Wed-nes-day Confession

Happy hump day, my friends. Happy rainy, dreary, yet surprisingly productive hump day.

Here's the confession: When I spell Wednesday, I always break it out that way and literally say each piece in my head. WED - NES - DAY

Also, has anyone else woken up every frickin day this week thinking (hoping) it was Thursday? No? Just me? Weird. That seems to be a trend in my life.

Don't you love a good drama

All HQ employees received the following e-mail this morning...and this afternoon, we each received an 8-ounce bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer. I think they might be distributing face masks tomorrow. Rumor has it the haz-mat suit distribution is scheduled for May 15.

Announcements
Hand sanitizer distribution: Today the security office will begin distributing hand sanitizer to all Headquarters employees to use as a precautionary measure in our on-going efforts to help reduce the risk from the current outbreak of influenza. Security staff will deliver the hand sanitizer to your office. A table with the sanitizers will be set up in the Dining Facility, and if you prefer, you can pick up yours at that table starting today.

Random Flashback: Calves

One summer while I was home from college I belonged to a Bally's Total Fitness. I was there working out one day when an older body builder type who quite closely resembled Fabio tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You have really great calf muscles."

The end.

North Carolina

Luke and I went to Wilmington, NC over Easter weekend (yeah yeah yeah, I know...it was 2 weeks ago...). We hung out with his cousins at a great little house on the coast, played bocce ball on the beach, drank and played card games, and then met up with my aunt and uncle for brunch on Easter Sunday. They fed our sorry, hung over, tired little asses, and then took us out on their boat. It was a sunny day and the cool air was just what we needed to lift our spirits for the seven hour drive home. Thanks Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Steve!













Hey look! There's a tall ship!


















And a shrimp boat! Forrest Gump anyone?

Overall, a great weekend. But I was left with this one burning question: Who's the genius who let a 13-year-old boy name his boat?

The Cowboy

Livin' out in the wild rough country,
Ridin' horses and eatin' beef jerky.
When walks by a young lass,
Batted lashes and sass,
"Hey gal, save a horse and ride me!"

As requested by Sarah, in honor of Bridget, Big & Rich, and Murphy's Pub.

Confessions...

Guys, I must admit, I totally squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle.

And I dance in front of the mirror in my room.

Don't judge me.

My Awesome Weekend

It's a gloomy Monday, but my great weekend is enough to get me through! It started with an awesome 70-something degree day on Friday. I woke up, wrestled with Bailey cat, tried to escape from some serious tickle torture, and then metroed down to Old Town Alexandria with Luke for our very first apartment viewing together! (Blah blah blah, boring, dark, cramped apartment, blah blah blah) Then we ran...we ran in tank tops and shorts along the waterfront, under cherry blossoms, past dogs catching Frisbees, and around kids playing in the dirt. An excellent run...my longest yet.

And to make my Friday even better...BRIDGET showed up at my door! All the way from Columbus, Ohio, this brilliant woman had graced me with a visit. All who think she should move to DC, say "Aye!"

Saturday was a blinking-the-sleep-from-my-eyes kind of morning that started at 7:30 (thanks Luke...). To Great Falls for another beautiful day of climbing. Where we were approached by Robb Scharetg, who wanted to photograph us in action for Virginia Living Magazine. Whaaaa? We climbed a killer route and Robb caught it all on film. Robb was a wealth of knowledge about climbing, kayaking, traveling, and as it turns out, he is a genius with a camera. Luke and I may be on the inside cover of May's edition! More to come...

Saturday night: delicious Indian food, 90s music at Saloun (courtesy of White Ford Bronco), awesome laughs, good times with my happy friends, and lots of beers with the Bridget! And then a trip to the "cheese steak" shop, a drunken walk home, a phone call to one sleeping Sarah, and lots more laughs with Bridget. And then I woke up...at 6 am...on the couch...in my clothes. WHYYYYYYY God???

Also, I love Catch Phrase...I will hunt down and KISS whoever (whomever? whatever...) invented that game.

Pluto

Teeny tiny ninth planet of ours,
Unreachable, less known than Mars.
So proudly you floated
Until being demoted,
Dear Pluto, you're ice among stars.








Update 4/20: I stand corrected...it appears that the debate about Pluto continues. Dear Pluto may not be an ice chunk after all! Thanks for the comment of clarification, Laurel!

And after some google searching, it also appears that there are entire websites dedicated to limericks about space and science! I'm totally intrigued/confused/in awe at the human race. I love people.

The Ides of April

Haaaaaaaappy Tax Day! For once in my life I'm not scrambling to meet a deadline. Ladies and Gents, my taxes have been filled out, checked, double-checked, signed, sealed and mailed off for over a week. I recognize that this is not a big feat for other humans in my life (the disciplined, motivated ones...you know the type). For me, it's monumental.

If...

I don't do bumper stickers on my car, but if I had a Trapper Keeper, I'd totally put this sticker on it.

Etsy

When Sarah requested that my next limerick be on Etsy, I was thrilled! I'd just purchased this awesome throw pillow on Etsy the day before! :)

Etsy

Danger! Beware online shopping.
My bank balance rapidly dropping.
It's often agreed
I buy things I don't need,
But I have no intention of stopping!


p.s. Click here for the seller's information. I love patterned throw pillows.

Word of the day

Type "job frustration" into Google and click search. I have no idea who this woman is, but she came up repeatedly in the Images section of the search.

I think she's doing a wonderful job portraying my feelings. So wonderful, in fact, that I now actually feel quite better! Good job, lady. You deserve a raise. And a less frustrating job.

Winter "Fun"

Luke and I have been on outdoor-activity-overload since the weather has started turning and I love it. But it made me realize how miserable I'm going to be once it gets cold again. So even though it's only April and we have an entire 6 months of warm weather ahead of us, we've been discussing cold weather activities. Here's his latest e-mail to me. My responses are in red. Tell me you don't agree...

Ok here is a list of winter activities that are awesome. You don’t like any of them.

Ice skating. i can do that...i kind of like it actually
Downhill skiing. sometimes. one day a month maybe. or once a winter. or (in reality) four times in my life.
Cross-country skiing. seems annoying, but i'll try it.
Snowmobiles (maybe once a year that would be fun for me but I couldn’t do it all the time like some). meh, not high on my list.
Camping in cozy cabins with fireplaces and snow everywhere outside. this one gets an A+++ i'm in.
Ice climbing (never tried but sounds pretty awesome, same concept as rock limbing but you have Ice picks on your feet and in your hands). um, hi, i can barely haul mySELF up a wall...you want me to try it on ICE with METAL on my hands and feet?! ha!
Hot tubs. for 10 minutes at a time and only if they're not too hot and the water level isn't too high and there isn't a disgusting froth on top.
Snow shoe hikes. boring.
Dogsleds. i like dogs. sleds...meh...i could take them or leave them. sledding always makes me think of a wet wool scarf covering my face. ick.

Thuesday

I woke up today gripping my pillow, squeezing my eyes shut, and convincing myself that it couldn't possibly be my alarm that I was hearing. When the harsh reality of my grim situation sunk in, I cracked one eye and fumbled through the apps on my phone to change my alarm...who needs make up? I need 20 more minutes. And for those 20 wonderful minutes, I slept, blissfully believing that it was Thursday. And when the alarm went off again, *WAP* reality smashed my face again and gave me a black eye.

It's most definitely Tuesday.

GOOOOOD MOOOOOOOOOORNING!

Muscles and such

Every day that I wake up sore is a day closer to being back in shape. Sounds ridiculous, but it's such a good feeling. On Saturday, we went to Great Falls, set up ropes, and I climbed until my fingers were raw and I was sure my shoulders would give out. I had a great time, and have the bruises on my legs to prove it! Yesterday Luke and I went for a 12 mile bike ride - we ventured into Maryland...dun dun duuuuun. And as soon as we'd collapsed into his bed upon our return, he jumped up and exclaimed, "What are we doing!? We have a RUN to do!!!" Oh the joys of dating a triathlete. I can't wait for next weekend :)

Little Debbie

Remember Little Debbie brownies? I had a hankering for one today, and since I certainly wasn't doing much else that was productive, I convinced my coworker to accompany me on a trek over to CVS. Best idea I'd had all day - it stopped raining and it's a perfect spring day!

I got back to my desk with my wares and my mouth watered as I opened the cellophane and the familiar sticky sweet smell reached my nose. It was as good as I'd remembered, and even though I got sick of it about half way through, I wasn't quite ready to give up on Debbie. I forced myself to eat every last chocolate morsel.

And now my stomach hurts. What was IN that thing??? I just took a peek at the nutrition information (which I generally tend to disregard...what's the point?!). 510 calories for 1 brownie. One INDIVIDUAL brownie. That's about 1/3 of my TOTAL caloric intake on most days. No wonder American kids suffer obesity and diabetes! I don't quite have what you'd call a "household" yet, but when I do, Little Debbie will certainly not be a part of it!

Also, I used the word "hankering" in this post.

The Opera

Your lungs full, your mouth open wide.
The men in the house are brain-fried.
You might suffocate,
But your bosom looks great,
And you'll still hit that C sharp with pride.

I'm addicted

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

Rock Climbing!

Luke took me to Sport Rock on Monday evening for some climbing. I can count the number of times I've climbed on one hand (4 fingers, to be exact), but I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. And yesterday I woke up thinking about the 5.9 route that I was almost able to do without messing it up. I kind of can't wait to get back up there and conquer it. I'm being sucked into this sport that leaves me aching and bruised and tired and inexplicably drooling for more!

Now please excuse me a moment while I address my arms:

Dear Arms,

It's Thursday. We went climbing on Monday. MONDAY! I'm begging your forgiveness. All I want is to be able to pick up my coffee cup without feeling like a soldering iron is running through my deltoids. Please have mercy.