Thanksgiving

Tomorrow I head off to my homestate of Ohio for the beginning of a Thanksgiving celebration. My sister and her fiancee are driving back to Cleveland so the boyfriend and I are hitching a ride with them. This is the 1st time the boyfriend is coming home for an actual holiday, which I am very excited about. We will be in the car for most of Wednesday, since it takes about 6 1/2 hours to get there but there is usually a lot of traffic around the holidays.

My aunt is hosting Thanksgiving this year at her house which I am excited about. She makes really good food and lots of it! I think this year we will have 20 adults and 1 kid. My Grandparents are coming, my whole family, my Mom's sister's family and most of my Mom's brother's family. My sister is bringing her fiancee, I'm bringing my boyfriend, and last I heard my little sister is also bringing her boyfriend as well.

Friday early afternoon is a wedding shower for my sister that my Aunts are throwing her. I'm very excited and hope she likes my gift! Saturday morning the boyfriend and I have an early morning flight to St. Louis, where we will then spend the weekend with his family and celebrate Thanksgiving part 2. I have never been to his house for Thanksgiving, in fact, I have only ever been to Thanksgiving hosted by my mom or her sister, so this will be a big change for me. I just hope I'm not Turkey-ed out for part 2. We will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in St. Louis.

Once I get back, it'll be less than 3 weeks until Christmas. I better get shopping!

Weekend Recap

Today I am wearing my Cardinals shirt since they are in the World Series, which starts tonight! Go Cardinals!

This past weekend was fun-filled and jam-packed. The boyfriend left me to go to a work retreat that was focused on team building activities. Only 50 people were selected to go (out of thousands who applied) and the boyfriend was chosen! He had a really nice time and made some new friends, which is always great.

While he was gone, I luckily had lots of things planned so I wouldn't be too lonely. Friday night I went to dinner with some co-workers and friends. It was a nice time - we went to a Lebanese tapas place and ended up being there for almost 3 hours.

Saturday the weather was absolutely perfect so I went for a nice walk up to Clarendon to get a birthday present for Trinity's 1st birthday party which was later that day. On the way there I saw 2 different signs for yard sales. One wasn't anything special, but the other one was a treasure chest full of goodies. The couple there were so old and cute and adorable. I bought a Van Gogh book for $1 and a swivel mirror for my bathroom for $3.

I bought Trinity a machine called Twilight Turtle which glows and makes stars on the ceiling for bedtime, as well as 2 goodnight books for a complete goodnight themed gift. I also made her a card since her parents love my cards. I met up with my friend Jesica who agreed to be my date to the party. Here are some pictures from the party:

Jesica holding Trinity

Trinity clapping for her cake. She didn't like it and spit it out - adorable!

Sunday morning started off super as we left before sunrise for hiking out in the Shenandoah Valley. My sister picked me up, we got some Starbucks, gas, picked up our friends, loaded the car, headed to the other friends house who was driving, and then we were off! It took us about 2 hours to drive out there, and we stopped at a roadside antiques and fresh produce store where we bought an apple pie to munch on.

We decided to do the Rose River Trail, which was a 4.6 mile loop where we saw 2 waterfalls. It was ideal weather out and the leaves had just started to turn - couldn't have picked a better day to go! Our hiking group was my sister Amy, my friend Lara, and 4 of her friends, so 7 in total. Everyone was super nice and friendly. Here are some pictures:

Weekend Recap - 3Day Edition

This weekend was a long weekend and having that extra day off was glorious. Unfortunately I was feeling under the weather thanks to allergies so I didn't do too much. Friday night the boyfriend wanted to watch the Cardinals - Phillies game, and his team (the Cardinals) won. It was very exciting for him.

Saturday morning and afternoon was so nice and relaxing. I got to sleep in, catch up on some TV, and rest up before the boyfriend and I headed out to a charity event. His old co-worker now works for this Architectural non-profit firm that is trying to take unused shipping containers (that they use on barges) and turn the "box" into a usable space in communities, such as an Art Studio, a Music Studio, a bike repair station, etc.

The event took place at another Architecture office that had a nice large patio, and since the weather was absolutely perfect, everyone was outside.

Although the event was slightly disorganized, it was fun. It had a nice laid back vibe to it as opposed to a stuffy corporate event, and then office where the event was at had lots of fun games and sorts to keep the boyfriend and I entertained. We played ping pong, foosball, and there was a giant Jenga set, and Wii as well. And the money all went to a good cause (click here for more info). Oh and I almost forgot - there was a raffle. The boyfriend and I left before they had the drawing (I was getting tired), so we gave our tickets to the boyfriends friend to claim our prizes for us if we won. We got home and the boyfriend had a text saying he was the 1st winner drawn so he won a box screen printed t-shirt! We must be good luck for each other because since we started dating, we've gotten VERY lucky with these raffles (knock on wood).

Sunday afternoon I had a soccer game and since the boyfriend's leg is still hurt and he can't play, he came to support me. Only problem was I had lost my voice and was hacking up phlegm like it was my job, so I wasn't in the best shape to be running around. But, we would have been down girls if I didn't go so I thought me being there not doing much was better than me not being there at all, so I played. I didn't do too much running. And we lost, another game that we should have won. Don't know what the deal is with our team this season. At least it was fun. After the game I was pretty tired so we just relaxed for the rest of the night and had dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant.

Monday the boyfriend had to work but I had the day off. I woke up around normal work time though, so I wouldn't get all out of whack schedule wise. I went on a nice long bike ride where I ran into an old co-worker which was nice. I did some stuff around the house and went to the grocery store to make a nice dinner for the boyfriend, since I felt bad he had to work. I made green beans, mashed potatoes, and panko crusted tilapia (the tilapia is my sister's recipe which I'll post another time). It was delicious and pretty easy too. After dinner, we capped off the night by seeing The Lion King 3D. The boyfriend had never seen the movie before - can you imagine!

Weekend Recap - Travel Edition

This past weekend I went to Columbus to visit my friend Jenna for her birthday. I have a few pictures from the weekend but I haven't yet downloaded them to my computer so you will have to wait for pictures. Friday night we went to dinner at this delicious Steak and Seafood restaurant called J Gilbert's. It was delicious and there were these really nice older gentleman who were sitting by us who overheard it was Jenna's 26th birthday and kept wishing her a happy birthday. Don't you just love random nice strangers. The waitress also gave Jenna a free dessert for her birthday. Sometimes I miss being in the Midwest where everyone is so nice.

Saturday we went to lunch, shopped, and were going to tailgate for the Ohio State game, but the weather was not cooperating (it was very cold and rainy and windy), so we just met up with some of her friends to watch the game indoors at a sports bar. Normally when I go to a sports bar, there's different TVs showing different games that are on. But not in Buckeye country - ALL the TVs were showing the game. After that we went home to get ready for the night and then we were off to a late dinner and then dancing and singing at this Piano Bar. I had a blast there!

The next morning we got breakfast and did some more shopping, relaxing, and hanging out before I had to go and catch my flight back to DC. When I arrived back in DC, the boyfriends parents were flying out of the same airport, and even though I arrived at the opposite end of the airport, they waited to say bye to me before they went through security. It was good timing and nice of them to wait for me, and also nice for the boyfriend that he was already at the airport and didn't have to come twice in one day. Then it was back to the house to unpack and then off to work the next day. I'm glad I was able to celebrate Jenna's birthday with her!

Busy, Busy

This week has been busy for me - on Monday the boyfriend joined me on my run and we did 3 miles. He planned an out and back route since he got too frustrated trying to loop that was flat. I felt great after the run, but during the run I kept asking if we could walk, how much longer, and saying "talk to me" when it was too quiet - basically I am your ideal running partner.

Yesterday I was supposed to play soccer on the mall, but it was raining when I left work meaning the grass would have been a mud pit, not to mention I was also super tired. So I just went home, relaxed, made dinner and planned out what I would be packing for this weekend.

Tonight my sister is having me over for dinner which I am very excited about. After dinner I'm going to try and run to the grocery store if I have time. I need to pick up food for dinner tomorrow, since I will be having extra special guests over. The boyfriend's parents will be visiting him this weekend and they arrive Thursday. I will be leaving Friday after work for vacation, so Thursday is the only night I will get to see them. After dinner I have to finish packing for my weekend getaway to Columbus to celebrate Jenna's birthday! I'm so excited!!!

Updates

Yesterday my mom, the boyfriend, and I all registered for the National Half Marathon on March 17, 2012

Thus the training has begun. I'm at 2 miles right now....only 11 more to go, in 6 months. Although my mom and I aren't training together, we've been doing a good job so far keeping each other motivated. The boyfriend is already in good shape from all his soccer and bike riding, so he doesn't need any motivation yet. 

It's raining out today and it feels like it's been raining for most of September. I wish it would stop but this weekend's forecast is showing more rain. Speaking of this weekend, it should be full of fun stuff - bike riding, DC United game with my sister and the boyfriend, watching Arsenal play, and soccer games on Sunday. 

This last month or so I've been really stressing myself out and I've been trying hard lately not to stress out, especially over things I can't control. It's been working out really well and I feel like I'm in a much better place. 

Today is the 1st day of Fall and that is very exciting. I love fall here in DC because it's an actual season. In my hometown in Ohio, fall would last approximately 2 weeks, in which the leaves wouldn't have even fallen on the ground before the snow started. Fall in DC is so much more pleasant weather wise, and the leaves are so beautiful when they change colors. Can't wait! 

Weekend Recap

This weekend flew by and it was busy because my parents were visiting. My dad was in town for a conference and my mom decided to come with him. It was nice hanging out with them, and they even came out to my soccer game on Sunday morning. This week should be pretty relaxing, with just pick-up soccer and a movie night with friends planned for the week.

My dad's conference was on the National Harbor, home of the Awakening statue. I snapped this picture after dinner out there on Sunday night:

Awakening at night

This is the same statue, taking 2 years ago, during the daytime

Weekend Recap - 3Day Edition

This long weekend was just what I needed - full of relaxation, sleeping in, cleaning out my room, bike riding, shopping and errands. My roommate had a friend visiting for the weekend, and she brought her dog Sophie down too. The boyfriend and I got to play with her and it was so much fun. Here are some pictures of Sophie the dog (she loves to give kisses):

  

As if playing with a dog all weekend wasn't enough fun, the boyfriend and I also had a play date with our friend's 10 month old baby girl. She is so adorable, a ball of energy, and so much fun to play with. Here are some pictures of her cuteness, and a video just in case you didn't get enough:

Now it's back to work on this dreary cold fall day. What happened to summer? As much as I complained about the heat I miss it and am not yet ready for fall. Sunshine come back to me!

Weekend Recap

How is it already Monday again? This weekend went by way too fast. Friday night the boyfriend came over and we just chilled at home. Saturday morning he had an architecture class so I made plans with my friend and some co-workers to go to All Fired Up to paint some pottery. I made a mug that I am going to use as my water cup when I paint. Next weekend I can pick it up and find out if I made the Wall of Fame like last time.

After painting, I met up with the boyfriend and we went out for his friend's birthday celebration. We started off at her new apartment in Mt. Pleasant and then hit up the bars in U St. After the bars we all headed over to Ben's Chili Bowl for some late night snacking. By the time we left it was late and we spent forever trying to get a cab. It was making me so mad that the cabbies would lock the door, crack their window and ask "where you going?" and then drive off when I told them which neighborhood. If I'm paying you to do your job, why do you refuse me. So frustrating! Luckily, my friend Jesica's boyfriend happened to be driving into the city and was able to come rescue us and drive us home.

Sunday I watched the Women's World Cup game as the US took on Brazil in the quarter finals and it was the most amazing come-back game I have ever seen. Once overtime started I had to leave for my own game, so I had to find out later how it ended and I couldn't believe that they had won! Speaking of my soccer game, it was in the late afternoon and by then it was so hot out that I felt like my feet were melting off. Despite this, I managed to play a good game and we won. After soccer the boyfriend and I had dinner and then decided to hit the tennis ball around since it had cooled off a bit. Then we watched 127 Hours which was really good. James Franco was amazing in it and the story itself was so intense. Then I was off to bed after sufficiently tiring myself out.

Bullet Points

I have been so busy and haven't been blogging lately. Here are some random bullet points:

• The other night the boyfriend decided to make a double decker sandwich consisting of a layer of Nutella, Strawberry Jam, and Peanut Butter. He insists it was delicious but I didn't try it. Speaking of, have you ever had a Peanut Butter Nutella Sandwich? It tastes like a Reese's Cup and is delicious.

• This past week was my sister Amy's birthday AND she moved in with fiancee (still getting used to calling him that). Lots of exciting things for her!

• I made some birthday treats for our office's monthly birthday celebration - peanut butter cookies and brownies. I also tried to make chocolate chip pecan cookies but forgot to add in the brown sugar so they didn't turn out well. I also forgot to add the brown sugar to the peanut butter cookies, but my roommate told me before I scooped out the cookies that I should look over the ingredients and make sure I didn't forget anything, so they were spared. Baking fail. However, everyone at the office loved them so it wasn't a total failure.

• My old roommate has officially moved out, and the new roommate is mostly moved in. 

• My friend Jenna is coming to visit this weekend and I am SOOO excited to see her! I haven't seen her since our London trip and it's been way too long.

• This weekend is the 4th of July - how is it July already? I can't wait to have a long weekend though.

• At work today we have a foosball tournament, a welcome lunch for a new employee, and a going away happy hour for an employee leaving. How I am supposed to get any work done is beyond me.

Weekend Recap

This weekend was such a good time! Friday night, I met up with my friend Jesica at Jazz in the Garden. Jesica had just gotten back from Afghanistan, and I'm so happy she made it home safely! After Jazz in the Garden, the boyfriend and I chilled at home.

Since my sister was out of town for a wedding, she let me borrow the car for the weekend! Saturday morning the boyfriend and I headed out super early to go fishing! We went back to Great Falls, at this Sandy Cove area we had saw the week before. We caught a fish this time!! It was big old catfish, which we let go after we caught it.

     

After fishing, we met up with my friend Beryl, and since I had the car, I helped her move her stuff into her new apartment. Then, we all headed out to Target where I got so much good stuff - including new shoes, a yoga mat, a new front door mat, supplies for S'mores, some awesome Toy Story band aids, and a few other very important necessities. When we got back from Target I wasn't feeling well - I had a throbbing headache, so the boyfriend and I just decided to stay in. 

Sunday morning, after sleeping in a bit, we drove over to the Tennis store to pick up my racket. They had to string it for me so I couldn't take it home last time I was there. The guy even gave me a free case to go with it. Have I mentioned how awesome there the guy is! Check them out at Tennis Zone! Then I was off to my soccer game, the 1st one of the Summer League. It was so incredibly hot out for the game! There is zero shade on the field, and its a turf field which means that the heat radiates up from the ground, making it feel like your feet are on fire when you are running around. We ended up loosing 6-4, but it was a really close match and I think we only lost because they had a lot more subs than we did. After my game, I was off to watch the boyfriend play his game. It was his Sunday league's playoff game, but they ended up loosing as well. After the loss, we headed home to clean ourselves up. Then we had a nice dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and then home. It was quite the packed, fun-filled weekend!

This week will be super busy since we are planning on going to the Nationals game on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then leaving Friday for vacation!

Weekend Recap - The Boyfriends Birthday Edition

This weekend was the boyfriends birthday celebration! Friday night we just chilled at home, he worked on the bikes, we watched a movie, and I surprised him with Crumbs cupcakes. Saturday morning he had to go to an Architecture class, so while he was at that I had a cooking marathon. On the menu for dinner that night was Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, Lumpia Rolls, Pork Friend Rice, and Oreo Dirt Pudding for dessert. I had called his mom to ask for some of his favorite recipes (the Lumpia Rolls and the Pork Fried Rice), so it was extra special. He was definitely surprised and loved it all. My sister also joined us for dinner, and we were able to discuss some of her wedding plan ideas.

        

The leftovers

Sunday morning started off early as we were all of to Great Falls for a hike. My sister Amy and my friend Beryl were also able to join the boyfriend and I. We hiked for about two hours, and had a great time. The weather was nice and cool, making it ideal.

Beryl, the boyfriend, and my sister Amy

Me and the boyfriend

We saw deer

We Are The Champions!

Yesterday was the boyfriend's birthday, but more importantly it was his soccer team's playoff tournament. His 7v7 Wednesday night co-ed league was having their season playoffs, and his team, Trix, were in 1st place heading into it. He has been playing on this team in different leagues (7v7, 9v9, 11v11, weeknight and weekend leagues, summer, fall, winter, and spring leagues, and even indoor and outdoor leagues). Needless to say, he plays a lot of soccer! Trix is just like the Caps in that they always seem to be in 1st place heading into the playoffs but never make it to the end to win it all.

Last night's playoffs started off with a game a 6:30. If they won this, then they would go to the semi-finals. If they lost, they would go home, empty-handed. I arrived at halftime and it was tied 2-2. Things were tense as Trix just didn't seem to be "on". The game ends and it's still tied 2-2 so it goes into overtime. Sudden death overtime followed by penalty kicks, if necessary. About 2 minutes into overtime, Trix scores! Hooray! Game over and they move on!

They have a bye for the next game so there's an hour of downtime which means nap time for the boyfriend:

Before you know it 8:30 comes along and its time to start the semi-finals. Our friend Julie shows up with her friend Jason to cheer on Trix as well. Trix dominated the game from the start with a quick goal by the boyfriend, and end up winning the game 4-0. Julie has to leave and I hope she doesn't take her good luck with her. 

The next game, the finals, starts right after the semi-finals. Some players have to go, leaving just one male and one female sub. Hope no one gets hurt! First half Trix scores leading 1-0. Second half starts and they get another one, 2-0. The last few minutes of the game Trix is looking great, they have possession and I just keep hoping they don't blow it. Time ticks down, the whistle blows, and Trix are CHAMPIONS! They finally did it - they won! After all this build-up, you would think they would have won some sort of amazing prize or something. Nope - just their picture on the league website and bragging rights. Victory nonetheless. Couldn't ask for a better birthday present for the boyfriend :)

Here they are for you, Trix Are For Kids, 7v7 Co-Ed League Champions, 2011 Spring Season, in all their glory: