Ashley, You Should TOTALLY Live Here

This is what happens when I babysit.

Erik is my new favorite person

Erik is my new favorite person. I had such a wonderful time on this vacation, it was just what I needed.

Friday, 6:35am, I am on a plane to Albuquerque, NM. I had to get up at 4:30am, not sure why I booked a flight so early, but sometimes things seem like a good idea when it's far in advance and cheaper than all the other options. Luckily I slept on the plane and was feeling good by the time I arrived in New Mexico at 10am. Erik, Jenny and I drove into Santa Fe (1 hour away) for the day. We stopped an ate a great little place near the town square/plaza. We then walked around the city, stopping into a few galleries. There are 24 different Indian tribes in New Mexico (mostly Pueblo) and some of them come into the city and sell jewelry made on the reservation. We then toured the Loretto Chapel, famous for the wooden spiral staircase that still baffles experts today, as it has no supports up the middle and doesn't explain how it is able to support weight on it's own. You can no longer walk on the staircase today (for preservation reasons), but it is still pretty amazing to see (http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html). Friday night we stayed in and relaxed. Thank goodness. I was so tired, once my head hit the pillow, I was out in about 2 minutes and didn't wake until Saturday morning.
Saturday we went to the gym, then to an awesome little restaurant called the Flying Star. It kind of reminded me of Bread & Co., but better! Then we went and saw the movie "Vantage Point". Good flick! It got me thinking about all the conspiracies and Erik and I had some interesting conversations about spies and foreign espionage. In case I haven't mentioned this, Erik might be the smartest person on the planet that I have ever met. He probably can't tell me half of what he knows (I'm pretty sure he builds bombs/missles for the gov't, but if he told me, he'd have to kill me), but he also has an innate ability to remember dates and interesting facts about American History. He also has a good sense of humor...when I told him I was in awe of his ability to remember dates, he replied, "My wife would beg to differ." Oops, hope he remembers her birthday. Sunday morning we headed 2.5 hours south to do an awesome hike. My cousin Erik is an avid outdoorsmen (skiier and hiker) and he plotted out a really fun hike for us. Maggie his black lab was our 4-legged trail guide...and off we went. We hiked a really beautiful mountain and down to a 'freak of nature' stream. I say freak of nature because it isn't normal to see a naturally occurring stream in the middle of the desert. I was pretty exhausted after the 6 mile hike, mostly because of the altitude. It really does affect you! It was so amazing to see the views from the top of this mountain. I also got some pretty cool photos of cactus and also a very exciting tumbleweed. Erik was so kind to push this thing so I could actually see it 'tumbling'. That same enormous tumbleweed must have not liked that because it decided to attack us on the hike back. Poor Maggie was trampled by it and almost landed in a cactus trying to avoid it. Note: stepping or running into a cactus=not fun.
The trip was awesome and I'm so glad I got to go and see my cousin. It's a shame that I only saw him in person about 6 times growing up. Thankfully with IM and email we are able to keep in touch and communicate easily now. Erik, you are the coolest person I know, thank you for an amazing weekend! And thanks to Jenny, your beautiful wife, for the great hospitality. Below is the very anticlimactic video of the tumbleweed actually moving.

Because Even Nuns Need Gas

The Stingrays are HUGE

I'm not kidding around here. So we board the boat to take us to "Stingray City". This is the shallow area of water in the ocean where lots of people come and can see the stingrays. They are used to people, so they aren't aggressive. I am a little nervous before we arrive since stingrays can kill you, but I am reassured that the barbs/stingers are different than the ones that killed Steve Irwin. Okay well they also didn't tell me that these stingrays are not 12" wide like the ones at the Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach where I grew up. No, this is the Cayman Islands where these are HUGE, some are up to 6ft wide (wingspan). And they are not afraid of you, they swim right up to you, brush up against you and look for food. They don't have teeth, just a small mouth on the underside that uses a sucking motion to eat. We bring with us squid to feed them which I beg our captain not to bring into the water because I am already scared to death and do not want these things swarming toward me in groups of 20. I ended up getting in the water but only for about 3 mintues because I was too scared. Something about their large alligator-like eyes (viewed from my snorkel mask) was just too much to handle and I preferred to view them from the safety of the boat :) In this photo, Ashley's face pretty much sums it all up.

Neon Rainbow

Over the summer I stayed on my parents boat for about a week in Virginia Beach. They had just sold the house I grew up in and were moving to Florida, but wanted to stay at the beach until Ashley went off to college at the end of August. The guy who bought Alan Jackson's yacht docks his boat at the same place as my parents. I met the new owner, his wife and daughter on July 4th and went on it..it is quite amazing. It's practically a cruise ship it's so big! The guy was a fan of Alan I assume because he was playing all Alan music that night and also had some cd memrobelia on the walls. I love that he is keeping the name of the boat 'Neon Rainbow', which anyone who is a fan of Alan Jackson would understand.

Shower I designed

A few weeks ago we got a call from someone wanting a new tiled shower. Turns out it was for a couple that I already knew..I worked with Katharine at DreamWorks a few years ago. I had so much fun doing this project, they really wanted some interesting accent pieces and I recommended a 'niche' in the wall to hold soap, shampoo, etc. I think it turned out pretty darn cool!! I also love the mini 1/2" pieces that we ran along the top of the 6" pieces along the tub wall, a subtle detail that really added to the aesthetic.

Top Gangsta

Awesome.