Painting

About a month ago I painted a series of three fruits for my friend Lea, here they are:

My sketches to start:


Somewhere in the middle:


Completed project:


I don't have much time for creative projects since I'm working again but I am starting on making a few baby quilts for all of my pregnant friends :) Heading out to the fabric store today to get started!

"The Year of Self Improvement" Results

Here is a photo Chris sent me this week to show the new slim him. He's completed 3 months of the P90X work out, stopped drinking Mt. Dew and making healthier food choices (no junk food). I'm so proud of the progress that he's made! Also, you can see his new wireless noise reducing ear buds for working out.

Change of Scenery

Max and I will have a change of scenery for the next 4-6 months because I've been training for my new job and staying with my parents, they live near the corporate headquarters. I'm working for a company that regionally distributes medical supplies to hospitals, long term care facilities (nursing homes) and non-acute care sites (surgery centers, physician offices and clinics). After my training period, I’ll be a sales rep in the non-acute care market. My territory will be Columbus/central Ohio so this means I’ll be based from my home office. I’m really excited to be working again especially for such a great company and with great people. I feel very blessed that I was able to find something in this economy that had everything I was looking for and some things that I didn't even think about.

MaxiMax

Here are a few recent photos of Max hanging out at my parents house. He enjoys having so much freedom (no fence and no leash) and having friends around (they have two dogs) and the constant attention he gets from having 6 people in the house. He also enjoys visits to Steve and Sharon's to play with Chloe.

Rolling in the Grass:


Playing some fetch in the yard:


Tired after a walk around the field:


Getting cozy in a few blankets:


See Chris, he isn't getting lazy :)

Tire Troubles

I forget that my car isn't "new" anymore because it doesn't seem like I've had my Jetta for four years already but occasionally I get reminders that it is aging. Like when you need new tires. Last week I asked my brother to put air in my tires because I noticed the driver's side front tire looked low. After Andrew came in from adding air he said they looked pretty worn and that I needed all new tires. At this point my Dad decided to go out and have a look. Well at 55,000 miles they did need replaced. Especailly that driver's side front one I was worried about, it had a large screw stuck in it! Dad and Andrew put my spare on for me so I could drive to MI for a wedding then last week I got all new tires (90,000 mile warranty so they should last a while).

Dad jacking up the car:



Dad and Andrew changing the tire:


The hole causing the problems:



Thanks to Dad and Andrew for their tire-changing assistance! I certainly couldn't have done it myself!

Kel and Allison's Wedding

Over the weekend I drove up to MI for a wedding for two of my Columbus friends, Kel and Allison. Kel was one of my housemates after graduating OU while working in Columbus for a few years and I got to know his (then) girlfriend Allison as well. Here are a few photos of their beautiful day! We had some time to waste between the ceremony and reception so we joined the wedding party at an outdoor bar called Dominick's.

Hanging out at Dominick's:



At the reception at The Michigan League:


The beautiful cake:


Congrast to Dr. and Dr. V!
(BTW, everyone but me in these photos is a doctor)

Happy Birthday Chris!

Here are a few photos of Chris from the time we spent in NC. Happy Birthday babe! I love you!











Okay this one isn't from NC...it's about 10 years old on our Senior Trip to NYC but I couldn't help be share it!

Giuseppe's Ritrovo

I met a former boss for dinner tonight at a local Bexley place, Giuseppe's Ritrovo. Giuseppe is from Southern Italy and he makes some wonderful food! I recommend it for all the folks in Columbus. You can check it out at http://giuseppesritrovo.com/menus.html. I ordered a glass of Riesling,the Arugula salad and Asparagus Ravioli. Yummy!

Alaska

At the Detroit airport waiting to board:




Andrew, me and Ryan ready to cruise:


Leaving Vancouver:


The Celebrity Mercury (our boat):


The room that Mom and I shared:


Ryan, excited to see the ship offered topless sunbathing (but it never got warm enough):


Our first port was Sitka, Alaska where we took a tour of the local culture. It included visiting the Raptor Center, a hospital and education center for birds of prey, watched a native dance ritual and toured some totem poles and saw the salmon trying to swim upstream.

Sitka, Alaska:


The Raptor center takes in injured birds of prey. This is one of their permanent residents:


Native Alaskan tribal dancers:


Totem pole in Sitka:


Ryan, Andrew, and me:


Our second port was Juneau, Alaska where we went on a float trip to see the Mendenhall Glacier in the Tongass rain forest. We were hoping for white water rafting but they didn't even give us paddles. We did get to see several bald eagles and one was fishing in the river directly in front of our raft.

Next came the Hubbard Glacier. We were able to get 1/2 a mile from the glacier, which according the ship captain is very close.

The Hubbard Glacier:


Pieces of the glacier floating in the water a few miles before getting to it:




Mountain view (the haze is from forest fires in Canada):


Gray water created by the glacier (called the glacier flower). Ground up bits of rock turn the water gray for miles around it:


Our last port was Ketchikan where we went zip lining through the rain forest. It was by far our favorite excursion of the trip and when it was over we all wanted to do it again!

Ryan and Andrew in the harnesses for zip lining:


The beautiful scenery we zip lined through:


The family out on a zip line platform:


After zip lining in Ketchikan, we met the crew of a private yacht and they bought us a few drinks:


Here are a few photos of our time on the ship:

Mom and Ryan sharing a cosmo at The Navigator Club:


Ryan and Andrew with their tiny cups of sorbet to cleanse the palaet before the main course:


Mom and Andrew at our first of two formal dinners:


Sonya and Ryan at the formal dinner:


Catching some sun on the top deck, it was still chilly but the ship provided blankets:


The boys and I with one of our waitstaff from the dining room. She thought they were cute :)


A print I bought from an Alaskan artist for our bedroom at a gallery in Juneau: