Remembering Tim Russert

I am so saddened by the death of Tim Russert. As a journalist, he was top-notch, always fair and extremely thorough. As a father, husband and son, he was passionate and proud. As a friend - as told by his colleagues at NBC and competitors across the networks - he was gregarious and thoughtful.



I met Tim in 2000 when he spoke at an event at the Chamber of Commerce where I worked. It was in the weeks after the Bush/Gore election, when Florida was still under re-count and no president had yet been named. He brought along his famous white board and gave an excellent speech on American politics, what was predicted to happen as the election was decided, why we should care and how we should behave after a winner was announced. I remember his remarks and his kindness as he spoke to people after the breakfast and posed for a photo with the chamber staff. I'm glad to say I still have my copy.

Tim was admirable for a variety of reasons... a political giant, a loving father and a caring son. I will miss his insight and personality.

A few things I'm tired of...

Is this the antithesis to the Tuesday Top 10 list? (Just kidding!) There are just a few things that I'm tired of hearing about/dealing with/seeing everywhere, so bear with me.

What am I tired of?
1. Humidity (not good, since it's only the beginning of summer)
2. $4/gallon gas
3. Our ice maker leaking and making one giant piece of ice
4. Katherine Heigel
5. Dusting rooms we never go in
6. Groceries going up, up, up
7. Cell phones ringing - loudly - all over our office
8. Pollen
9. Bad TV shows about rich teenagers
10. Blisters on my feet

Whew! It feels good to get that out. :)

Stick Shifts and Safety Belts

Rob is teaching me to drive stick shift. My first lesson was tonight, and all in all, I didn't do too bad! Only stalled twice and didn't hit a thing. :)

We went to our church parking lot, which is about a mile from our house. Our church is letting a nearby hospital's employees park in the lot during the day (and we overflow to their lots on Sunday). We waited until about 7 p.m., when we figured most of the cars would be gone.

After Rob thoroughly explained every in, out and about of the clutch and gear shifter, he finally let me take the wheel. We'd spotted a lot security guard on the other side of the lot, and as we rounded the corner, she waved us over and asked what we were doing. Rob explained it and noted that we attended church there, and she asked if I had a driver's permit. Did she think I was 16?!?

Anywho, she let us keep driving and I looped and shifted for about 20 minutes. Our preacher even came out of the building and spotted us, then laughed that an old girlfriend taught him to drive stick and they ended up breaking up. He gave kudos to Rob for his bravery and patience!

Why am I learning to drive stick? I drive a CRV SUV, and Rob has a Civic. With gas $4+ a gallon, we need to use his car more for weekend road trips, and goodness knows he's not doing all of the driving!

Why have I never learned before? To be honest, I don't want to think about clutch-shift-neutral-clutch-shift-blah-blah-blah when I'm driving. I'd rather pay attention to the song on the radio or gab on the (wireless headset!) phone. Isn't that crazy?

So, I'll practice some more and maybe venture out on to a real road this weekend. All of the traffic around here makes me so nervous. Pray I don't crash!

Tuesday Top 10

I have to be honest - I'm in a moment of a pretty bad attitude. So, I thought it would be a good time to do this list and hopefully get over it. Wish me luck!

My Tuesday Top 10:

1. I have to be most thankful for air-conditioning this week. Did Virgina accidentally slide into Texas? It's so hot and humid that I think it might have! The 99-degree temps are supposed to cool down to the 80s for the rest of the week. Hallelujah!
2. A good book I'm reading - My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult. A friend recommended it and I can't put it down.
3. A clean, organized family room downstairs. I got into some weird cleaning spurt on Sunday night and whipped that sad room into shape. It had become a giant pile of miscellaneous stuff, covered in an embarrassingly-thick layer of dust. No more! Now it looks good, and I'm headed to tackle our office next.
4. My mom. Of course I'm always thankful for her, but she and I had a good conversation last night on the phone about an emotional decision she is making (nothing bad - just a leap of faith). I'm glad she's my mom. :)
5. Catching up with old friends and meeting new ones at Rob's reunion. What fun we had! I'm hoping to attend my 10-year college reunion (YIKES!) this fall at Harding. Let me know if you'll be there!
6. Good things happening for Rob at work. Long story that's been a little stressful for us both, but I have confidence in the future, and more importantly, in him.
7. New sandals that I love. Sounds trivial, but I needed some nice sandals that I could wear to work on super hot days, and I found some good ones by Clarks on clearance. They were such a good deal that I bought both black and brown.
8. Yummy shrimp for dinner tonight. Easy and delicious!
9. Good friends who will read my Top 10, even if it's written with an ulterior motive -- to help me get over myself and cross attitude.
10. Cinnamon dried apple rings from Trader Joe's!

Hopefully that has helped turn my attitude around and will send me off for the rest of the day with a more pleasant demeanor. Trust me, I need it!

Have a good one!

Rob's Reunion

We are back from Rob's reunion, and we had a great time! The turnout was lower than expected, but the guy who planned it did a knock-out job and everyone who was there had such fun. I'm glad we went!

We headed west Friday afternoon and arrived at Rob's parents' in the early evening. I decided to get in a walk, even though it was 95 degrees. I nearly passed out! But I'm glad I did because I ate a lot of junk this weekend. :)


Anyway, there was an ice breaker that night at a local bar, where we'd never been. It was an interesting place.... flippin' hot inside and way too loud. We pulled up outside at the same time as two of Rob's friends and their wives (they don't live too far from us and we see them often), so that was good. We got inside, we signed in, got nametags and started talking to people. There was pretty good attendance there -- and some crazy dancing we did not participate in! -- and Rob and I stayed until a little after midnight.

The picnic Saturday was at 11 a.m., so we got up that morning, walked and then I made a pasta salad to take. The temperatures were to be in the mid-90s again, but it didn't seem that bad out! There was a good number of people at the picnic, and the guy who planned it did games for kids, rented a cotton candy machine (yum!) and had it all set up nicely. We hung out for about five hours, played baggo/corn hole, talked to friends and had fun.

Saturday night, we did dinner with the aforementioned friends and wives at Giuseppe's, a favorite of ours. Then we spent some time at a new local restaurant/bar in Frostburg, owned by my parents' neighbors.

This morning, we got up, walked, ate breakfast and headed back home. Overall, it was a great weekend and a fun reunion.

A Reunion

We are going this weekend to Rob's 15th high school reunion. I'd laugh and say he's old, but the truth is that I'm not far behind. :)

Anyway, I guess I'm kind of nervous about it for some reason. Maybe it's because I don't think I'll know many people (there will be four people I know for sure)... maybe it's because I wonder what people will think of the girl Rob married... maybe it's because I know Rob won't remember anyone's names!

So, wish me luck. I'll post about it after the weekend -

Tornado?

A tornado supposedly just went through the town where my office is located. Some co-workers saw it out the window (I was in a meeting in our windowless library - a blessing?). Trees are down everywhere, including one blocking one of the roads to my building.

I popped out of the meeting for a quick second to shut down my computer, and it was pitch black outside with rain pouring down. Now, almost 45 minutes later, it's still really dark, although the winds have died down and I can see some brighter light on the horizon.

Rob was driving home during all of the madness, but he made it home safely. Hope my drive home isn't bad either!

Tuesday Top 10

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for my top 10. Here goes:

1. My corny husband, who is forcing me to watch "Micro Cosmos" - the dumbest insect show ever - as I'm writing this blog. Seriously.
2. Warm weather that has made me want to escape my office at lunch for some time outside. I'm glad the rainy days are passing.
3. Lunch yesterday with a co-worker and good friend who helps me talk through situations and provides good thoughts. Invaluable!
4. Freshly folded piles of clean clothes, a la Rob.
5. Early Fridays! The head of my office announced today that our summer hours begin this Friday, which means we get to leave work two hours early. I love it!
6. No bills in today's mail! Just catalogs and junk mail. I'll take that any day. :)
7. Catching up with an old college roommate I haven't talked to in 10 years. I ran across her blog and am so happy to be in touch again!
8. Sweet A.J., who is curled up next to me on the couch. She always makes me smile.
9. My mom and dad, who I grow to appreciate more every day. My mom e-mailed me this morning that they have less than one week left of school - I'm jealous!
10. Fresh pineapple!

Hope you have a great week!

I Will Never...

I've seen this on a couple of friends' blogs, so I'm giving it a whirl.

20 Things I Will Never Do:
1. Be perfect... or graceful, for that matter.
2. Stop missing my grandmother.
3. Quit wishing I would wake up in a villa in Florence, Italy.
4. Tire of going to the lake.
5. Want a tattoo.
6. Learn to love tomatoes, beans or mayonnaise.
7. Stop worrying about the future.
8. Want to stop traveling.
9. Fully appreciate the generosity, faith and love of my parents.
10. Advanced math.
11. Regret going to Harding or spending a semester at HUF.
12. Think smoking is attractive.
13. Weigh my "ideal" weight.
14. Convince Rob to do all of the driving.
15. Learn all of the rules to football.
16. Keep a plant alive for an entire season.
17. Cancel my subscription to People magazine.
18. Have another kitty as sweet and funny as A.J.
19. Have a beautifully organized house.
20. Love anyone as much as I do Rob.

What are 20 things you'll never do?

Good Morning, Baltimore!

I always sing the opening song from Hairspray when I'm in Baltimore, much to my own chagrin. :)

Got home tonight after two days at a marketing conference. Some good sessions... some not so good, but I think I got a few tips out of it that will come in handy. The last session I attended on social media was worth the price of admission, so at least it ended on a good note.

Two of my co-workers also went, so we enjoyed a ridiculously good dinner last night in Little Italy at Sabatino's. It was too delicious! Most of the restaurants in this 12-block area are in old houses, so the atmosphere is quaint too. Our waitress was delighted to be serving a table of girls (she mentioned it a couple of times!) and recommended some great dishes. I had the best lasagna I've ever eaten!

We got back to the hotel around 8 p.m., and I was so stuffed that I forced myself to put on my sneakers and head out for a fast-paced walk before it got dark. One co-worker told me she went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 90 minutes... I only walked for 30, but it made me feel better!

And confession time: Rob and I agreed to DVR the Lost finale and watch it together tonight, but I couldn't help myself and watched it at the hotel last night. Good thing I did! Rob called this morning to say that the DVR only recorded the first hour. WHAT?!? I'm glad I was sneaky and watched it, but I'm sorry Rob won't see it! I'm sure ABC will air it again, or he can just watch it online.

We are in town for a rare Saturday tomorrow, so we plan to hit some yard sales in the morning (a favorite way of spending time together and finding great treasures!), and then head downtown DC in the afternoon for a picnic on the mall and a couple of museums. Fingers crossed for no rain!

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday Top 10

I had completely forgotten it was Tuesday until I saw another friend had already posted her "Top 10." The long weekend has thrown me off! Here goes my own top 10 for today...

1. A bonus weekend day that stretched out the opening weekend of summer! We headed to the lake and spent time with both of our families either on the way up or during the weekend. The weather was great and we enjoyed it.
2. A long chat on Sunday with my best girlfriend, who is up visiting from Texas. She shared some good news with me (top secret!) that I'm very excited about. Stay tuned.
3. The fact that my passenger side headlight does not need replaced! I had asked the place that changes my oil to replace the bulb last week since it was dim, and they said the whole thing needed replaced to the tune of $500. Um - no thanks? I took it to the dealer today and they said it was a-okay and fixed the bulb. Crazy!
4. My sweet kitty who was so happy to see us after a long weekend on her own. She barely did any damage while we were gone! :)
5. An very short week at work, since we were off Monday and I'm offsite Thursday-Friday. But, that does leave me an awful lot to squeeze in to two days.
6. An upcoming trip to NY with Rob's family. I booked the hotel last night, and we are excited about spending some time in the big city.
7. Beautiful spring weather! It finally warmed up and it's so nice outside. Now that I've jinxed myself, I'm sure we are in for a freak snow storm in late May. :)
8. Reading friend's blogs. A couple of friends have done the run-down of their blog-rolls lately, and it's fun to see everyone's connections.
9. My brother is home from Iraq safely. He got home late last week, and we hope to see him and his wife soon.
10. 100-calorie pack Oreo candy bites!

Have a great week!

Ready for the Long Weekend!

Today was "Friday" for Rob and me, as we both decided to take off tomorrow (the actual Friday) and extend the long weekend. Whoo hoo!

Our new Friday night tradition is to walk to the shopping center that's about 1.5 miles from our house, eat dinner at one of the many restaurant choices, and then walk home. Somehow that makes me feel better about getting a burger at Five Guys or a burrito at Baja Fresh. :)

Anywhoo, we decided to do it last night too. I had some pants to drop off at the cleaners in the same center, so off we went. About halfway there, it started to rain. I'd taken a windbreaker, but smarty-pants Rob had his fancy Gortex rain jacket. He kept reminding me that it was "impervious" as I continued to get wet. No fair! Luckily, by the time we'd dropped off the cleaning and eaten, the rain stopped and we had an enjoyable walk home.

On to American Idol... I'm so glad that David Cook won! After the performances, I thought for sure that Archuleta was the winner. I just like Cook's style better. I look forward to hearing his music!

Oh, and it's more and more Mario Cart for Rob and me. I think we might need an intervention. I finally beat Rob on a race tonight! (This NEVER happens!)

Enough random thoughts from me. More later!

Tuesday Top 10

I haven't had much to blog about for the past week. Before I knew it, it was time for the Top 10 again. Here goes...

1. A short week! I'm taking off on Friday, plus it's a long weekend. Can't wait to just relax and be home!
2. Busy work. This week's been nuts, but I'd rather be busy than be bored. Lots of empty check boxes on my "to do" list.
3. Sunny skies. I feel like I moved to Seattle, it's been raining so much! It was pouring when we left for work, but sunny when we got home. We managed to do our walk outside tonight, which I wasn't hopeful for this morning.
4. An easy dinner of leftover lasagna. I wasn't in the mood to cook, and we had some yummy leftovers from the lasagnas I made last week. Wah-lah! Dinner in a jiffy.
5. Knowing I'm going to see a great girlfriend this weekend. She's up from Texas and I can't wait to catch up!
6. Wii Mario Cart. We got this game last week and have been playing non-stop. We used to just play each other, but now we race people from around the world online. It's so fun and a great stress reliever.
7. The Zoe Group CDs I listed to at work today. Uplifting!
8. Spending time with Rob. It's never boring! :)
9. My glasses. I used to be so self-conscious about wearing them and would never be caught dead in them in public. No more - contacts 24/7 are killing me. Maybe I'm getting old?!
10. FiberOne oatmeal/caramel bars!

Have a great week!

Tuesday Top 10

Tuesday Top 10 time! Here goes...

1. Freshly vacuumed floors, by Rob.
2. A new recipe from the Today Show that we tried tonight - boneless buffalo chicken tenders. Yum.
3. New contact lenses that don't dry out my eyes.
4. A great team at work who all work well together, are pleasant to get along with and crank out some great work. Trust me - this is a rare blessing!
5. Planning a vacation or two... I'm trying to figure out where we should head this summer. Suggestions welcome!
6. Talking to one of my closest friends from home as I drove home from work today. I've known Kelly since I was 3 and we've always been great friends. I was glad to catch up for a few minutes.
7. A nice walk outside tonight and a heart-to-heart with my hubby as we walked. We needed it.
8. Wrapping the birthday present I'm sending to my friend's little girl for her second birthday. I love selecting the perfect gift, wrapping it with a big bow and giving it away!
9. Knowing I only have two days of work left this week. I'm taking off on Friday and can't wait.
10. Strawberries and light Cool Whip!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Country Roads

We spent the weekend in Morgantown, W.V., visiting Rob's sister Carrie and her husband Matt. We had a great time!

We left Virginia in the early afternoon and stopped on the way up to see my parents, share England gifts and give Mother's Day attention. Morgantown is about an hour past that, and we arrived there around 7:30 p.m. We were all hungry, so we headed to a local Mexican food place that was great. Lots of WVU college kids are still in town, and we saw some dressed for a party of some nature - I don't know if it was 80s or 90s, but one guy was dressed like Axel Rose (complete with navel-baring tee, boots and bandanna), and he was making the rounds in the restaurant, posing for photos and whooping it up. He was a riot!

Matt and Carrie have Mario Cart for their Wii, so we spent a good chunk of Friday night playing that. I'm terrible at it, but it is a lot of fun!

Saturday we headed for a mini-hike at foggy Cooper's Rock, then just tooled around town. More games on the Wii, then dinner downtown at Black Bear. So good! Carrie and I both had the special: The Chicken Wang (chicken, wing sauce, blue cheese, etc.).

A local, blue-grassy duo called The Weedhawks was playing, and they were great! Seemed like they wrote their songs about their real-life experiences, and they'd give us a little synopsis before each song. One of my favorites was written about getting woken up early... the chorus was all about "the landlord's got hill-billies working on the house." Very good music.

After dinner, we walked into the downtown area and got yummy gelati, then kept walking up to WVU's main campus. It's a good school and the old buildings are beautiful. After watching the movie "The Kingdom" and a few more games on the Wii, we hit the sack.

Sunday, we went to church and then headed back east. We stopped at Rob's parents for a quick lunch and Mother's Day wishes, and we arrived back home mid-afternoon.

Thanks, Carrie and Matt, for your great hospitality! Hope to visit again soon!

Puddles Everywhere

Rain, rain
Go Away
Come Again
Another Day

It's been raining non-stop today!

33 Things I Love About Rob

Today is Rob's 33rd birthday! In honor of him, here are 33 things I love about my #1:

1. He is funny and has a good time in life. He makes silly jokes and sings in the shower and generally is a happy person. He's helped me lighten up.
2. The boy is a genius and understands things I never will. I hope our kids inherit his smarts!
3. He's close to his family. Its fun to watch Rob play with his younger cousins or tease his Mom and Dad. His family is great and it's fun to be with them.
4. He doesn't ever shut me out -- sometimes I tell him that he talks too much!
5. He's a leader. Rob makes a decision and sticks with it. When we met with our minister before getting married, I cited this as my #1 reason for loving him. It's still true.
6. Rob is thoughtful and checks in on me often. I love getting little e-mails from him during the day.
7. He wants to sit with me on the couch. This might seem silly, but otherwise he'd be sitting in his chair and me in mine. It makes me feel closer to him!
8. He drives (almost!) half of the time, although he can be a grouch about traffic.
9. He's fit and gets us out on walks, on our bikes, etc.
10. He doesn't mind hearing stories about my college days or times before I knew him. Those were some fun memories and I like sharing them with him.
11. He spends time with my family.
12. He has a couple of good friends who, although they don't work together any longer and don't see each other often, he keeps up with via e-mail and the occasional event. Rare for a guy!
13. He wouldn't be praised by Simon Cowell for his vocal abilities, but I love hearing him belt out the hymns on Sunday mornings.
14. Rob's a little predictable. I can almost tell you how he'll react to news, what he'll order at a restaurant, etc.
15. He loves to travel.
16. He's good with money, investments, etc., and has planned for our future (very lucky for Miss Spend It!).
17. He'll help around the house. It may never occur to him to pick up a pile, but he'll pitch in when I ask.
18. He's good at his job and is respected by his co-workers.
19. He carries the laundry basket up and down two flights for me.
20. Grill-master extraordinare.
21. He'll hang out with my friends and effortlessly fits in.
22. Rob's a good cook! He'll take over dinner duty when I'm swamped at work or not feeling well, or sometimes just for no reason at all.
23. He likes spending time together, whether it's a walk, or sitting by the lake in the summer, or going to the grocery store.
24. He's competitive. Good or bad? He's a terrible loser at games, but it's almost funny to me. He definitely plays to win!
25. He'll run upstairs or downstairs to get something for me when I ask... and I do. :)
26. He's the king of vacuuming the steps in our house.
27. He'll figure out the remote controls for me. There are too many and I can't ever figure out how to use the DVD player or switch to or from the Wii.
28. Rob chases around our kitty and is silly when he talks to her. It's so funny to me.
29. Rob is a breakfast food-fiend. He'd have us eating pancakes or waffles or eggs for every meal. It takes work to talk him out of it!
30. Rob puts up with my crazy moods and my sometimes bad attitude.
31. Rob is cautious. He thinks about things before he does them and he considers the outcome before taking action.
32. We are a team. Rain or shine, good days or bad.
33. Rob loves me for me. And I couldn't be happier.

Happy birthday, Rob. I hope we celebrate at least 33 more May 7ths together!

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!