Bobby

This weekend I joined thousands of others who descended into Arlington National Cemetery to pay their respects to the fallen this holiday season at Wreaths Across America. I don't know anyone personally who is buried in the cemetery, but I just couldn't pass up this opportunity to salute those who now lay in peace within its gates. After I got my wreath to put on a grave, I walked around for awhile to try and find a place to put it. After reading many grave stones, I noticed one without a wreath in a long line of graves already adorned. His name was Robert F. Eckert, and if he were still alive today he would be my age. This was definitely the one. As I lay the wreath, fixing the bow so it would be just right, I quietly thanked him for his service.

After some research when I returned home, I found out that "Bobby" was an Ohioan just like me. He was from Cleveland, and over 6 feet tall. He served 3 tours oversees, and was a purple heart recipient. When on leave at home the last time, he asked his mother to promise to bury him in Arlington. Bobby seemed to be one of those guys who always knew he was going to be a Marine, and after a lot of hard work, I bet he was a damn good one.

This is from Arlington National Cemetery's Web site
"Lance Corporal Robert F. Eckfield Jr., 23, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Lance Corporal Jared J. Kremm, 24, of Hauppage, New York, died October 27, 2005, from an indirect fire explosion in Saqlawiyah, Iraq. Kremm died at the scene while Eckfield succumbed to his wounds at a nearby medical center. Both were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina."

I obviously didn't know Bobby, but if I could tell him one thing it would be thank you. I don't know if his family was there Saturday, and if so I'm sorry for taking your wreaths spot. If they weren't able to attend, Bobby still got a very thankful visitor, an Ohioan friend. I would also tell them thank you for their sacrifice, something no one should ever have to go through. I have no idea what it was like to be in his boots, but I like to think that my prayers get to those guys over there everyday.

This was a truly humbling experience, and I am thankful for the opportunity to attend. It's an amazing way to let these families know that their sacrifice and love for their fallen will never be taken for granted. Fortunately I can not relate to the magnitude of their loss, but I continue to pray for each of them every day.

Christmas mittens

I am obsessed with mittens this year. While at Target, I stumbled upon mitten-gate 2009. I purchased mitten ornaments, a picture frame, hand towels and a tree skirt. Adorable! Thanks Kayla for your decorating help! :)

Hello 27!

When are you considered "old"? There comes a point in everyone's life when people start to consider them old. I found this to be true when recently I turned 27, and when telling someone this, they started giving me the "old" look. Almost liek they want to follow that look with, "O, I'm sorry." GREAT!

Personally, I just think that it is a sign of the times. The other night I was watching "Mad Men", and one of the characters mentioned that another character was -gasp- in her thirties. Clearly she was washed up, and would end up as an old hag. (She recently got engaged- SO THERE!)

Also while talking to my Grandma, I am reminded that when she was my age, she had two children. This is all well and good in both situations. That is the way things were done back then. Fortunately that is not the way we do it now. We also don't smoke in the office as they did in the 60's based show. Gross!

Ironically, I find that most of my college graduate female friends that are 25-30, are not married, and not stressing out about it. Yes, I have a few that are already married, and baby fever hasn't started yet for any of them (thank God), and I just want to note that this situation is just fine. The ones that aren't married though are all great catches, dating and successful in their careers. I'm just waiting for the eerie calm to subside, and the ticking of the clock to start. Yikes! All in due time my friends...all in due time.

For now I am having a great time, and although the years tick by, I will never grow up! Ha!

What is a Buckeye?

A buckeye is a nut. A poisonous nut to be exact. So probably you would want to eat them. BUT when recreated as a peanut butter and chocolate treat they are equally as deadly... I made some this weekend for the Ohio State v Michigan game, and people at work had no doubt who they were rooting for on game day. I was pretty popular for about a half hour!! Ha!

Here's the recipe...

2 cups peanut butter
5 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla
2 sticks butter
12 oz chocolate chips
1/2 bar paraffin wax
toothpicks
wax paper

Mix together sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Let the mixture chill, and form into balls. Then mix paraffin and chocolate chips in a double boiler. Dip the peanut butter balls in chocolate and let sit on the wax paper. Put them in the fridge for a few hours, and ta-da! You will have instant popularity in your workplace or tailgate party!!!

Isn't Brutus adorable? Nothing scarier than a poisonous nut-head!

Halloween 2009

There's nothing like a bunch of adults dressed up in costumes. No other day would that be acceptable Thank goodness for Halloween!

I had a party this year, and was pretty impressed with our decorating skills. For such a clean person, Steve is really good with cob webs!
And I definitely learned a thing or two about dry ice. Be careful! If you put too much in a caldren it will freeze your whole brew into one big slushy block!

Spooky!
Some costumes were funny...
Some were cute...

And some were really scary!

Grandma Chardonnay visit

Recently, I held a biggest fan competition, and the winner was.... Grandma!!! Okay well maybe she just wanted to come visit. Maybe she just missed her oldest granddaughter. I don't know if it was previously possible for a 74 year-old woman do out do her 26 year-old granddaughter, but Grandma Chardonnay made it happen.

(NOTE: Grandma Chardonnay is Grandma's nickname because of her favorite fermented treat. She will be GC for all future purposes in this blog.)

We went to dinner in Old Town Friday night at an Italian restaurant, then walked around for a bit preparing for the next morning.

I don't think I prepared hard enough. We must have walked 10 miles!

That woman ran me ragged. We went on a monument marathon all around downtown DC. All around the reflecting pool, and to every monument! GC hadn't been here in 10years, but she still knew pretty much where everything was. I had so much fun. So far, my favorite monument is the Korean War monument. Truly a moving place.

We also saw Bob Dole at the World War II monument. What a surprise!

After the monuments we took off for the American History and Natural History Smithsonians. My favorite had to be seeing the jewels with the Hope diamond at the Natural History museum. GC and I love jewelry. I think she was actually the one who coined the hrase, "diamonds are a girls best friend." O wait, that was Marilyn Monroe...

An unplanned stop was right in the center of the National Mall. On our way home from the airport GC showed me a newspaper clipping she had brought. (Of course Grandmas will do this!)She found a Solar Energy Housing competition that was happening in DC right on the National Mall, and the Ohio State team had a house there. The Ohio State house was amazing, but I just don't know how someone could live in such a small space!

The trip ended with a trip to the National Basilica at Catholic University. Did you think my Catholic Grandmother would come here and NOT take me to church?! Ya right! We tried to find a tile in the basement of that place that her grade school St. Mary's had bought in the 1940's. It turns out that there are lots of St. Mary's and LOTS of tiles. Epic fail :)

That night as I sat with Grandma on my teeny tiny porch, I realized how lucky I was to have that special day with her. I am so fortunate to have such an awesome Grandma, and such a great role model to teach me how to live, love and drink Chardonnay.

Love you Grandma! Come back soon!

10 things I love about you NYC

I would have to say that New York and I had a love/hate relationship. Coming from Ohio there were a thousand new experiences that I had in NYC, and I am thankful for every opportunity, every friend, and every new place I got to experience. It is one of those things that you will NEVER forget, living in the big city. There were things I know I whined about constantly, and things that I found myself wondering how I ever lived without. The things are whined about were mostly new things or processes I had to get used to i.e. walking to work with hundreds of my closest friends, driving like a taxi driver...

The things I will miss most are the things that now I am wishing I could expereince just one more time...

1. Cupcakes

O Buttercup Bakery. It is yuor fault I have these mini-love handles. I just don't think I can go a whole lifetime without another one of your candy colored sprinkly cuppy cakes... After a long hard day, nothing goes down sweeter than.... well, a bunch of sugar. Magnolia and Crumbs are great, but my favorite will always be you...

2. Food availability

Where else can you get sushi/thai/pizza/pub food/groceries in a block radius. I don't know how my neighborhood did it, but it was easy to never have spoiled groceries. After getting home from work, I would just decide what I wanted to make/eat, and either go get take out (or incredibly convenient delivery), or head to the grocery store to get just what I needed. A lot of times this could be accomplished in commercial-break quickness. And it's not like these carry out places were "Okay" They were great! If you every are in the Turtle Bay/Midtown East neighborhood, check out my favorites. Tenzan for sushi. Thai 51 for thai and BYOB. Krunch for pizza, and any of the pubs right there for pub food. I heart cheeseburger sliders... and beer. I can't forget my favorite corner store on 2nd and 50th for strange and wonderful mix and match beer, o, and the GREAT wine store right across the street. Did I mention cupcakes? :)

3. The possibility of seeing a celebrity

I know we all think we are too good for celebrity sightings, BUT deep in our hearts we secretly wish to see Jennifer Aniston or Donald Trump walking down the street getting coffee. No place in the world are celebrities so frequently seen. AND you may just get to see a movie in production. I looked for the "Sex and the City" movie everywhere. I mean I was a Carrie Bradshaw for a year! :)

4. Living with two amazing girls

I miss you Lizbeth and Lyssa... I can be honest and say that I was scared to go from living by myself to living with two girls, but it was a BLAST! I have never watched so much reality television, or been so excited about bagels! I can't wait for you to come and visit. Did I mention I have windows here!?!

5. running in Central Park

There is nothing quite like working on your fitness in Central Park. It's like an adventure, and PT all wrapped into one. Sometimes it was like a scavenger hunt searching for all of the historic monumnets and sites. One time I got hit by a bicyclists. But everytime it was a great workout, and not like any other place I have every been. Check out Bethesda Fountain and the boathouse... What a great area!

6. kareoke

"Pa pa pa poker face. Pa pa poker face", I have had many fun evenings at Top Tunes on 53rd and 2nd, and I am not ashamed to say that it was always me, my friends, and the American Idol contestants of the neighborhood. Thank you Top Tunes for lowering my self-esteem, and giving us all something to laugh at :)

7. the subway

I never in a million years thought I would miss the NY subway... until I rode the Metro. Yes, the MEtro is impecibly clean, and I will never see someone eating an entire McDonald's breakfast on public transportation thanks to the Metro police, but there is just something about the NY subway. It is so accessible. Stops are everywhere, and you do not have to worry about a conductore texting/ taking naps on the job... I find it very ironic that I wouldn't ride the subway for a week when I first moved there because I was so scared, and now it has made my top 10 things I miss about NYC.

8. pedestrian code

PEDESTRIANS RULE! No matter how wrong you are about walking across the street in NYC, you have the right of way. It's like an attitude with some pedestrains. Get out of my way taxi cab! And if you don't get out of my way, I will walk right over you! lol

9. shopping

I could literally come home from work, and change shoes, and walk to every store I wanted to go to within a 10 block radius. No driving. No hassle with mall maps. No mall rats. No food courts. It makes my wallet cry just thinking about it!

10. Army PA

I miss my office. I worked with some of best people in Public Affairs in that office, and I had a blast!! I got to meet famous people, had field passes to NY sporting events, stood in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve and told the Soldier's story everyday!

DC will be great, but I'll always have a little piece of my heart reserved for NYC.

Sick sock

This is how I got my sock back from the laundry guy. Do you think it's fixable?

The Space Bag test

I have never denied that I enjoy shopping online. Unfortunately, sometimes it gets me into trouble. Well, not this time! I bought something,and it works. It won't sit in my closet never worn, and it won't gather dust in a drawer like other things I've had online-buyer's-remorse after purchasing.

Space bags are amazing. Have you seen the commercial? They pretty much have solved pack rat's space problems around the globe. Please note: I am not a pack rat. I have no problem throwing/giving things away. Except for the purse issue I'm facing, and a coconut monkey collection I started years ago, and now I'm realizing I'm never going to have anywhere to put them. Who puts coconut carvings in their china cabinet? Anyways, you see my point. They look like they can be a real problem solver, and believe me my friends, I think their going to work for my limited space move ahead of me next week.

I took this pile: Queen-sized down comforter, body pillow with cover, fleece blanket and monkey (for effect of course)

And I turned it into this:

My roommate sad that the smooshed monkey was a little disturbing, and I admit I kind of felt bad doing that to him...

So as I vacuum seal everthing I own please remember: you get what you pay for. And sometimes you get a double order for FREE when you order NOW!

Road Trip!!!! Beer, Ice cream and cheese. Oh my!

The heading says it all people. I have officially completed my Northeast American tour. This past weekend I went to New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and passed through Connecticut. We started off in Mass, where we visited Cracker Barrel. If you have not been to the Cracker Barrel, you have not lived. Nuff said.

After leaving there, we went to New Hampshire were I learned a few of life's lessons. Lesson #1: Bear poop is black. Do not forget that. Lesson #2: If you go hiking in New Hampshire, it is entirely possible to go uphill both ways. I don't know how this is earthly possible, but I can only say that it happened to me. I was able to learn a trick of the trade though, and attached a Labrador to my waist who pulled me up every hill whether I liked it or not. I am a cheater...

After we had a great time with friends in New Hampsha' it was time to head to Vermont where apparently they make delicious things...

Ben and Jerry's made it's home in Vermont, and also has one of the craziest factories I have ever seen. I know their history is inherently laced with political "this or that", but I can say one thing. Those hippies made delicious ice cream. Using all natural ingredients, they have come up with kooky flavors like Cherry Garcia and Chubby Hubby. I was also pleased to learn that no monkeys are harmed in the making of Chunky Monkey ice cream. We were able to taste a sample of the Oatmeal Cookie flavor, which you may be happy to know is awesome, and contained no raisins. Double yum. We visited the Flavor Graveyard and visited White Russian's tombstone, and the Ben and Jerry's vintage bus, which looked good enough to drive...

After ice cream, we decided to head to the main attraction. Beer. Mmmm beer. The Magic Hat brewery, just south of Burlington, VT carries some of most fun beer to drink this side of the Mississippi (besides Miller Lite). We all love #9, but other delicious brews we tried were Single Chair, Lucky Kat, Wacko, the autumn brew and two of their "test batches" known as Odd Notions. I can't say I loved these, but they were darker, and I'm not a fan of the darker beer. The brewery was a blast though. You could take self guided tours through the actual brewery, and with free beer samples, how could you complain?!

We stayed in Burlington, which was beautiful. Here is a picture of the beautiful sunset. A GREAT weekend spot for anyone!

The next day we hit up Cabot cheese. This place is kind of like heaven if you like cheese. And who doesn't? They boast some of the most original, and tasty Vermont cheeses including: Buffalo Wing cheddar, horseradish, Tuscan blend, Indian flavor, Chipotle, 50% fat free, 75% fat free and many many more. Conveniently located right next to a chocolate store. We had to leave after I could not eat anymore cheese becasue of the sanitary condition of the cheese sampling tables. (New toothpick people! Why is that so hard to understand!)

Not on the list, but an accidental stop was at the Yankee Candle outlet. Who knew it was the world's largest Christmas store? We wanted a sandwich, but I ended up walking out with mango salsa and clean cotton scented candles. Can someone say sale?!

We did not see a giant ball of twine. And the world's largest shoe was closed for the season, but we did see a lot of cool stuff.

Who doesn't love a road trip?!