A little trip that went up, up and more up...

I went climbing a few weeks ago now and my body still remembers the point of defeat at 1.8 peaks. I had a great time with Nick and my sister that day. On a less important note, I am almost all healed up from my one tired moment on the mountain where the mountain won. Still not sure what happened exactly since I remember standing still and the next moment I was on the ground going for a little ride that ended in a bloody hand. I must have been day dreaming or something, but it reminded me of the times when I used to ski a bunch. My best friend and I would have no problem zipping down the mountain, but once we stopped at the bottom the odds of us (or at least me) falling over greatly increased…

For pictures and another perspective of the great hike of 2008 check out her blog

The next day I went with my Dad for a hike around Mt. Rainier. My body was thankful that this was a much more relaxed hike instead of another crazy climb like the day before. In fact I would be willing to bet that my body might have down right revolted at the thought of doing another crazy climb the next day...

It was great to spend some time with my Dad up on one of the mountains that we used to go to often when I was younger. I had forgotten how pretty it can be hiking around on the trails at Mt. Rainier. But, then again being on the East Coast I had kind of forgotten what a real mountain looks like too. Thankfully I got two solid lessons while I was in town.

For pictures and other details check out his blog

Phil & Mary Vacation in Williamsburg

So, if you didn't believe it yet, you really should come and visit Brian and I in Williamsburg - everyone else does!

This weekend Phil and Mary came down from DC to hang out with us, or maybe just use us for the pool. Phil and I have been friends since grade school and Mary's a "friend" of his - we liked her! We made the most of the sun and heat - mimosas by the pool, some played tennis, Brian made curry and we played lots of Mario Kart. We had dinner at the Fat Canary (our favorite) and then beers at Chowning's Tavern, a colonial tavern, so we watching a magician, listened to musicians, and played "Shut the Box" - a dice game.

The four of us had a lot of good conversations - and talked about all sorts of things...food, friends, jobs, politics, the media, and George. Hopefully, we'll get to visit them soon in D.C.

A little trip to TJ's house...

The drive behind our trip was to come and checkout Thomas Jefferson's house at Monticello. Pretty nice place if you ask me, but back his day I bet it was pretty darn warm inside.

I really enjoyed the gardens at Monticello. Jefferson was absolutely crazy and scientific about his plants. In fact he kept a journal about each and every plant that was on the grounds and had a preference for useable plants...

Without my navigator I'm not sure we would have made it to the house. However, if I had known the place was retrofitted with AC I would have had no problems finding this place.

May as well make a quick stop at the university that TJ designed (UVA) too.

While we were at the university that he designed we felt that spending a moment with him in the shade would be a nice little break. Thankfully not to long since the shade was scarce and it was hot that day.

And we finished the weekend at lunch with friends

My Kappa Phi Girls

As you may or may not know, I'm extremely involved with Zeta Tau Alpha. I enjoy all of the time that I dedicate to it - and this past year has been especially special. I was asked to be the General Advisor for Kappa Phi, the Zeta chapter at Christopher Newport University. I threw the girls for a loop with my energetic style, but they soon got use to it and we accomplished a lot together.

I know I was suppose to be their advisor, but week after week leaving the chapter meetings, I knew I was getting just as much advise on life from them; whether they knew it or not.

I never tried to be cool or in the know, and I'm sure not either of those things now...but I'm a little closer. =) Late night phone calls, a retreat in North Carolina, LOTS of email, "mash the potato", Facebook, LOTS of hugs, smiles and thank yous. It was a year that I will always cherish.

Visitor from Seattle

AND then we had MORE company! Karissa came to town! We walked around Colonial Williamsburg, enjoyed a bottle of wine in the garden of the Cheese Shop, played Mario Kart (be careful, boys, she holds her own!), and time catching up.

It's wonderful to make new friends, but it's heart-warming to be re-united with old ones. We have been through some adventures together and it's always fun to get together and talk through all that is ahead of us.

We love entertaining! Good thing, huh?!

Visitor from Anchorage

One of my (Sarah) friends from FOREVER came to town this weekend. Carrie had class in Norfolk, but we convinced her to come in a day early and hang out with us. It was so good to see her! We drug her to a graduation party. Worth noting: the party was sponsored by an official taster at Budweiser. So don't feel TOO bad for her. PLUS we spent time at Virginia Beach - darn good weekend if you ask me!

Graduation is/was here!

We can't believe two years have gone by so fast! On May 11, 2008, we heard my name announced as I was awarded my MBA. We had a great day - an MBA brunch, class picture, Mike Tomlin (Steeler's head coach) gave the main commencement speech, and we went out for a fabulous dinner.

My folks joined us in Williamsburg for a few days and it was great to see them. We talked and laughed a lot and were definitely sad to see them head home.

Graduation is here...well almost

Only a few days left until graduation! Yippee!

Kentucky Derby Time!

All dressed up to watch the races! We (right) joined Sage and Morgan (left) and Carter and Lisa (below) for homemade mint juleps during the Kentucky Derby. I am starting to understand this sport, but all of this for a TV viewing of one of the fastest sporting events? Either way we found a way to make it fun!

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.