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!

You got a friend in me...

My co-worker Jay came over for dinner tonight. Last Friday, his house was destroyed by a tree during a pretty brutal wind storm. While he is staying in a hotel, there is only so much you can do with a microwave and fridge, so I invited him over for dinner. We started with a Bruschetta, which I cheated and made with canned diced tomatoes (Italian style and drained), red onion, garlic, French bread, parsley and parmesan cheese. Next was a salad of arugula, pear, walnuts, blue cheese and home made balsamic vinaigrette. The main course was a baked rigatoni, which I made with home made marinara cream sauce (whole canned tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, oregano, cream and parmesan cheese). This time I also added Italian Sausage, which was a good decision. It added to the comfort factor. Finally, dessert was a cheesecake drizzled with black cherry sauce. Everything was washed down with a glass of Sangiovese.

Cat sitting...

Tonight I cat sat for Annika and Layla. It's been awhile since I saw them, but they seemed to remember me. They are so much more active than Ginger - maybe its because there are two of them. Last night we hung out and caught up on Suze Orman. Annika perched herself on the table for awhile, while Layla made it to the top of the hutch, which is apparently a permitted perching location.

Zoe turns 6!

  Tonight at Yappie Hour, we celebrated Zoe's 6th birthday! It's hard to believe she was a toddler when I first met her so many years ago. I sometimes think Zoe is older than she is, because she does things sometimes that blow you away. She’s such an insightful, inquisitive, sweet and polite child who is loved by so many people and I've enjoyed watching her come out of her shell. We celebrated Zoe with Black Russian Cake (a Junior League favorite) and presents. Between nail polish, books, cupcake makers and clothes - she made out! The best part was when we were leaving she said “Kelly, wait! I want to give you a hug.”

Packed with hope...

Tonight after our Junior League GMM, we did a "Done In  A Meeting" project. As the name implies, these projects are done in a meeting, which is a great idea! Tonight's project had each of us bring a breakfast, lunch, dinner item or drink so we could prepare weekend food packages for children. Many children rely on the Government sponsored breakfast and lunch while at school, but go hungry on the weekends. These little packages provide a little bit of comfort and noruishment to these children and will be distributed throughout Northern Virginia.

New Mice!

So I finally got tired of looking all over the house for G's missing mice, so I broke down and bought her some new ones (along with more food and flea meds!). She was all over this package as soon as it was out - so much so that she even tried to carry the whole package in her mouth. I'm going to ration these little guys and see how long we can make them last!

One of my favorite things...

I heart the OPI nailpolish. They have great colors, awesome marketing and the polish lasts quite sometime. I'm a sucker for this dark red (almost black) nail color (Lincoln Park After Dark) and wear it pretty much all the time, but I decided to mix things up with this girly pink (Conquistadorable Color).

Huh?

It's no secret that my girl likes to eat. However recently, I've been noticing that she has been leaving food behind or eating very sloooowwwllly and in shifts. Every night before bed time, she gets a little crunchy treat. She begs and begs for this all  night long, but has been leaving some crunchies behind. I'm hoping this is just a residual effect from her flea meds I applied the other day and she'll be back to her piggy self soon.