Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Catching up!

For all my faithful readers, I apologize for the lack of posting since last fall! Life gets in the way, and ends up taking priority over the blog. So I will post a long update from where I left off...

Most of September went by in a blur. It was time for the annual golf tournament, so I went to San Francisco, Chicago, and New York all within 12 days - which I don't recommend at all. Another successful tournament (and completely lucked out with weather, considering the storms the night before the Chicago and New York events)... and September turned into October.

October's focus was the Marine Corps Marathon. Steve ran. I was in charge of a Sleepy Care Bear helium balloon and cheering for the runners. And even though Steve struggled in the end, I was so proud that he finished. (Note to future marathoners - your longest run needs to be at least 20 miles or you will hit the wall...) There's room for improvement at this year's marathon - who wants to run it with Steve? I'm also taking volunteers to hold a balloon and cheer with me. :o)

Warm, gorgeous weather took us into November... and we went up to my brother's place in New Jersey for Thanksgiving. Note to self - if you're going to go somewhere for Thanksgiving, make sure the person hosting has a dining room table and chairs. (Yes, that's right, we had to bring our faithful IKEA table and chairs to my brother's place because he didn't have them for us or my parents to sit at!) Steve and I ran in a Thanksgiving day 5K Turkey Trot in the rain (it was somewhere in the middle of Jersey). Thank goodness for Nike's Dri-Fit clothes, otherwise we would have finished soaking wet. We were also introduced to the Nintendo Wii that weekend. Talk about two late nights and a lot of fun... we almost considered buying one (but then realized that we really don't have the right tv for it). And Best Buy was out of them anyway.

I spent December either working on the Las Vegas event for work, or coordinating the family trip to Florida. That's right - my parents, my brother, Steve and I road-tripped down to Florida and visited with Steve's parents. Lesson learned - don't drive from DC to Orlando and back in a week with my parents. We survived, but it definitely not the warm, relaxing vacation I was envisioning. It rained. And then got cold while we were at Disney World. Which doesn't have the same appeal as it did when we were kids. And Splash Mountain is annoying if you get stuck on it. (No, we didn't get stuck at the top, somewhere in the middle of the tunnels.) The most hilarious part of the week was watching my parents play Tetris against each other. Talk about an intense, concentrated look on their faces. (Steve and I both have Nintendo DS's and taught my parents how to play in the car.) They're pretty competitive!

We rang in 2007 with the Fusco's and Stein's in Annapolis... how can you go wrong with the Melting Pot, board games, and sushi on New Year's? January was pretty much flew by - I went to Las Vegas for the sales kickoff (can you believe that this is my fourth kickoff event I've done now?)... then I stopped in Phoenix to visit with Amber, Allen, and Alex. After that weekend, and as much fun I had playing with Alex, I've decided that I am still staying on the 5 year plan (as in five years I will have my first kid). Okay, yes, I've been saying this for three years now, but I'm still sticking with it. Oh wait - I almost forgot our biggest news in January - we got a couch!!! After 7 long months of deliberation (really it was Steve turning down every suggestion I showed him since the couch had to have square arms, square feet, no skirt, no slipcover, had to be in gray and under $1500), we ended up with Steve's original choice (yes, the couch that he had wanted for over a year).

So now that February is almost over... it's been consumed with cold days in DC and planning for Costa Rica. Which is in May. Which means that I am getting three whole months to plan this event. Which is definitely a first. It's almost scary being ahead of the planning. But I'm making the most of it and then hopefully in April I won't have a nervous breakdown.

Now that we're caught up to the present... we're having our couch-warming party this weekend (which is really our open house that we were going to have when we first moved in, but we couldn't since we didn't have proper seating) - I'm so excited! I haven't entertained in so long (I think since a summer party in Denver 2.5 years ago!) and it will be great to finally show our friends our place. We'll try to take some pictures so for those of you not nearby can see the long-awaited couch.

Last thought... I'm ready for spring.

posted by Eves @ 8:52 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Where did the summer go?

Summer's not officially over (not for a couple of weeks), but I think we all pretty much resign to the fact that summer is over the day after Labor Day. It's also appropriate that it's a rainy, cloudy day in Washington... definitely a sign that summer's on it's way out the door.

So here's a quick recap - similar to the essay we had to write when school started - what did I do on my summer vacation? Of course, I wish I had three months off... but I did make more of an effort to take some Fridays off this summer. June was spent finding an apartment, packing and moving. You'd think I'd be a pro at this by now. Not so much. Steve spent a week unsatisfied by anything we saw in the Clarendon area, and we tried not to have a heart attack over the prices of housing in the city. We did finally luck out in seeing a renovation-in-progress 1 bedroom flat in a rowhouse in Dupont Circle, deliberated whether or not it was worth it for a week (while seeing other places in the city that just couldn't measure up), and signed a lease just before the flat was finished. I love it (and Steve does too). Granted, it's the smallest space that we've ever lived in, but it's definitely charming. Great hardwood floors in the living room, a wood-burning fireplace (yes it works!), a brand new kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and slate floors, an updated bath, shared back patio in the back... the place pretty much had everything we were looking for, except for some extra storage and a parking space. It's my Altima versus zone 2 parking, and so far not too bad (knock on pavement).

July and August were mostly spent unpacking, de-cluttering, assembling shelves and other inventive storage solutions... we did go up to Wilmington for the 4th of July, I saw my brother's new place in Jersey at the end of July... Went up to Corning for a long weekend in early August, and went to the Delaware beaches once this summer before it was too late. Our summer ended with the plans that had been in place for a year - Jenn (Steve's sister) and Theran's wedding in Madison. Congrats to the happy couple, we had a great time this weekend!

(On a side note, Steve and I celebrated our six-year anniversary yesterday... crazy, isn't it?!)

Fall is my favorite season of the year, and this year is no different as I look forward to it. It will be hectic, with three golf tournaments and the sales kickoff on the work schedule before the end of the year, but I think I'm finally getting the hang of these events. Our place should be ready for visitors soon (the last of the unpacking is near and hopefully we'll get a couch soon), so if you're in the DC area, let us know!

posted by Eves @ 1:47 PM 1 comments

Thursday, July 20, 2006

A non-pink picture...

This post is for Otter, who commented that there was too much pink on the page. So I thought this might be more to his liking. In my defense, the sailing picture from Greece is a purple shirt, not pink. (btw Otter - Steve is supposed to send you a Photoshopped version of this picture for PA.)


(Honestly, the Acropolis is in the background... And yes, I know I look tired.) Posted by Picasa

posted by Eves @ 1:50 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, July 19, 2006


Finished! Posted by Picasa

posted by Eves @ 2:29 PM 1 comments

The race that was a sea of pink...

June 3 was the National Race for the Cure, right here in DC. It's part of the race series that supports the Susan B Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. Even though I hadn't been running for two weeks due to the Greece event, I had already signed up for this race back in May, and figured with the number of people that would be participating, I wouldn't be looking for a new PR in the 5K. Thank goodness for that, because this was the biggest mob scene of pink I've ever seen, under cloudy skies and high humidity. Thousands and thousands and thousands of survivors and participants either came to walk or run the 5K around the National Mall... and even though the runners took off about 15 minutes before the walkers did, there were so many people that even I had to come to a complete stop in some parts of the course. In some ways, it was amazing that there were so many people out to support such a great cause. In other ways, the running/walking etiquette was sometimes frustrating. I have never claimed to be a fast runner. I don't aspire to be, but the races keep me in check and my goal is just to cross the finish line. So since I know that I am not a fast runner, I try to keep to the right side of the course, so that the faster people can pass me. However, this race pretty much threw all the rules out. Some of the walkers decided to start with the runners and were all over the course (instead of staying to the right). Some of the runners would just decide to stop moving without moving to a side of the course. Passing was nearly impossible with the number of people in the first two miles of the course. I won't even get into what the mess was like at the water station. In the end, I did cross the finish line, about 5 minutes off my usual 3 mile mark, but what can you do? I love supporting the cause, but I just don't know if I'll do this particular race again next year.

So I have no more races on the schedule yet, and need to get back into the groove. If anyone knows of a good race coming up, let me know.

posted by Eves @ 2:03 PM 0 comments


At the Parthenon... Posted by Picasa

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Sailing on the Mediterranean... Posted by Picasa

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On the island of Symi... Posted by Picasa

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Picking up where I left off...

I know, I know - I've been slacking big time. But now I'm going to get caught up. So let's start with Greece.

As glamorous as it sounded to do a week-long event in Greece, it had to be the hardest event I've done to date. On the surface, it was easy for all the guests to say it was a fabulous event, and the best one to date. Behind the scenes, it was a lot of 20 hour days before the event, and during the event... and pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Lost luggage. Cancelled flights. Misspelled awards (twice). Guest got sick and needs medical attention. Guest with kids needs extra attention. Guest with family emergency and needs to go home. You name it, it happened. Nevertheless, I survived (and so did poor Steve). Steve and I did get to see Symi Island on my one day off, which was beautiful, and we went sailing one afternoon on the Mediterranean - my first time ever. And we did have one lovely, hot day in Athens all to ourselves after the event was over and spent it sightseeing and eating gyros.

Lessons learned? Don't fly Olympic Airlines. Don't move a group of 130 people from one city to another island. Don't have an event in Europe when the exchange rate is terrible. Don't try and drink with the Europeans (you won't win). Massimo Dutti needs to open a store in the US.

Above all, leave the pool area when people start getting thrown in.

When we came home, I took the week off from work, sat around the apartment and pretty much did nothing. I can't even begin to tell you how great of a week that was. :o)

Next year, Costa Rica, here we come!

posted by Eves @ 1:17 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

T-minus 12 days and counting...

I know I'm behind. For the last 8 weeks I've been living and breathing this Greece event. In 12 days it begins, and in 17 days it will be all over. Y'all think I have a glamorous job? Far from it. It's a very underappreciated and demanding job. And it's the hardest thing not to take everything personally, when you're the person running the entire show. Will it be a fabulous event? Of course. Will it be worth all the blood, sweat and tears? Probably not. At this point I just want May 28th to be here so I can finally relax.

On a much, much, much happier note, Steve starts his new job in Georgetown on Monday. Yipee! For those of you who have been there for us through this entire ordeal - thank you, thank you, thank you. :o)

April 30 was my last race - the Sallie Mae 10K in Washington. What a gorgeous it was for a run... and a fast, flat, pretty course helped too. How did I do? Well, I shaved almost 5 minutes off my time from the Monument Ave 10K, and finished in 1:07:58. Finally, I'm getting my mile pace under 11 minutes. It's my last race for now... until I can pick it up again in June, after coming back from Greece. I hope I'll at least get a run in on the beach along the Mediterranean Sea...

Just before the finish line:
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=11475&PWD=&ID=22577418&FROM=photos&BIB=1255

posted by Eves @ 10:00 PM 0 comments


Kickin' it to the finish line... Posted by Picasa

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Thursday, April 27, 2006

I can only go as fast as my legs will take me...

More than four months after my first 5K, I finished my second one. Sunday was the GW Parkway Classic - a local race in my own town. Under overcast skies and in 50 degrees weather with 96% humidity, I dropped more than 3 minutes off my previous 5K time (finished in 32:35), and ran my fastest pace yet (10:39). Let me tell you, I could feel the burn and adrenaline in the last mile...

To try and continue running towards my goal of the half marathon this fall, I'm running in this Sunday's Sallie Mae 10K in Washington. It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend, so there is definitely the potential to improve from my previous 10K time.

I really need to work on running faster. Then running a lot of miles wouldn't take so long.

(Thanks to Steve for taking the pictures from the race. He's my favorite cheerleader.)

posted by Eves @ 8:31 PM 1 comments


Here I come... Posted by Picasa

posted by Eves @ 8:31 PM 1 comments


There I go... Posted by Picasa

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Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Stew vs. Wegmans

The verdict on Stew Leonard's versus Wegmans... I have to put Stew Leonard's in more of a "specialty" market category, rather than a supermarket. It's more of an experience than getting your regular grocery shopping done. And the one aisle path is incredibly inefficient, not to mention there seems to be no logical layout of all the departments. However, you could probably get a decent meal out of all the samples, and if you have two hours to battle with the other crazy shoppers and go through the aisle path more than once because you forgot something... it's the place for you. I'll give them props for a great flower and wine selection though. Still not convinced that orange juice comes from an orange cow. And while it's a market I won't mind visiting every once in a while, give me Wegmans any day. At least I know I can do my grocery shopping efficiently there every day, and find everything I need. Oh, and I know that they've never had any trouble with the IRS. :o)

posted by Eves @ 9:24 AM 3 comments