Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Thursday Thoughts About What I Have Been Up To 1. I haven’t blogged in 2 weeks. 2. I started 3 different posts and never finished them. 3. I am trying to get everything organized for our two upcoming trips. 4. I am still trying to track down a Wii. 5. Seriously, I have people in 4 states looking – Ohio, New York, DC and Virginia. 6. I am also now trying to find a non-Wii gift for Van. 7. I am in the middle of finalizing the guest list for the wedding. 8. I find it remarkable the amount of addresses that I didn’t have for so many of my friends and family. 9. It’s also a little sad that people don’t write letters anymore. 10. Although I haven’t accomplished a lot in the blogging world, I have almost finished my Christmas shopping. 11. I did manage to do a little holiday decorating in our apartment. 12. I roasted the most fantastic chicken on Monday night. 13. I won my fantasy football tournament game.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Thursday Thoughts- To Catch Up on My Week 1. I am so ready for the weekend. 2. I'm really starting to feel the rush of the holiday season. 3. Here it is, Thursday night and I am so far behind on my to do list for this week. 4. I did at least complete several of my wedding to-dos in the last couple of days. 5. The ribbon for our favor boxes arrived yesterday. 6. We are now up to three boxes of wedding related materials in my living room. 7. A group of students from my alma mater are visiting DC this week. 9. They stopped at my office for a presentation. 10. Yesterday, the students and all the alum in the area met for dinner in Dupont Circle. 11. We had a great time, food was excellent and it was nice to catch up with everyone. 12. I really appreciated the opportunity to catch up with my college adviser who was supervising the trip. 13. Those types of meetings always remind me of how much DC has really become my home.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

My Thanksgiving Table

I know I'm a bit late, but I really wanted to share my Thanksgiving meal. This was the first year that I was responsible the entire meal. (My mom helped tremendously.) Each dish turned out exactly as planned. There was the Thanksgiving Duck, rice, orange sauce, cranberry jelly, green beans with almonds and baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar butter. I was struggling with matching traditional sides with duck and rice. Of course the beautiful new table setting that Van bought me for my birthday made for an all-around stellar presentation!

Beat Michigan!!!

Here's a little bit of The Best Damn Band in the Land to get you fired up for tomorrow's big game! Let's go Bucks!

You Can't Win All the Time

Just like my Buckeyes, I lost my first game of the season last weekend. My fantasy football team lost after a 9 week winning streak.

I am pretty sure that this is just beginner's luck. I have absolutely no fantasy football or any other fantasy sports competetion experience and didn't know much about the NFL. I probably would have struggled to name 10 players. It just wasn't something that I was very interested in.

Van thought it would be a 'fun' couple activity. Fantasy football wasn't exactly my idea of quality time, but I decided to give it a try. I started the season with the goal of not ending up in last place and was extremely surprised when I kept winning week after week.

Until the last couple of weeks it was pretty smooth sailing. I had managed to recruit a quality group of players and many of them were dependable for more than 20 points per game. Then the injuries started. I lost Sammy Morris and Ronnie Brown for the entire season. Now Larry Johnson is injured.

Thankfully, I have already secured a spot in the play-offs - I'm just hoping the rest of my players can make it that long.

Happy Birthday!

My "little" brother turns 22 today! Happy Birthday Adam!

8 Things

I have been tagged by Wendy to write about certain topics in blocks of 8. So here goes...

8 passions in my life
Van
My Family
My Friends
Baked Goods
Holidays
Chocolate
Shopping
Big 10 Football

8 things to do before I die
Get Married
Go to Italy
Travel to Vietnam
Have Kids (yes, mom, that will be after I'm married)
Learn to Speak Another Language
Own a House With a Yard
Retire
Celebrate My 100th Birthday

8 things I often say
What are you doing?
SSSTTOOOPPP!!!!
That's a Hot Mess
Love you!
Hi!
You know?
I was thinking...
How are you?

8 Books I read recently
Plenty
Digging for America
Southern Cocktails
Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen
Eat, Pray, Love
Simple Stunning Weddings
Julie and Julia
Emily Post's Guide to Wedding Etiquette

8 songs that mean something to me
My Life
Hang on Sloopy
Strong Enough
Kate
Can't Hurry Love
Baby Girl
You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl
Moving On

8 qualities I look for in a friend
Patience
Honesty
Sense of Humor
Compassion
Responsibility
Easy-Going
Forgiving
Joyful

Creepy

I was given orange hot cocoa as a gift and I decided to give it a try tonight with a little marshmallow fluff. I still can't get over the color.

Another Sunny Day on the Metro

About 5:10 I arrived at the Metro station in DC to hear that there were delays on the Blue line. Pretty typical so I was prepared for a slow trip home. What I wasn't prepared for was to be kicked off the train at Arlington Cemetery. Apparently, the Pentagon metro station had been shut down.

Great.

According to the NBC4 article here is what happened:

At about 4:45 p.m., the station was closed because of smoke, according to Metro officials, and trains on both the Blue and Yellow lines were stopped in both directions, causing significant delays.

Metro personnel and the Arlington County Fire Department went to the scene and extinguished the fire, officials said. By 5:10 p.m., trains were sharing a single track between the Pentagon City and Arlington Cemetery stations on the Blue Line and between the Pentagon City and L'Enfant stations on the Yellow Line.The Pentagon station reopened at about 5:30.

The smoke and fire was caused by debris on the track. It was initially reported to be an arcing insulator.

Shuttle buses will ran between the Pentagon City, Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery and L'Enfant Plaza stations during the closure.

Here is what really happened:

I got on a blue line train about 5:15. We headed to Foggy Bottom picked up passengers nothing was said about the stopping at Arlington. The train kept moving and we picked up even more passengers at Rosslyn, again nothing was said.

The train arrives at Arlington and everyone was instructed to exit the train. Around 5:25 pm, I and hundreds of other passengers exited the train. Everyone was shocked. Of all the places to be stranded, Arlington Cemetery isn't high on my list. Arlington isn't exactly a cab mecca.

Finally, the crowd managed to move toward the station exit. The station manager was announcing that shuttles were available. Not super excited about that, but what could anyone do?

I finally made it outside the station and there had to have been almost 1,000 people standing around.

Those wonderful shuttles? Apparently stuck in traffic. Unfortunately, there was no hope of Van getting there quickly with the traffic. Time for Plan C - I called a cab. My estimated wait time - 20 minutes.

About 5 minutes later they announced that the blue-line was single tracking. So I canceled the cab and followed the masses back into the station to wait. The train arrived and everyone crammed in the car. The train left the station and stopped.

Again, we waited. About 10 minutes later the train started moving and we made it to Pentagon Station. Thankfully, it was smooth sailing from there.

My total travel time - 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Things About Fall

I love Fall. I can't wait to start wearing sweaters and watching the leaves change. I love the crisp air, football games and the start of the holiday season.

I picked up apple cider at the gorcery store and spent the night curled up on the couch under a blanket sipping hot apple cider while watching a football game. I don't think that it can get any better than that.

Happy Halloween

This year I am going as BRIDEZILLA.... be very, very afraid.

Another Happy Football Weekend

Ohio State won their game on Saturday!

Thursday Thirteen - Engagement Pictures are Better than School Pictures

Van and I had our engagement photos taken last Sunday and the drama of deciding what to wear reminded me of picture day at school. Here are thirteen ways that engagements pictures are better than school pictures. 1. After three hours of shooting, there has to be at least a couple of good pictures. 2. Walking around downtown Richmond and Belle Island is much better than sitting on a stool in front of some cheesy backdrop. 3. The matching jean skirt and vest combo has been replaced by my Sass & Bide jeans. 4. There wasn't 20 other classmates standing in line waiting for their picture to be taken. 5. I have thoroughly out-grown the akward bang stage. 6. I have also thankfully out-grown teenage acne. 7. I now know the joys of Photoshop. 8. Instead of staring at the beautiful day outside the classroom window, we were outside enjoying it. 9. Having another person in the picture takes the pressure off. 10. I didn't have to worry about messing my clothes up at recess. 11. Let's face it Don is a much cooler photographer than any of the ones who took my school pictures. 12. It is much easier to smile with Van joking, laughing and teasing than in front of random strangers. 13. I am much more comfortable with who I am.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Apartment Craziness

Our landlady sold our apartment and she is expecting to close at the end of Novemember. Amazingly enough she had no understanding of our lease and told the new owners that they only had to give us 30 days notice and we would move out. So last Saturday the new owners called to casually give us 30 days notice.

We very politely informed the new owners that it didn't work that way. The last couple of days have been spent accessing our options, consulting our realtor and lawyer, and negotiating with the new owners. Thankfully, we are lucky enough to have the resources and understanding to have options and to know that we don't have to move unless we want to.

There were many reasons that we signed a 2 year lease on our apartment. The number one reason being that we didn't want to go through the trouble of moving. We especially did not want to move after only seven months in our apartment. Van and I aren't looking for a fight and we certainly don't want to cause ill will with the new owners, but we aren't just going to move for fun. Moving is incredibly expensive and time consuming.

At this point we are still don't no what the outcome will be. I am hoping that we will have some resolution by next week so I will keep you posted.

Sweet

I think that things have finally calmed down at work. I am excited to get back to my normal routine.

The Price of Paper

Van and I have been on the hunt for wedding invitations and it has called into question the alarming cost of all things wedding. There was survey done in 2005 that found the average costs of weddings to be more than $26, 000. I am quite sure that it has increased over the last two years.

Sure there are many things that we are splurging on that are important to the enjoyment of ourselves and our guests. For example, the beautiful reception location, open bar and an amazing photographer. However, there are some items where we both draw the line. (I'll save the story about the DJ who wanted to charge us $1,500 for four hours of music.)

Sure, we are ordering 200 invitations complete with response cards and about 125 additional enclosure cards for the reception in Ohio. But I think it is crazy to spend $1,000 or even $800 on 200 pieces of paper.

It's not like we are being unrealistic. We aren't trying to get all the invitations professionally printed for $100. For the $500 we want to spend, we feel that we should be able to buy really nice invitations.

A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by the little invitation store by my office to inquire about invitations. They quoted my $1,000 to create the invitations that we were looking for. I have spent hours (at least 15 hours) searching online only to come up with several designs we loved that were way outside our budget.

Thankfully, I am persistant and I did, last night, find a couple more options that were in our price range. We will see how they look when we get the samples. I'm hoping that we will be impressed.

I just have to wonder where it will end. If we and other couples like us continue to pay these prices they will continue to increase. Knowing what I am spending, I have to wonder what the average cost of a wedding will be in 20 years? $70,000?

Having a wedding where a couple can celebrate with family and friends shouldn't be a luxury. A nice wedding shouldn't be something that couple has to go thousands of dollars in debt to do.

Home

I made a quick visit home over the weekend. There is nothing like being in Columbus on a Saturday during football season. Everywhere you look people have Ohio State shirts and jerseys on. Even the mall was a sea of scarlet.

Being so inspired, we stopped at the bookstore before dropping Adam off at his dorm. Thanks to our good shopping and Dad's credit card, we all ended up with new OSU shirts.

Money May Not Buy You Happiness, But..

Things that I have learned:

1. Money may not buy you happiness.

2. It sure will buy you a really great pair of jeans.

After many failed attempts at finding the right pair of jeans (you know the ones that make your butt magically smaller and your legs as long as a super model) , I was sent to Denim Bar to seek the wisdom of the jean guru.

I walked in not sure what I was going to find. The salesperson kept bringing me jean after jean. I think that I tried on 15 pairs of jeans and I have to be honest that there were some that were so tight that I couldn't get them on. Each pair that I managed to squeeze into required that I leave the dressing room and get the opinions of everyone on staff. Not as fun as you might think.

Finally, I found them. Sass and Bide's George Dragon Boot Cut in Mid Blue. Let's just say they're magic. Of course, once found I had to have them.

(Please feel free to believe that is my flat stomach in that photo. )

Friday Date Night and One Heck of a Good Weekend

How I love Van and Katie Date Night! We had a blast going to see Van's friend, Dean Fields, perform at the Iota Club. It was definitely a great way to start our weekend.

Dean played all of our old favorites and some new songs. He is thankfully working on a new CD which is good because I think everyone else is tired of me playing the other ones.

Iota is really strict about the no video/photography rules, but I found some video of Dean on YouTube. It's a little tune called Irish Bars off his first CD. Now you can all feel like you were there.

Saturday, Van and I watched our usual football games. Both Ohio State and UVA won so everyone was happy. We celebrated by watching Old School and eating ice cream sundaes. Yummy!

Help! I lost my design

I lost my old design that I loved. Boo Hoo! I located the original design, but when I click on download the link is bad. I am guessing that is why the background images disappeared. If anyone out there has so ideas about how I can get my old design back, please let me know.

BAMN!

I was in New York City last weekend visiting my friend, Sarah, and we happened to walk past BAMN! I was, of course, intrigued.

BAMN! was inspired by the old Automats that were extremely popular the 1930s. Automats are fast food restaurants where the food and drinks are served by inserting coins into vending machines. Automats first became popular in Europe and came to New York in 1912. As drive-thrus and today's fast food restaurants increased in popularity, Automats lost business and began to close. Automats seemed to be a lost art in the U.S. until BAMN! opened in 2006.

A little side note for you Food Network Addicts: BAMN! was featured on the Secret Life Of... Vending Machine episode.

Okay, I had to find this picture online of the place when it
wasn't packed so you could see what it looks like.

BAMN! is busy on a Saturday night.

Grilled Cheese - My Favorite!

Happy Negative One-Year Anniversary to Me

The other day my brother asked what Van and I were doing to celebrate our negative one-year anniversary. I had to laugh because only he would come up with that. He said he wasn't sure what to get us. He knew is wasn't paper, linen, silver or gold. Somehow, all of the etiquette book skiped the negative anniversaries.

On this day next year Van and I will be getting hitched and I can't wait. I hope that this is the first of many wonderful anniversaries.

Thursday Thirteen - Random Thursday Thoughts

Thirteen Random Thursday Thoughts 1. I finally feel like I am catching on all those things that I neglected because I was so busy this summer. 2. I started working out again. 3. I started knitting potholders this week. 4. I have been having a lot of dreams lately. 5. Last night, I dreamt that I kept getting stung by bees on my hand. 6. Dreaming about doughnuts was much more fun. 7. I am going to visit my friend Sarah in NYC tomorrow. 8. We have been in desparate need for a Sarah and Katie weekend. 9. Some how Van talked me into playing fantasy football this year. 10. All I know is that the first 2 rounds I need to pick running backs and I need to get 1 quarterback. 11. Payton Manning outscores every other quarterback in fantasy football by about 200 points. 12. I am really happy that it is Thursday. 13. I finally switched all of my contacts to my new cell phone number.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Dreaming of Doughnuts

Last Sunday, I woke up threw some clothes on and headed out for my usual Sunday Me-Time. I jumped in the car and headed over to Target to pick up some things for the apartment.

I was on a major mission to clean my closet and purge some of my magazines. I actually stuck pretty closely to my list only succumbing to the call of the new Real Simple. Yes, I know I was trying to get rid of some of my magazine collection.

After Target, I ran to Dunkin Doughnuts. I ordered my Iced Vanilla Latte lite and picked up six doughnuts. I returned home and enjoyed my Sunday.

Later that night, Van and I were in the kitchen and he complained about the abundance of junk food. We had 2 containers of ice cream, 1 box of doughnuts, 2 fat witch brownies left, cookies from my dad, candy and all chocolate moose munch from Harry and David.

Van: We have got to get rid of this crap.

Me: I know we have so much.

Van: Well, you were the one who bought the doughnuts this morning.

Me: I only bought the doughnuts because you said you wanted them yesterday.

Van: I never said that.

Me: Don't you remember the conversation we had. You said you wanted the doughnuts and I said we had too much junk food. Then you told me that doughnuts were different because doughnuts were comfort food, not junk food.

Van: Umm...That never happen.

Me: Oh, I think I dreamed that last night. I must have really wanted doughnuts.

Wedding Season

This year's wedding season is finally over. I was able to see my friend Jennifer happily married to Gil last Saturday. The wedding was perfect and Jennifer was the most calm and gracious bride.

I have loved every minuted that I was able to help Jen prepare for her big day and incredibly honored that she allowed me to be involved. I know that she and Gil will have a happy and long-lasting marriage.

I do have to say that this has made my own wedding next August more real.

Thursday Thirteen - Carnivore

Thirteen Things I Ate or Drank at Carnivore 1. Barbecued Chicken 2. Barbecued Turkey 3. Barbecued Lamb 4. Barbecued Beef - This one was exceptional 5. Barbecued Ostrich - Tastes Like a cross between chicken and beef 6. Pork Sausage 7. Beef Sausage 8. Ostrich Meatballs 9. Crocidile - Taste and smells like fish 10. 2 Dawas 11. 1 White Cap Beer 12. Cappacino cake dessert with coconut - Not my favorite 13. A bite of Khara's pinapple pie - Yummy!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Hotel

The Nairobi Hilton were I stayed during the trip was nice. Although, our room was actually a little more Hojo than Hilton. Trust me, I am definitely not complaining.

The room was just a little run down. Everything just looked dingy and there were cracks in the plaster walls. There weren't the typical luxuries I was expecting in the room like hangers, an alarm clock and an iron for our clothes.

Thankfully, there weren't any bugs or other creepy, crawly things so I was a happy camper. There was also good Pub on the lobby level that had chicken fingers and fries just like in the States. I have to say the chicken fingers were exponentially better than the conference food.

I shared my room with one of the other interns, Icilda from Belize. We got along wonderfully and stayed up talking most nights until early in the morning - much to the annoyance of our neighbors.

Here are pictures from Pizza Night in our room-

Icilda

Me

Travel

Van dropped me off at the airport on Sunday, June 24 at around 9 pm. I felt overwhelming lonely as I watched his car pull away. I had never flown anywhere outside the country and was feeling incredibly apprehensive about the whole trip. Everything sounded so good on paper. The longer I was at the airport the longer three weeks became.

I guess I didn't realize that the airport would be pretty much shut down that late at night. All the food stands and stores were closed. The only people there were seated at my gate. There is just something eerie about being at an airport without the hustle of people.

It seemed to take forever to board and take off. I was of course crammed in a middle seat between this older woman who didn't speak English and this heavy-set man whose arm kept slipping off the arm rest. I am not sure how, but thankfully I slept through most of that flight.

I arrived in London after an 8 hour flight with plenty of time on my hands. As I discovered Heathrow has plenty of things to do to occupy a 6 hour layover. I think I visited each of the stores at least twice, had a decent meal, picked up another book, called my mom and read about half of Julie and Julia.

The flight from London to Nairobi passed in the same uneventful manner. I arrived in Nairobi at about 7 am on Tuesday, June 26. Stepping off the plane I was grateful for a safe trip. I found my way down to the baggage claim area and soaked up the scenery. The airport looked just as I imagined shades of green, khaki and brown. It was exactly what I thought an African airport would look. I watched as the airport employee moved the cardboard sign with the Virgin Atlantic logo over to the conveyor belt where we would pick up our luggage.

There was a large window that allowed us to see the bags being lifted one by one onto the back of the conveyor belt by the airport employees. We waited a good 45 minutes for all of the luggage. I don't think that I have ever in my life been so happy to see my luggage or breathed such a huge sigh of relief.

As I exited the airport, I saw a large crowd of people holding names of the passengers they were to transport. Of course there wasn't anyone waiting for me.

Everyone attending our conference was supposed to be picked up by a group called Twiga Tours. The transportation was supposed to be paid for and organized. It really wasn't so organized.

Eventually I found a man holding a Twiga Tours sign and he was able to find the person responsible for my conference. Unfortunately, the car had already left so he had to call another driver. He led me outside to wait for the car. He had to return to the airport to make some more calls so he left me outside standing next to a security guard with a machine gun. If that doesn't make you feel safe, I'm not sure what will.

About 15 minutes later the guy from Twiga returned with a driver to take me to the hotel.

This was my first taste of Kenyan driving. Let's just say that traffic lights are few and far between. People come and go how they please. It is really a test of the nerves. I was very glad to arrive at the hotel in one piece.

I'm Back

I know that it has been a very long time, but I have a good excuse - I promise. I meant to blog while I was in Kenya, but I didn't have as much access to the internet as I thought. So you will have to bear with me as I catch up on all my thoughts and experiences from my trip. It was without a doubt a once in a lifetime experience, one that I will be talking about for years to come. There were so many things that happened to me and my perspective has been forever altered. I honestly never knew how lucky I am. Nothing prepares you for trip like this. So Karibu, welcome to my Kenyan experience.

Anger over Insurance

So I’m leaving for Kenya in five days. I’m trying to take care of all of those pre-trip details like packing, insurance and international calling cards. I dropped off a prescription for anti-malaria pills last Saturday at the Target pharmacy. I told them I would stop by the next day to pick them up. No rush.

Around 3 p.m. I get a phone call. Sorry we can’t fill your prescription without prior approval. So the pharmacy faxed a letter to the doctor telling them to send a note to my insurance explaining why I need the pills and to have the insurance company tell the pharmacy to fill the prescription. Of course, because it is Saturday no one is there. Thankfully, I don’t need to start taking the pills until this Saturday so I’m not too worried.

Monday morning rolls around. I bypass the doctor and call the insurance company.

Me: I received a call from my pharmacy saying that anti-malaria pills wouldn’t be covered.

Customer Service Rep: Why is the medication being prescribed?

Me: Umm, to keep me from getting malaria?

Customer Service Rep: So you don’t have malaria?

Me: No, not presently.

Customer Service Rep: Well, I’m sorry, but we will only cover that medication if it is being used for the treatment of malaria. Any preventative medication is not covered.

We get off the phone. I call the pharmacy. Yes, I can pick up the pills if I am willing to shell out $170. GREAT!

What really bothers me is that this makes no sense. Wouldn’t it be cheaper for the insurance company to pay some portion of the $170 to cover the anti-malaria pills than the actual treatment of malaria? (It’s not like they ever completely cover the cost of a medication.) I mean we aren’t talking about someone getting a cold or something insignificant. Malaria kills between 1 and 3 million people a year and causes disease in about 400 million.

Were someone to be infected, you are talking about doctor’s visits, possibly time in the hospital and medications. We are talking about thousands of dollars in treatment that could be avoided if people were able to have access to preventative medications.

What can I do?

I have to suck it up and spend the money to get the pills.

Burmese Yum!

Last night, I met a friend for dinner at the Mandalay Restaurant and Café in Silver Spring. We had a wonderful time catching up and the food was excellent.

We started off with spring rolls which were scrumptious. Then we tried the
KyetThar ALoo Masala Hin, which had chicken and lightly fried potato in onion-tomato curry with masala spice. I would definitely recommend going at least for the medium heat on this dish.

We also had the sliced pork sautéed with sliced bamboo and onion. Of course we had to have the coconut rice (also highly recommended) and a Blue Moon beer. It was practically a feast.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Thursday night!

To the Person Who Hit My Car

Dear Driver of the SUV or Truck that hit my car,

Yes, that CRUNCH you heard when you backed up was the door of my car.

While, I understand that you must have been in a hurry or didn’t feel like dealing with an insurance claim or the cost of repairing an 18 inch dent, I must say that I wasn’t in the mood to deal with those things either. I would have greatly appreciated the common courtesy of leaving me a note.

What I am sure that you didn’t realize is that I am completely unable to use the front driver’s side door and with the size and location of the dent I am also no longer able to roll down my window. I have to say it was quite amusing when I needed to get the ticket to enter the long-term parking lot at the airport and when I needed to pay the cashier to exit the lot when I returned from my trip.

I understand there is a certain amount of risk parking my car on the street. Yes, I expected some scratches and a ding or two, but I was completely surprised by this. I guess I figured that a big, red car was pretty hard to miss. Lesson Learned.

Sincerely,

Katie

Thursday 13 # 22 - Another Trip

My To Do List 1. Pick up Father's Day gift. 2. Figure out exactly what the Father's Day gift will be. 3. Do Laundry. 4. Pack. 5. Complete online check in for my flight to Ohio tomorrow. 6. Design Bride Bingo boards. 7. Assemble the "Wedding Wish" cards for Jenny's shower. 8. Pick up prizes for shower games. 9. Get gas for my car so I can drive to BWI tomorrow. 10. Make sure that my phone and iPod are charged. 11. Buy batteries for my camera. 12. Watch Little Miss Sunshine so I can return it to Khara. 13. Go to the gym.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Good Friend, Good Wine

What a delightful weekend I had! My friend Sarah came down to visit from NYC and we had a very relaxing few days.

Saturday we walked from my apartment down to King Street, then down to the water, then up Duke Street to Fayette and then back to my apartment. Upon return it was time to hit the pool and cool off. We hung out at the pool for a few hours before we realized we were getting a little too pink and had to go back inside.

We finished our Saturday with a trip to Target and Whole Foods to get dinner supplies. Van was gracious enough to make steaks stuffed with brie and fresh crabmeat and Sarah sautéed veggies. My contribution – well, I picked out the wine.

I picked up a bottle of Francis Coppola’s Diamond Series Claret. The wine was excellent and very reasonably priced. It was a great pairing with the steak.

Sarah and I braved the rain on Sunday for brunch and Bread and Chocolate, one of our old favorites. We warmed up with hot coffee and breakfast pannis. Yum!

Unfortunately, Sarah had to go back, but I can’t wait for our next weekend visit.

One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer

Okay, it was really one Bourbon, one Scotch (single malt) and one really tasty glass of wine. Anyway, I digress. Last night I had an impromptu lesson in the finer points of bourbon and scotch. Here is what I learned:

Bourbon is an American form of whiskey made in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Typically 70 percent corn and the remainder being wheat and/or rye and malted barley, Bourbon is aged for four years.

Barley is always the grain used in Scotch and “single” indicates that all the malts in the bottle came from the same distillery. Most single malt Scotch is aged 10 years.

So what did I think?

Well, the Bourbon was excellent, very smooth and was quite enjoyable, but I liked the Scotch better.

Hey, Cupcake!

Last Sunday was cupcake day. I spent about seven hours making chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and pineapple cupcakes with lemon buttercream. I am a little bias, but they were delicious.

The pineapple cupcakes were a new recipe from a cupcake cookbook I picked up a couple of weeks ago. The pieces of real pineapple made them perfect for the cookout we attended on Monday. The only complaint was that the batter didn’t go very far given my propensity for filling the cups almost to the top.

I find that it is hard to be unhappy when you bite into a cupcake. They are slightly messy and oh so tasty and completely take you back to your childhood.

Priceless

Hepatitis A Vaccine - $80

Yellow Fever Vaccine- $90

Typhoid Fever Vaccine - $65

Tetanus and Diphtheria Vaccine- $40

Office Fee - $30

Going to Africa and not coming home with any of the above - priceless.

Time Of Death

I had a full evening planned. I was going to run to the craft store after work. Pick up some dinner. Have a good night.

I walked from the Metro station to my car parked across the street from my apartment. I thought it was a little weird that the button on my key chain wasn't unlocking my car. Oh well, that is what they have keys for, right?

I unlocked the door and slid into the seat. I put my foot on the brake and the key in the ignition. Silence. I looked around the dash board. Nope, didn't leave the headlights on. Was it the anti theft acting up again? Then I saw it.

The switch for my hazard lights was on. D'oh.

Car Battery Time of Death - 6:37 pm.

Thursday Thirteen # 21 - International Travel

I finally booked my flight to Kenya. This will be the first time I'm travelling to another country. Here are my thoughts. 1. The longest flight I have ever been on was 4 hours from Ohio to LA. 2. I'm pretty much cringing at the thought of two 8 hour flights. 3. My layover is at London's Heathrow Airport. 4. I have always wanted to go to London so I am super excited. 5. We have a six and a half hour layover at Heathrow. 6. I'm investigating a layover tour of London that I read about in a New York Times article. 7. I am just incredibly worried that I will miss my connecting flight. 8. I'm still not sure how I'm getting from the airport in Kenya to the hotel. 9. I'm putting together a reading list for my trip. 10. I am going to get all my vaccines tomorrow. 11. I heard that the Yellow Fever shot hurts. Yuck! 12. I am sure that getting the Yellow Fever vaccine is better than actually getting Yellow Fever. 13. I need to make sure that I get my perscription for the anti-malaria pills tomorrow too.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Meet Jimmy

That's right, Jimmy is my new orchid. Van took the liberty of naming him.

The roses from Trader Joe's bit the dust. We accidentally left the window open one of those days last week when it was almost ninety degrees. I came home and the ends of the leaves were crunchy. I tried reviving it, but it was too far gone.

So while I was in Ohio, Van picked up this little beauty for me. I am hoping that it fairs better than my roses.

To ensure my success, I have been reading up on orchid care. For example, our little Jimmy is a Phalaenopis Orchid. I also learned that the redish color on the ends of the leaves meant that it was getting too much light. Whew - another plant disaster avoided!

Thursday Thirteen 20 - My Cousins

I'm flying back to Ohio tonight for my cousin's wedding this weekend. I thought I would do a Thursday Thirteen about My Cousins. 1. My dad is one of six kids so I have lots of cousins. 2. A quick run down of everyone - Morgan, Jason, Brian, Paige, Keri, Lisa, Erin, Ryan, Me, Megan and Adam. 3. Erin, Ryan and I were all born within six weeks of each other. 4. My brother is the youngest of all of the cousins. 5. Erin is getting married this weekend. 6. My cousin Megan was married last summer. 7. I caught the bouquet at my cousin Keri's wedding. 8. Most of my cousins already have kids. 9. My cousins live in cool places like Seattle, Boston and San Diego. 10. A big family makes for lots of celebrations. 11. Most of my cousins are also in their 30s. 12. My cousin Paige took us to South Beach on Easter Sunday. 13. My Dad is my cousin Jason's Godfather.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Weddings 101

As I have experienced over the years, there is a right way to have a wedding and a wrong way. I have seen everything from beautiful ceremonies and gracious hosts to complete disregard for guests and lack of planning.

I am, admittedly, slightly obsessed with being the perfect hostess. It explains my subscription to Martha Stewart Living, why I have read all 896 pages of Emily Post’s Etiquette and the fact that I will go so far as to monogram chocolate covered strawberries.

On the advice of Van’s sister and to appease my own obsession, I bought Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette even before Van and I were engaged. I have, of course, already read it cover to cover and most of the guidelines have been committed to memory.

Armed with the bible of all etiquette books, Van and I began planning our wedding. Guided by such thorough explanations of decorum for every aspect of the wedding, planning has become a breeze. We know exactly how the bridal party should be seated at the head table, what type of bouquet will match the formality of our wedding and the exact wording of our invitations.

Following proper etiquette doesn’t make your wedding cost more. It simply ensures a pleasant experience for your guests and less stress for the bride and groom. Trust me, I know.

Waiting on the World to Change

I was listening to John Mayer’s song, Waiting on the World to Change, this morning. As I was thinking about it today, I realized that it really summarized where I was in my life.

I feel like I am where I was six months ago and not feeling fulfilled. I have been waiting for things to change. I guess in the back of my head I have always had a back up plan, but I figure eventually things had to change. Maybe I need to change the world. I need to decide what is going to make me feel fulfilled. I need to create a world that I am happy with.

One of my friends is going through the same fight with her boyfriend that she has every three months. She’s just waiting on him to change. I think that it is finally sinking in that she needs to change her relationship. She needs to create the environment where she will be treated the way that she deserves.

So what are you waiting on to change?

Thursday Thirteen # 19 - On My Mind

Here are the 13 things On My Mind. 1. We are going to an outdoor wedding on Saturday and I hope it doesn't rain. 2. I'm also hoping that the traffic isn't bad. 3. I'm worried about my visa letter for Kenya not arriving. 4. I have to remember to make an appoint to get all of my vaccines before the trip. 5. I hope that I will get the rebate for my computer back soon. 6. I can't believe that I will be back in Ohio next week. 7. I have been thinking about all of those people who I need to get back in touch with. 8. My skin has been acting kind of crazy and I think that I must be allergic to something. Possibly my office - just kidding. 9. Everyone has been sick lately and I'm hoping I'm not going to catch their bugs. 10. Thankfully, I survived Van's last head cold without even a sniffle. 11. I have so thoroughly enjoyed the nice weather the last few days. 12. I am very pleased with myself for not killing the small rose plant that I bought for our apartment. It actually has been blooming for the last week and is quite pretty. 13. As I'm thinking about it, that plant was a pretty good use of four dollars. Thank you Trader Joe's!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Another Bad License Photo

My first post from my new laptop! I finally have a have a computer all my own. It is so nice to be able to write this while I’m sitting on my comfy couch watching Van rock on guitar hero. He’s on a quest to get five stars on every song. I’m just happy to make it through the song.

I finally went to the DMV on Friday. It wasn’t nearly as painful as the one in DC. But that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.

I now have my Virginia state license (my third state in 3 years), complete with obnoxiously bad photo. I managed to wear a blue polo that just so happened to be the same shade as the background and the bad lighting made me look like I had rash.

Pretty hot.

I think I have only had one nice photo the entire 8 years I’ve had my license. I know that it is just some sort of rule that no one ever has a nice picture. I even recall reading an article a couple of years ago in one of my magazines about how to take a good driver’s license photo. Apparently, I should have saved it.

Thankfully the only people who see my license these days are the guys checking IDs at the doors of bars. I’m sure that they aren’t really looking at the picture.

Making A Good Impression

A couple of Saturdays ago, I attended the American University’s PRSSA Regional Activity. I spent 2 hours talking to students as part of a networking lunch and a workshop session. I brought my portfolio and offers to help and much to my surprise students are taking me up on it.

Over the last few days, emails started trickling in from students with notes of gratitude and addition questions. While I’m quite excited to get to know these students better, I’m questioning my level of authority.

I have been out of college for almost two years now and I can tell that there is a huge difference in the level of experience that I have versus someone fresh out of college. I know how much that I have grown over the last couple of years. I will and have always been honest with students about the good and the bad of the working world. I always try to keep my experience framed in the context of my experience and remind students that I just one of many professionals.

Proving advice and guidance is always tricky. I would never want to inadvertently steer someone down the wrong path. Is there a Dear Abby for Dear Abbies?

Home Sweet Home

I know that it has been a while since I have blogged, but I’m back. I just returned from four days in Texas working at our annual meeting. I am down right exhausted and my feet still hurt.

I can’t begin to say how nice it is to be home. I tried to really relax yesterday. I slept in until 11 am, watched a little TV, ran some errands, started laundry and went to the grocery. I made a tomato, basil and brown rice salad with a champagne vinaigrette to accompany dinner. I have to say that it tasted great with the lamb that Van made. We both agreed that it was a very summery dish.

Thursday Thirteen #18 - Top 13 Workout Tunes

Here are my top 13 Workout Tunes. 1. Float On - Modest Mouse 2. Welcome Back - Mace 3. Pressure - The Queen Version 4. Fighter - Christina Aguilera 5. Touch the Sky - Kanye West 6. Mo Money - P. Diddy and Notorious BIG 7. Golden - Jill Scott 8. Testify - Common 9. Jesus Walks by Kanye West 10. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynard Skynard 11. Real People - Common 12. Through the Wire - Kanye West 13. Like Toy Soldiers - Eminem

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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DC in Bloom

Thankfully, I was able to leave work last night in time to take a walk around the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. I was rewarded with beautiful weather and beautiful sights.

Blossoms 1

Close Up

The Jefferson Monument

Blossoms 2

Tourist Season

Thursday Thirteen #17 - This Week

Thirteen things that made me happy This Week. 1. I finally started working out again. 2. Khara and Michele are doing bridal boot camp with me. I want to look good in my bridesmaid’s dress this summer. 3. Van and I made the best salad for dinner last night. 4. We went to the grocery last night and bought all kinds of fruits and veggies. 5. I finally did my taxes. 6. I packed a really good lunch today. 7. It didn’t rain yesterday. 8. I have been able to start wearing my cute summer skirts. 9. I found this really delicious peach flavored black tea. 10. I turned in a project at work and got it back without any changes. 11. Everyone I asked to be a bridesmaid said yes. 12. I was asked to help with the American University’s PRSSA Regional Activity. 13. Khara and I ate lunch in the park on Tuesday.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Tea for Two

I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend with my friend Jenny. She was kind enough to make DC one of her spring break destinations.

We had a wonderful time catching up and she brought me all of her wedding hand-me-downs. Lots of magazines and an unused planner and plenty of questions about chairs and linens were left in my care.

Saturday, Jenny surprised me with afternoon tea at the Four Seasons. We relaxed and enjoyed the superb service and delicious food. It gave us an opportunity to toast our friendship and our engagements.

I am so lucky that after all these years, Jenny and I are still sharing these milestones.

Engaged

The elaborate birthday dinner that we had been planning for months turned out to be my proposal dinner. Yeah, I fell for it hook, line and sinker.

My parents flew in for a visit and we spent all day Saturday driving from the airport in Baltimore where I picked them up, back to DC. Then we drove from DC to Old Town where we loaded up both cars and drove to Van’s parent’s house just outside of Richmond.

We did a quick hello and introduced my parents to Van’s parent and then headed to downtown Richmond to check into the hotel and get ready for dinner. By the time we made it to dinner, 30 minutes late, I was ready to cry. I was so exhausted from all of the travel and frustrated that we couldn’t make it to dinner on time that I was barely keeping it together.

Finally, we arrived at 27, this really cute restaurant in downtown Richmond. Everyone was already seated so we joined the group and dinner began. Van had worked with the chef/owner to create the menu for the dinner and the food was amazing. The service was excellent and everything was going well.

After dessert, the waiter brought out champagne for a toast. Van stood up and starting thanking everyone for attending, his family and “his new family” and all of his friends. He said that everyone there had shared in all of the most important moments in his life and that he wanted them to share in his proposal. (Here is where my head started spinning, my hands started shaking and I had to remind myself to breathe.)

He told me how much he loved me and that he couldn’t imagine spending the rest of his life without me. Then he got down on one knee and said, “Katie Eileen Peltier will you marry me?”

I, of course, said yes and we hugged and kissed. Before we sat back down at the table, Van looked around the table and said, “Raise your hand if you knew this wasn’t a birthday dinner it was a proposal dinner.” All 22 people at the table raised their hands, the waiters the people at the bar, everyone knew. As I later found out, everyone had known since January when Van booked the restaurant and no one let it slip. One of the waitresses told me that she had know since we came in for the wine tasting.

I was completely amazed that Van would go through all of that for me. I am still in awe that it really happened.

Thursday Thirteen #16 - This Weekend

Thirteen things that I am looking forward to This Weekend. 1. We are finally going to celebrate Van's birthday. 2. My parents and brother are coming on Saturday. 3. My parents and Van's parents are meeting for the first time. 4. Seeing friends who we haven't seen in a while. 5. Finally wearing my new dress. 6. Finally finding out if Van likes my new dress. 7. Testing out my new make-up. 8. The creme brulee at 27. 9. Paella. 10. Showing my family our new place. 11. Showing my family around Richmond. 12. Seeing Tyler and Kat's new place. 13. Enjoying the fact that I am finally over my sinus infection.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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A Sephora Safari

Last night, Khara and I hit the mall in search of a dress for me to wear to Van’s birthday dinner on Saturday. What started out as a one-stop shop, turned into a full out glamour-fest.

After picking up the perfect dress at J Crew, we decided to visit Sephora to get our make-up done. As I have mentioned before, I am a pretty low-maintenance girl and don’t usually wear make-up. I don’t have that natural ability to pick colors that work so I needed a lot of help.

We tried out the i.d. Bare Escentuals kit. The make up is really natural and doesn’t feel like you caked a ton of powder on your face. The best part is that the kit comes with a DVD in case I get stuck at home. I figured that it was pretty Katie-proof.

After I had my turn, Khara stepped up to the plate. She tested out the tinted i.d. Mineral Veil and I had a chance to pay her back for the lovely pictures she took of me.

Once we finished our Sephora safari, we headed to Macy’s to pick up some new shoes to complete the look. I found a pair of really sexy high heeled shoes. They aren’t the most practical, but boy do they look hot.

I must say I am very proud of us. In one night we managed to create one tastefully sexy look with not a single pleat in sight.

The New Place

I wanted to post some pics of the new place.

The Kitchen and My Fiestaware

The Fireplace

The New Sofa

Guitar Hero 101

Last Friday, Van purchased Guitar Hero as a birthday present for himself. Since then we have been rocking out to Boston and Queen. I even unlocked Sweet Child of Mine yesterday.

For those of you who are new to the game, the object is to use the guitar controller and hit the fret keys that correspond to the notes that your character plays. Sounds easy, right? If you do really well, you can earn star power and if you miss too many notes you get booed off the stage.

I’m not the type who really gets into video games, but this game makes you feel like a rock star. I was bopping my head and dancing around. I even tried to jump in the air and hit the ground in sync with the last power chord of Sweet Child of Mine. I was so into it that I almost broke a sweat.

I know this sounds a little geekish, but we are seriously glad that we had the foresight to pick up the wireless guitar. It makes being a rocker just a little bit easier. We are going to pick up a second guitar so we can have our own band. If only they made one in pink…

Thursday Thirteen #15 - My New Place

Here are my thirteen favorite things about My New Place. 1. The View 2. The Pool 3. The Jacuzzi Tub 4. The Walk-in Closet 5. The glass cabinets so everyone can enjoy my Fiestaware. 6. The Fireplace 7. Having a dishwasher!!! 8. Being literally one block away from the Metro. 9. There is lots of sunlight. 10. Floor to Ceiling Windows 11. There is plenty of counter space for baking. 12. The Brand New Stove 13. The Army Green Bathroon - It adds character.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Free Coffee

All this week, the Borders on L Street is giving away free 12 oz beverages to promote the reopening of their café. Everyday this week I have been there enjoying one of their delicious coffee beverages.

Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this promotion and I hope that it pays off for them. I have saved more than $15 by getting my morning lattes there. My coworker Michele has saved even more. By the time she gets her coffee with soy milk the 12 oz flavored latte costs almost $4. Multiply that by the 5 visits she will make this week and she saved $20.

Were it not for the promotion, I probably wouldn’t have stopped for a coffee given the Starbucks around the corner. I just don’t think about going to Borders when the coffee craving hits, but after this week I will think twice about going to Starbucks.

I have to admit that the Vanilla Skim Latte at Borders is pretty darn good and I actually prefer their iced version over the Starbucks’ one. If you want to check them out, here is the link to the coupon for a free 12 oz beverage. Your taste buds and wallet will thank you!

New Furniture

The move is almost over. I am so happy. Moving has been a true test of patience on both ends. I knew that it would be challenging, but I didn’t realize how hard it would be to combine to different styles and ways of doing things.

Last Saturday, our friends Tyler and Kat stopped by for a visit. We took a break from the move and spent the day with them.

We walked down to Old Town to have lunch at the Flying Fish, a great sushi restaurant. Everything went really well, I didn’t gag once. On the way to lunch we ran into the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

After lunch, we took Tyler and Kat to see the new place. Then we headed to Ikea.

Tyler and Kat were actually in the middle of moving as well so we did some much needed apartment shopping. Van and I ended up buying a sofa and armchair.

We weren’t planning on buying new furniture, but the more we thought about it we realized it was a good idea. Everything we owned was hand-me-down furniture from our parents and friends. We didn’t have anything that matched and it didn’t seem worth investing any more money into the existing couch.

Everything is being delivered on Friday and I am so excited to have real furniture. It is going to be so nice to have people over and have a comfortable place for them to sit. I feel like a real adult. Instead of spending my raise on the chocolate brown Kate Spade bag that I have been dying to have, I bought a beautiful chocolate brown couch.

My Weekend’s Work

I’m exhausted, but I have accomplished a lot of packing. I am the most organized that I have been since I’ve been in DC. I held fast to every organizing rule I knew and pushed aside my pack-rat tendencies.

I took every piece of clothing that didn’t fit or I hadn’t worn in a year to the local thrift store. I tore the pages out of my magazines that I wanted to keep and put them in a three ring binder and recycled the rest. I spent hours shredding old bank statements and receipts. I did five loads of laundry.

Shacking Up

Maybe this is where I should have started. Van and I are moving in together (gasp) and we aren’t married, yet.

I can’t say that my parents are exactly pleased. They understand all of the reasons. We truly enjoy being together. Well, most days. And, there are the financial benefits. I know that my parents appreciate the fact that Van is my family here.

No matter how much they understand, it doesn’t make it any easier for them. To my mom, living together is the same as being married and to me there is a huge difference. My mom doesn’t understand why we don’t have a civil ceremony to make it legit and then have a big wedding when we are ready.

I can’t think of anything worse. I want to get married once and have that ceremony be the wedding that I want with the flowers, music and all my family and friends.

I think that this clash is purely generational. I don’t see why living together is such a taboo topic for people my parent’s age. I don’t feel like I am committing this huge sin by being with the person I love. I know that I am not a bad person. Maybe being out on my own has changed made me more lax religiously. I can’t see God getting all bent out of shape with me moving in with Van a year or so before we are married when there are so many people killing each other every day.

It’s not like I’m moving in with some random guy I met at a bar. Van and I are clearly committed to each other and have every intention of getting married. We have been very open about our plans with both of our parents. Obviously, if he has put up with me for this long he’s got to be a good guy.

I am incredibly close to my parents and it’s not like I am trying to purposely make them unhappy. I am so incredibly lucky to have such a good relationship with my parents.

Thankfully, my parents have mastered the art of agreeing to disagree. Neither one of them is going to let this interfere with my or Van’s relationship with them. My mom even said that she knew both of us would be happier living together. She is looking forward to seeing the new place when my family comes to visit in March.

I know that this is a big step for Van and I. I know that it will at times be challenging and that it will also be great. I can’t wait for us to have the space to spend weekends cooking together. I think we really will be happier.

The Organic Argument

As much as I love to eat organically, I find that it is, at times, difficult to justify the cost.

Logically, it makes sense that the less pesticides farmers use on their crops, the less run into our water supplies and the happier and healthier everyone is. Do we really to add more chemicals into our systems?

I really started becoming serious about eating organically in college. I had gained a lot of weight due to some medication I was taking and I’m sure that the greasy cafeteria food wasn’t helping either. I was definitely way past my freshman 15.

Eating organically made me focus on eating healthier foods. I found that I had replaced the usual Bagel Bites and Hot Pockets with salads and fresh fruit. I dropped a ton of pounds and eventually made it back down to my high school weight.

I never thought twice about splurging on organic food until Van and I were seriously dating. The longer we were together the less I was buying organic, until I stopped all together. It was just a shift in priorities. We were eating more meals together and cutting costs at the grocery meant more money that could be saved or paid on my student loans.

Now that we are looking at moving in together, I was concerned that buying organic would be forever on the back shelf. I was worried that by not developing these practices now that we would ignore the importance of organic food down the line when we have our own family.

So I started looking into the real reasons that we should be eating organically. I needed to find out what was important and what wasn’t. I started researching and I found a wealth of good information.

According to a study at the at the University of California, Davis, certain foods grown organically like berries and corn contain more flavonoids than their traditionally grown counterparts. Flavonoids have been shown to help prevent heart disease and cancer. http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20030306/organic-foods-may-fight-disease

Researchers at Cornell have found that growth hormones like rbGH (commonly found in dairy products) have been linked to breast cancer.
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/factsheet/general/fs45.chemical.cfm

A University of Washington study found that children who ate organic foods had six times less pesticides in their system than children who ate traditionally grown foods. The study shows that eating organic food can reduce the exposure in children from above to below the EPA guidelines.
http://www.horizonorganic.com/health/organicstory/uwstudy.html

If you are worried about the cost of organic foods, like I am, here are two great articles that outline how to eat organically on a budget.
http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-2-67-802-7453-1,00.html
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/organic-products-206/overview/index.htm

Thursday Thirteen # 14 - Candy Bars

Here are my thirteen favorite Candy Bars. 1. Crunch Bars 2. Kit Kats 3. Twix 4. Milky Way Dark 5. 3 Musketeers 6. Reese Sticks 7. Butterfinger 8. Hershey’s S’mores Bars 9. Heath 10. Milky Way 11. Dove Chocolate Bars 12. Willy Wonka Chocolate Bars 13. 100 Grand

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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A Valentine

I have never seen Valentine's Day as a commercial holiday. Maybe it is. I have been forever endeared to Valentine's Day because of my father.

My mom is always the crazy one at Christmas, Easter and pretty much every other holiday. She loves to find ways to surprise us and spoil us rotten. Valentine's Day, however, belongs to my father.

Every year growing up, my dad would leave us presents on the kitchen table before he went to work. We would rush downstairs and open gifts before pouring a bowl of cereal. Without fail there would always be a card, candy and a present.

Then he would send flowers to my mom at work. I thought it was the most romantic thing. I was sure that it was a sign of true love. I longed for the day that I would be grown up so that I would get flowers too. I couldn't imagine anything better.

I think my dad's soft-spoken nature made the flowers that much more meaningful. It seemed like the highest honor to receive flowers from my dad. My dad has never been stingy with his affection. He would always tell us that he loved us and that he was proud of us, but on this day we always knew exactly how much he loved each of us.

A Fat Witch and Better Burger

Hooray for weekends in New York! It thrills me to no end the things that are there. Every time I go I am able to go someplace new or try something that I have never experienced.

Saturday, Sarah, Beth and I went to Chelsea Market, home of the Food Network. Seriously, I was in heaven. We sampled all sorts of great treats like Fat Witch brownies and Aztec hot cocoa. The bakeries there had the most fantastic looking cupcakes. They are definitely something for me to aspire to.

While we were there, we found these great boxes to give the boys for Valentine’s Day. We spent the rest of the day making cookies and brownies to fill the boxes. I was, of course, volunteered to supervise the baking.

When fully assembled, the boxes looked like they came straight from Harry and David. We were so proud of ourselves. I even had the opportunity to practice the signature Martha Stewart bow.

Sunday, Jenny showed me their new apartment and we made a trip to Better Burger before I caught the bus back to DC.

Most of you know my love for all things organic and Better Burger is no exception. All the meat is antibiotic and pesticide free, and mostly organic. They bake their fries, instead of frying them, and use heart healthy olive oil. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. The burger wasn’t greasy at all. If there was one in DC, I would go there all the time.