Good times

Shauna came to visit all last week and we had a great time! It's always good to see her, but often too short. A solid week is just about right! ;)

We ate out a lot, hung with friends, shopped, shopped, and more shopping...and took a quick trip to Rehoboth with Anne. Good times. So hot. But fun. Some fun shots:

This was the only good thing at the outlets...so of course, we took pictures!

Home sweet home!

Latest and greatest news was my recent trip "home." I use quotes, cause after 6 years...DC really kind of feels like home. It's very confusing. :)

Highlights of the trip:

-Keeping BOTH boys all day on Sunday...so fun.
-Meeting Tipper!
-Seeing all the fam.
-Beach trip, pre-oil!
-Quick visit with Shauna.
-Visit with Heather and family.

Good times.



I love this dog already!!!

It was a really great trip--always too short. Big misses: Amy and her brood, no extended family visits, no visiting with LR peeps. It's always a really hard balance between the parentals and others. Working on it. If I missed you this go around....I'll get you on the next one!

A few images...

Well heeeellllloooooo stranger!

Long time, no hear! It's been a year! CRAZY year, in fact. I changed jobs. Big change. Life is busy, but good. I also switched to MAC. :) more to come. At a conference in Baltimore. Let's hope I don't get shot!

It's been awhile...

I have been on Facebook. And Twitter (or Twitler, Tweetler or Twitlet as Megan calls it). I abandoned my first love. But I'm back!

Quick update:

-it's hot here
-it's really hot here and it's only april
-my mom came to visit!
-looking forward to getting a tan

Really...what else is there??

:) Be back soon!

God Bless America.

And God bless Obama! Here's praying for him, for his family, for our country and for our people. It's very exciting that we have elected an African-American President...I hope that he moves beyond this distinction and proves to be a wonderful president. God Bless America.

More good stuff....

Here are some pics from random fun stuff...

Pirate b-day/Alabama Christmas:


Did I mention that I got an iPhone from my friends for my b-day???? LOVE THEM!!!!



SUPRISE!!! Look who's at the front door!



Here they all are! Blow out the candles!



Tres Dias sisters!

So sorry...

I have become what I cannot stand--one who does not update the blog!! :( My bad. But I'm baaaaaacccckkk!!! :)

Lot's has happened:

-Anne's birthday party was awesome--and fun. And I think she had a great time! I'll have to post a pic later...snapfish won't let me post pics from there anymore! At Anne's party, we had lot's of "hot stuff" to eat--satay, atomic fireballs, smores, a real firepit w/ a campfire--it was a perfect nite to be outside w/ a friends and fire! Happy Birthday, Anne-chovie!



-Thanksgiving was sooo muuuccccchhhh fun!!! Anne and I started the day at the Bethesda Turkey Chase--fun! Went to Starbucks--yum! Then I joined the Mancuso's at their family dinner out in Fredrick--it was awesome! So much fun to be w/ Megan and her family. I spent the rest of the weekend with them, too. We had a great time, ate fabulous food, lounged around, watched a movie. Good times.

-Shauna came to visit for 4 days and we had a blast. She and I celebrated our Christmas together and my birthday. While she was in town, we hit all the places she wanted to eat--I took Friday off and we shopped and drank coffee--then Megan joined us for part of the afternoon. That evening, we hosted a "Christmas in Maryland" party and ornament exchange. We had catered bbq, sweet tea and White Zinfandel! The tree was decorated with Alabama ornaments! While we were waiting for everyone to get there, there was a knock at the door--and there they "all" were! My Christmas party was "Pirated!" and became a surpise Birthday Party!!! Anne and Shauna (and maybe Megan and Tango, too)--had come thru w/ a big suprise!! :)



So...that takes us thru the beginning of December...more to come, soon!

Happy Birthday, Anne!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday, dear Annnnnneeeeeeeee....Happy Birthday to you!!!! And many, many, MANY more!!!

Happy Birthday, Anne!! Today is a blessed day and I am thankful to be a part of it. You have been such a precious friend to me. The Lord has blessed me mightily through you and I am grateful. Here's wishing you every happiness and good gift that our Abba Father has for you!! For this year--and all the years to come.

Much, much love to you, sister!

Read this.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/huntleybrown.asp

Copy and paste link into your browser...

ACORN 's not just a nut for squirells anymore...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122394051071230749.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

I don't understand how this is not all over the news!! It's crazy he has made it this far...

Truth.

It's important that we know how we got into this mess. How is $700 billion not enough? Look at these links (cut and paste into your browser). Then tell me how can you vote for Obama? How?? Forget the social stuff--if abortion, marriage, military aren't enough for you...how can you trust him with our $$? (he voted party line 98% of the time--he's the SECOND most liberal Senator!) Take a look...

http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_the_trillion_dollar.html

This first link leads to an 8-year-old article by a remarkably prescient author who saw this crisis coming and tried to warn us.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

This second link leads to an article which appeared in the New York Times in 2003, when the Bush administration called for more regulatory oversight to prevent the bankruptcy of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&feature=related

This third link leads to 4-year-old video from C-Span showing the Democrats blocking all attempts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Here you can see the antics they used to block all attempts at regulatory oversight.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091102841.html

This fourth link leads to an article in The Washington Post, which recently published the details showing how Chris Dodd and the congressional Democrats are now playing dumb. They hope their tuned-out constitutes aren't aware of how congressional Democrats created this economic crisis.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122212948811465427.html

This fifth link leads to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal providing a history of this scandal.

This is WAY funnier than the Tina Fey skit...

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/the-lawrence-welk-show/727501/

OMG--I haven't laughed this hard in forever!!!

Deleted.

Happy Amy?? :)

Country first....

After being less than enthusiastic about the choices for president in the primaries (I supported Huckabee, of course, but never really thought he had a great chance for the top slot) I am THRILLED AND ELECTRIFIED in a way that I haven't been for YEARS by the choice of Sarah Palin for the VP slot. Why, you may ask?? Well, let me tell you...

1. She's good people. First off, she's a born-again Christian. The single most important thing in my book.

2. She's a proven reformer. She DID take on the establishment in AK--and she made some compromises along the way. As all in leadership MUST do. Of course she kept the $ that the feds gave her for that bridge!!! But as her interests changed from limited local (Wasilla mayor) to statewide (Governor) her position changed to reflect her constiuent interests. You have to respect that--it's only fair. And seriously, they only spent $30k for a lobbyist for Wasilla. I would bet you a bunch of $$ that is WAAAAY below average for municipalities.

3. She does have executive experience. She's the ONLY one who has it. Go be mayor of a small town...not to mention Governor of a state...then come tell me she's not experienced "to be a heartbeat away" from the presidency. Uhhh....YES SHE IS. She's the only one who is! Executive power is a TOTALLY different beast than legisilative. Period.

4. Who cares if her daughter is pregnant?? I mean--really?? So is like 35% of the rest of the American teenage population. Her family is not immune to the problems that crop up from living in a fallen world. What matters is that she is encouraging good decisions and supporting her daughter as she begins the difficult task of being a teenage mother. Good for her.

5. A woman VP? Oh yeah. And what I love best--she's a real woman. Mom. PTA. Feminine. The whole bit. Work away--even w/ an infant. You can do it!!

6. Troopergate? Please. When you are the Governor, you can fire your commisioners. Period. The commissioner has said she didn't ask for her ex-bro-in-law to be fired. Good enough for me. Besides, based on the Trooper in question (drunk driving arrests both ON and off duty, tasering his 10 year old step-son-at the request of the 1o year old to prove he was not a 'mama's boy', death threats against his father-in-law) should have been fired. But in fact, is still a trooper. Troopergate?? Come on.

7. Banning books?? Didn't happen. Ask the librarian. She has said over and over that then Mayor Palin asked a "what if" question. So why the drama??

8. She is exciting. She's not entrenched. She's new on the scene. Love it. Love it. Love it.

So here you have it...my official endorsement for 2008--McCain/PALIN!!!

Par-tay!!!

Our "welcome to our home" par-tay was Saturday nite and it was a big success!! We had about 32 people come, including 8 kiddos. We actually had lots of room for lots more folks, even!! Space was totally not a problem. The only problem was the heat...it was BLAZING hot on Saturday. We have those old, radiator style air conditioners, which kind of struggle anyway...but REALLY struggle on hot days. Add 30+ people and a 400degree oven for cooking. It was hot. But not too, too bad. I had work peeps, church peeps, Tres Dias peeps, all kinds of peeps crashing together. So fun. The place is about 80% finished. Big things we HAVE to get: living room rug, shelves, bike rack. Things I would LIKE to get: another chair for the Living Room, shelves for my room. A couple more pics for the walls. Overall--huge success. Lots of fun. Good times.

HIGH-larious...

On the side of the interstate in Alabama b/w Montgomery and Birmingham. In case you can't read it, it says: GO TO CHURCH or the DEVIL will get you!!!

Gotta love it!!!

Beachy-keen....

So...I'm finally digging out from the cloud of depression that has covered me ever since my return from the beach. Now that it has been exactly one week...I'm feeling better and am ready to talk about it rather than cry! :)

Immediately upon arrival, we had a suprise b-day party for Amy complete w/ presents and homemade cupcakes! Fun!!

The view from our balcony.

Straight from the b-day party to the beach!

Each nite we were each responsible for choosing the meal and location and activities. Friday nite was Shauna's nite. After a couple of wrong turns and one rejected locale, we ended w/ a big winner--the Crab Trap for possibly our best meal of the entire trip! Good pick, Shauna-belle!

On Saturday nite--my nite--we went to the Black Pearl for dinner....

A sunset walk to the pier....

Lots of pics...

Amy and Shauna trying to get a pic of them jumping at the same time....to no avail, so they gave up and did the "charlie's angels" instead...

We ultimately ended up Saturday nite at "Howl at the Moon" for the dueling pianos. So fun. We heard "Gin and Juice", but no "Jack and Diane." Sorry, Shauna!!

Our beach. The weather was PERFECT for every minute we were there...but the water got progressively cleaner and bluer the longer we were there (probably from the storms around us). It was absolutely gorgeous every single minute.

Our famous toe pic--we love our pedis! Check out that awesome, white sand!!!

Sunday nite, Amy cooked an AMAZING dinner. We had this awesome Arkansas Caviar dip and special avacodo salads w/ chicken and tuna. It was sooo good.

We had so much fun and as always, it was hard to go. But it's always good to get together. And always bittersweet to go home. Can't wait for the next time!!!

STAY AWAY HURRICANE!!!

I'm kind of freaking out. I'm JUST starting to get excited about my trip to Florida tomorrow, and here are MORE hurricanes coming!! Amy is wigging out, too--which isn't helping--but I can read that the projections are NOWHERE NEAR US!!! Praising the Lord in ADVANCE for giving us awesome weather!!! (amy--it's gonna be FINE, DO YOU HEAR ME???!?!?) :)

Latest and greatest on mi casa:

Into the living area from the hallway--those tubs are no longer there--and there is now a table by the door.

The new couch. Changes--new tv stand not shown. That table the tv is on is now by the door. The shelf the radio is on is now stained and in my "sitting area" in my room.

Dining room. The plant is now up on a white, square pedastal table.

The new fun stuff over the sink. Love it!

Loving the new place! I bet it's gonna be really awesome when I can walk places from there and metro to work!!

Home Sweet Home!

Don't judge me--but my new place is AWESOME. You just aren't going to be able to appreciate the size of the place...the pics just don't do it justice. But it's freaking HUGE. There are certainly some drawbacks--one TINY bathroom, one parking spot, not outside greenspace, etc... But the pluses are BIG!!! Location!!! Size!!! PRICE!!! The Lord has blessed me. And getting Tango as a roomie, to boot!!!

Here are some pics. Ignore the mess--it's better already--these were on Saturday, during the move! It's getting incrementally better all the time!!

Bedroom shot #1. Lots of light...love it.

My room, shot #2--this rug is a 8.10. My room is huge.

My closet. What you cannot tell, is that behind those walls--the closet extends all the way to both walls!!!

Living room/dining room.

Tiny, awkward kitchen. But a cute rug, yeah?

Kitchen #2--into the dining room.

Dining room.

Living room.

Living room into the foyer.

Giant hall closet--not only does my bike fit COMPLETELY in there....on the other side is all of camping chairs, golf clubs and other sports accutriments (sp?). PLUS these awesome built-ins!!!

UPDATES:

Curtains are up in the dining room!

One mirror is hung by the door, one pic is on the wall in the LR. I love to hang pics--it ain't easy w/ plaster walls!! :)

Futon-sold and gone!

Closet/wardrobe-sold, gone on Thursday!

Bed frames--one is sold-gone today at lunch, the other probably sold!

Tried to buy a tv stand last nite--wouldn't fit in car. :(

Furniture (all but sofa) being delivered on Thurs!!!

We have bogarted wireless internet and cable!!!

Cable guy drilled the outside connection we need yesterday--rest of install set for phone, cable and internet on August 26!

Kitchen is organized!!

Paint is purchased for the kitchen!

WOOHOO!!!

Ole west Virginny...

Most of you know that I lived w/ my friend Megan and her family for a month in b/w staying at Nancy's in DC and my new place in Bethesda. I left there this past Saturday morning very early-on my way to move into my new place. Megan had left Friday morning for a weekend w/ her mom and sis-in-law at the Homestead, but my last interaction at her house was a sweet, sweet moment. I was in the bathroom getting ready and I could hear Max outside the door (Max is 7--their oldest son). Finally, I said, "Max, can you use the bathroom downstairs?" He said, "yes, Miss Christy.") Several more minutes of comotion, then I hear, "Miss Christy?" I open the door--and there is Max in his Shrek undies just sitting right in front of the door. "What's up, Max?" I say. He says, "Miss Christy, we are going fishing this morning and my dad wants me to hurry, but I was hoping I could tell you bye before we left." He was sitting outside the door waiting on me. Chucka.

It's strangely hard to write about my time at the Mancuso's. It was far away the sweetest time I've had in a really long time. It was precious and timely and restful and a real blessing. It was just awesome. It was so fun to see Megan every day, to know the boys and Pat better, to have such a nice place to stay, to have dinners and lunches and breakfasts, to be given to so generously. It was overwhelming. I am so sad to leave. So sad. But so glad we had that time. I loved every minute. Every loud, crazy, kid-filled, screaming frenzied minute.

Thank-you, Mrs. Mancuso. And thank the Lord for you.

I think Megan's ready for me to leave...

Stacey has the best teeth EVER.

General Smallwood...

It's been awhile since the General Smallwood Triathlon...but I just got the pics from it. It's really depressing to sit here in my giant boot and look at these pics..but alas...someday when I can run again, I may never stop!! (Somebody remind me of this!!!)

Anne and I pre-race.

Mine and Shauna's tough faces!

The swim! Can you see the giant lochnessmonstermass of algea??? You can't see it, but it's there!!

Anne starting the run.

Shauna finishing the run.

The finish line...run Shauna, run!!!

Team Duck, Duck, Goose in effect!!!

Weekend Fun.

I had such an awesome weekend this weekend. Despite the cankle, I did some major shopping, the movies and a fun meal out. On Friday, Anne came to spend the weekend w/ me at the Mancuso house. She was PRECIOUS. She brought a huge bag of goodies for me that included beautiful sunflowers, popcorn, movies, wine, brie and bread, salmon, veggies, fruit and ORANGE TIC TACS-MY FAVE!!! She was here to take care of me for the weekend and she did an awesome job!!


Friday nite we went to the movies to see "Step Brothers." I can't recommend it b/c it was way, too nasty. There were a couple of really funny parts tho.


Saturday, we got up, ran to the grocery, had lunch then headed out to Leesburg to the outlets.
We made it in 15.5 minutes--which means Anne won the bet (she guessed 17 min.) Shauna guessed (17.5)--no Shauna was not there--it's just a thing we do. My guess was 21 minutes. Too much. I lose. Listen--don't judge me, we have to get our entertainment somewhere. We're a competitive lot. :) We shopped for hours. Anne pushed me around in the wheelchair like a pro. We almost took out a few small children and one old lady, but hey. We came home, Anne cooked an amazing dinner and we watched a movie.

Sunday, we went to church at Reston Bible. Got lost, but made it in plenty of time for a great communion service. What an awesome reminder of forgiveness, grace and Christ's love for us. It was an awesome sermon and obviously divinely appointed. We had a nice lunch, then Anne left. Tango came over not long after. We had dinner, watched a movie and hung out. Won't be long till we do that every nite in our new place!!!

And just like that, the weekend was over. ***sigh*** The good ones are hard to let go of. :)

Update--cankle time.

Here's my cankle day 2. It looks much worse than this now--black and blue and way more swollen, but it feels better.

With my boot, I can actually walk a bit. I'm down to one crutch! Woohoo!!!

On a better note: I've been at the Mancuso house for 10 glorious days!!! My friend Megan is my new Val (of Val and Chris fame). I found myself homeless for a month in between waiting on my new apartment to be ready and staying at Nancy's place in DC which she got a renter for. I am loving it here!!! My friends are awesome! The boys (they have 2--7 and 5) are fun! The food is great! And the accommodations are LOVELY. I have no idea how I can ever re-enter society again. :)

I got a present at the beach...

I went to Rehoboth Beach on Saturday afternoon w/ Michelle. We met Susan, Lisa J. and Nathan there. Had an early nite on Saturday and got up for breakfast and the beach on Sunday. Made it to breakfast. Not quite to the beach. Long story short, I broke my ankle on this curb near the boardwalk. I had JUST fed the meter $13 in quarters. Spent the day in the ER then drove home. Fun times. I broke my fibia. Or tibia. Whichever is the smaller of the two. Chipped the bottom of it off and ripped some tendons. In 6-8 weeks I should be back to normal. In a week, I should be sans crutches and able to walk in the boot no problem. In the meantime, lots of laying on the couch. Good times. :) The great news is that I can take off the boot when I go to the pool--so no tan interruptions!!! Wahoo!

What happens in Vegas....

So much has happened since I last posted. I'm now living at Megan and Pat's in Sterling and working from home. It's FABULOUS. They are precious hosts and it's so comfy here. Having fun w/ their boys, Jake and Max. I've been sick for 3 days, so that has stunk, but I'm on the upswing now!! I got back from Vegas on Friday evening. Went back to Nancy's and slept all nite and 1/2 the day on Saturday. Spent Saturday afternoon and evening w/ Anne and met up w/ Lisa J. for "Mama Mia." Sunday did chruch and lunch w/ the usual peeps and then headed out west to the Mancuso's casa. Here I am. More, in-detail stories to follow, but in the meantime, check out the Vegas Mansion I lived in....

Bedroom

Living Room

Another shot of the living room....

One of the "living statues" in the Venetian...

Inside the Venetian...the gondola ride is behind that blue screen/bar...

Work peeps: l to right: frank, me, faustino, wendy

Good times! More to come soon!!

Overwhelmed...

My office was robbed this am--3 computers stolen--my officemate's and 2 neighbors--one on each side of me. Had to be one of these construction guys. They are analyzing the video now to see if they can pinpoint who dunnit. I hope it's not the cutie-patootie I've been flirting with all week....


Shauna made it to town!!! We had a great time at Rio Grande last nite w/ Susan P., Lisa J., and Michelle. Margaritas, a tour of the new abode and the new shopping center right in downtown Bethesda. Good times. We then ran by Nancy's to pick up my clothes for the stay in the schweet hotel in Crystal City. I slept in a bed last nite....yummy. :) So good to have Shauna here. I miss her more when she's here, I think....

Tonite we are going to buy me new furniture for my new place!!! So exciting!!! Woo hoo!!! We'll probably go eat good sushi or Moby Dick (Shauna's new fave place), too! And maybe a movie!!!

Tomorrow is a big day. Gotta lay out, go for a run, check my mail, and make it to Nancy's party, then drive to the race locale, stay in another hotel, then go to sleep. Big day.

Sunday is our race! "Duck, Duck, Goose!!!" is at it again!!! (That's my and Shauna's team name--I do the swim, bike and Shauna does the run). So fun. And miserable. All at the same time.

TGIF!!!

Lots to tell...

It seems like forever since I've been on here. Who knows if you even read anymore (all 3 of you!) Alot has happened since my last post. Namely, moved into DC w/ Nancy, went home for 5 days, moved offices from Farragut North to Gallery Place (Chinatown). It's been a crazy 3 weeks or so.

In the interest of time, here's a quick list of randomness:

-Memorial Day weekend, I moved my stuff into storage and into Nancy's. I've been there for over 3 weeks now. It's LOUD w/ all the sirens and stuff, hard to sleep on the couch---but I'm saving a TON of $$ in commuting costs. I metro everywhere!

-Went home last Sat. thru late Wed. nite. Got to spend Father's Day w/ my Daddy. So fun to see them. It was hot, but good. Spent a ton of time w/ Parker, which was awesome. Took him to Wild River Country for his birthday--he loved it! Cleaned out my storage unit and threw all my stuff away while I was there, too. Cathartic.

-My office moved on Monday. Thursday of last week I was in the office for just a couple of hours--long enough to pack my desk, then spent the afternoon at a funeral. Friday, we all worked from home while the movers did their thing. Monday, we came into the new, sweet offices. LOVE IT. I've already been to Bed, Bath and Beyond twice!

-Friday Tango and I filled out the paperwork for a new place!!! It's a cute, 2 br-1ba apt. in Downtown Bethesda! It's HUGE. Parking will stink, and right now, it stinks like curry--but I've been assurred that will not be the case. Anyway, I LOVE IT!!! We move in (if all goes well) August 16th! It's affordable, cute, and a FABULOUS location! We both love it! Praise the Lord!

-Shauna comes tomorrow for the weekend. Can't wait to see her! We're doing a triathlon on Sunday--we're doing a relay--I'll swim and bike and she'll run. She wanted the t-shirt, so I registered us as a team.

-I completed traffic school (as part of my reduced sentence for reckless driving) and passed the test!! Now I just have to send to the court! Then on with the insurance increase!!!

-I'm buying new furniture for my new place!!! SO EXCITING!!!! Value Cit-ay...here I come!

-I'm moving in w/ my friend Megan and her family for half of July and August (in b/w Nancy's and the new place). I'm VERY excited to get to see Megan everyday! The commute will be brutal, but I've gotten permission to work 3 days from home a week, which will make it tolerable!

-The fire alarm went off at 3:40 am this morning in Nancy's building. We had to evacuate. I've always wondered what I would grab in a fire. I got my phone and my purse. Then Nancy told me to put some pants on. So I did.

Friends.

2 precious friends that I acquired almost exactly a year ago. I wasn't looking for them, but the Lord arranged it perfectly, knowing how much I would come to love and appreciate them. Even need them. They are my "grateful" list for today:

Merideth, me and Megan.

Love them. Mer is an AWESOME cook and does such fun crafty stuff. Also, she gets a very important part of me--the part that needs friendship. Megan is so, so fun. So awesome. Can't even cover all the ways. ALSO--Megan can run like a 6:30 mile. For a lot of miles. Heroes. Both of 'em. I'm blessed.

Love you, too-don't get jealous Amy. Or Heather. The rest of you know who you are. :) Don't make me sing you the girl scout song....(make new friends but keep the old...)

Moving on up....

That's right. I'm moving. To a DE-lux apartment....in the sky...high...high. Well, not exactly in the sky....but it is in DC on the 3rd floor. I'm moving in w/ my friend Nancy (Fancy) who is moving to France-y at the end of June. I'll be moving over this weekend and staying until August the 1st--at which time me, Tango and our new friend Jen will move into the fabulous house we are currently searching for in either Arlington or Bethesda!

It's all on the DL right now...I have not yet given Scott my notice. Things have gotten kind of weird around the homestead, so I'm not telling him until I get my stuff out. I'll still give him a 30 day notice and all, so no worries for you legal eagles.

In the meantime...I'm kind of freaking out for several reasons:

-it all being on the DL causes some stress...have to be all quiet and secretive w/ the boxes.
-I have waaaaay more junk than i thought
-organizing a double move is kind of exhausting

I'm really excited for several reasons, too:

-I cannot WAIT to have a place of my own!! Do you know how long all my stuff has been in storage???
-so fun to look for a house. It's just fun!
-cannot wait to live w/ Tango!!!
-change is good. scary, but good.

Anyay--throw up a prayer for me for all the logistics. And if you are a friend in the metro DC area reading this...please come over Tuesday afternoon and help me pack the moving truck and transport to and fill up the storage unit. Many thanks.

Fun times!

Here are Lisa, me and Anne, pre Lisa's Tres- Dias weekend. This was taken w/ my phone....I love my KRAZR! ;)

Races I want to do this summer....

Bath County: http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=936

General Smallwood: http://www.setupevents.com/?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=948

Annapolis: http://www.tricolumbia.org/Annapolis/race_info.php#race_courses

Osprey: http://www.mdcoastalbays.org/osprey/info.php

We'll see how many actually happen!! :)

Remiss....

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Although, seeing as how there are RARELY any comments...I can't say I'm encouraged to continue posting! (eye rolll, deep sigh)

Let's see if I can give you a quick run down of the last 2 weeks:

Thursday, May 1--I took Loverman to her Tres Dias weekend "send off". I worked a half day and we spent much of the afternoon together preparing for her weekend. It was a pretty sweet time together. You don't get enough fun, surprise weekends in life, so it was a great time being part of hers! Sad--found out Chris is moving to FL. :(

Friday, May 2--I woke up not feeling well, went to work, felt worse. By 11am I was home throwing up/sleeping all day/nite. Crazy, awful virus.

Saturday, May 3--went out to Reston to visit my precious friends Megan and Merideth. Went to a soccer game and had a great cook-out w/ a bunch of kids!

Sunday, May 4--went to pick Lisa up from her retreat. Got a reckless driving ticket. :(

Monday-BSF
Tuesday-Went to see "Baby Mama" w/ Anne. Soooo funny.
Wednesday--Happy Birthday, Mer!!! Tango got a job contract...we're gonna get a new place! WAHOOOOO!!!!
Thursday--??
Friday--pizza party at work, swam w/ Tango
Saturday--ran in the Make a Wish 5k with Jill, Tango and Christy Stauffer in honor of Amy Boyle (6th grader from my church who is dying from a brain tumor). Very cool--from "The Bachelor", that guy Andy was at the race! I stood right next to him! Sat. nite had Chris's going away party---fun and sad.
Sunday--church, lots of rain. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

That's pretty much a complete catch-up. It's been a busy but kind of blah couple of weeks. Big week, this week. Shauna comes tomorrow thru Friday. Big group dinner Wed. nite. Taking off Friday to go to the beach. 5k on Saturday morning. Dogsit Thursay thru Sunday (gotta pay my attorney $600 b/c of that reckless driving ticket!!) And it just keeps going and going.....

Couple of fun shots from the race on Saturday...NONE of the Batchelor, unfortunately! :)

Me, Tango, Christy and Jill

Me and Tango...doesn't she look like a cartoon character in that hood???

I've had a renewed interest (due to an interesting convo and a documentary) in Waco, Ruby Ridge, and other cultish activities. There was a really interesting show on this weekend about some group in NM. Random, but true.

Summer is here! Starting up the tri season soon! I'll keep you posted!

Watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s

Fun times...

So I bogarted the professional photographer's pics from the Tune-Up Tri (instead of buying them) to put here...that's why they are so small... But there's no denying they are HIGH-larious.

Apparently, I can't make a straight face. Oh, and it was FREEZING....

Tango, Jill and me running

Still running....

On the bike...

Worn out...

So all this rain isn't helping my mood any...but I've been so sleepy for like 4 days now I can barely walk straight! I have been on a no-sleep jag for several days now, and it's catching up with me! Last nite I took a xanax and drank a glass of wine (out of a plastic cup) out of sheer desperation! Good news--I slept--bad news, I've been groggy all day. Oh well...the price you pay, right?

Today I'm meeting Vargas (an old Discovery buddy) for happy hour. So excited to see him!

It's finally stopped raining--it got really pretty for a few minutes at lunch today, which was nice. It's been raining/storming for 3 days now.

Work is CRAZY. It's getting busier by the moment. Summer is gonna be PSYCHO!

Trying to plan 2 trips--one home for a visit (probably June)--one other one that I can't discuss here b/c its a surprise. We'll see if either come together!

Blah, blah, blah....

Not much else to say!

Home is where your flowers get planted...

I spent 4 days with Shauna over the weekend and we had a great time. I arrived on Thursday evening and departed Monday afternoon. In between, we ate waaaayyyy too much, ran a 5k, slept in a new, pretty, guest room, planted a zillion flowers, hid from a tornado, swam laps at the pool, visited one dough-daddy, ate some more, planted more flowers, watched Alabama play itself in football, went to church, ate some more and watched a movie. There were other a lot of other activities, too! The visits seem to go way to quickly. And it takes me weeks to get over the sadness of leaving...but it's always worth it to spend time w/ my girl! Thanks for your hospitality, Shauna-belle!

Here are some highlights:

So pretty!!

My fave...

Pre-race...looking tough

At the A-Day game...along w/ 76,000 of our closest Alabama fans!

Leaving the game--new entrance of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

After church in the backyard. Check out my straight hair! Thanks, SB!

In the Starbucks parking lot...no, that's not Shauna's car behind us...I know....