CJ Made Up for Losing My Beloved Kodak Camera in Vietanam with this:

The man sure outdid himself!
World, meet my baby Canon 50D with the 28-155 lens.
Learn more here.
It will be in my possession in 10 business days.
He even got me 2 tripods and a case.
All hail the chief!

Also, I will begin the MBA program at the University of Phoenix next Wednesday. I am so psyched. My syllabus-stated classwork is epic.

On top of that, I signed up for a online photo course with my favorite photographer Nicole Hill Gerulat aka a little sussy. She is amazing and I need it. I just about had a panic attack in Best Buy looking at the cameras. There was a big Nikon vs. Canon battle going on. CJ of course picked up the 50D and instinctively started taking brilliant photos. Not really all that surprised, he is a tech wiz.

Anywho, if you need me, I will be the one burried in books and lenses!

Happy Anniversary CJ!

April 2010

CJ's Birthday dinner with his mom, Pam and her bf Ted.

Pam!

Happy 27 year old!

TJ and Laurie's wedding. Basically I forgot to charge our camera, so all you get are these!

Chuck and Cynthia!

Malissa and Travis (Malissa is quicky becoming my bff. I love ladies from Texas!)

This is Kevin. He is just so onery and fun.

CJ's 2 Football Leagues (He's the tall one.)

My favorite part about the games is that CJ is the center, and the quarterback can barely see over him, and when CJ hikes the ball, the quarterback has to jump to catch the snap.

I also had some major stomach issues that night, the woman's restroom was closed, so I had to use the men's. There were no doors and anyone could have walked in, so I was going in shifts to avoid being walked in on or worse. In the middle of a shift, a mom and 3-4 year old little girl were looking for a restroom so I told them I would keep watch while they went. The little girl walked in, and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "No no no no."  And the mom said, "Honey, it's okay just go potty." And the little girl shrieked again, "Mom I CAN'T! I hate the smell in here! Someone DIED." And ran out. The mom gave me this, "I am so mortified look." I could not have laughed harder. I think I traumatized her.

This is my other favorite Texas girl. Jen my carpool buddy and her dog Bella.

Bella is so darn cute it kills me.

More photos of CJ being cute (and on the phone). I love him in a white t shirt.

That beard growth is a requirement for our relationship!

Whitewater Rafting

Click here to view these pictures larger

HGTV Green Home Giveaway

Enter here daily until 6/4/10: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv-green-home-2010-giveaway/package/index.html
Someone win please.

Coca Colla

Looks like Bolivia is coca crazy. The country recently gave a thumbs up to produce a cola with coca leaves included, much like the original coca cola. My grandma first told me about the Coca Cola phenomenon when I lived in Bolivia with her and my grandpa. I wonder if this one will be green too?
More at the link

Discover Magazine: Athletes are Geniuses

This was such a facinating article by my favorite folks at Discover Magazine.

To explain how brains make these on-the-fly decisions, Reza Shadmehr of Johns Hopkins University and John Krakauer of Columbia University two years ago reviewed studies in which the brains of healthy people and of brain-damaged patients who have trouble controlling their movements were scanned. They found that several regions of the brain collaborate to make the computations needed for detailed motor actions. The brain begins by setting a goal—pick up the fork, say, or deliver the tennis serve—and calculates the best course of action to reach it. As the brain starts issuing commands, it also begins to make predictions about what sort of sensations should come back from the body if it achieves the goal. If those predictions don’t match the actual sensations, the brain then revises its plan to reduce error. Shadmehr and Krakauer’s work demonstrates that the brain does not merely issue rigid commands; it also continually updates its solution to the problem of how to move the body. Athletes may perform better than the rest of us because their brains can find better solutions than ours do.

Check it our here.