Adopting in Ashburn

Well, I’ve never watched more C-SPAN in my life. Not that I mind too much, considering that convention coverage on these channels means I don’t have to listen to the talking heads on some of the other stations. I’m a bit disappointed in fact, because after all this Democratic propaganda, I wish I’d be able to fully follow the Republican convention next week. It was easy to predict that McCain will announce on Friday – it must be killing him to sit out of the media cycle for so long. I really hope that the liberal leaning stations at least pretend to be as interested in replaying coverage of Republican speeches as they are in the Democratic ones. Then again, there’s a little less drama planned for Minnesota and it looks like Gustav (the storm) is going to be drawing some media attention all on its own. In non-television or political news, my scarf is coming along well. I’m hoping to knock out another huge chunk tonight during the USC vs. NC State game. I’m sure there...

I'm hanging out in a pretty cool room, looking out the windows at a blue sky with lots of Florida sunshine. I came down to visit with my grandparents during my Pop Pop's surgery. He is doing well - snoring like a champ in his bed down the hall. Grandma and I are in the family waiting area so she can take a nap. It seems like this whole ordeal has been harder on her than on the poor guy who had the surgery. Luckily she's resting now though. I'm working from here for a couple of days, which is interesting since there isn't much wireless access in their retirement condo complex. Being at the hospital has helped that though, since they have a really good connection here. So, I'm trying to get as much work in as I can now. To that effect, I'm signing off. But, before I do, a really happy anniversary wish to my grandparents who were married 60 years on Friday at 4:30 pm. We had a nice little shindig for them (pictures coming soon) Friday night and I'm...

Well, this is my 400th post. Considering the Adventures blog is coming up on its third birthday, that isn't really all that many posts, but it is a benchmark (and probably the first one I've noticed). Also, keeping in mind that I am rather long winded in my posts, 400 is, if nothing else, a volume benchmark. So here on this most inauspicious of days*, I am going to go through the top labels I've attached to my posts (based on sheer numbers) to see what it is I've been talking about this whole time. The winners are ... Friends (48) Daily events (43) Family (17) Feelings (15) Work & En Francais (11) Movie (7) Rolling in at 6 mentions are: homework, HOBY, God, musical Wrapping up the big numbers game at 5 mentions: school, cooking, football, moving, packing, and Thanksgiving I probably could have guessed that really, but it is interesting to see that both moving and packing have 5 mentions (I must have whined about those a bunch) and that I've posted in French on...

Well, the Olympics have started and it was a glorious weekend. Lots of things to be cheerful about! Farmer's Market purchases: fabulous produce, seven grain bread, fresh ricotta cheese Garden box measured, cut, and stained (pending construction which should happen tomorrow night) Vegetables "hardening" (definition: to make hardy-er so they can sustain the outdoors) in giant backyard tub Bluegrass magic Goodbye party for Dana (sad to see her go, but still a nice outing) Good song at church today, if not a particularly friendly atmosphere (not sure what was going on, probably just an off week for us) Purchased plane tickets to visit the grandparents in Florida Read through a huge chunk of the Sunday Washington Post Driving tour of Fairfax county as we tried to avoid I-95 traffic on twilight zone style roads that all seemed to intersect with each other inextricably Fun afternoon browsing at IKEA Chipolte deliciousness And did I mention the Olympics??? I'm off to make a ...

This morning I slept in, which was rather nice. I pulled weeds in the front garden, had breakfast, went for a swim (and soaked up some needed much needed vitamin D), optimized my computer, and uploaded all the pictures Facebook wouldn't let me post last night. Now I am putzing about the house because the BBQ I thought was this afternoon has turned into a going out extravaganza after 10pm. This is probably okay because my eyes are trying to close themselves (though I'm not tired) because the chlorine in the pool really did them in. I love community pools (and the fact that mine is about one block from the house), but I don't love how much chlorine and acid they put in to kill the germs and make them safe for public use. I suppose this would be the appropriate time to buy some goggles, but I've never loved goggles - even when I was on the swim team I despised the cap and goggles, because they didn't feel natural or right (since I swam at home without goggles for ho...

Tonight was Girls Night. We went out to Moroccan food on King Street in Alexandria. Tagines (j'adore!) de poulet (tres bien) et de mouton (mal cuisiner). There was a belly dancer (who was not really that great) but the conversation and Moldovan server made the experience. On the way back to my place we stopped by a local park and swung on the swings for a couple minutes. The other girls didn't have quite as strong of stomachs (elles faisaient mals a cause des balances apres le diner; dommage) so we didn't stay long. Back home we took pictures, I perfected the use of my camera timer, and then we settled into watching the late-middle school-classic Cruel Intentions . This led to brownies and Kahluha milkshakes (which took Rachel's immersion blender since my regular blender motor doesn't love me). Then we spent the next hour and a half swapping stories about boys and other girly subjects (pro or con: cuddling while sleeping; actor we all agree we're into - Geo...