Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Photography Class

I'm hoping to take a photography class starting the second week of September. I was planning to sign up before leaving for vacation but that doesn't look like it will happen. Hopefully, the class will not fill up while I'm away. The class looks like it will help me to learn a lot about my camera. It's called Basic Camera Skills. Here's an excerpt from the class description:

The instructor will review the fundamentals of image capture and camera operation, guidelines for achieving proper exposures, and techniques for creating successful photo images. Students considering the purchase of a camera may want to attend the first class to get professional advice on what camera is best to fit their needs and interest. This class does not include instruction in darkroom or digital printing. Weekly assignments will be given.

I'm especially interested to find out what the weekly assignments will be. I also hope that we'll then discuss those in detail the following week in order to learn more about how to be a better photographer.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Things I Need But Don't Want

5. Car
I would love to be able to walk to work, walk or take public transportation to the store and take a taxi or public transportation to the airport.
4. Work
No explanation needed.
3. TV
It just sucks up time and doesn't give anything back.
2. Hairdryer
Another time sucker.
1. Air Conditioner
I really just hate the over-usage of it.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Ronald Reagan to the Rescue

Since it can be hard to remember everything needed for cheering MTH on at his triathlons, we decided to get a shirt that I can wear each time he does an event. We went to a store called Bang-On. It's an iron on store. They have some really interesting stuff including an iron on that's like the Che Guevara t-shirts except it's Ronald Reagan. MTH has said such things as "Ronald Reagan was the greatest president ever" and "He single handedly caused the Soviet Union to fall". Now, I'm not sure if he was actually saying those things or if it was the alcohol talking but when I saw this iron on, I knew I had to have it for MTH.


* Please do not leave mean comments about my husband.

Running Clothes Review

Since I've been running a lot more lately, I thought I'd start reviewing some of the clothes that I wear. Some are definitely better than others.

I'll start with the normal shorts and shirt. This outfit is one of my favorites. It's comfortable and the little pocket inside the shorts is very easy to get to. Plus, the shorts don't ride up at all (very important!).



The next outfit is a new one. It's a running skirt. I had seen these around so thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. I actually like it but they do ride up more than I expected. The skirt makes it so that no one can tell. Plus, I feel like a tennis star in it!



The last outfit is skintight running shorts. They're ok. I wouldn't really recommend these as they ride up and there is no skirt to hide it. The shirt with sports bra is nice though. It's only one thing to worry about.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Kickball Update

WE WON!!

We won our game last week. When the final horn blew, we all just looked at each other for a second before we realized that we had actually won the game. It looks like if we had just practiced a little, we possibly could have won a few more games. We still had a great time. Here's a picture of me running just after kicking the ball.

A Day with BlondiePi

We had a great time hanging out and catching up yesterday. She seemed to be having a nice, relaxing vacation. She arrived with SDK and SDK's husband (who by the way, MTH and I are hoping to have dinner with at some point in the future since they're only an hour away in Williamsburg).

They all arrived around 9:45am yesterday. We headed over to Strawberry Street Cafe for breakfast. I was disappointed in mine but it seemed that the others liked there food. Then, SDK and husband left for an appointment. Blondie and I walked around the neighborhood. Although it was warm, it was quite temperate compared to the previous week! MTH went for a work out while we were on our walk and we planned to meet again at 2pm in order to go to the Virginia Center for Architecture. It's housed in a Tudor-Revival house on Monument Ave, just 4 blocks from our house. It was quite interesting to see and hear.

After the tour, Blondie and I headed to downtown Richmond for a snack. I, of course, took her to Cafe Gutenberg. I had a Peach Basil Gazpacho and a slice of toasted brioche with strawberry jam. Blondie had a toasted slice of brioche with Nutella. We both had coffee. I then showed her around the river by going to Brown's Island and the Canal Walk. The last point on the tour was the Hollywood Cemetery. It's quite an interesting place to visit. It has graves of people all the way back to the 1700's although it was not opened until the mid-1800's. There are some famous people in there including James Monroe. The only problem that I've found with the place is that it's hard to find your way back out. It's not laid out in a grid but is rather quite scenic and curvy with hills. Therefore, it's very easy to lose your way. We made it out but with only a few minutes to spare as we were told we must be out by 6pm!

When we got back to the house, we played a game of Scrabble. Blondie had told us she was not very good but I think she's a ringer! She beat us 189 to 130 (me) and 108 (MTH). Then for dinner, we sat outside at Curbside Cafe. MTH left us to go have some drinks with some summer associates from work. Blondie and I talked for a while and then because her flight left at 6:05am today, she went to bed. She did not make me get up to take her to the airport. She got a taxi instead. I definitely appreciate her thinking about my sleep on a Sunday morning!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Walking Score

I just found this website on another blog:

http://www.walkscore.com/index.shtml

Our current place has a score of 80 out of 100. That means that we could get by without a car. Of course, that would mean that we both couldn't work since there's no real public transit here in the great city of Richmond. Our previous place only got a score of 62. The site says that they don't take public transportation into account. So, if they did, the scores would definitely have to be flipped. But, I think what the scores do say is that there's a lot more small restaurants and store to walk to from our place in Richmond than there were in Alexandria. For example, within a tenth of a mile of our place now, we can go to a market that has all the groceries you could need for emergencies, a wine store and a Starbuck's coffee shop. In addition, there's several restaurants/bars in that same radius. There was only a store with moldy bread within a tenth of a mile of our house in Alexandria.

My parents house got an 8. That would be because there's nothing in walking distance except the car.

Check it out.

Big Eyes

Since I didn't need the flash for taking this picture, I was able to capture her with her eyes wide open.

Kickball Update

If you'll remember, I joined a kickball team. At the time, we were winless. We are still winless although last week we came the closest to winning as in any other game. There's one game left and it's on Tuesday. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be able to have one win for the season. That way we won't be entirely shut out. The only possible saving grace is that there are 6 other teams that have not won a game.

One Ironman

If you remember a few weeks back, I posted that MTH and KSH had successfully finished a half Ironman length triathlon. Well, a week later, MTH's brother (and KSH's husband) successfully finished a full Ironman in Lake Placid, NY. Here's pictures to prove it!

The calm before the swim - Mirror Lake the day before the Ironman
The swim has begun - MDH is somewhere out there
He's off on the bike - mmm water
We'll see you in a few hours
He's off on the marathon - Look at that shirt
Gimme five
MTH is working hard

I'm an Ironman