Phreezing in Philly

Hey everyone.

In case some of you haven't heard, Obama was sworn in this last Tuesday.  The weekend before, Libby and I headed south to escape the cold of Philadelphia and to join in on some of the pre-Obama craziness (we did not however eat a Barack-wurst at the DC mall). We were disappointed to find out that Washington D.C. was not much warmer than Philly.  I think the freezing temperatures kept most of the inauguration crowds indoors because there weren't nearly as many people swarming around the Smithsonian as we'd anticipated.  On Saturday we checked out the new National History Museum and Archives Museum. I met my long time heros Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, fulfilling a childhood dream.  Upon hearing this, my sister became jealous of my time-traveling ways.  After that, we braved the cold long enough to see the capitol building and the set up for inauguration day and get a free tour of the  C-Span bus - it was awesome.  And speaking of the set up for inauguration day, I have never seen so many port-o-potties in my life.  When we were at the mall, there were more johns than people.  There were more potties than mommies.  There were more..., aw, never mind.  Needless to say there were thousands of them.  Libby and I enjoyed the weekend, including a wonderful meal at Oprah's favorite pizza place in DC, thanks to our wonderful hosts, Dave and Mallory.   

This last weekend gave us something that we have not yet seen before - high price, do-it-yourself cooking at a downtown restaurant.  We went with two of Libby's friends from school to a little restaurant, where after our meal, we got to munch on some, that's right, Smores.  It was like camping without the dirt, the bugs, or the restless night's sleep.  We each got to cook our marshmallows over an open flame (I wouldn't really call it a fire, but that's to be left open to debate by our faithful comment-ers).  This last weekend also allowed Libby and I to firm up our V-day plans.  Don't tell her, but we're going to Broadway to watch a green woman get killed by a precocious teenager.  We're taking a romantic day trip to NYC to see Wicked and soak up the sights.  

Libby and I don't really have too much to report about our day-to-day lives right now.  Libby has begun some preliminary looking for a summer teaching job that could hopefully be extended into a job for next year.  We're both excited about some people coming into town in March - my sister Paige and Libby's Mom and friends.  Other than that we're back in our groove of school and work.  Libby's lucky enough to have a little bit more time to sleep in this semester, and I've been slowly getting a hang when and how to get home as quickly as possible.  We're staying pretty active - I'm training for a marathon and Libby's joining me at the gym.  This spring, we plan on doing some recreational leagues to get out and meet some people nearer to our area.  Other than that, we enjoy hearing from back home, and are waiting for the weather to warm up so we can explore some more of the Pennsylvania countryside.  

As always, Libby will kindly present us with a plethora of pictures and witty comments from the past few weeks...

Gotta go gotta go gotta go right now!
Gregg was kind enough to photograph some Hawaiian women who requested  a photo shoot in front of all the toilettes.
Gregg: Hello Mr. President, MAY I please have a photograph taken with you?

George: Why certainly my good man, thank you for asking so politely.
Separated at birth?

Brrrrrr! Those smiles are actually frozen on.

It was the most wonderful time of the year

Hi Everyone!

Well, it's been a while since we last updated, but it's not due to a lack of things to talk about.  Since we last updated people on our lives, Libby and I have been to 6 different states (if the Detroit airport counts).  Libby and I made a "midwest swing" around Christmas time.  We left the Friday before Christmas, narrowly avoiding a Northeastern ice storm and travelling with the Temple University basketball team (who would not scoot over and give me more leg space!)

We spent 3 days before christmas in Kansas City so that we could see Libby's family and friends.  It was a lot of fun.  Libby's parents threw a party for Libby's friend's families so that was a lot of fun.  During the time in Kansas City, I played pretty much every board game that had ever been created with Libby's dad.  We also had the chance to go to Libby's cousin's house and eat an amazing meal, drink some great wine, and see a violin performance by up and coming musical prodigy - Libby's 4 year old cousin Eleanor.  

Two days before Christmas, we barely made it out of Kansas City on a rainy, icy day, and ended up finally making it to Tulsa where we had scheduled a Christmas gift exchange with all of our friends who were still in the Tulsa area.  It was really nice to see all those who had been inseparable from us for the previous 4 years.  Unfortunately, less than 24 hours after we arrived at our friend's door, we were on our way to my house.  In retrospect, the time in Tulsa seemed to be just a good dream.

We got to my house on Christmas Eve.  That night, we did what we pretty much did the rest of the time at my house - we played a game, at a delicious meal, and ended the night in the hot tub.  It was a very relaxing way to end our 3 state trip.  We also got to spend a lot of time with my two sisters - Paige and Mallory, and Mallory's husband.  But once again, after only 3 days, we were back to Philly where I had to get back to work (feel free to offer your sympathies).

On our way back to Philly, due to a cancelled flight, Libby and I got to experience the luxury of first class on our way back.  I can't speak for her, but I was glad for all of the extra leg space.  When we did make it back home, we tried our best to leave a bag full of our gifts at the airport, but were lucky enough to retrieve the bag the next day.  

For New Year's Ever, we made our way down to Main Street in Manayunk, which is a very trendy place to be, and rung in the New Year at my second home - the dance floor.  I guess now that the holiday season is over, we're back to our normal lives, and trying to plan trips around the Northeast and looking forward to seeing our friends and families again.

I hope everyone has a great 2009!

The happy bunch Christmas morning.

Four years studying the art of gingerbread house making at the Culinary Institute of London has clearly paid off

If you say that we're not close, just take a look at the picture.

ROMO!!!!!!!!!!!!! (If you think I included too many exclamation points, you were not there for the reunion)

She hasn't taken that dress off since the wedding.

Libby doesn't know these people