Mother's Weekend Pictures

As promised, here are pictures from Mother's weekend in Annapolis. Thanks mom! We had a great time despite the nasty weather. It was gorgeous on Sunday though!

Our fabulous tailgate!

A Little Behind

I am a little behind on posts! Two weeks ago we went to Annapolis for the homecoming game. These pictures are from that weekend. I didn't take any pictures from our Mom visit this past weekend, but my mom is sending me some soon. I will post those as soon as I get them, I promise! Josh is in New Mexico for work for the next ten days, so its just me and Ginny. I always miss him when he is gone, but get so much done! I don't know why that would happen :)

Mothers' Weekend in Annapolis

Navy (4-3) vs. SMU (1-7)
Saturday, Oct. 25 3:30 p.m.
CBS College Sports Network

Our moms are coming this weekend to watch the Midshipmen take on the Mustangs of Southern Methodist. They'll be crashing at my brother John's apartment in D.C. We can't wait to see them and show them around Annapolis.

Mids to Join Exclusive 1200 Club
Navy, who owns an all-time record of 628-514-57 (.549), will etch its name into the record books on Saturday when it becomes just the second FBS team to play 1,200 games. Two other schools will join the exclusive list later in the year - Michigan will play its 1,200th game on Nov. 1 vs. Purdue, while Nebraska will play game No. 1,200 against Colorado on Nov. 28. Having played 1,221 games to date, Rutgers has competed in the most games in FBS history. •

In 128 years of football, Navy has ...
• played in 14 bowl games (including a current streak of five years in a row)
• won six bowl games
• has won one National Championship (1926)
• produced two Heisman Trophy winners (Joe Bellino in 1960, Roger Staubach in 1963)
• produced 34 First-Team All-Americans

Scouting SMU
SMU enters Saturday's contest with a 1-7 record with its lone win a 47-36 decision over Texas State. The Mustangs have lost to Rice, Texas Tech, TCU, Tulane, UCF, Tulsa, and Houston. SMU had both undefeated Tulsa and Houston on the ropes the last two weeks. Last week, Houston had to score 21 points in the last 9:23 to rally for a 44-38 victory.

The Last Time
The last time Navy and SMU played was Aug. 31, 2002, the first game of my junior season. It was Paul Johnson's first game as head coach and we won 38-7. It was also my first career start at Navy.

The Final Debate

The third and final presidential debate is one of the last chances for Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama to use a national stage to get their message out to undecided voters.

The debate, taking place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, begins at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. CBS News' Bob Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation," will moderate the debate.

The 90-minute face-off will undoubtedly focus on the economic crisis plaguing the country. Unlike at the other two debates, the candidates will sit at a table facing one another.

from CNN.com

Navy vs. #23 Pittsburgh

Navy (4-2) vs. #23 Pitt (4-1)

Saturday, Oct. 18 • 3:30 pm • Annapolis, MD • CBS College Sports Network

Katrina and and I will be heading to Annapolis this weekend to watch Navy take on Pitt. You can watch the game on CBS College Sports Network.

Scouting Pitt

Like Navy, Pitt enjoyed a week off from action, heading into Saturday’s game with a 4-1 record. In addition to its 26-21 win over 10th-ranked South Florida two weeks ago, the Panthers also own victories over Buffalo (27-16), Iowa (21-20) and Syracuse (34-24).

Pitt’s only loss came in the season opener to Bowling Green, 27-17.

Pitt is ranked 58th nationally in rushing offense (151.4), 66th in passing offense (205.6), 70th in total offense (357.0) and 65th in scoring offense (25.0).

The Panthers are ranked 40th nationally in rush defense (117.8), 27th in pass defense (176.4), 27th in total defense (294.2) and 48th in scoring defense (21.6).

S'MORES!

Josh likes his toasted, I like mine burnt!

Black Mountain Marathon.

I recently received my confirmation for the Black Mountain Marathon on February 28, 2009 in Black Mountain, NC. I'm signed up with two friends from the squadron. I've been training for about a month now and it's going better than I expected. I run 6 times a week. Most of the runs are between 3-6 miles. Saturday is when I go on my long run. Every week my training plan adds about 2-3 total miles. It's a very gradual increase in distance until you can run the full 26.2 miles, so you really don't notice it.

My knees are holding up surprisingly well, considering the amount of running and my weight. The best thing I did was going to a running specialist to get fitted for running shoes. He first determined my arch, then he videotaped me running to analyze my gait. In case you were wondering, I'm a slight overpronator, so he brought out seven pairs of shoes and had me run on the treadmill with all of them. Surprisingly, the shoes really weren't more expensive. I ended up buying a pair of Asics for about $75.00.

Overpronation

I've also been researching wrist-mounted GPS trackers. They tell you your distance, pace, time, and heart rate. In the mean time I've been using Gmaps Pedometer, a website that allows you to map out your exact distance.

I've gotten a lot of good advice from friends and family who've run marathons before. I've also found a lot of great articles in Runners World about training and nutrition. Despite all my training, I haven't lost any weight. It just goes to prove that weightlifting is the number one way to burn fat and lose weight.

My Debate Analysis

With John McCain's opening stab at Obama-welcoming him to a town meeting-the tone of the debate was set. McCain was in his element on the town hall setting, but Obama held his own. McCain tried to connect with the audience. He stood close to the questioners, called them by name and thanked them for their questions. He had a great line to a former Navy CPO saying "Everything I learned about leadership I learned from a Chief Petty Officer." I know the CPO's at the squadron will be talking about that this morning!

However, McCain seemed sporadic and grumpy when answering questions. He uncomfortably stalked the stage, and for the first time I really noticed his age. He appeared to be dismissive and condescending, and his few attempts at humor ran dry. His "that one" comment is difficult even to discuss, and he used "my friends" at least 20 times.

Obama came across smooth and composed. He calmly countered McCain's attacks with firm, concise rebuttals. Obama was stronger on the topic of the economy and stronger on foreign policy. He successfully connected McCain with President Bush.

On a personal level I admire McCain more than Obama (I've read Faith of My Fathers twice but have read neither The Audacity of Hope or Dreams From My Father). Nevertheless, McCain's campaign has not equaled his story. This was a "must win" debate for the McCain campaign, and they just didn't get it done. Obama walked in as the front runner and walked out as the front runner.

McCain vs. Obama: Round Two

With just four weeks left until Election Day, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are preparing to face off in Tuesday night's high-stakes presidential debate.

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama will meet again Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

The debate comes amid stepped-up attacks from both sides. Gov. Sarah Palin accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," and Obama's campaign released an ad quoting editorials that called McCain "erratic" and "out of touch."

On Monday, the Obama campaign released an online documentary that criticizes McCain over his involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal of the 1980s.

The back-and-forth this weekend could set the stage for a more heated event than the first presidential debate -- one that had few sharp exchanges as both candidates largely stuck to their talking points.

CNN.com

Josh's New Toy

Surprise Weekend

John made a surprise visit to our house this weekend. Well, at least it was a surprise to me! We watched Navy beat Air Force yesterday with Kevin and Andria. Josh and John played golf today at Chesapeake Golf Club.