The Blackford's Blog

Our Blog has moved.....

2011-12-21T14:04:00.001-05:00

Our new site is http://theblackfords.wordpress.com/

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-05T13:05:00.002-05:00

Mom and Dad came for Thanksgiving last week. We had a lot of fun and I got to eat some Derby pie.

Carter's first encounter with turkey.

A new Blackford Thanksgiving tradition - raw oysters (no cooked oyster casserole anymore).

Family pic before dinner.

Granpa carving the turkey.

It doesn't get any better than this - Mom's Derby Pie. (I only ate half this year).

Everybody at the table.

Carter's first Christmas Presents (thanks for making sure he got the annoying rolling popper toy, mom)

Celebrating with grandpa's beer

Yay, stacking cups!

Reading the best book of all time with grandpa

Can't believe I bought it...

2011-08-01T22:03:00.003-04:00

One month old

2011-05-02T13:30:00.004-04:00

We walked over to Le Petit Marche (our local breakfast joint) yesterday morning to celebrate Carter's one month birthday. Unfortunately for him, they didn't have breast milk on the menu, so only mommie and poppie could have breakfast. Here are some pics.

First pictures of Carter

2011-04-13T11:43:00.006-04:00

Here are some of our first pictures of the little guy. Sorry for the delay. I would have had them up earlier but being a new father is a little more time consuming than I had planned.

Carter Moore Blackford

2011-04-02T16:01:00.002-04:00

Carter Moore Blackford was born April 1st, 2011 at 2:44 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 2 oz. The new mommy (Stacey) went through an intense 24 hour, medication free labor! She had an amazing support team including her coach (me), a midwife, doula, 2 nurses, and grandma (mommie alice).

Mom and baby are both doing well and recovering at the hospital. Unfortunately, Carter is in the Special Care Nursery as he has had some trouble breathing after birth, but the doctors assure us he will be just fine. More details and pictures to come when we are all settled in back home.

I'm finally a grown up

2011-03-08T12:53:00.003-05:00

Today I'm 33, but according to this article, I guess I've only been an adult for about 3 years.

Not really that hard to believe given many of the choices I made in my teens and twenties.

Week 34

2011-03-04T11:06:00.004-05:00

He keeps on growing. Here's Stace at 34 weeks.
(fyi -- Stace outweighs me now...I'm sure that doesn't surprise many of you though)

Weeks 29 and 31

2011-02-15T14:00:00.003-05:00

Here are some updated photos of the ever growing belly

29 weeks

and 31 weeks.

Tomorrow will be 32 weeks. Not a whole lot of time left now.

Look what she can do

2011-02-13T16:59:00.003-05:00

Stacey is almost 32 weeks pregnant now, and she's still staying as fit as ever. Check out the photos below of her at the rock gym.

26 weeks!

2011-01-04T06:44:00.003-05:00

Here's Stacey at 26 weeks. Our little bugger is growing fast, and he's giving momma some extra big kicks to show off how much bigger he's getting.

24 1/2 weeks

2010-12-26T17:12:00.003-05:00

Here I am at 24 1/2 weeks.

Climbing over Christmas Break

2010-12-22T08:45:00.014-05:00

Christmas break has been very relaxing so far this year and now that my ankle is just about healed, I've been able to do some climbing outside again.

Here's a little collage of some pics Stacey took of me on a boulder problem I did earlier this week called Underworld (V10) in Alabama. I'm looking forward to getting outside tomorrow to do some more bouldering.

23 weeks

2010-12-18T14:33:00.001-05:00

Here I am at 23 weeks.

A Mischievous Little BOY!

2010-11-30T18:08:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was the big day. Thomas and I arrived at our doctor's appointment eager to find out--are we having a boy or a girl??? But, although our doctor told us at our last appointment we would have the ultrasound this time, she seemed surprised to see us. "We only do ultrasounds on Tuesdays. That is the only day the sonographer is in the office," she informed us. We were crestfallen--after weeks of anticipation, we couldn't fathom waiting one more day to find out the big news. And we had told all our friends and family to expect the big news today.

Seeing our disappointed faces, our doctor agreed to perform an ultrasound herself and let us have a peek at our baby, with the agreement that we would come back again to have their sonographer perform another ultrasound, when she would verify the health of the baby's organs, take official measurements, etc.

"We call it the hamburger or hotdog test," our doctor told us as we all stared intently at the baby's image as it appeared on the screen in front of us. Thomas and I were mesmerized--we could see the spine, the head, the legs of our baby. It was amazing--so much more than the bean sized blob we saw in our last ultrasound. "Well, see that--we are looking at the baby's bottom," our doctor said, pointing at the screen. "And that area is where we look for the hamburger or hotdog. No penis there---it's a girl!"

Needless to say, we were ecstatic. As soon as we left, we called and texted our family to let them know the big news. Last night was full of conversations about "our daughter."

Today, we headed back to the doctor to let the official sonographer have a look. She casually started the ultrasound, pointing out the different limbs and organs of the baby. We were relaxed this time...naively not expecting any surprises. "Well, there it is--it's a boy," the sonographer told us. "See that--there is the scrotum and penis."

"WHAT? Are you kidding? Are you kidding?!" I demanded.
"No," she stated.
"No, seriously, are you kidding?!!" Thomas and I stared at each other incredulously.
"Honey, I don't kid about things like this. You are having a boy," she stated matter of factly.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. We are having a boy!"

We sat there, mouths hanging open, in total shock. It is amazing how used to something you can get in a brief 24 hours! As the sonographer left us in the room alone, Thomas and I stared at each other with silly, disbelieving grins on our face. What just happened? We are having a boy???? We spent the next five minutes basically repeating to each other, "we are having a boy. We are having a BOY!" It was so surreal-- we felt as though we were actors in some sort of comedy film.

We walked out of the exam room and there was our doctor. She hung her head and hid her face behind her hand, abashed at her mistake. Clearly the sonographer had told her the news. "You should have heard me yesterday," she said to the sonographer, "I was bragging about how you trained me to use the ultrasound machine." Well, I guess she needs more training! We all laughed good naturedly and they assured us there would be no more surprises, no possibility of twins or anything crazy like that!

So, Thomas and I have spent the rest of today getting used to the idea of our son, growing so quickly inside me. We are definitely just as excited as we were at the prospect of a girl, although our baby boy promises to be quite a mischievous devil--playing a trick like this on us at such a young age!

Here's mommie and our little guy at 20 weeks.

Short video of King James

2010-11-29T11:13:00.004-05:00

Here's a short video I put together of me trying the boulder problem King James (V10) at Little Rock City. This is the same problem that ruined my ankle. No need to worry though, it's healing well.

King James at LRC from Thomas Blackford on Vimeo.

Halfway there

2010-11-26T15:41:00.005-05:00

Stacey is at 2o weeks now, which means she's half through her pregnancy. This coming Monday we're heading back to her doctor for another ultrasound, and this time we'll learn the gender. We're excited.

Also, we celebrated her 33rd birthday at the Sundial restaurant in downtown Atlanta last Wednesday. The Sundial is a super fancy restaurant atop the Westin hotel. The restaurant is really unique it rotates slowly in a circle allowing you to see an incredible panorama of the whole city while you sit and eat. The food is also awesome as well. Here are some pics of mommie-to-be at 19 weeks and 33 years old and our night out at the Sundial.

We also just got back from spending a couple nights in Chattanooga where we stayed in a nice little bed and breakfast. We cooked our own little Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and it was honestly the best Thanksgiving feast I've ever had. We would've stayed longer, but I sprained my ankle while climbing yesterday, so we had to come home early. Now we're back in Atlanta sitting by the fire. Mommie's got a nice cup of cinnamon tea, and I've got my foot propped up on ice. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.

The baby bump

2010-10-24T16:36:00.004-04:00

Big news, Stace came back from her two week trip to South Africa yesterday, and she brought a little baby bump with her!

For those of you who haven't heard, we're expecting. And don't worry she was pregnant before she left, but the bump has just arrived.

Stace is now 15.5 weeks along and just beginning the 2nd trimester. The baby's due Thursday, April 14th. In a few shorts weeks we'll get to find out the gender. For now it's just our little squirrel monkey .

Her first trimester went pretty well. She didn't have much morning sickness at all, but she did develop some food aversions. Most notably she can't stand chocolate pudding (which blows me away) and anything minty. Her love for cheese has increased as well (that includes cheez-its). Other than that, she's doing very well, and is still even climbing a bit.

Here's a pic of my baby mama

We'll keep you updated as the weeks go by.

Kalymnos Update 4

2010-09-30T02:26:00.003-04:00

Today is our last day on the island of Kalymnos. It just stopped drizzling, so we are considering going climbing in a couple hours, but we may just take it easy today. We've climbed 8 out of the last 9 days now and our muscles are pretty much destroyed.

Kalymnos has been great, and we will definitively try to return given the opportunity. During our time here, we've had amazing Greek food, climbed on great limestone routes with amazing views of the Aegean Sea, and watched near perfect sunsets every night. It has been a truly amazing vacation.

Tomorrow we're flying back to Athens, where we'll spend two days sight seeing. We're excited to see more of Athens this time and really get to see some of the famous attractions like the Parthenon . We've booked reservations at a fancy restaurant as well for tomorrow night called the Filistron which has a spectacular roof terrace with excellent views of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Here's a shot of the view from the terrace:

Kalymnos Update 3

2010-09-22T08:22:00.003-04:00

Today Stacey and I finally went climbing. It was great!
After almost a week of resting by the pool, we decided to give it a try. Yesterday we bought a couple ace bandages at the local pharmacy, wrapped my leg, and this morning we headed out. The hike wasn't too bad for me (especially since Stacey carried all the gear, food, and water). We both took it relatively easy also, but my leg seems to have responded okay to the hiking and climbing. We're hoping that it will only get better from here on out.

Last night was also great. We went out to eat and had the best dinner we've eaten yet here in Greece. Our dinner started out with a classic Greek salad along with fresh baked bread. Next, for our main dishes, we had an amazing baked eggplant dish with a thick and creamy Greek yogurt and tomato sauce. Along with the eggplant, came an amazing grilled sea bass. We were completely stuffed after all that, but the owner surprised us by bringing out some classic Greek Loukoumades free of charge. These little fried pastries nearly killed me to say the least.

Loukoumades (very dangerous)

Kalymnos Update 2

2010-09-20T05:56:00.003-04:00

Stacey and I have finally gotten over the jet lag and are really loving it here. This morning we went for a short 20 minute round trip hike to see how my leg would fare. It was a little rough for me, but I managed it. I'm hoping that tomorrow when we do it again, it won't be so bad. We're tentatively planning on climbing tomorrow at the place we hiked to. It's called Arhi, and is one of the many climbing sectors here on Kalymnos. Arhi has one of the shortest hikes, and it seems like if we're going to be doing much climbing, that's where we will be headed.

Right now we're headed for the beach for the rest of day. Wish we could show everyone some pics, but we forgot our camera cord. Here's a shot of the pool at our resort, though.

Kalymnos Update 1

2010-09-18T08:46:00.005-04:00

Stacey and I have made it to Greece, and now we're sitting by the pool at our hotel on the small island of Kalymnos. Kalymnos is beautiful and mountainous with bright colored buildings on the hills leading right down to the clear blue sea. It's just like you'd imagine any Greek island to be. Our room has an amazing ocean view as well, and on our first night here we watched a perfect orange-globed sunset from our terrace.

Pothia, Kalymnos (the island's biggest town and main port)

We also spent a brief, jet-lagged afternoon and night wandering Athens and getting a feel for the city. We didn't get a chance to see too much in Athens, but we did have dinner at great little Greek restaurant. I've never had real authentic tzatziki, and it was incredible. We'll have a chance to see more of Athens on our way out. Everything is going well, but we have had one minor set back. On our first day while walking and hauling our luggage through Athens, I manged to pull a muscle in my leg (not really sure how). I'd hoped it would feel better yesterday, but unfortunately yesterday was even worse. Our generous hotel owner suggested I see her doctor, and so Stacey and I visited the local hospital today. He checked me out and said I pulled my groin muscle. Fortunately it's nothing very serious, and he gave me a mild muscle relaxant, and just told me to take the next few days easy (i.e. no climbing or long hikes). I'm hopeful that within a few days, my leg will be back to normal and I'll be able to do some climbing. As for now though, Stacey and I will just be sitting on the beach, by the pool, or exploring the beauty of the island. More updates to come.

5 days until.....

2010-09-10T20:06:00.004-04:00

....Greece and the weather's looking awesome!

We're psyched!

First day bouldering again

2010-09-05T09:23:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to get outside and go climbing. I haven't been bouldering outside since April, so it was a bit humbling but still very nice to finally climb somewhere other than Stone Summit. The weather was in the low 80s so I headed up to Laurel Snow to try Honeycomb V9/10 (pictured below). Although, I didn't send, (I've never excelled at roof climbing), it was nice to finally get back on real rock and enjoy the pleasant weather.

Pancakes and other news

2010-08-27T14:51:00.010-04:00

I haven't posted anything in a while (because nothing interesting has been going on), so I figured I should put something up. I'll keep it short and just post the highlights.

I drank a beer called Heresy and liked it a whole lot.
I read this and it made me laugh and cry as well.
We haven't gone rock climbing outdoors since we were in Colorado a month and a half ago because of this place.
I read this book and recommend it if you're a dork like me and like fantasy/sci- fi.
I learned how to illegally download movies, so we've been watching a lot of movies lately. I'm sure I''ve got bad karma coming to me soon because of this. Anyway, a few that we saw and liked a lot in the past week or so include Frost/Nixon, North Face and Lars and the Real Girl.
I've been eating banana pancakes and eggs roughly two/three times a week for dinner during the last month (I don't see this stopping anytime soon).
We went to a Greek Orthodox Baptism last Saturday which was really cool. (I liked The Cutting of the hair part the most if you clicked on the link.)
Paige (Stacey's sister) and Michael came up Saturday night from Athens. (We hadn't seen them in a long time.)
Michael redeemed himself for acing me out last month when he ditched out on coming up to the lake for Stacey's dad's birthday.
Our friends, Joe and Caroline from our Peace Corps days are stopping through this weekend.

July is Hot

2010-07-24T08:34:00.002-04:00

It's going to be 97 with a heat index of 105. So glad I get to mow the lawn today.

Back to School

2010-07-15T11:35:00.005-04:00

It's only been a month and I'm already back at school teaching again. Our students' first day was yesterday. I have to admit, It's definitely a little weird to be teaching in the middle of July, and I'm still getting used to our year yound schedule.

Back from Colorado and back to work

2010-07-07T12:06:00.005-04:00

Stacey and I are back from our short trip out west to Colorado. We had a great time seeing my parents and playing with Kate my niece. The weather was great each day with highs in the 70s and 80s which made for great climbing and hiking. Coming back to Atlanta is a bit painful with the heat and humidity to say the least, and having to return to work tomorrow doesn't make it any better. Colorado was awesome though, so no complaints. While there, I made a major accomplishment in my roped climbing. I was able to finally send The Quickening (5.13c), which I've tried for the past three summers in a row now. Doing this climb represents a step forward in my progress as a climber. It's definitely one of the hardest sport climbs I've ever done, and means a great deal to me.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our trip. Enjoy.

The view from 'The Monastery' where Stacey I did most of climbing.
Chilln on "The Rock" in front of the cabin:
Kate after getting a hole-in-one on the dreaded alligator hole at Tiny town Mini Golf
Kate at Dream Lake with Hallet peak in the background
Chilln on the circa 1970s furniture
Kate and Stacey on the front porch
Me being a human umbrella for Kate
Dad grilling up some awesome trout
Celebrating with brownies and a fancy beer after my send of The Quickening
I ate half the pan along with three bowls of ice cream. I then moved onto the extra large Hershey's Chocolate bar we were supposed to save for smores (sorry Kate), devouring it by dipping it in peanut butter with every bite. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well, but you gotta celebrate sometimes right.

Hot and Humid

2010-06-15T15:41:00.002-04:00

It's been in the 90s with heat indexes reaching 100 for the past week now. It's too hot to climb outside, and I can't wait to be in Colorado a week from today.

Salavat Rakhmetov.......a hero of mine needs help

2010-06-02T11:02:00.003-04:00

Salavat Rakhmetov.......a hero of mine needs help.He's a famous Kazak rock climber whose 5 year old daughter (Zaliya) is intensive care in Turkey after a huge boulder fell and hit her. If you'd like to donate money to his family please follow the link below.

http://sharmenhope.com/zaliya/

Last Week of School

2010-05-31T17:47:00.004-04:00

It's finally here.

Unfortunately, since I work at a school that operates on a year-round schedule, I'm only off for 1 month. Nothing to complain about, though. Most people only get 2 weeks of vacation a year, and I'm lucky to have such a long break.

A little celebration in order...

2010-05-21T13:46:00.002-04:00

I should have posted something about this last week, but I it slipped my mind.
Stacey and I have a bigger reason to celebrate than the fact that I'm a fully qualified teacher now.

More importantly, last week Stacey and I made the final payment on her, I mean our school loans. Georgetown is now finally all paid off, and we're debt free!

Actually, I'm wrong. We have that other thing I forgot about called a mortgage left to pay off.
That shouldn't take to long, though, right.

I''m finally a "real" Georgia Teacher

2010-05-18T07:45:00.004-04:00

Although, I've been teaching for 8 years (that includes my Peace Corps service), earned a Master's in Ed., and taught multiple grade levels and subjects, it wasn't until yesterday that I officially became a "highly qualified and certified" Georgia teacher. While I was already completely certified and highly qualified according to No Child Left Behind in Virginia, when Stacey and I moved to Georgia I had to take some additional tests and professional development classes that are only required by the state of Georgia in order to renew my teaching certificate. It took me a year and a half and about $500 bucks, but now my Georgia teaching license is official. It's been a headache taking care of all the special GA requirements, and I'm very glad it's all over now. In order to celebrate properly, Stacey and I are calling in sick tomorrow and going climbing.

In case your wondering what a "highly qualified" Georgia Teacher looks like, this pic might help explain:

Kirkwood Spring Fling 2010

2010-05-16T09:19:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Stacey and I forewent a day of climbing to go to the Kirkwood Spring Fling. It was a lot of fun. The event, which is an annual festival, has live music as well as arts and crafts. It also supports the Kirkwood neighborhood community organization. At the festival, we drank beer, threw the frisbie, and enjoyed live music. Our friends Matt and Michelle who just moved to Atlanta from Colorado came by as well. With all the frisbie throwing and live music going on, I felt like I was back in Fort Collins again, and almost busted out my college hippie dance for old times sake (thankfully I didn't).

Only 4 weeks of school left...

2010-05-07T13:46:00.006-04:00

It's only been a few weeks since Stacey and I got back from France, but we already have another vacation planned. I've only got another 4 weeks of school, and then we'll be making our annual visit to Colorado in June to meet up with my parents and niece Kate in Estes Park, CO. We're excited. We'll also visit some friends and of course do a lot of climbing. It's actually mostly a vacation for me since I'll be gone 2 weeks total, and Stacey will only be out of Atlanta for a long weekend getaway.

For the last 3 years during my visits to Estes, I have been trying to finish a climb called The Quickening (5.13c), a route at The Monastery near Estes Park. I haven't succeeded yet, but hopefully 3rd year's the charm. To send this climb would be a major achievement for me. Other than climbing, I'm really looking forward to visiting one of my favorite places on earth: The Odell Brewing Co. Tap room in Fort Collins, CO. If you're ever in the Fort, I highly recommend a visit.

The Quickening climbs just left of this beautiful climb called Third Millennium.

Home again

2010-04-13T12:43:00.008-04:00

Well, we're back. We had an amazing time in France. We ate and drank incredible wine and cheese as well as binged daily at the pastry shops on all types of decadent dessert treats. I managed to gain six pounds in cheese and chocolate which will make it harder for me to pull my skinny little bones up any rocks in the next couple weeks. No complaints, though. France is an amazing country, and as soon as you get outside Paris the people are some of the most hospitable and kindest you'll find around. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The Bed and Breakfast we stayed in the first night, and the incredible dessert made by the owner/chef Francois.

Stacey's new wardrobe after her luggage was stolen from our rental car. I had to try it on as well.

Some of the incredible wine, cheese and desserts we ate daily during the trip. Don't be scared of the mold, the goat cheese pictured was out of this world. I binged as you many of you could have guessed on the desserts.

And of course some pics of the bouldering in Font.
In the following order.
1) Me on Coup de Feel - 7c
2) Stacey on La Baleine - 7a
3) Me on Megalithe - 7c+
4) Me on Haute Tension 7c+

It's truly an amazing place to climb.

Between the food, climbing, a mandatory 5 week paid vacation for all citizens, and the best health care system in the world, the French have it good.

Fontainebleau tick list

2010-03-23T11:25:00.009-04:00

In my last post, I talked of how excited Stacey and I are to be leaving for Fontainebleau on Thursday. There are a handful of climbs I'm really interested in doing while in Font. Here is my list and some pics of the harder climbs I'd like to send. Hopefully, I can take some of them down during our stay.

Miséricorde - 7c +

Tigre et Dragon - 8a
Antithèse 7c+ (bad pic, sorry)
Duel - 8a
Hale-Bopp - 7c+

Fourmis Rouges - 7c

Fourmis rouges @ Gérald from tejrom on Vimeo.

Big Dragon 8a+ (might be a pipe dream)

Fontainebleau - Big dragon 8A+ from Marco Pelle on Vimeo.

Wish me luck!

One week till Fontainebleau, France

2010-03-18T09:42:00.004-04:00

It's only just 7 days until Stacey and I leave for France. We're headed to the Foret de Fontainebleau 45 minutes south of Paris. Fontainebleau is home to the BEST bouldering in the world. We can't wait. Also, we're going to be staying in a quaint little french cottage in the small village of Bourron-Marlotte. It's going to be incredible. I can't wait to hit up all the patisseries which serve all kinds of sweet goodies and drink tons of French wine and Belgian beer.

Foret De Fontainebleau

The Spiveys celebrate my birthday WITHOUT CAKE

2010-03-12T07:50:00.011-05:00

This Saturday the Spiveys are coming over to our house for a celebration. We're going to have a cook out, drink beer, and celebrate my 32nd birthday. You'll notice I didn't include "Eat cake and ice cream" in that last sentence because I'm telling all the Spiveys that I don't want any of you to bring any dessert to our house. I'm sure Jay and Dana remember well the infamous "Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake incident," so they will understand. For any Spiveys that don't know that story it basically involves me eating an entire cake made of B & J's ice cream until I threw up. Since I'm planning on going climbing this Sunday, I'm planning on avoiding such an incident. Instead I'm asking the Spiveys to please bring me any of the fancy beers I have listed below which are sold at Tower liquors on Piedmont Ave. as well as the Kroger near our house. Also, some of these can even be bought at the gas station next to our house. I'm sure they will understand. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we'll be able to sit out on the deck and grill out. Even if the weather doesn't accommodate us, we'll still have a lot of fun since Stacey and I haven't seen most of the family in a while.

Anyway, Here's the Beer list (Pick any one of beers listed, and I'll be very happy)
Pale Ales
Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster
Founder's Red's Rye
Hopwallop
Founder's Double Trouble

Stout's
Yeti Imperial Stout
Hershey
Ten Fidy

Belgian Beer's
La Fin Du Monde
Hennepin
Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue Bottle)

Others
Dogfish Head India Brown Ale
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Stone RUINATION IPA
1554

FYI - Daddy Jack, we have an unopened 30 pack of Bud Light waiting for you, so I hope you can make it

Got a Snuggie for my birthday

2010-03-09T17:13:00.003-05:00

Awesome huh.

Happy Birthday to me

2010-03-08T14:33:00.006-05:00

I'll be drinking this:
and eating these together:

By the way, our weekend in Chattanooga was awesome. The weather was great and the climbing was awesome. I sent The White Face (V10) at Little Rock City shown below.

March is here!

2010-03-02T12:13:00.003-05:00

And that means one very important thing: My birthday is here.
It's next Monday the 8th, and I'll be 32. For anyone that knows me well, you know I love my birthday. This year Stacey and I are going up to Chattanooga for the weekend. We're planning on staying in a hotel, and climbing all weekend, so we're pysched. We didn't climb much outside in February due to continuous cold, wet weather, and this weekend is supposed to be great. The highs are expected to be in the mid 50s, which is perfect for climbing. Also coming up in 3 weeks is our long awaited trip to France. March is looking to be awesome.

FYI - If you're interested in getting me a birthday present, here is a list of 22 0z big bottle beers that I love, but am too cheap to buy. These are all sold at Green's liquor or Tower liquor in Atlanta.

Chimay Grande Reserve (the blue bottle)
St. Bernadus Abt 12
Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Hennepin (Farmhouse Ale) - Ommegang Brewery

Babies and Brewing

2010-01-29T14:18:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow, Stacey is putting on a baby shower at our house for her good friend Connie Mondor.
I'm not invited, as you might have guessed.

Since I'm not allowed in the house tomorrow, I've decided to do some 'dude-type' stuff and go homebrew shopping. I recently learned that you can purchase beer-brewing starter kits for just $100 bucks, so I'm going to a place called Hop City to have a look. The hippie in me has always wanted to brew my own beer, and when I learned how cheap it was to get started, I figured I might as well give it a shot. I'm not sure what kind of beer I'd like to start out with, but I'm hoping that I can make a darker beer like a Stout or Porter for my first batch. I'll let you know how it goes.

We've got new phone numbers

2010-01-10T13:45:00.003-05:00

Stace and I have new phones and phone numbers. From now on, our permanent cell numbers are:

Me: 404-660-9853
Stace: 404-661-6636

We'll be using these numbers from now on, but our old numbers are still good through Jan. 24th if you forget the new ones.

Our Climbing Wall

2009-12-20T13:27:00.023-05:00

Well, I have been promising for a long time now that I was going to post pictures of our home climbing gym. I've delayed and delayed, but today I'm finally showing it off to everyone. I hope y'all like it cause we sure do.

The main reason I've been so lazy about putting anything up for a while is because I wanted to wait until I had the majority of my climbing holds up on the wall, and I had collected all the mattresses I needed for the landing zone (I still need a couple more).

As you can tell from the pictures (because of all the chalk on the holds), Stacey and I have been climbing on it a whole lot. So much, in fact, that I'm freakin' sore now everyday.

The wall took a lot of work and effort to build, but I got very lucky, though. Through a friend of mine, I got in touch with Bob Cormany whose a carpenter and a climber, pretty much the best combo if you want to build a climbing wall. He's built climbing gyms all over the Southeast, and he gave me an excellent deal and did an incredible job. I don't think any of the climbing gyms in Atlanta have anything near as good as what Stacey and I have in our own very basement.

I also got really lucky with buying my climbing holds, which are normally really expensive. Again, through friends of mine in the climbing community, I was able to get wholesale pricing from all the companies I bought my holds from.

Well, here it is. Post comments and tell me what you think.

This is the Wall from various angles (it's really, really steep)
Here's me putting a hold on:
Now, here's Stacey and I cranking hard on the wall:

Stacey looking strong

Me trying a few of the holds out:

Here's our Campus Board:
Here's our Gymnastic Rings and me doing a One arm pull-up:
Just kidding, I'll never be able to do a one arm:
Well, that's it for now, but I'm still adding holds to the wall, and my eventual goal is to have every hole filled by a climbing hold.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T09:35:00.004-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. The Spiveys and Blackfords gathered together and ate and drank a lot of food. Mom and Dad made the drive from Dallas, and mom brought 2 of her famous Derby pies, of which, I ate half of one all by myself. It was incredible at the time, but I'm feeling the aftermath now as I've been burping it up for the last 12 hours. I also ate about 3 pieces of Stacey's mom's cherry cheesecake. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised to wake and notice I weighed 3 lbs heavier this morning.
Here's a pic of the famous Derby pies.

Projects Sent

2009-11-10T12:29:00.003-05:00

Stacey and I had a great 3 day weekend of climbing this past Friday through Sunday in Little River Canyon, AL. We both have been working on a couple climbs and sent both of them on the same day. I sent a route called Hooligans (13b) and Stace sent Outpatient (11d). I had put a lot of days into Hooligans and was very happy to complete this climb. It's a very short and steep powerful climb (only 5 bolts long), but it packs a lot of power into that 40 ft. Stace sent her climb first try on Sunday, and made it look very easy, unlike me.

Unfortunately, we don't have any pics of the climbs, but here is picture of the Concave where my route is found. Hooligans climbs out the far right side of this cave. The climber in the picture below is on the left most route called The Word (13a), a route I sent a few months ago.

For all of you waiting to see a wall update, sorry for the delay, but I haven't received any of my holds yet from ETCH climbing. As soon as they get her, I'll post pictures of our new gym.

Sick again

2009-11-02T16:09:00.002-05:00

I'm sick again, I don't if it's a cold, the regular flu, or the swine flu. This the second time I've been sick though in a month and it's starting to really p#ss me off. I had to take a half day at work today cause I couldn't keep up with a bunch of 3rd graders. Freakn' pathethic.

Well done Marathon Man!

2009-11-01T17:00:00.003-05:00

My dad ran the New York Marathon today.
Very impressive. I hope I can say I've run it someday.
Oh and Happy 29th birthday sis.

Famous Birthdays!

2009-10-30T12:35:00.009-04:00

With many of my family members birthdays taking place at this time of the year, I thought it only appropriate to post other famous people who share the same birthdays. I picked my favorites.
If you're interested in finding out how I learned all this you can find out here.

Date and Family Member : Famous Person with your Birthday
Sep. 20th - Robert Blackford --Dr. Joyce Brothers
Oct. 12th - Kate Blackford -- Kirk Cameroon
Oct. 23rd - Meredith Spivey -- Weird Al Yankovic
Oct. 25th - Preston Blackford -- Bobby Knight
Nov. 1st - Mary Prosser/Jack Spivey III -- Jenny McCarthy
Nov. 17th - Stacey Spivey Blackford -- Danny Devito
Dec. 29th - Stacey Hamilton Blackford -- Jude Law
Jan. 7th - Bob Blackford -- Millard Fillmore (13th Pres. of USA -Last member of
the whig party and only President for 3 years, also actually never elected by the people)
Feb. 13th - Aidai Ashrbaieva -- Jerry Springer
March 8th - Me -- James Van Der Beek (Dawson of Dawson's Creek)
April 4th - Anne Blackford -- Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates from "Pyscho" the movie)
July 8th - Derek Prosser -- Kevin Bacon

As far as the other Spiveys go, there are just too many of you for the list.

Wall Update Number 1!

2009-10-23T15:12:00.015-04:00

Well, Stacey and I are very happy rock climbers at the moment (despite Stacey having a really bad head cold). Today, the two guys I hired to build my climbing wall finished the initial construction of the structure and layout of our home climbing gym.

It's one of the coolest looking bouldering walls I have seen, and exactly what I had in mind. It's also right downstairs in my garage. My only complaint is that it might be too steep (overhung) for a little skinny weakling like me, but hey, that's my own fault because I asked for it to be built this way. Another reason the wall is so steep is because the garage is only nine feet tall so the angles had to be between 50 and 70 degrees overhung in order for it to be a good training wall. Needless to say, it will definitely make me and Stacey much stronger climbers and hopefully get me closer to achieving the ever elusive one arm pull-up (actually I'll never be able to do one of those no matter how much I climb on this new wall).

Next week, the guys will put up the plywood paneling, and then the wall will be ready to have the holds put on. Climbing holds aren't cheap though, so it will take some time for us to cover the wall completely. In the end I'm hoping the wall will be completely covered in holds of all sizes and shapes, so that I can try any type of movement feasible.

Here are the pictures of the wall so far. It runs the entire length of the garage.
(If you're wondering about the mattress in the pics, it's the first of many I plan to collect so that when you fall off, you come down onto a plus little pillow top.)

View from the garage door opening:
View from the garage stairwell:
Side view one (it's really steep huh!):
Side view two (from the other side):
The view from looking at it straight forwards:
A shot from the middle looking out toward the end:
We're very excited to say the least, and I'm sure many of you, (especially those of you that aren't climbers), must think we're a bit crazy for building this in our basement, but instead of building a media room with a movie theater type set up or a gaming room with a pool table, foosball table and even a ping-pong table we went with this.

First Vacation pictures!

2009-10-09T16:51:00.008-04:00

Stacey and I had a wonderful trip to Colorado and South Dakota. We went climbing at a relatively unknown place near Mt. Rushmore called Victoria Canyon and met some great people from Rapid City, SD. From the time we spent there, I've decided that South Dakota might be my next home. The Black Hills of SD are a hidden gem of this country and great place to visit whether you're an outdoor enthusiast or someone who just likes visiting new places.We were there at the perfect time of year as well since all of the Aspens were changing color. We also spent a few days in Fort Collins, CO climbing and staying with my friend Ben and his wife Sue.

Here are some of the photos from the trip:

Rushmore
Stacey getting close to the Bison on the Prairie:
Stacey sampling all the beers at my favorite place in the world--The Odell's Brewery Tap Room
Me on a climb called Black Streak 5.12d/13a in the Poudre Canyon outside Fort Collins
I'll post some more pictures from our trip soon.

Vacation Colorado and South Dakota

2009-09-23T12:04:00.004-04:00

I'm on vacation in Colorado again, and Stacey is flying in tomorrow. We plan to drive up to the Black Hills of South Dakota and do some climbing and sight seeing. Fall is just beginning hear and seeing the Aspens change is beautiful. I'll post pictures and news about our trip when we get back home.

First pics of the new house

2009-09-15T10:19:00.005-04:00

Here is the first set of pics of the new house as it is so far.
I'm disappointed that no one has stopped by yet with the house warming gifts I requested.
There's still time, before I leave for Colorado on Friday.

View from the front:The front porch with rocking chairs and a porch swing
Living and dining room.
We've got a new sofa and chair, a dining table which has two leafs that insert into it so it will seat up to eight people, and yes, I did buy a 47" TV:Kitchen ViewBack Deckpart of the master bedroom with the new king size bed. and lastly my first addition toward the new home climbing gym.

Where are the pics?

2009-09-11T11:45:00.004-04:00

For those of you wanting to see pics of the new house, don't worry. We've got some to post very soon. Stacey and I have bought quite a bit of furniture in the last week, and I'll try to post pics of the house as it is so far tonight or tomorrow.

Remember, anyone is welcome to drop by at anytime.

Just don't forget about the beer I mentioned.

Home Ownership arrives

2009-09-04T18:16:00.003-04:00

We now live at 1937 Hallman St NE Atlanta, GA 30317.

Stop buy if you like:
Please bring a house warming 6 pack as a gift though:

You may choose from any of the following beers:

Dogfish Head Indian Brown
Lagunitas Maximus IPA
Leffe Blonde
Left Hand Milk Stout
Gonzo Imperial Porter
Duval
Hoegardenn
Any large bottle of Imperial Stout is acceptable as well.

See you soon.

The wedding was great!

2009-08-19T08:35:00.003-04:00

Stacey and I had a great time in New Hampshire. Meryl's family put on an incredible wedding. We enjoyed free fresh lobster and free unlimited Smuttynose beers. There was even a Ben and Jerry's in our hotel. Needless to say, it was a very dangerous environment for me to be in. You only live once though, so I binged, and I binged hard. 3 days in a row to be exact.
Here's a pic of the crew: Stacey and I, Nicole and Jon, and Nancy and Mac. I'll post some more pics soon.

Meryll's getting Married

2009-08-14T16:06:00.002-04:00

Stacey's friend Meryll from Georgetown is getting married this weekend, and Stacey and are attending. We're flying into Boston and then driving up to Meredith New Hampshire for the wedding. We're excited. I haven't ever visited the Northeast so I'm happy to check it out the wedding is going to be held here on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Waiting for September 2nd

2009-08-12T09:55:00.002-04:00

Stacey and I have scheduled the closing with the sellers on our new home for Wednesday, September 2nd. If all goes well with the processing of our loan, then we'll be getting the keys to our new place 3 weeks from today.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Offer accepted....

2009-08-02T21:15:00.004-04:00

Stacey and I may now own a home. We put in an offer on the house below, and it has been accepted.
Click here for more pictures and a tour. The virtual tour music is very good as well.

My new job at Hutchinson Elementary -- Go Tigers

2009-07-17T16:51:00.003-04:00

Well it's about time I mention that I finally got a teaching job for this year, and it's a very good one indeed.
In fact, I just started teaching this week as this was our first week of school. The school I'm teaching at is called Emma Hutchinson Elementary and it's a year round school in the Atlanta Public School district. I'm really excited about being at the school for a number of reasons. First, since we are on a year round schedule, we basically teach for 9 weeks and then get a 3 week break. I like it very much, and it means I'll have a huge fall and spring break so Stacey and I have the option of going on vacation at different times of the year now. Also, it's a low income school and many of the students need a lot of support and help with their education, so I feel like I'm serving some of the students who need the most help. Lastly, the staff seems great so far.

Here's the link to my new school:

Back to our first home....

2009-07-17T06:49:00.002-04:00

Stacey and I are going back and putting in another offer on this house, apparently it never sold before. We'll see what happens.

Here's a link to the house. 196 Norwood Ave, Atlanta GA 30317

Boo Hoo!, No house yet.

2009-07-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

We got outbid on the house below and didn't get it.
That's life, I guess.

Second try for our first home

2009-07-10T07:16:00.004-04:00

Stacey and I are putting in another offer on a different house (we didn't get the first house) today.
He's a pic and a link to the house.

http://www.atlantaintown.com/2603

Happy 2nd Anniversary to us!

2009-06-24T15:53:00.002-04:00

For those of you that don't already know, today Stacey and I are celebrating our second wedding anniversary. Cotton is the traditional 2nd wedding anniversary symbol/gift. We're not all that traditional, but we figured a good way to mix the old and the new would be to support faritrade cotton goods. In other words, the next time you buy a cotton t-shirt, you can celebrate our 2nd anniversary by buying a fairtrade/organic t-shirt.

Also, have a drink tonight in our honor and say Cheers!

The best place to live

2009-06-24T15:28:00.005-04:00

Don't get me wrong, I love being in Atlanta. It's near my family, good rock climbing, and an all around great city considering it's massive size, but Fort Collins, CO truly is one of the best small cities in the country. I'm beginning to think it's paradise. I'm not bias either. Read this from CNN.

Sport Climbing in the Flatirons

2009-06-21T12:44:00.002-04:00

Stacey and I have been sport climbing in the Flatirons near Boulder, CO, and it has been awesome. Stacey sent her second 5.12 yesterday, and it was a very impressive ascent. I've never seen her climb so well. We've got some great pictures from the Colorado trip, but I won't be able to post them for a couple weeks. In the meantime here's a shot of the classic Flatirons sport climb Family Man that Stacey did yesterday.

You can tell from the picture that there are 3 separate overhangs she had to climb through. After that, it's another 40 feet of difficult and vertical climbing before you reach the top of the cliff.

The Tipping Point

2009-06-08T22:40:00.005-04:00

Today I listened to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point on my drive from Atlanta to Colorado.
What an amazing book. Gladwell is a genius.
If you haven't read it, get it. Truly incredible.

I'm looking forward to reading his other book Outliers now.

Colorado here we come...

2009-06-07T16:21:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow, I'm leaving for Colorado for about a month. I'm psyched. Stacey is gonna fly out Tuesday as well, and then we'll meet up with my parents for a week in Estes Park. Then we're off to Rifle Mountain Park. Rifle is one of the best places to rope climb in the States and well known for its dramatically overhung climbs like the one shown in the picture below.
It's gonna be an awesome trip. More updates to come....

Rifle:

A house we're interested in potentially buying.....

2009-06-02T07:38:00.007-04:00

This is very much in the preliminary state, but Stacey and I are possibly going to put in an offer on the house shown below. It's in the neighborhood of Kirkwood, which is a trendy little hip area of Atlanta where all the young thirty something yuppy/hippies are moving nowadays. Wish us luck.

Stacey's uncle Kelly is a real estate agent and has been a tremendous help throughout our search for a home. We wouldn't be close at all to getting a place if it weren't for him and all of his hard work and help.

Here's a link to the house. 196 Norwood Ave, Atlanta GA 30317

Front of the house:

Schools out for summer!

2009-05-23T07:42:00.003-04:00

...need I say anything more.

House Hunting

2009-05-17T08:43:00.003-04:00

Stacey and I have begun hunting for our first home. We're hoping to find a place in the neighborhood of Oakhurst which is in Decatur, GA. We may go to some open houses today. Here's a link to one of the house we've liked so far, but I it's at the top of our price range.

I think it might be great for entertaining, though, as they say on HGTV.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/88-E-Lake-Dr-Se_Atlanta_GA_30317_1107490338

Happy Mother's Day to our Moms

2009-05-10T20:49:00.002-04:00

To My Mother
By Wendell Berry

I was your rebellious son,

do you remember? Sometimes

I wonder if you do remember,

so complete has your forgiveness been.

So complete has your forgiveness been

I wonder sometimes if it did not

precede my wrong, and I erred,

safe found, within your love,

prepared ahead of me, the way home,

or my bed at night, so that almost

I should forgive you, who perhaps

foresaw the worst that I might do,

and forgave before I could act,

causing me to smile now, looking back,

to see how paltry was my worst,

compared to your forgiveness of it

already given. And this, then,

is the vision of that Heaven of which

we have heard, where those who love

each other have forgiven each other,

where, for that, the leaves are green,

the light a music in the air,

and all is unentangled,

and all is undismayed.

Dirty Swine!

2009-04-28T07:27:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the Pig Flu, Stacey's work trip to South Africa and Angola has been cancelled.

I kinda wish we weren't vegetarians (apart from the occasional fish fillet) at the moment, and ate a lot of BBQ because I'd be boycotting it hard core right now. I also no longer feel any likeness or affection toward Charlotte (the spider), Wilbur (the pig), or Fern (the girl), who were the main characters of E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. In fact, Wilbur is really the one to blame for all of this, right. Fern should've sliced him up instead of rescuing him, and somebody should have stomped on Charlotte and her stupid webs from day one.

Going to South Africa in the future

2009-04-17T12:38:00.007-04:00

It's looking like I might be able to visit South Africa in the distant future, since according to Stacey's new boss, she's mostly going to be working in the South African division of the Global Aids Program for the CDC. South Africa's got some of the best climbing in the world. Here's a pic of a place I want to visit just outside Cape Town. I've always dreamed of going here. It's called Rocklands.

Stacey fighting Global Aids

2009-04-14T06:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a pretty amazing day. Stacey got a call from the GAP (Global Aids Program) division of CDC and they offered her a permanent position. It seems like it will be an amazing opportunity for her to do something that she's very passionate about. She'll also get to travel to really cool places all over the world as well. We're very happy and excited to say the least.
Here's a link to some information about the program and what it does: http://www.pepfar.gov/

Spring Break is ending

2009-04-10T12:44:00.004-04:00

Today is the last day of my Spring break. I'm sad.
In other news, Stacey had an interview for a position in the Global office for AIDS at the CDC. It would be a dream job, but she's up against a highly qualified pool of candidates.
Say your Easter prayers for her and so long as you're praying say one for me as well.

I've been working on my pull up strength in Jay's garage. I hoping I can do this with my pinky by the end of the summer.

Happy Birthday Tilek!

2009-04-07T11:03:00.006-04:00

Today is my host brother from the Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan's birthday.
His name is Tilek, which means wish in English. He's 11 today.
Here's a good picture of him taking a bath outside in the summer.

3 day wknd in Kentucky at the Red River Gorge

2009-04-07T09:52:00.016-04:00

I'm on spring break right now, and Stacey took a day off work, so that we could take a 3 day weekend climbing trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. The Red is one of the best places to rope climb in the States and has almost 2000 different rock climbs. The weather was perfect for both Saturday and Sunday with highs in the 70s. We met up with our friend Angie who drove out from DC and we all had a great time. There were not any major ascents during the trip, and this was mostly because Stacey and I haven't tied into a rope and sport climbed since last August. We've only been bouldering all winter, and when you haven't sport climbed in a long time, the first trip out is always a bit strange. It takes a little time to readjust yourself to the style needed for roped climbing.

I'll explain for those of you who aren't climbers.
In bouldering, you are basically climbing short, very difficult and extremely powerful rock climbs. The holds on a boulder problem are minuscule. You're using all of your power, strength, and energy just to hold onto the wall. It's kinda like the power lifting version of rock climbing. If you've you've seen the photos from my previous blogs, you'll notice that all of the holds are fingertips only when it comes to bouldering.

When you sport climb (rope climb), you climb routes on cliffs that maybe upwards of 100 ft tall. It's not just a ten foot tall boulder anymore. This means the holds are bigger, and it's very important to grip the rock as lightly as possible, climb more quickly and efficiently, and therefore conserve your energy. In doing so, you'll hopefully make it to the top of the route before your arms eventually give out.

As you can see, bouldering and sport climbing are at the opposite ends of the rock climbing spectrum. Neither is more difficult than the other, but they involve a different physical and mental approach, so it takes a few trips to transition between the two. If you've been bouldering for six months straight, and then you decide to go sport climbing, you'll most likely over-grip the rock (since that's what you're supposed to do in bouldering), and pump out half-way up the wall. This is exactly what Stacey and I were doing all day Saturday since we hadn't sport climbed in a long time. By the end of the day though, we were getting back in the flow of things.
Stacey sent a very good 5.11 route called Injured Reserve after a few tries, and I tried a route called Golden Touch (5.13b).
Here a few of the pictures from the weekend.
Stacey attempting Up Yonder 5.11b
Me trying Golden Touch 5.13b.

Trying to find the best rest on the route and monkeying around on the wall.

Angie on Stay the Hand 5.12a

Tomorrow, Stacey and I are hopefully going climbing, weather permitting, up in Chattanooga.
Stay tuned.

Tribute to Phil McGroin

2009-04-02T18:55:00.005-04:00

Last week was of course April fool's day, and I'm proud to say I got both my parents with the oldest trick in the book. I got them scared that my younger sister Mary and her husband Derek were getting ready to buy a townhouse from a sketchy real estate guy run by a man named Phil McGroin.

Here's the dialogue from the phone conversations:

Me: "Dad, you have to call Mary, I think she and Derek are dangerously close to purchasing a townhouse from a guy named Phil Mcgroin." (My dad was on it and dropped everything to call asap to make sure his daughter wasn't getting scammed.)

Dad: "Mary, who is this Phil McGroin guy you're looking to buy a house from? He sounds like he's trying to pull a fast one on you guys."

Mary: "Who Dad? What's his name?" (Apparently my dad repeated the name three or four times before finally getting the joke).

Here's to you Dad with a special thanks to the Mcgroin brothers: Phil and Pat.

Back from the Stan and Fran

2009-03-14T14:03:00.016-04:00

It's been awhile since I last updated, partly because of the birthday celebrations and and my friend Francis visiting last weekend. Stacey brought back some great birthday gifts for me from her travels, especially the stuff from Turkmenistan.

The first thing she got me was a Telpek, which is the traditional hat worn by old and wise Turkmen men. It's maybe the best hat I'll ever own. The second gift is a copy of Turkmenbashi's book which is an autobiographical account that is required reading for all Turkmen students. Everyone is required to read it so that they can learn the beliefs and history behind their once great leader. Stace actually found and English copy of it, and it's some very good brainwashing material. Just like the old soviet era textbooks in which the students sang daily songs about how great the motherland was, this book is a true testament to the strange oddities that you'll find in only the former soviet union. I'll definitely cherish it.

Here's a picture of me wearing my new hat and reading the book.
Here's a picture of a statue that Turkmenbashi built to commemorate his book when he finished it.
Awesome huh.

My birthday was a lot of fun as well. I'm 31 now if you didn't know. With Fran down here, we all drove up to Chattanooga and climbed all weekend and celebrated as well. Stacey and I got a room on Saturday night at the Doubletree hotel in downtown Chatty and then went out drinking and partying (which means like three beers each) while Fran stayed with some other friends of his who live in the city. We climbed the next day and here are some of the pictures from the trip.

Stacey on Cyclops V6
Me on Deception V7
Fran on the Power of Amida V9
It's been a fun two weeks. Here are some more great pics from Stacey's trip to Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. Enjoy.

An old Russian Cathedral in Almaty, KZ
Inside the Aya Sophia (This was a Christian cathedral during the time of Constantinople, and later converted into a mosque when the city officially became Istanbul. Archaeologists uncovered some of the ancient Christian mosaics beneath the paintings int the mosque. Today it is a museum.
Turkey truly is a place where East meets West).

This is where the altar of the cathedral was:
Notice the mix of Islamic and Christian influences intertwined.
Tile mosaics of Christ that have been uncovered and preserved:
The famous Blue Mosque of Istanbul (one of the most famous mosques in the world):
Below are just some weird things you'd find in Turkmenistan including a mausoleum built by Turkmenbashi for himself and his parents, and my favorite, a strange white staircase in the middle of the desert.
The staircase was built to be a symbol of the importance of exercising and maintaining good health.
Supposedly, Turkmenbashi would make the members of Parliament climb up the staircase each year to promote the cause. The best part is that he would always meet them at the top, and of course he only came by personal helicopter. What a man.

The Mausoleum
The famous staircase of health:

The New Job

2009-03-05T11:52:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm into my fourth day of work here at Labelle Elementary. Everything is going great, and I've learned very quickly that teaching elementary is a million times easier than teaching middle school. My students are great, and I especially like the Kindergarteners I teach. Also, the school seems to have a wonderful staff and administration. It's very much a stress free working environment, which was the complete opposite of my last school. The school also has a ton of resources and the ESOL team shares everything freely. It's just too bad they don't plan on renewing my contract.

My hero has written his autobiography

2009-02-26T15:39:00.009-05:00

Sorry dad, I'm not talking about you (though you'll always be one of my heroes also).

No, I'm talking about British rock climbing legend Jerry Moffat. Moffat is one of the most famous and influential rock climbers that has ever lived. In the 1980s and 1990s, he pushed the sport into a new realm by showing the climbing community that climbs once thought beyond human strength and ability were in fact climbable. He also played a major part in designing one of the first ever indoor rock climbing gyms, which are now found in nearly every major city throughout the US. Even today at almost 50 years old, he would climb circles around me.

It's not a coincidence that I'm posting this blog just one week before my 31st birthday as this would be a great gift. I'm just too cheap to buy it. For those of you who want to be on my forever good side, it can be purchased here. Or here for an actual signed copy from Jerry himself.

This is the book and the author behind it:

Back in ATL (one of us anyway)

2009-02-23T16:46:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm back in Atlanta after a short trip to Texas, Arkansas, and Southern Illinois. I had a great time visiting my folks in Dallas (especially because they bought me a bunch of Fat Tire and other New Belgium Beers, which you can't get in ATL). I would have been loved to stay a little longer. After leaving Dallas, I drove up to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in northern Arkansas to do some climbing. Unfortunately it was very cold, and I was the only one at the ranch climbing that day, so it was a little hard to get motivated. I also had a pretty bad cold on top of everything. I tried a 2 boulder problems called the Glass Bowl V10 and Moondye V9, but was unable to send either. As it got colder, my motivation drained away and I decided to scrap Arkansas and drive to Southern Illinois, which is another great climbing destination. The bouldering and route climbing here is near Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. It's a cool little college town. I had a great first day climbing and came very close to sending a climb called Guns n' Roses. Unfortunately, it snowed that night, and the climbing there was done for. I left Southern Illinois the next morning and drove down to Chattanooga to climb some more. I had a great last day climbing and got home last night.

Stacey just arrived in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Not many people visit or even know of Turkmenistan, and it's a very interesting place. I encourage everyone read about the former president Turkmenbashi, if you'd like to read some weird and bizarre info. Don't worry, the country is doing a little better though now that Turkmen is gone and his former dentist has taken over as the new commander in chief. I'll have a lot more info about the trip when Stacey gets home this weekend and I'm hoping she brings me some cool souvenirs.
Here's a quick pic of Ashgabat the capital.

On the Road and Around the World

2009-02-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

Well, we're out of town right now. I'm in Dallas visiting my folks, and Stacey just arrived in Almaty, Kazakhstan on a work trip. After I see my folks, I'm going to drive up to northern Arkansas and check out the bouldering at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch. Stacey will be in Almaty for a couple of days, and then she's off to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Stay tuned for more on our trips.....
Almaty
Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

Back to the Rat Race

2009-02-12T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided it was time for me to begin working again , so I took a job offer teaching 5th grade ESOL. This is generally good news for me. I say 'generally' because I can't say I'm all that excited to jump right back into the workplace. It's been nice to go climbing outside during the middle of week, and I like the occasional days when I'm not sure exactly what day of the week it is. I know most of you reading this haven't had that experience since college, but I can tell you it's nice. I will however enjoy teaching again as well as being around the kids. A full-time salary won't hurt either. The name of my school is Labelle Elementary and it's located in Smyrna, Georgia. For all of you local readers, Smyrna is the place to go for authentic Latino food and productos.

On another note, Stacey and I are going up to Chattanooga this weekend to climb as usual, but since it'll be Valentine's Day, we've decided to stay in a nice hotel downtown on the river and see all the city has to offer. Chattanooga is a very cool town for those of you who don't already know. There is a great little downtown district that has a lot of cool restaurants and bars. On top of that, you can even get Fat Tire on tap at most places.

Stacey and I returned to LRC

2009-02-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

Stacey and I returned to LRC this past weekend and she came painfully close to sending Genghis Khan before she just ran out of energy. I continued to work on King James (V10) and then did Mann Haut (V8) and tried Dragon Man (V9) at the end of the day. The weather was a little warm, but we couldn't complain at all. Enjoy the video and photos.

Stacey on Ghenghis Khan V5 from Thomas Blackford on Vimeo.

Mann Haut (V8)

King James

Back to Little Rock City

2009-02-01T08:14:00.000-05:00

Stacey, Ben , and Jason and I drove up to LRC to go bouldering yesterday and the weather was absolutely perfect for climbing. I had my mind set on finishing off a problem called Biggie Shortie (V10) that I nearly sent (climbed) last weekend, but was unable to complete due to splitting two of my finger tips on the very small and sharp right-handed holds.

Yesterday, was no better. My skin had not yet fully recovered from the previous week, and I was feeling a little heavy (hard to believe, huh), and on my first real attempt after warming up, I nearly split open the exact same finger tip from the the previous week's session. I immediately taped my finger up and continued working the problem. I didn't have any success though. In fact, I climbed much worse that the previous week's effort, and it was a very frustrating experience. My friend Ben (who is a very strong and talented climber) had already climbed Biggie Shortie and decided to do it again just for kicks. It was a little humbling to watch him just cruise my project without much effort.

Afterward, we headed over to an incredible problem called King James (V11). Neither of us sent this climb, but I'm thinking it might be doable in the near future.

Stacey had a pretty good day, and nearly climbed two of her projects: Cyclops V6 and Genghis Khan V5. She is very close to completing Cyclops, and she will be happy when she does as it will be the first V6 she will have sent.

Here are some pics of King James

The International Community School

2009-01-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

I'm hoping I'm on my way to finding a job. I just heard today that I'll be able to volunteer and possibly substitute for the International Community School in Dekalb County. I'm going to start next week, so keep your fingers crossed. It's an amazing place and would be a dream job for me.

Check out this The New York Times article about the school:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/us/25school.html?_r=1

Wish me luck

Our New Car

2009-01-22T08:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been promising to put up some pics of the new car we purchased two weeks ago, so here they are.
This is Stacey leaving for work. Look how excited she is to drive her little car (she calls it the bug mobile).

Buy, buy, buy!

2009-01-12T09:54:00.001-05:00

Stacey and I have been fulfilling our vital roles as patriotic Americans lately by giving as much money as possible to the poor and frustrated American economy. We've been been doing our part by being regular American consumers and buying as many unnecessary things as possible.
In the last week and half we've spent some serious cash.
We bought the following:

A 32" LCD TV (craigslist)
A new bouldering pad
A climbing hangboard
and lastly a 2007 Toyota Yaris (craigslist)

Here's Jack showing off the new TV and watching some Scooby Doo on it. I'll try to put up some cool pics of Stacey and her new machina (that's Kyrgyz for car) soon.
Yesterday, we also went climbing in Alabama at Horsepens 40, but it was unbearably cold. I tried the sit start to Slider (V9) which makes it about V10 but didn't have much luck on it. After working the first moves, I tried to repeat Slider, and was unable to repeat it as well. I think the cold humid air was just too much for me (or at least that's what I've convinced myself of). After that Stacey and went into the HP40 shop and de-thawed next to the heater. We then went back out for some more climbing. I sent Hugs and Kisses (V8) in a few tries, and Stacey nearly sent The Beach (V4). All in all, it was well worth it despite the conditions. I'm sure next time will be better, and we're more just happy to be able to go climbing without having to make a 5 1/2 hour drive to West Virginia now.

Today, I'm back on Craigslist, but this time, trying to find a temp job instead of spending.
No luck yet, but I might have found an LCD TV for Alice.

The Flu

2009-01-05T17:09:00.000-05:00

Well life in Atlanta's a bit rough at the moment. Stacey and I both got the flu and she missed her first day of work.

Not much fun......

Back home from Hueco

2009-01-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

Stacey and I are back in our new home in Atlanta, and I'm happy to say the last few days of our trip were awesome. The weather warmed up and all of us climbed well, especially Stacey. On the last day of our trip she sent (climbed) two of her hardest boulder problems to date (King Cobra V5 and Girls of Texas V5), and both in the same day as well!

I also finished a problem (Fern Roof V9/10) I had been working on and Eric sent his problem as well. It was great hanging with Colter and Eric. Stacey and I are already thinking about our next trip back. Check out the photos below.

Happy New Year from Hueco Tanks

2008-12-31T08:17:00.000-05:00

Stacey and I are in Hueco Tanks, Texas right now until January 2nd. We've been down here since the 26th and climbing with my friends Eric and Colter and having a great time climbing. The nights camping here have been pretty cold with lows in near zero, but as soon as the sun is up the desert sun warms things up fast. We climbed for the the first 2 days of our trip and then rested the next 2 days. On our rest days we drove up to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM to see the amazing cave system that is there. We also stopped and snapped some photos of the beautiful Guadalupe Mountains. Here are some of the pictures from our trip so far.

A desert sunrise, our campsite, climbing, and a sunset at Hueco Tanks:

Carlsbad Caverns:

Inside the caverns:
The Guadalupe Mountains:
More to come......

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:02:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone. Stacey and I have finally arrived in Atlanta and are settling into our new apartment which is an attic apt. above her brother Jay's house. It's a perfect little place for us. Aidai is here from Dallas, and we're all having a great time.

Here are some pis from our trip to NYC and Christmas with Spiveys.
Merry Christmas!

New York

Packing and moving.......

2008-12-20T18:50:00.000-05:00

Sux.

NYC

2008-12-12T16:18:00.000-05:00

Stacey and I are heading up to NYC tomorrow to visit our friend Susan from the Peace Corps. I haven't seen her in a long time, and I hear she's been living it up in NYC for the past two years.

I'll keep you posted.

Kalpaks, Trader Vintage 2008, and Ape Indexes

2008-12-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

Kalpaks and Trader Joes Vintage 2008 beer really do make a party fun. The highlight of the night was when we all started measuring ape indexes and Stacey found out that she was misdiagnosed last year at a different party when she was labeled "A negative" (a negative ape index is arguably the worst trait for anyone whoever wants to be a talented rock climber). After a two separate measurements last night, we found out that she actually has a positive ape index of + 1. This was incredible news for both me and her. I was very relieved as you can imagine to know that I'm actually married to a "positive." Stacey was happy as well and went to bed a very happy girl.

Thanks Home Depot

2008-12-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

I got a tree yesterday at Home Depot, and set it up today.
It's a pretty little tree ain't it.

I'm a Master

2008-12-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day of graduate school. I've finally earned my Masters of Education. It's a little anti-climactic unfortunately, but I'm happy to say the least.

On another note, we're having a "Leaving DC Party" this weekend. I think it'll be the first party we've actually ever had at our place. Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures and have a lot of fun. The last time we had people over Derek tried to teach me the proper way to do the thriller dance. I'll need to practice. He's pretty good as you can see.