The Erie Gibbens Family

We met Dad and Annie in Erie on Friday for a visit with the Gibbens family on Father's Day Weekend. Our Friday evening began with a visit to Grandma Gibbens when we arrived. We then went to meet Dad and Annie just over the border in Ohio, where they went with Aunt Pat to to see Ron and Todd who were in a dirt-track race. We met/became reacquainted with Aunt Pat, and cousins Ron and Todd and Todd's family (Maria, Kiersten and Trent) and watched three of the races. It was a lot of fun, very family-oriented and an exciting new experience for us. We left there after midnight, filthy and exhausted, to go check in at the Downtown Erie hotel (the only place we could get in because of soccer weekends throughout June). The hotel experience was not as bad as it first appeared. It was clean and everything worked properly, so we were content.

Grandma Gibbens and Ryan

Annie, Nana Alyce, Ryan and Dad

On Saturday, we got up a little later than expected and headed out for a drive, first along the Bay, then over to Presque Isle. We met Dad and Annie at JR's on the Bay for lunch and headed over to Nana Alyce's house. It was nice to see her, and made us want to write to her more often. We spent the rest of the day with Grandma Gibbens, Dad, Annie, Aunt Pat and Uncle Russ. Grandma made us a delicious spaghetti dinner and we talked for a long while, catching up and sharing photos of our side of the Gibbens family and learned about aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends. It was such a nice experience getting to know everyone, even if only through stories. We had a night cap with Dad and Annie at the Wharf and headed off to bed a little earlier than the night before.

Aunt Pat, Ryan and Uncle Russ

On Sunday, we had breakfast with Dad and Annie, said our good-byes and stopped in Uniontown for an hour or two since it was only about 20 minutes out of the way, just to say hello and Happy Father's Day. It was a long weekend, but it was definitely worth the drive to spend some quality time with relatives. We wish we could do it more often.

Holy Hail...

When we were on our way home from work tonight, separately, Ryan and I were talking on the phone about the crazy traffic, wondering why the roads were so jammed. It seemed like it had rained, but that it was just a normal rain and then the sun came back out. The roads were wet, and there was a lot of traffic, but that was all we noticed. But when we got into our neighborhood, it looked like a tornado had passed through (there literally was one at Dulles airport, just a couple of miles away, so you never know)...there were leaves, branches, hail ALL OVER the place....most of our plants were pretty damaged, but thankfully that seems to be the extent of it

Check it out:

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Great Falls Park

I continued my day of relaxation today. I slept in late, laid on the couch and watched a movie, and then I ventured out to Great Falls Park to do a little hiking and take more photos. The park reminds me so much of home. It was great to walk around through the woods, near the river and just hang out. That's exactly how I spent most of my summers through high school and college, at Ohiopyle, Jumonville, and other various locations where I could go hiking and just hang out. It was a really nice afternoon. I want to do more of these laid back things instead of running around all the time like I currently do. I miss it! I wanted to stay for sundown to get more pictures, but I started to get hungry. So I left earlier than planned and came home for a quiet dinner alone. Thank goodness Ryan's on his way back. I haven't spoken to anyone in over 24 hours, and it is driving me crazy!

A Means of Relaxation

Tonight I decided to take advantage of the free time that I'm not quite sure what to do with this weekend. So I spent the evening practicing my photography hobby. I visited a few locations, none of which I've ever been to before and it was very relaxing.


I visited the LBJ Memorial Grove near the Pentagon, where a really nice man noticed that I was taking pictures and pointed out the biggest turtle I have ever actually seen (unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of it). The guy thought I was a tourist and told me all about some local activities, one of which was taking place near the Iwo Jima Memorial. I headed over to check it out. There were bus loads of people stopping every five minutes or so, and it was difficult for the first half an hour to really take any good pictures, so I lugged my gear around in search of a good view where I could possibly catch sun down. Well, I found some nice views, but sundown wasn't spectacular today. Sundown was also behind me (more ideal, but there weren't many colors today), but it cast some interesting shadows. I didn't have my black and white film on me (even though I had bought it on my way out to take pictures, I left it in the car) and I was bummed, but I still caught some pretty cool digital shots.


I was the last one left at the memorial, so it was a good opportunity to get some better shots. I quickly realized that while it was nice to be alone there - I was alone there, in the dark. So I packed up and headed home. I downloaded the images, and started with 155. I'm now down to less than 70, but I have some more work to do on them.


Here's a little preview of my work this evening. I never post the best, but it is something to look at:

Girls Night In

Since Ryan is out of town this weekend, I thought it would be a good opportunity to have some friends over for a girls night in. Connie agreed, and helped me plan a great party. I don't know the last time I had so much fun hanging out with the girls...I'm so glad we were all able to get together.

Our friends...Sandi, Jenny, Jessica, Erika, Jessie, Nicole, Jennifer, Karis, and Kate joined us in their PJs for the evening. We started with Connie's hit concoction: orange sherbet, pineapple rum and sprite....mmmmm! We also had "Vodginas" (not sure who made this one originally, but it has become a staple at all our get-togethers), sangria, gin and tonic, beers, and wine available. For dinner, Connie had a great idea to make waffles. We had all kinds of toppings, strawberries, chocolate sauce, syrup, whipped cream, etc.

After dinner, it was time for the party conducted by Tasteful Treasures. I've never been to this type of party, but Laurie, who conducted the get together, was so fun and we all had a blast! It was kind of like a bachelorette party-style get-together. We played some embarrassing games, talked about men and their quirks, and laughed for hours. The drinks and snacks kept flowing and those who drank, stayed the night. We broke out two air mattresses and put the guest beds to use again. This morning we had bagels and bacon for breakfast and pretty much everyone headed out by noon. Connie and I hung out for the rest of the afternoon. It was such a blast! Thanks to all who came and contributed. We couldn't have gathered a more fun group! I can't wait to get together again!

Here's some pictures (not necessarily the highlights... :-)

An Italian Evening

I was just thinking how much I'd love to go out to a nice dinner and I forgot that Ryan's Wine Dinner was coming up at Cafe Oggi, my favorite Italian Restaurant, in McLean VA. Not only do they have the most fantastic Italian food, but Renato, the owner, is such a wonderful host. You feel like you're in his own home when you are there. I absolutely love it.

So, last night was really interesting. The owner of the Farnese (Italian Winery), Camillo de Julius spoke at the dinner and we got to sit with him, the CEO of a Empson - a wine supplier, and two other colleagues of Ryan's. For dinner we had 6 courses and five wines. The dinner started at 7:00 and we got home after 11:00...that was a long dinner!

You'll never believe I actually ate this, picky as I am with my food...check it out:

Course 1 - Octopus salami with Trebbiano d Abruzzo DOC; Course 2 - Hearts of palm w/ lobster (none for me) and pine nuts with Pecorino, Casale Vecchio, IGT; Course 3 - Crepe stuffed w/ fontina cheese, ham and asparagus with Sangiovese, Don Camillo, I.G; Course 4 - Arborio rice, peas, peppers, zuccini, sausage with Montepulchino d Abruzzo Riserva, Opis, DOC; Course 5 - Veal cheek stew over polenta with Edizione Cinque Autoctoni, VDT; Course 6 - Imported ice cream with coffee.

It was fun trying new food and wines and paying attention to how well they go together. The food was a little different than I'm used to, but it wasn't bad. I was anticipating something I couldn't handle, and as usual I was worried I would have an allergic reaction to something, but I didn't and it was rather fun eating unusual foods. I can't say I'm going to hunt for octopus and veal cheeks, and I still love spaghetti and meatballs, but you only live once. I was so glad to be able to attend. It's no wonder Ryan loves his job so much...I'm starting to too!

Welcome Baby Tommy!

Ryan and I went to visit Tommy and Amy today to meet the newest addition to our circle of friends, Thomas Michael Zadeh. Baby Tommy was born a little earlier than expected, last Sunday, May 27, but thankfully he is very healthy...and just as expected, he is super-cute!

We were so glad to meet Little Tommy and can't wait to visit again soon!

The Happy Zadeh Family

Mmmmm....lunch!

The Thinker

Aww...what a cutie pie!

Vintage Virginia

It seems as though I finally have more time to spare to dedicate to things like blogging...three posts in less than 8 hours, however is definitely a record.

Ryan and I spent this afternoon at the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival at Bull Run Park. We had a really nice time, but it was unbearably hot. For the first hour or two, it was great...about 50 wineries and crafty shopping, two stages for music and all kids of food booths with plenty of water stations. We eventually got a little hungry so we had chicken fingers and boardwalk fries. The sun was beating down on our backs and the breeze was just not enough. We found a sprinkler to cool us off, and then I got a little sick. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, with frequent breaks for water and lemonade, and made the best of the day outdoors. Ryan's favorite winery was Gabriele Defosse and mine was Cooper. We're looking forward to hopefully making it to the Wine Down the Music Trail festival in southern Virginia for even more new Virginia wines and even some North Carolina wines.

Herndon Festival, Unexpected Fun!

Last night when I got home form work, I was expecting not to do much as Ryan's been studying tirelessly for the wine test he is taking next week. But, to my surprise, he wanted to do something, so we looked up the Friday Night Live concerts that they have in Herndon to see what was happening. There was nothing scheduled due to the Herndon Festival (which we had never heard of). So, we decided to go check that out instead, kind of expecting a family atmosphere or one for teenie boppers. But this festival had something for everyone.

We had a blast, stopping first at some booths selling random crafty things, then on the the beer tent. We took our drinks to the nearby stage, where a Rolling Stones tribute band was playing...kind of funny, but it was fun people-watching. Then we headed over to another stage, the Josh Kelley stage. Neither of us had ever heard of Josh Kelley, but instantly liked his music. So we sat on the grass for the next few hours, only briefly leaving to grab another brew and a funnel cake. Turns out, Josh Kelley actually has at least one very popular song, Amazing. He put on a down to earth, fun, kind of quirky show...and we found a new favorite band! I even bought one of his CDs, which I rarely do. I think he's right up there on my list with GBS and The Clarks.

We are off to Vintage Virginia...the huge wine and food festival at Bull Run. More on that later...

A beater car is one thing...but this is ridiculous!

As I was driving home from work on the GW Parkway yesterday I couldn't help but notice this car that looked like a serial killer's car. So I had to take a picture of it with my phone, just in case someone was looking for a serial killer that fit this description. I actually memorized the license plate too, just in case. I'm sure he's long gone by now...but you don't see many of these interesting cars in Northern Virginia, so I thought it needed to be documented.

The front window was so smashed that I honestly doubt he could see out of it. The front of the car was not just dented in various locations, but rusted and the body was actually cracked and raised up on the hood. The driver was holding his door shut. The two left tires were all wobbly (I couldn't see the right ones), and looked like they could bounce across the street at any moment. There were several parts hanging and dragging on the ground, making sparks under the car. The roof inside the car was torn into little shreds and flapping all over the interior. There were stained and overall just filthy bags of crap piled up in the back seat. It made me wonder what in the heck could be in them and how long they'd been there. And the worst part, was the terribly foul smell that spewed from it and the movie-like horror sounds it made.

I've seen some pretty scary cars living in SW PA and in Baltimore, but I honestly don't know if I have ever seen one that looked quite as suspiciously disgusting as this one, at least not actually moving. The images really don't do it justice, but you get the picture.