tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60613867553591341632024-03-05T13:36:10.213-06:00Team Williams- Brooke & RonBrooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-21578729122150639232010-01-28T09:28:00.013-06:002010-02-22T14:53:34.711-06:00I Heart New York!<div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Start spreading the news</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I'm leaving today...</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I want to be a part of it</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">New York, New York...</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So as promised, here is my (longest ever!) post about our most recent trip to the <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">Big Apple</span></span>... since I was already off the week before Christmas, I took a few extra days from the week before and we flew up to NYC. Now last year was fun, but this year I was more prepared... Having finally entered the 21st century and gotten an iPhone in November (LOVE it!!), I navigated us around the city pretty well, booked some cool dinner reservations (using <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.opentable.com/">OpenTable</a>- highly recommend!), and basically planned out most of our time. The only thing that didn't get planned in advance was the little snowstorm that resulted in our flight being canceled and us having to stay an extra two days! Shucks! But more on that later...<br /><br />(Before getting started, all pictures in this post were "phone pictures"... we had a camera malfunction unfortunately. Although I want to marry my iPhone, its camera is not it's best feature!)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We started the trip bright and early (or should I say <span style="font-style: italic;">dark </span>and early??), arriving at the Atlanta airport several hours before our flight was to leave. Airports are always an adventure for the Williams'... with Ron's prosthesis, he always sets off the alarm and has to get patted down...sometimes this is quick, but sometimes it can take a while. Well, it was quick that morning, and we found ourselves at the gate with way more time than we needed, which was ok... we snacked and did some last minute planning.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1267b371c2580a12&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 493px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1267b371c2580a12&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">When we landed in the city, we cabbed it into Manhattan to our hotel.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1267b3805371421e&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 364px; height: 486px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1267b3805371421e&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Though Ron almost lost his Egg McMuffin with the crazy cab ride, this was a way better option than taking that shuttle van last year... a mistake we won't make again! We checked into the Doubletree Metropolitan on Lexington Ave, which was pretty good, and hit the ground running! Actually, we used the iPhone to lead us to the subway and headed for Chinatown first to have a late lunch.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2786/4191361098_7b6efcf549.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 298px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2786/4191361098_7b6efcf549.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Navigating without looking like a complete tourist!<br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4191063030_f091082b44.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 406px; height: 304px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4191063030_f091082b44.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We found our target restaurant, <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/great_ny_noodletown/">NY Noodletown</a>, which I had heard raves about...and it didn't disappoint! We dined on noodle soup, then shared pan fried noodles with duck. Yum!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2682/4191105810_a009720c64.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 402px; height: 302px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2682/4191105810_a009720c64.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We wandered through Chinatown for a bit after lunch, and I bought a scarf (or five...). We didn't purchase any "Gucci-Gucci-Prada-Louis?" from the myriad of little ladies trying to lure us into back alleyways though....not that I <span style="font-style: italic;">wouldn't</span>.... :) We had to go find the tree though!<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2606/4192990684_0e26962fdc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 283px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2606/4192990684_0e26962fdc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Rockefeller Tree<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4192245841_cc2ee5271e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 236px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4192245841_cc2ee5271e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>We also paused at the Today Show windows, but they were done taping for the morning...<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/4192186055_b4dae6dcdf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 240px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/4192186055_b4dae6dcdf.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I found the REAL Louis'!!<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4193004872_4f8dd40435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 244px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2685/4193004872_4f8dd40435.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I wanted to go for a skate, but guess who was uncooperative with this plan??<br /><br /><br /><br />So instead of skating, we hunted down the oldest pub in the city that I'd read about, <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/">McSorley's</a>... which only started allowing women to enter in 1970!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2576/4191396202_a07637aa3a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 325px; height: 243px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2576/4191396202_a07637aa3a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had just enough time to sneak back to the hotel to change before heading out to what would turn out to be our favorite dinner experience of the trip. The restaurant is called <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.artisanalbistro.com/">Artisinal</a>, and we loved it.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2680/4190910425_a688bc77b7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 270px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2680/4190910425_a688bc77b7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Artisinal is a fromagerie, specializing in cheese, cheese, and more cheese... there is a full cheese menu, which was completely overwhelming to us who know next to nothing about cheese, but our waiter was great and made a selection of four for us to try as our appetizer.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4191808906_714510d8f0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 346px; height: 259px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2738/4191808906_714510d8f0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our favorite was the soft cheese that came in the little bowl<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">He marked his picks for us on the cheese menu so that we could read about what we were sampling, where it was from, the age, and what tastes we were supposed to be able to appreciate...it was really fun! I hate feeling stupid, and I am definitely cheese-stupid, but the waiter was kind and made it fun instead of embarrassing! I guess there are a lot of cheese-stupid people out there! :)<br /><br />After the cheese course, we had cheese fondue with an assortment of veggies, meat, and bread to dip with...and it was delicious!!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4190972183_0be16243a5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 270px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/4190972183_0be16243a5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">After all that cheese, we had chocolate fondue for dessert, with the most amazing homemade marshmallows (among other dippers)... I have since tried to recreate the marshmallows with my new mixer and an Alton Brown recipe, but sadly, they fell short of Artisinal's... maybe it was just the cheese high though! Wish I had a picture of the dessert course!<br /><br />Day two was low-key... we spent it mostly window shopping without much of an agenda. We did go to the <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.nypl.org/">New York Public Library</a> though, which was incredible!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65ca4909479b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 613px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65ca4909479b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron at the Library!!<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65c39decc3df&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 252px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65c39decc3df&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">After the library, we used the handy dandy iPhone to get us back to Ron's favorite restaurant from our last trip, Serafina's. They have amazing pizza, and Ron insisted on returning. His happiness had everything to do with the pizza, and nothing to do with the fact that it must have been "Waitresses Without Pants Day" (see the waitress in the background!)... right Ron??<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65cf8c2299b5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 393px; height: 523px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65cf8c2299b5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />While at Serafina's we had a little homework to do... Ron had been contacted by Camp Sunshine people and asked to write an essay about what Camp has meant to him. It had to be done that day... cause it was going to be posted on the <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://racetrac.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/guest-entry-a-camp-sunshine-camper-speaks/">RaceTrac gas station website</a> as a part of a fundraiser they were doing for Camp (<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004056169">Coffee for a Cause</a>). As I continue to be Ron's primary PR agent, the task fell to me. Feeling inspired by our recent trip to the library, the words flowed and I/we wrote the essay in five minutes on a scrap of paper while devouring our slices. Click the above link for the essay. It got typed up and emailed to Sally later that afternoon just under the deadline...love technology! RaceTrac raised $28,500 for Camp!<br /><br />We wandered and shopped for a few hours to work off the pizza... and in SoHo found the best store ever, Uniqlo. It's Japanese. It's cheap. It's fabulous. We went at least three times while we were in the city, and I'm glad we did, cause when we got home and I was trying to order some more stuff online, I discovered that you can't!!! And the SoHo store is the only Uniqlo location in the US! Guess we'll just have to go back to NYC. Rats!!!<br /><br />Dinner on day two was at <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.baramericain.com/newyork.php">Bar Americain</a>, Bobby Flay's restaurant in the city. The food was good, especially the shellfish cocktail taster...yum!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65d482ebf5e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 432px; height: 324px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65d482ebf5e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>L to R- Lobster-Avocado, Shrimp-Tomatillo, and Crab-Coconut<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65d8b1bcb01b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 358px; height: 268px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65d8b1bcb01b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>The only bad part of this experience was our waiter... the couple at the next table over from us warned us when we were seated that he'd really try to rush us, so much to the waiter's irritation, we ordered one thing at a time and enjoyed it at our own pace. We weren't table hogs... even with ordering apps, salad, entree, and dessert, I think we were still out of there in about 1.5 hours. We had been spoiled by our nice waiter at Artisinal the night before!<br /><br /><br />So what did we do on day three?? Eat!!! On day three we went on a <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.zerve.com/FoodTours/GVTour">walking food tour of Greenwich Village</a>... the food didn't walk...we did...and it was so much fun! Freezing, but fun!! Our guide was a pastry chef named Sephra, and she was great!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65e0220ba602&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 524px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65e0220ba602&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron and Sephra<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2506/4222416200_813f91820a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 380px; height: 284px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2506/4222416200_813f91820a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our first stop was for pizza at <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.joespizza.com/">Joe's</a><a href="http://www.joespizza.com/">.</a>..we were hungry!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4221655173_cb9d364702.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 403px; height: 303px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4221655173_cb9d364702.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Yum!<br /><br />As we walked from restaurant to restaurant (eight in all I think from pizza, to <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.palmanyc.com/">Palma</a>, a nice restaurant, to two bakeries, to a cheese shop, and more!), Sephra showed us around the Village. Yeah, would love to live there. So would everyone else I think... they can get millions of dollars for a teensy little walk-up apartment!!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/4221655329_f99d08d0c0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 430px; height: 322px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/4221655329_f99d08d0c0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Because it was so cold, we were allowed to warm up in a little herb shop while we sampled our cheese from <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.murrayscheese.com">Murray's</a>, and while there, Ron made a friend!<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65e7facda0e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 362px; height: 483px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65e7facda0e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">After our tour, we had an hour or two to kill before the arrival of our friends, Jackie and Cleve Blackwell. We spent it at a little pub called the <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.blindtigeralehouse.com/">Blind Tiger</a>, a little local spot with a warm fireplace and friendly people (they DO exist in the city!!).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65efb160ddce&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 388px; height: 517px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65efb160ddce&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">While there, we talked to a pair of hippie potters for a bit, and when they left, the next pair to sit down were investors (or something!) that worked at Lehman Brothers. Made for some interesting conversations! They asked what all we'd been doing in the city and where we'd eaten, and were astounded that we had heard of and eaten at <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/great_ny_noodletown/">NY Noodletown</a>... they said that was their favorite place to go, especially late night. Apparently the bars close at 3:00AM here (the city that never sleeps, anyone?), so Noodletown gets packed from 3:00 to 4:00! They insisted that we go again, and wrote out on a slip of paper what we should order when we went back, which of course we did the next day with Cleve and Jackie. We didn't go at 3AM though!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So, finally it was time to meet up with the Blackwells... I couldn't wait for them to get there already!! As an aside, let's meet them:<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs137.snc3/18473_868624721980_4906892_52521282_1160126_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 398px; height: 298px;" src="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs137.snc3/18473_868624721980_4906892_52521282_1160126_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here they are, sweet Jackie and crazy Cleve Blackwell... they live (and race bikes!) in Greenville, SC. Cleve and Ron have raced together on the same team for the last few years, and Cleve and Jackie got married a year ago. Ron was a groomsman in their wedding, and likes to remind Cleve that he coached him through the memorization of his wedding vows! Anyway, we were thrilled that Cleve and Jackie wanted to come vacation with us, and it was a blast!!!<br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/4221655475_94907e14be.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 267px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/4221655475_94907e14be.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">They arrived just in time for dinner... this night we went to Anthony Bourdain's former restaurant, <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.leshalles.net/ny_park.php">Les Halles</a>. The company was excellent, but the dinner wasn't our favorite. Not disastrous by any means, and the waitress was good, but the food was just ok. We didn't even take any pictures there!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The next day was packed full of fun!! We started by shopping, happening to stumble back into Uniqlo, and then taking the subway down to Chinatown for Noodletown round two!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs157.snc3/18473_868624647130_4906892_52521272_2204416_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 335px; height: 251px;" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs157.snc3/18473_868624647130_4906892_52521272_2204416_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This time armed with the Lehman Brothers guys recommended menu, we ate and ate and ate!!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65f728a01385&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 410px; height: 306px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65f728a01385&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs157.snc3/18473_868624697030_4906892_52521278_4817107_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 411px; height: 321px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs157.snc3/18473_868624697030_4906892_52521278_4817107_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>While we ate, I mapped out how to get to our next stop, the New World Stages for the off-Broadway show we went to called Avenue Q.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65fb901ec4bf&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 485px; height: 362px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f65fb901ec4bf&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>My secret illegal picture of the Avenue Q stage! I promise I didn't know at the time that you weren't supposed to take pictures of the set!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">The show was hysterical, and perfect for Ron and Cleve, who may have snoozed through Phantom or Wicked... it was loosely based on Sesame Street, which you can kind of appreciate from the secret illegal set picture. :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">After the show, we went and got all gussied up for dinner and first headed to a little tapas place called <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.cellowinebar.com/">Cello</a>. Neat little place.<br /></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2647/4198130705_439b243e13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 289px; height: 238px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2647/4198130705_439b243e13.jpg" alt="" border="0" /> </a><br />While we were there, it started to snow... and snow... and snow.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6c7d834dadec&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 263px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6c7d834dadec&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We hopped in a cab to take us to dinner.... at <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.taorestaurant.com/">Tao</a>. Very cool place. Very New York, at least to us rednecks! :)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f66003bd09409&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 376px; height: 502px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f66003bd09409&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Couldn't get a good picture inside because it was so dark, but there was this ginormous Buddha statue in the middle of the restaurant!<br /><br />Dinner was delicious (I guess that day was Asian food day!), and when we finished, we ventured back outside to see this!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4221655345_4216992aac.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 415px; height: 311px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2732/4221655345_4216992aac.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It "blizzarded"!!!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/4221655697_b5dc2eaa7b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 317px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/4221655697_b5dc2eaa7b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4222416724_297bc387b6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 358px; height: 269px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4222416724_297bc387b6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Of course there were no cabs to be found this time, so we started walking in the direction of the nearest subway station. Except we actually were walking in the opposite direction. By the time we realized it (half and hour later!!), we were nearly to the hotel! We were freezing, but still had a fun time tromping through the snow in our dressy boots, right Jackie??<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2690/4221655723_1c4bf59c63.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 431px; height: 323px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2690/4221655723_1c4bf59c63.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>At one intersection, we saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree! And then, who came walking down the sidewalk but Santa!?! Well, it actually wasn't the REAL Santa, cause he smelled like beer and had some off-color things to say!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6d9f2910581c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 440px; height: 586px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6d9f2910581c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Poor Cleve was nearly frozen by this time!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6ddd8ed1f238&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 467px; height: 621px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6ddd8ed1f238&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Blurry, but this captures the spirit of the moment!<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">We had to thaw out when we finally made it back to the hotel, and we took some time to compose a little ditty to remember our trip by. To the tune of the 12 days of Christmas, of course. See our lyrics below.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f660727f265e2&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 478px; height: 635px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f660727f265e2&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our 12 days of Christmas<br /><br />We awoke on Sunday morning to more snow, which turned out to be a bit of a problem for us getting home! Ron checked with the airline and of course our flight was canceled. Sweet thing spent most of the morning trying to figure out how we were gonna get home!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6da4ede58677&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 407px; height: 542px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6da4ede58677&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Cleve and Jackie's flight flew out as scheduled (which we were a bit disappointed about really!), but we were stuck. Really stuck. This was Sunday, Dec. 20th, and according to Delta, the next available flight to Atlanta that they could book us on was on Friday, Dec. 25th!! Christmas night!! Um, no! I was perfectly happy being stuck in the city for another day or two, but five?? And miss Christmas?? I think not! We considered trains out of the city (but they were booked up or canceled already), renting a car (they were all booked too), and flying out of alternate airports, but we were <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>stuck! After the Blackwells checked out of the hotel and we were trying to figure out what to do, we decided to just go for broke and spend the rest of Ron's AmEx points with a hotel upgrade! So we were off... we literally dragged our suitcases out the revolving door of the Doubletree, past the doormen and taxis, and through the snow for a block and checked ourselves in at the Waldorf Astoria!!! If we were gonna be stuck, we were gonna be stuck in style! :) This may have been the most frivolous and excessive thing I've ever done in my life, but we had just enough points for two extra nights. And it was wonderful!!<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/4221656271_1a99b581be.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 415px; height: 309px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/4221656271_1a99b581be.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The lobby of the Waldorf<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6617a75ef53b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 502px; height: 375px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6617a75ef53b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our new swank room!!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We ended up being able to book a flight home for Tuesday, Dec. 22nd with another airline...with two first class tickets, cause coach was all full!! I have only flown first class one other time (when we were flown out to LA for the ESPY awards...), and that experience had been ridiculously awesome. This time, the only thing that separated us from the lowly people in coach was about an inch of extra seat space and a free Twix bar. Not that we were complaining, because we made it home in time for Christmas, but it wasn't exactly what I had been expecting!<br /><br />Anyway, so back to our snow days...<br /><br />When we got all checked in to the Waldorf, I was trying to figure out what we were gonna do with our extra time that wouldn't cost us a bunch of extra cash... I was checking facebook and saw that my friend Chrissie Cordell (college, med school, and residency friend, who had also been a bridesmaid in our wedding!) had posted a picture of herself and her husband Andrew with the big Rockefeller tree... they were in NYC too, and I hadn't even known it!! We met up with them that afternoon and walked around a snowy Central Park and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4221656083_335c610dfd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 415px; height: 311px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4221656083_335c610dfd.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Chrissie and me in Central Park<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f66107a3bff4c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 441px; height: 330px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f66107a3bff4c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron getting some culture... a museum and the library all in one weekend!!<br /><br />It was so fun hanging out with the Cordells, even though we were in the midst of stressing about trying to get home...<br /><br />After we parted ways, Ron and I piddled around and went to FAO Schwarz, where I wanted to buy one of everything! We refrained from buying toys we don't yet need, but we did get some funny pictures of Ron with the life-sized leggo action heros...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6620f6542662&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 456px; height: 607px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6620f6542662&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Batman and Ro(bi)n<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f661dfb8dc31b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 438px; height: 582px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f661dfb8dc31b&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron and Chewie<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br />That night, we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant called<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.brguestrestaurants.com/restaurants/dos_caminos_third_avenue/index.php">Dos Caminos</a>. It was good, especially the fresh guacamole! Ron still is on the hunt for a margarita to match Sol Azteca's... I think it's a lost cause!<br /><br /><br />On our last day in the city, we made one last stop at Uniqlo, and then made our way back to Artisinal, for their famous (what else?) grilled CHEESE sandwiches. They were picture worthy.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6627493cdf33&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 483px; height: 361px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6627493cdf33&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron's fancy grilled cheese...<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6624d6adc8e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 416px; height: 311px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f6624d6adc8e7&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>And mine...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And... their CHEESEcake was apparently named the best NY style cheesecake in all of NY by Gourmet Magazine, so of course we had to try that too...<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f662bba7644d9&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 564px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=126f662bba7644d9&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>And it didn't disappoint!<br /><br /><br />We had a very good surprise for our final night in the city.... we found out that one of Ron's best friends, Kenny, was flying into town on his way home for Christmas... He and Ron go waaaaay back, to when Kenny was Ron's counselor at Camp Sunshine when Ron was a "poor little sick kid". Kenny has had a special place in Ron's heart ever since. He was a groomsman in our wedding, and he had been our unofficial tour guide last Christmas when we had come up to New York. We didn't get to hang out long enough this time, but it was great sharing a meal and catching up. I wish I had a picture of the two of them, but I guess we were all pictured out by this point!<br /><br />The next morning, we were up and at em early to get a cab out to the airport. This time I can't blame Ron for how early we got there... we had no idea how long to expect it to take to get out to the airport with the snow (not long), and whether there would still be a crowd of people sleeping on the floor trying to get on a flight (there wasn't!). So again, we were at the gate at least an hour and a half early. At 6:00 in the morning. So what did I do? I got a manicure in the airport spa! Red polish of course, in anticipation of Christmas and to remember our trip to the Big (red?) Apple!!! It was a fun way to cap off the trip. Our flight left without incident, we enjoyed our free Twix, and we landed in Atlanta before we knew it....<br /><br />I want to go back already!!!!!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">If I can make it there<br />I'll make it anywhere<br />It's up to you...<br />New York, New York!<br /></span></span></blockquote><br /></span></span></div>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-54574964563850242022010-01-24T12:40:00.009-06:002010-01-24T17:54:54.505-06:002009 Recap<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" >Time is the most undefinable yet paradoxical of things; the past is gone, the future is not come, and the present becomes the past even while we attempt to define it, and, like the flash of lightning, at once exists and expires. ~Charles Caleb Colton<!--COE--></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;" > </span><br /><br />Another year, another post?? Well, hopefully in 2010 I will average more posts than one per year, but no promises!! In the past 14 months (gasp!) since I last updated, time in Team Williams land has continued to march on. Here's a recap (which will be exceedingly boring to most people, though I'm sure the only one still checking for posts is my mother- Hi Mom!!):<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">December 2008</span></span>- Ron and I took a long weekend trip to New York City.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFheQH67P19HDqwBBvq7v751mjHT11BGJ0dFj0oOZ2xCHkkUmToO-Jv1IUJ36wxfdbokpjiYz9jQVta3cp6pwmKqobTUZwmiyxVk_iYoisUU9VunRJU8mH_KO9g8S62dkoMfc1QYUYAdt/s800/DSC00905.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 392px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFheQH67P19HDqwBBvq7v751mjHT11BGJ0dFj0oOZ2xCHkkUmToO-Jv1IUJ36wxfdbokpjiYz9jQVta3cp6pwmKqobTUZwmiyxVk_iYoisUU9VunRJU8mH_KO9g8S62dkoMfc1QYUYAdt/s800/DSC00905.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron and I at the Westin<br /><br /><br /></div>It was my first time to NYC, and I vowed it wouldn't be my last! We survived a blizzard, saw the Rockettes, hung out with one of Ron's besties Kenny, and took a helicopter ride over Manhattan!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nbB_x9vmlbKQ39q4FGRivoD11oQQ5GAxqNEgi3Crw-0wTHad32YMIlZqKThLcaHRiMhPREOOBrjittzUwlrfsJwiDpLXl_sWTsITBLd2DU1pENg4_LjDA_V9xrNRvt3-TRtXWN7CfLXL/s800/DSC00979.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nbB_x9vmlbKQ39q4FGRivoD11oQQ5GAxqNEgi3Crw-0wTHad32YMIlZqKThLcaHRiMhPREOOBrjittzUwlrfsJwiDpLXl_sWTsITBLd2DU1pENg4_LjDA_V9xrNRvt3-TRtXWN7CfLXL/s800/DSC00979.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>I was dazzled by the Rockettes<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTccBBijlr7N3puon0qcvXtCk0apVENwHOUtbULr5Qjyi7YIKFGVh1H7QeHhN_oYVBXwe_-dSjdfDMZpIvKIaSgElDKDx0U2eFkSwmVMAQVDNY2qyB9TgWW_QEOwsq5xcTKuz_wzS2BXA/s800/DSC00991.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 467px; height: 350px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTccBBijlr7N3puon0qcvXtCk0apVENwHOUtbULr5Qjyi7YIKFGVh1H7QeHhN_oYVBXwe_-dSjdfDMZpIvKIaSgElDKDx0U2eFkSwmVMAQVDNY2qyB9TgWW_QEOwsq5xcTKuz_wzS2BXA/s800/DSC00991.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Kenny and Ron in Grand Central, the first & last time Kenny has ever been there...<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzmKhHyNsRy4he2PftZDu8vZvuhkR4wS9xT9IyfSxKYnn9tXlm3yNqC5WYEfWZwS8nZ1DoSj42sDLvJmP86HoPpWC2wQJVM08OCAXS7DlzrzBUxmkC0eXxEuG3LEDI75QFSyn_x2c2rf-/s800/DSC00924.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 414px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzmKhHyNsRy4he2PftZDu8vZvuhkR4wS9xT9IyfSxKYnn9tXlm3yNqC5WYEfWZwS8nZ1DoSj42sDLvJmP86HoPpWC2wQJVM08OCAXS7DlzrzBUxmkC0eXxEuG3LEDI75QFSyn_x2c2rf-/s800/DSC00924.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Our helicopter ride<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsXkjMJMdWPVSHmNb4BVQ-PEcD6f-DN8X2wkzJQCUIkFJtlu88ymdylh1qLNY6RBCHcRfT1ccEnthl8sVNf8BSJ1ZZLPQYTg155xkEAJXr5wXlf6gBpe4SnepXbHtHXG9REzWVRIh4iWL/s800/DSC00938.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 369px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsXkjMJMdWPVSHmNb4BVQ-PEcD6f-DN8X2wkzJQCUIkFJtlu88ymdylh1qLNY6RBCHcRfT1ccEnthl8sVNf8BSJ1ZZLPQYTg155xkEAJXr5wXlf6gBpe4SnepXbHtHXG9REzWVRIh4iWL/s800/DSC00938.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>The view from the sky<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div></div>Made it home just in time to take a Christmas tour of the southeast... stopped in Atlanta, Guntersville, Birmingham, and Montgomery to spend the holidays with our families.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T45VvsMmiWS_H0CnYeLA3mGaOIPsEbo7pn6LXehrdn52eOBUFR41GumSouqm2nRoulbqrSXZwtpqQEvAal2hIFkVTuR-W7lO3BIltbmlIRYD-H8JTmoYsAupEEhVu1u2kBUiEjM5bSKy/s800/DSC01011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 332px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4T45VvsMmiWS_H0CnYeLA3mGaOIPsEbo7pn6LXehrdn52eOBUFR41GumSouqm2nRoulbqrSXZwtpqQEvAal2hIFkVTuR-W7lO3BIltbmlIRYD-H8JTmoYsAupEEhVu1u2kBUiEjM5bSKy/s800/DSC01011.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9F5bYO8_1M3nTdOGbjcuRmiMzd0pQQUoyIWkny-2Es6kLeZ-x0tuKd_kEqrYou-3oojHs01JGy6CI8B_9-FnDuM7R9syDFcmoql8zSHLpQmFcVNHfY7aBDQUNCq9qFKwaD7rFcQsTQwQ/s800/DSC01029.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL9F5bYO8_1M3nTdOGbjcuRmiMzd0pQQUoyIWkny-2Es6kLeZ-x0tuKd_kEqrYou-3oojHs01JGy6CI8B_9-FnDuM7R9syDFcmoql8zSHLpQmFcVNHfY7aBDQUNCq9qFKwaD7rFcQsTQwQ/s800/DSC01029.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Sisters and Their Men<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSJCFwrSeFWbfpWq-meWQyxF-ZZQjSgxP1l3yqxaZEEjWMu2668F9n6FIfLveLgxcfPieblWG9h_7DDugPaE-24FNTevE8CQD5cv9FUab5yhKRH9o5yDrNPNJFi8H3ATGKJvPd8zoDhYL/s800/DSC01046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 364px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSJCFwrSeFWbfpWq-meWQyxF-ZZQjSgxP1l3yqxaZEEjWMu2668F9n6FIfLveLgxcfPieblWG9h_7DDugPaE-24FNTevE8CQD5cv9FUab5yhKRH9o5yDrNPNJFi8H3ATGKJvPd8zoDhYL/s800/DSC01046.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Aren't these treats supposed to be for Santa?<br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br /><br />January-February 2009</span>-I learned that real life pediatrics in the winter is no joke!! Working through lunch routinely during flu season wasn't much fun, but I was still loving my patients and my job. I started working with my new nurse, Candice, who replaced Shay (my original nurse) when Shay went back to nursing school... Loved Shay, and loved Candice too... unfortunately for me, but happily for her, Candice and I only ended up working together for 6 months because she had a sweet little baby!!! Also sometime in winter I found out that I PASSED MY BOARDS!!!!!!!! YAY!! After all the stressful studying that I did for this test, I am so relieved to not have to take it again. I am still shocked that I didn't fail! :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >March 21, 2009</span>- In the first bike race of the season (regular racing, not paralympic), Ron gets taken down in a crash. I had decided I didn't feel like going, so he had driven over to Atlanta early that Saturday morning. Not long after I knew the race was to have begun, he calls me... not good. He was on his way home, saying that he crashed, and that he thought he needed stitches in his elbow and that his wrist was broken. I met him at my office, thinking I'd be scrubbing down his road rash and maybe stitching up some skin, but oh. my. gosh... His arm had "obvious deformity"... (Warning- there are graphic pictures below that even make me squimish!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K02Lim5YOeIafxoQKEsZGXU3vJ_9ePcfuNTGYRZtTbq2TsL3rfwG1EI89Hd7Q1TyIWr_xqnaYfbuF3ANZ41kTomG47PCE_lja0H54E6SWirB2iixzf09hxU-5XntnbxRsFJgCLOGzTVN/s800/DSC01162.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 444px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K02Lim5YOeIafxoQKEsZGXU3vJ_9ePcfuNTGYRZtTbq2TsL3rfwG1EI89Hd7Q1TyIWr_xqnaYfbuF3ANZ41kTomG47PCE_lja0H54E6SWirB2iixzf09hxU-5XntnbxRsFJgCLOGzTVN/s800/DSC01162.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />...and after washing out a few of the more minor wounds, I started unwrapping the bandage on his elbow... when flesh gaped open revealing the bones beneath, I paled, wrapped it back up, and took him straight to the ER.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadLj32-nLaX7wV14l-sbynVhm73wEJZKzr0aBrEPQoj89lVUpQY6DE5xTjuosOuJcFEJ3OYA_dYQL708i3Nfl8faWCWjaNOmbpcgi5g-uwwyVLUzYjeu5yV1bYY0UaSqIwXaMLvgwz5aE/s576/DSC01164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 344px; height: 457px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhadLj32-nLaX7wV14l-sbynVhm73wEJZKzr0aBrEPQoj89lVUpQY6DE5xTjuosOuJcFEJ3OYA_dYQL708i3Nfl8faWCWjaNOmbpcgi5g-uwwyVLUzYjeu5yV1bYY0UaSqIwXaMLvgwz5aE/s576/DSC01164.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Elbow<br /><br /><br /></div>There he was X-rayed, rinsed out, and stitched... and shot up with pain meds, antibiotics, and a tetanus booster.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfnW4cRXgkFXbzI-yy_eMfESfeTuPNnXAKm5rDTAM-mMvGDCtnH6uUAKcL-QXjfVTu_CZCyGl7Z4mNnS9Gs92kh_cB2IhF1mz5khUigMi6d__Q_vQUb0yjPl_cAxNNDNHDfrDd55ZnIPQ/s800/DSC01168.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 441px; height: 330px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUfnW4cRXgkFXbzI-yy_eMfESfeTuPNnXAKm5rDTAM-mMvGDCtnH6uUAKcL-QXjfVTu_CZCyGl7Z4mNnS9Gs92kh_cB2IhF1mz5khUigMi6d__Q_vQUb0yjPl_cAxNNDNHDfrDd55ZnIPQ/s800/DSC01168.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Poor thing...<br /><br /><br /></div> His distal radius was in several pieces, and after visiting the local arm specialist ortho surgeon, we were sent to Dr. Gary Lorie in Atlanta.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-Oc9eJ8p9IhTer4Dy1jAue5ovvhY2T3ymM7L347XpOPSU5ubX79AHL_XWKAibPSxXPL7hlCezVMZ0ge8ksgIGLTVK0FLqTQT0uuOqwUDnGh3LIMRAhGxrM8l5OKJDz7sLh3cv9Ap8waw/s576/Copy%20of%20DSC01175.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 521px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-Oc9eJ8p9IhTer4Dy1jAue5ovvhY2T3ymM7L347XpOPSU5ubX79AHL_XWKAibPSxXPL7hlCezVMZ0ge8ksgIGLTVK0FLqTQT0uuOqwUDnGh3LIMRAhGxrM8l5OKJDz7sLh3cv9Ap8waw/s576/Copy%20of%20DSC01175.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>See the pieces of the radius (the big arm bone)?<br /><br /><br /></div> A pretty major surgery followed, and six weeks in an external fixator that looked straight out of "Hellraiser."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCNw_yXCGBI2xXrUBoiQ6Bjhfr34rcr3NTZpy-3FGE-38gQJ6G1D_VOhN3_jc_xYaG2sL-G-Cd-QihwmfggcfcdvoITfb8pA4n3W5L1PGaBXBxxp5u0zxDNikjom5mpqvKuM-shZosseT/s800/DSC01195.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 413px; height: 309px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCNw_yXCGBI2xXrUBoiQ6Bjhfr34rcr3NTZpy-3FGE-38gQJ6G1D_VOhN3_jc_xYaG2sL-G-Cd-QihwmfggcfcdvoITfb8pA4n3W5L1PGaBXBxxp5u0zxDNikjom5mpqvKuM-shZosseT/s800/DSC01195.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Post Op Films<br /></div><br />Poor Ron. His racing season lasted less than 15 minutes. I learned that I am not a very good nurse.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GPC3equI5hCc5CBWJrr5jLKuwyI_WHoTiBeORA5qszeu5QBxt0aF916PRcHSRL7R6fwed5uwtuT-W1SnF-0jaavHrpMougVF2OBL7xvGXcTiFSmbsO21egX_fmkYFFk-vo8Si0xlrDQo/s800/DSC01190.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GPC3equI5hCc5CBWJrr5jLKuwyI_WHoTiBeORA5qszeu5QBxt0aF916PRcHSRL7R6fwed5uwtuT-W1SnF-0jaavHrpMougVF2OBL7xvGXcTiFSmbsO21egX_fmkYFFk-vo8Si0xlrDQo/s800/DSC01190.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Checkup to tighten the screws!<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZQLig8irMrJ6BMRevDLuN-voLbqrtYeEexMAIWM6UXPkxbEBD71QnGkTS3OhLaXVIzIkE16yb2s3fFq44CqLW9o3eJ3gti7VgG-bAbjE7zhCmp-wwDcp8FVsPrCBq0u9EUGflDZ2bZON/s800/DSC01264.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZQLig8irMrJ6BMRevDLuN-voLbqrtYeEexMAIWM6UXPkxbEBD71QnGkTS3OhLaXVIzIkE16yb2s3fFq44CqLW9o3eJ3gti7VgG-bAbjE7zhCmp-wwDcp8FVsPrCBq0u9EUGflDZ2bZON/s800/DSC01264.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>So excited for surgery to finally get the pins out (which was in May...)<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >April 2009</span>- Though the arm thing stunk, Ron and I enjoy this spring (and summer!) spending more time together than we ever had before. Between crazy residency schedules and bike racing every weekend, we didn't realize how much fun spring is without all that stuff. We were missing out! We enjoyed spending time not only with each other, but also with our new Auburn friends- Scott, Dave, the Clark's, and the Worthy's. A highlight was 280 Boogie...also it was fun attending Athens Twilight without the stress of Ron racing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxToD9QSK6udCp0uv-oO77Z_pwoVZuWyxfwmpIiy2YDznE1Y41aUbWF2BZzvCCZAGI2I8O87jj3FG8hKN5nEcIp8gzeoDwwGgZE2YmRIju6ux-xVTFQnrsfBNyhVFNw48v4jC5jfHB2RV/s800/DSC01244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 463px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxToD9QSK6udCp0uv-oO77Z_pwoVZuWyxfwmpIiy2YDznE1Y41aUbWF2BZzvCCZAGI2I8O87jj3FG8hKN5nEcIp8gzeoDwwGgZE2YmRIju6ux-xVTFQnrsfBNyhVFNw48v4jC5jfHB2RV/s800/DSC01244.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0xjCJ6M8A65-3w1yM5KKkLI20vwBXtZtAtorJUHcpy-DNA0gOz5HwFfG8uJ6CRC22FTLZgeWMvygFxHOI7esHr6Ix0hH3GW39K3sdg1SIxHOjWBWnAbIGH-jvQUdR92SDXHcOdt8Q4L7/s800/DSC01237.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 344px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0xjCJ6M8A65-3w1yM5KKkLI20vwBXtZtAtorJUHcpy-DNA0gOz5HwFfG8uJ6CRC22FTLZgeWMvygFxHOI7esHr6Ix0hH3GW39K3sdg1SIxHOjWBWnAbIGH-jvQUdR92SDXHcOdt8Q4L7/s800/DSC01237.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron, Bud, and Scott at 280 Boogie<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2927/5/124/1076954084/n1076954084_30404217_3212086.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 424px; height: 356px;" src="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2927/5/124/1076954084/n1076954084_30404217_3212086.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Eddie, Ginger, me, and Rob at Twilight<br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">May 2009</span></span>- I turned 30!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DanGk0K1UByysoGD7bfU-kzMV1OH-iK9GNApX3BEWbhpKK-cXQflqnR7Q2B-GKLz1F8gD9VSnjPIfudfu5qt0U1KYbyelIBhFmt8eEGxaGh1p42QP2-6AwTl7t0qrnPSoe7HZWQqaGss/s800/DSC01410.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 476px; height: 379px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DanGk0K1UByysoGD7bfU-kzMV1OH-iK9GNApX3BEWbhpKK-cXQflqnR7Q2B-GKLz1F8gD9VSnjPIfudfu5qt0U1KYbyelIBhFmt8eEGxaGh1p42QP2-6AwTl7t0qrnPSoe7HZWQqaGss/s800/DSC01410.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We spent the weekend at Lake Martin with all my girlfriends from residency, their husbands, and their babies!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVySivsI_DawKrHLETEeonGrHpbu1sRBGiueJfV42sUdo3Izcn0skkGhBYT6c7MgAPTs-MIcUy0cG-EWnsRr3V2tL5us1V91i3GlKaj2MfE3rryMSZXEZ9zM4dOozJfNN07BWMRHQpu28n/s800/DSC01357.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 494px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVySivsI_DawKrHLETEeonGrHpbu1sRBGiueJfV42sUdo3Izcn0skkGhBYT6c7MgAPTs-MIcUy0cG-EWnsRr3V2tL5us1V91i3GlKaj2MfE3rryMSZXEZ9zM4dOozJfNN07BWMRHQpu28n/s800/DSC01357.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This wasn't planned for my birthday, but it worked out nicely! Our group had had quite a little baby boom over the previous year... in 2008, our beach trip was 7 girls, 7 husbands, 1 baby, and one baby in utero... this time, it was 7 girls, 7 husbands, 5 babies, and one in utero!! You-know-who was the only one without a baby... But I had fun playing with them all...and Ron even held some, even with the scary arm pins that were still in place at the time! I'm breaking him in, little by little...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfi-FaScTmduQ9Jn-y2UgPnNY08VNPQiVotVYtUMPDg6YqbeVFT-yXmUyl4JFDQVXLWXySm8XeC_ALlrNANFovoDoBGHA4nvr-Oknac21_d1yFeyCAXNwU3xJsR9g6cbOnLnsH2BgHjjF/s800/DSC01473.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 427px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfi-FaScTmduQ9Jn-y2UgPnNY08VNPQiVotVYtUMPDg6YqbeVFT-yXmUyl4JFDQVXLWXySm8XeC_ALlrNANFovoDoBGHA4nvr-Oknac21_d1yFeyCAXNwU3xJsR9g6cbOnLnsH2BgHjjF/s800/DSC01473.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Clockwise from top left-Sarah and Leyton, me, Heather and Maggie, Chrissie and Owens, Mary Halsey (with Alonso on board!), Mindy and Hadley, and Reyna and Natalya.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMGcKVRFdLThwdJnVtHjg-ZIDanajvxy-VXXD7pPlxQwwXDFD7b55FoJnOuv4b_ALGZuPpXrmpJWG5dNhocVwrN1EZqbhTusgBGj2i6mDQM_3vfn9hWFZ3s47SygWDtWI5FJGaByHgQWZ/s800/DSC01464.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 367px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMGcKVRFdLThwdJnVtHjg-ZIDanajvxy-VXXD7pPlxQwwXDFD7b55FoJnOuv4b_ALGZuPpXrmpJWG5dNhocVwrN1EZqbhTusgBGj2i6mDQM_3vfn9hWFZ3s47SygWDtWI5FJGaByHgQWZ/s800/DSC01464.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Leyton, Natalya, Halsey, Owens, Hadley, and Maggie<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7s4jxWce-8aCSnneAM8arxYl2hFOnXNmx1UPH2COifHVouCEpSW3QCfQk6hSbfA_pRG2FVqTtGLIL-4vlya2vH9Wc26U2aMWZSpXgXnmX2CxEkCW4DL9BlOU8H8wWg8CMWQVk0PiU4ZH/s800/DSC01460.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 458px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7s4jxWce-8aCSnneAM8arxYl2hFOnXNmx1UPH2COifHVouCEpSW3QCfQk6hSbfA_pRG2FVqTtGLIL-4vlya2vH9Wc26U2aMWZSpXgXnmX2CxEkCW4DL9BlOU8H8wWg8CMWQVk0PiU4ZH/s800/DSC01460.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron with Leyton, Owens, and Natalya!!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div>Later in the month, we <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>enjoyed a Coldplay concert up in Bham with a couple of my new<br />partners.<br /><br />The following weekend, we moved out of the little rental house and into our (hopefully!) Forever Home!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LrnM_eRIqmDy9yVPRSY503ZuLix0jqIxHm8IArmtg9oTLNp5DX7bS8xf_va05sBquAQ05f-0bv7ncbvMKzRmGbx50C54dQR4goINPv40jX11gGzlexNpqvgsUscKRUT8dr22UlGf5-nD/s576/DSC01334.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 528px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LrnM_eRIqmDy9yVPRSY503ZuLix0jqIxHm8IArmtg9oTLNp5DX7bS8xf_va05sBquAQ05f-0bv7ncbvMKzRmGbx50C54dQR4goINPv40jX11gGzlexNpqvgsUscKRUT8dr22UlGf5-nD/s576/DSC01334.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>We love it... it is in a great neighborhood with lots of families...it has the room we need as we (hopefully!) grow as a family over the next years, and it's just cool!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl61u9kit6afPFSQRa7e_QeTiMlSGlJiWPjXhuG7tVgocMDP-Rdyd1uC49K0NRa3LSTDQAQjetvhHs4yYEJejXf6OFjGYCW_3XN9dkmhS0KI3GjKighmiPWpvlgBAfj8LLzZeWI045i7cT/s800/DSC01268.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 464px; height: 348px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl61u9kit6afPFSQRa7e_QeTiMlSGlJiWPjXhuG7tVgocMDP-Rdyd1uC49K0NRa3LSTDQAQjetvhHs4yYEJejXf6OFjGYCW_3XN9dkmhS0KI3GjKighmiPWpvlgBAfj8LLzZeWI045i7cT/s800/DSC01268.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Screened in Porch<br /></div><br /><br />We love that it has a lot of room for entertaining... and a jetted tub just for me!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizg9XU8F1MUhiNs4hDRvL5e6fHa2gA0dG-MCpsB3N9_DNS1ixMLCTnlZEtu2khRzXphOCtN8iYHZOabd7xk92u4g8J35q4Ihf38cXScn0Y-LcLMLmpBS0qr04VqkyNMlXO9yGmss_5V6pk/s576/DSC01314.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 343px; height: 457px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizg9XU8F1MUhiNs4hDRvL5e6fHa2gA0dG-MCpsB3N9_DNS1ixMLCTnlZEtu2khRzXphOCtN8iYHZOabd7xk92u4g8J35q4Ihf38cXScn0Y-LcLMLmpBS0qr04VqkyNMlXO9yGmss_5V6pk/s576/DSC01314.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Kitchen<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2KM2RCAInoCY3FovVVHH65rTHdodLWIWNgy-N-Ml6qbpUbJbMyeXyOjmYo_BCGZSAJNf9s30pX5oVKXTNJvutmxXGyv7Dg_2hByjtdrB55gH9dchoZv3xBcyJZ58RPTvqySka2gPq3ti/s576/DSC01292.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2KM2RCAInoCY3FovVVHH65rTHdodLWIWNgy-N-Ml6qbpUbJbMyeXyOjmYo_BCGZSAJNf9s30pX5oVKXTNJvutmxXGyv7Dg_2hByjtdrB55gH9dchoZv3xBcyJZ58RPTvqySka2gPq3ti/s576/DSC01292.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But our favorite part is the three fireplaces, especially the one on the back patio! Yeah, not moving again for a long time...<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rozro8tj4YA8fwWGOXQLfMNpzXrQWl-uHke0eq7h7EJ-Gx9lm47GX_wob9ofAw07qyqee6GxIikgeIsVfHgYXH9JPI39wpn2osCM-NuHWULPLaJ-_P7ZrJE-_afl09ZmCSAv5iGoQKCb/s576/DSC01272.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 502px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rozro8tj4YA8fwWGOXQLfMNpzXrQWl-uHke0eq7h7EJ-Gx9lm47GX_wob9ofAw07qyqee6GxIikgeIsVfHgYXH9JPI39wpn2osCM-NuHWULPLaJ-_P7ZrJE-_afl09ZmCSAv5iGoQKCb/s576/DSC01272.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Living Room<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrZpQ4ZcNTZQilKwZsVsE9ye6kMI7WP08JjTBjSv7TiOoile1ZIJINsV6bWT1FU89WgCzCgUfo2RrKiWWmxw65q9g2RfzQnGEiMJkAAaEQaoXK0nIF2oNOYnlOBcp-WkK8NyaHWERk-Ww/s576/DSC01267.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 412px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrZpQ4ZcNTZQilKwZsVsE9ye6kMI7WP08JjTBjSv7TiOoile1ZIJINsV6bWT1FU89WgCzCgUfo2RrKiWWmxw65q9g2RfzQnGEiMJkAAaEQaoXK0nIF2oNOYnlOBcp-WkK8NyaHWERk-Ww/s576/DSC01267.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Back Patio<br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">June 2009</span></span>- With Candice leaving for baby-preparation, I got another new nurse, Ashley, my third in nine months! We hit it off immediately, and I hope that we will be a team for a while!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs179.snc1/6760_1178002364481_1060775407_30552222_519034_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 354px;" src="http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs179.snc1/6760_1178002364481_1060775407_30552222_519034_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ashley, Candice (and Baby Hudson), me, and Shay<br /></div><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/williamr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/williamr/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><br />Ron also returned to Camp Sunshine for a week in June... he'd missed a year due to training for China, and he needed this time for his spirit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3700493511_8e943c2f7e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 342px; height: 256px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3700493511_8e943c2f7e.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/3701302150_308cd4012d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 480px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/3701302150_308cd4012d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>He came back refreshed, but with some nagging left sided back pain that I attributed to crazy camp antics and getting back on the bike after all spring off...<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">July 2009</span></span>- Ron's back pain worsens, and it becomes clear to me that it is something more than just musculoskeletal pain. After a nightmare trying to get him into a doctors' office here as a new patient, I finally give up and order blood work and an Xray myself, and I don't like what I see. He had a shadow on his left lung... of unknown significance. It looked weird to me... I called the radiologist to see what he thought, and he said it was just a shadow from his chest wall (ok...?), but it didn't turn out that way. Ended up worsening over the next few days, with poor Ron having horrible pain at night accompanied by night sweats... with his past medical history and our recent trip to China, the differential diagnosis was just too broad for comfort. He ended up having a 300ml pleural effusion that had to be drained (thanks Justin!) caused by a pneumonia... but we never did figure out the pathogen or why on earth this happened. Although we were thrilled that it wasn't cancer related, it was a setback superimposed on the setback of his arm... made for an unhappy Ron.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/3712153347_19958d717f.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 378px; height: 283px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/3712153347_19958d717f.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">August 2009</span></span>-Swine flu pandemonium hits the US, and finally, our clinic. I had only taken one vacation day since starting work (to go to NYC in Dec), and had previously planned a long weekend in Destin with Ron when the swine flu fears exploded in Auburn/Opelika. I was laying out at the pool while my poor partners worked though lunch and stayed late. I heard rumors through Facebook of full parking lots with cars lining the street in front of the office too... and felt a lot guilty, but I was glad I was out of there! It was plenty busy enough when I got back to make up for it though... because of H1N1, it was the busiest summer the clinic had had in recent memory. Glad for our newest partner, Brooke Taylor, who had just started in July, bless her heart. She's a trooper!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">September/October/November 2009</span></span>- Let football season begin!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662949d2b4b94a&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 471px; height: 627px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662949d2b4b94a&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We were unsure of what the season would have in store for Auburn with a new coach and everything, but Coach Chizik brought it! It was a STRANGE season weather-wise, with rain during more games than not, including the monsoon that was the West Virginia game, and cold, but not much hot, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Especially Ron.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662950cc5ebdac&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 488px; height: 365px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662950cc5ebdac&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron and the Smoker<br /></div><br /><br />Tailgating became his new thing... our friends own a huge meat smoker, and every week, we'd plan a gameday menu... Boston Butts were a favorite, as were wings, beer can chicken, and sausage.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266296f106b54b5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 444px; height: 592px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266296f106b54b5&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Bud making pancakes at the one Tailgate Brunch (Auburn-Alabama game)<br /></div><br />We had quite the setup, week after week, including the smoker, two big flatscreen TVs for watching the early games, a stereo system, and lots of friends and food! We had houseguests most weekends, including Jenn and Fred, Dan and Becca and the kids, Chrissy and Philip, Elizabeth, Shannon and Brian, and mom. Missing this year was my dad, who had to have surgery early in the season, so he sat out this year from buying tickets. He did great though, and I expect him to be a fixture next year! Auburn is fun (though crowded!) during the Fall, and it was really great seeing Ron develop into a football (ok, who am I kidding?) TAILGATING fan!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266297a1faa1e18&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 474px; height: 355px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266297a1faa1e18&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">November 2009</span></span>- In her quest to get her pre-baby body back, my "old nurse" Candice invites me to come with her to the gym. It was all I needed to get me going... Heavier than I'd ever been before, and angry at my closet for shrinking all my clothes, I needed someone to help me get started. Bless Candice!! I start going to the gym in the mornings before work, and actually enjoy it! Kinda. I do start feeling better though! And I especially fall in love with Zumba class on Saturday mornings. I can't make it to most other classes during the week (they are all at either 5 in the morning- um, no- or 4:30 in the afternoon!), but this one is a never miss if I'm not on call! Anyway, so slowly but surely I am trying to get in shape. Also in November, Ron quietly had a birthday (36!), and we enjoyed Thanksgiving in Prattville with my extended family.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266296500943b31&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 430px; height: 322px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=1266296500943b31&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Thanksgiving with all my "little" cousins- Chelsea, Sam, me, Jessica, and Trish<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">December 2009</span></span>- It was a short work month for me...another beautiful thing about having a large practice is that we all get to take a week off at the holidays. My week was the week before Christmas, including Christmas itself and even our anniversary (our 6th!! Man, where have those years gone?). Ron and I went back to New York City for a few days again, and had an even better time this year! I studied for this trip, and had dinner reservations all mapped out and everything. I actually think I'll do an entire separate post for our trip soon, so that's all I'll say about it for now. We (barely) made it back in time for Christmas! Speaking of Christmas, I <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>enjoyed decorating the new house this year! Last Christmas we were in our little rental house in Auburn, and the tree and ornaments and decorations were all in the "Mobile Attic" in the driveway... it was sad. Not this year!! The tree went up, as did some new decorations for the multiple mantels inside and outside the house, and the wreaths and lighted garland for the front too! The poor little inflatable reindeer was cute for a few days before springing a leak and going to reindeer heaven...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs138.snc3/18568_259957492787_709132787_4306906_386787_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 409px; height: 306px;" src="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs138.snc3/18568_259957492787_709132787_4306906_386787_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We enjoyed Christmas with our multiple family units, and I was thrilled to get a new Kitchen Aid mixer and a new digital SLR camera!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs158.snc3/18568_259958092787_709132787_4306909_6170362_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 357px; height: 268px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs158.snc3/18568_259958092787_709132787_4306909_6170362_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Gary, Connie, Michelle, and Ron<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a3b6ac52150&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 377px; height: 503px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a3b6ac52150&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Us at Christmas Eve at Butch's<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a3fb7020e49&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 440px; height: 330px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a3fb7020e49&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ron and Grandaddy on Christmas Morning<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a48e45e5bb1&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 472px; height: 630px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a48e45e5bb1&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Loot!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a4d686c0c48&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 397px; height: 530px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a4d686c0c48&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Christmas Dinner<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a590c4f3d64&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 347px; height: 463px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a590c4f3d64&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">My Mixer!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a5ef64445fe&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 420px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=ee69633f09&view=att&th=12662a5ef64445fe&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" alt="" border="0" /></a>Its first use...making a pumpkin cheesecake!<br /></div><br /><br />I put them both to use immediately. Ron is getting a Big Green Egg (surprise!!), but it is on back-order and still hasn't arrived! It was back to work for me on the 28th... and what a busy week it was. Now over H1N1 for the most part, our babies and children have moved on to RSV. Oh joy. I was off for New Year's Eve though, but for the second year in a row, Ron and I were asleep at midnight. Am I <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>old??<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">January 2010</span></span>- Nothing too earth shattering has happened yet this month... mainly I'm just working and trying to keep up my gym habit. So far so good. We did go for a long weekend to Birmingham, and got to hang out with the Tatum's, the Blackman's, the Tracy's, and my dad. I used our time together to get some photography lessons, and got some good pictures of Moss Rock Preserve and my dad's cats.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs126.snc3/17368_284505027787_709132787_4460217_2143446_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 369px; height: 553px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs126.snc3/17368_284505027787_709132787_4460217_2143446_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The new camera at work...<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs126.snc3/17368_284492032787_709132787_4460003_760976_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 418px; height: 278px;" src="http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs126.snc3/17368_284492032787_709132787_4460003_760976_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We also visited some of our favorite restaurants that we miss desperately. We love Auburn, but wish we had more culinary variety here... we have a few standouts (um, pasta night at Ariccia anyone?), but mainly there's chicken fingers, pizza, barbeque, and bad mexican. Though no mexican restaurant is good compared to Sol Azteca in Ron's mind!! We've been trying to cook at home more, which I've always wanted to do anyway, so I guess it's a good thing in the end. In other news, Ron is currently attending his first paralympic training camp (in California this time) since his bike wreck and pneumonia... he says it was his fitness wake-up call. Looks like I may have another gym partner when he gets home! I think he's being hard on himself as usual... he's just now starting to get back into the training mode after the badness that was his health this year.<br /><br /><br /><br />What else can I say? This post was LONG but hit the highlights of 2009. Here's to a healthier 2010, and more exciting adventures!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" >A happy New Year! Grant that I</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > May bring no tear to any eye</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > When this New Year in time shall end</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > Let it be said I've played the friend,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > Have lived and loved and labored here,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > And made of it a happy year.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > ~Edgar Guest</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /></span></div>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-33648697091307412892008-11-30T19:09:00.002-06:002008-11-30T19:42:52.017-06:00Catching UpIt's been awhile since I wrote... honestly, I'm having trouble figuring out what to write here anymore. I work, I eat, I sleep, rinse, repeat... which doesn't lend itself too well to regular interesting blogs! BUT.... since it's been so long, I actually do have a few things to write about!<br /><br />Work is going well. Most days are fun, even though since it's winter we are getting really busy. I knew I'd be seeing a lot of patients, but maaaan.. on a typical "busy" day (usually Mondays and Tuesdays), I see about 18-20 patients in the morning and then 22-25 in the afternoons. Some days I also work through lunch, but usually selfishly, cause if you work through lunch they buy and bring you food, but you have to wolf it down, sometimes sneaking a few bites in between patients. Those days aren't that fun. It's much better when you get to slow down and play and laugh with your patients... Here is one particularly funny encounter that I want to record here primarily so I won't forget it:<br /><br />I walk into the exam room for a "two-fer" checkup, a 2 month old baby and his 18 month old brother. In the room are the 2 little ones, their mom, and their 5 and 7 year old brothers. Yes, this momma has her hands full! Anyway, I walk in and the hilarity ensued...<br /><br />Me: Hey ya'll...I'm Dr. Williams. Nice to meet you!<br />Mom: But you're so young...how old are you?<br />Me (faking embarassement, cause I get this question so much that it can't truly embarrass me anymore...): Oh, thank you! I'm old enough, I assure you!<br />Mom: No really...how old are you?<br />Me: Well, I'm 29...<br />7yr old: She's older than Daddy!!!<br />(We all laugh...)<br /><br />Part two of the funniness of this encounter... I squat down to get the baby out of his carseat. 5 year old brother crouches down with me, watching my every move like a hawk...<br />Me: Oh, look what big brown eyes he has!<br />5yr old: Yeah...he also got a big brown belly!<br />7yr old: He got that from Momma!!<br />(We all laugh, including the momma, and I try not to choke on the bite of lunch I had before walking in the room....)<br /><br />That has been my funniest moment so far in the clinic. The next day I had another entertaining moment, also involving a several month old baby... he was all smiles at me, and cuter than cute! I walked my fingers up his pudgy little belly and chest and chin, and then pushed his little nose like a button, saying "boop!" Right at the "boop" moment though, that sweet little baby pooted, right on cue! Hysterical! <br /><br />That's enough about work... other than that every day brings a new challenge and something new to learn. And I'm having fun! And you know what...I think I'm done writing for now. I've got more to say, but I'm tired! Hopefully, I'll get back to this sooner rather than later...Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-7872505606313325742008-10-28T08:21:00.004-05:002008-10-28T09:02:30.250-05:00Life goes on...<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Our profession is the only one which works unceasingly to annihilate itself. ~Martin H. Fischer</blockquote></span><br />Well, my race is over, at least for a few months! I took my "American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Examination" yesterday in Atlanta, and it was absolutely miserable. I have studied for months, literally...more than I've ever studied for one test before, and still, it was tough. The test was about 350 questions, broken up into two 3.5 hour testing blocks, and completely overwhelming. The average pass rate for first-time test-takers is only about 75%, and I will just be praying for the next three months that I did enough to get in that top 75%!! I'm afraid it's gonna be close. It is true that all of us felt like a big failure afterwards, and that most of us will pass, but dang, some of us won't. Please God, let me have passed! Ok, enough!!! I'm gonna try very hard to not worry anymore about the outcome, and just enjoy life now!! I've been in study world (and work land) since we moved here, and I am more than looking forward to getting back to some regular fun activities!!<br /><br />I am glad that I am off work today, cause I have a lot to do!! Here's a small sampling...<br />Laundry<br />Getting out cold weather clothes from the basement and somehow getting them into the little bitty closet...<br />Read a magazine<br />Blog (check!)<br />Pack away all board study materials<br />Unload dishwasher<br />Rescue the Christmas decorations from the POD (that yes, is still in the driveway!)<br />Go to Hobby Lobby and peruse the scrapbooking section<br />Buy a pumpkin and halloween candy (for Ron to hand out to the trick-or-treaters while I'm at work-sad!)<br />Go on a mini-reward shopping trip to Old Navy and Ann Taylor Loft<br />Go out to dinner (and have dessert!) with my sweet husband!<br /><br />That should be enough fun for today anyway, and then tomorrow it's back to work. Speaking of work, I have really loved my job so far, and I am so glad about that! It's gotta even be more enjoyable now that I won't be studying through lunch and at any random free moment... I am building quite a little patient base, which is so great! I love when I get brand new nursery babies... all fresh and sweet and without illegible notes from anyone else in their chart to have to wade through! During residency, I think I only had two babies that I followed from the nursery and beyond, Kendall and Maddox, and it was an absolute joy seeing them over and over during those 2 1/2 years... and now I get to do that a lot! My first patient on my first day was sweet little Leighton, my friend Rebecca's baby... it was her two month check up (yes, she had to have her one month check up with one of my partners while waiting on me to start work- thanks Rebecca!!), and little Leighton was none too happy to see me! That cute little baby screamed the entire visit!! :) Rebecca came prepared with her camera, so we got a commemorative photo of the milestone in my career! Can't wait to frame this picture and hang it in my office (which is a story for another day maybe...).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWsg0VgR36xnEBacWeDRzhjwtYKwcrZ6PxYPtp-kP5pVFiE6xawDkpAufjjm6ZhPjRm_GtAuJCCTLqDH9X9c2G-P1QbN49g_CL6SpiMooG3zh_5_nUUpxeFz2_yTWL6kGw9o19PMggrdd/s1600-h/First+patient%21.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWsg0VgR36xnEBacWeDRzhjwtYKwcrZ6PxYPtp-kP5pVFiE6xawDkpAufjjm6ZhPjRm_GtAuJCCTLqDH9X9c2G-P1QbN49g_CL6SpiMooG3zh_5_nUUpxeFz2_yTWL6kGw9o19PMggrdd/s320/First+patient%21.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262201221770198274" border="0" /></a><br />Well, that's enough for now...I'm ready to go "squeeze some fun" out of the first day of the rest of my life! <br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" > The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. ~Thomas Edison</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-91114436604283122802008-10-02T19:44:00.002-05:002008-10-02T19:51:56.970-05:00I'm alive...and working!So just a quick update to let everyone know that I'm still around... work is busy, and fun! I like being a real doctor! It's neat to finally be able to say that I'm a pediatrician...<br /><br />Yesterday when I was seeing my babies in the nursery, I went to examine the one (just one... a miracle!) that had been born on my call night. The babies have a little name tag on their bassinets, saying "I'm a girl/boy" and "Mother's doctor- (name)", and "My doctor- (name)"... well, this little baby's tag said: "My Doctor- Williams"!!! That's me! Williams.... that's me!! Cool!<br /><br />Anyway, I've been seeing about 24 or 25 patients a day in clinic. That's a far cry from the 4 that would KILL you in Primary Care Clinic!! I've even had a couple I've seen more than once already, and that's really fun... eventually I'll know most of them I guess.<br /><br />I'll post more later...for now work is all I've been up to.Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-86926519680680667832008-09-19T13:39:00.002-05:002008-09-19T14:13:22.070-05:00We're "home"!Mom and I made it safely back to Birmingham late last night.... it had been a loooong day in the airports of the world, but all went relatively smoothly. <br /><br />As for our final day in Beijing, we spent it shopping! Of course! We picked up a few last minute souvenirs, and helped Oz and Matt (Ron's teammates) get good deals at the Silk Market for their friends and families. It's really fun haggling with other people's money! :)<br /><br />That night, we attended the Closing Ceremonies. Show started at 8PM, so we left in "plenty of time" at 5:30. We had the bright idea to go by subway, knowing that we'd have to go that way on the way home since taxis would likely be scarce with 90,000 people pouring out of the Birds' Nest! That idea was a good one logistically, but a nightmare in reality...there were SO MANY PEOPLE trying to get to the stadium that way (at least 85 of the 90K!) and so many security checks (and therefore long lines and x-ray machines and bag-opening and body-wanding) that it took us two hours to get to the stadium. Then we had to climb Mount Everest to find our seats way up in the 3rd tier. By the time we got up there, it was about 7:30 or 7:45, and we had missed the athletes marching in! The whole ceremony was kinda "ehh" to me... the scale was much smaller than the regular Olympics. The 3rd tier thing was disappointing too...it seemed to hold more people than the 1st and 2nd tiers, but we were all under an awning and couldn't see the fireworks or even the flame!! True, we could appreciate the formations of the dancers and stuff way down below, but the precision definitely was not that of the Olympics Ceremonies. It was great to get into the Birds' Nest though... that is one amazing stadium, and you can't get near it without a ticket! The subway trip home was much less hectic than the way there, I guess because there were no security checks to get through...and we didn't have to buy a return ticket, not that they're expensive! The gates were just open for the throngs of people going through!<br /><br />Speaking of money, visiting China was definitely not bad on the wallet! One dollar is worth 6.8 yuan (or RMB), and things just don't cost that much. For example, in Italy, a can of diet coke would cost us 4 euros (almost $8 I think)... in China, a 20 oz bottle of diet coke cost 3 or 4 yuan (less than 75 cents)! A taxi ride to the airport (about a 45 min. ride from our hotel) cost about 80 yuan, so less than $10. A one way ticket on the subway only cost 2 yuan, so for both of us to get to the stadium and back that night it was like 50 cents total! Oh, I forgot to mention that for lunch while shopping with Ron, Oz, and Matt, we ducked into a little dumpling and noodle restaurant.... this one was seriously local... no English, spoken or written, and no pictures of the food, but Matt had been there the day before and knew what to get. The dumplings were so good... had some filled with vegetables and some with meat (I don't even want to know!), and we ate a lot of them! It was three big hungry athletes plus mom and me...we ate steam-basket after steam-basket of dumplings until we were almost sick, had 4 big bottles of local beer, and a few bottled waters, all for the grand total of 38 yuan. Yes, $8.50! It was amazing!!<br /><br />Anyway, that was about it for our trip. Travel day yesterday was just that...it took us all morning to stuff all of our stuff into our suitcases! We did A LOT of shopping! I know my bag weighed over 50lbs (it was pushing 40 when we left home!), but they didn't charge me extra... Yay!<br /><br />Today I'm just in the zone trying to get ready to get down to Auburn...tomorrow! I have done 4 loads of laundry, packed up a bunch of paintings and mirrors and stuff, assembled and packed 2 more wardrobe boxes, and now need to unload my vanity drawers and pack up some of our nicer breakables, and pack Ron some clean clothes for the weekend.... good thing I'm a list maker, and that the movers are gonna pack all the rest of our stuff themselves next week. I'm exhausted...just in time to start my job on Monday! Great. <br /><br />(Disclaimer.... I am really excited about starting my job! I've worked all my life I guess for this career, and I think/hope I found the perfect job for me! I hate that we're having to move and that we're so rushed and everything, but oh well... we'll get through it somehow... cause we always do. I am a little nervous though! What if I forgot everything I knew over the last 11 days of traveling??)Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-66488606083230432642008-09-16T20:11:00.003-05:002008-09-16T20:29:08.802-05:00Low-Key TuesdayToday was a "rest day" for us.... Mom and I slept in and then headed out to the Hou Hai lake region to meet up with Ron and the group from the Hartford! They were kind enough to have invited us to tag along on their planned day of rickshaw touring and lunch...we had a blast!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Uhsemjp1WZQlRXCNwDp04iptuU4zSpJBBF8yTHcw3fiLVFF4qfE_xKjNvO1G3easEHCyIuGQVcKGdIQoAVuGk6IBI9cOjd1qGPnau9NdMOVjnQzQRDIEJyyfq26SrFRTGlIvjGaLH4dA/s1600-h/Tues1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Uhsemjp1WZQlRXCNwDp04iptuU4zSpJBBF8yTHcw3fiLVFF4qfE_xKjNvO1G3easEHCyIuGQVcKGdIQoAVuGk6IBI9cOjd1qGPnau9NdMOVjnQzQRDIEJyyfq26SrFRTGlIvjGaLH4dA/s320/Tues1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246793223607117906" border="0" /></a><br />Ron and I haggling for a shirt on Opium Street<br /></div><br />The outing began as a bit of shopping on Opium Street (and no, no opium was ingested/inhaled/purchased... the street is named after the activities that happened there long long ago!), followed by a fantastic lunch at "No Name Restaurant." There was so much food!!!!! We ate and ate and ate...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">After lunch, we all loaded onto rickshaws and took a tour of the hutong in the area. On this tour, we stopped in one of the poorer homes and were served tea by the nice lady who lived there... then for comparison, we stopped in one of the richer homes and were given a tour. It was neat to be able to see the inside of these places... they were both nicer than I expected from the way they look on the outside. Even the poorer home had a big TV!! The richer home had a flatscreen!<br /></div><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNB-bSxnzKyWIKKEzTRNJceHzT0yzSKDSISW59yLSYnFRNF28c2bt2LlOT1w691xcXJnUvCHmrDsjpizWDC7Yq9VAannEE4bRu2rZwXDAbhUQK8w7cUzaKpaOyUiAkROZ0LCrYvZRg2hFb/s1600-h/tues3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNB-bSxnzKyWIKKEzTRNJceHzT0yzSKDSISW59yLSYnFRNF28c2bt2LlOT1w691xcXJnUvCHmrDsjpizWDC7Yq9VAannEE4bRu2rZwXDAbhUQK8w7cUzaKpaOyUiAkROZ0LCrYvZRg2hFb/s320/tues3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246793228748674066" border="0" /></a><br />On our rickshaw<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdRlavP6FPhOEFq7I4r4Lsgq_U6J0koYOZ_M8hPoTIh7XWFhMaukLP7HnA35fcDCX62sZAJtBl9MR0ci3usoEqiqAg0UpG_xqzLSxgFAs5GJM8EldJr9V6JNLIPwSLdYUuZnHagH8Yojk/s1600-h/tues2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdRlavP6FPhOEFq7I4r4Lsgq_U6J0koYOZ_M8hPoTIh7XWFhMaukLP7HnA35fcDCX62sZAJtBl9MR0ci3usoEqiqAg0UpG_xqzLSxgFAs5GJM8EldJr9V6JNLIPwSLdYUuZnHagH8Yojk/s320/tues2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246793229720139986" border="0" /></a><br />In the alleys between the poorer hutong homes<br /><br /></div><br />The Hartford folks and their IPC contact were able to score us some tickets to watch the bronze medal wheelchair basketball game between the USA and Great Britain. Great Britain won (boo!), but we had a good time watching and cheering for our boys!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhXcmwu5MkTbLuth67xuZvWRA9M8xn3SPQLUHVmsm-w8QtdAX1604Gdv3pVxmNsNjZhgWWTYLHS994nZZNCdCNgtmXDvt5qHZnRr8IhgHwEG9T_en14nz-c-FsLpHW_XLbdQUgbz96WXY/s1600-h/tues5.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhXcmwu5MkTbLuth67xuZvWRA9M8xn3SPQLUHVmsm-w8QtdAX1604Gdv3pVxmNsNjZhgWWTYLHS994nZZNCdCNgtmXDvt5qHZnRr8IhgHwEG9T_en14nz-c-FsLpHW_XLbdQUgbz96WXY/s320/tues5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246793233884431330" border="0" /></a><br />Wheelchair Basketball<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">That was about it for the day... we were too stuffed to have a real dinner, and it was raining and chilly anyway, so Ron went back to the Village and mom and I headed back to the hotel and ordered room service noodles! :) For a rest day, we still managed to wear ourselves out!<br /><br /><br /></div></div>Oh, and of course I didn't forget...the cute kids of the day! The little girl in the red was a little diva and was a ham until the camera came out, then she wanted to run away! Her little friend was sweet though and wanted to pose for the pictures!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1422wsxl-xmhCwxs4iaYXZNZ3RiZW7Bc_ia7KiTw6aiTx_3ifinqazx0jqsghLFwcL98XKrjv7pQIH-cXdpl4XLEHjs8gVj7xe1ksA-uZYKbyObROFLyQdep8_7hz8g8QVr5WLhj1iGsf/s1600-h/tues4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1422wsxl-xmhCwxs4iaYXZNZ3RiZW7Bc_ia7KiTw6aiTx_3ifinqazx0jqsghLFwcL98XKrjv7pQIH-cXdpl4XLEHjs8gVj7xe1ksA-uZYKbyObROFLyQdep8_7hz8g8QVr5WLhj1iGsf/s320/tues4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246793232547513970" border="0" /></a>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-10237050369146256422008-09-15T20:41:00.003-05:002008-09-15T21:08:34.022-05:00Another busy day!I think we have seen just about all there is to see here in Beijing! That's not true I'm sure, but we sure have seen all the major stuff! We're about ready to come home.<br /><br />Yesterday, we said bye to Butch as he headed back home, and mom and I went out to the Summer Palace. It was beautiful, as all the green spaces seem to be in China! It was hot though (a good excuse to have another one of those delicious peach and honey popsicles!)...and it was a lot of walking. We walked and walked, and then rode a boat from one end to the other before leaving. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14g61N59_uSX0N5JNbJCY0L2WN-yGsPnEKeFOvwpXBI-GaVrvGhnJNLnGXmMAhYvdeN3imil-RSmEs9JpqKNnGStFtp1JXas4tIdKug2KNUL9mU_Yx8h74Mcgi_4mfhQpXDtxT9MyQ6NR/s1600-h/monday2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14g61N59_uSX0N5JNbJCY0L2WN-yGsPnEKeFOvwpXBI-GaVrvGhnJNLnGXmMAhYvdeN3imil-RSmEs9JpqKNnGStFtp1JXas4tIdKug2KNUL9mU_Yx8h74Mcgi_4mfhQpXDtxT9MyQ6NR/s320/monday2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246434101687991522" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuh1s5AsZsCxky9-gLI5Y9xy_nX5spn08qzmPPoOO9HSDc5lEgDHuhIIMDAFeIrkhm2TvPFz9DoyWhP5Oaeek7uMyLbkS9VkEVulLvm9Mbn4yQXCa8UWNY3s0Zg3hl6j-ti5mKz88vTmB/s1600-h/monday3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwuh1s5AsZsCxky9-gLI5Y9xy_nX5spn08qzmPPoOO9HSDc5lEgDHuhIIMDAFeIrkhm2TvPFz9DoyWhP5Oaeek7uMyLbkS9VkEVulLvm9Mbn4yQXCa8UWNY3s0Zg3hl6j-ti5mKz88vTmB/s320/monday3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246434098916458258" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We met up with Ron and (coach) Jim and a few others, who had borrowed little touring bikes from the Village and rode them all the way into town! That is a LONG ride on little city streets! I was a bundle of nerves while they made their way into town, cause we have witnessed the craziness that is Beijing traffic, but they somehow made it, and even toured the Forbidden City when they arrived. Ron had brought a little flatbed bike....so that we could hop in the back and tour around. With much hesitation, we went, and it was fun!! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipH2nG7fTiNuy6x586eNVMJSSj46d0LE_KsaBJGyGEqt4rAUWN4LtPr4U5SB_Ro5Hw9MBu6RaurZTjkEwNvxE6FTVujTRrFe-hYLJX77FHLGYjusR_p4P5iRRwlQqcGOXKM_mni09IT_wb/s1600-h/monday4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipH2nG7fTiNuy6x586eNVMJSSj46d0LE_KsaBJGyGEqt4rAUWN4LtPr4U5SB_Ro5Hw9MBu6RaurZTjkEwNvxE6FTVujTRrFe-hYLJX77FHLGYjusR_p4P5iRRwlQqcGOXKM_mni09IT_wb/s320/monday4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246434103350027538" border="0" /></a>They rode us through a hutong, then the boys left and Ron sent his big bike with them (they put a little one in the back). We walked Ron down to the Hou Hai lakes area, where we sat on a rooftop restaurant and had some refreshments! Dinner followed at what must have been the most popular restaurant in the area....it was crowded and good! We had their specialty...mutton stir fried with spring onions, and cashew chicken. Yum!! We were wiped out after dinner, so went our separate ways in taxis. It was another fun night!<br /><br />Cute kid of the day picture:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgom4dCZgTlKl_Qfv_B0l7BIA0AypCGuOEHcJfeNqfxMHOge6eWfeQyx1R3RYR5PVxxrRMV1qUR2nYnN0spzqanzPcAzocucM0uogphWY7Xwmvt1Mk99gMPe9_wka_mU9OyfQEAcF70X0zK/s1600-h/monday1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgom4dCZgTlKl_Qfv_B0l7BIA0AypCGuOEHcJfeNqfxMHOge6eWfeQyx1R3RYR5PVxxrRMV1qUR2nYnN0spzqanzPcAzocucM0uogphWY7Xwmvt1Mk99gMPe9_wka_mU9OyfQEAcF70X0zK/s320/monday1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246434094384913698" border="0" /></a>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-35106155169352746882008-09-15T07:23:00.003-05:002008-09-15T07:48:46.435-05:00The Great Wall Adventure!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C37tTYT65m8NhOpI87QCxpFmwS3wqNLRhAefEr80VzqPP9veSFY3x0Njm_yIqm1NeFCGevkkYxexk6T7nZzP-DfrFYUjrXNHgiiURCiJG0qnNKdvpoBQ4ECiLNIPDdTwoas1y9IB7N6M/s1600-h/wall2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C37tTYT65m8NhOpI87QCxpFmwS3wqNLRhAefEr80VzqPP9veSFY3x0Njm_yIqm1NeFCGevkkYxexk6T7nZzP-DfrFYUjrXNHgiiURCiJG0qnNKdvpoBQ4ECiLNIPDdTwoas1y9IB7N6M/s320/wall2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246228898941295330" border="0" /></a><br />We have been going, going, going here in Beijing! It's hard to find the time to blog, so this will be quick...<br /><br />Yesterday, we went to the Great Wall! There are different sections close to Beijing, and we chose the Mutianyu section... it's just 15 minutes further out than the overcrowded Badaling section. We had hired the same driver we had the day before...he picked us up at the hotel, drove us out to the Paralympic Village to pick up Ron, and then out of town to the wall. It was amazing!! At the base of the mountain, there are stalls of souvenir and fruit vendors, where they sell "I Climbed the Great Wall" T-shirts for $1 (or less!)... it's crazy and crowded down there, but when you get up to the wall itself (by hike, chairlift, or cable car, the route we took!) it is nearly deserted! Well, not really, but far less crowded than I thought it would be. Anyway, we hiked left, we hiked right, and took lots of pictures!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng7qM3WgHUvfokqyPgSHelw2NslCtRYQjwtE2P9HomqAEhcw6LoqlFdFcX0zbRHF0suIYsduQRg9pzP_prb0jfsbWGWgSSxH3H3UzukPYVGGkn-zWsUt9c0CyzPK6Ohxp54Z1KIkdftP-/s1600-h/wall1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjng7qM3WgHUvfokqyPgSHelw2NslCtRYQjwtE2P9HomqAEhcw6LoqlFdFcX0zbRHF0suIYsduQRg9pzP_prb0jfsbWGWgSSxH3H3UzukPYVGGkn-zWsUt9c0CyzPK6Ohxp54Z1KIkdftP-/s320/wall1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246228900760732802" border="0" /></a><br />The views were breathtaking, even though the day was a bit overcast and smoggy. It was no walk in the park either... you are either going down steps or up them....everything seems very steep. It just blows my mind how they built the wall in the first place!! Butch descended the wall via the cable car, but Ron, mom, and I wanted to go down faster...on the toboggan slide!! We had to hike about an hour (up and down, up and down, very very sweaty by the end!), but we finally got there, and it was totally worth it to slide down the side of the mountain! Ron took a little video of it...check out his site to see.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefdXn81JrexshRbSk4EpzMSfxDHo43ExMXICMudotWji4Q08f7-f-uuYHOdfoTBAikRm9VL23nlqX0fLpUBBW3OUcWB1rOUmbLJHYrl3UgcqSBbxorhmh9dnYjXUWp-JWTlgRM8IgKvCe/s1600-h/wall3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefdXn81JrexshRbSk4EpzMSfxDHo43ExMXICMudotWji4Q08f7-f-uuYHOdfoTBAikRm9VL23nlqX0fLpUBBW3OUcWB1rOUmbLJHYrl3UgcqSBbxorhmh9dnYjXUWp-JWTlgRM8IgKvCe/s320/wall3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246228899435933922" border="0" /></a><br />We had some tourist stops on the way to and back from the Wall, but they were fun and we didn't mind. First was the Cloisionne factory where the artisans make their beautiful pieces by hand (we bought a dragon and phoenix vase!), and then was a tea shop, where we were taken through a tea ceremony. Fun!<br /><br />When we finally made it back from the wall, it was time for dinner. Did I mention that the Chinese eat really early?? In Italy, we were used to eating dinner no earlier than 9:00 PM, but in China, they eat at about 6:00. A few nights, we ate at 7:30, and we close it down! Anyway, last night we had Peking duck again to let Ron experience it...he loved it of course!<br /><br />After dinner, it was a mad rush (via subway) to the theater to see the Chinese acrobat show! Mom and I had secured 13 tickets for us, Ron, and his teammates/coaches/staff to get out and see the show...they all met us there. The show was great, and everyone had fun! It wasn't really tumbling like I had envisioned, but more like contortionists, girls doing balancing stuff, jugglers, and stuff like that. The grand finale was a troupe of young ladies doing tricks on bicycles.... doing handstands on moving bicycles, riding backwards and upside down, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff, including having 13 girls on one bike! I told the guys and girls I had arranged it just for them!<br /><br />After the show, we all took the subways home to crash... it was an exciting and tiring day! That's enough for now... I'll do today's update in the morning.... promise!Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-27888123261271373652008-09-13T07:47:00.007-05:002008-09-13T08:29:45.550-05:00No medals... pooh!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0ix1fma257V5cnvo7orNncR4Zyh5Th6Wxr3kDVqXpkgvIOmghKUEP888afnMq8MpKdMwE9kuA70VRA6nlN8dc2kFWNVAAHLL5ZCGhOD2K03tqOBLhb223wJYZfyR_xI1JjVWbhbxP9hr/s1600-h/ron+pre+race.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0ix1fma257V5cnvo7orNncR4Zyh5Th6Wxr3kDVqXpkgvIOmghKUEP888afnMq8MpKdMwE9kuA70VRA6nlN8dc2kFWNVAAHLL5ZCGhOD2K03tqOBLhb223wJYZfyR_xI1JjVWbhbxP9hr/s320/ron+pre+race.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245496891171879586" border="0" /></a><br />Ron before the Road Race<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Well, it's over, and we have no medals to bring home this time. The road race was today, and it was weird... it was Ron's category (LC2- single leg amputees) all combined with the LC1 (mostly arm amputees) class and one of the milder CP classes. The race was fast fast fast with all three medalists being of the LC1 category. There were 6 strong legs on the medal stand!! Even Ron's main rivals (Jiri and Roberto) weren't in the top five. Oh well... today's race results aren't as hard to swallow as yesterday's were, to me at least. Now we can take Ron out on the town and go have some fun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_EUsJxwWy_Dgko0lxUYnNS-rG5cMhv2Br_MJU7fRghacepeg9ZOfP6_un9Ya1NiYT_o0y7VzSWKkGUaiWTVPbC34hoCGu2h-Bo8raQ05XW6EUvltHtOKnoslv54YUYaGnmsRuwWDXUE_/s1600-h/LC2+winners.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_EUsJxwWy_Dgko0lxUYnNS-rG5cMhv2Br_MJU7fRghacepeg9ZOfP6_un9Ya1NiYT_o0y7VzSWKkGUaiWTVPbC34hoCGu2h-Bo8raQ05XW6EUvltHtOKnoslv54YUYaGnmsRuwWDXUE_/s320/LC2+winners.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245496462654525954" border="0" /></a></div>The winners of Ron's race<br /></div><br />Yesterday was completely taken up by the time trial. The course (which was the same course as the road race today) was fabulous! There was a big grandstand area for the spectators (and today, we managed to talk our way into the Family section-- which we are of course, but we don't have "credentials"), and behind the road where the riding happens a lake, then a beautiful pagoda on a peninsula, then mountains in the distance. This was, by far, the most breathtaking race site I have ever seen... wish it could've been the site of better memories for us.<br /><br />Today, we started the day by going to see Chairman Mao. Yes, he's dead, but embalmed and on display just north of Tiannamen Square. Kinda creepy, but free. We then were taken to the course by a car service we'd hired... loved our driver! He talked his way right up to the course practically, past a bunch of credential-checkers and Paralympic volunteers. He did so well for us that we have hired him for tomorrow too...to take us out to the Great Wall and to pick up Ron on the way out of town.<br /><br />Then was the race, and I've already talked all I want to about that.<br /><br />On the way back, we asked Tan (our driver) to drop us off at the Olympic Green instead of the hotel, so of course he did. You couldn't actually get into the park area or anywhere near the Birds' Nest or Water Cube without an event ticket, but we got close enough to oooh and aaah over them and get some pictures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABVwsJ6eVdjy-krjPa-FGonjlYa1PWO_hXkbWujSKGCgEXQ1ax5Yj4yy2HpgBSLUVh5sWEkXLsNPLuFbaOMBQgWrnY6I7Pa3uBPVWqJjKmO-1y7wokpqRoPJrU7UPvUdd78CWjsvY71Zl/s1600-h/birds'+nest.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABVwsJ6eVdjy-krjPa-FGonjlYa1PWO_hXkbWujSKGCgEXQ1ax5Yj4yy2HpgBSLUVh5sWEkXLsNPLuFbaOMBQgWrnY6I7Pa3uBPVWqJjKmO-1y7wokpqRoPJrU7UPvUdd78CWjsvY71Zl/s320/birds'+nest.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245496054463517442" border="0" /></a><br />The Birds' Nest Stadium<br /></div><br />We taxied back to the hotel to change, and then walked to a restaurant we had previously spied across the street from Tiannamen Square... it was probably the best food we've had here! Well, it tied with the Peking Duck, and was cheaper!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xioCvVFx3gkuvkUslNhyphenhyphenrAz8WvjI82EWpPSHSTJkwHBBt-iIouBW-fv7MLJ52OJMtnDAllp3bZUegWnLT0MWXIX7E0FnwOVUt_X1NBVR83qVtiXg7a_0R0-cAGuBTrsU1BudjqlXON-x/s1600-h/food.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5xioCvVFx3gkuvkUslNhyphenhyphenrAz8WvjI82EWpPSHSTJkwHBBt-iIouBW-fv7MLJ52OJMtnDAllp3bZUegWnLT0MWXIX7E0FnwOVUt_X1NBVR83qVtiXg7a_0R0-cAGuBTrsU1BudjqlXON-x/s320/food.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245497060438854514" border="0" /></a><br />So now that the races are over, I hope that we can get Ron out of the village to do some sightseeing. The Great Wall tomorrow will be a good start, and tomorrow night we have bought tickets to an acrobat show! We bought lots of tickets actually...nine of Ron's teammates/coaches/entourage wanted to go too! The hotel concierge must've thought we were crazy when we bought 13 tickets, but nah, she knows that already! We have kept the desk ladies quite busy with all our questions and need for translation!<br /><br />Well, off to sleep... tomorrow will be a better day.<br /><br />Oh, and here's another "cute baby" picture...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGVWx5ONXGp8GRnWYDZB8YbWJfr533IyvxZf_xE7L854JA0bSw730IAVGi4dTdHP5Gg1Oc1bR3AYaBdKXHZL9HBwPJrc_uS4fyN3xt1qq9MX4BoP10D6rVQ0oFMH4jr05KVJWcrjHtLs5/s1600-h/baby.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGVWx5ONXGp8GRnWYDZB8YbWJfr533IyvxZf_xE7L854JA0bSw730IAVGi4dTdHP5Gg1Oc1bR3AYaBdKXHZL9HBwPJrc_uS4fyN3xt1qq9MX4BoP10D6rVQ0oFMH4jr05KVJWcrjHtLs5/s320/baby.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245496238458033186" border="0" /></a>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-45308726129190580412008-09-12T05:17:00.005-05:002008-09-12T19:31:03.698-05:005th...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttzuFYcaVS5GoLMIErt65Gn7sNrrFYMKDTHQBnB2r1rzEt6PEvfTqOMRH4jKw0FZfDTbJMaciji4ifhPD8m_2krdZwBPtEyZpnmtFH19-33g2doXgHsPDkJWJ1KCDBaWrQokkfgVXx0vI/s1600-h/Ron+TT.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttzuFYcaVS5GoLMIErt65Gn7sNrrFYMKDTHQBnB2r1rzEt6PEvfTqOMRH4jKw0FZfDTbJMaciji4ifhPD8m_2krdZwBPtEyZpnmtFH19-33g2doXgHsPDkJWJ1KCDBaWrQokkfgVXx0vI/s320/Ron+TT.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245295820776224338" border="0" /></a><br />Well, the time trial is over, and Ron finished 5th. I'll leave all the descriptive details to him since we couldn't see much of the race, but I do know that it was hot and hard. The guys that we knew to worry about were indeed the ones that took the medals... we're disappointed, but you know, you just have to leave it all out there on the road, and Ron certainly did that. He was wiped out after it was all over.<br /><br />Tomorrow is the road race, against the same old crew. It's never over till it's over, but the time trial today was where our best chance was.<br /><br />On a high note, the course was beautiful...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRN9FmMamx2Q1Cl2r7Uv4JqYaG7J-XC3TBWlAUw9fw74I0lGSfp2oSnOW-bWy2Cb8TLquak24lq6yPjIgZx1Db6eNLg_huB4bQRXwT27w-m9Pp-DHoGRgwleenyITtYQNbgLpM-e8Xh5Z/s1600-h/Flags.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfRN9FmMamx2Q1Cl2r7Uv4JqYaG7J-XC3TBWlAUw9fw74I0lGSfp2oSnOW-bWy2Cb8TLquak24lq6yPjIgZx1Db6eNLg_huB4bQRXwT27w-m9Pp-DHoGRgwleenyITtYQNbgLpM-e8Xh5Z/s320/Flags.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245295818582480050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfaRiG2dfX_di6aD_ingJt3iAsSOFLOV1eE41jXiEky-BMv4ZjhRxQTTwJGgjm_nq0BZs_6KODiEF1ZO6Vvg38OT9GMTxcErNLSMU0r_KjX-jK7jnvn2Y-N_4BXrajgnKLPWYieNS1Xav/s1600-h/Course.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrfaRiG2dfX_di6aD_ingJt3iAsSOFLOV1eE41jXiEky-BMv4ZjhRxQTTwJGgjm_nq0BZs_6KODiEF1ZO6Vvg38OT9GMTxcErNLSMU0r_KjX-jK7jnvn2Y-N_4BXrajgnKLPWYieNS1Xav/s320/Course.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245295812952945410" border="0" /></a><br />I don't really know what else to say. There are definitely highs and lows on this journey, and the lows aren't very much fun. We are thankful for all the support we feel from all of you at home.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R0oO6TYBeWu_zv0vNTH5duZTKRTZvzJUE_QAY5-1wvFZP2S1-XK_Gc5Lawm_11IF4ri_eeG1ux9I5DLn6MSfSGXuGw7hvIhZbQAfxLd2OylRkj7M3BQ_WvsYWOTHYDR3o38P43rqj4A4/s1600-h/Afterwards.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R0oO6TYBeWu_zv0vNTH5duZTKRTZvzJUE_QAY5-1wvFZP2S1-XK_Gc5Lawm_11IF4ri_eeG1ux9I5DLn6MSfSGXuGw7hvIhZbQAfxLd2OylRkj7M3BQ_WvsYWOTHYDR3o38P43rqj4A4/s320/Afterwards.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5245295809250766770" border="0" /></a><br />After the race, Barb, Brooke, Ron, and Sandy and John (of the Hartford)<br /></div>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-30420972820754582492008-09-11T08:46:00.007-05:002008-09-11T09:26:38.078-05:00My aching feet!!We have walked one billion miles today... or at least it felt like it! We started by going to the Forbidden City, which of course was ah-mazing!! You could just imagine that you were an emperor (or empress!) wandering those grounds, or being carried around I'm sure...it would have been a long way to walk to get anywhere! The crowds were thick, and there was a lot of pushing and shoving to see some of the sights (thrones and such) inside the palaces...the doors were open but with rails, with everyone pushing to get up to the front to see. It reminded me of pep rallies at Auburn! Ah, China. The Forbidden City is not to be missed though! Here are some of my favorite pictures.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_jDIfwdDhzx1q86SyIKHfn13Zb2d2h_Sspye-eBae5npkgNSj6XIBK4Ku-1YyHuHv7ewUSz7QcmOo3141a6GpucIQ-yUM7srQbYcCYgmPBDQCfNpFa3IAvRLmnZJjoYFvmwAs2iAFnfv/s1600-h/Forbidden+City+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_jDIfwdDhzx1q86SyIKHfn13Zb2d2h_Sspye-eBae5npkgNSj6XIBK4Ku-1YyHuHv7ewUSz7QcmOo3141a6GpucIQ-yUM7srQbYcCYgmPBDQCfNpFa3IAvRLmnZJjoYFvmwAs2iAFnfv/s320/Forbidden+City+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244764021829716466" border="0" /></a>See the crowds?? Yes, they are pushy!<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7CV42upN15j2bHYMy5AUYS4byg84LXesSUiGEhJgIZoYOZ0QHUTO5hp4fI8-12sTLwG4cj2GH13oJCikQ_cdq1G6E8hLOlqWLBX5UA3nA-GWzKt-clNaCSRm18GeP3TUFxz7vRSWvbAb/s1600-h/Forbidden+City.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7CV42upN15j2bHYMy5AUYS4byg84LXesSUiGEhJgIZoYOZ0QHUTO5hp4fI8-12sTLwG4cj2GH13oJCikQ_cdq1G6E8hLOlqWLBX5UA3nA-GWzKt-clNaCSRm18GeP3TUFxz7vRSWvbAb/s320/Forbidden+City.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244763225439412338" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUbvZXG3c-GOKrG4mKKPOgn_MmJ8p08O8p6LMPRDGbDwAtWbN8mfvBqAw1cmU8_0CUXc1AETpVJQ0lY0YhtKZ4Z87SJCQWJ6vLAMzGKdOOR3_uKpM_4Sm5ydKKlQYEU1wJWNRoBUHL_V6/s1600-h/ice+cream+break.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUbvZXG3c-GOKrG4mKKPOgn_MmJ8p08O8p6LMPRDGbDwAtWbN8mfvBqAw1cmU8_0CUXc1AETpVJQ0lY0YhtKZ4Z87SJCQWJ6vLAMzGKdOOR3_uKpM_4Sm5ydKKlQYEU1wJWNRoBUHL_V6/s320/ice+cream+break.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244764838197888498" border="0" /></a>Ice Cream Break- it was hot!!<br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPdr9mv6crrOtxMxmBlMJ2HAyfT6am4hTOwMKoL5XxXgmOtalTon7yXQeCl1chyqQbCxa-J1OI5TFie7PV_sYb6ew-bdOUAvowLX7WCySYbRjBz5GpcogDD4tQPBM6AXriBLEDb6C_CP0/s1600-h/Forbid+City.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPdr9mv6crrOtxMxmBlMJ2HAyfT6am4hTOwMKoL5XxXgmOtalTon7yXQeCl1chyqQbCxa-J1OI5TFie7PV_sYb6ew-bdOUAvowLX7WCySYbRjBz5GpcogDD4tQPBM6AXriBLEDb6C_CP0/s320/Forbid+City.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244763221066011746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGylUbF6VbzVT7jL6aMRpljg2Wx6hofYEENyphh9p9fLHlTj01dEe-Yp0xkozVy0HFrNmtSg3b7H_3eLF2bXhz9_PKSRnQadtHSrlsQ7281U2DV6q2KMrQnHeIZIVqa1TXKKOc9YpWna4h/s1600-h/Forb+City.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGylUbF6VbzVT7jL6aMRpljg2Wx6hofYEENyphh9p9fLHlTj01dEe-Yp0xkozVy0HFrNmtSg3b7H_3eLF2bXhz9_PKSRnQadtHSrlsQ7281U2DV6q2KMrQnHeIZIVqa1TXKKOc9YpWna4h/s320/Forb+City.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244763218649697730" border="0" /></a><br />After wearing ourselves out at the Forbidden City, we hunted down a lunch-spot... that took a while, but we ended up very happy with our lunch of spicy chicken, noodles, rice, and broccoli. We then walked some more.... trying to see the Bell and Drum towers, but they were closed, so we started exploring the Hou Hai lake area. More walking, more shopping! I also finally got a picture of a Chinese child (with permission of his...or her- it was hard to tell- daddy of course). As an aside, it is the strangest thing I have ever seen, but the little toddler age children are dressed in pants with the inseam mostly cut out! And without diapers!! Their little heineys are just hanging out all over the place!! We haven't seen any pee-pee or poo-poo stains on the mothers who tote them around all day, but I don't see how we don't...the are too little to be potty trained! This child seemed to have intact pants, but I'm not sure!! :) The pediatrician in me also fully disapproves of all the kids on bicycles without helmets!! My PALS services have not yet been needed though...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnB4aY4Fvhf4c8ZguSLu-b9YF9q9uSvApdPRcL7DgKslxDV-DV3uAxzaq-jmJr12-mk1BUmUx2dcB-4aCoF-21MPGZZkkdJ5E2_nSK0NCZ9-PF5ONJpXhAq14b7wMe4q3Lquta-IS0Rgj/s1600-h/Chinese+kid.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnB4aY4Fvhf4c8ZguSLu-b9YF9q9uSvApdPRcL7DgKslxDV-DV3uAxzaq-jmJr12-mk1BUmUx2dcB-4aCoF-21MPGZZkkdJ5E2_nSK0NCZ9-PF5ONJpXhAq14b7wMe4q3Lquta-IS0Rgj/s320/Chinese+kid.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244764842298728434" border="0" /></a><br />After walking around Hou Hai lake and hutong, our feet demanded that we take a cab for once, and we headed back to our hotel to freshen up and rest. Later, we ventured out to the Night Market, where there are stalls and stalls of, well, interesting and unusual (read, disgusting!) food items for sale... the available variety includes silk worms on a stick, fried centipedes, scorpions, sea horses, starfish, kidneys and hearts of various animals, snake, mice, and a lot of other unidentifiable creatures.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTvOMHGDZg7uhc_dkB7tafYrFTWT8LzOnMS36fFSpsB4TlcSwW411kH8HeEyWyV-sNqAhjGXbL9YH1GXf0l6FsGqJtSMR4kXgKrpgHH-QhL_b0HZCWHtKqT3T0cDFd-8iUdx5FHznWydt/s1600-h/night+market.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTvOMHGDZg7uhc_dkB7tafYrFTWT8LzOnMS36fFSpsB4TlcSwW411kH8HeEyWyV-sNqAhjGXbL9YH1GXf0l6FsGqJtSMR4kXgKrpgHH-QhL_b0HZCWHtKqT3T0cDFd-8iUdx5FHznWydt/s320/night+market.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244764849913533154" border="0" /></a><br />It wasn't all horrifying though... we tried several (boring!) things, which were mostly good: chicken on a stick, pineapple rice with sugar, fried dumplings, fried bananas (which were very much like New Orleans' beignets), and fruit with a coating of melted sugar- like brittle! Yes, we ate some things we probably weren't supposed to, but hey, you only live once! I may regret it in the morning, we'll see!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlG_FDVo4FA765rYpqsP35xqWqGqfEOD6F4tQ94UMicwyt4HFGptEQO4hcEZzfXB069uGYkvGOoxzhnGR6zG4pAXtYFQ8fLTxkPG3Dnhm7RvY9KWMxdurkmdjP4A1Ryyogr4NhZURFgP1/s1600-h/fruit+on+stick.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlG_FDVo4FA765rYpqsP35xqWqGqfEOD6F4tQ94UMicwyt4HFGptEQO4hcEZzfXB069uGYkvGOoxzhnGR6zG4pAXtYFQ8fLTxkPG3Dnhm7RvY9KWMxdurkmdjP4A1Ryyogr4NhZURFgP1/s320/fruit+on+stick.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244764842928149874" border="0" /></a> The fruit brittle stuff<br /><br />And now, of course, we are turning in for the night. Tomorrow is the big day.... Ron's time trial! He's nervous... but he's ready! He's ready for all of his hard work to pay off, and to go out there and have some fun! We're meeting up with the crew from the Hartford and riding out to the course together, which is at the Ming Tombs. Should be fun! I am so proud of Ron, and ready to see those Go-Sticks in action! Stay tuned in (and keep your fingers crossed for him!)... he goes off at about 2:45 here, which is 1:45 AM at home- we should have some updates posted by the time ya'll wake up! Until then....Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-88513538830270008402008-09-10T03:11:00.008-05:002008-09-10T19:19:22.415-05:00Parks and Hutongs and Duck, Oh My!Today has been fun!! The weather is beautiful today... warm and sunny, the complete opposite from yesterday's rainy and chilly! We almost needed to use our umbrellas like parasols, like all the Chinese women do! We would fit in better if we did!<br /><br />We started the morning by visiting Beihai Park! It was fabulous! There is a big lake (aptly named Beihai lake) with sections completely covered by huge green water lilies!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgpdQJBFMlYBrdWlH0m3JqJR_ivzgP3UtWOjja-0SICV5TXIzVFsCez15RyiYIM1TfAeeA2O4ET1ID4LEiETt28BRMgUuCsBh2FmRz6z6CkoEfBYW2zLt1iCFdNvf3npf1_LP-fQ80brm/s1600-h/Beihai.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgpdQJBFMlYBrdWlH0m3JqJR_ivzgP3UtWOjja-0SICV5TXIzVFsCez15RyiYIM1TfAeeA2O4ET1ID4LEiETt28BRMgUuCsBh2FmRz6z6CkoEfBYW2zLt1iCFdNvf3npf1_LP-fQ80brm/s320/Beihai.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244304461480030146" border="0" /></a><br />Beihai Lake, water lilies, and the White Dagoba<br /></div><br />On an island in the center of the lake, there is a huge white temple called the White Dagoba. After hiking up many many stairs, you could almost get to the top, with a nice city view as a reward. Also at the top, we were crowned Empresses! :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfK5bJAwhq1E-0rtxokaDKlQDS7bW6fU1XSKMh1qtWfI0yavfK8zDUbDnUtn7C4gl0xBKLZ1Xq9hxAXibR6zf2qMXrnGiNlN2bzs-XZDGqKTynZNieOmy9IGVKfTPRIh1Ci0yMcO30L3j/s1600-h/empresses.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfK5bJAwhq1E-0rtxokaDKlQDS7bW6fU1XSKMh1qtWfI0yavfK8zDUbDnUtn7C4gl0xBKLZ1Xq9hxAXibR6zf2qMXrnGiNlN2bzs-XZDGqKTynZNieOmy9IGVKfTPRIh1Ci0yMcO30L3j/s320/empresses.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244304456877632418" border="0" /></a><br />The Newest Chinese Empresses<br /></div><br />We had lunch at a little cafe overlooking the lake, and ate dumplings and noodles (yum!)... a bit more authentic than yesterday's meals! This little Chinese lady struck up a conversation with us at lunch... turns out she was an English teacher and wanted to practice her English with some native-speakers I guess. She was very sweet, and even invited us to join her and her husband on a paddle boat ride in the lake, but we decided to keep with our plans for the afternoon instead. Hope that didn't violate any major rules of etiquette...we thanked her a lot for the invitation!<br /><br />We had an hour or two until Butch was due to arrive, so we decided to start heading back to the hotel, and maybe to stop at Jingshan Park on the way back, but at the last minute, we were approached by (several) rickshaw drivers asking us to take their hutong tour... the is on our to-do list, and we had just enough time, so we went! It was so fun! Our driver was young and tried very hard to explain everything to us in English (and did very well actually!) as he pedalled us through a hutong behind the Forbidden City. The hutongs are the old tradional Chinese neighborhoods, still inhabited by the poorer people of the city, as well as some soldiers. We saw the little house where Mao lived as a student for a year or two in his twenties. It was really interesting... you wonder how people still are able to live in this way. There were some nicer areas (like the "rich people" house where our driver posed for the picture below), but mostly it was very ramshackle.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a2OGW3maG4fszWCSeMtfUsdYmz56hdyQc591ppzqZ7qi2CWBE8IQRUhDvWEyqKnfOKwM8mnG5q6dJCnlMbcaZDhd1S50Axci-ij9C4L-7iz0octZI6eGdheFm8-tt3ZwE3ZRosAKnkaJ/s1600-h/driver.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a2OGW3maG4fszWCSeMtfUsdYmz56hdyQc591ppzqZ7qi2CWBE8IQRUhDvWEyqKnfOKwM8mnG5q6dJCnlMbcaZDhd1S50Axci-ij9C4L-7iz0octZI6eGdheFm8-tt3ZwE3ZRosAKnkaJ/s320/driver.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244304467220933618" border="0" /></a><br />Our rickshaw driver and Hutong tour guide<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Butch arrived after shortly after our rickshaw ride... we were happy he made it in one piece!! We walked around Tiannamen Square for a bit, then went on a culinary adventure- Peking Duck!! Our hotel had recommended a certain restaurant, Da Dong (yes, funny name...), and it was fabulous! It was a nice new swanky place, and we had to wait an hour for a table! Here is the story in pictures... Close your eyes, Chrissy Tatum!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzt-obiiUYyxSaulFLSJfNSkns3Ax0QGG-6pECAJSEPWHy2f721OUjVwZDjrh59D1D-Xc0N6xASw4HP7Zwn5txCIsrGTQddCzYveXtRrsRZDHKpE2dsbBA6bFx93NBxWQb-vKttQmovCq/s1600-h/Duck+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzt-obiiUYyxSaulFLSJfNSkns3Ax0QGG-6pECAJSEPWHy2f721OUjVwZDjrh59D1D-Xc0N6xASw4HP7Zwn5txCIsrGTQddCzYveXtRrsRZDHKpE2dsbBA6bFx93NBxWQb-vKttQmovCq/s320/Duck+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244548693377394114" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">All the ducks in a row!<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQYV7PxM6YHnsFUT-0Y2xCQzQQVw-OWkVcYz9s5A70lWmWrC32J9g9WFjVs0wsBgXRyTOQ3PA9fWodOrHzJNmtSBt7LIKisCJ24YON9zQNX4LFh7MmujD0UHFtyR2lxHQ0mKTqYUp6lLb/s1600-h/Duck+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQYV7PxM6YHnsFUT-0Y2xCQzQQVw-OWkVcYz9s5A70lWmWrC32J9g9WFjVs0wsBgXRyTOQ3PA9fWodOrHzJNmtSBt7LIKisCJ24YON9zQNX4LFh7MmujD0UHFtyR2lxHQ0mKTqYUp6lLb/s320/Duck+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244548685847214466" border="0" /></a><br />Ducks in the oven<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw9cYqNfR_L00yYgMgiyvO3muWm_M6C4-jCtO0TNMCzeyNeM2JakgtgBk9NbQT2OW6TaRCISz-YtjZyScQ3SUQGKy4Opp3qgpdUZ8rTrTPUmiTHr7Yh2ccPxlGITLVhXzYHtJs4WmZnrf/s1600-h/Duck+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw9cYqNfR_L00yYgMgiyvO3muWm_M6C4-jCtO0TNMCzeyNeM2JakgtgBk9NbQT2OW6TaRCISz-YtjZyScQ3SUQGKy4Opp3qgpdUZ8rTrTPUmiTHr7Yh2ccPxlGITLVhXzYHtJs4WmZnrf/s320/Duck+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244548696488483394" border="0" /></a>Veggies! Broccoli and snow peas...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6f9snJ06CSVNf0ilHtWHVSNQc4PTPylkipRJS3Wi4VG8uleWMt7-_r_yOgoeyubb81I6Q5TurkkwQ_dPGIoGdqvdaGagJXPNwG-BnTB6S8bCoykcj8K3nBy3Ch59hn32TtScoLs0gIRo/s1600-h/Duck+4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq6f9snJ06CSVNf0ilHtWHVSNQc4PTPylkipRJS3Wi4VG8uleWMt7-_r_yOgoeyubb81I6Q5TurkkwQ_dPGIoGdqvdaGagJXPNwG-BnTB6S8bCoykcj8K3nBy3Ch59hn32TtScoLs0gIRo/s320/Duck+4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244548700963943170" border="0" /></a>Carving up the duck tableside<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFED5tEMM9Oa7j31cRByfJ04Z6cC-RsiNT01qHRUgNVGA8dYf0RQXMF8vkMnPfaTre71WiAn5k9inOLmh2Qcdnhvw7GC5cZmS8O1KiqTM_R6ssP5iT4fUqOSY3bxY-77mGSw_BejUeEDY/s1600-h/Duck+5.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBFED5tEMM9Oa7j31cRByfJ04Z6cC-RsiNT01qHRUgNVGA8dYf0RQXMF8vkMnPfaTre71WiAn5k9inOLmh2Qcdnhvw7GC5cZmS8O1KiqTM_R6ssP5iT4fUqOSY3bxY-77mGSw_BejUeEDY/s320/Duck+5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244550112970014546" border="0" /></a>Ready to eat!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ixfkNg8Lr4ebx3kwShUd_TTRIW1GRzS5ABY1pGN34tqYvqP0aOO8MBQMvJ0ehs0L6UGzRmUnjQlSP8I6hRaxlnXnzbBZVUwlKFEoRBNmsbZE9a-WvA3XjQJHCKFzzCAbbmjTzXghg6Ut/s1600-h/Duck+6.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ixfkNg8Lr4ebx3kwShUd_TTRIW1GRzS5ABY1pGN34tqYvqP0aOO8MBQMvJ0ehs0L6UGzRmUnjQlSP8I6hRaxlnXnzbBZVUwlKFEoRBNmsbZE9a-WvA3XjQJHCKFzzCAbbmjTzXghg6Ut/s320/Duck+6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244550116115153010" border="0" /></a>Our dessert... smoking fruit! (It had dry ice underneath!)<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>On a side note, I talked to Ron a few times today. He's in the Village now with no more planned adventures out until after his races! Ah, the focus! He's sounding ready... maybe a bit nervous, but mostly excited! I'm excited for him...and I'm the nervous one! I hope he'll just get out there and do his best on Friday and Saturday, and that that will be enough for a shiny prize! He did get to participate in the Opening Ceremonies this time, a first for him, and he said it was beyond amazing! We were in the airplane at the time, so we missed it, but we watched it on TV today in our hotel room. We just missed seeing the USA team march in, so I'm gonna have to watch it again! We did see the frog-children dancing though, which was hysterical! That was his favorite part, he said.<br /><br />And finally, I just got an email from a former Paralympian's wife... she has taken my Oprah idea and run with it.... and just talked to an Oprah person on the phone! We may be going!! Woo hoo!! I'll be sure to post any more details if I hear them!Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-37329599698300612902008-09-09T07:07:00.008-05:002008-09-09T08:24:44.984-05:00We're surviving!Yay, I finally got my computer working in our hotel room, so now the updates will be more frequent and with pictures! I just needed the only converter piece that I didn't have... and Ron had one! Thanks honey! I'll go back and add pictures from my other post too...<br /><br />So, let me back up to yesterday. Yesterday morning was good! We had slept for 12 hours (after 36 hours of awakeness, this was great!), so we were up and ready to go go go! First we wandered around Tiannamen Square for a little bit... the Chinese are fabulous gardeners, and there was a huge flower display about the Paralympics in the Square. We found the cyclist of course!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fcFLlk0CgCdQkG_XfFahQwlkDo157_V0LqFnxXatLeSb91ZiSTJjePagv0_aAabkARobCRyfW4Pfv1JcqzW52DCWY4chL1LqfSba_NUPRfvPtfYmP5_p1MMxe2dhBizQwfhnpd0dmJGi/s1600-h/bike.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fcFLlk0CgCdQkG_XfFahQwlkDo157_V0LqFnxXatLeSb91ZiSTJjePagv0_aAabkARobCRyfW4Pfv1JcqzW52DCWY4chL1LqfSba_NUPRfvPtfYmP5_p1MMxe2dhBizQwfhnpd0dmJGi/s320/bike.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244004327333121826" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZZsjz_KTtlDuat7qAzMs9ziBewAt2wwlFgmCdy5nE_oy4WgwuJtaOQLTVzV2SSOz6J50CO78J9O5Ke9pjCGU8DrfOO5FPpIduZ7sqEs5ml-QnoOFhJp6q6CYlHClUs-zYWKwBtO1eQDb/s1600-h/Tiann.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZZsjz_KTtlDuat7qAzMs9ziBewAt2wwlFgmCdy5nE_oy4WgwuJtaOQLTVzV2SSOz6J50CO78J9O5Ke9pjCGU8DrfOO5FPpIduZ7sqEs5ml-QnoOFhJp6q6CYlHClUs-zYWKwBtO1eQDb/s320/Tiann.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244004326813292450" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Tiannamen Square<br /><br /></span></div>After Tiannamen Squre, we walked to the Temple of Heaven. Yeah, it was a long walk! Totally worth it though... it was acres and acres of beautiful grounds, full of roses and cypress trees, and very cool old buildings. Loved the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests the best.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQ_OAowNlGlh97iI_LAFx1CM8sY2R-fCy9aLvCZ1_ONJLuk4N8NO2EzyH8OwvY5sdbJr-qkj8kX7s5XVAaw2u_7CLl3l0vJHudCfUnLw4C6blypNGnMSJbNA1pRJ5WbHgvg7dXa8cmlnP/s1600-h/TOH.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQ_OAowNlGlh97iI_LAFx1CM8sY2R-fCy9aLvCZ1_ONJLuk4N8NO2EzyH8OwvY5sdbJr-qkj8kX7s5XVAaw2u_7CLl3l0vJHudCfUnLw4C6blypNGnMSJbNA1pRJ5WbHgvg7dXa8cmlnP/s320/TOH.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244008106985498578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests at Temple of Heaven<br /></span></div><br />After walking around the Temple of Heaven, we went shopping at the Pearl Market, which just happened to be in the neighborhood! Wow.... at the markets, you bargain, bargain, bargain, and I'm surprisingly good at it! We scored several necklaces a piece, and moved on...to more shopping in the Liulichang district. There they make "chops", which are special carved stamps. I got one with my name on it carved just for me! Very cool!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlrRSEdL-1z1zg5hvSiiRBCR1m3LMF8HDLu3kDYdqqcC7UTNcJ7Wa2LFB1AzgU-Mmpy1RCMi58DVq8BptanP9Y9Mz9l_so5VcJsYCLz9nInoCr8zeceERIW5VD60N9Npt_9AK0S9ewMxD/s1600-h/SHopping.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlrRSEdL-1z1zg5hvSiiRBCR1m3LMF8HDLu3kDYdqqcC7UTNcJ7Wa2LFB1AzgU-Mmpy1RCMi58DVq8BptanP9Y9Mz9l_so5VcJsYCLz9nInoCr8zeceERIW5VD60N9Npt_9AK0S9ewMxD/s320/SHopping.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244005315998396818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Shopping for Chops</span><br /><br /></div>And then, the day kinda went downhill on us! We had missed lunch in all the excitement of the Temple of Heaven and shopping, so we were pretty hungry by dinner time. We stopped in a little restaurant close to our hotel, and ordered by picture what we were assured was chicken. It may have been chicken, but not chicken meat really... just fried pieces of something very cartilagenous... must have been neck or feet! Ugh! That was kind of disastrous, but we were in a hurry to get to the Beijing Opera, which we had bought tickets for at the hotel. So we set off to find a taxi, and let me just say, that is a challenge anytime in the evening! Our major problem was that we were walking along busier streets, and were separated from the street itself by a little guardrail like fence. We might have well have been trying to hail a cab on I-65 back home! We walked and walked to get rid of the little fence... thought we were gonna miss the show! Finally we got a taxi and got ourselves to the Opera, but after the first half of the show, we wished we had missed it after all. It is, I could say, an acquired taste.... the first half was basically a lady with a singing voice that sounded like a cat singing and talking to an actor dressed to look like an old man. We didn't understand one bit of it, and it was mostly dialogue, not singing. Many people left at intermission, but we stuck it out and stayed for the second half, which was a good bit better. It was something about the Fight of the Monkey King, and multiple characters were jumping and tumbling about the stage without any singing. We survived, caught a taxi back to the hotel without too much trouble, and went to bed early.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhnSFSvt5P6Lp8khWhbo4YWaJIjmcQZm3pEknvvwF09V9SjX8FRupXmOJschEeK8g4RyEvAkBF7asGNJ1zoF5LpdiR0iulNOMow8_ws2w88FTqCkcTNAYmWgAbi3toKfdoejfCT6ifvO3/s1600-h/Opera.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhnSFSvt5P6Lp8khWhbo4YWaJIjmcQZm3pEknvvwF09V9SjX8FRupXmOJschEeK8g4RyEvAkBF7asGNJ1zoF5LpdiR0iulNOMow8_ws2w88FTqCkcTNAYmWgAbi3toKfdoejfCT6ifvO3/s320/Opera.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244007829672988290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The Opera<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Today was a new day. Rainy, but new. We slept in, and then spent the morning at the Confucius Temple and the Lama Temple. The architecture at both was breathtaking... and so was all the incense at the Lama Temple (Buddhist, with lots of Buddhas and even monks!). The Lama Temple had a huuuuge Buddha carved from a single sandalwood tree, with a marker from Guiness Book of World Records to prove it. It was something like 85 feet tall. No pics of it unfortunately....it was inside and no pictures allowed!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PMr-TGwuckTNql6WzAceY3tP4kzqxODOJnx9fQ0LTUvNbjtu7QwUS1EZfDXyLWZbVSFQ6Gfwx_P7toTvcBH17pLTdZf0mhm2NO1GJWxgxlWWcKYN8MO7ZNi2ArsSqYRJn8Hi8kam3bVy/s1600-h/Confucious.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7PMr-TGwuckTNql6WzAceY3tP4kzqxODOJnx9fQ0LTUvNbjtu7QwUS1EZfDXyLWZbVSFQ6Gfwx_P7toTvcBH17pLTdZf0mhm2NO1GJWxgxlWWcKYN8MO7ZNi2ArsSqYRJn8Hi8kam3bVy/s320/Confucious.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244004328397014386" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Confucius statue<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY6IYe73VNwt02WqpYBJox9UwaEadCthL45xLwqbLo5VZ8pELibO6RxKFiGDhQ_usBqk2gwhhNTtvNObTlrqz1vl9e8j0eZbLyNBdJetT_OayLGqRCtHIZWd53N17TXkcji8gzDyTV6Qm/s1600-h/Confucious+temple.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY6IYe73VNwt02WqpYBJox9UwaEadCthL45xLwqbLo5VZ8pELibO6RxKFiGDhQ_usBqk2gwhhNTtvNObTlrqz1vl9e8j0eZbLyNBdJetT_OayLGqRCtHIZWd53N17TXkcji8gzDyTV6Qm/s320/Confucious+temple.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244004330357490594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Confucius Temple</span><br /></div><br />After the temples, we taxied it out to the Paralympic Village to see Ron! We hung out with him there for a while, then escorted Ron and a few of the guys to the Silk Market to go shopping...our specialty! We helped them bargain on pearls for their wives and silk dresses for their daughters, and of course picked up a few trinkets for ourselves! :) We have GOT to stop shopping! The boys took off quickly back to the Village, and mom and I ate some pizza (no mysterious chicken parts this time!) and made our way home, this time via subway!! It has rained all day, and hasn't stopped yet! It better not rain for the races on Friday and Saturday!!!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLq6ZpYRPlJfMMbmWsWzQSKEhK1INTOKyZbgeZOlErG96YCmOUmFsFjVwn14Ml8Lg71QnYFlEfM-e_4IdUlELmzTVpwmc367Rd7vq7DV0ku_8wyWAMjfwasKACEZoYDf7EKF-uhOj_Ek_/s1600-h/Village.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLq6ZpYRPlJfMMbmWsWzQSKEhK1INTOKyZbgeZOlErG96YCmOUmFsFjVwn14Ml8Lg71QnYFlEfM-e_4IdUlELmzTVpwmc367Rd7vq7DV0ku_8wyWAMjfwasKACEZoYDf7EKF-uhOj_Ek_/s320/Village.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244011229099744290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Us at the Village<br /><br /><br /></span></div>Well, that's it really... tomorrow cousin Butch arrives, which we're looking forward to very much! Will update again soon!Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-83351490884041687072008-09-07T20:28:00.004-05:002008-09-10T01:47:22.012-05:00We made it!!Hello, from China! Mom and I made it safely, after about 18 hours in a flying cylinder! The flight was long of course, but not too bad really...we watched a lot of movies!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvKo8rCwRg_FHHQORdlUvXWehAiDx6O4y-vF0OB3C2Y5M0OhluvwS90RHQFiQw7BNJXB89qLjmZqHrNXv-TJtufLl5yDuQQXAvJxqu_ZByDu5RZiBGe8UGu3btszhGX-525jMXyyx1arA/s1600-h/plane.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvKo8rCwRg_FHHQORdlUvXWehAiDx6O4y-vF0OB3C2Y5M0OhluvwS90RHQFiQw7BNJXB89qLjmZqHrNXv-TJtufLl5yDuQQXAvJxqu_ZByDu5RZiBGe8UGu3btszhGX-525jMXyyx1arA/s320/plane.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244012784875712770" border="0" /></a><br />Yesterday afternoon after our arrival, we found our hotel (not an easy feat...the taxi drivers are a challenge), and then went out exploring.<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfnpKA4M1NXZh7oWoyccsFkkyeBX2QLHWX3jdH6JtCE4NUpsbiduORBjxV7OjDhXrccv8MBwNEzNHPVBQc0eqWV3MDJTusMtDbvJjdRRYDL6mvq9t-7LIw0AQv6jaDYSDdWEVci-xnsmk/s1600-h/hotel+room.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqfnpKA4M1NXZh7oWoyccsFkkyeBX2QLHWX3jdH6JtCE4NUpsbiduORBjxV7OjDhXrccv8MBwNEzNHPVBQc0eqWV3MDJTusMtDbvJjdRRYDL6mvq9t-7LIw0AQv6jaDYSDdWEVci-xnsmk/s320/hotel+room.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244280501462481154" border="0" /></a><br />We are very close to the Forbidden City, so we walked around it and of course made our first purchase... a surprise for Grandaddy! He's reading, so I'll keep it a surprise for now, but we did haggle with the little street guy. He actually followed us down the street for about a block before we agreed on a price! Yep, $6! We're high rollers!<br /><br />When we were wandering around the Forbidden City, taking pictures along the way, a little Chinese couple came up to us and did some hand motions...we thought they wanted us to take their picture... in fact, they wanted to have their picture made WITH us! :) Yes, we stick out like blonde sore thumbs in a sea of otherwise Asian people.<br /><br />Ron had arranged for a Chinese Sim card to be delivered to our hotel (sweet boy) so we were able to use my cell phone after we got here. I called him up, and we were able to meet up for dinner! It was good to see him after being apart for just over a month! We met at the Drum Tower, then walked down some street and stopped at a nondescript restaurant and had dinner.<br /><br />It was interesting, but good. And cheap! It's a nice change for us to be able to have a Diet Coke for the equivalent of 50 cents, not $8 like in Italy! After dinner, we went our separate ways and took taxis "home"... and slept like rocks for 12hrs! We were tired...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2edfXZTIAX0GO9RxgPfhJNsvzFM6fGp5Y4c2b0XUyi5iiXssTeLSG4IT70yTy6zDk-E7DdDk_bCS5ztMc4115ZkfczaKnNkOW7EOSyImS6uVKvR1VjhgyYvHkzhf0OhNMyliajo3wBoN/s1600-h/dinner+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2edfXZTIAX0GO9RxgPfhJNsvzFM6fGp5Y4c2b0XUyi5iiXssTeLSG4IT70yTy6zDk-E7DdDk_bCS5ztMc4115ZkfczaKnNkOW7EOSyImS6uVKvR1VjhgyYvHkzhf0OhNMyliajo3wBoN/s320/dinner+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244013167057943554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That's all for now... going sightseeing and maybe to the Opera tonight! I'm having trouble with my computer (shocker!), so I'm updating from the hotel business lounge. If and when I get mine going, I'll post pictures.<br /><br />Bye for now, and Happy Birthday Sarah Atkins!!Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-32867301054181942542008-09-05T17:00:00.002-05:002008-09-05T17:32:46.448-05:00Off Like a Herd of Turtles!<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. ~Seneca</blockquote></span><br />So, we're leaving bright and early in the morning! Well, actually it's gonna be "dark and early"! Ugh! Oh well... the earlier we leave, the earlier we get there I guess. I am excited. Ron arrived yesterday our time, and he's been able to call me several times. There apparently are some pretty strict rules about what you can blog about over there... The rules are set by the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) and basically restrict you from posting pictures or video clips of the events, venues, medal ceremonies, athletes other than yourself, etc. I can't say that I understand why these rules exist....I get that safety must be part of the equation, but I don't understand why limiting the accessibility of information about such a fantastic and inspiring event is productive. Oh well... ya'll know I am a rule-follower (to a fault!), so both of our blogs may be far more boring during this time than we want. We'll see how it goes.<br /><br />I have just about worn myself out over the last few days packing up boxes of house stuff... no matter how much goes into boxes, more and more exists! It's really like it's multiplying! The movers brought me some wardrobe boxes today... I thought that surely4 would be enough, but I've already filled up three of them with just Ron's hanging clothes, leaving mine high and dry! I've also been wrapping up picture frames and china... and I am tired! I need a vacation!<br /><br />And so, we go.... thank you to all who are out there cheering Ron on in this crazy journey! It's because of our friends' and families' support that he is able to go fulfill his dream. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Keep your fingers crossed for him! :) We hope to play out this scene again:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9qOGytLk6txORkmfrqkFwuHIqzztuw5XpjHfQLA_dHqeNhTNZgPhZd2hCZgwb7USfQ9alwWCpWmk00PL6mWdVd8kvMT1aNzFZ5ZCUOP6eAVv6XFSso4wTysqWSgRnkP_Ho-CMd-rq8KK/s1600-h/whew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9qOGytLk6txORkmfrqkFwuHIqzztuw5XpjHfQLA_dHqeNhTNZgPhZd2hCZgwb7USfQ9alwWCpWmk00PL6mWdVd8kvMT1aNzFZ5ZCUOP6eAVv6XFSso4wTysqWSgRnkP_Ho-CMd-rq8KK/s320/whew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242668539034733810" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Us in Athens after he won the bronze...<br /></span></div><br /><br />Oh, and no, I haven't heard back from Oprah yet!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money. ~Susan Heller</blockquote></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-82830055571542850732008-09-03T18:50:00.003-05:002008-09-03T18:58:38.004-05:00I did it!<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" ></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. ~Oprah Winfrey</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span></blockquote><br />Well, I've been saying that I was gonna do this for, well, years now, and I just did it...<br /><br />Did what, you ask?<br /><br />I wrote Oprah. I've been seeing the commercials for her episode with all the Olympians, and I just got a bee in my bonnet and shot her (well, her <span style="font-style: italic;">people</span> I guess...) a quick email! Don't you think having a show featuring Paralympians would be a good idea?? I do! Stay posted...<br /><br />Ok, back to my regularly scheduled studying, with packing breaks scheduled throughout!<br /><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" > Turn your wounds into wisdom. ~Oprah Winfrey </span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" ></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-61111676694374044612008-09-02T19:23:00.002-05:002008-09-02T19:28:56.128-05:00Crunch Time<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVhgoWcKjTA4orEJd6iDa-v_wDX_IAGENeqDcU5vHjc6TstlfxammewfkqqQ3KLYAnRsEr_h5v_F6x789xRZvvp-QNH989hfC9PdSpa8vUUIu-HKC3xLmWiuVOgfcY1MybOfpNqkRhEQr/s1600-h/DSC01817.JPG"><img alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVhgoWcKjTA4orEJd6iDa-v_wDX_IAGENeqDcU5vHjc6TstlfxammewfkqqQ3KLYAnRsEr_h5v_F6x789xRZvvp-QNH989hfC9PdSpa8vUUIu-HKC3xLmWiuVOgfcY1MybOfpNqkRhEQr/s320/DSC01817.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Oliver keeping me entertained<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">So, it has been a very busy few days in my neck of the woods! Over the Labor Day weekend, I went down to Auburn for the football game, but also dropped off some (a lot really!) of stuff at the little house. Dad's big truck was packed to the gills, though it just scratched the surface of what there is to move! Whew! I have gotten three estimates from moving companies, so luckily I don't have to pack and move the rest of the stuff myself. The more I do pack myself though, the cheaper the move will be... so I spent today sweating in the attic packing up boxes of Christmas china, clothes, and random junk. A lot of it is still boxed up from our last move... guess we don't need it all, huh?<br /><br />So the game was hot, and Auburn looked like they always do at the first game, but it was really fun anyway! Dad and I sat in my first ever season ticket seats! We'll miss next week's game, but after that, I'm super excited about going to all the games and hanging out with some new friends there. Our friends Shannon and Brian missed last week, but we'll all be present for the LSU game! War Eagle! It was a late night getting back home, but I kept thinking that that would be the last time (maybe ever!) that I would have to face game-day traffic to get home after a game! :)<br /><br />Sunday, Ron's little sister Michelle came to Birmingham for a visit. She recently had her 19th birthday, so we went shopping to celebrate, and did pretty well at the Gap Outlet! We went to dinner and then lazed around and watched "The Sound of Music" on TV. I know every single word to every single song on that movie, but it was Michelle's first time to see it. Love love love that movie!<br /><br />Now it's time to get busy with the packing and last minute trip planning details. Ron leaves tonight for Beijing... I've kinda been in denial! Now that he's gonna be gone, I'm sad that I won't get to just pick up the phone and say hi anytime I want to, or call him to get help on all this house stuff I've had to handle on my own, but... I will get to see him in China at some point next week! Yay! This is the longest we've been apart for a long time... Even last Olympics, I got to go out to Colorado for a visit. Not this time....thanks Obama! Oh well, I've been shockingly busy to not have been working all this time.<br /><br />I'm planning on blogging throughout the trip as a travel journal of everything we see and do, but also to keep everyone updated on Ron's progress. The athletes have been told that there will be some pretty serious restrictions on their personal blogs... like, they can't post pictures of the venues or Olympic Village, and can't write about their results right away... That seems unreasonable to me, but if it's true, I'll spill all the details here! So stay tuned!</div></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-86596766725928437572008-08-29T15:32:00.002-05:002008-08-29T16:03:25.441-05:00Spring Cleaning?<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. ~John Wooden</blockquote></span>Yes, I know it's not spring.... but in anticipation of the mad dash of moving that's coming up right when we get back from Beijing, I have been "cleaning out" this week (after my morning study session that is...). We have only lived in this house for just over two years... how in the world did so much junk accumulate?? I swore when we moved here from our blue house that I would remain organized and neat, which I didn't do too badly at, but man, where did all this other stuff come from? I do know where the majority of the problem lies... the mailbox! When you sign your life away to medicine, you get a LOT of mail. Most of it is junk that gets ripped up or shredded and then thrown away, but where they get me is with the journals and other educational paraphernalia. When I'm working, I do not have time to read 8 different journals per month!! I feel guilty if I don't keep them though, so I usually flip through them, looking at the pictures, and skimming anything that is fascinating and/or applicable to me, and then the pretty little journals get stacked up on my shelves. This is all well and good, until it is time to move! And this move in particular is heavy on my shoulders since we're moving now just to move again in six months or so. Ugh! Anyway, so farewell little journals... I'm paying by the pound here, and ya'll don't make the cut!<br /><br />Another thing that isn't making the cut... quite a few clothes that haven't fit now for a few years. Yes, like all delusional women out there, I was hanging on to a closet full of stuff that I can't squeeze into anymore, hoping that one day I would be able to get back in them again. Brutal honesty? Though I will continue to try to slim down to my high school or early college "fightin' weight", those clothes are out of style anyway, and none of them were expensive! They moved to the Preserve from the blue house, but I am not gonna pay for them by the pound again! The maids came (one last time) while I was knee deep amongst clothes in the closet... I ended up giving it all to my favorite little maid! We use a maid service run by a friend of ours, and usually we get the same team come out... a young tiny one, and an older tiny one. They are very sweet and do a fabulous job. I can always tell when a team other than them does our house. Anyway, I was gonna go to Goodwill with all the clothes, but when I saw the little maid, I though she might want to go through the stuff and take some home. Well, she didn't want to go through it...she just wanted it all! Some of it will fit here, but alot of it will be too big...she is TINY!! Anyway, made me feel good, and saves me a trip to Goodwill....<br /><br />I feel like I'm on Mission:Organization or Clean Sweep! Other than my half of the clothes closet, I have gone through my craft closet, my article file thingy, and the junk drawer in the kitchen. Man, is that all I've done?? I need my mom to come help me! Mom?? I know you're reading this.... :) I still need to do the linen closet, my bathroom vanity, my (other) craft closet upstairs, and the attic. The attic scares me... there's so much stuff up there! A lot of it is Christmas decorations, but there's other stuff too... I may just ignore it! Ron can figure that one out. He told me last night that he was sad. He said that when he left, he didn't really think about that we wouldn't really be living here anymore once we got back from China. I did! That's why I cried all the last night, dum-dum!! <br /><br />Anyway, time's a wastin'.... I'm gonna go do one more area before calling it quits for today. I'm going to the Auburn game tomorrow (Waaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Eagle!) and dropping some stuff off at the little house...I'm excited to see it again! Until then...<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Most of us can easily do two things at once; what's all but impossible is to do one thing at once. ~Mignon McLaughlin, <i>The Second Neurotic's Notebook</i>, 1966</blockquote></span><br /><br /></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-24877530561156229762008-08-27T14:09:00.003-05:002008-08-27T15:22:58.968-05:00Gearing Up<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Life's problems wouldn't be called "hurdles" if there wasn't a way to get over them. ~Author Unknown</blockquote></span><br />Well, things are getting busy around the Williams' households... yes, all three! Here on Preserve Drive, the cats and I have been starting to try to decide what will be making the move to Auburn, and when. Most everything will be going, but a few select things will be going this weekend, including the little bed from upstairs, some type of night stand, a tupperware full of work shoes, and at least a week's worth of work clothes. Also making the first cut will be a few pots and pans, our old microwave (so glad now that we took it out of our blue house!), towels, a shower curtain, the mini-fridge, and the little TV. Basically, the stuff that I will need for the first few days of living there before the movers bring the rest. When we get back from China, it's gonna be crazy!!<br /><br />Turning now to the action at the blue house (our old house that kept as a rental)... Despite our attention to at least three sickly trees on the property over the past five years, Hurricane Faye brought down part of another one! This one seemed fine, so we're upset about it! The renters called/emailed Ron, and the info relayed to me was that the back porch of the house was smooshed. Ron asked me to go up there and take some pictures for the insurance claim, so I did... but interestingly enough, the porch is fine! There is half a tree (it split somehow) down in the back yard, but the porch looks like it always has. There had been a power line or phone line or something that came down, but that was fixed by the time I got there the next day. Hmmm. Well, that was all good news, except that it might have been nice to have a new porch paid for by the homeowners insurance. Now we ourselves have to pay to have the rest of that tree taken down. Oh well... it could have been so much worse... the tree could've fallen on the roof of the house, or worse yet, someone could have been hurt. So I'm glad for that, but man, there are not very many trees left on this property! My favorite tree (oh, I don't know what kind it is, but it has beautiful pink blossoms on it in the spring....and it's not a crepe myrtle....), the one that was influential in our buying the house initially, almost got taken out by the garbage truck that first summer. I was so sad. Anyway, that's all for the blue house.<br /><br />Now for the little house (in Auburn)... not much to report, other than that I've been on the phone all morning trying to get the utilities converted over to my name. It wasn't too bad, but not much fun. Ron usually does all that stuff! For that, I am so grateful!<br /><br />Speaking of Ron, I've been missing him lately... I had wanted to go visit him in Colorado, but had planned to try to go this week. Yeah, tickets to Denver are pretty expensive this week, with all the Democrats there and all. I should've researched that a little better. Next week, the tickets are cheap, but Ron will be in his final few days of training and trying to get out of there (leaving next Wednesday--oh gosh, that's one week from today!), so it just didn't work out. The upside is that with all that he's been doing on his website, I still get to see him everyday! And of course, I talk to him multiple times a day on the phone. Our phone conversations go a little like this:<br /><br />Me: Hey! Whatcha doin'?<br />Ron: Just got off my bike. Going to eat lunch/dinner. What you doing?<br />Me: Studying.<br />Ron: What are my Buddies doing?<br />Me: Sleeping in my lap. Here, talk to them! (Hold phone in cats' ears)<br />Ron: Hey Buddies... I miss my Buddies! Tell your momma to feed you your wet food!<br />Cats: Purrrrrrrrrrrr<br />Ron: Well, gotta go.<br />Me: Ok, bye. Love you!<br />Ron: Love you too...Bye.<br /><br />Yeah, fascinating, right? We have nearly this exact conversation several times a day! The only variable is what meal he's about to eat, or at night, that he's about to go to bed. Gotta love those one minute phone calls!<br /><br />I've said it before (and I'll probably say it till I'm old and gray), but I am really proud of Ron. He has sacrificed a lot to be able to do this again, and will give it his all in the races. He will be representing himself on September 12th and 13th, as well as me and the rest of our families, his friends, coworkers, our country, and most importantly (yes, I do believe this is more important than representing his country...are you shocked?), he will be representing every person out there with a disability. Ron's disability is so minor in the grand scheme of things, but it goes to show that all challenges can be faced, and that many can be overcome. Whether you have dylexia, mental retardation, autism, blindness, deafness, cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, or just one leg... whether you were born with your challenge, were somehow injured, or developed it as a result of an illness- including cancer- you are not defined by it. The Paralympians figured that out a long time ago, but not everyone has. Not everyone sees a person and not a prosthesis, a wheelchair, or a red-tipped cane, but they should. The Paralympics are a way to continue teaching these truths, especially to our children. I wish wish wish that the Paralympics got more TV coverage here in the US, not because I want Ron to be famous or get the Visa commercial or be on the McDonald's cup (though that would be cool!), but to be an example to all of how to accept what may seem to be unsurmountable challenges and work hard to overcome them. Every single one of these Paralympians (not just mine), deserve to be on that Wheaties box....<br /><br />Ok, long emotional post done for now... I'll get back to my goal of trying to make sure I'll be board certified come October 27th!<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. ~Thomas Alva Edison</blockquote></span><br /></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-83362369133426815032008-08-24T18:44:00.005-05:002008-08-24T19:41:29.499-05:00Shrimp Boil Surprise<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> The best things in life aren't things. ~Art Buchwald</blockquote></span><br /><br />Earlier last week, my dad had told me to mark my calendar for last Friday night...he was having a shrimp boil! Of course I was excited... I love shrimp, and though I have been getting out more than I thought I would wit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHpsFJUitt0mLRQ5BcfKXP7Rdk-Ddja8bhSI3mudeb_lUAkhyphenhyphenWSEs9GpHlltsL_uOIsUJ8A2PK91amz2nKlqAsWw-ss0zQ9raW-UXktcJflXKz7LqcdvgWELZQlneCsW7wD3-DT2dM7jI/s1600-h/shrimp1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHpsFJUitt0mLRQ5BcfKXP7Rdk-Ddja8bhSI3mudeb_lUAkhyphenhyphenWSEs9GpHlltsL_uOIsUJ8A2PK91amz2nKlqAsWw-ss0zQ9raW-UXktcJflXKz7LqcdvgWELZQlneCsW7wD3-DT2dM7jI/s320/shrimp1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238238587731317186" border="0" /></a>h Ron being away, I still need all the social interaction I can get. My job was to bring bread, so I ventured out to Publix (by way of the Gap Outlet, just one last time!), bought the only three french bread loaves they had, had the nice bakery man slice them up for me using his handy-dandy bread slicing machine, and showed up at Dad's. Neighbors soon started showing up, and to my surprise, they started bringing me presents! Huh? The sweet Evans' who used to live catty-corner to us (who now live a few streets over) gave me a pretty tray tied up with a bow along with a fun bottle opener. Mrs. Evans said it was my graduation gift... How nice! It got better though...she also brought a cake (chocolate buttercream from Edgar's!) with "Congratulations Brooke" on the top! I was super confused when I saw it, but I finally figured out that my dad had planned this whole party not just as a casual shrimp boil for the neighbors, but kind of as a celebration for me finishing residency, and as a good bye party!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3U7Qm_Qykt7yMN8Qx4kxoTuiyOxvuP4-Bg_W0pdW3h35_XGswjpukxZ-hxByRlkQFKtiruEpUYOCVRz2nMqmuHaELGvrZ9dfxI3swWMPK_TDqzdLYG5fm_FnLUBuS4_Dw4Py4-ZLgN4e/s1600-h/shrimp2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3U7Qm_Qykt7yMN8Qx4kxoTuiyOxvuP4-Bg_W0pdW3h35_XGswjpukxZ-hxByRlkQFKtiruEpUYOCVRz2nMqmuHaELGvrZ9dfxI3swWMPK_TDqzdLYG5fm_FnLUBuS4_Dw4Py4-ZLgN4e/s320/shrimp2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238237500081221266" border="0" /></a> Don't know if he's celebrating that or not! :) Sweet Mr. and Mrs. Salter brought a card and bottle of New Age wine (that is a good luck present for Ron... they know he loves it!)... and everybody said congrats and goodbye... I was really shocked! I''ll have to get my Dad back for this one! I don't really like this goodbye business, but parties and dinners sure are fun! Thank you Daddy! I love you!<br /><br />I'm not worried about moving away from my Daddy... since we're moving to Auburn, I think I'll see him more than I even do now!! We both love our Auburn Tigers... he will come and visit me often, I know!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZ5y4arzaJYJxw_E4tmhAjuwy6IUWHvsjgSplx3vzshZi308eqb0mPiOQNm6eWVvx75kEHxeue2QdzrB43_5uht97dOAREfMQuv3yNdYUqh8F3KDOTGIYFY_4_engtRmjM4rHjayIgz_N/s1600-h/shrimp3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZ5y4arzaJYJxw_E4tmhAjuwy6IUWHvsjgSplx3vzshZi308eqb0mPiOQNm6eWVvx75kEHxeue2QdzrB43_5uht97dOAREfMQuv3yNdYUqh8F3KDOTGIYFY_4_engtRmjM4rHjayIgz_N/s320/shrimp3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238238398976850258" border="0" /></a><br />Now that I have a place to live, the fact that we're moving has become more real. I'm excited, but I think I'm still in denial. With studying taking up my days, Olympics taking up my nights, and planning a trip to Beijing taking up all other unclaimed pockets of time, I have barely spent any time at all preparing for this upcoming move. I'm really glad I have had all this time off, but I'm not sure where it has gone! I start work in less than one month, and so much is about to happen in the meantime...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote></blockquote></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> You have brains in your head.<br />You have feet in your shoes.<br />You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.<br />You're on your own.<br />And you know what you know.<br />You are the guy who'll decide where to go.<br />~Dr. Seuss</blockquote></span><br /></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-2044085643152540372008-08-23T16:38:00.001-05:002008-08-23T16:38:31.819-05:00Team Williams takes the gold!Just in case ya'll missed us on the NBC's coverage of the Olympics, I have linked our performance. I haven't really been studying all this time...I have actually been training in secret for my Olympic debut... we won the gold! Click the link below to see Team Williams in action...Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-57195584524360353952008-08-23T16:37:00.001-05:002008-08-23T16:37:03.171-05:00Our Olympic Debut<div style='background-color:#e9e9e9; width: 425px;'><object id='A597507' quality='high' data='http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/client/zero/ClientZero_EmbedViewer.swf?external_make_id=kzfrvsWofKqFWDn5&service=sendables.jibjab.com' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='transparent' height='319' width='425'><param name='wmode' value='transparent'></param><param name='movie' value='http://aka.zero.jibjab.com/client/zero/ClientZero_EmbedViewer.swf?external_make_id=kzfrvsWofKqFWDn5&service=sendables.jibjab.com'></param><param name='scaleMode' value='showAll'></param><param name='quality' value='high'></param><param name='allowNetworking' value='all'></param><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true' /><param name='FlashVars' value='external_make_id=kzfrvsWofKqFWDn5&service=sendables.jibjab.com'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param></object><div style='text-align:center; width:435px; margin-top:6px;'>Try JibJab Sendables® <a href='http://sendables.jibjab.com/sendables'>eCards</a> today!</div></div><img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bHQ9MTIxOTUyNzM5MTY3NiZwdD*xMjE5NTI3NDE2MDExJnA9MTkxMTMxJmQ9MjAyMjUzJm49YmxvZ2dlciZnPTI=.gif" />Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-41017287377769344632008-08-21T17:23:00.005-05:002008-08-21T18:06:42.024-05:00Deal of the Century!<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out. ~Art Linkletter</blockquote></span><br />Well, I did it... I negotiated the deal of the century! Well, it may not be <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>good, but it's gonna save us $550 per month from the house that I almost signed up for yesterday! Times twelve months, that's a lot of money saved! Also, with this house, I only had to commit to 6 months! <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>It's owned by a young couple who, like us, had to move out of town for a job... it has been on the market since May (they're giving up so soon?!), and they were happy to have us come in and live in it for a while... they will re-list it for sale in March. At that time (after our 6 month commitment), we will hopefully have sold our Birmingham house and can move move to a more permanent home in Auburn! If not, we can live in this little house until it sells, then we'll have to start over. Hopefully that won't happen!<br /><br />It's got 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, a large living room, a dining room, kitchen, laundry room, porch, carport, and deck. It also has quite a bit of yard, more than we're used to, but luckily, grass-cutting season is nearing its end. Downside? No jetted tub... and the kitchen could use updating, but it's not too bad! Definitely livable for 6 months!! I never thought I'd be excited about a 1969 rancher, but ya know... I am excited to have a place to live! It finally makes this move seem a little more real, even if it means a temporary downsize. Want pictures??<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjVvO4NkivpA91lo8p0aUzha6S_egkRFFT_CRNeOwh2vHfV3P4CUnDFd5KbEn6Ty53-TIU7czXPcUQvfcAifiIytA-nNbOepflEsk5SoRJlzMF8wnwTY7CS7EmapP5vpS6os4QMLHUHo_/s1600-h/house1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjVvO4NkivpA91lo8p0aUzha6S_egkRFFT_CRNeOwh2vHfV3P4CUnDFd5KbEn6Ty53-TIU7czXPcUQvfcAifiIytA-nNbOepflEsk5SoRJlzMF8wnwTY7CS7EmapP5vpS6os4QMLHUHo_/s320/house1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105144490862290" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEqbKHo7PUiuxaqeVIw3zTaNgo1bcZqDz5lmYtlLVZx8IbvkEdDWBS25gd4-XqqhiLkh_5dHg1pDmWeTWsGrWcSa-Ti1wNU_PnU135PcVzsPvO2UYRDlBv29yHy6g7MS6HlWKk7xfEN94/s1600-h/house2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEqbKHo7PUiuxaqeVIw3zTaNgo1bcZqDz5lmYtlLVZx8IbvkEdDWBS25gd4-XqqhiLkh_5dHg1pDmWeTWsGrWcSa-Ti1wNU_PnU135PcVzsPvO2UYRDlBv29yHy6g7MS6HlWKk7xfEN94/s320/house2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105143047442338" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCnUe9AuGfTNx45MQe629-0DmbgYkM02NjdJH3qC4EtKfZfDzRjVsuAc84pHp8YKWeEIucshXomsR_sycp1HYgrREibZpnHUNqyXfh3ilVCZ3IBzaXfqZ8lpKErQrydwjXlqyjYMqrj9A/s1600-h/house6.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCnUe9AuGfTNx45MQe629-0DmbgYkM02NjdJH3qC4EtKfZfDzRjVsuAc84pHp8YKWeEIucshXomsR_sycp1HYgrREibZpnHUNqyXfh3ilVCZ3IBzaXfqZ8lpKErQrydwjXlqyjYMqrj9A/s320/house6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105381517969986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0xikt6EagI7n6qlLCIKTMWjVdf2uuD3PTd4_92-pynkBhID1ns_m0qlC75qD4KBbG9xxqq4BTkN4KqJ9MOl9BQGe2fxlzTP5Xde6305QQdXC5Vva0iYH9wIwt6sLdQ9YOtXhElbe30fd/s1600-h/house3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0xikt6EagI7n6qlLCIKTMWjVdf2uuD3PTd4_92-pynkBhID1ns_m0qlC75qD4KBbG9xxqq4BTkN4KqJ9MOl9BQGe2fxlzTP5Xde6305QQdXC5Vva0iYH9wIwt6sLdQ9YOtXhElbe30fd/s320/house3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105147158074658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkafk1q2xQr5TDnCDPJ0A62tZXGUrNZA93nx9NTElaYgQiSGJLe-TTZjUi07XxG19z2Ocb8JmoH_GDlEbeJ9c9cEQc4AuUBIw6P75JgSC8RQStJ5sCU2xScKaRTVfAgdHJ6Xa0d8ITFqlQ/s1600-h/house5.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkafk1q2xQr5TDnCDPJ0A62tZXGUrNZA93nx9NTElaYgQiSGJLe-TTZjUi07XxG19z2Ocb8JmoH_GDlEbeJ9c9cEQc4AuUBIw6P75JgSC8RQStJ5sCU2xScKaRTVfAgdHJ6Xa0d8ITFqlQ/s320/house5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105150493045090" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBqMMCLlONssqbfsV1_LJcmO7qyHbSmQcIWghScOnGFbdQ5HgOcz9XdFXF22pO8_rCTtbsPUOgHk9zkkZRxfmtHKjhN7na9mD-LlYXeoyDUFAqmR-5KdfnL3BzG0-BgHGNbRFa1QRXqXX/s1600-h/house4.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBqMMCLlONssqbfsV1_LJcmO7qyHbSmQcIWghScOnGFbdQ5HgOcz9XdFXF22pO8_rCTtbsPUOgHk9zkkZRxfmtHKjhN7na9mD-LlYXeoyDUFAqmR-5KdfnL3BzG0-BgHGNbRFa1QRXqXX/s320/house4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105152447231810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" > I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. ~Winston Churchill</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:85%;" ></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061386755359134163.post-15948661780379268672008-08-20T20:53:00.003-05:002008-08-20T21:04:26.725-05:00Late breaking news...<span style="font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing. ~Eva Young</blockquote></span> </span><br />So after a flurry of phone calls, I have a lead on another house in Auburn... this one is an older house (no problem for us as long as it's in good shape), is in a good location, and (here's the best part) cheaper than our original budget!!! Wow! I was about to mail off the deposit on the other house too! So, back in the car I go tomorrow, but this time I'm dragging Dad along with me. I have a good feeling about this one! And the money issue is huge!<br /><br />Anyway, more tomorrow, hopefully!<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia, bookman old style, palatino linotype, book antiqua, palatino, trebuchet ms, helvetica, garamond, sans-serif, arial, verdana, avante garde, century gothic, comic sans ms, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><blockquote> Success is 10% inspiration, 90% last-minute changes. ~From a billboard advertisement</blockquote></span></span>Brooke and Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15788399582937997884noreply@blogger.com0