Week 7 COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND

the video: the first handful of pictures are a bit fuzzy for reasons unknown and some of the text/captions are a little too small. heads up. overall it should still be easy to watch especially with the blurbs below.

[the much anticipated] Columbus Day Weekend was EPIC.
It began with Thomas flying up from Florida to DC Thursday then driving home to Waynesboro where we went out for drinks, saw a few old friends, and played a little trivia.

Friday was my glorious return to WINTERGREEN. As you'll see above we took pictures of the breathtaking vistas and fall foliage. I was thrilled beyond words to stop by the office and see everyone on the mountain :)
Later that afternoon we met Brent at Devil's Backbone where we discovered a new seasonal gem: COFFEE BEER. so delicious. Kristi eventually joined us at DB for good times that carried into the night. Afterwards we set up our tent to mark our spot for The Festy (in the dark...a bit challenging and completely hilarious). Then T.Holt and I followed Kristi to her lovely abode where the merriment continued into the wee hours. Thomas got to watch the Phillies game and K and I were able to catch up and dish in our pj's. perfection.

The next day we got up, had a petite photo shoot in Kristi & Lance's backyard (notice the dazzling creek pics) and then packed up and headed back to Waynesboro.
After we showered up and gathered our gear/supplies for The Festy, we swung by Thomas's old house on Pine Ave and stopped by the Fall Foliage Festival downtown to snag some kettle corn.
The rest of the weekend was a knee slappin' good time at The Festy with folk & bluegrass tunes, more great beer & food, great company & chats, people watching, picture taking, camping adventures, and more tie dye than you could shake a stick at. Simply wonderful.

Week 7 was heaven baby.

(week 8 entry coming soon i promise)

A STAR IS BORN!

ATTENTION EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH. I HAVE A VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:

AFTER SEVERAL LONG HOURS OF LABOR (since late morning Monday 10/4/10) I AM THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF

BABY WYNNE!

this precious girl is the first child of Erin and Mike Dinger.

No joke, I woke up this morning and felt like today was the day (as evidenced by my morning tweets) and then Erin texted :"are you ready to be an aunt today??" and Emmy texted me that Erin was en route to the hospital. BOOYAH. After a whole day of smiling non-stop and constantly checking in (yes, even during class) Emily finally texted me just after midnight that a healthy baby girl had made her way out into the world! 

I wanted to honor this little love nugget's birth with something special so while Erin was in her last hour of labor, Lindsey and I created this masterpiece in their honor: 

my webcam started to get a tiny bit exhausted so a little over halfway through and the audio gets a bit outta sync and but it's mainly a free-for-all at that point so i don't think it hurts entertainment value. 

Anyways, Baby Dinger, this one's for you.

Weeks 5&6 SmushedTogether

On account of having basically no internet for the past 2 weeks, 5 & 6 have been combined this time around. 

thoughts and highlights from weeks 5&6:

• The discovery of Kennebunkport Brewing Company's Pumpkin Ale. it's life changing. if you like Pumpkin Spice Lattes or pumpkin pie or pumpkin ANYTHING you will love this beer. LOVE it.
• Mint chocolate chip ice cream, red wine, and You've Got Mail made for the perfect slumber party with Nina. 
• Easily the best racquetball match against Rachel. don't you love when exercise is fun?
• the equinox came and finally it has begun to feel like FALL. leaves changing color, jackets, sweaters, hot drinks, football in full swing.....it's good to see you Autumn, my old friend.
• on Glee this week they made a Kids Incorporated reference. 100 BONUS POINTS. shout out to one of my favorite childhood shows. i had assumed disappeared into obscurity but alas, Ryan Murphy has resurrected it. high five sir.
• Pumpkin Spice coffee from Millstone rocked my world. When i'm not drinking it, i'm sniffing it. Sometimes i just leave the bag open to fill a room with its scent. like a hobo air freshener.

this next week is going to be EPIC so stay tuned for a special Columbus Day Weekend edition of Week 7!

Week 3

 

*note, "racquetball" is missing an "l" in the slideshow but that's because the text box got cut off somehow.... just so you know...i do know how to spell racquetball ;)

Highlights for Week 3!

• Pub Trivia with Steve at Auld Shebeen was a total blast and we didn't do half bad! Also we didn't cheat (ahem...table behind us.... fun-killers.)
• My adorable Korean professor that teaches my Cultural and Heritage Tourism class sported a Hello Kitty pencil bag. God bless her... she's so cute. 
• Racquetball with Linds and Rach was fun as usual but I have a feeling I'll be dethroned soon... (i'm becoming suspicious that they might be having secret practice sessions). 
• Friday night Linds and I decided to watch Return to Me (which is one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES ....linds had never seen it!). So endearing and well made....
• Nina and I decided semi-spontaneously to head home Saturday night (Kimberly dropped by for some wine time!) and attend polo at King Family Vineyards Sunday (an event Nina insisted on seeing first hand after seeing my pictures from this summer). It was brilliant with perfect weather once again AND we got to see Kristi (double bonus points!) Linds joined us for the ride to and fro so that she could see Chris at UVA and the three of us gals enjoyed two lovely car trips chatting and singing along to our various iPod selections. 

That's it for Week 3 ....We have some great stuff slated for the next few days so stay tuned for a report and slideshow of Week 4!

love

sca

week 2.... better late than never!

Sorry this one's a bit late everyone! It was one of those weeks where all the days bled together....anyways....enjoy!

Wintergreen in motion

Before fall fully kicks in, here's a look back at my summer at Wintergreen. (remember the slideshows have music so turn your sound on!)

cue music..... week 1 is in the bag!

 I'm happy to report that Week 1 was a rousing success and the holiday weekend was jam packed with all kinds of good times. Above is a slideshow of pictures from the week/weekend & here's a quick highlight list:

• impromptu dance party with Linds to: Hot Mess, Bye Bye Bye, All I Want For Christmas Is You, and It's Tricky....................magic.
• My new coffee machine's "delay brew" feature is BOSS.
• 1st racquetball match of the semester with Rachel was a total blast. although parts of my body were in complete agony the next morning. 
• Friday's lunch date at Olive Garden with Rach was perfection.
• Thirsty Thursdays are back and thanks to a super-fly koozie I inherited from Kristi, our house has adopted the phrase "rockin' the rockfish" as the good times motto. 
• insanely fun weekend in Richmond engaging in bachelorette festivities with a gaggle of wonderful ladies for our bride to be and dear friend, Megan. I would ballpark my calorie consumption for the weekend at circa 50,000 cal. I feel 100% not guilty because there's not one thing that I ate or drank that wasn't delicious. classy booze, classy cuisine, and classy company.....totally worth it. I'll keep smiling on the elliptical machine this week. 
• Nina and I made a kick ass tex-mex pizza with garden herb dough, guacamole, pico de gallo, and shredded pepper jack cheese. our brie & jam on crackers appetizer was european inspired and paired with a CabSav that was lovely.
• 4 day weekend = 3 day week! (we don't have friday classes) three cheers for Labor Day!

alright folks, time for this young lady to get some sleep :)
love to all
SCA

Senior Year is a GO.

Lindsey and I pose before heading to our first classes of the semester. Obviously, we're very eager to learn.

Ok folks,
I've created this blog to detail the many adventures of what promises to be an extraordinary senior year for your reading & viewing pleasure. My goal is to post a video/slideshow each week paired with a written entry that offeres updates, highlights, and reflections.

To catch you up to speed, here are the cliff notes of where we are:

• This was my first week of class as a senior Tourism and Events Management major at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. 
• I live in a townhouse roughly 3 blocks from campus with 3 other lovely young women: 
• Linds: one of my closest friends at Mason. We met a couple years ago playing for Mason's Club Lacrosse team. Linds is from Virginia Beach and is a junior Environmental Science major at Mason.
• Sam: a lover of running, she ran track & cross country for Mason. Sam is from nearby McLean, VA and is a sophomore undeclared and currently applying for transfer to Cornell  for Interior Design (recently decided career path).
• Kathryn: our lovely exchange student from Essex, England (right outside London). Kathryn is a junior American Studies major whose mother is a nurse and father is a news director for the BBC.  Kat is totally stoked to be spending the year in the U.S.

So those are the ladies with which I share our humble abode. We've left decorating our dining & living room to do this weekend so once that's finished we'll take pictures that I'll post for a virtual tour.

• Many of you are aware that I spent this summer as the Events & Marketing Intern at Wintergreen Resort. It was a phenomenal experience that made for an unforgettable summer. I had a total blast and consider it to be my most valuable educational experience to date. In an effort to prevent me from gushing on and on about it, I'll stop here. (if you really want to know more about my summer and experience there, then by all means, ask me because I would LOVE to share.)
• I started college in South Carolina when I was 18 back in the fall of 2005. Thanks to a transfer, new major, and broken neck (& recovery) I'm now 23 in the fall of 2010 beginning my 6th and FINAL (woohoo) year of college. 

So now that you're up to date....This blog will be a scrapbook & journal that chronicles my senior year as I begin to bridge the gap between collegiate life and the so-called "real world". I'm very excited about what will unfold over the next year. Despite obviously preparing myself for post-grad life, I'm looking forward to enjoying one last go-round in college and have made a list of 20 things that I want do/experience before the year is done. A few are things that I've already done but are annual favorites/traditions. Most, however, are new.

Here's the list:

• Go Skydiving 
• Complete a Geocache
• Camp out. anywhere.
• Ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC
• Go to the Mason Basketball home games (Go Green, Go Gold, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT).
• Dress George (tradition at GMU to dress up the giant statue of George Mason)
• Revisit national monuments & museums in D.C. metro area.
• Go to an IMAX 3D Midnight screening of HARRY POTTER
• Play pub trivia at Auld Shebeen 
• Get my picture taken in front of the Charm City Cakes building in Baltimore
• Watch a Blackhawks game at The Rat (campus sports bar)
• Learn to properly shoot a shotgun
• Attend a black tie affair (it's been too long!)
• Go to a service at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
• Send a cool care package to soldiers overseas
• Rent & ride a sailboat
• Dinner & dancing at The Guards in Georgetown
• Raise $500 for Relay for Life
• Learn to play T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" on my acoustic guitar
• Visit my brother at VT

So there it is. A list of 20 things I want to do over the course of my senior year.

Now if  you'll excuse me.... it's Thirsty Thursday and it's time to welcome the weekend!
love
sca