Abbey's Big Day

Thought Melissa and Colleen would enjoy some pictures of Abbey's wedding. It was a beautiful day and a lovely ceremony even if we had the time wrong, arrived 10 minutes late, almost missed it, but luckily caught the important part ... the vows!

The happy couple cutting the cake.

The 3 high school BFFs.

The very cool "grooms cake". A southern tradition I had no idea existed.

Em and Kev.

Caitlin and Brandon.

Brrrrring on the Snow!

Last weekend I went up to Vermont with my roommate Ingrid and her friend Laura for a weekend of relaxation and wintry activities. She lives in the Northern Kingdom of Vermont in a town called St. Johnsbury -- about 50 miles from the Canadian border. Driving up there is absolutely beautiful as you pass through Franconia notch and her house/land does not disappoint. They have over 50 acres of land with several trails blazed through the woods and hills surrounding their home (it actually reminded me a bit of the Poconos -- but with more mountains). When we weren't outside, we spent most of our time by the woodstove, which heats their entire house. While there, I skied for the first time in almost 5 years and went on a long snowshoe. It felt great to be back on the slopes and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to ski down the blues and one black with some ease. Needless to say I am looking forward to ripping up the slopes again soon...

After a day of skiing

Ingrid's Backyard
Snowshoeing!

Ahhhhhhh.......

Last night I did something for only the second time in 8 years - took a nice hot bath in my whirlpool tub! What bliss. Although I golfed in the morning, I wanted to make it to the gym for my cardio exercise and, as often happens with me, I procrastinated all afternoon and before I knew it it was time for dinner. So I wasn't going to go, but I ate too much at dinner and just decided after cleaning up that I had to hit the gym. So I worked out at 8 pm. Upon arrival home just decided I needed to warm up (as is the rest of the nation, we are in the deep freeze here) and relax. So I dimmed the lights, lit some candles and soaked. I now vow to do that more than twice in the next 8 years!

Mini Update

After an enjoyable and memorable family vacation in London, a hectic new year weekend, and getting Melissa back to Duke, I am gradually settling back to normal. Wanted to share this family picture from London. We are standing on a bridge in a garden near Buckingham Palace along the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walkway. Although it looks relatively calm and there is not a bird in the picture, there were a ton of pigeons, ducks, and other birds flying all around as people were feeding them and the girls were absolutely freaking out. You can see that Em is seeking protection from Melissa. Note the London Eye in the backround. That is a 443 foot high enclosed ferris wheel, the world's tallest observation wheel giving stunning 360 degree panaromic views of London of up to 25 miles. We rode it at night (a champagne flight) so although we didn't see quite 25 miles, it was a very clear night and we enjoyed the lights of London with a glass of champagne. I thought I might not be comfortable with the height, but it wasn't scary at all.

As promised...

After three days of steady snow and about 18 inches on the ground, the storm has passed. It was nothing short of unbelievable. Below are a few pictures from the weekend -- including the annual Murphy Family Christmas Party (we missed you Melissa!).







Next up.... LONDON!

Waiting

With all the rain in recent weeks, I had just about given up on seeing any large quantities of the white fluffy stuff before 2009. I have yet to see any flakes out my office window, but the skies are ominously gray, and my co-worker just announced to our pod that the storm hit the 128-belt only minutes ago. The weather channels are predicting heavy snow beginning this evening lasting into the wee hours of Saturday morning, and a snow emergency went into effect at 9am this morning. Schools were canceled across the board and companies are granting early dismissal to their employees. Although many people dread this kind of Nor'eastah, as a devoted patron of public transportation, I just look forward to the peaceful lull that nearly every winter storm brings. Three cheers for the first real snow of the season!

(I'll be sure to post some pics tomorrow -- the one used in this post is from 2007 and is not mine)

In a Fog

We have had three days of very dense fog overnight and most of each morning (luckily no golf delays though). I alerted Colleen to use her fog lamps on the way to school, and to make sure she turned them off when she parked so the car battery wouldn't die. This happened to Melissa in high school and she had to wait for AAA and miss crew practice while the battery recharged. Anyway, I went to a holiday party last night, a cookie exchange where no cookies were exchanged, but some alcohol was consumed. Got up this morning and low and belold my car wouldn't start! Yes, I left my fog lamps on all night and I had no power. AGH. Called Mercedes to come jump my car and found out that my smart car has two batteries, one for the engine and one for the extra stuff. If I used the key fob to start the car and not the keyless start, the car should and indeed did, start! Yeah! I learn something new all the time.

Not having dad around every day has forced me to be somewhat self sufficient in troubleshooting problems that I usually left to him. He probably has found the same thing true as well. I'll be glad when we are back living together every day and we can revert to our own realm of expertise!