Project 365 Day 90: Let There Be Light

Tonight we took what started out as a short 2 mile bike ride to the mall, and ended up as a 12 mile ride around town, down Duff Ave, by the airport, and back up University Blvd. We weren't planning such a long trip, but when we left the mall we noticed the red taillight had fallen off the back of Amy's bike (I didn't do the best job attaching it), and since her front light has been flaky lately, we made a quick stop at WalMart to replace both lights. Then we figured, might as well break the lights in and get some more miles under our butts for RAGBRAI!

Project 365 Day 89: Happy Birthday to Me!

Look what I got for my birthday:

A beautiful day for a bike ride to Olde Main, where we had a delicious supper. Adam also gave me some pretty awesome gifts, including a hand-crafted card that involved a Post-It note and a drawing of an angry unicorn reading a book called "Glue A-Z."

Project 365 Day 88 (written by Amy)

It's happened: I've gotten hooked on a series of graphic novels. We went to the Ames Public Library tonight so I could pick up the next several volumes of the series Fables by Bill Willingham. The premise is that the characters from several fairy tales and legends have been banished from their homelands by a baddy known as The Adversary, and they've set up an underground community in New York City (with a farm upstate for the characters--i.e., Puss in Boots, the three little pigs, etc.--who are unable to blend in with the "mundanes").

The stories are very clever, with part of the conflict coming from the fact that the Prince Charming characters from Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella are all the same guy. The reformed Big Bad Wolf, known as Bigby Wolf in this series, is the police chief; Old King Cole is the mayor (although the deputy mayor, Snow White, is really in charge); and Cinderella is a secret agent who helps eliminate Fable characters who are feeding information to The Adversary.

It took some time to get used to this setting, but it's a lot of fun to read about these very familiar characters in much different roles. I'll never be able to read the traditional stories in the same way!

Special post for Mom Holland

As Adam mentioned, my parents had a party at their house yesterday for my big 3-0. One of the gifts from my mom was a hank of silk yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and of course I couldn't resist casting on almost immediately:
The color isn't completely accurate here, but close. The top picture is actually the wrong side, but I like it just as much as the right side.

Adam's parents gave me a gift certificate for the same yarn company. I'm looking forward to spending it, but I'm afraid that deciding what I want might make my head explode (in a good way)! Thanks to our families and friends for making yesterday such a special day!

Project 365 Day 87: Bargain Hunting

Perhaps "hunting" is overstating it. Everthing at the booksale we went to in Des Moines today was half off, so pretty much everything of even remote interest was a bargain. For my part I found a few classic compact discs to remind me of my more youthful youth, including Roxette's "Joyride" which took me back to my middle school days when I would spend the day at the Grover's place with a friend listening to music and hanging out. Consider that memory rescued for only $2.00!

Project 365 Day 86: Balloons!

We celebrated Amy's upcoming 30th birthday with family and friends today at her parent's home. A good time was had by all, and these balloons were a big hit with the little ones. I made sure we didn't leave empty handed though--at least, as far as balloons go. Amy got some nice gifts, but I thought the best gift of all was me, when her niece put a bow on my head. Happy Birthday!

Project 365 Day 85: Campus Ave

131 Campus Ave, to be precise. A house near campus full of memories, and who knows what else, where I spent approximately three formative months of my life immediately after my undergraduate days at ISU. The memories came flooding back (all three months of them) today when we drove into campus and found street parking just up the block. It's too bad the porch and yard are no longer adorned with upholstered furniture.

Project 365 Day 84: Go State!

While Northern Iowa men play Michigan State tomorrow in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA basketball tournament, this state is fortunate to also have the Iowa State women in the Sweet 16 of their tournament. Unfortunately their matchup is with Connecticut, which the sports commentators refer to as possibly the greatest women's team of all time. Here's hoping this Iowa State banner hanging in our basement will be a good luck charm when they play on Sunday!

Project 365 Day 83: We Must Be Busy

How do I know we've been busy lately? After searching high and low, online and offline, Amy finally found that Gamestop.com had the Wii Balance Boards/Wii Fit package in stock, and was able to snatch one up for us before the supply ran out. It arrived this past weekend, and yet all we've had the time and energy to do is leave it sitting in the middle of our living room floor, admiring it like a Roomba that ran out of juice in mid-automated-vacuuming. Hopefully we'll find time soon to actually stand on it, and maybe even hook it up to the Wii!

Project 365 Day 82: Feeling the Magic

Congratulations to the Iowa State women's basketball team on their win over Green Bay tonight in the second round of the NCAA tournament. After they breezed past Lehigh in the first round on Sunday, it was fun and stressful at the same time to see them fight a scrappy Green Bay team that had a great night of shooting, especially in the first half. I lamented the outcome and play of the men's game we attended earlier this season against Missouri, but mentioned then that I felt some sparks of the ol' Hilton Magic. Tonight the Magic was in full force, and I was screaming as much as my voice would allow in the final exciting seconds as Iowa State held on for the win. Next up... Connecticut. Maybe we'll see the women's version of the UNI-over-Kansas shocker!

Project 365 Day 81: Point of No Return

"What is this!?" the mailbox thinks. "Who dares interrupt my late-night television entertainment? Kinnear is on Letterman for God's sakes!"

"Oh. An envelope. How curious..."

"If my X-ray-equipped monocle is working correctly (thanks DHS), this appears to be a submission of RAGBRAI waivers to the Des Moines Register. Now who around here would be crazy enough to do RAGBRAI?"

"Ah yes, that young couple who moved in down the street just last summer. Always riding their bicycles back at all kinds of odd hours. An endless array of odd gadgets hanging off the handlebars. I'll never understand it. What's the point? They could barely transport this block's outgoing mail to the main post office for crying out loud! "

"Honestly, where do they think they are living? Amsterdam? Portland!?"

"Oh well. Their bodies, their butts. Good luck with that ride across Iowa. Just remember, the state is about as flat as a sheet of half-popped bubble wrap covered in packing peanuts!"

"My goodness, Craig Ferguson is starting, must get back to the television. Now that's a guy who knows how make me laugh."

Project 365 Day 80: Cheese Heads

The March Madness continued today when we attended two games in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. Up first in the early game was Virginia vs. Green Bay. As it turned out, this one was the nail biter of the night, with Green Bay barely hanging on for the upset over the higher-seeded Virginia. Highlight of the game: The cheese-headed pep band from Wisconsin! Congratulations to Iowa State for rolling through first-round opponent Lehigh. We're looking forward to Tuesday night's second round match up between Iowa State and Green Bay. I'm not too worried about our odds in the game, and despite Wisconsin's formidable headgear, I think our pep band could take them if it comes to blows.

Project 365 Day 79: Bracket Busters

As a supporter of Iowa sports, I've managed the balancing act of cheering on the Cyclones while also pulling for the Hawkeyes (when they aren't playing Iowa State, of course). But Northern Iowa's tournament upset over Kansas today made me realize I've been neglecting Iowa's best men's team in college hoops for awhile. While I had Kansas winning it all in the two brackets I filled out this year (neither for money, just bragging rights), I couldn't care less that my brackets were busted. It's just awesome to have a home team to keep following in the tournament. Bring on the Sweet Sixteen!

Project 365 Day 78

I took this deeply depressing picture on our deck this evening. After yesterday's beautiful weather, today's low temperatures and the "wintry mix" falling from the sky have been quite a shock, even though we were forewarned. Let's hope it warms up again soon!

Project 365 Day 77

Today's weather was absolutely gorgeous, and I took advantage of it by walking home from work. I stopped on the bridge over the Skunk River to take this picture with my trusty Droid. If you look closely you can still see some snow on the north bank, but today's temperature got above 60 degrees. Unfortunately, tomorrow we'll be back in the upper 30s with the dreaded "wintry mix"--ugh! At least we shouldn't have to get the snowblower out again (fingers crossed)....

Project 365 Day 76

Tonight we rode bicycles to main street for a stop at the library and then Cafe Diem, our favorite coffee shop in Ames. Since, unlike Amy, I am not of true Irish blood, I had to find some other way to get in the Irish spirit for St. Patrick's day, and luckily Cafe Diem had a special on their menu, the Nutty Irishman. A tasy mix of hazelnut coffee and Irish creme, it was a good way to end the evening.

Project 365 Day 75

Last night, we took a trip to Scheels to stock up on bike equipment. This isn't the greatest picture of my bike, but most of my new swag is visible, including a mirror, bottle holder, U-lock, and bag rack. I also got a waterproof bag and an odometer, which isn't installed yet. We got a new helmet for Adam since his old one was missing a giant hunk of styrofoam (and was therefore probably not at all effective) as well as a few other things, but Scheels did not have the bag he was looking for so we're planning a trip to Skunk River tomorrow. I'm sure both bikes will be popping up frequently in these pictures over the next few months!

Although I was shocked and horrified to learn that we will not, in fact, be within 2.1 miles of a Jimmy John's at every point of the RAGBRAI route, I'm pretty excited about my newly tricked out bike and am looking forward to many bike rides this summer, even before the big event.

Project 365 Day 74

Our RAGBRAI preparations continued today by taking advantage of the warmer weather with a short bike ride to the mall and back. I think we'll be fine for the real deal, assuming the following holds true:

1. There is no wind in Iowa
   
2. Each segment of the ride is no longer than 2.1 miles
3. Consumption of a Jimmy Johns sandwich is mandatory between segments
   

We're planning to continue with this training regimen until we find out diff--


Oh crap.

Project 365 day 73: We celebrated Pi Day by eating some Peanut Butter Silk Pie at Perkins. We came up with this awesome plan for today's picture when Amy reminded me what day it was and also that we like pie, and then we almost finished our pie slices before I remembered to take a picture. Talk about a close call!

In fact, you might say it was "infinitely" close...

If you got that joke then you probably had a rough childhood.

Project 365 day 72: As with the receding glaciers of the arctic, global warming has also struck our back yard! Or, at least, the seasonal temperatures are warming up for spring, and we are very happy to see our yard again. Hopefully it won't be long before we can get the bicycles out. Of course, that will also mean that I'll have to get the lawnmower out...

Project 365 day 71: Tonight I attended a Dashboard Confessional show at People's Court in Des Moines, thanks to a good friend who lives in the area and has some connections. The abundance of concert-going options was one thing about living in DC that I thought I might miss being back in Iowa, but in truth I've found that I'm still overwhelmed by options. The big name shows in arenas and stadiums may be fewer and further between, but that's actually a good thing. Places like the Hoyt Sherman, People's Court, and Vaudeville Mews (I expect anyway, haven't made it to a show there yet) are cheaper, more interesting, and have better acoustics. And when someone like Conan O'Brien goes on tour, we don't mind taking a little drive... Kansas City here we come!

Project 365 Day 70: Lounging

While walking across campus on my lunch hour today, I saw something I haven't seen for months: Sir Lancelot and Elaine, enjoying a peaceful post-lunch rest on the grass near Music Hall. I'm sure it won't be long before they are wreaking havoc with the traffic and attacking parked cars around Lake Laverne, the little darlings!

Project 365 day 69: Our gym bag sits on the floor after we returned from a good workout at the Lied rec center. Between the two of us we got in some basketball, stationary bike, and jogging, all in the comfort of a controlled climate, as opposed to the melting snow and rain on the outside.

Project 365 day 68: We saw Norah Jones and her backing band at the Des Moines Civic Center tonight. Great concert, and while we enjoyed her 2002 debut album that won a zillion Grammy awards, we were more excited to see her perform songs from her most recent album The Fall. What we weren't excited about were the overzealous venue staff tapping us on the shoulder and telling us to turn our phones off while we were already in the process of turning our phones off.

Project 365 day 67: The day we beat Mario! New Super Mario Bros. Wii to be precise (that's a mouthful). It took a solid week of dedicated effort, but we persevered and made it through some tight spots. As it turns out, there is a secret rainbow world that we can access once we have found all the Star coins in the original eight worlds. So now it's time to go through the game again for those Star coins! Ah, the joys of childhood regression.

Project 365 day 66: The amaryllis Amy's brother and sister-in-law sent us has bloomed! We have moved it up to the dining table where we'll both be able to enjoy the colors throughout the day.

Project 365 day 65: This was the Blue Teams area of the 2010 National Cyber Defense Competition, held at Iowa State University. The Blue Teams consisted of small teams of college students, mostly from Iowa, competing for points by running a mock network and defending it from the Red Team folks who were attempting to hack in. I was able to sit in with the Red Team this time around and successfully configured a VPN client to access the Blue Team networks using credentials that some of the other more seasoned Red Teamers had, ahem, "acquired". It was enough to get me a Red Team CDC t-shirt, and really, that's all that matters.

Project 365 day 64: We enjoyed a Friday After Class (FAC) event (AKA reason to drink beer) with friends and new acquaintances at Olde Main Brewing Co., and on our way out came across this lonely baseball cap laying on the sidewalk. We paused for a moment. Was it purposefully abandoned, or just collateral damage from a patron stumbling and tumbling out of the brewpub after one too many? Another one of life's mysterious mysteries...

Project 365 day 63: While running an errand tonight we came across this student party pad near West Street Deli with some Christmas lights still up. I am willing to bet these lights will be up through the summer...

Project 365 day 62: The Man Cave continues to evolve. Now that the living room has been upgraded to HD, the trusty old 27 inch tube TV has a new home in the basement, and yes, that is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System peaking out from below. NHL '94 and Super Mario Kart all the way!

Project 365 day 61: No matter how the season has gone, walking into Hilton Coliseum in Ames gives one the feeling that the Cyclones have a chance. This has not been a good season for the men's basketball team, but I still thought they had a good shot going into their final home game against Missouri. At times during the game I got a little tingling of Hilton Magic, but at others it felt like we were watching a couple of bad high school teams play. A heartbreaking loss on a driving bank-shot layup as overtime expired left us deflated, but at least we know we're in Ames for the long-haul, and ISU is bound to have great men's teams in the future. The women's teams, on the other hand, are consistently good, so perhaps next year we'll make it to some of each.

Project 365 day 60: Out for dinner in Ames with Amy's parents at an old standby. A hint about where this picture was taken: "Please proceed to the blinking arrow." If you don't know, then you need to come to Ames and we'll show you.