Adopting in Ashburn

Well, it seems that like most things you can't have one without the other. So before I could have an incredibly fun weekend I had to have a Friday that pretty much ranked in my worst 25 days ever. It started out with work making me - actually, let's skip that and just know that this was certainly the dark tunnel. Now the thing about dark tunnels that make them SO different from, say, caves, is that there is bound to be light on the other end. My light came as I scrambled out of work 25 minutes late. You know how you can see the glimmer before the good part ... that's where we are (or so I thought). I was on my way to see a movie with Cag, now assuredly going to be late as I had stopped home to grab an apple for dinner and change into jeans. Half way there I realize I have forgotten my phone - so I can't even call to say I am running late. An idiot decides to stop short on Glebe Road and I hydroplane through an intersection (lots of prayers of thanksgiving on the s...

I'm not sure how long this fascination with fall has been going on, but I LOVE fall. It is my absolute favorite season of the year. You can open all the windows and let in the fresh air. Everyone decorates in burnt oranges, sage, deep red, and golden yellow. Leaves come down. School starts again. Football plays every Saturday. It is like shedding an old skin every year - you get to let go of the summer and cuddle up for the winter. It is a truly amazing deal. This fall has brought me a number of wonderful things already. However, I fear I must restrict myself (at least momentarily) to this weekend. You'll see why when you realize the length of this post. Not an awesome week at work, I was happy to duck out at exactly 5:30p.m. on Friday. One of my interns was celebrating her birthday, so she came by the house and I cut her some fresh sunflowers for her apartment as a gift. Then I went inside to make supper. My new fellow from work and Paula came over for dinner (they...

Note that this was originally written two weeks ago, but it has been in draft mode ... trying to catch up tonight .... It has been a pretty eventful weekend here in DC, starting Thursday evening with the Carolina - Vanderbilt. Paula and I went to the Crystal City Sports Pub, where the Gamecock alumni club meets. We caught up with a few friends and made some new ones. Oh, yeah, we also watched our beloved Gamecocks lose a second straight match-up to Vanderbilt. I mean seriously Spurrier (and team), I know you're trying to make a name for yourselves, but competing for the "door mat" title is not what your fans had in mind. Friday at work was relatively uneventful, but I was full of energy all day - ready to do something fun, like go out dancing, as soon as I got off. Alas, no one wanted to go out. So I pulled some homemade zucchini-eggplant parmesan out of the freezer and settled down for a little Charmed marathon. .... filling in from a slightly more distant memory...

Has anyone else noticed that there are all sorts of people who are claiming to be independent of political affiliation who are hard core getting behind one candidate or another? Maybe it is in the photos they choose, or where and how they place them. It may be in the frequency of posting or their terminology, but let's be clear: There is a heck of a lot of framing and spinning and posturing going on and the absolute truth is no one is presenting it without bias. And, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that - if you admit that you have a bias. It doesn't seem fair to those who don't have training in recognizing these tactics ... I'm just saying. I should be announcing my bias soon enough - I have to watch my recordings of the Republican speeches first. Love always, ~Heather

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...