Adopting in Ashburn

I just walked 6 blocks in the cold so I could get a pair of black socks. Apparently, in the past week, the way these pants fit has changed so dramatically that the hem is now wrong - even with the exact same shoes. This was, a complete waste of time, since who, in their right mind, is going to care about this half inch of the top of my foot not covered by my shoes? It is impossible to understand the irrationality of some of the things that drive me crazy, but at least this had a solution: a rejuvenating winter walk and three new pairs of black dress socks. Back to work. Love always, ~Heather

I can say, with some certainty now that I have two new roommates. A friend from graduate school and a girl we me through an ad for this really cute townhouse in Old Town. I want to tell you more about it. Unfortunately, I am so exhausted from the search and the early mornings for interviews that even with an hour long nap since I've been home tonight, I'm still ready for bed at 10:45. As soon as we sign a lease and everything is official , I'll post the pictures and maybe mini-bios of my new roomies. With all the craziness that's happened since November, I don't want to jinx this! Good night all. ~Heather

Thank goodness, without a gun. I am working on a gajillion things right now. We finally found a place to live, but we still need a third roommate, hence the hunting. I am exceptionally choosy about my roommates, because I want to be able to relax when I come home and don't want Budweiser blow-ups as part of the living room decoration (except for Superbowl Sunday). Also, they have to be reliable about paying their own way, otherwise I could get really stuck. So, the search continues. HOBY is really getting into swing. I love working on pulling the conference together. Last night and over lunch today I laid out how to get the schedules done for the whole weekend. I think I may have even managed to include appropriate transition times ... if this is right then we'll be able to get started finding panelists February 1st ... just a couple weeks behind my original schedule. I'll be hunting down speakers in the very near future. On a whim and suggestion from Ginny, I applie

For those of you who didn't know, I am moving again. The last move I made was a pretty good choice at the time, but after just a few months my apartment complex is raising my rent, so I'm moving on. My first brilliant plan was to move in with a friend from high school. All was well until she accepted an internship instead of a job (better career wise, oddly) and found a place in her new price range much closer to AU, where she'll be doing her grad coursework. As her friend, there was no way I could frown on this, except this now left me roommate-less. If you've never been on a serious budget in an urban housing market, you might not realize that having roommates is one of the best ways to defray costs. Sharing cable, phone, internet, heating and cooling alone can save someone in the ballpark of $120/month or $1,440/year - which is the equivalent of a months rent and two months utilities here. So, roommates are a must. Plus, there is something nice about coming home

Friday night: Girls Night at Kate's to watch Pride & Prejudice, followed by Bride & Prejudice (Bollywood). All of that was with mojitos, red wine, cookies, quesidillas, and this fabulous goat cheese brie with an apple/nut/cranberry chutney on top. I really need to get that recipe! Saturday I slept in (9:30!) did some stuff around the apartment, filled out and turned in a rental application for the townhouse, and posted an ad online for roommates. Then I made some bean dip casserole and drove up to the ever-exciting choir party. I love hanging out with the folks from choir. I stayed over with a friend so I wouldn't have to make the drive back and forth (thanks!). Sunday I sang both masses at church and read Pride & Prejudice in between (not the whole thing, obviously). Had lunch with Ginny, talked to my host mom (for lack of a better term) from Canada, and then picked up Dana to go shopping at Kohls for new work clothes for her new job (congrats!). Target wou

...can be good or bad. Like killing that strange bug on the ceiling with a newspaper at a bad angle and possibly having it land in my hair on its plummet to the carpet (where it was camouflaged and I was freaking out about it maybe being in my hair so I didn't see it land). Right now, aside from the bug and newspaper incident, I am trying to decide a good number of things. One of which is where to live, who to live with, and how to go about having the conversations necessary to make those decisions. Townhouse, apartment, condo, north, west, red line, orange line, blue line, ack! Another is how to handle my job situation. I love the idea of my job, but often find it less than challenging. I am trying to decide if this is something I can handle. I'm beginning to fill my life outside of work with challenging (if not, than time consuming) activities. I'm playing on a competitive volleyball team one night a week - and I'll probably be doing some strategic coaching with

New Year's Eve recap: Cuban-style dinner (ropoveeja (sp?), black beans, rice, fried plantains), pigs in a blanket (best NYEve food ever!), veggies, and more cookies than any one should ever eat. Chatting around the table and then family room with Malise, Yuriy, Katie, and Stacie. Katie, Stacie, and I checking out the fireworks over the Masonic Temple in Old Town Alexandria. When Harry Met Sally (quintessential) followed by a gracious ride home for my guests by SoberRide. Today I woke up late: 9:38am. So far I've spent the day with ESPN watching bowl game predictions and clicking back and forth with Rose Bowl Parade. So far, Tennessee is doing well against Wisconsin (go SEC!) though Arkansas is really duking it out (go SEC!) and Florida is about to crush Mighigan (go SEC!). I'll be ducking out in the middle of the FL game to go and look at what is potentially a fabulous townhouse near a metro... perhaps a future homestead??? 2008 already looks exciting. Last night before