Anniversary Weekend

We are celebrating our second anniversary on Monday. Looking at our pictures, it feels like yesterday but it doesn't seem like yesterday. We had all of our friends and families there, and it's already interesting who is more or less in our lives after those two lives. Who will always be in our lives. Who is less so. Who has broken up and who is or will be married. Those who have children. That snapshot in the front of Dahlgren is just the perfect frozen moment in time, with those we have loved or befriended or just have been thrown in with for one reason or another.

You hear about these moments frozen in time and that moment is frozen. I don't need to relive it to know that it happened, and I don't need to recreate it. A marriage is so much more important than one day, and so are the friends and family we were blessed to share it with.

Ten For Friday

1. Ate an enormous lobster yesterday. Well, about 1/3 of a lobster. Not to mention oysters, raw clams, steamed clams, clam chowder, and lots of other stuff...full thinking about it. But I think that was my first trip ever to Connecticut.

2. Ikea tonight.

3. I am SO looking forward to Target tomorrow!

4. Not to mention Morton's!

5. Missy Reeves is back to Days. Will Matt Ashford be back, too? And will I care? Sigh...

6. It is supposed to be nice and cool (mid 80s!) this weekend. Sad that 83 seems chilly after this summer.

7. I had a big Harvest Cobb salad today. Yum. I needed something healthy. Now I want something sweet...cookie time? Or frappacino?

8. Still love the Delta Spirit album.

9. Vinny the driver was a hoot.

10. Two more hours. Two more hours.

Delta Spirit

Been loving Delta Spirit today...listening to them and some more Frightened Rabbit.

Been a dull week, though I have a roadtrip tomorrow to Connecticut. I'm not even totally sure where I'm going in Connecticut, somewhere near the water I think. Anyway, it is non stop moving after this, every week it seems like. And I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Today is my mommy's birthday. I miss her, and I wish I could be home. She is the kindest person I have ever met and being there always makes me feel better. Oh how I wish I could be home...

Empty

I am SO hungry today. I've been eating nonstop and that included a burger for lunch. I was seriously craving red meat. I need to get out and run it all off after work.

With running comes hunger, but sheesh. I need to better pace myself. I guess I ate light on Sunday, and drank heavy, and that catches up with me.

I will need to do pasta for dinner or something, to fill up...

Weekend Wine Tour

We spent yesterday with Nate and Meg on a Living Social Wine tour. Way TOO much wine, but it was fun. The first stop was Linganore in Maryland. We tried an insane amount of 15 or so wines that left me dehydrated in the steamy 90+ degree weather. Some of the whites were pretty mediocre and the fruit wines, while tasty and sweet, were basically on the level of a Boone's. We split a bottle of the Traminette, a semi-sweet Gewürztraminer. We also brought a bottle of Chambourcin, described as "a rich full-bodied red dinner wine. Overtones of raspberry and oak make this wine perfect for fine dining." It had a smokey, tobacco flavor.

Afterwards we visited Black Ankle, which I thought was as good as any California winery I've visited. We loved the Syrah and picked up a bottle of that. We also purchased and broke open a bottle of the Passeggiata 2008, described as "a light to medium bodied wine, with a translucent ruby color and hints of raspberries and butterscotch on the nose. This wine dances across the palate with notes of vanilla, red fruits and exotic spices." I also loved the Viognier. I do have to say I was tired of wine by the end of the day, though I am very glad we did the tour.

It was a busy crazy hectic weekend but always good to see friends.

DMB in DC

We went to see Dave Matthews last night at Nationals Park. 97 degrees. It was insanely hot and we sweated out most of the beer we drank.

Zac Brown opened up, and they were actually quite good and managed to get the crowd into the spirit of the show. Though we thought it was crazy that he wore a wool hat throughout his performance. Dang. Very patriotic music.

DMB was...okay. They played a lot of their newer stuff which was unrecognizable to us. The crowd got into it toward the end of our time at the concert, when they played Two Step.

This is review of their New York show, but it is pretty accurate. The solo music jaunts seemed indulgent at times, and they went on far, far too long. Steve was right on--drop some of that and play more of what the fans came for.

Here was the set list...we missed Ants Marching but oh well. And oh yeah, how can I forgot about the pot smokers behnd us. All concert long. So nice.

DMB Tonight

Dave Matthew's tonight, and what feels like non-stop social engagements tomorrow. Look for a full update on survival.

Oh yeah, it's 96 degrees. Insane.

Speedwork

One thing about running I'm not crazy about is speedwork. Now I know it's important, but ugh. I do credit it with helping me to meet my time goal for the half, and if I want to beat 1:30 for the Army Ten Miler, I absolutely need to do more of it. We hit the gym tonight, and I did 4.5 miles in 41 minutes, with that first four miles in under 35 minutes. 8:45. I did an 8 mph minute, but rotated between the usual cycle. I do feel good when it's done. It is SO hot out now, and runs last like last night's four miler are just tough. But I do need to do them. I completed my 10K by running home. It's 8:42 pm and it's still 90 degrees out! WTH. I am SO over summer. I was warmed up and easily able to run that last 1.5. But running in 80 or 70 or the wonderful bliss of 60 degree weather just does not compare.

But with all of the drinking ahead the next few days, I needed to burn off those calories!

Old Age

So this is random, but I saw a post that Selena Gomez is turning 18 tomorrow. Her mother is my age; actually, she's about a month or two younger than me. I could be the mother of an 18 year old.

I don't have children. Selena Gomez could conceivably have a child before me, making her 34 year old mother a grandmother. That is frighteningly.

I was always taken aback when I think of how girls from school have teenagers already. I cannot imagine having a teenager, and how much that would have changed my life. Your priorities are so different. I would not have wanted that path. I do give those women credit for being good moms, keeping their babies, and working to have a better life for their families.

God, can you imagine being 34 and having an 18 year old daughter? Just blows me away.

Today

I passed 300 friends on Facebook.

I bought the husband a smoothie. I may miss those little trips to Robeks; they probably think I drink a lot of smoothies. He is currently a fan of Passionfruit. I prefer the blueberry or raspberry flavors.

I am trying to multitask...Miami, ABAW, speaker lists, emails, etc.

I am freaking out about how busy the next few weekends are.

I am trying to figure out a birthday gift for mom.

I am already thinking about trying to survive a 3 mile run. But I am looking forward to making pesto. Fresh basil!

Miami

Trip two in 2010 to Miami: Done. Mission Accomplished. Over and out. Ate at Por Fin.

Reading: The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Beautiful.

And tired. Will catch up tomorrow.

Farm Fresh Food

So I was very proud of my lunch today...fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and heirloom tomatoes from Eastern Market. I jogged there after the gym and picked up some of those ingredients. SO very good. I plan on making some pesto at some point tomorrow, if I have time!

We also finally checked our the Biergarten Haus last night. Pricey, pricey. It was sweltering, humidifying hot, and it was crowded. But it was certainly "the place to be." Glad we finally checked it out, with a real German :-) The outdoor area really is immense, and it was the closest thing I've felt to being in Oxford. I'm sure we will be back.

That Was Then

So I read a lot of blogs, but this particular entry really touched me.

You know, it's been twenty years since junior high, and I think at least once or twice a week I think about those days. Maybe it is seeing everyone on facebook, and seeing their relationships that are so tight after so long, or the fact they have changed or have not changed or whatever. It is amazing at how you lose judgment of some of those people who tortured you on the softball field, or ridiculed you for getting straight As, or excluded you from a pool party even after they "pretended" to be friends with you for a while, at least until the popular crowd came calling. I will never forget the feeling of shame and unhappiness every June when all of the "cool kids" got invited to Julie's pool party, and I was one of a handful left out. The facebook friends even remember that when it was her birthday! I still remember being taunted by parents playing softball, or people calling me ugly and reminding me of the reasons I'd "never have a boyfriend." It is so relentless, and so difficult.

And twenty years later, I have great friends and a great husband and a great job and money and luxuries I didn't have then. And yet a part of it remains. And I described it in my comment as bittersweet, because it is. Those feelings resonate with me so many years later. And I won't justify it as silly, because it wasn't. It was not funny. It was hurtful. And one of my core beliefs is that we are responsible for our own actions, and our own reactions, ultimately. And at 14, you know the meaning of right from wrong, good from bad, hurtful and kind. And you can be brave or be a coward, or you can be generous or be selfish.

I would NEVER go back to being 12 or 13 or 14 again. I know there were kids, like Maria A., who had it so much worse than me. And all of these years later, I worry and wonder how she is. I know there were kids who escaped a lot of it, and who were neither teased not teasers. And I know some who were vicious, and I wouldn't friend them without any kind of apology. Or without one.

I do worry, if I have children and especially a daughter, how I would feel if they received the same level or any level of harassment or teasing. It would break my heart. And it is so easy to tell her you grow up, you move on, you make friends, you meet boys, you become liked and loved and happy and social. But at 12, when being lonely and without friends is one of the worst things imaginable, you can't offer that kind of reassurance because 34 or 24 or 19 are SO far off.

Yes, it does get better. But patience is demanded. I will always regret, with a feeling of bittersweet, not having happier memories from those years. Thank God for my family, because that really is the most important thing. But to a 12 or 13 or 14 year old girl, you still need more, as selfish as it is.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Last week I finished up the Time Traveler's Wife. It was my second straight fiction book, and I really tore through it, thanks to being on vacation. It was romantic, tragic, science fiction, escapist, and just a fantastic read. Henry was the ultimate romantic hero, and his love affair with Clare just was the ultimate bittersweet tale. I almost don't want to see the movie, which received mixed reviews at best, because I don't want it to spoil the book.

It presented interesting philosophical and religious questions concern fate and free will. It echoed Lost, actually. And in the end, there was nothing Henry could do to undo his intended end. Someone in some commentary mentioned how he knew about 9/11 and did nothing to stop that tragedy. That presented both a flaw and a logical continuity in the tale...what happened, happens.

You almost wonder if a sequel with Alba will be written one day to take the tale to its next chapter. If fate can be reversed, or halted. A question that remains to be answered.

Best of 2010 Thus Far

NPR's All Songs considered ranked the top 50 albums of the year, thus far. I am pleased to say I own many of these, or have downloaded tracks from many of these. I've highlighted my picks, in no particular order. Most glaringly missing: Shout Out Louds. Probably my personal #1? The National and Frightened Rabbit. Also am becoming a big fan of Deer Tick's The Black Dirt Sessions.

1. The National: High Violet
2. Mumford and Sons: Sigh No More
3. Spoon: Transference
4. Sleigh Bells: Treats
5. Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
6. Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
7. Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away
8. Frightened Rabbit: The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
9. Surfer Blood: Astro Coast
10. Freelance Whales: Weathervanes
11. Blitzen Trapper: Destroyer Of The Void

Mid-summer

It's already mid-July and that means it's half way to Labor Day, half-way to Memorial Day. The summer is flying by and there are things going on virtually ever week between now and September. Work trips, Texas, visits with friends, hopefully an end of summer trip to see Donna. It has been so hot out that in a way, I'm already ready for Fall. It's hot and humid and uncomfortable. We've had a brief respite the last couple of days with slightly cooler temps because of the storms. But still...stickiness and it's in the 90s nearly every day. Pony tail weather, really.

I love the long nights and I hated the winter storms that kept us cooped up. But I crave days where the high is 80 and it can be in the 70s when I run at night. It's been bearable these last two days, and I know it will only go up.

We had St. Lucia, but in other ways, it hasn't felt like summer. No barbeques or movies. But as much as I want it to hurry, it can slow down. Already slow down.

Too Much to Do Weekends

This was the quickest weekend ever.

Dinner with Beth at Ceiba on Friday.

Gym on Saturday. Then David's Bridal for Julie's bridesmaid dress. Then Pentagon City for lunch, wine, and then to Target and Harris Teeter. Then Supreme Court event. Then out to VA again for Ann's shower. Scary beltway ride home.

Gym on Sunday. Church. FS speech. Then a dullllll World Cup finale, 1-0 Spain over the Dutch in the 117th minute. Then collapsed in a heap at home, but not before two loaves of zucchini bread.

And then flooring guy this morning.

Seriously. I'm tired. I wanted some downtime and got none of it. I wanted to read and nap and catch up on Top Chef. And enjoy somewhat better DC weather.

And now it might rain. And I'm stuffed from cherries at a BLT at Corner Bakery. UGH.

Hope this week frees up some time.

Another Gem

Another gem by Krauthammer. He addresses the NASA mission controversy:

Remember NASA? It once represented to the world the apogee of American scientific and technological achievement. Here is President Obama's vision of NASA's mission, as explained by administrator Charles Bolden:

"One was he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math; he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and math and engineering."

Um, yeah, that is one of the more insipid statements of an Administration hell-bent on de-exceptionalizing America. Because heaven forbid Muslim nations don't feel good about themselves. I guess this means that Obama is our first Gen Y president, doesn't it?

And this:

There was no finer expression of belief in American exceptionalism than Kennedy's. Obama has a different take. As he said last year in France, "I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." Which of course means: If we're all exceptional, no one is.

Far it be from extolling JFK, but he extolled America, praised it and proclaimed that it was a country that was different, special, better. President Obama is Carter-esque in criticizing this country, with his shame more apparent than his honor.

On my Reagan calendar this month, there is this quote: "Some may try and tell us that this is the end of an era. But what they overlook is that in America every day is a new beginning, and every sunset is merely the latest milestone on a voyage never ends." Or this: "We are the showcase of the future. And it is within our power to mold that future--this year and for decades to come. It can be as grand and as great as we make it...No crisis is beyond the capacity of our people to solve; no challenge too great."

The calendar theme for July is America's Future, but frankly, every month is full of inspirational quotes like this from President Reagan, the ultimate optimist. With Obama, it's all about shame, narcissism, and being second best.

Krauthammer observes, "In his major addresses, Obama's modesty about his own country has been repeatedly on display as, in one venue after another, he has gratuitously confessed America's alleged failing -- from disrespecting foreigners to having lost its way morally after 9/11. ..What is odd is to have a president so convinced of his own magnificence -- yet not of his own country's."

God bless America, and that must come from us.

Mini Book Reviews: A Foray into Fiction

I finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo in record time, a week, over our vacation. The book was a quick read, and I found it the perfect blend of mystery, suspense, strong characters, and an engaging plot that surprised me with its twists and turns. Yeah, the book is super violent and Larsson does seem to have had something against women. But I've already bought the sequel, and I'm glad I have at least a third volume to read after that. The author's tragic death is something you do think a bit about as you read the tale, because you know there will never be a real ending to this tale.

I still have a few pages left in the Time Traveler's Wife, but I'm glad I read it. It's romantic, tragic, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and again--great characters make the story. I would see the movie, though I hear the book is far better.

I am just too picky about reading, and I still prefer non-fiction, but I definitely do need to read a bit more fiction.

Back

So a few things to remember from St. Lucia...

1. Dinner at Le Toc at the Regency. Yum. So good. Best beef filet I've ever had. Just melt in your mouth so so good.

2. Kayaking about 2 miles RT around Rodney Bay. What a work out for our arms.

3. Drinks and shots with Jessie & Ryan, Andrew & Carolyn, and the British couple on our last evening there.

4. A so-so dinner at Toscanini's, but dessert was terrific. Steve's tiramisu with coconut was fabulous.

5. A great welcoming, first night dinner when we were too tired to plan anything.

6. Drinks including the BBC and anything with coconut rum.

7. Fantastic service from Vernessa, Shelley at the Pub after watching the World Cup, and Jimmy in water sports.

8. Sailing on the hobie boats and not getting lost.

9. That god-awful, tummy upsetting, carsick inducing, horrid van trip to the resort. Nearly two hours of curves. I had to practically knock myself out to get back to the airport and the dreadful Delta service.

10. Finishing the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and nearly finishing The Time Traveler's Wife. I really got into the Larsson book.

11. Teaching myself to swim, and exhausting myself to swim, followed by afternoon "naps" under our blue cover near the sea.

12. Chick-fil-A and the Delta lounge.

13. Watching karaoke, and basically it turning into American Idol tryouts.

14. Steve's pocket kings at poker.

15. Fresh fruit, especially the mango and watermelon, and the really yummy salmon, spinach, tomato, and cheese omelettes.

16. Steve's mahi-mahi sandwich.

17. Drunk guy--and how after he toppled over in the water, he talked to us then all of our vacation friends one by one at the bar. Crazy connections.

18. Seeing Remember Me on the flight back home.

19. Seeing the horses doing it on the way back to the airport.

20. Tossing the football around on the beach and meeting an occasional Cowboys fan.

Happy to be home, though.