My little man.

I may never understand why grown men love video games so much.

I am not Looney.

When you see the word "Fun" you say "FUN"

When you see the word "Sun" you say "SUN"

When you see the word "Run" you say "RUN"

______________________________

So why, when you see the word "Lun" do you say "LOON"????

672 Lurkers?

Lurker Definition = "A lurker is one who sits in an internet chat room, message base or newsgroup, but does not participate."

Could 672 of you be lurking around Madilun's Memoirs and not leave even ONE comment??!! Or, is the commenting function broken? Just wondering...

Multiple personalities

Woo hoo! I finished my website....check it out at:

http://www.madilun.com/

I have finally gotten a few volunteers to be models (see the "personalities" link in my gallery). Any more volunteers? I need practice.

Anyone want some free photo prints, photobooks, etc?

I have found a great deal with lots of freebies for those of you interested in prints of your photos and other personalized items like photobooks. Use this link to check out ArtsCow.com:

http://www.artscow.com/?Ref=714682 

Registering is free and I just did it last night and instantly got 1200 free photo credits ans 3 free 8x8 photo books. If anyone uses the link above to join I get another 200 credits. Not bad, eh?

It looks like all you have to pay for is shipping (they have to make $$ somehow).

I am going to try to order a few things now....I'll let you know if it's a hoax! Ha. 

My hubby is famous!

Check out this Microsoft Windows 7 case study - they quoted Matt all over the place!! He was a test user a few months ago:

http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?casestudyid=4000004628

Apple butter...or is it apple sugar??

This weekend was a new experience for me...although I have heard my grandmother talk about it for years I never actually experienced the making of apple butter at Marvin Chapel in Mt. Airy, MD. My mom and Aunt Denise came up to visit and we made the trip to Maryland for the annual event with Granny, many other relatives and church friends.

I don't know who came up with the name apple "butter" because based on the ingredients it clearly is apple "sugar" - take a look:

During the weekend we also were able to attend the Catoctin Color Fest which is right in my cousin Becky's back (and front) yard! I took lots of photos and posted them on http://www.madilun.com/ so check them out!

I carried home 4 sacks of potatoes

Well, sort of anyways.

I am moving on to Phase II of P90X so I decided I needed to up the weights. Across the street from my office is a sporting goods store so I bought a set of 10 lb dumbbells. I had to carry them home with me on the metro after work. They were getting pretty heavy after a while.

And this made me realize - a year ago I was carrying home an extra 20 lbs every day. That is like four sacks of potatoes. EVERY DAY.

I am not going to lie- P90X is not what I call "fun" but every once in a while I am going to carry my 10-lb dumbbells to work and home just to remind me why it is worth it. I am still looking for a P90X work out partner...if you are out there let me know.

Game Day

"Game Day"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Leslie was right. I need a hobby.

Well, she usually is right but this time she was right about something I didn't foresee.

About a year ago she told me I would need a hobby once the wedding was over. As she predicted I spent 11 months concerned with every detail of wedding planning (and believe me, there were more details than I care to recall). And now that it is all over and I am a happily married woman....now what? I should have spare time on my hands right? Well, luckily the job kicked it up a notch so that has filled the "gap" so to speak. But, it is not just about filling spare time...it is more about finding a creative outlet....and a passion.

You have probably already figured out what I chose - photography. Matt and I have been looking at cameras for a few months and with the help of one of my personal fave photographers (my wedding photographer, Kenzie!) we picked one. He bought me a few books, too, and off I went - snappin' away in my neighborhood this weekend. This is more complicated than I first imagined (f-stop? aperture priority mode? good glass? GOOD LORD...) but I am excited to learn a new skill.

I hope you will put up with me and at least glance at my work from time to time! I promise it will get better as I learn more and practice. I need models so if you want to get your picture taken let me know!!! In true Marketing-Marni fashion I have my own branding for my work so if you want to keep up with me you can "Fan me" on Facebook (Madilun Photography) or check out my "strictly photos" blog (http://www.madilun.com/).

Scenes from my neighborhood

Only missing a theme song

Matt and I went to the Great Frederick Fair yesterday. Woo hoo!



It was great -- we saw the piggies and their babies and the big ole ox and the sheepsies and the llamas and the hens and the roosters and the bunnies .... and half of my relatives from Frederick county. Seriously....we found Ray and Marcie with ribs and root beer floats, Aunt Rose with Norma hangin out at the ice cream stand, and Becky was runnin' the show of course.

We ate ourselves silly. Let's see - hot cocoa, then a foot long corn dog, followed by Maryland crab soup, corn fritters, a funnel cake and a candy apple for the road. I have a tummy ache.

The only thing missing was a catchy theme song like the one I miss so dearly from the Alachua County Fair....I scoured the Internet and have come up empty handed - DOES ANYONE HAVE THE TUNE??? "It's magical! It's wonderful! It's all right there . . . The Alachua County Fair! We're goin' to the Fair....the Alachua County Fair...."

Enjoy the photos:



http://picasaweb.google.com/MarniLun/FrederickFair?feat=directlink

I am a Zipper.

I am now officially a Zipcar driver!

I signed up yesterday and went on my first outing. My friend Casey had Matt and I over for dinner and Wii with her and her husband, Alvin. (Fun!) They live just outside DC so we decided to zip on over there.

So for you non-city dwellers who are wondering what in the heck we have done by selling both our cars, here is the quick run down...

- We don't drive much other than an occasional shopping trip out of town or to visit friends or relatives who do not live in the city....this is usually once or twice a month. We pretty much take public transportation everywhere.

- Owning a car (or multiple cars) is expensive! Just parking at home is $200 month and then you have to pay to park wherever you go. Plus the car payment, insurance, gas, etc. etc...It adds up for two people to have cars here it would be to over $1500/mo. Do the math on this one ($1500/mo divided by 2 trips/mo = yea, that is about $750 per trip). Not a good use of our $$- hey, we are saving to buy a house!!

- So in comes the Zipcar - they are parked all over town. There are probably 10-15 within walking distance of our apartment and they are at almost all the metro stops. When you want to use once you just reserve it online, find the car, and drive off.

- It's almost that simple. I had to pay $75 to get signed up but they gave me a $50 credit so really it was only $25. Cars cost between $7-$14/hr on average to use. This includes insurance and gas.

- The downsides...You have to know exactly how long you are going to use them because there are big penalties for turning them in late. That adds a little stress to the trip. You have to turn the car back in where you picked it up so it is not good for one-way trips (i.e. getting to the airport). If we are going out of town for a longer tip we will probably be better off just getting a regular rental car (zip cars are limited to 180 mi per day).

Net, we are going to give this a whirl for the next few months and see how it works out. I'll keep you updated.

MDL

p.s. Still going strong with P90X....but I am pooped!

I did it! I did it!

As Dora would say - I did it. I finished week 1 of P-90-X. Only 12 more to go...

Here is my question: After a 90 minute yoga workout, why in the world do we need to take 10 minutes to "stretch" at the end??!!??

Going Green.

And by that I not only mean helping the environment but I also mean putting more green in the bank! We are officially carless now (no, not careless, car-less). Matt sold our FJ Cruiser yesterday. We are really really really city folk now.

Today we needed to go grocery shopping and Matt wanted to go to Trader Joe's (which not not in our neighborhood). So, we decided to hop on the metro and get to the nearest metro stop and then walk over. I know you are wondering....did they take their own wheely cart??? HECK YES WE DID. But, we ran into a little glitch....there was an "incident" on the red line and it wasn't running in our neighborbood. On to plan B: the bus.

We walked a few blocks to the bus stop and took a leisurely (30 minute) ride to the grocery store. So far, so good. Shopping trip - check! (thanks for the gift card mommy). Now back on the bus to get home. Here comes the problem -- that wheely cart full of groceries is not soo easy to hoist up onto and manuver around the bus. Good thing we were together because this was a two man job. Are you picturing it now?

Life will be interesting now that we are car-less...I am certain there will be more stories to come.

I love tea parties, too

When my nephew was born I was still pretty young and living at home. He was kinda like the younger sibling I never had (I am the youngest of three). For some reason my mom had a little tea set and I would have tea parties with Tyler. My mom would make us tiny pancakes (2 inches wide). Well, once my brother caught wind of this we had to put it to and end. It was fun while it lasted. Now I have two nieces so the tea parties are more acceptable :-)

Anywho...why do I bring this up? Well, apparently there is a "Tea Party" in D.C. today. I had never heard of such a thing until some friends of ours from out of town started calling to let us know they were going to be here. I just Googled this thing to see what it is all about and here is a pic from the "live cam" a few blocks from our house:

What in the world is this? It reminds me of the inauguration. I'm going to have to go down there and see for myself. Read on: http://www.freedomworks.org/

Do me a favor...

Flu season is here...Go get vaccinated.

Why? Well, there are many reasons but mostly because I don't want you to get me sick. And that little tiny needle won't hurt you....the vaccine cannot give you the flu, it is cheap (a lot less expensive than the drugs and missed days at work) and, of course, you don't want to pass it on to others, right?

Not convincing? Maybe this will do the trick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh_6X6C2Icc

and for my pharmacist friends... http://www.youcanstoptheflu.com/

The next 90 days

I figure that if I put this in writing someone (maybe you) will hold me accountable.

The next 90 days I will embark on P90X. For those who are familiar, I am opting for the lean version (http://www.beachbody.com/ "P90X Lean is for those who want more cardio and a slightly less intensive program. Make no mistake, this is the real deal and no picnic!").

Here is phase 1 (weeks 1-3):

• Sat– Core Synergistics
  
• Sun – Cardio X


• Mon – Shoulders and Arms + Ab Ripper X


• Tues- Yoga X


• Wed – Legs and Back + Ab Ripper X


• Thurs– Kenpo X


• Fri– Rest !!!!

Today was day 1 -- Yoga X for an "easy" start. Friday's are my rest day (sushi and wine, for sure). My goals for the program are:

1) I want to be able to do a pull up (yes, one single pull up). Now this was originally the goal for the wedding which never came to be but I have got to give it another go...perhaps p90x will do the trick

2) Endurance boost - my workouts to this point have been short so I want to build my cardio endurance to keep up with Tina at her races (or maybe at least finish a race). So, the goal here is to be able to run in a race with Christina at the end of the 90 days. A 5K will do but a 10K will be a big win. If Heather can do a 1/2 marathon in December, I ought to be able to do this, eh?

3) I have already replaced my wardrobe once this year. I gave away all my clothes that didn't fit for good reason - I NEVER WANT TO WEAR THEM AGAIN. My 3rd goal is to maintain my current clothing size....even as winter approaches and the layers hide more :-)

Anyone want to play along? C'mon, I just need one partner for this fun adventure...

There I was...at the WHITE HOUSE

Matt and I were able to FINALLY secure some tickets to visit the White House earlier this week. Very cool. We make very good tourists.

Our tour guide was a 20-something secret service dude. My favorite part of the tour was when a young boy asked him, "Are those "air quotes" you keep using when you talk?" HAHAHA.

The tour took us through the east wing where they have a library and a china room. Then we went up stairs to the "East Room" where Obama holds a lot of his press conferences. I am sure now when I see him speak I will be all excited because I WAS THERE. Okay, so then we went through the "Green Room" and the "Blue Room" and the "Red Room"....clever naming system, eh? We saw Bo and the girls out on the front lawn playing. No sight of Barack or Michelle though...maybe next time.

Back to school

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

-Aristotle, Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)

It is back to school time already! Seems like the summer flew by, but telling by the 50 degree weather this morning I am sure of it - the Fall is almost here. As a kid I hated saying goodbye to my summer, however I was secretly excited about the prospect of the year ahead. Plus, my mom always took me school shopping for some new duds so that made the first week back even better.


I talked to my oldest nephew this weekend about his back to school preparations. He's entering the 7th grade so he and his classmates will now have some entering sixth graders to pick on. It's great to not be the new kids on campus, right? I loved hearing him talk about his plans for the year -- alto sax in the band class, advanced algebra, and a new laptop with Windows 7! He is all set. He promised straight A's again. I'll bet he gets straight A's, too. He is just that good. Runs in the family.


I think a lot about all the pharmacy students out there starting pharmacy school this year. My job is all about you. I want to help you develop into pharmacists who move our profession forward and improve the lives of patients. I used to be you and somehow through unplanned events and happenstance (and a little luck) I ended up here...I never really imagined this was where I would be just four years after graduating. The hard thing is that I can't prepare you enough for the unknown and trust me, your future, like mine, is a big unknown. There is so much excitment and hard work ahead of you! I wish I could talk to each of you and hear about your plans to make straight A's and how your new laptop is going to help you do just that. But I can't because there are 12,000 of you starting pharmacy school this year. I will offer you all one suggestion and challenge - take Aristole's quote to heart.


QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU LEARN. You owe it to yourself.

I was there. Again.

Living in D.C. I find that I have a lot of opportunities to say, "I was there."

The beautiful thing is that it doesn't take a lot of effort because things come here, I don't have to go far to be there.

Yesterday Matt and I went for a bike ride. On the way to our intended destination (to watch the airplanes take off and land at DCA) we were side-tracked by the crowds of people along Constitution Avenue. Matt recalled a news article he had read earlier about Senator Kennedy's motorcade making its way from Boston to DC. We decided to stick around to see this historical event and yet another opportunity to say, "I was there."



As we stood along the roadside, we saw the motorcade approaching. There were dozens of police cars and motorcycles, a few black towncars and then the hearse. With flags over the Capitol flying at half-staff, his hearse and the motorcade, including two large busses, stopped outside the Senate where he served for 47 years. We watched as they got out and posed for this photo.



I was there.

My father's daughter?

I have heard this a lot recently, "Marni, you are your father's daughter."

Hmmmm, how so? Well, most people who have said this to me lately are referring to my new husband and his traits that are quite similar to NAW (Niles A Williams). Similar looks, sense of humor, demeanor....you know, all that stuff). Okay, so I essentially just married my dad??? Uh, no, not exactly.

But, I think you are right in another way - my dad taught me to be FRUGAL. If you looked in my purse you would probably be surprised at what you find. I bought this giant purse (for $16 at a second hand store) and in it I must have at least 25+ coupons. I actually intent to use all of them to buy fabulous things.

1. Case study #1: Bed Bath & Beyond. In my "married woman"need to complete my new set of fine china I insisted on using a 20% coupon to buy each remaining piece. I started asking my friends and family to give them theirs. Christina had like 20 on hand (who knows why?)...my sister and mom mailed me some. Do other people really go out of their way like this for coups? [by the way, shout out to Gina and Tina for coining the term "coups" back in p-school...but I digress]

2. Case Study#2: Matt and I have made a decision to cut back on eating out since after analyzing our monthly expenses he found we spend enough on food each month to feed a family of five. Let's just say that didn't go so well. What can I say, maybe I am a "foodie" - I love eating out. Here comes the coup. Well, lots of coups. Instead of eating out less, we only eat at restaurants with great coups. www.Restaurant.com and www.Groupon.com have become our go-to's for dining. That, is of course, after making a quick trip to www.retailmenot.com for the promo code.

I think if I keep this up one day I will mortify my kids with my coup usage. But, if history repeats itself, my son will be a coupon king, too.

I don't wanna be Obama's Elf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_B5UrI7nAI

Who is Madilun anyway?

It's me! MArni DIanne LUN. Everyone needs a catchy alias, right? Well, this is mine.

Welcome to my very first blog entry! Since it has proven to be difficult to keep everyone up to date on the happenings of my oh-so-exciting life (other than my super-dorkey annual Christmas letter) I thought I would give this a shot. You should follow me! Lurkers are welcome, but I hope to hear your thoughts and reactions, too.

I won't post daily, but often enough to keep you entertained...

MDL

By the way, if you have a blog let me know so I can follow you, too.