a little bit of housecleaning, archival items

I grabbed these from our pbwiki site which we aren't really using anymore. I don't foresee having a continued use for it. It was fun to experiment with, but for my postings, I think Blogger is the way to go. Here are some oldies that didn't make it into Blogger:

February 22, 2009
WOW. It's February already! I've been so absorbed in my new Blackberry portable email and connection to the world device that I haven't spent much time in front of the big computer checkin on things. A and I are now addicted to Facebook and are having fun tracking old friends and trying not to get sucked into the little games that FB provides. The holidays were great. We had our first christmas as "Man and Wife" in Boston, just the two of us. It was a WHITE christmas which made two California kids very happy. We went for a walk in the snow and it felt like we had gone to the mountains for Christmas, but in fact we were right here. The weekend following Christmas Day we met up with The Cousins in NYC to celebrate Emeline's 2nd birthday and meet Tucker. It showed us how easy it is to get to the city for a weekend, especially when Jake and Hi'i are so willing to let us crash at their pad. We're going again this coming weekend and meeting up with Mike and Nate who are doing a weekend trip from CA to see the Rangers play at Madison Square Garden.

Other news since Christmas, we officially have a new president in office now!! HOOORAY!! January flew by, I think we were still in hunkering down during Winter mode. A and I have been enjoying big breakfasts (french toast, waffles, etc) on the weekends and catching up with our friends TiVo and Netflix. It's amazing how the time flies! We also try to get out during the middle of the day for a walk. During the week work keeps us pretty busy. We've been good about hitting the gym three times a week and are bonding with our yoga instructors and the yoga poses. We're making new friends with some of A's co-workers and they are introducing us to fun games like Apples to Apples!

Our trip to China / Japan is all planned. We are ready to go!

December 21, 2008 Winter Solstice
This winter has brought us many adventures already! Thanksgiving was full of family fun down in Washington D.C. followed by a super 31st birthday for Corinne. Adrian spoiled her with presents, a fancy sushi dinner and a decadent chocolate dessert platter at Finale. We visited Kitty and Bobby in Boothbay Harbor, ME and enjoyed the small coastal town christmas festivities of a lighted boat parade, ginger bread house contest, and walked along the scenic coast while exploring the new Botanical Garden. Since then, our adventures have been more local. We have enjoyed a few "pajama days" relaxing at home while decorating the christmas tree and wrapping presents. This past week we went to the Boston Pops Holiday Show and the Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs game. Both were tons of fun (in very different ways, of course). Adrian was given a big raise this week! Happy Holidays at the Bartshire house! The country wide snow storm that began in LA and Vegas reached us on Friday. It started snowing around 1:30pm on Friday and hasn't stopped yet (Sunday evening 4:30pm). Corinne has made many snow angels and we've done plenty of shoveling. It's a blast to walk around in the winter wonderland. Thanks Koolaid for hosting a snow day Pancake Palooza! Corinne's favorite discovery was finding out that mini marshmallows leave a hole in the pancake perfect for filling with syrup or berry sauce. YUM! Pics of our Winter Activities are on our picasa website.

November 8, 2008
YIPPPEEEE for our NEW PRESIDENT!!!!! Election day was quite exciting. Our quiet polling place had a line!

Last weekend held many fun fall activities. We started off with chores at Al's house. OK, I lounged with a novel and Adrian moved a lot of heavy stuff in the garage. Then we meandered (well bee-lined) up to Greensboro VT to hang with Jack and Colton. They taught us how to play Wii and Corinne's arms were sore from "boxing" for the next week! They also took us on a hike up their local hill (pics on the picasa website). VT already had many inches of snow, so fall views are mainly gone. It's still beautiful in the city. Leaves are covering the ground, but there are still many bright colored trees throughout the city.

This weekend is being used to catch up on chores around our house, and Adrian is helping out with some at Al's house too. Corinne took a trip to the local library. We love the library, but for some reason, life's just been too busy to make it there. We've been enjoying our renewed relationship with the gym as well. Yoga!

October 31 to November 2, 2008
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Our pumpkins are lit on the porch and looking fabulous! We are jetting off to Longmeadow and VT for the weekend. We won't be home for trick-or-treaters but last year we got all of 0, so we aren't feeling too bad about this.

Corinne's work has brought her a night in Stamford CT, a night in Fairfax VA, and a night in Waterbury VT over the last three weeks. She's always on the go! She's also got a renewed relationship with the gym. She is experimenting with spinning classes and getting back into yoga after several months of non attendance.

October 25 & 26, 2008
We carved pumpkins! Thank you to Kate, Addy, Janice, Cynthia, and Kenny for joining us in the fun! Sunday was filled with a spectacular pancake and bacon breakfast. Thanks to Liz and Justin for joining in or indulgence. A and C strolled the Fall Festival at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum. The foliage was spectacular and the weather couldn't have been nicer. It was sunny and 60 degrees! (see pics on our picasa website)

October 18, 2008 - Harvard Football & The Head of the Charles
Today is our four-week-iversary. It's also our first Saturday at home since the action packed wedding fun. We enjoyed a morning of sleeping in and wandered out into the sunny autumn weather for a Saturday afternoon adventure. First stop, breakfast! (of course). With full bellies we adventured onto the 66 bus to Harvard. It was the most crowded bus I'd ever been on! Note: I don't take the bus daily, just the train. The bus pulled up next to Harvard Stadium and we saw indications that a football game was going on. Being the adventurous selves that we are, we hopped off the bus and scouted out the scene.

The next thing you know, we're inside Harvard Stadium rooting for the Crimson & White. I was entertained by the band and cheerleaders, while Adrian scouted the best players on the team. Every time Harvard scored, the cheerleaders went behind the end zone, lined up, and did as many push ups as Harvard had for a total score. Thank goodness we didn't do this at Wilcox!

We left near the end of the 3rd quarter (Harvard was winning) to check out the Head of the Charles. It is quite the "to do" here in Beantown. We strolled the booths and gathered all the freebies we could find then walked along the river and watched the boats go by. I'd say the highlight was having my picture taken with two people sized Blackberry cell phones!