My office is suffering from its share of challenges resulting from the economy. As an incentive for hanging in there, our CEO announced earlier this week that we're implementing casual Fridays (jeans and tennis shoes!) and also that everyone gets three extra vacation days this year. While I would have liked a raise, this comes awfully close.
So here I am, sitting at work in my jeans and loving life. The farmers and others reading my blog who can "dress down" on a regular basis may not truly understand how nice this is. I do have lunch with a reporter from USA Today in a few hours, but I brought pants to change into. There's no way I was passing this up!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The state of...something
Here are my thoughts from tonight’s State of the Union, or whatever it was:
- Michelle Obama looked awesome. She has great arms and I loved the shade of purple she was wearing. (It's the color I thought she would wear to the Inaugural Balls...good to know I was just "off" by a few weeks.)
- Nancy Pelosi looked horrible and she couldn’t sit still—always fiddling with something. If I was doing that, my grandma would have told me it looked like I had ants in my pants. (And dad would have told me not to look smug, which Pelosi also did.) The first thing you should learn when on TV is not to fidget. Every millimeter of movement counts. Someone needs to get that woman a good consultant.
- So much for today’s Congress not wanting to pass along this gazillion-dollar deficit to the next generation. I’m the next generation and I’m going to end up paying for this mess. Thanks, guys. And I don’t buy this 95%-of-Americans-won’t-pay-more-taxes baloney. That sounds like a “Read my lips: no new taxes” campaign nightmare just waiting to happen. There is no way you're going to get out of this debacle without raising taxes. On everything. (Well, there is a way, but that's not a route that this Congress and this President are going to take.)
- The fact that parents need to raise their children first, then send them to the education system was the smartest thing Obama said all night. I’m tired of the thinking that the educational system needs to provide everything. Amen to that.
- I loved seeing Chad's boss nudge Orrin Hatch when Obama said his name. It was subtle, but I laughed out loud.
- You can’t guilt people in to giving away money. It’s so cool that the bank CEO gave away $60 million, and good for him, but that shouldn’t be a requirement. I pay the government taxes and that's not an option for me, but they don't need to dictate who else I give money to, or how much I "should" be giving.
- I spent the entire hour completely uninspired. It was totally forgettable. The Republican response was equally awful. Bobby Jindal sounded like a car salesman.
Bad dog
Lucy has been very good lately, but she had one of those days yesterday where she just couldn't do anything right.
First, she ate my glasses when we went to the gym. Somehow, we both missed them while we were picking up the living room. An hour later, the case was in pieces all over the place and the glasses themselves were sitting on her bed. I popped the lenses back in and they're only slightly crooked, but I still need a new pair. Both sets of ears have been gnawed on. Not very professional!
Then, while I was getting ready for work, she unrolled the toilet paper from the main floor bathroom. I found her carrying around a huge ball of the tissue paper that you stuff in gift bags.
The final straw--or should I say, stick--came when I got home from work to find that Lucy had obliterated the wooden basket where her toys are kept. About a third of it was scattered in pieces around the living room. She sat quite patiently while I took a picture to document this:
On one hand, I was incredibly ticked off. On the other hand, I'm sympathetic. I've had one of those days where you just can't do anything right. Sometimes, instead of getting mad, I'd just prefer that people give me a break. So that's what I did...after a few "no's" and "bad dog's".
This morning, she was better. (And the basket remnants have been relocated to a room where she does not spend her days.)
First, she ate my glasses when we went to the gym. Somehow, we both missed them while we were picking up the living room. An hour later, the case was in pieces all over the place and the glasses themselves were sitting on her bed. I popped the lenses back in and they're only slightly crooked, but I still need a new pair. Both sets of ears have been gnawed on. Not very professional!
Then, while I was getting ready for work, she unrolled the toilet paper from the main floor bathroom. I found her carrying around a huge ball of the tissue paper that you stuff in gift bags.
The final straw--or should I say, stick--came when I got home from work to find that Lucy had obliterated the wooden basket where her toys are kept. About a third of it was scattered in pieces around the living room. She sat quite patiently while I took a picture to document this:
On one hand, I was incredibly ticked off. On the other hand, I'm sympathetic. I've had one of those days where you just can't do anything right. Sometimes, instead of getting mad, I'd just prefer that people give me a break. So that's what I did...after a few "no's" and "bad dog's".
This morning, she was better. (And the basket remnants have been relocated to a room where she does not spend her days.)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Weekend Update
It was a busy weekend around our house. Chad's buddy Kirk was in town for several days, so we mixed in some sightseeing with a few preplanned activities.
On Saturday morning, in my quest to find a mirror to put above a piece of furniture in our living room, we headed to Annapolis. While there, we stopped by Middleton Tavern (because how can you pass by a place that opened in the 1700s?). Chad tried one of their "oyster shooters"--an oyster in a shot glass with some cocktail sauce. Kirk and I both thought it looked disgusting, though neither of us is one for oysters, but were happy that at least one person in our group tried out their specialty. (By the way, we didn't find a mirror, though the guys were nice enough to wander around the art store with me for 20 minutes while I looked.)
Then, even though it wasn't crab season, we headed to Cantler's, a place that's so in-the-middle-of-nowhere we worried we were lost, even though we had two separate sets of directions. Since I'm not one for working for my food, I just got a sandwich, though it was fun to watch Chad and Kirk hammer away for their dinner.
We ended our whirlwind day with bowling to celebrate a friend's birthday. In our first game, I bowled a 126 and Chad got a 119 (a good score for me, a terrible score for him). Within the last month, I have managed to beat Chad at checkers and now at a game of bowling; both were firsts. Not to be outdone, here's what he did the second game...three strikes in a row! Needless to say, I never recovered.
And on Sunday, we compensated for our crazy Saturday with laundry and lots of ironing.
On Saturday morning, in my quest to find a mirror to put above a piece of furniture in our living room, we headed to Annapolis. While there, we stopped by Middleton Tavern (because how can you pass by a place that opened in the 1700s?). Chad tried one of their "oyster shooters"--an oyster in a shot glass with some cocktail sauce. Kirk and I both thought it looked disgusting, though neither of us is one for oysters, but were happy that at least one person in our group tried out their specialty. (By the way, we didn't find a mirror, though the guys were nice enough to wander around the art store with me for 20 minutes while I looked.)
Then, even though it wasn't crab season, we headed to Cantler's, a place that's so in-the-middle-of-nowhere we worried we were lost, even though we had two separate sets of directions. Since I'm not one for working for my food, I just got a sandwich, though it was fun to watch Chad and Kirk hammer away for their dinner.
We ended our whirlwind day with bowling to celebrate a friend's birthday. In our first game, I bowled a 126 and Chad got a 119 (a good score for me, a terrible score for him). Within the last month, I have managed to beat Chad at checkers and now at a game of bowling; both were firsts. Not to be outdone, here's what he did the second game...three strikes in a row! Needless to say, I never recovered.
And on Sunday, we compensated for our crazy Saturday with laundry and lots of ironing.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Lessons about sun
Last week, I went to the doctor for the results of some blood work and found out that I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency. (This explains all sorts of things and it's not a huge deal. By taking a prescription with a near-overdose of these vitamins, I will be perfectly fine.)
I came to find out that all of your body's Vitamin D is produced by exposure to the sun. And by the way, if you use sunscreen, your body cannot process the sun's rays into this vitamin we all need.
Lesson learned: being in the sun (maybe even without sunscreen) is good for you, right? Ha.
Ironically, also last week, my dad had minor surgery to remove skin cancer on his neck. (He is also fine.) But seriously...talk about being damned if you do and damned if you don't!
I came to find out that all of your body's Vitamin D is produced by exposure to the sun. And by the way, if you use sunscreen, your body cannot process the sun's rays into this vitamin we all need.
Lesson learned: being in the sun (maybe even without sunscreen) is good for you, right? Ha.
Ironically, also last week, my dad had minor surgery to remove skin cancer on his neck. (He is also fine.) But seriously...talk about being damned if you do and damned if you don't!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
An interesting Journey
While in Alabama for work, Chad calls from the road.
C: Hi. Want a good laugh?
E: Sure.
C: Google "Dodge Journey." Do you see it?
E: [pause] Yes.
C: It looks like someone took a minivan and squashed it.
E: Yep, looks like a lot like the old Caravan. So what's the point?
C: That's what I'm driving.
For those of us who are intimately familiar with Chad's complete hatred of minivans, this was a special kind of rental car karma. Personally, I think it's cute and maybe a little sporty, but the idea of Chad driving around in this still makes me laugh. If it only had sliding doors, my life would truly be complete.
C: Hi. Want a good laugh?
E: Sure.
C: Google "Dodge Journey." Do you see it?
E: [pause] Yes.C: It looks like someone took a minivan and squashed it.
E: Yep, looks like a lot like the old Caravan. So what's the point?
C: That's what I'm driving.
For those of us who are intimately familiar with Chad's complete hatred of minivans, this was a special kind of rental car karma. Personally, I think it's cute and maybe a little sporty, but the idea of Chad driving around in this still makes me laugh. If it only had sliding doors, my life would truly be complete.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
30 random things
There's something going around on Facebook (a social networking site that I belong to) where you're supposed to list 25 random things about yourself. I hesitated to do this for several weeks until my brother did it and, well...then I felt compelled to join in.
Here were my 25 random things:
1. The most spontaneous thing I have ever done was quit my first job to travel on an event marketing tour for five months. It was the best experience of my life.
2. I moved to DC for two years. Seven years later, I’m still here.
3. I am so fortunate that all of my grandparents are living. I wish I saw them more often.
4. It scares me that I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.
5. I have kept an Excel spreadsheet of our household expenses for the last seven years. Yes, I can tell you how much we spent on gas in 2002 vs. 2006.
6. I would be happy living in the middle of nowhere.
7. If I wasn’t in PR, I would write children’s books.
8. Somehow in the last year, I have accidentally become a dog person.
9. I would rather be interviewed live on television than speak in front of 50 co-workers.
10. I have learned to appreciate good wine, good cheese, and a good pair of running shoes.
11. I wrote my first story in the third grade. (I still have it.)
12. My uncle tried to convince my now-husband to ask me to his prom. He didn’t. Six years later, we started dating.
13. I appreciate good vegetables and fruit more than good meat. I could be a vegetarian and be perfectly happy. [Side note: I think this is because I was so spoiled with good meat as a kid that I really can't appreciate what I get now.]
14. I would rather have a big yard than a big house.
15. My first memory is of going to the dentist with my sister. I was three years old.
16. I don’t ask God for things. I just ask Him to help me figure life out.
17. I am not a morning person but I go to the gym at 5:30 a.m. four days a week.
18. I worry that I will not be able to raise my kids as well as my parents raised us.
19. We eat dinner really late at our house. As in, 9 p.m. most nights.
20. When a long relationship ended after college, I made a specific list of what I was looking for in my next guy. And I married him.
21. The only people who read my blog religiously are my dad and Chad’s grandma.
22. If both of my sisters didn’t live in DC, I would be more open-minded about moving.
23. I was a “surprise” baby.
24. I have never broken a bone, but I did get twenty stitches in my eyebrow two days before my tenth birthday.
25. I spent the summer after high school working at our local newspaper, writing up engagement and wedding announcements, among other things. Therefore, I can type faster than anyone I know.
Believe it or not, most of the comments I received were about #21, from people who said that they, too, read my blog. Who knew I had such a following? For those of you who read both and for which this was redundant, here's an extra five "things". Consider it your cherry-on-top:
26. I taught myself to like tomatoes, coffee and sushi. I am trying to like celery and cucumbers but it isn't working yet.
27. Even though I work in the retail industry, I really don't like to shop, especially for clothes.
28. I am a saver and Chad is a spender. If it were up to him, we'd have no savings. If it were up to me, we'd have no fun.
29. One of my least favorite things to do is flip through channels. If I turn on the TV, it's for a purpose.
30. I love to play practical jokes. Several years ago I spent $12 on a three-year subscription to Parents' magazine just so I could see Chad's face when it came in the mail. (The reaction was so priceless, I'm still laughing.)
Here were my 25 random things:
1. The most spontaneous thing I have ever done was quit my first job to travel on an event marketing tour for five months. It was the best experience of my life.
2. I moved to DC for two years. Seven years later, I’m still here.
3. I am so fortunate that all of my grandparents are living. I wish I saw them more often.
4. It scares me that I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.
5. I have kept an Excel spreadsheet of our household expenses for the last seven years. Yes, I can tell you how much we spent on gas in 2002 vs. 2006.
6. I would be happy living in the middle of nowhere.
7. If I wasn’t in PR, I would write children’s books.
8. Somehow in the last year, I have accidentally become a dog person.
9. I would rather be interviewed live on television than speak in front of 50 co-workers.
10. I have learned to appreciate good wine, good cheese, and a good pair of running shoes.
11. I wrote my first story in the third grade. (I still have it.)
12. My uncle tried to convince my now-husband to ask me to his prom. He didn’t. Six years later, we started dating.
13. I appreciate good vegetables and fruit more than good meat. I could be a vegetarian and be perfectly happy. [Side note: I think this is because I was so spoiled with good meat as a kid that I really can't appreciate what I get now.]
14. I would rather have a big yard than a big house.
15. My first memory is of going to the dentist with my sister. I was three years old.
16. I don’t ask God for things. I just ask Him to help me figure life out.
17. I am not a morning person but I go to the gym at 5:30 a.m. four days a week.
18. I worry that I will not be able to raise my kids as well as my parents raised us.
19. We eat dinner really late at our house. As in, 9 p.m. most nights.
20. When a long relationship ended after college, I made a specific list of what I was looking for in my next guy. And I married him.
21. The only people who read my blog religiously are my dad and Chad’s grandma.
22. If both of my sisters didn’t live in DC, I would be more open-minded about moving.
23. I was a “surprise” baby.
24. I have never broken a bone, but I did get twenty stitches in my eyebrow two days before my tenth birthday.
25. I spent the summer after high school working at our local newspaper, writing up engagement and wedding announcements, among other things. Therefore, I can type faster than anyone I know.
Believe it or not, most of the comments I received were about #21, from people who said that they, too, read my blog. Who knew I had such a following? For those of you who read both and for which this was redundant, here's an extra five "things". Consider it your cherry-on-top:
26. I taught myself to like tomatoes, coffee and sushi. I am trying to like celery and cucumbers but it isn't working yet.
27. Even though I work in the retail industry, I really don't like to shop, especially for clothes.
28. I am a saver and Chad is a spender. If it were up to him, we'd have no savings. If it were up to me, we'd have no fun.
29. One of my least favorite things to do is flip through channels. If I turn on the TV, it's for a purpose.
30. I love to play practical jokes. Several years ago I spent $12 on a three-year subscription to Parents' magazine just so I could see Chad's face when it came in the mail. (The reaction was so priceless, I'm still laughing.)
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