Peep

MIA

2010-03-30T14:02:00.012-04:00

So - yeah, I haven't really found time to keep Peep up to date, but thought I would attempt to try not to go years without a Peep post. I think the closeness to Easter and peeps everywhere made me think that it was time for an update. Oh - and there's this amazeball place I must visit soon - Peep Store.

I started this blog back when I was doing a lot of work to sell my parents house. So since then, I did sell it, put a LOT of things in storage, got married and bought my own house. The next logical step was to empty the storage unit - check! After three years, Matt and I coordinated movers to pack up the storage unit in Woodbridge and empty the contents into our basement, garage, dining room, and attic.

Here's a fun picture of the packed storage unit - although it doesn't do the space justice.

A big shout out to Car, Em, and Lis who came over to help me start sorting through the madness. As you can imagine, Veitch Street now is packed full of furniture, stuffed animals, yearbooks, tools, approximately 15 boxes of Christmas decorations, a motorcycle, piano, pool table, and a partridge in a pear tree. I think we have one of everything - really.

It's been nice to go through all of these treasures again, and after five years - I'm having an easier time parting with things. I do recall getting into it with Angela over some tupperware she wanted me to pitch when she was helping me clean out the Woodbridge house years ago - ha!

Matt and I even made a trip up to Pittsburgh to give my Aunt (or force upon her) a few things I thought she might need for her place. It wasn't the smartest trip - we rented a 14-foot truck in a snowstorm on the turnpike to haul our crap up north!

And, we're preparing for another yard/garage sale in a few weeks along with some of our neighbors on Veitch Street. Man, I love a yardsale! I had lots of amazing helpers at the last sale.

So - anyone out there -please come buy my crap on April 17th - you won't be disappointed!

Another One Bites the Dust

2008-11-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend in Michigan celebrating the wedding of Matt's childhood friend Matt or 'Johnson' and his gal Jodi. I do love being back on the other side of weddings now, but I found myself picking out things that I wish I would have done. Jodi was uber organized and they had a wonderful ceremony!

So Michigan is cold.

Here are some fun shots from the weekend, although I didn't get any of me (and my team) kicking butt at Flip Cup on the night of the rehearsal. The groomsmen kept singing 'Ring of Fire' in honor of their outfits.

On another note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kelly CashTracy!

Peep Makeover

2008-11-13T13:20:00.011-05:00

In honor of my wedding colors and my commitment to being more regular about updating the blog, I decided to give Peep a little makeover. I hope these changes will encourage your continued interest (and I have to try and keep up with Kelly's cool blogging)!

It may also be a good time to explain Peep's roots. Peep was the cutsie nickname that my parents called each other in their early years together (although I don't know who or how that originated). After I was born though, my Mom used this nickname primarily for me. So, I guess we were all Peeps at one time or another. My Mom took the Peep theme a step further and always bought me little chick things (you can imagine this was especially fun at Easter). I think she even brought me a cake to my freshman dorm room for my 19th or 20th birthday with chicks on it...oh trying to be cool in college is tough! But, I loved it.

Here are some favorite Peep pics.

Hello?

2008-11-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

Is anyone still out there? Well, now that we've got the wedding, honeymoon and house buying activities (almost) out of the way, I figure that it's time to fire Peep back up. I'm also trying to find work on a new project at SRA, so I'm covering all my bases on concurrent life changes. Stay tuned for more regular updates.

13.1

2008-05-02T12:31:00.000-04:00

Race day started at 4:30am in Nashville on Saturday. We woke up to the sound of pouring RAIN..ugh, I hate running in the rain. Lisa, Eileen and I left the hotel at 5am and didn't get to the start line until after 7am. Apparently Nashville doesn't have a good system for directing traffic for the race.

The Country Music Half-Marathon started at 7, but there were so many waves of starters, we jumped in the long line of (slower) racers. About 3 minutes before we crossed the start line, the rain stopped and never made another appearance. How lucky!

The whole experience was amazing! I had never run a half-marathon, but there was so much more city and crowd support than some of the 10 milers I've run. It was motivating, and so were the live bands playing inspirational songs along the course. I was pretty nervous about being really slow, but I actually ended up having one of my better races and completed it in under 2 hours. I felt like the miles were clipping by until I hit mile 11 and 12...those were tough and the whole course was pretty hilly (my legs were sore until the following Thursday). Lisa and Eileen were rockstars and had great times too!

It took us quite a while to get out of the parking lot, but after Lisa started directing traffic, we sailed out (it's so obvious she's from New York).

We hit the honky-tonk bars the rest of the day and night on Saturday. We met up with Rachel's cousin Tim and his cronies at the Second Fiddle.

We later found out that Joe (Rach's Dad) was up early tracking all of our race time results live on the web! He is THE best sports fan! And of course, we made a stop into my fav, Tootsies.

On Sunday, the gals and I dropped in on Nathan, Hollie, Charlie, Kaylee, and Jake. I am so impressed at how easy they make having triplets look! They have a beautiful home and were great hosts.

We rounded out the weekend with a mad dash for souvenirs on Broadway. In our night out on Saturday, Lisa made me put a cool pair of cowboy boots on hold (with PINK stars), and I did end up purchasing them completely sober (unlike Lis, who bought a genuine Stetson leather cowboy hat Saturday night!)

27 Dresses

2008-05-01T16:27:00.001-04:00

In honor of our bridesmaid dress shopping trip today, Ang sent me this fun link.

I hope we can find the perfect dress...I'm picturing the girls in taffeta, poofy sleeves, and bows, lots of bows!

March Madness

2008-04-23T15:05:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this whole wedding planning thing is really eating up my spare time and regularity of blog posts. Matt keeps saying that I'm going to lose my readers. If anyone is still out there, here's the quick update from the last month or so...

February 19 - March 6

I was traveling for work in Tbilisi, Georgia; Yerevan, Armenia; and Baku, Azerbaijan. It's tough to sum this trip up, but it was great, despite the protest rallies and state of emergency in Armenia. I think the highlight was skiing in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia (I even got to enter an amateur competition).

Let me say that Matt really took over the reigns on the initial stages of the wedding planning during this time. I'm sure he was hoping that's all he would have to do, but I keep suckering him into tasks. Actually, it's a very nice partnership. I also discovered that checking the wedding task list on http://www.theknot.com/ will not make me feel good about the pace of my planning. I've got about 160 actions, 50 overdue.

March 21 - March 25

Matt and I finally made a visit to Denver, Colorado and spent Easter weekend with Rachel and Will! We had a great little vacation and went skiing, hiking, and beer tasting (at the Coors brewery). Rach and Will were perfect hosts, and it was so nice to spend time with them together in their new home.

March 29

Angela Strom passes the CPA exam!

March 31

My GOLDEN birthday. 31 on 31. Matt gave me golf-themed gifts for the upcoming Campsky Open at the wedding. Oh, and I did manage to put together a wedding website. I may be a slacker bride, but at least I'm a techie bride.

April 2

Matt's birthday. He's so easy to please, we went to Lauriol Plaza for dinner.

April 11

Our bridal party threw us an amazing engagement party. I am still flying high and overwhelmed with everyone's efforts to make it such a special evening. A special thanks to long distance attendees...Sunil, Aunt Janet and the Camps. And yes, I'm still working on my thank-you notes.

April 18 - April 20

Matt and I road tripped to Hilton Head to meet with wedding vendors. We made some pretty good progress and even managed to slip in a quick visit with Aunt Carol, Uncle Alvin, Cousin Mistie, Dan, Maddie (my flower gal) and Kolby.

April 26

Next up...Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee with Lisa and Eileen. Needless to say training hasn't been too intense. We may get the chance to see Nathan, Hollie and their triplets!

Hello Woodbridge

2008-03-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

This is sure to be a chart topper....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wToU4qsijkc&feature=related

This video highlights some of my old stomping grounds (e.g. Potomac Mills, Gar-Field High, and Water Works (yes, I used to work the concession stand).

Peep Show

2008-03-13T16:58:00.000-04:00

I recieved this from several of my peeps, so I figured it was blog worthy. I know I am behind on my blogging, but I've got some overseas stories in progress...

Bowl

2008-02-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

I assume everyone agrees that this was the best superbowl commercial? Please refer to my other raves about anything Rocky.

And, as much as I love Benny Burger, this one was a little sad.

Oh, the game was pretty good too. I was happy to be watching with Dtox, the die-hardest Giants fan. Thanks to Dtox and Tracey for hosting the bowl. I hope they find other reasons to have people over on Sundays (ice skating, olympics)?

Project Rungay

2008-01-31T13:29:00.000-05:00

I love Project Runway, and this blog entitled Project Rungay is a pretty entertaining supplement to my fav show.

Let the Planning Begin

2008-01-29T00:12:00.000-05:00

The last two weekends have been a whirlwind of wedding research. I have to give Matt credit, he was a really good sport. We covered some serious ground and visited possible wedding spots all over the south. We hit the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Hilton Head.

We had a really nice weekend staying in the Outer Banks with my former Hoodbridge neighbors Joe and Tish, who recently retired to their beach house in Kill Devil Hills. There also happened to be a wedding expo happening in the area. We thought it would be a good way to dive into this whole planning thing. We spent Saturday touring around and checking out the different reception sites. The most entertaining part was the expo in the local highschool on Sunday. The place was packed with wedding vendors, and it was an over stimulation of the senses. Long haired djs in booths next to ministers next to caterers cooking up finger food. We grabbed the freebies and high tailed it out of there.

We popped in on Uncle Jimmy and Sue in Myrtle Beach the following weekend. They cooked such tasty meals and it was tough to leave. We didn't find a lot of wedding possibilities in Myrtle, but I did introduce Matt to my Dad's favorite hot dog shop. These dogs were amazing! Please refer to a previous blog entry on my love for hot dogs.

I was most excited to check out Charleston. I've heard so many great things about the city, and unfortunately, it down poured during most of our visit. We were really impressed with the Wild Dunes resort about 20 minutes outside Charleston and ended up staying there overnight. The wedding planner was great and sent a bottle of Champagne to our room for good measure. We had a fun night downtown checking out a few local spots. Everyone was so nice (and slow), that I kept thinking they wanted something from me (I know, cynical city girl).

We rounded out the weekend in Hilton Head and came up with a few more good options.

These trips were made a lot easier with Nelly, the Garmin Nuvi GPS I got Matt for Christmas. I like to say that Nelly has revolutionized the way we travel. The most fun part is that it estimates the arrival time at your location. So on our long trips, it became a race to see if we could make up minutes lost at bathroom breaks and we got pretty choosy about our pit stops. But, I am a bit worried that Matt's getting a little too dependant on it, as he now uses it navigating around Clarendon.

I am happy to report that after all of this road tripping, we still are planning to get married.

Going Granola

2008-01-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

Ok, so maybe it's the new year or maybe it's the fact that I just read Eat, Pray Love, but I did my first yoga class today! The book is great by the way. There were so many memorable quotes. My favorite was about religion..."People follow different paths, straight or crooked, according to their temperament, depending on which they consider best, or most appropriate - and all reach You, just as rivers enter the ocean." Anyway, I think I could get into this yoga thing.

And my co-worker Matt, bought me a Neti Pot for Christmas. We share a cube, so I guess he's tired of hearing me blow my schnoz all day. I have allergies and have been fighting an annoying cold, so I guess this Neti Pot thing is supposed to help with improving sinus issues (it's an old yogic tradition). And since Ops has endorsed it, they are getting more popular. This process is also known as 'saline nasal irrigation'..ha! You must check out this instructional video for using the pot! It kills me (I'm not so dramatic while using), but I'm willing to stick with it for a while (especially if Oprah is doing it).

P.S. How great is it that it's January 8th and I can go running in shorts and t-shirt!

Giant Fun

2008-01-05T17:45:00.000-05:00

The TraTox household hosted a Giants game gathering (I guess it's the playoffs or something :) Needless to say, it was fun to watch Dtox celebrate the win. There were balloons, cake, and Dtox's drum set even made a rare debut.

Dtox and Tracy really know how to host a football gathering (note the fancy china serving tray).

Kel and Dale...she's a natural.

2008

2008-01-02T00:04:00.000-05:00

Matt and I waited until the last minute (as usual) to figure out plans for New Year's Eve. We started the night off at Big Blue with a toast to my parents with my Mom's favorite Pink Squirrel drink. Lisa and Sergio joined us before heading to their decade themed NYE party.

Matt and I joined a fun group of Sara and Jamie's friends for dinner at Piola. We had aggressive plans to make a few stops over the course of the evening, but ended up staying put (we are in our thirties now).

And, I have to say that I think I've held up my 2007 New Year's Resolution of updating the blog regularly fairly well.

Murphy Annual Christmas Party

2007-12-23T22:37:00.000-05:00

The Annual Murphy Christmas Party in the Hoodbridge is always a well attended event and includes all ages and groups of people. I think my first party was during my college years where I was introduced to Mrs. Murphy's IKEA Swedish meatballs. They are amazing, and I look forward to them every year (I guess I could make these on my own, but they just taste better at the Murphy's). It's always fun seeing the four Murphy sisters always with their beautiful curly brown hair, and it's crazy how they have grown up...Murphy and her sister Katy are now Moms!

Check out these Gerber Baby pictures of little Anna.

Yes!

2007-12-14T13:35:00.000-05:00

Matt and I got engaged By the Side of the Road in Harrisonburg, VA. Somehow, he did manage to surprise me. It was a perfect weekend, and I still can't believe it happened! We usually do a B&B trip every year around Christmas before Matt heads to Indiana, so when he said he was planning a little getaway, I wasn't too suspicious. He kept talking about how we were going to do a big beach trip somewhere fun in January, so I thought that may be the time. I had a killer work week and didn't see or talk to him too much, so my guard was down. We enjoyed a nice dinner Friday night after work in Harrisonburg (he wasn't showing signs of nervousness at all).

The Bed and Breakfast was very impressive and we had our own little cottage complete with a fireplace, vaulted ceilings and a spa. He was very prepared and had packed everything we would need on a weekend away, water, diet coke, wine.. Once we settled in, he grabbed both of my hands and started telling me about the first time he saw me..aww). After the big question was asked and I provided the proper response, Matt brought out the champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, flowers (tulips of course)...the works.

And the ring is amazing, beautiful, more than I could have ever imagined (and so sparkly)!

We had a really relaxing weekend in Harrisonburg and managed to hit a few local spots. The B&B delivered a breakfast basket every morning to our doorstep. It was so cool. We left Sunday morning in the middle of a wonderful winter wonderland, which made for a nice backdrop for a few photo opps. Now let the planning begin...

Oh, and thanks to Cashdollar for the sweet blog tribute!

Tacky Sweaters

2007-12-12T10:50:00.000-05:00

We attended Katie and Maggie's annual Tacky Christmas Sweater Party at My Brother's place bar. Angela has declared that this is her favorite Christmas party, and it's mine too (even though it's usually my only Christmas party).

Since I always have to complicate things and be different, I went with more of a slutty outfit rather than tacky. I actually made this little Mrs. Claus outfit out of a Wet Seal dress and some Party City supplies. Matt was excited about his tacky sweater find at Macy's in the woman's department. He especially liked the built in collar and shoulder pads.

Ang's boy, Troy also got creative with his Uncle Eddie sweater (from National Lampoon's Christmas vacation) complete with a homemade turtleneck dickey. Ang and I had to convince Troy that a dickey is a real thing that women actually purchase.

Lis and Serge were too cool for tacky and came looking fashionable as usual.

It was a great night with lots of tackiness, and it was fun finding out where people dug up their sweaters. Unfortunately, our sweaters weren't special enough to win any prizes this year. We'll have to step it up next year.

Artsy Fartsy

2007-12-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

Matt and I hit the Corcoran Galley of Art last weekend because they are running exhibits of both Annie Leibovitz and Ansel Adams. We really enjoyed it, but since it was a Saturday, the place was packed. This took a little bit of the fun out of the experience. I was so surprised at how many people invaded my personal space that day. I would be staring at a photo and find someone breathing on my neck or stepping right in front of me.

I learned that in addition to his cool national park pics, Ansel also has done a lot of Americana photographs, and I love Americana so that made me like him even more. Of course Matt's favorites were Annie Leibovitz's naked Demi Moore pics. I guess it's a start at being artsy.

Thanksgiving Whirlwind

2007-11-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

Wednesday

*Joycie (Carly's mom) makes Chicken and Pink Meat for family dinner night with Big Blue, Nicole and Flauta (just in from Milwaukee)

*Cousin Alison arrives from NYC

*Angie and I prepare our "hot dishes" to get ahead of the Thanksgiving madness (CJH's broccoli casserole and 2 tons of mashed potatoes)

*Everyone goes to bed

*Alison and I hit Rira for a nightcap and stay around to make sure they close on time

Thursday

*7am wake-up for the Clarendon Turkey Trot

*8am Turkey Trot with a fun cast of characters including Marty (Carly's Dad), Angie, Cashdollar, Kirsten, Lee (his first race ever and easily beats most of us), and Alison. Matt, Big Al (his Dad), Flauta, and Flauta's mom lead the walkers with Carly and Joycie cheering from the sidelines
*Joycie has the turkey stuffed and in the oven by the time we are back from the race and sipping bellinis*Alison's friend Max rolls in from Hotlanta and brings the hot weather

*Meal preparations ensue for 14

*Aunt Janet barely makes it in time from Pittsburgh for the meal (thanks to my incorrect directions). Luckily she remembered to bring bread and CHIPPED HAM!

*Dinner is a success. A special shout out to the Camps for bringing dessert (Tina made 3 pies and Matt made peanut butter cookies topped with Reese cups)

*The favorite "t-giving hot dish" award goes to Tara's macaroni and cheese

*The group fights post turkey tryptophan by playing the most hilarious game of Guestures (charades) ever

Friday

*Shopping, of course

*Dinner at Lauirol Plaza

*Nightcaps in Arlington

Saturday

*Vineyard tour in Middleburg at Chrysalis

*Pizza and movie night (Old Blood for New Country Men)

Sunday

*Sunday service with the Camps at the National Cathedral

*Goodbyes to Camps and Leutholds

Cashdollar

2007-11-21T00:38:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Kelly!

This picture from Sly's wedding always cracks me up. I have no idea who these boys are?!

Things I love about Kelly Cash:

*She bakes amazing cookies
*She's always on time
*Her blogging humor
*She's got the best last name ever...maiden name (sorry Mike)
*She rallies for any event, party or favor (she is a great yard saler)
*Her inspirational marathon training motivation! She may be the first person I know to consider running two races in one day
*Oh and there's her friendship that dates back to Sprint programming and softball days

Some Updates

2007-11-13T01:08:00.000-05:00

Phew, I really dropped off the blog world (or is it blogshere) for a while. There are so many updates, I don't know where to begin.

Here are some basics:

*Happy Birthday today to Eileen. She is so sweet and humble about celebrating her birthday that she even sent ME a thank you card for the birthday card I sent her! We have a night out on the town planned to celebrate (conveniently located next door). She's been here several months and never had the full RiRa experience.

*Matt and I had a "happy little weekend". At his suggestion, we actually did go to DSW, Bed Bath and Beyond, and the Limited this weekend. We tried to break things up by stopping into a sports bar for lunch to get a hearty dose of football before continuing the shopping experience.

*A big congratulations to Tratox (Dtox and Tracey) on their engagement. I believe they've set the date and secured a facility in record time. Also please refer to Kelly's blog entry. There is no topping that one. I am really looking forward to this celebration. I think the big question is, will there be an ice block of some sort?

*Thanks to Ang who made a wonderful family dinner on Halloween night consisting of traditional Minnesota "hot dishes" and casseroles. I love it when she busts out the crock pot.

*Matt and I had a great time in Indiana a few weekends ago where we dropped in on his parents and celebrated Purdue's Homecoming with his college buds. However, when asked how the game was, I'm embarrassed to admit that we didn't actually see the game. I'm not even sure who won, but I finally got to participate in breakfast club. I've been hearing about this tradition ever since I met Matt. For every home game, the kids at Purdue dress up in crazy outfits and hit the bars at 7am. Our visit coincided with Halloween weekend, so the scene was especially fun. The highlight of the experience was when I was mistaken for an actual college student while in line for the ladies bathroom. I was tickled to think that I blended so well, even though we were all wearing t-shirts commemorating Matt's friend's 30th birthday. The low point of the experience was getting up at 5am to drive to Purdue after our flight was delayed.

*Congratulations to Kelly Cash Tracy and Big Blue roomie, Eileen for rocking the Marine Corps Marathon! And I'm happy to see that Kelly is keeping up her blog post race.

Spa Stories

2007-10-21T22:06:00.001-04:00

I got my nails done today at the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, thanks to a valentine's day gift certificate from Matt.

I found myself trying to entertain the nail salon lady with my nail polish story from highschool. It goes like this..

It was my senior year homecoming dance, and I had an a-line velvet dress picked out months before the dance. By the time the dance rolled around, I decided I didn't like the style anymore and wanted something more fitted. My mom (on the day of homecoming), ripped it apart and sewed it just like I wanted it, which was no easy task. To make the look complete, I had some sort of press-on nail tips that I had applied myself and painted. As good old Brian (in from Radford) was about to pick me up, I noticed I had chipped a nail, so I got the nail polish remover out.....that's where things go bad.

I dumped the bottle of nail polish remover down the front of my velvet dress, on to my cherry wood desk, and on to the carpet. Needless to say, it was a mess and the nail polish remover ruined everything it touched. It literally ate a hole through my dress. After screams, drama and tears, I managed to pull myself together and put on my dress from the previous year (I know, a major fashion no-no). My parents were very supportive (after they made me take a picture with the dress). However, I was never again allowed to use nail polish products in the house. My Dad would send me outside with newspaper any time I wanted to do my nails.

So, I tend to avoid doing my nails myself, which made Matt's gift such a treat!

Meatloaf, Meatloaf, Double Beat Loaf

2007-10-16T22:27:00.000-04:00

I made Grandma Rose's meatloaf last night. I know meatloaf gets a bad rap, but I have to say it was tasty and moist! Don't knock it until you try it.

Ingredients:
*1.5 - 2.0 of ground beef, veal, pork
*2 tsp salt (1 per pound)
*Fresh parsley
*1 large sauteed onion
*1 egg per pound
*.5 cup bread crumbs
*2 lbs carrots
*5 potatoes

Directions:
*Mix meat, salt, parsley, onion, breadcrumbs and egg
*Firm into a loaf and place in roaster
*Place peeled potatoes and carrots around loaf
*Salt and pepper veggies
*Add sauteed onion around loaf (parsley too)
*Add margarine around loaf
*Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, 325 for 60 minutes covered

Stalker

2007-10-15T12:15:00.001-04:00

I'm usually one to pay close attention to office (and especially bathroom) etiquette, but for some reason I felt compelled to TALK to somebody while I was in the ladies bathroom last week. I heard a coworker come in (while I was in a stall) and by the time I got out, she was in her stall. So, while I was washing my hands, I addressed her to talk about an e-mail she had sent me that I had not replied to yet. I just don't know what came over me. What bad etiquette!

She sent me this later that day...

Show me Sexy, Show me Surprised

2007-10-10T13:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Lis!

I know I'll probably get in trouble for posting this gem, but it is just a classic example of Lisa's entertaining presence. When she isn't making us laugh, she's running, bowling, swimming, biking, golfing and not to mention always being a supportive friend.

Rachel, Lisa and I maybe have 100 variations of this picture, but it never stops us from documenting the time any of us are together.

We had 'planned' to celebrate Lisa's birthday on Saturday at a vineyard, but Sergio suggested we shake things up for her this year. On Friday, we managed to host a surprise party at their place without her getting suspicious (i think), otherwise her acting was flawless. I am never one to be 'on time' for surprise parties, but since I was co-hosting, I made an exception. I was impressed with everyone's effort to get there before the birthday girl, because it was so nice to have a dark room full of people waiting for Lis' arrival. After being relieved her apartment wasn't getting robbed, she enjoyed her celebration.

This was Matt's first outing since getting sick with pneumonia over two weeks ago, so I was happy to see him finally acting himself (and eating saugage dip).

Sore

2007-10-08T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Army Ten Miler was brutal.

However, I would like to commend Lisa on her positive attitude yesterday morning because she has a reputation for getting cranky and confrontational before races. The last time we did the ATM, we were not speaking by the time we lined up on the start line. About 10 seconds before the gun went off, she quickly apologized and we made up. Anyway, yesterday morning was a different story, and she even greeted me with some fresh brewed coffee.

But, it was sort of ironic that Lisa lost her timing chip before we even got to the start line. She is quite the competitive tracker and had no way to find out what her race time was.

So, here are my excuses for why my performance was not stellar:

*I could not fall asleep Saturday night. It was 3am and my mind would not shut off..
*The temperature peaked yesterday at 91 with high humidity, which are not ideal conditions for hitting the pavement for ten miles.
*There was a check point this year before runners could line up at the start, and Lisa and I were forced to put our ipods in a baggage check. I NEVER run without my ipod, so my running musical sound track of the Rocky Theme and the Sound of Music was non-existent.
*I'm 30.
*Did I mention it was HOT, Africa HOT!

It was still very rewarding to cross the finish line knowing I managed to run the whole time. There were moments I ALMOST considered walking for a bit.

And thanks very much to Eileen for coming out to cheer us on!

Summer Camp

2007-10-02T00:24:00.001-04:00

For our last Big Blue outing with our dear roommie Flauta, we headed to West Virginia for kayaking, camping and hiking (I mean outlet shopping..hey it was a big outdoorsie weekend). There was so much blog material from this weekend, I never got around to posting these goodies from August.

Ang had been planning for our roommate weekend and got us all aviators during her recent visit to Korea.

We left the planning up to Ang and instead of doing a nice relaxing beer tubing tour, Ang had us all kayaking in our own little "duckies" down the Shenandoah river. I think we underestimated how hungry and cranky you can get after 4 hours of paddling and carrying the "duckie" boats up the side of a mountain to be loaded on a bus with annoying drunk tubers.

We shared some good memories sitting around the camp fire (Ang is the ultimate fire starter). We weren't roughing it too much and stayed in cute little tree houses. Of course, Big Blue had to leave its mark. I felt like this was a scene straight out of summer camp.

This picture makes me giggle.

We spent the next day touring Harper's Ferry, and instead of hiking we opted for some outlet shopping in Hagerstown. We topped the evening off at the Steele household for a wonderful dinner. They really know how to entertain, and it gave us one more opportunity to hear more of Laura's embarrassing childhood stories. So Flauta has this doll....

I think we sent Flauta off to Milwaukee with a bang and she is already kicking butt in law school. Here are a few other fun Big Blue photos.

Cramming for the ATM

2007-10-02T00:06:00.000-04:00

The Army Ten Miler is looming...it's 6 days away!

I did an 80 minute run last night so I'm hoping that will serve as adequate distance training. As I was finishing up my single digit mileage run (huffing and puffing), I thought about the new roomie (Eileen) and Kelly who are both training for the Marine Corps Marathon and felt so lame. I think Kelly even backed out of doing the ATM because it wasn't long enough of a run for her training schedule. That is hard core.

And speaking of the new roommate, she is great but I can't stop singing the "Come on Eileen" song in my head (or maybe out loud) every time I say her name. It's been 2 months...I hope this wears off.

Love, Honor, and Old Bay

2007-09-28T22:54:00.000-04:00

So I can't imagine anything cooler than a wedding on the Eastern shore with a view of the Bay Bridge and a crab theme! Allie and Scott had the cutest little wedding touches with crab chocolates and Old Bay chips in the hotel gift bags. It was a gorgeous ceremony and so much fun to be there with the Bombers, Hangovers and Sprinters. And I have to give Matt credit for snapping this postcard picture.

Luckily Kelly grabbed a shot of the bride and groom together. We talked about having a blog-off, but I think she was too busy running 15 miles this weekend.

Check out all of these handsome couples.

The Janks (Jensen Crank)

The Tracys (although I think Cashdollars sounds much better)

The Halls

The Rumfords (this is little Dale's blog debut)

And last but not least, Hraboskampskys

Dtox sent me a few more pictures...

TraTox (pronounced 'Tray Tox"..Matt corrected me)

I don't know Kyle's last name, so I have no funny name combo.

Newlyweds (but not as new as the Saymans)

Now that we're in our thirties, we need a little extra pick me up to party all night long.

Cheers to Scott and Allie! We miss you (and your crab soup).

30.5

2007-09-19T17:48:00.000-04:00

So, my buddy Cindy (former Sprint co-worker and fellow diva) and I got together for dinner last night. I haven't seen her in a while and after we were seated, I got the feeling that she had decided that it was a good time to celebrate my birthday...6 months belated, so I figure this was my half birthday. She pulled out all the stops. We ate at Coastal Flats, there was wine, amazing doughnuts disguised as bread. I almost fell off my chair when the waiter rolled up with a monster dessert with a candle in it to wish me happy birthday. Of course, I played along. Thank goodness there wasn't any signing.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cindy from one of her Halloween Parties (if you couldn't figure that out). Cindy hosts the best social gatherings.

Thank you Cindy for a wonderful evening. I really feel like I had a birthday party yesterday! And you know, payback will be forthcoming.

Popeless

2007-09-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

I had a layover in Vienna on my way home from Georgia, so I decided to take a full day and explore the city. It was another tough travel day. The flight from Georgia was at 4am, they barely let me on the plane (apparently a paper ticket does not guarantee you a seat on the plane), and it was pouring when I arrived in Vienna. I got my only outfit soaked making my way to the hotel and I was exhausted. I meant to take a quick power nap before spending my only day in the city sightseeing...but 5 hours later I realized I had overslept! I barely had enough time to hit a few museums before they closed and tried to cover as much ground as possible before it got dark. As I was walking around, I noticed there were lots of flyers everywhere with the Pope's picture, and when I was checking out one of the most impressive churches in Vienna, St. Stephen's Cathedral, it appeared like a crew was taking down a stage. I managed to put it all together and realized I had missed the Pope's presence by a few hours. DOH!

Georgia, the Country not the State

2007-09-03T17:35:00.000-04:00

This is how I had to caveat all of my conversations about my planned travels. I'm not going to lie, my initial impression of Georgia was sketchy. I did not enjoy my flight on Georgian Airlines. It was an old plane, nobody spoke English, the seats were all ripped up, and somebody kept SMOKING in the bathroom. Of course, I assumed the smoke was some sort of plane malfunction and were were all going down.

After safely arriving, I was not too bothered that my suitcase didn't show up. The folks at the USAID office warned us that lost luggage is common and it usually shows up the next day. Well, the next flight from Paris wasn't scheduled to arrive until after I was leaving Georgia, 4 days later!! So, I had one business outfit and one other casual outfit to work with. You would think shopping would have been an easy answer, but they take their fashion very seriously in Georgia, and I was barely able to find a simple shirt for about $40. Everything else in the city was reasonable, but clothes were ridiculously expensive.

The more time we explored the city, the more it grew on me. There are a lot of churches and ruins to see as well as a cute old town with outdoor cafes and live music.

On our last night in Tbilisi, my co-workers and I were scheduled to fly to Vienna at 4am, so we stayed up all night, did our last minute shopping and stumbled upon a small theater showing a traditional Georgian folk dance performance. It was the highlight of my stay in Georgia. The costumes were elaborate, the dancing intense, and the music was amazing (I actually thought they were blaring a CD until all the musicians came out on stage).

Here are a few pictures that my co-worker snapped.

Buda Pest

2007-09-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

I took about 200 pictures, so I'll just share a few here. Let me point out that there is no documentation from my travels in Tbilisi Georgia or Vienna, Austria. I had a great time traveling but didn't have the best luck with luggage or ticket counters. I need to be smarter about what I pack in my carry-on from now on (phone, camera, house keys in checked luggage that gets lost for a week is not a good idea, not to mention 5 bottles of Hungarian wine wrapped in my clothes). Remarkably, they made it back safe and sound (after I was already back in DC).

In any case, Budapest was my favorite. I learned before I left (from my Hungarian Godfather Uncle Jimmy of course) that the city is actually made up of two parts; Buda and Pest divided by the Danube River. There are bridges all over the city, and here's a pic of my favorite bridge, the Chain Bridge. They close it every weekend in the summer for pedestrians only, but I guess the weekend I was there was not considered 'summer' anymore...bummer.

This is a picture of Pest, which is where most people live and work. I have maybe 50 different pictures of this same shot because everywhere in Budapest seemed to have an amazing view of the river and city.

The pic below is from the castle district in Buda, which is the older part of city in the hills.

After our week of work was finished I got some quality time in the city by myself. I rented a bike and spent the day exploring all parts of the city. I spent some time on Margaret Island, which is a little park in the middle of the Danube (in the pic below, it's the greenery behind the bridge).

I hung out at an outdoor art exhibit of billboards that I think were political statements (I still need to get Uncle Jimmy do some translation). I enjoyed this one below because all the roommates make so much fun of me when I bust out my grandmother's meat grinder every Easter and grind up ham for ham salad (is that weird)?

I spent my last night visiting with Zsuzsa and her boyfriend Tomi. Zsuzsa (I love saying her name by the way) is a relative of Uncle Jimmy's who visited him for a couple months in Jersey about 15 years ago. During that time, Uncle Jimmy brought her to DC to hang with my parents and see the city. They still keep in touch, so when I told him I was heading to Budapest, he told me to look her up. Visiting with her was the highlight of my trip. She is adorable and showed me around the city and we had lots of fun practicing her English and helping me pronounce a few Hungarian words. They took me on a little road trip outside of the city and we had a fun traditional Hungarian meal.

So, although Uncle Jimmy has declared that Budapest is the BEST city in Europe (even though he hasn't been to Italy), I loved it and wish I could have spent more time exploring.

D4D

2007-08-31T17:10:00.000-04:00

Carly is still going strong with her non-profit dance group, Dance for a Difference. I have to admit that my attendance has waned because I just can't keep up with all those mooooooves sometimes.

This group is gaining so much popularity that a local TV station did a story on Carly and the group during one of her classes (of course I attended this class).

Here's the YouTube link. Can you pick out all of the roomies?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdHwqNLPpjQ

Rubins

2007-08-24T18:06:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the newlyweds Rubin and Steph! What a fun wedding. They threw an amazing celebration. It made me sort of want to be Jewish to do that whole chair dance thing.

The most energizing and enthusiastic dancing award goes to Justin. That guy is non-stop swing.

Matt and I barely made it to the service on time (shocker), but luckily Dtox was ready to pinch hit for Matt's reading.

The Rubins got married in Philly, so we did a little sightseeing after the big bash. The Rocky Steps and Rocky statue were a must..the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall..not so much.

We also got to see Sunil's new pad and had a great dinner together in his new neighborhood.

Timesheet

2007-08-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

My timesheet this week looks something like this:

Sunday - 6 hours
Monday - 19 hours
Tuesday - 13 hours
Wednesday - 17 hours
Thursday - 14 and still counting....

I'm heading to Budapest on Monday for work. I'm beginning to think that all of these hours weren't worth it...I just should have sprung for the airline ticket myself.

I'll be in the 'Fatherland' through Labor Day and then on to Tbilisi, Georgia for another week (the country, not the state Carly).

Thanks to Matt for making me dinner on Monday and delivering my favorite kabob & chick peas dish tonight at the office.

Scarlett

2007-08-14T16:55:00.000-04:00

My 1992 red Toyota Celica has been like part of the family. I've had her since my junior year of high school, but she was not in fact my first car. My dad bought me an old Mercury Capri with a hole in the dashboard. I'm not sure what he was thinking, but out of 30 something cars he owned during his lifetime, it was his biggest regret. The Capri was a lemon and he had to rebuild the engine soon after he bought it. I don't think I even had my license at that point and we had some fun together in the garage getting my car ready.

To sidetrack a bit more, I can't ever remember my Dad taking cars to the shop. He did all the maintenance and major repairs on all of our cars. I remember as a kid always having to help him in the garage holding a light or stepping on the brake. We took field trips in the summer to the junk yard to look for spare parts. I loved running around and searching for 'treasure' in the glove boxes of cars. My mom and I were so spoiled with him as our car man and we felt like big targets for the mechanics after he passed away. I know my anxiety level increases every time I need service.

Anyway, I don't think my parents ever felt comfortable with me driving the Capri, so they did all the research and settled on a Toyota Celica. It happened to be a little red sports car, complete with CD player and sunroof (let me remind you this was 1994). I was ecstatic! The next challenge was teaching me how to drive stick. My Dad tried a few times in the Gar-Field High School parking lot, but my gum chewing, loud cd playing, flip flop wearing teeny-bopper attitude drove him crazy. Luckily, Brian stepped in and was more successful.

I thought Scarlett was a goner in college when I got hit by a Harrisonburg transit bus. Good old cousin Jared happened to be passing through town that weekend, so I drove the roommates (Murphy and Megan) and Jared across town to a party on a cold winter night. We got run off Port Republic Road by the bus and I spent a good part of the evening in the cop car explaining what happened, while Murphy recruited witnesses (i.e. drunk college students walking by). After Scarlett was towed away, we proceeded on with the partying. Of course I was upset and the next morning I had to make the hard phone call to my Dad. Jared begged me not to mention he was in town but I let it slip. Jared didn't want to be associated with the event in any way because he knew there would be lots of teasing, jabs, and sarcasm in his future from my Dad. Scarlett was pretty banged up and my Dad made a special trip to JMU to personally work with all of the insurance and auto body people to get her back to new. He badgered the paint guy and even talked him into painting the whole car instead of just the damaged area...he had a way with car negotiating. Scarlett did end up making a full recovery, and I felt even closer with her since she kept me so safe during the bus incident.

I have held on to Scarlett through thick and thin and even though Dixie (my Mom's Toyota Highlander) is now my primary car, I still LOVE to drive Scarlett. Yeah, I get crap that I have two cars and maybe I just spent $500 to fix the radiator, but I just can't part with her yet!

Ray's

2007-08-13T16:36:00.000-04:00

Matt and I had a double date tonight with our friends from the suburbs, Dtox and Tracy. Matt was upset that they beat us to the restaurant, coming from the Cascades. Our commute to Rossyln was about 1.5 miles. Let me clarify that this was my fault because I HAD to get in a run before ingesting so much beef.

We finally checked out Ray's the Steaks and it did live up to all of the hype!

Procrastination

2007-08-08T03:47:00.000-04:00

So, I have a deliverable due tomorrow at work and I've been trying to get into it since about 3pm. I have found maybe a million other things to do between 3pm and now....12:30am. I just couldn't get into a good rhythm with writing the document. But, now that the hour has crossed over into that late night time frame, I'm in the groove! Ok, let me point out that I did take time out of my 'groove' to write this blog, but it's almost finished and I could stay up all night and produce any number of other brilliant pieces of work. There is something about the midnight hour that focuses my mind. This has been my MO for as long as I can remember.

Ok, back to work.

Wait, my sock drawer is looking a bit messy...maybe it's time for some reorganization!

Summer in Chicago Really IS Something Else

2007-08-08T00:57:00.001-04:00

After the big Asia trip cancellation, I assumed I had the whole summer to visit Rachel and Will before they move to Colorado in September. A couple of weeks ago, however, we realized that there was only one free weekend available for a Chicago visit, so I jumped on it!

I have been hearing how great Chicago is in the summer ever since I met Matt and Rachel. I do love the city but always poo poo the winter factor. But after this weekend, I am really convinced it's like a beach town in the middle of a cool city.

As with any visit to Chicago, Home of the Bears and Boyles, I was given the golden treatment. I arrived at 7am on Friday morning and since Rach was working, Sal picked me up from the airport and I borrowed Rach's Mom for the day. We had many planning e-mails about heading downtown to museums and how would we coordinate keeping my suitcase downtown for Rach to pick me up etc etc. Well, Sal and I were having such a lovely and relaxing time at their house, we just chilled. It was absolutely perfect. Although we did manage slip in a beach trip before we met up with Rach.

Even though I really want to get to know Will better, I didn't mind getting Rachel all to myself this weekend. We biked everywhere (see pic below and please note Rach's heavy duty lock), beached, went to a street festival, drank wine and most importantly, just talked. I got to see the regular cast of Chicago characters, Joe, Nana, Church friends, a cousin, and her sis Laura.

I'm really looking forward to our next visit when she and Will are settled in Denver. By then, she'll probably be outfitted in hiking boots and hemp clothes ;)

WWJD?

2007-07-31T15:44:00.000-04:00

So, I'm in church on Sunday standing along the wall and a guy who looked like he had just been on a run, wearing running shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt stood right next to me. Usually the folks standing against the wall stand the whole time, but this guy sat when everyone else sat. He then proceeded to take off each flip flop and massaged his bare feet! I have to admit that it completely distracted me. I moved before we got to the 'peace be with you' shaking hands part of mass. I guess I didn't do a very good job at loving my neighbor :(

SNS

2007-07-30T10:14:00.000-04:00

Sunday Night Syndrome

I was suffering from SNS last night. It's a very real condition that I've experienced since I was a kid. I settle down in bed, trying to get a good night's sleep for a jump on the week. Even though all of the conditions may appear to be in order for sleeping, that's when you start trying to solve the world's problems. I start thinking about what I've got to do at work that week, how I need to get my car inspected, I start running through my grocery shopping list. The internal struggle starts...I KNOW I need to relax and sleep. I try to let the sleep kick in...but then I'm tossing and can't find a comfortable position. And it creeps back in. I need to return phone calls to a few people, I have to stop in at the dry cleaner's this week, will i go to that happy hour on thursday, what should I cook for dinner tomorrow?

When I was a kid, instead of trying to fight it, I would just get up and run and around and rile my parents up on Sunday nights (trying to prolong the weekend as much as possible). My mom would be so mad...she would just be falling asleep and I would run and do a flying leap onto the bed. Ok, I did this well into adulthood too. She helped come up with the name for this disorder, and I can't help but think of her on Sundays when I can't easily fall asleep and have to say goodbye to the weekend.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

2007-07-27T16:41:00.001-04:00

Matt's off to an island in Ohio for Rubin's bachelor party this weekend with the usual cast of characters..Dtox, Justin. How is there an island in Ohio..that sounds so fishy!? Matt's already laid the ground work to warn me that phone service won't be good...

Uncle Jimmy

2007-07-26T17:02:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning to blog about Uncle Jimmy, especially since he's managed to access it. He's my Hungarian Godfather and sometimes I even forget we're not blood related. Uncle Jimmy is from New Jersey and met my Dad during college. My Dad would tell me he was one of the coolest 'cats' at Salem College and one of the first to bring bell bottoms to West Virginia. Ever since then, they were like brothers and shared many things in common (Hungarian heritage, Shop Teaching, Seafood, Beer). Even after 30 years of friendship, they could still discover new similarities and would exclaim "ANOTHER thing in common!"

(Please note his Woodbridge T-shirt. I have no idea where he got that!)

One of Uncle Jimmy's passions is music, and he's been in a band most for most of his life. He's been a part of a country western band, a gospel group, oldies band, and a duo. My parents always partied the most when he was in town and would invite Uncle Jimmy's old musician friends over to jam (Uncle Jimmy lived in Woodbrige for a few years after they graduated college before moving back to New Jersey). As a kid, I remember staying up late and always asking him to play La Bamba. I even found a bunch of his guitar picks when I was packing up the house.

Uncle Jimmy retired and moved to Myrtle Beach a few years ago with his soulmate, Sue (who once beat me in a limbo contest). I took a little road trip down south last fall to visit the Blacks and Uncle Jimmy. He's got an adorable house about 2 miles from the beach. He's got a great garden (complete with a lime tree for fresh gin and tonics..see picture below), hot tub, screened in porch, and an evening cocktail area. I have to say that it was a little bittersweet seeing his life down there because it's sort of what my parents had in mind for their retirement, but I love that he's living it out.

Before my trip, I asked him if there were any bike trails nearby, so when I arrived he had a full itinerary planned for us to explore a local park on bike. Of course, he cooked up fresh crabs and shrimp and took me out to his favorite beach spot. I've never really spent a lot of one-on-one time with him, and I think one of my favorite parts of the weekend was sitting on the back porch drinking coffee and listening to stories about my Dad.

Pretty Perfect Day

2007-07-22T09:52:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to check out the western portion of the W&OD trail that runs from Leesburg to Purcellville because that's the only stretch I hadn't biked yet. I was especially interested because of all the farm scenery! I'm not sure if everyone knows about my little obsession with wide open farm land, corn fields, John Deere tractors, silos, and anything 'Americana'. I'll chalk this one up to my Dad's influence. Whenever we were on a road trip, he would point out things and say 'That's Ameeerica', including classic hot dog stands, diners and dive bars.

It was a beautiful day in the 80's with blue skies and sunshine. I parked in a lot near the trail and biked to the very end of the line at Purcellville. The ride back was a lot faster, and I swear those spin classes are paying off because I felt like I was kicking ass (or maybe because it was mostly downhill).

After my ride, I stopped in the Mighty Midget in Leesburg for a sandwich. It's a walk-up BBQ stand that looks like a camper and has lots of personality. I topped the day off with a visit to the Leesburg outlets (after trying to make myself look presentable and get all of the bike grease off my legs).

The drive out and back from DC was also ideal...windows down, radio blaring, and farm scenery rolling by on the Greenway.

Cunningham Falls

2007-07-21T14:23:00.000-04:00

Anna was in town from Houston this week and we spent Saturday 'enjoying nature', as she says. Anna picked Cunningham Falls State Park in Maryland, and it took me a while to realize that I had been there before with my parents and Nathan. I was so proud of my mom for hiking one of the easy trails (even though my Dad had to pull her up the hill).

Anna had all of us canoeing, hiking and we even did a little rock climbing. It was quite an outdoorsie weekend.

On the way home, I enjoyed the farm scenery and felt compelled to snap a few shots of 'Ameeerica'.

Isn't it great that you can see this sort of stuff only an hour outside of DC?

Running can be Fun(ny)

2007-07-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

I have to give a shout out to a fellow blogger. In honor of Cashdollar's decision to train for the Marine Corps Marathon, she started tracking her progress and other funny commentary in 26.2 What?!

Way to go Kelly!

Still Not on Time

2007-07-18T09:18:00.000-04:00

How is it that I can get up to go to a 6am spin class but STILL get to work late?

Thanks to Kirsten and Tracy for their early morning motivation!

Screen on the Green

2007-07-16T23:39:00.000-04:00

It was opening night of Screen on the Green on the National Mall where you can lay out under the stars and catch free classic movies. Tonight's showing was 'Annie Hall' and it was pretty good, but hard to believe it beat out Star Wars for movie awards. Flauta organized a group of her co-workers and friends, and they reserved their spot 3 HOURS before the movie even started. I showed up with about 10 minutes to spare and took advantage of their key location (with just enough time to down some of Laura's homemade tabouli).

I drove a group of her buds back to Arlington and as one gal was giving me directions to her house...

Gal: I live on16th Street.
Jill: Aw, I used to live on 16th Street.
Gal: Yeah, it's off Barton.
Jill: What's the address?
Gal: 2607
Jill: NO WAY!!
Gal: WAY!

Ahh, it was a little trip down memory lane. G.J. Ghrahm (worst landlord ever), the scary basement with furniture and boxes from the last 10 renters, and late night chats sitting on the stairs with some my favorite roommates (Lis, Rach, and Murph). I'll always have a special place in my heart for Sweet Sixteenth Street.

I think the biggest bru-ha-ha we caused was the infamous St. Patrick's Day party that Murphy threw in conjunction with one of Arlington's first Shamrockfests. Murphy was all over the Irish theme and served Irish coffee and Guinness and had the place decorated with everything green. Using her creative teacher skills, she painted little green leprechaun footprints on our sidewalk leading up the tree in our front yard. It was adorable and needless to say we celebrated St. Patrick's day like any Hungarian-Polish-Czech would. Long after our hangovers were gone, the little green footprints stayed put. I guess Murph didn't use washable paint and those footprints persisted well into the summer. We were delivered a letter of complaint by the head of the homeowner's association..who happened to live next door..doh! She printed her scathing letter in the summer edition of the Lyon Village newsletter about how we 'defaced nature' and something about beer cans in the front lawn..blah blah.

We made friends another night with the neighbors on the other side of us as we rolled in at 2am on a Wednesday night after being at Rock Bottom's Dollar Beer night and then hitting the drive-thru at Dunkin Donuts (best invention ever). Our next door neighbors had recently become parents, and I guess we disturbed the baby on our way into the house. Let me point out that we weren't hanging outside, but just making the trip inside to devour doughnuts. The husband came over just fuming, pushed his way into our house and started yelling (new parents can be sort of high strung). I told him in a very calm manner 'Dude, you'll be alright'. He got a few things off his chest and reluctantly went home, but that quote has gone down in the record books. Even now when I'm stressing out, somebody will throw me that line.

So, now that Murph is in the position of new mother, I wonder if she will be as cool and understanding to her Fredvegas neighbors if a rowdy bunch of Mary Washington College students ever move in next door? Oh funny how things come full circle.

Wolftrap

2007-07-07T11:26:00.000-04:00

A bunch of us went to the Carbon Leaf and Pat Megee concert on Friday at Wolftrap. After Laura and I averted a fashion police disaster when we showed up wearing the same outfit, we were all off to the metro. We discovered that Wolftrap is metro accessible, which enabled us to have even more fun! Did you know there is a Wolftrap shuttle that runs from the West Falls Church metro station for only $5 round trip? Brilliant.

We loaded up with Italian Store subs, munchies, and beverages. Nicole and Cheryl took things up a level with their fancy cheese platter and silverware.

Big Blue new and old (i mean former) roommates were present, except for Ang...but we were thinking about her (please note her signature picture pose below).

Wolftrap is such a relaxed environment and a great place to run into friends, mingle, and sit back and enjoy some tunes.

I warned Matt not to pull a 'Giants Game' (see December 2006 blog entry), however it was me that may have had one too many glasses of vino.

Friday Fun

2007-07-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

This website is a fun time waster.http://www.myheritage.com/

You can plug in a picture and the website will tell you which clebrities you look like.

So out of this group, we've got:
Ashely = Brigit Bardot

Tracy = Julia Roberts

Me = Jennifer Love Hewitt (ew)

Kirsten = Robbin Wright Penn

Alison = Andie Macdowell

Matt was very excited to get Bon Jovi, Eddie Veddar, and Willie Nelson!?!?

Isn't it Ironic?

2007-07-04T15:23:00.000-04:00

I'm sure many of you know by now that my super exciting fabulous 40 day trip to Asia (Thailand and Cambodia) was cancelled by my esteemed government colleagues three days before I was supposed to get on the plane. After the initial shock and depression wore off, I find myself doing the "If I was in Thailand right now, I would be....."

In honor of the Fourth, Matt and I biked down to the mall. It was eerie how many roads were closed so we got to bike all over the place without any traffic. After successfully passing through several check points, we walked around the Folk Life Festival. For a couple weeks every year, the Smithsonian puts on a cultural festival in which the entire mall is covered with food tents, music and educational stuff. This year's theme included Northern Ireland, Virgina Heritage, and the Mekong regions. The Mekong showcased the cultures of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam! Who needed to travel across the world to get a taste of Thailand and Cambodia!? Everything was in my backyard. Hmpf! My passport still doesn't have the stamp.

Another Roommate Search

2007-07-03T12:34:00.000-04:00

As Laura would say....UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Our beloved roommate Laura (Flauta) is heading to Law School at Marquette and we again have to find somebody to create that special Big Blue magic. Flauta has been with us for about a year and a half and I'm just not in the mood for a new roommate! Our roommate chemistry has been so great, but I guess Law School is pretty exciting too. Big Blue has been so lucky finding roommates that turn into dear friends on craigslist (i.e. Carly, Laura, and I would also say Angela via Amanda).

I sent this posting to Laura and she indicated...
"And you forgot to mention the roomie must like to lay on rooommate's bed and talk, be open to new spanish-inspired nicknames and large holiday gatherings. ;)"

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/roo/365674546.html

Sniff.

Happy Birthday Kirsten

2007-06-27T10:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Belated Birthday to Kirsten (Kej, Jensen, Kec). Her name has so many good variations. I struggle with what to call her now that she is a Crank. Are Jensen-related nicknames still appropriate?

Here are a few fun pics, however, I started noticing a pattern in some of the photo albums...she seems to take better pics with Matt.

Ok, here's a few more...

Lee's famous Halloween party

Jensen/Crank Wedding

Oh, there's the hubby!

Wild and Wonderful..

2007-06-23T12:44:00.000-04:00

West Virginia.

Matt and I hit Harper's Ferry on Saturday to immerse ourselves in nature, do some outdoor activities and enjoy our wild and wonderful neighboring state.

I made some quick reservations at a local favorite hotel called the Hilltop Hotel. The exterior was questionable but the place was swarming with tourists, especially due to the amazing view. We figured the place must be great (note the foreshadowing). We didn't check-in but parked, unloaded our bikes, and picked up the nearby C&O canal bike trail.
It was a perfect sunny summer day with low humidity, and we followed the trail all the way to Shepherdstown. We grabbed lunch, did some wine tasting and window shopping before turning back to Harper's Ferry.

Please note that Matt is too cool to wear a helmet.

Matt's favorite part of the day...resting. After our long 30 miles, we took a nap on these rocks in the middle of the beautiful Shenandoah river.

Once we got back to the car, we were anxious to check-in, shower and grab some dinner at a local restaurant. The woman working the desk indicated that she was giving us a 'good' room. I guess in West VA, 'good' means holes in the wall, stains on the furniture, and dorm room beds. We spent about 10 minutes trying to come up with a story to get out of staying there since we had already paid. After deciding against the emergency story and the bug story (even though I'm SURE there were bugs in that room), Matt laid it on thick about how it was our anniversary and we were expecting something else. That seemed to do the trick and the woman completely understood and gave us a full refund!

We drove back to DC through Leesburg and ate at a cute restaurant (recommended by Leesburg alum, Coletrain). We changed out of our bike gear in the parking lot and tried to make ourselves as presentable as possible. It was the perfect wrap-up to our day of adventure on the rivah.

Gadget Gal

2007-06-20T22:19:00.000-04:00

I find that usually at any given time either my cell phone, ipod or camera is dead. I just can't seem to keep all of these charged at once. Is this a sign that I am losing my jump on the digital wave? Am I going to be one of those people that doesn't know how to work common appliances and end up paralysed by technology?

Sold!

2007-06-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

Yes, 13259 Fallen Leaf Court is no longer mine. Settlement was a bittersweet process but I'm glad it's finally over. It was grueling to the last minute with a scare at closing that the new family was going to back out because of financing issues. Handing over the keys and explaining some of the ins-and-outs of the house was tough, but I think they are very excited about living there.

I think this was one of my favorite spots at the house.

Anna Virginia

2007-06-02T12:28:00.000-04:00

Murph and Thomas have a daughter! Anna Virginia was born on May 24, 2007. Rachel and I paid them a visit this past weekend. They are taking to parenthood so well and I'm excited to see this little gal grow!

Contract

2007-05-30T13:21:00.000-04:00

The day before I left for Peru, I found out that there had been an offer made on the house! My real estate agents braced me for the news that I would need to counter the offer. Luckily we were able to meet that night to discuss and respond. I countered with the selling price (I didn't realize you could hold your ground like that!) After a lot of back and forth during my Peru trip, the family accepted the terms of the contract. I had to give a little on the closing costs as well as hand over the grill and a wooden glider that the family requested. It was tough parting with those items but my real estate agents indicated that I was lucky to have a contract.

Machu Picchu

2007-05-27T17:17:00.000-04:00

So let me start this by saying I feel lame that I had to see Machu Picchu via train and not by hiking the famous Inca Trail. I was so envious of all of the backpackers I saw during my trip and was wishing I could join my brave roommates during their four day trek. Due to the government's great scheduling of my trip and the fact that you have to book the trail about 4 months in advance , I had to take the ultra-tourist train ride to see Machu Picchu. But it was still quite an experience and well worth the time and effort getting to Cusco. The train left at 6am sharp and my travel coordinator, Julio, was at my hotel at 5:45 to shuttle me to the train station.

I sat by a friendly Chilean who helped me work on my Spanish and made fun of the way I enunciated 'grassyass'.

This is the closest I got to hiking the Inca Trail.

This is the first view of Machu Picchu up above the valley.

I was in another organized tour group and quickly discovered that they were a slow moving bunch. I stayed with them for a while, but was itching to go off and explore on my own. I had read in my travel book that a side hike up a nearby mountain was optional, took about 2 hours to complete, and had the most spectacular view of Machu Picchu. I saw this as my opportunity to finally do some hiking, so I ditched the tour and headed for the mountain (the tour guide wasn't that informative anyway). Please note the mountain mentioned is the big one behind me, to the right.

Needless to say, my visions of having a cool hiking experience in Peru were crushed when the monitor at the base of the mountain told me they only let 400 people in per day and that they had already reached their maximum. I tried several different techniques to sway him...the pathetic whine.."I came all the way from Washington", the flirty "Oh, come on please...just one more", and finally I bribed him. No dice. I certainly wasn't going to go back and find my tour group, so I spent the rest of my time exploring. It was truly a unique experience and still a very challenging workout going through all of the ruins.

Cusco

2007-05-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

I set out for Cusco, Peru from Quito, Ecuador on Friday night after saying farewell to my coworkers. I was surprised that they were not interested in spending the weekend in Latin America, so I was on my own for the long weekend. I hastily booked a Cusco/Machu Picchu travel package through the USAID mission but was a little unsure how it was all going to come together. After a long layover in Lima, I arrived in Cusco at 7am on Saturday morning. Julio met me at the airport and he was basically my personal travel coordinator for the rest of the weekend, responsible for making sure I got from place to place. After arriving at my hotel, Casa Andina, I took a quick rest, drank the famous cocoa tea to help with the elevation, and was off on an organized tour of the city.

I learned that I'm not really much of a 'tour person', but it was still really beneficial to learn about the Inca history and culture. It made me a little crazy spending so much time inside the churches when it was a gorgeous day outside. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and opinionated about the the 'integration' of Spanish and Incan culture. He pointed out that initially the Incas were excited about the Spaniards and Christianity because they looked like the Incan gods they worshipped, but they later became skeptical of their practices. The Spaniards demolished the most religious Incan temple in Cusco to build this Cathedral in it's place Inside, there was an interesting depiction of The Last Supper that had the sacred guinea pig on the table as part of their meal!

(Rachel, I did tip these indigenous ladies for letting me take their picture ;)

We finally got to do some outdoor activities and the tour took us to Sacsayhuaman (sort of pronounced 'sexy woman'). These are Incan ruins right outside of Cusco used for religious ceremonies, but not nearly as intact as the ruins of Machu Pichhu. Every year during the solstice on June 24th, they have a celebration of the Incan Sun God in this area.

We stopped to see the Incan equivalent of the fountain of youth at Tambomachay. This site is believed to have been used for communication and defense purposes.

I met some interesting people during the tour: a gal that had quit her job at a winery in Sonoma to live in Peru for a couple months, a mother and daughter celebrating college graduation, and two buddies about to hike the Inca Trail. We all got together for dinner after the tour in Cusco and ate traditional meals of alpaca and guinea pig!

Quito, Ecuador

2007-05-24T16:27:00.000-04:00

I was only in Quito for two days but really enjoyed my visit and got to see some fun sights. A guy from the USAID mission took us on an evening walking tour of the old city. I especially liked this pic because of the palm tree on the top of the building and the purple lights!

Friday, May 25 was a holiday celebrating the Battle of Pichincha, an important win for Ecuador in the battle for independence from Spain. I was excited to have a free day and our point of contact at the mission (Luisa) spent her holiday taking us around to some of Quito's popular sights. We started the day at the Teleferico. It is a cable car ride up into the clouds of the Andes mountains with spectacular views of Quito and volcanoes. The height is about 10,000 feet so it was tough to catch your breath hiking around at the top.

Our next stop was an active volcano crater about 20 minutes outside of Quito. It hasn't erupted in many years, so people have settled inside the crater.

We also made a stop at the Equator, which is a bit like a tourist trap because the area has replicated the town of Quito on a smaller scale. There was entertainment in the square in celebration of the holiday. The big attraction is the Equator Line at 000 latitude!

We finished the day off by grabbing empanadas at a roadside stand. I would never have stopped here on my own but they were tasty.

Happy Birthday Angie Pants

2007-05-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my friend Ang who knows every picture taken at Big Blue may become blog material. Ang has a heart of gold, sweet dance moves, will rally and support anything that is important to her friends and is so photogenic! She is also a good sport....on the volleyball court and when we make fun of her Minnesota accent, 'doncha know.' We have shared countless memories and I have come to truly treasure our friendship.

Big Hugs to you on your Birthday!

For Sale

2007-05-02T17:40:00.000-04:00

Well, after two years of stressing, packing, cleaning, calling contractors, making trips to the dump, worrying, interviewing real estate agents, discussing the 'market', selling things on craigslist, cleaning up after contractors, complaining, deliberating on what to keep........my house is finally on the market! This is a quite a milestone for me, and now I just hope I can get a buyer!

As always, thanks to my wonderful friends who are always willing to listen to me vent or lend a helping hand.

Check out the listing:
http://hagan4homes.com/DispListing.asp?ListingID=99169&amp;amp;AdminID=1094&PropertyType=A&BuyerID=

It's Not a Boy

2007-04-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

Murphy had a 'surprise' baby shower this weekend. I don't even know why the Murphy family tries to surprise her because she can smell a surprise weeks away.

I was running right on time for this event until I hit Babies R Us. This place can be sort of painful. The gift registry machine was not working and then their credit card system when down, so I stormed out, went to Target, and was out in about 7 minutes. On my way to the Muphy house, I glanced in my rear view mirror and noticed that Thomas and Murphy were RIGHT BEHIND me. I turned off immediately panicking that I has ruined the surprise. Who was I kidding? I later found out that the beans had been spilled several times over, and I'm sure Murph was on to the plan before they had even finalized the details.

Murphy is due in May and I am anxious to meet this bundle of joy!

Ang, this one's for you!

2007-04-17T11:31:00.000-04:00

This damn TV tray is always around. Ang picked it up in the street after it fell off a truck. Who does that?!? This TV tray has become quite a conversation piece and there are clearly differing opinions in Big Blue about it. Carly and Ang love it, and use it frequently. I am not a fan and try to 'put it out of sight' at every opportunity. Laura, however, refuses to weigh in but I'm convinced she's just being nice and doesn't want to offend anybody.

Carly named her 'Rose' last night so I guess she is really becoming a permanent fixture.

How Four Girls Pack for Miami

2007-04-13T11:35:00.000-04:00

Jill: Who's not packed yet? Me! I'm such a bad packer. I seem to have hoochie and boring....nothing in the middle! I expect that you all have sunscreen with a SPF of at least 15 right?

Tracy: I'm not fully packed yet - I'm bad at that too. I really seem to not have many summer clothes. Jill - I have my sunscreen and sunglasses already packed!

Ash: I brought a ridiculous amount of clothing for any situation we might be in - beach, shopping, going out, dinner, ice cream... I will need to change clothes several times a day to wear everything, which I plan on doing. :-) You can borrow anything you want - I have us all covered, including accessories. I am SUCH a girl, it scares me sometimes.

KEC: Ash, I have to admit that I was planning to scam on your accessories while we're there. :)

Jill: and are mini-jean skirts still in? i am struggling with bottoms...capris??? i DO have tank tops though...tank TOPS!

Tracy: Mini jean skirts are def. still in - you should bring that. I am struggling with bottoms too.

KEC: My "hoochie" skirt is a casual mini jean skirt. I've got capriish stuff for bottoms. It's a struggle.

Ash: PS- I definitely took into account that we'll be in Miami and tried to pack things I would never 'normally' wear - aka hoochie.

KEC: You all may think I'm a tool, but I did bring running clothes. Anyone else? I have a MUCH higher chance of using them if someone else packed them as well.

Ash: I assumed you guys would bring running stuff. :-) I packed one pair of shorts and pumas for beach running. They were smaller than running shoes, but I won't really be able to run on the street.

Our flight leaves at 5:35......

Bokey and Jeannie

2007-04-12T15:12:00.000-04:00

My parents would have been married 38 YEARS today! They met when they were 12 at the Clairton Park Ice Skating rink, and I believe my Mom was dunski at that moment. They got married after my Dad graduated from Salem college in West Virginia and moved to the hoodbridge (only for a short time they thought) where my Dad accepted an Industrial Arts (a.k.a. Shop, Tech Ed) teaching job at Rippon Middle School. I remember my Mom saying that she had been saving up for their bedroom set while she was at Robert Morris Junior College in Pittsburgh (yes, I did sell it...it was just so ugly). My parents certainly had differences but I admire that they stood by one another through all of those years and grew so much together.

Second Annual Easter EGGstravaganza

2007-04-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

I honestly don't know how Big Blue pulled off an Easter dinner party for 22 peeps! The execution was seamless, especially with everyone bringing something yummy to share.

Thank you to everyone who made the holiday so enjoyable. We had many special guests including Carly's parents all the way from San Diego, my Aunt Janet from Pittsburgh, my cousin Alison from Miami, Laura's parents from CP, and Ang's great Aunt Mavis (and all you locals are special too)! It was so nice to be surrounded by family and friends.Ang ran point on the blender again and her mimosas had a tasty pineapple flare!

I was also pretty impressed with the clean up. As my Dad always said when it was 'clean-up time' in his shop..."If everyone helps, the job goes quicker." That saying has been ingrained on my brain, and I can't help but repeat it every time I see us all working together.

Sunil learned the word 'pastel' on Easter. Look at these Easter bunny cuties!

Swinging into Matt's Thirties

2007-04-03T01:20:00.000-04:00

It was tough to follow a raging party and whirlwind trip to NYC for celebrating Matt's 31st birthday. We went with a golf theme this year and tried out Top Golf in Alexandria. It is basically driving range meets bowling alley meets bar. After reading about it on the website, taking the online tutorial, and asking the lady at the front desk how to 'play', our group of 6 college graduates could not figure it out. However, once we got some personalized assistance, it was a lot of fun to compete against one another. By the end of the night (and a few beers later), we finally got the hang of it! Sunil declared himself the worst golfer before we left, however, I think I actually earned the title. Team Crank was strong and Mike Tracey kept the competition intense by going for the longest targets. We topped the night off at a local watering hole where Matt's friends showed their birthday support.

I Heart NYC

2007-04-01T01:17:00.000-04:00

"They say the neon lights are bright on BROADWAY."

Matt surprised me with a trip to NYC for my birthday. It was a whirlwind and he did such an amazing job coordinating the weekend and making it so special.

Did I also mention that I met Sly?

Matt and I were on the constant lookout for stars. I was convinced that we saw Lenny Kravitz at a bar but after following him around for a while, I concluded that he was pretty lame and probably not Lenny (and he if was really Lenny, he was a big dork and I wouldn't want to hang out with him anyway).

Margaritajill

2007-03-31T00:30:00.000-04:00

Margaritajill (lyrics may be sound familar but don't rhyme as well as Jimmy's version)

Livin' at Big Blue,
Watchin' roommates come through;
All of those ladies, they are so loyal.
Lovin' our fun flings, dancin' and singin'
See those burbs,
They make me recoil!

Come get wasted today in Margaritajill
Hopin' for my twenties to halt.
Some people say that being 30 is lame,
But I know, it won't be my fault.

Don't know the reason,
Rented all season
With nothing to show but a (possible) trip to Peru.
But it's a fun duty,
A world traveling cutie, how I'll get on the flight,
I haven't a clue!

Come get wasted today in Margaritajill
Hopin' for my twenties to halt.
Some people say that being 30 is lame,
But I know, it won't be my fault.

I still like to bar hop,Wearin' my tube top,
Gotta get real and work in the morn
But there's a crew in the livin' room,
Watchin' the boob tube,
That American Idol makes me hang on!

Come get wasted today in Margaritajill
Hopin' for my twenties to halt.
Some people say that being 30 is lame,
But I know, it won't be my fault.

Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate this milestone. There is nothing better than being surrounded by all of my friends

*Ang, you are the best margarita maker and bartender this side of Garfield Street.
*Matt, your planning, coordination and creativity were much appreciated. And, your cupcakes (the second batch WITH butter) were so tasty.
*Lis, the party would not have been complete without the PINATA!
*Car and Rita, thanks for all of your help with pre and post party chores.
*Murph, thank you for making the trip from FredVegas. You are the cutest pregnant chick ever!

St. Pat's

2007-03-23T15:17:00.000-04:00

Before (Saturday Night - next door at RiRa):

After (Sunday Morning at the St. Pat's 8K):

Laura * Lauda * Flauta

2007-03-21T17:22:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday!

Even though this was Laura's Halloween costume, I think she should sport this sassy look more often! Laura hits a 1/4 century milestone today, and I know she is especially looking forward to lower car rental rates. We'll see you tonight to celebrate at Iota.

Lenten Rules

2007-03-19T15:23:00.000-04:00

According to Carly, our Designated Lenten Exception Representative, it is ok to break your Lenten Promise under the following circumstances:

*It's your birthday
*It's your roommate's birthday
*It's a special occasion (i.e. dinner at your roommate's parent's house)
*It's St. Patrick's day, and a hot guy at a bar buys you a drink (or any guy)
*It's the weekend of St. Patrick's day
*It's your vacation
*It's Sunday (I disagree with this one...it's a cop out and only applies to kids, Laura)

Please let me know if I've missed any.

I would also like to give a shout out to my friends who aren't Catholic but join in on the Lenten fun of sacrificing their favorite things during the Easter Season.

*Please note that the exceptions listed above are not recognized by the Catholic Church and in no way represent the views of the blog owner.

I will probably need to say 10 Hail Mary's for this posting.

My Cousin is Finally Catching Me

2007-03-16T14:58:00.000-04:00

Can you tell who is older?
Hee Hee Snort.

Happy Birthday Alison!

Get Real

2007-03-15T17:20:00.000-04:00

I approached the process of picking a real estate agent with a mix between a job interview and a date. I didn't have a lot of references for agents specializing in the hoodbridge area, so there was no initial easy choice. I was intent on finding somebody that was a 'good fit', successful in their career but not too pushy or aggressive, and someone that would be sensitive to my special needs. After meeting with three potential agents, I think my qualifications got a little more realistic. I settled on a married couple from Pennsylvania that has been in the business for 22 years. They actually did meet all of my requirements. The only thing that I raise an eyebrow at is their marketing strategy. I hope that potential home buyers don't think I'm in the wine business. Check out their website. http://hagan4homes.com/default.asp

Mean Jeans

2007-03-13T13:28:00.000-04:00

So I was doing a little closet purging last night and came across a couple pairs of jeans that I haven't worn in several years. These used to be my 'go to' jeans, and I put them on....HOLY COW they looked so ugly! How is that possible? I know styles change but I can't believe I was ever caught wearing these in public!?

CJH

2007-03-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

CJH with her Caribbean Dining Room.

I'm in the Best Book Club

2007-03-07T15:42:00.000-05:00

If I would have known how much fun book clubs could be, I would have starting reading a long time ago!

Big Blue hosted this month's meeting and it was a 4.5 hour affair! Here's a breakdown of the agenda:

*Snacking on tasty treats (all through out)
*Discussing the book (30 min)
*Picking the next book (30 min)
*Celebrity gossip (1 hour)
*Girlfriend catch-up (2.5 hours)

We are on our way to reading 3 books in 3 months....so far so good.

TMI

2007-03-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

So, I have been going to the same dentist since I was about three in the hoodbridge. For some reason, I actually get up early to haul it down to the hood before work. I guess I like the idea of the familiar family service.

Dr. D's MO is that he usually tells a joke before getting down to business. Well, when I was a kid, these were cute stupid jokes of course. But, I'll never forget the day he decided I was an adult and gave me the dirty joke (reserved for adult audiences). So weird. The transition must be equally awkward for adults...do they feel uncomfortable spilling the dirt about things I am just not ready to hear?

I just realized I'm writing this like I'm still 18 or something. Have I ever done that to someone? Maybe it's an aging thing..like you don't really start noticing hair growing out of your ears, or you are no longer afraid to complain to the waitress about the undercooked hamburger, or when you start sharing too much about your health history with the neighbor kid?! "Hey, I've got this thing on my foot...."

Beginning of the End

2007-03-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

So just realized that it's only a matter of DAYS before the end of my twenties. I've always been able to round up and say months...but now it's the beginning of the end. Holy crap...and what I mean by that is that I'm so excited.

Reasons to look forward to being 30:
*Being more respected professionally (ha, not a chance).
*????

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Whoops

2007-02-24T09:56:00.000-05:00

*Old furniture posted on Craigslist: $15

*Sold to college kid: $10

*Realizing you made a mistake and buying it back: $20

*Getting back an entertainment center made by my Dad: priceless

Fat Tuesday

2007-02-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

There is something so exciting and thrilling about the possibility of catching a 10 cent strand of beads thrown from a float (or is it just me)? Matt and I hung out on Wilson Boulevard for the annual Clarendon Mardi Gras parade Tuesday night. I set out to just be a spectator and let the kids catch all of the beads. Well, there is an internal switch that gets flipped at the sight of marching bands, colorful floats and BEADS!! It was ON! I HAD to have them!

Multiply this excitement by 100 and you've got Mardi Gras in New Orleans. My first year out of college Murphy and I decided we had to experience Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. We went with an interesting group of characters from my early Sprint days. It was pure chaos and there is nothing that quite compares. It was impossible to make your way down Bourbon Street without being squished in a wall of people. We ended up with so many beads by the end of the night, our necks were sore (and no, we didn't earn them all). It was certainly a wild weekend and I don't know that I could do it again, now that I'm approaching my thirties ;)

Not to Brag, BUT

2007-02-17T10:43:00.000-05:00

I had my all-time high bowling score of 157 on Friday night!

I think it was the most fun I've ever had at a bowling alley....DJ, good friends, disco lights, pitchers of beer, and some sweet competition.

Upon Kirsten's suggestion, we randomly picked a partner for a friendly c0uples competition and set the stakes at dinner. I was paired with the Crank (who also bowled 157 his first game). Lee immediately named our team "Hotdogs" after reading my recent blog entry and knowing that we share an affection for them. The 'Strikers' consisted of Matt and Ashley. I don't think the other teams had names, and the "Hotdogs" and "Strikers" conveniently ended up in a tie for first place.

Unfortunately, the bowling alley closed and we got kicked out before we were able to do a bowl off. I don't think I've ever shut down a bowling alley.

A few other things worth mentioning:

*I beat Matt.
*Ashley finally beat Chad at a sport!
*Elizabeth gets the slowest and most accurate roll superlative.
*I beat Matt.
*Thanks to Sara and Jaime for organizing, and we'll have to do it again soon when everyone can attend.

And we still need to determine when the winners dinner will be!

The Search

2007-02-15T11:14:00.000-05:00

For some reason I am always on the lookout for cool hot dog spots. I am not sure when this search began, but I think it had something to do with my Dad's appreciation of Americana (and he also just liked a good dog). The experience of finding a dive and some true Americana along the way left a big impression on me. Whenever we were going anywhere, he seemed to have a knack for discovering a cool diner or vintage restaurant. I like to think that I carry on this tradition.

(Hot dog stand on the boardwalk in Atlantic City discovered during Murphy's bachelorette party).

I first became friendly at JMU with a local restaurant, Jess' Quick Lunch. The chili dogs are great and of course I took my Dad there the first time my parents came to visit.

I remember a great hot dog shop we found in Myrtle Beach called Sam's Corner. I think their secret is a two-fold preparation process...grilling and deep frying. My Dad and I slipped in there one late night for a beer and a dog at 2am after my mom had turned in early. We shared some special father-daughter bonding moments...and probably talked about how I needed to be more careful out alone and when was I going to declare a major.

I have to say one of my favorite hot dog places is Sheez. Of course the dining experience is not anything special, but their dogs are top notch. My favorite is a dog topped with nacho cheese and diced tomatoes.

Rachel and I found a cool hot dog stand when we were celebrating our triathlon accomplishment on Bourbon Street. After watching the vendor not use gloves and pick his ear, I decided to pass on that Americana experience. But of course, I grabbed a picture.

(Lucky Dog not so lucky in N'Orleans)

My Dad found this old-fashioned car-hop restaurant near my Aunt's house in South Carolina called 'Sno Caps'. This was a must-do every time we visited.

Hot dogs can be consumed at any time! This picture was taken about 5 minutes after a wedding ceremony in Pittsburgh. The hot dog shop was conveniently located across the street from the church.

And, I finally had the Chicago dog experience after hearing a lot about it from Rachel. It was good, but they put a ton of toppings on those pups!

(Look at all of those veggies!)

Most recently I heard (from several people) about a new dog shop opening in Adam's Morgan, M’Dawg Haute Dogs. I can't wait to check it out!

V-Day

2007-02-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

I'll admit, I might have put a little pressure on Matt to come through with some Valentine's Day plans, but he certainly exceeded my expectations.

I was a little nervous when Matt told me he was cooking salmon. He doesn't really eat fish, let alone COOK fish! But when he pulled it out of the oven, it looked like a gourmet dish complete with a tasty marinade, spices, and veggies! He paired the meal with a lovely Pinot Noir and there were candles, flowers, dessert and even diet coke. What a great evening and it was without a doubt the best salmon I've had (I'm going to need that recipe).

Thanks to Matt for making the evening so special.

Kolby and Clara

2007-02-08T18:49:00.000-05:00

Congrats to my cousin Mistie and her husband Dan on the new addition to their family. Kolby Daniel was born on February 8.

And later that day, Ryan and Josie welcomed their daughter Clara Josephine!

It was a good day for bebies!

Veinte Ocho

2007-02-08T01:44:00.000-05:00

Cumpleanos Feliz to my pal Rachie.
I was looking for a pic to post and ended up spending about an hour looking back through all of my pics and our adventures, specifically the triathlon road trip. It would be hard to pick one pic, so I thought I would list some of my favorite memories and why I'm a big fan....

*Teaching me how to swim (and then bragging about how quick I learned). You'll notice in the picture above, Rachel is holding her plaque from the triathlon where she placed 3rd in her age group.

*Being back-up dancers in Memphis.

*Late Wendesday nights at Rock Bottom.

* Sitting on my bed for late night chats at sweet 16th street when we first became roommates. .

*Holiday celebrations like my Mom's Caribbean Thanksgiving, pictured here.

*Dancing like a nutball anytime we heard Enrique's "Escape".

*Finally visiting Chicago and meeting Rach's amazing network of friends and family.

*Always stirring things up when we all go out on the town.

-Miss you Rachie! Enjoy your birthday celebration and know that I am thinking about you and wishing Icould have a brew with you tonight.

Dance for a Difference on Ice!

2007-02-07T01:06:00.000-05:00

There was a special Dance for a Difference class tonight at the ice rink downtown in Pershing Park. We were lucky enough to have the whole rink to ourselves since it was too cold for anyone else to be out! Our instructor was Ice Skater Extrodonaire, Coach and Roommate, Laura Steele. She was a wiz on ice and we all learned so much....swizzles, bunny hops, and spins!

We got some beautiful sparkling snow tonight and it was the perfect end to a fun winter evening. There is something about snow that makes it seem not as cold to be outside, and I even took at midnight stroll around Clarendon to soak it all up. I am just bummed that I haven't been able to take my plastic toboggan out for a spin this season.

Kate the Great

2007-02-04T12:43:00.000-05:00

Kate, Jill and Michelle

Matt and I helped my friend from college Kate celebrate her 30th birthday last weekend in Richmond. Kate and I met through the co-ed business fraternity we both joined to 'build our resume.' Delta Sigma Pi, Delta Schmack, or as I prefer Delta Sigma Poop is a 'professional fraternity created to foster the study of business in universities.....'
There was a lot of memorizing, drinking, hazing (yes I know, it's weird but true), and we called each other brothers (even if we were talking about girls). It ended up being more than a resume builder and I met a lot of great friends.

Kate and I landed in several Marketing classes together and managed to get into each other's group projects (always along with one or two slackers). We had quite a chemistry working together and spent many nights up til 3am rewriting all of the crap that our slacker group members came up with and making fun of their poor grammar. We even flunked one group member who didn't do any work or come to meetings (he had to take the class again and wasn't too friendly after that). We would get so inspired writing marketing plans and case studies and reading each other minds about how to describe widgets.

Kate is now a big whig at an advertising agency and married her Delta Schmack brother. She has been such an amazing support for me over the last several years and I'm thankful to have her friendship.

-Thanks so much to Kate and Richard for a hospitable stay on the 'rivah' and for including us in your fun celebration!

Everyone's Got One

2007-02-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

There's TomKat, Bennifer, Vaughniston..

So, Matt and I decided that our couple name is Hcampsky (ok, I decided).

Happy Birthday Rummy!

2007-02-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

It's not so bad being over thirty is it?

I love Rocky

2007-01-27T00:35:00.000-05:00

I know this is a little late since 'Rocky Balboa' has been out in the theaters now for over a month. Yes, I tried to go opening night, but it didn't work out. I just would like to go on record as saying I loved it and might have shed a tear or two. I love Rocky. I love that he ended the cold war in Rocky IV. And I love that the underdog came back to make another movie after the not so great Rocky V.

I have always been a fan. I started jogging around the neighborhood when I was a kid after watching Rocky II for the first time; specifically the scene when the town starts running with him (and before it was cool for kids to jog for exercise). I have been to Philly and run up the 'Rocky steps'. I have the 'Gonna Fly Now' song on my ipod....

I do encourage everyone to go and see the final chapter to this great American story!

So Long, Farewell

2007-01-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Holly Hobby sleeping bag...
Goodbye high school homecoming dress..
Goodbye textbooks I kept from college that I thought I would reference again...
Goodbye TV with an antenna...
Goodbye brass knick knacks...

So the Vietnam Vets of America organization is coming to the house tomorrow for a donation pickup. Lupus does these too. Basically you set all of your unwanted crap outside of your house and they come get it and leave a tax receipt. It doesn't get any easier than that!

I have to admit the Holly Hobby sleeping bag was the toughest to part with and the item most debated. It was a present from Aunt Janet, and I think I slept in it more than a normal kid would use a sleeping bag. I sure hope it's not a collector's item.

How Many Girls Does it Take to Change a Tire?

2007-01-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

Four.

One to locate all of the equipment.
One to read the user's manual.
One to exhaust herself cranking the jack.
One to thank the good Samaritans from Harrisonburg for helping to loosen the lug nuts.

Isn't lug nut such a funny word? I stopped by a gas station after we changed the tire to ask for help..."Can you tighten my lug nuts?" I couldn't help but giggle.

Thanks to Carly, Laura and Ali for your support and assistance with this monumental accomplishment!

Shots for Sunil

2007-01-13T00:11:00.000-05:00

Sunil drew quite a crowd to celebrate his birthday this weekend. I don't know how he was able to manage Lauriol Plaza and late night Adam's Morgan pizza! And just to settle a little debate from earlier in the week that he had with Lisa, he sent this link to indicate that he is in fact Indian and Asian. www.indiansareasian.com/main.html

It was also great to have Johnson in town from Chicago!

New Years Resolutions

2007-01-01T23:24:00.000-05:00

1. Update my Blog regularly
2. Wear more nail polish (this was inspired by Kirsten's wear more lipstick)
3. Stay in better touch with family and friends (Yes Jared, this means answering the phone)
4. Sell my house

Many thanks to Ashley and Chad for hosting a fabulous New Year's Eve!

(Note Kirsten is already doing well with her resolution)

Football Fans

2006-12-31T23:57:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year my Aunt Janet treated me to my first NFL game on Christmas eve, which happens to be my favorite team...the Stillers! What a great present, even though they lost to the Ravens. My Aunt and Cousin are die-hard fans, so I had to take my cues from them. We geared up at the Strip, swung terrible towells and cheered for Benny Burger and Palomalu.

Later that week, I attended the second football game of my life. Even though Matt and I are not true Giants fans, we humored Dtox and modeled his closet of Giants jerseys. I didn't realize what a reaction this would create from Redskins fans. It seemed necessary for everyone to comment on our attire. It was also tough to ignore the stake burning of a Shockey jersey at the tailgate when I was in line for the porta-pottey...wearing a Shockey jersey. Overall, the game was rowdy mostly due to Matt's transformation into a Giants fan, which was directly proportional to the number of beers consumed. The evening was topped with a stabbing a few feet away from where we were parked. What a different experience from good old Pittsburgh.