Indiana SAM!

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!

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!!!!

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?

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...

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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)

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

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!

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

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!

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

St. Patricks Day Trivia

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

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!

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!

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?

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!

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.