vacation with maj - part one : baltimore zoo

these entries about my vacation this year are going to be random depending on what photos i can get uploaded to flickr. we all went to the baltimore zoo and these are a few photos. it involved much more than is shown, including a camel ride or two. see photos of sara below. this zoo is only about twenty minutes away from us and it had some pretty unique animals. it was a lot of fun and had animals we had never seen before. the photos of me on a camel will not be making their way to the internet. i've also been informed that i skipped the nationals game we went to first. more photos coming soon.

strange nicknames, good friends & weird week

i am way behind in trying to keep this blog updated. i have a whole week of a really cool vacation to share with everyone, but i'm a little behind. however, this week has been unique starting with seeing a batmobile replica parked in front of my store. and all i could think, "WHERE THE HELL IS MY CAMERA?" i had brought it to work for the two days prior and left at home that day. i took some shots with my cell, but it is not the same.

i spent sunday afternoon scrapbooking with two of my really good friends, christine and danielle. after months of trying to get together, we finally managed to see each other. it was fun having them over to the house and especially fun watching danielle try guitar hero. it seems that the scrapbooks might never be finished, but it's a really good excuse to see each other.

on monday, i watched my boss get fired. i'm still in shock. as people close to me know, i have been battling with this man for over a year. i almost walked off the job because of him. i honestly can't believe he's really gone. please pray that his replacement is better. it's been a really long year.

last night, i got to break bread with some amazing friends whom i don't get to see near enough. apparently, jen reads my blog to keep up with me as she travels all over the continental United States. thus, today's entry felt necessary. this is another occasion where i said to myself, "WHERE THE HELL IS MY CAMERA?" jen has blessed me with one of my strangest nicknames, "fire hydrant." apparently, in my youth, i was no taller than the fire hydrants on virginia tech's campus. it was really good to see her and all my friends last night. if you would have told me back in the day that i would still be friends with people from college, meet their husbands/wives, share photos of their kids, i probably would not have believed you. i'm glad i was wrong. there is something amazing about being around people who have known you over ten years.

i was walking around the mall where we met before dinner and thought that i would never really have the money to spend there. i felt poor for a minute. however, i am rich in the things that really matter. i have more than i deserve in a lifetime. end cheesiness.

since i did not have my camera AGAIN, i have to leave you with a internet photo of jen's favorite dishes...chicken shawarma. and jen, the picture text challenge is on!!!!



for all the new people reading my blog, please excuse my grammar. and trust that if the entry is grammatically correct, sara has read it. :)

LeRoi Moore 1961-2008

Leroi Moore was one of the founding members of the Dave Matthews Band. He passed away from complications resulting from an accident that occurred in June at his home in Charlottesville, VA. He was an amazing saxophonist. I personally will miss wondering what was going on behind his sunglasses that he wore on stage most nights. I am very glad that we were able to see him perform this summer. It's a sad day for Dave fans. He will be missed.

for fun & due to slackness

thanks shelly!

i've been slacking, but we did a lot on vacation. but i did see "Dark Knight" for a second time today. it was even better the second time. i WILL find it in IMAX next with my buddy, Omeed.

i love batman.

tween extravaganza

the other night we hosted a midnight release party for "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer. despite my concern that no one would show up, we had a fair showing of pre-teen girls a.k.a. tweens. i was pleasantly surprised. you have no earthly idea what kind of work is involved for one of these things, but the hard work totally paid off.

i was amazed by how much these girls have invested in this series of books. i have read these books myself and i have also heavily invested in these characters. however, i could not answer the trivia questions that were asked about these books to save my life. they also fiercely debated over who the main girl, Bella, should choose as her boyfriend. it was a debate over vampires versus werewolves.

i led the werewolf side, the underdog, so to speak. i lost. it was terrible. so much for all those years on the debate team. (i was never that good.)

the attendants made the evening a lot of fun. they came in costume. they decorated t-shirts. i've never seen people get so excited about stickers, buttons and t-shirts. the staff had a good time and i'm very lucky that they are all so willing to participate and help without much question. there were so many cute moments throughout the evening. one of the tweens even wrote a cute note to one of the male members of the staff and colored him a picture. i won't even go into what was written on the "graffiti wall." we also raffled off the duplicated book covers that rakel and i created for decoration. (the photo above is the line for the raffle) the high pitch sound of tween girls counting down to midnight is something i will not easily forget. and we only got one complaint...from an adult.

i had a really good time celebrating a series of books that has come to an end.

i haven't read it yet. so don't tell me what happens.

dark knight

i have been slacking off in the blog department by not blogging about "Dark Knight." i honestly don't know what i can say. the movie speaks for itself. if you haven't gotten a chance to see it, GET IN YOUR CAR RIGHT NOW AND DRIVE TO YOUR NEAREST THEATRE!!!
i loved this movie. i loved the first "Batman" with Michael Keaton, directed by Tim Burton. it was my favorite Batman movie....not anymore.

Heath Ledger was amazing. There are no words. There were so many moments of "Oh My God!" in that movie related to what he did in this role. He could not have played the part better. He redefined the Joker by being as insane as the character is in the comic book. I am truly sad that I will only be able to see him play that role again. I honestly got upset when he said he could do the dance forever. Legendary.

Christian Bale. Aaron Eckhart. Gary Oldman. Michael Caine. Morgan Freeman. Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Incredible.

Turn off your television. Lock your door. Leave your life for a couple of hours and visit Gotham City. You will not regret it.