I won!

Woo hoo! Our local Trader Joe's called me yesterday to let me know that I'd won their weekly drawing. Everyone who brings in their own shopping bags gets entered to win a $25 store credit and this time it was my turn. Yay!

Brunch with my family

Yay! I got to spend more time with Page, Jonathan, and Aunt Marjorie today. We went out for brunch at a local place famous for its' "no frills dining". There were seven of us all together, as you can see from the photo, because Jonathan and Page had two friends over (Lonnie, who is practically family since she lived with Jonathan, David, & Uncle Les during the summers while she was in college, and Jake who lives around the corner from Jonathan & Page) and Jonathan asked me to invite Steve because the two of them get along really well. In addition, Page used to canvass for PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) so she and Steve have similar experiences. Anyway, I ordered a dish called "El Paso" which is cornbread topped with scrambled eggs, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream. Yum! I also ordered a side of grits because this place makes them really well and I haven't had them in quite awhile. Thankfully, we walked to the restaurant from Page & Jonathan's so I did burn some calories. :) I'm really grateful that I'm getting to spend more time with my friends and family now. This was a really nice morning, nice weather, good meal, and fun conversation. I can't really express it but I feel warm & fuzzy inside. :)

Partying with Jonathan & Page

I spent most of today helping my cousin Jonathan, and his wife Page, celebrate his being cancer free for three years. It was really nice to meet more of their friends and neighbors, eat a really yummy cake, and see my Aunt Marge for the first time in 12 or 15 years. The party began at 3PM and I just got home a few minutes ago. Check out these pics! Obviously that's Jonathan cutting the cake. Below his single photo is one of Page eating the cake, then their adorable dog Lila---who didn't get any cake, and finally my Aunt who enjoyed the cake as much as the rest of us.

Another Brush With Fame

Last night I was this close to John Hodgman, the actor who portrays the PC in Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials. I was on my way to meet some friends after eating my dinner at a local park, (local musicians perform for free at the park each week and they are really good), when I noticed an acquaintance of mine (a local radio personality) walking towards me in a group of people. As I said, "Hi!", I recognized the person who was walking next to him. They both smiled at me and I went on my way with a spring in my step. (C'mon, you already know I'm a geek!) :) Anyhow, I wasn't really surprised to see Mr. Hodgman because he has family in the area and he guest hosted a local radio show recently. I love living in this area! :)

Whoops!

Okay, so I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I've been busy since I got back from vacation. I've done way too much shopping because I had to stock up on everything I was out of. On the upside, while I was at the mall (yes, I went to the mall, pick your jaws up off of the floor now please) I purchased "Torchwood: Children of Earth" at Best Buy for $20. That's a great price for 5 episodes of a BBC series. I also found the "Dr. Who: The Beginning" three episode collection at FYE for $15. Woo hoo!

Anyway, what I really want to blog about is that I did my first professional voice-over recording yesterday. One of my co-workers is creating a promo for us and he asked me to do a couple of readings for him. I sat down to capture them in our radio pre-production studio for the first time and it felt great. I told my boss how much I enjoyed doing it and he said that he'll try to give me more opportunities in the future. Yay!

I'm baaaack!

I had a lovely time with my family and I will be posting pics and perhaps some video soon. We took the boys to the Crayola Factory and to Northlandz. At Crayola Jacob got to paint, draw, and create while we all learned some interesting facts about the crayon business. Northlandz can't really be described, it has to be seen to be appreciated. I think Becky took some pictures that she may post on her Facebook page. Northlandz took years to plan and, I think, 4 years to build. It is a miniature train landscape, containing about 400 trains, housed in a 50,000 square foot two-story building. The details are amazing and a lot of humor is revealed as one travels through the displays. It was really cool. Anyway, I'm really tired. I got home late from work because I had to stay late. I goofed and accidentally set my alarm for 8:30PM today and woke up about 15 minutes after I was supposed to be at work. Thankfully, Scott was really nice about it. We made it work but it caused a few problems. Oh well, it was still a good day.

Fun, Food, but no fireworks.

Last Thursday night I met up with Wendy, Lynette (accompanied by, now toddler, Aisla Rose), and Lynette's parents to attend a two-part concert at a local church. The first half featured "Rising Tide" in the church's sanctuary while for the second half we adjourned to the, slightly damp, lawn for dinner and a carrillon concert. I had a really good time and it was nice getting to see everyone again.

This weekend Steve and I went to his mom's to celebrate the fourth. We had lots of fun teaching his mom & sister to play "Magic: The Gathering". We also lit sparklers.

I'm really tired so this isn't the most well written post. Oh well, I at least wanted you to know what I've been up to. Happy Summer!