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!