Austin or bust

Special thanks to our tour guide for taking this picture for me!

I got a chance to go to Austin for a few days. I was there primarily to interview for a job, but we'll see how that pans out here in the next week or so. All in all I feel pretty good about how the interview went and will continue to be hopeful until I hear otherwise.

Now my visit wasn't all work or an attempt to get work. I got a little bit of time to explore the fun city of Austin and one of the days I was there I spent on a Segway (the idea of me taking a Segway tour prompted my sister to call me either a mega or super nerd). I thought it was a blast. It was also a great way to see a new area, since we were traveling at about 10MPH. I think that the tour could have been better if we had a little ear piece so that we could hear our guide a little better, but all in all it was pretty good. We heard about deep musical history of the city and toured many of the "important" buildings in the city like a few hotels, the capital, and a couple of cultural sites. Did I mention that this was a great way to see the city? Being on the Segway lifts you up a few extra feet off the ground which gave an interesting perspective and removed the need to try and look around the rest of the people on the sidewalks. I wonder if this is how someone like Kevin Garnet feels as he is walking around regularly, but I digress...

I think that after being in Austin for a few days that this really is a place that the we would enjoy. The culture is laid back and unassuming much like I feel Seattle is. They also have tons of great food and some good local breweries in Texas. For now, cross your fingers while we wait and hear if I get the job that I want and I will update once we know more =)




Cruising through a neighborhood on the way back to the car!

Sports update...

The 2nd year and 1st year MBA students went to Charlottesville to play softball in UVA's annual MBA softball tournament. Our team went last year and got to the semifinals, but couldn't beat the 2008 team from UVA. This year much like last year we had a great time up in Charlottesville for the weekend with registration at a local Irish Pub and the second night at a great bar with food, drinks, and an opportunity to mingle with MBA's from around the country.

Once it got to game time the 2nd year team was poised to win. We had been practicing off an on to help get back in the swing of things and help people like me remember how to catch a ball. Day one during pool play we played four games and ended 2-2. We beat Harvard and Boston College, but lost to the 2008 UVA team and Kellogg. At this point it was 6 or 7pm and we were in the quarter finals for the playoffs. We had an interesting and fun opponent in Babson college, but we played well and made a clean sweep of all the schools from the Boston area...unfortunately in the morning we had drawn the 2008 team from UVA again for the semi-finals...we played well on defense except for one inning and that inning killed us. Not that it makes it any better, but the conditions weren't great (it had rained for most of the night so we were playing on all grass) and all of a sudden I couldn't catch the ball anymore. Oh well we played great, I had fun playing, and spending time with the team and some of the other teams.

After we got back from the tournament, a few days later, we had the intermural playoffs for volleyball. We were more successful in this en devour since we won and got some new t-shirts =) But, I wish we could have won one more match...we were one game away from beating the men's club volleyball team for a second t-shirt. Unfortunately, they rebounded after we played the best game we had all season to come back and beat us. It was fun playing volleyball again, but it would have been sweet to beat the club team.

Day Trippin'

While we are on the East Coast we decided that it would be fun to go to Atlanta for the day. Yes, the day...I know lots of other people have given us strange looks as we told them we were headed there for the day. But, when we looked at it there was only a few things we wanted to do, which included going to the Aquarium and the Coke factory.

The Coke factory was a fun and interesting historical tour with a bunch of memorabilia from all of Coke's history. As we walked through there was a introductory movie, a 4-D movie, an Andy Warhol section, an opportunity for tasting, and a gift shop. The 4-D movie was something we could have passed on and spent more time with Fizzy Bot the robot and in the Andy Warhol section. It was really neat to see and try all sorts of new flavors from around the globe. I forget how many flavors they actually had, but I do remember a number that weren't to my taste preference...

After a couple of hours at the Coke factory we were off to the Aquarium which is about a stones throw away. First on the list was another 4-D movie this time with fish...clearly we didn't learn our lesson as this was more programming that was designed for a considerably younger crowd. Ah well next time we might remember. The rest of place was amazing, but one of my favorite things in the big tank was the whale sharks! This place is definitely worth going to see. In fact, I would say that it is worth going out of your way to go see, but we are a little biased since we love the ocean and all that it has to offer.

After all that we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then back home. Great day!

Makeover time...

Ever wanted to give yourself or someone else a makeover? Well now with this easy tool from Taaz.com you can! There are some really good and really ridiculous ones out there...

For example:

What did you do last weekend?

Well here in the booming metropolis of Williamsburg there was a lot of activity...or at least one big activity in town for us. We went to a MBA dance aka prom.

This event was a huge hit last year and this year was no different. We had a mix of first and second year students doing the coordination and my hats off to them, because it was a blast. However, before you start reminiscing back to your high school days you have to think about how you would have done prom differently if you could do it all over again. That said this was a lot different than what I remember prom being back in high school and a step up from last years party. Part of the reason it was so different is because HS prom consisted of tuxedos, fancy dresses, hair being done, and it being pretty expensive...it was a racket back then for pictures! Yes, we did dress up and take pictures as you can see, but most importantly we all had a lot of fun!

We went to dinner at a place called Long Horn with some friends. After dinner we were off to the dance for music, dancing, drinks, and more great company like we had at dinner!

Holiday Travel - Minnesota

From Seattle, it was off to Minnesota eh. My (Sarah's) family lives in the country, and since we know no one else, it's all about family. We arrived the day after Chirstmas and had to catch up quick. We visited with my sister Beth, sister Laura and brother-in-law Ryan (yes, Brian and Ryan..not so easy on the grandparents, but we work with it), Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa.

Once again, we spent hours watching the birds and squirrels in the yard. We can identify all four types of woodpeckers and when the pheasants show up, everyone looks out the window.

We spend hours playing cards, and this year there was enough snow that we could use the snowmobiles. And when Brian and I got REALLY crazy, we walk across the lake to Grandma and Grandpa. They think we're amazing, and then we play cards.

Such a great trip! Four days is not enough, or just right. It's alway nice to leave wanting more.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines day from us to you! Hope you enjoyed a day to celebrate how much you love the people in your life as much as we did.

Holiday Travel - Seattle

We know, we know - it's the beginning of February and we haven't posted any fun stuff from Christmas.

We started our holiday travel in Seattle. I (Sarah) wish I could deny it, but we were totally nerdy and had a schedule...in excel. But come on?! You guys love it! It gave us the chance to see so many people. So here's our recap:

Sydney is such a cutie! You can tell how everyone looks at this precious little thing...It was great to see Kori and Colby (mom and dad). They have been our friends for years, and I'm sure we're just getting started.
Brian and I got to meet Catherine (Mike & Angela's new baby). It was great to catch up with them - Angela was glowing with happiness and Mike and Brian could have kept talking and talking and talking...the way best friends can.We had another baby to meet, Benton, but this time we met up and the Seattle Aquarium. I think that we might have had more fun than Benton did.

Brian had lunch with his old co-workers from ArenaNet and I hung out with Beth. It was fun to eat at Chanantese (one of my favorite Thai places).

The Civitts clan was a sight for sore eyes! Linda and Tony (Jen's parents) were in town from NYC to see the new baby. James was born in December and you can tell he's already lucky with an older brother like Jack around. The Civitts hosted a fabulous dinner - chicken parm. YUM!AND we got to meet Riain (pronounced Ryan). I loved holding her. She was 2 months old and had plenty of baby fat to make her cuddly. Erin (her Mom) was all smiles, as usual. Erin & Mike were there, too - representing the "yes, we're married, no kids yet" group like us. What's crazy, is that a year and a half ago these ladies and I were meeting for "Wedding Wednesday." Erin, Erin and I were all engaged, so we would get together and chat (Jen was there for support). Nothing productive - all fun. But I'd bet it kept the stress of the whole wedding thing down. What a great group!

The Harris house was hopping with kids and a great gift exchange while we were in town. A gift exchange is always fun, but going over to the Harris's is always a treat because of the great company, wonderful new wines we are exposed to, and Sara makes some of the best appetizers!

Brian and I like Williamsburg, we really do. But eating out is a challenge, unless you're willing to eat at a chain restaurant. So while in Seattle we made sure we visited a few of our favorites... we did Thai Tom in the U District for lunch...

Redhook Brewery with Cory and Shelby. They got a chance to come and visit us near the end of 2007, but we always have a good time with them. Even if we are searching for Cory's chicks!
Northlake Pizza Tavern with Mikelle and Jon. They were married last fall and they're such a great couple!JaK's (a local steakhouse) with Ki, Seon and Fred. They're our scuba diving friends (some of them) and it was a lot of fun to see them.Cactus (fun Mexican) with Brian's family. Conversation was entertaining, as always!

Breakfast/brunch with David and Paul at the Barking Frog! We spent the morning of our wedding day at their house

And we were spoiled again with dinner at the Suarez's, home of Kaptain Kenmore. Little Eliana is such a sweetheart. And once again, Erin and Mike were there. We all had such a good time, we finally had to call it quits at midnight. Brian and I were on vacation, but the rest of the kids had to get up for work.Christmas itself was fabulous. The Porters have some great family traditions - dinner on Christmas Eve, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. (By now you all understand why the eating right/exercising New Year's resolution is a must this year!) We were all blessed with time spent together and such fun gifts!

Overall, Seattle was all smiles, lots of love and counting our blessings, which are so many, I think it graduates to a miracle. Brian and I truly feel blessed with the wonderful family and friends that make Seattle still feel like home.

Loving winter (or I guess that is what it's called when it's January and cold...)

As we watch the weather, we see how our West coast fans (um, friends) are getting snowed on.

Here was out winter...

Snowed one day.
Cold and sunny for two days.
Rain.
50s and 60s today.
The groundhog says 6 more weeks of winter.
We can handle that.

Life is good.


and, if you notice the day and time...yes, I'm watching the SuperBowl and working to catch up the blog! Go Giants!

Celebrity sighting and meeting

Sarah got a chance to meet Ty Pennington a little while back. Who is Ty Pennington you ask. Well you might remember him from his involvement with ABC's extreme home makeover show, or his signature line of flooring with Lumber Liquidators.

Long story short, Sarah got a quick chance to meet, greet, and have a picture snapped with Ty.

One Semester to go!

With one semester to go, for my MBA, the goal of graduation is in sight. Now if a job were also in sight we would be set, but all in due time. For now I will think about the semester ahead and how it will continue to prepare me for the job market.

I am taking six classes this semester which are:

Corporate Finance - this will build on the finance classes I have taken previously while putting theory and practice together.
Leadership Advantage - this class matched each student, from day one of the program, with an executive coach to help us with our leadership preparation and skills.
Global Competative Strategy - sounds like it will cover decision making process at multiple levels of an organization. From what I have heard our professor is great and the class is top notch.
Project Management - This will look back at some more interesting operational problems and get into the nitty gritty of project management. Should be pretty helpful since I am leading our field consultancy group.
Advanced Financial Modeling Techniques - I am expecting this class to help put more of the corporate finance into practice and help me develop some interesting tools for the future, but who knows.
Field Consultancy - This is a very interesting way for us to get hands on work outside of our summer internships experiences. It gives students the opportunity to help companies work through real challenges and see their solutions challenged and implimented.

Go Hawks!

Stewart's Visit Willyburg

What a treat! Of all the friends that we have, the Stewart's were amongst the last that we thought would ever make it to Williamsburg, but wonders never cease. The Stewart's would be the first to admit this! I (Sarah) use to work with Shelby, and we have become great friends with the two of them. But they have two (adorable) little girls, both work more than full time and always seem to be busy, so we were totally excited when they decided to come to town! We had a great time showing them around.

We made sure they visited the historical triangle with a quick drive through of Jamestown, Yorktown and back to Williamsburg. We ate at our favorite BBQ place (so far, all of our guests have enjoyed Smokin' Joes!) and they were in town for one of the famous things that Williamsburg does, GRAND ILLUMINATIONS!

The first Sunday in December is Grand Illuminations. So, we headed into Willyburg in the late afternoon to walk through Colonial Williamsburg. They still decorate for Christmas like they did in Colonial times. So no electric lights, it's all done with organic materials. Each door is adorned with a Christmas wreath and every wreath is different. Rather that use ribbons and pinecones for decoration, wreaths are decorated using fresh fruit (apples, pomegranates, lemons and pineapples (of course)) and other materials (cotton, sticks, feathers) and the result is very cool. We rested at the Cheese Shop with a great bottle of wine (Cameron Hughes Syrah Lot 24).

then we walked to the lawn in front of the Governor's Place to listen to the fife and drum before the fireworks. It was a 20 minute show and really was well done.

We were sad to see these two head back to Seattle - but we knew we'd see them at Christmas...
post to come soon.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day. We sure did!

Volleyball...

We came real close to winning the tournament this time around, but came up just a little short in the third game in a best of three. Game one we killed the other team, game two we lost by a few points, and same story for game three...so close...unfortunately close doesn't count in volleyball. According to what my Dad taught me, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades...

Dinner Party

Mike, Nicole, Sarah and I have been to a restaurant in Williamsburg called Chef's Kitchen a couple of times and had a great time. Each time you go it is an interactive live cooking show and dinner where you walk away with a recipe booklet of what you had that night. I have learned some interesting techniques, from chopping, to not stirring as much as I would like, but what has been really nice is the extension of our recipe book. After being there for dinner, the wives decided to go to a cooking class and guys went to a wine paring class. So with some new recipes and a little wine paring knowledge we decided to put our talents to work with a dinner party.

We invited a number of our classmates out to Mike and Nicole's house for a dinner party (menu below). It was the first time I had tried to pair wine with an entire meal...this was actually harder than I expected...I think we were pretty successful and when in doubt everyone just found a wine that they liked, which is important.

MENU
Appetizers on the Patio: Sparkling White Wine/Champagne or Muscadet
Oysters on the Half Shell
Grilled Vegetables

Starter: Chardonnay
Asparagus and Artichoke Salad

Main Course: Pinot Noir, Bardolino, or Brunello
Pork Loin with Risotto and Green Beans

Desert: Black Muscat or a Zin
Apple Pie & Ice Cream

Shenandoah Valley

Who would have thought that the changing of the leaves would be so popular? People actually track when Fall will go through the East coast much like when the cherry trees bloom up in DC. Well we thought it was going to be an East coast trip to remember so off to one of the Meccas for Fall color changing!

However, this story starts about a year ago when Sarah made reservations for us to go up to the Shenandoah Valley and stay at a hotel in the park. Not only were we trying to go during a popular season, there are only a few places to stay in the park. We were nearby mile marker 51 at the Big Meadows Lodge. Being in the park was awesome during peak Fall color time because there are tons of nice and entertaining people, you are surrounded by the bright leaves, and there are lots of hiking trails within a few miles.

At night there was a little pub downstairs in the lodge that had some local entertainment, which was very fun. The first night there was a guy who had been playing there for around 25 years. That night was his last so he was going to play what he wanted...He was very musically talented and got the crowd involved by teaching us the chorus to the song he was singing then he would listen to the crowd and harmonize with us. Very fun!

On our way home we stopped by the Luray Caverns, which turned out to be nice one mile walk through a beautiful cavern filled with stories from our tour guide. Good weekend!

Sarah's Mom Came to Visit

My Mom (Sarah's) came to visit for a week in September. It was great! She was a lot of fun to have around. I still had to work and Brian had school, but she added some excitement to our evenings. Plus, we she helped me cheer on the MBA softball team...and some games, they needed it. It was fun.

We explored one of the plantations in the area. Anyone remember Shirley Plantation that Pastor Mike spoke about during our wedding? He spoke about the giant pineapple that travelers could see from the river. It served as a sign of hospitality and welcoming, so travelers knew they would have a place to stay. Here it is:


You'll have to trust me, that it's a pineapple on top. It was very cool to see! Thanks for the memorable homily, Pastor Mike. On another day, the three of us drove to Smithfield to see the Virginia countryside, try some country ham and she-crab soup. It was a fun morning.

We love having visitors -you're more than welcome to come!

NYC

A nice long three day weekend in NYC with our friend Anne! Anne, thanks for letting us stay with you. Also for showing us around the city even though we taunted you with large touristy maps and destinations that you would only give us directions to.

Scottish Festival

The name says it all except for the fact that there were actual people tossing caber for a competition!