Michelle's Doppelgangers?

We've been watching a lot of the Olympics the last two weeks. (As an aside, we really wish we could watch CBC coverage, but we have to live with NBC refusing to show many events until many hours after they've happened. Usain Bolt's world records would have been much more exciting had I not already known about them.)

Anyway, during the gymnastics coverage, Michelle thought that one of the chinese gymnasts looked like a "little Michelle". To be honest, I don't really see it, but you can decide for yourself. (Just in case you're wondering, Cheng Fei is the only gymnast whose age is not being questioned.)



Of course, she's not really serious, but since then, she's also found "big Michelle" on the Chinese volleyball team.



Who knew Michelle was so self-centered?

Scott's Country Bacon - July 2008

I have to apologize for taking so long to write about the July bacon. The last month or so have been quite busy with trips to Toronto (conference), Ithaca (Scott and Sonya's wedding), and Tucson (Michelle and Jesse's wedding). In the middle, I also attended a 4-day workshop that included a couple 12 hour days. All that being said, I probably would have posted sooner had we been more excited about the Scott's Country Bacon.



This was another example of overly salty bacon. Unfortunately, Michelle also detected a relatively prominent metallic taste. I didn't notice it at first, but after she pointed it out, it started to dominate the flavor. Needless to say, this quickly became a bit unpleasant.

We've also received the August bacon, but the packaging was broken, so they are sending us another package with the September selection. Stay tuned.

Bacon ranking:
1. J. Samuel Whiting Hickory Bacon (Apr 2008)
2. North Country Cob Smoked Bacon (Oct 2007)
3. Vande Rose Farms Applewood Smoked Bacon (Dec 2007)
4. (tie) Hudson Valley Smokehouse Smoked Country Style Bacon (Feb 2008)
4. (tie) Burgers' Pepper Bacon (Mar 2008)
4. (tie) New Braunfels Smokehouse Comal County Smoked Bacon (June 2008)
7. Jim Oliver's Hickory Smoked Bacon (Jan 2008)
8. Tripp Country Bacon (Nov 2007)
9. Loveless Cafe Country Smoked Bacon (May 2008)
10. Scott's Country Bacon (July 2008)

Good Things Come in Threes

... or is it, good things come to those who wait? Eh, either way, it works.

Happy three monthaversary, hubby!

OFT No. 13 - Two Weddings and a Little Waterfall

The first two weekends in August meant two weddings at opposite ends of the country. The first was Scott and Sonya's, in Ithaca, NY. Sonya was my labmate at USC, and we've kind of led parallel lives over the last little while. We defended our dissertations within about a month of each other, got engaged around the same time, and were planning our weddings at the same time too. Neither Brian nor I had ever been to Ithaca, so it was neat to be able to go out there and see Cornell and the area. It was a beautiful wedding, despite the threat of thundershowers all weekend. The rains did come down, but not until we were safely in the tent at the reception (and then they made for some fun moments, like seeing Sonya and Scott running through the grass under a big umbrella). Here are a few pics from the weekend:

The new husband and wife!

Us with Mr. and Dr. Lundy/Negriff at their Sunday picnic.

The suspension bridge connecting the north and south parts
of Cornell campus.

The view from the suspension bridge, one of many gorges around Ithaca
(whence comes the saying, "Ithaca is Gorges" on all those T-shirts).

Congrats Sonya and Scott! Welcome back from Belize!

On the way to the Buffalo airport on Sunday, we stopped at Niagara Falls to check out the natural wonder and gaze longingly at Canada just across the way.

The view looking East (Canada is just across the bridge!)

And now we've moved West. All that white behind Brian is mist

coming up from the falls.

So then we were home for a short 4 days before heading to the airport again, this time on our way to Tucson, where the temperature in August is usually a pretty unforgiving 105 or so. It ended up being a bit cooler than that - but it was really humid as it was 'monsoon season,' apparently. This time, the happy couple was (Brian's cousin) Michelle and Jesse, and it was fun to see some of his (my!) family. Their ceremony was in a new-ageish Catholic church which had a neat set up that had the guests facing toward the center rather than the front. I don't have a really good picture from it because I tend to be too shaky when I'm excited or emotional, but here are a few from that weekend.

The beautiful bride!

The hubs doing the honors of ordering at Sonic between the ceremony
and reception. I love Sonic! Word on the street is that the first Chicagoland
outpost opens next week, near the outlet stores, no less... sweeeeeeeet!

The couple and the bride's parents on the grounds of the Tucson
Country Club, where the reception was held.

The fam! Aunt Wendy, Donald, Peggy, Yeye and us.

A pretty desert sunset.

And after that, we ate cake, lost a jacket, and danced till dawn. Ok, more like midnight or so, but it was a really fun night. Congratulations Michelle and Jesse! Hope you are having a wonderful time on your honeymoon in Italy!

That's it for Wedding Season 2008, the BEST wedding year ever (I say with only the slightest of biases). No more trips planned till October, when we return to old stomping grounds and head to San Francisco. Frankly, all the travel we've been doing lately was getting a little tiring! But one of the things I took away from planning our own wedding was how meaningful it was that people made the effort to come, so it is was definitely our pleasure to be able to attend these two lovely events.

Missing something?

Brian just told me that I never posted the third installment of the wedding recaps, skipping straight from the ceremony to the dinner (whaaaa?) So I've just published the post, but it got inserted way back among the June entries - if you want to go back and fill in the gaps, you can check it out HERE.

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on the bjourn front lately, but never fear, things will pick up again. In the last few weeks, we've attended two wonderful weddings, so look for an OFT post about those soon. And yes, more bacon is on the way (only 2 shipments left) ...