Meet The Cast Monday #34: Top Gun

Today you guys get to meet one of my favorite people from law school (and one of the smartest people I know) If I ever get in trouble, I want this guy sitting at my table in court! Top Gun and I were trial partners, which means basically that you spend like insane amounts of time together talking about a pretend murder that took place in a pretend kitchen. And, if you're Top Gun and I, it all culminates in a very real almost-fist fight with the other side on the steps of the courthouse. No lie. Ask me about it sometime.

Anyway, Top Gun is a Navy pilot who married Mrs. Top Gun (also a law school class mate) and lives in DC (where he invites his friends to fun things like steeplechases!). They just had an adorable baby boy and are pretty much the cutest people that you'll ever meet.

With that, Meet Top Gun.

What is your favorite law school memory?

Hanging out in the basement of the library (the dungeon) during our first year studying with the gang, and ping-pong with Mrs. Top Gun and Lucero. {Notice he did not mention the fist fight.....}

How long have you been flying for the Navy?

Nearly 16 years. Crazy they've let me do that so long.

What is your dream job?

Grounds keeper Wrigley field. {I had never thought about listing groundskeeper as a dream job, but I may change my answer from "Being the next Erin Andrews" to the groundskeeper at Boone Pickens Stadium!}

Best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten.

Listen.

Tell us how you and Mrs. Top Gun met.

In law school (the forum). She was friends with my study bud (Bree--who basically got me through my first year). Found out that Mrs. Top Gun was from Chi-town, and only had one question: Cubs or Sox? {You can guess from the dream job above that there was a right answer to that question!}
What is something about life that you know how that you did not know when you were 18?

How important we are to our parents.

Best trip you’ve ever taken?

This is a tough one for me because I'm not much of a traveler. However, there are a couple trips that are very memorable for me: going to the farm in Iowa when I was little, our wedding in Chicago, and golf in Las Cruces with Mrs. Top Gun and my folks. {Let's sidenote and chat about this wedding briefly.....take a look at these pictures below and tell me this doesn't make you want to marry a Navy guy just to get this kind of wedding pictures? Back up girls---if Top Gun has any single Navy friends, I've already got first dibs.}

What is one (or more) item(s) on your bucket list?

Well, I always wanted a family. If that happens as planned, I think I'd like to be a teacher. {Since Baby Top Gun, who made his appearance quite early but is clearly quite the little fighter, has made this goal come true....I suppose now it's on to the teaching thing!}

Steeplechase Report #2: Tailgaiting

**I already wrote and posted this once, but during the big blogger meltdown last week, it was lost. I've tried to re-write as much as I can remember, but honestly I was feeling more clever last week, so this re-do may not be as good. Regardless, stay tuned tomorrow for Part 3....The Horses! If you missed my Fashion report, click here.***

"The rule on tailgating here: There are no rules, so plop your canopy down, set up your lawn chairs, fire up the grill and party." ~ Dave Hollingsworth

Just so we're clear, I went to school at Oklahoma State. And lived a block from the football stadium. This girl knows how to tailgate.

But apparently they do it differently in the south.....it involves taxidermy, chandeliers, floral arrangements and private bar tenders. There were no grills, no kegs, and no touch football games. Instead there were linen tablecloths, fine wine, stuffed foxes and floral arrangements.

Taxidermy

Apparently the rich folk don’t leave home for a steeplechase without bringing along their stuffed foxes. Seriously…..we saw three. And people were mesmerized by them. I mean I can’t even tell you how many people took freaking pictures with these things.

These people apparently brought not only their fox, but also a chandelier....

What do these foxes have to do with anything? I haven’t a clue.

Food and Drink

Everyone said it would be like a tailgate, but it wasn’t like one I’ve ever been to. The people we went with had their own bartender who was serving your choice of 4 different wines. There was one fancy person kind of beer (meaning no Coors Light or Corona which are really staples where I come from). And don't worry, Mrs. Top Gun was drinking sparkling cider purchased just for her and the little Top Guns growing in her belly!

There were beautiful flower decorations on every table. Then there were these gourmet spreads of food.

I did find one table serving fried chicken, and thought it was hilarious, so I snapped a picture. I mean here we are wearing our fanciest clothes driving "our" fanciest cars, yet we're serving food that you can buy in a bucket for$1.99. Maybe it was the wine talking, because it seems less funny to me now.

The Rides

Then we have the fancy cars. Everyone drove out in the middle of the “Member’s Hill” where we were in their Bentleys and Porches. The friend of Mr. and Mrs. Top Gun who got us tickets showed up in his Bentley. Here we are posing in front of (read: blocking) the car. Notice the jeep on the left. There was some grumblings about it being there. I bet it's not back next year.

Sidenote: Every time I hear of a Bentley, I think of Kim Kardashian when some reporter asked her if she had any tatoos and she responded with, "Would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?"

Audi was a race sponsor, so they had their newest car there in every color.

I was a bad photographer when it came to the cars. There was one really fancy car that parked next to us, but I learned the guy we were there with didn't like him because last year, his car stole "our" Bentley's thunder. I protested by not getting a picture. I'm nothing if not loyal.

My favorite part of these fancy cars? There they all were, parked in the middle of a freaking field at a horse race, with cows in the background.

Photos of the Week: Week 18

Sorry this blog is a little bit late....but hopefully you guys will forgive me since I have some pretty fun pictures to share!

Theme: Royal

They say that horse racing is the sport of kings. I had a lot of great pictures come out of the Steeplechase I attended this weekend, but I thought this was one of the best race shots. There will be lots more (both of the horses and the crazy people) later this week.

I am also linking this up for the "Green" theme at Allie Photography for Happy Monday!

Theme: Dress Up

I’m not much of a girly girl, but I have to tell you that it was a lot of fun spending the day at the races all dolled up and getting to see everyone else’s fancy dresses and big hats. I got this shot standing along the rail before the marquee race of the day and thought it was great for this theme!

Theme: It’s the Music

This one is sort of a stretch---but at the beginning of each race, the trumpet plays the call to mount up. He’s not playing here, but I think it still works.

Theme: Green

I pulled this one from shots I took a couple of weeks ago. Not that I didn’t have plenty of green shots from my trip back east---but I had to enter to Live Every Moment challenge before I got home and had a chance to get them all posted. But it worked out okay, because I do love this shot and the light I was able to capture.

Theme: Mothers

Well since I didn't get to see my own mom on Mother's Day, I was hanging out with my friend Mrs. Top Gun, who happens to have two dog children and is is pregnant with twin people children. I loved this shot of her!

Theme: Quotography – Mothers

Two "mother" related quotes in the same week sort of posed an interesting challenge, but then I remembered this candle shot I got at the Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto a couple of weeks back and knew that if I could find the right quote, it would definately work!

Theme: 1 Corinthians 3:16

While in DC for the weekend, I knocked a bucket list item off and attended mass at the Washington National Cathedral. This cathedral is massive, breathtakingly beautiful, and so peaceful. The idea was to have a national house of prayer for all to come and worship. I love everything about it. Anyway, I thought this was the perfect place to photograph for this week’s verse—as beautiful as the Cathedral is, isn't it amazing to think that God didn't choose to dwell there, but intstead to dwell within each of us instead?

Crisis Prevention.....A Steeplechase

“When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.” ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

So I know I usually blog about upbeat things....how great life is and how lucky we are and how wonderful (fill in the blank) is to me. And it's true---I feel like that 95% of the time. And the other 5%, I should feel like that, because I've been so incredibly blessed. But, sometimes even this girl gets in a mood. So, I decided that I'd share.

Do you ever have of those weeks where nothing is wrong, but nothing is really right either? I mean, you're sort of in a blah place? College Roomie calls this magenta. Whatever it is, sometimes it hits. During one of these phases a couple of weeks ago, I decided I'm going to have a mid-life criss. A conversation with Nomad (who is the worst influence in this kind of situation since he lives his life like a mid-life crisis) confirmed this for me.

So I had been analyzing life and what I want and where I'm going and all that jazz. I came up with this theory that concerned me. What if there are two kinds of people....the first are the people who get good jobs and an IRA and they get married and buy a house and drive their kids to practice in an SUV (because I refuse to own a mini-van). And the second are the people who don't end up getting married, which sucks, but instead they end up getting to do a whole bunch of crazy fun things and have all these awesome life experiences and go on great trips. AND....what if I'm really the second type of person, but I'm trying to be the first? And what if, because of that, I miss the good parts of both the first and second people? Have a headache yet? Yea....try living in mine. :)

At one point, I thought to myself, "Maybe I should just sell everything I own and move to a beach somewhere to sell surf boards." And then I thought, "Maybe I should just go do something crazy like sky diving or swimming with sharks." Along with these thoughts, I had this mental picture of a bald, overweight dude with some coctail waitress on a motorcycle and realized.....I'm totally going to have a midlife crisis if I am already thinking this way. Sigh.

Fortunately, it must not be time for my crisis just yet. I got some good sleep, spent some time outside in the fresh air, got some runs in, and began to feel better about life. I also knew that it was time for a trip. Turns out, when this girl doesn't have somewhere to go, she gets restless. And contemplates selling surfboards and jumping out of airplanes. Makes spending some money on a little getaway seem like a necessary investment!

It was time for a trip......but I wasn't sure where to go. And about that time, my dear law school friends Top Gun and Mrs. Top Gun came to the rescue by inviting me to fly out to Washington, DC and go with them to the Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase. There are no words for my excitement---cute dresses, fun hats, horses, and mint julips---this place is going to have it all!

Only problem.....I have less than 2 weeks to find my hat....ANY suggestions would be very much appreciated (preferably something cheap that has fast shipping!)

(via)

And just like that, my magenta mood was cured. So for now, mid-life crisis averted thanks to a steeplechase. But stick around for a few years.....because I doubt I'm over my crazy ideas!