Ghosting

Kristen, one of my girlfriends at work, received this surprise last Halloween during her first year in a new neighborhood. A few weeks before Halloween, on Kristen's front porch was a notice that she had been "ghosted". Kristen shared the fun with all of us at work and I couldn't wait to give it a try once we moved into our new house!

"Ghosting" is an easy way to spread Halloween cheer around your neighborhood. Simply put, you leave a little package of treats on a couple of neighbors porches and encourage them to do the same.

Tonight, Operation Ghosting begin in New Freedom, PA. Although Andy protested at the grocery store, I made out with a plethora of candy. I spent a little time making up the instructions (copied from a website) and preparing the goodie bags.

Shortly after seven, we began our expedition. The element of surprise and mystery is a key component of ghosting, so we took the race car. Andy drove, and I carried the packages to the doors of our unexpected neighbors.

When approaching our target neighbors, Andy turned off his headlights and I crept out of the car and up to the front door. After ringing the doorbell, I sprinted back to the car and Andy helped us make a clean get away from both drop-offs.

I hope this friendly activity takes off in our neighborhood and becomes a little tradition for us and our neighbors!

If you'd like to start the ghosting in your neighborhood, here is a website for reference. I'll also be glad to send you what I used this year, just let me know!

Wisbrock Wedding

This weekend we celebrated our six month anniversary, but most importantly, we shared in a very special day for Julie Crider and Chris Wisbrock. On October 7, Julie and Chris wed in Kansas City. We spent the weekend with old and new friends enjoying all the festivities.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Chris Wisbrock!

Q-Tip Issue

The most common uses for cotton swabs include aural hygiene and cosmetics application - Wikipedia.org

Last year we set up a little webcam accessible over the internet to monitor activity at home. We were looking to uncover the root cause behind the mound of trash and overturned trash can we often found spread across the kitchen floor when returning home from work each day. Shortly after launching our webcam, the culprit was caught red-handed. There he was, Tuxedo, our trusted feline, live on our webcam digging through and knocking over the trash can - on a hunt for a Q-Tip or two.

To avoid the annoyance of toppled trash cans, we resorted to restricting Tuxedo's movement around the house (shutting him out of the bathrooms) and investing in rather pricey trash cans with heavy lids (http://www.simplehuman.com/). This tactic has worked well, until the recently.

Last week, in the middle of the foyer, we found a popsicle-stick-like paper scrap, the ruminants of a dismantled Q-Tip. We discarded the occurrence as a slip in our guard, an accidental drop of a Q-Tip on the bathroom floor. How mistaken we were.

Several days after the discovery of the Q-Tip remains, we were surprised to hear some unexplainable shuffling noises in the master bath. Right there, in broad daylight, our beloved cat was opening the highly engineered trash can! By lifting the lid, just a little, Tuxedo is able to shove his head into the can to root around for a used Q-Tip (revolting, we know!).

So, now with the ability to independently locate and retrieve Q-Tips, Tuexdo is as happy as a clam. For the past week, he has pulled a Q-Tip, two or three from the trash with no regard for the degree of use or cleanliness of the Q-Tip. Although the habit is mildly endearing, we'll gladly accept any recommendations for general trash and Q-Tip control as to minimize the number of Q-Tip sticks lining our baseboards.

Automotive Weekend

The joys of car ownership, driving through the countryside with the wind in your hair and your partner next to you, stopping off to take in scenary and a spot of lunch. Not quite in my world.

Spent Saturday dismantling Holly's Jetta to install a gizmo that links into the locking system and allows her to roll-down, roll-up and vent the windows from the key-remote. Also closes the sunroof if it's open. Little did I know that on a bunch of wires which are about 3 microns wide "yellow with blue stripe" is very different from "blue with yellow stripe" ! All done now, tho'. Sweet. http://www.alientech.net for anyone who is interested.

Buoyed by the early success, decided to put a new exhaust on the truck, remarkably uneventful save for a couple of bleeding knuckles. Couldn't have gone much better, all considered.

Something Fishy

If you've visited our new home in PA, I have surely pointed out my 75 gallon African Cichlid tank. This little hobby began while I was in college with a fellow sorority sister, Andrea. The two of us spent hours and loads of cash (neither of which we really had) at the fish store and at home viewing, discussing and adjusting our fish tanks.

When I lived in Canton (downtown Baltimore), I kept the fish tank in storage (the basement). I never set it up, mostly out of concern over the structural stability of my 80 year old row home flooring.

Well, now the tank is up and runinng again and has been for about nine months. Aside from a concern over the nitrate level, my fish seem to be doing fantastic. Tuxedo loves "feed-the-fish" time and I've even had a successful, although unexpected, breeding. Two of the fry batch survived and Andy and I have named them Nemo I and Nemo II. Both baby fish are growing quickly and staying out of harms way - the picture is a shot of mom and dad together.

The tank gives me a few hours of chores every weekend and we really enjoy watching them grow and color up!

- Holly

A New Challenge

In April 2003, I joined Constellation Energy as the director of IT supply chain. Along the way, I also assumed responsibilities for IT communications. I really enjoyed working closely with our CIO to articulate her department's strategic vision.

This month a project in one of our retail businesses, Constellation NewEnergy, was approved. With the approval, I was assigned to a project team to lead the change management team. I've been looking for a new challenge to grow and this is an opportunity which will really test my people and communication skills. For the next year (plus) I'll be focused on training and communications, right up my alley. Stay tuned!

Months Without an "R"

Well, plus a few additional months like September, October and November...

What's so special about this time of year? Maryland blue crabs. One truly Maryland/American thing about the Cowx household is steaming blue crabs. Okay, we know we live in Pennsylvania, but we're talking a few hundred yards north of the Mason-Dixon line, just barely yankees ya'll.

To kickoff crab season this year, we had a few friends over to celebrate. Chips and dips were just the precursor to steamed corn, shrimp and crabs (and a few beers). With Del manning the pot, we had a fabulous, although extremely hot day of food and fun.

Do We Really Have To Come Back?

After our wedding in Antigua, we headed to St. Lucia where we stayed at a remote resort on Soufriere - Anse Chastanet. Here is one of several quintessential honeymoon pictures we took near a waterfall. This particular water fall is Diamond Falls, part of botanical garden and hot sulfur spring park.

We also took a couple of boat adventures (not including the not-so-regulated boat taxi trips to Soufriere). One was a romantic sailboat trip at sunset and the other a whale watching trip several miles off the coast. We saw quite a few dolphins and small pilot whales.

We adventured out every day, but spent most of the time relaxing in the sun, the bar or the restaurant. St. Lucia was a great place for our honeymoon and made coming back tough!

Our Wedding Day

So, this blog officially begins on our wedding day. We were married on the island of Antigua on April 7, 2006. We shared the day with some of our closest friends and family. The resort was ideal - we recommend it - Blue Waters. Tons of activities for Holly to share with Julie and a hammock in the shade just perfect for Andy.

The weather and sunset were just right on our big day. We married at 4:30 in the afternoon, followed by a post-nuptial beer, champagne toast, first dance, reception feast and sparkling send-off. We'd do it all over again, exactly how it was - relaxed, intimate, tropical, and picturesque.

Thank you to all our friends and family that made our big day perfect! A very special thank you to Billy, Irene, Fred and Ileana, our models of love, friendship and marriage - your presense on our wedding day and those before and after are forever a part of our hearts.