Baby Falcons

Here are the rip off pictures of us with the baby falcons. I hope you enjoy them because they work out to roughly $3 a piece.

Matmata

The other major highlight of our trip was the trip to the troglodyte home in Matmata. It was so completely different from anything I've seen or experienced and the bread was delicious.

My First Baby Camel

See why I wanted to take one home with me?

Sunset over the Sahara

I think Nicholas and I would both agree that our camel ride was the highlight of our trip.

Tunisia in a Nutshell

Tozeur, originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Motorbikes and these semi-creepy posters of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who is up for "reelection" in 2009.

Tour of the Palmerie

Before we left for our desert excursion we had a few hours in Tozeur to wonder around. We took a a carriage tour through the Palmeraie which is the second largest in the country with around 260,000 palm. In addition to date palm trees, the section we visited had bananas, fig trees, pomegranate, and orange trees.




The best part was at one point our very elderly guide suddenly started climbing one of the trees to retrieve some jasmine blossom for me. It was a little disarming but the jasmine did smell fantastic.

Portrait of a fisherman

Bardo Museum, originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

At the Bardo Museum in Tunis

London

Our trip

I took just over 400 pictures on our trip so I'm trying to figure out the best way to post some of my favorites. I thought I'd just start chronologically and work my way through.































I took this on the way to the airport in New York City. It's the Waterfall Installation by Julienne Schaer and I had really wanted to see it. So, I took this as a good omen.

We're back!

Treading through Tunisia from hollandnm on Vimeo.


Here's a sneak peak of the pics to come. I took pictures of my feet all across the country from the sands of the Sahara to mosaics in a Roman villa.

Day nine

After a lazy morning and late breakfast, we went to visit the Zaytouna Mosque at the center of the medina. Non-muslims are allowed into the courtyard only at the beginning of the day. It was a really calm beautiful space in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the medina.

We walked around a little bit more - the highlight of which was a little boy who walked up to us and exclaimed, "Bonjour! Un dinar?" Which is basically like saying, "Hello! Dollar?"

We went back and checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport. We decided to get there plenty early, since efficiency is not this country's strong suit. It took about an hour to get our boarding passes and get through customs and security.

There was a pretty interesting social experiment once we got to the gate called "How will Sarah deal with the crazy lax parenting of other cultures?" First, this fat dirty little boy sat behind me and proceeded to knock his chair into mine. When I pushed it away, he turned around and hit me exclaiming "NO POUSSEZ!" I literally didn't even know where his parents were to give them an are-you-kidding me expression.

However, that was nothing compared to another woman who proceeded to change her preschooler's very dirty diaper on a nearby table and then leave the wipes laying there!!! I was beyond horrified and had to warn another woman (who happened to be American) who sat down beside it to eat her lunch not realizing what they were.

Once we got on the flight there were no other run-ins thank goodness and we made it to London and then JFK without incident. More importantly, our bag made it too! For those with good memories, that means Tunisair couldn't deliver our bag with an almost 9 hour layover in London but Virgin Atlantic managed to do it with only an hour and a half. God save the Queen!

We stayed the night with Dan and Laura and were up late telling tales of cultural mishaps and looking at pictures.

We're going to meet my friend Dave for breakfast tomorrow morning then we take the Bolt Bus home. We will hopefully be on our own couch with our sweet dog by 4.

Day eight

Today was our last full dau in Tunisia and it was great.

We hired a driver to take us to the city of El Jem to see the ancient Roman colosseum. It is a bit smaller but much better preserved than the one in Rome - as in we could walk in the corridors on the top level preserved.

If we thought the sarcophagi were difficult to take in, this was mind-blowing. It was so beautiful but also overwhelming to think of how many people flowed through the corridors or for that matter how many came in to the arena and never left.

We wondered around the colosseum for a while then walked over to the archeological museum, which had amazing mosiacs and a restored roman villa with the original mosiac floors. It was all completely amazing and a great end to what I'm deeming the ancient portion of our trip.

We had a quick lunch in El Jem where I had my last brick l'ouef and then we headed home.

Once back at our hotel, we checked out the computer and TV, which we had just discovered before we left. I was probably more excited than reasonable about email access, although my excitement was dampered a bit by the arabic keyboard.

We went out on the town for our last dinner in Tunis and had chicken couscous (of course!). We had coffee and desert on the hotel rooftop deck overlooking the city as we listened to the final call to prayer of the evening.

All in all the perfect last day.

Day seven

We took it easy this morning and didn't leave for Carthage until almost 11. We took the suburban train line out there, which was a pretty quick trip.

We hiked up Bysra hill once we got there and took in the amazing view and the musuem. Nicholas said it and I completely agree that it is really difficult to comprehend how old everything is. We were looking at these two stone syrcophagi from the 4th century BC and neither of us could wrap our brains around the objects in front of us being 2400 years old, partcularly since we've only been alive 1/100th of that time.

After leaving the museum we walked down to the Antonine Baths, which were the remains of a huge Roman bath complex. It was gorgeous set against the deep azure blue of the water.

Next, we took the train a few stops up to Sidi Bou Said, a very chic beach community. We hiked all the way to the top before realizing the only ATMs were at the bottom of the hill. We had a very frustrating 30 minutes searching out cash but Amen Bank came to our rescue - and the choir said amen!

After taking a taxi back to the top, we enjoyed some very tasty local donuts and a relaxing rest at the cafe. We attempted to eat at one of the local restaurants we'd heard a lot about but they weren't going to serve us for several hours.

So we took a VERY hot train ride back to Tunis and stopped at the local Monoprix for dinner provisions. After much needed showers, we had dinner in our room and went to bed early.

Tomorrow is our last full day here and we've hired a driver to take us to El Jem to see the Roman amphitheater.

Day six: part deux

Whoops. Pressed send instead of save.

Anyway, we arrived in Tunis around 11 and were beyond surprised when our bag showed up too!

We took a cab to the medina and checked into our hotek, the Dar El Medina. It is a converted 19th century mansion run by the family who has lived here for generations. Our room is completely lovely and we have the neighboring courtyard all to ourselves.

We set out for the mosque and surrounding markets after we had settled in to the hotel. It was like something out of a movie. We walked around and tried to take it all in - the objects, people, sights, smells. We bought some souvenirs and I think we only got ripped off once. We had the hang of bargaining. It goes something like this.

Seller: 50 dinar
Me: How bout 10 dinar?
Seller: IMPOSSIBLE! 40 dinar only. Best price all medina.
Me: 10 dinar
Seller: no no no
Me: Ok thanks!

(Walk away, get about 6 feet)

Seller: Ok! 10 dinar!

That's pretty much how's been everytime. The inefficiency of it kind of wears me out. Just tell me up front how much and save everyone the time, but I guess it's all about the experience.

We stopped for a long lunch at Dar Bel Hadj, which was wonderful. The best part was we met our first American! We overheard her speaking english and introduced ourselves. She was a Texan visiting her Tunisian boyfriend and his family and just like Americans at home she asked us how we ended up in Tunisia.

We went back to the hotel for a while then walked around the medina and ville nouveau a bit. We went to the top of a nearby hotel and took in a panoramic view of the city which was amazing.

We had dinner that night at a beautiful restaurant Essaraya, where the atmosphere was more amazing than the food. I had the kackabou, which was fish with tomatoes, capers, and olives and it was delicious. Nicholas had the Rough Guide recommended mloukhia, and - how do I say this politely? - it tasted better than it looked. It was so ridiculous we both had to fight back giggles.

We headed back to the hotel and after an exhausting day went to bed early.

Tomorrow we head out to the suburbs of Carthage and Sidi Bou Said.

Day six

Today we left Jerba in the morning and took a flight back to Tunis. On our way to the airport, the blues of the sky and the sea were exactly the same and you couln't tell where one ended and the other began. It was magnificent.

Day five

Today was amazing.

I woke up and had a lovely breakfast by the pool. Then I went to the hotel spa and had a massage. It was wonderfully relaxing, although for any of you who have only had massage in the U.S. let me warn you there are differing levels of modesty. The masseuse stayed in the room while I got undressed and had me lay on my back without the sheet for much of the massage. It was very different, but I never felt uncomfortable.

After the massage, I had a thallasotherapy, which is basically sea water hydrotherapy. I got in a big tub of sea water and the attendant sprayed me down under the water with high power saltwater jets. It felt great and my skin felt fabulous afterwards.

Once I was finished, I joined Nicholas by the pool where we swam and hung out for most of the morning.

Then we had lunch...on the beach.
I took a nap...on the beach.
We read for hours...on the beach.

Noticing a patten? :)

We swam in the ocean for a while then decided to turn in because Nicholas was getting a little pink.

The day just kept getting better because we called that afternoon and our bag had arrived! Miracle of miracles! Nicholas had decided it was lost forever so we were pretty excited. It had like three rush tags on it which clearly meant nothing but oh well. The customs officer who checked us out was very excited that we were American and at one point asked for my passport so he could just check flip though and admire it.

We came back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We went out to the main town on the island (Houmt Souk) for dinner, this time armed with reservations for Restaurant Haroun. It was one of the nicest restaurants we've eaten at since being here. Clearly aimed at tourists, it had performers throughout the night. The food was really good and atmosphere fun so it was great end to a great day.

Tomorrow morning we head back to Tunis.

Day four

We woke up this morning and set out for Matmata. The trip took a little over an hour and we stopped at a berber village along the way where I encountered my first baby camel. I wonder if Maggie would get along well with a baby camel because dang that thing was cute.

We made it to Matmata around 11:30 and were welcomed into a troglodyte home. They're homes basically bulit into the walls of a pit they dig directly into the ground. It was pretty unbelievable, especially the temperatures of the room which stays in the 60's despite the heat. When we arrived the woman who lived there was preparing bread, which she cooked by pressing the mounds of the dough on to the walls of a small fire pit. Our guide had us sit in one of the rooms and she brought in the bread with honey and oil along with mint tea. It was really wonderful and reminded me of a heartier version of naan.

We left there and set out for Gabes, where we would catch a ride to Jerba. We made a quick stop along the way there where we were promptly ripped off by a local boy who shoved a baby falcon in our arms and then charged us 10 dinar A PIECE for the service. Nicholas didn't want to fight him and we decided to take a c'est la vie attitude about the whole thing.

We arrived in Gabes and were dropped by our guide at the louage station. Louages are basically shared minivans and are a pretty common form of transportation in Tunisia. We found a louage going to Jerba without incident and I read most of the way there to distract from the incredible liberties the driver was taking with our safety, especially since there were no seat belts. Needless to say, nicholas has nixed the idea of renting a car and driving ourselves after the experience.

After crossing to the island on a ferry, we headed straight for the airport where our bag was supposed to be delivered the day before. Surprise surprise - it had not arrived but the man assured me it would arrive at either 8 or 10 that night. I guess the either/or arrival time should have tipped me off.

We checked into our very plush resort hotel next. The luxury could not come soon enough after our last couple of hotels - let me tell you. I went for a dip in the pool and we went and checked out the beach. We got ready and attempted to eat out on the town but the recommended restaurant was closed and nothing else looked appealing. So we headed back to our hotel for dinner. It was actually a great meal. We theorized since primarily French stay there they couldn't get away with subpar cuisine.

After dinner, we called the airport to see if our luggage had arrived ... Yeah, that's a big no but "no worry madame. It will arrive tomorrow by 9:30 in the morning."

Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it.

Day three

Good news - Nicholas and Tunisia are now BFF!

That's the best thing about vacation I suppose, you never know when things will shift and everything will start going your way. It's just like in life only more intense.

We woke up today and set out early to check with excursion companies and see if our "friend" at the hotel was right and there were no trips to Ksar Ghilane. The first place we found said they could take us but it would be 500 dinar and wouldn't include camp or food. Despite Nicholas's extreme protest that we should take what we can get I insisted we try a few more companies. Right before I promised we'd turn around, we found Heart of the Desert excursions, who had come highly recommended. The owner spoke english and offered us 380 to get us to Gabes and then on a bus to Jerba - oh and that included food and camp. God, I love being right.

He told us to come back in a couple of hours so we went and took a tour of the palmerie in Tozeur and the medina, which was lovely. When we returned, he'd found us a guide that spoke some english, which was just icing on the cake.

We set out for Douz, considered the gateway to the sahara, and arrived around lunch. We had lunch and drove out into the desert to Ksar Ghilane where we would be staying the night. The drive itself was amazing (although I might have napped for a little bit). The landscape was beautiful and immense and we stopped several times to take pictures of rock formations, the big salt lake, and I kid you not - a camel crossing!

Once we arrived at the camp, we settled into our tent and then had drinks by the spring. At around 6:30, we set out on our sunset camel tour over the desert. The second we walked out behind the cafe the dunes took my breath away. They were different from the ones on the drive - vivid orange like something out of Lawrence of Arabia. We rode along with a very nice Italian couple and their son for about an hour and a half to the Roman ruins of Limes. We watched the sunset from there which was phenomenal. Watching the sun set over a sea of sand is truly something I will never forget.

Of course, I look over at Nicholas who is CHECKING HIS BLACKBERRY! He seemed to be more amazed by the fact that he had service then by his surroundings. :)

We rode back which was a little intense because of the increased wind and sand. Our bums were getting pretty sore by this point but even so it has to be one of the coolest things I have ever done.

We came back and had dinner at our camp and a well-deserved rest.

Tomorrow we set off back across the desert to Matmata - start humming the Imperial March now because this is where Uncle Owen's house in Star Wars was filmed. To say Nicholas is excited would be an understatement.

Day Two

Tunisia and Nicholas are on a break.

The day started out well. We had a nice breakfast on the balcony of the hotel. We took the metro out to the Bardo Museum, which was amazing. They had everything from prehistoric tools to greek bronzes recovered from a shipwreck. The museum is known for its roman mosiac collection and I can see why. Mosiacs two stories high with scenes across land and water - pretty impressive I have to say.

Afterwards, we came back to the hotel and checked out then had a nice lunch at a seafood restaurant named Chez Slah.

We decided to go to the airport early to sort out our luggage situation. There seemed to be no problem sending it on to Jerba where we will be for two nights, two nights from now.

So we were on to check in for our 3:30 flight to Tozeur, when they informed us it was cancelled and we'd have to wait until 7:45. We had planned to get to Tozeur early to sort out our desert excursion the next day so we tried to do some arranging through the tourist agency without much success.

We decided to just hang out at the airport for the next couple of hours which is when Nicholas and Tunisia's relationship started to go sour.

We finally got to Tozeur that night and found our hotel- which is supposed to be helpful with excursions- not helpful at all. In fact, he told us repeatedly there were no excursions. Depressed, we went to dinner at a really nice restaurant and ate our first couscous and a regional specialty called brick l'oeuf.

They were both delicious but we were pretty dispirited and went to bed hoping our luck would be better tomorrow.

Stay tuned to see if nicholas and tunisia work things out!

SPOILER ALERT - we are headed out on our desert excursion later today. Probably will not have wireless access from this afternoon through tomorrow.

Day one

I'm counting our first two days of travel as one big day since that's sort of how it felt.

We left friday morning on a bus to new york. We got there plenty early so we had lunch with our dear friends Laura and Dan at this adorable pizza place outside.

Our flight to london was pretty uneventful once we got off the ground. Unfortunately, that took over 2 hours because of a rain delay. We were afraid we would miss the opportunity to go into London but it worked out fine. We spent the morning on a double decker bus tour and got off at big ben to have lunch with my college friend Jane Conner, who lives in London.

The craziest part was as we were walking back from lunch to finish our tour I ran into a friend from law school ON THE STREETS OF LONDON!!! Saying it's a small world seems cliche but dang it's a small world.

Our flight to Tunis was a little late taking off. We sat down next to lovely woman returning to visit her parents and not soon after take off one of the male flight attendants brought us all some candy. No one else seemed to get any so I was confused. Nicholas thought he was trying to flirt with the woman sitting next to us. Turns out he was definitely right because over the course of the flight he brought her extra desserts from first class (which she shared), champagne for all of us, a bag full of the tiny liquor bottles! When we thought he was tapped out, he moved ALL of us to first class, gave her more liquor, toilettes, and a desert rose broach!

It was totally hilarious and she took it all in stride. When I took a picture of the liqour, she said I should put her clevage in the shot since that was what got us all the stuff!

We thought we were on a roll with our free upgrade but our bag never made it (despite the 8 hour layover!) and we're going to have to figure out how to get it since we leave tomorrow before it shows up.

We'll keep you updated.

And we're off!

We leave tomorrow morning for our vacation. We take a bus to NYC, where we fly to London. We have an 8 hour layover so we'll be seeing a bit of the city and meeting my friend Jane for lunch. We arrive in Tunis, Tunisia, on Saturday night at 9pm.

Hopefully, we'll post some via Nicholas's international blackberry while we're there.

Try hard not to miss us too much while we're gone!

Top 10 Top 10 Lists Everyone Should Make: List #1

My friend Leslie posted this Top Ten lists of Top Ten lists a couple days ago and has been slowing posting each one. I was inspired by her posts (if not infuriated by her list choices) and decided to follow her lead.

Top 10 Albums to Take With You to a Desert Island

This was more difficult then I expected. Do you pick classics you know you won't get tired of? Or do you go with albums that have been instrumental in your own life? Do you pick a varied selection so you have something for every move? I basically went with all three strategies because I couldn't decide.

1. Joni Mitchell - Blue
2. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
3. Ben Folds - Ben Folds Live
4. Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces
5. The Beatles – Revolver
6. Edith Piaf – Voice of the Sparrow
7. Trisha Yearwood – Songbook
8. Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls
9. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
10. Coldplay - Parachutes

Mrs. Degree

Fall 2000
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

This picture was taken my sophomore year. The people range from freshman to seniors.

Every couple is now married.

Discuss among yourselves.

Aging

After scanning photos for hours, I've come to the sad conclusion that my hair color is fading. :(

College

Fall 1999
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

I'm scanning all my photos from college and this picture represents my first semester in a nutshell - staying up late with all my new hallmates laughing our butts.

Sarah's Selections

Who's making fun of the child bride NOW!?!?

I'm not a huge Olympics person but this and this really inspire me - I"m not trying to lie

It looks like people are finally starting to listen.


This a completely fascinating anthropological perspective on you tube. It's long but really well done.

Welcome to the world baby Timily!!!!

Our dear, dear friends Tim and Emily welcomed a little boy into the world tonight. His name is John Turner Weatherholt and he weights.... wait for it .... 9 lbs 14 oz!!!!!

We couldn't be happier for them.

Hey Ma! Watch this!

Weekend in California from hollandnm on Vimeo.

Birthday weekend

I am 27 years old now. Fun times.

I had a whole birthday weekend leading up to the big day. On Saturday, Nicholas took me shopping and bought me a dozen Georgetown cupcakes. I picked out an adorable pair of navy blue sunglasses from Kate Spade, which I totally love. For a special birthday treat, I requested fried chicken for dinner and Nicholas slaved away for several hours on it. I have to say the last time I had chicken I said I didn't feel like I had been missing much - I can't say the same for fried chicken. ;)

We had a birthday brunch on Sunday at Tabard Inn. My dear friends Melissa, Laura, Keri and Amy came and we had a great time. Plus, Laura let me hang out by her pool the rest of the day.

My actual birthday was Monday and it's the first time in my life I can remember working on my birthday. Luckily, I have lovely coworkers who brought me birthday treats and took me out to lunch. That night Nicholas and I went to Screen on the Green, which I look forward to all year, and had a great time watching Cary Grant get into all manner of hijinks. Nicolas really made the evening though by remembering not only a Georgetown cupcake for our picnic but a candle for me to blow out AND milk. I tell you what - I married the right man!

Happy Birthday to me!

Sixth Birthday
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

Vermi-what!?!

Here's the truth: I have a real hippie streak. I think I inherited it from my mother, who while not an actual hippie, likes to call herself the original earth mother because she breastfed before it was cool and homemade all my baby food.

There is something that really appeals to me about being in touch with the land and leaving as little behind as possible. When I first heard about vermicomposting, I was intrigued. By the time it was on Oprah, I really wanted to try it but thought, as an apartment dweller, it was a pipe dream. However, after finding this video, I decided to give it a try.

I had to wait almost a month for my worms to arrive. So my excitement had reached a fevered pitch. They arrived yesterday and I set up their little home last night.

To say Nicholas is opposed to this idea would be a vast understatement. He thinks it will stink and he doesn't see the motivation. However, when I brought home the airtight container I was going to use, he started to change his tune. Of course then I started drilling holes in it....

It took no fewer then FOUR drills (the electric one really revolutionized the process) to finally get this container breathable.





























I then added moist paper that had been used as packing padding in a shipment I got a couple of weeks ago.














There was some potting soil because they need the grit to digest the food and a little zucchini to start them off. I placed 500 of my new pets in their bin...















and finished the whole thing off with some fresh newspaper.















So far so good. They all seem to be alive. I won't add any more food scraps till I'm convinced they've finished off the zucchini. Apparently, overfeeding is how it can start to smell.

Hopefully, I'll be taking orders for compost within the month! ;)

Cool things I didn't post about because I was too busy doing other cool things

Nicholas and I have had a busy couple of weeks. Busy at work, busy doing super-cool things on the weekend. So, consider this a big catch-up session.

Two weekends ago, Nicholas and I went to the minibar at Cafe Atlantico in early celebration of my birthday. This is a six seater bar on the top floor of the restaurant that serves a 30 course "mini"-tasting menu. Washington Post called it "the smallest and most daring "restaurant" in Washington. They serve tiny little dishes that are often wacky versions or plays on popular restaurant fare. We had "bagels and lox" that looked like a small ice cream cone and an "organized caesar salad" which was the lettuce rolled up with anchovies in rolls with the parmesan stacked neatly on top. My absolute favorite was a parmesan "egg" which was an egg yolk they had made completely parmesan. The whole meal was incredible and watching the chefs construct every tiny dish was some of the most fun I've had at dinner in a while. If you want to see the whole menu, click here.

Later that same week, I got to go on a backstage tour of the National Archives. I had never been and had completely wonderful time. As someone who documents obsessively herself, I have a real appreciation and love for historical documents. Combine that with my passion and deep love for this country and the evolution of our government and, let’s just say, tears were shed. When a document written by Abraham Lincoln – a document that changed the entire course of our country – is held out right in front of you, it is difficult to take in the magnitude at all much less not be overwhelmed. We won’t even discuss what happened when this came out of the box.

Last weekend, Nicholas and I took a day trip up to Rehobeth beach because I was in desperate need of some ocean. I always find being at the beach so centering and I think Nicholas and I both are really ready for some vacation. We had a lovely day and it will hopefully hold us over until our REAL vacation to Tunisia in a little over THREE WEEKS!!!

We also went to see The Dark Knight last weekend and can I just say wow. I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said a million times already but the movie was striking and grim. Heath Ledger was brilliant and it was a great trip to the movies.

This weekend we will be celebrating my BIRTHDAY!!!! Better send your gifts now if they’re going to make it by Monday. :) So, I’m sure I’ll have lots of fun to report next week too.

Wow

Yesterday, Jack Cafferty stated on CNN that "Viagra is used to treat a medical condition, erectile dysfunction. Birth control is a lifestyle choice."

Grrrr.....

If you would like to express your outrage, you can contact CNN here.

I know I did.


UPDATE POST COMMENTS:

Oh looky I sparked a debate! How fun! ;)

My first problem with this comment is like Elizabeth mentioned birth control is often used to treat medical conditions. I remember the shame I felt as a young 14-year-old who had been put on bc for cramps when my male Sunday School teacher proclaimed the only reason to be on bc is if you wanted to have premarital sex. So, his complete ignorance of women's conditions is my first major beef with Mr. Cafferty.

Second, I feel like there is a sexist undercurrent in our society that is reflected in that comment. Our society still defines true success for a woman as married with children. Now, in the last 20 years, we've expanded the definition a bit to allow for some career achievement, but at the end of the day if you are not married with children something is wrong. It's assumed single women want to get married. It's assumed married women want to have children.

So, I feel like what Mr. Cafferty is saying is, "Look if you want to flout our social norms and have sex without being married or be married and remain childless, then fine - but you're on your own!"

I feel like fertility is something that our society (at least medically) has decided for better for worse to treat as a medical condition that can be avoided with medication. So, every women no matter what her "lifesytle choices" should have equal access to that medication.

Sarah's Selections

I'm come from a long line of people who hate to waste food. So, this article is right up my alley.

If you have something cuter, I'd sure like to see it.

No wait. I already found something cuter.

Speaking of cute, this is WAY harder than it seems.

And they thought small pox spread quickly.

See, there's ALWAYS a bright side.

NO. THEY. DIDN'T.

Picture yourself in plastic

From the Mini-mizer.

Flickr Meme

Flickr Meme
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

This was really fun. I recommend it to anyone with a flickr account.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

New favorite song

I've posted songs here before - songs I'm addicted to that I can't stop singing. However, this one is special because it's by my dear friend Mike Baker. For those of you at our wedding, he's had quite a musical progression since performing at our ceremony. He is now a part of The Spinning Leaves, described as "a hootenanny indie-loverock trio who are part of a flourishing alt-acoustic scene in Philly." I'm so proud of him, but I would love this song even if he were a stranger.

Enjoy.

Sarah's Selections

Very disheartening.

Get out your tissue if you're a dog lover.

Really great editorial on Appalachia and stereotypes. "Favorite part: A decade ago, John Waters (you know him as the director of "Hairspray") said that the expression "white trash" is "the last racist thing you can say and get away with." That sums it up, all right. You can't even make fun of fat people anymore—unless they're from Appalachia."

And while we're on the subject of stereotypes and their effect. "It turns out you don’t want to sound southern, either. Although pretty imprecisely estimated, it is almost as bad for your wages to sound southern as it is to sound black, even controlling for whether you live in the south."

Lessons from the master.

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a very big weekend full of visitors, celebrations, great food, and of course fireworks.

It began on Wednesday when Mom and Ron flew in for a visit. I picked them up from the airport and they came to my office to meet my coworkers and have lunch. The next day I took them on a tour of the Capitol and to visit the Anderson House - a little known and underappreciated DC spot. That night we roasted the Happy Chicken and ended my five years of vegetarianism (see below).

On Friday, we celebrated the birth of our Nation and the birth of my mother - a true July 4th yankee doodle baby. We got to the Mall early and staked out a prime spot for A Capitol Fourth. Unfortunately, about two hours before the concert it started to rain. We toughed it out, largely motivated by a group of interns sitting next to us that kept the party going by playing and dancing in the rain to "Umbrella" and "It's Raining Men." The rain stopped just long enough for us to enjoy our delicious picnic, including leftover Happy Chicken salad. By the time the concert started, the storm had passed and we rocked out to Huey Lewis and the News.

I texted my father, a fellow Huey fan, that he should turn on PBS to see me and the concert. By the time he turned it on however, a certain Silver Fox had already started performing. This is mine and my father's text exchange.

Dad: Are you still there?
Me: Yeah, but Taylor Hicks is performing. He's no Huey.
Dad: He sucks.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The rest of the concert was semi-forgettable, until an ancient Jerry Lee Lewis played in the fireworks with "Great Balls of Fire" - of course. We had a perfect view of the fireworks display and it more than made up for any rain or lame Idols.

On Saturday, Nicholas and I celebrated our five year anniversary at Palena with my parents. We had 5 course dinner - one for every year. It was truly tasty and fun was had by all. I have to brag on Nicholas for giving the most thoughtful, inventive anniversary gift this year. Every year we give the traditional anniversary gift and this year was wood, apparently symbolizing the order and strength of a marriage in its fifth year. Nicholas gave me a bonsai tree, because he remembered how I had wanted one at a festival we went to earlier in the year. He also had 5 trees for every year of our marriage planted in an California area destroyed by forest fires.

I mean seriously - how well does this man know me?

My parents' last day in town we decided to do some stereotypical touring and went on a D.C. Ducks tour. We had a real blast with Captain Frank, especially since we were the start students on the Duck and answered almost all his trivia questions. (I mean how many of you can identify Frances Perkins?!?!) We all could have done without the quackers they handed out towards the end of the trip, but not as badly as Maggie who was barked incessantly when we tried them on her.

We had a pretty low key last night and dropped them off early this morning. We had such a fantastic time that it's hard to think the visit is already over. But hey - ending five years of vegetarianism, celebrating five years of marriage and 52 years of age is a lot for one weekend so we probably couldn't have shoved in much else either way.

1,827 days

Kisses
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

Five years ago today, Nicholas and I were married. Jealous?

Me and the Happy Chicken

I hope you're all sitting down for this...It's big...Last night, for the first time in five years, I ate meat. I ate an organically and sustainably raised chicken bought at the farmer's market from a local farm. Nicholas roasted it up and I have to admit it was quite yummy.

After hearing me preach from my vegetarian soapbox for several years, I'm sure you are all shocked. I became a vegetarian because I felt and still feel the cruelty inflicted on animals in the industrial farming system was unethical and unnecessary. I became a vegetarian because the environmental impact of confined animal feeding operations is terrifying and the impact of consuming that much meat on our bodies is unhealthy. I became a vegetarian because I was not comfortable distinguishing between a dog I treat like my child and another animal which is only food.

The first crack in my armor came after reading Omnivore's Dilemma. The author makes a valid point that domesticated farm animals could not survive in the wild and that these species have evolved or been breed to feed us. Still, I thought I couldn't kill the animal myself so I'm not going to eat it.

Then I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and everything changed.

This book is amazing for a thousand different reasons, some of which I will post about later on, but one of them is her attitude towards meat. Like Pollan, she argues that these chickens and turkeys would not survive in the wild and that they are very energy-efficient ways to turn grass and sun that we can't eat into meat we can. However, what really swayed me was her argument about eating meat that is locally raised. She argues that is much more environmentally friendly to eat a chicken from down the road then an orange shipped from New Zealand or tofu from California, especially in the dead of winter.

Still, I was a little hesitant about eating something I wouldn't kill. However, she describes a "harvest day" on her farm when her family, including her young daughter, slaughter some of the chickens and turkeys they've raised. I realized that if a ten-year-old can become comfortable with the reality of slaughter then I can too. That's not to say I'm prepared to eat beef or pork yet but who knows.

So, I ate the chicken. It wasn't as momentous as I thought it would be. I think just making the decision to eat meat was what felt huge. I didn't get sick but I wasn't immediately overwhelmed by what I'd been missing either.

I actually thought my mother, who is in town visiting, would be more excited than she was, but she couldn't get over how much the bird cost. (It was $17 for 3.25 lb bird.) But listen, happy chickens aren't cheap and that suits me just fine. Breeding or evolution aside, animals make the ultimate sacrifice to get to our plates and I don't think making meat cheap and abundant is the way to respect that sacrifice. Not to mention, that I think the time and labor involved in raising any type of animal is nature's way of telling us we probably shouldn't be eating it all the time anyway.

Vegetables and grains will remain the mainstay of my diet, but I'm sure another happy chicken will cross my path eventually.

Sarah's Selections

Interesting article about conspicuous consumption.

On why the Supreme Court should be part of your decision making when voting for President: "As you contemplate what you want the next Supreme Court to look like, ask yourself what happens when judges are sidelined—or when they're chosen for their inclination to sideline themselves. If we really want to restore the rule of law in America, then we'd better vote for a president who believes that we call it the Supreme Court for a reason."

Phenomenal article examining the media's coverage of first ladies: "The real, and more interesting, question here is how, specifically, the spouse is fair game: How should we cover the candidate’s wife—as a political figure unto herself, or as an appendage to the campaign? Do we cover her (or, to be fair, him—but Bill Clinton is a statistical outlier in every sense) only as she relates to her husband, or, instead, as she relates directly to us? And if the answer is “both,” then where does the one stop and the other begin?"

This is pretty lawyerly and a bit dorky but just the same Wermiel was my con law professor and it's a pretty big "OH SNAP!" to Scalia so I'm including it:
"I am reading the decision in Heller as fast as I can and will post my thoughts as soon as possible. The headline is that the court decided 5-4 (no mushy plurality here) that the D.C. handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement violate the individual right to bear arms as protected under the Second Amendment. But I must first pass along this rather brilliant observation from professor Stephen Wermiel from American University, who wonders why none of the dissenters cautioned the majority that today's decision "will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." (Boumediene, Scalia, J. dissenting.)"

Really great editorial on how Ivy League educations aren't all they're cracked up to be: "The world that produced John Kerry and George Bush is indeed giving us our next generation of leaders. The kid who’s loading up on AP courses junior year or editing three campus publications while double-majoring, the kid whom everyone wants at their college or law school but no one wants in their classroom, the kid who doesn’t have a minute to breathe, let alone think, will soon be running a corporation or an institution or a government. She will have many achievements but little experience, great success but no vision. The disadvantage of an elite education is that it’s given us the elite we have, and the elite we’re going to have."

I knew there was a reason I liked Tim McGraw

Apparently, he saw the guy he pulled up on stage rush the front and hit a woman. So, first he calls security and when they don't come fast enough him and his crew pulled him out of the audience. Then I guess they exchanged some words because he pulls back and almost clocks the guy. His crew then steps in and rushes the guy offstage. Freaking awesome.

Hillary's Return

I swear I'm on CNN with Hillary so much they should offer me a job. I'm towards the end of the clip. Don't mess my act of kindness when I let my someone else step in front of me in line.

Of course my kindness was rewarded. Hillary reached through to shake my hand and I told her we missed her. She thanked me and then exclaimed, "I love your daisies!" (In case you can't see in the video, I'm wearing daisy earrings in her favorite color of yellow of course!)

Could she be any more amazing? Doubtful.

My Aunt Carolyn

Christmas in Kentucky
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

Last Saturday, my great-aunt Carolyn passed away. She was 73, and her loss was and still is profoundly felt.

I flew to Kentucky the next day to be with my family as we all celebrated her life and mourned her passing. We told stories and distracted ourselves when the stories were too much. I learned things about her that I had never known, but mainly had my notions of her strength and compassion confirmed.

She was a lot of things to a lot of people but here is what she was to me.

Growing up, so the story has been told to me a hundred plus times, my Uncle Joe (as in "Uncle-Joe-and-Aunt-Carolyn," one word) would call up my mother and matter-of-factly inform her that she needed to drop me off at their house. They had not seen me in a couple of days and she could go off and do any old thing she wanted, as long as it involved dropping me off first.

I would spend hours to days being doted on and fed. Aunt Carolyn doing the former and Uncle Joe the later if memory serves. She would buy me Barbies, Barbie Vans, Barbie Salons, Barbie Pools. She would read me stories or play the piano while I sang along. I was taken along on anything from basic errands to church revivals. When they moved to Florida, going to see them became a trip in itself.

It would be almost 10 years before they had grandchildren of their own , and I gratefully filled in as a surrogate until Courtney and Zach showed up. Aunt Carolyn loved me unconditionally and I felt that love no matter how far away she was or how long it had been since we'd seen each other. Whenever I thought of all the people praying for me - praying me safe, praying me successful, praying me happy - Aunt Carolyn was the first person I always thought of.

She valued family above all else and undertook to preserve and protect it in her own way. To say she liked to take pictures is to say Shakespeare liked to write. She preserved the present with a dedication unmatched in our family - a sisyphean task in a group where the commandment to "Look this way and smile!" elicits only groans and complaints, if not full out sprints and dodges.

She also protected the past. She knew the story of every great-great grandparent, aunt, and even cousin. If that weren't enough, she could point them out in the antique photos she carefully kept and cataloged. When others in her generations couldn't tell a CPU from a JPEG, Aunt Carolyn scanned and labeled hundreds of family photos - understanding the power of new technology to safeguard these images.

I inherited my love of ancestry from her and I am so grateful that I spent several hours with her last summer learning the connections and stories that otherwise would have been lost. Of course, I know her knowledge went beyond those few hours but all I can do now is piece it together from notes on the back of pictures and more traditional sources, instead of hearing it from her.

Her love of family was not limited to her own blood and I learned at her funeral how many other lives she touched. She was always anxious to find a connection with everyone she met and if it wasn't there, she forged it herself.

I still giggle at the memory of her first interaction with Nicholas. She sat down beside him at a family gathering and asked him, "Now, Nicholas, where are your people from?" To say he was confused would be a vast understatement. He offered that his mother and father lived in Atlanta. She persisted, "Now, I know some Hollands over in Caldwell County. Are you kinned to them?" More befuddlement from Nicholas.
No matter. If his family weren't from her neck of the woods, she wanted to know where they were from. She continued to question him about his family and his life as if knowing Nicholas better was all that mattered. In that moment, I suppose it did.

I hope I inherited far more from this woman than a love of family history and the lyrics to "I Shall Not Be Moved" and "I'll Fly Away." I hope I can be as faithful as she was to the values of God, family, and compassion. I hope I can give passionately to my marriage and my career - racking up decade after decade to their service. Above all else, I hope I can become worthy of my Aunt Carolyn and all those prayers she sent my way over the years.

Day Five: Why are we doing this again?

Oh man, we got soooooooo close to ordering a pizza tonight. I wanted some pizza really freaking bad and Nicholas was on board. However, we talked ourselves down from the ledge and decided we could at least complete the work week. (Even though somebody - NOT ME - drank a Coke yesterday!)

So, he made black bean cakes with rice and avocados. It was really delicious and I would have felt yucky and stuffed if we'd eaten pizza. We're going to a barbecue and dinner party this week so caving is inevitable but we at least can say we made it an entire work week.

Day Four: Nana to the rescue

So, yesterday I had about decided I was only going to make it a week. I was tired of being hungry and I was really tired of feeling deprived. My biggest problem with this diet (or any diet really) is having such a contentious relationship with food. I don't like feeling as if everything I eat is out to get me - "does it have gluten!?!?" "I bet it has sugar!!!" It's difficult to see food as a big sea of things you can't have.

Luckily, Nicholas found these little beauties. That's right - no diary, no eggs, no refined sugar, no gluten cookies! And miracle upon miracle, they actually taste good. They are going a long way towards not making me feel deprived. I'm still just taking it day by day, but I'm feeling hopeful.

Sarah's Selections

I've decided I'm going to dedicate this entire Sarah's Selections to this one article because I think it is so incredibly important that every one read it. It doesn't matter if you are single, married, childless or a Gosselin, this article is about our culture and the expectations we all have about gender and parenting.

Favorite part: Where the housework ratio is two to one, the wife-to-husband ratio for child care in the United States is close to five to one. As with housework, that ratio does not change as much as you would expect when you account for who brings home a paycheck. In a family where Mom stays home and Dad goes to work, she spends 15 hours a week caring for children and he spends 2. In families in which both parents are wage earners, Mom’s average drops to 11 and Dad’s goes up to 3. Lest you think this is at least a significant improvement over our parents and grandparents, not so fast. “The most striking part,” Blair says, “is that none of this is all that different, in terms of ratio, from 90 years ago.”

Day Two: The Veggies Arrive

Bull Run Farm CSA
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

So, today we picked up our first harvest share from Bull Run Farm! It was so exciting to wait in line and pick out all our veggies.

I was a little worried at first because one of my coworkers told me she had picked up veggies from the same farm and that they had been "really dirty." Luckily, I quickly remembered that vegetables grow in the ground, not in the produce aisle. ;)

We got scallions, pac choi, greens, tat soi, basil, oregano, garlic skape, sorrel, chives, and our egg share. Nicholas made a delicious stir fry of the pac choi and garlic skape for dinner.

I'm glad the veggies have arrived but I'm not sure how much easier they are going to make the 21-day cleanse. The second day was no easier. I'm still hungry. I still have a headache.

And I really, really want a cookie.

Dude, I'm on The Daily Show!!!

The Daily Show
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

I don't know why this is so much cooler than CNN or Fox News, but it totally is!

For all of you in the back...

In case you hadn't heard:

Claims by U.S. President George W. Bush and other top administration officials before the 2003 invasion of Iraq regarding Baghdad's ties to al Qaeda and its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs were generally not supported by the evidence that the U.S. intelligence community had at the time, according to a major new report by the Senate Intelligence Committee released Thursday.

Oprah's 21-Day Cleanse: Day One

You knew it was coming right?

Oprah says, "Jump!" I say, "How high?"

Oprah says, "No alcohol, caffeine, sugar, gluten, or animal product." I say, "Sure! I can do anything for 21 days, right!?!"

I might have been a tad hasty.

The day started out fine. I had buckwheat flakes with soy milk and banana. It was yummy and filling - not that much different from regular cereal. However, as the day progressed, I got hungrier and started to go into what I'm pretty sure is sugar withdrawal. I ate lots of trail mix, had a salad for lunch, and yummy tortilla soup for dinner, but the low grade hunger/headache persisted.

Oprah says the goal is progress not perfection.

So, yeah, we'll see.

Sarah's Selections

Creepiest thing ever.

You can never accuse Bill Maher of being boring.

The first time I burst into tears about Hillary.

The second time: "The next woman candidate will have a better shot at the White House because of the tireless efforts of Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Most accurate description ever of complimenting women on their clothes. I always compliment perfect strangers (it was a New Year's Resolution from a couple years ago that I just kept doing) and this is totally true.

Hillary

We went to hear her concede and endorse Barack Obama. That's me on the riser in the background. Nicholas was next to me but he got blocked by a tall dude.

She was wonderful and gracious. I'm not really ready to talk about anything beyond that.

Gossip?

Peruse the cover to your left. It promises to give you the juicy details about the birth of Angie and Brad's new twins. Only one problem – they haven’t been born yet!!! This can only mean that the article is a complete and total work of fiction.

I’ve always stuck up for celebrities when they complain about the gossip machine and I don’t read these magazines or perezhilton.com or whatever. But when a celebrity said, “They make things up. There is not an ounce of truth to these stories.” I always thought, “Oh come on, there’s got be something there or elsewhere would it come from.”

But obviously I was wrong and the stories are coming from out the editor’s asses. I mean there was NO delivery. Angelina is still walking around pregnant as the day as long.

Something tells me this isn’t quite what the Supreme Court had in mind with the public figures exception.

Sarah's Selections

(Forgot to post this on Sunday - enjoy!)


Beyond infuriating.

Great article on MSNBC's obama bias. Favorite quote: "Rather, by giving "the personal" precedence over "the political," the network was using Hillary Hatred to fuel its coverage in a similar fashion to how Fox News uses Democrat Hatred to excite its viewers."

Article from last week's New York Times Travel section on how awesome Tunisia is!

Just when you thought the human race was moving forward...

Now, don't get me wrong. I love Sex and the City but I think this article makes a very valid point about portrayal of women writers in the media. Favorite part:"What provokes such fury, over Carrie Bradshaw, and -- for a flash -- over Gould (barring a book deal and TV show that will turn her meanderings into cultural furniture) is that in a media landscape in which there are a severely limited number of spaces for women's writing voices, the ones that get tapped become necessarily, and deeply inaccurately, emblematic -- of their gender, their generation, their profession."

This weekend

Shenandoah National Park
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

Nicholas and I have had a really wonderful weekend.

Mine started off with a bang. My friend Molly and I went to see Sex and the City: The Movie and it was AWESOME! My biggest complaint is I wanted more. I could have sat through 8 hours with a movie about each character.

On Saturday, we had lazy day. I slept in and we went out for a nice brunch at Open City. Then, we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie, which was fun. Not groundbreaking or earth-shattering, but fun.

Today, we woke up and went out to Shenandoah National Park. We brought Maggie and she did great on the almost 6 mile hike - although she is zonked out on the floor at the moment. We hiked to a big waterfall and ate a picnic lunch. It was a bit of a haul towards the end but we made it!

For the record...

Junior Prom - 1998
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

As many of you may have noticed, I am scanning all of my old photos and putting them on flickr. I thought I would share this photo with all of you because I think it is the best picture taken of me EVER.

Given I was only 16 and cellulite free, not to mention with my high school boyfriend who was not my decision making at its best, but dang I look good! Also I think I deserve some serious credit, because that was 1998 and I would wear that dress tomorrow. The same cannot be said for some of my friends I'm afraid.

Sarah's Selections

New Yorker article that provides an excellent historical review of the Conservatism and encompasses (although not concisely) while I am not a Republican - turns out asking people who hate government to govern, not such a good idea.

An editorial about the real issue with state's rights.

I'm usually a big proponent of college for everyone but this piece makes an interesting counter-argument.

Weekend at Mount Vernon

Weekend at Mount Vernon
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

Nicholas and I spent a lovely Saturday at Mount Vernon. We took a cruise up the Potomac early in the morning and arrived at George Washington's home around 10. We saw the grounds and the new welcome center and museum. We had a nice little lunch and did the tour of the mansion right before we caught our boat back to DC.

The weather was perfect and we had really wonderful time.

Sarah's Selection

Absolute #1 pick. For all of you who didn't catch us in The Wall Street Journal , perhaps you'll enjoy the article this month in the NEW YORK TIMES, where we are listed as a Travel Essential for 2008! And I quote: "Paducah isn’t Podunk these days."

Great editorial looking back on lessons learned the hard way.

The truth about the $4 a gallon gas you all want to talk to me about.

Interview with Hugh Hefner's son. Favorite part: “The ones I find attractive are brunet, blue eyes, and that’s about it. An intelligent woman that I can have a conversation with.… That centerfold in the magazine probably wouldn’t be my girlfriend, because I wouldn’t find her attractive. I don’t care about fake boobs if the girl has a good personality, but most girls with fake boobs I don’t find attractive—because of why they got the fake boobs in the first place.”

My obsession with Michael Pollan is well-documented. For those of you have read his book or haven't found time yet, watch this:

Whoa

We just bought tickets to Tunisia...sort of on a lark. Well not really - but kind of.

So, yeah, if you need us August 15-24, we'll be in Tunisia. :)

UPDATE: For those of you wondering about Tunisia (or having to consult a map!), here is a write up from a recent Fodor's article entitled "Where We're Going in 'O8: 7 Places Americans Have Yet to Discover."

"Tunisia: Tell people you're going to Tunisia and you'll most likely get blank stares from Americans. Europeans, on the other hand, nod knowingly. Thanks to old colonial ties, this prosperous and peaceful country, wedged between Algeria and Libya, is a favorite destination among the French. Brits and Germans flock here, too, lured by low prices, a reliably sunny climate, and a jaw-dropping assortment of sites. Aside from the expected medinas and mosques, Tunisia has some of the best Roman ruins anywhere: the coliseum at El Jem and the temples of Sbeitla being only two examples. The real draw, however, is Tunisia's diversity. Within a matter of hours you can drive from the Mediterranean beaches of Djerba (a resort island popular enough to support three Club Meds) through villages that were used as filming locations for the Star Wars movies, and into the Sahara. Visiting the last of these is a mostly "in-tents" excursion. Board a camel for a bare-bones camping experience (contact@libre-espace-voyages.com; about $30 per person) or go upscale at the ultra-chic Pansea Ksar Ghilane (doubles from €129) tent resort. Air France has regular flights to Tunisia from New York and Paris."

Sarah's Selections

So, I read. I read a lot. I read books, magazines, websites, blogs. I read about politics, pop culture, health, the environment, or whatever strikes my fancy at any given moment, and I've realized recently I really love sharing and talking about the things I read. Hence, a new weekly feature here at The Best Blog EVER!!!, where I will share some of the things I've read over the last week. Feel free to comment or leave links to things you've read recently.

#1 pick - completely fascinating article about how shoes screw up our feet, which evolved to function best barefoot.

Great article on Evangelical's interaction with pop culture:
"That's true when you create a sanitized version of bands like Nirvana or artists like Jay-Z, too: You shoehorn a message that's essentially about obeying authority into a genre that's rebellious and nihilistic, and the result can be ugly, fake, or just limp."

Fascinating and disturbing at the same time.

Interview with Sarah Jessica Parker with great analysis of Sex and the City:
"And suddenly I was hooked, enthralled! With each season, I loved the show more; the scariness I’d sensed, the anxiety and the anger, was still there, but so was a sweet fantasy of female friendship. The characters were archetypes and real people at once, a neat trick. As a single woman in my thirties, I was grateful for it all: Wouldn’t you rather have your family fear for your life as a glamour-grotesque than pity it as a Cathy cartoon?"

Good news for every woman in my family :)

Amazing Martha Beck (who I love) piece on religion. She really captures the good and bad of what religion has to offer.

On a final note, not a great article just a great quote -
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Krishnamurti

I have no words

I don't know how many of you have ever heard me talk about this woman but when I saw this headline I literally screamed.

Me and Barbara

Me and Barbara
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas

I met Barbara Walters today...JEALOUS!?!? She was signing copies of her new books on the Hill today. I told her I was honored to meet her and a big fan of The View. She was quieter then I thought she would be but very pleasant.

Cover Imitating Life

Who would like to guess Nicholas's reaction when this cover came in the mail? ;)

Flower Market and other fun

This weekend we went to the Flower Market on the grounds of the National Cathedral. It was a splendid day and we had a great time exploring all the vendors and their wares. We had a famous lobster roll and did the climbed the Tower. At the top, we captured some really magnificent views of the city and got a lesson on the bell ringers. I actually forgot my camera and while I'm a bit sad, I have to say I was better able to enjoy the moment since I wasn't obsessed with getting the perfect shot.

We had our neighbors Danny and Laura over for dinner on Saturday night and had a wonderful chatting till almost midnight. Nicholas made another delicious meal and I think both his meal and my dessert were a hit.

He went out fishing Sunday. He caught several blue gill and one heck of a sunburn. I laid around most of the day after walking my booty off Friday night (we walked home from the movie theater, which is over 2 miles) and most of Saturday.


Overall, we had nice, slow weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Weekend in Kentucky

So, the fact that it has taken me almost a week to blog about this week is a testament to how much fun was had by all.

Seriously, y'all. I am tired.

We did one heck a trip through Louisville and Lexington, visiting all our favorite people along the way. We did Friday night with Annie and Kyle at The Grape Leaf and Saturday morning at their table being fed all types of yummy locally-farmed goodies. Before we left for Lexington, Elizabeth picked us up and we finally got around to getting Erin a wedding present almost five months later (whatever Emily Post says you get a year! don't judge me!). You can see the photos of that gift below.

We got some quick Fazoli's and then segregated by sex for the ride to Lexington. We allowed an exception for baby Jack Jack, who was a complete doll all weekend. I can't speak for Nicholas and Seth but the girls' car was delightful! Once we got to Lexington, we went by campus and checked out the chapter room and gift shop. Then we went back to Catherine's to get ready for the reunion. I have to say we all looked mighty snazzy, although Elizabeth won best theme for the evening which was "I look hot in my minidress and I've had two kids!" Real winner don't you think?

The reunion was actually a tad uneventful, especially since we missed the major freaking events -- the picture (I don't want to talk about it) and the welcome speech! Luckily, we gathered a fun group for pie and coffee afterwards and had a great time catching up.

The next day we got some breakfast at Magee's Bakery and headed back to Louisville. Erin, Seth, Nicholas, and I met our good friends Tim and Emily for lunch. Time and Emily are also a hoot to be around - the imminent birth of their first child really took the hilarity to a whole new level. I can tell you that much.

Since I decided to cram in as much visitin' and eatin' in one weekend, we had dinner with my high school friend Reagan and her new man and my friend Smith and his girlfriend Linda a mere three hours after having lunch. However, it was worth it because we had a fabulous time.

I can only speak for myself but I was sort of sad to leave Kentucky and all our beloved friends at the end of the weekend.