Colorful Life

On Sunday I ran (well walked) in the DC Color Run! It was so much fun.

I'm actually doing it again in October. Although its not timed, I wanted to go faster than I did in the gym and did. I obviously want to do even better in October.

A few of us from sorority alumnae group did it since it benefitted our charity - CMNH- Children's National Medical Center.

The pink mafia is stealth before go time.


Yellow



Orange



Blue



Covered in color



James was sad he couldn't do the 5K, so he tries to make up for it at every meal.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

DC Baby Shower

The day after my 31st 32nd (umm forgot how old I was there) birthday, my mom, friends Christy and Jen hosted a baby shower for me.  It was soo cute and so much fun!  After trying to figure out where to hold it, we decided my house would be the best location.  Main reason: everyone could get a sneak peak at the nursery.  I've been to a few showers hosted at the mommy-to-be's home and getting to see the nursery has always been my favorite part, why not do the same for my friends?

The nursery is a Peter Rabbit Theme and my mom and friends decided to carry that through with the baby shower.

From the spilled cabbages on the table

 carrots and radishes on the mantle

to Peter and all his friends on the diaper cake

with the banner hanging over head

to the tea party happening on the coffee table

The Carrot Shaped Red Velvet Cake Pops (made by Jen the cake pop goddess)

and customized Georgetown Cupcakes...

They left no detail unattended.

I was surrounded by wonderful friends, who showered us with gifts galore!

crocheted football hat, Red Cross first aid kit, lots of cute outfits and my mom's sterling rattle, cup and teething ring.

Gator outfit, burts bee's gift set, funny cards, a gator sun hat, philosophy mommy pamper kit and jon jons galore!

Dr. Seuss books, cute outfits, exersauser, tummy time mat, cute cloths and swaddlers

Bibs for our sure to be messy little guy, such cute cloths and our pack n play!

Peter Rabbit shadow box, sheets, crib blanket and more books!

I had such a wonderful time celebrating baby T with my family and friends, I can't believe he'll be here any day!

With a bunch of my Phi Mu sisters - so glad I've been able to meet these wonderful ladies!

With my sweet friend and shower hostess Christy, a fellow Florida girl we became friends at a BBQ in DC, bonding over our affinity of flip flops!

With my momma, the sweetest lady in the world who is super excited to be a grandmother!

With Jamie, a great friend and co-worker of Josh.

with Nicole a fellow Gator Gal and Birthday Buddy!

with Lauren, who lives around the corner and the only person who I have ever seen that I knew at the Grocery store up here - sooo different than Florida!

Kristin and Heidi, two of my sorority sisters from Florida, who I'm so glad live here-LOVE them!

with Lisa, Betsy and Kari - Phi Mu DC Alums and Chapter Advisers with me at AU, they are a BLAST.  I can't believe I've never had a cocktail with any of them, can't wait until it's not just club soda in my cup at happy hours with them!

My sweet neighbor Anna with daughter Audrey, can't wait for warm weather, walks and play dates with these two!

with Johanna showing off our baby bumps!

with Julia- we are the chocolate and vanilla versions of each other.  One of my former co-workers who I miss everyday.

with Jen, Lacey and baby Sophia.  So glad that my long time friends and bridesmaids live up here with me.

with my awesome neighbors Megan and Jackie

My fun friend Vanessa!

My buddy Chris, I am so glad we have become such great friends.  We have a blast advising at AU and actually with just about everything we do!

I'm so lucky to have such great friends to celebrate this exciting time in our lives!

Best part of my day, I got all my thank you notes in the mail (after a trip to the post office for some additional postage and more stamps)!

Love CMN

Love Children's Miracle Network.  I can't believe I have been volunteering and fundraising with them for more than 12 years, due to it being Phi Mu's National Philanthropy and UF's Dance Marathon (in addition to Florida Football and Friends how I ended up meeting my husband).

Check out the video, I'm in the Phi Mu Alumnae Officer's group pic at 1:58!



In other news we're back from our fantastic trip from Greece--it was AMAZING, I can't wait to share some of our 800+ pictures (don't worry I'll just share the highlights).

Speaking of pictures, does anyone have recommendations on how I can keep my instagram iphone pics from looking pixluated when I post them to my blog?  Perhaps it's because I am blogging straight from my iphone, but it seams some come out clear and others are pixely. 

Springing Forward

Friday night, I decided it was high time to treat myself to a new pair of shoes.  I'm really ready for Spring to finally get here, so I figured buying a pair of nude peep toe pumps with a little bow would bring it to me a little faster.  So far my hypothesis has yet to be proven, but I'm still holding out.  I may need add some variables (more fun springy shoes in various shades) in order to reach a valid conclusion.  Ahh, the labor I must endure in the name of research and warm weather.

Speaking of the scientific method, research, statistics, etc- Weight Watchers has a new points algorithm, based more on the structure of food and as far as I'm concerned more focused on the glycemic index.  I was volunteering at the American Heart Association's Heart Ball at the Ritz a few weeks ago and one of my fellow Junior Leaguers was telling me about it.  I was intrigued.  When one of my friends asked me to join with her two Friday's ago-I decided to give it a shot, and drug Josh along with me.  He's mostly just interested in meeting Jennifer Hudson, and I can't really blame him, but I doubt she will be showing up to our meeting anytime soon.  I have to say I am thrilled with the new Points Plus Structure, the system combined with the work I have been doing with my nutritionist for the past year is really clicking.  I lost 10 pounds my first week!  Woo Hoo!  Anyway, we went out to lunch after the meeting and this is what I had:
Apple and Butternut Squash Soup, Corn and Crab Salad and sauteed veggies-YUM YUM YUM.

Later that night I was off to Baltimore to see Bethenny Frankel at her Skinny Girl Night Out Tour.  It was so fun!

I was up before dawn to volunteer with the Phi Mu DC Alumnae Group at the St. Patrick's Day 8K.  I think all this craziness has messed up my internal clock.

I'm not going to lie, I haven't been able to get straight on springing forward just yet.  I am totally out of wack and keep falling asleep on the sofa and have no idea what clock is telling me the right time in the morning-ha!  I hope to get it straightened out and fix all the clocks in my house after Junior League tonight.

Have you been able to successfully Spring Forward?

To practice day by day...

So, let me catch y'all up on some of the super-de-duper things that have been going on in my life.  I have been given the opportunity to volunteer with my sorority a lot since I have moved to DC.  Last week I was appointed by the National Council to serve as an Alumnae Officer, and I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to be a part of the Alumnae Projects Team. 

It seems like just yesterday that I was meeting some of my Alpha Nu (University of Florida) sisters for brunch at the Mayflower just shortly after I moved to DC.  I was asked by one of my sisters who was currently the president of the DC Alumnae Chapter if I would be interested in joining, which I was, so I did.  It was nice to have some events to go to throughout the year and meet sisters from other campuses around the country.  I ran for secretary the following year, and was able to work with some awesome women and really develop a strong communication system that I'm really proud of.  This year I'm serving at the VP of Programming and am so thrilled to be able to work with some truly fantastic women.  Our first "official" event was this past weekend as we celebrated Phi Mu's Founder's Day with a fun brunch at the Carlyle Hotel in Dupont.

Also being involved in the alumnae chapter gave me the opportunity to learn about other ways to volunteer with Phi Mu.  One of those was by advising the local chapter at American University.  I began as the Academic Excellence Adviser, then PR, and now my true love...Recruitment.  I am seriously a dork over singing songs, conversation workshops and funny skits.  The very best part of being an adviser to me is seeing the positive impact I have on these young women's lives.  It's amazing to watch them work hard and accomplish their goals.  Seriously to see that sparkle in their eyes-when a big announcement is made or how the hold their shoulders up a little higher after being elected as a leader by their peers.  It's such a rewarding experience.    I have also been rewarded by building friendships with the other advisers on the board.  It's been so much fun to get to know these ladies, and I really feel like I have made great connections and life-long friends with these women.  The other night we got together to prepare a sweet's table for the new member retreat that Claire hosted at her house-how cute is this?  We then treated ourselves to a Mexican Fiesta at Guapos-so fun, and just as good if not better then one of those cupcakes.

Early to bed...

How does it always happen that when I have the most going on, and great things to share, I never have time to do it.  Actually the first week of the month is always a doozy for me, with DAR, Junior League, sorority advisers meeting and my monthly DC Gator Club board meeting.  I went for broke and scheduled a sorority alumnae committee meeting as well-which probably explains why I ended up in bed at 8:15 on a Friday night (or maybe it was the big ole drunken ribeye I had at happy hour turned dinner).

A low-key evening was just what I needed, I caught up with a few friends on the phone, a few shows on the dvr and now I'm watching a food network special  Gaida in Paradise: Santorini, which is getting me totally excited for our trip in a few months.  Santorini (and Mykanos and Athens) here we come! 

I've been so busy lately that I haven't even begun to plan our trip.  Well, the travel agent has booked all our flights and hotels-but the research and figuring out all the awesome things to do-half the fun is planning everything, and then picking out all my outfits!  Humm, I need to pencil in some time for that on my calendar-ha!
I am enjoying flipping through all the spring catalogs that are coming in the mail, can't wait to wear lots of dresses this spring, and pick up a few new items for our trip! 
Another thing I'm planning to enjoy ----sleeping in on Saturday morning!  I could and should be volunteering to prepare for the junior leagues annual thrift sale, Tossed and Found, where I have spent more early Saturday mornings than I care to remember over the past two months.  When sorting through other's donations, my favorite section to bring items to is bric-a-brac and sub section within bric-a-brac is fringed lamshades, like this one I told Josh I was going to bring home.

And after I sleep in?  I'm joining weight watcher then going to the chocolate lovers festival down the street-that's just the ridiculous way I roll.  Happy Weekend!

Success!

Great things are going on all around me.  I've gone to/am going to three four awesome places for restaurant week!  For those who don't know  R week is when all the top dining establishments in DC offer lunch and dinner at a pre-set price.  Some offer a pre-fix menu while others let you order an appy, entree and dessert off their regular menu all for the low low price of $35.11.  My goal is to find the latter - holla Chef Geoff's.  Anyway-Great Food, Great Friends-who could want more?

Well except for my gamma delta ladies at AU...

More, more, more - that's exactly what the Phi Mu Chapter at American University got on Bid Night!  They had a fantastic recruitment and ended up with quota plus additions - resulting in the largest new member class on campus!  The best part is they did it by being completely true to themselves, and were able to showcase their amazing friendships and sisterhood during recruitment (all the while ignoring my request to put on more lip gloss).  Gosh-I love them with or without a shiny pout.

Speaking of love, I am planning to fall in love with the hubs over and over again on the mini-moons we are taking this year!  Josh just booked us for a week in Greece-first class thank you very much, and a little over a week in Seattle to enjoy some time on the west coast prior to my fav red-headed-roommate's wedding this summer.  I was going through recruitment withdrawals, but now I get to start planning our fab vacations-can't wait!

ohhhh snap

The Sorority Girl Snap: a sign of excitement, job well done and/or agreement.

It's found it's way back in my life after the last few days of recruitment with the Phi Mu ladies at American University.  Not that I've spent many waking hours away from girls who understand the meaning of the snap and like to do it all the live long day.  I'm just hoping not to start using it at work or other social situations when I head back to reality tomorrow.

The whole experience of being an adviser to these young women has been so incredibly rewarding.  Seeing their growth as leaders, helping them reach their goals, and most importantly having a TON of FUN along the way is totally awesome.  I'm so excited to see the results of all the long hours, sleepless nights and endless emails tomorrow when they meet their new member class on bid day!

For as much as I hope I've made a positive impact on them, I know without a doubt what an impact they have had on me.  It has been a true pleasure and honor working with and getting to know this chapter. 

To add to my "you know you're a sorority adviser when" list:

• Your car has a helium tank, suitcases, 500 flowers and vacuum cleaner in it.  
• You faceplant on the sidewalk on a main street in DC while going to every grocery store and florist in a 5 mile radius trying to find your sorority flower because there are way more women coming to your next party than planned for or imagined - deemed Operation Carnation 2011.  
• You think breaking out into song and dance is and should be a part of every day life.
• You are put on caffeine probation by a young woman 12 years your junior because she fears for not only your sanity, but also your life.