Spytastic!

Before I launch into my most wonderful spytastic 30th birthday, first thing's first. Al's jaw is officially unwired! We went first thing this morning, and it's already a huge difference-he can talk more clearly, and can breathe more easily....we're so excited!!!!! (if you can't tell by the amount of exclamation marks).

So....where to begin? (Note: this is a long blog, print out, and read on your commute.....) Friday I ended up working from home for the day. We had an early out for the long weekend, and the weather was miserable out, so no point in going in. During the day, I got a call from Al telling me about a break-in that happened that morning in our neighborhood, so I was a bit freaked out working from home. Anyway, I had a hair appt at 4 pm, so I headed out to my appt., and called Al afterwards to pick me up-but he wasn't able to b/c he "was not in DC". I had not idea where he was, so I cabbed on home, and as I go to open the door, I notice it is now unlocked, and the alarm is off (which is not how I had left it). Turns out my brother-in-law Marc was the first of many surprises for the weekend. Shortly after catching up w/ Marc, Al got home and before I knew it, the doorbell rang, and my friends Sylvie and Jarrod (from Michigan) were here, with their baby Deidrea in tow. The birthday weekend celebration had officially begun!

After calming down, we all went to dinner together at Logan Tavern to catch up and visit with each other--last time I saw Sylvie and Jarrod was 2 years ago for Al's 30th dive trip, so it was such a treat to see them again, and have them be a part of the weekend, and it was great having Marc there as well, and have him join in the festivities. Dinner was pretty chill, but it was great to just catch up and have a low key evening after such an exciting start!

The next morning, Al got up early to go into work--and the rest of us agreed we would all go out to brunch to Busboys and Poets when Al got back from work. As I walk into the back room of Busboys, and I'm greeted by about 20 of my closest friends...some new, some old, some DCers, and my friend Shannon from Memphis (along with the other out of town guests mentioned above)....all having brunch and yelling "surprise!!!". I was in shock. I had NO idea we were going to have a morning surprise party (I had knowledge the birthday celebration was this weekend, but didn't know when or where, or more importantly....what.)

So, to answer the question of "what is all this????", Al (my most fabulous husband) started a flash movie he created, which explained that it was to be a Spytastic weekend-with a Scavenger Hunt!!! After watching the film, I got tapped on the shoulder, and my parents (and brother) were all standing behind me...I jumped up and totally started balling. I guess I was just so overwhelmed, and it's been a crazy few months, so the comfort of seeing family was such a relief.

Al started to launch into his speech about what the day would entail--we were all broken into color teams...green, blue, red, gray and white. We each got t-shirts for our team, which had the coolest panda spy design, done my friend(s) Jerrold Connors (with help from lovely wife Kristen). (make sure to visit http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/, he's genious!) . We were also given spy kits including a pencil, and marker, a roll of nickels, a decoder, a list of objects to obtain, and a list of places that 3 members of the team had to take a picture in front of. Each team also got a zip car (http://www.zipcar.com/) that they would have to drive around for the day. I got to drive a Mini-Coop for the day, so I truly felt Spytastic! We also got a CD mix of "Music to Spy By", including music from Mission Impossible, James Bond, etc.

This is how it worked: we were given a list of certain places in DC to take pictures in front of and certain items to obtain (some specific to DC, some not). Each picture that was taken and each object obtained amassed a certain amount of points. We were also given a checkpoints we had to go to. Checkpoint 1 lead to the next checkpoint (but a secret decoder had to be used in order to determine the next location point. There were a total of three checkpoints that we had to go to in order to determine final checkpoint. So, in addition to getting pictures across the city and obtaining objects, we also had to go to the various checkpoints so that we could determine our final destination point (we had to be there 5 pm SHARP, and the first team there got 1,000 points!) My team was Mags (my childhood friend since 2), Sylvie and Jarrod. Hilarity ensued. We had a great day running around the city collecting items, and reenacting scenes from movies, reinacting my wedding, going to pretermined checkpoints so that we could figure out our final destination point. There was definitely smack talk going on between the teams, and a competitive vibe throughout the day. We had a great time being silly and acting like spies. Luckily, my team was able to determine the final checkpoint (we missed one of the checkpoints), but we made it to the finish line first.

On the music to spy by, there was a key decoder hidden on track 48, which helped the other teams figure out where to meat. The secret hint was "half smoke", which lead to only one place----Ben's Chilli Bowl.

We had dinner at Ben's, and then everyone went home to change. An exhausting day, truly, but the day was not over. We all met up for cocktails at Spy Lounge later that night (to continue the spy theme). While some people were tuckered out, I was impressed by those who rallied. A few people joined who were not able to be part of the scavenger hunt. At one point in the evening, my friend Diana (also from MI) walked in the door and surprised me, which was awesome!! I thought all of my surprises were over, so it was nice to have one more.

The night ended around 2, a couple of martini's down the catch, but mostly a great evening with good friends, my wonderful family, and my terrific, thoughtful husband.

I just want to say special thanks to those who made my day wonderful, not just by being there, but contributing ideas, helping Al with coordinating music to his flash invite, designing t-shirts, calling to check in, etc. It was a great day, and was the most I've laughed in the past two months. Thank you for that!!!

And, thank you to Al. You never cease to amaze me. You are so talented and creative, and a wonderful life partner. Even through a wired jaw, you continue to be so thoughtful, kind, and caring. I am truly lucky to have you as my husband, and I can't wait to have even more adventures with you.

Check out our pics: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNGTZs3ZOGHO

Princess Power!

So, as a new, ahem, 30 year old, I've decided that I would like to be a princess when I grow up. Princesses are so pretty, and never have to clean, and they get to ride horses, and never have frizzy hair, and they always have really nice skin.

I got a good start on Wednesday(my b-day)-my husband got me a kickin camera, and my coworkers got an arrangement of flowers for me and we got to go out for lunch to one of my favorite places! After work, I met up with some girlfriends for a little soiree my friend Colleen put together. She was so clever and came up with a ton of fun drink names like "Dirty 30" and the "Jodie-rita", etc. And, she made my FAVORITE of FAVORITE cakes-yellow cake with chocolate icing. See...I'm telling you, meant to be a princess. My case was really sealed when my friend Erika walked in with a princess bag full of treats only a TRUE princess could love. (I mean, you have to really be a princess to enjoy ring pops and pretty shiny bracelets, and really cool change purses and what not.) And, my friend Emily (and Sam) got me a mani certificate...pampering fit for a.........you guessed it.

Oh, alright, I'm just day dreaming. But, it's been a rough few months, and I deserve it, right? I have to admit, it was pretty special when we told the bartender I was celebrating a "big" birthday, and they thought I was turning 21!!!

Anyways, more b-day festivities to come at some point. Stay tuned....

Ringin' in the new year

It was the start of Jewish new year this weekend...happy 5767! Everybody Wang Chung tonight!

I am totally a high holidays Jew, I go to synangogue just about twice a year-for the high holidays, and sometimes I toss one in for good measure and just to make sure I'm inscribed in the Book of Life and all, but usually, I'm a two-for-one type of gal. Don't get me wrong, I love being Jewish, and I do the whole Hannukah and Passover hullabulloo, but for hitting services, right now, I'm just at the bare minimum.

Even so, I love the holidays. They are super relaxing to me, and the older I get, the more I look forward to them. I just love the few hours of sitting in service and having some quality reflection time, and just mindlessly humming the different prayers. And, even more so, I am so SO in love with the food around Jewish holidays. This year, we kicked off our holidays nicely. I made a potato and cheddar soup on Friday, and afterwards, we met up with my friend Bill for a coffee break, which was nice. On Saturday, after I hit services our friend Miriam had us over, and I swear, I almost burst into tears just thinking about the spread. It's just nice to know that no matter whose house you go to, they all have the same tradition, the same food, the same comforts you remember from being little. Following Mir's, we went to our friend Paul and Erika's for a nice end to the evening.

But, I'm excited to say one of the MOST exciting things from this weekend is that I made a pillow! Yes, as part of the quilting goal, I started with a pillow. Our friend Missy had us over for a stitch and bitch, and she totally helped me become a quilting diva--okay, well, not quite to that extent, but did I mention I made a damn pillow?

As for Al, 2 more weeks of being wired shut. Still a long road. And people still suck. Jaw surgery is not fun, so I can't imagine why people thing it is okay to say mean comments to Al about not being able to understand him, etc. Those people seriously need to get some manners, and should ask their mom's why they were brought up with poor ones. And, I can say that because I'm going to totally atone for it while I'm fasting next Sunday for Jewish high holiday round 2, Yom Kippur.

30, flirty and fun?

A week from today I turn 30. I've made a resolution. I'm going to be 30, flirty and fun! Okay, maybe not flirty in the traditional sense, I just mean flirty in the fun, fabulous, youthful sense. Flirting with new hobbies, new passions, trying to stay YOUNG.

So, here's looking down 30 square in the face, and a list of things I want to do in my 30's-some are quite a reach, but you gotta have something to reach for!

• Play piano-I took lessons when I was little, and would love to pick it up again.
• Learn how to speak French and Yiddush
• Travel to South America
• Make a hallah (traditional jewish bread for sabbath)
• Have kid(s)
• Raft down the Grand Canyon
• Take an African safari
• Take more pottery lessons and make a decent bowl (not just one my mother could love!)
• Learn how to make a quilt
• Write a kid's book
• Get promoted at work
• Become involved with a synagogue
• Learn to be not so self-involved
• Reunite with my old camp friends
• See more concerts
• Go to more plays
• Go camping at least once a year
• See a sea horse while diving
• Become a better cook
• Be 30, flirty and FABULOUS

Alright 30's, I'm ready, I have a list, and I'm coming for you, ready or not!

20 days to 30

The countdown begins. In 20 days, I'll be leaving my 20's behind and heading into my 30's. Everyone SWEARS 30 is so great and that they love it....and to be honest, I was looking forward to it, but now I'm kind of dreading it. I guess it's because I have been feeling old this past month, and I hate feeling old-especially when I'm typically very young at heart.

While I'm hesitant to enter the 30-zone, I'm excited to wave goodbye to 20's. It was an interesting decade, and I learned alot, but I feel more like a grown up now. 20 was all about struggling to find out who I was and define my future, and now I feel like I'm actually content, and just enjoying life (with the exception of nursing a hubby through surgery rehab).

Looking back, it's been quite a ride....I moved from small town to big city, I started my career path towards marketing/fundraising/environmental work---which got a bit off track along the way, I met my husband and FINALLY had the courage to ditch my ex (after he broke up with me about a hundred times, it was empowering that the last zinger was done by yours truly), got my belly button pierced, learned to scuba dive, bought a house, travelled to some of the most amazing places in the world, ate at some of the most amazing restaurants, got to experience wonderful amount of cultural events, and met some of my most favorite people in the world (Ilona, Sylvie and Jarrod, Simon, Betsy, Diana, Colleen, Erika and Paul, Miriam and James, Booth and Wayne, Kristen and Jerrold, Shali, Missy, Kristin and Jeff, Matt and Katie, Clay and Nicole, Anne, and Summer). (sorry if I forgot anyone!) And got BACK in touch with some of my most favorite people in the world (too big of a list, but you know who you are).

Twenties were also rough-had a few jobs and bosses I hated, lived through a terrorist attack, totalled a car, had to go through a rough ending with the ex, and lost a few good friends along the way...but, mainly, it's been quite the journey, and I guess it's time to start the next chapter.

So 20 more days of 20's....and then, we'll see what life has in store for me next.

Rainy day thoughts

Found out yesterday that Al has 5 more weeks of being wired shut. This sucks big time. And lately, I've definitely felt a bit dismayed with humanity. People who don't know Al just had surgery can be pretty damn cruel--in fact, some people who do know he had surgery can be cruel too. On the other hand, we've been blessed to have our friends conintuing to stop by. In fact, we just had a friend over from San Fran the other night.

I have a cold, which is lousy. It's a long weekend, and I would love to actually just rest and relax, but that doesn't seem to be in my future any time soon. Even when I try to rest, I get bogged down with other frustrating things. I hate sounding selfish, especially when Al is going through such an ordeal, but I'm really feeling so tired, and even though I'm not there yet, I'm feeling every bit of 30. Al swears 30 is great. I don't see it as being anything great...I just feel like I've aged a lot in the last few weeks, and lost a bit of that inner child glow. I can only hope that it comes back....

Bye Bye Merl....

I sold my car yesterday evening. I've had it for 8 great years, but it was time to say farewell. Living in the city, and paying for the upkeep and insurance has been a bit more than I can chew, so I bid it a safe journey into the hands of a 17-year old. Now, I have to learn to drive Al's car!

It's definitely bittersweet-I didn't have a chance to even say a proper fairwell before it was driven off into the distance, and I'm definitely sad to see it go after so many fond memories of driving to New York, Roanoke, the beach, and wherever else it's taken me. And, of course, who can forget the time I decided on its name after drinking a whole bottle of Merlot hoping Al would show some interest in me at a party!! (hence the name Merl-not for the color, but for the wine) .....Good times.

Bye bye Merl. Be good to your new owner, lil fella.

Overwhelmed.

I'm feeling overwhelmed. I don't even know why. I'm not the one trying to go through recovery of a major surgery (or two for that matter!), but I feel like hell. I'm tired all the time, and I cry at the drop of a pin. Al can't seem to get full no matter how much tofu, or beans, or protein powder he puts in his purees--it's all liquid, so he never gets that content feeling of eating, he feels constantly empty. It's frustrating to him, it's heartbreaking to me....I wish I could do more, but all I can do is just be supportive, and understanding.

I'm also trying to sell my car. Another annoyance. I have to deal with calls, and emails, and questions, which is all par for the course, but I'm trying to catch up on work, and feel like this is probably the most stressful time to do something equally as stressful. I also have to find time to learn to drive a stick. Not just a regular stick, but Al's BABY. No stress....ha!

Another thing that really has weighed on me is that some asshat was making fun of the way Al talked because his jaw is wired shut. I won't say what the guy said, but it was pretty damn inconsiderate, and fucking rude, and he can just shove it for all I care. (So THERE you stupid, jobless DICK!).

Luckily, we continue to have a barrage of friends stopping by, calling, visiting. I'm thankful for that, and for the lessons of patience and kindness that I'm taking from this. (minus the name calling to ignorant jerks). I seriously need a drink. And a vacation.