Haymed and Enka Lake Triathlons

This year I have been training for various races and having a bunch of fun. About a month ago, I ran a 22 min. 5K, which is the lowest I have done in 10 years or more. Here are some pictures of the two triathlons I have done this year.

Family Pictures

I have lots of pictures to post, but I will do it slowly. These pictures were taken a while back, but they are still great. Enjoy!!

Anna on film

These videos are a bit dark, but turn the volume up and enjoy!

Spring has come

The grass is turning green, the dogwood trees have bloomed, and the sun is getting higher and higher in the sky. Spring is here!

Things are going great on my end and I hope they are going just as well on yours. I have not written lately, since I have not been traveling as much as I have in the past. Instead, I have spent my time working a lot more than I usually do. Luckily, I am really enjoying it.

At home, Natalie and I starting a vegetable garden, the dog is in obedience classes, and we are setting up training schedules for some races throughout the spring and summer. I have been running quite a bit, but today I took my longest ride of the year, finishing 40 miles with over 3200 feet of climbing. Also, yesterday I took my first swim of the year. I have to work on my overall speed for all of these sports. This week I will be meeting with some people at work to just that.

Oh yea, Phish is back! What else could be better:)

March 2009 pictures of Anna

Dupont State Forest - Triple Falls

Cedars of Lebanon State Park

Before I head out for the new year I was able to get a few photos off my phone. Above you can see Natalie, Anna, and I visited the Cedars of Lebanon State Park outside of Nashville, TN. On Saturday we had all day to return home from Paducah, KY, so we stopped for a hike to stretch the legs and exercise Anna. We knew that the park had a two mile loop to hike, which was perfect for our time constraints.

We pulled off the exit and six miles later we were at the park. I stopped at the visitor center and found out that there was no fees to pay, so we drove on and found the trail head. The hike was mostly flat and was through a beautiful forest filled with cedars and pine trees. Also, there was lots of sink holes dotting the landscape, which I have never seen before.

After the hike we stopped at the outlet mall at the same exit and I found a great deal at Eddie Bauer, where I fulfilled my American duty to buy!

Have a safe and happy new year!

NYE 2009 plans

we just got back from a trip to KY and St. Louis. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of Natalie's family from both sides. It was a great time and we came home with a trunk full of gifts. Now we are headed out for DC and NYC tomorrow. New year's will be spent hanging out with old friends and seeing My Morning Jacket at Madison Square Gardens. The rest of the time of the trip will be spent on a whirlwind touristy tour of NYE and another night in DC on the way back to Asheville.

This will be the first time that the dog will be boarded. As she is sleeping at my feet right now she has no idea that she won't see us for five days. She is being boarded at the same place that she goes to for doggie daycare, so it will be familiar to her and I am sure she will have a great time. We will certainly miss having her with us.

I hope everyone had a happy Hanukah and a merry Christmas and I wish you all a happy new year!

2008 Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition

The Shortest Day of the Year

It is all uphill from here. Now the days will get longer and I won't be living in the dark for very much longer. The past couple of weeks have been very cloudy and rainy and therefore, I have noticed the lack of sunshine. Today a break in the clouds has come and the sun is shining, which is very much welcomed.

Jay, a long time friend of mine, stopped through town last night. We has a good time and before he left I got a few pictures from Thanksgiving that he had taken, as well as some we took last night. Check them out below.

Anna's World and Mine

Since my last post was a while ago, I will not go into too many details. However, I wanted to get out some more pictures and a short, poorly shot video of Anna. In the video you can hear her talk about her day. She does this in the morning, afternoon, evening, or just about anytime we come home or down the stairs.

My job has been going very well and I am enjoying the work. I am actually getting to put some of my education to use, which is a good feeling. Part of my job is to analyze economic conditions and the news is generally not positive. However, from what I can tell we are doing okay. In addition to the researching, I am helping with forecasting and implementing some Lean tools. While most may find this stuff somewhat boring, I really enjoy it.

Natalie, Anna, and I went to Memphis, TN and Paducah, KY for Thanksgiving. Anna has visited five states already and will be visiting state number six next week when we travel to St. Louis. That's pretty good for a five month old dog. She has become a great traveler! She jumps in, goes to the back seat, and will quickly fall asleep once she realizes we are on the highway.

Lastly, I have added a link to the right side of the screen. If you are looking for a unique gift or have a special event coming up, then check out Rachel's website.

I have a new job!!

I wanted to let everyone know that I have found a position as a Market Analyst at Volvo Construction in Asheville, NC. I will be working on forecasting and some process improvement projects within my department and hopefully the local manufacturing plant as well.

On the home front, Anna, the dog, is getting bigger and bigger. She is almost 23 pounds now and just loving life. I have put in a dogie door to allow her to go outside on her own more often. She mostly just goes outside when Natalie and I go outside, but I think she will warm up to the door more and more as she gets more independent. We traveled down to Columbia, SC this past weekend for the football tailgate party before the Tenn./USC game. That marked Anna's 4th state and she will have three more states underneath her belt before the end of the year, as we travel to Memphis, St. Louis, and Kentucky to see family over the holidays. She does great in the car and loves getting in and out.

Check out some great pics of the dog!

Help Patricia Win Asics Commercial - Thanks

This is a message from a riding buddy of mine in Asheville:

Evening Everyone,

I am sorry to bother you but I am in need of a favor. My wife Patricia
has the opportunity to be in a Asics TV commercial for the NYC
Marathon. She just needs our votes.


Please log on to http://contest.asicsamerica.com and click on the view
gallery link. Her video is the one with the sneakers. I would
appreciate your vote and the chance for her to win this opportunity.

Please feel free to forward to any of your friends!

Thanks so much!


Brian

Backyardigans and the Race for the Cure

This past week I helped setup and tear down for the Backyardigans. They had 3 trucks to unload and load and I got to help with the audio section. It was cool being a roadie for a day.

Yesterday, I worked with the Race for the Cure in Greenville. I helped setup and tear down the event. During the race I was at the 2mile mark and got to cheer on everyone as they came by. It was a fun time!

I was not feeling great yesterday and today I woke up with a soar throat and stuffy head. Thankfully, after taking some medicine, eating a lot of fruit, and taking a two hour nap I am feeling a bit better.

I will be commuting to work for the next three weeks for a short assignment. Starting Tuesday, Natalie and I will be carpooling to save some gas. Laslty, Anna, the dog, has graduated to her bigger cage, which she is really enjoying the extra space. Have a great week!

Catching up on photos

I had a backlog of photos that I have wanted to post. So, I have four new albums for everyone to check out. They are listed in order of most recent to oldest.

Anna, Natalie, and I went to the Graveyard Fields along the Blue Ridge Parkway last weekend. We didn't do the long hike, so I don't know why they are called the graveyard fields, but we did get to pick a bunch of wild blueberries growing along the trail and river. Anna stuck her paws in the river, but the water was really cold, so she didn't get too wet.



When Natalie's parents visited us we took them to Merrimack Falls and Grandfather Mountain.



A few more pics from our Costa Rica trip last May.



Natalie and I went on a road trip after graduation and part of it brought us to St. Louis and Memphis.