The Adventures of Miles-erific & His Travelling Companions

The Desert Trip

2009-10-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well it's definitely been a while since I've posted anything (this is John), but I think this is definitely a worthy subject and some decent entertainment as well. Last Saturday we were itching for something to do, so we made an impromptu trip to the desert. We loaded up the truck and headed out to the desert for a quick overnight trip.

I wanted to get some shots of the sunrise, so we got up early. After getting some great shots, I tested out the video functionality of my camera. It was my first run at video and overall I'm pretty happy. Definitely something I'll continue in the future. Enjoy.

September already???

2009-09-11T18:42:00.001-07:00

I'm at a loss for words...how is it September already? This summer has absolutely FLOWN by! In the essence of time, I'll update you on the big events: OIB, Anna's visit/Phish/Yosemite, our recent move and John's new work gig.

3rd week in July I was able to head back East for the annual Sykes family beach week at Ocean Isle. This year was a bit abbreviated b/c I'm low on vacation but it was so great to see the family and get to visit with Avery and Ellie even if it was only 4 days. Avery was just a month old at the beach...she did a whole lot of sleeping. JT sadly wasn't able to make the haul, but next year will be a different story. Enjoy the pics, they're a bit biased towards the babies, but I couldn't' resist!

Ellie and her Momma, Amber

Baby Avery. The picture didn't want to rotate, sorry.

Grandma and Avery

Happy Family: Ken, Amber and Ellie

Happy Family: Momma & Daddy

Happy Family: Jenn, Paul & Avery

The gang, sans John :( but still a Happy Family

First week of August Anna flew out for a Cali visit. As soon as she arrived we immediately departed for San Fran...we had a date with the boys from Phish. John, Anna, Gene and I had an awesome time. The show was great and afterwards we headed due East for Yosemite. We camped 3 nights in Yosemite and couldn't have asked for a better trip. Amazing vistas, good weather, and great company. It re inspired me want to explore more of the great national parks of the West. The Sierras are just awe inspiring. To view all our pictures check out the below link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWHP

Phish Concert at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain view, Ca

Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley

view from Sentinel Dome

Lovely day for a hike, eh?

Eeek, Anna!

John, Gene & Anna in front of El Capitan

Next up, our move. Our move you might be asking??? It was kind of unplanned, but John and I were driving around in one of the super cool neighborhoods in San Diego and stumbled upon this amazing rental. We agreed it wasn't worth our time or the hassle to move unless it was light years better than our current place and of course in our budget. Well it delivered. In a nutshell, the house was just remolded by a gay french couple (enough said on how good the finishes are). One of them got a job offer in Paris to good to turn down and with the real estate market the way it is, they didn't want to sell for cheap...enter John and Karen on the rental scene :) We really love it. We can walk/bike to restaurants and shops, the house has lots of character and a great backyard. Come visitors, come!!! We have 2Br/2Ba great kitchen that's just waiting to do some entertaining. Complete pictures can be viewed from this link: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWHe

4773 33rd Street, San Diego, CA 92116

Tour of the new place, hosted by yours truly, Karen Trice. Ran out of room on my memory card before I could give you the complete tour of the backyard, but good enough :)

And in the final exciting news of the summer, John is following his passion for photography and doing freelance commercial photography full time now! He left the ad agency and the crazy hours that came with it and I think we're both really excited about the change. He had a great project right off the bat with the Porto Vista hotel in Little Italy part of town. http://www.portovistasd.com/ The project encompassed fun 50's vintage lifestyle shots, food shots and even a faux wedding. He's been busy with website design, refining his portfolio, and is looking to secure his next gig. I'm soo proud of him...check out some of his recent work:
http://johntrice.com//

Outdoor Spaces

2009-07-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

With the warm weather hitting San Diego, John and I have been inspired to work on our outdoor spaces. This year we've made a few additions to the patio planters, and the garden is underway.

In fact, we had our first tomato, zucchini, and green pepper this week. Herbs are rocking and we've been using basil, chives and thyme on a regular basis. It's so fun to be fixing dinner and be able to walk outside and grab a few extra ingredients and garnishes.

Here are a few pics from the backyard...the grass needs some help, but can't do much about that when we're in a drought and under water restrictions.

Ooo...cozy. Herb garden just off the patio up against the fence.

Opposite end of the patio

Garden! Zucchini, tomatoes x4, peppers x3, cantaloupe and cucumber...mmmm

Back of the house. Our landlord installed the trellis this winter, definite bonus since we now have some shade in the afternoons.

Introducing Avery Marie

2009-07-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Born Monday, June 22nd 7lbs 4oz, what a cutie! Jenn and Paul are doing great and are adjusting well to parenthood, given the lack of sleep :).

Mom and Dad have been down to Apex twice to help out and Ken & Amber were down visiting this past weekend as well. Can't wait to meet Avery in just a few more weeks!

Sleepy time

I think Avery looks like Paul in this picture. :)

Mountain Weddin'

2009-07-05T20:25:00.001-07:00

June 20th our dear friends Lizzy and Jason tied the knot up in the good ole mountains of NC. Lizzy from Valle Crusis and Jason from Elkin, NC the mountains were the natural spot to choose to get hitched. They got married on a family friends property near Crossnore, NC that was absolutely gorgeous!

It was great b/cwe stayed at a family friends cabin just 10 minutes from the festivities. We got plenty of relaxing in, a little bit of hiking and site seeing and some good times with the buddies. What more could you ask for!?

Here are a few pictures from the awesome wedding weekend. Congrats to Lizzy and Jason!

Cute cabin where we stayed for the weekend

The dudes manning the grill...mmmm bison burgers. Local bison, who knew they raised bison in Western NC!?!

Trice laides kickin' their feet up and relaxin'.

Linville Falls...we explored and hiked Saturday before the wedding.

All the guest mingling and hedging bets on whether or not it's going to rain.

The fine fine musicians with the gorgeous green backdrop

Well....it did rain, but it gave way to an awesome evening. Lizzy escorted by her folks

Sealing the deal.

Seersucker + Pincord. Peej and Karen = Friends 4 ever.

tThe Trice's posing for a pic....but it's raining!!!!

Good times.

Taking the scenic route back to CLT, the Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway

End of spring and summer's on the way

2009-07-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it is July but summer is just beginning to make it's way to San Diego. Come on already, I'm ready for it to be hot!

JT and I have had a good spring...a couple trips back East for 2x hometown receptions in Richmond and Wilkesboro...back to the mountain's of NC for our friend's Lizzy & Jason's wedding and revamping Jutland abode.

In other super exciting news, my sis and Paul had their first baby girl, Avery Marie Roe on June 22nd. They are doing great and I get to meet Miss Avery in just 2 more weeks when OIB family vacation rolls around. Can't wait!

So that's it in a nutshell....here are a few picture recaping the events.

De ja vue.... :)

The sykes chillins'

Yummy cupcakes! Way to go Momma on making this happen, they turned out great!

Buddy, Good Friend, Old Roommate, Crista and her man, Patrick came to the Richmond HTR to celebrate. Will have to visit with them next time we're in Richmond. They're suuuuch niiiice people!

we must be laughing at the fact that we're doing our first dance for a second time. Yes, it was kind of weird, and painfully long the second go-around.

Bustin' a move with Daddio

Cool dudes by the bar

I really like this picture of John. I feel like he's straight out of _Mad Men_ or something!?!?

My cousin, Maria, Jenn and me.

The Friday night before the Wilkesboro HTR, Austin & Christina had us over to their awesome new farmhouse. Corey drove from Kernersville and Rob & Kami made the drive from Raleigh for a Austin Freeman South of Town reunion.

The guys jammed into the wee hours of the morning and as with any event at the Freeman house, there were plenty of dogs running around :) and lots of good food :). Can't beat good friends like that!

Buddies at the HTR, it's like we're at the Prom, except we're all nearly 30 now!?!?

This picture cracks me up. Anna and Adriane oohing over the leftover desserts. They were certainly delicious!

For complete pictures from the Wilkesboro reception check out our good friend Whitney's Deal's blog Darling Dexter. This gal has got an eye for style and photography!
http://www.ohdarlingphotography.com/blog/category/weddings

Baby on the way!

2009-05-22T20:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I flew back to Raleigh for my sister, Jennifer's baby shower. It was sooo nice to be back in NC and get to visit with everyone. Kenny, Amber & Ellie picked me up at RDU Friday night and we headed to Jenn & Paul's house in Apex. It was all of our first times at their new house even though the bought it last summer.

Balloons = baby shower time

Friends hanging out on the back porch

Soon-to-be cousin, Ellie hanging out (now 5 months!)

Jenn & her friends Amy and Martha

Saturday Jenn & Paul had a baby class so Amber, Kenny and I got the place ready for the shower and prepped the food. It was a co-ed bbq style shower so we spent the evening hanging out and then watched Jenn & Paul unwrap all their gifts. They got lots of great things and look to be set which is a good thing b/c I got an email from Jenn this week and at her checkup the docs said she's already 3cm....won't be long!

Jenn showing off the loot.

So many cute baby things!

Spring Time Adventure

2009-05-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

John and I have been busier than expected this Spring, but we managed to find time to head up to the Central part of California 2 weekends ago to check out Sequoia National Park. The central part of California is agriculture-mania. I don't know the official statistic, but most likely the fruit you eat comes from this part of California. On our drive to the park we passed field upon field of orchards and other fruits/veggies.

Ooo...agriculture.

Made it into the park...it's so green!

We found a campsite up near Lodgepole and set out for a hike towards Alta Peak. It started out really nice, high 60's, minimal incline a few patches of snow here or there but that all changed.
We soon encountered a major incline, and lots of snow. I think it was actually in our favor that we were both in shorts b/c we kept breaking through the snow pack and would be up to our knees in snow...had we had pants one we would have been cold & miserable. Anyways, the strenuous hike gave way to amazing views!

On Saturday we checked out all the major sights like the Gi-normous Sequoia groves, Moro Rock and even General Sherman, the largest (by volume) living tree in the world. Talk about feeling small.

View of Moro Rock from afar

375 Steps to the top!

Karen at the top of Moro Rock...too bad John was too afraid to make the climb up.

The General

I spy a smurf!

More huge trees, this cluster is called the Parker Grove.

We ended the day by doing a sweet hike from our campsite along the Kaweah river. Since it's Spring, this trip was such a pleasant change of pace b/c everything was SOOO green and there was SOOO much water. Green and water are both things that are typically lacking from our normal California scenery. The hike ended at a big waterfall and there was a marmot that was hanging out. On the hike back we even spotted a black bear! Wildlife, check!

Water, water everywhere!

A marmot...too bad a random hiker was being stupid and feeding it.

Waterfall action

It was a great trip and it got John and I both really excited about our trip to Yosemite that's in store for us this August. Gotta love the big California scenery. Enjoy the picks.

And....the honeymoon pictures

2009-04-05T19:53:00.001-07:00

I know I promised some pics from the honeymoon, so here are a "select" few. I say select only b/c John took hundreds, but there really are quite a few pictures to this post.

To recap the adventure John and I boarded our 51 ft yacht, The Phaedrus www.yachtphaedrus.com Sunday afternoon from Coral Bay in St. John, USVI. We essentially did a loop around the British Virgin Islands sailing out to the furthest point and then working our way back. The sheer number of places we got to see, some only accessible by boat, made the trip worth while. Not to mention our captain was trained in french cooking = amazing 3 course dinners and divine b'fast and lunches.

Day 1: From Coral bay we skirted along Tortola and anchored at Jost Van Dyke, a small island of the BVI's. We went onto the island for dinner at Foxy's. Fun restaurant with t-shirts of past visitors all over the place. Of course we spotted several NC themed shirts including NCSU (yay) and UNC (boooo), and even one for Cartert County.

This is unofficially the "Corona Island" because well....it looks like a Corona commercial waiting to happen.

"foxy"

Island time, Mon.

'Lil bit of home

Cape Carteret....this one's for you Becky & Fitz!

Day 2. We sailed upwind from Jost along Tortola up to another small island called Great Camanoe. It was a tucked away anchorage. We snorkeled and did a small hike. while hiking we saw lots of hermit crabs, a snake, and two goats. Neeeeaaahhhh.

Sailing Upwind = lots of waves and spray.

John reading up on all the fish he just spotted while snorkeling.

Rigging at sunset

One of our many yummy courses, Thai inspired coconut shrimp soup....sooooo yummy!

Day 3. Oh Boy. Woke up to some rain showers and en route from Camanoe to Virgin Gorda we hit a torrential downpour. Couldn't see more than about 20 feet off the boat. Made for quite an adventure. Luckily, it cleared up enough after lunch that John and I went on to Virgin Gorda and explored the very scenic, Baths.

Video of the downpour to Virgin Gorda

At the Baths

Pretty sweet....I must say!

This cave was UN-real. I wish the sun was out more b/c I can only imagine how gorgeous it would in the sunlight.

Had so much fun on Virgin Gorda we decided to stay another day. Before sunset, we sailed North East to the tip of Virgin Gorda called the "Bitter End".

Happy hour! Cocktails served up from the galley.

Day 4: Known for the resorts and accessible only by boat, The Bitter End is another protected cove. En route we passed private islands owned by Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic airlines....must be nice to own an island. Also spotted several "mega yachts" at anchor and our captain told us that those weren't even the big ones - whoa! We did a short hike first thing in the a.m. and then explored the rest of the island via taxi...stopping at Little Dix resort for a pre-noon beer, the coppermine ruins...also had to dodge a few rain showers.

Cool plant we spotted while on our hike

View on the trail. That little island on the bottom left is called Saba Rock and it actually has a small resort on it. Honestly the island is no bigger than a football field. Real Estate at a premium!

M, M, M, Mega Yacht!

Gorda Peak, highest elevation in the BVI's great view looking North.

Cabbin' it Virgin Gorda style

Beach at Little Dix resort. Not sure if it was the weather, or economy, but this place was empty.

Stingray in the shallows

Coppermine Ruins...you can see the green copper in the rocks.

Posing next to the chimney

We had lunch at this locals place to the left of the pier. We ordered Turtle Soup, thinking it was a local favorite....it is a favorite, but the turtles are also endangered. Whoopsies!

Day 5: Left Virgin Gorda started making our way back towards the USVI. We spent our second to last night at Peter Island. Had some iffy weather, but despite the rain, I got in for some late afternoon snorkeling.

Day 6: Woke up to some clouds but it cleared to a great calm late afternoon. We sailed along the Sir Francis Drake Channel along the south side of Tortola and then skirted along the north shore of St. John (hi st. john!!!!). We anchored at Waterlemon Cay for lunch and John and I got to snorkel the spectacular cay that so many of our guests raved about. Despite the rain, it was great snorkeling...saw big parrot fish, lots of stingray and huge starfish! We anchored at Caneel Bay just in time for some rough water.

Arrrggghhh...Sweet pirate ship we saw several times throughout or cruising.

Perspective from Sir Francis Drake Passage.

Day 7: Up early b/c of the rough water we sailed into Red Hook and got dropped off. Solid ground at last, but the equilibrium didn't kick in for days later!!! We spent our last night on St. Thomas with our good friends Will & Laurel who were also flying out that Saturday. Lounged at our B&B and played cards and then went out to a good dinner.

View from our B&B: Island View Guesthouse

Pic while we were out and about in the St. Thomas markets

Old Stairs...I like it.

Honoring Mileserific...

2009-03-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

...the best dog of all time!! I know we have many Miles fans out there, so it's with a sad heart that I pass on the news that Mr. Miles passed away this past Friday. It's been a tough couple of days but John and I are hanging in there.

Miles was diagnosed with a pretty severe heart condition back in December that we had been managing with meds and limiting his exercise. Miles was managing pretty well, but ultimately his heart just couldn't sustain him. Miles woke us up in the middle of the night and was sick, like we thought maybe he just had a upset tummy. After watching him for an hour we realized he was becoming more distressed so we rushed him to the ER. Things didn't go well from there. We didn't want him to be in any pain and his heart just wasn't pumping strong enough so we made the tough decision to put him down. He did the best he could but it was his time.

John and I hibernated most of the weekend and had our share of tears, but we're on the mend and time will help. Miles was such a big part of our life and home that there's a definite void. We just keep reminding ourselves that he's in a better place where he can run, frolic and play again. He had many great adventures in his lifetime, and was very loved. Thanks for all the support and kind words. And in honor of the best dog I've ever met, a few pics:

Miles was such a good dancer!

He LOVED being on the trail and always had to be in front leading the way.

You know it's a good time when there's slobber involved!

Chillin' in the backyard with his mom and dad

One of my fav memories, Miles learning to swim. He always avoided the water until this random day at Falls Lake and he just got in and wasn't quite sure what to do but he made lots of splashes.

Camo Miles.... chillin' and blending into the high sierra desert scape.

:) Happy times :)

All ears! This is the pure essence of a frolicking Miles :)

Man, that guy always remembered his manners.

This was taken years ago at a weekend up in the NC mountains. Miles was up all night running through the woods with his cousins (Annie, Celo, Cutter) and was zonked out the next morning. I spooned with him that morning on the hillside. He looks pretty content to me.

Hiking with his buddy Riley. This was a tough 6 mile hike in the mountains of Southern California. He had a blast and slept for 12 hours straight afterwards. Good day!

More hanging out with his mom and dad. He was really good at hanging.

One of my fav pictures of all time. My boys.

Majestic and noble Miles

We're Married!

2009-03-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

After a long blogger silence, John and I have emerged and we're married, Yay! After the holidays we were pretty consumed with wedding details, thus the lack of updates.

Good news is that all the headaches were up front in the planning process because the day of turned out perfect. Can't believe everything came together so smoothly having not met many of our vendors, or laid eyes on place prior to getting there.

We arrived to St. John on Wed the 25th after many of hours of traveling. Ironically we reunited with our folks and family in the Atlanta airport. We were all on the same flight from ATL to STT. After arriving in St Thomas, we went to the courthouse to get our marriage license and then took the ferry from St Thomas to St. John. St john is not a large island, the roads are very curvy and you drive on the left. The drive from Cruz Bay to Concordia takes about 40 minutes even though it's only about 10 miles. As a little background, we all stayed at Estate Concordia, an Eco Resort that's on the National Park of St. John. It has a treehouse feel with all the units positioned on the hillside and are connected by a series of boardwalks. There are eco-tents and Eco Studios. To read up on it, or perhaps do a little research for your own vacation here's the link: www.maho.org

View from our studio...stairs!

After going down several sets of stairs you hit the office / pool landing. View of Salt Pond Bay is below.

Looking back towards some of Concordia's tents / studios. You can see the boardwalks

After a long day of traveling...dinner at Cafe Concordia. Food was quite delicious!

Some folks had already arrived so it was nice to get to visit with them and yes, have a much needed rum drink, mahn. Thursday we met with our planner and officiant and scoped out both the reception area and the ceremony area at Little Lameshur Bay. We had the afternoon to relax and snorkeled at Lameshur Bay. So great to finally get to chill out and enjoy the scenery.

Hanging out in the shade at Little Lameshur Bay.

Amber, Kenny and Ellie (11 weeks)

Anna soaking up some VI sun

Good friends James (Best man), & Audrey thawing out from the VT winter. Audrey manned John's camera the day of, so thanks for all the great pics, Audrey!

Thursday night my sis planned a little girls night out action. After being surprised with a lingerie shower we left for skinny legs for some local food and music. The dudes went out for their own fun at Island Blues.

Rocking some new shoes

Riding in the outdoor cab to dinner: KBD, Lizzie, Me and Laurel

Dancin' with my momma

After Skinny Legs, we went to the Sputnick to hear some live reggae. Gettin' down to the funky island beat, Mon.

Friday we all went to Trunk Bay, one of the most scenic beaches of the Virgin Islands and i believe it's made several top 10 lists of one of the best beaches in the world.

The Blue Towel Group at Trunk Bay

The old San Diego Crew: Jason & Steph, Aaron & Margaret (plus 1 bun in the oven)

Hi Friends! Will & Laurel, and Meg & Peej (plus one very small bun in the oven)

Ellie even got her toes wet!

Then it was back to get ready for the welcome dinner in Coral Bay. We had a great dinner at Shipwreck Landing, a very special musical toast by best man James, followed by some great music performed by the buddies.

James roasting, I mean toasting at the rehearsal dinner. The toast was in a musical format but of course.

After dinner the buddies serenaded us with their tunes. LOVED it!

Saturday flew by...everyone warned me that it would, but holy cow did it ever. We were running ahead of time then all the sudden it was 3pm and the photographer was arriving and I wasn't finished getting ready and then it was time to drive to little Lameshur bay for the ceremony. I was hanging out in the car as everyone was getting placed then me and my daddy stepped on out and it was show time. It was so overwhelming seeing all the smiling faces and of course my groom waiting for me. We had two beautiful readings by my aussie fairy girls, Heather B and Kelly (Crissy was with us in spirit). After choking up during the vows we finally got to kiss and be announced as Mr. & Mrs. John Trice. We exited to our fav band, Phish, "Tweezer Reprise". I cried during the ceremony, and John cried afterwards. We're such softies.

My daddy escorting me

The kisses!!!!

The Bridal Party: Anna, Amber, Jenn, Karen&John, James, Austin, Corey

The guys being oh so silly.

Group shot with both families

With my momma and daddy

With two of the 3 Fairy friends: Heather B and Kelly

The Trices

Sykes siblings

After some photo ops we hustled on over to the reception. We had great food and great music and it really flew by so fast. A few highlights from the reception:

Lem, the steal pan player. He actually stayed late night and jammed post reception with all our friends.

Umbrella Drinks!!! So glad these survived the journey to St. John and came together the way we had hoped they would. Concordia actually purchased them from us which was GREAT b/c we didn't have to fly them back home.

Dancin' Dancin' Dancin'

More dancin' fun

Kelly's hoop made an appearance!

Kenny bustin' a move. He also did the worm later on...classic!

Next I'll work on posting some honeymoon pics from our island hoping adventure.

Pictures from the Holidays

2009-01-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post some pictures from the holidays...I'm a bit belated, but better late than never.
Saturday Dec, 20th we went to Tommy & Julie's wedding. For those of you who don't know, Tommy was our next door neighbor from growing up and is one of Kenny's best friends. Beautiful wedding at a big catholic church in downtown Richmond followed by a reception at the train depot in shockoe bottom. Very fun evening.

Main Street Station...beautiful old architecture

Jenn, Dad & Mom at cocktail hour. Sorry Jenn, no beverages for you with a bun in the oven :)

The dudes: Mike, Tommy, Brian, Kenny & Taylor

The Ladies: Allison, Drea, Kim, Kristin, Karen & Jenn

THE special man of the day, Mr. Tommy Chaffe

My bro playing new dad. Well...not really playing but being a new dad.

Holding Ellie for the first time, she's sooo precious!

Christmas Day

She looks sooo little in her car seat (and so comfy, I want to be hugged from all sides too....can i get one of those seats?)

Close up...sleepy time.

We made it to the NC for the back half of the trip. We spent a windy day exploring the Parkway with James & Audrey. We got out and walked around at several places. Next on the list was on to Lake Lure, NC for New Years with the buddies. Good times and great oldies.

James & Audrey hiking through a field.

KBD tackling the massive ham up at the lake house over new years

Hanging on the ground floor of the massive rental house at the lake.

Meg, Lizzy, Adrianne and Laurel

The End...well, at least until I can grab some more photos off of John's computer.

Update from the East Coast

2008-12-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

Hi all and Merry day after Christmas. Hope everyone is having a good holiday with friends and family. Just wanted to update you all on Mr. Miles. John and I took him to the vet last week and though he's not cured, the appointment went as well as could be expected. Miles is responding to the heart meds and his heart rate has come down to a semi-acceptable level. We were able to begin him on steroids for his wobblers syndrome and he is getting around much better. He's still slow and wobbly when he gets up from laying down and tends to swing his hind legs to the left, but his mobility is MUCH better. With the good news from the docs we left last week for our travels back East with our families. Man, we sure do miss Mr. Miles, but he is in good hands. We have a vet tech checking in on him twice daily, as well as our friend, Gene who's hanging out with him just to make sure he doesn't get lonely.

John made it up to Richmond last night. We're hanging out here through Saturday and then making our way to Wilkes on Sunday. Sorry for the lack of pics, I'll be sure to download some from my camera in time for the next post.

Meet Ellie

2008-12-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wanted to share the first pics of my niece, Ellie. Ken and Amber are suppose to get home from the hospital today, so I'm sure I'll have more at home pics to share over the next few weeks. :)

So sleepy....cute rosy face :)

Ellie and her Momma. Wide attentive eyes

Ellie and her daddy...I think Ken's gettin' the hang of it.

Grandma with her first grand baby...exciting!

With her Granddad. She looks so tiny!

Mixed emotions....

2008-12-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Shall I start with the good news or the bad news??? I say good.

Earlier today my brother Kenny and my sister in law, Amber brought a beautiful, healthy baby girl into the world. Elizabeth Grace Sykes was born at 5:32pm via c-section and weighs 6lbs 2oz. Everyone is doing just fine and I can't wait to share some pictures as soon as I get them.

On a heavier note, Mr. Miles isn't doing so hot. Long story short he's developed wobblers syndrome and a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopothy (both common in large breeds). This past weekend he started getting really unsteady on his feet and his hind legs were dragging/uncoordinated. Took him to the vet first thing Monday and they sent us to a specialist b/c they heard something going on in his heart (sounds like a shoe in the dryer). The docs thought the heart was causing the leg problem, but turns out they are un-related. Miles is on a bunch of meds for his heart to help slow it down and get it into a normal rhythm, but unfortunately our treatment options for wobblers are limited. Because of his heart condition they don't think his heart can handle steroids or surgery.

Who's lovin' the couch?

We're hanging in there but are really surprised with how fast things have come on...I mean just a few weeks ago we were hiking in Bishop and now Miles needs a harness to walk. It's a lot to digest. We go back to the doc on the 17th to see how he's responding to the heart meds. We'll keep you posted and until then you can rest assured that the no-couch rule is out the window and Miles has taken couch lounging to a whole new level.

Thanksgiving Road Trip Part II & III

2008-11-30T15:28:00.001-08:00

Day Two: Turkey Day
Back in car and we headed north again on the 395. We stopped off in Mammoth to check out the winter resort town. We took a scenic loop drive and pulled off to do a short hike. The snow was even deeper up in Mammoth and Miles was lovin' it. He ran and frolicked like a young pup...arthritis...what arthritis :)
It really looked like a winter wonderland with the snow on the tree branches. We drove up to the slopes and watched the skiers and snowboarders for a bit and decided we should stick with the sports we know best and that don't require mucho $$ and opted to go for a hike.

We stopped at Convict lake and did about a 2 mile hike around the border of the lake. Classic gorgeous Sierra scenery and the lake was reminiscent of lake Sabrina, where we got engaged last year.

Convict Lake

We worked up quite an appetite hiking and had our turkey day dinner at Whiskey Creek on the main drag in downtown Bishop.

Day Three:
Now we couldn't drive all the way to Bishop and not go climbing!?! Friday we drove out to the Owen's River Gorge/Sherwin Plateau. It was a good 30 minute drive on dirt roads, which John loved b/c he got to use 4 wd again. The directions in the guide book were a little hairy and after several turnarounds and scouting looks we finally found the climbing spot.

Not long after we started climbing another group came up. We got to talking to them and they were also from San Diego (not too much of a surprise) and after talking some more, one of the girls recognized Miles and said I think you're my neighbors. Sure enough....we drive 6 hours away from San Diego and we run into the girl that just moved in across the street from us. Small world! Another great sunset followed by a stop at the cured meat store for some meat/cheese made for a good end to day three.

Sunset looking North towards Lake Crowley which feeds the Owen River Gorge

Thanksgiving Road Trip Part I

2008-11-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

John and I spent our Thanksgiving holiday road tripping back up to the Eastern Sierra Nevada's. We stayed in Bishop, same place as last year, and did short day trips from there. We were lucky in that the higher elevations got lots of snow so we actually got to play in falling snow, something we haven't done in years! Ah, it's the little things in life. :)

Day One: North on the 395 past Crowley Lake, Mammoth Lake all the way up to Lee Vining. We were within 13 miles of Yosemite Park, but the Tioga Pass (the road that would take us over the Sierra's into the park) was closed for the season. We decided to check out Bodie, a western ghost town instead.

Turning off the highway it was a slow, windy 12 mile drive out into the middle of nowhere. It was a little eerie being so far out, but John's Tacoma was so clutch and we kicked into 4wd and were all good.

We walked around in the snow and took some pictures and were really glad that we didn't live out in Bodie, now or 100 years ago. I red that they have -20 degree winters and over 100 degree summers; only gold could possess people to want to live out there.

On the drive back to Bishop, we stopped off at Mono Lake. This was probably one of, if not the highlight of the trip for me. I thought the lake was just a lake but it's actually a sister lake to Salt Lake in UT and is nearly 3 times as salty as the ocean! No fish can survive in the water, but brine shrimp and algae thrive. On the south shore tufa towers jute out of the water.

A break in the clouds brought us a rainbow...you can kind of make it out in the distance.

Tufa towers

These are limestone towers that form when underwater springs are exposed when the water level in the lake drops. It's pretty bizarre and very cool...who knew I was going to learn so much!!!

California is soooo cool.

Silver Strand Half

2008-11-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I ran in the Silver Strand Half Marathon with two of my running pals Sarah and Lauren. We had a great time training over the past few weeks, but the race itself....not so much fun. It's unfortunate that the two halfs I picked to race this year have been on unseasonably warm days. La Jolla Half back in April it was in the 90's and last Sunday was likely in the mid 80's. The dang Santa Ana's winds bring in the dry hot weather from the desert and make for cruel and unusual conditions weather your running a half or not.
Anyways, the race is done and over with and all things considered it did go well...at least until the last 2 miles when my body started shutting down. Sarah, Lauren and I all had bouts of nausea and upset tummies post race. I struggled to keep my head up during brunch and didn't feel normal again until mid afternoon. Well....i think I've got my sights set on the Carlsbad Half which is in January. My hopes are that it won't be 80 or 30 degrees...we'll just have to wait and see.

Sunrise driving North on the 75 from Imperial Beach to the Silver Strand State Beach were we had to park and take the shuttle to the start. Did I mention that I had to get up at 4:45am for this race.

Pre race before we got on the shuttle. Lauren, Me and Sarah V.

Post race....I'm blaming the dorky side visor picture on the heat!

Steph & J = Hitched

2008-11-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

October 25th Steph and Jason tied the knot at Grassy Creek Vineyard in Elkin, NC. On top of all the wedding festivities, John and I were stoked to get to head back East to visit with family and friends. We thoroughly enjoyed the rainy weather and got some good naps in, but of course we were relieved for the bride & groom that it cleared up in time for the beautiful outdoor ceremony. The leaves were gorgeous and I forgot how amazing it looks in the Fall in the mountains. What a great wedding and it was sooo neat to see the people from Steph & J's different phases in life: growing up / college / San Diego and now Boston. Enjoy the pics, as you can tell it was a rockin' party :)

Beaut-amus ceremony and Beaut-amus Bride and Groom

couple shot

Where's Jim?!?!

All the Ladies in the house!

The lovely Bride, Stephanie Lynn

Friends!

One of my fav pics of the weekend....I can't take credit for it, thanks Mags!

Has it been 2 months....really!?!?!

2008-11-15T08:22:00.001-08:00

I knew in the back of my head that I had not updated the blog in awhile but I could not believe it has been over 2 months. Time is flying! So what's been up in the world of John, Karen and Miles? Let me see if I can remember. Camping near Lake Cuyamaca, Traveling back to the NC for Steph and Jason's wedding, John going to NYC for the Asics/NYC marathon....and speaking of running I'm fixin' to run a 1/2 tomorrow. Whew!

Looks like I'll have to recap all the above in segments....
Early October we headed East for a weekend of camping with some of John's friends from work. We stayed in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park just a little over an hour from the house. We hiked, endured crazy winds, rain, and beautiful sunshine all in the course of 2 nights. Here are some highlights.

We hiked the Garnet Peak Trail in the Cleavland National Forrest. The winds were INSANE...gusting into the 40mph. I thought we were going to get blown off the side of the mountain. There were tons of crazy cloud formations that day; I call this UFO.

More cool clouds, I'd never seen such dense clouds in formations like this before. I call this catch the wave.

Gnarly tree branches, typical harsh landscape on the cusp of the desert

Yay, we survived the night of rain and wind! John's mad skilz came in handy as we rigged up the tarp to keep us dry so we could continue hanging out and drinking beer into the night.

The gang: John, Karen, Terri, Amanda and David

and of course....Mileserific!

The VitroRobertson gang

On our way back to town we stopped at some cool waterfalls and went hopscotchin'

Lucky for us the rain we had the night before helped make for some great waterfalls

Vermont is for lovers

2008-09-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day john and I were off to Burlington, VT for more wedding festivities. John's best buds from growing up in Wilkesboro, James & Audrey, tied the knot out on a farm in gorgeous Vermont country.

We flew out Wednesday on the red eye and spent the majority of Thursday napping and eating yummy Vermont Cheese and drinking yummy Magic Hat. Friday we checked out the Webster farm and drove around and soaked in the gorgeous setting; we even spotted a covered bridge. We took part in the rehearsal dinner Friday night that was also out at the Webster farm.

The very scenic Webster Barn in Hyde Park, VT

Rehearsal Dinner Friday Night

James, Ryan and John (doesn't Ryan look like Corey Tate)

Bride & bridesmaids: Kim, Audrey, Katherine, Erin & Quincy

Saturday started as a gloomy, drizzly day but cleared up and gave way to a wedding perfect amazing afternoon. James and Audrey had their ceremony out in field with the rolling mountains in the background. After a very special ceremony full of music (Audrey came down the aisle to "Here comes the Sun") and tears (they wrote their own vows..sniff sniff) we partied it up in the barn with bluegrass music and even some singing by the bride and groom (check out the video clip below). What an awesome and memorable place for a wedding!

Jim got to asked to play the guitar during the ceremony

Beautiful stain glass from inside the barn

Reception

Video of James & Audrey singing it up at the reception. Resolution is kind of crappy, but at least you can get a feel for the fun festivities.

Sunday/Monday we spent back in Burlington. Did a little browsing along Church Street, ate yummy food at Flatbread and on Monday John and I met up with my aussie friend Crissy and her man, Chris, who just relocated to VT for law school. We rented bikes and cruised along Lake Champlain. We met up with James and JD along the lake for some hanging out.

Hanging out on the banks of Lake Champlain

It was so great to get to see Crissy and Chris...that makes twice in one summer!

John and Crissy cruisin' VT style.

It was a great way to end an already great trip. If it weren't cold for 9 months out of the year I think I could live in Burlington...rolling green hills, awesome lake, quaint towns with awesome markets, and Cabot Cheese and Ben & Jerry's. Yes, I heart Vermont.

Urban Cabin Fever

2008-09-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

It dawned on John and I that it was past the half year mark and we had yet to get a camping trip in for '08. I know, crazy!?!? So a few weekends ago after feeling a bit trapped in urban San Diego, we packed up the truck and headed East for the Sunrise Highway.
Only about an hour or so outside San Diego, the Sunrise Highway borders along the deciduous forest to the West and the Anza Borrego desert to the East. The elevation quickly climbs up to around 5,000 - 6,000ft. We camped in an area called Burnt Rancheria. Nice and quiet with hiking trail access right in the campground.

John and Miles....it's trail time

After setting up camp we got a short hike in before we cooked up a delicious chicken sausage dinner. Even with the close proximity to the desert and it being the middle of the summer the elevation kept things nice & cool in the low 50's. We relaxed late night to a crackling fire and it was absolutely perfect; just the battery recharge we needed!

We woke up pretty early the next day and headed out for some exploring by car. We found this awesome lookout near Garnet Peak and we could see all the way to the Pacific. Inspired by the view we headed back to San Diego and decided to go to the beach for the afternoon. That you can't beat; mountains to beach in the same day.

View from our hike which was part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Crazy craggy mountains and shadows.

Same hike, different view. Directly East looking into the Anza Borrego Desert

Yikes, Rattlesnakes in the bathroom...I think I'll hold it.

View from our exploring on Sunday...that's the Pacific way off in the distance

Lots to Celebrate : Mags & Aaron

2008-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

As I was downloading pictures from my camera I realized I'm a bit behind on my posts! In the world of San Diego this summer, our good friend Margaret had a b-day, and defended her thesis to become an official bonafide doctor! On a not so celebratory note, Margaret, Aaron and Riley also packed up and headed back East for Greensboro about 2 weeks ago. I got a text that they made it to NC this past Friday. Hopefully they had a great trip back and since I know they stopped in Flagstaff, AZ and the Grand Canyon I can at least vouch that the 1st part of their trip was certainly a good one. So as a tribute to good friends that will certainly be missed I'll post a few pictures from our time with Mags, Aaron and Riley this past summer:

Happy B-day Mags. We celebrated at the Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park, Yum!

Looks like that spiffy martini kicked in for Aaron

The weekend before the move, we had a low key bbq for Mags and Aaron. Lauren, Sarah, and Mags just chillin'.

Riley's wondering when it's going to be his turn to chew on the pork bone.

Fun times with good friends.

Quick Rendevous with Liz!

2008-08-11T19:52:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Liz was back West for her Mom's birthday so Margaret and I made a day trip up to San Clemente for a a quick visit.

We of course worked in a visit to the Rainbow Outlet. Mags and Liz stocked up for their East coast returns, I was able to hold back and only buy one pair for myself and one on special order for Heather B.

We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing along the main drag, Del Mar Street, and stopped in for an afternoon pitcher of margaritas. What a great way to spend the afternoon and to catch up on fun nonsense :)

Oooo....a rainbow of Rainbows

Yay...Margaritas and Friends Liz, Karen and Mags

I mean, is there ever a question to NOT order the 1 Liter pitcher of Margaritas?!?

This is what happens....

2008-08-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

....When you get really busy or are out of town and neglect your garden. Holy Zucchini!

Well, the garden is a bit more under control now, but we are getting more than a 1/2 a dozen zucchini a week!! It's like a scavenger hunt trying to find the zucchini amongst all the leaves in vines...you obviously can see what happens if one isn't found for several days. Tomatoes are finally turning red, but we have to pick them off the vine before the ripen b/c of a mysterious TBD critter that seems to be having it's midnight snack in our garden. Grrr...... All in all, the garden has been a success so far this year. Maybe we'll even stay motivated and get some Fall weather greens in the ground!

Zucchini on the far left with the big leaves, Two tomato vines in the back and the rest is assorted peppers (bell & jalapeno ) and herbs (The Basil Bush, Spearmint, and Parsley)

Kelly & Ross in Milford

2008-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago my Aussie friend, Kelly, got married in hands down one of THE best wedding weekends I've ever been to. I say Aussie friend, b/c that's where Kelly, Crissy, Heather and I met, but we are all from the US (or Canada for Heather B.). Anyways, Kell's folks live in Milford, CT and the entire wedding festivities were held in their and their neighbors backyards. It was amazing! The ceremony was in this cute little garden nook with beautiful flowers
The reception was held one yard over and they had a huge tent set up for the dinning and dancing. Let me tell you there was certainly some dancing going on!
The farthest yard over at Hotchkiss point was where the Friday night BBQ throwdown was held.

Oh and rehearsal luncheon was on the water at the Milford Yacht Club

It's always so amazing with the 4 of us reunite and get to spend time together but this was truly magical and it was so special that Kelly included us in her wedding as fairy flower girls no less! Everything was coordinated beautifully (thanks to Kelly's Momma) and the weather was perfect. Low humidity, mid 80's and the ran held off till Sunday morning.

Highlights of the weekend, dancing to the rock band Friday night and Kevin, Kelly's brother got to rock out with the band. I was dancing so hard it didn't dawn on me to take a video until after his kickass solo. The video clip doesn't do justice to how awesome Kevin played, but I thought I'd include it anyways..

On the way to the ceremony site we had to drive around the block. Kell was in the back of the jag her parents in the front. Kelly looked beautiful and was waving to all the neighbors as they came outside to wish her good luck. It was the cutest thing.

Quite possibly my favorite (and most magical moment...if you haven't noticed with us things are always magical) moment was during the ceremony. It was pretty breezy and Kelly's veil was blowing around only slightly attacking her. Another breeze came through and Kelly's veil blew straight up into the air and then flew off. It floated way up over the shed and over the trees into several yards over. All the guests first gasped then laughed and ooh'd and Ahh'd. See magic!

Up up up and away!

Enjoy the pics and if you want to view the complete set here's the shutterfly link: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWFl

Kell being escorted by her daddy

The Flower Girls: Karen, Crissy and Heather

Ross and Kelly being cuter than ever!

Centerpieces from the reception. I helped clip the flowers and put the centerpieces together...don't they look fabulous :)

Complete Aussie Girl reunion. Our other friends we met in Perth, Heather Baily and Katie...I wish Kelly could have made this picture!

And of course, the sunset picture. A-mazing!

A Lot of Catching up to do....

2008-08-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

John and I have been rather MIA recently, but we have certainly been busy. Back in mid-July we flew back to NC for some well needed R&R with our families. We vacationed at Ocean Isle Beach as has been tradition for the Sykes family for eons. Jim & Patti came down for the second half of the week to join in the fun. It could not have been a better week, and surprisingly it wasn't really even THAT hot. Mid 80's and low humidity. It was great to get to have both our folks in the same place and get to visit with the extended family as well. Complete pictures can be viewed on shutterfly: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasWGL

We began our trip in RDU. Jenn picked us up at the airport and after napping we grabbed brunch at the farmers market. Mmmmm....fried green tomatoes.

Day one at the beach we're walking down to our umbrella and John thinks he spots someone he knows...sure enough it's David Earl his Freshman/Sophomore roommate at NCSU. Such a small world. Cheers guys!

Man we look color coordinated. The gals before we went out to dinner one night. Notice Amber's cute baby bump :)

Sunset in Shallote

Couple shots while we wait for a table for dinner.

More couple shots....Paul didn't make it down to the beach till Wednesday which is why Jenn & Paul are missing from the couple shots.

Mmmmm.....the creamery. I love having a pregnant lady in the mix b/c there's always an excuse to get ice cream. Go Amber!

Bocce but of course. Ken & Amber's good friends, Brian and Drea came up from Myrtle Beach for the day.

The "young" crowd. Drea & Brian. Jenn. Amber & Kenny, Karen & John

Portrait session featuring Jim & Patti

Awww.....Larry& Rita

Grillin' & chillin'

2008-07-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

It was different type of 4th this year in San Diego...one that included no beer or any type of alcoholic consumption on the beach. Wanting to partake in adult beverages, we decided to steer clear of the beach and just grill out at the Jutland abode. We had the neighbors (Chris, Allison, their baby Ryder and Chris's brother Matt) over as well as Mags, Aaron and Riley. We busted out the spiffy new cocktail dispenser mixed up a batch of margaritas and got our chill on. Once it got dark, we jumped on the bikes and beach cruisers and rode to the end of our neighborhood to catch the fireworks at Seaworld / Ocean Beach / La Jolla. Not a bad evening at all.

Like I said...grillin' and chillin'

Miles has the red covered, and Karen's got the white and blue....patriotic, check

Miles is checking on the stinky factor in Ryder's diaper. A-ok.

Mags and Riley...I think Riley smells the sausages cooking (sausages! sausages! sausages!)

Too cute! Everyone was having fun holding the baby.

Allison enjoying a Guinness and John going for the margaritas

Poor Guy....

2008-06-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Poor Mr. Miles has a bum paw (again). One of his digits just is not happy. His paw was swollen and had a open wound on it about a month ago and we took him to the doc to get checked out. They thought it was a fox-tail (like a spur) that found it's way into his paw but when they dug around they couldn't find anything. Antibiotics cleared it up but when John and I got home from work on Tuesday it was back. Doh! So back to the vet, and back on another round of antibiotics....and unfortunately for Miles...no Fiesta island or dog beach for another week or two. I do have to tell you how smart Miles is. When we went to the vet this week as soon as the technician came out Miles walked over to the scale and sat on it. He's sooooo smart and intuitive. :)

This picture looks way more depressing than it really is.

A new form of entertainment

2008-06-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Maybe this is a sign that John and I are getting way too grown up, but we are sooo excited about our new washing machine. Our oldie but goodie (ie: the one jacked from the buddy manor in Apex when Meg and I moved out) finally bit the dust. We decided to go big and green and get a energy efficient water saving front loading machine. For all the rinse cycles our old machine got stuck on we felt we had to bring some water saving good karma back our way. We were stoked to find such a sweet deal...gotta love the Sear's outlet center. Who knew doing laundry could be so fun..I think we're going to drink some beer and just watch the laundry tonight.

Ooooo...the Kenmore Elite is so pretty and shinny

Girl's weekend in the NC

2008-06-27T14:53:00.001-07:00

A few weekends I got the itch again...yep, the spontaneous one and jumped a flight for a girls weekend in the NC. What a great weekend it was. Despite the jet lag (which I'm convinced I'm learning to adapt to as much as I fly). it was a great weekend. I really miss getting to spend quality time with my girlfriends and catch up on everything so it was just what I needed. And floating on the lake and drinking beer all day didn't hurt either. Enjoy a few selected pics from the weekend.

It was a battle between the girls and the swan...no one could seem to tame the float.

Group shot on Friday night...in case you haven't noticed floaties and rafts were one of the big themes of the weekend

The friendly duck. We could decide if he was just friendly or if he was a spy sent by the owners to make sure we didn't steal the pontoon boat.

Nothing beats floating on the lake with your girls and a beer :) Cheers!

I feel like this picture sums up the weekend pretty well.

Bay to Breakers

2008-05-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Back on May 11th I "raced" in my first ever Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. It was an EVENT to say the least. A group of us from work decided to do the race together. If you don't know anything about Bay to Breakers it's less of a race and more of a party. Most folks dress up in costumes...or not if your going the nudist route...but no matter what the case it's a scene. The group from work, 8 of us to be exact dressed up as 7 whole grains in sesame. We were sporting the super hero theme and got plenty of positive feedback from the drunks on the course. A highlight from the day was at the start of the race on Mission street I got to see first hand the tradition of the flying tortillas through the air. It was quite a celebratory mood. The race started about 8am and finally around 8:30 we were strolling in forward motion. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to run; it was seriously just too crowded with the hordes of people and floats. It was a blast and I think the pictures speak for themselves!

The night before the race the gang out on the town

Early a.m. getting into our costumes...Dave representing the box of old school Puffs that are somehow still "New"

The flying tortillas strike!

Photo op while we wait in line for the porta-pottie

No way...the sell Kashi in the liquor store I mean corner market

This does not do justice to how crowded it was

Did she say Rump?!?!!?

2008-04-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

If you're doing a double or triple take thinking you spotted me on TV, I'm here to confirm the rumors, yes I was on national television. I had the pleasure of participating in a recent Kashi commercial for our Spring trial event around our Mt. Medley Granola, which I must add is my fav!! And I'm not just saying that either...trust me they did not pay me the big bucks to do the commercial so all comments are true and from the heart.
Anyways, we filmed back in February in Malibu just across the street from Pepperdine University to be specific. It was a gorgeous park setting that overlooks the Pacific. Filming started bright and early at 6am and we didn't wrap up until the sun was going down around 6pm; talk about a physical and mentally exhausting day. The trampoline thing was super fun and I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It was a crazy work out though...both cardio and muscular. I was sooooo sore the next day in my abs and legs I could barley get out of bed!
The experience overall was pretty surreal since it was a complete 180 from a normal day for me. I guess the fact that it was so close to an outer body experience helped me stay calm and actually be able to talk to the camera even though there were about 20 people starring at me at any given time

See lots of random people not to mention the other 10 behind the camera..eek!!!

and another 7 people in a tent a few feet away critiquing every move and line I said (no pressure...really!).

Even though they're critiquing me at least they were super nice about it. These are the Amazon ladies...or you can call them the ladies from our creative ad agency called, Amazon.

All I have to say is that I earned my stay at the botique hotel in Santa Monica...and I am not the least bit guilty about the room service I ordered either :) I have a few more pics to share and the actual video clip (in case you haven't spotted me yet). No random people have recognized me in public yet, so I think I'm safe at this point...but thanks to all the emails, phone calls and texts with the positive feedback. Here's to getting off your rump, and seven whole grains on a mission!

Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, don't be nervous...ready go!

This is me with the director, Brendan Malloy, aka my coach for the day. Super cool guy. He and his brother do lots of surfing films/documentaries and music videos...and Kashi commercials!?!?!

My lines!!!! If I was in America's Next Top Model, Jay would not have approved b/c they had to bring cue cards out for me. Whatever....I do customer marketing...this commercial gig is just on the side :)

All smiles because I'm getting a nice break

And ladies and gentleman....without further a do, the the actual spotl:

Memory lane....Raleighwood

2008-04-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

So while John and I were back in NC for Jenn & Paul's wedding we had a chance to wander around our old stomping ground. I can't believe that it's been over 2 years since we moved! It was great to drive around and see some of our old favorite spots like five points, and NCSU campus. All the cherry blossoms and azaleas were blooming so that just made things extra gorgeous. Thought I'd throw in a few of the great shots that John took (on his new camera).

Bell Tower

Go Pack!

Holiday Hall

Cherry Blossoms so pretty!

Ahhhh....Slim's. Many a good drinks have been had behind those doors

Oh boy! O'Berry Street. Good ole 2912.

Jim & Patti made it down for the weekend festivities. Sunday we hung out at the NC Museum of art before we got dropped of at the airport

Yay art!

The Knot has been tied!

2008-04-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Yipppeeeee my sis is now a Mrs! This past weekend Jenn & Paul tied the knot in classic, southern charm. The festivities took place near Rocky Mount, NC at an absolutely beautiful farm called Rose Hill. Rehearsal dinner and ceremony took place on site at Rose Hill; and who could have asked for a more amazing setting. Cows, horses, swans, a lake (they do go hand in hand), a rustic barn, and old farmhouse to top it all off.
I'd say the weekend went off without a hitch except for some untimely rain showers. Saturday afternoon at about 3pm it was pouring and Jenn had to make the call to move the ceremony indoors. Of course come 5:30 the sun was shinning again, but what's a girl to do...be a bridezilla and move it back outside?? The ceremony was just as beautiful indoors as out and we were still able to take advantage of the clearing weather and get some great photos outside. I have to say that I was a bit distracted being in the bridal party, so I don't have many pictures of the actual ceremony or reception. I'm sure Jenn & Paul will agree that there were so many people to visit with that there was barely any time to eat, drink, or take pictures. We packed a lot into this weekend so enjoy the show (in chronological order but of course)!

Bridesmaid luncheon at Cafe Luna in Raleigh

The entire gang from the luncheon

Outside at the Rehearsal Dinner, Cheers!

Sykes siblings...I'm really not that short, I promise I'm standing in a hole

Amy, Bridget, Momma, and Martha enjoying the bbq at the rehearsal dinner

A pose by the hydrangea tree

The Venue...Rose Hill Plantation

The Dress....beautiful, simple, and just perfect!

The Bride and Maid of Honor

The Sykes clan...anyone and everyone related to a Sykes

Love this picture, Jenn looks like she should be in a bridal magazine

Table Decorations...very cool flowers

The cake and bouquets

JT and I out on the gazebo...st john has some tough scenery competition

Sunset at the Rose Hill farm, can you spot the silhouette of the horse?

Sadly....I have no pictures of the bride and groom together, or any of my folks together. I'm sure some additional pictures will filter in from family and friends so I'll post them as I get them. Stay tuned :)

Spring in San Diego

2008-04-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, even though San Diego doesn't technically have seasons it is in fact Spring here too. We don't get cabin fever as bad as the rest of you guys, but it's definitely nice to have things starting to bloom and catch a 75 degree day (instead of 65). We had two gorgeous weekends recently. One weekend I started reviving my potted garden and got some new plants. Miles has been so kind to model with one of my arrangements.

I forget the names of all these guys, but they're doing great and are very happy

My newest addition, Gernaniums

Mr. Miles strikes a pose in the front yard...he's definitely smelling the bbq across the street.

John and I are still waiting to plant our veggies a little later and we're also hoping to have a super fly herb garden. I'm just stalking craigslist until I can find a posting for a water trough b/c that my friends, is going to the home for our herbs. I saw water troughs used as planters in Sonoma last year and ever since then I've been obsessed.

So another recent weekend Sarah, Margaret, Aaron, John and I all loaded into Big Blue and went out to Borrego Springs to catch the wildflowers blooming.

Ahhh yes, the Hacienda Del Sol ( I really have no idea what this place is..just a cool sign)

We had a really wet winter so there were suppose to be field upon field of wildflowers. We think we missed the peak by a few weeks but it was definitely still really pretty and bizarre to see the desert so "lush". While off-roading and exploring Margaret spotted baby rattlesnakes (eek!) and we even found a meandering river / wash.

That crazy tall stuff in the background is Ocotillo...and is very unfriendly. Crazy thorns that look like they'll jump out and bite yo' ass.

Cactus flower

Scary baby rattlesnakes...and because I was a huge Steve Erwin fan I know that baby rattlesnakes are way more poisonous than grown ups. Watch out!

Lots of yellow going on here. We were exploring in Coyote Canyon. No coyote's were spotted...

But as a consolation prize, we did see lots of caterpillars.

This cactus looked like it was illuminated by the sun

Not too much else going on. John has recently rekindled his love for photography. I'll attach a recent assortment of pics. We're looking into purchasing a super nice digital camera here in the next bit, so hopefully even higher resolution cooler photos to come!

Climbing in Culp Valley...this is in the hills just above Borrego Springs in case you want to keep track. If you look at the boulder on the right, you'll see our friend Gene clinging on to the rock.

Gene on a crimpy boulder problem. Yeah....that's me in the background spotting

Scripps pier in La Jolla

Wind n Sea beach in La Jolla

cool shot of downtown...not too far from where John works

Miles says hi and he has been enjoying his new blue bunny that the Easter bunny brought him. He sleeps with it and takes it out in the backyard to frolic with...very cute. Hope everyone else out there is having a good Spring.

Sit Miles....good boy.

What was that?!?!

I had to include this one....attack of the enormous Me-lays.

Bachelorette Party confidential

2008-03-17T20:15:00.005-07:00

Part deux of Jenn's bridal festivities featured a girls weekend in Myrtle Beach. I arrived in Raleigh Friday a.m. and Jenn picked me up and it was onward for the beach! After everyone arrived Friday night we had cocktails, dinner, festive desserts* followed by a lingerie party. I don't think we embarrassed Jenn too much :) Saturday after breakfast we went for a walk on the beach and deciding that the weather was nicer than expected we hit the pool for some tanning. It was the perfect temperature with full sun and a slight breeze...too perfect b/c I think we all dozed off for a short nap. After regrouping up at the condo and catching some of the ACC tourney we decided to head out for a quick pedi before our night on the town. I guess you could say there were two surprises to Saturday night, one being the weather. Turns out we were in the line of a big thunderstorm and in a tornado watch no less. We all told jenn that we were going to take a cab so we wouldn't have to worry about driving in the bad weather, but we decided to surprise Jenn with a limo rental (surprise #2). It was super cool and fun way for us to all ride together. Not to mention on our way to dinner at Broadway at the Beach we had torrential rain and hail (good thing we weren't driving). After dinner at Key West Grill we hit the Blarney Stone Pub in our festive green boas and attracted the attention of some guys that were good sports. We played some bachelorette card games and then hit the dance club across the way. Then we decided to go for a spin in the limo again before hitting one last club. What a night.....and amazingly tame, even if mom was still a bit stunned at the last dance club :) Hopefully we showed the bride to be one last big night on the town as a single lady. Cheers to you, Jenn!!

Girls night out indeed!

Jenn looks a little nervous unwrapping this gift!

Stroll on the beach anyone?

Crazy weather for a crazy night on the town

Jenn Rockin' the designer bachelorette T, designed by the bridesmaids but of course

Ready for the night on the town!

Limo!!!!

A good chap at the pub playing our bachelorette games

Dancin' it up

Jenn's Bridal Shower

2008-03-09T21:20:00.005-07:00

To mark the first of many fun wedding events to come for my sis, February 22nd we helped Jenn celebrate with a bridal shower. Amber and I hosted the shower at her home in Richmond, Va. It was fun getting to plan such a special day for Jenn and was great getting a chance to visit with family and friends. Here are a few shots from the day.

Mom pinning the corsage on the bride to be

Flower decoration in Jenn's colors: turquoise and light pink = beautimus!

Secret Sangria :) or maybe a witches brew?

Sweet! Calphalon turkey roasting pan...Thanksgiving at Jenn's place!

Work that bow bouquet!

Mmmm..time for cake, but it's too pretty to eat!

Friends and maids of the bride to be

Amber, Jenn and me

Three Cheers for Liz!

2008-02-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to send an official "shout out" to my good friend, Doctor Liz! Liz successfully defended her thesis this past Wednesday. And after many a years work spent scanning brains she's a doctor! Of course there's plenty more that went into it besides scanning brains, I'm just highlighting the little that I know of a very scientific world. Wednesday evening we all helped Liz celebrate and toasted her success at Wine Steals in Point Loma. What a great party and the cowboy cabernet was most delicious...who knew wine could taste like a rodeo!?!? Congrats to you Liz and best of luck in Boston (via a vacation adventure in Peru).

Yea....fun times

This one makes me laugh b/c it looks like a posie family photo by the fireplace

Happy Doc Liz...wish this one came out better b/c it would of been super cute

Back in the N.C.

2008-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

The second leg of the East Coast Holiday vacation brought John and I back to the fine state of North Carolina. From Richmond to Wilkesboro we drove.....making it into town just in time for dinner with Jim & Patti and Jame & Audrey. I'm so bummed I didn't get any pictures that night; I have to admit I kind of slacked on photos. Friday morning we got all primped up for our engagement pictures (eek!) and then had a yummy lunch with Jim and Patti in downtown Wilkes before we were back on the road braving the rain onward towards Asheville. Friday night we had an important date with our buddies and the Avett's. First we grabbed pizza and a Pilot Mountain Pale Ale at my fav restaurant Mellow Mushroom and then headed to the Orange Peel for a sold out Avett Brother's concert.

The guys at the concert: JT, Peej, Will & Jason

Go Girls!!! Me, Hannah, Lizzy, Meg, Laurel, and Meredith
(John also attempted to make the photo...way to ruin it John...gosh!)

Saturday morning we regrouped with everyone for a lazy breakfast on Austin Ave which reminded me of some of my favorite times with friends. Girls in the kitchen and guys providing acoustic background finger pickin' music.

Like I said...girls hookin' it up in the kitchen

The soundtrack to the morning provided by the dudes

Believe it or not, next it was back in the car back for Wilkesboro. Of course we had to take the scenic drive and enjoy the views of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
And of course we couldn't drive through Boone and Blowing Rock without John wanting to stop and check out the boulders.

So of course we did and it was so great to soak in the smells and views of the Blue Ridge Mt's....I forgot how blue the mountains really are. Ahhh.... It was great getting to see everyone and I wish we had 10 more days so we could have visited even more.

More great blue ridge views. Above: the windy roads of the parkway and Below: me at sunset

Holidays in Viriginia

2008-01-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

The first week of my 10 day East Coast Holiday vacation was spent in Richmond with the fam and John in Wilkesboro with his. I had a great time hanging out with the family, catching up on some sleep, and visiting with friends.

Jenn arrived Christmas Eve and then Kenny & Amber arrived Christmas Day and John later that night in time for Christmas dinner. I worked in a visit with Lori and John and I rallied late night and made it out downtown to the fan the day after Christmas to visit with my high school buddies. And we had a special visit / lunch with our good friends Steph and J as they were passing through Richmond on their way up to DC.

On the 27th John and I made the hike back down to NC for the rest of the visit.....more to come on that later.

Though Miles had to stay behind in San Diego (sniff sniff) I had to show off his new dog bed that Santa brought him....you should have seen the box it got delivered in! This is a real deal dog matress, with at least a foot of foam!

Christmas Eve luminaries on Worchester Road

Awww....Ken & Amber

Awww...Kenny & Dad (Wait a second!?!?!)

The Fam Shot

Straight Stylin' in our new jackets

Lucky lotto John!

Special visit from Steph and Jason to DC....the berries on the Dogwood were sooo pretty

You can never have too many shots by the Christmas tree

Quick Desert Fix

2008-01-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

The weekend before John and I flew back to the East Coast for the holidays we took a quick day trip out to Blair Valley for a little desert action. The drive out there was pretty crazy because we drove right through some of the major burn areas from the the October wild fires. As we crested the hill on the 67 into Ramona you could see the burnt valley below. As we drove through the windy roads of Julian we'd see one house perfectly fine next to another lot that was scorched with nothing left. Pretty sobering and crazy at the same time. Once we got to Blair Valley it turned out to be a perfect day...warm temps and great climbing weather...at least till the sun started to go down. I even got brushed off the cobwebs and got on a few problems. John and I are looking forward to making a few more trips out to Anza Borrego this winter to take advantage of the winter desert climbing. Enjoy the scenery....hard to believe this place is just a little over an hour from our house!!!

The windy roads on the way to Julian. Notice how some trees are alive and green and others are brown and dead

Burnt hillside

Not so lucky :(

Suns out!!!! John on a warm-up problem

Checkin' and prepin' the boulder

John liked this one so much he did it three times

It's me on a boulder....this one was actually really fun

John on the same boulder I was just on

Footlocker XC

2007-12-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the High School Footlocker nationals were held here in San Diego at the very scenic Balboa Park. As luck would have it, 3 runners from my high school qualified for the race! It's a pretty big deal on the cross country scene since the 40 girls and 40 boys that make it to the race are the best of the best so to speak. So on Saturday morning after a full day of rain (what rain in San Diego!?!?!, yes rain in San Diego) I made my way to Balboa park and met up with my H.S. coach, Coach Morgan and watched the two races. It was super fun to get to see that level of talent and it was great to work in a visit with Coach Morgan and see some faces from little 'ole Midlothian, Virginia. The course was spectator friendly and minus the mud factor it was a great. I only took two pictures so I'll post those below.

Beginning of the Girls race

Me and Coach Morgan

Holiday Party 2007

2007-12-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the annual Kashi Holiday Party at the Museum of Modern Art in downtown La Jolla. The posh party included happy hour reception, yummy dinner, the opportunity to check out the "Soundwaves" exhibit, dancing and even a raffle. Yours truly won the $100 AMEX giftcard which I'm sure will come in quite handy with the holiday shopping I still have to complete. Enjoy the party pics!

My Sales girl friends Melissa & Erin

Group shot of the gals in Sales: Jen, Melissa O, Carol, Cathy, Erin, Carla, Melissa G., Carrie and Karen

The classic CRM team shot with boss man, Jeff, in the middle

Familiar faces :)

Newly weds Jeff & Sarah

Another fun group shot...the girls know how to have fun!

Me and Meliss

She said yes!!!

2007-11-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

That's right...the moment you've all been waiting for...we're engaged.

After a 3 mile hike up to an amazingly beautiful alpine lake, i proposed to Karen and she said yes. As you can imagine, we're both really excited and as of yet haven't made any decisions on a date or a location....but most likely '09 and somewhere fabulous.

Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more shots from the rest of our trip.

En route to our hike

The view of Lake Sabrina about 45 minutes into our hike

Overlooking Lake Sabrina and the White Mtns. in the background

Blue Lake - the end of our hike
(with gusts up to 30mph and temps in the 30's, this view wasn't had for long)

But long enough...

10,440 ft above sea level

Will & Lodod get hitched

2007-11-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Our dear buddies, Will and Laurel tied the knot on
November 10th in classic Will & Laurel style. The festivities began a bit early for me and I flew from Richmond to Charleston on Wed night to work in a visit with Meg, Peej and Molly Piper. I got to spend a full day with Megan Ann and Molly and soon realized what all the hype was about...Molly is quite possibly the most precious thing I've ever seen. I also soon realized how much energy it takes to raise a little one. Kudos to Meg and Peej, I'm way impressed!
On Thursday the masses began to arrive in Edisto and the celebrating soon began. Jim, Patti, Anna and Phil arrived Thursday night and we all got settled at the 3 Palmettos. John arrived late Friday morning from his red eye flight. We got a short walk on the beach in before John was ready for a nap. While John rested up, I went over to the wedding house to help in the massive undertaking of making 250 cupcakes for the reception. Friday night we enjoyed the Rehersal dinner and catching up with all the friends and buddies we hadn't seen in years (eek, yes years!). After dinner the party migrated back to the beach at Whaley's bar. We continued catching up with friends and enjoyed the cheap beer, southern rock cover band, and of course taking in the local rednecks...haven't seen those in awhile. Saturday we cheered on the Wolfpack to a big victory over UNC and then made our way over to the creek for the wedding. The ceremony was held at the Middleton plantation right on the creek. The setting was beautiful and Laurel looked amazing. It was quite a tear jerker...I must of teared up at least 5 times during the night. The reception was a blast featuring music from the Avett's and the buddies. And where's there's music there is dancing. Enjoy the pictures and Best Wishes to Laurel & Will....we love you guys!

Jason, Will, Mac, Laurel & Lizzy

The Kiss! Laurel wore the lace from her grandma's wedding dress during the ceremony

Group shot by the creek: Phil & Anna, Karen & John, Patti & Jim

Awwww...

Let the party begin! Karen, Megan Ann, and Steph

The Avett's!!!

The back of Laurel's dress. A family friend made it...so gorgeous!

Finally, a picture with the Bride!

Back tracking to Friday night....Whaley's Bar featuring soon to be bride and groom, Laurel & Will

Patti and Jim hanging out at Whaleys

Yeah...we're back on the East coast!

I of course have to include some Molly P. pictures...Here's Daddy Peej and the Mollster

Love this one! Molly is practicing her downward facing dog.

All bundled up for a walk on the beach

Lunch...Molly has all eyes on Mom.

Kenny's 30th!

2007-11-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

My brother celebrated his 30th trip around the sun on November 4th. By the luck of a cheap Delta flight and an understanding cool boss, I was able to fly back home and help Kenny celebrate his big 3-0 and work in a visit home with the folks. Amber coordinated a great house party featuring a keg, beer pong, and flip cup. It was a blast and I got to catch up with a bunch of Kenny's friends that I hadn't seen in years.

Time for Birthday Cake!!!

Kenny Sykes and Kenny Denton gearing up for beer pong in the garage

Shot of team girl flip-cup: Jenn, Drea, Allison, Karen, Kim, Amber

Team Dudes

Jenn, Ken, Amber and me....Kenny's drunkers

Washington DC

2007-11-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

Back in October I had the chance to go to DC to help work at a Health and Wellness Expo in conjunction with the Marine Corp Marathon. No, I did not participate in the marathon but I did work my butt of at the Kashi booth for 3 days. It wasn't all work though. My good friend Melissa and I worked in a few sites, visits with East coast friends, and I did end up running in the Marine Corp 10k. Here are a few pics from the trip:

Melissa, Abe, and Me at the Kashi Booth. Abe loves his whole grains!

Site seeing...the white house seemed much smaller in person.

Melissa and I went to one of the wings of the Art Museum. I enjoyed the Matisse section, love all the colors!

Inside part of the Smithsonian Castle...the windows and architecture were amazing

We caught up with Lori and had dinner in her neck of the woods. We had an amazing dinner at Sonoma restaurant in Capital Hill.

More visitors!!!

2007-11-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

As usual, we're a little late on getting our posts out on the blog, but I of course wanted to highlight the visit of our good friends Corey and Ashely. Corey and Ashley made it out from Wilkes county, NC for a So Cal adventure back in late Sept / early Oct. As soon as the arrived we packed up the car and headed north to Santa Barbara for a "camping" adventure. I put it in quotations b/c it was what I like to call glorified camping...which included, a safari tent, beds, and even electricity. We stayed at the El Capitan Canyon resort which was absolutely beautiful! We stayed 2 nights and worked in a visit to Santa Barbara, hiking, and wine tasting. We has such a great time. Here's a link to the complete pictures of their visit, but I'm posting a few below.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasXzw

On the drive up we stopped in Santa Barbara for lunch.

Our Safari Tent at the El Capitan Canyon Resort, creature comforts included.

Playing yard games....feels just like summer camp!

Sunday morning we did a hike up above our campground...this is the view of the Pacific to the North

Onward to wine tasting...cheers

Group shot outside one of the vineyards we stopped at.

Back in San Diego. Corey, Ashley and John went kayaking in La Jolla cove and then we regrouped at the house before going out to dinner for their last night in town.

It's not all work and no play

2007-10-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

Seems as though my events have been taking up most of the space on the blog these days....but never fear John is still near!! John has been super busy the past couple of months with work and making sure all is well in the world of Asics. Photo shoots, trips to NYC, golf outings just to name a few of his recent work events. Even though it's considered "work" it still looks like fun to me! First up, John participated in an agency golf outing. They played a Friday afternoon up in the very beautiful and posh Rancho Bernardo.

John & his coworker Danielle are working while playing...check out the laptop on board.

Check out that swing. It looks like John knows what he's doing.

It's all about the strategy....John's thinking things over.

Also, back in September John had the opportunity to fly out to NYC for a photo shoot for the 2008 Asics ad campaign. They shot all the ads for next years campaign including shots in downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, New Jersey, and West Chester NY. John and his crew from work also got to go to a Esquire magazine party. John had two star spottings that night: Kyra Sedwick (from the Closer / Kevin Bacon's wife) and Dan Marino. Also while walking around Manhattan they saw the movie set of Sex and the City. None of the gals were spotted...but it was still pretty cool.

This is a picture from the studio in Manhattan where they were shooting. Yes, that's the Empire State Building.

According to John they were shooting inside that restaurant. They had the street blocked off so you couldn't see what was going on inside the restaurant. Guess we'll have to wait for the movie to come out.

DJ Sarah's Sonic Chill

2007-10-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

My good friend Sarah recently won a contest put on by one of the local radio stations, 94.9 Sarah made a set list of her top chill songs and it was chosen by the station to be played live at one of San Diego's local club's, the AC Lounge. Sarah hooked several of her friends up with passes to the VIP area where we lounged and enjoyed listening to her set list while having cocktails. It was super fun and made for a not so typical Tuesday night. So nice to have good friends...especially good friends with excellent taste in music. Enjoy some of the pics from the evening.

Group shot at the AC Lounge

Margaret and Sarah toast to a sonic chill evening

Part of the fun was coming up with our very own DJ name. My name was "Tricktickler K Silk" What up Yo!

Lori's adventures in San Diego

2007-10-12T16:10:00.002-07:00

Yeah for visitors!!! My best friend from growing up, Lori,
was out in September for a late summer vacation. We crammed a bunch into the 3 days she stayed at the Jutland abode. Sushi, shopping, beer fest, fish tacos in Ocean Beach, dinner on the San Diego Bay, beach cruising, Coronado dog beach, and hanging out with her Aunt & Uncle. Whew....I'm beat just thinking about all we did. Here's the shutterfly link in case you want to view the full weekend's events, but I'll gladly post a few of the highlights below.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasXqQ

Friday Afternoon stroll through the very scenic Balboa Park

Beerfest!!!!!!!!!!

More fun at beerfest. Karen, Lori, Sarah, and Mags

Saturday lunch at South Beach Fish Tacos in OB. Margaritas anyone??

Beach Crusin'

Wrapping up the summer

2007-10-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

The summer is slowly coming to a close and I thought I'd recap a few fun events that we haven't had a chance to post on the blog just yet.

First up, a visit from my NCSU friend, Mike Fitzula aka Fitz. Fitz came out for a business trip and graced John, Miles and I with his presence for 2 nights. On the top of the agenda while Fitz was in town surf and eat fish tacos!

Fitz lives at Atlantic Beach, NC and got up EARLY the day of his departure and worked in a short surf session on the Atlantic and then when he arrived late afternoon in San Diego we hit up Tourmaline Beach in PB. Fitz successfully completed his mission of surfing in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean in the same day.
Here's a shot of Fitz and I post surfing. The water was super warm for the Pacific (70-72 degrees) so neither one of us even bothered with a spring suit. Waves were great, water was only slightly crowded and the sunset was amazing!

John and Fitz share a brewskie as we watched the sun set and worked up an appetite for fish tacos.

Yep, the sunset was pretty hard to beat. When you say Southern California sunset this is pretty much as good as it gets. Fitz was our first non-family visitor and we hope he gets more meetings on the west coast so I can have a good excuse to go surfing mid-week again. Also hope that next time he's out this way that Becky gets to come with him :)

**********************

Sometime in August The Avett Brothers, a favorite NC band of ours, made their debut in San Diego. They played at a super fun smaller venue in Solana Beach about 20 minutes north of where we live.

John and I met up with my NC friend from camp, Holly, and had Pizza Port before the show and then had a few PBR's while we enjoyed the music. I was surprised how many people came out and how many people were singing along with the songs. I kept wondering to myself if the crowd was a bunch of east coasters or if the Avett's are really getting big. Regardless, the show was great and they played a good mix of new and old. I'm going to try to insert a video I took at the show, it's of the song Paranoia in B. Can't wait till they come back to S.D. again!

**************************

Of course I couldn't make a post and not mention a climbing adventure or ten. John spent a bunch of weekends going up to the Tram...that's the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which is part of San Jacinto State Park.
You take this gondola tram from the palm springs (elevation 100 ft temperature 100 degrees) up to the top of the mountain (elevation 8,400ft and temperature 75 degrees....much better)

John met some cool climbing buddies, Chris and Jeannie, and we climbed with them on this particular day. Jeannie doing this cool overhang problem.

I climbed for about .2 seconds before I was spent and done for the day. I'm way out of climbing shape, but it was fun to be outdoors and watch the rest of the crew. Here's a shot of me on the fun (easy) green boulder.

John doing this cool crack problem. We ended up climbing ALL DAY and caught an amazing sunset and moon rise. Check it out

******************

And the fun just keeps continuing..... in September John and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary!!! We treated ourselves to an amazing dinner at Oceanaire restaurant in the gas lamp district downtown. The executive chef at Oceanaire, Brian Malarkey, was the 4th runner up on the Bravo TV show, Top Chef. Needless to say, the dinner was out of this world. We both tried different varieties of fish we hadn't heard of. For me it was the Coho Salmon which is only available and in season a few weeks out of the year and for John it was Black Sea Bass. Afterwards, we went to see the musical, Mamma Mia. John and I laughed our asses off at the costumes (the fluorescent scuba gear was my fav) and you can't help but sing along when it's ABBA.

Our dinner ran over a bit so we had to bust a move to get to the theater. Here we are on the peddi-cab (think small bicycle drawn carriage). And if you're wondering what those white things are on top of John's head it his sunglasses.

Here's John at intermission enjoying a beverage by this cool boat fountain. You can make out the hull of the ship and then the massive bow wave. Very neat.

And that concludes the marathon blog entry.....

Magical weekend with the girls

2007-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

At last...the end of summer....time for a reunion with my aussie girls. This year we rendezvoused in Toronto at Heather's place and her new turf. There have been lots of excitement and changes in the past year. Crissy and Heather finishing up school (PhD and masters respectively; smarty pants), Kelly beginning her second year of clinical psychology school, moves to new cities (Heather to Toronto and Crissy to DC/NH), and engagements for Miss Kell! Whew!

After we all arrived in Buffalo we drove across the border and stopped at Niagara Falls to catch the sunset and have dinner. At dinner we toasted Kelly and her engagement and talked all about the upcoming wedding next summer. Saturday we had a lazy morning at the coffee shop and walked along lake Ontario (Heather's place is just a 3 blocks from the lake!). A trip to downtown followed by getting our palm/cards red as we do every year. On Sunday we drove southwest of the city to Heather's parents house to spend the night in the country. What a gorgeous setting on the river....and we even had an encounter with a skunk (note pictures below). We survived just fine, but the skunk and Heather's dog, Sheva, did not fair as well. Can't wait till the next time we are reunited because the time we spend together is truly magical. fly fly fly.
Here's the link to all the weekend's pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasXmg

2007-09-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

There she blows....the Niagra Falls

Kelly sportin' her new bling, Congrats Kell!!!!!

After our marathon morning at the coffee shop we went for a walk along Lake Ontario

Kell and Crissy hanging out enjoying some vino

What Canadian weekend would be complete without a campfire down by the river

....and the campfire by the river led to an encounter with a skunk. Yes, that's a bottle of skunk-off Heather is holding and yes it's for her dog

Reunited...the fun begin.

Mr October!

2007-08-19T20:44:00.001-07:00

Just had to share the exciting news that Miles won a calendar contest and will be featured as Mr. October in our Vet's 2008 calendar. I'm taking orders for anyone who is interested in having a limited-edition calendar. As you can tell from the picture, Miles is quite the handsome, noble, regal, skitzbitz that he's always been :)

The month of July

2007-08-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Summer is just flying by and I'm trying to catch up on some posts. I'm trying to remember what all even happened in July so I guess I'll start with the 4th. Nothing too crazy, just a trip to the beach and some hanging out in the backyard. We were dog sitting and had Riley over for the week. I thought it would be a good idea to give Miles and Riley an American flag so they could be patriotic....yeah....not such a good idea:

Miles wants to be chased....

Riley just wants to eat the flag

Our good friend Margaret celebrated her b-day in July. We went to our fav Mexican restaurant in Old Town, Case Guadalajara, to celebrate with margaritas.

Happy Birthday Mags!

The Birthday Girl and her Man..awwww...

Then towards the end of the July I made the trek back to the East Coast for family vacation at Ocean Isle. We had an amazing week...great weather....and lots of quality hanging out time on the beach. I think I read 3 books that week which is more than I've red thus far this year. JT didn't have enough vacation time to make the trip so hopefully he can make it next year.

I do love sea oats

The happy couple! Newly engaged Jenn and Paul

Quality time playing games

Dinner in Calabash

Hanging out late night on the other porch with the Schacht crew.

Continuing the Sykes tradition....the family photo by the beach

More photo opts by the Intercoastal....Me, Ken and Amber then Mom & Dad

Sunset after the storm. A perfect way to end the week!

Canada Land

2007-08-19T19:47:00.001-07:00

Part two of Vancouver:
After I finished up the sales meeting for work John flew in Wed night and the vacation was on! We left Vancouver Thursday morning (after ordering room service for breakfast but of course) and made our way North to Squamish. Squamish is the outdoor capital of Canada and is 1/2 was between Vancouver and Whistler. The drive was gorgeous and the road twist and turned along the Howe sound. We checked in to our hostel/inn early afternoon and then headed to the base of Stawamus Chief for some bouldering. The forest canopy was so dense that it made it feel like it was dusk....not to mention that I thought for sure I'd see an elf, it had that magical feel to it. Anyways we climbed (or I guess I should say John did most of the climbing) for the afternoon and not even a rain shower dampened our day. For dinner we hit up the Howe Sound Brewery for some awesome local pale ale and eats. Day 2: we did lots of exploring by car as it started raining late morning. We drove out on the peninsula in the Howe sound and got spectacular views of the Chief and Shannon Falls. I was hoping to see a bear or a moose but all the wildlife we encountered were: slugs, mosquitoes, a crane, a snake, and a deer. The pictures turned out pretty well but I wish it was clearer out b/c it was sooooo green up there and the pictures just didn't captured the intense color. Oh well. Towards the end of the day we made the trek back to Vancouver for the weekend. We ate lots of good food: tapas, sushi, wine, and mojitos to name a few and of course worked in some shopping. All in all a spectacular city meets outdoors vacation! Enjoy the pics!

2007-08-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Onward.....out of Vancouver in our PT Cruiser due North along the Horseshoe Bay to Squamish!

Just before we got into the town of Squamish we encountered the Stawamus Chief a huge Granite rock which is very popular with the climbers

John's working out the Superfly problem. He rocked this out all by himself, guess that makes him pretty superfly huh!?!

Day 2 we drove out on the penninsula in the estuary to get a better view of Stawamus and Shannon Falls

Another postcard worthy shot of the marsh & estuary

Trying to accomplish the self portrait w/the scenery in the background

About as close as one would want to get to Shannon Falls, the mist was a'misting

Moss grows everywhere!!! Trees, rocks, the tops of houses we saw it all

Happy Vancouver! and Happy Mojito!

NSM in Canada

2007-07-08T14:48:00.001-07:00

The last week of June I headed up to Vancouver for the annual national sales meeting. 3 days of meetings and some "free time" worked in there it wasn't a shabby way to spend your typical work week. We had meetings in the morning and into the early afternoon then either free time (code for drinking time) or fun planned activities. One night we had a theme dinner and then headed out on the town for bar hopping and bowling. On Wednesday, the last day of the meeting, John flew up and met me and we vacationed through the weekend. Check out some of my pictures from the "work" portion of the week.

2007-07-08T14:42:00.001-07:00

Celebrating Erin's B-day we had Champagne and Cake before the theme night dinner

Group shot...one of these boas is not like the other....

Onward to five pin bowling...Canada style

Melissa and I use our free time to eat a yummy lunch on the water at Granville Island

In Conclusion....the month of June

2007-07-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm still not sure how it's is July already, but since it is I figured I better recap June. June flew by in all it's San Diego "gloom". It was cool and cloudy right up till the last week of the month. I got to travel back East for work (Charlotte and Philly) which was super convenient b/c I was able to fit in visits with friends and family all throughout the week. I flew into Raleigh and saw my sis and mom!! We took Jenn wedding dress shopping and just enjoyed each others company and I was loving the heat and humidity (never thought I could miss humidity but I do). Also cruised by Pepsi to visit with my old coworkers and checked out their new very fancy office. In Charlotte I got to see a bunch of the buddy girls and ate all the things I hoped to: Sushi, Bread Pudding, Bojangles BoBerry Biscuits, Sweet Tea, and crab cakes. I was one happy lady!! Up to Philly for the remainder of the week I got to squeeze in a visit with my high school friend, Travis while I dodged my sick coworkers (my boss Jeff was kicking whopping cough and my co-analyst Melissa had a double ear infection and respiratory infection- YIKES) I got back to San Diego for just a week before I was back on the road again. During that week I was able to fit in a trip to the beach (even though it was kind of cold) and a trip to the San Diego Fair with Sarah and Mags. John held down the fort while I was gone and took a few trips up to the Tramway just up from Palm Springs for some climbing adventures. Then it was onward to Vancouver....more to come on that shortly.

2007-07-05T19:11:00.001-07:00

Margaret & Sarah with the cute piglets

What fair experience would be complete without a turkey leg.....

And a $0.75 foot massager thing-a-ma-jig

Sarah V. cloggin' in style. She's part of the red team :)

Riding the ferris wheel which over looks the Del Mar race track to the East and the grand Pacific Ocean to the West

Karen does 26.2

2007-06-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday started bright and early....with a 4:45 wake up all to voluntarily run 26.2 miles for "fun." Though it sounds somewhat crazy and at times over the past couple of months I've questioned my sanity the marathon really couldn't have gone much better.

John was a champ and dropped me off close to the start line at 6am. I immediately went to find a porta-pottie along with the rest of the 20,000 runners. I waited in line for 30 minutes and nearly missed the official start!!! I was only slightly freakin' out, but I kept reminding myself that the race was chip timed, so the my race started whenever I crossed the starting line. Luckily, I did make it to my corral with about 2 minutes to go. The race started and we slowly started to walk up towards the line...with so many racers it takes a while before you even can cross the starting line to begin. Once we started running I kind of got a little choked up (this usually happens to me at the end of long runs not the beginning!?!?). I think it was reflecting over the past 5 months of training and how much work went into it...not to mention all the other people around me that had gone on a similar journey. I thought of it as a culmination of positive energy all directed towards one immense task. Anyways, all those sentimental thoughts were out the door when I came up on the first band rockin' it out at 6:30 in the morning. I was definitely PUMPED and had to keep telling myself to ease off the pace and not to go out too hard. My plan was to go out slower than normal in hopes of having some reserve energy to pull from at the end.

The first 6 miles went through downtown and went by really fast....lots of spectators out cheering, lots of scenery to look at. The next 6 miles went up the 163 and back down to the 163 to the Mission Valley area. I started to pick up the pace a bit here...however I was not thrilled with running on the highway b/c it was slanted and uneven = not fun. At the half I realized I was right on pace and gave myself a personal high five and kept on truckin'. Onward North to Clairemont and Mission Bay. At mile 17 I saw a coworker who jumped in and ran about 1/2 mile with me. Then at 18 I saw the ladies: Sarah, Mags, and Liz. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop in chat but had to just shout, yeah, wave and keep movin'. At 19 I saw my friend Erin from work and again I somehow found some more energy, kept my head up and reflected at how good I felt for this late in the race.

Well, about mile 22 it hit me....not really "The Wall" but just that feeling of "OK, I'm ready to be done now". I took what I could of my last GU and reminded myself to finish strong and that I didn't train all this time to slack off at the end. Luckily, my friend from work, Dave, (also a big time marathoner) was waiting for me at mile 23 and ran the last 3 miles with me. He kept me on pace and took me all the way through the finish...had he not been there I probably would have nearly started crying again, but I kept telling myself, "Karen you cannot cry in front of your coworker...how awkward would that be!!?!?". Once I caught a glimpse of the finish line I felt much more mentally stable and kicked it in for the last few 100 yards....finishing in with a 20 minute PR of 3:52!! And beating my goal of breaking the four hour mark.

Finishing was great...walking felt like the best thing in the world (well at least better than running)...and the water and oranges tasted like heaven. I met up with John and the family reunion area and we treked it home for a lazy afternoon on the couch, naps, and major calorie consumption. Thanks to friends and family for all your encouragement and support over the past few months...you guys are the BEST! Let me know if anyone is up for Rockin' and Rollin' it next year San Diego style!?!?

6:00 am, John dropped me off in Hillcrest. I'm in my Asics race day gear featuring a screen printed Kashi jersey. Yeah...I was sponsored.

Post Race....this is one tired girl. It was great to get my shoes off and stretch out my arches. I've been battling some plantar fascitis over the past couple of weeks.

John & I leaving the race.

John, being the rock star of a boyfriend that he is, had good luck flowers sent to the house while he was out climbing on Saturday. Awww.......

Memorial Day - Sonoma Wine Tasting!

2007-06-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday after work John and I boarded our flight to Oakland and made our way North to Sonoma County. A highly anticipated trip that actually kind of snuck up on us, it was nothing short of an absolutely fantabulous long weekend. John's folks were back out in California for another work meeting so we met them in Healdsburg for a weekend of wine tasting. We stayed at two different bed & breakfasts in the cute town of Healdburg. We went wine tasting Friday and Saturday hitting up Michele Schlumberger, Bella, Unti, Moshin, & Korbel. Between all the wine sipping we worked in a trip through the Redwood forest and a scenic drive along Route 1 back to San Francisco. The weather was absolutely beautiful and everything was blooming. I think you'll be able to tell from the pictures that the weekend was a blast. To view the complete pictures here's the link to shutterfly: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0EcNW7JmyasXMA

2007-06-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Russian River meets the Pacific

Happy Cows

Golden Gate Bridge

Wine country central...where to begin?

Courtyard at Michele Schlumberger

Windmill and vineyards

Jim & Patti with the Redwoods

Kareeeen & JT at Korbel we love bubbly

Jim & Patti return to San Diego

2007-06-02T14:50:00.001-07:00

Jim & Patti were back out to San Diego in early May. Jim conveniently had a convention in San Diego so that made for a chance for us to all hang out. For their second visit to San Diego we hit up Old Town for Cinco De Mayo and enjoyed many a margarita and some authentic Mexican food. We also ventured out East to the scenic Sunrise Highway. We went for a hike up to Garnet Peak and got a view of where the deciduous forest and desert meet (pretty cool!). And we still had plenty of time for just plain hanging out at the house. Enjoy the pics.