Happy Birthday Kitties!

Thank you for bringing soo much unconditional love into my life and turning me into a crazy cat lady!! 

Happy year number one!!

Let's Play Ball!

Baseball season is here again and with our house located less than a mile from the stadium its hard to resist....plus I have a thing for hot-dogs and beer and the Nats are doing really well this year!  This was the first time I had ever used the bike valet at the stadium, which makes the experience even more interesting!  Road signs make it super easy to follow.  Really cool this crew of folks are so supportive of using bikes a form of transportation!

Space Shuttle Discovery Makes its way to DC

I know the above photo looks fake, but it's not!  They moved the Discovery Space Shuttle from Houston (I think) to DC via aircraft.  The set up above flew over the DC area in a very low air-flight pattern and was easily seen and heard by the human eye!  Andrew's office building in Herndon, Virginia had one of the best views as it over looks the Dulles airport where it landed.  For more info check out the article the latest article in Gizmodo .

The Best Part of Working Overnights

The Art of Video Gaming -- American Art Museum Exhibit

I was the kid who spent more time than I should have in front of the TV playing video games.....I will never forget my mom taking me to Super K (although that's not what it was called back then) to purchase my very first Atari with my allowance money. If I remember correctly it came with one cartridge called Combat, but I really wanted Frogger! When my Mom said she would buy me the extra game, I was the happiest girl on Earth!!

As I got older, this obsession then moved to Arcades -- where I would further continue to spend all of my allowance money on Centipede, Space Invaders, and Galaga.  Somewhere in there, there was a pause, and later in life I once again got back in the game, and quickly fell in love with Tekken!

I guess that was more information than you really needed to know, as the point of this post is to let you know how cool this exhibit, The Art of Video Gaming Exhibit,  is!!  My friend Bennett and I headed over to the American Art Museum in Chinatown to check it out.  With lots of video game history, original games showcased, and a huge Pac-Man game that you can actually play -- you really can't go wrong.  I really enjoyed the following quote:

Three Voices

Artist, Game, Player

Video games combine grapics, sound, story, and interaction to create meaningful and immersive expereinces.  Imaginative artists and designers use this medium to create worlds and tell their stories.  None of this is possible, however, without the participation of the player.  Everyone who plays a game puts a little of themselves into the experience, and takes away something that is wholly unique.  this conversation among the game, the artist, and the player is critical to understanding video games as art.

The show will be travelling internationally, and is here till September 30th.  My only complaint was it I just it ended all to soon!  So, if your looking for something to do, go check it out!

http://www.americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/games/

Difficult Run - The Last Weekend Before the 50!

I'm behind on my blog posts, so at this time I can congratulate Kira on her HUGE accomplishment of completing the Bull Run 50 miler !!  Congratulations Kira, you did it!!  And in fine style!!  Also, a huge thank you to everyone who went to cheer her on.....50's are not easy, and it is soo nice to have someone there....even if its for a brief second.  I will forever wish we could have done it together, but that just leaves room for more crazy adventures in the future!

So, Difficult Run!  Its this little mini green space of pleasure that spans for miles and miles and miles....with rolling hills, dirt trails, huge trees, and surprisingly few people that will take you all the way from Reston to Great Falls.  (12 miles in one direction).

Our day began in Reston with the goal to run to Great Falls and back.  The biggest issue is there are not a lot of directions out there, and with a lot of spur trails, its pretty easy to get a little lost.....The best advice I can give is when you cross the road at the highway, actually cross the highway and turn right.  At the end of the road the trail will pick up again and that is the trail you need to be on to make it to Great Falls.

Another amazing day...temps are still warming up, but what an amazing fall....and once again, another HUGE congratulations to Kira!!  YOU DID IT!

Happy 41st Birthday to Me!

Yes, I turned 41 today, and to be honest I'm not really sure how I feel about that, or how I am supposed to feel about that....except my usual, embracing it with every ounce of energy I have inside!!  The Daily Om today reads, "One of the easiest and nicest gifts you can give to yourself is surrounding yourself with loving and kind people whenever possible", and I feel that is exactly how I have spent the day!  Thank you all for your birthday messages, phone calls, and thoughts....and more than anything thank you for being a part of my life and accepting me for who I am!  LOVE YOU ALL!

The Jumping Huber's Duo

It was a quick lazy visit with the Huber's, but certainly a fun visit nonetheless!  We headed over to the tidal basin to perhaps catch a peek at any lasting cherry blossoms and a ride in the paddle boats.

Unfortunately, the blossoms were gone, and the line for the paddle boats was over an hour.  So that just left us in the position of doing so relaxing and taking many, many, many jump shots!  I know adults get a little tired of my overly enthusiastic excitement for jump shots.....Lucky for me these kids went all day long!!

There were so many good ones it was hard to choose the best one!  Max would do a different spin, look, position for each shot!  It was hilarious!  Izzy of course had it figured out in no time!  Looking forward to their next visit! (and more jump shots!)