amanda's bloggings

New(ish) Brandi...

2010-02-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

I don't think anyone really checks my blog anymore... so, I guess this is just for my personal archive of favorites. :)

VERY scary Halloween cake...

2009-11-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Here's the scoop - I can't post pics, because yea...it was that scary!!

So, I decided this cake would be two tiered. I dusted off my 12 inch cake pan, did two layers of that size. Then I baked two layers for the top tier, which was 9 inch. Now, while all these cake shows on TV will show fun, creative people making crazy, fun cakes...let me just say, the elusive baking part is NOT FUN. And not only is it not fun, but it's so time consuming.

And let me just elaborate (complain) on that a bit more. It's not only the cake layers you have to make, oh no... once that's done, then you have to worry about icing and fillings. THEN, if you're a beginner (me), just cross your fingers that you've made enough to cover/fill the cake...

As you might have guessed by now...my cake didn't turn out well. :( I spent most of the week baking (or at least, that's the way it felt). I spent my Friday night making the final layer and icing (which completely fell apart).

So anyways, to recap...

My planned two tiered stacked Halloween cake ended up being two separate cakes due to a shortage of time (no time to go out and buy dowels for stacking). I had actually even bought fondant to save time - but that ended up being a disaster as well since I tried to color it and made for sloppy fondant.

All in all, a big setback to my cake making hopes. I'm going to back to basics now. Goal now is to master the basics: small cakes, simple buttercream, store-bought fondant.

The all-important logistics....

2009-09-27T08:06:00.001-07:00

Well, you all know I'm in the website business...and with that being said, I worry a lot about 'process'. I know from experience that if I don't plan out every little detail, then I can spend a lot of time and effort on a website that, ultimately, will flop. We can apply this to a lot of things in life, but for the sake of this post, it will apply to the cake 'process'. :)

First of all, with cake making a lot of it is just common sense... Yea, you need to make the cake before icing it. :) But I can make the icing before making the cake... Anyway, my official cake making 'worry' list:

- Testing. This is one area that I lucked out in. I've got Halloween, Christmas, and nephew birthdays to make cakes for. I don't plan on replicating my whole entire wedding cake prior to, but I think I can get a feel for whether or not it's a do-able task from this. And with time to spare if I chicken out... :)

- Timing. Yes, I'm planning on doing everything as far in advanced as possible. Don't worry, I won't make you all eat a month old cake. But maybe just a day or two. :)

- Storage. This one is a biggie. Unfortunately (and much to the Fat Kid's dismay), our house didn't come with a walk-in fridge. And...well, our fridge doesn't come with any kind of three tiered cake storage (I know...what gives?!!). Being that the cake will be a fondant cake, I can't put it in the fridge anyways (so says the pro's). So, this may not be a big issue. But I will have to plan a 'work' zone space in the fridge to place the tiers whilst I work...

- Day of preparation. Being that I will be a bit busy on March 20th, who will be brave enough to take the cake to the reception?

- (Number #1 worry) Will I ever have time to climb again?? waaahh

The fondant on the cake...

2009-09-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

So, step 2 - fondant. Why fondant you ask? Well, it just seems a bit easier to me than buttercream and I've always preferred the look of a fondant cake.

On to google...for those interested in making fondant, check this out. I made a marshmellow fondant based on this and I was actually pretty surprised how fun it was! I must say, the one thing to note: just when you think you couldn't possibly add any more powdered sugar...add about a pound more.

The whole point of this whole exercise was to make the cake and put the fondant on the cake. Mission accomplished.

Now the blue little extra decoration was a result of having a bunch of leftover fondant and blue icing on hand... Ever wonder what mixing fondant and icing makes? Marble fondant!!

Now...I still need to actually assemble a real cake. Complete with the filling, crumb coat, and dowels. Good, good times. :)

what's in a cake??... Part I

2009-09-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

(I won't make any promises with updating my blog...one post at a time and see how long I can make it!! Just have too much to share to not keep the ab flame going...)

So my latest and greatest adventure, as many of you know, is that of tying the knot. Big day is March 20th at Heritage Hunt Country Club (consider this the 'save the date'...lord knows I'll forget to send those out).

With that said, hey...why not tackle a project completely out of my comfort zone? The wedding cake. Now, I'm not nuts (eh, maybe...). I do know my limits and I know that the day will be stressful enough. But it's a challenge...and I haven't gotten a chance to challenge myself on rocks lately. So, this will have to do!!

Thanks to youtube and google, I've already gotten myself started. First things first, the actual cake.

I grabbed a recipe from a blog (I saw "chocolate" and "moist" and was pretty much sold), purchased some cake pans, went to costco to get ridiculous amounts of sugar, flour, and butter, and got started.

Now, one of the reasons why I think I could do this is because if I had to choose if I'm a cook or a baker (I'm neither!!)...I'd be a baker because I follow directions pretty well. I like precise measurements (I can do that!) and having a process. This wasn't so much the case in my first test cake baking run...

I followed the directions precisely up until the last step!! Where I was supposed to whisk the coffee and eggs together than add it in thirds to the batter, I just dumped in all the coffee. Can I tell you how this affected my cake? No idea...but I just know it doesn't taste good. :(

Round #1 cakes:

This weekend will be round #2. Mission: yellow cake.

To the Flipper...

2009-03-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

I know she likes this song and I told her I'd do it, so here 'tis...

New Hampshire shenanigans....

2009-02-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

Back from ice climbing trip 2009... :-D

Day #1: Woke up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight, got into NH at about noon(?) and did all the grocery shopping and got settled into our cozy little cabin. Managed to hop on the ice for a little while at an area right next to the highway. Here's me sinking/walking to the climbs...

We went to a slide show/dry tool competition that night which was a lot of fun. It was held in a rock gym and they had these special "holds" that mimicked ice. So, you could practice ice climbing in a rock gym...bizarre, but very very cool.

Day #2: We went to a gorgeous area (of which my awesome memory can't remember the name...). We were pretty much the first one's there and the last one's to leave. Yea, we were a bit tired afterwards... Pics from Day #2:

Day #3: We woke up to rain. :( Not a lot but just enough to scare us. But we had some breakfast at Peaches (one must never go to N. Conway and not experience a Peaches breakfast) and things were looking good. So, we got on the ice again for a while. We also tried out dry tooling, which was a first for me. Basically, what it is is ice climbing sans ice. Me attempting the art of dry tooling:

Another climb from Day #3:

Soooo, we got done with the climbing and headed back to return our gear, eat, and make the 2 hour drive to the airport to catch our plane at 7:40pm. Well, a bit of better time management would've been very nice because after our nice dessert...we realized we needed to BOOK it to the airport. Not even out of N. Conway, we got pulled over. Thank god we didn't get a ticket, but the officer was nice enough to take his sweet time giving Adam a summons. We got to the airport at 7:20pm(!!!) and if that wasn't stressful enough...I booked the wrong flight AND there were no seats left AND that was the last flight out. Anyways, I'm not sure how I made it with 2 people on standby ahead of me...but by miracle, I got on the flight.

And that concludes ice trip 2009. Stay tuned for 2010...

Garlicloaf, ke @ v5, and Wiiiild, wiiild horses...

2009-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Mmmm.....garlicloaf. It's Flipper's specialty. ;) I finished my plate (and kept the vampires away all weekend...). What was there not to like? Meat...good. Red peppers...good. 1 CUP of garlic...good.

The ke crew played Velocity 5 on Saturday night. Our new drummer did great. Despite feedback issues in the 1st set, all went well. Oh, and if any of you read your ke updates you would know we need suggestions for a new name! C'mon people, you can't complain if you don't suggest anything...

And lastly, I've been in an acoustic rut. Everything I play sounds like crap. Not sure how or why, but I've gotten positive feedback on this. So, here it is...

Random bits of 'huh?'...

2009-01-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

#1: The "Miss America" event is now being advertised with the song "Keeps Getting Better" (which is the PG title of the better known, 'Some Days I'm A Supah B*tch..'). Aren't Ms. America's supposed to be sweet and innocent? Perhaps I missed my calling... ;)

#2: How can the Caps beat the best team in the league, then go on to lose to the worst team in the league??

#3: I just got digital cable. I struggled with this because I only really wanted it for NHLNET and Versus. Now that I have it, I'm not quite sure how I lived without it.

#4: And finally, pocket pairs!!! And they weren't even the deceiving pocket Q's that always gets me. Seriously, pocket A's and reigning poker queen flops a straight?? C'mon...

Oh, the holidays...

2008-12-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Let's start off with politically correct holiday wishes! Hope everyone had a great holiday and didn't get stuck in too much traffic. We had a great time and got lots of fun stuff.

Highlights:

1. Caps winning streak!!! What a great gift, guys... Just what a hockey fan wants.
2. Buying Skye her favorite present.
3. Seeing the fam/friends/people I generally like to be around. :)

Lowlights:

1. Taking out the prickly Christmas tree. I'm just about convinced to go fake.
2. Cleaning (which includes needing a new vacuum just for the silly pine needles that now cover my floor!! errrrr)
3. Going back to work...

My lil Ovechkin...

2008-12-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

Just last week Ty uttered the words I've been longing to hear for the past 7 years: "Mom, I wanna play hockey". And the little guy stuck to it although he hasn't skated in almost a year, and was a bit wobbly. But most importantly, he had a lot of fun. So proud...

Kickin' it with Santa...

2008-12-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

Ty told Santa the only thing he wanted was the Star Wars ATE Walker (??). I don't know what this is but apparently it's $99.99. Grammies... ;)

A very cold but fun weekend...

2008-12-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Starting off with FNP. I did well. :) I couldn't believe that I actually got some good hands. It was about time, poker gods!! I thank you...

Saturday was the kids day. We had Mya and Parker over. We did ornament making, hockey game watching (hehe), movies, and pizza. Oh, and hamster torturing. :-/ Mya had the quote of the night: "Boys are so annoying. The only way you can be around them is if you really love them...A LOT". :-D So true...

And Sunday was our lazy day...sort of. We got our tree and decorated it. Tyler always cracks me up when I take our Christmas decorations out. He has a stuffed Santa that he's loved since pretty much birth. His tough-guy-Linkin-Park-lovin cover melts away when he spots that thing. And, of course, I recorded a little song. Hope you like...feel free to rate if you do (wink wink nudge nudge).

And in the spirit of Christmas, I leave you with yet another tune. Featuring Mya, Parker, and Tyler. Recorded in my bedroom/studio last year.

Frosty The Snowman - Amanda McCullough

So many moons we have seen...

2008-12-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

Yet another tune for you all. I've been playing around with different spots to get the best audio. This one came out clearer than the last. I'm still toying with my new audio interface to get an even better sound...but I actually think I'm going to return it. I can't get it to sound right (meaning, I need to learn how to sing well).

So, here 'tis. Please rate, comment, subscribe, buy me a new house... :)

My turkey filled weekend....

2008-11-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving! I stuffed myself so much that it hurt. But it hurt so good. :)

I started off the day with a refreshing 5K run with Stacy and Tulip. I'm glad we did it, it was fun and made for a less guilty dinner. I'm now a big fan of 5K's... It's the perfect distance. Especially for my poor knees, which were throbbing halfway through. :(

Me and the FNP ladies after the run...

Then Ty and I headed to Maryland as we do every year. We had a great time. Loved that we had all the kiddies there. With that said, the fam only took up 2 large rooms. Kudos to my Aunt who makes it all look easy...and for making the better turkey (according to taste tester, Ty). :-P Here we are playing with the doggies...

Patting myself on the back...

2008-11-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

I decided to do something a little different this year. I wouldn't even think of skipping out on my Aunt's delicious Thanksgiving dinner, but I did want have my own little dinner. I dunno, just cause...

So, I did my research. Thank you, Mr. Alton Brown. I'm now a full believer in the brine technique.

My awesome turkey...

And it gets better, Tyler (Mr. I Don't Like Anything) loved it. As for everything else, not so lucky. I just don't get how one could not like mashed potatoes! (??)

Youtube rawks...

2008-11-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

As everyone probably knows, I like to mess around with Martin. Probably a little too much. And in my quest to become decent, I peruse youtube for inspiration. Well, I've come across the gamut of 'so awesome, I'm giving up because I could never even compare' to 'seriously?'. So, I decided to give it a whirl. It's been 2 days and I got 2 unsolicited positive comments and even 1 subscriber (hope they like kid video's too!). I was a little skeptical in broadcasting because quality is not all that great, but I think it's a step above 'seriously?'. :)

My climbing bug, so proud!!!!!...

2008-11-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

He started off wanting to climb because he liked the monkey holds. Then he wanted to be Spiderman, he even climbed humming with his own little theme song (so cute). But in all those years, he reached halfway and was done. Not anymore... :-D

Gig wrap ups....

2008-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

3 gigs to catch up on!!

First off, the Halloween party at Mike's house was crazy... So many people. Very very drunk people. :D Good times. I must say, the bands costumes were really pretty awful. I was Little Red Riding Hood (and I didn't really pull it off well considering it was way too hot to wear the hood). The guitarist didn't dress up at all...boo. Next year, it is my mission to have a cool band costume theme.

This past weekend we had a gig at Growlers in Gaithersburg. That place rocks. It was a great time. Sound guy was good, crowd was awesome...can't ask for much more than that in the cover band world.

ke @ Growlers:

And in conclusion, Dave and I played an acoustic gig last night (well, Rafat eventually joined us too and showed us all up w/ his insane guitar skills). This was the first time since "Dandelion Wine" that I've done the acoustic deal. I was a nervous wreck considering that I was playing guitar and singing w/o the band in back of me for the first time. But all went well. I wouldn't say it was my best performance, but I was content with it.

Up next (thus far): Dec 26th, Auld Shebeen.

Top 5 Positives...

2008-11-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm bummed. Not only am I generally not happy with this cruddy weather, what I'm really bummed about is the Caps losing in OT. Poor Johnson played his heart out... And to lose in OT, the worst! Yes, I'm disappointed that McCain didn't win...but seriously, who didn't see that coming? So, here goes with my positives:

1. The election is over - the one and, probably, only thing that I think everyone can agree on!
2. The one goal the Caps did score was way prettier than both Sens goals.
3. ke is making their first MD appearance this weekend in Gaithersburg.
4. Election results == job security for the good folks at the NRA.
5. 2012.

Ah, kids...

2008-10-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

So, Ty and I were chilling last night watching Charlie Brown's Halloween special when he said something post worthy...

(on TV, Lucy is in the midst of yelling at Linus...)

Ty: "Mom, Aunt Meagan is just like Lucy"

Me: "Why do you say that?" (ha, like I don't know)

Ty: "well, she just looks like her...and acts"

Well, Aunt Meagan might not find it funny but I did. :-D

Getting a bit youtube happy...

2008-10-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe since I have blogger's block, I'll resort to narrating my life updates through video...

The Fat Kid and I took Ty to his first football game. We had awesome seats and gorgeous weather. Guess we set the standard pretty high... :-/

I attempted to let Grant Man and Ty go to town on this year's pumpkin but after 30 minutes avoiding the 'yucky stuff inside' with their spoons, the woman - of course - had to do it! ;)

More to come about ke's gig at Fat Tuesday's (awaiting some pics...) which rocked.... so much fun!

The "sleepover", Caps are back, and the Cox Farms finale...

2008-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well, if Ty didn't have a blast this weekend...I'm throwing in the towel. We started off with a sleepover with Colin and Skye. Colin mostly played with Jumpy, or as he preferred calling it, the "hamper". And for those of you who need further explanation (Dad...), they slept over their sleeping bags. :)

We were off to the Caps game on Saturday night. Ty proudly sported his new Caps jersey with Ovechkin on the back. It was an awesome game, helps that they won too. I missed hockey oh so much over the summer...

Closed it off with a gorgeous day at Cox Farms with Parker and Colin. It was a great time. We managed to briefly lose 2 of the kids in the Corn Maze, Ty nearly got his popsicle eaten by a 2 year old (I'd explain but it was a 'had to be there' moment), and Parker got his "Iron Man" pumpkin. I hope Grant (whom I rightfully reserved on Friday!) looks back at this post and realizes how much more fun his Aunt Mandy is than Grammies. ;-P

People DO read my blog...??

2008-10-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

That's the current rumor. So, I suppose I shall indulge you mystery viewers with my usual weekend update ramblings...

Actually, I have two weekends to catch up on. So, last rainy weekend was spent in the mud bath that I shall call the Maryland Renaissance Festival. It was actually really fun (while it stayed dry). The Fat Kid and I took Ty and Colin. And they each got what they came for: swords. So, they were happy campers. I also have some birthday wishes to catch up on: Grant Man and Skye Skye (yes, you all need to vote for that nickname...we can't let Kee-Kai(?!?) win!). Happy birthday to the cutest little niece and nephew an aunt could have. :-D I may be a little biased...

This past weekend was full of Great Falls and band fun. It was a gorgeous weekend, so...it's just about torture to not spend it outdoors. Went to Great Falls to do some hiking and climbing. The band played out at Kirkpatrick's and despite some sound issues and serious lack of practice, it went well. :) Fat Tuesday's coming up next! Oct. 24th, 11pm

No FNP drama for this post, maybe next time. Although, I have a feeling it may morph into a FNP/Rock Band (or FNP/RB) type update...

jenga! - jenga!....

2008-09-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Big shout out to Jason and Ying who were kind enough to throw a party for those of us who couldn't afford a trip to Thailand to be at their actual wedding. I know I should've officially said it months ago (but it wasn't official in my book until I saw the Jenga cake for myself), congratulations Jason and Ying!!

Fat Kid contest...

2008-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Contestant #1:

Contestant #2:

Now, Contestant #1 clearly does not even slow down the food shovel for a Kodak moment. And as his Aunt Mandy, whom knows a thing or two about food shoveling, I couldn't be prouder. I also can attest to the fact that he can and will use his belly as a weapon. And that's just BA.

Contestant #2, on the other hand, does have more experience as the Fat Kid although I'm not sure that his comparatively clean face will give him a win here. He does have the advantage in his philanthropic Fat Kid deeds, since he did buy a box of whoopie pies for his roommate. And in true Fat Kid style, buy a whole cake for himself.

Tough call.

Say hello to Jumpy...

2008-09-03T14:12:00.001-07:00

Ty acquired a new hamster friend over the weekend. "He's the black thing in the picture." - Ty quote to his Grammies when showing her this pic and right after telling her it's a black hamster. It's one those, funny...but had to be there things.

My first political post...

2008-08-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

All reading this probably know I'm not a political person. I vote, and that's about the extent of my involvement. Now, I'm not writing this to start the umpteenth online debate on who everyone should vote for. I'm just merely giving my two cents on how awesome our next vice-president is gonna be... :-D

So seriously, how can I not be excited about the thought of having a 'hockey mom' as vice-president? She hunts, she fishes... To top it off, the woman has 5 kids along with a successful political career. Anyone who can pull that off, IMHO, can do anything. Nice move, McCain.

Go Ms. Johnson...

2008-08-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

So, I'm watching the Olympics last night and I gotta say, I wanna adopt Shawn Johnson. She's an adorable, boldsy, little powerhouse...what's not to love about that?! I'd have to say she's made the Olympics for me so far. Everyone has got Phelps phever, and while I think he's awesome as well...he doesn't quite reach the 'I-wanna-adopt' level with me.

Women's beach volleyball tonight, I hope they at least get challenged. And what happened to the men's beach volleyball? Mmmmmmm, Dalhausser... O:-)

FNP, Ty shows me how to golf, and Tuna's big day...

2008-08-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

FNP is getting back on track. I won a whole $1.20...so watch out Stacy, I'm slowing taking 1st place back.

Took Ty to the golfing range, which was an interesting experience. Just like his mommy, he was reluctant to try something new but did it anyway. And he had a blast. I was pretty impressed with how quickly he picked it up, he was easily hitting the ball better than me (which I guess isn't saying much...yea, I'm that bad).

Sunday was Jason (aka Tuna) and Yui's wedding. Maybe now that they're married he'll get back into climbing and poker....ha! Congrats to the cute couple. :-D

The poker gang!!! Minus John and Wang (who was recovering from surgery...we missed you!).

Rocked the cas'been, climbed, golfed, partied, and climbed (again)...

2008-08-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Phew...so, I'm a bit tired. :)

Friday night was the Shebeen gig. Everything about it rocked...the stage, the lighting, but most of all...the security fellas guarding the stage. Because how rock star is that?! :)

Saturday morning, I dragged my smoke-reeking self outta bed and headed to Great Falls. I took my co-worker out to show her the ropes...it was fun, but her knee was bugging her. So we packed up after a couple climbs. Since it was such a nice day, we decided to head out to the golfing range where she showed me the ropes. It was a lot of fun, but I'm really bad!! How do these people keep their elbows straight??! It's just not natural...

That night we headed out to DC for Yui's bachlorette party. It was a blast!! I hadn't seen Yui for a while...I almost forgot how sweet she is. And all her friends were so much fun. Next, the wedding! woohoo :)

After 3 hours of sleep and still a bit wobbly from pineapple cocktails...headed out to Crescent Rock for some climbing. At this point, I'm just exhausted, but it's such a gorgeous day and the Starbucks is there...I couldn't not go! As always, a fun day on rocks.

$10 poorer, an ok gig, and KD...

2008-08-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, FNP was pretty brutal. Stacy took me out on maybe the 2nd hand when she flopped a straight and I flopped trip queen's. Darn queen's get me every time. The queen of hearts is NEVER your best bet...those lying Eagles. And it didn't get any prettier from there.

Saturday night was our gig in Ashburn, it was just ok. I think everyone was just grouchy from starting late and not having much of a crowd to work with. I will say this though...the 3rd set rocked! Oh, and there was a Redskin there. I did meet him but I can't remember what his name was...shocker, I know. Speaking of which, Auld Shebeen this Friday night everyone. So excited!!!

In conclusion, we took the crew to Kings Dominion on Sunday. The boys (and baby girl) had an awesome time. Ok, I'll admit it...I did too. Scooby Doo roller coaster will never get old and I pulled the victory of my life in the haunted house w/ 1680 pts!! Scott couldn't even compete with his 1200... :P As for the Tyler meltdown of the millenium that ensued at the end, well, we'll just pretend that didn't happen.

Because life has a way of just knowing...

2008-08-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

...when you need a random bottle of personalized candy. :)

Why, Facebook, why?!....

2008-07-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

First, no Scrabulous, now a re-design?? Facebook is killing me. Ok, the Scrabulous thing...I'm fairly shaken up about but at least they cut me off in the midst of a few games I was losing in. I'll let them off the hook for that, just so long as they bring it back before I get the shakes.

But as I'm coping with the loss of Scrabulous, they're now telling me to try the 'new' Facebook. Now everyone reading this knows that I hate change. And I really hate it when something is not broken! But I try it because I know they're gonna force it on me eventually. Of course, I don't like it. Here goes.

1. 'The Wall' and 'Mini-Feed' are now just a big honkin' combined wall. Info overload, yuck.

2. my iLike application is now on the left hand side and it's telling me that, apparently, I like songs I've never heard of. I just wanted the app for the videos...and now they're tiny. I'm doing away with it.

3. Granted, it is much more intuitive now to create a new photo album. But I don't like how I can either do it through the 'Application Tab' or 'The Publisher'. Give me one option or else I'm going to wonder what the difference is...and if I have to think, they have failed.

4. Looks like their trying to squeeze more ads in there. Boo to that. But I do give them credit for sticking to the Facebook 'style' with their ads. Maybe myspace (with their huge, flashing, distracting ads) will follow suit. Then again, does anyone even use myspace anymore?

Just my .02. Knowing me, a few of months of the new Facebook and I'll be singing it's praises.

Miami and our island hopping adventure...

2008-07-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, we are back from our vacation. Now, I don't have very many pics to share (which we'll get to in a moment), so I apologize if this post gets a bit verbose.

First off...Miami Beach. Best part, definitely the water...so gorgeous. A bit crowded for my liking but overall it was a nice place. Being that it's perfectly okay to bathe in the nude on those beaches, probably would never bring Ty there again. But hey, that's just me. We spent the day at South Beach where Ty devoured the 'best waffle' he'd ever eaten, spent some time in the ocean, capped it off with dinner with some fruity beverages :) and watched some women's beach volleyball. (Ty better look back on this post and realize what a cool mom he has...)

We sailed off on Monday and basically spent the day exploring the ship and splashing around a bit in the pool. I also believe this was the day we brought down the house with "Summer Nights" in the karaoke lounge. :) Ah, good times.

Tuesday we docked at the Grand Bahama Islands and hopped on another boat to go snorkeling. This had to be the highlight of the trip. I absolutely loved it, and it was a blast. To top it off, there was a rock wall on the boat and they did competitions to see who got to the top first. And not that I'm competitive or anything...but I smoked the Fat Kid. :P

Wednesday was Nassau, we did the whole Paradise Island thing. It was fun, but we didn't get to spend as much time on the beach as we should have because 1) it took us forever to figure out how to actually get to the beach (but thanks to some stranger... we pulled some Mission Impossible-ish moves and got into the restricted area for free) and 2) silly us, no one brought a watch.

And finally, our last day of the cruise was Great Stirrup Cay (NCL's island). It was nice, but gotta say...Disney's Castaway Cay island put this island to shame. Surprisingly, the beach area was small and it was just crowded. We did some snorkeling there as well...which again, was awesome. Now, as for the lack of photos, that would be due to the fact that a stranger now possesses my camera and all the pictures from our cruise. :( Yup, someone stole it the last night of the cruise. Leaving me with this lonely pic to share...enjoy! :)

WV trip report....

2008-07-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

The much needed climbing weekend getaway! It was so much fun, I forgot how much I missed my little weekend road trips...but I must say, it just wasn't the same without squeaky Jimmy. We headed out Saturday morning and climbed all day at Franklin.

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant which I've coined, the "Italian Surprise". Yea...they give you little treats inside your dinner. Mine was one of those twisty wire things for your bread...mmmm yum.

The next day we climbed at Seneca. I got a good practice session on leading in before the rain hit, so I was happy with that. All in all, good trip. Need to get back into climbing shape, but I got to finally use all my new gear! Now it looks somewhat used...yay. :)

The state of my blogging's...

2008-06-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

So, I've been doing a bit of thinking about my poor lil neglected blog. It's the summertime...I should be posting all about my awesome weekends on rocks and random, mildly amusing wedding gig posts, right? But no....

Well, the climbing posts should start popping up soon...I have little league to thank for that. But I'm crossing my fingers for a Utah climbing trip. I've been drooling at pics for far too long!

Now, the wedding gigs... those days are gone (well, with the exception of this weekend). BUT that just means that you all get to actually go to my gigs and be a part of the mildly amusing posts I'll write up. :) And with that said, mark your calendars for July 25th, we shall be rocking out at Kirkpatrick's.

And lastly, stay tuned as Guitar Hero has inspired me to start a blog series (an a.b. first!)...

Take me out to the thunderstorm....

2008-06-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ty, the Fat Kid, and I went to Nats park yesterday to watch the rain. We were treated with a bit of baseball, maybe caught an inning or two. But I will say that it was pretty interesting to see the whole tarp process they have.

It rained for a good amount of time and Ty was quite the trooper, he wanted to stay until they came back on. We almost made it too, but at 9:50...I called it quits. Come to find out they came back on shortly thereafter, but then it started to pour again. Given the amount of people there when we left...they probably had about 9 people stay till the end.

Getting reacquainted with Martin...

2008-05-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well, being busy with the new band and all, I haven't spent much time on the acoustic (aka Martin)...but I decided to try out a song that was recommended a while ago. It didn't come out too bad, however, the same rules still apply to my high-quality bedroom recordings...gotta crank it to hear it. Enjoy...

My Idol $0.02...

2008-05-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

To think I almost missed the finale! Okay, I honestly didn't really care to see it...until I was flipping through the channels and saw ZZ Top! Nice. The OneRepublic tune was cool...I actually wish Archuleta (sp?) didn't join in on that. Sounded better as is. Jordan Sparks song was horrible... but that girls range just amazes me, doesn't matter what she sings. Ah, same goes to Carrie Underwood...but that song she sang was even more terrible. She's gotten a bit red-neck country. Yek.

As for my thoughts on the winner... how can you compare Archuleta and Cook? They're both awesome in very different ways. I think I was actually pulling a bit more for Archuleta just because being stamped as the American Idol can't be all that great to a rockers career.

FNP and the Burger Off...

2008-05-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

FNP rocked. Apparently, the key is: beer. Not sure how I'm doing on the spreadsheet but if I can get a DD for FNP's...watch out! ;)

The Burger Off, which was a bit 'off', went well. The Fat Kid made an excellent burger with a touch of horseradish, twas yummy. But it was a bit disappointing that by the time he got his burgers done everyone was already full. For future reference, Burger Off's should never have more than 4 burgers! But hat's off to all the cooks, all the burgers were awesome.

Lastly...just a little rant. Now, I can't be too bitter about this because I do my fair share of ...um, raising my voice and occasionally picking up the acoustic fairly late at night. But what I do not do is yell, curse words and all, on Saturday AND Sunday mornings! I'm talking 7:30am-9am...just F-this and that...I'm a fairly heavy sleeper too! No, this does not happen during the week when I'd welcome some extra drama to wake me up. I need to win the lotto and move. :-(

Happy belated Mother's day!....

2008-05-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day! :) I know I enjoyed my breakfast in bed and Scrubs session. It occurred to me recently that I think 7 is the best age for boys. We go out and play ball and he's able to catch the ball most the time...and lord knows, he bats better than me. And now when I pick him up at the end of the day, he doesn't cry anymore! He actually gives me an unsolicited hug and even went as far as asking me how my day was the other day! So sweet. :-D

A pic from our rainy DC field trip...

And continuing on this Mother's Day post... Norweigan Cruise line is having a kids sail free deal. So, go book your vacation! (Preferably the July 21st sailing...so you can hang with us!)

You all raaaawk!!!!...

2008-05-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

First of, huge thanks to those who came out to the Ballroom for the ke Cinco show. I had a blast and it was great seeing everyone, and actually getting to play for friends again! It was bummer that we only played until 10:30...but Everyone But Pete (super nice guys, whom happen to rock!!) probably wanted to play too. :)

We have pics from the show up here (and while you're there don't forget to sign up to be on our mailing list): http://karmaelektra.com/pics.php

In other news...

Sunday marked the first Great Falls climbing visit of the year. Yes, it's May and I'm just now getting out there...so sad. Nonetheless, so much fun.

I'm also getting my feet wet with this whole social media thing. I'm taking things slow though. I've had and neglect my mySpace account pretty much to save my sanity. So, I've been toying with Facebook of late. I'm still not sure I see what all the fuss is about...maybe I'm just a web snob, but all these applications and much of which I can't seem to get it to do what I want. Booo to that. With that said, try it and be my 'friend'!

C-A-P-S!!!!!!!......

2008-04-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

CAPS CAPS CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPS!!!!!

Meet the ke bunch...

2008-04-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

So the May 3rd details...we are playing with a band called Everyone But Pete. But I know you all will come just to see the salsa band. And without further ado, from left to right...I'd like to introduce you all to Ashish, Dave, lilsingerchic, Dana, Jake, and Mike (back).

Mark your calendars...

2008-04-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

As many of you are aware, I recently joined another band. It hasn't received any attention on this blog due to the fact that it's online representation isn't quite what it should be. But it's in the works...

Anyhow, AWESOME news!! We played a birthday party the other weekend, and after much crammed practice and a week of memorizing 20+ songs, it went well...well enough that we got booked for the May 3rd at the Clarendon Ballroom! Very excited...we'll be playing a Cinco De Mayo Event. More details will follow. :-D

Baseball has been very good to Tyler...

2008-04-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a very baseball-ish month for the crew here. We went and saw the Nationals at their new ballpark on Sunday. Very nice ballpark, anyone who hasn't checked it out should definitely go. Here are the boys running the bases afterwards...

Saturday was Ty's little league season opener. Here he is up at bat...

And in older news... My 10 miler was a success. I beat the sweep vehicle...woohoo!! Ahem, sans headphones. :) I could've done without the rain, but such is life.

In conclusion, I just wanted to bring up my struggling Caps. As of tonight, they are down 2-1 in the series to the Flyers. Let's all will the Caps to start Kolzig in the next game and to knock it off with the friggin' turnovers!!! errrrrr! K. I'm done.

Hello Hayden...

2008-04-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Scott and Stacy!! Just look at that poker face... :-D

Keeping the blog alive, sorta new site and running sans headphones(?!)...

2008-04-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

So, not much to report on. Busy, busy.

In old news, the IRF site finally went live. This was built on the supah dupah CMS, Expression Engine. A few pulling-out-my-hair sessions, but generally speaking...it went smoothly. Blog pages for them are currently in development. I know, I know...you all can't wait to post! Although I'd love to take all the credit, the designer and copywriter/client/Fat Kid were awesome.

Oh, and one more thing...I have a bone to pick with this Cherry Blossom 10-miler thing. I somehow convinced myself I could do this primarily because it was assumed I could wear my headphones. No headphones allowed!! Seriously, I'm doomed.

Quality education...

2008-03-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that lately I've been unmotivated when it comes to school and this experience has done nothing but solidify my belief that college is, for the most part, a waste of time and money. That is not to say I don't believe in going to school and getting a good education. It's just a very sad situation that people pay a good amount to get an 'education' that is worthless.

My case: As much as it pained me to switch my major, I decided to drop business and go into IT. Mostly just sad about the two semesters of Accounting with the meanest teacher on earth...I didn't have to do that?!!

Anyways, I signed up for 3 IT courses through NVCC since they transfer over the GMU. Well, one of those courses happens to be Multimedia Software...well, seriously now...I could teach that course. And I don't mind taking it, I realize it's a requirement. My issue is what they're teaching...it's wrong. I won't go into a long diatribe, but basically, they are teaching methods and software that isn't relevant in today's market.

After emailing the instructor about my thoughts I get a nice response basically saying 'Sorry you're disappointed. Submit your assignments using the method you're used to'. Well, that's good but it does nothing to alleviate my concern that once I do get into more IT classes in which I will be wanting to learn new things...how will I know that I won't be learning methods that weren't used back in the stone age?

Oh well...I guess that's what happens when you pay $87 per credit. Which brings me to a whole other issue...only rich people can get a good education? Ok, I'll stop there. I'm not liking the education system right now.

Various tidbits...

2008-03-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

So, Ty's and I were sick most of last week. Poor Ty got the flu and I got something that had me coughing up my lungs the majority of the week. All is better now. So, while I stayed home with my throbbing head I was reading a book on polygamy. I've gotta mention it because it was quite the interesting read. I actually found the fact that these women along with their umpteen kids would live together in a shack to be the most disturbing of it all. Of course, the husband is off marrying whatever he can get his hands on all the while... How touching.

I almost hate to say it, but anybody keeping up with the Idols this year? (hey, being sick gets boring...TV happened to be there...) The guys blow the chics away, but I haven't decided which I like the best yet. Maybe this guy, I give this the 'best Idol performance ever' title...

And lastly, Ty's had his last basketball game of the season on Saturday. That's him getting his trophy. Go Ty! Next up, baseball... again.

Ice climbing trip '08...

2008-02-25T19:10:00.000-08:00

So, I decided to go back to NH to do some ice climbing. If you are a dedicated reader, you will already know this was the site of my first ice climbing experience. But this time, I did take part in the ice climbing festival festivities. We decided to do the ice climbing basic course and the second day we did a guided climb. We really tried to get to the slideshows...but ice climbing is so tiring!!

The first day was revisiting Cathedral Ledge, but this time since we were taking a course...I actually learned ice climbing technique. So, I faired much better. Though I still took some 'graceful' falls.

The second day we went to an area called Frankenstein and ran laps up a route called the 'Cave Route'. It was a very very cool place...

It was a great trip. Our guides were awesome and the weather was good. Should any of you decide to take a trip up there, my recommendations:

- Peaches. A "must-go" for breakfast.
- Moose Mountain (I think?? It's something like that). They make blueberry beer, and it ain't all that bad. All their beer was good. Not to mention the nachos were pretty killer.
- Do not rent a Chevy Malibu. Oddly enough, not the best car in cold weather.

The makings of an awesome weekend...

2008-02-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, my girl scout cookies came in!! Thin Mints kick a$$.

I purchased a new acoustic guitar. A nice little Martin. I've managed to not get anything done around the house because of him.

Came out on the positive side at poker for the second week in a row. And I'd just like to add...the ladies are rockin' the google spreadsheet. :-P

Having Monday off.... Such a happy ending.

Next post: the 2008 ice climbing adventure.

The end of my Swiftkick days....

2008-02-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well it's been quite some time since I stepped in the keyboard nazi's basement and auditioned, but it's time to move on. I officially resigned my spot as the singer/red tambourine-ist as of Monday. Once the two Ryan's left (drummer and keyboardist), I never really got back into it and the whole dynamic of the band, both on stage and off, has never been quite right with me since.

It was tough decision to make and I'm sad about it, but I feel it's for the best.

Super Bowl highlights....

2008-02-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Jordan Sparks...wow...really, WOW. Her National Anthem blew me away. And I actually didn't care for her on American Idol. If I may put on my Simon hat here, I'd say that was her best performance.

Tom Petty was awesome, I dug it. The performance had the potential to rock the house, but I believe any show that has a lighted stage in the shape of heart automatically is denied the 'rock the house' rating.

Favorite commercial was the baby. (Yea, Ty's made me watch some of the game...)

Ha! You didn't think this post would actually be about football, did you?? :)

'I used to have a mom...

2008-01-31T06:47:00.000-08:00

...before eBay slashed their listing fee's by half!' - future quote from children around the world who's mother is an eBay addict.

You know who you are. ;-P

I'm 80% with Yvon...

2008-01-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

So, upon my daily blog perusing I came across a familiar name from the climbing scene in a techy blog. Oh, happy blog day...my two favorite worlds collided! :-D

Yvon Chouinard founded the large and awesome company, Patagonia, and was (and probably still is) an awesome climber. Which makes me proud to say, I think I share in one of his traits...

I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me. - Yvon Chouinard

AMEN. I can't wait to read 80% of his book.

Scenes from Massanutten

2008-01-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Ty's first ski lesson with his instructor, Tyler :) Short, nothing too exciting...

...and his spunky rendition of "Don't You Want Me"

A resolution I, apparently, should have made...

2008-01-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

My poor, poor abandoned blog!! I promise to give it the TLC it deserves from this point forward. I guess with the influx of parties, holidays, general kid cuteness, and things I should have been blogging about...I got overwhelmed.

So, I'll just do a quick sum up and add pics/videos later...

With that said, hope everyone had a grand holiday! :) Ours was hectic, but good. Ty will be busy for the rest of his Bionicle crazed days building all the ones he got. Yes, this year mommy isn't spending 2 weeks glued to Lego instructions.

NYE was a good time in the always happening Waynesboro, PA. ;) And for those of you who want a nice little chuckle, I forgot my gig pants. I know I am the most forgetful person any of you probably know...but c'mon! I've reached a new low. Thank god for BigK.

Okay, so that's my holiday sum up... Stay tuned for my ski trip wrap up, video included. :D

Gingerbread time...

2007-12-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

Ty's was hard at work this morning making his gingerbread house. Very impressed with his candy trayscaping skills. :)

Cook, cooking, and the Revolution...

2007-11-20T08:46:00.000-08:00

...and in that order.

So, Friday night was the Dane Cook gig. It was funny, as expected. That Dane Cook, he is one silly...boy. Headed up to MD to say hello and wish my dad and Denise an early happy birthday (btw, everyone say happy birthday to my dad....Happy Birthday, Dad!!).

Saturday night was the much anticipated Iron Chef America BBQ Smackdown Royale!! I was one of the 3 panel judges. The results were unanimous...Scotty Boy Manson stole the show with his pork chops and veggie boat. (Victory speech??) Wang came in strong at second place with his chicken, potatoes, and judge fav - Lay's Kettle Cooked BBQ chips. Chairman Frost finished last with his smorgasbord of food smothered in green stuff. Pics coming soon!!

The band got a last minute booking for Sunday evening. I don't watch soccer, but apparently the 'super bowl' of soccer happened that day and we were playing the post party for the New England Revolution, one of the teams playing. Unfortunately, they lost so believe it or not, they weren't in a dancing kinda mood. Well, at least I can check "Singing for a professional soccer team" off my life's to-do list...

Scotty Boy Manson - Tragically Misunderstood, Beautifully Wounded

2007-11-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

I think... caption contest! So far we've got:

"A Passage to Bangkok - How a Belly Dancer Broke my Four Hearts"

"Hi, this is my boyfriend, Scott"

"I'm getting sleepy, very sleepy."

"I am a cyclop mutant, son of Uranus and Gaia from the dark pit of Tartarus."

Enjoy.

Scenes from da farm...

2007-10-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Took the Grant Man and Ty's to Cox Farms over the weekend. They had a blast! By far, Grant has been the best of the Stables when taken out for a fun day with Aunt Mandy. :) It was the perfect day to go, and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too crowded. I believe the trick is to go while the Redskins are playing.

An interesting approach and a standard wedding...

2007-10-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Yet another wedding this past weekend (yes, it's officially Friday and I'm just now updating the blog now...good lawrd, it's past my bedtime!). It went off without a hitch, except me missing my cue on 'Everlasting Love'... I had the Howard Jones version stuck in my head which was the wrong one. No harm done, it was their first dance, no one noticed.

So, off to go climb on Sunday... Always good times, but way too short. Not that I didn't have enough time but after the first two climbs, my arms decided to quit. And part of my proof of this is the 'interesting approach' shown below. We needed to basically traverse across the bottom of the cliff to get to our rope. The good news is that the water was real shallow and my buddy traversed on the rock just fine. The bad news...my arms were spaghetti and just as I'm ready to come off the cliff, my buddy tried to help and in the process got a nice foot bath. And yes, I stayed dry by a nice shoulder ride to the other side. :-D

The weekend: I survived but $10 short....

2007-10-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Finally....back to FNP this weekend. Nothing in terms of progress to report. As far as regressing goes, definitely. Lost $10. Now I could've stopped at my standard -$5 donation, but figured I'd lose money to make up for the missed weeks.

We had a gig Saturday night which went well. As for the folks who haven't seen the new (ahem, controversial) Swiftkick line-up, here goes...

Drop everything you are doing....

2007-10-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Which way is this chic spinning for you, clockwise or counter-clockwise?

I've almost perfected the art of making her spin both ways on command, another 20 minutes (added on to the 10 minutes I've already spent) and I'll have it down pat. I will not be beaten by this...

The mumbo-jumbo behind this...

NC weekend wrap up....

2007-10-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

So, the band had a wedding gig in Durham, NC over the weekend. My attempted to make a weekend of it was thwarted by the 4pm start time. Bums.... What fun is an afternoon reception?! As expected, crowd was dead until it got to be night time. After that, twas fun. Check out the sweet wedding favors.... GENIUS :-D

Brandi belts it, foul-mouthed brides, and Ty's first baseball game....

2007-10-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

This must be the catchiest song I've heard in a while. Love it. Enjoy! Anyhow, went to see Brandi again last Friday night with the Fat Kid. Although I preferred the Birchmere performance, I was not disappointed. Great show, awesome new songs. And I must mention the heist that occured beforehand. Just to give you an idea, there was running in the middle of a DC street involved. There supposedly will be a follow up in regards to that....

So, Saturday night was a gig up in Maryland. Now, our wedding gigs have become routine enough to the point where I don't usually mention them...but this absolutely deserves a paragraph on the bloggings. So, the bride is about to toss her bouquet and she notices that a friend is not participating. She stomps up to the mic and says "Katie, get you p*ssy out here!". Yes, folks...in front of friends and family. She tried to play it off by quickly saying "pushy, pushy". But we all knew...

Took the lil one to his first baseball game on Sunday. The O's, um...yea, didn't do too well. Ty's was having loyalty issues during the game. He started off routing for his Yankee's but he came around later and proudly wore the O's hat. He enjoyed the game although he was a bit antsy. Couldn't have been that bucket of coke I got him... ;-)

Welcome to the world, Skyler!!!!....

2007-09-25T20:05:00.000-07:00

I'm now the proud aunt of lil' Skyler Dawn Stables. 8.2 lb, 20.5 in. Hope she enjoys the quiet of the hospital now before getting home to her 3 bro's! That will be interesting... :-D Congrats and GOOD LUCK Meagan and Scott!

In other good news happening tonight...I'm happy to announce that Tulip got her job in AZ!! While I'm sad to be losing a neighbor, buddy for Tyler, and climbing partner; very happy that now I have an excuse to go and climb in AZ. jk :-) Congrats Tulip!

Let's see how country I can get...

2007-09-24T11:52:00.001-07:00

Just learned it last night so be gentle. I'm still trying to find a good upbeat acoustic song for me to play. Till then, depressing songs it is!

Welcome to McCullough-hood....

2007-09-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Good luck with Dad!! hahahaha ;-D

Loved the cake toppers, loved the cake, loved the tropical theme (executed quite well), but the toast needed work. Very nice wedding. Congrats, dad and Denise!

Getting back to norm, well sorta...

2007-09-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

My faithful readers, again, please excuse the lack of posts. The Rainier trip, band shtuff, baby showers, bachlorette parties, weddings, Ty's starting school, the drama that ensued from Ty's starting school, Ty's little league, freelancing, and oh yea... regular work; the past few weeks have been a bit busy.

And now that things have died down a bit...let's add swimming lessons. Hey, why not? He was so excited about starting. So much so that he couldn't float on his back because he kept laughing. Nonetheless, the boy is definitely a born athlete.

Lil' bug update...

2007-09-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tyler's first day of school was yesterday and so far, so good! His teacher is "a boy"....which leads me to believe he'll do well in school this year. And he loves being able walk with Parker (and the rest of the Stables crew) to school.

And this season (his first season of coach pitch) will be with the Yankees. He did really well at practice yesterday. And one of his team mates is in his class, so that'll be cool. They can come up with plays during recess....

He got to play catcher yesterday, he was funny about it though. I think he thought his purpose was to stand there and let the ball hit him.

The Rainier Expedition...

2007-09-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

Well, the much anticipated Mt. Rainier is over. And although I didn't bag the summit, it was quite the adventure.

There were 8 clients (including me) in my group and 4 guides. The group dynamic was pretty good. Two of the guys were buddies from Seattle and in their mid 30's, another two were in their late 40's and were doctors, there was a guy probably around my age from Louisiana, and the babies of the group were Alaina and Kevin who were in their early 20's (they both worked for the guide service and got a free trip due to cancellations).

Day One

We drove up to an area on Rainier called "Paradise" (5,000 ft) and started our hike there. The start of the hike was actually pretty tough. It had me really wishing I would've spent more quality time on the Stairmaster. Our destination was Camp Muir which was at 10,000 ft. I did okay for the first 4,000 ft., but that last 1,000 ft was me basically running on fumes.

Below was a gorgeous spot on the hike to Camp Muir, that's Mt. Adams on the left and Mt. St. Helens on the right (in the way back). You could actually just barely see Mt. Hood from there as well but, unfortunately, didn't come thru in the pic.

We rested up for a while once we got to Camp Muir, had dinner, then slept in one of the huts.

Scenes from Camp Muir...

Day Two

Started off with a nice blueberry pancake breakfast (which would've been great had I been hungry...appetite and altitude don't play well together). Then we put on our crampons (spikes you attach to the bottom of the boots) and learned all about self rescue. I have to admit, the best part...sliding down the mountain head first trying to catch myself with my ice axe. I'll take that over sipping daiquiries on the beach any day. :-D

At around 2pm, we started off our relatively short (1,000 ft) hike to high camp. And here's where I thought I was going to lose it...

That rocky terrain you see there on the right? Yea, that wasn't so fun. We got to that point and not only was it steep and extremely windy, but in some parts it felt like walking in quicksand and it didn't get any easier as we went up and around that area to find more rocky terrain that I found nearly impossible to navigate through with crampons and a heavy pack.

But alas, High Camp...

We rested up for a bit and had dinner. The head guide then informed us that we would be making our summit attempt that night at 10:30pm. So, it was off to sleep right after dinner...not that anyone really slept...

10:30pm rolls around and we get all geared up, have 'breakfast', and clip into the ropes. We hike through a steep downhill and uphill portion then continue to hike a steep uphill portion for what seemed like forever. We finally get to a stopping point and the guide who was on my rope asked me how I was doing. I told her I was tired but doing alright. She then comments on how tired I look and that I wasn't moving too quickly. I then realize that she wants me to turn around. The disappointment hit me pretty hard since I felt I had worked my tail off to get to that point. So, I told them my preference was to keep going but that I'd go back to camp if they felt that was the best for me and the group. They appreciated my good attitude, which was little consolation for me, and had me head back down.

I have mixed feelings on that decision. On the one hand, I think I would've had an easier time if one of the guides would have stayed with me and climbed more at a pace that was manageable for me (instead of having to keep up with the guys). Had all 8 clients gone for the summit, I wouldn't have expected them to do this but the guy from Louisiana bailed and Alaina got altitude sickness. So, there were 4 guides and 6 clients. But to be fair, they are the ones who climb mountains for a living. Not much I can argue with there...

Day 3

I got back to High Camp around 1:30am and slept like a log until the others got back. Four clients wound up reaching the summit. We packed up and started descending at around 11am. The descent was a bigger pain than I had expected. At that point, my boots were killing me, I was still a bit peeved about not reaching the summit, and my guides were bolting down the snow slopes while I struggling just to keep on my feet. But all that went away when we got to the point where we passed the snow fields and I was able to finally put my sneakers on again...it was a beautiful moment. ;)

And that's my Rainier adventure... I do want to go back and climb it, especially now that I know better what to expect. Maybe in a few years. My co-worker was telling me today about some cool mountain climbs in Canada....hmmm.....

Stay tuned....

2007-08-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Don't believe the rumours... I do not have bloggers block. The psychic did not recommend that I was never again to post on my blog. And I did not lose all my money at poker to which I was too depressed to write.

Just insanely busy at work...will post all sorts of good stuff about Parker's newfound popularity, Ty's favorite new channels, and the quickly approaching Rainier trip soon!

Why I love "A List Apart"...

2007-08-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

If a website could stalk a person, I think this one has my number.

So, just last week I scolded a now ex-client for not writing good content for his website. And as I'm perusing my bookmark list, I see that A List Apart decided that this issue, dedicated to web writing, was solely dedicated to lil ol' me...how nice of them!

Now, as I dabble with freelancing, I realize I'm not making high-traffic websites whose owners have deep pockets to pay for copywriters, design, and maintenance. And, in this specific case of my aforementioned ex-client, I didn't expect content that would knock my socks off. But with the little content I received, there was no mention of what areas the business serviced and a requested site navigation of seven pages/sections all with little to no content. It was plainly obvious that the 'content' was pretty much fluff that he felt he needed to have to get a website up. Not content that was written with the end user in mind.

What I do expect and have grown to require out of clients is more effort and research on their part. My frustration stems out of clients that want a website just to have a website and want me to conjure something outta thin air. I'm a big fan of the internet and of the potential it could bring a start-up business, charity, etc. And while I can provide design and development, I'm not a writer. And the problem is, I think writing/content, in many cases, is the most important part of the website.

Just to give you an example, the Philippine Children's Foundation. Much to my mother's chagrin, I did this website for free. Why did I do this free and not her charity website? Because the owner did his homework. He gave me content for every page on day one. He supplied me with good photos I could work with. Now, he was pain with settling on a logo...but he was generally enthusiastic about the project, and that made all the difference in the world.

But, to be fair, maybe I'm just a grouchy web dummie who has nothing better to do with my time than rant on clients and dream up terms like 'web sins'...

Have you the wing?...

2007-08-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

So, let me just get this straight. Derek has his degree and is now married? I'm still trying to comprehend this chain of events and I'm still confoozed! Next thing you know, my dad will get married...oh wait... ;-O

It was a really fun wedding. The boys did a superb job with their ringbearer duties, although Parker just about passed out on my lap from the heat. They were so adorable in their tuxes!! The preacher, with his stuck-in-adolescence voice, was kinda funny. I don't know how Meagan kept a straight face. In fact, I would've paid good money to hear him to start off with 'Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday....' Plus, it would've been all too fitting with the heat.

Best wishes to those two little love birds (along with their new supah cool wine bucket)!

'And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...'

Awww, my first EB web baby...

2007-07-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

My first web launch with the new company. Look at that code, isn't it gorgeous?

"To the beach, to the beach, to the beach beach beach beach"....

2007-07-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Is it just our family, or does everyone have their own little beach march?

So, the boys enjoyed a day of beaching and fishing (well, fishing was mostly Tyler) on Saturday. It was the perfect beach day, although it was a bit rough. Grant-man enjoyed making belly molds in the sand and occasionally giving it a little taste. Colin-bear spent most the time watching the water...his highlight, I'm sure, was wrecking his Aunt Mandy's sand castle! Parker was just Parker and enjoyed bossing around the big giant waves. And Tyler, well...there's the beach and his cousins, he was a happy camper.

My bug, Grant-Man, Colin-Bear, and Parker PiBS...

Uncle Scott, Ty's, and his big giant fish...

Seneca, Yokum blowkums, and Sunday laziness....

2007-07-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

So, it was a good trip to Seneca. We climbed some single pitch stuff on Saturday. I didn't get to lead anything. :-( But maybe next time, it was good practice anyhow. I did get to use my gear a bit for some practice pitches on top rope. Of course, I managed to bang the hell out of knee on the first climb...so, that made for a grumpy me the rest of the day. errrrr

The plan was to camp out Friday night and stay at the motel on Saturday night just because I'm a girl, and I'm girly like that. So, we pack up camp and head to the Yokum's (the motel) and low and behold...they overbooked. My reservation had apparently been unreserved. They tried to stick us in their 'other' hotel, the same hotel that boasts the infamous "Room #9" (5 points to the faithful blog reader who knows what this means...). So, yea....our options were to set up camp again or head back. Being bitter about my pseudo-reservation, coupled with my knee, I decided to head home.

I'll spare you all the details of my lazy Sunday. Unless you all are just dying to hear about my bathroom and kitchen floor cleaning adventures... Oh, did watch the new Potter movie. Much like the book, it wasn't bad but it wasn't all that good either.

Scenes from the weekend...

2007-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

My little good luck charm! The Grant-man going to town on a snack pak, who knew that this is just what I need before FNP. Yup, people...I won $11! Another night like that and I'm outta the negative.

We went to Alexandria on Saturday to enjoy the fireworks (that didn't happen). But it was fun, got to walk around Old Towne Alexandria...which I haven't done in a while. They were selling lots of neon glowy things, some of which resembled a light saber. So, guess who wanted one? And guess who stood their ground and didn't give in to the constant, persistent, maddening pleas? Tyler with his parrot buddies...

I'd post pics from the bridal shower that took place on Sunday, but it's way too raunchy for my G-rated blog! Sheesh, Meagan.... ;-)

Say hello to my new car....

2007-07-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

You guys like it?! Somewhere underneath, there is a blue 2007 Camry with supah cool KNEE AIRBAGS. The knee airbags are not available for passengers, not available for Tyler (until he starts driving), and not available in the backseat. But, you know, I just really appreciate all of the concern! Such caring people you are. I was not able negotiate ice cream and donuts to the terms of the purchase, but with the extra money I'm saving by not buying a Lexus...I'm going to hire a cabana boy to feed me ice cream and donuts after all my service appointments. :-D

The Camry...no, the CR-V, how 'bout a Lexus...or there's the Subaru...

2007-07-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, tomorrow's the big car sales day. It's final decision time. And, of course, now I'm starting to question whether or not I should just fork up the dough to fix the squeakiness and just cross my fingers that nothing else goes wrong with the Jimster (right...).

So, for a while the Camry was the forerunner. Knee airbags (go ahead Tuna, you know you wanna say something), side impact airbags, and fuel efficient. It's the most practical car of my list...

But then I got to thinking about all the road trips and all the times having an SUV came in handy. So, back to the SUV's I went. I refuse to pay for another gas guzzler so the mid-size SUV's will have to do. Here goes...

Highlander - Dig that it's the biggest of my options (tho, not by much) and it's not too bad price-wise. It's also ok on gas. Test drove it a couple of weeks ago, I actually don't like that it's such a smooth and quiet ride...where's the sport in that?! So, it's not really an SUV...but a UV. By the way, this and the Camry were both approved by the little one.

RAV4 - I'm liking the gas efficiency on this one. It's a bit cheaper than the CR-V, which always helps. But it is smallest of the lot.

Other considerations that didn't quite make the top 3 includes:

Forester/Outback - Forester was surprisingly small and Outback was a bit pricey and no knee airbags!

Passat - Really liked the safety features and interior. But Camry got the edge thru resale value and I hear VW's are a pain when it comes to repairs/maintenance.

Used nice cars - Don't wanna pay high interest rate and from what I've seen, the new ones aren't all that much more in price.

So, there you have it. Any suggestions, comments, or random thought is welcome...

Old Rag Epic, Part II

2007-07-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

The trip started out okay. We got up to the summit. And yea...that was merely the approach. We downclimbed a bit from there and climbed a couple of routes. Then the epic ensued...

So, after we left the area, called the 'Summit' area, we went to get to the 'Sunset' area. This was the same place we tried to get to the last time we went to Old Rag (please refer to prior post). Well, the bushwhacking didn't get any better this time. Here I am, trying to follow the fella's and being that I believe I was the only one that was carrying both rope and gear...I think it's safe to say, I had the heaviest of loads. And we're full on bushwhacking and not only did I have the bonus of the heavy pack, but I also had the luxury of being the fly magnet. So, again I decided to head back to the main trail. But then they found the area up ahead, so I decided to stick it out. But after another 10 minutes of bushwhacking and hearing that these would be short climbs, I decided that it just wasn't worth it, so I told the guys I'd meet them at the car.

Now, I was fully aware that I didn't know the exact way back to the trail. But my directional instincts are usually not that bad. But not in this case, I got soooooo lost!! And I was fine, up until the point where I realized I couldn't hear the guys anymore and there were no hikers within earshot. Matter of fact, the only thing I heard was the buzz of the extremely annoying flies that never left my side. And I'm not talking a stroll through the woods here, I was scrambling over boulders and having fights with thorny branches. Anyhow, so back to being lost.... I've reached a section where the rock looked really familiar...so I felt hope. Only to climb over and see that there is nothing but thick crap all around me. I had busted my a$$ getting over that boulder only to find myself even more lost. And it was at this point, I went into full panic mode and starting cursing myself for not going to Sportrock instead. So, I drop my pack and scramble back up the boulder and decided to utilize my vocal chords and started yelling for the guys. 10 minutes goes by....nothing. I scramble up further, try again...finally, someone responds. Long story, semi-short...I get rescued and my rescuer's only advice to me was that if I wanted to meet people, next time use match.com. Nice. If I hadn't been so insanely grateful for being back on the path, I would've felt pretty silly. :-/ No more bushwhacking at Old Rag for me.....EVER.

The future of the NHL...

2007-06-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Tyler/Parker line take to the ice...

Ty's trying to impress his tall, blonde teacher...

Parker after being, um, tripped...

"I wish I had a little bit of hotness everyday"...

2007-06-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Random Tyler quote there for your enjoyment... You may take a stab at what he was referring to, but please, keep it PG.

So, FNP. Do I really need to say it?

Saturday was a late Mother's Day day. We had brunch at the always-so-good Rosemary's Thyme, highly recommend it if ever mozying around in the Centreville area. Then we were off to the Kennedy Center for The Phantom of the Opera. Phantom and Christine were quite impressive. One thing though, and maybe you all can help me out on this. Does the Phantom usually wear the cape and hood completely covering his head during "Point of No Return"? Because I was really looking forward to that song but all I kept focusing on was how silly it looked that the hood was completely covering his face! I mean, c'mon...who does that?? And I get it, yes...he was in disguise. But I just don't recall that that was how it was done in the past.

And in conclusion, I never got into RTM at all the past weekend. Not even to the gym! Poor lil' bug was sick all weekend, so there was no talking him into a Great Falls trip. But this coming weekend...I've got my eye on a hike that has RTM written all over it, it's going to make me suffer and cry. Fun stuff. :-D

Fugly FNP, rocks, hike, gig, sugar daddy's, and dad's day (phew!).....

2007-06-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Poker was FUGLY. That is yet another Amanda word, use your imagination to decipher my code. I must say, I really deserve the last place on the Google spreadsheet award after that performance. Just give me the title now. You'd think I'd notice when the higher poker beings finally bless me with a good hand....but no, I just completely disregard the Ace that's sitting there right smack dab in front of me and fold. Maybe I need to find people that play on a two-minute delay...that is apparently the time span I need to assess what I have. I don't get it.

I spent Saturday climbing, hiking, and gigging. I was a bit busy. And I'm still sore....not so much from the climb/hike, but from the gig. So, I was a bit tired at my gig, but helping the feller's load up afterwards pretty much did me in. Not to mention that my eye's are still recouping from seeing all the 60+ men with their 20 year old play things at this gig. Ewwwwww... After that, I'm not sure if I can even joke about having a sugar daddy anymore.

And Happy Dad's Day!!! Hope you all wished you wished your dad (or mother, for those of you who haven't talked to your dad in 7 years) a happy day!!

Due props and request...

2007-06-15T06:51:00.001-07:00

So, as many of you know I've been on an acoustic kick. Much of that I'm blaming on the Fat Kid for providing the crack, in form of music that is called, Brandi Carlile. Although my dishes are stacked to the hilt and Ty's is watching a lot more TV lately...I must give props. I don't watch enough Grey's Anatomy to have ever discovered her on my own.

Now, by request, Cowboy Junkies... Oh, and the iChat effect at the end is my own personal signature on the song. Thank you, I put that in there just for you guys.

Happy Birthday Flipper!!...

2007-06-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

...and you almost thought I wouldn't mention your 21st birthday. Yes, the day delay was totally on purpose. ;-)

Summersville camping report...

2007-05-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow...what a weekend. We got back at 2am last night and after 3 hours of not good sleep, I must say, I'm a little tired right now.

So, we left at 10:30am on Saturday (had a bit of a delay due to my car needing a new belt...does it ever end??) and got there in time to set up the tents, have a peek at the lake, and most importantly... roast marshmellows. And no, I couldn't watch. I was quite content with my graham crackers and chocolate, thank you.

Sunday was a good workout, for us and the kids... We packed up our lunch, climbing gear, and swim stuff and headed for the lake. Took us about a half hour to get to where the climbs are only to find out that it was packed with climbers. Luckily, our official guide (or shall I say, person who owned the guide book) found a 5.8 that we thought would be do-able. And I know I haven't been at the gym as much as I used to, but it was no 5.8! I just barely managed my way up. At any rate, it was neat...we happened to run into some other 'regulars' from the gym. Small climbing world. We then finally let the kids have their way and went to the 'Pirate Cove' to play in the lake and watch all the crazy cliff jumpers.

Monday was the icing on the cake. We rented a pontoon boat and since we met up with another family there and split the cost, it worked out quite nicely. We just went down the lake and stopped at certain neat spots and got in. So much fun, it was one of those rare occurences where I couldn't tell if the adults or kids were having more fun. We managed to climb a little bit on the cliffs which was great, although my aching feet would beg to differ. And after that, we were all ready for a nap but unfortunately a 5 hour drive awaited me. But well worth it...

How do you define 'spring'?....

2007-05-23T12:37:00.001-07:00

Well, I was going to wait until I got pics to post from the hiking trip to the Shenandoah's last weekend... but I know you all are just chomping at the bit to read my latest weekend 'goings on' so here goes! ;-)

FNP was ok, I've managed to spend the last two weeks in positive territory. But as for the all-telling Google spreadsheet... I am the big ol, flagged and flaring red colored negative leader. Before my own mother starts berating my poker skills... there is still months to go! I'm not preparing my last place acceptance speech just yet.

And onto Saturday... went hiking out in the Shenandoah's. It was a good time, it was gorgeous weather which kinda made it difficult to not hop onto some rocks, but hiking is a good thing as I'm in 'Rainier training mode' (now, I know that the governing rule is '2 times to be acronymized'...but for brevity sake, from now on it's RTM). And just outta curiousity, how would you all define the word 'spring'? In terms of a park, water...not season, hopping, etc.

And Sunday...not much to report except band practice. Once again, gorgeous out...rocks were a-callin' but so are wedding songs that need to be learned. No rocks this weekend. Sorry folks. :-(

Mommy's Day and open enrollment at Duck U...

2007-05-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

First of all... Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's that I didn't get a chance to wish a happy day to yesterday! :-D

Well, the weekend was good and went by way too fast. Seriously, society needs to consider adopting a 3 day weekend standard. Really...why not?? So, I managed to not do too terribly bad at SNP. Would've done a lot better had I not kept getting pocket Queen's....what an evil hand. But speaking of evil, how bad is it that the biggest hand I won was with triple 6's on the flop?? Mwah hahaaa... (my e-evil laugh)

Yesterday the boy and I went to visit with Daffy and Daisy (did I get the names right?). The kids got such a big kick out of the ducks. I must say, though, that Grant takes the 'moment of the day' award for totally faking out the ducks and having some yummy duck grub for himself. That was a classic move perfected by a 1 year old. I'm having a proud Aunt moment.

Ty's conversing with the ducks...

A nice little diddy...

2007-05-08T21:11:00.001-07:00

So, here's a cute little song that I don't do justice...enjoy! :-)

Frats, rocks, and job update...

2007-05-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

I give JMU credit. Those guys do not let rain foil their drunken festivities! Yea, so frat party this weekend. Like last year, crazy!! So, in generally, the gig was really fun but I've assessed that there is a certain inebriation level to which it's just not a fun crowd anymore. Example, the level at which they are all happy and bouncin' around to whatever we play...good. The level at which they want to hear "Shout" 5x in row...bad.

Climbing on Sunday...superb. The weather, that is. My climbing performance? Eh, left much to be desired (finger strength!). But it was great to just enjoy the day by the water. I don't think this place will ever get old to me...

Now, onto the new job... I don't like it. I love it. And I'd better considering I got another job offer for a lot more and I'm not going to take it (not going to do it...not going to do it...did I mention a LOT more $$?). Anyhow!! The people are great, I've got my own cubicle again (made me realize how much I hated working at an open desk...), and yummy restaurants at Reston Town Center right across the street. :-D Things are good.

Swiftkick: Behind the Music...

2007-05-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

The McGinty's Episode:

What are the chances that a sub drummer remembers to bring all his equipment EXCEPT for the kick drum pedal...and a person who just happens to be crossing the state line to see the show manages to be able to bring one?!? I think it's safe to say that the rock gods were definitely looking out for us on Saturday night... the acoustic gods almost got their way.

Minus the pedal drama, the gig was fun!! And I got a "Kill Amanda" drawing memento, niiiice...

There is some good country...

2007-04-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I do not like country. But as I'm sitting at the Birchmere last night watching in awe as this girl belts it out...I'm thinking, this girl's aight. The first few songs I heard from her, I was pretty much in denial that she was country. But she busted out some yodeling last night, which pretty much sealed the deal. But I don't care, I loved it...I actually thought it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to (yea, she's right up there with The Wiggles).

I highly recommend:

What Can I Say
Fall Apart Again

My little giant...

2007-04-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of the game today was when the team was in outfield and the coach kept repeating to everyone to keep their eye on the ball...and one little kid yells back "we are keeping an eye on the ball". Ah, had to be there....

Another job move...

2007-04-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

After much internal debating...I've decided to take a position at another company.

Overall, I'm really happy and excited about the move. It's a good chance to hone my front end skills. I'll also be doing web development at this new place. It's a marketing agency so it's exciting to go to a company that specializes in branding and design (going back to my roots!). The down side to this whole deal is leaving my current company. Giving my notice was tough. I guess since we've dwindled down to a seven person company, I feel bad leaving those guys. But, hopefully, they understand...

Well, stay tuned...first day is April 30th!

SNP and the near Old Rag epic...

2007-04-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

How about I begin at SNP? I snatched up an extra $5. :-) I'm now 3rd to last on the Google spreadsheet. I can't really say it's a satisfying win as I basically took the money from a not-so-sober person. Not that she probably will remember any of it...

So, today me and a buddy went to Old Rag Mountain. Good times, good times... The intention was to go scout the place out for climbing and possibly climb something while doing so. Well, buddy had his eye on a certain rock wall...a certain wall that was only accessible following a "faint path". Finding a faint path in normal weather, fairly easy. Finding said path in snow, good luck. So, we're bushwhacking along in what we think may be the path and we come to a point where I've about lost hope. So, I bid my friend luck on his quest in finding his holy wall and head back to the main trail. After battling the branches and thorny bushes...I finally get back to the trail (pretty much completely snow covered and branches sticking outta my hair...I looked hot). ;-) So, anyways...all went well up to the summit (see below...quite lovely) and met up with buddy on the way back down. He never did find his wall.

My weekend pics:

He loves his Aunt Mandy...

Old Rag...

And my personal favorite:

OC recap...

2007-04-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Took the little guy to the beach this weekend. We're headed back tomorrow... :-( Not quite beach weather, but nonetheless, Tyler still got in the water and half froze himself! Yea, people were walking by in their sweaters amazed at this little guy frolicking in the water like it was 100 degrees out. :-O Got a little fishing in yesterday (nothin' biting) and had a little crab feast afterwards. Oh, and how could I forget...had the best doughnut EVER!! Fractured Prune...if you're ever in Ocean City, you must have a doughnut here. (Just maybe set aside 5 hours later to exercise it off...)

Good sunset today...