JJ Fab comes to town (not really)

To say that I have blatantly ignored the blog would be accurate.  I thought that this month I would be living a life of leisure, waking up a little late, enjoying a leisurely coffee, reading John Irving novels all day - but it was not to be.  The last 2 weeks have been brimming with activities and places to be - I'm sure in great part my own doing.  So here is an update:

- I've been learning how to use my computer.  This has come in super handy since I had to make a video of myself for some people's reality tv show producers (this is all I can tell you right now).

- I've been getting in some awesome workouts which is great since I've also been eating as if it is a sport.

- I've got my first real squash match TOMORROW!

- My BFF Sarah came to town to celebrate (belated) her 30th birthday.  We had a kick-butt time that included lots of relaxing, dog walking, margaritas, and a girls trip to the beach.  Unfortunately the day we went also included severe lightening storms so we were only on the beach for about 2 minutes before the lifeguards kicked us all off.  Weather aside we had a really fun day in Rehoboth.

- I have received some long-awaited electronic photos.  I have included a few with this post  - Chris's baby sister Jenny visited us last fall.  You will see that she is a stunner!!

- I am working on an Italy slide show.

Jonas Brothers/My first Jobless Achievement

So one of the advantages of our primo downtown locale is that whenever someone of any significance enters/exits Charm City - we see it.   I saw Obama's motorcade when he was here for a town hall appearance (this was on my walk home from work - they had shut down the streets which meant I could cross wherever I wanted!), and this evening on our final dogwalk we saw The Jonas Brothers leaving.  They played a concert tonite at First Mariner.  It was teeny-bopper city.  If you don't know who they are (like us) - ask a 12 year-old girl.  Anyhow, we saw bus after bus turning the corner onto 95, then 3 girls in a station wagon drove by us screaming out the windows "Yeah Jonas Brothers!!"  Their enthusiasm prompted me to check these fellas out on iTunes - I'm still not sure I get it though.

The above movie represents my first accomplishment as an unemployed person.  Each of our vehicles needs a repair and I have been to the mechanic both yesterday and today - and yet both cars still need to be fixed - all I have to show is this movie.  Make no mistake - it is amateur hour.  I am just learning iMovie.  I am actually going to a iMovie workshop tomorrow afternoon - but I was so excited about my accomplishment that I had to go ahead and slap this one up for all of you to enjoy.  Watch out - a newer and better version of Ireland 2008 may appear in later posts.  You might be wondering why I am posting Ireland instead of Italy.  The answer is that SOME PEOPLE still need to send me their picts of Florence.  If you happen to know SOME PEOPLE that have these pictures please let them know that you are anxiously awaiting Florence materials.

Italia, Day Three

Pictured above: Corniglia from the trail.  Below - Jody and Chris mid-hike.  I don't know why this pic came out so small . . . 
This was my favorite day in Italy.  We decided to hike from Corniglia where we were staying to Vernazza and then Monterosso.  Each of these towns was vastly different from quiet and sleepy Corniglia, and from each other.  I don't think that either of us realized how long and challenging these hikes were going to be - it turns out that the first leg to Vernazza was 3K, and the next leg to Monterosso was 4K.  There were steep inclines and declines, and we wound around the cliffs and through hillside vineyards - glimpsing some stunning views along the way.

In Monterosso we carved out a little spot on the beach.  We ate lunch there, then began the trek back to Corniglia.  We moved much more slowly on the way back, and stopped in Vernazza for a brief intermission.  There we enjoyed a delicious pesto bruschette, and a drink.  Those probably slowed us down even more on the last leg!

We were covered in sweat and dirt from our hikes, so our showers felt absolutely luxurious! We decided to try a restaurant that was only about 50 feet from our room - we had heard from other travelers that the anti pasti there was tasty and plentiful.  What we didn't realize was that most of anti pasti dishes included some kind of seafood!  We had anchovies prepared 4 different ways, and 3 plates of mussels.  Chris had to pick-up the slack for me on those dishes - luckily one of the town cats was hanging around our table - he also seemed to enjoy seafood.

After dinner we picked up some gelato, and sat on a bench in the town square.  A group of little boys were racing back and forth across the town square - and each time they reached their end-point they would call out "Primo!" "Secondo!" or "Ultimo!" - these little fellas ran tirelessly, and provided us some great entertainment.

 

My Last Day

Today was my last day at the National Museum of Dentistry.  Staff marked the occasion with a special pizza lunch, and some fun send-off gifts for me - yeah new cookbook and tooth pencils!! They also got me a grill.  This is not something meant to prepare meat with - rather a blingy apparatus I can sport over my natural teeth.  Learn about them on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grills_(jewelry).  I'll try to get a pic soon.  

Anyhow, it was an emotional day for me after 3 years of dialing for dollars in the kooky world of organized dentistry.  I will certainly miss the people of NMD, and all of my very cool campus and dental world friends . . . BUT I am pretty excited about starting school this fall.  In the meantime I have the rest of August to cook, walk dogs, read, travel, see friends, etc.  Pretty cool.  Oh yeah - and maybe I will get caught up on this blog. 

Here Kitty Kitty!

Today I received this e-mail from the University Police in College Park.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND 20742-6011
301-405-3555
EMERGENCY / DIAL 911
http://www.umdps.umd.edu

CAMPUS ALERT

July 31, 2008
There have been several reliable sightings of an animal fitting the description of a cougar on the campus. The description of the sighted cat is: light tan and tawny brown, about 4 feet long with a 4 foot tail, and weighing about 50 pounds. Several sightings have been reported from the area of Cole Field House, near the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and continuing through the wooded areas to the area of the Comcast Center and Arena Drive Garage. There has been no report of aggressive behavior on the part of the animal, but community members are warned that cougars are a predatory species and that, if seen, the animal should not be approached.
If you see the animal, please contact the university police at 301-405-3555. University police are working with other agencies to
remove the animal from the campus area.

Prepared by:
Captain John Brandt
Crime Prevention Unit
jbrandt@umpd.umd.edu

DOGgone Cute

There aren't nearly enough photos of the furkids on the blog.  Time to pump up the volume. Enjoy these picts of the kiddos as they cheered their dad on at an Adventure Race earlier this spring. Photos of the actual race to come in a future post.

CDW's Portland Marathon

In fall 2007 Chris and Mark ran the Portland Marathon. We just got the photos back so in that respect this post is timely. They had a groovy time, and opted to pony up a few extra bones for the VIP treatment. It included big comfy sofas in their recovery areas, long massages, and prime position at the starting line. Talk about high rollers!!

What is Chris doing with his hands in that picture you ask?? That's a shout out to the Baltimore PaceMakers - can you make out the P and M? We own the road. That's also where we met each other!

And Jody's running?? I'm still battling with my right IT band, but I am able to trot rather slowly around the grass at Ft. McHenry. Jackson and I did a loop just tonite. I'm awaiting new orthotics, and hope to be posting my own race picts sometime soon!