Lake Anne

I have lived in many pretty places, but where I live now is trumping them all. Reston is awesome because there are paths everywhere. My favorite path is the one that leads to Lake Anne, a cute (and somewhat outdated) lake with restaurants, shops, and apartments. There is quite a Reston culture surrounding it. There is a farmer’s market there every Saturday morning from May-November and during the summer there are outdoor movies and concerts! I can’t wait to enjoy the awesomeness.

Abby (my dog) and I love to walk down there after work at night. It’s so beautiful and peaceful. Please enjoy the beauty.

Abby is leading the way.

Abby was hot and enjoying the creek.

The view of Lake Anne.

Come on. Beautiful!

It sure makes walking the dog a little more fun.

-Maria

29 Diner

Never have I ever been to 29 Diner. But on the occasion of my friend Hannah Powers graduating from George Mason, I finally had the pleasure. 

The crazy thing is, I grew up within walking distance of it and it is a Fairfax Landmark.

I have a few funny things of note about this place.

29 Diner claims to be open 24 hours. Not only is that not true, the hours are very irregular. You never know when it is going to be open or closed.

My brother worked here a few years ago. He worked 1 shift. They never fired him, they just never scheduled him again. After quite a bit of questioning, he did mention he broke the handle on the pictured refrigerator. That might have had something to do with it.

They use a lot of butter. Yes, that is what the yellow stuff is.

We have reached the full extent of my hilarious antidotes about this landmark. I must be honest, I didn’t eat anything. It did look good and it was h-o-t inside. Not sure that air-conditioning was standard when this place was built.

(look closely, those waitresses have bloody eyes.)

I wonder if there are any other Fairfax landmarks that I have yet to visit.

-Hannah

Zoo

I have been to the Washington, DC Zoo before, but I have never been so terrified by the primates. They were really on top of their game the day my parents and I went a few weekends ago. Usually when I go we see a total 2 or so actual animals. Since it’s free, I can’t complain, but come on animals! Wake up from your naps and entertain us! This day was quite different. All of the animals were out and about, putting on a show.

Then came the Primate area. These guys have eyes that bore into your soul. They’re not messing around.

This guy scared me to death.

This little buddy was putting on a show for everyone.

Then came the elephants, which I’ve never seen before when I’m at the Zoo.

And some sort of scary lizard.

And finally, a lion, who by the way was making very high pitched growling noises. A mating call, perhaps?

All in all, a day filled with animals. Who would have thought, being at the zoo and all.

-Maria

Business v. Education

Last week I went to a non Young Life non education seminar. This was the first time ever and I noticed some fairly major differences between the world of education and the world of business. I know your minds are BLOWN after reading that sentence, believe me. I want to let you in on a few of those differences.

(I tried to create columns for this, but it was harder than just pressing a button, so I didn’t)

Education vs. Business World

Please note that this is the format the comparisons will take, even if vs. isn’t the perfect word.

Female Dominated vs. Male Dominated

At conferences for teachers there are rarely any men. This is a stereotype that holds up. The Chick-Fil-A leadercast? Mostly men. Mostly men in attendance and mostly men speaking. I know this isn’t always the case, but it is very different from education.

Jeans are dressy vs. Jeans are sloppy

At a conference for teachers, there is a good chance someone is coming in one of these:

Probably more than one person. I realized quickly, that outside of the business world a conference does not mean a chance to dress like you just got out of bed. Luckily, my sweatsuit was dirty, so I was in jeans…but one of the few.

Consider yourself lucky to get Panera at lunch time vs. Food offered all day

Honestly, teachers are happy if you give them more than a half an hour, they are willing to pay as long as they have enough time to go somewhere. And don’t you worry, every conference starts with the promise of an hour lunch followed immediately with a buzz of track suited ladies talking about how nice it will be. Business conferences have a plethora of free food, and I must say, not a lot of talking about how nice it is. It is just expected.

Everyone talking about nightmare students vs. Everyone talking about deals

Of course, I don’t have a ton of experience in non-education conferences, so take this with a grain of salt. But I do know teachers, and they are a fairly humble bunch that likes to complain (who doesn’t). So if you gather a bunch of teachers, they will inevitably start talking about the nightmare students they have encountered and all the ridiculous outside of teaching things they have been asked to do. With. Out. Fail. It is actually pretty entertaining, don’t judge. From what I heard at the other conference, people talk about all the things going well. Funny isn’t it, teachers talk about what is going wrong while others talk about what is going right?

I think that is enough. There are zillions of differences, that is for sure.  I must say, I am certainly glad to be breaking out of a rut and experiencing something new.

-Hannah

The Great Gatsby

I am pumped for The Great Gatsby to come out this weekend. I consider myself a lover of books. I was an English Major and come from a family of readers and at least one writer (not me).

I know I read the book, what high school student doesn’t? But in seeing the previews, I realized I remembered nothing of the book at all. I knew it was in the 20s, East Egg and West Egg and that there were lots of parties.

In anticipation of the movie, I re-read the book this week. Much to my surprise, there is actually a lot more to it. As in, I remembered nothing of the plot. I pride myself on having a good memory, but more and more I am realizing this just isn’t true.

I am pumped to see this movie. I hope I can remember it.

-Hannah

Current Obsessions

For those of you that know me well, you know I go through phases of obsession. Then one day, poof, it’s gone. Last year it happened with popsicles and LOST. The year before it was vodka sauce (sauce, not alcohol) and Parenthood on Netflix. Apparently I like things in large quantities until I can’t take it anymore. So for your viewing pleasure, these are my top 5 current obsessions in no particular order:

5. Popcorn. I can’t get enough. Every night I try to make myself not have it, but why not? One day soon I will not be able to stand it, so I might as well enjoy it while I can.

 

4. My Fitness Pal app. As Hannah explained yesterday, our small group is doing an 8 week health challenge, so we are tracking all of our calories and exercise on the app. You can also see how all of your friends are doing throughout the day. It’s my new Facebook.

 

3. Podcasts by Tim Keller. He really speaks the truth clearly and with depth. I always get something out of his sermons.

 

2. Hart of Dixie. I just watched two whole seasons in about a week and a half. Sad but true.

 

1. Ready for Love. This is a sad one, because it was CANCELED after only THREE episodes!! How is this possible? This show is pure gold. I’m just watching the remaining episodes with tears in my eyes…

-Maria

 

Some Alternatives

Here is the truth, I am a competitive person. If I commit to doing something, I want to do it all the way. This streak within me does stop me from doing some things, and it compels me to be compulsive about others.

My Bible study is doing an 8 week challenge. I will admit, I was hesitant about saying yes to it. But, I did and therefore am all in. Each day you have to complete certain things to get points. I have only missed 5 points so far (I had dinner after 9 one time. DANG IT).

This week has presented a new challenge. It is pouring outside and there is no real end in sight.

I have to exercise 5 out of the 7 days this week for 45 minutes. I only like to exercise outside, but this just can’t happen. So I started looking for some alternatives.

1. I downloaded the 30 day shred.

I did it yesterday. It was pretty miserable. I am fairly certain I didn’t get all the results desired. First of all I didn’t have the hand weights that Jillian required. Second of all, I did not do everything she said. I downloaded it and after 30 seconds I paused it and started walking to the door to bag the whole thing. I could run in the rain. With my hand on the door I decided to go back. I pushed through, listen to Jillian and pushed through. I can’t count it for a day of exercise though, because it was only 20 minutes.

The set up was pretty shim sham.

2. Today I decided I needed to do something else for 2 reasons. 1. My quads are fairly sore from the shred. 2. I needed to find a way to exercise for 45 minutes and I knew I couldn’t do the shred twice. The Cleggs have a treadmill in their garage. I don’t love treadmills, but I decided this was the best option for today.

I stink at running and walking on treadmills. I think it is so hard. I love the ups and downs that a hill offers. The incline and decline don’t quite offer me the same thing.

I love a good challenge.

-Hannah

Flood waters

Never have I ever flooded my neighbor’s apartment below me. Let me explain. Monday morning I left for work, then around 12:00 pm I got a call from my roommate saying that the neighbor below us was basically wading in water in her apartment. After much panic, we come to find out that the toilet in my bathroom overflowed and seeped into my floors and the entire apartment below. Joy of joys!

It was really insane how quickly the whole problem was addressed. Plumbers and flood disaster relief people were there at a moments notice to vaccuum out all of the water from the downstairs apartment and put massive fans in all of the rooms.  Who knows where these people came from, but it was awesome.

Some fan action.

The trusty plumber man doing his thing.

Thankfully, we still have a roof over our heads. Some of the floors need to be replaced, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a walk in the park. I do love that my bedroom has been nicknamed “The Vortex” because of the sheer amount of noise coming from the 7 industrial sized flood fans running 24/7. I’ve been sleeping like a baby.

-Maria

 

Where all the moms are on a rainy Monday

On Mondays, I hang out with my girl B. B money is the daughter of Caroline. Caroline and I lived together for more time than I have lived with anyone, outside of my family and I LOVE her daughter.

Sometimes we go and have pancakes, sometimes we go to the mall. This Monday, Caroline suggested we go to the Children’s Museum. Apparently this place has been panned by critics, because it is really just the basement of a hotel,  but I had a fabulous time people watching there.

Caroline and her family are members at the museum, there is something so exclusively wonderful about being a member somewhere. Am I right? My family always jokes about including a membership to Costco in obituaries.

We arrived just as all the babies were waking up from naps. I know that because it was true for B and the line was super long when we got there, but no other time during our stay.

Just taking it all in with amazement.

Here are some of the things I observed. When we first got there, B showed great interest in the food area. Specifically the tomatoes.

Yes, she took the whole box. Mind you there were whole boxes of many things. The first funny bit when she had the tomatoes is another kid was interacting with her. It is EXTREMELY awkward when 2 stranger babies are interacting. Both care takers mill awkwardly about sometimes even inserting dialogue until one has had enough and suggests moving on to something else. This usually doesn’t go over too well with the baby. This is what happened here.

What happened next was even better. One of the docents clearly was on high alert that the basket of tomatoes was gone. She began the search for the contraband. Finally, she found the fugitive and immediately began speaking to her as if she were 13. B just turned 1. She asked many questions looking right at her, and I guess assuming I was going to answer. I don’t engage in this sort of thing. I remained silent. The best is yet to come though, after this she began giving a lesson about how the chairs double as drums and the different types of tones. After giving the lesson, she asked B if she wanted to try. COME ON, then said to me: “Adult, would you like to try?” No. She looked as shocked as I felt annoyed.

We then ventured into the toddler room.

In this room I noticed a few amazing things. 1. All the moms looked the same. They had on Yoga pants, a pair of these shoes:

A TON of make up and absolutely perfect hair. They all had one of these over their shoulders:

I was amazed and stuck out like a sore thumb.

One of my favorite vignettes was in the food truck. This truck was filled with pretend food, so of course B money was all about it. Another group walked in with a gaggle of camera toting parents close behind. One little boy starting picking up food and a mom started telling him in a baby voice what the food was and signing it to him. I later discovered this boy was a stranger to her. It is clear she thinks it is a shame for any child to go through life wondering what the sign for grapes is.

This was quite a day. I don’t know who enjoyed it more, me or B.

-Hannah

The time Martha Stewart ran into my bag

You read that right. Last night I went to the preview night of the Smithsonian Craftshow. A family friend of ours is a part of the committee that puts it on and my dad brought me with him. I have never been before and man was it great! There are people from all over the country that come to show and sell there work. One lady we talked to came from Juno, Alaska. Apparently 1,000s of artists apply to show here, but only a small number are selected.

After the selective process, the craft show works like many a fall festival. Each one has a booth and people walk around, look at it and buy it. The most impressive, I thought, was this woman named Lucrezia Beiler. Her art is cutting paper with tiny scissors to make a picture.

Yep. That’s all cut from 1 single piece of paper.

My other favorite one was Leah Evans who does textile designs. The pieces she makes look like maps, which I thought were so cool.

But, I must say that the thing that impressed me most was, Martha Stewart was the Honorary Chairman. She was there milling around looking at all the wares. And I will tell you something, Martha looks good in person.

I was too scared to talk to her, but she did walk so close to me, that she bumped my bag that I was holding on my shoulder. Guys, that is ridiculously close. This might trump the time I went to a sweet sixteen party with Rudy Huxtable. Maybe.

She’s mad, I shouldn’t have said that.

Great night.

-Hannah