Giving ourselves a pat on the back

Ok, so Brad and I are quite proud of ourselves :) We just finished the last of the renovations on our condo so thought we deserved a pat on the back - enjoy the "before and after" pics! (you should be able to click on each pic to see a bigger version)



The kitchen turned out to be one of my favorite transformations:



And no, your eyes are not deceiving you on that last picture -- the walk-in closet in our master bedroom was indeed used as a baby nursery by the previous owners (complete with pink paint and animal wallpaper). Brad did an amazing job transforming the nursery in to the best closet ever!

MLK 45 years later

Today is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. On August 28, 1963, right here in DC, MLK gave that amazing speech so (thanks to the glory of YouTube ... seriously, what did we do before YouTube! ;) I rewatched the full speech today.

Just amazing... the cadence of MLK's voice, the poetry of his words, his messages about non-violence... just amazing:

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

And I love that, watching a grainy YouTube video, 45 years later, I still got chills when he proclaimed:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

2008 Olympics

Well, the 2008 Olympics have officially come to a close and, as always, Brad and I managed to get sucked into the events and spent the last 2 weeks glued to the TV!

I love watching the Olympics ... I love the sense of patriotism it brings out in me. I love the excitement of close medal races (the amazing come-from-behind win by Jason Lezak in the 4x100 relay? or Michael Phelps I-seriously-still-can't-believe-it win in the 100 butterfly!?) And yes, I love all the random sob stories about the athletes (it's not a secret that I am SUCH a sucker and I do admit to having shed a tear or two during cheezy NBC background stories about the trials and tribulations of various athletes)

I also love Bela Karoli - I seriously couldn't understand half the words that came out of his mouth but you gotta love his unbridled passion for the sport of gymnastics. And even though the Olympics are over, I think NBC should retain him and let him announce anything - NFL games, college basketball, whatever - that man cracks me up!

Here's my favorite article from the Olympics, aptly named "Obscure-Sports Diary: You go, trampoliners!". I had been pondering the point of indoor track cycling and marveling at the fact that trampoline is an Olympic sport when I ran across this article. Hysterical. One of my favorite quotes:

My favorite personality of the trampoline competition was eighteen-year-old American Erin Blanchard, who, the announcers said, had been “burned out” on competitive trampoline, but then returned to appear in the Olympics. Eighteen years old, and she's already had time for a burnout and a comeback in the sport of competitive trampoline. I don't think she will have any trouble figuring out what to write her college essay about.

Haha! Anyway, some interesting factoids about the final medal count - click here. Go US for winning 110 medals - see you in Vancouver!

Cheers to 1 year!

Brad and I can't even believe it but its already been a year since we got hitched!! To celebrate our year of wedded bliss :) Brad and I (and Duke!) rented a cabin in Shenandoah for the weekend just like we did the weekend that we got engaged.

We had a great weekend of relaxing at the cabin, BBQ'ing and spending some time in the great ol' outdoors. Oh and a random side trip to Luray Caverns which Brad has always wanted to go visit.