Ani's first blog entry

I went to the nutcracker. There were Dancing Jelly Fish and the Rat King and little mices too.




I went to see Santa and I asked for Snow White stuff.





I made a counting video.

CG Ball and Trans Siberia

On Friday night, Jay & Kelly, Jon & Ashley, Brandon & Jess, Keith & Brigid, and Tiffany & I attended the Coast Guard Ball at the Renaissance Hotel in NW DC. It was a fun evening filled with good food, dancing, and friends. The dinner was very formal with speeches by the Commandant, Admiral Allen and the Commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Steven Budar. The main ballroom had a brass band playing a variety of music and in a different hall, there was a Jimmy Buffett impersonation band playing. Everyone seemed to have a great time and Brandon seemed to have the most fun. Unfortunately his fun led to the loss of his camera which had a lot of great pictures on it. Hopefully it turns up in the near future. You may notice that Jay and I have only one stripe on our wrists indicating the rank of Ensign. This was NOT my fault. I took the jackets into the tailor to be striped at the beginning of the week and returned the night before the dance. She had the jackets out and said that she was just finishing them up. When I went back the next day, she hadn't done a thing. There wasn't anytime left of course to do anything so we just wore them as-is. Nobody really noticed except for people that Jon and Brandon pointed it out to see.

On Sunday night, Jon & Ashley and Tiffany & I went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra perform at the Verizon Center. It was quite the production. They must have had hundreds of lights, lasers, and fog machines to put on that show. The most incredible thing is that it was completely setup the night before in Long Island for a show there. We had dinner at this tapas style Mexican restaurant called Oyamel's near the center. It was the worst dinner experience we have had in DC. Slow service, forgotten orders, bad management, just all around lousy. Needless to say, we tried and won't be going back.

New Ride

Hey y'all. I just wanted to share with you my new ride. I went everywhere looking for an economy car and with it being the end of the year I thought there was going to be some blowouts. Well, the only blowouts on car prices were my expectations. I went to the biggest Ford, Crysler, GM, Toyata, Honda and Nissan dealers in the state and I walked away without a car and a long bike ride home. Finally, I found a deal and a great ride to. After talking to the Fleet Manager of Tempe Hyundai and checking car reviews I decided to test drive the Sonata. It is great and consumer reports rates it as excellent dependability across the board. This is the first brand new car I have ever purchased and it is such a treat. I walked into the dealership with a number and I was given a better price than I had bargained for!


Let me tell you. I am driving on a cloud. I had such a buzz I couldn't feel my toes while I was signing the documents. Thank you to everyone for all of the encouragement.

Sooooooo close!

Thanks to Sean's condo remodeling we are going to get our companion pass. One more credit card statement will hit our account before the 17th. Now I know how this works. You just charge up a storm on your credit card, and then fly for free the following year! Yeah!!!!

Condo Overhaul

So after much designing and planning, I finally had my furniture installed in my condo. There were a few small problems with the setup, but overall, I am very happy with the result. Here are a couple pictures from my camera phone to give you a taste of the end result...

A few of the small issues that presented themselves include the bookshelves not being flush with the end of the table as opposed to the wall and the end bookcase next to the bed not being cutout and placed over the light switch next to the door so that there is more storage space on the otherside for my snowboard and things. I will be working with the install company to either come back out or cut back the price a little bit.

I slept on the bed last night and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it since it is a little stiffer than what I am used to, but I woke up this morning and I didn't want to move. My whole body just felt great. I only have the kitchen counter left and a rug and loveseat to get before I can say that I am completely done with remodeling ideas.

Two and Three Weeks Ago

Tiffany and I went to Chicago a few weekends ago just to go. It has been a city that I have always wanted to visit and we found some really cheap flights so we said why not? We took the metro from Chicago-Midway into the city and walked around trying to get our bearings before heading down to Navy Pier. I am sure that during the summer it is full of activity, but we were there on a cold windy night. There were still people out and about and lots of folks going out on dinner cruises. We walked the length of the pier and had dinner at one of the restaurants along the way. We also stopped to take this picture with the downtown skyline.

We stopped in Giordano's Pizza as recommended by some of the locals for authentic Chicago style pizza. Little did we know that it takes 45 minutes to prepare an authentic Chicago style pizza. We didn't mind the wait. The style of pizza, is...different. I really didn't care for it to be honest. I will stick to traditional or New York style any day of the week.

We did of course go to the top of the Sears tower. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have roof access, but that is probably due to the frequency of wind or something. BTW, it is no longer the world's tallest building, the tower in Dubai passed it up this year.


Justin came into town two weekends ago since we had some rapid rewards coupons that were going to expire if they weren't used by the end of the month. We went to a club in Georgetown one night, shot some billiards in Adams Morgan on another night, and went to some museums during the day. We also met up with Justin's friend Carrie who lives in the District and went to a Vegan restaurant that is (unbeknown to me) a few blocks away from me. Luckily they had pancakes so I didn't starve. They were wheat of course, but actually pretty good. One of the nights, we went to a mystery dinner theater. It was a country western theme and Justin was selected as one of the volunteers to participate in a few contests. In this picture, Justin is attempting to shoot a card off of the top of the guys head. He missed. He was able to lasso the guy though in a different event. It was a fun weekend.

Google calendar: a year of family events

Here's a new feature to share some important dates. The calendar is shared between the closethedistance blog and the pomarole-flahertyfamily blog. I am really bad at dates. Someone please paw through the year and help me out with birthdays, anniversaries and all days special. Then I'll update my google calendar. Definitely missing:
Amanda's birthday, Matt and Amanda's anniversary, Please check dates when you can.
Thanks! Ellen
note: the "Agenda view" third tab over works the best. I'm having trouble dealing with page width constraints.

Holiday Light Show to Trans Siberian

This should start to get everyone in the Holiday Spirit!

Verizon

So I have good news for everyone. I am sticking with Verizon. After much speculation as to whether or not Verizon would compete with the iPhone, they have released the XV-10000, otherwise known as the "Voyager." Although not highly publicized, it will rival the iPhone with it's touch screen display, 8gb memory capacity (microSD card), and Mobile Web 2.0 browswer. Now here are a few areas where the Voyager will surpass the iPhone:


Verizon Network (in calling, faster, larger,reliable)
QWERTY keyboard
Send picture and video messages (iPhone can take, but not send to other phones)
More durable (especially the screen)
You can buy insurance
External battery so you can buy a new battery without replacing the phone
VZ Navigator
Mobile TV
Better speakers
Two screens
Autofocus on 2MP camera


Disadvantages: Isn't as cool. No Wifi. No cool integration with computer or instant blogging.

OR

I went to Portland to see Kate. Had a great time in the rain. Much to Kate's dismay, I purchased this not so fashionable rain poncho for the trip. I'd rather be dry than be fashionable. We went to Multnomah Falls - tilt your head and check out my very first youtube video evah!

YouTube video of Kate at Multnomah

Ok - Techy family members: Does anyone have a way of rotating film? I keep doing the same thing - taking video in portrait vs. landscape view. How do I get my shortcut to reflect a Youtube icon?

Oh yeah. If you go to Portland, check out Powell's, the world's largest independent bookstore. Its a dangerous place to be with cash in your pockets. We spent our way through the afternoon.

Sean runs DC!!

I invite everyone to congratulate Sean on the completion of his first full marathon. The Marine Corps Marathon, dubbed "The People's Marathon" took place on October 28. It was a well-organized race on a beautiful day. We were able to spot Sean a couple of times around the National Mall (mi. 12-14). Due to our lack of familiarity with the metro and the course, we never saw each other at the Pentagon (mi. 23). Fortunately, we met up with him at the USCG tent at the finish line. I was so excited to see him, I forgot to take pictures.

Since race took place in the midst of the World Series, we were decked out in Red Sox gear cheering on the runners. An unexpected surprise--just as many runners were cheering for us - yelling "Go Boston...Go Sox" I guess Red Sox nation runs!

A few good shots

Mid-October grandparent visit.
A beautiful day at Coronado Island, swimming in the Pacific, in yes, October.

My cutie has Brewster bootie.

It was a gorgeous day.

Madeline has an unnerving lack of fear

Maddie "Mad Dogg" Brewster with Papa Dogg.

Beantown fans aplenty in Boulder

Check out story in the Boulder paper The Daily Camera. Kate got interviewed in a sports bar watching the game Sun night!
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/oct/22/rockies-bound-for-boston-beantown-fans-aplenty/

The Badlands

This is the gang that went out west to see the Badlands. We are here at an authentic barbeque. Steak, beans, cornbread and lots of western music. We got to the barbeque in a coveredwagon on wheels.

Lots of fun!

These ladies are from the Wacky Women Wanderers in Norwood, MA.

Jeanne J

Check out West Coast cuties

Hi - there's some pix of our recent trip over on the Pomarole-FlahertyFamily Blog: http://pomarole-flahertyfamily.blogspot.com/2007/10/west-coast-cuties.html

Nation's Triathlon

So on Saturday, September 29th, I competed in my first Olympic Distance Triathlon here in our country's capital. It was a great event and even Mayor Fenty participated in the event which involved swimming in the Potomac River. Despite being historically known as a highly polluted body of water, the Potomac wasn't too bad and we'll know in about another week or so whether or not the few cups that I swallowed are going to take affect.


The race consisted of three legs, 1.5k swim, 40k bike, and a 10k run. All and all, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There worst part is transitioning your legs from the biking portion to the running portion. It took me about 4 miles before I started feeling good and then I was done at just over mile 6.

It has certainly inspired me to do more and I am going to be signing up to compete in an ironman (1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run) sometime this spring. Anyone want to join me? If you want some motivation, they give out lots of food, gu, and drinks at these events. They even had Chocolate Chip Muffins at the finish line!

Ellen Running in Philly

ellen_philly1
Originally uploaded by sean82tf

Since Ellen elected to not post any pictures of herself running, I figured I would do the honors. She did great and finished well under 3 hours as you can see by the clock time (which is probably about 10 minutes fast). Great job! I am also trying out the flickr blog program to see how well it posts on blogger considering they are rival companies. I hope everyone is doing well!

Gnocchis and Nipple Guards

The family reunited for yet another run—The Philadelphia Distance Run—on September 16. Richard and I flew down to Philly and were joined by Sean and Tiffany. Downtown Philly is gorgeous. We stayed a stone’s throw from Love Park. Like typical tourists, we took advantage of the photo op.

Katy and Sherman picked out this absolutely great Italian restaurant, Upstares & Sotto Varalli, http://www.varalliusa.com/. The service, food, and of course, the company were all superb! If you go there, ask for Ed. You won’t regret it. You’ll get great gnocchi, but don’t even think about asking for chocolate covered bananas! This will help you order with minimal verbal abuse from the wait staff:
http://www.merriamwebster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?gnocch02.wav=gnocchi

Since S.D. in August I had trained a total of four miles. But I ran my best time this year. It had to be the gnocchis!

Unlike me, Sean had been training faithfully. Coming in with a solid performance at the Virginia Beach Half Marathon two weeks earlier, he was perfectly positioned for a personal best; except for that pesky nipple problem. Speaking with my brother Mike a few weeks back, I knew Sean was not alone in his experience. Mike offered to give Sean a pair of lightly used nipple guards. Since the ideas of used nipple guards kind of grossed Sean out, we went with the concept, but not the actual artifacts. Fortunately, at the runner’s expo we found an answer. http://www.nipguards.com/info.asp

The rest, as they say, is history.

Baltimore / Rascall Flatts

Thursday night, Dad and Ellen flew down to Baltimore and tried out the Washington Metro System taking a bus and the metro to Columbia Heights were I was able to meet them and walk back to my place. For dinner we decided to walk down to Dupont Circle. On the way, we passed throug Meridian Park which is a block or so from my condo and took this lovely picture of Dad and Ellen.

We had a wonderful dinner at Stars Bistro. Formerly called Mimi's, they add a little character with singing servers. Good food and excellent service.
On Friday, we took a stroll through the National Mall and visited the National Archives as well as the National Portrait Museum. It is amazing how much stuff is in all of these buildings that I have been walking by the past couple years and the amount of time that it would truly take to see it all. We got to see about a quarter of what we had intended to, but it was fun nonetheless. That afternoon, we headed up to Baltimore and watched the Sox win. Before the game, we strolled through the Inner Harbor and went on a paddle boat tour. Due to capacity limitations, we weren't able to all ride on the boat shown, but we did get a more traditional paddle boat that we waded around on for a half hour. Needless to say, I did all the paddling while Dad, Ellen, and Tiffany just vegged out. Jk, Tiffany definitely held her own.

On Saturday, Tiffany and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert at Nissan Pavilion back down in Virginia with a bunch of friends. We got there around 3pm and tailgated the event. Talk about awesome people watching. The rednecks just poured out of the woods. It was a sight to see with all of the jacked up trucks with semi-trailer exhausts and confederate flags flying. One truck even turned their tail bed into a swimming pool using the blue coverings that you see on damaged roofs.

On Sunday, I had a softball game in the morning (which we lost both games) and then we headed back up to Baltimore for the afternoon game. At least the Red Sox won. Unfortunately though, after the game we didn't have anytime to relax and get a bite to eat since traffic getting to the airport to drop Dad and Ellen off was a little rough. Fortunately, we'll all be meeting up again this weekend in Philadelphia for the half marathon. With the cooler weather to be expected, it will be interesting to see how that affects performance.

Virginia Beach

With nobody to run the Virginia Beach Half Marathon with me (Sean Murray had to cancel to attend a wedding), I almost bailed on making the trip down. Fortunately, Tiffany suggested we go together and stay with her cousin Nicole in Newport News. It turned out to be a fantastic trip. On Saturday, we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and rode some roller coasters.

As you can see from the picture, left to right, Nicole and Brian (Nicole's fiance as of Wed) weren't having as much fun as Tiffany and I were.

On Sunday, we woke up hecka early and drove to the beach. The race started at 7am. I arrived at 6:50 having not eaten or drinken anything. Good way to start a race. Good thing I didn't have to use the restroom either though since the lines were ridiculously long. The course was relatively flat with the exception of one small bridge that wasn't anything crazy. The first half of the course though was all shady in the residential part of the town and got sunny once we were back on Pacific Ave and running down the boardwalk. It was a fun race that I thoroughly enjoyed. I ended up getting a time of 1:47:25. My goal of 1:45 has yet to be reached, but I am getting closer. I'll have another opportunity up in Philadelphia and then one more try during Fleet week in October.

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend spending time with Dad, Ellen and Tiffany and seeing the Red Sox play in Baltimore. I'm trying to get Friday off to give a tour of the city. Considering I haven't done any of the touristy stuff yet, it will be new for me too.

Trip to WA

As sure as the butterflies migrate to Angangueo, Mexico and the swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistano, you can bet that we will fly to Seattle each year to catch the Sox on the road. This was our 2nd trip to a Seattle Mariners-Red Sox game. And its quickly becoming a family tradition!

Before attending the game in Seattle, we were on Whidbey Island for two days. We stayed at Matt and Amanda's new house. Beautiful new construction with lake access, five minutes from the ferry!! The highlight of the weekend was boating and salmon fishing. The salmon were not biting, but I managed to hook a dog fish, which was quite exciting for me even though its kind of useless when you are hoping to hook dinner for five. Mattie and Richard bravely hauled it in to the net and managed to get Matt's lure back without hoisting the small shark into the boat. (something Ani would not have enjoyed at all.) It was really fun to see the island from the water (whole other view of things!) We saw a seal sunning himself on a buoy, and some porpoises gracefully leaping through the waves. Here's a couple of pix taken with the camera phone:

The game was Sunday, followed up with a Birthday cookout at the Burmaster's for Nisha and Nadia. In attendance this year: Ellen, Richard, Matt, Amanda, Ani, and a host of Seattle-based friends. There were 13 of us in all including the youngest member of Red Sox nation, 2 month old Pearson. Ok - it was a blow out and the Sox beat the Mariners 9 - 1. Revenge of sorts for last year's loss.

Unfortunately, my camera is on the fritz (drowned at Mooney falls during our last family adventure). So, all I have is a few grainy pix from a throw away camera. We should have stuck with the camera phone, which took much better pictures. Notice Ani is in almost every picture? That's grandmothers for you!

Ani and Amanda at the cookout,

Ani at the Safeco play yard, and Matt and Ani at the cookout.

Here's Ani with her future spouse, Reid.

2 month-old Pearson, though born in Seattle, was dressed properly for the occasion.

Amanda and Nisha enjoying the cookout.

Nadia (Amanda's sister) with her baby, Pearson and fiance, Tim.

It was a whirl-wind trip. After the cookout we were off to Seatac to get on a red-eye for the east coast. Thanks to Matt and Amanda for wining & dining us and Arnie and Jean Burmaster for the wonderful hospitality.

Cruisin

My new Home

Pictures of murrels in my new home.

El Delfin

El Elefante

El Tortuga

El Rana

I am really joyful about having a new home, and I thank God that everything worked out so that I have a place to call my own. I am really happy with my new roommate Ethan. We get a long very well, and he has helped me out with the home already by installing tile with me in his bathroom, running cabling for the internet throughout the house and putting shelves up in the storage area. Ethan is a home remodeler for profession. He is also a musician with Grace Bible Church and he is very talented. There are more paintings in my home, and I am sure you will get to see them when you visit. I will also try to get a good picture of Ethan for the blog.