Giving...

Every year around this time the same thing happens to me... I realize that the phrase, "Its better to give then receive", is SO true! How is it that year after year I forget how much fun it is to buy gifts for the people you love.

Earlier this week it dawned on me how close it was to Christmas... AND that I had not done a lick of shopping yet! After a one minute panic attack, I realized that the shopping was the easy part, it was the figuring out what to get each person that is the hardest! But luckily I stumbled upon a new site that helped me find the cutest gifts for all the special people on my list (well at least the ladies)- www.etsy.com. I am sure most of you have heard of this crafty site, but this was my first time to really take the plunge and make some great purchases. It was so fun finding unique things that I felt would fit each person's taste and for the most part everything was very affordable! The site is set up to make the online purchasing and shipping very easy and I even got some personal notes of thanks from the vendors themselves. I am a little nervous about everything getting shipped to me in time for my trip back to Texas, but I have been monitoring my purchases status on the site and some were already shipped out the same day I bought them.

I love the feeling of excitement when you really like what you have picked out for someone and can't wait to give it to them... let's just hope they like it as much as I do!

Happy Holiday Shopping to All-
S

Breathe...

I have never been a huge yoga enthusiast, but a couple months ago I decided to give yoga a second shot and was surprised to find that I not only enjoyed it, but was super sore the next day. Since then I have been making an effort to include a once a weekly yoga class into my regular exercise line up. Besides discovering how truely inflexible I am, I have realized how bad I am at breathing.

Breathing doesn't seem like something that should be hard, or even something that you should have to think about (I mean hello that is why we have a medulla oblongata). But I ask you this... when was the last time you breathed? I mean REALLY breathed- deep and long, in and out, eyes closed and letting the breathing take over and relax you. I bet for most of us it has been awhile. Now that I have been exposed to the hyper focused and controlled breathing that yoga tends to emphasize I realize that most days... I am not breathing.

Yes, I am alive and getting the air my body needs to function, but so frequently I am running around way to preoccupied with the daily stresses and tasks that I never take the couple of minutes every so often to relax and take a deep couple of slow and therapeutic breaths that can be SO rewarding.

So I am challenging you, along with myself, to slow down and remember every once in awhile to just breathe.

S

The Holidays: Love-Hate Relationship

I do love this time of year. However, as I have gotten older I have noticed an interesting predicament. Every year people get all excited for the Holidays... time to be with friends & family, time to celebrate, time for cheery holiday music, and most importantly time off work. But I ask you this question... why is it that by mid-December most people are hanging on by a very thin thread?

Is it the money pressure of all the gift giving? Or is it the busy schedule of parties and traveling? Maybe it is ALL that time with family? Or even worse... dread of the Holiday pounds creeping on?

Whatever combination of Holiday related factors it is that turns us into scrooges... I am putting an end to it this year.

Call me a Pollyanna (thanks for the inspiration Hales!) but I have so much to be grateful for in my life that I don't want to spend one minute of this magical time of year in a grump. The second I feel any stress or negativity coming on I am going to fight it off by thinking of all the wonderful things that far out weigh whatever blip in the radar may be bringing me down.

Just some food for thought. And writing it down makes it more of a commitment to myself- so there you have it.

S

P.S.- more frequent posts to come as I have once again decide to re-commit myself to the pleasures of blogging :)

Doing a little driving

I drive the same route out of DC every day. Left out of the parking garage into an alley with a dump truck that says "Tenleytown Trash." How does an independent dump-truck company stay in business? Left on Kenyon into the heart of the never-ending construction. The same women every day holds the sign that says "slow." I wonder what it is like to know that you could be replaced by a bucket of sand. Why has she worn a turtleneck sweater everyday since the beginning of the summer? Left on 14th Street. Why do they even bother putting the "no left turn sign" up? Cruising past the new park on the left--which may or may not be named after Barack Obama--I wonder why it closed for a few weeks after its grand opening for what appeared to be a complete renovation. I am sure a consultant/former girlfriend of Marion Barry was involved. Next comes the gas station with the worst coffee in the world and Clifton Terrace. Rumor has it that the boys and girls from this apartment complex are beefing with some young'ens from another complex on Girard. What could the issue be? Do they even remember? Down the hill and approaching U street the traffic usually gets a little wacky. Bicyclists rocket down the hill past the McDonalds that was recently closed for a health code violation and traffic snarls as cars and buses navigate turning with pedestrians and no turn lane. Evasive manuevering and to the other side of U past the cleaning crews lining up for their shifts. Poorly timed lights lead to stopping at P and waiting only to stop again at Florida and contemplate a parrallel park & pit stop at Caribou Coffee. Florida passess and Thomas circle is ahead. A few mornings a week the ambitious and dedicated are running up the steps at the the National Christian Church. WTOP tells me that I-270 is backed-up and god help you if you are on I-95 heading into the city. Left on M street and two more Caribou coffees and one Edible Arrangements (gross?) later I cruise by Steph's work after a left on 19th. A quick exit and kiss from my passenger and its a right on K. Under a traffic circle, possibly running a light and left towards the Watergate. The homeless shanty town under the overpass is really impressive. It's not that its vast but rather that the small area appears to have several tents that are interconnected. I believe that one person has made their own personal mansion in this little space. Why do the cops never mess with this particular District denizen? Oh well, on the highway now crossing the Potomac. Rowers cut through the water on their early morning routine. I think back on my time rowing, realizing that no matter how little I miss it, some of the most surreal and serene moments I've experienced were on the water. With the Potomac behind me, the buildings of Rosslyn take up the view. All I know for sure about Rosslyn is that it is the Las Colinas of Northern Virginia and that it's best avoided.

How We Spend Our Time...

Have you ever thought about the amount of time you spend doing each activity of your daily life? I know it is a question I have pondered more frequently... mostly since realizing how much time of my life is now spent at work. Below is a link to an amazing graph illustrating how people over age 15 spent their time in 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html

It is especially cool to see how the graph changes as you click on different demographic breakouts.

Just a little food for thought :)

P.S.- is it the weekend yet??!!

Some Favorites....

Okay- so to get me through any slow day (in this case a Monday) I turn to one of my new favorite jams. Something about this song just makes me happy and energized- I also have a very fun desk dance that gets the blood moving. The band is called Passion Pit and while the song below (Sleepyhead) is my favorite- their whole new album is amazing.




Another fun find is this crazy wedding video- I am sure most of you have seen it by now since it was all over the place, but in case you haven't here it is. I love the idea of making the ceremony personal and more of a celebration.



Lots to do this week before my sister comes into town on Thursday! So excited... maybe my next post will be a full menu of options for visitors to choose from when they come visit Kev and I. Especially since I just found out that Em and Amber are coming in Oct- so excited about that as well!!

P.S.- I love secrets :)

Summer Fun

Okay- so here goes again.. I really want to keep this blog going and the past couple months it has most certainly fallen off my radar. BUT I am back, and my new approach in unapologetic- I am literally going to write about anything and everything I want with no concern for whether any one who reads it will find it boring, trite, annoying or anything other than exhilarating.

What have I been up to the past couple of months you may ask? Well let me fill you in...

We kicked May off with the DC Cares Servathon- a whole day of service where we volunteered and cleaned up an old apt building in our neighborhood that was going to be used by a local non-profit for families affected by AIDS and needing assistance- super fun and rewarding. The rest of the month is pretty much summed up by 2 things: rain and NYC. Kev was working up in NYC for the entire month and I got to visit twice; many a good times had.

June flew by like crazy and the highlights include... Race for the Cure 5K, Ogilvy Pirates Softball games (I was the resident pitcher!), weekend trip to Bethany Beach, Steph takes the GRE, and the great annual week long Beach retreat to Sea Isle City. We had a blast in SIC (haha) and it was so nice to relax, spend time with friends, be beach bums, and booze hounds. Loads of pictures on facebook- especially of the booze hounding courtesy of Tanya's amazing camera (we all had camera envy).

July started in SIC and we made it back to the district on the 4th for the spectacular fireworks frenzy which we had perfect seats for on our 8th floor balcony. Seriously, I have never seen so many fireworks- it was pretty amazing... not only the nation's spectacle, but also the hundreds of small private displays that were exploding in every direction as far as the eye could see. Work got a bit crazy after that and dominated my life, but there was an entertaining roof bbq and late night dance party at Wonderland that slipped its way in as well as mandatory Monday night Bachelorette watching (I don't care what you think of me- I love that show & all the drama!). Last weekend was pretty relaxing as we caught up slightly on our movies (Harry Potter & The Proposal- both good... the 1st more so).

Lots of fun thing coming up too: Matt & Rachel come to visit, then Regan, then Kev's mom... and my car! and a fun family wedding over Labor Day weekend.

Can't believe summer is almost over- more to come soon!

Rooftop Decks and Stoli

This is 13th St. somewhere between Columbia Heights and U street on a beautiful Spring day. I love the variety that rowhouses offer, especially after growing up in suburbia. The one thing that DC doesn't get is that rowhouses were made to have a rooftop deck like many do in Baltimore. When are the residents of DC going to get with it?


Now the most important part of the post...introducing...Stoli (she's a Russian Blue):

Bubbs

Well, what can we say. Steph and I were blindsided by the death of our little cat "Bubbs" just this past Sunday. He was just under a year old. The immediacy and the shockingly sad way in which it all occurred was well...truly a tragic experience, as anyone who has had such a wonderful pet can certainly tell you. Anyway, I've been thinking about all the wonderful things that this little creature did and it really makes me feel quite happy that he was a part of our lives, because that's really what he was - a part of our family.

Where is the bottom???

So not to be a downer... but this whole crashing economy thing is really starting to get scary. I know I am very fortunate for many reasons, the biggest being that I am young and don't have a family to support or a 40 year retirement fund that is dwindling. But, I do have to say being young doesn't come without it's negatives as well and it certainly does not come with immunity to what is going on around us. Although I have been aware of what is going with the recession and have attempted to cut back and be cautious of my spending, up until now I have not been directly effected. Yesterday was a pretty big shock to my world as the day started with a meeting from one of our superiors preparing us for the idea that our office may no longer be in the comfortable position it was nearly a month ago. The day continued as people talked cautiously about what they thought may or may not be coming our way. Then at the end of the day a quick staff meeting was called where it was announced that 8 of our co-workers were no longer with us. I felt a combination of shock, guilt and fear. I have never been through something like this as many of my older co-workers have and I was pretty unequipped to deal with it.

All in all, we have to keep moving forward. My biggest fear is not knowing where the bottom of this downfall is and if things keep going the way they are I think it is pretty safe to say that no one is out of the woods yet. As for now- I am making some adjustments to be more prepared for the worst, but I am also counting my blessings and looking forward to good news. Things have to improve eventually, at least that is what history tells us.

This is an interesting map that I came across today that illustrates how people across the country are being effected by this crazy thing. It is hard to understand what is happening if it hasn't hit close to you- but as you can see this is serious, and it is everywhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/03/us/20090303_LEONHARDT.html

Kittens inspired by Kittens!

I have no idea why... but Kevin and i think this is the funniest video ever...





Our favorite lines are:

"I want pie... I want beef jerkey!" and " I'm her mom.... no she's not"

Is it Spring Yet?!

I can't believe how fast January and now February have flown by... but man am I ready for winter to be over! I love the month of March- not only b/c it is my birthday month, but mostly because it is the start of the spring weather and festivities. I know, I know... most of you that live in the North East are cautioning me of that dreaded winter storms that still loom in late March or even April, but even if the weather isn't perfectly spring like in March there is still something in the air that teases the upcoming lift in spirits. On top of the warmer weather there are several other things about spring to look forward to- blooming flowers, the return of green-lush scenery, outdoor dining and drinking, long outdoor runs, AND day light after work... just to name a few. I am quite aware however, that as spring drifts into summer being the TX girl that I am, I will be truly happy with the heat and sun and all of the summer festivities of tanning, grilling out and swimming only to find myself 2 months later cursing the heat and yearning for the crisp, cool fall weather. I guess that is only human nature, but it is a cycle that keeps me motivated to move through the year always looking forward to what the next season will bring.

Random link of the day- How ridiculous is this?!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/25/white-house-watermelon-em_n_169933.html

Metro Ads

One of the more entertaining things about living in DC are the ads that you see on the metro system. No coffee, vacation or language classes advertised here. Among the ones that I find most interesting:

An add for JLTVs or a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle made by a company named "General Tactical Vehicle"- basically, this is a hummer with a massive turret on top. The picture in the ad, similar to below, shows a JLTV racing swiftly through a remarkably peaceful looking desert-like country...hmm, I wonder where?
Battleship/Destroyer Command and Control Systems - who could buy this? or a JLTV for that matter? Wouldn't your command and control system already be an integral part of your billion dollar vessel? I understand that it is simply that a certain defense contractor really wants you to know that they actually produce something and are working for 'merica but come on...it's ridiculous to see ads for tanks and heavy weaponry on the metro. What a country.

Lupus - Millions live with it! Donate now via CFC #54678 - ummm, ok, nothing funny about this, but a little odd on a metro line. But then again I just looked up Lupus and now know how terrible it seems. So was that successful advertising?

And my personal favorite, the American Humanist Society placed ads during christmas that said "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake." Yep. This caused quite a ridiculous furor. People were trying to get the ads removed!

Updates!

So it has been awhile since I last posted... but things have been busy! I am renewing my commitment blogging and so here are the updates from the past 2 months.

Kev and I are finally in our new apartment and could not be enjoying it anymore! The move was a little hectic (like all moves tend to be) and it didn't make things any easier when I threw my back out the 1st night- trying to lift our couch. It was the worst! I have never hurt my back that bad and not only is it painful, but it is a pain in the ass... every move I made hurt my back and I was so handicapped. I refused to except defeat and was so set on getting our new apartment settled that I figured out ways to move around and get things done. Even if it meant sliding things around on the floor on my knees ha-ha. We were actually pretty successful in getting everything unpacked and decorated in the 1st weekend and decided we couldn't wait to have people over to celebrate our new place so we had our apt warming party the very next weekend. It was so fun to finally be able to host people- we had a blast!

In the past month we have settled in even more and have gotten the chance to start exploring our neighborhood. A couple of highlights include: a neighborhood bakery which we frequent on weekend mornings for bagels and the occasional doughnut, a supremly delish brick oven pizza joint that has a variety of gormet personal sized pizzas that we just can't get enough of, a crowded dive bar called the Raven that has cheap drinks and diverse patrons, a local sports bar that has daily happy hours and 1/2 priced juicy bugers. These are just a few of the places we have discovered and I have no doubt that once the weather starts to warm up a bit we will be out and about all the time finding great new additions.

Another great thing about moving into the district and where we are living is the accessability of everything we need- Kev and I love that we hardly drive anywhere anymore. He drives every day to and from work since his office is not Metro accessable, but on the weekends especially we will not even use the car once. With my gym, the grocery store, Target, Marshalls, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, several cleaners, a beer/wine store and a CVS all with in a block of our apt we are pretty much taken care of! Going out in the District is much more fun now too since we are walking distance from U Street and Adam's Morgan and the metro is literally directly below our apt so getting anywhere is super easy- especially for me going to work everyday.

I have to say we are pretty happy in our new existance- especially Gypsy and Bubbs- with much more space to play and chase each other it is a whole new world for them. Especially the forbidden patio- which the curiosity and yerning to explore all but consumes them whenever they see us out there.

The icing on the cake of the whole move is that we just found out our new good friends Mike and Tanya will be moving into the hood with in the next month! We now have partners in crime to live the life with us in Columbia Heights! Can't wait.

That's all for now- but more to come soon :)

Steph

The Uglysuit at DC9

I dragged Steph out of the cramped studio in Virginia a few months back in order to see a show in the District. After a few transfers on the metro we finally arrived at DC9, which seems to be one of the smaller venues to see semi-legitimate bands in DC. When we arrived, about 45 minutes early, we were the only people there. So we kicked back and had a few beers. Steph began to rock the jukebox with Coldplay and Kanye, which I also love, but I was concerned that the hipster/indie elements that had begun to filter in would highly disapprove of any music that has ever been popular. Anyway, as a few folks trickled in they opened the upstairs for the concert and we wandered up.

The band we came to see was "The Uglysuit" out of Oklahoma City. They were the opener for another band who 90% of the 35 people had come to see. I knew 3-4 songs by these guys and I really was in to them at the time. It was a strange experience from the first note. It became immediately apparent that they intended to be a much harder band than the music that I had heard. It was like going to see Wilco and catching a bit of Ratt, including the long hair and headbanging. In the end though, I enjoyed the show and they calmed down a bit for the songs that I really liked. I've included below a track that I really enjoy and is worth a listen.

2009 what a start...

2009 is off to quite a start... however, New Year's day was not the best welcome into the year. This was mostly due to cleverly locking our selves out of our apartment and having to pay some con-artist locksmith lots of money to do 5 seconds of work. But since our beginning misfortune things are looking up. I had a fun weekend visiting NYC with my best pal Haley where we ran all around the island in search of the perfect kitten for her to adopt. I had no idea that this would be such a challenge. Apparently, not only is it not kitty season (who knew?!) but most NYC adoption agencies also have a policy that prevents you from adopting only 1 kitty unless you have 1 at home already... they insist you adopt 2 at a time! Finally, on our last stop we found an adorable 4 month old black and white kitten (newly named Tux due to his fur resembling a tuxedo) that was a perfect fit and luckily made his way home with us. That night we had a fondue party which was quite entertaining considering we some how messed up and it took the cheese about 2 hours to cook- in the end it was still delish and we had a great time. Can't wait for our next trip up to my favorite city... DC is a very close 2nd and let's not forget how amazing Austin, TX is!