It's a......

To Air is Human

Last night, Al, Hannah (Al's cousin), and I went to witness one of the most hilarious contests on the planet-US AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIP! That's right! Now, in case you think this is a joke, let me reassure you, there are very strict rules about air guitaring. And, suprisingly, few people have what is considered to be "airness" while playing the air guitar. What can I say? It definitely takes a certain je ne sais quoi to be a US Air Guitar Champion. We definitely saw some interesting looks, and some bad-ass air guitar playing. The champion goes to New York to compete, and then off to Finland for the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

It was important to applaud talented players, because, after all, they ARE representing USA!! You can't just send anyone to the air guitar world championships!

It was a spectacular night, although I was highly disappointed that no girls entered. I think if I had gotten up there with my bad-ass rendition of Welcome to The Jungle, I would have won! (Plus the being pregnant thing helps).

Alas, not guitar for me. As they said in the biz, "if i can't play air guitar, then I don't want air."

Walking in Memphis

Last weekend we went to Memphis to visit with our friends Shannon and Rich. What a fun town-and more pork than I thought ever possible!

We arrived to the home of the blues on Friday and went straight to Rendevous, a local hotspot for dry-rub ribs and bbq nachos! Yes, that's right, bbq nachos-with pulled pork and dry rub seasoning along w/ bbq sauce, nachos sauce and jalapenos-the most heavenly thing I think ever invented. After Rendevous, we walked down to Beale Street-which reminded me a little of New Orleans with all of the open containers, and street performers-not quite as wild as Bourbon, but still lively and shakin'. We watched the kids doing flips down the street (seriously-these kids were pretty talented. Listened to some live music and stopped at Pat O'Briens for Hurricanes along the way (well, not me sadly).

Saturday morning we went to the Memphis Farmer's Market-more live music and cute food stalls. There was a live bluegrassy type of band playing all string instruments. I felt like running to a field, taking my shoes off and dancing. One of the musicions was a really cool elder gentleman in a barbershop type hat clanging what looked to be wooden spoons together. Awesome!

After that, we went home and cleaned up and walked over to Fino's Italian deli for some yummy sammys. Along the way, we caught some interesting sites-like a truck advertising for a single man, and a yard with astro turf as lawn.

After lunch-off to Sun Studio-where Elvis was discovered, and where several musicians have come to play-Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, U2, Liz Phair, etc. It was a short, but really cool tour-neat to see where a lot of no names first got their big breaks.

That evening we went down to the river (the mighty Mississippi) for Symphony by Sunset-an evening of symphony music (which included the theme from Star Wars), the Temptations, and a fireworks show. Shannon and Rich picked up some of Gus' world famous chicken for the evening-and I'll be damned if that wasn't some of the best fried chicken this southerner has ever had. Mmmmm!

On Sunday, Al and I headed to Graceland for a morning tour. Even saw an impersonator along the way. I'm happy to report the Graceland is just as tacky as it was a few years ago. Elvis had some interesting taste-and we're suspecting the King was a might bit kinky too, given the fur bed and some of the interesting accoutrement on display. After Graceland, we met up with Shannon and Rich-for you guessed it-more bbq at a restaurant called Central. This time, in the form of a sandwich. I thought it was very tasty-and loved their mac & cheese side.

After that, we went to Mud Island to see the scale version of the Mississippi-it's carved throughout a Park, and you can wade your way through the scale version. A cool way (literally!) to spend a hot day.

That night, Rich cooked us up a tasty dinner (and a healthy one too!) and we spent the evening relaxing by the (not so hot), hot-tub.

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and nice to get away. I dug Memphis-it's love of music and southern hospitality. No Reverend Greene this visit, but maybe next time....

Catching up

After my New Years resolution, I've managed to totally slack off on the blogging-but not without good reason. We've been busy since February-and so here's a quick recap of what's been going on....

February:

-Al and I find out that I'm pregnant!! (for those of you finding out via blog-my apologies, I tried reaching out to as many of you as possible by phone or email to share the news before blogging about it.) Our due date is October 25, which just happens to be our 4 year anniversary. We are going to find out what we are having in June. Luckily, no morning sickness, and only a little bit of naseua.

March:

-Dinner with lots of friends-it was definitely hard keeping the pregnancy a secret!

-Travel to Roanoke to give my parents the good news.

April:

-Al and I host our first "seder" with my brother, his girlfriend Elise, and our friends Paul and Erika attending. Elijah the prophet didn't show up and drink his wine, but luckily Al also refrained from drinking Elijah's wine this year.

-Al and I did our yearly GW Invitational volunteer shtick--while I didn't go to GW or row, I feel like one of the "Crew" gang, so I always try to help out at the races. Of course, this year, it was snowing in the morning before my shift. Brrr! It was not a fun 5 hours, made only worst by the fact that I couldn't enjoy cocktails afterwards to warm up!

-Al's parents came to DC and we got to share the news with them-and Al's dad, in turn, managed to announce it to practially the entire restaurant-including the water boy who didn't speak a word of English! During their stay, I came down with a miserable stomach flu, so I was mostly locked up in our room for the rest of their stay.

-Went to Richmond to celebrate my Uncle's 60th b-day. Here's a pic of me with all my boy cousins (I'm the only girl.) Also, got to tell my grandma that she's going to be a great-grandma.

-My friend Betsy from Portland came into town for a friend's bridal shower, so I got to spend a day with her. It had been a year since we had last seen each other-so lots of catching up to do. We hit the Jasper Johns exhibit in the Smithsonain, then up to Dupont Circle for lunch, then a shopping spree at Filenes, followed by drinks on the patio at a neighborhood bar, and then dinner at Zaytinya. Phew! The next morning, we hit the Eastern Market-this was before the big fire happened, so I'm glad we got a chance to go there while everything was still normal.

May:
-Al's friends we all in town for their 10 year Crew Reunion. 3 "bachelors" staying with us-all have wives/girlfriends, but all came stag, so they decided to crash with us. We had a busy weekend-a picnic, a banquet, and a Sunday brunch, filled with tons of laughing and getting to see alot of friends' babies and kiddies.

-Participated in Mags and Andy's "Yardapooloza" yard sale-Al and I only made $45, but we decided that our "wares" didn't fit the clientele's needs.

-Went to Charlottesville (Boarshead Inn) to meet my parents and grandma for Mother's Day. My grandma spent the better part of the day crying being "overcome with joy."

This weekend, we are off to see my friend Shannon and her boyfriend Rich in Memphis-so looking forward to a weekend of bbq, music, and good times with great friends.

More to come about livin' large with baby on the way....and, of course, a baby blog to come. Stay tuned!

hokies

tragedy strikes

I'm in such shock and awe about the news surrounding my alma mater, Virginia Tech. More than 31 students have dies in a tragic, horrible, senseless shooting. As an alumni, I just can't even believe this happened at my university...somewhere I always felt safe and protected. I can't stop thinking about the students and faculty there-you all are truly in my thoughts an prayers.

While Columbine and this shooting were both truly horrific, I hope that in this shooting, there is a lesson to us all. A wakeup call to decision makers to tighten up gun control laws. A warning to schools and universities to be VIGILANT-reach out to students before it is too late and tragedy strikes. It is also a sad reminder to us all to not take anything for granted-every day in life is sacred, and you never know what life will hand you.

Peace be with you Virginia Tech students and faculty. May you find your inner strength in a truly tragic ordeal.

Five for Friday (a bit late....)

This past week was jam packed-attended the Arctic rally on Tuesday and got to hear John Kerry speak along with several other Senators and Representatives (although Kerry was the big draw). Work has been crazy-we've hired a new person to fill my old supervisor's role who will be starting in a week (I may not have blogged about it since I was in denial, but my supervisor left a few weeks ago for a job at WWF), so we've been busy trying to get ready for her to start. Plus, we had a full day training on building relationships with donors on Thursday-for the training we had to take this DISC personality assessment-which I have to say is probably the worst "personality" test I've ever taken. I don't think that anybody in the training felt that their DISC outcome really represented who they are, or how they interact with donors. The training itself was good, but I just think if you are going to do a personality test, do one that is a little more accurate. For example, the test said I'm both an introvert AND and extrovert. I'm a "just the facts person" and a "big picture person." I just think that is crap. At least for Meyers Briggs, you can see where you fall on the line of introvert vs. extrovert, but you aren't both. (at least I don't think so....).

Moving on.....last night we went to our friend Colleen's to watch some March Madness. I normally wouldn't care, but this year I entered into my first bracket, and I'm tied for #2 right now. I hope I win-momma needs a new pair o' shoes!

On to the five for Friday (or Saturday as it were)....while the bracket winnings would be a mere $100, I'll go with the "what would I do if I won $1 million-the sky is the limit!" list: (why not?)

1. I would probably invest in a house that had a yard so that I could get #2 on my list....
2. Buy a dog
3. Go on a shopping spree
4. Buy a Prius
5. Go with Al to the Inn at Little Washington

(#6 would be make a donation to Virginia Tech to support the English Studies Study Abroad program that I participated in, #7 would be to invest in a personal trainer, #8 would be get a cleaning service, #9 would be take a trip, and #10 would be to put away for a rainy day).

Friday already!

Thank goodness it's Friday. This week just seemed to drag on, didn't it? Anyway, time for the fabulous five for Friday. I'm going to play anywhere but here-it's rainy out, and there are about a billion places I wish I could be right now....so, five places I wish I was instead of the office on a rainy day:

1. England-yes, it would be rainy, but it's England, and I love it no matter what the weather.
2. Australia-what I wouldn't give to be diving the coral reef right now. Or stolling Bondi beach. Or eating Australian cuisine. Mmmm.
3. Carribean-would love to lay on the beach, read a book, and dive into the crystal blue waters. And eat fritters. Yummy.
4. Vermont-I know it would be cold, but I had such a lovely time when we were there and could go for a cup of cocoa in front of the fire.
5. Africa-would love to be on a safari hanging with the animals.