Classic Annapolis Days...

Last Friday I went to the Naval Academy graduation to watch our midshipwoman, Maile, graduate. I got to hear a great speech by the President, and watch all of the midshipmen shake his hand. I also ended up with a big ole sunburn...

The rest of the day involved some parties for Maile, and watching the sunset over Annapolis at the Eastport Yacht Club while drinking Dark N Stormys. And watching the sailboat beer can races. What a horrible day...:)

The rest of the weekend was spent with J...on a bike ride, at a party, at Turandot, and in Virginia wine country. I have to say that it was quite a great Memorial Day weekend!

This weekend, I get to catch up on life...

Lovely Evening on the 'Ridge

Earlier today I decided I would try to get a 5 mile run in this evening. Since it was nice outside, I thought I'd run a 5 mile loop down to the Bay and back. Also since it was a pretty night, I thought I'd bring my camera along. Once I got down there, it was so gorgeous that I decided to run the whole loop which is about 7 miles total. Once I got to the Severn, I saw the boats out for Wednesday night races. I loved watching the boats sail in front of the Bay Bridge. Here are a couple of my favorite shots (I wish I had a camera with better zoom!)

View down Bay Dr towards the Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge with racing boats in front

Looking up the Severn towards Annapolis (Naval Academy Chapel Dome in the distance)

Larger boats in front of the Bridge

The house that overlooks all of this gorgeousness that I will never own...

Playing Catch Up

Wow! Another long blog-post hiatus. It's like I fell into the black hole of blogging again. I feel like half of my posts recently start off with an apology for not blogging more often...but no matter. What follows is a bulleted list of what I've been up to...

• Most notably, on Mother's Day, I went to the Orioles/Yankee's game at Camden Yards. A friend gave us the tickets, and we were 3 rows behind the Yankee dugout. So I got to peer at A-Rod, Derek Jeter, and Johnny Damon very close up. Nice. It was a perfect day weather-wise, and was a really fun game as well. There are pictures out there somewhere...check Facebook for my roommate's pics.
• I also traveled up to Pennsylvania that weekend with a few friends for a voice lesson. A few friends and I have had a couple of lessons with my friend Sharon's teacher, Jean. Jean is a wonderful soprano and teacher...I'm sure she keeps wondering why we actually think we can sing and even sing in a chorus. I learn so much during a lesson, but it definitely brings me down many, many notches when it comes to what I think of my musical abilities!
• Last weekend, we had a little party for our graduating midshipman, Maile. She is headed off to flight school this summer. I'm very proud of her! We'll be going to the Naval Academy commissioning ceremony (graduation) this Friday. President Obama is speaking, so I'm looking forward to that.
• Triathlon training is in full swing, so I've been hitting the bike, the pool, and the road. I feel like I'm starting a bit early this year, but I also need to whip myself back into shape!
• Last weekend, I went to my friend Alicia's one-woman cabaret show. It was fabulous! She sang some funny songs with narration about dating, love, etc. If it was a recurring thing, I would recommend that you all come to one!

I think that's it for now...hopefully I'll keep being better at blogging in the next few weeks!

Day of Self-Discipline Success!

I think I accomplished everything on my To Do list that I didn't want to do...including running in the rain. I got soaked, but it felt good to get out and run and not be lazy! My bike is fixed...only took them 5 minutes to put a new valve on the tire and tighten up the chain. All that procrastinating for nothing...

I forgot to mention that another one of my "self-discipline" projects was to not immediately buy the Macbook that I want...but to wait until I have the money saved. My normal non-disciplined self would want to take the money out of savings or stick it on the credit card to pay it off in a month or so...but I've decided to be patient and wait a month or two until I have the cash on hand. This will be an ongoing self-discipline project...

Day of Self-Discpline

I've been a really lazy person lately. Although, most of it is probably due to the fact that I've been a little busy, and the rain probably hasn't helped me be productive...but still. I have been the Queen of Procrastination and laziness, and it's got to stop. So, I have declared today my "Day of Self-Discpline" where I will do all of the things I don't want to do. And what are those things, you might ask? Well, here you go:

• Take my bike to get the valve and chain fixed. This one sounds easy, but for some reason I have this huge mental block against going up to the Bike shop, walking in with my bike, and telling them I need it fixed. Strange mental block, I know. That's just me...I used to make one of my roommates call to make a hair appointment for me. I just have a hard time asking people to provide services for me...even if I am paying them!
• Drop off my dry cleaning (the reason?...see above).
• Run. I haven't done this just because I'm lazy
• Get up on time (I managed to accomplish this somehow)
• Not eat Crack-Fil-A for lunch (I accomplished this as well...had leftovers from the fridge)
• Fold my clothes...I hate doing this. Love clean laundry but hate folding and putting it away.
• I would add clean my car...but it's still raining so that would be a bad idea.
• Update the blog...done! Just need to get the running blog updated, as well.

Alrighty...enough procrastinating...self-discipline here I come!

Weekend and Upcoming Week

This past weekend was quite a lovely one. It began on Friday evening with Piano Bar...most of the usual suspects attended, and the typical hijinks ensued. Disney songs, interpretive dance, 100 Greatest Love Songs (Oh, how I love 80s rock ballads!), and tons of fun. Serious kudos to our main piano player Erika for being our workhorse and spending most of the evening at the piano!

On Saturday, Maureen, Phyllis and I made a visit to the Talbots Outlet North of Baltimore where I picked up a few more spring/summer tops and skirts. For dinner, we ventured out to The Helmand in Mt. Vernon, which serves Afghani Cuisine. I have never had Afghani food, and it was delicious. Typically Middle Eastern, with some tasty spices! Following dinner, we attended Peabody Chamber Opera's Production of Dora. I had already seen the performance on Thursday (my boyfriend played Freud in the opera with the Thurs/Sat cast). I thought it was an edgy opera, and was performed well.

Sunday, I went to church and then ran a few errands. After an afternoon swim, Maureen and I had a seafood extravaganza on the grill, and spent the rest of the lovely evening on the back deck. I really didn't want to get up Monday morning...

On tap for the rest of this week? Well, it's a concert week for the Chorale (we are performing with the Symphony), so that means rehearsals every evening. Except, I'll be heading up to Baltimore Wednesday night to see Baltimore Concert Opera's "A Flight of Puccini". I'm expecting it to be quite good. The Annapolis Symphony Concert is Friday, and then Saturday I'm attending a wedding. All in all, a crazy but fun week ahead...

Everest, My Everest

Continuing on with my "Spring" theme, another thing I always do in the Spring is follow climbers on Mt. Everest. In the new Blogging/Podcasting/Video/Twitter days, it's easy to track the progress of a few Everest Expeditions. Most expeditions make Summit Bids during May each year. The trekking and acclimatizing begins in April...along with the deliciously detailed blogs.

I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with all things Everest...as I wrote a few years ago ...there is a part of me that would LOVE to climb Everest. But, since my doctor would never clear me, I have no climbing experience, and I am poor (comparatively)...I am left to attempt to live vicariously through climbers I find on the web. And really, let's face it...I am much more suited to vacationing in Paris at the Ritz with a glass of wine in my hand than freezing my rear end off on the side of a mountain in the Himalayas for 2 months. 2 months of freezing temperatures, and hours of sheer boredom resting...punctuated by a few minutes of sheer joy at the Summit while oxygen deprivation reduces your brain power to the level of a heavily intoxicated person. And even as I write that, it still sounds exciting to me. Ah well, cheers to those dreams that go unfulfilled.

I still plan to trek through Nepal to Everest Base Camp at some point...but going up the mountain for me simply isn't an option. In the meantime, here are links to a few of the expeditions I'm stalking...I mean following...this year:

First Ascent Team- Experienced Climbers back for more (and guiding a 17 year old up the mountain for her first Summit attempt).

On Top of the World- Apa Sherpa goes for 19. Everest Summits, that is.

My Everest Challenge- Gavin Bate waxes eloquent on the Mountain.

If you Tweet...I think all of these expeditions are on Twitter as well.

Happy Trails!