Blue Perspective

For good and bad, life is ever changing… Sometimes I feel like my life (in particular) is moving at rapid speed and that I am left chasing from behind, just trying to catch-up. Other times I find peace and inspiration in the most hectic of schedules – the friendships, the laughter, and the dreams collected along the way make any amount of craziness worthwhile.

This weekend has been no different. I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Columbia, Maryland. I have not been home since Wednesday. I miss Mike and Addie terribly. I miss “The Box” and my comfortable bed, and I am in one of those whiney moods when just about anything could launch me into tears. But, thanks to a little blue bracelet on my right wrist, I am reminded of many blessings collected over the past six days...

The most recent bout of craziness started on Wednesday afternoon. I packed up my car and headed south. Approximately 186 miles and about 3 hours later I dropped Addie off at my grandmothers, picked up dinner to-go, and walked into the Junior League headquarters with 2 minutes to spare before our monthly Exec meeting.

By the time my head hit the pillow that night, a big part of me was already on the verge of exhaustion. A full day’s work, a long drive, a then a late night of meetings had left me cranky and tired. But in the midst of running myself ragged, I had also spent time with my grandmother, laughed and learned from some dear friends at Junior League, enjoyed a late-night conversation with my mom, and even caught-up on American Idol (thanks to Tivo). Wow, I am one lucky girl.

Thursday was an “office day” in Greensboro, but shortly after 6pm Addie and I jumped back in the car and headed west. We made it to Boone, NC a little after 8:00pm and within the hour I was enjoying dinner with my sister and her best friend, Lauren Bostian. As the pressures of exhaustion crept back to the forefront of my mind, so did the reminder that this was my first trip to App in over a year. I knew I had to mentally re-adjust. I owed my sister a Thursday night out in her college town… So one beer run, a frat party, and two bars later (note that I was carded at both bars and asked if I was the younger sister) Mal and I finally made it back to her apartment where a bed was in sight. I was ridiculously tired, I reeked of smoke, and it ended up taking me 30 minutes to find a grassy spot where Addie could pee. At the same time I had just shared a night full of memories with my sweet baby sister. Wow, I am one lucky girl!

Friday was filled with early morning conference calls and then back-to-back meetings of sorts. By late afternoon I had my driving call-list ready and Addie and I were back in the car (big surprise, right). This time we were headed east towards Chapel Hill.

(Quick aside to explain why we were in Chapel Hill)
Ten years ago Mike and a group of his friends decided to organize a philanthropic event at Carolina (modeled after something called Thon at Penn State). Their goal was to host a dance marathon, a sequence of events that would raise both awareness and money for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. The inaugural UNC Dance Marathon took place in 1999. It celebrated 60 dancers and a donation amount of $40,000.

In honor of the 10th Anniversary, we were invited back to the Marathon and Mike was asked to play a special role in some of the festivities. From wine socials to brunches, development meetings to speeches, and then (of-course) many, many hours on our feet standing alongside this year’s dancers, it was truly an unforgettable whirlwind of events… There were no breaks and no butts. Just 1,053 college students making an incredible display of solidarity by standing on their feet for 24 hours straight. Symbolically, they showed their support for families facing the daily atrocities of childhood diseases like cancer and cystic fibrosis. Financially, they raised over $321,000 (bringing the UNC Dance Marathon’s total donations to-date to more than $1.6 million).

Here is a link to the Marathon website and some pics and video from the weekend:
Anniversary Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV6_XWhrJNA
DTH Video: http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2008/02/25/Multimedia/Video.Dance.Marathon.Raises.Record.Amount-3231679.shtml
Hospital VIdeo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jVqiDCaxO8
DM Website: www.uncmarathon.org
(P.S. The blue bracelet referenced at the beginning of the entry came from DM.)

Sadly, Friday and Saturday flew by… Before I knew it the alarm was ringing, waking me to the reality of Sunday morning and the fact that I needed to get back in the car and head north. This time I was DC-bound.

My trip to DC was bitter-sweet. We were celebrating/memorializing a colleague from the Bradley campaign who was killed in an Afghan terrorist bombing. His name is Thor Hesla. He was not in the armed forces, but working as a consultant to bring infrastructure and change to a country in need. Thor was a brilliant politico and a born humanitarian. He will be deeply missed.

At Thor’s request, his sister planned a beautiful memorial paying tribute to his life. Friends read entries from his journals and gave away his mighty collection of books and t-shirts. I know Thor was smiling down on us throughout the day – he always loved a party and would have done back flips over the fact that we had all re-united in his honor. Thanks to Thor, this morning I woke and said a prayer for peace. I thanked God for reminding me that I am such a lucky girl. (http://www.rememberthor.com/)

Just after lunch I put my road warrior hat back on and headed north, again. After getting lost somewhere between New Hampshire Ave and I-295, I eventually arrived to a lonely hotel room in Columbia, MD.

Maryland marks the point in this story when my mind, body, and spirit gave way to self-pity. Every emotion I had experienced over the past six days came flooding in. Work seemed impossible. Mike and Addie felt incredibly far away. I had not been to the gym in days. Tears welled up in my eyes.

That is when I looked down and saw the blue Dance Marathon bracelet. It was a startling reminder that uncomfortable situations can lead to great things (try standing for 24 hours straight). It was also a reminder that I have absolutely nothing to sulk over. In six days I have amassed a list of unforgettable memories. Whether life takes me north, south, east or west I am one lucky girl.

Just 3 Days

What a special weekend… First I got to spend a little time with my sweet angel, Caroline Perez. Since we moved to VA I haven't been able to see her as often - and boy is she growing up fast! Caroline is running around and talking up a storm. I know I'm not a kid specialist or anything but there were at least 3 things she did that absolutely amazed me…

First, there was a big stuffed animal lying in the floor and I called it a "bear." Little Caroline looked up at me as confident as she could be and said "no, bunny." Sure enough, when I picked the thing up I found two long bunny ears folded underneath its head.

Then we were in the hallway looking at some pictures Mollie just had framed of her and Tony’s parents when they were younger. I pointed to a picture of Mr. Herlocker (Mollie's dad) when he was 16-ish and asked Caroline if she knew who it was. Again just as confident as could be she says, "grandpa!" WHAT!! Sorry Mr. H, you are a good-looking man but you do look a little different than you did when you were a teenager. I could not believe she was able to recognize you.

Lastly - and then I will get off my Caroline addiction - I left my car in Mollie's garage while we were gone. When we got home on Sunday Tony said Caroline kept saying my name every time they walked past it. Honestly, she just learned how to say my name and already she is associating it with the white car in her garage??? I am telling you, this child is a 16 month-old genius!

Here is a pic of her dressed in adorable pink camo:

The next highlight of the weekend was a quick girls' trip to Lake Lure, NC. I got to spend time with Mols and Candice... I met several of their friends from college and Candice’s friends from work... We went horseback riding - which marked my first time "back in the saddle" since being thrown off a horse in Ecuador... We played games, went out to dinner, drank wine... It was just the type of thing every girl needs once in a while.

To top it all off, Mike and I celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary on Sunday. We had dinner at Fleming's, opened our 1-year bottle of wine, spent the night at Grandover, and (of course) ate some year-old wedding cake which was surprisingly good. I loved every minute of the day!!! One of my favorite parts was Mike’s gift... In honor of the Paper tradition he gave me three books; one to represent past (a collection of Shakespeare’s works), one to represent present (a picture book on India since I’m starting to plan a trip), and one to represent future (a collection of children’s fairytales with a note to our first child on the inside cover). I was almost in tears by the time the last book came out!

Sadly, I forgot to pull out my camera so I can’t share any Anniversary pics.

Bad idea girls...

A couple of my friends from Junior League recommended that I watch a show called John and Kate Plus 8. So it's on at The Box for the first time, and despite being less than 5 minutes in I might have officially scared my husband out of ever wanting to have kids! I think they are adorable, but her stomach in the intro - holy smokes. I didn't know it was humanly possible to stretch that much!

Pics from JJ's Surprise Party

Tagged Response

I've been tagged a couple times now so I thought I better respond... Here are my 7 random facts.

1. I have strange reading habits. I read magazines back to front and generally delve into more than one book at a given time (right now it’s Made to Stick and The Energy Bus).

2. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day but eggs and meat are never on the menu.

3. Mike and I want to name our first daughter Olivia Hope and our first son Michael Ryan (and call him Ryan). Not planning on having kids any time soon though…

4. Sunday is my first-year wedding anniversary.

5. Mike and I have lived in five different houses/apartments in the past twelve months (one in Greensboro, one in Raleigh, two different apartments in New York, and one in Charlottesville).

6. I am planning on taking a group of Dustin’s GreenHouse kids to India next summer.

7. I need to drive to DC for work so I better submit this entry and get going…

Redeem Your "Benjamins"

Pay attention all you “rain check-ing” friends! I might have found another way to save/make you some dough.

Apparently Visa and MasterCard overcharged American travelers on all foreign exchange transactions that took place between 2/1/1996 and 11/8/2006. If you spent any money on a credit or ATM card (while outside the US) during this time frame, you can submit for a very simple refund. You don't have to itemize or show receipts! All they are asking for is the total number of days you spent abroad and a classification as to whether they were for business/leisure/etc.

Here is the website: http://www.ccfsettlement.com/
You can also call 800-945-9890 and they will mail you a form.

P.S. Just think of my little financial tid-bits as part of Bucy’s Baby Steps to a Billion... Maybe I'll write a book :)

Breaking Political News

John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani drop out of race for the White House.

So long Project Runway...

I woke up this morning and decided today would be the day that I would teach myself how to sew. Yes, you read that right. S-E-W! Anyway, to kick off my "designer" adventure, I headed to the local fabric store and made a bee-line for the sale rack. Truth be told, I had no idea what I was going to try and make... I thought I'd let the fabric dictate that decision. And it did. I found this cute, harvest colored sweater fabric. It was funky, kind-of 70's-ish. And while it was not something I would ever wear, dress Mike in (ha) or hang in our home, I thought it would look adorable on my sweet Addie. I bought 3 1/2 yards, some thread and headed home.

That was at 3:30pm and I am still without a quality finished product. It took me a good two hours to figure out how to thread the bobbin, the lower and upper needles - this stuff is freaking complicated! Then I made two serious attempts at a doggie sweater - results are above. One looks like an oddly shaped placemat. The other was a little closer, but it turned out so miniature that it wouldn't even fit over Addie's head. Guess I am a lot further away from Project Runway that I thought... Sad.

A Clinton vs. Obama Conversation

This Saturday will mark one of the biggest Clinton/Obama showdowns to-date. So in light of the SC Primary, and all that rides on a victory there, I thought you might enjoy this ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqOHquOkpaU&feature=related

Since I started down the "political" topic...

Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America the following are good rules of thumb to follow:

When speaking about certain women:
1 She is not a "BABE" or a "CHICK" - She is a "BREASTED AMERICAN."
2. She is not "EASY" - She is "HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE."
3. She is not a "DUMB BLONDE" - She is a "LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY."
4. She has not "BEEN AROUND" - She is a "PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION."
5 . She does not "NAG" you - She becomes "VERBALLY REPETITIVE."
6. She is not a "TWO-BIT HOOKER" - She is a "LOW COST PROVIDER."

And when speaking about certain MEN
1. He does not have a "BEER GUT" - He has developed a "LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY."
2. He is not a "BAD DANCER" - He is "OVERLY CAUCASIAN."
3. He does not "GET LOST ALL THE TIME" - He "INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS."
4. He is not "BALDING" - He is in "FOLLICLE REGRESSION."
5. He does not act like a "TOTAL ASS" - He develops a case of RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."
6. It's not his "CRACK" you see hanging out of his pants - It's "REAR CLEAVAGE "

Sold Out Darkness

I know it’s 7:00 on a Friday night. And yes, we have plans so I’m not some uber computer dork who likes to sit at home and blog on the weekends. But I had to share an “urban legend” that I just confirmed to be true…

To give you a little background on how this all came into being; I love Amy's Roasted Vegetable & Cheese-less pizza. Every couple of months Harris Teeter will put these particular pizzas on sale (buy one, get one free) and because of this fantastic deal I can never actually bring myself to buy them at full price.

However, and herein lies the problem, someone else in Charlottesville also loves Amy's Roasted Vegetable & Cheese-less pizza. Every time I go to the grocery store, I go straight to the frozen food section to check if they are on sale (yes I admit this is a little obsessive). But without fail there is always an abundance of the darn things (which means they are full price) or there are none (which means they are on sale and my arch pizza nemesis has bought them out).

Anyway, I was explaining this very troubling situation to my mother in law over Christmas break and she looked at me confidently and said, "Oh, just ask for a rain check." A rain check? This was not a term I was familiar with - at least not in relation to anything that has to do with grocery shopping. Still, Eileen was very sure of herself and went on to tell me that if something is on sale and there are not any left, the manager will give you something called a "rain check" (which means you can come back and buy them at the sale price any time you feel like it.)

I must admit I had serious doubts about this whole thing. I thought the reason things went on sale were to get rid of them... The idea of selling products at a discounted price post stock-adjustments just made no sense. Still I tucked her little tid-bit away in the back of my mind.

Well wouldn’t you know, on my first Harris Teeter visit since we’ve been back in C-ville Amy's is buy one, get one free. And (of course) the pizza nemesis is back too and has made his/her rounds.

Eileen’s “rain check” immediately popped in my head.

Nervously I approached the girl at the checkout counter thinking for sure she would look me straight in the face and laugh... But she didn't. She acted like people ask for these things all day long and told me to stop by customer service on my way out. Holy smokes, it worked! Even better, the girl at the service counter asked how many I wanted. Again new to this whole thing I shyly said "three." She offered six saying this way I could have a total of 12 (for the price of six of course) and with no expiration date on their offer. WHAT! WOW! Eileen’s “rain check” immediately catapulted to the most brilliant piece of shopping advice I had ever received! Please tell me I'm not the only person who has lived in the “sold out” dark for 27 years…

"I Voted"

My attempt at making the 2008 Presidential Campaign a little easier for everyone starts here. This list summarizes where (top) Democratic and Republican candidates stand on key issues…

Taxes/Economy:
Clinton: Clinton wants to lower taxes for middle class families. She opposed Bush tax cuts and does not support the extension of them through 2010.
Obama: Obama's supports eliminating the marriage penalty. Wants to re-examine tax benefits for the top 1% of earners… His plan would give 150 million workers a $500 payroll tax credit, expand relief on mortgage interest, eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000, and simplify tax returns.
Huckabee: Supports the "Fair Tax" proposal, which would repeal income taxes. This plan would abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace them with a national retail sales tax. Huckabee signed a pledge not to raise taxes if elected President.
McCain: Says he would sign the "Fair Tax" proposal into law. Again this would repeal income taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue (replacing it with a national retail sales tax).
Romney: Would eliminate estate taxes and the taxes on interest dividends and capital gains. He signed also signed a pledge not to raise taxes if elected President.

Iraq:
Clinton: Wants to immediately start withdrawing troops. She supports the identification of a high level UN official who would broker peace within Iraq. Clinton would also gather a group of key leaders to devise plans for non-interference, mediation, and reconstruction funding in Iraq.
Obama: Will immediately start bringing troops home (he has a goal of withdrawing all combat troops within 16 months). Obama supports a UN led dimplomatic reconciliation process, both within and around Iraq. His goals are to see Iraq’s borders secured, Al Qaeda isolated, and financial provisions made to help with reconstruction.
Huckabee: Disagress with setting a timetable for withdrawal. Says he will create a regional summit so that Iraq’s neighbors become militarily and financially committed to stabilizing Iraq.
McCain: Feels a greater military commitment is now necessary. He says we must “clear” problem areas and then remain in those areas long enough to insure they remain peaceful. McCain wants to use American forces to help give the Iraqi people the ability to govern themselves.
Romney: Supports current Bush plan of increasing the number of troops in Iraq.

Same Sex Marriage:
Clinton: Opposes same-sex marriage; Supports civil unions
Obama: Opposes same-sex marriage; Supports civil unions
Huckabee: Opposes same-sex marriage
McCain: Feels it is a state issue; Opposes constitutional ban of same-sex marriage
Romney: Opposes same-sex marriage; Opposes civil unions

Immigration:
Clinton: Says she will focus on securing borders and ensuring employers comply with immigration law (through use on a new, universal employer verification system). Opposes any type of a guest worker program that undermines minimum wages of US workers (meaning one where we are allowed to pay immigrants below minimum wage). At one point Hillary supported building a 700-mile fence along the US-Mexico border, but I am unsure as to whether or not she still endorses this idea.
Obama: Supports stronger enforcement on the border (better technology, more personnel, new infastructure). He feels we need to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. Obama supports a system that allows (current) undocumented immigrants to identify themselves. If they are in good standing, they can pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for citizenship processing. Obama also promotes economic development in Mexico in order to decrease the attraction of illegal immigration into the US.
Huckabee: Says immigration is one of his top priorities. He supports stronger enforcement (better technology, more personnel, new infastructure). In his own words he says he will “take our country back for those who belong here.” Huckabee says no to open borders, amnesty, sanctuary cities, false Social Security numbers, and driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.
McCain: Would focus on border security, improved relationships with Mexico, and a stronger effort towards assimilating immigrants (which includes having them learn English, American history, and the values of a democratic society).
Romney: Will secure the border, implement an enforceable employer varification system and punish “sanctuary” cities. He regrets giving amnesty to anyone who has come to the country illegally. He wants to encourage legal immigration by streamlining the system to recruit and retain skilled workers.

Education:
Clinton: Will invest heavily in early childhood education. She wants to end the “unfunded” mandate of No Child Left Behind. Clinton says she will start a public/private summer internship program for K-12 grade education and focus on the recruiting and retention of teachers and principals (particularly in rural areas).
Obama: Supports a focus on early-care Education (zero-five years of age). He says he will dramatically expand Head Start. Obama wants to support schools that need improvement rather than punish them so he will put money behind No Child Let Behind, make science and math a national priority.
Huckabee: Places heavy importance on music and the arts because he thinks the future of our nation depends on the “creative generation.” He supports home schools, the creation of more charter schools, and public school choice. Huckabee feels states should be entitled to set their own benchmarks.
McCain: Interestingly enough, McCain does not have an Education agenda listed under “issues” on his official campaign website.
Romney: Doesn’t believe the federal government has the right to tell parents, teachers, kids and local authorities what to teach or how to run their schools. He believes everyone benefits from free (school) choice - that competition and choice in educational opportunities makes traditional public schools better. He supports performance based pay incentives for teachers and supports increasing our focus on subjects like science and math.

That Darn Freedom of Speech...

One of my dear friends sent me an email the other day asking for thoughts on a letter she had received stating that Barack Obama used the Koran (instead of the Bible) when he was sworn into the Senate. Now as most of you know, I am a fairly liberal gal. Still the idea of a United States President being sworn in with the Koran was disturbing to me. I had to investigate...

Quickly (and easily) I uncovered that every bit of the email was a hoax. Obama went to Catholic school, he grew up in a secular home, he is a committed Christian man who attends United Church of Christ in Chicago. He did not use the Koran when being sworn into office, he used a Bible. He says the Pledge of Allegiance (and has led the Pledge in the US Senate on numerous occasions).

Anyways, the reason I’m even writing about this is to comment on how scary it was to see an internet rumor reach so many people, so quickly. Above and beyond that, it was actually swaying voter minds! An educated, independent, and dear friend of mine sent this comment to our group “Fact is he chose to use the Koran to be sworn in. This is where you get into how important you think it is for the leader of our country to believe in the Bible.”

YIK! Does this not scare the dickens out of anyone else?

So in light of this incident I’ve decided to come up with a way to help educate my friends on their options in the 2008 political arena. I need some educating too, so it will be good for all of us. If you’re interested, stay tuned. This could get interesting...

P.S. I promise I won’t turn this blog into a regurgitation of headline news. I also promise to be as politically neutral as humanly possible.

Roxy and Doug's Engagement Pictures

Holy cow, you have to check these out!
http://www.jameschristianson.com/bargoz/

Wedding Pics - Cool

I thought I would borrow a technique from my father in law (Kiyosi). Whenever he gives us pictures he categorizes them based on certain qualities. His standard nomenclature is "best/good/ok." Same concept, but these will be a little different...
Here are my Cool, Candid, and Crazy from Nicole's wedding weekend.

The beautiful centerpieces at Nicole's rehearsal dinner.

With a Best Friend - Mollie Perez

The RHS Spicegirls have grown up!

Brent (the groom) with his father-in-law and grandfather-in-law.

Sweet Lynne Patterson and Nancy Williams. Thanks for a beautiful lunch.

Nicole and Christie at the bridesmaids' luncheon.

Me and "Hilda Mommy"

My madre and padre. I love you!

Awe, the Perez family...

...at dinner with the love of my life.

Nic's girls. Anne Marie, Breanna, Carrie, Brit, Nic, Mollie, Christie, and me.

I had to include a Sammy P photo...

I love me some Gina... (The same stylist that did all of my bridesmaids' hair.)