26 and 13

As of this week, I have been to 26 states and Ryan and I have been to 13 states together! We're spending Christmas in Washington with Ryan's parents. Their recent move puts me more than halfway to my United States goal and brings me so much closer to seeing all of the states in the northwest. One of my life goals is to set foot in every state and to make it even more fun, I have something I want to do when I get there. For example, Portland, Oregon, is only 3 hours away and I've been craving a Voodoo Donut for years! We're only 5 hours away from the Idaho border and I'm looking forward to having a genuine Idaho potato in Idaho in the near future. My goal for Washington was to have a toasty beverage at the first Starbucks. I accomplished that goal yesterday with a salted caramel hot cocoa at the Pike's Place Market in Seattle while we stocked up on fish for our seven fishes Christmas Eve dinner.

Here's a list of the states I have yet to visit-- any additional suggestions for what I should do when I finally get there?

1. Idaho- eat a potato
2. Oregon- Voodoo Donut and visit a ghost town
3. South Carolina- carriage ride (going this February and I'm so excited!)
4. South Dakota- Mt Rushmore
5. Kentucky- ride a horse (I've never been riding!)
6. Hawaii- eat a fresh pineapple
7. Alaska- stand on a glacier
8. Maine- eat fresh lobster
9. Minnesota- buy something at the Mall of America
10. Illinois- eat deep dish pizza in Chicago
11. Louisiana- listen to the blues in New Orleans
12. Mississippi- go to a crawfish boil
13. Alabama- eat fresh Gulf shrimp
14. Colorado- ski lesson in Aspen
15. Utah- go rock climbing
16. Kansas- see the Wizard of Oz house in Liberal
17. New Hampshire- buy Tupperware
18. North Carolina- eat a Krispy Kreme
19. North Dakota- stand at the center of the United States in Rugby
20. Rhode Island- have a drink at the White Horse Tavern
21. Wisconsin- eat an ice cream sundae on Sunday
22. Nebraska- ???
23. Montana- ???
24. Wyoming- ???

Anyone want to join me for some random weekend getaways?

So far behind!

We haven't put a post up in forever! Sorry! We've been so busy and when I've had the energy to write, I've had to use it to write wedding thank you cards. I have a goal to finish the thank you cards so I can send Christmas cards before Christmas. Happy Holidays everyone! I love the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!

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Two fun weekends!

October is probably the best month to visit the DC area and we were blessed with two sets of visitors! First, Carol and her boyfriend, Mike, visited us from Ohio, and the next weekend, Averi and the kids visited!

Carol and Mike arrived on a Thursday and I created a packed itinerary for their day, Friday. They checked out all of the monuments, beginning with the Arlington Cemetery and seeing everything in between all the way to the Washington Monument before meeting me for lunch. Then, the checked out a few museums until Ryan and I were able to meet up with them after we were finished with work. That night we went to dinner at an awesome German restaurant, Leopold's Cafe, and were all in food bliss! It really inspired me to crack open my German cookbook. I'm trying to recreate one of the recipes this Friday. On Saturday, they visited some of Carol's family in the morning and that afternoon, we went to the Spy Museum and Crime and Punishment Museum, which was very cool because I had yet to visit those two museums. That night we got some yummy Italian food and then nearly lost our dinners when we saw "Jackass 3D"! Hilarious! I highly recommend it! Sunday, we took a timeout from sightseeing to watch the Steelers game- Mike and Carol are both big fans! Mid-game, I dropped Ryan off at the airport for a week of training in Atlanta and made it back to the bar, only missing a few minutes of the game. Afterward, we headed back to the mall to visit the Air and Space Museum, get some pictures of the Capitol and Smithsonian Castle, and stop by my favorite monument, the FDR Memorial. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and I know Carol and Mike had a good time!

I always look forward to spending time with the Pino family. Kalee and Bear are little sponges and you all know how much I love learning (and teaching those who want to be taught)! We met in the morning at Mount Vernon, one of my favorite places and now one of Kalee's favorite places, too! It was a special weekend at Mount Vernon: Harvest Days! The emphasis for the whole weekend was teaching kids about colonial times and life at Mount Vernon during George Washington's time. Everyone was in character, so many of the exhibits were interactive, and we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous day! We were there all day and literally closed it down! When we got home that night, Averi helped me make a delicious veggie-dinner while Ryan entertained the kids with a pumpkin painting project. Sunday, we spent the morning at the Natural History Museum focusing especially on the oceans, dinosaurs, mammals, and their new human origins exhibit. That afternoon, we had a picnic on the mall and got up close and personal with a very friendly squirrel before they headed home. It was such a fun weekend!

We really had two great weekends in a row!! We love having visitors and being able to share our home and our neighborhood with family and friends, so please visit soon!!

Losing it!

I've always been on the chubby side; I think the last time I remember being the same size as the other kids in school was elementary school. I grew up on sweets and junk and it still haunts me today. I don't even remember eating lettuce until I was in middle school or a salad until I was in high school! Strangely, a perfect salad (combination of lettuce, fruit, nuts, and cheese) is now one of my favorite foods. I was diagnosed with a hormone balance (PCOS) in 2006 which makes it a little bit harder to lose weight and may cause diabetes or difficulties becoming pregnant if I don't get everything under control. When I was diagnosed I was pretty careful about what I ate and extremely broke from paying for grad school, so I lost nearly 20 pounds, but then life took back over and I gained it all back plus 10 more pounds!

When the details of our wedding started coming together, I knew it was time for me to get serious about losing weight and getting healthy. Ryan and I are hoping to start having children in the not-so-far-away future so I had two good reasons to get it together:

1. Losing weight and being as healthy as possible increases the chance of a woman with PCOS becoming pregnant and staying pregnant.

2. I want to be a good example of living a healthy lifestyle for our future family.

I started to get serious in April. I have lost a total of 28 pounds and a size or two! I'm more than halfway to my goal of losing 50 pounds! I've been using myfitnesspal.com to track everything I eat and drink as well as the calories I burn. It's super easy to track everything and they even have an app for android and iphone. I can still eat the foods I love because I know exactly how many calories I can eat based on what I burn off. With the exception of the last three weeks recovering from the tonsillectomy, I've been taking kickboxing, step aerobics, and zumba classes at the YWCA not far from my office, riding my bike, walking, and working out at the gym in our apartment building when I can't get to a class or do something active outside. I have been having a lot of fun tracking everything and finding ways to be more active. The best part is seeing the results! Today, I bought new jeans in a size I don't remember buying since the beginning of college. It felt pretty fantastic!!

Second surgery

I've never had luck with my tonsils... and healing from my tonsillectomy was just going too easily. 13 days had passed since my surgery and I was just branching out to easy to chew foods like chicken and was really looking forward to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when suddenly, an hour after eating a popsicle, I felt like I had a backward nosebleed! I ran to the bathroom, coughed up some blood, turned to Ryan and said, "emergency room! Now!" Our brief visit to the ER left us with instructions to take come cough syrup, sleep sitting up, and call my ENT first thing in the morning. When I saw the doctor and he learned that I bled off and on all night, he decided to get me back into surgery again that afternoon. After pumping the blood out of my stomach and getting a breathing tube that gave me blisters on my tongue, my doctor decided to re-cauterize the right side where the tonsil used to be. I got stuck in the house all weekend again, healing and on codeine, and was back to work on Monday, whispering and practically falling asleep at my desk.I'm so lucky to have Ryan taking such good care of me at home and my girls helping me out at work! Hopefully, I'll be fully healed soon! I really miss eating regular food and would like to get back in the gym asap!!

Two organs short

As of Friday, I am two organs short. After having tonsillitis six times in the last ten months, my doctors finally agreed it was time to get rid of my tonsils. Like organs do sometimes, they just stopped doing their job of keeping bacteria out and each time they became infected was more severe than the time before. Tonsillectomy's are typically reserved for children and recovery for adults can be quite difficult. I had the surgery on Friday morning and Ryan keeps telling me I'm doing a great job not being a whiney-butt, which is good to hear! I've had all the typical signs of recovery: nausea from the anesthetic, difficulty swallowing, a sore and swollen throat, and fatigue. I've also had an really swollen tongue, which I did not anticipate, and a stomach from the codeine (lovely). The last couple of bouts of tonsillitis I had felt worse in a lot of ways-- I hate fevers! I've managed to stave off some of the more harsh side effects by really doing my best to stay hydrated and resting and sleeping as much as I can. Ryan's done a super job taking care of me and we even had my friend, Ashley, babysit me on Sunday so Ryan could go to the Redskins game. He felt like such a bad hubby leaving me, but I felt bad making him sit at home all weekend! Jacque's coming to snuggle with me this weekend and I'll be back to work on Monday, hopefully fully recovered. Keep your fingers crossed that I make it through the rest of this year without getting sick! That will prove whether the surgery was worth it. As my energy level rises, I hope to finish writing about our wedding and week in Cali!

Rehearsal Dinner Day!

Waking up Friday morning, at my Mom's house, was surreal. The first thought that entered my head was, "I'm getting married tomorrow." For many people, and surely myself, that thought only enters your head once. It's a confusing mix of excitement, joy, and sadness. I was so happy to finally be marrying the love of my life! After 7 years and 8 months, it was about freaking time! I also could not wait to be around so many of the people that love us most. That has to be one of the best feelings in the world. During the middle of our rehearsal dinner, I leaned into Ryan and told him to look around the table and take everything in; it's not every day you are surrounded by the people who love you most and would do just about anything for you. I know he was just as moved as I was in that moment. There was a touch of sadness in me on Friday as well. I had so much fun with every little detail of planning the wedding! Our photographer, Lorri, was amazed at how calm I was. She said I had to be the least stressed bride she'd ever worked with. I think I only approached bridezilla territory one time in the whole span of planning... and I apologized profusely even though she said I was not being a bridezilla, I still felt bad. All of the work I put in over the last 8 months was coming to fruition. It came together perfectly but I was sad to know it was almost over. I'll never have another wedding of my own to plan, so friends, please let me help with yours! I was also a bit sad because it was my last day as an Arnold! I know I'm legally still Renee Marie Arnold, but in my heart (and now facebook and my voicemail), I'm Renee Marie Joyce. I was an Arnold for 28 years, and now my Dad only has 2 namesakes left, but not for long!

In addition to all these crazy thoughts in my head, I also had so much to do! I did my final final dress fitting with my Mom and it was perfect! I had to run to Target to stock up on sunscreen for Ryan and get a few more gift bags for our wedding party gifts. I also went to the gym just to make sure I felt great all day. When I got back to my Mom's, I had to do a little more weight lifting, loading everything into the cars. Sand is heavy! Then, it was time to pick Ryan up to get our marriage license!! I picked Ryan up from our friend's (Kevin and Jessica) and we made our way to the Old Court House in Santa Ana to apply for our license. It was funny because Ryan didn't really understand what was to occur at the court house and he was noticeably nervous because he thought we were going to do the ceremony right then. Silly boy! Fortunately, it wasn't crowded so we had our license in about 30 minutes and were on our way to get a yummy hole in the wall Mexican food lunch and pedicures! Yes, Ryan got a pedicure... hehehe.

That afternoon, I ditched Ryan to hang out with Amber, Jenn, and Jacque, my bridesmaids. We put the finishing touches on our super cute wedding favors and then hung out by the pool so Amber could write her toast and I could get a little color in my cheeks before getting ready for our rehearsal dinner. Before we went to dinner, Ryan and I met up to exchange wedding gifts. He gave me a diamond heart-shaped necklace and I gave him a quilt made from his favorite fraternity shirts and a few other favorite things. He loved it and I loved my necklace!

The rehearsal dinner was held at SOL Cocina in Newport Beach. I had never been to SOL before but some of our friends had and they were excited. It was probably the best high quality Mexican food we had ever had! I seriously wanted to swim in the guacamole! The appetizers (mushroom quesadillas, empanadas, and homemade chips and guacamole) were amazing, as were the margaritas! Yum-O! I already felt full by the time we sat down to a delicious, refreshing, salad, followed by tasty chicken with the best black beans I had ever had and an avocado salad, and dessert, which was, by far, the best flan I had ever had. Everyone enjoyed every single bite!

Our rehearsal dinner was small; only our wedding party, our immediate family, and our family that flew in from out of town. At one point, I leaned into Ryan and noted that it felt really good to be surrounded by the people who love us most in the whole world. He completely agreed. Just thinking about it now brings that warm feeling back over my heart. Everyone had a great time during cocktails and the dinner. They were all super excited when we gave them all presents, too! We had welcome bags for our family visiting from out of state with lots of fun things about Newport, water bottles, snacks, a list of our favorite things to do here, a little note, and even kites for our nephews. Amber did a great job gathering all the items on our list and arranging them in perfect reusable bags. We gave the groomsmen matching board shorts for the beach and their shirts to wear for the wedding. We gave the bridesmaids necklaces with pressed initials and a few other goodies. We gave our officiant, our sweet friend Karen, a Traci bag. What's a Traci bag? Check out her etsy page and her blog. She's amazing!! We gave our parents engraved photo albums and will be printing their favorite pictures to fill up the album. I think everyone was pretty happy with our thank you's but we were truly the happy ones because our wedding would not have happened without all of their love and support!

We'd like to extend a very special thank you to Ryan's parents (my new in-laws!) for hosting such a special dinner for us. We loved every moment of it!

Thursday before the Wedding

Planning a do-it-yourself wedding on one coast when you live on the opposite coast definitely presents its challenges. I was so fortunate to have support from every corner of the contiguous United States to help me in any way I needed. On Thursday, we all began to converge in Southern Cali, the destination for the wedding.

Jacque, my bridesmaid from Connecticut, arrived at the airport only 20 minutes before my flight. This worked out perfectly because she was able to talk through a lot of the details of the next few days through with me while we picked up the rental car, dropped off some New York bagels for her sister-in-law (brilliant idea by the way!), and got some smoothies for lunch before I dropped her off to have some family time with her dad, mom, and brother. Ryan wasn't able to fly out until Thursday evening because he had a million things going on in preparation for opening up a new store.

After leaving Jacque, I went to my mom's for my final dress fitting. Luckily for me, my mom is an amazing seamstress and was able to take my dress in for me. Losing 22 pounds in the 20 weeks before the wedding made my dress a little loose in a couple of areas and in danger of slipping down if I lifted both arms at the same time! Her work was amazing and it was impossible to tell it was a full size too big the day before!

In between trying the dress on about 3 or 4 times to make sure it was perfect, I finished putting together the wedding party gifts, wrote the majority of our thank you notes for the wedding party and our family from out of town, finished writing and printing the questions for our reception game, and made sure I had everything together before heading out to Newport on Friday.

We had a few special friends stop by as well. Dani's good friend Katie swung by to get instructions for house and pet sitting and our good friend Misty came by to drop off Ryan's wedding gift. I asked her to make a quilt out of Ryan's college and fraternity t-shirts and the result was amazing! Ryan loves it! We've been using it at the beach house all week. He never even realized his shirts were missing for the last four months! Now he'll be able to use all of his favorite shirts every day while being reminded that he will never have to leave his past behind him.

Thursday evening, my dad came over after work and Dani's now-fiancé, Kevin, also joined us for a family sushi dinner and movie night. We watched a documentary about the worst commercial airplane crash in history- yes, a strange thing to watch while preparing for a wedding, but my dad, who was stationed in Germany at the time, was actually there after the crash for body recovery. It was one of those experiences he will never forget! The documentary answered a lot of questions about what caused the crash and it was incredibly interesting. It was great to spend some quality time with everyone. It was my last family dinner as an Arnold!

I was up at 3:30am on the east coast and didn't get to bed until 23 1/2 hours later! It was a long, exhausting and productive day!

Mr. and Mrs. Joyce

It's been a month since my last post because we have been CRAZY BUSY!! As of 7pm yesterday, Ryan and I are Mr. and Mrs. Joyce!! We'll be sure to post our favorite pictures soon and to write all about our most amazing weekend. Everything was absoluely perfect! We could not have hoped for anything better!!

California Bridal Weekend!

Last weekend was truly wonderful! I flew home to California on Friday for my bridal shower, bachelorette party, and to finalize some wedding plans. After my flight landed, my dad and I went straight to The Cannery to taste the menu and settle the reception details. The crab cakes, vanilla creme brulee, and mascarpone cheesecake made our mouths water! I can't wait to eat them again! Dad was there with me to make sure the food selected was manly enough for Ryan and I'm pretty certain it will be. When we tried the desserts, dad tried the creme brulees while I tried the cheesecake. I took two bites from this eight inch cheesecake and dad tried a bite of each of the three flavors of creme brulee, then we switched. I then started chatting with Stevie, the event coordinator, about little details and when I looked over at dad, there were only two bites of the cheesecake left! It was quite tasty and clearly dad's favorite! I can't wait for our reception, especially the food!

After wrapping things up at The Cannery, we drove around to the other side of the harbor to SOL Cocina, where we will be having the rehearsal dinner. We were really impressed with the room where the dinner will be and the event coordinator there was very friendly. The menu sounds amazing!!

After spending two hours in California traffic, we finally arrived at my mom's house and Mindy, Roy and Carter came over. I hadn't seen Carter since he was 5 months old and he just turned 2! He's such a cutie! I gave him a Curious George book that Ryan picked out and he just loved it. Mom was impressed with his technology skills, I loved it when he showed us how he could swim (in the living room), and Dani thought it was hilarious when they were heading out and Carter turned around and said "my bag!", clear as day, concerned about the location of his baggie of goldfish.

My mom and I spent Saturday morning shopping for the rest of the things we needed for centerpieces, decorations, and favors. Then we got to meet Ali and Stephen's baby boy, Seth! He is so cute and so full of drama, just like Ali. He has the biggest array of facial expressions and the most awesome baby laugh! He will definitely be a snorter!

Then, it was time for my tea party bridal shower! It was lovely! Amber and Dani did such a great job with the food, games, and decorations. I think everyone had a good time. I know I sure did! I have a few pictures from my camera and will post more when Karen and Amber's mom email me theirs.

Chocolate chai tea cupcake favors in reusable cups!

DC Girl's Weekend

I am such a lucky girl! Not only do I have a wonderful husband-to-be, I have the sweetest bridal party spoiling me and helping me prepare for our big day and our future together. In two weeks, I will be in California for a tea party bridal party and a luxurious day at Glen Ivy hosted by my other half, Amber, and the best little sister ever, Dani.

I'm extra lucky because all of my celebrating began two weeks ago here in DC!! With half of my bridal party on the west coast and the other half on the east coast, what was I to do but have two weekends of bi-coastal fun?!

Jenn and Jacque have been my besties since we were about 11 or 12 years old. We bonded at sixth grade science camp in Oak Glen and never looked back. Right now, Jacque's husband, Jeff, and Jenn's boyfriend, Ryan (yes, we have two Ryan's and, yes, we are all R's and J's), are both in medical school. Their school has them doing classes and rotations pretty much anywhere in the country, so at the moment, Jeff and Jacque are in Connecticut, and Jenn and Ryan are in Florida. From the north and the south, they planned an awesome weekend for us in DC... kind of in the middle!

Jenn flew in first and was early enough for us to spend some time catching up, doing a bit of shopping in my cute little neighborhood, and get some froyo before meeting Jacque at the train station. It was so great for the three of us to be united after not seeing each other in almost a year when I joined them for a weekend of r&r in Miami while Jacque still lived there. On this first night, we hung out in our pj's and ordered pizza and it felt like we traveled back in time to our first sleepovers over a decade and a half ago.

They surprised me with some sweet presents: cute bride-themed undies (and I correctly guessed who purchased which pair... Jac=nice, Jen=naughty... duh!) and an amazing charm bracelet!! Every charm on the bracelet was significant:

Palm tree- Palm Middle School, where we became friends
Book- for my love of learning, reading, and my English degree
Canadian maple leaf- for our trip to Niagara Falls when Jacque graduated from law school
Rose- for my family tattoo because they were there when I started the trend
Plane- because now we always have to travel to see each other
"R"- for Renee and Ryan (and Ryan)
Ring- for our marriage!
"J"- for Joyce (my new last name!) (and Jenn, Jacque, and Jeff)
Sand bucket and shovel- for our wedding at the beach
Germany- because I'm German and have always shared my traditions with them (Nikolaus Day, awesome German goodies after every trip, etc)
Cougar paw- because we're Canyon Springs High School cougars
Whale tale- for my job and because I'm a crunchy hippie
Penguin- because they have always been my favorite animal

Saturday morning, we were up nice and early for some sight-seeing. This was Jac's first time in DC and you know how much I love being a tour guide! We saw everything! We started at the National Archives to see the Magna Carta, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights; crossed the street to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to see the Hope Diamond (every bride should be treated to some awesome bling, right?!); and continued walking around the National Mall to see the Red Cross, DAR, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial, and the Smithsonian Castle. We stopped for a snack at the best food place on the Mall: the American Indian Museum- yum! After cooling off in the air conditioning and realizing Jenn had multiple blisters and Jacque was sunburned, we persevered and continued to the Capitol building and the Supreme Court... phew!! We saw the whole Mall!!

Here are a few pics from our sight-seeing adventure:

























"R" for Renee and "Education" because I love it!




















Three California girls, far, far from home!


































The WWII Memorial provided a delightful opportunity to cool off in the crazy, humid, DC heat!





















Yup, this is where I live now... my sixth state!

















We're just holding up the Washington Monument... no biggie.






















Even though we walked a good six miles, at least, we still went out for a night on the town! We met my friends Danielle, Jocelyn, and Ashley for a delicious Italian dinner at Potenza; followed that with drinks at 14th & K, where my friend, Whitney, caught up to us; and then, headed over to Tattoo for more drinks and dancing!! It was quite a night!



























































































After a superb night out on the town, we managed to get up for a delightful brunch at the Carlyle Hotel (super cute, art deco hotel) and some shopping in Georgetown before our weekend came to an end. I was so sad to see them both go, but I can't wait to see them again in only 7 weeks!! I'm so grateful to have the best besties!!

Jenn and Jac, thank you so much for my wonderful weekend!! To see more pics and get another take on our weekend, visit Jenn's blog!

By the way, do you like our new blog design? Thanks Jenn for our surprise design!

Water Socks

This is what happens to me when I apply SPF 30 at home and then again upon arriving at the river and then spraying SPF 50 twice while at the river...

12 States!

Ryan and I had a super adventurous day today! Well, some parts were mildly adventurous and some parts were extremely relaxing, but it felt adventurous because we were in "Wild and Wonderful" West Virginia. We went tubing on the Potomac River with Ryan's friend, Ian, and some of his friends. This was our first time in West Virginia together (our 12th state!) and our first time tubing! If you're not familiar with tubing, it's mostly floating on an inner tube down a river. In the area were were in, we experienced some class I-III rapids between stretches of calm water. We stopped a few times to eat snacks (and drink a few beers (I just had water!)) we brought along in the floating cooler we tied to Ryan's tube. The rapids were a lot of fun! Ryan was practically giddy with joy whenever we went through them and we got a really good workout paddling to get to the best ones. The calm water allowed us to soak up some rays and just enjoy being in the water. The water felt great! Having spent so many summer weekend in Laughlin, we imagined the Potomac would feel just like the Colorado River but we were so wrong! It was delightful- perfectly refreshing on a sticky 90-degree day! We loved it! It was a great way to spend our 7 1/2 years together and we can't wait to go tubing again!

10 weeks to go!

As of tomorrow, there will only be ten weeks remaining until the wedding! Since recovering from the crazy illness I had two weeks ago (and managing to knock out half of my office like I started the plague), I've been busy with some of the little details for the wedding. I finally restocked our invitation supplies so I can finish making them and sending them out (I ran out of some of the paper, ink for the printer, both types of stamps, and the ribbon!), I've been working out menu details with The Cannery and set up an appointment for a tasting with my Dad in July, my Mom sent me a piece from my gown so we can start looking for Ryan's snazzy outfit, Jacque booked a room for the girls and me at the Marriott for the two nights before the wedding, we finally booked our flights to California, and we finished up the registry. Yeah! Other than that, we've been taking it easy while we can, knowing that the next two and half months are going to become crazier and crazier by the day. For example, tomorrow we get to go tubing on the Potomac River and Jenn and Jac will be here one week from today for our girl's weekend! So much to look forward too and we love it!

One Sick Puppy

The week started off great! I felt so good after spending Sunday biking and Monday hiking, but I should have seen what was coming. My moments of greatness tend to be followed by moments of weakness. After biking Sunday, I had a little tickle in my throat. I thought it was just allergies, which is normal for me, so I took a Zyrtec D, rinsed my sinuses, and drank some chamomile tea before going to bed. Monday morning, I woke up feeling great and ready for our big hike. By the evening, the tickle was back. Thinking allergies yet again, I repeated the same steps from the night before and felt fine before going to bed. Tuesday morning was not so great. The tickle had turned into a sore throat which is very bad news for this girl! I had a really bad throat and sinus infection in February and another in April. This is my third so far in only five months! My tonsils are doomed! By the time I got home from work on Tuesday, I knew I would be going to the doctor Wednesday. I went straight to bed after getting home on Tuesday and woke up Wednesday knowing it was going to be a heck of a day. Fortunately, I was able to get an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. The doctor took one look at my throat and said, "ugh, that is an ugly looking tonsil!" He gave me a prescription for antibiotics and sent me home. By the time I picked up my prescription and got home, I was ready to collapse and by the end of the day, I had a fever, body aches, and couldn't swallow food. Thursday morning saw me up at 3am, unable to sleep due to strong chills followed by hot flashes, body aches, dizzyness, a pounding headache, and an infection that made both tonsils looked like beaten up golf balls. That's how things continued until Friday evening when my fever was so bad, it climbed to 104.3 while I was laying in a cool bath. After consulting with both of our dads (his is a health administrator and mine is a retired medic), Ryan decided the best thing to do would be to take me to the emergency room. Good call! They hooked me up to an IV with a mild pain killer, antibiotics, and steroids. It was a dream combination! My fever dropped, the pain subsided, and I was able to fall asleep. In just a couple of hours, I felt like a whole new person! We checked out at 1am and when we got home, I finally accomplished a restful sleep. I think I really needed a strong dose of meds to kick this infection. After taking it easy yesterday, I'm feeling pretty good. My tonsils are still a little ugly and scratchy, but they're definitely not as bad, and most of the other symptoms are gone. My goal for today: finish sanitizing the house and eat something that requires chewing. I miss chewing... haven't really done it since Tuesday when I ate a grilled veggie sandwich for lunch. What a week!

Thanks Ryan for taking such amazing care of me! I love you so much!

Active Holiday

Planning for this three-day weekend was difficult! We wanted to spend the weekend with Averi and the kids, but the weather called for rain all day every day. We didn't think it would be wise to sit in holiday traffic to be stuck inside due to rain the whole weekend (even though I think every moment with Bear and Kalee is fun!).

We waited for rain all night Friday and it never happened! We woke up to gorgeous day Saturday, so I went for a bike ride. Ryan still doesn't have a bike, sadly, so I went out alone. I rode along Arlington Blvd and the WO&D Trail. I stopped in Shirlington for some lunch, then headed out on the Four Mile Run and then home on the Mt Vernon Trail. I had to stop on the Mt Vernon Trail for a little snack break and enjoy the gorgeous view. The areas that many of our trails go through are so lush and green. Riding through them is pure pleasure. Here's a little video of what I saw:



The water from the Potomac lapped at my feet as I watched the boats cross in front of all of DC's major monuments while military veterans on Harley Davidson motor cyles buzzed all around me. It was a beautiful moment.

Today, we enjoyed another day of sunshine (the weather people were so wrong!). Well, I would like to say enjoyed... we were not as prepared for our hike as we should have been! We drove out to Great Falls in Maryland to hike the Billy Goat Trail. On our walk to the BG Trail, we stopped at the Great Falls overlook to see the Potomac River's gorgeous waterfalls. Who knew this was in our backyard the two years we lived in Maryland?!


A lot have people have recommended the Billy Goat Trail, so I didn't think it would be difficult. This picture is not of us, nor did we take it, but we did climb this same rock! It was the steepest of many scrambles! Ryan actually had to push me up over one rock!


I think we were only an hour into the hike when we both began thinking, "are we done yet?" We couldn't deny how gorgeous it was, but climbing those hills and rocks, up and down, up and down, was exhausting! The length of this trail was 1.7 miles. The overlook trail was .4 miles in and back and the towpath from the end of the BG trail back to the tavern was 1.1 miles. In total, we hiked over 3.6 miles in 3 hours! We are going to be sooooo sore tomorrow!

By the way, this is our "before" picture... there was no way we were taking an "after"!

13 weeks and counting!

We didn't have too eventful of a week. Last Sunday, "Lost" ended... holy moly! We were dedicated followers from season one and were pretty satisfied with the series finale. My softball team lost again... I think it's our 5th loss in a row! Nevertheless, we probably have the most spirit of any team in our league and we always have fun! We wore our Tree Slugger shirts and really looked like a team! I got to see "Sex and the City 2" with some of my new friends and it was as fabulous and cheesy as I expected it would be. It was so nice to see it with such fun girls!

The highlight of the week was definitely today. Following a morning walk to the farmer's market and Whole Foods, we headed to the Pentagon City Mall and I bought Ryan's wedding ring! We checked out a few different places and at our last stop, found the perfect ring in the perfect size! I cannot wait to place it on his finger during our wedding ceremony!

Only 13 weeks left until our wedding! Time is just flying by! There is so much to look forward too this summer, we know it will continue to fly on by! In two weeks, we may take a trip up to New York for Ryan's grandma's birthday; in four weeks, Ryan may go camping while our apartment is taken over by all of my east coast girls; in eight weeks, I'll be flying out to California for my bridal shower and bachelorette party; in ten weeks, Ryan will be in Vegas for his bachelor party; and then, in thirteen weeks, we'll be married!!

Fatty Friday

Yesterday was, all at once, a glorious day and a gluttonous day! My colleagues and I spent our lunch "hour" (more like nearly 2 hours, but who's counting on a Friday), enjoying the Taste of 12 at the Verizon Center. This is an annual event hosted by the DC Lottery to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank which is hoping to provide over a million meals to those in need this year. We were feasting for a good cause which makes it ok to splurge! Over 40 DC restaurants participated and, for only $12 each, we enjoyed hefty samples from 6 restaurants of our choice. My gourmet meal consisted of ahi tuna tartare with avocado and house baked chips; lobster ceviche; crab and tomato bruschetta; a pork belly blt; a toastette with grilled onions, goat cheese, and walnuts; sweet bbq chicken wings; a mini sweet potato pie; chocolate mousse on a chocolate crisp; a sweet tea float with sorbet and pomegranate sauce; a chocolate tartlette with berries; and, blackberries and cream. Every single bite was exquisite!

Despite lunch being enough food for a week we followed through with our pre-set plans for a dinner party Friday night! Yes, more food! And what was the theme for this dinner party? Friday FRYDAY! Our friends, Danielle and Stephen, helped us move two months ago and, during our move, learned we had a deep fryer (thanks again Sue for the gift which only brings joy!) and promptly decided we needed to get together and fry something. This idea floated in my dinner-party-loving brain for a couple of weeks until I realized the perfect time to have a dinner party during which the majority of the meal would be fried. What better time than the week of my birthday and the day before we helped them move? They would be out of food in their apartment and we'd all have the opportunity to burn off at least 2% of the calories. While enjoying good conversation and a lively game of scattergories, we devoured homemade Italian chicken strips (baked!) with marinara and honey mustard; tempura onions, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and broccoli with homemade ranch dip; deep fried homemade biscuits with homemade honey butter; homemade mozzarella sticks (best I ever had!); coconut shrimp with mango chutney; and, for dessert, fried Newman-Os (oreos) with powdered sugar, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup!

WOOOOWW!!

With the wedding only 14 weeks away... I'm going to be hitting the gym twice as hard this week!! But it will be so worth it! Friday was truly a delicious day!

Wedding Gifts

While we don't expect any gifts and certainly aren't asking for anything, if you choose to purchase a gift, please remember our wedding will be on the west coast but we live on the east coast and may not be able to ship gifts easily across the country. The greatest gift you can give is to be present on our special day and hang out with us at our beach house throughout the following week!

If you really want to buy a gift, we have registered at:

Pottery Barn (Be sure to put "VA" for the state or you won't find our list!)

Target

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Last Day at 27

This time last year, I argued that 27 still counted as mid-twenties and sadly that year has come to an end. Where does the time go?! Tomorrow I turn 28 and will officially be in my late 20s. Yuck.



What a year it has been though! So full of highs and lows! A year ago, I was at the end of the school year at my previous job and in the middle of the most stressful time of my personal life. Fighting to keep my own job in a horrible economy caused me to develop my first permanent wrinkles (two on my forehead! dang!) and caused more anguish than anything else I have ever experienced. Topping it off with actually losing that job and then being unemployed for six months made me really depressed. I didn't know what I was doing on this coast where I spent half of the time we'd been here struggling at finding permanent full-time work and the only friends I had made ended up being the same people who chose to hire someone else over me.



Things finally started to turn around in December when we became engaged! Finally, I had something to look forward to and my whole demeanor changed. We started making plans and in January it looked like I just might get a job. In February, I finally got one! This job at Pew is the first full-time job I have ever had where I started as a full-time permanent employee! I even got a pretty good tax return which allowed me to pay off a good amount of the debt I accumulated while being in and out of work. I guess I got off to a pretty late start at this grown-up thing, but it's kind of nice to be here now.



My job has also helped me find some very sweet friends who I love to have lunch with and hang out with after work and on the weekends. I play softball once a week in a "green league" with my colleagues as well. We always have something to look forward to! Yesterday, I bought a ticket to see "Sex and the City 2" with my new friend Jocelyn and I told her I was really happy to have someone to go with because when the first one came out, we had only been in DC a few months and I didn't have a job and I didn't have friends so I went to see it alone during the day. It was really sad not to have someone to laugh with. Now I can't wait to see it with new friends after sipping a couple of cosmos, just as SATC should be enjoyed!

So, tomorrow I turn 28. I have lovely new friends, a good job, a fantastic apartment, and we're getting married in 14 1/2 weeks! I think my late twenties is definitely off to a good start. 28 will be great!

3 1/2 months to go!

Only three and half months to go until Ryan and I tie the knot! Time is just flying by!! We started sending invites earlier this week which is a little earlier than etiquette dictates, but we didn't send save-the-dates and we wanted to give far-away family and friends time to travel. I'm also making them all by hand! That takes time as well and, as you can see by reading previous posts, I'm a busy lady! Wow, three and a half months to go and so much to do... but I'm loving every minute!

I love when learning is so much fun!

The last two weekends have been so much fun! Last weekend, our favorite crunchy granola homeschooling family came to visit! We love getting to spend time with the Pinos! They arrived on Friday and did some sightseeing before we were able to meet them after work for dinner on the hill. After dinner, we took a nice loooooong walk from the mall to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. They all look spectacular at night and it was a gorgeous night to be outside. The next day we enjoyed another gorgeous day on the mall. The kids got to ride the carousel, we admired the beautiful masks and symbols at the African Art museum, and learned all about the history of the US at the American History Museum. As always, we had a fabulous time and I delighted in the ability to help teach the kids at every opportunity. I can't wait until we get to be parents!

This weekend was one of DC's cultural highlights of the year in my opinion: the European Union Embassy Open House! Ryan didn't have the best time standing in all of the lines last year, so this year I went with my friend Ashley. A few weeks ago, Ashley and I went to the Climate Rally together and had an amazing time, so I knew we'd have fun together at the embassies because she's a geek like me and not afraid to show it! Our first stop was Spain which was pretty disappointing. They advertised tapas, traditional beverages, and a photo exhibit, yet the served us store bought Parisian cookies, Tropicana orange juice, and all of their informational tables were immediately in front of the photos and everyone was standing up to block them. Lame! The next stop was Germany and I knew it would not disappoint. Ryan and I loved it last year and Ashley and I surely loved it this year! Germany, efficient as imaginable, took advantage of every available space in and around their embassy and left every person who walked through eager to visit Germany. We got loads of information about the various regions of Germany, listened to folk music, pop music, and some traditional horns, and received tons of giveaways and samples of delectable chocolate, cookies, soups (including my favorite chilled cherry soup), deli meats, wine, etc. I even picked up some coloring books for the Pino kids. By that time, things were pretty crowded at quite a few of the embassies so we skipped Ireland, Portugal, and Greece (all of which we really wanted to see), and walked up to Italy for some awesome fried risotto balls, cannoli, and tiramisu. Our last embassy for the day was the United Kingdom, where they had a band playing outside, some authentic WWII vehicles on display alongside men in period costume, and lots of giveaways from England, Ireland, and Scotland. We tried to get to the Danish embassy because they were giving away a bike and a big container of legos, but we were 5 minutes too late! Our cultural excursion didn't end there! We stopped at a bazaar at a mosque on the way back down to Dupont and ate falafel and hummus- yum! Then, we saw the movie I've been looking forward to for months: "Babies"!!! I highly recommend it! It was hilarious and heartwarming! I could totally see it again!

What a day! I love how much there us to do here in the summer!!

Climate Rally!

Last weekend I got to experience a fantastic, practically free, day with my new friends from work, Ashley and Aurelie. As you hopefully know, Earth Day was just a week and a half ago and it was actually the 40th anniversary of the celebration. Earth Day is a big deal in DC, obviously, because this is where we make the policies that affect the USA's use (and overuse) of our earth's resources.

Ashley and Aurelie are both super sweet marine nerds who absolutely relish in the opportunity to save our earth and especially our oceans and you all know how much I love to learn about practically anything, so we filled our day with brainy activities. We met at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum to check out the deep ocean exhibit and view the amazing photography from their annual photo contest. The photos and the exhibit were both visually stunning and Ashley and Aurelie filled my head with marine knowledge in the deep oceans exhibit. We also took a stroll through the mammal hall and early American exhibit before heading out onto the National Mall to browse through the environment booths. We saw some wonderful new ideas like watches made from bamboo and got some great giveaways like a frisbee, panda power temporary tattoos, and condoms from a group talking about the explosive population growth's devastating effects on the environment. One of their slogans was "cover your tweedle, save the American beetle" or something to that effect.

After going through half of the booths, we were starving, so we went to lunch at my favorite place to eat on the mall: the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian. As always, it was delicious and full of great options for our veggie-lovin' pallets. Where else can you get fiddle head salad, blue corn cornbread, and three sisters soup?!

Things got really nerdy after lunch... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had an exhibition tent with dozens of presentations by grad students and green groups from all over the country. They demonstrated their ideas and experiments designed to improve everything from removing contaminates from local streams to monitoring the efficiency of your electrical appliances to erecting schoolhouses in rural areas made completely of recycled and renewable materials. It was really fun because we had some great dialogue with a few of the exhibitors, engaging them in curious conversation as well as presenting our critique.

By 4:30, our brains were exhausted so it was time to let loose with a little fun and the absolute highlight of the day: a free concert! We arrived just in time for the best bands and speakers! We heard little talks from James Cameron, Jesse Jackson, and the founder of Earth Day, and managed to squeeze in mere feet from The Roots, Joss Stone, John Legend, and Sting! It was amazing!

Here are a few pics from the day.

Joss Stone and The Roots


James Cameron


John Legend and The Roots


This could very well be our future... use reusable bags people!


Celebrating our beautiful earth!


Sting!


Ashley and Aurelie's panda power!


Aurelie and me.


Oh yeah! One more thing!! Only 17 more weeks until the 7 year hitch!

19 weeks to go!

As of yesterday, in 19 weeks, Ryan and I will really be getting married! Last weekend we finally decided on a place to celebrate: The Cannery in Newport Beach, California. We love Newport! I think it was on the top of our list of potential places to marry even before we were engaged. We try to spend at least a week in Newport Beach, renting a beach house, every summer.

We're really starting to get excited for our wedding! It's not going to be what you typically see. We'll be having a very brief ceremony in the morning on the beach, just with our family and wedding party, before the beach gets crowded. Then we'll probably go swimming, maybe play some frisbee, and barbecue throughout the afternoon. How many brides do you know of who actually go in the ocean on their wedding day?! That evening, we'll celebrate our marriage with a slightly larger group of family and friends on the deck at The Cannery. We'll start the evening with drinks and appetizers and then have what we hope will be a nice dinner, surrounded by our family and close friends, with the beautiful ocean breeze in our hair. No dancing, no hooplah, it's just not our style! Then, we'll end the night back at the beach house with whoever still has the energy for an after party!

What's next on our to-do list? Finalize the contract for our venue, book a beach house, and finish our registry! Fun stuff! Can't believe it's only 19 weeks away!

Portabello Mushroom Burgers

Ryan and I are so lucky to live literally caddy-corner from a farmer's market! We can see the booths from our window! Every Saturday, the parking lot in front of the movie theater fills up with booths from local farmers selling all kinds of things from fruits and veggies to honey to organic meats to flowers to fresh breads... delicious! While browsing there yesterday I spotted some gorgeous giant portabello mushrooms and thought "burgers"! Then I saw some beautiful sweet onions and knew those would be great on top of the mushrooms and then I saw some yummy looking fresh loaves of bread and thought "buns"! So I made a meal of mushroom burgers topped with sauteed onions, melted mozzarella, and slices of the bread toasted with olive oil, and sides of roasted potatoes and corn. Delicious!

I got this portabello mushroom recipe from my dear friend Courtny! She said when she made it, she totally thought of me and had to give it to me right away. I'm glad she did too because it's delicious! You can use it to make mushroom burgers like I did or serve it like a traditional burger with lettuce, tomato, etc.

4 portabello mushroom tops
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 slices cheese

Mix vinegar, olive oil, oregano, basil, and garlic in a dish. Arrange mushroom tops in a shallow dish and pour mixture over mushroom tops. Marinate at room temp for 15 min, turning mushrooms twice. Reserve the marinade for basting. Then grill mushrooms over med-high heat, 5-8 min on each side, basting regularly with the marinade. In the last 2 min add cheese and let it melt. Yum!

I should have taken pictures!

One month into my job...

and I'm still having a good time! Yes, I am a paper-pusher, but I really don't know of a lot of jobs that don't involve pushing paper! Although the first couple of days were crazy, the next couple of weeks were pretty slow since half of the staff I work for was away at a major endangered species conference in Saudi Arabia. I feel like it gave me time to adjust and learn a lot of the procedures for everything I now have to do in a hurry. It also gave me time to make friends! It took awhile for me to make friends at my last job because I kind of worked on my own and worked with people who were twice my age for the most part because of where my office was located. Now I have friends to eat lunch with, go to happy hour with after work, and even do stuff on the weekends. Last weekend I joined my friends Ashley and Rakelle, and Rakelle's friend Ann for a Cherry Blossom Bike Tour led by the DC Park Rangers. I rode my bike from our apartment through Arlington, down the Potomac River, and over the Arlington Memorial Bridge into DC to meet the tour group behind the Jefferson Memorial. At every stop, we'd pull our bikes into a shady area and the rangers would give us a little talk about the area we were in, share some history, some interesting facts, talk about the geography, etc. They were so full of information! From the Jefferson Memorial, we cruised along the Tidal Basin, by the cherry blossoms, to the Lincoln Memorial for our first stop. Then, we went across the front of the Lincoln Memorial which was actually a very cool experience with our line of 40 bikes all ringing their bells, along the Potomac to the Old Boat House at the Georgetown waterfront. From there, we went through Foggy Bottom to the Department of the Interior which is the office that oversees the Park Rangers. We learned an interesting fact here: did you know the DC Park Rangers are ranked higher than the Secret Service? The Presidential motorcade does not officially begin until you see the Park Ranger's motorcycle. We then pedaled over to the World War II Memorial and stopped on top of a large dirt lot right next to it that I'd never noticed before. That used to be the water pump. Water pump? Right where the memorials are? Yup! It all used to be under water. The Potomac used to be a whole lot wider and the rolling hill which now appear to be park of the landscape were once levees to hold the water back. At our next stop, the Washington Monument, we learned that the monument was supposed to be built at a 90 degree angle between the White House and the Capitol but it's off by quite a few yards because it would have sunk and leaned over. The Rangers pointed out a little nub that looks like a tiny replica of the Washington Monument, called Jefferson's Pier, marks the spot that was once an actual pier and the spot where the Washington Monument was intended to be erected. We then cut through hordes of tourists as we crossed the National Mall to the Smithsonian Castle. This was the only stop on the tour that wasn't an area managed by the Park Rangers, but everyone loved the Smithsonian! It brings so much life and culture to our capital! Our final stop was just a few blocks down, in front of the American Indian Museum, where they wrapped up our 3-hour tour. At the end, we all decided we LOVE Park Rangers! They're historians, preservationists, and nature-lovers all rolled into one! If you like to ride bikes, when you visit, we'll have to go on a Ranger-led tour! It was a fantastic way to spend a beautiful afternoon learning, sight-seeing, and getting exercise with good company. I highly recommend it!

My view as I pedaled into the city!


Aren't the cherry blossoms a beautiful shade of pink?!


I love our tulips! These were obviously planted, but they spring up in the most random places all over this area.


Ashley and me having a blast on the tour!

"For Boston, For Boston"

A few months ago, our friend Jeff posted an excited facebook status update that was something like, "just got tickets to see Dropkick Murphy's in Boston in March". When I saw this update, I immediately turned to Ryan and said something like, "Jeff and Jacque are going to see Dropkick the weekend before St. Patrick's Day in Boston!" and that's how we crashed Jeff and Jacque's weekend in Boston with our friends Kevin and Jessica.

The weekend before St. Patty's Day, Ryan and I worked half days and then drove up to Connecticut to stay the night with Jeff and Jacque at their cute new apartment. Ryan already wants to go back to Connecticut to he can shop at the Diary Store which was already closed by the time we arrived and not yet open when we left the next morning. Saturday morning, we drove to Boston in the pouring rain and arrived just in time for a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery.


Yeah... only in his dreams!


Can you see the glimmer in his eye? This is the look of pure joy in anticipation of free beer samples!

Yes, that's beer in my hand. Cherish this image; it is rare. Did I like it? Nope... it all tastes like beer to me!

After the tour, we checked-in to our hotels and it was still pouring rain so we waited for Kevin and Jessica to arrive from California before we headed out. That evening we literally braved a monsoon. Umbrellas were being flipped inside out more often than they were protecting us from the rain and the wind was blowing so hard in some places it became difficult to breathe! After a brief adventure on Boston's public transportation system, we made it to Faneuil Hall where Ryan enjoyed a seafood platter appetizer. We then headed over to the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in America for some drinks and a delicious dinner.



Since we were already out in the monsoon, we decided to venture a little further based on the recommendations of our friend Ryan, a Boston native, to Mike's Pastry, Inc., for a cannoli. We were so grateful we heeded his advice! They are to die for! I'm definitely looking forward to having one of those again!!

The next morning we decided to skip breakfast because we knew we were going to have a huge lunch at Eagle's Deli. If you watch "Man vs. Food" you will remember that in the Boston episode, Adam's challenge was a 5 pound burger with 5 pounds of fries and a pickle... well, Ryan and Kevin decided to take on the 2 pound burger and 2 pounds of fries challenge, which was still ginormous!


Ryan and Kevin had the Cowabunga. I was excited to see the Nick Lachey!


Ummm... yeah... that's like a whole cow.


Bottom's up!


Ryan, Jessica, and Kevin.


Jeff, Jacque, and me. Go green!

That afternoon, we decided to try to avoid the rain as much as possible so we toured the USS Constitution, the oldest U.S. Navy commissioned vessel still afloat and the accompanying museum. We're all a little nerdy, so we really enjoyed learning about the history of the ship and the history of Boston's shipyards.


The U.S.S. Constitution.




This is for Dani... want to cook in this kitchen?!


This is where the Captain slept...


And this is how the sailors slept!

We decided to stay indoors after we left the museum, so we headed over to the neighborhood near Fenway Park where the Dropkick Murphy's were playing at the House of Blues. We had a little bit of time before the show began, so we went bowling at Lucky Strike and ate a restaurant that is actually on the field at Fenway.



You can't see much, but it's Fenway field...

The show that night was awesome! Sorry, no pics... I didn't feel like carrying my camera. Jessica and I watched the show from the balcony while Jeff and Jacque watched from the edge of the floor and Ryan and Kevin got a little beaten up, and did a little beating up, in the mosh pit. Overall, the trip was fantastic! Hopefully, the next time we go to Boston, the weather will be better so we can see more of the sights. We'll definitely go back again! Thank you Jacque and Jeff for letting us crash your weekend!!