Local 16

Bets (and like, fifty of her friends!) celebrated her big 2-5 at Local 16 up in U Street. The place was very cool - with the second story french doors, it had a New Orleans feel, and the balmy weather just enhanced the feeling!

Welcome to the Quarter Century Club, Betsy! I'm going to miss you when you move to the Big Apple!

Day Off!

Today was my day off, so I spent the morning shopping then headed to Farragut to have lunch with Merrick. It was a gorgeous day, so we sat outside for some people-watching. Just in time for this mid-life-crisis-mobile to come rolling by. Well, a mid-life-crisis-mobile for a DC lobbyist (or the like), that is:

I got home fairly early and no more than ten minutes later, rain came crashing down. It was super sweet!

Baseball...

... in between innings, I got a little bored. We did find a way to entertain ourselves during the boringest game ever - by watching a father and his three little kids devour anything he gave them. The one kid inhaled an entire thing of cotton candy and then downed a bottle of water as I blinked.

A and I left early because we were SO BORED. And then the Nats scored four runs in the 8th. Serves us right...

The Revival of Happy Hour!

It's almost summer and the temperature isn't helping when all I want to do is be outside. When I leave my building for lunch, I always have the urge to not go back! But Happy Hour was a good time this week, and A had a pretty sweet drink. I didn't try it, but it looks lovely!

The Sting

Movie night played host to The Sting, a well-acted, very fun, caper of a movie. Newman and Redford are great together, and Eileen Brennan (love her voice) commanded the screen. The ragtime music kept things light, but with so many twists and turns, another viewing is necessary. I'm glad that my mom shooed me out of the room once when it was halfway through - watching it from beginning to end is imperative. Check it out!

Chili Blowoff

Every year, DC 101 hosts a chili cookoff on the National Mall. Apparently it's pretty neat - if you can afford the $40 pricetag to get in.

As a boycott, the neighbors of the 1139 guys host the Annual Chili Blowoff instead. My turkey chili was a contender this year, and it was damn awesome, if I do say so myself. I think that it had something to do with the fresh ground turkey that I picked up at Eastern Market at 8:00 a.m. (I don't know why I was up so early, so don't ask):


I also kicked some serious ass in flip cup.

Yoga-licious

I attended my first yoga class on Tuesday night. It was amazing! Now I finally understand what K-10 has been blabbing about all of these years. It made me really miss ballet, though. Maybe I'll find a dance studio around here...

Anyway, yoga. Right. Loved it. It was relaxing and yet challenging. It was also much more spiritual than I expected. The ninety minutes just flew by and I was disappointed when the session ended.

The warrior pose was my favorite:


The locust pose... well, we didn't quite get to that one. Maybe next time!

Ducks. And Squirrel!

So I was having lunch with Betsy and Merrick in Franklin Square Park, and as we lounged in the sun, this tubby squirrel wandered over in search of food:

He was definitely evil - look at his eyes! But most likely not carrying rabies, so I probably shouldn't have mentioned it and freaked out Betsy. Hehe. So we successfully shooed his lard ass away, and almost immediately after, a pair of mallards came waddling over:

They got really close, obviously accustomed to handouts. A little too close, really...

(There's Betsy's salad and the top of my bag -- that's how damn close they were. Seriously - they had no shame! And to top it all off, they were quack-growling. It was very disconcerting. Maybe they had rabies, too...)

It was pretty entertaining (though, as I read over this, it's pretty much the boringest post ever. Guess I just wanted to post the rabies-inflicted animals of Franklin Square Park).

Yippee!

Just went to Fuddruckers to get me a nice turkey burger (it is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up). Why is it that something as small and as inconsequential as a blue straw completely made my day. I actually said, "Yippee!" to myself after ripping off the wrapper.

Little things, I swear...

Sports Car Hippopotami

Here are some of the spam subject lines that ended up in my office's general email account. I know that they are randomly generated and everything, but some of them are pretty good:

sports car hippopotami (plural, no less!)
interaction snowmobile
soup cannibalism
hieroglyphics neighbor (like King Tut?)
nomenclature mobility
introvert saddle
rowboat unsavory

and my favorite:

chipmunk labor camp

Poor chipmunks!

Arts & Industries

I had a meeting at the Arts and Industries Building (A&I) today, which I always enjoy because it's currently closed to the public and I love seeing what's going on in there. The meeting, on the other hand, is equally enjoyable as the trip to A&I because of Ms. Crazy and Ms. Sexual Harrassment - two people who should not be in positions of authority because of their limited grasp on reality (and sanity), but somehow ARE. Trust me, they are entertaining, to say the least.

The A&I Building was the original Smithsonian Museum, and one of the oldest on the National Mall. Most recently, it was used for temporary and traveling exhibits, and is really beautifully decorated. It was closed recently because the roof is unsafe. There, I said it. No one wanted a piece of the ceiling to fall on some tourist's head, so it was closed (yet the staff office remained. Interesting...). Seeing it now, gutted and lonely, is kind of sad, but the beautiful architecture remains. Hopefully, renovations will restore it to its original glory - if not, let's hope that it remains on the Mall with the same architectural integrity and originality as when it was built.

7th Perfection, Apparently

I never really watched 7th Heaven. I understand that it is a nice family show that lots and lots of people love, but it was always too sugary and unrealistic for me (says the girl who loves a show about six friends living in huge apartments in NYC and never working more than a day a week). Not that I want to see conflict all of the time, but their dog's name was Happy, for crying out loud.

K-10 loved to hate it and I watched it with her sometimes (or she watched it in Ann Arbor and I watched it in DC), just so we could be snarky about it. It wasn't as fun as watching Scrubs together and calling each other during the commercial breaks, but hey - what is? Now that she's in London, she's missed out on the snarkfests. So I watched the end of the series finale tonight just to report to her. Here's the email I sent just a few minutes ago (she'll get it in a few hours when she wakes up and I hope that it makes her laugh):

Okay, I didn't watch the whole thing. I was flipping back and forth because there is no way I could have watched the whole thing and lived to tell the tale. I wanted to call you so bad though. I was literally SCREAMING at my tv because it was so asinine.

Simon didn't get married. I don't know why. Then Haylie Duff showed up with a baby and said, "We should talk." Is it his? I don't care.

Matt and wife showed up. They will be graduating from med school the next morning. But they showed up for the wedding and tried to keep it a secret. They couldn't. I'm just going to assume that Ruthie fucked it up or something. I don't care.

Carlos showed up. He and Mary are back together. But she's still in New York. Why? I don't care.

At the end, Matt and wife announce that they are pregnant and are having twin boys.

Lucy and Kevin announce that they are also having twin boys.

Carlos announces that he and Mary are having twin girls.

I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP.

And the whole time, the parents are registering absolutely NO EMOTIONS except forced smiles. It was unreal. The woman that plays the mother is one of the worst actresses EVER.

I am so angry that TWOP isn't recapping it anymore, because I can't even imagine how amazing that recap would be.

Did anyone else actually watch it? Was this ending the stupidest series finale ever, or can you think of one that was even more contrived? Discuss.

Smells Like...

I was in the elevator at work today and two women got in smelling like the stuff we used to put in the gerbil cage. Not woodchips but this interesting litter-type stuff. Not that it smells bad... But they smelled like it. Strange.

So it rained from sunrise to sunset today - not that the sun ever bothered to show up - and while walking home, I noticed that my neighborhood smelled like freshly brewed iced tea. The whole neighborhood. It was really nice.

And my house smells like Thai food. Chicken with Cashew Nut, to be exact. Mmm.

I don't know.

Shenandoah Donut

And... I went back to Shenandoah today. This time I went by myself and drove almost the entire length of the park. It felt like I had the whole park to myself. I didn't go hiking or anything - I wouldn't want to fall off of a cliff or get stolen or something - but I got a good workout climbing all over the place to get pictures of pretty things:

Wild Geranium (I think)

Wild Columbine

Large-flowered Trillium

Trail that I really wanted to hike but it was raining and I was by myself
so it's on my list to do next time.

Cinco de Mayo!

Free stuff is fun. Especially when it keeps your beer cold.

Chicken Chili

Here's my version of a pretty healthy chili. I've tried beef and turkey, but I love this recipe the best:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons cumin
1 28-oz can chunky-style tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 can corn, drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Heat deep pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Brown chicken, breaking it into small pieces. Add onions and garlic and let cook for 5 minutes. When onions are translucent, add cumin and chili powder. Combine well. Stir in green pepper and jalepeno. Add chicken stock and tomatoes. Adjust seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste. Add corn and beans. On medium heat, let heat chili heat through. Add rosemary. Reduce heat to simmer, cover. Stir ocassionally. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes before serving.

For a spicier chili, add several drops hot sauce or a more robust chili pepper.

Corn muffins are excellent with this dish.

Enjoy!

Skyland 2

Here are some of Amanda's pictures:

Groundhog!

I could be a park ranger...

Our room (far left)

If anyone is interested in going with me this weekend, just let me know!