Baby Colton has arrived!

Baby Colton, my new first cousin - once removed has arrived and he is a cutie! It was really fun to hold him for a little while and then give him back! :-)

A Pi Day Celebration

Pi Day - for those of you non-math geeks....is March 14th (3-14). Well to celebrate (a day late), and really as a good excuse to go spend quality time with my grandmother, I took my pi plate (and my Kitchen Aid mixer and all the ingredients) out to my grandmother's apartment in Herndon so that she could teach me how to make her famous graham cracker pie. Yum. I hadn't had it in at least 10 years, and had tried to make it once myself but it was a disaster. Expert instruction was definitely needed, and the challenge this time around was to use gluten free graham crackers. Grandmother and I spent the afternoon baking and catching up, and I got to hear stories about her and Granddaddy when they were dating, and stories of what it was like to live during the Great Depression...which seemed quite relevant to the economic struggles of today. After we had completed our pie, we went out to dinner and then came home to test out our creation. It was yummy!

Hiking in Delaware

Ok, so when you think of hiking in Delaware, what do you picture? Well, chances are, that's about what you get! But it's not the location nearly as much as it is the company! Tom and I hiked around Lums Pond, near Newark, DE. It was a 7 mile flat, mostly wooded loop around the pond. It was similar to Burke Lake or Lake Accotink in VA. Given that it is March, there wasn't much greenery, but it was still nice to be outside getting some fresh air and exercise. We followed up the hike with a much needed dinner at a local restaurant, where we were clearly the oldest people there (Newark is home to the University of Delaware), and coffee at Starbucks to fuel the drive home. It was a good day.

A Quick Trip to Sweet Briar

I was invited to return to Sweet Briar to be on a panel at the Careers in Math and Engineering event. Not that I do much math or engineering in my job, but I had lots to talk about when one student said "I'm a math major, and I don't think I want a career in math, so what am I supposed to do?" This is my life story! I liked math from an academic perspective - it was easy, it made sense, I was good at it, and I got A's. But I've come to the conclusion over the years that as much as I like math, I don't like the applications of math. At least not for a career. I much prefer the intellectual challenge of policy issues, and dare I say it....reading and writing. Who'd have thought from the girl that planned her entire college curriculum around never having to write more than one paper per semester.

(The Pink High Heel - designed and built by SBC engineering students and entered into the Red Bull Soap Box Derby. The heel finished 3rd in the People's Choice Category.)

The visit to campus was an opportunity not only to catch up with "The Happy Math Family," but also to see the changes on campus since I was there last year. The most exciting change I noticed would probably be missed by most visitors to campus - the dining hall now has gluten free bread, cereal, and other options. Wow! My dream come true! The more obvious change on campus though is the construction of the new gym and eco-townhouses.

(Pink commuter bikes - cool!)

Vince-less Fest

Ok, so "Vince-Fest," rescheduled from last month, finally occurred this weekend with one major adjustment. Vince bailed. Yes, you read that right. Vince - the friend that this entire weekend was planned around, months in advance, based on his schedule, BAILED! Ugh. Ok, I'm done complaining about it, we had a good time without him. We did however have to rename the event to be "Vince-less Fest" instead. Thanks to Tom's friend Loren for coming up with the brilliant name!
Theresa, Diego and I loaded the bikes in their car and headed north to Springtown on Friday night. We arrived just after 11pm, thanks to DC rush hour traffic that was still going strong at 8pm. Tom, being Polish, which he tells me means that he greets guests with food before even saying hello, did his heritage proud and had shrimp, chips, guacamole, salsa, and bottle of wine waiting for us. The shrimp was a huge hit, and the leftovers reappeared to much acclaim with eggs, spinach, and mushrooms on Sunday morning.

Saturday we kicked off Vince-less Fest with pancakes and eggs before heading out for a great bike ride that took us to an airfield, a coffee shop (I was in desperate need of a mocha), and a field trip to a local maple syrup maker. Yes, you read that right! A few miles before the end of the ride, we came upon a maple syrup maker. A guy was collecting sap from the trees near the road and asked us if we'd like to come inside to see how its made. Absolutely!

We entered the 103 degree building to see them boiling the sap to make syrup. Apparently it takes about 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup and the season only lasts for about 6 weeks each February/March. Good thing, I suppose, as I sure wouldn't want to be inside that building on a hot summer day! Theresa and I each bought a bottle of syrup and carried them in our bike jersey pockets for the remainder of the ride.



After a short nap to recover from the ride, the Vince-less Fest celebration evening feast began. We kicked off the cooking by drinking a bottle of Dom Perignon that Tom had been given as a gift. I don't even like champagne, but that was some good stuff! Seriously - I had a couple glasses and I normally don't take more than a sip of champagne. Tom had lobsters shipped in from Portland, ME and FedEx managed to deliver them this time. Theresa and I stepped outside while Tom and Diego put them into the boiling water. If I had to kill my own food I'd be a vegetarian.


They were delicious! To top it off, Tom had ordered this gourmet chocolate cake from a local chocolate shop for dessert. It was gluten free and it was to die for! I think it was the best chocolate cake I have ever had, and I've had a lot of chocolate cake in my life!


We ended the evening by teaching Tom how to play the basket game. As usual, the game did not disappoint, lots of laughs were had by all. Whereas in the past, we have always played men against women (and the women have always lost...) this time it was Diego and I versus Tom and Theresa, and for the first time ever, I was on the winning basket game team! Woo hoo! You rock, Diego.

Sunday, Tom helped Theresa get her marathon training run in, and then Tom and Theresa had to make breakfast for us (their consolation prize for losing the basket game). They did an outstanding job. Theresa is now a veteran gluten free pancake maker.

Copenhagen

So for our first date, I went to Pennsylvania. For our second date, Tom came to Virginia. For our third date, it only made sense that we meet in middle. Delaware.

A day after returning home from visiting me in Virginia, I got a call from Tom who asked "Joanne Hopkins, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Joanne: "Yes, I would."

Tom: "Great, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday?"

Joanne: "Well, that depends."

Tom: "No it doesn't depend, do you want to go on a date with me or not?"

Ok, so after a bit of back and forth, it was determined that we would meet in Wilmington on Sunday to see the play Copenhagen, put on by the Delaware Theater Company. Tom had been telling me about it over the weekend and how much he thought I would like it. He did some research and discovered it was playing in Wilmington. Perfect!

The play is a fictional account of a real life conversation that took place between Neils Bohr and Werner Heisenberg during WWII when each was working on research that would eventually lead to the creation of the atomic bomb. It was a great play that focuses on the intersection of science and ethics and leaves you pondering the subject long after the play is over. I loved it!