Beware of the Dog

Duke Dog

Ahhh…heaven! This weekend I went with Mr. President and one of my all time favorite people, Lauren and her boy to our Alma Mater – JMU! Until now I have not been back since my first Alumni weekend in 2007, so it has been quite a while and to say I was excastic about going back would be an understatement. I heart all things JMU and to spend the weekend with my favorites was just icing on the purple and gold cake.

the Quad @ JMU

Mr. President and I woke up very early on Saturday morning, packed, and hit the road for 81. The entire ride there I could hardly contain my excitement. There is something about going back to my college town that just fills me with nostalgia. If you have never been to JMU and you just saw it passing by you would probably wonder what all the hub-bub is all about – as to the naked, un-alumni eye JMU, and particularly Harrisonburg just looks like a rural, be it maybe even a country-like campus with a handful of bars and lots of hills…but oh there is so much more to JMU.

JMU stadium

Now that I live in the “big city” I can truly appreciate how great it was to go to a school in the middle of nowhere. It is just such a joy to be able to run a quick errand and actually be able to park there and finish the errand in under an hour. Aside from that JMU is just gorgeous – such a pretty campus. Even as we were watching the football game you could see the mountains in the background – you certainly don’t get that in the city. It turned out to be such a perfect day for a football game – sunny with no clouds in sight and high of upper 50s…such a treat.

After the game we went back to our hotel and relaxed for a bit – mostly talking about how old we are and reminiscing about the old days when we could day drink, take a quick nap, and rally again for the night. All of us were feeling the beers and chik-fil-a platter (an absolute must for all tailgating, and especially JMU tailgating. )

We “rallied” as much as we could and headed out to a local tavern, Dave’s which was a staple in our college nights out. They have hands down the best steak and cheese pita EVER – I was in heaven! I quickly gobbled down the entire pita and fries, and started in on the leftovers from Laur’s plate.

Lauren and I @ the tailgate

Sunday morning we woke up, checked out of the hotel and went on a walking tour of the campus. It is amazing just how much it has changed since we all graduated. There is a brand new library, a new dining hall, new dorms, a new tunnel connecting campus…it was just amazing how different, yet exactly the same everything looked. It was just such a treat to be there and walk down memory lane with my favorite people.

Ahh…to be a college student again (and have my parents pay my rent, utilities, and dining plan…)

One Holiday at a Time

It is hard to believe it is already November and stores are already decking the halls with Christmas trees, twinkling lights and giant bows. Although I LOVE Christmas, I happen to think that retail stores start decorating far too early. Let’s get through Thanksgiving first, THEN start putting up the Santa’s, garlands and lights! Nordstrom's has the right idea...

This morning in DC, it was a chilly 40 degrees with a frost advisory. I had to pull out my pink moccasin slippers this morning while getting ready for work. On my walk to work I could see my breath….definitely a brisk fall day outside.

On days like this I wish to be…..

Sipping a warm Chai Tea

wearing this

courtesy jcrew

While this is baking in the oven

courtesy of mykitchensnippets

Watching this on TV

All while the outside of my little townhouse looks like this

courtesy of Pottery Barn

don't you just swoon at the stuff in their catalogue - one day my house will look like some of these pages...one day!

Hope you are enjoying your brisk fall day....Happy November!

xoxo

Long time no see….

My first inclination would be to apologize to my followers, but seeing as I only have 2, I figure you all aren’t too heart broken over my absence. I am not sure how one goes about getting “followers” to their blog, but I am going to try my darnest to get to the bottom of this. I think once I know people are actually reading what I write I will be more inclined to regularly post.

It has been a while since I’ve posted and I have a lot to catch you lovelies up on….

1) I am now officially a red head – long story short my attempt to get rid of my highlights resulted in a catastrophe of hair proportions (ie…my hair was jet black until I started welling up and insisted the not nice stylist try again).

notice how my hair blends into the trees?? yea, RED!

After stripping the color from my hair and re-dying it 3 times (I am lucky I still have hair) my hair is red. Now this seems all well in good if I ever actually had red hair before, but nope, brunette (with a few hints of red highlights). Overall it was a tragic experienc, but the auburn color is slowly growing on me


2) I have not one, but TWO stress fractures in my left foot. L So no running or physical activity (no elliptical, bike, etc) for six weeks! Ugh..I can’t even put into words how disheartening the last three weeks have been for me. I just do not know what to do with myself without running. I feel restless and grumpy all too often and am going stir-crazy. Thank goodness I already have 3 weeks down, 3 more to go God willing. Oh and I forgot to mention the lovely BOOT I have been sporting.

photo from http://rickshawdiaries.wordpress.com/
not my feet, but my boot looks just like this - check out this blog - I couldn't have said it better about this ugly, square toed bootie


3) Happy Belated Halloweenie! My Halloween was complete with a visit to a pumpkin patch, a trip to the Night of the Living Zoo here in DC, oh and cheering on the beloved Phillies (mostly my new crush Chase Utley) through way too many baseball games.

Mine & Mr.President's pumpkins

the carved little guys

my Audrey Hepburn impersonation

my crush

That about wraps up what is new with me...I am going to try my darnest to post more often and get some of the lovelies who's blogs I read to maybe check mine out as well.

xoxo

“The boat was actually Plan C. The church was Plan B. And Plan A was marrying her a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her.”

Happy Friday!

Since starting this blog of mine I haven’t been very good at posting daily (although my 3 followers probably don’t mind much)! I need to get into a rhythm and post more regularly…that and steal the laptop back from Mr. President for a bit at night to post!

I woke up this morning full of energy and practically skipping to work – no really I was. I had my iPod on the whole metro ride and was tapping my foot and singing along (probably to the unhappiness of my fellow riders). I couldn’t help it…every song that came on made me want to get up and boogie. I even found myself happy to be alone in the elevator so I could do a few dance moves. Really, I stood in the elevator getting jiggy with it…who does that?

I attribute my good mood to.....

1) The weather is gorgeous in DC…have to love a high of 83 in October!

High: 83 Low: 67 Mostly Sunny

2) TGIF! (which for me means I get to leave work an hour early and the office is quiet)

3) The Office Wedding last night!

Now if you know me you know I am not a big Office fan, or well really I have only watched a handful of episodes ever, but when I do watch I am usually laughing my hiney off…that and it has always conflicted with Grey’s. However, last night I have to say I committed the cardinal sin of jumping on the bandwagon and watching the Wedding episode (when Grey’s had a commercial of course)…and I was laughing out loud, when of course I wasn’t tearing up. Yes of course I only really wanted to watch because it was the wedding episode (obsessed much, right?), but I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED the episode! I loved Jim’s rehearsal dinner speech – so precious!

But my favorite part had to be the dance down the aisle! Oh, I swoon!! Now I know Chris Brown is not our favorite person these days for obvious reasons, but I still like the song and I LOVED the precious couple’s YouTube video dancing down the aisle. Seriously, I could watch that on repeat all day and not get tired of it. I LOVE it! The Office version was just as good! So cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0 (clearly I am not yet up on technology and how you upload the youtube video to a post, bare with me!)

I think it is so cute when a couple makes a wedding their own and adds personal touches – whether it be with sweet table centerpieces of places they’ve traveled, or pictures of them etc…or with a great first dance song! I think it makes a wedding to have those little or big touches that show the couples personalities. I just loved the show on TLC, which I think is no longer, Rock the Reception…I am sad it is no more.

Anyways, that is enough gushing for the morning! Here’s hoping the weather is lovely where you are and that you have a wonderful weekend ahead of you!

TGIF!

I hate running

Mr.President's attempt at getting a pic of me crossing the finish line, note I am nowhere in this photo

Seems like a tad bit of a negative way to start this post – but bear with me.

This weekend was a whirlwind and went by in a blink. I had Friday off from work (my work does Flex time so we get every other Friday off – fabulous perk of my job) and spent the day running errands and praying my foot started feeling better. I went for a long run on Wednesday around work (to make a last ditch effort to “train” for the Army 10 Miler) and in the course of the run I felt my foot twist and land a bit funny but didn’t think anything of it until….Thursday morning when it hurt to put pressure on my foot. By Friday morning it was still hurting and I was beginning to seriously doubt my ability to run 10 miles on my bum foot…but I decided I mine as well pick up my race packet just in case…at this point I was hating running.

Saturday morning I woke up and my foot was still aching. I tried stretching, taking some aspirin, putting ice on it (and by ice I mean the bag of frozen strawberries meant for my smoothies!)…but nothing was helping. I consulted with Mr. President (the avid runner) on whether or not I should run even though I already knew the answer….he would say “You will regret it if you don’t run. You never know if you can do it if you don’t at least try. There are going to be people running the race with only one leg”…etc. I decided that after my “pep” talk from Mr. President I would think it over and decide later that day.

So off we went to the Shirlington Oktoberfest to meet up with a bunch of friends. It was an absolutely gorgeous day here – not a cloud in the sky and it was a high of about 76 – perfect day for outdoor drinking. By the time we got there I had convinced myself I was not going to run in the race and would instead indulge in some yummy pumpkin ale instead. We bought our wrist bands and hopped in line. By my third pumpkin ale, which was 9% alcohol I was feeling tipsy, or well tipsy with guilt. I immediately started to feel my guilt and regret bubbling up and decided to hand over my glass and start chugging water. We left the Oktoberfest and headed to dinner where I continued my chugging water and carb loading (giant soft pretzels and pasta please!).

Girls at the Oktoberfest

When we finally got home around 9:30 on Saturday night I was still not sure I was going to be able to run the full 10 miles…but I knew I would be sick with regret if I didn’t at least try.

My alarm went off and I jumped out of bed – feel energized and ready to go. Mr. President did not sign up in time to do the race, so luckily one of my girlfriends was going to run with me. We got up to the start line and immediately I had butterflies in my stomach. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it past the first mile – not only did I have a bum foot, but I didn’t adequately train for the race, and on top of all of that I drank the day before. I was so grateful to have my girlfriend next to me because if she wasn’t there, I might’ve tried to run back the other way and give up.

The thing about the Army Ten Miler is that from the moment you step onto the course you are surrounded by inspiration whether it be the announcer yelling HOOAH! every five minutes, or the t-shirts with sweet pictures of those we lost, or the brave runners battling with one leg…you know that there is no way you could quit.

Once the start gun went off, I was feeling good – my foot hurt a bit, but I was easily distracted by worrying about how fast I was going and making sure I didn’t run into the person in front of me. By mile 5 I was feeling really good and knew I was going to able to finish. At mile 8 is when I started thinking to myself – I don’t hate running…not at all actually. I loved every moment of that race. I loved the adrenaline rush and seeing all the spectators out there so early in the morning cheering us on…and that is when it hit me. I don’t hate running at all, I love running. Hearing all the spectators yell “Go Runners! You got in Runners! Only 2 more miles to go!” was when it finally clicked for me. The reason I have “hated” running so much is that I never really thought of myself as a runner. I was always just struggling to get through the run and be done…I have never thought of myself as a runner until that moment hearing the word runners being yelled. I am a runner and I am enjoying this run!

After crossing the finish line the first thought that popped into my head (aside from where in the world are those bagels and bananas everyone keeps talking about) was I am going to need to go find that boy of mine and give him a big hug and thank him for pushing me to do this race. When I was doubting myself he was there to encourage me and push me. I am so thankful I had him to push me and remind me why I signed up for the race in the first place. I end up finishing the 10 miles in an 1:23 with an 8:23 mile pace.

Moral of the story – I don’t hate running, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all!

Bouquet of Freshly Sharpened Pencils

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." – You’ve Got Mail

One of my ultimate favorite lines (and movies for that matter). Something about that movie – maybe it is the adorable Tom Hanks, or the chemistry between Meg Ryan and him, or maybe it is that it takes place in my favorite city during fall…whatever it is, I LOVE that movie. It doesn’t matter how many times I have seen the movie, if it is on tv, I am watching it.

Here in DC it has turn a bit crisp – well let me rephrase that – today’s high is 66. On my way to work this morning I couldn't help but notice that two people on the metro next to me had scarfs on…now I am not talking the lightweight uber trendy scarves, but rather the WOOL (winter, snow storm type) of scarf. Just when I started hearing the lyrics to Paula Abdul’s song, Rush Rush (you know you loved that song in the 80s – Rush Rush, Hurry Hurry lover come to me. Rush Rush) I saw out of the corner of my eye a woman wearing gloves! Leather gloves and a heavy coat! I had to just shake my head. Maybe I am just warm-blooded, but something tells me a high of 66 does not warrant breaking out the scarf and leather gloves.

Today
High: 66 Low: 48
Mostly Cloudy
Wind: WNW at 11 mph Precip.: 20% Humidity: 58%

Maybe I am just bitter that the cold weather is creeping up on us. Don’t get me wrong, I love fall, and chilly weather, sweaters and pumpkin everything, but for some reason this year I find myself wanting to hold on to summer for just a bit longer. I feel like a child who desperately wants to stay up just 10 more minutes, but I just am not ready to let summer go just yet. I can’t even bring myself to shop right now (and if you know me you know that is a feat in itself). Something about buying sweaters, and tights, and long pants right now only to have them hang in my closet just seems depressing. I want to hold on to my cotton sundresses for one more minute. My goal for this weekend is to switch out my closet, switch the summer to the fall clothes. I always find that I hold out on doing this until the very last minute (that and well in DC you never know if it is going to be 50 or 80 degrees). I suppose this weekend I will begrudgingly pull out the sweaters and fold my bright colored sun dresses until next year...now if only Mr.President's stuff wasn't taken over all the space in my closet!

Hope you are enjoying the crisp weather where you are – but hopefully you haven’t pulled out your wool scarf and gloves just yet!

Why are the ponies so fat?

Happy Monday!

Hopefully I have you all scratching your head and waiting with baited breath from the title of my second post. Rest assured, the answer is just moments away....

I spent this past weekend with Mr.President in Chincoteague Island, VA

Mr.President's Aunt and Uncle own a place there and it is only about 3 hours away from us, so we decided to spend one last weekend relishing in summer before saying hello to fall. We left Friday night around 8:30 (and luckily beat all the traffic). We woke up Saturday morning, and despite the forecast of chilly rain showers, it was a beautiful morning - sun shining, warm temperatures, PERFECT! After sleeping in a bit, we got ready and headed off to breakfast (my most favorite meal of the day) at a little place called Bill's.

Mr.President begrudingly standing for a photo-op in front of Bill's

Bill's was just what you would expect from this small town - very rustic, and quaint with waitresses who couldn't be more southern. Once our waitress handed me the menu my eyes lit up - PUMPKIN pancakes were the special. Well I needed no further time to think, I knew those pancakes were going to be in my belly.

Pumpkin Pancakes

After savoring (devouring) these yummy hotcakes, we were off to ride our bikes to the beach. This all sounds fine and dandy until we realized one of the bikes had a flat tire. I of course chock this up to being a simple fix, however Mr. President assures me that it is not such a quick fix when the bike pump is broken.

Mr.President hard at work "fixing" the tire

After about 45 minutes of pumping air into the tire, Mr.President asks if we can switch bikes (since I am lighter and won't be affected by the slightly flat tire apparently). Before we know it we are off. Now I say off...but that once again means there was a wrench in our plan. Mr.President swore - even after my repeated chatter of "are you sure this is the right way?" - that he knew (a) how to get to the beach (b) that in fact we were going the right way. Well, about 45 minutes into our bike ride, it dawns on him that in fact we are not going the right way at all. (clearly I was right to second guess him the 12 times I did). So we got on the phone and called his Aunt and found out we were heading in the exact wrong direction...ugh!

Once we turned around and started peddling the right direction, it set in just how far out of our way we had gone...and let me tell you my bottom certainly felt it. These bikes look lovely and have that rustic beachy feeling to them, but they are not built for long, wrong way trips!

After a not so short ride, we eventually ended up at the beach - which was a bit windy, but lovely nonetheless. It was nice to stick my toes in the sand and enjoy one last taste of summer.

The highlight of the trip though - and why I sincerely recommend you make a trip to Chincoteague were the ponies. They were so pretty and it was just so cool to see them so close.



The only minor draw back is that we were not adequately warned about the terrible, horse fly mosquitos that are all over the island, and we of course had no bug spray to speak of. Luckily we stumpled upon two nice women who were willing to share (which both me and Mr.President's leg's were grateful for).

Overall it was a wonderful ode goodbye to summer - one last view of the ocean, one last wiff of the salt water in the air, and one last dip for my tootsies in the ocean.

Now onto the real reason you read this far...why are the ponies so fat?

"Because the ponies graze on the salty marsh grasses--saltmarsh cordgrass and American beachgrass in particular--they drink much more than other horses and usually appear to be bloated or fat".

And so it begins....

I just created my blog while sitting at my desk cleverly disguising my fretting over my header, font colors, and pictures as actual work (Fridays are supposed to be easy days at the office, right?). I have to tell you I am just brimming with excitement to enter the blogging world. I have been reading along and religiously following so many of your lovely blogs and have officially been inspired. Now that I have started, I am a bit overwhelmed. There is so much to learn about headers, and layouts, and gadgets (I was initially afraid to click on the gadget button - I thought this must be a whole can of worms I am not quite ready for :)...so please bear with me as I struggle to figure out this whole new world of blogging!



I suppose it would only be approriate for me to start by introducing myself to you all...



I live in Washington, DC and work on the hill...no not for a Senator, but for a non-profit interior design association. I am originally from Pennsylvania, so a northern girl (but I swear I have a big heaping dose of southern in me too). I went to school at James Madison University and studied Psychology and Interior Design.



While at JMU I met the love of my life - Mr.President ( a nickname he earned in college when I would tease him for being his Fraternity's president). I met him while studying in the library (sounds nerdy, I know). I was a bit of bookworm in college and could've been found at the library just about any hour of the day, unless of course I was in class. Ms.Goody-too-shoes back then. Mr.President was a frequent library goer as well, but I have a sneaking suspicion he was there to scope out the fraternity/sorority scene more than hitting the books. We have been dating for a little over 4 years and let me tell you what a roller coaster that has been. Don't get me wrong I have adored every moment, but for the last 3 years we have been long distance, him in Philadelphia, me in DC. Over the last 3 years I have grown oh too accustomed to the 3 hour drive up and down 95 - however we survived and I am now thrilled to tell you that he just moved to the district!



Currently Mr.President is temporarily living with me until he finds his own place - so we are stumbling through the obstacles of getting adjusted to living in the same room. It is most certainly a blessing, but does not come without its challenges.



Let's see, what else should I tell you....



I love all things weddings - ALL things bridal! Now rest assured I am not one of those over-zealous girls who is already planning my wedding (I am far to picky and indecisive for that!), but instead have a burning passion for all the gorgeous details of the big day. I would LOVE to plan weddings in the future...my own wedding aside, I just want to plan and me immersed in all the fabulous, small and big details. I find myself lost in wedding blogs and websites for hours on end and wonder where the time went.



My favorite site is Style Me Pretty - the hours I have spent at that website is surely unhealthy.



Aside from weddings my other passion (if we can call it that) is for FOOD! Seriously, I love food! Beyond just enjoying food, I have a hearty appetite to boot. I can (and often do) eat Mr.President under the table. It is a constant joke around my office that if there is food that I not only a) know about it, but b) was most likely first in line to get said food, and c) and am already up getting seconds. I am not exaggerating when I tell you this girl can eat. However, I do not, repeat can not eat one thing in particular - salads. I hate salads There is just nothing about a salad I like - unless it is covered in cheese, bacon bits, fattening salad dressing, and has yummy chicken resembling chicken tenders atop it. I have to force myself to eat a salad, and when I do I assure you I am not enjoying it. I make efforts to eat healthy from time to time, but often end up eating something an hour later because I am not satisfied. If you have any good salad recipes, fabulous dressings etc. to try, please pass them my way. I am trying to keep an open palate....



I am certain I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of an adequate about me post, but I promise to keep posting.



I look forward to continuing to follow all of you through your blogs and hope that I can create even a pinch as interesting of material for you all to follow.



In the meantime, I am off to research templates and headers and gadgets, oh my!