Post-Weekend Links

Happy Monday, friends!  Big news: I GOT THE BOOT OFF a few weeks ago!  I had been carting that darn thing around since the beginning of May, and the month of May just DRAGGED as a result.  I couldn't have been happier when my orthopedist told me a few weeks ago that I could rid myself of what Dan and I affectionately call Das Boot!  This injury has definitely prompted a bit of an attitude change when it comes to running, because I know now that I can't sustain running 50 mi/week.  My body WILL start to break down, it's just a matter of when.  So I'm kicking of a recommitment to finding fun forms of cross-training, and I have to say, I absolutely loved my time spent swimming during the month of May.  I felt myself getting stronger, and it was a nice release.  I hope to find a pool near our new apartment so that I can continue to do that a few days a week.  In the meantime, I have started running more, and have found that, thanks to swimming, I have been able to bounce back really quickly {whereas, last fall, when I couldn't exercise at all while I had the boot on, I was sucking wind for my first few weeks of running}.  Anywho, a few interesting tidbits:

• I found this article about "The People Who Can't Not Run." Even I can admit that the people are a bit extreme {running in place while in labor? No thanks!!!}, but some of what they said that resonated with me.  I run every day both because I love running and because no other form of physical activity gives me the same emotional high that running does.
• I found this great post over on Hey Natalie Jean, a blog that I read frequently.  It features a documentary called "Spent: Looking for Change" that features five families who represent the growing percentage of Americans in financially underserved households.  It is really sobering, and illustrates the very fine line between a great financial situation and a few bad breaks that can send a family into a tailspin.
• During my job search, I realized I needed to brush up on how to negotiate a salary increase.  I found this awesome article that provided a word-by-word of what you should say.  I think that this is a skill that women need to practice more {i.e. not being afraid to state what we think we're worth}, because, really, what can you lose?  Also, this is something they should teach in school.

I will work on posting some more this week, which is my last week of work {HALLELUJAH!!! My last day is Thursday!}, because I have so many updates to share, from the job search to two fantastic weddings and lots of travel in between!

This Move is Officially Happening...

Last week was a banner week in our household! We started off the week by getting engaged on Sunday, and, by Thursday, we had gotten a condo!  Add to it some slight movement on the job front, and it made for a great week.

To be honest, I was not completely stressed about our housing situation in Chicago.  If I needed to move to start a job, I knew that I had a couple of great friends that I could crash with for a couple of days while I tried to find us an apartment.  However, I feel SO much better knowing that there is a place that will be ours as of July 1st!  As opposed to the job search process, which has been long and drawn-out, the housing search happened at a lightning-fast pace.  We had narrowed it down to one neighborhood that we wanted to target, based on proximity to public transportation, overall feel of the neighborhood, etc.  Dan was able to see a few buildings in this area during a neighborhood housing tour that was a part of Admitted Student Weekend.

Based on the research we had done and the buildings Dan had visited, we were primarily considering three buildings.  On Wednesday, we had our real estate agent go and look at a place for us, and we made a split-second decision to go for it after seeing the pictures that she sent us.  Our plan all along had been to have either one of our friends or Dan's sister go and see our prospective homes before signing a lease, but we soon learned that we were going to need to move more quickly than that, requiring us to place all our trust in our agent to get a sense for these places {this is not a good feeling for a control freak like me!}. We raced to get the application completed on Wednesday afternoon and evening, and found out late on Thursday morning that we got the condo!  It was such a whirlwind, and we certainly got ourselves worked up about it, but I am so glad that everything turned out okay.  We are very excited to move in!

I found out in the middle of last week that I got an on-campus interview for a job that I am very interested in, so I will be heading to Chicago next week.  I am both excited and nervous, since the job-related component of this move is what has stressed me out the most, both from income and healthcare perspectives.  I so badly want to have that nailed down so that I can truly enjoy my remaining time in DC and not need to stress out about my employment prospects.  I will keep you all posted!

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the aftermath of the engagement.  It has been a huge adjustment to refer to Dan as my fiancé, and I have certainly slipped up more than a few times.  Everyone has been so sweet and curious to hear about the details, and I think I have the story memorized at this point!!! We are not moving forward on any major details yet, although I have started brainstorming a guest list, as that will affect the types of venues we are able to consider.  We got to see several friends over the weekend who hadn't seen us since the engagement, so it was really fun to share the story with them.

In general, it was just a perfect weekend! Dan and I got to spend some quality time together, and, very importantly, we spent a LOT of time outside, as the weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Dan, Molly and I went to a Nats game with Dan's dad on Saturday, followed by a great late afternoon/evening on H St. celebrating our friend Alix's birthday on a rooftop.  On Sunday, we went to the Air & Space Museum, which Dan had never been to, and I spent the afternoon with my dad at the outdoor pool that they belong to.  We grabbed dinner with my parents at Blacksalt on Sunday evening {seriously, mouthwateringly delicious fish!} and got to catch up with them post-engagement {they had not seen Dan since then}.  It was a beyond perfect weekend, and this upcoming one will be one of our last in DC, as we will be out of town at weddings the following two weekends.  Exciting times! It is finally feeling like summer, and I think going to Jazz on Friday will make it feel like the official start of summer for me!!

Our Proposal Story

'Hold the phone! When did this happen?,' you may be asking yourself.  I have written pretty openly on this blog over the past few months about hoping for a proposal, and I feel so blessed that I am actually sitting down to write it now {since, let's face it, my productivity at work this week has been completely shot}.  So, let's start at the beginning, a very good place to start:

We went to my aunt and uncle's house in southern Virginia from early Saturday morning to Sunday morning.  We had an awesome time hanging out with my family, including two of my aunts, my uncle, my cousin, her boyfriend and roommate, and my parents.  I continued my annual Memorial Day Weekend tradition of getting sunburned to a crisp, thanks to this exceptionally long winter we've had {and a subsequent lack of Vitamin D exposure}.  At the end of the day on Saturday, I went up to the house to take a shower, leaving Dan and my dad alone on the dock.  A part of me thought that Dan could be discussing marriage with my dad, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.  After my shower, I walked back down to the dock and switched places with Dan, who then jumped in the shower himself. I hadn't been seated for a minute before my dad looked me in the eye and said very matter-of-factly, "So, Dan was talking to me about asking you to marry him." 

"DADDDDDDD," I groaned, "you weren't supposed to TELL me that" {all of this while laughing}.  My dad felt really bad afterward, especially after my mom chided him for being clueless.  What can I say? I'm obviously the man's first child! I wasn't actually angry at all, because of the fact that Dan and I had discussed marriage so extensively.  We proceeded to have an amazing dinner.  Picture this: a screened-in porch to protect us from bugs and a large, family-style dinner with lots of laughter and great conversation, all taking place mere footsteps from the river.  It's like a story written in summer heaven.  This is not at all relevant to the proposal story, but it just speaks to my perfect summer evening: being surrounded by family and friends, enjoying yummy food and lots of stories and laughter, preferably in close proximity to a body of water.

Anyway, Dan and I got on the road relatively early on Sunday morning so that we could enjoy the day in DC.  When we got home, Dan ran to Whole Foods to "pick up beer" while I showered.  When he arrived home, I asked which kind of beer he had gotten, and he was nondescript, answering simply, "a wheat beer", which is unlike him {he usually tells me exactly what kind he has purchased}.  He had carefully orchestrated our plans for the evening, having made a reservation at Zaytinya, one of our favorite restaurants and one of the places on our bucket list {although, at this point, we should rename it the "to do again" list}.  Typically, when we're making a dinner reservation, we'll pore over Open Table and make the reservation together, but he insisted on doing it.  He also suggested, before we left for dinner, that we grab dessert afterward and walk over to the Tidal Basin.  I was starting to get seriously suspicious at this point, because the guy is NOT a planner.  This seemed a little fishy…

We had a wonderful and delicious dinner {seriously, I have never not left Zaytinya without a happy tummy} and headed to Red Velvet to pick up cupcakes {our first choice, Crumbs, had already closed for the evening}. We walked over to the Tidal Basin and looked out onto the Jefferson Memorial as we inhaled our cupcakes.  The weather was perfect, not yet hot and humid enough to be truly oppressive, and the sun was threatening to begin setting. We sat on one of the park benches and just talked, and it was so lovely to be taking in my favorite spot in all of DC with my best guy.  There were a lot of people around, and Dan only increased my suspicion by looking several times in either direction.  I was onto him at this point! When it became clear that there was not going to be a break in the crowd, he suggested that we walk over to a slightly more secluded area so as to "get a better view."  It was there that he told me how much he'll always love DC because it is where he met his wife, then launched into a list of things he loves about me.  He dropped down on one knee and produced the most beautiful ring I have ever seen, asking me to marry him.  I was crying, so made the poor guy sweat it out for a minute while I composed myself, before answering, "YES!" as enthusiastically as I possibly could.  The next few minutes were filled with kissing, hugging, marveling at the ring, and staring at each other in disbelief because WE WERE ENGAGED! It was the most perfect, special proposal that I could have asked for, perfect for our relationship and the type of people we are.  We couldn't stop smiling, the biggest, goofiest smiles you've ever seen.  We hopped in a cab and headed home, where Dan produced the bottle of champagne that he had picked up on that Whole Foods run {in his defense, he did also buy beer}.  Being that we are in our interim apartment now and have very minimal kitchen supplies, we chilled the champagne in a kitchen pot with an ice pack and what little ice we found in the fridge's ice-maker.  Yay for resourcefulness!!!

We took our time and enjoyed our champagne before calling our immediate families to break the news, which, we agreed, was perfect, allowing us some special time to ourselves before letting the world in on our little secret. The timing could not have been more perfect, because, since Monday was Memorial Day, we had an entire day off to get in touch with friends and family and just enjoy our new engagement.  Our loved ones' responses were wonderful, as were our friends' reactions when we called them the next day.  From the time that we started telling people our happy news, we were completely floored by how wonderful and supportive everyone was.  We are so humbled by the truly incredible people that we have in our lives, and it has been such a blessing to share this time with them.  While we will not be getting married until summer 2016, after Dan graduates, we couldn't be more excited for this next phase of our lives, and everyone's enthusiastic support has made the post-engagement glow last.  It still doesn't feel quite real sometimes, although it certainly helps to look down at my gorgeous, perfect ring as a nice, shiny reminder.  He did an amazing job picking it out {with a little help from Pinterest and what turned out to be a great guess when it came to my ring size}, but I told him that, while it is the most breathtaking ring I have ever seen and was exactly what I wanted, I would have been happy with whatever he got me, because it would be from him.

To wrap up this epically long post, I just want to take a moment and acknowledge how lucky I am to have ended up with a guy like Dan.  I have to, first and foremost, thank my best friend, Molly, for inspiring me to create a Match profile, because, without her encouragement, I probably never would have met him.  All of this came a few months after a painful romantic experience for me, and joining Match provided me with the perfect kick in the butt to be open to meeting someone new {so, in a strange way, I am grateful that I had that experience, however much it may have sucked at the time}.  From the day I met him, Dan has been such a positive light in my life - sweet, generous, funny, supportive, smart, and very handsome - and being with him has made me strive to be the best version of myself.  They don't say that girls tend to marry men who are like their dads for nothing, because I can absolutely see all of my dad's most wonderful qualities reflected in Dan.  I could not have answered any more enthusiastically when he asked me to be his wife, because he is the person that I want by my side for all of life's many highs and lows.  While I am obviously excited to plan our wedding {which I have been planning in my head since I was about five years old}, I am just relishing in this little moment we have going on here, because it is so, so special :)

Right after it happened! So, so much happiness :)

Weekend Links

Many of the blogs that I read have a Friday feature called "Weekend Links" where the bloggers round up all of their favorite weeks from the internet that week.  I can't promise that it will happen regularly on this blog, but I thought I would give it a shot.  And, since it is about to be the weekend, the thought is that you'll actually have time to read these things {right??}!

Here we go…

- A really interesting article about privilege {a buzzword right now after a Princeton student's recent editorial} as it relates to both race and gender

- Panda puppies!

- Lusting after this purse {my Longchamps bags are looking a little ratty, so it's totally justifiable to buy this to "bring to future job interviews", right??}

- A friend posted a link to this food-based course co-taught by Michael Pollan, which you can watch for free!
- Another FB link: the owners of Baked & Wired are opening a new place devoted to artisanal toast.  I don't think I like the sound of that.  However, their in-store market will sell cookie dough, so maybe I do support this place :-)
- NYT did a "36 Hours in…" piece on DC, and I think it's pretty sad that I have not done many of those things in my eight years of living in this city.
- The Pens may be out of the chase for the Stanley Cup, but I can't get enough of this pint-sized fan!

Have a great weekend, everyone! We are gearing up for moving everything to my parents' house tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be able to have some fun, too.  It's bringing a smile to my face to watch all of the newly-minted graduates walk by my office window right now.  Hoya Saxa! 

Prepping for the Move

This week is graduation week on the Hilltop, so that always gets me a little bit emotional.  I LOVE working at a university, but, for a person who hates goodbyes, it can be tough when each subsequent class graduates.  I am planning on staying especially far from campus this weekend, because I know that this graduation weekend, my last in DC, would churn up a lot of emotions.

So instead, we will be moving on Saturday…which will churn up a whole other set of feelings because of how much I despise moving.  We have to move to an interim apartment until the end of June, which, luckily, is furnished, meaning that all we have to do this weekend is pack up all of our stuff and move it to my parents' garage until the big move.  Dan pointed out that, once we do this weekend's move, the hard part will be done {at which point I reminded him that he was forgetting the 10-hour drive to our new home!}.   So the rest of our week will be spent packing up our mountains of stuff.  As much as I try to purge things I don't need, the piles don't seem to get any smaller.

I wanted to do a quick recap of this weekend, because it was so, so wonderful.  I have been trying to wrap my head around it, and the best way I can describe it is that it felt, over the course of the weekend, like I was single again.  Don't get me wrong, I love Dan so much and our relationship brings me so much joy every day, but it was so, SO nice to be able to call my own shots for the weekend and do whatever I wanted to without any concern for another person.  Friday was absolutely wonderful, starting just before I left work for the day and I made a kid cry with joy by telling him that we were admitting him off the waitlist.  It just gave me the warm fuzzies, you know?  I then proceeded to bake a ton and watch no fewer than three full episodes of House of Cards, and it was absolutely glorious.  I had to work from 9-1 on Saturday, which wasn't too brutal, and then did my swim and met up with my family.  Tim was in town, so it was great to have our little foursome together again!  I really do miss him, and am so glad that he is loving New York.  I think he was trying extra hard to be nice and cheerful, too, probably given that it was Mother's Day weekend, almost his birthday, and probably one of the last times we'll be together before Dan and I move.

We went out to a delicious dinner at The Hamilton {definitely recommend - I had the halibut and the beet salad, which were both heavenly}, and then I met up with Molly to go to a friend's birthday celebration in Columbia Heights.  It was great to see that group of friends, and then I got to have a sleepover with Molly, which was so lovely.  It has been really tough for us to get together over the past few months, due to how busy the two of us have been, so it was great to have lots of time to just catch up.  I am going to miss her so, so much.  On Sunday morning, after we grabbed breakfast, I headed back over to my parents' house and had some more time with the fam before Tim had to catch his bus.  By the time I got home from my swim afterward, Dan was back, and, although I loved my weekend of doing whatever I wanted, I was so happy to have him back!

On another very random note, The Bachelorette starts on Monday {yay!} and one of the contestants is a guy from my hometown who was in my class when I was in public school.  I have an inkling that he'll be a one-and-done contestant, but we'll see.  I'm hoping that this new apartment has DVR capabilities, or else we might have a problem!

Also, I am about a week in to swimming, and while I am far from being a talented swimmer, I am enjoying it!  My leg is definitely feeling better, so I'm hoping that it will be completely healed when I see the doc again on June 5th.  I think that I'll start using the Aqua Jogger at the pool in a few weeks - apparently it's fantastic for runners who are coming back from injuries.  I am just feeling so grateful that I am able to exercise!

Happy Wednesday, friends! We're almost over the hump!

I Can See the Finish Line!

First of all, can you tell it has been a calmer week at work? I've been blogging up a storm, given how infrequently I've been doing so for the past few months.  I've missed it!

Anywho, this was one of those weeks where I felt overscheduled and exhausted.  I blame the fact that it's getting to be that hot and humid time of year, allergies are still a killer and I have had something going on every night after work that has kept me up late.  But you know what?  That is just making me anticipate the impending weekend more.  Also, I had better get used to being busy today, because Dan and I compiled our Official DC Bucket List this week, and there is a ton of stuff on there {okay, mostly restaurants…OKAY, more dessert outings than I would like to admit}, so it's going to be go-go-go until the big move, which is tentatively going to be in mid-to-late July.

Dan is off to western PA for a bachelor party this weekend, so I will be making myself a yummy summer salad for dinner, watching embarrassing amounts of House of Cards and baking and consuming massive amounts of baked goods.  The thought of it just brings a smile to my face :)

I have to work tomorrow morning, but I have a swim to look forward to afterward, followed by dinner with my fam, because baby bro is in town!  Monday happens to be his birthday, so we're celebrating both his birthday and mother's day with dinner tomorrow night.  Also tomorrow, I'm helping a dear friend celebrate her birthday {the boot may be a slight issue for the dancing portion of the evening}, and then I'm having a sleepover with my bestie.  I am so, so pumped for this weekend!

I hope all of you have either an exciting or relaxing weekend, depending on what you're looking for!

A Monday Mish-Mash

Since it's Monday, I'm not really feeling like stinging together a full, coherent post, so I'll just comment on a few things that are floating around in my head right now:

• So, I have a stress fracture in my tibia.  You would think that I would learn my lesson from all of my many running injuries over the years, which seem to become more severe each time, but, for those of you who are runners too, you'll understand how hard it is to go without running, even for a day.  The last time I ran was the Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler on April 6th {which I actually finished in a  shockingly quick time of 1:19, given that I was already quite injured at that point}, and I'm really yearning to run again, especially since running outside at this time of year just fuels my love affair with DC.  Also, I'm not going to pretend that I haven't already plotted out races to run in Chicago.  The doc told me I have to wear my boot for the next 4-6 weeks, so I suppose it's a good thing that I already had one of those suckers sitting around in my closet.  The only reason why I'm not crying on a regular basis is because I'm allowed to swim!  I am in the process of joining a gym with a pool for the next month, and, after going for two swims over the weekend, I think it's safe to say that I'm hooked.  Now, if only I could get Dan to set foot in a pool…the poor thing is traumatized after swimming through college :)
• We had a lovely Easter with both of our families, spending Saturday night with Dan's family {we got to meet his brother's girlfriend and his adorable new dog, Charlotte, as well as see Dan's sister} and Easter Sunday with mine.  I am trying to count my blessings, particularly for these next few months, because I know that this may be the last time we live near our families…sob.
• Last weekend, we went out to the Windy City for Dan's revisit weekend.  While it still doesn't feel completely real that we are leaving our beloved DC in just a few months, I am so, SO excited to get to experience a new city. Having Kristin, Allie and Emily there will be a huge plus for me, and I felt really comfortable with the people that I met at all of the Partners Club events last weekend.  
• We are going to our first Nats game of the season tonight with a group of local admits from Dan's program.  I am excited to meet some of the people who we will be spending 4 years with, and I never turn down an opportunity to go to Nats Park.
• On Saturday, we went to a Drink the District event put on by Living Social.  Despite a brief downpour, it was a fun event, and we got to try lots of good beer and wine {as well as some not-so-tasty mint juleps}.  We went with a group of friends, and, after hanging out with them more at the end of the event, had to say what is likely to be our first goodbye {as some of the friends will be leaving for a few months in Europe next weekend}.  I definitely teared up in the cab ride home.  This endless series of goodbyes is not going to be easy...
• On Thursday, we went to a fun wine tasting event with Dan's parents that was put on by Wine Spectator.  The event was a lot of fun, although I would be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by tasting a $1,000 wine.  I'll stick with my less-than-$20 bottles, thank you very much!!
• I need a vacation.  So badly.  Which is why I giddily happy that our San Francisco trip is creeping up on us.  I just need to recharge.
• So, I must confess that I've recently gotten hooked on House of Cards.  The show is fabulous!  Fortunately, Dan has no interest in political shows, which means that I can binge-watch this series {which he is less likely to do, hence the snail's pace with which we are going through my other current obsession, Friday Night Lights}.
• Oh, and looking for jobs and apartments is stressful.  I know, right?!  I know people mean well, but both searches are stressing me out to the point where I just don't want to talk about it.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! The rest of this week is supposed to turn summer-like, and I am using a bachelor party that Dan is going to this weekend as an excuse for some much-needed "me time', which will likely involve too much baking and too many episodes of House of Cards :)