I'm Excited About: The Turkey Trot

The Arlington Turkey Trot is a 5K race that is run on Thanksgiving morning. I've had friends run/walk it before, and this year I decided to do it, too!

A while back I mused about signing up for a half marathon this fall as incentive to get back into shape, but after thinking about it for a while I remembered that I don't enjoy running enough to have to do it that frequently or for that long. I lost a lot of weight in preparation for my brother's wedding in June, and frankly, I can finish toning up if I get myself back onto the program I used then. (Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred)

But I do need another goal, something else to work toward for the next few months. Enter the Turkey Trot.

My plan is to use the training to get back into shape, and also as a way to spend some time hanging out with Henry. The Trot allows for strollers! Henry will be riding along with me for the race, so he'll also be with me for most of my training!

I'm not using any particular program (people have asked about Couch to 5K), just doing my best and dragging some friends along for the ride.

I was hoping to get out to do the course again this weekend (walking quickly), but with the rain it is looking doubtful. Looks like Jillian and I will be workin' it out inside until things clear up around here. That is ok with me, since I really do need to tighten a few areas up before running becomes an option anyway!

I'm Excited About: Sleep

We had a small victory last night - we slept!

We've been trying different things to get Rutledge to sleep peacefully through the night and last night I decided that we would let both dogs stay on the bed in the living room and see how it goes. The big risk was that R tends to be a bit destructive when left uncrated (mostly trash, paper, and occasionally electrical wires), but we were getting desperate.

Frank and I went up to bed and left the hounds snuggled on their bed. No one got up to follow us, no one wandered up to whine at our door, it seemed to be working!

At 2am I woke up to whining. But it wasn't Rutledge, it was Hamilton! He was whining at the back door because he needed to go out. I let both dogs out, picked up the piece of junk mail that R had begun to demolish, and then brought them back in and sent them to the basement. I crated R and had H snuggle into his bed, then went back upstairs and....SLEPT UNTIL MY ALARM WENT OFF AT 7:04AM.

So, it wasn't a total victory as I did have to get up at 2, but I am sure I was back asleep by 2:15 and then slept for nearly 5 more hours.

We know that R still gets into trouble when left unattended, but at least we got some reasonable sleep last night!

I'm Excited About: Moving Again?!

Ok, so I'm actually not excited about moving again but I'm trying to at least not be completely depressed. The owner of the duplex is selling it at the end of our lease and as we're not in a position to make an offer, we're packing up and moving again.

There are good things and less than good things about this news. I'll start with the less than good things and end on the good things!

Less Than Good:

-We're either going to be moving the week of my due date, or one month after the due date. This is less than ideal because I could actually be in labor while we're in transition, OR we could have a 1 month old child during our move. Not ideal, but oh well!

-I'm tired of moving. I enjoy living in a 'home' environment and that takes time and energy to create, while we didn't ever really put our full efforts into our current place I'm not really excited to have to start over entirely somewhere else.

-We're going to be paying more rent and have less storage no matter where we go

-The potential new place doesn't have a fenced yard for the pups, so we're back to taking the dogs out when they have 'business'

-I won't get to 'nest' like I want to because we'll be in transition.

Good Things:

-The realtor who is selling our place is a sweet woman and is working really hard to help us make the transition as easy as possible. She even lobbied to have the owner let us out of our lease a month early so we wouldn't be stuck paying double rent - and so that she can show the house on the market BEFORE the baby comes! (Baby, please don't come more than 14 days early, though you are now welcome to come up to 9 days late)

-We already have a very strong lead on a new home! It is a 2.5 bedroom house that is about the same amount of square footage as our current place, but it is a free standing home - no neighbors through the walls! It is close to church, still in Arlington, an easy commute for me, etc etc.

-The landlord at this potential new place is a wonderful woman and we have it on good authority (our friends have lived there for 1.5 years now) that she is a fantastic landlord and appreciates good tenants. This is a perk that is priceless to me. I'm tired of distant owners, management companies, and corporations that really don't care about you and your family. This would not be the case at the house, quite the opposite really!

-We now have the reason and opportunity to cleanse our lives of more 'things.' You know, the stuff that accumulates because you have room for it and you 'might use it one day for something?' Yeah, we're getting rid of that before the move - if we've moved it 2 times and not used it or even thought about it, we're not moving it again.

-It looks like we'll be getting a dishwasher! new baby+bottles+dishwasher=yay!

-Walking the dogs twice daily will be good for them and for us. And with the potentially reasonable landlord, perhaps some sort of temporary dog-run can be installed over time.

-We're looking at signing a 2 year lease, which means we'd stay put for more than 12 months! Something we have yet to do since we got married. (When we move in March/April we will have been married for 3 years and we'll be settling into our 4th home.)

-I'm hoping that all of my 'nesting' instincts will make the packing, sorting, donating, life-cleansing an efficient process. When it hits, it is strong, so as long as I have somewhere to direct the energy I think I can get a lot accomplished before I'm too big to move around comfortably.

Goodness, what a life!

I hope that I'm not coming off as whiny, we really are trying to take all of this in stride knowing that God knows His plans for us and He won't give us things that we can't handle. It won't be easy, He never promised that, but it is possible and it will work out somehow!

Mostly for now this means that there won't be any more "look at this room" posts because starting this weekend it all starts coming down and getting boxed up. (Even though I did just hang three pictures upstairs, oh well) Just think, next time I have a "look what I did to decorate" post it will likely be a nursery in a new house! Isn't that exciting?!

I'm Excited About: Owls & Apples

I decided to make my own nursery bedding after fruitlessly looking for a set that appealed to me (that was not insanely expensive). So far I've chosen the fabric, purchased the bumper pads, and gone over the pattern for all of the pieces.

I was originally looking for a bright green gingham to be the complimentary fabric, but after scouring three different fabric stores I decided to go a different route. I chose yellow gingham! I even took a picture of it next to the main fabric, but somehow I deleted it just now. Cool.

Since our housing situation is still somewhat up in the air, the only plans we're making for the nursery involve the items that would move with us if we moved. I'll paint the walls back to a neutral/sand color to satisfy both the colors in the nursery and the possibility that we'll be moving again in early 2011.

The owls & apples will be the bumper cover, with the yellow gingham used for the ties. The yellow gingham will be the bed skirt, possibly with a line of owls & apples a couple inches up from the bottom (if I have enough fabric). The curtains will be a combination of the two, as will a throw pillow or two (for me in the rocker, not for the crib). And lastly, I've decided to make a ribbon board with the owls & apples - somewhere to keep all of the cards and things we've been receiving.

I'm Excited About: Baby Stuff

This weekend I'm attending a baby shower for some friends of ours, then on Monday I'm going in for my 2nd trimester screenings appointment and hopefully another sonogram (or at least a doppler).

The baby shower rush that hit me during the last 12-18 months slowed down a few months ago so it has been a while since I've attended one. I'm really looking forward to this shower as it is a different group of people than usual - not that I don't love the 'usual' crowd, I'm just excited to see and meet new friends, too!

Speaking of the 'usual' crowd, I just have to mention that they are some of the coolest and kindest ladies you could ever hope to call your friends. As the news of our pregnancy made the rounds, I got calls, emails, and even cards from many of the women whose babies we've celebrated in this past year and a half. And the advice is priceless! They are all too sweet to offer advice, and they are right there for me with my endless list of questions and concerns.

I'll let you know how the next appointment goes, but don't hold your breath hoping to find out if we're having a boy or a girl - we're waiting for the birth to find out ourselves!

I'm Excited About: 3rd Annual Clothes Swap

The clothes swap is tomorrow! The clothes swap is tomorrow!

There isn't one part of this event that doesn't excite me! I get to hang out with lots of great girls, shop for free clothes in my own home, eat yummy treats, and get rid of some of the 'stuff' in my life. Sounds like a heavenly day to me!

Here is a final plea (and invitation) to scrounge up your 'stuff' and head over to our house tomorrow at 12 noon. Just look at the list of great things about the event! How can anyone say no to that?

And a reminder that even if you can't come for the actual event, or if you can only come for 5 minutes - come anyway and dump your stuff! I'll happily take it to the donation center with everyone else's stuff. (And you can claim the charitable donation for yourself, I only claim the things that are mine, fyi)

I hope to see you tomorrow!

I'm Excited About: Emily!

I'm headed off to Union Station this afternoon to catch a train to Philadelphia to spend the weekend with Emily! I haven't seen her in way too long so I'm very excited to get to spend three whole days with her.

We chose Philly because neither one of us has ever toured the city. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and tell you all about it when I get home on Tuesday!

Have a great weekend!

I'm Excited About: Cleaning

This isn't exciting. I'm excited about cleaning and doing some yard work this weekend.

Frank is traveling to Atlantic City for a bachelor party, so the boys and I are kicking it at the house by ourselves this weekend.

They sleep a lot, therefore it is an excellent opportunity to get some serious laundry and cleaning accomplished. (I feel like this exact scenario has played out before...)

So, I'm excited about cleaning - and I'm sorry that it isn't exciting for anyone else.

Im Excited About: Sharkbear and Dinosaur Geese Edition

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a 20-something girl living in Montana with a stash of hilarious life stories and fair drawing capabilities?

YOU HAVE?!

Well, you're in luck. Tina showed me this website and it is hysterical. Every post is funny, and sometimes they are so funny that I end up crying.

Here is your warning that her language can occasionally be crude, but the story is always funny.

Hyperbole and a Half

Thanks for the laughs, Allie!

I'm Excited About: Buckets

Frank brought home some big buckets today - you know the kind that are great for icing down beers or holding a keg, etc. I have wanted buckets like this for a while now, but it is the kind of thing that I wasn't willing to pay very much for.

Well, my wish came true and we now own 4 big buckets! I even found another use for them this afternoon:


I call it "Puppy in a Bucket"


It didn't last long, though.

I'm Excited About: Top Chef DC

Top Chef is back! And this season is in DC! It is fun to see the landmarks that I pass every day, and figure out which building rooftop the crew is on, and scan the crowds of guests for a familiar face. It is also fun to realize how ridiculous some of the voice overs are; "Mt Vernon, one of America's best known historical sites".... actually, I bet less than 50% of Americans would recognize Mt Vernon for what it is on sight.

I'm having trouble attaching to any particular contestants this season. While there are already a few culinary standouts, no one has shown the kind of personality that has been around in the last couple of seasons. The Las Vegas cast was just too good, I guess.

Perhaps as the season goes on and the bottom of the pack is culled, things may get more interesting. In the mean time, take a moment to remember how many good chefs have come from this metro area - Carla, Spike, Voltagio the elder, not bad for a city that no one calls home. Another side note, Spike is opening his new pizza place in July. It is next door to his "Good Stuff Eatery" on the Hill, and will be called "We the Pizza." If you like his burgers (which I do), give his pizza a shot this summer.

And, good on you DC! A Real World season and a Top Chef season, back to back - what's next? Jersey Shore: Our Nation's Capital? I would pay big money to see Snooki as a Hillturn.

I'm Excited About: The Laundry Fairy

Mom used to tell us "the laundry fairies aren't coming this week" or "the kitchen fairies aren't coming today" when we tried to put off chores...turns out she was on to something. That something being that sometimes laundry and dishes DO take care of themselves!

The laundry fairies visited my house while I was at work yesterday! When I came home from work Frank and I went on a date, and when we got back I was greeted with three loads of clean laundry - without lifting a finger!

I'll count that as a point in the 'win' column for the week!

(Real credit goes to my wonderful husband who is willing to do silly things like laundry to show me how much he loves me!)

I'm Excited About: Home Updates

We have had a couple of updates to our lovely home in the last week or so, and I couldn't be happier with the results!

I found a hutch on CraigsList that matches a lot of the furniture we already have, and the price was perfect! We managed to get a wall shelf in the deal, too, and two small corner shelves!

The real hutch has replaced the bookshelf that I turned into a hutch. While I loved that shelf and it held everything well, it was a little wobbly and the puppies made me nervous every time they ran by a shook the shelf.


I love that it still has the top shelf where I can display some of the more decorative pieces, while keeping other pretty things in the glass cabinet where they won't get as dusty as they were before.


And it has lights under the glass cabinet over middle shelf (with my cook books and set of mixing bowls).


We're still undecided on where the wall shelf will go - a tie between the dining room and kitchen, and I'm starting to think it would work in the living room, too.


And what to do with the little corner shelves. Those may end up getting resold or given to charity, but I'm so happy with the hutch that I don't mind!


Another big win is that I finally recovered our headboard! It is no longer white and black, it is now khaki with navy palm trees. Now I need to get moving on a new duvet and curtains....we'll see how long that takes.

I'm Excited About: Outdoor Sports Edition

I used to play softball on the Mall - it was a nice weekly reminder that I live and work in the immediate vicinity of our Nation's Capital. I loved it, and I've missed it ever since I stopped playing 3 years ago.

Well, great news friends! I'll be back on the Mall in no time!

I've signed up for an Ultimate Frisbee league and I've been told that most of our matches will be on the Mall! I'll be playing for the Federal Reserve's team, thanks to a friend's husband whose team is in need of more girls. I'm pretty excited, both for the chance to play ultimate and for the chance to spend more time on the Mall.

I was also asked to play softball again, also on the Mall! I enjoy being outside so I'm hoping that the softball and ultimate nights will no coincide often - just think, two evenings outside each week! I hope I still have my 'pitching arm,' though I'm more worried about getting a pair cleats broken in for both sports - the Mall can be very dusty and lacking in grip, especially if it has been dry.

I hope I still get the "I live where?!" feeling when I head out there, it is one of the best things about living here.

I'm Excited About: Roller Coaster Edition

Next weekend is graduation weekend, and this Saturday I have enough on my to-do list to fill three Saturdays, so Sunday I'm going to ride some roller coasters!

Saturday is going to be a fun but busy day. There is laundry to do, tires to have fixed, a baby shower to attend, and a ladies brunch and clothes swap after that. I'm looking forward to it, but I know I'm going to be plain worn out at the end of the day. Why would I then head off to a theme park for the day?

Because my friend, Ali and I have been talking about going to Kings Dominion for years now and I'm tired of waiting!

They have something like 15 roller coasters, one of which involves water which might be nice around midday. Their water park section isn't open yet, but that is fine with me because I don't do water parks - the idea of sharing water with that many people makes me cringe. I can get over the occasional log flume or river rapid ride, but the areas where you can see all of the people just sitting in the water....ick!

I think the ride that I'm the most excited about is the new coaster, The Intimidator. That's right, it is named after the great #3 and I can't wait! They also have The Hurler, an old wooden coaster that I'm guessing is the same as the one by the same name at Carrowinds.

So, I'll see you on Monday, no doubt tired and sunburned but also very happy!

I'm Excited About: T-shirt Quilt Update Edition

Here is the long awaited update on the t-shirt quilt I'm making for Frank! I am 98% finished with the front of the quilt - I need to add the border to the top and bottom and then the front is 100% finished and I can move on to adding the back, the filling, and the quilting.

Here are all of the squares laid out on the floor from a few weeks ago. The order changed a bit in the final draft...


And here it is with the navy border and all in one piece!


It is hanging in the basement, please ignore the parts where the lines don't line up quite right. Frank says he doesn't mind, so I'm trying to just let it go.


The theme is mostly Dartmouth with a little Red Sox thrown in for good measure. There are a few other classics in there, too.


We're off to the fabric store today to find a suitable backing. Something soft and warm, but not so stretchy that I end up burning the entire project due to the endless frustration.

I'll update again when it is totally complete - hopefully before the end of May!

I'm Excited About: Weightloss Edition

So, in the last couple weeks something has happened to me. I gained weight. Like, a lot.

I always go through periods of craving sweets and salt, but for some reason it is lasting longer this time and my pants are getting tight. I think it has something to do with the fact that I keep "celebrating" things, and we all know what happens to 'eating well' when we're hanging with friends; burgers, fries, beers, biscuits, birthday cake, baby shower cupcakes, etc.

We're going to the Outer Banks for Memorial Day weekend in 5 weeks and it is my goal to lose the extra poundage I've acquired by then. My plan involves working out regularly (my gym at work finally got a bike, yay!), cut the sweets, decrease bread (that includes fries), and watch added sodium.

I have all of the tools, including good food for lunches at work, now lets see if I can pull (or work) it off!

I'm Excited About: Terra Cotta Warriors, Finally!, Edition

Frank and I are going to National Geographic this evening to see the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit! We've been trying to see this exhibit since December and the day is finally here.

In December we got snowed out. First, they moved our tickets to a Sunday, but the snow was so intense (Snowpocalypse 2k9) that our tickets were later canceled altogether.

After some minor issues with their online ticketing service last month, I ordered 5 sets of tickets for this evening. I eventually got someone on the phone to cancel 4 of the sets and confirm our other set of tickets. I also just heard that we may get flurries tonight. Not cool.

Tonight is also the kick off for our anniversary weekend! As of this coming Monday, Frank and I will have been married for 2 years. That seems impossible! I still feel like our wedding was only a few months ago. Although, I guess when you start ticking off all of the things we've done since March 2008 it starts to make more sense.

Happy anniversary, Frank! Thanks for choosing me!

I'm excited about

Date night! Frank and I are going on a date in Massachusetts, either tonight or tomorrow night and I can't wait! And there is more...

We're making it a double date, taking Frank's parents on a date with us - so they are having date night too! And there is more...

We're going to see The Blind Side which very well may become my favorite movie of 2009, or even make it into my 'favorite movies of all time' list! I love a good sports movie that runs on themes of overcoming circumstance and racial tensions. I'm also a big fan of it being based on a true story. Overcoming the kinds of things that this family did wouldn't be nearly as impactful if it weren't true - anyone can tell a nice story, but these people lived it.

So, there is my 'I'm excited' post for the week - looks like this will become a Friday tradition.

I hope you had a wonderful Turkey Day!

I'm Excited About: A New Tradition Edition

I've decided to start a trend on my blog - since I have it "in case something exciting happens" I'll be dedicating one post each week to something I'm excited about!

So, for my first "I'm excited about..." I'll tell you about a new restaurant I found this week!

Founding Farmers

I had lunch with some other PAC people, and I was totally blown away with the food. The service was not anything to write home about, but the menu certainly was!

Very home-style food and everything was delicious. The cornbread has corn in it and comes with honey butter.....melt in your mouth kind of good!

The restaurant is very focused on being 'green' and sustainable and the atmosphere reflects that. It is a cool combination of industrial and outdoorsy. I loved the entire look!

It is a little pricey, but will be a great place for the occasional fun lunch or after work drinks.