Singing Out of Tune

Our Party was a HIT!

2008-12-17T17:39:00.002-05:00

Bessie, my awesome next door neighbor, and I threw a joint Christmas party last night. It was soooooooooooooo much fun! I had appetizers at my place and she served desserts at hers. Between the 2 of us we probably had about 20 people, a perfect size get together. The food, friends and booze were all great. We were a bit nervous about how our friends would mesh, but everyone totally hit. OVerall...a SMASHING success!

PS: i forgot to take pics! oops

Sunday in Denver is C-O-L-D

2008-12-15T00:36:00.003-05:00

Holla for 2 degrees! Yep, I went to the grocery store this afternoon and my car registed 2 degrees. And it wasnt lying. Tonight the low is going to be -19.

So needless to say I stayed my arse inside today. Got some great cooking down for our little Christmas party this Tuesday. My next door neighbor and I are throwing a joint holiday party. Appetizers at my house and desserts at hers, a little round the world if you will. Anywho, here's what I made today in preperation for Tues.

-Hummus (gotta have it, its a staple if you're middle eastern)
-California Pizza Kitchen's Spinach & Artichoke Dip (I have the SECRET recipe and may be willing to share this deliciousness with you...let me know!)
-an Olive Cheese ball
-meatballs (a barbeque and pineapple salsa based sauce)- yummy!
-Mac & Cheese mini-cupcakes (the recipe from jack's bridal shower- yay!)

Snowmobiling!

2008-12-15T00:24:00.003-05:00

What a blast?! Jill and Josh were in town this weekend and while Josh and his friend went skiing...Jill and I went SNOWMOBILING. So much fun, SO MUCH FUN! I was a little apprehensive at first bc I had heard from a few friends out here about fatal snowmobiling accidents. So I definitely was a bit on the cautious side starting off, but after getting used to the machine and being out for 2 hours, I felt pretty confident by the end. It was a guided tour through the woods with a base of 5ft of snow. We climbed in elevation to heights of 12,500ft and at the top we were in white-out conditions bc the snow was coming down heavy. Had it not been for Jill's red helmet I would have had a hard time finding her in front of me. We went around lots of sharp curves on narrow passageways and on the straight-aways we were able to get our machines up and over 40 mph! It was nuts. Totally worth it. when ya'll come visit, we will definitely have to go!

Jill said it was more fun than skiing with less exertion :) So for those who don't like exercise, it's a pretty big thrill for plowing through snowcovered mtns.

BEST GRILLED CHEESE EVER!

2008-12-12T11:37:00.003-05:00

Since we have a gourmet kitchen in our lodge (aka: office), I have been heating up/cooking up lunch rather than dining out. Well, that and the nearest food establishment is about 10 mins away by car. So, I have my coworkers hooked on my personal grilled cheese creation! Try it, you'll love it!

- Horseradish Mustard
- Vermont Extra Sharp Cheddar
- (Optional) Thinly sliced turkey

Spread the horseradish mustard on the bread, slice the cheese, then add the sliced turkey if you want. Broil in the oven until cheese it melted. It rocks.

Dallas for Turkey weekend

2008-12-01T20:40:00.003-05:00

It had been a whole year since I saw my bro and his family. Skye, Dallas and Zoli had grown soooooo much! Handfuls as usual and even hellions at times (most times ;) but love them just the same! I need a vacation now though.

here are some highlights:

1) Dallas' funny sayings and guestures - ie: "I gotta have my SEX" - he had no idea what Sex even meant! And Zoli goes "Dallas that is only for mom and dad!"

2) Their hot water heater died on us all the first day we were all there...no showers, yuck!

3) DO NOT EVER PUT GOLD BOND in your HAIR! I learned this lesson. Since I couldnt bear to take a cold shower to wash my hair, I remembered an old remedy my friend Anastasia (Stacie) had told me. She said if my hair was ever oily and I didnt have time for a shower I could put Baby powder in my hair and its a quick fix for oily hair...and I've tried that once before and it worked. But do NOT ever substitue Gold Bond for baby powder. yea, nasty...my bro's nasty Gold Bond, I put in my hair. Not only did my scalp tingle, my hair got really stiff and grey looking, and I smelled like GOLD BOND for the next 3 days! Lesson learned.

4) Taking Zoli to get a manicure and pedicure and she had really bad gas. Lesson: Don't take a 4 yr old to the nail salon if they have bad gas bc they will FART on the manicurist. YES, she did and she goes "Hhahahaahaha...I farted!"

Deeny visits Sissy!

2008-12-01T20:31:00.004-05:00

My little Deeny came to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving! We had our pre-thanksgiving together. Since she is a married lady now, she and Dean spent Turkey Day and weekend in NJ with Dean's family. The rest of the K family headed to Dallas, TX to be with my BIG brother and his family.

If you come to Denver, you MUST visit Boulder, CO. It's a yuppy little college town, more granola than Georgetown but set amongst the most beautiful Flatirons. The two of us LOVE Boulder and have been up there several times together but this past time we hit up the CELESTIAL SEASONINGS TEA FACTORY! So fun and every type of tea imaginable, plus you can buy them discounted for $2.25 a box. The tour is well worth it, you get to see how they store all the teas and spices and the boxing process AND you get to try any type of the 100s of tea they make. It's all made in Boulder, I had no idea.

We also hit up Vail and Breckenridge and skiied Breckenride of Sunday. I have conceded a loss or at least, I admit that I SUCK at skiing. I'm all about the GREEN slopes and guess what? I am ok and proud of that. The conditions werent perfect bc it was opening weekend BUT for us east-coasters, it wasnt that bad. But just yesterday they got hammered with snow...so ski season is in full effect now.

Sat night, Deena and I went out to the cutest little Cuban restaurant called, Cuba Cuba, with my friends Alina and Christina, and one of Christina's friends. It's in a little aqua colored house and has some of the best food and Mojito's! Afterwards, we went around the block to this Salsa club -- it was total immersion but all of us girls got to practice our dancing skills.

Such a fun weekend!

Deeny left me on Monday and on Wednesday I headed to Dallas!

Nashville, aka MUSIC CITY

2008-12-01T20:16:00.003-05:00

What perfect timing! Despite crazy hours and lots of hard work, my work convention turned out awesome. This year, our annual convention and tradeshow coincidentally fell during the County Music Awards the same week in Nashville. I'm a newbie to country music but I've started to heart it the past couple of years. Can you imagine a better week to be in Nashville?

1) Our expo hall's loading dock gave us a prime view for Good Morning America's pre-warm up show with Miley Cyrus, Randy Atkins, and Kevin Costner (yep, the actor now singer).
2) We scored last minute tix to the show - 2 for the price of 1! $50 - although I hadnt planned on going to the CMA's I did try to doll up (after a 14 hour day). I wore a really cute black dress, my cute brown cowboy boots and a turquoise necklace
3) We were in the same room as all my favs...Josh Turner, George Strait, Randy Atkins, the EAGLES, Toby Keith, Montgomery Gentry, Brooks & Dunn...ohh and Shania presented! Plus in the audience...Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, plus many more!

Pumpkin Butter A New Found Love

2008-10-19T19:36:00.003-04:00

Pumpkin Butter is Yum to the McYummersons! Yesterday, my coworker, Jeanette and I headed north to Erie, CO, a rural town 40 mins north of Denver. THANKFULLY we didnt get lost. And btw, had we kept going for another 80 miles, we could have been in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Yes, that is very strange to us too. And it's amazing how flat the land gets out there, it's like Kansas except pretty mtns towards the west. I had no idea Wyoming was so close but then again the west all blended together to be back in elementary school. Anywho, Anderson Farms in Erie, Co hosts a HUGE fall festival prior to Halloween. This place has 1000s of acres of farm land with a huge pick your own pumpkin patch (hayride needed to get out there), farm animals, CORN maize (we got lost and cheated to get out!), and best of all... ALL kinds of fresh homemade preserves, foods, etc. A great little escape out of the city!

Anderson Farms: www.andersonfarms.com

TOTAL Recap

2008-07-27T11:09:00.003-04:00

I have TOTALLY fallen behind but here's a quick recap of the past few weeks!

- I'm in DENVER now! Got out here on Friday July 18th and moved in July 19th.
- Chris was out for the weekend and helped me get set up. My car was waiting for me in the transport lot, I was way happy to see my little bug

- We went to the Rockies game last weekend. Coors Field is an AWESOME AWESOME venue for a game. And after 2 beers in high altitude I was wasted. Rockies WON!

- We scalped tix to the Police concert at Red Rocks Ampitheater. AWESOME concert, I jammed to every song. And another beautiful venue, what a place to see a show! Despite having to climb a mtn to get in ;)

- Spent the past week setting up house, working remotely from my house, running work errands and getting ready for my AK trip.

- Yesterday, I drove up to Estes Park and had lunch with my boss's best friend and her husband. I've known them thru work for a while. They own a YOGI BEAR park in Estes, really cool people. So I got to hang out and help them around the camp yesterday morning (it's camping season so they had over 450 guests in the park) and then we had lunch in town. Afterwards, I drove up into Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park and did a quick hike. BEAUTIFUL, I swear that place looks fake it's so gorgeous. I headed back to Denver and met up with Sara's friend, Laurie for drinks at a local bar/rest. It was great to see her and a fun get together.

So far, I'm settling in nicely. But I am way excited for my AK trip. Once I get back from AK on Aug 17th though the reality of my move will set in. But the good news is that by then my coworkers will be out here. I'm looking forward to that! I never thought I'd be looking fwd to work but I am :)

Temporary Residence, New Roommates

2008-07-01T15:38:00.003-04:00

If I'm a bit cranky in the next couple of weeks, please understand why.

Chris and I officially have new roommates. As of this weekend we are now part of the Sam & Marie household, they are our 65 year old roommates. They've been generous enough to share their residence with us until I move to Denver, July 18th. Chris is then moving in with his sister, Holly. Love my parents but by July 18th, I will be READY to move.

The move out went pretty well. Thanks to St. Dean and St. Deena, the patron saints of CLEANING. If it weren't for them our tenant wouldnt have had such a clean house.

Pearl Jam

2008-06-25T09:42:00.002-04:00

What a wonderful way to end our weekend! On Sunday night, Chris and I went to the Pearl Jam concert at the Verizon Center. It ROCKED, or shall I say, Eddie Rocked! An amazing concert and Chris lucked out with fabulous seats. We were right behind the stage but front row and could see everything that happened on stage. Plus, whenever Eddie took breaks he was less than 50ft from us and totally interacting with all of us. He played 2 encores! I normally hate encores at concerts, but this was AWESOME.

I was thinking during the concert, "I used to have a crush on this guy when I was 12, that was 16 yrs ago!" WOW! Still love 'em. Here are some pretty crappy pics from our camera phone.

Bethany Beach

2008-06-24T23:38:00.004-04:00

Saturday morning, me, Chris, Deena and Dean drove up to my Aunt & Uncle's beach house in Bethany for the remainder of the weekend. It was beautiful weather and with me moving to COLORADO, I know my beach time is limited so I am soaking it up. Even did a little windsurfing at my favorite bayside locale, New Hope Road in between Bethany & Dewey. Got Deena and Dean both out there. It was Deena's first time, she did pretty well. Must run in the genes ;)

Dad's 65th Birthday Surprise!

2008-06-24T23:20:00.007-04:00

Happy Birthday to my dad who turned 65 and to my brother, Shawn, who turned 39 on Friday, June 20th. For my dad's bday Deena and I surprsied Dad with a convertible rental for the weekend. We had it parked in the driveway at 6am on Friday morning and rang the doorbell while we waited in the bushes for him to come out. He loved it. He says it's about time he treats himself to a cool car. He's been on the market for a convertible for some time, something fun and zippy. This gave him a little taste!

Later that night we surprised him again with a family barbeque at my parents house. He was totally surprised. The highlight of the night was him setting off his bday fireworks. He LOVES fireworks. As a kid he would light them in his mouth to entertain us ;) Luckily, he didnt pull that prank on his 65th.

Happy Birthday Dad & Shawn!

Jackie D & Todd's Wedding

2008-06-16T00:41:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Jacqueline & Todd! My little bathroommate, aka: Cherry, tied the knot on Sat. June 14th at the Dulles Hyatt. Good times had by all!

Cousins Night in Gtown Waterfront

2008-06-15T23:10:00.007-04:00

Friday night was a great catch up with my cousins, Lenna, Nyla and sister, Deeny. We started out early at Tony & Joes for happy hour, dinner and then mingled over to Riverside Grill for post dinner drinks. Here's some of our model shots, I think Nyla wins!

Happy 30th Lilia!

2008-06-15T23:07:00.002-04:00

Here's a pic from Lilia's surprise 30th birthday party last weekend. Her husband, Bill, did a fabulous job of planning and scheming to completely surprise the birthday gal. I had a great time catching up with her family, my pal Scott from USA Today and his girlfriend, and all her friends!

Looking good at 30! Happy Birthday Lilia :)

Pulled Over Twice in One Weekend!

2008-06-08T13:13:00.002-04:00

1) It's a rare occassion for me to CRAVE ice-cream the way I craved it Friday night. But with a craving like that I knew that we had to go to Milwauke's Frozen Custard. So did 5 million others. I was on an ice-cream mission. So after leaving with a huge waffle cone and chocolate frozen custard we were on our way back home. The exit from MFC is a little awkward, they dont allow you to turn left so you have to turn right and make a u-turn somewhere up ahead. Unfortunately for me, I decided to make a u-turn at a no u-turn intersection, I realized it while doing it. 2 seconds later, I was being pulled over. Luckily he was the nicest cop I've ever been dealt and after I explained my craving for ice cream and my silly mistake of making an illegal U, he gave me a warning. WHEW.

2) Sat night was my friend Lillia's 30th surprise bday out in Haymarket. It was a blast, her husband Bill, planned the whole thing and it was a great surprise for her. It was seriously like their 2nd wedding reception, a steak and crabcake seated dinner. Anyhow, I had a blast drinking with my old USA Today pal, Scott and his girlfriend and Lillia's friend Tony, who I last saw at a nightclub in Beirut, Lebanon. Yes, I drank a bit too much wine, but didnt realize it until the car ride home. Chris was driving and I apparently fell asleep. Or at least until 1/4 mile from home when I woke up and told Chris to stop the car. He did, it was right on Reston Parkway across from the Hyatt, in a turning lane. I jumped out and the puking began. Not a good one either, all over my new Elie Tahari dress. We drew attention. The police pulled up behind us. It was a female officer and she asked Chris what was going on, if I had just had too much too drink? YES. She checked his license and registration and luckily told us to get home safe. WE WERE LUCKY, Chris had definitely had a few himself. WHEW.

I spent half the day on Sunday moping around. I cant recover like I used to!!!

2008-06-06T14:01:00.002-04:00

So I dont know if I'm behind the ball on this one or not, but have you guys heard of Tucker Maxx? I'd picked up his book, I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, a couple of times at the airport when I was searching for something to read and this book has always cracked me up. I guess the title piqued my interest!

Anyhow, last weekend at the airport, we ended up buying it. Well, the book is terribly graphic and you really feel sorry for some of these girls. Basically, he's a total man slut and the book documents all kinds of drunken hookups and encounters.

I have to say though, I was a little nervous when I got to the chapter called "Everyone Has That Friend." The part that I'm referring to starts on page 31. And guess where it takes place???? CLARENDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read it yourself. But seriously it talks about how he meets this hot blonde chick at the bar who has a hot upper body but elephantitis lower body and then how her friend invites Tucker and his friend back to their house to use non other than their....HOT TUB. The whole time I'm reading this, I'm like, "shoot, do we have any blonde friends with HUGE lower bodies who were visiting from OH (apparently that girl was from out of town) that would have brought 2 guys back to our place?" For a hot second, I was pretty sure the place he was describing was TROY Street, but lucky for us the date that this event occurred was between 1999-2001. I think we are in the clear, whew!

Of course, this made me think back to all the crazy random stories and nights we had at that place. WOW, I'm surprised we all survived!! Hey and btw, he totally stole my idea, remember how I wanted to have a coffee table read of all our funny drunken moments?! TG we never made one.

Denver Weekend

2008-06-02T20:58:00.003-04:00

This weekend I was out in Denver with my mom and Chris to find a place to live. Neither of them had ever been there and both really liked it. We got most of our work done on Saturday (signing the lease and picking out furniture) and were able to do some outlet shopping in CR, tried out a cool Japanese steakhouse, went to church on Sunday in DTC (the church is like 5mins from my house) and then drove up to Boulder and Estes Park. Both are gorgeous areas. Boulder has the cutest little outdoor street mall, very similar to Charlottesville. Then we drove up to Estes Park-- the drive was stunning. You are slowly climbing in elevation and driving through windy mountainous roads and then as soon as you get into Estes you start seeing snow covered mtns (really up close). We drove to the entrance of Rocky Mtn Natl Park but it was $20 to enter and with my temporary disability, I wouldnt be able to do much hiking. I am definitely ready to go back out there to check out the park. We saw these HUGE elk driving through the town, they just appeared out of no where. Incredible.

The Toe Lives!

2008-06-02T20:46:00.002-04:00

Proud to report that after one week of bandage and flip-flop wearing, my big toe is on it's way to a successful recovery. I was finally able to remove the bandages yesterday and walk around comfortably, the skin is toughening in the nail bed and the cut from the accident is starting to seal/heal (it kept cracking and bleeding). No sign of a new nail yet, I really hope I wont forever be toenail-less, I already have strange looking feet. I tried my running shoes on for the first time today and the toe is still really painful for closed toe shoes, but it's making progresss. Tomorrow I go back to the Dr. for a follow-up and by next week I'm hoping to be wearing closed toe shoes again. I'm dying to get out there and start running again.

Prognosis: GOOD

Indiana SAM!

2008-05-22T09:16:00.002-04:00

Harrison Ford makes his come back tonight in the premier of Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and someone in the K family is WAY excited. Yep, Big Sam, the ultimate Indiana Jones fan is pumped for the release of this one. We're making a family trip to the theater tonight!

BEEF - It's what's for Dinner!

2008-05-21T20:23:00.003-04:00

After a lousy day of packing up the office, lugging around heavy boxes and what seemed like endless traffic on the toll road, a beautiful thing happened. A special commercial made my evening. Most of you know that I'm not a HUGE red-meat eating gal, but if there was ONE man that could change that...it might just be my dear Matthew McConaughey. The National Cattleman's Beef Association has enlisted this fine specimen and that's one heck of an endorsement for beef...whew!

Click Here to Listen

Welcome BABIES!!!!

2008-05-20T10:57:00.007-04:00

Just this week, I've acquired two new little friends. First, welcome my little cousin, Julian Patrick Neat (cousin Jason & Jacque's 2nd little one, Lenna's the auntie and Aunt Joy is the G'ma for the 2nd time ;)

Here's Julian's Hospital Glamour Shot

And also welcome Bo Baratta, our 2nd little CMFB baby! Congrats Rienna & Aaron! I think Bo's gonna bring back the Garnet & Black. Here's to Gamecock football 2026!

Here's Bo with Proud Pops, Aaron!

Tennis Anyone?

2008-05-15T09:47:00.002-04:00

For the past couple of weeks, I've been taking a tennis class through Reston Association on M & W nights. Going into the class, I knew I was a beginner, I mean I can hit the ball but my form and all that was totally wrong. So my beginners class has been perfect and on top of it, we had the cutest instructor (girls, you would have loved him. Belgian. Cute). But last night I got a makeup class, a private lesson with another instructor and it was great. We got to spend some quality time on forehand and backhand, and I think I know understand my timing and open/closed face and how much difference it makes. I'm ready to pound some balls!

BTW- you can only imagine the funny lines that were said in that class to the cute instructor. "Hey, do you have balls over there?" Answer: "Yep, I've got 4 balls!"

Just a day on the Hill...

2008-05-12T22:02:00.002-04:00

Our Governmental Affairs Conference was held a couple of weeks ago and at the event we honored Sec. of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne and Asst Sec of Fishing & Wildlife. Here's our pic! Cool guy.

DC, Seattle, Orcas Island

2008-05-06T16:40:00.009-04:00

Chris and I just got back from Orcas Island, WA, where Chris spent 3 years of his childhood and many summers at Camp Orkila. He'd been feening to go there and recently found some affordable fares. We left DC at 6am on Friday and got into Seattle around 2:30pm. After renting a car, we bummed around Pike's Place Market bc I REALLY wanted to see FISH in action. All the salesy trainings I've ever been to talk about how successful that company is bc of their unique approach to business. Cool place, I could have spent a whole afternoon at the market. From there we headed north for an hour and half and caught the 5:30pm ferry to Orcas Island. It's one of those HUGE ferries that you drive on to and then you can venture upstairs to relax. The ferry ride was about an hour and made a couple stops at some of the other small islands out there. Totally beautiful scenery.

We spent the next couple days on the island doing some incredible hikes at Moran State Park and even a challenging hike up Mt. Constitution. My knee LIVED, surprisingly it did just fine. We also did a guided kayaking trip in the Puget Sound and got to see some of the other islands as well as brightly colored orange and purple starfish. I was disappointed that we didn't get to see WILLY. I kept a good look out for any friendly Orcas, but none to be found. Orcas Island is actually where they filmed a great deal of the movie, Free Willy. Apparently we were out there right on the cusp of whale season and with the fishing industry down in the neighboring waters, killer whales were less common due to less fishies for them to eat. I was bummed.

Orcas is a cute little town, kinda a small beach town with tons of pebbly beaches and HUGE cedar and everest trees. Some of the most spectacular scenery, ocean, mountains, tall trees, just gorgeous... a perfect quiet vacation.

WHY? Why wear a Speedo?

2008-04-23T16:51:00.002-04:00

Why must fat men wear speedo's? Why must men wear speedo's to begin with, PERIOD? And why sport one to HOT YOGA class?!!!!!! Yes, I had one of these guys in my yoga class on Tuesday night. I got an eye-full, barf.

Saraaarrrr's Wedding

2008-04-23T16:08:00.004-04:00

After 12 years, Sara & Belinga have tied the knot! They got married this past Sat. out at River Creek Country Club. Sara made a lovely bride, totally smashing! And Belinga looked quite handsome as well ;) I've stolen some pics from my friends to post on my site (haha!)

Perhaps one of the funniest moments of the night was a conversation that Kristen and I had with the Minister of Finance from Cameroon. It went like this:

Kera: Excuse me, are one of you gentlemen the minister of finance in Cameroon
MOF: Yes I am him
Kera: WELL COME DANCE WITH US!!!
And Kristen and I took him out on the dance floor to boogie down to Michael Jackson's, Can't Stop Til You Get Enough! I'm sure he was like "WTF is wrong with these 2 white girls!" Just imagine Coming to America.

It was a great wedding and reception, had a ball. The food and bacon wrapped goods were delicious. PS: I had extra mashed potatoes. YUMMM. Loved the Persian/Arabic dancing. And Sara's little brother is no longer little (he's like 18)...I told him that the last time I saw him he was like 3 years old and would answer the house phone saying "F*** You!" hahahaa

We loved the surprise Cigar bar as well! The Cigar maker told us he had some 'good stuff' in his car, the way I was feeling the next morning made me wonder if I had some of it ;) Here's a pic of us ladies smokin' cigars!

Capital Crescent Trail WIPEOUT

2008-04-17T10:20:00.002-04:00

Since the weather has been so beautiful lately, I've been taking out my bike for rides on the W&OD. Well, last night after work me, Dean & Deena decided to go for a little ride. We ended up on the Capital Crescent Trail past Hunter Mill. Now, let me preface this by saying I am a novice mountain biker (I dont bike much to begin with, although I'd like to), so I said to Dean, "Are you sure Deena and I can handle this trail?" And he said, "Yea, of course, no problem."

So we take off down the dirt path into the woods following Dean. AWESOME trail through meadows and deep woods, we saw probably over 30 deer and a handful of other mtn bikers along the path. Mind you the dirt path is probably 2 feet wide at most and winding between trees, tree stumps, rocks, creeks, up hills/down hills, jumping tree logs..I mean totally submerged in the woods. And at times having to pass between 2 trees that weren't even 4 ft apart. My adrenaline was pumping, slightly scared but enjoying it.

At our first creek crossing, Deena and I decided to walk our bikes across, probably a smart move since it was rocky and up a steep hill afterwards. The next creek crossing was man made and concrete on the bottom--water was flowing, probably 6-8 deep in water. So we get up to it, and I'm like... "Dean, I got this one, I'm going to do it." And he's like "Ok, just pedal fast and get through it."

So I take off, I'm trying to gain some momentum and I'm splashing thruough when all of a sudden my back tire spins out with the current and I'm thrown to the ground. I could hear Deena yelling..."NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as she watched my tire spin out and me fall into the water. I hit my head but luckily was wearing a helmet and didnt even feel it. But I landed pretty hard on my upper right thigh and scraped my knee pretty bad. I jumped up immediately so Deena and Dean wouldnt be panicked, soaking wet of course. Let's just say the 3-4 miles back to the car in soaking wet shoes and clothing on a bike is no fun...burrrr.

Oh so right after it happened this couple comes through busting through the woods on their bikes and I say to them "Hey, you might not want to go thru." ANd the guy was like "Whatever, I'm done this a 1000 times." Sure enough he and his partner made it through no problem. PUNKS. After they crossed I yelled, "Yea, thanks for making me feel bad!" As I stood there dripping wet like a BIG fool.

Next time, I'm making it across that dumb river!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool trail if anyone is interested though!

Billy Goat's Trail

2008-04-15T10:13:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Chris and I hiked the Billy Goat's Trail on the MD side of the Potomac. Growing up in Great Falls, I spent plenty of time on the VA side of the river and often hiked down through neighborhoods and the woods to the Potomac with my dad. I loved and still LOVE playing on the rocks.

Who knew the MD side was much more adventurous? I had no idea. The Billy Goat's trail is not for everyone, but it's fun. It's predominantly a hike scurrying across the boulders that enclose the river, a look down below may deter those afraid of heights. And towards marker 2, there's a HUGE boulder to scale, luckily it's above flat water and not rapids.

Saturday was a lovely day to be outdoors, the hike took us about 2 hours and was definitely a great little workout. Highly recommended. Also, the canal that runs along the park is beautiful. Anyone game for biking it sometime soon?

I gotta find some sort of exercise since I'm not running these days.

Dalya's Baptism

2008-04-10T14:22:00.003-04:00

Being out in Denver I missed my little cousin, Dalya's baptism :( But isn't she just the cutest little gal? And from what I heard she was a happy baby on her special day. I think this was a picture before the ceremony, but afterwards she wore her mommy, Nyla's, baptism dress. So cute!

God bless her!

DENVER, the Mile High City: to move or not to move?

2008-04-10T10:46:00.004-04:00

Back from Denver, here's the email recap I sent a couple of days ago:

We've been out here for work since Wednesday but finished board meetings on Saturday and since then my coworkers and I have been exploring the area to decide whether we want to make the move out here. Lots to consider but it's a beautiful area!

GOOD NEWS, The Association finalized the purchase of our new headquarters in Castle Rock, CO (which will be annexed to become a part of the town of Larkspur). We had a hayride tour of the property with the board and the Larkspur mayor on Friday afternoon. Keep in mind that the headquarters will be located on 5 acres the Assoc. has purchased from a 200+ acre parcel our partner currently owns. It's beautiful property surrounded by mountains and about 10 mins from the town of Castlerock, it's VERY remote. Ie: bears, elk, all kinds of wildlife on the property.

We also got to meet our neighbors who have a 5,000 ft airstrip on their property for their personal plane. We got a tour of their 10,000sq ft home (only had 2 bedrooms) and their SHED (which as we determined is at least worth 6 million). This couple owns 3 Ferraris, 3 Lamboriginis, 2 airplanes, and a variety of other antique and military SUV type vehicles (at least 20 vehicles in that SHED). Oh and their 17 yr old daughter drives a convertible PORSCHE. CRAZY.

Anywho, so we've been busy touring the area and looking at tons of apartments the past couple days. I think we visited 10 different units yesterday...uggh. Found some really cool places, but I may not get everything I want. Since where I'd be working is out in the wilderness, I'd kinda like to live in a more urban area. Downtown Denver would be great and we toured the Riverfront Park Area a couple days ago and I loved it. It's a big park located along the river and has tons of running.biking trails for miles but you're within walking distance to shops, restaurants, a grocery store and largest REI I've ever seen. Totally reminds me of my summer up in Hoboken, NJ and the riverfront park area there. Problem is that it's a bit far from Castle Rock and the prices for housing aren't much cheaper than DC. So we will probably have to live somewhere in between CR and Denver and that's mostly suburban sprawl. Oh well...

I did get the chance to attend liturgy at one of the Orthodox churhes in Denver on Sunday, St. Catharines and it was really nice. There are several out here actually. Later that afternoon we met with some realtors who talked about the area and made suggestions on where we should live. This afternoon we had lunch with some friends of my coworker, his old boss from DC and his children. They all moved out here and LOVE it, everyone raves about CO living.

Ohh this is funny,so on Monday night the Foundation had a catered dinner at the Lodge (our new HQ). Me, Grant and Daniel showed up a bit late due to traffic and apparently missed the joke. My boss tricked me into eating what I thought was either fried zucchini or fried chicken tenders...turns out they were ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS! If you dont know what they are, look 'em up. I about puked and the entire foundation was dying...totally a scene from Funny Farm. YUCK, they tasted ok but knowing what they were...uggh no thank you.

Weather out in Denver is awesome, 60 degrees and SUNNY, although we had some snow in the mornings. The Rockies are so clear and majestic...the tips are all snow covered and GORGEOUS.

LOTS TO THINK ABOUT!

GOAL: National Marathon: Mission Accomplished

2008-03-30T21:27:00.005-04:00

Tina and I did it! We completed the DC National Marathon on Sat. March 29th. Our time wasn't as great as I had hoped for but considering my recovering/ongoing knee injury, I'm quite happy. We finished at 4hours:39minutes, basically an avg 10:41min mile AND there was NO STOPPING NOR WALKING--we ran the entire time. I can't thank Tina enough bc she was my savior throughout the whole training and on actual race day. Couldn't have done it without her, seriously. She was good motivation, my guiding light.

Saturday turned out to be a perfect weather day despite some gusty winds along the waterfront in DC. We got down to RFK, where the race began, shortly before 7am, hit the porta-potties and jumped in the mix of runners. We were fortunate to have some of our coolest friends and family out along the way cheering us on. Thanks to my dad, Jacks & Todd, Erin & Jen, Tina's mom, my mom, Chris, Aunt Joy & Lenna. And of course, my sissy, Deeners. At mile 22, I saw Deena running towards me and I was excited...it was great to have her finish the last 4 miles with us and push me to finish. I needed it. Those punks had us running hills in frickin' SE Anacostia those last couple of miles and I was dying, or at least my knee was. But when we got to mile 25 and I realized I only had 1 more mile to go, I knew heaven was in sight and I was happy.

Looking back it was a great experience. I'd do it again. Sure, it was painful at times but the overall sense of accomplishment and the periodic thrills you experienced while running make it all worthwhile.

Thanks again to TINA!!!

The Good Ole Hydration Theory

2008-03-26T09:50:00.004-04:00

A good friend of mine (Melissa) and I have birthdays 3 days apart, so when we were in college and were getting ready to celebrate our 21st, we made sure we were prepared. We had a whole game plan bc we knew that the festivities surrounding our birthday celebration were going to be bad news. Our friends were out to get us schmammered. So, we did something called the Hydration Theory, it sounds technical, I know. But truthfully it was nothing more than drinking tons of water the week before our birthday. We got super hydrated so that when our birthday nights rolled around we were able to drink everyone under the table. I think I even puked and rallied. And for me, that was unheard of. Once I puked, my night was typically over. But not the birthday night, I took it like a champ.

SOOOOOOOO...this is my plan for the upcoming marathon. I am officially HYDRATING so that I can rally my way thru race day. Except this time, there won't be any puking and rallying...just the latter!

Brown children and brown people (loose connection)

2008-03-24T21:29:00.004-04:00

Someone I know is going to have little brown children one day...YES! Congrats to Christine & Rommie :)

On a different note, I just got back from a great orientation meeting for volunteering with the Arlington refugee relocation assistance program. Ever since I've been back from Africa, I've been reading and watching and learning a lot about the Lost Boys of Sudan and it's lead me to a further interest in refugees. I came across a posting on craigslist and figured I'd check it out. They need volunteers to help refugees get accustomed to the culture, environment and daily life here in the US, as well as plain companionship and teaching English. Most are from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and all over Africa. Sooo...heopfully, within the next couple of weeks I'll get an opportunity to work with some of them. I'm excited for the opportunity.

INJECTION

2008-03-21T11:39:00.002-04:00

I had my follow-up appointment with the Doc re: my knee injury this morning. Bright & early. After attempting to run the treadmill last night at the gym and only getting into mile 2 when my knee started hurting, I knew what I was in for today. AN INJECTION. Didn't hurt and hopefully wont, but I'm supposed to be icing it at least 3x a day. The good news is that the Doc thinks that I'll be able to do the run. He says this may even cure the problem altogether. WOOHOO! Pray for me! I'm going to doing it kids :)

JLo Signs Up!

2008-03-21T11:33:00.003-04:00

NEWS FLASH: JLo, ultimate booty queen, is signing up for a triathlon this fall. While pregnant she apparently put on an extra 50 pounds and to help her lose the weight, she's planning to train for a triathlon. Hmmmm.... maybe I should get my booty in that gear next.

THERAPY & YOGA

2008-03-19T09:29:00.003-04:00

Today was my 2nd day of Physical Therapy. Seriously, it's just a room with a bunch of tards like myself doing stupid exercises that you could do on your own. I do have fun talking to everyone though, I've made friends with all the PT's. Of course, they assigned me to the BROWN PT-- I get Fahad the Yemenese :) The PLUS of therapy is getting stretched out, I never knew I could feel such a burn. But then again, I am the most inflexible person ever. Seriously in yoga class, there are like 300 pound men that can reach their toes further than I can.

Anywho, off to hot yoga again tonight. I took Grant on Monday night and he about killed me. Poor guy, I felt terrible. The room was overpacked (made me feel totally claustrophobic) and HOTTER than 105degrees. Sweat was flying off everyone, just sick. Afterwards Grant said, "At first I was worried about farting, then about vomitting on someone, and then finally about not closing my eyes...I didnt want to pass out."

He also told me "Dude I don't know about losing weight but I sure as heck lost my dignity in that dang class." He's a riot!

I'm going again tonight with Christina though and praying that it's not as packed.

Saraarrrrr's St. Patty's Themed Bachelorette Partay!

2008-03-19T09:13:00.003-04:00

This picture cracks me up! Sararr with her pot of gold, aka a saucepan ;)

St. Patricks Day Trivia

2008-03-16T22:21:00.003-04:00

Curious about the origins of St. Patty's Day? Well, St. Patrick was a missionary that was originally from Britain and was taken captive in Ireland. After fleeing captivity he gave his life to Christianity, becoming a deacon and eventually a bishop. In the Catholic church March 17th serves as his feast day to honor his works.

Legend has it that St. Patrick used a shamrock (3 leaf clover) to explain the trinity (Fr, Son & Holy Spirit) in his ministry.

Did you also know that the color most closely related to St. Patrick was blue? Many modern day depictions of him show him in green, but before the 20th century he was most often shown wearing blue. The green color became associated with him though bc it is one of the 3 colors of the Irish flag and most closely associated with Ireland.

*While St. Patrick is most revered in the Roman Catholic church, the Orthodox church also venerates him in several icons.

Deeners Country Bday

2008-03-16T21:12:00.003-04:00

Friday night was my Deeny's 24th bday shindig at Nick's, a country line dancing bar in Alexandria. Jeanette and I participated in the line dancing lesson and learned 3 dances. I probably couldn't remember them for the life of me now but for some reason my memory stellar with a few beers ;) Dean & Deena did the 2step lesson and are now country dancin' fools...they rock! Pictured is Deena & Bob. Bob is a Nick's regular but boogie's down to his little hearts content. I prefer to call him Mr. Ferley.

And this picture below is of me, Deena and Ed. Deena and I have seen Ed at Nick's before and joked that he looked like our bro, BUT this picture was taken due to mom's insistence that he reminded her of Shawn. ha!

Iliotibial Band Syndrome, AKA: Tendonitis - DOH!

2008-03-14T11:31:00.002-04:00

Just got back to the office from the orthopedist. DOH. I figured I should check out my knee pain after experiencing it within just 5 mins of my run yesterday. I had laid off running for several days and figured all was fine bc it wasn't bothering me anymore. AND of course, it's there, it's just hiding. The Dr. prescribed an anti-inflammatory, PT 3x a week until race day, and a possible injection to get me through the race. UGGGH.

Want to know what ITB is, check it out:
http://www.time-to-run.com/injuries/thebig5/itb.htm

THIS IS NOT STOPPING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

This BUD's For YOU!

2008-03-11T10:29:00.005-04:00

My RV-Loving Hollywood BF, Matthew McConaughey, wants to name his baby Bud. I really dont have a problem with it. For him, anything goes ;) I'm a BUD kinda gal (actually I prefer Miller Lite, less carbs) I don't discriminate. And for Matthew...why not?! I dont think his baby's momma (girlfriend) is cool with this though and I suppose I can sympathize with her. BUD has a certain trailer park ring to it.

How about Amber Bach McConaughey; Michelob McConaughey; Singha McConaughey...the list goes on. Those can be future McConaughey children names.

Is Denver in the future?

2008-03-10T21:55:00.003-04:00

After being on the market since July, my company building finally sold! Exciting and scary at the same time. While I welcome the move to Denver with the association, it's a little unnerving. The last time I moved anywhere was college and that was to the friendly south. AND it was college, no one knew each other...you had to make friends. Life's a bit different now, I'm married, my family is here, and in the long run the DC metro area is a pretty nice place to live and raise a family. I'm thinking short-term relocation, maybe 1-2 years out there. And heck, don;t like it...move back. No loss. But for the time being, Denver could be a great change of pace. And probably a much nicer, slower pace. Plus, I know I would take advantage of all the outdoor adventures...hiking, camping, kayaking, rafting...and even perfect my non-existent skiing skills. A no-brainer ;)

A lot to consider. The Castlerock area of Denver is really pretty, it's kinda the Ashburn to DC. Downtown Denver would be probably be the place to live and have a reverse commute. We'll see what happens with the relocation package they offer.

20 Mile Mark!

2008-03-10T21:52:00.003-04:00

We did it, this past weekend Tina and I reached the 20 mile mark. Woohoo! Feeling pretty sore today and may have jacked up my knee but I'm hopeful it's just a sore muscle. I'm going to give it a couple of days to heal before beating the pavement again.

From here on out our training tapers...this weekend is only a 12 mile run, next is a 8 mile run and the following is GAME DAY.

Running with the MAYOR

2008-03-05T13:31:00.005-05:00

YES! We'll be running with the mayor, not Marion Barry. DC Mayor Fenty will also be running the National Marathon and apparently the course passes by his father's Fleet Feet running store in DC, so we'll all give Fenty Sr. a shout-out. If it was Marion Barry we'd be running by the crack shop.

Many of you have volunteered to come out and cheer me and Tina on as we run the DC Marathon, March 29th. I can't thank you enough in advance bc I will MOST definitely need the encouragement, especially at the END. I'm getting pretty nervous too. I was out of commission for a little over a week after my return from Cabo bc of a stupid cough I developed. I think I've finally kicked it and this weekend Tina and I attempt the 20 mile run. I'm still not sold on the fact that if you can run 20, you can run 26miles. Hello...what about the last 6?

Anywho, check out the route and the website!

http://www.nationalmarathon.com/

How Much Are You Worth?!

2008-03-05T10:58:00.003-05:00

Ok, you know it's a BAD test when the asterik reads:

*Estimations based on averages taken from advertised male and female private escort sites.

NICE! Check out this link to find out how much you are worth!

http://hellarity.us/in-bed/index.php

I beat out my coworkers :)

2008-02-27T15:46:00.000-05:00

Return from Mexico

2008-02-24T16:11:00.002-05:00

After 4 days and 3 nights of basking in Cabo San Lucas, we return (to 30 degree weather and an ice-storm)! The Melia Cabo Real, our all-inclusive resort, was a great bargain. The staff was friendly and sometimes overly attentive, shots of tequila would appear at our table without even asking and our glasses never stayed empty too long. Perhaps bc they knew we were on the search for the Chupacabra. Heard of the chupacabra? Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra .

Our 2nd day at the resort we received a note under the door informing all hotel guests that the hotel would be under intense security for the next couple of days due to the stay of important Mexican & US personalities. Sure enough as we laid out by the pool that afternoon we were surrounded by Mexican Federal Policia who were guarding the beautifully landscaped resort grounds with AK-47s. And becasue we had an oceanview room, which was closest to the nicest rooms, our building was protected with snipers on the roof (who we soon made friends with). After making friends with the guards and some American agents, we found out that it was some immigration and drug enforcement conference at the resort. Higher ups from the Mexican government and perhaps the US Attorney General were meeting during our stay. Needless to say, security was TIGHT, the gates were guarded with Policia and you had to show your wristbands to enter. This aspect definitely made the trip quite interesting, we were known quite easily by the Mexican Policia who we befriended, and they knew we were looking for the chupacabra.

While we did spend much time by the pool and swim-up bar, we also went out on a party boat for snorkeling and whale watching, and a separate adventure of sea-kayaking. We saw gray and humpback whales within 10-20 feet of the boat. Some were with their babies, the whales journey down from AK and the Bering Sea to the warmer waters to breed and then return north this time of year. They were amazing! Since the babies cant stay under water as long as their mothers, we saw one who kept jumping for air. It was great. We also did some pretty cool snorkeling. The boat anchored down in a bay near some rocks and a small coral reef where we then had to jump into FREEZING cold water. I was the brave one who jumped first and although it was shockingly cold, I warmed up as I began to tread water. Swimming in the coral reef area, we saw all kinds of cool fish...brightly colored aquas, yellow and black striped, glowing orange and then at least 3-4 EELS. I had no idea what they were until Christina and Jen told me to swim away from them. Oops!

To wrap this up, Cabo was beautiful...it's where the desert and mountains meet the Sea of Cortez & the Pacific Ocean, and it's a beautiful landscape. However, it didnt really feel like we were in a foreign country, I'd prefer to call it CaliforiaMexico. It's definitely designed for tourists and the cheesy nightlife at the notorious CaboWabo and El Squid Roe were prime examples of tourist traps (especially for the middle-aged). But we still managed to have a great time wherever we went!

Day from Hell

2008-02-17T23:10:00.002-05:00

Today has been the day from hell...well, maybe it started yesterday. Let's just say it did. See, my flight home was 3 hours delayed, which got us home to Dulles around 2;30pm yesterday. Now, Sara's shower started at 1pm and had the flight been on time, I had planned on going. I even considered going late, BUT when I got to baggage claim and realized that my bag was MIA, I then had to deal with that fiasco. By the time I left the airport, the shower was well done. Anywho, after phoning United's 800 number to check in on the bag at least 10x during the last 24 hours and given the run around...I finally got my bag by just going back to the airport this evening to look in their claims area. Sure enough, there it was, no tags...somehow the tags had come off. I was just glad it was there (my ipod, my africa jewelry, my running shoes, and my earrings were all in it). On top of all this, here's what else happened to me today:

1) I got a speeding ticket this morning on my way to run an errand in Tysons
2) I dropped and broke a bowl that was in the refrigerator
3) I dropped this arts & craft box that had ink and all kinds of messy items, which caused a huge cleanup in the laundry room
4) I went to Harris Teeter and asked for cash back ($160) and walked out without it...had to go back an hour later and see if they had it, luckily they did
5) The bag fiasco

WHAT else?!

Nashville, the friendliest city!

2008-02-17T22:46:00.002-05:00

Despite a three hour delayed flight down and a three hour delayed flight home, my work trip to Nashville was a) successful and b) tons of fun. Arriving a bit later than expected on Thursday afternoon, Micki and I were able to check into the hotel, grab a quick lunch with our hotel contact and I was able to make it over to the Gaylord Opryland convention center to catch the last hour of the American Camping Association's annual tradeshow. Similar tradeshow to ours and lots of my exhibitors were there, which was great to see them mid-year. The Opryland Hotel is crazy, it's huge and the amount of flora and fauna in the arboretum area was impressive. I am glad though that our convention is downtown bc the Opryland is way out of town. The Renaissance is a block and a half away from Commerce Street, where all the live country music bars litter this famous Nashville strip. And btw, the proximity to Commerce Street may cause some tough early mornings come November for staff and attendees ;)

Thrusday night, I decided to venture out alone to Commerce Street to check out all the buzz. I made my way into one of the bars, grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a Blue Moon. Seriously, everyone in Nashville is just so friendly. I think I've forgotten how much I miss the south, the drinks are cheap and everyone is just out to have fun. I ended up meeting a couple from Louisville and before long we had everyone on the dance floor.

Friday, we spent most of the day doing the site visit and pre-con meeting with the Convention Center and hotel. Everything went smoothly and with the contacts we have, I am positive that the convention will be a breeze. Later that evening, Micki and I grabbed dinner at Big River Brewing Company and made out way into the bar, Legends. We were fortunate to get 2 seats at the bar bc the place was starting to get packed. Our seats were perfect for watching all the fools on the dance floor...it's amazing what alcohol makes people do. Micki was dying laughing at the lack of rhythm these poor older white folks weren't afraid to show off. I said to her, "Isnt this place just awesome, you've got all kinds of people in here." And then I paused and said, "well, actually you have one kind of people in here but all kinds of ages...bc you're probably the only black person and I think I'm representing the olive skinned folk." Anywho, we had ourselves a blast. Again, we ended up meeting a couple who we spent most of the evening chatting up and dancing with...and buying rounds for each other. We decided it was time to go when the husband started smacking Micki's butt and grabbing my a**. Micki goes, "Ok then, think it's time to go Kera." I couldn't agree more! But all in all, a very funny night.

PS: I bought myself some cowboy boots!!

What is the What

2008-02-11T21:39:00.002-05:00

Check out Dave Eggers, What is the What. This is an inspirational read. A wonderful story of the true life experience of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the thousands of Lost Boys, who was forced to leave his village in Sudan and to venture across 3 countries to finally reach freedom in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp and eventually here in the United States.

You can learn more about Valentino and his efforts at: www.valentinoachakdeng.org

**Lodwar 13 teammates, I think you'd really enjoy this story. Many of the places we travelled through and even stayed are mentioned. ie: a hotel in Kitale is mentioned and the breakfast room where they crowded into.

For fellow Bourdainiacs: Kitchen Confidential

2008-02-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

Got a recommendation from my pal Andy to read Anthony Bourdain's, Kitchen Confidential. He loved it. Maybe this will be a future read of mine. My list is growing and I promised myself that I will read all the books that I currently have before venturing out of my house for another. Andy, I like the term Bourdainiacs, it has a nice ring to it.

24 hour recap

2008-02-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

Yep, so I spent my Friday night at a country bar, Nicks in Alexandria. My Aunt Joy discovered the place recently and suggested we meet her out sometime. It was FUN, all types of people and all ages but one heck of a dance floor. There was a band and the floor was packed. Deena's partner (2nd to Dean) was this man who had to be 70+ and reminded me very much of Mr. Ferley (Don Knotts, old Don)but he knew his stuff. He was a good teacher bc he knew the moves but couldnt move very fast, perfect for learning. My partner Deena nicknamed Paul McCartney, also one of the oldest people there...very patient with me. And Aunt Joy got in a couple good rounds of the 2-step. Fun night, I'm suggesting we do a big night out there sometime soon.

Met Tina this morning in DC for our 16+ mi run up Rock Creek Parkway. Ahhh such an amazing setting, the weather was beautiful and the path is just stunning. This time we actually made it into MD. I was tired from the moment we started but I made it. And our time is getting better and better (well, at least for me it is), we were at an 8.5 minute mile at certain points. I am sore as all ever now though. I've got to find a cure for sore legs and buttocks.

This afternoon I got a facial from Spa Noa thanks to Deena and Dean and then went over to their place for dinner. Dean's family is in town bc they are having their crowns removed at church tomorrow. Really nice catching up with them. Mom made a DELICIOUS truffle...I devoured it.

I'm supposed to be at Caryn's bday gathering in Gtown now but I really zonked from todays run and decided to take a break. The thought of climbing the hill from the waterfront to find parking, just killed me. I'm so sorry I'm missing out Car-on! I was looking fwd to it, the piano bar was my idea!

I am sleepy

2008-02-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

I am EXHAUSTED. I think all this running is hitting me hard. Yesterday's run was just my usual 5 miles and I was dragging. And as tired as I am, I haven't been able to get a good nights sleep recently. I feel like I need some fuel.

I found this website on running tips, offers some good advice: http://running.lifetips.com/.

Destination Showcase, aka: WORK

2008-02-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today was the Destination Showcase at the Washington Convention Center. This annual event is an opportunity for meeting planners to meet with Convention & Vistor Bureaus (CVBs)from every city, state and a few select countries and to begin plans for their annual conventions or large events. I was basically along for the ride since I don't handle the meetings per se, but I do deal with the convention centers in regard to expositions. Cool event.

We got to meet with our reps at the Nashville CVB ahead of our meeting next week in Nashville. Looks like we may get dealt a nice hand of cards...the Country Music Awards will be occuring in Nashville the same time as our annual convention there and the Nashville Convention Center has asked us to give up some of our exposition space to accomodate an event for the CMA's. It would require a LOT of refiguring of space on my end BUT for Tim McGraw, I may just do it ;) They said they'd see what they could work for us...now we are in the money!

The day was also cool in that I got to meet MR. FROMMER (as in Frommers Travel Guides) and his daughter, they signed a book for me and Pauline (the daughter) asked for my biz card to contact me about some ideas they had. There are a MILLION campground directories sooo hopefully her idea is a unique one. And lastly the keynote address was Stan Kasten, President of the Nationals. His speech was a good one but predominantly a sales pitch for using the stadium as venue. The other great thing is all the networking and people you get to meet. Plus, I ran into my 2 old managers from USA Today, it was great catching up with them.

Freezin' For A Reason

2008-02-05T21:58:00.001-05:00

Ok, so this Saturday Feb. 9th, Deena and I MAY be participating in an event called Freezin' for a Reason. It's a fundraiser that will happen up and down the mid-atlantic/Northeast on Sat. to raise money for Camp Sunshine. Basically, it's a polar plunge into a freezing cold lake. The lake nearby happens to be REALLY nearby, Lake Anne. Camp Sunshine is a camp for terminally ill children and their families up in Maine. We both heard about it and thought, what the heck?? why not?! We'll keep you posted if we go through with this...

www.freezinforareason.com

Michael James L.

2008-02-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

Baby Leopold has a new cousin, Michael James. Born yesterday to my cousin Jimbo and his wife. Julie in Myrtle Beach, SC, Michael James weighed 8lbs 9oz. For those of you who know Aunt Amal-- she is now a VERY proud grandmother. I spoke to Jimbo last night and he was ecstatic and said the baby is quite cute and surprisingly tone (muscular). I said to him, "Duh, a natural soccer player like pops and a Bruce Springsteen fan by birth." Jimbo, is the ULTIMATE Bruce Springsteen fan-- I think he's gone to over 25 shows, including the most recent one in DC. Congrats!! Perhaps my little cousin will play USC soccer one day?!

Next week: Nashville & Cabo

2008-02-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

I'm headed to Nashville on Feb 14th with my coworker, Micki, to do a site visit for our annual convention. We'll spend most of our time visiting with the Nashville Convention Center and at the sponsor hotel, The Rennaissance Nashville. So our trip happens to falls on Valentines Day and I said to Micki the other day, "We're going to get to go to Valentines Day dinner together in Nashville..YES! hahha" She goes, "Girl, I ain't going to be your Valentine, I got plans that night!" SNAP,huh? Dissed. I can already hear the reminder of the fake rose story. BTw- I hope to get to check out Wild Horse Saloon. Bummed that the following week I'll miss the Gypsy Kings!

After Nashville, I'll be back home for the weekend and then off again on Monday to Cabo San Lucas with Christina & Jen. We found an AMAZING rate--super, super cheap. We're staying at an all-inclusive, the Melia Cabo Real: http://www.meliacaboreal.com/ It was a no brainer price-wise and Feb 18 is Presidents Day which is an optional holiday. So, we'll be soaking up some sun and hitting the beach. I look forward to getting in the water...snorkeling, windsurfing, scuba? Supposedly, the winter is the best time for windsurfing as it's not as rough. I've heard that the water can be very dangerous and too choppy for swimming. I really hope that's not the case. The other cool thing is that it's WHALE season, we'll hopefully get to see some Gray whales. There's a pretty good chance bc they typically migrate to warmer waters between Jan-March. I'm READY.

Cheers to The Gamecock

2008-01-31T16:43:00.000-05:00

I just got invited to USC's Student Media's 100th Year Anniversary Celebration. I used to work in advertising for the student newspaper, The Gamecock. Wish I could go :( Would be fun to bump heads with some of the editorial staff and my advertising buddies. And I'd love to see what my old manager is now up to. He used to always have me running around to get him Goody's, the powder pain releiver, he swore by it as a cure-all for his ever-present hangovers. Makes you wonder how the newspaper actually made any money?! Hat's off to The Gamecock!

TV or not to TV?

2008-01-31T09:12:00.000-05:00

I've never been all that occupied by television but there really isn't ANYTHING on tv these days. If I get the chance to watch, I'm surfing. Lately, I find myself watching the latest updates on the presidential candidates, the TRAVEL channel: I enjoy Anthony Bourdain's show; Discovery Channel: that series with Anderson Cooper was pretty interesting; and sadly, I've resorted to some trash programming...The Girls Next Door, Meet the Real Housewives of Orange County, and a few others.

What I dont understand though is ROCK of LOVE? Who seriously wants to get with Brett Michaels? That's just sick and those girls are disgusting. Another new show I saw advertised, which sounds RIDCULOUSLY terrible...PetFinder on Animal Planet. If you really need to hire someone or seek outside advice on getting a pet, you're pathetic. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. AND lastly, MOMENT of TRUTH...WHY? What a hurtful show, why would you ever agree to go on there and tell your deepest secrets to the world?

Mint.com

2008-01-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

Want a breakdown of how you're spending your TRUMP fortune? Well, thanks to my co-worker Grant, I have officially given all my passwords and login info to MINT.com so that I can track my spending. It's a cool site and I was bit skeptical about giving out too much info, but I'm gonna ride it out for now. Check it out... www.mint.com. It'll break down your spending in pie charts and tell you where you spend the most money and where you can save money.

Can you guess the number one retailer where I spend a small fortune? A: Target.

Weekend...

2008-01-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

Friday night, Deena and Dean had the cousins over for dinner. Dean made homemade pizza, YUM. Got to see Nyla, Nick and cutie Dalya. She's a doll.

Saturday was a bit slow moving, except the run. Tina met me at my house for our 15mi run. Great run, took the W&OD trail out 7.5 miles which from my house places you about 1.5mi past the Whole Foods on Maple Ave. Great run. Immediately following the run, I met up with my mom. I'd fallen behind in acknowledging her bday (it was overshadowed by Deena's wedding) and wanted to take her out. So for her post bday celebration we went to dinner and a movie. The bday gal wanted to see Atonement, with Keira Knightly. My mom now says she wishes she had spelled my name like hers. I like the simplicity of my name though. Anywho, I think we were both a little disappointed. It was a little too long and slow moving for me and my mom said she was hoping for a bit more romance. Tough love Mom ;)

Sunday, we went to church and afterwards hit-up Al Nakheel's with the family. For those of you wanting a great little Lebanese dive, this is a good place in Vienna. It will never measure up to the cute little old men and shwarmas at Fetoosh in Gtown. RIP Fetoosh. I loved that place, now I must succumb to late night Gyro's/shwarmas at George's (which is right down the street but also not as good).

Meet the RUNNERS

2008-01-24T12:59:00.002-05:00

Come out on March 29th to see us in action! Tina has so graciously volunteered to run this marathon with me and to help me train for it. She's a pro, I'm a wimp and a novice.

I was looking for some pics of the 2 of us and sadly, just couldnt find any decent ones. Here's what I came up with!

As the photos imply, I think we are in for trouble ;) That first photo was taken in Charleston in 2006 (Tina, the high school cheerleader was pretty sure she could carry me on her shoulders) and that 2nd photo was at Kristen's Wedding in Sparkle City where we were rockin' out to Pour Some Sugar on Me.

Anywho, here's a little running info on the 2 of us.

Tina -- She ran the Marine Corp Marathon in 2006 and 2007, and improved her time this past year. She finished right under the 4 hour mark, at 3:59. Go girl! She's also run the Capitol Hill Classic 10k 2005, 2006; the Back to School Classic 8k in Kensington, MD in 2005 & 2006; The Annapolis Striders B&A Trail Half Marathon in 2006; and lastly the Komen Race for the Cure 5k in 2006.

Kera -- Rock n' Roll Half Marathon 2006 & 2007, finished in 2:15; Capitol Hill Classic 10k 2005; George Washington Classic 10 miler in 2006; and Komen Race for the Cure 5k in 2005 & 2007.

PS: Tina is gonna kick my arse!

The Wizards minus the Main Man

2008-01-23T15:32:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite Wizards players are still benched for the season due to injuries. My main man, Mr. Gilbert Arenas is still recovering from knee surgery and poor Etan Thomas is still in training after having heart surgery for a leaky valve. Gilbert has been on the scene, he seems to take this opportunity to strut his stylish wardrobe on the court while cheering/encouraging his teammates. Etan on the other hand, just made his first appearance back at the game on Monday night. Luckily the Wizards have been able to do quite well without ball-hog G-A--which surprises me. High fives to Antwan Jamison, Haywood (Dadiani--high five to your UNC boyz and when are we going to a game together?) CARON, and Daniels...they've picked up the slack and have played really nicely together minus the natural team leader, Arenas.

However, the game just isnt the same without my favorite lineup. I was at the Friday night game against the Knicks and had pretty good seats in the Acela Club but without my Great Falls buddy and poetry-writing Thomas, it's not the same for me.

So for now, I think I'll wait it out...

Introducing the newest German Cousin

2008-01-22T11:24:00.001-05:00

Introducing the newest cousin, Leopold from MUNICH! Actually, this is the 2nd surname baby...my little nephew Dallas being the first, Leopold being the second. He was born to my cousin Taufig & Sandra on Jan 19th in Munich, Germany. He's apparently 4000 gramms or 4 kilo and 53 centimeters --someone care to do the conversion for me?

For those of you who may remember my trip to Europe a couple of summers ago, I visited Taufig & Sandra in Munich before spending time with his dad (my Uncle Mufid) and mom in Austria, and finally meeting Chris in Krakow. Taufig & Sandra were wonderful hosts. Taufig, a former radio sportscaster in Munich, had some fun connections and one of the perks was getting to drive with him on his VESPA (I heart VESPA's)right onto the field of the Olympic soccer stadium. AMAZING.

Anywho, congrats to proud parents Taufig & Sandra!

Tuesday nights in the city!

2008-01-22T10:35:00.000-05:00

It might snow again today and into the evening, I am excited. Perhaps my stinking GMAT review class in DC will be cancelled/postponed. I like the class, dont get me wrong, but jamming algebra, trig, and geometry into 3 hour cram sessions is not fun immediately following work. I should shut up though bc it's only 1x a week and the teacher is actually a pretty cool guy. There's only 3 of us in the class, which is good since I am a SLOW learner and can ask retarded questions. The instructor cracks me up, he's originally from CA and recently moved out here to DC. We'll be in the middle of a problem and he'll be like "Now look, this is the way your f***ing teachers taught you to do this in high school, F*** that! There's an easier way and all you gotta do is this s***!" No one else seems to think his mannerisms are funny but I sure do. And I'm pretty sure that the Brazilian chick who barely spoke english probably didnt understand his use of such vulgarity. She was having a tough enough time trying to understand the Brazilian equivalent of PEMDAS (order of operations). She's no longer in the class. We traded her for a metrosexual Nigerian guy, named Nee, who's pretty darn cool. Wow, writing about this class really makes it seem like I'm in some sort of circus act...it actually isnt all that bad.

Gotta hand it to Mr. Vedder...

2008-01-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

I know Pearl Jam is kinda a band of the past, but they are pretty darn amazing. And lead singer Eddie Vedder, is also STILL pretty amazing (musically). I used to have a crush on him back in the day.

Anywho, Eddie wrote a bunch of new songs for the movie, Into the Wild, and they ROCK. The soundtrack is awesome. The movie, which was based on Jon Krakauers book, Into the Wild, tells the true story of a local Northern Virginian, Chris McCandless and his adventures into the Alaskan wilderness. Great book, great movie and great SOUNDTRACK. Check it out.

Weekend Recap

2008-01-20T18:06:00.000-05:00

Tina and I are at it again (training)...we started our training together today for the DC Wirefly Marathon on March 29th. We've agreed to follow the same training schedule which over the past couple weeks we decided we'd start running together at the 13 mile mark. So, after a couple weeks of getting back into the swing of things, we did it. A great run actually, we ran Rock Creek Parkway North and back. Just a few miles short of hitting the MD border, but a totally serene and beautifully wooded trail following the creek (mostly still snow covered). Of course, our luck has it that we picked the coldest DC day yet to begin our training--22 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 9 degrees. NICE. I hate the COLD but after a quick warmup, surprisingly we were not bothered by the cold at all. Jeff, I took your advice and SACKED UP! Thanks ;) Only until we stopped running to cool down did I realize how frozen my fingers were! Seat warmers are the bomb and I am quite thankful for them on days like today. I am also quite thankful for Moby Dicks--the best kabob place in the area. Yes, I stopped there on the way home to pick up dinner...truly a delicious staple and a well-deserved treat post-run.

So last night, I met the ladies (Christina, Erin, Karen, Jen, and Gina) in the city for dinner at Aria Trattoria. This past week was DC's winter Restaurant Week and luckily Christina was able to score us a reservation. Fortunately the gathering was a fun crowd, because I think the overall consensus was that the food was pretty sub-par or at least just average. We did go out with a bang though bc the dessert was pretty heavenly...some pretty decent Tiramisu. Can't say it's as good as the little shot glasses of Tiramisu at Vapiano but it certainly left me in a pleasant mood. Or maybe it was just the 3 glasses of wine ;) After dinner my friends twisted my arm to join them for a DC firefighters fundraiser at Adams Mill. Gotta respect the firefighters, but to our dismay this wasn't the calendar squad...and now we all know why DC doesnt have a firefighters calendar. And it's probably a wise decision and we are thankful for that. But we did support their Polar Bear Plunge--an event next weekend where they jump in the Potomac to raise money. I asked if I could participate, but was denied...unfortunately I already know that when you're not permitted to swim in the Potomac, you get escorted out by the Coast Guard. Oh and long lost, Beglis and Herndon met us out, which was so great to see both of them! Anywho, fun night and I couldnt leave Adams Morgan without Big Slice...yes, I got BIG Slice by myself before hailing a cab. I offered to share with my cabbie named Bereket, who by no big surprise turned out to be Ethiopian Orthodox. It's great being Orthodox in a city where half of the cabbies are Ethiopian and almost all Orthodox. The Orthodox discount rocks! May have a new friend coming to Ss. Peter & Paul soon.

That about wraps up my weekend...I did manage to get another run in yesterday, helped the newlyweds set up their new place and got to see their HM pics, and now I've got some studying to do...

That's all my friends.

Thanks to my coworkers...

2008-01-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks for reminding me Ms. Espinoza!

Not a good day for me. And he could have had all the RV Park connections he wanted. What a shame! And they call it a LOVE child...barf.