Happy birthday to...

...Barbie! Believe it or not, Barbie is 50 years old today. Crazy, right? (PS: Happy birthday to my mom as well, whose birthday was yesterday. And she's not 50.)

In celebration of this special occasion, here are my top three Barbie memories:

1. Desperately wanting a Peaches & Cream Barbie for Christmas at the age of about six, I just couldn't wait to open my gifts. So on Christmas Eve, Rachel and I each tore open a little corner of our Barbie-shaped boxes from Aunt Rita and Uncle Fred juuuust to see if we were on the right track. (They always sent the best Christmas gifts, so if I was going to get this magnificent present, it would be from them.) I was beyond excited to read the letters "P E" on the top corner and had enough patience to fold the wrapping paper back the way it was and wait until the next morning. On Christmas Day, it was the first thing I opened. Imagine my dismay when it wasn't Peaches & Cream Barbie that I received, but Persian Barbie! Boy, was that depressing. I haven't peeked at a gift since.
   
   
2. In future years, Janice cut the hair off all my Barbies (and Rachel's, too). Perhaps she thought they should have the same boy-cut she did. Or maybe she was just mad that they weren't brunettes. Janice was a perplexing child.
   
   
3. In 2001, I traveled across the U.S. for five months to 20 cities on behalf of America's favorite doll. I've mentioned before that it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life--and it was--but keeping that crazy pink carpet clean in the Barbie bedroom and watching kids like a hawk to ensure they (or their parents) weren't stealing my displays was a lesson in futility. Still, Barbie is responsible for a lot of great memories and even a few good friends. I can't be too bitter.
   

Walk til you drop

Chad left me with Lucy this weekend to go to a friend's bachelor party in Las Vegas. He picked a bad weekend to be gone: the weather here was beautiful! I've been a little productive over the last few days, but mostly the hours have involved sleep, exercise and being outdoors. I haven't turned on the TV once.

Yesterday, we drove out to Manassas Battlefield Park with a friend and went on a five-mile hike. (Ok, actually it was more like a walk in the woods but I feel like I can call it a hike. It's not like it was paved.) There weren't many people on the trails and it was fun to brush up on my Civil War history again. I would love to head back there in a few months when there are leaves on the trees.

In the afternoon, I took a nap, then we went to the dog park. After running a few errands last night, Janice and Nick stopped by...and brought me ice cream. Hooray!

This afternoon, we walked down to Shirlington--in a t-shirt and shorts!--and went to another dog park. Lucy played in the water with about a dozen other dogs and I enjoyed the feel of sunshine on my skin after all these months of walks while wearing five layers of clothing.

Now we're back and I think I finally wore Lucy out. All this exercise is good for her, but my calves will admit that it's good for me too!

Oh, Oprah...

No matter how hard I try, I just can't get over Oprah. I wasn't happy how she handled the whole Sarah Palin debacle and the farmer's daughter in me is (or should still be) bitter about the mad cow ordeal more than a decade ago. But, darn it, the woman is inspiring. She helps me more than she hurts me, or at least that's what I've come to terms with.

I have taken to reading her magazine again, only because I think it's one of the better women's magazines out there that provides a good perspective about life in general.

Here were five of my favorite things from the latest issue:

• An interview with the author of, "Enough Already! Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You," which digs deeper into how/why some of us just accumulate way more than we need. He says, "A lot of clutter is a lack of acceptance that a moment has passed. Maybe someone has kept all her college English papers because she wanted to be a writer, but she never put in the time and energy to make it happen." (PS: I do have a lot of my college English papers, and I'm okay with that, but I did manage in the last year to get rid of my old college chemistry homework. Remember?)
  
  
• There's this little thing you can put on that vibrates when you need to improve your posture. It's a constant reminder to stand up straight. Mom, please do not buy this for me for my birthday. Or Christmas.
  
  
• This quote, from Nell Merlino's "Stepping Out of Line: Lessons for Women Who Want It Their Way in Life, in Love, and On Broadway": "In bathrooms, boardrooms, buses, bagel shops, and everywhere else, we all need to imagine a little girl following us around, repeating everything we say and everything we do. Think about all the things you want for yourself and your daughters, granddaughters, and girls everywhere--and teach them by living it yourself." (This is what I was trying to say a few weeks ago, but more eloquent.)
  
  
• If you've been working out and haven't noticed much of a difference (note-to-self), it could just be that your body is getting rid of your visceral fat first--what a gross phrase--that builds up on the trunk of your body. The article says this fat produces three times more bad chemicals than the other types of fat and it drains directly into your liver. Again, gross. And a reason to exercise even though you may "look" skinny.
  
  
• No matter how gorgeous a white blouse is, it's not worth $990, even if you consider it a "splurge." That's not a splurge, that's a vacation! The earrings she listed as a "good deal" were gorgeous, but still $350. Just goes to show, I guess, that even an inspiring woman like Oprah remains a little out-of-touch.

Jackpot!

Chad decided to play the Mega Millions lottery on the way home last night. The pot was up to $212 million and, since the odds of winning were lower than the value of the jackpot, he thought it was worth it. He asked which numbers I wanted to play. I said 3, 29, 10, 20, 6, and 4 (our birthdays and anniversary). He also chose a set of numbers--the numbers of his six favorite Chicago sports players of all-time--and bought three random tickets.

The entire way home from work, I thought about what I'd do with all of that money. It was actually a nice break from traffic. We'd pay off the debts of all of our immediate family, ensure that all of our nieces' and nephews' college was paid for, and I'd give the women's homeless shelter where I volunteer money to buy their own building. That's about as far as I got.

The more I thought about it, though, the more doubt crept into my mind on if I really wanted to win. Would I turn down $212 million? No. But it would make life infinitely more complicated. Everyone would want money. It could lead to hard feelings among friends and family. Would I quit my job? Would we move? Yuck...would we have to hire security? Who would give us good advice on what to do with all of this money? I've heard enough stories of lotto winners who blew it that I started to wonder if I even wanted to deal with this.

So when I found out we didn't win, I was a little disappointed and a little relieved. But someone's life out there is about to get very interesting: the winning ticket was sold in New Jersey.

If you can dream it...

I had the most amazing workout this morning! Ran for several miles on the treadmill then tried a new lifting routine that left me sore but feeling great. While I was getting ready for work I was thinking about all the energy I had and how proud of myself I was.

And then I woke up. I hadn't even been to the gym. True story.

As a side note, I did have a good workout--once I finally made it to the Y.

Snow business

We are so lucky to have a good friend who works from home and comes over every afternoon to take Lucy for a walk. She likes the midday break and Lucy loves spending time with her.

While we were at work this afternoon, Cathy came by and took Lucy to meet up with our friend Emily and their yellow lab, Lowell. The two are almost exactly the same age and have a great time playing together. They found a snow-covered baseball diamond and ran around for an hour. Thanks to them, Lucy is tired tonight!

Lucy's friend Lowell

Laying in wait & ready to pounce--a typical Lucy position.
She will sit motionless for hours if she sees something.
Playing
Snowy

sNOw day

4:40 a.m. at the Davis's. Everyone's sleeping.

[scraaape.]

[Lucy barks.]

Ah ha, I think, the snow plow!

And with that, I was awake. I raced out of bed to glance outside, hoping that our expected 6-11 inches had arrived overnight and we'd have a snow day. (If the federal government closes, our offices are closed.) There wasn't much on the ground, but there was hope: it was still snowing.

Down to the computer I went, wondering if there had been an update. There had. The federal government was operating on a two-hour delay and "liberal leave" policies were in effect, neither of which influences us. Welcome to Monday as usual.

So I trudged back to bed for 15 minutes and then the alarm went off for our trip to the gym. The place was empty--and it was still snowing.

Maybe, just maybe, I thought, the federal government has changed its mind. It hadn't.

When we returned, I called Rachel to see if she needed a ride. Since the federal government closed four times the year before she moved to town, Rachel has made it no secret that one of the main reasons she came to DC was for the snow days. Since she's moved here, we haven't had a single one. "This was my one chance," she bemoaned. "We were so close!"

But instead, we're all at work. Except for Chad, who found out about 8 a.m. that his office operates on the strict federal schedule, so he doesn't have to be in until 11:00.