A Comedy of Errors

It's Annual Meeting prep time again, and that means a site visit to Pittsburgh, PA to check out all our venues and explore options with catering, facilities, and the other event staffers.

The journey just ended about two hours ago, but it was supposed to start yesterday morning at the crack of dawn. Jeremy (my boss) and I have a knack for scheduling super early flights out of DC. So I was relieved that yesterday's flight didn't leave until 8:05am. I checked the itinerary before I left, and shouted as I walked out of the office on Friday, "I'll see you at 6:45 on Monday, Jeremy." Sunday night rolls around, I pack, and think I should run outside and check the itinerary, but I don't. I set my alarm for 4:45, finish packing, and head for bed. At 5:30, I'm making great time, about get dressed and walk out the door to the metro when I get a text from Jeremy: "You here yet?" Me: "Nah, I should get there around 6:33." Jeremy: "Our flight is at 6:00. You are kidding right?" Now... Jeremy is one who would kid, and make me think I was super late when I'm not, so I don't panic yet, but pick up the phone and dial Jeremy. He was NOT kidding. I heard the "now boarding zone 3 in the background," and panic hit. I threw on my dress, threw my toothbrush and hose in the bag, fly down the stairs, fling the suitcase in the front seat of my car, and drive like a maniac to the airport. I run at full speed toward what I think is the terminal, but then just keep hitting dead ends. I call Jeremy and I'm like, this is NOT looking good. He says, "See what you can do once you get to the desk, call MacNair and maybe they will be open before 8, or, you could always drive." I keep running for a few seconds then I come to an abrupt halt when I realize, this just isn't going to happen. So I stop, take a deep breath, call MacNair (our travel agent) and get directed to their emergency line. After quickly canceling my flight to avoid major penalties, we come to the agreement that flying just isn't an option. So, I get myself back in my car, google directions and start my trek to Pittsburgh.

To everyone's surprise, guess who arrived first at the Grand Pittsburgh Hotel? :) Me! I beat Jeremy by about 10 minutes. It turned out Jeremy had his own interesting morning, and I probably wouldn't have made it onto the connecting flight if we'd flown together since very-in-shape Jeremy was dripping sweat after running full speed through the terminals at JFK Airport in NY. He was the last to board the plane, and just barely made it by the end of his coat tails. We were both such a comedy of errors yesterday.

After my long, long day, it was nice to be an event planner. :) I needed a blood sugar pick me up when a tray of fruit arrived compliments of the hotel staff who also covered our lunch today.

Overall my take on Pittsburgh: when it's pretty, it's gorgeous, but all the rest of the time, it's dreary, cold, and just what you imagine Pittsburgh to be!

We got to walk through the Ballroom where my event will be, Heinz Stadium (and the Steelers locker room), this awesome old fire engine house, and the Console Energy Center where the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey. It was quite an adventure, and I tried not to look like too much of a nerd when I was taking photos of the Super Bowl trophies in the "Great Hall" at Heinz Stadium.Which is why all the photos are a little fuzzy... I used my bberry instead of the high tech camera.

Quick trip, funny trip, semi-productive trip. I'll be back there soon... and this time I won't miss my flight.

xoxo

Birthday Extravaganza in SC

It's been a long time coming. Both a new blog post and a trip home to the greatest state in the US of A. Since it's been so long I crammed a lot into a short time span, but loved every minute of it. I got to see some new family, old family, and dear, dear friends.

But before I take you on my journey to SC. I must say a big "Thank you!" to everyone who helped make my birthday such a fabulous one! And there were many of you. My cubicle at work was decorated and stocked with Starbucks for two days straight. I was beyond elation that I received not one,

not two,

but three beautiful floral arrangements.

If you know me, you know I love, love, love fresh flowers, so this was triple the excitement for me! I also got several phone calls and a bazillion facebook/email messages. Danielle even wrote her own bday song for me! The work crew wouldn't let me pay for lunch at Hard Times or happy hour. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Thank you!

I was also excited when this photo on my tweet about birthday lunch at Hard Times got retweeted by "Arlington's Best." Yay!

On Thursday after the birthday my plane lifted off from Dulles Airport (my not-so-favorite airport) en route to home home. Someone asked me on the plane if I was going or coming home. I wasn't exactly sure what to tell him, so I said I was coming home from home. Which really is the truth. Whether I'm coming or going, it's home.

There were a few main goals to the trip, and since I'm quickly approaching my self-set 10:00pm deadline on this, I'll use photos to tell you what they were. Check out the picasa web album here for more from my trip.

Reason #1:

The newest branch on the Young family tree. Isaac. It was such a delight to hold him in my hands and praise God that my sister, Brooke was able to bring him into this world healthy as he is, despite the complication thrown their way.

Reason #2:

My first nephews Andrew (left, red) and Matthew's (right, blue) 7th birthdays. I feel old. 7 years ago they were as tiny as our beautiful little preemy Isaac. So grateful for 7 amazing years, 5 of which I spent watching them grow up just a 30 minute car ride away. Miss you boys!

They greeted me in the airport when I got off at baggage claim. I was so happy to see them that I squeezed Matthew so tight in a hug that he said, "Ouch, Aunt Sarah! Too tight!"

They're all growing up so fast! Lillian is about to turn 4. I loved this photo too much not to share! I know, photos galore!

Reason #3:

A beautiful wedding and rehearsal dinner for my former boss (and former NRA employee) Jennifer Bradey, and the man she met and fell in love with under my watch.

This is Jennifer with her dad, but I must tell you that if you could see her footwear, you would understand the purpose of the photo at that moment! Jennifer sported cowboy boots under her wedding dress for the reception at the Spartanburg Country Club. AND, in their engagement photos they're sitting on the bed of an old pick-up holding their prized possessions: their hunting firearms. I died when I saw it!

I spent a good portion of the evening catching up with my big sis and fellow Converse alum (Jennifer is one too) Mallory Beckett. We really did have a great time, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Photo props to one of my favorite HBA board members and his wife, Jay and Allie Beeson.

Reason #4: Celebrating my birthday with my parents, which I somehow... didn't get a photo of, and I'm REALLY hoping my dad got at least one photo of each of us together.

Mom scheduled a visiting hour for my friends from Lexington and Aiken (she tried to surprise me), and I was so delighted to have some quality time with three of my closest girlfriends.

My "might as well be" lifelong best friend Courtney stopped by on her way to the hospital where she just got asked (repeatedly) to take a promotion to Assistant Nurse Manager of the night shift, (aka she's amazing at what she does). Yep, that's my friend!

And a trip to SC just wouldn't be complete without seeing my fellow Connie besties Margaret and Danielle. Wooh, I was so tired by the time his pic was taken, but I was so happy to welcome them for a visit.

Oh, and how could I forget my boys? Well, I should say my men. :) Clay and Jake both made time for me on Saturday to hang out with them and catch up on life as we know it. Unfortunately, I have no photo documentation, which I'm hitting myself for now.

I'm going to TRY to blog tomorrow after Trivia about my visit to the old stomping grounds of Converse, but please forgive me if it waits a few days. I'm already 10 minutes over my deadline, and I must put my freshly washed sheets on my bed before I can tuck myself in it for another nights beauty rest!

xoxo

I drank sour milk today, and it was yucky

Well, I only had one sip, but it was still enough to make me gag. Bleh! I really needed it to go with my cake that I made. Boo! I felt like baking today, since it was a little chilly and I had no big plans, I thought baking would be perfect and a great opportunity to use my relatively new bundt cake pan. It's not exactly a birthday cake, but I guess some people might assume that's what I was going for.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake Oh it is yummy! It tastes very much like a coffee cake, but the bottom of the cake has this delicious crunchiness like a tasty snickerdoodle cookie. It definitely was in need of milk. Too bad my milk was sour. Sad.

In two hours, I'll officially be 24. Maybe I should've made two dozen cupcakes instead of a bundt cake. I spent this weekend exploring some new places in my neighborhood thanks to the October issue of The Washingtonian.

As I was in line at the grocery store, one of the headlines on the magazine caught my attention: "The Best of Capitol Hill." I made an impulse decision and purchased it to see exactly what they think "the best" of my hood is. Several spots they mentioned are right-on with things I know, but others were places I didn't know existed, or small places I've passed a billion times, but wasn't sure they would be any good.

One such place was 7th Hill pizzeria just a few steps away from the Eastern Market that I so often go to for fruits and veggies. I decided to try it for my birthday dinner on Saturday night. Although the establishment is quite small, the pizza is incredibly delicious. I only regret that I didn't get any photos of the food or the night.

This morning after I walked to church in the surprisingly chilly air, I stopped by Peregrine Espresso to grab a coffee to knock off the chill from the walk around the market. Peregrino was also recommended as a "best" by The Washingtonian. I got excited because the Macchiato was only $2.75, but then I found out that the macchiato was two shots of espresso and a splash of milk in a cup the size of a bathroom Dixie cup. I quickly realized that was not going to do the trick of warming me up, so I changed my order to a latte with a shot of vanilla. I've never seen a coffee that looked so beautiful.

It was different from my standard Starbucks grande skinny vanilla latte, but it was good! And, I discovered that they're vanilla syrup was legitimate vanilla syrup not that stuff that comes out of a squirt bottle. I'm most assuredly going back there to try the treats in their bakery counter including a spinach and gruyere scone. Mmm, so good. I think they're all-organic. If only I could have one of their lattes for my birthday tomorrow morning. Work crew is throwing me a shindig after work, I'm excited!

I'm going to continue checking out what they think is the best, and see if I agree or disagree. I'll let y'all know my thoughts. But in the meantime... Ironman 2 just ended, and it is bedtime! Unfortunately it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess I'll have to skip my morning run. Good thing I walked so much this weekend my feet hurt!

Happy Birthday, Mom and Dad! Love y'all!

xo

On the Road Again

Seventh grade SC History class is a class I will never forget, although the subject matter may be a bit blurry and the teacher's name may or may not have been Mr. Corley. One of the things I remember clearly is this show we'd watch on Fridays that aired on PBS and had to have been made in the 70s. The premise of the show was this guy traveling the state in an RV, and the theme song was "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson. Still to this day, that song gets stuck in my head.

I know for many people, being on the road for work is a way of life, and it becomes a thing they hate, but my weekend trip to Albuquerque, NM, was a nice change from the scope of my everyday job at 11250 Waples Mill Rd. The point of the trip was originally to observe and learn about the Clubs side of our division by attending their Club U, but when the normal Friends of NRA presenter for the state of NM dropped out unexpectedly, I was called on to fill in and speak about our program. It was a quick trip, leaving Friday morning early and flying back home Sunday morning early. Although it was short it was quite exhausting due to the time change and my encroaching illness. A larger selection of pictures can be found here, but I've included some of the highlights in this post.

The land was so desolate! Miles of brown with no house.

This is no river like I've seen before.

Friday afternoon we traveled into Old Town and saw some of the interesting shops that make up the historic portion of the city of Albuquerque. I was fascinated with the red chiles hanging, and when I first made the comment that they could be the focus of an artsy photographer, our professional photographer Lars laughed and thought I was kidding. Guess who has as many shots on his camera of chiles as I do?

We discovered this cute shop filled with kaleidoscopes. I felt like a kid again, until I saw this beautiful piece of art. It's equipped with a light to shine on the balloon that makes the colors almost heavenly when you look through it. The photo is actually contraband, because after I took it while the shop owner was in the back, when she came to tell us more about it and Lars tried to take a snapshot, she refused to let him do so. Oops! I just had to share. The pricetag: $1400. Not a toy!

We then traveled up the 2.7 mile long cables of the Sandia Peak Tram to the High Finance restaurant on the top of the mountain overlooking the city. It is the highest tram in the US, and has played host to 270,000 people since it's opening not all that long ago. I must admit, that although I'm not afraid of heights, I did experience altitude sickness.

The scenery at the top was well worth it though. Here are just a few of the shots.

Saturday was work, and my speech went really well! Then we were off to dinner at Sadie's for traditional NM cuisine.

Carne Adovada Enciladas in blue corn tortillas

On our way back on Sunday, we flew over one of the Great Lakes as we descended into Chicago's O'Hare Airport. And the colors were just remarkable.

The trip was great, but I'm still recovering from it and the DC allergen that has been tormenting me for the past week. I'm actually in a hurry to get off here so I can stop dozing and actually fall asleep. It'll only be a few days, and I, like Willie Nelson, will be "on the road again." This time I'll be heading home, not away from it.

Welcome Isaac, Welcome Allen, and Helloooo Google!

Ello, loves! I hope you all enjoyed the glorious weekend weather and company I did! Friday, Saturday, Sunday... delightful.

My Friday morning was so unproductive as I awaited the arrival of my newest (now I know) NEPHEW, Isaac, and I was so happy to finally hear he and Brooke were safe, happy, healthy and beautiful.

We hope to have photos sans tubes very soon, but he is precious none-the-less, and I'm sure to be as proud of him as my other 4, wait, I already am!

Monday the event services team minus Jeremy traveled to googleDC in Northwest for the opening lecture of Advertising Week DC. It was not put on by Google, just in their office space, but Google's political sector dude was a panelist, although he looked as if he was either extremely tired and sad or partaking in the powder of addiction. The lecture, however, was uninspiring. We were thinking they'd address the new uses of social media, but they didn't, despite the deceiving title. While the lecture was uninspiring, the googleDC space was anything but.

Amber said it looked like a kindergarten room, and it kind of did with all the primary colors, but I was in my happy place: creative land!! The meeting space was ultra mod, and you should've seen the entrance to their offices. It had brightly colored carpets, yoga balls for chairs, giant flat screens, Andy Warhol style art, mod chairs, and globe lighting. Oh I would love going to work in an environment like that! We found room on their whiteboard of ideas for our mark. :)

Today's excitement: Allen arrived in DC! I haven't seen him in almost a year, and it so awesome to finally have him up here, even if this visit just serves as a tease until November, post-election. Allen is my friend who serves as a campaign manager, and he's been up to DC about 4 times since I moved, but everytime I'm unavailable due to work. The funny thing is... this weekend, while he's in town I'll be in NM on business travel. So, I promised him every evening this week.

Tonight's events: a battle of the receptions. Clemson vs. USC. I met up with Allen at Charlie Palmer for the Clemson alumni lobbying event (where all food was bite-sized according to ethics regulations), and then we headed over to the National Gallery of African American Art for the USC reception. It was fun to get a glimpse of Allen's world in politics. I admire his ability to speak so eloquently no matter the topic. Good thing I know how to smile, nod and look pretty, because I certainly didn't know about half the subjects discussed. It was fun to get out of my bubble though, and I so enjoyed spending time with Allen. Can't wait for tomorrow's busy agenda!

Speaking of busy agenda, I must shut this computer off so I can get sleep to run in the am. We'll see if that happens!! I know I can, I know I can, I know I can...

xo

PS... pardon the photos the last 3 photos, they're all from cellular devices. 

The end of summer, and the beginning of something wonderful!

The past couple of weekends DC has begun drifting into Fall, and I must say that if this is what Fall in DC is like, give me more! The temperatures are mild, the sun is shining but not blazing, and the cool breeze makes a sweater just necessary in the evening and morning hours. Don't you worry, I'm soaking it up and not staying cooped up inside.

Labor Day weekend feels like just yesterday (as does my last blog post) when in reality it's almost two full weeks ago. Danielle, dearest Dani, came for a visit and a wedding and blessed me with her presence Thursday night through Tuesday morn. Since it's getting late and I don't want this post to be forever long, I'll just give you the highlights.

Friday evening Danielle joined Sarah and Zach for pitcher 1 of Sangria at Jazz in the Sculpture Garden until I had time to get home, change, and briskly walk the not-so-short distance to the garden to meet them for pitcher 2. (Please note at an average pace it normally takes 45 minutes, and I did it in 30 +the 5 minutes I stopped to take photos of the NGA with the gorgeous flowers and lighting.) I think it was worth the photo op, don't you?

These haven't made it to Photoshop yet either... but they will. ;)

We had a grand time at the garden catching up. Sarah and I hadn't seen each other in weeks, so it was great that our schedules finally found time for us to meet. Sarah, maybe we should get schedulers like the congressmen have!

Ok, so I talked all about how the weather was... well... Friday, it was HOT. We were all glistening a little extra that evening, and Zach caught us primping Dani before the photo. I thought it was cute enough to share.

A few moments after this photo, Dani and I parted ways with Sarah and Zach to make our reservations at Cure Bar & Bistro where they are said to specialize in pairing tapas with wine selections. Danielle and I had a nice little chat with the sommelier who settled in on a Petit Syrah called "Spellbound" that he said should be the perfect compromise for Dani and I's varying tastes.

We weren't starving so we opted to go with a cheese board, a crab pie, and a tomato mozzarella salad. The cheese board was only supposed to come with three but the sommelier must have liked us, because he added an extra one that "he thought we'd like." He was right! Our waitress need not be forgotten in our praise for the sommelier. She also was quite good and made sure we were served well. The food... delicious. Wine, yum!

After our dinner we hopped a cab to meet up with Valerie, Callon, Katie, and some other ladies for a nice evening out. We traveled from our meeting point at the historic Old Ebbit's to POV on the rooftop of the W Hotel. Check out the Point of View from POV.

That's the Dept of the Treasury which plays neighbor to the White House that you can't make out because of the lighting, but I promise, it was there, and I could see it as plain as the Dept of the Treasury. The prices of course were escalated by the magnificent location, SO, we didn't stay there too long before moving elsewhere. But we stayed long enough for photos!

They didn't plan this, they promise!

Saturday we ventured out of the house relatively early for brunch at Matchbox around the corner from me. I got stuffed french toast with a honey-butter syrup, and it was delicious! I was so sad that we left the leftovers in the car too long to be able to eat them later. But the syrup stayed good for my pancakes this past weekend, and I think I can identify the ingredients. New recipe: here I come!

After brunch we headed on foot to Capitol Hill Books, just across the street from the Eastern Market. Christina's friend's friend recommended it to me after church the other week, and I thought Dani of all people would enjoy it with me. Now... please take in all aspects of this photo. Notice the windows... all the windows. Now if you opened the door, this is what you'd see:

Books

Books to the roof

Books on the stairs

Books, books, EVERYWHERE

I must admit. I had to tinkle, and in my time of need, I had to ask a fellow to get off the toilet (where there were MORE books) so that I could go. BEWARE: If you have OCD, never enter Capitol Hill Books!

Fortunately, I don't have OCD, and I loved it. They had new books, old books, non-fiction, language, current best-sellers, and old cookbooks. I know it sounds morbid, but the gentleman who owns the store said that he gets most of his books from dead people. I was delighted, though, to find that the books extend to music books as well. 

These unmarked treasures were 75 cents each. I would've bought them if I'd had a piano nearby, but I thought someone else could enjoy them until I have one to play. The red book was Handel, I believe, but I can't remember and you can't tell from the photo. They had a Music Theory text book that was dated 1944, and one from the 1800s. Oh, I was in heaven just holding them.

Both of us ended up walking out with a best-seller that was half the price of the major book stores, and mine is barely cracked. I'll update you on what I'm reading in another post since I'd get all too descriptive if I began.

We took our books and headed to the ... Library of Congress patio to drink our specially crafted sodas from We, The Pizza and enjoy the sunshine before taking a quick self-guided tour of the Library, which Dani had surprisingly never seen.

The rest of the weekend we spent in different directions, her with the wedding, and me with co-worker outings, but it was a fabulous weekend getting to see her!

I have more to write but I realize this is getting too long for the average enjoyment, so I will try my best to write again Saturday. Much love! xo