Lots to Give Thanks For

My little family had a really nice, somewhat relaxing Thanksgiving break.  It was so nice to recharge, especially right before an incredibly hectic period at work for me.

I spent Wednesday through Sunday at my parents' house, which was a nice change of scenery.  Although I certainly don't get the "going home" feeling when I go home for the holidays {being that "home" is not the home I grew up in, and the absence of travel doesn't really make it feel like a holiday.  Gone are the 10-hour car rides at Thanksgiving and Christmas}, it is always nice  to spend time at their place.  We drove out to the Shenandoahs to see my grandparents on Thanksgiving morning, and, being that it was a gorgeous day, Tim and I hit the links at teh resort there.  Meaning that Tim let me drive the cart a bit and let me take a few swings haha.  We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, complete with two types of pumpkin cheesecake and a pumpkin pie that were simply divine, and it was such a treat to spend the day with my grandparents.

We drove home on Black Friday morning, since my cousin Kelly, her husband Alec, and their two kids, Kaitlin {age 7} and Alexzander {age 4} drove down from New York for the weekend.  With a baby girl due in February, Kelly knew that it was going to be now or never for them to come visit, so I'm glad that they did.  It was really neat to see DC through the kids' eyes, since they had never been here before.  On Friday night, we went to Cactus Cantina, one of Alec's favorite restaurants from when he was a college student in DC, and then saw the monuments by night, which is always nice.  On Saturday, I had my 11-miler for marathon training, and then we went to the Alexandria Farmer's Market and the Air and Space Museum, followed by lunch at Tombs and a quick tour of the university.  We got dinner at Cafe Milano on Saturday night, and I left to go home early on Sunday morning, as I had a lot of work that I needed to do leading into last week.

Although all of us in our nuclear family are currently living in DC {I anticipate that this will change as soon as Tim graduates}, it is so seldom that we are all able to get together, so I enjoyed having everyone in one place for the extended weekend.  It was really hard, though, not to be with Dan for Thanksgiving.  First of all, it seemed like he was gone for forever, but it is also tough to spend the holidays away from the person you love most.  He has already promised that he'll be gone for less time at Christmas so that we can romp around DC in the days leading up to the New Year.

I have said in past years that I really do have so much to be thankful for.  I have to echo that same sentiment this year.  2012 has certainly brought its challenges, first among them Dan's harrowing health scare following our race and subsequent stay in the hospital.  Although I would care to forget that experience {as I know he would too}, I think that it did make us stronger.  Not that I would ever wish that situation on anyone, but the severity of his injuries definitely reaffirmed for me how much I love him, and I think that, even in the short-term, it has made us stronger as a couple.  Of course, I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends, and the relative good health of those people.  I am grateful for the roof over my head, my job and my good health.  I especially like reflecting on all of the things I have to be thankful for leading into the Christmas season.  I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks gearing up for the holidays with family, friends, and my love.

My Pennsylvania Adventure

Okay, people, major fail on my part.  My life has been so hectic lately that blogging about my PA trip...and Thanksgiving...and last week... didn't happen.  Let's start with the PA trip.

I can't say enough how fantastic an experience I had on my very first recruiting trip.  I met some great prospective students, got to catch up with an old boss, spent some quality time with Dan's wonderful mom, and got to tour two great cities!  What more could a gal ask for?!

My train to Philly got in mid-afternoon on Monday, and I quickly checked in, did some work {I had been able to work on the train on the way up- thank you, Amtrak- but I still had some work that I wanted to get done}, and re-packed my bag to do a few minutes of exploring in the waning daylight.  I hit my main objectives, walking all the way around the beautiful City Hall and finding the Brotherly Love sculpture, so I was happy.  I walked around for far too long looking for a place to grab a quick dinner before the event, and ended up settling on getting some appetizers at McCormick & Scmick's.  I was reminded of the episode of How I Met Your Mother where post-breakup Marshall {back when he and Lily were on a break} and his equally pathetic guy friend decide to grab brunch together, because obviously brunching by yourself is just sad.  Well, as I thought in McCormick & Scmick's by myself, I thought that, although I was occupied with my book, I did not want to repeat my solo performance anytime soon.

At the event, I was able to set up at the table next to my old boss.  It was great to see her and catch up, as well as talk with some really qualified prospective students.  I returned to my hotel afterward and did some more work before nodding off to sleep.

I had a relatively early flight to Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning, so decided to take that as one of my days off from marathon training.  When I got in, I discovered that Dan really wasn't lying when he described how far the airport is from the city.  I wasn't expecting it to be a $45 cab ride away- eek!  I think I did a fairly convincing job of sounding halfway intelligent about the 'burgh when I was chatting with my cab driver, so that was a major win.  Once I got to my hotel, I met up with Dan's mom, Leslie, for what ended up being a fantastic afternoon. 

We went to a delicious restaurant near Market Square called Harvest, where we both ordered Butternut Squash Soup and Beet Salad.  Divine, simply divine.  Not to mention, the company was great.  I think I've said it before, but I can't overstate how much I lucked out with my boyfriend's family.  I absolutely adore them {at least, his immediate family, the only family members I've met so far haha} and it was so nice to have some girl time with Leslie.  She showed me all of the more cultural parts of the city, particularly where they go to the theater {Dan is not included in the theatergoing group haha!}.  I ended up needing to go back to my hotel for a few hours to do some work, but, since Pete was out of town, I think she was looking for entertainment as much as I was, so we agreed to meet up for dinner after my event, which suited me just fine!!  Before the event, I walked from my hotel {conveniently situation between Heinz Field and PNC Park on the North Shore} across Roberto Clemente Bridge, snapping pictures left and right, of course. After the event, which, although small, went well, I met up with Leslie again for dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant.  I just loved my day with such a sweet, thoughful lady.  I really think she and I are so similar in so many ways, so, even from the first time I met her, we didn't need to have Dan in the room to have something to talk about.  In fact, I think we largely ignored him the first time we met because we were so busy chatting!

On Wednesday morning, I did a little bit of work before going for a run around the city. I went about as far as I could have in the downtown area and got a six-miler out of it, so I was happy.  Boy, was it cold, though!!  I was telling Dan that I think that this marathon training is really going to toughen me up, because I'll HAVE to run when it's freezing outside {because, really, when it comes time to do my 20-mile training run, I'm not going to want to do that on the treadmill!}. On my way through the Pittsburgh airport, I stopped and bought myself a Pens shirt, because I was feeling like I needed some Pittsburgh sports apparel.  I was really happy to get back home and see Dan after my trip.  Even though I had only been gone for two days, it was so strange to be in his hometown and not have him there.  As I said, though, I had a wonderful time with his sweet mom!

Some pics from my trip:

Ah, love, ain't it grand

Downtown Philly

Market Square, Pittsburgh

Downtown Pittsburgh, as seen from the North Shore

I'm On A Train!!

I am writing this using the (less than) stellar wireless connection on the Amtrak train, en route to Philly for my very first business trip!  I have an event in Philly tonight (an MBA fair, where I'll talk to prospective students about the program) and another in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.  I'm especially excited because, tomorrow afternoon, I'll get to spend some time with Dan's wonderful mom, and then I'm meeting up with my old boss post-event for drinks/dinner.  I'm looking forward to going back to the 'burgh, because, as I only learned since dating Dan, Pittsburghers' undying love for their city is infectious!

First, though, I have to recap our weekend because, unlike last weekend, we actually did some things haha.  On Friday night, we went out to dinner at Hill Country for a friend's birthday (which, unbeknownst to me, has ridiculously delicious food).  My one downfall of the night was my decision to get a $10 piece of red velvet cake for two, which Dan dutifully agreed to share with me.  Well, we were no match for the five (yes, FIVE) layers of cake and rich cream cheese frosting, and only ate about half of it. Clearly, a classic case of my eyes being too big for my stomach!  From there, we went bowling at Lucky Strike, which I had never been to (a friend had a reservation there for her birthday last year, but they lost her reservation, thus preventing us from bowling).  It was SO fun, definitely a lot fancier than your typical grungy neighborhood bowling alley.  At nine, Dan and I powerwalked to Iron Horse, where we wanted in on the official Hoya gamewatch (that's right, college basketball is back!  And I am officially in my happy place!).  The others followed, and we proceeded to be antisocial and watch the game (or, rather, half-game, since condensation on the court shut the game down, lest any of the players fall prey to the increasingly dangerous conditions) while they drank and socialized. After the game was called, we headed home in an exhausted heap.

On Saturday morning, I went for a nice 7-miler (seriously, there is no better way to start a Saturday morning than with a nice run!) and then we went to the same bagel shop that we went to last weekend.  And, yet again, Dan ran into someone he knew (seriously, I'm beginning to think that this is the most popular bagel shop in the DMV area, because we always see someone that we either know or recognize).  Afterward, we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some cheese and crackers, and drove to Pearmund Cellar Winery, which was seriously wonderful.  We did a tasting, enjoyed our little picnic, and bought a bottle to take home.  My goal is to develop more refined wine palates so that Dan's wine afficionado dad isn't ashamed of us haha. 

On Saturday night, we went to Guapo's in Tenleytown for dinner.  Every time I drive or run by it, it is absolutely packed, and, since we were in the mood for Mexican food, we decided to try it out.  AND...I loved everything about the place!  The wait was minimal, the food was delicious and inexpensive, AND they had frozen raspberry margaritas.  Hello.  We then went to a late showing of Skyfall.  I didn't quite know what to expect after our last Bond attempt was a bust, but both of us really enjoyed it. 

On Sunday, I met up with some girlfriends for brunch at the Dupont farmer's market, meaning that we got pastries and fruit.  Seriously, perfection.  A pain au chocolat can surely cure all ills!  It was so nice to sit in the circle and catch up with them, and also to make a run to a second-hand store in the Dupont area that we love.  Afterward, I went over to Dan's and watched Red Zone with he and his roommates for a few hours (I think my eyes probably had a glazed-over look after that much football haha).  Then, he and I went to our very first Hoya game of the season, the home opener against Duquesne!  It was an ugly game for sure, and our boys have SO many things to work on, but I am hopeful that we'll be able to make it to a good number of games this season, particularly once we start playing Big East opponents.

I promise I will post pictures, both from my weekend and from this little trip, once I get back!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

My Belated Take on THE ELECTION



via The Feminine Mystique

 

Aside from Barack winning last week (HOORAY! Although, I was pretty nervous early on, which poor Dan can attest to), last night was a VERY exciting night for America, in my opinion.

 

The highlights:

• 12 Hoyas elected to the U.S. Congress in the 2012 election (SO PROUD!)
• There will be at least 19 female senators in the new Congress
• Sen. Claire McAskill defended her Missouri Senate seat against the evil Todd Akin
• Joe Donnelly defeated the equally evil Richard Mourdock for the Indiana Senate seat

Basically, I think we showed in this election that female voters will not stand for attacks on our liberties.  Female votes are an asset to whoever wins them, and I'm glad that so many female voters were able to resist the urge to vote for candidates who waged a war on women.  I was a very happy gal indeed!  However, my attitude the day after the election was not that our president should be taking some time off (however well-deserved) after a rigorous and grueling race), but, rather, should jump right in to trying to get this country back on track, directly responding to serious reservations that voters voiced about him.

Let's do this, America! 

 



Rock the Vote!

Okay, 'murica, let's get out and vote today!  If you are privileged enough to live in a state {rather than the darn District of Columbia, where my vote for the presidential election doesn't count}, GO VOTE, especially if you live in a battleground state!!! 

I do not expect to sway your vote if you have not yet voted, and it is very likely that no amount of Facebook posts and political TV ads will change your mind at this point, but let me tell you a little bit about why I voted Obama:

Before this election, I think it is safe to say that I was pretty apolitical.  I had absolutely no interest in politics.  The combination of living in the nation's capital, where it is impossible to escape the political fervor, and continually learning more about what it means to be a woman in the 21st century have really helped shape the way I think about our government, and, as you have seen in past political posts, I can get pretty rabid about my beliefs. 

I am the first to admit that Obama could have done better over the past four years, especially in regards to economic recovery.  I think that there really is something to what the Republicans are advocating, a strategy of fiscal responsibility.  I think that we need to be fiscally responsible as individuals, but also as a nation, so it would be a lot easier for Americans to stop living beyond our means if the government were setting that example for us.  I am not convinced that Obama has the best plan for cutting the deficit, and, however poorly-articulated Romney's plan is, I think that Republicans generally have the right idea in wanting to balance the budget and make this country more fiscally responsible.

However, I do not agree, in any way, shape or form, with the overarching social policies of the Republican Party.  I do not condone the way Joe Biden behaved during the Vice Presidential debate a few weeks ago, but one thing he said really made me think that the Dems get it:  when asked about his personal stance on abortion, he said something to the effect that he accepts the teachings of the Catholic Church and, in his personal life, is pro-life.  At the same time, he understands that he does not have the right to push that viewpoint on the general population.  Amen, Joe.  You may be slightly insane and poor Barack probably has nightmares about the many gaffes that you make, but darn it, you had a point.  The government should not have the right to push the personal social beliefs of a few onto the populace.  The end.  That goes for same-sex marriage as well.  It makes my blood boil that Republicans try to push their bigoted, backward social views on the general population.  In all seriousness, I refuse to side with a party whose archaic views on women, immigrants and same-sex couples are so blatantly intolerant and off-the-mark.  Frankly, to so many Republicans, if you are not a heterosexual white male with a college education, you are not worth representing (Mittens himself alluded to this in his 47% speech). 

So, when I voted this morning, I thought of all of the rights that, as a woman, I would like to see preserved.  I thought of same-sex couples who would like the right to marry in states where it is not currently allowed, and would like to retain that right in states where it is.  I thought of the children of illegal immigrants who would like the chance to study in the United States and build lives for themselves here. I thought of active-duty service members, too many of whom make the ultimate sacrifice, who should be a top consideration when determining whether or not to enter into an armed conflict.  As a DC resident, my vote may not count, but today, I proudly voted Dem!

In other news, today would have been my Pop Pop's 103rd birthday.  Even though I was still relatively young when he passed away, I still think of him, and the incredible man that he was, very often.  Happy Birthday Pop Pop, and, in honor of your birthday, may the best man win! 

No Shame November

Guys have No Shave November {which, if you're doing it because you're lazy, I cringe at the sight of your unruly facial hair, but, if you're supporting Movember and prostate cancer research, I wholeheartedly applaud, while still thinking that your facial hair is gross}, so, inspired by a blog that the lovely Stacey recommended to me {okay, while you're at it, you can check out her wonderful blog too}, I am launching No Shame November on my blog!  Us ladies need something in November too!  So here, I will bare my soul and tell you about my guiltiest pleasures {if you know me well, you've already probably caught on to most of them}.

Here goes...no shame, right?

~ People Mag.  Obviously.  Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that, although I fully understand that life in LaLa Land is about as far away from real life as you can get, I devour each issue of People.  I especially love ogling over celebrity weddings and adorable celebrity children {Harper Beckham.  Seriously.  I think I find her adorable because I was that roly-poly as a child, and, thus, am predisposed to have roly-poly children of my own}.  I have subscribed to The Mag since I was 12, and, with a 2014 expiration of my subscription looming, I know I should just rip the Band-Aid and move on, but I don't know if I can...

~ Cookie dough.  If any of you have ever lived with me {I'm looking at you A, A, C, K, K, K and M...damn, I have a lot of friends whose names start with K!} you will know that I make egg-free cookie dough for myself and freeze it for when I want a snack...which is pretty much every day.  In the spirit of full disclosure, because there is no shame, I will even provide you with the recipe that I use:

1 stick butter

12 tbsp. brown sugar

dash vanilla

2 cups flour

1 can fat-free condensed milk**

1 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips {yes, I go for the heavy-hitting chocolate. Go big or go home}

 

**The fact that it is fat-free {but not calorie free, mind you} makes me judge myself slightly less.  Also, in terms of directions, I don't know, just stir it all together.  Like how professional my recipe sounds?

 

There, that wasn't so bad, was it?  I know you're all judging, but, for this post, and this post only, I'm immune to judgment.  Onward, comrades...

 

~ Gossip Girl.  Okay, this one I actually judge myself for.  For God knows what reason, I actually used to watch this show religiously, but have fallen off the bandwagon {but why? you may ask yourself}. Lately, when I have been lounging around at home with nothing better to do or have just needed background noise for whatever activity I am working on, I turn on an episode.  Why, I have no idea.  The show is so terrible.  But it falls under the header of a guilty pleasure.

 

~ Wedding blogs.  Again, to those of you who know me and my dream of being a wedding planner, this will come as no surprise.  I have had my own wedding planned out for, oh, I don't know, a few years {poor Dan, even though he knows of my desire to plan weddings, he only just recently just figured this particular fact out...oops?}, but I am constantly finding new inspiration for my own wedding, as well as friends' big days in the future.  Also, Pinterest is a fantastic way to get sucked into Wedding Land.

 

~ Running. Okay y'all {first of all, did I just say y'all?}, I am officially addicted to running.  If you had met me, oh, three years ago, I would have turned up my nose at running.  Part of that was due to apparently poorly-managed exercise-induced asthma {I always like to tell people how I always struggeld during the Presidential Fitness Test during elementary school because, without fail,  I always had an asthma attack during the Mile Run}, but part of it was perhaps a slight laziness.  It is just so much easier to go on the stationary bike or the elliptical, where there is virtually no risk of injury or being picked off by a car.  Now, I'm drinking the juice.  With two half-marathons under my belt, I'm setting my sights on my first marathon, which I begin training for in about a week.  Holy moly, there is nothing like a runner's high.  I run through pain just so I can get it {I think I tweaked my ankle a little bit this morning, and, while the logical part of my brain tells me to stay off of it and ice it, the less rational part of my brain might run on it anyway....or, might compromise by going on the elliptical.  Yes, I know it's insane, and I have been privy to my boyfriend's disapproving headshakes enough times to know that it's insane, but even going a day without it makes me grumpy.  Because of that mentality, my body may not be able to take more than one marathon, but damn it, I want to be able to tell my kids someday that Mommy ran a marathon.

 

As usual, I'm getting wordy, so who knows, maybe I'll sneak some more guilty pleasures into my posts this month.  If you want to make me really happy, and feel less awkward for having exposed some of my guilty pleasures, maybe you'll comment and write in some of your own.  Pretty please? 

 





A lazy fall weekend

Hello dear readers!  It is starting to feel more and more like fall here in DC, and, appropriately, I christened my beloved jewel tone purple winter coat today.  While I am a complete baby when it comes to cold weathe, it always makes me so happy to break that coat out of my closet!

After yet another draining week, I was in serious need of some relaxation and quality time with the people I love, and this weekend was perfect in that respect.  On Friday night, Dan and I got takeout pizza from, you guessed it, Mellow Mushroom (we just can't help ourselves, but I'm starting to get self-conscious whenever I walk in there to retrieve our pizza, because the.same.people.are.always.working.there.  I can almost smell their judgment.  Oh well, not apologizing!).  We kicked back and enjoyed some 24/7 Pens/Caps Winter Classic footage (with hockey apparently being shelved, at least for part of the season, we have to get some hockey in any way we can, and, even though I'm a somewhat recently-indoctrinated Pens fan, I was like a giddy little kid watching this footage.  Seriously).  Anyway, the combination of being an old lady and being exhausted from my week had me conked out at, oh, roughly 11:30. 

We had ourselves a little jog on Saturday morning.  Dan ran part of the way with me and then, in the interest of continuing his responsible recovery, turned around and went back home.  I had a nice run downtown, and enjoyed the crisp fall morning, other than the part of the run that had me running across bridges, because it was WINDY!  Then, we went to NY Bagel in Courthouse, where we had been once before, because we were both in the mood for bagels for breakfast.  There, completely randomly, we ran into Dan's cousin, who I hadn't met before and who had returned from business in India the night before.  He actually lives in Baltimore, but, due to a series of airline misfortunes, he ended up crashing with friends in DC.  It never ceases to blow my mind how small this city is, and that is one of the things I love most about it :)

I am not at all lying when I say that we did absolutely NOTHING during the day on Saturday.  We debated going out and doing something...and then thought better of it.  Then, we met up with my parents for dinner at Grillfish, which was, as usual, delicious.  I think I mentioned last week that we were going to be meeting up with my cousin and her family for dinner on Saturday night, but that ended up not happening.  They had only a half-tank of gas, and, coming from Manhattan post-Hurricane Sandy, worried that they would not be able to make it far enough into New Jersey to reach a gas station that still had gas.  Totally legitimate reason, especially given that they have two little kids and my cousin is preggo with #3.  They rescheduled their trip for two weeks from now, though, so I look forward to seeing them then!

After dinner, we met up with Goran and Nicole, as well as some other friends, at Churchkey.  We told them to meet us at 9, because I remembered it getting crowded.  I didn't anticipate that, upon arriving shortly before 9, it would already be packed!  What an early-arriving crowd!  We were somehow able to piece together a table and enough chairs to fit all of us, and it was a really nice time.  Dan and I had been to Birch & Barley downstairs for his bday last year, and I had been upstairs for drinks once, but it was nice to go back, since it is such a DC institution.

I would like to say that we used Daylight Savings Time to get some extra sleep...but I was wide awake at 7:30. WOMP.  We lazed around for a bit, and then I headed out to brunch with some girlfriends at Ben's Next Door on U Street.  Definitely not the most exciting brunch I've ever had in terms of food, but it did fill me up!  A group of us walked around a bit afterwards and I luckily managed to restrain myself in Anthro.  With holiday shopping already on my mind, I am trying to limit frivolous purchases.  But Lauren, Jen and I did go to a movie afterward, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (the new Emma Watson movie).  Such a heartbreaking movie, but so well-done.  Also, it was shot in Pittsburgh, so I was so excited to see shots of the city that I am somewhat familiar with! I made sure to text Dan and tell him how prominently his hometown was featured.

Looking ahead at this week, I'm excited for a Lake Family dinner tonight at Tombs.  These crazy kids are so busy this semester (okay, I guess I've been busy too) that we haven't had a chance to all get together.  I'm super excited to see them all!  I have to confess that I'm incredibly nervous for Election Day tomorrow.  Despite the fact that my vote doesn't count (damn DC), I'm planning on hitting the polls early tomorrow, and am hoping for the best, because the polls are too close for comfort right now.  I'm worried...hopefully my next post will be a happy one!