Ice Skating

Last Tuesday, I took Amanda on a date to go ice skating. We went to the public skating at noon at the Colorado Springs World Arena Ice Hall which is where many Olympic ice skaters train. This was Amanda's second time on ice (though she loves roller skating) but she quickly got the hang of the difference. I had forgotten how much those skates make your feet hurt.



After skating for a while, we put on our shoes and went to the other rink to watch ice skating couples practice. It was fun to see the couples practicing some of their stunts.

Paul Wilbur Live Widget

So this is part of what I've been feverishly working on for the last 2 weeks.

I'll post the main part when I can.

Seven Random Things

We've been tagged by Joanna. I'll go first.

1. My most guilty pleasure is keeping up with an obnoxious, homosexual celebrity gossip blogger.

2. I'm growing my hair out really long with the intent of one day having awesome, non-stinky dreadlocks.

3. After much deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that Bangkok Thai is my favorite restaurant in the US, not because it's the best food I've ever had, but because I could seriously eat there seven days a week.

4. I secretly want to be a celebrity chef and have a show on the Food Network.

5. I had my nose pierced about 4 years ago, but I took it out for a job. I really miss it, and I'd get it done again.

6. I canned approximately seventy pounds of apples during our stint in Washington.

7. When I was eleven I raised money from my sixth grade class and sponsored a manatee.

I tag Dan Savage, Perez Hilton, Frank Warren, Heidi Swanson, Don Miller, Zach Braff, and fjr.

Great political essay by Don Miller

Don Miller, known for his Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What books is one of Amanda's and my heroes.  We both thought this blog post about his political journey starting in a staunch conservative family was really insightful and good.   I especially can relate to many parts of it. I even went to the same conservative camp he references, went to churches not on the bus rout, and even (gasp) listened regularly to conservative talk radio. 

Some sections that really stood out to me:

" I learned, then, that complicated problems could not be solved through simple solutions and emotional, even patriotic rhetoric. I also learned liberal, wishful thinking was fruitless. I learned to trust the value of numbers, hard data, and to realize nearly everybody has a motive, and power corrupts. I was shocked to find out abortion had decreased by 18% under President Clinton, and another 8% under George W. Bush (a significant slowing) and the pro-life lobby had largely ignored the economic factors that contribute to unwanted pregnancy. 

In referring to something he said in an interview concerning why some Christian conservatives sometimes believe blatant lies about politicians :

“When we’ve never met people,” I said, “we are easily manipulated into demonizing them. We are easily made to fear.” And I’ll add there has been a great deal of fear in this campaign.

Here's the whole blog article. 

(http://donmilleris.com/2008/11/03/from-reagan-to-obama-a-brief-political-history/)

In Colorado Springs Again!

We arrived in CO on Wednesday. We've become quite accustomed to driving 24 hour stretches and only stopping for gas and a meal or two. I actually prefer it to taking two or three days to complete the same trip. We've spent a lot of time relaxing at the Nash's apartment. To clarify, Ben has been diligently working on web design stuff and I have been relaxing.

We threw a Halloween party on Friday night. I love to host parties and make food for lots of people, so I was very excited. I even bought a few decorations. Our party of seven turned to a party of three, though, because our friends who shall not be named in this blog bailed on us. So Ben, Joanna, and I watched High School Musical 2 and made caramel apples. High School Musical 1 is much better. Joanna also obliged the 4 trick-or-treaters. They were a robber, a "sweetheart" bat, a vampire, and a tiny Asian witch.

Berck came home on Saturday, and we had a fun night of oysters, pizza, and pub chips in three different restaurants. We rounded out the night with some ice cream. There was also abnormally good Irish music involved. Things always get exciting when Berck comes home.

This week is devoted to Ben's work, and next week we will probably make our way back to AL. I'm sure we will have tons of fun tomorrow trying to keep up with election coverage.