Where's Brokaw?
Goodness. Who put that puggle toss pillow on our bed?
Friday, June 4, 2010
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?
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!!!!
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 $$.
It's nice to have boy clothes in the house!! :) Even if they do hang under antlers. :) Yes, I make my husband hang his antlers in the closet! I'm all about decorating the closets! Plus... we don't have time for a "man cave" just yet, so that's where they live.... for now. I think they like it in there!
I came across a box of stuff from the wedding in my closet. I took it out and had a good time remembering that perfect day, now almost 9 months ago!! Crazy. There's still sand in my wedding shoes. Love that!
Brokaw was kind enough to keep my Fall/Winter wardrobe warm before it went into the giant box for storage.
Meanwhile, Princess helped Michael vaccum in the living room...
I saw a story this week about how marriages where the husband helps out around the house, are stronger. Makes sense! Love that my guy does so much around the house!!
This year, it was more fun than normal because more of my summer clothes actually fit me because I lost weight over the Fall/Winter. Score! :) I helped Michael switch his closet over, too, and convinced him to get rid of some stuff. What is it with guys and holding on to clothes? I have seen friends who have had to intervene for their husbands. I had to do it too. Thankfully, he let some stuff go willingly. I was satisfied with the progress, and the trip to Goodwill!
My new spring/summer closet! It is actually much more organized than it appears here! It's when I look at these pictures of our closets that I know in my heart that we'd never make it in a one bedroom apartment, no matter how much I'd like to do it to save $$.
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!
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mothers' Day
This year was our first married Mother's day. I ran across this photo of our moms from our wedding. Two people could not be more different. We laugh at all of the differences between LaDonna and Cindy. Funny thing, both of them are great to be with. It's been wonderful making a home of our own. Our families have given us plenty of room to get our life started and plenty of encouragement through the bumps.
Next week we're going to see them all. What fun! Looking forward to sharing lots of love and memories with our moms.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Happy Birthday, Eric!
Sunday, we went to brunch at the Gaylord National Convention Center at the National Harbor. (no, nothing to do with Gaylord Focker). We were celebrating Eric's 29th birthday! Happy Birthday to my friend who calls me "the meanest nice person he knows." I think that's a compliment, right?Eric is a great friend because he has done such things for/with me such as enduring me taking pictures of Secret Service bunnies at the White House, kidnapping my friend at the Republican National Convention, lifting my couch with one hand with his super-human-retard strength, babysitting Brokaw (that only happened once, as it usually does with anyone who babysits B-dawg) and picking Michael up from the airport (as in picking him up in giving us a ride and as in literally picking him up and putting him in the car... I'm telling you, super-human-retard-strength comes in handy!)
Thank you, Frugal Girl 911
So, this is the story of how The Frugal Girl saved me from being a major food waster last week.
It was Thursday... I realized I had some mold growing in my shredded mozzarella and some Pizza sauce in the fridge that needed to be eaten, stat.
I thought I would make Thin Crust Pizza again, because I made it about a month ago and it was delicous, see?
The only problem? The recipe calls for the pizza dough to be made ahead and refrigerated, which is usually great, but under my circumstances, not so much. So, Frugal Girl to the rescue! I e-mailed her asking if there was any way I could make the dough and bake it right away. Thankfully, she was Johnny-on-the-spot in getting back to me, told me to add more yeast and let it set for about an hour, and then I was on my merry way.
It was perfect! (Please forgive me for not taking a picture of the final product... we ate it so fast, I forgot!) And, the best part... it led to only one thing being photographed for Food Waste Friday, the old and moldy cheese.
Thank you, Frugal Girl 911!!
It was Thursday... I realized I had some mold growing in my shredded mozzarella and some Pizza sauce in the fridge that needed to be eaten, stat.
I thought I would make Thin Crust Pizza again, because I made it about a month ago and it was delicous, see?
The only problem? The recipe calls for the pizza dough to be made ahead and refrigerated, which is usually great, but under my circumstances, not so much. So, Frugal Girl to the rescue! I e-mailed her asking if there was any way I could make the dough and bake it right away. Thankfully, she was Johnny-on-the-spot in getting back to me, told me to add more yeast and let it set for about an hour, and then I was on my merry way.It was perfect! (Please forgive me for not taking a picture of the final product... we ate it so fast, I forgot!) And, the best part... it led to only one thing being photographed for Food Waste Friday, the old and moldy cheese.Thank you, Frugal Girl 911!!
Pasta From ITALY!
My super awesome co-worker, David Brody, was kind enough to bring me back some Penne Pasta from Italy! I tossed it up with some chicken, asparagus, heavy whipping cream and two tablespoons of pre-made Pesto and... ta-da! You have to do this one. So easy and so tasty!
