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!!