Fun in the Sun

Frank & I spent this Memorial Day weekend outside enjoying the beautiful weather – although not so much together…Frank had a soccer tournament (of course!) in Germantown and was gone most of Saturday and Sunday for games. On Saturday evening we joined Chuck for his SURPRISE 30th birthday party – A BBQ thrown by his girlfriend, Kristen. On Sunday I spent most of the entire day outside doing yard work – digging up bushes, replanting bushes, planting our veggie garden and flower garden, laying mulch – Let me tell you, yard work is serious business; I was exhausted at the end of the day! Monday was much more relaxing – Instead of going for a morning run, I decided to join Frank in Germantown to cheer his team on in the championship game. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring them good luck – They lost 1-0. We spent the afternoon at Chuck’s again for another BBQ and some pool action. So far, I’m not missing our old apartment with the pool – Honestly, I have no idea how I used to have so much time to just lay by the pool! I guess when it’s there, you make time. :) For now, I’ll have to be content with getting my dose of sun by doing yard work. Although, I did get a tip on Saturday night about a local Arlington public pool…I have a feeling I’ll be checking that out at some point this season.

Weekend with G&G

Grammy & Grandpa paid us a visit this weekend - They arrived on Friday afternoon, so I scooted out of work early enough to make it home a little after 4. We hit up Cheesecake Factory for dinner Friday night and then relaxed back at the house. On Saturday, I brought them to Frank's morning soccer game where we cheered the Firestorm on to a 3-1 win. Afterwards we checked out Metro 29 diner, which Frank and I had been wanting to try - Definitely worth many return trips! Back at the house, G&G volunteered to help with some yard work - How could we turn that down?!!?! We pruned some shrubs, took out a few nasty plants the former owners had let get out of hand, and weeded. We then headed into Georgetown for a little sight-seeing and a relaxing dinner. We sat by the waterfront for some great people watching and then ate at Filomena's, which was fabulous, as always! Grandpa especially liked the after-dinner drinks - He had two small glasses of each! (Sambuca and Amaretto) Good thing I was driving! After a quick breakfast at the house this morning, they were back on the road to LI. Somehow spending time with my grandparents always makes me feel like a little kid all over again - I just can't get enough of that! Thanks for making the trip, guys!

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to take a moment to thank both of my moms for being so special and caring. I got to spend this Mother’s Day with my mom in Winchester – A relaxing day that started with a homemade breakfast of BLT Bagels, mom’s favorite, then a little antique shopping, followed by pedicures for three (mom, sis, and I).

…On a side note, I think my mom & sis may have enjoyed their pedicures a bit more than I, considering my pedi lady basically called me fat! Her: I like your jeans, what kind? Me: The Loft Her: What size do you wear? (Who asks that anyway???) After I proceeded to tell her my size, she says, “Oh, me too, but I look smaller than you. It must be because I’m short.” Look lady, in China maybe 5’3” is tall, but there ain’t no way I would pass as tall in the States – And thanks for calling me FAT!...

Ok – back on track…After a really yummy ‘linner’ (late lunch, early dinner), I went home with mom while Laura went to work. After a little mother-daugher QT, I hit the road back to Arlington.

Splash of Color

Our painting crew paid us a visit this weekend! I have THE BEST family EVA - On Friday morning, Uncle Mike and Cousin Ed drove down from LI to help paint our basement. (By help I sorta mean that they did all of the work!) My dad even drove in from DE to pitch in and my little sis paid a visit, too – More to socialize, though. ;) Laura picked me up on Friday from work around 2pm and we arrived at the house to find the basement guest room already finished! Between Uncle Mike, Cousin Ed, and Dad, they had the majority of the basement knocked out in no time…By 7:00, the guest room was painted a lovely light blue and the TV room had transformed into a beautiful beige…and we were all sitting down enjoying some cocktails! We ventured into Gtown for dinner at our new family fav spot, Bangkok Joe’s, which was deeee-lish as always. After dinner, we convinced my Dad and Uncle to hit up Mr. Smith’s piano bar with us, where a good time was had by all! (I believe some – no names mentioned - may have had too good of a time – hehe!) On Saturday, after another quick painting session, the bathroom was complete and everyone was back on the road by 3pm. I mean, how lucky are we? We invite family to come visit and then put them to work! Thanks everyone – Our basement looks awesome! (Now we just need a big flat screen TV…)

This Run's for You!

In preparation for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon that Frank & I signed up for this Labor Day weekend in Virginia Beach, I completed my first 5K of the season yesterday - the 11th Annual Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers Race for Hope, which benefits the brain tumor society. I picked this particular 5K in support of my cousin, Lea, who is dealing with the after affects of being born with a brain tumor. I usually like to run about 6 miles, so I wasn’t worried about the 3.2 yesterday – Instead, I set a goal to complete it under 28 minutes. I typically run at a slower pace, about a 10 (or so) minute mile, but figured since I was only doing about 3 miles, I could pick up the pace. After metro’ing to Freedom Plaza, I was quite surprised at the turnout for the race – about 8,000 people! It was organized really well and proved to be a nice, short (and more importantly, FLAT) run in front and around the capital building. To make the race even better, I beat my goal by almost 3 whole minutes! :)