subconscious soundtrack.

i just dropped stephen off at the airport. now that grad school is finally over (as of 6pm today when he turned in the infamous doug feith's final), his job is eager to get him traveling. this week it's cambridge's harvard square to interview 3 ksg profs/ambassadors. in 2 more weeks, it will be an adventurous trip to yerevan, armenia in the south caucus - lucky him. :P

i have to admit, i kind of enjoy having an evening all to myself. right now i have gingerbread men baking in the oven while i chill out on the couch in a kitty sandwich - franklin to my left, winston on the right. such sweethearts.

today was interesting day...from conquering "are you smarter than a 5th grader?" at the RSM luncheon/holiday party (quite the spread, not to mention my candied pecans - oh yum!) to finalizing the federal government's standard operating procedures on how to administer retirement (yes, it's as interesting as it sounds) to battling expectation against the fragile hope of *possibly* being able to roll-off this wretched project at the end of the month (if only!)

but through it all, one thing has remained constant - this song stuck in my head, playing on repeat! instead of the expected mariah carey's christmas classic, it's been the goo goo doll's summer hit........ah!

i think it might have something to do with the fact that stephen broke down and actually BOUGHT the transformers movie (i miss the 80s) this weekend - that along with the new harry potter. yay. our dvd collection has seriously suffered since becoming netflix members in july of 06. to celebrate, we watched the flicks again and again - y'know, to make sure they didn't "need" to be returned.

so welcome to the inner most tick-tocking of my mind...at least, for the moment. that's what blogging's for, right???

wizards & wine.

FINALLY, some of our friendships are starting to "pay-off". ok, well, i'm only HALF joking...

one of stephen's old buddies from the booz allen days just moved back to the city after graduating from michigan law....and scored a job at one of the most prestigious law firms in dc. we got together with jeetander and his wife alicia (also a mich law alum) last summer while they were in town for internships - they are such a great, down-to-earth couple...not to mention brilliant. :P now that they are back for good, we had been meaning to reconnect, but they beat us to it! courtesy of winston & strawn, they invited us to a washington wizards game saturday night with some free box-seat tickets in their corporate suite!

we were thrilled!!!

not only have i never been to an nba game, let alone at the super sweet verizon center, but who gets the luxury of soaking up the action in plush seats with your own mini kitchen and personal bathroom! so after linking up for an early dinner at matchbox, enjoying a-mazing sliders, onion straws and a prosciutto white pizza pie (oh, i'm hooked), we skipped down 2 blocks in chinatown to take in the ball game in style. SO MUCH FUN!!! and fortunately, the wizards are pretty good this year; it's always more entertaining when the home team actually wins ;)

afterwards, we said our goodbyes (& many thanks!) and then rushed off to arlington to hit up my cube-mate's holiday party...toting our bottle of white merlot with us to compliment her wine-tasting theme. i always find it interesting to go to coworkers' parties - to see where they live, to meet their "outside of work" friends and to connect more on real-life terms (who cares about business process reengineering - NOT ME!). all this to say, we had such a blast. after catching up with the BPR team and meeting tangential accenture acquaintances, it was no surprise to find many of kathryn's college friends are close friends with our gracedc friends...with the connection being wake forest university.

it's been the running joke this past year that all the new friends stephen and i make hail from winston-salem and chant "go deacs" every chance they get. it seems like every other week i'm asking kathryn (who literally sits 12 inches from me...don't ask me how many times we bump chairs, ugh), if she knows so-and-so from WF. the answer is usually...i don't think so...but as we now know, the answer is different when you talk to her friends. in fact, her sorority sister, lindsay, knows HALF of our bible study from their wake days.

yep, it is a small world - at least in what i have repeatedly found in the dc/wfu circle. i would say it's probably close to the nyc/penn world i know i miss out on daily...yes, i'm actually jealous!

president paul?

i find it pretty ironic that i call dc home yet i have an overt aversion to politics. honestly, i could care less if you work on the "hill" - i'm sure all you do is pour coffee and make copies for the one to many corrupt politicians that make our laws. ugh, yes, i'm a cynic. i hold politicians right there up with real estate agents, in regard to my trust in their motives - not very high.

however, with 2008 just around the corner and the presidential race in full swing i can't help but start to pay attention. i believe firmly the duties of a citizenship and the importance of voting. i often getting annoyed by those who constantly complain about the state of our country yet didn't bother to vote in the last election. hello!! you basically forfeited your oratory soapbox when you failed to participate in our electoral process. even if it means choosing the lesser of two evils, to vote is to have a say.

i'm not ashamed to say that in the last 2 presidential elections, i cast my vote for dubya. i mean, when you compare him to his last democratic competitors (at least their party line mascot was appropriate), i would say i didn't have much of a choice. but over the past 8 years, i have become increasingly disappointed in the republican party as they blunder opportunities for progress meanwhile the democrats continue to act like jackasses. where is our country heading under such incompetent leadership??!

like i said, i'm not much for the political scene, but i have become more and more interested our country's economic plights. between wall street, the housing markets, rise in health care costs, devaluation of the dollar....i could go on...it's rather disturbing that not more political attention has been focused on such hot topics. not to mention this huge deficit we have dug ourselves into by over-expanding our already big government, all the while increasing taxes. yikes! as i was reading through an econ blog the other day, i came across this great youtube clip of representative ron paul (r-texas), grilling the fed on their seemingly futile efforts.



i was so impressed that i started to actually look at paul's campaign website and read his more libertarian platforms. wow - how come we don't hear of this guy as much as the other republican front runners...romney, mccain, guilani....move over! i was intrigued to find dr. paul had a very visionary approach to many of our nations deepest woes while going to back to core of what country was founded on 231 years ago - the constitution. imagine that! as a practicing medical physician with 10 terms of congressional experience under his belt, i was certainly drawn to this citizen-statesman who seems so different than all the rest.

now i'm not quite sure i'm fully committed to join his "rEVOLution," but he certainly has my attention as a glimmer of hope in an answer for america. we shall see...

quarter girl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

that's right, the big 25 - i'm now squarely in my mid-twenties. a startling reality.

hard to believe that i am officially a quarter of a century old. it's pretty difficult to swallow that i am no longer in the highly marketed 18-24 age group; as if i ever acted my age when i wore that badge. ha! even still, it is a little unsettling on just how fast time passes... it seems with the more years we accrue, the more the aspect of time slips through our fingers. even though i believe it all comes down to relativity based on the span of individual lifetimes, i still wish there was a way to slow down the ticking of the clock hands. i guess all the more reason to live the moment in the fullest!

so to celebrate, i finally used up my "floating holiday" and took a day just for myself - to be still without the pressure of needing to do x, y, z. i'll tell you, it was wonderful! catching up with old friends, feeling facebook love and just hanging out at home with the kitties, surrounded by the comfort of my favorite things...a good guilt-free day.

when stephen got home from work, he made me feel supremely special. surprising me with a fully-bloomed pink peony from ultra violet - my all time favorite flower that is nearly impossible to find this time of year! - his thoughtfulness filled me with glee. and in his other hand, he held a gourmet raspberry cake from the renowned heidelberg pastry shoppe, courtesy of my sweet MIL, elaine. mmmmm.

we had celebrated with our friends a little earlier this week when stephen helped organized a huge surprised bday dinner for our friend evan & myself. what a sneaky duo - stephen & betsy (evan's gf) lured us into thinking we were going to have a quiet double-date dinner after church on sunday, but as we entered in gordon biersch, we were thrilled to find 25-30 of our closest friends from gracedc! stephen and i split the "new york oscar" (steak & crab - yummmm) and then massive slices of chocolate cake were passed around after we blew out our respective candles - pink for evan and blue for me. lol

tonight i was lucky enough to be celebrated yet again at bible study as this tuesday was themed as a holiday party night! we stuffed our faces and decorated ornaments with paint, glitter and glue for the georgetown retirement home we visit monthly. cake and crafts and community - a perfect combo in my book!

all in all, i feel immensely fortunate for where these 25 years have brought me. thanks to all you who sent very celebratory wishes my way... i'm blessed by your love.

ps. happy birthday mom!!!

white christmas.

well, it is white outside and christmas inside...so close enough.

the first day of snow is something special. the holiday spirit fills the air as snowflakes dance around us, fulfilling that winter wonderland feeling without the dread of inescapable inconvenience soon to hit us (ice scrapers, anyone?).

today was just a mere dusting of flurries; enough to coat everything a glorious white but not enough to cause major traction issues on the roads/sidewalks. yikes! so tonight, to celebrate the joy of the new season, i decided to FINALLY decorate our 7 ft fraser fir we claimed last week and get our tiny apartment spruced for christmas!!!

enjoy the pics.

christmas kitties

happy halloween!

this year we didn't make it to dupont's infamous drag race, gtown's nightmare on m street or even clarendon ballroom's monster bash.... BUT we did dress up!

can you guess what we are???

a dust bunny and a dirt devil - obvi!
he sure cleans up my act.

george-town.

so it's been awhile... but, believe it or not, i have about 8 or 9 posts in draft mode sitting in my blogger box, unfinished. agggggh. october has just been one of those months. but this, THIS, is breaking news --

celebrity sighting at the office of personnel management. !!!!

yes, dc is definitely the place for georges... the prez, the uptown, the universities (three, count 'em, 3 - gu, gwu, gmu). and now - the one and only, george clooney. yowzers.

a coworker landed upon this goldmine oddity and it just made our day down in drudges of the TRB basement. so here's a glimpse of where i work...with a little eye candy as well.

boss of the moss.

so the long awaited day at the golf course, finally arrived. after arranging a 7:45am carpool pick up friday morning, i hopped in the car prepared as i would ever be, toting along stephen's clubs and fully prepped with the popped collar and all.

upon registering at reston national, i tried my hardest to orient myself to such strange surroundings. with 144 golfers signed up for our corporate event, people were buzzing around, locating their cart out of the 72 lined up to go, warming up at the range or grabbing a quick breakfast at the clubhouse. the air was full of excitement and anticipation - let the games begin!

fortunately my team of 4 was pretty well arranged with various levels of player expertise and talent. and being dubbed the captain of "captain's choice", i had the distinct honor of picking the best shot... which was NEVER mine, but it's all good.

seeking the critique of others, i was pleasantly surprised that i had a beautiful swing (thanks to stephen!), but i needed to work on hitting the ball right... instead of always topping it or digging up huge divots well behind the ball. ooops. i think i was only able to send the ball 70 yards at the farthest, but at least it went straight! hopefully as time goes by, my drive will only improve in distance and power. however i do think it would be in my best interest to take some actual golf lessons!!!

but the good news is that my short game did improve measurably throughout the course of the day. thanks to some super helpful tips from our team's star player and not to mention one of accenture's head government senior execs. ;) after just a few simple pointers from breck, i soon earned the title "boss of the moss" with my well played putts on the green. i was relieved that at least i could contribute success somehow!

overall we came in 8 over par, but i was pleased with my progress. it really couldn't have been a better day - the weather was just gorgeous - no humidity, high 70s and not a cloud in the sky. and reston national is a beautifully manicured course. by 2:30pm everyone wrapped up their rounds, grabbed some free bbq and settled in for the mulligan raffle and awards ceremony. woohoo for free opm hats and working for america totes! lol

by 4:30pm, the place had cleared out, but of course the accenture team just couldn't let a whole keg of yuengling go to waste... besides, everyone knew I-66 was a parking lot full of traffic anyway - why brave it now when in just a few hours it would be clear? so 6 of us made ourselves comfortable in the most conspicuous place possible (between the entrance, driving range and first hole - ha!), while enjoying free cold beer and light-hearted conversation as the sun slowly set on the ultimate casual friday.

reflections on war.

about a week ago, stephen found out his good friend, john mccary, had been asked to join a panel of other veterans for the pre-screening of ken burn's most recent documentary - the war. capturing the sacrificial stories of the greatest generation through the lens of 4 american towns, this documentary series, being 6 years in the making (totaling 15 hours of footage!), held its private screening debut yesterday at the historic lincoln theater. so off we went to see what all the fuss was about....

in short, the excerpt we were shown was very real and very personal and thus very moving - definitely an enticing foretaste of the full documentary. this seven-part series begins on your local pbs channel this next sunday 9/23 and extends into the week. we definitely plan on tivo'ing them all and purchasing copies for our veteran grandfathers.

however the most interesting part of wednesday night was the panel discussion that occurred after the projection reel stopped. with only a panel of 3 - each a veteran representing different wars in our country's recent history - it was fascinating to hear the various perspectives spanning world war ii, vietnam and iraq. hard questions resulted in rare intimate answers that were so revealing to the similarities of war across generations. with about 30 years between each of the panelists, the passing of time proved an enlightening reflection of how the necessity and consequences of wartime service are digested by the soldier individually and the nation collectively. i truly wish there was a transcript of this resulting discussion - it was pretty amazing.

afterwards, we linked up with john and decided to hop a block down on u street to grab dinner at alero. he truly did a phenomenal job portraying his experiences in iraq during such a controversial time. especially when paired up with the other honorable gentlemen on the panel! dinner proved to be just as enjoyable... between john's endearing extended family, noted journalist, jane arraf, who knew john during his days in iraq, and jane's friend, kamala, a very personable foreign service diplomat, it certainly made for quite an interesting evening all in all.

ready or not.

for those unaware, september is national preparedness month...among other things. meaning, it's a time for all of us as a nation to examine our resources and ready our selves for the unexpected disaster - whether natural, chemical, biological or nuclear. hey, you never know.

the fall after stephen and i got married i took it upon myself to get informed and prepare our newly formed rodriguez household for the worst. i spent a couple weeks building up our emergency/survival kit and fine tuning our plan of action. meanwhile stephen thought it would be hilarious to make me watch "the day after" to heighten my over zealous efforts. genius.

however, it's two years have past since i have touched our 4 small plastic containers and food/water supply. but to make sure my comprehensive stock is still up to snuff, i can't think of a better time to re-evaluate my resources and adjust my tactics. now i'm pretty sure we're cool on the food (10 year shelf-life!), but i better check on those spare batteries - oozing acid, yuck. who knows, maybe in the next two years my kit will actually come in handy...god forbid.

so since all this is in the forefront of my mind, i wanted to bring it to yours.

the question is, are you ready?

sssaturday sprints.

-shop-
while stephen braved the long scooter ride down to the south alexandria dmv to *finally* secure his motorcycle license saturday morning, i headed out to leesburg to do some SERIOUS shopping. jk - actually i needed to return a few items, but while i was at the outlets, i just had to look around. and it's a good thing i did. i managed to get out of banana republic with a pencil skirt and super cute red polka dot shell for a mere 83 cents (no joke) thanks to a huge sale, $40 in returns AND a 15% coupon. yipppeeee - i knew stephen couldn't blow his top over that! the purchase would have been historic, but i don't think anything can top the time i scored $90 tweed flats for a penny (i heart dsw). i was feeling so good that i have to admit i did splurge a bit on a smokin' hot pair of paper denim & cloth skinny jeans at saks... hey, saving 70% is still a great deal! fortunately stephen agreed :P

-shower-
after rushing home and changing out, i grabbed my favorite baby shower gift and headed out to vienna to see a long lost (and very pregnant) friend. it's been over 3 years since i have last seen karla after she accepted a job with USAID that took her over to metropolitan cairo. there she met a former egyptian soldier and the predictable played out... first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes ??? in a baby carriage! due to US regs she and her husband had to return to the states for 90 days surrounding the delivery (45 days before and then after) which was great news to all her state-side friends and family! i have to say, she looked amazing - glowing really. unfortunately though i had to leave early after 2 hours and rush home, again, to pick up stephen....

-sarah-
because we had dinner plans in baltimore with our favorite sister! after only being in her digs for 2 weeks now, she was well into being settled and welcoming visitors. so we made the 40 minute drive up 95, looped around the harbor and made our way up to the johns hopkins hospital complex...only after cutting through the ghetto 'hoods that envelop the campus. reminiscent of my penn days? you bet. once sarah jumped in, we headed back down broadway to the harbor for some delish seafood at bo brooks. while sarah and i settled on the legendary maryland crab cakes, stephen tackled 4 large steamed crabs. lucky him, our super resourceful waitress showed him the ropes when it comes to eating these crustaceans... the native baltimore way - no mallet, no knive, just some adventurous fingers needed! i have to say it was quite entertaining, if not exhausting, just watching the process. after dinner we drove around, orienting ourselves to the city and getting lost in federal hill trying to find the strip of so-called yuppie bars. we ended the evening back at jhh at sarah's room in the circa 1970s reed hall - typical residence for many first year med students. uggh. but she did it up right and the tiny space was quite cozy with an a-mazing view of the downtown cityscape to the west. way to go girl.

go on. be a tiger.

i consider myself smart cookie, but there are just some things that have to be taught. this weekend it was golf. having never picked up a club in my life, i allowed myself to be signed up for a golf tournament my client is hosting for a charity fundraiser. paired up on a team with the top partner on my project, i have to admit my hands clam up with sweat with the just the thought of making a royal fool of myself on the green. what was i thinking??!!

with the tourney only 2 weeks away, i knew i better get my butt in gear and practice practice practice. fortunately, my hubby is an amazing teacher in any subject he knows well - which is a many. i brought up the idea of heading out to the range friday evening, and he jumped for joy. finally, our interests aligned! so we packed up his clubs and headed to east potomac park , just south of the jefferson memorial, and home to the oldest mini golf course in the united states. the golf and tennis facilities there are really nice, easily accessible and reasonable in price (shocker).

for $12, we got two buckets of 51 balls and found a spot in the driving range. with painstaking patience, stephen explained the form, stance and swing, step-by-step. as i flubbed one ball after another, he never once got frustrated but continued to pin point my areas of error. elbow straight, lock it. grip loose, wrists cocked. hook your fingers, align your thumbs. knees bent, lean forward. arms straight, follow through. and most importantly... head down, relax; head down, relax; head down, relax. arrrgh - who knew hitting a ball could be so complex?!

after while i started to get the swing of things and i was able to send the balls a-flying - *almost* reaching the reagan national planes taking off and landing over the potomac. yeah, right - although the ascending/descending planes certainly made a pretty backdrop, if you can ignore the roar of the engines. :P as the sun set on our efforts, i was starting to feel more and more relaxed about my upcoming golf event.

we returned this morning to practice that swing once again, except this time we hit from the 2nd level. at this vantage point, you could not only see the washington monument to the right, but the top of the dome of the jefferson as well. very nice. with the sun beating down upon us, i took my hand at swinging solo without stephen's constant critique and affirmation. i think i've got the 9 iron pretty much down, but i definitely need to work my way up to the drivers.... what a frustrating and rewarding game this is! you change one thing in your stance and it can throw everything off.

i still need a few more practice rounds at the range, but at least now i feel confident that i won't completely embarrass myself out at reston national. and the even better news is that we're playing captain's choice, and i'm slotted with the highest handicap, but why do i feel like i have something to prove? it's like i want to turn into tiger overnight...with all the glory of his 60th pga victory! somehow i must have taken accenture's slogan "go on. be a tiger." to heart. afterall, this tournament is technically work-related. ha!

fortunately, my favorite teach keeps me straight - i'm just a beginner to game that haunts all who play. just relax, have fun and you know you'll be coming back for more, he says... oh boy, what have i gotten myself into?!

summer's end.

labor day weekend - there is only one thing to do in my mind...hit the beach. it's your last official chance to squeeze the final sunshine drop out of summer and not lift a pinkie. because once the holiday has come and gone, it's time for serious business. school starts and traffic comes back with avengeance (ugh - 50 mins to go 2 miles!), no more casual fridays from home (lunchtime = pooltime), and the happy colors of the season are packed away until may (buh-bye lilyp). yes, with september comes some serious changes.

so this year steve and i did it up right in sandbridge with our gdc community group. just south of touristy virginia beach, this spot provided the perfect backdrop to relax into fall - with good friends, great times and even better weather. thank goodness no tropical storm ernesto rained our parade this year! renting out a perfect beach house, called "paradise found", the 12 of us crammed in for some high-end weekend fun.

the beach itself was fantastic - even in spite of the unsightly pipeline dividing the beach, busy drudging up the the ocean floor. apparently sandbridge has one of highest erosion rates highest in virginia! sandwiched between the atlantic ocean and back bay national wildlife refuge, this place is definitely a sand-bridge. whew. often called the "outer banks of virginia" we were all a little skeptical in the title, but it was close enough for us.

cozied up on the fine grain sand, with the sound of the surf and the cool breeze blowing off the ocean shore, i was happy as a clam. slathered up in some spf 4, i scored myself a gorgeous golden tan (me, tan, minus the burns? finally yes) as i sped through the junior-high-required-reading-list classic - catcher in the rye. quite controversial, but it was time i finally read it - being my kid brother's favorite book, he generously lent me his copy. between chapters, i joined the gang in playing bocce ball and evan's custom-made UT longhorns/WF demon deacs cornhole game. life is good.

steve on the other hand, skipped the sunscreen and coated himself in oil, frying himself in the sun (yes, even he can burn) while playing soccer and football in the sand. however, the real disappointing part of the weekend was when stephen finally convinced me to get into the water (those waves were huuuuge!!!), and i lost my 3 week old burberry sunglasses to the sea forever. so so sad - shed a tear for me :(

but all sins were forgiven as we ended sunday evening with some yummy grilling and two very eventful rounds of telephone pictionary, consisting of pregnant men, steve raving (or cross-dressing?) in germany and varying interpretations of the word "morning glories". man, we're just hilarious, aren't we? by monday morning, reality began to sink in as folks prepared for the long trek back to dc. we stayed through the afternoon, soaking up the bright cheery surroundings and planned our "escape route" back home...

we had avoided most of the traffic coming down by leaving at 830pm on friday, spending the night at the in-laws since they were on the way. it was sarah's last night home as she packed up and braved her newest adventure. she started her child life specialist internship today at johns hopkins university hospital - one of the top programs in her field! we are so proud of her. since we were not able to help out with the big move, we wanted to at least see her off. and that we did, making the last hour of our final leg of the trip saturday morning after we said our good-byes and good-lucks.

on monday, we followed a similar plan, stopping in hampton to shower off (no more sand!), visit grandmuzzie and grab some grub, before making the long hike home. instead of venturing up I-95, we took the back roads of route 17 along the rappahannock river and made exceptional time. all in all, we ran into minimal traffic the whole weekend - what a feat - and averaged out to about 4.5 hours each way. the trip couldn't have been better, nor us luckier.

we finally arrived home by 9pm last night and tried to prepare ourselves for the switching of gears that the tuesday after labor day always brings... eh, but september isn't so bad afterall. the crisp winds of change bring a promise of a new day to conquer, a new leaf to turn, a new season to embrace. so as we say farewell to summer, we greet fall with refreshing expectation.

ferocious franklin.

catnip or greenies? who knows, but SOMETHING is causing franklin major poopie bloopies in the litter box lately - twice in one week so far. one thing's for sure, a long haired cat plus loose stools does not equal a pretty picture (or smell, for that matter). yuck.

of course, stephen discovered frankie in his super soiled state while i was busy cat-napping in our way too comfortable bed. being as conscientious as ever, he decided not to wake me from my beauty sleep and tackle the mess himself. yes, you guessed it - hooray for the dreaded BATH TIME!

now, call us crazy, but we've given our little lions the dunk many times before - but with any 25-pound animal, it does take the concerted effort of two very devoted people. between the rushing of the faucet water, getting soaked to the bone and sudsed up with kitty shampoo in addition to the necessary rough handling, it's tough going. but this time, frankie hit his limit... you would too after 15 mins! of such torture. so what would any self-respecting pussycat do? all but bite the hand that feeds him, i'm sure... all except, that is, our ferocious feline, franklin.

that's right- he just chomped down with those razor sharp fangs of his straight into stephen's right hand, sinking deep into the fleshy meat of his thumb pad. an action quite surprising in fact, considering he's the loverboy of the two and well, his breed name does say it all - copperfield the casanova. so you can only imagine stephen's cry amplify as the beast tightened his grip by shaking his head like a shark (attack of jaws!) to ensure a solid grasp. clearly he was FED UP. ouchie ouch!

after such a rude awakening, i couldn't help but to calmly assess the situation at hand - riiiiight. with franklin hovered in the corner, dastardly dripping wet, and stephen yowling over the sink holding onto his bloody hand as if it had been bitten off entirely, i didn't know quite where to begin! as he recovered from his state of shock, i disinfected the puncture wounds with some hydrogen peroxide, bandaged it up good with my handy dandy first aid kit to stop the bleeding. nurse laura to the rescue. now somewhat collected, we dashed out the door to the ER while frankie air-dried and cooled-off out on the balcony - poor poor thing.

of course, fully expecting an all night wait at the hospital, i just HAD to make a quick detour, much to stephen's bemoaning, to the closest wendy's for my usual #1, plain with cheese, combo - trust me, you don't want to see my mood with severe hunger pains! after returning to my senses, we made a straight shot across the potomac to georgetown university hospital and rolled in the emergency room waiting room with plenty of reading material in hand. we were prepared.

with only 2 other couples before us, it was still an hour wait before we were able to come back into the ER. and then another hour to actual see a doctor, get cleaned up, bandaged and boosted with another round of tetanus vaccine. all in all, stephen was a trooper, and we definitely did the right thing in coming in... in fact we ran into a fellow gracedc'er back in the ER who was one of the attending physicians on call that night - dr. morrell. once he saw stephen's hand and heard the tale, it was all seriousness in explaining all the potential complications of infection if those horse-pills of antibiotics weren't taken regularly! eek.

however, once we returned home and freed franklin from his remorse through a little reconciling cuddle, life normalized and the balance of power was restored. or at least, let's hope. oh what a night.

top ten.

so a few days ago, i was “tagged” my high school friend and fellow blogger, laura. the idea to list 8 random facts about yourself and then tag 8 other bloggers to do the same. well, pardon me, but i feel like bending the rules a bit today… so instead of 8, you’re getting 2 bonus factoids to total 10 and instead of me tagging you, well, i’m just too lazy for that right now. but if you’re up for it, just let me know. here we go…

1. i grew up as a rather picky eater. over time that has definitely changed but one thing has not – i absolutely hate any food that is white and creamy. just the thought of mayonnaise makes me queasy and the smell of ranch dressing, nauseous. cottage cheese is a definite no, and i definitely don’t prefer cool whip on my pie. call me crazy, but i just can’t do it.

2. i have no idea where this came from, but i have a huuuuuuge grammar pet peeve. me, the math nerd? yeah – odd. most mistakes i can overlook, but there is one that just drives me nuts and hear it almost daily! so what do you say when some one asks you…”how are you doing?”…. “i’m doing good”?? NO, it’s “i’m doing WELL”!!! it’s an automatic response, but i just can’t help but correct the poor soul immediately after they respond. well not good, people, well not good.

3. i think one of the best things about my family is that my mom and i share the same birthday – december 11th. although 31 years apart, it was always really special to be able to celebrate one another together. and what are the odds, right? but being a breached baby, my mom had to have a caesarian section to deliver me...and yeah, those can be scheduled. it took me until last year to realize that maybe those odds weren't so far fetched. ha.

4. i love to bargain shop - it's an addiction really. when life has me feeling blue i head out to the outlets, loehmanns, or the local consignment shops and hunt away. even if i don't find anything, the process helps reground me. but when i do find that steal of a deal, i'm on cloud nine. what can i say? i like the designer look (ok, brand) for less.

5. i'm absolutely obsessed with any aquaphor/eucerin product. first was introduced to aquaphor by my dermatologist when i went on accutane prior my senior year in high school. it was the only thing out that there kept my lips for peeling off. it was miraculous! since then i've been hooked. if you are looking for the best lip balm or hand creme out there, these are it.

6. my all-time favorite stress reliever is squishing my little lion, franklin. he's quite the butterball, and i just the most laid back animal i have ever met. and this little loverboy just loves the attention...well, to an extent. if you bug him too much, he won't take it out his aggression on you, but he will pounce his brother winston to release the angst. either way, it makes for an entertaining show.

7. i used to be quite the clutterbug, neat and organized, but i had way too much stuff. now i prefer near minimalism - i just can't stand excess in my house! it seems like every month, i'm throwing stuff away, making a trip to goodwill or reassessing my needs to less. i mean, why get bogged down in all the distractions of things, things, things.

8. when most people are asked what is the favorite part of their body, feet are probably the last on the list. well they are the top of mine - i love my twinkle toes! seriously, i wrap my feet in baby oil and thick socks twice a week before i head to bed to wake up super soft feet. it's one of the ways i like to pamper myself, even if in the littlest way.

9. i've been going through severe withdrawal this summer...of the office. i am way too hooked on this show. i have all of the re-runs saved on my dvr and will just play them over and over again and laugh my head off. my hubby finds this annoying at first but soon gets caught up in the brilliant comedy every time. i'm counting down the days to the hour long season premiere on september 27!!! in the meantime, i've been faithfully following petra nemcova's a model life series. surprisingly i find it actually good, and lucia's definitely my fave. eh, something's gotta get me through.

10. in college i prided myself on being an oxymoron – a texan in yankee-land, a pretty girl majoring in engineering, a christian living it real in a sorority, getting my m.r.s. degree at an ivy, yada yada yada. even in my first round of interviews with accenture, the manager noted how remarkable it was i didn’t fit into any norm and i beamed with delight. it was one of the main reasons i actually joined the firm – i loved how they valued personal diversity. but in the last few years since graduating, i have strayed from this perspective, wishing my life had a bit more continuity, my path more predictable, or life direction just easier to grasp. honestly, i’m trying with all my might to shake this because really i think i was so much cooler when i wasn’t concerned with such things.

alright, so that's me in a nutshell. any takers??

pennsylvania.

stephen and i ventured out of town this past weekend up to PA for a college friend's wedding. meg and i became good friends the end of my junior year when we both happened to take a blow-off intro to biotechnology class in towne. being different engineering majors and in different sororities, we had never really crossed paths until that point, but we quickly bonded when we realized just how alike we were. meaning, we were more often than not the exception to the rule in our various campus cliques and loved every minute of it!

she and her now husband, ryan, similarly braved the "impossible" long distance relationship for over 3 years. by the time i graduated in december 2004 and was ramping up to my own wedding, she was donning a gorgeous diamond ring. for the past 2 years, the distance only grew as she remained at penn to get her law degree and while he wrapped up his own in illinois. he's since graduated in may and moved to their posh rittenhouse apartment which they now call their newlywed home - i can't wait to see it at homecoming!

all this to say, it was very special to be able to see such a dedicated couple survive the wait and be able to celebrate their patience through a gorgeous wedding! now, meg is the epitome of all things classy so it was no surprise it was quite a classy affair...from the stunning estate to their first dance (the foxtrot!) and all the lemon drop martinis in between. but really it was their opening program quote that made the most lasting impression on me; it summed up the pair perfectly, and i've adopted it as my new favorite love poem - it's deep, true and just beautiful:

all the breath and the bloom of the year
in the bag of one bee:
all the wonder and wealth of the mine
in the heart of one gem:
in the core of one pearl
all the shade and shine of the sea:
breath and bloom, shade and shine,
--wonder, wealth, and--how far above them--
truth, that’s brighter than gem,
trust, that’s purer than pearl,--
brightest truth, purest trust in the universe,--all were for me
in the kiss of one girl.

--robert browning

oh, but that's not all folks. instead of heading straight back down the 95 corridor on sunday, we took the scenic drive west to hit up some serene pennsylvania countryside. after passing through amish country (yeah lancaster!) and a slew of outlet malls, we made it to carlisle, pa - home of the army war college. stephen's family lived here for a year during his freshman year in college as his dad went through commander training. over the past 5 years, stephen's spent a total of 8 months at the base for various wargames through his old job at booz allen. so it was quite the treat to FINALLY see this place i've only heard about. to be honest, there wasn't much too it - it's a quaint historic town just outside of the state capital, harrisburg, but it was a stop well worth it....especially getting to experience the famed fay's country kitchen breakfast!

after getting our fill, we continued south on route 15 that runs from north of pennsylvania, through maryland, into virginia and southward. this historic highway has been around for well over 200 years - in fact, we got married right off it at the oatlands plantation just south of leesburg. stephen, being all too familiar with the drive, pointed out all the landmarks as i tried to sneak in mini power naps before we reached our next destination.... gettysburg.

that's right, i've never been. so why not? after stopping the NPS visitor center, we picked up a driving map of the 2 hour course and went off to tour the infamous battleground where 50,000 americans died over a 3 day period. whew. and they talk about iraq being high in casualties! anyway, it was definitely educational and enlightening... it's just too bad steve's dad couldn't have joined us. we called him up halfway through our tour, and he was so jealous we went without him! being a retired army colonel and military historian, he could probably take a full week to teach the battle of gettysburg, explaining every tactical maneuver and offensive strategy in succinct detail. ha!

but it wasn't until we returning home sunday evening when stephen popped in the 4 hour movie (ugggh) - gettysburg - that i finally started to see the sites we saw come to life. westpoint generals fighting old commanding buddies on that rich pennsylvania soil. one for freedom of slavery and one for a way of life, resulting in a country divided, with the battle of gettysburg as the turning point in changing our country's history forever. it's pretty fascinating even if you aren't a civil war junkie. so thanks honey for the history lesson... makes me love the keystone state all the more - hurrah, hurrah penn-syl-van-i-a!

feigning foodie.

this past week was one of my favorites of the year....along with the rest of dc. everybody loves restaurant week! a tradition i fell heart over stomach for back when i poor college student in philadelphia. your biannual chance to get an AMAZING meal for a steal of a deal - well, relatively. with a prix fix 3-course lunch/dinner menu for $20/$30 you at least know how much that gourmet cuisine is going to set you back. in fact most cities do some version of this restaurant promotion - after all, it's great way to attract new customers and bring in some hearty revenue. but for the dining consumers, well, there are a 3 simple rules that any dc foodie will tell you...

1) pick the most expensive restaurant out there and one that has a reputation to uphold (get your money's worth and skip the lackadaisical service)

2) make sure the restaurant doesn't have a "special" (ie. limited) menu for the week (trust me, you will want the signature dish)

3) book your reservation far, far in advance unless you want to eat an exquisite meal at 4:30pm on a tuesday...or after 10 (why bother?)

all this to say, i did pretty well this summer - i scored a great lunch and a fabulous dinner this past week. the first, i just got lucky. spending half of wednesday morning introducing my cubemate to the ingenious concept of open table (where has he been??), enough RW buzz was generated to spur a last minute lunch booking at one of hottest restaurants in dc...for a party of 8! we were able to snag that noon time slot at kinkead's. i don't know how it was done, but i was sure glad - i was STARVING. and with it just being 5 blocks away from the office how much better could it get - especially in the 100 degree weather we've been having! so i stuffed myself full with a salad of soft lettuces with gruyere and dijon vinaigrette (and i normally hate salad?), pistachio crusted salmon medallions with garlic mashed potatoes, crispy fennel, arugula with tomato butter (i cleaned the plate) and lastly, bittersweet molten chocolate cake with caramel ice cream. after such a feast, we were all but ready to head back to "work". eh, it's restaurant week - you gotta indulge.

but last night rounded out the epicurean adventure in totale. i booked 7pm dinner reservations for 2 at zola almost 6 weeks ago, and it was sooooo worth it. associated with the international spy museum, this restaurant combines the sleek style of espionage prowess with some serious eats. and unlike most, zola offers their entire menu, with no upcharges, plus their presentation and service is beyond commending. i got the grilled asparagus with crispy mushroom and brie stick, orange hollandaise and black walnuts (a-mazing), pan roasted sea scallops with tomato stuffed zucchini, crisp blossoms and maiitake mushrooms with chenin blanc glaze (omg, i should have take a picture of this plate - just beautiful) and ended with 3 sculpted scoops of raspberry sorbet. ohhhhhh yummmm. and of course our $50 open table dining rewards cheque definitely came in handy - hooray for 1000 point restaurants!

but the best part was the end of dinner.... stephen, being the sophisticated diner he is, decided it was definitely more fun to play with fine food than to eat it. i mean, who past the age of 9 sticks raspberries with cream on their nose and leaves it for a full minute? right, my husband :P maybe he'll learn some better table manners in time for january or maybe i'll need to find another dinner date. na...

ode to charlotte.

today turned out to be a sad day. my hubby's childhood pet of 18 years had to be put to sleep this afternoon. she was his little black cat, appropriately named charlotte, of e.b.white's celebrated spider. with her birthday only yesterday, she made it one more year but she just couldn't take it any longer. cancer claimed her tiny 7 lb body, spreading too fast to control. over the past few years, she's battled quite a few medical maladies, including bouts of epilepsy; it truly is amazing she has lasted this long.

even so, reality slowly sinks in. if you've ever lost a family pet you know how deep the loss can hit. this once frisky kitty will no longer pounce onto stephen's top bunk and snuggle up for the night as in the days of old. throughout thick and thin and all the phases of life, she has been there for him. a constant companion during the rough days of adolescence and welcoming comfort to embrace upon returns home. she was one of the family, and she will be missed.

to charlotte...one very special kitty.

hoyapolitik.

my husband is brilliant. no bones about it. so when i found out today that he had been formally asked to be a commentator on a georgetown blog, i was thrilled he finally found a suitable medium to share his thoughts with the world!

he had started a blog long well before i started mine, but after three excellent posts, he stopped. it just wasn't fulfilling. he's the kind of person that feeds off the insights and intellect of others - a "thought vulture" as he calls it. he needs the real-time feedback and discussion, and let's face it, most blogs can be a bit lonely in that department. so what better way to engage online than on the hoyapolitik - a dynamic forum filled with lively exchange between the top minds in his field.

truth be told, he has yet to make his posting debut, but if you are at all interested to read passionate dialog on all things related to international security, this is the blog for you. alright steverod!

the other a-rod.

so i'm still nursing a nice sun-burn from attending the legg mason tennis classic finals yesterday afternoon, but oh was it worth it. we first caught the doubles match at noon between the #1 american team, identical twins, bob & mike bryan and the #1 israeli team, jon erlich & andy ram. it was so fun to see them tag team across the court!

and then at 3pm, the match we had all been waiting for commenced. top american player and tennis hottie, andy roddick, faced up against the newest american tennis sensation, john isner! what a thrill it was to see this rookie persevere all the way to finals and have two americans battle for the title! and, of course, to see andy play up close and personal... sigh :)

i'll keep this post short and sweet, but in the end, both mens doubles and singles titles went to americans claiming their 3rd legg mason title yet! that's right, both first seeded bryan brothers and the other a-rod went home with their rank reinforced and confidence confirmed.

i'll leave all the match highlights to the pros (sorry could only find the footage in spanish!), but i did take a few snap shots of the event. enjoy!

taken with tennis.

yesterday steve and i went to our first ATP tennis tournament ever... i had been wanting to go to the legg mason tennis classic in dc for years now but the timing just never worked out. but this year, it did, and i surprised stephen with a pair of tickets friday's mid-day match.

after stopping at our favorite sandwich shop, jetties, to split our usual "surfside" (yummmm) for lunch, we headed to rock creek park to catch a mens singles quarterfinals round. we got lucky with a great pair-up, close scoring game and an underdog win. recent college grad turned pro and wild card entry, john isner, battled the court with german favorite and number 2 seed, tommy haas. between john's killer ace serves and tommy's consistent playing, this match was neck and neck through all 3 sets and 2 tie breaks. in the end, isner clinched the win and rookie advanced. yessssss.

after racing home to try to beat rush hour traffic, i hopped in the shower for 10 secs and then rushed out the door for some girlie time with my old boss jen. we had a faaaabulous evening catching up over pedicures and cheap chinese food - perfect combo ;) i even ran into my book club buddy, sarah, at the nail salon who was beyond shocked that i had trekked the 45 minutes out to sterling on a friday night! meanwhile stephen stayed on the gtown waterfront and hung out with his buddy john mccary and his old iraq friends. at least there was no hurry for either of us get home at an early hour...

we both came to the realization late last week that our original weekend plans would probably have to be put on hold, yet again, due to encroaching work deadlines. this will be the 2nd time we have had to reschedule our trip out to assateague island within the last month. :( since june, we have been scheming and dreaming of making it out to the eastern shore to set up camp on the beach with the legendary feral horses. sigh...one day. and our packs remained stuffed with our gear, sitting by the door, ready to go once we are. whenever that we'll be.

but i guess one good thing has come out of our predicament. now we'll actually be in town this sunday to catch the LMTC finals match up!!!! i would love love love to see andy roddick in action. i mean, who wouldn't?? i think i'm hooked.

ps. believe it or not, but stephen and i made it onto espn! our friend sally spotted us on the tube while working out on the treadmill. ha! i guess isner's big upset made it to the highlights. sweeeeet.

all smiles.

yesterday was a big day - normalcy to my life returned, finally.

after a few rounds of happy hour drinks with coworkers at tony and joe's on the waterfront, stephen took me to the cutest restaurant in georgetown to celebrate... since the spring, he has constantly raved about this dc gem so i was thrilled when he surprised me with 8pm dinner reservations to ristorante piccolo!

we got lucky with a romantic balcony table for two, overlooking the historic c&o canal. after we split linguini with mussels (which was soooo good i can still taste its velvety texture) and some white wine, we headed next door, literally, to check out stephen's new office! the sentia group has been in the process of moving locales this last month, and he's been in charge of all the transitionery details... on top of his actual work, oh, and grad school. sometimes i don't know how he does it.

but wow - all the hard work was definitely worth it - this new place is so sweet. a renovated historic townhouse combine the charm of the past with the modern style and conveinence of today. plus, leather couches, persian rugs and swanky office furniture complete the package. all this and only steps from m street. compared to my current corporate digs, i'm beyond jealous! great job honey!!!

truly, yesterday was a great day, full of restored confidence and new found hope... i'm baaaaaaack and i'm all smiles.

picasa perfect.

despite the painfully obvious fact that i've been quite the deliquent blogger, i'm not hanging my head in shame. no, no. well, ok, maybe a little... a 2 month hiatus is just pathetic. but nevermind, i'm back and i'm motivated. and that's all that really matters.

now, i know y'all have just been dy-ing to see all the vacay pics...(and can i blame you? they are fabulous!) BUT i think it's only fair to warn you. truth be told, my stack began with over 900 photos (no joke) and it took me this long to pare it down....to a third of size....y'know, for your reasonable enjoyment.

that's right - 300! and each one is annotated. gasp! and i did it all tonight. double gasp! and all via picasa, my latest google crush. oh yeah it's sweet.

so excuse the short return post but the fingers are a little pooped. no worries though; i know you can still waste plenty time perusing through these pics. after all, that's why you really read my blog, i know. till next post...

enjoy europa

two for two.

today is stephen and i's anniversary (05.21.05!) and lucky us, we will be spending it crossing the atlantic. well at least it's on route to holiday! last night we celebrated a little early... he took me to the BEST restaurant in georgetown - 1789. and surprised me with a luxury i would never get for myself - personalized crane's stationery! i truly married a wonderful man :) here's to the two of us...on two terrific years.

i recently got tagged by my good friend (and former bridesmaid!) katie with an interview meme. her questions are quite appropriate for today - hope you enjoy.

1. you had a BEAUTIFUL wedding and did it all yourself! what were some details that you think brides-to-be tend to forget? what is your best advice now that your wedding is over?

i think i the one thing i learned the most through the whole wedding planning process (or dare i say, saga) was the complexity that goes into planning and executing an event, and doing it well. i considered myself a creative and organized person so i thought it wouldn't be too difficult, even with the family abroad. let's just say stephen is quite the trooper ;) together we learned to appreciate the level of effort that goes into the big and little and everything in between. really the lesson for us wasn't really missing details, it was more planning for the event transitions as the day progressed from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner to dancing to bouquet toss to cake to good night. you kind of assume things will happen naturally, but really, they don't. i think we just lucked out, but honestly, do yourself a favor and at least hire a "day-of" wedding coordinator. they'll help keep everything on que! lastly, best advice that was given me? remember to breathe...and enjoy the engagement; marriage will come soon enough. :)

2. what do you most love about your husband steve?

i find this to be hard question...mainly because there is so much to love! but if i had to pick one thing i would have to say his strength. physical, yes, but spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and that of character as well. he is my grounding support and with him i am secure. we have been through quite a rollercoaster of life events over the past 5 years, but throughout it all he has remained true - someone i can trust, respect and with seek discernment. his strength is my strength, which is why when he leads, i follow.

3. what do you love most about being married?

marriage is great. besides the tax breaks and other perks (wink), my favorite part is that my best friend is always near. the first 3 years of our relationship we spent in separate cities, 150 miles apart. we both drove that I-95 stretch so often that we could navigate from dc to philly with our eyes closed if it weren't for all the traffic and tolls! in the end it was all worth it, and it just makes us all the more thankful for the moments we have together.

4. you have been married for two years now…what is your favorite memory in your married life?

my favorite memories in marriage have been being fully a part of stephen's successes. i love how equally invested we are in each others lives, goals and ambitions. his successes are my successes, and vice versa. likewise for disappoints that come our way. the connection is selfless and unified. i don't brag about him much, and maybe i should more, but he certainly does me proud in the large and in the small.

5. just for fun…if you could do any job, besides the one you are doing, what would you do? give us some details.

i'm such a nerd. my profession of choice? i want to be an economist. bor-ing, right? for most maybe, but i sure don't think so. since graduating college and entering in the consulting field, i have come to realize a lot of about myself. one happened to be that i love mathematics. i'm serious. i'm one of those freaks that actually sees the beauty in the numbers. ha! but i'm also one of those that i like to have real world applicability in what they do, and well that's where economics fits in. and i'm not talking the fluffy poli-sci undergrad econ either. all graduate programs are doctoral (nope, no masters given) and the majority of the coursework is basically advanced mathematics. may sound like hell, but i assure you, it gets my blood pumping! anyway, i'm still a few years from any prospect of going back to school, but for now i am excited. currently i'm researching, networking and determining what exactly i want to do. will probably change jobs in the early fall...not too excited about the interviewing part (uggh), but fortunately for me, dc is the place to be.

............
would you like me to interview you? here are the rules:
1. leave me a comment saying, “interview me” and also leave me your e-mail address if i don’t already have it.
2. i will respond by emailing you five questions. i get to pick the questions.
3. you will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. you will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. when others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.