How do you Tame a Unique Bird?

... unique up on it. <-- that was part one of a two part series joke my dad used to love telling us when we were younger. Each time we'd laugh and groan in unison.

Now that I have birdies I realize that is definitely the worst way to ever get a bird to trust you, especially quirky, unique bird like the ones I have! I am still working on the training part, but the surest way to get them to come to you? Introduce fruit and protein into their diet. The weeks you have to remove seed from their diet all together they let their displeasure be known (most of them anyway.)

[gallery type="square" ids="5873,5874,5875"]

High Point vs. High Tea

  A lucky few of us were assigned to go to High Point Market for the fall. A lucky two of us were assigned to go down for the entire time, beginning Friday evening. Those lucky two happened to be Lorina and myself. We made a pact that if we had to go down then we were going to make the most of it. This included trying new restaurants, maybe finding a cool thing to buy and doing high tea at our hotel, the O'Henry. The first bad news came that it was hard to get a taxi anywhere and it cost a lot more than an arm and a leg. When we arrived Friday evening we hired one to take us to a restaurant Lorina had found only to find out it was already closed for the night! We went back and ate at the hotel restaurant {sigh}. The next night we wanted to try another place but it was over booked and since it was late ... we ate at the hotel restaurant. On our lucky third night the CEO had made dinner reservations for everyone at, you guessed it, our hotel restaurant (even though he was staying at a different hotel. WTF.) To say the least Lorina and I were spent on the hotel menu. Not that it wasn't amazing and that we didn't try a bunch of random stuff just because we knew it would all come out to less than anyone else was spending! But beyond our usual we had two highlight dining experiences. The first was a 50 dollar cab ride to a hole in the wall Mexican joint. It was amazing, our cab ride was more than double our meal, ha! The second was on my bucket list: high tea! We made reservations for a 3:30 tea time so we could make sure to get all the things done at the Market that we needed to. We raced back just in time to lounge while sipping our tea like dignified Washingtonians (and of course that included people watching commentary.) Pinky's up!

JU NEver Travel For Work

When I took this job, I never expected to travel as much as I do. I'm not saying I mind the sky miles, adventures to new places or any excuse to go to NYC, but I do realize why people begin to NOT like it. In the month of June I was away more than I was home when I went to the following locations for work:

1. New York. Train ride to NYC for a meeting with the Design Fabricators Association, editors of various Conde Nast editors and the Editor-in-Chief of Luxury Daily, who as luck would have it is Mukarram's cousin Micky. I went up on a Sunday, had the meeting and came back on a Monday. That gave me just enough time to meet up with Rob, take the amazing photo below and get really behind on work.

[caption id="attachment_5332" align="aligncenter" width="300"] not a bad view from Penn Station[/caption]

2. Chicago.  As luck would have it, I fell ill the weekend before I had to leave for NeoCon in Chicago. Mukarram brought me my favorite chicken noodle soup from PF Changs, doctored me up and watched movies with me on the couch (bless him) until I had to suck it up and leave Sunday evening (he had dinner with me at the airport and made sure I got through okay.) I arrived and hit the ground running and never stopped until I returned on Wednesday afternoon. I was meeting press people, trying to damage control our booth, take, edit and post photos on social media and help where needed. I was burned out ... and the work dynamics didn't help. I did manage to spend time with Autumn and Jacqueline, which I loved. Oh, and try Chicago's infamous popcorn 1/2 caramel 1/2 cheddar. Sadly, I only took a photo of my dessert at an Italian restaurant, a foggy night in my hotel rom and this psychedelic view of the airport.

[caption id="attachment_5333" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Chicago O'Hare Airport[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_5334" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Who said Bentley and the words "Big Ass" don't go together?[/caption]

3. Los Angeles. Less than a week after arriving back into D.C. (where I also had to attend an evening event at the National Building Museum --  don't mind I wore the same green dress from the wedding and will wear it one more time before the month is out!) I had to catch-up with work, prepare two sessions for Chapter Leadership Conference (CLC), the Dwell on Design ASID booth, organize coverage of the blog and social media, and help do the same for our annual awards gala Celebration. I only like direct flights so Lorina and I met at IAD on Wednesday afternoon to fly direct into L.A. Yes, I admit that I nearly missed the flight, as in she asked them to hold it for me and I was the last one walking on the plane when no one else was standing up. Awkward, but I don't care. When we arrived in L.A. we dropped off our stuff and ate at a crappy Mexican restaurant with Jacqueline before we all went to jet lag heaven. The next day it was organize, set up, go where needed and try to dampen the drama created by so many. oye. Friday was full of training and blogging and networking until we all left for Celebration that night, where again it was jump in as (desperately) needed until a la Downton Abbey we help had to stay in a cloak room with crap food; that is until I had Shannon, who was crashing at my hotel for a night to go to Dwell, take a taxi and get us all In-and-Out burger. This event was a time when you see the complete dysfunction of a workplace ... who bails on helping clean up, power struggles and all the fun stuff no one ever likes.  Thus, After the last training session on Saturday and all blogs/ social media postings were scheduled, Autumn, Lorina, Jacqueline and I went to Bottega Louis (ditching the folk who wanted to go to Santa Monica) and ate our hearts out including some fresh macaroons. Sunday morning when I arrived at the airport to head home, guess who was getting out of a car next to me? My former ACMA COO Patti Washburn! We were on the same flight back to IAD so had breakfast together and after realizing we were in the same row, switched to sit next to each other! However, of all the photos I posted that week, this is all I have to show for the week:

Motivational/Scare Sales Tactic

Yes, this is a rant... a personal and journalistic rant. Recently an acquaintance of mine posted one of those blurbs on Facebook that we're all familiar with: They have a "non partisan" public service announcement-esque post about things we all care about. However, there is always a catch. The catch, you ask? A product that can somehow solve a huge, multi-faceted problem. They've found a new product that they're completely in love with, have devoted themselves to (and for a good cause/reason; bravo to them) and mush it in with a public problem many (not all) care deeply about. There are a number of public policy hot topics out there from abortion, gay marriage, education, role of the government and health care. This recent post happened to mush two things together (government role in citizens lives and disease eradication) somewhat haphazardly. Again, not that I don't agree with the sentiment, just the blanket, sweeping statements within them and often the faulty correlation. So, bare with me:

"Too many people with cancer in my life! Too much sickness around me! That is difficult, I can understand how upsetting it is watching people you care about suffer. This often triggers people on very meaningful paths/impactful crusades in their lives--good for you I agree with you and will keep reading!(FYI, they have found that 1 in every 2 people in America will get cancer, and that cancer is 90% environmental. Can you please tell me who "they" is? A bi-partisan group, a medical group study (often funded by people with certain objectives). How large was this study? When was it conducted and where can I see the results? What is the statistical significance of this study? How does it compare to those in Europe who later the U.S. is compared to? Also, and I hate to be a stickler, but what kind of cancer? Pancreatic and prostate cancer are much more lethal than say most forms of skin cancer.  Meaning, what we eat and put on our bodies is more important than most people think!) This is not necessarily "environment." It is the air we breath, the amount of sleep we get, the amount of stress we are under (which is cited as a top cause of disease) and yes, the nutrients we get in our diet. Also, I think most people understand the importance of what they eat, just like smoking, they're just on a spectrum of how much they care.  I am disgusted by our governments lack of concern for the health and safety of its people. It is true it has less prominence in the news or less "sex appeal" in congress, but how do we determine "lack of concern"? There is a lot of money, time spent on this--several avenues of public policy dedicated to it! Sadly, and what I agree with, is that strong lobbying groups who have their pocket books over health in mind are the giants on the public policy field. I am disgusted that Monsanto and its GM crops (which are untested BTW. WE are the test subjects!) are banned in other countries but are taking over this country. I am disgusted that Europe has banned over 1,300 toxic chemicals in health, beauty and cleaning products, and the U.S. has banned only 9. I agree, GMOs are a sticky subject and while sometimes good (crops able to grow in more arid regions are provide more protein per ounce in areas with malnutrition problems) I believe pure is the best way and would like fresh to actually mean FRESH. No hormones, not pesticides, no preservatives  Labeling and access to fresh goods in the U.S. is  a PROBLEM.I am disgusted by the medical community not educating people about preventing illness and disease through proper nutrition when there is enough research and evidence out there to show that proper nutrition is HUGE in preventing illness. eek, this is absolutely wrong. I mean, the first lady herself is championing more education at younger age of proper nutrition. Could more be done, sure... but a lot IS being done and ultimately people have to care to make a change in their lives. And when someone can't pay bills, they don't give a shit about buying organic. The list goes on and on . . .I believe it is time we take matters into our own hands concerning our health. I believe our government is not protecting us, and so it is our duty to be informed. I believe in a thing called free agency. it is your responsibility to make decisions on what you eat, how you eat, and don't forget other lifestyle choices such as proper amounts of sleep and exercise! As abortion advocates say: your body, your choice. I believe we can get rid of cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and all the other big ailments and diseases out there by our informed choices. I just... i don't know where to start with this. You think that I, as a type 1 diabetic, could have prevented getting diabetes by what I ate? I will tell you that my family had the opportunity to talk to world experts in endocrinology on the subject and do you know what they all said? They said that somewhere in the chromosomonal lines of both my father and mothers there was a dormant, malfunctioning chromosome and I'm the lucky one who got them both, just like my blue eyed double recessive genes. Did something in the environment trigger it at the age of ten, sure?... who knows --medical science doesn't know definitively  As far as what I ate, I will tell you I was an active kid who had a big yard and a lot of field to play in. I picked strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, peas, corn etc. from my parents garden (can you get more organic than that?) and my parents actually had a friend who was a cattle rancher and they'd buy all their meat from him each year. Safe, hormone free... Wait, and I still got diabetes. All this being said, yes the environment as noted above is causing diseases. The U.S. needs less stress, less chemicals and more exercise (but even these are vast generalizations of things that need to fundamentally change!) Every time I've been in Europe I get annoyed coming back knowing it actually costs more in the U.S. to eat healthy--that should change because your income should not determine your ability to take care of fundamental nutrition. But it is not just the government who has to make that change. And I believe we can and must make choices daily that will protect ourselves and our loved ones from companies like Monsanto. I believe a better future is possible, despite what statistics predict. Use buycott, it's a free app. If you don't have a garden, buy local organic produce whenever possible. Ditch the toxic chemicals and check out Ava Anderson Non-Toxic for all your personal care and household needs. Ah, there it is. Not a nonpartisan educational website to go to for more info. A product, spend my money, slightly scare tactic sales pitch. Protect and prevent. And if you ever need help, message me! My goal is to educate and arm anyone who wants it, with information on how to be healthy, truly healthy. I want you to have the best quality of life possible.

Note, I realize that my response in itself has holes, I just wrote it in 10 minutes. Also, I strongly believe in hearing what people have to say, not how they say it. So yes, people need to be more educated on nutrition and changes need to happen. But ONE thing is not going to get rid of so many diseases let alone solve huge, complex public policy problems. I suppose i'm disappointed that in the end it is just promoting ONE product, not a true life style change. However, BRAVO for taking your life more fully in your hands and I too hope one day it becomes easier choice and financial-wise to live that life.

Northward Ho!

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4506,5312,4514,5313,4507,4505,4509,4508,4510,4511,4512,4513,5305,5306,5308,5309,5310,5311"]

Well I did it. After living at Mt. Ida for nearly 5 years I made the move. For many people  in D.C. a "move" like this means an exodus to the far west i.e. Salt Lake City or lately, San Francisco. However, for me it meant a shift north by approximately 3 miles into Pentagon City, a small enclave of Arlington and the penultimate Virginia stop on the blue/yellow lines before you cross into the district.

I was surprised when many people asked, "why the move?" I guess I never assumed moving was a big deal considering I've had 15 roommates since opening up the house Labor Day 2008 with my two existing roommates and 3 more newbies. Reasons? Well, there were many factors such as I wanted to be closer to my new job, the house was just a bit too big (and felt somewhat chaotic) from what I needed in my life, but mostly --and I'm not if sure anyone else has had this experience--Mt. Ida just didn't feel like home anymore. Nothing against my roommates, all lovely, fun girls, I just knew it was time to move on. It wasn't what I needed and perhaps I wasn't what they needed anymore.

Now, that being said, I did manage to drag along one of my roommates along with me! Shannon and I started apartment hunting when I got back from India in February and it was of course then we realized what an amazing house (especially for the money) and landlord we had! The spaces were all small and the prices were all super high. However, that's the price you pay for location and number of roommates! Our place actually came by way of a former roommate Jaclyn (love her). She texted me to say her landlord had a spot open near the metro. It was out of our budget so said no thank you and kept looking. However, a month or so later she texted back and said they'd be willing to go down on price. We toured it, loved it and put our contracts up same day. Then, a few short weeks later after packing, craigslisting and Good Will donating, we rounded up a few good men (and two hired hands) and made the move.

In the 6 short weeks since I moved, I've been traveling for over half of them so not much has changed in my room. However, we are making progress and I made two big girl purchases: a kitchen aid and a vacuum (who knew vacuums were so expensive??) I love that I can walk across the street and get a Costco meal, walk a bit further and browse the latest shoe selection at Nordstroms Rack, run to the bank or the myriad of other shops/parks/eateries all within walking distance. Sure, I miss a stand alone house (where hammering and cleaning at midnight were no big deal), my strawberries and all the mint from the backyard, and of course having different personalities to use as a sounding board, take a walk to Dairy Godmother, Disney nights, impromptu and planned gatherings and/or parties and of course snow/storm movie marathons.

Loved my time at #MtIda (hello it's such an epic house it has it's own hashtag) but i'm excited for change. I'm excited to see where this next stepping stone takes me. It's bound to be an adventure, hopefully taking old friends with me and making new ones along the way.

currently ISO name for our new digs.

Leave a Place Better Than You Found It

[caption id="attachment_4506" align="alignright" width="300"] updates: brick path to the back, flower bed, grass along the entire front yard and a brick side area for the trash. Yup, all by yours truly. [/caption]

When Arianne, Aubree and I first moved into #MtIda the place was in need of some generous TLC. The previous tenants had been a house of hippie parents. Case in point, the kids play area was on the back porch and they asked the landlord to leave a stump of a dead tree so the kids could play on it. mmh, okay! We all got to work bringing order to the chaos. Arianne and Allison took the side yard to make it usable, Aubree the backyard (she was turning into the garden area) and a fire pit, and me the front yard. In the beginning it was overrun weeds, ivy, irises (i do regret losing those) and a dead rose bush smack in the middle. I began pulling up all the weeds and leveling it so our landlord Mark could lay grass and as I dug (it took me 3 days of tiring work) I found the most random things buried in the dirt. A terra-cotta pig, railroad beams, which I used to create a flower bed) and an ENORMOUS amount of bricks (we all did throughout the area. When we stacked them it equated to over 100 bricks). I eventually used the bricks to create a path to the backyard as well as a "storage area" for the recycling and trash bins. We had one lady, to this day I'm not sure if it was a neighbor or not, say we were ruining the place but everyone else said they were so glad we moved in and already were making it look better than it was before. Sure I probably couldn't get paid to do what I did, but I'm still pretty proud of it!

From Sea to Shining Sea

Last week I had to take a quick trip to L.A. for work. So after returning from birthday festivities in Puerto Rico, I transferred my toiletries and a few snacks into my other suitcase, crawled into bed and 9 hours later boarded a flight to the west coast.

On the way back from L.A. I managed to score a window seat in the first row of coach; what I didn't realize is the amazing view it would afford me. As we took off and looped across the ocean to head east, I was taken aback at how beautiful the U.S. is. I quickly turned on my camera and snapped a shot. A little while later, as I was plugging away at work emails (onboard wifi FTW) we crossed over northern Utah/Arizona, and I snapped another photo. I of course got extremely excited when I realized I was staring at the Grand Canyon from a bird's eye view (and also felt a bit smug for recognizing it when a few minutes later the captain announced it over the PA).

After my third photo, I realized it was pretty cool that from my vantage point I could document a trip across the entire U.S., ocean to ocean. Sure, I've been on vacations to particular landmarks, but when can you see the vast and varied topography of the U.S. in one day? Well, I could from seat 6A on Alaska Airlines! So, from sea to shining sea, I present you the Pacific ocean, the red rocks of the southwest, the Rockies, the meandering rivers, the great plains (no buffalo though) and an evening descent into Washington D.C. ... that's close enough to the Atlantic, right?

[gallery type="slideshow" columns="1" ids="4374,4380,4375,4379,4378,4377,4376,4384,4381,4372,4382,4386,4385,4387"]

The Real Slumdog Millionaires

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="5022,5023,5024,5025,5026,5027,5028,5029,5030,5031,5032,5033,5034,5035,5036,5037,5038,5039,5040,5041,5042,5043,5044,5045,5046,5047,5048,5049,5050,5052,5051,5053,5054,5055,5056,5057,5058,5059,5060,5061,5062"]

After lectures in the morning we piled in a bus (ugg) and made our way to Dharavi slums, one of the largest slums in the world. Different than what we in the U.S. think of as a "slum" i.e.  a place littered with used syringes, dilapidated housing and the only real form of business come from drugs and prostitution, Dharavi is filled with entrepreneurs and buzzing with life.

Home to between 300,000 and 1 million people (I'd say closer to the million mark!) Dharavi has an active informal economy, numerous household enterprises that employs the slum residents. It exports goods around the world including leather, textiles, and pottery products  In fact, on our tour we met a textile manufacturer who's business was growing so rapidly he was leaving Dharavi to head up north to a larger plant. It also processes the bones and scrap that others leave behind, such as metal, plastic from cruise ships (i now NEVER want to go on a cruise), paint containers and more. The total annual turnover has been estimated to be over US$500 million. Imagine, because it is an informal economy none of that money is being taxed! You can see people in the slums driving luxury cars and doing who knows what else with their hard earned cash.

Sadly, as more immigrants came flooding in from the countryside and city dwellers were pushed out from new developments, Dharavi skyrocketed in growth. However, as textiles, potters, tanneries etc., moved in, there was no effort to plan or invest in infrastructure in or near Dharavi. The living quarters and small scale factories grew haphazardly, without provision for sanitation, drains, safe drinking water, roads or other basic services. Thus, since its beginnings in the 1880s, the "slum" continues to grow, chaotically, and prosper, chaotically.

The Itsy Bitsy Indian Spider

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4961,4962,4967,4968,4969,4966,4965,4963,4970,4971,4973,4974,4982,4975,4981,4976,4977,4978"]

I love field trips; I don't care how old you are, they are amazing. Of course they're even more amazing when you get a hostess pack in your brown bag lunch, but regardless, it's better than sitting in a classroom all day! On Friday we loaded up on our bus and made our way to an NGO school called Parikrma, which is a foundation educating kids from India's poorest slums and orphanages.

We arrived for our tour just in time to witness firsthand how the school instill life-lessons into the children such as taking care of the environment, saying no to drugs, eating healthy, not bullying etc., via plays--we even had a cameo from Batman and an improptu Gangam Style dance. Each day various classes present a play they've made up to the rest of the school in the courtyard. From there, they once again break-up into classes to learn until lunch break.

After the plays we followed a group of kids in what we'd call 1st or second grade, max. Their teacher showed us their maths skills, their memorization and they even sung the itsy bitsy spider for us (yes I joined in.) Their smiles and genuine happiness melted my heart, I didn't want to leave! But who am I to keep a child from learning?

Really, I'm Not on Vacation

People don't believe me when I say I wasn't on vacation. Sure, I got to see a FEW things, but the majority of my time in India was spent in a hotel conference room --with lunch breaks filled with naan, curries and sweets--taking notes and listening to lectures. Don't believe me, here we go:
Introduction: The interaction in India with subject experts is to give a balanced and nuanced
view on India's current socio-economic status and what it will take India to be a strong
economic force in 2020 and beyond.


BANGALORE: Emergence of India and Bangalore as IT hub, entrepreneurship in India,
doing business in India, microfinance and political economy of Indian development

Wed 9 Jan 

Hotel: Monarch Luxor
67 Infantry Rd. Bangalore

1:00- 2:00pm For those interested, buffet lunch at hotel
2:00-3:30pm: Walking tour of Bangalore

Class in hotel meeting salon

3:45pm- Welcome by Professor Rajan and Michal Malur.

4:00-6:00pm: Rajeev Gowda, Indian Institute of Bangalore (IIMB), "Introduction to
India's Politics, Society and Economy (including Centre-State Relations) and Overview of
Program"

Dinner at hotel 6:30pm


Thu 10 Jan

Breakfast at your leasure
Class in hotel meeting salon

9:00-10:30am: Rishi Krishnan, IIMB, "Innovation in India or Uday, CISCO Product
Development out of India"
11:00pm-12:30pm: Ramanujan Sridhar, CEO BrandComm, "India’s IT Sector"
12:30pm Lunch at hotel
1:00pm Departure
2:00-5:30pm: Field trip to Narayana Hrudayalaya and Infosys
7:00pm Dinner at local restaurant


Fri 11 Jan

8:15am: Depart hotel
9:00- 10:30pm- Visit Parikrma (NGO School)
11:00- 12:30- Visit Janalakshmi (Mirco Finance)
Lunch at hotel
2:00 – 3:30pm: CEO Ujjivan, “Microfinance and Financial Inclusion in India”
4:00 – 5:30pm: Manish Sabharwal, CEO Teamlease, “An Indian Entrepreneur’s Story”

Evening: Free -- We went to none other than the Hard Rock Cafe


Sat 12 Jan

Breakfast at your leisure
9:00 – 10:30: Debriefing session with Professor Rajeev Gowda
Break- Check out of rooms, store luggage in lobby
10:45-12:15: Discussion with Professor Rajan
12:30pm Lunch in hotel
2:00 Load bags and depart for airport
Flight Information: Jet Airways 418 Departs BLR 4:30pm arrives BOM 6:05pm

Evening: Free

Check into Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport,
C.T.S No. 215, Andheri Kurla Road, Andheri East,

Mumbai: Are India's cities engines of growth? What is the role of civil society and the
non-governmental organizations in the Indian transformation? Will India become a
manufacturing export powerhouse? How stable is the Indian financial system? What
makes India an attractive investment destination?


Sun 13 Jan

Breakfast at your leisure
9:30am - 5pm: City Tour of Mumbai -- 5 of us rented a car and went about it on our own
Evening: Free --I had dinner w/ M's oldest brother and wife

Mon 14 Jan
Breakfast at your leisure
Class in hotel meeting room
9:00am – 10:30am S. Chandrashekar, Associate Prof Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Studies, "India's Urban Growth: Are India's Cities Engines pf Growth? How
broad-based is urban development and what is its trajectory? "

11:00am- 12:30pm Poornima Dore, SDTT, "Role of Civil Society and NGO sector in
development.: A large factor in India's growth and development has civil society
movements and the NGO secotor. What has been its contribution?"

12:30pm Lunch at hotel

1:30pm – 5:30pm: Field Trip to Dharavi, Asia's largest "slum", home to nearly a million people
and  contributes extensively to the national product in terms of manufacture of goods and
services.
.
Evening Free


Tues 15 Jan

Breakfast at your leisure
Class in hotel meeting room
9:00am – 10:30am 9:00am – 10:30am Saugata Bhattracharya, Axis Bank, "Mumbai as an
International Financial Centre -Aspects of the Indian Economy"

11:00 – 12:30pm Dimple Bhandia, Reserve Bank of India, "Financial Stability Report"

12:30pm- Lunch at hotel 2:00pm – 3:30pm K Balachandran, IRIS, "Improving Governance and Transparency -
The Role of XBRL: What is being done to improve governance and transparency in the
financial system?”

4:00pm – 5:30pm Dr. C. Veeramani, Associate Professor, Indira Gandhi institute of
Development research (IGIDR), International trade with China India perspective.
7:30pm Farewell Group Dinner

Wed 16 Jan
Individual departure: we flew to Dubai!

The Sum of 2012

Room Around the Table

Too hot to Turkey trot. Since I'd just started a new job I couldn't commit to any time off during the holiday season.  Instead, my parents decided to come up for the long weekend. Since Shannon had to work as well we wanted to make a grand ol' Thanksgiving holiday. And that's when the group gained a life of it's own. First my parents invited their friends the Chipmans',  a given to the group was MK, I wanted to invite Jack Attack, Shannon invited the missionaries and then last minute Danielle and Ge-off decided to come.

On Wednesday, my parents arrived and MK and I took everyone out to Jerusalem for dinner, i knew the Chipmans' would like it because they'd lived in the middle east for ages. Then we got home and started preparing for the next day's feast and the aaammazing recipes we found online. Such as the cornbread and roasting the chestnuts for the William-Sonoma cornbread stuffing , the spiced cranberry sauce AND the persimmon cranberry sauce , the pumpkin(s) and chocolate pecan pies. Then, after a bit of relaxing (after sending my dad and MK to the store 2x), we went to bed.

Turkey day arrived and I finished prepping my parts of the meal while Shannon went on her turkey trot run--hurrah! While we waited for the turkey to cook, we piled in the car and I took my parents the Chipmans' to the FDR and MLK Memoriasl so they could walk around. It honestly was a beautiful day, like it was the beginning of fall!

Mid afternoon everyone began arriving and the buzz and excitement got louder and louder. 2:30 came and somehow all 12 of us fit around our table! The food was a hit, the conversation was lively (and the poly missionary kept filling up his plate) that was, until we realized we'd bought tickets to the new James Bond Skyfall movie that started in 20 minutes--oops!! We quickly cleaned up, piled in our cars and zoomed over to the Hoffman (a tragedy since we'd had so much fun chatting and eating. Note for next time: a later movie!)

After the movie we came back and Geoff and Danielle, who'd just hung out at the house since they'd seen the movie, had made fresh whipped cream and we all dug into the pies. Ah, sugar and turkey comas... After the adults and slinked off to bed, Shannon and I realized it was midnight and we were still wide awake, so what did we do... midnight shopping at Target!

I know it's cliche, but it was truly a wonderful day, Only made better by the fact we got to introduce my parents to Le Pain Quotidien before they made they're way back home via dropping off the Chipmans' at SVU, then went on an adventure of our own to Michael's for framing, the mall and just RELAXED.  This one will go down in my books.

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4802,4803,4804,4805,4806,4807,4808,4809,4810,4811,4812"]

###

our lovely list:

Main course:

Turkey (Shannon)

Sides:

Rolls (mom)

mashed potatoes (Shannon): butter (vegan butter), milk (lactose free milk)

sweet potatoes (Melinda): butter, sp, marshmellows

Acorn squash (Melinda): butter, cinnamon, sugar

Stuffing (Melinda)

cranberry sauce (Melinda)

Vegetables:

sautéed mushrooms: mushrooms, olive oil, garlic, seasoning

Green beans (Shannon):

salad (Jaclyn)

Quinoa salad (Melinda)

Parsnips & Carrots

Desserts:

Chocolate Pecan pie

pumpkin pie (2)

custard pie

Whipping Cream/Lactose free vanilla ice cream

Hostess with the Mostest {Filling}

 

Tragedy stuck the U.S. on November 16, 2012 when Hostess announced that after declaring bankruptcy and finding no buyers for their plants that they were permanently closing up shop. Why is this so alarming, you ask? It meant a beloved institution of the best grilled cheese sandwiches (wonder bread), childhood field trip snack of choice (snowballs), grandmothers treat of choice (ding dongs), my go-to freshman year vending machine snack (chocolate cupcakes) and the infamous cakes --and somehow my abhorrent nickname for a hot minute-- that would last until Wall-e's time (twinkies) would no longer be produced.

I was driving into work when I heard it on NPR and although I hadn't had a Hostess product in YEARS I found myself suddenly nostalgic and angry that such a thing could happen. I was so excited the two times a year I could have a snowball (I think I was the only child that purposely chose them), I remember my grandma freezing ding dongs--yes when they were still in the tinfoil wrappers--and I remember when she died inheriting her food, which included a costco-sized box of frozen twinkies. Yes, they got me through my first two transfers on my mission.

One of my coworkers and I decided to try our luck and walk down to the nearest 7/11 to find one last twinkie. Alas, they were all sold out. Just a few fruit pies and some left over halloween themed snowballs (score!). We then walked down to a corner store only to find out that they only sold Entemann's products. She called her mom in Florida and I texted my mom in N.C. to see if they could find any in their stores. Triumph, her mom found some! However, still determined, after work I went to a CVS and TWO Giant's until I found what I was looking for (and then some). I came out with: several crumb and chocolate donut packs, as many snowballs and cupcakes I could find (both 2 packs and individual boxes), one pack of zingers, and twinkies.

author's note: I gave many away as Christmas presents and to people who lamented not being able to find any, I'm weird that way. I hoarded snowballs and was more than a bit sad when they started going moldy (-1 point for Wall-E)... to late to put them in the freezer and going on a health kick I let them go.

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4791,4792,4793,4794,4795,4796,4798"]



 

Americana Ele{vic}ctorius

This year's presidential election was more charged than normal among certain circles {especially #MtIda). I had one roommate that had volunteered at the Republican National Convention, had canvased all areas and had signs for Mitt Romney strategically placed along our road. Another roommate was an ardent Obama fan and often would sneak out of the house to watch debates in a more "democratically leaning" venue.

This year it wasn't just Republican vs. Democrat... it was Mormon Republican vs. African American Democrat. It was an awkward divide. I personally had a hard time with a lot of good ol' Mitt's philosophies, but i really liked that he came from a business background--not the schmoozy lawyer base most do-- and I wanted to see how he that frame of mind and training could help shape America.  Yes, and he was Mormon. On the other hand, I loved the environmental and foreign policy views of Obama, but I found him lacking experience, full of an empty promise term and I hated that it seemed like it was American Idol president elections, not really who was most qualified (Mitt's TV gaffs aside.)

I was at home surrounded by Romney lovers and would go to work and be surrounded by Obama's fan club. And there I was, stuck in the middle. Honestly, even when I walked across the street before work in the a.m. to vote, I went in the booth I was stressed out, but my roommate was volunteering at the election booth and (even though she absolutely wasn't) I was scared she was looking at me waiting for me to decide. Ah!!

Well, that night I had class but he let us out early so we could watch in anticipation --Virginia was a swing state after all. I arrived home to a house full of people, but greeting me was none other than Romney and Obama themselves! I grabbed some snacks, pulled up a seat and watched as history was made... but not by getting a Mormon president.

[gallery type="square" ids="4776,4777,4779,4778,4780"]

Call Me A Gas Whore?

I don't get people. When two gas stations DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM EACH OTHER have varying prices by more than just a few cents, logic says you go to the less expensive, correct? Well, apparently not. In our little town of Del Ray there is a local shop (love them) and an Exxon. With no exceptions the Exxon prices are always more, yet I see lines of people at the Exxon, why? i don't get it, but if there is something wrong with going to the (in this case) lowest bidder than I'm proud to be a gas whore, somehow I've got some more money in my pocket! ;)

Toms For Tots

 



 

 

Before I started working at ASID they'd had an event where designers could come and "design" there own pair of white canvased Tom shoes. The best of the best they auctioned off and the rest they've donated to where shoes were needed. When I arrived, the team needed volunteers to help hand out the last of the bunch. I was in need of a bit of service to liven the soul, so I volunteered MK and I. So, so glad we did. How can you resist these adorable kids?

The Detox Vaca

I took a page from the Caitlin F. handbook to get me past ACMA. When my dearest coworker Caitlin left ACMA in March, she took off an extra week before starting her new job and went to Puerto Rico, and she said it was one of the best things she's ever done. I knew that when if I got offered this job I'd be doing the SAME thing. Thus, while i really did want to give 2 weeks notice, I cared more about my sanity. Thus, after one day shy of two weeks, MK and I boarded a plane to San Juan, Puerto Rico!

I was so excited, my friend AM's family was from there and she and her husband had gone there over the 4th of July and just couldn't stop talking about how amazing it is. When we arrived, we made our way to our rental car and somehow made it to downtown PR. To clarify, we weren't trying to get there, we were trying to go to our hotel, ha! There are no signs and although part of the U.S. we discovered our cell service was really, really... really crap, making GPS worthless. But not to be managed by lists, we parked our car and wandered around  Old San Juan.

I tasted mofongo at a restaurant (disgusting), saw tropical birds, walked through a fort and even got some frozen yogurt! When it started getting dark, we decided it was time to head to the hotel, which is when we got lost, and more lost, then lost again (I admit i totally lost my cool) and then super lost. When we finally made it to the Hilton, we were pooped. We just laid on the bed for awhile until our stomach's were clearly upset with that decision. We wandered to a restaurant nearby, tried more "authentic food" and just called it a night--after all, we had a busy schedule ahead, which included the top reasons Puerto Rico is our new favorite getaway:

1. its warm, all the time

2. Everyone is really laid back

3. You get to practice your Spanish

4. The best sushi EVER

5. El Yunque National Park

6. Any beach is a good beach (not to mention the beautiful blue water)

7. Bio luminescence

8. forts AND castles

9. cutest tropical birds everywhere

10. Direct 3.5 hour flight. DONE.

Foodie P.S.

[gallery type="square" ids="4692,4693,4694,4695"]



 

Percentage on MY Side

It's all just healthy competition. I love watching the Summer Olympics, i mean I love the Olympics in general but they're is just something amazing about summer. Swimming, Track & Field, Gymnastics, soccer etc., etc. I was particularly excited this year since I worked on a magazine feature story dedicated to the games (enter in my tom boy nature.) Well, several of my British friends and I began sparring back and forth on winners, what country was better, how had the better looking players and well, who just was more damn awesome. My friend KM and I had a lot of these back and forths... so much that I actually pulled out my journalistic nature and did some research. This is the email exchange outcome:

I was curious so I looked up stats from the last few years. Going off the last 3 Olympics, the U.S. wins far more medals per athletes sent than the UK. Who cares about population base to pull from, based on percentages below the delegates you send aren't so great! :) We'll wait until the end to see how you all do this year... I'll give you a 15%, home court advantage and all.

YEAR          CHINA                                   USA                                UK

2008         100 (639)   15.65%             110   (596) 18.46%          47 (547) 8.60%

2004           63 (384)   16.40%             102  (613)  16.64%          30 (264)  11.36%

2000           58 (271)    21.40%              94  (586)   16.04%         28 (310)   9.03%

medals won (delegates sent) percentage of medals

I can safely add the following:

2012        88 (380)     23.18%               104  (530)  19.62%           65 (542)  11.99%