Ghosthunting

On March 31-April 1, Dan and I went to the historic Cashtown Inn near Gettysburg, PA. This is supposedly one of the most haunted places in Gettysburg. The TAPS (Trans-Atlantic Paranormal Society) taped a TV episode at this Inn and they caught some pretty amazing things. In one scene, a picture frame is captured moving on its own.

The Inn was used as a makeshift hospital during the battle at Gettysburg and a lot of soldiers died there. We stayed in the Robert E. Lee Suite which is one of the most haunted rooms.

Being married to an engineer has some perks. Dan was able to borrow a FLIR camera from work which we used to look for the heat signatures of ghosts. These cameras cost $16k new so I don't think your average ghosthunters have access to them. Dan and I couldn't decide if we were really cool, or really dorky. I made him carry the camera inside and pretended like I didn't know him.

Sadly, we didn't have any paranormal experiences but it was really fun and I would try it again sometime.

Why I love Chick-Fil-A

A new Chick-Fil-A opened up in Crystal City a few months ago. They have completely won me over as a customer. Here are my top 10 reasons for loving Chick Fillet.

10. They have bendy straws
9. They have diet Dr. Pepper
8. They started cow appreciation day
7. They stick up for their beliefs (observe Sundays as a day of rest)
6. They put pickels on their sandwhiches (pickles are my favorite vegetable)
5. The banana milkshake - it tastes like bananas and vanilla wafers
4. The chicken sandwich is yummy
3. They use the "bank cue" which is far superior to the "McDonald's" cue
2. They are pushing the edge of ketchup package technology
1. They give out free food all the time - seriously, I've eaten 5 free meals from them since they have opened up.

Lucas Haiku

He eats from the trash
And has stinky dog breath
Sometimes he is cute

Alburquerque

I thought I would summarize our last trip to Alburquerque. We went for one of Dan's college friend's wedding. The trip lasted four days.

Highlights / lesson's learned
- Dan screamed in terror as a baby doll came shooting out of a cave at the zoo
- saw some hot air balloons that were early for the next week's balloon festival
- saw a B-19 plane flying (retired in 1949)
- some hippie asked for a donation for a wildflower
- the hotel room was super sleezy
- wedding was fun
- departure flight was delayed by President Obama
- people shouldn't bring up immigration law when Arizonians and Mexicans are sitting at the same table
- people shouldn't wear t-shirts with weeping redskins when they go to an Indian casino

Hello 2010

Man, I haven't blogged in forever. What has happened since I last blogged?

- bought a house
- saw a shuttle launch in Florida
- went to a wedding New Orleans
- went to a wedding in New York
- spent a week in Hawaii
- went to Myrtle Beach
- went to a wedding in Albuquerque

We have been traveling like crazy, mostly weddings. No weddings planned yet for 2011. Who will be next? I will treat my next friend(s) that get married to a drink so that extra incentive ought to move things along.

This list is all stuff that happened in 2010. I completely forgot about the rest of 2009. I must be blocking it out of my memory or something. Couldn't have been too exciting I guess.

Huntsville, AL

I recently went to Huntsville, AL for work. Me and the other person I went with decided to see what Huntsville had to offer. Huntsville is most known for "space camp", where young children get to learn what it is like to be an astronaut. However, space camp closes at 5pm so we had to expand our search a little.

While browsing the Huntsville brochure, my eye glanced upon the Harmony Park Safari. Basically, you are given some feed and then you drive through the reserve (in your own car). The animals approach the vehicle in a somewhat aggressive manner.

It was awesome! The Safari has Emu, Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Horses, Geese, Lamas and a Camel. There were also monkeys and alligators but they were in separate cages. The emus were the most terrifying because they could get their entire heads and necks into the cars. You would be feeding another animal and see them running after the car in the rear view mirror.

Without a doubt, the biggest bully was mini-horse. He would push the other animals out of the way and he would kick the car when he felt he wasn't getting enough feed. We had to by some car wax to try and buff out some of the scratches on the rental. In the end, we got away with it because the rental company didn't even inspect the car when we returned it.

I would definitely recommend the Huntsville Safari to any adventurous travelers!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Dan threw me a surprise birthday party last weekend at Cap City. Thank you to all of you who were able to make it, it was really fun! So far, being 30 doesn't seem that different. I don't feel too much older.

I have a new word that I am going to start using and see if it catches on.... "geezin". "Geezin", refers to awesome old people, doing old people things such as making old people noises. Let me give you an example. Lets say an old rapper, like Ice Tea, gets out of his chair and his hip pops and he has a coughin fit. He's "geezin".

Us older people don't need to act younger, we just need to make being old more trendy.

New Poll! Dan's TV Viewing.

I set up a poll last week which took forever to figure out and only one person voted. I am going to try another poll this week. It is at the bottom of the page.



The question for the poll was "what did Steve do to change his appearance in some way that would be displeasing to our parents?". The answer... "grow new facial hair". He has some new beard that is only chin hair, I haven't seen it but he adequately prepared my parents and they don't seem to mind.



The poll I am trying this week is to let people guess Dan's secret TV viewing indulgence. Some of you may know that Dan and I frequently disagree on what shows to watch on TV but there is one show that Dan enjoys that may surprise you. Can you guess the show?

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

Here are some of my 2008 highlights...

- Got married!
- Got a dog
- Got revenge on Kevin
- Dan moved in completely
- Started a new job with the same company
- Went on our Honeymoon in New England
- Went to Hilton Head
- Went to San Jose for Tobin's wedding and saw Giraffes
- Went to Sean and Bridgitte's wedding
- Made $10 in Fantasy Football
- Lost 30% of my retirement savings
- Started a blog
- Learned how to text message

Not too bad, it is hard to remember everything but it should be easier next year because I can peek at my blog if I keep this up.

Here are my New Year's resolutions / goals. As any good first line supervisor will tell you, goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, have some Reach, and have a Timeframe).

- Save money for a down payment for a house. I have a specific amount in mind here but it is probably poor etiquite to say.

- Lose some weight. There is no way in Hell I am telling you how much I weigh and how much I want to weigh but again, I have a specific number in mind.

- Get the townhome in Laurel rented out.

- Have fun. We missed out on a couple things this past year because we were so busy and I want to make sure that doesn't happen too much this year. For example, I think we should try to get a Christmas tree next year. Also, we missed our company picnics, Octoberfest and the AC/DC concert.

Spicey Potluck

Chris had a spicey potluck this past weekend. It was pretty good. Potlucks are an interesting way for people to get together. It it more mature than a kegger but not as highbrow as a dinner party. Also, it is fun planning what you are going to bring. Here is a recap...

Dan: Fireball brownies - Perhaps the most unusual item at the party, they weren't good but it was amusing to see Anders accidently eat one without knowing they packed a punch

Kevin: Chips and homemade salsa - This was the spiciest item I ate and it turned my face red, it was pretty tastey though

Chris: Pepper stuffed peppers, nachos and gaucamole - I didn't eat one of the peppers because I thought they might be too hot but they were a big hit, the gauc was delicious!

Dave: Spicey steak slices - These were also delicous and were eaten quickly

Nam: Chilli - Nam put the finishing touches on his chilli and Chris's house. Everyone loved it.

Everyone did a great job, I hope no one had digestive troubles. The one drawback to the potluck was that some people (who will remain nameless) were two hours late. You can't do that with a potluck! People need to eat around dinner time.

Christmas Day Suprise

I spent the majority of Christmas with the Robinsons but Dan and I also stopped by my parents house for a little bit. I didn't get the chance to see my brother but apparently he told my parents, "I have modified my appearance in some way and I don't think you are going to like it." I was dying to find out what he did. Can you guess? There is a poll at the bottom of the page.

Working During the Holidays Isn't So Bad

Things have been nice and peaceful at work this week. Work isn't too bad when there is no one around.

Update on the Patriot

Dan saw the Patriot for the first time this weekend. He was apparently doing some Christmas shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. I suspect he might be a vampire or something. I swear I have photographed him before but he never shows up in the photos. It will be a miracle if I ever get a photo of him for this blog.

Dan and I were discussing what would happen if the Patriot met the Laurel Pimp (aka Crazy Olympics). I think the Laurel Pimp would kick his butt but you never know, they could become buddies.

This reminds me of a story a friend once told me. He was somewhere, lets say Italy, and he saw a man in a top hat and trench coat talking very loudly to no one and making crazy gestures. He watched the person for a couple of minutes. Then, he heard a commotion down the street. There he saw another man walking briskly down the street with a bowler hat, screaming at no one in particular. This seemed to irritate the man in the top hat and he started walking briskly towards the man in the bowler hat. My friend watched in anticipation as the two gentlemen quickly approached each other, screaming and gesturing wildly. When they finally reached each other they stopped and hugged each other and shook hands.

I don't know if they were really crazy or just pretending to be but I found that story to be pretty amusing.

Heroes and Villians

I recently started a new contract and I have been super busy so I haven't posted for awhile. I think I have a theme for tonight's post, heroes and villians.

First, I had a diabolical scheme tonight where I was going to sneak off to bed before Dan so that I wouldn't have to walk the dog. Unfortunately, I was thrawted! My powers of sleepiness are no match for his! Dan had the same idea and was giggling when I snook upstairs to go to bed.

In keeping with the hero and villian theme, tomorrow I am playing my nemesis in fantasy football. That's right, Kevin and I will do battle yet again. I like calling him "nemesis". It reminds me of the TV show "Heroes" (hence the title of the blog). Hiro and Ando, who are so cute, call Daphne "nemesis". I couldn't find a clip of him calling her nemesis but this is them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWodxKehixI

Anyway, you probably don't know this but I actually had a brief brush with fame. I went to the wedding of Ando's cousin. I was too nervous to speak to Ando directly but I had a friend take a photo, purposely positioning him in the background. He totally looked over after we took the photo and I ran away giggling. Look real close in the background, between me and the other girl, and you can see Ando.

thanks for the memories kevin

This video could be the death of me but who could resist! Hopefully Kevin will be mature enough to let this go.

For those of you who don't already know, in 1997, while on a road trip, Kevin smacked me in the face with a sweet dance move. I was really annoyed. To make matters worse, he later got me with the reverse. What is the reverse? Dave was on one side of Kevin, while I was on the other side, anoxiously waiting to see Dave get hit in the face. While I was watching with glee, Kevin reversed the move and got me good. He then tried for a third time but that was a bit too much. So, if you are keeping score, it was Kevin 2, Laura 0. I almost got him back in 1999 but I got too excited and a giggle fit gave me away.

So, as you can see, I got Kevin back on my wedding day at the Green turtle. He is technically still up which will hopefully go some way in calming his oncoming wrath.

super secret special suprise

it's coming, stay tuned...

Honeymoon - Day 12

to be updated

Honeymoon - Day 11

to be updated

Honeymoon - Day 10

Reading, Ghost Show and quick trip to Bar Harbor

Honeymoon - Day 9

Hiking in New Hampshire