Bowlin Beige

So many things to be thankful for this year. What better way to remind us of those things than a class full of 4 year olds? Here is Ainsley, dressed as an Indian, singing some songs about turkeys and Thanksgiving. Afterwards we got to enjoy a special feast with the other parents and kids.  We made the quick 4-hour drive to York to spend Thanksgiving with my side of the family. The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins, who they don't get to see often enough. Parker is still too young to fully comprehend that he is the only boy in the family.  A rare moment sitting still with cousin Kaitlyn. So thankful to be with Nana and Papa! Some silliness with cousins Julia and Clara. Parker is busy collecting all the trucks and cars in the house.  Happy Thanksgiving!

A few finishing touches before wrapp ing up my trip to San Francisco. My final presentation went well, and I had a beautiful final day to spend in the city. Fisherman's Wharf My kind of place!  . One final visit to the sea lions Golden Gate Bridge One more glass of great California wine. My trip home was a little more stressful than I had hoped. Due to mechanical problems with the plane, I was re-routed and ended up spending a good part of the day and night either on a plane or in an airport. However things worked out and I made it safely home!

My third day in San Francisco was focused a little more on sight-seeing than on the conference. Luckily I had a few sessions and a dinner to attend, but not much else during the day. I took the opportunity to visit Alcatraz Island. Some interesting things to learn below! View from the boat.  West side of the island. Warning sign When the large prison building was constructed, it was the largest steel-reinforced building in the world. The building by the water was actually the social hall (complete with bowling alley) for the guards and their families who lived on the island.  If you didn't know about the 19-month-long Native American occupation of Alcatraz in 1969-1971 be sure to look it up on Wikipedia!  Alcatraz was actually the first permanent military installation on the West Coast. It was a military base, and later a military prison, before it became part of the Federal Penitentiary System. View of the mainland from the island.

The good thing about still being on east coast time? I went to bed at 9pm and woke up at 5:15am. Plenty of time to get in a workout, a leisurely shower and breakfast, and still time to kill before I have my first meeting. What a great start to the day! I had my first presentation this morning. It was well attended and successful, except for a fire alarm right in the middle of it. No biggie.  Enjoyed a nice lunch on the water with the sun on my back. Next up? More sessions, a leadership reception, and dinner out with my former co-workers. Did I mention that the Christmas lighting ceremony is tomorrow night? Setup today looked good - can't wait to see the big show (with fireworks!) tomorrow night! Looking down from my room into the hotel lobby.

'If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.' They forgot to mention an umbrella too. I didn't bring either one.  I'll be in San Francisco for 5 days attending, and presenting at, a continuing education conference. Even though I no longer work in adult continuing ed, I'm still very involved with the national organization that puts on these conferences every year.  After an uneventful flight, I landed in SFO with rain. People at the airport kept talking about all the rain. What's the big deal? Seems like a little fall shower, typical of what we get in Virginia. Not pouring, just a nice steady shower. However on the way to the hotel I figured out what all the fuss was about. Part of the freeway had flooded. Like not just a little standing water - 5 feet of water. On our side of the road it wasn't too bad and my taxi driver could make it through the 2 feet safely. But the other side was at a standstill. Fun times! Made it to

For our anniversary last weekend my husband rented out an entire restaurant so we could have a romantic dinner alone. He's such a wonderful, thoughtful man! Well, to be entirely honest, we ate at a restaurant that just happened to be completely empty. Why, you ask? We decided to try some place new. It seems like we always go to the same places, yet there are hundreds of other restaurants in the Richmond area that we have never been to. But when the time comes to decide where to eat, we can never remember what those places are. So we end up going back to the old favorites. So this time I went to my trusty food reporter, Dana Craig, with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Usually a good judge of food (with a few exceptions), she reviews restaurants around the area each week. I stumbled upon her review of Veranda , a small Italian place in old Midlothian. A hole in the wall, it was supposed to have great food and good service. Since we were going to see a movie just down the street I th

Exactly ten years ago this was me. Sure, I've put on a few pounds in ten years. My hair color has changed slightly, with the addition of some gray that I'm trying desperately to hide for at least another ten years. I'm living in a different city, in a different home. I'm working at a different job. I have some of the same friends, and some new ones. What has stayed the same over the past ten years?  This guy. Happy 10 year anniversary to my best friend, my confidant, the love of my life, the father of my two beautiful children, the bread winner, the handyman, the joker, and, most importantly, the person who sees through all of my faults every day (and there's a lot of them), and loves me anyway.  I love you, Eric! Click here for  a little walk down memory lane...  

Here's our little Tinkerbell and Peter Pan enjoying their first (and hopefully not last) coordinated Halloween costumes. Little Peter Pan wasn't quite sure what was going on but started to figure it out once he realized his bag was full of things that he could eat. "Peas! Peas!" (please) was a favorite word of the day. At our church's 'Trunk-or-Treat'   Parker: 'What is this stupid thing around my neck?'   Parker: 'What am I supposed to do here, Mom?'       Parker: 'Can I please eat this candy in peace?'     At her school's costume parade.        With the rest of her class at school.     Mommy won 'prettiest costume' as Little Bo Peep at my work costume contest!    With her best friend Owen, ready to go trick-or-treating!    Parker was too amused by the flashlight to pose for pictures.   Just like any typical day in our house...   Pa