though they were placed outside for the dinner! The Wilson’s have been raising two new puppies in addition to their elder Rusty, who has absolutely no patience for the energetic pair. Instead of walking off the meal, we laughed it off watching some good stand up comedy with a ventriloquist. We mainly spent the day in good conversation and in good company, enhancing all that we are thankful for. 
Plane costs from San Diego to Miami are astronomically high, considering how CHEAP gas is, and buying tickets from the Tech athletic office is ridiculously overpriced for the nose-bleed seats you get. So we’ll play a team much like Kansas last year who have nothing to lose and a lot to prove. I hope we actually prepare to play this time!
Since we graduated in 2006, Angela and I have tried to make it to at least one Hokie football game a year. This year we discovered that plane tickets home were significantly cheaper the week before Thanksgiving, so we made it to the Duke-VT home game in mid-November. 
During our time in college we attended many cold games, perhaps none colder than either the 2002 or 2003 Pitt games. But after living in San Diego for a few months, we have become acclimated to very little weather variation from sunny, mid-70s week in and week out. While believing we were prepared for the cold, we weren’t. We arrived in Blacksburg the day before the game, 
as the current students began a mass exodus home for a week off at Thanksgiving. Walking through campus to visit Angela’s old office produced tears and chapped lips… the temperature was not above 30 and the sun was still out. That evening was one of the coldest I can remember, with briefs stops outside between bars downtown freezing us to the core. We realized that with a night game upon us, we were going to be miserably cold. Sure, we had multiple layers, hats, extra socks, and new long johns… we thought we had mother nature beat. 
Despite the layers, Angela claimed to have lost feeling in her limbs by game time! This was officially the second coldest temperature recorded at kickoff in the Frank Beamer era. But the point was seeing friends and family! We had a great tailgate with the Gougers, enjoying peppermint schnapps and hot cocoa, along with great barbeque. Entertainment was provided by the local bird of prey, and although not a turkey, it caught a squirrel and proceeded to consume the rodent on a low branch for all the Hokie faithful to see. We decided that the 
Tech grounds crew keeps the hawk around to help deal with the rat issue (I have personally seen many scurrying rodents emerge from nearby Vawter Hall). We made it to the stadium in time to catch the Marching Virginians run by, reminding us of good times, but also how wonderful it was to actually tailgate for a game! Our seats were way up the East Stands, near the top! We saw the end of another beautiful Blacksburg sunset, and found seats next to my Uncle. From here we witnessed the energy of Enter Sandman and Fireworks! This warmed us up… but then we proceeded to watch the offense turn the ball over on 5 of their 7 first half possessions. 
So we went numb watching the defense play lights out, but we did witness the first touchdown by a wide receiver all season! This team is young, but at least give great effort. After an UGLY 14-3 win, we saw a few friends in the band and headed to Macado’s to thaw out. It has been awhile since we have been so cold or up so late at night, but seeing friends was great! Another legendary game in Lane Stadium, though the fireworks and temperature were more memorable than the actual gridiron action. 
While it has been chilly for San Diego temperatures (we’ve been hitting the 50s!), I have definitely been missing the snow. Christmas is just five days away, and its difficult getting into the season when you look out your window and the palm trees are still green and the pool is still open. It’s hard not being on the East Coast, where your hair freezes when you step outside, and the winter breeze chills to the bone. While I always complained about it, I now miss it terribly! I miss putting on amazingly cute winter coasts and scarves, and enjoying hot cocoa and fireplace fires. (Though we have had two fires this week!) Thankfully, we were able to enjoy a nice freezing day in Blacksburg, which made it feel as though winter actually exists and Christmas is actually on its way! I miss snow...like woah!
James and I haven’t been home for a thanksgiving in three years (four if you include this one)! 
We spent our senior year Thanksgiving in New Orleans, our first year married with my grandparents in Texas, and last year, we spent apart, with James in Rhode Island and me in New Orleans. While we didn’t make it home for the real thanksgiving, we were able to visit a week early, and the Goedeckes threw an early Thanksgiving celebration for us! 
We hurried back from a cold weekend in Blacksburg to an amazing evening of family, food, fun, and football. AJ spent most of his time begging, and was particularly interested in where Grandma was sitting! 
Colin and Benjamin played with footballs (our adorable little future football players) while the grown-up boys watched football, and eventually played some football outside. This was the first time we had seen Tony out of the trip, and Jamie and Benjamin and Mr. and Mrs. Howland joined our Thanksgiving festivities. 
An important thing I learned: the Gougers don’t really like turkey! (You can imagine how appalled I was knowing that my family doesn’t like the most incredible bird ever!) Despite not liking it, Abigail cooked an amazing turkey, which I was very thankful for! 
There were also come cute turkey cookies that Colin and Ant Ant made in preparation of the festivities. I spent most of the evening with my adorable cousin Sam, who thinks I’m amazing (hence why I spend time with him) and he was thoughtful enough to tell James that we weren’t going to last because I was into him. 
Too cute! It was a great evening, full of bribing my nephew with cookies, and stuffing ourselves with desserts. It’s hard not being home for holidays, but it was great getting to celebrate with the family at least once this year! 
But we did have a great Thanksgiving, with many friends and family on both coasts. We live a truly blessed life, and are thankful for all the people in our lives!
Bender: Robots don't have any emotions, and sometimes that makes me very sad.
Bender: There's nothing wrong with murder.
Leela: You're blackmailing me?
Bender: Blackmail is such an ugly word. I prefer "extortion." The "X" makes it sound cool.
Leela: I can be impulsive... it just takes me a while.
Leela: Why is Zoidberg the only one still alone?
Bender: Because he's a loser, that's why.
Two ear infections and more full anal glands! Poor AJ! The little poodle who didn't have anything wrong with him suddenly had ear infections and anal gland problems when we moved to San Diego. Apparently...he's allergic to San Diego and needs to take allergy medicine. At first I thought it was a bit crazy, but now that he's been on it for over two weeks, I can definitely tell the difference. He isn't itching nearly as much, or sneezing, and he has a ton more energy. He's quite the pill popper though. All you have to do is open a pill bottle now and he comes running.
It started freshman year in college. I was wearing some drum corps shorts and he was a tuba player who appreciated that. And no...I’m not talking about James! I’m talking about Mike (SAM), a friend we made 6 and a half years ago at band camp! (Craziness....I know!) 
Ever since I met Mike...I have been convincing him that San Diego is the most amazing place ever and that one day, I would move back. Funny how things work out! So when he called asking if he could come and visit, you can bet how excited I was. I couldn’t wait to show him where I was from, and was stoked when I actually picked him up at the airport. 
It was the perfect time for him to visit since I was still unemployed and James had a fairly flexible schedule. The first place I took him was to see the beautiful skyline that is San Diego, and then of course the tide pools, my favorite place here. It was great having someone to talk to about the old days (ha!) and about our futures. 
It’s amazing to me that we’ve been out of college for so long, and that so many of us are still trying to figure out what we want to do and where we want to go. And trust me...there’s no better place to talk about that than sitting on the cliffs listening to the waves crashing and then eating Mexican food! Mike flew in on Wednesday morning, and the next day was James birthday, so he was able to head out a bit early. 
So we hit up the zoo, balboa park, and ocean beach, all three incredible places. I think I bored the boys a bit with my obsession with these awesome globes that are on display, but other than that, it was a great time. Mike had to head out early Friday morning, as he’s a pilot and had to get back to his routes. I was sad to see him go, but excited that he came to visit. I told him to bring Elise next time! Can’t wait for him to come back! 
I love fall. In fact, I love it so much that I put fake leaves all around our apartment, with gourds and pumpkins and corn. AJ was confused at first, but he has since gotten used to the leaves on the ground, and ignores them. I also regularly spray the Autumn Leaves and Pumpkin sprays from Bath and Body Works, and wear my orange pants to pretend that we are having a fall! 
Even though the weather and the leaves don’t change in beautiful San Diego, the annual season events still go on, so we spent an awesome Sunday afternoon driving into the mountains to enjoy a fall day at the pumpkin patch. As a little girl, we would always drive up to pick out our pumpkins, take adorable pictures, pet the animals, and buy candy in the little country store there. 
We have the cutest pictures from when we were little of visiting the patch, and my mom was nice enough to look over an hour to find one! :) Laura, James, and I made the 40 mile trek to Bates Nut Farm to pick out the perfect pumpkins in San Diego! The patch was just like I remembered; only cluttered with hundreds of little kids and their parents. The massive pumpkins were still there, and I am still amazed not only at how big they are, but how someone could spend that much money on a pumpkin. 
Though they were only 30 cents a pound, we saw someone check out with one that weighed 90 pounds! You do the math... I bet it doesn’t add up to how much you spend on pumpkins over the course of a few years. The large pumpkins remind me of James and the Giant Peach, as there is something that just isn’t natural about that. The pumpkin patch has changed a bit over the years, as there is now an espresso bar and taco stand, along with an entire mini carnival to entertain children and keep parents happy (the espresso of course). And the tacos add a bit of Southern Californian flair. 
I did miss the warm apple cider and homemade pumpkin pie that we were used to in Christiansburg, but just being at a pumpkin patch was a nice step in experiencing fall. After finding the perfect pumpkins to take pictures with, we visited the adorable country store to buy some candy and nuts, including my all time favorite all sorts licorice that I discovered there so many years ago. Yay for childhood fun and pumpkins! 
In Southern California, San Diegans enjoy the crisp autumn winds and colors of the season in the comfort of the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.
I was greeted at work with a cake adorned with a “too old to count” candle in the shape of a headstone. While sometimes feeling old after sleeping for 8 hours in a work week, I am continually told I am quite young looking, with constant comments towards “does your mom know you are playing navy?” 
In any case, Mike, Laura and my wifey took me out to Hodads in Ocean Beach for greasy, awesome hamburgers and onion rings. Nothing like good old American food! The place is a little dive, with amazing food and drinks served in mason jars. The walls, as you can tell, are covered in license plates. We might donate one, since there is always a need for Virginia representing! 
We spotted an FSU plate, so now feel the need for there to be a VT one. After an awesome dinner, we got some fall flavored frozen yogurt at one of California’s THOUSANDS of yogurt shops. They are self-served, and you can mix any flavors you want and add any toppings...sort of like a do-it-yourself Cold Stone with yogurt. Since ice cream is full of fat and not good for beach bodies, despite many great dairy farms located nearby, yogurt is all the craze. We miss Blue Bell...one of our favorite things about Texas! 
Mmmmmm....I've always dreamed of the day when I could lay out on the beach with smoke stacks on the horizon and a thick layer of smog overhead. Oh...Newport Beach...
Mike was able to come for a few days last week, which was great! He is a pilot and found great transportation to Charles Lindbergh field right here in downtown San Diego. 
This is a good time to visit, as I am not as busy at work as I will be next year, and Angela is still in school, and at home most of the time. Since we live so centrally in the city, most sites are within a few minutes drive. We were able to hit most of the best sites vacationers like about San Diego, including our world famous zoo. 
After watching Anchorman, we really wanted to see the Pandas, but had to walk past some neat exhibits first. I have been to the National Zoo in D.C. several times, but this one is immensely better. I felt like we were walking around an amusement park, but with animals everywhere. 
For a fee you can take a double-decker bus around the zoo, but we decided that it wouldn’t be worth it as we could spend as much or as little time as we wanted at different sites. The Koalas were sleeping and the monkeys were sleeping, but the bears were ferocious and scary. A Grizzly Bear was taking apart some meaty pulp, and reminded Mike and I of a Family Guy episode involving President Reagan taking down a brick wall bare-handed, dubbed “Reagan Smash.” 
This bear could kill you in seconds, and I hope to never see a grizzly in public. After standing in line to see a fat male panda eat, we took a sky ride over the whole park, offering views of Balboa Park and downtown. After a short but educational trip to the reptile building we checked out Balboa Park, coming across a man dressed as Indiana Jones practicing his whip routine, probably for some skit in the park’s many theaters, but he seemed odd! Balboa park is home to San Diego's museums and awesome outdoor art you can play with! 
Following a great few days with our friend Mike (more to come later!), we headed up to the world famous Orange County to watch the FSU game. The Orange County Virginia Tech Alumni Association invited the Los Angeles and San Diego chapters to meet in the middle at Newport Beach. 
Getting stuck in traffic, we listened to the beginning of the game on satellite radio. Hearing that Tyrod Taylor was injured on the first play from scrimmage, we gave up hope on winning the game as our receivers have been horrid. After driving around for 20 minutes, we finally found a parking spot (one quarter was only worth 15 minutes...I hate this state sometimes…though meters on Coronado do yield an hour for a quarter) and we were pleasantly surprised to find the Hokies were playing tough and actually winning by the time we got to the bar. 
We were meeting a friend from Tech who is now working in Hollywood, Tim Leaton, along with a fellow communications graduate. The crowd at Sharkeez bar was great, and everyone was into the game. There were no seats left, but we ended up squeezing in and sharing a table with strangers (more like family since they were Hokies)! Though we ultimately lost a tough game, our young team gave the Seminoles a battle, even though our two starting quarterbacks were both injured. Hopefully one or both will be ready to go by Miami next week! 
After the game we played tourist, getting churros and famous frozen bananas on Newport Beach pier. The fishing seemed poor and everyone was catching small fish, nothing like fishing in Corpus Christi for sand trout! When we were out of quarters, we sadly said goodbye to our east coast friends, and drove south along the Pacific Coast highway, grabbing pumpkin spice chai and enjoying the beauty of the coast. Laguna Beach, site of a teenage drama for MTV was quite trendy, with artist studios and high fashion boutiques near the beach. (And people with extremely intense Starbucks orders...) Other than the mass of people, California is beautiful! 
