A Farewell to Trouve and Matt - Veags Style

My cousin sold his company, Trouve Media, this year. He stayed on through 2011 to help with the transition. Now that 2011 is coming to a close, he's taking off for Hawaii for two months with his wife and 2-year-old son.

Trouve employees, however, couldn't let Matt leave without a big send off. They planned an elaborate scavenger hunt just for Matt. One of Matt's employees dressed up as an elephant in a tutu and delivered a FedEx package to him on a Tuesday night. He wasn't to open it until Wednesday.

The package told Matt to go downstairs and get a limo. The limo took him to the airport where he got on a flight to Vegas. Matt had no idea what was going on. Once in Vegas another driver picked him up and took him to a room to be dressed up like Dr. Evil. Matt loves to dress up and the original plan involved hiring a midget (Mini Me), but midgets were too expensive. Who knew?

Matt proceeded to find a series of clues and, dressed as Dr. Evil - make up and all - he wandered through Vegas finding Trouve employees who were dressed up as him along the way.

Matt in the "Matt face" t-shirt everyone was wearing when he found them

I didn't participate in the scavenger hunt, but I did surprise him at dinner. The Trouve folks put together a touching goodbye video for Matt and ultimately unveiled Matt's going away present: a bobble head of himself.

Matt kissing his bobble head

A close up of the Matt bobble head

After dinner and a couple more drinks (read 1am), someone suggested the grand idea of renting a giant limo and cruising the strip. Since everyone wanted Matt's party to be epic, it had to be done.

Some of Matt's employees in the limo

We brought the party to ourselves, bought some booze, and cruised the strip in style.

Notice the second set of couches and TV in the back

As you can imagine, the night deteriorated into drunken rabble-rousing fairly quickly. People were dancing in the limo (I was too tall to stand and dance) and there was a second trip to the liquor store when supplies ran low. I paced myself and did fine, but some others didn't fare so well.

We got back to the hotel around 5am and crashed. We definitely accomplished the epic party requires to properly celebrate the end of Trouve - the end of an era.

Gonzaga Basketball

Cory's brother (Randy) and sister-in-law (Lori) came into town from Spokane this weekend to see the Gonzaga basketball team play. Randy went to Gonzaga for his MBA - I think - so we sat with other alumni in the suites at Key Area.

Lori, Cory, and Liz - I'm wearing my new Gonzaga sweatshirt, a Christmas present from Randy

The suite experience left something to be desired as everyone got one beer and a few pieces of popcorn. To be fair there was also a cone of tortilla chips and some chili and nacho cheese, but with 30 people in the suite that didn't last long. Cory ended up eating the nacho toppings by themselves about half way through the game.

Nevertheless, it was fun to be back in Key Arena (where the Sonics used to play before they were sold) watching basketball.

Our Christmas Tree

Cory and I got our Christmas tree up the last weekend in November this year. This has never happened. Granted, it's only our third Christmas tree together, but still.

There's even wrapped presents under there!

I'm impressed that Cory is very into Christmas. It gets me into the spirit. He always wants to get a tree and at least decorate a little bit. This will be his first Christmas with me in San Diego, so it'll be interesting to see if he misses home - where his Mom decorates 17 trees (some large, some small) every year. We do it up right in San Diego, but there's only one tree.

On a side note, Amy requested that I take a picture of Pounce, my cat, on top of the tree. This is to see if she is still reading my blog.

Delinda, you better not tell her

Chicago for Work

Last week I was in Chicago for the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference. I work for a company that sells literature study guides and lesson plans online, so the NCTE conference was pretty interesting. Since nobody that works at my company is a teacher, it was good to learn about the challenges English teachers are facing and what new technologies they're using.

View from Grant Park

The conference was downtown at the Hilton, so I got to walk around enjoy Chicago a little bit.

Argos, my company's mascot, even made an appearance

Even though I was listening to English teachers give presentations from Thursday through Sunday, I still had a chance to catch up with some old friends.

I stayed with Liz Swary - a college softball friend

We went to a bar on Sunday afternoon to watch the Bears/Chargers game and I proceeded to make some new friends.

My new friends - I don't remember their names

I had to have a little fun to make up for four days of conferences.

Don't worry Dad, only one of those beers is actually mine

Fortunately for everyone, I ended the night with the people I arrived with - my Wash U Softball friend Liz and her buddies.

Kayla, Jon, and Liz - some solid Chicago peeps

Meeting of the Parents

Last month my parents flew to Spokane to check out our wedding venue: The Lodge at Sandpoint.  While my parents were in the area, Cory and I thought we should do the oft dreaded parent introductions. Cory's brother, Randy, hosted a brunch at his house on Sunday morning.

Brain, Randy, and Cory - The Legg Brothers

It went quite well. Everyone was on their best behavior and our parents could finally put faces to names. We weren't quite to the point of getting pictures of the parents together, but we did we get my family and Cory (he almost counts).

My parents

Chargers Lose, Cougars Win

Cory and I went down to San Diego to watch the Thursday night Chargers vs. Raiders game. It started out great. We had lunch at Tio Leo's with my parents and then went to McGergor's Grill and Alehouse by Qualcomm Stadium.

We ARE ready for some FOOTBALL!

Cory and I were both ready for an easy win. 

Is that Cory or Antonio Gates?

That didn't happen. The Chargers blew it and continue to blow it. However, our weekend wasn't over yet. We then flew to Spokane and drove down to Pullman to watch the WSU Cougar football game. Unlike the Chargers, the Cougars are terrible and they were supposed to lose, but they played ASU in the snow.

2 inches of snow on our seats

Apparently the Sundevils don't do so well in the cold. the Cougars ended up winning and fans rushed the field. It was a pretty fun time.

You know you're bad when you rush the field because you won - not because you beat a good team

Portland for the Weekend

Two weekends ago Cory and I went down to Portland to visit Richard (aka Kristin). The weather was cool and the leaves were changing, which made for a lovely fall visit. Different seasons are still a novelty to me and the vibrant reds, yellows, oranges, and even pinks make me smile.

Richard is only slightly scared of me - also, notice the trees in the background

We visited with Richard. She took us to the Nike employee store for 50% off any item - I stocked up on sports bras! We ate tasty sushi. We had some wine in Richard's hot tub. We drove back to Seattle on Sunday. All in all a good, relaxing trip.

A Surfer and a Cowboy

This year Cory and I waited until the last minute to decide on our Halloween costumes. We had tossed around a ton of ideas in the weeks leading up to Halloween, but none really seemed to stick. The motivation just wasn't there. And then I decided to be Bethany Hamilton...

Once I settled on being the surfer who had her arm eaten by a shark I became highly motivated. I created a life-size surfboard out of cardboard, duct tape, and my artistic ability. I went to the store and bought a shark and fake blood. I cut up an old t-shirt that looked like a rash guard. I stole Cory's board shorts. I dug through my jewelry box to find my old puka shell necklace. You get the picture.

Yes, I kept my arm in my sleeve all night long

Cory, on the other hand, was less motivated. He went to the store and bought a 7-8 year-old Woody costume (from Toy Story) and crammed into it. We snazzed it up with a real leather gun holster I bought in Tijuana. It turned out to be quite popular.

Cory's belt is a little high, but Willie didn't seem to mind

Our crew had fun walking around town and making a spectacle of ourselves. One waitress even told me she thought my missing arm was real for a few seconds. Success!

Nick, Britt, Liz, and Cory

Pumpkin Carving

Last week we prepared for Halloween by carving pumpkins and drinking pumpkin flavored beer! It was quite successful.

I carved a kitty pumpkin and Cory went spooky

We went over to a friend's house and carved with her and her husband. They had all the carving tools, so we able to be a little more detailed than our usual steak knives allow us to be. I even gave the back of my pumpkin a cat tail.

Kitty pumpkin, scary pumpkin, Picasso pumpkin, sexy pumpkin

Happy Halloween!

Redbirds & Cougars

So I know I should be posting about Halloween, which I will be doing soon, but I spent a lot of time over the past week watching the Cardinals. Well, it was worth it. They won the World Series on Friday night!

Last Saturday, however, I had conflicting sports events. The Cardinals were playing at 5.

Britt, me, and Nick - the Cardinals Crew

While the WSU Cougars - Cory's team - were playing at 7 in Seattle. We had tickets to the game.

Cory, Laura, and me - the WAZZU Crew

It's a tough life when you have so many teams to support. We ended up hanging out at a bar near the stadium. The Cardinals Crew stayed to watch the end of the baseball game and then met up with the WAZZU Crew in the stadium at halftime. Unfortunately the Cougs didn't fare as well as the Cardinals. At least I picked one winning team this week.

Cardinal Fever!

In case you haven't been watching, the Cardinals are in the World Series. In mid-September, they were all but out of it. They kept winning and the Braves kept losing and somehow they managed to sneak into the playoffs as the wild card. Then they beat the Phillies. Then the Brewers. And now they're playing the Rangers in the World Series.

This is amazing because a) it was so unlikely they would make it this far and b) STL is a baseball town with awesome fans, including my family members.

My cousin Matt flew in for a playoff game from San Francisco and decided to dress up like the Rally Squirrel.

My cousin Matt preparing for a playoff game

What's the Rally Squirrel you ask?

Well, in the Phillies series a squirrel ran across home plate during a pitch in the bottom of the 5th inning. The Cardinals won that game and the Rally Squirrel was born.

Cards fans (including me - in case you forgot I went to college there and love the Cards) have embraced the squirrel. His rodent mojo continues to help the Cardinals win, so let's hope they can pull off three more and clinch the title!

World Series Game 1 - so far the squirrels are working!

The Usual Vegas

I've come to learn that once you've been to Vegas a few times (I've been more than a few) AND you're closing in on 30, it's just not as exciting as it used to be.

Cory and I went to Vegas in mid-September for Barrie's birthday. Barrie is Kirk's girlfriend. Kirk is Cory's best friend (and soon-to-be Best Man). Barrie had never been, so Kirk wanted to take her for her 25th.

Cory, Barrie, Kirk, Willer

Upon arrival at the New York, New York someone had puked all over our hallway. They cleaned it up fairly quickly, but the odor lingered. Yum. After that it was your typical Vegas trip. The boys went golfing and the girls laid by the pool. We walked around and looked at the different attractions: MGM lions, Bellagio fountains, Mirage volcano, etc. We considered having a drink in the Minus 5 Ice Bar at Mandalay Bay, but it seemed too chilly.

Brrrrrrrrr

We spent most of our time hanging out with out our friends. Kirk's parents and some other "adults" were there too, so we got to catch up and watch some silly shows with them - specifically, Big Elvis and Wonder Boogie.

Big Elvis is pretty big

You know you've been at a show too long when they play the same set twice

In the end Barrie had fun, as well as a giant drink and balloon hat. That's all that really matters.

25 Years and 225 ounces!