Yes, Bryan is Still Older than Theresa!

It was that time of year again, when some of my favorite people turn a year older, which means it must be time for a party! The history of this party dates back as long as I've known Theresa and Bryan, and probably longer. Bryan's birthday (Mar. 31) falls 6 weeks before Theresa's (May 12), a fact she will never let him forget. When Bryan married Laura, and we realized her birthday (Apr. 22) was in the middle of the two, she got added to the celebration, as did Vince (Apr. 12) and Marj (Mar. ?). Vince however, was a no show this time (for the second party in a row hosted in his honor) and he will surely not live it down, the dork.


I hosted the party this year and it was a fun time. The highlight was Steve Lord showing up with birthday balloons, hats, tiaras, etc. for each of them that said "Happy 21st Birthday", "Happy 30th Birthday", and "Happy 50th Birthday" - none of which are even close to being accurate.

Tom, despite suffering all week with a kidney stone, came down for the party. I still can't believe he rebounded in time for the party! He even grilled us awesome kabobs. Diego made his signature sangria which was a big hit, and I made a gluten free german chocolate cake - I don't know about anyone else but it's my favorite!! :-)

It was a fun time, I can't wait until next year!

Girls Weekend in New Orleans

After more than 2 years of not seeing Erikka, Erin and I decided that the phone and Facebook just didn't cut it anymore and we got on a plane to New Orleans for a girls weekend! Even though Erin only lives about 45 minutes away in Manassas, we can't seem to get together as often as we'd like, and we desperately miss Erikka. It was a mini-Sweet Briar reunion! We also had Frances with us, Sweet Briar class of 2030. :-)


The French Quarter Festival was going on at the time so there were lots of street vendors and musicians and entire French Quarter was full of people. Frances was a trooper all weekend and managed to flirt her way to some balloons at a restaurant. We were quite a sight pushing a one year old in a baby stroller with a bunch of balloons tied to it up and down Bourbon Street on a Friday night!

If only we were all still neighbors like in college. It would be so fun if we could see each other more regularly.

Gretl The Destroyer

Over the past few weeks, I have gotten the chance to get to know Tom's dog-niece, Gretl, whom he affectionately refers to as "Gretl, The Destroyer" or "Sasquatch" or "Num-nuts." Take your pick.

Tipping the scales at 105+, she is quite large and intimidating at first, but then you realize she's a total sweet heart. Just don't stand between her and left over steak. :-)

She's not super fond of having her picture taken, but we did manage to get these glamour shots.

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!)