i am a little embarrassed

i started feeling really guilty reading about everyone else's life and never updating about our world.

we had a once in a lifetime opportunity on tuesday, october 6th. we were about 20 feet from bono's face in atlanta, watching u2. i was seriously moved. i left 100x more of a u2 fan than when i arrived. there were many magical moments, but one in particular that i can't stop reliving. they were singing "i still haven't found what i'm looking for", which happens to be my favorite u2 song. bono put the mic down by his side and 70,000 people in a sold out georgia dome where singing the same song in unison. i just couldn't stop thinking about the kingdom...cold chills.

scroll to 32 minutes in to hear the song...

for the past 2 months derek and i have been on a planning committee for a golf tournament. but not just any golf tournament, one in memory of my sweet mom. my dad wanted to do something positive with his time and grief and decided in august that he wanted to have a golf tournament to raise money for cancer research. i assumed he was thinking the spring, but no, he was thinking october. oh right dad, october 2010? um no. so, we jumped on board, and i'm so glad we did!

we had almost 70 golfers and raised almost $12,000 that will benefit relay for life/american cancer society. it was really special day that combined all of my mom's closest friends and family celebrating and honoring her. she was a loved woman.

here are some pictures that derek took of the event. it will probably become an annual event, SO if you're a golfer... you should definitely play next year!

here is my mom's family and closest friends. her sister wanted us to wear "fight like a girl" shirts because that is how she lived. it was a special day.

Weak Sauce Bloggers

Geez we're bad at blogging.

3 months. Where do you even start? How 'bout... "Christmas was good..." or "Happy New Year!" or something cute about Cupid and the love of your life...

Even St. Paddy's has passed us by. Oh well. 

Hey that's my excuse–too many holidays to blog–and between buying presents, making resolutions, going on dates, and drinking Irish beer, I've just been way too busy.

Sure. Thats believeable.

Errr.... So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna skip all that stuff. No recap, no 3 months worth of stories, wish you were here's, you missed this's, or anything. Just a here and now.

Summer and I are super-pumped about spring. Our first flowers bloomed in our planter in the front of our new house. They were daffodils (I think) and looked awesome. I'm sure if I have anything to do with it, all our plants will be dead by May.

Saturdays are quite a transition when Spring arrives. Spending winters on the slopes teaching snowboard lessons, I can now sleep in, drink coffee, and unfortunately, mow grass. The weekly (or bi-monthly perhaps) grass mowing is most definitely a new chore for yours truly, being that I haven't mowed for... well... about 3 years. But mowing I can do–used to mow golf courses back in the day–so I'm sure I won't kill the grass.

I know finances are tight for most all of us these days, and traveling is one of those "first thing

 to go" type deals, but with Spring arriving, I'm wanting to hit up a sweet camping trip. You folks who are interested need to shoot us a message and we can get said sweet trip together "with all our faves" as Sum would say. Camping is cheap, and so is gas these days, so no excuses. Work it out.

And as we pass from Winter to Spring I'd like to leave you with this lovely parting shot...

we're back

lately i just keep thinking about how terrible we are at blogging, but then i remember how crazy our lives are and that blogging just doesn't fit in right now.  so, sorry if you are daily disappointed.

friday we closed on our house and it snowed.  derek says it always snows on important days in our lives (remember april 7th, 24 degrees and snow?).  it was surprisingly easy to buy a house, for real.  we just continually feel humbled that we got this precious place.  the people we bought the house from prayed for us in the lawyers office and gave us a card with money in it.  i mean, hello, we just bought a house from you and you are giving us money?  they are fabulous and jesus is taking care of us.

so saturday morning i wake up at 5:50 am because i am so freakin' excited and start loading things into my car in the dark while it is 18 degrees outside.  i'm weird.  

derek keeps saying "your family rolls deep".  by that he means, we had 6 trucks and a trailer at our house at 8 am and were moved into our new place by 11.  it really does pay to have a big family:).

derek and i are obsessed with the house.  we actually don't ever want to leave it.  here are few pictures of the house in progress of decorating.  oh, and you know i already have some christmas decorations up:).

living room

our fabulous thrift store chair, 12.50

so everyone please come visit us.  we have room for 7 guests to sleep comfortably!

happy thanksgiving everyone.

Around Ohio in 80 days.. or 2...

We're bad at blogging. There I said it. I see friends on facebook that write like 6 a day (I don't READ them, just know that they do), and then we write 6 per year. I guess somewhere in between is the happy median. Oh well...

The last few weeks have been interesting, providing for me a little trip into a previous life...

2 weeks ago, Decyfer Down, friends that we used to tour with called. They were in a bind and needed a lead singer to do a show in Ohio. I'll admit that I was instantly excited, and considered how fun it would be to front a band again, especially a hard-rock band like Decyfer Down. They also needed a bassist for the show and called upon my brother. Thing is, they called on Sunday, and the show was on Wednesday. Monday night I am emailed a setlist and have to learn 9-10 songs before we leave on Tuesday after work. Yikes.

I'll have to be honest, the initial excitement wore off and I was wondering if I could still even DO it. Plus, I had to spend Tuesday & Wednesday nights away from Summer which didn't at all sound appealing to me. But Kev and I crammed songs, left together on Tuesday afternoon for the little trip.

Over the next 36 hours, I realized all the things I didn't miss about the music industry. First off, after a 2 hour trip to Statesville, we drove 6+ hours and stopped at a cheap hotel. Deja vu. The smell of a cheap hotel at 3:00 am is a very distinct smell. They all must clean (or not clean) with the same stuff. Only thing missing here was Kent staying up late watchin' TV while Kev and I fell asleep.

Up in the morning at the earliest of musician hours, 10:00 am. Back on the road. For 3 more hours. At this point I'm asking myself how I ever endured the trips to South Dakota and Minnesota in the past. We arrive where we're playing around lunch.

And lunch? You guessed it, sandwich trays. In our 6 years of touring previously, this is THE staple for lunch for a band. Cheap, bland, and easy to carry. And Cheap. After eating as much as I could until my taste buds said bleh, we load in and set up, which is another thing I don't remember liking and for good reason. I will say, after load in and load out, I see how I stayed skinny back then.

Sound companies. We used to carry our own, but lugging that crap around gets tiresome. Decyfer Down had their own, but sold it off... So we had the great pleasure of using a production company. Only thing is, I'm not sure THEY knew how to use their equipment (This was also par for the course). After 2 useless hours where we had HOPED to practice the songs I'd NEVER sang before in my life, they finally got everything working and we were cleared to soundcheck. 1 run through of the setlist, and it was time to eat dinner.

The guy puttin' on the show was taking us out to dinner with some kids who wanted to meet us. That's all well and good, but they weren't really dying to talk to us, and after the guys choice of Applebees, I wasn't really dying to eat. They must freeze all the stuff in the same freezer, because it all tastes alike. Bleh.

Upon return, it was nearing time to play, and I had my cheat sheets hidden underneath the monitor so I wouldn't forget the words... and then 45 minutes flew by. We played a set, the kids loved it. I made it through, and sweat off like 15 pounds. It was fun. Not the greatest thing ever, but fun. And good.

We hung out afterwards, and the DD guys had us sign stuff with them, even though on their posters we're OBVIOUSLY not in the band. But it was good to talk to people, love on 'em, encourage them, and even get rid of 60 Monday Morning CDs at $0.50 a pop. At least that bought me beef jerky on the 10 hour drive back to my car. 

We drove through the night, and I went straight to work as we rolled into Hendersonville... and over the next few days decided this:

I have been bitter. I have been mad at God, and he has been working on my heart for a year and a half almost now (on this issue anyway). I was angry for our music careers being cut short, and being cheated by multiple people, lied to by others. I wanted my dream back. --- but while gone, and when I got home I realized I love my life. Even when its hard. I love Summer, I missed her. I love the mountains, my career, my church, my friends. I love Asheville, mountain biking, snowboarding... cookouts at our house, tobacco, beer, and board games on Beka and John's porch. I am blessed. Even without my "so called" dream.

I also found what I loved ON the trip, AWAY from all the things I love. I love music and performing, but I don't have to drive around and see the entire country like I did before. I can do it at home. Not for a living, but to LIVE.

So as Summer and I look around Hendersonville for a house, or have to work late, go in early, or get to meet at Papas & Beer for lunch, I am thankful. A "regular life" is actually quite extraordinary.

in other news...

so as everyone knows from the previous blog and/or facebook pics i got a tattoo yesterday.  its actually shocking when i look at my wrist and think that it is there for forever.  good thing it is beautiful.  thanks to derek.

it means a lot to me.  i chose a tree because i love nature and beauty, and trees represent that part of me.  also, a tree represents so much life and growth.  its such a reminder of god's faithfulness. within the leaves are the words "it is well."  em and i actually stole this from a girl on her summer project, but it took on such meaning to me recently.  this has always been my favorite hymn, but after derek sang this song at my mom's funeral it has become an anthem of hope for me.  the song sings faith for me when i can't believe.  the words surrounded by so much life is a testament to the faith god is growing in me.  i love when i look at my wrist now all i think about is my mom and jesus. 

in other news...

I GOT A JOB TODAY!  as most of you know, i have been searching all summer for another job.  in june i told my school i wasn't coming back.  it was a hard decision because i loved working at atkinson, but it was time to move on and use my degree and find some more challenges and something that offered more advancement opportunities.  i have never really been a "career-minded person", but my goal in searching for jobs was to do something that i felt like mattered and work for a place that i could use my gifts.  i was getting frustrated after working so hard and not getting any return.  i was just trying to believe that god had the perfect job picked out for me.

after applying for over 15 jobs and not having a single interview, i finally was offered an interview at the children and family resource center in my town.  the job title is adolescent parenting program coordinator.  the description jumped out at me at once and i told derek, 'i think this job is for me!'  anyways, after 2 interviews and another session today, they offered me the job.  it is actually a slightly different job than what i applied for.  i will be the lead coordinator for the adolescent parenting program (app).  

i will have a caseload of 14-20 girls that i will look after to achieve the 2 main goals of the program:  graduating form high school and preventing a second pregnancy.  also, i will be doing promotion and recruiting for the program.  i will also be in charge of dreaming up new ideas to grow the program.  the program is designed for low income girls, most of which have little to no family support.

i feel so blessed to have this opportunity.  i can't believe i am going to get paid to love on these girls.   i am super excited and thankful.

Festivals Inc.

Well... the summer is winding down to its end. As you all lament on your inability to wear white for many months, hopefully a blog is just what you need to cheer you up. I know thats what I need. Ha.

So we have a few fun stories from the summer. (since the last blog anyways, the costa rican traffic cop, etc...) Too bad I probably can't remember many. :)

This summer has been a busy one, but the last month we've kinda relaxed a bit and enjoyed some time for ourselves. Our only road trips all came in one week, where we took 3 trips to Charlotte in 5 days...

#1. Stone Temple Pilots - When I was a kid, my first CD was Pearl Jam Ten, which probably changed my life... but i'm almost sure my second CD was STP Core, and that was big time. Loved it, and loved the band, and wanted to BE Scott Weiland (minus the reliance upon heroin to function :) ) So my buddy Justin hooked me up with a ticket and we got to be right up front for a show I thought I'd never see. They did break up 3 times or something, which is almost as much as Summer and I, but like us are back together for a reunion show. (well WE'RE not doing a show... but you get the point) It was amazing. Here's a pic of that night, some of you will enjoy, excluding Jared Clark, who told me "the 90's called, it wants its music back." :)

#2. Emily's birthday in Charlotte. Fun time at Nolan's Kitchen, followed by a John Mayer concert. Same place as STP, but about a 1/4 mile farther away. :) He's a great guitarist, but he took his shirt off and Summer thought that was hot. End of fun night for me. :) jk. Dude can play, even if he did seem a bit "under the influence."

#3. Summer's trip to move her little brother into college.... Lot of miles for 1 week.

------

This past weekend was our lovely hometown festival "The Apple Festival" where I think about a bajillion people come to a little piece of downtown to watch cloggers, parades with pickup trucks, and other assorted country-fied good times. But everyone's favorite, yours and mine, is festival food. I'm talking about the big fat lamb gyro, or the hot dog with hand cut french fries, or bbq. Makes me hungry thinking about it. You know you want some. We did, and we chowed down Saturday, chasing it with an apple slush, and a turtle caramel apple, which is probably the most amazing thing i've eaten in decades. (and they're available year round!) Then we climed up on top of my friends family store and watch people on the street from the rooftops. It was quite fun!

The whole weekend the plan was for Summer and Emily to buy each other a lovely birthday present. I designed their request, and on Labor Day we printed them at OfficeMax and headed off to get their TATTOOS.

Which was hilarious. My wife was adorable, and I think she probably made an impression on the tattoo shop guys. :) She nearly fainted at one point in the middle, and cracked them up the whole time, never failing to have something funny to say. Be sure and check her facebook for a picture album to go with the story. I'm sure Emily will have some pics up as well.

Summer will be writing about her experience soon. Stay tuned. :)

-Derek

From Atlantic to Pacific, Gee the Traffic Cops are Terrific.

Catchup time. Been a while, blog readers... sorry... (Long Blog Alert)

Lemme just jump right in here. Sum and I had a blast in Costa Rica. For those of you who haven't heard the stories, here goes...

After some breakfast Chic-Fil-A, and a short drive to the Charlotte Airport, we were airborne and on our way. A few hours later we were gazing out the window at volcanoes, and eventually the pacific coastline. We landed in Liberia, and I'll admit I found the open-air airport surprising. Just a big metal building, 2 walls, open on each end, with huge fans overhead. I guess when its 88 degrees all year, why waste energy on heating and cooling?

Quick drive to our rental car joint, and off we were in our Daihatsu Bego. We followed our directions, and everything was easy up to the part where they said "turn downhill down the dirt road, through several small villages." Thats where it got fun. A VERY bumpy hour later, and we enter Playa Guiones, our destination for the first part of the trip. We arrived at sunset and it was incredible...

A quick walk, and we went back to the Harmony Hotel, which was also incredible. You should go, doesn't matter who "you" are. Excellent food, beautiful setting, and the best mojito the world has ever known.

Our days here consisted of surfing, which was awesome. At low tide, Casey and I learned to surf, got up our first try, and rode waves for an hour. Incredible. Try #2 at high tide was not near as successful, which yielded me two big bruises on each arm and a bloody nose (not sure what from...)

Summer loved (well, everyone did) the horseback riding on the beach and through the rainforest. We saw a lot of the area, and got to gallop for the first time ever. ouch. Here's us on the beach, getting sore in certain areas.

Playa Guiones was a special place, and the Harmony Hotel was special too. I want to go back, and take everyone I know. That kinda special.

Tuesday was travel day... drive across the country to La Fortuna, at the base of the Arenal Volcano. Should be uneventful, nothing to report. Its just a drive.

As many of you know, I (Derek) have never gotten a speeding ticket. And apparently today was no exception. After a super confusing conversation, where our language barrier fell just enough for me to understand that either I drive 3 hours outta my way and pay a hundred dollar ticket (plus 40$ for sum taking a PICTURE of it) or i can pay this lovely civil servant 40 bucks and the ticket magically disappears. Even in Spanish, I understood what was going on here. :)

La Fortuna was incredible, but not quite the "special" place that was the Harmony. This was more of a place for adventure and fun. And boy was it ever. 

We rafted down a class 3-4 river, the rio toro. It was great, especially when i looked back and saw summer's face, screaming, surrounded by whitewater... but somehow managing to stay in the boat. :)

We went to a couple butterfly conservatories, which Norman wanted to see, and none of us objected. It was pretty cool to see so many flying around us. And on us.

The River, The Butterflies, the amazing hot springs that we spent our last night in; They all made for quite a vacation. But in my opinion the coolest thing had to be the zip lines near the volcano. We rode a tram up a mountain to an incredible view of Lake Arenal, and the Volcano. It honestly looked like a scene from Jurassic Park or something. And the best part was, we got to enjoy the view at 40mph suspended on a steel cable 600 feet above the treetops, screaming like a little boys and girls.

I really suggest you save your money, and go do this. Hell, i'd even contribute, just so we could talk about it afterwards. It was just about as close to flying as I imagine anything could be. Wow.

So that was Costa Rica, in a nutshell. Be sure to ask us more questions, as there's plenty more thats fun to tell.

and... 2 weeks later....

Sum and I are at the Atlantic Ocean. Quick weekend trip with Emily, and we had a great time. Got a lot of sun, relaxed, checked out a little karaoke, and even sang a little myself. Summer and Emily made me. 

I sang some Bon Jovi, and this really awesome 300lb man tapped me on the shoulder after I sang. I turned around and this rather imposing fella asked me, "Whattreya drinkin?" I answered, "Bud Light." (it was on special for 1.50, gimme a break). The big guy raised a pitcher and said with the world's largest intoxicated smile, "Lemme fill'er up for ya. You just keep singing. You're the man." At this I grinned, accepted his offer, then laughed as he walked back to the end of the bar, yellin' at his friends, "Thats my MAN... he's got TWO." (Later I realized he was talking about two women. Ha. I was sitting between Sum and Emily.

A few fist pumps, comments, and the big guy fighting to light our cigarettes.. ("Nah man I GOT THIS... You're the MAN, and I'M lighting your cigarettes!") and it was time to go. I gave the guy a handshake and a pat on the back, and Sum gave our new friend a hug. Hilarious memory.

So thats about it. I really promise to do shorter blogs from here on out. Sorry people. At least I included pics so it reads like a children's book. Even Mackie can read this one.

I'll leave you with a pic of Summer at Myrtle Beach that I took... with her new addition to her nose, which I'm quite fond of. Enjoy.

Holy Crap.. a Blog?

As I sit here digesting a wonderful turkey-apple burger (new meal summer tried, quite good, call her for recipes. ha) I realized that its been over a month since either of us has written on this thing. Sorry. Hope you haven't checked it 3 times a day and gotten pissed every time the same damn blog was at the top. I said I'm sorry.

This past month has been good, and hard... but we're doing ok and REALLY excited about next week. Why? Because we'll be in Costa Rica on vacation. Thats right. You can be excited too, because we'll be sure to put some pics and bloggage (is that a word?) up once we get back. Or maybe while we're there. Who knows? So keep checking 3 times a day and saying curse words when nothing is new.

Recent events worth noting:

Summer and I have Forest Gumped our way into some fun things these days. I recently got a new job working for a regional magazine company that publishes 3 magazines. I am doing graphic design for all advertisements and some layouts to come. I really enjoy it, and I can still work my old freelance job.  Anyways, this new job gave me free passes and VIP dinner at the "Tryon BBQ Festival." Laugh all you want city folk, it was good. We had some of the most tender ribs you could ask for, heard some fun music, saw some not-so-spectacular fireworks, and drank cheap beer. Ok the last part isn't so hot, but the rest was a great country-fied good time.

Same weekend, after punishing Mackie on his first (and maybe last) mountain bike ride, my buddy Doss calls with extra tickets to see Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. WOOHOO! T-Bone Burnett (producer of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack) put them together for a CD, and this was the tour that followed. If you don't know who Robert Plant is, I will punch you for free. Seriously. 

The show was spectacular. I never knew Allison Krauss had such a powerful voice live. She was incredible, but what was more incredible was being in the same room as Robert Plant. Such a Legend. Still don't know him? Here comes the fist to your face... They even covered "Black Dog" in the style of their band. Coolest part of the night in my humble opinion.

Earlier that same evening... (this is sounding like a crime show TV drama) Summer and I were at Salsa's eating a fantastic meal while sorta getting rained on. Yeah, downtown Asheville's Salsa's has tables in the alley beside it, along with a little bar, which is really cool. So we sat out there, which we thought would be awesome, but the rain was not so awesome. All that to say this... End of the meal, Summer says "How bout I get my nose pierced tonight?"

Now I, being so conservative and reserved about these kinda things, instantly responded with "Hell yeah lets GO! CHECK PLEASE!" Short walk down to Empire Tattoo and Piercing, and she hasn't backed out yet. Hehehe. We chose the stud, paid and had to wait 30 minutes while it sterilized. Thats when doubt reared its ugly little head, and I had to really convince her she wanted it. Because she DID. For like 6 YEARS or something. And after a little bit more blood than we cared to see, and a day of buyer's remorse, she likes it. And so do I. So come see us, and see her new jewelry. And check 3 times a day, because I might just put a picture up of it. 

-derek

drops of faith

this was probably one of the worst weeks i have ever had.  there has just been so much sadness in my heart surrounded by multiple disappointments. by friday i was at the end of myself wondering if anyone really cared, especially Jesus.

i have been pondering over those verses in 2 corinthians where paul is talking about God's grace being sufficient for him and all of this crap about power in weakness.  i just don't get it.  it seems so opposite for me.  my belief is based so much on my circumstance and whether i feel like i am being cared for.  i am ready for that to change.  i want to believe God is who he is and that he has called me his own and that changes everything.

jesus has been so gracious to us the past 2 days.  if i were him i wouldn't give any mercy to someone who is as messed up as me, but he does.  and its amazing.  i love how i can't even believe on my own and he comes and gives me little drops of faith.

on friday derek went to pick up our jeep that was in the shop and when he went to pay for it, the guy said that it had already been paid for.  amazing.  my dad is amazing.  and sneaky.

derek and i had been planning all week to go on a date saturday night.  even though we didn't really have enough money to go, we decided our mental and marital health were more important than financial stability.  derek decided where we were going and so last night we went to the purple onion in downtown saluda.  we had never been before, but it was one of the cutest restaurants ever.  they had live music and it was just one of those times where you knew you were in the right place.  we ran into a few people we knew, mike deaton, my boss' husband and becca's mom and step-father, whom we adore.  we had a fabulous meal, with great wine and a fabulous swordfish entree (which we split).  as we were finishing up, our adorable waiter (whom i am sure needs to be dating one of my friends), told us our meal had been paid for.  i just started balling.  it was just one of those moments where you felt God's presence and you knew everything was okay.  

so, this week has been a turning point in my grief, where i am realizing for the first time in over 9 months that God really does have my best interests in mind and he is caring for me.  this morning at church, josiah was preaching on the spirit's work in our lives and when he is referred to as our "guide", it really means "way-shower".  the spirit is in our lives to take us to the way, Jesus.  i am sensing that he is guiding me towards Jesus.  i found more encouragement in remembering that even Jesus asked for the cross to be taken away if there was another way.  and that in my pain, asking for a way out is okay, but it may be through that pain that i really experience a deeper understanding of Christ's love, grace, and mercy to me.

Mickey Mouse Bull Sh....

So apparently we had a little house-sitter while we were in NYC. 

Monday night, after a relaxing weekend home, Sum went to bed around 10 (as she usually does), and I was up late (as I usually am). Playing guitar, some Xbox, the usual routine... and I heard a little crackling noise coming from the kitchen. So, kitchen lights were out so I walked in there, cut 'em on and look towards the bar where the noise had originated from. To my surprise, right beside the candy dish was a tiny little mouse, could be the smallest one I've ever seen. Funny thing is, he didn't run. He stood on his hind legs and looked straight at me. Me and you, mouse, staring contest. Go. 

Funnier yet is he had something in his hands. Not a little something. This crazy mouse was holding a Hershey's kiss (which was half as big as his body). Now its 1 am and Summer is fast asleep, so I didn't wake her to come look... I was scared he'd run away, and as I looked at him looking at me I thought, "wow, what a cute little mouse... too bad you'll be dead soon."

Then the search for my mouse traps commenced with zero luck. So the mouse had a day to think it over, decide if chocolate was worth risking his life. After paying a ridiculous $1.27 for only 4 mouse traps... (ha. cheap) I set one with a bit of peanut butter. Mainly because it goes good with chocolate, and obviously this guy is not the biggest cheese lover. :) And then the pay off. I unwrapped a Hershey Kiss... left it open on the bar for him to smell and lust after... The Kiss of death.

All night... No mouse. No 'SNAP' of the trap, not even the scratching of his little feet. Guess he learned all he needed to know in our staring contest. He must have seen it in my eyes that it hurt me deeply to have to kill him, and left, saving both of us the agony of him getting caught in the trap. Thanks mouse.

But one thing bothers me... The trap didn't go off... but the Hershey Kiss is gone. No sign of it this morning. Maybe Sum ate it, or threw it away... or perhaps the mouse is just too damn smart. We'll never know.

Unfortunately, I couldnt get a picture of the little guy holding his candy, so I've decided a pencil sketch "police style" would suffice. 

Have you seen this mouse? Contact Derek @ derekandsummer.blogspot.com

New York, New York... a conversational blog. :)

derek: happy early anniversary to us. and as some of you know, we treated ourselves to an anniversary trip to NYC.

summer: and we are in love. with each other. and nyc.

derek: it was an awesome week, and we made it the whole week without getting on each others nerves at all. as long as summer got to read the maps. :)

summer: i realllly love maps.

derek: it was a pretty smooth trip up, aside from the 10 block walk through harlem early monday morning. we got off the bus at the wrong stop. right street... just 10 blocks too soon.

summer: we had decided before we left we weren't going to take a taxi the whole week, but i wanted to take one to the hotel when i realized we had so far to walk. but we persevered. i am also obsessed with subways fyi.

derek: and maps. of the subways. i think i maybe saw the subway map twice, when sum asked if she had something right, which she did. I was just trying to remember it all in my head...  after dropping the bags at our hotel (www.hudsonhotel.com) we headed down 9th ave to grab some lunch. couldn't find too much that interested us in hell's kitchen...

summer: it sucks there.  don't go.

derek: lunch didn't suck, just not so nice down there. hell's kitchen sucks, and movies about hell's kitchen suck (daredevil).

summer: moving on. i signed up online to get free tickets to letterman to hopefully give to derek for christmas, but seeing as how they called last thursday, they didn't make it in time for christmas.  BUT, we did get free tickets and we were supposed to pick them up at the box office on monday between 4:30 and 5:30.

derek: and we DID. just barely. because i'm stupid and thought it was 4:28 when it was actually 5:28...

summer: i think i should be in charge of maps AND time.

derek: ouch. we made it, we were just the last two people in line, which meant the last two people to get a seat, which ALSO meant we had to sit in separate sections. I sat by an old couple, and a foreign couple that smelled a bit funky like certain parts of the city. ew.

summer: and i sat by a cute little chinese man who laughed at all the wrong parts because he didn't understand a word. poor thing.  also, one thing that is annoying about going on a trip with 2 people, is that you have to put your camera in someone else's hands and they always take crappy pictures.  so, we have like 3 pictures of us from the trip and they suck.  (i.e. this picture to the right).

derek: dinner monday night was fantastic... we took the subway down to SoHo, in search of a restaurant called Blue Ribbon. which was packed. and a long wait. so the nice host guy sent us down the street to one of his favorites, shorty's 32.

summer: i bet you can guess, i am also in love with this place. the decor was fabulous and the adorable british host was a delight.  the only annoying thing was that it was so small and...

derek: the douchebag with the bike helmet that kept falling on summer. he was the seventh of an annoying party of six that was sitting next to us at a table for four. but the meal was incredible and the wine was good. after finishing there it was time to head back to the hotel and end day 1.

Day 2:

summer: # 782 favorite thing about new york- bagels.  we went to the museum of natural history. it rocks. derek was really obsessed with taking pictures of fake animals in their habitats. i am sure he will want to share them with you, but i have put a limit on his number:).

derek: i can't read maps, tell time, or take pictures. :)  i wasn't OBSESSED, 

summer: haha. "krissy i'm not obsessed".

derek: i took like 3 pictures of animals... just to see what the pic would look like. geez.

derek: and it looks pretty cool huh? COMMENT ON MY AWESOME LION PIC. oh yeah the bagels were awesome too. just agreeing with summer. yum.

summer: so day 2 was tuesday, american idol day.  i was a little worried that we might not get to watch it, but we were so exhausted from taking pictures of fake animals all day, that we stayed in the room and watched it.  i love it so much. um, hello, david cook is awesome.

derek: 3 frickin' pictures, and a guy gets a bad rap. we didn't even see david until we got home on tivo. but we did (at least i did) fall dangerously close to idol worship at this point earlier in the day:

derek: sooo day 2 was awesome, and bookended by an amazing dinner at rosa mexicana. guacamole made tableside, chicken enchiladas, and a pitcher of sangria. yum. so good we went back. check day 4. ha.

day 3:

summer: we walked across the brooklyn bridge and almost got swept away by the wind, and we visited the world trade center site. we had done so much already, we weren't sure what we were going to do that evening.  we were having lunch at a diner in the meat packing district, florent, and i got a text from a random number.  it was emily's dad.  her parents were in new york and had bought tickets to see Jersey Boys, but couldn't go, so they gave them to us.  we were so pumped!

derek: thanks steve and christy! it was my first broadway show, and i thought it was awesome... great songs and talent, and it got me even more excited for our big show on thursday night (wicked). the show was at 8, we had eaten lunch at 3, so decided we would eat dinner after the show. which was late. so who is gonna be out eating dinner at 11:30? Should be empty right?

summer: i bought derek a book for christmas called NFT (not for tourists) guide to NYC.  i actually bought it for me, but gave it to him.  oops. they recommended this place called, the spotted pig (thespottedpig.com) and said that it was the hippest place to eat in the city. and of course, i want to be hip:).

derek: ha. my gift. kinda like when dad bought me the nintendo games HE wanted to play when i was a kid. :) so i did what a good husband would do, and gave the book to summer to hold all week. with the maps. :) back to dinner... we got there at 11:30, and it was packed. no room to move, and barely room to sit. amazing dinner though, and even the 6 dollar beer tasted great. :)

day 4:

derek: met a friend for lunch, shopped, visited rockefeller center, checked out the MoMA. kinda a wrap up day, doing everything we didn't get in days 1-3... which wasn't much. relaxed before our big night at the show. summer's dad got us a great gift to one of the best restaurants in the theatre district, Sardi's, and we ate a good meal there, then walked through Times Square to the theatre where Wicked was. 

summer: i had been wanting to see Wicked for a long, long time. kevin bought us tickets for christmas, and we were really lucky to get them because it always sells out months in advance.  it was everything i had hoped it would be. i think my mouth was open for like 3 hours straight because i was in awe. really, you should go if you have a chance. we think it is worth a plane ticket and a night's hotel just to see it!

derek: yeah, everything was amazing about it, from orchestra, to voices, to story, to the set (wow). go check it out... After that incredible show it was back to Rosa Mexicana for more guac and sangria, a perfect last night in NYC.

summer:  day 5 basically consists of packing and leaving. it was like a week long date in nyc and it was perfect. sorry this blog is kind of long, we just really loved it.  it was a really great break for us to get away from everything that is so difficult here and take a break from reality for a week.  i am really thankful.

derek: as am i... everything about the trip was wonderful, especially the company. thanks em, for picking us up and dropping us off at 6 in the morning on your day off. hope everyone enjoyed this long-ass blog. :) and if anyone's interested, next week i will hold a clinic on clock reading, map reading, and animal photography... :)

Put the pedal to the... mud......al?

In like a lion eh? Today was my first official mountain bike ride of the year. Now I have been excited about this day since Christmas, when my wife worked out a nice gift for me with a clipless pedal/shoe/cleat setup. I've ridden since I was 13, and never used them til today (for those of you who aren't in the know, basically your shoe snaps in to the pedal so you are essentially attached to your bike). Everyone I rode with had similar setups, so I figured... "time to take the plunge."

Unfortunately for you readers, I didn't have some horrible carnage filled wreck that I could talk about for hours. But this was interesting... After 3 months of snowboarding in 50 degree weather and sun, I put on my riding shorts and bike for a few hours in 20 degree weather and SNOW. Now it was flurries, but still snow. Just isn't right. Thanks a lot Al Gore, you screwed the weather all up. :)

Well a wreck-less (and reckless :) ) day was a good thing, but I must admit; I'm still getting used to having my feet attached. Haven't perfected the little ankle twist release deal yet... So at the end of an hour climb, my legs were ready to give out. Literally 4 feet from the summit of our ride (all downhill from there), my legs quit, and I was too tired to try and release my feet. So I toppled over on the side of the hill into some lovely red mud. :) 

Some of you won't care in the least about mountain biking. But everyone says "blog more, blog more" so here's a little snippet of my day. I went all out too, even have a nice pic here for your enjoyment. My legs look a little tan, but thats only because they are completely covered in mud. The RAZR camera is below average at best. :)  

  

- derek