes me so sad about not being a part of StoryCorps anymore -- its year in Nashville is up. How can I ever find something to top this job? Sniff...

Pacific Northwest Vacation

Kevin and I had a great trip to the Pacific Northwest. We started in Seattle, then proceeded to San Juan Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Woodinville (vineyards), Mt. Ranier, and Tacoma. It was a great trip. This picture is of me eating edamame at Mariners baseball park in Seattle ... where they also serve sushi (remember that one of their top players is Ichiro Suzuki, and the sushi is called an "Ichi-roll"!). Anyway, if you want to see more pictures, proceed to: www.picasaweb.com/kkessler and Kevin was kind enough to label the pictures so you will get an idea of our trip.

The Paris Connection Camp at Burning Man

Mark and I flew to LA to meet with Kim and Rich. We rented an RV and drove to Nevada for Burning Man. Our camp name was "The Paris Connection." The collage shows a few highlights:

Mark and Rich beaching their hair
Dust
Our camp
Dust
The Center of Attention Chair
Dust
The whiteout
LOTS of Dust
The headdress
Dust
The Temple
Amazing
...

This trip was the most challenging thing I've ever done and the most rewarding thing I've ever done. The sense of community made the biggest impression on me. Thank you to Kim for getting a couple of old folks (and Rich) to the Burn. It is an experience I will never forget.

Grandma's status

Hi, all! These blog posts are much easier to write when it's all good, fun news. But, as you probably all know, Grandma is in the hospital -- Holy Cross. She woke up early Monday morning having trouble breathing, and by Monday afternoon they had inserted a tube in her left side so that her lung could re-inflate. She's still in critical care, but I thought she looked stronger Tuesday evening. She can have calls, but she does admit that she is weak and it's difficult to talk, so I'll try to post again when she's feeling more up to it. We're really happy that she has the graduated care facility at Riderwood, called Rennaissance Gardens, to return to when they release her from the hospital. It's a great place to get stronger so that she can go back to independent living.

And, Nate, I loved your news piece ... it was great to see your smiling face!

Love
Janine

Nate breaks into local celebrity status

Just kidding! However, since no one else in the office wanted to do this news story, I got nominated/volunteered by popular vote to make it happen. We had about 45 minutes from the time they called to 'ask' us for a story and the time they wanted us to have a client ready. Well, you can see for yourself that we made it work. I got comments left and right from clients and friends saying the saw me on TV for the next week or so. Here's the link...

http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/wlos_vid_1123.shtml

Hope this post finds you well.
Love,
Anne and N8

Wordle

So there's this cool site where you can put in text, then it picks out the words you use most and arranges them with cool designs and colors.

I did it for the Paris Connection blog... follow the link and check it out!
wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/124445/The_Paris_Connection

I guess we know who the most popular aunt/grandma on the blog is now...
:-)

Happy Birthday Kate!

I remember your birthday fondly from last year - you and the kids came to the Opryland gardens and we played in the fountains... can't believe it's already been a year! I hope today is wonderful for you.

And it's been a year and a couple days since our wedding last year, that magical day in Nashville. Rich just got home from Boise, so we've had some time to think back on it. I have so many fabulous memories, too many to list, but here's a couple: all of us dancing like crazy, how beautiful and hot! it was, pink and orange crocs and smiling faces, bluegrass singalongs and Quiddler playing, beautiful flowers, gorgeous handmade cake, going to the Opryland the day after and really pouring through all the sentimental gifts and taking it all in and to heart, and lots, lots of love.

Miss you all, fabulous family!

Ratatouille - Anyone can cook!

Elise just signed a lease on an apartment in Columbia. She asked me for some recipes and cooking instructions, and I told her Anyone Can Cook! If you've seen the movie Ratatouille, you know that a rat helps the human cook by pulling on his hair. Here's a picture of me 'teaching' Elise to cook. ;)

Mom and Regina's Stories

Carol sent me mom's and Regina's StoryCorps recordings. I will make copies of mom's for each of my sibs, kids, nieces, and nephews. I know Carol wants a copy of Regina's -- let me know if you want one, too.

I am off to Quebec City for a few days so I won't get to this right away - be patient!

Cafe de Paris

Chef Carol worked her magic in our new kitchen last week (the 12th).

The day started with Carol and Mark taking a field trip to Litteri's, down off New York Avenue. They cleaned the place out! Fresh mortadella with real chunks of pistachio, proscuitto -- paper thin, salami, and at least six kinds of olives, several wines, ... you get the idea. To top off all those goodies, Carol brought fresh veggies and herbs from her co-op.

Then Carol and I spent the next 5 1/2 hours standing -- Carol making ravioli and linguine -- me mostly watching. Man, were my legs sore the next day!

Carol's friend Scott joined us, as did Mark's boss, his partner, another co-worker and her husband. We ate, drank, and were merry!

Thank you to Carol for making it such a special evening!

Nashville checking back in with the blogosphere!

OK, I'm feeling mildly guilty about being so absent on the Paris Connection seeing as how I started the thing myself. But.... it's summer, the kids are out of school, Brian's working a lot (and so am I), yada yada yada. It all adds up to very little blogging. SO, here's what's up with us.

The big news is that Brian's parents are moving in next door to us. And when I say next door, I literally mean the house next to ours. Pretty much everyone I've shared this news with has immediately asked "How do you feel about that?" with a concerned look on their face, which I totally get. Most people, it seems, wouldn't want to share a continent with their in-laws, much less a zip code. And while I'm sure it will provide many healthy boundary-setting opportunities, shall we say, I am blessed with really cool in-laws who care about their family (read grandkids) enough to move next-door to them, and who care about the environment enough to willingly downsize to a much smaller house within walking distance to a lot of spots they'd usually have to drive to. When our current neighbors, who we adore, told us they'd be moving, we wondered if and how our new neighbors could ever measure up. Well, prayers answered -- you can't get much better than your own flesh and blood. Let's hope I still feel the same 6 months from now...

In other news, Cora, Oliver, and I went on a long (3 mile!) hike yesterday at Radnor Lake and had a blast. My friend Sarah called as we were finishing up and when I told her what we were doing, all she said was, "Well, that's ambitious of you." And while it was ambitious in some ways, in others I felt more at ease with the kids out in the woods than I ever do when we're at home or jetting from place to place in our car. I was able to relax, soften my gaze, and share in their wonder at the beauty that surrounded us. We saw dozens of deer; Cora seems to have a tracker's sense (notice I didn't say hunter) of when a deer is close by, and whenever she sensed one, she'd quick put out her arms to stop me and Oliver and say "Shhhhh..." And sure enough, she'd point to some brown smudge 30 feet away through thick underbrush, and there it would be. I only had to give a couple of piggybacks along the way, so I was really impressed with their level of engagement and stamina. Plus, after an evening swim to top it off they were zombies and bedtime was a breeze.

Now I'm having to face the sad reality that my one-year position with StoryCorps is soon to come to an end, and I'm wondering how I will ever find a part-time job as cool and inspiring and fulfilling and fascinating as this one has been. On Wednesday, I facilitated the interviews of two of the Holocaust's "hidden children," who were able to change their identities and live as non-Jews while the rest of their families perished in the concentration camps. It was really moving to be in the booth with them as they lamented never being able to know or thank their parents for the sacrifice they made of giving up their only children before being deported. I'll just have to savor every last story I hear between now and mid-September, when the booth will be dismantled and shipped to its next, still undisclosed, location in the US. Sigh...

Brian and I got to enjoy a rare getaway while visiting Grandma Carol -- we spent a night at a bed and breakfast on Solomon's Island. And instead of sightseeing, shopping, or any of that tourist-y stuff, we opted to sit in lawnchairs in the b&b's beautiful garden, reading and talking and enjoying being able to have long, uninterrupted conversations without having to SPELL any words or speak in pig latin. I told him I'd heard that adults sometimes go out for a drink at a bar and then migrate to a different locale for dinner, so we decided to be like those adults that night and had mai-tais at a tiki bar before heading to a seafood restaurant on the pier for a steamer basket (and another drink!). Then we went to see the movie Wall-E, and for those of you who haven't seen it, GO SEE IT! All in all, a spectacular and much-needed break for both of us.

By the way, Elise, I LOVE your new haircut! I wish we could have seen you over the 4th! Mary Pat, Janine, Grandma Max, and Mark, thanks for coming to see us and for being there to celebrate Cora's 7th birthday. It was so good to see you all.

Love to the whole family...
Kate

I can't believe it!!!

So everyone has been telling me I need to check out the new TLC show "Rock the Reception"... and I am sitting here watching it, I can't even believe it!

Everyone who came to our wedding knows that Rich and I had a silly/fun/joke first dance where we danced to a hip hop song... and now there is an entire show on TLC dedicated to this very topic!! In this show, professional choreographers help the wedding couple surprise their guests with a crazy first dance.

I came up with this idea myself... and now I am seriously wishing I had shopped it around to producers in LA, apparently I could have made some money!!!

I guess I'm just a step ahead of my time...
At least I choreographed it myself!
:-)

Anyway, check it out, and know that the Paris clan wedding in TN was cooler than the rest of the country, who will always have to say they got their idea from a tv show!

Johnsons and Wingates

Here is a photo of me, Nate, Kate and Brian taken at our house in Asheville the day of the birthday party. Nate's aunt made the quilt we have hanging on the wall.

Cora's 7th Birthday

Greetings from Cecil Creek. Cora's 7th birthday was memorable, to say the least. . .visits from Aunt Janine, Aunt Mary Pat, Uncle Mark, Greatgrandma Max and best of all, her best Maryland friend, Brynn. Here we are in the Creek, no jellyfish allowed. And blowing out the candles on Cora's birthday cake. I'll try to figure out how to put the rest of the pictures into a flicker account.

Happy 4th of July Everybody!

Hey! Just wanted to POST since it has been a while, although not too much has happened here in good old Asheville. We have enjoyed beautiful summer weather in the mountains with some rain and sun helping our little garden to grow. Mary Grace turned 11 on July 1st and is very excited to be a 'tween.'

We recently got a webcam so we can Skype with friends all over the world for no charge. You don't have to have the webcam, but it's kinda cool if you want to see how big the kids are getting in Nashville or elsewhere while you chat with family. It might be fun for every one to join Skype so we can chat easily online, real time, in person.

Work has us both busy, me with heat relief stuff for our local seniors, and Anne with the tourons at the restaurant. Grace has a busy summer schedule and will be here ocassionally. So that's the news for now...

Just an old pic of Mary Grace since we don't have anything current.

Peace,

Anne and Nate

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex,

I hope you have a wonderful day. Tell your dad to post some pictures of your birthday festivities!

MP

c'mon Paris fans -- POST!

I'd love to hear from all you other folks. Since April 26 the only posters have been Janine, Carol, MP, Mark, Kim, Rich, Jon, and Elise. Just a note to say how you're doing would be wonderful!

MP

Mark was awarded a CEO Excellence Award

Here's the write-up from the Intelsat Intranet:

The Process Improvement Award

The Process Improvement Award recognizes an individual or a team (generally fewer than 10 people), who has achieved a measurable benefit to our company in at least one of the following categories:

• Created an innovative business idea or initiative that provided the company with a competitive edge in the marketplace.
• Developed new initiatives, products and solutions that improved customer retention, met new customer requirements or increased customer satisfaction.
• Increased the amount of company revenue for new products and technologies by opening new customer markets, identifying and approaching new growth opportunities and/or creating new technological solutions.
• Enhancing productivity or the efficiency of internal processes and procedures.
  

Mary Pat joined me for the award ceremony and the delicious award dinner at the DC Coast restaurant. We had fun.

Weekend in New York City

Kevin and I just spent the weekend in The Big Apple. As usual, it's a great place to visit, and I still wouldn't want to live there. We saw a very entertaining musical on Saturday, called Curtains. Kim's college roommate was in the show for a couple of years, but unfortunately had just left the show a couple of weeks ago as it is about to close. It stars David Hyde Peirce (Frasier's brother Miles from Cheers) and he was great.

Our primary reason for going was to see Yankee Stadium before is closes at the end of this season. It's an old and somewhat dated stadium, but it was a fun day (Sunday) in spite of a short rain delay. We also had great meals ... one at a vegan reastaurant in Manhattan ... and one at the nation's oldest pizza parlor!! Along with a trip up the Empire State Building, which neither of us had done for many years, we just did the customary long walks and stops in bars or shops along the way. A very nice weekend.

The New Haircut

My new young professional look ;)

Most Recent Project

Hello Family!  

I just finished up the most involved project that I have been a part of at Fox45.  It's an inspiring story about a man who did, and still is striving to beat the odds.  Everything was shot and edited by me.  Enjoy!

Racing For Survial

Elise's new "do"

Elise got a new "do". Chopped all that hair off! But where are the pics?

Elise??? Post already!

Rich- a professional umpire!

Hello everyone. Rich here, usurping Kim’s posting rights. I am saying hello and wanted to let you all know about some exciting news.

This past Thursday I received an e-mail from the head of the umpire school I went to in January. It said that they had an Independent League opportunity. At first I thought it was a mass e-mail and they were trying to fill spots. So I called all of my umpire friends that I kept in contact with and none of them received an invitation. Then I e-mailed them back and asked where and when and if this was some kind of try-out? They responded that, no it is not a try-out and that I had been placed in this league based on my performance at the school.

Since I have been back I had really turned the page and decided to focus on doing local umpiring along with my current job. It has been a lot of fun and I benefited from the school. I was assigned to working two playoff games this year, which is a major complement for a second year umpire. I was truly shocked to receive an assignment because they did not mention that I would be a candidate when I left school.

Kim and I decided that I would take the assignment. It is called the Boise Collegiate Summer League. You can view the website www.boisesummerleague.com if you’d like.

With the decision to go I am viewing this as a resume builder for all of the local umpiring I will be doing wherever we end up moving in the future. I will also use it to make connections in the umpire world.

So here is to a dream come true, the honor of being referred to work in a league by the most respected umpiring school in the country!!!

(And from Kim- I am sad he is going! So feel free to call anytime! But I am also excited for him and interested to see where it all leads. Oh, and because he didn't mention, he'll be gone starting this week for 2 months.)

When I think NASCAR fans of course the first group that comes to mind is our family. :) So I'm sure  you all would be thrilled to know I got a chance to go to The Monster Mile in Dover, DE to film for a story about a race-car driver from Maryland that will be airing later this month.  This was a dream come true for me, to be inside the track with all the drivers before the race and mingle with the national media.  The only disappointing part was the actual race suffered from a 3 hour rain delay and I had to leave before it started.  But I did manage to get some great video of practice and such and I'm looking forward to posting the story on the blog after it's done, but for now here are a couple pics from the track!

Deena's Wedding!

Some of you might remember my friend Deena from our wedding last year? She composed and sang the original pieces in the ceremony, and her husband-to-be took many pictures. Well, they got married last week in MD and Rich and I flew back to attend.

It was a lovely, unconventional ceremony that started off, of all things, with a reading from "Where the Wild Things Are." We had a great time on Dave's parents' farm, and got to think fondly on our own ceremony last year that you all were such a big part of!

Here are some pics, including Deena in her red dress (seriously, Kate, it all went off without a hitch and she looked fabulous, no worries!).

A Poem

I just read this poem, written by a retiring English professor at St. Mary's College. I hope it brings you as much calm as it does me.

The Economy of Days

To want, to have, to do--
the verbs I live
in perpetual unrest.

How difficult to be--
to embrace the homely
details of my days

to open my heart
to the flow
of this amphibious life,

to trust in the motion toward
as a fish trusts
the river at its gills,

to trust in this journey,
to swim,
to be still.


--Michael S. Glaser

Graduation!!!

This past Sunday I graduated from Washington College! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend as I shared laughter and memories with friends, professors, my Mom, Dad, and Mark. Friday night we went out to a local bar in town to celebrate and my parents were a huge hit! My friends were all cracking jokes on me; as the clock hit 1:00 AM, I was yawning and my parents were at the bar buying drinks for all my friends.

I graduated with a degree in Business Management and a minor in Economics, as well graduated with departmental honors in business management, honors on my thesis, and was fortunate enough to receive the Schottland Business Leadership Award. The award is presented to a graduating senior who shows future promise in business leadership. I received $10,000 towards graduate work and $5,000 cash!!!

I begin work next week for Under Armour in the Sports Marketing Department. I will be working with all of the professional athletes and college teams we endorse.

I want to thank all of you for your support throughout the years, it has been greatly appreciated and valued.

The pictures attached are from the senior luncheon when I received the award and graduation (it's tradition at WC that after you receive your diploma, an underclassmen hands you a bottle of champagne :). More graduation photos to follow...

Kim (and Suzi) on t.v. (on the web)

Hey y'all... I've been waiting forever for this to finally post on our website, so even though I am the last to post and that is probably a faux pas in the blogger world, I'm going for it anyway. :-)

Some commercials that I produced and acted in are up on my company's website, www.1800dentist.com. If you go to the site and click on the "As Seen On TV" tab, you can check them out. (Feel free to also look for a dentist if you don't have one!)

"Busy" is the spot that I was in, it ran nationally in November and December of last year. But I am even more proud of the first 3 spots ("Romania," "Hurts More," "Big Yellow Ad") as they are the first commercials where I get credit as Producer! I came in on-time and under budget, and they have had a great response from the public so far. I also found and cast the lead actress, Suzi Barrett. Remember her name... she is hilarious and I truly believe she is on the road to much bigger things. We are planning on keeping this campaign going for the next 2 years.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the AMAZING mothers in our family. I love you all so much!

I heard yesterday's festivities were great, we sure wish we could have been there. Hope someone posts about the details!
Love, Kim & Rich

Jonathan Moving

Jonathan called me the other day and told me he is moving to Canton. My mind started racing to figure out why in the world he would want to move to Canton, Ohio. He picked up on my pause and jumped in with, "Not Ohio -- Canton is a section of Baltimore." Boy, was I relieved!

Canton and Canton.

A Walk in the Woods

Brian and I took a leisurely, child-free hike at Radnor Lake last week, and he brought his camera to try to capture some springtime images. As I was strolling along ahead of him while he took some pictures, I spied a snake just off the trail, in some underbrush. I thought it was strange that he didn't move as I approached him, but when I took a closer look, I saw why; he was in the process of eating a frog, head-first! I hope this doesn't gross anyone out, but here are a few pics Brian snapped as we watched him gobble down the rest of the frog, ending with the legs and feet. I thought it was pretty cool...

Visiting Maya in Dallas

We had a fantastic time visiting Maya. She has a great apartment in a very cute part of town. We shopped and ate, ate and shopped ... and we did a lot of reading, too! See Maya reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", MP reading "Then Love Walked In", and Mark reading "No Country for Old Men" after finishing "The Road".

Another National StoryCorps Broadcast!

This morning (Friday), NPR aired a clip from an interview I facilitated back in October, between a 63-year old man, Joe Buford, and his literacy tutor, Michelle Miller. Joe lived his whole life not knowing how to read, and 3 years ago, he sought help at the Nashville Adult Literacy Council. In the clip, Joe tells Michelle about the lifelong shame he felt over his illiteracy, and the joy he felt when he discovered he was finally "getting it." To hear the story and see a picture (that I took) of Joe and Michelle, visit the StoryCorps website and look for Joe's name. Happy listening!

A trip to the Redwoods

Rich and I spent the weekend camping up in Northern California in the Redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was SOOOO beautiful, and a wonderful long weekend getaway for us. Minus one pesky raccoon, it was a perfect... we had 4 friends with us for two nights and then one night by ourselves. Our first camping trip together! Here is a picture.

Mary Grace's Braces

After having an expander in the roof of her mouth for about a year now, Mary Grace finally got her braces. (Perhaps you can't tell so well from this picture. The camera was malfunctioning. But they're really there.) She says they don't hurt too much yet, but is getting used to eating with them. In this photo she is sitting at the computer in her room just after Nate hooked it up to the internet. She'll be making her own blog posts before too long. We are all looking forward to the reunion next month. It will also be Mary Grace's first trip to DC.

SIFE - Students in Free Enterprise

Elise is a member of the Washington College SIFE team. They just won the regional competition and will go to nationals in May.

SIFE is a global organization that encourages university and college students to use what they are learning in the classroom to better the lives of people in their schools and their communities through educating them on the principles of free enterprise.

Cora's lost her first tooth!

Well, the big day finally came -- Cora lost her first baby tooth this evening! It's been wiggling for weeks, and all her messing with it finally paid off. This picture says it all -- she was ecstatic. She was a bit concerned at bedtime because she really wants to keep her tooth, but she also wants the big payoff. I told her I was sure the tooth fairy could work with her on this one. Also, Cora tells me the going rate for a "first tooth" is a whopping FIVE dollars, according to a friend at school who is in the know. That seems pretty steep to me. We'll just have to wait and see what the tooth fairy decides...

Feeling Remarkably Lifelike

I've been sick for about a month. Traveling -- can't say I love Birmingham.

It felt so great to come to the blog tonight and catch up. Thanks to all for posting!!

I love Saturdays

Hello all, right now Andrew and I are listening to some funny 90's songs, sewing, writing, and drinking copius amounts of coffee. Multitasking, right? Thought I'd take a moment to catch up. Life in DC is good- the city is treating us well. Public transportation makes it all possible with little need for a car.... and warmer weather means more walks and time outside! Its so much fun exploring the city. Andrew and I think we are going to stay in our current apartment for another year before looking to buy.

My job is going well. I am now a project manager (my second promotion since September!) and am also involved in light sales- I have seven happy clients right now and my employers love me. I also manage a small team and enjoy working with so many interesting people every day. I still take on some freelance work- Haven't illustrated any motorcycles lately, but have been working on booklet design and copy for a local college. Personally, I'm working on my website and putting together some new collage pieces that I plan to sell at a gallery/shop in Harpers Ferry where I displayed some work over the past year. I'm experimenting with 3-D photo montage/collage and textural elements. (Did I ever share my senior exhibit photography?) I can post a photo or two.

I have a new sewing machine and just learned how to use it! For my first real project I'm making a duvet cover (I figure its like sewing a very large pillow) and then I plan to incorporate stitching into my paper collage. I like hand sewing, but it'll be easier with the machine!

Its almost April so its performance review time for Andrew. He is busy right now (really, right now) writing down all of his skills, objectives, etc for next week's review. I imagine it will go very well. He has been working on some amazing projects- he led and designed and developed an interactive map for KAUST in Saudi Arabia (using technology that only a couple of people in the world have figured out. It sounds bragadocious and maybe it is, but its true!). He is simply amazing. KAUST is the soon-to-open King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Andrew will be headed there in July/August for a short 3 to 4 day visit to help launch their interactive informational touch-screen kiosks. Exciting stuff.

Speaking of exciting news- it looks like the wedding will take place late June 2009 unless we elope first. The 27th is our tentative date. Weddings can be expensive! We are taking time to gather some funds. And sanity. We're having a great time planning, but its more fun when you're not rushed. : )

Andrew and I have been cooking up a storm and trying out some new recipes. We want to start a window garden this year! Mostly herbs and spices, perhaps a tomatillo plant! If anyone has spice advice, please forward.

I love you all! Hope you're having a great weekend.

Hey everyone!  Last week Lexington Market in Baltimore had some big guests over for lunch.  Here's a little one minute story I did on the event using only sound from the event (notice no reporter talks)

-Jonathan

In Morocco, goats climb trees

Seriously, I'm not making this up. I'll be amused for weeks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo_art/334553702/

http://blog.moment.ee/2007/01/viljad-on-valminud-tree-goats.html

http://www.the-tree.org.uk/SpecialBranch/InTree/goats.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johndoe40/2260539907/

I love you all and will write more soon. Just had to share this.

Laura

Fire Dancing!

Hello All~
Kim here. So, for those of you I haven't told, my newest passion is fire dancing! I know, I can hear all you aunts and uncles and cousins out there... what is this crazy Californian girl doing out there twirling fire around? Well... all I can say is that I am learning this ancient art form and loving it. My creative, dance background lends itself to this activity, and I take it very seriously. I practice a lot without the fire, and take all safety precautions when fire is involved. I have attached a video that Rich took of the first time I spun fire a couple of weeks ago after taking my first class. Please remember, it was my first time... I was pretty terrified and I think I look fairly awkward! But I am getting better and more comfortable quickly, and hopefully I will have better performances to share soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the video of my first fire spin. If you want to learn more about it you can wikipedia "fire dancing" or "poi spinning."

PARENT - Job Description

POSITION TITLE:

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term team players needed for challenging
permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends
and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to
primitive camping sites on rainy weekends
and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

For the rest of your life you must be willing to be hated,
at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule
and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat
in case this time, the screams from
the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges,
such as small gadget repair, mysteriously
sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings
for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute,
an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a
half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for
the quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and
janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining,
constantly retraining and updating your skills,
so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because
of the assumption that college will help them
become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that
you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered,
this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love,
and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

** and a footnote "There is no retirement -- EVER!!!

Share with others applying for the job....

Fraud Alert!!

Hey gang, just some friendly reminders from me, the recent victim of fraud on my cellular phone account. (Probably no long term problems, but LOTS of hassle.)

1) If you call in to any of your accounts and they ask you for minimal information (name/address/last 4 digits of SSN) in order to process changes, ASK THEM if you can put a security PIN number on your account. I don't know why they don't ask you, but they often don't.
2) At least, get your free copies of your credit reports. Go to annualcreditreport.com, where you can get one copy from each company once per year, so if you space the three requests out over 4 months, you're kind of covered.
3) If you don't need to have your credit checked very often, consider freezing your credit with all three companies. In Maryland, it costs $15 each time you freeze and unfreeze ($5 each company), so only you can decide if this step is worth it to you. A very small benefit of being the victim of fraud is that I can freeze and unfreeze for free, since I will have a police report.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues, "be careful out there"!

Chris Paris (Denver) on the Slopes

Way to go Chris!


(I am posting this on Bill's behalf until he gets his password issue worked out. I'm not on help desk today. Janine?)

My new coasters

Here's Oliver painting a coaster for me at the local pottery center. We did this as an after-school project with Cora's classmates; several of them painted coasters for me, which you can see next time you visit!

Meet the Hermit Crabs

Cora picked out TWO hermit crabs because she did some research on the internet and discovered that they are "social animals" and need companionship! They are eating powdered "hermit crab food" along with lots of apples, kale and grapes and, thankfully, not each other! She is doing a very good job of taking care of them!

I see a Western in the future...

The Paris Connection has invaded my dreams! I had a very vivid and specific dream last night into this morning that the generation above me (Chris, Bill, Carol, MP & J9) wrote a play and screenplay adapted from a novel that was a western! And it took off like crazy! It was a play on Broadway starring Maggie Gylenhall and I have a feeling it was headed (before I was so rudely interrupted by my alarm clock) to the Oscars!

The other funny thing is that I was interview you all as a group (naturally), and you kept saying that "you know, it's really not that hard to adapt a novel, it's all written there already" as if you had plagiarized the whole thing!


But who cares... I say get to work aunts & uncs! Fame and fortune await you!

Conway Named First Team All-Centennial

LANCASTER, PA – Senior guard Elise Conway (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) has become the first women's basketball player in Washington College history to earn All-Centennial Conference first team honors. The All-Centennial teams were announced today after being voted upon by the conference's head coaches.
Full Story

Gorgeous!

We're so glad that the beautiful Amaryllis that Margie brought us at Christmas didn't bloom until we returned from Aruba.

Feeding Frenzy

Let's see if I get this right ... hope you enjoy watching this more than I enjoyed doing it!



This was at an Ostrich Farm in Aruba, on our only day of doing something other than laying on the beach -- what a great vacation!

If you follow the link to YouTube -- to Kevin's posts -- you can see a few more videos that he took. As you will see, he bought a waterproof casing for his camera ... maybe not the most beautiful snorkeling videos, but it was fun (and his first try).

Wendelstadt Umpire School

Hey everyone, Rich here. I have been easing back into the real world since returning from Umpire School. I am sure you have all been informed by now, but if you have not been I will let you know that although I had an amazing time, I was not recommended for professional baseball at this time.

However the experience was one of the greatest I have had. As has been the last year of my life in which I went to Tennessee, Hawaii and St. Maarten each for the 1^st time, the Redsox won the World Series, and most importantly I got married to an amazing soul.

I’d like to share a little of the Umpire experience with you all. I was sitting in the lobby after unpacking and this guy Marty asked if I would like to have a drink with him. I said OK and we hit it off right off the bat (no pun intended). He was the first person I met and the person who ended up becoming my best friend while I was in Daytona Beach. He also ended up being from Ellicott City, MD! We set up a study group that met every day after classes, we were very dedicated and helped each other to do the best we could.

I was challenged at school to the best of my abilities. We learned something brand new from the rulebook everyday and then had to learn something new in positioning on the field everyday. We didn’t get many opportunities to show our stuff. There were 130 students there and we mainly learned what not to do by watching everyone else.

In the end they said that I was where I needed to be but the people they chose were just a little more where they needed to be. I learned a lot about the game and a lot about myself. I gained measurable confidence, which I know I will be able to apply to the real world. Already I have started a new position at work in Sales, and I am umpiring at high school baseball and softball games. After my intense umpire school experience, I went to the high school mechanics clinic and I felt like I could have taught it!

Here’s a picture of me and some of the boys.
Until we meet again, Rich

My Weekend

We had a visit from Nate's parents, Othella and Cranford, this weekend. They got to see Mary Grace's last basketball game of the season. I had to work on Saturday, but we all had a nice dinner together and played Mille Bourne afterward. Cranford and I worked a Washington Post Sunday crossword together this morning...always a favorite pastime of mine. Overall, a good weekend. Hope you all had a good one too!

Elise's last college game

There was another strong showing of fans at Elise's last college basketball game. She had several high school friends, parents of friends, colleagues from Under Armour, and lots of family including Carol and Jonathan. Gary's sister Aileen and her husband, Kevin, were cheering her on, as well as her Uncle Marty.

The game was at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore so it was easy for local folks to attend. Unfortunately they lost, but when Elise came out of the game with about a minute and a half left, she got a standing ovation. I'm told someone took a picture of me crying just then. (Me, crying? What a shock!)

The Hopkins coach offered her a volunteer assistant coaching job if she stays in the area, and it looks like she may end up at Under Armour after school which would work out well.

She was headed back to Washington College for the "Birthday Ball" in honor of George. It's a huge celebration for the college and the community.

Rays of Sunshine...

Cora left the sick house today to spend some time with Brian's parents, and she brought this primrose home for me -- talk about brightening my day!!!

What's In a Name?

I just talked to Kate; she is starting to feel, though not SOUND, human again. Thankfully, Brian hasn't had the full blown flu and Cora is doing great, comforting her sick Mom. Oliver has started running a fever, again, so they are still far from back to normal at the Wingate residence.

Cora has been earning stars for doing all her chores for 14 days and, as soon as her family is well again, she wants to buy the hermit crab she's earned. Of course, the name is up to her, but I wondered if anyone wanted to weigh in with their version of "the perfect hermit crab name". I'm sure she'll take all suggestions under advisement.

G'ma Carol

Flu

Think healthy thoughts for us -- the whole family is down for the count with the flu. Cora was first to get it, so she's almost fully recovered. Oliver and I are at about the same phase -- I think we're over the hump today. We had high hopes that Brian would sidestep the crud, but no such luck -- as of this afternoon he's feverish and achey. Yuck.....

Grandma is a geek

I am making my first post

I'm Moving!

Joining this blog was good luck because I got the news today that I am moving to Dallas! My new job assignment as an ExxonMobil Territory Manager in Dallas is effective March 15. Until then I am going to scramble to find a place, say good-bye to friends and eat in MP and Dad's new kitchen :) I am open to any advice about my new city because I have never even visited.

The Hot Rods!

I love how much everyone is posting!

We've had a lovely long weekend, minus Rich getting a bit of a stomach flu. But we're getting by, and wanted to share pictures of our new favorite toys.

My bike was actually a gift from from Rich last Christmas, but as I was lonely cruising alone, I got one for Rich from his birthday (Feb 7th!) We were told at the store that we now have the two coolest beach cruisers around, and we have to agree! There is a bike path from our house to the beach, so yesterday we cruised up to Venice beach, and are hoping to make a weekend tradition of it.

As for reunion plans... it's probably not looking too good for us. We are coming back east Memorial Day weekend for Deena and Dave's wedding (remember them? She sang at the ceremony) and we have to go to Chicago in June for Charlie and Kate's wedding! It's the year of the wedding. But we can't wait to see everyone, next summer if not sooner.

The Kitchen ...

As of Feb 18 ... almost finished