Tuesday Top Ten

I missed last week's top 10 since I was in NYC for work. Today I'm home sick, so I have plenty of time to do it! Here are 10 little things I'm grateful for today...

1. Since tomorrow is Rob's birthday, today I'm most thankful for my in-laws, who are responsible for his wacky self!
2. Tomorrow is also my brother's birthday, which reminds me to be thankful for my own family.
3. Sinus medication. I've been taking my fill since yesterday, but I'm wondering now if it's allergies acting up. We went out for a walk and I could barely breath. When did I get allergies???
4. Rachael Ray magazine, Paula Deen magazine, Wegman's magazine... I caught up on all of my recipes today since I was home.
5. Rob making our dinner tonight and cleaning up. I was sacked out on the couch. :)
6. The Wicked soundtrack. It came yesterday and I love it.
7. As always, my crazy kitty. She will sit on anything new that appears. If I laid a tissue on the floor, she'd go sit on it. She's currently sitting on the USPS box with Rob's b-day present in it, from my parents. She claimed it as her spot as soon as I set it down. She's a nut.
8. Band-aids. I cut my finger slicing potatoes on Sunday and I have a whopper of a blister on my heel. Band-aids are the only things holding me together.
9. New baby! My friend Heather had their second baby last week and I'm hoping to visit them soon. I'm thankful for a healthy baby for their growing family.
10. Sugar-free fruit popsicles!

Hope you have a great week!

I Swallowed a Frog

Saturday afternoon, my throat started to feel scratchy. By the time we got up for church yesterday, it was flat-out sore and my voice was on its way out. This morning = no voice.

I headed to work anyway, since I really didn't feel that bad. All day long I sounded either like I'd been smoking for 20 years or something was stuck in my throat. I could barely eek out a word. By about 2 p.m., I started to feel as bad as I sounded and was ready to head home, but needed to wrap up a quick meeting before I left. I finally headed home around 4:30 p.m.

Rob and I have been walking every night after work, and I still managed to do our 1.25 miles, although I think my pace was a little off.

I've been pumping myself full of sinus and throat medication, so here's to hoping that I wake up tomorrow feeling better!

Back from NYC

I spent Tuesday-Friday last week in New York City for a conference my company hosted. I always love the city, and although being there for work meant less free time, I still managed to squeeze in some fun!

Tuesday evening, a co-worker and I walked to check out the site of a dinner that night (we weren't going but wanted to make sure the set-up was okay) at The Modern, a very swanky restaurant in the MoMA. What an awesome place. We had a drink at the bar (a yummy ginger ale for me!), and were treated by the bar tender. We saw the actor Eric Stoltz there.

I didn't have anything on Wednesday until a meeting at noon, so I spent a big chunk of the morning walking through Central Park, about six blocks from our hotel. It was cool out, but good for walking.

Wednesday night, the same co-worker and I were walking back to the hotel after an excellent meal at Del Frisco's (get the lemon cake if you go), and we ran across a crowd behind the Roseland Ballroom. Turns out that Madonna's concert had ended about an hour before and she was on her way out. We stuck around, talked to a few paparazzi and saw Madonna! She came out of the club and got into an SUV. We also saw Justin Timberlake's mom (which we didn't realize until someone else in the crowd told us who she was).

Thursday night, I went to see "A Chorus Line" with another co-worker and a friend. Mario Lopez (aka A.C. Slater from Saved by the Bell) was in the lead. He was very good!

I took a train back to DC on Friday afternoon and have spent this weekend doing laundry and trying to get over my sore throat. I hope that we get back up to NYC this summer!

One Word Answers

I have a couple of friends doing this on their blogs, so I thought it would be a fun challenge. Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen
2. Your significant other? funny
3. Your hair? boring
4. Your mother? giving
5. Your father? wise
6. Your favorite thing? kitty
7. Your dream last night? work
8. Your favorite drink? tea
9. Your goal or dream? family
10. The room you're in? living
11. Your kids? future
12. Your fear? terror
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? content
14. Where were you last night? meeting
15. What you're not? mathematician
16. Muffins? warm
17. One of your wish list items? appliances
18. Where you grew up? "'burg"
19. The last thing you did? mulch
20. What are you wearing? cozies
21. Your TV? enormous
22. Your pets? mischievous
23. Your computer? laptop
24. Your life? busy!
25. Your mood? tired
26. Missing someone? yes
27. Your car? CRV
28. Something you're not wearing? watch
29. Favorite Store? Williams-Sonoma
30. Your summer? lake
31. Like someone? many
32. Your favorite color? red
33. When is the last time you laughed? walking
34. Last time you cried? London
35. The person who sent this to you? myself
36. Who will/would resend this? unimportant
37. A good book? cookbook
38. A good movie? Capote
39. A good song? Songbird
40. One word to share? grace

This is not a "tag," but if you would like to copy and paste, then add your own one-word answers, I'd LOVE to read yours!

A few of my London thoughts

(by Rob)

We embarked for London with only some US dollars, our credit card, and an ATM card in our wallet for money. Once we got there we bought a pass for the tube with our credit card and after alighting at the station nearest out hotel stopped at an ATM along the way for our first handful of pound sterling. I called our bank and credit card companies to let them know we'd be in England (so they'd hopefully not auto-deny all of our purchases) and it ended up working great.

One pound sterling is worth nearly two USD currently (plus London is a pretty expensive city anyway) so everything was just really expensive.

There are pubs everywhere. And said pubs all have an extended sill along their outside windows for the purpose of standing around outside while you suck down a few pints. It was awesome. But thanks to the food poisoning I didn't feel much like having a pint from Tuesday on. Oh well. Also I never did find a place that served "Old Speckled Hen" on tap. We even made it to a pub that our guide book specifically mentioned as having that but the bartender said it wasn't on that day. I was expecting room temp beer everywhere (which would have been fine with me I think) but most every place had most of their kegs cold (Guinness, Fosters, Strongbow, etc) and 4 or 5 kegs with fancier pulls kept at a cool temp. At least that seemed to be the system to me. We'd end up hitting one (maybe two) pubs a day and I'd have a pint or a half pint.

Spamalot is awesome.

Definitely got a taste of the British wit all over the city. At one pub a gentleman's seat gave way and he crashed to the ground -- we were sitting outside. It was a little scary in the moment, but later he and his friends were laughing about it and I called over that I was terribly impressed he hadn't spilled a single drop of beer when he fell. To which one of his buddies replied (without missing a beat) "He will later."

Most of the museums are free, but they make up for it by charging an arm and a leg on admission to most of the other things. :-)

The plane trip out didn't seem very long at all. The plane trip back seemed looooong. We had bulk head seating both ways (blessed leg room) and the flight out left around 9:30PM EST. I took a sleep pill after dinner and ended up sleeping a good 5-6 hours of the 8 hour flight. The flight back left about Noon London time (7AM EST) so I didn't really want to sleep very much as I wanted to get back to EST as quickly as possible. So with no sleep to pass the hours it just dragged.

We had a great time in London, can't wait to get back to Europe. So many places to see. I just wish the USD would flex a bit of muscle.

Random Things About Me

Carrie tagged me to list seven random things about me, so here goes!

1. I don’t mind housework, but I hate cleaning up cat messes. I leave that fun job to Rob!
2. I’m pretty sentimental about stuff that belonged to my grandmother. We were really close and I have all sorts of things that were hers that I cherish. Not expensive stuff, but little items like the hand mirror she used everyday when fixing her hair, little salt and pepper shakers that sat in her china cabinet (now my china cabinet), and some round playing cards with which she played endless games of solitaire.
3. I have a knack for winning radio contests. I’ve won concert tickets, comedy show tickets, ice skating tickets, etc. Today I won dinner for two at a swanky new organic restaurant in Bethesda and some dancing lessons at a local studio. Whoo hoo!
4. My eyes are as blue as they look. People sometimes think I have colored contacts, but I don’t! I have my mom to thank for the blue.
5. I love to try new recipes, especially when we have company. Rob thinks I’m nuts, but it doesn’t make sense to try a full recipe out on just the two of us, so I wait for more people to feed. Then, we can enjoy the leftovers!
6. I’ve changed my driver’s license, social security and passport, but haven’t updated my name (almost two years later) on anything else. Credit cards, house and car titles, utilities, etc., are all still waiting to be changed to my married name. It’s so much hassle to change everything!
7. I remember meeting Rob long before we “officially” met and thinking he was kind of aloof. We were at the mall, and my mom and I bumped into his sister and mom (we already knew each other). We chatted for a few minutes, and Rob stood there with his arms crossed, looking bored. I remember telling my mom that he seemed kind of rude! HA! Little did I know….

Thanks to Carrie for helping me – I’m tagging anyone who hasn’t done this list!

Tuesday Top 10

It's Tuesday! I missed last week's list since we were traveling. I missed doing it! Here goes for this week:

1. Today's walk outside. It's been raining here for the past few days, so I've had to walk inside on the treadmill. It was nice to get outside today for my daily walk and enjoy the fresh air!
2. NyQuil syrup that helped my sick hubby sleep better last night (which made it easier for me to sleep soundly too!). He's stayed home today and sounds better, but still is sickly.
3. The Office. This show is hilarious. Rob and I are watching last week's episode on the Tivo as I type! I have a friend who doesn't like the show, and I'm convinced it's because he's a teacher and doesn't work in an office. If he did, I think he's appreciate it more!
4. My sweet kitty, who is back home with us after a 2-week visit to my parents'. They were nice enough to keep her for us while we were gone, and I'm glad to be back with her. Always entertaining!
5. A nice home to live in. I've been seeing so much on the news about people losing their homes, upside-down mortgages, etc. I'm thankful that our townhouse is just perfect for us today, with room to grow.
6. London photos! I love looking at what we were doing 6,000 miles from home, just last week. Somehow it all seems like a million years ago.
7. Almost finalizing a big contract at work. I feel like I've been working on this for two years (not literally!) and I'm glad that we are almost, almost ready to move forward. Then the real work begins!
8. Having a few minutes each day to check in with friends on their blogs and find out what's happening with their lives. I'm thankful to have caught up with so many friends of the past.
9. Kraft "Food and Family" magazine. If you don't get this FREE magazine full of recipes and tips, go to the Kraft Web site and sign up for it now.
10. Cadbury Flake chocolate bars from London!

A few London photos...

Back from London!

Rob and I just spent a week in London! We left last Thursday and returned home today (Friday). What a great vacation! I'll add some photos later, but wanted to jot down a few things while they are still on my mind. Here goes:

Some of my favorite London memories:
1. London Walks Tours - we went on two of these great "walks", which were basically groups of people who all met at a tube station and spent two hours diving into a specific London topic. I loved the "Shakespeare's London" walk, where we went to the new Globe Theater, saw the site of the old and walked in Shakespeare's footsteps. We also did the "Jack the Ripper" walk, which was very interesting. Both of our guides were excellent and very entertaining. If you go to London, definitely go on a "London Walks" walk.
2. Visiting Stonehenge. I'd been before, but really enjoyed it this time and liked the audio guide (didn't have that 12 years ago!) that explained the history and mysteries.
3. Schweppes' lemonade. Seriously, I drank this everywhere! It's kind of like a lemony Sprite (that's how I ended up with it to begin with - I actually ordered a Sprite and got this instead). So yummy. Too bad I don't think they sell it in the US. :(
4. Rob yakking in front of Buckingham Palace. Yep, you read correctly. He ate something funky (we suspect it was a pork bun he got from a street cart in Chinatown) and ended up with food poisoning. He thought he felt okay to go to the changing of the guard, but ended up puking in the middle of it -- and in the middle of the crowd. Lovely. He'd already been trying to make his way out of the crowd when he puked (I was staying for the rest of the changing and was meeting him back at the hotel). Next thing I knew, a cop was pulling me out of the crowd and recommending that we leave. It was kind of scary! I felt horrible for him, and he spent the day sleeping. While he rested, I took a walk, went to Harrods and saw my new favorite musical...
5. WICKED! I love, love, love this show. I've been dying to see it for ages, and I walked down to the theater about 15 minutes before it started (Rob asked me to go so he could get some rest and I'd quit banging around in the dark room), and I ended up with a second row ticket for only 15 pounds. Excellent! Who cares that it was the very last seat on the row - I could see perfectly and really loved the whole thing. Walking back the 10 blocks to our hotel in the rain and dark kind of wigged me out, but it was worth it.

What I'm glad to leave behind:
1. People. Smoking. Everywhere.
2. Crowds, crowds, crowds. These weren't really in the sight-seeing areas, but on the tube and in the train stations. Chaos!
3. Rain. Sun for two hours, rain for 15 minutes. Repeat. It was so strange, but at least it stopped after about Tuesday, and we had a sunny (but still cold!) rest of the week.

More memories -- and photos -- to come!

Back in a Few...

I'll be out of pocket for the next few days - catch up with you soon!

Tuesday Top 10

Time for the weekly top 10... here goes!

1. Health of friends and family. I've seen too many stories lately of children with illnesses, mothers with cancer, and so on. I'm thankful for health today, and hope that it continues.
2. My parents. I've talked with them every day this week, it seems. They are taking care of our kitty while we escape for vacation soon, so they deserve extra kudos, since she's a hand-full!
3. Check, check, check. I love checking off big projects from my list at work, and today I was able to complete a few that had be lingering.
4. A delicious strawberry/spinach salad recipe shared with me by Rob's Aunt Janet. She had it at Easter and it was AWESOME. Can't wait to make it!
5. Reading blog friends' "Tuesday Top 10" lists. So inspirational, and I love catching up on each others' lives.
6. A good job. I saw the report last night that 80,000 jobs were eliminated in March, due to recession fears. I'm grateful for full-filling (and sometimes even fun!) job.
7. New khaki pants. Sounds trivial, but I live in these on the weekends and have been searching for a new comfy pair. Finally found some in the Lands End section at Sears.
8. Pink Lady apples. Yum yum yum.
9. The sunshine. It's been gray here for the past few days, but the sun peaked out this afternoon.
10. Chick-fil-A! Our church is doing a fundraiser there tomorrow night, raising money for an upcoming mission trip. Gives us a good excuse to go!

Have a great week!

The Powell Family

I've been following the sad story of Ethan Powell, a sweet 18-month old who was diagnosed with leukemia at his three-month check-up (I believe). Ethan is the son of Ben and Becky Powell, who were at Harding after me.

Despite the best efforts of the doctors at St. Jude's, Ethan lost his battle this weekend. My prayers are with this heartbroken family. You can learn more about Ethan's story on his Web site: www.ethanpowell.com.

Catching Up

I remember when I was growing up, my parents would claim to "sleep in", but they'd be up at 7:30 a.m. I thought they were crazy. That wasn't sleeping in! Now, I get it. If I can sleep until 7:30 a.m., I feel like I've hit the jackpot. :)

I spent two days last week in New Jersey. Blech. I was in the Meadowlands, so I could see Manhattan just eight looooong miles away. I'd rather be in the city! Regardless, it was a great two days of meetings. And, a couple of co-workers and I enjoyed a dinner at a great local Italian place, Barelli's. It was straight out of "The Sopranos." Great food and interesting ambiance.

Today (Saturday) has been productive. We ran about two hours of errands this morning, I've been for my daily walk, and the laundry is laundry-ing. Now I'm ready for my nap!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tuesday Top Ten

It's Tuesday night after dinner, which means it's time for my weekly "Tuesday Top Ten." Here goes...

1. A beautiful walk outside today. It was 75 degrees when I got home, so Rob and I suited up and headed out for a long walk in the sunshine.
2. The book "Eat, Pray, Love" -- Rob's parents gave it to me for Christmas and I've just finally started reading it. It's excellent and I am looking forward to my train trip (for a business meeting) to New Jersey tomorrow, so I'll have time to keep reading!
3. A pretty blue, monogrammed toiletry bag that came today from LL Bean, in preparation for an upcoming trip. It's perfect!
4. Having some time today to catch up on a few blogs and find out what's happening with friends.
5. The show Medium. It's freaky and weird and I really like it. I always Tevo it and watch it during the week. Recommend!
6. Pretty new blue sweater that I picked up yesterday.
7. Green tea. I drink a mug of it every morning and didn't realize how much I appreciate it until my work's hot water heater stopped working and there was no hot tea - I'm glad it's fixed!
8. Reconnecting with an old high school friend on Facebook and catching up. We haven't seen in each other in eons, so it's nice to be back in touch.
9. Eating dinner every night with my sweet husband. I know a lot of couples who do their own thing at night. I love our dinners together and time set aside to catch up and just talk.
10. For Leann, warm buttermilk biscuits with Nutella!

Enjoy your week!

Breakfast for Dinner!

Tonight I made Rob' favorite - breakfast for dinner! This is one of my fast meals that's an easy fall-back when I'm too tired and too unprepared to fix anything else. We always have the ingredients on-hand, and it's something a little different than normal.

Rob was so happy to see eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast when he came in the kitchen as I was fixing dinner! And that made me happy. :)

An Interesting Dinner

Rob and I decided go try out American Flatbread tonight. We've heard good things about it and have wanted to try it out, so we made the 25 minute journey to Ashburn for dinner.

The place has a cool set-up — tables are scattered around and almost everyone has a good view of the pizza oven, which is built up in kind of an adobe style. It wasn't too crowded yet when we arrived.

We hit our first bump in the road when the ice tea I'd ordered came with an extra something lovely floating in the glass. Ice tea #2 arrived, but without the straw I'd requested. When our waitress remembered, she compensated by bringing me two!

Rob and I split a nice salad with Boston bibb lettuce, bacon, tomatoes and ranch, topped with a slice of seasoned flatbread. Very good.

Next bump in the road... one of the plates delivered to our table for our pizza (they call it flatbread, but it's a pizza!) was dirty. Sending it back for a clean one...

Here's where it got interesting. We were seated at a table with a great view of the oven and the counter where the pizza-guy placed the pies for cutting and sliding onto trays for serving. Our waitress sliced our pizza and proceeded to nearly fold it in half as she slid it onto the tray. One piece actually fell off onto the counter, and she and a co-worker were man-handling the thing (bare-handed) to try to save it. Nice!

Finally, a manager comes walking over to see what was going on. She immediately sent the mangled pie to the back and came over to our table to explain that they were making a new one for us, which came about 10 minutes later.

I have to say that, despite the bumps, the pizza was good! Rob and I shared a "New Virginia Sausage" pie, which had local homemade sausage, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and caramelized onions. All of the pizza ingredients at American Flatbread are locally grown and organic. We both had our fill and brought home 1/3 of the pizza as leftovers.

Overall verdict: we'd go back, but hope that we have a smoother visit next time!

The 16 Worst Places to Stash Your Stuff

Turns out, how you organize your environment — from where you stand in fitness class to the place you choose to store your meds — has a surprising effect on everything from your weight to your chances of staying well. In other words, when it comes to how you feel, it's not just what you do, it's where you do it. Here, surprisingly bad locales for your health — and the best places to optimize it.

(Note from Kathryn: I just read this online and some of them are grossing me out. Some of them are common sense. You be the judge.)

The worst place for your toothbrush: on the bathroom sink
There's nothing wrong with the sink itself — but it's awfully chummy with the toilet. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, and when you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as six feet, settling on the floor, the sink, and your toothbrush. Ewww.

The worst place to set your handbag: the kitchen counter
Your fancy handbag is a major tote for microbes: germ swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms — and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman's carryall gets parked in some nasty spots: on the floor of the bus, beneath the restaurant table — even on the floor of a public bathroom. Put your bag in a drawer or on a chair — anywhere except where food is prepared or eaten.

The worst place for your sneakers and flip-flops: in the bedroom closet
Walking through your house in shoes you wear outside is a great way to track in allergens and contaminants.

The worst place to cool leftovers: in the refrigerator
Placing a big pot of hot edibles directly into the fridge is a recipe for uneven cooling and possibly food poisoning. The reason: It can take a long time for the temperature in the middle of a big container to drop, creating a cozy environment for bacteria. You can safely leave food to cool on the counter for up to an hour after cooking, or divvy up hot food into smaller containers and then refrigerate — it'll cool faster.

The worst stall to pick in a public restroom: the one in the middle
The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end.

The worst place for a nighttime reading light: overhead
These fixtures put out relatively bright light — enough to significantly delay the body's secretion of melatonin. That can wreck your night, since rising melatonin levels are a major cue for your body to prepare for sleep. A low-power light clipped to your novel will let you read but leave the room dark enough for your brain to transition into sleep mode.

The worst place to keep medicine: the medicine cabinet
It's not uncommon for the temp in a steamy bathroom to reach 100°F — well above the recommended storage temperatures for many common drugs. To stay out of the red zone, store your meds in a cool, dry place, such as the pantry.

The worst place to set fruit before washing it: the kitchen sink
Of all the household germ depots, the kitchen sink sees the most bacterial traffic — even more than the toilet. If the perfect berry drops while you're washing it, pop it in the trash — not your mouth.

The worst place for your coffee: the refrigerator or freezer
Think that you're preserving freshness by stashing it in the fridge? Think again. Every time you take it out of the fridge or freezer, you expose it to fluctuating temperatures, which produces condensation. The best spot to store beans or grounds: in an opaque, airtight container kept on the counter or in the pantry.

The worst place for your TV: wherever you dine
Studies show that distraction is your waistline's enemy — it can keep you from noticing how much you're eating. In a 2006 study, volunteers ate faster when watching TV than while listening to music — consuming 71 percent more macaroni and cheese when watching a show.

Tuesday Top Ten

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for my top 10. If you aren't familiar with this, visit the link under "Friends and Recommended Links" and check it out for yourself.

Here goes..
1. The lovely meal of roasted red potatoes and leftover Easter ham, prepared by Rob since I'm not feeling great.
2. The Easter candy we'll be snacking on for the next few days. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for our fun Easter basket! :)
3. Signing off on a blueline proof today and knowing a needed piece will be printed soon.
4. Tylenol Cold and Flu... I popped two a few minutes ago and will have two more before going to bed.
5. Daylight Savings Time and the longer hours of sunshine. It's a little after 6:30 p.m., and it's still light out!
6. People magazine. I love it and look forward to it every Friday. Since we were gone during the weekend, I'm just reading it now.
7. Chatting quickly with my Mom on the phone tonight. Always a good pick-me-up!
8. Seeing the results of Dancing with the Stars tonight (not one of the shows I'm cutting out!).
9. My crazy kitty who just decided she would hop up on the kitchen counter (she knows full well that she's not allowed!) and looking around sweetly like it's the most natural thing in the world.
10. Hostess 100-calorie mini-coffee cakes!

Sick?

My throat has been sore all day. I keep thinking it will go away, but not yet.

Ugh. Like many of you, I don't have time to be sick!

Too Much TV

I think I've been watching too much TV. For the past week or so, I've almost felt overwhelmed by the number of shows I think I have to keep up on, and all of the good shows (like The Office, Criminal Minds, etc.) aren't even back from the strike yet!

Confession: Rob and I watch a lot of reality TV. We don't watch the ones that are super-seedy, but we do love Survivor and American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. Do you realize how much these shows are on each week? AI and Dancing are on twice and Survivor is once.. and the worst one we watch: Big Brother is on three times a week.

I've felt extra tired lately and don't think I'm getting enough sleep at night. Maybe that's because I'm watching TV until 10 p.m.

So, I'm making a change. I told Rob tonight that I'm going to just stop watching a few of them (primarily reality TV) and try to get to bed earlier or spend more time reading in the evenings. I think I'll sleep better, and that can't hurt!

(P.S. - We do have Tevo and record stuff so we can skip through the commercials. Although it is lots faster, I don't think it technically means I'm watching less TV!)

Wish me luck!

Pineapple Coconut Bars

I'm a big Paula Deen fan, and this is a recipe of hers that I'm making for dessert at my in-laws on Easter Sunday. Thought some of you may enjoy it too!

Pineapple Coconut Bars
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, divided
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 (20ounce)can crushed pineapple, drained
toasted flaked coconut, garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking pan. In large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, coconut, brown sugar, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. In medium bowl, beat remaining 1/2 cup butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup flour. Stir in pineapple. Spread mixture evenly over baked layer. Sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Garnish with toasted flaked coconut, if desired.

M&Ms vs. Football Field

I just read that you have to walk an entire football field to walk off the calories in one M&M. Ack.

Tuesday Top Ten

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for my Tuesday Top 10. Here goes...

1. Wrapping up a graphics project at work today and moving it down the editing chain. I'll be glad to get it off my desk!
2. A trip to Target at lunch. I love to walk the aisles and check out all of the goodies. I picked up a few things we need around the house -- nothing too special!
3. Signing up for a March Madness pool on Dr. Mark Elrod's Lame-O-Weblog (which I read daily!). Rob picked us a funny team name of the "Fighting Amish."
4. Finally winning against Rob in "Smarty Pants", our new trivia game on the Wii.
5. Fresh sheets on my bed! I love the first night on clean sheets. If I had all the time in the world (and the inclination), I may consider putting on fresh sheets every day. That's crazy, but true!
6. Reading a few friends' blogs today and catching up on what's happening with friends.
7. Rejoicing with my friend Nicole today and her planned trip to Ireland. Have fun!
8. Media interest and hits on a big pitch I worked on last week. Keep 'em coming...
9. Watching "Dancing with the Stars" with the guys dancing last night, and the ladies dancing tonight.
10. 100-calorie Hostess mini-chocolate cupcakes!

Hope you are having a great week!

You Can Live in a Flying Saucer

My grandparents used to live on Signal Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The windy road that went up the mountain was perched close to the edge, and there is one house on it that I always loved -- the flying saucer house.

This morning, I received a link from my brother that the flying saucer house is for sale and up for auction! Awesome. It will be sold to the highest bidder Saturday.

According to the article, the circular house -- ultramodern when it was built in 1970 -- is ringed with small square windows and directional lights and perched on six "landing gear" legs. It has multiple levels, three bedrooms, two baths and an entrance staircase that retracts with the push of a button.

The current owner has it listed on eBay, and bids are already up to $100,000. I'd love to bid and own the flying saucer house that I remember loving to drive by when we were little.

Back from Phoenix

Last week, I was in Phoenix from Tuesday through Saturday for my work. We had a conference on sustainable development, which was great. I was able to get to a few of the sessions (which is rare), and I really enjoyed it.

A couple of co-workers and I enjoyed a dinner one evening at Tarbell's, a great restaurant in Scottsdale. The food was excellent (I had a wedge salad and hand-cut pasta with bolognese). No wonder since the chef was a winner on the Food Network's Iron Chef.

Friday morning I headed back east on a cramped flight (the guy in front of me instantly reclined his seat and kept bouncing, trying to push it back more -- annoying). I am glad to be home!

Not much happening... our friends N&J came over last night for a fun time of pizza and Wii. We got a new game (recommended by J!) called "Smarty Pants" -- it's a trivia game and rather fun. Rob and N killed J and me on tennis, and the boys definitely outplayed the girls in Smarty Pants. Regardless, it was a great time!

Tuesday Top Ten (one day early)

I'm going to be out of pocket for the next few days, so I'm doing my Tuesday Top Ten one day early. In case you aren't familiar, here's the gist: every Tuesday, write down the top 10 things that you are thankful for that have already happened that day. You'll recognize and be thankful for the small things in life.

Here goes this week's Tuesday Top Ten...

1. Playing the Wii with my husband. We just got it two weeks ago, and we finally picked up a second remote. Tonight we've played baseball and tennis, and now Rob is working up some "Mii" to enter in a contest. We've had a lot of fun with it!
2. Resolving a nagging problem at work today and feeling good about a new plan.
3. Buying a cute red purse on sale during lunch at Kohl's.
4. Fun catalogs full of pretty spring clothes - a good mail day!
5. Sharing a yummy and easy dinner with Rob, thanks to Let's Dish.
6. Watching my crazy kitty AJ try to walk behind me on the treadmill. She's fearless!
7. Chatting with my Mom again on the phone tonight and sharing the woes of each other's days.
8. Hearing from an old friend on blogger today and participating in her new online Bible study, which is great.
9. Remembering seeing Baby Cameron on Saturday - so sweet!
10. A peanut butter bliss bar. :)

What are your top 10?

Good Weekend!

It's Sunday night and Rob and I are wrapping up a nice and relaxing weekend. We just enjoyed a delicious meal of pan-seared scallops (by Rob), roasted sweet potatoes (by me) and baby mixed greens (by Wegmans). I'm full and curled up on the couch, surfing the Web and writing this blog.

Friday night I headed to the mall after work with the goal of getting a few needed things: new pair of black trousers, one pair of jeans, one pair of khakis and some make-up. I should have known better than to go shopping for specific things... I found nothing! Actually, I did get a pair of khakis and a shirt for 50% off of the marked-down price (Lands End corner in Sears), which means I got them both for $18. Excellent. And the make-up was a no brainer... it's the only thing I didn't have to try on!

Rob headed over to the mall later and we used a Chick-Fil-A coupon to get some dinner. My salad dressing took a while for them to hunt down, so we actually got two more coupons for the wait. Nice! More free sandwiches for us.

Saturday we headed up to Maryland to see friends Jeff and Nita and their sweet 8-week-old, Cameron. He is just adorable and it was fun to catch up with friends. We are looking forward to watching Cameron grow! Saturday night we watched the movie Zodiac, about the murderer in California back in the 1960s. Creepy.

Today was church and laundry and a nice nap for me. Plus, I gabbed on the phone to my parents and then to my best girlfriend (who lives in Texas), so I'm all caught up on everything I need to know. :)

Rob's watching the men's Maryland basketball game, and I'm getting ready to go through a magazine of recipes and pull out any I want to try. Hope you had a great weekend, too!

Tuesday Top 10

I saw this great idea on another friend's blog - the Tuesday Top 10.

Here's the idea: every Tuesday, write down the top 10 things that you are thankful for that have already happened that day. You'll recognize and be thankful for the small things in life.

So, without further adieu...

My Tuesday Top 10
1. Lunch out with a co-worker (and friend!) who gives me honest feedback and good laughs.
2. Lots of projects and follow-up stuff completed today at work - and checkmarks on my "to do" list!
3. Three loads of clean laundry, washed and folded by my husband (since I was late getting home from work).
4. A sweet and silly kitty cat who is trying to eat my popsicle while I type this blog. :)
5. Completing a good 40-minute workout on the treadmill, and feeling the stress knot in my back slowly unkink itself.
6. A completed graphics project at work that arrived from the printer today - one day early and looking great!
7. My husband's laugh as he's watching American Idol - he has a big, jolly laugh when he finds something really funny. I love it!
8. The last item from my Longaberger order that finally showed up today.
9. Reading blogs and catching up on friends' lives on Facebook.
10. Latte ice cream bars!

I invite you to join me on the Tuesday Top 10 — I'm going to try to do it every week!

TGIF!

Oh, how I love Friday! For some reason, it's easier to get up in the morning and the day moves faster, knowing that in a few short hours it will be the weekend!

We are seeing my in-laws (Rob's parents) and family this weekend, so we are excited. We haven't seen them since Christmas!

My father-in-law picked us up a Wii this week (and one for himself too!), since he happened to be at Wal-Mart when the stockroom guy was putting them out. I wasn't 100% sure I wanted one when I thought I had to go out and search for it at different stores, but now that it's actually available... I've changed my mind! I like playing the golf and bowling, and it's a lot of fun to play when friends are visiting.

So here's to Friday... to lunch out with a co-worker, two days ahead of weekend and a night when I don't have to set my alarm to get up the next day. Happy weekend!

UMD Game!

A contact I know through work sent me an e-mail today and asked if I would like box seats for an upcoming University of Maryland men's basketball game. YES!

Rob and I are big MD fans, and basketball is a favorite of his. Plus, Rob said that MD needs to win their next three games in order to do something or another (make the tournament?). We are excited!

The game is televised, so look for us on the big screen! Thanks to my contact for offering us the tickets!

Blah

Today I am feeling blah. Blah about getting up this morning... blah about work (when there is much to do!)... blah about cooking and eating dinner with my husband.

Blah about writing this blog.

Maybe it's from staying up too late the Oscars. Maybe it's not having a nap on Sunday afternoon. Maybe it's just me.

But I'm blah.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! We celebrated last night with a ridiculous meal at Maggianno's, and today we are going out for lunch after church. I won't need to eat again for a week. ;)

I appreciate my Mom so much and am happy that she is here celebrating her birthday with us!

Yesterday, Mom and I went to Let's Dish and prepared about 16 meals each (we did the 8-meal package and split them into two meals each). Now our freezers are stocked with a variety of meals that we can easily fix. I love having the option of pulling these out in the morning and having an easy dinner at night.

My parents are leaving after church and lunch today to head back home. It's laundry time for me....

An Icy Friday?

We are supposed to get a couple of inches of snow tonight, followed by a 1/2 inch of ice. Yuck.

My parents are coming down this weekend, and have decided to come own down tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow afternoon. The guestroom is made and Rob helped me clean up the rest of our house, so we are good to go. I'd rather they be safe!

I stopped at the market on the way home, and I think I was ahead of the rush. I was able to get everything we needed and didn't have to wait in line much at all. I'm making a new recipe tomorrow night (pork carnitas), so we'll see how that goes. Rob is always amazed that I'll try new things out on guests instead of just us. :)

Sunday is my Mom's birthday! I hope her present arrives (it was shipped and should arrive tomorrow... with the ice). Let's hope UPS can slide up the hill to our house.

A Day Off!

I am excited that I have tomorrow of to recognize President's Day. The only bummer is that Rob doesn't get the day off. When his company was purchased by another about two years ago, they lost a few holidays, including this one. So I'll be up early with him anyway - no sleeping in for me! ;)

Since I have the day to myself, I've scheduled a pedicure and plan to just do some things around the house. My parents are coming to visit next weekend, so I need to make the guest bedroom up and take care of a few things.

Last night we got together with about 12 friends, and we had a great time! Our friends Jeremy and Nicole hosted the get-together, and Nicole whipped up a delicious meal of ziti, roasted peppers and sausage, salad and bread. We had a terrific time just hanging out in their adorable townhouse in Alexandria. I love that neighborhood.

Better wrap this up - we are watching the finale to American Gladiator and Rob is cheering at the TV!

Yes We Can

As a follow-up to my Barak Obama sighting, I'm sharing this video. Not getting political or trying to make a statement, but I think this is a powerful message done very well.

Obama

Earlier this week, I was in D.C. for a conference hosted by my company. Since we work long hours and need to be there early, we stay at the hotel too. This year, the conference was at the lovely Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue.

Late Monday night, my cell phone rang. News from my co-worker: Barak Obama is in the hotel. He had been campaigning in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. (which he won all handily) and was bunking at the Mayflower. As he was coming into the hotel, the Secret Service had moved some people out of the entrance area, including two of my co-workers.

My plan: stake out the back elevator bank in the morning. I needed to be downstairs to set up for the breakfast at 6:45 a.m., but I headed down around 6:20 a.m. As expected, the SS showed up early and here came Obama. He is much taller than I expected!

On a separate note, we had an event at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in D.C. Totally creepy.

Bill Belichick = Poor Loser

I couldn't have said it better myself. From Yahoo Sports:

If he's going to lose, Bill Belichick would rather be elsewhere
Sunday, Feb 3, 2008 11:12 pm EST

On more than one occasion this year, Bill Belichick and the Patriots have run up the score on an overmatched opponent, and forced an opposing coach to sit there and watch his beaten team go through the motions while their heineys were being handed to them.

But when the shoe's on the other foot, and Bill Belichick's team has been beaten, he can't sit there and take the pain for a few seconds.

With :01 left on the clock, and his team just having failed on a last chance 4th down effort, Bill Belichick ran onto the field for a quick handshake, and then bolted for the locker room. Belichick's an important guy and everything, but I wasn't aware that the league had given him the authority to decide when games end.

There's time left on the clock, his team's been humbled, outplayed, and lost their chance at history ... and Bill Belichick doesn't have the stomach to sit there and absorb the pain until the clock read 0:00.

That's unsportsmanlike at best, disrespectful at least, and at worst, it makes him a big sissy.

Because Bill Belichick wanted to go hide when he lost, the field ended up being flooded with people, and the officials had to clear the area before the Giants could take their final snap and make it official. When you lose, you take your loss. You don't leave early because it makes you feel sad inside. Your opponent deserves more respect than that.

Anyone remember in 2004 when Randy Moss left the sidelines with two seconds left in a Vikings vs. Redskins game? Moss was selfish, a baby, a quitter, didn't respect his teammates, and didn't respect the game. Belichick just did the same thing, but did it on the biggest possible stage, and did it from the position of a leader of men.

Maybe there's something to be said for the inability to lose well ... most great winners don't lose well, and a sore loser is still a loser.

But still, if you're an adult, you finish out the game, and you give your opponents the stage and the respect they deserve.

What's Going On?

One week and no post! I'm slipping back into old ways - need to step it up!

Not much has been happening with us - it's been pretty quiet. I've been working lots to get ready for a conference in two weeks, which I'm looking forward to. It's a local event in DC, so not much travel - yay!

Rob and I have been trying to do a little bit of exercise each day... walking on the treadmill or walking outside on the weekends. It's easier for him than me! Or maybe it's just that I need it more?! ;)

We went to a fancy dinner last week for Restaurant Week in D.C. Basically, a bunch of restaurants do dinner (three courses) for $30.08 -- a great deal! We usually try to go somewhere swanky that we wouldn't normally pay for at regular price, and this year we chose 1789, a Georgetown favorite. It did not disappoint!

Now I'm trying to plan us a vacation.... England or Ireland or maybe somewhere warm. Any suggestions? I'm ready to go!

Snowing!

Big flakes are falling from the sky outside my office window. The trees are covered and it looks beautiful!

We are supposed to get 2-4 inches, and then maybe some freezing rain. This should make for an interesting drive home. :)

What's Been Going On....

It's been a few days since I've blogged. Not because I'm too busy or anything, but just because I haven't felt like it. As I've referenced before, I write for a living, and sometimes I just don't feel like writing off the clock. But today I do!

Last night I was treated to a night on my own, thanks to my father-in-law and sweet hubby going to the University of MD basketball game. I headed to the mall after work with the intention of returning a pair of pants to Macy's. I bought them on sale a few weeks ago (a good sale - they are Liz Claiborne and were 40% off, which never happens), but they were too long and I just couldn't see paying another $12 to have them hemmed (I don't have a machine).

I was browsing around before I made the return and saw the same pants - now 65% off. What?!? I found my size and decided to swap them at the register and save another $20, which would justify having them hemmed.

Anywho, in the meantime I decided to try on a few things. I had decided to purchase a purple cashmere tee (also 65% off!) while I was browsing some more, and finally headed to the register. That's when I realized that I didn't have my purse. I panicked! I ran back to the dressing room, and there it sat on the bench. Wallet there. Keys there. Cell phone there. I nearly passed out.

After my near-disaster with losing my purse (I had one stolen three years ago and it's no fun!), I headed to Eddie Bauer. There I found a cute scarf and a cardigan - both for $30. Awesome! Next was Talbots big sale (who isn't having a sale?), where I got a terrific black crepe suit and a shirt, all 70% off. That $400 suit was mine for a little over $100 - excellent deal! The suit jacket is actually coming from another store (the one they had was a hair too small), but I'm pumped! I can always use a suit, and Talbots is such nice quality.

It was almost 7 p.m. by this time, so I decided I'd spent enough (Rob agreed!) and moved to head home. Grabbed a salad from Corner Bakery (not cooking for one!) and made it home in time to watch Access Hollywood.

I enjoyed my shopping and my quiet evening at home, but it did make me realize how quiet it is without Rob around and how much I appreciate his companionship. I was glad to hear his key in the door!

It's Snowing in Baghdad!

This morning, my family and I had a jubilant e-mail from my brother that it was snowing in Baghdad! He was excited to see some signs of home, I think.

(In case you don't know, my brother is in Iraq until late spring, working with the Iraqis to help set up a judicial system. He's a Navy JAG working directly with counterparts in Iraq.)

Here's an excerpt from an article on yahoo news:

After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they'd pretty much seen it all. But Friday morning, as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new.

For the first time in memory, snow fell across Baghdad.

Although the white flakes quickly dissolved into gray puddles, they brought an emotion rarely expressed in this desert capital snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings — delight.

For a couple of hours anyway, a city where mortar shells routinely zoom across to the Green Zone became united as one big White Zone. As of late afternoon, there were no reports of violence. The snow showed no favoritism as it fell faintly on neighborhoods Shiite and Sunni alike, and (with apologies to James Joyce) upon all the living and the dead.

Dang this TV Writers' Strike!

Listen - I empathize with the writers of TV shows. It only makes sense that the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers share the revenue produced by DVD sales and the downloading of programs and movies.

I also feel for all of the "backstage" people who have been out of work for the past eight weeks, due to no fault of their own. This includes the camera men, lighting and audio teams, food service, etc. ... everyone down to the security guards on sets. These people have families to feel and homes to pay for, and they've been dragged into an unfair situation.

Come on, people. It's enough. Give the writers some money. Save whatever can be salvaged from this year, and don't put the fall season in jeopardy (which is what's next - if no pilots for the fall can be written, no advertising can be sold and no shows will be produced). End this thing.

I saw a list on tvguide.com that outlines how many episodes are left. Here's what I can expect from my favorite shows:

• 30 Rock: Ten episodes will be produced. Nine episodes have aired, so there is one left.
  
  
• Criminal Minds: Roughly twelve episodes will be produced. Eleven episodes have aired, so there is roughly one left.
  
  
• Desperate Housewives: Ten episodes will be produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are zero left.
  
  
• ER: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are three left.
  
  
• Friday Night Lights: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there are five left.
  
  
• Grey's Anatomy: Eleven episodes will be produced. Ten episodes have aired, so there is one left.
  
  
• Lost: Eight episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight episodes left.
  
  
• Medium: Nine episodes will be produced. One episode has aired, so there are eight left.
  
  
• My Name is Earl: Thirteen episodes will be produced (that includes two one-hour eps, which count double). Twelve episodes have aired, so there is one left.
  
  
• Numbers: Twelve episodes will be produced. Ten have aired, so there are two left.
  
  
• The Office: Twelve half-hour episodes will be produced. Twelve half-hour episodes have aired, so there are zero half-hour episodes left.
  

Hmmmm... maybe I'm watching too much tv. :)

I'm blue.

Pork Roast Recipe

Tonight, Rob and I are having one of my most favorite (and easiest!) pork recipes. I actually got this from a former co-worker, and I've shared it with many. So easy!

Ingredients:
2.5-3 lb. pork roast
olive oil
salt and pepper (or any other seasonings you like)
bbq sauce

Rub the roast with olive oil, salt and pepper (I usually do it the night before for good marinating). Pop it in the crockpot in the morning, and cook on low for 8 hours or so. After it's cooked, add one bottle of bbq sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's) and heat for another 30 minutes or so. Serve on buns with coleslaw, sauteed onions or other toppings of your choice.

(This size roast serves us for two dinners, and maybe a couple of lunches. You can use a smaller roast, but beware that it will cook faster!)

Enjoy!

Lazy Saturday

We've had a pretty easy day - which is great! This morning I did run out to get a baby shower gift, pick up dry cleaning, etc., but the rest of the day we've been home. I even snuck in a nap this afternoon. :)

My good girlfriend from home and her boyfriend are coming down Monday. They'll meet us after work, we'll go to dinner, and then they are staying the night and heading up to Baltimore on Tuesday. Fun!

Right now we are watching the Redskins lose. I really wanted them to win this first playoff game, but no such luck. It's 28-14, with only four minutes left in the last quarter.

Have a great weekend!

Back to the Grind...

Today is our first day back at work following the extra-long Christmas holiday. With Christmas day, new year's day and the weekends, we enjoyed a total of 11 days off! It was so nice to sleep in!

When my alarm rang at 6:05 a.m. today, it was too early for me. I actually was having a dream that I was moving my co-worker's car, and in my dream I thought her car alarm was going off. Too bad it was my alarm clock in real life!

Tonight we are getting Chipotle burritos for dinner (um, I'm not sure that goes with the healthy living resolution) and watching the WVU Mountaineers! Go WVU!!

Squirrel vs. Cat

I am not making this up!

I am sitting in our living room, and our cat A.J. was sitting on my lap snoozing. We have four floor-to-ceiling glass windows/door that look out onto our patio, and a squirrel came up to them and stood on his hind legs with his paws on our window. He moved from window to window... and then... and I promise I'm not making this up... I swear he knocked on the window.

Kitty snapped open her eyes and flew off my lap to the window. Next thing I knew, that squirrel flung himself against the window again and kitty did the same from the inside. This happened a couple of times, and then the squirrel took off.

A.J. obviously knew that that goofy squirrel was "knocking" on the window, and he must know that A.J. lives in here! I wonder how often that squirrel has been taunting poor A.J. from the outside???

New Year's Eve Eve

Today has been a great day! We just wrapped up a yummy dinner of cheese fondue (with granny smith apples, rosemary bread and sauteed mushrooms) and roasted red potatoes, and now we are watching the Redskins wrap up a 27-6 victory over Dallas. Hooray!

And - my favorite! - I had a loooong nap this afternoon after we got home from church. Rob made us lunch, and I crashed on the couch. He was downstairs playing his Xbox, so it was nice and quiet for me. :)

On Friday night, Rob's dad called to say that they all planned to come down to his cousin Alicen's basketball game on Saturday, so we got to see all of his family again yesterday. Carrie and Matt stayed the night with us and left this morning. Alicen's team won, and she played great! After the game, we all went to Red Robin for burgers and fries.

Only two more days of vacation for us... tomorrow night we are headed out for NYE dinner and will be home early to avoid all of the crazies on the road. Happy new year!

Back Home!

We came back home yesterday after five days up in western Maryland. We had a great Christmas and had fun seeing everyone. I was able to see a girlfriend who I haven't been able to catch up with for awhile, and Rob and I had lunch on Christmas Eve with one of my oldest friends and her boyfriend. We also got to see my best girlfriend, her hubby and their adorable little girl. Good times!

We ended up not doing presents with Rob's family until the day after Christmas - we just ran out of time that day! I LOVE everything I gave and received ... especially the green iPod Nano that Rob surprised me with on Christmas morning!

Last night we went to a yummy dinner at Rustico in Alexandria and some good friends. Interesting food choices - Rob and I ended up sharing a sausage and caramelized onion pizza, and I had cheddar ale soup. Yum.

Today was going to the market, unpacking and putting away gifts and organizing our pantry. Tomorrow is laundry, and maybe going to Rob's cousin's basketball tournament. Off to make dinner!

Home for the holidays

Rob and I headed west today to visit both of our parents. Since they live so close, it's MUCH easier! We are staying with my family, but I am writing this blog from Rob's parents' house!

We have gifts galore, all wrapped and ready to open! It will be a little different at my parents' this year - my brother is usually the gift giver (he sits next to the tree and passes the gifts), but since he is in Iraq this holiday we might put Rob up to the job.

Oh - it's getting heated in here! Rob and his dad are watching the Redskins game and there is a challenge on on something-or-another. Voices and blood pressures are raised!

Merry Christmas to all!

A Snowy (Icey?) Weekend?

We are supposed to get our first measurable snow of the season this weekend. I usually love those kinds of weekends - we can spend it inside curled up on the couch and watching the snow fall.

However, the weather is famous around here for not doing what is predicted. Last week we had a terribly messy morning that wasn't predicted to start until after the rush hour. Other times they'll call for six inches of snow and we'll get two. Or vice versa.

So I'm curious to see what we'll really get!

'Till Death Do Us Part

It wasn't but 17 months ago that Rob and I stood under a tent in front of our family and friends and said a vow to each other. You know how it goes... "for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in heath; in good times and bad."

We both meant those words we said. We are serious about it and weren't just repeating the minister like a couple of monkeys. We'd both thought about it and were making a commitment to be a team, for better and for worse.

Not that everything is perfect. The cups didn't miraculously start putting themselves in the dishwasher starting July 29, 2006. Socks don't find the way to the laundry basket themselves, and there are times I wish I were an Xbox so Rob stare at me adoringly (kidding!), but I couldn't ask for more in a partner, and I hope Rob feels the same.

Last week, we learned that a couple we know is splitting up after close to 10 years of marriage. It's really thrown me for a loop. I know that nobody knows what happens behind closed doors, but I would have placed money on a bet that these two would be together for the long haul. I would have lost.

This isn't the first couple we've known who haven't made it, and I know it won't be the last. But every time, it makes me think about our marriage and making sure that those tiny cracks don't get bigger.

Some guys have all the luck

My co-worker's son is on an airplane, in first class, sitting next to ... Patrick Dempsey. He's sending us updates about all sorts of stuff... what he's said to people, how he's acting, etc.

The latest... "Appear smaller yes - but avg height...wearing a baseball cap and I would not recognized him, if the rep at the counter in the Crown Rm had not said "I love your show."

Oh, to be there! It would be crazy and fun to be seated next to someone famous on a flight. Lucky guy!

Xmas Shopping!

We've been working fast and furious to wrap up all of our Christmas shopping. I think we are doing pretty good - about 80% is wrapped and ready to go, with only a few things left to be bought.

Rob's been bugging me about what I would like... and I don't really have a good answer! Goodness knows I don't really need anything at all, so I've been trying to think of some stuff I would like to have, since he's going to end up getting me something.

So far, I've said I'd like a watch (check! We picked it up last week.) and some Lock-and-Locks (like tupperware, but better). Last night I said I'd like an iPod Nano, which I was serious about but I don't think Rob thought I was! I love the little green ones, or red.

For Rob, I have a pretty good collection of stuff. The only thing he knows about is a suit, which of course he had to pick out and try on. The rest of the goodies should be surprises for him.

I love this time of year!

First Snowfall of the Winter Season!

We woke up this morning to snow falling... despite Al Roker's prediction that it wouldn't start until after 8 a.m. So needless to say, the roads were a mess on the way to work! My 15 minute commute took about 45, which was crazy. I was just glad to get there!

It snowed most all day - sometimes heavy, sometimes really fine. All in all, I think we ended up with between 2-3 inches. After dinner, we went outside to shovel/sweep and put de-icer on the sidewalk. Hopefully it won't freeze solid tonight!

I love snow, so I was glad to see this! The trees, bushes and branches are covered and everything is so pretty. I bet that it's all slushy by tomorrow afternoon. :(

Elf Yourself!

Have you seen "Elf Yourself"? Upload your family and friend photos and have fun!

Here we are with Carrie and Matt. Watch us boogie!

Finally.... an update!

I don't know that anyone reads this anymore anyway, but I thought I'd finally get around to adding a post. It's been too long!

This fall has been busy. I traveled for the last two weeks of October (for work) and now we are gearing up for the holidays. I can't believe how fast this year has gone!

Big updates... my brother left for Iraq on the Friday after Thanksgiving. He'll be there until May/June helping the Iraqis set up their judicial system (he's part of a group of military lawyers on a team). It's been really hard on my Mom especially, but we are making it through.

Thanksgiving was fun. We went to MD and were able to see both families quite a bit. On Friday night, we attended the annual city tree lighting on the downtown mall and it was COLD! I did enjoy singing Xmas carols and seeing the lights, though, despite the chill.

Maybe I should make a new year's resolution to be a better blogger? :)

What is it with Survivor?

Rob and I are sitting here watching Survivor, and I must say that I've never seen so many fuzzed out body parts than as are on this show. When they dropped the contestants off in China (the setting of this year's competition), Jeff Probst pulled the old trick of sending them off with only the clothes on their backs. No backpacks or suitcases or anything. I think that would stink, but here's my problem with the whole situation.

This is not the first time this has happened. So wouldn't you think some of the cast would suspect that it could happen again and come properly attired?? Why wear skimpy underwear or lacy bras when you know that you could be sent out into the wild with nothing that you'd carefully packed?

My word to next year's Survivor contestants? Please, buy some underwear that doesn't show your business. Wear layers of clothes on the first day. Don't wear high heels or short dresses. Have some sense.

Where Have We Been?

I'm delinquent on blogging.... again. Big surprise! So what's been happening with Rob and Kathryn? Much!

We wrapped up the summer at the lake and packed up our room for the year, which is always kind of sad. We were able to spend a lot of weekends up there this year and really loved it. We'll head back up next summer!

I feel like our weeks have been pretty busy, in addition to the regular workday. We went to the University of Maryland vs. West Virginia University game about two weeks ago, which made for a late night. MD got creamed, but since I was secretly for WVU anyway (don't tell Rob!), I was okay with it. Our seats were crazy - we were right on this aisle that it seemed like everyone in the stadium had to keep walking past us to get anywhere. Eh. What can you do?

Last week we saw Kathy Griffin at the Kennedy Center. I'd actually won the tickets on the radio! My tickets were for Thursday, but we had plans that night already, so we found a guy on Craig's List and swapped for Tuesday. Kathy was pretty funny - I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the show was great.

Thursday night we headed to a gala dinner for the International Children's Festival. A girlfriend's husband's company had a table, so they invited us to join them. It was great, as usual! During the dinner, performers from a couple of countries perform, and the food is all native to those regions of the world. We saw performers from Bolivia, Sweden, Nepal and Spain. My favorites were Sweden (funny performance) and Spain (beautiful dance).

Friday brought no rest for the weary. My brother was in town for something with the Navy, so we went to Crystal City to meet him for dinner. Rob found us a great new restaurant to try - Bebo Trattoria. The food was delish and the atmosphere was cool. Plus, we enjoyed catching up with my brother.

Last night we headed up to Bethesda to see a new baby of some friends. He is VERY cute and we loved catching up with them and two other couples that joined us there.

So... the start of another week for us! Hopefully this one won't be quite as busy. :)

Kathryn's Political Compass

Took this Politcal Compass test. Check it out here.



In about 30 questions, you can see where you fall on the spectrum. I was -6.0 for
Economic Left, and -1.64 for Social Libertarian. The definitions say that a liberal leftist believes in the supreme value of each individual. Not too bad.

Mr. Fix It

Last night I got a little lazy and decided to shove more dish towels and cloths in the drawer than it could hold. I heard a pop, and the drawer tilted forward out of the cabinet. Whoops. Before I put the clean ones in the drawer, I could have refolded other ones and taken out some that need to go in the trash, but no. I just shoved.

Lucky for me, Mr. Fix It was nearby and was put to work. Rob took out the drawer, determined that I'd snapped the track off of the back of the cabinet (knowing the craftsmanship of our house, it was probably being held on by stickytak or used chewing gum) and proceeded to figure out how to reattach it. Good thing he has those long arms - he had to reach all the way through the narrow cabinet and drill new screws into the back.

Having Rob do that really made me appreciate him. He dropped what he was doing (even if it was only watching TV!) and helped me out. I hope that he feels the same when I help him... or do his laundry... or cook his dinner... or...

Seriously, I'm one lucky gal. Even on days when I could convince myself otherwise, I know that I am. Life isn't perfect, but with Mr. Fix It around, it sure is a whole lot better.

Hot Hot Hot

In case you haven't seen the news, it's hot everywhere. The weatherman on channel 4 today said to expect heat indexes of 115 degrees, with actual temps around 102. Yick.

Lucky for me, my office is always freezing. Seriously, I could have worn a sweater today and been comfortable - if not a little chilly - inside. But I'm wearing short sleeves and am most definitely cold. I even ate soup for lunch! I guess I should be grateful I'm not outside instead!

Rob and I are always at odds about the thermostat, bed blankets, car temperatures, etc. I'm always cold.... he's always hot. Unless I'm warm... then he's cold. I will literally FREEZE in the car sometimes - I turn off all of my vents and put on a cardigan, and he's feeling just fine. At night, I like to get under the bed blankets and warm up, but he declares that it's too hot and kicks them off. What a nut. ;)

Anniversary Weekend!

We had a perfect first anniversary weekend! I warned Rob shortly after we were married that our anniversary celebration was his responsibility, from now until forever. It didn't have to be something fancy - just something that showed that he put thought into it. He came through!

We headed out in the late morning on Saturday and stopped in Middleburg, Va., a little town with antique shops and little stores. We strolled the main street, had yummy gourmet sandwiches at Market Salamander and then shared a cone of homemade blackberry ice cream. So good!

Rob had made us reservations at L'Auberage Provencale, a B&B about an hour from home. It was beautiful! Our room was perfect, and the grounds were filled with gardens, a fruit orchard and great views. We had dinner that night in the Inn's restaurant - amazing. Five courses! The food and atmosphere were lovely.


On Sunday - after a delish gourmet breakfast - we headed to Luray Caverns. It was a last minute add-on to the trip, and I'm glad we did it. The caverns were beautiful! Here are shots of the caverns, and Rob and I in the deep dark!

We took some back roads toward home, with the intention of stopping at Oasis Winery for a tasting. We got a bit lost on the way, but finally found it. We would have been better off just heading home! The tasting was a total let down ... the pourer was poor and it was too busy and loud inside. Oh, well!


When we got home that evening, we had dinner and then shared slices from our wedding cake top, which had been in either my parents' or our freezer since July 29 of last year. Amazingly, it was delicious! It tasted like a fresh cake, and we are still enjoying it. I told Rob that it was kind of sad - I hope it's the only wedding cake I'll ever have, and we were finishing it off! I guess that in the back of my mind, I've known it's been in the freezer for us to enjoy, and now it won't be there anymore. Silly!

Thanks to Rob for making our anniversary special. There is no one else I'd rather celebrate with than you!

Off to the beach (just not us!)

I've been neglecting the site for a long time now, but I see K has been pulling my weight!

My folks (Mom, Dad and Carrie) stopped by our place last night on their way to Ocean City today. Lucky ducks! They went to Mount Vernon yesterday afternoon and then out to our place to spend the night before getting up pretty early this morning to beat most of the traffic.

K pulled together a great dinner last night of vegetable kabobs, roasted garlic potatoes, and chicken. She rubbed the chicken (boneless breasts) with a rub I made from the Barbecue Bible cookbook (great book, by the way), the veggie kabobs got some sort of seasoning along with a coating of some sort of herbed basting oil K has in the pantry, and the potatoes were pan fried in some EVOO with red onion before having a nice chunk of minced garlic tossed in and put into a 425 oven for an hour or so. We've made the potatoes before and they are always awesome. I tossed the kabobs and chicken on the grill and a salad from Wegman's completed the meal! We discovered that Wegman's has bulk organic salad mix in the produce section that is really really good and ends up being cheaper than the bagged mixes. Finished off the chicken with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce of course. We love that stuff!

But now they're at the beach. I'm jealous!

And nice job with the Simpsonizing, K! :-)

The Hamilton Simpsons

I saw this on a friend's blog this morning and thought it was fun - here are Rob and me as "Hamilton Simpsons!"

Go here to Simpsonize yourself!

Our Wedding

Today is our anniversary! We've thought a lot about our day one year ago, the funny things that happened, the friends and family who came to celebrate and how much fun we all had. Here are a few memories to remember....

Hair... the bridesmaids, mothers and I went to have our hair and make-up done on Saturday morning. I had my hair done twice that week, trying to make sure the style would last the day (I have notoriously flat hair!), but nothing had worked, so I was really nervous. I planned to wear my hair down, so the lady teased-teased-teased my hair until I looked like Minnie-Mouse. It was hilarious. But, she must have known what she was doing, because by 5 p.m., it had flattened out to the perfect poof.

Getting ready... it was hot outside, which made it hot inside. Putting on a 40-lb. dress didn't help (not sure of the actual weight, but that's what it felt like!). We stood in front of fans and did our best to keep cool. Tessa and Ashley had a heck of a time getting the veil in my hair, so the comb didn't butt too much up against the decorative comb already in my hair. They persevered and it looked great. The guys were getting ready right next door, and every now and then I could hear them through the wall, as they played pool and hung out. I was anxious to see Rob!

The ceremony... Our wedding was at 5 p.m. When the gal from the club came downstairs to tell us that people were seated and it was time to go, my heart leaped. We went upstairs and I heard the string quartet playing Bach's "Sleepers Awake" for the bridesmaids - that was the first time I'd really gotten emotional. It was beautiful. The girls started going out, and I met my dad on the porch for our walk down the aisle. This is where the first funny thing happened.

Wrong Song!... My mom wanted me to come down the aisle to the traditional bridal march, so that's what I'd planned. But as we stood there ready to go, I heard the four opening notes of Pachelbel's Canon. Um, wrong song. I whispered that to the quartet leader, and she nodded and said "prelude." Prelude to what?? Dad asked me what I wanted to do, and I said "let's go!". What choice did we have? The quartet quickly realized their mistake and apologized a jillion times. It's a good story. :)

Ceremony... Our ceremony was perfect. Our minister from our church here in Fairfax traveled up to do the ceremony and it was lovely. We'd met with him twice before the ceremony, and he worked in so many personal things we'd talked about in those sessions. He recited Corinthians 13 and really made it special to us. So many people have commented that it's one of the best ceremonies they've ever heard, and we agree.

Toasts... During the reception, both Tessa and Dave offered toasts. Tessa's was sweet, and Dave's was funny - just like the two of them. They were heartfelt and perfect for us.

Dancing... We cut a rug! Our friends and some of our families are big dancers, and we had a blast. One guy did the worm (hilarious!) and we just had a good time. Our DJ was terrific and played perfect music to get the crowd going.

Cakes... Delish. Our traditional cake was a four-tier round, and the groom's cake was a two-tier chocolate. It went like crazy - Rob got the last piece! Yummy chocolate-dipped strawberries went with each piece of both cakes.

Leaving... Rob and I changed clothes and went back upstairs for one last dance before leaving for the evening. The crowd gathered around the dance floor and all gathered in the middle in a "big hug" as we danced. We went around the circle and gave hugs before we left the club. It was a perfect ending.

As Rob and I drove to the Red Fox Inn in Middleburg for the night, we talked non-stop about how much we loved our day. We so appreciate everything that our friends, families - and especially my mom and dad - did to make the day special. We couldn't have asked for anything more!

Remembering July 29, 2006

The Week Leading Up to the Wedding

I've been thinking all week about writing a post about this week last year, but I just haven't gotten it down on "paper", so to speak. On some levels, I can't believe how quickly the year has passed, but then sometimes it's easy to think that we've been married for ages.

I spent this week last year at home with my parents. I had decided to take off the week before the wedding, and then two weeks after for our honeymoon. Three weeks away from work was something I'd never done before, but I put away the Blackberry and enjoyed the time off.

Saturday... My mom came down on the Saturday before the wedding to pick me up, as well as our two dresses. I remember us carrying those HEAVY dresses from the shop out to the car, trying to hold them over our heads and as straight as possible. We had folded down the seats in the van and loaded everything up to head west.

Sunday through Wednesday... We spent the week doing all sorts of stuff... trying out hairstyles, running stuff out to the country club, seating arrangements and the like. We went out to lunch (and sometimes dinner too!) and just spent time as a family. I've always been close with my mom and dad, so I loved it.

Thursday... Rob came up on Thursday. He picked up bridesmaid Ashley at the airport and arrived in the late afternoon. I was glad to see both of them! I hadn't seen Ashley in a year or so (she lives in Atlanta), so I was especially happy to catch up with her and learn the plans for her own September wedding in Jamaica.

We headed down to Cumberland to walk Ashley through the club (and to drop off another load of stuff!), and I am SO GLAD we did. The tent company was there... putting up the tent the wrong direction! They already had some of the stakes in the ground and didn't seem to happy about moving it, but they did. What if we hadn't seen it until after they'd gone? No chance we would have gotten them to come back, and we'd been in a world of hurt. Glad we caught 'em when we did!

Friday... Friday was crazy. We started the day with all of the ladies getting our nails done, and then heading to my grandparents' house for a beautiful bridesmaid luncheon. The room, food and company were all perfect, and very much appreciated. I gave my girls their gifts (embroidered tote bags and pearl necklace and earrings to go with their dresses) and we just spent some time together. Honestly, Tessa, Ashley, Kelly and Carrie were a tremendous help during everything!

After lunch, we headed out to the club to start putting some things together. The tables had been mostly set, so we were able to put out the dinner menus and favors. We checked the tent and chairs, put up the shepherd hooks for the flower balls and made sure we were all set for the rehearsal. Home to clean up, quickly change and head back for the 5 p.m. rehearsal...

No problems here. Our minister was fabulous and kept the whole thing moving perfectly. We all understood the where, when and why of what was happening the next day. Afterwards, we headed to the rehearsal dinner at Giuseppe's, and then to my parents' for a yummy dessert party.

Saturday... a remembrance post to come!

Still Not Good at Blogging....

Yikes. It's been too long since my last post. I'm still not good (dedicated?) at this blogging-thing. Honestly - I try! It's just that writing all day at work doesn't make me want to write at night. But here goes:

We spent this past weekend up at the lake house and had a great time. We headed up early on Friday to meet Rob's family for an anniversary celebration dinner for his parents - 37 years! We ate at a pretty good little restaurant - Point View Inn. After dinner, most of Rob's family headed back home (they were playing in a golf tourney on Saturday), so it was just us at the lake house for the night and most of Saturday. We slept in, made yummy blueberry pancakes, swam in the lake and read our books. We ended up meeting my folks for dinner that evening, but not before enjoying a pina colada at the Honi Honi. My fave!

Rob's family was back on Sunday - more lakeside sitting and relaxing, plus a terrific lunch and fresh corn that his mom fixed. We left later than usual to come back and ran into some traffic snares on the interstate. At one point, we turned around (driving through the median!), got off the main road and took a back road into the next little town. The interstate eventually starting moving (slowly) again, so we hopped back on and got home. Instead of our usual 3 hours from the lake, it took about 4. Ugh.

Regardless, we had a great weekend and loved the peace and quiet. We are gearing up for next weekend's anniversary - I can't believe it's been a year! A post about the week leading up to the wedding last year to come.... thanks for reading!

A Lazy July 4th Long Weekend

Rob and I returned yesterday from a five-day vacation - much needed! We spent some great, relaxing time at his parents' lake cottage and really enjoyed ourselves. We cooked hot dogs over a fire (not my fave, but Rob's!), went for boat rides, played too many games of Monopoly and Scrabble, slept in and just hung out. People came and went ... Rob's parents and sister and brother-in-law, which was lots of fun.

I actually spent the night of July 4th at my parents so I could be there for something happening the next morning. It's been a long time since it's just been me with my mom and dad, and I really enjoyed it. Just like old times! ;)

I ended up getting a dandy of a sunburn on my legs on Saturday. I'd put on sunscreen, but didn't think about the three inches or so that my shorts went up when I sat down. So Carrie and I sat out on the dock talking for a while, and bam! Instant sunburn right above my knees. It has been so sore!

Could You Pass the Citizen Test?

I just took a quiz on MSNBC that is a selection of questions that any person petitioning for U.S. citizenship would have to answer as part of a test.

I got 85% of the questions right... and I felt pretty confident in taking the test! Some of the questions were simple - like how many stripes are on the flag and who the chief justice of the Supreme Court is today. Easy-peasy.

A couple of them I found a little more tricky. Here's what I missed:

• What year was the Constitution written? I guessed 1776 - it was actually 1787. I always get that mixed up with the Declaration of Independence.
  
• Which constitutional amendment doesn't address voting rights? No clue. I've never had to worry about that before. For future fyi, it's amendment #7.
• How many changes have been made to the Constitution? I guessed 9 - it's actually 27. More than I thought.

I guess, as an American, that I've never really appreciated the freedom and rights that we have in our country. But as I get older, I look more at the world and the problems that stem from a weakened government or civil dispute. Heck, we have our share of problems (poverty, health care and a wacky president to name a few), but we have much to be thankful for to the intelligent men and women who shaped this country so many years ago.

So this July 4th, maybe I'll be a little bit more thankful for a government in which I can have a say, a church that I can freely go to and the right to pursue my own happiness.

Tagged!

College roomie Jennifer tagged me on her blog, so here goes!

First I must repeat the rules: Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

1. I have a good memory.... about most things. I can remember when things happened based on the years people got married, died, etc. I remember song lyrics and recipes and poems and things I hear. I have an uncanny ability to remember birthdays and anniversaries. I remember mean things that people have said to/about me, and I remember the good ones too.

2. I bite my fingernails, although I am always trying to stop. When I was in elementary school, one of my good friends always bit her nails, so for some reason, I thought it was a good idea too. I've been doing it since third grade, I think. My mom used to put that stinky/bitter polish on them so I wouldn't bite them, but it never worked. I go through phases... I'll bite 'em; then I won't. And then I will again.

3. I met my husband in Virginia, even though we grew up 6 miles from each other in Maryland. Weird, huh? Our families knew each other; our moms taught at the same school; Rob's sister became good friends with one of my closest friends in college; but our paths never crossed. I always knew who he was, but we didn't know each other. I would even see him around here occasionally, but never said anything to him, thinking he wouldn't have a clue who I was. Anyway, we finally met down here and the rest is history.

4. Most of my closest friends are people I've known since childhood. Tessa, Kelly, the two Staceys... I've known these girls forever. I made a couple of good friends in college and some since, but none to the level that I know these girls. It's good to have history.

5. I can type really fast. Really, really fast. Not so much weird, but just a good skill to have. In high school typing class (that I didn't really want to take by had to!) I would type words to church hymns over and over again, just to practice. Now that's weird.

6. I have the funniest kitty ever. Seriously, this cat could have made us one million bucks if we'd gotten her on TV. She can open cabinets, the freezer and tupperware; she chews through cords in a minute; she loves water and will play in the sink and bathtub; and she isn't afraid of anything. She wraps her paws around my wrist when I hold the cat treat container, just like a baby would with a bottle. She'll jump up in my lap just when I need her to, and she's always happy to see us when we get home. She never goes off by herself and loves to sit wherever we are. She loves road trips and strolls right into her container like a pro, without fuss. When I start up the steps, she runs ahead of me and does a big flop at the top on the landing, rolling around until I fuss over her. She's hysterical and sweet, and I'll never have another one like her.

7. I love to cook. No surprise to those who know me! I remember my grandmother saying, "if you can read, you can cook." I never understood people who say they can't cook. Just read the directions and follow along! I also like to bake.

8. When I make a wish, I never, ever wish for myself. I always say a prayer/wish for my family or Rob or sometimes for people that I don't even know who are hurting. Whether its an eyelash or turned-around necklace or a birthday cake, I always wish for someone else. I hope someone out there is doing that for me in return!

No people to tag for me. I'm not sure who even reads this, and I think everyone I read has already been tagged. I guess I could tag Rob to do his list!