Thankful Thoughts

I am thankful for my wonderful family and all of the support that they give me. I am thankful that my mom never says "I told you so," even when she really did tell me so. I am thankful for my stepdad for completing his endless honey-do list that makes my mom happy. I am thankful that I got to experience my parents wonderful gift of music through the Concert of Hope this year. I'm thankful for our family vacation at Edisto!

I am thankful for my mom and grandmother for the love of southern food and cooking that they have passed on to me. I am thankful that they answer my questions when I call them numerous times when I'm trying one of their recipes. I am thankful for the success of my first ever cake client last week (German Chocolate cake AND a Pound cake!)


I am thankful for the way my sister always understands me and always makes me laugh. I am thankful that she can tell by the tone of my voice if something is wrong. I am thankful for her husband who makes her happy. I am thankful that he hooked my new ipod up to my car tonight and saved me from buying yet another accessory!

I am thankful for my dad, who worries about me way more than he should. I am thankful that he checks up on me and reminds me to check the oil in my car. I am thankful for his gentle and kind spirit and the incredibly high example he set for any guy that may come into my life. I am thankful for my stepmother who is always so very thoughtful and truly embraces the spirit of each and every holiday. I am thankful for cousins, grandparents, and step siblings!

I am thankful for my best friend, Elizabeth, who I have known since I was 10. I am thankful that we still talk every week and for the honesty that we share with each other.


I am thankful for my college friends and the memories that we share.



I am thankful for Shira and that she is pursuing a dream by spending next year in South Africa.


I am thankful for my roomates that we can share the good days and the bad and usually solve everything by watching old episodes of Sex in the City.

I am thankful for these two that remind me how to be a kid.


I am thankful for my job and the opportunity to participate in health reform on behalf of children. I am thankful that I got to experience President Obama's Inauguration! I am thankful that I got to hear First Lady Michelle Obama speak at an event this fall!

I am thankful for all the comforts of home- the friendly faces, the slower pace, the southern hospitality, the homemade meals, and endless amounts of sweet tea. I am thankful for the Braves and that Clemson won the ACC Atlantic Division championship!

I am thankful for my faith and the foundation and appreciation of Church that my family always provided. I am thankful for the wisdom to let go when I needed to let go. And I am thankful for the peace that followed.

I am thankful for quiet reflections and memories that the holiday season brings.

I am thankful for this blog and each person that reads it! What are you thankful for?

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Field Trip to the White House

I recently had the opportunity to attend not one, but two White House events. Both events were held at the Executive Office Building, which is on the White House grounds. I've been on a tour of the Executive Office Building and the West Wing of the White House, thanks to a family friend that was working there. But had never been to the Executive Office Building for anything official.

The bigger of the two events feature the First Lady. She gave her first big speech on health care reform, which got a lot of press. It was a fabulous speech on women in health reform.

Moments like this remind me of why I moved to DC in the first place. This sort of opportunity doesn't come up all that often. On our walk there, we saw Chuck Todd- NBC's White House Correspondent! (DC star sightings aren't like they may be in NYC or LA.)

Anyway, in typical DC fashion, we saw some interesting sights on the walk there and back. Protesters....

Numerology

Like I've already said, there was a lot going on last week! It was nice having my mom and step dad around for an extended visit. They're both so handy and did numerous things around our house. I already spoke of my mom's cooking. But to show you just how much they did, here's a wrap up of their visit by the numbers!

31 degrees was the average temperature last week

24 deck screws used by my step dad to secure steps on our deck

20 hand/toe warmers used by all three of us on inauguration day

18 bags of leaves raked up by my step dad

14 Obama souvenirs purchased by my mom

8 light bulbs changed (inside and out) by my step dad

6-7 (approximate) miles walked on Inauguration Day

5 pounds of butter (that's 20 sticks, people!!!) cooked by my mom and consumed by us all!

4 trips to the grocery store

3 articles of clothing mended by my mom

2 monuments visited

1 new garden hose caddy installed by my step dad

My parents did so many things to help us out around our house last week. It sounds like we were apparently living in a dark, run-down place, covered in leaves! It's really a nice house, I swear! We can't thank them enough for everything they did. They said they had "fun" trip...I guess your definition of "fun" changes as you get older??? Just Kidding! Hopefully they'll come back for more "fun" soon!

Welcome to Washington, President Obama!

What a day! Unless you live under a rock, you've probably had your fill of Inauguration Day news. All eyes have been on Washington, my hometown (term used loosely), the last few days. I have to admit that I was undecided about making the journey into the city to be a part of everything in person. The excitement built, my parents are visiting, we decided to go. I had 4 layers of shirts, 3 layers on the bottom, 2 layers on the feet, plus a long heavy jacket, warm boots, 2 scarves, 2 pair of gloves, 2 hats and a partridge in a pear tree.

I know, I know....I didn't feel pretty either.

We had an early and rough start to the day. I live just close enough that officials recommended walking in to downtown, but just far enough to make it a loooooong walk. So we decided to take our chances on the closest metro station to get us closer. That was mistake #1. So many people, trains packed like sardines, and technical difficulties.

On to Plan B.

We started walking in hopes of finding a cab to get us as close to Memorial Bridge as possible. Have I ever mentioned how useless cabbies are and how much I hate them? Well, I do. Mr. Cab Driver #1 told us he couldn't go on any of the necessary roads. This later turned out to be totally false.

On to Plan C (a hail Mary if you will)....walk. Policeman #1 told us we could proceed on road. So we walk. Policeman #2 tells us we can't proceed on road. We almost give up. (The temperature was around 20 degrees and the wind chill was lower than that. Oh, and in case you forgot, we're from the south and aren't used to this type of cold.)

Long story short, Mr. Cab Driver #2 (aka gift from God) comes along to save us, drives us into DC. We get dropped off near the National's stadium and we do what we came to do best today: WALK. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked some more. We walked alongside what seemed like the entire continental United States.

We were walking for about a total of 3 hours before we settled in the shadows beneath the Washington Monument. We were literally right in the middle of the National Mall. We had an okay view of a jumbotron and were able to hear and see all the action.

I've been an Obama fan and supporter since he first came on the scene. I literally got chills when I heard Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Chills again when hearing his speeches on the (very long) campaign trail. Major chills when he secured the democratic nomination. Even more chills when he won the election last November. So you can imagine that it wasn't just the cold weather that gave me chills when he took the oath of office today and made history.

Back to our story....Even though we couldn't feel our feet, we had no choice but to (you guessed it) start WALKING. We started walking in the direction of Virginia, knowing we had to walk the entire length of the Mall, across the Memorial Bridge (over an iced over river), to grandmother's house we go....

We finally made it to Arlington Cemetery, took the metro back to my house, and finally- collapsed. (And thawed out- our piles of clothes looked liked we were actually melted snowmen!)


I may not be able to move tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure we'd do it all over again to experience what we did. It was striking to me, that even though the masses of people had to walk our little heads off in subfreezing temperatures, the spirit and mood was joyous, friendly, kind, and courteous. Everything was sunny and bright. Things are definitely ch-ch-ch-changing in our nation's capital, and hopefully the nation.

The walk was long, but worth every single step.

Inauguration Day

Yes, I braved the cold and the unprecedented crowds to watch the Inauguration today. We were literally in the middle of it all- watching from the Washington Monument. More thoughts on this to come, but it was an amazing experience.

The Famous Dream

This is an exciting week for me and many people across the country and world as we prepare to see Barack Obama inaugurated as our 44th President. But let us always remember the "dreamers" that helped break so many racial, social and emotional barriers. It is such a fitting kick-off to this historic week that we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. May we always be inspired to dream.

Giving Thanks

I caught a few minutes of The View yesterday and Whoopi Goldberg went off on a tangent about how we've skipped right over Thanksgiving in anticipation for Christmas. I'll admit that our house is already decorated and I did sneak and listened to some Christmas music this week. But I don't want to be guilty of skiping Thanksgiving...it's a great holiday and I have so many things to be thankful for.

As I reflect on the last year, I've been blessed with many things. First and foremost I am so very grateful for the wonderful family and friends in my life. I cherish them all more than they know. But I'll save that for around the Thanksgiving table.

On a lighter side for the blog, I'm listing a few things that I'm grateful for right now and in the past year.


I'm thankful....

for my new brother-in-law!

that Beyonce decided to write a few songs for me (Single Ladies to name one of them!)

that DC bars and restaurants are smoke-free!

that the election is over! (And my guy won!)

that my car's AC was fixed (thanks mama!) Have you ever had to ride south in a car in 100+ degree heat for 8 hours while sitting on leather seats???? I have. And NEVER wish to again.

the new job that I got this year.

for Gossip Girl and Brothers and Sisters.

that I rescued my pearl earring when I dropped it down the bathroom sink...all by myself! (It was disgusting...ever taken apart the bathroom sink drain before? Grossest. Thing. Ever.)

that the National League won the world series (even if it wasn't my beloved Braves!)

that my fantasy team didn't suck this year even after loosing Tom Brady.

that I have a parking space and can drive to work. I don't miss anything about the cold/hot walk to the metro, fighting the crowd to get a seat, and dealing with rude people in the "germ factory."

that I started this blog!

that you're reading my blog!



I'd love to know what you're thankful for...leave it in the comment section to keep the list going!
I wish each of you the warmest wishes for a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

XOXO


PS- Margaret and Helen's blog is hilarious today.

PPS- Don't miss Oprah's Favorite Things episode tomorrow. It's a little different this year as she's scaling back and sharing "affordable" gifts this time around.

Front Porch Friday

This is my sister's kindergarten class the day after the election.

Her caption:
11.5.08 My babies with Mr. Ovid. I am so excited that I can look each of my students in the eye and tell them with no doubt that no matter your race, background, or socioeconomic status, if you work hard YOU CAN be anything you want to be!

Election 2008 = History

What an Election this has been! I wish I had some sort of clever and profound words to say. I have literally been speechless since 11:00 pm last night when Obama was named the next President of the United States. I'm soaking it all in and enjoying every moment of it.

I vividly remember 4 years ago, driving back to DC after campaigning for my team and loosing. The outlook for the democratic party was extremely grim. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed what has happened this week.

Congrats to a great campaign and effort from Sen. McCain. He is a true American hero in every sense of the word. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.

No matter what your political beliefs are, I hope that you appreciate and embrace the history that has been made. There is a lot of difficult work ahead to steer our country back on track. But today, it is a wonderful day to be an American.

Front Porch Friday

Here's the Obama pumpkin that I carved alst weekend! I got the template from Yes We Carve.

Some Blog Love

I thought I would share a few blogs that I'm loving right now.

Margaret and Helen- My mom sent this blog to me. Helen and Margaret are eighty-something bloggers. Their candor and humor makes this one a knee-slapper. (I'm in to 80 somethings these days....If you haven't watched Cloris Leachman on Dancing with the Stars, you're missing out!! Seriously go watch her online now!)

Yes We Can Hold Babies- This is obviously campaign influenced and posts pictures of Obama with kids or kids supporting Obama. The captions make this adorable, no matter what your political preference may be.

Living Oprah- If you know me, you know that I'm an Oprah fan. This is a blog that a woman started when she decided to live an entire year as Oprah tells us to. She has a blog about every show and tracks the assignments AND how much she spends. She was interviewed on the Today Show last week and you can view the segment here.

It's a crazy world right now, and these sites make me pause, laugh, and put things in perspective.

Feel free to share other suggestions in the comment section or email them to me!

Obama Drama

It is not my intention to make this blog about politics. But I do live in DC and politics is one of my interests so from time to time, there may be a very lighthearted blog about the political world!

Maybe it's just me, but this election, particularly on the Democratic side has had enough drama for a Lifetime movie! From the beginning, the very fact that two historical candidates (a woman and an African American) both had a chance at winning the nomination, setting the party up for a historical campaign and presidential election. The primary came down to the wire with plenty of twists and turns. Then came the ironic "bringing the party together" rally in a town called Unity, NH. Maybe a little over the top- but they had a point to make, right?

Now we're just over 2 months from the election and we still don't know the running mate for either side! So the suspense continues and we're awaiting an exciting text message with our answer (because a regular 'ole press conference type announcement just wouldn't do!)

To up the drama factor Sen. Obama will officially accept the party's nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28th. Just perfect!

This could not have been written any better! What could the next two months hold?
This is much better than watching any Stories (Soap Operas)! I'll be sitting by my cell and on the edge of my seat, waiting for a fairytale ending!

UPDATE: So we obviously know who all the VP picks are now. Just wanted to add that McCain's choice in Gov. Palin definitely thickens the plot! Happy Campaign Season!