5 things you don't know about... LANE STADIUM

(sorry I don't have a date for this article...guessing it was 2005 based on #2)

1. More than 200 vendors, 200 ushers,150 police officers and 40 rescue workers work each home football game.

2. Tech police average nine arrests at each evening game. At last years night game against Maryland more than 50 arrests were made. Arrests range from fraudulent tickets to Drunk in public.

3. On average the stadium holds 7 ambulances, resuce workers treat 40 patients and 7 patients are taken to the hospital. Patients are treated for anything from diabetes to alcohol poisoning.

4. It takes around 150 Virginia Tech students to clean Lane Stadium after each home game. Members of Tech’s Corp of Cadets participate in stadium clean-up after every game.

5. For nationaly televised games up to nine cameras are on Whorsham Field: two in the South End Zone, one in the North End Zone, three in the West Stands (one on the 50 yard line and one on each 30 yard line) and three on the sidelines (one stationary, one handheld and one on a rolling cart).

Countdown to Kick Off!

It's that time of year again - the 8 month wait is over!! The HOKIES are back in action this Sat. The town is slowing transforming itself and the football chatter is getting louder and louder :)

A couple links showing what HOKIES will do to ensure prime tailgating!!

Lot 10

The HOKIE HOOPTY!

What do you predict our record will be???

Aunt Jily

I've had the unofficial title for awhile - but now it's official!

Congrats to my Brother and Sister in Law!!

Due Date: Mar 2
Sex: They don't want to find out
Womb Name: Cletus

Read more about Cletus....

Congrats Ang!!

Wedding Details

Mollusk VA

I spent the weekend in the middle of nowhere (the Northern Neck) with T and some of his family - it was blast!! Jet Skiing, Kayaking, Napping in the Hammock, Steaming crabs we pulled out of the creek an hour beforehand, cards, chatting. Wish I had taken more pics.. here are a few...

Grisman


The Rappahannock


Todd :)


mmm crabs!!


Trapper

LA Wedding

(The summary night get boring, I'm not feeling creative and it was written at multiple times so no gaurantees on flow!, you can skip straight to the pictures :) if you want)

I flew out to LA June 21st to hang out with Heather and help with last minute wedding planning. My mom also flew out on Wednesday. H, J, and B (bride, groom, and best man) picked me up from the airport and we headed to Huntington Beach (I think). J and B dropped the girls off for H's hair practice appt. When they picked us up we headed to Long Beach and met my mom for lunch at Islands. It was great, we need one of these in SWVA! We then went directly to the dress shop so I could try on the bridesmaid dress I had sent back the week before. It no longer felt like a corset! Woohoo!! From there we headed back to H's apartment and started working on wedding stuff. B and I finished shrink wrapping guest welcome/hotel gifts. Mom and I ran an errand tracking down 3 different colors of rope for the ceremony then spent the rest of the evening working on name cards and favor tags while the bride and groom went out to dinner with their families and introduced them to each other :)

Thursday morning H and I headed to Burke Williams in Santa Monica for a relaxing morning of spa treatments. J had given H a gift certificate so she could spend some time relaxing during this hectic pre wedding week. As maid of honor it was my duty to accompany her :) This is a high class CA spa. While you are there for your treatment you have access to the women's quiet room, common room, sauna, social whirlpool or quiet whirlpool, steam room, etc etc. You get a bathroom, and shoes to wear. There's fresh water (filled with fruit) and apples everywhere. Ice cold wash clothes by the sauna, steam room, and whirlpools. Anything you need to get ready for the day include highend hair products are provided! Everything except make-up. I chose the Hunter's Retreat - Your experience begins with the application of an exfoliating granular scrub rhythmically massaged onto your skin. Then, we thoroughly cleanse you with wheat stalks soaked in exotic, cleansing, essential oils. All the while cascades of warm water immerse your entire body. Cleansed and bathed again, you're towel dried as a light moisturizing oil is kneaded into your skin. There are few experiences in life as soothing.
I musta missed 'all the while cascades of warm water immerse your entire body'. It was awesome! There were about 9 showers heads above the table that came on and off. I didn't have a clue something like that existed!! Very relaxing - I suggest trying it out if you ever have the opportunity! We left my mom at H's apartment while we were gone working - she's the best!!

Thursday afternoon Mom and I headed down to Costa Mesa to the official wedding hotel so she could check in. Gotta love LA traffic!! So glad I don't live there. I met Josh's mom in the lobby - she's fun :) Mom and I went to check out the mall. Seriously it should have it's own zip code. This is part of Orange County I could live with :)

Friday morning Mom and I checked out a quilt shop she'd heard about. It was cool place, lots of interesting stuff. Lots of Jim Shore, which I love :) I also picked up some fabric, a quilt book, and some beads. The place served lunch, had live music, and even a beauty parlor!

I then caught a ride with Josh's parents back to LA. Lots more of the wedding party and guests were at H's apartment and it was a fun chaotic time of hanging out and working on last minute wedding stuff. We sent the boys our for Thai and In-N-Out Burgers. This was probably my favorite night of hanging out :) Lots of laughing.

Sat morning most of the wedding party and siblings headed to Ocean Seafood in chinatown for Dim Sum. (Just found this tidbit on the restaurant: with the highly rated Ocean Seafood restaurant which you may remember from Lethal Weapon 4 which was shot there and in Central Plaza) This was my first dim sum experience - basically you sit down and they walk around with carts of goodies trying to set plates on your table. Bad thing is it's hard to tell what everything is and they are a little forceful, so if you don't want something you need to be stern back :) Good thing is - most everything is very yummy!!! With a big group we got to try a variety of things, eat til we were stuffed, and I bet it was cheaper then breakfast at Micky D's! After brunch we all headed to Costa Mesa!

Now the pics - I'll let them speak mostly for themselves - I know you are sick of reading my boring summary!

We headed to Newport Beach for the rehersal. After the rehersal as a surprise J's sister serenaded the couple with her rendtion of Josh, The Latte Boy. It was cute!


Then we headed to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner!


I'd never been to a Joe's before, but if you have I'm sure you've seen their birthday/celebration antics. To embarass the lucky party they dress you up in crazy costumes and draw lots of attention! H LOVED this part!! haha. After getting J&H decked out they sent them skipping around the entire restaurant while we all sang 'Going to the Chapel'. It was great!!


J, H, and E all helped the staff with their line dance. I was busy taking the pictures!!


After dinner Mom and I took the scenic route back to the hotel and drove down HWY1 some. We checked out Balboa Island - what a quaint place! I'm always looking for lanscaping ideas - so I had to take a pic of this hillside.


Surprisingly - getting a bride and 5 bridesmaides ready can take up a whole day!! We took mimosas and breakfast with us to the hair salon. Here's Emily.


And Kristen....


Emily helping H with her necklace...


Josh - ain't he cute :)


Top deck of a yacht on a bay makes for an awesome wedding ceremony!


The unity cord. (No candles allowed on board)


The wedding party.


Heather & I


Mom & I


I love wedding cakes - they are all so different :)


Send Off


Sunset from the top deck


So before I even arrived at the airport for my trip home it looked like I was going to be spending all day at LAX and catching the red eye, rather then the morning flight I was booked on, due to delays. UGGH!!! To my surprise when I arrived at the airport they put my on a flight thru Charlotte flying FIRST CLASS!! Woohoo!! And I'm a dork - so I took a picture of my meal in first class!! Wish I could fly that way all the time - espeically on long flights, so much more room to get comfy and sleep!


I had a great trip to LA; a blast spending time with Heather, Josh, the wedding party, family and friends; loved sharing the day with H&J!; was glad my mom mad it out for the trip!; can't wait to hang out with H again! We've been spoiled this year!

TGIF Quiz: What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Your EQ is 133

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Galax Youth Fiddlers

First week in August means it's bluegrass time in Galax. If you've never experienced the Old Fiddler's Convention you are missing out! A group of us headed down on Monday night to watch the youth competition. I've been before with my friend J, but only on Sat nights during the band competition - and we usually end up spending most of our time on the baseball fields back where all the campers are - I refer to this as her 'high school reunion'. So I was excited to see all the cute kids. We were not disappointed.



The videos pictures aren't great, but you can hear the music - and that's the important part!

Some of the kids are beginners - but they are all adorable and very brave to get up on stage to perform. A couple kids are surprisingly talented!! Even some young ones :) Here are some on my favorites.

Young Girl - She's just sooooo cute!!

Girl w Bored Boy - A lot of the kids had guitar (or other instrument) back-up, usually an adult but sometimes another fellow aspiring musician :) This looked like a brother and sister pair. He was waving when he came out and real animated, then while playing looked bored out of his mind!! Until the end when she picked up the speed. CUTE CUTE CUTE!

Twin Fiddle - Didn't realize there had been a set of twins until we saw them walking around together carrying their miniature instruments :) I just happen to have recorded both of them.

Twin Mandolin - I wish I'd gotten more of him on video. He paused a lot as he was playing to find the right notes.... so cute!!! They can't be more then 5 or 6. At one point he paused a second too long and everyone started clapping... not really sure if he was finished yet :)

Surfer Madolin - This little kid looked like he came straight from the beach. Maybe the next Jack Johnson??

Fiddle Girl - Like I said - some wowed us with their talent. She was pretty good. Plus this video shows a crowd shot, and you can hear the crowd feedback. If I were a judge I'd give bonus points if you got the crowd clapping :)

Rockin Banjo - This little guy had the most stage personality. A lot of the kids just stood up there and played the song - most didn't even bow or say thanks when they left the stage. This guy was getting down and having a good ole time :)

Aside from the great music, I had the best chicken on a stick and strawberry lemonade ever!! mmm mmm good :)

If you're looking for something to do this Friday or Saturday night I'd definately head down to Galax!!

23 days and counting!

Until HOKIE football season!

ESPN has a great article that gives you a peek inside what it's like to be a college official.

My dad was a NVFOA ref for over 30 years - reffing high school, semi pro and pee wee games, and my brother has reffed for NVFOA, NCHSAA (current), and is starting his first year as a collegiate offical in the South Atlantic Conference - so I have a different perspective on reffing then most folks. I can remember helping my dad study the rules on one vacation and I couldn't believe how complicated they are. It isn't just off sides, roughing the kicker, and pass interference. I think they're crazy to want to be making those split second calls! But... they love it :)

Happy or Sad?

A - It's Friday!
B - It's Stepping Out Weekend!
C - Mom is coming to town!
D - M is moving out tonight :(

I think D trumps all the happy thoughts! We've been roommates for 3 years, which is a helluva long time for woman to live together and still be friends!! :) Really we're more like sisters then friends.... and I'm gonna miss her!!! Lucky for me she's only moving down the street!

TGIF Quiz: Are You A Control Freak?

You Are 32% Control Freak

You have achieved the perfect balance of control and letting go. You tend to roll with whatever life brings, but you never get complacent.

Are You A Control Freak?

See! I'm not a control freak :)

Hokie Room

Every Hokie needs a Hokie Room right??? Here's some pics documenting the transition of my billiards room. I've had the paint for a year, and finally found some time and motivation to do it! You can see a before picture in the post below.

L helped me paint the walls grey a couple weekends ago. The Sunday before I left for Vegas I was home alone with the whole day on my hands - so why not. I got out the masking tape and laser level and got to work!


I added thick tape to the top and bottom so that I could be more careless and the mini rollers would work.


I first painted a coat of the grey. Theory being any paint was going to spread under the tape, it would match the color of the wall, and I'd have to do less touch up! I think that pointer came from Kris. Then one coat of Chicago Maroon.


Since the paints overlapped some I couldn't paint both colors at the same time. I waited an hour to paint the first coat of Burnt Orange... that way I wouldn't get any crazy mixed colors!! I think the can said to wait 4 hours before applying the second coat. How bout 2 hours? I was short on time!


I did wait over night before I took down the tape. Since my flight to Vegas left at 7am I was up at 4:30 tearing down tape :)


I was really happy with the results!!!


Especially since I just kinda made up the idea and guessed on where I should put the lines and how thick to make them!!


Now I just need to get some things framed and figure out where to hang stuff. Oh yeah and order the pool lamp - and get a light drop put in the room. And do something with the windows :) And maybe a bar.


Eventually it'll get done and I'll have a pool party :)

Pay Offs

It's a big month for making progress on paying off some debts :)

The billiards table is officially paid for. Thanks R&K for your generosity and the payment plan!! I'll make another post documenting the transition of the billiards room!


BLUE turned 4 (to me) on July 25th. Aside from a little drama (below), it's been a great 4 years! With the addition of the roof rack I stopped dreaming about 4 runners :)


Made my last car payment this month! Woohoo! I think as a birthday/pay off celebration I'm going to get BLUE detailed, it's been awhile!