On the road again...

The past several months were a traveling whirlwind.

In August Abby went to Bar Harbor, ME with her family. Anyone who enjoys the mountains, small towns, and the ocean should certainly plan a trip there. Abby had a wonderful time with her family. They went sea kayaking, whale watching, and on a carriage ride though Acadia National Park. Keegan and Abby hiked one of the hardest trails in the park. It was about 2 miles straight up. At times they had to use iron ladders! Very exciting and not for anyone who is scared of heights!

In September we both made or way back to Morgantown to watch the Mountaineers take on Coastal Carolina. It was wonderful to be back in Morgantown especially with both families present. We had a great time tailgating and catching up with old friends. On Sunday we drove about an hour over to Wheeling to visit Oglebay; where the wedding will take place! Chris has visited Oglebay before, but this was the first time for Abby. She loved it and could not be happier about it!

Also in September Abby drove down to the Big Easy to spend some time with Shannon Mitch! They went to a concert on Friday night, and drove to Baton Rouge on Saturday. They grabbed lunch with Shannon's grandmother and then watched a sad Mountaineer defeat by LSU with Amie and Justin. (FYI: Tiger stadium is loud... VERY loud.) On Sunday morning they grabbed breakfast at Surrey's cafe. It is delicious! Check it out.

In late October Abby was in her good friend Betsy's wedding in Harrisburg, PA. It was a great trip! She was able to see Betsy and Carie! Two of her best friends from WVU. The ceremony was gorgeous and she wishes the best to Betsy and Shannon!

Last weekend Abby went to Lake Ouachita, AR with Ole Miss Outdoors. Three of her friends joined her; Rachel Davis, Brooke Walters, and Lauren Flegle. The weather could have been better, but the company and scenic views made the trip! They arrived in camp late on Friday night. On Saturday they sea kayaked with all their gear in tow and set up camp on one of the lake's peninsulas. It was a great trip! Campfire smores included!

Chris is in San Fran right now at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference. I am sure he will have somethings to post about that when he returns!

Among all the traveling our garden has produced a lot of kale, cilantro, and two beets! Yes, two. We are not sure what went wrong with those. We are still waiting for the broccoli to fully mature, but overall our fall crop has produced a lot more than our summer one.

On November 5th Chris proposed his thesis! He is very excited to have this part of the thesis process over with. He hopes to defend in Jan. or Feb.

We are very excited to see our families over Thanksgiving and Christmas! It does not feel like November 20th here in Mississippi considering Abby drove around with her AC on this afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Red Hot Chili Peppers

No, this post is not about the the band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers (although they are awesome!). Nor is it about the edible kind of red hot chili peppers, though they can be quite good. The "red hot" refers to the temperature here in MS (today the heat index was 118 degrees!!!). Obviously this is not the ideal weather to go camping in, but we really wanted to get outside!

Chris with the canoe

In that spirit Abby, Ziggy, and my good friend Daniel Robbins made a weekend trip to Bay Springs Lake, MS. Although the main campground was swamped with RV's, older men perfecting the "jeans with no shirt look while smoking a cigarette" look, and Direct TV satellites, we were able to beat the crowds by utilizing a good old fashioned canoe!

Our beach hideaway

We paddled over to a small island with only tent camping sites on Saturday night, where we enjoyed our own private slice of beach! We had to stay in the water all day in order to avoid burning up (the water temperature itself was very warm). Still a good time was had by all.

Basil in our "front yard"

Now you may be wondering why the "chili peppers" in the title. Despite the fact that we have no chili peppers in our garden we do have jalapeno and bell peppers ("red hot jalapeno and bell peppers" didn't have the same ring to it!). Though the gardening has been full of ups (Swiss chard, peppers, basil) and downs (tomatoes, spinach), it has really been all about the experience. There is something special about growing your own food in the ground...puts a smile on your face :).

Our peppers!

Wet Hot American Summer

For some reason I thought summer was going to be slow. I assumed I would be updating the blog practically daily, extolling all of the minute details of my life. But, alas, that was not to be. Summer has been busy, fun, and ultimately momentous!

If you're reading this blog you probably already know that Abby and I are engaged! I proposed in May while backpacking in near the Sipsey River in Alabama. I popped the question next to a waterfall near where we camped and it was very romantic if I do say so myself!

For those of you that are interested, the ring is an emerald surrounded by 6 diamonds. The diamonds were an incredibly generous gift from my grandmother, Shirley Fox. I chose the emerald to represent Abby's Irish heritage.

Of course the wedding planning has been in full swing since that time. We have decided on Oglebay park in Wheeling, WV for July 2011. Many other details are yet to be established, but I will update everyone on details as we make decisions.

Beyond the engagement, there have been several other highlights to the summer. A week after the engagement we attended the wedding of one of my psychology classmates, Walter "T" Rueff and his lovely wife Frannie in Memphis, TN. It was a grand affair, with my favorite food being the bloody Mary oyster shooters!

T and Chris at T's wedding reception in Memphis, TN

We have also had the pleasure of being visited by several old friends from Morgantown. Our old friends Amie Benson, Justin Wood, Shannon Mitch, and Patrick Dunlavey have all stopped by for at least a night. The futon is certainly getting plenty of use!

Additionally I had a great trip to Emerald Isle with my family (including grandparents) and Molly's boyfriend, Evan Widney. We had a fabulous house on the beach and I couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a much appreciated break from thesis writing!

Also, I made a trip back to WV to lead an Adventure WV Habitat for Humanity trip. It was a great time and I managed to see many friends in the few days I was free in Morgantown. I also had the chance to check out an incredibly cute vegetarian restaurant in Friendsville, MD, the River Inn. Thanks to Barb Bragg for convincing me to go and thanks to Molly for letting me stay with her in Morgantown.

The week in WV concluded with a Fourth of July holiday at Flat Top Lake. Again, all of the grandparents were in attendance as well as Abby and Evan. It was wonderful to have the whole family together for the fireworks!

Abby celebrating her birthday at Flat Top Lake, WV

Right now Abby and I are back in Oxford. Abby continues to work for the university and I have started tutoring student athletes at her office part time as well as seeing clients at the university's psychological services center. We can only hope that the rest of the summer is as good of time as it has been so far. Cheers!

April Showers Bring Long Study Hours

Hey all. As usual it's been longer than I would have liked between blogs. You might wonder why it takes so long to write a blog. It seems like all I ever talk about is fun adventures and visiting friends. If that was all we were up to then it really would be sad if it took us so long to just sit down and write a few words. But the reality is that between Abby's new job and my semester wrapping up we have been waaay too busy lately. So there's our excuse and apology for the long wait. Here's the updates.

The entire McDonald/Bourg clan (Betty, Mike, and Keegan) made their first trip to Oxford for Keegan's spring break and Easter. Although Oxford might not be on a lot of people's "top ten spring break destinations" list we managed to have a good time. Abby picked her parents up from Memphis on Thursday and we made them do all of the obligatory Oxford stops: Lamar Park, The Farmer's Market, The Square, etc. We also found time on Saturday to check out an Ole Miss baseball game against Tennessee (sadly they lost). Even more disappointing was WVU's loss that night in the Final Four, but let's not dwell on that. What a great season for the Mountaineers!

Outside the baseball stadium with the McDonald's

On Easter Sunday we discovered a very cool restaurant after church: The Ravine. It's just a bit outside Oxford, but it's worth the drive. Excellent local food, cool decor, and a very rustic setting. Looking forward to trying it again in the future. On Monday we bid the McDonald's farewell in Memphis after Thai food in Southhaven. We hope to see them soon!

The other bit of exciting news lately has been the trip to New Orleans for Jazzfest. Sadly we missed our good friend Justin Wood who had a death in the family just before we came to town. Still we really enjoyed seeing our other friends, Amie, Emily, and Matt! Other than a few drinks at a bar "Dirty Harry's" and coffee and croissants in the French Quarter on Sunday morning, we spent most of our time at Jazzfest.

Jazzfest has to be one the coolest experiences that I have had in a long time. Besides all of the stages of music (at least 7 that I can remember), there were incredible crafts, constant parades, and lots of great food! The musical highlights were Bonerama, The Funky Meters (although Abby slept through some of this, I really enjoyed it!), and, of course, Simon & Garfunkel. Garfunkel's voice was a bit ragged, but it was really incredible seeing the two legends on stage together.

At Jazzfest with guitarist for Bonerama in background

Since Jazzfest I've been super busy getting ready for finals, but that will be over Monday! Then on to summer, bare feet, camping, the beach, family, old friends, writing, reading.....ahhh summer! It can't come fast enough.

Where the Wild Things Are: Morgantown & the Zoo

After finishing up a huge midterm paper for my assessment class, I packed my bags and made my way to good ole Morgantown, WV. This is the first time I have had the chance to be in Morgantown with students around since I have graduated and it was great! It makes me miss my undergraduate days at WVU.

I flew into Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday evening, which conveniently was St. Patrick's Day. I had the chance to celebrate the luck of the Irish with many of college friends and Molly and my mom. The evening started out at Black Bear with a delicious "Nacho Man" dinner and then moved to the Brew Pub. At the Brew Pub I was treated to some great folk tunes from local band Stewed Mulligan and was able to catch up with even more friends. Overall, I think it has to have been the best St. Patrick's Day ever!
On Thursday my Dad made his way to town and we all had dinner at a local sushi restaurant, Ogawa. After dinner we celebrated both Molly and my mom's birthdays at my parent's hotel room. The Easter bunny also happened to drop off a few things for me early, which was very nice of him.
On Friday, after attempting in vain to watch the WVU game at Damon's Bar and Grill, my parents and I ended up watching the game at the hotel bar, The Rat Pack. This was actually a very good place to watch the game and, of course, the best part was seeing a Mountaineer win! That night the whole family plus Molly's boyfriend Evan had a nice dinner at new Morgantown restaurant, Sargosso. The evening ended with me hanging out with a few more friends in South Park.
After driving to the Pittsburgh airport with my parents, I made my way back south to Memphis. However, the Spring Break fun did not end when I left WV. Abby and two of my fellow graduate students, Lindsey and Olga, spent the afternoon at the Memphis Zoo. I like the monkeys, but I think Abby preferred the polar bears. We had dinner at a really fun restaurant, RP Tracks, before driving home and collapsing on the couch. What a great Spring Break!

Living Green

In our last blog Chris mentioned our recent acquisition of a plot in the community garden. Well... today was our first day out there. After reading many articles on the internet and books from the library I decided to use the "lasagna" method of gardening. The first layer consists of wet newspaper or corrugated cardboard. The second layer is "browns" (i.e. compost, leaves), followed by "greens" (i.e. grass clippings, lawn scraps, or vegetable scraps). The final layer is manure or peat. The "browns" and "greens" are repeated several times until the bed is roughly 2 feet tall. Our layers consisted of wet newspaper, wet and dry leaves, grass clippings, and manure.

First layer (wet newspaper):Second layer (leaves):Third layer (grass clippings):

Fourth layer (manure... ewww):

After completing the layering process we planted some baby spinach plants we bought from the local Farmer's Market. I have also been attempting to germinate and sow some tomato, sweet pepper, and swiss chard seeds. Those plants will not be mature enough to be planted outside until after the last frost; approximately April 27th.

Baby Spinach and Tomato Seedlings!

The experience was great! It was wonderful being outside with Chris attempting to grow something. I think sometimes we forget where our food comes from. We forget it usually is grown from a seed, cared for, and then transported hundreds sometimes thousands of miles to our dining rooms. There is often a disconnect of where our food comes from and how it ends up on our plates. I think the experience of growing our own few vegetables will be freeing and very rewarding.

In other news Chris and I are very excited to see Jenny and Brooks next Saturday followed by my family coming in for Easter weekend. Friends and family visiting is always a welcome thing.

Life in February

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while, but it's been a bit crazy here. With Abby starting her full-time job, my classes nearing midterms, and the big interview weekend coming up for the psychology department things have been very hectic around here. Still we've managed to have a little fun.

Last Friday, as a Valentine's gift, I took Abby to see the RFK Project at the Ford Center (similar to the CAC at WVU). The RFK Project is a "radio play," which means the actors spoke into microphones on stands and there was little physical action. I am not sure if it was broadcast live, but I think the idea was to broadcast it at some point. The plot basically follows RFK's journey from political hack for JFK to civil rights activist and presidential candidate. The actors playing RFK, JFK, and MLK Jr. were great and really nailed the voices.

As an interesting side note, the Ford Center had some authentic historical documents on display during the intermission. As it turns out RFK actually spoke at Ole Miss during the 60s. Apparently he was actually well received (outside of bigots like the KKK of course). Anyway, both Abby and I enjoyed the play and hope to make it back to the Ford Center soon.

We have also made it out to see two movies recently: Shutter Island and The Wolfman. Shutter Island is a very well-done and very dark psychological thriller. The Wolfman is horrible. Please do not see this movie. You will regret it.

On a less exciting note, Ziggy was sick last week with what we think was "kennel cough." He may have caught it from hanging out with a friend's puppy who was fresh from the pound with a case of kennel cough. After getting some medicine from the vet I am happy to report that he had made a full recovery and even went for a nice long walk at the park yesterday.

In Abby news she recently got into a small fender bender in the parking lot at our apartment complex. However, she showed her Rosie the Riveter skills by taking the front driver side panel off of her car and banging the dent out (she may have had a little help from me :)). Also, she has started volunteering at the community garden, which will provide food for local nonprofits and we just received our own plot to grow our own food! We are not sure what we will grow, but tomatoes will most likely be in the mix.

Otherwise there is not much to report. Abby is liking her job so far, although working full-time is an adjustment. I am excited for the interview weekend, and I am very glad that I am not the one interviewing! Hope to post again soon!

Dreschers, Bela Fleck, and Valentines

This past weekend Chris's parents came to visit! It was wonderful seeing a familiar face. They came in on Thursday afternoon. That night we went out to Volta to grab some Margaritas and then headed over to The Lyric to see Bela Fleck and the Africa Project. The show was amazing! Bela Fleck went on a journey to Africa to discover the roots of the Banjo. While there he grabbed some musicians from Mali, South Africa, and Tanzania to join him on a tour in the United States. The show consisted of traditional bluegrass fused with African beats.
On Friday Chris's parents and I hung around the apartment until Chris returned from school. Afterward we all grabbed some Mexican lunch and did a little shopping. After I got off work I made eggplant parmesan prior to us gathering around the TV to watch WVU lose to Pitt in triple overtime. No good. Lindsey, Mike, and Eu Gene all stopped by for some food (especially King Cake!), drinks, and to meet Chris's parents. While the game was not too good, the company sure made up for it.
Saturday was filled with some shopping, Lamar Park dog walking, and a trip around the square. For dinner Nancy and Alan treated us to a fabulous early Valentine's dinner at City Grocery. The food was phenomenal!
On Sunday after attempting to eat brunch at Big Bad Breakfast we all gathered at The Bottle Tree Bakery where Alan ate the largest most delicious looking cinnamon roll I think any of us have ever seen. Sadly after completing a few tasks around the apartment Nancy and Alan had to take off. I am so glad they were able to come visit and can't thank them enough for all they did for us over the weekend! Thank you!
Chris and I had a very low key romantic Valentine's Day evening at our apartment. We ate eggplant parmesan leftovers, drank a bottle of champagne, and exchanged gifts. Chris got me tickets to see the RFK Project at the University's cultural center on Friday. I gave Chris a book about the Mississippi blues which included a DVD and CD. After gifts we ate some ice cream while watching the Olympics!
Other news includes the fact that I official have a full time job with the University of Mississippi in the Office of Student Athlete Academic Support as an Academic Intern! I am extremely thrilled. Certainly not my dream job but it will be great for now. In the words of my Aunt, "One state job often leads to another". I love the people I work with, which makes a world of a difference.

Sushi Shazam!

I have to thank whoever gave Abby a gift-card to Amazon.com for Christmas! Among other things she used the card to purchase a sushi roller and a vegetarian sushi cook book. Since then we have been experimenting with all kinds of sushi including soba and somen noodle sushi, which I have never had (or seen) before. Instead of the rice commonly used in sushi, the noodles are the main filler in the sushi rolls. Then we use other veggies such as bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers to complete the roll. I must admit it's pretty delicious!

The plan was to take pictures of the last round of sushi creations and post them on the blog. Unfortunately, I was placed in charge of rolling the sushi, which resulted in delicious, but particularly ugly sushi rolls. I promise we will post pictures next time Abby rolls it!

In other news: Abby has her job interview this Wed. for the internship (think full-time job with benefits!) at OSAAS, where she currently works part-time. Wish her luck! I've got a really good feeling about it ;).

As far as I am concerned, school is back in full swing and I am doing my best to keep up. Pretty soon we will have a new batch of graduate school interviewees in Oxford and I am so happy to be on the other side of the equation this year! I'm looking forward to meeting all of my new potential department mates.

Otherwise things are going well here with the three us (although Abby and Ziggy are getting much more sleep than me!). My parents are visiting in a couple of weeks, which we are very excited about considering they have never even seen the apartment completely put together. Until then we'll just be hanging out, living the dream in Mississippi!

MLK and Molé

After spending that last couple of weeks settling back into Oxford and catching up with our MS friends, Abby and I decided that we needed to take at least one little trip before school starts up for me. Given that this weekend is the MLK holiday weekend, we thought that a trip to National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) in Memphis was in order. We made the drive up on Saturday and had a really nice time at the NCRM.

Half of the NCRM is actually in the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. The other half is in the motel across the street where James Earl Ray fired the shots. We spent most of our time in the Lorraine Motel section, which focused on the history of black America from slave days up until MLK assassination.

There are too many interesting exhibits for me to recount them all, but one of particular interest to Abby and me was the section that focused on James Meredith, the first black student to register at Ole Miss. This all came to ahead in 1962 when federal troops and agents had to forcibly allow Meredith to register against the protests of the governor and an angry mob. Two people were killed in the skirmish.

What struck me so much about this was that it was less than 50 years ago! Everyone wants to act as though the racism at Ole Miss is ancient history, but this is simply false. Ole Miss has come a long way but still has a long way to go concerning race relations.

The other thing that stuck with me from the day was the vision of MLK. He wasn't simply someone who saw the Civil Rights Movement as a movement of blacks to gain more rights in America. He was able to see the implications of this movement. He saw how the issues in the Civil Rights Movement were the same issues that disenfranchised people faced throughout the world, whether they were blacks, those living in poverty, or innocent Vietnamese citizens. He drew his philosophy from Jesus Christ and Mahatma Ghandi. But at the same time he was able to understand and become involved in a single incident, like unfair wages for sanitation workers. He was very incredible man.

After looking through the Lorraine Motel part of the museum we headed over to the second part of the museum across the street. This focused on MLK's actual assassination and civil rights since his death. I was amazed at how much controversy still surrounds the circumstances of his death; they never taught that in grade school!

After the museum we headed to a Mexican restaurant we found via my new GPS (thanks Mom & Dad!). It was a cool setting, but I made the mistake of ordering molé sauce on my dish, which I discovered I do not like at all. Anyway, it was a great trip and I recommend anyone in Memphis with some free time check out the NCRM.

Classes start for me on Wednesday and Abby is gearing up for a new semester at the Student Athlete Academic Support Center. She is hoping to hear about a full-time job she applied for at the center very soon! We will update you as soon as we know more!

New Year's Resolution....Write More Blogs!

OK all. I have to apologize for not writing a blog in so long. For some reason it's easy for me to tear myself away from reading textbooks, but not from spending time with friends and family! Anyway, I have many updates to give:

Abby and I started our journey home on December 18th driving from Oxford to Lexington, KY where we stayed with our friends Dan and Emily. It just so happened that they were throwing a holiday party that evening where we all ate and drank till late in the evening. It was great fun and we actually caught up with several other friends who are transplants from Charleston to Lexington. Ziggy probably had the least merry time; I think he felt a bit intimidated by Charlie, the resident canine.

We awoke the next morning to learn that a major snowstorm had moved in to the east, right where we were heading! We decided to go ahead and drive to Charleston that morning not knowing what the roads would be like. Luckily they were not bad and we made it to the Drescher household that afternoon for tree decorating.

Abby stayed in Charleston for a few days, which included a trip to the Drescher grandparents to celebrate an early Christmas (thanks for all the gifts!), the annual Drescher family Christmas party, and cookie decorating! Unfortunately I had to drop her off at Yeager Airport at 5:30 am to fly back home. Ziggy and I missed her dearly when she was gone!

Abby celebrated Christmas with her family in North Potomac, MD. Over the break she had a chance to see some old friends, see many movies with her Dad, and remember how cold it really is in the North.

Meanwhile, my dad and I made a trip to Morgantown to see the Mountaineers beat the University of Mississippi in men's basketball. The next morning we drove from Morgantown to Beckley on Christmas Eve to join the rest of the family (both sets of grandparents and the Doylestown crew) to celebrate the holiday. On Christmas Eve everyone went sledding and even built a snowman! Christmas was great fun as always with many gifts being given and received and way too much food being eaten.

After being home for a few more days where I had the chance to catch up with friends and eat lunch with both sets of grandparents one more time, I made my way to Maryland to visit Abby's family. We spent New Year's Eve in Baltimore with Dan and Emily (mentioned above) at a SOJA and Easy Star All-Stars Concert. It was so much fun!

I spent the next two days hanging out with Abby and here family. Sadly I had to watch the Mountaineers lose twice in one day (with two Florida State alumni!). Still it was lots of fun and I wish I could have stayed longer!

Inevitably we had to leave to come back to the South. We made the 15 hour drive in one long day arriving in Oxford around 10pm central time. We are busy unpacking and settling back in as we prepare for our first winter and spring in MS.

To those of you we were able to see, it was great and we miss you already. To those of you that we missed, we're sorry and we miss you even more. To everyone, we love you all! Peace, love, and a happy, healthy New Year.