September 25th

My Rusty Beach Cruiser

I Love my rusty beach cruiser.

Camping & Biking the C&O Canal

Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Grayden, Anne, Rob, me and Shelley
This past weekend we all went camping in West Virgina. I love camping, and it had been so long since I had been able to go. We drove there Saturday and spent the afternoon in Harper's Ferry. Rob and I biked home. We did 65 miles on our bikes all the way back to DC!

Rob getting the fire ready for some tin foil dinners. After dinner I made Rob play some guitar as we roasted our marshmallows. I wish we could have stayed for days. Shelley enjoying dinner. 3 miles into our bike ride. We enjoyed the first half of the trail all to ourselves. The entire ride home was beautiful and the weather perfect.
Look closely there are turtles all over the logs. There were so many along the trail. I love turtles.




The closer we got to DC the more crowded it got plus it was Mother's Day weekend. We did it though and with no training. Rob did great on motivating me the whole way home. I heart biking. I want to do it again!

My New Cyclocross Bike

Change of Mind

I think I'm going to hold off on the electric piano. Sure would be nice to have something to pay and learn on but I did some research and I would rather put the money towards a acoustic piano down the road.

Costco.com

I've fallen in love with Costco online. There are things they sell on the website you just can't get in the stores. my latest purchase; this Brother sewing machine great starter machine. I got it for $125.99 what a deal, shipping included. Can't wait to start playing around with it.
I really want to learn how to play the piano. I played for a few years at a young age; needless to say I remember nothing. I figure what better way to learn then get a piano. Really though it's quite a nice, affordable, compact, light in weight piano. At least I think it is? It's a Suzuki Digital Console Piano. I know nothing about pianos, looks like a good deal though. Do you know anything about pianos? would this be a good one to learn on? If only it came with a personal instructor to bad Costco doesn't sell them. Click here for more info. The top folds down and it becomes a piece of furniture. If piano lessons fail I will have just bought a very expensive table.

2009 National Marathon

Getting our bags checked before the race starts. The sun was just starting to come up. I finished in 4 hrs. and 50 min. Lucky for me I was the last to come in, everyone was there to cheer me on at the finish line. Everyone did so well. I'm so proud of you all!


Especially this guy.


My training partner Anne she is speedy.

We were all hurting pretty bad the next day. I have a greater appreciation for the American Disability Act, I used all handicap accessories railings, ramps, even the bars next to toilets in public restrooms. When I went to put my church shoes on I realized my feet were swollen 1/2 size bigger!
I loved every minute of it. Lets do it again!

Wish Me Luck...I'll need it

This Saturday is the marathon, it's finally here. I'm so excited but nervous at the same time. I get butterflies just thinking about it. Anne and I did our final run today, it was only 3 miles. Anne has been a great running partner. I would not have been able to do the training for this without her.
Any advice from those of you who have ran a marathon?

I could use your help!

I recently went shopping and I can't make up my mind on a few things, so I could use your help. So here's my question: Should I keep the article of clothing based on its cuteness and price? Some were super great deals! and some I paid full price. Below are the pictures and a description of the outfit. i told myself this would be all the shopping I would be allowed for summer! I feel guilty when I pay full price for things and sometimes I  buy things just because they are on sale, yikes!
This little number is from Anthropologie on sale! from $148.00 to $29.95 What a deal! or was it? pros;on sale, cute. Cons; a little on the short side, may have to wear a gray shade under it and some dressy capri tights. Is it a keeper?
This dress is from United Colors Of Benetton. I paid full price for this one, $120.00 imagine how cute it would be with a bright yellow cardigan and some brick red patent leather pumps.
Dress above is from Banana Republic on sale for $84.99 it's a super flirty dress and light weight.
This is a skirt I contemplated buying. It is from Anthropologie only $19.95 from $88.00

These capris just might have to go back, they were a little pricey. They are so comfy though, I think I would get a lot of use out of them this summer. I like to wear pants in the summer because I get cold indoors but jeans are not the most comfortable thing to be running around in outdoors. They are from Anthropologie $78.00

This was my favorite purchase of all! I have been waiting since last summer for Anthropologie's shower curtains to go on sale. I found these in the sale section for $19.95!! So I bought all of them! they normally are $100.00 Click here to see it online. Don't know why it's on sale at the store and not on line?

somebody stop me...

Don't be deceived by this photo, those are the big bags, not the small ones.  I have a problem, they don't call me sweet tooth Stevenson for nothing, I love these little guys way to much and it's not even March yet! Sometimes I share, but often, I find myself hiding them from my roommates so I can have them all to myself... pathetic, I know. 

Go GW!!

Anne and I supporting her school's basketball game. They played the unv. of Richmond and every now and then I would catch Rob cheering Richmond on. After the game we all went to Crepeaway one of our favorite places to eat in Georgetown.

only 8.2 more to go!

Only one more long run to go!! Last Sat. was 18miles, this Sat 20. I Can't believe the training is coming to an end soon! It's about time, I am ready for race day. Well, I guess I'm just ready to be done with running. I do enjoy it but, it is so cold outside it does get nicer every week though. I love when Rob comes to visit, he gets to do his long runs with us. This day we ran to the National Zoo. Love that place.
The Race is in 3 weeks. It's going to be a great weekend. Shelley and Cassie are flying in to run, Rob is coming down to run, and Anne has 2 friends running the 1/2 marathon. Total we have 7. cross your fingers for good weather and also that I might be able to finish 26.2 miles, I'm quite slower then the rest of the gang.

Guatemala & Belize

I had the opportunity to visit my best friend Anne Sidwell in Guatemala this summer. With me came our good friend Matt Fisher. What a great trip this was, for me, this was my first time outside of the country, besides Canada. First stop was in a little village called Patzy just outside Guatemala City. Anne lived here for 5 months! What a humbling experience it was to see how modest these people live and what little they live on. Sure does make me better appreciate what I have.

The picture above is the house Anne lived in. This house was very nice in comparison to others in the village, some homes are made up of sheet metal. We stayed here for one night. I was awoken in the morning to a dog on the roof! This was one of my favorite places we visited I think I liked it so much because it was one of the more culturing experiences on my trip. I got a glimpse of what living a impoverished life is like. For dinner that night a local made us a delicious plate of food. I was nervous to eat there food at first but to my surprise it looked and tasted amazing!

I love graveyards, so I got excited when we went to this small one in the village. They bury the dead above ground, I guess it take up less space? I thought this was a cool picture, the tombs are all so colorful. I guess I just like how peaceful a graveyard is, and its always interesting to see how far back some of the graves date to.



Look closely in the back at the dresses being worn, this is typical indigenous clothing of the Mayan women. The majority of women in Patzy dress like this daily.
The rest of the day in Patzy was spent at Anne's school parade. The Parade was so much fun, the kids don't have much money so they are pretty creative with their costumes. It felt like Halloween. I think Matt has all those pictures? Anne said her goodbyes to all her students, you could tell they really were going to miss her, she was so good with them. We flagged down what they call "chicken buses" and headed to Lake Atitlan in Antigua. Oh yeah, the bus ride just may have been the scariest adventure in my life! I don't know whats more dangerous riding on the back of a motorcycle or one a chicken bus. They are old American school buses converted into public transportation. The bus was packed full and would take fast wide careless turns. I held my breath the entire way there.
Lake Atitlan was absolutely breathtaking. The lake is a mile above sea level, and relies on 3 majestic volcanoes to hold gravity at bay. It is generally regarded as the most beautiful place in the world. We were particularly lucky, because the waters were calm and the sky clear. We took a boat to the other side of the lake and explored the churches, convents, and plazas that rested on land.
We spent the remainder of our day in Antigua preparing for our early morning descent up Pacaya a active volcano.
My favorite hotel we stayed at in Guat. I think we splurged on this one, $10.00 a person. Thats most we spent on a hotel, pretty cheap .






Not your typical Guatemalan dog. He just sat there so quietly in the window I had to snap a picture . I got 3 of these aprons, they were so cute. They are made out of the Mayan woman's clothing.

Volcano Pacaya
Here I just cut and pasted from Anne's blog. She explains best the experience we all had on top of the volcano, truly a horrifying incident for me.
Anne's volcano story...
Meg, Matt, Courtney (another volunteer) and I all hiked Volcan Pacaya. I had done it before, and we were all excited to get soo close to the lava. We got more than we paid for because when we reached the top, it started to be a little more active than we had expected. I became truly fearful when the guide himself started to run down the volcan from the volcanic rock that was being thrown at us from the crater that was only 150 m away (at least that is what I think he said). Luckily, there injuries were only minor cuts (Matt and Meg did a great job of caring for another wounded hiker), and the rocks stopped coming at us. . So, naturally, we stayed up there a while longer and got closer to the lava.
This was one of those times that I wished that I didnt understand Spanish because the whole 2 hour hike back, the guide told me horror stories of how several tourists had died on the volcan a few years back. It was quite comforting to hear the stories of the massive eruption in 2000 and how they resumed tours only 3 days later.

Anne's story is somewhat of an understatement of how dangerous the situation was. Besides being scared that I was going to get hit by flying hot lava rocks, I feared being trampled by people and falling into one of the hot pools of lava!
When we got out of the van, before hiking the trail to the volcano we were bombarded by a tone of kids. Turns out they wanted to sell you a stick for the hike. To my surprise we were greeted by the same kids on the way down and they take the sticks back to resale them.
What you see in the back is actually smoke from the volcano not fog. It can become very dangerous when it rains. When the rain hits the rocks it releases toxic gases and makes it hard to see.
This was our guide. You can see to his left is where the volcano goes up and then drops into a hole of lava! This surely was something you couldn't experience in the united states. Being up on the volcano you had to keep your feet moving or they would get to hot and the soles of your shoes would start to melt. Rivers of flowing lava were just inches below us! The lava rock had needle like edges if you feel you would be in pretty bad shape.


What was really scary was that some of the floor was mushy and there would be flowing lava right there next to you. I get really nervous when my surroundings are dangerous and it's crowded. It was especially crowded in the good picture taking spots. I didn't get very good pictures of me by the lava because I was afraid to take my camera out I think I almost had a panic attack up there.
We roasted marshmallows when we were up there. I think its pretty cool that I got to roast marshmallows over hot lava!

We really love the above pictures, so attractive looking.

Next stop Tikal National Park...
Tikal is a archaeological site full of old ruins that date back to ca. 200 to 900 AD. They lie throughout the rainforest. The neatest thing ever was walking through the tranquil rainforest at dawn. Howler monkeys were all over the place, and they are loud. We hiked to the top of a ruins in time to see the sunrise and meditate over the peaceful sounds of nature. It was surreal to hear the rainforest waking up, it's quite loud.
I thought this was a cool looking birds nest. oh yeah, we saw a toucan bird! My pictures of it are bad though.
I love this picture, 2 BFFs hanging out in one of the ruins.
Up top of a ruin. As the sun came up the fog would clear and you could see ruins pop up all over the place.

Anne Sidwell and Matt Fisher make great travel buddies.





This leaf grows on the trees here it's what is used to make allspice.

Our last few days we set out to Flores and headed to Caye Caulker island in Belize. The saying there is, "go slow". I guess we were walking around the island in a "speedy" motion because all the locals would stop us an say, "go slow". It wasn't until we were leaving the island that we saw this (pic. above) right on the floor entrance to the island.
These few picture give you a good idea of how we spent a good portion of our time...traveling. The buses are hot and smelly, bumpy roads and nasty bathroom stops.
We were lucky to find Gatorade and snickers on the way.
Crossing the border from Guatemala into Belize City.
See my blue back pack, that is all I brought with me for the whole 2 week trip. My BF Rob got that for me as a surprise gift for my trip out there. I love that guy, and I love that backpack, It was so comfortable to wear and I was able to fit a lot in it.
I had never been to an island before, I didn't really know what to expect so I was quite taken back by its beauty. We went to what they call the backpackers island. It was off season there, winter,believe it or not! We found a hotel right off the water, had the place to ourselves practically. I loved these 3 nights we stayed here, it was so relaxing.

Coconut milk is disgusting.
Anne and I wore these scarfs around our hair for most of the trip. We got them for 2 dollars each! They were great for keeping my nasty salt watered hair back.

Raise you hand if you think this picture is scary.

To bad we look worked in this picture, it's such a pretty setting. My favorite part of the trip was snorkeling in Stink Ray Ally and shark infested waters! When snorkeling we saw a morey ell! We spent the whole day out there on the water, it was so amazing. They feed us watermelon and pineapple as a snack.
This meal was so good. Perhaps it was because we were starving. It was a really cool outdoor grill, where you pick your meat and sides right there and they grill it up for you. yum yum
Outside our hotel on the dock reading the book Veronica Decides to Die.
I loved our hotel it was named Tom's Hotel. It was like a separate little resort, we would go up top at night and look out at the stars and reminisce about the past.

Anne and I scored this pineapple from our snorkel guide. We all enjoyed it on the roof of the hotel.

Enjoying piña coladas at the pool.

The dock of our hotel.
Look closely there is a iguana in the tree.

This is us leaving the island on a boat. We decided to fly back to Guatemala City rather then by bus. So by this point we had taken buses boats and a plan. Security was pretty weak at the airport. Notice our names on our plane tickets. When at the airport in Flores playing speed scrabble Matt ran into a old friend! We played speed scrabble often on this trip, restraints take forever with your food!
Thanks Anne for letting us come pick you up in Guatemala I had a blast!

On Your Mark...Get Set...GO

I'm off, today was the start of my training for the Sun Trust National Marathon in Washington DC. You are all welcome to join me! The Marathon is March 21st. that gives us about 4 months to train. So far we have a team that consist of Shelley, Cassie, Anne and Rob.
For those of you who know me, you know I'm not much of a runner, so this will be quite the challenge for me. Mostly, because it hard for me to get myself motivated to go out in the cold and run. I'm usually talked into running by my roommate Anne. So here you have it, a schedule I'm determined to fallow for the next 4 months.

16-Week Marathon Training Schedule

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	5	Rest	15
2	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	6	Rest	16
3	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	7	Rest	17
4	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
5	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	11	Rest	24
7	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	14	Rest	28
9	4	Rest	7	4	Rest	16	Rest	31
10	5	Rest	8	5	Rest	16	Rest	34
11	5	Rest	8	5	Rest	17	Rest	35
12	5	Rest	8	5	Rest	18	Rest	36
13	5	Rest	8	5	Rest	20	Rest	38
14	5	Rest	8	5	Rest	9	Rest	27
15	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
16	3	Rest	3	Walk 2	Rest	26.2	Rest	34.2

Raise your hand if you think I need to give up diet soda while training. I go through these phases where I become dependent (addicted) to the stuff. I just love it so much! Sometimes I will go with only drink diet soda on the weekends, but lately I drink about two cans a day! Is this bad?
I feel like it gives me energy for the whole day and I love it! These are my favorite ways to enjoy my soda in order of my favorite; 1st. fountain soda (if the syrup is done right) 2nd. can 3rd. bottle. yumm yumm.

Halloween

For Halloween this year Rob and I dressed up as Juno and Bleeker. Check out my BF Rob's blog for more fun photos.

The Secret Life of Bees

Loved it. I recommend this movie, two thumbs up. I read the book about a year ago, which made the movie even more enjoyable. I thought the cinematography in the movie was awesome. Don't forget the kleenex!

Prop 8 Protesters Target the LDS Los Angeles Temple

In the 1979 February Ensign Elder Neil A. Maxwell wrote:

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions. President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

"This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked. In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ. . . . Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted. . . . This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions.

"Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened....Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost. Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel. There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probable, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do. We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself. Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.' Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Upon hearing the news last night, of the recent protesting outside of the LA temple I couldn't help be feel slightly angered. More than anything, I feel saddened over the issue. 2,000 protesters angry over the Church's role in passing Proposition 8, forced the temporary closure of the temple.
"Shame on you," chanted the protesters. Outside the temple, grafitti was scrawled on the walls and signs hung, "Go back to Utah," and "Go to hell Mormons." Their signs said, "No on H8."
"Protesters promised to go after the Church's tax-exempt status and harass Mormons who had donated to the cause, listed on a website Mormonsfor8.com. The promise was to make the Mormons pay for their role in the passage of Prop 8."
I appreciate and respect the right we all have to feel, speak and vote on moral issues, but I feel as though the LDS church has personally been attacked. I hope to see things cool off shortly.

The Perfect Day

Saturday was such a nice day that Rob and I packed a lunch, loaded the bikes and headed to a near by National Park called Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook is home to a military base and a lighthouse, within view of the Manhattan skyline.
Rob getting the bikes ready for our ride.
This trail was so fun. The Fall leafs were all over. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves .
Unfortunately we did not get many pictures together.
Lunch on the beach.
Behind Rob is the Manhattan skyline. It was a little overcast out there.
We made it to the light house. There was so much more to do there and explore but we didn't want to be biking back in the dark.
The End.

More Connecticut Falls

This is the Marritt Parkway in Connecticut
Fones school of Dental Hygiene in the Fall
This may be kinda weird but, I love Cemeteries I think they are really pretty. What better time to see one then in the Fall. Natalie and I were trying to cram in our reading for our cap stone class while our DH class went to visit Irene Newman's grave. She served as the first dental hygienist.

Good Times

My last 2 Falls have been in Connecticut and I'm really starting to miss the beautiful colors out there. These are some pictures of this amazing pumpkin patch we use to go to. If you look out far enough you can see all the trees changing colors. Connecticut is full of trees and known for it's beautiful Fall season. I think my favorite drive out there was on the Marritt Parkway this time of year.

View fron my Apt.

I have moved back to Virgina and I'm loving my new apartment. I live with Anne and Tori. We scored with this lovely corner unit on the 17th floor. This is a shot I took from my living room of the Washington monument and the Pentagon. The one at night is of the Pentagon on 9-11, they lit up the side that was hit by the plane. Work has been really slow for me, so I'm trying to keep myself busy. I'm wanting to enroll in a photography class while out here. I got my self a nice camera a few months ago but I'm not quite sure how to work all the different features yet.

US Open

We made it to the US Open once again this year. We had such a great time. The weather was perfect. We saw Jokavich play in a night match. Like last year we mad our way down to the center of the court into some empty seats. We payed $40.00 for our tickets and got to see the match in $200.00 seats! Forgive me for not posting my blog in awhile. I am going without internet for a few weeks and have just been lazy about it. Some of you may not even know but I went to Guatemala this summer to visit my dear friend Anne. I hope to get those up soon too.

Happy Little Family

Here's a story I contemplated posting. In this photo is a picture of Me, Rob, and his 21 year old cousin Paul. Paul was in town visiting Rob for a couple of days. For the weekend we decided to go to NYC. When in the city we tried for lottery tickets for Wicked. For those of you who don't know, lottery tickets are when they pick about 10 people's names out of about a 100 to get tickets for 2, front row, for the price of $26.00 a ticket. (normally they go for about $200.00 a few sets back). Well, Paul won! Because Rob and I both have seen the show, we decided to sell the 2nd ticket for the same $26.00 price to a group of 5, who were short 1 ticket. We approached the group with the offer, which they gladly accepted.
With Paul at the show, Rob and I decide to do a little shopping. When in H&M Rob receives a text message from his cousin. The text message reads something like this; The People you guys gave the ticket to were so so grateful, they keep saying "tell your PARENTS thanks so much"! Yeah, ok, Paul is only 4years younger then me! It's not like they were young kids either. They were probably college aged students! Can you believe that they thought we were his parents! Oh well, I didn't take much offense to it anyway. I find it more funny then anything. Raise you hand if you think I look old enough to be Paul's mother?

Born on the 4th of July...

Happy Birthday grandpa Sunderland. I would like to make a shout out to him and the good U.S.A. I'm sad I missed my Grandfather's big 4th of July birthday bash this year. My Grandpa passed away several years ago. My mother's family holds a big family reunion on the 4th, wish I could have been there to celebrate with you all.

feeling crafty...

My sister in law and I were feeling a little crafty so we made these adorable hair barrettes. All you need is felt, thread, sequins, a little bead or pearl with a hole in it and a barrette. I think I will be making more, they turned out so cute.

OBX

This year Rachel Came out for Duck! It was nice to be there with both my sisters and Rob.I love it there in the Outer Banks it's so quaint. Rob and I had fun on our new Beach cruisers. I was able to try surfing for my first time and had lots of relaxing by the pool and at the beach.

Graduation

Rob is done with school! It was so fun to be there with him and see him graduate. The night before was Gala we enjoyed great food, dancing and mostly being with our friends.

Monkeying around

Rob’s classmate Tyler and his wife Janica were nice enough to let us go to their parent’s house in Richmond where they run a zoo. Rob’s sister was in town visiting and she loves animals so we got to see the monkeys up close. The Chimpanzee is 3 years old his name is Quincy. The orangutan is Farley he is just 1 year old and lives in the house. They were so cute and fun to play with. Farley is a wild one. It was hard to get a picture with him sitting still.
I wish I could post all the pictures there are some funny ones. My favorite is a short video clip we got of Tyler hugging and making kissing sounds to his wife Janica, when he does this, Quincy gets very jealous makes a fist, jumps and tries to punch him in the face. Janica practically raised the little guy I guess he is just a little protective of her.

DiaperCake

These Diaper Cakes were so fun to make. I saw that my friend Stephanie had made one that was on her blog and she gave me all the tips to make them. congratulations to rob & lindsay Eric and Nicole.

Boards weekend

This weekend I went down to Richmond to assist Rob on his Dental boards, it was so neat to be there with him. He had two amazing patients which makes all the difference in the world. We were there all day Saturday and half the day Sunday. We enjoyed some Brunch with Rob's roommate Derek after the long weekend.Raise your hand if you think Rob should hire me?!