Remember the Heroes

So the last couple of weeks were pretty full of changes. I got a new boss, Dave started his internship, the weather has finally been consistently warm...

Last week was mostly normal, I got a new boss was the big highlight. So now my boss is located in Houston. We up here are hoping she'll be more reasonable about working remotely around holidays but really not much else has changed yet. We also went paintballing! It was my first time and I got hit three times. The bruises are finally fading. It was fun. We played two games. The first we were the attacking team and had to take over an enemy fortress. The next time we were the defenders of the fortress. We won both times! It was great. I might even be willing to go back again.

Memorial weekend was pretty fun, we cleaned house, went bowling, church, concert, pool time, scenic bike ride, and a cook out. In other words, lots of relaxing and enjoying time with my veteran and remembering those who have and are serving in our armed forces. Bowling was especially fun because I won. Well, mostly. We played 3 games and I won the first, game and he won the second. Then, for the third we bowled the first ball left handed and the second ball right handed. Since we're both right headed bowlers... Well I'm a better left handed bowler which is funny because he's left handed. Well, I'm starting to think he's just confused or something since I won. Next time we go, we'll have to do M&M bowling. Yum!

We like things on wheels

So... Most exciting event of the last week is that Dave and I got our motorcycle licenses! Yay!

They run a class through a couple of different companies (we went through APEX cycle education, best deal) and they take a weekend and teach you to ride a bike. There is a classroom session on Friday night and then 5-6 hours on Saturday and Sunday. Dave did really well but he's been riding for a long time so that was no surprise at all. I managed to make it through the weekend only dropping the bike twice (once because I freaked out and once I locked up the front tire) but I still passed the test (by 2 whole points!!). So I guess I'm a better motorcycler than I was a car driver since I managed to flunk my first driving test.

It was really nice though, they provided gloves, helmets, and the bikes. We were both on Honda Rebels. I think out of the 3 varieties of motorcycle I've been on so far the standard/cruiser type ride position is my favorite. Dual sports are usually just a tad too tall and sport bikes are all hunched over. But, since we have a sport bike that's what I'll get to continue to learn to ride on.

Also, we saw the avengers this weekend. It was definitely an expected smash up action sequence overload type movie but I definitely didn't expect it to be so funny! There were some very clever witticisms. And, if you go watch it, there is a scene in the middle of the credits that sets up for the sequel and one at the very end that is just funny. Schwarma anyone?

Stella turned six on Saturday! You wouldn't know she's middle aged though. Get her really anywhere and she is still all waggly puppy. As dad would say, no manners! But, I will say in the past year she's learned some pretty good things. She mostly gets going around a "tree" (any post type obstacle), shaking off on command, holding a dog cookie on her nose, and we're still working on left and right but she does know they are turns. Just not which way. But, if we're being honest, I have troubles with that still...

Oh, and yummy stir fry! Always a good end to a week :)

Vroom vroom!

Ooo darn, I am pretty sure I'm over my two weeks mark with this post. But, I was out of town for most of the weekend so... No, still not a viable excuse since I was home on Sunday afternoon.

The week before last was pretty normal. Dave finished up classes, I had work. For our date night Dave took me to the national art museum. Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. Except there was a video game exhibit and my surprise lessened quite a bit. We also got to do a service project called Rebuilding Together which is more or less charitable home renovations. We worked at a women's halfway house type thing and made raised garden boxes. He spent a lot of time working on his car too because this weekend we actually did something exciting.

We went down to VIR and Dave did a track day on Saturday. I got to do a ride along with his instructor but I'm still stuck in the same place where I might understand why he likes it, but it isn't really anything I'd ever want to do. Interesting note: an episode of Top Gear was filmed at VIR and Dave's instructor's car makes a very brief appearance. Stella didn't enjoy the weekend quite as much as Dave does because all the loud noises kind of scared her a bit. We also learned some interesting things for next time we go camping: Stella must have her own bed. Unlike at home where she'll curl up at the foot of the bed, she has to have half of the sleeping bag before she'll stop trying to sit on your head. Which gets really cold in the wee hours of the morning.

Looking forward into the next two weeks I get to do lots of training, get a new boss, MSF course, and Dave starts his internship. Hooray!

The greatest show on earth!

So on Friday Dave and I went to the circus. It was actually pretty fun. I don't know about greatest show on earth but we definitely had a good time.

The past couple of weeks have been pretty normal, as usual. Dave's all done with midterms and did his first term paper! Work for me has been pretty interesting, we're starting the ranking process for the next year. Official ranking impacts your salary and promotion prospects. I'll only be unofficially ranked since I haven't been around very long just to get me used to the process. But it is pretty interesting to see how concerned everyone is when you are being ranked against a whole bunch of other top performers.

On the cooking front, I've been doing pretty well trying some new stuff. Found a really tasty chili recipe and apparently the best pork chops my brother in law has ever had. I will say though, when only cooking for two, leftovers are a nightmare! They pile up sooooo fast! Means I only need to cook like three days to cover the whole week. Still fun though.

I took Stella to the dog park a couple of times too. She's still not really sure what to do with other dogs. But Dave and I did get her going to the point where she ran a couple of laps around the paddock. Our little dog is really zippy!!

The circus was really pretty fun. We got decent seats since the arena wasn't very big. They had this really awesome exhibition of centripetal force. This guy stood in a circle on the end of a big arm and he could spin the whole arm by running in the circle and the could jump and do all sorts of crazy stuff. Bad explanation, but an awesome act.

We also did some service doing a shoreline cleanup with ExxonMobil people. Picking up trash was actually pretty enjoyable because the weather was awesome! Sunny and 70s. Dave thought it was too hot of course.

And look! Ellie got a facelift and meet our new bike: Kiwee the fruit ninja!

The past couple of weeks

Well, mostly they've been pretty normal. Dave had to write a term paper. Well I guess he wrote most of it. Pretty much not a very fun time. Made for a couple of late nights anyway.

Last weekend we drove skyline. It was pretty fun. Except Dave's seats in his car are pretty uncomfortable after a few hours. But Stella had a good time. She got to stick her head out of the window for a long time.

Yesterday we ended up getting Dave over to the DMV finally! He's got his license all ordered and is an official Virginia resident. Which of course he's less than thrilled about, but he's stuck! Hooray!

Spring break plus!

So last week Dave had his spring break. So I took some time off too! It was fun. On Thursday we went to the cherry blossoms. At dawn! It was super early but it was really pretty.

It was also PI day on Wednesday. I made a version of derby pie. Yum...

Dave also had a hankering for strawberry rhubarb pie. Two pies in one week! It was pretty good. I must admit though, definitely more of a fan of chocolate based pies than fruit based pies.

Work this week was pretty normal. Next week will be wrapping up the month which will probably be a little more involved. This weekend was nice and relaxed. I think if I didn't have to have a job that actually made money I would become a dessert chef. It just occurred to me that almost all my pictures this week are of dessert :)

Yum!!!

Spring forward

You know, spring forward is a really deceptive name for the transition into daylight time. Because after the transition, everyone feels groggy sleep deprived and cranky. Not very spring-y in my mind. I am much more apt to 'spring' awake after fall back when I get my hour back. Or not because I spend it awake doing other things. But that is besides the point.

The last couple weeks have been pretty good. Work finally quieted down some this last week so I'm probably going to go back to being slightly bored.

Dave took his first round of midterms. He got an 86 on his calculus exam which I'm very proud of (average was a 63). He's on spring break this week. I know he's excited for the break!

Yesterday to celebrate we went go karting. Dave did the kart all day option. I stuck it out for one race and then watched. This time was more fun than the last place we went because the track was outdoors and was bigger. And, thanks to groupon we got a 2 for 1 membership so I'm sure we'll be going again some time.