May 19th

Yoga cat!

I got the yoga mat out of the back of the closet and have it laid out in the bedroom to force me to stretch more. Unfortunately GG is a fan of this new item and likes to lay on it. Here she is doing “Lazy Cat”.

Could this in fact be our first Woodbridge moment?

I see this a lot around town - cars who honor those who have passed by placing some sort of sticker on their car. I am all about honoring those individuals, but really on a car?

May 14th

Today was LDC day at Nationals Stadium. We were treated to great seats behind Home Plate and access to the PNC Club, which provided all you can eat food and drink. The game was at 1PM - it is now after 8PM and I'm still not hungry!

The day was cool and cloudy, with a little bit of drizzle. Unfortunately the Nats lost to the Marlins, but a good time was still had by all! Looking forward to another game this late Summer/early Fall!

May 7th - Gold Cup

 Finally! I am going on my 8th year of living here and I've always wanted to go to Gold Cup, but I always seem to have something scheduled. While the rest of my May is jam packed, I actually had this weekend free. When Alissa asked if I wanted to go, I said yes immediately. We got a great deal on a bus to The Plains, food, drink and a spot right on the North Rails. We were so close to the action and a great time was had by all (some more than others). It was especially fun at the end trying to watch twenty-something’s (with way too much alcohol) trying to find the correct bus to get home! Here is Alissa, Brendan, and myself.

April 30th

Today I got up early and met with some of the Thetas to volunteer at the first annual "CASA Fairfax Run for the Children 3K/10K". The day started a little cold and windy, but then the sun came out and jackets came off. We served as Course Marshals and were placed near the beginning of the race. Here we are before we headed out to our posts.

In the afternoon, I met up with Anna and the kids for lunch. Ethan just started solid foods the day before. Down below you can see the many Cheerios, melon and fries that didn’t quite make it in his mouth. Thank goodness we were at a kid friendly restaurant!

April 29th

Today we moved into the new digs. Overall, the commute took me about 10 minutes longer in each direction - but no more Manassas! Everyone got unpacked fairly quickly and we even got a little work in. My office is pretty much together. I have one more picture to hang, but as you can see - no boxes left!

April 27th

Goodbye Office.

Today we packed up the office for our big move to Woodbridge. It was 6 years ago that we moved into this new office building in Manassas. It wasn't exactly easy to get to, but was in a great location in Old Towne Manassas. Easy pedestrian access to restaurants, the Post Office and my Financial Planner.

Tomorrow I head to the new office. Being the Type A person I am, I want to get there by 7AM to start setting up my office. At a minimum, unpack the crates and set up the desk so I'm ready to start working at 8AM. It will be nice to be in "our" building and as a bonus, I have a friend who works in walking distance of the office.

April 24th

This is a picture of the world's laziest cat. After the previous day's Vet Trauma, coupled with her getting her flea/tick/heartworm/ringworm/Armageddon cream, my girl wasn't feeling too well. I knew this because:

a. I had to wake HER up to feed her breakfast (which she didn't eat);
b. Everywhere I went, she felt the need to lay either on me or as close to me as possible.

Above is a picture of her completely spread out and enjoying the DVR with Mommy.

April 23rd

This morning I had to take GG to the Vet for a vaccine and nail trim. GG usually loves the Vet. When I say love, I mean, she doesn't really put up a fight until you start working on her. She will walk around the room and sniff to her heart's content.

We got in the room and she did her thing. At one point she tried jumping from the floor to the table, and being the good mom I am (and figuring cats can jump pretty high), I sat there and watched her jump...and then miss....and then fall on the floor (seriously, where is Feline Protective Services). Then, this 16 year Vet Tech comes in to trim her nails. I give her the story in regards to where to start (feet first, left hand, right hand) but does she do that? No. GG comes out swinging from the gate. They then have to take her to the back. A few minutes later, GG comes back in with the doctor. It then takes three of us to hold her down to get her temperature taken. Once we are good, we get the shot. Immediately proceeding this, GG went right into her house and was like "Mom, I'm done. Let's pay the tab and roll out."

April 21st

We are prepping for moving day over at the office. We've started throwing away junk (my favorite) and packing things. Today the movers dropped off the crates and bubble wrap. I can't wait til we move to the new house!!!

April 20th

This bumper sticker is so appropriate for DC Metro Traffic!

April 16th

Saturday, we got up early (are you seeing a trend) and headed out to our private bike tour around the City. Now, I haven’t ridden a bike since 1997 but this was fairly easy. It was really the best way to see the city. We started in Stanley Park, headed to Granville Island, the Olympic Village, Chinatown and Gastown. It took about 5 hours, with a stop for lunch, but we all had a great time. Here we are below standing next to the Olympic Torch!

April 15th

We caught the 7AM ferry to Victoria Island. After a 90 minute ride, we drove straight to The Butchart Gardens. Now I'm not one for flowers, but it was gorgeous. Again, getting there early allowed us to have the run of the place and take pictures without others in them. Here am I next to a huge tree! Next we headed to Victoria and checked out the Empress Hotel and Parliament. Then it was back to the ferry so we could change for dinner at West. We enjoyed an amazing meal and topped it off with cake to celebrate Mini Cooper!

April 14th

Being on East Coast time, all us girls were wide awake bright and early - despite having 5 hours of sleep. We picked up the car and headed North on the 5 to British Columbia. We stopped at the Visitor Center and took some pictures. Here is Denise, myself and Hilary.

We hopped back in the car and headed straight to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Here is Martta and I before heading across. It was so nice to be in the woods and having the place pretty much to ourselves. Next we headed into the City for our spa appointments and then out to a great dinner at CinCin. It was early to bed, because we had to catch the 7AM ferry to Victoria!

April 13th

My best friend Martta and her sister in law, Heather, have this great blog: www.hmhdesigns.wordpress.com. On it, they share different craft and food projects they have experimented with. Some are great successes and some are great successes after many trial and errors. One success was this great iPad cover. Martta recently made a similar case for her iMac and when I saw it, mentioned I would like one for my iPad. Little did I know she would make it so quickly and in time for our trip to Vancouver. Everything fits perfectly inside and its now my primary cover. I’m thinking of having her make one for my mom’s birthday! Check out the blog for instructions on how to make your own!

April 12th

In preparation for the trip to Vancouver, I picked up some Hunter Boots. I've been eyeing these for awhile and when I saw the initial forecast was rain everyday, I decided to splurge and get them. First, I ordered the standard boots from Zappos. Unfortunately they were a little too tight so I went to Nordstrom.com, ordered the wider Huntress boot online, and picked up from the store in Tysons. They fit like a glove and I wore them practically the entire trip. They are a little pricey, but good shoes are well worth it! Here is  picture of them in action!

April 10th - 6th Annual Strides for Success

I have spoken here before about my goal this year to complete a 5K by actually running it. I do my fair share of 5K’s but it’s usually walking and chatting with a bunch of women and going to Brunch afterwards. So, I found an online training program, “somewhat” committed to it (took me 12 weeks as opposed to 8) and signed up to run Strides, which is our Spring fundraiser. Now, its been a busy League week - Strides and Class Project colliding together (did I forget to mention I am on the Strides and Class Project committees), but I was committed to race.

I arrived to set up early this morning, met my friends from work who graciously decided to run, assigned Course Marshal’s and then headed out to race. Now, I thought I was going to be in a good position, since I drove the course earlier and knew the 1, 2, 3 mile marks. Unfortunately, the Fairfax County Police set us off in the opposite direction so I was all kinds of messed up from the start. Joan and I started running, and I asked if it was ok to walk if I needed it (she is a super speedy runner). However when we made it to mile 2 and hadn’t yet walked and were still feeling ok, we noted that we could probably run the whole thing. We may have spoken too soon, because not soon after, I had to take two 30 second walk breaks. However, we determined, this still counts as running the whole race J As we came upon the finish line, we sprinted to the end with many of my new friends cheering me on. It felt great to actually accomplish my goal - I finished the race running, it’s the furthest I have ever run at one time and I did it with a good friend. Bonus - we had a great increase in participation!

Side note - after the race, Joan said she felt bad because I had to run two steps to her one. Doh short people!

April 7th

Tonight we had our final GMM for the League year. I had to get there a little early for our Class Project. As I approached the intesection. I noticed this pole looked a little askew. There was a similar situation off to the right. I knew this wasn't going to bode well for the night and we needed to have some sort of a meeting to collect items for the project.

Like any good Leaguers, we improvised and made best of the situation. We were allowed to open some doors (we meet in a Fire Hall), pull up some blinds and made due with flashlights when the sun went down. While the power was off for the foreseeable future, this handy disco ball must have been battery operated because it still worked and provided light and excitement for a short while.

April 5th

Manassas Moment! It's been awhile, I know. So for those of you who aren't familiar, I post Manassas Moments to my Facebook page. They are just little snippets of my life in Manassas. While this was "technically" taken in Fairfax County, the car came from Manassas, so it counts in my world. I guess I should be proud its "somewhat" patriotic. but really - three different colors?

April 3

Since I was dog sitting all weekend, I came home Sunday night to spend some quality time with GG and the DVR. Someone must have missed me (and the TV) because she came and snuggled right next to me on the couch.

April 2

This past weekend, I dog sat for Dexter. He is this great Yellow Lab who is absolutely perfect. Other than the Parsons pups, he is my favorite. We can't really go for super long walks or play really hard since he has some joint problems. However, we did squeeze in a little play time on Saturday. His mom has this great device that lets you chuck a tennis ball without getting your hands wet with slobber. A great tool for a Lab. Dexter loves this game - almost as much as playing with his Wubba.

April 1

Tonight at Yappie Hour, we celebrated Diane's birthday. Joan and Steve are great about getting a dessert you like for your birthday and for Diane, that means cupcakes. I turned them on to a great cupcake shop in Reston - Red Velvet Cupcakery. The cupcakes were delicious - not too dense and very moist. I went for the chocolate chip cupcake and chocolate (not on the same night). Very delicious!

March 31

Tonight, Rhonda, Joan and myself went to a Women's Only Seminar presented by my Financial Planner. It was an informative session about taking control of your finances. While women still have a way to go to be equal with men on the pay scale, we did learn we have surpassed men in education!

The best part of the evening, however was the chair massages, wine, yummy food and chocolate!

March 30

Happy 5th Birthday Ginger!

This morning I took G's birthday pictures. It took a few but eventually we got a good one. Note to self - she looks better with the flash off, but I think that's true for me as well!

She got lots of birthday messages and even a present from her canine cousins Zoe and Ginger!

March 27th

On my way to meeting some friends for dinner in Tysons, I got turned around by all the construction and landed right smack underneath the future Silver Line. I geek out a little each time I drive through Tysons. It's crazy to imagine what this use to look like and to see the future progressing. Still not sure how many people will really use the Silver Line, but I think the long term plan of building it to Dulles will be good for the greater region.

March 26 - Happy Founder's Day (for the third time)

On Saturday, us Northern Virginia Thetas got in our carpools and headed into the District to celebrate Founder’s Day with the  DC/Suburban Maryland Alumnae Chapter. Despite the National Marathon and Cherry Blossom Kick Off, we managed to make it on time.  Being so close, we alternate hosting responsibilities. This year’s event was hosted at The Washington Club, a private club on DuPont Circle.

We had a fabulous time catching up with women we typically see once a year. I even got to see my former Theta Boss, Mary Ellen, who was our guest speaker. Her previous job was as VP Alumnae, where I got the chance to work with her on the Alumnae committee. However Mary Ellen’s new role is as a trustee of the Foundation.

I also got to see my second Mommy Jane, who designed and created a gorgeous quilt that was raffled. I bought some tickets, but it wasn’t in my favor. I “guess” its ok since I already have a few quilts Jane helped me design and finish. J

All in all it was a great Saturday afternoon with an amazing group of women!



March 23 - Happy Early Birthday GG!

I've been meaning to order GG's birthday presents for awhile. Her birthday is actually March 30th, but since I wasn't sure how long it would take to ship, I ordered her presents this past weekend. When I got home from work Wednesday, I saw they had arrived.

I brought them inside and started unpacking them before Book Club. Her first present is an automatic filtered water station. Though, I'm not sure she's used it yet...I'll have to keep an eye on that.

Her next present was a new scratching post and toy. I like this one because it has mice inside and we all know how much she loves mice! I've also found that she really loves this toy at 4AM.

Happy 5th Birthday GG!

March 22

Finally! They have started construction on the grade separate interchange near my house. It's been on the VDOT 6 Year Plan for awhile, but was delayed slightly due to budgetary reasons. Once the utilities were moved, they flagged the clearing limits, put up the silt fence and started site work. Its a little weird to see all the trees removed, but this interchange will help a lot as its one of the main interchanges in Fair Lakes and on the Parkway. The existing interchange is so sub standard  - it actually has depressions on it from all the traffic!

March 19

I've been turned on to a fabulous, local jewelry designer (who is also the daughter of one of my favorite Thetas, Florence). Allison Priebe Brooks (a.k.a. The Queen Bee) makes gorgeous pieces out of stones and crystals. I can't even keep track of how many pieces I now own. Today she had a Trunk Show at the Hive, where she sells pieces at wholesale prices. This is usually where I buy since you can also score some great clearance items. Whenever I wear her pieces, I always get great compliments. Check out her website at www.queenbeedesigns.com

March 17 (Happy St. Patrick's Day)

Martta was in town this week so after work Thursday, I packed a cooler, emptied my bladder, put my travelling boots on and made the journey across the Potomac. I was feeling pretty good when I got there, since the 45 mile trip (only) took 90 minutes. :-) Jane and Neil made a wonderful Irish meal of Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes and Soda Bread. We enjoyed some fabulous Shamrock cookies after dinner. After a bit of socializing, we dived into our Vancouver planning.  I can't believe the trip is a month away - let's book that hotel!

March 15

I

I popped over to the new house after my meeting and took a look around. Things are moving forward quickly. When I was there, the concrete had just been poured for the sidewalks and we got our first batch of asphalt for the parking lot. Inside, the tiles was going in as well as the chair rail around the hallway. The finishes are starting to look great and we're moving right along. Good thing since the building is supposed to be done in a month.  Above is a picture of my new office. All I know so far is a desk is going in the back - can't wait to play with my new space!

March 14

A new change to the blog - I'm going to date the pictures so it's a little easier to tell when the pictures were taken. I suppose if I was more diligent about uploading everyday, this wouldn't be a problem. However I'm struggling with just taking a picture everyday so please have patience.

I got home early from work and hung out with my girl while doing some work. It was a banner day for G.

First, I come home to her third hairball in a week. What was different this time was that she decided to "cover it up" with her toy. I don't know if maybe she thought she was going to be in trouble, but it was still funny.

About an hour later, I was in the kitchen with my back turned and heard this commotion. When I turned around, this is what I saw. She apparently leaped off her chair and decided to go hunting for her mouse. She eventually worked herself all the way under. Oh my silly girl.

Hide and Seek

Apparently GG is very happy that I decided to do the laundry. I was looking for her last night, not knowing she was in the basket, and pulled it out of the closest and was shocked by its sudden weight. Then, I looked inside and found a furry girl. This morning, she decided to jump back in while I was getting ready for Brunch. Maybe this is a hint to not let the laundry pile up?

Saturday project

I found this print in my favorite antique store in Lucketsville. Not really an antique, but a portion of the store carries European themed items. I’ve always loved this saying and it feels like I’m seeing it more and more. I picked up a frame on clearance and put the package together. I plan to take it to my new office in a month. Whenever life gets crazy and I start to feel stressed out, I can look at it, gather some peace and move forward with the task at hand.

TGIF

This week was a busy, long week at work. In addition to getting up early, I also had something every night of the week. I celebrated the end of the week by tapping into this bottle of wine. It’s a Trader Joe’s special - meaning it’s only about $5 and within my budget! 

Theta Dinner...

I was in charge of selecting the restaurant for our monthly Theta Dinner Group. I decided to pick Jaleo (http://www.jaleo.com/) in Crystal City. It's this great Tapas restaurant by Jose Andres. We each picked a few dishes and enjoyed some great Sangria. I had the Gambas al ajillo (shrimp sauteed in garlic),  Paella, and Cordero a la basa con salsa de romero (lamb chops in a rosemary sauce). The whole meal was delicious, the company was fabulous and so far I'm 2 for 2 on picking great restaurants!

A cat's life...

GG is really great about crawling back into bed once I've completed my morning ritual. On Tuesday, she headed back a little earlier than usual. I checked on her in between putting my makeup on and drying my hair and this is what I saw. She is responsible for waking me up in the morning and apparently is having trouble adjusting to our new wake up time.

WTF...

So I have this new routine where I wake up at 5:30, get dressed and head to the gym. It started mainly because I had something every evening this week and knew I wouldn't go. Turns out, I actually like going better at this time. It's not like running is really easy 10 minutes after you wake up; however the gym isn't crowded. Plus I have the whole evening ahead of me.

When I went out at O Dark Thirty on Monday, I found this white stuff on my car. It's almost Spring and I thought the groundhog didn't see his shadow. Give me a break!