254: Panettone

Eddie and I went to Azzurri for dinner tonight and Eddie got to meet little baby Ollie. (I had met him earlier in the day when I stopped in to give them some bagels we brought back down from Jersey.) He's a super cute little baby and Eddie got to hold him for a while. It was fun to hang around and to see the Sicilian grandmothers! I'm really sad that I forgot that I had my little camera with me because he was very cute. (I have a feeling he'll be the subject of a Photo of the Day in a future post.)


While at dinner Marco brought us out a holiday panettone. I have never had it but it looks delicious so I'm excited to make some tea and enjoy it, perhaps tomorrow night.

251, 252 & 253: What a Weekend!

251: Blue Devils

On Friday morning I picked Tim up and we headed north to New Jersey to meet up with Eddie for their high school reunion. Thanks to Duke University's basketball win on Wednesday night we also were able to go to the NIT Final game at Madison Square Garden. It was probably the most fun I've had at a sporting event...the crowd was really into the game and the teams did not disappoint.....AND Duke won!

Here is Scheyer lining up for a free throw during the last few minutes of the game: The best part of the game was finding out where the team and coaches left the arena to meet their buses. It was worth the wait in the cold because I got to see the players and coaches up close. It was so awesome....seriously awesome.

The class reunion after the game was also a lot of fun...just not as photo-worthy. :-)

252: New Jersey Devils

Yesterday we headed out with Tim, Ellen, Kevin, Karen and Mike to Newark for a New Jersey Devils Hockey Game. It was a really fun game that ended with a 6-1 win over the Islanders.

253: Christmas Village

Eddie and I took a little bit of time on Wednesday before heading out for Thanksgiving travels to start to set up our Christmas Village. We decided to put it up in our main room and I'm looking forward to getting it completely plugged in and putting all of the little people and objects in the town.

250: Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday and today was no exception. I got up in time to be showered and dressed to watch the Macy's Parade. (This year I particularly enjoyed the text message commentary that Katie and I had during the whole parade.) When the parade was over family started getting here. Food was amazing, as usual. I love Thanksgiving!

(Marshmallows on the sweet potatoes...delish!)

249: Nothing But Net

I am at my parents' house for Thanksgiving, which is my most favorite holiday of all time. Tonight we had dinner and then we started to prepare the turkey for the tomorrow. Turkey prep in the Schroeder household is always a humorous matter. My photos of the day are of my parents both took turns wearing the turkey netting over their face. This was just the start of the hilarity, which ended with my dad's pant leg and slippers being soaked with turkey brine liquid.

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

248: Let's go Captains

Eddie and I went over to the CNU men's basketball game tonight. I snapped a few shots but wasn't too wild about any of them. They can't all be winners!

P.S. Soooooo very thankful it's Thanksgiving break!

247: Tuba Tim

My friend (and former CNU marching band colleague) Tim got in touch with me because he was in need of some photos of him with his tuba for some recital posters he is having made. He came up to campus after work today and we got some shots of him in his army uniform with his tuba. His friend is going to take one of the photos and use Photoshop and poster/computer skills to make the recital posters look like a hand-drawn sketches. I am looking forward to seeing the final result.

While he'll be using a color version of one of the photos, I (generally) prefer black and white. This is one of my favorites even though it's one of the most basic ones that I took.

245 & 246

#245: It is very appropriate that Photo #245 is going to be of JMU as campus is Exit 245 off of Interstate 81. Fun coincidence! I snapped this during the Marching Royal Dukes halftime performance. Being at JMU with them this weekend brought back so many memories of so many good times. I am so grateful that we are still connected and still can find ways to be together.

#246: I'm on the Quad

Ah yes, the obligatory Wilson Hall shot.

244: Duuuukes in Captains Territory

JMU's amazing acapella group "Madison Project" sang in the Student Union "Street" tonight. It was neat to have some Dukes on campus and to enjoy some great musical talent after a long day at work. It made me even more excited to be at JMU tomorrow for Alumni Band Day! (It also made me happy to see some student life in the student union!)

243: It's Thursday so...

...it must be a Trivia related photo!

Tonight Matt, Karen and I held down the team. We tied with three other teams for third place and I lost Rock, Paper, Scissors so we get a half point instead of a full point for third place. It was still a fun night, especially since one of my very favorite trivia questions was asked:

What play was Abraham Lincoln watching when he was assassinated? (Answer after the photo.)

Answer: Our American Cousin

242: End of a Season

Well, kickball season has drawn to a close after a really fun (and well played) first round loss in the tournament. I think I played the best I have all year with two RKIs (runs kicked in) and a decent catch to end an inning. Despite our loss the team felt really good about how we came together and played a good game even though we were down a few players.

This is a shot of the league tournamen trophy that I snapped during the next round game that we watched before heading out for a team gathering for darts.

Sidenote: I have really enjoyed this kickball season. I think I have finally found a sport that I enjoy playing and feel pretty good about my skills. Yes, there is skill involved in adult kickball. I took some video tonight on my little digital camera so maybe I'll post some here as a way to show how intense it really is!

241: Last of the Kinder Eggs

Well, here I am at Photo # 241. (That's for blog readers Katie and Sara.)

I opened the last of the Kinder Eggs that Katie got me for my birthday. This egg yielded two glow in the dark little guys. I experimented for about a half hour in the bathroom (darkest place in the apartment) to try to capture a good long exposure of the glow. I am not completely satisfied with the result but you get the idea.

240: Before I head east...

Eddie and I got up this morning and headed out to San Antonio Missions National Park. The morning was sunny and cool, which was perfect for exploring the grounds of the missions. This was taken in the sanctuary of the Mission San Jose. I really enjoy the geometric interest of the concentric circles and the two arcs.
For those of you who are curious, it is an underside shot of this:

We are currently in the San Antonio airport enjoying the free Wi-Fi before getting on our flight back east. It's been a great trip.

238 & 239: The Stars At Night Are Big And Bright

Eddie and I got into San Antonio yesterday morning. We rented a car and headed out of the city to Boerne (pronounced "Bernie") where we went to the wedding reception of a friend of Eddie's from Fairfield. The event was in the Leon Springs Dance Hall, which is one of the oldest dance halls still in operation in Texas. It is like a large barn that had a bar and a stage. The live country band was awesome. I think Eddie and I danced together more last night than we have in the entire length of our relationship.

Congratulations Megan and Shay!

Today we had a leisurely morning (that included Texas-shaped waffles in the hotel) and headed back into San Antonio. We explored the city and got to go to the Alamo. (For a video look at our tour, click here.) We also took a riverboat tour of the Riverwalk after it got dark. It was really beautiful. We also enjoyed dinner down on the Riverwalk at a Mexican restuarant that even had a Marichi band. Good times. I took this photo of the restaurant where we ate from the bridge over the Riverwalk in that area.

237: Two Views

Tim and Amanda have a little yellow ECU megaphone in their backseat that Hannah was playing with today. I got two different shots of her through the megaphone, one through the big end and one through the small end. They make me laugh.

236: Bonus!

Thanks to the nor'easter CNU closed at 11. A few of us headed over to Azzurri for a delicious pizza lunch. It was a nice bonus to get to have a long lunch with friends without having to go back to work in a food coma!

234 & 235: Home again, Home again

234: Thanks to this lovely rain I was delayed in Atlanta for an extra two hours last evening on my way home from California. I headed to our favorite food court to eat dinner and to watch the luggage carts and planes come and go. This was the first time that I noticed the "Yield to Aircraft" sign painted in the luggage cart lane. It made me laugh a little that it had to be said...I guess someone at some point figured the GIANT PLANE would yield to them and ended up with a squished load of luggage?

235: When I got to Newport News (about 12:30am), Eddie was waiting for me with a lovely rose. :-) It is the subject of my photo of the day today.

232 & 233: Magic

The last few days have been great. I have been able to really take advantage of both the conference AND Disneyland. I could write a lot but I need to try to get to sleep so that I can function tomorrow for early conference session before heading out to come home. I have enjoyed being away and being able to focus on learning and on enjoying the Disney "magic" and also recharge a little. While I am excited to get back to see Eddie, friends, etc., I am not looking forward to returning to reality.

232: Disneyland Fireworks: I took A LOT of photos that I really enjoy during my time in the park. I chose this one because I loved that I happened to catch the Mickey Mouse-shaped fireworks in this shot.

233: Fountain: I went for an evening stroll in Downtown Disney and played with camera settings with this fountain.

231: It all started with a mouse...

Well, my journey today was indeed an adventure. The timestamp on this entry is past midnight on the East Coast but it's just now turning 9 here in Anaheim. I won't write long because I am going to walk to see if I can see any of the Disneyland fireworks. The conference hotel is on Disney property and about a five minute walk from the front gates to Disneyland...pretty awesome. Downtown Disney (shops, fountains, etc.) is between the hotel and the park.

So far I have met some new folks, caught up with the one person I know here, heard a great a capella group, listened to a really good opening speaker and even saw some CNU folks (and Trici!) in the conference kick-off slide show.

I took pictures today but wanted to throw this one in (though I didn't take it myself) because it is an appropriate entry to kick off these next few days:

230: Ready to Go (hopefully!)

Well, I'm packed up and hopefully I'm not forgetting anything important! I have my plane ticket and my camera...that's all I REALLY need, right?

My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 5:50am....I get in to LAX at 12:10 their time (3:10 here in VA). I'm hoping for smooth, uneventful flights and maybe a random celebrity sighting at the airport?? The hotel has internet in the rooms so I should be posting updates daily.

229: Thrifty, even at Thursday Trivia

Tonight Jacqui and Eddie traded coupons while at the Pub for trivia. It was pretty cute so I grabbed a shot.I am looking forward to the next few photos of the day as I will be heading to California for an Orientation conference for CNU. The conference is at the Disneyland Resort Hotel and I'll be staying there. I am really looking forward to being able to take advantage of learning a lot about the orientation piece of Student Affairs...as well as getting to see Disneyland.

228: Family Dinner

Tonight's WAKA Wednesday Family Dinner featured two very special guests: Pam and Jim. (Yes, they are from the office.....but not THE Office.) Eddie cooked up a storm and served up some tasty chicken parm. The food, company and conversation was great. Katie and Dan had to stay here on campus for work (BOO!) while Eddie, Pam, Jim and I headed to kickball. Our team had a doubleheader....we won the first game by default (but played a game 'for fun') and then won our second game by a good deal of runs. Our tournament play begins next week.

I'm sad that kickball season is winding down. It's been really exciting for me to find a sport that I genuinely enjoy and feel comfortable playing (and am decent at). I am already looking forward to next season!

Here is a photo from Family Dinner:

227: Civic Duty

In honor of election day in the Commonwealth of Virginia I give you a West Wing quote and a photo...

"I was watching a television program before, with a kind of roving moderator who spoke to a seated panel of young women who were having some sort of problem with their boyfriends -- apparently, because the boyfriends had all slept with the girlfriends' mothers. And they brought the boyfriends out, and they fought, right there on television. Toby, tell me: these people don't vote, do they?" -President Bartlet

226: Pop Tops

We have been collecting pop tops for a conference that CNU's Residence Hall Association will be attending in a few months. The tabs get melted down and the metal is sold with the money going to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. (Sidenote: This is a GREAT cause.) CNU is competing against other schools for the most tabs collected and I have a collection jar on my desk. It's been fun to get people to save their tabs and to add to the jar. (I'm really hoping that it gets full....it's a big container!) I had some laying around tonight from the weekend and from in my wallet so I dumped them out for a photo of the day. I enjoyed that there was one green tab that I found in our parking lot....nice splash of color to contrast.

If you are reading this and drink soda, eat soup or consume anything from a can with a tab, please consider saving up your tabs and donating them for a great cause!

224 & 225: Weekend

224: Go Tigers!

On Saturday Eddie and I headed to Clemson's campus to meet up with a few of his friends from grad school. First stop was to the apartment (on campus) to see Jon and Emily, which was really neat because I've been following their blog so I felt like I already knew Lydda Grace, their daughter. We later met up with Chris and Cheryl and got to meet their little Stephen for the first time. The weather was not that great and so we endured rain after lunch and during the football game. The game was really fun and the sun even came out in the second half. I was amazed that I captured this shot from our seats in the upper deck. This play happened at the opposite endzone from where we were sitting.225: Kinder Egg #2

I've been really good at holding out on opening my Kinder Eggs. This evening I opened the second one and found a hippo!