I came across this today at work and just had to share! This is a clip of a simply amazing piece of artistry called Bella Gaia ("Beautiful Earth") that was created using various time lapse satellite images and spatial data and overlaying them on a 3D earth globe called NASA World Wind. I don't think you even have to be a GIS nerd like me to appreciate this one. Enjoy!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wedding Pictures Are Here!
In case you haven't noticed from the look of our blog, our professional wedding pictures are done! Our photographer, Olivia Gird, did an outstanding job! Now that we have all our pictures, I'll be spending a good deal of time in the next few weeks blogging about the wedding. Hope you all don't mind!
Monday, October 26, 2009
A West Coast Wedding
Last weekend James and I headed west to San Diego for the wedding of one of my former colleagues at UConn. Last spring Kate and her husband Brett left CT to move to Salt Lake City, UT (yipppie - even MORE reasons to visit the lovely state of Utah!) so Brett could take a job at the University of Utah. Kate is originally from San Diego and found a perfect beach side location for their nuptials.
James and I got up REALLY early on Friday, dropped Summit off at Alisa, Brian and Ava's house (James' sister, brother in law and niece) and headed to NYC. Our flight was direct to San Diego, but we had to fly out of JFK International Airport, so this meant getting through New York City traffic on a busy weekday morning. Once we made it to the terminal and on the airplane, the flight went smoothly. We flew JetBlue for the first time and I have to say, the flight was really comfortable and I really enjoyed the personal TV's with real-time satellite TV at each seat. Because of the time change, we gained three hours and got to California mid-afternoon. We rented a car and headed to the beach! We drove the historic 101 north along the coast line and checked out all the small surfing towns along the way. The weather was great - bright and sunny with just a little fog by the shore. We made it to the hotel in time to enjoy a "meet and greet" with Kate, Brett and their families and then headed out for an oh so delicious Mexican dinner in a town called Del Mar.
Sweet California ride and Kate and me at the "meet and greet"
The fog rolling in and a view of the patio where the ceremony was held.
Newlyweds! So beautiful!!
The reception was a blast and we could tell Kate and Brett had a great night. It brings back a lot of memories from our own wedding! Such good times...it just goes by so quickly!
The next morning we drove back to the airport and flew east to New York (as a side note, we sat next to Laura Bennett, a finalist on season 3 of Project Runway!). It was a really short trip but we both had so much fun and it was so great to see Kate again. Kate and I have spent so many hours talking about wedding plans and comparing notes, it was really special to see all her hard work come together in one of the biggest moments of her life. Thanks Kate and Brett for sharing your wedding and your love with us!
James and I got up REALLY early on Friday, dropped Summit off at Alisa, Brian and Ava's house (James' sister, brother in law and niece) and headed to NYC. Our flight was direct to San Diego, but we had to fly out of JFK International Airport, so this meant getting through New York City traffic on a busy weekday morning. Once we made it to the terminal and on the airplane, the flight went smoothly. We flew JetBlue for the first time and I have to say, the flight was really comfortable and I really enjoyed the personal TV's with real-time satellite TV at each seat. Because of the time change, we gained three hours and got to California mid-afternoon. We rented a car and headed to the beach! We drove the historic 101 north along the coast line and checked out all the small surfing towns along the way. The weather was great - bright and sunny with just a little fog by the shore. We made it to the hotel in time to enjoy a "meet and greet" with Kate, Brett and their families and then headed out for an oh so delicious Mexican dinner in a town called Del Mar.
Sweet California ride and Kate and me at the "meet and greet"
The next morning we woke up to heavy fog. Assuming the day would be just like the previous, I thought it would burn off by the time the wedding started. Unfortunately, it didn't. The wedding was at a place called Powerhouse Park, right on the beach in Del Mar. It was beautiful and had an amazing view of the water. When we first arrived, the fog had let up enough to get a hazy shot of the water. By the time the ceremony started however, the fog had really rolled in. I actually think it made their ceremony pictures quite beautiful. Instead of the water in the background, there's only white, like being in the middle of a cloud. It was really pretty and made the ceremony really private even though we were really right next to a public beach. After the ceremony ended the fog let up a little, hopefully long enough for Kate and Brett to get some good pictures together.
The fog rolling in and a view of the patio where the ceremony was held.
Newlyweds! So beautiful!!
The reception was a blast and we could tell Kate and Brett had a great night. It brings back a lot of memories from our own wedding! Such good times...it just goes by so quickly!
The next morning we drove back to the airport and flew east to New York (as a side note, we sat next to Laura Bennett, a finalist on season 3 of Project Runway!). It was a really short trip but we both had so much fun and it was so great to see Kate again. Kate and I have spent so many hours talking about wedding plans and comparing notes, it was really special to see all her hard work come together in one of the biggest moments of her life. Thanks Kate and Brett for sharing your wedding and your love with us!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Let's Kick It Up a Notch!
That's one of my favorite Emeril sayings ("BAM!" also comes to mind). Emeril sure would be proud to see the progress both James and I have made in the kitchen lately. Thanks to our wonderful wedding guests, we are armed with shiny new appliances and half a dozen new cookbooks, so we have no shortage of recipes to try! Here's a peek at a few of the good ones (and one really, really bad one) we've tried so far.
Macaroni and Cheese Bake
James made this one. Cheese is usually the number one ingredient in most of his dishes.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Method:
Cook macaroni according to package directions in boiling salted water; drain and set aside. Combine milk, 3 tablespoons melted butter, flour, salt, pepper and eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and well-blended. Layer half of cooked macaroni in the bottom of a shallow, buttered 2-quart baking dish; sprinkle with 2 cups cheese and top with remaining macaroni. Pour milk and egg mixture over macaroni. Toss breadcrumbs with remaining tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of macaroni and cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered, for 45-50 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and continue baking for about 5 minutes longer or until macaroni and cheese is set.
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Healthy?: no
Delicious?: yes!
No Hurry Vegetable Curry
This is a perfect recipe for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Curry is another of James' favorites.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
8 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups slow-cooked chickpeas (I used red beans b/c I forgot these at the grocery store)
One 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup frozen green beans, thawed
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
salt to taste
Method:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and onion, cover and cook until softened, about five minutes. Add the garlic, curry poweder, coriander and cayenne, stirring to coat. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Add the potatoes, green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes and stock. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Just before serving, stir in the peas and coconut milk and season with salt.
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 6-8 hours
Serves: 4
Healthy?: yes!
Delicious?: yes - but spicy!!!
Baked Chinese Tofu
Another James recipe. Very simple but oh so tasty!
Ingredients:
Block of firm tofu, retain tofu water
Handful of spring onions
Clove of garlic
Dash of white pepper
Tablespoon of sesame oil
Dash of soy sauce or tamari
Sprinkle of fried shallots
Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove tofu from packaging and retain tofu water. Wash tofu and pat dry. Cut into 1/2 inch thick strips and arrange onto roasting pan. Brush with sesame oil. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in oiled pan, stir-fry garlic until fragrant. Add in tofu water, spring onion, pepper, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce and mix well in medium heat. Add in fried shallots and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove tofu from oven and garnish each with mixutre. Bake five more minutes and serve immediately.
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 4
Healthy?: yes
Delicious?: yes!
Asparagus Pesto with Pasta
You had to know it was coming...it would happen eventually...our perfect record in the kitch would come to an end sooner or later. And so it did with Simply Recipe's Asparagus Pesto with Pasta. Seems simple enough, right? I thought so, and the picture totally sold me too. Turns out it was NOT so simple and DEFINITELY not so delicious. In fact, it was totally inedible! It's okay, you can laugh, we sure did!
looks delicious, right?!?
Off to a good start...I even got to use my new blender!
Prep time: 1o mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-5 burritos
Healthy?: probably not considering how much cheese we used
Delicious?: yes!!!!!
That's all for now, that is, if you're even still reading this marathon post! We have tried other recipes as well - some with less success (well, nothing was quite as bad as the asparagus pasta debacle). I'll be sure to share any super delicious ones as we find them - and please, do the same!
Macaroni and Cheese Bake
James made this one. Cheese is usually the number one ingredient in most of his dishes.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Method:
Cook macaroni according to package directions in boiling salted water; drain and set aside. Combine milk, 3 tablespoons melted butter, flour, salt, pepper and eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and well-blended. Layer half of cooked macaroni in the bottom of a shallow, buttered 2-quart baking dish; sprinkle with 2 cups cheese and top with remaining macaroni. Pour milk and egg mixture over macaroni. Toss breadcrumbs with remaining tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of macaroni and cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered, for 45-50 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and continue baking for about 5 minutes longer or until macaroni and cheese is set.
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Healthy?: no
Delicious?: yes!
No Hurry Vegetable Curry
This is a perfect recipe for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Curry is another of James' favorites.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
8 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups slow-cooked chickpeas (I used red beans b/c I forgot these at the grocery store)
One 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup frozen green beans, thawed
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
salt to taste
Method:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and onion, cover and cook until softened, about five minutes. Add the garlic, curry poweder, coriander and cayenne, stirring to coat. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Add the potatoes, green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes and stock. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Just before serving, stir in the peas and coconut milk and season with salt.
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 6-8 hours
Serves: 4
Healthy?: yes!
Delicious?: yes - but spicy!!!
Baked Chinese Tofu
Another James recipe. Very simple but oh so tasty!
Ingredients:
Block of firm tofu, retain tofu water
Handful of spring onions
Clove of garlic
Dash of white pepper
Tablespoon of sesame oil
Dash of soy sauce or tamari
Sprinkle of fried shallots
Method:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove tofu from packaging and retain tofu water. Wash tofu and pat dry. Cut into 1/2 inch thick strips and arrange onto roasting pan. Brush with sesame oil. Bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in oiled pan, stir-fry garlic until fragrant. Add in tofu water, spring onion, pepper, remaining sesame oil and soy sauce and mix well in medium heat. Add in fried shallots and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove tofu from oven and garnish each with mixutre. Bake five more minutes and serve immediately.
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 4
Healthy?: yes
Delicious?: yes!
Asparagus Pesto with Pasta
You had to know it was coming...it would happen eventually...our perfect record in the kitch would come to an end sooner or later. And so it did with Simply Recipe's Asparagus Pesto with Pasta. Seems simple enough, right? I thought so, and the picture totally sold me too. Turns out it was NOT so simple and DEFINITELY not so delicious. In fact, it was totally inedible! It's okay, you can laugh, we sure did!
looks delicious, right?!?
Off to a good start...I even got to use my new blender!
Unfortunately my common sense COMPLETELY failed me - twice! Once when i forgot to put the top on the blender and again when I decide to try to "fix" the blender blade with a wooden spoon - which resulted in green slime ALL over the kitchen (and me) and chucks of wood scattered through whatever was still left behind.
I still made James try the dish (after sorting through the remaining "sauce" to pick out the splinters). It was terrible. I mean really, really bad. I think we ended up eating PB & J for dinner that night. Oh well, lesson(s) learned.
Black Bean Burrito Bake
Mexican is my favorite. I think I could eat it every single day. This is a recipe that my co-worker Emily made for one of our famous office cook-offs. It's from Cooking Light and it's simply delicious!
Ingredients:
1 7-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained and divided
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
4-5 8-inch flour tortillas (# you can make depends on how much you put in them)
Can of enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Note: I also fried up some onions and garlic to add to burrito filling. You can get creative with what you put in these - anything goes!
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove one chile (if you like your Mexican HOT add more) from can. Chop it finely. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl, let stand for 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash 3/4 of the beans. Add mashed beans, remaining whole beans and corn to the sour cream mixture (also add any other ingredients you wish to include in the filling). Spoon 1/2 cup of bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle inside with cheese and a dash of enchilada sauce. Roll up tortillas, seam side down on top of a layer of enchilada sauce in an 11x17 inch baking dish. Spread remaining enchilada sauce on top of burritos and sprinkle the whole thing with cheese (we use a lot of cheese). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Black Bean Burrito Bake
Mexican is my favorite. I think I could eat it every single day. This is a recipe that my co-worker Emily made for one of our famous office cook-offs. It's from Cooking Light and it's simply delicious!
James wasn't feeling particularly photogenic this night. =)
Ingredients:
1 7-ounce can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained and divided
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
4-5 8-inch flour tortillas (# you can make depends on how much you put in them)
Can of enchilada sauce
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Note: I also fried up some onions and garlic to add to burrito filling. You can get creative with what you put in these - anything goes!
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove one chile (if you like your Mexican HOT add more) from can. Chop it finely. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl, let stand for 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash 3/4 of the beans. Add mashed beans, remaining whole beans and corn to the sour cream mixture (also add any other ingredients you wish to include in the filling). Spoon 1/2 cup of bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle inside with cheese and a dash of enchilada sauce. Roll up tortillas, seam side down on top of a layer of enchilada sauce in an 11x17 inch baking dish. Spread remaining enchilada sauce on top of burritos and sprinkle the whole thing with cheese (we use a lot of cheese). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Cook time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-5 burritos
Healthy?: probably not considering how much cheese we used
Delicious?: yes!!!!!
That's all for now, that is, if you're even still reading this marathon post! We have tried other recipes as well - some with less success (well, nothing was quite as bad as the asparagus pasta debacle). I'll be sure to share any super delicious ones as we find them - and please, do the same!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Running on Empty
Fall means one thing to a dedicated distance runner... marathon season. Currently, it would be dead wrong to use either of those two adjectives to describe myself, but a runner I am and a sucker for anything marathon related, I just couldn't let this weekend's Hartford Marathon pass me by without participating in some form or another. Luckily for me, my best friend Caitlin wanted in on the action too so I didn't have to run the roads alone. Caitlin signed up for the marathon months ago and has been training (like a responsible marathon runner) for the race all summer. I, on the other hand, decided last week I would try and run along side her for as many miles (maybe 26.2?) as my out-of-shape limbs would allow and then drop out at some point when the pain (that's inevitable whether you're trained or not) became unbearable. I wasn't sure how my plan would pan out, especially considering I haven't been running much (or at all) in the past six weeks and due to oodles of injuries and many hours in PT, I haven't run more than 12 miles in one outing in over a year and a half. Some distance runner I am, haha. But, being the stubborn mule that I am (insert your own creative adjectives here), I was determined to give it a shot.
Caitlin and I before the start of the 2007 Marine Corp Marathon, in Washington, D.C.
We ran the marathon in honor of our close friend who died that year in Iraq.
Unfortunately, Caitlin came down with a bad case of bronchitis last week and decided (smartly) to pass on the full marathon and run the half marathon (13.1 miles) instead. I feel really, really bad that she had to give up her plans for the full race. I know how disappointing it can be to spend months and months preparing for a race, only to realize your body can't take the punishment (I, of course, learned this the hard way after running a marathon injured and then spending the next two years recovering from knee surgery). Still, the race was really hard for Cait, running with bronchitis on top of asthma may be harder than running with no knees. So we struggled through it together -the race certainly wasn't a shining moment in either of our running careers, but we finished together and that's what matters. So, thank you Cait for getting me out there with you to enjoy a beautiful marathon weekend. And thank you for re-energizing my steadily declining running mojo. I definitely needed a jump-start! Next year, how about a spring AND fall marathon? Sounds good to me!
Before the start, heading to the start line near the state capitol with 10,000 other runners
The finish line in sight. Are we there yet ?!?
Down the home stretch!
Caitlin and I before the start of the 2007 Marine Corp Marathon, in Washington, D.C.
We ran the marathon in honor of our close friend who died that year in Iraq.
Unfortunately, Caitlin came down with a bad case of bronchitis last week and decided (smartly) to pass on the full marathon and run the half marathon (13.1 miles) instead. I feel really, really bad that she had to give up her plans for the full race. I know how disappointing it can be to spend months and months preparing for a race, only to realize your body can't take the punishment (I, of course, learned this the hard way after running a marathon injured and then spending the next two years recovering from knee surgery). Still, the race was really hard for Cait, running with bronchitis on top of asthma may be harder than running with no knees. So we struggled through it together -the race certainly wasn't a shining moment in either of our running careers, but we finished together and that's what matters. So, thank you Cait for getting me out there with you to enjoy a beautiful marathon weekend. And thank you for re-energizing my steadily declining running mojo. I definitely needed a jump-start! Next year, how about a spring AND fall marathon? Sounds good to me!
Before the start, heading to the start line near the state capitol with 10,000 other runners
Down the home stretch!
Side Note: Did you know that the Hartford Marathon is the "greenest" marathon in the country? Way cool!!! Read all about it here.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Working Like a Dog - or am I?
Since we got back from the honeymoon, both James and I have had our hands full at work. James has a couple of big new projects that are keeping him busy and fall always seems to be a hectic time at UConn. Between teaching and conferences, there hasn't been a minute of downtime at the office. Or I should say, there hasn't been a minute of down time at the office...when I'm actually AT the office. This week I took two separate trips to New Hampshire. First to the University of New Hampshire to teach a seminar on Putting Maps, Images and Data on the Web with my colleague Emily. I had never been to the UNH campus or to Portsmouth, where we spent the night. Both were really nice and the seminar went really well. Since we were so close to Maine, I also took a side trip up to York to visit an old friend from my childhood, Kirsten. It was great to be able to catch up again. We took her dog, Samuel, swimming and walked along the rocky Maine coastline - so pretty!
Teaching mode
York, Maine
Samuel and his ball (Summit and Sam would get along great) and me and Keek
The second trip was to Nashua, New Hampshire for the annual Northeast Arc User's Group Conference (NEARC). NEARC is a three day gathering of GIS professionals (aka geeks) from across the Northeast. Emily and I presented on the first day of the conference and were able to relax and enjoy the rest of our time in Nashua. I don't have any pictures of us doing much work at NEARC (nothing new here, haha) but I tell you, for a nerdy crowd, we sure do know how to have fun! I'm already looking forward to NEARC 2010 which will be held next fall in Newport, Rhode Island.
How many GIS experts does it take to run a giant computer screen?
NEARC wouldn't be complete without a little geocaching
Flash back to the 50's at the NEARC sock hop complete with Karaoke
The CT Crew representing at the Karaoke Competition
Goodbye Nashua! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed!
Teaching mode
York, Maine
Samuel and his ball (Summit and Sam would get along great) and me and Keek
The second trip was to Nashua, New Hampshire for the annual Northeast Arc User's Group Conference (NEARC). NEARC is a three day gathering of GIS professionals (aka geeks) from across the Northeast. Emily and I presented on the first day of the conference and were able to relax and enjoy the rest of our time in Nashua. I don't have any pictures of us doing much work at NEARC (nothing new here, haha) but I tell you, for a nerdy crowd, we sure do know how to have fun! I'm already looking forward to NEARC 2010 which will be held next fall in Newport, Rhode Island.
How many GIS experts does it take to run a giant computer screen?
NEARC wouldn't be complete without a little geocaching
Flash back to the 50's at the NEARC sock hop complete with Karaoke
The CT Crew representing at the Karaoke Competition
Goodbye Nashua! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed!
Traveling has been fun. It's really great having a job that gets me out of the office every once in a while, but after a hectic few months, I'm really looking forward to spending some quiet time at home with James and Summit. We have one more big trip this fall before that can happen...but more on that later!
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