Sew.... what's new?

Did you even know that one of my New Year's Resolutions was to learn to sew? Don't ask me why. I really never set out to be the little Betty Crocker/Donna Reed happy homemaker I appear to be turning into, I swear! I never really learned to sew. I mean, I took a "Home Ec" class in 7th grade and we technically had to sew a pillow from a pattern... but I think I kind of had someone else sew mine for me or something... because I have no recollection of anything to do with sewing. I do remember that the only part of the pillow (which was a cupcake!) that I was supposed to do was to sew up the bottom after putting the stuffing in. And I do remember that I never did it! I held that open part in my hand as I showed my project to my teacher! What a little slacker, right? Haha... so classic Dana. I probably got like a B. So me!

Anyway... I really, really want to learn to sew so I can have fun being creative and you know, creating things. A friend gave me a sewing machine earlier this year, but here we are, June, and I finally busted it out.
This sucker is an antique! It got some serious miles put on it making clothes, drapes, etc. back in the 60s! But.... upon advice I received from the, very well informed I do believe, women at Jo-Ann Fabrics... I ended up buying the equivalent of an Easy-Bake Oven of sewing machines. It's seriously a little, tiny sewing machine for kids! I brought that sucker home over the weekend and threaded it and made my very first sewing project, a coaster! Check it out!
I was so proud!! I have dreams of making lots and lots of stuff, so stay tuned... and Etsy, you better watch out!

Refreshing Change

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Man, were we ready for a three day weekend! Nothing like working for a whole week after being on vacation, right? Doesn't it just drain you?

We fit so much into last weekend. We cleaned our apartment, went to the pool (yeah, baby! hope to be back there this weekend!), went grocery shopping, went back to church for the first time in a month!! (man, was it good to be back with our church family!). It was all around, a great weekend.

We ate steak, too. Yum! Wish I had a pic of that for you!

Some of my favorite things we did this weekend were the productive, creative things!!! For example.... These pictures in our dining room. Okay, so we thought it would be cute for Christmas if we printed out a bunch of Christmas pictures and frame them for the Holiday Season, right?
Yeah.... they were cute, alright? Real cute to have these Christmas pictures hanging on the wall.... until Memorial Day Weekend!!! It's like the yuppy apartment version of having Christmas lights on your trailer in the middle of the summer.

But, alas.... we FINALLY replaced them and man, is it refreshing!!!! Such awesome memories are tied to each of these pictures of us!
We printed out other pictures too and finally hung frames and wall art that we've been meaning to do for months! It's so nice to feel a little more settled in. Feels a lot more like home when there are things hanging on the walls, right?

4th row seat

Last week (was it last week? I can't remember), whenever the President held his little press conference about the oil spill, I had a crazy close seat.

4TH ROW, PEOPLE! I am not usually afraid of being called on because I am usually in the very back row, even in the briefing room. But for some reason, this day, I was suuuuper close. Like I could see the sweat beading on POTUS's forehead close. Most reporters know if they're going to be called on at these things, but there's always the off chance some random news organization will get called on, so I was totally scrambling together questions when I realized I was so close.

I'm glad I didn't get called on because I'm sure I would have looked like Fire Marshal Bill asking the question. I felt like cheerleading tryouts in high school. There was seriously no saliva in my mouth, I was so nervous!

VACATION, BABY!!!

The absolute HIGHLIGHT of May, was, hands down, our vacation!!! We spent an entire week away. Other than the wedding/honeymoon, I have never taken a full week of work off! I know, workaholic, right?

This trip was SO. WORTH. IT. First we road tripped it down to Myrtle Beach, SC to hang out with Michael's family. It was a super long drive, but it was fun. We made it fun. Always helps to have some Poppy Cock :) Then, on the way back to VA from there, we drove up the coast and hung with my mom and Dave for a couple of nights in Nags Head, NC. Love that place, hello!!!

For me, this vacation will go down in history as the week that we...
sat in the sand together...
swam in the pool together...
and rode on the boat together.

These are no small feats for us, people! These are all three things that I hold dear to my heart and feared we wouldn't really ever be able to fully enjoy together!! So... this vacation was OFF THE CHARTS as far as fulfilling and rewarding and relaxing and encouraging!

Major kudos to Michael's "little" brother, Jarred, who literally picked him up and carried him onto the beach for our family pictures, and carried him (nicely) into the pool so we could swim. No matter how strong I get, I won't be able to carry my husband like that, so it means the world to me that his brother did so we could enjoy these special moments together.
We had a blast with Jarred and Crystal and Brody and Grey in Myrtle Beach. They are a rock star family!
Would you look at Greyson???? He is so big and so cute and cuddly!! I loved holding him. Too bad it totally made my ovaries hurt and I do not have time for that right now! :) I think I'm at that age where I should really stop holding babies!
We enjoyed a night out at the Crocodile Rocks dueling piano bar. Those are so fun! You have to go, if you haven't ever been. Those guys are so talented, and it's so entertaining!
It was also so sweet hanging out with Michael's parents - just laughing, and eating, and relaxing, and eating, and watching them bank some quality grandparent time!!
Check out all the Mrs. Ritters!
Then... it was off to Nags Head to see my crazy family... a.k.a party time!!!
Michael encountered his first soft shell crab...
And... conquered it.
My mama liked that! We are a seafood loving family! Glad to welcome this Arkansas boy to the bunch! :)
The next day, we took their boat, "Go With the Flo 2" cruising on the Sound. Dave and I just slid Michael right on the boat, wheelchair and all! It was super liberating for my mother. I totally understand the feeling.
My annual picture of my mom and Dave on the boat:
And, my annual picture of Dave driving the boat. (You can almost hear my mother in the background, "Dave, Dave! Do you see that boat? Dave, Dave, do you see that crabpot?"
Dave made us an awesome dinner, of course. My mom "helped cook," always a sight to see! :)
And I got 47 mosquito bites. Thanks to my hunny for covering me up.
Oh, the joys of vacation! It was an incredible trip, y'all!!!! I so want to go back, RIGHT NOW.

Trouble

Brokaw is generally a very bad dog. But he's stinkin' cute!! And I love him anyway. Even though he's pretty horrible.

Where's Brokaw?
Goodness. Who put that puggle toss pillow on our bed?

The Dreadful Commute!

Grrrrrr. I can't even blog about this without feeling my blood pressure rise! So, the lovely powers at be in Northern Virginia decided in May to start enforcing the most ungodly rule in the world. Interstate 66, which I drive to and from DC, is now HOV only from like 6am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm. So..... I had to start leaving the house like this to get on the road before setting myself up for a $1,000 ticket.
Yes, those are PJs. I would literally leave the house just as I woke up, and shower and get ready in the gym at work. I can't tell you how funny it felt that first day to walk by the women on the treadmill... carrying my bags, etc. while I shuffle in in my PJs. But, I got used to it.
I did get to see some beautiful sunrises!
But... this commute business has GOT TO GO! It's taking me like an hour to drive to work in the morning, and TWO HOURS to drive home! I hope we can move soon!!!!

Changing Seasons

One of the best things about May, in my opinion, is you finally get those flip flop days back! I love the feeling of the sun hitting my skin, don't you? I also love switching out the clothes in my closet. Each year, I'm SOOOO ready to do it. It's like having a reunion with old friends, those summer clothes you haven't seen in months! I personally like summer clothes way more than winter clothes, so this switch is much more fun for me than the other one that comes around October.

This year, it was more fun than normal because more of my summer clothes actually fit me because I lost weight over the Fall/Winter. Score! :) I helped Michael switch his closet over, too, and convinced him to get rid of some stuff. What is it with guys and holding on to clothes? I have seen friends who have had to intervene for their husbands. I had to do it too. Thankfully, he let some stuff go willingly. I was satisfied with the progress, and the trip to Goodwill!
My new spring/summer closet! It is actually much more organized than it appears here! It's when I look at these pictures of our closets that I know in my heart that we'd never make it in a one bedroom apartment, no matter how much I'd like to do it to save $$.
It's nice to have boy clothes in the house!! :) Even if they do hang under antlers. :) Yes, I make my husband hang his antlers in the closet! I'm all about decorating the closets! Plus... we don't have time for a "man cave" just yet, so that's where they live.... for now. I think they like it in there!
I came across a box of stuff from the wedding in my closet. I took it out and had a good time remembering that perfect day, now almost 9 months ago!! Crazy. There's still sand in my wedding shoes. Love that!
Brokaw was kind enough to keep my Fall/Winter wardrobe warm before it went into the giant box for storage.
Meanwhile, Princess helped Michael vaccum in the living room...
I saw a story this week about how marriages where the husband helps out around the house, are stronger. Makes sense! Love that my guy does so much around the house!!

Behind the Scenes of a White House Event

For work, I cover the President's every move. Pretty much. Often this means I'm in the audience at events at the White House. Look for the back of my blonde head on the nightly news!! Haha. I'm pretty sure people are going to start coming up to me from behind, recognizing me. I digress... and I wish! Haha. It's super fun and believe it or not, it actually never gets old being in the same room as the President of the United States. What an incredible job I have. I always take my camera, so I thought I'd give you a little inside scoop on what these press events look like from my point of view.
The TV reporters are usually "going live" on cable news right up until the moment POTUS walks out and starts talking. I'm in the biz, and yet it still amazes me how they can stand so close to eachother, talking about the same thing, and make sense and focus. That's intense!
This is President Obama's water. Someone always brings a glass of water for him out right before he comes to speak and they set it on a table with a napkin. I have never once seen him drink it, though!

This particular press conference was with President Obama, and Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan. He's my favorite world leader I've seen in person so far, mostly because he speaks great english!
And here's a horrible picture of yours truly. In the 47th row, as ususal. Thanks, Becky!

Impromptu Date Night

Not long after that, a cute guy with brown curly hair and blue eyes met me as I came up from the Metro... with flowers! We had a fun date night in Chinatown... where we, of course, found a Texas Barbeque place to eat!! HAHA!

GLAM night!

Hello, folks. Okay, so we are apparently the slackest bloggers alive. Whatever. Life just gets in the way of blogging. Lucky for you, I'm going to catch you up on the month of May super, duper quick.

May 1st.
Well.... first, a confession. I (Dana) and 100% nerd. As if you didn't know that already. Did you know that it has actually been a DREAM (not even stretching the truth here) for me to attend the White House Correspondents Dinner!?!?! For real. Dream. Like I used to watch it live on CSPAN every year.

This year, I was THERE! There were so many celebrities all over the place. Too bad I didn't know who most of them were because celebrities really aren't my thing. People were all over this Kardashian girl, I didn't know who she was, but a few days later, I googled her and found out she is apparently famous for having a big butt!?! There is hope for my fame, yet!

Kidding. But, for real. It was super awesome to be there. I got pictures with a couple of celebs and celebrity media types (who I really care more about). Check it out.

Like I said, the media types are my my cup of tea (or Joe, haha).
Notice how Mika is all jealous that I'm in Joe's arms! Haha. I love me some Morning Joe. I think this is like my 4th picture with them.
I know my mouth is like 75% open here, but I don't even care because I have looked up to Katie Couric (figuratively, I'm happy to report I am eye-to-eye with her and neither one of us was wearing shoes at this point) since I was like 10 years old. She totally reminds me of my hot mama!
My White House press buddy and source of many laughs, Becky, spotted me by my giant fake eyelashes. (Yes, I went there. I mean when else am I going to have a chance to be this glam, right?) Love this girl!
Red Carpet, baby!!!
But... you wanna know what made the whole weekend extra special??? Getting to spend two nights in a nice downtown DC hotel with this guy:

We truly soaked it up!! We spent the night before the White House dinner on a "date night" of our own at an awesome Italian restaurant, then we got ice cream and ate it outside. After the dinner, I met up with M who was out on the town by himself and Sunday, we ate breakfast out, then browsed around Eastern Market where we bought some fresh, local produce and I got a red sundress because I was sweating in my jeans! It was hot that day! Oh, the memories. It was such an incredible weekend!!!